Hour 3 – Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle

Summary

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The Dan Patrick Show – Hour 3

Date: February 13, 2026
Guests: Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle
Main Theme: Sports scandals at the Winter Olympics, the NBA All-Star Game, and the challenge of tanking in pro basketball.

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Overview

This episode of The Dan Patrick Show embraced the energetic chaos of the sports calendar: covering Olympic scandal, the demands of broadcast life, and the anticipation around NBA All-Star festivities. Dan’s guests Mike Tirico (NBC broadcast legend, live from the Winter Olympics) and Noah Eagle (rising play-by-play star, about to call the NBA All-Star Game at 29) brought humor, perspective, and insider details. The episode’s tone balanced irreverent banter with genuine inquiry into the mechanics and realities of modern sports.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Olympics Scandal Watch: From 'Crotch Gate' to Judging Drama

(01:56–07:59)

• Dan, Seaton, and Dylan open with a run at the big stories out of the Winter Olympics, focusing humorously on “Crotch Gate” in ski jumping—where athletes allegedly altered their suits around the groin for competitive advantage.

  • Seaton: “Crotch gate…sort of splits in two. Both have to do with the crotchal region.” (02:28)
  • Dylan: “If you enlarge the area enough, it’ll be like a ship rudder…” (03:21)

• Dan asks Mike Tirico how NBC covers such awkward but newsworthy stories.

  • Tirico: “Everything you say about that story is problematic...Only in the Olympics. Funny story. Sorry about that. It’s off the charts good.” (04:45)
  • No expert for Crotch Gate—yet—Tirico jokes: “We’re searching. It’s a very deep research pool…” (05:21)

• The show pivots to the ongoing ice dancing scoring controversy, with Tirico remembering the Cold War era of “the Russian judge.”

  • Tirico: “With ice dancing, everybody says there’s going to be bias from countries. It’s political. We understand that going in. I’m like, what do you mean you understand that going in?” (07:07)

2. Olympic Performance & Progress: The Case of Ilia Malin

(08:03–08:52)

• Dan and Mike discuss Ilia Malin, a skating phenom known as the “quad god.” Dan points out Debbie Thomas’s historical backflip and changes to rules.
• Tirico: “It’s just pushing the physical limits of what people can do, which is the great thing about sports all the time.” (08:14)
• Olympic progress in skillset lauded; comparison to “Wemby” (Victor Wembanyama) in the NBA as sport’s evolution.

3. NBA Tanking: Fines, Drafts, and the Jazz

(09:24–12:43)

• Dan questions the timing of recent harsh fines for the Utah Jazz for perceived tanking.

  • Tirico: “Utah had a brilliant idea...they’re not the key minutes. They’re not the minutes you need your best players to close a game.” (09:52)
  • Comparison to European soccer’s lack of parity, and support for American sports’ cyclical rebuilds via draft picks.

• They puzzle over solutions to the tanking problem.

  • Tirico: “Everybody, when looking for a competitive edge, finds a workaround at some point…Whatever the next system is, somebody will find a way to mess with it.” (11:30)
  • Dismissal of full Premier League-style European pyramids as incompatible with American fandom.

4. Behind the Scenes: Olympic Broadcast & Research

(12:43–16:17)

• Dan asks about Mike’s leap from Super Bowl coverage straight to Italy for the Olympics.

  • Tirico: “Went back to the hotel, got a shower, grabbed our stuff and got on the plane…Day seven and I’m still feeling pretty good.” (12:50)
  • Explains coping strategies for the “Olympic Wall” of exhaustion.

• Shout-outs to the NBC Olympic research crew and their vital role in broadcast accuracy.

  • Tirico: “There are a lot of sports executives…who are alums of the Olympic research group…Jake and Charlotte are my saviors on the show right now.” (14:56–16:17)
  • Dan echoes the importance: “When you’re armed with information, it’s very powerful…” (17:11)

5. All Eyes on Noah Eagle: All-Star Game’s Young Voice

(19:59–23:44)

• At 29, Noah Eagle is the youngest ever to call the NBA All-Star Game. Dan probes his nerves, advice, and the impact of his age.

  • Eagle: “Best piece of advice…just be myself and really do everything we normally do. Have fun.” (20:12)
  • On age: “I’ve always been an old soul…The goal is to bridge the gap between those who are 22 and those who are 72.” (20:53)

• Noah is bullish on the new All-Star Game format (USA vs. World), expecting competitive play due to a quarter-by-quarter reset.

  • Eagle: “The point differential is going to matter…you’re going to start to see some of that competitive joy and spirit come to the forefront.” (23:44)

6. More Tanking Talk: Alternate Fixes?

(24:02–26:14)

• Dan solicits Noah’s thoughts for fixing NBA tanking.
  • Eagle: “I don’t think there is one…every solution I’ve heard, there’s a counter…The answer is to try to sit back and hopefully enjoy what you can.” (24:02)

7. Celebrity All-Star Game Roster Breakdown & Social Media Musings

(28:33–33:40)

• The crew runs down the eclectic celebrity player lists—athletes, actors, influencers—and debates the distinctions among internet labels (TikTok star vs. social media personality, etc.).
• Humorous admissions about unfamiliar celebrity names and widespread TikTok addiction.
  • Dan: “Every meal we have is a TikTok meal.” (33:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mike Tirico, on 'Crotch Gate' research:
  “We’re searching. It’s a very deep research pool, if you know.” (05:21)

• Tirico, on Olympic judging bias:
  “With ice dancing, everybody says there’s going to be bias from countries. It’s political. We understand that going in. I’m like, what do you mean you understand that going in?” (07:07)

• Dan, on the power of broadcast research:
  “When you’re armed with information, it’s very powerful because…you want to come across as at least somewhat knowledgeable.” (17:11)

• Noah Eagle, on his generational approach:
  “The goal is to bridge the gap between those who are 22 and those who are 72.” (20:53)

• Noah Eagle, on the All-Star celebrity game and Shams Charania:
  “Apparently you can put a wager on Shams Charania’s over/under of three and a half points, which is disrespectful...he’s got to get at least four.” (27:31)

• Seaton, on flag football dream matchups:
  “It does seem it is a different skill set though.” (38:43)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 01:56 — Olympic scandal ‘gates’ rundown (Crotch Gate, ice dancing judging)
• 04:45–05:48 — Mike Tirico on covering “Crotch Gate” and Olympics humor
• 07:07 — Olympic judging criticism & system bias explained
• 08:03–08:52 — The evolution of figure skating, Ilia Malin as “quad god”
• 09:24–12:43 — NBA tanking, Utah Jazz fines, and the draft system
• 12:43–16:17 — Mike Tirico on Super Bowl/Olympics transition and importance of research staff
• 17:11 — Dan on the value of Olympic broadcast research
• 19:59–20:53 — Noah Eagle on age and advice for calling the All-Star Game
• 23:44 — Noah explains the competitive potential of new All-Star Game format
• 24:02–26:14 — Noah Eagle’s take on futility of tanking solutions
• 28:33–33:40 — Celebrity All-Star Game roster run-down and influencer distinctions

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Conclusion

Hour 3 of The Dan Patrick Show was classic: packed with irreverence, smart sports discussion, and a behind-the-scenes feel. Listeners were brought into the Olympic and NBA All-Star world, heard confessions about broadcaster prep and research, and were treated to a mix of serious expertise and endearing, self-deprecating humor about the quirks of modern sports culture.

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Transcript

[Mike Tirico]

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[Dan Patrick]

You are listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio final hour on this Meat Friday. In case you're wondering, and I know you are, we have steak, fondue, cheese fondue, chocolate covered strawberries. Who has it better than we do?

[Noah Eagle]

Nobody.

[Dan Patrick]

We'll talk to Mike Chico from the Winter Olympics. He'll join us shortly. And we'll talk to Noah. Eagle Eye, Eagle's son will be calling the NBA All Star Game on NBC. And Peacock, you can also see our show on Peacock. Download the app if you haven't done so. Good morning to our radio affiliates as well. Stat of the day, as always, brought to you by Panini America. The official trading cards of the Dan Patrick show. So the NBA's biggest stars, the All Star Weekend NBC, Peacock USA versus the World Poll question for the final hour of the program. Seaton.

[Seaton]

Yeah, we got a real hodgepodge. Is that the right word?

[Dan Patrick]

Hodgepodge?

[Mike Tirico]

Yeah.

[Seaton]

Let's see. What type of competitions do you prefer? International or club? 68% have international. What bothers you more about the Utah Jazz tanking or the lack of jazz in Salt Lake City? Lack of jazz still hovering at about 70% of that one. What's your favorite Olympics gate this year? Crotch gate, Ukrainian helmet gate, Norwegian cheater gate or ice dancing scoring gate? Ice dancing scoring gate is in second place. But right now, crotch gate definitely leading that one. I think crotch gate, it sort of splits in two. There's two sort of concurrent stories happening there that make it compelling. Both of them have to do with the crotchal region.

[Dan Patrick]

But you have this ski jumping and they're trying to add mass to.

[Seaton]

So one of them was adding extra fabric. Okay. Both of the, Both stories have to do with sort of the aerodynamics of flight.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Seaton]

One of them was trying to add extra material, sort of similar to a flying squirrel. The other was sort of stuffing down there in some way to help your aerodynamic qualities.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Seaton]

All right. I think is the best way to.

[Dan Patrick]

Say that Dylan, who's in for Paulie today. Yes, Dylan.

[Dylan]

Is the idea that it's. If you enlarge the area enough, it'll basically be like a ship rudder. So you kind of like carve through the air a little better.

[Dan Patrick]

I don't know.

[Dylan]

I'm asking you, Dan.

[Dan Patrick]

But I don't. But I don't know. I. I mean, I was a high riser, but. No. When I would elevate playing basketball.

[Dylan]

You didn't know injections?

[Dan Patrick]

No. Region. No, no, no. It's been pretty crazy, though. There's. There's been some. And that we're a weekend with the Olympics and there's been a lot going on here so far.

[Seaton]

You know, this. The ice dancing scoring thing is. Could get tricky. That's a. That's a crazy story when you start looking at how that, you know, the countries scored there. Certainly some odd behavior.

[Dan Patrick]

Let's bring in Mike Chico. You'll find him on, well, everything with NBC. Sunday Night Football, Play by play host in the Olympics. We got scandals over there, Mike. What's your favorite scandals? What's your favorite scandals?

[Mike Tirico]

Are you gonna go ski jumping on me?

[Dan Patrick]

I. I just wonder how you, you know, being the, you know, the decorated broadcaster hosting the Olympics. How do you do that? You know, the. You, you, you toe the line with this, Mike.

[Mike Tirico]

I think the ski jumping thing is one of the funnier stories. I think that we all go to great lengths to cover a story like that, Dan. And we'll start. I see. It's just everything you say about that story is problematic in some way, shape or form. Isn't it funny? Like, seriously, that isn't. Only in the Olympics. Funny story. Sorry about that. It's off the charts. Good. So, yeah, that's one that. That's what.

[Dan Patrick]

But do you have an excellent expert, Mike? Do you have an expert on to talk about crotch gate? We are.

[Mike Tirico]

We're searching. It's a very deep research pool, if you know. And we will continue to, you know, get our. Get our best person on it. It's. It's so funny, because now after that story, right, and it makes sense. Like, it makes sense in all regards as you watch and anybody who's sailed right. Or, or put a kite up in the air, you kind of see that how, you know, you want to get the right amount of air to a certain place to keep that in the air longer. See, anything you say is wrong. Right.

[Dan Patrick]

I like how you're breaking this down scientific. You're like Belichick after deflategate.

[Mike Tirico]

Psi and all this stuff, you know, so that's so. So anyway, so we'll. We have not yet covered that story in primetime. However, I'm sure there will be a moment that. That comes up, and if the situation arises, we'll deal with it as needed.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, what's your second favorite scandal going on right now? Controversy. How's that?

[Mike Tirico]

Or the, the judging from the ice dancing. I know you were bothered by the Spanish placement and the French judge and all that, you know, so it's funny, dad. So, as you know, we've got an amazing research team that's part of the Olympic unit, and we have. They're younger than we are. We're older. We watched the Olympics going back to Jim McKay and all that. So I was talking about it last night as we were going through. Yes, the French judge and the placement of the Spanish judge in the ice dancing. Do you remember the old days when it would have the country and the scores would come up, the German judge, the Russian judge, and the whole term of the Russian judge giving a bad score was. Was kind of the lingo for some time. And now we've gotten away from that.

[Dan Patrick]

Right.

[Mike Tirico]

Because you have this artistic score and the grade of execution, and Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski explain it all the time. And I'm still trying to get my arms around understanding it properly, but it's still there. And that was a big drama in the. In the judging. The high and the low score got thrown out because there was natural bias in there. And with ice dancing, everybody says there's going to be bias from countries. It's political. We understand that going in. I'm like, what do you mean you understand that going in? And then the two top teams, the US Team that finished the runner up, Chalk and Bates, they train with the same coaches as the French team and they train in the same place. So can you imagine the Seahawks and the Patriots trading in the same place, coached by the same people, and then meeting in the Super Bowl? It's like, hard to get your arms around that. So that's. That's the other favorite controversy so far.

[Dan Patrick]

For me now help me understand the. The quad God and.

[Mike Tirico]

And Ilia Malin.

[Dan Patrick]

But Debbie Thomas did this a flip many, many, many years ago. And then they outlawed that, correct?

[Mike Tirico]

The backflip you're talking about. Yeah, yeah, that. That was. And now it's back in. So Ilia Malin has that did it in his short program, will likely included in his long program tonight in addition to the the four revolutions in the air. And Scott Hamilton, who's working with me. So he'll be on the set with me when that's on live this afternoon. As Scott was showing me just how Ilia starts his rotations and his jumps right from the beginning. It used to be you got up in the air and then started rotating and he starts the rotation beforehand. So it's just pushing the physical limits of what people can do, which is the great thing about sports all the time.

[Dan Patrick]

We.

[Mike Tirico]

Did we ever think we'd see somebody like Wemby, who's that tall and has that full court ability, doing things in the open floor like he does? No, but now we do. Right. And so Ilya's done the same thing and now others feel like they can do it. So it's. It's a cool thing to see and watch. And he's pretty special. I hope he crushes it tonight because we've seen him in the World Championships last year in Boston. We've seen him on the Grand Prix circuit. If he goes out and crushes it at the Olympics in the long program, like, people will talk about what he does forever, which is so cool.

[Dan Patrick]

Talking to Mike Chirico. You're also going to be doing the NBA when you come back home. I'm curious about the tanking story that, you know, the commissioner came I and I wonder the timing of this, Mike, you have the All Star weekend and you have the media looking for somebody to, you know, something to talk about. And we've talked about tanking the last couple of days here in the States. Now all of a sudden, he levies a $500,000 fine and a $100,000 fine. Do you think that's just a coincidence?

[Mike Tirico]

Well, I don't think it's all star timing. I think it's what Utah's been doing. Right. And this has felt a little bit like whack a mole along the way. When something comes up, you have to respond to it. And, you know, Utah had a brilliant idea, if you will. Hey, we're playing market in a certain number of minutes on A minutes restriction, but they're not the key minutes. They're not the minutes. You need your best players to close a game. Right. So this is. This is an issue and a problem that they'll have to find a way long term to be comfortable with and not incentivize losing. And they've tried it with percentages. I'm surprised. Percentages in the draft, I'm surprised we haven't seen it in the NFL, I really am. Where we don't see more of a lottery system for the draft as opposed to, hey, we'll start a bad quarterback, we'll go 2 and 15 and try to get better quicker. Because in the NFL, it can happen with a couple of draft picks and a good draft class and the right quarterback and be in position for that. But. But, you know, the one thing about the NBA is they do not let, and especially Adam does. Does not let a lot of moss grow before taking action. Like, they get in there and they attack a problem, and if it's a problem and there needs to be a solution, they'll go there. And I think that's why the fine was so heavy and so, so penal against the Jazz for what they've been doing.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I don't know what. And we've had calls all morning long about tanking and what are alternatives, how do we stop this? I don't have any ideas. I mean, I have ideas. I just don't know. Like, how do you kind of stop this, circumvent this, prevent this?

[Mike Tirico]

I'll never forget talking to somebody with the NCAA and this is in the 90s, and they said, you know, every rule that's in the book, all the infractions, I can go back and tell you, yeah, SMU did this back then or this school that did this back then, and that's why this rule's in place. I think everybody, when looking for a competitive edge, finds a workaround at some point. So it's not foolproof. So whatever the next system is, somebody will find a way to mess with it. You know, do you just totally abolish the concept of worst record, gets the top pick? Do you go back to some sort of complete lottery system for the draft? There's a variety of different things, things that sound crazy. You don't want to get away from the principle of if you're not good, you should get the first chance to get better, because that cyclical nature of sports helps. Otherwise, you don't want. Although it's successful, I don't think you want what The Premier League is where you have a half dozen clubs who are going to be up here and then the others are mostly going to rotate and the bottom few will come in and out from the Premier League and the championship. That works for English soccer. It does not work for our sports in the States. You like the fact that Utah can be bad and get a couple of draft picks and now you can be great.

[Dan Patrick]

How quickly after the trophy ceremony at the super bowl were you on a plane to Italy?

[Mike Tirico]

Couple hours. We did the Olympic primetime show from the field for an hour and change, went back to the hotel, got a shower, grabbed our stuff and got on the plane and then landed, I think four hours before the, maybe four and a half hours before the primetime show aired on, on Monday night and got, got right to work on that. Got here, showered, got to the broadcast center and, and, and dove in. It was, it was a bit of a whirlwind. But yeah, I'll tell you, it's, it's been fun. I thought that on Tuesday or Wednesday would hit like a house of bricks. But you, you know, the energy of the Olympics, you get going in a routine with next day, it's a new event and something big is happening and it kind of carries you through. So this is day seven of the Olympics. I think it's day seven and I'm still feeling pretty good.

[Dan Patrick]

When do you hit the wall normally at the Olympics?

[Mike Tirico]

The rookie wall. You mean the, the Olympic wall?

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Mike Tirico]

So there. So like tomorrow is where the dog days set in, where you're doing the same thing for the 8th or 9th, 10th day row and then the hard day is usually the Thursday before it ends because you go, oh my God, how am I going to pack all the stuff that I have? There's no way I'm going to be ready to leave in three or four days and get all this stuff back. I haven't hit a wall doing these doing Olympics. The last, the last five. You taught me early on, take it one segment at a time and don't worry about a three, four hour show or however long you're going to be on. And that's still the best, that's the best idea. I want to know what's ahead and plan. But I've got to worry about, you know, Johannes Clabo in this segment and not because if I worry about Frederica Brignoni in the next seg, I'm going to screw up your honest Clabo in this segment. So it is, it was a sage and good advice that I that I still hold to this day. So thank you. Thank you.

[Dan Patrick]

Danimal, do you have somebody who is there? Like, you'll go through all the names and do you have somebody who is there who's able to help you pronounce these names?

[Mike Tirico]

Well, it's a variety of people over the years on this show specifically shout out Jake Abraham, Charlotte Edmonds. They are the two researchers who are working on our primetime show, and they are godsends. They're. They're eight. No, it's. It's Clabbo, not Clabbo. You know, they. Especially the people who work the Olympic research unit, they travel to the biathlon world championships and all of those things, and they come back with the right answer. It's why. And Dan, you know this, but maybe people watching haven't heard this. There are a lot of sports executives for the last 25 years. I'm talking the top people in the industry who are alums of the Olympic research group, including Molly Solomon, who's the executive producer of our Olympics right now, and Sam Flood, who's the executive producer at NBC Sports. But they were Olympic researchers and moved their way up. And the detail and the foresight you need, like, yesterday, random. We're looking at the metal count. Hey, guys, Norway has the most golds. Like, didn't they have it last Olympics? Hang on. Yeah, they had it last Olympics and the Olympics before. They tied the one before. So they're going for four in a row, like, in 15 seconds. Like, these are stupid questions from someone, and they just know how to do it. And Jake and Jake and Charlotte are my saviors on the show right now. So they're making me look as good as I can at this point.

[Dan Patrick]

All right, bud, Congrats on the super bowl and seamlessly doing hosting the Olympics. And we'll look forward to crotch gate coming up at some point.

[Mike Tirico]

Appreciate. Do I. Do I get to come on next week, too? This is two weeks in a row, Todd.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, no, I'm on vacation. Yeah.

[Mike Tirico]

Oh, I just. I just want to know when Reggie Miller status happens, because I'm like, reg, you're on Dan show again. I'm on every week. I know, but that's good. I bet it's fine. I. I know my place, and I.

[Dan Patrick]

You've got enough airtime, all right?

[Mike Tirico]

I'm not looking for airtime. It feels like just your friendship.

[Dan Patrick]

Why don't you share a little bit? Okay. You gobble up. You gobble up camera time. Thank you. Mike.

[Mike Tirico]

Have no eagle on, then I will right after this See, I knew that was a tease.

[Dan Patrick]

I see. I see what you did. Oh, that professional Mike Tirico over there covering the Winter Olympics. The research department is unbelievable at the Olympics. Oh, my God. There were times when I would say, I'd ask how or why or where, when, who, and boom, they had that information. And as Mike says, I mean, we're only as good as those people, the people who put the stories together, give you all the information and they're there constantly, tirely, tirelessly, they are there at your side and to give that information. And it you're armed, when you're armed with information, it's very powerful because, you know, I'm covering sports that I don't normally cover and you want to come across as at least somewhat knowledgeable. And the research department there with the Olympics, big shout out to them. Noah Eagle. He's calling the All Star Game this weekend. Not even 30 years of age. Show off. He'll join us coming up next year on the Dan Patrick Show.

[Mike Tirico]

Be sure to catch the live edition.

[Dan Patrick]

Of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports.

[Mike Tirico]

Radio in the iHeartRadio apps here I.

[Stu Gatz]

Have a podcast empire. It continues to grow and I have brought it here to iHeart. I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stagots and company Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone calls.

[Dan Patrick]

I love you guys show.

[Mike Tirico]

It's one of my favorites.

[Stu Gatz]

A lot of interaction, guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stu Gatson Co. And Stugats Co. Live. So listen to Stegots Co. Live and and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate and review Stugots Co. And God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today and you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Mike Tirico]

This month, iHeartRadio is celebrating the stars of the 2026 Winter Games.

[Noah Eagle]

Alta, Wyoming raised Jaylen Cough, widely considered the fastest mogul skier in the world.

[Mike Tirico]

World. With an aggressive style that attacks the fall line, she charges through the bumps at breakneck speeds while throwing massive airs.

[Noah Eagle]

Already an Olympic silver medalist, Kauf returns to the mountain with her eyes fixed.

[Dan Patrick]

On the top spot.

[Mike Tirico]

In a sport judged on turns, air and speed, she plans to leave no.

[Noah Eagle]

Doubt that she owns the mountain for.

[Mike Tirico]

More Winter Games gold Search olympics on the iHeartRadio app.

[Dan Patrick]

I don't know what you accomplished before you turned 30, but Noah will be the youngest ever to call an NBA All Star Game at the age of 29. What's the best piece of advice you've been given going into the All Star Game?

[Noah Eagle]

Well, first of all, Dan, I was excited to join you guys until I saw the guest list for today and then I felt like a stand up comic going to an open mic night and you don't know who you're going to follow and you have to follow Chris Rock and Bill Burr. So here I am, ready to go. Best piece of advice is honestly, it's just been to be myself and really do everything that we normally do. Have fun. And if you have fun, the audience generally tends to follow and celebrate the game. That's what we're here to do. And so you kind of accomplish all those things and you can leave happy.

[Dan Patrick]

How does your age work against you? How does it work for you in a situation like this?

[Noah Eagle]

Yeah, I guess against me it's just the inexperience. I haven't done this before and so it's anything that you do new, you're going in a little bit blind. But I would say how it works for me. You know, I've always been an old soul. The first article written about me when I got the LA Clippers job was the headline was he's 22 going on 52 and it was highly accurate. And so for me, I think I've been a historian of the game. I've watched every one of these weekends since I was pretty much born. I was the guy that needed to park myself on the couch from the beginning of the Rising Stars all the way through the game on Sunday. So I just think that I want to make sure that I'm doing the due diligence for all of those people who have been watching for decades. But at the same time I do at least have a sense of what's happening with the younger generation. And so the hope is I can bridge the gap between Those who are 22 and those who are 72 that are tuning in. That is kind of the goal in any of this. And you know, we know that we should have, especially considering the Olympics are going to be on, we should have a lot of non basketball fans early. And so our hope is we can entertain them and inform them enough that they want to stay.

[Dan Patrick]

Your thoughts on the format?

[Noah Eagle]

I'm excited for it. I think that, look, the Olympic aspect is great. We chatted during the Summer Olympics in 2024 and I got a front row seat to see just how different that type of competition is when you do have the pride of representing a country in the United States case and the world in the world's case. And I think that you're going to get a full 48 minutes of basketball on Sunday. To me, that was always the concern. It's one thing if, and we saw this a little bit last year and the NBA did a great job of rectifying some of those issues where it felt like actually the games were getting competitive, but then it was so choppy because they were so short that you never got a full rhythm of basketball. This will be a full rhythm of basketball. It's a full quarter and then you move on. It's another full quarter and then you move on another full quarter and then you have your championship. So it's a full four quarters of basketball. So from that perspective, I think it can work. And the hope is these guys have a little bit of juice, especially towards the end of that quarter. I think that's the other idea from the NBA in previous All Star games, you feel like you have your full 48 minute game, 12 minute quarters. There's no jurisdiction with the first, second, third, and then maybe by the end of the fourth, they start playing. The hope is because it's one quarter, the point differential is going to matter by the end of each quarter. In the final three, four minutes, you're going to start to see some of that competitive joy and spirit come to the forefront. So that's what I expect. We'll see if it all comes together that way, but I'm excited for it.

[Dan Patrick]

Talking to Noah Eagle. He'll be calling the All Star Weekend festivities with Reggie Carmelo, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Jamal Crawford. We've taken phone calls all morning long. Everybody has their solution to tanking. You got one?

[Noah Eagle]

You see, I don't, I really don't think there is one because I've gone through every combination and permutation you could think and all the ones I've heard, some really creative, the ones that I like there was there. There's one that I know has at least had some preliminary discussion, according to reports, about potentially having some kind of tournament or play to get the number one pick. So now there's an incentive for the teams. The problem is, what's the incentive for the players that are on those teams that are on expiring contracts? Why do they care. It's the same idea of. That's what everybody always says with the NFL. Everyone's all, well, if you're bad, just lose every game. Well, why would the players care to lose every game? That's not good for them and their personal brands and the same type of deal of okay, well, where they're not going to have any competitive pride, you're saying up until a certain point and then that's going to switch. Doesn't make sense to me. I've heard the, well, cut it off at March 1st and now the rest of the year doesn't matter in terms of your losses. So go be competitive. But what does that do necessarily? What if there's a team that's 11th in the lottery odds in March 1st and now they turn it on late, they make the play in tournament, they make the playoffs and they get the number one pick? Well, that doesn't solve now the competitive balance in the NBA. So I, I don't know if there's a definitive answer other than the fact of what the egregious tanking and what we saw the Utah Jazz get fined half a million dollars for. I think that's where you just have to find punishments for that to make sure that those do not happen. The, the blatant directly in your face sitting entire guys for entire fourth quarters. And it's more than just Utah that's done it. They're just the ones that have gotten the harshest punishment so far this year. It's a loaded draft class. I think every time there's a loaded draft class, you see more and more teams recognize it. And especially once these guys start playing at the level that they have in the college ranks, they're going to start going all in to try to secure their services. But at the same time, I'm not really sure that there's a direct answer to say, well, hey, you can't do that. You're going to tell coaches, well, don't, don't put the, you can't put those guys in right now. That's a coaching decision. That's all they're going to argue. So, no, I don't have. I don't have an answer. The answer is to try to sit back and hopefully enjoy what you can.

[Dan Patrick]

Are you calling the celebrity game as well?

[Noah Eagle]

I am not. I, I wish it's still an ESPN property. I wish that we could have somehow grabbed that one. I'm a big fan of watching the celebrities embarrass themselves.

[Dan Patrick]

All I know is Jason Williams is going to be out there.

[Noah Eagle]

Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

And somebody's going to get hit in the head with one of his passes and he's going to put somebody. He'll. He'll put him on a swivel. He'll. He'll embarrass some people out there. I don't know who else. Who else is Jeremy Lynn? He's playing as well?

[Noah Eagle]

Well, no, Dan. The big one that I think everyone's curious about is Shams Charani.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, yeah.

[Noah Eagle]

Which I. Here's what I thought should happen. Every NBA executive should have recognized that this guy was doing something that he can't have his phone out while he's on the court. And all 30 teams should make some kind of deal. I know the trade deadlines count, but just do something crazy so that he cannot report on it. I just want to see what would happen. It feels like arm. NBA Armageddon there. Also, I realized, I saw online that apparently you can put a wager on Shams Charani as over under of three and a half points, which is disrespectful to Shams. Have you seen his jump shot? He's got to get at least four.

[Dan Patrick]

Is he. Does he have any game?

[Noah Eagle]

He's got something. He's got some level of skill.

[Dan Patrick]

I know he's not very. Not very tall, is he?

[Mike Tirico]

No.

[Noah Eagle]

But as a short king myself, at least I sympathize with the fact that he's put up jumpers. He's gotten in the gym, and he's put some work in.

[Dan Patrick]

Could you take Shams in a shooting contest?

[Noah Eagle]

I haven't picked up a ball in years, so probably not.

[Mike Tirico]

You're only 29.

[Dan Patrick]

It's not like you're 50.

[Noah Eagle]

Sure, sure. Give me. Give me like a month and then we can talk. If you give me a month to get some shots up. Feel like I can get a rhythm back then. Yes. I think I shot. I shot 40% my senior year of high school from 3. I think it was 2 for 5 or 4 for 10.

[Mike Tirico]

So I think I'm good.

[Dan Patrick]

Have fun this weekend, Noah.

[Noah Eagle]

Appreciate it, man.

[Dan Patrick]

That's Noah Eagle. He'll be on the call for the All Star festivities. And you got Carmelo and Vince and Tracy and Reggie. Jamal Crawford there, so that'll be a lot of fun. See? Can you run down the roster here?

[Mike Tirico]

We.

[Dan Patrick]

We touched on this about an hour ago. Of the celebrities playing in the celebrity All Star festivities.

[Seaton]

Yeah.

[Mike Tirico]

You have.

[Seaton]

Let's see. Do you want me to run down roster by roster or alphabetical matchup by matchup?

[Dan Patrick]

Just give me the roster.

[Seaton]

All right, Team Yanis.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Seaton]

Is Jenna Bandy, who I see is like a, I think, former basketball player slash social media person.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, now, okay. Social media. And then there's Tick Tock and then there's in Internet influencers. Like, I'm not sure all of the labels here.

[Seaton]

Yeah. Like, actually, as we go through the list, you'll probably hear a few different categories, and I'm not really sure how they all split.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. Okay.

[Seaton]

Cafu is a Brazilian soccer player. Shams Sharania. Obviously, we all know inside Taco Fall.

[Dan Patrick]

Got it.

[Seaton]

Rome Flynn is an actor. Glorilla is a music artist. Keegan Michael Key.

[Dan Patrick]

Boss.

[Seaton]

Jeremy Lynn. Boss. Rick Schnall. How. How can you be the minority owner of the Hawks and the majority owner of the Hornets? Oh, how does that work out? How are you allowed to own pieces of multiple teams in the same league?

[Dan Patrick]

I don't know.

[Seaton]

That seems odd to me.

[Dan Patrick]

In the Sun's owner mat, is he playing?

[Seaton]

He is. He's on the other team. He's on Team Anderson. Yep. I'm gonna get to him in a second. Amon Ross, St. Brown.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Seaton]

He's probably gonna do very well.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Seaton]

Probably gonna do very well. Dylan Wong is a singer, actor. That's Giannis's team right there. All those people.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Seaton]

Team Anthony Anderson. Keenan Allen. He's gonna ball.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. But I worry Keenan Allen. I just don't want him to get hurt.

[Seaton]

Yeah, yeah. Accurate.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Seaton]

I, by the way, I should have already prefaced this by saying I apologize for all the names. I'm getting wrong. There's an Indian. An Indian rapper named Bad Shah. I think that's how you would pronounce that. I'm not familiar with his work. His or her work, actually. Andre De Grasse is a Canadian runner. Matt Ishbia celebrity.

[Dan Patrick]

Just.

[Seaton]

That's it.

[Dan Patrick]

Yep. Yeah.

[Seaton]

Cody Jones is from. Dude, perfect.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, okay.

[Seaton]

Okay. I know Dude Perfect. I don't know Cody Jones.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Seaton]

Simu Lou is a Canadian actor. Mustard is a producer. Famous. Kendrick Lamar has made Mustard very famous.

[Dan Patrick]

All right.

[Seaton]

Adrian Nunez is a social media person. Taylor Frankie Paul is a tiktoker. Now that Jason Williams is white chocolate. We all know him. And then there's someone named Nicholas Van Steenberg who's an Internet personality. I'm not sure the difference between an Internet personality, a social media person. I mean, a tiktoker is very specific. I'm not sure what's different between an Internet personality and a social media person.

[Dan Patrick]

Let me ask Dylan, our resident Well.

[Dylan]

I was going to say the last guy, Nicholas Van Steenberg, he was on Love island the last season.

[Dan Patrick]

Of course he was. I'm.

[Dylan]

Yeah. I don't know why I know that.

[Seaton]

I heard of Love Island.

[Dylan]

Yeah, it was a big deal.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Dylan]

So he parlayed that into some, I guess, enough fame to get into the celebrity basketball game.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Dylan]

But difference between Tick Tock or an Internet personality. There is no.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, there isn't.

[Noah Eagle]

Not really.

[Dylan]

I think it's. You're kind of splitting hairs at that.

[Seaton]

Like, I only do Tick Tock versus Instagram. I get that. I do. There is a whole audience that is just a Tick Tocker versus just a. But if you're. I mean, it all kind of falls under influencer, I would imagine, at some point. Right. Or.

[Dylan]

Well, and now, like Instagram has just turned into Tick Tock. Like they have the whole reels page, which is basically. So they're all just kind of cross polished.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I'm not on any. I'm only on Facebook.

[Dylan]

Yeah, that one's sort of the Wild West.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, that's it. But all I know is in my house right now with two of my daughters and my wife, there is a 12 step recovery or a program with Tick Tock. Like, they have to step away from the phone. They admit that they. They have to stop.

[Seaton]

It does oddly consume an amazing amount of time. Once you open it up, it is a fascinating thing.

[Dan Patrick]

Every meal we have is a TikTok meal.

[Seaton]

Yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

Because I'll go, oh, okay. Where'd you get this TikTok?

[Seaton]

My son was just asking why he's. He's 16, why he's not allowed to have TikTok or Snapchat. And we're like, you just can't.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. That's why you got to have a life.

[Seaton]

You're just. He's like. But that's how everybody talks to each other through Snapchat. How am I supposed to do that? I'm like, don't you have a phone? Yeah. Does it have a phone number? Yeah. Can you text? Yeah. There you go. Nailed it.

[Dan Patrick]

All right, take a break. Last call for phone calls. What we learn what's in store for next week. And it's fondue. We have steak fondue, cheese fondue, and Todd asked for chocolate covered strawberry fondue.

[Mike Tirico]

Let's get it.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah. Back after this. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports.

[Mike Tirico]

Talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our [e-mail] and within.

[Dan Patrick]

The iHeartRadio app, search FSR to listen live last call for phone calls. What we learned, what's in store for next week. Also, this day in sports history. We got fondue and Dylan. And Weeks, our cameraman did a great job preparing, prepping for chocolate fondue. We have a fondue fountain there with strawberries and apples, and we also have some steak there as well. So. Great, great stuff. I didn't know I needed fondue today. I just came in and didn't realize it. But I'm glad I have my fondue today. You never know, Todd.

[Todd]

It's so much fun. Dude, I didn't raise my hand.

[Dan Patrick]

Exactly.

[Dylan]

I didn't either, technically.

[Dan Patrick]

And then you step on each other and then nobody heard anything.

[Dylan]

All right, Todd, you go first.

[Todd]

It's so much fun, too.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you, Todd. That was worth jumping. All right, do you want to do your Valentine's Day? Yeah. Okay.

[Todd]

Okay. I got Hanky Pankovitz. Remember Jim Pankovich from the Astros?

[Dan Patrick]

I do not.

[Todd]

You do not. Mark Bolger for the excited ones. Fred Couples Adoree Jackson. Romantic. Gabriel Riddick, Bow and arrow. Evan Fornicate as opposed to Evan Fournier. Happy Hairston. Jerry Jewelry. Lee Lacey, Dickie Thong, lingerie. Allen, Andrew Lucky Passion Richardson, Romeo Cornell, Smoochie Wallace. We've got Brian Wu, like, wooing somebody over. We've got. What do we got here, James? Lights Out Tony. Tim Witherspooning, Bob Huggins, James Harden, Rhonda Arousi. And that's just some of those.

[Dan Patrick]

All right.

[Todd]

And they start getting a little trickier for.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, that's probably. We shouldn't do that. Okay. Because Paul's not here. Usually he. It goes through him.

[Todd]

And then I just had two others because I always joke about what I'm gonna get or not get for Valentine's Day. And if it doesn't work out, there's always hope. Solo and Bill Sell.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you.

[Todd]

Do what you gotta do.

[Dan Patrick]

I know. Thank you, Todd. How about this day in sports history? Let's see. Let me see. Frank Selvi scored 100 points. Furman beat Newberry College in 1954. Julius Irving, playing in his first NBA All Star game, had 30 and 12 and won the MVP. 1980. The Winter Olympics in Lake Placid opened up. 1995. The Yukon men's team is number one, joining the Yukon women number one. That's the first time teams from the same school ranked number one in both men and women's basketball polls.

[Seaton]

Day.

[Mike Tirico]

This is the start of the day.

[Dan Patrick]

Brought to you by Panini America. The official trading cards of the DP Show. Also on this day, 2022, the Rams beat the Bengals to win the Super Bowl. Cooper cup named mvp. Let's see Roy in San Antonio. Hi, Roy. What's on your mind?

[Caller Roy/James/Mark]

Good morning everybody. Happy Valentine's weekend. For everybody out there, and also to my wife April, I have the solution for the All Star game. I mean, this is going to be the one to do it. Have the All Stars play the Harlem Globetrotters.

[Dan Patrick]

And why would we do that?

[Caller Roy/James/Mark]

Because it'd be interesting who wins.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Caller Roy/James/Mark]

All right.

[Dan Patrick]

I would say the NBA would, would win if, if the All Stars were that or the Globetrotters were that good, they'd be playing in the NBA. But you know, there's some former NBA players. Yes, Dylan.

[Dylan]

That's sort of like Olympic flag Football Team vs NFL All Star Team in flag football.

[Dan Patrick]

That one's different because if you have guys who play flag football, like I would love to see a flag football team versus, you know, a NFL flag football team. I, I think it'd be a lot more competitive than you think. Yes, Marvin.

[Mike Tirico]

Dylan and I talked to Will Anderson Jr. During the Pro bowl practice and.

[Noah Eagle]

We asked him about flag football and he was.

[Mike Tirico]

We would kill them.

[Dylan]

Yeah, not even close.

[Mike Tirico]

He had no confidence in the Olympic flag football team against NFL players, especially Pro Bowlers. All right, all right, let's set it up.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, well, they're probably going to do it.

[Dylan]

Will Anderson would probably make the Olympic flag football team, I would think. Just guessing.

[Seaton]

It does seem it is a different skill set though.

[Dylan]

I guess you're great. Like the whole like snatching of the flag thing. I mean is it a big learning curve though for like the best defensive player in the NFL?

[Seaton]

Do you watch, have you watched much flag football?

[Dylan]

Almost none.

[Seaton]

Okay, well then there you go. Watch one and see the movements that they make, how many times they go down like towards the knees and then pop back up. It's a totally different skill set.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I think it'd be more competitive than you think.

[Seaton]

I do too.

[Dan Patrick]

Mark in Kansas. Hi Mark. What's on your mind today?

[Mike Tirico]

Hi, how's it going?

[Dan Patrick]

Good. Mark. Hi.

[Caller Roy/James/Mark]

63205 and first time, long time listener. I had a idea on how to fix players salaries in the NFL.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. I didn't know there was a call to fix their salaries, but. What?

[Caller Roy/James/Mark]

Well, well the contract, like could they not with like just signing these quarterbacks to 60 million dollar deals for a year. Couldn't they just have an escalator like they do in the NBA, like with contracts and Certain achievements you, you earn in your, your season, it could go towards your new contract.

[Dan Patrick]

I'm not ready to solve a salary cap in the NFL or salary fixes. I'm, I'm okay with it. They're going to be guys, you know, the problem is that, you know, these owners will pay a year early for these quarterbacks and there's no rush to do that. Like, I'm sorry if your feelings are hurt that we don't extend you after your third year. You'll live, you'll get your money, you signed a five year deal. How about we get through the fourth year of the deal?

[Todd]

Yes, Todd, Baseball has issues with the salaries getting so out of control that they could be looking at a lockout. Sounds like the commissioner's office. And the league feels like they got to get control this and not just let it get so out of hand that they got to kind of put a ceiling on it.

[Dan Patrick]

James in Salt Lake. Hi, James.

[Seaton]

How you doing?

[Dan Patrick]

Hey, James. Dan.

[Caller Roy/James/Mark]

I'm here, I'm here. What's up, my brother? How you doing?

[Dan Patrick]

Good. What's up?

[Caller Roy/James/Mark]

What's up, man? I love you. Love the show. I got a real quick way to stop this tanking situation. Because I live in Utah. I'm tired of going to the games and seeing some guys I just played against in the G league or at the rec ball center. So this is my solution. The teams that are seven through 10, they get to draft the teams that are 10 and after. So every team that didn't make the playing tournament, tournament, they get to add the players that are inside the 10 through to 15 teams.

[Dan Patrick]

Right.

[Caller Roy/James/Mark]

And then after that, if you get caught thinking twice, then you get to lose the draft rights to them players and then get to go to new teams. So therefore, at least all 82 games, you get to actually see players play.

[Dan Patrick]

It's a Friday. I'm sorry, James, I'm just, I'm already into the weekend.

[Mike Tirico]

That's a lot going on.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, it is. But, but, but thank you. Thank you for offering up suggestions. Todd, what'd you learn today?

[Todd]

John harbor says his Giants will come out of the corner swinging like Hagler Hearns at Caesar's palace. Back in 85 Seaton.

[Seaton]

I learned nobody has it better than John or Jim Harbaugh.

[Mike Tirico]

Marvin Noah, Eagles only 29.

[Dan Patrick]

Dylan.

[Dylan]

Turns out having a big dingus helps with ski jumping. Who knew?

[Dan Patrick]

Todd, what did I learn?

[Todd]

Eric in Washington so moved by your interview with Bo Jackson, he felt compelled to get tested himself. Good news.

[Dan Patrick]

Have a great weekend, everybody. Thanks for joining us.

[Mike Tirico]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Dan Patrick]

Guaranteed Human.