The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 2: Uncomfortable Truths

Episode Date: February 22, 2024

Mike Ryan boycotted the Paul Pierce interview, but he has come back with some sharp criticism's of his coworkers after getting all chummy with "The Truth." We also rewatch a clip of Old Money Charlie going down on American Ninja Warrior. Then, College Football NIL has changed once again with a new plan from EA Sports, and Nick Saban is about to be everywhere. Plus, Thursday Thunder, Blue Chips, and tony's Top 5 Rising Stars in NFL Content Creation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network. This is the Don Lebatore Show with the Stugatz Podcast. My Brian has returned like adrenaline soaked from his workout all shoulders because he in in protest he sat out our general Fraternizing with Paul Pierce. He sat I boy. I don't know how often has Mike Ryan boycotted segments before I stood here and talked to Michelle to foya But this is the first time I felt compelled to just

opt out. Tell me you guys spoke power to truth. I don't know if we did. I think it was a little too chummy probably. Oh, you guys were goofing off with that journeyman? He's not a journeyman. Oh, he's not? Come on. Go to basketball reference. He's a Hall of Fame.

Who's next? James Posey? He's a Hall. I apologize to James Posey. He's actually a multiple time champion. Come on, he's a Hall of Fam Famer Mike. What are you talking about? Yes What yeah, I'm sorry this is this far what are you doing Hall of Fame? We're how do you do that? How do you do that? All the shit that he talks about you Donis Haslam and Dwayne Wade and this great city

about Udonis Haslam and Dwayne Wade and this great city, how he just traffics on him and his legacy being completely overrated. You don't see Sean Marion making the media rounds. He's a one-time champion too. Paul Pierce's career was an utter disappointment and the big three of Boston was a failure and yet we give them this gravitas that I don't completely understand. They grift off the success of a much better franchise that perfected the model, and he just talked shit left and right for years and years and years, and we give him a platform? Ridiculous.

Business partnership is what we've given him. I'm glad he wasn't here for it. I'm glad. I think it would have been ridiculous. I think it would have been better. I think it would have been ridiculous. This is real sound ridiculous. What the? I think it would have been better. I think it would have been better if Mike had been here because now it's gonna seem like we weren't willing

to speak power to truth that we waited until he was off and then all of a sudden Mike Ryan comes on. Oh is it? Yeah. I'm cowardly. I'm cowardly. Why, because I'm talking shit behind truth's back? Yeah.

Hmm. That's... Is that what he does all the time? He talks shit to people's faces. No, he doesn't. What are you talking about? He doesn't. I see these podcast clips.

I see these vodcast. He's not talking to LeBron James. He's not talking to Dwayne Wade. He's not talking to you, Donis Haslam. No, he's not. Stop giving him credit. He's not some tough guy. Nah, get out of here, man.

Hold on. Hold on. He's arguing with KG, and KG is giving back a very strong argument. They're going back and forth. That's another over over Ray players. Oh my god Come on. Come on. What's like another subpar actor too. What? He was not good in that. Don't do that. He was not good enough I got jobs We're starting a partnership Mike. I love Matt Barnes. I love Stephen Jackson If Paul Pierce comes along with them fine, but I have my own personal objections All those I love this city and I won't apologize. No, I'm not I'm not gonna stand for this day

These are my friends that he's talking about. Oh, that was an evident the during the interview It was it was a little too chummy. I think that that's fair. I think it was a little too chummy. What's wrong with chummy? Well, because I know people, now all of a sudden it's a problem? No, you made it all about yourself and all about your ninja warrior.

You know when the next spin-off is goofing off with Chris Gatling. First of all, Chris Gatling. That's not, that's a stray. Why is he catching the stray? Yeah, he's an all-star and he's a great journeyman, not unlike Paul Pierce. Come on.

Paul Pierce was a great journeyman. I'd argue Paul Pierce was one of the best journeymen ever. Mike, Mike, that's disrespectful. That's a 10-time all-star. And he was a journeyman. Moses Malone was a journeyman too He's the greatest journeyman gotling played for the 19 teams all peers Paul peers one of the greatest Celtics of all time, man

Well time okay, all right, and it wasn't like for five minutes What is that for that franchise has won two titles in my lifetime? Maybe one let me go back. I think it's one What does that mean? What is a Celtic? You might as well say, oh, he's one of the greatest Memphis Grizzlies of all time. That franchise has no history. That whole segment though,

did make me realize something that I was trying to remember that happened yesterday. I mean, you were saying, what you were talking about is pizza the greatest thing and then Dan said sex and then he said, oh. I say Chris said sex and then Dan said oh and then a mean said Also people falling down and then I realized that there is a fourth thing that we didn't talk about That is one of the greatest things which is watching people get hit in the nuts Yeah, because after we watched a mean on American Ninja Warrior. We watched this video during the break

Oh money Charlie old money Charlie. Old money Charlie. This is comedically perfect. That sound. That was voice voice I think. I mean, it's just that sound is somebody running across things that are full speed and landing on his, yeah on his package.

Very narrow thing that he crossed. Thank you, Jessica. What I better said, dick first, the sound you hear is dick first. Why is he saying, why is the crowd chanting, oi, oi, oi? I don't remember that. Okay, but you made the interview all about you, and Mike Ryan's not wrong when he says it was,

the whole thing was overly Chinese. And what's Chris Gatling? Hold on, I wanna run the whole thing. 18 is from Chris Vonnevin. One more time, one more time, because I want you guys to notice something. Like, yes, he falls like a cartoon character. I mean, not cartoon characters, hit, and it pauses. Thank you, yes, he falls like a cartoon character. I mean, how cartoon characters hit and it pauses.

Yes, you're right. Pause right after the sound on how he just slide slithers down the wet wall, defeated and broken. One, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, Right there keep it going Was he okay after that I've never seen a world money Charlie again none of us

None of us ever did you know what's the best part Mike? And it's the only part that will make you feel Better about how I embarrassed us as a company there by partnering with Paul Pearson betraying everything you care about you embarrass who I'll tell you how because we were so chummy here with Paul Pierce when Mike Ryan is is saying Careers a failure that they underachieved with one championship that and that can be argued truth like that can be argued The finals twice. they played a game seven you call a tree side of body of a bio a tree and he's gone to two finals yeah but he disappeared into finals Paul Pierce played his ass off in two finals one of finals MVP if not not mistaken a finals MVP famously faked an injury that he took coward. That he took.

Cowardice. That he took back to his hometown of LA when he gets booed by the way. Had a game winning playoff basket for the Wizards where he missed so badly it actually went in and said he called the game not bank. Bank, that's a legendary. That was a great one.

That was a great one. You can't use that one against him. You had one in his face. He was actually pretty quick on his feet there. He had a game. You can't use that one against him. That one's in his face. He was actually pretty quick on his feet there. He had a game winner in Toronto as a net where he was after the game, he says, that's why they brought me here. That's why I'm here. That dude is cold, man. I'm not going to take no Paul Pierce. I think there's a part of Paul.

I called game. And the part of Paul is all of Paul. That actually likes that I don't like him this much That rebels in the fact that the heat arena will occasionally still chant Paul Pierce sucks and F Paul Pierce he leans into it with his asinine comments about that franchise You're right in that he leans into it down like I said when he was finals MVP He took the finals MVP trophy, the Bill Russell trophy, to LA and would go out for a week to different restaurants,

call for a reservation for two and then put the finals MVP trophy on the table. That's the second one. Jessica doesn't love that one. What? He was. He by himself? Yes, he was.

Imagine Brian Cardinal doing this. At least make a reservation for three and bring some more. No, no, no, no, no. The whole idea is like, two, where's your second, is your whole party here? And he says, yes. And he holds up the table. So the bits for like the host?

It's for everyone. It's everyone in the restaurant. The waiter too. Because then you write. And they're like, ah! Give a little napkin, a little napkin. No one in the restaurant knows the reservation was for two. Well, they see a table for two.

Maybe there's just an extra chair. It was a reservation for one. The bit only works for the person seating them who's looking at their little computer and sees, oh, Paul Pierce, Rezzy, two. It's a bad bit. No. But it's a great picture to have on your social media

if Paul Pierce is just having dinner alone with the trophy. Not alone, he's with the trophy. The trophy has a little bib on it, you know? If the trophy's wearing like a little bib or like a little like tie, that's cute. Are you back in? A little a little tie, that's cute. I'm back in. A little hat on it, that's cute. I don't want to do a reappraisal of Paul Pierce's career.

A little failing, the glasses with the mustache. That's a good bit. Paul Pierce, Mike Ryan is rabid. He's like dangerous Mario Ellie. Come on, Mike. Mike, things are disrespectful. Mike, I dangerous Mario Ellie. Come on, Mike. Like things are disrespect. Mike, I think you should go on the truth. This is disrespect.

And say these things to his face. You would never. We can call it uncomfortable truths. You're overrated. No, you would never. You're overrated. Your franchise has built its entire prestige base off an era where players had socks with belts on them.

Ha. I'm not going to do that bit again. It's a tired bit, Paul, to say something repeatedly. And maybe you don't find the truth in it. Larry O'Brien Trophy with socks with belts on it. Yeah. At the table. Just one sock though, because you can only wear one. Yeah, and a little hat.

And a little hat on the head, the ball. The part of this that is funniest to me is that Mike Ryan's boyhood rage. These look, these fires. No, don't tell me short. I was a grown-ass man when I hated him. I have a child now. I'm almost 40. I hate that guy. He sucks. Just absolute, what do they call it? Malfeasance? You embarrassed me. You embarrassed me right now. What?

I'm gonna go see this guy and say, hey man, after I got out there you're boring. And you're into business. He's got enough people blowing smoke. Maybe that's the name of this next podcast. There's all the smoke and then just blowing smoke. Here is the best part of all that. I cannot wait until that Ray Allen stuff ends up cooking and Amin's wearing that wrinkled shirt. Come on, dammit.

Come on, Ken. The show's over. Why you bring them all shit? It's gonna, it's, you are gonna, they're gonna be like, there's hard times, I mean, he's wearing something from the runner. He's gonna be so fresh, what happens to him? The best part about this is I'm not even wearing shoes.

I wore slides today. It's true, David Samson. Mailed it in today, what's wrong with you? He's wearing like, he chunked on us, he's wearing like some sort, look, he's like Canadian, he's got socks and flip-flops. Holy shit, that's a lazy outfit.. Look, he's like Canadian. He's got socks and flip flop. Holy shit. That's a lazy outfit.

That's on. It's unbelievable. I will. Tin you can iron the shirt, put on sandals with socks. I just didn't feel necessary to have hard bottom shoes today. My hard bottom. I'm just, I've been unfair because I didn't listen to the interview But I doubt you guys talked about how whitey scoop has three more championships Staying up late hanging out with friends yelling at the game on TV you do a lot over a big weekend

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Don Lebatard! Well, Charlie sent, uh, Charlie had this, Charlie as far as I know, so just Charlie's title in my phone. Are you gonna say anything? Two guts! Uh, how familiar were you at the time with Chewbacca? Like how, your upbringing had how much Chewbacca in it? This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugats! I want to get to the NIL news, but before I do so, I want to get to Lucy's genuine enthusiasm for what Nick Saban is doing with the rest of his career.

Nick Saban said he was too old for Alabama football, too old for the rigors of that job. Both presidential candidates are older than Nick Saban. Lucy's very excited about Nick Saban on game day. Nick Saban is appointing himself commissioner of all rules. He's saying, I know what's best for college football. He's really going into a position at ESPN, a signature position where he's going to be bare Bryant Emeritus as I am the face and voice of college football still even though I'm no longer coaching college football. I mean, he knows college football better than anyone.

He's pretty much beaten, perfected the system. Like, it's, I'm very excited for what Nick Saban is going to do on game day. I know he came out a little earlier, I believe this week or last, and was like, I'm never gonna pick against Alabama. Like, that's just not gonna happen. And I really respect the honesty of that.

I'm so excited for Nick Saban on game day because I do share a lot of like the same like views that Tim when it comes to what the landscape of College Football is, like what came out today was that he wants to regulate an IL and be the voice reason and all that stuff. I'm just genuinely excited to learn again. College Football has missed the like moments of like,

wow, this is what's going on here. this is what makes this team really good, this team really good, like I'm very excited to have game day be a little more educational. Let me ask you a question Lucy, I asked this of Dan. The problem, quote-unquote, with college football that these old fogies have, they keep going to NIL, but isn't it true that the bigger issue is the freedom of movement? Like them getting paid is less of an issue than the idea of like, I don't like it here, I'm moving. I would say yes and no.

Like when it comes to NIL, I agree with you, I don't think that's the big issue. And also the thing with NIL, Bessie, if you think it wasn't happening before, you are out of your frickin' mind. It has absolutely been happening for the longest time and we can just see it now, like in front of our eyes. I do think that the transfer portal is like wildly unregulated like

they've done a better job of like here at transfer windows and stuff like this where NIL is contributing to that but as long as coaches can leave freely players should probably be allowed to leave freely. It adds this like crazy sort of like aspect to it but I think you see like with Michigan winning the national championship last year a lot of those guys on the team had been at Michigan their entire career and you see that having that sort of like standard and you you grow and develop through a program actually helps you out so I think it will balance itself in some way shape or form. I really think it's because I

happened at the same time too that the last few seasons have felt a little crazy if you're just a casual fan watching the sport. Nick Saban's still going to dominate it by being, he'll never lose. He lost his last game and Harbaugh ran to the pros. It feels sort of seminal what happened there in terms of Belichick and Harbaugh and all of those guys getting out and changing at different times. College football is crazy. It's really crazy to watch all of the rules change on what you knew and you're seeing the business play out in front of you in a way. I do think people are a bit startled

at everything that's happening and how little governments and regulation can keep up with how you actually police any of this stuff. Do you guys think that Nick Saban would still be coaching if name, image, and likeness wasn't around? He kind of said like when he retired that it was more so his age and just how much more taxing it was to coach

like 14 hour days work, like 14, 16 hour days during the season. I'm familiar with what he said, do you believe him? Yeah, I mean he's pretty old. He is old. I'm sure there's an aspect to it, because yeah, everyone's jobs got harder if you're a college football coach over the last few years

because you're constantly re-recruiting players that now can leave without a penalty if they try to transfer somewhere else. Like that, of course. I think there's definitely a lot to be said for how much more difficult the job has gotten, but I do think a lot of people are using it as an excuse to shit on the current system in pretty disingenuous ways.

But Jess, that's my point. It's like, it's not the fact that they're getting paid that's made it more hard. It's the fact that like, if they don't like something about you, they can leave without any repercussion. That's the part that's made the job harder because as we've said, the top stars were always getting paid.

Yeah, the coaches have lost that element of control that they've always had. It's gonna take a different approach and coaches have mainly been unified in that the game has changed and this is not good and there needs to be some control over it and we didn't really have a dissenting voice within the ranks and then came Kenny Dillingham over at Arizona State who has a tumultuous situation over at Arizona State.

It's a good job to have in that there aren't many of these jobs, but you know, it's a tough road to hoe. But I loved his quotes and it kind of was illuminating in some degree because he says, you're blessed. There's a lot of negativity about it. Yes. But you know how many people want to be a college football head coach? I literally spent nine years of my life doing anything to become a coffee boy. So don't give me the, oh, it's hard to be a coach right now. Yeah, it's hard

You don't like it then quit I think we need more of that attitude a little bit because I think certainly Nick Saban has nothing to prove in the game and It would be disingenuous for me to say Yet you turn around and ran away from the sport once the the talent pool started getting you know you turn around and ran away from the sport once the talent pool started getting, you know, spread out a little bit more. But I do think that there is some validity in that it is suspicious timing

and it maybe made your decision a little bit easier because you had a different arrangement. But why can't it be that both things are true? He's old and the job has gotten a lot more tiring because I can't imagine what it is for grandpa to be trying to connect with a 17-year-old who now has the power because you're changing what... Understood, but grandpa had all the power and now the power has been dispersed and it's

that much more challenging and I think whether he knows it or not, those are the challenges he's speaking to. But it's the perfect time to get out in that regard. He gets out unblemished. With arguably his best coaching job at Alabama, because we've seen Alabama teams of yesteryear, that team had no business making the college football playoff, none.

It was full of highly recruited players that, you know, like, it wasn't like they had a bunch of scrubs that he coached really well. Like, these were like a lot of five-star guys that in certain position groups, like they were just not what you expect from an Alabama team that has been recruiting really well. And like you said, there's obviously a handful of reasons

why that could be the case. And maybe one of the reasons is like, they took them a while to figure out their quarterback at the beginning of the season. But I tend to believe him when he says that it's just like, yeah, doing this job for as long as I've done it is really, really hard. And he didn't retire like right after NIL.

Like it's been a couple of years of the portal in NIL. So I mean, and I don't even know if it matters. He ruled away for a couple of years. I don't even know if it matters. Who cares? Like you said, like unimpeachable record. Well, but yeah, no And he still did it. He's the greatest of all time. Yeah, he gave the national champion everything that they had

I just don't think that the the free reign that he had over the sport was going to continue and I thought I thought that was pretty Self-evident, okay, but beyond that what I would say to you is how rare these exits these gracefully are Bella chick just got run out of New England. The idea that Nick Saban best ever can retire with this timing to a post career that allows him to still be all around it and in it with one of the prime jobs in retirement. Bobby Bowden didn't get to finish like this. Bobby Bowden used to say this, I'm not going to retire. I'll never retire. Why? Because there's only one major event where everyone gathers after you retire and it's the funeral. And Nick Saban is going to go into another career where he still gets to lord over the sport as the best ever. Nobody gets that ending. Yeah. Belichick can't even get that broadcasting

job now. Nobody gets post retirement and I still lord over the sport forever, even though I'm getting out at the perfect time. I am very much looking forward to his analysis and that making a return to college game day. I do think that they leaned a little bit more to the entertainment aspects. I also think part of the problem is no one else really up on there can speak to the ins and outs of the game. Deje jour because Kirk Herbstreet has to kind of essentially recuse himself of going all in because he has to be unbiased. So I love that you have a coach's view up there, especially with how Lee Corso has aged over the years.

But what I'm not looking forward to is him making every excuse in the book for all of these head coaches because you know that's coming. Wait, Mike, I'm dumb. Why is Kirk Herbstreet recused from doing critical analysis? He can't make predictions on the game, so he stops short because he has to appear unbiased.

But he does give his opinion on pretty much everything. But wait, wait, how's that different from any other analysts on the show? Well, they're not calling the game. He's the lead voice of Color Commentary on the broadcast. He does plenty, but I think he's the only one that doesn't and the rest of the crew and he's kind of fallen into leading into more of the entertainment aspects. It's fun to watch, it's light, but I do miss the nutritional

aspects of it. Yeah, bringing McAfee in is like really just like, oh, this is a party, this is a fun, we're just gonna yell, play to the crowd, all that stuff. And we've really lost that aspect of College Game Day where you're breaking down film, you're learning about these matchups like in a more in-depth way. Nick Saban is the perfect guy to bring that in. And he's also funny and interesting. And it has like, he's been great every time he's on TV.

Who used to provide that? Lee Corso in a sense, Herb Street did it, like, you know, but he also has those limitations. But yeah, it's the College game day has turned into like more of a spectacle and I don't want it to be entirely factual and learning and all this stuff, but I really miss that. So I'm excited to have it back.

To the argument that we were making about JJ, it's like you want to do higher, you want to do low. And what's college game day gone for? It's like, oh, we're breaking down X's and O's. We're going to see what the pulling guard's doing here. Like nobody really wants to talk about that. Do you want to be educated? Because Lucy's articulating the opposite of what JJ Redick

is arguing. Something needs to be done, I think, to college game day a little bit, because, look, the proof is in the pudding. They've lost. I was championing the idea that you can't just remove producers and expect the same show. A lot of the producers that made that the giant that it was.

You sure about that? I'm telling you. A lot of the producers that made that the giant that it was. You sure about that? I'm telling you, a lot of the people that help behind the scenes make that what it was are no longer there and it's not just the analysis. It's also you lose Summer and Aldi, you lose Wojo, you lose some of those heartwarming aspects, those profiles that were a staple of College Game Day and you've put more fluff around it and the fluff is fun, the fluff is, make it a party. It is, the tailgate aspects of college football is a huge slice of Americana, but when you lean too much into that,

you do start losing ground to your competitors. I'm with Lucy though, it's a three hour show. I think like you find the balance between like the smart and the funny and Nick Saban is gonna just make a lot of D's nuts jokes and he'll provide the funny. He's the rat poison now. I can't believe that he's gonna get this ending and that he's gonna get also be able to save College Game Day because Fox they got Urban Meyer, Urban Meyer is the cheap and dirty Saban.

Like there's a quality difference there and what you're talking about on exits and ego. One of the broadcasts is gonna have the most credible guy in the world at the center of everything teaching everybody. Maybe MacMuffin will bring something out of him. And the other guy has a book about character. Hey Dan, you think Sabin's gonna make more money in his new career than he did in his old career?

You guys are underestimating. He has it written in his deal that as an analyst he gets one dollar more the richer coach. Don Lebatard! The alley has a bad reputation in general, right? It does. For American history. But on South Beach, someone's always just sitting somewhere smoking a cigarette. You can't go down an alley around here and not see someone sitting there smoking

It's still it retains a pulsating heat from the night before you walk by some liquid that you're like is that water Yeah, last night. That's definitely not water. Avoid the liquid always avoid the liquids in an alley still guts I venture guess that if you were to rake your tongue on the asphalt of an alley You would die immediately I don't think it would be immediately though. First, you'd contract very quickly, right before death, several sexual diseases, and then you would die.

This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugats. It can only be one thing, Dan-O. It's Thursday. It seems like it's raining. It also is. There we go. It's raining. That's right, Tony.

It is Thursday. And when Thursday rolls around, so does the Thunder. Yeah. The Thursday Thunder is sponsored by DraftKings. Stay tuned because you'll hear more about DraftKings and all it has to offer throughout the show. DraftKings, the crown is yours. Tony, what do we got?

The association is back tonight, Mike, and we are going with three picks in the association. We're going with a couple of things. One, Josh Green over on points, eight and a half. Don't know who that is. A me, please, fill him in. We are going Cam... Josh Green? Yeah, Cam Whitmore over 11 and a half points.

That one's a made up name. You're not tricking me. That's one of those times where like, and you didn't even notice that I made two of those names up. I'm calling it right now. You made both of those names up. And the last leg. Trey Man over 12 and a half points. These are not real people. I love that Mike thought that Alperin Shingoon was a made up person. Who's picking these for us?

Like, I don't know why it is that we would not. These are the expert picks of Juju Gani. Okay. He has been doing well. He started well, and then he was lamenting at the Super Bowl. He was lamenting that it was not going well, that he had made some bad picks here. So is he an excellent gambler, but you know, even excellent gamblers have a bit of a-

Well, someone should alert him that he just picked a three leg parlay with and totally made up players. Bit of a dry spell. Not real. We're back on it. Amin, I'm worried about some things that are happening with Amin when it comes to aging.

He's been doing yoga in the studio, taking care of himself. He's flying a lot, and it's cross-country, and he is a heroic employee, but his body has taken a beating and so has his clothing. And you have aged in a way that sometimes you're talking to Lucy and Jessica and you're startled that they don't know that the 30- year anniversary of blue chips is supposed to mean something to them

because your movie taste now runs so old from childhood that a classic basketball movie that you think is great that probably wasn't great, they have no care in the world about what an old movie this is. Well, the reason why is because it's a movie about college athletics. It's about how dirty college athletics is. So I felt like this is a common ground.

Wait, hold on a second. You said the anniversary of Blue Chips. I thought of Juju's video from All Star of the Doritos. I thought of Blue Chip recruits in college football. It was completely out of context. I am familiar with the movie. I've seen the movie. I had to watch it in college once.

And it was one of those classes you took that you were like, really a college class? Why are we watching this? And we had to write a paper on like responsibility. It was a really weird class. Can't believe I paid out and stayed tuition for that. Tony, Blue Chips, you familiar with this? Of course, Anna.

Okay, so are you doing something on it on Cinefo? So we reviewed Blue Chips. That as our latest episode that dropped today, but the big reveal is our guest was Anthony Chicago Hall who played Tony from blue chips Tony that failed TV and so Lucy you you gave such a good teammate of support you you you really Lucy, you gave such a good teammate of support. You really exhibited shock while not having one single care or understanding of anything Amin was saying. You are welcome.

You guys are all letting me down in an incredible way. Mike with his Paul Pierce, just assassination of character. Now Lucy tell me she doesn't know who Tony from Blue Chips is. I didn't assassinate his character, the man has none. Quiet. Come on. Lucy, you remember he was failing TV and they're like, how does anyone fail TV? It's harder than just watching the tube, coach.

And it turns out he was the one that was on the take that was point shaving, spoiler alert. That was my pandemic semester, so I don't really remember. You were in college during the pandemic? Yeah. Holy shit, man, I'm old. She was learning at home, didn't retain any of it. Is that right, Lucy?

Yep. Didn't really retain much in person either. And now I work here. You can't say the man has no character, Mike. You have to scale back the insults. Like honestly, you can't, when do you ever say that? Someone has no character. That's subjective.

This is my truth. Okay, I don't want to listen to my just do Fiction from his mind. Oh, no, let's just do what you did glad hand for two segments. It's not glad hand. Yes, it was It's not glad handing disgusting. I'm sorry if I have a prior relationship with the person We're going in the business. Do you consider him a friend? Yes? I do anything about your shirt He could see it because the cameras and pick up on it. Yeah, right He couldn't see it because the camera's in pink on it. Yeah, right. Okay.

Anyways, we interviewed Tony, who has this very seminal scene where Nick Nolte confronts him about, hey, is it true that you point shaved? And he breaks down in tears and he said, it was just one game and all that. It's a very, very serious poignant moment. And then when we don't do that, Lucy, I don't trust you anymore.

She's like, oh yeah, yeah, she's not in her head. She is, she is, I have zero trust in you. She is faking it. Lucy is faking any interest in her interest in this movie is so wildly insincere that I can see that through Lucy's face she's lying to you. I do semi-remember the point shaving. Like, I remember Shaxx in the movie. Yes, Shaxx is in the movie.

I remember that. Anfreni, or, anfreni, or, anfreni. Afreni. Afreni. Afreni. Afreni, hard away. But no, this is a seminal, this is a movie that Amin is watching as a young, as a teenager trying to love basketball.

And it's not just that, Dan. It's a movie that, when the stuff that they're talking about is about people getting paid in college, right? The dirty underside of recruiting. And at the time, the movie was very poorly received because people thought they were sensationalizing it when in reality it's actually quite muted to what was actually happened in real life collegiate sports. And so it's a funny thing to watch because Happy, who's the booster in the movie,

was paying all these guys under the table. We talked about it on the podcast, he's kind of the hero of the movie. He wants to pay shack and penny and all these guys to play. And Nick Nolte's here like, no, they just gotta go and get a free education and that's enough. But you're watching it for Cinefo

because it has terrible critical reviews, correct? Yeah, no, they just gotta go and get a free education and that's enough. But you're watching it for Cinepho because it has terrible critical reviews, correct? Yeah, yeah, because- But you think that's completely just, it was, the times weren't ready for it. Exactly what it is. I'm telling you, because we go through the reviews and the reviews are all people like,

this is so sensational and bullshit, whatever. They refuse to believe that this was a movie rooted in truth. I'm honestly stunned that I have lived long enough for some of the movies. I think one of the 30 for 30s was about the recruitment of Eric Dickerson but how just in general how how corrupt and overt SMU was about this because they were trying to get Eric Dickerson with like an oil well. Yes. Like I mean that penalty. They gave us but I'm saying like the stuff that was going off at the start.

How dare they exist in a major metropolitan city. It's so great. No, it's but I'm just saying that we've lived long enough now for blue chips, for blue chips to be a movie that was ahead of its time. Way ahead of its time. Way ahead of its time to a point where some of the recent reviews we read were like by people saying, what's the big deal? Guys are getting paid.

I'm like, in 1993, that was, or 94, excuse me, that was a mind blowing concept. Also, I want to say this really quick because Tony in that scene is in tears and he tells us the story of how he got to that emotional level and that was William Freakin, who was one of the most famous directors, has a lot of great movies under his belt, actually came in and slapped him. And afterwards, like the studio is like, please don't sue us.

And so if you wanna hear the full story, Tony tells that story on Cinephobe, wherever you get podcasts. I feel like even now people still don't sue us. And so if you wanna hear the full story, Tony tells that story on Cinephobe, wherever you get podcasts. I feel like even now, people still don't really wanna talk about the illegal underbelly of paying athletes. Like this was still a conversation, even though now it's happening above board, it's still happening like below board too.

And no one's still, we're like, well, just gonna stop. Blue chips was too radical because someone got a tractor, right? Someone's dad got a tractor. Ricky Rowe. I believe that that was one of the shocking enticements. And Shaq.

A tractor? A whole tractor. What did Shaq get? Shaq got a Lexus and a bunch of money. And then Penny's mom got a new house played by Alfred Woodard. Banging house too. Banging house with a lawn and a view and everything Tony is a watch it Tony is a bit of a talent scout he is watching everyone in the media he says like Nick right he wants

to vanquish everyone he has got a top five list for us of if you miss football as I know Lucy and Jessica already do even though I feel disgusting on Sunday nights it doesn't make me love football less than you. Charlie Toms. 35 days, so UFL. Tony's got a top five list of content creators to watch. It's rising star content creators for the 23, 24 season, so the season that just passed. So people, so you're giving some awards

and telling you to watch them this off season because they're about to blow up into NFL star media people. That's right. Lucy, are you excited about this list? Are you gonna be them this off season because they're about to blow up into NFL star media people. That's right. Lucy, are you excited about this list? Are you gonna be on this list? No, I'm not gonna be on this list, but I'm quite excited, like content, do you mean like TikTok, like we're talking Twitter?

Everything across the board, yep, across the board, social media, what did you do on podcast, on video stuff. Are you, are you quite excited, Lucy, or are you lying again? No, I think this one she's excited about. I'm gonna find that paper and I'm gonna send it to you. You can see how excited I was about the purchase. Lucy would be on my list for college football.

Thank you. I don't have that list yet. Any OLIs? No OLIs, starting right after. All right, number five. Me. Oh, okay, very good. Modest, modest.

Only five, wow. Exactly. It's commendable. I mean the top five has taken off for doing things that nobody's doing in the space, mixing up my culture with the NFL, like nobody's doing it like me except for four other people You know what I feel like it is modest to go you put yourself number one. No, just five just five Number four number four this man who we work with is working harder than anybody else if it was a hard working list

He would be number one. Ross Tucker. But not you. You're not working that hard. Not as hard as Ross Tucker. Yeah, it's more opportunity. If it was a hard working list, he's number one. You're not on it.

Is that I'd be all I probably know, but it is crazy. Ross Tucker is like 18 podcasts, Buffalo Sunday mornings there. Sunday night. He's doing a radio game. It's crazy. You know what I found out about Ross Tucker is Ross Tucker was in a studio on standby during the Super Bowl in the event a Cataclysmic event happened they had to kick it over to somebody else that had power

He and Tiki Barber were standing by the resume the broadcast designated broadcaster correct draft Kings I'm telling you Ross Tucker is the hardest working man in the history of keeping entertainment up on his back He's incredible and he's just getting started again rising stars and number three Cam Newton When you bring something to fold like game changer or game manager, I mean you're doing big things up and coming number two I mean the media game remember this is rising stars of content creation the NFL number two Cam and mace it is I missed them this weekend. I mean when you've got OJ,

and you're doing things that are- Number one. Hello to the world. Thank you. Will Compton, Taylor Lawan, Bussin' With The Boys. Teeth. Great teeth. That list was male, male and meaty.

Oh, I thought he was a male as in he mailed it in. No, I worked hard on that one.