Top 5 Foods That Are Better Cold | Hour 2

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show

Episode: Top 5 Foods That Are Better Cold | Hour 2
Date: July 8, 2026
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Episode Overview

In this lively Hour 2 episode, Dan Le Batard and the crew, live from the Elser Hotel in Miami, dive into the quirky debate of which foods are actually better cold than hot—catalyzed by Greg Cody’s shocking claim about bacon. The group discusses top cold food picks, sports personalities’ egos, the latest sports controversies, and says irreverent farewells to both World Cup fans and NBA veteran Kyle Lowry, all threaded with their signature banter and Miami-centric flavor.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

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The Tom Powers Mystery and Greg Cody’s “Hot Take” on Bacon

[01:12 - 04:55]

• The episode opens with Dan lamenting an unsolved mystery: is former Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Tom Powers alive or dead? ("It shouldn't be this hard to find out..." – Dan [01:12])
• The crew jokingly surmises that the less you can find about someone, the more likely they're still alive.
• The subject then pivots as Dan highlights Greg Cody's divisive claim made off-air:

  "Greg Cody has claimed during the break that cold bacon is better than hot bacon." – Dan [03:10]

• Greg doubles down:

  "Somehow when it's cold you taste more of the bacon flavor, if that's possible. It's unbelievable." – Greg Cody [03:18]

• The rest of the show is shocked; most have never considered eating bacon cold.

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Top 5 Hot Foods That Are Better (or As Good) Cold

[04:55 - 07:13]

Greg Cody’s List:

1. Oli: Pizza (honorable mention, “acceptable cold, much, much preferred hot”)
2. #5: Chicken in any form – “Any chicken is better cold.” (Met with group outrage)
3. #4: Lobster roll (insists the chilled version is superior)
4. #3: Veggies in salad, like corn and beans (“Better cold”)
5. #2: Meatloaf sandwich (“Better in a sandwich, the next day, cold, with a bit of barbecue sauce”)
6. #1: Bacon (“Now it’s rocketed up to number one”)

• The panel debates each entry, coming down particularly hard on cold chicken and the meatloaf sandwich.

  "Terrible." – Chris Cody [05:56, 06:36]
  "Well, I grew up poor." – Greg Cody, explaining the meatloaf sandwich [07:03]

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Polls and Audience Engagement

[04:24 - 07:10]

• Dan suggests putting several questions to the show’s Twitter polls:
  • Is cold bacon better than hot bacon?
  • Are beans better cold than warm?
  • Have you ever had a meatloaf sandwich?
  • If you grew up poor, did you have meatloaf sandwiches?

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Bob Myers Pleading for LeBron & Athlete Ego in the Media

[08:40 - 23:21]

• The team analyzes podcast sound from Bob Myers encouraging LeBron to join the 76ers, with Dan mocking the self-interested pitch:

  "That’s a guy with an ax to grind. He’s got a vested interest in selling Philadelphia." – Greg Cody [10:01]

  • ("I think that’s a guy with an ax to grind." / "I don’t think that’s what ax to grind means..." – Comic exchange, [10:09-10:16])
• This segues into a broader conversation on athlete ego, using Richard Sherman’s famous First Take encounter with Skip Bayless as the template:

  "I'm the top of my field... I think you think more of yourself than you actually can, you know, prove." – Richard Sherman audio [18:25] "In my 24 years of life, I’m better at life than you." – Richard Sherman [18:49]

• Dan frames it as a "crime" for athletes to be openly egotistical, noting fans often demand false humility:

  "Even if you think you’re better than me, please don’t act like it." – Dan [21:14]

• Greg Cody adds:

  "We love ego when it’s on our team. We love cocky when it’s on our team. When it’s on the opponent... we don’t like it." [23:21]

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Knockout World Cup Drama & The Penalty Kick Dilemma

[26:15 - 31:00]

• Discussion on Messi’s penalty kick struggles (4 of 8 conversion), and the psychology of kicking high vs risking public embarrassment:

  "The humiliation that comes with just sailing the ball into the stands... it gives you great shame. People just don’t want to go out that way." – Mike [27:03]

• Dan recounts struggling to get his wife Valerie interested in the World Cup, even as the stakes are highest in a penalty shootout:

  "If I can’t do it here... I will never be able to get you interested in anything sports related." – Dan [30:29]

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Saying Goodbye to World Cup Fans

[33:57 - 35:41]

• Chris leads a tongue-in-cheek “pour one out” segment for the eliminated fanbases of Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, and the US.

  "Give it up for Colombian fans... pour one out for the Mexican fans... Brazil fans... South Korean fans... US of A..." – Chris [34:26-35:34]

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The 100-Year Boy Streak & Banter

[35:44 - 37:10]

• Light banter about generations of the Zaslow family only producing boys:

  "Over 100 years, Dan, the Zaslows only produce boys... another new member coming. And it is a boy." – Chris [36:22]

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Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Cat Update

[37:10 - 38:26]

• The show plays a semi-regular “Stone Cold” segment sent from his ranch, showing off his cats and defending their haircuts:

  "Every time I show these cats haircuts, everybody goes—acts as insulation, makes them cool when it’s warm and warm when it’s cool. … These cats love their haircuts." – Stone Cold [38:10]

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Kyle Lowry: Most Unlikable Heat Player?

[38:31 - 42:28]

• Zaslo and Mike Ryan roast Kyle Lowry’s Miami Heat tenure as “the worst Heat player ever” despite his 20-year NBA career:

  "Worst Miami Heat player of all time. I hope his retirement ceremony is him kicking literal rocks." – Mike Ryan [38:55]

  • Dan and Jeremy defend Lowry’s larger career, noting his Toronto Raptors All-Star years and questioning the group’s harshness.
• The crew further riffs with a “top five Kyles” in South Florida sports—a purposely absurd list to troll Dan.

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Notable Quotes

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On Cold Bacon and Cold Foods

• Greg Cody:

  "Somehow when it’s cold you taste more of the bacon flavor, if that’s possible. It’s unbelievable." [03:18]

• Dan Le Batard:

  "Is cold bacon better than hot bacon? I don’t believe that." [04:31]

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On Athlete Ego

• Dan:

  "I believe that the great affliction that an athlete can have is 'I’m better than you.' Even if they think that, once they say it out loud, it creates a gulf between everyone and them." [19:04]

• Chris:

  "I think if you’re really happy in life, that’s probably meaning you’re pretty good at it." [20:45]

• Greg Cody:

  "We love ego when it’s on our team. We love cocky when it’s on our team. When it’s on the opponent, that’s when we don’t like it." [23:21]

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On Penalty Kicks

• Mike:

  "The humiliation that comes with just sailing the ball into the stands... gives you great shame. People just don’t want to go out that way." [27:03]

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On Kyle Lowry

• Mike Ryan:

  "Worst Miami Heat player of all time. I hope his retirement ceremony is him kicking literal rocks." [38:55]

• Dan:

  "A 20 year basketball career is impressive by any measure. This is how you’re going to honor somebody…?" [39:10]

• Jeremy:

  "It’s fair. He’s an all time great Raptor. He left the Heat with some negative feelings around it, but like we are forgetting, he… He was the starting point guard on a one seed Heat team and he was a huge piece of that." [41:02]

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Funniest Exchanges & Banter

• On “Axe to Grind”:

  "I think that’s a guy with an ax to grind." – Greg Cody
  "I don’t think that’s what ax to grind means." – Chris Cody
  "No, but it’s the opposite of an ax to grind." – Greg
  "So why did you use ax to grind?" – Dan [10:09-10:15]

• On Meatloaf Sandwiches:

  "Well, I grew up poor." – Greg Cody [07:03]

• On Zaslows Only Producing Boys:

  "Over 100 years, Dan, the Zaslows only produce boys." – Chris [36:15]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:10] – Greg Cody: “Cold bacon is better than hot bacon”
• [04:55] – Greg Cody’s Top 5 Hot Foods That Are Better Cold
• [08:40] – Bob Myers/LeBron to 76ers discussion
• [18:25] – Richard Sherman “I’m better at life than you” audio
• [26:15] – Penalty kick/Messi struggles debate
• [30:29] – Dan’s tale of trying to engage his wife with the World Cup
• [33:57] – Chris “pours one out” for lost World Cup fanbases
• [35:44] – Joking about the Zaslow family boy streak
• [38:31] – Kyle Lowry “worst Heat player” debate

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Tone and Language

The episode is fast-paced, irreverent, self-deprecating, and whip-smart—full of playful jabs and in-jokes. Greg Cody's eccentricities are celebrated and ridiculed in equal measure, sports are a backdrop for larger discussions about ego and fandom, and no subject—food, sports, language, or family—is too trivial for the Le Batard crew to take (and mock) seriously.

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Perfect for: Longtime fans of the show, lovers of food debates, NBA skeptics, and anyone interested in the intersection of sports personality and media without the usual reverence.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

Greg Cody told us yesterday that his podcast and his Cody Cup Invitational has received interaction from all 50 states and all 21 nations. So someone in Minneapolis Tell me whether Tom Powers is alive or dead. Okay. It shouldn't be this hard to find out whether a Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist is alive or dead. We're searching the Internet, we're scouring public records. Nobody has an answer to my question.

[C]

I do wonder the harder it is to find this information out, does that lend more toward the idea that he would be alive or that he's dead?

[D]

I think it's neither because both would be well known. Like I googled is former Minneapolis sportswriter Tom Powers dead or alive? I literally googled that this morning. Yes, and it was inconclusive.

[C]

I think that would mean that. I think that's a better chance of him being alive.

[D]

He's disappeared in the last 10 years because there were references from like 2016, 2018.

[E]

There was an article saying that his Twitter has been deactivated. Yeah, when he compared Hillary Clinton to John Wayne Gacy. But there's no sign of him since 2018. But there's no obituary.

[D]

It's a bona fide mystery is what it is.

[A]

Well, let's get to the bottom of it and also get Scott McCullough on the phone so I can finally get an answer for the first time in 24 hours to my question.

[D]

Maybe Scott McCullough has an in on Tom Powers.

[E]

Ask him that as well.

[D]

Yeah, we should ask him that.

[A]

Greg Cody had a shocking take during the break and I have not heard it before. And I will ask the question on the poll. Is that a five dollar fine for Chris Cody? I said, is that a five dollar fine for Chris Cody?

[E]

Sure,

[D]

sure.

[A]

Greg Cody has claimed during the break that cold bacon is better than hot bacon.

[D]

Isn't that the truth?

[F]

Wow.

[D]

I mean it, it, it's, and this is a fairly recent discovery. You know, I'm a lifelong bacon eater. I was eating it in the crib baby. But just recently, hours passed and the bacon out here was cold. It was room temp. It was just not the least bit warm, let alone hot. I had a bite. It happened to be a great piece of bacon by the way. But I had a bite and I luxuriated in the non heat. It was cold. So I put another piece in the refrigerator so that it wasn't just room temp and not hot. It was literally cold bacon. And brother, you haven't tasted bacon. Somehow when it's cold you taste more of the bacon flavor, if that's possible. It's unbelievable.

[C]

What would you do if you saw a baby in a crib just chewing on a piece of bacon?

[A]

Yeah, I would say, hey baby, do you do anything other than cry and shit? I don't love babies, baby.

[D]

Bacon does lend itself to the latter.

[E]

There are so many good foods out

[C]

there that you know you can eat cold.

[E]

And I've never even considered bacon.

[D]

Oh really? I hadn't either. But you know, it ranks up there. Now I could too put it on

[A]

the poll at LeBatard show because I'd like to get a list of cold foods that are better than hot foods. Cause I think this is a controversial take. Is cold bacon better than hot bacon? I don't believe that. A lot of people think that. I was fairly shocked to hear you say that. Do you have other foods that you believe are better normally warm foods that you believe to be better cold?

[D]

I just happen to have a top five list if you're interested.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Okay.

[D]

Yeah. Top five hot foods that are as good or better eaten cold.

[A]

Okay, let's find out what you've got here. Do you have any oli?

[D]

I have one oli and it's where a lot of people go to. But this is probably the most overrated of all the foods you think of. When you think of hot food, better cold. And that's pizza. Acceptable cold, but much, much, much preferred hot.

[A]

Well, but then why is that anywhere on your list?

[D]

Well, because it's an oli, which is.

[A]

But that means that's not.

[B]

It's his list.

[A]

Yeah, but you gotta honor the rules of a list. Thank you, Billy.

[D]

When you're oli, it's disrespectful if you can't make the top five. You're being disrespected.

[A]

Are the other five foods that you're alleging are simply better cold, even though most people might prefer it or are used to eating it hot?

[D]

Correct. Number five. Chicken in any form. Fried chicken, rotisserie chicken.

[C]

Terrible.

[D]

Any chicken is better cold.

[A]

Not in any way true. Number four.

[D]

Number four, lobster roll. You know, some people eat a warm lobster roll in Connecticut. They eat warm lobster rolls. You gotta eat a lobster roll, chilled. Number three, veggies, like corn and beans in a salad. Corn salad, three bean salad. Better cold. We're rolling now. We are rolling now.

[A]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard Show. Are beans better cold than warm?

[D]

Yes. Thank you. Number two, meatloaf sandwich.

[C]

Terrible.

[D]

Meatloaf is okay, fine. Warm, hot, better. In a sandwich. The next day, a cold roast beef sandwich with a little bit of barbecue sauce. Baby, it's great. It's great.

[A]

I don't think I've even heard of a meatloaf sandwich.

[C]

Gross.

[D]

Try it.

[C]

There's no meatloaf.

[F]

I mean.

[A]

Wait a minute. Put it on the.

[D]

No, it's great.

[A]

At lebartard show, have you had a meatloaf sandwich? Have any of you had a meatloaf sandwich? I've never heard of a meatloaf sandwich.

[D]

Well, I grew up poor.

[A]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. If you grew up poor, did you have meatloaf sandwiches?

[D]

It's better than Spam, I'll tell you that.

[A]

Number one.

[D]

Number one. Sort of, you know, anticlimactic now, but it's bacon. Bacon would have been an olive with me a month ago. Now it's rocketed up to number one.

[A]

I'm sorry. I just laughed because I saw it come up on the screen. Scott McCullough from his office. Say, I don't. I don't know what. Scott McGoll.

[E]

We're not ready with him yet. We're working on audio.

[A]

That's fine.

[C]

How do you know it's him?

[A]

I'm joining.

[D]

Hi, Scott. How are you doing?

[B]

You rather speak to him or Messi?

[A]

He's not. This is the. Get right here. We were trying. We've been Trying to get him since yesterday to find out how he felt about his namesake, Clayton McCullough, taking Ori Perez out of a game after seven perfect innings. So we will get. We will get to him in just a second. But going Back to the LeBron conversation, can you guys get me the sound of Bob My and him basically going on the Rich Paul podcast? And I really do love that this podcast so randomly exists, and I love that Rich Paul cares so much about making it a showcase for. Just pay attention to what an agent's doing, because I'm going to get a credible sports personality, and I'm going to get guests that you might want to hear from. And I'm gonna create a podcast where I am Adele's fiance and LeBron's business manager, and I'm going to make a content machine around the LeBron economy. What did you guys make of this sound from Bob Myers basically begging LeBron to come to the 76ers? If he was here, I'd say, I honestly believe this is your best chance to win. You have to decide all the other things that are equally important because it's his life.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I don't.

[C]

He gets.

[A]

He has to play. He has to face the scrutiny of his decision that half people will say, you should have done this or should

[B]

have done that, and you take him,

[A]

they'll criticize him for whatever, which is his life. So he's been through all that. What I would just say is if it's about winning and that, let's talk about this team, because you can win here in Philadelphia.

[C]

I'm surprised that the president of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment honestly believes that the Sixers are his best chance to win. I'm glad he's being honest that the team, the organization he is president of, he believes that they're the best chance.

[D]

Yes. Comicolor doesn't have time for this nonsense.

[B]

I'm surprised people are still using Moose. So that Zoolander hair.

[A]

What are your thoughts here, Greg, on everything happening on that podcast?

[D]

I think he needs to go to the Heat. I'm as impartial as that guy. I think. I think he needs to go to the Heat. It's the best opportunity.

[A]

That's not thoughts on what was said on that podcast. That's just your thoughts.

[D]

I think that's a guy with an ax to grind. He's got a vested interest in selling Philadelphia. Why would anybody pay attention to that?

[C]

I don't think that's what Axe to Grind is.

[D]

No, but it's the opposite of an axe to grind.

[A]

So why did you use axe to grind?

[D]

I just felt like it.

[A]

You're good at words.

[D]

Yeah, I used to be until I used axe to grind inappropriately.

[A]

I feel like I caught you off guard there. You didn't have anything, and you were just staring at Scott McCullough. You were distracted. Okay. Scott McCullough looks exactly as I imagined he did. Thank you for joining us. Scott McCullough, your thoughts on Uri Perez being taken out of a perfect game after throwing seven innings and just like, 92 pitches.

[F]

Right. Well, this is coming from the perspective of a personal injury attorney who's, you know, less than a casual fan of baseball, which is odd. Why I'm on Greg Cody's mind yesterday for this segment. I would have. I would have pulled him.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

Wait a minute. Why?

[A]

Why would you have pulled him? What do you mean? Why would you have pulled him? What are you doing?

[C]

Shocking.

[F]

Yeah. Well, I think at the end of the day, they ask who won and who lost the game. And so, you know, what would have happened if Mr. McCullough would have pulled, would have left him in there and they lose Then. Then what happened?

[A]

Well, they were winning eight. Nothing, though. They could have taken him out at anything. They took him out.

[D]

Well, I could have come in in relief and held that lead.

[F]

Well, they almost didn't, is what I understand.

[D]

Yeah, that's true. Almost doesn't count. I'd have held an eight run lead, I'll tell you right now.

[A]

Yeah, you telling me right now doesn't mean anything. I wouldn't have held it. All right, thank you.

[D]

Anybody can.

[A]

Scott, can you tell me a story, please, of how drunk Greg gets at Earlene's parties, please? The one I have is he wore a lampshade one time on his head and embarrassed her. Do you have a better story than that?

[F]

Might have been there for that one. No, I'm. I'm not going to. To do that.

[D]

Thank you, friend. Greg, thank you.

[B]

I have.

[F]

I. You know, the last time I saw him was in the fall of 2022.

[D]

Yes.

[F]

Again, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know why I came up or why you're thinking of me, Greg.

[A]

Well, because the manager of the Marlins is named Clayton McCullough.

[D]

That's all we need.

[A]

That's the reason.

[C]

Scott, how nice was it to hear from Chris yesterday?

[F]

Really good in the middle of depositions for my personal injury clients. Right. That's what I do on a daily basis. My phone is blowing up now. If I get two calls in a row. You know, it's from the wife. But this time it was an unknown number. And half of the deposition was really funny. So really funny to hear from you guys.

[A]

Scott, thank you. The big get of the day. I would have chosen him if I had my choice between him and Lionel Messi, I would have chosen get me Scott McCullough. So thank you for being on the show. We, we appreciate your analysis. Truly shocking analysis that the McCulloughs are align on something that I think that most people listening to this, almost everyone listening to this would say, you cannot pull out Perez in that situation.

[C]

I mean, maybe he didn't want to be called brain dead. So he agrees with the manager. You know, I would say that that's a reason that that would happen. You don't want to get that heat, right? Don't look at me like that, Jeremy. Don't look at me like I'm just

[E]

leaning around the camera to make sure I can see you.

[D]

All right?

[E]

That's all. Little eye contact. I'm a professional. All right, friends, you guys know what a big fan I am of quints. I'm constantly wearing their clothes. I've told you about it. I've got pants, I've got shirts. And it's what's in my wardrobe as I make an effort. Okay, Making an effort matters. And it's why I've been leaning on quints, particularly as we head into these summer months, because you need to have stuff that's fit for the season. Their 100% European linen shirts and pants are breathable, lightweight and perfect for the summer. I recently picked up one of their linen shirts. It's sky blue. It's awesome. It's become a piece that I am constantly throwing on without even thinking about it because it looks good on camera, but also it's comfortable when I'm running around all day. And it works whether I'm at the studio or heading somewhere else for work. Everything at Quint's is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. Quints has become one of those brands I end up recommending for everything from home goods to travel essentials. So make your summer wardrobe easier. Go to quince.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 for 22 years on this

[B]

show, we've debated the greatest athletes of all Time. Who's the goat in football? Who's the goat in soccer? Who's the goat in hoops? One thing that we all know is Dan's the goat of finding the worst possible take. But there's another kind of MVP goat that doesn't get enough credit. The friend who knows to show up with enough Miller Lights plus extra ice because they just know. The one who already has seats at the bar when you walk up. That is a Miller Time nvp. I've been on this show long enough to know that Dan is going to make everything about his feelings and Jeremy is going to push back on whatever I just said. But here's something nobody on this show will argue with. Miller Lite is the summer beer, the original light beer since 1975. This summer, recognize your MVPs. We all have that one friend who makes every game better. Now it's time to give them their moment. Head over to Miller Lite's social media pages to learn more about being a Miller Time mvp. You can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Tony, you know that moment at a party or at a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks? I know it well.

[E]

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

[F]

Yeah.

[B]

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

[E]

It has that effect on people.

[B]

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

[D]

Keep it Cuervo.

[B]

Baby down.

[A]

Levitar. Mike Bryan's in there and he's the one with a baby. He's the one who's got to, like, worry about what the future is. And Mike Ryan bet on DraftKings because Mike Ryan bet on us. This is the bet you're afraid of doubling down on putting up a billboard in Edmonton.

[D]

Mike Ryan.

[B]

I care more about Matthew Tkachuk than I do my daughter.

[A]

This is the Dan Levatar show.

[D]

Foreign.

[A]

Scott doesn't want to leave. He's going to hang around there. Just put him in picture. Picture. He can mill about if he doesn't want to leave. That's fine. We'll have his company here. Going back to what we were talking about regarding the 76ers, I want to cover a little bit more of this Jaylen Brown thing from this perspective because I'm having a hard time finding a comp in my career in journalism for someone who is really smart, universally considered smart, book smart, all the kinds of smart. Right. Not just smart for an athlete. Jaylen Brown is considered somebody who is worldly and smart, and I have not seen that as a negative very often. But Richard Sherman got some of this. And the thing that I wanted to talk to you guys about is the idea that somebody Jalen Brown's age is basically looking at things that are critical on television. If you grow up in the Internet age the way Jaylen Brown has, It's existed for 15 years. So Jaylen Brown was basically 14 years old when the idea of social media made an appearance. I don't think he's making much of any delineation or distinction between the people talking about him on television and the people talking about. About him on the Internet. They're all the same kind of credentialed critics. But when you think of the gulf between how it is that athletes feel about their critics, I think when Richard Sherman went on First Take, and he went on First Take with Skip Bayless, I think a lot of athletes who are smart look at their critics and feel the way Richard Sherman does here.

[D]

I think I've accomplished more in my field than you have in yours, though. You're just getting started.

[A]

So I'm the top of my field. So I'm all pro. I'm the best. One of the best 22 players in the NFL. You're gonna brush it off, but I don't think you're the best 22 anything in sports and in media and anything. I think you think more of yourself than you actually can, you know, prove.

[D]

But okay. You think you're better than Darrell Revis is right now?

[A]

In my 24 years of life, I'm better at life than you.

[C]

Okay, all right, that's fair.

[A]

Let's get down to that.

[D]

Let's not get personal here.

[A]

I just want to know, do you

[D]

think you're better than Darrell Revis is right now?

[A]

I'm better than you.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

I believe that the great affliction that an athlete can have is I'm better than you. Even if they think that once they say it out loud, it creates a gulf between everyone and them. But would you not say that empirically? Jaylen Brown is Probably better at life than most of the people criticizing him.

[D]

Sure.

[B]

Yeah, sure. That's a Stanford Cal thing.

[D]

What does better at life mean, though, right?

[C]

Like who gets to. Who gets to quantify what makes you

[A]

good at life, better at success? Like Richard Brown. I'm sorry. Richard Sherman has had an assortment of incidents off the field that can make you criticize whatever it is that is going on in his life. But better than you. I. In terms of. This one's always interesting to me, guys. Always interesting. You actually want your athletes to have ego. They better have ego. But it becomes uncomfortable when. When their ego is so large that they give off. I'm better than you. Even though Jaylen Brown's primary crime, as far as I can see it, is that he's afflicted with some of that. Is there another crime that you guys can speak to as it relates to where it is that Jaylen Brown is taking a beating right now than the fact that he gives off. I know I'm better than you.

[C]

Yeah. I would just take a step back at the better than you. He's better than me at basketball, for sure. I think I'd be better at him than this. All the other stuff in life, I think it just depends on, like, it's subjective. It depends on what you value. Like, are we talking about happiness? I think I'm pretty happy. I think if you're really happy in life, that's. That's probably meaning you're pretty good at it.

[A]

I'm better than you. Did you just say that as a broadcaster, you're better at him than this? Is that what you just said?

[C]

I said at the.

[E]

You better at him than this.

[B]

It was a pretty funny place.

[A]

I'm better than him.

[D]

Yeah. Weird place to make a misplay on.

[C]

Yo. You just said ax to grind when it didn't even mean what you said. Take it easy.

[D]

Okay. That's fair comment by you for saying it, but still,

[A]

I'm better than you.

[D]

That make it right.

[A]

Greg Cody just did the move that Skip Bayless did, which is. That's fair. Is what he filled the silence with after Richard Sherman said, I'm better at life than you. You cann. You can't agree with that if you're Skip Bayless, but are you better than Revis? I'm better than you. I don't think outside of actual crimes that there is a greater crime than the crime of ego of an athlete not giving you false humility. You've heard me say before that fans in general prefer false humility. To ego. Even if it's the God's honest truth, they want you to fake it. Even if you think you're better than me, please don't act like it.

[D]

Yeah, ego is a big spectrum. You know, we love confidence. We don't love cocky that much. You know, you gotta walk that line. If you're super cocky and you convey that, then you're the diva, you know, then you're the one who better live up to that, because look how cocky that guy is. So I think it's weird. Well, but you're allowed to be really confident, but don't be confident.

[A]

Well, you're saying this, but you tell me. Okay, because ego is a spectrum. And Steph Curry does a great job of. Of appearing humble. But do you think he's cocky? Because he better be.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, what do you.

[D]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

So what are we doing? Like, so what are we doing? He's. He's. When it comes to confidence, very few people are gonna have more confidence at anything that Steph Curry has at what he does. But his Persona doesn't give off cocky. But when he's playing, he is very much cocky.

[E]

Not only that, I think on Netflix or Disney, he literally created a, you know, munaquito that.

[B]

It's called Goat. And it's him.

[E]

Like, he is the main character.

[B]

It's called Goat.

[A]

So what are we doing there, Greg? Because what is it about ego that makes it that we are so uncomfortable with an athlete having it, even though he better or she better have it in order to conquer all the other people who have ego?

[D]

Yeah, we love ego when it's on our team. We love cocky when it's on our team. When it's on the opponent, that's when

[B]

we don't like it or when it's lighter skinned.

[D]

Yep. What? Who said that? What? That's good.

[C]

Well, that's not bad.

[B]

That's part of what's happening. Part of what's happening. An offense that's just as bad as we're seeing play out with Christian Pulisic. Don't appear to be quitting. Don't do that. Don't quit. Don't. Don't be. Don't pull yourself out of the. Don't be LaDainian Tomlinson sitting on the sideline with an overcoat. Don't be Christian Pulitzer ballistic asking out of a game saying, now you have time to rest. That's a. That's a pretty big offense.

[E]

This just made me realize exactly why LeBron was so hated. Because everyone felt like he Quit on the Cavs at the end of that last season in that playoff series, and then he went and made an entire TV spectacle.

[A]

You're just realizing this?

[E]

Yes. I was 14, Dan.

[A]

That's the whole reason he became unpopular.

[E]

Yeah, well, I loved him. He came here, which he should do again. Miami Heat, best fit.

[A]

I want to make a clarification here, because the Internet is breathing hot and nasty on my neck, and I'm going to double down on what it is that the Internet says is a mistake that I have been making for me going forward in this World cup and forevermore. His name is Erling Holland. I do not care what you think. I do not care what you say. He has three A's in his name. I will not pronounce Holland when it has three A's in it.

[D]

Doesn't make it right.

[A]

It does make it right. I'm going to continue calling him Erling Holland. And furthermore, while I'm at it, before this tournament started, I kept hearing it different ways in different places. So I asked around people who know more than me, how does. How does he. How does he pronounce it? And they said, either way is fine. And now everyone is correcting me every time I say Holland, and I don't care. And I'm not going to stop calling him Holland. I'm going to say it again. If you have three A's in your name, I'm not pronouncing it Holland.

[B]

What a weird thing to get indignant about.

[A]

Holland.

[B]

I agree with Dan.

[C]

I think Tony's saying it right.

[B]

I've heard it pronounced both ways on broadcast. Now, I know that that's not the standard, but in Europe, you run into more like, either way is fine.

[D]

There's an ss. Exactly. But here's the thing. You remember when the Netherlands used to be called Holland? Okay. Ho. That's pronounced Holland. Erling's name is pronounced Holland with an A sound.

[A]

Holland.

[D]

Not Holland.

[B]

Pink. Haaren.

[D]

Holland.

[B]

Hank Aaron.

[E]

Hey, Alond.

[D]

Doesn't make it right. Does make it right.

[A]

What do you guys make of Messi being 4 of 8 on penalty kicks? It's. And I know what you were saying about. Yes, it's time to think. You're having time to think, as opposed to muscle memory and reflex and all the things that he does that are not involving thought, but the one. It's not just that he got stoned on yesterday's. It was made to look easy, like it was. It's not. It was so easily done that if anyone was watching soccer for the first time there. And you said, hey, this guy here, he's the best soccer player who's ever played. And watch this. And all of a sudden the penalty kick is stopped so easily. Then you're like, how did, how is he bad at this?

[E]

You can always tell when Messi's on the pitch because you just look for

[B]

the smallest, thinnest guy.

[D]

Too thin.

[B]

One thing that I would like to see done is a data backed look. See at how many people are opting against putting the ball higher up in net. I think the humiliation that comes with what happened to TAH in Germany. What comes with just sailing the ball into the stands in that moment. It's memeable. It gives you great shame. And people just don't want to go out that way. They just approach it with, I'd rather go out with a 50, 50 shot, but the keeper just doesn't guess the right way.

[C]

We saw it twice yesterday because it's

[B]

just more embarrassing to sail it into the sands. Give yourself a chance to Messi. But it's also one of the rare times that his play can be more predictable in the run of play. You don't know where he's going to go. You don't know what he's going to do. He's so brilliant with the ball. Whereas if you're a goalkeeper and he's standing at the penalty spot, you're like, okay, at least I, I can rule out like 50% of this frame.

[C]

Yeah, it's, it's this side or this side. When Messi's playing during the regular play of the game, anything can happen.

[B]

It's a little bit more complicated than that because you can go high or go down the middle, but you're. The numbers are more skewed to your advantage, if that makes any sense in a, in a penalty kick scenario. Then if he's just dribbling the ball in the box.

[A]

Well, one of, one of the things that I find interesting about this entire penalty kick situation and it's unlike anything else in sports for me, okay. Unlike anything else where I like it, even though I'm looking at it and I'm like, that's not a good metric or even soccer anymore for deciding who gets to advance once every four years based on how it is that we're doing this ridiculousness, the just sheer absurdity of how we're doing this. But I love it. And what I had happened to me yesterday, this is funny. You guys will appreciate this. So I'm watching this and the setup is Just perfect. The announcers are great, setting up just the pressure and the size of this between Colombia and Switzerland. And they're setting up, my God, Quintero, such a long run up. He's got to this kick. So much pressure here. And Quintero's picking his nose when this is happening. So much, so much pressure here for Quintero. And Valerie walks in to the room, okay, on the third penalty kick. She hates everybody in soccer because these people have been singing outside our door for six straight weeks, nonstop, drunk at three o' clock in the morning. And furthermore, she's told me she doesn't like soccer players. They're too dramatic. She's not wrong about that.

[B]

Yeah, that was a bad game for the drama.

[A]

Yeah, she does. She doesn't like it. But this is what happened to me yesterday, okay? I had my chance. I haven't had this chance in this World cup in a knockout scenario game where I've got penalty kicks and I only need her attention here for two minutes. I'm like, Valerie, here. Here are the stakes here on.

[B]

This is it.

[E]

This is the entire game right here.

[B]

Well, not the only place.

[A]

It's. It's Colombia and it's Switzerland and the stakes are so high that every four years I'm explaining it very briefly and what I see is her backing into the bushes like Homer Simpson with her knees high up in the room. She doesn't want any part of it. I'm like, there it is, my failure. I'm never going to get her to be able to be interested in any of this. Because if I can't do it here with something that's not soccer, that we're surrounded by Colombians who could not possibly care more in South Florida about what just happened yesterday. Couldn't possibly care more. It's the thing in Colombian sports forever and now they lose and don't advance because of penalty kicks. But if I cannot get you interested in something that requires that short of an attention span and has that highest stakes, then I will never be able to get you interested in anything sports related.

[C]

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[E]

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[C]

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

[A]

Jonathan Saslow.

[C]

It's a good algorithm.

[A]

This is the Dan Levata.

[C]

Tell you, I was bummed watching that yesterday. Dan, we lost another great group of fans with Columbia going down.

[A]

Some of the best.

[C]

This has been a hard week. Matter of fact, can I have a moment where, like, I want to pour one out for some of the fans we've lost over the last week. Plus, sure.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

A lot. Well, yes, England. Norway's not going to feel quite the same as Brazil, Colombia and Norway's.

[D]

Norway's got the row, man. They got the row going.

[C]

We're talking about two different things.

[D]

There are last hopes as the Norway fans.

[C]

Norway, pretty good to still have the round, but I want to pour one out for some of the fans that we've lost over the last, like, week. Plus, number one, we'll start with Colombia. Oh, they have incredible fans that we're not gonna see again because they lost in penalties yesterday. Give it up for Colombian fans. All right, I saw you. Also, I want to give it up for Mexico's fans. They got. Damn. Mexico's got some. Some great fans and we're not gonna see them again. All right, pour one out for the Mexican fans. How about Brazil fans? They are great fans, too. Very, very upset. We're not gonna see them again. Also, you know what? It was a little more than a week ago, but I'm a pour one out for the South Korean fans. All right, Some people, that's their favorite kind of fan. So I'm. I'm giving up. We're not gonna be able to see South Korean fans anymore. And finally, I mean, you know, the good old US Of A. United States, we got some. We got some great fans, but we still have Norway. Norway we're still gonna see this weekend. But I just wanted to pour one out for some of the great fans that we will no longer be seeing during this World Cup.

[D]

Dan, thank you for your service.

[A]

We have not had a more honest moment on this show, and Jessica's gonna join us in a little bit than Jessica's friend appearing on the screen. And you going, who'? Your undercurrent of lechery from over here somehow impregnated me. I don't know how that happened exactly. You would think it would work against the rules of science with a boy, of course. But you. You were. That's right. Because the ZAZ. Over 100 years, Dan, the Zazlows only produce boys.

[C]

You weren't here a couple of weeks ago I announced, we have another. We have a new member coming.

[A]

I was here. I was standing. You were sitting right next to you. Yes.

[C]

Yeah, we got a new. We got a new member coming. And it is a boy.

[B]

Yes, it is a boy.

[A]

It is over a hundred years, Greg. It's always.

[D]

That's an old boy.

[A]

It's always over a hundred years of Zaslo's making babies and they've all been boys. It wasn't a hundred year old boy.

[D]

What a coincidence. 100 years of boy.

[A]

Let's.

[D]

Greg, that's not bad.

[A]

That's a good one.

[D]

Yeah, not bad. All right, you know what? I'm gonna enter you into my class because I do have, you know, a class in doing that.

[B]

You're gonna what, him?

[D]

He has qualified.

[A]

You're going to enter me into your class?

[D]

Class, yes. Oh, wow.

[A]

That is dangerous phrasing. The others, they all learn from me. Let's check in with our semi weekly Stone Cold Austin Steve Austin video. Hey, what's up, Steve? Coming to you from Brooks Go Ranch. I'm out here in the horse barn checking out these cats. Honcho's over here on the little tower. Ay, baby, what you doing? Rocking that haircut, man. He's lean and mean. He's in shape. It's a good old cat right here, right, buddy? And then this guy got that air conditioner sent on for him. Machi. How you doing, buddy? Macho is a hunting son of a. And then, hell, every time I show these cats haircuts, everybody goes auto cut their fur. Acts as insulation, Makes them cool when it's warm and warm when it's cool. Shut the out. These cats love their haircuts, my buddy. All right, we're out. Solid content, always good.

[D]

Love the background noise.

[A]

Speaking. What was that, like an air conditioning hub?

[B]

Yeah, he famously pointed it out.

[A]

God damn it. When we're pouring them out, are Zaslo and Mike Ryan going to pour one out? Sadly and in honor of Kyle Lowry, a 20 year career ends. Two decades of basketball at the professional level. Much of it played well, except for the years with the Miami Heat.

[C]

Horrible, Horrible.

[B]

Worst Miami Heat player of all time. I hope his retirement ceremony is him kicking literal rocks.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

I mean, I couldn't, I couldn't wait for him to not play on my television anymore. Having to watch that guy for the two and a half years, having to root for him. Give me a break.

[A]

A 20 year basketball career is impressive by any measure. This is how you're going to honor somebody who Was how many times was he an All Star? Like this is a six.

[B]

None here. We're entitled to not like him because of how he performed.

[A]

Worst Heat player ever, though is a little.

[C]

Most unlikable. As unlikable a Heat player ever.

[B]

I guess he was going through something when he was here in Miami and I understand we all have our issues, but Buddy was supposed to be an important piece. Brought him in here to be friends and a teammate of Jimmy Butler and kind of if you know what happened behind the scenes. I know we made an NBA Finals with him on the roster, but. But him and Jimmy kind of breaking apart from the group, that kind of a destructive force like does it.

[C]

It kind of makes sense now, right? Like Jimmy Butler yesterday put a tribute to Kyle Lowry on his Instagram and kind of makes sense that those guys are best buddies. Like, doesn't that tell you everything you need to know about Kyle Lowry?

[A]

No.

[D]

Do you think Lowry's betting on his own comeback? No.

[A]

It's 20 years. He's pretty spent and obviously spent. But rare is a career like this where you can make an argument and some people would, that he's the best Raptor. You might be wrong, but he's pretty close to being among the best Raptors ever.

[B]

I think he is.

[A]

And you guys are sitting here saying he's the worst Heat player ever. There's not a lot of that on the. You're not going to find a whole lot of that on the Spectrum.

[B]

Well, he sucked here. I don't know what to say.

[C]

He was a bad player and he was a brutal watch.

[D]

He was terrible.

[C]

Like just a style of play and the complaining brutal player to watch never

[D]

seem particularly fit, you know, physically. All six of his. All six of his all star appearances were with Toronto.

[A]

You guys aren't honoring a 20 year career.

[B]

That's what Canada can do.

[D]

He's an all time great Raptor. Is he. Is he a Hall of Famer? I don't know.

[B]

He is.

[C]

He's going to make the Hall.

[D]

Everybody does. Everybody makes.

[E]

I think it's fair. He's an all time great Raptor. He left the Heat with some negative feelings around it, but like we are forgetting, he. He was the starting point guard on a one seed Heat team and he was a huge piece of that. If they had gone to the finals instead of losing the year before and then when they made their run to the finals, he was supplanted by Gabe Vincent, which is part of why it

[C]

was a lot better.

[E]

Right? He was much better for that team the following season. But like he's not the worst Heat player ever. Yeah, it's a stretch.

[B]

Yeah, I'm with Zaz. He's the worst player ever.

[C]

Incredibly unlikable.

[E]

I do have a top five Kyles in South Florida sports history and he doesn't make the list of not and

[A]

I don't want that list.

[E]

You don't want that list?

[D]

Oh, I would.

[E]

Dan, you don't want to hear about Kyle Bearclaw.

[A]

Unpopular is a real strong word to use on Kyle Lowry. Kyle Selaf when I'm trying to punctuate his an honorable career in which he played well, you know, playing 20 years is something that is worth celebrating. Playing 20 years is something that is worth honoring. And you guys have not had a kind silhouette.

[B]

Other people are go somewhere else for the. The. The tribute to Kyle Lowry. He was terrible down here.

[E]

Kyle Beckerman.

[B]

Oh, I like him.

[A]

Why did you put together that list? What was the judgment involved with putting together the list? Does his own thing over top five.

[B]

I don't know if you've noticed, but he's getting the Kyle's up either way.

[A]

Even though Dan dismissed Kyle Anderson and it's every bit as bad as I thought it was going to be and somehow worse. Somehow. Somehow worse. You know how low my expectations were for top five Kyle.

[E]

You know about that? Kyle Lewis, fourth round pick this year.

[D]

Oh yeah, he's good. It's a good list. Well done. Jeremy. Did you give the list Kyle Stowers? Oh, yeah, big time. Good year last year. What happened this year?