The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 1: The Villanova Knicks

Episode Date: June 26, 2024

David Samson might sound sick, but he's just sick of wasting time and wants to get right to it as he joins the show to discuss the Florida Panthers and their ability to capitalize on this moment, Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s lack of trade, the Marlins and a new deal with Bally Sports, taking money from the enemy, affairs, and the Mandela Effect. Plus, Sam Morrill is here to share his thoughts on the HUGE trade for the New York Knicks as they acquired Mikal Bridgers to complete their Villanova superteam in exchange for a massive haul of picks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. The Bike Riders follows Benny, played by Austin Butler, the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club The Vandals, led by the enigmatic Johnny, played by Tom Hardy. Critics are calling it electrifying, stunning, exhilarating, powerful, and the godfather of biker movies. Experience The Bike Riders on the big screen this summer, now playing only in theaters. Visit BikeRidersMovie.com to get tickets now. This is the Dan LeBatt show with the Stugats podcast. Stugats just said to me as we got David Sampson lined up here, man, Sampson sounds terrible.

He said, you sound sick. You were sick during the most recent episode of the sporting class i urge everyone here to listen to that uh... david samson john skipper and pablo torre do a very good job with that it is by consensus the most universally applauded thing that we have around here that doesn't get a whole lot of criticism and he also does nothing personal every day

he starts at 8 a.m. every day doing it but are you sick? I am but I was supposed to be in st. Louis last night doing a live show and I could not make it on the plane so it was postponed to July 22nd I have never not posted like that which Dan should give you an idea of how bad it is. Yeah, you don't miss stuff. Duty and responsibility are things that you take very seriously. So what is happening with you? Because you're working very hard doing the Daily Show every day is a is quite a lift. What's going on with you? I'm not sure. I think it doesn't matter. Let's talk. There's so many great

things to talk about right now that I don't wanna talk about it. There are many people in way worse shape than I am. I'm doing just fine, Dan. Thank you very much, though. Okay, well, he says you sound terrible, and so I just wanted to at least pretend to show something in the way of concern.

We'll move on to topics of the day. Yeah, he doesn't want it. He doesn't want it, so I'm taking it back. And now I'm claiming that I'm- You're no longer concerned, right? Well, I was pretending to be concerned, and now I'm just claiming to pretend to be concerned. The Panthers win the Stanley Cup,

and I was talking before you came on here about what a unique opportunity this is to build something the way that Tampa has built something so that Florida ends up feeling a little more like Canada. Can you explain to us what you think the opportunity is in front of the Panthers right now because they've got a team that's built to last? Well, there's two types of opportunities.

The first is on ice, and I think that DraftKings has them as the favorite to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. We know how difficult that is to repeat as anything. The real issue for me is how are they going to, off the ice, change the fortunes of the team? And this group with Matt Caldwell and Vinnie Viola, they've done a great job.

It's not like the Your Mark days. They're not giving tickets away. The corporate sponsorship deals are much more on-market and mark-to-market than they used to be. But right now you've got to convert your season ticket holders into bigger packages, meaning full 41 game packages. You need to increase your prices

and you need to get your menu of corporate opportunities increased. And then the hope is that people will continue to buy your product. And then you've got to win on the ice again. And not necessarily a Stanley Cup, but you've got to back this up with deep NHL playoff runs over the next two out of the next three years, three out of the next five years. Then you're talking about a dynasty. The problem is South Florida has never proven to be able to actually support any sort of team long term year after

year, other than the dolphins. And I'm not even sure I could say the dolphins given they've been so bad for so long. You could, the last 20 years, they've got more sellouts than anybody. What are you shaking your head? No, no, I actually would remember a time in between Shaq and LeBron Did they not and I'm not making this up. I don't believe I believe they closed the upper deck 400 level 400 level had a curtain

Covering it. Yeah over the over the last 15 years They've done nothing but sell out every game over the last 15 Yeah, since since LeBron was here, that curtain has gone away. I haven't seen the 400 level curtain go up. Even in the in-between years where it was no LeBron and no Jimmy Butler. But David's saying when they're bad, no one shows up, essentially.

I'm saying that what makes a sports city one of the best is that by hook or by crook, you are gonna have lengthy 30-year windows where your revenue continues to increase, where the value of your team continues to go up and fans are so engaged with your team that it doesn't matter if you have a moment. And the Panthers have not proven that nor of the Marlins, nor of the Heat,

nor have the Dolphins really, I could say that. And that's, I'm not in any way impugning Miami as a sports city. Man, we're so successful. We have so many championships in our group of four professional teams. Forgetting Inter-Miami trying to become one of the top four and maybe already is, although Inter, Fort Lauderdale, whatever you call them.

So Miami's fantastic, but I'm talking about in terms of actually the support. The problem with Florida is the corporate support on this side of the state is just not what it is elsewhere. David, how real, I guess, in your opinion, or with your expertise is a sellout streak like that? Because like I've never found it hard to get heat tickets if I wanted to get them. It's something that's really good PR.

If you can say you have a sellout streak and then you just choose a day where you're going to stop it. They did that at Fenway park and you can say you have a sellout streak, and then you just choose a day where you're gonna stop it. They did that at Fenway Park, and you can look, and even when there's sellouts, there are pockets of seats at upper levels that are not used, but you can buy those tickets during the course of the game yourself, which is what I used to do,

but not to make it a sellout. I just would do it to increase the announced attendance. But it's supposed to make you feel good about being in a cool place, and what Florida has done a great job, the Panthers, it's cool to make you feel good about being in a cool place. And what Florida has done a great job. The Panthers. It's cool to be in sunrise. You guys tried to make it uncool by showing nobody around, but that's your shtick.

Like Greg's parade in front of nobody. That's your shtick. But as a team executive, you want it to be cool to be a part of the Panthers world. And that's what you're going to see next year. Hopefully, David, there are actually rumors already that they want to move to Fort Laudthers world. And that's what you're going to see next year, hopefully. David, there are actually rumors already that they want to move to Fort Lauderdale. Should they?

They're not going anywhere for at least 20 years. No, they've got a long-term lease. Where are these rumors coming from? I saw on the local news the other day that they were looking at arenas. They're looking at places and plots of land in Fort Lauderdale, because they don't like being out in sunrise. And I gotta be honest with you,

that's an insult to the great people of sunrise who have supported that hockey team and the surrounding area. Davy, Plantation, up at Parkland Coral Springs, Everett. They're not going anywhere. What's he doing? Billy, what is he doing?

You'll see what's happening. You created a lie and now you're offended on behalf of people for this lie that you created that doesn't actually exist They're looking at Fort Lauderdale of Los Olas look it up Did you look to see where the parade route was and you're like, oh they're gonna do the parade Look it up. All right. Look it up is the move that he gives you when he doesn't want to look something up I don't have to look it up. I saw it

Team is not moving to Fort Lauderdale. We'll see. That is a conversation for like 20 years from now. Save it though. We'll pick it up then. Samson, Vlad Guerrero and not being traded to the Yankees. What is happening with that story? Vlad Guerrero, son of Vlad Senior, you know, he is in Toronto and he is a bit of an icon there. That family name means something in baseball there. What is happening with him and the Yankees? We get to talk baseball.

It's time right now. You guys should do like a baseball segment and podcast. It is Vlad Guerrero plays for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are a very disappointing team. And he went on the record saying, I will never play for the Yankees. And Blue Jays are a very disappointing team. And he went on the record saying, I will never play for the Yankees. And he said, it's a family

issue. The Yankees are dead to me. And then yesterday he said, well, you know, if they want to trade for me, I spoke to my dad and I guess his dad, our former player, Vladimir Guerrero, former expo. Yeah, I guess I would play for the Yankees.

It's absolutely ridiculous. He's got one year left next year before he's a free agent. The Blue Jays ought to be selling, but I don't think they will because their owner is a conglomerate called Rogers and they don't need to cut payroll. They don't need to retool during the course of the season that way, but the Yankees do need a first baseman

because Rizzo's hurt and stinks and they've got Rice who's new but not good enough. So Guerrero would help the Yankees and it's very nice that he would say I'd like to play or I would accept playing for them. But of course players don't have a choice short of a no trade clause which arbitration players do not have if they trade them to the Yankees. He's a Yankee. Can you explain to me what the business reasoning is between the Marlins offering to pay for the fans streaming bill for a couple of

months? Did you see this Billy? Are you doing this? Are you going to get the Bally's app for night that you get to sign up because you live in Florida, the Marlins will pay for you to stream their games in the market. So I before the season, coming off of a playoff appearance and high, paid for the season pass. So I already have it.

Interesting, are you despondent now that you're not getting the 38 or $40 from the Marlins? Does it bother you that other people are getting it free and you're not? Well, it wasn't until now. Should it? What should I do? Do I sue someone?

No, what you should do is cancel your streaming app right now. Well, I paid an advance. And then re-sign up through the Marlins and you can get the rest of the season free. But I paid in advance for the entire season because it was discounted. It was like 15% off.

I don't think I could get a refund. You can get a refund or you can get accredited to next season. He loves a refund. Okay, hold on a second. Maybe we can just, you know. So the backstory here, Dan, is that the Marlins. I believe, hold on a minute,

I believe we have found the one place anywhere in conversation where you will get nothing in the way of dispute from anybody. Everyone, by consensus, loves a refund. There are no people out there. At a price, though. Like, it depends on the hoops they make you jump through for the refund.

Well, what are they doing? What are the Marlins doing here? So the background is this. There's a dispute. If you have Comcast in South Florida, you know you haven't seen the Marlins games because Bally's, which is your bankrupt network showing Marlins games, is not on Comcast anymore. And that's because Comcast wants

you to pay extra to put Bally's on a higher tier, not like a basic cable tier. And Bally's is saying, no chance, we want to be on the regular tier. So Comcast said, fine, we're not going to show your network at all. So the Marlins are saying, wait a minute, no one's watching our crappy team. No one ever watched, even when we were good. It's just not great ratings, not great number of households watching games. It is what it is. And so the Marlin said, we've got a PR idea. We'll pay for people to watch games in market two months worth.

And if you don't cancel, like the old Columbia House records where you have to cancel, where they keep sending you one of those balloons. What a great old reference. You are simply incapable of references that are modern day references. The clearing house balloons are not from this century. The Columbia discs where they would keep sending them to you

if you didn't cancel, that's what Bally's is. And if you sign up to get the two free months and you forget to cancel, they'll just keep charging you and then you've got the ability to stream. And the thought is that people will take advantage of this opportunity to get the two free months. Bally's doesn't care because it's the Marlins paying for it. The Marlins owners get to announce,

hey, look at how nice we are being to our fan base that we are giving this to you, the fan for free, asterisk, you're gonna pay for it later. And it's all in the name of trying to get a bad product being watched by more people I'd of course go the opposite way I want fewer people watching the crap. David you're familiar with the Mandela effect right? The greatest example of the Mandela effect, Mandela effect is basically a large group of people assume like there's an example

of this everyone swears there's a movie in which Sinbad plays a genie. Never happened. The greatest example of this is Ed McMahon and Publishers Clearinghouse. You will have people swear up and down that they got mail with Ed McMahon's face on it for Publishers Clearinghouse and it never happened. Mandela effect. Ed McMahon was never associated with Publishers Clearinghouse and I believe that to be alive because he absolutely was. I got those letters in the mail so then what's the Mandela

effect because I got those too yeah I thought Ed McMahon was associated with that put it on the pole juju look it up what's the Mandela effect that you're accusing put it on the pole juju at LeBattard show is there a movie sin mad played a genie in that first package of free records though? David, what a day. I mean, seriously, And then all of a sudden you forgot to cancel and it's before your parents credit card or whatever credit card you were using and you get the charge and then you have to be on

hold for like 20 minutes trying to cancel. And I learned how to be the president of a team from Columbia Publishing, where we made it so hard for people to get refunds. We wanted to keep their money and use it for future tickets. All of that goes back to Columbia. I had a situation where I had ESPN Plus where I was subscribed and then I got a cable. I do like Hulu with live sports,

so it comes like in my package, right? And then I couldn't cancel my other subscription because it makes you go on and sign in, not with like the original email, the original device you used. So I'm going through all of my devices, trying to figure out which device did I sign up with this on.

I couldn't figure it out. And eventually I think I just canceled my card or something because I'm like, I cannot keep doing this forever, keep paying double subscriptions because I don like, I cannot keep doing this forever, keep paying double subscriptions because I don't remember how I subscribed for this. Howdy folks, it's Mike Ryan. It is hot, it is damp, it is summer and it's a perfect time for grilling outside

over an open flame or charcoal grill or propane. I'm not really sure. I'm not really all that manly. I think you guys can tell. But once a year, I'll bring out that brush and I'll scrub down the grill and I'll make myself a nice meaty feast and you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm doing so with a Miller Lite in my hand because Miller Lite keeps it simple, undebatable quality, tastes as great as your barbecue, it's a beer that strips away everything you

don't need and holds on what matters most the light beer with the most taste less filling and only 96 calories, your perfect companion for grill masters all across America or people like me who grill maybe once a summer, but take a sip of that Miller Lite and realize that no matter what, it's going to be a good day. With Miller Lite in your hand, grilling doesn't just taste great, it tastes like Miller time. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit MillerLite.com slash Dan, where you can find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer. Celebrate responsibly.

Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories per 12 ounces. Don Lebatard. Go pee-pee. Stugats. Go pee-pee. This is the Don Lebatard Show with the Stugats. Mike, how is your search going right now for the questions that you're being asked from every corner of the shipping container? I've got the Mandela effect here. There's several different examples, but Ed McMahon and the publishers clearing house is one of them because apparently all of these people remember Ed McMahon showing up on doorsteps handing oversized checks to people and it never happened it's just an example of something that everyone collectively remembers but didn't actually happen sort of like how

everyone thinks the Monopoly man had a monocle, but he's never had a monocle. Put it on the poll, please, at LeBretard show. Did the Monopoly man ever have a monocle? Yes or no, because I also thought that he had a monocle and I would have sworn I would have sworn Ed McMahon gave out those checks. My recollection is that he's on the mail that comes to you, not that he actually went to the house.

He may have been in a commercial at some point giving people the oversized check. How many of you thought you won publishing clearance house? I'm okay to admit it. I got the letters and I was young enough where I actually thought that I was a winner and it turns out that I wasn't. Can you explain? You just told us, you mentioned ESPN Plus and ESPN is trying to keep up

during the streaming days. That happened to me once with a Taco Bell, Batman Forever promotion, which I got Bruce Wayne twice and I swore I won a Batmobile, but instead I just won a Mountain Dew. Oh, that hurts. Every single time I got Park Place, I thought, man, I'm just one boardwalk away

from winning McDonald's Monopoly, just to find out everyone got Park Place and then finding out in I'm just one boardwalk away from winning McDonald's Monopoly, just to find out everyone got Park Place. And then finding out in a documentary, oh, it was rigged. I'm fairly certain I won that Batmobile, and I got screwed over by an employee that's driving around Westchester with a Batmobile. That documentary was good, I liked that documentary. I like anything, there's a Price is Right documentary too,

on how it is. That guy was robbed, that guy was robbed. Did you see, I don't remember what it was for, but it was another contest documentary where someone was entitled to a fighter jet because he jumped through all the hoops that he needed for the fighter jet. Oh yes, wait a minute, yes.

And they said nope, nevermind. That was Pepsi, wasn't it? Wasn't that a Pepsi promotion? I think it was Pepsi. I reviewed that on Nothing Personal, and it turns out that it wasn't an actual fighter jet, but he spent his life trying to get the actual fighter jet. Well, he got enough.

He got enough Pepsi or whatever it is that he needed to get in order to qualify for something that the people who created the fighter jet promotion never considered as a real thing. You can't give away a fighter jet. They never imagined someone would do it. You can't. You gotta have somewhere in the small print the fighter jet thing is a joke we have the Pepsi fighter jet commercial all right

let's uh let's play for the people the Pepsi fighter jet commercial you tell us whether you believe that somebody should have under these circumstances if they collected enough redeemable things, should have indeed gotten a fighter jet, courtesy of Pepsi. That seems to have some liability issues attached to it. Do we have volume? Okay, we don't have that.

Billy, I would caution you in that seat ever, don't listen to video. It's dangerous to listen to video without knowing that they have their stuff in order. I mean, he has to trust them once in a while. No, I say that we've got enough evidence there that it's a risky proposition. Video, you wanna try again to play the Pepsi video?

Give him a second. I got a question for David in the meantime. David, I don't know if you're following along this billboard saga that we have. Our show is once again embroiled in a billboard saga. I am. Dan wants to put up some billboards. Has he reached out to you for your advice in this stuff?

I am very much, let's stop trying to rile up the city of Edmonton. They care deeply and I understand why they're saying no. Dan, I guess is doing what he should be doing and he's exploring every route. Where do you side on this whole thing? Mike, I'm not worried about anybody there. I heard earlier in the show this morning morning you describing your concern for the safety of

people and you don't want to in any way poke the bear. And I understand why you're doing that. But on the other hand, it is inexcusable to me that the billboard company will not take Dan's money. I wouldn't take Metalworks credit card necessarily, but I would certainly take cash from Dan for sure. And that billboard is not in violation of anything. Community standards and practices, it's like a joke. Community standards and practices are not about

Greg Cody holding a cigar and saying, you know it. I mean, it's absolutely absurd. And I would be embarrassed. It's about upholding the standards of a community and that community cares deeply about- What standards? They don't want to get go look at this Website, I'm sure there's plenty in Edmonton like everywhere else. Give me a break Unity standards is the ultimate like subjective line like they get to decide. What is the community standard as President of a company I'm deciding on revenue and I cannot imagine in a industry that is in the toilet, the billboard industry, the fact that Dan,

you talk about old references, the fact that you want to do billboards makes me laugh, but you should certainly be allowed to do it. David, as president of the Marlins, what was the closest to the line that you accepted money for that? You're like, I don't know about this. Well, we put opposing teams, sponsored logos in the urinals. And if you're an old Marlins fan, a pro player, you may remember that it was urinal pads with National League East teams.

And we got in trouble with Major League Baseball because they thought it was unacceptable that our fans, however many there were, were going pee pee on logos of teams and other team presidents and owners complained to Commissioner Selig and he and Jeffrey called me and said, "'You have to have them removed from every urinal.'" That's a true story.

Who was the sponsor, the Urinal Cake Company or something? It's a great idea. Oh is the sponsor, the Uriel and Cake Company or something? It's a great idea. Oh yeah, we got paid for it. It was a marketing deal. And I thought it was brilliant. You were a Marlins fan. We're going to go to the bathroom all over these NLE teams. But apparently, it did not land as well as I expected it to.

But if the Mets or the Phillies or the Braves, they wanted to do traditional advertising with the Marlins, would you have taken their money? We would go to New York companies all the time and say, why don't we put, let's do a behind the plate deal just for when we're playing the Mets. So we would sell things in counterparts like that.

Absolutely, you have to have a sales department willing to get money from the enemy quote unquote because money's money. What's the difference? Where would your line? So you guys told a story about how when he ran 790 the ticket, he didn't take money from Ashley Madison dot com. Is that something where you could have like the Ashley Madison dot com Bermuda Triangle at Pro Player Stadium? I didn't realize that you were in the chair today. That's the movie I'm reviewing today. Is that why you're asking? It's not. That's the movie I'm reviewing today. Is that why you're asking? It's not.

That's funny, I apologize. I looked at that email that we get with the staffing and I thought Chris was in the chair. Anyway, Dan, do we have time to get to the movie review so I can answer Billy's question at the same time? Well, you've wasted the last 40 seconds asking questions of Billy that could have been just reviewing the movie.

I mean, that's a firm- Ashley Madison, Sex, Lies, and Scandal is a documentary. Ashley Madison is a website where you if you're married, you go and you find people to have sex with who are also married. And it turns out it's for affairs and everybody's having affairs anyway. You might as well have a clearing house where you can find people to do it. And there's no issue until all of their information got hacked. And until it turns out that many of the women on the Ashley Madison website

were bots and not actual women who were interacting with these married men. And the release of personal information led to suicides. Not funny. It led to marriage breakups, whatever. And the entire documentary, three episodes, fascinating if you don't know anything about it. And in terms of sponsorships, the answer is yes. When we were negotiating with the county, we were not allowed to do Ashley Madison strip clubs,

cigarettes, tobacco. And I fought for all of them because why be so limiting? If you go back and look at old tape, there's Big Marlboro doing advertisements everywhere. What do you think? I don't know what cigarettes are if I don't see an ad for it, or I don't know what cheating is

if I don't know that I can go to a place where in theory I can find other cheaters. It's absurd. So the answer is of course I would take money from Ashley Madison. I actually watched this documentary, David. This is the first time we've ever had to watch the same thing.

The Ashley Madison doc, the part that like made me laugh, and maybe it's cause I'm kind of cynical now, was that the main couple they featured was like a YouTube family couple. Like they had made their entire living off documenting how they were such a happy married couple and putting it on YouTube. And then they were at like a VidCon type of deal. And it was dropped that day that he was on the Ashley Madison site. They went really viral because his wife

peed and didn't flush the toilet. And then he stuck a pregnancy test in there. So he told her she was pregnant and they became this internet sensation the whole time he was on Ashley Madison. And they were also people of God. They were good Christian people. If I had a nickel for all the good Christian players who did stuff outside of being Christian, I'd have a lot of nickels. So that was also part of the documentary that this was a God fearing man who, of course, was not just on Ashley Madison. At the end of the documentary, it turns out he was lying about way more than being on Ashley Madison. Just to be clear, for those of you doing the math at home,

he would have $4.25 if he had a nickel for every time somebody did something un-Christian. What did Chris and Yellich do? And also put on the poll, is everyone having affairs already at LeBittard's show? Good talk. I hope not, man. Good talking to you, Samson.

Thank you for being on with us, we appreciate it. See you later. We have declined your request for advertising. Part of our creative approval process includes aligning with community standards and respecting the sensibilities of all stakeholders, including our audience, who in this case are the citizens of Edmonton, as well as our partners. And this messaging does not meet those standards.

I can't believe Mike Ryan. Great job. I wish this town cared that much. This town needs to care that much. We need to meet them there. I can't believe.'m taking Florida collective dollars Samson was taking money from the NL East you side with bill with big billboard It's offensive to me

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Don LeBretard! Some 500 seasons it's been lonely. Now the best player is on our side Been losing, and losing for much too long But now we're back with New York pride Stugats! Jalen You've got us on our feet Jalen We're gonna win the East Jalen Without Randall we're still doing fine We're gonna win the East J-Land Without Randall we're still doing fine

This is the Don LeBathardt Show with the Stugarts WFAT Yes, the return of FAT. We're joined by our senior Knicks correspondent, the Commissioner of Fandom. He's got a new special. it's called You've Changed. It debuts July 9th on Prime Video. And he's with us because the Knicks have gotten McKell Bridges and a 2026 second rounder for Boyan Bogdanovich and unprotected first in 2025,

unprotected first in 2027, unprotected first in 29. Hold on, hold on, Sam dropped. His Zoom frozen, he dropped. It was a really good intro though, yeah Bogdan it's not bogged. Yeah, but it's a soft J. Yeah, yeah, but ganavich so it's pretty good Yeah, we should have just kept going. We just kept going we could keep I would have been like these are difficult names. Let could keep going. Whether Sam, whether Sam may not be. I would have been like, these are difficult names. Let's keep the intro, maybe pause and then go.

An unprotected first round pick in 2031, an unprotected pick swap in 2028, a top four protected 2025 first round pick via the Bucks, and a second round pick in 2025 for a zero time All-Star. Who cares about 28, 29, 2030, the Knicks are going for it right now. Some rice just flew out of my mouth. It doesn't matter, this is all gonna get cut anyway.

This is a dress rehearsal, you know? It's a practice run. It's interesting, they've seen people make this observation, it is like they've built a super team of role players. Lucy has been eating an apple the entire time, so this is not something that would ever air, obviously. I think it's fine.

I'm not chewing into the microphone. Sam, that's a lot of picks. That's a lot of picks to give up for a zero-time All-Star. I mean, the Knicks' last four picks have been RJ Barrett, OB Taupin, Frank Nitlokina, whatever the hell his name is. I don't care what his name is. And Kevin Knox. Who cares about the picks? I mean, seriously.

All right, Sam, your thoughts as the commissioner of fandom and the senior Knicks correspondent here on WFAT. I mean, how could you not be excited to get Mikhail Bridges? I mean, it's the final infinity stone. It's a big deal. I heard what you said about him never being an All-Star. You know who else never was an All-Star until this season? Jalen Brunson.

These guys bring out the best in each other. You can't measure good vibes. We felt that last year was only gonna get better. Gotta bring back OG. Really hope we find a way to still bring back Hardenstein, too. I think he's essential, but if we do, damn, we're deep. We're scary. To get Bridges out of Brooklyn is so nice.

He looked more depressed every time we played each other than a guy in like an ISIS hostage tape. You know, the difference is I think people actually watch ISIS hostage tapes. No one watches the Brooklyn Nets. So, glad he's here in New York City. Glad he's on the right side, in the right borough. Let's go Knicks.

Okay, you say keep all those people, but this is a quote from Woege. The Knicks are still determined to keep OG and free agency sources tell ESPN, but the ability to just resign center, Isaiah Hartenstein becomes more difficult now the Knicks are loading up on wings to match up with the NBA champion Boston Celtics. Yeah. I mean, I think I hear that. And, but you know, Woz also said that Dan Hurley was gonna be the next coach

of the LA Lakers. So Woz doesn't know everything. Let's, let's slow down Woz. Hardenstein, there's good vibes going there. I think like if it's a difference between two mill a year, I think he could stay here. You know, we, we're really good with Ardenstein. I hope it works out.

Stephen A just reported just moments ago here that KD and the Suns are looking to trade KD. He says that the Suns are looking. Usually it would go the other way around, and maybe because Stephen A's got really good relationships in the Kevin Durant camp, but he went to first take and he said the Suns want to trade Kevin Durant right now. And there is, we're on the precipice of some big moves.

There's a lot of stuff going on, Dan. A lot of moves before the moves. Jeremy has been hard at work. We got something for you later, Dan. Mike, you want them? Stephen A. Smith also said that none of, no Villanova players in that draft would have a good NBA career.

And now the Knicks have four solid NBA players from Villanova I don't care what Stephen a says and and maybe he does have good relationships throughout the league But uh, but New York is not a fan of Stephen a you uh, you just sabotaged our gas bag of the week sound here That that we had all queued up to play you. So let's go ahead and do that now for Sam gas bag of the week. And now let's play that Stephen A video that Sam is referencing please about him saying that none of the Villanova guys are going to be pros and now all of them are on the

Knicks. Villanova doesn't have a real NBA prospect. No, they don't walk Skip Bayless in there Pay him 90 million he's worth it I mean, it's amazing you can get you can get this kind of money and be wrong all the time He's really the Sean Hannity of sports. Wait a minute They had agreement on the show about something and the agreement was about that They didn't agree on anything for like a decade the one thing they agree on no NBA players on this Villanova team

Sam I know you're excited. I know why you're excited the Knicks are in the game I think Stephen Hay just proclaimed you are the best team in the NBA based on this trade for a zero-time all-star I know that people are getting carried away with the Knicks stuff the best team in the NBA based on this trade for a zero time all-star. I know that people are getting carried away with the Knicks stuff. I know that injuries derailed the season that when OG was there, Stugatz, they were playing during the regular season like a team.

This is empirical. It's not up for debate. That had one of the best records in the league when he was there. So the bridge is acquisition. He's a very good player, even though he's a zero the Bridge's acquisition, he's a very good player even though he's a zero time all-star, he is a very good player. That does what for your enthusiasm? You're putting them with the team that you just saw overwhelm everybody

in the sport last year. I don't enjoy your tone right now. Keep saying zero time all-star. There's lots of players who weren't all-Star who won. Sam Cassell, I believe, won two championships before he was an All-Star. You know, if this Villanova team finds a way, this Knicks Villanova squad, if they find a way to win a ring somehow in the next few years, damn, it's going to be a beautiful 30 for 30. The power of friendship, he takes us to a special place because of his defense and he's a he's a great knock

down shooter and uh... i think we match up well with boston if we can bring back o g i do think we need size so you know i do worry about mitchell robinson's health but we get uh... we get a hard and stand back to her i hope we've got we got sides were tough

That's what I hope happens, but we'll see it will be hard as Woe said who knows all apparently Dan. I'm sorry Bridges is 27 years old and two years ago was 26 a game. He stays healthy for the most part last year It was 20 points a game. He's a great defender one of the best one-on-one defenders in the NBA So it does bring the Knicks closer. If they resign OG, they have two guys who could potentially guard Tatum and Jalen Brown. It's an all-in move, but again, what equates to essentially six first-round draft picks

and making an all-in aggressive move for a dude that isn't a world-renowned superstar, all-star type of guy, I don't know, it's ballsy. You can praise the move as aggressive. You can't dispute that this management team has fixed what ailed the Knicks, but OKC managed to get Caruso without giving up a pick and they've got a ton of picks too. The Knicks have still five first round picks.

They still have five of them. They had a ton. What are you smiling about, Sam? Yeah, OKC has a ton of picks. You still have five of them. They had a ton. What are you smiling about Sam? Yeah. Okay. She has a ton of picks. You know what they remind me of is that guy who saves his money their entire life and then just dies with like 40 million dollars. And you're like, okay, I hope that was, I hope that was fun. Never spending it. Like, what are you going to do with 27 first round picks? Okay. She's got a hell of a team, but at some point you gotta go all in. I give them credit.

It's an impressive trade for Caruso. I would have loved Caruso in New York. He's another tough player. But at some point you gotta go all in. And I don't know if they ever do. I think they're like pick hoarders. I will give Sam credit, and I hate to do that here about the Knicks,

but it is a really smart move. If you feel like this is the one chance that you have to build on something special and move forward and take a core and maximize what you can get out of them, you add a guy who you not only know is a really good player, maybe overpaying for him, but also a guy who you know gets along with his locker room. These guys all wanted to play together, and look, is it maybe a super team of role players? Potentially, but if all these guys

can play their role the right way, we've seen the way that the Knicks can maximize that. Jeremy gives you credit, how do you feel, Sam? I feel good. Good. Good. He only called me an asshole one time. It was one time, I feel bad. Good. He only called me an asshole one time.

It was one time. I feel bad about that. I think I was in the right to call you an asshole. I think you were. Yeah, you were. I appreciate what you say, Jeremy. And I think a super team of role players isn't fair. I think Brunson has played himself into a top 10 player. You know, Randall is still an all-star.

Like people like to shit on him. And you know, as you just said, Bridges, 26 a game. I mean... They're gonna move him, Sam. They're gonna move him. You gotta get rid of Randall. They're gonna move him. You're only that good because he wasn't there.

But I'm judging as it stands right now. Correct. And, and Mikhail Bridges, he's a heck of a player. One of his best qualities is that he's always available. So you also look at his contract, which is, they're gonna have to pay him at some point, but right now Brunson and Bridges together are making less than like Kawhi, less than Jimmy Butler, less than a lot of, you know,

Bradley Beal, obviously, but we all know that's a poison pill. But you know, this is a really good contract. Brunson's a really good contract. We're gonna have to probably really pay OG but that's okay Randall right now is a good contract we're a team full of good contracts and that that means something to bridges hasn't missed a game since high school OG is going to cost about 250 million dollars which hurts that that hurts

he's going to cost between 200 and 250 million dollars and Sam what I would tell you is the Knicks are all in but the Knicks are making the first move and this time is fascinating Stu Gutz this week with the NBA draft yeah and with every other team in the league in an ecosystem that's super competitive doing what the Knicks are doing which is how do we beat the Celtics because now the Warriors are said to have Andrew Wiggins and Chris Paul on the market. Clay might be available. The Warriors might get involved with Paul George. All of the teams that think that they're a piece away are looking at themselves the way

the Knicks are looking at themselves. I mean Chris Paul is a great player but you talk about having a harmonious locker room. He doesn't seem like the dude. I don't know. Like if we're bringing in an old ass point guard with a fat ass, I'm thinking Kyle Lowry and not Chris Paul. Villanova, bring it together. Charge Machine, he's a flopper, but I still like him. And then also who's the other one?

Wiggins, why Wiggins for us? I don't think that makes sense. I mean, I think his stock is incredibly low. He looked incredible. My point is just that- He didn't say you were getting all of them Sam. My point is just that the Warriors are doing what the Knicks are doing.

There are 10 teams in the league that think that there are bridges away, that they have to counter what the Celtics just did. Yeah, I mean, look, the Celtics, this is what happens when you're the champions. They have a hell of a team. And when you have, that's what happens. I mean, I feel look the Celtics, this is what happens when you're the champions. They have a hell of a team and when you have, that's what happens. I mean, I feel like last year people were building towards taking down the Nuggets, right? Now it's people building towards taking down the Celtics.

The Celtics are a really tough team. Like, I mean, they didn't really even have poor Zynga's healthy and they still look great with old man Horford, who's a beast, you know? I gotta give him credit. And I see why that line was so long to meet him at Raising Cane's. He's a Boston OG. He's a badass.

I gotta give Al Horford credit. I can't hate Drew Holiday. He's too likable. Like they're a tough, I like the culture of what they did, but I love what the Knicks are doing. And I'm hearing a lot of NBA pundits saying right now, as stands, the Knicks are the biggest threat to the Celtics in the East. And I think that's a fair assessment. The Bucks are getting older. The Sixers are never healthy. You know, the Heat are still

tough. I'll give you that. But I think we are, as stands, if we bring back OG, we're very dangerous. You mentioned NBA pundits. Let's go ahead and play Stephen A. I don't know what Sam's gonna do with this because he loves the Knicks, but he does not like Stephen A. And look at what Stephen A now says because he's very enthusiastic about this move.

I don't give a damn what it is. Right now, I'm looking at the New York Knicks, and the only team I definitively see above them is the reigning defending NBA champion Boston Celtics anybody else you got some work to do because the New York Knicks Baby the culture the fire you understand the tenacity the defense all of that stuff is here You understand the tenacity, the defense, all of that stuff is here, it's here. This is the kind of stuff that I'm talking about right now. Great, great, great move by the New York Knicks.

I absolutely love it. I don't like the first round picks, but you do have 11 first round picks over seven years going into this move. So you still got an abundance of first round picks at your disposal. I love what I'm seeing I'm incredibly happy. There's more work to do but we took a step up last night. He speaks for you Sam He's very it's very hard for me to see him happy. But if it's because of the Knicks, I guess I'm gonna have to live with it Dan

raising I'll give him one of these for this because I agree on this point. I think, you know, the Knicks have gotten better. I mean, you have to look at that. We did have an abundance of picks and it's for a move like this. And I think he just is going to fit so beautifully. I think that one of the things about Britt is that he's a malleable player. You can kind of play him on the wing.

He can knock down those threes. He can get his own shot. And he's a malleable player. You can kind of play him on the wing, he can knock down those threes, he can get his own shot, and he's a hell of a defender. So I think this just makes everybody a little better and it hopefully gives Josh Hart some rest for once. You know, it lets these guys get a few less minutes a game. You mentioned earlier, Raising Cane, we're all in agreement that that's a wonderful restaurant when you're drunk, correct?

There is no dispute from anybody in the audience.'s a wonderful restaurant when you're drunk correct there is no dispute from anybody always in the audience What especially I don't know who our chickens that's also so may or may not be when you're drunk is not a much of an endorsement I mean, I'll eat street meat when I'm drunk. I know but I will eat chicken fingers and french fries More than anything in terms of absorbing alcohol than raising cane like what, what, come on, there's nothing. Not lately, you look good, man. You look, you look, you look belt. Okay. No one says that.

Do you know how happy I am over the bridges thing? I'm complimenting you. He's even saying you look good. It's crazy. Unbelievable. I'm sorry. Thank you, Sam. Good talking to you.

I appreciate it. Orange and blue skies, the future is bright. His new special is called You've Changed. It debuts July 9th on Prime Video. Thank you sir. Thanks for having me. Howdy folks, it's Mike Ryan. It is hot, it is damp, it is summer, and it's a perfect time for grilling outside over an open flame or charcoal grill or propane. I'm not really sure. I'm not really all that manly. I think you guys can tell.

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