The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

Summary

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The Dan Patrick Show: The Best of – July 20, 2026

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Episode Overview

This “Best of” episode from July 20, 2026, hosted by Dan Patrick and his crew (Fritzi, Dylan, Marvin, Paulie), delivers insightful and humorous discussion focused around the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final, its implications for U.S. soccer, and broader themes in sports—ranging from the value of great defense to the NFL's ongoing turf-vs-grass debate. Notable guests include Rebecca Lowe, acclaimed soccer broadcaster and World Cup host, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The show blends analytical breakdowns, sports culture banter, and personal anecdotes for a comprehensive, entertaining listen.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. 2026 World Cup Final Breakdown

• Spain Defeats Argentina 1-0 in Extra Time

  • Dan Patrick praises both Spain’s “dominant defense” and Fox’s coverage, acknowledging the sheer scale of 39 days and 104 matches.
  • “It should have been five or six to nothing. Argentina hung in there and you could tell Spain realized if they went to penalty kicks, they might have been in trouble.” (Dan Patrick, 02:26)

• Spain’s Suffocating Defense

  • Spain conceded only one goal in the entire tournament (03:41, 06:09).
  • Comparison to legendary sports defenses (85 Bears, 2000 Ravens, Steel Curtain Steelers).
  • “Spain was throwing a no hitter. Not a perfect game. Close to it, a no hitter, but the outcome was still hanging in the balance.” (Dan Patrick, 06:12)

• Argentina’s Hopes & Messi's Legacy

  • Argentina’s best chance would have been in penalty kicks due to superior goaltending and individual scoring.
  • “And then you have to look at the Messi moment...it solidified his goat status. They did shut him down yesterday, and. But Spain shuts down everybody.” (Dan Patrick, 05:15)

• World Cup Odds 2030 & Team USA’s Standing

  • Spain, France, Portugal, and England favored for 2030.
  • "The United States is cruising in at plus 8,000." (Dylan, 03:41)
  • USMNT tied with Nigeria, Mexico, Japan, Cameroon, highlighting growth needed.

2. The Halftime Spectacle

• Polarizing Responses to the Halftime Show
  • Lineup included Madonna, Justin Bieber, Ted Lasso, the Muppets, Shakira, BTS.
  • “I didn’t need it. I don't need Madonna out there. I don't know. Justin Bieber...the Muppets, Ted Lasso, and Shakira…I’m like, okay, all right, hurry up, let's go.” (Dan Patrick, 10:51)
  • “She could give me more than the hips. Don’t lie.” (Dan Patrick on Shakira, 11:21)
  • “Let the kids dance.” (Marvin, 11:56)

3. U.S. Hosting and Soccer’s Growth

• Tournament Organization & Experience

  • Concerns pre-tournament about tickets, security, potential issues—event ran smoothly.
  • “It went smoothly, I think for the most part. I think people had a great experience.” (Dan Patrick, 06:12)

• Soccer’s Place in the U.S.

  • U.S. performance, player pipeline, and the influence of poverty in early development for stars like Ronaldo and Messi.
  • Challenge for U.S.: “We need to find those players to help them work their way up to maybe get on a big stage.” (Dan Patrick, 07:37)

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Interview Highlights: Rebecca Lowe (22:51 – 33:21)

On Spain’s Dominant Yet Tense Victory

• “That's football. And at one point I was a bit concerned actually for the watching millions...because it was Neil nil going into actual time. And I was thinking, come on guys, this is not a good advert for the game...” (Rebecca Lowe, 23:41)
• “Football won, which is the right thing. Spain were the right winners, they were the better team.” (Rebecca Lowe, 24:07)

On Messi’s Future

• “I think so [it's the end]. Although...can you bet against this guy? I mean 39, he'll be 42 by the time the next, next one starts...I probably would take him at 42, 43.” (Rebecca Lowe, 24:39)
• “Just watching him walk around, I mean, it's...a whole new type [of] way of playing football...there were still flashes for me...” (Rebecca Lowe, 25:26)

On Sportsmanship & Argentina's Conduct

• On Argentina turning their backs to Spain during the trophy ceremony:
  “I don't like that, I don't like that one bit. And I would be amazed if any other country had done that...That sets a bad example.” (Rebecca Lowe, 26:05)

On U.S. Soccer’s Progress & World Cup Legacy

• “I think they made progress. The other most encouraging thing out of this World cup is that the country fell in love with them...tons of credit in the bank. The only way is up.” (Rebecca Lowe, 26:58)
• “I really think this summer’s changed a lot, which thank goodness that was the intention, I think has done it.” (Rebecca Lowe, 29:25)

Personal Touches

• On England’s heartbreak and hosting as a fan:
  “It was a little closer, you know, semi final...with England it was...very disappointed...But with every passing hour, I get more angry at the way we went out, but I get more proud of what we did achieve.” (Rebecca Lowe, 30:27, 29:58)

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4. Football, Grass Fields, and Player Safety

• NFL Grass vs. Turf Debate
  • Why can’t NFL owners revert to full grass fields—as seen at World Cup venues?
  • “There's maintenance cost. What's it going to be like in December in Green Bay...They want something that they don't have to water, they don't have to cut.” (Dan Patrick, 14:53)
  • “If you've got billions of dollars and you're going to be able to have these players last longer playing on grass versus turf, why...so hesitant to do that?” (Todd, 14:24)
  • Discussion about cost, player injuries, and labor negotiations, revisited with Mike Florio.

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5. Notable News & Guest: Mike Florio (37:48 – 50:53)

NFL Gambling Scandal (Arizona Cardinals)

• Director of College Scouting Suspended for Parlay Wager
  • Placed a parlay on first five Arizona draft picks, won over $732,000.
  • “NFL announced that Ryan Gold...had been indefinitely suspended for two violations...making parlay wagers and...providing inside information.” (Mike Florio, 38:05)
  • “There's no way they're going public with this unless they are damn sure it happened.” (Mike Florio, 38:44)

NFL “Sweetheart Deals” & Cap Circumvention

• Brief history of salary cap issues with Elway (Broncos) and speculation about Tom Brady/TB12 (Patriots), noting how hard true enforcement is. (41:59–43:03)

Aaron Donald & The Rams

• Dramatic approach to Donald’s return, “the Rams are milking this thing just to make it dramatic and cinematic. I mean, hell, they're in Hollywood.” (Mike Florio, 43:16)

Grass Fields in the NFL

• “It’s all about cost...NFL would want to split [cost] 50–50 with the players.” (Mike Florio, 46:58)
• “I think the only way to do it is to try to shame them into it. That's why we saw the PR campaign on Friday...focus one team at a time.” (Mike Florio, 48:27)

Tom Brady’s Latest Publicity Stunt

• On Tom Brady in WWE with Logan Paul:
  • “Nobody’s telling Tom Brady he’s doing something stupid...Tom Brady is better than this.” (Mike Florio, 49:14)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Spain’s got a philosophy, and that is a suffocating, unbelievable defense.” (Dan Patrick, 06:12)
• “Let the kids dance.” (Marvin, about halftime show criticism, 11:56)
• “At one point yesterday...I did have a moment to think maybe the silver lining here is England aren’t in the final because...that would have been hard.” (Rebecca Lowe, 31:49)
• “I mean, the joke's on all of us because if they do it right, we're all going to watch it. Even if we hate watch it, we're going to watch it. So come on, Tommy.” (Mike Florio, 50:14)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• World Cup Recap & U.S. Odds – 02:26–08:51
• Defense in Sports & Legendary Comparisons – 08:51–10:22
• Halftime Show Reactions – 10:43–13:14
• NFL Grass/Turf Debate – 14:22–15:46
• Rebecca Lowe Interview – 22:51–33:21
  • On Spain-Argentina Final: 23:33–24:39
  • On Messi: 24:39–25:59
  • On Sportsmanship: 25:59–26:42
  • On U.S. Soccer: 26:58–29:25
  • On England: 29:58–32:48
• Mike Florio Interview – 37:48–50:53
  • NFL Gambling Policy: 38:05–41:25
  • Salary Cap and “Sweetheart Deals”: 41:59–43:03
  • NFL Grass Debate: 46:58–49:03
  • Tom Brady WWE: 49:03–50:26

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Tone & Style

The episode blends earnest sports analysis with trademark Dan Patrick humor and camaraderie. Banter among the crew alternates with serious insights from well-connected guests, capturing the heart and drama of colossal sports moments while never taking themselves too seriously (“Let the kids dance!”).

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Summary

This lively “Best of” episode gives listeners an expert recap and thoughtful perspectives on the 2026 World Cup and what it means for the world of sports—especially in the U.S.—with engaging interviews, sharp humor, and plenty of memorable moments. For those who missed the games (or want to relive them), this episode paints a vivid picture of the action, atmosphere, and aftermath.

Transcript

[Rebecca Lowe]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Hey, Portlandia fans.

[Fred Armisen]

Kerry Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.

[Kerry Brownstein]

The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form.

[Fred Armisen]

We're launching Podlandia AO Rewatch our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made.

[Kerry Brownstein]

And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life, guest stars, collaborators and friends, including director Jonathan Krisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.

[Fred Armisen]

Kyle is going for it. Here you fully improvised not just words, but a song about.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, I thought you were all going to write a song.

[Fred Armisen]

I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia AO rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ari Chambers]

What's up, fam? It's sports journalist Ari Chambers.

[Sam J]

Hey, what's up, y'?

[Marvin]

All?

[Sam J]

It's your girl, Sam J.

[Ari Chambers]

And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from.

[Sam J]

Together we're breaking down the biggest headlines, the viral moments and the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports.

[Ari Chambers]

From game changing performances to culture shifting conversations. We'll give you our takes, our debates and a few laughs along the way

[Sam J]

because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to Everyone watches women's sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Rebecca Lowe]

This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. Every week the news gets worse, the world gets crazier, and Yamanika is here to tell whoever's responsible, you're the problem.

[Dan Patrick]

Do you know I just found who Sydney Sweeney was?

[Sam J]

If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of

[Dan Patrick]

men do better or do less so I don't have to do so much.

[Sam J]

I'm Yamaneika and I'm out. Listen to youo're the Problem with yamaneika

[Dan Patrick]

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or

[Sam J]

wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lele Pons]

My first guest is Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerin.

[Rebecca Lowe]

You have surprises, many surprises.

[Lele Pons]

Welcome to the Sweet 305 podcast where the group chat comes to life.

[Dylan]

What?

[Lele Pons]

You're the only person I know that loves a yellow Starburst. It's lemonade. This is Sweet 305. Here, oversharing is encouraged. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, hope you had a great weekend. Gangs here ready to go on this Monday. Fritzi, Dylan in the back row. Marvin, Paulie up front, yours truly and the back room guys. We'll check in with the host of the World Cup. Rebecca Lowe did a wonderful job. I thought Fox did a wonderful job as well throughout all of this when you consider it was 39 days, 104 matches and came down to Spain dominating Argentina. And it's weird to say dominating when you win one nothing an extra time. It should have been five or six to nothing. Argentina hung in there and you could tell Spain realized if they went to penalty kicks, they might have been in trouble. But they hold on. They dominate, they shut down Messi and they win the World Cup. And by the way, in case you're wondering, I have odds for the next world cup already sent to me by DraftKings. Spain. Spain will be hosting a portion of the World cup in 2030. Then it followed by France. Portugal also hosting some of the World Cup. England, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Netherlands. Dylan, where is the United States on this list?

[Dylan]

The United States is cruising in at plus 8,000.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. For example, Spain plus 450. France plus 600. Portugal plus 900. England plus 900. Brazil plus 1,000. We're down the list just a little bit. Yes, Dylan.

[Dylan]

Yeah, we are tied with Nigeria, Mexico, Japan and Cameroon.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, all right. There's time for improving. All right. We just need to get somebody to defect here. Maybe we need. We need dual citizenship. You know, you want to come over, you'll be a citizen. Kind of a Joel Embiid leaving Cameroon to come to the United States. Yes, Paul, we got to hit the portal. Well, I don't know if we could do nil for Erling Holland or Mbappe, but why not? Let's try it. Alrighty. 877-3DP Show Email Address dpdanpatrick.com Twitter Handle it DP Show Stat of the day is always brought to you by Panini America. The official trading cards of the Dan Patrick show. First hour brought to you by dude the life changing wet extra large flushable dude wipes Wetter is better available at Amazon major retailers nationwide. Dude Wipes best clean. Pants down. Good morning. If you're watching on Peacock, thank you for downloading the app and our radio affiliates around the country. IHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio that carry this program all three hours. All right. The operator, Tyler sitting by 877 3DP show. Dylan will come up with a poll question. As far as the World cup goes, I was curious, and I'll be curious, how many in the United States tuned in for it. It wasn't exciting, but it was a showcase. It was a beautiful day at the Meadowlands. You just didn't have any scoring. I didn't think you would. In fact, Eric Winolda, I said to him last week, first team that scores is going to win. And that proved to be the case. And then you have to look at the messy moment that he had in this World cup, and it solidified his goat status. They did shut him down yesterday, and. But Spain shuts down everybody. 309 goals were scored in the World Cup. Spain gave up one. This is the station out of the

[Todd]

Day

[Dan Patrick]

brought to you by Panini America. But Argentina could have stolen it. If it got into penalty kicks, I, I think they would have won. They had the better goaltender and you have better individual scores there. Boy. Spain's got a philosophy, and that is a suffocating, unbelievable defense. Now, I also said this early in the World cup, we can talk about all the great scores. And we did. It's going to come down to defense. And you saw that with Spain. I don't care, you know, what league, what sport. Eventually it comes down to defense. And you saw that Spain was throwing a no hitter. Not a perfect game. Close to it, a no hitter, but the outcome was still hanging in the balance. It was fun to watch. I thought it was great for the United States to showcase the event because, look, I had two people who were involved in this, involved in the World cup, and they said this could be a disaster before it even started. Tickets, you know, sluggish. Are we going to have incidents? They're going to be issues, security. Like, they just kept running down the list. And I kept going, wow, okay. Like, I seem to go into it where I'm. I'm waiting for something to happen. It went smoothly, I think for the most part. I think people had a great experience there. Now, I don't know if that translates to success for U.S. soccer. I think the guest that we had on during the World Cup, I mean, Kevin Frazier from Entertainment Tonight, Eric Wilda. I think their comments on our show could go a long way in helping Team USA maybe not 2030, but maybe 2034, where we'll look back on those comments that were really stinging for USA and what's going on inside the world of travel soccer teams trying to get, you know, youth soccer programs, you inner city, all of those different things. Two of the greatest players of all time grew up in poverty. Ronaldo and Messi. Now, I'm not saying that's where you're looking, but I'm saying they found those players. We need to find those players to help them work their way up to maybe get on a big stage like this. So there was a lot that happened over the course of three weeks, four weeks, but I thought Fox did a wonderful job. Dylan, what's poll question today?

[Dylan]

Well, then off of the that Spanish defense, Marvin actually sent this one over. What's the best defense in sports history? 2026 Spain. The 85 Bears. 2000 Ravens. The purple People Eaters.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, no, it can't be the Purple People Eaters. They didn't win the Super Bowl. Be the Steelers. Steel Curtain was, to me, that's the most dominating defense I ever saw. Now I'm just talking football, but when you're winning four Super Bowls and you're in your offense that has hall of Fame players on it at quarterback, at running back, your two wide receivers, some offensive linemen, but they're in the shadows of your defense, that tells you everything you need to know. But this Spain team kind of reminded me of the Ravens, where the Ravens defense was so great. They kind of just said to Trent Dilfer, give us maybe 10 points and then we'll win. That's kind of what you had with Spain. Their defense was unbelievable. And they're like, just, just give us a goal 1. But it was fun. It was fun to watch. Even though there was not a lot. It felt like the field at the Meadowlands was tilted and, and everybody was towards the other. You know, Spain was always in Argentina's end. It just felt like, man, three quarters of the match was played that way where Spain was in Argentina's territory the entire time.

[Paul]

Yeah, Paul, they were joking around about the Spain goalkeeper. He didn't do anything all day. He wasn't asked to do anything all day.

[Dan Patrick]

But it did stand out. I, I, I thought it was great. There were a lot of stars here. Rebecca Low does a wonderful job. Zatan was great. Stu Holden did a wonderful job. Really sneaky. Great. Any other poll questions here? First hour deal.

[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

Yeah.

[Dylan]

Well, thoughts on the World cup halftime show? Loved it. Hated it or didn't watch.

[Dan Patrick]

I didn't need it. I don't need Madonna out there. I don't know. Justin Bieber. I mean, Ted Lasso came out. The Muppets were out. Shakira, Shakira. Like, okay, all right. Yeah, Paul, I don't think I'm Gonna

[Paul]

let you besmirch Shakira. She gives you what you want. Well, a little singing, a little shaking, and let's get out of here.

[Dan Patrick]

She could give me more than the hips. Don't lie.

[Paul]

They don't.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. I don't know anything else she does other than that.

[Paul]

Fine.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. I mean, hey, congratulations. You look wonderful. But Mag out there with Ronaldo and in a car and then the Muppets and Ted Lasso and Justin Bieber, and I'm like, okay, all right, hurry up, let's go. Yes. Dylan, what about the BTS portion? Oh, yeah, of course. My bad. Yeah. Gotta have BTs out there. Yes. Marvin.

[Marvin]

DP come on. You act like the dad from Footloose. Let the kids dance.

[Dan Patrick]

I'm sorry.

[Mike Florio]

I just want to dance.

[Dan Patrick]

You're right. Yeah. You're right. I, I, I was, I was listening to it. I wasn't watching. I, I, I tried. I tried, you know, because then, you know, my kids are like, oh, look who's there. And I go, all right, what do you got? Okay, wake me up and it's over. I mean, tell me when it's over. Yes. Yes.

[Dylan]

Still, I thought it was kind of fun. I enjoyed it. It was a nice smattering of random acts and stuff.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, why are the Muppets out there?

[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

Special guest.

[Dan Patrick]

But I, I like our kids going, hey, I'm not watching the soccer. But let me know when the Muppets get out there. And then the dads are going, hey, I'm not watching the soccer. Let me know when Shakira gets out there. Shakira? Shakira. What is she, 50? Maybe a little less than a. I'm gonna say 52.

[Marvin]

I don't know, but I'm gonna say 52.

[Paul]

Closest to the hole. Yeah, you're, you're good. 49 years old, Shakira.

[Dylan]

Yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. Yes.

[Todd]

Todd, when do you think her hips are gonna start to lie? When you get to 60. What's, what's the magic number?

[Dan Patrick]

What happens when she gets hip replacement surgery?

[Todd]

Very disappointing.

[Paul]

A whole new video.

[Todd]

It changes the whole dynamic.

[Dan Patrick]

By the way, you can buy a portion of the field according to the athletic. FIFA is hoping to generate over $11 million if all the pieces sell out. So you can, between 450 and 1200 dollars. You can get a patch of grass. How about that? The three thousand dollar version. It's a three by three by three section. A gold etched metal souvenir ticket. A mini replica World cup final ball in a crystal cut glass World cup trophy. All Right. Sign me up for three grand for that. I still couldn't help but watch that and say, boy, that field looks gorgeous. Why can't the Giants and Jets play on that field? They can. It's just the NFL owners aren't going to do it. We'll talk to Mike Florio from Pro Football, talk about that moving forward. Not going to happen. Any other poll questions? By the way, best and worst of the weekend. What you saw that you like. We do it every Monday. Yes.

[Mike Florio]

Todd, I want to know, is it

[Todd]

such a financial burden to switch it to protect the player's health? But maybe I'm ignorant, too. If you've got billions of dollars and you're going to be able to have these players last longer playing on grass versus turf, why they would be so hesitant to do that?

[Dan Patrick]

What else could it be?

[Todd]

I just. It seems like there's more than enough money going around. The NFL gets bigger and bigger and the networks and they all get a bigger share of things and just seems like I don't understand why they can't all get together and do this. It's for the benefit of the players and being able to stay around longer and their teams that they have.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, there's maintenance cost. What's it going to be like in December in Green Bay? What's it going to be like in December at the Meadowland?

[Todd]

Price of doing business.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you. But they, they want something that they don't have to water, they don't have to cut. All right. You know what somebody got. You know, the Meadowland's famous for players getting injured in that, you know, environment on that turf. So you would think, let me protect my investments instead of saying, next man up. I don't want to have a grass field. Yeah.

[Paul]

Paul, there's an article just yesterday in Forbes about this topic, and they said artificial turf is one cost up front, but less to maintain over the years of the turf. Grass is. You got to have a staff. You got to have people deal with it, and it's not as consistent. They also, the NFL or the past five years, has released a few studies, air quotes that said the injuries are similar at both turfs.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. The Open Championship you had Ryan Fox win. Foxy, they like to call it, came out of nowhere. This is a guy who made his PGA Tour debut at age 37, and at age 39, he rolls in a birdie putt to win for the last six holes. That's one of those where you watch somebody and you say, that guy's winning the Open Championship. Down the stretch, big putts and you know, they thought it was going to be around nine or 10 under to win it. And he rolls in the birdie. After round one, he was 85th. After round two, he was 52nd. That's where you just play the long game. Instead of saying, I'm going to try to shoot something really low and win it here it just, you don't want to shoot something high and take yourself out of the running. A lot of fun there. You had a moment with Bryson DeChambeau. He was going to take his ball and go home. We'll talk about that coming up. And Rory McElroy with one of the more honest answers I've ever heard. We'll have that for you coming up as well. So just getting started. Tyler sitting by. He'll take your phone calls on this Monday. Best and worst of the weekend. We're back after this.

[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio in the iHeartRadio app. Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube and you can be a part of it. Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe button and smash that notification bell and catch all the videos from your favorite shows. Two pros and a cup of Joe. Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, Stu Godson company Live, Cavino and Rich. The odd couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin was Washington, The Jason Smith show with Mike Harmon and the Ben Maller Show. Fox sports radio on YouTube.

[Dan Patrick]

Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. Have to admit sometimes I take it for granted. It's always there. It's always going to taste great. It's my friend, it's Miller Time. But let's say you're running late to watch the game and your buddy has already found seeds. That's a Miller Time mvp. How about a person who brings enough Miller Light for everybody? I once had a friend who brought a 12 pack of Miller Light, but there were only seven beers in it that he drank the beer before he got there. So he said he brought a 12 pack. It was a seven pack. But I can't blame him. He didn't want to wait. Miller Light. Yes, Dylan.

[Dylan]

That could have been me, actually.

[Dan Patrick]

And you're, and you're proud to say that I am an American Pilsner. The original Miller Light. Been doing it since 1975. Miller Time in America this summer. You know, Miller Lights, the perfect beer to kick off the summer. End the summer, start the fall, end the fall Start the winter. You get what I'm saying here? 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. It's a great choice without weighing you down. Miller Light. A true American pilsner. They've done it for 50 years. We all have that one friend who makes every game better. Now's the time to give them their moment. Head over to any of Miller Lite's social media pages to learn more about being a Miller Time mvp. And pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories, 3.2 carbs for 12 ounces.

[Ari Chambers]

What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers.

[Sam J]

Hey, what's up, y'?

[Mike Florio]

All?

[Sam J]

It's your girl, Sam J.

[Ari Chambers]

And we're the host of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together. And I heart women's sports because, let's

[Sam J]

be real, women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days.

[Ari Chambers]

So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii.

[Sam J]

My first thought is just like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we?

[Mike Florio]

What are we eating?

[Ari Chambers]

The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire

[Sam J]

timeline and the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports.

[Ari Chambers]

Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalenka.

[Sam J]

Shout out to you, Naomi, you get the Palm.

[Ari Chambers]

Naomi, you get the palm for that.

[Sam J]

Because we're not just interested in what happened. We're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women sports. Listen to Everyone watches women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Hey, Portlandia fans.

[Fred Armisen]

Kerry Brownstein and Fred Armisen here, you

[Kerry Brownstein]

know us, or rather, you know them. Tony and Candace, Nina and Lance. Spike and yes, the chicken.

[Fred Armisen]

We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia. AO rewatch our brand new podcast.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Each week, we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning. Breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process.

[Fred Armisen]

How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it, and

[Kerry Brownstein]

we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life, Guest stars, collaborators and friends, including director Jonathan Krisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.

[Fred Armisen]

Kyle is going for it. Here you fully improvised not just words, but a song about it.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, I thought he was gonna write.

[Mike Florio]

I thought you were all gonna write a song.

[Fred Armisen]

I remember you thinking that.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Listen to Podlandia Ayo rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lele Pons]

My first guest is Paris Hilton. Shakira Lu.

[Rebecca Lowe]

I'm so excited. On a bouncy bed, you have surprises, many surprises.

[Lele Pons]

Welcome to Suite 305 where the group chat comes to life.

[Jake Brennan]

What up?

[Lele Pons]

You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst. It's lemonade. This is Sweet305. Listen to Sweet305 with Lele Pons as part of my cultura podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan Patrick]

Rebecca Lowe, on loan from NBC with Fox, did a wonderful job as the host with Alexi Lawless, Thierry Henri and Zalatan. And we spoke to Rebecca Lowe earlier this morning before she was getting on her flight. She did a great job as the host of the World cup and I started our conversation by asking her which country she feels like today based off her performance in that role.

[Rebecca Lowe]

That's a hard question. You know, did okay in the group stage, held my own in the knockouts. That's where I will go.

[Dan Patrick]

Are you like, are you like Belgium or.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Oh, crikey, I don't. That is difficult. We can do Belgium. Yeah, but then they knocked out the United States and that would make me unpopular. So, no, we're not doing Belgium. I mean, should we do England? Just got to the semis and. No, no, you're right, let's not do England. No, no. I mean, I don't know.

[Mike Florio]

I'm not answering.

[Rebecca Lowe]

I've never. Can I just say, Dan, the morning after world, you are straight in with the hardest question. That's why I love you.

[Dan Patrick]

That might be the most dominating one to nothing match I've ever seen.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Yeah, that would be about right.

[Dan Patrick]

Like it was so one sided but it was so close. How do you explain what happened yesterday?

[Rebecca Lowe]

That's football. That is football. And at one point I was a bit concerned actually for the watching millions who probably don't watch a game of football until the World cup final comes around because it was Neil nil going into actual time. And I was thinking, come on guys, this is not a good advert for the game, but I keep telling everybody is the greatest in the world. And I also thought we've seen this movie before. I think I said that at some point on the broadcast where Spain have all that possession and all those shots and Argentina do nothing and then they, then they win it, which is like one of the only sports you could actually perform that badly in and then win the World Cup. But luckily that didn't happen because that wouldn't have been right. It was one sided. But sometimes it takes, it takes a while. Dan, Football is a game of patience as much as anything else. So yeah, in the end, as the guy said on the show, football won, which is the right thing. Spain were the right winners, they were the better team. But yeah, it wasn't the greatest final of all time, that's for certain. But it's okay, we had the greatest World Cup. We can't have everything.

[Dan Patrick]

Jack, is that the end of Messi on this stage?

[Rebecca Lowe]

I think so. Although coming into this World cup people had said, well he's gone to the Major League Soccer and to retire, so he's not going to be at the level when it comes to the World cup. And we were all proven hugely wrong. So can you bet against this guy? I mean 39, it'll, he'll be 42 by the time the next, next one starts off the bench. Maybe little cheeky little last 10 minutes in every game I take him, probably would take him at 42, 43.

[Dan Patrick]

I don't want to say it, it's reacting because it just happened. But he seemed his age yesterday. But I, but I have to give Spain all the credit with that. That they probably make everybody look a little slower and a little older and tired.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Yeah, I think so. But he didn't seem his age just a week ago.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Lowe]

So, you know, I do think you're right. We have to give Spain the credit for that. I did see still flashes of genius. You know, I've only, I haven't seen Messi play life that many times. Just because my career has always been Premier League and England based. I still saw moments that I just thought this guy's a joke still, he's just a joke. And then the rest of the time just watching him walk around, I mean it's, it's actually he's creating a whole, a whole new type way of playing football that only the top 0.0, not 1% can play. So there were still flashes for me he needs a good rest obviously now, but I, I, I wouldn't bet against him for anything, Dan. Honestly, don't.

[Dan Patrick]

What about the ceremony where Argentina has their back to Spain as they're celebrating?

[Rebecca Lowe]

I don't like that, I don't like that one bit. And I would be amazed if any other country had done that. I'm really disappointed in them. I'm kind of disappointed that Messi did that too. I mean, he's a classy guy. That wasn't for me as a group of players. That wasn't classy. That wasn't classy one bit. That was disappointing. That sets a bad example. But, you know. Oh, I don't know. That's, that's sometimes the way that Argentina play like they are, they are an unusual, Sorry, that's rather, I'm in an airport, so there's people walking by with suitcases. Sorry if you can't hear me, but it's an un, it's an, it's a different way of approaching a game, let's just put it that way.

[Dan Patrick]

We're talking to Rebecca Lowe, the host of the Premier League and of course the World cup host on Fox. If you were going to offer encouraging words for the United States about soccer for 2030, go ahead.

[Rebecca Lowe]

I think they made progress. I think they made progress. Now, who will the manager be is the big question as to just how many encouraging words I can offer them. If they can hold on to Mauricio Pochettino, I believe that would be the right thing. My sense is that they won't. My sense is that he will leave and return to the club game. Plenty of really good players. This country continues to produce really good players. The other most encouraging thing out of this World cup is that the country fell in love with them. And yes, the Belgium game was a massive letdown. Of that there is no doubt. But I think when the dust has settled, this country will look back on the World Cup 2026, Dan, and they will still love that team for all that they did in the build up to that Belgium team, into that Belgium game. So I think tons of credit in the bank. The only way is up. Let's get our heads together though and try and make some good decisions in this country where football's concerned. We need a few decisions to start happening so that everyone is, and we're not working apart.

[Dan Patrick]

I also think it was important for us to host it and do a great job hosting. Therefore, I think we more people here in the United States got to witness it and there are certain, certain sports you have to see in person. I think soccer is a sport, see in person. Hockey is a sport, see in person. And then I think you take away a little bit more of the feeling, the atmosphere. So I think with that building on that probably helped, you know, to a certain degree.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Yeah, I think two things on that. One, isn't it funny when you look back to six, seven weeks ago and everybody was like, oh, it's going to be a disaster, there's going to be empty seats. And you're like, okay. We hear this before every Olympics, Dan. You and I were in Sochi. We heard it before Sochi in 2014, we heard it before Rio. Like we hear it before every major tournament. Everything is pretty much nearly always okay. And this one was more than okay. But the other thing is it's not just about 2030. The kids that you're talking about that have watched this World cup and maybe not even attended a game because I know what you mean about seeing soccer in person. But I also think there was something about this World cup with the time zones, the way that Fox did kind of encapsulated everything and it gave people magic even if they weren't in the stadium. And I remember as a nine year old watching the 1990 World cup and falling in love with the game in that summer of 1990 and I, I getting chills thinking about it. But I want summer of 2026 and I think it will to have affected a whole generation of say 10, 12 year old take this forward, not just into 2030, but to beyond as well. And I really think this summer's changed a lot, which thank goodness that was the intention, I think has done it.

[Dan Patrick]

Zlatan surprised you a little bit when he said this is it, I'm done with doing studio show.

[Rebecca Lowe]

No, because he had told me a couple of times that he would be done. I said to him afterwards though, what about the return of Zlatan? That's got a whole nother great branding situation. I don't put anything past that guy. By the way, he's the greatest. And what an absolute honor to stand next to him six weeks. I mean this guy is. I've never met anyone like him. I'll never meet anyone like him again. I adore him. He's the best.

[Dan Patrick]

I've avoided bringing up England.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Thank you, Dan. No, I do appreciate that you've shown some, you've shown some sympathy there for me on this 8 o' clock in the morning, Monday morning after the World Cup. I, I, I'm still hurting. But you know, actually with every passing Hour. I get more angry at the way we went out, but I get more proud of what we did achieve, which is the best finish since 1966. So, you know, have to be happy with that.

[Dan Patrick]

Dan, did your son cry when. Yeah, he cried with England. Did he cry with the United States?

[Rebecca Lowe]

He didn't. Is that okay? I feel, I feel like maybe he should have done. He cried with England, definitely. He was very disappointed with the United States. He was, he was.

[Dan Patrick]

But.

[Rebecca Lowe]

But I think with England it was a, it was, it was a little closer, you know, semi final. And he knows that we're both, you know, mum and dad are just obsessed with England and he's, you know, I think he gets that a little bit more. One day he might cry with the US One day.

[Dan Patrick]

I picked England to win.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Did you really, Dan? You didn't tell me that.

[Dan Patrick]

I didn't want to get your hopes up.

[Mike Florio]

No.

[Dan Patrick]

You know, I love Harry Kane.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Oh, what a legend, by the way. You've loved him, you, Harry Kane, for blooming years. To be fair. You were a ground floor investor on Harry Kane.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes, yes. I thought that this was a different England team.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Yeah, it was different. And that's why I'm, I'm growing in love with them every passing day that goes by after, after them being knocked out because they were likable. They seem to like each other, which often hasn't been the case with England squads. They're often very sort of divided by who, which team they play for. Domestically. This team was very united and very likable and I gave everything. I was so proud, honestly. So, so proud.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, it's difficult when you're hosting, but you have an emotional tie. But you still got to be a professional or at least try to be. But there's certain things you can't overcome.

[Rebecca Lowe]

I gotta tell you, at one point yesterday, the build up to the World cup final, I did have a moment to think maybe the silver lining here is England aren't in the final because the, the personal investment into that semi final was very, very, very difficult when we went out to Argentina. You're right, you have to be professional. There's no question about it. But that was. I've never experienced that sort of full of different emotions that I had on the semi final when England went out. So had it been the final and had England lost or even, quite frankly, had they won, you might not have seen me for the dust. I mean, I might not have even been on that platform after, after the final whistle went so that actually in a funny Way kind of worked out personally for me that England weren't in it, because that would have been hard.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, but you got the third place.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Third place?

[Mike Florio]

Yes, third place.

[Rebecca Lowe]

We love third place. I mean, I. I'm not really a third place person. It's not like the Olympics for me, those bronze medals. I'm not sure we could be giving out bronze. Med. It's better to win it than lose it, right? Third's better than fourth. We'll take it.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes, absolutely. Do they raise a banner somewhere in England?

[Rebecca Lowe]

No banner race for third. No banner race. We just we. I think we will celebrate the players.

[Lele Pons]

Manager.

[Rebecca Lowe]

The manager is another story.

[Dan Patrick]

Wonderful job.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Thanks, D. Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

Take a bow. Certainly deserve it. When's the Premier League start?

[Rebecca Lowe]

Four weeks on Friday.

[Dan Patrick]

Let's go.

[Tony Ayo]

Go.

[Rebecca Lowe]

We're going to go to England. We're opening the Premier League for England. So I think it's almost 21st, so I'm just going to sleep until then and everything will be great.

[Dan Patrick]

Safe travels.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Thanks, Dan. So good to see you. Thanks for having me.

[Dan Patrick]

Rebecca Lowe.

[Fox Sports Radio Announcer]

Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our [e-mail] and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live.

[Ari Chambers]

What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers.

[Sam J]

Hey, what's up, y'?

[Todd]

All?

[Sam J]

It's your girl, Sam J.

[Ari Chambers]

And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from together. And I heart women's sports because, let's

[Sam J]

be real, women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days.

[Ari Chambers]

So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii.

[Sam J]

My first thought is, like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating?

[Ari Chambers]

The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire

[Sam J]

timeline and the conversation that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports.

[Ari Chambers]

Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalenka.

[Sam J]

Shout out to you, Naomi, you get the palm.

[Ari Chambers]

Naomi, you get the palm for that.

[Sam J]

Because we're not just interested in what happened. We're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to Everyone watches women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. Get your podcast.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Hey, Portlandia fans, Kerry Brownstein and Fred Armisen here, you know us, or rather, you know them. Tony and Candace, Nina and Lance Spike and yes, the chicken.

[Fred Armisen]

We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia. Ao rewatch our brand new podcast.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Each week we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process.

[Fred Armisen]

How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it.

[Kerry Brownstein]

And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life, guest stars, collaborators and friends, including director Jonathan Krisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.

[Fred Armisen]

Kyle is going for it. Here you fully improvised, not just words, but a song about.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, I thought he was gonna write.

[Mike Florio]

I thought you were all gonna write a song.

[Fred Armisen]

I remember you thinking that.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Listen to Podlandia Ayo rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lele Pons]

My first guest is Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerin Samira E. Gracie.

[Rebecca Lowe]

I'm so excited. On a bouncy bed, you have surprises, many surprises.

[Lele Pons]

Welcome to Suite 305 where the group chat comes to life. What up?

[Dan Patrick]

Hola, amiga.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Hola, mejor amiga.

[Lele Pons]

Hola.

[Ari Chambers]

Yes.

[Lele Pons]

You're the only person I know that loves a yellow Starburst. It's lemonade. This is Sweet305. Listen to Sweet305 with Lele Pons as part of my Cultura podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast podcasts.

[Jake Brennan]

I'm Jake Brennan, and on the Disgraceland podcast, I explore the wild lies of rock stars and unbelievable true crime stories from music history. These are the stories you haven't heard. The kind you'll end up telling someone else. Like the time Paul McCartney spent in one of the world's most notorious prisons. Imagine that. You're Paul McCartney. It's 1980, you're an excellent beetle, and you're doing time in one of Japan's worst prisons right there alongside Yakuza gangsters. And for a ridiculous charge or the bizarre crime Lady Gaga is accused of. Who is the artist? Lady Gaga is being accused of doing the unthinkable to after allegedly stealing her music in style to become famous. And what about that time Blonde Bundy's Debbie Harry escaped a serial killer? The man who had given her that ride she barely escaped from was Ted Bundy, Listen to Disgraceland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Patrick]

Mike Florio, co host with Chris Sims. His latest novel, Big Shield, available on Amazon in ebook form. $0.99. It's a tale of the mob and pro sports in the age of legalized gambling. Help me understand what's going on with the Arizona Cardinals.

[Mike Florio]

Mike well, Dan, good morning, first of all, and second, this was one of those Friday afternoon summertime bad news dumps where the NFL announced that Ryan Gold, the team's director of college scouting, had been indefinitely suspended for two violations, two separate categories under the gambling policy. One, making parlay wagers and two, providing inside information about the team's draft picks to others. And he hired a lawyer. Lawyer issued multiple statements on Sunday explaining his side of things. But I look at it this way and a general manager from another team reached out and said there's no way they're going public with this unless they are damn sure it happened. Why are you welcoming this scandal? The NFL has avoided much of the stuff we've seen with the NBA and mlb. Why would you say, hey, everybody, look over here, we got a guy who was giving inside information for the the purposes of wagering on Cardinals draft picks. Unless you are 100% sure that the guy did it.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, but let me understand this. This isn't the top five picks of the draft. This is the top five picks of the Arizona Cardinals. And is this person in the war room, you know, texting somebody moments before, hey, here's the, here's the pick.

[Mike Florio]

Well, we, we know that that happens anyway because there's already a lag between when the pick is made and when the pick is announced. That's how. And that's why the NFL is very, very clear with the broadcast partners. Tell your reporters not to report until the the pick is officially announced by the commissioner. But yeah, this is a guy who's in a position and director of college scouting is the top scout in charge of college players who arrive through the draft. So unless the GM Monty Austin Fort is completely freezing out his top executive in charge of scouting college players, this guy's in a position to know as it relates to their first pick, third overall. It wasn't hard to know who the first two picks were going to be. Number one, Fernando Mendoza, number two was either going to be David Bailey or Arvell Reese. So someone had to have an idea what the Cardinals are going to do at number three. And then after that, as you go farther down the board you know who the team likes. You know where this is all going. You know how it's playing out. Even if, as Ryan Gold's lawyer said, only the owner and the GM knew the picks, you still are in a position where you got a pretty damn good idea which way the wind's blowing.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. But what I'm told is he placed a 25 wager parlaying the results of the team's first five draft picks. The wager paid out $732,500.

[Mike Florio]

Well, and you're in a position to make a pretty damn good educated guess as to who's going to be there. You know who the team likes. It's not unreasonable. And a lot of things still have to fall your way because we know once the picks start, it can go haywire. One pick changes everything. But you know who the team likes. You got a good sense as to who's going to be there. And if that's what happened, look, it's still a lot of luck, but he's in a position to know who they like. He's in a position to know what their board looks like and when the players are likely to exit the board. And if that's what happened, he nailed it.

[Dan Patrick]

I mentioned I had a little bit of an update on Kawhi Leonard, that situation and I was told maybe the NBA is making sure that this didn't happen with other teams where you kind of give somebody a little sweetheart deal on the side or, you know, we'll give you something that's off the books here. Does the end. It doesn't know. I it doesn't feel like the NFL would do this and only if they did it maybe at the quarterbacking position. But I have you heard anything where there's like sweetheart side deals that are off the book salary cap with the NFL?

[Mike Florio]

Well, there was an issue with the Broncos years ago where they did something with Elway. They created some sort of an issue after the fact they lost a couple of third round picks. I believe this was back in the days before we had an army of people covering everything that happens in the NFL. But that's out there. That's already happened. And there was speculation that something was going on with the Patriots and Tom Brady and TB12 being used as an outside resource. And as I've had it explained to me many times, look, this was an era where the league was looking for anything they could use to hammer the Patriots with. The league made sure there was nothing untoward happening. When TB12 was this outside resource for The New England Patriots. But, Dan, I remember back in the early days of the salary cap, I think the 49ers went out and bought a team of free agents, and there was all this joking and speculation about briefcases full of cash. How could you ever completely police that unless you truly devote massive resources to ferreting it out?

[Dan Patrick]

The Aaron Donald situation, kind of hanging there a little bit, feels it feels more likely than less likely, at least in my opinion. In your circles, what do you think happens with Aaron Donald and the Rams?

[Mike Florio]

I feel like at some level, the Rams are milking this thing just to make it dramatic and cinematic. I mean, hell, they're in Hollywood. They may as well make it as interesting as possible. And I also think there's value in not making it obvious during this period where we're searching for anything to talk about, because the moment the Rams add Aaron Donald, if that happens, they've already got the highest bar of any team in the NFL. They're already the betting favorites to get to the super bowl and win it. You had Aaron Donald, and the pressure on that team goes through the roof. And if you're Sean McVay, you got to be able to motivate your players. And if all these guys are hearing from everyone they know and looking everywhere they go that they're already going to win the super bowl, you're still 0 and 0 with everyone else. And every team you play is going to be coming at you even harder, and people are going to be sick about hearing more and more about how great the Rams are. And they're in a division that's got two other super bowl contenders in it. So I can understand why they're taking their time.

[Dan Patrick]

I'll take that baggage. If I. If I could find out today Aaron Donald's playing, I'll be happy to take the baggage, but I just think there's.

[Mike Florio]

There's no reason. When you combine the fact that we're just trying to make it interesting and let's just not push the bar all the way to the top at a time when there's nothing else to talk about. It's less noticeable when all the teams are in training camp and there's just this flood of news. That's a tiny little point, because no matter when he comes back, we're all going to be saying it's the Rams of the field, and a lot of people are just going to assume the Rams will win it. And we've seen this before. We know that all it takes is one injury. I don't Want to put the malochio on anyone, but all it takes is one injury and everything changes. And you got a 37 year old quarterback with a history of back problems. Anything can change at any time. There's no guarantees. As a wise man once said, it's sweating again.

[Dan Patrick]

Talking to Mike Florio. Pro Football Talk the Big Shield. Big Shield available on Amazon ebook form only $0.99. A Tale of the mob and pro sports in the age of legalized gambling. When Mike McDonald was on the show when we were in Tahoe, he said that he had somebody with a conflict of interest who might have helped them Seattle beat New England. If it's a different team than New England, Mike, do people care about it as much as they did that he didn't mention a name, but it was the Patriots.

[Mike Florio]

Well, I think that's part of it, Dan, but the choice of words, conflict of interest. In the 25 years that I've been covering the NFL, the only time the term conflict of interest has been used is in relation to Tom Brady. Brady and his role as minority owner of the Raiders and primary broadcaster at Fox. And that's just been in the past couple of years. So you say conflict of interest and Patriots are in the conversation. And Brady's getting ready to hire the Seahawks offensive coordinator to be his head coach, which would give him a little extra incentive to have this guy riding into Las Vegas who's got a brand new super bowl ring he can flash around a locker room that hasn't had a Super bowl ring of in front. 40 years, 40 plus years. Conflict of interest, I think was the, the match to the fuse for the people in New England.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, everybody thinks it's Brady and it's not. But it doesn't matter. It's just like people are like, yeah, I don't care what you say, it's Tom Brady. Before I let you go and maybe the biggest reason why I wanted to have you on, I couldn't help but look at that field at the Meadowlands and that looked like a beautiful field to play football on. But why can't we get to that point? And that's a field that there's a history of injuries with that field. But where do we stand with the NFL, NFLPA about implementing these grass fields again?

[Mike Florio]

Well, Dan, I've got a copy of Big Shield right here. I don't know how well you can see the COVID My nephew Anthony Zeits designed it. It's got a bunch of 20 bills on it. It's all about money. It's all about cost. The cost of maintaining a high quality grass field versus the cost of just laying down a carpet. The lost revenue. If you don't have a system to protect the grass, you can't do all these other events. So you've either got to have the tray that slides out like they have in Arizona and Las Vegas, or you can have one of these complicated systems like Real Madrid has, where they take the thing like on an elevator and the grass field goes underground and then it's covered up by whatever else they want as their surface. And the problem is this. It's now a collective bargaining issue. And 92% of the players can say, we prefer grass. Well, at least 50.1% have to prioritize grass. When it's time to negotiate with the league. What are you willing to give up to get grass fields across the league? And it's going to be expensive. It's going to cost money. They're going to have to give up money. And what the NFL would want is at a minimum, they'd want to take the full expense of putting high quality grass in every stadium and they'd want to split it 50, 50 with the players. And I'm sure the NFL would put together this ridiculous calculation that would be trumped up to look even bigger than it's supposed to be. And they'd say to the players, here's the price tag for having grass fields. If you want to share it with us, 50, 50, we'll do it. So I think the only way to do it is to try to shame them into it. That's why we saw the PR campaign on Friday. And Dan, here's what I was do. I would go one team at a time. For example, you got new ownership coming into Seattle. They got artificial turf there. They need to start a pressure campaign on Vinod Koslay and his family to do the right thing by the players and choose to put in grass there. And I think the way to do it is focus one team at a time. But the league's going to want all the teams that currently have turf to hold the rope because they know they've got something here, they've got something valuable for the next cba. So. So I don't think it's ever going to change unless teams choose to do it one team at a time.

[Dan Patrick]

Back to Tom Brady for a moment. What's he doing? Slapping Logan Paul. And like this, we're. We're going to be in wwe, right?

[Mike Florio]

Then we all need someone who will tell us when we're doing something stupid. And nobody's telling Tom Brady he's doing something stupid.

[Dan Patrick]

And look, there's a big payday, Mike. There's, there's, there's money attached to this.

[Mike Florio]

But, but, but he's like, at some point. I hate the phrase whenever someone directs to me, you're better than that. Because my response is, well, I'm actually not, but Tom Brady is better than this. Tom Brady is above this. It's just a bad look. It's hokey and it's goofy, and I'm not really tapped in to the wrestling crowd. I got a feeling they're not clamoring for Tom Brady to come running down the. The stage and slide into the ring and jump up and beat the crap out of Logan Paul. I almost said the other word.

[Dan Patrick]

He's not gonna, he's not gonna beat up Logan Paul.

[Mike Florio]

Well, I mean, if, if the script calls for it, he will, but this

[Dan Patrick]

is what's going to happen. The Paul brothers, I call them the pallbearers, they're going to be in with Brady and Gronk.

[Rebecca Lowe]

Yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Mike Florio]

And, you know, I mean, the joke's on all of us because if they do it right, we're all going to watch it. Even if we hate watch it, we're going to watch it. So come on, Tommy.

[Dan Patrick]

Camp's open in how many days?

[Mike Florio]

I mean, they're starting to pop open with rookies showing up. At some point this week, they'll explode and before you know it, everybody's back and football season's here. You get to that point in the late summer where the grass smells a certain way. I mean, we're getting there. We're getting there, baby.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you again, Mike.

[Mike Florio]

Great talking to you, Dan.

[Dan Patrick]

The book is Big Shield, available on Amazon in ebook form. $0.99. A Tale of the mob and pro sports in the age of legalized gambling.

[Marvin]

Say you've always wanted to see your favorite team from the best seats in the house. Here's the thing. If you invest well, you could do things like that. With Empower, you can get your money to work for you so you can go out and live a little. Isn't that why we work so hard to splurge at certain moments? Jet setting off to see your favorite team play at one of the most iconic stadiums or getting your favorite players super rare autographed one of one sports card. Use Empower to help you get good at money so you can be a little bad. Join their 20 million customers [e-mail] not an Empower client paid or sponsored.

[Tony Ayo]

This is Tony Ayo from the Real Report with Tony Ayo and Uncle Murder. You ever notice how everything keeps going up? Rent, streaming, even extra Sosa at your favorite burrito spot? But with Boost Mobile, you don't have to play the Willis Go up soon game. Boost Mobile offers an unlimited talk, text and data plan at a price that'll never go up. It's the same price you'll pay for Life. Switch now for unlimited wireless and at a price that'll never go up. Only at boost mobile. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Hey Portlandia fans.

[Fred Armisen]

Kerry Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.

[Kerry Brownstein]

The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form.

[Fred Armisen]

We're launching Podlandia AO Rewatch our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters, and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made.

[Kerry Brownstein]

And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life, guest stars, collaborators and friends including director Jonathan Krisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.

[Fred Armisen]

Kyle is going for it. Here you fully improvised, not just words, but a song.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, I thought you were all going to write a song.

[Fred Armisen]

I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia AO rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ari Chambers]

What's up fam? It's sports journalist Ari Chambers.

[Sam J]

Hey, what's up y'?

[Paul]

All?

[Sam J]

It's your girl, Sam J.

[Ari Chambers]

And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from 2gether.

[Sam J]

We're breaking down the biggest headlines, the viral moments and the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports.

[Ari Chambers]

From game changing performances to culture shifting conversations. We'll give you our takes, our debates and a few last long the way

[Sam J]

because everyone watches women's Sports. Listen to Everyone watches women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Rebecca Lowe]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.