The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Local Hour: Let The Camera Look At Me

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

Billy says this week doesn't have that normal 4th of July feeling, but that's not the case for Dan, who has revealed his plot for the holiday after buying over $100 worth of explosives over the weekend. It's as bad as it sounds. He may burn his home and his family to the ground. Anyway... how 'bout those Marlins?!?! Today's cast: Dan, Greg, Chris, Billy, Jeremy and Mike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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granted it's only Monday. What does that mean though? What does that week feel like? 4th of July week feels different you know The calendar's playing a sick twisted game with us this year with the Fourth of July where it's on a Friday because normally you get the work company holiday where you look forward to a Wednesday, Fourth of July is awesome. You look forward to a Wednesday, Fourth of July and then they say, you know what, just take the week.

Let's celebrate America, let's celebrate freedom. Take the fifth and sixth off. Come back. We'll see you next week. Thursday would have been perfect. Thursday would have been fine. Friday doesn't feel it doesn't feel like the Fourth of July. And there's not that you know, that sandlot feeling in the air with the Fourth of July, you know, where you're like anticipating it, you're looking forward to it, you know, oh, this big thing is coming. Where

do I go see fireworks? I go to the beach, I go to the pool. What are we gonna do? I just, maybe I'm alone in this, but I don't feel it this year. Not yet, it's Monday, it's early still. I think I'm gonna stun you. Saturday afternoon, guess who strolls into a fireworks store? Uncle Sam.

This guy. Wow! A fireworks store, wow! What'd you get? Sparklers? I got a hundred and thirty dollars worth of stuff and I bypassed the sparklers on this economy that's like three fireworks but everything was by one get to free where'd you go all phantom fireworks Daniel Beach day Daniel Beach yes Wow, did you go specifically for fireworks?

No, I just happened to be driving by and I just saw a giant tent for fireworks and I thought to myself, okay, I'm gonna make it feel like July 4th week. I'm gonna choose that right now, today. Now, $130 sounds like a lot, but it's not really. I would have thought, I picture you walking in there, give me your most expensive.

What kinds you get, the kind that you shoot out of the Roman Candle, the ones that shoot into the sky? I had to give my license in order to buy these explosives. Yeah, you do. Like, this was not just sparklers. These look like small little bombs. Dangerous game crossing county lines with explosives there, Danny.

I don't know if you wanna do that moving forward. Is it? Oh yeah. Yeah, you'll be showing up for work next week with four fingers. Mm-hmm. What is July 4th supposed to feel like? Like, what is the week of July 4th? And he says, is it because you're thinking of days off and it's just gonna feel like a regular week

and then on Friday you're gonna get a national holiday? I think the older you get, the less you feel, really, is might be what it is. Like as a kid, you look forward to it, you plan it, what are we gonna do, this, that, and then like, we're not there. I mean, you obviously are still there. You're going, you're buying fireworks a week early.

Are you putting on a fireworks show? Like where you plan on setting these off? Can we come? I'm going to go get the help of Valerie's brother. I see it, trying to seem cool for the brother-in-law. I've been there. Well, no, it sounds like he's hired help. He's setting off the fire.

Nah, but like her brother's into it, so it's like we're going to hang out. How can I like, oh, I'm gonna buy what he's into. Nice, I've been there. The last time we did this, Valerie's father and her brother, I wanna say they're very good at this, but the house caught fire.

Like in the middle. Well, then they're very bad at that. Yeah, they're very good at this but the house caught fire like in the middle. Well then they're very bad at that Yeah, they were very good at it before that one incident, but they do like explosives Giants owner John Mara who also today said he doesn't know how many fingers JPP has it kind of seems like if The last time you did this Valerie's father and brother set the house on fire and you are now buying them more fireworks, there may be some sort of, I don't wanna say insurance plot going on here, or maybe we're trying to eliminate

the family for some reason, but it seems as though there's a history here of incidents and you're arming them with the same weapons as the last time. Okay, it's not, I mean I guess it's one time. Do you hate them? I don't know if it's a history, I do not hate them. Okay, good, good. It's good to say that on the front end.

The thing that caught fire, it's a giant grid that was thrown away while it was still a little bit orange. Ooh, a grid of death, you're saying. It could have been. I mean, the car caught a little bit of fire, the house caught a little bit orange. Ooh, a grid of death, you're saying. It could have been. I mean, the car caught a little bit of fire. The house caught a little bit of fire. Wait a minute, how does a car catch a little bit of fire? The hood and stuff, it was learned at the time,

before it explodes, really, right? A car catches a little bit of fire. Once it explodes, it's exploded. Yeah, it's like a firework when it explodes. Yeah, what'd you do? You have a fire extinguisher? How'd you put out the pre-explosion car? Hard to have something catch a little bit of fire.

It's either on fire or it's not on fire. Well, the home didn't burn down, so it caught a little bit of fire. Michael Jackson, here, a little bit of fire. This is the Dan LeBattor Show with the StuGuts Podcast. I've told you guys before that I enjoy the Frank Isola, Brian Scalabrini, the starting lineup show, the basketball show they do. And on the way in, I heard them talking and Isola is quoting a report

that says the Knicks are going to interview Don Staley as head coaching candidate. And Scalabrini's response was, I try to avoid these topics. And then they moved on. What? And I'm like, that doesn't hurt Scalabrini. He's better off. You know what his theory was on this? He's like I'm just gonna say why not instead of addressing whether or not the Knicks would hire a coach and put a pressure on a coach who has never coached an NBA game before. She's a woman? That the answer to why not? Is that a pro or a con? Most people would answer that. Most sports fans, most Knicks fans would say, that's where you start with why not. I would love to see that.

I really would. And if I really would. Did Isola, was that his rebuttal? No, they moved on. They moved on because they didn't want to do, I mean, I just thought it was so funny that Scalabrini considers that a controversial topic. The fact that in 2025.

I tried to avoid these topics. I'm like, what topics? Who's gonna coach the Knicks? I don't know. I don't think the group chat got what I was doing there. This is why I try to avoid these topics. Are we talking about undeserving statue recipient, Don Staley, right, Greg?

Isn't that what you said? Let's not do this. Yeah. Would she be deserving of the statue if she moved on to the Knicks? Absolutely, yeah, because she would be groundbreaking. Look, when I first heard this. All right, here we go.

Oh no. No, no, my immediate reaction was cynicism. Like, the New York Knicks win this because they come off as revolutionary and trend setting. It could be a publicity stunt, like we don't know how serious they are, but they win just for the effort. But then again, you look at Dawn Staley, despite not deserving a statue yet in her career, what female basketball coach is qualified to to break this ceiling

than Don Staley I can't think of any. Ryan Windhorst is on get up saying that the reason that the Knicks were on Kevin Durant's preferred list and they said thanks but no thanks to Kevin Durant is because Giannis Antetokounmpo is obviously the Knicks main target target, and according to Wendy, they didn't pursue Kevin Durant because of the possibility that Giannis would be available. Again, I would say I would love to see it. I would love to see Giannis end up in New York,

coached by Dawn Staley. Give her a loaded team. Give her a team that's a step away, and then see if she could be better than Thibodeau when you didn't know what you were doing with your coaching search, and now you end up in a spot where Dawn Staley is among the biggest names you can get if it's not gonna be, what is it, Mike Brown?

I'm listening. Let's try that again. I don't think he's had enough opportunities. It would be inspired. It would be inspired. It would be inspired. It would be inspired as something that is groundbreaking from an organization that had Isaiah Thomas swept out in sexual harassment to give over, to not know what you're doing after Thibodeau in a way that reveals to everybody, oh, you didn't actually have a plan with your

coaching, sir, and then end that on a candidate that would legitimately bring Something to tabloid city that would be the biggest most famous Splashiest thing you could possibly do if you're the New York Nick. Can it be groundbreaking if by reports? It's like your ninth option for all the people they tried to interview. Do you find inspiration after failing nine times? Sometimes yes. Sometimes yes. It still would be groundbreaking and also. She was our 10th option, we got nine nos. So here we are.

Can you imagine being met with brava inspired after failing nine times? I think the Knicks would still get credit for the hire and you know what? James Dolan with that higher would go a long way to refiguring his entire negative image into a positive. Nope. I think so. Nope. No, I think this this move would get crushed. By the fan base? Yeah. I think I wasn't even doing that I'm saying there is no move that Dolan can

make. The sphere I mean. The sphere? If you were looking at Jimmy Dolan, whoa, look at this guy. If ever a move you can make to transform your image, it's making history with a hire such as this. I don't think we're there. We weren't there a couple years ago, and wherever we were a couple years ago, we're further away from now. I just think I'd get crapped on by that fan base. I don't know what that fan base wants

because it's not available. So whatever's gonna be better than Thibodeau isn't something that is going to appear in any form. There's no place from which, I mean, if Jason Kidd is in play, I don't know if that makes everybody enthusiastic, but they're stuck in a situation where they're unlikely to do anyone

who brings any more enthusiasm than Thibodeau, and now they're testing themselves against the idea that Thibodeaux was somehow addition by subtraction. Look, I know that this is gonna sound shocking and please keep in mind I'm speaking to a relative fan base, right? I think they want a dude. Okay. I think they'd want a dude I'm glad we talked this through. Okay, fool them. Maybe Dawn can spell her name deal. Yeah this through. Okay, fool them, maybe Dawn can spell her name Dio in and then they'll be fooled. Yeah, it's, who's this Donald Staley?

Right. A New Dawn is the tabloid headline. Billy made fun of the Heat in there, Duncan Robinson opts out of his contract. I can't believe I'm about to say what I'm about to say, but it is absolutely true. Duncan Robinson is the single best shooter in franchise history,

and his story might be better than that. Just what he formed himself into as a value, as a 10 year veteran of the NBA that is now opting out of a contract, and I think we were surprised by that and then the next reporting on that seemed to all be Duncan's working with the team and And I hope he is and maybe he is but I don't know what will appear in terms of offers as teams now all sign their own free agents because free agency opens today and

Everyone seems to just be signing their own guys. So I'm assuming that Duncan Robinson is working with the team on however it is that they get him to more money and flexibility, but this really is one of the great success stories in franchise history and that won't change for me if at the end here he decides, oh there's a big offer over there somewhere that's better because that shooting's gonna be valuable in this league. Like, no matter what, that kind of shooting's gonna have value for the next five years. He's a curious player, curious case study,

because he is, in many respects, one of the first examples of culture, culture personified, developmental skills by the organization, but also highly criticized despite bringing himself up to that level because he shrinks in moments. I think maybe we were laughing back here. I think his biggest moment in a heat uniform is probably putting Wimben Yamma in a blender. Yeah, I guess team friendly if you want to be loyal to the team that will probably actively shop you come February.

That's cool. No, Mark Stein's already reporting that Detroit is interested in a sign and trade and he's going to have value for the same reason that Desmond Bain has value. Like if you're, or. No. No, no, no, it's, I'm not saying he's Desmond Bain, I'm not saying he's gonna bring back five picks, I'm saying that for the same reason,

if you're bad at three point shooting, and you can get one of the best shooters, that's going to have values to teams like Houston and like Orlando who were bad at those things. Yeah, I mean, I just keep thinking, just central heat focus, Shrews took his job for a reason. Shrews left, Shrews was a good signing for Cleveland.

Duncan Robinson has not been as good as Shrews, and I think just further confirmed why that was the right decision back then. I think those are two different players, right? Duncan is not the same guy that Max is. Max is a more well-rounded player, and he was that from the day he showed up. are two different players, right? Duncan is not the same guy that Max is. Max is a more well-rounded player, and he was that from the day he showed up.

He was just playing the shooter role on the Heat's team, but he also was able to do some different things. The thing with Duncan that's so cool is, like, you're talking about this Division III player that then goes D1, that goes undrafted, that ends up working his way through the G League to get to the Heat, and then earns this giant contract. And that's really where he became polarizing because he made $90 million and

Heat fans expected a certain level of performance and a certain level of growth. But he did grow his game after going back to the bench and being totally shifted out of the roster, then he ends up back in the rotation and he's been in and out. He's been a professional the whole way through. If this is it with Duncan, he is the greatest shooter in franchise history to this point and that's pretty special. I'd love to see him back.

But okay, back to you Eric. Look, I think the majority opinion on Duncan Robinson is that he was grossly overpaid and hasn't quite ever lived up to his Contract and if he leaves in free agency there won't be a lot of Flowers and tears and and that's not even anti Duncan Robinson. I think I'm representing what most heat fans feel about him He should end all his heat digs with back to you Eric. Let's make it clear to the audio audience because our voices can be similar. That was Chris. I said that. That's how you sign off. There's just six seconds of extra fat on everything. I'm not

going to miss Duncan Robinson. Thanks. But if he wants to re-up for a team friendly deal that may or may not be adhered to by this organization in the coming years, cool. We can start having the Jersey retirement conversation I guess because he is gonna hold all these records. And yes, while statistically he's the greatest shooter in franchise history, stop. That Jersey ain't going up.

He's not, he's not. I've seen better shooters wear that uniform. Game six for your life. I'm gonna stop you there. The Heat are 49 and 13 when Duncan Robinson has scored 20 plus points. The Pistons need shooting, at least in part, because Malik Beasley is in the middle

of a bunch of gambling stuff. He was about to get a three-year forty million dollar contract and now there's an investigation going on and there are going to be more and more of these in the coming years as some of the gambling money seeps into the locker rooms and you're going to get players who get embroiled in this stuff. So the Pistons who are this far away, right right because they came very close to beating the Knicks were probably good enough to beat the Knicks you assume they will grow you assume they will get better the Piscons are young and hungry and people view them as a legitimate contender now because they expect an improvement from Detroit this ignores how good Cleveland was all

season but I do think most people believe Detroit is coming and Stunningly when we did that live watch party with Mero and Sam Morrill both of them gave more respect to the Pistons As a feared opponent in the future than the Pacers Which I thought was crazy. Well, they're hating ass haters Dan. That's what they were doing there There's the rumor inuendo on social media is that there was a string of games in which Malik Beasley came well under his rebound average. And there was a lot of sharp action

based off of his rebound props. So that's what appears to be at the core of this investigation. Jeremy, you know something about me, right? You know when I'm grilling outside and it's summertime, you know how I supplement my summertime? Of course I do. I make it Miller time. Of course. That beautiful white can. Oh when it's so hot outside I just I just put it right to my forehead right there and just roll it

sometimes right on the forehead, cool my body down and then I crack it open in some relief and then that first sip, brother, does that first sip? That is a top five sequence of events that you can possibly go through. I'm just serenity now when I just imagine that first sip of Miller Lite. Just thinking about it's making me happy. Dude, the sun is out, it's nice. You have your friends showing up.

You got your family there. You just had your first sip of Miller Lite. And you know what? You're happy. You're blissful. You're fulfilled. I've been stocking my cooler with Miller Lite for years and for good reason. It's good for taste. Only 96 calories and 3.2 grams of carbs. This year Miller Lite turns 50.

That is 5 decades of cookouts, laughs and ice cold moments that never miss. It's the original Lite beer and it's still my go-to. Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to MillerLite.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Cheers to 50 years of Miller time. Celebrate responsibly, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Hey friends, it's JarroBear here and I'm here to tell you all about Boost Mobile, which is now a legit nationwide 5G network. So I must take a break from the jokes here for a second and put on my serious voice.

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5G speeds not available in all areas. Howdy folks, it's Mike Ryan. NASCAR is back in Chicago and it's not just at a track. No, no, no, they're racing through the actual streets of downtown. I've been there for this race. It is a, no, they're racing through the actual streets of downtown. I've been there for this race. It is a great race. Beautiful skyscrapers, Lakefront Grand Park, July 5th and 6th. Feels like America. It's a NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series,

which was a great race last year, tearing it up in the Windy City. We're talking 40 drivers, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, my favorite, Kyle Larson, flying through the street course like you've never seen it before. It's part race, part music festival, all adrenaline. Chicago turns into one massive summer block party with horsepower. Want in? Head to NASCARCHICAGO.COM right now and grab those tickets. Watch the Xfinity Series July 5th at 4.30pm Eastern on the CW, then the Cub Series July 6th at 2pm Eastern on TNT Sports and streaming on Max. This isn't just a race, it's a whole vibe. down Lebatar show with the StuGards. I am sorry that I did this to Billy because I saw that he came in today bounding into the office because the Marlins are mashing the baseball. Oh, best team in baseball.

They've won, wow, the Rays in their last 40. Oh, enough with the Rays, please. In their last 40. I'm so tired of the Rays. Get a stadium, leave me alone, Rays. In their last 40, the Rays in their last 40. Oh enough with the Rays, please. I'm so tired of the Rays. Get a stadium, leave me alone Rays. In their last 40, the Rays are better than anybody. Okay, last 40, how about the last six, eight, nine? No, the Marlins have won their last seven in a row. They win three at Arizona. And three at San Francisco before that. And then take out kind of the home stand and then three at San Francisco and I said well this team's hot. Those are decent teams. Road Warriors. The first time they've ever won

6-0 for a road trip. They well and they're hitting the ball like a ton. They're beating like the Diamondbacks hit the ball and so when you're beating them 9-8 and you're beating them late and the Giants are better than the Diamondbacks, that was a fun road trip. The Marlins started the season so poorly that a lot of people haven't noticed that they've been mashing. Billy came in happy today. Of course I'm happy, why would I not be happy?

And we're headed into Fourth of July week. It just feels like a special week now, Marlins coming home, the Fourth of July, you know? There's a number of giveaways that I may be going to get this. I don't the thing is this Here's the thing about the giveaways, right? It's the quantities it's not I don't know if you guys have noticed the Marlins haven't had the greatest of attendances this season Really? So like tomorrow, there's a nice guayabera giveaway But it's only for the first three thousand fans and then I need to start playing the game where it's like, okay, 3,000 fans,

but there's four entrances, are we divvying up how they give away the guayaberas so each entrance has the same one? Do I go to a less populated entrance to get one? How early do I have to get there? Because my experience the past couple of times I have gone is, I don't get the giveaway. And then I look around and I start doing some, you know,

finger math where I'm trying to count. I'm like, I don't think that there's 7,500 people here right now an hour before the game, but I still didn't get this hippie hapa hat that I was promised. So I'm kinda trying to look around and figure out what time do I get there if I wanna get the Guayabera? And then the follow-up is, seems cool. I don't know the quality of it just yet.

I haven't seen it, I've seen a photo, but I haven't seen the quality. But it does look good, but do I then wear a Guayabera with a Marlins logo on it somewhere after the fact? Like if I have a family member that passes and we decide that we're gonna go a little more casual to the funeral, do I wear a Marlins embroidered Guayabera there?

I don't know, I don't know. Fourth of July is coming up, I saw that on the Fit. They're giving away this giant American flag jersey. I don't think gonna make it there for that. But the fourth, you got fireworks indoors. Here's the thing about fireworks. On the Fourth of July, besides Dan maybe trying to kill his family members with it, burned down houses, cars. What? Back to you Eric. A guy of atta. Marlins Park is a safe place to see fireworks you have to go through security, right? I mean, I don't want to scare people but I

Fireworks shows kind of scare me a little bit lots of loud. It's dark. There's lots of explosions You don't know what's going on. It's like room for chaos That's what but that's the whole point of fireworks You just described that was quaint and fun in the 70s not in today's are you guys fireworks people any of you? I'm like you I'll go to a store spend a hundred bucks It's hopeless to buy your own fireworks You can't compete the city is gonna have a better fireworks show than you do in your own backyard My neighbors in the street every year they do the fireworks thing. Yeah, it's fun. It's fun

You know it's seen one you've seen them all you've seen one you've seen them all. You've seen one, you've seen them all. They're small scale. And then you look up in the sky, and here's the city going, boom, boom, boom, boom. And it's a beautiful thing. You can't compete with that by spending $150 and doing your page. You're living, though, when you jog away from that little sad little box right there.

And you're like, I hope it doesn't tip over. That's living. You know what's fun? Lighten one of those little black snakes. A little, a little. It's the most dangerous thing I do. That little tablet. Just take a little lighter there.

My wife's like, honey, don't do, like no. I'm like, I'm doing it. I'm lighting it. I got it. Stand back. Grab Graceland. I got this. I'm going in.

Put it on the pole please. Are you really living if you're not running away scared from the... Chris, you ever have the one, you light it and it tips over and you're like, there's still time, there's still time to stand it up. You go and you try to stand it up. I usually just jump on my daughter at that point.

It tilts over at all. Wow, what a hero. So whack. So whack. Everyone's got nine and a half beers in them. It's so, like the street you're on is so dark. So it's just like pitch nine and a half beers in them. It's so, like the street you're on is so dark, so it's just pitch black and all of a sudden,

poof, poof, poof, poof. Oh, and for sure. Farts out a little sparkle. Nobody's seeing it but you and your family. So dumb, man. You know what? I hadn't even considered the stupidity of what I put my license down for on Saturday.

Really dumb. Because I thought, I gotta be honest, I get to the front there and I'm like. To me there is no bigger red flag than dude that is way too excited to light off fireworks. The sad fireworks, the sad ones. Yeah, we got it, you got guns at home. From two counties away.

Yeah, oh my God, a guy that drives down to the keys to get fireworks. Why'd you drive to Dania to buy fireworks? I don't get it. You and I do not have anything in common. I was already in Dania, and I was just driving down the street, Billy, and on the other side of the street

was a fireworks display. I know that place. Please stop making me drive 50 minutes on a pilgrimage to go buy fireworks. It is far. It is far. Did you stop by Jackson's? That's a nice little Saturday.

You know what I tell somebody when they tell me, hey man, I just drove like two counties over to get all these fireworks, I tell them immediately, I know exactly how you voted. Okay, the thing that I did though, that I want, I'd love to be able to get the security footage of, because you would have seen me coming to the front instead of getting a cart or anything just trying to carry as many

explosives toward the front as I could and so when I got there and they only charged me $130 I couldn't believe it I thought I had gotten I'm leaving with three bags worth of explosives that I had to give my license for and then as I'm driving home I'm thinking to myself, smoking a cigar in the car with the fireworks next to me. I'm thinking to myself, as I'm doing this, I'm like, in a couple days, a whole bunch of people who don't have any experience with explosives,

they're gonna be firing them away at each other on our national holiday, and I'm going to be one of them at each other on our national holiday and I'm going to be one of them and surely hospitalizations go that is there a day we get more injured in America than July 4th like if you had to if you had to guess is it what one day more than any other in America injures the most Americans because they're just whatever partying and around explosives wouldn't July 4th be your guess? Oh yeah that's my default guess and I think that outnumbers the next five most likely

dangerous days. What would be second most dangerous? According to AI on Google the 4th of July is often cited as the holiday with the most injuries while Thanksgiving and New Year's Day also have high numbers of injuries and fatalities. According to AI on Google, the 4th of July is often cited as the holiday with the most injuries while Thanksgiving and New Year's Day also have high numbers of injuries and fatalities. According to the Ryan Law Group, the number one day for traffic fatalities is July 4th.

For whatever reason, the second is August 2nd. Wow. Appears right in the middle of the summer in the bell curve for driving fatalities. New Year's Day is second for similar reasons because there are fireworks and drinks. Behind August 2nd. Yeah.

Jeremy, I was not expecting to get halfway through the season and have for the first time this season a reason to talk about the Marlins that isn't Ryan Weathers getting hit in the head by a baseball because the catcher is trying to make a practice throw to second base. There was no reason to talk about the Marlins at all, but winning these games this way against those teams on the road at least sets the Marlins up to please give us games that matter this week.

At least they're giving us games that matter this week, which isn't where I thought I'd be this season. Hey look, you're headed into July eight games under 500. And you know what? Last year, you know who was eight games under 500 headed into July? The Detroit Tigers, who still sold off at the deadline, but ended up making a run late in the season as a playoff push. Do I think that that's what's going to happen here with the Marlins? Who knows? But what is fun is that they traded for Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby and Stowers has been maybe their best offensive player. Dane Myers has emerged as a legitimate

everyday center fielder. Otto Lopez playing shortstop, since the start of this month he's top five in war according to fan graphs. He's hitting over 300, he's been spectacular defensively. Augustin Ramirez who they up, has been mashing. He's the first guy in several categories to do what Giancarlo Stanton was doing early in his career.

No, he had extra base hits. I believe he had multiple doubles and three straight games or something like that. And it ended up being the first guy since Stanton, Lopez with a stretch here of nine RBI's It's it's really fun to watch players Develop and grow together and win a bunch of games in a row and who knows where the season goes But this has been a really fun entertaining team playing competitive. What are you shaking your head about?

He's ruining it for me. My guy was excited. I was having fun and now I don't know he's man I spoke and everything went to shit a little bit yeah well he started it out with is this team gonna do I think this team is gonna do what the Tigers did last year who knows well you would know do you feel that way do you think that they're gonna do it Chair Bear I think that the team has some really fun pieces that can continue to compete because this isn't a total fluke in playing competitive games. They've played a lot of close games all season long. They've lost a lot of those close games.

Like chalk nails aboard or something. That's a little unfair. Yeah. Should I just go? No, Jeremy. He's getting mad. I'm sorry. Be nice to Jeremy.

Can we? Last week sucked. I thought I was coming in with a better ending. Really? No, Jeremy, you're a talent. Let's be judicious with this. Come on. He's working hard Proceed go for it 15 RBI is in the last seven games for Otto Lopez Most for a Marlins hitter in a seven game span since Hanley Ramirez in 2009. Oh, what a bizarre stat back to you Eric Okay, you gotta at least say that I have to say one thing about the Marlins and I by nature Am NOT a person who's always gonna look for the negative in what is on the surface positive but this

allows bruce sherman one of the cheapest owners in all of sports not just baseball to justify not spending and i would ask this of marlins fans and answer me honestly doesn't this mean shouldn't this mean that the marlins are now not sellers but buyers at the trade deadline? They're gonna still trade Alcantara and it's gonna be evidence that they all their priority is is Divesting no, but wait a minute. They'll be trading him at his lowest possible value like they'd be no he's been hot He's been better. He's been hot the last month. The last month was bad, but he had been really good before.

He's improved his draft stock or his trade value. He has trade value again. In the last month? Yeah, plus he's signed for the next couple years. It's not like this is a one year rental for him that you're gonna have to give up the farm and then you might lose him. He's under contract and he's figured it out

or he's turned it around as of late. Especially because he was coming off Tommy John So this was really his chance to have a spring training in those first couple of months as he rehabbed It was sort of timing this last month. He's finally felt like himself My point is does this mean the Marlins are now gonna say hey we can be this year's Tigers We're gonna buy they were gonna spend Tigers sold last year. Yep. Okay, but they still were a winning team. Yeah. Yeah.

But they did that while still following the path that they wanted to as a franchise, which was they traded away Jack Flaherty, who was one of their top starters, but they held on to Tarek Scoobel, who's a Cy Young Award winner. That guy's good. That dude rocks.

He's amazing. He's amazing. Wait, wait, wait. Jeremy, hold on. Let's go, let's stay there. I love that guy. He's amazing. He's amazing. I know. Jeremy, hold on. Let's go, let's stay there. I love that guy. Let's get one of those, huh? Hold on, well we had one.

Yeah, but then the old TJ. Well, you say the old TJ, but Otani just threw the ball. Oh please, bullshit with Otani. I'm so tired of this Otani crap. He's throwing an inning and a half every time he throws. Can we stop celebrating that he's throwing 103 miles an hour? He's throwing an inning and a half every time. Can we stop celebrating that he's throwing 103 miles an hour? He's throwing 25 pitches.

Like this is a circus and a dog and pony show with Ohtani. Oh, look at how hard he's throwing. Yeah, how about you get to five innings? How about you get to four innings? He's pitching two innings a game. Like it's ridiculous that we're celebrating his some glorious comeback. He's not going deep into any of these games.

We're just doing it for clicks and social this and that and likes and Insta face enough. How about you pitch an entire game? Otani, or give someone else a shot that's going to bring back the complete game. Not even a complete game. How about qualify for a win? Pitch long enough where you can qualify for a win. Otani, please. How about you pick a position? Also guys taking up all these roster spots and jobs that other people are gonna have.

Ridiculous. Journeyman. Mm-hmm. Wait, what? What? He's a journeyman. He's had quite a journey. Can't pick a position.

Is he a pitcher? Is he a hitter? Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Nobody's sure. Anyway, Otani threw a baseball harder than he ever has, but I'd like to meet the enthusiasm of discovery on Scoobble that Chris Cody and Mike Ryan had

because when I saw him pitch at the beginning of last year, because of how he throws a baseball and body type, the first time I saw a baseball come out of his hand, I'm like, that's the hardest thing a left-hander has ever thrown. That's better than Kershaw. That's something that's not hittable by human beings in any way.

And he's only gotten better since then. And last night, the twins, a good baseball team, are a monster dog because everyone now knows when Scoob will pitch his hits seven innings, one hit and you're gonna strike out 13 last night. It's like how does anyone hit that? No one can hit that, that's not hittable. He's gonna have an, like the only thing

that fells that is injury. He's too physically strong for hitters, for human beings to do anything with it. He's throwing, with what he's throwing at them. I've seen about six of his starts on the MLB package and I'm just blown away by how fearless he is. Gas and then just not intimidated at all, goes right at guys and a change up from hell.

It's from hell. It's crazy. He pulls it back like it's on a string. That guy's awesome. I feel like hell is filled with all sorts of change ups, don't you? Where you're just wandering through hell and everything is meant to trick you?

No, for me it's like, it's the heat in hell, yeah. No, it's like 84 miles per hour from Jamie Moyer. That's hell. Oh, wow. Scoobaloo-bool-doo. He's right. What?

They should have had a moment of mourning. They really should have had a moment of mourning. They really should have for the loophole being closed in hockey that allowed the Lightning and the Panthers to sneak people in at the end of the season and break the salary cap in half they are now through the new collective bargaining agreement that's going to save hockey for at least the next five years evidently they're eliminating the thing that florida used the state of florida used to its advantage better than anybody which is winning with a an accounting loophole of we can slide could chuck in once the playoff start

let him sit the second half of the season, and even though he was hurt in the Four Nations, go out and get Seth Jones and Marshaan because Kachuk stashed away. They've now eliminated the ability to do that, accounting loophole. Can we have a moment of silence or something? Can we do a ceremony for it?

I'm pumped up about it. I think it's great. And you're right to say the state of Florida is better than any other state at this. This is a Vegas school of the nights thing. This is where Florida had lost to a team. They were decimated by injuries. They got crushed by Vegas that absolutely has done this

every single year. It was a point of pride really for Florida that they hadn't until this year they had already won their cup made it to a previous one that they hadn't use that loophole that other teams that they have been taking out along the way have been using and I'm glad that they close it up. Glad. You let's make it a uniform rule. Bill Zito can follow it better than anybody. Let's do it. He's already proven it. No, but

Chris, let's we need to do a ceremony that we need to put it up in the rafters or something this is that look man if I had to have in the hockey Hall of Fame something from the last ten years an item a lever I'm something that would be mechanical that I would put in the Hall of Fame, I'd have to consider this rule, given what it's done for Vegas, Tampa, and Florida over the last decade. They're also doing some stuff to try to squash tampering, which is out of hand in that sport. I mean, people in league circles have known about Marner

to Vegas for months before he hits free agency. I do have some T as a pertains to the managers. Well, wait a minute, what ranking is this? What ranking is tea versus I happen to know and I know for a fact, what is the hierarchy of Mike's reporting? This is not first-hand information, this is me comparing notes with other information people.

For whatever reason, I'm super dialed to what Carolina's doing, expect dealers there. But Florida's trying to bring back those three. If you're counting on a haircut for Brad Marchand, possibly, I'm sure he can command more in an open market, but it's not that super team friendly. Florida's offering him basically what Boston offered him before he rejected that, which is a contract that I think is dead in the middle of the average annual value in the NHL. Eklat is torn. Florida's doing what they can to put something in front of

him that he'll take. I know Carolina's going to be super aggressive when it comes to Eklat, and if he went out to the free agency market, he'd command more than he got here. We already saw with Sam Bennett, he's locked in. And that's a crazy great value. That's going to be a great contract, especially with the collective bargaining agreement that's going to see the salary cap go up and up. Florida's got a team that's going to be around for a while. These guys are in their late 20s, they're going to hang around, they're going to have a say in the next few cups, and that's incredible. But we'll see on Brad Marshand, he's apparently torn 50-50 on whether or not to take Florida's present offer.

What do you want him to do? If he takes it, I don't think it's a great annual value for a 37 year old player that showed you the season's signs of tailing off and it was only until he got put on one of the best third lines in the history of the game that he resuscitated his career. What do you want him to do? If he comes back, I don't want him here. I don't want him here at that number but if he comes back here, you ride with your guys and you trust the GM. That's where I'm at. I think Bill Zito's earned that. If Bill Zito says we're going to bring back with your guys and you trust the GM. That's where I'm at. I think Bill Zito's earned that. If Bill Zito says we're gonna bring back these three guys and

that's the move, and you're fine getting rid of guys like Evan Rodriguez, which is probably something that you're gonna have to do. A guy that makes about half that annually, that is proven to you. Over the last two playoffs, Evan Rodriguez has had 30 points for this team. He was massive in the previous cup win. He's a two way player, he's on a team friendly deal, but you're gonna have to get rid of guys like that and if you have

confidence in how Brad Marchand is gonna age, I think me ultimately I'd defer to the GM. Evan Rodriguez, I want anyone who knows him who listens to this show to remind him that he owes us a shirtless visit to this show where he pretends to ride a roller coaster. He said he was gonna do that if they won the championship the first time. They've since won two championships. He owes that to the show before he leaves the Panthers. Mike Ryan said, the dishing of tea, I don't know where it is or why it is

that that is an expression, but the giving of tea, did that rise to the level of tea giving? Whatever it is that he's saying there, he had some tea to serve us. Did it rise to the level of being worthy of the jump off of I have some tea for you. I'm gonna be honest it was a little weak it was a little tepid. Weak tea? Well I that's what the offer is for Brad Martian and he's currently 50-50 on whether or not he takes it. In Zeto we trust. That's

stronger tea. That's well listen it's how it's a crime. It's not information. Well, listen. How? It's a crime. That's not information. It's a crime. No, it's just an opinion. It's a crime that Zito for the fourth- But it had more testosterone in it, so it had higher tea. Yeah, thank you very much. For the fourth time in five years, Zito is a finalist for GM of the Year and has passed

by again. What does this guy have to do? How many championships does he have to win to be the bleeping general manager of the year in hockey? I tell you, there is a collusion by the voters against Bill Zito. This needs to be investigated. Okay, all right, hold on a second. Now take that take to the highest level.

Like please, talk to a camera right now. And you seem legitimately outraged that Bill Zito is an executive of the year Bill Zito has been the best at doing what he does in that sport arguably the best in all sports over the past four years He keeps being nominated and and I'm half serious when I say who are these voters? I think it's a panel of like 16 or 18 people It's malfeasance what they're doing by not honoring this guy after a second straight Stanley Cup after stealing Brad Marchand from Boston after after getting Seth Jones this guy has been brilliant

for the Panthers brilliant unlike anybody else in this market and maybe nationally and it's a crime in that sport that he hasn't won GM of the year You weren't looking at the right camera at any point during that hey, let the camera look at me That's IT you know what okay, I have any of you seen a football life with Jimmy Johnson Have any weren't you in that I was but I had never seen it until this weekend. And I saw a story in there that I had not heard before about Jimmy Johnson and where his relationship with Jerry Jones ended. And I just did not know this.

It was Barry Switzer and Larry Lacewell who were telling the story. And they were just saying, this is where this ego clash between Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson ended. Why are you looking around? You know people in my ear are shouting and whispering. I'm trying to be a professional here. Shouting and whispering. So you just distracted me by looking the entire time I was talking. You know go buy some more fireworks. Amuse yourself. I mean it is fair

you're criticizing him for being distracted, but accusing him of distracting you. Thank you. What's the Jimmy Johnson point, Dan? So Jerry Jones, you know, Jimmy Johnson has a rule, and everyone knows he's got a rule. No one in the locker room right after the game, no one in the locker room right after the game,

which is me and the team. And Jerry Jones just barges in, and barges in with a prince, and Jimmy Johnson's furious, doesn't want him in there, and he's like, I have a rule. With a Prince? With a Prince, yes. Not Prince.

No, a Prince, a Prince. Fielder. I have a rule, and he tells Jerry Jones, I have a rule, and Jerry Jones' response is, I have a rule too, I own the team. Ha, ha, ha.