Who Wins: 1,000,000 Vin Diesels vs. 5 King Kongs? | Hour 2

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: "Who Wins: 1,000,000 Vin Diesels vs. 5 King Kongs? | Hour 2"

Date: May 18, 2026

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Episode Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and their crew dive into the current state of combat sports—especially the rise of fame-over-merit matchups, the evolving UFC landscape, and nostalgia-driven sports spectacles. The show then veers playfully through topics like Anthony Edwards’ playoff sportsmanship, a surprising “Vin Diesel vs. King Kong” internet video, motorsports’ double-race challenge, NBA coaching news, and a broader discussion on owners, cheapness, and sports culture.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Combat Sports: Fame vs. Merit (00:00 – 11:43)

• Dan's Rant on Combat Sports and Fame:
  • Dan bemoans the shift from meritocracy to celebrity draws in fighting promotions, notably with Jake Paul’s influence and Netflix’s recent fight cards.
    • “I don't get to decide. This Netflix fight, all of that is a huge success. And what Jake Paul has created over my objections leaves me behind because it's about fame right now, not about talent.” (Dan, 00:16)
• Jake Paul and the State of Women’s Combat Sports:
  • Dan reluctantly acknowledges Jake Paul’s positive impact as a promoter, especially for women's fighting.
  • Gina Carano’s comeback—losing 100 pounds despite health struggles to fight Ronda Rousey—underscores the “spectacle” over sport.
• Conor McGregor’s Return – Nostalgia Over Achievements:
  • Team debates if McGregor’s upcoming fight is a true contest or just old names selling tickets.
    • “It’s not merit. You just like the loudmouth who’s famous because he’s a star.” (Dan, 09:01)
    • Tony insists: “He's the biggest star of the sport. He’s bigger than the sport itself.” (Tony, 09:25)

🔑 Notable Quote:

• “I can celebrate the good things that he’s doing and object to the contamination at once.” (Dan, 10:41)

2. The Evolution of MMA & UFC (06:20 – 12:12)

• From Early UFC to Modern "Wrestling Ruins Everything":
  • Dan and Tony reflect on how wrestling/grappling has overtaken striking in MMA, making for less visually thrilling fights.
  • Discussion around how matchmaking and platforms (like Netflix) are crafted for casual fans, prioritizing knockouts over technical battles.
• Monopolization by UFC:
  • The UFC’s control over top fighters stifles the matchmaking intrigues that outsider promoters like Jake Paul could otherwise create.

🔑 Notable Quote:

• “If your base is wrestling, you have the hand over any other fighter...if you’re a striker and you can’t get up, you’re done.” (Tony, 07:55)

3. Sportsmanship Debate: Anthony Edwards' Playoff Handshake (24:02 – 32:20)

• Ant’s Early Congratulation – Respectful or Premature?
  • Anthony Edwards approached the opposing bench with eight minutes left to shake hands—sparking debate over sportsmanship vs. surrender.
    • “As great as Ant is...there’s still some growth...I would not have walked down there and shook their hand. With eight minutes left in the game, as a leader...I would not show that weakness.” (Udonis Haslem, 24:39)
    • “He's showing tremendous sportsmanship. I don't think it's showing weakness, but...I just don't understand what was the race like.” (Stugats, 25:15)
• Generational Divide:
  • Dan notes how old-school perspectives, like Udonis Haslem's and Pat Riley's, clash with the ethos of today's NBA.
    • “Pat Riley once used to fine his players if they would help an opponent up.” (Dan, 31:04)

🔑 Memorable Moment:

Dan’s reflection on the shifting meaning of leadership and shows of emotion in defeat, underscoring the generational evolution in athlete behavior and public perception.

4. Viral Video: Million Vin Diesels vs. Five King Kongs (32:20 – 34:43)

• Roy’s Video of the Day:
  • The crew hilariously debates who would win in a viral simulated battle: 1,000,000 Vin Diesels or 5 King Kongs.
    • “I think I gotta go with the five King Kongs.” (Dan, 32:35)
    • “The million Vin Diesels, they take out four of the Kongs...but there is a Kong standing at the end of it.” (Stugats, 32:51)

🔑 Memorable Moment:

The show’s absurd tone peaks with the earnest, playful discussion of this internet oddity—a perfect snapshot of the podcast’s culture.

5. Motorsports: The Ultra-Challenge “Double” (34:43 – 37:43)

• Katherine Legg’s Attempt to Do the Double:
  • Chris Cody informs the team that Legg hopes to become the first woman to race both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s 600-mile event in Charlotte on the same day.
  • Just completing both races is an elite accomplishment; only six drivers have ever attempted, and Tony Stewart's 2001 effort is still the gold standard.
    • “So just completing it would be a massive Mount Rushmore type of achievement for women’s motorsports. No doubt.” (Chris Cody, 35:55)

6. NBA Coaching Moves & Owner Cheapness (37:43 – End)

• Jamal Mosley Hired by the Pelicans:
  • Stugats breaks the “breaking news” that Mosley, recently let go by the Orlando Magic, is now with New Orleans.
  • Dan and Tony debate if this is a good job or simply a paycheck-jump; consensus: “It’s a bad job. Hard stop.” (Dan, 40:29)
• Portland Blazers and Ownership Stereotypes:
  • The hosts dissect new owner Tom Dundon's reputation for cheapness, with Chris Cody noting a recent interview where Dundon tries to set the record straight.
  • Dan humorously questions the owner's figures and the idea that billionaires can be trusted on such claims.

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00 – 11:43: Combat sports, Jake Paul, McGregor’s fame, and the Netflix fight phenomenon.
• 06:20 – 12:12: MMA’s wrestling dominance and UFC’s monopoly on talent.
• 24:02 – 32:20: NBA sportsmanship debate: Anthony Edwards’ handshake.
• 32:20 – 34:43: Viral video breakdown: Vin Diesels vs. King Kongs.
• 34:43 – 37:43: Motorsports double—Katherine Legg’s challenge.
• 37:43 – 42:37: NBA coaching carousel and the “owner cheapness” trope.

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Notable Quotes

• “It's about fame right now, not about talent. That is not what should have headlined your Netflix fight.”
  — Dan Le Batard (00:16)
• “He’s the biggest star of the sport. He's bigger than the sport itself.”
  — Tony (09:25)
• “As great as Ant is as a basketball player, there's still some growth for him as well...I would not show that weakness.”
  — Udonis Haslem (24:39)
• “Pat Riley once used to fine his players if they would help an opponent up.”
  — Dan Le Batard (31:04)
• “The million Vin Diesels, they take out four of the Kongs… but there is a Kong standing at the end of it.”
  — Stugats (32:51–32:55)
• “So just completing it [the double] would be a massive Mount Rushmore type of achievement for women’s motorsports. No doubt.”
  — Chris Cody (35:55)

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Tone & Style

The show maintains its trademark blend of irreverence, sports-nerd banter, social criticism, and inside jokes. The debates often toggle between sincere criticism (especially segments on combat sports and sports culture) and absurdity (e.g., King Kongs vs. Vin Diesels), all while quickly pivoting between topics in a fast-paced, unfiltered style.

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For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode is for you if you enjoy:

• Thoughtful but comedic critiques of sports trends (combat sports, NBA culture)
• Nostalgic versus modern athlete debates
• Playful sports hypotheticals and meme culture
• Behind-the-scenes talk about sports business and promotion

The hour is one of the more quintessentially “Le Batard Show” episodes—serious when needed but always ready to chase the next tangent, meme, or contradiction.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats podcast. There are any number of things as that I can shake my fist at and be an old man shouting at clouds on. And I've been that here as it regards the combat sports being sort of eaten up by a need for fame instead of merit. Okay, the headliner on that Netflix fight. I don't get to decide. This Netflix fight, all of that is a huge success. And what Jake Paul has created over my objections leaves me behind because it's about fame right now, not about talent. That is not what should have headlined your Netflix fight. But the reason it's headlining your Netflix fight is just because of the novelty of two past their prime fighters who happen to be pioneers. And in women's fighting, which Jake Paul has done a great deal for more than most. Jake Paul has been a monster success as a promoter. I'm assuming that his fighting career is done. He's not going to do any better than getting a bunch of people watch Anthony Joshua break his jaw.

[Stugats]

He. He said on the post show, or maybe it was late in the show, he said that he's been cleared. Like he. He's planning on fighting again.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, I just assume though, that there's nothing that he can do that will top that, that there's no gate attraction, however creative he is. Carano versus Rousey is creative. It's just not a good fight. It's a ridiculous fight to have. But what matters now is fame. It's why McGregor's coming back. McGregor's about to be back and he's fighting an old person fight.

[Tony]

No, he's not. He's not fighting an old person fight. Dan, showing your ass right now. He's fighting Max Hollywood, one of the greatest to ever do it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Also an old guy who.

[Chris Cody]

Old guy?

[Tony]

What are you talking about, old guy?

[Stugats]

Did you see how Dana White announced. That was the best part return. On Saturday night, Dana White dropped the official Conor McGregor announcement during Francis Ngannou's walkout.

[Tony]

Prime pettiness from Dana.

[Stugats]

Man, that's. That's bullshit.

[Dan Le Batard]

And Ganu really showed Dana White the value of the individual.

[Stugats]

Awesome.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's. Yeah, it's an. It's an interesting tension. I mean, that guy's awesome, his story's awesome. And, and what he did as a fighter in terms of showing everybody the unfairness of. Of how it is that Dana White locks up his fighters and doesn't actually pay them what they're worth.

[Stugats]

You see, he gave his fight bonus to his opponent. Hundred thousand dollars almost Killed the man. That's no joke for someone who stopped UFC because they don't pay enough. He just gave his opponent $100,000.

[Dan Le Batard]

So I want both things can be true, right? I can not like much of what Jake Paul represents and also salute him for having done what Oscar De La Hoya has done in terms of turn earning a fighting career into a promotions career, because he absolutely knows how to tailor content for young people in a way that I find bothersome. As someone who wants to appreciate the merit of two people get into a cage and it's just them and the bravery of that, of being embarrassed. You don't have teammates, you don't have help. You're just there with your stamina, your courage, your exhaustion, your fear. And you risk being embarrassed the way that Gina Carano was embarrassed after she's lost £100 to get to that point. She revealed that before the fight. I was not aware that she was pre diabetic and that she lost £100 in order to just even get into that fight. But where are you guys on these fights that are basically just get them in the circus tent. We're gonna change boxing. It can't be about just merit anymore. It has to be about fame, entertainment, and other things.

[Stugats]

So I had an interesting experience watching the fights on Saturday night, and I'd be interested for Tony to confirm my suspicion here. So I watched the whole fights Saturday night.

[Shabba]

And.

[Stugats]

And I. And I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the card. I watched all five, six.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you can't do five hours standing next to the cage, but you can do five hours sitting watching on television.

[Stugats]

Totally. Well, I also had on the small three in the Zaslow mansion family room. I had Canadiens and Sabres, which was a real disappointment that Montreal couldn't wrap that thing up. Hopefully they do tonight on the road. Buffalo, game seven. That's neither here nor there.

[Dan Le Batard]

Roy, why are you. Why are you waving a hand at him?

[Roy]

No, because the Sabres are going to win game seven tonight.

[Stugats]

Okay, that's fine. But like, I could still root for the team I want to root for. Why are you objecting to that?

[Shabba]

Because you're wrong.

[Dan Le Batard]

But why does he.

[Stugats]

Doesn't happen yet. How am I wrong?

[Dan Le Batard]

But how is he wrong? He's not wrong yet.

[Roy]

He's not wrong yet. But I believe the Sabres are going to end up winning this game.

[Stugats]

Okay, so there you go. It's a win, it's a belief, but

[Mike]

everyone's rooting for Buffalo.

[Stugats]

You don't.

[Mike]

You're wrong.

[Chris Cody]

I think Montreal wins two.

[Stugats]

Thanks Mike, out there on that island,

[Chris Cody]

they've been very resilient after losses.

[Stugats]

I mean, they were up 3:1. They lost 8:3. Dan. My God. At home. 8:3. Sheesh. So anyway, I could watch the game at home, and I enjoyed it. And you know what? The thing that drew me, of course, was Rousey and Karana, which you. You knew it was always gonna end like that. I said, on Friday, it's gonna be quick. It's going to be a shit show. And, yeah, Ronda Rousey looked great because she fought an actress, all right? Like, she fought an actress who had not fought in 17 years, who was in her mid-40s, all right?

[Dan Le Batard]

Had to lose £100 to get.

[Stugats]

She fought an her, by the way, she's great in Deadpool, all right, she fought an actress, so of course she looked good. But I enjoyed all of the fights because they all were finishes, and four of the five were finishes or five of the six were finishes in the first round. And. And then I was reading, like, they ended in spectacular fashion, all of them. And then I was reading like, oh, they probably booked the card that way so that there can be, like, you're not gonna have this technical, you know, show that real hardcore MMA fans are gonna like, but for casuals who are watching on Netflix, maybe someone like me, you're going to get finished. Oh, this is going to be exciting.

[Dan Le Batard]

I can make a convincing argument that ranges from the casuals to the Die Hards that wrestling has ruined ufc. Like, I can. Even the Die Hards will concede that aesthetically, it used to be. Tell me, Tony, you're the expert here, so walk me through this, because I think this is part of what it is that happened to Rousey and the overestimation of her as a fighter. The early days of ufc, mixed martial arts, a striker could get in there and actually win because the other. The other sciences made it so that the sport wasn't evolved enough and a striker could win. What happened to Rousey is at the primitive stages of women's mixed martial art. She got dusted by largely a striker. Holly Holm can do other things. And now the sport has evolved to a place there as well, with the women, where you can't be just a striker. You. You have to be more than that. And I think wrestling has largely ruined the aesthetic pleasures that Zaz is looking for where he wants somebody just knocked out 100.

[Tony]

And early on, you could have strikers. Obviously, they had many different disciplines. As you can remember from the old UFC days, people would walk in with shoes and a GI and, like, everything's like, what's happening? You know, Hoist. Gracie's out there in a gi, choking

[Udonis Haslem]

people with this gi.

[Tony]

It's crazy. Completely crazy.

[Stugats]

It's awesome.

[Tony]

But in those early stages of the early odds, the Chocolate El days, the BJ Pen days, the Forest Griffin days, a striker could go in and could not only work through a wrestler, but win in confusion.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not anymore. I don't feel like a striker right now can do that anymore.

[Tony]

And that's the issue. Rogan, A lot of people that obviously know the science inside and out have said if your base is wrestling, you have the. You have the hand over any other fighter because of the fact that wrestling and jiu jitsu and ground him. Ground game, excuse me, has gotten so elite that if you're a striker and you can't get up, you're done. Because all they'll do is they'll sit on you and work you through different things, try to get you into submission for five minutes, and it's over. So the meritocracy, also of the MVP card is a thing that was in question for me, because what gave it away that they booked it when they.

[Stugats]

Am I right about that?

[Tony]

Francis Ngannou fighting Felipe Linz is that when you realize, like, oh, wait a second, they want knockouts here?

[Mike]

That's what made that Strickland win so impressive.

[Tony]

Correct. Absolutely nullified the wrestling of Hamza. And it was like, oh, Strickland just going to outbox him.

[Dan Le Batard]

And where are you guys, though? On so. So Tony's disputing me on McGregor's return. I'm not interested in McGregor's biggest thing in the turn.

[Stugats]

I know it's really well.

[Dan Le Batard]

But come on, guys. How long has it been since he won a fight? Like, what are you guys doing? It's annoying to me that you. You take these famous guys who have a loud mouth. How old is he? And when I'm looking, when's the last time McGregor won a fight?

[Stugats]

Like, you guys against Nate Diaz, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, come on. Like, what are we doing? That's. That's not merit. You just like the loudmouth who's famous because he's a star. Alien.

[Stugats]

He's 37.

[Tony]

He beat Cowboy. He beat Cowboy Cerrone in UFC 246, and that was in 2020. So right before the pandemic kicked off. What do you lost in Dustin?

[Dan Le Batard]

You guys want to see this? Like, you guys want to see McGregor fight just because he's a loudmouth?

[Tony]

Yeah, it's not that he's a loudmouth, Dan, he's. He's the biggest star of the sport. He's bigger than the sport itself.

[Chris Cody]

We had the shocking take last week. I watching people fight for money. And if they're famous, that's cool too. Just go in there and duke it out.

[Mike]

I want to see how little he blinks at the press conference.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah. And Dan, if you like the arts and the science of combat sports, fire up some pro fight league. There's plenty of places for you where you can watch someone stripped down to their courage. But I like someone being stripped down to their courage. That makes me feel something too, and I get the appeal. It's a new form of celebrity boxing. And as we mentioned on Friday, Jake Paul has done good things with the platform, with these cards and combat sports, particularly for women's combat sports. He's done a lot.

[Tony]

The issue is in the MMA side, boxing wise. Like, he's doing a lot of great stuff because he's, he has access to get the fighters. In mma, you don't have access to get the fighters. You got to get. Has been. You got to get guys that are outcasts, you got to get girls that are outcasts because the best fighters are in the ufc. Like that's the issue. They have a monopoly on the sport. So you're going to go get guys from pfl. Why do I care to watch that? I'll go watch the PFL if that's the case.

[Stugats]

What do you make of. I never seen this before. You see Jake Paul's douche suite right outside inside the the cage to watch the fights. They built him like a little suite right in front of the cage.

[Tony]

We had our lives on that Saturday.

[Stugats]

It was the only one he had a douche suite.

[Dan Le Batard]

I can celebrate the good things that he's doing and object to the contamination at once. And I'm not lecturing the rest of you on what it is that you like. I'm not. But if you're good with Conor McGregor not winning a fight and it being the last one fight against Nate Diaz, who was spent six years ago, like, if you guys are good with making that the biggest star in the sport just because you're going to fuel him on nothing but memories, then you can watch that. I'm not interested in that.

[Chris Cody]

I didn't make him the biggest star in the sport. He did. And people are going to watch. And if I want to watch a good fight, look, if for boxing, I could fire up the ESPN app on a Friday night. And see a great card if I want. It's not now. It's not doing anything to the business that's bad. Yeah. You can lament that this is what gets the most attention and that says more about us. But it's not like the other, like more gritty and real combat sports aren't still doing anything.

[Anthony Edwards]

Oh, no.

[Dan Le Batard]

But what I'm just. All I'm saying to you is if you tell me that Conor McGregor is still the biggest star in the sport, it's not because of Conor McGregor or a celebration of Conor McGregor. It's an indictment of. Of the sport.

[Stugats]

Yes.

[Dan Le Batard]

When the biggest star in the sport hasn't won a fight in six years.

[Tony]

Jon Jones, biggest star in the sport also, he was at the.

[Dan Le Batard]

He wins. He wins when he fights 100%.

[Stugats]

I'll tell you what, speaking of Jon Jones, you saw what took place. Like it was such a weird interaction with Jon Jones on that Netflix broadcast on Saturday night where Tyron Woodley is openly on air giving Jon Jones ideas on how to break and get out of his UFC contract. That was. That was strange.

[Shabba]

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[Roy]

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[Chris Cody]

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?

[Dan Le Batard]

Miller Line.

[Chris Cody]

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

[Unknown Advertiser]

Oh.

[Mike]

When you open that with the can

[Udonis Haslem]

though, and you one of the best

[Chris Cody]

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.

[Mike]

I have goosebumps thinking about the first sip.

[Chris Cody]

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 and you're 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.

[Stugats]

Wow. That golden color.

[Chris Cody]

Just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer since 1975. And it still hits different.

[Dan Le Batard]

I love you, Miller Lite.

[Chris Cody]

Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite Grape 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.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard.

[Stugats]

I've never stepped foot on that campus. If you told me right now your life depends on it. Go to Santa Fe University and just take a picture.

[Dan Le Batard]

Stugats.

[Stugats]

I would die. I don't know where it is. This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats.

[Chris Cody]

One of my favorite things going on in combat sports right now is the budding friendship between Cormier and Bones Jones. Have you been watching some of these things? They're still trying to pretend like they hate one another, but. But yeah, they broke it because they realized they can make a lot of money doing this. It's this new, like Buddy content play that they're doing, and D.C. is just steaming at a dinner table, breaking bread with Jon Jones. But, like, these are two big time rivals. The hate between them, yeah, that translated, it's for its era, the biggest, hottest rivalry in combat sports. And they decided together, despite our feelings about one another, we can make a lot of money doing this if we play it the right way.

[Tony]

And the issue with Jon Jones is why. You saw him in Francis Ngannou, and everybody's like, why don't you guys fight? It's like, well, if. If Jon were to walk into an octagon, he's got to fight for the ufc, so they've got to get through whatever.

[Stugats]

But what if he walks into a hexagon?

[Tony]

That's the question. It was a hexagon. I still think they.

[Stugats]

I like the hexagon, Dan. With only a hexagon instead of an octagon, I thought it was easier to see through the cage. I'm a fan of the hexagon.

[Tony]

The reason why they do it, it's also smaller, right? So if you have the octagon or the canvas being bigger, there's more room to escape. There's more room to kind of work through. If you're in a smaller place, it's like, all right, me and you got to stand, and we got a bang. Like, that's what it is, Dan. We also had the Cuban Missile Crisis leading off. Almost killed Junior Dos Santos. Poor guy.

[Stugats]

Oh, my God. Junior Dos Santos, he alive?

[Tony]

I hope so, because he gave him a 1, 2, 3 combo that, like, slept him on the second punch. And then he got him again with the hardest punch being at the end.

[Stugats]

You can't come out so rocky and then lose like that.

[Tony]

You can't lose like that. But the Cuban Missile Crisis, Rovelli de Pane. Dan. I have a interpreter's conversation between him and the Ariel Helwani thing and the whole thing I translated for you. Would you like to watch it?

[Dan Le Batard]

I would, but I'd like you to explain the Ariel Hawani whole thing.

[Tony]

Yeah, so. So Ariel. Ariel was the guy. Ariel was the guy who was doing the, you know, Joe Rogan part of the commentary with the fighters in the cage. So while he was doing that, I was giving Rollis his actual answers to Ariel's question.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is exasperating to me. This has been exasperating to me my entire adult life. The way things get translated in sports by the translators is always shitty in Spanish. I don't. I don't know if it's more accurate when it's Japanese or another language, but when it's Spanish, it' weirdly inaccurate.

[Tony]

And we have a situation like that where my translator, while I'm doing Cuban Spanish, my translator is not really translating the things that I want him to say. So I need to make sure that he gets what I'm trying to tell him to make sure that gets through the airwaves. So I wasn't able to hear it because we had the music on at Devflamingo. Plus we couldn't air the actual sound of the fight on our stream, which did very well, by the way. Thank you for everybody that supported and to Netflix. But this is. This is the breakdown of a Cuban fighter winning against a old Brazilian guy and what he said.

[Stugats]

Yeah, yeah, he did.

[Chris Cody]

Look at this right here.

[Stugats]

Yeah. So we were excited coming into this fight. We came into the ring and

[Dan Le Batard]

were

[Stugats]

solid low kicks and he a couple times. But, you know, I was able to persevere and, you know, I found an opening. You know, once I caught my window. Once I caught my window, I knew the ball went ahead and knocked his ass up.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a good lane for you guys. I don't think anybody else is doing quite that. I told Sedano last week that he needs to pick up the lane of a smoking pipe and a robe everywhere that he goes to give hot takes because the journalists are being run out. And so you might as well develop new forms. Yeah, you got to figure out other ways to entertain people. Something that happened during the Timberwolves spurs series that I wanted to talk to you guys about because I think that most people listening to this think that the championship is going to be played tonight. It's going that the next seven games between the Spurs. I think outside of New York that most people listening to this believe that the Thunder and the spurs are about to play for the championship. I also think that most people listening to this think that the spurs are the only thing that exists exists in the world that can bother okc. When I was talking about Shea Gilgis Alexander earlier and it may have sounded like I was trying to dilute his greatness, I should point out he's got a 140 game streak of 20 plus point games. He's won two MVPs, he's an NBA champion, he's got a Finals MVP. He's got a scoring title. But 140 straight games of over 20 points a game. That streak is crazy. That's. That is the kind of scoring that is nuts. When you look up Yesterday and you see what Tobias Harris did in a game seven, or you look at what James Harden did in game seven or you look at what Cade Cunningham did in a game seven and you've got a two time MVP who just keeps scoring. He's a metronome. He scores 20 points in every single game. And their defense is so good that if they get something from him, they're going to win most of their games. But the talking point evidently after Spurs Timberwolves was about the fact that Anthony Edwards, when the game was over in what has been a bad NBA playoffs, four close games like that's not up for dispute. We don't have memorable moments. We've got an overtime game here and there between, you know, Toronto and Cleveland. But go ahead and give me all the moments you remember from this NBA postseason that are larger than Wemby throwing an elbow in one of the dirtiest plays you'll ever see. And I'm going to say again that he has no idea and the spurs have no idea how lucky they got there. Because when I talk to you guys about what athletes are presently doing with body mechanics where Josh Allen is changing his throwing motion so that he can get more from his legs and hips into his arms, there are very few human beings on earth who have the size and flexibility to have the amount of force in the elbow that Wemby would have from his feet when he elbows somebody in the face. The spurs were really lucky that that wasn't an all time horrific moment on television where Naz Reed is just lying on floor and then the NBA has to react more forcefully than they would have had to react for what was the action. It's the same action. But they're fortunate that Nas Reed evidently doesn't have a glass chin because the amount of force that and Tony can speak to this with the flying elbows and what is knockout power in the mma, the amount of force that arrives in Wemby's elbow that starts in his feet from the torque that happens there would knock out most human beings. Anthony Edwards going over with eight minutes left in a spent game. He explains here you, Donna Haslam and others were mad at him for doing this. But here's Anthony Edwards explaining what it is that he did at the end of his season.

[Udonis Haslem]

I think you went down to the, to the spurs bench with eight minutes to go in the game. Like what was kind of the thought process to do it it in the middle of the game there rather than kind of waiting for the end.

[Anthony Edwards]

I mean, at that point you Know

[Dan Le Batard]

you ain't going back in, so you're just trying to get them respect they deserve. Udonis, Haslam and others had trouble with this. I don't know about the rest of you, but hearing athletes I have covered since high school sound like grandparents on television is something that I'm going to have to take some time to get used to. Because hearing you, Donnis Haslam, scold Anthony Edwards on this was not surprising to me, but it did make me feel old.

[Anthony Edwards]

And what I will say is as great as Ant is as a basketball player, there's still some growth for him as well, because as a leader, I would not have walked down there and shook their hand. I would not have walked down there and shook their hand. With eight minutes left in the game, as a leader of my troops and my guys, I would not show that weakness. The game is not over. I got eight minutes left. I still got smoke coming out of my ear, so I'm so damn mad we losing. Let me calm down for those eight minutes since I'm not in. And then after those eight minutes, I'll go down there and I'll congratulate them and their coaching staff. But in the middle of the game, when I got guys that have sat the bench and cheered me on, no, I'm gonna sit there and cheer those guys on. I'm gonna put that energy back into those guys. And then when the game's over, I'll go over there and shake their hand.

[Stugats]

Yeah, I mean, I obviously agree with pretty much all of that from you, Donnis Haslam. The place that I would disagree is I don't think it's him showing weakness by going over there. I mean, he's showing tremendous sportsmanship. I don't think it's showing weakness. But the part that I disagree with is my. Like, if I'm the leader of the team, like, Anthony Edwards is my number one priority, always is my team. And so I'd rather support my team until the game is over and then show the sportsmanship. I. I'm not even down on Anthony Edwards doing it because, like, what he did was classy and respectful. I just don't understand what was the race like. It's not. It's not a race to be the first to congratulate. You could have done it immediately after the game is over. I don't understand what the purpose there was.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, dab me the wind. Wasn't that what he was doing? Just to show everybody how much grace he has? With eight minutes left, he was being taken out of the game. That's that you take Anthony Edwards out of the game. Is that not an act of surrender? I mean, Haslam is talking about troops, is it not? He might as well have gone over there with a white flag like that. It is an act of surrender. He knew his season was over. He was going over there to congratulate them on ending his season.

[Tony]

I mean, he said it like, I wasn't going back in the game.

[Mike]

But he makes it seem like he's leaving to go into the locker room,

[Stugats]

literally, the game ends, to go say, you know, congratulations, everybody, 25.

[Dan Le Batard]

He should have done that, though. I think he should have congratulated them and then kept going into his off season. Just left. Just left for postgame energy.

[Mike]

He made it seem like, I got to get out of here, like, I'm leaving.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right.

[Mike]

I don't want people to say, I didn't shake hands. I'll just go do it now.

[Stugats]

And you know what? How's it got a little bit odd from San Antonio's perspective? They were literally in their timeout huddle, sitting on the bench, going over what they're going to do next. What the hell is Anthony Edwards doing here?

[Udonis Haslem]

I mean, maybe his thought process was like, I'm pissed this is happening. I'm just going to congratulate him now, and I'm going to walk out of here the moment this is done, because I don't want to deal with it. But I. I didn't see the very end. Did he dap anybody up after the game? I'm unsure.

[Stugats]

I hope not.

[Udonis Haslem]

But that was, like, redundant.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah.

[Udonis Haslem]

I mean, he loves Wemby. Like, at the All Star Game, he was praising Wemby for making it the competitive game. That it was like, I think he has an admiration. He kept like, I'm not the face of the league. Let that guy be the face of the league. That's the face of the league.

[Stugats]

It was also weird to me because if you. If you asked me who are some of the most competitive guys in that league, Anthony Edwards would be very close to the top.

[Chris Cody]

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

[Tony]

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

[Chris Cody]

Yeah. You usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo.

[Tony]

Walking like this.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cuervo is the thing that turns hanging out note into this is the night.

[Tony]

It has that effect on people.

[Chris Cody]

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.

[Tony]

Keep it Cuervo, baby.

[Stugats]

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[Dan Le Batard]

don le cheaters never prosper. St. I ain't cheating. This is the Dan Levatar show with

[Stugats]

the st.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, the, the thing, though, that I'm generally amused by was when we turn all of these tiny, tiny things into talking points that have drama in them. Nobody questions how much Anthony Edwards cares, right? He's not one of the guys that we have questions about how much he actually cares about winning. That's not the next thing on this is that you have to be temper tantrum guy who's smoldering and is so mad about losing that he can't bear to shake hands with somebody else because he cares so much about losing. But Anthony Edwards, I don't believe anyone's going to say, oh, I don't think that guy wants to win or he cares cares less than the average person.

[Mike]

I feel like UD did kind of imply that he's like, if I'd be sitting over there with smoke coming out of my ears, I'm too angry to go, I know.

[Dan Le Batard]

But so, so this is, this is not surprising. But you donis learned, obviously at the knee of Pat Riley, who once upon a time. Because these are things that grandparents do generationally when it comes to sports. Pat Riley once used to fine his players if they would help an opponent up.

[Stugats]

I like it.

[Dan Le Batard]

I know you like it, but it's from a different time. That's not the time we live in anymore. That's. And we don't live in Udonis Haslam's time for this stuff anymore either. These guys are, whether you like it or not, not friendlier than you'd like them to be. And so when, I mean, we just. We just glanced over what Jeremy said. Think about that. Do you think Magic Johnson would say, no, I'm fine with Larry Bird being the face of the league. I don't want to be the face of the league. It's fine that Wemby's the face of the league. You tell me all the guys in history that you think Michael Jordan would have said that about anybody. Like, we're just in a different age for what. These guys are all their own business and. And they all know how they care. And also, Anthony Edwards knows something else too. Holy shit. That guy's a foot taller than me. Like that. That guy blocked five shots a game at the beginning of this series before he elbowed Naz Reed and hit him. And do you see the size of Naz Reed? Like, you know how hard it is to hit that guy with an elbow that knocks him down? There aren't many human beings roaming Earth in the history of Earth who can do that. Anthony Edwards kinds of know, kind of knows, ah, his league now. Why? Because he's bigger than everybody.

[Tony]

It's like, I do a lot of great things, but that guy, that guy,

[Dan Le Batard]

he does them at a foot taller than me.

[Stugats]

Dan, can I just tell you, we have an incredible. Roy's video of the day today. Have you seen this yet? It's a video of 1 million Vin diesels versus 5 King Kongs.

[Dan Le Batard]

Who you got?

[Stugats]

Unbelievable.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think I gotta go with the five King Kongs. Like, I don't, I don't. It could be. Put it on the poll at LeBatard show. Five King Kongs versus a million Vin Diesel's. Who you got?

[Stugats]

I will tell you at one point here, the million Vin Diesels, they take out four of the Kongs.

[Tony]

Spoiler alert.

[Dan Le Batard]

But there is a Kong standing at the end of it.

[Stugats]

There is incredible.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mike, why. Why is Richard Gere staring me in the face? Why is there the construction helmet that is battered and is the gearhead why has that been taken out here during this video that we're watching of a million vin Diesel's fighting 5 King Kong

[Chris Cody]

because it's the greatest week in motorsports. You have so much going on now. No Monaco this year for Formula One. They're going to be doing, I believe, the Canadian Grand Prix, trying to eat into American Motorsports, North American Motorsports. And I don't like it because it's Indy 500 week and NASCAR's longest race of the season happens in Charlotte. And Dan, while yesterday was the All Star race, kind of a gimmick, Denny Hamlin won it. We transition now from Fox to Prime's coverage of the NASCAR season. I thought prime did an incredible job last year with their first year with nascar. But as a surprise, we now have a huge storyline going into Charlotte because Kathryn Legg is attempting out of nowhere to be the sixth driver ever to pull the double. Do the Indianapolis 500 and the Coke 0600 in Charlotte race all 1100 in one single day. A big deal was made about this when Kyle Larson attempted to do this the last two years and he failed. In fact, I think there's a new documentary on prime about it. Kathryn Legge, who only has like eight NASCAR cup starts, core discipline more geared towards Indy, announced last week, out of nowhere, I'm going for the double. So now we have a huge storyline. She'd obviously be the first woman to accomplish such a feat. And with this, the achievement is completing it. Many drivers have tried and failed to complete both races.

[Dan Le Batard]

I was going to ask you, what's the most successfully the doubles ever been done?

[Chris Cody]

Tony Sewart, Tony Seward. Kurt Busch tried it a few years ago. Kyle Larson tried it twice in the last two years. And after he flamed out in Indy, he decided, I'm not going to do this anymore. It was very difficult because you have to keep in mind training for the Indianapolis 500, there's practice, it's an all month deal. It is a month long race and

[Dan Le Batard]

racing one of these races is exhausting.

[Chris Cody]

Yes, you hop on a bird immediately after Indy and you get to Charlotte. One of the times Kyle Larson tried it, he was left in his car because the race was delayed and they didn't give him an opportunity to switch into the car with the driver because Indy also got delayed. So he wasn't able to race all the miles available to him. And last year he crashed in Indy. He's a very aggressive driver. I think Kathryn Legg is actually well positioned to do this because in NASCAR she's usually in the back of the pack. Now, she's had her difficulty in nascar, but she's not this super aggressive driver. Part of Kyle's. What did Kyle Larson's attempt at it in was that he's so aggressive. He was legitimately trying to win both races and he doesn't change his style of racing.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're saying, though, that success is simply completing the two races.

[Chris Cody]

That's many skilled drivers. Yes, yes. Yeah. Winning is another conversation. That's what made Kyle's pursuit so interesting because he's actually surprisingly shockingly good at driving the IndyCar because he's one of the best drivers on the planet. But also last year he was a cup series champion. He had a legit shot at winning one of those, and that's next level. But he failed to complete it two times in a row. Failed to complete it. It's really hard to do. So just completing it would be a massive Mount Rushmore type of achievement for women's motorsports. No doubt for Katherine Legg. And by the way, you can tune into the NASCAR cup series to see if she pulls off this double in Charlotte. Sunday, May 24, 6pm Eastern on Prime.

[Mike]

I'm smiling, thinking about the NASCAR all star game because I'm envisioning the NBA All Star game where like, they don't play any defense and stuff. Like, what does that look like in nascar? He's like, you just let everyone pass. It's like going by.

[Chris Cody]

It was weird.

[Mike]

There's all going like 30 miles an hour.

[Chris Cody]

There's like three segments. And so they have like these stages, right? And if you finish near the top in the first stage, they send you to the back of the pack in the second stage, they take your like, average position for like a third all in. It was an interesting race. A lot of big time wrecks for an all star race at the Monster Mile. I like it, being there.

[Tony]

In the legendary 2001 double attempt, Tony Stewart finished sixth at the Indy and third in the Coca Cola 600.

[Stugats]

Yeah, that.

[Chris Cody]

That remains the gold standard in double attempts. Only six drivers ever trying this. So this is a huge deal, obviously, for motorsports, it's a great surprise turn of events. But you also have the added element of this is a woman that is attempting to do this. She'd obviously become the first ever to do that as a woman. It's a big deal.

[Stugats]

Dan, I got some breaking news for you here. For those who is it better than

[Dan Le Batard]

the breaking news from before? Because the breaking news you gave us before was not breaking news. Is this real breaking News.

[Tony]

That was a report, though.

[Stugats]

Yeah, that was a report. I reported earlier that contrary to what Jaylen Brown would like, Stephen A. Smith is not retiring. That's a report. You don't have to like my reports, but that's a report. This is breaking news. All right. And for those who are concerned about former Orlando Magic head coach Jamal Mosley remaining unemployed for long, you don't have to be concerned any longer because he is the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. Fly, Pelican, fly.

[Tony]

Good spot for him.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is it?

[Tony]

Yeah. You know what's better than. You know what's worse than coaching the Pelicans? Not having a job.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is it?

[Stugats]

It's a good spot.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not sure. Because I believe that that will end Mosley's career, like, as a coach. Whatever happens there is going to finish his career. That Zion Williamson and whatever happens there is going to end his career as a head coach.

[Udonis Haslem]

Okay, is it better one last paycheck there or like, wait it out, maybe even go become an assistant somewhere else and hope you can ride the coattails of somebody to a better job opportunity five years from now? Take that risk.

[Tony]

You know what's better? Getting all the money I can now and then being able to get an assistant job somewhere else for the rest of my life.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's being paid by the Magic this year, correct?

[Stugats]

Well, not anymore.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not. Not anymore.

[Stugats]

You don't get double dip.

[Dan Le Batard]

So. So what? So I'm going to reframe the question. What is best, Tony not working and getting paid the full coaching amount or having to work for the money and coaching the Pelicans?

[Tony]

The former. The former for sure.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's why I'm not sure that this is great, and I don't think it deserved breaking news. I don't think that Mosley himself would think that that deserves to be broken into our broadcast. I think he'd say it'd be fine if you ignored that the same way you ignored my firing after five seasons with the Matt Magic. I think he. I think he'd be fine with us just continuing to move along.

[Udonis Haslem]

He will still be paid through the 27, 28 season.

[Tony]

Talk about the double.

[Chris Cody]

Oh, he's an extension.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, so he's getting the double he's got.

[Tony]

What could be better than that?

[Dan Le Batard]

You're gonna pay me here, I'm gonna

[Tony]

pay me there, but I don't have to work there. But I have to work here.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't have to win in Orlando or New Orleans.

[Tony]

I just get paid.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's it. I just Travel with the team and go all over the place.

[Chris Cody]

I don't know if there's one of

[Udonis Haslem]

those stipulations, sort of like college football where it's like, I don't think whatever he's paid by the Pelicans maybe counteracts what he would have been paid by the magic.

[Stugats]

Yeah, I don't think he's getting.

[Udonis Haslem]

He was still supposed to paid once he was fired. So it's like, would you have just sat there and waited for that to run out before or do you try to go get this head coach, the Pelicans? I mean, Derek Queen.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a bad job. Hard stop.

[Udonis Haslem]

Pretty bad job.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think working for Portland at the moment might be a bad job. But for some reason, Chris Cody was telling me that he has had his mind changed on Tom Dundon, the Portland owner who. The only thing I know about him and the only thing most people listening to this know about him is that he's cheap. It's a terrible thing for a rich man to endure that. The only thing we know about you is that you are famously cheap. But Chris, why have you had your mind changed? What did, what did Rich Paul and Max Kellerman do with the owner of the Trailblazers that changed your mind on his. His way of behaving in business?

[Mike]

It's just things I've been reading and seeing on social media the last few weeks. My perception was just, holy crap, this is like a Jeffrey Lauria. This is like the, the, the Blazers have what we had with the Marlins and maybe they do, but I heard him do an interview with them and I, I came away seeing his side of it a little bit. This is him responding to just the allegation that he's cheap.

[K]

I just don't want to waste money. I want to invest it. I'll have as many masseuse. I'll have the best food. We're going to take care of the players because it helps you win. It's part of the deal. Some of the stuff about how we're going to run the business, you know, Portland. Portland spends a hundred million more dollars a year on their business than the Hurricanes do. Not including players. The Hurricanes since I bought the team of the first or second best record in the league. So I, I'm just not going to waste $100 million just because somebody wants to write our article calling me cheap. It's not. I'm just not going to do it.

[Udonis Haslem]

It.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, but basketball is more expensive than hockey. Like what do you.

[Mike]

But that's. He's just saying for staff $100 million extra that he's spending like not have nothing to do with players or coaches.

[Stugats]

There's no way that number is accurate. $100 million.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's what he says. That is what he says. And why would a billionaire lie? I trust them implicitly certainly about money. They're never going to lie about money. I think they're ethical and transparent and there's no reason that he's doing that interview other than to tell us the truth that doesn't favor him in any way.

[Tony]

In fact he's got a save money money we need him to save more money instead of spending more money we need to save it.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want you guys to absorb how rare it is. Go ahead think about it for a second. Outside of Donald Sterling give me all the owners in the history of basketball that you associate with cheapness. Like this guy's got a rough thing to overcome right at the start.