The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 1: Fatty Arbuckle

Episode Date: February 20, 2024

Greg Cote has updates on his PFPI Gala from over the weekend, but the photos look like they were taken in an 1880s saloon. Then, the Can't Cancel America tour cancels shows, and Stephen Colbert reminds us that our country is falling apart. Plus, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have a huge test ahead of them in trying to win 4 different cups this MLS season, and Anthony Rendon has the right message but may be the wrong messenger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network. This is the Don Lebatore Show with the Stugatz Podcast. Hey, uh, hey, sorry. There you go. Head. Jum. Sorry. Greg Cody of the Miami Herald is skyrocketing. Look at him intoxicated by the sound of his own voice, of his own sneezes. He is so delighted with himself. Can I get an update, please Chris Cody on the PFPI Gala? What were the annoying things your father did last night?

It was a big hit. It's sponsored now. It's got its own sponsorship. Again, for those of you who do not know, do we have video of this? We must have pictures somewhere of Greg Cody in a suit that I'm guessing is from 1974 that he breaks out just for the gala. It seems like an old suit. It is a bit rumbled and it is in a living room that feels like, I've been in that living room. It's a lovely living room, but it looks on camera. Like it's also stuck in 1980. The love seat they have behind him is like my mom's mom.

It's like an old looking chair. I mean, it's a love seat. That's enough right there. Tony, why are you laughing in Greg Cody's face about his home? It makes me think of like, this is really dark, but it makes me think of like a funeral home where you have like,

Look at it, look at it, look, You tell me! Look at how proud that is! That love seat that you can see the corner of was made in 1942. Like how does that in his funeral home? Okay, in fairness, Jumpin' Charlie ravaged the love seat. It used to be in better shape than it is, a poultry was. Okay, but this is a photograph that looks like it was taken the way that they used to take photographs with an old gunpowder and a 1920s West. Underneath the curtain. Yeah, you pull a chain.

You pull a chain. Those people would never understand that you have thousands of these now on your phone. Your great grandfather looks like this. Your great grandfather. That is a photo. You tell me I'm wrong. You're a great grandfather. You're a great- You're a Kurnus Echo. That is a photo. You tell me I'm wrong. That photo from the PFPI gala looks like something that was taken in a saloon in the 1880s back

when photography was being, you know, rounded into shape. It is embarrassing. It looks like an old timey, what do they call it, daguerreotype? You're holding a trophy here. you win you win? I'm a nine-time champion, but I did not win this year. No, you were the commissioner Yeah, and you're you are awarding the trophy and this what are the Chris? What were the most mockable details from last night? Well the entire thing? I mean we replayed there's like a ten minute clip on the Greg Cody show that if you want to listen to it, it's just my dad having a self-series monologue while the room is just having conversations. Like people aren't like, you just hear my mom and my, my, my mom and

my wife just talking about their plans. Like on Wednesday, was it recorded for the podcast? Did you get fresh audio? We recorded it and then I had to go through it and tighten it cause there's a lot of dead air in the you know a lot of times your father forgets He's performing and just gets lost in the romance and nostalgia of his own breath He always gets mad at me because I make fun of how he reads like he's up there just in front of his family Like he could just be like we had fun Thanks for everyone like you you came in fifth you can he's up there literally has been pages of like a written-out speech All right, why don't you like a boy in his, like 40 years ago,

a boy and it's just so awkward. And he reads and then he gets mad when I make fun. He's like, I'm clearly reading. Look, there's this like, it's like, I know. He's accusing me of reading when it's so obvious. No, I'm not accusing you. I'm making fun of you for reading. Okay, it is what it is.

I take my speech seriously. I have to go over several statistics. It's the same speech every year though. Like you just fill in like the standings. No, everything changes. It starts every year with a boy had a dream. Well, you know, in a corner bedroom. It's I'm telling you, the same speech every year. 1440. That's where the the coffee can incident happened as well, which was right around the same time P.F.P. I was born in nine circa 1968, 69, and it survives all this time. It's a phenomenon. It's the best family football prediction league in America. That's probably true.

And, and, and we run it. I run a tight ship. Okay. I'm a commissioner and I take the title seriously. You let my six year old daughter, you let my six year old-old daughter you let my six-year-old daughter I know and what did she do? She was the co-rookie of the year We had one rookie with two rookies and the other rookie has 17 Please please listen, please please

17 unique hits yeah, the record is 18 by roost raccoons May she rest in peace who won? This Roost. May she rest in peace. Who won? That's my dad's mom who passed away, who used to ask us when we got back from golf. Who won? Even though I always won.

Christopher would always beat me and Uncle Dick by 25 strokes and Nana would say, who won every time we won. I think I won once a week. Who won? Ah. So that's who Roost reckonsons and now she has an award named in her honor Let me tell you why I'm laughing so hard Okay, because your father is now full-on delirious. Okay drunk on fame and ego

Just laughed in the face of local icon Ron McGill for an honor that is Local icon worthy just laughed in his face. Yeah, the R buckles, hall of fame. You don't get it. Oh, sorry. I was thinking of fatty R buckle. I was too. What are the chances?

Yeah, thank you. Thank you for that. What I was going to say, Chris, is your father, drunk off of Las Vegas success, book success, podcast soaring, was just happier and more intoxicated by the sound of his own voice when you just simply asked him, give me information about your Lobos and that league. That is your father at maximum interest in sports at this point. Look at how happy he is with that league,

with writing his notes, with keeping his stats. If I were to take from your father- Podcasts having a great week, by the way, Greg Cody show. I could write a book- Featuring- About PFI and might. Featuring Greg Cody. Yeah, with.

Your podcast- Please don't write that book is very popular But you love talking about this stupid league stupid It's a family Tradition they get on me want to know Hank. Why do you drink Jeremy? Please go sit in the penalty box again Jeremy. Can you actually go this time? Fatty our buckle buckle can you tell me when he died 1933 Dan okay also first famously first actor to ever be

cancelled really what September 1921 our buckle was accused of sexually assaulting and accidentally killing actors Virginia rap at a party in San Francisco damn cancel culture it's been around forever forgive me because Greg Cody has been distracting today but since you spoke of cancel culture, it made me think of Kid Rock being in the news this weekend. That story was delightful. So the name of the tour is You Cannot Cancel America. Cancel America tour.

And... Co-headlined, Kid Rock, Jason Aldeem. Because they are going to profit off of the, there is an absolute lane here for if you are the person who shoots up Bud Light beer cans and hurts their business, you too can ride the embers of late rock star flame. Well, I don't know what you two is doing. It would be weird if they were on this tour. I know what they were doing. You also, you also can rise to, Kid Rock is making his tour relevant,

at least in part because of his politics. And he had to cancel New York shows. Why? He didn't have to cancel New York shows. I guess the question is why they, why they scheduled them to begin with. But yeah, so the, you can't cancel America tour.

Go headline by Jason Aldeen and Kid Rock, actually canceled on parts of America. They decided all these New York dates were not gonna do them because New York State has the gall to have a free and fair trial against Donald Trump and find him guilty. Accountability, it's like not the favorite thing of public conservatives,

especially MAGA conservatives. But yeah, that's where we are right now, that they don't even see the irony in doing this. And for all their complaints about cancel culture, I mean, what if liberals actually successfully canceled without the person acknowledging, yeah, I did that. I'll just go away. We couldn't even like stick up for Chick-fil-A. It's too damn delicious. Like we couldn't keep our ground there, but the liberals don't actually have canceling power, especially if the right are just going to lift up people that have been canceled and make them heroes. We, I think we've seen time and time again that this is a totally made up thing except for when the right does it because it actually goes somewhere when the right does it and it makes Bud Light reach out to Shane Gillis and Joe Rogan to try to over correct and UFC

and try to market correct what has happened. Peyton Manning, it's a very concerted effort right now by Bud Light on how to get uncanceled. And part of their strategy is just say, just have Joe Rogan say on a show because they're now a sponsor. Well, they figured it out. They're not a problem anymore, guys. The only people that actually we saw was Target. The only side that is actually doing real canceling, effective canceling is the right. I was thinking about this the other day because I've seen how Louis C. K. is flourishing now and it was, you know, he's one of the best to ever do it and

then a long time ago he had a different business model that was trying to connect to it with his fans getting rid of all of the brokers and just selling directly to fans and he has circumvented through popular, unpopular, polarizing. He now exists in a space where he and shane gillis and all of these top one hundred podcasts that have been birthed in and around the jail rogan universe uh... he is now somebody who is wildly wildly popular again and can exist with

total freedom in this great space where the top one hundred comedy podcast reside where it feels like a free speech space. It's like, who was monitoring these people? They can say whatever they want. This doesn't seem like a cancelable thing. And now they can, like that's, that is a space that's getting a lot of traction in this industry. People love the illusion of someone's trying to stop me

from telling you how it is. I've seen that for all these supposed free thinkers, they sure would follow any shirtless former and the may start with a podcast off a cliff. Yeah, that's where we are. That's because it's a lot easier. It's a lot easier. He just makes Bert Kreischer and Bench in the shop guy. Like no, it's a conservativeatives care about trafficking, human trafficking

until entretate is one of them. That's correct. Allegedly. Whoa. No. Yeah, that's not. That's not. You gotta say that.

You gotta do it in this voice. The gacky voice. Ah. The Dan Labrador show was still got to sponsored by Better Help. A lot of us spend our lives wishing we had more time. The question is, time for what? Go for a run, take a nap, read a book, show it for a friend? If time was unlimited, how would you use it? The best way to squeeze that special thing into your schedule is to know what's important to you and make it a priority. With more time available,

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Don Lebatard! He's like, he needs a wheelbarrow like Mike McDaniel this dog. Got a pair? Man, does he get a pair. My granddaughter sees his schlong and says, what's that? She doesn't know. My granddaughter saw his schlong in the kitchen and she said, what is that? What is this? A game of clue? I said that's what he pees with.

I'm not. She saw his... How else am I going to explain it? Stugats! It was a little extended. I don't know why he was so excited. Alright, very good. No! Can I take this out? Anyway, he ate my couch.

This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugas. I enjoyed a Kid Rock concert at the Fillmore like 15 years ago. You can enjoy their music. You can find people anxious and disagree with them politically. I'm just saying the world has changed a lot since then. I mean, it has. But you know, like they found their lane. This is also in part business decision to kind of pivot so hard into one way. And the right like they've shown their loyalty, you can't really question

their loyalty. They've gone through just about anything with their cult of personality leader of their movement so far. And it's kind of expected for you to support these people to know when anyone that ideologically aligns with you, you found, you find a kinship and you support them. And this is not unique as somebody who's gone to a handful of country concerts in recent years, they generally end with the crowd chanting, let's go Brandon as we walk out. Like this is not generally there's this certain type of music.

I don't agree with a lot, like these chants politically, but you end up in them. It's like what we're going to get at this concert is not going to be different that we're getting at a lot of country concerts. I love the idea of like a slow pan from a fan of the show, finding you in an audience where there's a, let's go Brandon chant happening,

just panning to your face like, uh-ohoh what am I in the middle of right now? Let's put up on the screen the $399 Trump shoes here that made an appearance at sneakercon this weekend a bit of a surprise. I also want to play some sound here of Stephen Colbert because all of this being normalized when we're talking about hundreds of million-dollar judgments being something that feel like they hurt him more than felony counsel all over the place because his last move is to make sure the toppled democracy and get as much money as he can because you really are in a position where his lawyers can't believe they're gonna ever get paid. So he's gotta get the money to them up front and it's just what an amazing grift to see

working in front of people. But here's Colbert trying to fight with with liberal voice. Colbert is trying to do the right things and he's just going crazy. I know, I know how numb we've become, but it's not normal. No other candidate for the presidency has ever had to pause his campaign to defend himself in multiple courts. And I would like to point out that in all seven of his cases, no one, no one doubts that he did these things.

We're just sitting around patiently waiting to find out if the wheels of justice will grind fast enough for there to be any consequences. And the media is covering it like it's any other political story Like it's all horse race Triggered he stole mad dogs move there. Let me get close to the camera and then back up. Oh He took off his glasses and backed off from the camera and it is madness it is is making even the comedians literally mad and and even the comedians literally mad and sound mad because it's not any way, it's not in any way normal to have sneaker con sneakers for $399 to pay for some of the lawyer fees.

First Trump copies all the other dictators, then he copies LeVar ball. I mean, please. It'll work though. Yeah, both of them unfortunately. No, LeVar didn't work. LeVar didn't work LeVar did not work I think it's a pretty poignant what he said what Colbert said at the end Like you're just hopeful that the wheels of justice will turn in time for a punitive measure to kind of save us from ourselves Because none of these judgments matter. It's crazy When you get an entire group of people to just buy in that anything that is held against me is because this very clear agenda. It is all just some major deep state conspiracy to stop me from

getting to where I need to be to enact our agenda. That's a free and fair trial that he makes a mockery of. He doesn't do himself any favors when he storms out, but he was found guilty in that civil suit of disparaging Someone's character who accused him of sexual assault He was found guilty in the state of New York for committing fraud These are juries of his peers that like but they'll just believe that there is some deep state Conspiracy and that he didn't actually do. Tony likes the sneakers. Tony likes the sneakers. No, cause on our preview, if you could put up what we had on our preview, the Trump sneakers

are being held by a guy that I follow. His name is Roman Sharp. He's like, watch dealer and incredible. I was like, oh, I know that guy? Yeah, I know that guy. I was like, oh damn, that's Roman Sharp. You look like you love the sneakers. No, I would never wear those in a million years,

but I like Roman Sharp. What's wrong with the sneakers? I paid a lot of money for those sneakers. They're too chunky, the gold is gaudy. They're like between like wannabe like high top Pumas, but also trying to be like Jordan ones with the too thick. Typical Trump. It's just, it's just not.

Or Nate, it might as well have- They're the thickest shoes. Yeah, that's, they're, they're, it's had thick for me. We're out of the chunky era by the way. We're trying to move on. They should have jewels on them a big tea fake jewels that end up

Roman sharp the the dude that they accuse of being a Russian oligarch Because I saw like a bunch of headlines daily mail being on one of them that a Russian or oligarch bit on That might be yes, it might be and he came on said guys. I was actually I actually am a political refugee I came from Ukraine. He's a former serviceman. He's a very very wealthy guy and sells watches but like you know if you're part of the watch game you're selling 50, 60, 70, 80, 100,000, 200,000 million dollar time pieces it's hard to move that kind of inventory if you don't have very rich friends. When did you become a high-end watch dealer expert?

This is something that I love. I'm very passionate about watches. And Roman Scharf is one of the guys who's doing top content within the watch community. How's your collection? Oh, it's growing. I work here, so it's growing. Greg Cody, I want to ask you something.

I want to ask if the group has noticed this, because I've been derailed a couple of times by Greg Cody just being the maximum rock star. Just temptation has filled his soul and so I never finished the story of why and how you came in with that hat from Mas Las Vegas that you said you were stealing from our company because your housekeeper had stolen yours. We started a segment that way and never got the finish on it because I've had to kick you out a couple of times since then.

Yeah. Guillermo, if you're listening, I corrected my, you didn't steal it. I mean, I gave it to you, but you, you basically liked the hat. I had taken one from Las Vegas and I gave it to him because he basically came to me in the kitchen holding the hat saying, is there any way I can get one of these? The words of that effect. It's a good hat. It's a good hat.

Yeah. I'm not a hat person, but if I were, I would wear this. It's the pointy hat, right? Yeah. Nice hat. My hat's too small to not look like I'm swimming under a hat. My hat's, my head's too small to, to not look like I'm swimming under a hat. Okay, okay, but, but so he stole it or he didn't steal it? Why are you walking around with, why are you, why are you stealing it from our company because

you gave it to your housekeeper who you then accused of stealing? I saw a stack of hats, a parade of hats. I took one. As one would do. Yeah, that kind of thing. You know, I feel I'm entitled to it You know I contribute I'm a contributor and so forth Because you are one of the largest local critics of all things Leonel Messi

Not we have not had a lot of local criticism of anything messy related you have been someone Somehow who have been who has been a vocal critic Messy is for those of you who haven't been following this, because we haven't talked about this, Hong Kong and portions of China are furious with Messi because he played in exhibitions after being there and they thought he was healthy and they didn't understand why he didn't play before them.

And so he's got a legitimate Chinese, he's got a legitimate Hong Kong controversy on his hands. And now he comes to Miami with what you and Mike are saying and this is dangerous for this Franchise that has never done anything important or winning until messy got here like this franchise has been irrelevant the entire time Yep, it has been in town four years old So I know but until messy they had done nothing, but that's really fast for you guys to go from that to what I imagine is going To be a spectacle later this week and the opening of a season that you guys are telling me is championship or bust. And I'm like, really? We're going to do that just because they want, because they, they went from last place

to looking really respectable because they got somehow the best of messy. They did end up finishing close to last place in their conference last year. But I think where the disconnect is you hear championship or bust and you're applying you're here tiny American sports brain to it There's four opportunities for them to bring home hardware. I know they got to win one of them Yeah, but in a way though, that's part of the problem, right in the middle of MLS season When you're playing leagues cup matches when you're playing us open cup matches and you're split that's up in the air actually Okay, but but you your top four players are all like 36, 37 years old. It's difficult. Like you're going to have to rest messy.

It is. And also, and you'd like, and also to have a roster that is compliant with the MLS and they've had big time injuries to some younger players throughout this preseason. I think if you look over their last, their, their track record over the last 15 matches, be it exhibitions or end of the season, meaningless games, it's not good. They've played one really good month of soccer and it was Messi's first month where they won the, the league's cup trophy, which actually felt like an achievement. And you've seen MLS prioritize that over the oldest trophy in American competitive sports right now.

What's happening with the Lamar hunt in US open cup trophy is fascinating because MLS decided to pull their top teams out of this competition because the money's not worth it. They get more money for leagues cup, but you have all this tradition. Soccer fans hate what's happening, but the US soccer Federation is so tied to the hip of MLS that if MLS says we're not making enough money and no one contributes more money to US soccer Federation than us, they have to, they're they're at the wheel of the MLS here. So there's a pretty fascinating thing going on with that cup competition, but Miami has four different opportunities.

The MLS league season, which because of how mainstream sports fans work, and I just use Sue Godson, Billy as an example, when they're confused as to how someone wins league cup because they, they Google the standings and they realize that inter Miami's at the bottom of that. I think the one that matters the most is the MLS cup followed probably by leagues cup when you consider the resources that that apple is put behind it. And that's just a competition that was created last year. You have conca cap champions league, which now is going by a different name. I feel like you've lost both Chris Cody and Tony. So I'm following it. I don't know what he's talking

about. There's four opportunities presently. Again, I spoke to the ambiguity surrounding the U S open cup, but there's four opportunities for them to win hardware this season. But which one matters the most? I guess it's my MLS cup. I guess MLS cup because whenever you try to speak to a fan about how Miami is you and your season, they'll Google sandings and they'll see that Miami is not MLS cup. Number one, league cup, league cup. Number two. So if you win the season, they'll Google sandings and they'll see that. My am is not, what is number one league cup, league cup number two. So if you win league cup, it's like, Oh great, we won it, but like, it doesn't really matter.

If you want to go like in true scope, because there is a club world cup coming to this country, that that is replacing a confederations cup. You should honestly try to prioritize conca cap champions. Like, cause it gives you an opportunity to be world cup. What is there is an opportunity to be called the best club in the world and the only way to play yourself into that Competition is by winning conca cap. The third most important is the most important half. Okay, I would I would concede that and then Yeah, what what is it? What is the success Greg? If they don't win the MLS cup on a team with little messy the first now

That's the first number one down there least up if they don't win the MLS cup this a team with Lionel Messi the first one that's the first number one down there Leeds Cup if they don't win the MLS Cup this season with the only full year of Lionel Messi That's the starting point. They have to win and because there are so many different competitions There are so many matches that they will have to play with an old with an old, this is Inul and I'll improve Dan Lebatard with his two guts. Gamble on by DraftKings. Dan Lebatard.

All of us who were watching college football elevated everything the weekend was because we missed football in general so very much. You didn't watch the ending of UTEP Jacksonville State. It was awesome. It was easy. Boom. Mm-hmm. Stugats.

Such a lane for you. Just everything in college football is awesome. Any single thing that happens she gets deliriously happy about. Don't you miss viewing sports through that prism though? Like I'm envious of Lucy. Like I wish that I could still be happy. This is the Don levitar show with the Stu guys let me start off your match preseason tour which I call preseason torment

ridiculous that they put their players through all that great let alone the the nightmare that that happened in Hong Kong and the ensuing controversy, which Messi has to go on his, he's big in the far East. He has to go on this channel and apologize saying, no, I was really sick. It wasn't for political reasons. And we're back. It's a nightmare. He, he's had to apologize to a lot of oppressive governments for a guy that hasn't said much throughout his career. He never said anything. He never says anything. a lot of oppressive governments for a guy that hasn't said much throughout his career. Anything he is hated because of his lack of participation in some of these friendlies. Friendlies are probably shouldn't have been scheduled.

He's apologized to the U S government. I want to backtrack for just a second here because, uh, Mike Ryan, you were not finished with your point, but, uh, in the transition on executive producers, uh, you wanted the segment to keep going and Chris Cody just ram railed his father into the hard network out because you wanted to extend, you weren't done talking and neither was Greg Cody. We found a Greg Cody wheelhouse,

something that he's super passionate about. We got caught in the weeds of whether you want to win the third trophy or the fourth trophy or the first. What I was trying to avoid was a second segment on soccer as much as I am passionate about the sport. I understand what the audience wants and what our, what our aptitude is for these things. So I just wanted to extend that rather than what happened, which is us starting a second segment about soccer. When you're out, you're out. I think it's a fascinating story because inter Miami in a way isn't a no win

situation. They are, Lionel Messi is a money tree for them and they are squeezing it for all it's worth, which is why they went on that seven five nation preseason tour, which I thought was on soccer or not soccer. I mean, come on. This is the biggest athlete in the world and he's playing in Miami and it's a, it's not a small deal and that there would be a season of expectations. I understand, but the season is coming up. And everyone kind of agrees, messy, huge star. And that is a traditional sports take. They have to win something. Otherwise this season is a failure.

And it's hard to explain to an audience that there's four opportunities to win something. And when most of that audience only cares about one, that whether it's accurate or not, to actually put that as the top priority, that's what they end up Googling. It's a really difficult thing to explain. This is how it starts though. Like you, if you, you want people

to have your Premier League knowledge, you want people to know, bring in something from Europe. And if you want to actually grow the sport here with multi-generations, multi-cultures, it starts by sort of explaining this, getting frustrated, because you know more than the people who are gathering around just because they got the famous guy.

I don't think I had to talk anybody into liking the sport by over-explaining these things. I want, it would be a dream for us to be where we probably should be as a host nation in 2026 for the World Cup. And I've got so many eggs in that basket, hoping that the way that we talk about these things right now, it's difficult to connect with Joe Sports Van. When Joe Sports Van watches the, the daytime sports programs on the worldwide leaders and they all kind

of handle the soccer discussion the exact same way. If the talents aren't going to take their prep for it seriously, then why should I? And I do think that we're missing a major opportunity here. The World Cup isn't some niche thing. We saw the numbers for the Super Bowl. I'm sure you've seen this graphic go viral, about 123 million people watching the Super Bowl, compared to over a billion for the World Cup. 2026 is not some novelty. There's seven World Cup matches happening in this city alone. It is a massive opportunity. It is a massive boom for our economy. And it's, and we're just beginning. There is a years long ramp up to the world cup.

And I kind of get frustrated in that I see the people, the, the, uh, the conversation starters, the needle movers in this industry, and they're really only capable of talking to sports. And I really hope that we send people like Steven A and Tony corn hyzer and Michael Wolban provided that they're still doing this then to some kind of boot camp. Like the inside the NBA people go to a two day long March madness boot camp where they learn things like the two guards name from Quinnipiac.

Well, this is this is so interesting, Mike, when you talk about this, because I got to wondering about this in the hostility toward the All-Star game. I wonder if people have sort of calculated the damage that we've done over the last 20 years in the discourse around that league, around the NBA, that turns that into the travesty it became where it's a bunch of consternation, at least in part, because there have been only two sports that the big networks have cared about for the last fifteen years. They made basketball. The way that we talk about basketball has knocked baseball out of the way and hockey's

been dying to be talked about this way and finally is like that. Hockey's having a media resurgence in that you have a lot of smart people that aren't storming out of the all-star game like bob ryan who are loving what they're seeing from hockey you do need a certain media literacy here and it is fair to say i'm guilty of it i've been guilty of it all i was talking about on television there was football and basketball and i'd i did like talking baseball

but generally we didn't do that. We had partnerships with football and basketball. And so that's where we spent all of our time spent selling football and basketball. I think that's one of the corrosive things that people haven't noticed industry wide. Once you get into these partnerships and you have rights with these teams, then you become the infomercial broadcaster controversies or not for that league. The NHL suffered from not being on ESPN for all those years. It's, I don't know how you get to the point where soccer talk is entertaining because I think we know that the stories that, that have captivated recently, but there's so much

background knowledge that you need to get to that it's really difficult. I've struggled doing it. I'm not of a talent, the like Sivan A Smith, but to explain to your audience an entire backstory inside a 30 seconds to actually get to the meat of a conversation. I don't know if it's possible. I just think you need to infuse the daytime sports programming talent base with people that are capable of doing this. Younger generations, if you listen to podcasts like part of my take, they're not soccer agnostic. They don't say how boring this is and who wants to see a nil nil draw. They don't really talk about it though.

No, but they, but they don't ignore it. They don't talk about it in a way that is off putting either. There is a, no, they don't ignore it, especially if there's like a big look for one beautiful day in November, everybody in December of last year, we were all soccer fans because that world cup was one of the great, that World Cup final was one of the greatest sporting spectacles we'd ever seen. I do hope that there is an infusion of sports talent that can talk about the NFL and the NBA, but also not show their ass on soccer. So we can talk about this and really build to something special. And I would add that one of the seven matches Hard Rock Stadium is going to host in 26 is

a quarter final match. That's when it gets really serious. You're down to the final eight teams. That's going to be huge globally. That's a Super Bowl, a quarter final World Cup match. That's enormous. It's going to be one of the biggest events ever in South Florida history. Soccer in the United States. It's there. It is. Done. See you. So four cups. Yeah, this was one I was trying to. You want to win the club World Cup? Is that one super important? Because it's got World It's there it is ladies don't see you so four cups

You want to win the club world cup is that one super important cuz it's got World Cup in it okay, right? Yeah, that's a new competition. That's a big one. That's a big one Well, it's an expanded version of an older competition but different than conca calf conca. Yeah, that's just a regional regional one Okay, ladies don't see you Lee cup. I wanted I wanted to just MLS and Lee, and then, and then, oh, Lee, that's right. This kind of battle of North America. I see you. Gotcha. And then MLS Cup is the big one. Did you guys see what happened with Anthony Rendon?

We keep talking about Anthony Rendon as sort of the spot where baseball salaries exploded and everybody got confused where everybody was worth a Jean-Carlo Stanton contract, including Anthony Rendon going from the champion Washington Nationals to the Anaheim Angels. And since then, not playing very many games. And now as he enters spring training, throwing out the quote for the masses that is in the same place where people get mad at basketball players for not caring enough about the All-Star game, Anthony Rendon shows up to spring training after his off season quote,

the only off season quote he had that anyone paid attention to was him saying the season's too long when he's been too hurt to play in any of the games. And he's not wrong. The season is too long, but now he's put his name as a symbol for something on the quote. Baseball's not my priority in life. And then he clarifies with faith and family is, but everyone's noticing the first part of that because of who he is and how much he makes. And they don't care so much about the second part of that, which they would agree with, right? Many faith and

family people would say, well, baseball shouldn't be his priority, but he is making so much money that Anthony Rendon now being quoted as saying baseball is not a priority for me is the aggregated headline that would make Anthony Rendon hate the media. Right quote wrong voice for it. It's cool to prioritize the things in your life over your job. I show up here man. I make money is my job. Not the right guy to be saying that after this particular off season. Everyone can say that because the answer is no Rendon. God is not more important than that third inning at bat for Anaheim. Well,

if you ask certain people and kids are not as important as game one 12 of Anaheim season, their sub 500 again in their ERA as a staff is seven. I mean, there are fans that get mad when players miss because of the birth of a child. So, you know, but that's stupid. That happened this year in a bangles game. An offensive lineman for the bangles played in a 38 11 loss and FaceTime his wife, who should rip the shit out of him for not having the right priority. Like, what are you doing? That's absolutely right. What are you doing? If you're going to do that, you got to do that when you're playing for the chiefs, not for an in an injured bangles team that Joe Burroughs not on it. Burroughs healthy. Then you think about it.

Rendon's played 200 of a possible 546 games for the angels. Not the right message. He's a terrible messenger. I can't think of a worse one, but it's not a controversial thing to say that God and family are more important than baseball. Yeah. You almost have to, even if you don't believe it. He's the, what do you mean? I mean, it's just something you say, you know, God, family and foot, you know. Kind of like I miss my wife.

Yeah. God's family and football? Except Greg Cody, he doesn't say that. That's the quote though. I had that sign hanging up in my house. God, family and football. Certain things you have to say even if you don't believe them.

Well, what is the thing that you're saying though? God, family, seven one college football seasons. See, I actually disagree with Greg. I think if you're a player who's coming into a new season, you're at spring training, they're asking you what your top priority is. My top priority this off season was getting into the best shape that I could.

It was really improving my game. I wanna make sure that I'm available to my teammates. I wanna make sure that I'm out here fulfilling what my contract is all about. That was my top priority this off season, improving my game and being available to my teammates. Okay, and then the headline is Smith, uh, blames family, comma, God for obsession with football, family, comma, God. That's right. Just to be clear incidentally, Greg Cody laughed in the face and continues to

laugh in the face of one Ron McGill, who has been honored locally, uh, a hall of fame during one of the breaks. He says it's like Jiffy Lube having a hall of fame. He's just shouting at whoever will listen. Uh, but just for the record here is some sound of Greg Cody enjoying the sound of his own voice introducing batters in the minor league game at Greg Cody Day That means we're in a play, number 13, Yeltsin and Christy is Carlos Ion In Corsica, in Corsadillo Greg Cody Day it was in Fort, we talked about it for weeks.

That was for the slate, number 13, Yeltsin and Kars-i-ka-de-on! I think it was misspelled on the sheet I was reading from. There was a Marlin with the last name in Kars-i-oh. It's shocking how little of Miami you've absorbed in all the years you've lived in. In Kars-i-on!