Is The Rock Done As An A-List Star? | Hour 3

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show

Episode: "Is The Rock Done As An A-List Star?" | Hour 3

Date: July 14, 2026
Location: Live from the Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Episode Overview

The crew gathers live in Miami for an episode weaving together NBA insider talk, World Cup excitement, pop culture critiques, and the fate of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in Hollywood. The third hour is both playful and sharp, mixing sports updates with lively movie debate and signature irreverent humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

NBA Off-Season Drama: The Adebayo-Herro Incident

[00:26–03:13]

• The Backstory: Dan asks Amin Elhassan about the alleged conflict between Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, referencing reports of a physical altercation after Hero criticized Bam on social media.
• Amin’s Take:

  "We're all bartering off hearsay. Even Ramona [Shelburne] and all the other great reporters are reporting what people have told them. We don't know what's happened."
  —Amin Elhassan [02:00]

• Media & League Response: Amin explains the NBA hasn’t intervened because the altercation happened off the clock and in a non-NBA venue.
• Humor Layer: Amin attributes his rough voice not to a hangover but to yelling at his kid's AAU tournament.

Byron Scott’s Hot Take on LeBron James’ Free Agency

[03:13–05:53]

• Context: The crew reacts to Byron Scott’s podcast comments that teams aren’t chasing LeBron as before; instead, Rich Paul is “cold calling” for his next contract.
• Amin’s Counterpoint:

  "B. Scott is a Laker through and through... The Lakers talking point is like, yeah, LeBron's old and who wants him anyway, right? ...But I can tell you that's at least six teams that we know for a fact are very interested."
  —Amin Elhassan [05:15]

• Teams Interested: Amin rattles off Sixers, Cavs, Warriors, Heat, Timberwolves, and Nuggets as teams legitimately pursuing LeBron.

The Uncertain NBA Free Agent Market: Kawhi Leonard

[06:10–07:27]

• Amin's Insight: A proposed trade between the Clippers and Raptors for Kawhi Leonard collapsed due to league warnings about risk, pending an ongoing league investigation.
• Discussion: The implication of investigations and the process for clearing trades, with a brief comparison to Miami's situation.

World Cup Observations with Amin Elhassan

[08:00–10:10]

• Bit: “World Cup Withdrawal Syndrome” (WCWS):
  Amin humorously diagnoses fans suffering post-tournament withdrawal, touting a faux pharmaceutical solution:

  “Get a Life helps you transition from cup mode to a more balanced routine by blocking the pleasure receptors that are dependent on World cup content.”
  —Amin Elhassan [08:41]

• Side Effects (satirical): “Taking a real interest in community theater,” “joining a book club,” “spending weekend afternoons doing jigsaw puzzles.”
• Punchline:

  “Unless you’re from Argentina. Then you can just go to hell.”
  —Amin Elhassan [10:04]

Is The Rock Still an A-List Movie Star?

[13:01–19:59]

• Premise: Dan speculates whether Dwayne Johnson’s run as an A-list star is over, noting his recent disappointments and changing industry trends.
• Amin’s Reasoned Defense:

  "People like him because he's a funny action guy... trying to do serious roles and being taken seriously... If he's willing to do smaller pictures, he can do that, but it's not gonna bring the massive paydays. That's what we're talking about with an A-list star."
  —Amin Elhassan [13:55]

• Mike Ryan’s Counter:

  "His Oscar bait failed. This Moana remake... stands to lose tens of millions, if not over $100 million... I think we're done. The world has decided this guy's done being an A-list box office draw."
  —Mike Ryan [14:48]

• Discussion: Roles matter more than star power; recent failures (Black Adam, Moana live-action) blamed on poor material and lack of nostalgia rather than The Rock’s pull. Mike predicts his future may be cameo ensemble, not blockbuster headliner.
• Amin’s Closing Argument:

  "It wasn't good, Dan. That's my point... There's this hubris that, oh, just put him in it and he'll save it. And that's not how this works."
  —Amin Elhassan [19:59]

• Parallel Drawn: Will Smith’s After Earth: Another example of a superstar whose “star” faded due to picking bad vehicles, not a lack of charisma.

Movie Talk: The Odyssey & Christopher Nolan

[20:50–22:13]

• Upcoming Release: Discussion about “The Odyssey” directed by Christopher Nolan.
• Amin's Take on IMAX:

  “IMAX is a scam. It’s just big, okay?... Great director, scam artist though.”
  —Amin Elhassan [21:34] (Le Batard turns this into a poll-worthy question.)

Viral Video Review: "Little People" Crossover Calamity

[22:13–24:35]

• Setup: Dan presents a viral basketball crossover from the Little Little People convention.
• Visual Breakdown: Amin describes the physics and comedy of the takedown in vivid detail:

  “The only parts of his body touching the ground are the side of his face, his shoulders and the back of his hands.”
  —Dan Le Batard [24:01], described for comic effect

Sports Fashion PSA

[24:43–25:37]

• Amin’s Rant: Lampoons the World Cup/Summer League trend of wearing credentials as crossbody satchels.

  “Stop following the lead of these stupid, stupid people... This is how you wear your credential. Right? Like this.”
  —Amin Elhassan [25:35]

World Cup Semifinal Preview

[29:36–35:09]

• Cody and Mike declare: This may be the greatest semifinal group in World Cup history.
• Dan highlights:
  • Argentina often scraped by winning close matches, and is quantifiably the slowest team left, but with Messi they could transcend.
  • Storylines abound (geopolitics, historic rivalries, race) especially in Argentina vs. England.

  “Their last three matches they've won by barely nothing, they should have probably lost all three of them. You could have made the argument for them being eliminated... but they've got Messi. I believe they are clearly the fourth best team in this tournament, but they've got a singular star who has no precedent in the history of sports."
  —Dan Le Batard [29:36]

• Mike’s Take: The semifinals were designed by FIFA to ensure clashes between powerhouses; any potential final outcome holds major historical implications.
• Greg Cody: Points out Messi can cement his legacy with back-to-back World Cup wins, and England faces perhaps more pressure for its first cup since 1966.

The GOAT Debate: Pele vs. Messi

[35:26–36:31]

• Le Batard and Mike touch on “greatness in context”—how old sports highlights (Pele, Babe Ruth) look slow and archaic—yet greatness still reverberates across eras.
• Mike:

  “That’s why I think what Messi's done solidifies him… Even the goalkeeping back then was really, really bad.”

Baseball Bytes: Best to Wear #8

[37:01–37:51]

• Kirkjin’s Mount Rushmore (via Marcelo): Yaz, Joe Morgan, Cal Ripken Jr., Yogi Berra; with Berra at #1, according to Kirkjin.
• Greg Cody: “A catcher is always going to get the benefit of the doubt…”

Quirky Closing Banter

[38:04–39:30]

• Discussion of social media “fan accounts” (mostly Greg Cody's self-fandom), playful riffing on piracy-era platforms (Napster, Kazaa, Limewire), and banter about sports being constantly busy—even with the ESPYs on the ‘slowest day’ of the sports calendar.

Representation in Sports Media

[39:51–41:16]

• Marcelo Hernandez: Young SNL comic and Miami local, set to host the ESPYs.
• Tony (on Latino representation):

  “Nationally, we don’t have that. It’s gonna be cool to see Marcelo do it. Am I gonna watch it? Probably not.”

• Dan: “It sounded like you were lukewarm... only supporting him because he’s Hispanic.”
• Tony: “Exactly right.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Amin on the NBA “accountability”:

  “I did an accountability right there.” [01:03]

• Byron Scott’s LeBron take:

  “Ten years ago... every team was calling to get LeBron James on their team. That was 10 years ago. Now Rich Paul and company, they making all the calls to see who’s interested...” [03:31]

• Mike on The Rock:

  “I think we’re done. The world has decided this guy’s done being an A-list box office draw.” [14:48]

• Amin’s “Get a Life” for World Cup Withdrawal:

  “Helps you transition from cup mode to a more balanced routine by blocking the pleasure receptors that are dependent on World cup content…” [08:41]

• Amin on credentials at Summer League:

  “Stop following the lead of these stupid, stupid people over there in the World Cup... Just wear it regular.” [25:35]

• Dan on Messi/Argentina:

  “Their last three matches they've won by barely nothing... but they've got a singular star who has no precedent in the history of sports.” [29:36]

• Mike on soccer nostalgia:

  “There’s no nostalgia in order for us to have a live action remake. It’s like saying, hey, let’s do a reboot of the Spider Man movie that came out a couple years ago…” [16:52]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• NBA Fight Fallout - Adebayo & Hero: 00:26–03:13
• Byron Scott on LeBron: 03:13–05:53
• NBA Free Agency: Kawhi Leonard: 06:10–07:27
• World Cup Observations (Amin's comedy bit): 08:00–10:10
• Is The Rock Done as an A-List Star?: 13:01–19:59
• Movie Talk: Nolan/IMAX Scam: 20:50–22:13
• Viral Video Play: Little People Crossover: 22:13–24:35
• World Cup Semis & GOAT Debate: 29:36–36:31
• Baseball Numbers (#8 talk): 37:01–37:51
• Latino Representation & ESPYs Host: 39:51–41:16

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Tone and Style

The episode is a lively, irreverent, and insightful mix of sports analysis, pop culture critique, and sharp-witted banter. The hosts alternate between earnest debate and playful teasing, bringing levity and personality to serious topics and sports minutiae alike.

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Summary prepared for those looking to relive the key content, debate, and delight of Hour 3 without the ads and fluff.

Transcript

[Amin Elhassan]

You are listening to the Dan Levatar

[Mike Ryan]

show in partnership with the DraftKings sports app, now live in all 50 states. Happy 31st birthday to Harrison Butger.

[Tony]

Patriot.

[Dan Le Batard]

Happy birthday to him.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't care.

[Louis Riddick]

Good luck.

[Mike Ryan]

He's a chief, should be a patriot.

[Dan Le Batard]

Amin Elhassan has been found. I don't know where he was. I've got a number of different questions for him. The first is where were you yesterday?

[Amin Elhassan]

Yesterday I was in Las Vegas. Today I'm back home in Phoenix.

[Dan Le Batard]

And did you tell anybody that, like we were expecting you yesterday and then you weren't here yesterday? Is there any particular reason that you didn't tell anybody that?

[Amin Elhassan]

Because I didn't tell myself that I wouldn't be there yesterday.

[Mike Ryan]

Accountability. We like that around here. Thank you, Amin.

[Dan Le Batard]

That was accountability. Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah. Seems like Vegas happens sometimes. That's a hand up. Vegas went off me, coach.

[Amin Elhassan]

I did an accountability right there.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yesterday would have been a good day to answer the question about Tyler Herron. Bam. Out of bio and whatever your unique thoughts are as our metal arc NBA insider, have you heard anything, found anything out in the last 24 hours that is interesting there? I should say. Ramona Shelburne has reported that Hero. This is the backstory, according to sources with knowledge of the encounter. And I ask, I know Mike's got some reporting on this as well. Adebayo confronted Hiro about comments the guard had made critiquing the center on social media. Hero responded verbally in a way that Adebayo took exception to. Bless you, Zaslow. And the encounter became physical. Sources with knowledge of the encounter told ESPN that Adebayo struck Hero near his chin. Although descriptions of the nature of the physical contact is in some dispute, Hero did not get knocked to the ground, according to sources with knowledge of the interaction, who added that he. He was restrained by others in the gym from responding physically. What do you know here?

[Amin Elhassan]

I mean, I don't know anything. We're all. We're all bartering off of hearsay. Even Ramona and all the other great reporters are reporting. They're reporting what people have told them. We don't know what's happened. I have to imagine, as Zach Harper pointed out, this happened in a casino around teenage kids. Somebody got it on camera. There's no way he's in 2026, a bunch of kids with phones and in a casino somehow that that's not captured. So we'll find out exactly what the nature of the physical contact was, but I think we can all surmise that it was about the DMS that were leaked. Tyler Hero talking about Bam in a disparaging manner.

[Louis Riddick]

I mean, are you surprised that the NBA hasn't even put out a statement? Are they going to do anything?

[Amin Elhassan]

No, there's no. There's no jurisdiction. This did not happen on NBA time. Did not happen at an NBA venue. It was in the offseason. There's been no legal recourse. There's no pressing of charges or anything. This is none of their business. To be quite frank, I still hear

[Dan Le Batard]

the hangover in your voice.

[Amin Elhassan]

Never had a hangover in my life, Dan. So you don't hear that. You hear my voice. I lost my voice. That's because my kid was playing an AU tournament. I was screaming all weekend long, but I don't get hangovers.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let me play for a mean some sound from Byron Scott on the LeBron James situation, which I imagine will rectify itself here in the next couple of days. LeBron James is said to be in the consideration stage. He has all of the information. Here's Byron Scott on the podcast I thought was fake. Byron Scott's fast break.

[Byron Scott]

Ten years ago. Yes. Every team was calling. Yeah. To get LeBron James on their team.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Byron Scott]

That was 10 years ago. Now Rich Paul and company, they making all the calls to see who's interested in having LeBron on their team again. Guys, we gotta understand that the guy's 41 years old.

[Greg Cody]

Yep.

[Byron Scott]

Been the lead 21, 22, 23 years. Incredible career, you know, Unbelievable career. Still playing at a high level.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes, sir.

[Byron Scott]

Nobody's saying that he can't play, you know, another year or two in this league. But as far as teams that are looking at him right now, the teams are also saying, all right, we going to take him for one year, maybe two. And do we want to take all the other that goes along with it?

[Amin Elhassan]

What's the other.

[Byron Scott]

All the other antics, the. The people that's working with yo. Rich Paul and all those guys and all other stuff that goes along with.

[Louis Riddick]

Okay, I mean, I. I think. I think Rich Paul tells a lot of whoppers, but if Byron Scott really believes that teams aren't calling for LeBron services to play at the minimum that Rich Paul is out there cold calling teams, asking if they would like LeBron to play for him. Like, what the hell are we talking about?

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah, I love B. Scott. He's one of my guys. He. His podcast is actually really good. They get some great interviews from not only basketball, but people across entertainment. But B. Scott is a Laker through and through he is. You want to talk about toe in the party line, and that's not because he's getting a directive. That's B. Scott, man. He's going to be the Lakers talking point. And the Lakers talking point is like, yeah, LeBron's old and who wants him anyway, right? So I know that I personally interviewed Kenny Atkinson, head coach of the Cavs, and he gushed and he called LeBron the greatest player of all time. And he kind of wanted to. Almost wanted us to kind of push back on him so that he could, like, defend LeBron.

[Louis Riddick]

And.

[Amin Elhassan]

And the Cavs are very excited. I know the Sixers, Mike Gansey did the same kind of thing. The president of the Sixers, and he's kind of hot to trot. We know what Draymond and Steph have been saying, so I can tell you that's at least three teams, the Sixers, the Cavs, and the warriors, that clearly are interested in and have not had to been cold called by Rich Paul outdoor. And obviously the Heat as well. The Minnesota Timberwolves are on the hunt as well. The Denver Nuggets, that's at least six teams right there that we know for a fact are very interested. I don't know what B. Scott's talking about, other than I'm thinking he's doing the Laker thing again.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a good hype, man. I don't know about the B. Scott podcast, but this is a good note to hit. It makes anything better. I would say it make anything in entertainment better. Any sports take better, Any kind of music better.

[Amin Elhassan]

Good player, that LeBron.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, that's. That's what he did say.

[Byron Scott]

He said a nice career, you know, pretty good career.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. I mean, I want to get to your weekend observations in a second, but before we do, just among the free agents still available out there or.

[Louis Riddick]

Or.

[Dan Le Batard]

Or possible players still available out there, who's most valuable, I guess.

[Amin Elhassan]

Quiet, Leonard. That's. That's an interesting one right there. Because the Clippers and the Raptors had a deal. They had a deal. They agreed to the. The terms of the deal. Hell, why was that Kyle Lowry's retirement announcement? So it felt like, okay, this is just gonna go through. And apparently when they went to do the trade call, the actual last step that makes the league verify your trade, that's when the league said, all right, now you guys are gonna inherit all the risk. Right? Are you cool with that? And the Raptors said, well, hold on now. Wait, wait. What?

[Mike Ryan]

Do what?

[Amin Elhassan]

And so. Yeah, so. So this has changed everything. And now we have to wait until the finality of this investigation before we figure out where Kawhi Leonard is going to be. Whether it's still a Clipper, whether it's a Raptor, whether he's a free agent because they void his contract. All of these things are on the table. And so that is a massive domino that might affect a lot of things moving forward.

[Louis Riddick]

I mean, why is the league willing to warn the Toronto Raptors about possible ramifications and not the Miami Heat when the FBI is investigating a player?

[Amin Elhassan]

I think because this one is an A league investigation and the other one we were talking about drawing a blank from Louisville, Terry Rozier. Terry Rozier was not under legal investigation at the time. So they don't have purview over a federal investigation. They have purview over this because it's their investigation.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let's do Amin's World Cup Observations it

[Louis Riddick]

is time for Amin to share his

[Amin Elhassan]

World cup game notes. No one in the media will tell you what happened better than my boy Amin. World Cup Observations is brought to you by Miller Lite Legendary Moments Start with the Light Dan. The World cup comes along every four years, bringing joy to countless people worldwide. For some, the end of the tournament brings about something unexpected. It's called World Cup Withdrawal Syndrome, or wcws, and it afflicts billions worldwide. Symptoms of WCWs include compulsive YouTube deep dives, beginning every conversation with Remember when, followed by a World cup memory, and obsessively trying to find the IG page of those two Portuguese fans. You no longer have to suffer in silence. Talk to your primary care physician about new Get a Life the first prescription treatment for adults living with wcws, Get a Life helps you transition from cup mode to a more balanced routine by blocking the pleasure receptors that are dependent on World cup content. In clinical studies, patients taking Get a Life experience intense feelings of getting to know their significant others, playing a bigger role in their children's lives, and actually doing their job during work hours instead of toggling back and forth to a fake spreadsheet to make it look like you're busy. Some patients report an increase in club soccer content, including EPL and UEFA Champions League. Side effects include massive drops in group chat participation, spending quality time with the family, and staying off sides instead of offside. Rare but serious side effects include taking a real interest in community theater and spending weekend afternoons putting jigsaw puzzles together. Stop taking Get a Life immediately if you enroll in sip and paint classes, go on apricot picking dates or Join a book club. Get a life. Because life goes on after the World Cup. Unless you're from Argentina. Then you can just go to hell. Those are the World cup observations.

[Dan Le Batard]

Speaking of hell. Art brials the game.

[Amin Elhassan]

Speaking of hell. Argentina, Argentina. Always hell.

[Louis Riddick]

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[Tony]

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[Louis Riddick]

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[Marcelo Hernandez]

Yeah, imagine if someone told you you

[Amin Elhassan]

couldn't have a Corvette.

[Greg Cody]

I'm a grown ass man who's not. Who's not filthy rich? I can't afford a Lamborghini.

[Amin Elhassan]

Greg Cody.

[Greg Cody]

Well, I probably can, but that's.

[Mike Ryan]

Hey,

[Greg Cody]

what the heck?

[Amin Elhassan]

This is the Dan Levatar.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want to talk to Amin about the games the next couple of days, but before I do that, there are some other things that I wanted to bring up with him, including, because he's a movie guy, whether the Rock is done as an A list star because he has had. He's had some trouble here. It was a hell of a run. And I. I think the A list star in general might be gone. Like, I think if. If he goes down, it all goes down where it's been. So, you know, streaming services have taken over so much. I don't know if you guys are seeing that a bunch of states are suing about the Paramount Warner Brothers deal because they don't want movie theaters and American entertainment changed as much as it's already been changed. So your thoughts are what here? Amin on the idea of the Rock no longer being an A list star at. In part because there's no such thing anymore.

[Amin Elhassan]

Well, I think there's still a list start. I mean, Tom Cruise, a list star. Tom Cruise still brings him out. There's a new Tom Cruise trailer that came out. People got excited about that. I think the Rock part of his struggle is kind of trying to transition away from what made him an A list star. People like him because he's a funny action guy trying to do serious roles and being taken seriously. There's nothing against that. And that's great that he wanted to pursue that. But ultimately that's not what people want to see the Rock in. And so if he's willing to do smaller pictures, meaning the. The box office isn't as great as, you know, the Fast and the Furious or something like that, he can do that, but it's not going to be what brings him the, you know, the massive paydays. And that's what we're talking about with a list star. You. You pay these people because, you know, the. The people will line up to go watch your movies.

[Mike Ryan]

His Oscar bait failed. This Moana remake, which is only a handful of years removed from the original.

[Louis Riddick]

I will not watch that.

[Mike Ryan]

Essentially a shot for shot. Live Adaptation, Recreation with very new material in there where he is actually recreating one of his more popular characters. DOA stands to lose tens of millions, if not over $100 million. And everything that he seems to have upcoming doesn't seem ripe for success. He's got A monster jam movie that looks straight out of Vinnie Chase's entourage. That looks almost certain to be a punchline. I think we're done. When you go for it, for the Oscar bait and you fail spectacularly, that failed miserably at the box office despite him getting some positive reviews for his performance. And you have something as sure fire as the intellectual property of Moana hitting a children's audience. And that fails, too. I don't think that there was such an appetite. We're only a year removed from an animated sequel to Moana, which maybe Disney has to revisit some things, but typically, the rock, you know, 10 years ago was something that you would inject into a franchise to give it life and to give it box office success. I think the nation at large in the world has decided this guy's done being an A list box office draw.

[Amin Elhassan]

I wouldn't say that. I think it all comes down to roles. I mean, it's the roles that make.

[Mike Ryan]

He was playing Mad week.

[Amin Elhassan]

I get it. But. But Mike, that was such a massive blunder by Disney, regardless of whether he was in it or not. Like you said, number one, the Moana sequel just came out a year ago. One where, by the way, they did not bring back Lin Manuel Miranda for writing. So everyone noticed, yo, these songs suck. And that was the whole thing about Moana, was what a great soundtrack. Moana was what made me want to watch Hamilton, because I was like, oh, snap, this guy's really good. Let me watch Hamilton. I watch Hamilton. I'm like, never mind.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, but they hired the. They hired the TikTok musical winners and the songs on Moana to stunk. In fact, if I'm Lin Manuel Miranda, yesterday's price is no longer today's price.

[Amin Elhassan]

Of course. Of course. And so you start there, so already you got some missing. But then the other thing is the whole live action remake is all built on one thing. Nostalgia. I grew up watching the Jungle Book. Now this is the Jungle Book I take my kids to see. I grew up watching Beauty and the Beast. Now I take my kids to watch this Beauty and the Beast. You know, my kids watch Moana, man. Like, there's no nostalgia. Like, there's no nostalgia in order for us to have a live action remake. It's like saying, hey, let's do. Let's do a reboot of the Spider man movie that came out a couple years ago that Tom Holland and. And Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield. It's like it just came out. What are we doing?

[Mike Ryan]

Well, also, the way That, I mean, the way that these films are shot with all these green screens to do all these reshoots potentially and touch up with digital effects takes all the character away from what would be a live, live action adaptation that would bring character to an animated film. You see the trailer for this, it looks animated itself because it's so touched up with cgi. If you're gonna do a live action adaptation, bring some character to it, make it seem different.

[Amin Elhassan]

Right. And so to me, that's an example of the. The vehicle was not good. Not the driver. There's no one you could have cast in that that would have saved that. And that's not, that's not a commentary on modern audience tastes or whatever. That's just, hey, Disney, not good enough. That's. That's someone lazy.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes.

[Amin Elhassan]

In the decision making process.

[Mike Ryan]

I agree Moana on its own had issues, but let's not pretend like this isn't a trend for Dwayne Johnson. It's been trending downward for a while now and I think he needs to be a part of a bigger ensemble and he can no longer be the tent pole guy on a big time box office film. I think we're going to see him in Saudi Arabia fighting Roman Reigns, I'll tell you that.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, no, stop. This, this. Look, he just needs a role where it's just like a down the middle action buddy comedy. Him and Kevin Hart, him and someone like that, like, and then he's the big muscly guy who actually has feelings and the other loudmouth is, is the funny guy and then they go get into shenanigans together. It's, it's not unlike what Eric Andre and, and John Cena just did on Netflix. It's just the Rock.

[Dan Le Batard]

The Rock and Kevin Hart had great chemistry. It's real chemistry.

[Amin Elhassan]

They do. And that's, to me, that, that's, that's what you need. Like, it's not like unlike basketball, like there's no player, not Wemby, not Jokic, nobody that could say, hey, I'll just put you with four bums and you're going to go to the. That's not how this works. You have to have a good script, you have to have good chemistry with your co stars and you have to have a good director who knows how to make this thing look good. And without those things, we're trying to just say, oh yeah, he could be in anything, man. Ten years ago he was in that Black Adam movie that was supposed to be a massive thing, but that was

[Dan Le Batard]

the beginning of the end, though. That. That was the beginning of what? This. That. That's what started it. That Black Adam movie had so much press behind it and so much money behind it, and there hasn't. I don't think there's been very much. Good.

[Amin Elhassan]

It wasn't good, Dan. That. That's my point. It's like this. There's this hubris that, oh, just put him in it and. And he'll save it. And that's not how this works. Any good movie that he's been in. And when I say good, I mean successful. I'm not even saying, like, this is critically acclaimed. It's been successful because it had other parts to it that made it successful. It wasn't just him. Same thing with Will Smith. Like, think about Will. Will Smith was the biggest movie star in the world. And then it's like, I'm gonna make After Earth. Why? Because I'm a Scientologist and I really think this is, you know, like, this is a. An important kind of movie or story to be told. Oh, it isn't. It's crap. It's a crap story. And your son can act and. And M. Night Shyamalan is. Is a hack. And, like, they come out with a hack movie and everyone's surprised, like, oh, my God, maybe Will Smith isn't a star anymore. No, it's just. You pick the crappy role.

[Louis Riddick]

All right, I got some movie stuff for. For a decent movie guy like Amin here. Thursday, the Odyssey is coming out. Are you into the Odyssey?

[Amin Elhassan]

I like Christopher Nolan's work. Most of his movies, to me, are very well made and very well done. I like the cast is incredible, right? It's a huge ensemble cast, and it's a story that is a timeless classic. We all know, at least, I assume, again, there are people who watched Hamilton and learned about American history for the first time. So I assume we all learned about the Odyssey in school. Maybe some of us didn't. So I think it's a great story, a great cast, a great director. These are the hallmarks of something that's going to be a great movie. The big thing for me is I'm not going to go see it in imax. You got me the first time with Oppenheimer. Never again.

[Louis Riddick]

Why?

[Amin Elhassan]

Never falling for that again. Because IMAX is a scam. It's just big, okay? You could see more of the ocean. I don't care. I don't care. I just. Just let me watch.

[Louis Riddick]

I'm going on the 70 millimeter screen on Thursday. It's like, that's not exactly IMAX. I'm going to that, though.

[Amin Elhassan]

ZAZ. It is IMAX. I went to the 70 millimeter IM showing of Oppenheimer to watch people in a classroom write equations. The whole time I'm like, why did I watch this on a massive screen? Oh, oh, now they're outside. Ooh, oh, oh, they're up. He's talking to Einstein by a lake. Like, why do I need to see this on a massive screen? You know why? Because Christopher Nolan is a scam artist. Great director. Scam artist, though.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Is Christopher Nolan a scam artist? I also want to play for Amin here, get his expert analysis. This is from the Little Little People convention in New Orleans. I mean, I want you to tell me this video. If you've ever seen a crossover result in this kind of calamity. Have you ever seen anyone crossed over this? Well, Verne Troyer here on defense Bang.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, too soon is.

[Dan Le Batard]

Have you ever seen. Have you ever seen a crossover that, that, that, that, that distinct face first

[Amin Elhassan]

with the feet in the air afterwards? No, I've never seen that one. By the way, I think we have clearance to shit on Verne Troyer because he. Because he was mean to Brad Williams once. So, like, I feel like we have.

[Dan Le Batard]

But let me explain to the audience something, okay? If you do not have this video, keep in mind, just over the half court line, the crossover begins. And then the Verne Troyer then face plants near the free throw line, okay. With his feet up in the air, landing on near the free throw line like a javelin would.

[Amin Elhassan]

Should have just stayed down by the way he tries to get up immediately. I mean, just stay down. Just stay down. You have to. When, when that happens to you, you have to accept. Okay, this is embarrassing. Let's all lean in and laugh at ourselves. The way he pops back up like, oh, no, I'm good. Like, guy got to grab a hand there.

[Tony]

Grab an ankle. Do something.

[Marcelo Hernandez]

Wish I could have seen the end of that play, though. It looks like a nice jumper.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm okay with what we just saw there. It's enough.

[Amin Elhassan]

Then his hips are off the ground.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[Amin Elhassan]

His hips are not touching the ground there. Ladies and gentlemen, listeners, he is face down. His chest is flat against the ground, his hips are raised off the ground, and then like, like horns, his legs are up in.

[Dan Le Batard]

The crossover is so good that Verne Troyer lands and the only parts of his body touching the ground are the side of his face, his shoulders and the back of his hands. Okay. The rest of his body is up. It's just the back of his hands. It's his two shoulders and the side of his face.

[Amin Elhassan]

Bring, bring that still shot again. Because I want to point something out that his own teammate, even though we know the shooter, that's his head right there. The shot hasn't gone up yet. His own teammate is no longer concerned about stopping ball. Or is this shot going in and he's like, is my guy okay? He's just staring at his guy right there.

[Dan Le Batard]

His teammate is backing away as if scared. As if scared of something that's happening there. I mean, thank you. We will let you go on real quick. Yes.

[Amin Elhassan]

One last thing. I know I talked about World cup withdrawal syndrome, but there is another disease that's going on. It's World cup related. I don't know if you guys have noticed this. So I have in my hand right here, these are my credentials from summer league. And typically this is how you wear a credential. And then this World Cup, I've been noticing people doing this weird side satchel thing and I'm like, what's going on there? And you guess what's happened at summer league. Everyone's rocking it like a crossbody. And I'm here to say, enough. Stop following the lead of these stupid, stupid people over there. In the World cup, yes, they have the, the game, the great game, Joga bonita, all that stuff. But I'm not here to emulate their dumb fashion trends. This is how you wear your credential. Right? Like this. Stop doing it like this. First of all, security can't see it, so you got. Oh, I. This is me over here. Just wear it regular.

[Greg Cody]

Yes.

[Amin Elhassan]

Posers.

[Greg Cody]

Well done.

[Dan Le Batard]

Thank you, Amin. Appreciate the indignant punctuation to your segment.

[Greg Cody]

Right on.

[Amin Elhassan]

Well done.

[Greg Cody]

From Greg.

[Marcelo Hernandez]

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[Mike Ryan]

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

[Tony]

I know it well. It's usually when I show up, everybody goes crazy.

[Mike Ryan]

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

[Tony]

It has that effect on people.

[Mike Ryan]

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

[Greg Cody]

Keep it Cuervo, baby.

[Byron Scott]

Down.

[Amin Elhassan]

Levitar.

[Marcelo Hernandez]

Can't wait for 39.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I can't either. 40 comes first.

[Louis Riddick]

Do you know what 40 is yet?

[Greg Cody]

Not yet.

[Dan Le Batard]

What are we doing?

[Louis Riddick]

Greg?

[Dan Le Batard]

Did you just laugh? Did you just laugh out loud at something Lewis said in your ear?

[Amin Elhassan]

Greg Cody?

[Greg Cody]

Yes. I couldn't help it. It was funny. Thanks, Louis Gaggin. The goose, of course, choking the frog. I mean, there's a million of them. Of course, half of them would sound dirty if we keep doing it.

[Amin Elhassan]

This is the Dan Levatar Show.

[Dan Le Batard]

Greg Cody has announced and Mike Ryan has notarized that this is the greatest semifinals in the history of the World Cup. England Argentina is interesting for a number of different reasons. Greg Cody said that empirically, Argentina has been quantifiably the slowest team in the entire tournament. Okay, so they are in the final. They are in the semifinals. Even though their last three matches they've won by barely nothing, they should have probably lost all three of them. You could have made the argument for them being eliminated. I do not believe they are the class of this group, but they have Messi. I believe they are clearly the fourth best team in this tournament, but they've got a singular star who has no precedent in the history of sports. Really. So what you have happening in this game, which is the better of the two games from a storyline perspective, the weaker of the two games in terms of who's behind, because if France and Spain were playing for the championship, I think everybody and everybody who loves soccer would take that, would take the game being played today as the championship and saying yes, whichever one of those two teams wins is the best team in the sport. Spain is allowed one goal in the entire tournament and didn't allow any goals the last two times it played in

[Mike Ryan]

2022 either, and recently beat France Euros, their Superstar just turned 19 years old. Incredible stories around Spain.

[Dan Le Batard]

But England, Argentina, you may have noticed Argentina famously does not have any black players because their history with race is horrific. The entire country's history was never had a black player. Well, no, I wouldn't. I don't think that that's the case, but they don't have one now and it's because there aren't very many black people in Argentina and Argentina is playing England in a game that has plenty of storylines tomorrow. But are you guys afflicted with the World cup withdrawal of the last couple of days, where you.

[Mike Ryan]

Long two days. The long two days. But also part of it is because I'm eagerly anticipating this. If you want to parse, that's the worst of the semifinal. I don't think there's a bad semifinal here. That's not as good of a final. The real final is on this semifinal. No one knows that. We're splitting hairs here. Argentina have looked unimpressive compared to the other three, but they've all had their dips outside of France. But any one of these teams can beat the other. Any final that we get is going to be great. I actually like the way that the semifinals have broken up in terms of international rivalries, you're guaranteed to see that. And by the way, this is exactly how FIFA designed it. For the first time ever, they ensured that if the top four seeds handled their business and won their groups, they would meet up in the semifinals. So quantifiably, it is headed into it the single greatest FIFA World cup men's semifinal group ever.

[Greg Cody]

I can't argue with that. I mean, I know that's the narrative right now is that this is the greatest World cup final four ever, but I really think it is for so many reasons. And Argentina is trying to become the first back to back winner since 1958 and 1962. And realistically you could argue they're the fourth best team in this group. But Lionel Messi, and we see time and time again he has taken this

[Dan Le Batard]

World cup against lesser opponents, though he has taken lesser opponents than any he's going to see the rest of the way. Like you can do that shit against some of these teams that get tired late because they can't defend him for the entire time, not against anyone. He's playing the rest of the way.

[Mike Ryan]

But. But historically they have a psychological edge. When these two teams meet up, there's incredible infamous moments. We already covered the hand of God, Beckham's red card. And geopolitically speaking, not too far removed from a war, Argentina playing mind games, reportedly picking the darker set of kit because of their success wearing that specifically against England. But England, having tested their medal against Dr. Congo, having gone to AS Teka and mustered up the mental fortitude needed to beat Mexico in that stadium. Once I saw Them have that result. My prediction was England wins this whole thing. A lot of golf to be played, right? But I think that they have a mental edge and they tapped into something special here.

[Louis Riddick]

Says if England smokes Argentina, Argentina's entire run, this World cup will be fraudulent. I don't like what we say. They haven't played anyone.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, but I don't. They haven't played anyone. But the way they've won will be remembered by Argentinians forever.

[Mike Ryan]

Like, they played two of the three best World cup men's matches I've ever seen.

[Louis Riddick]

But if they finally face a power and they get their ass kicked, I

[Dan Le Batard]

do, I do think they're. I think they're going to lose because what I've seen for them in 80 minutes of three straight games, I'm like, nah, you can't play that way against what's left.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, there's no pressure on Argentina to win. There's no pressure on.

[Mike Ryan]

There's always pressure on Argentina to win.

[Greg Cody]

Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

But this is not a house money thing. I know what you're going to say for Messi. Yeah, personally, he needed the one, right? But he's not just chasing greatness, he's not just chasing a trophy. Winning multiples, huge winning multiple, winning back to back, that sets him apart. Remember, like, what people held against him was the international success, because the trophy count on the club side is undeniable. Pele never had that success over in Europe. He played in South America. Pele was known for what he did in the World cup, and that success, until recently, eluded Messi. If Messi pulls off with what we're all admitting seems to be the least impressive team of the four, that is an all time moment. And you have to. Although the Ronaldo people, they're just firmly entrenched, you have to give it up to them.

[Greg Cody]

When I look at that half of the bracket and I look at an English England, the inventor of modern football, when I look at England going for its first World cup since 1966, I think that's the pressure more than the defending champion trying to repeat.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can you guys look up, please? I have. I've told you guys that my algorithm is now just filled with a whole bunch of soccer all over the place. Shit algorithm? Well, no, but you have to go ahead and look up some Pele highlights just so you can see how much slower players were back then. Just. Just so that you can enjoy from 50 years ago who he's playing against and how it is that he's coming by whatever it was it was three World Cups for Brazil, right, over the course of about 16 years.

[Mike Ryan]

That's why I think what Messi's done solidifies him in my eyes. And I know recency bias, right? He's the only one that I got to see actively. But I watch these old highlights. I see the shape of the. Of the turf. I see the speed in which I'm like, wait a second, is this normal speed? And all the injection of analytics training to get the best possible performance from every individual player, individually and collectively as units. So many resources go into these national sides now, even that I think Messi is the greatest of all time.

[Dan Le Batard]

Greg, would you.

[Mike Ryan]

The goalkeeping in particular back then was really, really bad.

[Greg Cody]

But that's the beauty of sports, right? When we watch a black and white grainy video of Babe Ruth batting, we're like, he couldn't put the bat on the ball. Now you watch Johnny anitis in the 60s dropping back to pass. You're like, what? You know, everything is bigger and better now and faster. But there's still Pele and Maradona. I don't care. The. The era. There's still greatness, you know, that doesn't go out of style.

[Dan Le Batard]

You've been talking about Yazzle show. Would you be interested in Tim Kirk Shin's best number eight of all?

[Greg Cody]

Yes, I would.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, so he's got. What are the rankings? Jeremy, don't give us who his best number eight of all time is. Can you go. Does he do them in order? Can you go 4, 3, 2, 1?

[Marcelo Hernandez]

I can just give you the four that he brought up in this conversation on his own podcast. Now, I was surprised Gary Carter didn't make this list, but the four names that he brought up were indeed Yaz. He brought up Joe Morgan, a name we had yet to mention. Cal Ripken Jr. And Yogi Berra, those. That's his Mount Rushmore of number eights in baseball.

[Greg Cody]

Perfect. A great list.

[Dan Le Batard]

But who's number one?

[Greg Cody]

Yes. All you can eat.

[Mike Ryan]

Yogi Berra.

[Marcelo Hernandez]

He has Yogi Berra as the greatest number eight of all time.

[Greg Cody]

You know what? The catcher always gets the inside track. The catcher, Seriously? I'm not even kidding. Yogi Bear was great, but a catcher is always going to get the benefit of doubt when it comes to that kind of a list, in my opinion.

[Louis Riddick]

Were there any fan accounts on Twitter that you wanted and just like you couldn't get?

[Greg Cody]

No. The only four I've ever had are myself, Yaz Mavis Staples and Brendan Benson.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do you mean yourself? Egcote Oh, a fan club of your own.

[Greg Cody]

Upset Bird. What's my Twitter account?

[Dan Le Batard]

You're the head of your own fan club, Is that what you're saying?

[Greg Cody]

No, I'm the head of my own account. Nobody does Greg Cody like me, and you know it. Hey, that's what I'm talking about.

[Louis Riddick]

Sing that shit. So now you say it.

[Amin Elhassan]

What do you say?

[Greg Cody]

What do you say?

[Amin Elhassan]

What do you say?

[Greg Cody]

What'd he say?

[Amin Elhassan]

What'd he say?

[Greg Cody]

What'd he say?

[Amin Elhassan]

Nice hat, asshole.

[Greg Cody]

See, Zazlow thinks that's his phrase, but he won't even say it now. Like, I'm. I'm challenging him to say it.

[Amin Elhassan]

They got a word for that, you know.

[Greg Cody]

What's that? Yeah, I've heard that. You know, I want to see how similar his version of that is to my original. But he won't say it.

[Louis Riddick]

Yeah, keep saying it every time. It's just dollars. Dollars.

[Greg Cody]

What are you saying?

[Louis Riddick]

It's just more money that's gonna go into my pocket at the end of this.

[Greg Cody]

Is that right? Yep. Gonna sue me, are you?

[Louis Riddick]

I already told you. You're Napster.

[Greg Cody]

Napster.

[Louis Riddick]

Does Napster exist anymore?

[Greg Cody]

Um. Kazah.

[Louis Riddick]

Nope.

[Dan Le Batard]

Limewire.

[Greg Cody]

Limewire.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassan]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is normally, traditionally, this is a slow time in sports. It can't be because of the World Cup. But.

[Greg Cody]

Brad Williams says it's a slow time in sports. I'm like, what planet are you on?

[Dan Le Batard]

But the reason the ESPYs are tomorrow, even though the. The award show is a bit dead in general, is because it's traditionally the slowest day of the sports calendar is tomorrow. And the Host of the ESPYs is a local kid. Marcelo Hernandez has to be the youngest person to ever host the ESP. That guy's not even 30. Is he from Saturday Night Live? That he. I would imagine that he'd be nervous doing this. This is a different thing. It's not the norm. I mean, anybody gets nervous sometimes performing, but this is a very young performer here locally. Tony, are you looking for the. With enthusiasm at Latino representation? Because this is not something that traditionally goes on in sports media. We are very underrepresented in the sports media in this room.

[Greg Cody]

We're good locally.

[Louis Riddick]

We're good.

[Greg Cody]

Right.

[Tony]

Nationally, we don't have that. So. No, it's good. It's gonna be cool to see Marcelo do it. I don't go out of my way to go consume his content, but, like, I'm proud of somebody from Miami being able to be on these huge stages. SNL, obviously, the ESPYs. Am I gonna watch it?

[Greg Cody]

Probably not.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, it sounded like you were lukewarm. Like you're supporting him. Only because he's Hispanic.

[Tony]

Exactly right.

[Mike Ryan]

You nailed it. Dano culture.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, perfect.

[Tony]

I'm not gonna watch it. But I support you, I promise you.

[Dan Le Batard]

But be funny. You're going to be.

[Tony]

Maybe. If you want to be funny. If you're funny, I don't care.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm not going to watch.

[Tony]

But I like it that you're there.