Local Hour: Kids Are Ingrates

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Local Hour: Kids Are Ingrates

August 28, 2025

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Episode Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the crew deliver their signature blend of sports analysis, irreverent banter, and local flavor. The episode navigates the onset of college football season, workplace dynamics within the studio crew, the woes of sick kids and parental stresses, the quirks of South Florida fandom, and some hilarious detours on pop culture and local sports institutions. Appropriately titled “Kids Are Ingrates,” the hour also reflects on the disconnect between generations—both on campus and at home.

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Table of Contents

1. Billy Gil’s Inner Circle and Thermometer Woes
2. College Football Kickoff: Miami, Notre Dame, LSU, Clemson & Belichick
3. Sick Kids, Scarlet Fever & Parental Nightmares
4. The Devil on ESPN: Mel Kiper Jr. and Tangents
5. The Sueys: Best Dismissal and Bits
6. FIU Football, Campus Fame, and “Kids Are Ingrates”
7. Panthers Front Office and Franchise Culture
8. Memorable Quotes

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1. Billy Gil’s Inner Circle and Thermometer Woes

[02:02 – 05:27]

• Group Dynamics: Dan and Chris discuss how Billy Gil’s “inner circle” is notoriously hard to penetrate, joking about how rare it is to get a text back from Billy.

  • Chris Cody: “Fuentes was telling people that he got a return text from you... We're like, you got a blessed return text from Billy. You're in the inner circle, Fuentes.” [02:54]

• Billy’s Family Health Saga:

  • Billy shares a stressful parenting story: with his kids sick and their pediatrician gone, he navigates urgent care chaos, head vs. ear thermometer debates, and ends up at a CVS hunting for a locked thermometer.
  • He laments the “black market” restrictions on thermometers compared to other pharmacy goods:
    • Billy Gil: “Why are they locking up thermometers? ...What are people gonna do with a thermometer?” [05:27]

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2. College Football Kickoff: Miami, Notre Dame, LSU, Clemson & Belichick

[10:01 – 24:51]

• Previewing the Weekend:

  • The group ranks college football’s opening weekend matchups: Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, LSU, and the debut of Bill Belichick at North Carolina.
  • Glorification of Zaslow as a “rising star,” with ESPN sending him cross-country to cover games.

• Debating Which Game Matters Most:

  • Dan: “Clemson, LSU is probably the second biggest game of the weekend.” [16:40]
  • Jonathan Zaslow disagrees, saying Miami–Notre Dame's history and rivalry outweigh “today’s brands.”

• Belichick at UNC:

  • Belichick’s move to college football is called intriguing but potentially “a bit of a fart.”
    • Chris Cody: “Belichick is a bit of a fart this weekend.” [18:34]
  • Debate ensues over whether a blowout win will rank UNC, with skepticism about instant validation.

• Generational Divide in Fandom:

  • Chris Cody: “There’s a generation that doesn’t know that Clemson was a joke.” [17:11]

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3. Sick Kids, Scarlet Fever & Parental Nightmares

[25:05 – 28:31]

• Modern Parenting Hell:

  • Recent studio conversations about sick kids, and Mike Ryan’s joking hunt for an exorcist.
  • Dan Le Batard recounts a harrowing ordeal with his own daughter developing scarlet fever:
    • Starts with vomiting, morphs into a rash, face peeling, and fits of distress.
    • Dan: “I can honestly see how people without the Internet, without WebMD in the 1800s said, this isn’t scarlet fever. This girl’s possessed because it altered her behavior.” [28:06]

• Parenting Anxiety & Humor:

  • Jokes about exorcisms, the old-fashioned fears, and Billy’s ongoing worry for his own household as Dan describes symptoms.

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4. The Devil on ESPN: Mel Kiper Jr. and Tangents

[29:18 – 31:38]

• Mel Kiper Jr. "Looks Like the Devil":

  • The crew is stunned by Mel Kiper Jr.’s excessively red TV appearance.
    • Dan: “This is the most insane I’ve ever seen someone look on television.” [29:18]
  • Jokes about how, if Gavin Newsom was painted the same color, “he’d look like the Devil.”

• Pop Culture Detours:

  • Tangents spin out around height requirements for playing the Devil, Gavin Newsom, Peter Thiel, podcast grievances, and Bill Maher’s inability to let guests speak.
    • Chris Cody: “I want so badly to like that Bill Maher podcast because it could be so good. But he won’t stop talking.” [31:18]

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5. The Sueys: Best Dismissal and Bits

[10:06 – 11:35, 21:43 – 22:13]

• Award Show for Show Bits

  • The “Sueys” entries for “Best Dismissal” (split into Stugotz and non-Stugotz categories) and “Best Limited Fake” are announced amid laughter and confusion about the process. [10:19 – 11:25]

• Limited Fake Al Pacino

  • Zaslow attempts an Al Pacino impression; scores a “7.6” from Chris Cody. [21:43]
  • Dan: “That’s a Suey nominee right there.” [22:12]

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6. FIU Football, Campus Fame, and “Kids Are Ingrates”

[32:21 – 35:33]

• Billy’s FIU Football Gig:

  • Billy is prepping to broadcast FIU’s football opener and jokes about his indifference to objectivity while covering games.
    • Billy: “I don’t think I need to even aspire to objectivity this season.” [33:12]

• Campus Fame (or Lack Thereof):

  • Billy reflects on being “invisible” at FIU versus the Marlins’ stadium—students view him as a “creepy old guy.”
    • Billy: “What’s fatso over there doing? They’re very rude. I’m gonna be honest with you… Kids are ingrates.” [34:35, 35:15]
  • Zaslow agrees: “I don’t know if you’re aware, my older son. Total ingrate.” [35:23]

• Subheading Justified:

  • This is where the episode’s title, “Kids Are Ingrates,” is fully explained and lampooned.

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7. Panthers Front Office and Franchise Culture

[41:20 – 47:57]

• Business Departures & Sports Culture:

  • Discussion turns to the Florida Panthers losing CEO Matt Caldwell to the Minnesota Timberwolves, following other departures.
    • Jonathan Zaslow: “Obviously Matthew Caldwell has done a really good job... But I don’t know why this is a big thing.” [41:39]
    • Dan: “These are the only guys that have ever done well with this franchise.” [43:51]
  • Argues that the Panthers turned around their business ops before on-ice success and their turnaround made them the model for other franchises, even in the NBA.

• Reflections on South Florida Sports Landscape:

  • Dan: “It is more stunning than seeing them win the championships... to see them be the organization that is the model franchise for everyone else.” [46:02]

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8. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Why are they locking up thermometers?...What are people gonna do with a thermometer?”
  —Billy Gil, [05:27]

• “I can honestly see how people without the Internet, without WebMD in the 1800s said, this isn’t scarlet fever. This girl’s possessed.”
  —Dan Le Batard, [28:06]

• “Mel Kuiper Jr. looks like the devil.”
  —Chris Cody, [37:35]

• “Kids are ingrates. I don’t know if you know this...Kids are generally ingrate. Zaz can tell you. He’s nodding along.”
  —Billy Gil, [35:15]

• “Belichick is a bit of a fart this weekend.”
  —Chris Cody, [18:34]

• “It is more stunning than seeing them win the championships... to see them be the organization that is the model franchise for everyone else.”
  —Dan Le Batard, [46:02]

• “I don’t think I need to even aspire to objectivity this season.”
  —Billy Gil, [33:12]

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Key Segment Timestamps

• [02:02]: Billy Gil's “inner circle” texting banter
• [03:57]: Billy’s locked thermometer/CVS story
• [10:19]: Suey categories & show bits
• [16:40]: Big college football weekend games debate
• [18:34]: “Belichick is a bit of a fart”—generational fan divides
• [25:05]: Sick kids, scarlet fever, paranoia
• [29:18]: Mel Kiper Jr./“devil” laughs
• [33:12]: Billy's objectivity at FIU games
• [34:35]: Campus fame and “kids are ingrates”
• [41:20]: Panthers front office departures & sports business talk
• [46:02]: Panthers as the new model franchise in sports

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Summary

This “Local Hour” explores everything from heated college football debates, the anxiety of modern parenting, and generational sports fandom, to the quirky insularity and humor of the show’s cast. While Miami sports, college football, and the local flavor provide the backdrop, the real value shines through in honest admissions, comedic self-awareness, and a group dynamic that feels like a conversation among old friends—punctuated, always, by zingers, pop culture references, and a loving roast of Billy’s parenting worries and his unique status on campus.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Billy Gil]

Suddenly it seems quite practical.

[Dan Le Batard]

The all new 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan. Packed with premium features like available massaging front seats. It only feels extravagant.

[Chris Cody]

New season, new chaos in college football.

[Dan Le Batard]

Big stage, big opportunity.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

This Labor Day weekend.

[Chris Cody]

The wildness lives on. ABC, ESPN and the all new ESPN app.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

What a way to start.

[Chris Cody]

Featuring top 10 teams like Clemson, Notre Dame, Alabama and LSU. And Bill Belichick's debut at North Carolina. It's so special, these teams collide. Don't miss a lineup filled with electric matchups. Welcome back to Collins Football Kickoff week presented by Modelo.

[Dan Le Batard]

Labor Day weekend on ESPN and abc.

[Chris Cody]

Also available to stream on the all new ESPN app. I believe I think I have this right. Chris Cody, do you think I have it right when I say in our group of people, the group of people who have worked here the longest, the hardest inner circle to get into is Billy Gill's inner circle. Do you agree with that assessment or disagree with that assessment?

[Billy Gil]

I think I agree with it. Billy's a tough nut to crack. I mean, what is this supposed to mean?

[Chris Cody]

I'll tell you what it's like, my.

[Billy Gil]

Inner circle are either people I've impregnated or people people I've impregnated have birthed. So it is difficult in that sense.

[Chris Cody]

But you are somebody you. Because you can be a bit of a mystery. I saw earlier in the room, Fuentes is very eager. He's a very eager person and he is a hustler.

[Billy Gil]

He's a something.

[Chris Cody]

And he wants to be your friend. And I see it happening.

[Billy Gil]

Why?

[Chris Cody]

And you're playing hard to get falsehoods. And so when he said that, he got a return text from you and all of us, Chris, Mike, me, we all looked. We all looked. We're like, you got a blessed return text from Billy. You're in the inner circle, Fuentes.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think you got me confused with somebody else. Billy and I super tight.

[Billy Gil]

Yep.

[Chris Cody]

Fuentes was telling people that he got a return text from you, and then you told him, well, that's the end of that.

[Billy Gil]

Well, no, that's not what he said. He came out and he decided to, for whatever reason, make a proclamation to the office and said, me and Billy exchanged 11 total texts last month. And I was like, who cares? Why are you telling people that? And Dan's like, oh. And he's like, super excited. And I was like, I know what this is about, and I'll tell you what this is about. I got a text from dan yesterday at 7:00 clock at night while I was at a CVS trying to track down an employee to unlock thermometers to sell me a thermometer that's locked up for some reason.

[Dan Le Batard]

What song was playing?

[Billy Gil]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm building this playlist. It could be helpful.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah, I'll go back to check out that cvs, but I had to go ask someone to unlock a thermometer because, listen, we don't need to make this political and get into insurance and all of that, but we had a whole situation. My kids have been sick. Their primary physician left the practice that they were at, so they went in and one of the other doctors has already seen them a thousand times. Couldn't see them. We have to go to urgent care to do this thing at night because no one would see them. Blah, blah, blah. All this stuff they tell us, the head thermometers and the ear thermometers are not the ones you want. You want the arm thermometer, because kids hold their heat in their head and they would say, look, you know, their temperature is actually 98. And my wife would then do it right in front of them in their ear. And she's like, no, it says it's 101.7. Like, no, you're wrong. No, you're wrong. It's a whole thing. We're arguing with people who went to medical school, and we did not go to medical school. So, of course I then have to go and buy a new thermometer. And I think it's a very simple task. Just go to a pharmacy, buy a thermometer, and then, no, there's a lock on the thermometer. They have to go and they have to unlock the thermometer. And meanwhile, Dan said, you know, I was thinking about this meeting from seven hours ago. I'm like, not now. This is not the time. I need to track down people to unlock a thermometer for me. Powerball's at $850 million. I may not have to deal with any of this shit tomorrow. But I didn't win. No one won 950 million on Saturday. What are we talking about? So Fuentes text me and I text him back. And it's not like these glowing response like, okay, cool things like this. I don't know what it is.

[Chris Cody]

That is gold from you. Gold.

[Billy Gil]

Why are they locking up thermometers? You can go and you can buy doughs left and right. Don't have to do nothing behind glass or locks on anything in these CVS's but a thermometer. What are this is encoding. What are people gonna do with a thermometer?

[Chris Cody]

That's a good question.

[Billy Gil]

What is the risk of a thermometer that has to be locked up?

[Chris Cody]

What is your confidence level in Greg Cody being able to execute this?

[Billy Gil]

He's been killing it this week. I think today's the day he fails.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Billy Gil]

It's time to put on a suit and roll out the carpet Crank up the tube and gather near it's the best time of the year so keep your dial right here it's me and you and me again at the Snowys. The greatest of life's mistakes and best revelations. So much more brought to you by the greatest beer. It's the best time of the year so keep your doubt right here it's me and you and me again at the SO east and every day you're gonna Go to a website to vote on the sounds that brought you cheer. Cause it's the best time of the year. So keep your dial right here. It's me and you. It's me again and it's you. It's me and you and me at the Sue.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

That kind of thing.

[Chris Cody]

The Suis have been excellent. What are the categories we have today? Chris Cody. Because it has been very popular and people love voting on this. And it's a nice recap for the year. Before we get into the full flight of crazy football.

[Billy Gil]

We have what I would call the best four categories remaining today and tomorrow with two today we will have best dismissal and best limited fake. So the best dismissals that weren't Stugots.

[Chris Cody]

So are we going to have a best dismissal that is Stugot versus the best dismissal that's not Stugotz? Or does Stugatz claim the dismissal category forevermore? And there are no better dismissals than Stugat's dismissal. There will be a winner from each of those.

[Billy Gil]

But I'm cool with pinning those two.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Winners up against each other to get.

[Dan Le Batard]

How do you stir shit against amorphous things?

[Chris Cody]

The Stugot's dismissal category categories.

[Dan Le Batard]

And you're pitting them against one another.

[Chris Cody]

What are you laughing about? The dismissal. We need a best dismissal. It can't be. There's a best dismissal like this is the sake of accuracy. I'm doing this to respect the process. You do this so unscientifically. I want to know what was the best dismissal from the last year. You can't tell me whether to. One of them is stug. And there's another one won by somebody else because we had to keep everybody out of the Stugach's category. Is it segregated? I'll put race into this if you'd like me to just give him what he wants. I just want the best dismissal. That's all I want.

[Billy Gil]

All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, we have got one and a normal one. And then after we get the results we can put out a new poll and pit. That's one another.

[Chris Cody]

Thank you. Billy. Why are you laughing at Zazzle?

[Billy Gil]

He was just like very comically low. I was trying to figure out if his chair was not on purpose.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Did not need to be brought up. But here we are.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah.

[Chris Cody]

Zaslo is getting. He's getting very popular. As I've told you for a while now. Rising star in this business. College football is very good to Zaslow. He's an expert. He's all over ESPN radio. ESPN flies him all over the world. Where'd you go?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Got that. Got that first class seat tomorrow morning, Dan. That's right.

[Billy Gil]

First class.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

That's right.

[Chris Cody]

He's a rising star. I told you. Look, they're flying. What, what cities did you go to last year? Oh, not, not having any of the clothes to go to any of those cities.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, right. We went to Madison, we went to Ann Arbor, we went to Tuscaloosa, we went to, you know, Landover, Maryland, for Army, Navy. I'll tell you, that stadium' real dump. But we went to some really great places last year.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah.

[Chris Cody]

So South Bend, you are excited about what this year? Because you're about to get on a flight and head into soaring weekend. For those of you who did not listen to Mike Ryan, Mike Ryan has developed a business venture over at um. You know, he's an insider. If you've been listening around here, you know, he's caught in the business of, um, football and also managing the space between being an information guy and being somebody who's not a journalist, who is wildly homorific on behalf of boosting for his team and raising money. He's trying to make the University of Miami football team better and has from the inside of it. So the venture you did, Mike, yesterday. This is. Do you guys know Hasan Piker? Are you guys.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, he's been on our show.

[Chris Cody]

Well, I guess. Okay.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I don't know that fool.

[Chris Cody]

Okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's a dummy.

[Chris Cody]

Thank you, Hasan Piker. There are a lot of people in the industry of content right now doing it very well because they can sit in front of a microphone for a hours and entertain you because people want their content that much and the content makers are addicted to making it, and the people watching it are addicted to watching it. And everyone's making a lot of money off of that. So if you wanted five hours of hurricane talk yesterday, if you wanted five hours that we're not doing on this show of, um, Notre Dame, the second biggest game this weekend, and I'm going to say second biggest by leaps and bounds. Like just. Just because of what you're talking about in that other game. You've got the defending champion against Arch Manning. You've got.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Oh, you mean it's second by leaps and bounds behind number one, not ahead of number three.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know. We didn't get the Fowler Herbie assignment. LSU Clemson did.

[Chris Cody]

LSU Clemson is pretty good too, right? Because LSU Clemson, here's four versus nine.

[Billy Gil]

There's three top 10 matchups this weekend, correct?

[Chris Cody]

More than they've ever Been. And this is why Zaz is going to skyrocket even more into stardom and more first class over the course of whatever this college football season becomes. Because I'm, I'm genuinely enthused to see where all of this ends up. And what you're being met with the first week is I think Miami and Notre Dame is the third place game this week. Just because in terms of what we're talking about, when you talk Clemson, they are what Georgia and Alabama as a brand, they are over the last 10 years what that brand is. And you're talking about today's brands with LSU and Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame. You're mostly talking about yesterday's brands. And they play on the fringes of this. But Miami and Notre Dame have not been like sec, oh, Alabama, Georgia, who's going to play up there? Well, Clemson is going to play up there and Ohio State is going to play up there. Miami's been trying to get into that class for a while. They were there for a minute with Mark Rick. We all knew that wasn't real. But if Cristobal can somehow build on it. Wasn't just a quarterback last year, Cristobal, Because I felt like everything that happened last year is they had the number one pick in the draft. That's what covered everything else. What was supposed to be a three or four year rebuilding project. We are now on the hot seat portion of it. And the transition that you need to happen here is from last year. The quarterback carried you and now you can get all the quarterbacks because you're a place that can make it good for quarterbacks because you're getting all of the athletes around the quarterback.

[Dan Le Batard]

If I may not enough credit for turning a fifth round draft pick at best to the number one overall draft pick. He looked like that because of the trenches that Mario Crisbal and Alex Mirabal developed over the course of three years. He wasn't going to be the number one draft pick until he came to Miami. Yeah, you say Miami's bacon. Yes, he was Miami's best player arguably since Sean Taylor. But it was a mutually beneficial relationship.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I think it's also important not to forget, you know, if you're talking about LSU and Clemson being the second best game and that's. And that's. I don't agree. But that's fine if someone does because look, for all the talk of Arch Manning and he's the Hodson Heisman favor right now, Garrett Nussmeier is number two. All right. And he's taken on A really good Clemson team that not came out of nowhere last year, but no one had them winning the ACC, especially after they got slammed by Georgia Week 1 last year. So it's super high profile, but man, like Notre Dame, national championship runner up last year.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know, I love this debate. It's, it's a sportsy one. I would actually say Clemson, LSU is probably the second biggest game of the weekend.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I don't agree.

[Dan Le Batard]

I, well, those are two teams I that have won national championships inside of the last 10 years. When you lump those four teams together, Miami is certainly on the outside, but there's.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

If the casual, if the average college football fan looks at Clemson, lsu, are, are they gathering the same kind of emotions as you got Notre Dame and Miami?

[Chris Cody]

Yeah, but you're talking about two different age groups though. You're talking about Clemson. LSU is now, is now. Clemson was a joke, man. There's a generation that doesn't know that Clemson was a joke.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Right. Never win the big game.

[Dan Le Batard]

Clemson, Clemsoning was a thing.

[Chris Cody]

Like there's a generation of fans today. What, what I think is happening this weekend is we can have this discussion. It's an interesting one. Hey, which do you think is the bigger game? It's a funny one.

[Dan Le Batard]

Football.

[Chris Cody]

Miami Notre Dame or Clemson?

[Billy Gil]

Lsu, Miami Notre Dame also got their own day, like where everyone else is playing Saturday. There's only two games on Sunday. Just building up to Miami, Notre Dame. So like I wouldn't take it as some sort of slight because they're not. The Saturday night game.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. You have the extra juice of a rivalry to try to make up that gulf between, you know, Clemson and lsu. Both have won a national title fairly recently. Both have quarterbacks that are presumed to be first round draft picks. So you think that the rivalry and the lore of Miami, Notre Dame can be enough. And also I think most people think that that's going to be the better game in terms of tightly contested.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

And that crowd, you know about that crowd on Sunday night.

[Billy Gil]

Who would you have preferred the Monday game to the Sunday game? If you're. The Monday game feels like it's going to be a bit of a fart.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

You're waiting too long, T.C.

[Billy Gil]

You and yeah, but Labor Day games used to be like, wow, Labor Day game. This is like a big deal. But TC North Carolina just seems like.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Well, how many times did Kane's FSU play on that Monday night Labor Day game?

[Chris Cody]

Belichick is a bit of a fart this weekend. Belichick is a bit of a fart is how you just described Belichick first. So tcu. Deion Sanders got into the conversation on tcu.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes. Remember when TCU played for a national title, like, three years ago?

[Chris Cody]

If Belichick.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah, but that was three years ago. Now they're tcu and you're like, oh, what is TCU gonna do this year to kind of mess up for themselves?

[Chris Cody]

Billy, if. If you. Look, I can't believe I'm saying this. Okay, Everything I'm saying about this is the warmup for when football really gets here. In two years or in two weeks, it's gonna feel like two years. You have Clemson, lsu. I don't know which one's bigger. Notre Dame, Miami. We can argue today's fans, yesterday's fans, whatever. I'm still telling you the number one game is a lot bigger than both of those because it's got a Manning in the middle of it. And now you're spanning across all the generations and a Manning who's giving. It's official now. I've never seen this. I've never seen someone come into college football with this kind of anticipation and give me anything that looks like the quote, the target's not on my back or our back. We got a red dot on everyone else. I. Dion did some of that. But now a Manning is doing whatever the Dion thing is to try and like, build up the program in the stardom. So you've got those three things, and it's. Belichick's a bit of a fart. What if he scores 50 points against TCU the way Deion did?

[Billy Gil]

Then he scores 50 points against TCU. You think this Belichick thing is going to be like, their schedule is pretty easy.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Their schedule is very easy, but they have like a whole brand new team. Like, their whole team is out of the transfer portal. You really don't know how bad they could.

[Billy Gil]

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[Chris Cody]

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[Jonathan Zaslow]

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[Chris Cody]

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[Billy Gil]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris Cody]

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[Chris Cody]

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[Jonathan Zaslow]

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[Billy Gil]

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[Jonathan Zaslow]

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[Chris Cody]

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[Jonathan Zaslow]

John, can you rate my Al Pacino from that billiard scene in Carlito's way if I do it for you? I think it's pretty good.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Stugarts, you think you're big time or you're going to die big time.

[Billy Gil]

That is on my infamous scale of 1 to 10. That's a.

[Chris Cody]

That's a 7.6.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Solid.

[Billy Gil]

Good job.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's a suey nominee right there.

[Billy Gil]

Good. This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Chris Cody]

Bit of a fart. Belly Belichick. A bit of a fart.

[Billy Gil]

And I mean, is it not? Who's excited about. Are you guys excited about this?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I tell you, more curious.

[Billy Gil]

I can tell you.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I'm a watch.

[Billy Gil]

You know who agreed with me? The voters. Because there's no little number next to either of those teams. So I'm not in the minority.

[Dan Le Batard]

The curiosity factor is going to be.

[Billy Gil]

Oh, yeah, like you'll watch it, but you'll watch me like, oh, yeah, this is not Bill, but, oh, was Tom Brady.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. I'm happy that we have the Sunday night games.

[Billy Gil]

Are we going to have like a Taylor Swift thing with Jordan?

[Chris Cody]

Jordan?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I don't know.

[Billy Gil]

I don't know.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Where will she be watching?

[Chris Cody]

It's Jordan. It's not Jordan. It's Jordan.

[Dan Le Batard]

Seriously. I always thought it was actually Jordan and we just made it Jordan because there's an over there and it's kind of ridiculous to see an oh there. And I think Dan doesn't understand that we were doing a bit.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

And he just thinks it's short on.

[Billy Gil]

Her name all this time. It's Jordan.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. Maybe Pablo can find out.

[Billy Gil]

Did you see that they trademarked gold digger yesterday? Or they Filed a trademark for the. The term gold digger. Jeremy, get on that.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Why would they do that?

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know, Jordan.

[Billy Gil]

Because it's love.

[Chris Cody]

If you had to bet and be right, Belichick's team's name will have a number next to it after this weekend. Yes or no? No. So you just have them. You just have them losing to tcu. You have Belichick doing nothing. You have this first game being what br. What Billy just said the first game is going to be. Oh, yeah. Brady was responsible for all that with Belichick.

[Dan Le Batard]

I guess it depends on how they look, Dan, But I don't think beating TCU in week one merits a top 25 ranking.

[Chris Cody]

No, but that's what Deon. That's how Deion got into the top 25, is it not?

[Dan Le Batard]

But it was a couple months after TCU played for a national title. But It's a different TCU.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah, but put 50 on TCU and be coached by Belichick and see if people don't just put you up in the rankings. Because it's interesting.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, if you're giving me that hypothetical in which they wipe the floor with TCU in a standalone TV window. Not wipe the floor.

[Chris Cody]

Win a 60 to 55 game. Not wipe the floor.

[Dan Le Batard]

Bill Belichick will quit the college game if he gives up 50 points at TCU.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I mean, 55 is such a stupid game.

[Dan Le Batard]

There is no way he will score 60. He won't allow it.

[Billy Gil]

Right now, North Carolina is not even in others receiving votes, so they'd have to jump a bunch of teams to get to 25.

[Chris Cody]

And the hypothetical. I'm asking you. What you're saying is a bit of a fart of the game is if Belichick wins the first game with a noise, you do not believe they will put him at 25.

[Billy Gil]

I mean, BYU is there, Utah, Baylor, Louisville, USC, Georgia Tech. There's so many teams that receive so many more votes. TCU only received four votes.

[Dan Le Batard]

I like the which what's the bigger game? Debate rather than will North Carolina be ranked?

[Billy Gil]

We are so back. Duke has more votes than North Carolina.

[Dan Le Batard]

Duke should have been ranked at the end of the year. There hasn't been a team in like 15 years that has been as good as Duke was to close the season that went on ranked.

[Billy Gil]

All things matter.

[Chris Cody]

I've got a number of things in this local hour that I wanted to talk to you guys about. Sorry for getting distracted by football. I imagine it's gonna happen a lot over the course of the next Few months, you guys, you talked in the shadow show about sick kids. And Mike Ryan was calling around for an exorcist for his daughter. Cuz now we're in the sick kids period of things. Like the two of you have had nightmare situations with sick kids and I was alarmed. Mike's child is lovely. He was scared of her. He was scared of her.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Well, she needs that exorcism.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I can tell how in the old days people thought you needed an exorcist for the scarlet fever. I found out recently the scarlet fever is still around. My daughter got the scarlet fever, which is a strain of strep throat.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

What does that even mean?

[Dan Le Batard]

Scarlet fever is awful. We've been dealing with it for two weeks. It started two weeks ago. She started vomiting. We didn't really recognize what was happening. Then a couple days later, a rash developed on her face and then cut to. We took her to a pediatrician that said she's post viral. And then we were like, okay, I guess we're clear. And then her face started falling off.

[Billy Gil]

Oh, no.

[Dan Le Batard]

And I'm telling you, there was a moment Saturday night where I'm looking at my sweet baby girl. Her face is irritated, skin is peeling off around her mouth. She's got bumps behind her ears, she's itchy.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I have an important question. At any point during this, did she spider walk down the stairs?

[Dan Le Batard]

Dog. It got close. So I'm looking at her Saturday in the tub and she's just like basically staring through the wall. And my daughter's got so much light to her. And I look at her, I'm like, baby. And she turns her head to the around, like almost all the way around.

[Billy Gil]

Is it contagious? Just out of curiosity?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Strep is turning around.

[Dan Le Batard]

She's been on antibiotics for a long time. You're getting.

[Chris Cody]

But scarlet fever. Is scarlet fever contagious?

[Dan Le Batard]

Scarlet fever is a strain of strep. But again, she got infected two weeks ago and has been on antibiotics for a while.

[Chris Cody]

Billy's very far away from you right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm worried about Billy's kids, honestly. He's got the head thermometer thing. He's got his own shit.

[Chris Cody]

So, Billy, explain to me what it is that's locked up at the farm.

[Billy Gil]

Everything. Hold on.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yeah, let's just.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm getting the part where I thought my daughter needed an exorcist. So she. She turns her head all the way around her body to circle back. 360 degrees.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

That's a sign, Dan.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. And her face is falling off. She genuinely, in this moment, looks like Linda Blair. Her face is bad, but every time I ask her, are you okay? She says, yeah. And I'm like, baby, I don't like how you're looking. You usually act happy.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Or are you actually say to your 5 year old, I don't like how you look.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, you don't look so great. Which she didn't. She looked awful. And I'm like, can I. Can daddy take you to the doctor again? And she looks at me in her voice because of what's going on in her throat, sounds different. And she goes, no more doctors.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

No.

[Dan Le Batard]

And I was like. I could honestly see how people without the Internet, without WebMD in the 1800s said, this isn't scarlet fever. This girl's possessed because it altered her behavior. She would randomly have fits because her body's so itchy where she would just like her body would contort and tense up and she would lose her mind. And it's an awful thing. Don't get scarlet fever, folks.

[Chris Cody]

Put it on the poll, please. Lebatard Show. Did you know that scarlet fever was still a thing? And since you mentioned Linda Blair, a fairly startling thing that that name still resonates. A movie really has to be a horror for. And this still stands up like if you watch Exorcist today. It's still well done and it was a 70s movie. It's an insane thing to say, but we walked in today on television and the devil was on espn. You all saw it and nobody was reporting on it. Look at this photograph of Mel Kuyper Jr. Mel Kuiper Jr. You tell me that that does not look like the devil. And this was before he got rabid. Like there are better pictures of this. What happened to Mel? He got Zagaki. Like he got. Is that. That's he. That he was burnt by the sun but wasn't wearing sunglasses.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the most insane I've ever seen someone look on television.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

It's not a sick thing.

[Chris Cody]

That's crazy.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm concerned. Is this a rib? Did they. Did they. Is he paying off a grid of death punishment?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Does he warn the producers before he connects in the morning?

[Dan Le Batard]

We did not alter this photo.

[Billy Gil]

Is our TV broken?

[Dan Le Batard]

He is this red.

[Chris Cody]

This is not enhanced in any way. I walked past the television and I'm telling you this was before he got heated about whatever it is he was talking about because he was spitting and yelling and stuff and he looked like the devil. Not as much as Gavin Newsom looks like the devil. But if you painted Gavin Newsom this kind of red, he'd look like the Devil the same way. Preach that.

[Billy Gil]

Nah, he does look like the Devil.

[Chris Cody]

He looks like.

[Dan Le Batard]

Like no matter what side of the.

[Billy Gil]

Aisle you're on, he does look like.

[Dan Le Batard]

I got a four day seminar from Peter Thiel on the Antichrist coming up.

[Chris Cody]

You give me the people anywhere in entertainment that look like whatever you imagine to be the human incarnation of the Devil. If he was trying to trick others into believing he's not the devil, the.

[Dan Le Batard]

Four day seminar from Peter Thiel on the Antichrist is indeed a real thing. Looked it up.

[Chris Cody]

He's got to be tall as well. You need the. The incarnation of the Devil in human form. Why am I doing that, though? Because when Pacino did this in that movie where he was playing Satan.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Pacino's devil's advocate.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah, tiny. He's tiny, But Gavin Newsom's height helps him. Here you got to be 6:3 or something in order to be plausibly the devil.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, everybody's running a con. Can I get political for a second? Here's the deal with Gavin News. Don't preach at me saying, hey, these guys aren't messing around. This is the time for action. When three months ago, you were having Steve Bannon on your podcast, trying to normalize him. You're running a grift here, pal. 2.

[Billy Gil]

Good Twitter presence, though.

[Dan Le Batard]

Loving that bitch.

[Billy Gil]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, he landed on the right side of it. But there were a bunch of people saying, what the hell are you doing putting Charlie Kirk on your pod? You were trying to go the Bill Maher route, and then you realized that wasn't the play and you fooled everybody, including me. I love the Twitter thing. A politician running a great. That's crazy. Come on.

[Chris Cody]

I want so badly to like that Bill Maher podcast because it could be so good. But he won't stop talking.

[Billy Gil]

That guy stinks.

[Chris Cody]

He doesn't want. It could be so good. He just doesn't want the other thoughts.

[Billy Gil]

It can't be good. He stinks.

[Dan Le Batard]

I love Dan listening to a podcast. Man, this guy won't stop talking.

[Chris Cody]

Now Bill Maher is doing an interview show, solo podcast. Bill Maher is doing an interview podcast, and he can get anyone he wants, and he won't stop talking because he doesn't think anyone's there for the guest. He thinks they're all there for him. And I just. I would like him to get more out of the guests and fall a little less in love with his own voice. That's What I was doing.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know what that's like.

[Chris Cody]

You did five straight hours, not unlike Hasan Piker on University of Miami football. How did it go? How. And Billy, you've got before the fart of a game that Belichick.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah, we got a real big one.

[Chris Cody]

We got an FIU football game that Billy is covering on Friday. And Billy, where can we find you when we're looking for that broadcast at one time? At what time can we find you? Where is this broadcast?

[Billy Gil]

Seven o' clock kickoff for fiu. Bethune, Pitbull Stadium. Tickets. Tickets available if you want to go and check out Pitbull Stadium. And then you can, you know, if you want to listen to my call, you can go on the website on your phone. You can listen to the game while you're watching it. Live from Pitbull Stadium, South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium. I believe I haven't got an updated notes on that situation yet, but I know last year South Dade Kia was not in love with the fact that it's Pitbull Stadium. Was getting all the love because it's South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium. Maybe we had to say maybe. Maybe. I think. I think so. I think it's South Dade Kia. Yeah. Yeah. The Willie Simmons era gets underway. Bit of a maybe revenge game. He was at Bethune for a while.

[Dan Le Batard]

I like that coach that you have.

[Billy Gil]

Yeah, Willie Simmons.

[Dan Le Batard]

And I think that A.J. allen's gonna be the best running back in program history.

[Billy Gil]

Willie Simmons has got a presence about him. I'll tell you what, the Willie Simmons show kicked off this week. You can see that on ESPN plus if you want. Every week from Twin Peaks in Doral. If you want to go and check that out in person, I'm in. Yesterday was coaches meeting. We're talking to Willie Simmons. We're talking defensive coach. Oh, I'm in. And by the way, because. And this wasn't told to me, but I kind of can read between the lines here because I'm doing the team broadcast, and this isn't like, you know, when I was doing the baseball games on ESPN plus. I don't think I need to even aspire to objectivity this season. So I'll talk to, you know, my bosses over there and see what they say. But, like, I think objectivity might be out the window on these calls in.

[Chris Cody]

Terms of what it is that I was hoping at one point the local hour would blossom into. It has been a really wonderful thing to watch you. The watch you and Mike Ryan, on the campuses that you love, having an impact. I'm curious on this, genuinely though, Billy, because I know Jeremy's got fame at Marlins park and so do you. Where do you get more interaction from people at Marlins park or when you're big man on campus at Pitbull Stadium at fiu?

[Billy Gil]

Oh, no one at FIU knows who I am. Which is. It's kids. It's college. These are, you know, 18 year olds walking around. They don't know who the hell I am. They don't care. Really? What's that creepy old guy doing? Super senior. Did he come back to finish school? What's he doing on campus? That's what they say when they look at me. What's fatso over there doing? They're very rude. I'm gonna be honest with you. They're not saying it, but I could see it in their eyes. I know what they're thinking about. Maybe. So I guess they're not rude. It's me thinking that they're rude in their heads. But you never know.

[Chris Cody]

So you're not big man on campus?

[Billy Gil]

Oh, no, no, no. Not amongst the student body. They don't know who I am. They could care less about me. Why would they? Why would they know who I am?

[Chris Cody]

Because you're broadcasting the games. And because we do have young people locally in Miami who find our show very popular.

[Billy Gil]

Kids are ingrates. I don't know if you know this. You don't know this. As someone without children, kids are generally ingrate. Zaz can tell you he's nodding along. We've never been on the same page more.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I don't know if you're aware, my older son. Total ingrate.

[Chris Cody]

Put it on the poll at Le Batard show. Are kids ingrate?

[Billy Gil]

All of them.

[Chris Cody]

All of them.

[Billy Gil]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Checking off the boxes on your to do list is a great feeling. And when it comes to checking off coverage, a State Farm agent can help you choose an option that's right for you. Whether you prefer talking in person on the phone or using the the award winning app. It's nice knowing you have help finding coverage that best fits your needs. Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mama, Papa.

[Billy Gil]

Mi cuerpo. Crece yun ridmo alarmante.

[Dan Le Batard]

Il arro PA que me comprenora.

[Billy Gil]

Muy pena, muy pronto. Amazon.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Lebatard. Bob Kraft. The only reason your organization is good is because of Bill Belichick.

[Dan Le Batard]

STS Belich has done nothing since.

[Chris Cody]

Since Brady left. He made the playoffs once I think at the very least, he should not be a first ballot hall of Famer. They should make him wait, like 10.

[Dan Le Batard]

Years to get it. He's an overrated coach.

[Chris Cody]

This is the D Ler show with the ST.

[Dan Le Batard]

Guys. I'm sad whatever Mel Kiper ad is spreading because check out Dan Orlovsky.

[Chris Cody]

What is happening at espn? Are the people now legitimately catching fire? They're just catching fire. It can't. That can't be real. Did Kuiper and Orlovsky go to the same yacht party?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I leave.

[Billy Gil]

Like, Mel Kuiper is the same color the whole way. Like, Orlovsky, like, turns into, like, an.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Orange at the eye. It's weird.

[Chris Cody]

That's the visor. That's what that is. He wasn't wearing sunglasses. He had a deck. A shade that it was over his head when he was golfing. That's what happened there, right? Or was he wearing a helmet?

[Dan Le Batard]

People are getting ready for football season Red.

[Chris Cody]

Ready.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well done, Dan. Give yourself the Hakeem.

[Chris Cody]

Mel Kuiper.

[Dan Le Batard]

Give it to him.

[Chris Cody]

Mel Kuiper. Mel Kuiper Jr. Looks like the devil. If I can find. You know what? What? Hold on. That was unnecessary. Your arrogance is out of control.

[Dan Le Batard]

I was talking to Chris.

[Chris Cody]

It's just unnecessary. Hold on a second. Let me. Hold on. Just. I need something. I gotta find something. You as you. You're defending yourself. Shut up. Minor penalty. Two minutes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Murdering the show with their bare hands in a dismemberment.

[Chris Cody]

Kid in cold blood. It didn't go over my head. It's your general arrogance that's bothering me. And I couldn't find general arrogance on this on the screen.

[Dan Le Batard]

So I went to Chris because he's been a bumbling idiot trying to find that Hakeem Nicks laugh. It's all right, I'll go.

[Chris Cody]

I don't believe that that was directed at Chris. Do I have it wrong? If I got it wrong, I felt.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Like it was directed.

[Billy Gil]

No, you do.

[Dan Le Batard]

It wasn't. You do have it wrong, but it's okay.

[Chris Cody]

No, you know what? No. Is the group. Hold on. We got a judge. No, we got a judge here. It doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be a democracy. We can just let Zaslo determine that before. What the penalty is here. Let's just let the honorable Jonathan Zaslow.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now presiding with prejudice because we've never.

[Chris Cody]

Taken a penalty back before. I don't think so. If I got this wrong, Zaslo will tell me, and I will abide by his Rules. Because he's obviously a rising power broker in the industry right now.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I am the law. What's the case in front of you? I just. I just got here. What's not with you?

[Dan Le Batard]

My sarcastic. If you can find it. Was it directed at Chris or Dan? Dan seems to think incorrectly, I might add, in my defense that it was directed at him being sarcastic.

[Chris Cody]

I'm judge. I'm going to give you some context so that you can apply some judgment, even though it makes me defensive, as, I guess, the defendant. This would be a historic case here where we are overturning a penalty. And I am agreeing that it was not Mike that was being arrogant here. It was me that was being arrogant. Both of us can be accused of these things in equal measure. However, the last couple of days of I made a musical guy, or whatever his general arrogance is, has seeped into what it is that happened. So, of course I thought he was condescending me because he's been doing that lately.

[Dan Le Batard]

But the charge is not arrogance, all right? Because I'm in trouble if that's true.

[Chris Cody]

The charge is. Did you. Hold on. Here's the charge. Minor penalty, two minutes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Murdering the show with their bare hands in a dismemberment.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Kid in cold blood.

[Chris Cody]

But, Judge, the real comedy in it is he was accusing me of not being able to find the buttons. But he wasn't accusing me of it. He was accusing Chris of it. And then I couldn't find the right button to penalize him.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I have my ruling. Okay, the accused.

[Chris Cody]

Who's the accused?

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Is that that. This is the ruling.

[Chris Cody]

Okay, so the accused.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Is Chris Cody. That's who was being accused of not being able to find the proper button.

[Chris Cody]

All right, well, then I gotta leave for a couple of minutes. I murdered the show then.

[Dan Le Batard]

Sweet Panthers talk coming your way for giveable Unforgiven.

[Billy Gil]

By the way, if you want some free clear stadium bags, first thousand students at the FIU Bethune game. Get those.

[Dan Le Batard]

Hold on. Say that one more time, because these things, that's currency.

[Billy Gil]

A lot of people are giving them away. This time here, I saw T mobile was giving some away. But, yeah, if you want to go to the FIU game against Bethune Friday, seven, First thousand students get some free stadium bags. Thousand students. Yeah, but I mean, you know. You know, slip. Someone just go wait in the air. Yeah, someone that's, like, on a student, you know, job thing you do. Like, hey, here's $5.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is the band coming for Bethune? Because they didn't come to Miami the last Time out. And that was. That really pissed me off.

[Billy Gil]

I'm not certain. Let me look into this.

[Dan Le Batard]

This because you got to pay extra.

[Billy Gil]

For the band, I mean, but the product on the field's going to be incredible regardless. Willie Simmons era, Keon Jenkins and them boys. Oh, yeah. He's back. Enter the portal. He's good back. Yeah. Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now that Dan's gone, can we talk about the Panthers front office?

[Billy Gil]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I mean, were we not allowed to talk about it when Dan was here? I just, he. So the thing that's. That stood out to me. So the Panthers CEO Matthew Caldwell, who's been with the team for almost a decade, he's leaving the team. He's signing it a 10 year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. I'll be perfectly honest with you. Obviously Matthew Caldwell has done a really good job. I mean, that goes without saying. And like, by all accounts, you know, seemed like a major influence on what was going on with or what has gone on with the Panthers on the business side. But I don't know why this is a big thing.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a big thing because there was a lot of continuity in that front office, especially the business ops. They turned that business around.

[Chris Cody]

Yep.

[Dan Le Batard]

And many people would point to, I.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Mean, part of it though, you know, we wouldn't have been saying four years ago that the business was turned around.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, as someone that was there with previous ownership groups and previous people running the business, sops. I know it had a toxic culture and it took them about a decade to dig themselves out of what Michael, your mark did there. This was a huge project by Vinnie Viola and he put the right people in place. Matthew Caldwell, for my money, he deserves that 10 year deal for the Minnesota Timberwol because he turned the business fortunes around, he and his team. But there have been a lot of departures. A lot of guys either getting poached. I don't know what's going on. It's a little concerning because there was such a, a family feel to that front office. They were here through the lean years. But Sean Thornton's gone, Bryce Holwig's gone. Now Matthew Caldwell getting a 10 year deal. I don't know if Alex Rodriguez, being local, recognizing what they did over there, decides to poach Matthew Caldwell. But it's a bummer because these are guys, guys whose names are literally on the Stanley cup, by the way. That's how high ranking they are.

[Billy Gil]

This is just something that happens when you win back to back. Right. That's all I'm seeing in this is.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

I.

[Billy Gil]

We're a good team last two years. So people are poaching our guys.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Yes, it's the sign, it's a great sign for the Panther fan because it's the sign that this is a great franchise. It's a really well run franchise. But this doesn't seem to me as something that's anything to worry about if you're a Panther fan. I mean, he left for a different sport for a ten year deal.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, these are the only guys that have ever done well with this franchise.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

But again, you're you. It's almost like you're making it sound okay. They've done well because tremendous business operations. No, the business operations did well because of a tremendous product on the ice.

[Dan Le Batard]

I would disagree. I think they turned around the business before the product on the ice really turned around. And I think the byproduct of the front office culture trickled down with the hiring. Keep in mind that front office hires Bill Zito. So I think that it's a hand in glove situation.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

But how do you make that case? Like, Matthew Caldwell has been there since.

[Dan Le Batard]

2016 and that's when things started to turn around for this franchise. Little by little. It was, it took a lot to turn this ship around. So my concern in seeing these guys leave, and it's not just because I like them all personally, I think they're all great guys and I think they're exceptional at their job. It's throughout the history too, by the way.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Like, I'm not trying to say they're not. It's just that as, as, as a Panther fan, I don't know how this affects me.

[Dan Le Batard]

My concern is they're the only guys that I've ever seen do well in those jobs. So with them leaving and deserving these promotions and going elsewhere, these guys deservedly are getting poached, it would seem.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Well, isn't the most, the most important thing is the ownership is still intact?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, the ownership put those guys in place and there was a lot of army ties there. It was very regimented. They had a first class operation over there. You got to trust the owner to make the same kind of hire.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

And now you're going to hire someone who is not walking into a disaster like which was the case 10 plus years ago. You're hiring someone who presumably is going to be qualified and you're hiring someone who's walking into a well oiled machine.

[Dan Le Batard]

I just can't believe the Panthers are now perceived around sports because two of those guys have left for NBA jobs Yeah.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

And one of them was a hockey player.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. Sean Thornton's brilliant. He's a really bright guy and he's been doing the business ops for a long time. But it's wild to me that in franchises that like the Hawks and Timberwolves, they've had their challenges too. They look to the Florida Panthers as a model organization.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

Well, the Wolves fortunes also started to change when they hired Connolly from Denver. Like they're hiring good people, this Alex Rodriguez ownership group.

[Chris Cody]

When people talk about the value of franchises and how it is that you develop the macro of the biggest things that businesses need to succeed in markets as difficult as South Florida, because this is a brutal market, and really the only way to do it is to win Giant. And so to see the Panthers having it is fairly startling. Looking back recently at sort of the amount of time I've spent doing this in this market, to see 36 years, to see all of Panthers history and have nothing good in it, like not just Pavel Bure, but just nothing good in it for 30 years because they were just so poorly run. To see them take over the sport in a way that makes the sport do to them what people were doing to Belichick's assistance because they thought. Thought that's the reason that the Patriots were winning. It is more stunning than seeing them win the championships. To see them be the organization that is the model franchise for everyone else. Hey, what are you guys doing over there? That allowed you to be better than Tampa? Because we were trying to do what Tampa was doing. How did you guys figure out all the things so that we're sending our best player into a series? And by the end of it, he's overwhelmed by the amount of depth you have because your advantages are so large in a. In a sport where you're capped. Like on some things you can do. If someone else has the best player, he should make it easy for you to build around him. Like, the Panthers have done this without the best player. They've had good players. They've got tons and tons of good players. They've got hall of Famers, but they don't have the best player. They never have the best player.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

They rarely have the best player on the ice.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I would. I would have poo pooed things like culture and business ops. I would have been all about. It's all about the players, my guy.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

That's where I'm at coming from.

[Dan Le Batard]

But having lived it with Michael, your mark, I know what a bad culture looks like and I. Oh, my God, he knows. And I know how destructive that could be and how little it actually allows for you to be successful on the ice.

[Jonathan Zaslow]

So let me ask you something then, cuz maybe a similar comp I'm gonna run out of time here. It's a poor job by me.

[Dan Le Batard]

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