The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - A Fever Dream With Jason Benetti | Hour 3

Episode Date: October 8, 2026

"Milwaukee with the thu-thunk, thu-thunk, thu-thunk." We have our own personal Little Shop of Horrors with Jason Benetti as he brushes off claims of being both a prick and a coward, hears Chris and Jeremy's limited fake Jason Benetti doing limited fake Boog Sciambi, sings Flock of Seagulls, and goes on a ride through a washing machine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Jeremy is super pissed off at Chris Cody because he says that Chris Cody stole his limited fake Jason Benetti doing limited fake boog. I know this is my bit. I do it better than Jeremy. No, no you don't. You just start

talking slow and you speed up with you. No, the key is the deep raft. Jason, you want to get in on this? I know that it is better. So Jason Benetti is our favorite announcer in any sport. He's the play-by-play announcer

of Sunday night baseball on NBC and Peacock, and he's also a raging coward because he refuses to do our catchphrases when the Yankees around because the Yankees are holy and sacred, and he's got to treat baseball correctly. But we've had an assortment of other announcers throughout sports. Do Greg Cody's catchphrases. It begins with Kyle Brandt. But we have a great game tonight with two quarterbacks. We know, driver comforted, Paramount, and, you know, the bills will probably win at home,

but you never know those lions. You've got Ross Tucker doing it during an NFL game. Tight ends, running backs working pretty well for the Steelers, first in ten at the Cleveland 30. Yeah, we're rolling now, huh? Troy Fetano. With an incredible block on the toss crack out in space, their left tackle is an athlete. You have Kevin Harlan doing it during a Dolphin game. Offensive line is kept, Mahomes, clean and quiet.

He drives his offense and driver. And you've got Arkansas broadcaster Hayden Herrera doing 16 of them in a minute and 20 seconds. Well, I know everybody wants to know the Arkansas Texas A&M game. Who won? We're not going to show you that. Only two Razorbacks ran in the men's 8K, but the women's team had a full squad for the 5K. We're rolling now, huh? Look at this kick down the home stretch, the definition of you never know.

Combe giving it everything she has. It's a fight to the finish. And Combe gets the win by one tenth of a second, 1559. Absolutely incredible. Talk about me, Maximum. Braylin, good on you. Number two, Georgia. Georgia moves to 5 and 0 with a 3814 win over Vanderbilt.

Russell threw for nearly 300 yards and had four total touchdowns. Very good. Just like that, the tider, five and oh. And you know it? Austin Simmons had two touchdowns. and the Gators had no answers. That's a fact, Jack.

A colossal win for Eli Drinkwood's in Missouri. 4517, the final from Columbia. Another crisis solved. Arum Brown finds Arles Bordingham, 16-yard touchdown. It's a three-point game. Do what now? Walls and Hogs kickoff Saturday at 3.15 p.m. On SEC Network, right on.

Finally, you see, they're trying to line up. That is weird, wild stuff. So instead of an extra point, they decide to go for two. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What? Kenny Minchie to a wide open Willie Rodriguez for the two-point conversion. Hey, that's what I'm talking about. And what a start to the Will Stein era in Lexington. Kentucky wins in overtime and the Wildcats are four in one. That kind of thing. Do what now? I can feel Jason Benetti's shame from here. Benetti, welcome to the program. It's good to see you.

Hi, gentlemen. I just have a quick Broadway-related question for you. Is that okay? Might I ask a question of you? group. Have you ever seen Little Shop of Horrors? Of course. Yes. Classic. The movie. What do you think of the musical Little Shop of Horrors? Haven't seen it yet. Well, the movie is a musical, kind of. It is. Yeah. What do you think of the movie? What do you think of the movie? Rick Moranis, you know, the whole thing. Big giant eating flour. Yeah, it's a good movie. Feed me, Seymour.

Yeah, that's right. That's right. So at the end of the movie, at the end of the movie, what happens. Everything gets eaten because of one little pinprick on his fingers. Seymour feeds that plant, just feeds the plant, feeds it a little bit. You feed the plant and you keep doing the same thing over and over again. And then suddenly the whole world's gone. I was concerned about the tentacles of the plant that were getting built in front of me. And having that be a cautionary tale, I just didn't want to fall into the same pitfall as Rick Moranis in that movie. And I figured if I kept feeding the same plant, number one, destruction would come. And number two, I think it would get a little bit boring, honestly.

I kind of think Ben there done that. We had a great time, right? We had a great time raiding my tone. And then doing it again, like, the sequel's never better, man. The sequel's never better. So it's not shame. It's more just an abstention and a very poised decline. So you're a prick and a coward.

Absolutely. What did you make of the way the Yankee season ended, Jason? You know, I think it was one of those like you beat Boston and you feel like, man, you know, they could be rolling. And then you show up to face. We're rolling now. like Tampa and you're like, work the Tropicana Field with Barmoli? Yeah, we're

rolling now, huh? I love the Rays so much. See what happens? You see what happens when you do something like that? It just falls flat when you do it a second time. He was trying to do the internet cut out. He was trying to do, you're going to go to Tropicana Field with Bernie Parmali, but the internet really screwed him over. Oh, my internet died?

Yeah. Seriously, I was doing a bit. I was bringing it back to a circle. Devastating. The internet died. Rick Moranis. It would have worked. Unfortunately, it didn't, and you remain a pricking a coward. I think that didn't move in his back. The way they ended their season, though, Cashman apparently is going to come back.

Aaron Boone is apparently going to come back. So anemic without Jean-Carlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, legitimately the worst statistical postseason a Yankee offense has ever had in our most historic sport. I just don't know how the noise can get much louder around the way. they failed, right? Getting swept by the raise, a team that has such a smaller payroll, having one of the games 17 errors in the first inning.

Like, how much worse could it have possibly been? And what's it going to take to actually have them have some you know, leadership change? Well, I think part of it is too, like the way it happened to a team in your division, as you said, Dan, and to Tampa Bay, who was one of the best

teams in baseball, but nobody in New York wants to hear that. They want to know why we're not Tampa Bay, right? And that's, that's the way that's going to go. So I just wonder if they believe like small sample size, whatever it might be, or like had Aaron Judge not gotten hurt, you can convince yourself of a lot of things over the course of a baseball postseason.

That's absolutely true. But I, you know, I do think there's a piece of this where you go, okay, you know, a couple years ago, we decided we needed to be more athletic. We got more athletic and we still didn't win a title. Something, I totally understand where Yankee fans are coming from when they say something has to change. But like there is star power there. Ben Rice is a legit star.

I think George Lombard is going to be a really good player. But that's not enough against a team in Tampa that was loaded with athleticism and loaded with guys who catch the ball and loaded with starting pitching. So yeah, I wonder, I really do wonder what it's like in those halls because I wonder if it's that Spider-Man, Spider-Man thing where you're like pointing. sorry, guys. My home internet went out like five minutes before the show. So I apologize. And now I feel like I should just do it in full Blair Witch Project mode and go horizontal and vertical. That's fine. Yeah, just keep doing it as you talk. You were finishing the point,

though, of the Spider-Man meme, who's pointing at each other? Keep flipping. I think everybody in the hallways, right? When you struggle to win, I think that's what ends up happening in your hallway. You can keep doing that as you answer the question. So let's do it on this Keep spinning it around as I ask you what it is that you make of the home run that wasn't a home run that became a ground rule double yesterday. I thought I was going to be the one that got myself in trouble by mentioning Jeffrey Mayer on a non-Jeffrey Mayer sort of situation the other night in the Red Sox, the Yankees Wildcard stuff. But we ended up with full Jeffrey Mayer. I think it's a really tough one, but it's all like umpire discretion and New York had a great look at it. It looked to me like it was interference.

So, you know, I mean, it was a better look that they had in New York than you have of me, certainly, right now. How are we doing? We good? We feel good about it? The video room is so mad at me right now. The video room is furious with me for telling you to keep doing that. Yeah, they're upset. But we should just lean into the fact that his Internet's not working.

He looks like he's in a washing machine, and I'm watching him go around or a dryer, I guess. Both of them. Yeah. Do you want me to make things? dumping sounds while I do it, too, like two tennis. Yeah, I think that Milwaukee is a really good theme than Milwaukee. It's a super, plank, flang. Yes, in fact, give me a serious answer while doing that to who presents the greater challenge to the Dodgers, the raise of the brewers.

You know, the thump to thump the thump to thunk, the Milwaukee with the starting pitching that Milwaukee has, I think they're the type of team, especially with the athletic stuff, what a performer. I think is truly a danger to the Dodgers. AI isn't something that's coming five or ten years from now. Businesses are already using it every day, and it's changing everything from the questions they ask to the decisions they make and even the routine work people don't have time for.

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NetSuite.com slash dLB. Going for two when you're up by five. Switching the zone when man isn't working. Oh, and building your new stadium in the state. your team actually plays in. In sports, some things just make sense. You know what else makes sense? Drinking Yeagermeister shots.

Ice cold. Drinking it any other way would be like punting on first down! Or letting your worst hitter bat first or like going for two when you're down three with a second to go. It wouldn't make any sense. So don't let the team down. When it comes to Yeagermeister, drink it cold or don't drink it at all! Yeagermeister, damn that's cold. Drink responsibly.

Jagermeister liqueur, 35% alcohol by volume, imported by massed Yeagermeister U.S., White Plains, New York. Dan Levitar. The first. Jeremy Tache. Yands.

Uh-oh. This is the Dan Levitar show. I love the brewers and I love the rays. I love the way both of them play baseball. The athleticism that is in that sport at the moment, Jason, it's just crazy. There can't be a time in baseball where the athletes are what they are today.

No, I don't think so. I think it was a lot of guys who were kind of one-dimensional back in the day when baseball started. And I think Major League Baseball did a really good thing by creating these rule changes to allow for teams like Milwaukee and Tampa Bay with a very defined style of play. You know, back to the Yankees, I think what we're learning, at least in this postseason, is teams that know exactly who they are and what they are willing to sacrifice and what they are willing to really lean into. just in terms of skill sets, right? I think the white socks have shown that to be something that's really important. Now I feel like an Andy Warhol. The only thing missing is a Campbell's soup can right now on the top of my head.

Or is it like a Depeche mode music video or something? I feel like I should just go, and I run so far. Don't get us paying. You're going to cost us money on top of that by singing songs. It's not going to be. Six seconds, he's good. It's not going to be. I got the lyrics wrong and that's not Depeche Mode.

I know that's not Depeche Mode, but it felt like the kind of song that you'd want to do that. It's Flok of Seagulls. This is brilliant. This is real. This is like if Ann B. Davis dropped acid before she became the Brady made. It's Flaka Seagulls. Why can't you get anything right? You're a flock of Seagulls.

No, no, no. I knew that wasn't Depech Mode, but that song came into my head after I said Depeche Mode. Strange love. people are crazy down in my mind dan things are upside down man this is a fever dream this is crazy man why is a cunea so stinky but i mean he was great in the regular season i this baseball small sample size five game series stuff drives people crazy because if you don't perform in three games you're just toast, and it feels just so different than the baseball regular season. I really like the overreaction, both to my internet and to the way baseball is in the postseason.

Except it doesn't happen to the Dodgers, except it's their ninth hitter and Miguel Rojas that saves their season. It's not even guys that are, well, I mean, Freddie Freeman and others, but Otani can be bad, bets can be bad, and it doesn't matter. Acuna Matata. Right, because you're insulated because you have more of a chance, because, you know, the bigger payroll, you have more of a chance to, and they went for it more than everybody else, right? Like the brewers had a chance to go get Tarek Scoubel. They didn't. So if they end up short on pitching at the deadline, we can debate fault.

But the one thing that they didn't do is go get a big name starting pitcher. So, yeah, I mean, I understand where you're coming from totally on that. I think it's just a matter of, can you in a short-ish? series can you overcome the warts that you have? When it comes to salary cap, we were talking earlier in the show with David Samson and I was pointing out that there are so many low salaries that remain in the playoffs. The Dodgers are the only big one.

Everyone else is 19th or lower. But seven of the top nine payrolls, I believe, did indeed make the playoffs. Where are you on the work stoppage that's obviously approaching and the need for a salary cap when it is a small sample, but the low payrolls are still playing baseball. Yeah, it is a question that is way above my pay grade in terms of answers, but where I am on sports in general, we've talked about it before. This is not just a general answer. I'm not trying to dodge it. I really like seeing underdogs win. I think it's good for sports to have the NCAA tournament have 15 seeds win. I think part of the goal of sports nowadays feels like trying to

eradicate the underdog. So to me, one of the things we need in sports at all times is David versus Goliath. Now, how much the David's try and how much the Goliaths try is up for, you know, debate and collective bargaining. But I like having both in the postseason. I think it's valuable to viewership, and I think it's valuable to, like, have people who are from different parts of society care about different teams. So to me, the one thing that worries me across the sports landscape, and I'm not in the room on the collective bargaining, but like, but what if I was? That would be hilarious, because then they would just replay that, that dryer bit over and over again to kill my credibility. But I do think we need to still have the little guy matter and have. And

have a chance to win. I don't want to sound like Horatio Alger in social studies class in like freshman year of high school, but rags to riches matters. What's your favorite storyline for the rest of the playoffs? You know what? I think Milwaukee and the Dodgers, can the Brewers stress the Dodgers? Can the brewers make the Dodgers either impatient or can the brewers make the Dodgers throw the ball all over the place?

Can Milwaukee's pressure cooker type of offense? and then Ms. right, how much does Ms. throw? But I wonder if the brewers can knock the Dodgers off their spot early and what happens with the Dodgers thereafter. I mean, I still think Cleveland can end up beating the White Sox in these next two games. I am interested in what the White Sox could do if they get through because they do have that kind of team of destiny flavor.

So Milwaukee putting pressure on the Dodgers is number one. And if the White Sox get through, how far can they go? based on kind of like vibes and power. Why do the White Sox have more of a team of destiny flavor than the Reyes or the Brewers or the Guardians? I think it's Mike Vassel's Magic Wand. I think, I mean, like, the White Sox have been that team all year that when the Tigers went there, and over the last three years and I had done their games before, you'd feel like something bad was going to happen to the White Sox.

Very early this season, that ballpark flipped. And it became a place where you go, oh, we're going to lose. They're going to figure it out late. They've had, like Miguel Vargas is a great story. Two years ago when he got traded from the Dodgers to the White Sox, he was sitting in the dugout and looked for Lorne. Looked like he was really in a bad place and had horrible numbers. And he's turned out to be one of the best players in the American League this year. I mean, they have such young talent.

And they have, you know, they have Mike Vassel who, you know, I don't know how much your viewers have seen him. but like he's a pitcher on the IL and he's got this magic wand that he just like waves at people, which frustrated scoobel earlier in a tiger game this year. But like it's kind of funny. Like they just have kind of they have like a 12 year old at a birthday party just being themselves sort of vibe. And I think that has been pretty valuable for them this year. Yes or no, if the White Sox make the World Series Obama and the Pope will throw out first pitches. They, absolutely the White Sox.

will pursue that. I think they would. I think they absolutely would. Hey, Jason, is that Wi-Fi settling down a little bit? Is it just me? Looks like it. Yeah? I mean, this is this is all 4G-L-T-E or whatever we have now. Are we on like 7G? What do we got going on? I still don't have Wi-Fi. Oh, you know, you don't have Wi-Fi? Damn. I do not. Oh, damn. I have such a sick idea that I would love for you to take Porn and, but it's a, yeah. You can try. We can, you can pick here. Well, I sent you an email of some dialogue that I would have I already ate the apple. Yeah, but I can get you another apple.

I wanted you to recreate a scene in Dracula, the audiobook, and it was going to be great. It was going to be really funny. And then the Wi-Fi ruined everything. Dracula, the audiobook, as though it's different in the text. Oh, buddy, is it different? All right, let's play the clip. Let's play it for him. This blood that pours from me has your Lucianip.

No, drink. figure in my dream. Drink. No, no, no, no. There is no living. You are not wriggle away. Drink from me. And with this baptism of my blood in your mouth, throat and veins, you shall be my servant.

I wanted you to do that with Zaz. Can I do it as droopy dog? And with the baptism of your blood in my veins. Yeah, if you could read the script. Do you have it in front of me? We did email him, but it's like, he's got to switch tabs. What's boom doing here? I heard boom.

Why's boo being attacked by gradual? There's a baptism of blood in your veins. I, uh, you will not move away. Yeah. You know, I am with Jeremy. And you do need to have like this sort of vibrato, like the low, hum is one of the hallmarks of a good fake

boog. I will not wriggle away. Yeah, it's pretty good. The two too. Right, the two, too. And then J.D. shimes in with something that is only understood by that. The two, two.

Do you have, do you have Wi-Fi? Have you gotten it? Are you willing to partake in the stupidity of this exercise? I literally don't have Wi-Fi. I have a blinking orange light on my... The only only thing I could do is try to minimize the screen on my phone. But we're, I mean, we're talking Maytag whisper quiet situation again. I'd rather do it right. All right. We'll do it next time. But one more question that I wanted to ask you, one more baseball question. O'Donnie is batting

163 with no home runs, one RBI, and 32 strikeouts in his last 86 plate appearances. He's in no way healthy, correct? I have to imagine there's something going on, right? I have to imagine. I have to. All that is fantastic. I couldn't tell whether or not there was a smiling going on because of the Dracula moaning in the background or because there was another bit happening. I do feel like we need to go to Arnold's and Fonsi's going to be here in a second. This is the open to happy days, but from hell. Answer the question. Answer the question about Otani and quit getting distracted. I did. No, I did. I said there's got to be something going on, right? Like if he's swinging it like that, I just imagine.

imagine there's something going on. But I, you know, like there are a lot of guys by the end of the season who won't tell you if there's something going on with them or whatever. So I have no idea. But I, you know, I can't get that picture of myself in a dryer out of my head. And I just, I don't know. I don't know if that's going to haunt me or if it's going to be something I laugh at. I, yeah, that's, I mean, that really is, that really is what nightmares are made of.

The play-by-play announcer for Sunday night baseball on NBC and Peacock. He is the best. Thank you, Jason. Good seeing you. Sunday, Monday, happy day. Sorry about my, wow, boo, doing the happy days. And with the baptism of your blood in my face. See you later, Jason.

He wriggled away. I look forward to see you later. See you later, Jason. Good seeing you. Tony, you know that moment at a party or at a tailgate where everything just sort of clicked? I know it well. It's usually when I show up. Everybody goes crazy. Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Quervo. I'm walking like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night.

It has that effect on people. It does. You usually take the credit for it. But again, it's the Quervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hooting and hollering. Keep it Quervo. Keep it, quervo, baby. Ah, folks, listen up. You wouldn't want an offense alignment to play wide receiver, would you? No, you wouldn't. You need the right person.

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Because that is one injury, folks, nobody wants to explain. Find Manscaped and the lawnmower lineup today at Target and CVS. Dan Levatar. Put a finger in there, but if you tell anyone, I'll deny it. Mike Ryan. Don't just stare at it, eat it. This is the Danlebatar show. I see the Reaper out of the corner of my eye. It's sweating. Death always appears over my shoulder when Zaz is moaning in a central fashion. I get very uncomfortable.

Let's everybody go. Now he's shaggy. Let's go to the bucket, please. Chris Cody's going to go first here. And let's remember, Amin owes a punishment. No, he doesn't. President is on my side. No, there is no precedent.

I'm the president. Oh, I got the chief son-by. I, heck yeah. Congratulations, Chris. No one's happy for you. Let's go to Michael Ryan. The Raiders. They're at the Patriots.

They're a three and a half point dog. They won that game last year, but I'm putting it back. They did win that game last year. One of the strangest games. The Patriots lost three times all season. Team one of the overall pick me, the AFC champion, week one. Browns. On the road, they did it too.

The Browns are at the Jets. The Brown jury, one and a half point dog. All right. Man, what a great story that team is. I'm rummaging. Who are the buy teams? Chiefs and Carolina. So I want Carolina.

I got the Seahawks. They're playing the Niners. They are at home and they're a three-point favorite. I'm throwing it back. Yeah, put those kids to bed. He said, I want Carolina this time, insinuating. He got Carolina another time, which means he protects. participated in that week, which means he owes a punishment.

I got a Brock Purdy MVP ticket that I've been sending on since preseason. I'm feeling pretty good. I got the Rams. At home against the bills. They're a three-point favorite. You don't feel good about that? The favorite home? It's a tough opponent.

Most of these spreads this week are close. They got the Raiders. Yeah, I'll take the Patriots. They're a three and a half point favorite. There aren't a lot of big lines. There are not a big lines this week. There are a few touchdown favorites, but everything else is close. There's not a lot of good stuff in that helmet.

I have the Chicago Bears. The Bears are at the Packers, and they are one and a half point favorite for the first time in 20 years at Lambeau. That's too close. Will the Packers win or will the Bears lose? The Buffalo Bears. All right, so you downgraded. They are on the road. and an underdog at the Rams as a three-point dog.

Head-to-head with a mean. Yeah. Is that Monday night, by the way? It is. It is, yes. It's a good Monday night game. Zaz is going to select now. I have Army, Navy, what is it, T.Y.

Thank you for your service. Thank you for your service. All right, so you got Army at home against Tulane. They're a three-point favorite. You got Air Force on the road. The biggest favorite is Air Force at Northern Illinois, seven and a half point favorite. And what's Navy?

Navy's a two and a half point favorite at home against Tulsa. And Will's Army? The Army's three and a three point favorite at home against Tulane. What about Air Force? I'm not doing this. What about the Coast Guard? We always forget about them. I'm going to put it back.

Really? You think you're going to do better than a seven and a half? You don't put in the troops? You think you're going to do better than a seven and a half point of faith? He put it back. He hates the troops. I was thinking to take an army. Not even Air Force.

I don't know. I got trusty. Are you put it back? No. I'll put it back. I don't care. Wow. It's wild.

One of the worst decisions that hits me to America. You got the Titans. Good God. Oh my God. That might be the worst. This guy's already lost three out of four weeks. You should have waited a tick, too.

The Coast Guard's on a by. Oh my God. What a disaster for you. It's a debacle. The Titans are a seven and a half point underdog at home against the Texas. It's just brutal. Every week. I got the Jags.

I'll keep them. There is seven point favorite against. against the Eagles. Thank you, Reaper. Excellent work. London game. There's a couple of things that we've talked about today that I want to put a ribbon around. We reached out to Dominic Foxworth. It is not true that he was held out of that Nick Saban segment. What was the direct quote? Not true. I asked him, is it true? You were not able to go on with Nick Sabin because they thought you were going to challenge him and he says not true. Okay, so I have a quote here from, you know, look, this is

on his own podcast and forgive me because I did get some of this wrong and I'm not looking to cause him any trouble here. Sounds like you are. No, I just want to get it right. Well, maybe we should pay attention to his direct quote now. Well, but he said there's something

on his podcast that he said that he wished to... Right, but the denial that we just got. Okay, fine. Fine. We'll move on. I mean, I know you want to be right, but maybe you should take a tip from Stephen A. Smith. who, quite frankly, Dan, I think he nailed this apology.

Really? Yeah, it's so good that I kind of feel like he might have gotten coached up a little bit. So I recognize some of this based on what it is that you were saying. There have been times in my career, okay, when I have stepped in it. And my initial response filled with ego and defiance is sort of a stubborn leaning into it. and then I realize after 12 hours, there are so many people who I respect telling me that I'm wrong that I have to reconsider my position. Now, clearly, I don't respect anyone in this room

on what it is that you're saying or Dominic Foxworth because on his own podcast, I have quotes that are different than what it is that you said, but try to do it again. It's crazy, man. When Stephen A is better out of than Dan. Stephen A was better about it today after he did the rinse-repeat move that he's been doing for a while now, which is say a thing on first take, get the blowback and then say the thing on your own platform that you continue to grow while at ESPN because he is preparing for his next move while at ESPN and he wants to make sure that he's got his own thing independent of ESPN because

there are obstacles and an assortment of potholes in front of him on whatever is him at 60 years old at ESPN, as ESPN makes very substantive changes to the way that it does business. But let's identify for a moment what it is that happened here and the core issue, because I am actually very encouraged by what I believe to be a seismic, shift in how people react around mental illness that have people hearing that Lane Johnson left football and extending an athlete humanity and compassion. And I don't even think anymore that it's actually empathy. I think so many people are struggling right now with an assortment of so many unhappinesses and things from the exhaustion and chaos of what just is happening everywhere around

the world, that it's not empathy even. It's just simply Lane Johnson being extended compassion and Stephen A. Smith acts as an avatar for a very easy thing to attack because he wasn't being any kind of humane, decent, or compassionate in how it is that he reacted to Lane Johnson quitting football because he's in pain. How much do you think the reaction has to do with the participants involved? Lane Johnson being a popular figure and Stephen A. Smith being an easy target to go up against. That has something to do with it. Also, in his apology, he referenced Jay Glazer, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Jay Glazer reached out to Stephen A. But I actually think this entire story is a reason to be hopeful because Lane Johnson was made.

met with universal praise and understanding, at least in the national media space. And Stephen A's opinion used to be the norm. Used to be the only opinion that was espoused, and very few people would be talking about Lane Kiffin doing the right thing and being, I'm sorry, Lane Jansson doing the right thing. Lane Kiv has never done the right thing. And showing the proper empathy. By the way, in CNA's apology, he went on to say, like, his deepest regret is that his

reaction to it might have stopped people. from seeking the help that they need because he is playing to a trope that makes it very difficult for people to seek help, especially with his prominent role there. I think this entire experience down to the pitch perfect apology is growth for everyone in the sports space. It's also interesting to me, though, that over the last 10 years, what you have seen in a narrative shift in general about those are human beings wearing those gladiator patterns, When it comes to the violent hits, we now have a recoil that's pretty instantaneous on that's illegal now. You can't allow that.

Safety comes first. And when it comes to the damage and pain that that sport causes where these guys are literally limping through retirement to early deaths, we're all understanding that sports has mental health challenges when you're sitting here fighting over money that I'm telling you, I associate with Damar de Rosen and Kevin Love not that long ago, sort of helping us change the toxic masculinity or the armor that men have notoriously worn on crying is weakness, anxiety is weakness, sharing your feelings is weakness, telling people you need help is weakness. And there's just been a shift that made everyone turn on Stephen A. Smith with what used to be man style, man up, don't quit, tough it out, bury your feelings, swallow it in brown liquor, make sure that

nobody knows that you're hurting. Don't do that to your teammates. Don't do that to your fan base. I'm actually, in retrospect, glad that Stephen A went through what he went through here with the initial reaction that was on the wrong side and then working it out and 24 hours later admitting the error of his ways and actually doing some good work through his apology. I think that this is all great. It's just really a big change, though.

Like, it's just, it's really unusual. I don't, look, I'm sure in Philadelphia, I'm sure that when your feel good gets taken away, because that guy makes your offense good. I mean, I really can make the argument that the most important player on the Eagles the last 10 years, it's not Sequin Barclays. It's not, it's that guy. Like, I can make the argument on an offensive line that had a bunch of pro bowlers on it,

and he was the best of them. He's the best right tackle ever, the history of the sport. I don't know how anyone can question his particular toughness. Well, look, we saw the pushback and were happy with the reaction from people because, again, I think it's easy

to look at Stephen A and say, hey, you're being a jerk in this spot, but like yesterday, you think if you turned on WIP in Philadelphia, you think the caller is all like, oh, this is really good. I feel good for Lane. One step at a time on progress. Like, these

things aren't linear. Yeah, and also, like there is a part and parcel of being upset. He's not there for my team, but also upset that he's going through something so tragic that he's got to be like, enough, I can't do this anymore. Yeah, he's missed time because of antidepressant withdrawals. I think that this is being met inside that market in large part too because he's so accomplished and he was so good for that franchise. But let's not forget what Paul George went through last year where it felt like it was

a line of convenience rather than everyone pretty much. buys in, knowing his history, and respecting the man, that this is so. I think that's the important part. You asked, is it because it's Stephen A and he's an easy target? How about if this is Jalen Hertz? Do people be like, yeah, man, don't do the, he has the right to do that? Or are they like, this da-da-da-da-da? Yeah, I see your point, and it wasn't lost on me.

One of the main differences between Paul George and Lane Johnson. I mean, Jalen Hertz is a Super Bowl MVP. I know he's kind of going through it right now with that fan base. But it would kind of help explain some of the stuff that we'd see. And I do think that he would get certainly a lot more grace than Paul George got. A lot of people are also pointing out that both of Lane Johnson's parents are sick. And Stephen A did mention what it is that I was saying to you before, that it wasn't just Glazer that reached out. It was also Michael Wilbon.

Stephen A has developed a bit of both armor and immunity on the idea that he wants to fight with everybody, and it must be wearying. But when the people you respect the most reach out to you and say, And I've said, I've had it happen to me where I get, where I buck up with ego, I get a little bit defiant on let me say what I want. And then I start hearing from the people who I respect. And when they tell me that I've got it wrong and I hear from multiple of them, then you have to look in a mirror and you have to do what it is that Stephen A did today. But this is another thing that's happening in the manosphere just so that you know, don't apologize is a thing. Like, don't, be a man, don't ever apologize. Like, don't, you do not need to apologize.

Double down. Don't apologize, double down. It's called the dad theory. Yeah, Stephen A. barely ever does what he just did today. Who said that? He had to do what it is that he did today because he didn't have any allies. There were none.

Like, it was a chorus of shouting him down on please respect mental illness. Tony, you know that moment? at a party or a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks. I know it well. It's usually when I show up. Everybody goes crazy. Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Quervo.

I'm walking like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night. It has that effect on people. It does. You usually take the credit for it. But again, it's the Quervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game

where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hooting and hollering. Keep it, Quervo. The quervo, baby.