Local Hour: The Race To Windy

Summary

Episode Summary: "Local Hour: The Race To Windy"

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Date: February 20, 2026

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Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the team dive into their signature blend of sports commentary, pop culture musings, and behind-the-scenes banter. This episode, dubbed "The Race To Windy," weaves through patriotism, Miami sports, quirky social etiquette, the state of the Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa, and a spirited discussion on tanking strategies in the NBA—complete with a live-texting competition to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

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Main Themes & Key Discussion Points

1. Kicking Off with Patriotism and Anthem Talk

• Chris starts the show by singing the national anthem, setting a patriotic tone, followed by playful debates about national anthems.
• Debate: Is "O Canada" superior to "The Star-Spangled Banner?"
  • [03:03] Mike Ryan: "Is this a weird time, though, to mention that I think 'O Canada' is a better national anthem?"
  • Group consensus: "O Canada" is an earworm and perhaps musically superior, but no shame in loving the U.S. anthem.

2. Sports Jerseys: Best and Worst Looks

• Discussion: Which sports jerseys are the least flattering for adult fans to wear?
  • Hockey jerseys ("sweaters") largely get a pass for being the most acceptable, especially over a hoodie or even on the ski slopes.
  • [03:26] Dan: "I think the hockey sweater is great. I never go to a Panther game and I'm like, oh, that guy looks stupid."
  • Basketball and football jerseys—especially when worn over work shirts or shirtless—draw the most fire for being a questionable look.

3. Behind-the-Scenes: Singing Nerves & National Anthem Prep

• Revelation: Chris needed the lyrics taped to a chair while singing the anthem, prompting light ribbing.
  • [06:44] Dan: "He's got the words to the national anthem taped to the chair so only he can see."
  • Chris admits to practicing in his car and feeling surprisingly vulnerable singing solo.

4. Olympic Hockey: Double Gold Never?

• Recap of the U.S. women’s gold medal win in hockey.
• Debate: Has the U.S. ever claimed gold in both men's and women's Olympic hockey in the same year?
  • [08:38] Dan: "Has that ever happened before? That both [teams] won?"
  • Short answer: No, it's never coincided due to timelines of women's Olympic hockey.
• Memorable analogy:
  • [09:45] Mike Ryan: "What it felt like to me was the St. Louis Rams at the turn of the millennium...they needed a nails play to survive and win the championship."

5. Modern Messaging Etiquette: When Is Too Late or Early?

• Prompted by Dave sending a Slack message late at night (West Coast time)—is it rude?
  • [11:02] Mike Ryan: "I think you have it backwards, but okay."
  • Dan and others argue that modern phone settings (“Do Not Disturb,” silencing, etc.) render time-based etiquette mostly moot.
  • Tony extols scheduled message features, while Mike Ryan bemoans the dreaded “ping” waking him up.
  • [12:28] Mike Ryan: "If that jars you awake...that's a pisser..."

6. Miami Dolphins & Tua Tagovailoa Speculation

• Bold “reporting” by Dan: Claims the Dolphins will release Tua (not trade).
  • [19:27] Dan: "I may as well report it right now. Dolphins are going to release Tua. There's no trade partner."
• Debate around Tua: Did he change after signing his contract? Did his work ethic slip?
• Comparison to other “can't-miss” QB prospects and reflection on the perils of armchair psychology.
  • [21:06] Mike Ryan: "Maybe Tua is one of those people who have gone through a fundamental personality change one way or the other."
• Side talk about Tua’s physical changes: new teeth, new trainer, possible attitude shift post-contract.
• Which QB would you rather have: Tua or Kyler Murray? Or Trevor Lawrence, Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers?
  • [24:35] Mike Ryan: "Is Tua now the biggest swing and miss from scouts in the last 40 or 50 years?"
  • [25:00] Jeremy: "It was...there's no way he's bad. Right. And that was kind of the big sell..."
  • Exploring the fallacies and hindsight regret around prospect hype.

7. Lefty Quarterbacks & Left-Handed Problems

• Discussion about the rarity and challenges of lefty QBs in the NFL.
• Humorous gripes about growing up left-handed—special scissors, awkward school desks, and Mickelson’s rise making lefty clubs available.
  • [31:05] Mike Ryan: "They may as well have...it was a scarlet letter, but I had the green handled scissors."
  • Broader laugh about being a “victim” of right-handed world design.

8. NBA Is Back—Adam Silver Finally Doing Something?

• NBA returns post-All-Star weekend. Heat play Atlanta.
• Dan wonders if NBA commissioner Adam Silver is finally becoming proactive about tanking.
  • [32:47] Dan: "He's not only does he do nothing, he has enough. He's on nothing."
• Breakdown of proposed anti-tanking measures (courtesy of Shams Charania):
  1. Tightening draft pick protections: Only “top-4” or “top-14” (lottery) protected picks allowed—aim to reduce “gaming” for mid-lottery picks.
     • [33:33] Jeremy: "First round picks can be protected only for top 4 or top 14 plus selection."
  2. Freezing lottery odds at the trade deadline or earlier: So late-season tanking is discouraged.
     • [34:23] Jeremy: "Lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date."
  3. Reversing incentive—wins after deadline improve lottery odds, not losses: Encourages teams to still try after slipping into “lottery” territory.
     • [35:14] Tony explains “reverse tanking”: "So, instead of losses counting...now wins count for positioning."
  4. No multiple top-4 picks for consecutive bottom teams: E.g., after two years of futility, you're ineligible for another top pick.
     • [39:44] Jeremy: "No longer allowing a team to pick in the top four in consecutive years..."
  5. Lottery odds based on two-year records: To discourage short-term tank-jobs.
  6. Including play-in teams in lottery odds or flattening odds: Motivates fringe playoff teams to keep competing.

9. The Race to Text Brian “Windy” Windhorst

• Light-hearted section in which Tony and Mike Ryan compete to text ESPN’s Brian Windhorst first—debate over who might get a faster response, as Tony once produced Hoop Collective.
  • [35:14] Tony: “We’ll have a race to Windy.”
  • [38:39] Chris: “Are you doing the standard ‘Hey Wendy, hope all’s well’?”
• Each debates the best approach to get a prompt reply (“be more pleasant”; “be casual but direct”; “do you call him Brian or Windy?”).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On anthem performance vulnerability:
  [07:34] Chris: "Singing it alone, very vulnerable. Like, I've never had trouble with the lyrics at the stadium...but doing it in my car, I probably did it seven times."

• On men in basketball jerseys:
  [03:33] Dan Le Batard: "At a Heat game...the grown man who wears the basketball jersey with no shirt underneath and you got the back hair coming out. Very disgusting."

• On Tua’s personality shift:
  [22:18] Tony: "There was a lot of things. He changed his teeth too. He got new teeth...he said, show me the money, that'll change you."

• On reverse tanking:
  [36:06] Dan Le Batard (on Tony’s idea): "So the more you win, the more you're incentivized to win to get better odds in the lottery."

• On left-handed struggles:
  [31:05] Mike Ryan: "They had the normal scissors, but then for the lefties, they had...green rubber thing around the edges—to identify you and shame you...may as well have...the scarlet letter..."

• On “The Race to Windy”:
  [38:38] Dave: "Straight up. This is a race I'm trying to win."
  [39:00] Tony: "What's up, Brian? Exclamation point...not a question, more like a statement."

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:00 – Chris sings "The Star-Spangled Banner"
• 03:00-05:00 – Jersey debate: hockey vs. basketball vs. football
• 06:44 – The lyric sheet “scandal” and behind-the-scenes on Chris’ prep
• 08:38 – Double gold in Olympic hockey?
• 11:02-12:54 – Late-night Slack etiquette discussion
• 19:27-25:31 – Miami Dolphins, Tua’s future, and QB evaluation debate
• 27:23-32:19 – Left-handed quarterbacks and living as a lefty
• 32:46-39:10 – NBA tanking reforms and anti-tanking lottery solutions
• 35:14-39:40 – The race to text Windhorst: strategy, etiquette, and competitive spirit
• 39:44-41:47 – Continuing NBA reform proposals; group reactions

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Tone & Style

• Signature Chaotic Banter: Plenty of cross-talk, in-jokes, Miami-centric observations, and freewheeling transitions between sports and silliness.
• Inside Baseball: Regular references to ESPN personalities, podcast industry quirks, and behind-the-mics shenanigans.
• Thematic Playfulness: Even weighty discussions about player futures or league policies are treated with levity, skepticism, and improvisational humor.

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Conclusion

This episode of the "Local Hour" epitomizes the Dan Le Batard Show’s appeal—a heady mix of Miami sports insight, national sports hot takes, inside-joke camaraderie, and a heavy dose of tongue-in-cheek social commentary. If you want an episode that feels both off-the-cuff and deep in its sports nerdery, "The Race To Windy" delivers—random singalongs, basketball analytics, and all.

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For full effect, catch these key moments:

• Chris’s anthem (02:00–07:00)
• Dan’s “breaking news” on Tua (19:27–21:55)
• NBA tanking reform debate (32:46–41:47)
• The Windy text-off (38:27–39:44)

(Skip ad spots from [12:54], [15:02], [27:47], [28:44], and [29:48] for pure content!)

Transcript

[Chris]

O say, can you see

[Dan Le Batard]

by the

[Chris]

dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O' er the ramparts we watched Were so gallantly streaming

[Tony]

and

[Chris]

the rocket's red glare the bombs bursting in air Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave? O the land and of the free and the home of the

[Dan Le Batard]

brave.

[Chris]

Wow.

[Dave]

Combination of Fergie and Jesus.

[Tony]

Wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

How about that? The crown is yours. Excellent job by Chris getting a Friday show started. Everybody feeling patriotic today? Look at Mike. You got your Matthew Tkachuk USA jersey on. Chris has got his on. Everybody's excited about you. Are you feeling patriotic today?

[Dave]

I am. Today I am. Thanks. Thanks to the women's hockey team and of course, I love the men's hockey team. Chris and I wearing the same at the Kachuk jersey because we went to the Four nations last year. Love international hockey. It's been far too long since our hockey players in the NHL have had this opportunity. I'm super jacked up for these semis today.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now let's also make sure we. Welcome aboard. Here with us live out on the. On the west coast, our power is Dave. Damage check.

[Dave]

Hello, Dave

[Mike Ryan]

Co. Yeah. USA. USA. Is this a weird time, though, to mention that? I think, oh, Canada is a better national anthem.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think everybody knows it is, right? I got. I don't think that's a secret.

[Dave]

What?

[Jeremy]

What?

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, what?

[Mike Ryan]

Here's another question for you. Just to throw it out there and then we can go back to that one. Is the hockey sweater slash jersey the best or the worst item for a grown man to wear among the popular

[Dan Le Batard]

sports socks is good.

[Mike Ryan]

Really emerged number one.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, we'll go back to the Canada part in a second here. But this is good because to me, I think the hockey sweater is great. I never go to a Panther game and I'm like, oh, that guy looks stupid. But you'll see, like, at a Heat game and the grown man who wears the Heat jersey. And there are two kinds of guys that look ridiculous. One of them is the guy who wears it with no shirt underneath and you got the back hair coming out. Very disgusting. And the other, I don't even need

[Mike Ryan]

to see your pit hair. That. That's the night starter for me. That. That's the grotesque.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right? And there's another guy at the basketball game, a grown man who will wear the Heat, you know, the basketball jersey or over. Over his Work shirts over his dress shirts. What? Dave, what are we doing?

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, that's. Well, you see that all over every super bowl too. Those are the people who populate the big game. They're the. They're the mid level corporate mooks who show up to tap into the open bar more than they care about what happens on the field. And they get themselves a Super Bowl T shirt and they pull it over their dress shirt. Yeah, it's a tell that they have no idea what they're looking at. But yes, I'm surprised, Mike, you're upset by the. By the notion that oh, Canada is a superior anthem.

[Dave]

No, no, no, it's. It is a much better anthem.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tony's upset.

[Tony]

That was me. It was me.

[Dave]

It's a. It's the one.

[Mike Ryan]

Tony, I'm sorry. Yeah.

[Dave]

Oh, Canada has a real earworm, let's be honest. But I do like the. The hockey sweater. I think it's the rare sweater that gets upgraded when you wear a hoodie underneath just looks so much better. It just looks like an actual sweater at that point.

[Dan Le Batard]

How about this? Like, what do you make of the guys? I see this. I don't know if you know this about me, but the Zas skiing family. We're going skiing next month. We. We usually go to Park City. We're going to Vail next month. Nonetheless, how do you feel about when you go skiing? You'll see people there. Instead of wearing, like the big coat, they'll wear a hockey sweater. They ski in that. That's kind of a cool look, right?

[Dave]

That is a super cool look.

[Tony]

Are you asking?

[Mike Ryan]

It's a cool look for somebody playing lead guitar too. You know, in an arena show, you know, you come out and. And you wear the local hockey team sweater to. To ingratiate yourself to the fans that showed up that night.

[Chris]

Football jerseys are the worst, right?

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Chris]

Wearing a football jersey stinks.

[Mike Ryan]

I think I'm going basketball. Basketball's the worst.

[Dave]

Basketball for sure. It's basketball.

[Jeremy]

What about basketball over a hoodie? No, that's the way to be able to style it where you don't look like a total asshole.

[Dave]

It's the short sleeves.

[Tony]

That's what kills you. It's the short sleeves, right?

[Jeremy]

The short.

[Dan Le Batard]

And Dave's right. You got the pit hair. No one wants to see a pit hair. Jeremy. Wait a second.

[Mike Ryan]

Over a hoodie?

[Dan Le Batard]

Then you look like.

[Mike Ryan]

Then you look like the crosswalk guy. What are you talking about? That you wear it over a hoodie sweatshirt.

[Jeremy]

You guys don't get it.

[Dan Le Batard]

So we'll talk plenty of the hockey today. The women win the gold yesterday in, like, the most dramatic fashion and a great. You got the men today, Slovakia. All right, that's the semifinal, but Chris getting us started on a great note by starting the show with. With the national anthem. Okay, real quick. No one would object to me saying that Chris did a nice job, right? That was a good rendition. But I'm gonna let you behind the scene for a second here. All right, what are you about to say? Chris is doing the national anthem over there in our green room. And right in front of him, taped to a chair so that only he can see.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's got the words to the national Ant anthem. Look at Dave, would you.

[Mike Ryan]

This is our champion.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dave, would you need someone to hold up the lyrics for the national anthem if you are tasked to sing it? Come on.

[Mike Ryan]

Are you kidding me? Look, I can cover my eyes to make sure that. To prove I'm not reading this. And I can not only do our national anthem. How about this? Oh, Canada, our home and native land True patriot love in all thy sons command with glow glowing hearts we see these. I went to a lot of hockey games when I was growing up.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wow.

[Jeremy]

I mean, that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Enough of this. That of all the people, that's who we.

[Mike Ryan]

That's who we choose. By the way, also, Chris, he got a little too into it and he hit the. Over on the national anthem.

[Chris]

I tried. I wanted. I wanted to take it for a walk. I didn't want to rush through it, but I. I sang it a few times on the way in. In the car. And singing it alone, very vulnerable. Like, I've never had trouble with the lyrics at the stadium, singing it with a group, but doing it in my car, I probably did it seven times. Had a.

[Dan Le Batard]

You were practicing on the way.

[Chris]

I was. I had a couple screw up.

[Dan Le Batard]

Lamello balled it. He was.

[Mike Ryan]

He was. He was looking at the lyrics instead of the roadway.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, no, no.

[Chris]

I was trying to see what happened. I was trying to wing it in the car, and I happened to mess up a couple of times. So I got nervous and I printed him out. I'm sorry.

[Dan Le Batard]

Were you nervous that you were going to be like the little girl when nice guy Mo cheeks came in and he saved her? Remember, she forgot the lyrics and he sung the rest all time. Great NBA moments. Anyway, excellent job by Chris getting things started here. So the women win the gold yesterday. And it's definitely never happened before. Right? Where the men and the women win this. I say Definitely. But I'm really just. I'm spitballing here. The men and women, have they won the gold in hockey in the same year? Like, has that ever happened before? They both won.

[Dave]

I have to look it up off the top of my head.

[Dan Le Batard]

That sounds like something that's probably never happened.

[Dave]

I would say no. It's hard for the men to win.

[Mike Ryan]

Unlikely.

[Dave]

Yeah. And we. We haven't had the pros playing in a while, and I imagine, you know, women's hockey hasn't been around in the Olympics as long as men's hockey, so let me look it up, but I don't think so off the top of my head.

[Mike Ryan]

Right. There probably wasn't even Olympic women's hockey in 1960, which is the second to last time that the US men won. So there are only so many Olympics that they could have overlapped like that. 1980, I guess, would be the one time it would have been possible.

[Dan Le Batard]

So for a team that was so. I mean, they. They won all seven of their games, the women, yesterday, for a team that was so dominant, they were three minutes away from. Right. They were three minutes away from. You don't win the silver, you lose the gold. All right, so they were three minutes away.

[Dave]

According to Canada. According to Canada's social media, team silver shines just as bright.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, Nobody, Dave. No one wins. When you're playing a team sport, you don't win the silver, you lose the gold.

[Dave]

The Olympics started, women's ice hockey in 1998 in Nagano.

[Mike Ryan]

I was. What it felt like to me was the St. Louis Rams at the turn of the millennium that, you know, they. They were so dominant and blew everybody out until the very end. And then they needed a nails play to. To survive and win the championship. Kurt Warner to Isaac Bruce to pull that one out of the fire. And. And that is what I sort of was thinking watching the women rally and. And then win it.

[Dan Le Batard]

No T. So Dave and I last night, like, we're going over some stuff to, you know, what we're thinking about doing on the show today. And we're texting a little bit back and forth. And then this morning I got a. I got a message in like in our Slack. Okay, how do I explain that for people who don't understand what slack is?

[Tony]

It's like a work messaging system.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, great. So very useful there, Tony. And so you asked me what slack was.

[Tony]

I'm telling you what it is.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. No, you're very useful.

[Tony]

I think everybody knows what slack is.

[Dan Le Batard]

Very useful. So I wake up this morning and I see I have a. I have a private message from Dave on my slack now.

[Chris]

Say, hey, it's your old pal Dave here.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now, Dave is on the west coast, okay? And I don't know if you understand how time zones work, but that's three hours before us, right? He's in the past. We're in the future. No spoilers, Dave. Don't worry. And so I get the message this morning.

[Mike Ryan]

I think you have it backwards, but okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

And Dave. And Dave says it's. I didn't want to text you. So that's why I'm sending you this message here because. Because it's after 11pm Eastern time, and that's. That's rude to text someone at this hour, gentlemen. And I would tell you, Dave, yes, you clearly are a gentleman. And that's good looking out. That. That's really. That's courteous of you, but I don't think I subscribe by those rules anymore. Like, aren't we at the point where if you don't want to get text messages because it's a certain hour, there's so many options on your phone that you can. You can silence, or you could pick specific people who don't get. What if it's an emergency? Well, it'll go through if it's a family member. Like, I don't think those rules exist anymore. Like, you're being courteous, but I don't think that's a thing anymore.

[Jeremy]

But do they apply to work? Because that's a different thing. Like, I'm assuming Dave was messaging you specifically about something that we were going to do here, which means it's not just like a friendly text message. If I wanted to text Chris, like, about a game because we were just interested in it and having a good time, sure, I could text him at midnight, but I. I don't know how to sit in this seat.

[Dave]

This is really.

[Chris]

I like.

[Tony]

I like you right there, buddy.

[Jeremy]

It's really tough.

[Chris]

I'm just, like, turning away. Just look straight ahead.

[Jeremy]

I feel uncomfortable. I think.

[Mike Ryan]

I think actually zaz to answer. First of all, the ping sound that some people have their cell phones to is. Is pretty annoying.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. Get a little bit creative with the sound of your text. You got to stick with a ping. You don't have a moment to check whatever it is.

[Mike Ryan]

You want to have one. What if it's whatever it is? That's if that jars you awake. That's a. It's a pisser. If that's what happens to you. If that if you're awoken by that, and I know that what we're doing this morning is very important, but still, when it's work related, then that creates the, the vibe that, like you're always on the clock and I don't want to be that guy. I don't want, I don't want to issue that message to you.

[Dave]

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[Chris]

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[Mike Ryan]

Two names.

[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

Don lebatard John Zaslo. How you love that cat. Bad news for opposing teams in the triple air stugats. These are smiles till LeBron's I. Clutch again. Clutch again. Clutch again. This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugach. See, like, like, my wife had this complaint the other day, Tony, where she. She opened up like her work slack kind of deal, and there was a message that was time coded at like 6am on Sunday. She's like, how can anybody send a message? I'm like, all right, but it's. It's in. It's in the thing where it doesn't bother you unless, like, who cares what time it actually was? Like, it's not going to bother anyone. They have to actually physically open it.

[Tony]

Yeah, and you can schedule stuff now. So, like, it's like, all right, It's Friday at 4:32. I know. I don't want to bother this person to Friday at 6pm when everybody's off of work. What I'll do is I'll send it to send later. Right. So I'll send it now, but it'll actually come in later in the future.

[Dan Le Batard]

So, Dave, like, what's the earliest then that you would send someone a message?

[Mike Ryan]

I just think that, you know, every movie or a lot of movies involve the character who's not working hard enough at. At work. And the other guy, his rival is. Is the boss likes him a little bit better, Mike. He's working weekends. He's bending the elbow late into the night and up early. And if you're the guy who's sending emails or otherwise or texts at. At 11pm or at 5:30am now, the boss man, now the man is pleased. Look at him. I got him under my thumb. He's always. He's always working. I don't want to be involved in that. I don't want to perpetuate any of that. I. I think reasonable hours are, you know, 8:00am to maybe 8:00pm Is that fair?

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, like I said, I think right when I wake up in the morning, if I need to send somebody a message that I know, I put my phone on silent when I don't want to hear a message. Matter of fact, my phone's always on silence. Okay.

[Jeremy]

I don't need to.

[Tony]

I'm a vibrate guy.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, no. I don't even have vibrate.

[Tony]

Yeah, no, but I need. I need a vibrate. I need to let you know.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, okay.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Tony]

Don't look at me like that, Mike. You're a vibrate guy, too. I see your phone.

[Dave]

No, I'm not. Yes, you are.

[Tony]

Yes, you are.

[Dave]

The group chats. Silent mode.

[Mike Ryan]

Look at Tony. Just trying. Tony sounds like Kid Rock video.

[Tony]

He looked at me funny.

[Dave]

Look at that. Tony. You said vibrator.

[Tony]

I didn't say vibrator. I said vibrate.

[Dave]

It came out vibrating like the vibrator.

[Dan Le Batard]

So I don't know if you heard yesterday, Dave, We. We did a little dolphins yesterday, and specifically to a Tonga vailoa, because the dolphins, they're. They're releasing everybody and they're clearly starting over and they're going to try and find the trade partner for Tua, but that's not going to happen. You know what? I may as well report it right now. Dolphins are going to. Dolphins are going to release to her. They're not. There's no trade partner. I'm reporting it right now, matter of fact. Okay, you can put it on the crawl if you want. The Miami Dolphins are going to release Tua Tonga Bailoa. No trade partner. That's A report coming from me right now. Zaszlo had it first. Props, Zaslo. So we're talking.

[Chris]

That's a prediction.

[Dan Le Batard]

So. Nope, that's a. Hey, I'm telling you, it's a report. All right. Are you doubting my reporting? 2 is going to be released. So there you go.

[Mike Ryan]

I think Sass is on to something, because in the history of people, have you ever heard a team say, we're going to release this guy if we can't find a trade partner and then they find a trade partner? Why would you ever make a trade for him if you know that they're about to dump them otherwise?

[Dan Le Batard]

Correct.

[Mike Ryan]

Why would you give up anything to get them correct?

[Dan Le Batard]

So the Dolphins are. You heard it here first. Dolphins are releasing to a Tonga by loa. But yesterday we talked a little bit about two on the. On the local hour here, and. And then yesterday afternoon, I heard Jeff Darlington from espn and what do you say?

[Dave]

I mean, you're talking.

[Tony]

Yeah, you can't do this.

[Dave]

Keeping the bit. Gimmick infringement.

[Dan Le Batard]

So Jeff Darlington from espn, who knows the Dolphins better than anyone because he's based down here and he used to be on the Dolphins beat.

[Mike Ryan]

He.

[Dan Le Batard]

He said that people in the Dolphins building believe that Tua kind of began to mail it in, that the work ethic changed when he signed the huge contract. And it's something that I thought of, but I haven't heard anyone who actually is around that building all the time, you know, actually say that out loud. It's something I've thought about, Dave. And I know it's a weird thing for us to say because you're kind of. You're trying to dictate somebody's personality, I guess, but he's been like a different, slash, weird kind of dude since he signed that contract, and I think it makes sense.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, I mean, is it. Is it possible at least to play conspiracy theorist? A lot of people, the football team I root for, as you can tell by looking behind me, if you're looking at us, is the Steelers. And a lot of people thought Antonio Brown changed after he got hit in the head one too many times, but maybe Tua is one of those people who has gone through a fundamental personality change one way or the other. He's way too honest. Now. The issue with him is he just shoots straight. He tells you exactly what he thinks about what's going on, which is too much information, and it's sort of the opposite. Speaking of the Steelers, because the big melodrama with the Steelers right now is that Roethlisberger was a jerk early in his career and then turned into a decent guy apparently over the years. And I guess that's the opposite of what you're describing with Tua, right?

[Dave]

Says explore the space with the darkness and the head injuries and the gladiator spectacle.

[Dan Le Batard]

I, I just, I've seen things where. And you know, like, like Tony, didn't he. Didn't he change his trainer? Like he had the longtime trainer who's always on Twitter, like talking to people, you know, and I feel like he didn't. He changed.

[Tony]

Yeah, there was. There was a lot of things. He changed his teeth too. He got new teeth.

[Chris]

Oh, right.

[Dave]

Remember that?

[Tony]

He said, show me the money that will change. Have you not. Have you not heard the thing you switch up when you get the money? Like sometimes people do that.

[Chris]

That's part of your team whistle like Rex Ryan's.

[Tony]

I don't know if they whistle, but they were Chiclet White. But the point with Tua, it's like he get. He works all this way to finally be good enough to make one of these contracts and he probably got it. Remember he was on the boat and we were like, man, he's looking a little bit. A little bit of a. Of a tire around the.

[Dave]

That was the second biggest issue that I took glass bottles on a boat. Poor form.

[Tony]

Also. Also true.

[Chris]

But having said all this about Tua, I agree with Dominique. He's going to be instantly the best quarterback available and it's just because there's nothing available at quarterback.

[Dave]

I don't, I don't agree with that.

[Chris]

I mean, I'm saying. I mean league Willis might be. But outside of Malik Willis who's available,

[Dave]

I think, I think Kyler Murray is more of an interesting prospect because his brain is okay.

[Tony]

It just sucks.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can we, can we tell Dave the Dominique reference that we're making here?

[Chris]

It's just that he basically said that he. He's going to look good as far as the best option for teams because there's not a lot out there.

[Mike Ryan]

I agree with that. One thing I would like to stipulate though that two of might now stand based after Trevor Lawrence kind of turn. Turn things around in the back half of this past season is two now the biggest swing and miss from scouts in the last 40 or 50 years. I mean he was. Can't miss if we go 10 or right around years.

[Chris]

I mean 40 or 50 is just tough.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, we're only talking quarterback like Elway. Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm just talking QB Ryan Leaf.

[Chris]

Was was a big jamarcus Russell would

[Mike Ryan]

like was he can't miss. Was he but was Leaf considered sort of can't miss the way TUA was. Everybody was falling all over themselves. I I'm sure you guys remember Tank for TUA that, you know, I can't remember a bigger bust I guess Leaf stance because there were. There was some. It sounds like some serious contemplation about taking Leaf over Peyton manning back in 98. But yeah, I don't know who's busted more. But I also agree with wow. Mike is right. Kyler over TUA in my book. Where do you put Aaron Rodgers in that and Kirk Cousins in that mix? I think I go, I'm with Mike. Kyler Murray. A lot of people are saying who's better out there to for the Steelers to chase than Aaron Rodgers. The answer is Kyler Murray especially. Unless I'm mistaken, he only has one year of guaranteed loot left.

[Jeremy]

To Dave's point, like when we were talking about Tua, it's high floor for him was the thing when we were talking about what it was when he was being drafted. So yeah, Joe Burrow was being drafted for the high ceiling that he could have and jamarcus Russell, who we just mentioned was being drafted for the high ceiling. But with tua, it was. There's no way he's bad. Right. And that was kind of the big sell was he's so polished he's going to be good no matter what.

[Dan Le Batard]

Super high character as well. Yeah.

[Tony]

But then what he got guys he would have gone number one then in that draft. Obviously he got hurt.

[Mike Ryan]

Joe Burrow, what was the hip injury? Right.

[Tony]

Correct. Correct.

[Mike Ryan]

Burrow was the revelation. And 2 I had to hit.

[Dave]

I think Tony's right on the money. Like that was the book on tua, especially after he burst on the scene in the national title game. But that hip injury was a scary one and there's a reason why I don't think you can make the camp Miss Prospect not be number one overall unless the person going number one overall is Peyton Manning. And there's a sincere debate there. Joe Burrow was certified the number one prospect.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, if Tua didn't suffer the hip injury that year, would would Burrow still have been number one?

[Tony]

Yes, just because based on the year that they had offensive college football had

[Dave]

one of the greatest years ever.

[Dan Le Batard]

But then maybe two would have been like well, I guess teams that were 2, 3 and 4 didn't need quarterbacks. But.

[Tony]

But the whole conversation was do you take two or do you take Herbert?

[Mike Ryan]

Right.

[Tony]

Like that was the whole thing. And who was it?

[Dan Le Batard]

He was Herbert.

[Mike Ryan]

Herbert Guy.

[Tony]

Yes. And six years later, whatever it was, you kind of see Herbert is the guy projecting the next 10 years you want on your team.

[Dan Le Batard]

What were we thinking?

[Mike Ryan]

What? Herbert, clearly. Yeah, that's Cody. You just said exactly what I was about to say.

[Chris]

Sorry.

[Mike Ryan]

With 2020 hindsight, what was anybody thinking with Tua? He does it. He never had a big arm. He's smallish. It's not like he has wheels or anything. What was the fascination with Tua?

[Chris]

Alabama?

[Mike Ryan]

He emerged throwing that touchdown. Well, no, I get it, but when. When he, when he got into the game against Georgia, when they took out Jalen Hurts and put two in, it was already like, this guy is can't miss. Oh, he's the prodigy. Beware, everybody. Look out. Football will never be the same kind of vibes. And then he throws that touchdown pass. And we were off and running. But when you really look at him, what was the appeal of him as a prospect?

[Dan Le Batard]

It wasn't even. Ok, so there's that part. What was the appeal about Tua? But I could tell you what was.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, the outsized appeal is what I mean.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, but. But I could tell you what were the reasons we didn't like Herbert. And I distinctly remember we didn't want Herbert because he reminded us totally of Ryan Tannehill. He looked. His stature looked like Tannehill. The physical ability was like Tannehill. And it was too much of what we already had. And by the way, Herbert. Herbert was a big prospect. Like that year we were talking about two of like three years.

[Tony]

Yeah, no, 100%. But when you look at two and Dave, I actually want to pull on your NFL knowledge here. The moment that we. He. He got put into the game and you saw him throw that lefty pass, and I was like, ooh, lefty quarterbacks don't work in the NFL for whatever reason. Obviously there's outliers. But to draw on your historical knowledge of the NFL, there's been like a handful of lefties at work. And when you have a lefty in this day and age, like doesn't seem to like work in your. In your system.

[Jeremy]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Tony]

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[Jeremy]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Tony]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Jeremy]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Dave]

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[Tony]

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[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris]

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[Dave]

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[Chris]

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[Dave]

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[Mike Ryan]

ready to buy your son's entire wardrobe right now.

[Chris]

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[Dave]

Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard My algorithm on Instagram is Dan it's all boobs.

[Dave]

Stugats.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a good algorithm. This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Mike Ryan]

Receivers legitimately say.

[Dave]

I mean they.

[Mike Ryan]

With cameras on them and everything say out loud. They're like man, it's hard to pick up the spin because it's the opposite. Like what. What the hell. You're a professional pass catcher that you got. You got to figure that out fella. But yeah, I mean there people talk about the lefty thing and as a southpaw myself, I would say Steve Young lefty and and. And Mike Vick too. Yeah, yeah, sure. But you're talking about a handful of guys in. Yeah, I think that would be. Is that it? I mean is that. Are those The Scott Mitchell 3? Is that 1, 2, 3 the greatest southpaws in pro football history.

[Dave]

Dave, as a lefty, have you ever encountered everyday Normal, mundane things that put you at a higher risk. Because people who are lefties are more inclined to die in a horrible accent. Because the world was designed by righties.

[Mike Ryan]

Mm. Yeah. Well, I'm still resentful of in elementary school. I don't know if they still do this with the kids, but when they would give me scissors, they would. They had had the normal scissors, but then for the lefties, they had little green rubber thing around the edges of it to identify you and shame, you know? You know, they may as well have. Yeah. How about. I don't know why, like it was a scarlet letter, but I had, I had the green handled scissors. Why, why, why embarrass me?

[Dave]

How about in going to either high school or college, the desk, they, they have the righty desk and only like a handful of lefty desk.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. With that. Yeah. Right.

[Dave]

And.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah. And then the coveted one. Yeah, you got it. Like it wasn't, it wasn't in the position you wanted. But you know, beggars can't be choosers. They got the lefty desk. You take what they're. What, what's available to you. Also, Phil Mickelson, I think popularized the bosomy. Phil Mickelson, I think made left handed golf clubs a thing. Up until Phil Mickelson, they were very hard to find and so difficult to find, in fact that when I started playing, I only had the option of right handed golf. And so I had to learn how to play with. To play bass ackwards golf. That's why I'm not on the tour.

[Dan Le Batard]

Lefties, man free.

[Mike Ryan]

If they would have had lefty clubs for me, I'd probably be out there. Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

So the Miami Heat. If we could switch gears here to a little bit of basketball. The Miami. The Miami Heat are back in action tonight. The NBA was back last night. The Miami Heat are back in action tonight. They're at Atlanta. But the most interesting part over the last 24 hours about the NBA being back is, is it possible that Adam Silver is actually doing something? Is it possible?

[Tony]

You said he did nothing.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's not only does he do nothing, he has enough. He's on nothing. I told you that he's on nothing. So is it possible that he's actually trying to accomplish something? So Sham Srania, you know, you know Shamshani is.

[Dave]

I know about that. Shams.

[Mike Ryan]

All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

NBA Insider, espn. And he reported yesterday that the competition committee that they have concepts they have been discussing to curb tanking. And some of them, all of them, some of These ideas are going to be enacted going into next season.

[Jeremy]

So what he said they brought up in this competition meeting in January, you

[Dan Le Batard]

want to do them, like, one at a time, and we can kind of figure, does that work?

[Jeremy]

First round picks can be protected only for top four or top 14 plus selection.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, so top 14 would mean it's just lottery protected. So it can either be totally lottery protected or only top four.

[Jeremy]

But none of this top eight nonsense, like, what's going on with the Jazz.

[Dan Le Batard]

But how does that curb tanking? Like, if you're top four protected, doesn't that incentivize you to lose even more?

[Jeremy]

Yes, but what it, what it does to change things is, like, for example, I'll just look ahead. The Utah Jazz are in a position where they're trying to protect their pick in the top eight picks. And so while they had a decent start to the season, they knew if we shut everybody down, we can make sure we're one of the worst eight teams in basketball and make sure that we maintain our pick as opposed to reaching a different level of the lottery.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, keep going.

[Jeremy]

Lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now, Tony, you brought this up, right?

[Tony]

I, I. Look, I don't like this one because it still incentivizes some teams to be bad. Right. Like I heard Tim Bontemp say on the pod yesterday with. With Windhorse, the Hoop Collective. He said the idea of at a certain point in the calendar, I didn't

[Dan Le Batard]

have you as a Hoop Collective listener,

[Tony]

so I used to produce Hoop Collective with me back in the day. Yeah, Wendy's my guy when he's my guy. I'm a McMahon guy, though.

[Chris]

So do you, like, text him privately, like, thoughts on what he's saying? No, no, I don't do that. Can you text him right now?

[Dan Le Batard]

You could text.

[Tony]

I could text Wendy right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

And how much. How long would it take for him to respond?

[Chris]

I don't think he responds before the show ends.

[Tony]

No response.

[Dave]

I mean, he's over.

[Mike Ryan]

What time is it?

[Tony]

Yeah, he's over in the West Coast.

[Mike Ryan]

All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

You don't think he's awake at 6:30am I'll bet he is.

[Tony]

Maybe not.

[Chris]

Anyway, it doesn't, like, sound like.

[Tony]

Let me. Let me finish my.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let me text him.

[Mike Ryan]

All right.

[Tony]

No, I'll text.

[Dave]

We'll have a race to Wendy.

[Tony]

We'll have a race to Wendy. But let me finish. Tim Bontif said, at a certain point in the calendar, maybe at the All Star break, what you do is you Start reversing the tanking situation. So what I mean by that is whenever you. Jeremy, what are you looking at?

[Jeremy]

I was just asking the question.

[Dan Le Batard]

Why are you looking weird, man?

[Dave]

Yeah, why are you looking.

[Tony]

I wasn't.

[Dave]

I wasn't looking at you.

[Mike Ryan]

I was looking straight ahead.

[Tony]

Straight is freaking me out.

[Chris]

Tony's rattled right now because of the windy thing. Don't worry, Mike.

[Dave]

You said vibrator. It was clear as that.

[Jeremy]

I did say vibrator.

[Tony]

I see Mike texting Wendy already, and I'm like, I'm just.

[Dave]

I'm drafting.

[Jeremy]

So what is the reverse tank?

[Tony]

The reverse tanking thing is the reverse tanking thing. So instead of losses counting for. For positioning, now wins count for positioning. So if you're, you know, Indiana, if you're Utah, if you're the Pelicans, if you're. Whatever you want to win, and then those wins get added to your lottery odds instead of the losses.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's interesting.

[Jeremy]

Does that apply to every team, though, or are we just talking about the teams that would be in position?

[Tony]

The teams that are in position.

[Jeremy]

So you freeze it there at wherever the lottery odds are. You're now the number one lottery odds, say, at the trade deadline. But then from there, your wins count as.

[Tony]

Losses count as. Yes, I guess losses in the sense that you get better odds in the lottery, but by wins.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

That's interesting.

[Tony]

So the more you win, the more you're incentivized to win to get better odds in the lottery.

[Jeremy]

So everybody's competing hard at that point.

[Dave]

Right.

[Mike Ryan]

But is.

[Dave]

Is there. Because I do these things in, like, NBA 2K, where you can have, like a little tournament to get the lottery. And I think it's super fun, but I control the effort.

[Dan Le Batard]

Hold on. So in NBA 2K, you create your own in season tournaments.

[Dave]

Yeah. For 4 lottery, like, it gives you all these options, and it's a video game. You're in control of the effort that the computer players have.

[Chris]

Right.

[Dave]

Like you, You're. You're a user.

[Chris]

But in the NBA, rookie, and they tried it all.

[Dave]

But, but, but in the NBA, a sport in which they're constantly questioning the effort that these players have. I think fundamentally you have to ask, how incentivized and jacked are these players to potentially play for their replacements?

[Dan Le Batard]

Totally. That.

[Mike Ryan]

That's why this is exactly right. But that's. That paradox is what's great about. As a forefather in this area, I said, you know, probably 25, 25 or so years ago, I said that we should have. In the NFL. Two worst teams play one another, call it the loser bowl, and the winner gets the first overall pick. I think the same applies to the NBA. Have a nice little mini tournament there and it addresses. You kill two birds with one stone, Mike. Because in a league where there's load management issues now, you have to. You have to include in the equation as the head coach, are these guys going to try. Do they going to try to sit out this game and cost us a better draft pick? And all of that is great strategy from the head coach. I am all for more basketball. And people say, who wants to watch the worst teams play each other? Me for one. That would be fun. I would love it in the NFL as well. In the week in between the title games and the super bowl, the two worst teams play each other for the first overall pick. Who would watch? Everyone, that's who. Same goes for an NBA tournament among losers.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, is the race to windy about to. About to tee off.

[Chris]

What Message, Right? Message.

[Dave]

Well, I was just going to send like two mess. Two sentences, but I look over here, guys got indentations on his.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wait, you're not going to send the same message.

[Tony]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Dave]

Straight up. This is a race I'm trying to win.

[Chris]

Are you doing the standard. Hey, Wendy, hope all's well.

[Dave]

I. All right, so I'm gonna have to change that. Were you cheating? All right, here's what I got so far. Hey, man, hope all is well. No, text me back before Tony, please. We go way back, much further than you and Tony.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tony, what do you got so far? You got to be more pleasant.

[Tony]

I said, what's up, Brian? Exclamation point.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, you call him Brian?

[Tony]

Yeah, I call him Brian. Okay, what's up, Brian? Exclamation point.

[Chris]

It's Tony.

[Dan Le Batard]

Just even though it's a question because you're saying what's.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, no question.

[Tony]

But no, I don't do question mark. I do. What's up, Brian? Like, what's up?

[Mike Ryan]

All right.

[Tony]

Not a question, more of like a statement.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, right.

[Tony]

A former ESPN producer used to produce Hoop Collective for you now on the Levitar show, Just in case he doesn't have my phone number. People change phones all the time.

[Dave]

You're not in contact just in time.

[Tony]

Just.

[Dan Le Batard]

You don't want us to write back who this.

[Tony]

Exactly.

[Dave]

Definitely in Wendy's contacts.

[Tony]

I might be there, but it might be a different. It might be a different phone.

[Dave]

I don't know.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, my press Mike sent it. Did you send it, Tony?

[Tony]

No, but I'M going to send one in a second,

[Dan Le Batard]

Jeremy.

[Jeremy]

He also said, all right, the next one. I actually really like this one. No longer allowing a team to pick in the top four in consecutive years and or after consecutive bottom three finishes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, well, basically making it so that

[Jeremy]

you can't be terrible multiple years in a row. This was an issue that actually just

[Dan Le Batard]

automatically, like, dropped to five.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. So baseball does this, except the difference in baseball is like getting the number one overall pick or, you know, number two or three doesn't completely change your franchise right away. It takes years. So, like, the White Sox ended up in a position recently. They couldn't pick in the top 10 because they had had multiple years in a row where they were in the bottom four. So they were one of the worst franchises in baseball. They're actually a big market where theoretically they should be able to spend. And so it disincentivizes teams from tanking and tanking and tanking and not spending money.

[Mike Ryan]

Here.

[Jeremy]

There's an impact of a player.

[Dave]

Oh, you're so cooked. I already got the dots back. No, oh, wait. The dots went away when that happens.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, come on. All right, Jeremy, keep going.

[Jeremy]

Teams can't pick in the top four the year after making the conference final.

[Dan Le Batard]

So. Hold on. The Pacers. You can't double text. No, you can't say I can't double text. I saw the dots. You can't say. You can't say anything else. I saw the dots. So you're telling me the Pacers are having a terrible year and they can't get a high pick?

[Jeremy]

Yeah, that one's a little confusing to me, to be honest with you. I don't know if that has to do with maybe the draft picks that are traded as well. So maybe that's the premise. Like the Thunder, who were supposed to potentially get the number one overall pick from somebody else. All right, I'm not sure if that's what the deal is.

[Dan Le Batard]

What's next?

[Jeremy]

Lottery odds allocated based on two year records as opposed to the single season.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, all right, what else?

[Jeremy]

My personal favorite lottery odds extended to include all the playing teams. Not biased at all, but the playing teams would all of a sudden.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't like that. Because wouldn't the team that's number six rather be number seven get the best of both worlds?

[Tony]

Wow.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

Flatten odds for all lottery teams.

[Tony]

That's a zazzle.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, that. Oh, somebody's listening to your boy over here. That's what I'm talking about right there.

[Jeremy]

You gotta report that.

[Chris]

That's happening.

[Dave]

I can't believe he started typing and then decided, nah, not today.

[Chris]

Hate when that happens.

[Jeremy]

Maybe he felt the vibrator.

[Dave]

Hey, everybody, it's Mike Ryan. Now, if you've been following the show, you know I've been traveling, been super busy, been supporting my favorite football team. With mixed results, right? Not the greatest hang so far in 2026. I try to find every excuse in the book. I had one buddy that was trying to invite me out. I wanted to stay in. He's like, come on, let's watch this NBA game. So I go over to his house, I watch this NBA game, and guess what? Something amazing happened. He pulled out the Miller lights, and I knew right away I made the right call. Next thing you know, we're toasting, we're celebrating. We're having a great time. We're talking about nostalgia. We're talking about old friends that we had. And it was all thanks to Miller Lite, that icebreaker. Because when you actually say yes and you actually show up, you want a beer that fits the moment? For me, that's Miller Lite. Legendary moments. Start with Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.