The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Local Hour: Polluting the Holiday Spirit (feat. Definitely Not Tony or Rose)

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

"Matric-, Matric-, Matric-, Matriculate the ball down the field." Dan is still wounded over his inaccuracies about the Heisman Trophy presentation at the Downtown Athletic Club, and he's FURIOUS over members of the crew thinking they're too cool for the company's new holiday song... but not as furious as Coach Mike Ryan is that we have barely touched the University of Miami's upcoming CFP game. Also, JuJu and Trysta are here in-studio to talk NBA Cup, which Amin claims is destined to be as popular as Christmas. Today's cast: Dan, Zaslow, Chris, Amin, JuJu, Mike, and Trysta. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow show. Shadow in it. Devonte Smith was the last Heisman Trophy winner

to have been alive when they had most recently awarded the Heisman Trophy at the downtown athletic club. Today's not the day for that, Mike. It's just, no, it's not funny. I came in today and I said hello to him, and the first thing I said is I'm still. still wearing yesterday's mistake of not knowing that downtown athletic club hadn't hosted the Heisman for a quarter century.

And that's how you start the, Mike, 25 years, Dan. This is not the day to do this to me. It's not. I've got the holiday parties coming up. I'm stressed out about that. We've got too many people in town. Jason, the director, can't get anyone to work with him. And Tony bailed on him at the last minute. Rose wouldn't sing for him. We've got office chaos here, and you're hitting me in a vulnerable spot. That's a bad mistake. I'm lashing out. It's been two weeks since we've talked Miami Hurricanes football. There was some, not to spoil it, there's some rapping involved. Not wrapping, like gift wrapping, like RAPP in this year's intro. And Tony felt that his cool card might get taken away if he did it. He was worried about the internet? A little peek

behind the curtain. Dog, I got the couch two weeks ago. are you with you Turning over Turning over Here on the old And bringing the new Turning over Holidays are back

Check drop a new track Here with their audio Almanac We said bye bye Billy and that was whack When will Stu come back? You know about that Thai food Lips my mood Zaslow is a wild dude

Nice hat So I got the scoop Salute Ju-Ju Gotti what the hell of the who? What's the worst part of the life? Will Fork has got a new wife. Roy Bellamy loves to talk park. When Christmas is up, he says, Fri-Clo.

Does Craig have a back in my day? No. The traffic just got in his way. And then he says, you never know. Confirm as you don't get the show. Let's start the show. I hear it with you. Turning over.

Turn it over. We got Pablo vocal modulate. A mean he's been weak and observating Connor McDee's McGover rating Again the Panthers took that ass So let's give it to Dan because his name's on the show And hand it to Mike because he happened to know Now pass me the ball like Stafford to Pooka

Please I'm done and happy Chinooka Let's start the show a year and new you Turning over Turny over I'll be old and ringing the new Turning over. Turning over. So they might bench tour, but I got to get to the office politics.

That was a lovely open. Welcome to Trista and Juju, Alleyoop. We love having them around during the holiday season. And I want them to legislate some things going on around here because no one wanted to participate with tone. with Jason in the making of that open. No one, Tony bailed on him, made him rewrite the whole thing. Made Jason rewrite the whole thing

because Tony bailed at the last minute because it was gonna hurt his cool quotient. And then Rose, he wrote it for Rose. And then Rose bailed at the last minute as well. And then they forced Ethan to do it. And I see that Ethan was on the cutting room floor, as far as I can tell. I didn't see Ethan, which I was grateful for.

I didn't see Ethan anywhere in that open. Maybe he was the same. or something. I saw Jason as an elf, embarrassing himself as an elf, because no one would participate with him. So Trista, please legislate this. We've got a judge in our midst, but tell me what it is that I should be doing here, where

Jason's trying very hard to pollute this place with the holiday spirit, and no one wants it. I think you need to just force them, really, like indentured servitude. I said, did you try said, this song goes hard. I mean, this, I would like an MP3 of

this. Are we still doing MP3? wanted to rap. Juju, Tony wants to look cool instead of actually being cool. Yeah, I think Tony has to really suffer the consequences of this one because if you're not going to be a team player, no matter how embarrassing it is, you got

to do it. Now, neither here nor there, this may have been sent to me as well and they may have asked me to wrap on this as well. Of course they did. And I don't do ghost writers. But what about what about Rose?

Rose loves to sing Rose has the biggest banger We've got people competing around here All the time to sing songs That wasn't Rose singing? That was Rose did do the chorus Yeah, she did the hook And for the record that was Ethan a Santa

But Ethan was only participating in the video Because Tony and Rose didn't want to look However that was going to look on video They were embarrassed by what Jason was going to make What Metal Arc was making was too embarrassing For cool Rose and Tony I think this thing should have won a golden globe It was pretty good

Okay, we're going to start you out for $2.00. I don't know a Golden Globes. It's not eligible. Although podcasts are not eligible for Golden Globes. Or a short. What is it? The Shorties? The Webbies? It is a Webby Award. I don't know if you guys have heard Rose's original classic, and I will get to the University of Miami. I don't think I have. You haven't heard. Rose got pepper sprayed at Ohio State.

Right. And it sounded. That sound he's making is Rose. That's the sound she made on the field. It was actually on the bird. We can play her classic in our. or two. How about that? Okay, yeah, because we've got to monetize it. All right, we'll play it for Zazlo. We'll sit around and play it for Zazlo. I need to know what to do about Jason, though. I like Christmas carols, okay? Are you guys singers? Do you guys sing around the house? Did your family sing growing up? Because the only time I saw my family sing ever in the house was Christmas carols. There was no other song in my house. I might have sung at Carnegie Hall.

It's a flex. I mean, look at me, Louis. At 11 or 12. I've sung at 11. In a group. Look at me. I've sung We Are the Champions at 11 at the top of my lungs. I sung the national anthem yesterday in the shower because when somebody in here has to sing the national anthem soon,

so I was singing, what do I have here? And I got nothing. Juju, you did the national anthem and not lift every voice and sing. That's very off brand. I don't tell anybody. So Juju simply refused to participate as well. Did they not ask you? Because Aslo would have done it.

I, okay, so all those people you mentioned, said no, and then they came to me, and I did it. That was me. Also, so far, all the people he's mentioned but Tony were involved. But I did it. I did the rap. Rose refused. She's singing all over the track. She's the lead voice. Tony and Juju, you got it. Yeah. Everybody else that you're saying didn't do it is in it. See, I do music. You feel me? I'd be rapping. And so that just didn't go with the aesthetics of what I usually put out.

You feel me? I am told that we now have the video. We can't play the audio because it's a song, but here is Lucy and Rose. Rose was pepper sprayed. She made a honking goose sound, and I believe Lucy was laughing nearby. Oh, no.

Oh, my God, he's pepper sprayed up. Oh, no. Unfortunately, the honk was separate audio. Oh, look, there it is. You'll have to take my word for it. She honed. It's not AI altered. Mike, have you been dining on Texas A&M podcast this week?

Listen to everyone, including one that is 100% AI. You can tell by how they say concepti own. That is the giveaway so far on all AI. He's going to enter the NFL draft. You enjoy that? I love previewing opponents by listening to what the enemy says. I can't even imagine. Department of War, pal.

I got to do advanced scouts. I got to see, I'm real worried because they're mentioning that Chris Bell route against us in that Louisville game. I'm like, damn, they know. Yeah, Chris Bell, a first round pick who is now injured. He was injured against SMU, and people are degrading Miami's schedule because they lost to Louisville. But that's a first round pick, and Miami couldn't cover him because no one can. And he got hurt, and Louisville got hurt. But as we dissect who's good and who's not in a football landscape, pro and college,

where we're being confused by, like, who's the best actually? I think this first round game is the only first round game that features two balanced enough teams that if either of them lost, I'll still say that could have been a champion. You got bogus James Madigan, Madison, and Oregon over here, and you got Mississippi playing. Oregon.

Thank you, Trista. And it's Lul. I'm a duck. I didn't want to do that to you. It's been a shaky start, but we let the Lulet thing slide. Why do you think it was a shaky start? Downtown Athletic Club. Yes, yes.

What kind of producer? What do you mean it doesn't have anything to do with you? What, we've got to call it out. I came in saying that I was still wounded 24 hours later. Zaslo's soothing me last night because I was. Pause. Yeah, he's texting me soothing balm. Just, Dan, it wasn't that terrible today.

That's not bad. You weren't that terrible today. He was bad. You got to speak truth, the power, man. So you decided that the way to start the show today and produce me when I've got Jason in the other room, giving everybody bad ideas they don't want to do, that actually turned into a very good song because yet he's talented. And we can dance around. We can dance around. And all we got to do is dance around in costumes. We can do that. Sounds like Portland

by the ice center. I'm lashing out. This is, as you said, two teams playing for a CFP spot here. Winner gets the defending national champion. It's the biggest game in Miami in their last, Well, since they last handed out the Heisman Trophy at the downtown athletic club. I just can't believe that there's a time in the day where you say, you know, I have a little bit of free time right now and you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to listen to a Texas A&M podcast.

There was a Cuban on one of them. Okay, they're going into a cult, okay? This is a difficult place to play. The people that surround both huddles are weirdos, all of them. They're chanting weirdos. It's got a weird communal feeling of they speak language no one else does and this is a better team I think a more balanced team than any of the

ones Mansell was on and I think this team has enough athletes on it all over and I'm I know I sound gas bagging when I tell you Texas Tech is really good and Texas A&M is also really good they've got athletes all over the field I don't know how they get down 30 to 3 to South Carolina at the half but I'm assuming it's because Marcel Reed was inaccurate he can be shaken they've got nothing but running backs that average five yards of carry. Marcel Reed is very good. And he presents a problem they haven't had this season. A good team with a quarterback that can move.

Like, he's their second leading rusher. He's really good moving the ball down the field, but he can be inaccurate. He can be picked off. And I don't know if you guys think in today's college football that 10 interceptions is a lot, but it's won a game. And in this kind of game between two teams that are pretty equal, the way Miami lost to Louisville as Louisville had three great interceptions. But it's four interceptions, of Carson.

That's how they'll lose. Miami's got offensive line, an offensive line, that is as good protecting the quarterback, and they were not a good run-blocking team up the middle because the coaches were stubborn all season. That's a good offensive line. And Texas A&M, I don't think, has played a lot of those. They lost to the team.

They did play. Texas had a good offensive line. Texas A&M. Athletes. They didn't protect. George Manning well, but the athletes across the board. So macro view, these are two teams that I think based on form are kind of headed in opposite directions. You can argue Texas A&M is playing their worst football of the year right now, and you can certainly make a sound argument that Miami's

playing their best football right now. Damn mentioned the mobile quarterbacks. They haven't hurt Miami. Miami has done a real good job against the mobile quarterbacks on their schedule. They've contained them, and that's exactly what they have to do with Marcel Reed. If he breaks contain, he will hurt you with his feet. You actually want this. guy to sit in a pocket. The more he is forced into that pocket and make Reed's against his own, the more likely he is to throw an interception. People make a big deal out of Carson Beck's proclivity to turn the ball over. Marcel Reed has had more interceptible passes than Carson Beck has had this season. I think if you're watching the Texas game, the lesson to learn from

that is sit back and make them matriculate down the field. Don't let these guys get into man coverage because they have really, they have three really dangerous receivers. Once they get the ball in their hands. If they shake the first defender, they can house call it. So just sit back in zone and be patient with it. The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. 48 teams, these giant stadiums, the whole continent turning into one massive party I cannot wait. But actually getting tickets to any of this? Yeah, that part, brutal. That's why the game time map has been a total lifesaver. It gives the advantage back to us, the fans. You can track price drops in real time. Get alerts when seats opened up, grabbed tickets the second they

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This is the Dan Levitar show with the Stugats. So I saw them in person once this year, Texas A&M. I was at the LSU game, and I thought they were really good. But I think it's also important to point out, man, they kind of got lucky with their SEC schedule. They did. Like, you look at, they didn't play any of the teams in the top half of the conference, except for Texas, who they lost to. And all seven of their wins are literally the bottom half of the conference. It's Arkansas, South Carolina, sneaky decent Mississippi State, Florida, LSU, Missouri.

Those are all of their SEC wins. They've played a lot of bad question. quarterbacks this season. And I will say from a size perspective, even though this is a really aggressive team, they're really good on the Blitz. Owens is good. They don't have the same size that the Jimbo teams had. I think this is a line of scrimmage game, strength on strength, patience. And I actually, it's not more complicated than get the ball in the hands of Malachi Tony. They have a veteran nickel corner that I don't think can hang with Malachi running with him. So outside runs, and Malakai Tony is the recipe here.

Chris Cody, can you help me with a couple of things? There are two questions I have for you right now. Amin has appeared out of nowhere. He's on the show today. Why is he late again? Coming from Vegas, baby. Okay. That's one thing.

I've got one issue over there. The other issue I have is why does Mike Ryan, who is wearing a coach's assistant jumpsuit to represent the University of Miami? You're a headset? Why does he go into full coach? speak when after listening to this Texas A&M pods where he's like well we got to matriculate the ball down the field you're right I'm asking for us and the audience we got a house call it we got to show patience we got to control the line

of scrimmage this is you making fun of me you got me rattled because of how you started the show you started the show rough start you started the show come on you're owning me let's go keep dunking on me why is it that you go into four coach speak when you're talking about this football game? Why is it that when I give 10 seconds of analysis, the only analysis allowed here on the show in the last two weeks, it becomes boring coach speak? That's actually really good nuggets. Most people in our audience don't know that Marcel Reed is more inclined to throw an

interception than Carson Beck. I'm trying to provide a path here for victory for our Miami Hurricanes. And yes, I said our Miami Hurricanes. It's the biggest game in 20 years. You better start acting like it. I think he's saying when you look like a coach, it just sounds like coach speak. How do you even decide which Texas A&M podcast you're going to listen to? All of them. That's how I know one of them is 100% AI.

Concepcion, what's his nationality? Puerto Rican, really good player. Heard us a lot when he was at NC State as a freshman. They got Craver, Bethel Roman, and Concepcion, who's going to be a first-round pick. They're just dynamite with the ball in their hands. Five yards to carry from all their running backs, Marcel Reed is their second-leading rushers. They get Leveon Moss back, though. That's the expectation.

and these are big powerback. Miami struggled when Florida handed the ball to their power back in that one good looking drive that they had. Moss makes it a lot easier. There's Ruben Owens who likes to talk his crap and we have sound of that. Credit to the Miami Hurricanes and Mario Cristobal because they haven't given teams any bulletin board material this year. They've been very respectful of the opponent. This is now the second time that we've heard a Texas A&M Aggie going to give Miami some motivation. I wouldn't say as much as a challenge. I know my guys, they're ready for

the challenge, you know. It's been like that. A couple games, Mizzou game. They said they was a good run defense. We put up over 200 rushing yards, so. Yeah. Well, Mizzou was ranked 17th nationally. They got fat off of bad teams. They never beat a good one. And Miami's seventh

nationally against the run. I'll tell you, I think what's going to play a role, the canes have not played in an atmosphere like this all season long. That's fair. Like the ACCC, SMU is different from Kyle Field.

Right. I've been to both. And there's over 70,000, which by the way, 70,000 is like tiny for an SEC stadium because obviously it's a 110,000. That's what, yeah. Miami has not played in front of. Close as. More than 70,000 people this season.

Oh, that's, okay. I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you. I will say in terms of having been to both stadiums. Thank you. Kyle Field is super intimidating. It's super loud.

It's awe-inspiring. Like there's levels upon levels as far as the eye can see. It's a pretty... It's a cult. It's a hundred thousand chanting people in the middle of nowhere are mint some tumbleweed. Now, you're not going to believe what I'm going to tell you right now because SMU's stadium is at like a 32,000 capacity stadium.

But what they were doing in the first half with blasting the music to the point that the offense had to wait until it stopped that was so illegal that it had to stop. the second half is quite literally the loudest thing I've ever heard inside of a stadium, and I've been to Kyle Field. I believe that most of the people listening to this think that this is homerific analysis on the University of Miami. And when I keep telling you, that's a team with athletes that can win a championship

among the top teams in the sport if we're going to play random ball with kids, right? They're kids and they make a lot of mistakes, and you don't trust teenagers to be responsible with much of anything. But Miami has a game breaker in Tony, who throws the ball as well better than any non-quarterback they've ever had. So they're going to use them in multiple ways. But you've been following, you've been traveling to these places. Mike's been screaming at the top of his lungs. The SEC is fraudulent to all of it.

But this is the cream of the SEC. It's not Alabama and Oklahoma. And when this team is the cream of the SEC feeding on a conference that is a lot weaker than people understand. a lot weaker. It's in disguise. This is not the SEC you remember. Alabama and Oklahoma are shells of what those programs have been the last 10 years. Texas A&M is the top of the conference, but Miami's got a chance to expose the entire conference if they physically dragged this team that was down 27 at South Carolina. And then when it went to Texas and played the team that lost at Florida, a Texas team that is very physical, they got their ass kick by a bad, not a bad, not a bad

Texas team, but a Texas team that did not deserve to be in the playoffs. Like, I know what you're saying about Alabama and Oklahoma. I'm not so high. I'm not so sure that Alabama and Oklahoma and Oklahoma are not just as good as Texas A&M. Like Oklahoma and Alabama have really good SEC wins on their resume. Texas A&M doesn't. What did you make of them being down 30 to three at the half against South Carolina? And it's crazy because the key to the game for South Carolina was, quote, get off to a good start, which is right up there with my favorite keys to the game behind Don't Get Hurt. Yeah, you want to get off to a good start because it's a football game.

South Carolina stinks, and I think that's the takeaway, is how do you let South Carolina get off to that kind of league? So when people are listening to this, and we're telling them, Miami can win the championship, Miami's good enough to win the championship, but also this is the toughest first round game there is in terms of two teams that you think could actually win the championship. But you guys are making me rethink my position on what I've thought Texas A&M is all year because when I've watched Texas A&M at the beginning of the year, not toward the end,

when they were playing less well, I saw an offense because of what they did to LSU and others that can run a bunch of athletes off the field. Like it's the last two games that I've watched of Texas A&M where I'm like, okay, well, wait, did I get it wrong? It's a cliche, but playing your best ball at the right time of the season. season is a real thing. We saw it with Notre Dame last year, how they were building to crescendo. That's another thing that people that I know have gone back and watched a Texas A&M game at Notre Dame. It's a common opponent. Miami had the benefit of playing them at home where

Texas A&M, in impressive fashion, went to South Bend. If you watch that game, mad fluky. Notre Dame dropped two picks, and one of the more egregious holding calls that didn't get called led to that game tying and then go ensuing PAT opportunity that helped Texas A&M hand Notre Dame their second loss. Miami probably doesn't get into the college football playoff if they call that holding, by the way, in South Bend. Oh, look at that. Call that holding back in South Bend.

Yeah, I think that that was more impactful on Miami's playoff chances than anything because it gives Notre Dame one loss. You don't have that head-to-head advantage there. And the two-lossed Texas A&M gets in over a two-loss Miami. The people who are listening are only hearing homerism here, right? It's thinking that Miami could win the champ. the thinking that Miami can win the championship because we've watched this team all year and we've also seen them lose to SMU and you're the one that's applying that homer take I haven't

said that I'll let you stand on that island Miami's got the toughest path to a title they got to go through Texas A&M in Kyle Field they got to play a cotton bowl against Ohio State and potentially a fiesta against Georgia I wish there was a different path here I'm not exactly sure why Ole Miss was ranked ahead of Texas A&M, I'd feel much better about that game, but I'm excited about this, and I don't think I've been super homerific here, just telling you what it is. We respect the opponent over here. You're scared of the venue. You're not scared of the team. Not even that scared of the venue. Haven't been there. It's just really impressive, but the people are super nice. It's not like they get drunk off their ass and are vile people to you. I'm staying

in College Station again. I happen to find the area really nice. It's like any cult. They're super nice because they want you to join. Just to backtrack for a moment because I don't think that people sort of realize the history of this program and Kevin Sumlin and Johnny Mansell made the previous incarnations of Texas A&M that had fewer expectations, I think, than this one, right? Because when Mansell beats Alabama and Sabin, you still weren't expecting them to win the championship. This is the realest chance that Texas A&M has had for a championship since Blank, right? This is the best Texas A&M team. I mean, they gave Jimbo Fisher so much money, and he didn't produce a team, didn't produce a quarterback or a team as good as this one. Yeah, this team's only lost.

It's a final game of the season. It's probably the, that's a fine, Trista, welcome aboard. This is. It was on, do not disturb. I don't know what happened. Well, it disturbed. This is probably the second most talented Texas A&M team. I'm pretty sure there was a Texas A&M team with Mike Evans, Johnny Mansell and Miles Garrett on it.

But because of the college, because of the expanded college football player. off minor penalty two minutes delay a show yeah you're going to have to leave trist i'm sorry to do this too you're just going to have to go she just said where is it you'll figure it out yeah just wander around walk past the mean if you want you can tag him in yeah if you want that's fine we can use them i mean i do think that whoever wins this game is going to be kind of a sexy pick to upset ohio state i'm not there uh god that shit would be so sexy i'm not there with being in Ohio State. I don't know if this team has enough. That's only happening because you just saw Indiana do it. And Indiana's got like this thing that they're doing where no one will believe it is champion until after it is champion, just because it's Indiana.

Like how bad do you want Miami to win this weekend? Not because you obviously want them to win the national championship, but man, you so badly just want them to play Ohio State. That'd be great. That'd be great. Yeah. I mean, you know me. Miami Hurricanes are my life. I know. I want to win this game so bad. You're taking them one at a time, though. Don't get to that one yet. You're taking them one at a time. Look ahead. Look ahead. You want to matriculate down the field. No, I don't give the opposing team bulletin board material.

I mean, welcome. There was a big NBA story last night. The Knicks won something meaningful. I think it's time for us to shift into regional programming. WFAT team. The Knicks haven't felt this good in a while because the East is weak, although I think they'd have problems against Detroit and Orlando and Toronto, but the Knicks haven't felt this good about a team in a long time

because they also like the players because they've fallen in love with Carl Anthony Towns even when they hate him sometimes. And Jalen Brunson is the most beloved Nick of my lifetime. Well, not of your lifetime. Hold on. The most beloved Nick. How old do you think you are? No, beyond Patrick Ewing. Who are you putting above him?

Think back to downtown athletic club days. There were some popular Knicks players on that team. I mean, the way that I hear the most obnoxious of New York fans talk about Jalen Brunson, they never talked about Carmelo this way, they never talked about, they never talked about Ewing this way. Who are you putting above him in my lifetime? Oh, Claudeau. Yeah, Claude Frazier. Frazier.

Okay, but I didn't walk. You said your lifetime. You put that. You're old. But you think, Jalem, I'm sincerely asking because I was much more of an NBA fan in the 90s. Do you think Brunson is at Ewing level? I think a lot of people disliked Ewing. You ain't got a ton of heat.

I know I got a ton of heat, but at the height of his popularity. Brunton gets no heat. Brunson is just loved. That's a good point. Brunson gets whatever the number is, whatever the ratings are. Brunson is like a 100% or damn near close. I like your voice today. I know.

It's nice. It's gravelly. Yeah. That's a red eye from Vegas. That's a lot of things. You've been working hard. Thank you. Folks, listen up.

You know my holiday pattern by now. Every single year I tell myself, Listen, Chris, you're going to be thoughtful this year. You're going to get good gifts. You're not going to be lazy. You're not just going to get gift cards. And this year, guys, I have news. I pulled it off.

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Limited time offer. Don Lebertard. If Daniel Day Lewis did it, you'd be jerking off all over yourself. Oh, come on. Yeah, I would be. Aggressive description? I mean, what is it?

What is that? I'm just saying. You know what? That's me. That's me. Daniel Day Lewis does something. I see that photo of Daniel Day Lewis looking like Lincoln before he's about to start filming Lincoln. And you know what I do?

I mean, Stugats. I jerk off all over myself. That's what I do. Lincoln, who you outed the other day? Don't make this a rejoin. This is the Dan Levitar show with the Stugats. A couple playoff exits for Brunson, right, and that heat will turn up, no? But here's the weird part.

I think to this point, he still has a little bit of Teflon where a couple of playoff exits, like last year. That was a disappointment. You were supposed to beat the Pacers. How many people said, it's because Brunson wasn't good enough. Oh, but when you say to this point, like this part's super interesting to me when it comes to popularity and the difficulty of having it in New York. Like, this is super simple basketball stuff. Ewing was a giant. Brunson is small.

And they just love the grittiness of that guy represents us. Look, it's 10 points every first quarter. And in the fourth quarter, he's going to be efficient. And how does he do it? I don't understand he's tiny. And Ewing was the number one pick where Brunson was like, wow, I can't believe we gave him this much money. Oh, my God, he's incredible.

Takes a discount so that we can keep getting better. Carl Anthony Towns has never been more popular, even though if he misses his next six shots, they'll turn on him quickly because he's big. Right. So to answer Chris's question, If the Knicks get knocked out early or don't achieve, Towns is first on that list well before they get to Brunson. And then Bridges before Brunson too.

Because we gave up five first round picks for you. He has so many layers of insulation. Mike Brown is on that list before he gets there. Brunson is, to your point, then, he's pretty damn popular. But when I think about Walt Frazier, a winner, right? When did he stop playing? When did he stop playing? In the 80s, but the early 80s.

Jalen Brunson, winner. Well, not like Walt Frazier. I mean, he's got a championship. He's got a championship. Well, Frasier had two. How about that? Okay. But then the other part of this, you have to understand.

Frazier was culture beyond the game. So it wasn't just, oh, he's a great player for the Knicks. It's like, this guy's cool. He's dressing cool. He's got the suede pumas, da-da. And then, because Frazier stayed around as a broadcaster, are still showing up dressing flamboyantly, he's become like the mascot who stayed.

And for that reason, he is still beloved and still kind of respected, even among people who were, you know, born decades after he played for the Knicks. Fair enough. I stand corrected. I don't know what year Clyde Fraser stopped playing, but it was before I started watching basketball.

Like, I didn't start watching. Well, oh, wow, that's judgy. I get there to my, I get there in my teenage years and it's unacceptable to you. I'm a casual because I've merely been following it half a century? I didn't have league pass back then, I mean. The Miami Heat weren't around. Is this an indictment of me that I started watching basketball after Clyde Frazier?

You know, watch a highlights, you know. From New York, New Jersey. Sports Center wasn't around, guys. Okay, give me all the Clyde Frazier expertise I have in the room, non-Amean division. Nah, just for men commercials for me. Boom. Did he wear goldfish in his shoes? or was that somebody else?

That was, I'm going to get you sucker. That's happening, bro. We got to find this, man. That was literally, I'm going to get you sucker. No, no, there wasn't, there was absolutely a basketball player who's done this. Somebody will support me in the audience. You have this wrong. I do not have this wrong.

This is not me conflating. It's oddly confident for you given the week you've had. Again with this. Can we talk about this happened in today? I know it's off to a rough star or whatever, but. You turned it to Porky Pig and nobody said anything? Oh, we said things. No, you guys just let them just got to roll with it.

Do you have for me, can you cut that up, Chris? Me getting stuck on Matriculated. Have you guys cut that up yet? The only part that was missing, Dan, was you needed to go. Signed up. That would have been 100% Porky Pig. I wasn't that confident. Can you give me a little bit of a pallet cleanser by producing Walt Clyde Frazier,

talking to the Rizzler. Thanks for joining us this morning. This is how you do the wrist face. So put one eyebrow down like this, and then you raise one up, and then you suck him like this. Then you do this. That's how you do the wrist face.

Did that happen just instinctively, or are you something you used to get in the front of the mirror and you used to practice? Well, I think I practiced it like a little bit at school, but then I went home and then I didn't. yeah yeah so you like being a celebrity or yeah oh great oh did you see my book yeah oh thanks thanks we're coming out with a coloring book too so that's why he spoke to him look how dark that got he was winning and grinning Dana have you saying matriculate

matriculate the ball down the field did it matric matriculate the ball down the field that is not edited that's better than I remember. Matic, matriculate the ball down the field. That's what I'm saying. You guys kind of just, you guys just moved on and I was like, what? I'm a mitch, mitick, matriculate the ball down the field. I mean, it's on the level of Kendrick Parkins, Moses Moody.

I'm a mitch, matic, matriculate the ball down the field. I kept thinking that Jujo was just saying blow every time here. That is, that is Juju just feeling for me inside of the sound. Let me tick, matriculate the ball down the field. Let me tick, matriculate the ball down the field. I think your quibble is with Juju. Why didn't Juju come after me and make the room ransack me because of what had happened? Matic, matriculate the ball down the field.

The Knicks haven't felt this good in a while in terms of how it is that, this fan pace is rallying around the journey and two years and are they going to get better and am i going to get more attached to the players yeah i mean this validation right that's what they've been seeking for so long is that what they're doing is working and meaningful and even when you talk about carmelo anthony you know that team the the peak of that was a second round knockout to the heat but it like even though they were like they best in the vision that year and all that it never felt real like it was like yeah we're good 50 wins, but it's just like,

this isn't going to be a team that can win a championship. And what's happened in the last three years, pretty much, as Jalen Brunson's gotten there, is there is a real belief that this is something that's building towards actual tangible success, banners and awards and all that stuff. And so last night was kind of, especially they were down, the crowd was very, it was a San Antonio crowd.

It was a San Antonio crowd. And this is, I don't know if it's because the rodeo was in town before and these people just stayed or there was this like the announcement that hey the spurs are good and this is going to be a huge following that's going to be a national brand over the next couple of years but

the shock of the life for everyone we thought when we got to Vegas on Friday and Saturday that it's going to be a bunch of Knicks fans come on who can fly in last minute who has a fan base at every city they've got people it's the Knicks it's going to be Knicks crowds and the first game

it was like Nick's Magic it was like It's a slightly advantage Knicks crowd, but it wasn't really as loud as we thought. And then last night, it was like, no, this is a San Antonio crowd. And I'll tell you what, like for the Knicks to win that, it felt like they won a road game. It felt like they won, quote, quote, against all odds. Everyone wanted Wemby to be the MVP,

Wemby to be incredible. And they went out and did it. And now, is this going to mean anything four months from now, five months from now? Probably not, but it's a start. What it could mean is that they're going to, face Detroit again and Detroit has learned all the hard things and are a better team. And so they won't lose the way they lost to them last year because Detroit is better this year. What was

the scene around New York? It's been crazy. Yeah, they had to overreact. As I mean mentioned, I assumed it's because all the Knicks fans were back in New York ready to celebrate. This is a team that's captured the hearts and minds of New York City. This is where they always celebrate their first round victories over here. Madison Square Garden after its team, when it's the first trophy its franchise has had since 1973. Look at them. All three of them outside of Madison Square Garden celebrating the New York Knicks.

Is that Dante Devenchino? Everybody makes fun of the Knicks for being loud and proud. They've gotten carried away the last few seasons, winning a playoff game confetti from the sky. This has not been a relevant franchise in 25 years

until most recently. They've been a punchline. First round exits every time. The East is week, this Knicks team does have the fan base wanting desperately to have these games matter again. I don't think they're good enough, though. They're the same team they were last year. Yeah, I think last night, though, the biggest takeaway is now you can't deny that the end-season tournament matters. L.A. has won, hung the banner. New York is going to win and hang that banner. In 20 years from now, the end-season tournament is going to be a part of just the

culture and I'm happy for that as a basketball fan. Juju, it's not going to be 20 years. I'm telling you the way the players were playing this year, the way the crowd was in a neutral site. The way New York fans reacted outside MSG? Okay. It's like, it felt like

okay, this is the turning point where the quality of basketball is so much better and the fan engagement was so much better. The ratings are up. I talked to Stanman Gundy last night. How great was he and Dwayne Wade? That's a good broadcast. The two of them together were they just so clearly like each other.

So that's a part of it, a part of the story of why this has been such a success is because Amazon owns the rights to all of this. And they said, we're going to treat it like it's our, you know, bowl season or whatever. They've gone ten toes down in terms of committing to this thing. And the energy towards the broadcast, both studio and game broadcasts has been incredible. how much do you think that had to do with the teams that were in it though because we have the defending champs we have wemby is he coming back you got the nix big market team you got a new coach like if there were worse teams in here i don't think people would be as excited i would say this is what i would say trista the cup games before we got to vegas were great

right the cup games before we got to vegas were you know think about heat magic two teams I wouldn't say anyone's like on the top of anyone's radar in terms of popularity, but that game was a great game, and that game rated really well. Obviously, the thunder-destroying Phoenix wasn't, but the point is these teams, Spurs Lakers, another great game. People are engaged, and when I say people, I'm saying the players, the coaches, the broadcasters, and the fans, we all bought in, and it's like, all it takes is do this again and again. Joe Varden wrote an incredible piece about the future of the NBA Cup and as he's trying to talk about like hey this is something that we just have to stick with he brings up the concept of Christmas Dan

do you know that the concept of Christmas in this country as like oh Santa Claus and presents and trees and all that it's like 200 years old like it happened in 1800s to us now it's like Christmas is an institution oh da-da-da-da how dare you say happy holidays you say Merry Christmas like that's like 200 years old people did not care about Christmas like that in the 1700s. Fascinating. I did not know that. The NBA Cup is Christmas.

I don't understand. We'll get there.