Local Hour: Happy Thanksgiling!

Summary

Podcast Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Local Hour: "Happy Thanksgilling!"

Date: November 27, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

Overview

This "Local Hour" episode, comically branded as "Happy Thanksgilling," is a pre-Thanksgiving celebration featuring the regular crew—Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Chris Cody, Billy Gil, Roy, Greg Cody, Jeremy, Zaslow, and guest Pablo Torre. The main theme is a mixture of traditional banter, South Florida sports talk, and, most notably, a deep dive into Pablo Torre's bombshell investigation involving alleged NBA salary cap violations with the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard. Alongside, the crew reminisces about favorite show moments, experiments with voice modulation, engages in absurd sports debates, and pokes fun at each other, all wrapped in Le Batard’s signature irreverence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kickoff: Thanksgiving Chaos & "Thanksgilling" (02:35–05:19)

• Thanksgiving Fumbles: The crew repeatedly mispronounces Thanksgiving as "ThanksGiling," riffing on Billy Gil’s name and failing at multiple clean show intros (02:35–04:06).
  • Dan Le Batard (03:30): “Merry Thanksgiving.”
  • Greg Cody (05:26): “Happy Thanksgilling, everyone.”
• Intention for the Episodes: This and the next episode are dedicated to celebrating Billy Gil’s best moments, marking his last year with the show (04:06–05:19).

2. Pablo Torre’s Investigative Bombshell: LA Clippers & Salary Cap Circus (07:37–14:13, 22:04–48:42)

• The Breaking Story: Pablo Torre drops a much-teased investigation, published in partnership with The Athletic, revealing allegations that the LA Clippers, through the fintech company Aspiration, gave Kawhi Leonard a $28 million "no-show" marketing job to circumvent the NBA salary cap (22:04–48:42).
  • Pablo Torre (27:41): "We also have a marketing deal with Kawhi Leonard, a $28 million organic marketing sponsorship...essentially...to circumvent the salary cap."
  • Aspiration Employee (28:28): “The single largest payment to an individual for marketing that Aspiration ever made has completely evaded all press. He didn’t have to do anything.”
• Immediacy & Fallout: The cast discusses the gravity of the story and compares its potential impact to historic sports scandals—it’s poised to be “the biggest story in sports” once editors and fans wake up (07:37, 22:04–24:11).
  • Zaslow (24:37): “I think people are going to be like, there’s going to be a lot of trouble with this story.”
  • Greg Cody (24:55): “This is a true blockbuster. Is Ballmer going to be suspended? Fined? The club fined?”
• Cynicism & Satire: The crew points out the story’s complexity, the stupidity of the attempted cover-up (no ad, no real job for Kawhi), and muses on how many other teams might be doing similar things.
  • Chris Cody (42:07): “What a great fake business, the tree planting business.”
  • Dan Le Batard (42:18): "Multiply that for $28 million, you plant a trillion trees, everybody’s happy, and you get all this money.”
  • Roy (46:00): "The outrage here is the stupidity. ... To Mike’s point...if this team is so ham-handedly trying to circumvent the cap, it’s gotta be going on...in every major league."
• Legacy of Salary Cap Cheating: They recall famous sports cap-skirting, like Eric Dickerson’s rumored oil well at SMU and Pat Riley’s infamous complaints about the NBA nixing Juwan Howard’s Heat deal (43:40–48:17).

3. Voice Modulation Comedy & Show Bits (29:17–37:15)

• Desire for "Good Voice Modulation": The show playfully attempts to improve their witness-protection-style voice modulation, with mixed results and much meta-comedy.
  • Chris Cody (29:17): “I'd like to start something that allows me to use a voice modulator. And I don’t think we do it particularly well here.”
  • Billy Gil (29:57): “In fact, I would say, in my opinion, I heard that, I'm like, yeah, it's possibly a woman.”
• Mock Test: Greg Cody tries the modulator live, producing ridiculous, slow, and "sexy" voices, leading to a running joke about his supposed 350-pound frame and a “guess the disguised voice” challenge (33:29–39:48).
  • Roy (36:08): “My wife loves this deep sexy voice, I’ll tell you that.”
  • Chris Cody (39:16): “You sound like you're slurring, like you've had a great deal to drink.”

4. Local Sports: Dolphins' "Must Win" & Florida Football (07:37–17:58, 38:56–39:16)

• Dolphins Opener Hyperbole: Greg Cody and Billy Gil argue the Dolphins’ Week 1 NFL game is a "must win," leading to stats debates and analysis of betting lines. The crew mocks the idea, explores the psychology of fandom, and eventually ties it to Tyreek Hill’s captaincy drama (07:37–14:13).
  • Greg Cody (08:29): "The only time it applies is Game 7 in the finals...but if the Dolphins lose this...the whole season sags right out the gate."
• Tyreek Hill Captaincy Debate: The group analyzes why star receiver Tyreek Hill wasn't made Dolphins captain, winding through player votes, leadership politics, and wild rationale (12:56–15:21).
  • Pablo Torre (13:27): “It shows growth in leadership and maturity.”
• FSU & Florida Teams: The episode briefly acknowledges the roller-coaster resurgence of Florida State University’s football program and the strong presence of Florida teams in national rankings (38:56–39:16).

5. Inside Jokes, Running Gags, & Pop Culture Detours

• Coffee, Plain Sticks, & Holiday Desires: Banter on rising coffee prices, the mysterious "plain stick" at Dunkin', and favorite game-day foods—mostly just excuses for ridicule and polls (17:12–18:42).
  • Zaslow (18:34): "85% of the people said they didn’t know what a plain stick was."
• Sports Journalism’s Survival: Dan gives a mini-rant about the challenges to investigative sports journalism in the era of cost-cutting, and why his network is investing in Big-League podcast reporting (26:05–26:54).
  • Dan Le Batard (26:05): “No one else is doing this in the podcast form in sports.”
• Billionaire Cynicism: A mystery voice (Billy Gil) breaks from the weight of the Pablo story to rant about how “no one cares” about rich people doing shady things, lampooning media and fan priorities (40:02–41:34).
  • Billy Gil as Mystery Voice (41:34): “No one gives a shit about Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard. ... If anything, cheat better.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Salary Cap Circumvention:
  • Aspiration Employee (28:28): “The single largest payment to an individual for marketing...has completely evaded all press. Nothing. He didn’t have to do anything.”
  • Dan Le Batard (42:18): “You plant a trillion trees, everybody's happy...what an incredible fraud.”
• On Show Self-Awareness:
  • Chris Cody (29:17): "One of the things I wrote down...I'd like to start something that allows me to use a voice modulator."
  • Greg Cody (29:44): "So identifiable. Unbelievable."
• On Dolphins Fandom:
  • Chris Cody (10:14): "Daniel Jones knows how to play quarterback. The Colts have to be at least a three point favorite in the game."
• Playful Banter & Snark:
  • Pablo Torre (15:15): "He's laying down the foundation for Walter Payton Man of the Year."
  • Zaslow (24:58): "The punishment is they have to keep Kawhi Leonard."
  • Billy Gil as Mystery Voice (41:34): "Who cares about the Clippers? Who cares about Kawhi Leonard? Who cares about replanting trees? Ridiculous."
• On Show Rituals:
  • Chris Cody (02:04): "Who said sound? I got four words for you. I love this company."
  • Dan Le Batard (05:00): "We really are genuinely appreciative...Thank you for being here for this."

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Important Timestamps

• [02:35] – Thanksgiving opening chaos, multiple re-intros, “Thanksgilling”
• [04:06] – Explanation: Best-of episodes dedicated to Billy Gil's moments
• [07:37] – Pablo Torre’s story introduction; Dolphins “must-win” argument
• [22:04] – In-depth on Pablo’s Clippers/Aspiration/Kawhi investigation
• [28:28] – Key quote about $28 million “no-show” job (Aspiration employee)
• [29:17] – The show’s obsession with voice modulation
• [33:29] – Greg Cody’s voice modulator test; comedy segment peaks
• [39:48] – Billy’s disguised, ranting monologue as a “mystery guest”
• [42:07] – Debating the brilliance of the tree-planting fraud
• [43:40] – Remembering Eric Dickerson’s oil well & historic cap circumvention
• [47:17] – MLS/Apple/Messi comparisons to NBA schemes

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Final Thoughts & Tone

True to form, this episode mixes serious journalism with wild comedy. The tone swings from earnest (discussing fraud, sport integrity, and the survival of investigative journalism) to absurd (voice modulators, Thanksgiving wordplay, and local donut debates). The cast’s camaraderie, sarcasm, and self-deprecating humor drive the episode, while Pablo Torre’s story gives it journalistic heft. The recurring meta-commentary—mocking both themselves and the state of modern sports—makes this a classic slice of the Le Batard universe, especially poignant as it celebrates the quirky, soon-to-depart Billy Gil.

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For New Listeners

Even without prior context, this episode provides a quintessential Le Batard Show experience: irreverent, sharp, community-focused, and capable of breaking meaningful sports news while never taking itself too seriously.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, Smirnoff. Official vodka of the NFL. World's number one vodka. Chris Cody, you're with me here.

[Billy Gil]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wow, you're on the money with Smirnoff.

[Chris Cody]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm gonna ask you, Chris, what's your favorite game day food?

[Chris Cody]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's your favorite game day drink. What's your favorite game day food?

[Chris Cody]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, here's the deal. Game day is everything. The noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip. Again.

[Chris Cody]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

Smirnoff belongs in that mix. Because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smirnoff. Otherwise, it's not a real game day. They've been doing it since 1864, which is. I don't even want to do the math. It's a long time. It's like when Greg Cody was born. They're award winning, they make cocktails super easy, and they're all about bringing fans together. So yeah, we do game days. That's their thing. And if you're over 21, you should too.

[Greg Cody]

Why?

[Jeremy]

Chris Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

Grab a bottle of Smirnoff at your local retailer and head to smirnoff.com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game day.

[Chris Cody]

Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff number 21 vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.

[Jeremy]

Man off. Hey, Chris.

[Roy]

Here.

[Jeremy]

Black Friday game day is coming to prime, and it'll be an epic day of live sports. Black Friday football is at the center of it with the Chicago Bears taking on the Philadelphia Eagles at 3pm Eastern. That's followed by the final night of the Emirates Cup NBA group play and a doubleheader starting with the Bucks and Knicks at 7pm and the Mavericks and Lakers at 10pm what a nightcap game that is. But the whole day starts with the return of the Capital One skins game as four elite PGA golfers face off with $4 million on the line. Black Friday game day tees off with Capital One skins game at 9am Eastern before the Big Bears Eagles game at 3pm and it culminates with a double dose of Emirates NBA cup action featuring bucks, Knicks at 7pm and Mavs Lakers at 10pm Only on Prime.

[Zaslow]

There's a reason Chevy trucks are known for their dependability. Because they show up no matter the weather, push forward no matter the terrain, and deliver. That's why Chevrolet has earned more dependability awards for trucks than any other brand in 2025, according to J.D. power. Because in every Chev truck, like every Chevy driver, dependability comes standard. Visit Chevy.com to learn more. Chevrolet received the highest total number of awards among all the trucks in the J.D. power 2025 U.S. vehicle Dependability Study Awards based on 2022 models. Newer models may be shown. Visit J.D. power.com awards for more details. Chevrolet together.

[Jeremy]

Let's drive. Hello, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving. That's what we're doing this year.

[Dan Le Batard]

Thanksgiving.

[Jeremy]

Why is that not Thanksgiving? Billy, let's restart.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna keep all of it.

[Greg Cody]

No.

[Aspiration Employee]

Oh.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's not Christmas.

[Jeremy]

That's true. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

[Dan Le Batard]

Thanksgiving.

[Jeremy]

This is very exciting, guys. Normally on Thanksgiving we have a few best of episodes where we just celebrate the year that was. And this year, Jeremy, somebody left us.

[Dan Le Batard]

Who's that?

[Jeremy]

Billy Gilbert.

[Dan Le Batard]

RIP.

[Jeremy]

We love Billy and we miss him.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's still here.

[Jeremy]

So we want to celebrate Billy this year by having some of his best moments of his last year with us.

[Dan Le Batard]

I f this one up. Let's do it one more time. I didn't like. I didn't like my rip. Okay, we're gonna do it one last time.

[Roy]

Okay.

[Billy Gil]

Oh.

[Dan Le Batard]

Merry Thanksgiving.

[Jeremy]

No, it's not Thanksgiving. It's Thanksgiving.

[Billy Gil]

Thanks.

[Dan Le Batard]

Like. Like Billy Gill.

[Jeremy]

This year we are celebrating our year over the thing. This is terrible. We need.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's okay. We can start that again.

[Jeremy]

We need to lock it. Lock in.

[Dan Le Batard]

Merry Thanksgiving.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, that's right, Jeremy. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. We want to do things a little bit differently this year. We have best subs coming this Thursday. Right now.

[Greg Cody]

Today's today.

[Jeremy]

Today's Thursday. We have Thanksgiving. We have one today. We have one tomorrow. And they're fun. We're celebrating our friend Billy Gill. We're calling it Happy thanksgilling.

[Dan Le Batard]

Happy Thanksgilling, everybody.

[Jeremy]

We're gonna highlight some of Billy's best moments of his final year with us. We're gonna do his last show. We're gonna do another great show that we found.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. That's what we're gonna get today. Today what you're gonna get is the day where we were talking about aspiration and aspirationally.

[Chris Cody]

You like what I did there?

[Dan Le Batard]

We decided to modulate some voices because of our favorite voice modulated sound. And Billy really brought it that day. And we figured, why not highlight that incredible day, which was also a really good day for our Comedy like Papa putting out all that stuff about aspiration. Pretty cool.

[Jeremy]

One one of the best shows of the year. Billy was highlighted in it. And then tomorrow you're gonna get Billy's last day, which he. He brought out all the stops. Guillermo's epic sound of the day. He brought people back. So you want to check out tomorrow's show?

[Dan Le Batard]

It's something we're thankful for.

[Jeremy]

We're very thankful for Billy, our time with Billy. We're thank. Thankful for you guys, the listeners all year. Thank you. This been a great. I know it's been, you know, some changes to the show, but it's been a great year for us. Our numbers have actually gone up.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. We really are genuinely appreciative of the fact that you guys are listening at really a pretty amazing rate right now. And to all of the new people joining us, because we know there are several new listeners, thank you for being here. Thank you for being here for this.

[Jeremy]

Thanksgiving and Happy Thanksgiving.

[Dan Le Batard]

Happy Thanksgiving.

[Jeremy]

Let's get to the episodes. Enough of me and Jeremy yammering. It's thanksgilling. Happy thanksgilling, everyone.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Chris Cody]

Ladies and gentlemen, Steve Ballmer. Come on, get out. Get out.

[Roy]

Come on.

[Chris Cody]

Come on. Give it up.

[Roy]

Come on.

[Chris Cody]

Who said sound? I got four words for you. I love this company.

[Roy]

Yes. Football.

[Pablo Torre]

Football.

[Roy]

Football.

[Greg Cody]

Hey.

[Pablo Torre]

Hey. Hello. It's me, Pablo, here to fudball. Love, love that slightly cliched chant that I, as an American, am contractually obligated to also say football. I'm interrupting this because I am gonna join the show, I think, to talk about a new, now not so secret episode of my show and our new partnership with the athletic that's coming up soon. So finding out.

[Greg Cody]

Find out.

[Pablo Torre]

Fine. You know, Right. Okay.

[Chris Cody]

I have a journalistic judgment question to ask the group. Should we start with Pablo Torre dropping at 5am a Pablo drop that I suspect will be the biggest story in sports once all the editors and writers wake up and start chasing what Pablo is reporting. Or should we talk about how Greg and Billy both think that the Dolphins have a must win game this weekend?

[Billy Gil]

A must win.

[Chris Cody]

A must win. Billy and. And Greg and Big Mac.

[Pablo Torre]

Just so that we're not making it seem like we're two kooks that think that must win.

[Chris Cody]

They have said yes. Week one. It seems a truly asinine thing to say. You want to explain it to me?

[Greg Cody]

I would love to. Yeah. And I say it in the context of how it would seem to be so asinine, because I hate it when people use the word must. Win when it isn't literally a must win.

[Chris Cody]

And it's two words.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. The only time it applies really is a game 7 in the finals or something like that. But I will say this. Expectations are so low for the Dolphins, particularly relative to the Hurricanes. But in general, expectations are low. Not expected to be a playoff team. Indianapolis is not very good. Okay. Indianapolis is a team they can beat. Dare say should beat, even on the road. And so I just think if the Dolphins lose this game Sunday, their whole season sags right out the gate. I think they need this win in a big way just to entice the fans, just to get the fans a little bit excited, which they're not right now.

[Chris Cody]

The Pablo back to football.

[Billy Gil]

So.

[Pablo Torre]

He's exactly right. Here's the problem is that some people, Greg and Dan seems to be one of these people, don't seem to understand every game counts exactly the same.

[Roy]

Yes.

[Pablo Torre]

So if this game was being played week 17, you say that's a big game, that's a must win. They got to win this. But they're playing that game week one. So you got to win the Indianapolis. Daniel Jones is their quarterback. If you. It can't be Daniel Jones.

[Chris Cody]

I'm scared of Daniel Jones. The Colts overcame the fact that they had a quarterback playing for them who didn't know how to play quarterback, who had started like all of 15 games in college in the pros and would appear to be something of a bust.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Zaslow]

Like, are we forgetting, like. I understand what you're saying. The Colts, they're not very good. The Dolphins and Colts both won eight games last year.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Zaslow]

Like the Colts are definitely looking at the Dolphins with the exact same mindset. You know, if we don't be that team, you know, our season sunk too. He gets it like it felt. It felt good when they announced Daniel Jones. So it's like nice. Daniel Jones sucks, right? Better than Anthony Richardson.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Arguably.

[Chris Cody]

No, he's better than. No. What do you mean arguably, Greg?

[Greg Cody]

Daniel Jones is a bust.

[Pablo Torre]

Uh huh.

[Greg Cody]

Nobody likes Daniel Jones.

[Chris Cody]

He won a playoff game. Anthony Richardson started 15 games, made about seven good throws, got hurt, a bunch of great throws, and doesn't know how to play quarterback because he doesn't have the reps of having played quarterback. Like that's. Daniel Jones knows how to play quarterback. The Colts have to be at least a three point favorite in the game.

[Pablo Torre]

Are they not one and a half?

[Chris Cody]

One and a half.

[Greg Cody]

Which means the betters think Miami's a slightly better team if they're going to be beaten it's going to be by John Taylor. Not. Not Daniel Jones.

[Chris Cody]

No, no. If the Colts are at home and a one and a half point favorite. I understand what you're saying. That three points go to the home team. But if the Colts are favored, the money is saying that the Colts are going to win the game. They're favored to win the game, but.

[Greg Cody]

You know how odds go.

[Chris Cody]

I do, but the Dolphins are on the road. This is not a home team. This is not the better team playing at home. That is the Dolphins. This is the better team being the Colts because they're at home.

[Billy Gil]

In Dan's defense. It's weird for you to hear the line and say, well, that suggests the Dolphins are three points better. I don't understand how that. No, the line suggests that the Colts are one and a half points better.

[Greg Cody]

Well, which means the Dolphins are one and a half points better on a neutral field.

[Pablo Torre]

You guys don't get it.

[Dan Le Batard]

I get what he's saying, though, because usually the team, the home team gets a minus three and all of a.

[Billy Gil]

Sudden it's a plus one and a half.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you.

[Billy Gil]

There's some math there. One game that gets played in that league on a neutral field and it's the last one.

[Zaslow]

So the Dolphins and Colts were actually London, Europe, Brazil.

[Chris Cody]

The NFL starts Friday with a game on a neutral.

[Dan Le Batard]

Thursday starts Thursday. Then.

[Billy Gil]

Tricky league.

[Chris Cody]

It starts. It starts tomorrow.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, football tomorrow.

[Greg Cody]

But the Brazil.

[Chris Cody]

No, I thought.

[Pablo Torre]

Pablo's ass already.

[Greg Cody]

The Brazil game is Friday. To dance.

[Zaslow]

Hold on a second. Would tomorrow night have been going on and you wouldn't have been watching?

[Chris Cody]

Friday night would have been going on and I wouldn't have been watching because I didn't know until yesterday when it scrolled across on YouTube. I'm like, wait a minute, there's a game Friday night as well.

[Billy Gil]

I was still.

[Chris Cody]

I was not. I was not aware of high profile.

[Zaslow]

Teams playing tomorrow night.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah, I just.

[Pablo Torre]

World champions.

[Greg Cody]

I heard big game.

[Chris Cody]

That's.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you for kickoff game of the year.

[Chris Cody]

Must win, guys.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Yes.

[Pablo Torre]

I mean, we're going to take your word for. You didn't even know the season started tomorrow. What do you know?

[Chris Cody]

Right?

[Billy Gil]

How are Dolphin fans going to feel about their season if they lose that game? They're going to feel like it's over. So that's why it's a swing.

[Zaslow]

It'll be ugly.

[Chris Cody]

Oh, but wait a minute, though. The Colts fans, how they going to feel?

[Pablo Torre]

Who cares about Colts fans? They lose that game, they're not people.

[Chris Cody]

Colts fans are looking at that and Saying that the Dalton Dolphins are an eminently beatable football team that is ripe for total collapse. I know a big deal was made a few days ago that they didn't make Tyree kill a captain, which was only the easiest and most obvious decision that Mike McDaniel has made since he's been coach of the Dolphins.

[Pablo Torre]

No falsehoods. That was a sign that Tyreek Hill actually is a captain. And we talked about this weeks ago and we said the captains are going to come out. And Tyrique has been someone that, you know, is at odds with his teammates. He's been named a captain for years now. And if he's named a captain, we know he's not a captain because he accepted that role. However, if he's not a captain, it shows he's a true leader. And he says, you know what? I'm going to step down. I'm going to take a step back. And he's really a true captain and a leader on this team. By not accepting the label of captain.

[Zaslow]

What the hell are you talking about?

[Dan Le Batard]

No, he's right.

[Pablo Torre]

It shows growth in leadership and maturity.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, it's very important to Note that Mike McDaniel does not pick the captains. It's a team vote.

[Pablo Torre]

Go on.

[Greg Cody]

It's a player vote. I think it's very significant that the players themselves demoted Tyreek Hill because they were fed up with him refusing to go in a game late last season and then making all these uncaptain like unleadership like moves on social media before finally retracting with his tail between his legs. He, as Tua said, and I give Tua credit for this, on opening day of training camp, Tua comes out and says Tyreek has to earn back the respect of the team. And apparently he hadn't when they voted for captains. I think it's a big deal.

[Billy Gil]

I'm going to have to side with Billy here.

[Pablo Torre]

Thank you.

[Billy Gil]

They probably all got gathered in the locker room and Tyreek Hill probably stepped forward and said, guys, I shouldn't be captain. Which is a true captain.

[Greg Cody]

It could be.

[Zaslow]

It could be nonsense.

[Chris Cody]

Good correction there. I thought that Mike McDaniel had made that decision. The players making that decision.

[Pablo Torre]

Guy doesn't make any decisions.

[Chris Cody]

Fairly obvious.

[Jeremy]

Teams run amok. Isn't it one of those things, though, where all the votes go to Mike McDaniel? So he's sitting in the office counting the votes. I mean, he can kind of say.

[Pablo Torre]

Whoa, whatever Chris wants. Cody finds out, write in ballots, voter fraud and Dolphins captain election none stopping them.

[Chris Cody]

Put it on the poll, please.

[Jeremy]

Now players are going up to Tyreek, like, hey, man, I voted for you.

[Billy Gil]

I don't know what happened.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, and he's saying, I'm a leader. I don't need this, guys. I think for the betterment of the team, you guys be the captains this year.

[Chris Cody]

Put it on the poll, please, at your leisure. At LeBatard show. Did the Dolphins players make Tyreek Hill the captain? And did Mike McDaniel then Jerry, rig the vote?

[Pablo Torre]

Well, that's one view. If the correct probably view is that Tyreek Hill said, you know what? For the betterment of the team and the organization, I'm going to step down. I don't think it's a stretch to say he's laying down the foundation for Walter Payton man of the Year.

[Greg Cody]

I do.

[Chris Cody]

I wish you let that silence sit, Greg. Why wouldn't you? Really? You really? So you object to Billy's contention that Tyreek Hill might be NFL man?

[Zaslow]

It was important.

[Pablo Torre]

It was important.

[Zaslow]

If he didn't say anything, someone may have thought that Greg agreed.

[Chris Cody]

I wanted the silence. If we could have just stared at him for five seconds, it would have been funny.

[Greg Cody]

I let it sit for 2.5.

[Chris Cody]

You didn't let it sit. Not. Not.

[Jeremy]

You didn't.

[Billy Gil]

A quick clock on that.

[Dan Le Batard]

2.5 is quick.

[Zaslow]

I know you're 2.5 seconds.

[Pablo Torre]

Some people, by the way, have also said Walter Payton man of the Year is really the most important trophy that you can win. Not the Lombardi.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. Laughable.

[Chris Cody]

Craig, can you. What are you doing?

[Pablo Torre]

You're trying to just annoy me at this point.

[Greg Cody]

The NFL says it's their biggest trophy, which is ridiculous. No offense to Walter Payton.

[Pablo Torre]

Or Tyree Kill. Potentially.

[Billy Gil]

Rest in peace.

[Greg Cody]

Right? Exactly.

[Pablo Torre]

Or his son, who Dan thought was a bathroom attendant.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

No, it's crazy, though. Come on.

[Chris Cody]

I did not think he was a bathroom attendant. I thought he was at the kiosk handing out tourists pamphlets. I did not think he was a bathroom attendant. That is not how far in extreme my racism ran. I simply made him the convention center pamphlet handler. Which is also insulting. Your glasses are also fogging.

[Greg Cody]

I know they're poorly.

[Chris Cody]

It's the coffee. I think they're poorly.

[Roy]

What?

[Greg Cody]

They were fitted wrong for my head. So they sit too close. The Cody eyeball.

[Jeremy]

The Cody knows.

[Greg Cody]

The Cody knows nose. No, it's badly designed. I'm not gonna say who the, you know, eye doctor is that I go to, because I don't want to.

[Chris Cody]

McGillicuddy.

[Greg Cody]

No, no, it's not McGillicuddy.

[Chris Cody]

Greg, the coffee. What's happening with the fogging of the glasses is that your coffee's hot and you're fogging the glasses by drinking coffee.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I love coffee.

[Roy]

Coffee.

[Greg Cody]

Everybody loves coffee. It's the American drink.

[Chris Cody]

No, not everyone.

[Zaslow]

Yeah, some people don't like it.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Chris Cody]

Put it on the Polette LeBatard Show. Does everyone love coffee? I learned something that I did not know when I was in Hawaii. I evidently, that coffee prices have exploded because of the tariff situation. It's one of the things that have happened where we don't have a lot in America of the kind of soil that you need to make some of the best coffee. So you. You can do some of that. You can find some of that in Hawaii and I. And where else? I guess Puerto Rico might have some climate that you would want for coffee, but we don't make coffee. Well, and America's addicted to coffee. Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Does everyone like coffee? Because have you guys seen the coffee prices explode in a way that you're noticing it the way that people notice that egg prices were exploding? Nah.

[Greg Cody]

A little bit. A little bit like, like I buy 10k cups of an unnamed brand. It was always 9.99, you know, basically a buck a cup for years, and now it's like 12.99, 13.99. That's pretty big.

[Chris Cody]

I thought Zaslav was going to bring in a plain stick today. What happened? Yeah, Good job, good job, good job.

[Zaslow]

Why can' to think. I got to remember everything.

[Greg Cody]

You blew it.

[Chris Cody]

You got to remember to go everything. I got to remember get a plain stick at Dunkin Donuts when That's your thing. You said yesterday. That's my thing. I'm going to bring it in tomorrow.

[Zaslow]

And now I'm annoyed because now I'd really like to eat a plane stick right now.

[Chris Cody]

And everyone said it. And then we put it on a poll, and 85% of the people said they didn't know what a plain stick was. And you were going to show us today what a plain stick was.

[Zaslow]

I've let everyone down.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, you have.

[Pablo Torre]

It's okay. We're used to Yo.

[Zaslow]

You have to agree so quick. Right?

[Pablo Torre]

Bricks of Cuban coffee are out of control. If you're asking me, Dan, like yava bustelo. They used to be like $1.99 or something for like a brick down near $5 now. It's crazy.

[Chris Cody]

Put it on the poll as well. Lebatard show. Have you noticed that coffee prices have exploded.

[Jeremy]

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[Roy]

Hi.

[Billy Gil]

It's the holidays and the 50th anniversary of Miller Lite. The holidays are all about gathering around with family and friends. So why don't you bring out a cornucopia of that beautiful white canned Miller Lite or draft, whatever it is. You know it's going to be a special time when you bring out Miller Lite because Miller Lite makes special time. Miller Time. Whether it's a late night hang after the holiday party or standing around a fire pit with a fam, Miller Lite just fits. It's a taste you know you can depend on. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients like malted barley, rich balanced toffee notes, and that iconic golden color. And at 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces, it lets you enjoy the season without weighing you down. The original light beer since 1975 and still hidden different 50 years later. The best holiday beers are the ones you don't expect. Miller Lite great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com Daniel to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Tis Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Dan Le Batard]

Folks.

[Jeremy]

Fuel your game day with the unbeatable crunch of Hampton Farms, the official Peanut of bowl season. Perfect for sharing with friends, tailgating outside the stadium or cheering from the couch. Grab a bag from the produce aisle of your local grocery store and savor the game one peanut at a time. Let's get nutty.

[Roy]

Don Levitard.

[Chris Cody]

You don't remember the idea?

[Jeremy]

I was probably like, that kind of thing.

[Chris Cody]

Something.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, no, the home run call was that kind of swing. That kind of thing.

[Roy]

Stugats.

[Chris Cody]

Oh, it's a good call.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you. And plus, it doesn't matter who's hitting it. Like, you're not tailoring it to a particular name. You know, all that jazz, you know, you don't got to do that.

[Chris Cody]

Oh, that would be a great call.

[Greg Cody]

Swing. That kind of thing.

[Chris Cody]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugach. The Pablo Tori finds out story that I do believe. I don't know. You guys have now seen it. It dropped at 5 o'. Clock. Do we have any special imaging? Even though we're coming in a couple of hours late on what it is that's happening with Pablo Torre. His episode dropped at 5am this morning. He's been working on it for seven months. Okay. Because this is his first assignment in partnership with the Athletic and he's coming out with the biggest story I think he's ever had. But you guys have now seen some of the story. Did we over promise and under deliver? Did we promise correctly or did we under promise and over deliver? Because we normally don't talk this positively about something that's coming out. But I really do believe that even in a football week, as soon as people see what the size of this story is, it's got some nuance in it. Some of his stories are hard to report cleanly. Like just saying, hey, this thing is so. And it's a fact because you're accusing people of things and there's lawyering involved. You don't want to get sued. You have to like, you have to make sure that you have your facts right on a story like this. You can't be flippant about it. But where. So. So if anyone here is accused of violating the salary cap with A. For example, an alleged $28 million no show job for Kawhi Leonard, a superstar that everyone was wondering when the Clippers got him, how did that happen? Uncle Dennis was involved. Kawhi was asking for a ton of things. Did we over promise?

[Zaslow]

I'll be honest. When Pablo first started mentioning this like a few weeks ago, like a big story coming out, you know, and, and David was Mentioning, hey, he's saying he's got a big story coming out. I was like, all right. It's like, better be a doozy, all right? Because Pablo's had a couple stories that felt pretty big, and you're saying this one's bigger. So I. I'll admit I was skeptical. You know, is this gonna come out? Like, it's not that big of a thing. And then I see it this morning, and it's a pretty big thing. I think, I think that people are going to be like, I think there's gonna be a lot of trouble with this story. I mean, heck, I was listening on the way in here on Sirius XM on NBA Radio. They were all over it. Like, they were talking about the story and Pablo this, Pablo that. Like, I think once people are starting to wake up today, they see the story. I think, I think it's big trouble.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. I normally have below average interest in business stories and stories that involve contract, but this is a true blockbuster. And I think the size of it, the weight of it, is going to be known when the repercussions come in. Like, is, is Ballmer going to be suspended? Are they going to be fined or the club going to be fined?

[Chris Cody]

They can't lose draft picks because OKC's got them all.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, exactly. But what are they, you know, is. Is the deal going to be negated?

[Zaslow]

No, the punishments mean they have to keep Kawhi Leonard. That's the punishment.

[Billy Gil]

Played good last year, Zaz.

[Zaslow]

They would love to get out from that contract.

[Jeremy]

I kind of poo pooed the last one of these Pablos. This one. This one's big.

[Zaslow]

It's a good one.

[Jeremy]

Kind of like the Woj has a Woj bomb. This is a Pablo. Whoa.

[Chris Cody]

That's the dropping of a Pablo.

[Roy's Guest]

Yeah. He's blown away.

[Jeremy]

Like, can you feel it?

[Greg Cody]

Oh, yeah, I can.

[Jeremy]

It's a. Is there a Pablo out there? It's brisk, but.

[Billy Gil]

But it's not like, powerful maybe that's like a nuke and this is like the nuclear winter sound afterwards.

[Jeremy]

It sounds to me like a Pablo.

[Chris Cody]

This is the dropping of a Pablo. Get back in the workshop and see if you can make better imaging for that.

[Billy Gil]

Dan, that costs $7,000.

[Jeremy]

I feel nervous.

[Pablo Torre]

What's Pablo's security detail like? Provided by Metalark. Because he's pissing off a lot of powerful people who, you know, maybe might try to kill him.

[Chris Cody]

I don't know if people listening put it delicately. That was not. I don't think that people necessarily. The discerning ones do. But I don't think that people necessarily see what's happening throughout the entirety of media and sports media. That makes it more and more difficult with all of these corporate partnerships and all of these teams not caring for sports journalism and as far as I can tell, not sure how much sports fans care for sports journalism until it's done this kind of thoroughly. And they then enjoy, of course, the scandal. But what's happening throughout sports journalism is resources throughout, local news throughout everything, not just sports, is that it's all being hacked to death by an assortment of efficiency cuts and people not seeing this stuff as important. So Meadowlark Media has made a substantive investment in making sure that this show can do what what outside the lines used to do, what HBO Real Sports used to do in the podcast form. No one else is doing this in the podcast form in sports. Let's play a clip from Pablo Torre finds out this episode dropped at 5am we will get better imaging for when it is a Pablo Chop.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you.

[Pablo Torre]

Remember the first time that you discovered Kawhi Leonard's endorsement agreement with Aspiration?

[Aspiration Employee]

Oh, it was within the first 30 days of my employment with the company and I didn't so much as discover it as I was told about it.

[Pablo Torre]

What was your reaction?

[Dan Le Batard]

What were you told?

[Aspiration Employee]

My reaction was what the.

[Roy]

And I.

[Aspiration Employee]

Was told like, oh, these are the major contracts and the major players you really need to be aware of. And we went through a litany of, you know, really, really top tier name contracts. And then, oh, by the way, we also have a marketing deal with Kawhi Leonard, a $28 million organic marketing sponsorship deal with Kawhi. And that if I had any questions about it, essentially dulled because it was to circumvent the salary cap.

[Roy]

Lol.

[Aspiration Employee]

There was lots of LOL when things were shared.

[Pablo Torre]

Did you ever see proof of Kawhi Leonard marketing or endorsing aspiration in any way?

[Jeremy]

Never.

[Aspiration Employee]

Not once. The single largest payment to an individual for marketing that Aspiration ever made has completely evaded all press. Nothing. He didn't have to do anything.

[Pablo Torre]

In other words, Kawhi Leonard got from aspiration a $28 million no show job.

[Aspiration Employee]

Yeah, it's amazing. I'm honestly so jealous. So jealous. I mean, he's got the dream like it's within my beliefs to be paid $28 million and do absolutely all as well.

[Chris Cody]

One of the things that I wrote down on a piece of paper when we left espn in terms of aspirational bullet points, there weren't that many. But one of them was, I'd like to start something that allows me to use a voice modulator. And I don't think we do it particularly well here.

[Billy Gil]

No, that was bad because that was very clearly BO ban.

[Roy's Guest]

Yeah.

[Chris Cody]

I think it's pretty obvious to anybody who worked with that person who that is. Like, I believe his. His voice is distinctive enough.

[Billy Gil]

Oh, I sign in a pronoun. Okay.

[Chris Cody]

That while it is that we're listening to it, we don't know who it is. But I think the people who would be mad that that person spoke would recognize that voice. I don't think we use the voice modulator very well.

[Greg Cody]

So identifiable. Unbelievable.

[Pablo Torre]

What?

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, that guy. To people who know him, to people who work for that company.

[Jeremy]

How can you know that the voice sounds different?

[Greg Cody]

Please.

[Billy Gil]

I mean, what if it's a woman?

[Roy]

It's possible.

[Billy Gil]

In fact, I would say, in my opinion, I heard that. I'm like, yeah, it's possibly a woman. And to hear you guys speak with such certainty that it's not probably speaks to the fact that it might be a good voice modulation.

[Chris Cody]

You know what? I need to slightly take that back, because I erred in assuming that it was or is a man. Where I don't think I erred is in thinking that we would be bad as a group at voice modulation and that therefore that would be a man. Because to disguise the voice and have it be a woman would be well done. I don't believe we did it that well.

[Billy Gil]

The second episode of Pablo Torre finds out is we track down whether or not that's a man or a woman.

[Roy's Guest]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Billy Gil]

Hey, there's spaces in between.

[Roy's Guest]

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[Zaslow]

With Black Friday savings at the Home Depot, you can get up to 1400 dollars off plus get free delivery on select appliances like LG, America's most reliable line of appliances. Check out the newest LG refrigerator with new mini craft ice straight from the dispenser shop. Black Friday savings on select LG appliances plus get free delivery now at the Home Depot. Free delivery on appliance purchases of $396 or more offer valid 11.5through12 3 US only. See store online for details.

[Greg Cody]

Extra value meals are back. That means 10 tender juicy McNuggets and.

[Chris Cody]

Medium fries and a drink are just.

[Greg Cody]

$8 only at McDonald's for a limited time only.

[Chris Cody]

Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California. And for delivery, Don lebatard We get.

[Greg Cody]

Some golf ASMR Stugats oh me.

[Chris Cody]

This is the Dan lebatar Show with the Stugats. Greg Cody wanted us to find when he came in here today. What I have spoken about before, which is the one time that he was using a voice modulator when he suggested in print something that Zaslo still makes fun of him about 30 years later that the Dolphins trade Dan Marino.

[Greg Cody]

Right. I'm the only person in this room whose voice has been modulated, so I speak from experience.

[Chris Cody]

Well, Chris has done some voice modulation with a new toy that he has back there that we've given him because again, the bullet points were I wanted to be good at voice modulation and we're still not good at voice modulation.

[Pablo Torre]

I also snitched on Balmer to Paul Oops.

[Chris Cody]

Greg, would you please get in that seat over there where our voice modulator is in the middle seat and see since you I'd like to see if we can get slightly better at the voice modulation here, but I'm on it in front of he loved Greg Cody. Loved that in 1990 or thereabouts. Can you look at the date on that framed column over there?

[Zaslow]

It's probably 93 on the wall on.

[Chris Cody]

When it is that Greg Cody, the most memorable column Greg Cody has ever written 93 in 1993. He blasphemed. Sacrilege. He traded Dan Marino in print. And afterward I thought it was Channel 10 that interviewed him, although he said it was Jim Berry who I think is still on the air. I think Jim Berry is still on the air.

[Billy Gil]

Anchor chair.

[Chris Cody]

And he had his voice and his face modulated like you would a whistleblower or anybody whose identity you were trying to conceal who was giving you information that was dangerous for them to be known to be giving. And so he once did an interview in front of the Miami Herald building that way and he wanted us to find it for him from 30 years ago. And I feel like I would have had to go straight to Jim Barry and ask him to go through things I would have to put in a VCR in order to get them to play because this is so old. It's 10 years before the Internet. Nevermind social media.

[Pablo Torre]

Pablo would have found it.

[Chris Cody]

It. Maybe Pablo can find it so that we can hear a young sounding Greg Cody. But Greg, let me hear. Let me see if your voice would be well disguised here if we modulated it here instead of using all of the resources that Pablo has.

[Roy]

Hello, this is not Greg Cody. That kind of thing and you know it.

[Chris Cody]

Okay, now any questions? I want the whole show like this. Do you. You want Greg to sit in there.

[Jeremy]

All win for the Dolphins, huh?

[Roy]

It's not Greg, but I. I do agree with Greg.

[Jeremy]

Why are you talking so slow?

[Roy]

Dolphins need to win this opener.

[Jeremy]

It's cuz you can hear yourself. It's kind of awkward.

[Roy]

What do you mean?

[Chris Cody]

Craig?

[Billy Gil]

Do you have it? Back in my day.

[Roy]

A what? I. I stand behind Greg for not doing back in my days anymore. You all have him singing songs and doing so many ancillary things that his trad. Ridiculous and you know it.

[Jeremy]

Talk faster.

[Chris Cody]

Why are you talking so slow?

[Roy]

I'm talking at my normal speed. This is. Yeah, my wife loves this deep sexy voice, I'll tell you that.

[Pablo Torre]

There you go.

[Jeremy]

How would you talk to her with it?

[Roy]

Yeah, baby.

[Pablo Torre]

What's your wife's name?

[Roy]

I forget.

[Chris Cody]

You're not Greg, so.

[Roy]

Yeah, I'm not Greg. My wife's name is Eileen.

[Billy Gil]

Come on Eileen.

[Roy]

Eileen that way and you know it.

[Jeremy]

Come on, Eileen.

[Roy]

I didn't say that.

[Chris Cody]

Roy said it.

[Jeremy]

And I know I was like we're doing a duo thing back and forth.

[Chris Cody]

I have to admit that that is not only an exceptional voice simulator, it's at least in part exceptional because the person speaking is clearly about 350 pounds heavier than Greg. Cody, you can hear the you.

[Jeremy]

We could play a game where you turn around and then we. Someone in here talks, and you have to guess who's doing it.

[Roy]

Yeah, that's a good idea, baby.

[Chris Cody]

I think we're doing pretty well with grill.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, we'll just cook.

[Chris Cody]

Although I also think that Billy could do all of this better. Let's. Billy, would you go outside, please?

[Roy]

Go.

[Chris Cody]

Because I want to do. What is the pixelation called? I guess that's what it's called. Pixelation.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Roy's Guest]

Good job.

[Roy]

Well done.

[Pablo Torre]

Now, if you're telling me to go do something, something pixelated, people will know it's me because you just told me to do it.

[Roy]

Right. Okay.

[Pablo Torre]

Which defeats the purpose of the pixelation.

[Chris Cody]

Let's do something then where no one could ever know it's you. I want you to put on what.

[Pablo Torre]

Now they'll know because again, you're saying me. Just say someone should do this, and then no one will know who it is. All right, Say Greg. Greg. Why don't you go do it, Greg?

[Roy]

I could do that. If I can find Greg, I'll let him know.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, good.

[Roy]

I still can't get over that Zaslow forgot the. The plane sticks.

[Zaslow]

Oh, I don't know why you got to keep bringing that up. Would it kill someone to remind me in the morning? I got a lot going on.

[Chris Cody]

Tomorrow. You're going to bring in a plain stick.

[Zaslow]

If someone reminds me.

[Roy]

Bringing enough for everybody.

[Chris Cody]

All right, someone please leave the room and. Or someone go into another room. A total mystery figure. And let's see if we can figure out who that person is based on whatever it is, the maximum disguise that we can pour resources into so that we can actually do this correctly. Before we try the game that Chris is suggesting, which is I have to turn my back to things and figure out who's talking at the microphone. We will do that in a moment. And we will also get to the fact that the state of Florida has three teams in the top 15. The biggest stunner, FSU, all of a sudden in the top 15, going from 13 and 1 to 2 and 10 to now back in the top 15. That is a roller coaster ride.

[Billy Gil]

Boy, do they look good.

[Roy]

The overreaction to their beating Alabama to vote them from unranked to number 10 is ridiculous.

[Zaslow]

Good thing they weren't 10, though.

[Billy Gil]

They were 14.

[Roy]

Well, still, my point is, well made. That kind of thing.

[Chris Cody]

You not only sound like you're £450, you also, because of how slow you're talking, you Sound like you're slurring, like you sound like you've had a great deal to drink.

[Roy]

Right? Well, here's the thing, you know, I. I was born this way, you know, don't make fun of my voice. Now, I can artificially try to talk even quicker and see how it turns out, but this is the quickest it goes. Hey, this is the quickest it goes, everybody. This is the quickest it goes. Yeah. This is the quickest it goes. All right.

[Chris Cody]

This is the quickest it goes. All right, we go on to the other room where Billy obviously is better at all of these things than we are. Let's go out to a super secret person who.

[Roy]

Clear.

[Chris Cody]

Is not Billy. It's somebody else. Let's see if we can figure out who this is.

[Roy]

This is good. And the voice is going to be changed. Yeah, yeah, you're good. So we're talking about Pablo. Oh, he broke another story. Big deal. Wow. We're with the Athletic now. We're breaking serious news. How about this for breaking news? Football starts on Thursday. You're releasing a story on Wednesday. And what's the story? Oh, a rich guy did something a little bit sketchy and maybe got around laws. Who could have seen that coming? Billionaires getting their way by not following the law and making up fake tree planting companies. I'm shocked. Aghast. How about this? Philadelphia Eagles. Thursday, football starts Friday. Brazil. Saturday, fiu. Penn State. Sunday, Sunday Night Football. The NFL full slate is back Monday. This story has what a day to exist. And we're gonna throw a big party to find out that all of a sudden, these people are not all on the up and up. Allegedly. Who cares? Why do we need this? Like, did Pablo not get enough attention as a child? And now we have to stop everything that we do every time he puts out a podcast episode and pretend like we've discovered some sort of great thing that's gonna change the world. No one cares. No one cares about this story. No one's gonna care about it. Everybody's flying down to throw a party. They're sending all these. Do not report until 5am on Wednesday. As if I want to tell my friends about this story anyway. Like, I want to talk. Did you hear about Kawhi Leonard and Steve Ballmer?

[Chris Cody]

No.

[Roy]

No one gives a shit about Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard. Here's the story. They cheated and they still suck. They haven't won anything. Why don't you explore that? Why don't you find out why they keep cheating and can't win. That's the interesting thing. If anything, cheat better. This isn't even good cheating. You have one. Shit. Who cares about this story? Who cares about the Clippers? Who cares about Kawhi Leonard? Who cares about replanting trees? Ridiculous.

[Chris Cody]

I do want to talk about what a great fake business, the tree planting business.

[Billy Gil]

My God, Dan, if you're talking about.

[Dan Le Batard]

Fraud, the one thing you got to do is make sure that you're not selling something that can be traced back to you, right? Hey, yeah, we planted the tree.

[Pablo Torre]

See that tree right there?

[Aspiration Employee]

We planted it.

[Pablo Torre]

And you're like, really?

[Chris Cody]

Wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

How much did it cost you? 100 grand.

[Greg Cody]

No biggie.

[Billy Gil]

And you just re.

[Dan Le Batard]

And you just multiply that for $28 million. You plant a trillion trees, everybody's happy. You replant the rainforest and you never did anything and you get all this money and it doesn't matter what an incredible fraud.

[Chris Cody]

I think that that mystery figure was indeed right when he or she shrugs his or her shoulders and says, oh, big surprise. A billionaire skirting the rules. However, one of the shocking things about this to me, many, many years ago. Can you look this up for me and see if it is indeed true? Because it might be an urban myth, but for many years, the greatest example of cheating in sports with money used to be Eric Dickerson and the way that he was recruited and specifically the way SMU recruited him before SMU went on like this, total probation because they were cheating everywhere. And the story goes. And please look this up for me to see if it's true, because I've asked Eric Dickerson and he will not confirm it. And I can't remember if it's true or urban myth that SMU offered him an oil well. That's 40 years ago. To see that make an appearance in the pros because of course they're going to try and get around the salary cap. And Mark Cuban one time got gonged because he just let Dennis Rodman stay at his house for a while because they're very particular about.

[Roy]

About.

[Chris Cody]

We're legislating equality here. Bad teams get better. We need everything to be competitive. When you circumvent the salary cap, as it looks like the Clippers did to land Kawhi Leonard with a $28 million no show job that used to be the exclusive domain of colleges. And the way that colleges recruited before that they could. Before they could pay players is legitimately shocking to me. Even understanding that Uncle Dennis and Kawhi were working in the shadows and weren't doing business the way necessarily Ballmer, usually business.

[Billy Gil]

How unlikely is it to you guys that Steve Ballmer is the only billionaire that tried this in a cap sport? Because my take after this reporting by Pablo is I think there are some other owners that are getting a little nervous.

[Pablo Torre]

Name names.

[Chris Cody]

I thought that. And I've never been able to actually confirm this because I thought that for a while there when China was making its way in and the Chinese endorsements were making their way into the sport, that there were creative ways that an assortment of owners were leveraging relationships to get people endorsement money because of the relationships that they had in China that would have been outside of the salary cap and had some promises in it that would allow this. But a $28 million no show job is beyond the pale. Like this is to pay someone that much for something that they didn't even have to do an endorsement deal. That the whole thing just seemed kind of bo bogus because he was hiding behind some plants. Some hiding behind some plants and tree planting.

[Zaslow]

We know for sure that he didn't plant any trees.

[Greg Cody]

That's what they say.

[Dan Le Batard]

So the thing is, if you're going to go through with a good scam, you got to have the backstory right. You got to have Kawhi in some timberland boots with a shovel. You got to have him next to a couple of trees, a little bit of dirt on his face, a little.

[Billy Gil]

Bit of sweat, and you're like, look.

[Dan Le Batard]

He'S planting these trees. What was his no show job at this company?

[Chris Cody]

No show. It was to no show tree planter.

[Dan Le Batard]

Was he just picturing with the tree? Like, what was his job?

[Chris Cody]

He was a celebrity endorser like Robert Downey Jr. They were spending a lot of money on celebrity endorsements.

[Zaslow]

I like the LLC that he created to get payment KW2 like they're really hiding the. Well, I mean, you may as well just named it Salary Cap Cheating LLC.

[Pablo Torre]

W2 the name of the fake company in it.

[Roy]

Well, part of, part of the outrage here is the stupidity. The idea that they have a fake company for Kawhi Leonard and don't even go through the pretense of him actually having a job. It would be so easy to fake that. Have him do an ad, have him do a commercial, appear in a magazine. They did none of that. But to Mike's point, and he's right, I instantly wondered if this team is so ham handedly trying to circumvent the salary cap, it's got to be going on not only in the NBA but in every major okay.

[Chris Cody]

But I think so. Okay, you say that the MLS is.

[Billy Gil]

Overtly doing it with Messi. I mean, he. They have rules that designated players can make what they want, but the pot was sweetened with apple. And we just understand the business that Messi brings over to that league and everybody is okay with it, but there is just no way all on earth that Steve Ballmer was the first person to think of this and execute it. No way. Now, other people may be better at covering up their tracks, I assume, I can only assume that there are teams right now looking into this kind of thing.

[Pablo Torre]

In fairness to Kawhi and Steve Ballmer, sometimes seeds just don't take.

[Dan Le Batard]

That is true.

[Pablo Torre]

You know, like, I don't know if you've ever had to like the school project where your kid bring homes like a pumpkin scene, like, wow, I'm gonna have a pumpkin patch in my backyard. And now it never pay for pumpkins again at, you know, Halloween. And it just never grows. So it's possible they got dud season. They're the real victims here.

[Chris Cody]

Can you look up for me, please? What are the greatest salary cap scandals in the history of sports? Because we're fascinated by the numbers.

[Zaslow]

Juan Howard in the Heat.

[Chris Cody]

The salary cap. Yeah, after that one, Pat Riley had the famous quote that the NBA office made him feel like he had just gone back from the proctologist and they'd stuck a whole hundred foot pole up his foot because they, they overrode the Juwan Howard trade. But when you guys are the Dwan Howard transaction, when you guys are cynical and understandably saying, ah, this probably happens all the time, that's one thing. I don't agree with it because they're very vigilant about investigating this stuff and the penalties are harsh and will be harsh.

[Pablo Torre]

But they did investigate this previously and found nothing.

[Roy's Guest]

Yeah, but now.

[Chris Cody]

But my. This is my point exactly. It's one thing to suspect it. It's a whole nother thing to be able to prove it. And it's in public now and it feels proven that one is what's rare about it. Like, you can have your cynicisms, but Pablo actually did the work. And the facts on this are something that are gonna. They're gonna have reverberations throughout the sport.

[Billy Gil]

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