The Big Suey: The Property-Off

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

The Big Suey: The Property-Off — December 10, 2025

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Episode Overview

Broadcast live from the Elser Hotel in downtown Miami, this episode of “The Big Suey” features the classic ensemble of Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Pablo Torre, and more. The crew delivers their trademark blend of sports, pop culture, and comedic banter. This episode shines through irreverent sports talk—highlighting current NFL and NBA storylines, examining the intersection of money, social media, and sports motivations, and, importantly, finding humor in the absurd. Notably, the episode teases the upcoming in-person return of Nick Wright (and his ongoing rivalry with Pablo Torre), and dives deep into wacky headlines—such as a jewel thief passing a Fabergé egg.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Nick Wright "Ban" Drama and Studio Property Rights

• [02:08–04:55]
  • Dan reveals that Nick Wright, labeled Pablo Torre’s "nemesis," is set to visit the studio—a contentious move given Dan’s prior ban.
  • Stugotz admits to inadvertently lifting Nick’s ban; Dan asserts, “He’s been banned from this studio by me. But I guess you’re the only person at this company who can trump my ability to ban someone.” (Dan Le Batard, 02:29)
  • Spirited joking about the “ownership” of the property—the show, its hosts, and even the studio chairs.
• Memorable Moment:
  • Stugotz playfully complains about another show making fat jokes at Dan’s expense for a 300th episode celebrating the number 300—and looping Dan in as their “most famous 300-pound guest.” (03:30)

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2. Boldest Take Hotline: A Mixed Bag

• [05:03–07:10]
  • The team introduces the "Boldest Take Hotline" segment, expressing dissatisfaction with recent entries:

    “Boldest Take the last two weeks has not been good enough to support the sponsor that has supported us. So I need the callers to be better.”
    (Stugotz, 05:05)

  • A rapid-fire series of oddball takes and sports analogies follows—from “torn should be called hot dogs pliers” to “Jacoby Brissette is the Joe Flacco of Teddy Bridgewaters.”
  • Pablo and Dan agree: the funniest entry was “Manny Diaz looks like David Samson and Donald Trump Jr. had a love child.” (07:05)

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3. The Fabergé Egg Jewel Thief Story: Digestion, Dignity & Dark Humor

• [07:30–15:19]
  • Stugotz recounts a bizarre news story: a thief in New Zealand stole and swallowed a priceless, diamond-encrusted Fabergé egg (with a chain and price tag still attached).
  • The crew enthusiastically dissects the logistics (and indignities) of "waiting for the evidence"—the police assigned to monitor the thief’s bowel movements:
    • “For six days he’s sitting there and the cop is like, ‘You’re going to have to dump sooner or later.’” (Pablo Torre, 12:29)
    • Pablo and Dan joke about "milking the chain" and liken the ordeal to a flagpole, a gym rope climb, and even pulling a flag up the pole in reverse.
    • Dan marvels at the resilience of the egg’s laminated price tag after its digestive journey:

      "No, there’s a label. How did the label survive intact? That is the most shocking part of this entire thing. Lamination is really impressive."
      (Dan Le Batard, 13:50)

    • The crew riff on the story’s pricing implications:

      “This increases the resale value, right? Like the price that it went in is not the price that it is coming out.”
      (Dan Le Batard, 14:53)

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4. NFL Discussion – The Philip Rivers Sideshow

• [19:12–22:40]
  • Stugotz brings up the viral story of Philip Rivers potentially returning as QB for the Colts.
  • Dan and Stugotz ponder the state of NFL quarterbacking ("pathetic") and the AFC race, emphasizing how "injuries make anyone possible."
  • Stugotz:

    "Is the AFC so wide open that anyone… believes that Philip Rivers is a name that— I don’t care he hasn’t played in five years— I believe the Colts still have a chance with him." (20:34)

  • Dan contextualizes the desperation:

    "Options out there are slim. He knows the system, so why not? What the heck." (21:43)

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5. Sports, Social Media Validation, and the Modern Athlete

• [23:10–32:35]
  • A JJ Redick clip sparks debate about how social media shapes player self-worth and performance:

    “They read every single thing about them... Even if it's JoeSmith496842, they read every single bad thing that's said about them.… So getting guys to neutral and consistency every single day has just become incredibly difficult in our league.”
    (JJ Redick, quoted at 24:56)

  • Pablo Torre introduces the psychological concept of "external locus of control."
  • Amin (guest) and Dan debate whether money or winning is the true incentive driver in sports:
    • Amin: "Money’s always the number one thing. Now, the part where it is different… is the idea of the importance of social media... to my well-being, my mental health. That’s the part that we haven’t had before." (28:14)
    • Dan: “Money and winning are actually disconnected in ways that are more obvious than ever... There’s a conflict of interest with the big business that is more nakedly running sports in a completely unregulated way.” (32:01)
  • Memorable phrase: "Pollyannic existence" (Amin), humorously corrected by Dan as "Pollyanna-ish." (30:49)

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6. Useless Sound Montage: Football Cliché Overload

• [35:59–40:02]
  • This recurring bit assembles the week’s most generic coach/player soundbites—flattening inspirational football platitudes into a hilarious, monotonous audio stew.
  • Standout lines:
    • “The guys don’t ever get frazzled. They don’t get panicked. They just go to work.”
    • “We got guys that can run too. I just think we were in an aggressive posture all day.”
    • “Attack every blade of grass…”
  • Stugotz:

    “He said, attack every blade of grass. Defend every blade of grass. How useless is your coach telling you to do that?”
    (39:43)

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7. NBA & Media Chatter: Rich Paul/Max Kellerman & LeBron’s Laker Disdain

• [41:57–44:58]
  • Discussion of Max Kellerman’s return to media with a new podcast, “Game Over,” alongside Rich Paul.
  • Jeremy highlights a surprising (and damning) Rich Paul quote:

    “I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders right now. Not right now.”
    (Rich Paul on Game Over, 43:07)

  • The crew debates how much of Paul’s commentary reflects LeBron’s thinking and what it reveals about the Lakers’ internal confidence.

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Notable Quotes

• Dan Le Batard [on banning Nick Wright] (02:29):

  “He’s been banned from this studio by me. But I guess you’re the only person at this company who can trump my ability to ban someone from this studio.”

• Stugotz [on generic football talk] (39:43):

  “How useless is your coach telling you to do that? To defend every blade of grass on a football field.”

• Pablo Torre [on the Fabergé egg thief’s ordeal] (12:29):

  “For six days, he’s sitting there and the cop is like, ‘You’re going to have to dump sooner or later.’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”

• Dan Le Batard [on sports incentives] (32:01):

  “Money and winning are actually disconnected in ways that are more obvious than ever… There’s a conflict of interest with the big business that is more nakedly running sports in a completely unregulated way.”

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Memorable/Comedic Moments

• The detailed, gleefully graphic play-by-play of retrieving a Fabergé egg from a thief’s digestive tract, with comparisons to milking cows, flagpoles, and gym ropes. (08:00–15:19)
• Multiple callbacks to weight jokes, studio “property rights,” and show in-jokes—fueling the property-off rivalry amongst hosts.
• Lighthearted ribbing about sports clichés—“attack every blade of grass”—and their utter meaninglessness in actual football coaching.
• The “Boldest Take Hotline” rapid-fire session, riffing on the absurdities of sports talk radio and their own fans’ contributions.

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Event | |---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:08–04:55 | Nick Wright ban drama and “studio property” banter | | 05:03–07:10 | Boldest Take Hotline — best and worst bold takes | | 07:30–15:19 | Fabergé egg jewel thief story — comedic deep dive | | 19:12–22:40 | NFL: Philip Rivers Colts comeback storyline | | 23:10–32:35 | Social media, validation, money vs. winning in sports — JJ Redick, Pablo/Amin debate | | 35:59–40:02 | Useless sound montage: Football cliché rapid-fire | | 41:57–44:58 | NBA: Max Kellerman/Rich Paul podcast; Lakers as “not contenders”; LeBron’s Miami nostalgia|

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Summary Tone

Consistent with the show’s irreverent, sardonic, quick-witted energy, this episode moves fluidly between hilarious digressions and sharper, sometimes critical sports insights—never taking itself too seriously, but always offering something unique for listeners, even those outside Miami or sports fandom.

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Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

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[Stugotz]

No matter the weather, push forward no matter the terrain, and deliver.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's why Chevrolet has earned more dependability awards for trucks than any other brand.

[Stugotz]

In 2025, according to J.D. power. Because in every Chevy truck, like every Chevy driver, dependability comes standard.

[Dan LeBatard]

Visit Chevy.com to learn more. Chevrolet received the highest total number of awards among all the trucks in the J.D.

[Stugotz]

Power 2025 U.S. vehicle Dependability Study Awards based on 2022 models.

[Dan LeBatard]

Newer models may be shown.

[Stugotz]

Visit jdpower.com awards for more details.

[Dan LeBatard]

Chevrolet Together, Let's Drive this episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast Smart move. Being financially savvy. Smart move. Another smart move having State Farm help you create a competitive price when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with a personal price plan like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw.

[Stugotz]

The discount they gave me on my first order.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-contact contacts.

[Stugotz]

Welcome to the Big Sui presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show, the podcast that seems very similar to.

[Dan LeBatard]

The other Dan LeBatard podcast? I'm sorry. I'm not going to apologize for that.

[Stugotz]

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 that if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys.

[Pablo Torre]

I've done it.

[Dan LeBatard]

And now here's the marching man to.

[Stugotz]

Nowhere Fat Face and the Habitual Liar.

[Dan LeBatard]

This episode of the Dan Levitz Art show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.

[Stugotz]

There are a lot of things that I want to get to here. So Roy, please get me the useless sound montage and please get me boldest take because in an hour Nick Wright is going to show up here and he's going to show up face to face with what he is calling his Nemesis Pablo Torre. He's got a series of objections that he has made made publicly about Pablo Torres.

[Dan LeBatard]

He's been banned from this studio by me. But I guess you're the only person at this company who can trump my ability to ban someone from this studio.

[Stugotz]

Banned him. He's banned. I didn't realize he was. I didn't realize that I was banned. I didn't realize I was accidentally overstepping a ban or so. I didn't even ask you.

[Dan LeBatard]

You did not. And this is how I'm learning.

[Stugotz]

Okay. I'm sorry that I didn't ask you. This is your. Well, it is. I guess it's our property.

[Dan LeBatard]

Property off property. Then it's your property. Yeah. It's your show. There a lot I fight for Pablo having some. Yeah. But dancing the communist green. Dan is sitting in my. You know. You know Chris, how you have like a groove in a chair over time like your. Your butt Is that Dan sitting in. In my groove changed forever. That chair ruined.

[Stugotz]

What did you guys do? Wait a minute. You guys are back to the weight jokes. The feature, I know that is best of the last Greg Cody show featuring Greg Cody is him calling me and ins me. I won't spoil it, but they celebrated their 300th Joe. Their 300th show by making their 300th fat joke at my expense. Like we were celebrating the number.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, Dan, we were celebrating the number 300. What was it? What was. What was the. I feel like we can spoil this, Dan. I feel like we can spoil this. We. We were just celebrating the number 300 in any way possible. My dad had a bunch of facts, sports facts about 300, all these different things. And then of course we wanted to talk to our most famous 300 pound guest. So we had Dan on. God damn.

I mean, I get it.

[Stugotz]

These. This is coming from the people who enjoy the makers of the stink of schedule this. You guys need to do better than this. You've done 300 shows and the best joke you can make is it's our 300 show. Let's call Dan. He's 300 pounds. That's. That's the best. That's the best.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's comedy. That's comedy.

Per Ken Rosenthal, veteran Colorado pitcher Jimmy tends to enter spring training as a starter leak source said.

I'm not going to do it.

[Stugotz]

Nick Wright is going to be here and you're. I'm sorry. I did not know I was lifting a ban. I remember the band. I didn't think it was serious. Is this going to be tension. Are we going to have tension?

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't know. I mean, I. To be clear, I banned him because he started complaining about how we weren't respectful enough to him the last time he was on my show. And so he got banned. And we'll find out.

[Stugotz]

All right. We'll find out together. I'm actually looking forward to that.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm not.

[Stugotz]

Let me. Let me go to the Boldest Take Hotline. It's been very uneven, Roy. I don't know how we feel exactly about.

[Dan LeBatard]

Feel great about it, Dan.

[Stugotz]

No. See, you guys keep doing this. Look, I hope that the sponsors are aligned with what it is that we're doing and I hope they understand that they can sponsor things that are terrible and we can enjoy things that are terrible together with our sponsors. The Boldest Take Hotline reminds me that our text machine and our callers were the best this industry has ever had in terms of a creative community competing against each other to be funny. The callers have lacked something to be desired in terms of consistency. So I'm sorry I do not frame this the way that you wish me to for the sponsor, but the sponsor is going to get truth telling from me. And Boldest Take the last two weeks has not been good enough to support the sponsor that has supported us. So I need the callers to be better. Roy, how do you feel about this batch? Have you heard it or did Fuente send it over with no editing? Is that the way we do things around here?

[Dan LeBatard]

That is the way we do things around here. Great selling on that there, Dan. But yes, it's going to be great. And it's brought to you by Boost Mobile. Boost Mobile Boldest take is presented by Boost Mobile, the newest 5G network in the country. You can call in at 305-486-4689.

Hi, this is Russell from Wisconsin. Again, my bold take this week is that torn should be called hot dogs pliers.

[Stugotz]

Todd Bowles looks like an angry Raheem Morris.

[Dan LeBatard]

Jacoby Brissette is the Joe Flacco of Teddy Bridgewaters. If Mr. Potato Head originated in Idaho, it would look like Zaslow, Jackson Smith and Jigba as three last names. Manny Diaz looks like David Sampson and Donald Trump Jr. Had a love child. Replace hog with skin plute. Male pizza has eyes at the crust.

[Stugotz]

Female pizza has eyes at the point.

[Dan LeBatard]

Also, Nazi Muhammad has a kid playing D1 college basketball. If you're going to call Fernando Mendoza the Cuban Kirk Cousins, you should call him Kirk Primo Ltd. Fake Jessica Smatana.

Really good right there. You got to go primos though.

[Pablo Torre]

I mean, Manny Diaz, we. That's a good one.

[Dan LeBatard]

That was a great call.

[Stugotz]

We are going to get to the useless sound montage in a second and there is some other sound that I want to get to here. But before we go any further story. I don't know if Pablo knows this story or not. I wonder if you guys have heard this story. The James Bond movie. Zaslo does not watch James Bond.

[Dan LeBatard]

I've seen one and a half James Bond movies. Which ones I watched for the first time, Casino Royale a week and a half ago. I enjoyed it very much. And I'm in the middle of Quantum of Solace right now, which I've been told is the weakest, but it doesn't matter because I'm going to finish it.

[Stugotz]

So there is a movie from very long ago, I think. I guess would Sean Connery have been the James Bond in Octopussy? I think it would have been Sean. Sean Connery. And there is a diamond encrusted thing from Octopussy that's worth a lot of money that a thief tried to steal recently, I'm going to say, in Australia. And the thief decided to steal this Pablo by swallowing a Faberge egg that was wor a lot of money. And what ends up happening after that is they caught the thief and then they waited around for the thief to incriminate himself. By the time that the Faberge egg passed through his body totally intact with the price tag still on it, with the proof coming through the man's system. And I was just wondering to myself as it happened how lonely it must have felt for that criminal to know that he had no choice but some point provide the proof of his crime to those police officers. And just sitting around with the stomach pain of stewing of knowing at some point I'm going to go to the bathroom here, they're going to check through this and they're going to find that I did indeed eat these diamonds and shit them. Jeremy, what are the details from this story that people need to know?

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm so glad you asked, Dan. It was crafted in 18 karat gold decorated with green GU enamel set with 60 white diamonds, 15 blue sapphires and the egg opened to reveal a miniature gold octopus with two black diamonds for eyes. Now if you're wondering, yes, this was in Auckland, New Zealand where he walked into the store, swallowed it immediately. And yes, that chain was still attached after going through the digestive track, as you mentioned, the price tag was still there. This had of Course, a price tag of 33,580 New Zealand dollar dollars. Dan Z. Washing this down with some liquid. What are we doing here? This is.

[Pablo Torre]

You're asking the wrong question. Washing it down. I'm not concerned how he swallowed it coming out. I'm concerned on the way out because that thing looks textured, ladies and gentlemen. It's got all sorts of ridges and stuff. It's not enough, I don't think, a little loop situation.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, this is. This is when you feel it coming, you're like, let's make it a little easier. Six days. So the police just had someone assigned to watch him for all six days. Dan. Dan was feeling bad for. I'm feeling bad for that. Roughly the size of a large grape is what they said when it was recovered on Thursday night. Okay. Still, it looks like that picture we just showed. Look a lot bigger than a grape.

[Pablo Torre]

It's textured.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay. Actually, now that I see next to the thumb. My bad. I thought this was bigger. This is not that big a deal. This is easy. It's like the size of a thumbnail. I thought when we were zoomed, like, right there. It looks like the size of like a. Like. Like almost like a small baseball. Yeah.

[Pablo Torre]

It's just a little.

[Dan LeBatard]

How's your uncle? Like when you're zoomed in, you see the thumb next to it. This is actually not that impressive.

[Pablo Torre]

You realize it's not like a dump where it shapes towards your rectum.

[Stugotz]

Soft it.

[Pablo Torre]

It is coming through.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is making it maintain thumb, guys. And again, it could be sideways. It's not gonna be like the regular egg shape. It could show up this way, and then the chain could come out first, and then you're trying to push out something else, and then all of a sudden, the chain couldn't come out.

[Pablo Torre]

If the chain came out first, it's actually good.

[Dan LeBatard]

Chains never coming out first. Doesn't hang this.

[Pablo Torre]

You could do a little bit of this.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, if the chain came out.

[Pablo Torre]

You yanking my chain.

[Stugotz]

You can do a little bit of this.

[Dan LeBatard]

He's right about.

[Stugotz]

Wait a minute. So you milk a cow? Look, for those of you who don't see what a means doing.

[Dan LeBatard]

Zaza's head is blocking a meme.

[Stugotz]

Okay. Amin is milking a cow. He's milking a cow. Grabbing the chain. I don't know if he has this officer who had the. You know, the. The moment in life where that officer has to say to himself, what have I done with my choices that make me someone who has to wait past this next to this criminal for six days and then you have him coming over milking the chain.

[Dan LeBatard]

You know what they call it? When that guy got his docket for the week, that police officer called it the stink of schedule. When you do it. That sucks. Colin did it. It was great. I'm picturing them pulling the chain. They're pulling the chain and then they get to where the ball's there and they're like, they get a little tension.

[Stugotz]

Oh no.

[Dan LeBatard]

And then the guy, he's like I don't want this out. So he's clinching and then they start tickling him so he stops flinching.

[Stugotz]

Well, you guys, you guys are ignoring the idea that you understand for those six days that guy was trying to figure out his alibi. Cuz 6 days is not a normal amount of time for something to pass through a system. I six. Six days. You guys think there's a lot of stuff that you're eating today that's not coming out for six days. And then you're saying that the ridges and the size of that and the chain aren't going to make it problematic to a digestive tract.

[Pablo Torre]

Dan, this is my favorite part about this is for six days he's sitting there in the cop is like you're going to have to dump sooner or later. He's like I don't know. I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't mean anything. What are you talking about?

[Stugotz]

Roy?

[Dan LeBatard]

Roy just nailed the noise that it would make on the way out.

[Pablo Torre]

Yep. That's after the last Yankee.

[Dan LeBatard]

Can we. That's horrifying. Can we remark that release though it took. It took six days. That's. Am I alone in thinking that's like that's over what I thought the line he was trying.

[Stugotz]

He was trying to not get caught.

[Pablo Torre]

This part.

[Stugotz]

But this is what I'm saying. Those six days of sitting there and just knowing you are going. You denying everything for six days but.

[Pablo Torre]

You know.

[Stugotz]

In your soul that the crime is going to be perfect proven as soon as you go to the bathroom. It's a horrible feeling. But I think you guys might be right when you say this police officer was not questioning his or her existence because he would soon have to milk the chain and wait for six days for his crime to be proven. This is the most confident police officer there's ever been. Soon I will have the proof delivered to me. If I can just sit here and wait, soon I will catch this criminal. Because there's no way that once I sift through this we won't be able to prove what's proven in the video, which would have been easier. It would have been easier to prove by just having the video of the guy swallowing it.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, there's a label. How did the label survive intact? That is the most shocking part of this entire thing. Lamination is really impressive. It does not look like it's been through anything.

[Stugotz]

Is it indeed laminated? Is the, is the sticker price on the Faberge egg had to indeed laminate it?

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, it has to be laminated. You know, like in Titanic, when they're like trying to clean off those real, like, artifacts from the down. Like, that's what this is like right here. It's like there was shit over that and they washed it off. Dan, you say milking, but I think it's more of like a flag pole. You know how you have the, the, the thing on a flagpole? You're like. And you're putting the flag up. You're just doing it the opposite.

[Stugotz]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is more milking, right? You're doing up and down. This is more flagpole.

[Pablo Torre]

And then at the end of it, as soon as we get that last attention, we get that sound of.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yep, yep, there it is.

[Stugotz]

I, I actually thought that it was a little more like Amin was trying to climb a rope in gym class and he was trying to get up. Yeah, a bit of a your legs.

[Dan LeBatard]

For that one, though, Dan.

[Stugotz]

Did you guys.

[Dan LeBatard]

This increases the resale value, right? Like the price that it went in is not the price that it is coming out.

[Stugotz]

That's a good question. Now you've got a great story behind beyond.

[Dan LeBatard]

Guess what, Guess what. Guess what this is, I say, gesturing to my wife's neck.

[Stugotz]

Beyond the behind. Yes.

[Pablo Torre]

I mean, now we know what kind of rich person Pavel is, right? It's like, I'll pay you double for.

[Stugotz]

It.

If you eat it first and.

[Pablo Torre]

Then six days later, keep the label.

[Stugotz]

I didn't want it before, but now that it has the story, can you imagine being at a cocktail party and your wife's wearing it around her neck and you're like, look, there's one part of this story that makes it interesting, but it's the next part of this story that you're really going to want to hear.

[Dan LeBatard]

Dan, your next bet. Your next bet with Nick Wright. Loser buys the egg. Yeah, it's only $19,000, Dan. That's even less than a white Corvette.

[Stugotz]

No, it's worth more than that now, according to Pablo, because one of these, these rich freaks who likes the things to go based on the story involved.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm trying to get ready for the holidays and wrapping my head around what I'm going to cook and people keep asking me the same question. Roy, what are you gifting this year? What are you cooking? And honestly, I don't have time for all that. I just keep it simple. I go with Omaha Steaks. People, listen up. Omaha Steaks delivers the world's best steak experience. You can send USDA certified tender steaks, juicy burgers and comfort meals that make you look thoughtful with minimum effort. Now that's my kind of gift. Right now during the Sizzle all the Way sale, you can get 50% off site wide at Omaha steaks.com plus an extra $35 off with promo code Dan. I've had Omaha Steaks plenty of times. I've cooked them, I've gifted them. People are always impressed. The steaks are aged perfectly tender and are full of flavor. It's holiday magic made easy. Orders placed by 6pm Eastern shipped the same day. Save big on gourmet gifts and more holiday favorites with omaha steaks. Visit omaha steaks.com for 50% off site wide during the Sizzle all the Way sale and for an extra $35 off, use promo code DAN at checkout terms apply. See site for details. That's Omaha Steaks.com code Dan.

Hey guys, Tony here. The NBA on Prime is back with an exciting week of Emirates NBA cup action. The knockout rounds start with the quarterfinal double headers on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Then the quest for the cup heads to Vegas for a semifinal doubleheader on Saturday. Saturday it all culminates with the championship game next Tuesday night. If you're not a Prime member, that's not a problem. Sign up for a 30 day free trial to get started today. Emirates NBA cup coverage continues this week only on prime. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.

Holidays, Fun holidays As a dad, tough travel gifts. Matching pajamas. Don't get me started on matching pajamas. It's hot in Miami. My wife says, why don't you want to do this with us? My daughter's crying anyways. School, parties, hosting a family. Next thing I know I basically put Christmas on my credit card and have no idea what I spent. Where if you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch, rated Wall Street Journal's Best Budgeting App. At 25, Monarch's the All in One Personal Finance Tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or on your phone. Right now, just for our listeners, Monarch is offering offering 50 off your first year, a massive deal. Monarch showed me how fast the holiday budget was disappearing. Flights, gifts, late night online shopping and helped me pump the brakes before the bill hit. Now my wife and I do quick money check ins, look at our holiday spending category and actually enjoy the holidays without starting January and the new year in panic. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code [e-mail] in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50 off your first [e-mail] with code oh damn. And don't give me those matching pajamas. I swear. Dan LeBatard, did you get lost on the way to Home Depot today? Dan, like, what, what's going on with the plaque.

Stugats? But do we look like you're about to ask me to like, check the oil on my car or like come over and like, look around and point things in my house that need to be fixed? This is the Dan Levatar show with the stug.

[Stugotz]

Are you guys thinking now that it is official because I mentioned, I mentioned yesterday that the Philip Rivers is working out for the cold story is the rare sports story that I saw being just shared with a number of my friends because there's something about Philip Rivers and Philip Rivers his age that he's got so many children that made it a both funny story, but also an interesting story because the AFC is wide open and the Colts traded for Sauce Gardner as if they thought they were a piece away. So Philip Rivers is being brought in. Are you guys expecting Philip Rivers to play for the Colts? Are you guys expecting Philip Rivers within the next week or two to be something that heads into the playoffs looking to play against the Houston Texans after not playing for five years?

[Dan LeBatard]

100%. 100%. I mean, Dan, like, he signs a practice squad right now and I mean, that's just a formality. Like, learn all the plays, get used to language. He'll probably, he'll probably start not this coming weekend, but like next weekend. You don't, you know, you're not bringing that circus in so that he could just be on the practice squad and back up. And he's probably not coming out of retirement just to be the backup. I'm sure he got a guarantee. He went in, he worked out. We like what we see. Do you guarantee I'll be the starter when I'm ready? Yes, we do. Okay, let's do it.

[Stugotz]

It is the state of quarterbacking in that Sport so pathetic. You know, Justin Herbert is hurt. He wins with 150 yard game. They can't protect him. Alt is hurt. The best teams in that sport are limping to the finish line as all football teams do at the end of a season because of how hard a football season is. We're always ready for the Tyrod Taylor experience at any point in the season because all of these quarterbacks get hurt, even though the rules are meant to protect them. Is the AFC so wide open that anyone listening to this believes that the Patriots with the offensive lineman being hurt, with the Jacksonville Jags being someone you do not trust, with Josh Allen being a super unique player you don't trust, even though he's got 24 games with four plus touchdowns and the next closest person is not within nine of him. People don't believe that Josh Allen's going to win the title this year, even though it's all set up for him to win the title this year. Is there the belief among the people listening to this that Philip Rivers is a name that. I don't care. He hasn't played in five years. I believe the Colts still have a chance with him.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, listen, the Colts also, their first rounder belongs to the Jets. So the entire incentive for this season is we need to maximize what this season is. We are actually incentivized to do everything possible, however desperately to make sure that we have the best record possible in the regular season. And so then the next question is, when you hear a quote like this, this is from a team Source quoted by ESPN.com, you get a sense of, I suppose, how desperate things are. Quote, options out there are slim. He knows the system, so why not? What the heck. That's the endorsement among basically zero other compelling options for why a guy who's really tight with stainless steel with Shane Steichen is the guy who they brought in. They have a relationship, Rivers and the guy who's in charge of the offense with the head coach. We're talking Philip Rivers. I got a side of the day.

Start of the day, Start of the day it is the start of the day Start of the day Start of the day it is the start of the day Start of the day Start.

[Stugotz]

Of the day it is the start.

[Dan LeBatard]

Of the day Start of the day Start of the day it is the.

[Stugotz]

Start of the day.

[Dan LeBatard]

Philip Rivers was a starting college quarterback when Bill Clinton was president.

[Stugotz]

Put it on the poll, please, at LeBatard show. Did you know that Philip Rivers was a starting quarterback when Bill Clinton was president? I want to talk a little bit about what J.J. redick had to say about, about NBA players and social media validation and the reason that people are playing today. People, today's generation is playing. I mean you have seen a shift, we've all seen a shift between our generation and younger generations. I have talked to a number of, of people, for example, who are in positions of power, who have gotten older, who basically power friends still. Well, yes, thank you Chris. Yes, my friends in power that they, they have 20 year old employees and they just have to sort of understand that if you're in a meeting the 20 year old employee is going to be on their phone the entire time. And it's just a different, it's a different generation that works differently and you have to work around that generation. What is JJ Redick saying, I mean about today's 20 year old player that might produce a John Morant that none of us totally understand?

[Pablo Torre]

I don't even think he's talking about 20 year old players. He's talking about players in general in the league because Dan, we finally reached that level where about 90% of the league grew up on social media. Like the guys like Durant and LeBron who remember when social media entered our lives, there's only a handful of those guys left. Everybody else, all they know is being talked about on Twitter, on Instagram, on everything else. And so this is JJ Reddick talking about kind of like the, the challenges of coaching the modern athlete.

[Stugotz]

These guys, they read every single thing about them. They read every single good thing that's said about them. Even if it's Joe Smith 496842 they read every single bad thing that's said about them. And so what has happened, I think is guys now just value did I play well or did I play poorly? And I'm gonna feel really, really good.

[Dan LeBatard]

If I played well.

[Stugotz]

Because all these people are going to say nice things about me and if I play poorly I'm going to feel really bad because all these people are going to say really bad things about me. And so getting guys to neutral and consistency every single day has just become.

[Dan LeBatard]

Incredibly difficult in our league.

[Pablo Torre]

Guys, that's called an external locus of control. Learned about this in business school as well. External locus of control. Why did you play poorly? Look at this. Da da da da. Internal locus of control is because of things that I control. And I know how to balance myself and figure out what I did right and what I did wrong. And what he's saying is these players are all seeking validation from the voices on the Internet, without even a consideration to whether these voices are even legitimate or even real, to be honest with you, because we got so many bots running around here just trying to incite people.

[Dan LeBatard]

But, I mean, the word that I've talked to you about before, which I think is the most underrated and should be classified as like, the lens we see everything through in sports and in business is incentives. And I think we're living at this. We're looking at this strange moment where it's not merely that your mentions and your social media stuff is psychologically compelling, it's also money. It's also a thing you can justify as being very important to your brand. I just, you know, to connect a couple of stories here, connect the Notre Dame stuff and, like, why are they mad? To connect a bit of the. The aspiration side of this. I mean, if I can do a little bit of the Clipper stuff with you for a second. As someone who's on the show in this studio, typically when we talk about it, I thought it was fascinating that we're entering this part of sports that feels like actually winning games is not so much the point. In a way, that makes me feel very old. Like, I saw Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations, and Ty Lu, the head coach of the Clippers, basically being told, according to the reporting, that they're getting extensions amid the worst season in memory. And I'm thinking, why would you do that when the record is so bad, when the wins on the floor are not coming? And I think about this when I think about Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU before the playoff when, like, the winds were supposed to be the point. I think about it. We were just talking about draft picks and tanking for draft picks. The wins in the actual arena are not the point. I think about this when we talk about the gambling scandal, right? Where there are self interest, there is money that is motivating people to care about other stuff outside of the actual wins, which are, of course, the entire point of the games. It just feels like we've gotten to a point in sports where winning actually is undervalued. And it's social media, it's sports gambling. It's, frankly, side deals with executives that are serving purposes that are not actually to the good of the team.

[Pablo Torre]

Ok, so I'm gonna disagree with you wholeheartedly on a lot of what you just said, right? And first and foremost is that this is like an old, you know, an old person versus young person thing, because teams tank. For Akeem Olajuwon and for Patrick Ewing and like that, like tanking for that purpose has existed for as long as we had a draft. And the reason why is because. Not because, just to say, oh, that was the goal. The goal is to get one of those guys who will then represent many, many wins in your future. So it's these short term sacrifice versus a long term gain. In the case of the Clippers, I would say that's still an anomaly. The idea of a coach getting extended despite having a tough season, that's still not the case across most major sports. And it's actually almost silly that it's the opposite, which is, wait, we know you're a good coach. We know you know what you're talking about. But we're losing and I need to blame somebody. You, you gotta go. So Ty Lue is one of the best coaches in the league. The Clippers know that by, by logic, they should want him around. But we've been conditioned that, you know, to foolishly have to hold, quote, unquote, someone accountable. Lawrence Frank is a different story because you could argue a lot of the issues they're into right now are in part because of his decision making. But again, I would imagine that the Clippers right now are trying to present a united front against what they consider to be an assault on their character and all that. When you talk about everybody else, right, Lane, Kiffin or all these other things, the incentive has never changed. Because you know what the number one incentive is, Pablo? It's money. It's always been money. It's never been anything but money. And anybody who tries to romanticize it is kind of living a Pollyannic existence. The reality is money's always the number one thing. Now the part where it's different, where it is true, old people versus new people, is the idea of the importance of social media, the importance of random strangers opinions to my. Not only my success or failure, but my well being, my mental health. That's the part that we haven't had before. Because I was thinking about this when I was listening to JJ Redick talk back in the day, guys didn't even read the papers. They wouldn't know what was said about them unless someone brought it to them. And now you've got guys at halftime and immediately after a game is over. We're talking here. Who checks their phone during a meeting? Man, their players, literally coaches talking. They're on their phone checking what people are saying about them on Twitter. Twitter, that's real and that's happening. And that's something that's never existed before.

[Dan LeBatard]

Pollyannic existence.

[Pablo Torre]

You know, I have to bring up the game, you know, because Dan thinks there's only one Harvard guy around.

[Dan LeBatard]

But, you know, I think it's Pollyanna ish. You know what, that's why I called him out.

[Pablo Torre]

I knew that.

[Stugotz]

Ouch.

[Dan LeBatard]

I do think though, the conflict of interest is unprecedented in terms of just like, what are the things that you think as a sports fan people care about and what's the thing they really care about? Money has always been the story. I just think sports right now is more naked Dan in terms of just saying, yeah, look, Lane Kiven had to go, even though he's about to compete in the postseason, which is the entire point. Or in this case, yeah, of course, we got to keep our executives because they're good for what we want as a team, even though they are losing on the floor. It connects to the fact that we were just talking yesterday about private equity coming in. I believe it's Utah. The University of Utah just had this giant deal they just announced. I believe. Fact check that for me, Jeremy. If it's Utah, where it's private equity coming in. And the thing I want to warn people about is that you think that the promise is these private equity investors will put their money in because they think that you get more money when you win. And my point here is that money and winning are actually disconnected in ways that are more obvious than ever. And that point is why there's a conflict of interest with the big business that is more nakedly running sports in a completely unregulated way.

[Pablo Torre]

You know what's funny, Pablo? People always think about Donald Sterling. Obviously he was an awful person, but like, oh, he ran the Clippers into the ground. They always made money. He ran it super cheap. And it's, it proved that like, if you want to make money, there's a way to do this. It has nothing to do with winning or success.

[Dan LeBatard]

Hey guys, Tony here. The NBA on Prime is back with an exciting week of Emirates NBA cup action. The knockout rounds start with a quarterfinal double headers on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Then the quest for the cup heads to Vegas for a semi final doubleheader on Saturday. It all culminates with the championship game next Tuesday night. If you're not a Prime member, that's not a problem. Sign up for a 30 day free trial to get started today. Emirates NBA cup coverage continues this week only on prime. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com amazonprime for details.

When I think about the holidays I think about the little moments with my dog Roma, the ones that make the season feel special. Put a little elf ears on her. You know the deal. Take some selfies. Post it for people that probably seen it too much. I love my dog. That's what I'm trying to get at. That's why I'm joining Chewy Claws, who's out here making pet's wishes come true. From November 4th through December 24th, you can share your pet's wish at chewy.com chewyclaws it might come true, and it helps others, too. Every wish triggers a donation of five meals to shelters and rescues across the country. And if you share your pet's wish through the Chewy app, they'll double that donation. That's 10 meals for pets in need just for participating. I've been using Chewy for years. Legitimately. They've made my life easier for me and my dog, Roma. Food, toys, medicine, all of it. Shows up fast. No stress. And being part of something like Chewy Claws, where a small thing like a wish can make a real impact. That's the kind of stuff I care about. Every pet deserves a wish come true. Send your pet's wish to chewy.com chewyclaws it might become a reality. Plus, your wish means Chewy will donate five meals to pets in need.

You ever find yourself late night scrolling, adding stuff to your cart you absolutely don't need? And then you see it. The beautiful glowing purple shop pay button. Boom.

[Pablo Torre]

Checkout.

[Dan LeBatard]

Done. You didn't even have to get up and find your wallet. That, my friends, is Shopify magic. That little purple button means that store is powered by Shopify, which doesn't just make it easy to buy, but ridiculously easy to start and run your own business, too. Whether you're a giant like Mattel or Gymshark or just launching something weird from your garage like Greg Cody's garage, Shopify has your back. Let's be real. If we can run a show with this much chaos, you can run a business with Shopify. With hundreds of beautiful templates. Tools for payments, inventory analytics, marketing. It's all in one place. And yes, that purple button. It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Shopify. It's how real businesses get built. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to shop Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com, go to shopify.com shopify.com LeBatard there's sunglasses in boxes today. Putting my bed in the hospital.

[Stugotz]

Ending our lives. All the same stugats.

It's the final night gown.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the Dan Lebatar show with the st.

[Stugotz]

I would like to segue from what it is that we're talking about here to yet more useless sound. We have not gotten to this. It takes a long time. Right. It's been hard to replace Billy. Even Billy struggled with getting and gathering all of the useless press conference sound from all of the useless football played on Sunday. But we finally got curated the best two and a half minutes that we've got from this week's useless sound. Hit it, Roy.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is a tight backdrop. All right, first of all, glory to God. What a great afternoon in western New York. One of those deals that, you know, it hit me Friday night.

[Stugotz]

It was kind of going around.

[Dan LeBatard]

I think our little boy gave it to, gave it to my wife first and then, and then got me pretty good.

[Stugotz]

Just gives us, you know, the let's.

[Pablo Torre]

Go ko, you know, kind of feel to it.

[Dan LeBatard]

Classic Steelers, Ravens try to go one and O every time we play a team. Yeah, I'm not going to get into.

[Stugotz]

What I said to him. He knows what I said to him.

[Dan LeBatard]

Really hard to try to put this in words. The guys don't ever get frazzled. They don't get panicked. They just go to work.

[Stugotz]

Caleb was doing everything he could. He put his hoop man cape on a few times.

[Dan LeBatard]

Let's not take these east coast trips for granted. We know that we're not just going.

[Stugotz]

To continue to win games because we've won them in the past.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, they're fast. We got guys that can run too. I just think we were in an aggressive posture all day. I just think that's how we got out of bed this morning. Nobody's bigger than me. For Coach o' Connell to say, you.

[Pablo Torre]

Know, the offense is going to start.

[Dan LeBatard]

It off for us, you know, it was tremendous honor. The only thing that I can't say I didn't have these guys ready to play. When you can attack every blade of grass is something that ultimately we want, want to be able to do.

[Pablo Torre]

That game.

[Stugotz]

There is one of the few we've.

[Dan LeBatard]

Had where we really played complimentary football. I guess I don't know what holding is anymore. Stack plays played complimentary football, played the situations really well. Guys doing their job and when you do your job, good things happen.

[Stugotz]

It's a one game season every time, man.

[Dan LeBatard]

I thought as the game got Fake.

[Stugotz]

You really felt his presence.

[Dan LeBatard]

Passing out game balls, trying to do the fist pump as much as you can. You realize how out of norm it is for me. I'm a big hugger and hopefully I feel better in and you know, can get back to being normal with these guys because, you know, I, I don't like this. We don't control who wins and loses.

[Stugotz]

We just control what we can do. That's something, you know, that's going to win you a lot of football games. And we just got to continue to strive to do that every single weekend.

[Dan LeBatard]

Make sure you called the Shaheen touchdown at halftime.

[Pablo Torre]

Maybe.

[Dan LeBatard]

It was a hard fought game. We had our moments.

[Stugotz]

They had a couple more.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's why you go do business with a guy like Aaron. For thick days like today.

[Stugotz]

I'm proud of the guys.

[Pablo Torre]

Tyler Baron has a knee.

[Stugotz]

Rome is such a vital part of what we do. And you know, in a lot of.

[Dan LeBatard]

Ways for Caleb, it's his, his blanket. I'm gonna get a fine for that. For, for bragging. I know we're up against the wall here. That's a formula to win games in December. I just feel like we were able.

[Stugotz]

To stack positive plays and execute in all three phases.

[Dan LeBatard]

Just wanted to be able to be smart, not give, give ourselves a chance of giving it to anybody else because of how contagious this can be. And hopefully I didn't. It's football. Whether it's hot, whether it's cold.

[Pablo Torre]

Got to go out there and you got to play.

[Dan LeBatard]

They smashed us today. Everything was big. Nobody's bigger than me.

[Stugotz]

So I mean, was it the coach of the Rams that was talking or were your ears being electrocuted? I couldn't, I couldn't tell what was happening while Sean McVeigh was talking.

[Pablo Torre]

There I was in the middle of an Arnold Schwarzenegger 1990s action movie and he's being tortured apparently.

So you're not going to talk, huh? Play it again.

[Stugotz]

Because it did look like the running man outside when he fell. He wasn't getting any oxygen and his eyeballs were, were exploding. It did feel like Total Recall.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's Total Recall.

[Pablo Torre]

That's a fight.

[Stugotz]

Well, it was partial recall because I couldn't remember the planet he was on.

[Dan LeBatard]

Also it was partial recall when you said it was Sean Connery before it was Roger Moore.

[Stugotz]

Oh, no, I got it wrong.

Octopusy. I also enjoyed from that batch of crap the cliche that has now become. I've heard it so much in football. He, he said, attack every blade of grass Defend every blade of grass. How useless is your coach telling you to do that? To defend every blade of grass on a football.

[Dan LeBatard]

What's the Jack schedule though, Dano?

[Stugotz]

Their record.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, what's the record?

[Stugotz]

Because they're sk. I don't know what their schedule.

[Dan LeBatard]

Damn it.

[Stugotz]

Can you tell me what's their schedule? I don't have. I don't have anyone in the other room to give you a penalty. So you. You. You'll skate on.

[Dan LeBatard]

I ran in there earlier to hit. Stop talking for Jeremy. But he stopped before I got in there.

[Stugotz]

Yo, what the. Go in. Go. Go in there and kick. Go. Go into the other studio and plus press the delayed penalty that kicks Tony out for not speaking for 27 minutes and then saying what's the Jag schedule to make? Okay, go ahead and figure out whatever it is.

Well, I'm just saying it's crowd. It's crowded.

[Dan LeBatard]

Private equity only two minutes. Peste tremendous that. You know what? I'll accept that one because of the penalty. I'll take it. Just private equity then trailing off.

[Stugotz]

Zaslo. I have been happy to see that. Oh, no.

[Dan LeBatard]

The Nationals and Orioles have had steady communication about Mackenzie Gore. Sources said tonight to. To John Morrissey. There's no indication yet that a deal is close.

[Pablo Torre]

You know, oftentimes I say we should try bits. We should let it try to breathe. There's nothing wrong with it. This is quite possibly the worst bit we've ever done.

[Dan LeBatard]

No.

[Stugotz]

I didn't think that we could find something anywhere in our library of sounds more annoying than just Jeremy's actual voice.

[Dan LeBatard]

Multiple second basement are being discussed in trades across the industry.

[Stugotz]

No, I'd be okay with that. I think. I think I'd like that. Okay. If you want to give baseball updates the rest of the show in that voice, I'll allow it.

[Dan LeBatard]

I miss. I miss Brown Jeremy.

[Stugotz]

The Brown man group. That joke didn't get enough credit. That joke deserved more credit than it got. But I've been happy here to see Max Kellerman's return to media. The media has been a lesser place because the sports media because it has not had Max Kellerman's intellect around it. But I was surprised by the choice he made. Two years of silence being paid for by espn running the risk of disappearing and then coming back, not surprisingly with a splash boxing Netflix. But teaming up with Rich Paul as his next media endeavor. Zaslow, what is the. What is the substance of what Rich Paul said the first. Was this the first podcast that he did with Max Kellerman. They're now going to be doing this.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't, I don't know first, but this is, this is the first clips that I've seen, and I don't know, it caught my attention. So Rich Paul is with Max Kellerman and you know the Lakers. I don't know if you're aware, Dan. Lakers have a really good season. All right, The Lakers are second in the Western Conference right now. They actually, they play the spurs night. You know about that NBA Cup, Dan?

[Stugotz]

Don't care.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay, well, they've been in the NBA cup tonight. They're 17 and 6 on the season. They're second in the Western Conference. By all accounts, they're one of the great surprises of the league so far this year. So listen to what Rich Paul had to say here, and he just flat out telling Max Kelman, lakers, not contenders. Like, I personally don't think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders right now. Not right now. When you say contenders, what do you mean? I don't think they have enough to get to the Western Conference. I don't think they have enough to get to really. So that's. That's game over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul. It's their podcast. They're called. It's called Game over. And I don't know, Dan, I just think it's weird, the timing of it. Like, I'm wondering. Okay, so rich Paul and LeBron, they're calculated in the things they say. You know, they're. They're not just. They're not just shooting off the cuff, you know, and they're not saying things, you know, off a whim. And I just, I wonder why Rich Paul right now is deciding to say that a team that is second place in the Western Conference is not a.

[Stugotz]

Contender because Oklahoma City is a lot better than everybody. And he's only saying the most obvious thing.

[Pablo Torre]

But you're.

[Stugotz]

You're right when you say he shouldn't say the most obvious thing when he's always speaking on behalf of LeBron. What do you have here, Jeremy?

[Dan LeBatard]

You know what else.

Podcast? LeBron was always a pro, regardless of what Miami was. Sometimes that gets a missing street. But Pat Riley had a championship mindset. The foundation was, no matter if you're.

[Stugotz]

Upset, we're doing things this way.

[Dan LeBatard]

If there was room to grow for the Lakers, it would be a that department. Now, why do you think they're talking.

[Stugotz]

About Miami as much now?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, Jeremy's on this kick, dan, that, like LeBron can't stop talking and praising Miami. Can't stop talking about Eric.

[Stugotz]

Go ahead and argue with him.

[Dan LeBatard]

Sorry. I'm not going to win an argument with someone who sounds like that. You think I'm going to win that I've lost already?