The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 2: The Pro-Cupcake Show

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

Amin has an important question regarding his sports fandom and his allegiance to a certain university, so he polls the show to see how he should handle the situation. Then, is the University of Miami missing the College Football Playoff one of the most crushing sports feelings Mike has ever had? And do the 12 teams who make up the CFP field incentivize scheduling easy out-of-conference opponents as opposed to big-time matchups? Plus, Mike ruined David's Thanksgiving, but David wants to move right past that and head back toward the Juan Soto contract. Why was Steve Balmer the first person Samson thought of after he saw the news? Does a salary cap help or hurt a league? Have owners been lying to fans and media about player value throughout the history of sports? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. This is the Don LeBattor Show with the Stoogats Podcast. Guys, I have a sports fan dilemma. Really? Yeah. So as you guys know, last couple of years I've devoted a lot of time and energy to branding myself as Georgia Tech's most famous alum who didn't play a sport. Also Jimmy Carter may have not gone to Georgia Tech, I still haven't gotten any clarity on that.

And so it's been great, right? High profile wins, even the loss to Georgia, I had so many people hit me up. But I've effectively branded myself as Georgia Tech guy. Here's the problem, I graduated from Arizona State. Arizona State's in the college football playoff. They're playing the Peach Bowl on January 1st. Oh that's okay, Mike allows it.

Well, I, what's up? No, let him finish. No, let's hear him out. There's a dilemma. Thank you Billy. So here's the dilemma. So I wanna go to the game, but I don't wanna pay, like I don't wanna, what I don't want is I wanna be able

to go as a celebrity, like Arizona State's one of the most famous alums, right? But it's a pretty big ticket, I mean it's a playoff game. Oh, it's highly in demand. And there are no tickets, as I understand it, retail out there, they're all sold out, they're all gobbled up, so what do I do? I mean, do not listen to the show, you idiot.

Because we have a partner in Game Time that makes that very easy. If you haven't downloaded that app, I'm gonna strangle you. Download the Game Time app and create an account, Amin, and I can get you $20 off your first purchase if for whatever reason you don't become a huge influencer for Arizona State

because you've been a Georgia Tech guy the entire time, let me tell you something. Maybe you don't get sidelines, but you can get panoramic seat views from anywhere in that building, any ticket that you're looking at within the app. And all in pricing, no surprises at checkout. You have a low price guarantee. For whatever reason you find a better price out there on the secondary market for whatever reason, they will cover you up to 110%. No way. See, I'm telling you up to 110%. No way.

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It's game time. I wanna get to the funniest thing from the sports weekend in a second I do believe that Amin should be allowed to be Georgia Tech's loudest Non-athlete supporter as somebody who has enjoyed joining the college football Conversation over the last five weeks of being spoiler to Miami and playing Georgia close You felt so close to the buzz as a basketball guy buzz., yes, absolutely, that's the name of the mascot. No, but Dan, it's great because I get to parachute in

and tell Mike his team sucks, and then, you guys don't understand, here's the worst part. I had so many texts and tweets ready in my drafts during that Georgia game. Elle Duncan doesn't know what kind of hell she avoided. She doesn't know my name either. Elle Duncan. Oh hey, what's up, Greg? Still scarred from that as you were it was and that feeling Dan of living on the edge of knowing

Oh my god All it takes is one press of us button hit send and I'm going to be the most obnoxious person in this person's life It's exhilarating to be honest. Well, Mike spent his whole season right on the fringe of that, his entire, Mike Ryan just did the- I was right there with you with the ACC agenda against the SEC, that was a huge game for me. That was a real bummer.

I had all sorts of means ready to go to. That was, by the way, the first pang of like, oh, this isn't gonna go well. Was Mike sending me texts during the day like, oh, it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. I'm like, oh. Oh, but wait a minute, if I may, David Sampson's in here now and I do wanna get to more of the Soto stuff.

Because I believe that David has better information here than anybody in the media on this particular story, biased though it may be. But I believe that we've glossed over, we've glossed over that this is one, has to be one of the most crushing sports feelings that Mike Ryan has ever endured. He got a little us against the world,

Miami against everybody. He had more proprietary interest in what was happening as Miami had the best quarterback in the sport, and you get that close, and at the end, all you've got is the argument, and it's a compelling argument It's a pretty good argument on behalf of would you please care to think that maybe Syracuse and Georgia Tech are a little better than you thought they were? Because if everyone is three loss bad including Georgia and Alabama if they're all feel three loss bad

Can we give some credit to the teams Miami lost to by a small combined margin that he would find himself at the center of the argument but have only the argument of the heartbreak makes this I think one of the most hurtful sports experiences of Mike Ryan's life. I'm not certain Georgia Tech and Syracuse being better than we thought they were going to be is ever a good argument. I mean I'm sorry I just am not a football. Well it became an argument for when Bayama lost to Vanderbilt. Well they're a lot better than you thought. What was devastating was the loss,

not what happened afterwards, because I knew the loss would breed what happened afterwards. Because if it came down to an SEC team versus Miami, they were going to go with the SEC team. And it's just because of what I was warning against the entire time, this damn preconceived notion. But I'm still hurting. was I did not watch really I watched the end of the ACC Championship game But I avoided it because of the pain that that I felt a week before

It's a shame because this was a good season if you would have told me before the year it too two losses by nine points I'm saying okay, then I'm fully guaranteeing a trip to Charlotte. Didn't end up working out. This was a really good season for Miami. It's a type of season that we've been begging for for 15 years. Miami has an opportunity to win 11 games for the first time since 2003. I'm ultimately through it now and happy with the season that we've had. Are we square? What do you mean? Are we square? How? We personally? Yeah, are you now more miserable about Miami than you ever were about the Marlins, so are we good now?

No, no, that's not what made us square. What made us square is what I did to you on Thanksgiving. You're coping though, right? Because Mario Chrisaball was brought in to get you into a four team playoff, not miss a 12 team playoff. Right. I understand, Mario Chrisaball was, no,

Mario Chrisaball was brought in to turn the program around and the program has been Turned around hopefully this is sustainable But I'm happy with the trajectory of the program from year one to year two to year three You're for for a recruiting based coach like Mario Chris a ball is that's when you start winning big So that's the challenge Miami's got to replace a lot of players But is it turning it around at Miami making it to the playoff winning national championships? I think it's a yes, yes, but you got to build and I think it's irrefutable that Miami's headed in the right direction and that's what I'm gonna hang my hand on. But Kirk Signetti turned around

Indiana in a year. Well Kirk Signetti also played three teams with winning records and if Miami had the very same thing they'd be in the college football playoff. The Cam Ward experience that makes me think that this isn't quite recreatable is if I'm gonna lose a couple of games because of my coach and I don't have the best quarterback in the sport, what does all this look like?

Because the defense. They were saying the same thing about Tennessee after Peyton Manning left, and then T. Martin rules the round. There are so many examples of great, unprecedented unicorns at the position and the guy that follows is not nearly as good. It's better than the alternative, like it can't be seen as anything but progress when you get to more wins and better quarterback

play and all the recruits that come from more wins and better quarterback play. It is the stepping stone, that can't be disputed, but Billy's not wrong when he says Mario Cristobal and a giant investment of $90 million was supposed to get you into the playoff by year three and they were as close as anybody could get without getting into the playoff. If Miami played SMU, if Miami played Clemson, things would have worked out a little different.

It's a little unlucky. SMU has a slightly more favorable conference, but Miami was up 21-0. You gotta own that. I had that question. I had the question, and has Miami ever lost a football game when they were up 21-0? I'm asking if, I don't think,

they've blown 21 point leads before, but I can't recall a game that Miami lost when they led 21-0 before this one. The question that people are asking, I don't know if they have, but that's not the issue that athletic directors are dealing with in coaches now. You heard what the Alabama AD said,

we gotta start thinking about strength of schedule now and about what to do with non-conference games. And now that we've seen one selection by the CFP committee when it's 12 not four, there's meetings going on, I promise you that. No, I would advise Miami just schedule cupcakes because you actually schedule ambitiously and you don't get credit for it at the end of the day they're just gonna hold up your conference and what you do in it against you so just do what the SEC schools do because you get you

don't get rewarded for a skit. What schools want to go to Florida? Miami never shies away from a challenge when it comes to scheduling. They put they put Michigan State in, LSU, Florida, Alabama, they don't care and they don't get the reward for it. Now they've never really been in position to be close enough to take that into account until this year. They beat Florida and everyone just moves a goal post on Florida. Well it was September, they're not as good as they were before. That wasn't a close game. This wasn't a game won inside of margins. That wasn't, well if they had DJ Lagway they'd win that game. I had DJ Lagway, they'd win that game.

I saw DJ Lagway for about half of that game. It was a 40 point victory, essentially. So one of the things you have to think about when you're scheduling is that maybe it doesn't matter who you're playing week two, week three, versus the end of season. Maybe it doesn't matter strength of schedule. And there are people arguing, don't do cupcakes.

But where I come out is, I am definitely doing cupcakes. Pro cupcakes. This show. I am pro cupcake.cakes. Pro Cupcakes, this show. Pro Cupcake, big time, because there's way more money by making it into the final 12 for the school. No doubt, pay San Jose State a million dollars, although that team might be too good. I don't want any part of it.

Well, Notre Dame did pay Northern Illinois to play there, did they not? Yes. I think, when did they become Cupcakes? Can you give me the origins, please, of this Cupcake cupcake talk that we're having I think it was Dickie V I don't think he invented the cupcake talk I think you think Dickie V invented referring someone as a cupcake referring to sports teams as cupcakes which is the older phrase tomato can or cupcake like which is the older phrase for referring

to somebody that is an easy beat to the fixes in on the schedule? I think tomato can is the older one. Yeah, no tomato can. You're a cupcake. It's also not just weak, it's also hey, you're a cupcake. I don't know why you're doing your eyebrows at me that way. Because you're a cupcake. Okay, please stop doing that.

You know why he's doing that. Extension time. Swab, we could fix all of this, but we don't need to do this today. Where did I finish in the listener league, Billy? I don't know what he's doing there. Swab, we could fix all of this, but we don't need to get it fixed. Where did I finish in the listener league, Billy? I don't know where it is that I finished. I don't know your username. I can't figure it out.

It'd be funny if you won. I can't have won. I had Tyler Murray in the Eagles defense. You lost. We will never be even. Maybe at Jordan Addison. Who knows? Just so you know, just so you're abundantly clear,

we will never be even for you killing my passion for this sport of game. You did this Thanksgiving to me You what happened there? What happened Mike mentioned it before he ruined your Thanksgiving Literally ruined it which is not easy to do because normally family just to do it But Mike did it this time he took my advice to watch a movie and he did so on Thanksgiving morning, and it ruined his day He saw the coffee table. I did on Thanksgiving. I was wrong, it wasn't Dickie V, it was Kendrick Perkins. What did you think of the coffee table, David?

That's really close. I see the confusion. It's gotta be before Dick Vitel. Kendrick Perkins did not, did not, did not invent the cupcake as a phrase. What happened with the coffee table? I still don't know what this is about. I don't wanna know what it's about.

Then how can you, why don't you want to know because everyone is so disgusted by it and mike is spoken about it in cryptic terms and i haven't wanted to go on the internet and know what the premise of this movie is anthony jeslin that is one of the great dark comics that there have ever been he thinks of this is a comedy he recommended on south beach sessions and mike decided to try it it is not not a comedy, I'm assuming, from the way you guys are reacting. It is disgusting, but I still don't know.

If you guys are so disgusted that you won't speak it out loud, it's only been whispered to Stu Gotz and Chris Cody, I don't wanna know what this movie's about. But why is it that you refuse on the recommendation to see it? Because of the disgust. It's a great film. No, it's a shock, it's not a disgusting film.

Maybe some people come away with that opinion. I think it's a shocking film. And the a great film. No, it's a shock. It's not a disgusting film Maybe some people come away with that opinion I think it's a shocking film and the reason why we don't want to give away the plot is I think the shock value has A lot to do with this film's power, but the beauty lies within the performances The the drama lies within the story as it goes because yes There is a central plot line that if I say it it gives away a large chunk But that is honestly just the tip of the spear when it comes to this film. It's about the residual effects of one action.

Yeah, I don't think that it can be spoiled because the tension of the movie is not the act that we're discussing. It's actually what happens after, which is the majority of the movie. What ruined my Thanksgiving is not the first thing that happens. That's a Tuesday that you can see.

It happened, right? Life happens. The performance that haunts me to this day, and I want to speak to your guests. I like the Netflix, but I really want to understand the comedy part, because Mike told me too, that you thought it was a dark comedy. Yes, I think that there is an aspect to this film.

There's a central action that has all sorts of ramifications. And I think the comedy is in the situations that they put the main actor in, and also that the main horror of this film is not necessarily the bad action, is how do I go about telling my wife that this thing happened? But to me, that's a Tuesday.

So I spent 29 years saying to myself, well, how am I going to tell my wife that this thing happened. But to me, that's a Tuesday. So I spent 29 years saying to myself, well, how am I gonna tell my wife this? So that to me was just a learned sort of knee-jerk thing. But you genuinely think it's a good film. I think it's a masterpiece. It's a very good film. It's one of the best films. It's gonna be on my top 10 list

of films I've watched this year. Okay. That's how significantly good it is. It's not a movie from this year, so it's not gonna get nominated a couple years old, but I do a separate list of movies I've actually watched because I watch older movies But it is a movie that there's before the coffee table and after the coffee table and I would recommend It will impact your holiday if you choose to watch it on Thanksgiving morning

You never told me that that's you're getting me back. Now. We're even we are even me that. That's your getting me back. Now we're even. We are even. Howdy folks, it's Mike. And guess what? It's Miller Time. The holiday season brings around lots of joy and also lots of family, lots of family gatherings at your home. You're inviting people in there and you want to make sure they're happy. Why don't you make their time at your place a Miller Time? Pass around that beautiful white can of Triple Hop's brewed Miller Lite and watch the smiles adorn those faces. Make Miller Lite the official drink, the official beverage of your holiday get together. You know why? Because it is a perfect beer for the holiday season. You'll take a sip, you'll look around, and you'll think

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I ain't never met nobody in the world that's done hate on blues clues, bro. Great nomination. Like, who don't like blues clues, bro? If you don't like blues clues, you're a loser. Stugats. Look, you get one paw print, that's the first clue. You put it in a notebook, now what do you do?

Blues clues, Clues. Sit on the chair and think about it. This is the Don Lebathor show with the Stugarts. I have a number of different things that I wish to get to because there was a lot of stuff in football over the weekend that was interesting. And also I want to talk more about the Soto story because if you want more information, if you are interested in sports business, nothing personal is the podcast for you. And David devoted, because it's such a seismic thing that just happened, it's super rare

for the baseball story to, I can't even think in the hypothetical. What's the baseball story that's climbing into my Sunday and knocking out all of the football? Like that's, I can't think of one in the hypothetical. It's not, if the Dodgers do this, it's not the same. If the Red Sox get him, it's not the same. It's the Mets taking him from the Yankees. It's that too, on top of everything else.

You're beyond the Boris and Stevie Cohn hatred that you have and they are one, two in people that you dislike in your sport, like who's one, two in people? So remember, it's not personal. I mean, Scott Boris, I don't break bread with him, but I will never forgive him for the way he acts towards his clients, especially Jose. So he's one and one A and one B.

Jose Fernandez, the Marlins pitcher who lost his life. It was very emotional and personal to you and Scott Boars came in, did some press conferences, did some smiling and then stopped caring about the family. And that's a good summary, but didn't insure it, didn't let us sign him long-term where he could have set up his child and his wife. But anyway, I digress.

What is interesting about this Soto situation is the first person I thought of was Steve Ballmer. It's a dream come true. Ballmer wanted to be Steve Cohn so badly. If you think about it, he bought the Clippers. The Clippers are the Mets. The Lakers are the Yankees. In the same area, it'd be like the White Sox

taking a player away from the Cubs. And Steve Ballmer was saying to himself, I thought I had it with Paul George. Oh, that didn't work. All right, how about a new Intuit dome? I've got all the technology. He took everyone on the tour. He said, this is better than Staples Center.

And of course it's not in any way and the Clippers are the Clippers. And Steve Cohn is devoted to spending whatever it takes to make the Mets bigger than the Yankees. I think most people are arguing that it is absolutely better than Staples in terms of a venue because of all the cool things that they've done to it. I've heard from several media members and they're like, I've never seen a place like

this on the planet. But the Clippers are still the Clippers. That is true. He did it to try to get the Clippers in a different conversation vis-a-vis the Lakers. Maybe that it didn't work is what you're the Lakers. And it didn't work, is what you're saying. I'm saying it didn't work. It's early. It's not that early in Balmer's career as an owner.

It's not that early. It's also not early in the careers of the guys that he's counting on to make it happen for them. Chris, can you get us the famous Balmer sound of him when we were all introduced to Balmer, him running on stage breathlessly and introduced himself to us? Because the larger point that David's's bringing up here when your franchise has been historically inept in a way that makes you laughing stock which is both

the clippers in the met the met to have been an afterthought in that city for a long time around all its other sports in baseball they are the lovable loser locally that had the worst team in history in nineteen sixty two and has been laughed at since they're the jets Jets, they're the Islanders, that's who they are. They don't beat the Yankees in free agency. Nobody beats the Yankees in free agency until recently. The Dodgers have the better cable contract.

But get for me the sound of Balmer because I wanna put it against what David is saying. Do you realize that among these rich owners that it's all high school? Everything is still high school, and Stevie Cohen wants to show that he's got more money than everybody else, and he'll win getting Juan Soto.

You watch, even though Juan Soto is not any kind of superstar outside of the confines of baseball. Like, you're not putting Soto in commercials. You're putting him in regional commercials. You're not putting him in national commercials. I don't think, though, there's anything that Steve Cohen can do that will help the Mets eclipse the Yankees in terms of popularity in that market.

But today he has. Today, for today. It cost him $765 million to win today. Yes. I don't think he won, actually. Look at what we showed. I believe what we showed on this show were two videos of Yankee fans.

I don't think we showed any Mets fans. That's winning. That's winning. That's the Mets showed any Mets fans. That's winning, that's winning. Yes. That's the Mets winning. Making Yankee fans that mad is that that's winning. But it's still the Yankees brand. It's still Yankees. Yeah, but he pissed Yankee fans off

and that's winning for a day. That's winning. Just for a day. They won the day. The Mets paid 760. It was a pricey day. No, they won the day. It was expensive.

But for one, look, Stevie Cohn has done this before. It's his greatest trick. He's already won free agency a couple of times, has he not? And then the team stunk. They were the lovable last year underdogs. Yes, on a rebuild. With a $300 million payroll. Billy, I heard you say this was a good one.

They were paying players not to play. And you were right, but still, that's their payroll. They're still $300 million on the team. But this is why I'm saying they don't spend their money wisely when they pay for them to just go away. A lot of teams pay for players to go away, but he does it at a level that's sort of, look what the Dodgers do.

Do you think Juan Soto's gonna finish his contract with the Mets? Who cares? Yeah, it's not an A-Rod situation. No, I know, I'm just asking out of curiosity. You think he's gonna finish the 15 years there? I think he will actually opt out five years from now and then Mets will opt him in

to give him an extra amount of money, which we haven't talked about yet. He can get up to 800 million. But I know where Billy's going, those last five years, six years, they're gonna be bad, but the next 10 are gonna be amazing. Wait a minute, hold on a second. He's 26.

I thought the new math on all of this, wrought by David through Cabrera and Stanton and what these deals are, I thought we all were of the understanding, even if three quarters of a billion dollars sounds like a ridiculous amount, that what the going cost in baseball is, if you want a player's next eight years, you better spend for his next 15. You're paying him basically twice, You hope he's good in his thirties, but that's it. You're paying him double the going rate per season on the front end of that contract. If I may, like everyone says, this is not going to age well. Well,

what he does is not, he's not just universally built on power. And we're also kind of forgetting that they did kind of change the rules in baseball. I think all those factors do help this contract age a little bit more with grace. He's got the best eye in in baseball. I think all those factors do help this contract age a little bit more with Grace. He's got the best eye in the sport. I don't see that eye getting worse over time. I don't see his plate discipline getting worse. But Mike, you're hoping that he's as good from 35 to 40 and he's not, like you can't expect that. You can't expect. But I'm saying the sport is in a better position for his contract to age with Grace now than it was a couple of years ago.

No question. I mean, Mike is right about that. And I don't care about 35 to 40. I care about 26 to 35. 35 to 40 comes quick. Yeah, well, I know. It comes quick. I know. Can I enjoy the nine years, though?

I want you to enjoy it, but you know very well that he's not going to get you a World Series on his own. The first thing Mets fans said is, oh, we're not done. We can't be done. What a thing to spend 765 on the number one free agent. Well, the Dodgers did it. The Dodgers did it with Otani and Glass now. And now Snell, like, that's the game you're in now.

Don't mention Otani. They're paid Otani $2 million. They're paying Soto $75 just in a signing bonus. I want to ask about the good and the bad in the deal from your perspective. But first, let's play that sound of how we were introduced as a show to Steve Ballmer, where he's talking to his Microsoft employees on stage and he runs out. ["Get On Your Feet"]

Ladies and gentlemen, Steve Ballmer! ["Get On Your Feet"] Woo! Woo! ["Get On Your Feet"] ["Get On Your Feet"] Come on! Get up! Get up! Come on! Come on! Give it up for me! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Thomas! Woo!

Woo! Come on! Who said sit down? I have four words for you. I love this company. Yes! Steve Cohen spent $765 million to do that today. To win a day. To do that today. To win, to knock football out of the way. I'm big Stevie Cohen and I just bought my way into the game.

Scott Boris didn't use me at all. It's very Chris Farley like, is what you just did. And that video feels that way too. I wish, I wish I lived in a world where football owners could fight over labor the way that these fools do. You could have that. You could absolutely have that if you wanted.

Would you trade a salary cap? If you're baseball, do you want to take the salary cap away in football and add it to baseball? Do you think it salary cap? If you're baseball, do you want to take the salary cap away in football and add it to baseball? Do you think it would impact Jerry Jones? The greatest advantage that football has in all regards is that that Tennessee Jacksonville game's gonna be close. That the equality of what they've legislated,

like that there are so few teams that can win in the margins because the margins are smaller than they've ever been, so that every damn game is close. And when I'm tuning in to even the Bills, bills who i know to be good they might lose at the rams because all the games are going to be close including all the chiefs games every single one of the chiefs games is going to be close yeah and that's the advantage that that league has so i understand why that league would want it but it's bad for the late labor good for the customer

your sport has a problem on its hands because you cannot tell me in any world that this person though he is a great baseball player is worth 15 years of guaranteed money that Patrick Mahomes is not worth just as an economy never mind just with this for the way the sport matters to Kansas City like you have made Patrick Mahomes so underpaid because baseball cannot keep its salaries in order because the owners are always going to do this for the best players. You're really struggling with timing.

It's hard to compare today's free agent to a deal that was done during COVID when there's a possibility that who knows what the world will be like. People take their guaranteed money when they can and someone will beat Soto. I remember when we signed Stanton, it was hey, I don't wanna be the number one contract, I'm too uncomfortable being that, and I said to him at the Beverly Hills Hotel, it won't be long, and I actually don't know how long it was, but I don't know, you may have that who beat his 325, it may have been Harper at 330

who came in five million above that purposefully, but I said it won't be long. So this 765, it's not gonna be long. Again though, it shows the scam of all of this business in front of everybody, the fact that the players are worth a lot more than you guys, the ownership, pretend. Because once you get two teams competing for it, the going rate now for a superstar,

it's not even a sports superstar that transcends his sport, is now in a galaxy where Tom Brady was not paid this much. Tom Brady's not paid half this much now. Yeah, but the insanity isn't what baseball is doing. The insanity is what the other sports are allowed to do. It's not something that's allowed in global sports. Baseball's doing it right. And it's why all the European soccer owners want to replicate the American model so they

can actually cap the wages of the labor that's actually bringing in the revenue. What's crazy is that you actually look at Tom Brady, who's the greatest ever do it, and say, you can only make this much. David loves that. He loves it. It's just controlled costs on idiots. Well, it makes it more competitive. It sounds like you love it too. You've been telling David for 20 years, his sport is out of control. They're coming off a very popular World Series. Their sport is certainly healthy enough to be dishing out contracts like this. So I think maybe you're wrong.

What am I wrong about? Because when you're criticizing the contracts at baseball are holding out, are handing out, they're being insane. How were you taking his criticizing it? Because for 20 years you've been telling his sport, David, that his sport is out of control. And what does he have to show for it?

The contracts keep getting bigger because the sport has actually been successful. No, but the sport was only out of control because he was lying to us about what the costs were. We were being lied to about what the value of these people were. I think the unjust thing is the fact that they cap people on other sports. I never lied directly to you. Just know that. We were being lied to about what the value of the player was. We now know in retrospect that LeBron as an economy has been underpaid every time he lands somewhere. If this baseball player is worth this much,

then all athletes at this level of excellence are underpaid. Can I get a list, please, of the NBA players who are overpaid and making tons of money because there's a salary floor. It's a lot easier to get the ones you get. And there's a bunch of scrubs. Right.

You get like $60 million. But don't you want a more balanced league, balanced competition? I'm arguing out of the both sides of my mouth because I'm arguing on behalf of both the customer and what the customer wants But also that these owners have been lying to us about how valuable these people are for for many many years They've been lying to us when obviously look how valuable they are Dan I think the big issue is in the NBA the reason why the best guys don't get the money they deserve is not because of the salary cap.

It's actually because the NBA, unlike any other sport in the world really, has a cap, an individual cap, on how much a player can get paid. The max, right? If we kept the NBA salary cap as is, but allowed players to get paid whatever their market value is,

LeBron could theoretically get paid 70, 80, 90 million dollars a year, it's just now you've got 25 million dollars to spend on the remainder of your roster. But do you guys realize what I'm saying and how the entire thing, once you've out-negotiated in collective bargaining the players, and you've created, as David did so well for many years,

laughing at the Tony Clarks of the world who were leading their unions, fighting for the wrong things, as David took the things that actually had giant value, to watch the union in that sport negotiate something that gets these amounts of money now suggests to me that everything that you guys have been paying these players when they were undervalued was allowing you to get away with murder and creating the business of baseball. You are taking an outlier and you're trying to make a rule when it's actually the exception. So your entire argument is not well served by having Juan Soto as your stake in the ground. Juan Soto is a generational free agent talent at 26 years old. That's

why he could get 15 years. Otani wasn't going to get 15 years and Otani is way more valuable than Soto to a team on the thought that he could pitch. but he was 30. So the example is you're bringing up, I never saw Cabrera was a young free agent. It happens once in a blue moon. So I would be focused. Bryce Harper was this? Like what do you have? He was young too.

You're bringing up, you're bringing up. Guys that were so good enough to get into the league at the age that they did. Dan, by way of example, right? The max in the NBA for an NBA salary, it varies depending on how many years you play, but it's around like 40 some odd million dollars. There are four players in baseball

with an average annual value of $40 million. If I drop that down to 30, which is max for like a guy in his first few years in the league, that's 16 players in Major League Baseball make 30 plus million. That's not a lot. That's not a lot. Now what they do have is the 15 year deal,

the 10 year deal, whereas an NBA, it only goes to five years. Crazy deferred payments where you can pay somebody 40 years after the contract. Players agree to that. But at the end of the day, what David is telling you is, you're getting distracted by the peak when the reality is,

and this is exactly what they collectively bargained for, I would much rather pay a shit ton of money to an elite player and then underpay everybody else than what we have in the NBA, which is our best players by value are underpaid, but then our rank and file are for the most part overpaid. I think there's a creative solution. I think they should abolish salary caps in all the sports because go ahead and try paying a quarterback

500 million dollars that sport there's so many injuries that that stuff will figure itself out and the NBA is a little bit more difficult You have five guys on the court You know that the the top 1% in that sport is just so much better if that top 1% is only dispersed over three teams Those three teams, those three teams are gonna be there at the end. It's almost a virtual guarantee. So the NBA probably would have to have a more creative solution.

I've never been against everybody making as much money as they can make here. I'm not saying that their sport is out of control. I'm saying quite the opposite. If you can afford this, you must have control of your finances. Like, you must know that when you're going to give that deferred money to Otani, you can recoup it all as investment by keeping Blake Snell, getting Blake Snell and continue getting every

good player, Freddie Freeman, and continuing to do that. And just making the deal with Otani that Brady made with the Patriots, which is, look, I'll play under value and you can just get me a bunch of other players. Well, Tony's not playing under value. You understand what I'm saying? They can get everybody now because they're deferring some of his payments versus they might not be able to get Glassnow and Snell

right now. They might not be able to pay for them if they didn't have the promise of Otani being returned on investment before they even played him. That's not what it was. Otani was the unicorn because he had the income from endorsements that Soto doesn't have, nobody has as a baseball

player. His income by being Japanese and being who he is, let's say it's 60 million. What his agent said to him is, you can make 60 million for the next 10 years from endorsements, then you'll be a fly on the wall, your endorsement income will drop off, and then you'll get 68 million from the Dodgers for the next 10 years. So he basically got him 20 years at 60 to 70 million and will pay for himself and will pay for himself. That's a whole nother story which stop reading all of information you're getting. Otani did not generate 121 incremental dollars. It

doesn't happen that way. There's not the attendance, the Japanese sponsorships by half inning, it's totally insane. You're telling me he's not, what's he worth then to Japan? Oh, he's, listen, the Dodgers are fine because they're taking the money and they're investing it and they're gonna make money on the deferral.

I'm asking you, Otani as an investment, they pay him deferred money. You're telling me that they're not recouping whatever it is that they're making right now because, you're saying? What are you saying? He's saying that they're investing the money that they were planning on paying him,

and that way that money grows. It's other players. This is what the Mets did with Bonilla, except they got made off. No, are you talking actual investments? I'm talking what Guggenheim Partners does for a living. Oh, okay. They're making actual investments on the money, having the money that they're saving work

for them to actually pay Otani off. I think Pasin said yesterday his actual contract value is like $320 million or something like that, but they have to pay him $700, but it's over a span of like 20 years. It's $460 is the present value. Yes, that's how it's counted by the union and by the league. So it's $460. That was the record that Boris was trying to break. The Dodgers have rigged the finances of the game

with their regional contract and therefore the Mets have to keep up. I don't understand why you keep saying they rigged it. They're playing within the rules. George Steinbrenner, one of the first things he ever said to me, he looked at me and said, I give you money not to kick my ass, but by the way, I play by the rules

One soda was rigging it because he got someone to pay him what he's worth That's not rigging it. That's a marketplace. They're protecting Otani from Otani, you know the whole gambling I don't want to use the look at me Louie anymore. I want a new sound for that Can you put something together real quick? that is more overtly what he just did where he's just name dropping with Steinbrenner there? Name drop Yeah, that's better than... Did you play that for Pablo? That's better. Well, we just got it.

It would also break if you did. I just asked him to make it. Just made it. Yes, we just made it. That's how good you guys are? Yeah, that's how quick it was. Can you play it again? Because we just made it. That's how good you guys are? Yeah, that's how quick it was. Do you play it again, because you just did it?

Yeah. Yeah. Just paid for his salary for the year. You agree with Stugats on the gambling thing? He did, that was the reason. For sure. Really? Oh, please.

It wasn't eBay? What are you claiming? What are you claiming? I'm not gonna re-litigate this issue. What are you claiming? Hold on a second? I'm not gonna re-litigate this issue. What are you claiming? Hold on a second. I'm not gonna re-litigate this issue. I'm not gonna re-litigate this issue.

I'm just making a joke. I'm just making a joke. I'm sorry, wrong button, sorry. Game drop. Time to drive away all journalistic credibility and get reckless. Here is something we like to call reckless speculation. You're good.

I will speculate the fact that it is highly unlikely that anyone had a story go away faster than he pay the uber driver It's a damn miracle What are you claiming? He never knew that he pay was gambling at all Not I mean, what do you mean? Not? Would report that. What do you mean? I'm not a not joke.

What do you guys? Presses reckless speculation like that. Come on. Come on. Howdy folks, it's Mike. And guess what? It's Miller time. The holiday season brings around lots of joy and also lots of family, lots of family gatherings

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