The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Local Hour: Greg Cote's Piano Man

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

Greg Cote kicks off the show with one of his best hits, the Gary Stevens and Bernie Parmalee story. Then, Dan examines Kevin Durant's comments in response to an ESPN report about Suns locker room toxicity and reveals how Suns owner Matt Ishbia's management of Phoenix impacted the Miami Heat. Also, is crying male weakness? The story from Jimmy Butler's camp's perspective seems to think so. Plus, how much better are the Eagles than the Chiefs? Is Howie Roseman a genius? Did Andy Reid get undressed? Did the Chiefs just need to run the damn ball? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. and get up to $75 in PC optimum points. Visit superstore.ca to get started. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show.

Shadowing it. Shadowing it. Are you ready to go, Greg? I'm ready. He's always ready, born ready. Headphones on, Mike in front of my snout. I'm ready to go. Mm-hmm. Ayo. Are you aware that, Mike, get front of my snout. I'm ready to go. A-O.

Are you aware that, Mike, get away from the snout. Are you aware that we're on? I was born aware. Yep. I came out of the womb, I'm like, what's next? Who needs me? Let's go. I was snapping my fingers at two minutes old.

I believe that, actually. I was. I don't waste any time. A newborn saying, who needs me? When I'm coming into the studio, I am ready to fly, man. I'm ready to go. A baby's voice singing King of the Road. Hey, baby!

And I'm in it literally. That kind of thing. He's ready. I am ready. Sometimes I'm not, sometimes I am, but I get a bad rap. This time I was ready to go. My phone is off, my computer sound is off, everything's good to go. I'm so ready, my name's Freddy. There it is. The thing that he said there, I just want to examine it because he is legitimately the only person in the world keeping alive Gary Stevens, the former offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins,

walking into a press room 40 years ago before a game in which the Dolphins were going to play the Bills with Bernie Palmoli as they're running back. And he walks into the press room, Gary Stevens, lifelong offensive coordinator, never graduated to a head coaching job, even though there were like protests and people in Miami

and every corner of the University of Miami were rooting for him to get a head coaching job he never got. He would come into the press room, usually smoking a cigarette, because back then you could do that. My man. And he would just say, who needs me, dummy.

Right, as if someone automatically did need him. Who needs me, dummy? You're gonna go to Buffalo with Bernie Parmaley? That story's like Piano Man. Like I've heard it a few times, but it just slaps every time. It's always good. Never stop.

It's in you. I'm singing along with it. I'm like, who needs me? The cigarette is a detail that I never caught before. Oh, the cigarette. Yeah, the cigarette. Oh yeah. Someone ripping a heater and saying, who needs me?

Is, that's peak. It was very theatrical. It almost had a Rat Pack vibe to it. me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me.

It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me.

It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it's me, it's me, it's me. It's me, it'sphins are today. This is not St. Thomas Aquinas, right? But this is soon thereafter, right?

This is a bad press room. You are taking inventory of your life and don't think it has much worth when Gary Stevens is blowing cigarette breath in your face. Yeah, it's amazing how everything has changed. Back then, essentially for a couple of years, for a few years, it would be me, Charles Bricke, and maybe Hal Habib, and we were the only reporters there.

There was no ESPN yet. There was no national coverage element to the Dolphins or most NFL teams, and so it was very confined. So Gary Stevens would be coming in to a very small room, just a few people, who needs me? You know, and we always felt like- Dummy. Dummy. Yeah, usually the dummy. Usually, not always.

Not always. Not always. Okay. But we all felt- Who was he talking to with the dummy? Who was that director? I don't know, I'm not sure. I'm not sure.

I like to think it wasn't me, but you're never quite sure. Had to be Edwin, right? I mean- No, no, definitely. It would to be Edwin, right? I mean no no That would never be Edwin. No picking the absolute worst of the joke No, I thought I thought it's a play fight dummy. Yeah, no, it was playful. It was play. You can call it when Pope Playfully dummy right Edwin. God bless him rarely showed up at camp. He was a guy who went to games and that's where you learned it Yes, exactly. That's right. That's right. But Stevens, you know, when somebody says to you, oh, Nades May, and you think he means it literally, you have to fabricate a question at that point.

You can't leave him hanging. So even if no one needed him, you have to say, you know, Bernie Parmley is playing great lately. Oh, you're going to go to Buffalo. Bernie Parmley's playing great lately. Oh, you're gonna go to Buffalo Because at that time, you know Buffalo had great players, I mean Thomas and Jim Kelly and Right and Bruce Smith. Yeah, I mean they went to four Super Bowls in a row lost them all Yeah, but went to four Super Bowl so the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins kept coming into the press room and saying how the Hell am I supposed to win in Buffalo with Bernie Parmaley, a former UPS driver?

Right, exactly. And you know, that's honesty you don't get out of the modern offensive coordinator. This is the Don LeBattor Show with the Stugats Podcast. So I have a little stuff for you here Stugats surrounding I think the part of the HEAT trade deadline that most people were interested in which is the Kevin Durant part of it and Kevin Durant, as it relates to the Miami Heat, Kevin Durant was blindsided according to Shams that he was going to be traded. All of that is a mess and I will tell you

after the Heat dealt with the Suns, Ishbia is a nightmare. Like just the guy that owns the Suns trying to play general manager is Making a mess of things is the rich person who's in charge of everything and wants to run his team and is doing so poorly As an amateur rich guy with toys and doesn't know that you don't you know try to make a trade for Jimmy Butler and then just ruin Everything by informing your superstar who came to be with you through means that aren't direct That he's going to be traded like that's a poison you can't have that and I wouldn't be surprised at all if Kevin Durant left after this season because of

it but he's saying about an ESPN report that the Sun's locker room has been toxic the following quote I heard that Ramona Shelburne came out and says our locker room is toxic. I try to tell people who aren't around this game much that it's easy to say our locker room is not connected when you come in there 45 minutes before and guys are in their game mode and not talking to each other. Four or five guys might be in the training room, a few guys might be in the weight room. It's not a welcoming environment right before the game.

That's part of getting ready to play. I think it's unfair and lazy to categorize our team as toxic when you come in there for five minutes throughout four months. That's the only time you've been in our locker room and then you can make a narrative. I don't think that's fair to us, but like I said, that's part of the game.

Part of the business we signed up for, shit is not fair in this game, but we gotta deal with it and accept it. What are your thoughts there? Was that Ishby or Durant? That's Durant. Okay. Yeah, that's weird. I mean, Kevin Durant, first off, I'm

certain that's done by reporting. I'm certain the sources are good, that it's toxic in that locker room. And Kevin Durant's in charge of that. So for him to take it personally, he should because he's one of the leaders of that team. Make sure the environment's not toxic. I believe the reports.

I do. But he's denying the reports. I don't care what he's denying. I mean, I believe the reports. I believe the reports. But he's denying the reports. I don't care what he's denying. I mean, I believe the reports. I believe the sources. It's coming from a good place. And Kevin Durant has, this has followed him to many of the places that he's gone. And so I'm not surprised by the reports. I don't think a lot of people have said that he works in toxic locker rooms. I don't think that Kevin, that's followed Kevin Durant. I don't, I think that was the case in Brooklyn. I think he, he teams up with guys who are considered toxic like Kyrie Irving and, and you have a toxic environment.

Why would this be surprising to anyone? And why would it be surprising to a single person that Kevin Durant is questioning the sources and the story itself saying, no, you've been there for five minutes. No, this is not about how long you've been in the locker room. This is about sources within that organization Telling a credible reporter. Hey, it's toxic in here I also saw Ramona speak on this and to me it sounded like the report is a report but on TV It also sounded like a fair amount of forecasting like this is going to be a bad situation It might not be a good situation now, it's only going to get worse. And I think Kevin might be seizing on a more literal definition of what's happening in the past or the present. Yeah, that's what I was going to say is that because Kevin Durant was blindsided by this idea that he might be suddenly traded, he is a part of whatever toxicity there might

be, right based on on his attitude and in feeling blindsided and feeling not appreciated or whatever one feels when you don't expect to be traded and all of a sudden you're in the middle of all these rumors Miami rumors and such I mean that he's got to be pretty sour right now I find usually very interesting how different the player perspective can be from everybody else's perspective. So he's arriving at this conclusion that you don't know what you're talking about because you're not in here.

But Ramona is not someone, she may not have been there very much for four months, but she's talking to the people who are there. Like she's doing the kind of reporting, this is not just some gas bag saying something on television or on the radio that hasn't done the reporting on that. She's not going to make stuff up for clicks. She's never done that and Sugant is right that the credibility there is is in place in a way that I think we should treasure it this time as things become more and more and more murky. What's true and what's not true.

I saw that Hank Azaria, AI is now trying to create his voices so that all 21 of the Simpsons characters he cannot be paid for them because I have no idea what's coming for our future in terms of what's real and what's not real but for the moment. Just trust the leadership in place during this really highly volatile time. I've actually wrapped my head around it so much because I fear AI.

It grows more powerful every day. You should fear it. And we have this leadership in place. There's so much tech influence, I'm really scared about it. But you know how when you botch a Google search and it says, did you mean, and you could be in this endless loop. What if the leadership that we have right now

is so confusing, keeps AI on its heels the entire time that it's just left in a perpetual, did you mean? Wait, I can't actually reason with this. Maybe this is the perfect leadership to have during these times. Elon Musk, it feels like, is running our country and furthermore, he's investing in all future AI technology because the amount of power that he wishes to have

over a future that is uncertain and scary is a bit terrifying, especially since he's a descendant of apartheid and you've seen some of his behavior and how shameless he is about grabbing at power money and attention. He did try to buy open AI for like $97.4 billion and the counter was, we'll just buy X for $9 billion. No thanks. Yeah. So I wanted to explore though the parts of this that happened with the Miami Heat as it relates to Kevin Durant. First of all you should know that was not close. It was never close. There was nothing close there. A conversation.

So it wasn't a whiff by Riley? It was not a whiff. It wasn't close. Well, it's a whiff if you think. This is where it is a whiff, okay? The reason it wasn't close is because of the heat, not because of the suns, and because the ask was, according to the people I've talked to, our entire team. It wasn't one of these young players. It wasn't Haquez and Ware. It was they wanted our whole team. And Ishbia isn't gonna trade Durant with,

he's not gonna trade Durant for pennies on the, he's not gonna blindside Durant unless he was just sort of sniffing around on, what's the most I can get for Durant? I know the Miami Heat are interested in this. I mean, the Suns have a better record than the Heat. Maybe they should have done it Do you think so trade the whole team for a guest? I'm tired imagine a 36 year old Kevin Durant. It seems it seems like Riley's gonna have fun

He would have landed a whale. We've seen big ass. Yeah. Also, what are the Suns do then? They have way too many players, right? Seems like the the opportunity to whiff on Kevin Durant will present itself once again. And I know we're on the heat aspect of it right now. But one thing that I can say with certainty is toxicity is subjective. I guess Kevin Durant famously just cares about ball, keeps his head down.

Whatever the locker room situation is in Phoenix, he prefers that well over going back to Golden State. Like whatever you may think of that Phoenix locker room, he thinks going back into that Golden State locker room, which would be a cool story on the outside. If you have no inside information, go back to Golden State, come back to a Heroes Welcome Hell. You may actually be able to compete for a title with Steph again. He does not want to go back to Doraemon Green in that situation. I'll get back to the Durant part of this in a second, but last night the Warriors won against Milwaukee in Milwaukee,

and I'm I don't remember this. I'm trying to do it off the top of my head. Steph's been very good the last four games, especially the last two with Jimmy Butler. Has he ever played with somebody who can get 15 free throws a game? Because the way Jimmy's playing there, it doesn't even matter that he's four for 12, he's just going at the rim, and I'm wondering, have they had a player in Steph Curry's entire tenure that'll cave in the defense at the rim so that he's getting 15 foul shots a game? I mean, it wasn't their game

when they were winning championships, right? So you're looking at Clay Thompson, Draymond Green, I don't remember those guys getting to the line 15 times. But has there been anybody? Has there been anybody in step? Has Steph Curry ever played with a player? Like, I know they went at the beginning of all of that. They were throwing Bogats and Biggs and just Biggs

at that at the rim. And I just don't remember whether Steph has had that ingredient before or not. But Billy, do you like if I say to you, I don't even know even know like i don't have the contract matchup and i didn't ask about particular players and they wouldn't tell me about particular players anyway but when they say the whole team if i say it's some common if it's if it's uh... where hawk is uh... and bam and and it like if if that fits up and and and at and Jimmy and Joe Vic and Jimmy like if I if I make it all

Of those players you want a 36 year old Kevin Durant to just play with Tyler hero and not guard anybody I mean, I think we're just married to guys that are playing team every year and then they go on a run and make the finals But like this core isn't good enough, right? Like can we all I'm Jeremy one agree, but can we all agree? They're just they're not good enough. They've made it to the finals twice, but like, this isn't a team that is like competing with the Celtics in the East. This is like a seven, eight, nine middling team that then goes on a run at the right time. At a certain point you have to like accept, and I mean I do this as someone who's a fan of the Marlins who are never really good enough, you have to accept that the people you've fallen in love with just may not be good enough to get done

what you want to get done and you need to move on. Now, trading all of them for Kevin Durant isn't the solution, but Kevin Durant, he uniforms pretty cool. I feel like if you kept just bam, I would've been okay with it. Like, give up Tyler, give up Ware. Really? Just so we're clear, you're just trotting out

Kevin Durant and Bam every game. You just lose so much defense. If you lose Bam from this team and you're left with Durant and Tyler Hero, I mean the defense, woof. But like, they're 25 and 26, what are you giving up? You know what I mean? Like, you're making it seem like

you're breaking up a powerhouse. That's not the reality. You just like all these players because you're familiar with them and they've been around a long time. Bam was a starting player on Team USA. Okay, great. Billy is 100% right.

I just said I'd give up everybody. I mean, Team USA is not what it used to be. You guys not to acknowledge that Bam is a good piece. I'm not saying he's not a good piece. It's just like, these pieces have proven that they're really not good enough. He's a good piece that we've been saying for a decade, can he piece it all together?

He is never gonna be the total package. He's never going to be the more aggressive Bam. He is never going to be the guy. He is well past that tipping point. He is a finished product. If you want to hold on to that, cool, he's a nice player, fun player, retire his jersey in the rafters. But we know what he is. The day of projecting projecting bad amount of bio that shit ended three years ago But you do that for Luca 25 like I wouldn't give up that even though I'm not disagreeing that he is limited But I'm not giving him up for a 36 year old Chris He was their lead player last night and they scored 85 points the worst of the season understood that it's discombobulated out there He cannot be your best player. He cannot be your most important player and

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Limited Edition Smart Bed, limited time, exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you. See store or sleepnumber.com for details. Don LeBretard. Billy, somebody has written in here, I need way more. I'm sorry. I just said in his headset, haven't you been to all of them too? It sounded like you were speaking aloud my bad Stugats

But that goes without saying right that it couldn't But that goes without saying right that it couldn't have now he said I didn't Why Greg yeah, Greg Apologized and Craig sincerely. This is the done libertar show with this two guards This is clearly not good enough it leads me actually to another conversation about the Swifties today. Do they understand what just happened? Like given that they've just been winning, like Taylor Swift is getting brooding boyfriend

for the first time in three years. Like he's gonna go home and he's gonna need some nursing here over the next 14 days of hiding, hiding because of how much this hurts. And when you talk to Travis Kelsey today, because the not good enough, the acknowledgement to know that you're not good enough, it's so easy to say from over here.

And I think Billy's right too. And Mike's been saying this for two years about the Miami Heat, and Mike ends up being more right than Heat management about Terry Rozier and keeping everything together because they were this close. But the self-awareness of not good enough discredits travis kelsey no today this it does if you sit in front of travis kelsey and say

you guys aren't as good as the eagles does he acknowledge that or does he say now we just had a bad game like this eat does he acknowledge yet that team is just a lot better than us and that's it. If we play them a bunch of times, we're going to lose every time. Or does the mind of an athlete and the perspective of an athlete that's different than ours get it wrong because the confidence has to be there to think that you're better than others?

I think he acknowledges that his team is not as good as the Eagles team. It was pretty obvious. It was on full display on Sunday. I tried to tell him three years ago, no one listened to me, but I was right. And I was early. I was early to the party. So I think he would acknowledge that, but he has number 15 at quarterback and he would say, I think if we just add a few more pieces, perhaps we can get back to where we were. I don't think he acknowledges that. Really? I don't think. You think he thinks this run is done with Patrick Mahomes? I know. I don't think you think he thinks this run is done with Patrick Mahomes I know I don't think that he thinks the Eagles are just flatly better than they are that the eagle that is lying

I don't think that he thinks that the Eagles can do that to him in every game They play against him the thing about the the Chiefs in particular though Is like they've beat teams that are just flat-out better than them in the Super Bowl and they've always been able to just make it work when they needed to make it work in the Super Bowl this year. They couldn't. So I think that they may not think that they're not less talented than other teams, but like this Eagles team isn't the first team that was just flat out better than them. This is just the first team that beat them. Yeah, but you're saying flat out better than them because that's what the scoreboard says and it's what we all saw. I'm telling you that the perspective of the huddle is very often to never acknowledge that. Right. I agree with you.

I think the Chiefs think right now that if the teams played again a week from Sunday, Kansas City would win. I think every key player on that team, including Travis Kelsey, thinks that. I think they're wrong. I think the Philadelphia Eagles lesson for the rest of the nfl is that you have to build from the you don't have to but you build from the inside out philadelphia dominated because their offensive line is the best in the league and showed it and their defensive line was able to sack mahome six times without blitzing which left the past

coverage deep more than he's ever been sacked in a game because he's elusive. Mike Ryan came in here today. This was funny to me, Stu Gots, the way this turned, okay? This was really funny because Mike Ryan came in here today and he's like, you know how you beat that? You just run draw plays. Yep.

Yep, how do you beat pressure with four when they have seven guys back there in the secondary? You run the damn ball. Yeah, I mean. That's how you beat it. It's not something, it's not, you want to play a numbers game? Okay, they got seven guys back there in the secondary. You run the damn ball. Yeah, I mean. That's how you beat it. It's not something, it's not, you want to play a numbers game? Okay, they got seven back there.

That means we have a numbers advantage upfront. Let's run the f***ing ball. Yeah, in Mike's defense, he did rewatch the Super Bowl. He did. Crunch the tape. The draw was there. He put the time in. Dan, the draw was there all game long.

They didn't, they didn't. The shock draw. Yes, they didn't run the ball, that's true. And this is simple math, right? If you're getting pressure with four and Kansas City's adjustment was to not try and block their four with five, but with six. If they're still getting the pressure with four when they're using the running back to chip and they're using six guys, you've got a problem in your secondary when your receivers

aren't good enough, but The the thing that's interesting about what Mike's doing I think is just the very idea that you can watch that for one half and be like, yep I know more than spags and Andy Reid. Yeah, I do like they haven't thought about the drop play. They have not considered it They're confused is not a bad job. Andy Reid right now is calling Spags and texting me. He's like, why did we forget about the draw play? But Cheko was doing that so well on Tuesdays. Excuse me, only one in this show was trying to take credit away from coaches yesterday,

and that was you with fangs. I am going to know. It wasn't with fangs. It was with all of the Eagles. Because if you think the Eagles suddenly got smarter than Andy Reid and Spags, you guys just want to credit coaching for stuff. smarter than Andy Reid and Spags, you guys just want a credit coaching for stuff. Like Andy Reid and Spags were supposed to be the standard going into that game, not Fangs. If I asked you before that game,

who's got the coaching advantage? What's your answer? Everyone would say the Chiefs. Yep. It doesn't mean we're right. Well, but I don't think that them losing is because that had anything to do with coaching. Like I really, I saw it so much yesterday, Patrick Mahomes choked and Andy Reid and and spags well not so much spags but Andy Reid was undressed exposed and I'm like that's not what happened. They did abandon the run early they had that drive after it was 17-0 where everyone kind of knew, okay, including the Eagles by the way at that point, we're going to try to re-establish the run. And they get like four yards on their first two plays and they're like, well, I guess that's that.

And to me, that's not how you do that. That's not how you stay committed to the run. Those weren't creative run plays. Everybody in the building knew that they were going to run there. I think you stick with the run beyond that. You go four down territory. You run on third down. You run to something other than an HB dive.

It's easy and unfair to say in retrospect that Kansas City should have run the ball more. One of the Chiefs problems this year is that they didn't run the ball very well. Pacheco and Kareem Hunt both averaged 3.4 yards of carry, well below average. This is not a great running team. I love football so much. Nick Sirianni was the guy who couldn't win the big game. He was crazy, he was a lunatic,

and now he's a leader of men, and Andy Reid doesn't know what he's doing. It's stupid, it's stupid. What would Andy Reid's honest reaction be to Mike's note? Hey, should've ran the ball more. Like, what would he say? Yes, yes, he's right. He'd probably be to Mike's note. Hey, should have ran the ball more. Like what would he say? Yes, yes he's right. He'd probably be like no shit.

Yes, he would be right. They ran the ball seven times when it wasn't Mahomes running the ball. But I just want you to, I want you all to absorb, I want you all to just let this soak in, okay? What you saw on Sunday was so shocking that Mike Ryan is boldly coming in here with the argument you know what needs to happen i need to take the ball out of

my home's his hands right give it to check out yet but to be checked on that's and and yes i need i need to take it out of the hands of a like that office was so limited all season we forgot just as hollywood brown comes back and they scored thirty for the first time all season gets buffalo that offense was bad this year. And he, Mahomes was the one always bailing them out. It wasn't Pacheco. It wasn't Kareem Hunt.

It wasn't running the ball unless it was Mahomes running the ball on third and five for seven yards. I tried to tell you. I mean, I saw them win a Super Bowl in which you could have made a sound argument that Damian Williams was the MVP of that game. And last year they had a lot more balance. Look, Pacheco is hurt, Kareem Hunt is older. Maybe they have to address that position.

There are reasons why it wasn't as effective. Pacheco never looked the same. He is a punishing runner. But last year, Pacheco getting the ball more and taking the ball out of Patrick Mahomes' hands, that wasn't a bad play. That was a very effective play. They could have used Pacheco from last year. Another problem with they should have run the ball more is that this game got out of hand very

quickly. And if you're running the ball down 34 to nothing, people look at you like you're crazy, and you are. You know, the head coach needs a breathalyzer test if he's running the ball down 34-0. Win your quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes. The thing that is always funny to me about this is, and I remember this all the time, when Dallas and Jimmy Johnson were winning their championships and they would hit any kind of hiccup of any kind on offense, the suggestion to Jimmy Johnson would be some form of, why don't you guys run more screen passes for Emmett Smith?

And you know what his answer was? We're not good at that. The Chiefs are like 22nd or 23rd in the league and running the ball It's not like Bohomes was throwing for 300 yards every game either. Their offense was limited. Against bad defenses, their offense was limited. It's a huge disconnect between people that try to talk about this. And I understand fully the resentment of coaches that hear us say things like run a draw and think that we're idiots. But honestly,

we have no idea what those coaches are actually trying to achieve. We don't actually know. We can assume, yeah, pressure with four, collapsing the pocket that'll wreck it. But we don't actually know what they're doing in the secondary, how they're disguising coverages. We don't know if they're actually executing a game plan. We just have the results to work off of. Dan, I wasn't giving praise to any coach yesterday. In fact, the guy who deserves praise is Howie Roseman.

He put together a roster that is good enough and took a lot of chances. Jalen Carter was a guy who had some stuff coming out of college. He fell to the Eagles, I think at number six or seven, and he was willing to take that guy. He put together a team that was capable of not just beating the Chiefs, but blowing out the defense. Beating them up. Beating them up. The offensive line, the defensive line, the quarterback in the second round, getting A.J. Brown, drafting Devontae Smith. He has put together a tremendous roster. One of the quiet things that happened on Sunday and I'm not used to it right because every time you win a championship whether you're Tom Brady or anyone else you better have some defensive help that's not going to

get acknowledged as we give all of the credit to the quarterback. Man that was an awfully quiet Chris Jones Super Bowl and it wasn't just an awfully quiet Chris Jones Super Bowl on the goal line he's curled up in the fetal position trying to keep the tush push out of the end zone and what happens? He hurts his neck. He's just laying on the floor trying to get lower than their offensive linemen and he's getting pushed by that force so much that they have to tend to his injured neck and my guess is that if if i ask anybody in our audience maybe some would go with mcduffey hey

the championship run who's the most important defensive player who's the guy who's the guy that's always going to make the play on third and fourth down when you need something in the backfield what tell me all the things he did on sunday that made you notice him when you guys know what kind of a champion menace that person is they were losing games when he was holding out. Like they were just losing games when he held out. He was dealing with like a neck thing on the sideline that they were working on throughout that game.

After that play. Yeah. It was after that play that they started dealing with that. No doubt. To the Roseman point, great off season, potentially one of the greatest ever. Amazing. Hired Fangio, we know Fangio wanted to go back to that area,

but hired Kellen Moore, who had to rebuild his reputation, now may be a head coach in the league, possibly New Orleans. Signed Saquon Barkley, signed Zach Bond, was amazing for them. CJ Gardner Johnson was also a sign. McKay Bekton was huge for them. Traded for John Dodson, drafted Quentin Mitchell

and Cooper Dejean. And honestly, we should look back at this Carson Wentz trade, and supplant the Herschel Walker trade. This is the greatest trade in NFL history, because in the Carson Wentz trade, they got Devontae Smith, A.J. Brown, Jaylen Carter, Cooper DeGene. These are all picks that turned into these players,

and don't forget, they ended up flipping Carson Wentz for a bunch of picks, and those guys became guys. He also didn't cut A.J. Brown in the middle of the playoff reading a book on the sidelines Yeah By the way anybody could have had Beckton Including the Dolphins the Jets had him and they gave him and they didn't go for him the Philadelphia Eagles Three of their top five players are offensive linemen I don't know whether that's unheard of, but it's certainly rare and it showed. And I

can't overemphasize that in my opinion the Eagles are great because their offensive and defensive lines are great. Nobody talks about the two lines much enough, but that's fundamentally why they're champions. It may have been nobody talking much about it beforehand. That ceases today though because even though the quarterback Even though a lot of people are talking about Jalen Hurts and trying to elevate him a tear the way that Stu gots is I think most people Acknowledge how it is and where it is that that game was won in a way that was obvious the thing that I was trying To tell you guys yesterday about throughout the history of football when the the line advantages are that obvious to the eye

because my senior say well we don't know what the scheming is right we don't we don't actually know we don't know enough while we're watching to know what the adjustments were in the second half in the secondary but what we do know and what all of us saw overt to even the biggest of amateurs is offensive and defensive line played that if I put the advantages on any team that has played a game throughout football that team will never lose a game

like it if it's that obvious that you don't lose at football because the whole thing is can you get 10 yards in three plays and you're going to get it every time and you're going to prevent it every time if you have those pressures the idea that the chiefs went for 23 yards in the first half. Crazy. When Mike Ryan says, why did Patrick O'Holmes look like he didn't want to be out there? Who the bleep would want to be out there for that?

The world is watching, and I can't do anything. And I'm trying to throw a three-yard pass to Travis Kelsey, and I'm so scared I'm throwing it at his ankles because I don't have time. And I need him to get down and cradle one of these balls because I don't feel like I I need him to get down and cradle one of these balls because I don't Feel I don't feel like I can do anything down the field that I don't have any time to do anything down the field I'm sure you could look at Super Bowls in which you could find a distinct advantage along the lines and that team doesn't end

Up winning but what it never happens is the team with the advantages along the trenches gets blown out never I Will tell you that one of the few times I have ever seen a team that had those kind of advantages Never I I will tell you the one of the few times I have ever seen a team that had those kind of advantages lose Is when the Miami Hurricanes lost to Penn State in a fiesta bowl? It's because Jimmy Johnson wouldn't stop throwing the ball, but on that game. It wasn't my home's throwing two interceptions It was test of already throwing five of them, right? Like it took a ton of interceptions to make that even a close game Which it was right up until the very end. Are you blaming Jimmy for that game? I mean it sounds like you are. He just maybe retired. I mean Jimmy can blame himself. I don't think you should be blaming Jimmy. I blame Jimmy. Jimmy would blame Jimmy.

It's Jimmy's fault. It's the most haunting loss of Jimmy's career because he's like nobody ever loses that game. And it should be because Miami's defense was so great that despite all of those testiverty turnovers Penn State scores 14 points. Despite all that, that's how great Miami's defense was. I wanna- Pretty great. Thank you, Billy. Appreciate it. Valentine's Day is coming up and for me,

there's only one place I trust, 1-800-Flowers.com. Every year, I order stunning high quality bouquets from 1-800-Flow Flowers that my grandma absolutely loves. Jessica, holy s***! I got the most gorgeous roses! I don't think I ever got that many roses in my whole life. Certainly not from your lovely grandfather. You may have still rest in peace. Thank you. You made my day. I mean, they are gorgeous. Never had so many roses in my whole life. 85 years. Holy sh- In this year, we're partnering with 1-800-Flowers to make sure you're a Valentine's hero with an

exclusive offer for Levitard listeners. Double the roses for free. When you buy one dozen, they'll double your bouquet to two dozen roses. It's the perfect way to say, I love you without breaking the bank. All roses from 1-800-Flowers are picked at their peak. Care for every step of the way and shipped fresh to ensure lasting beauty. To claim your double your roses offer, go to 1-800-Flowers.com slash Dan. That's 1-800-Flowers.com slash Dan. It's an interesting time to own a business in America. And here's the question we have folks.

What does the future hold for business? If you ask nine experts you're gonna get ten different answers. A bull market, a bear market, inflation up, inflation down. Can someone just please invent a crystal ball? Until that day comes, over 41,000 businesses have already future-proofed themselves with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP. NetSuite seamlessly integrates accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one powerful platform.

With one unified business management suite, you get one source of truth, empowering you to make quick, informed decisions. And thanks to real-time insights and forecasting, you're not just guessing, you're acting on actionable data. Close your books in days, not weeks, and spend more time looking ahead. Whether your company earns millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you meet today's challenges and seize tomorrow's opportunities.

Speaking of opportunity, download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at netsuite.com slash dlb. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash dlb. Netsuite.com slash dlb. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash dlb. Netsuite.com slash dlb. Don LeBretard. He called me on my own podcast, he called me full of shit, claiming that I'm faking interest in the solar eclipse.

Well you do do this, you love to just get excited about everything. Okay Junior. Stugats. I had to school you and explain to you. He was going to take you to Augusta. When I was 17 years old, Alan Sherry and I used to haunt the Bueller Planetarium. This is the Don LeBattar Show with the Stugats! I wanted to get back to the Kevin Durant heat thing because Jeremy had a thousand things

that he wanted to say and he continues to get boxed out. Do we get that sound of when Terry Rozier was traded to the Miami Heat? Worst day of my life. It broke Mike Ryan and well he's rivaling Antoine Walker and Eddie Jones as one of the most unpopular players right now in Heat history and I am told that a sideline discussion broke out yesterday among media members about whether or not Terry Rozier is is the worst player in heat history to everywhere that uniform and get those kind of minutes that game in the modern age of offense last night is an abomination it's hard to watch them be that far behind the boston celtics even

if you understand the tyler heroes not playing but the eighty five points eighty five points make it on unwatchable basketball game, but Jeremy will always have the 22 to 13 start they got with the hope of Andrew Wiggins. That's exactly right, Dan. That's exactly right. It was unbelievable off the bat, where you got Alec Byrnes in there instead of Tyler Hero, and they're up 22 to 13 at a timeout.

It was amazing. What a thrill. Jeremy's tweet from before the game Obsessed with this start and I was right to be they got off to a 22 to 13 start despite shooting only 30 something percent from the field I May have missed something because the Super Bowl was last week like isn't Terry Rose You're actively being investigated for throwing games. How is he playing great points yes it is a great point we know what's going on with the investigation how are we just allowing someone who maybe was fixing

games to continue to suit up and play every now the allegations just one game he hasn't been charged with anything i think that's fair to say he's being investigated along with others but he has not been charged with any wrongdoing i want to point out that the heats three new players last night were five for twenty five they were all pretty bad they're going to be better they had like one practice with the team i would not judge that trade or this team you say so you say they had one practice with the team jimmy butler played his first game new three plays hadn't done anything to it out hadn't done anything with the golden

state warriors and without it not a meeting not anything just showed up and and that's fair no that's fair one of the things that people are very excited about is that Mitchell and Wiggins with the Heat are two of the top eight perimeter defenders in the league the problem is the 85 points when Tyler Hero is not playing and one of the things can you give me the start of the day music here chris because uh... this is i believe something that doesn't have a precedent in nba history and i defy someone to come up with a statistical

precedent to what it is i'm about to say start of the day start of the day if this is the start of the day start to say. Start of the day, start of the day, and this is the start of the day. Start of the day, start of the day, and this is the start of the day. Start of the day, start of the day, and this is the start of the day.

Start of the day, start of the day, and this is the start of the day. During his entire heat tenure, Jimmy Butler, during the regular season, had zero 40 point games. In the postseason, he had eight of them. That can't exist anywhere in the history of basketball. Playoff Jimmy. There must not be such a thing as that, and it's been interesting to watch him in Golden State go for four for twelve last night, but go and get all of the free throws.

There just aren't a ton of people playing like that. Shay Gilgis Alexander doesn't object to the criticism that he's a free throw merchant. He's like, I get a bunch of free throws because I'm hard to guard, but that thing. Didn't get him so much the last few games with the Heat. That's awkward, I don't know what happened there. Interesting, I wonder what was going on.. I don't know what happened there. Yeah interesting I wonder what was going on. Thank you do know what happened there things are so things are so bad between

Jimmy and his agent and the heat the heat have no time for his agent like at all that guy was talking At like a lot of media members doing his job doing what the agent is is supposed to do But the thing is so bad that they can't even agree on who called whom unhinged first. Because Jimmy Butler is claiming that Pat Riley was unhinged in the meeting, but they think that he got the word unhinged from them saying that he was unhinged about things.

Huh. This is all very ugly and the athletic piece, which you could deduce because of the slant that the story took, came from Jimmy's camp, and it does paint the Miami Heat in a very negative light. From meeting with Pat Riley, trying to awkwardly bond over their fathers, to Mickey putting off a meeting. No, no, no, this is a priority,

but I actually can't make this meeting. It's all bad, but I would say some of this stuff seems, to me, pretty disingenuine and pretty, it's bad ball. Because he's invoking, if you see the back of his jersey, he's really seizing on this relationship that he had with his father, a relationship that really bloomed more through sickness and adversity, and the Miami Heat were very supportive. I happen to know this for a fact. We're very supportive. This is a happen to know

report? They know, I know this for a fact. Everybody in that organization was supremely supportive of Jimmy when his father was going through this, and to turn the temperature up and use that as if the Miami heat were somehow awkward around that situation is to me a little bit of bad ball. Is crying one of the characteristics of becoming on hinge? Because I don't view it like that. I view it like you start throwing papers, you start doing stuff like that,

it's just getting emotional, you know? Well, I wanna talk to you guys about this because I started doing this yesterday and- Crying? Uh. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha over things, the idea of using crying to be male weakness, that is so weak, honestly. Like the idea that what is male is to repress the feelings, push them down and secretly not show anyone that you're hurt about the death of your father.

Like, that you would want, that you keep that buried inside, you'd private, and if you need to blubber on the toilet with the door Locked fine, but don't show that to anybody. It's so uniquely male and so uniquely repressed and stupid That it's totally unsurprising to see it used to slap Pat Riley across the face When Pat Riley is somebody that I have known to cry when he talks about his father since I've known him. Right. I love a good cry.

I'm not certain how Greg feels about it, but I do. You feel better after you cry. I mean, I don't view it like, hey, I'm not as manly as the next guy. I'm just crying, and it feels good. I have been embarrassed by crying a number of different times, and I will tell you that I am doing a substantive amount of work through acupuncture a whole lot of medicines that i don't totally understand holistic medicines to try and lubricate whatever it is that this thing is here that makes you shut down around

where your emotions are in order to let them go the idea i began to say this yesterday with jimmy johnson where it is that he decided to quit on coaching uh... because he had been an unfeeling cut throat mercenary creature who was disgusted with himself at his mother's funeral because he did a lifetime of regret on i haven't been the father i haven't been the husband i haven't been the son that i wanted to be and breaks down sobbing for the first time letting all of that go I haven't been the son that I wanted to be and breaks down sobbing for the first time Letting all of that go to use what Mike is saying there What what is particularly dirt dirty the heat?

Obviously did not like that athletic story The ESPN did a more even-handed one than that Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald did one that was more pro-heat than that Everyone's got their truth here. Jimmy Butler says I haven't told my part of the story and when I do it'll be with Shaq. Why will it be with Shaq? Because Shaq was outside the facility and wouldn't be allowed in to get his stuff back when he wanted to punch Pat Riley. That's why Jimmy Butler will do it with Shaq if he ever tells his part of the story. But I don't actually know what the truth is here. Everyone's got their own truths and everyone is self-interested and biased about what those truths are. Valentine's Day is coming up and for me there's only one place I trust, 1800flowers.com. Every

year I order stunning high quality bouquets from 1800flowers that my grandma absolutely loves. Jessica, holy I got the most gorgeous roses. I don't think I ever got that many roses in my whole life. Certainly not from your lovely grandfather. May have still rest in peace. Thank you, you made my day. I mean, they are gorgeous. Never had so many roses in my whole life.

85 years, holy s***. And this year, we're partnering with 1-800-Flowers to make sure you're a Valentine's hero with an exclusive offer for Lebatard listeners. Double the roses for free. When you buy one dozen, they'll double your bouquet to two dozen roses. It's the perfect way to say, I love you without breaking the bank. All roses from 1-800-FLOWERS are picked at their peak.

Care for every step of the way and shipped fresh to ensure lasting beauty. To claim your double your roses offer go to 1800flowers.com slash dan that's 1800flowers.com slash dan. It's an interesting time to own a business in America and here's the question we have folks. What does the future hold for business? If you ask nine experts you're going to get 10 different answers. A bull market, a bear market, inflation up, inflation down. Can someone just please invent a crystal ball? Until that day comes, over 41,000 businesses have already future-proofed themselves with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP. NetSuite seamlessly integrates accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into

one powerful platform. With one unified business management suite, you get one source of truth, empowering you to make quick informed decisions. And thanks to real-time insights and forecasting, you're not just guessing, you're acting on actionable data. Close your books in days, not weeks, and spend more time looking ahead. Whether your company earns millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you meet today's challenges and seize tomorrow's opportunities. Speaking of opportunity, download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at netsuite.com slash DLB. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash DLB. netsuite.com slash DLB.