Is The Bagpipe The Worst Instrument? | Hour 1

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show – “Is The Bagpipe The Worst Instrument?” | Hour 1

Date: June 29, 2026
Live from The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

The first hour of today’s episode pivots between signature Le Batard banter, sports nostalgia, and current events in baseball, basketball, and soccer. The central question — “Is the bagpipe the worst instrument?” — sparks a raucous debate among the crew about the merits of various instruments, pop culture moments, and the inefficiencies of certain musical mainstays. The hour spirals into discussions about the evolving role of sports anchors, the shifting landscape in NBA trade rumors, the impact of college coaches in the pros, the fleeting nature of sports memory, and Brazil’s footballing psyche.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Bagpipe Debate & Musical Instrument Rankings

• Prompted Poll: “Is the bagpipe the worst of all musical instruments?” (03:39)
  • Dan opens up a poll for listeners on X/Twitter, challenging listeners to offer alternate nominees, quipping: “Harmonica’s dumb as shit.”
• Accordions & Harmonica:
  • Mike Ryan: “I think bad pipes are kind of cool. Accordion sucks, man.” (04:25)
  • Amin Elhassan: “Or Weird Al. Have you ever heard ‘Another One Rides the Bus’?” (04:35)
  • Tony Reali on accordions: “The accordion is a cumbersome instrument.” (05:13)
• Instrument Efficiency:
  • Dan critiques the harp for inefficiency despite its ethereal sound (05:24), and distinguishes that harmonicas are at least “not unwieldy.”

Notable Quote:

“You’re telling me when Rowdy Roddy Piper used to be escorted to the ring with dudes playing bagpipes, that shit wasn’t cool.” – Mike Ryan (05:57)

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2. Baseball Trivia: The Elusive .300 Career Average

• Dan brings up a baseball stat about Luis Arias:
  • “Every single night of his 11 year baseball career, Luis Arias has gone to sleep as a .300 hitter…” (01:38)
• The crew tries to recall the player who narrowly missed finishing with a .300 career average, citing incorrect guesses (Pujols, Sidney Ponson).
  • Chris Cody eventually finds: “Frank Demare…ended with a .29947 batting average.” (16:20)
  • Dan wanted someone whose final at-bat dropped them below .300, emphasizing the cruelty of decimal points in baseball legacy.

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3. The Changing Role of Sports Anchors & SportsCenter

• Linda Cohn’s retirement prompts a deep dive:
  • Dan questions if the era of the household-name SportsCenter anchor is dead, given the modern highlight consumption model. (06:55, 08:46)
  • “You can just rotate people through and they can be serviceable and professional, but they’re not going to be standouts anymore as personalities.” (08:55)
• Mike Ryan: “Randy Scott and Gary Striesky are really funny…but I don’t think they come close to the recognition Linda Cohn has.” (09:06)
• Jonathan Saslow: “It takes time to build nostalgia. SVP has become that…he’s a huge star.” (09:34)
• Amin Elhassan brings up an anecdote about racing with Gary Striesky and his questionable karting ethics (09:58).

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4. NBA Trade Rumors & The Kawhi Leonard Situation

• Dan references Shams reporting serious trade talks involving Kawhi Leonard, coincidentally on his 35th birthday. (03:56)
• The discussion turns to what Kawhi might be worth at this stage, and the logistics/ramifications of cap circumvention:
  • Amin: “There is no uncertainty about whether Kawhi Leonard can play basketball…What they cannot do is say he's suspended for the year.” (11:35)
• Debates the degree of player responsibility in cap circumvention cases.
  • Amin: “No, Article 13 makes everybody complicit in it…As long as he's complicit, he's eligible to get fined or disciplined.” (15:11)
  • Mike Ryan: “But that’s not (the player’s) responsibility…The team is.” (15:05)

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5. NCAA Coaching Carousel: Dusty May’s Jump to the Pros

• The crew discusses Dusty May’s move from college basketball to a pro coaching job, reflecting on why more coaches might flee the college chaos:
  • Dan: “The money problems would be more in college…because the pros have a structure and a system…the money fixed and college sports don’t have that.” (22:19)
  • Jonathan Saslow: “Smart move for Dusty May…He was still recruiting the day of his pro job announcement.” (21:21)
  • Dan Saslow: “He’s proved at every level he’s been a winner…Pay that guy whatever he wants.” (25:25)
• They weigh the limits of coaching impact vs. systemic talent disparities, particularly with powerhouses OKC and San Antonio:
  • Dan: “The distance between the top of that conference and Dallas is so substantive it cannot be corrected by any man.” (30:02)
  • Amin: “Yes it can…when they have to trade Jalen Williams because they can’t afford him…players leave.” (30:11)

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6. The Age of Instant Takes & Sports Memory

• Dan is baffled by how analysts, like Nick Wright, rush to declare future playoff outcomes immediately after trades, and how short the sports memory can be:
  • “What is it about today that makes people so forgetful…stuff that was happening three years ago…?” (31:03)
• Mike Ryan and Amin analyze the rush to “be first” and the prevalence of Northeast voices in sports chatter pushing anti-Miami or Boston homerism.
  • Amin: “It’s because people like this show have often touted Pat Riley’s whale hunting skills, and they’re sick of hearing about it.” (35:00)
• The crew debates whether Miami’s “finals” history should matter in these conversations.

Notable Quote:

“It’s instant gratification…It’s now, now, now, now, now. And that has totally erased the concept of history or context or any of that.” – Amin (37:13)

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7. Soccer: Brazil, Japan, and Footballing Passions

• Dan segues into international soccer, anxiously asking Amin about Brazil’s chances vs. a precise Japan squad. (38:17)
  • Amin explains his emotionally fraught, near-maniacal connection to Brazil’s football team:

    “I care about Brazil in an unhealthy way.” (40:00)

• Jonathan and Amin break down Brazil’s current form, skepticism around their roster, and how skillful Japanese teams might trouble the Seleção.
  • Amin: “This is the worst Brazilian side in like 40 years, or 50 years, whatever…”
  • The group jokes about the importance of historical knowledge, ribbing Chris Whittingham for not knowing pre-2000s soccer.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Harmonica’s dumb as shit.” – Dan Le Batard (03:40)
• “You see a dude with accordion…Accordion sucks, man.” – Mike Ryan (04:30)
• “You keep saying Hermonica. Is there a his Monica?” – Amin Elhassan (05:47)
• “When Rowdy Roddy Piper used to be escorted to the ring with dudes playing bagpipes, that shit wasn’t cool?” – Mike Ryan (05:57)
• “It takes time to build nostalgia. SVP has become that…he’s a huge star.” – Jonathan Saslow (09:34)
• “There is no uncertainty about whether Kawhi Leonard can play basketball. Article 13…What they cannot do is say he's suspended for the year.” – Amin Elhassan (11:35)
• “The money problems would be more in college…because the pros have a structure and a system…the money fixed and college sports don’t have that.” – Dan Le Batard (22:19)
• “The distance between the top of that conference and Dallas is so substantive it cannot be corrected by any man.” – Dan Le Batard (30:02)
• “It’s instant gratification…It’s now, now, now, now, now. And that has totally erased the concept of history or context or any of that.” – Amin Elhassan (37:13)
• “I care about Brazil in an unhealthy way.” – Amin Elhassan (40:00)

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Important Timestamps by Segment

• Start of content (after ads): [01:16]
• Luis Arias .300 stat & Baseball trivia: [01:38] – [03:39], [16:20]
• Bagpipe/Instrument Poll Debates: [03:39] – [05:57]
• SportsCenter/Linda Cohn’s Retirement: [06:55] – [10:51]
• Kawhi Leonard, Cap Circumvention, NBA Trade: [11:24] – [19:29]
• Dusty May, College Coaches to Pros: [21:21] – [26:43]
• Impact of Coaching in NBA Landscape: [28:25] – [30:41]
• Instant Sports Takes & Miami/Boston coverage: [31:03] – [36:14]
• Sports Amnesia & Why It Exists: [36:52] – [37:45]
• Soccer: Brazil vs. Japan, World Cup Talk: [38:17] – [41:47]

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Tone & Style

The conversation swings from irreverent and playful (bagpipes vs. harmonicas) to analytical and wry (sports media’s obsession with instant takes and pop culture recency bias). Dan’s philosophical musings are punctuated by the crew’s running jokes, subtle jabs, and moments of sincere sports nostalgia.

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For Listeners Who Missed It…

This hour packed in the lively, eclectic mix emblematic of the Le Batard Show:

• Expect arguments as passionate about the merits of musical instruments as about NBA trade intricacies.
• The show wrestles with the changing landscape of sports media, the overdriven pace of hot take culture, and the personal stakes fans bring to teams (especially if you’re Amin and Brazil is playing).
• Regardless of your musical preferences, you’ll come away both entertained and—potentially—questioning your feelings about the harmonica.

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Skip the ads, enjoy the banter, and check the polls: Is the bagpipe, in fact, the worst instrument? The results (and debates) are tracking live @LeBatardShow.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

Lamine Yamal steps into McDonald's, looks left, sees Pulisic, looks right, sees Jimenez, gives a nod to Ronaldinho in the corner with a FIFA World cup meal. Ronaldinho sees son in the booth. Son finds Beckham going for extra Big Mac sauce. He's got Davies at the table just behind him. Davies going for his collectible cup. A steal by Henry, who pulls his own collectible cup. Collect one of nine legendary cups with a FIFA World cup meal at participating

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All rights reserved.

20:26 McDonald's at FIFA World Cup 20:26

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[Dan Le Batard]

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

Every single night of his 11 year baseball career, Luis Arias has gone to sleep as a.300 hitter every single night of his 11 year career. Only 11 players ever have done that throughout baseball history.

[Mike Ryan]

So like the first ever game he appeared in, he went like one for three.

[Dan Le Batard]

Correct.

[Chris Cody]

That's how it happens.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's the way you have to do it in order for that to be.

[Chris Cody]

He didn't go one for four.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's right. Can you look up for me, Chris? There's a player famously last name starts with a P. I need to know some of his history. He Peralta. He finished. That is incorrect. He finished.

[Dan Saslow]

You don't know that, Dan, because you're asking for his name.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I know if I heard it, I'd know it and I haven't heard it yet. Pot said Nick. Every. Every. Stat.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, that's a good one.

[Dan Le Batard]

Nope. Nope. What? You guys don't even know what I'm gonna say yet. You're just Guessing names.

[Mike Ryan]

Perez.

[Dan Le Batard]

And you're getting them all wrong. Incorrect.

[Amin Elhassan]

Patterson, Paige.

[Dan Le Batard]

Look up for me a player who finished with a career batting average of.299. Poindexter.4 4 or something like that. That couldn't be rounded up. All he needed was like just one fewer out or one bloop single and he would have finished with a career average of 100. No, all of those are wrong. It is not a player of very much fame. But I've been watching a ton of bass lately. No, that was Sidney Ponson. You think Sidney Ponson was a.299.4 4 hitter? That's what you think is happening there? Chris Cody will look that up for me in a moment. But put on the poll as well. At Lebatard show. Is the bagpipe the worst of all the musical instruments? Yes or no. And if you have another nominee, harmonica's dumb as shit. Okay.

[Dan Saslow]

I think Zaz had it. I think it was Albert Pujols.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dan, it was not Albert Pujols.

[Chris Cody]

Okay.

[Dan Saslow]

I'm read he had a career batting average of.2994 near the beginning of the 2020 season and which ultimately rounded up to.299 before he officially retired with a.296. So it was exactly what you mentioned.

[Mike Ryan]

Knew it.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's not him. And it's. And it's not. Somebody finished their career in a way that couldn't be rounded up. And it was just short by percentages. Shams is saying right now on SportsCenter. He's saying that the Clippers and the Raptors are seriously engaged in trade talks on Kawhi Leonard. Today is W. Leonard's 35th birthday.

[Fox Sports Ad]

Happy birthday to him.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't care.

[Mike Ryan]

Good luck.

[Tony Reali]

Go.

[Mike Ryan]

Accordion man. Like bad pipes. I think bad Pip pipes are kind of cool. Accordion sucks, man.

[Jonathan Saslow]

What?

[Mike Ryan]

You see a dude with accordion.

[Jonathan Saslow]

You are not a fan of Carlos Vivas, that's for sure.

[Amin Elhassan]

Or Weird Al. Have you ever heard another one rides the bus?

[Mike Ryan]

He got buttons.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you believe. Put it on the poll then as well. Worst musical instrument. Bagpipe, harmonica or accordion.

[Mike Ryan]

Harmonica's cool as hell.

[Dan Le Batard]

Nick. Nick Saban plays the accordion. Tom Izzo plays the accordion. I think that you would respect them less if either of them played the bagpipe. Bagpipes, I should say. For some reason, though, Zaslow is swallowing the G on bat pipes. He's. He doesn't think it has. It has a G. I.

[Tony Reali]

The.

[Dan Le Batard]

The accordion is a cumbersome instrument. How do we feel about the harp? Do we like harp?

[Amin Elhassan]

Ethereal you want to go back down memory lane? Harp does it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, but the inefficiency of the thing is what bothers me. Like it's, what do you want?

[Dan Saslow]

Efficiency, Dan. You don't want somebody laying there in a Greek, you know, palace, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think part of the objection that we have here, why the harmonica does not classify in what it is that I'm talking about is all of these other three instruments, the harp, the accordion and the back pipes, they're just unwieldy.

[Amin Elhassan]

I have a question. You keep saying Hermonica. Is there a his Monica?

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Should there be a his Monica?

[Mike Ryan]

You're telling me when Rowdy Roddy Piper used to be escorted to the ring with dudes playing bagpipes, that shit wasn't cool.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Pretty lit.

[Mike Ryan]

Never saw anyone walk anyone down to the ring with an accordion.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Tell you what, Jonathan Davis of Corn, a recent hot topic around these parts, he comes out occasionally with the bagpipes lit.

[Dan Le Batard]

You haven't seen anybody led into the octagon with harps either. That's not, it's just, it's not a good instrument.

[Amin Elhassan]

To the.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, what happened? All waiting for you to talk and you're just, you're waving your hand like you're, you're waving your hand around. No, but I,

[Chris Cody]

by the way, Dan, I'm not finding for the career, I'm finding multiple examples in single seasons. Prince Fielder did it in a single season. A guy named Jim Ray Hart did it in a single season. For an entire career I'm struggling to find.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, I'm going to go look.

[Mike Ryan]

Kirby Puckett.

[Dan Le Batard]

When we mentioned SportsCenter and what Sean said on SportsCenter, Linda Cohen is retiring after a career of three and a half decades. And I wanted to ask you guys if it's even impossible anymore to do what she did. Is that extinct as an idea? The person who gives sports highlights becoming somebody who is a figure that you associate with a time, with a place? Like as the sports anchor in general, is it even possible for anyone to come around now and be a sports anchor who is so distinctive that the person then has a 35 year career that is celebrated as something that is, you know, special and memorable? Because when we talk about ESPN as a content company, this is a fairly amazing thing that I'm going to say most of their best content is not. It's not produced in house. It never has been produced in house. Their best content is, is farmed out. But the best thing they've ever done is SportsCenter. And the thing that they've clung to is SportsCenter. And it made an assortment of anchors, international names. But one of the places where they have saved money in recent years, and you understand why, because they can be pretty interchangeable, is whatever the art of that is has been taken to wherever its limits are. And I don't think people can go any further there. So you can just rotate people through and they can be serviceable and professional, but they're not going to be standouts anymore as personalities. I think. Do you think I have this wrong? Because that's the SportsCenter model in general, the highlight model. You're getting so much now faster than you need it at 6pm or 11pm or running all morning that I just, I don't think that that as a career type is something that can ever or will ever again be that lucrative, obviously, or that kind of enduring.

[Mike Ryan]

I think you're right because, you know, right now on ESPN, on SportsCenter, Randy Scott and Gary Striesky are really funny, those guys.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Now they're.

[Mike Ryan]

They are those guys, like, they really are the equivalent of those huge names from 25 and 30 years ago. But I don't think they come close to the recognition that, you know, hey, anchors like Linda Cohn have.

[Dan Saslow]

Who's Batman? Who's Robin?

[Mike Ryan]

That's a good question.

[Jonathan Saslow]

This is a generational thing. It takes time to build nostalgia. SVP has become that in a time. And he was born. I know he was a little adjacent to that whole time sunsetting where these guys were essentially MTV, VJs becoming stars. But SVP is a huge star, a tentpole attraction for espn. I think Randy and Gary are going to be that for a generation. I think that's one of the best SportsCenter duos of all time.

[Amin Elhassan]

Gary is a filthy cheater. We did that go kart race with Mina and Katie and he went and he had like the go kart people take the governor off his thing so he could go faster. We don't talk about that enough now. Look at this guy at the heights of media. But his roots will always be as a dirty cheater.

[Dan Le Batard]

You are right, Mike, about Scott Van Pelt. I'm talking about the next generation being born now. People going into the career.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Oh, it's Randy, Gary. They are so good. They are fixtures if you do. I don't know how many people in our audience do watch SportsCenter on the weekends, but for me, growing up, that was Always a huge deal and they are tethered to the hip. They are a great tandem and I think the years will be very kind and I'm sure they're going to get big contracts. They are so good.

[Mike Ryan]

Sorry. It is the equivalent of the big show. I mean, it is Dan Patrick, Keith Oldman, what they're doing.

[Dan Le Batard]

You guys yawned at Kawhi Leonard.

[Jonathan Saslow]

No, I'm not yawning at all. I think that's big. We're going to have Pablo Torre in studio. I'm very curious to hear what he has to say on that. Yeah, he's here. Yeah. So be. Be on your best behavior, Tony. You don't want that guy looking into your shit. But I think this is, you know, a huge impact. Why Quietly? Quietly had his best year ever, despite all the injuries. I think he's a really curious to see what he goes for. I mean, given the uncertainty around him, given his age, given the injuries. And also he did just ball the hell out.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, you can't. You can't go Scotty Barnes or Brandon Ingram there. Is that what you're doing if you're the Raptors? Like, what are you doing if you're the Raptors? What. What is Kawhi Leonard fetching at 35

[Amin Elhassan]

years old today, Ingram is the guy that they're naming in the trade rumors. Meanwhile, Dallas is supposed to be PJ Washington, Klay Thompson and some picks. But I want to be clear about something for everybody. There is no uncertainty about whether Kawhi Leonard can play basketball. Article 13 of the Collective bargaining agreement, which deals with cap circumvention, has a list of things that they can do for disciplinary issues. The one thing they can't do is ban you from playing. They can void the contract, but I don't think the league would do that if he were on another team. And they can obviously fine him up to $350,000. What they cannot do is say he's suspended for the year. So he's available. He's going to play basketball next year, guaranteed.

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[Amin Elhassan]

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[Dan Le Batard]

Dan Levatar what is the worst part of the life?

Jonathan Saslow

[Dan Saslow]

the worst part of the life of what?

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show.

[Mike Ryan]

In all ser. Why would Kawhi Leonard get in any trouble here?

[Amin Elhassan]

Because he was complicit in the Capstar convention.

[Mike Ryan]

But why? But that's not his responsibility to be. To be.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's his responsibility to follow the rules. It's everybody's response. Everybody's responsibility to follow the rules.

[Mike Ryan]

A player can't ask for a billion dollars and then team says, all right, we're gonna find a way to get it to you. That's on the team.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, no. Article 13 makes everybody complicit in it. Like the fact the only way he would walk away unscathed if they could prove that Uncle Dennis did this without Kwai's knowledge that Kwai's like, wait, what is this? I don't know about any of this. But as long as he's complicit, he is eligible to get fined or disciplined or sentenced.

[Dan Le Batard]

What are you doing there, Zaz? You're thinking that somehow the player doesn't have any responsibility. He doesn't have to be the primary rule breaker. He doesn't have to be the rule breaker who gets punished the most. But why would you think that any player is allowed to simply circumvent league rules?

[Mike Ryan]

Because the way that I see it is I don't see it as the player circumventing the rules. The team circumvented the rules. The player is not in charge of the salary cap. The player's responsibility is not to make sure everyone's cap compliant. The team is.

[Amin Elhassan]

So Zaz, if I sell drugs and then I hand you the money here, ZAZ have $100. You didn't sell the drugs. You had nothing to do with it. But you know where this money came from. Does that mean you're completely innocent? I just accepted the money. It's on a mean. He's the one selling the drugs.

[Chris Cody]

Frank Demare played in the 30s and 40s. He's the only batter in MLB history that on his final at bat of his career, his average dropped from.300 to.299. He ended with a 29947 batting average.

[Amin Elhassan]

Frank Close.

[Chris Cody]

I can find Frank Pomari Damari.

[Amin Elhassan]

Oh, not with a P. No.

[Dan Le Batard]

Good work, Chris. Continue to search there and we will see if I can find it or you can find before the end of the show. Before the end of the show today.

[Chris Cody]

So Pedro has did finish with a 299 but it wasn't close to the 4 9.

[Dan Le Batard]

Kawhi Leonard going back to Toronto where he won a championship. Won a championship with a team that is slightly better now than it was at the time. Given what it is our assessment of

[Dan Saslow]

Pascal Sia $80 million of Yaka Pertle would like to beg the differ.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you, you don't think that that Toronto team was slightly better than we regarded as when we say that it was Kawhi Leonard winning by himself and you saw Siakam and Anobi was on

[Amin Elhassan]

that championship team was way better than way better.

[Mike Ryan]

They had Norman Powell also Norman Powell,

[Jonathan Saslow]

Kyle Lowry OG Siakam.

[Dan Le Batard]

Siakam Marcusol won a championship and it's just regarded. It is so funny to look back on that championship and because Klay and Durant got hurt. It gets discredited. It's a championship. During this era of super teams and trios, it's a champion. One of the few that was won. It's Dirk and Kawhi who are given credit for sort of winning a team. Who was. Was Josh Howard, Dirk. Second best player that.

[Mike Ryan]

No, he wasn't on that championship.

[Dan Le Batard]

So.

[Mike Ryan]

So who was it?

[Dan Le Batard]

DeShawn Stevenson. Like, who was the second best player? Terry on that.

[Jonathan Saslow]

I know what LeBron would say.

[Amin Elhassan]

Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Pedro Stakovic.

[Dan Le Batard]

Jet was great though.

[Amin Elhassan]

Butler, that team was Sean Marion. That team was loaded too.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Brian Cardinal and Jay Barea really stick out to me.

[Mike Ryan]

When the Heat got tagged for salary circumvention, Juwan Howard didn't get in trouble, did he?

[Amin Elhassan]

The contract was voided.

[Mike Ryan]

I understand.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, that's called getting into. He didn't get his hundred, still got the contract. Someone else like Washington then came up with the money. But the point is, of course it

[Mike Ryan]

was voided because they circumvented the salary cap.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's allowed.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's. But it's not like Juwan. You get to keep the 100 mil, but you can't play for the Heat.

[Tony Reali]

Oh no.

[Mike Ryan]

I agree that like the league can. Can void the contract currently with the Clippers, but that actually benefits Kawhi Leonard.

[Dan Le Batard]

Go get more money somewhere else for sure. Because of the collective bargaining agreement. Adam Silver in the league are somewhat handicapp here on just how much they can penalize the Clippers. Correct. Amin. Are you not expecting at this point. And we'll have Pablo in here. Are you not expecting a punishment that the public at large finds generally unsatisfying because they're limited in how much the penalty can be, even if Adam Silver calls it the. The cardinal sin of integrity damaging when he's only going to be able to punish it so much? Right.

[Amin Elhassan]

I'm not. Yes. First of all, the answer to that is yes. There are limits according to collective bar agreement to how much punitive measures you can take in this kind of situation. No matter how egregious it was. I'm not gonna steal Pablo's thunder, cuz Pablo's got some pretty big thunderbolts he's bringing with him. So I will defer. I'll wait till Pablo comes and has that thunder moment and then I'll jump in.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't think there are thunderbolts though, are there? There are only lightning bolts. There are no thunderbolts. Correct.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Thunder is just a sound.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's just noise. There's no bolt of th. It's just a sound. And Zaz stole it.

[Dan Saslow]

It is a play.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is it? It's a play on. Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

You hear the thunder and then the lightning happens.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, other way around. You close the light.

[Dan Saslow]

You weren't paying attention in science, like

[Mike Ryan]

I said, the lightning comes and then you hear the thunder. And depending on how many seconds, you count the seconds, Dan, that's how many miles away it is.

[Dan Le Batard]

So hold on a second, though. You thought for a second there that first the sound came to warn you of the lightning. It wasn't the lightning that was producing the sound.

[Mike Ryan]

As the words were coming out of my mouth, I was thinking, I'm not sure if that makes sense.

[Amin Elhassan]

That was a Dusty May situation right there. Right when you asked him, hey, was winning it better than losing it?

[Mike Ryan]

He understood what I meant.

[Dan Le Batard]

Thank you for bringing up Dusty May, because Mike Ryan has been. Has been reporting, has been asking questions, has been wheeling and dealing, and he found out that that Dusty May thing, which came out of the sky like a thunderbolt, the Dusty May thing that none of us were expecting. Dusty May to Dallas, I think could have been predict by Dusty May's appearance on our show when he was saying, among other things, yeah, I don't really get to coach anymore here in college. Like, it's about everything else other than coaching. It's something. It's a CEO job, but I'm not actually getting to do the parts of this job that I love the most.

[Jonathan Saslow]

It's a great move for Dusty May. I think it's a good spot teaming with Masai Ujiri and you have a superstar that you can build around. And if he flames out, if he gets an F minus grade, he can always go back to the college game and get whatever job he wants. I think it's a brilliant move. I did some digging and talking to some people. I'm pretty sure this move came together in South Florida because Masai was spotted in Miami that weekend and so was Dusty May. He was in town recruiting. And I have a friend, Peter Ariz, who now works with Kane's Pulse, and he was talking to people in the industry. You may find this interesting, Dan. Dusty May was calling on potential recruits the morning he took the Dallas job. To the very end, he was still recruiting Michigan.

[Amin Elhassan]

What a pro.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's his job. He was doing his job till the very end.

[Dan Saslow]

Loves the game. You love the game.

[Amin Elhassan]

I don't love the game.

[Chris Cody]

So you have to call those. You have to call those kids and

[Tony Reali]

be like, hey, by the Way I was.

[Chris Cody]

Whatever I said to you this morning, I'm leaving.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, never mind.

[Dan Le Batard]

Nvm we've been talking a lot about just how crazy the college landscape is where you're recruiting 17 year olds with money, you're having to deal with their parents in a way that is a little bit difficult and is throughout sports. I will tell you that the Mike McDaniel Tua situation started to come apart because McDaniel wanted Tua to line up three year contract. They were supposed to line up together and Tua's dad got involved in a way that fouled up everything that they were trying to do there. That is a plague in college sports right now when the family gets involved around the money. And it's something that is making these coaches really not like the job very much. Because the job has become about an assortment of things that they never could have imagined when they got into coaching. Dusty May could not have imagined the idea that the money problems would be more in college than they are in the pros because the pros have a structure and a system that makes the, the money fixed and college sports don't have that. So I understand why it is that Dusty May, the timing of what he did and, and the job that he chose. Because the thing you need to do if you're a college coach is make sure you're lined up with a young superstar. Just that's the job you have to take. Even if you're coming off of a championship. You just have to get lined up with whoever the, the, the young superstar is and you're coming in after Dall cratered. I just don't know how much difference you can actually make as a college coach in that league of any pedigree, of any pedigree whatsoever. Coming into that league when what you have in the conference is OKC and San Antonio, Scott Pitsednik. How much of a difference can any coach make? Like when, when Dusty May is hired, you are getting the college coach that has the most sterling reputation at the moment, right? It would either be him or just to Tom Izzo. But Tom Izzo is older. If you're going to entrust your Tom Izzo is older and when he was up for the Cleveland job, he just couldn't even get ahold of LeBron James in order to ask him, hey, should I take this job? Are you gonna be around? He could not even reach LeBron James because of how the power works in the NBA versus college. But when I say Dusty May, obviously it's a name that gets all of your attention. But do you guys believe that he's going to make a substantive difference in Dallas? That or that a coach of any kind. I'm not even. I'm not even saying this is any kind of indictment of him because he's got the most sterling reputation that you can have right now. In fact, I wonder how Juwan Howard feels, the aforementioned Juwan Howard, to see what Michigan did as soon as they got rid of Juwan Howard, when he was handed over the things that you needed to the same things Dusty May got.

[Dan Saslow]

Well, Dan, you just answered your own question. You had Joanne Howard, who wasn't that good of a coach. You bring in Dusty May, who's an excellent coach and an excellent recruiter, and they win the national championship. Right now, he's moving up to the next level. He's proved at every level he's been a winner. Now he's going to get connected with Cooper Flag and what they're doing in that front office with Mazayu Giri. And it's like, yeah, it's. Coaching is super important. You look at Kenny Atkinson, what he didn't do, what he failed to do against the Knicks in that whole series in the Easter Conference, and it goes to prove, if you've got a good coach that knows what he's doing and is timely, it can make adjustments on the fly. You pay that guy whatever he wants because he's going to end up taking you to where you want to go.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Historically, it's always good to follow Jason Kidd.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't agree with what Tony is saying there, though. I mean, Kenny Atkinson, when he got there, unlocked Evan Mobley and then it fell apart after that. But when Atkinson was hired there, everybody was telling me not only what a good coach he was, how he had changed what Cleveland was from a four seed to a one seed, because specifically of what he was doing on offense. You think there is something that Dusty May or any Colle can do that offsets the advantages that OKC and San Antonio presently have in that conference.

Yeah.

[Jonathan Saslow]

What are you doing with college coach? I think Dan Hurley is a tremendous coach and he can make an impact. I think Dusty May has proven, having just beat Dan Hurley, that he is a really good coach.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't dispute that he's a really good coach.

[Jonathan Saslow]

So you don't think that a really good coach has an impact.

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[Dan Le Batard]

Dan Levatar, Jonathan Saslow, thank you. This is the Dan Levatar Show.

[Amin Elhassan]

Dan, this is a lottery team. Like, so this. This happened when the warriors got Kevin Durant. Well, why are we gonna even build a team now? We just quit back. No, that's what you do.

[Columbia Ad]

You.

[Amin Elhassan]

You hire a coach and you build and you add players and you trade for players. And then one day you get to this place. We're dealing with it right here in Miami, where there's so many people who rush to a microphone or a camera,

[Tony Reali]

let us know, oh, this is a terrible deal.

[Amin Elhassan]

They're not gonna win a championship. That's not how this thing works. It's not, hey, I did this deal and now watch all of my dreams come true. It is an ongoing process and you knew they needed a head coach. Obviously, Dusty May made enough of an impression on Masiahu Jiri, who's a pretty bright guy to say, this is my guy, that I want to lead my very young team that's led by a guy who's 20 years old in Cooper Flag.

[Dan Le Batard]

So when Stan Van Gundy comes on with us and he says that if Gregg Popovich had been coaching the spurs, they wouldn't have done anything more than what they did in that series. Gregg Popovich, widely regarded the best there is. I still think you guys are assigning way too much value to what it is that Dusty Mays name recognition is going to do for the Dallas Mavericks. I'm not saying that he's not going to help and I'm not saying that he's not a good coach. I'm saying that what is the talent disparity with the two young teams in that conference is impossible for any coach to overcome.

[Amin Elhassan]

But Dan, you're assuming that that's going to remain. We already seen Oklahoma City start pawning all pieces cuz they've got to get their salary in order that to believe that OKC is gonna be awesome and they're just gonna stay together forever and ever and nothing is ever gonna go wrong.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that the distance between the top of that conference in Dallas is so substantive that it cannot be corrected by any man.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yes it can. You know how it can be corrected when they have to trade Jalen Williams because they can't afford him. That's how it gets corrected when players leave.

[Jonathan Saslow]

If that's the attitude, why try any anything the way that you combat it if you're Dallas is let me get Masai and let me get May.

[Dan Saslow]

I'm going to get two program builders in UGIRI and in Dusty May who know.

[Tony Reali]

All right.

[Dan Saslow]

We're in a separate timeline, right? OKC and San Antonio and whoever you want in the west is on one time. We're a couple years behind that. We don't have the pieces now, but we've got the guys in place that in a couple of years maybe we could take on a big contract or two.

[Amin Elhassan]

We talked about this when the honest trade happened. The only guy still on either the Bucks or the sun five years ago. That's not 100 years ago. Five years ago, Devin Booker. Within five years every single person on both of those rosters has been traded or left by a free agency. So this idea that man, how could they compete like life finds a way.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let me go back to what it is that Amin was saying here about Giannis and the specifics of you guys doing fast take last week based on Nick Wright immediately deciding that upon the making of the trade that what the analysis should be is predicting each round of next year's playoffs before anything has been constructed. Nick Wright got out there very quickly with the idea of they might win a first round series, they might win a second round series, but not a third round series and not the finals. I'm just wondering what it is about today that makes people so forgetful when three years ago we would have been saying San Antonio and Miami are the best team builders, organizational builders that there are in the sport. And Eric Spoelstra's peers were voting him the best coach in the NBA. Can you explain to me beyond Michael Wilbon, just dismissing Giannis's ability to play anymore, can you explain to me why it is that people are so forgetful that the timelines now erase not just 30 years careers, but stuff that was happening three years ago that we were talking about not understanding or believing, how it is that the Miami Heat, with Jimmy Butler as an eight seed, beat Giannis and got to the Finals and we were all talking about team building. How and why is it that people get so forgetful so quickly? Like, what's happened to the take that Nick Wright, who's really good at the take, has to get in immediately with the analysis of next year's playoffs when we're a week removed from this year's playoffs?

[Mike Ryan]

Well, a couple things. Things. There's a lot more value in being the first one right than the first one wrong. No one cares about the first one wrong if you're the first one right. Nick Wright was the first one right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not on this, though. Like anything, but predicting next year's playoffs on anything.

[Chris Cody]

Dan, it's June.

[Dan Saslow]

Okay, got a good point there.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, no, but wait a minute. Chris Giannis was traded. Like, that can't be. You're giving a take on Yanis, but that can't be your analysis. Like your analysis cannot be predicting the next four rounds of next year's playoffs in June because you don't have anything else on somebody being traded. So you're going to predict. You don't know who the opponents are. You don't know anything. But you don't even. You don't know the roster construction. You know nothing except a player was traded and the first thing you're going to do is fast forward nine months.

[Jonathan Saslow]

He said a lot on the Giannis trade. I think this, this is just one of those things. And I had heard him occasionally couch things by saying as presently, constantly, which he's not wrong. Miami, he'd have a lot of work to do when it comes to this roster.

[Mike Ryan]

Full roster at the forfeit every game.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Right. I think it's possibly a fair thing to say that this is going into this at least first half of the season, probably going to be the worst team. They pair around. Bam and Giannis, they got their work cut out for them. I also don't think they're done.

[Dan Le Batard]

The.

[Mike Ryan]

The second part, the reason that I think people like Nick Wright are doing this is. And obviously I'm biased from this perspective. I think there's a very anti Miami sentiment out there. I think there's a very anti Miami sentiment.

[Dan Le Batard]

I thought some of that was weird, though. There seemed to be a rooting for and disappointment that he didn't go to Boston in a way that I thought was strange. Like that he erred. That he erred in not forcing his way to Boston. I thought it was weird to absorb that coverage where it seemed like there was cheerleading on behalf of. Behalf of some people. This happens in the media all the time. Some people are just rooting to be right on what it is that they have already said, and it skews their perspective. So a lot of people thought he was going to Boston. But I also found the next part unusual. There was a bit of cheerleading there. I mean, did you see cheerleading for Boston more than an anti Miami sentiment?

[Amin Elhassan]

No, I think it was mostly anti Miami, but I did see the cheerleading for Boston, but that skewed Dan, because we have a lot of people in the media, media who are from the Northeast. Either they went to Syracuse or they're from Boston, or they're from New Hampshire or somewhere like that. And so obviously there. There's a vested interest in them to see their favorite team get this great player. But to your point about anti Miami, Miami sentiment, it's because people like this show have often touted Pat Riley's whale hunting skills, and they're sick of hearing about it. And for the longest time now, it's like, oh, what has he done for you? Listen, lately I thought he was this big, bad Pat Riley throwing rings on the table, and now he lands the whales. Like, damn. All that criticism that we've had over the last seven years or so has been moot. But I would point to this. Pat Riley's first big move was to get alonzo mourning in 1995, right? Then he gets Shaq in 2004. That's nine years, right? Then he gets LeBron six years later in 2010. Then he gets Jimmy Butler nine years later.

[Tony Reali]

Later.

[Amin Elhassan]

Excuse me.

[Columbia Ad]

No, no.

[Mike Ryan]

19.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah. 20.

[Tony Reali]

19.

[Amin Elhassan]

Nine years later. And now he gets Giannis seven years after Jimmy Butler lines up.

[Tony Reali]

I would say right on time, baby. All that, he lost his touchstop out the window.

[Amin Elhassan]

And that's why these people are angry, because now they're proven to be wrong.

[Jonathan Saslow]

That's a great point about the timeline. I think the only thing that differentiated this era of Heat basketball with all the other ones is they were consistently Contending outside of maybe one down year where they even failed in the lottery. They got Michael Beasley, they end up flipping him. But this is the longest stretch where they haven't really mattered as much within their own conference.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't know. I disagree with that, man. Over these last six years, they were in the finals twice. Like, that's four years.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm confused, though. I'm confused by the. Forgetfulness is the thing that is strange to me.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Miami fans need to stop with the final stuff. We don't say it with Phoenix, we don't even say with Dallas. And they were in there more recently. Stop with, they were in the bubble NBA Finals. Just stop it. That's ancient history.

[Mike Ryan]

You think the stretch from 2015 to 2019 where they missed the playoffs twice was more relevant than this past stretch?

[Jonathan Saslow]

Yes, I thought they were better.

[Amin Elhassan]

Dan, to answer your question about the amnesia, it's this thing in our hands right here, right? It's instant gratification. It's now, now, now, now, now. And that has totally erased the concept of history or context or any of that. None of that matters. And it's not just a basketball thing. It's across all sports. I get into it all the time with Chris Whittingham in our SOCCE. Chris Whittingham doesn't believe soccer happened pre 911 somehow.

[Tony Reali]

And I'm like, no, these things happen.

[Amin Elhassan]

It's real.

[Tony Reali]

They were great players.

[Amin Elhassan]

Not everything that you're seeing right now is the best that has ever been done. And pick up a book or watch some old film once a month.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Except for Messi. Except for Messi. Messi is very clearly the best thing that's ever happened.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I loved Zlatan's quote the other day where he was talking at the time of Messi has scored five goals in two games. And Zlatan is like, I did not score any goals in two World Cups.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Hard to do. It's hard to do. There's a Canadian dude right now that has more knockout round goals than Cristiano Ronaldo has in his entire career. It's a very difficult sport, and it's not like you get a crack at it every year the way that you do with others.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let's talk for a second, though, Amin, about how you feel about the precision of the Japanese today as they go against your beloved Brazil. Because when I look at the countries who are not supposed to win the World Cup, I'm not even talking about Cape Verde, which is the smallest, smallest entity to ever get this far in the World cup, smaller than all 50 of the United States. They've got 525,000 citizens. But when I fear teams, what I end up fearing is the athleticism of the African countries and the precision of the Japanese. Are you worried? As somebody who loves Brazil and watches Brazil and celebrates the Brazilian soccer team more than you do, even basketball, are you worried about today?

[Amin Elhassan]

Not in the slightest. You know what I'm worried about, Dan?

[Chris Cody]

What?

[Amin Elhassan]

I'm worried about the monster that is going to emerge out of me, because

[Tony Reali]

I think I don't.

[Amin Elhassan]

There are a lot of people who watch me do this show and do other shows, and they think they have a pretty good handle on Amin. Oh, when Amin's passionate about something, newsflash, I'm faking it. Every time you see me get worked up here talking about. Talking about, oh, the Giannis or the Heat or whatever, like, that's. I'm not really passionate. I'm just talking. When it comes to Brazil, you're that into Brazil.

[Chris Cody]

Minor penalty.

[Jonathan Saslow]

Two minutes for explaining the show.

[Dan Le Batard]

You can't say that. Every time you sound passionate, you're not actually passionate.

[Dan Saslow]

He's Bill Walton, Dan. The hyperbole is what it's meant for. Are you not listening to the man?

[Jonathan Saslow]

This is so he can come in and contextualize how much he cares about Brazil.

[Amin Elhassan]

I care about Brazil in an unhealthy way. Like, I will. I was watching the Brazil vs Haiti match, minding my business. I'm chiming into the chat, like, hey, guys. And these guys are like, oh, you're supposed to be really proud. And I went ballistic. I went off on everybody in there. And then at the end, I said, if you don't like it, you can start a new group chat. Or just blame Mike Ryan, because he's the one that brought me here. I did not ask to be a part of this.

[Jonathan Saslow]

There is a chance that Amin totally crashes out today because even before the tournament, in the preview episodes, I was like, look out if Brazil. Brazil plays Japan. That is a very tricky opponent. Now, Brazil, I think the last few matches has settled in. Their identity is good. Vinicius is playing incredibly well. But they kicked Scotland and Haiti's ass, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

They.

[Jonathan Saslow]

They. They high press Scotland into pure hell. The high press is not going to be as effective, I think, against Japan, who is very skilled, very good with the ball at their feet, very good at dribbling through traffic. So I do think that this is going to be a really tricky, tricky test for Brazil.

[Amin Elhassan]

My thing is this. You could argue that Spain had a pretty underwhelming group stage. I haven't heard anybody doubting of Spain the way they doubt Brazil. You guys love to. This is the worst Brazil. I've had to hear that one. This is the worst Brazilian side in like 40 years or 50 years, whatever.

[Tony Reali]

Or ever.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's the crazy one, man. I remember 74.

[Jonathan Saslow]

That's fair, because they're still counting on Fabinho and they don't have, like, a striker. What members.

[Dan Le Batard]

See, you don't remember 75. You were born in 74.

[Amin Elhassan]

You know why, Dan? Because I care about this shit.

[Tony Reali]

Hey, Chris Whittingham, fire up YouTube. It's all there. You don't have to just say, oh, it happened for hearts alive. Oops, I don't know it. This is your goddamn job, Chris Whittingham. This is your job. You should take it seriously like I do. I take this shit seriously.

[Dan Le Batard]

What year were you born?

[Amin Elhassan]

1979.

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