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Stugotz
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Stugotz
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Dan Le Batard
Welcome to the Big Suey, presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show.
Stugotz
The podcast that seems very similar to.
Dan Le Batard
The other Dan LeBatard podcast?
Mike Ryan
I'm sorry.
Stugotz
I'm not gonna apologize for that.
Dan Le Batard
In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys.
Mike Ryan
I've done it.
Dan Le Batard
And now here's the marching man to Nowhere Fat Face and the Habitual Liar.
Chris Cote
This episode is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.
Dan Le Batard
We welcome in David Sampson. Nothing personal with David Sampson. You catch it on the DraftKings network every single morning and of course on YouTube and wherever you get podcasts. And David, we just ran the promo for your show right before we rejoined here. And I have to ask, how many of those ugly ass jackets do you own?
Stugotz
Oh, I got. I got a couple closets worth. But they're not all ugly. If you have solid ones, you can wear unsolid shirts. If you have sort of fun ones, then you have to Wear the solid shirts. Sometimes my rotation gets screwed up and I wear a fun jacket with a fun shirt and it ends up pissing Coco off. But at the end of the day, you know, the rotation is the rotation. So, yeah, I love. I follow the Internet sales. I get. I'm the guy. I get those texts or flash sales, 70% off, click. And you look and you keep track, you know, of a blazer that you like. And then you can try to time it when it's on sale, the maximum sale. And that's when I try to buy it. I like figuring that kind of stuff out. It's easy to keep a graph on it, actually.
Chris Cote
David. So the somber jacket you're going with today, is that because Ryan Sandberg passed and we're just going for something a little less loud?
Stugotz
No, it's just this was to the left of the closet here in my studio where I am. It was this blazer and this jacket. And then I've been doing shows since 7 this morning. And then I'm going to go and do a sporting class, so I'll have to do a different outfit. So then I'll go to the next one. I actually don't know which blazer I'll be wearing to do sporting class, but it won't be this.
Chris Cote
If you're recording sporting class to air at a different day, why would it matter if you're wearing that jacket?
Stugotz
Because I'm wearing this today.
Chris Cote
But if that is sporting class airing today, not that that would even matter.
Stugotz
Exactly. It's not airing today, which is why I can't wear the same blazer and shirt.
Dan Le Batard
So it doesn't look like he's like three days a week.
Billy Corben
People are tracking David's outfit. Chris, you don't get it.
Stugotz
Wait, it's just continuity. I have this argument with people at Meadow Arc all the time, and I don't quite get it. If you're recording something for a different day, shouldn't you wear. So I'll keep. During the course of a week, I'll know what five outfits I have. So if I'm pre recording something for a Thursday, I'll wear my Thursday outfit for that prerecord. I'd like to believe I'm not the only one who does that.
Dan Le Batard
You know, Friday's outfit right now?
Stugotz
Yes, I actually happen to. Because there's five days.
Billy Corben
Well, so then you're wearing Friday's outfit later and then again on Friday.
Stugotz
That's exactly correct.
Billy Corben
I understand the point of continuity, but I don't think that people Assume the Sporting Class is like a live show. Like, we get caught here all the time wearing different outfits because we prerecorded the day before or whatever. So if you're watching the video, it's like, oh, they changed outfits for a segment. Now they're back to the other outfits later. Like, I get that. But Sporting Class, I don't think people think is a live show.
Stugotz
Well, certainly with its budget, there's plenty of post production, so maybe I could wear yesterday's clothes tomorrow and no one would know the difference. And. And I could say, hey, it's been taped in three different ways. God knows that's possible. Billy, you may be right. I may be able to ignore my entire plan when it comes to PTFO, but certainly for DLs and some of the other shows, I do. I think I got to stick to it. But I think you may have convinced me that I can, you know, be a little more free of my, you know, foibles.
Billy Corben
Yeah, I just want to get out of your head a little bit. Let loose.
Mike Ryan
I. You know, no idea how we managed to make a second segment on Ryan Sandberg.
Billy Corben
It's weird.
Mike Ryan
Sound even worse.
Billy Corben
I thought. Can I say. Can I say, like, I thought I.
David Sampson
Did a nice job, Whatever.
Mike Ryan
Eulogy.
Billy Corben
I saw a picture that Dave of David. I think it, like. I think someone sent it to me. I think it was like your daughter's wedding or like the day before, like the rehearsal dinner or whatever. And from what I remember, he was wearing, like, a loud jacket. Like, it was some. It was like a line. I was like, man, this guy, he's trying to steal the shine today. Like, this is. This jacket's a lot today.
Stugotz
Trying to steal the shine. Yeah.
Billy Corben
Daughter somewhat. It was odd. It was kind of.
Stugotz
There's a lot for father of the bride here, you know, I think, though, when you're going to. Don't zoom in on that for the YouTube audience. They're zooming in on my gut, which I don't necessarily appreciate. I should have photoshopped that.
Dan Le Batard
Don't worry. The jacket's taking all the attention.
Stugotz
Thank God. I love that one. Yeah. So you asked me about Ryan. It's so weird to have been in Cooperstown, and then all of a sudden, Ryan Sandberg, we're talking about him. There's 52 living hall of Famers. If the Otis Saga is the hotel in Cooperstown, and every player has his own wine glass and a case in the Otis Saga. And when a Hall of Famer passes away, they put a new flower every day into the wine glass. And that's how you know who's passed away in the last year. And now it's hard to imagine that. That you will have Ryan Sandberg with a flower in his glass. It is too young. And I can only hope that people get their prostates checked. As uncomfortable as it is, you have to get them checked every year. And it's a fletch moment for sure, but you just have to do it. It's just sad. 65 years old, such a great, great player, great person. I love talking to him. When he was manager of the Phillies, that's when I really got to know him the best. And it's a disappointing thing to happen so close to the hall of Fame induction.
David Sampson
David, do you think that Billy is right in being mad about Ichiro's Marlins joke in Cooperstown?
Stugotz
I heard that, Billy, and. And I want to tell you how I engaged with it sitting there in the Heat yesterday, because you hear your name come out and you're just so overwhelmed with gratitude that your name comes out, and then you hear the Marlins joke. And I immediately thought, my God, anything other than that, because that is. You could just tell that people were going to think that that was serious. But it wasn't. He. We won the World Series in O3, folks. He was in his prime. In 03, he knew the Marlins number one. Number two, he faced us. We played against him.
Billy Corben
Oh, he was terrible against the Marlins.
Stugotz
I then had it checked. He was like 8 for 40 against us.
Billy Corben
Yeah, he was bad.
Stugotz
We had him dead to rights. And believe me, he keeps track of every at bat. So what I then realized is he wanted to let people know what a funny side he has to go with how important his message was during his speech, which I think is one of the most viral and best speeches I've ever heard a Hall of Famer give. So I was. I had a little ptsd because the Marlins are the butt of people's jokes, though we do have two world championships in our franchise history, and we've been to the playoffs recently, twice since COVID So all of this talk that the Marlins are, you know, such a failure, I just don't buy. But I think now people realize that, of course, each row was joking.
Dan Le Batard
For the people who missed it. We have the video right now. Let's go ahead and roll it.
Stugotz
And to the Miami Marlins, I appreciate.
Unknown
David Sampson and Mike Hill for coming today.
Stugotz
Honestly, when you guys called to offer me a contract for 2015, I have never heard of your team. That's his wife. That's his wife there, who they pan to. And that's just. That's just funny. It's funny. Of course he had heard of the team, but I laughed. Is it a surprise that he came to Miami? Did we do a lot of things for him to choose Miami? We did. We gave him a tour of the clubhouse. We gave him a tour of how he would get.
Billy Corben
Wow.
Chris Cote
The clubhouse.
Dan Le Batard
Wow.
Stugotz
No, listen. Did you charge him or Cody? Cody, listen. You have to go through. We had to send him our uniform so he could make sure that he had spikes that were made that would match the uniform. We had to get certain workout equipment because he had a way that he would prepare for a game both during spring and the regular season. And so we wanted him very badly. We wanted to make sure he wanted to be with us as a fourth outfielder. We extended his career for three years, which he was appreciative of. He got 3,000 hits as a Marlin Colorado. He loves the Marlins, and that was a great moment for our franchise. So I don't regret at all either having Ichiro. I'm honored to have had him, or of that comment. It's just nice to be associated with that level of greatness.
David Sampson
David, what was that stretch like when you guys were preparing for him to get the 3,000th hit?
Stugotz
Well, nightmare.
Billy Corben
A nightmare. Going to the park every day and eating stadium food every day just for David and his cronies out there to let him do it in Colorado the day before coming home. Go on, David. Don Mattingly. Screw him.
Stugotz
It happens to not have been Don Mattingly's fault. We put it in the hands of our. All of us. And it was me and it was Mike Hill and it was Don Mattingly, and it was Ichiro. And the conversation was, hey, we're gonna play you today, but we could hold off and play you Monday, but we really want you to play today. And it was a Sunday, and Ichiro's view was, listen, I need you to do what you do. I'll do what I do. If I'm in the lineup, take four at bats. Thank you. If I'm pinch hitting, thank you. Appreciate the uniform in the locker, but you do your job. And Mattingly said, notwithstanding anything, we would be playing him today. And I said, I would rather him get 3,000 hits at home, but I would rather not be looked at as the person who gets in the way of each row getting more at bats or. Or of Don Mattingly and the GM deciding what the best lineup was that particular day. So Listen, Billy, I had a fly to Denver.
Billy Corben
Sounds like it was Don Mattingly's fault from that story and be perfect.
David Sampson
That's what I've gathered. That's exactly what that sound like.
Stugotz
All of a sudden you're like, you're.
David Sampson
Like, you know what? I don't want to be involved. And a little bit the gm. Little bit the gm.
Billy Corben
Yeah. Come on, David.
Stugotz
I'm going to say that I'm the one responsible for that decision and I'm glad that he got it.
Chris Cote
Buck stops with you.
Stugotz
Buck stops with me. So it's my fault for sure. But. But it's not that it wasn't an inconvenience to me because my plan was to be at the game in Florida, obviously, because that's where I lived. But I had to get my way to Denver because there was no way I was going to miss it. And knowing that he was going to get four at bats at 29.99, he was going to get that hit. And he came only a few inches away. Did he. The irony of him hitting a homer for 3,000, I think that he wanted that and he came so close to getting it.
Billy Corben
So I'd like an apology then from you since it's your fault. I'd like a public apology from you to all Marlins fans right now, please and thank you.
Stugotz
I'm going to do better, Billy. I'm going to do better because I'm feeling such. Such love from all of you guys and how it all works with you and when I'm not there and just the way you guys speak about me. So I'm going to apologize for everything. Not just for the 3,000th hit, Billy. I'm apologizing for every trade that didn't work out, for every disappointment. Am not going to ask for any love in return for any memories you may have that are good. I'm going to assume they're all bad. And I'm going to hopefully put this to rest so the national audience can move past it because they don't give a flying rat's pituitary gland. But I impacted your life in Mike Ryan's life and I guess Stu's and Amines and everybody else. So I apologize.
Dan Le Batard
What a mensch.
Billy Corben
On behalf of the entire fan base. We do not accept you live until the day that you die.
Stugotz
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David Sampson
Lebatard can I tell you something? I don't know, maybe like a month ago and I decided to watch Pitch Clock and I told Jeremy Stugats, this is a good show you're doing.
Stugotz
This is the Dan lebatar show with the Stugats.
Billy Corben
Who's someone that. Who's someone that you went out of your way to like allure like you did with Ichiro that then didn't come to you? Like we wasted a lot of time and effort in this.
Stugotz
Albert Pools is The number one will be the number one forever. And I was just with him in Cooperstown, and he was there. And before the hall of Famers came to the Saturday night party. By the way, the whole weekend is a look at me, Louie, because you're just around hall of Famers and you're around sitting there talking to Albert Pujols and many other players. I had a great conversation with Mike Hampton about. And he told me how much he regrets not coming to the Marlins and choosing the Braves. He does not have a ring because he thought the Braves were a better team than the Marlins. And he said, I have lived with that. It's the biggest regret of my career not signing with Colorado. The biggest regret is not allowing myself to be traded. And he said, david, if you had only FaceTimed me and told me what you told me, now, I would have accepted the trade. I said, mike, we were on the phone together. There was no FaceTime. I said, dude, please come to the Marlins. And you were like, absolutely not. So now Tim spooniebarger has a ring and not you. And Mike Hampton's wife, who was there, was despondent, as was Mike. But anyway, you're sitting with Albert Pujols, and I was reminding him of the story of the Marlins had him signed and the effort with his agent sleeping in his hotel room, which I did, stalking Pujols and his agent overnight just to have artie Moreno bid 254 million. And I got to say to Albert, because we were enjoying ourselves in Cooperstown, I said, albert, were you ever going to sign with the Marlins for the $200 million? Shopped it. All right, Albert, I know you shopped it. Thank you.
Dan Le Batard
I just want to point out that Mike Hampton is mad that you didn't invent FaceTime and then call him with that invention. Like, hey, it's this new thing. I can see you while I talk to you. If you had done that, may, I would have said, yes, that. But that does lead me, David, to. You said you're hanging out in Cooperstown. What is there to do? Is it just like little side parties beyond the obvious ceremony? Or, like, are there bars? Are there fancy restaurants, like Diners?
Chris Cote
Diners?
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, I feel like it's all. Yeah, it's like a Roy Rogers out there, right?
Stugotz
Well, it's not a Roy Rogers. It's. It's a. It's a one street town. But it's so cool during induction weekend because there's people everywhere. And listen, it's better. I ate a burger off a grill that was outside a restaurant next to Bitty Schramm from League of Their Own. Who was signing stuff? The real one next. The real Bitty Shram. I got to meet her.
David Sampson
And which one was she?
Stugotz
She. There's no crying in baseball. She was the right fielder.
David Sampson
Okay.
Stugotz
I would have.
Dan Le Batard
Yo, why is that funny?
David Sampson
I mean, I'm supposed to know all their names.
Chris Cote
She was the one with her kid there.
Stugotz
Yes. Still. Well, yeah. And I was with Mike Hill. And she said, by the way, Stillwell is now bigger than you looking at Mike Hill. And Mike Hill's a big guy. And I guess you could see it if you scouted, if you're a good scout, you look at Stillwell and say, oh, I can see him as a big guy now with his own kids. I would appreciate it if by next year you would work on hitting the cutoff man. It's. It's. That's a great movie. And she was there doing a signing. And so I bought a picture and had her sign it. We took a photo. Curtis Pride, the first and only deaf player in big league baseball, was there. Mike Tyson was there signing stuff. And then, of course, you have all the players.
Dan Le Batard
Why not? You gotta tell them. No.
Stugotz
Who said, why me?
Dan Le Batard
I said, why are you gonna be the one that says, hey, Mike, you can't come and sign autographs here?
David Sampson
But Mike Tyson's like, hey, I'm going to Cooperstown.
Stugotz
Yes, I. Can I introduce you to a concept called revenue. Oh, revenue is when you put up a shingle and you say, I will be signing from 12:45 to 2:00 clock. And people line up 200 deep to buy something that you're selling because you'll sign only what's bought at the table and everyone buys stuff and then you sign it.
David Sampson
But like, that's a common thing, that there will be people outside of baseball who are doing that.
Stugotz
Yes.
Dan Le Batard
Okay.
David Sampson
All right.
Stugotz
Very much so. You're going now. This year was the first year without Pete Rose holding up a shingle and buying stuff and selling stuff and signing stuff. Obviously hard to sign from above or below or wherever he speculation begins.
Dan Le Batard
Where did Pete Rose juju put it on the pole?
Mike Ryan
Don't. Don't, David. Two years ago, Leo Messi made his debut for Inter Miami against Cruz Azul in what was a newly formulated tournament by MLS and Liga. Mickey's called free kick for the league's cup. And Don Garber last week during MLS All Star finally provided insight into what MLS streaming numbers are. It's been a closely guarded secret and they were bad. The average audience for MLS games is pretty piss poor, especially compared to where they were. This was supposed to grow the league, not just in revenue, but the hope was that they would grow audience. And it hasn't done that despite it being lumped in with cell phone carriers and cable Carri, what did you make of those numbers? Why if Don Garber kept it secret for so long, would he finally use that opportunity to reveal that? Because all it brought was shame and embarrassment.
Stugotz
Well, I don't think it brought shame and embarrassment. I think 120,000 in unique viewers is less than what they would have hoped. I think the number the amount of revenue that Apple got was less. Therefore the amount of revenue Messi got was less. We just had Tom Bogart on Nothing Personal today and talked for 25 minutes about MLS and Inter, Miami and Messi and a lot of what sort of what could have gone wrong, what could have gone better. And I guess I'll. I'll sum it up and tell you what we didn't get to talk about today, so I'll mention it now, is that Messi's in a position where as an equity holder you need to be doing things in order to increase the value of your underlying asset. And when you don't show up to the All Star game, when you are not selling the game because you're so satisfied with your lot in life, you can't then complain when your upside actually gets decreased. And the biggest mistake MLS made was by getting into bed with Messi, thinking that he would care enough to want to carry them into a different revenue sort of stadium. And he just hasn't done it. And it is what it is. On to the next. They'll be the next Messi, they'll be the next great player. And MLS one day will try to continue to be one of the top four leagues in North America. It's just not this day.
David Sampson
What do you make of the upholding the rule to suspend him and Jordi Alba? Like was that a mistake you think?
Stugotz
Absolutely not.
Mike Ryan
Did you see me? Why Jorge Moss's response to it on Draconian?
Stugotz
I like when people use that word.
Mike Ryan
Pretty crazy.
Stugotz
He. Well listen Jorge Mas is Jorge Moss and I and I love the guy, the under bidder with the Marlins but great guy. The fact is that he's trying to stir it and make sure that Messi knows that he's got Messi's back because that that will have an impact in Messi and resigning and playing in the new Mel Reese Stadium. However, why couldn't Messi have just gotten on the plane to Austin, shake some hands, kiss some babies, play like three to five minutes and then get the standing ovation. Everybody's happy you're not suspended. Tom, your friend said, oh, it was too much, too many games, too tiring. He played 90 minutes for this number of games over this number of days. And I said, that's a bunch of horse hockey, hockey. Get on the private plane and just make the appearance. And once he didn't do that, you got to suspend him. And then Garber pretending, I'm so sorry to have done that. Did you see that, Mike?
Mike Ryan
Yeah.
Stugotz
He said, you know, it's.
Mike Ryan
He should have been. No, it's Leo Messi. And you make concessions for Leo. No, rules are rules, Michael. It wasn't a Club World cup when Leo Messi signed with Inter Miami. And Leo Messi and Inter Miami were the only bright spot for MLS in that Club World Cup. Those were extra, extra fixtures. Leo Messi performed admirably in those games and carried the banner for mls. And now Leo Messi's got to turn around and do this other new contrived tournament that they've made in the middle of the season. That's more games for an aging player that's got his eyes on a real World cup coming up this summer. I think if there was ever an opportunity for Messi to be like, guys, I've been actually a good partner. I've done all the other MLS All Star games. I just was the only success story that you had from this Club World Cup. Maybe don't make me hop on a plane to Austin when I got FC Cincinnati because I got more congested games because I had the nerve and the gall to make it to the knockout rounds. I think MLS should have applied proper perspective on this. You can interpret the rules and say, yes, understandably, if you decide to play hooky on the All Star Game, you get suspended. But this is an extraordinary circumstance with you guys making it to the Club World cup. Something that now is new and happens every four years and you're the only team that did anything worth a note there. I think it's kind of BS and Inter Miami was right to actually invoke Messi and his future in mls because this is how, this is where the commissioner earns his money and he interprets rules. And just because FC Colorado or whatever has a friggin issue with it, doesn't mean you, you, you do what's in the worst interests of your league and piss off Leo Messi.
Dan Le Batard
Horse hook.
Stugotz
You know what happens, Mike, when you start applying rules differently to different people? You get anarchy, mayhem. And as you know, they do that with Inter Miami.
Mike Ryan
That, that's the reputation. They, they, they do that with Inter Miami. And the Club World cup wasn't around when they invented this rule.
Stugotz
But all Messi had to do was go to Garber and go to MLS sooner and work out a deal so they could have announced something together. Instead, the decision was communicated very, very late. We're already, there's sponsors flying to town already, there's meet and greets planned. It's. You just got to be smarter about timing if you really want to cut the deal. You're talking about. You're aware of the Club World cup months ago. Give me a break.
Mike Ryan
Well, they gotta be smarter about timing. They also invented league's cup before they, after they came up with this all star rule. And he's like, man, I got more congestion in my fixtures. I gotta make up all the games that I missed because of the Club World Cup. And now our league is on pause for a month, and then we're gonna have fixture after fixture after fixture to make up those games. I understand where Inter Miami and Messi is coming from, and now I certainly understand the argument, hey, hop on a plane with Jordi Alba and run around for three minutes and his whole deal is, I don't want to hop on a plane. I was the only thing that you had going for your league. You need me.
Stugotz
It's not difficult to hop on a private plane and just avoid this whole situation. If you don't want to do that, then that's fine. All you had to do is give more notice, which they didn't do that either. So they had several paths to do, and they chose the one path that led to suspension. And it was just so ridiculous to me to watch and listen to Jorge Moss defend Messi, as though somehow this was trying to threaten Garber. By the way, he's now not going to sign with your league because you suspended him for this game. It's so ridiculous.
Dan Le Batard
You know what I would have respected if he hit him with the Allen Iverson. What's the fine? Guess what? Here's a blank check. Fill it out. I'll take it. Suspend me, I'll take it. Talking about practice like it's one thing to say, hey, this is why I'm skipping it. But the cry of a, why am I being suspended? Hey, man, you a grown man. You know what the consequences were.
Mike Ryan
I don't think he cried about it. I think he took it. And the, the, the, the statement from ownership was pretty strong. I think from Leo Messi's perspective too is like we have a what in the middle of what? An All Star game. What. What is like I show speed is doing a ski competition.
Dan Le Batard
Was that not on the schedule?
Mike Ryan
No.
Stugotz
Yes, it was.
Dan Le Batard
They knew. That's my whole point. It's like, look, Allen Iverson. The story I'm talking about was rookie transition program. When you get drafted in the NBA, all the rookies have to go to rookie transition program. And Allen Iverson didn't go. And he said, and they said, well, what's the punishment? He says, well, they fine you and then you have to come back next year and do it next year. So he gave them a blank check and said, fill it out. When my career is over.
Mike Ryan
I understand mls. Just take, take the L. I understand mls. All Star is calendared. And you know, when it is on the schedule, what is not calendared is your team making it rather unexpectedly, by the way, to the knockout phase of the Club World Cup. And I think that in that event, the league should alter it. I mean, we're talking about an exhibition. Ultimately, not all meals are created equal. For instance, breakfast has the spicy egg.
Stugotz
McMuffin for a limited time and lunch doesn't.
Dan Le Batard
McDonald's breakfast.
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Stugotz
Don Lebatard World War Three stugats.
Chris Cote
We're gonna get that off the ground.
Mike Ryan
World War three colon. Our group chat has a pretty good feeling about this one.
Stugotz
This is the Dan Lebatar show with the Stugats.
Dan Le Batard
David, I want, I want to talk to you about Bryce Harper and Rob Manfred getting into a shouting match in the clubhouse house. Bryce Harper allegedly playing Rob Manfred. If you're gonna talk about salary, better.
David Sampson
Not mention salary cap or get the.
Dan Le Batard
F out of our clubhouse. And how did you process that news, David?
Stugotz
Oh, that's victory for the owners. Anytime you can get a Boris fueled tantrum, you know that you're onto something. Remember the last cba, please. When it was voted on, all of the Boris guys on the executive council voted against ratifying the cba. And all the regular team reps who represent the regular guys, who Boris wouldn't represent because they're not the superstars, they all voted for the cba. You want Boris and his guys because Harper's a Boris guy. Harper was speaking for Boris. Boris trying to hang on to power, which he's completely lost because the executive council's changed and he's looked at as wholly irrelevant by his own union. Forget by mlb, who barely will, you know, give him the time of day. The fact is, when you hear a Boris guy challenge Rob, Rob, he's gonna. Not only he's gonna stand his ground, but the other owner is going to look at Rob and say, step one to getting exactly what we want in this next agreement. Because we've got splinters. And we're gonna put our fingers into the splinters and spread them like some sort of spelunker. And we will create such a divide that we will then be able to make them think we were only after the salary cap. And then they'll realize that we were after totally different things, all of which we got.
Dan Le Batard
David, what would be the eventual carrot that the rank and file would take in exchange for a salary cap?
Stugotz
Oh, I don't think there is a carrot. A stick. I don't think that there is a bunch of carrots. I don't think the players, even if you shut the game down for a year, I don't think the players would agree to a salary cap. But what I do think is if the owners pretend they want the salary cap badly enough, then they will be able to extract other victories from the players. Maybe the minimum doesn't go up as much. Maybe you've got a situation with appearances or scheduling or some pension ERISA benefit issues. Things that are real meaningful money, not quality of the stake in the clubhouse, but things that matter. Where the players would say, oh, no salary cap. Okay, thank you. We'll give in on A through Z. So I think that from a strategy standpoint, what baseball is doing makes perfect sense. And Bryce Harper played right into it, yelling at Rob face to face, nose to nose. I only wish I had been there.
Dan Le Batard
What movie are we reviewing today, David?
Stugotz
I mean, did you watch the Billy Joel documentary?
Dan Le Batard
I did not, but Mike Ryan did. He was telling us about it yesterday.
Mike Ryan
I've seen the first half, the first part. It's a two part series and I really enjoy it so far.
Stugotz
Yeah. It's two and a half hours, both parts. Part two dropped on July 25th. Part two is the Christie Brinkley era, plus wife three plus wife four. So wife one was part one, and it's called and so It Goes, which happens to be my favorite Billy Joel song of all time. And I learned so much about him. All of his songs are autobiographical. How much pain he was in and the things that he wrote about. You guys write funny songs. And Jeremy and all of you, man, Billy Joel has you beaten. He's writing songs about his wife, who then becomes his ex wife, and about his manager. And he's writing not just Uptown Girl, about Christie Brinkley. How about Stiletto, about Elizabeth Weber, his wife and manager? Yikes. How about Vienna, about his father and the complicated relationship he had. I immediately called my son after watching the documentary, thinking that I could do the compare game. Like, hey, I'm not this guy. But that didn't work.
Mike Ryan
So where does it? I love rock documentaries. I think the history of the Eagles is the best one of all time. I love Tom Petty's Running Down a Dream. I'm halfway through this one, and it has me feeling like it has a shot to enter that pantheon. Does it fall apart in the second part? He is a pretty private dude, so all of this was illuminating. I was a fan of Billy Joel's music. This documentary is taking it to another level. But I didn't really know much outside of what made headlines. And I'm fascinated by the guy.
Stugotz
And I didn't even remember some of the accidents he had. I didn't know anything about sort of the provenance of all of his songs. And I didn't realize how the Christie Brinkley relationship, how it started, how it ended, why it ended. Because isn't that one of those times that you say, oh, my God, if I were married to a supermodel, how could you be unhappy married to a supermodel? That's insane. And then you realize that everybody, you know, squats to pee. And so people are generally the same and going through it all. It is more tragic than you realize, especially because they don't end it with the truth of what is today, which is he's sick and that he's not touring. He canceled all of his tour dates, and we don't know if he'll ever play again.
Dan Le Batard
They don't even mention it.
Stugotz
It's not mentioned. It must have been in the can before this happened. It's not even a postscript.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, that's disappointing, because that would have put his Entire career in perspective with a. With a bow at the end of it. Not even like an epilogue.
Stugotz
I expected some sort of something. You know how they do writing at the end of the movie? Like now, 20 years later, there are still people trying to make moose eggs. No, there's nothing like that.
Dan Le Batard
The show is called Nothing Personal with David Sampson. David, thank you for joining us.
Stugotz
Thank you. Happy birthday, Stu.
Dan Le Batard
Is to God's birthday.
Stugotz
Today it is Happy birthday to.
Mike Ryan
I don't care.
Dan Le Batard
Good luck, Chris. Yesterday, we were having a very spirited conversation about CVS and Walgreens, and you thought that we couldn't tell the difference between a CVS and a Walgreens. So you took it upon yourself after the show to visit a local CVS and a local Walgreens to take pictures. Guys, we're gonna play a new game show. It's called CVS or Walgreens.
Chris Cote
Which one is Ryan Clark at Walgreens?
Dan Le Batard
Roncox at cbs. That's clearly a cbo.
Chris Cote
Now, this is a visual game. We will try our best to describe it for the podcast audience, but check us out on YouTube because we're doing a lot of fun things like CVS or Walgreens.
Mike Ryan
I just want to be clear for your process for this. You just went to a bunch of different Walgreens and CVS yesterday with your.
Chris Cote
Afternoon with my daughter. Looks like a private investigator. I got a couple of weird looks from employees. Be like, why is this guy just snapping photos? But here we go. Photo number one.
Dan Le Batard
See it?
Chris Cote
Let's hit it.
Dan Le Batard
Okay, so it. We're looking kind of upward towards the ceiling. It's a. A rack, and it's got. What is that, lawn chairs on top of.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, it's a cvs.
Dan Le Batard
I'm. I'm. I'm.
David Sampson
Oh, I think it's Walgreens.
Billy Corben
That's a cvs. There's carpet.
Dan Le Batard
That's a cvs. It's carpet. And also the tags. CVS has the yellow tags.
Stugotz
Yep.
Dan Le Batard
And also the white one with the red.
Chris Cote
You're gonna find yellow tags in all the stuff that someone out there tried to do. The yellow tag thing. They all have yellow tags. But what's the guess here?
David Sampson
I heard.
Mike Ryan
And the prevailing theory is carpet. Right. The carpet's doing.
Chris Cote
I like. I see where you guys are doing. That is a cvs.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah.
Mike Ryan
That's a relief.
Chris Cote
I will tell you. Don't be too tricked by the carpets here, because thank you for that little hint on the front end.
Dan Le Batard
All right, let's see picture number two. Okay, these are balloons.
Chris Cote
Not showing you the floor this time.
Billy Corben
That's an impossible.
Dan Le Batard
That's. Well, hold on. It's not impossible. There are some context. So there's balloons. The balloons are inflated, so they're all the way stuck to the ceiling. They're in a little cage, which I find.
Stugotz
That's a Walgreens trademark.
Mike Ryan
Is the balloons that fly up into the ceiling.
Stugotz
CVS doesn't have that.
Billy Corben
Who are just listening to the podcast. It's a photo of the ceiling with ceiling tiles, and it's balloons inside. A little balloon corral.
Dan Le Batard
The balloon canal.
Billy Corben
But there's no floor. There's no shelving. There's.
Dan Le Batard
We can kind of see the end caps.
Chris Cote
What I learned doing this. There's a lot of just things that say CVS in wall.
Dan Le Batard
A lot of brands.
Chris Cote
It's hard to find photos that don't say it.
Mike Ryan
I'm with you. This is difficult, and this is a very difficult photo, but I'm gonna go Walgreens.
Dan Le Batard
I'm gonna go Walgreens as well.
David Sampson
I'm gonna go Walgreens.
Chris Cote
It is a Walgreens.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah. A two for two. I know my pharmacy.
Chris Cote
This is going all right so far. We got a couple more here. Let's go to the next one. All right, here we have a cereal aisle.
Dan Le Batard
Hold on. Let me get up and look at this.
Chris Cote
It looks like to the right, there's a cooler. I see yellow tags.
Mike Ryan
I'm gonna go.
David Sampson
Oh, look at him.
Stugotz
Mean.
David Sampson
He's gotten up. He's looking at. He's got. He's really close to the monitor.
Stugotz
He's.
David Sampson
He's eyeballing it.
Dan Le Batard
All right, that's a Walgreens baby.
Chris Cote
People are.
Billy Corben
That's a cvs.
David Sampson
I'm going Walgreens.
Dan Le Batard
That's a Walgreens.
Billy Corben
That's a cvs.
Mike Ryan
We have the first time that we don't have consensus.
David Sampson
Lots of cereal.
Chris Cote
That is.
David Sampson
It's a Walgreens.
Chris Cote
A cvs.
Dan Le Batard
Oh, no.
Billy Corben
There's also carpeting at the end of that.
Chris Cote
Damn it, Billy. I was just like. I literally did this one because I'm like, look, this doesn't have carpet. I'm gonna TR.
Mike Ryan
With this one.
Chris Cote
So I tricked everyone but Billy. Let's move on to the next one. Stop looking at the floor.
Dan Le Batard
Two for three. That's the Wal. That's a Walgreen.
Mike Ryan
That's a photo of a door.
Dan Le Batard
It's a door, but that's a Walgreens Local high school.
Chris Cote
Like Western, like wildcat, like merch on the left right there.
Dan Le Batard
There.
David Sampson
There's also Western umbrellas.
Dan Le Batard
It's like an umbrella stand. And we can see some ma locks and some other things on the doorway.
Chris Cote
To the back of the store.
Dan Le Batard
It's an employee only door. Yes. This is definitely a Walgreens.
Chris Cote
That is a Walgreens.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah.
Chris Cote
All right, I got one more here that I think might trick you. All right, let's do the last photo here. Here it is. Remember, don't get tricked by the floor. The floor. We're playing mind games here.
Dan Le Batard
This looks like a Target.
Chris Cote
It's the makeup section of the store. They all have them.
Mike Ryan
Is this a Navarro?
Dan Le Batard
Is that the Walgreens logo right there? That on. So it's. It's a makeup section and it's like kind of down the aisle, but above it you can see something hanging.
Chris Cote
L'.
David Sampson
Oreal.
Dan Le Batard
Okay.
Stugotz
Yeah.
Dan Le Batard
All right. No, not above that.
Chris Cote
I didn't see that part. Don't look at that.
Dan Le Batard
All right, guess. Okay. It's a Walgreens.
Chris Cote
Is that a Walgreens logo?
Billy Corben
There's yellow tags to a mean.
Chris Cote
Yeah, yellow tags.
Dan Le Batard
It's a Walgreens.
David Sampson
Walgreens.
Dan Le Batard
Zaza said Walgreens.
Mike Ryan
I'll say cvs.
Chris Cote
It's a Walgreens.
David Sampson
I knew it. I knew it.
Chris Cote
And that was CVS or Walgreens. Got you on that one with the weird floor.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, you did. And you know, now that I think about it, that floor, while not carpet, is not what you want in a Walgreens. Walgreens has that. That I don't know how to describe.
Mike Ryan
Middle school floor.
Dan Le Batard
Yes. It's just continuous. There is no tiles in that.
Mike Ryan
Right, let's pull back the curtain. Before the last one, he turned his mic off real quick and he's like. He said, someone please, dear God, say cvs.
Chris Cote
I couldn't have everyone guess.
Mike Ryan
Jeb Bush, please clap. Voice.
Dan Le Batard
You guys can clap now. We should play that.
Chris Cote
Because earlier we played this. The Deion Sanders, please clap. And apparently Jeb Bush is a set this ups as because I didn't know.
David Sampson
Yeah, I mean, when. When Dion told everyone they could clap after he's cancer free, it reminded me of the very end of Jeb Bush's political career.
Chris Cote
But send a signal that we're prepared.
Stugotz
To act in the national security interests of this country to get back in the business of creating a more peaceful world. Please clap.
David Sampson
It's unbelievable. I can't get enough of that clip. It's so good. Every time I come across it, it's so good.
Dan Le Batard
It's the way he tilts his head out of guys. What are you doing?
David Sampson
He's like, so pathetic. Please clap.
Mike Ryan
It's really funny what you sue and political careers, right?
Dan Le Batard
But that's crazy. This guy fumbled the bag big time, right? Your dad was the president.
Mike Ryan
I think he did all right, dude. He had no answer. He had no answer for the type of duty he was facing. It was like a southpaw.
Dan Le Batard
Your dad was the president, your brother was the president, and you're bilingual, and you're the governor of Florida. Like, come on.
Chris Cote
He finally got his at bat, and then he was against a submarine pitcher. I've never hit against one.
Mike Ryan
The ball's coming from where?
David Sampson
Please?
Mike Ryan
We're not doing shame anymore.
Dan Le Batard
You can clap now.
Mike Ryan
Howdy, folks. It's Mike Ryan.
Unknown
Happy summertime, everybody. Summer is fantastic.
Mike Ryan
A lot of outdoor activities, a lot.
Unknown
Of concerts, a couple of championship parades if you're lucky enough. A lot of big time movies. Maybe you're going to a happy hour. Before you see a big summer blockbuster with your friends, why don't you order Miller Lite at the bar? Whether it's via draft glass bottle or that beautiful white can or the cool special edition 50th anniversary gold cans. Making anytime this summer a Miller Time is always a great idea. You want to make a summer memory that lasts forever?
Mike Ryan
Well, crack open a Miller Lite.
Unknown
You know why? Because since 1975, Miller Lite has been the go to way to stock your cooler to celebrate those incredible summer moments. This year marks 50 years of Miller Time. 50 great years of taste. 50 great years of celebrating with great friends and making unforgettable memories. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients like malted barley, it delivers that rich, balanced toffee note, flavor and golden color that just hits different 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. Cheers to 50 years of Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
Podcast: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz
Episode: The Big Suey: CVS or Walgreens
Release Date: July 29, 2025
Timestamp: [03:06] – [07:18]
The episode opens with heartfelt tributes to the late Ryan Sandberg, a beloved figure in the baseball community. Stugotz reflects on Sandberg's untimely passing, emphasizing the profound impact he had both on and off the field.
Stugotz: "It's just sad. 65 years old, such a great, great player, great person."
[06:11]
Dan and the hosts delve into Sandberg's contributions as the manager of the Phillies, highlighting personal anecdotes and the deep respect they held for him.
Timestamp: [05:20] – [13:02]
A significant portion of the discussion centers around Ichiro Suzuki's near-miss of achieving his 3,000th hit while with the Marlins. Stugotz takes full responsibility for the circumstances that led to Ichiro not attaining this milestone at home, which is traditionally a cherished moment for players.
Stugotz: "I'm going to apologize for everything. Not just for the 3,000th hit, Billy. I'm apologizing for every trade that didn't work out, for every disappointment."
[13:02]
He extends a sincere apology to the Marlins' fanbase, acknowledging mistakes in team management and expressing a commitment to improving future decisions.
Timestamp: [21:38] – [27:41]
The hosts transition to discussing Major League Soccer (MLS) and Lionel Messi's influence on the league. They critique MLS Commissioner Don Garber's handling of streaming numbers and Messi's participation in the league events.
Stugotz: "The biggest mistake MLS made was by getting into bed with Messi, thinking that he would care enough to want to carry them into a different revenue sort of stadium."
[26:09]
Stugotz and Mike Ryan debate the ramifications of Messi's suspension from the MLS All-Star game and its impact on the league's reputation and future. They argue that inconsistent rule enforcement can lead to broader issues within the sport's administration.
Timestamp: [32:54] – [35:55]
The conversation shifts to a review of a Billy Joel documentary. Stugotz shares his newfound appreciation for the autobiographical elements of Joel's music and the personal struggles depicted in the film.
Stugotz: "Billy Joel has you beaten. He's writing songs about his wife, who then becomes his ex-wife, and about his manager."
[34:08]
Mike Ryan echoes his enthusiasm, comparing the documentary to other iconic rock documentaries and praising its depth and honesty.
Timestamp: [36:06] – [43:05]
In a lighter and interactive segment, the hosts introduce a new game called "CVS or Walgreens." Chris Cote visits local CVS and Walgreens stores to take photos, challenging the other hosts to identify which store is which based solely on visual cues.
Example Round:
Photo 1: A ceiling rack with lawn chairs and yellow tags.
Photo 2: A ceiling with balloons in a cage.
The segment highlights the subtle differences between the two pharmacy giants, engaging listeners with humorous banter and friendly competition.
Timestamp: [43:05] – End
The episode wraps up with acknowledgments of sponsor segments and light-hearted interactions among the hosts, maintaining the show's signature blend of sports commentary, pop culture, and humor.
Stugotz on Apologizing to Fans:
"I'm going to apologize for everything. Not just for the 3,000th hit, Billy. I'm apologizing for every trade that didn't work out, for every disappointment."
[13:02]
Stugotz on MLS Mistakes:
"The biggest mistake MLS made was by getting into bed with Messi, thinking that he would care enough to want to carry them into a different revenue sort of stadium."
[26:09]
Chris Cote on the Game Segment:
"Don be too tricked by the carpets here, because thank you for that little hint on the front end."
[38:28]
In this episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, listeners are treated to a mix of heartfelt tributes, critical sports analysis, engaging pop culture discussions, and interactive fun with the "CVS or Walgreens" game. The hosts balance serious reflections with their trademark humor, providing an entertaining and insightful experience for both regular listeners and newcomers alike.