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Dan Le Batard
You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network.
Stugotz
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Greg Cody
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Billy Corben
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Stugotz
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Billy Corben
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Greg Cody
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Stugotz
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Billy Corben
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Stugotz
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Billy Corben
This year Santa's bringing the power of Energizer into his workshop.
Stugotz
Whoa. The Energizer Bunny's got so much power. Wait, he's powered up all the toys.
Billy Corben
I think that means we're done for the year.
Chris Cote
I love this bunny.
Billy Corben
He's the hardest working helper the North Pole has ever seen. And he wants all your gifts to have the power of the number one longest lasting AA B. So this holiday season, stock up on Santa's and the elves favorite battery, Energizer Ultimate Lithium.
Stugotz
Chris, your father just looked me dead in the eye and threatened to write a tell all book. And I looked at him, I'm like, well, you've written two books already and our audience has helped make them bestsellers. And Stugatz's book is killing it. Yeah, the audience has made all. We are single handedly reviving the read a book in your hands industry. That's right. Right now you've got. One has to assume, right, that Kindle is doing better than just books. Right. Just than all books in terms of the publishing industry versus Kindle. Kindle has to be doing better. Right?
Billy Corben
I would be very curious about that. I'm going to find out from you. I'm going to ask my source at my publishing house to get that information.
Dan Le Batard
Let's do it this way. How many people do you know that own a Kindle versus how many people do you know that own one book?
Chris Cote
Hmm.
Stugotz
I know a lot of people who own books, but only because I know a lot of old people.
Greg Cody
I've never seen a bookshelf full of Kindles, but I've seen a bookshelf full of books.
Chris Cote
Yeah, good point. Yeah.
Billy Corben
Thank you. Billy.
Chris Cote
You have a source inside the book community, huh?
Billy Corben
I do, yeah.
Chris Cote
Really?
Billy Corben
Yeah. He can give me that pretty much that exact answer, which I'm curious about. But I want to say one thing, and I don't mean to offend the Kindle crowd, but a Kindle is a.
Greg Cody
Bookshelf that you don't see. What do you mean?
Chris Cote
What are you talking about?
Stugotz
It's a digital bookshelf.
Greg Cody
Bunch of books in there, so.
Billy Corben
Well, if you're listening, I don't have one. I've heard listening to a book. You're not reading a book.
Stugotz
I'm not doing that.
Greg Cody
We're not doing.
Billy Corben
You haven't read a book.
Dan Le Batard
Did you nail your Kindle to the wall on accident?
Stugotz
Are.
Greg Cody
Can you not have multiple books in your Kindle if you get different Kindles?
Chris Cote
Well, yeah.
Greg Cody
I think you guys are screwing with me here.
Billy Corben
Well, I don't know, because I've never had.
Stugotz
What's the limit for books in my.
Billy Corben
Kindle that I can?
Greg Cody
Maybe two.
Billy Corben
Yeah, maybe.
Stugotz
I would assume that it's just the number that you can download. I don't. I still read. I want the book in my hand. I still want to do it that way. I don't. I don't like reading books on computers. Put it on the poll at lebatardshow. Do you like reading books on your computer? Because I can't do it. And I don't know if this is just Creature of Hell habit. You like what you like, you're familiar with what you're familiar with, and then you get to a certain age and you don't want to change anymore. But I've tried Kindle, and I don't like it. I don't. That's not how I want to read a book. And I don't know if this has something like taste and texture, where I'm speaking to a bunch of young people, perhaps, that don't know or care what it feels like to have a book in your hand, because that's not the way they do it. And so because they're not familiar with the way I do it, the Kindle's the most normal thing in the world.
Billy Corben
Right. I like the tactile feel of actually turning a page. The sound of pages being turned and. And also the bookmark. You know, you can have an official, actual bookmark. I just rip a corner off a piece of paper, and that's a bookmark. You know, you create your own bookmark. Yeah. And it enhances the enjoyment of writing an actual book.
Chris Cote
You don't fold a corner over at the old dog.
Greg Cody
Yeah, I don't like doing that. Doesn't respect the book.
Billy Corben
I like a pristine page. Yeah, for sure. That's.
Greg Cody
I like to feel the print of the letters also. Sometimes it's almost my own version of Braille. I don't know how to read braille. I respect anyone who can, but sometimes I'll go over the pages and just kind of feel it. Sometimes the words. I don't know if it's the word that's sharp or the ink that's sharp, but sometimes I feel like a little cut almost on my finger. When you go over it. Yeah.
Billy Corben
I've never done that.
Greg Cody
Oh, you got.
Dan Le Batard
Are you reading off of a literal stone tablet?
Greg Cody
No, my Kindle.
Dan Le Batard
Oh, okay.
Billy Corben
Stone tablet.
Mike Ryan
That reminds me that our bathroom signs here in our offices have braille, but they don't actually have texture to it. Yeah, it's just braille that's printed on.
Chris Cote
Huh. Can only.
Stugotz
Only see it. Yeah, that's. That's not great. But I don't believe we've ever had anyone here who would need to use it.
Mike Ryan
So isn't that the lamestream media? Just the optics of us caring.
Stugotz
But. But you're saying that metaphorically. Right. On optics. Because it's not, I think, looks like we're prepared.
Mike Ryan
It might be like building code required to do it, but I gu like the follow through of actually making it braille, like, for real, as opposed to something that looks like braille.
Stugotz
But if it's only braille to sight, it is fundamentally useless.
Mike Ryan
That's right.
Stugotz
It's not. It's there.
Chris Cote
That's the important part.
Stugotz
It's not just virtue signaling. It's only virtue signaling. Like it doesn't have any other practical purpose.
Mike Ryan
You got it.
Tony
This is the Dan Levator show with the Stuttgarts podcast.
Mike Ryan
Today's episode is sponsored by DraftKings. Stay tuned because you'll hear more about DraftKings and all it has to offer throughout the show. DraftKings, the Crown is yours.
Stugotz
I don't know how much we have left like this in sports now that Nick Saban has left Alabama and Floyd Mayweather is no longer fighting, but tuning in to watch a team lose and tuning in to a game that you don't care about at all because you're assuming that Cooper Rush can't do anything. But you do enjoy laughing at the disgraced brand of the Dallas Cowboys that now is at the bottom of a division with a team that just benched its quarterback for financial reasons more than football reasons. And we're going Back to Tommy DeVito. This is not what Jerry Jones had in mind when he said they in on this season.
Chris Cote
But people are talking about his team, dad, and he cares about that deeply.
Stugotz
Yeah, they're talking about his team, but they're Talking about his team in the worst ways. And now we will go back to the conversation of should the old man be in charge? Because his fingerprints are all over that and his ego is all over everything. They're more and they're broken. And it's not just that they're physically broken at quarterback. We've been questioning that team plenty before they gave that quarterback the money. So now what? Because the Dallas Cowboys season is over. They exist last night on primetime television only for us to laugh at them. They have now lost. I told you this before. It had never happened in the history of the sport. Down 20 plus five straight home games, now it's six. Like, you don't see anything this bad in that sport. It's the Cowboys and it's Jacksonville, like, right? And it's not even the Panthers anymore. This way where it's like, oh, you're playing at home and you can't come from within 20 at home. Like you can't. You don't have a chance against real football teams.
Chris Cote
When you ask what's next, They're a year removed from being 12 and 5. So whether or not you think Jerry should give up power of that team and decision making power and overseeing everything, he's not going to do it. So what's the point of having that conversation? They are a year removed with Jerry doing it from being 12 and 5. When you say what's next? Jerry's going to have to change the way his approach to hiring head coaches. Like, he's tried it with Mike McCarthy, he's tried it with puppets. Now be the puppet. Let a guy like Belichick walk in and do what Bill Belichick does.
Stugotz
He didn't like that when he did it with parcels. They finished 12 and five three straight years. But McCarthy's beginning to resemble Wanstead to me. Where wanstead was going 10 and 6 and 11 and 5 as well. But what, the thing just kept getting worse on his watch until it collapsed with a 4:12.
Billy Corben
Yeah, when you keep having great regular seasons and then don't do a lot in the playoffs, it almost makes the hurt worse. The only asterisk on behalf of Mike McCarthy is that his starting quarterback is lost for half the season, which is not nothing. But last night they're behind 20 to 10 fairly late in the game they have a chance to go for a field goal to make it 20 to 13, a one score game, and he goes for it on like 4th and 13 or something and doesn't make it. That's a bad coaching decision. It just is in retrospect. And even then, I'm saying, be behind by one score. Give yourself a chance. You got four. I'm shocked that Jerry Jones hasn't fired Mike McCarthy.
Stugotz
He told Diana Rossini that he's not doing that in season. I mean, that he won't do it in season.
Billy Corben
That gives him everything he wants. It gives him attention. It gives him the feeling of power that he's making a bold move. I don't know what the forward path is with the status quo.
Dan Le Batard
He should fire his structural engineer first because there's pieces of metal falling off the ceiling.
Billy Corben
Yeah, that was a lot of people.
Stugotz
Making the jokes about the roof falling in. Right. Because that. That looked like it could have been much worse.
Mike Ryan
Oh, my God.
Stugotz
Than it actually was just a piece of metal falling from the sky.
Dan Le Batard
And then there was a second one that they had to bolt down on the catwalk during. Before the game could start because they were afraid that one was going to fall.
Stugotz
Is this just debris from whatever it is that they were doing for Jake Paul and Mike Tyson? Like, is this, like, why would the roof be falling in the middle of a Monday night game?
Mike Ryan
It was apparently the first time they. That they had opened up the roof in quite some time. So I guess over the extended break from actually opening it, some pieces, some pieces fell.
Stugotz
Where are you guys on the Houston Texans? They're one of the good teams, right? As long as their wide receivers are healthy, they're one of the good teams.
Billy Corben
For me, they're not the top four in the afc. I think they're a good team. That is very, very far from being a great team. Although Joe Mixon, very, very far from.
Tony
Being a good team.
Billy Corben
I think they're far from being a great team. You know, I don't think they're Baltimore. I don't think they're Kansas City.
Stugotz
I think. Do they have the same record as Baltimore right now?
Mike Ryan
They made it to the divisional round last year.
Billy Corben
Yeah, it could be.
Mike Ryan
I don't think they're very far. Maybe I'm more bullish than them, but I think them with their full complement of receivers. I know Diggs is injured now, too, but Nico Collins does make a difference.
Billy Corben
Yeah, he does.
Chris Cote
A big difference. Yeah. Both teams are seven and four.
Greg Cody
Dan.
Billy Corben
Yeah, he's really good. And Joe Mixon, to me, has been the difference in that offense he has reinvented. He's having his best season at like age 28, which is ancient for a running back. But you're right. If they still had Stefon Diggs. They would be an awesome offense.
Stugotz
All right, what's Cody doing here between good team? I want to do this because I think you're all doing it. I think everyone listening to this does it where they're saying they do their brackets and their tiers. What is he doing where he's saying that the Houston football team is just okay is what he's saying. He's saying they're very, very far from being one of the best teams in the league. And I don't think they are.
Chris Cote
I like to say they're good with a chance to be great. That's what I like to say. They're good. There's no doubt that they're good. They have a chance to be great if everyone's healthy.
Billy Corben
I think there's second tier good in the AFC in a category with the Los Angeles Chargers. I don't think they're Baltimore and Kansas City.
Dan Le Batard
I think we need to go through their schedule, Dan, and determine the good wins and then the good losses because they have a lot of bad wins. Like they've beaten the Patriots and the Jaguars and the Bears, but they also have one really good win against the Bills. So what do you do with that?
Stugotz
I don't know what Cody is doing with the Chargers. Okay, this, this was a stat Adam Schefter put out over the weekend. The Chargers went into the weekend allowing 13.1 points per game. It is the first time, I'm sorry, the second time in 20 years that a first time coach has had the lowest point total on defense. The other time that it happened was when Harbaugh also was with the 49ers in 2011 or 2014. And I didn't think of him as a defensive coach. Do you guys think of Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh as a defensive coach because he's a quarterback. I think of him as an offensive and a quarterback coach. But he's now had these two defenses and I don't think what Cody's doing is fair to the Chargers. I think the Chargers are a very good football team with the best defense statistically going into the weekend in the league.
Billy Corben
I'm looking at the league and the standings, not that I need to because I know the afc. Buffalo's better, Pittsburgh is better for me, Baltimore is better and Kansas City is better. I think any of those four teams would be favored over Houston on a neutral field.
Mike Ryan
Jim Harbaugh came into the league as a guy reputed to do really well with quarterbacks. He had Josh Johnson in San Diego when he was in the college ranks ascending, then he had Andrew Luck and then what he did with Colin Kaepernick. So that became his identity a little bit. But then in college he showed you the type of football that he wants to play, which is very complimentary of a hard nosed defensive style.
Greg Cody
The Chargers also have a better record because they already had the buy. So they're seven and three as opposed to seven and four.
Chris Cote
Right. But you do have to factor in the conference. I think that's fair. The AFC is a much more difficult conference. If the Chargers were playing in the nfc, I think think a lot of people would feel like they have a much better chance of making a deep run in the playoffs.
Mike Ryan
I'm a big Texans guy though, to put a bow on it. Will Anderson being in and out of the lineup. I think defensively they have enough pieces. I really highly rate their ed go in his ability to scheme on the defensive side of the ball. And they have offensively a ton of weapons. When they have a full complement or close to a full complement of those weapons, I think they're as threatening as anyone inside that conference to pluck one of those guys that you consider tier one.
Greg Cody
When they don't, though, CJ Stroud has proven he right now can't get them past it without all of his weapons.
Stugotz
That is true, but it's been a season and a half, so give him a minute. We've changed the way.
Greg Cody
Oh, I mean, we're not, we're not writing him off. It's just C.J. stroud has regressed slightly his sophomore season and he's shown that without all of his weapons healthy, he struggles a little bit.
Stugotz
There is no question about that. He has not been the sensation this year, the first half of the season that he was last year. But I just caution everybody about how we're doing some of these measurements on these quarterbacks more quickly than we have ever done them so that Anthony Richardson has played like nine games and we're already like nine games total college pro everything. And we're yanking him in and out and making assessments very quickly on this stuff. C.J. stroud was the sensation of last season, raises the expectations. And as soon as his people get hurt, now Cody's saying they're very, very far from being a good team when they've got the same record as Baltimore. Like that's how it happens when we start moving around, oh, the quarterback's playing a little less well. Yes, you did say they're very far from being one of the Top tier teams, you said. I think you said very, very far.
Billy Corben
Actually play the tape on that one. Yeah, I don't know about that.
Stugotz
Replay the Kindle.
Greg Cody
He said they're good, not great. Which is not crazy. I mean, everyone can't be great.
Billy Corben
I think they're good, not great. They're second tier to me.
Stugotz
Okay. The thing that I find interesting about how it is that we do these evaluations is if you're willing to concede to me that a team in this sport is one of the good ones, one of the 10 you think are good, then they're close.
Billy Corben
Okay, that's fair.
Stugotz
Well, because, I mean, all you gotta do is end up winning small sample size games and next thing you know, you can be one of these teams that, you know, Eli Manning's its way into a Super Bowl.
Billy Corben
I'm just saying for me, Houston is not a great team. I think Denver would have a great chance against Houston. You know, I mean, they're.
Greg Cody
You lost me.
Billy Corben
I think Cincinnati, the way Joe Burrow's playing, I don't care what their record is, they would have a chance against Houston.
Chris Cote
Yeah.
Greg Cody
Bo Nix has been good.
Billy Corben
This has been really good. He's the IT guy now. You know, he went from being should they have drafted him at all, and now he's the IT guy. I haven't looked at the offensive rookie player of the year betting on lately, but Knicks is shooting up the charts.
Chris Cote
Greg, would you be surprised if the Texans were playing in the AFC championship game? I would, but how?
Billy Corben
Because I think there's 14 is better.
Stugotz
Okay, but if someone gets surprised, like, I don't. I mean, what. It would surprise anybody if Houston knocked off a Pittsburgh.
Billy Corben
Yeah, it would surprise me.
Stugotz
Okay.
Chris Cote
Huh?
Greg Cody
I mean, but they'd have to knock off a Pittsburgh and a Buffalo. That's. I think what surprises Greg is they'd have to go through two good teams to get to the fcg.
Chris Cote
They beat Buffalo already. I mean, do you guys agree with.
Stugotz
The assessment that if you're one of the top 10 teams, you're close in.
Billy Corben
This season with parity the way it is? I would agree with that. I don't think they're a bad team. I don't think they're an average team. I think they're a good team, but is there really a long shot among the good teams?
Chris Cote
Well, the Vikings are a top 10 team. Do you feel like they're close?
Billy Corben
See, I don't think the Vikings have any real.
Stugotz
I don't like their quarterback and I've told you I don't like their quarterback and I don't like any of the teams who don't have a good quarterback to win a bunch of playoff games and playoff games on the road and then win the Super Bowl. What I'd like to see is Lamar Jackson get to the super bowl so he can have the comfort of playing against an NFC team because the teams that he plays against a lot like Pittsburgh, he does not play against well, and he ravages everybody in the nfc.
Chris Cote
He could get the Lions, though.
Mike Ryan
I mean, I think we're coming down.
Stugotz
Too hard on to see that game.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, I think we're coming down too hard on Greg for saying that they're a tier two team in his afc. I think tier one is two to three teams, and Greg's being fair. Houston's right there among those upper level tier two teams. But to get to an AFC championship game, assuming they win their division, all they have to do is win one road game against the likes of a Pittsburgh or a Kansas City. I think the AFC has shown you even Kansas City is as good as they've been. They're in tight games. If you play Lamar Jackson in the playoffs, as Houston did last year, that can be close, as Lamar has shown throughout his playoffs. So I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility at all.
Dan Le Batard
The question is if the Texans are in tier two. Are the Dolphins also in tier two, Greg, because are you putting them in tier three?
Billy Corben
Yeah, they're in tier three even though.
Dan Le Batard
They'Re about to be six and seven.
Billy Corben
Right. If they, they're gonna beat New England if they win Thanksgiving night in Green Bay. They're the sneaky tier two team.
Chris Cote
Everybody's sneaky. Tier two.
Stugotz
Believe what I just saw. It was. It was out of the corner of my eye, right? It's Billy and Stugott and it's a bit like whack a mole. It's like, oh, tear talk.
Chris Cote
Oh, yeah.
Greg Cody
Took us 20 years, Dan, but we're here.
Stugotz
What he did was not tear talk. What he did was say very, very far from being one of the best team. There were two varies. That's a different conversation.
Greg Cody
Double vary.
Stugotz
It's a different conversation. The tears is one conversation. I'm not doing that with you guys. But if you guys want to do a very, very, a double very situation convers, I will have that conversation with you. We've been having it for 10 minutes.
Billy Corben
I don't use double very.
Stugotz
You did.
Billy Corben
No, I didn't think so. I want to hear the tape.
Stugotz
Okay, we're going to go back and when I do it, okay, we're going to punish you at the end of the show today when we play that tape. There's going to be a punishment at the end of the show that you have to that you're going to find out that you got this wrong because it is specifically what it is that I'm objecting to.
Billy Corben
I think you're very, very wrong.
Stugotz
Okay, thank you. You already have it. Wow, that was quick. They already have the sound of what it is that Greg Cody has alleged.
Chris Cote
This is big. Everything is on the line right now. Greg.
Stugotz
I mean, well, he doesn't know when it is that he uses these verbal crutches to get to his thought because he does it quite a bit with inefficient language and I'm watching him at.
Billy Corben
All times, that kind of thing. I think they're a good team. That is very, very far from being a great team through technology. The second very was spliced in, correct?
Chris Cote
Yep.
Greg Cody
You can tell his mouth didn't line up.
Billy Corben
I reject that. That was you spliced in the second berry.
Stugotz
No.
Greg Cody
Chris is good at that.
Stugotz
It's not A.I. i can't believe they found it that fast. That's a miracle. You think they were able to also edit it that fast to misrepresent you?
Billy Corben
It's AI Yes.
Greg Cody
On a bad arm week. They're doing this to you.
Stugotz
All right, so you're saying this feels like a dubbed subtitled movie. I want you to watch your lips here because you think the AI also altered your lips.
Billy Corben
Y. I think they're a good team. That is very, very far from being a great team. Yeah. I mean, yeah, yeah.
Chris Cote
He was saying far during that second.
Billy Corben
Very technology can do just about anything.
Stugotz
All right, we end, we punctuate the show today with Greg Cody's punishment. I'm going to determine it secretly and we will get to it by the end of the show because he got it wrong.
Greg Cody
Folks, listen up. Smirnoff knows there's no I in football. Football's a we thing. An experience that is best joined together with good drinks and good folks. Smirnoff is the world's number one vodka and is the official vodka partner of the NF NFL. And this year there are more opportunities to watch football and make delicious Smirnoff cocktails than ever before. Over the holiday season, from Thanksgiving to Black Friday and Christmas, Smirnoff and the NFL are with you every step of the way. So this holiday season, when you're enjoying the game and your cocktails. Please make sure you drink responsibly. Take a minute, make a plan. Never drive impaired. Smirnoff, we do game days.
Stugotz
Please drink responsibly.
Greg Cody
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.
Stugotz
Don Leardard.
Greg Cody
All right, we got to go back out there.
Billy Corben
That was big. Wake him up.
Stugotz
Uh oh, he doesn't want. He doesn't want to be bothered anymore. Now it's getting tense because he didn't need that. As a result, he needs something that happened. You can see it. Mother effing. Can we bother?
Greg Cody
Are we bothering you right now?
Stugotz
Turn on your microphone.
Billy Corben
My microphone's on stugots.
Greg Cody
Paint the scene.
Billy Corben
The paint the scene is. I gotta go to work. Good night.
Tony
This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats.
Stugotz
Let's not talk about the good teams. Let's talk about the bad teams, and let's talk about specifically what the jets have done to Mike Francesa. Listen to Mike Francesa here. The Internet is accusing him of being broken.
Billy Corben
We made two play. How did we make two plays? We don't even know how we made two plays, but we're up 14, 13.
Stugotz
Let's go.
Billy Corben
Let's get Fireman Ed up.
Stugotz
I heard Fireman Ed. I heard. Let's go. There was a lead, and then the whole Jet season collapsed again, as it does every Sunday. Play that again.
Billy Corben
We made two plays. How did we make two plays? We don't even know how we made two plays, but we're up 14, 13. Let's go. Let's get five minute up.
Chris Cote
He's still got it.
Stugotz
I mean, it doesn't feel right to me. I don't know the correct way to do this to end your career, but I thought he was retiring, and it doesn't feel right to me to watch him shouting into a microphone after a Jets game by himself. And it doesn't seem like he's in a radio studio. I don't know if that might be in his house. It probably. Probably is in his house.
Chris Cote
I think he does a daily podcast.
Stugotz
No, no, he does do a daily podcast, but there's something about. Well, he already retired. This happened. We just saw this happen in the Yankee. The Yankee Booth in his 80s, where once you retire at a certain age, it's what Bobby Bowden said. There's only one major event where people gather after that for you so you stare at your retirement after a creature, as a lifetime creature that talks sex six and a half hours a day on the radio, and then you go into retirement and it sounds awfully quiet and you have to come back to hear the sound of your own voice. I just.
Chris Cote
Well, he loves that.
Stugotz
Well, but he retired, so at one point he was done with it. Right. And like, they love sports. Both those guys love sports. There are any number of people who have been in this business for a long time who do not love sports. So you see the enthusiasm that's genuine on Russo anytime you hear him talk, when you hear him on first take. But there's something about seeing Francesa that's a legend right there.
Chris Cote
Yeah, no doubt.
Stugotz
And it feels like you're listening to him from a bus terminal, and it just. It doesn't feel right to me. And I know that sounds judgy, but that guy's had a monster career, and so it just. I don't know where he is physically doing that, but it doesn't seem like it's a studio. It seems like it might be in his home. And so it does feel judgy, though. Right. I shouldn't be doing that, but it makes me actual.
Mike Ryan
This is a real bad look for you.
Stugotz
Yeah.
Chris Cote
Mike is 60 something years old. He is doing it from his house on most occasions. I think Mike has it figured out. He comes on, he gives 30 minutes of hot takes about New York sports, he gets paid a lot of money to do the podcast, and then he goes golfing. I mean, that's his day.
Mike Ryan
Get your money, legend.
Tony
Yeah.
Mike Ryan
At the final third of your illustrious career as your business. And I'm sure you have your fans, and if you have a studio in your home, more power to.
Billy Corben
I do sort of mourn the death of impartiality or even the pretense of impartiality, because the one thing I heard there most was our jets. And we're, we're, we're. This where it's fine. He can be a Jets fan. Stu Gus is a Jets fan.
Chris Cote
He's actually not a Jets fan. I think he just has 25 years of covering the jets and he's frustrated by the jets because they make the same mistakes, a calamity of errors every single year.
Mike Ryan
I'm curious why you're lobbing that at him. You're famously like a Dolphins fan. You, you, you root, root, root for your home teams.
Billy Corben
No, that's not true.
Greg Cody
No. He does it in the shadows.
Billy Corben
It's, it's, it's well known that I grew up a Dolphins fan. Okay, okay. But. But I don't refer to the Dolphins as we on air in print. I certainly don't. You know, LeBatard might disagree. I try not to come off as a homer. I try to come off as someone who looks at the team fairly okay with. With a. An impartial vantage.
Greg Cody
I don't think this is the one criticism of you. I've never understood the homerism.
Billy Corben
The.
Greg Cody
Greg is only rooting for the Dolphins. You tried to trade away the franchise's greatest player ever. What homer on earth would do that?
Billy Corben
That's fair. Billy's got it right. That was a direct hit, Billy. Thank you.
Stugotz
All right, so I will make the argument on the other side. Because while Greg Cody doesn't say we when talking about the Dolphins, although his son, and while Greg Cody aspires to objectivity, I know that every Sunday and Monday that the Dolphins happen to play since the beginning of time, he thinks they're going to win and he wants them to win. So he's wearing this cloak of objectivity. Greg. Greg.
Chris Cote
Wrong.
Stugotz
It is not wrong to say that you almost always pick them to win. Almost always think they're going to win, and you're always rooting for them to.
Billy Corben
Win the first two. I would have to look up the numbers on that. Certainly I haven't picked them to win every game this year. But for you to say I'm rooting for them to win is flatly wrong. I'm not. My wife is.
Stugotz
You're abstaining. You're eating chips and drinking Miller Lite and you're abstaining from having an interest when watching in the game who wins. That's what you're claiming here on air. You're gonna stare at us and lie and say that you are actually watching objectively.
Billy Corben
Yeah. And you're lying by suggesting otherwise. And believe it or not, you may disagree, I know more about what I'm feeling and thinking than you do.
Stugotz
Let's talk to your mom about this, Chris. Cause she knows more than both of us.
Billy Corben
I invite that.
Chris Cote
Wow. Man.
Mike Ryan
I think you guys are playing with fire. I've seen this go sideways with Greg. Like you're calling into question his integrity as a journalist and he's gonna start taking this personally.
Billy Corben
I take it personally already.
Mike Ryan
He's playing on the back end of a back to back on a bad arm week.
Chris Cote
Yeah, I think you should probably just.
Greg Cody
Started with the AI stuff with his.
Mike Ryan
Mouth going down a direction that you're not going to be Able to come back from pal.
Billy Corben
You know what I do root for? I root for what I think would be a column I want to write.
Tony
Okay.
Chris Cote
Them winning.
Stugotz
Okay, you stepped on the landmine, my friend. They've been warming me, warning me, and you didn't see that there was a landmine there.
Billy Corben
That's what he's getting to. What I'm getting to is if the Miami Dolphins come back from their terrible record and somehow reach the super bowl for the first time in 40 years. Yeah, I would like to write about that. That would be a wonderful story.
Chris Cote
Clicks for Cody.
Billy Corben
When the Dolphins went. When the dolphins went 1 in 15 back in 07 or whenever it was. That was pretty interesting to write that calamity. The worst thing to write is a 500 team, a boring team. I root for what I want to write. If that happens to be the Dolphins winning because I think that's the best story to write. And if I want to write that, Tua, in his first game back from a concussion, single handedly won a game and put up a middle finger to everybody who doubted him. Yeah, that's something I want to write. It doesn't mean I'm cheering for it.
Chris Cote
Wow.
Stugotz
Let's play again. The sound. This was Greg Cody earlier in the show. We'll get back to that in a second. Greg Cody earlier in the show. Not altered at all. We have the proof. He will be punished by the end of the show.
Billy Corben
I think they're a good team. That is very, very, very, very, very far from being a great team.
Stugotz
So Greg Cody is enraged and look, this might be, this might be a silly thing because I happen to be believe that objectivity is an illusion. It's not a thing that humans can actually be. It's only a thing they can aspire to.
Billy Corben
I agree with you.
Stugotz
And so that's what your father's doing. He wants the Dolphins to win and has to hide it somewhere from himself, from everybody. He wants them to win. He's wanted them to win since he was a kid. You don't actually put that away anywhere. You just try to write about him fairly. Umpires, referees, they have their biases. You try to put them judges, they have their biases. You try to put them aside to do something that's factual and he's trying to do something that's objective, but you're in no way actually objective. You're just, just trying to be it.
Billy Corben
Well, when somebody asks what's one of your goals as a columnist? You don't say to be objective anymore. Because you're right. Objectivity is almost an impossible task if you have human feelings, particularly if you've grown up a Dolphins fan. Fairness is what I aspire to, and I want to be fair in everything I write. I don't want to come off like a cheerleader. I don't think I do, despite you trying to paint me as that. And I know what I know in my heart. And if you want to say that I root for the Dolphins to win every game.
Stugotz
Your heart is aqua. Your heart is Aqua.
Chris Cote
Yeah, but to Billy's point, that Marino column, I mean, that saves Greg. Armed with hindsight, that was the best column you've ever written.
Billy Corben
I mean, it certainly was probably the most talked about. Yeah, yeah.
Chris Cote
Right. But it protects you.
Stugotz
He did an interview in front of the Miami Herald building, and his face was silhouetted and his voice was distorted like an FBI informant.
Billy Corben
They could do that at that time. Yeah, that was great. Really.
Chris Cote
So good.
Billy Corben
I remember that.
Mike Ryan
Brilliant.
Stugotz
Greg Cody did indeed try to trade Marino, and it is a very good argument against his general homer. He hasn't written a column like that since he is a columnist, actually, that I would say comes closer to objective than wildly opinionated because he doesn't write a lot of things that are on the extremes of takers.
Dan Le Batard
Isn't the point of a columnist, though, to give us your opinion, Give us your take. Like, Greg's not out here acting like he's Bob Woodward, who, by the way, journalistically, has had some questionable choices in the past 10 years. So Greg's giving you, the reader, his opinion as a South Florida guy. And I think that's the job.
Billy Corben
Right. And I don't hold back. I mean, the column I wrote in this morning's paper online right now on the Marlins manager hire was pretty harsh. If you're a Marlins fan and don't like the truth. Truth. What I wrote was he's going from the mountaintop of the Dodgers to the hinterlands of Miami. And is this guy insane for taking this job? And so I'm going to write what I feel like writing. If the Miami. If the hurricane.
Stugotz
That's a different bias.
Chris Cote
Yeah. You're a Red Sox fan.
Stugotz
Dugouts was just whispering in my ear, he doesn't even like the Marlins. That's a different bias. You're more likely to rip the Marlins than you are the Dolphins.
Billy Corben
They're, again, like, you keep. I'm not a fan.
Chris Cote
Oh, God.
Billy Corben
You understand that, right?
Stugotz
You are a fan. You've been a fan since a kid. Of the Dolphins.
Billy Corben
When I go to. Okay, I'm covering every Dolphin game, either remotely or in the stadium. So this doesn't apply to the Dolphins. When I go to a Marlin game, quote unquote, as a fan, if they hit a grand slam home run, I'm not cheering. I'm there, even neutrally as a spectator, because I don't want somebody who might recognize me to say, look at this. Home cheering for the Marlin. No, I don't give a shit whether our teams win or lose. Now, I will say this. I write for my readers. My readers are fans of these teams. And so if our teams are winning, look what I am.
Stugotz
How lazy that a boy. And then he reaches into his pockets to grab him some cigarettes.
Chris Cote
I mean, he does it for the fans. I mean, who could complain about that? He cares about his readers.
Billy Corben
Look, I would have loved to have written that Lionel Messi, in his first full season with the team, led Miami to the MLS Cup. I would have loved to have written that. It doesn't make me a fan or a homer of that team. It makes me wanting to write what I think a lot of my readers would love to read.
Chris Cote
Didn't you have season tickets for that team?
Billy Corben
Christopher and I had season tickets for. No, we did. And. And I'm. I'm fine with that.
Chris Cote
So am I, by the way.
Billy Corben
What's the scandal in that?
Chris Cote
Nothing like a Halliard season ticket.
Stugotz
Older.
Chris Cote
Bad arm week, man.
Mike Ryan
I'm Team Greg.
Dan Le Batard
We are all Team Greg back here, by the way.
Chris Cote
Oh, he knows we are.
Mike Ryan
I'm in your corner. Greg aligned with you here bad arm.
Dan Le Batard
Week, and you're doing this to him.
Chris Cote
It's ridiculous. Terrible.
Billy Corben
It's. Don't get me started.
Stugotz
Wait, I think we.
Billy Corben
No, you cross the line. Okay?
Tony
You cross the line.
Billy Corben
It's happening.
Stugotz
I'm good, right?
Billy Corben
Oh, my God, you're on the. You're on the line. I mean, to make something of the fact that Christopher and I a couple of years ago, bought season tickets and how many games did I actually go to? 2.
Stugotz
It was an investment, honestly. I mean, Greg, I simply was laughing at the comedic perfection, the bad investors, the staccato effort of you being asked directly a question after everything we've talked about and then you admitting to, yes, I'm a season ticket holder. I was laughing because it. And you are funny. Okay. Just the way that the music of that played out. It made me laugh that way because it's naturally funny for her, because I also saw it happen because it swung with your great Ally Billy, who whispered it into Sut's ear and then it shot across as a question.
Greg Cody
I told him. I said don't mention Tom Herman got fired at fau. Rough week for the Owls. That's Greg's alma mater.
Chris Cote
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Mike Ryan
Hey podcasters, it's Mike Ryan and let me tell you something. The NBA's got a lot going for it right now. Bright young stars hitting the court, teams playing, exciting brands of basketball and celebrities everywhere you look courtside. It's no wonder why tickets are in demand. And let me tell you about my favorite on the secondary ticket marketplace and that is Game Time and their amazing new feature called Game Time Pix. It makes getting tickets to see your favorite teams play live even easier. Gametime Picks filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets with gametime picks. It helps make curation easier to save more on sports, concerts, comedy, theater, whatever else tickles your fancy. Also, they've got all in pricing. This feature feature is huge. Push up a button, you get no surprises at checkout. You know exactly what to budget for. You get panoramic seat views and of course, game time's lowest price guarantee where game time will credit you 110% of the difference. If you find a better price out there, take the guesswork out of buying tickets with gametime picks. Download the gametime app, create an account and use code DAN for $20 off your first purchase terms. Apply again, create an account and redeem code D a n for 20 off. Download game time today. What time is it?
Stugotz
Don Leardard.
Tony
We got a freey hard away.
Stugotz
Freey. Who was a freey hard away?
Tony
I was trying to read fast. UD was on the team. Luke Jackson, Bobby Jones, the Matrix Shaw, Marion St. Got Zo, Shaq Smush Parker, Chris Quinn.
Stugotz
Wait a minute.
Tony
D. Wade.
Stugotz
Wait a minute.
Tony
Jason Williams, Darrell Rock. Right, I mean, stacked roster. This is the Don Levitar show with the stugats.
Stugotz
Tony is out on. Let's see. Oh, look at this. Tony's at Rosayas. Look at this.
Chris Cote
He's at that place.
Stugotz
Anytime that anybody comes to Miami and says, where can I get authentic Cuban food? This is where I send them. Affordable, reasonable, reasonable food. There's nothing left in America that is as reasonable a price as that authentic food that Tony is standing in front of right now.
Tony
Trump doesn't pay the bill.
Stugotz
That's correct. Walked out on a nine dollar retinue. Tony, what do you have for us today? We've got a bunch of Oli on your top five.
Tony
We absolutely do. Daniel. Good morning live from the most economical place on the planet, Bedside bakery. This is a double. This is. We're in front of the bakery right now. The restaurant's actually on the other side. So I wanted to bring you here because the same as you, when somebody asked me from out of town, where do I go for authentic Cuban. Right here on La Ocho Il atrentico. Right on Olga and Tony avenue. Dan, right here in front of Versailles. First off, I want to say doordash presents. Tony's top five. Get all your game day faves. Delivery delivered. Head to DraftKings.com DoorDash to play for free. Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Dan, we're going to start off in the Oli, a fun week of football. We're gonna start off here. Last night, Brandon Aubrey, Mr. Automatic, except for the 40 yarder, but that was a network wide jinx so we're gonna throw that one off the record. Did you see how he kicked the 64 yarder? Looked like he just kicked it with real no power behind it.
Stugotz
Jessica's rolling her eyes at you. I Don't know. I don't know what it is that happened.
Dan Le Batard
No, no, what, what's going on here is everyone's been saying like, oh, what happened to kickers in the NFL? Well, last time I checked, Chris Boswell had six field goals this weekend.
Stugotz
So kickers were just fine this weekend. According to Jesse.
Dan Le Batard
This is not a Tony, this isn't everyone else thing.
Tony
That's a diamond on the Steelers offense kind of thing.
Dan Le Batard
They won the game.
Tony
Oli number two. Yeah. Yes, they did. Ola number two. Brock Bowers is the best weapon at tight end. Not named Taysom Hill. Dan Taysom Hills lined up at quarterback, at fullback, at running back, at tight end, at wide receiver, at quarterback. Mr. Do.
Stugotz
It all seems fun to be him on a Sunday like that. Except for the interception once a year.
Tony
Yeah, but the interception was a bomb. He threw at 65 yard yards. You know, even that was what it is.
Stugotz
All right.
Tony
Starting off, it was fun when, when, when you, when you're supposed to look out and, and drop instead of running for a 75 yard touchdown, but you say no, it's my turn and you run for a 75 yard touchdown. I like that. All right, starting off at number five is Bo Nicks turning the corner.
Stugotz
Okay, we're doing this officially as a show today. Put it on the, on the pole. Juju Bow Nicks it guy.
Tony
He's turning the corner. Dan, last week I told you, look out for B. Knicks comes out, has a four touchdown game against Atlanta. Starting to turn the corner on being a quarterback. That was to a quarterback that's being h. Intriguing. B. Nicks.
Stugotz
Oh, he's made the jump from.
Tony
Exactly. Thank you.
Stugotz
How is, how is the jump?
Tony
The jump is turning the corner. It's like a, it's like a corner turn. Like he's about here, but then it's like here.
Chris Cote
Right.
Tony
So like that's where that game was. Instead of like here, it's here. So it's a quick turn turn of the corner.
Stugotz
But what are the, what are the street addresses and.
Tony
Yeah, exactly like he went from being like to like to the corner turn.
Stugotz
Okay.
Tony
Yeah, you're taking a little bit of a longer look at him now.
Greg Cody
How's there three stops on one corner?
Chris Cote
He's starting to make you think.
Stugotz
Dan, those three way snaps, you're making.
Greg Cody
Him follow up and you gotta stop.
Stugotz
They're roundabout. One of those weird roundabouts use this tournament.
Tony
No, no, because you don't stop at those. You just keep going at those.
Greg Cody
Yeah, no, yeah. You don't just Yeah, I don't think that's how those work.
Chris Cote
You do.
Stugotz
I think you. I think in France. You do. I think you just keep going in France.
Tony
Thank you. We're at Betsaya. Very close, by the way. Number four.
Stugotz
Not very, very close.
Greg Cody
There's one in France.
Tony
Very, very, very, very, very, very close. Number four. Nobody does a TCB game like Dan Campbell and the Lions. Nobody.
Stugotz
That's a.
Tony
What's a TCB game, Dan?
Stugotz
I don't know. Take care of your business. I put a Y in there.
Dan Le Batard
I made it a yogurt.
Chris Cote
Fine.
Tony
Yeah, it's a TCB game. Take care of business. That's what we do for the Lions at Dan Campbell. Nobody does it better. Number three. I'm starting to feel bad for Joe Burrow at this point.
Stugotz
Really?
Tony
Yeah. I have a couple of stats here. I don't know. I wasn't listening yesterday. I don't know if you guys mentioned these two little back to back Joe Burrow stats for you. Not by Mr. Civ. By the way. These are, these are authenticated and real. Not like Mr. Civ, who confused me and Aaron Rod Rodgers. All right. Joe Burrow has lost three games this season in which he has had three touchdown passes, 300 yards or more and zero interceptions. The most such losses in a season in the super bowl era.
Greg Cody
Crazy. If he could undo it.
Tony
Nobody has been better and lost.
Greg Cody
Do you think he'd not bleach his hair?
Stugotz
He's.
Tony
I mean, he's playing well. It's not his fault. Another, another little stat here for you.
Mike Ryan
Quickly.
Tony
Joe Burrow in the Bengals, seven losses this year. He's completed 67 of his passes for 2200 yards, 18 touchdowns, two picks, seven losses, by the way, for the Bengals. So just tuck that one in for later. All right, Number two, Mike Tomlinson can single handedly will a team to victory like nobody in NFL history.
Chris Cote
I think he can. I think he actually has that ability. I do.
Stugotz
Just because he wants it. Yes.
Tony
Yeah, he just wants it more, Dan. He doesn't blink. He says to Boswell, hey, you're going to kick a six and win the game. And he kicks six and wins the game. Somehow, some way, Lamar Jackson, who's been the best quarterback all season, looks like Snoop Huntley out there. I don't get it.
Billy Corben
Ouch.
Chris Cote
I don't think he says anything to his kicker. I think he just wills it in. I mean, that's what he does. Yeah.
Billy Corben
Oh, yeah.
Tony
I feel like Tomlin just kind of gives one of these and he looks at him and goes head nod and then that's it. And then Boswell knows what the deal is. Yeah.
Stugotz
All right, so this is what we're doing.
Billy Corben
Number one.
Stugotz
Okay. This is what we're going to do with Tomlin now.
Chris Cote
It's his top five.
Stugotz
Okay.
Tony
Thank you. Number one.
Billy Corben
Daniel.
Tony
Man, I'm sorry to say this for everybody in the Bay area, but the 49ers window is officially closed.
Billy Corben
Oh, wow. Wow, wow.
Chris Cote
A window has been shut.
Tony
The window is closed. I don't want to be the. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news. I don't want to be the bear of bad news, but I will.
Billy Corben
Wow.
Tony
Yet I am exactly right. Greg Cody, who is not a homer, by the way, objective journalist.
Billy Corben
Appreciate that.
Stugotz
The more.
Tony
The more important point is, is you have. You have injuries. You have a quarterback that you're going to have to pay coming up soon. There's a lot of things that are not going well for the 49ers. You're last in the division right now. You let Geno Smith walk in for a 13 yard touchdown to win the game. It's over. The window's closed. There's too many good teams in the NFC for you to recover from being five and five. It's over. And I'm fully expecting them to go seven straight games and win them all and then win the super bowl after I say this.
Stugotz
By the way, it is what we're all rooting for. Thank you, Tony. This is. We interrupted Greg Cody in what was the most indignant sports media rant, objecting to being a homer since Bo Bach was on the air in Atlanta and was spouting while shaking a bottle of pills at us because he was objecting to how somebody had called him a homer. And he's not even a journalist like you. He was. He's just a sports radio guy. Although he does have a newsletter.
Billy Corben
Harry, you don't know anything about what you're talking about. Say to me that we're trying to upsell the Falcons to you, sir. You're not a Falcon fan. You haven't been. And if you have been, you don't know what you're looking at.
Stugotz
Stop being a homer, bro.
Billy Corben
Get out of my last one. Who's a homer? Don't you ever call me a homer. Who the hell do you think has been saying The Truth since 1973 on Atlanta radio? Who?
Mike Ryan
Seasons greetings, podcast audience. It's Mike Ryan. And now is that time of year where you start hosting your family gatherings, be it Thanksgiving be it the upcoming holiday season. You're gonna have some folks in town, you're gonna be doing some entertaining. So why don't you make your family time a Miller Time? It's the first thing that I roll out when I got guests over at the house. An ice cold bucket filled with that beautiful white can see Miller Time makes family time all the more special because for one thing, it's got taste that you can depend on. No games, no gimmicks, just a great beer for people who like beer. Miller Lite is brewed for taste. It hits different than other light beers. It's got simple ingredients like malted barley for rich balanced toffee note flavors in an iconic golden color. And at just 96 calories and 3.2 grams of carb per 12 ounces. Miller time is always a good time, even during the festive times. Making memories at year end gatherings tastes like Miller time. Go to millerlite.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Fewer calories and carbs and premium regular beer hey podcasters, it's Mike Ryan and let me tell you something. The NBA's got a lot going for it right now. Bright young stars hitting the court, teams playing, exciting brands of basketball and celebrities everywhere you look courtside. It's no wonder why tickets are in demand. Let me tell you about my favorite on the secondary ticket marketplace and that is Game Time and their amazing new feature called Game Time Pix. It makes getting tickets to see your favorite teams play live even easier. Game Time Pix filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets with Game Time Picks. It helps make curation easier to save more on sports, concerts, comedy, theater, whatever else tickles your fancy. Also, they've got all in pricing. This feature is huge. Push up a button, you get no surprises at checkout. You know exactly what to budget for. You get panoramic seat views and of course game time's lowest price guarantee where game time will credit you 110% of the difference if you find a better price out there. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time Picks. Download the Game Time app, create an account and use code DAN for $20 off your first purchase terms. Apply again, create an account and return deem code DAN for $20 off download Game time today. What time is it?
Stugotz
It's game time.
Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – "Local Hour: The Double-Very Controversy"
Episode Information:
In this episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the hosts delve into a heated discussion sparked by Greg Cody's comments on the Houston Texans' performance. The conversation weaves through critiques of sports journalism objectivity, the Dallas Cowboys' dismal season, and the ongoing debate about traditional books versus Kindle. The centerpiece of the episode revolves around what the hosts term the "Double-Very Controversy," highlighting tensions surrounding perceived biases in sports commentary.
Early in the episode, the hosts engage in a light-hearted debate about the merits of physical books compared to digital formats like Kindle.
Stugotz expresses a preference for tangible books:
“I still want the book in my hand. I still want to do it that way.” [03:00]
Greg Cody counters by questioning the prevalence of physical books:
“I've never seen a bookshelf full of Kindles, but I've seen a bookshelf full of books.” [02:06]
Billy Corben emphasizes the sensory experience of reading physical books:
“I like the tactile feel of actually turning a page. The sound of pages being turned.” [04:22]
The discussion underscores a generational divide and differing preferences in consuming written content.
The conversation shifts to the Dallas Cowboys' disappointing season, with the hosts criticizing management and team performance.
Stugotz laments the Cowboys' poor record and Jerry Jones' leadership:
“Now it's six. Like, you don't see anything this bad in that sport. It's the Cowboys and it's Jacksonville, like, right?” [07:07]
Billy Corben highlights questionable coaching decisions:
“He goes for it on like 4th and 13 or something and doesn't make it. That's a bad coaching decision.” [09:05]
The hosts express frustration over consistent underperformance and ineffective management strategies.
A substantial portion of the episode centers on assessing the Houston Texans' standing within the AFC.
Greg Cody categorizes the Texans as "good, not great," prompting scrutiny from fellow hosts:
“I think they're a good team, but is there really a long shot among the good teams?” [12:32]
Stugotz challenges this assessment, advocating for a more nuanced view:
“The Chargers are a very good football team with the best defense statistically going into the weekend in the league.” [13:38]
Billy Corben supports the tier classification while acknowledging the Texans' strengths:
“I think they're far from being a great team. You know, I don't think they're Baltimore. I think they're far from.” [11:13]
The debate highlights differing perspectives on team performance metrics and playoff potential.
The core controversy arises from Greg Cody's description of the Texans, which Stugotz suggests was misrepresented.
Stugotz confronts Cody about using "double-very" to describe the Texans as being far from great:
“What Greg Cody has alleged.” [20:36]
Billy Corben defends Cody's original statement, asserting that there was no double emphasis:
“I think they're a good team. That is very, very far from being a great team.” [20:59]
Greg Cody argues that his statement was accurate and not embellished:
“I reject that. That was you spliced in the second berry.” [21:05]
The exchange escalates as Stugotz accuses Cody of bias, leading to playful yet tense banter about journalistic impartiality.
Shifting focus, the hosts discuss Mike Francesa's retirement and his continued media presence, questioning the authenticity of his current broadcasts.
Stugotz expresses discomfort with Francesa's isolated broadcasting:
“It doesn't feel right to me to watch him shouting into a microphone after a Jets game by himself.” [23:39]
Chris Cote clarifies Francesa's setup, noting his daily podcast routine:
“I think Mike has it figured out. He comes on, he gives 30 minutes of hot takes...” [24:04]
The segment reflects on the transition from traditional radio to more solitary media formats post-retirement.
The episode touches on the New York Jets' performance and Francesa's critical stance towards the team.
The discussion underscores ongoing frustrations with the Jets' lackluster results and the media's scrutiny.
Interspersed with serious discussions, the hosts engage in light-hearted segments, including Tony's "Top Five" lists featuring humorous takes on current NFL players and teams.
Tony presents quirky observations:
“Joe Burrow has lost three games this season in which he has had three touchdown passes, 300 yards or more and zero interceptions.” [44:12]
Stugotz and Greg Cody humorously interact over misheard phrases and playful jabs:
“It's a TCB game. Take care of business.” [43:31]
These segments provide comic relief and showcase the hosts' camaraderie.
As the episode wraps up, the tension surrounding Greg Cody's objectivity remains unresolved, with hosts deferring his "punishment" to the episode's end.
Stugotz declares:
“We are going to punish you at the end of the show today when we play that tape.” [20:45]
Greg Cody maintains his stance against being labeled a homer:
“I don't think this is the one criticism of you. I've never understood the homerism.” [27:03]
The episode concludes without a definitive resolution, leaving listeners to ponder the fine line between journalistic objectivity and personal bias in sports commentary.
Stugotz on Objectivity:
“Objectivity is an illusion. It's not a thing that humans can actually be. It's only a thing they can aspire to.” [30:45]
Greg Cody Defending Fairness:
“Fairness is what I aspire to, and I want to be fair in everything I write.” [31:18]
Billy Corben on Supporting Readers:
“I root for what I want to write. If that happens to be the Dolphins winning because I think that's the best story to write.” [29:09]
Bias in Sports Journalism: The episode highlights the challenges journalists face in maintaining objectivity, especially when longstanding fan loyalties influence their commentary.
Team Performance Analysis: The hosts provide critical insights into struggling teams like the Dallas Cowboys and analyze the Houston Texans' potential within the competitive AFC landscape.
Media Transitions: Discussions around Mike Francesa illustrate the evolving nature of sports media and the personal adjustments made by veteran broadcasters.
Interpersonal Dynamics: The "Double-Very Controversy" serves as a case study in how disagreements over perceived bias can lead to broader conversations about integrity and fairness in sports reporting.
Entertainment Balance: The inclusion of humorous segments and light-hearted banter ensures a balanced and engaging listening experience, catering to both serious sports analysis and casual entertainment.
This episode offers listeners a blend of critical sports analysis, spirited debate on journalistic integrity, and entertaining banter, encapsulating the unique flavor of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.