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- [00:02]
Dan LeBatard
You're listening to giraffkings Network.
- [00:12]
Stugotz
You know that sound? It's the sound of money hitting your Venmo account. A friend paying you back. Or maybe it's getting cash back from your favorite business when you pay with the Venmo debit card. Or it's realizing you can pay with Venmo at checkout at thousands of brands.
- [00:27]
Jessica
Now there are so many more ways.
- [00:29]
Stugotz
To answer the question. What's your Venmo? Download Venmo Today the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. DOSH Cash Back Terms apply.
- [00:42]
Dan LeBatard
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- [01:15]
Stugotz
Shadow Show Shadow Show Shadow Show Shadow.
- [01:19]
Jessica
Show Shadowing In Shadowing it Roy, I.
- [01:22]
Mike Ryan
Got a problem today in the what I do. I know it's not you, although Izzy does have questions about how you think it is to ice skate. You seem to think that you're going to be somebody who could hockey ice skate in a short period of time. Izzy thinks it's not going to be short. But the problem I have is I got Andrew Hawkins in here and I got a whole lot of people who really want to talk about football. I got Amino Hassan in here. He's got a whole ton of basketball takes and Jeremy's got a ton of takes, too. But I only got one person here who was in the middle of all the football action yesterday and being soothed by the parents of the Notre Dame players in the stands. And I feel like that person to be showcased today because she was in the center of what feels like the biggest moments that Notre Dame football has had for national relevance, hope and belief since they were getting smoked by 40 points in all the championship games that they've played in in the last 10 years.
- [02:17]
Jessica
Thank you, Dan. I am pumped. What a game that was last night. What an experience. It's great to have that barn jump in the way that it was.
- [02:24]
Dan LeBatard
Wait, but who is it?
- [02:26]
Mike Ryan
You were. You were being soothed because of the amount of tension in your Notre Dame football spirit. You spent that game trailing and scared.
- [02:35]
Dan LeBatard
Yes, I would Say that's accurate. It was a absolutely batshit college football game. I'm curious what it was like watching it on tv. Like, did it feel as insane and. And just weird as it did in person?
- [02:50]
Jessica
Yeah. Yeah. It's a great kind of game because literally every play feeds to this narrative. And for those two programs, especially, like, for the winner, greatness. For the loser, utter embarrassment. I think less so for Notre Dame when you consider, like, their injury situation, but teetering along the line. The entire game is James Franklin's legacy. And I think it just added. It was. I thought last night was a spectacle. It was a great game. A bit of an old school game, but it really opened up in the second half. It was tremendous drama.
- [03:22]
Dan LeBatard
Yeah, tremendous drama. I was crying, screaming, throwing up. It was just the most I disassociated for the entire halftime show. I don't even know who that guy was, but he was singing a country song. It was.
- [03:34]
Jessica
That's a perfect way to describe it. Yeah. I'd never seen that person before in my life. Don't care to see him ever again.
- [03:40]
Amin Elhassan
Jessica, let me ask you a question. Have you elevated to known Notre Dame alum? You're not famous Notre Dame alum, obviously. There's so many famous alums, but are you at least a known Notre Dame alum?
- [03:50]
Stugotz
You guys are throwing a lot of subtle shots. Can I say that real quick? Because that was a shot.
- [03:53]
Amin Elhassan
It's a question.
- [03:54]
Stugotz
It's a shot, though.
- [03:55]
Dan LeBatard
I don't know how to answer that, though.
- [03:56]
Stugotz
And then Jess was like, I want to know, what was it like watching the game at home? And it was kind of like, that's a flex a little bit, too. Yeah, it was a lot different on the sidelines.
- [04:07]
Dan LeBatard
Do people come up to me at tailgates and, like, take pictures with me?
- [04:10]
Amin Elhassan
Yes.
- [04:11]
Dan LeBatard
If I say yes, I sound like a tool, and if I say no, I'm lying.
- [04:17]
Stugotz
That was a bar. This is the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podcast.
- [04:28]
Mike Ryan
I don't think it's a particularly interesting distinction to make today, but very often with games, people say games are great. And what it was is, well, the ending was great. The end of the game was great. Last night's game was fun for a lot of reasons, but I did not have that fourth quarter happening all of a sudden where. When Mike talks about the narratives. James Franklin is now 0:13 in his last 13 games against top 15. I'm sorry, top five team. He's four and 20 career against top 10 teams. And now in 11 seasons at Penn State, he's one in 15 against top five teams and that one was there for the taking. And I believe that all of us looking at this would say if those teams kept playing, we don't know that's the arbitrary measurement of the day. But if they kept playing, we don't know who would win if they played 10, 15, 20 times. Because we're at the point of the season that if Texas beats Ohio State, you'd be like, yeah, if Ohio State beats Texas, you'd be like, yeah, but I don't think this is an accurate measurement for who's best. It's just an accurate measurement for who wins that particular night. I know it's the measurement we got. I know. But you're going to have a hard time convincing me that Notre Dame is the best team in football after they've lost to Northern Illinois at home during the season.
- [05:42]
Stugotz
Wow, quick max shot out the gate. I'm not going to condone that. But isn't that what you want in the playoffs though, that you like anybody could win on any given night.
- [05:53]
Mike Ryan
My preference for all playoffs is find me the best winner. But we have imperfect measurement systems everywhere. Except basketball.
- [06:00]
Jessica
If I may espouse the virtues of Fighting Irish football in an unlikely scenario for me. No, I think if you play that game 10 times, that was just about the weakest form of Notre Dame. When you consider their really bad injury situation. That game was totally there to be had for Penn State up 10 0. It felt like a three score lead with all the momentum. And then Angeli comes in and they get a crucial field goal, field goal.
- [06:27]
Dan LeBatard
Drive of the year.
- [06:27]
Jessica
It was massive for that game. And then they start the very next drive in that Penn State, which was that that stadium was loud last night. It came across on the television. They get the delay a game and you're, you're thinking, man, Notre Dame is toast. But they compose themselves, they answer right back. You realize this is a tie game and then we're just playing with James Franklin now you know that he's going to screw this up. Drew Aller is so friggin overrated. I can't believe I don't know if you're watching this game with the sound on. I wish you did. Because right before Drew Aller threw that interception, Greg McElroy said, drew aller is not the type of quarterback that's going to throw an interception.
- [07:01]
Dan LeBatard
He was like, you should get aggressive in this spot. He's not going to throw an inter interception. And like two plays later he Threw a bone crushing interception, Christian Gray, which set up Notre Dame to kick the game winning field goal. Yeah. I mean, what a fricking game. It was awesome. It was so loud on that Penn State side too. And like, it seemed like it was actually really bugging Notre Dame and Riley Leonard when the offense was on that side of the field. And I mean, for these ball games to feel like a college football game, like, that's a tough thing to do in an NFL stadium. And that felt like a real college football game. And it was just an incredible atmosphere and so much fun.
- [07:37]
Amin Elhassan
Let me ask you guys a question. How do you feel about fans who overreact in the middle of the game? I get if it's at the end of the game and you just do a big pick six or whatever, like, oh, my God. But it's crazy to me. Like, there was an interception earlier in the fourth quarter, and then they do the crowd shots and so many people were crushed like their life is over.
- [07:57]
Jessica
I love that about tears. I love that about this sport because it taps into something, like, almost primal that other the professional sports don't. The tribalism attached to college athletics is the closest thing that we have to European soccer. And I love that it manifests on the face. The surrender cobras and the sands. I think it just provides great drama. Jess is here. That's one of the best Notre Dame feelings that she's ever had, but also throughout that game, probably the worst she's ever felt watching a game.
- [08:26]
Dan LeBatard
Yeah, I felt terrible and like, Dan alluded to it in the shadow show, but I was in, like, the Notre Dame parent section. And during the game, I was next to Xavier Watts's family. And like, we were. We were right against a railing and like, I had my head, like, over the railing with my head down. Thanks. I guess the tickets were. They were nice. Like, we weren't in, like, a suite or anything.
- [08:53]
Amin Elhassan
You were in the player section. Player family section.
- [08:55]
Dan LeBatard
Yeah. Ryan Clark was a few seats away from us, too.
- [08:58]
Stugotz
Ooh, name drop.
- [08:59]
Jessica
That one's worth it. Was he wearing the lapel pin?
- [09:04]
Amin Elhassan
Double. You got double.
- [09:06]
Dan LeBatard
I was like, hey, I work for the Levitar show. I'm a huge fan, but also, I'm a Steelers fan and, like, you're my hero. And then like an hour later, we were dapping each other up after the Christian Gray and reception. But anyways, I mean, to your point, like, I was like, head bent over, like, I can't believe this. Like, they. This team looks so gassed. They haven't played like this all season long, like just bad in the trenches in a way that I haven't seen. And like Mike mentioned, like, losing two linemen in the first half is brutal. The defensive line is completely decimated. There's three starters out just on the line and Howard Cross is playing with one leg. Jeremiah loves playing with one leg, still scores that touchdown. Somehow that on that's an iconic moment.
- [09:43]
Jessica
That run from Jeremiah Love with the brace on his leg to battle through. And Abdul, Abdul Carter was the best player on that field and he's one of the players that slip off. Jeremiah Love in there who's giving it his all, like a heroic effort. That was just such a great game.
- [09:58]
Dan LeBatard
Yeah, like I the second half, like I'm bent over in pain. Like I can't watch, I can't look at the field and the players, families. Literally one of the players, like moms is rubbing my back. She's like, it's going to be okay. Like, we got this. We're going to win. It's okay. We got this. And I was like, I can't. I can't even watch.
- [10:15]
Mike Ryan
One of the things we're always talking about around here in sports is was it fun? Because if you'd lost that game by a field goal, you'd come in here today and say, that's one of the worst experiences of my life. You'd come in, if she came in, she would say she'd feel hungover and she'd feel terrible. She'd have trouble sleeping. But the experience is the same in both instances. It's just the ending. So did you have fun? Like did you actually have fun to be in pain and feel like you're vomiting all game?
- [10:49]
Dan LeBatard
I had so much fun. First of all, tailgate lods didn't open till 2:30. Orange bowl, figure it out. That's bad. From 2:30 until kickoff at like 7:30, I had the time of my life. And then from 7:30 until like 11:30, I was in a bad, dark place. Do not read my text message thread with Mike Golick Jr. I'm going to burn that. No one should ever see the things that I said. No, I mean, I think that like in a lot of ways this season was a success for Notre Dame no matter whether or not they had won last night. They beat Georgia last week in the Sugar Bowl. They broke the New Year's Six Sugar bowl game or the New Year Six Ball game losing streak. They had a 13 win season. Like it's a. They beat Indiana in the first round. Like it's a really good season for Notre Dame, but obviously you want to win a championship and you want to win the game that's in front of you. And it was excruciating watching that team with all the injuries like they have, especially in the trenches where they've been so solid this season. And on defense, where their defense has been pushing around other teams all season. It just was a hard game to watch because I know that this team is better than that. And I think a ton of credit has to be given to Penn State because they look like the more organized team for a lot of that game. They were able to put pressure on Notre Dame and they were able to really maintain that level of dominance in the lines that Notre Dame did to Georgia seven days ago. So, yeah, it was. It was painful to watch because I know this team is honestly, like, they're better than that. And I'm. I'm super happy they won. Totally. Like a toss up outcome given where the game was at in the fourth quarter. But regardless, I was, like, trying to try to maintain some perspective on the season while watching my soul get crushed. And then, like, by the grace of God and Marcus Freeman, they somehow came back and won that game and put together two really competent quarters, even though Riley Leonard threw it like, a awful interception and, you know, was out for a series in the first half, like, it was brutal to watch. But the release of tension after the game, going into the tailgate lot for like an hour afterwards and seeing all my friends there and family members and friends, parents, like the. Seeing Mitch Jeter's dad walked by and I gave him a yeah, Jeets. It was awesome and, like, made up for all of the stress of the previous four hours.
- [13:12]
Stugotz
I was in a suite at the game.
- [13:14]
Amin Elhassan
Oh, hey, that button.
- [13:17]
Mike Ryan
No, no, no, you guys.
- [13:18]
Jessica
Don't just get the button.
- [13:19]
Mike Ryan
No, no, no, no, no, no.
- [13:20]
Stugotz
Come on.
- [13:21]
Jessica
Don't request the button.
- [13:22]
Stugotz
I tried to.
- [13:23]
Mike Ryan
We do not.
- [13:23]
Stugotz
I was waiting.
- [13:24]
Mike Ryan
No, this is not.
- [13:25]
Stugotz
I was sitting on that so I could get the button.
- [13:27]
Mike Ryan
I was in a suite last night. Is everyone in Miami. You don't get the button when you request the button. You were in a suite last night and what?
- [13:34]
Dan LeBatard
The whole stadium is sweet, by the way.
- [13:36]
Amin Elhassan
Yeah, it's.
- [13:37]
Stugotz
It's a lot of ridiculous. It's. I got them. It's a shared suite. I got it.
- [13:41]
Mike Ryan
Like, it's going to get more and more pathetic. I was in the bathroom. I was watching on the television.
- [13:45]
Stugotz
It's a dub hub of sweets and anybody can buy a ticket in this suite. So the point is, it was a mixed bag in this suite, and we had Penn State people who were super passionate. We had the front row of the suite, all Notre Dame guys and all games. Something happens with Notre Dame, they go ballistic. Something happens with Penn State, they go crazy. And it was all good. They're like, who are you rooting for? I'm like, I could care less. I went to Toledo. Okay, so we're sitting there, and everything's all love. We're buying group food because the food doesn't come with the shared suite. You got to buy it bespoke, and then it's like, a bunch. It's expensive.
- [14:21]
Dan LeBatard
You have to buy, like, a Caesar salad. It's like $85. But it's.
- [14:24]
Stugotz
No, it's not. I wish it would exactly break that down.
- [14:27]
Jessica
Strangers.
- [14:28]
Stugotz
It's like, wings are $230.
- [14:31]
Dan LeBatard
I've been in that. I was in that suite like that. For the Miami Oak.
- [14:34]
Stugotz
You can't buy single food, so it's like, yeah, I paid for it. But everyone gets to eat. So everyone kind of ordered their thing. I ordered, I think, a shrimp cocktail, which was, like, $300, but I had to contribute. They had already taken the hot dogs and all the cheaper options. I was pissed. But anyway, the shrimp cocktails there, everyone's having a good time. The moment Aller threw that last pick, the Notre Dame folks go crazy, right? All of a sudden, all the fun loving, you know, we're all in. This football is great. Out the window. Guy in the back is like, hey, you got people back here trying to watch the game. Oh, oh, is this what it is? It's the halftime. It's time out. The game's not going on. I'm like, okay, come on, son. It's time to. Let's. Let's get out of here.
- [15:20]
Dan LeBatard
I did see, like, a lot of Penn State. The Penn State fans, like, were super locked in. Really loud, like, really fun. They were so excited. I have nothing bad to say about them. But after the game, like, to your point, when you're in the bad place, I saw so many Penn State fans, like, arguing with each other walking out of the stadium, and I was like, man, I've been there.
- [15:38]
Stugotz
It got tense quick. I also feel like there was more Penn State fans than Notre Dame fans.
- [15:42]
Dan LeBatard
Yeah, I think it was probably, like, 60, 40. Penn State, Notre Dame.
- [15:46]
Stugotz
It was a lot.
- [15:46]
Dan LeBatard
It was a lot of Penn State.
- [15:47]
Mike Ryan
Notre Dame Juju. Put it up on the poll, please. At lebatard show. Do you say I could Care less or I could not care less. Which is it that you say? And also, I want you guys to notice why it is that I have the exclusive domain over this particular. Look at me, Louie. And how successful I was incorrectly governing its standard. That suite got shittier and shittier as he talked that sweet hinds.
- [16:16]
Jessica
You had the right call.
- [16:16]
Mike Ryan
Like him just saying it's a sweet and just throwing it out there as if that's supposed to impress us. And then it becomes fans of both kinds. That's a disaster. By the way. That is not what you want in your suite. You do not want fans of both.
- [16:29]
Jessica
Kinds of what you want. If you're a neutral, though, that seems pretty fun.
- [16:33]
Stugotz
It was a lot. It was two games going on. Yeah. So much entertainment.
- [16:36]
Dan LeBatard
I mean, I have a question. But you grew up in Johnstown, so you don't have any Penn State like. Or you're not on either side of the Penn State pit thing because that you're kind of like closer to Pittsburgh. Right?
- [16:46]
Stugotz
But I'm literally right. It's an hour and a half to take college. It's an hour and a half to Pittsburgh. And my nephew played football at Penn State. He's an alumni. I. I probably go more Penn State than Pitt. My little brother played football, just beat Pitt. My dad played football at Pitt. And I'm just kind of. They didn't recruit me either way. So I'm kind of like, the hell with everybody.
- [17:06]
Dan LeBatard
I'm just surprised because, like, Western PA is very in Central pa. Like, yeah, you're Pitt, you hate Penn State. If you're Penn State, you hate Pitt. And I feel like there's not a.
- [17:14]
Mike Ryan
Lot of people stuck in that matters is that the sweet was shitty.
- [17:19]
Stugotz
I mean, it wasn't great.
- [17:21]
Mike Ryan
Look, the Caesar salad you just described made me sad. It was expensive. The fact that you had. You didn't have your own food. Shared food with the group. That's not opulence. That ain't opulence.
- [17:30]
Jessica
Shrimp cocktail.
- [17:31]
Dan LeBatard
Can I tell you about the food and the non sweet? Because Lehman and I got a tray of nachos around the third quarter and he bit into the queso and there was a little piece like a shard of plastic in it.
- [17:43]
Amin Elhassan
Oh.
- [17:43]
Dan LeBatard
That he almost broke his tooth on. And then like. Like the next drive was the Angeli field goal drive. And then Notre Dame scored a touchdown right after. Like, Notre Dame dominated the middle this season, by the way. But we saved a little piece of plastic because everything changed. Everything changed after the plastic Taffer would.
- [18:01]
Amin Elhassan
Have lost his mind, you're gonna freaking kill somebody.
- [18:03]
Mike Ryan
Kill somebody. A superstitious piece of plastic in your nachos.
- [18:07]
Jessica
Yeah. I'd like to revisit the Penn State of it all briefly, because an expanded CFP is supposed to mitigate a team getting their kind of. With a lucky path. But if you've watched these games, and I caught a little bit of BS from some Penn State fans online, but those that actually watched that game, I'm serious. I know it was a blowout against smu. Penn State's offense stunk in that game. That game was there for the taking for smu, and similarly a little less so. But Boise State had its opportunities, and I didn't come away with Penn State despite them kind of shifting a narrative a little bit. James Franklin won two big games. College football playoff games are supposed to be big games. But when you watch those games and you consider the opponents and all the questions that you had about them, we're waiting for him to have a big one. And I. They go up 10, 0, and I realize how many crucial injuries Notre Dame have, and I'm like, are they. Are they going to do this? Are they going to have good fortune all the way to a CFP final? And are they going to need this much luck to change this narrative? Because they also looked really good. They looked like they had NFL body types.
- [19:12]
Mike Ryan
Well, let me ask these questions, okay? Telling me about the decimation along the injury fronts for Notre Dame. But Penn State and Ohio State have been. Teams that are very good at. Will be really physical with you at the goal line. In the most basic form, Ohio State has a million different advantages, payment and otherwise. But when football becomes the barbaric, primitive thing of who's stronger down there, Ohio State's roster wins and Penn State's roster wins. The part that you're bringing up, though, that I want to address is this moving line. Big games are. Because the first two that Franklin won, people were saying, okay, this changes the narrative. Changes the narrative. And the moment he loses, the narrative is right back and it's forever. Like, this narrative goes right back to, can't beat the top five teams. Yeah, smu, yeah, Boise State. But what were big games? You were telling me two. Two weeks ago, big game, big game. James Franklin. Changing, changing. Not now. It ended with the loss. Ended with a loss against the top five team. What changed? Other than they allowed more teams that shouldn't have been in the playoffs? In the playoffs?
- [20:19]
Dan LeBatard
Well, I think people were already saying that about James Franklin even after the SMU and Boise games like regardless of last like that there. I think the path that Penn State got, they earned through the regular season. They made it to the Big Ten championship. They lost to Oregon obviously. But like they absolutely, we're not going to do the whole like did they belong to be there thing. But yes, they're passing just to help you out.
- [20:40]
Jessica
Like if this were not expanded, they would have been in the cfp. Like they would have made it over Ohio.
- [20:45]
Dan LeBatard
I don't think that's true because they had, they would have had two losses.
- [20:48]
Jessica
Well, they, they lost in the conference, fair enough. But they would have been over like what is now on the odds on favorite to win the national championship. They would have been over Ohio State.
- [20:56]
Dan LeBatard
Yeah, I think that that's probably maybe true. I, I don't know. Losing the conference championship game I think would have kept them out of the the top four if they, because they would have had a loss to Ohio State and to Oregon. I don't think they would have made a final four. But whatever. Besides the point like the difference, Dan, is that like now in the last three weeks, weeks. Marcus Freeman is a third year head coach. He has won two top five games in eight days and James Franklin has won one in the last 10 years. So 11.
- [21:23]
Mike Ryan
Yeah, one in 15 in the last 11 seasons.
- [21:26]
Jeremy
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- [23:30]
Jessica
Playoffs we're.
- [23:32]
Mike Ryan
Talking about the playoffs you bet.
- [23:33]
Jessica
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- [24:04]
Jeremy
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- [24:24]
Stugotz
Void.
- [24:25]
Jeremy
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- [24:35]
Jessica
Jess, you can't talk about double digit national titles when every single call of you winning the national title sounds like this. Oh, there's. There's chubby jacket running down the sideline if the audio. Yeah, that's not true. Yeah, and there's a World War II veteran pitching it to another white guy and he avoids another white guy.
- [24:52]
Dan LeBatard
Oh My God.
- [24:53]
Jessica
Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have done it again for the eighth time while we're playing white people.
- [24:57]
Mike Ryan
Stugarts.
- [24:58]
Jessica
Chubby Checker. Sorry, he's black. He's black. And I was really. It was a named Chubby Checker. I think I'm like, I'm sorry, man. I'm improv in here.
- [25:12]
Mike Ryan
It's a pretty cool rib checker running down the side.
- [25:16]
Jessica
He spells it differently.
- [25:17]
Stugotz
All right.
- [25:17]
Jessica
His name is Chubby. Maybe you didn't hear me correctly. His name is Chubby Checkers. There's an S at the end.
- [25:23]
Jeremy
I feel like that should be the largest of five.
- [25:25]
Jessica
Yeah, Chubby. Chubby Check. It sounds like a college football name.
- [25:30]
Stugotz
This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stu guys. Context helps. And that's kind of what my question is. I didn't watch that game and feel like, you know, Penn State was a bad team that shouldn't be there like that.
- [25:56]
Jessica
That would have lost Abama by 4:40. That's what you're supposed to do, you know.
- [26:01]
Stugotz
And so even that, like you just said, if. If Marcus Freeman and his team loses, it's still a successful season for Notre Dame. I would hate the fact that Penn State ended up on the bad side of that loss to be like, oh, now, what a terrible ending. Yeah, I guess context matters over the years, but they got really close there and. And closer than Penn State teams have come in a very long time.
- [26:22]
Jessica
If I may just a few Franklin narrative. They had really good fortune leading up to this point, and their good fortune continued with Notre Dame's injuries. And also they almost made it to a college football playoff final having won a semifinal game without completing a pass to a wide receiver. Did you see what happened on that field goal? Did you see the two guys way in the back that weren't at the line of scrimmage to block the go ahead field goal? What were they doing? There's plenty of stuff to pick a play part the call. Why are you putting Drew. Why is Drew Aller throwing in the middle of the field in that scenario? First round pick like, well, that's another thing. Let me tell you something. He's 6 foot 5 and white and I. And from middle of America. I understand why people like this sex all the boxes. This dude stinks. He may get there, but this season they didn't ask any. You want to talk counting stats like 50 touchdowns, nine interceptions. I don't trust that guy at all. Half haven't. Haven't. That dude threw three picks now two of them Rightful calls. I understand, but they were bailouts.
- [27:23]
Dan LeBatard
Second one, first one was the hold, I think on Christian Gray in the first half. Yeah, fine. The second one, the pass interference that they called on Watts was supposed to be on Adon Schuler. That was the classic under thrown DPI bailout play where everyone's saying, oh, you have to turn around and look at the ball. No, you don't. That's not the rule. Everyone that says that doesn't understand pass interference. And they got completely bailed out by a terribly thrown football into triple coverage in the end zone.
- [27:48]
Jessica
Letter of the law. The official, official even in the booth said it was a right call. Like what? Like I. I'm with you.
- [27:52]
Dan LeBatard
I disagree.
- [27:53]
Jessica
It was a bad. It was a bad decision. A worse throw. Warren wasn't afforded the opportunity to make the play as he was being face guarded, but whatever. It just continued that. I don't trust Drew Aller at all here. And in that late game situation, he makes a terrible decision. I don't see it at all with him. I understand why execs fall in love with the measurables, but this dude to me is a stiff.
- [28:16]
Stugotz
I went there scouting Drew Aller as a Browns fan. Who. He's from Cleveland and I saw all the hype videos online with him growing up in Browns gear and I'm like, we might have something here. Let me go get. Let me go get the best suite that I can find in Hard Rock stadium. So I have a bird's eye view.
- [28:32]
Dan LeBatard
Exactly what yard line were you on?
- [28:34]
Stugotz
We were on the 50.
- [28:35]
Jessica
Oh, come on.
- [28:36]
Stugotz
Come on. It's getting better.
- [28:39]
Jessica
Come on.
- [28:40]
Dan LeBatard
Wait.
- [28:41]
Jessica
A cocktail.
- [28:42]
Dan LeBatard
Were there any orange. But Orange bowl committee members in your suite with the orange jackets.
- [28:46]
Amin Elhassan
Come on, man.
- [28:47]
Jessica
Mark my words. I will wear that orange blazer one day.
- [28:49]
Stugotz
There were.
- [28:50]
Dan LeBatard
Dude, fight me for it.
- [28:52]
Stugotz
I was in two.
- [28:53]
Dan LeBatard
Fight for it.
- [28:54]
Stugotz
I was in two suites throughout the game.
- [28:56]
Jessica
You wait. Two sweets.
- [28:58]
Stugotz
Two sweets in the first sweet. There was about five orange jackets in there.
- [29:03]
Mike Ryan
You know what? He's holding his arm out here.
- [29:05]
Stugotz
Come on.
- [29:06]
Mike Ryan
Get the look of Louis, but earn this. Which I'm not going to press. However, I will say that you continue to make me someone who gets more and more influenced and manipulated by you. Because every time you point, for some reason, the waft of your cologne is bringing a really lovely scent through here.
- [29:24]
Stugotz
That is of mahogany.
- [29:26]
Mike Ryan
It's disorienting me. It's. I don't even know what to do with it. It smells like. Like a nice, nice nightclub. Like a really Fun nightclub.
- [29:36]
Amin Elhassan
And it smells like Luca Me Louie is what it smells like.
- [29:39]
Stugotz
And here's the crazy thing. It's just sweat.
- [29:42]
Mike Ryan
That is not true. That is not.
- [29:44]
Dan LeBatard
I have to ask, while we're talking about the Orange bowl committee members, were you there pregame when they. Brady Quinn was giving like a plaque to Urban Meyer and they announced Urban Meyer on the speaker and he was on the jumbotron. The entire stadium was booing and they were trying to use Brady Quinn as like a meat shield so people like the Notre Dame fans wouldn't boo. But that was the loudest. The stadium was the entire. Everyone came together and booed Urban Meyer on the field during pregame. It was crazy.
- [30:10]
Mike Ryan
Can you give me, please, the sound of Greg McElroy doing the announcer jinx thing, please?
- [30:15]
Jessica
How do they play it with 47 seconds to go?
- [30:17]
Jeremy
You aggressive or you cautious?
- [30:20]
Jessica
I'm aggressive. I mean I got two timeouts.
- [30:22]
Jeremy
I feel like the momentum's been back and forth. The quarterback, for the most part all season long. His whole career, Drew Allers made good decisions. He's got 50 plus touchdowns, only nine career interceptions. He's not likely a guy that's going to put the ball in harm's way. I trust him. I think he could do it. And I would empower him in this situation to drive him down the field for a game winning field goal.
- [30:47]
Jessica
If I may.
- [30:48]
Stugotz
Come on, Man.
- [30:49]
Jessica
Greg McElroy knows college ball almost better than anybody I know. I listen to his podcast Weekly and as he was saying it, I was mortified. Mortified.
- [30:58]
Stugotz
What did he do wrong?
- [31:00]
Mike Ryan
Cuz I listened to Greg McElroy's podcast, podcast weekly is a Look at me Louie.
- [31:07]
Jessica
He's great. I watch his broadcast.
- [31:09]
Stugotz
Listening to Greg McElroy's podcast, he's great.
- [31:13]
Jessica
Earned a look at me Louie, routinely.
- [31:15]
Stugotz
Are you out of your damn mind?
- [31:18]
Jessica
You're just not gonna get it. It's just not your day, pal.
- [31:20]
Stugotz
I drove a Maybach here.
- [31:22]
Mike Ryan
I think it's racially biased. I think the look at me Louie might be racially biased.
- [31:29]
Jessica
I was mortified. Drew Heller doesn't have that TD to interception ratio because I. Because he's particularly good. I'm just gonna say I've watched a lot of him. This I think he's fortunate. And they don't ask a lot from him. They hide him. They have really good weapons, particularly in that backfield. And Warren is like a unicorn. A unicorn that was probably concussed. I think both tight end ones were playing the majority of that game with a Concussion and he's just not someone that. That I would trust. I don't care what the numbers say. I don't trust his decision making. Quite frankly. I don't trust his accuracy earlier in that game. That game is actually probably over. If he makes a routine NFL throw, he has his running back wide open in the flats at that goal line and he puts a ball like right at the inside knee. That is a throw. If you're talked about as a top five pick, you gotta make that throw.
- [32:18]
Stugotz
Yeah, I completely agree. So I'm not kidding. I went into this game hoping that he crushed it and then The Browns at 2 could convince him to come out. We trade down to six, we get an extra first round pick and we still get our quarterback. When I watched his All 22 tape and I'm gonna get real football here. But when I watch his all 22.
- [32:35]
Dan LeBatard
Look at me, Louie.
- [32:36]
Stugotz
Yes.
- [32:36]
Jessica
You got it. I knew it.
- [32:37]
Stugotz
Congratulations.
- [32:38]
Mike Ryan
You watched it.
- [32:39]
Jeremy
Thank goodness.
- [32:41]
Stugotz
Thank you. Thank you.
- [32:42]
Mike Ryan
You earned it. I'm stunned that we're the show that gives a look at me, Louie to when I watched the old 22 and not I drove a Maybach in here.
- [32:52]
Jessica
Wow.
- [32:52]
Stugotz
I'd like to thank my parents. I'd like to thank my best combo. God and Marcus Freeman.
- [33:00]
Dan LeBatard
I love them so much.
- [33:03]
Stugotz
I would like to thank the academy. So many people, I forget Mario Van.
- [33:07]
Jessica
Peebles, who is a very dear friend.
- [33:09]
Stugotz
Yes.
- [33:10]
Amin Elhassan
This is Andrew Hawkins. Seventh nomination and first win.
- [33:13]
Stugotz
LiAngelo Ball. LaVar Ball.
- [33:15]
Dan LeBatard
Speak to the all 22.
- [33:16]
Stugotz
I need to bend that corner. Whoa, whoa. We're gonna do it. Who else here? Just so many people. I plan to be back here. I couldn't do this without you guys. This is just the beginning. Thank you.
- [33:30]
Jessica
As someone that still has a framed picture of Brady Quinn as a four year old wearing a Cleveland Browns uniform, I understand what it means to have someone who grew up as a Browns fan be a quarterback prospect that might possibly save your franchise. So I totally have with the idea of you just crunching all 22 to see if you could talk yourself into this guy.
- [33:48]
Stugotz
Yeah, I was in this there and even in his best plays. And this is where the SMU and the Boise State stuff come into play because he had some big throws there, but even in those, it was like the. The receivers are slowing down just a tick. And I was telling my son, who was a big Cam Ward fan like we've talked about, he's like, I think it's Cam Ward. I'm like, this guy. But he's 65. And as you keep watching, he's having trouble getting to third reads. In the NFL, you have to be able to come across the field and say, okay, this isn't here. Can I go here and still make a throw? And when you watch this game, all those things came into play. On the pass interferences, he did get bailed out. Those were bad balls, they were late throws and they were hung up in the air, which helped him in those situations. But those should have been touchdowns. Also on the goal line to the running back, you have to put that out in front of him because he has to maintain speed. Even if he catches that by his knee, you're allowing the defender a chance to come up and make that stop.
- [34:39]
Dan LeBatard
Gonna ask you about that play because it was like, man, what a terrible drop. He's wide open. But when I haven't gone back and watched the tape yet, obviously, because I got at like 2am last night, you.
- [34:48]
Amin Elhassan
Didn'T watch all 22?
- [34:48]
Dan LeBatard
Not yet. Literally the minute I get home, I mean, I will be watching the All 20. I'm so excited. And then I will watch the game broadcast and then I will take a 13 hour nap. But I thought also it looked like it was thrown low and behind. So was that.
- [35:02]
Stugotz
It was absolutely. So you're slowing the running back down. And in that moment, with just such a thin margin of error, if you're the arm talent that you should be, regardless of what your drop looks like, what foot drop he throws, a lot of pass has fallen away. But that means you have to have the arm to still put it in the spots that you want to your point about the accuracy. And then when I'm looking for you to say, okay, this isn't here on the front side. Can I get to a third read, scan across the field and make a throw. That's literally how the last interception was thrown. Because you're falling away. You try to get to the third read and you can't place it. Those are issues.
- [35:34]
Mike Ryan
When I spoke of the tension that we have in here between the number of people who want to talk football and the number of people who want to talk basketball, because I have watched Jeremy, Jeremy is here. For those of you in the audio audience who have not heard from Jeremy yet today, Jeremy, I've seen in his eyes over there, he's thinking about that 97, 92 Miami Heat, Utah Jazz game from last night. That's a game back. Yeah.
- [36:01]
Jeremy
No matter how many turnovers you have in the fourth quarter, you love watching young stars in their first big Moments. Hey, play through mistakes, come up big at the end of game. That's why Jazz Heat was so special last night.
- [36:13]
Mike Ryan
Yeah, young stars like Terry Rozier, not him. 11 for his last 62, four for his last 32. And everything that Mike Ryan hated about that acquisition has been on display over his 30% shooting over the last bit here. Where do you land, Amin? Because this has been a frustrating. It's been a complicated and difficult week for me as somebody who's trying to be fair, objective and critical to have people who I have relations, relationships with, admire, trust, believe are better at their jobs than I am at my job, or that anybody criticizing them is at their job, but also can see in the standings and everything else that the Miami Heat are presiding over punctuation, calamity with Jimmy Butler in a way that it cannot be argued that they've handled the end of this well. I don't hear anyone arguing that this is being handled well. But the Heat is under more criticism, I would say, than. Than just about any time I've seen that wasn't Whiteside and Deion Waiters or, you know, that one season where Alonzo mourning his kidney failed and then all of a sudden Pat Riley's coaching a team that, you know, won 20 games or whatever it was.
- [37:28]
Amin Elhassan
Yeah, I mean, I think that when you look at decisions and things, situations, people often react to what's happening in the moment, oh, they suspended him. Oh, you messed that up. You did it wrong. The reality is the thing you should have done is typically something months ago. It's an accumulation of forks in the road, and you take the one you probably shouldn't have taken, and then you arrive at this point where it's like there are no other options left. And so I don't look at Miami suspending him for seven games as, oh, my God, you got guys totally mishandled that. Now, the mishandling happened months ago when you knew he wanted a new contract, when you knew you didn't want to give him a new contract, or the number was very far apart. That's when you start exploring other options so that you don't get to this point right here. By the way, the seven games thing, I talk about this all the time from a league perspective, from the commissioner perspective. Whenever guys do things, sometimes you hit him with a suspension. That's not gonna hold up in a court of law. When John Morant was going through his stuff, I said, hit him with like a 40 game suspension out the gate. Let the union appeal it. Let them. Okay, it's not a 40. It comes down to eight or whatever it is. But the idea is you send the message, right? Stern would do this all the time. He would hit him with a punishment that was constitutionally incorrect, it was unconstitutional. He knew it was gonna get rescinded or brought back down in arbitration. But the idea is you send the message, we don't do that shit over here. And that's what the Heat did when they hit him with seven gifts.
- [39:06]
Stugotz
It's not. That's ridiculous.
- [39:07]
Amin Elhassan
That's a seven gift, okay?
- [39:08]
Mike Ryan
But you say this, and all of it leads to. I don't see. And maybe I have this wrong. I don't see the avenue by which the Miami Heat gets what it wants over Jimmy Butler getting whatever it is that he wants. And so now I ask you guys to do something where you analyze this information. Kendrick Perkins is not an information guy. And I don't know if anyone is making these distinctions. I don't know if anyone cares to make these distinctions as to how they get their information. I haven't heard what Kendrick Perkins is saying here from anybody. But Kendrick Perkins is saying, and this makes sense, Phoenix win. Now, Phoenix wants to get whatever they can get for right now to put it next to Jimmy Butler. Here's Kendrick Perkins, Senator, saying Jimmy Butler is gonna head to Phoenix. The contract parameters are set up.
- [40:02]
Amin Elhassan
It's about money, right? And from my sources, they're telling me that the suns have a two year, $121 million extension waiting on Jimmy.
- [40:14]
Jessica
I believe it.
- [40:15]
Amin Elhassan
All right? I mean, I ain't no genius, but that's like 60 a year. Okay?
- [40:20]
Stugotz
Somebody is drunk over there. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.
- [40:24]
Amin Elhassan
Keep a cool booty. All right, here's the next thing. Here's the next thing, okay? It's about relationships. And the relationship is Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant. Now, I told you this about two weeks ago when we made this bet that not only do. Phoenix. Phoenix, yes. The organization, they want him. You know why? Because Kevin Durant wants Jimmy Butler. And if he does get Jimmy Butler, which I believe he will, they're both going to sign contract extensions. KD is going to sign as well.
- [40:59]
Mike Ryan
Booker Durant. Butler is better than Booker Durant. Beal, what do you do with that information?
- [41:09]
Amin Elhassan
First of all, for the audio audience, what I was laughing at, because you couldn't see the video. The video was Channing Frye as he's saying, oh, someone's drunk over there. He's tossing a ball of it, like, very nonchalantly. It's almost like he's not paying attention to the conversation. Only half assuming it's my guy, Chadi Frye. But that information is exactly where we thought all of this was headed. A, Jimmy Butler wants his money. B, you're in a tough spot. C, who's a team that's desperate enough to do this? D, what does that desperation look like? And then E, it's a superstar saying, I want him here. The cosign is pretty, pretty strong. And you know, when it comes to Kendrick Perkins, people like to clown perk and make fun of him in his country accent. And he gives hot takes. But when he says information like that, you better listen. Cuz that dude knows people. He talks to people. He works his ass off on the back end in a way that I don't think many people understand or appreciate.
- [42:13]
Mike Ryan
I just haven't heard the information guys say that. And I expect the information guys to have that information. I don't expect Kendrick Perkins to ever have information. The information guys aren't reporting.
- [42:24]
Amin Elhassan
Then that's the thing that you're making a mistake there. You're assuming because they didn't report it, they don't have the information. And you know, as a guy who's done this for a living, that that's not always the case. Sometimes you have the information, but it's not corroborated. Sometimes you have the information, but your source is telling you, I can't let you run with this yet. And so it doesn't mean nobody else had it. It just means that Kendrick Perkins doesn't have the restrictions of revealing something like that.
- [42:49]
Jeremy
And when you see the Chris Haynes report a couple of days ago that says the Memphis Grizzlies and some other have been told not to trade for Jimmy Butler, that's not necessarily to say that if they traded for Jimmy, that he wouldn't report and would make a whole mess of everything. But the reason that's happening is he wants to be in Phoenix or another place that will give him that extension. And so the reporting has to be sort of around that.
- [43:15]
Mike Ryan
Kendrick Perkins obviously famously played with Kevin Durant. One of my favorite interview moments was asking Scott Brooks during those finals OKC against Miami, why do you keep starting Kendrick Perkins? And he gave me how good their record was when Kendrick Perkins started. And I said, imagine how good it would be if he wasn't starting. It would be even better than that. He's got a relationship with Kevin Durant that I do believe people listening to this who care about the transaction need to monitor because since leaving Golden State, next to nothing has gone right for whatever it is that Kevin Durant wants from this as the ending of his career. Whittingham had an exceptional tale in which he said, if we replay the entire career of Kevin Durant entirely over again, this is about as badly as it could have gone in terms of how it is. You're going to be remembered by people as one of the greatest scorers of all time. And I would assume that if Phoenix was in such win now that they took Bradley Beal's contract a while ago, that they would be by far and away given who their owner is and given who Kevin Durant is, I would assume that they would be the favorite in every, every situation.
- [44:28]
Amin Elhassan
That's the mark. You know where the mark is and it's them.
- [44:32]
Mike Ryan
That's the stalking horse, right on everything. But I still.
- [44:36]
Amin Elhassan
You look at it as a stalking horse. I look at it as the patsy. That's who we're. That's who we're going for.
- [44:41]
Mike Ryan
I just believe that you found yourself in a fairly remarkable situation after what happened with the Heat and Dame Lillard, where Damian Lillard becomes the first entity to make a mess and not get what he wants. That we go right back to. What do you mean Jimmy Butler dictates all the terms? What do you mean he can tell Memphis don't trade for me? What do you mean that he gets to dictate to Pat Riley? You're not going to send me even for a month to a city that I don't want to go to. That's crazy. Am I. Am I wrong about that? That we've gone right back to showing Damian Lillard again? Hey, the only way to do this is to actually maximize the public exertion of your power. But if you publicly exert your power, you will be able to top topple even Pat Riley. You think this is where he ends up? You think that Jimmy Butler wants to end up in Phoenix and therefore Amino Hassan is saying he's going to end up in Phoenix?
- [45:35]
Amin Elhassan
I think there's a high likelihood that if he leaves Miami, Phoenix is going to be the destination.
- [45:41]
Jeremy
He leaves Miami.
- [45:41]
Mike Ryan
Say it. Say it. Say it. Say, give me the take. What's the take?
- [45:44]
Amin Elhassan
The take is there's a high likelihood if he leaves Miami, he ends up in Phoenix.
- [45:51]
Mike Ryan
He's just said the same thing.
- [45:52]
Amin Elhassan
I know, but I said it with. I said it with take voice.
- [45:55]
Jessica
I like Jeremy's subtle.
- [45:56]
Stugotz
Give me Stephen a voice.
- [45:58]
Jessica
If he leaves Miami. If he leaves Miami is An interesting scenario because I guess that's a possibility too. Well, we're just stuck with one another.
- [46:08]
Amin Elhassan
Wouldn't it be the most Jimmy Butler thing ever to not get traded and then end up having a phenomenal season that takes the heat to like the conference finals of the finals?
- [46:18]
Mike Ryan
I just don't think. I just don't think the escalations has stopped yet. Like we like. If you think Jimmy Butler is going to be here in February, you have not paid attention to the escalations that are coming because this is going to.
- [46:30]
Jessica
Keep getting worse then, haven't they? Kind of for a little bit, like the NBA PA came out with their statement. Jimmy Butler has been relatively quiet. He's posted, you know, some like, emo IG stories, but he's also posted himself at the Heats facility. Working with coaches. Coaches did not make that road trip. They say back to work with Jimmy, which I found really surprised.
- [46:48]
Amin Elhassan
Couple of coaches, not.
- [46:49]
Jessica
No, but coaches that travel like they're gonna travel.
- [46:52]
Amin Elhassan
Guys who are typically on the bench and are part of the traveling party were there. Including some other people.
- [46:58]
Dan LeBatard
Wait, so what's going on with Jimmy Butler this week?
- [47:01]
Jessica
What a year 2024 was. Happy New Year's, everybody. New Year is this week, and some of you are going to be counting down to the new year. With a lot of friends and a lot of family around. That's a lot of pallets. How do you make everybody happy? Happy. You make them happy by making New Year's time a Miller time. Some beer with taste you know you can depend on that won't let anybody down. No games, no gimmicks. Just great beer for people who like beer. In all my favorite moments of 2024, Miller Lite was right there by my side. Responsibly, of course. Miller Lite is brewed for taste. It hits different than other light beers. Simple ingredients like malted barley for rich balanced toffee note flavors. And that iconic old color that we all know and love. The original light beer since 1975 and still the very best one. Miller Light. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer tastes like Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
- [48:03]
Jeremy
Okay, guys, it says here I'm supposed to tell you about the refreshing tropical lime flavor of Mountain Dew Baja Blast. But what does refreshing tropical lime lime mean exactly? Allow me to describe it in a way that my fellow DraftKings players will understand. Mountain Dew Baja Blast tastes like a buzzer beating three pointer to cover the spread, nailing a multi leg parlay, setting the perfect daily fantasy lineup. It's like hitting an underdog money line and I want you to know that feeling too. So make your picks and then grab some tropical lime flavored Mountain Dew Baja Blast for you and your buds. Available wherever refreshing beverages are sold.