Nick Wright Summons The Dirty Demon of Debate | Hour 1

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show: "Nick Wright Summons The Dirty Demon of Debate" (Hour 1)

Date: July 16, 2026
Recorded live from The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Overview

This episode captures the Dan Le Batard Show crew in full, high-energy form as they break down the latest World Cup drama, the greatness of Lionel Messi, and take a sprawling detour into the all-time sports "GOAT" debate—with guest appearances from Nick Wright and extended banter with Colin Cowherd, Tony Reali, and others. Highlighted by humorous, sometimes bawdy exchanges, the conversation covers sports legacy, soccer’s arrival in the USA, and the metaphysics of athletic greatness.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. World Cup: England-Argentina Recap & “Fight” Metaphors

• Rock Fight or Knife Fight?
  • The episode opens (after a faux Netflix ad spoof) with a spirited debate about what kind of “fight” the England-Argentina match was.
    • Mike Ryan: "First half: rock fight. Second half: knife fight." (02:02)
    • Dan Le Batard: "That was a knife fight. There was this one brilliant slow mo... Messi had such composure. He dribbled through like three dudes, all of which were fouling him. And that drew the first yellow of the match." (01:34)
    • Colin Cowherd: “Argentina did neither of those things. I say they dragged them through quicksand.” (01:13)
• Religious Zeal & Team Destiny:
  • Nick Wright highlights Argentina’s almost mystical team belief:
    • Nick Wright: "There are very religious people with a very religious team and they believe one of their teammates is actually God. So they can reach down and touch something bigger." (02:28)

2. Messi’s Transformational Greatness

• New Heights at 39:
  • Colin Cowherd: "What he's doing at 39 is an immortality that no one else other than Tom Brady has achieved at that age." (06:22)
• Messi's International Journey:
  • Nick Wright: "Even though he individually was brilliant, he had never won anything for his country... Now he's on the precipice of leading a team that... be the first team in the history of the sport to win four consecutive major international tournaments... And this was the one thing he wasn't good at." (03:59)
• Unrivaled Legacy:
  • Messi’s recent exploits have “filled in” the only remaining hole on his resume, in contrast to other greats (Jordan, Brady, LeBron).
    • Nick Wright: “It’s truly remarkable.” (05:51)

3. The “GOAT of GOATS” Debate—Mount Rushmore Style

• The panel jumps to "the sportswide Mount Rushmore," then one-ups to the mythical “GOAT of GOATS.”
  • Mike Ryan: "Mount Rushmore of my lifetime would be Messi, Brady, Braun (LeBron). And I... like Serena, maybe would have a say in that." (09:21)
  • Nick Wright: Adds Usain Bolt as the only true challenger from "the oldest sport in the world."
    • “My case for Bolt has always been it’s literally... the one sport that even before there were sports, human beings had to do. And we know definitively he’s the greatest in human history at it.” (10:59)
• Debate Gets Weird (and Funny):
  • Colin Cowherd: "[Nick Wright], the dirty demon of debate is ejaculating as you speak. Three penises, and you're so excited..." (07:08)
  • Dan Le Batard: "Spit on it a little bit with that contract talk." (07:42)

4. Shohei Ohtani as a Modern GOAT?

• Guest Speaker 2 (possibly Jeremy): “He’s Babe Ruth times a billion. In an era where it’s more difficult.” (11:43)
• Mike Ryan: Pushes back: “Shohei Ohtani does not have the body of work to be in this conversation... I'm not here to neg Shohei Otani but you want to put him, you know, alongside Braun and Brady. You're out of your mind." (12:37)
• Wild Digressions:
  • The argument features banter, mock outrage, and a (fake) defense of Ohtani’s impact, balancing the entertaining and the absurd.

5. Faith, Mysticism & the Power of Belief in Sports

• Team Destiny:
  • Nick Wright: "Do you guys believe when you read the stories of like mom lifts car off kid like that there is something human beings can tap into that is greater than themselves in moments? I believe that. Okay. I truly believe whatever mysticism that is, Argentina’s Messi’s teammates tap into." (19:26)
  • Colin Cowherd: “Have you ever believed that of another team that you've watched ever in your life?... This team believes more and its people believe that they do have not the hand of God, the whole body." (19:50)
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:
  • Belief in Messi not only boosts Argentina but intimidates opponents.
  • Mike Ryan: "I think their belief is so pervasive it impacts the opponent... Such fear that... that team belief creates for the opponent that they play a different way." (20:06)

6. Spain’s Threat & The Upcoming Final

• Spain's Strengths:
  • Dan Le Batard: "They are as equipped and organized defensively as any team to face Argentina. But the fact that they pass with intention, they keep possession." (23:12)
  • The crew discusses key Spanish players like Rodri and Cucurella and outlines how Spain’s style contrasts with Argentina’s willpower-based approach.
• Fate vs. Tactical Superiority:
  • Nick Wright: “I understand Spain is better... I just don’t know how much any of it matters. When Argentina has played four knockout round games and has led zero of them at the 90th minute, but has won them all.” (23:57)

7. Legacy Creation—Win or Lose

• Dan Le Batard: “There are no bad stories here... If Argentina win, it solidifies... This is the greatest of all time. And if he [Messi] loses, you get the next star—you get someone that was literally touched by God as a 19 year old... You have Lamine Yamal take that baton.” (36:57)

8. Media Criticism: Nick Wright vs. Kevin Durant

• Durant Calls Out Nick Wright (and Colin Cowherd):
  • Nick Wright: Shares a social media story where KD tags him as the media member who "needs to go" from basketball debate (26:24).
  • Wright DMs Durant, who replies bluntly: "What made you think that [we were cool]?" (26:51)
  • Humorous mutual “misunderstanding” about being the best (28:52).
• Colin Cowherd: “Durant looks at all critics and says... you guys have no idea what it is to actually be me.” (28:19)

9. Majestic Moments & Margin For Error in Sports

• On Messi & “The Hand of God” Moments:
  • Colin Cowherd: “A light came from both the sky and the floor to combine... The other guy hits a post... Now Messi—wait a minute, how’d Messi get the ball right to him?” (34:46)
  • Dan Le Batard: “The player tracking data has to show a spike in heart rate when McAllister shot hits off the post and then slump shoulders once it lands at the feet of God.” (34:54)

10. Language, Cursing & Global Soccer Flavor

• On Argentine Cursing on Goal Calls:
  • Dan Le Batard/Colin Cowherd: Discuss nuances in Spanish swearing—how “carajo” and “your mother’s a slut” serve as versatile but culturally loaded exclamations for Argentines, versus Cubans or Europeans. (40:36 – 41:26)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• "That was a knife fight." — Dan Le Batard (01:34)
• "First half, rock fight. Second half, knife fight." — Mike Ryan (02:02)
• "There are very religious people with a very religious team and they believe one of their teammates is actually God." — Nick Wright (02:28)
• “What he's doing at 39 is an immortality that no one else other than Tom Brady has achieved at that age.” — Colin Cowherd (06:22)
• "If we're arguing Messi is the greatest athlete ever, I think Bolt has the strongest case against him... we know definitively he's the greatest in human history at it." — Nick Wright (10:59)
• "Shohei Ohtani does not have the body of work to be in this conversation... You're out of your mind." — Mike Ryan (12:37)
• [On debate show madness] "Nick, the dirty demon of debate is ejaculating as you speak. Three penises..." — Colin Cowherd (07:08)
• "I truly believe whatever mysticism that is, Argentina’s Messi’s teammates tap into." — Nick Wright (19:26)
• "A light came from both the sky and the floor to combine... Now Messi—wait a minute, how’d Messi get the ball right to him?" — Colin Cowherd (34:46)
• "If Argentina win, it solidifies... the greatest of all time. And if he loses, you get the next star... Lamine Yamal take that baton." — Dan Le Batard (36:57)
• "Durant looks at all critics and says... you guys have no idea what it is to actually be me." — Colin Cowherd (28:19)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• 00:47 – 02:05: The "knife fight vs. rock fight" match metaphor
• 03:59 – 06:22: Messi’s reinvention and undeniable GOAT case
• 07:03 – 13:12: Sports Mount Rushmore/GOAT debate (Messi, Serena, Bolt, Ohtani, etc.)
• 19:25 – 25:46: Mysticism, belief, and Argentina’s unquantifiable “extra”
• 26:24 – 30:41: Nick Wright’s DMs with Kevin Durant & media-critic symbiosis
• 34:46 – 38:49: Recap of Messi’s miraculous moments & the emotional swings in matches
• 40:36 – 41:43: Language, cursing, and passionate goal calls

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Conclusion

This episode combines sharp soccer analysis and philosophical debate about greatness, layered with comedic digressions and vivid personalities. Messi’s story operates as the through-line, framing the broader sports conversation about destiny, legacy, and myth-making. If you want to hear high-level sports banter with irreverence and insight, this is the Dan Le Batard Show at its best.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

Now playing on Netflix. The Hawk. From the mind of Will Ferrell. Oh, mama, I'm back. Comes a new original series.

[Mike Ryan]

Get ready.

[Colin Cowherd]

Get ready.

[Tony Reali]

That's it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Did I stutter?

[Mike Ryan]

When an iconic pro golfer, Lonnie Lonnie Hawke, takes one last swing at greatness. You were a big shot golfer. I still am a big shot golfer.

[Colin Cowherd]

No one, dad.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm the Hawk now.

[Dan Le Batard]

Will stand in his way.

[Mike Ryan]

That's how it's done.

[Tony Reali]

The Hawk.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now playing only on Netflix. Be you are listening to the Dan Lebatar show in partnership with the DraftKings sports app. Now live in all 50 states,

[Tony Reali]

This episode of the Dan Lebatart show is presented by DraftKings Sports. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.

[Colin Cowherd]

So which was it? A rock fight or a knife fight? One of those is far worse than the others. Like Mike keeps going rock fight and a knife fight.

[Guest Speaker 1]

I like knife fight better.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, but I. Knife fights gotta be the. A gunfight's terrible, but it's quick and it's less like a knife fight. It's too intimate. So was it a knife fight or was it a rock fight? And what. Which is the knife that we're using that we're not scared of? Because he keeps saying England was going to need a bigger knife. And I didn't. I didn't understand what he was doing there.

[Mike Ryan]

You know, they used to stone people in biblical time, but that's from a long.

[Colin Cowherd]

That wasn't a fight, though. That was a look, that was. That was not a rivalry. That was not a historic rivalry. That's just executions. That's not the same thing at all. Mike, which is it like rock fight, knife fight. Make a choice on what that. What that was. Because I'm arguing that Argentina did neither of those things. I say they dragged him than quicksand.

[Dan Le Batard]

That was a knife fight. That was a knife fight. There was this one brilliant slow mo, and there have been so many plays from that, from that match that have already been broken down. But there was a foul called. I think it drew a card where Messi had such composure. He dribbled through like three dudes, all of which were fouling him. And that drew the first yellow of the match. It was a rock fight. Then no doubt, and then escalated. But then it became a. Because there was precision. No, towards the end. No. Nick, what do you think?

[Colin Cowherd]

Disagrees.

[Mike Ryan]

First half, rock fight. Second half, knife fight.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, we're on the same page.

[Mike Ryan]

I. I didn't. I didn't hear the beginning of the show, but I assume you and I were around the same age. We went to the same pop culture reference of a lightly watched movie 36 years ago. England needed a bigger knife and I would have done that in Australian accent. Allah, Crocodile Dundee, if I could do accents. But that's what. That's what it was. It turned into a knife fight. And listen, I heard you guys, you. You know Dan, because Dan has become in his older age such a. Just a slave to stats and numbers. Even after paying full tribute to the fact that this Argentinian team can't be explained except for they can be very easily explained. There are very religious people with a very religious team and they believe one of their teammates is actually God. So they can reach down and touch something bigger. I don't know why anyone would pick against them. Against Spain? Yeah, sure. Can Spain win? Sure. But what is. I'm just curious, what's the game situation? Spain feels good about trailing. That's not good. Tied well. Messi's going to do it. Leading late. They've got us right where they want us. Like at spirit some point when you're playing the absolute undeniable goat at the peak of his powers, somehow at the peak of his powers. And all of his teammates would die for him. There's something to that, I believe.

[Colin Cowherd]

How about this stat? The only two players in the last 60 years to have the most shots and create the most chances in a FIFA World cup Maradona in 1986. 29 shots, 30 chances created. Messi. 34 shots, 25 chances created. I. We're in the age of mastery. I've been saying it, Nick, but this kind of people can't become numb to the fact that this guy's better in this decade than he was in the last one.

[Mike Ryan]

So this is. And here is the thing that is so unique and I don't again, it's great to be back, by the way, but because of the World cup, my. The TV show's been early, so I haven't seen you guys in like six weeks. So it's wonderful to see you guys again. And so you guys maybe have covered this and I don't want to do like a soccer history lesson, but it was, you know, less than 10 years ago. The story of Leo Messi was one of the greatest players ever. Some people think he's the most talented player of all time on the club level and on the individual level, no one's been more decorated. And even though he individually was brilliant, he had never won anything for his country. And now he. I mean, he Dan, he retired from World cup play 12 years ago, was like, I can't do it anymore. It's too heartbreaking. And now he is on the precipice of lead, becoming the leading a team that be the first team in the history of the sport to win four consecutive major international tournaments. He already is the all time leader in the World cup in goals, in assists, in everything. He is going to become the only three. He's already, I think the only two time golden ball winner in the World cup history. He's about to become the only three time golden ball winner. He right now is the leader for golden boot. And, and this was the one thing he wasn't good at. Like if, and, And I said 12 years ago, all we have to do is go back three and a half years ago. Argentina loses to Saudi Arabia in the first game of the cutter World cup and everyone's like, all right. I mean this is. He's gonna go out sad. And since then they've won every game. He's been the best player in every game he's played. And it's just a transformation reputationally. And at the end of these games he just, he plays perfect. I, I don't think there's a comp for it because it's not like Brady or Braun or Jordan had this big hole on their resume that they then filled in at the end. So I don't. It's truly remarkable.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, let's examine though what you're saying as the critic for our times. Go ahead and do the pyramid of the greatest of the great worldwide your time. You are a LeBron Stan. And I'm sitting here saying that what he's doing, what this human being is doing at 39 is an immortality that no one else other than Tom Brady has achieved at that age. You're supposed to be dead and done. Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tony Reali]

We're doing who's a goat across all sports?

[Colin Cowherd]

Goat of all goats with Nick Wright. Come on. That's a good show. Go to Pyramid nightclub.

[Tony Reali]

Yes.

[Mike Ryan]

Mike Ryan. All one up it. All one up it.

[Tony Reali]

Wait a minute.

[Mike Ryan]

How about. How about a Mount Rushmore?

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm coming with all.

[Mike Ryan]

How about a Mount Rushmore?

[Colin Cowherd]

Mike. Nick, you're not listening to him. He, the dirty demon of debate is ejaculating as you speak. Three penis with three penises. And you're sitting here so excited. You're not, you're such a selfish lover that you're not paying any attention to.

[Mike Ryan]

And I was trying to up it. I said I wanted I think the only thing better than to doing a sportswide goat debate is a sports wide Mount Rushmore. And I have it ready for you. Yeah, no, but my lifetime.

[Colin Cowherd]

You said but.

[Mike Ryan]

No, but in my lifetime.

[Colin Cowherd]

But Mount Rushmore makes the four equal. I want the. I want, I want the mat. I want the one at the top of the mash.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, spit on it a little bit with that contract talk.

[Colin Cowherd]

He's jacked.

[Tony Reali]

Now.

[Mike Ryan]

Can I, can I, can I tell you something in all seriousness? And I don't know if I can be serious after that, Mike. What? The World Cup. The World Cup's given us a lot. You know what it has really given us? Every day when we do the TV show, there are topics at the bottom of the rundown that don't make it in that if not for the World Cup, I'm like, we would spend 20 minutes on this and maybe lead the show. Like Dak, number six in that ESPN quarterback rankings has not made the show. It would feed us for two days if not for the World Cup. So thank you, Infantino. I appreciate you. FIFA.

[Colin Cowherd]

Mike was weeping because Kevin Wilds dared to tweet. Argentina played to win. England played not to lose. He's like, we've made it as a sport in the country.

[Dan Le Batard]

I. Nick, let me give you a compliment. You, Colin, Dan, to a very large degree, Zaz, I'm so proud of how you've avoided the. The tropes of yesteryear, how you guys are embracing this. And I know you're part of Fox and maybe that's an edict from on high, but the way that you guys are seriously taking this and not treating it as it's some niche thing because it's the biggest thing in the world. Finally, legacy voices are meeting the moment. I'm really grateful for it. I popped when I saw that Kevin Wilde's tweet.

[Mike Ryan]

So I. On that note, I thought, you know, people got mad at me because back when the US Was still playing, I dared to have the opinion of Christian Pulisic. I know you got kicked in the calf in the first game. It's the World Cup, Maybe play through it. And then in the other game, I know you by your own, you know, account turned your ankle, but maybe play through it. And I think there is a level of soccer's arrival being stamped by this. The soccer stars, or in Pulisic's case, alleged stars, getting the sports take treatment. Like, nah, we're gonna, we're gonna take some runs at you and really, you know, we can really up the ante when you're like Mbappe, I know you score a lot of goals, but since you've been the best player on a team, you've never won anything. And your team always wins as soon as you leave. But that's neither here nor there. You want. You want to call Messi the greatest athlete of all time? I'm okay with it. Dan. Mount Rushmore of my lifetime would be Messi B. Brady Braun. And I, like Serena, maybe would have a say in that. I don't know who she would bump off, but if you want to say he's the. What happened?

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm an ally. He shouted I'm an ally. Because you wanted to make that Mount Rushmore. You know, you wanted to make it diverse.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don't forget about.

[Mike Ryan]

Listen, I'm not gonna Marta a great Brazilian female player. I, I don't. I feel better about my historical standing in women's tennis than I do in women's soccer as far as being able to compare them. And I'm not trying to be an ally. I'm trying to be fair. It's half the world. I included Bolt.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, but that's, that's, that's the one that's got. He's gotta go. Yeah, you got to put Serene in there.

[Mike Ryan]

Here's the art.

[Colin Cowherd]

You're safe if you get him.

[Mike Ryan]

I think Bolt has. I think if we're arguing Messi is the greatest athlete ever, I think Bolt has the strongest case against him. Because my case for Bolt has always been it's literally the. The oldest sport in the world. It's literally the one sport that even before there were sports, human beings had to do. And we know definitively he's the greatest in human history at it.

[Guest Speaker 2]

I can't believe you morons are excluding Shohei Ohtani. I mean, what's happening?

[Tony Reali]

Oh, God.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

What are you talking about?

[Guest Speaker 2]

What am I talking about? What are you talking about?

[Mike Ryan]

Shoehei Ohtani does not have the body of work to be in this conversation. Show a Otani. Like, what are you talking about? Work the balls,

[Colin Cowherd]

Jeremy. You picked this fight. Don't back down.

[Guest Speaker 2]

Yeah, I know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the best two way player of all time. He basically plays two sports at an elite level. He's. He's, he's a top five award guy. He'll win. He'll win a Cy Young potentially this season. He's one of the greatest hitters we've ever seen. He's a 50, 50 guy. He's a multiple Time world champion. And by the way, in a sport where it's not even about team accomplishments, it's about individual accomplishments and the individual statistics. So yeah, he's the greatest to ever do it. He's Babe Ruth times a billion. In an era where it's more difficult

[Mike Ryan]

to hit a baseball hold. Just real quick, just real quick. If we're going to be at all accurate or at all fair. I was not including Babe Ruth because I was talking about my lifetime. But since you did, I will in no way, shape or form has he even come close to approaching Babe Ruth. You just gave him a sight. Hold on. You gave him a Cy Young. I said he's never won it. I said he's a runner up on finish.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, hold on.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, he. There is. He has never been the best pitcher in baseball for a season and one could argue that over his time he has batted back and forth him and judge the best hitter in baseball. I am. I'm not here to neg Shohei Otani but you want to put him, you know, alongside Braun and Brady. You're out of your mind. You're out of your mind. It's just not. It's just not. There's no. There's no back. The idea of it is great and the fact that it had he not blown out his elbow or whatever the hell he did where he could. Why is everybody laughing?

[Colin Cowherd]

Because Mike as the demon is clearly climaxing and you're a selfish put a finger in there.

[Dan Le Batard]

But if you tell anyone, I'll deny it.

[Colin Cowherd]

In where I figured you had three holes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dealer's choice, baby.

[Guest Speaker 2]

He's a rookie of the year. He's a four time mvp. He finished up runner up the one other year he's gonna the mvp, not Babe Ruth yet. Anthony Bender's slider. Are you kidding?

[Dan Le Batard]

Don't you stare at it.

[Tony Reali]

Eat it.

[Guest Speaker 2]

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[Dan Le Batard]

This is my favorite week of the summer sports calendar. The tournament is down to its final matches, Baseball's on every night, the left turns are turning, and every group chat starts with the same question. What are we watching? This is the time of year where my TV barely gets a break and I find myself reaching for that beautiful white can of ice cold Miller Lite. And I'm going to invite the boys over. No doubt. And everybody knows about the Miller Time mvp. Every group has one. The person that gets there early saves a table. That's an mvp. The person who brings a cooler, extra ice and enough Miller Light for everybody. Mvp. The person who makes sure nobody watches the biggest match of the summer alone. That's a Miller Time mvp. Holy cow folks just realized this. I'm a Miller Time mvp. Legendary moments start with a Miller Lite and they're made even better by a Miller Time mvp. Such as moi. We all have that one friend who makes every game better. Now it's time to give them their moment. Head over to any of Miller Lite's social media pages to learn more about being a Miller Time mvp. 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 and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Mike Ryan]

You know what's funny?

[Guest Speaker 1]

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[Colin Cowherd]

If Daniel Day Lewis did it, you'd be jerking off all over yourself. Oh, come on.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I would be aggressive description.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, what is it? What is that? I'm just saying. No, that's just saying what?

[Dan Le Batard]

That's me, Daniel Day Lewis. I see that photo of Daniel Day Lewis looking like Lincoln before he's about to start filming Lincoln. And you know what I do amin Mike Ryan? I jerk off all over myself. That's what I do.

[Colin Cowherd]

Lincoln, who you outed the other.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don't make this a rejoin. This is the Dan Levatar show.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't know who I'm supposed to be interacting with.

[Colin Cowherd]

Just keep doing what I'm just here to watch. That's Sass's. Hey, that's Sass's gig. What? What? Nick Wright. All you have to do is be Nick Wright and give us the goat of goats. And when you do so, and Kevin Wilds is in the background saying, I thought England played to lose. You get the dirty demon of debate very stimulated. And the dirty demon of debate has several penises and you aroused at least a couple of them.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mirrors come everywhere.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, because of how well you guys were arguing and you guys were doing really great debate you got. And so Mike was just excited.

[Dan Le Batard]

Where do you put Mirador?

[Colin Cowherd]

How about Alexander Karelin? The Russian. The Russian wrestler.

[Mike Ryan]

Wrestler, yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

The guy who never lost for 10 years, you know, wrestling other people. The original.

[Mike Ryan]

No, that's pretty good. I mean, that's a good one because that, that goes in the same bucket as Bolt. Where as far as I give extra points to how old your sport is, Brock. And you know, wrestling has existed, I, I assume guys at one point in time, like had to wrestle bears and so like wrestling is an important one. But didn't he lose his final match, like in some shame to an American.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, like Roland Gardner lost at the very end

[Mike Ryan]

on A Little Too Late.

[Colin Cowherd]

Agreed.

[Mike Ryan]

Do you agree with me on this? Can I be serious for a moment or is that ruining the segment?

[Tony Reali]

This has all been serious.

[Mike Ryan]

All right. Do you guys believe when you read the stories of like mom lifts car off kid like that there is something human beings can tap into that is greater than themselves in moments? I believe that. Okay. I truly believe whatever mysticism that is, Argentina's Messi's teammates tap into.

[Colin Cowherd]

Have you ever believed that of another team that you've watched ever in your life? Because when you're saying this, you're not, you're not. You like some of the abstractions, but I've never heard you do it. A religious abstraction where this team believes more and its people believe that they do have not the hand of God, the whole body.

[Mike Ryan]

And, and I think their belief is so pervasive it makes it impacts the opponent. Like think about what we've seen, right? You Cape Verde and shout out Cape Verde tied Argentina through 90, tied Spain through 90. That a guy on Cape Verde scores a goal to tie the game. He knows logically the game's not over. It is such an out of body experience. He, he jumps into the stands, finds his girlfriend, Egypt thinks they're going to beat Argentina, has it ripped away from him. The coach starts throwing up the, I think that's the, the racial abuse sign. He threw up to the point to where his brothers and, and his brother and other coaches were like chill out, calm down. Switzerland has the, has finally gotten back in the game that one of their star guys gets so excited about it, he just flops and ends up flipping that game. And then yesterday England they bring in this German guy who, it's a fun little Wikipedia deep dive on Thomas Tuchel. Everywhere he goes, he wins. He's there for some 15 to 21 months and then he leaves with everyone hating him. But he wins. They bring in this guy so they don't get tight late. They, they are, they have the lead and he, I, I really feel like there's, there's such fear that Argentina and that that team belief creates for the opponent that they play a different way. And so it does become something of a self fulfilling prophecy. Maybe Spain will have the antidote or maybe everybody's showing understandably that picture of Yamal with Messi as a baby. Like I don't know man, if I'm Lamina Mall and there's like a little tiny bit of me that's like, all right, even if he's not religious. Like, all right, maybe this guy, you know, touch, like, you know, maybe I'm me because of this. You think he's going to be at his best in this game because he touched me?

[Colin Cowherd]

Wait a minute. So, so you're, you're alleging, just to be clear, because you were touched by God, you're now afraid that you're going to lose to God in this game because the only reason you are who you are is because he once touched you.

[Mike Ryan]

He's not afraid to lose. It's like, all right, what an honor.

[Colin Cowherd]

What an honor to lose.

[Mike Ryan]

Am I me because of him? And if so, can I really be at my best here? Or is this his moment? I get the next one. I'm just saying. I'm just saying.

[Colin Cowherd]

Great.

[Mike Ryan]

That what, Mike?

[Dan Le Batard]

I think Lamina Mall wins and he hasn't played his best game. I thought he was really excellent against France. They are not a one man team. And what sets Spain apart? Not just their defensive prowess, because they are unbelievable believable this tournament. They are as equipped and organized defensively as any team to face Argentina. But the fact that they pass with intention, they keep possession. England was quantifiably more tired because they just punted almost literally on possession.

[Colin Cowherd]

If I told.

[Dan Le Batard]

That is not the Spanish.

[Colin Cowherd]

I told you though, right now though, Mike, it's the 80th minute, Spain's up one nothing. What are you expecting to happen?

[Dan Le Batard]

I expect a surge. And here, if Messi. Here's where my, my concern lies. And I love Cucarea. I think he's underrated. He was a. He's now going to Real Madrid. He was a Chelsea player. Variance. If you have that crazy hair, you're susceptible to mistakes. It's a wide variance like David Louise. But if Messi spends half as much time on the right side as he did against England, watch out for Cucarea making a mistake and leading to a card. Cucarea is, he is feisty. He is. He'll get up in you. He's a great defender, but he, he can be trapped.

[Mike Ryan]

So. And listen, I'm not Spain. We've talked a ton about Spain on the show. I'm sure you guys have. There's. Prior to the game against France, I feel like Rodri, who has an argument that he's been player of the tournament, hasn't even been discussed. If Spain wins, Rodri becomes the 11th player in the history of the sport with a Ballon d', Or, a World cup and a Champions League. And the other 10 guys are just all time legends of legends. I understand Spain is better. I understand Spain, you could argue, has played much better throughout this tournament. Has faced much less peril throughout this tournament. I get all of that. I just don't know how much any of it matters. I just, I. I am. When. When Argentina has played four knockout round games and has led zero of them at the 90th minute, but has won them all.

[Colin Cowherd]

You've never believed this. You've never believed this about a team before. Destined by God.

[Dan Le Batard]

Ruiz also wins them all. He doesn't lose when he's in that starting lineup. They're undefeated.

[Colin Cowherd]

Nick is making the argument here that this is. It's not an absurd argument. It just seems like an absurd argument for me to hear from Nick where he's saying the result of this game is that one team has God on its side, believes it, and the other

[Dan Le Batard]

team thinks it's so, but the other one was touched.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't.

[Mike Ryan]

So again, that's almost what I'm saying. I am. You know, I don't really know what my actual religious beliefs are, so I don't know if I do or don't believe God is on Argentina's side. What I do know in my core is they believe he's on their side and the other team thinks he might be.

[Colin Cowherd]

Put it on the poll at Le Batard show. If you have that crazy hair, you're susceptible to mistakes. I also want to put on the screen here, I want to see if Nick Wright has any problem with what Kevin Durant did. A bunch of sports commentators for the day. I was surprised Kevin Durant did this because of all of the people here who some people might find objectionable. I don't think a lot of people would pick Nick Wright on that list. Kendrick, Perkins. So one has to go, who? And it's Barkley, it's Perk, it's Shaq, it's Stephen A, it's Bayless, it's Nick Wright, it's Shannon Sharp, Colin Cowherd, Max Kellerman, Kendrick Perkins. And, and Durant says, you're the one who needs to go from basketball. What's he doing there?

[Mike Ryan]

Well, he also, he also wanted to pack up Colin Goward, to be fair. So I, I don't want to. I'll give you guys the full story on this that I have not revealed yet. So I'm not very active on Instagram. And the young lady, Gianna Sanchez, the young lady that Mike Ryan, by the way, helped get to the national championship game that I'M eternally grateful for. She's a Miami alum. Big fan of your guys's. She, she kind of monitors my Instagram and she texts me and she's like, KD just tagged you in his story. And I just snap reply, is it nice or is it mean? And she replies, it's not nice. I'm like, damn. So I, I, I hope he doesn't get mad about this, but I think it's fair. I think it's inbounds. So I sent KD after I saw it, the little thinking guy, this little emoji. And I, and I wrote back, I thought we were cool now. Hate to see it. And to his credit, he writes, what made you think that? And I was like, oh, dude, got your ass.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's great.

[Mike Ryan]

Super fun. And then, and then again, I, I hope he does whatever it. And so he writes, it's just an opinion on your skills. But I don't matter. I'm not your bosses. They love you. That's all that matters. And then because I'm me, I reply with, to be fair in my craft, much like you and yours, my skills are pretty unimpeachable. My opinions are, of course, a matter of debate. And then he, and then, what are you doing?

[Colin Cowherd]

What are you doing? Like, what are you, what are you doing?

[Mike Ryan]

He said it's. What do you mean? He questioned my skills. That's not. I, Again, it's like questioning Durant's jump shot. That's not, it's not.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, but he, but, but he, you've got to go now. But, yeah, but here. No, but the thing about what, the thing about what he's doing there. And I understand what Durant is doing. Durant looks at all critics and says, you guys have no idea what it is to actually be me. No matter what you think your level of expertise is, you don't know how hard it is to be me. You all underestimate how hard it is to be as skilled as I am. Nobody appreciates that I'm an all time skilled person. And you're saying the same thing back to him. You're saying, yeah, exactly, right.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't think he knows what it's like to be me either. Like, if anything, we have a symbiosis where, you know, neither one of us is the goat of what we, our profession. But deep down we think we should be and think we're a little underrated and disrespected. And so that's fine. But like, some people, you know, there's critics of, you know, how I go about my business, that's fine. But he was very funny in that he. Then to your point, Daniel, he said, but you do show up every day, so there's an opportunity for you to move up on my all time list. He's just doing the media what we do to him, which I deeply respect. And so I, Yeah, I didn't expect that, you know, that comment from him either. But whatever. Like I got, I got no beef with kd. I think, I think he, you know, was. I think I have him 17th all time and I think that probably bothers him. And I did. And I thought that him, you know, destroy.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's the reason. That's the reason. That can't be the reason that you put him 17th all time. That's the reason.

[Mike Ryan]

I think it's. My guess is, again, I think it is a trifold reason. One is I think he thinks I have historically underrated him. Two, I think he thinks that I give favorable opinions to guys that I might have a personal relationship with. And I think three, and I. My guess is the reason he picked Colin and me is I think we were two of the most kind of loud voices that were like, yeah, you know, that whole talking on all your teammates mid season and then the season going to hell thing, that's probably on you. And so I think those reasons are why, you know, he was upset. But I, I got no problem with kd. I like him. I think he's an all time great player and I think he's very an interesting guy. But, you know, that is what it is.

[Colin Cowherd]

What's right with Nick Wright is the name of the podcast. He's also on FS1's First Things First. Thank you, Nick. It is good seeing you again. We've missed you.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes, I missed you guys as well. Great to see you guys. Go Argentina.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tony, you know that moment at a party or at a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks?

[Tony Reali]

I know it well.

[Mike Ryan]

It's usually when I show up, everybody goes crazy.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo walking like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night.

[Guest Speaker 1]

It has that effect on people.

[Dan Le Batard]

It does. You usually take the credit for it, but again, it's the Cuervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hooting and hollering. Keep it, Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

Keep it Cuervo. Baby.

[Guest Speaker 2]

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[Tony Reali]

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[Mike Ryan]

World War Three Mike Ryan. We're gonna get that off the ground.

[Dan Le Batard]

World War three colon. Our group chat has a pretty good feeling about this one. This is the Dan Levatar show.

[Colin Cowherd]

So the idea that God is on a team side. I did not think I would live to see the day where I was listening to one of the best pundits that there are talking about soccer. This seriously, breaking down all of the permutation, permutations and then announcing at the end some form of. Yeah. One of the reasons these teams keep getting tired at the end is because they know they're, they, they know or wonder whether they're playing against God. Never more so for England than when that ball went off the post and it's just on Messi's feet like it might as well have been at the center of the field. A light came from both the sky and the floor to combine to be like, you've got to be kidding me. The other guy hits a post. That post sound felt like it punched two countries in the gut. Like just because everyone knew what the absurdity of what the stakes are in that situation. That margin being that thin where. Oh, that was beautiful what they just did there. Oh, that's how close the margin is off the post. Now Messi. Wait a minute. How'd Messi get the ball right to him? How Messi get the ball in the. In the middle of the penalty box when everybody's been trying to keep him out of there for six weeks.

[Dan Le Batard]

The player tracking data has to show a spike in heart rate when McAllister shot hits off the post and then slump shoulders once it lands at the feet of God.

[Tony Reali]

I think they would have rather that shot to go in than bounce off the post and to mess.

[Dan Le Batard]

What a take.

[Guest Speaker 2]

Ohtani has 22 homers and a 1.79 ERA.

[Mike Ryan]

You can't do this down year. You lost crazy.

[Dan Le Batard]

And I'm tired.

[Guest Speaker 2]

I don't think I lost.

[Colin Cowherd]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Should Cape Verde just be given third place? Nevermind. France and England just go on home, pack it up, give Cape Verde third place because they played Spain 00.

[Dan Le Batard]

I was listening to an English pod and they were so sad to be reminded that they have one more match.

[Mike Ryan]

Where?

[Dan Le Batard]

Where is it? Miami.

[Colin Cowherd]

God, explain to me, okay, because of how wondrous I find everything here, because this was majestic a couple of different ways. I know we've got short attention spans and I know that we live in crazy times, okay. But a really fun World cup has been a spectacular success in all the. For soccer, for the United States, for the world, everything successful. And then we give in the best semifinals ever and France gives us a turd. And that's not a lot of fun. But this last game, Messi is doing the majestic things. As we head to the punctuation on all of this. The best scenario is what in the next one? Because I'm asking Mike while he's talking to Nick Wright. I think the best story is Spain's up one nothing in the 80th minute again and he does it one more time to a team that is allowed one goal in the entire tournament and he gets two in 10 minutes. Because that's the punctuation of the legendary story for all time.

[Tony Reali]

Do you think if you said to Spain right now you can be up 1 nothing in the 80th minute, will you take that? Or do you want to just start it?

[Colin Cowherd]

But. But with all the subsequent fatigue of. Do you believe that God is on their side and they've been punching you for 80 minutes because they're tenderizing which one? Like they're. All they're doing here is tenderizing you. So you're at your weakest when they're at their strongest. And God is going to come down from heaven and the ball is going to hit the. It's going to be on his foot and it's going to be light and a lightning bolt and everyone's going to get scared.

[Dan Le Batard]

There are no bad stories here. That's what's so great. If Argentina win, it solidifies. I think we put everything to bed. There's no more Ronaldo. Although that's for my. Well, often we're not done with that yet. No, it's just ghost now. If he does it again at 39 wins back to back, which is something that is very difficult to do on the men's side, I think. Look, everyone just admits, holy shit, this is the greatest of all time. And if he loses, you get the next star. You get someone that was literally touched by God as a 19 year old, already a reigning European champion, already playing for Messi's former club, already the number 10 for that club. You have Lamine Yamal take that baton. It sets up the next generation of storytelling. But is Messi going to be Hulk Hogan on the way out or Ric Flair?

[Colin Cowherd]

For those of you watching on YouTube, DraftKings Network, Peacock. And the goal we keep showing from a camera angle that is for all time on just a phone because we're not allowed to have rights that FIFA is very protective of its rights. So I have really enjoy that all show and I continue to say just play it all show. I want it in the corner of the screen. I don't want people to lose sight of the perfection of in that spot. Argentina making a goal look easy. Easy when these goals are so hard to come by. And I want you to watch all of the movements in slow motion of Messi as they fear him going inside, because they fear him more going inside to get centered. But he will also decide to pass on occasion in a way that gets past a couple of feet. By inches, gets past a couple of heads by inches and then becomes a very easy goal.

[Dan Le Batard]

Somehow, Dan, you couldn't throw that ball

[Guest Speaker 2]

to where he kicked it there.

[Dan Le Batard]

You could not.

[Colin Cowherd]

Not throw.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now try to throw with your left.

[Colin Cowherd]

Not with this, not with the spin, not with the curve, not with the momentum to catch your guy in mid flight when it's skipping past other heads. I don't want to lose sight for a moment of the greatness that we witnessed yesterday. Now, Pablo Girault, we said, he says, your mother's a slut. It's part of his gold call. We played him before. What was this two times ago? Three times ago, that Egypt game, I think that Messi did down Egypt match

[Dan Le Batard]

was how many years ago that was.

[Colin Cowherd]

So you went to that game and you wanted Cape Verde at that game. You didn't want to be at that game.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, that was. That was three years ago, that Egypt match.

[Colin Cowherd]

Egypt was up to Nothing in the 82nd minute, 83rd minute.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's the only time this entire time where I'm like, oh, they're dead.

[Colin Cowherd]

Two nothing.

[Dan Le Batard]

And.

[Colin Cowherd]

And a goal had been reversed. They could have been up 3 nothing. Controversial goal was disallowed. But this is where we discovered Pablo Girault and he. And discovered that Argentina Argentinians say your mother's a slut. More CAs than Cubans do. Let's hear what it is that Pablo did on this goal. Carrajo. All right. I'm sorry. Mike was talking to me during.

[Mike Ryan]

He didn't say it there, Dan.

[Colin Cowherd]

I couldn't do the translations. I heard a carajo. Mike was talking to me saying this is exactly what he was at College Station when it was three. Three. Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

When Bryce picked that ball off in the. In the back of the end zone.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I didn't get to hear. I heard a carajo, but I wasn't able to do some of the other translations. I will not get used to carajo. I will tell again the audience for there are different dialects, but carajo is. It's an all purpose curse. But it's somewhere between the F word and holy shit. It's a pretty strong curse.

[Guest Speaker 1]

It's strong, but again, casual.

[Tony Reali]

Do they not have regulations on their.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, but no. What Andres Cantor told us is that Argentinians don't use those. Your mother's a slut. The same way the Cubans do that he's saying Andres Cantor saying that your mother's a slut is casual slang. It doesn't even mean your mother's a slut. It's just a euphemism.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. To put it in English terms. Do you remember the horror on Zlatan and Thierry Henry's face when Alexi Lalas just said wanker? And they were like, oh, how do you say that, really? Wanker doesn't mean anything here. Over there, it's a bigger insult.

[Colin Cowherd]

And so that's what happened on that particular gold call. Zaz, did you find yourself yesterday? Because, like, like, I don't every day want to just ignore that. On the slowest sports day of the year, allegedly, after a really wonderful tournament, they give us the very best of things because I don't know, it was a week ago that I was telling you guys it is an honor, if you are someone who loves sports, to watch desperate champions be desperate. It's like the best of the viewing experiences when you're coming in baked into the game with knowing the history, knowing the stakes, your knowledge is solely large about what you're watching that you almost can't explain it to somebody who doesn't understand. I will ask the poll question again at Lebatard Show. If I lined up all of the players playing in the semifinals and you were watching and picking teams for the first time, is Messi your last pick? Physically, just based on what you're looking at, is Messi the very last guy you're selecting, given that I've told you before that he walks past the weight room with a cup of black coffee, he's not doing the things the other people are doing.

[Dan Le Batard]

When you were watching that match, though, who looked desperate? Because to me, Argentina looked really calm. The team that was desperate was a team looking at the clock, waiting for that match to end. England looked desperate and uncomposed.