The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 2: Stugotz Fires Robert Saleh

Episode Date: September 10, 2024

Warning: the first segment of Hour 2 contains mentions of sexual assault and rape. If you or a loved one has been the victim of sexual assault, you are not alone. Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Deshaun Watson has not just been a disaster on the field, but he has been accused yet again of sexual assault. Dan, Mike, and the crew dissect the details, the cut throat nature of how it's being discussed by media around the Browns, and where things should go from here. Then, Stugotz was pleased with his team's performance last night as the Jets lost to the 49ers, but that still won't stop him from firing his head coach. Plus, it's time for Greg's birthday Back in my Day. Also, Justin Tinsley is our hip-hop and culture expert and he stops by to discuss the reaction to Kendrick Lamar being announced as this year's Super Bowl Halftime Performance and how it relates to Lil Wayne, Drake, and Jay-Z. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. Platinum. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms and conditions apply. Visit mx.ca slash business platinum. Now's a good time to remember where the story of tequila started. In 1795, the first tequila distillery was opened by the Cuervo family, and 229 years later, Cuervo is still going strong. Family owned from the start, same family, same land. Now's a good time to enjoy Cuervo. The tequila that invented tequila. Go to Cuervo.com to shop tequila or visit a store near you. Cuervo. Now's a good time. Trademarks owned by Beckley.

SAB, the CV. Copyright 2024. Proximo. Jersey City, New Jersey. Please drink responsibly. This is the Dan Lebertor Show with the Stugats Podcast. with the Stugats podcast. Stugats after week one, Dan Arlovski has dared to go Stugats after week one, Dan Arlovski has dared to go where I have not seen a whole lot of other human beings go. where I have not seen a whole lot of other human beings go. Where'd he go?

It is time to quote, take a long and hard look, end quote, It is time to quote, take a long and hard look, end quote, at Jameis Winston in Cleveland. Oh wow. Oh my God. I think he's right. One week and a real huge epic disaster of a contract. So guys, I don't know if you know this, but I believe I have it right when I say the only champion

that there has been that is paying a quarterback more than twelve percent of its payroll is patrick mahomes like that's the entire list the amount of money that the browns have put into this disaster is a franchise crippling and to have in week two people not back away from our loft ski saying it's Jamis time when you saw what happened with Jamis to guts you understand the level of disaster you're talking about a quarterback when you swap out Jamis and immediately win

the Super Bowl because all you did was eliminate his interceptions in Tampa Bay and you went from seven and nine to Tom Brady and champion well you replaced it with Tom Brady so I mean in this, you're replacing Deshaun Watson with Jamis Winston. I understand your larger point. Deshaun Watson has been a below average quarterback for quite some time now. Like he has. Like it's a bad contract. No question about it. We could talk about all the off the field stuff. There's some new news there now with Deshaun Watson. He has been bad on the football field. Not only that, those two guys. I will say, after watching your Jets last night, get dismantled by the 49ers,

that there is, I don't know what that sound was. I don't know, dismantle. I mean, it was 32 to 19, the Jets had a seven to six lead. I mean, seven to three lead, then seven to six. I mean, okay. Like, they got beat up pretty good. And after- I will tell you, that first three lead, then seven to six, and dismantle them. I mean, okay, like they got beat up pretty good. I will tell you, that first touchdown drive, Dan, was the greatest drive in Jets history, all right?

After watching that, I would say there is no greater value in the sport than nothing more important than having value at quarterback. San Francisco can build that monster of a team, and they're playing the Jets, and you're like, oh, the Jets got all the money tied up in at quarterback. San Francisco can build that monster of a team and they're playing the Jets and you're like, oh, the Jets got all the money tied up in the quarterback. And the 49ers don't and so they have players all over the field and don't have to have

the great expensive quarterback. They did that without Christian McCaffrey last night. Amazing, yes. I've got Aaron Rodgers takes but I'd like to revisit the Deshaun Watson thing before we veer too far off of it because there was another allegation a lawsuit that had been reported on and the details are out on the internet and you should read that have some discretion before you do because this is being painted as a sexual assault allegation the details make it very clear that what allegedly happened here was a rape.

That is the allegation. This is really vile, really violent, really terrible details that are going on there. And now the football aspect of it, because there were a lot of people that were ride or die with their Cleveland Browns and stuck with them and defended Deshaun Watson and a lot of people are now engaging in bad faith conversations. It's like number 27 was a bridge too far for you. And now this is conveniently being held up. I would say pay attention to some of the sources reporting on this, not specific to the lawsuit itself, but the spin on how to get out from this contract.

Explore some of those sources and how tied they might be to people in Cleveland's front office. Now it seems that there is going to be a reaction to this allegation that will be far more outsized than the previous allegations. The coldness of what Mike is saying there, Stugat, that the number of people who will defend this behavior if they think their quarterback is good,

and then the strategic leaking on stuff that makes you wonder, are they trying to get out from under the contract, because now everyone can see it's a horror, and all in the middle of that, the idea that women get trampled, man oh man, it's pretty gross, the cutthroat cold calculation in that. And the details in this story, while vivid and shocking,

do fall in line with many of the almost countless allegations that Deshaun Watson had to settle out of. And some of the reporting spin on this that I've seen is that this would be considered a whole new incident and would not be grandfathered in with the previous NFL ruling on him and yes, there is a possibility that Cleveland can get out from the worst contract in the history of pro sports and that is where people's minds first one will say he is still a monster. This is an overwhelming amount of allegations. Things here are bad and always have been. And just because you

now have certainty that he can't be the guy that he once was, you want to go out there on that island as you perceive it to be and now have an issue with it. You miss me with all of that. Cleveland should have never brought this individual in. He should not be playing football. This was only a matter of time when you consider the laundry list of allegations against him. All of it was one of the worst chapters in the history

of pro sports and Cleveland and their decision-makers, even if they get out from this contract, are going to skate by and they shouldn't. Well, to underline your point though, we're looking a lot at the latest allegation because it seems heinous, but there were two or three dozen women a couple of years ago who lined up and told their stories about his misbehavior Sexual misbehavior and so this is nothing new. It's it's worse Maybe in some ways and it's in its recent But this guy's been a scourge on the NFL brand for years

Okay, but we spent a lot of time talking about that contract and I will remind you the Dolphins The Dolphins were also interested in the shot one or multiple teams were interested in the shot what we can do this again i'd rather not i'd just like to point out to you that the doc press got contract that was signed was purposefully one million dollars more guaranteed than what was the precedent setting contract of the sean watson that makes it such a disaster he and that desperation reset the entirety of the market and it's not a coincidence that it was exactly one million dollars more that that got

guaranteed than the biggest guarantee you seen in the sport like the i'd the finances of this that make it so cold and awful that you're now like, oh, the Browns are gonna try and see if they could sneak away from everything they did there when they shouldn't be allowed to sneak away from everything they did there. The quarterback play last night, Stugatz. Yep.

Your New York Jets and a season of great hope as Netflix announces that December 17th is gonna be the Aaron Rodgers documentary called Enigma. How long will this guy be silenced? The Jets coming out yesterday and having to play that particular team I think is a really unfair spot to expect them to win in. That's fair, the Niners are really good.

They went to the Super Bowl last year. They could have won it, but they're not gonna win it. I think is a really unfair spot to expect them to win in That's fair. The Niners are really good. They went to the Super Bowl last year They could have won the Super Bowl last year I can make the argument that the Niners are absolutely the best team in football the last five years and Kansas City just has a better quarterback Yeah, you can make that argument but with Aaron Rodgers you saw glimpses of His greatness you saw those couple of drives that he had. You saw the pass to Lazard. You saw Aaron Rodgers. I was impressed with Aaron Rodgers and therefore I am hopeful. My

larger concern is the Jets defense. The schedule gets easier now because they play the Niners as you pointed out. I think it's the Titans on the road and the Patriots at home and then the commanders at home. So we'll see what this jet team is going to be. But I was okay with Aaron's performance. I would like them to utilize him more. I would like them to throw the ball more. My concern is the defense. That defense has given up, I think, six of the last seven games, 27 points or more. And that's where my concern is. And I am telling you you right now Robert Sala, you're in charge of that defense. Get it under control because if you don't and you

lose at Tennessee, you're going to get fired. I am and you deserve to be fired because the Jets if they start o and two Dan, that would be disastrous for this team. Yeah, he's he's already way up there on the first coach fired betting odds Robert Sala and Belichick. Yeah. And I'm thinking he's not going to last the season if they get off to a little bit of a bad start.

But explain to me why the Jets defense is struggling because all estimations are that it's a top five defense. What's wrong? Well, they purged a lot of their defensive linemen. They have Redick waiting. He's expecting a long-term deal. I guarantee you he watched that game with a smile on his face. Like he's like, hey, you need me?

Because they couldn't get a pass rush. They could not get to Brock Purdy, he had all the time in the world. How did you inherit this holdout from Redick? This is so unfair to Jets, man. Well no, he was very clear, he said, trade me, I want a long-term deal. So the Jets traded for him,

and he still doesn't have a long-term deal. It is so Jets. It really is. There was a lot of less than acceptable quarterback play week one. I don't know if you guys agreed with what Troy Aikman was saying in the pregame leading up to Monday Night Football but like Joe Burrow didn't look very good at home against the Patriots. The quarterback situation in the entire state of New York may be a little sketchy on Sunday too. And last night, I don't know if this is because there's not as much preseason reps for starters anymore

because they've eliminated a preseason game and the starters just don't play very much now. I don't know what the cause is, but I'm trying not to overreact too much to any of this because I was reminded this morning, the Bengals, they start the season like this every year like they've been pretty bad in September And so I'm trying to take it all with a grain of salt like Aaron Rodgers did not look good in the first half The offense was not able to move the ball at all, but he had a couple throws that remind you like all right

He is he's Aaron Rodgers. This is not that every single NFL quarterback is capable of making those that one drive man I'm so good. Well just to quantify your point, NFL starting quarterbacks in week one averaged, I think, 185 yards passing, which is really really low. Now that's probably an anomaly, but you're right, the quarterbacking was pretty brutal. I don't think it's an anomaly. We mentioned yesterday the downward trajectory passing touchdowns in week one. Over the last two years they're in the 30s and in 2019 passing touchdowns were in the 60s to the Aaron Rodgers point historically whenever he doesn't play in a preseason is why he's kind of prickly about it because he wants to get action

in that whenever he has a preseason which he doesn't see the field he tends to struggle in week one but I want to get back to what Stu said and yes I will concede that Rodgers still has zip on the ball when the opposing team jumps off sides and he realizes he has a free play and there are no consequences, he can throw it downfield and look very good. But that stat line that he put up last night

is what you drove Zach Wilson out of town for. And this dude, it's been a long time. I'm talking about close to 10 years where he's actually been pretty conservative with the ball. Yes, his arm is explosive. He is a dynamic talent, but he's also really ultra conservative. Even in that drive where he looked supposedly really good to you guys, there's a bunch of seven-yard slants to Garrett Wilson. Here's a stat for you. But he throws a great seven-yard slant. He does. Very powerful. You can hear it. You can hear it when he throws, which is why I

want to see him like uncork it a little bit and stop being so cautious, because here's a shocking stat for you. Tom Brady has thrown 10 300-yard passing games since Aaron Rodgers' last 300-yard passing game. Get out of here! In that span, Tom Brady had two 400-yard passing games. You are lying to yourself

if you think Aaron Rogers is the dude he was four years ago this has been a long decline now he still may be very good and the and the throws some of them would certainly reflect that I would say open it up more be less cautious especially since you have what appears to be a good defense and hopefully last night was an isolated instance, but this was a 40 year old quarterback

that looked every bit as rusty as someone coming off in Achilles and someone that we haven't seen play very well in a little bit of time, look. I tend to believe, Stugatz, that defense doesn't just carry over year over year. I don't believe that just because the jets had a good defense last year that you can then assume that it will be as good or better there certain things that kansas city does that no matter

whether they have the second youngest defense in the league or not they tend to be pretty good at defense but i really don't think that you can simply assume that the jets defense will be what it was last year I do think that you can assume though as Mike Ryan says that Aaron Rodgers has been more conservative Aaron Rodgers prides himself on changing football Because the quarterback needed to have five interceptions a year and the Jets will be a good deal better than they were last year Even if their defense is worse if they simply get quarterback play that's not totally incompetent,

which I don't think Aaron Rodgers will be incompetent. He may be conservative, it may be 180 yards, but he's not gonna do a lot of dumb stuff. I don't need Aaron Rodgers to be the back-to-back MVP. I need the last season in Green Bay of Aaron Rodgers. That last season would be the greatest season a jet quarterback has ever had. Which is weird because it was his worst season as a Green Bay Packer.

I know, but so the defense, Dan, is a concern not just because of last night, going back to last year. Dan, they have given up 28 plus points in six of the last nine games. The only reason I say last night doesn't even count is because I expect San Francisco to always get 30. And Peyton Manning got mad at Iyuk yesterday because Peyton Manning is now the voice of management somehow. He's exhibiting total quarterback privilege on it. I never had to actually fight for a contract. I got paid all the time and so my receivers need to get their asses in camp. Don't talk about another man's money.

He just got so mad at Iyuk for dropping a ball because that was just total quarterback privilege for Manning. He also lost it on the CFL offense of the San Francisco 49ers where Jordan Mason, who was being celebrated in the press despite going at them afterwards, which I found interesting, even though with the added context I kind of get it, he was losing his mind at Jordan Mason's early breaks off the ball because there were two guys in motion two Guys pre snap going forward you can't do that in the NFL Peyton Manning was having an aneurysm on the air watching this play out Billy agreed with him

He was also upset with I you guess there was a knowing game for Billy Spets big board brought to you by We had the Jets getting the being the first team to score a first down it ended up cashing But it took three drives for the Jets to get a first down. It ended up cashing, but it took three drives for the Jets to get a first down, in part because of what Mike was saying. Aaron just wouldn't throw the ball forward. Kept throwing little screens, little things backwards. It was very annoying.

And Iuk, how about you catch the ball, buddy? You held out, you made this big stink about all this money, had like two, three drops. All we needed was four catches, over three and a half. Just keep dropping, dropping them in the end zone, dropping them in the middle of the field. What's his deal? Catch the ball, that's your deal.

You are holding out so you can get all this money to catch the ball. They're giving it to you, catch the ball. Thank goodness they got out to that big lead. Thank goodness, Dan, because we had Brock Purdy under 31 and a half pass attempts. At the end of that game, they stopped passing the ball. We literally were going way over.

Finished out at 29, two in one day. It is hard for me to articulate to you how much suffering Stu Gotz has had to endure the entirety of his childhood and adult life when he's looking at a 13 point loss in which Aaron Rodgers throws for a buck 15. He's like, I got my quarterback. I've got the future. He's the best

quarterback in the history of the franchise. I will tell you that. And Dan, here's the thing. I've never had this feeling before. When they were down, I didn't feel like we were out of the game. But you were. You were so out of that game. Well, now

it was sixteen. They had that drive. Breece Hall got a first down. Robert Salla did not challenge it when they spotted it as second and one instead of first and ten, and then they didn't get a first down after that. I knew that was going to happen. Robert Salah should be fired. They're going to wait if he loses a couple more games. I would have fired him today. Dan, what if Belichick calls? What do you do?

Wait a minute. Did you not- Did you not- Will Leves next. Would he judge it and Bill Belichick picks up the phone today? Did you not get enough of a reaction when you said I'd fire him after Tennessee? Were you disappointed that we didn't give you what you wanted so you moved up the take? Yeah, the schedule has changed. I would fire him today.

You changed your mind over the last 17 sentences. How do you not challenge that? Bree Sall was obviously going to first down and end the game. How are you firing a coach when you said you were happy with what your team did last night? I was happy with Aaron. That's it. The defense is on Salah. He came in as the defensive guy. It's a weird thing that you got. So thirsty for a quarterback. Listen, you hire this coach, Robert Salah, you get Aaron Rodgers. You don't have to worry about the offense because Rodgers handles the offense. You have to worry about the offense.

Not with Rodgers there. Salah comes in, okay, and he's in charge of the defense. And that defense that he's in charge of has given up 28 plus points in six of the last nine games. Fire him yesterday. Okay, very good. Let's do Back in My Day. And now it is time to take a trip down memory lane. Here's your guide, Greg Cody with Back in My Day. Space travel.

Space travel. You know, back in my day, and it didn't seem like such a bad idea, we left space travel to the government, to NASA, to actual astronauts. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know it felt a lot safer to watch a rocket launch didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know it felt a lot safer to watch a rocket launch into space than to be in that rocket. The Cold

War between the United States and former Soviet Union instigated the space race and unprecedented exploration. The Soviets sent the first person into space in 61, leading President John F. Kennedy to announce a goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon eight years and three NASA programs later Mercury Gemini and Apollo the US landed on the moon space travel was left to governments it was that way for the longest time we'd watch the countdowns and launches from Cape Canaveral on TV fine with the safe distance outer space was that mysterious last frontier we gladly left to others to explore. You're going very fast, Greg.

You don't have to go that fast. Europe is about as daring as I get. Walking on the moon just never made my bucket list. But that too, like most everything else, is changing. Space tourism or human travel for recreational purposes, is an actual thing now. The Jetsons cartoons I'd watch as a kid have come to life. Warning, going to Europe is a lot cheaper.

It will cost you at least $250,000 for a suborbital flight with Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic. You read right. It's a little slow now. I like it faster. A quarter million bucks for a few minutes of weightlessness. Blue Origin is billionaire Jeff Bezos' new toy. Virgin Galactic was founded by fellow filthy rich guy Richard Branson.

If $250,000 is pocket change to you and money is no object, a $25 million ticket gets you aboard as long as the flight into orbit inside the SpaceX Dragon capsule. That's the plaything of yet another multi-billionaire Elon Musk. All of these are private space transportation companies. Are they government regulated? Well, sort of, or maybe soon. The Federal Aviation Administration oversees commercial space operations, but it wasn't until April 23 that the FAA chartered a rulemaking committee to solicit industry input on future regulations aimed at protecting people. Meantime, per Space.com, space tourism vehicles just might be the only transportation technology

out there with the potential to kill humans that doesn't need to undergo independent safety certification. For now aspiring space travelers seem okay with that but it's a fledgling industry playing a dangerous game. Remember when jumping out of an airplane under a parachute or bungee jumping off a cliff made you a daredevil? A lot cheaper too. Folks how about we get back down to Earth on all this. Leave the space travel to astronauts. Heck, I get nervous enough on a flight to Atlanta if there's rough air. My desire for space travel tops off at 30,000 feet above ground with a pilot in the cockpit and a crown and coke in my hand. I'm Greg Cody and that's how it was back in my day. Yeah, yeah. First off, very

grateful to have the fresh back in my day. Yeah. Yeah, first off, very grateful to have the Fresh back in my day. He's rusting. It hurts me to issue a critique. It seemed like you hadn't read one of those in a while. It's true. There's a couple of factors, as I self-analyze. Number one, it was long. It was too long.

You're out of practice. I'm out of practice. And breath. And the other thing is, I'm reading it off a small phone. That's what it is. I think it off a small phone. That's He's also older I Appreciate how receptive you are to the constructive criticism because we're just really excited that you didn't want to hear more I don't want to like deflate you whatsoever right the main thing is I can't read off an iPhone Well that photo right for the role.

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That's BetterH-E-L-P.com. Don Lebatard. Quiet man. Yes. You know, I'm a married man. I don't cheat on my wife despite that gratuitous line in back in my day. That you wrote.

Stugats. I wish you were here, my wife. I really miss her. No, I don't. That's the thing about being married. You know, you're not allowed to say, I don't miss my wife. I've been gone two days. I haven't. That's the thing about being married. You're not allowed to say, I don't miss my wife. I've been gone two days. I haven't been gone long enough to miss my wife. I'm sorry. I call her, I'm on the phone with her for 30 seconds. Hello, all right.

All right, we'll see you. All right. And then I'm going to see her in two days. I was jumping Charlie. Good. This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugats. We are going to have an assortment of cool and fun announcements during this, our 20-year anniversary, which we're going to be celebrating all year. Mike Ryan still has an oral history that is coming. You have seen some of the behind the bits uh... we're gonna be signing new deals and that we have another documentary that has been announced to the comeback the two thousand four boston red sox uh... it was announced earlier this year but it revisits one of the greats uh... sports comebacks of all time down three always the big poppy team Pedro Martinez

uh... it premieres oct 23rd, before Enigma, with Aaron Rodgers, who's been canceled and can't find any places where he can speak freely. Usually those guys do end up on Netflix, though. It's crazy. I have a typo here, because Metal Arch Media can do this. It says that it premieres in October 23rd of 3024. That's not accurate. I don't know about that. It's 2024 and we're excited about it. They do take time. Yeah,

but not that much time. Slow burn. So in the middle of October baseball, it's a three-part series, so we're very excited about it. It's not one part, it's three parts. So we'll be telling you more about that as it approaches. But Justin Tinsley is easy as senior culture writer for us bns and scape he's our hip-hop expert he's the author of it was all a dream biggie in the world that made him and i was surprised yesterday perhaps i shouldn't have been justin that i thought it would be nothing but universal applause everywhere for the idea that kendrick lamar would be the Super Bowl half-time show and Then I started listening to some people who were really mad on behalf of Lil Wayne

Not being able to perform in New Orleans and then further Bringing up Jay-Z as the influence here who's grabbing the commercial obvious choice of Kendrick Lamar That's who anybody would want, but if you're about New Orleans and music and the catalog of Lil Wayne, you understand why Lil Wayne is hurt by this. I was just surprised. I thought Kendrick Lamar would get nothing but applause.

And I'm eager to hear what our culture correspondent has to say, but it's amazing what one song can do for a career. For Kendrick Lamar to find himself as the commercial option over Lil Wayne is an interesting point in history that we found ourselves in after a few short months. Welcome aboard. A lot that we just threw at you. Yeah, Justin. So go ahead. Chew on all of it for us.

Well, first and foremost, I want to say congratulations on 20 years and thank you all for letting me be just one star in a massive universe that is this. So thank you all and congratulations to you all on that. This is definitely a complicated discussion. I totally agree with the choice of Kendrick Lamar right now. He is the biggest name in rap in the year he's had. We can discuss that a little bit further, but the year he's had has been undeniable. But I also understand some of the disappointment in Lil Wayne not being involved because, you know, granted Lil Wayne isn't the level of superstar that he once was in

years past, but it's undeniable what he's meant to the culture of New Orleans and bringing New Orleans worldwide. So I definitely understand that. But Kendrick Lamar, to me, is an obvious choice. And yes, not like us and the beef with Drake did play into, you know, this decision, but let's not act like this dude didn't have one of the most decorated, one of the most respected and most importantly, one of the most successful catalogs and careers of all time, even before this beef, you know, the Pulitzer,

he did the score for Black Panther. He's had, he has two of the highest grossing hip hop tours of all time. So this dude's resume was solid before that. But, but for me, I think that the choice of Kendrick Lamar does make a lot of sense and I would not be surprised if Lil Wayne is still involved in the show and somehow, because Kendrick, Kendrick Lamar has never hit his adoration for Lil Wayne in the past. Justin, what do you make of this Jay-Z debate

that hangs over almost every Super Bowl halftime show? It reignites any time they make any decision. There isn't a decision that they could make with this announcement that won't reignite the same conversation that is surrounding Jay-Z, being called a sellout. He found his way in during the Kaepernick stuff and he's just snagging all the commercial

dollars. What do you make of this debate? Is there a right side to be on when it comes to this debate? Yeah, I mean, Jay-Z's partnership with the NFL has been criticized literally, literally since the moment broke back in like 2019. So that's not surprising at all. When you look at the grand scheme of Jay Z and Rock Nations partnership with the NFL, I think a lot needs to be said about the social justice initiatives or maybe lack thereof. But I think at least in terms of his involvement, Rock Nations involvement with the Super Bowl in the

halftime show, I think they've knocked it out the park and especially in recent years when you go from the weekend and obviously what they did in L.A. with Snoop and Dre and Kendrick and Eminem and Mary and so on and so forth. That one, Rihanna in Arizona was the highest rated TV program of the year. And obviously Usher in Las Vegas Las Vegas last year made a lot of sense. So I think from the entertainment standpoint, they've more than delivered. Now, the social justice standpoint, that's just a, that's simply a complex discussion. Now honestly, we could spend the next three or four hours talking about, because you just, just don't know what that level

of impact with Roc Nation and the NFL actually is. I would actually like to do that next three or four hours with you. I don't think the audience wants it from me right now. We already did three hours. I'm going to talk about other things. Yes or no question, do you think Kendrick got this because of Drake? It's not a yes or no question, but yes, I do believe his beef definitely, and his performance in that beef that they both willingly engaged in, mind you, definitely led to, that was part of the decision that went into it yes you mentioned the year that Kendrick Lamar has go ahead and put it in perspective for us because there haven't been a lot like it no

there have not been a lot like this now to give you further context Dan and I'm sure I'm sure you know about this too Kendrick and Drake had been taking shots at each other on record for well over a decade at this point. It just bubbled over. I don't want to say bubbled over, it exploded this year. And every time that Kendrick Lamar has said something this year, it has become a moment.

You go all the way back to his verse on future and Metro Boomin's like that, the song that eventually became the number one record in the country where he quite visibly called out J Cole and Drake and then the rush of battle records after that from both Drake and Kendrick Lamar. But when you talk about Euphoria, which I believe honestly was the best record

out of the entire spectacle between both of them, 616 and LA, the way he responded to Drake's Family Matters during the NBA playoffs, mind you, with Meet the Grams, which is one of the darkest rap records I've ever heard in my life. And then to follow that up with the massive hit that is Not Like Us, which at this point, it is on the pantheon of all time great hip hop battle records.

It is in that conversation with Tupac's Hit Him Up. It is in that conversationtheon of all time. Great hip hop battle records. It is in it is in that conversation with Tupac. Sit him up. It is in that conversation with Nas's ether or ice cubes. No Vaseline. And it is the most commercially successful battle record of all time, which could it may. I don't want to point this out to Dan. The week before the Super Bowl is the Grammys. And I'm pretty sure if they submitted it, I'm pretty sure that that Not Like Us will at least be up for song or record of the

year. So if you think about it if he can go from getting a Grammy for a diss record one of the big four categories in the Grammys for this record and then perform that at the Super Bowl halftime show that is a run that is a year the likes of which we have never seen and there's still no album to show for, which is fascinating in its own right. Give me your most honest appraisal using the writer's imagination that you have for Drake receiving the news that Kendrick would be the halftime show. My heart would have had to sink to my stomach and the fact that it's in, in New Orleans and obviously the ties with little Wayne and his ties with little

Wayne and to know that the Superbowl in America is the most watched program every year. And the Superbowl halftime show, especially, especially in recent years has, has become its own body even outside of the game itself. And to know that Kendrick, he obviously I wasn't in these discussions, I wasn't in these boardrooms, but I cannot imagine Kendrick Lamar signing off to do the Super Bowl and being told that he cannot do that record. And so to know that that record will be played at the Super Bowl halftime show and the words certified pedophile

and the words A minor will ring to the heavens, that has to be the absolute, I would imagine worst feeling ever because it's not just you in the eyes of so many that you quote unquote lost this battle. Now it's just digging the knife in further. And this and this moment will be a part of both of their legacies, both of their stories. And this doesn't take away from any of the hits that Drake had before this beef.

I've long said that he's the greatest hit maker in rap history, which I still believe he is. But you're never the same after a battle like this, and you will probably never be the same after a moment like the Super Bowl if it actually does come to fruition and he does not like us. But one of the crazy things

about everything you're describing here, Justin, is that Drake before this was commercially viable enough that you could have him be the halftime show and no one would object, and I just don't think that there's any way that Kendrick's that. I love him as a lyricist. I think he's wonderful as an artist,

but I don't think of him as commercially viable enough to be the halftime show, the biggest thing in pop culture. Even though I love his work, I don't think of him in the same category as Drake and being that accessible as pop culture. Now, I will say, I'll back on on that a little bit which again kendrick is commercially successful he's just not commercially success one the way that we see drake now kendrick had the his debut album good kid mad city

it holds the record for the longest charting hip-hop album of all time and they were at well over 300 weeks. I mean, he all of his albums have gone number one. He has several number one hit records himself. And also this is very, very important as well, Dan. He is one of the single greatest live performers of all time. He will put on a magnificent show. And I guarantee you, when you watch this halftime show, you're going to be like, yeah, that was that was a big record.

Yeah, yeah, that was a big record. Yeah, yeah, that was a big record too. And obviously the Super Bowl halftime show was what? 18 to 20 minutes? He can damn sure put together a show in 18 to 20 minutes that I think will put him in the pantheon of the all time great Super Bowl halftime performance because he is that great of a live performer.

You mentioned the ability to perform live. And I think that's also kind of what really separates him from Lil Wayne when people are having this discussion. But I kind of want to have a different angle on this. You highlighted some of what Rock Nation has done with this opportunity. When I was little, and I was watching all these Super Bowl halftime shows, one of the silver linings of aging

was that eventually one day I would age to the demographic where Super Bowl half-time shows would feature the white rock bands that I grew up listening to. And now I'm here and it's been a decade long run of not having old white rock acts at the Super Bowl half-time show. At what point is someone going to speak up to this injustice? At what point is someone going to speak up to this injustice? I think so. This is the last year of rock nation and the NFL's partnership. They signed a five year agreement back in 2019. To be honest with you, I was surprised by the Kendrick selection. I was surprised they went back to hip hop as well because I just knew that somebody like Taylor Swift

was gonna get the Super Bowl this year. It seemed, you know, no pun intended, Taylor made water to get it. Let's stop throwing bones to the youth of America and throw someone, throw a bone to the underserved demo. The aging white dudes that wanna see Kings of Leon just run, just burn through sex on fire. Okay. Maybe a little of the old stuff, you know, close with you somebody.

I think, you know, once Jay-Z and Rock Nation's partnership, if they don't renew it, I think you could see it. But also, I mean, I don't know when they'll go back to that. I know they will at some point. It won't always be, you know, hip hop, hip hop artists leading the Super Bowl. But while Jay-Z is there, that was a point of emphasis for him. He wanted to bring that culture to the biggest stage in American culture, which was the Super Bowl.

And if you go back to the Super Bowl in 2019 when Maroon 5 was the headliner, that Super Bowl was widely panned for being one of the more lackluster I Guess you could say halftime shows of all time, but Kings of Leon and other bands. I don't think they're forever Exiled from the Super Bowl. I just think Jay-Z wanted to make sure the the genre that made him Internationally known name was put on this stage when for so long, you know, that just wasn't the case.

I appreciate your sincere answer to a ridiculous question. Yes, yes, you shouldn't have answered it that sincerely. I was about to pivot to Goo Goo Dolls. Yes, hey look, look, man, maybe Radiohead one year. No, I'm just joking. I do think I can guess with a hundred percent certainty I'd be willing to guarantee it actually little Wayne's going to be featured in the half. Yeah show like he's yeah Kendrick will bring He's a Drake guy though. Like they were just torn together. That's the thing see I do believe

Wheezy will be involved in that halftime show in some regard just because it's in in New Orleans. And so many people feel he have to be there. But if he is on that stage, that brings up the interesting question, what is the relationship between Wayne and Drake? And obviously, if you know the history between those two, Wayne is one of the people who really put Drake on this path, the superstar. And back in 2008, 2009, when it went so far gone and things like that and Drake has always credited Wayne with you know him becoming the superstar

that he is just and now you can't be such a good friend that you turn down the halftime show in New Orleans. You can't do it. That's the thing. The line in the sand has been drawn in this Kendrick and Drake will never be collaborators again. They'll never be friends again. They're not going to pop up in Vegas 15 years from now and do a joint residency together. You don't come back from calling somebody a certified pedophile. You don't come back from saying

somebody is abusive to their wife. Like the line in the sand is drawn. So if you're over here with Kendrick, you're over here with him. If you're over here with Drake, you're over here with him. There is no switchling in this, is what I'm trying to say. Justin, he's like Jim Phillips in the ACC. No one's scared to piss off Drake. Lil Wayne will be there. Okay, exactly like that. I think so.

That's just what I was thinking. Justin, thank you for being on with us. We appreciate it. As always, thank you for having me and congratulations on 20 years, guys. Thank you. When you're hiring for your small business, you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs. Thank you. to most qualified candidates. Thankfully, with LinkedIn, they have made it easy for us to find them. LinkedIn isn't just a job board. LinkedIn helps you hire professionals

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