The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 1: The Hall of Nine Seconds

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

Stugotz, a.k.a. Gin Scully, has a message for Reggie Miller. Plus, Will Hanso and a race war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now's a good time to remember where Tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented Tequila. Cuervo. What are you doing here? Cuervo. Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up. Well, I do know that to be true, but even during ad reads, like... Cuervo.

I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners. Sweet, delicious Cuervo. Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion. Cuervo. So, enjoy the Tequila that started it all. Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion. Cuervo. So enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo. Cuervo. The tequila that invented tequila.

Proximo. Cuervo.com. Please drink responsibly. Cuervo. This is the Don Leventor Show with the StuGuts Podcast. This episode is presented by Smirnoff. We do game days. Please drink responsibly to Smirnoff Company New York, New York. I will try to do a better job of pacing myself during these hockey playoffs. You think we'd be better at it after a couple of years of practice. We are not. It was a lot of hockey, too much hockey. I understand your rage. Roy is still be beaming Zaslow has been smiling

since one nothing last night yeah since one nothing last night you can't get the smile off his face and Tony's so involved he gets excited to name a backup goalie from a couple of years tonight it is taking over South Florida but the basketball and I don't know if you guys had it going this particular way, because basketball can be pretty predictable this time of year, but now it's all of a sudden not because six and four, or six and a five, like that's not usually how all of that happens last year. Dallas is there when OKC was better all year, but you have the storyline that is the following,

Stugatz. And I can't believe I'm saying any of this. You're either going to have a champion who's winning the championship for the first time as the league evolves past Steph and LeBron, or it'll be the Knicks. And those are good choices if you're trying to resell the league as like, oh, Tatum is out but Anthony Edwards, would you like to be the guy and also how are we going to make it interesting if defense is what wins the championship because okc watching what they just did to the mvp was like watching a pack of dogs chase down an elephant

like just how how how young people will ravenously eat even the mvp one shot in the second half want to go be with horse that's a terrible job by Jokic is it not I mean you can't get nine shots off in a game seven best offensive player ever get out of here okay he's tired and four years is always Jordan he had the flu yeah okay took a couple years off as well took a couple of years off he had the flu yeah but he won a bunch of them and then took and then came back with a flu yes but ag again played baseball yokich uh... wonderful ike this is how man i don't think people totally

understand how competitive these human beings are like you're fighting the world for money no one saw yokich coming so that says he's a bomb get more than nine shots or just got eaten up by youth because that team plays defense better than anyone in the sport and also can score and you just saw him get tired like he was done in the second half he was done because you have to ran quit golden state LeBron went to Cleveland like after four years it's hard it's hell the Celtics have been at this for four years and Tatum just blew a wheel

like it's hard to keep this pace for four years because of how competitive the people are. But now you've got New York, and this is the part that's the great storyline. Are you kidding me? Lovable underdog and it's going to be the Pacers who are hated? Because they're going to get in the way of the story? Because you can't dispute, you can't say that the Knicks aren't a lovable story, and this, Sugatsa, is the best feeling you've had in 25 years, and now bandwagon witty is joining because he's not even a Floridian anymore. He's an asshole.

Let's be clear. The NBA needs the Knicks in the NBA finals. A Pacer Thunder final would be an absolute disaster for the NBA. So good luck to the Pacers with that. Here is my thoughts on the Knicks. It's amazing because, you know, they had a good team last year. Everyone felt, New York fell in love with that team. Dante Di Vicenzo, guys like Hartenstein, and now he's in Oklahoma City. And Di Vicenzo, I have no idea

where that guy is. What do you think he is, Stu? Where do you think he is? Milwaukee maybe? No. They would love him in Milwaukee. Where is he? I have no idea. You know where he is. He's he's on the other side of the practice. Think about the guy you traded for. He's still playing. So, here is like what an amazing job for Leon Rose to say, you know what? I know New York fell in love with this team but this team is not good enough. We are not good enough and he goes out and makes a couple of big time trades, makes a big time signing, gets rid of the guys that New York fell in love with and he goes out and makes a couple of big time trades makes a big time signing gets rid of the guys that New York

fell in love with and he was right and they are better and now they're taking on the Pacers and I have this is a message to Reggie Miller. Stay out of the series. Wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. You might not know where the foreigner is playing. DiVincenzo. Mm hmm. You know he's from Ohio. He's from Delaware or somewhere but I know where the foreigner is playing, Di Vincenzo, even though he's from Delaware or somewhere, but I called him the foreigner because I thought he was Italian.

You may not know where he is playing right now, but if you're going to call out Reggie Miller, look at a camera and do it from the old sparks of, look, last week, can you get me the sound? Stugatz wasn't here, but we've created a couple of new call letters here to celebrate New York. He celebrated this with us last year when we did this, when we did WFAT.

WFAT! And now Boston is gone. We haven't enjoyed that nearly enough today. Boston is gone, but last week we created this, these call letters. WDEI!E-I. I like that. Tony, your speed is still off on that. I have to wait for the actual thing to happen.

Let's try it again. Let's do W-D-E-I again to celebrate Boston Radio real quick. W-D-E-I. But if you're gonna talk to Reggie Miller, look at that camera and give him a- Was that from Batman and Robin? It sounds like it, right? It sounds, it's public domain. Whap! Yes them that from Batman and Robin. It sounds like it sounds it's it's it's public domain

It's not the highest end of entertainment Our focus was on the accent, maybe we could have focused more an image. I'm pretty entertained. Well, that's the standard Mm-hmm. I mean, I think whoever made that sounder is probably really smart and handsome. Just hold on a second. Just, just, just. Major penalty, five minutes, screwing comedy. Uh, Whittingham, the, the Knicks are lovable. They are.

Four guys on the ice now. It hurts. It hurts me. It hurts me to say it, but I have... You like them, huh? I mean, it's hard not to, right? I like them. They've got the smallest player on the court. And man, it... But he's got the biggest balls.

Thank you. I don't know, Halliburton's got some big balls too. Okay, a ball off. Huge balls off. Okay, we're gonna do a huge balls too. Okay a ball off? Huge balls off. Okay we're gonna do a huge balls off. Jaylen Brunson's the smallest player on the court and New York gets to feel like an underdog and it's just it's all crazy it's all upside down. New York never gets to feel like an underdog and as I was saying last week nothing

matters in that city like this sport like not that when you say MSG and playing in the heart of the city, not even the Rangers do what the Knicks do. Everyone says that, I still have a hard time, like it's bigger than the Yankees? No, Zazz, it is this simple. In New York, with every other sport, you have a choice, with baseball, Yankees, Mets.

With hockey, Islanders, Rangers. With football, you have the J Islanders Rangers with football. You have the Jets and the Giants. We have one basketball team. What that's it. It's the only have the Nets. They have the Nets that team played in New Jersey and no one cares about the

Brooklyn Nets. Nobody. Woody lives in New York. He's a Knicks fan. He'll tell you nobody cares about the Nets. Nobody knows. So this is the one team we all get behind. That's it. And there is that level of caring and that level of like, we've suffered for this. We have gone through 25 years of having awful, awful basketball teams,

awful executives, awful players. And I was on a flight during game six. Every single person to a man had on the JetBlue screens the Knicks game on. And there was applause when big threes were made. There was an applause when the clocks hit triple zero. This is a fan base. That happens on all flights. I've been on flights coming back to Florida

where there's key games on. I guarantee you, I guarantee you, if there was a JetBlue flight from wherever to Fort Lauderdale last night, there were not people that were watching the Panthers game and applauding when goals went in. That's insane, I've been on flights watching Panthers games with other people.

No, I'm not having that. I'm not having that I'm not having that You're pining about your New York Knicks. What are you? You're not having that This is a vomit the words coming out of your mouth We my New York Knicks us get out of here New York Knicks talking about I Was on the flight I was on the flight I was there with fans. I was there in New York City on a day after The Knicks won a big playoff game and you feel it's something completely different It's all anyone talks about in my work office on the trains

The New York Knicks are completely dominating this city and there's a real feeling they can go on and win this thing Isn't it? And I think that is the biggest feeling change. They cannot beat OKC. Are you out of your mind? Are you out of your mind? Can OKC beat Minnesota? OK, but Dan, would you have said before the series, the Knicks are plus 500 underdogs going

into the series against Boston and pretty soundly dominated them before Tatum got injured. They were about to go 3-1 up before Tatum got injured. They didn't dominate, they were down for like 90% of the minutes. That's not dominating at all. At all. Down 20 in game one and two. It's opposite of dominating.

They were 3-1, they were about to go 3-1 up. Boston was up 20 points in two of the game. But they lost the game. That's not dominating. That's not dominating? Well, the second half they dominated. You're 3-1 in this series, you're feeling good. Scoreboard Whitty, she's changed.

Whitty. He's right. All right, Whitty, get out of here. Boston's gone, you're still players. Is anybody else worried for New York? The fact that there are two bigger celebrations that they could have than what they did when they won that last series.

That the fleet's- I mean, not two, eight. The fleet- They still have, in theory, eight more games to win. The fact that the streets were flooded like that the one guy Sitting up on that screen. Is that guy? Okay? Did you see that guy? All right? I need I need witty to get out of here now Okay, he is get out of here witty. He has been he has been insufferable Zaslow you didn't go after him strongly enough. He's offensive. He's offensive, yes.

Zaslow is disgusted. Zaslow, you came up with Whittingham. You're a South Floridian at your core. Look at Whittingham. Look at smug Whittingham. I don't even want to look at him. It's a vomit. Yeah, I mean, he's offensive.

How could you not feel good for these guys, man? They don't care. Like, how do I not feel good about them? Because they're the team that tormented me throughout my teenage years. Why do I have to feel good about the New York're the team that tormented me throughout my teenage years Why do I have to feel good about the new? Actually is that is the difference between Zazzle and I he's that tiny bit older than me where I actually kind of as a heat fan

Felt a bit of pity for them because I never experienced like I was seven when the Allen Houston shot went in So I actually for the most part I have no antipathy towards the Knicks because they've never done anything to me I was 18 and one was of the worst nights of my life. And I'm supposed to sit here and hear you talk about we, us, what we're gonna do when you grew up here and you were a Heat fan. Get out of here! You make me sick!

You have no sense of history, none. You have no sense of history, you have no sense of grace, you have no sense of decorum or decency. You're a foul, foul fraud. That's a bit strong. What do you think? I gave an hour and five minutes for being over this morning. Thank you for being on with us Good talking to you nice seeing you Reggie Miller Stu gots. Here's your chance. All right, stay out of the series. Hold on a second I'm gonna set you up. Hold on a second a second all right I was going I know hold on I don't want to set the

platform for you the Knicks before Jalen Brunson eight playoff wins in 20 years the Knicks with Jalen Brunson 21 playoff wins in three years what is happening now is escalating your parents and grandparents to remember when the Pacers and the Knicks played once upon a time and it was tremendous. Larry Johnson's shot still echoes across 25 years of failure because there hasn't been shit since then. And so Larry Johnson made a four-point play one time against Indiana and Reggie Miller got all his fame off the Knicks, all of it. So this is what Reggie Miller said after calling last year's Knicks Pacers series

The longtime Pacer will call every game of this year's series for TNT. It's a terrible job Seriously, that is a bad job I don't care. Why? Take them off of it. I mean, I mean Stu to be honest though. He's been very pro Knicks It's almost like a little crush on the Knicks as he's been calling these games So there may be a little bit of like a quote. This is why I can't stand the Knicks. They're front runners. They think they're God's gift to basketball and both. That's Reggie Miller who will be broadcasting the game.

Yeah. Stay out of my series. I mean, I'm serious. You had your moment. You had your nine seconds. You had your hall of fame moment. That's why you're in the hall of fame because of those moments, those final seconds against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. You are a decent player. You are not a great player. You're not a Hall of Fame player. You were in the series when you were playing. But as a broadcaster, do me a favor. Do not insert yourself into this

series. Like you're some sort of factor into this. You are not. Call the game. Do it objectively. I don't want to hear about Reggie Miller and what he did when he was playing for the Pacers back in the 90s. I don't want to see the three threes shown by TNT every 15 seconds. You will see that. I need Reggie Miller and Rick Smith for that matter to stay away from this Knicks Pacers series, okay? It is not about Reggie. It's not about the 90 okay? It is not about Reggie, it's

not about the 90s, it's not about those teams. It is about this Knicks team against this Pacer team. And by the way, Reggie Miller, please, because what you're doing is stealing Halliburton's thunder. When you keep inserting it, Halliburton is a better player than Reggie Miller will ever be. Come on. Whoa. He is. Wait, what? He's a better player. Reggie Miller was a good player. He was not a great player. He's a Hall of Famer. Because of those nine seconds. He had a Hall of Fame moment, Dan. I mean, he is in the Hall of Nine Seconds. That's what he is.

Put it on the poll. Should Reggie Miller be in the Hall of Nine Seconds? Yes. So should you. I think... Thank you. ...Pettino as well. I think that I have sound here. I think my wife would put me in it. I'm dying. It's like three times for me.

Good one. Like a rabbit? He has his seg. Boutback is great though. Like a little rabbit. And I'm sorry, I'm still trying to get the sting out of my eyes after a thrusting Chris threw himself in the middle of the conversation. Well, it wasn't my fault.

I wasn't expecting it and it disoriented me because it was pink and ent Turns out I was really good at ignoring it. Like how am I spending this much on delivery or uber or that one shoe store that I buy too many shoes from. Then I started using Monarch Money and dude it's a financial wake up call. Monarch's not just some budgeting app. it's basically your money command center, puts everything, accounts, credit cards, investments, into one place so you're not guessing anymore. And listen, I found stuff I didn't even know I was paying for since I started using Monarch. I'm tracking my spending, actually saving, and yeah even having money check-ins with my wife and we're looking at each other and we're like, yeah okay we're all good. It makes the hard stuff way easier and over a million households

use Monarch. It was named the best budgeting app of 2025 by the Wall Street Journal. So it's not just me hyping up. It's legit. It's real, real deal Holyfield and get control of all of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code Dan at MonarchMoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at MonarchMoney.com with code Dan. Guys, I wanna talk to you about something that I don't think we think about enough on a daily basis, and that's comfort, specifically when it comes to underwear. Because let's be real, when it's not right,

you're gonna feel it all day. And that's why I wanna tell all of you about Tommy John, because the first time I put on a pair, I knew my underwear drawer would just simply never be the same. Tommy John just recently sent some of their product to those of us in the shipping container. And this is my first time wearing Tommy John underwear.

I was really blown away by the comfort, by the stretch that was available within the design, by the texture. There's a genuine comfort. And I can tell that they put in effort to make sure, specifically in our case with men, that we would feel comfortable. Honestly, Tommy John's changed the game for me. I know it's gonna be a good day now when I walk out the door and I've got Tommy John on. No distractions, no adjusting, just all-day confidence. If you haven't tried Tommy John yet, I personally think you're missing out.

These are the MVP of your underwear drawer with up to four times more stretch than other brands, something I definitely appreciate. Double down on comfort with Tommy John and get 25% off your first order right now at TommyJohn.com slash Dan with promo code Dan. Save 25% at TommyJohn.com slash Dan. This is it, the day you finally ask for that big promotion. You're in front of your mirror with your Starbucks coffee. Be confident. Assertive. Remember eye contact. But also, remember to blink. Smile. But not too much, that's weird.

What if you aren't any good at your job? What if they demote you instead? Okay, don't be silly. You're smart, you're driven, you're gonna be late if you keep't any good at your job? What if they demote you instead? Okay, don't be silly. You're smart, you're driven, you're gonna be late if you keep talking to the mirror. This promotion is yours. Go get them. Starbucks, it's never just coffee. Don LeBretard.

Our Panther group chat, we're confident against the lightning. This is a different team. You're a Panther group chat though. No, I think, no, but dude, you're so wrong on that. We've been terrified of this team forever, I think there's no dude. You're you're so wrong on that We've been terrified of this team forever And I think there's a different energy where the Panthers they want the lightning still gods I want t-shirts made for this Panther run what could be this Panther run our Panther group chat

We're not afraid of the lightning. That's a tagline for R3 this is the done libertatar show with the StuGats Reggie Miller is a Hall of Famer, but Zazzle do you know the story of the spot that Boog put me in with? Reggie Miller. I already told you, I remember everything from 790. Great memory. Oh, so what I remember is Boog squeezing my knee, squeezing my knee before asking Reggie Miller after I had said for months that he didn't deserve to be a Hall of Famer.

In front of Reggie Miller, he asked me whether I thought Reggie Miller was a Hall of Famer. We'd done like two months worth of shows on it. This was outside Versace maybe? It was outside the Versace maybe. It was outside the Versace maybe. It was outside the pregame show, yeah. We were there early, Eli was there. Eli showed up too early, Matt Liner drank too much

and was in the hot tub. Too early as well. When was he? Boog wrote down on a piece of paper as Reggie was approaching the table, watch what I do to Dan. Yeah. Oh Roy, you don't remember?

Yeah, no, it was, and he squeezed my knee. And Boogs got, people don't understand this, like one of the things about Kawhi Leonard that's so amazing is his hands are stronger than anybody else's in the NBA. Boogs hands? Yeah. Mits.

It's not surprising. But it's catcher's mitts, and if he squeezes your knee, your knee's gonna be much smaller than his hand, okay? Because it's like being squeezed by a frying pan, like just very hard. And so he squeezes my knee as he does this to me as Reggie Miller's got, I'm sitting down, and Reggie Miller's got his hand on my shoulder. And this is what happened. Are you a Hall of Famer? No, there's too many other guys that are more deserving than I. Levitar, do you think he's going in? No, I think you are.ard, you think he's going in? No.

I think you are. Yeah, you're going in. Yeah. Classic Stu Gatz. I think you are. So not only did Boog put you in that spot, but he came over the top, off the top rope with I believe you won. And then Stu Gatz always helpful.

Of course. Just alone with a syllable. Levitard, you think he's going in? No. You gotta lie there, just lie to him after months of being on the radio. It's funny I'm afraid to say it now First ballot. Yeah, that would be who I am That's who you know me to be No, I'm so meek

know me to be. No. He's so meek. Because my friend knew that's how I was gonna answer. And his hand was on your knee. And he was squeezing my knee. It was a death grip. But you've got Minnesota Stugats playing OKC and generally speaking when a team wins 68 games and has that point differential they are not going to be beaten by anybody. Basketball people who are watching are saying if they're top five offense, top five defense, they're gonna beat you any one of the ways, no one else can do that. And they just did to Jokic what no one can do to Jokic and if he's not quitting at the end you understand how the wheels are just falling off of whatever that was in Denver for three years that has been what Boston has been competing with for three years and the pieces start falling apart

Stugatsk is look at what when you talk about the cost of some of this stuff Kevin Durant and his Achilles when three or four years of this competitive a basketball Aaron Gordon is saying today or yesterday I would really really appreciate it if there were a couple of days in between games in the playoffs instead of every other day the product of the game would be a lot better you'll see a higher level of basketball probably less blowouts. Aaron Gordon could he's important to them and he's playing injured and the bodies aren't going to hold up after three or four years of this and you can rip your kids but good

God that defense to God's like it's young and hungry and has had the heartbreak of last year because that team really wanted it last year wasn't ready it was beaten by a minnesota team that is immature and doesn't win as a favorite like does not win as a favorite okc is the favor now they want sixty eight games there a lot better than everyone else if they don't have injuries that team should skate to the title but random threes young team brunson you can talk yourself into some fun maybes because it's less predictable than it's been

and it's why the NBA is back. Because this has been really predictable for a long time and it should be fun to see the transition of power. Almost, Boston getting knocked out. I know it's not great because you like the history of Boston and Boston's a big market but opening it up. Yeah, but you get the knick. Yeah, but opening it up to New York just this is how you scrub.

We've been talking about just Steph and LeBron for 15 years, do God's like we need some new stories. And if you look across all those storylines and all those narratives with the four teams remaining, you've got Shea who's most likely more than not going to be the MVP, you've got Anthony Edwards on the other side, Julius Randall who's having an incredible season, you look at the East, Jalen Brunson, the Knicks, you look at Halliburton and the Pacers. Like these are teams that you can set up for the next five, seven years if they all stay together, where it's like, oh wow, we don't know who's going to be here. And we just have a replication of what happened in the early 2000s and early teens. The Knicks and the Timberwolves would be fun, right? Those are two teams who went team into

the playoffs last year and still said, hey, our teams are not good enough and they improved their rosters and they traded with each other. And so that would be a fun little series to watch. Now you know where Dante DiVincenzo is. Yeah, thank you. I think we kind of glossed over, you know, the point which Tony made there is, you know, these could be teams for next five to seven years. No, like that's not the way the league works anymore. No, it's seven different champs in seven years. It's the first time that's ever

happened ever. A reigning champion hasn't made it past the second round since 2019. That's crazy. But that's the sport has changed. The threes has changed everything and it's either gonna ruin the sport or bring it back because the games are gonna be what matter and Aaron Gordon's not wrong when he says, man, you saw how good that basketball was in the bubble right if we're rested if it's not us like I guys that listen pal the human body's limits make it so the best athletes in the world can't play all of the minutes in a basketball game they need rest the jumping and running and hitting your hands on the rim and

landing create joint stuff with the flights, their giant bodies, the luxury hotels are sometimes great and often they're too big to sleep comfortably because they're 7'7 and it's not a normal thing to be in the world. Like, what? I understand we make fun of the load management, but Aaron Gordon is simply telling you, in the bubble, we hated it, couldn't't go anywhere but you saw how good the basketball was because the best athletes in the world weren't broken from trying

to get to the next game the next night in the next city but I also saw something that wasn't the NBA I saw guys playing in front of no fans like I don't care about the quality of basketball part of the NBA part of climbing that mountain is going on the road and beating a team on the road in a big game Seven in front of their fans on more so part of the NBA is look at the four teams remaining now, Minnesota, Indiana, New York Oklahoma City They're healthy like this is part of the NBA you avoid it. There's a little bit of luck involved there You avoid the injury you're healthy you move on

funny invoking the name of Aaron Gordon who we got a report from Shams had a grade two hamstring strain who was gonna be out several weeks and if not more and then you see him in the starting lineup the Next day and you're like how is this happening? Grab the 11 boards in the first like 10 minutes of the game So like he's a guy that's showing you I we play too much I say we play too much but look at me go do it and actually talk the talk and walk the walk Yes but at what cost because Durant hasn't been the same since tearing its Achilles because there is a

short-sightedness in having to get out there because the stakes get ratcheted up to such a place that Julius Randall might not get this shot the rest of his life. There are no promises here The league is changing all of the time shot the rest of his life. There are no promises here. The league is changing all of the time. Julius Randall, if he wants to be all the things that he's dreamt about being, here's a chance. Here's the chance as the underdog. And you only have to ride number two. You don't even have to be the best number two there's been, Giannis. You could just be number two to Anthony Edwards. And if you knock off that team, which I do not believe they can,

I believe they will get smothered and they will shoot tons and tons of threes. You like their size, Tony? I like their size, Dan. I like that Minnesota's been the biggest problem for OKC this season. And it's like, if you start looking at some of the matchups, there's something there.

Do we owe Rudy Gobert a little bit of an apology? No. Or rather, Minnesota an apology for criticizing that move the way that we did. We mocked them. Because look, they give up a ton of picks, it might ultimately end up leading to nothing, and having all of those picks maybe could have been useful

in the long run with Anthony Edwards, but in the short term, they have an opportunity here, they're back in their second straight conference finals, they have an anchor of their defense that they're able to build the rest of this around, and he hasn't been played off before. I'll say it, I'm sorry Minnesota. I feel like I wasn't the loudest of the criticizers,

but I'll say it, I'm sorry. You were part of it. Not to Minnesota, to Rudy Gobert. He's right though. It was more the team. We were criticizing that. We can still, Minnesota, to Rudy Gobert. He's right though. It was more the team. We were criticizing that. We can still, you know, Rudy Gobert. This is an interesting one though,

because when Zaslow is saying, we always overlook this one, health is so important, the Timberwolves are 30 and six in the last 36 games that Julius Randall has played. 30 and six, and the Pacers haven't, they've lost five times in two months. That includes the playoffs. The Pacers, so. That's five times in two months that that includes the playoff the pace so So that's pretty good. Yeah, so it's January. They're like 46 and 14

So the Knicks are favored in that series and I understand that they should be that New York is feeling itself, but Because well, they're the three seed they have home court advantage they should be a slight favor of course but the post it the only reason i'm bringing it up is because if we're doing the slate sliding scale of randomness in the three point age and i'm throwing health into the mix because of course minnesota advances to step got hurt i don't know if minnesota should have or would have advanced the stephen jimmy butler were hurt so okay get their healthier Or would have advanced this stuff and Jimmy Butler were hurt. So, okay. Yeah, they're healthier

But I'm saying when Julius Randall is healthy Minnesota's 30 and 6 and the Pacers have lost five times in two months And some of those games are against Cleveland in the postseason like they were going to Cleveland and winning at Cleveland like the Pacers I understand that they only had 50 wins this season But they all came when they were healthy toward the end and so Like whatever the Knicks are favored by, it shouldn't be very much. And a feel-good story will collapse in a heap if it becomes the Pacers. Like, when Stugats is saying, good luck with that Pacers on the refereeing in these games.

Like, you thought Halliburton's dad was bad last round. Wait till the, wait till the Garden gets a load of him, and his son's not getting any calls. That's where the ratings thing is interesting, right? bad last round. Wait till the, wait till the garden gets a load of him and his son's not getting any calls. That's where the ratings thing is interesting, right? Because everybody in America pretty much is rooting for the Knicks outside of maybe Boston and down here. Everyone's rooting for the Knicks.

The Pacers, if they're able to pull off an upset, become such an unbelievable villain going into the NBA finals, particularly if you get the Oklahoma City matchup, where it's the young team that's supposed to get the title that's supposed to be there, and it would be Indiana messing all of that up, this team with Tyrese Halliburton, that would be a really cool villain story for them.

Right, but a story that no one watches. There's no other villain, right? Just basketball nerds. There's no other villain, right? No, I love the Halliburton story. You're a bird. Anthony Edwards could be a villain, maybe, especially if they play the Knicks.

He has that type of aura going into the garden. Hold on, guys, guys, guys. 25 years of Knicks basketball has been dreadful, where it's only Larry Johnson a million years ago and Jeremy Lin and nothing else. We had a month of Stoudemire. Okay, there's nothing else for a quarter century, but what do I drop in the middle of that

and it didn't have these stakes that felt pretty damn good? Oh, there's Trey Young for a minute. Going into Madison Square Garden not afraid. Halliburton going into New York unafraid with Reggie Miller calling the games. I know New York is feeling itself. Reggie Miller is not going into Madison Square. Halliburton is. Reggie is not.

He is. He's going to be quite a sight. He's watching the game like me and you. But he's also calling the game. Good for him. Do you think they'll show Reggie in the opening montage walking into the arena? 100%. It's not going to be just like you and me.

He's calling the game. In the big moments, his voice. I call the game at home. You should do a simulcast opposite Reggie Miller by yourself calling the game at home. More work. I've got the Heat working on something. Sources deep within the Heat organization

have told me that they have found your audition tape for their post-game, pre-game show. Oh, it's the worst thing ever. I mean, I don't care. You can play it. It's probably, and I've had many embarrassing moments in my life, this is probably the most embarrassed I've ever been.

I mean, I gotta tell you, studio host, hard job. Very hard job, difficult. But you just said you could do it as well as Reggie Miller. Well, I could do play-by-play. I do it in my house. That's color, that's color, that's different. I mean, you've heard me do play-by-play before, Dan. I told you, Glenn Geffner said,

if you spend a little time just working on the craft, you would be an all-time great. Zaslow also auditioned for that, didn't you? I auditioned for that role also, the studio host for pre-half time post, yep. How'd you do? That's the job that went to Will Manson? That's it, Will Manson.

His name should be Will Handsome. Will Handso? Will Handso is even better. That's a good television name. I wanted that job. Will Handso. Will Handso. So were you any good though?

I had no experience, so for someone with no experience, I thought I was pretty good, but I didn't get it. I was terrible, and I knew I was terrible. While I was in it, I was sweating. Oh, well, but I think you went in there with the same bravado you go into all situations. No prep, yeah. Well, yes.

I love the visual that they've created, though, of like an audition room where you walk in, it's like Zazzle's over there, Will Mansa's over here. It was, yeah. Who else was in that room? Like, come on, throw other names at me Mansa's over here. It was, yeah. Who else was in that room? Like, come on, throw other names at me. It was me, Zazzle, I think Sedano was in that room, wasn't it?

No, no, no. No, Sedano, the gig opened up because Sedano left. Oh, okay. Too big time. Yeah, he was good at it. For sure, Whitty probably at that time tried out for it too. Let's listen, just so that you know,

I've, again, I'm not a doctor, Zazzle is, but. I am a doctor. I have, I have diagnosed Stug Zaslow is but I am a doctor I have I have diagnosed Stugatz with Dunning-Kruger, which is the sort of inane inexplicable belief that you can do anything and be better at anything than you actually are capable of being Thank you, and Greg Cody is also afflicted with this But this is Stugatz after saying on the air he could be a play-by-play man for Major League Baseball this is Stu gots his first

foray at a Marlins game so this is a pretty big at bat Stu is that include the shot he took in the face when he was standing on base Stu you gotta stop talking when there's a hit Logan Morrison with a big base hit up the right side and Martinez slides into first first and third no out here in the bottom of the third inning. Nailed it. Slides into first? Thank you. I mean I got that wrong. The rare hit down the right field line where you have to slide into first. Right. Once I get into it though I'm pretty good. I mean you can hear it. You can hear the potential. I can hear the gin and tonic. Again, this is radio so there are no visuals. I want you to imagine that you are betting heavily on the Marlins in this game and you're trying to figure out what just happened because this

guy is making jokes still 10 seconds after the crack of the bat which everyone knows is blasphemy to talk through. So this is a pretty big at bat Stu. Does that include the shot he took in the face when he was standing on base? Stu you gotta stop talking when there's a hit. Logan Morrison with a big base hit up the right side and Martinez slides into first and third no out here in the bottom of the third inning. So pretty good.

There's a third inning. Wait a minute. Is he going back? Logan Morrison was on first and Martinez was sliding back into first, correct? That's what was happening. Very rare play. You know that's on Sampson for asking me a question right before I'm doing the... But wait a minute, was there anyone at third?

Or was it runners on first and third, or were there two runners on first? I think it was the runner on first, and it ended up that it was first and third because Martinez slid into first. Okay, one more time, let me hear this. So this is a pretty big at bat, Stu. Does that include the shot he took in the face

when he was getting the on base? Stu, you gotta stop talking when there's a hit. Logan Morrison with a big base hit up the right side and Martinez slides into first, first and third, no out here in the bottom of the third inning. So I think Martinez was on first, he slid into third, not first. Logan Morrison got the hit and then it was first and third. I think that's what happened too, but what you described. But the picture you painted.

So we're clear., so we're clear. Figure it out. Just so we're clear. It can't be whatever. It's not whatever, thank you. Zaslow, thank you. Paint your own picture. Zaslow, it can't be whatever is exactly right.

It's like the last thing it is, whatever. It is for me. Zaslow. Call the game your way and I'll call mine. And the way that he called it is I'm in my car and I only have the audio experience. So at the end of that, I just want you to know, I've got Logan Morrison at first base standing there.

I've got Martinez sliding back head first into first base, but also Martinez is at third as well. So just, so we're clear. I don't think he ever slided anywhere, into any base. Slid, oh, Jen Scully over here. Osvaldo Martinez is who we're talking about. Jin Scully. Ha ha ha ha ha.

That's a good nickname. So jealous of your confidence. Just your confidence in that clip. It's just, it had to be the Jin though, cause you can hear the first 10 seconds of him trying to like rattle around. It's nude. It's nude.

It's Samson asking me a question, but once I got into the mechanics of calling a baseball game, pretty good. It's the third inning. Tony, it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's gonna end let me get my joke off now Martinez is at both third and first and sliding into one of them so this is a pretty big at bat Stu. Does that include the shot he took in the face when he was standing on base? Stu you gotta stop talking when there's a hit. Logan Morrison with a big base hit up the right side and Martinez slides into first first and third no out here in the bottom of the third inning. We have another clip. I want to talk about something else in basketball today Stugatz as we talk about stories and narratives and how things become popular and how you sit

and watch history as it unfolds. Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have started something that I haven't quite seen since Magic and Bird, and Magic and Bird didn't seem to hate each other. Respect at each other, yes. But what is interesting about what's happening there, you guys give me the other two athletes that have come in at the same time and are sort of elbowing each other for space

at the start of something personality-wise, and you can know they don't like each other and on top of that are doing the race dynamics of the day different than Magic and Bird did them because Magic and Bird they everybody was very lucky that Magic was as graceful as he was during the entirety of that time as the league exploded because Magic's smile and all the things Larry Bird was and is, is why Indiana cares about basketball the way that it does. And it's happening again, except Angel Reese doesn't do it the way Magic Johnson's going to do it, and now there's a sharpened edge on all of it that's even more interesting i think then

then magic and bird palling around in the sneaker commercials now it's like all everyone here's cutthroat and they really don't like each other and there's some and angel reese's carrying with her some of the hay white basketball player uh... black basketball players built this and now you're profiting off it which is the same thing that was happening with with magic and bird yes

like that the basketball became an american story basketball became america's sport at least in part because of how all of it was intertwined race in history in sports and hip-hop and style in culture all of it because because uh... culturally white people race and history and sports and hip hop and style and culture, all of it, because culturally, white people don't tend to dominate the sport loved by black people the way that Americans dominate the sport that's loved by Canadians.

Or Florida dominates the sport that's loved by Canadians. But you have something happening right now in the WNBA that is exactly the kind of sparks you need It's fever actually not the spark right. It's a far. Oh wow WNBA joke It was a good one Do you guys have any other comments Like could it also just be competitive two competitive basketball players had a competitive moment on the court,

like and we're just like, and we're taking it and we're running with it? With a history, right? Like they've played against each other in huge moments over and over and over again. They're being pushed as this thing together as rookies. I don't know that this is like a race war. I just think these are two competitors.

You know what I mean? One of the important things with Magic and with Bird is Bird went to the Celtics, Magic went to the Lakers, they were marquee franchises. I'm not even certain the sky are any good. Jeremy here's the thing though fair enough all of it but you don't get to decide what the race war is. Well don't they? Well no everything that happens around them is what decides it. Okay so you do. No not me either not me every everything that happens. I think you think it's you I mean. I think it's me. Everything that happens. I think you think it's you, I mean.

I think it's me. Yes. I think I get to decide whether to race war. If for about 20 years or so. If anyone can declare race war around here, I trust you. We're more qualified. You can do it for about 20 years. Yeah, that's your whole thing. I mean, we're agreeing with you. It shouldn't be Jeremy. I mean, you are the most qualified.

I don't think so. I'm a race war expert.