transcript

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
[00:30] So you're saying with Hilton Honors, I can use points for a free night stay anywhere? Anywhere. What about fancy places like the Canopy in Paris?

Speaker 3:
[00:38] Yeah, Hilton Honors, baby.

Speaker 2:
[00:40] Or relaxing sanctuaries like the Conrad and Tulum?

Speaker 3:
[00:43] Hilton Honors, baby.

Speaker 2:
[00:45] What about the five-star Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives? Are you gonna do this for all 9,000 properties?

Speaker 4:
[00:52] When you want points that can take you anywhere, anytime, it matters where you stay. Hilton, for the stay. Book your spring break now.

Speaker 5:
[01:00] K-Pop demon hunters, Saja Boys Breakfast Meal and Huntrix Meal have just dropped at McDonald's. They're calling this a battle for the fans. What do you say to that, Rumi?

Speaker 3:
[01:09] It's not a battle.

Speaker 4:
[01:10] So glad the Saja Boys could take breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day.

Speaker 6:
[01:14] It is an honor to share.

Speaker 5:
[01:16] No, it's our honor.

Speaker 7:
[01:18] It is our larger honor.

Speaker 2:
[01:20] No, really, stop.

Speaker 5:
[01:22] You can really feel the respect in this battle. Pick a meal to pick a side.

Speaker 1:
[01:28] I participated in McDonald's while supplies last.

Speaker 8:
[01:30] This is The Dan Lebatard Show with Stugotz Podcast.

Speaker 9:
[01:38] This episode of The Dan Lebatard Show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours.

Speaker 10:
[01:45] Are we still locked into the draft tonight? Last night was only the first round. Dolphins have one pick tonight in the second round. They got two picks tonight in the third round.

Speaker 7:
[01:53] They're going to mess it up.

Speaker 10:
[01:54] Dave, you're locked in, right? Tonight, round two, three, you're in?

Speaker 11:
[01:58] Well, sure. I'm obviously going to be watching. It is, again, I don't want to beat the dead horse or dead dolphin. But the idea, again, that they're kind of sort of starting from square one, that you don't value the quantity of picks is strange. The deal away, third round picks, I mean, those are viable picks that could turn into human beings that are potentially good at football.

Speaker 10:
[02:27] They can definitely turn into human beings, yes.

Speaker 11:
[02:29] Right. Well, I mean, they almost every single time that there's a draft pick made, it's a human being. But speaking of that, though, see what will not continue into the second round is the hugging of the guy who just got drafted, the one who's physically there. They embrace, as you know, because who is the second guy? Who takes over for Goodell? Goodell only makes the main event. He doesn't stick around to glad hand with second round or shame the devil. My question is, though, for you, Zas, if you come out, it's a fraught situation to do what I'm going to say here. Would you, though, hug Roger Goodell if you came out onto the stage?

Speaker 10:
[03:15] I, yeah, I think I would. Like that, it seems to be a right of passage for these guys where they want to get to the point. Like, you're working so hard in high school, you work hard in college. I want to be able to hug Roger Goodell on the stage.

Speaker 11:
[03:32] Is that a thing now?

Speaker 10:
[03:33] I think so.

Speaker 11:
[03:34] It's interesting because for me, it feels plainly like Roger Goodell is trying to ingratiate himself at the player level. Clearly, he is against the players union, he's for the owners. But this is his little make-good and it makes him look good, it makes him look down to earth. Why do I got to play ball with you, Goodell? I don't owe you nothing, except he is kind of sort of, even though you're on opposite ends of the labor stuff, he is kind of sort of your boss, so you do have to hug him, or else now you're an air do-well, right out of the gate. Refuse to hug, but you would also, the football community would also enjoy it, too, if you stiff-armed Roger Goodell. I'm not here to play grab-ass, I'm here to play ball, right?

Speaker 10:
[04:21] Like if afterward they asked him, why didn't you hug the commissioner, he says, I'm not here to play grab-ass.

Speaker 11:
[04:26] That's exactly what I'm saying to you, right? Wouldn't that be a statement by itself to say that?

Speaker 10:
[04:34] No, but they come across very excited, though, to hug him. It's not like the commissioner, hey, come here, give me a hug. Like, they're excited.

Speaker 11:
[04:40] They're swaying, but then they sway back and forth slowly like an old couple celebrating their golden anniversary kind of thing. It's uncomfortable for me to look at.

Speaker 10:
[04:51] Ty Simpson to the Rams at number 13 was a pretty polarizing pick. I think it's a great spot for Ty Simpson, all right? You get to be the backup with no, normally a quarterback gets selected number 13 overall, you're going to say, hey, by what game this season is he going to be the starter? That's not the case with Ty Simpson. He's going to get to chill and learn and be behind an MVP and a Super Bowl champion, Matt Stafford. And the best part is when it's eventually your turn, Sean McVay, like Sean McVay is going to be your head coach. And whatever you think about Ty Simpson, it's like, all right, but that guy, Sean McVay, you know, kind of similar with Sean Payton, where he took Bo Nixxer. It's like, all right, we didn't think Bo Nixxer was going to go this early, but Sean Payton kind of knows what he's doing with quarterbacks. And I think you probably have to feel the same with Sean McVay. And so last night, at the Rams availability, after they made the pick, you got the general manager, Les Snead, you got the head coach, Sean McVay. They're up there answering questions about the pick, which caught a lot of people by surprise. Number one, he's going 13, which is a lot earlier than a lot of people thought. And number two, there's a school of thought where, all right, hey, it's good to take a quarterback when you want one, as opposed to when you need one. And this way, they have a succession plan for Matthew Stafford. But while Les Snead, the general manager of the Rams, is talking here and is excited about the pick, just keep an eye here on Sean McVay, or listen to the lack of excitement from the head coach.

Speaker 12:
[06:31] I think at the end of the day, probably processing football, someone who can execute a passing offense has mobility. So that's probably the macro. There's a lot more variables that go into it, but that's the macro, I would say. Les, what about Todd's character made him an exception? You know, I think right now, he's still becoming, but I would say the journey that he's had, I think the thing you appreciate is persevering, right, through the ebbs and flows of going to Alabama, earning the job, getting his first, you know, let's call it, start, the opening game against Florida State and they lose that game. And if you, I grew up in Alabama, the sky was falling in the state of Alabama.

Speaker 10:
[07:17] He's just sitting there, Sean McVay. He doesn't answer anything. He does not look very excited when you're normally drafting a quarterback who you would assume the head coach, a quarterback, you know, guy in Sean McVay would be thrilled and on board if you're selecting a quarterback. And he looks like he was, I mean, Dave, am I, am I reading this wrong here? Because he did not come off very excited. Ty Simpson afterwards said he did not even meet Sean McVay. He has never met him. And by the way, Albert Breer, NFL reporter, he tweeted out this last night, Dave, Rams general manager Les Snead and UT Martin coach Jason Simpson have a very strong relationship to the point where Snead helped advise the family when Jason's son Ty was making a decision on whether or not to declare for the draft. Now, Ty Simpson is a Ram.

Speaker 11:
[08:11] Sean McVay, the rumors crop up every couple few years, even before the Super Bowl or maybe it was right around when they, when they won that Lombardi, that Sean McVay is going to walk away from head coaching at some point sooner rather than later, whether or not we'd maybe go with Matthew Stafford, whether or not that's true. Stafford is definitely inevitably going to go away sooner rather than later. And so I could see Sean McVay feeling like, I guess the cross, I get the cross purposes and I will advocate always, you should in the QB league, you should take a quarterback almost every year. I mean, that's one of the savvier things. I mean, I think what Alexey Tselechak did even at the height of the Patriots Dynasty, they just kept taking swings at QB and it ultimately kind of served them well. So I get it. But like in 2016, the Rams are one of the short list of favorites to make a Super Bowl run here. Why not try to help out there in the short term instead of getting this guy into the pipeline? I kind of get it. But if Sean McVay is not excited about it, that's going to, that's going to injure the progress of this kid, right?

Speaker 6:
[09:21] I feel like this is all semantics. The edible could have just kicked in on my boy. He could have took a pre-workout drink or something. He just looking like that. I feel like, bro, if Sean McVay did not want this man on his team, he would not be the draft pick. Sean McVay has a resume that is excellent. He has full control over that locker room. So I think we're reading too much into facial expression.

Speaker 13:
[09:40] Maybe, maybe.

Speaker 6:
[09:42] Chris.

Speaker 11:
[09:43] But you agree though, everybody agrees though, that if you are in win now mode, you should take a swing at pick 13 with somebody who helps you now.

Speaker 10:
[09:51] I think if you're in win now mode, it's okay to punt on what might be best for the future and do whatever it takes to win Super Bowls right now. And that is seemingly not what the Rams did last night.

Speaker 11:
[10:05] Well, especially Zas, it's interesting, given the way the Rams have operated basically for the last like half decade or more. I mean, remember, they couldn't care less about DraftKings. And now they're playing for the future. It's a funny right turn from the same brain trust that was like, we don't need DraftKings, we're just all about right now.

Speaker 10:
[10:28] Chris, did you see what happened last night? So, McKay Lemon, another interesting story from last night, McKay Lemon, who was the wide receiver at USC, who had kind of a weird combine, you know, he just his the way he was answering questions.

Speaker 6:
[10:46] He said dead homies a couple of times up there. You can't do that, bro.

Speaker 10:
[10:50] Was that last night he said that?

Speaker 6:
[10:51] No, the combine. You can't say that. I just prayed the folks trying to be honest. You like you like dead homies, like I'm telling the truth.

Speaker 10:
[10:57] He was a little too honest at the combine. He had a strange combine and you don't know what's true. Like, I remember one report that came out and we're like, he totally bombed the interview was almost like he must have done it on purpose. He was so bad, you know. And so, Mackay Lemon gets selected number 20 overall by Philadelphia traded up to take him. It was a really cool moment. He put on the hat. He was crying. I like that kind of stuff. But right before the Eagles took him, you know, they call the players and they say, hey, we're about to select you. How would you like to be a Philadelphia Eagle? Right before the Eagles called him, the Steelers called him. The Steelers had picked number 21. The Steelers called him before the Eagles jumped up to 20. And they apparently were certain number 20 is not going to select him. So let's call him and ask him how he'd like to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Dave, did you see this? So the Steelers called him, told him they're going to select him. Then the Eagles jumped up to 20 and they did select him.

Speaker 11:
[11:59] What's semi funny? I don't want to say funny haha, because it's kind of sad that the Steelers wanted lemon and they wound up with Ian Atchour. It sort of completes a funny circle. The Dallas Cowboys had Ryan Chazier on the line in 2014 and the Steelers swooped in and picked him. So this finishes off the revenge factor. But yeah, it feels like what it amounts to is the Steelers got caught with their pants down. They didn't know what was happening and they, I wouldn't say panicked, but I am surprised that they didn't take a wide receiver. I mean, obviously, if they don't like the guys, not just interchangeable human beings like, well, the one receiver is gone, so take another receiver. But there were some decent options at Pass Catcher where they continue to have issues and instead just loaded up again. Now they have three tackles on the team, four tackles conceivably. How many tackles do we need?

Speaker 10:
[13:01] The Miami Hurricanes had three first-round picks last night. Number 10, number 15, number 22. The first of those three, number 10, was Francis Maui Noah to the New York Giants. Bain went to the Bucks. Akeem Mesudor went to the Chargers at 22. Did I leave out any other fun stories from the first round last night? I feel like we got them, yeah?

Speaker 11:
[13:24] I think what you said is the thing that we glossed over in the production around it. Obviously, we were doing the live stream and everything else, but it does feel to me from a distance, like it's so slick now, so produced. We're getting away from the core. I don't want to sound like an old saccharine weirdo, but that is when a team wins a championship. It's a great singular moment, the completion of all that work and everything else in that glorious moment. But I think maybe the best moment in sports, just the instantaneous, these guys all know they're about to get drafted and become multimillionaires and everything else. And yet it still is such a magical moment to witness the entire family, what it means to all of them and to generations upcoming and all the rest of it. And I feel like that's kind of, now we've lost that in favor of Roger Goodell hugging guys and cutaways to the war room of guys dressed business casually high five.

Speaker 14:
[14:20] Hey Roy buddy, you know that energy shift when the game gets good and everybody all together in unison knows to stand up on their feet?

Speaker 12:
[14:29] Oh, absolutely, Mike.

Speaker 14:
[14:30] Yeah, you've been at many big time sporting events. You know that moment quite well. That's what it's like when you take your first sip of Cuervo. Oh, delicious. It's the signal that says we're not checking the time anymore, pal. It's when small talk turns into stories. Cuervo, man, it's that high five or random stranger effect. That's right. The game is popping. You're hugging people you never met before. That's the kind of energy that Cuervo brings. It's so smooth, so delicious. That's the Cuervo effect. Keep it Cuervo.

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Speaker 9:
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Speaker 1:
[17:03] See moneylion.com.

Speaker 8:
[17:05] Dan LeBatard.

Speaker 9:
[17:06] All right, we gotta go back out there, that was big.

Speaker 1:
[17:09] Wake him up.

Speaker 15:
[17:10] Uh-oh, he doesn't want to be bothered anymore.

Speaker 12:
[17:13] Now it's getting tense because he didn't need that as a result. He needs something that happens.

Speaker 9:
[17:18] You can see that mother effing on him. Can we bother, are we bothering you right now?

Speaker 7:
[17:22] Turn on your microphone, Greg.

Speaker 13:
[17:24] My microphone's on.

Speaker 8:
[17:25] Stugotz.

Speaker 9:
[17:26] Paint the scene.

Speaker 13:
[17:27] The paint the scene is I gotta go to work. Good night.

Speaker 8:
[17:30] This is The Dan Lebatard Show with Stugotz.

Speaker 10:
[17:42] Dave, I'm gonna have you hang on for a second here, all right, because apparently there is, there are congratulations in order here. You know, a huge theme of our Draft Watch last night, presented by Bucked Up, was Greg Cote versus Mel Kiper Jr. Zagatos and Xactos, and it's a major competition, all right? And here's Greg Cote, really, really excellent job with the vertical there. Here is Greg Cote, who wants to join us. And apparently, there are congratulations in order, Greg?

Speaker 13:
[18:18] Yes, there are, Zas. Thank you. I ended up beating Mel 5 to 4. I made a comeback. I think he was ahead of me 3 to 1 at one point. And the sweetest note of the night for me was that my fifth and final and winning Zagato was on Chris Johnson going to the Dolphins. So the fact that I won on a late round Dolphins bullseye is extra sweet to me.

Speaker 9:
[18:46] And you're saying it's not a super Zagato because you had them taking them at 30 since they moved up to 27. It becomes just a Zagato instead of a super Zagato.

Speaker 13:
[18:56] Yes. Yeah. Both of us had four super Zagatos. I had an additional Zagato. What about Xactos?

Speaker 9:
[19:05] He doesn't know what a, Jeremy, let me answer this for him. He doesn't know what an Xacto is.

Speaker 7:
[19:09] Because he, I have heard Greg for years now. I feel like we were too hard on him throughout this year saying he doesn't have super Zagatos. He has, but he does. He has Xactos, Zagatos and super Zagatos. And Greg, I'm just looking for a quick explanation on what those three things are because I've heard super Zagato from you for a while now.

Speaker 13:
[19:33] Yeah. Okay. First of all, Zagato and Xacto are synonyms.

Speaker 7:
[19:39] Oh, interchangeable. Okay.

Speaker 13:
[19:42] It's interchangeable. Okay. Zagato, let's say, let's call them Zagatos. A super Zagato is the ultimate bullseye, which is the right player to the right team in the right draft order. For example, Fernando Mendoza going number one to the Raiders was the obvious super Zagato that began the draft.

Speaker 9:
[20:01] I am getting dizzy.

Speaker 6:
[20:02] Now, I like to compliment my boy. Your home set up is fantastic.

Speaker 13:
[20:05] Beautiful.

Speaker 6:
[20:06] Never been better.

Speaker 13:
[20:07] How can you tell? Thank you very much. Thank you. In a regular Zagato, is Chris Johnson going to the Dolphins, no matter what spot in the draft. Because there are, and the reason that the regular Zagato is a thing is that there are so many trades that factor in. There were a lot of trades last night, which is why Kiper and I only had a 5-4 score where as a year earlier we had an 11-9 score because last year's draft was much easier for a number of reasons. So I won on a regular Zagato, but which diminishes it an iota.

Speaker 10:
[20:45] Do you think Kiper is aware of this competition, Greg?

Speaker 7:
[20:48] He better be.

Speaker 13:
[20:50] No, I would think not. And you know what? The reason I compare myself to Kiper every year, I love the alliteration of Cody versus Kiper, but that's peripheral. Mel is the king of the mock draft. When you think of mock drafting, you think of Mel Kiper Jr. So that's why I compare myself to him. The other reason I do it is to kind of blow holes through the notion that there is real expertise out there. You know, Mel is guessing like everybody else. Now, he's more informed than most people, and he may be watching film and talking to scouts and doing everything he does. But yet, if you take my path, which is I get it down to a common sense nexus of what are the team's biggest needs? What are the best available players in that range?

Speaker 10:
[21:41] I'm getting nauseous.

Speaker 9:
[21:42] I am. I feel like I'm on a boat.

Speaker 13:
[21:46] If you start there and you don't even-

Speaker 9:
[21:48] Stop moving.

Speaker 13:
[21:50] You'd be so- what do you mean? What do you mean?

Speaker 14:
[21:52] Stay still.

Speaker 6:
[21:53] I love this.

Speaker 9:
[21:53] What are you talking about?

Speaker 6:
[21:54] Move more.

Speaker 10:
[21:55] I'm going to puke.

Speaker 6:
[21:56] Okay. All right.

Speaker 13:
[21:57] I'm going to stay still. I'm sorry.

Speaker 9:
[21:59] I do want to take a pause here and let's just- this is worth a toast. Greg Cote, okay. Beating Mel Kiper. Let's just all, let's all raise a glass. Maybe get yourself some Cuervo. Let's all keep it Cuervo. Here's to Greg Cote.

Speaker 10:
[22:11] Good job.

Speaker 9:
[22:12] Beating Mel Kiper last night.

Speaker 10:
[22:14] Thank you. Good job.

Speaker 9:
[22:16] A true gentleman.

Speaker 10:
[22:17] Presented by Cuervo, our friends at Cuervo. Thank you. Now, Greg, there was some confusion late in the draft watch last night where you were tied at three at one point and you thought that you had a lead, right? Like, did we figure out what happened there?

Speaker 13:
[22:33] Yes, we did. I went back and corrected it, and I welcome anybody to vet the results.

Speaker 10:
[22:40] No one's going to do that.

Speaker 13:
[22:41] And vet the fact that I'm claiming a 5-4 where you might have. But no, I corrected all the results. I had not given, involving a Giants and Cowboys trade, I mistook giving Kiper credit for the Maui Noah pick to the Giants. So once he got credit for that, it was adjusted to 3-3. And then it became 4-3, and then it became 5-4, because we both got Judarian Price going in the last pick.

Speaker 10:
[23:14] All right, that's a great job out of you then, Greg. Your column today in The Herald, did you crush the Dolphins for Caden Proctor?

Speaker 13:
[23:22] Yeah, but I was commenting on every pick. I did call it a weird, surprising pick. I don't feel as strongly about condemning a pick unequivocally right away, because I'm going to give the Dolphins' new regime a little bit of slack on that. Caden Proctor, look, I forget where Mel had him going. I had him going 17 in my draft, I had him as a mid-round first-round pick, so I don't think he's a bad player at all. He's just a guy who's got a little bit of a weight problem. You think of him as being the most gigantic tackle, but yet they're talking about him at guard. There are a few question marks around Caden Proctor, but unlike some others, I'm willing to give this a shot. They have to nail the rest of the draft. They have to come out of this draft with 12, 13 picks and nine of them are going to make the roster, and five of them are going to have a big impact the first year. Like they really need to nail this pick because they have so many needs.

Speaker 9:
[24:23] Where's Jumpin Charlie at?

Speaker 13:
[24:25] Jumpin Charlie's laid back right now. He's probably asking to go back in the backyard and pee. But look, thank you guys for congratulating me. Flowers are being delivered to my house. I've had a dozen telegrams, for congratulatory telegrams from all over the world. It's been fantastic. So I really appreciate you guys.

Speaker 10:
[24:42] The mop cake. All right, good job. Give it up for Greg. He wins again this year.

Speaker 14:
[24:47] Very good.

Speaker 10:
[24:47] Takes down Mel Kiper.

Speaker 14:
[24:49] Good job.

Speaker 10:
[24:50] Excellent job. There's Greg. All right. One of the highlights.

Speaker 11:
[24:54] That conversation got sideways. That's what I just wanted to say because it was so hilarious. I had to get that in.

Speaker 10:
[25:00] So everyone was slanting themselves so that they could be horizontal. Just like Greg, you notice I can't do that.

Speaker 9:
[25:09] You didn't partake.

Speaker 10:
[25:09] Yeah. I wasn't trying to be anti-fun.

Speaker 9:
[25:13] Anti-fun.

Speaker 10:
[25:14] I wasn't trying to be anti-fun. It would trigger my vertigo if I did that. I can't move my head sideways like that. A puke.

Speaker 9:
[25:23] Is vertigo a funny ailment?

Speaker 10:
[25:26] No.

Speaker 9:
[25:26] I feel like gout. There are things that we hear things and it just makes you smile.

Speaker 10:
[25:29] I've had that before too. I've had gout before also.

Speaker 7:
[25:31] Do you only get funny issues?

Speaker 10:
[25:34] It's not one of those deals. No, vertigo is not funny at all. It's miserable. But I'm not going to say, I told you guys this before. I'm not going to say that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I would definitely wish it on my worst enemy. They're my worst enemy. I would want my worst enemy to have vertigo. I want my enemy.

Speaker 11:
[25:50] I would win. I'd vote for incontinence. Wow. The number of episodes for my enemy going forward would be delicious. To just hear the stories. I wouldn't even have to be like, Oh, yeah, you hear about Gary. Yep, peed himself again. Yep. What is my dad doing at the draft? Peed himself.

Speaker 10:
[26:13] Greg, we said goodbye, you know, let's stay here.

Speaker 9:
[26:16] Greg, leave the zoom.

Speaker 13:
[26:18] How do I leave the zoom? You send me a zoom link.

Speaker 11:
[26:22] Turn off your phone.

Speaker 10:
[26:23] You know, like just, you know, you just like throws his phone in the wall.

Speaker 14:
[26:28] How do I hang up?

Speaker 10:
[26:29] You run the phone under water. It gets you out of zoom.

Speaker 14:
[26:33] All right, hang on.

Speaker 9:
[26:34] Just say leave zoom three times like Dorothy.

Speaker 11:
[26:36] Hang on. He's going to try to leave in the mirror.

Speaker 7:
[26:39] Dude, nice modern reference.

Speaker 9:
[26:41] Go ahead, Dad, say it three times. It's like an automated thing. You'll leave if you say leave zoom three times.

Speaker 13:
[26:45] There's nothing there's nothing I'm looking at right now that tells me how to sign out. Sign me out.

Speaker 9:
[26:50] Is there an X anywhere when you tap on the screen? Tap on the screen.

Speaker 6:
[26:53] Somebody sign the boy out.

Speaker 13:
[26:55] Okay, now it says leave. There we go.

Speaker 11:
[26:57] The old screen.

Speaker 9:
[27:00] So many possibilities pop up when you just tap the screen.

Speaker 10:
[27:02] He's still there.

Speaker 13:
[27:04] No, hang on. I lost.

Speaker 7:
[27:06] He muted himself.

Speaker 10:
[27:08] There we go.

Speaker 13:
[27:09] All right.

Speaker 10:
[27:10] He did it. He found it.

Speaker 7:
[27:11] Guy's my hero. Hey, listeners. I want to tell you a story here that actually means something to me in a very real way. And that's Chewy. Earlier this year, my wife and I had to deal with our beautiful six-year-old cat named Moe's passing away. Pretty suddenly, after a brief battle with an illness, we remained torn up over it. To be quite frank, we talk about him every day. And when we forgot to cancel our food subscription with Chewy, rather than jumping through hoops, they not only canceled our subscription, they refunded our order that showed up that we didn't need. They told us to donate it to the nearest shelter and gave us addresses of said shelters. They sent us literature on grief. And then a couple of weeks later, we received a letter in the mail thanking us for being incredible pet parents and even a little stone that hand painted his name on it. And we keep that out next to some flowers now in our home to this day. And I cannot thank them enough for the humanity in that moment. You don't really get treated that way by companies, especially ones as large as Chewy. The way that they treat people genuinely matters to me. Chewy has over 100,000 products delivered in one to two days. Chewy has everything you need to keep your pet happy and healthy. And right now you can save $20 on your first order and get free shipping by going to chewpanions.chewy.com/lebatardshow. That's C-H-E-W-P-A-N-I-O-N-S dot chewy.com/lebatardshow to save $20 on your first order with free shipping. Chewpanions dot chewy.com/lebatardshow. Chewy, you guys rock. Thank you. Minimum purchase required, new customers only. Terms and conditions apply. See site for complete details.

Speaker 3:
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Speaker 14:
[29:15] Sports fans, all the sports are coming together. It's a great time to just sit on your couch, text your friend, hey, come over, let's watch the games. When I do that to my friends, guess what they text me back? I got the Miller Lite. That's right. They pick up Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer, and they come over to my place. We take that first sip and we realize, man, we just made a regular old-fashioned night into a special night. Thank you, Miller Lite. Shortly thereafter, we got multiple screens on, everybody's dialed into something different, and the whole night just keeps building and building and building. That's why I reach for Miller Lite. It can take an ordinary night and take it to an extraordinary place. It's clean, refreshing, easy to drink, proof of taste with simple ingredients, just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different. Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite. Great taste, 96 calories. Go to millerlite.com/dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Speaker 8:
[30:21] Dan LeBatard.

Speaker 13:
[30:23] What do I got here? I got a Magnum condom. We won't get that out.

Speaker 14:
[30:29] That's shocking.

Speaker 8:
[30:32] Stugotz.

Speaker 13:
[30:33] Here's a picture of Christopher when he was like three years old.

Speaker 12:
[30:36] Right next to the condom. That's a subtle reminder.

Speaker 6:
[30:40] Yeah.

Speaker 12:
[30:41] Never forget.

Speaker 8:
[30:42] This is The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.

Speaker 6:
[30:52] I don't know if y'all know this, I'm so sorry to shoehorn this in, but Rudy Gobert was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last night, and we're not talking about it just yet.

Speaker 10:
[31:00] Needed to be said. Well, all right, so let's pivot to NBA here then, because the NBA-

Speaker 7:
[31:06] Yeah, use that pivot foot.

Speaker 10:
[31:07] NBA was really fun last night. And I was watching, I watched the entire Knicks Hawks game last night. We're sitting here, we're doing the Draft Watch show, and I had the Knicks on my tablet. It's the same tablet I use at night when I'm lying in bed watching my shows. And the great opportunity last night for anyone who has not heard me, because I've done some play-by-play in the NBA, Dan gave me a chance. I was on the call for when the Knicks took the lead. All right, now that could be a situation, a legal issue for us, because you know, play-by-play, it's not really a thing you're supposed to do if you know the rights, but nonetheless. Where do you bring it back up? Well, we were on delay. I think it's okay if you're on delay. So it wasn't technically live. Like if you're watching streaming, we're at least like, we could be like 30 seconds behind. So I think we're good. I think we're in the clear. I don't think we are. I think we're in the clear. So last night, the Knicks go down two games to one to Atlanta. They come all the way back. They were up by eight. They were down by 18. Excuse me. Down by 18, early in the fourth quarter, they come all the way back and Brunson with a three point play with just over a minute to go puts them up one. Excuse me, puts them up by three. They don't score again. They don't score again. CJ McCollum hits a shot to give them the lead with about 16 seconds left. They go up by one and the final possession of the game for New York, Brunson throws it away. Kamingo was incredible on both ends of the floor, especially that final possession. And the clock runs out. Atlanta takes a two games to one series lead for a Knicks team whose floor has to be NBA Finals. When you fired Tom Thibodeau last year, that means the team should have been in the Finals. And so they hire Mike Brown. And now they are a road loss away from going down three games to one. I'm into that series.

Speaker 6:
[33:02] Hell yeah, bro, like from top to bottom. First of all, CJ McCollum in Atlanta right now, he is good everywhere. He is like future. He is like TI. Wherever you see him, hey, you good. Ain't nobody gonna mess with you or put a finger on you, bro. And just the crowd in Atlanta giving that much energy.

Speaker 10:
[33:20] Hawks crowds are so much better than they were. Like even 10, 15 years ago, really used to be an awful home court advantage. That's a really good building these days.

Speaker 6:
[33:32] Absolutely. And but for the Knicks, you can't have Kat. Like this is why we have a problem with Kat. Two shots in the fourth quarter. In that fourth quarter, we had a better showing from Deuce Mitt Bride than your All-Star. It just ain't making sense. I don't think Mike Brown is getting the best out of these boys. I think they're writing on the wall for my boy. The Blazers might hire him for what? A million dollars next year? I think he's out of here.

Speaker 10:
[33:58] I mean, it wouldn't be the first time that Mike Brown is fired after one year. Lakers fired him after one year.

Speaker 11:
[34:04] Lakers fired him after two games.

Speaker 10:
[34:07] It would not be the first time that he would be fired after one year. I've told you how I feel about Mike Brown. I don't think he's a good coach. I don't think Mike Brown is the guy who's gonna take you to that next level. I don't want to hire a guy who's been fired four times as the guy who's gonna fix everything. Somebody asked somebody, Trista, guys like Jalen Brunson, Carl Anthony Towns, just the team as a whole. Like, did those guys have a better year this year or last year?

Speaker 16:
[34:30] Last year.

Speaker 10:
[34:31] Last year.

Speaker 16:
[34:31] Yeah, last year. I think at this point, that was one of the more disappointing performances in the playoffs from Jalen Brunson down the stretch. I don't care that you were down 18 and you figured out a way to come back. At the end of the game, what did Jalen Brunson do? You had a shot clock violation, air ball, and then you had a turnover. You cannot, and he's over dribbling the ball. He's not finding the open man. Him, Carl Anthony Towns, McHale Bridges, excuse me, how many picks do we give up for McHale Bridges?

Speaker 10:
[35:00] McHale Bridges had, like I know Juju, you're getting on Carl Anthony Towns. All the focus could be on McHale Bridges. He had zero points.

Speaker 7:
[35:09] Five first round picks.

Speaker 10:
[35:11] Zero points. Like if they lose this series, this is the kind of performance where they will trade McHale Bridges in the off season.

Speaker 7:
[35:18] Trade him? How? Like for what? He's a piece of this thing and they put themselves in such a strange position because we talk here locally, right, all the time about like, oh, the heat, having cashed in on whatever draft capital, you don't have this. The Knicks made the decision to trade five first round picks for McHale Bridges unprotected while Yannis is sitting here going, I want to be a New York Knick and they have nothing to offer unless they're willing to blow the entire team up and involve some other teams in there that would be willing to take Cat and Bridges and maybe OG and just blow the entire thing up, which is not where you ever anticipated this would be even last season. And the one thing that I thought we knew the Knicks were good at was closing out games late. It's the only thing that these last few years you could blame, you could talk about the inability to show up.

Speaker 10:
[36:16] 24 second violation and Brunson throwing the ball away where their final.

Speaker 7:
[36:18] Jalen Brunson is one of the best closers in the league. That's been their biggest strength, is having a guy that can go get a bucket late and all of these other options to help make stops and to help make that happen without turning the ball over. And now, last night, they just throw up all over themselves against Atlanta and CJ McCollum, who's having the time of his life in Atlanta coming through. How about Jonathan Kaminga, by the way? A guy who was riding the bench. And Juju, you should get credit here, because from the day they made that trade, you were riding for that trade, because look at this guy and all of his potential. He's been unbelievable in the open court. How about Gabe Vincent coming off the bench and giving you some good minutes as a backup point guard? It wasn't just addition by subtraction and Trey Young. They added real pieces to make this team significantly better and they're fun to watch while the Knicks are collapsing.

Speaker 10:
[37:07] I'm sure Mike Brown, head coach of the Knicks, he made everyone feel better post game, right? Probably some advice, some words of wisdom. He'll fire you up for what's a must win game for for the Knicks. Here's Mike Brown after the game.

Speaker 15:
[37:20] The reality of it is, and I told him this, it's a seven game series for a reason. You know, stuff's going to happen. There are plenty of teams that have been down 1-2. Should I even think Oklahoma City was down 1-2 last year and they end up winning it? So I'm not saying we're going to win it or anything like that.

Speaker 10:
[37:41] Oh yeah, you don't.

Speaker 9:
[37:42] I'm not saying we're going to win.

Speaker 10:
[37:43] Don't get crazy. I'm not saying we're going to win.

Speaker 6:
[37:46] You know it's bad when he stopped talking to the mic. Bruh, come on, bruh, say it with your chest. And I think Jalen Brunson, what the Hawks are doing, they equalizing him out. Yes, you can give us some points over there on the offensive end, but you are a traffic cone on this side. And whoever you're guarding, he is going at you, no matter who it is, from Kaminga, from CJ McCollum. So I think they got a big problem and OG saved them from getting embarrassed last night with those two clutches, shouldn't have went in, tray balls. So it was even worse than that. You feel me?

Speaker 16:
[38:18] And former Blazers, CJ McCollum, how bad is it because CJ used to be considered a cone. He used to be the defensive liability. The reason that they had to break up Dame Lillard and CJ is because you couldn't have both those guys in the back court. Nobody was picking on CJ. They're picking on Brunson. So, I think that's a credit to what CJ has done, become much more of a serviceable defender. But also, I don't think truly you can have Carl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson on the floor at the same time, defensively, in a playoff game.

Speaker 10:
[38:50] Game four is, and it's Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern, game four is a blueprint game, most likely for the Knicks.

Speaker 11:
[38:59] You guys, by the way, shout out to me and Al Hassan's team, the Knickerbockers. He said that would be the team that would go to the finals.

Speaker 10:
[39:06] I did too.

Speaker 6:
[39:06] I thought so too.

Speaker 11:
[39:07] I'm gonna stick with my Celtics prediction there. Are you guys, I'm curious, are you now, because I assume outside of Roy, no one in that room has watched two seconds of the Stanley Cup playoffs? Zas definitely has.

Speaker 10:
[39:22] Why are we doing, why are you jumping on this train as well? Like I've never been-

Speaker 11:
[39:26] Because I assume that's the case, I'm asking you. I didn't say it's- Why would you assume that? I asked you a question about it.

Speaker 10:
[39:31] Why would you assume that I'm not all over the Stanley Cup playoffs? I love it.

Speaker 14:
[39:38] Because your team's not in it.

Speaker 10:
[39:39] My team's not in the NBA playoffs either. You don't assume I'm not watching the NBA.

Speaker 11:
[39:43] Well, that's my question. Are you hate watching the Knickerbocker series? Is that why you're especially interested in it? Because we hear about Rudy Gobert, but the conversation very quickly turned to the Knickerbockers.

Speaker 10:
[39:55] No, I'm watching all of them. I'm watching all the NBA playoff games I possibly can. Sometimes you got to make a choice, like last night. Nixon Hawks was going on at the same time as Raptors-Cavs. Raptors blew them out in the fourth quarter. I don't care so much about Raptors-Cavaliers, so I'm watching Nixon Hawks. I'm trying to watch as much as I possibly can, and that includes the Stanley Cup playoff. I'm going to tell you something, Dave. In the Zaslow Mansion family room, the first few nights, we got the hockey on the big TV, and we got the NBA on the small TV. I find the NBA a lot easier to follow on the small TV as opposed to saying the hockey on the small TV. You can't follow the puck if you're watching on the small TV. You have no idea where the puck is. So you could see the basketball, you could see the net move. You could tell when a shot went in on the small TV. You know what I'm saying, Dave? So the hockey is mandatory on the big TV in the Zaslow Mansion family room.

Speaker 6:
[40:48] Yes, sir. And let's go Buffalo. Let's go Buffalo. Up to one. You did? Come on now. Up to one right now.

Speaker 11:
[40:56] That's the best. The NHL has a bad habit of the sports gods turning their nose up at the sport. There are so many almost things that happened that really would have made, that would have elevated the sport. The Buffalo Sabres making a run this year would do that, I think, for the sport. This is a great story. They've been out of the playoffs for 14 years. That game one was magical. It's everything that's fun about spectator sports. If you happen to catch, not even the game, the last eight minutes of it. But all that being said, I'm about 60 minutes away from hockey turning into a fringy sport for losers that nobody watches because I'm displeased.

Speaker 10:
[41:37] What has you most angry about your Penguins being down three games to none?

Speaker 11:
[41:45] The roadway is running out for Kid Crosby and his two pals, Chris LaTang and Gino Malkin. I don't think Crosby is going anywhere. But that arguably the two worst players on the ice for the Penguins, this series have been those two guys, two would be Hall of Famers. I think one at least is guaranteed to go into the Hall of Fame. They've been the liabilities for the Penguins so far. But the worst thing about it is it's the Philadelphia Flyers. The most dreadful, most loathsome organization in sport is about to sweep my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins and it hurts. But anyway, back to Rudy Gobert.

Speaker 10:
[42:21] I got something on Rudy Gobert for you in a moment here, but the Raptors, they got back in that series last night. The Hawks took a 2-1 series lead and the Wolves, like Dave mentioned there, the Wolves blew out the Nuggets from start to finish. The Nuggets scored 11 hole points in the first quarter. You got no chance. Jokic was terrible and the Wolves are in very firm control. Tonight, you got Boston and Philadelphia. That series is tied 1-1. That series got juice to it now all of a sudden. Now, I expect Boston to win tonight, but that series got some serious juice to it. Are you nervous, Juju? You're a Celtics fan.

Speaker 6:
[42:56] Yeah, absolutely. I'm nervous because it reared its ugly head. The thing I hate the most about them, them three-pointers, bruh, you guys are way too talented to be playing with your food on that three-point line. Take them to the hole. You see how they doing Jalen Brunson? Oh, whoever, go to the hole. And I think everybody on the Celtics is capable of that. Even the bench guys, Gonzalez, even Shireman, everybody has that ability and they continue to settle. So anything's possible.

Speaker 10:
[43:23] All right, let's give equal time here because we also have San Antonio at Portland tonight. Series tied to Game of Peace. Trista, are you nervous tonight about the Blazers?

Speaker 16:
[43:32] I'm worried about the fact that there is a possibility that Victor Wemba Yama could be back tonight.

Speaker 10:
[43:36] But what's the latest word there? Because like, do we know if he's been passing the test? Because it's 48 hours until he's allowed to even start doing anything basketball related. So that would have been last night.

Speaker 16:
[43:46] I'm surprised he was allowed to travel when he's still in concussion protocol. He went to Portland with the rest of the Spurs. So I'm a bit nervous that he could just somehow like the Kool-Aid man, come through the door and be like, I'm back. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 10:
[44:05] I think he plays.

Speaker 16:
[44:06] Bonjour.

Speaker 10:
[44:07] I think he plays today.

Speaker 16:
[44:08] Au revoir Blazers. Croissant.

Speaker 10:
[44:12] Where's my pregame croissant?

Speaker 16:
[44:13] I think in general, this is maybe one of the worst matchups for the Spurs, just because you got a very long, very athletic, very young, pretty deep wing core. I want to know whether-

Speaker 10:
[44:22] That's going to be a good crowd tonight.

Speaker 16:
[44:24] Oh, the thing that people don't understand is Moda be Rockin. The Rose Garden MPO, we rep the Rose, not the Madison Square.

Speaker 10:
[44:32] Can we put it on the poll, Juju? Do people know that Moda be Rockin? Thank you. And also tonight, you got the Lakers at Houston. It doesn't sound like things are all that great in Houston with the Rockets and maybe their relationship with their best player, Kevin Durant. This is a must win. I'm gonna get to Rudy Gobert, all right? Calm down, Dave. This is likely a must win game for the Rockets tonight. You can't go down 0-3, of course, against LeBron. Let me tell you something about Rudy Gobert.

Speaker 14:
[45:05] Sports fans, all the sports are coming together. It's a great time to just sit on your couch, text your friend, hey, come over, let's watch the games. And when I do that to my friends, guess what they text me back? I got the Miller Lights. That's right, they pick up Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer and they come over to my place. We take that first sip and we realize, man, we just made a regular old-fashioned night into a special night. Thank you, Miller Light. And shortly thereafter, we got multiple screens on, everybody's dialed into something different, and the whole night just keeps building and building and building. That's why I reach for Miller Light. It can take an ordinary night and take it to an extraordinary place. It's clean, refreshing, easy to drink, fruit for taste with simple ingredients. Just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. The original Light beer since 1975, and still hittin different. Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Light. Great taste, 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com/dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.