Tony Says In Five Years From Now There Will Be No Humans Driving | Hour 3

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Episode: Tony Says In Five Years From Now There Will Be No Humans Driving | Hour 3
Date: May 11, 2026
Main Theme:
This episode, recorded at the Elser Hotel in Miami, combines the show’s signature blend of sports talk, humorous banter, and cultural commentary. The headline discussion centers on the rapid adoption of driverless cars, forecasting a future with dramatically fewer human drivers. The crew also explores adjacent topics, from AI's labor-force impact to American driving culture, as well as segments on sports, media personalities, and basketball playoff analysis.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Rise of Driverless Cars & The Future of Driving

(00:37–11:13)

• Driverless Car Ubiquity:

  • Chris Cote marvels at the proliferation of Waymo vehicles in places like Phoenix, likening them to a real-life, dystopian Jetsons scenario (01:56–03:46).

  • Tony claims: "In five to 10 years...there will be less humans on the road than ever," ultimately doubling down: "I don't think there's going to be humans driving in the next five to 10 years" (01:56–04:09).

  • Dan Le Batard challenges Tony:
    “You just said, in five years from now to ten...there’s going to be no humans driving? That’s a real thought that came in your brain and you let come out for everyone else to know you were thinking it?” (04:24)

  • Stugotz and Chris Cote push back, questioning the practicality, the American love for driving, and cultural inertia.

• Regulatory & Surveillance Concerns:

  • Tony brings up government tracking, kill switches, and loss of privacy. “From 2027 forward, you’re going to be watched and listened to in your car 24/7 while you’re there" (05:27).

• Class Implications:

  • Tony: “So rich people are only going to be the ones that drive. Is that where we’re going?” (08:08)
  • Stugotz predicts: “It’ll be looked at like a luxury… that lane will always be around” (06:42).

• Safety/Psychology:

  • Distracted driving is discussed as a massive health problem (phone addiction, accidents, insurance rates) (06:42–09:20).

  • Chris Cote: “It is legitimately maddening to me, the number of times that I see it, because of the level of irresponsible that it is” (08:19).

• Phone Addiction:

  • The hosts joke about going back to flip phones and their inability to resist phone temptation, even while driving.
  • Chris Cote: "I legitimately do not know a human being who is disciplined about their phone and electronics use" (10:27).

Memorable Quote:
Dan Le Batard to Tony:
“You just said in five years from now, there could be no humans driving anymore?... That’s a real thought that came in your brain and you let come out for everyone?” (04:30)

---

Labor, Society, and AI

(19:56–21:42)

• Amin Elhassen contextualizes the driverless car future as both a safety advancement and a labor crisis:
  • “If we reach a point where the majority of the cars on the road are automated, we will eliminate a lot of accidents... The flip side is you are eliminating a massive, massive population of people who work as drivers—Uber, Doordash, delivery trucks, all that stuff.… Think about what those people are going to have to end up doing to make a living.” (19:56–21:05)
• Chris Cote adds: America’s not ready for the labor impact of AI and automation.

---

Dana White on Masculinity and Politics

(11:13–14:08)

• On Men's Mental Health:
  • Dana White (clip):
    “Unfortunately, when you’re a man, you are the provider... and unfortunately, you can’t be that guy [who talks about being sad].” (11:13)
  • Laughter/critique from hosts about Dana’s old-school, stoic stance.
• On Presidential Politics & Being a 'Yes Man':
  • Dana skirts around critiquing the President, claiming neutrality but being called out for lack of self-awareness.
  • Chris Cote: “You don’t consider yourself a yes man. When it comes to this presidency, you absolutely are.” (13:51)
  • Amin Elhassen: “We know there are other issues that he has been not afraid to voice his opinion about. Those opinions happen to be the ones that he agrees with the President on. …That’s exactly what you are, Dana White. You are a yes man.” (17:54)

---

Amin's Weekend Observations

(22:09–31:37)

Amin’s freeform, rapid-fire sports takes include:

• NBA draft lottery, conspiracy theories, and the logic (or lack thereof) behind how picks fall (24:37).
• Knicks/Sixers fan dynamic and playoff atmosphere.
• Wembanyama (Wemby) learning NBA technicalities and opponent interactions (24:59).
• Critique of media narratives—e.g., Skip Bayless, sports TV culture.
• Inside jokes: “Send in the SALs,” riffing on military acronyms (27:02).

Notable Moment:
The weekend observations provide back-to-back rapid jokes, inside references, and a blend of both expert sports commentary and silly tangents (22:22–31:37).

---

Basketball Deep Dive: Playoffs, Coaching, and Player Evolution

(34:31–42:55)

• Knicks Offense and Karl-Anthony Towns’ Development:
  Amin: “They're running warrior sets where Towns is in the high post, right, like Draymond Green…The offense has opened up and we're seeing a Knicks offense that…has a much higher ceiling. That is directly attributed to Mike Brown and his adjustment and his playbook, but also Karl Anthony Towns accepting that, hey, I can take 12 shots in a game and be…one of the most important reasons why we won.” (34:56–36:40)

• Adam Silver and NBA Leadership:

  • On latest Atlantic piece, Amin reflects it’s “trodden ground”—Silver, like other commissioners, is profit-minded above all (37:02–37:58).

• Wemby’s Playoff Suspension and Building NBA Rivalries:

  • Amin expects Wembanyama to be suspended (38:05). He supports this as a key building block for real NBA rivalries and character arcs:
  • “In a weird way, I think this is an awesome development for his career because you can’t be the boy scout. Sometimes you gotta be the bad guy…It’s great that we’re going to have this rivalry…The next Magic and Bird.” (38:28–40:49)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tony: “No humans. In the next five to 10 years, no humans driving. That's what they want.” (04:09, 05:10)
• Chris Cote: “It is legitimately maddening… the number of people willing to drive a vehicle that can kill people while being distracted in their phones." (08:19)
• Amin Elhassen: “If we reach a point where the majority of the cars on the road are automated, we will eliminate a lot of accidents, a lot of needless deaths…The flip side is you are eliminating a massive, massive population of people who work as drivers.” (19:56)
• Dana White (on masculinity): “Unfortunately, when you’re a man…you can’t be that guy…that’s so sad.” (11:13)
• Chris Cote (on phone addiction): “I don't know anybody who's disciplined about it…because of how pervasive the addiction is.” (10:27)
• Amin (on Wemby’s rivalry): “You can’t be the boy scout. Sometimes you gotta be the bad guy…” (38:28)
• Stugotz: “Having people. People like to drive, especially in America. It is such a part of the culture…It’ll be looked at like a luxury.” (06:42)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 0:37–11:13: Driverless cars, AI future, phone addiction, societal implications.
• 11:13–14:08: Dana White on men's mental health & politics.
• 19:56–21:42: Amin on labor force impact of automation.
• 22:09–31:37: Amin’s Weekend Observations—NBA playoff analysis, rapid takes.
• 34:31–42:55: Deep-dive basketball—Towns’ evolution, Adam Silver, Wemby, NBA rivalries.

---

Tone and Style

The episode is energetic, occasionally irreverent, and full of both predictable tangents and sharp debate. Stugotz’s hyperbole, Tony’s conspiratorial tone, and Dan’s incredulous incredulity balance each other. Amin Elhassen grounds conversations with insider sports knowledge and dry wit. As ever, the shipping container gang blends comedy and sports deep-dives in their unique, Miami-centric vernacular.

---

Summary

This episode is quintessential Le Batard—sports analysis interlaced with wild predictions, generational culture clashes (over driving, phone addiction, masculinity), and a rolling critique of both industry orthodoxy and media self-delusion. While the driverless car debate anchors the hour, the show’s true engine remains the crew’s ability to navigate between real societal anxieties and pure on-air absurdity.

Transcript

[Don LeBatard]

Study and play come together on a Windows 11 PC. And for a limited time, college students

[Dan LeBatard]

get the best of both worlds.

[Don LeBatard]

Get the unreal college deal Everything you need to study and play with select Windows 11 PCs. Eligible students get a year of Microsoft 365 Premium and a year of Xbox Game Pass ultimate with a custom color Xbox wireless controller. Learn [e-mail] studentoffer while supplies last ends June 30 terms@ aka mscollegepc this is

[Dan LeBatard]

the Dan Levator show with the Stugats podcast.

[Chris Cote]

Amin Elhassen will be here shortly. I want to ask him if there are more Waymos in Phoenix and in Arizona than there are anywhere else. Because I've been told that it's a little jarring when you go to Phoenix and see the number of driverless cars. And it made me wonder if Waymo is indeed trying to compete with Uber or be the future. How long do you guys think it's going to be before this is so normal, if Waymo is indeed successful, that the future will arrive with just driverless cars, where there's so much being spent here with Jaguars and these expensive cars that I can't even imagine the amount of investment that goes into just getting these things licensed. Now that they're allowed on the highways of Miami and elsewhere, getting insurance and licensing for driverless cars seems to me such a big task that I would assume Waymo is trying to take over cars the way Netflix is trying to take over television. How soon do you guys think it's going to be before the future arrives in the form of all the cars are gonna be cars that are essentially fancy taxis that don't have drivers?

[Tony]

Five to 10 years. I think that there will be less humans on the road than ever.

[Jeremy]

No.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, okay. That's a completely different human.

[Tony]

Human. Less humans than. Than.

[Dan LeBatard]

Than the robot car.

[Stugats]

No, no, no.

[Don LeBatard]

That ever.

[Tony]

I think that we're heading. We're heading into a situation now, especially. You were ready to pounce on him now.

[Amin Elhassen]

I saw.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, you heard the way that he saw.

[Chris Cote]

Zaz was ready to pounce and he softened it before he got to the dismount.

[Amin Elhassen]

He.

[Chris Cote]

He was going to come with a stronger take, and then he got scared.

[Tony]

Stronger take is coming. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not even done.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, he said, In five to 10 years, I do think they're going to be less humans than ever.

[Tony]

Yeah, well, that's driving than ever.

[Chris Cote]

Well, it won't be then, ever, because there was a time before cars when nobody was driving, so it won't be then, ever. But I am genuinely curious at how fast you guys think this is coming, because it's. Look, two or three trips to Los Angeles ago, I saw for the first time in my life one of those to go cart robots that wanders around. I saw them on the side of the street. When you see one for the first time, it stays with you. And I came back and I told you guys, have you seen this? And you're like, yeah, they're over there in Miami now as well. But now they're everywhere. And I, I just.

[Amin Elhassen]

At one point on last Friday, I saw like 10 of them in one eyeshot.

[Dan LeBatard]

It was insane.

[Chris Cote]

Yeah, they're. They run into each other. There are some stalled out on the side of the road. But there's something dystopian about this, right? Like whatever it is that you guys. I don't even know what was the futuristic show of your childhood and Jetsons. In mine it was the Jetsons, but I don't know for. For the generation since that don't even know what the Jetsons are. If I were to have imagined a scenario of driverless cars, I guess Bruce Willis in the Fifth Element, there was some of that flying driverless cars, which I assume is next. No. Cars that aren't even on Sky Robot.

[Stugats]

No, it had a driver. He was famously a taxi driver. No, they were flying cars, but he was a taxi driver. That was his occupation.

[Chris Cote]

But I did think that there were some that were driverless.

[Stugats]

Regardless, I have less interest in fighting than who had the wizard's stake.

[Chris Cote]

I still want to ask you guys, what does the future of this look like? How many of these are going to be out there if Waymo has the success it's craving?

[Tony]

All of them, Dan. Like, I don't think there's going to be humans driving in the next five to 10 years. I think that's what we're looking at, especially with. I don't know if you guys have

[Chris Cote]

been watching what Congress, what Congress is

[Tony]

doing where they're passing bills that are going to be monitoring every driver in every single car to see if you

[Dan LeBatard]

just said, Tony, let's recap.

[Tony]

You're not listening to what I'm saying.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, I'm listening. That's the problem.

[Stugats]

He's going to recap.

[Dan LeBatard]

You just said in five years from now to 10. OK, in five years from now, there's going to be no humans driving those. That's a real thought that came in your brain and you let come out for everyone. Else to know you were thinking it in five years from now and to

[Stugats]

know humans driving and to support your theory, you invoked what the government is doing to be able to track all of these autonomous vehicles and include kill switches. And I'm sure the American people are definitely not going to hold on to their gas powered cars that don't have those things whatsoever.

[Dan LeBatard]

Is there any part of you, Tony, that wants to take back.

[Tony]

No.

[Dan LeBatard]

That you believe in five years I'd

[Tony]

like to take back our fourth Amendment right. If that's humans driving, I completely understand where you're going and what you're saying. But yes, I stand that. Take five to 10 years. They want us to be all driverless. They want it to all be. No humans in the cars. That's what they want.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay.

[Tony]

That's why they're adding the kill switches in the cars. That's why they're at 20. From 2027 forward, you're going to be watched and listened to in your car 247 while you're there.

[Dan LeBatard]

You're okay with that?

[Tony]

Because I'm not. Are you?

[Dan LeBatard]

I stopped listening after you said okay.

[Stugats]

So you're okay supporting the other side of the argument? I'm not trying to make.

[Tony]

I'm not. I'm not supporting it. That's what's going to happen. You think, you think we have the power.

[Stugats]

So Tony basically thinks it's going to look like Minority Report.

[Chris Cote]

It sounds like Tony is making this more aggressive than I would make it. But I am still surprised at how quickly they've already proliferated and the amount of expense involved with this kind of investment. If what you're trying to do is either take out cars, take out Uber. I did not know that there would be a moneyed evolution of this that would extend beyond the Uber and involve no drivers at all. So you don't have to have any employees there, although I assume you have to have employees to basically help you with whatever bugs there are in the initial parts of the system. I just don't think that this portion of the experiment is as obviously safe as it's going to be a few years from now when we perfect some of the technology.

[Stugats]

Look, you're letting in a bit of a devil here with autonomous vehicles, but you can make a strong argument that autonomous self driving cars are a health issue in this country and worldwide. Considering how many people text on their phone while driving. Distracted driving is a real thing. We don't even know how many people it kills annually. We only have rough estimates, but it is A really bad problem. And you can make a strong argument for that being the new norm. Autonomous vehicles. I think it will get to eventually. I don't know the timeline, but having people. People like to drive, especially in America. It is such a part of the culture. Horsepower and gas powered vehicles and just going out on the road and driving. I think it'll be looked at like a luxury. A lot of the older vehicles that you see on the car on the road right now, these older luxury vehicles, I think that lane will always be around.

[Dan LeBatard]

Dan, did you hear the part today where Tony said in five years from now, there could be no humans driving anymore?

[Tony]

That's what they would want. Zaz. That's my whole point. They're going to be able to tax us more with insurance, and gas is going to be.

[Dan LeBatard]

Did you hear when he said that?

[Stugats]

Why should they be able to tax us more with insurance if I'm not doing the driving?

[Tony]

Because you're more of a liability because you're a human driver.

[Stugats]

No, I'm not the liability.

[Tony]

Yes, you are.

[Stugats]

No, I'm not the liability. If I'm driving. If I'm not driving.

[Tony]

No, if you are driving. That's my point. If you're driving your car.

[Stugats]

So to be able to.

[Dan LeBatard]

Exactly.

[Roy]

Yeah.

[Stugats]

Again, it's going to be a luxury item.

[Tony]

So rich people are only going to be the ones that drive. Is that. Is that where we're going?

[Stugats]

I also think that you're going to have, well, down here, insurance not so much of a biggie for a lot of the people on the road. I think there are ways to skirt it.

[Chris Cote]

The point that you're bringing up about people texting and driving, it is a problem. Insurance companies will tell you it's an enormous problem. Obviously, more accidents than ever because of the number of people willing to drive a vehicle that can kill people while being distracted in their phones. Because of what our phone addiction is. The number of times I'm driving on the highway and I will look at the car next to me or see someone weaving because they're texting while driving at 70 miles an hour. It's. It's legitimately maddening to me. The number of times that I see it because of the level of irresponsible that it is.

[Dan LeBatard]

I was driving home on the highway yesterday from Orlando and a car that I was coming, coming, you know, to pass on the right of me, their entire bumper was held together by. By duct tape and like, the whole thing. And when I pulled up to the side as I was passing by Buddy's just got his phone, his face like this. Just right in front of his face.

[Chris Cote]

Put it on the Polette Lebatard show. Are you bothered that the person driving 70 miles an hour is texting?

[Tony]

Soon the camera that's watching you with whatever person's watching that camera will shut off your car and you won't be able to drive. So it doesn't matter.

[Stugats]

I take public transportation to save me from myself and traffic's bad. It's really hard to not pick up the phone while driving the entire time. Like message, music, app, gps. Like it's going to happen and then who knows what wormhole I'll get stuck in there. I don't trust myself and I feel way better about it. I'm productive. I can be on my phone guilt free, taking public transportation.

[Tony]

I've had the thought of going back to a flip phone where I'm like, you know what? To stop me from driving and from looking at Instagram and whatever.

[Dan LeBatard]

Get the razor.

[Tony]

I'm going to get a flip phone and then you can only call me. Then I can hang up.

[Jeremy (ad reads)]

Now I would just be playing Snake the whole time.

[Tony]

Are you that mentally subservient to your phone, Chris? You have to be playing Snake.

[Chris Cote]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Are you mentally subservient to your phone? I will throw mine in the trunk of the car in order to just not be tempted.

[Tony]

You're an XM guy too, so you got to write on the buy it,

[Chris Cote]

but I have to put it someplace. You can't help but marvel at how normalized the addiction is that we all have a little bit of. In fact, I don't know anybody who's disciplined about it. I legitimately do not know a human being who is disciplined about their phone and electronics use because of how pervasive the addiction is. We're gonna go to Amin in a second to get his weekend observations. But I wanna play for you a couple of Dana White sounds one of them off of our Victor Headman conversation and how it is that some people have evolved as it mental health and some people haven't.

[Dana White]

I hate this whole men's mental health that they talk about. Unfortunately, when you're a man, you are the provider. You are the one that takes care of your family. You are the example for your kids when they grow up, and your sons and your daughters. And unfortunately, you can't be that guy. That's. I see these guys posting on social media, oh, I had a bad day and I'm so Sad. And all this other crazy.

[Jeremy (ad reads)]

So unattractive.

[Dana White]

Oh, it's just. It's unattractive to other males, let alone women. I can't even imagine. Yeah, I'm really against all that.

[Chris Cote]

Happy Mental Health Awareness Month. Here's Dana White not knowing how to answer a question on the Breakfast Club.

[Roy]

But when your friend has a disapproval rating of 62%. Right. Record high. People say they don't like his handling of the Iran war. The economy. Cost of living for people is up. Why can't you tell your friend he's failing the people as a friend?

[Dana White]

Well, he's the President of the United States.

[Roy]

Still your friend, though, and.

[Dana White]

Yeah, I know, but, you know, for me to get involved in, it's like if your friend had a. I'm sure people disagree with you that are friends with you, and everybody has friends that you. Just doesn't mean you're not friends with them anymore. It doesn't mean that you.

[Roy]

Oh, now, I didn't say you shouldn't be friends with him. I just said, why can't you tell your friend he's failing the people? Because these are the same people who make UFC a success.

[Dana White]

Yeah, I don't know if I agree that he's failing the people. I think that when the President is done in three years, people will look back on and realize a lot of the good things. See, I'm closer to him, too, and I see all the good things that he does.

[Roy]

Can you tell your friend when he's.

[Dana White]

Yeah, we talk about a lot of things, but I don't try to get

[Roy]

into you, like, everything he's doing.

[Dana White]

Like I just said, you're never going to agree with everything. But, you know, as a friend, I'm not going out there and.

[Roy]

And don't be a Glazer, though, Dana.

[Dana White]

Don't be what?

[Roy]

A Glazer. Like just somebody that just tells him he's great. A yes man, basically.

[Dana White]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassen]

You got to tell him what he's.

[Dana White]

I don't think anybody's ever accused me of being a yes man. And. And I think that's.

[Roy]

Are you part of the MAGA movement? Culturally? Do you align with their ideologies and their values?

[Dana White]

You know, I. I consider myself right down the middle or leaning a little liberal, to be honest with you. Everybody thinks I'm some far right guy because of our relationship.

[Chris Cote]

I mean, you have to be.

[Jeremy (ad reads)]

Some of us are down the middle.

[Tony]

Am I right, Roy?

[Chris Cote]

That is what, a flabbergasting lack of self awareness. You don't consider yourself a yes, man. When it comes to this presidency, you absolutely are. You're sitting here considering yourself in the middle.

[Dan LeBatard]

Left leaning, leans left.

[Amin Elhassen]

He's leaning one way.

[Roy]

Dan.

[Stugats]

Hey, Roy, buddy.

[Roy]

Yo.

[Stugats]

You know that energy shift when the game gets good and everybody all together in unison knows to stand up on their feet? Oh, absolutely, Mike.

[Amin Elhassen]

Yeah.

[Stugats]

You've been at many big time sporting events. You know that moment quite well. That's what it's like when you take your first sip of Cuervo.

[Amin Elhassen]

Oh, delicious.

[Stugats]

It's the signal that says, we're not checking the time anymore, pal. It's when small talk turns into stories. Cuervo, man. It's that high five. A random stranger effect. That's right. The game is popping. You're hugging people you never met before. That's the kind of energy that Cuervo brings. It's so smooth, so delicious. That's the Cuervo effect. Keep it Cuervo. Chris, Cody, when you come over to my house and we put on the games, I got basketball, I got baseball going on, but what do I lay out for you and the boys for entertainment and drinking Miller Line.

[Chris Cote]

Uh huh.

[Stugats]

Those beautiful white cans or on draft or the bottle if you prefer.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh.

[Jeremy (ad reads)]

When you open that with the can though, and you one of the best

[Stugats]

sounds on the planet. You pair that with the right game. You take that first sip, we both look around. It's not a bit.

[Tony]

I have goosebumps thinking about the first sip.

[Stugats]

We take that first sip, we open it up and we're looking around. There's just that five seconds of almost eerie silence where you're just soaking it all in like, man, did we make the right call or what? That's why we reach for Miller Lite. It's clean, refreshing, easy to drink, brewed for taste, with simple ingredients that golden color. Just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer since 1975. And it still hits different.

[Amin Elhassen]

I love you, Miller Lite.

[Stugats]

Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Jeremy (ad reads)]

Hey listeners, as I have mentioned over and over on this show, I have a cat, which means I don't really make decisions in my home. I suggest things and hope that my little guy Mac approves them. And if You're a pet parent like me. You know about Chewy. I've talked about them before. You know how much I love them as a company and appreciate the way that they handle their customers, fellow pet owners like you and I. And when they say they've got everything you need to keep your pet happy and healthy, they actually do. Chewy has over a hundred thousand products. There's food, there's treats, there's toys, all the things that my cat Mac loves. And it shows up in one or two days, which is super helpful when you realize that you're out of food at the worst possible time. I use Chewy, and you should do. Chewy has everything you need to keep your pet happy and healthy. And right now, you could save $20 on your first order and get free shipping by going to Chupanions.chewy.com levitard show that is C-H-E-W-P-A N I O-N S.chewy.com levitardshow to save $20 off your first order with free shipping. Chupanions.chewy dot com levitardjo minimum purchase required. New customers only. Terms and conditions apply. See site for complete details.

[Dan LeBatard]

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

[Stugats]

stugats.

[Dan LeBatard]

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

[Chris Cote]

Amin, what are your thoughts here before we get to your weekend observation on both of the sounds from Dana White we just played?

[Amin Elhassen]

Yeah, I mean, the first sound is, I guess, just emblematic of the era or the generation he's from. There are a lot of people feel that way, right? Like, oh, you can't show weakness and your family's depending on you and all that. So I don't. I don't think anyone. Guys find it shocking. I wasn't shocked to hear that. I think, again, men of a certain age, that's the prevailing notion. The second sound is. Is funny because Charlemagne's asking him a pretty simple question. Have you ever told your friend, hey, man, you kind of messing up on this one? And Dana is trying to take every single exit ramp into it. I don't tell. I don't. He's trying to say I don't get involved. But we know he does get involved. We know there are other issues that he has been not afraid to voice his opinion about. Those opinions happen to be the ones that he agrees with the President on. So the reality is he's basically painted the picture where that's exactly what you are, Dana White. You are a yes man.

[Chris Cote]

We're gonna talk to Luke Thomas tomorrow because I want to get into how it is that Joe Rogan has specifically taken the access to power and swallowed some stuff because he too has become a yes man because he's so enamored. Dan Lebatardi is back, is so enamored with the access that they have to finally being popular and mainstream in UFC that they'll anything in order to get that power, including just some basic American core principles. We were talking before you came on here about the Phoenix area having more waymos, I think, than just about any area where I have been or I've known in the United States. What do you think the future of that looks like Amin? Like, do you believe that Waymo, if it's successful in achieving whatever it is that it's achieving, do you believe, like Tony, that in five or 10 years there will be no drivers?

[Amin Elhassen]

Well, I think there's a positive and a negative to all this stuff. The positive is, despite all the high profile Waymo messing up examples, we know that humans are awful drivers, right? And if we reach a point where the majority of the cars on the road are automated, we will eliminate a lot of accidents, a lot of needless deaths, drunk driving deaths, texting while driving, deaths of people just being people and being irresponsible. The flip side is you are eliminating a massive, massive population of people who work as drivers. Whether it's, you know, limousines, cab drivers, Uber drivers, doordash, like all of these jobs that especially in a time when the economy isn't doing great, people are finding ways to either supplement their income or wholly just survive on driving a car, driving their car, driving someone else's car. And if we get to a place where that entire industry is eliminated, think about all the different types of drivers are delivery trucks, all that stuff, we eliminate all of that, man, you got to tell me what those people are going to have to end up doing to make a living.

[Chris Cote]

Oh, but everything that I've read about AI and technological advancement says that America is in no way ready for what's going to happen to the labor force. The moment that this stuff ends up catching the way that it inevitably is going to catch. This is late here, Tony, but yo, chicken thigh.

[Stugats]

Dan wasn't here last week when. When Tony said we didn't lock down enough.

[Amin Elhassen]

Oh, yeah,

[Chris Cote]

Cause there's another virus. Hear about that?

[Stugats]

We should have taken Covid more seriously.

[Tony]

See, Dan, look at that.

[Chris Cote]

What else?

[Tony]

Trust the science, right?

[Chris Cote]

What else did I miss last week? What else?

[Tony]

Not much.

[Chris Cote]

What. What are the things that I heard you had. I heard you had an admission that goes for all time. I heard. We'll get back to what it is that I missed in the post game.

[Amin Elhassen]

Dazz's was good though.

[Stugats]

And Dave Damaschek's favorite letter. You can catch that on mystery crate though. Letter tears electric.

[Chris Cote]

Time now for Amin's Weekend Observations.

[Dan LeBatard]

It is time for. I mean to share his game notes. No one in the media will tell you what happened better than my boy.

[Roy]

I mean.

[Amin Elhassen]

Weekend Observations is brought to you by Miller Light Legendary moments start with a light. Weekend observations is also brought to you by my Pulitzer Prize. Suck it Dan. I've been working in this industry a long time, seen a lot of strange. I have never seen the team have four consecutive home games in the first four games of a series. Dave Damate still thinks the Knicks are in trouble by the way. NBA draft lottery. So much for that whole conspiracy about the league rewarding the non tankers. Nice job Zaslow. Dumb theory. Can't believe I co signed that. So what I get for yes ending? Wizards get the number one pick. Can't wait to see how they this one up. Clippers get the Pacers pick. The call came from inside the house. You guys connecting dots? Keeping your third eye open on that one. Guess what they can't do? They can't garnish a pick that you got from somewhere else. Nets and Kings win a combined 9 and 47 after the all Star break to end up with picks outside the top five. Maybe they were punishing the Tankers. Who knows? Sixers fans actually try to boo the Sixers, but there weren't enough of them to be heard over the overwhelming noise of the Knicks fans. It's the craziest thing. Like you know how the whole sometimes like oh there's the road crowd is too loud and so let's crowd. We'll get louder than them in this case. It was like the Sixers had just turned it over the hundredth time and the Sixers had started to boo and the Knicks were like no, no, you're not gonna ruin our day. They just started chanting and drowned out all the boos. Will history remember when James Harden saved the Cav season? Tune in at 11. Paul George, who the hell were you passing it to? I don't know how many of you guys were still tuned in in that blowout, but there was a play where he just.

[Dan LeBatard]

He had.

[Amin Elhassen]

It was an inbound pass. He just threw it to the Knicks. Yeah, he just threw it to, like, two Knicks. I'm like, what are you doing? There's something adorable about Wemby needing Harrison Barnes to explain what a flagrant foul 2 is. I like that. So what does this mean? So it is. I have to leave. Okay. Okay.

[Jeremy]

Let me say goodbye to all my friends. Okay. Goodbye, Dion. Goodbye, Jeremy. Goodbye, Vessel. Goodbye, Johnson. Goodbye, Harrison Barnes. Goodbye, Luke Cornett. Goodbye, Lindy Waters.

[Amin Elhassen]

I really like your name.

[Jeremy]

It is a very fun name. Goodbye, Kata Bryant. Don't mess up anymore. Goodbye.

[Amin Elhassen]

I'm like, God, get the court, man. We're trying to finish this game.

[Tony]

So performative.

[Amin Elhassen]

You might be on to something.

[Tony]

Thank you.

[Amin Elhassen]

Quinn Grimes and Taylor Fritz in a national ad for an energy drink. Anything is possible, I guess. Even me winning a Pulitzer Prize. Let's see what we got here. Sixers didn't show up in three out of four games. Somehow it's still James Harden's fault. Unbelievable. What's happening here? Why are my notes. Oh, there they are. Get Bayless. Like, he never left. Dan, did you watch Skip Bayless?

[Jeremy]

You see that?

[Chris Cote]

I did not.

[Amin Elhassen]

They talked about LeBron performance derailed our whole show. We were doing the show, and then me and Mike were just, like, marveling. It was like watching Michael Jordan score 63 on the Celtics at one point. It was incredible.

[Stugats]

At one point, I told people to leave our show and just watch that one. Because I did.

[Amin Elhassen]

Cinephone Episode 310 Navy Seals starring Charlie Sheen, Michael Biehn, Dennis Haysbert, Bill Paxton and S. Epatha Merkerson. Last week I told you guys that Michael Biehn is the worst actor in Cinephobe history. We named our worst actor award after him. Today I asked the question, why SEALs is an acronym for sea, air and land. Couldn't it be sals? What does the E stand for?

[Chris Cote]

Do we know anybody there? There must. The acronym must be. They're not Navy sals. They would be far left. Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Would they be far less admired if they were Navy sals?

[Dan LeBatard]

Send in the cells.

[Chris Cote]

It's just Valenton

[Amin Elhassen]

and Salvo.

[Tony]

Salvalcano.

[Amin Elhassen]

Sal Volcano. Yeah. From impractical jokers doing the the dance.

[Stugats]

Salvesano's got one last gig in him.

[Tony]

Antonio, out of nowhere from Eagles Camp.

[Amin Elhassen]

Still at Philly. Yeah, exactly. They send in the salsa. He's still in Philly. The only way to describe the Oklahoma City Thunder. You're at the beach. It's a gorgeous sunny day. The kids are building sandcastles. The water is warm and clear and crisp. And you got a delicious tropical cocktail that uses a pineapple as the vessel. Maybe a little paper umbrella in there, too. And then the third quarter happens. You look out of the horizon and you see something massive. And your kids say, daddy, what's that? And the last thing you think to yourself is, where'd all the seagulls go? And next thing you know, you're down 25.

[Chris Cote]

The Lakers have never lost three in a row by 15 plus in the playoffs. This is the first time they're about

[Amin Elhassen]

to lose four a row by 15 plus.

[Stugats]

They're better without.

[Amin Elhassen]

It's all going to happen in that. It's going to happen in that third quarter.

[Stugats]

They're better without Luca, according to Skip Bis.

[Amin Elhassen]

Oh, damn, dan.

[Stugats]

Excuses for LeBron.

[Amin Elhassen]

He said. He said they're better without Luca. In order to further magnify LeBron's failure when he inevitably loses to the best team in basketball. Virtuoso performance, matter of fact. Dan, get up, get out of here. Go to the penalty box. Go watch all the first take from last Friday. The entire thing. Come back when you're ready.

[Chris Cote]

For me.

[Amin Elhassen]

It's not a penalty.

[Chris Cote]

For me, it is.

[Amin Elhassen]

Hey, Zaz. What up? How was rolling? Loud.

[Dan LeBatard]

Pain in the ass.

[Stugats]

What?

[Dan LeBatard]

It was.

[Amin Elhassen]

Did you. Did your oldest stay in a hotel by himself with his. With his boys?

[Dan LeBatard]

No, no, we. We drove. My son, and I'm a younger one. We. We drove to Tampa one of the nights and then drove back and.

[Amin Elhassen]

You drove back.

[Roy]

Wow.

[Chris Cote]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassen]

Crazy.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassen]

All right.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm a good dad.

[Amin Elhassen]

New season of bar rescue, and we've got you covered at. Here's the Science of Bar rescue podcast, hosted by real life bar and restaurant consultant Chelsea Reynolds, commercial kitchen and food truck vet Colin Cassert, and Pulitzer prize winner Amino Hassan. Yeah, that's not a joke. That's real. Oh, Zach Harper, too, I guess. Subscribe rate review wherever you get Podcasts. Dan, did this happen to you? Because it happened to me a lot where I got a lot of people reaching out, asking, wait, are you serious?

[Chris Cote]

Well, I wasn't running around telling everybody that I was a Pulitzer winner the way that you were. So I. Well, they just weren't reacting that way because I wasn't doing what you were doing.

[Amin Elhassen]

You did L. A wrong. Because let me tell you something. I went to that Hassan Minaj Ronny Cheng show on Saturday night and, man, VIP treatment the whole way. I was like, wow, this is what it's like. Damn, I don't even have the ribbon yet. Imagine when I have one of those and I just walk into a restaurant. Craig's table for six. Got it. You guys hear that? Yeah. The Celtics just missed another three. The hell has Missoula skated on that? Speaking of hell, what the hell was Sedano doing here? I don't know if you missed this one, Dan. Roll the clip.

[Chris Cote]

I've already done the experience. And trust me when I tell you,

[Amin Elhassen]

you're gonna love it.

[Chris Cote]

He's gone. So la. It's staggering.

[Amin Elhassen]

I scared you. The hands full minute thing. Hands folded, wearing a bathrobe. Dan. I thought it was never letting this go. I'm never letting this go. Remember when we thought Sedano sold out because he was drinking green juice?

[Dan LeBatard]

Look at what he's got on that table.

[Amin Elhassen]

The table.

[Chris Cote]

I didn't even notice that there was a table.

[Amin Elhassen]

I didn't even see that he had a head. All I see there is the ridiculousness of that robe. Speaking of hell, art brials, those are the weekend observations.

[Tony]

Most valuable promotions and Netflix are bringing you a blockbuster MMA event with a triple header of fan favorite fighters on Saturday, May 16. This marks Netflix's first ever MMA fight, and it's going to be massive. In the main event, she returns to the Octagon. Ronda Rousey returns to shake up the world of combat sports, stepping back into the cage for the first time in nearly a decade to take on fellow women's MMA pioneer Gina Carano. Plus, combat sports icon Nate Diaz faces off against Platinum Mike Perry, two of the toughest, most relentless fighters going head to head. Plus, the big man is back. Francis Ngannou, widely regarded as the hardest puncher in MMA history, takes on Felipe Linz in a heavyweight showdown. You won't want to miss five rounds, five minutes each. One chance to leave it all in the cage. Don't miss it. Watch Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carrano, live only on Netflix. Saturday, May 16th at 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific.

[Jeremy (ad reads)]

Hey, listeners, it's Jeremy here. I am the member of the shipping container that cares about style. You already know this, and lately I've been trying to make getting dressed a little bit easier because I care a lot about the way I present myself, but I don't want to overthink it. I just want to be able to walk to my closet, have stuff that fits, feels good, works together, and thankfully for me, I have quints. They've taken over my closet. They've got all the spring staples, 100% European linen shorts and shirts that start just a tick over $30 very good deal. Lightweight, breathable, but they still look put together. And their Pima cotton tees are ridiculously soft. Their pants hit the same balance. They're comfortable, but clean enough to wear anywhere. And the reason it all works is that Quints cuts out the middlemen. They go straight to the source. You're getting premium materials, but you're not paying all the insane markups. Like, I'm talking 50 to 80% less than similar brands. You guys know I love a deal. And Quince provides it. I recently got one of their 100% linen shirts in a sky blue color. It's been in a constant rotation. I literally wore it out to dinner the other night with my wife. It's light, it breathes, it works with pretty much everything I have. You'll see it on the show soon. I can promise you that. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quints.com dan for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N c e.com dan for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com/dan.

[Dan LeBatard]

Don LeBatard.

[Amin Elhassen]

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

[Chris Cote]

Oh, come on.

[Stugats]

Yeah, I would be.

[Jeremy (ad reads)]

Aggressive description.

[Chris Cote]

I mean, what is it? What is that?

[Amin Elhassen]

I'm just saying. You know what?

[Chris Cote]

That's just saying what?

[Stugats]

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

[Chris Cote]

Lincoln, who you outed the other day,

[Stugats]

don't make this a rejoin.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the Dan lebatar show with the Stugats.

[Chris Cote]

I've got a number of basketball things that I want to ask Amin. So first things first. The Knicks. And some of this stuff that I'm giving you is from Tommy Beer. Some of these stats, but Carl Anthony Towns Last postseason, 1.4 assists per 36 minutes. This postseason, 8.3 assists per 36 minutes. What's happening there?

[Amin Elhassen]

Okay, so the first thing that needs to happen is a round of apologies, not just from the people on this show, but people nationwide, specifically Knicks fans, who are calling for Mike Brown's head. This is what Mike Brown envisioned from the beginning of the season. They started out a little rough and everyone was crying like, oh my God,

[Jeremy]

we're not going to make it back with a lot of our worst tips

[Amin Elhassen]

and so he eventually kind of transitioned back to the offense that they were accustomed to running under Tom Thibodeau, which is a very ISO heavy, you know, ball in Brunson's hands offense. They get to the playoffs and they start to have a little bit of problems against the Hawks, of course, because a very versatile defensive team. And so Mike Brown is like, hey, you know what I got here that might work as an adjustment. It's the offense I was trying to run all along, which is a Golden State offense. They're running warrior sets there where Towns is in the high post, right, like Draymond Green, and they're running split cuts for Bridges and Brunson, and they're curling and popping off and all that stuff. And Towns gets to look and survey. And if they're helping, he can hit that far corner. And if they're not paying attention over here, he can hit this guy, hit a guy on a handoff. And then as we saw the other night, sometimes the, the defense forgets about all these things and all of a sudden, oh, yeah, Carl Anthony Towns is wide open for a jumper. And that's the difference between him and Draymond Green, where it's like, you can live with that with Draymond Green, with Towns, it's insane. But he has that opportunity now. And so because of that, the offense has opened up and we're seeing a Knicks offense that much has a much higher ceiling. And that is directly attributed to Mike Brown and his adjustment and his playbook, but also Karl Anthony Towns accepting that, hey, I can take 12 shots in a game, and I can be one of the most important, if not the most important, reason why we won.

[Chris Cote]

Tim Alberta of the Atlantic had an interesting 4,000 word piece on Adam Silver, quote, going to war, that whole thing. And Dominique said today, it does feel like Adam Silver doesn't have a single guiding principle other than increase profit, which he has done extraordinarily well. Did you happen to see the piece? I mean, I did.

[Amin Elhassen]

I found it like, it's in the Atlantic. So it's designed for people who are not like day to day on this stuff. So if you were a casual person who's maybe not in the sports and not in the basketball on that level, it's an excellent read. If you're like me and you're consuming basketball content voraciously, then it was a lot of kind of trodden ground as far as Adam Silver's entire thing being profit maximization. Yeah, like Roger Goodell, like Paul Tagliabu, like Gary Bettman. Like whatever the guy, whatever the guy in baseball's name is. Manfred. Manfred. There you go. Like, that's all their jobs. That's all they're doing. Right. And so that doesn't surprise me. I think the bigger thing is sometimes the league tends to take a shorter term view on certain aspects as opposed to a bigger picture of, hey, this could be bad news for us down the line.

[Chris Cote]

Wemby, you believe, like we do, that there's a 0.0% chance that he's suspended for Game 5?

[Amin Elhassen]

No, he'll get suspended.

[Dan LeBatard]

Wow.

[Amin Elhassen]

I think so, because I think when you look at the video, it is clearly intentional. And then his coach backs it up in the press conference by saying he had to protect himself because no one, the people charged with protecting him weren't. Weren't doing their job. And so he.

[Dan LeBatard]

Look, you think that made it worse, what Mitch Johnson said?

[Amin Elhassen]

Yeah, absolutely. Because up until that, you could. Again, part of this. Again, we're talking about the resume, right? And so he's built himself a reputation so that we can watch that video and see the, the menace in his eyes and look at that play and also say, yeah, well, he's trying to clear out space, but he didn't know that Nasrid's head was there. I. I could make that argument. Right. And actually delude myself. But when Mitch Johnson says that, it's pretty clear. Yeah, no, he knew what he was doing. He meant it. And he. Even his reaction on the bench wasn't one of like, what did I do? Like, it was like, oh, so I gotta, I gotta go. All right. Okay. Thank you, everybody. And like, and he just did that thing and was kind of not remorseful in the least. In a weird way, I think this is an awesome development for his career because you can't be the boy scout. Sometimes you gotta be the bad guy. And maybe in 27 or 26 other NBA arenas, people are always going to flock and be like, oh, my God, Victor Emanyama, he's awesome. He's the best. I love him. He's my favorite player. Even though I root for the home team, he'll never, ever be able to set foot in Minnesota again and get anything but booze and derision. And I think that's great for basketball. It's great that we're going to have this rivalry. I think the best thing that could happen is this series goes seven and that the Wolves and the spurs meet one another multiple times the next few years to establish this is the battle of the NBA Victor. When Minyama's Polish, who some people might say, oh, it's all an act. And Anthony Edwards, very like casual, oh, I don't give a damn about any of this stuff. And some people might say, no, he does care. I love these guys as yin and yang for one another. The next Magic and Bird.

[Tony]

I mean, I love that. And I think that the Wolves are the perfect team for this NBA stretch, right? Like this generation of NBAs where you got the OKC thunder that everybody loves to hate because they get all the calls, they have the, the, you know, the two time mvp, they have all the stockpile of assets and picks and they get Jerry McCabe for nothing and he's shooting 95 from three. You have the other side of Wemby and what they're doing in San Antonio. But then you got the Wolves who only turn it on in the playoffs and like they are so playoff experienced. They got a guy in Rudy Gobert's multiple defensive player of the year. You've got Ant, who's probably one of the best six, seven players on the planet.

[Jeremy]

Right?

[Tony]

Maybe higher.

[Amin Elhassen]

Top five.

[Tony]

Top five. Okay, okay. Top five. Still hasn't made an all NBA team, which is crazy. But the point being that they're the perfect team. Underdogs, villains, they're the bad guys. They're the bad boys of this Western Conference that nobody really cares about until it's time to see them in the playoffs. And then he looks around and goes, oh shit, we got to play the Wolves.

[Amin Elhassen]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, look, Tim Connolly and his staff have built something remarkable. Chris Finch has done a great job and kudos to the players, obviously that they're playing so cohesively and together. I talked to Jim Peterson yesterday and he was just talking about kind of the, the development of guys like Jade McDaniels from a guy who was just supposed to be a defensive guy to now we're seeing them become a real life offensive threat. Yeah, I know we're up against the clock, but I just want to say real quick, I was listening to the conversation you guys had about funny people in sports. Can't believe you guys didn't include Michelle beetle like that. MFer is one of the funniest people, naturally, in sports media anywhere.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, what did you make of Joel Embiid calling this a success after the game?

[Amin Elhassen]

I think I understand what he's talking about. He's like, I didn't even know I was going to play this much, like for him to end his season the way he did. And I'M talking about, like, the last few weeks of the regular season and then obviously the first round, and then whatever he little. He played in the Knicks series. I. I can understand what he's talking about. It's like, yo, I. I thought, like, this neat thing was gonna really bother me and kind of bring me down, and instead I found that I still had that elite level in me. And so I, like, I understand what he's talking about. Obviously, he's not saying, oh, I'm glad we got swept in the second round, but in terms of where his expectations were and where he ended up, I can see that being a success for him.

[Chris Cote]

Chris, we have less than a minute left, but can I get some of a means fake Wemby, please?

[Amin Elhassen]

I have to leave.

[Jeremy]

Goodbye.

[Chris Cote]

I'm surprised to hear you say you expect him to be suspended for another game.

[Amin Elhassen]

I just don't know that you can. The video of him clearly looking at where he's swinging and then follow that up by his coach. Well, I know he's trying to defend his guy, but, like, he basically confirmed, yeah, he did that on purpose. Like, there's no, you can't.

[Chris Cote]

Wemby, before that game, had 35 blocks in seven playoff games.

[Amin Elhassen]

Unbelievable.

[Chris Cote]

I mean, it's crazy. Thank you, Amin. Good talking to you. Good seeing you again. Be careful out there. Pulitzer winner. Be careful.

[Amin Elhassen]

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. He said, thank you, Pulitzer Prize winner. I mean, that's Olala. I have to leave. I have to leave.