The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Oral History of the Dan Le Batard Show: Episode 3

Episode Date: October 18, 2024

In this third episode of the Oral History of the Dan Le Batard Show, we being with the arrival of the most important athlete in the history of South Florida, LeBron James. Dan, Stu, and Mike Ryan recount King James’ time in Miami and reminisce on the sheer amount of incredible content that the Royal Penis provided. We also touch on the changes at the top of Lincoln Financial Group that led to tension between the DLS cast and the company’s higher-ups. Finally, signs of a schism begin with Stugotz and Hoch moving to 2-a-days at The Ticket and Dan forming the nascent idea that would eventually become Highly Questionable, leading to even more personal and professional challenges. Additional commentary from Hoch, former SVP of Lincoln Financial, Dennis Collins, and PTI producer, Erik Rydholm, provides unique color that even Dan and Stu didn’t know about. Make sure to stick around for another hilarious supercut, featuring Dan’s Heat rants, Marc Hackman, and a lot of sun songs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Charles, is LeBron about to win more rings than you? Yes! Stugots! He's failed. Wait, wait. Failed the fans. Failed the city. 20.

Mediocreers. Have you ever worn a Speedo before? No! Stugots? I tried one on. This is the oral history of the Tan Levitard show with Stugots. Stugots, I do not associate LeBron James coming to Miami instantaneously as a positive thing because I spent, I'm gonna say, the six weeks before LeBron came to Miami, in a bit of a state of fear,

because attention was gathering around our show. I say attention as in people noticing, but I also mean a tension, because I was scared about reporting something consistently on ESPN. This is very close to happening. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James are going to come to Miami.

And when they come to Miami, they bring a whole lot of attention to our show upon arrival because a whole lot of people are gathering around to see what the fuss is about. I remember how scared you were to put that report out there. I think Stephen A was also scared. He swore that he would never do it again,

and then he did it again. So I remember that time. Now, I made the same reports, but I don't care about my credibility. I just said LeBron was coming here because I thought LeBron was coming here and LeBron ended up coming here. I was so excited that LeBron shows Miami because I knew what it would do for that team and that organization, but selfishly I also knew what it would do for us. And I knew the national spotlight would be on us and would only make our show bigger because at that time we have arrived at,

hey, we're the biggest show in the market. And now we're getting LeBron James teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. And I'm like, man, this is gonna make us even bigger than we already are. But it's not just that we're the biggest show in the market. We were existing at this time. I'm not gonna say it's pre just that we're the biggest show in the market. We were existing at this time.

I'm not gonna say it's pre-internet, but it's a hugely interesting time in the transformation of the listening experience from radio to the intimacy of podcasts. There were a whole lot of people locating our show who were no longer listening in their cars on AM radio. They were listening all over the country on their computers and they were causing a problem

to the radio executive industry because they're like, why should we keep giving away our thing for free without commercials on the internet when what we need people to be doing is listening at the appointed time on radio where they can get our commercials. I'm not gonna say a crossroads, but for our show, it became important that the podcast audience

was now eating into the radio listening. I always felt like our show was national though, even before LeBron got there, because of ESPN, because of you, because of the way we attacked our show, because of guests like Chris Mortenson and others who were not local guests. So I felt like I was never concerned about the podcast and the radio listeners.

I was just happy that more and more people were listening to us in more and more places. Like to me, that was a positive and it was something that we would all figure out together at Navigate. I remember our bosses really being confused by the podcast and living to resent the podcast over time. We had several discussions internally.

Do we take down the podcast? Is this hurting us? We make stuff so people could hear it. Yes. And this thing was becoming a bona fide hit. And then when LeBron James comes over in 2010, you have a national topic. It is pretty interesting that LeBron James has been doing this thing in the public eye as long as this show has been around. Frazey. You're both still around doing the thing. You guys never really had to exist without one another.

You've been there for the athlete of his generation. He's always been there for us. You've always covered the run from a prodigy on the cover of Sports Illustrated to a guy that was starting to live up to Jordan comparisons in Cleveland. Take it easy. And then he takes the circus to your hometown Miami. Miami is a sports sound nationally. Dan, I think you saw your profile at ESPN increase

the second that just merely the talk of this thing happening started. This is Eric Ridehome, the executive producer of Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn. I met Dan about 23 years ago. We had launched PTI and we were looking for substitute hosts for when Tony and Mike were going to take their summer vacations.

And both of them immediately said, Dan Lebatard, that's a guy who can do this show. And so Dan started, I don't know, about two or three weeks on the show. And as we tracked the ratings, the ratings plummeted. You could see a valley when Dan was on the show and as we track the ratings the ratings plummeted. You could see a valley when Dan was on here which we called the Lebatard Valley and it wasn't just quantitative feedback. Dan actually thought the qualitative feedback was hilarious too and people were saying things like this guy doesn't

know anything he thinks he's funnier than he is, he looks like Flounder from Animal House. Dan's response to all of this was to laugh. He thought it was the most hilarious thing. And then before his decision, you're featured with Bill Simmons and PTI on an NBA free agency special. You have people tuning in from all over the world to hear your reports on LeBron James and the Miami Heat. And keep in mind, another thing that was happening

at this time in 2010, Twitter becomes a phenomenon and people start cutting up our clips that are available on the podcast or ripping from the web stream and they start sharing that information and our show's appeal increases tenfold. You have a number of different things happening at the same time because it's not just Twitter and social media's explosion. This is the spots, Dugats, where the transaction overtook the action in terms of people enjoying

the speculation around is this person going to move there. I do remember being on a free agent prime time show with Tony Kornheiser, Mike Wilbon and Bill Simmons and all of them sitting in a table laughing at me because I'm saying why wouldn't the three friends play together? I don't believe in the chemistry stuff. I don't believe in the pieces because Ron Artest just won the championship. He never fit with that team. I've seen this heat team win a championship with pieces that didn't really fit. Oh, we know he's going.

He knows what he's going to do. Look at this. What are you doing it for me for? We've got I'm going with the dream scenario that's being talked about right now. In that summer, Bill Simmons had dropped me an email for an idea about a documentary that would be all about this high-end class, an unprecedented class of NBA free agents, obviously highlighted by LeBron James, and that we knew enough people that we could put a really good hour-long show together.

And as we started discussing it, I didn't have any background in shooting a documentary, but I did have a lot of background in shooting studio shows. And I thought, what if we designed a show that looked like a diplomatic summit from the 1970s, like an arms summit, and we had people arranged around a table that looked like a diplomatic negotiating table, in a very sort of austere and spotlit environment that featured four really interesting, thoughtful, smart, funny voices. And so Bill was game for it, ESPN was game for it.

They gave us a half an hour on a random weeknight after the seven o'clock Sports Center, and we taped a show that featured Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Mike Wilbon and Dan Lebatard. I thought the chemistry was wonderful. I thought that they were both smart about basketball and appreciated each other's good points and they were also hilarious and they cutting, and they went after each other. I thought it made for a pretty good half hour,

and it gave me a sense like, oh, this could be something if they did things like this regularly. It just stuck in my head that there was potential here to do more with all of them, and obviously with Dan. And one of the reasons that Dan really stood out on this show is that they all made their predictions at the end as to where all the players would go and Dan made the most ridiculous predictions that were so homerific and of course they

all came true and so when you look back at this show which I'm not even sure there are copies out there Dan nails every single free agent and where they're going and everyone else looks absolutely absurd in retrospect And so yes There was an explosion of interest around our show because what was happening around this guy was you know? Changing the way that sports would be covered. That's not a show you really wanted to appear on, is it? I mean, an MDA-free agency show. I wanted to have fun with it. We had less fun with it than I would like. I would have liked the laughter to have been us telling funny jokes

as opposed to them all laughing at me because of the absurdity of why the hell would those three guys play together and become instantaneously, really, before they'd even played a game, the most polarizing team in South Florida sports history. What do you guys remember about making radio at this time in 2010 as this whole thing is coming together with the big three? I remember if you were a sports fan and you were interested in this free agency move you would sample radio from Cleveland, radio from New

York, get insights on where these people are going. I remember how nervous it was when Dwyane Wade took a meeting with the Chicago Bulls. So what do you remember about just before LeBron's decision? I remember the chase, chasing of the story, trying to piece together the parts, seeing if LeBron would come down here. And I always have followed Dan's lead on this market and what this means to this market. And it was funny because I remember talking about how we didn't deserve this, whatever was about to come. Has Pat Riley failed Dwayne Wade? Seriously? Has Riley and the organization, because Dan, all these other teams, all the other contenders went out and made moves and they haven't done a single thing. What have they done for Dwayne Wade? They got him Jermaine O'Neal, a broken

Jermaine O'Neal. He's gonna leave here and he should leave here. They got him Shaq. Yeah. And a championship. Since then. Let's sell him on this notion of all these guys we're gonna get next year. None of these guys wanna come here.

None of them. He's failed, Dwayne Witt. Failed the fans, failed the city. We didn't deserve it and maybe we didn't, you know, but LeBron wanted to come here but I always followed Dan's lead on that. So, I remember

the chase of the story, the hope that LeBron James would choose the Knicks and not the Heat if I'm being completely honest because I'm a Knicks fan and then I remember once LeBron decided to come here, how excited I was because I knew

what it would do for our show in this market, our station, our audience. And you know, I had season tickets, section 118, row four. You sold them all. Well, yeah, well, and I knew how much of a profit I was gonna make off of those tickets. That was the exciting part for me. That's what I remember, that's what I was thinking about.

He was bringing an enormous economy to a town and a show that, while Stugat says that it was a national show, it became a national show, at least in part, because the local sports were so bad to talk about. We only had Dwayne Wade doing all of the winning. So our first seven years of doing show, we're watching the Miami Heat take the town

from the Miami Dolphins, and the only reason that's happening is because of Dwayne Wade. He's doing more winning than all of the local teams, the Panthers, the Marlins, the Dolphins. But you talk about the transaction, Dan, and the transaction had never been bigger. In fact, that was it. That was the jumping off point where the transaction actually became bigger. But you also never had a player of this caliber becoming a free agent. I mean, I know that he traded for him, but LeBron was willing to leave. Usually Michael Jordan stays. Usually Steph Curry stays.

LeBron was willing to leave. Usually Michael Jordan stays. Usually Steph Curry stays. This is the rare time where you had the greatest player in the game wanting to go elsewhere. And it was your town that was always fighting for relevancy inside the national space. Yes. It was always being disrespected.

Now thrown into the mix with the elite basketball cities and you could see a resentment and you could see under-representation as it was happening and once LeBron makes that decision I imagine some conversations start happening about our show in a national space but let's go to the actual day the decision was made he announces and we have half full sports bars watching and the inspiration for a rant is there, is talked about. What do you remember about the rant? I remember that this landing in our backyard was beyond the vibrancy of it, uproariously funny, because as soon as it landed,

you knew it was going to piss off everybody else who cares about sports, and we slide merrily with our court jester bells on our hats and like yes we're going to agitate everybody with our half full sports bar with you know six Hondurans over there four Colombians over there three Nicaraguans over there and they're like Lebron, Que, Quien, Como, Que Tamo Haciendo? like and so the idea that this would arrive here, it would enrage Boston instantaneously because why do they get all of that

to be able to make fun of that? We just knew we were gonna have a playground for a while. Well, Mike, think about it because the type of show that we do, right? The type of show this kind of evolved into, Dan is so right about that. Not only were we getting LeBron, an undeserving city getting the game's greatest player

We at the same time were pissing off New York and Boston like it worked out perfectly for Dan and the type of show We wanted to Dan loved living in that space Yes, but I don't remember who came up with the idea for the rant how we stumbled upon doing a rant I I truly don't remember that so it's funny that you mentioned that because I vaguely remember doing the first rant I know how it was established right and that was around 2007 when the New England Patriots were overwhelming. They were coming to town and I would often do like a pregame week montage and I use that song Carmina Burana for the New England Patriots and Dan kind of riffed off of that. That song was being paired with the undefeated

Patriots team that was like the most overwhelming sports thing any of us had seen. It's Tom Brady to Randy Moss for 50 touchdowns. And so what that song represents is not just operatic crescendo, but it just represented, this is the best thing in the world in sports that's coming this way. In Miami. Yeah, something wicked, something that is almost insurmountable is coming your way. Miami. Yeah something wicked, something that is almost insurmountable is coming your way and I remember Dan specifically riffing off of that and the feedback to that segment was really good people thought it was funny and occasionally that song would be a device that we let Dan kind of riff

on. Here comes the giant royal penis! The first LeBron rant, I've made it so abundantly clear. I love, you know, organic radio that just works. That first LeBron rant, I mean, we did that live. There were subsequent rants that Dan did that we had taped in advance because the pressure to replicate how great it was when we did that first one live. I remember writing it the night before we were all kind of sharing via text and email different ideas about what Miami has and what

LeBron is but Dan summoned an Oscar-worthy performance on that rant. That rant resonated, I mean, still probably does to this day, right? I mean, years later, that rant just worked. I just remember smiling as the rant went further and further and we were doing the music live, like we were playing the sound effect music live behind it and the timing, you know,

it wasn't like we had worked it out. It was magic. That was radio magic. Now, Dan, I know, it wasn't like we had worked it out. It was magic. That was radio magic. Now, Dan, I know that these later became pre-produced and they were really hard to put together because this was so well received. The way that we were built is, if we put out one that is less funny than the previous one,

the concept as a whole is dead. So these things grew to a massive proportion. Most of our fans that I ran into in this era became fans of ours and were introduced to us via this rant but I don't recall for the very first one if this was pre-produced or live. No it wasn't. No it wasn't pre-produced. Keep in mind what had happened is all of sports had just been shaken by what? He did a TV show to announce his free agency and now people are tuning in for what are going to be The first words reaction from this show in this market to tell you what it feels like down there

And it was all live and it was all amused excited But it was also just sort of laughing at the absurdity without any burden of expectation just sort of laughing at the absurdity without any burden of expectation on funny or anybody expecting anything other than what's the first thing that they're going to say about this and what is absolutely true about this. This is the first thing of any kind that we had done that went viral. Well, there was Randy Moller goal calls kind of went viral and I specifically built out a YouTube page for this, but this one, it crossed over. People that did it no sports heard, Hey, come listen to this Miami guy yelling into

his show about LeBron James and he was talking crap about all the other towns involved. It certainly had an appeal that was unlike anything else we'd ever created. Well, think about it, guys. You had Cleveland tuning in because they wanted our reaction, our show's reaction, Miami's reaction to them losing LeBron James. You had New York tuning in because they were upset they didn't get LeBron, and they felt like they were more deserving.

You had Boston tuning in for those same reasons. You had Miami tuning in. One of the appeals to Mike and the Mad Dog were it didn't matter what I was doing. I had to get, like after a big jet game or a giant game or a big transaction, I had to get to my radio at one o'clock because I wanted to hear what Mike and Chris had to say. And this is one of those times where I felt

it's like a pinch me moment. We've made it because I knew everyone wanted to tune in, not to hear what I had to say, but to hear what Dan had to say about this entire transaction. And I remember feeling the gravity of that. It felt cool. It felt amazing.

Well, to do it though with jokes as opposed to serious sports analysis, to do it with music as well. And the reason that I say that it was our first viral moment is because it wasn't just polarizing. It wasn't just popular. It was also something that people quickly put video on to show us what might be possible Throughout the internet as we're making our evolution and I'm hearing from my agent forms of do more of this This creatively will get the attention of people who will want to expand on this and help you grow it So you gots you mentioned all the other places that we were having a go at. They all listened to that and they all hung around. Yes.

And I wasn't exactly prepared for what LeBron James brought to town in terms of hatred from the outside. As soon as LeBron announces intentions to go to Miami, ESPN mobilized, made a heat index, and we had people that would hate listen to us. And we, in turn, had people that we didn't like talking about the Miami heat. And we would cut up sounds. And we were so just intertwined with this now national sports story. And I remember everything about that first heat season being under a microscope. I can tell you games against the Kings and Jazz

and recount how they went the Paul Millsap game, the Marcus Thornton game. Everything was so heightened. How did you guys experience that? We had sort of these embers and sparks that we had been causing for seven years that would just be embers and sparks. And then LeBron gets here

and it's just pouring lighter fluid all over it. So it becomes this bonfire of heat. Now we had something behind us. It was LeBron James. Well, and in front of us as well though, and in front of us as well. Think about the things in the history of Miami that feel the best and have the most stakes on them.

It's not just winning. You need winning with a combination of everybody else rooting not just winning. You need winning with a combination of everybody else rooting against you winning. Like it just heightens everything. When I remember that that season started nine and eight. I don't remember the first 17 games of any other regular season.

Oh, I remember all of that. Yeah, the terrible loss of Toronto, I think. The only other 17 games I ever remembered in sports history was the Dolphins 17-0. Yeah. Like, it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I think they lost the second game on the road to Philadelphia. They won that one.

Oh, they did. That's how well I remember it. I remember thinking to myself, I'm going to break up the big three if they lose this game. It was the second game of the season. That first game was so ugly. It was at Boston and Bill Simmons. Like there was so much going around that game. It had so many stakes. It was just a horrible game one of an 82 game season. There's not many markets that get a Michael Jordan, that

get a Tom Brady, that get a LeBron James. And this undeserving market got a LeBron James. We got one of them and that pissed a lot of people off, but it fueled us and it fueled the creativity. For the history of this show, LeBron James, we got one of them. And that pissed a lot of people off, but it fueled us. And it fueled the creativity. For the history of this show, LeBron's by far the most important athlete, not just because of what it meant to our show, but also just generally, you can maybe throw Brady up there. But in terms of being able to talk about this person

and elicit a reaction immediately and get an audience engaged, I don't think there was ever an athlete like LeBron James during this show's run. LeBron's an economy. Like I know that, but we didn't know just how much. And when LeBron came down here and joined Wade and Bosch, it was a game changer.

For all of South Florida sports media, we became the epicenter of sports for four seasons. You know, ESPN created the heat index and every national talk show, national television show wanted to talk to someone about the heat. And that meant Dan, most of the time, that heat team delivered content from game one on. It was ridiculous. We had more content than we knew what to do with, which obviously when you're a content provider, that's a dream scenario, but yeah, all the

personalities, obviously from LeBron on, but even Eric Spolstra and Pat Riley being involved in it, and then you had all the auxiliary personalities, the Charles Barclays and the Stephen A. Smiths, like that was a content provider's dream. It's not just that LeBron James is the athlete of his time. I think pairing it against just how abysmally bad every sports team had been in Miami. You've got Miami Dolphins not winning a playoff game

in that decade. You've Miami Dolphins not winning a playoff game in that decade. You've got the Marlins not winning anything after Dwayne Wade's arrival. After our show is starting with Dwayne Wade's arrival, the Marlins and Panthers are also not winning a single playoff game. And it was in here that the Miami Heat and Dwayne Wade made this a basketball market.

You know, Stu Gutz, we talked earlier about how important it was for this station, our station, to have the Dolphins. We ushered in and watched together and enjoyed with the audience the seismic tectonic shift of this town going from a generational football town to they won a championship with the Heat and just Dwyane Wade. They had Shaquille O'Neal but it didn't all get taken from the Dolphins until the combination of the Dolphins are losing and LeBron is the biggest athlete in America. And we're leading into LeBron like our show is leading into two Heat games and for the first

few years we didn't have a lot to talk about locally as Dan pointed out because the teams weren't very good and now we all knew that We had something that we could talk about every single day and we were gonna live and die with every single Result during that first season and we did Mike I was thinking about this because they lost that first championship They lost to Dallas and I was thinking that's the best thing at the time because if they won and made it look easy I think everything else would have just been like, it would have been repetitive and fell flat. But the fact that they lost and it wasn't as easy as we thought it was gonna be actually helped us

with the story as it went forward. Spoken like a man that did not have a speedo bet riding on that first championship. You had a bet that gained national attention with Charles Barkley on the results of that first title. Plenty of things happened in that first season. A local market grew to hate Derek Rose and Rick Buecher. Yeah, yeah, yeah, odd. with Charles Barkley on the results of that first title. Plenty of things happened in that first season. A local market grew to hate Derek Rose and Rick Buecher.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Windhorse got a lot of hate out of nowhere. We gave a standing ovation to Mike Bibby. We did rants to celebrate advancing through the playoffs. Like there was a rant on the Pacers, there was a rant on the Bulls. That's how everything just got so intense around this team. You had a bet with Charles Barkley that you paid off a year later. What

do you remember about your famous Speedo bet? Charles Barkley with us on 790, the ticket. What are we betting here on the rest of this series? The worst thing I think that happened in Miami is seeing you walk around in a Speedo. Okay. All right. Well, let's see if we do that may in a speedo versus what's to got to ask the listeners to come up with an idea about me me and the speedo yet chocolate what we're doing there but i would do there are right would do your show are doing you got to show we'll do it on the beach somewhere and the loser have to wear a Speedo. That's a good bet, right?

That's a great bet. Just don't dump me into the bet. Listen, y'all might have a bar or two in Miami. You guys show one day from the bar, we'll open it up to the public and we'll have a lot of fun and the loser has to wear a Speedo. There you go, excellent. I was totally certain that the bet would never have to be paid by me. Yeah. That I was certain that Charles Barkley would owe the bet and likely not ever pay the bet.

It was not confident in my body. It was not a bet I would make if I thought for a moment that it was a possibility bet I would make if I thought for a moment that it was a possibility that I would lose. But how would those three players lose to DeSean Stevenson? That was not going to happen. That's not a thing that's possible. So yeah, I was not in any way afraid until I lost in game six. Right next to LeBron, as you remember the last five minutes of game Six at home where he keeps passing the ball very fast around the perimeter when they're able to do to you double digits

I was the second most scared person in that building because I knew that that was a bet being made Publicly that I was going to have to pay I wasn't gonna be able to weasel out of you know It's funny because had Barkley lost that bet, we never would have seen Chuck again, but he couldn't get down here quick enough once he realized that he had won the bet. The time has come. Dan LeBouillard is going to pay off his bet to Charles Barkley, who is going to disrobe Dan LeBouillard. There are four beautiful showgirls, but that strangely enough, a room full of men. That's not what we're staring at.

We are staring at Dan Lebatard in a bathrobe, and he's about to take that off. Dan, how do you feel right now? We can see the sweat. We're wondering. I'm playing sideline reporter here. How do you feel right now, Dan? I'm feeling unusually confident right now. I feel like I'm in a position of strength and I'm gonna be able to turn the tables here

shortly on Mr. Barkley. All right, Charles, are you ready? This is a bet one year in the making. I can't believe I'm saying this now. I'm so glad that he did win a championship last year. Because he went it this year and I get to see dad in a Speedo in all his shame. In all his shame right now.

Hey, I wanna apologize to South Florida right now. I want to apologize. By the way, just to set the scene, Dan has a picture of Charles on the back of his speedo, and it's glorious. A picture of Barkley. Charles, you ready to do this? I'm ready.

Are you staring at the show, girls, or are you staring at Levenwood? Nope. Nope. I don't even notice these girls. All right, here we go. Charles Barkley is making his way over to Daly. He is slowly pulling yet. Hold on. Hold on. I want to interview Charles Barkley. I've interviewed him a lot over the years. I want to interview him right now. But not this Charles

Barkley. I want to interview my Charles Barkley. Charles, I want you to respond just by shaking your head one way or the other. Have I been fair to the heat? Charles, have you been fair to the heat? No. Charles, is LeBron about to win more rings than you? Yes!

win more rings than you. Yes! This is one of the most fun things I've ever done. Hey man, I love you to death, you know that. Dan, how do you feel? How did it go today? You're done with it. Well, it's over, Dan. Do you feel better?

Well, I feel like I surprised him and I also feel that it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been it wasn't as shameful as it could have been you're right because we should have been on the beach well no charles what it should have been it should have been all show the event was the entire show we only did a bit we should have had like 5 000 people come to the beach hey man that That was fun. You know where we had that event? Clevelander. Clevelander in the exact same space that would later become the set for our content creation. That photo of Dan with his arms outstretched in a speedo with I love you Miami painted on his stomach. That was actually done from what became the HQ set and our future studio. So that's a cool little bit of

trivia there. Mike there was also a guy there, Chris Corcoran. He was there and he was representing a company nationally and he was interested in our show. And he was at that event. And I remember and he was I was a friend of his I am a friend of his he was super interested in hiring us to do national radio. Totally deserved that. Well done by you. But I remember, oh, wow, this thing might become bigger than it already is and it already felt big to me But now I had people talking to me about taking us national. I'm glad you let us there

It's around this time that the show is routinely featured in talkers 250s heavy hitters You guys are a dream of one no higher honor than being one of talkers 250 heavy hitters I am right now lightheaded with total delirium at the idea of the career achievement of being Talker number 211 on the 250 top Talkers and Talking. Oh no, the 250s was just the weight class that you guys were in.

I got down to 230 for that speedo. I leaned down. You leaned down. You were very dehydrated. It's the best you've ever looked. And your brother painted some, like, I would say it was strategic. Some strategic areas that your brother painted.

Mike, I remember being a nervous wreck during that because there was a time where Dan had to go change and get ready for the big reveal, and it was big. And I was just alone to my own devices with Charles Barkley. And I was a nervous wreck because Dan, Hawk, you, me, we all care deeply about every little second of this show. And I'm like, man, what am I going to do with Barkley and I was a nervous wreck because Dan Hawk you mean we all care deeply about every little Second of this show and I'm like man. What am I gonna do with Barkley here? Dan's not here. I'm nervous as a crowd There's a guy who wants to take us national. I'm gonna blow this

I remember this being a really fun event and being worried about like the payoff here is so visual We don't have cameras rolling. Yeah, how do we make this a fun radio execution? So I was a nervous wreck just from doing remote broadcasts and Dan, I don't know what you can tell the audience about just generally how uncomfortable you were even in this period about taking the show on remote. But I remember the show ended up being something really fun to listen to that people were jealous. They didn't get an invite. It worked out well, but having done this show with Dan now for 20 years,

I remember that's the most nervous I believe Dan has ever been before show and I understood why it wasn't because anything we were talking about Yeah, yeah Conscious around about my body I'm self-conscious and now I'm gonna be wearing something super tight But it was the perfect combination of Dan had to pay off a bet that he didn't want to pay off that ever thought He was gonna have to pay off plus we had a huge massive audience that was there at the Clevelander with us so they were all seeing it as opposed to listening to it on the radio. But if you think about how it is that some of this

stuff becomes ear candy the theater of the mind of not having video for something that the owner of the heat is at. Mickey Erison is there. Charles Barkley is there. In an earlier episode, Mike Ryan mentioned the fact that he couldn't believe that a local AM radio show could get Grant Hill on the show. To graduate from that to an audio experience that if you're driving around in your car, you hear the ambient noise and you're saying, I wish I were there. That sounds fun and cool and interesting. How is that happening in Miami? How is

that happening poolside at the Clevelander? How is that something that big existing in our city around sports? It would feel much different than all of the sports radio that we grew up hearing in our town. It was the biggest thing on radio. That is big-time stuff. You're not just competing with QAM having a beat writer from Virginia Tech to preview that weekend's ACC slate. You're going against FM dial stuff at that point that's not bringing that kind of star power. So you mentioned the national interest around this time, your career at ESPN, things are getting a little bit more serious there. John Skipper's in power. You're well-liked PTI is this ratings bonanza. On the timeline, highly questionable comes together in 2011.

But I imagine people have been making overtures to you and your representation since before LeBron got here. And then that just fast-tracked everything. Our show would have been national, independent of LeBron James coming to the Miami Heat. But what I will 100% concede is it fast-track tracked everything for us.

I was trying to avoid changing anything about what we were doing because I was perfectly happy being a local thing that was popular that mattered in this market and was different and in the middle of everything that we're talking about sounded fun. We were having fun with what it is that we were doing. I was very worried about something national and corporate distorting that and you've heard me say before that for 10 years I am known as CAA's worst client for 10 years because I refused to work for a corporate entity. I didn't want to move out of the space where we were in. I didn't want anything to change what we

were doing because it felt precious what we were in. I didn't want anything to change what we were doing because it felt precious what we were doing. Yeah, there was definitely a buzz about the show and I knew being a radio guy that there was going to be national syndication interest. I'd broached that with Dan several times even as we were just getting started that at some point and he had always maintained to me, I don't have any national interest. I only want to do a show for Miami. And so I'd kind of put that away in a closet in my head, you know, where I just said, okay, I won't pursue that with him.

When Dan says Miami is the only market he's ever cared about, that's the truth. It's the only market he cares about pleasing. It's the only market that he cares about. Dan did call me and he said, hey, there's nothing wrong with having this little thing tucked away down in Miami, where people are paying attention,

but the bigger you get, the more problems that come along with that. And I think Dan wanted to stay a local show. I don't think he ever really wanted to go national. I think Mike, me and you did a really good job in convincing him that it would be a great thing for the show. We'll get more into that in episode four, when the decision is made, but keep in mind to

the audience, you guys, these conversations were had around the time LeBron arrived here. We were starting to get national interest and Dan was constantly pushing back on the show being national because of the local audience and our radio station mattering so much to us. 790, the ticket was also undergoing change. We told you how much we revered Dennis Collins. Show probably doesn't make it without Dennis Collins taking a liking to it and offering something that the show had never had. Stability. But Dennis Collins was older. He was a radio

lifer and it was time for him to retire. And we were owned by Lincoln Financial. The elephant in the room was, their name is Lincoln Financial, not Lincoln Media. This is a company that is not going to be here for a long time. They want to flip this. And how does a company get flipped? What do you do right before that? You cut cost. So they brought in this man by the name of Jeff Dinitz to run the cluster.

And Jeff Dinitz started firing everybody. This is as Hawk is program director. We'll have Hawk fill in some of the gaps because I'm sure he felt some kind of way about all this going down under his watch. Dennis Collins retiring it wasn't that much of a surprise to me because you know as the program director and so I would be in department head meetings with Dennis and I knew how unhappy he was with Lincoln Financial and and the way he was being managed from his corporate overlords.

So it was kind of like telegraph to us that it was coming, but I was nervous and it was interesting the way that it all played out. But my thought was, hey, Lincoln Financial, like they're really good at allowing the market to dictate what the market needs. Like Dennis Collins was in firm control of everything that went on in Miami. So I thought, well, they'll replace him with someone who is similar to him.

He was a great ally and he was great to me, but I had this confidence that Lincoln Financial Media was gonna replace him with someone of his ilk. They didn't do that. I should have been nervous. I wasn't, but I should have been. When the new boss took over at Lincoln Financial, his name was Jeff Dinitz. I was nervous about the future of the show because in the first week, Jeff Dinitz called me into his office and he said, Hey, I've looked at the contracts for you and Lebatard and Stugats, and I can tell you, you will never get that contract again with me as the general manager.

I remember like just in my core, I was like, what the fuck is this guy talking about? Like we're the most popular radio show in South Florida. And he's like, yeah, contracts don't add up to me. That's when I was concerned. What happened was though, to put a bow on it, this guy, Jeff Dinitz, spent the first month or two going around to the big clients of the radio station, introducing himself.

And I remember he came back to me once and he said, remember what I told you about the contracts? He goes, I was wrong. Like everywhere I go, every big client I talk to, I always say to them, what, you know, appeals to you about this radio station? And he said to a man, they say the Dan LeBattard show. It's Dennis Collins.

We always were suspecting that they were going to sell us. Uh, that was clearly their move. They were not interested in owning an operating radio station. So as they were losing their appetite, several things became pretty clear. The corporate hierarchy always thought that I was spending way too much money in Miami. However, we were also producing the highest return on investment, the highest net operating profit margins, far higher than any of the other four markets, and we had the best ratings, we got all kinds of awards

for our stations, and we were cranking out 50% of the entire net operating profit of the entire radio group. Yeah, I had a feeling that that my replacement was not going to have the success that we had because first thing they were going to do is start cutting, cutting, cutting, and cutting things that I would not cut. It was not a give-me, it was a constant struggle about how to do it, how much to spend, and I never let that fight become public or become known to my team but I fought every day to keep what we had because I believed in it. And I think the results would prove it. But what are your memories from Dennis Collins breaking it to you that he was

retiring and then the changing of the guard? I honestly felt at this point that we were so strong and important to what it is that they were building that we were fairly untouchable. I don't know if that was naive, but I don't recall having a great deal of fear that financial change would rattle something that was this popular, even as I saw other people being let go.

It felt like we would be the last ones to be let go. That if this was something- Or if we were let go, we would have been fine doing, like, we would have figured it out. We would have done, someone would have hired us. I don't know about you, but I didn't have any fear. We were running the station. Like we had— Literally, Hawk was program director. Her EP was program director.

Throughout my career, whenever negotiations have arrived, I have tended to give the power to others. Hock did some of the negotiating, Stugatz did some of the negotiating, and they tended to get things that ended up making everyone feel stable enough. There was turbulence all around us, but I was not feeling it.

I was not feeling a fear that our thing would go away. I wasn't either. I was just feeling we lost a friend. We lost a guy that supported us. We lost a guy who loved our radio show. I was sad because of the direction that the station was likely headed in when Jeff Dinitz came down.

And he did all the things that he was supposed to do, Jeff Dinitz. He got rid of a lot of people. But I'm with Dan. I was never really concerned about our well-being, our future, because I felt like the show had already made it. And so we were going to be fine, regardless of what went down from that day forward.

I think you guys were in a different space. I was with a lot of the other producers in that bullpen. While I knew I had more security than other people, is because Hawk was a program director. Sure. And ultimately I knew he had to make difficult decisions, but our show was safe. And it was after Hawk had resigned from PD.

I resigned as program director, probably a couple months after Jeff Dinitz had taken over as the general manager for the market. Dennis Collins had retired. When he was general manager, he really allowed me to go after my vision of the radio station, hire the people I wanted to hire

and run the radio station the way that people I wanted to hire and run the radio station the way that I wanted to run it. Jeff Dinitz had a different management style and he wanted to make all the decisions and just wanted me to implement them. And that didn't interest me very much. I felt the whole thing was like unseemly. I didn't like the way that Dinitz was changing the radio station from my vision to his. And they brought in a new PD by the name of Todd Castleberry. And I didn't have the same kind of relationship with work. I had loyalty to Dennis Collins.

I had loyalty to the people that were good to me. I didn't really have much respect for Jeff Dinitz and Todd Castleberry. And I was stupid. I was immature at this time, but I very clearly didn't have respect to people that didn't do right by me. All I saw that followed them was pain and people losing their jobs. And I saw that

my show had been untouchable during this. So I got probably a little too comfortable once I started seeing things around the office that I didn't like from management times. Were you worried though? Because you knew Dan at this point, like you were around the show long enough where you knew Dan, you knew how loyal he was. There were so many things about that era that I would change about myself. And I didn't have a conventional climb. I never really had to have my ego checked. I didn't know what proper conduct around a studio would be.

Every disagreement that I ever had, even on our show, because I would have a few with Hawk. Like we'd shout shout we'd raise our voices so I didn't have a proper climb through this not just Hawk though if I may interrupt you like I you and I I would say and this is something that made an appearance and to your credit you squashed it pretty good but at least in part because you saw Hawk and I having brawls the way that friends would have brawls and arguments, and you saw Sparks and where Sparks led to creativity, you had something close to an anger problem, and you would come

after me after Hawk was gone in a way that made for zero tolerance. Don't give up the future episodes. gone in a way that made for zero tolerance. It's not something- Don't give up the future episodes. This is foreshadowing. Spoiler alert! This is foreshadowing. I don't think I had worked myself up to talking to Dan that way because I wasn't an EP and I didn't have really any convictions.

I fought my other battles there, but I do know that this is where the notion of protecting Dan became paramount for me. And you want to talk about foreshadowing. I felt the need in one specific instance with our program director at the time, Todd Castleberry, who I didn't like. I didn't like his motives. I didn't like his style. And I caught him in a lot of lies as I would see them.

And I thought there was one event surrounding a trip to the Bahamas and Dan doesn't like doing remotes. And I was on top of emails and I'd caught the program director at the time. What I felt pretty strongly was a lie. And in my mind, these are like two dozen lies. I've caught this dude in and you're hurting my show. You're hurting my guy. So I went to his office with the proof of this.

I was like I got in a shouting match. I was like 23, 24 years old with my program director that everyone in the building could hear. I do not remember you yelling at Todd Castleberry. I remember Todd Castleberry remained as program director. Like when I left Dan's show, I was doing mornings with Zaslow and we would have morning meetings

after every show with Castleberry. I mean it was just interminable. Like sometimes he just wanted to sit there and show us YouTube videos for an hour. I had been up since 4 in the morning and I wanted to drive back to Boca. It was like I remember just get me out of here. Castleberry happened to be very good to me. He was a fan of mine and he actually helped me become a really a better broadcaster. I really truly believe that but I can imagine people shouting at Todd Castleberry. I can imagine you shouting Mike at Todd

Castleberry but I don't recall it. Straight up I was out of line. Now I was right in defending my guy but to raise my voice to the level I did was totally unprofessional. I didn't know that at the time. But you knew your career was going to be made by the guy and the guy being Dan Leventor, not Todd Castleberry. I did. Right.

To a fault, probably, because I knew that what I was doing in there, if it were anybody else, they'd probably get fired. And I found that out afterwards after being called in by Jeff Dinitz, who told me straight up, if you weren't who you are working who you're with, you'd be gone and it wouldn't have been close. You would have been gone like that. But I did start realizing I protect this show because it protects me. And that's where it became, again, to a fault

later on in the show with ESPN. That was my guiding light. I gotta protect my guy. Oh, but this space, I would say, once we lose the comfort, safety, stability and respect, mutual respect that we had for Dennis Collins, I think that this now ushers in the era of us realizing how much bozo there is in the executive ranks throughout business everywhere in radio and

television. You didn't get that from me. I mean, yes, I should have seen it from you at the very start. You were trying to warn me with your slick back hair and avalanche of lies, but it became pretty clear, oh, wait, we're in an unbelievably shitty industry that's run by a whole lot of people who shouldn't be running things. By Jeff Dinitz and Todd Castleberry. And I realized that my time with them professionally

is going to be brief. You're a job slasher. That's what you're brought here to do. You're a journeyman program director. I'm not going to be working for this station for very long. I thought my show is going to be here a lot longer than you're going to be here. That was an earned confidence, but also management types certainly didn't want that confidence when they're talking to

a 24 year old. I gotta be honest I had a strut at that time. Like the show was doing well I didn't care who came in there we were fine nothing was gonna happen to us they weren't gonna fire us and if they did we would have done something great. Listen Castleberry and I were fine because the first meeting we had he offered me John Riggins and I wanted Rigo on the show Dan said no I said yes I taped it we never ran it but he got me John Riggins. And I wanted Rigo on the show. Dan said no. I said yes, I taped it. We never ran it. But he got me John Riggins. That was a thrill.

I made four yards of carry. I think what you're getting at is like, what are these people gonna tell me? Nothing. I was strutting those hallways probably with too much confidence, but I felt uber confident at that point in our careers. One of the things though that was important to me

as we grew to make sure that the people around me had more and more confidence about what it is that we were doing. So much so that at one of these outings that we had, my father, who's never done this before or since, said that if I didn't stop praising Mark Hockman at a microphone, he would never again come to one of our outings because I was giving too much of the power away but it was something that could scare executives because I wasn't the one doing much arguing for anything other than when Mike would come over and say Dan we got to save the stream we've got to save the podcast you have to go here

and do this or I would have to spend my own money on whatever they don't want to pay Stan Van Gundy so I have to pay Stan Van Gundy. You can see the seeds of my anger issues getting a little bit more emboldened here because like I remember the reaction from Hawk and from Dayan being like, you can't do that again to that extent. But also kind of like, good for you though. Like, thank you for defending us and thank you for knowing what's important. Around this time, we mentioned Todd Castleberry's program director. That's because Hawk had resigned right and

Hawk stays with the show Hawk even for a brief moment in time Our show is known as the day and LeBattard show with Stu gots and Hawk. I didn't approve that I mean, I did I don't think Dan did either. I mean, I just happened I think this happened as part of you guys getting to negotiate your own things with my power. I didn't negotiate that. No, he negotiated both becoming program director and however it is that his name ended up on the show.

I really don't think he negotiated that. I think he just put it in the imaging. I wanted to put my name on the show because I was a contributor on the on air side of what we were doing. And I was creating my own characters and my own bits, the, I gotta tell you and all that stuff. And yeah, I wanted the recognition that comes with it. I thought it was a natural progression and it wasn't a unilateral decision though.

I went to Dan and said, I'd like to put my name on the show. And he said, well, why do you want that? And I explained that, like, yeah, that would mean something to me. That would be a good next step for me. And he was like, well, I don't know. Is it really that important? And I said, to me it is.

Yeah, I'd like to have my name on the show. I said, it's not gonna change anything about the show. The only thing that's gonna change change, really, is the imaging. And he was like, yeah, if you want to do that, go ahead and do that. I didn't really think about Dan or Stu Gotz or the audience reacting to it, because there really wasn't much of a change. The only change was in the imaging,

when we would come back from commercials. It was now the Dan Leventhal show with Stu Gotz and Hock. I didn't think it was that big a deal. From where I was sitting, you guys had recently had a contract negotiation with 790 the ticket. Hawk was essentially lead negotiator and was doing things in concert with you, but Hawk also as a persona had elevated. Yes. And the ego attached to that also kind of elevates and I thought what Hawk was doing Was setting the groundwork for him to have more options independent of the Day in Levitard show

I could tell you this though at the time he did it unbeknownst to us But at the time he did it I felt like Hawk deserved to have his name on the show because he was such an important part of the show and not just a behind-the-scenes guy a Speaking part of the show and he really grew behind-the-scenes guy a speaking part of the show and He really grew in popularity. I had no issue with it Mike I think I've told you before if you put your name on the show, I'd be fine with it I didn't want to do that because I also saw how this landed right now

Not with just Dan's do but I saw how it landed with the audience and I just couldn't be that guy I also didn't want to invite that I never wanted to put my name on that show, specifically because I kind of saw what happened afterwards and it kind of signaled for Hawk, the beginning of the end on the Lebatard show. As this all is going on, he has his name on the show. The seeds of highly questionable are starting to take place. I remember Eric Rideholm and Matt Keller coming to our show

and what we did with that show was an entire show obsessing over the size of Jim Brown's penis and a Playgirl spread that he had in the 70s. It wasn't the greatest audition. So what Dan said was, I'll do the NBA free agency summit for you. If you come down to Miami and help figure out whether I can get my radio show onto television.

So Matt Keller and I flew down on a day off and we sat in on a radio show just to get a sense for what was going on, what was visual that could work, what about the audio, what were they saying? Like how palatable would this be to an ESPN audience? And it didn't take us very long, how palatable would this be to an ESPN audience? And it didn't take us very long, maybe 20 minutes to realize there is no chance that this show could be broadcast on a Disney network.

It was not just impertinent, but inappropriate at points. There was not a lot of structure. There was stuff that was genuinely funny, but also stuff that was beyond the pale. And so Matt and I figured out rather quickly, we got no shot here, but let's just sit back and enjoy what they're doing here. The memory that really stands out for me

of going down and seeing the show was that Matt and I were there, we got there about 20 minutes before show time, we met everybody associated with the show, but we didn't see Dan and as we're observing the show begins and Dan's not there and they're playing the show intro which is about two to three minutes long of buildup about how this exciting show is to follow and Dan's not there and about a minute and a half or two minutes into this intro, Dan walks in, sits down, puts his headphones on,

on cue at the end of the open, just takes it right over. Dan had timed his entry perfectly so that he didn't have to work one more minute than he had to. But ESPN wanted to get you on regularly, in part because LeBron came down and now all of a sudden Miami was hot. The truth of all of that is and we could attach all of the wondrous ego to how amazing we were as a radio show that must have been knighted nationally but the truth of it is John Skipper needed a Hispanic person they under indexed with

the Hispanic demographic he'd been trying to hire just the most notable Hispanic journalist for ten years and they didn't care about radio that much I'm sure he had never once heard the radio show they needed something Hispanic and so I was the Hispanic thing and the way that they pried me away from what was never wanting to work for them full-time is I was just asking for something more Miami than what I already had, which was a local newspaper column, an afternoon drive time show and being on PTI and ESPN whenever I wanted to be. And the counter offer to that was we'll put you on the beach at the Clevelander. We'll sit you next to your dad who will not under index with Hispanics. We will let your brother do the art.

And that's what happened. That was a Disney play to try and be less Bristol, less white, and the radio show is a happy recipient of what was needed from Disney at the time. Right, but that's not exactly how that all happened because you mentioned Beach surrounded by your family, your brother's art art and your dad. That wasn't the original vision for ESPN talking to you guys.

You guys were in conversations about having this show on. And I think the move to your dad was a pivot away from the Lebatard show being on ESPN or ESPN 2. Sugats, you know that there were discussions about a show being broadcast that later became Dan LeBattard is highly questionable, which premieres in September of 2011. So how does that happen?

Why does the show not go to ESPN? How does it become Poppy? The part that happened with Eric Ridehome and Matt Kelleher, who were the producers of PTI, a show that I was guest hosting on. They came down one day to see if the Hispanic show or the person who is the Hispanic person can be televised by them in whatever form I'm willing to accept their job while not working for them full time. Can they televised this thing that already exists?

And then we're talking to Jim Brown and that falls apart in 15 minutes they pack up their things They're observing me in the hallway as well privately and I'm doing stigotsian things ride home is saying among other things I can't believe that character is real. I thought he was playing a character It's all a real thing But they decided within 15 minutes that whatever that was could not be televised, and I don't know how long after that,

highly questionable, became the pivot off of that. ESPN was not pushing us to develop anything for the radio show. This was Dan pushing us to try and develop something. And when we realized very early on, there's no way that we could see a way of this working, then both of us started thinking in a different direction. And that different direction was, what if there was a TV show, separate from the radio

show, that we could go ahead and pitch? Something that fit much more closely into what had succeeded on ESPN and other sports television networks. And so I asked Dan to fly up from Miami to Washington, D.C., where we had a studio and a crew and we could tape some stuff on a day off from the show, and we could see whether there was a there there. And I also asked him whether he would bring someone along. And that was Poppy.

I had listened to Poppy do some regular bits on the radio show and I had seen him sing the national anthem at a local baseball game. And I just thought, bring him up just for the day, let's see how you guys work together. And the idea was mostly that I was gonna focus on Dan, and that also then I could just get a little bit

of poppy on tape just to see if there was an ancillary character that we could make with him. And as we went through the day of rehearsal, two things became abundantly clear. One was we were really gonna struggle with Dan because every time Dan gave a take, he would begin to perspire, he would lose conviction in what he was saying,

he would wanna start again, and with each subsequent repetition, his confidence level fell. So by the end, I really didn't know what we had in Dan. And by contrast, Poppy killed it. Poppy was funny, was smart, was bright. He popped off the screen. Some people just have this quality

where you can jump off the screen and Poppy had it immediately. And so when we left, I thought, well, ESPN wants Levitard, so we're gonna put Dan Levitard on the air and maybe we got a shot if we can have Poppy on there to help raise him up. So Highly Questionable airs in 2011.

Now from where I was sitting, there was a source of resentment around this show. From me? From Stugatz, from Hawk. I think I vaguely remember hearing Hawk say, the studio's too far. There were just concessions that had to be made amongst a group that weren't made.

Day in Lebatard is highly questionable, premieres in September of 2011. You guys are not on the show. Yeah. What happened? I'm super upset, that's what happened. Hawk did say, and Hawk was very clear to Dan, for better or for worse, he did not want to commute

down to Miami from where it is he was living. Oh, I'm with hindsight now, man, I wish I had said the same thing at the time. But Hawk did say that, he did not want to commute. I was hurt because I was doing the show with Dan, we were having success, and then there's this big TV opportunity at ESPN, and I wasn't a part of it. And so I felt a bit left out, I definitely was hurt, but it was a great move by Dan

because who's going to argue, Hey, I'm not doing this show with you, doing it with dad. I couldn't even argue that I was happy for him. He got to spend time and do something creative with his father later in life. And to me, that was pretty cool. And so while I was upset, that kind of stashed it away a little bit

because I knew he was doing something that made me happy. You'll have to correct me here because I don't have my timeline correct so you help me with wherever it is I'm missing on where your resentments and your hurt was because as I recall I was doing all of that and entertaining the idea of doing something on my own without you guys because you were already doing Two A Days and you and Hawk were negotiating with WQAM because QAM was trying to ruin what it is that we were doing and so I thought that the timelines matched up.

So they don't. Two A Days happened during the playoffs of 2012. Highly Questionable premiered before that, 2011. So, to the listeners, it's very clear now, cause Hock leaves shortly after two a days. Something happened with this highly questionable negotiation and fallout. And something happened before then too, where Hock put his name on the show.

I think all these things are related. So, Dan, if I'm an independent person, I'm saying that's awfully convenient for you to conflate the timeline there there because that's not how that happened. I legitimately don't remember what was happening with whatever it is the tensions were of that. There was a lot of tension attached to the show. Well, the two days, I believe, it was Hawk putting his name on the show that started the tension and then without telling us.

But wait a minute though, he did tell me, like I was not surprised by Hock putting his name on the show, he had wanted to do that for a while and then just did it. But it was over a course of, I'm gonna say, not a very long period of time. There was, I'm gonna say over a month or so, while he was negotiating things that he wanted as part of what was being negotiated,

that was one of the things that he wanted, as I recall. So I think the real tension though started when Hawk and I started to do two a days. And I understand why until this day, I understand why there was tension and why Dan was upset with it. I'm sorry, let me hit pause there and you were actually getting to it because we keep referring to this thing called two a days. Sedano, George Sedano, who's now on ESPN, left 790 The Ticket and 790 The Ticket needed a morning show during that heat run.

It was decided that Stu Gotz and Hock would pull two a days. They did morning drive and afternoon drive, which is nuts, but one of the byproducts of this is Stu Gotz and Hock start really enjoying their experience with the mornings and being the stars of the show. And correct this is Stugats and Hawks are really enjoying their experience with The Mornings and being the stars of the show. And correct me if I'm wrong here Stugats, after you go ahead. This was the start of some very serious conversations between you and Hawk and separating from the

Lebatard show. 100%. And Hawk and I, we did enjoy doing it, but we still enjoyed coming back and doing the afternoons. We knew we were doing a good show. And I'm not going gonna bullshit you guys, it was a great feeling I think for both of us to be able to do something away from Dan

that really picked up popularity and did so quickly. I think it's the highest rated morning show our station had ever had, and we enjoyed ourselves. But really what we were doing was an extension of the show that we did in the afternoon, all the things that Dan had taught us over the first 10 years of doing the show. We both enjoyed it, but I do remember, Mike,

and I'm glad you kind of picked it up. My source of tension, resentment with HQ was, Hawk and I did have a big decision, eventually, to make. Did we want to stay in mornings together, or did we want to go back to the afternoons? We kind of got forced into doing two a days by the new general manager, Jeff Dinitz. The Heat were in the playoffs and Jeff Dinitz, the new GM, had gotten rid of or had scared off George Sadano, who was the morning host, and now mornings were open on the flagship radio

station for the Miami Heat when LeBron is taking the Heat to the playoffs for the first time in his tenure. And he needed something in mornings and he had fill in hosts and he knew that that wasn't tenable. And so he came to me and Stu gots and he's like, why don't you guys do mornings? And we both said, no, we're busy with Dan show. Like that, that was a full-time job just doing Dan show. He wouldn't let go of it. And he kept asking us.

And finally, I remember he brought us into the office and he said, name your price. Everyone has a price. You guys come back to me with a price. And Stugatz and I thought about it for, you know, 10 hours or whatever. We gave him a price. He said, you got it. And that's how the two a days came about. time, he was getting us on the second shift. We were exhausted. He was not getting the best stugots. He was not getting the best Mark Hockman. He was getting a very tired stugots and a very tired Hock, which is not terribly fair to Dan. I understood why you were mad, but my resentment as it relates to the TV show is here's his best friend who came in to produce this show and he is choosing to stay in the mornings and I chose to stay with Dan and yet when the TV show went down, I was not rewarded for my loyalty to Dan. And that hurt, I'm not gonna lie to you guys, that hurt.

But again, that hurt quickly went away when I realized he was doing it with his dad. Like that was a good move by you. Well, but I'm honestly, I always thought that that period of time, I thought that Hawk was the resentful one. I'm honestly learning now for the first time your level of hurt on that

because it's not something I ever considered doing with you outside of- Now it hurts more. That show was meant to be a minority show, a show for minorities. And the reason I associate Hawk's resentment for that show is because I remember my agent saying among other things to Hock's appraisal, I will not drive one mile more on my commute unless I'm on that television show.

I remember Trace Armstrong, a former defensive end for the Dolphins, my agent saying he wanted to drag Hock by what remained of his hair across 441 because he wouldn't help produce that show unless he was on air for that show. There was no TV project that fell apart because I didn't want to add to my commute. There was no TV project involving me, period. Dan had told me, hey, we're not doing a TV show based on the radio show.

I'm gonna do a TV show and it's gonna look like an old kitchen and I'm gonna do it with my dad and we going to talk sports and it doesn't involve you and Stu gots and that was fine like that was the end of that. What he wanted to do though was move the radio studios down to South Beach so he could tape his TV show and then he could walk across the hall and do the radio show. the hall and do the radio show. And I was already commuting a long while just to get to Miami Gardens where we were. And I had a young son. I was a coach of one of his little league baseball teams. I was coach of a soccer team and I couldn't add more to my commute and still be, you know, active in my son's.

Childhood. I wasn't hurt by the way everything went down because nothing went down at the very beginning. It was Eric ridehome is going to come in and he's going to figure out how to put this radio show on TV that lasted a week. And then Dan was very clear that we weren't going to be part of the television show. I was bummed. There's a difference between being bummed and hurt.

I was bummed, but I loved the radio show. And Dan said, yeah, we're gonna keep doing the radio show, but it was never presented to me like, hey, we want you to be part of a TV show. It's just, it's gotta take place here. Like it was very clear early on after Eric Ryde-Holmes' visit that I wasn't gonna be part of any TV show. And again, I was bummed, not hurt though,

because Dan had a career. Like I didn't expect to be part of his TV show, just like I didn't expect to be part of his TV show just like I didn't expect him to be part of his writing of a column for the Miami Herald I would have loved to have been a producer on Dan's television show I didn't even know that was available till this very moment right now when I tell you zero chance that I would have said I have to be on air or I'm not going to be a producer. I mean, that's an absurd notion. This is so many years ago, but I can remember clear as day. I was going to have no part in the television show. There's a weird piece of baggage. I think

that he carries that I don't, but I would never have said no to producing the television show. In addition to the radio show. So what's happening here is very interesting to me because you mixed up the timeline to further rationalize your actions and Sue Gottz also got the timeline wrong. He said I wasn't rewarded for staying with you with Highly Questionable but Highly Questionable happened before he made that decision. Damn it! No no no but it's interesting if you were to psychoanalyze what's happening here.

I was mad at Hawk. This was the start of the schism. There might've been like, okay, the show's popular. I had such and such a hand for that and I'm not getting the credit. But Highly Questionable was the start of the schism. What happened with Highly Questionable and what it became,

there was no going back for this show. Sougat seemingly as a countermeasure does that morning show with Hawk to figure out number one, is there something for me outside of Dan's space? Can I actually have leverage? And also if I'm reading it, there's a fair amount of get back here. Dan is resentful of those who are openly resenting him

because their attention is now divided. They're focusing more on what feels better to them. He's a little jealous. Why does the morning show feel so much better than our main show? Didn't we have something good here? And why is it feeling good specifically because you're away from me?

As I kind of feel like I need this cleared up a little bit more, not just for me, for the audience. Piecing this together is a nightmare. Like what went wrong? Listen, this is a hard chair to sit in and your job is hard, Mike, and Hawk's job is hard because Dan's the star of the show. And so people would always question or they would always say to me, well, you're just along for the ride with Levitard. You really shouldn't

be here. You have no business being here. And so for me at that time to be able to do something that was away from him, to do it with Hawk, and for it to be successful, felt good, like it just felt good for my ego. It felt good to know that I was able to do something if indeed Dan wasn't with me. And so that's why I had those feelings. Hawk, man, his ego grew. I watched it every single morning.

I didn't mind it though, because Hawk was a very good host. Once Hawk got a taste of it, I knew there was no going back to Leviton. That is a perfect spot for us to wrap up episode three. And in the next episode, we're gonna talk about that moment, probably the most important moment in show history. The first time that we really doubted

beyond who our bosses might be, can this show make it? And was Hawk making the decision to leave the Dan Levitard show? We're gonna explore a little bit more this tension that made its way here with this show in the next episode. The Dan Lebatard show with Stu Gotts is sponsored by BetterHelp. What's something that scares you? Halloween is all about having fun with what scares us. But what about those fears that don't show up in costume? Like fear of failure, rejection,

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of Boothill Casino and Resort in Kansas. 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.co.ftball. I don't believe in the chemistry stuff. I don't believe in the chemistry stuff. I don't believe in pieces of cutting. Well, let's see what you got. What do you got? Because Ron Artest just won the championship. He never fit with that team.

I've seen this heat team win a championship with pieces that didn't really fit. So we know where he's going. He knows what I want. Look at this. What are you doing it for me for? We've got... I'm going with the dream scenario that's being talked about right now. I'm pushing this guy away from Miami and I'm going to tell you why.

I don't think he wants to play with Dwayne Wade. I don't think that's going to work. Whatever he said in three hours, how is it going to make up for the 35 or 40 million he's got to leave on the table? And that's going to be the toughest part of the conversation. It's easy for these guys to say, hey, leave $34 to $50 million on the table because they want you to sign with that team. But nobody in their right mind is going to leave $34 to $50 million on the table because they want you to sign with that team. But nobody in their right mind is going to leave $34 to $50 million on the table.

It's the $40 million. And Pat Riley can dress beautifully and talk slickly and fire people up and get people of hearing up. $40 million. Dwayne Wade is signing with the Chicago Bulls, not Miami. The answer to the question everybody wants to know. LeBron, what's your decision? Um, this fall, man, this is very tough.

Um, and this fall I'm going to take my talents to Sapa Beach and, um, join the Miami Heat. Woo! Here comes the giant royal penis. South Beach, open your legs. He won 66 games without Dwayne Wade. He's the best player in the world but he might not be the best player on this team! Chris Bosh! You're the third best player on this team! New York! Welcome to another decade of irrelevance! Cleveland's owner is a crazy person! Happy LeBronica! Give it to me again! Give it to me again! I'm not done! Give it to me again! Our half full sports bar exploded in joy! Run the point night!

One lucky fan gets to run the point Every night for the heat it helps under the salary cap the lucky fan gets to keep the jerseys New York welcome to another decade of irrelevance Stugatsa, you feeling it? All of feeling it, Levitz. Riley got everybody! He got them all! Discounted! Gangster!

Pimp! Don! Godfather! He got them all! Everybody wanted one of them! He got them all! Discounted! Holla! Purple drank! Size matters but it's the thickness and the width they want!

A double rainbow! A double rainbow! A double rainbow! I want more! Rock me! Give it to me again! Give it to me again! Ladies, get ready to wash the giant royal penis! A two-time MVP in his prime! He's 20, 20 believe it, five years old!

I don't even know if he's the best player on this team! Who cares? Who cares? Our half full sports bar StuGots, did you see the way it erupted? Oh I did. Seven people wearing heat jerseys. I counted 12 at the Ale House. Oh God!

Chris Bush! Don't swish the throne! Please pass in when you're off the phone! Kaboom! Stoneman right out of front, they shoot, they score! Make me a bicycle clown! Now to the right side, the Weiss, he shoots, he scores! Steven Weiss! Hot quiz, hot shot! Face off, turn around shot, traffic out in front, loose back, they shoot, they score! Bo Meester paid that man his money! Moore shoots, he scores!

I am an FBI agent! Couple of faceoffs, circle, fires, they try to shoot, they score! Get off my lawn! Vector craps down the middle of the ice, splits the defense on his back and shoots. He scores! Dude, where's my car? Down the left side, puts it up front and still shoots. He scores!

Bow to your sensei! Stillman, over the board, he shoots, he scores! Run, Forrest, run! Long shot by Ryan Preck, loose buck. He scores! Run! Long shot by Ryan Preck, loose buck, they score! You complete me! They score! You're my boy, Blue! Still went again, right out in front to Weiss, he pokes and he scores!

Steven Weiss! I'm a lead farmer! Panthers come right back with a 2-on-1 down the left side here's Ballard with a wrist shot shoots he scores! We've landed on the moon! Double team comes right to Nathan Horton he fires he shoots he scores! Nathan Horton give me back my son! Turn around shot by Rolicki, shoots he scores! I had coffee with McCauley a half an hour ago. Booth wrist shot, shoots he scores! Wilson!

What's going on with the fans down there Mark? Up here we're hearing nobody's showing up on time, there's empty seats after the game starts can you put a finger on all this? Miami is a different place than Cleveland, and Miami is a different place than Chicago and Boston. It's different. You know, I've been down here since 1987. I came down to go to the University of Miami.

And it's more relaxed down here. There's a different vibe. There's obviously a very large Cuban population and you start to if you understand the culture if you're down here you know that if you if you walk into the the the cafeteria is the the cafeteria as we like to call them in Little Havana or or Pequeno Havana as they would say you'll know that everyone's excited about this team. There's a there's I my Spanish is not great but after being down here 20 years 25 years I picked

up and and there's there's a lot of what they call in the cafeteria the hamburguesa con queso the excitement that comes with it with a team like this. Give it to me again! Give it to me again! Woo! Forgive the grammar, but here came the giant royal penis! Cleveland, dear God, close those legs! LeBron was the best player in the world, but he might not have been the best player on his own team. Chris Bosh, you

would have been Cleveland's best player, and so would have James Jones and Juwan Howard who kind of looks like Humpty Hum. Cleveland welcome to being Cleveland those signs are so lame when you lose by 38 points. He threw the powder in your face. Happy 19th game of LeBronica. Is this really how I'm reacting to a victory over Anthony Parker and Joey Graham? Give it to me again! Give it to me again! Dan Gilbert, go write a new letter with that clown font! The letter L!

Four! Four! Four! Four, four, four. Cleveland that's how many points LeBron's replacement had. Andrew Winn-Jill run the point night. They could have done run the point line last night. They could have done it up 38. Have you ever seen so many dejected white people in one place Miami got them all all the baskets all the highlights all the steals all the white

women what why is it always gonna be about race one One more time, one more time, give it to me again. Cleveland wanted one of them. One of the baskets, one of the highlights, one of the white women. But Miami got them all. LeBron, Le Gangster, Le Pimp, Le Godfather! The cheese burger with cheese! Those clever shirts when you're down 40! You know what they are? Discounted! Holla! Purple drank!

In times of darkness, one size fits all! Joel Anthony is still, for a professional athlete, very clumpy! Joanne Howard really does look like Humpty Hum. Doesn't he look like Humpty Hum? He outscored four of their five starters last night. Have you ever worn a Speedo before? No! Stugats?

I tried one on. Oh my god. You have haven't you? tried one on. Oh my god. You have, haven't you? I absolutely have. Oh my god. I am just paralyzed by terror. This is a bet one year in the making. Speedo man, speedo man. Barclays picture right on his can.

Packs it in nice and tight. I wish I lost my sight. Look out! Whoa! Dan is the Speedo Man. I'm in a position of strength. There's a dong I threw up. This whole thing is so f***ed up.

Barclays face on his ass. Take a look, no I'll pass. Hey there! There goes the Speedo Man. Yeah! At the Clevelander. That's the scene of the crime. I am scarred for life.

In fact, I might go blind. Speedo Man, Speedo Man. Friendly neighborhood Speedo Man. Thick and wide, he's engorged. Barclay's laugh is his reward to him. Life is a great big ding dong. Wherever there's a pack of shlong, you'll find the Speedo Man.

Charles, have you been fair to eat? No! Hello? Bobby. Si. Did you watch that last night? Oh yeah, yeah, I watched the game. Yeah, what's the matter?

I watched a good game, eh? Wow, it was a good game. Was it a good game all the way or was it a good game at the very end? No, no, they they came out strong. They played good buddy. I'm LeBron was a beast. They couldn't stop LeBron I heard Bosch was mad at the end because LeBron took one of his rebounds. I don't know about that But Bosch only had about seven points. Are you mad at Bosch? No, no, I'm saying, what should he be, I mean, he had a lot of open shots

and he missed a lot of open shots. Well, he's not doing. For Bosch? Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, he has his days, good days, bad days, you know? But, you know, they're playing good defense now, so that's what they're going to get from now on.

Oh, it was funny because I was listening to this guy after the game, the TNT guys. And they said, well, you know, what the Anthony's doing with Kobe is not right. He wants Kobe to play defense and to cover the best guy on the other team. And then by the time he gets to the last quarter, he ran out of gas. So he's not that effective, you know, or during the game, he's not that effective. He cannot do that. The Anthony cannot's not that effective, you know, or during the game he's not that effective. He cannot do that. The Antoni cannot do that. So, you know, finding excuses for Kobe. Who the hell said that? Who you think said that your buddy?

Kenny Smith? Kenny Barclay, buddy. He said he cannot do that. You cannot have Kobe playing that type of defensive game and expect him to score because his strong field score was going to run out of gas So there you have it. What did the guy the guy you call the yo-yo say? Oh He never says anything Interested in any how Ernie Jones Ernie Jones. He never says anything Ernie Jones Yeah, but he you know, he he was just really stuff of the paper like he always does, you know

I don't think that's his name. Mark Albert every time he goes with something at the end on TV he says, Oh great, you know, oh great. Who's Mark Albert? I don't know, the guy, Mark Albert, Mark, Mark, I don't know, the guy that they found in the hotel wearing the women underwear. there were. Yeah, I don't know if I get something. I don't know how great the guy is name, you know, Mark Arbor. Delinjure, Delinjure guy.

Oh my God, that's what it is, buddy. Can you hear it, Stugatz? Listen, listen closely. Do you hear that, Stugatz? I recognize that sound. That's Chicago's arena, the last three minutes of Chicago's season. That's my Twitter account last night.

Listen, listen closely. I'm listening. That's my Twitter account last night. Listen, listen closely. I'm listening. That's Bill Simmons. That's Rick Buecher. That's Mike Wilbon. That's the sound of America's mouth closed. It was open the last three minutes, but no words were coming out, Stu Gatze. No words. Listen. That's the sound that all of Charles Barkley's rings make when he throws them together on a table.

I don't hear anything Dan. Exactly! Give it to me again! Give it to me again! Give it to me again! I went to Publix today and I got a pound and a half of boar's head smoked turkey! You know from who Stu got? Who? From the NBA coach of the year fibs he looks like a butcher Eric's poster is gonna be red our back red our piggyback he's gonna be Phil Jackson Phil Impino Jackson LeBron is Kaiser Jose and just like that poof your season is gone you have al capone we have uncle al you have al capone we have al sunshine you have al capone we have al bon diez partyin partyin yeah partyin partyin yeah fun fun fun fun fun. I'm just starting to have fun Give it to me again. Give it to me again. Give it to me again

Chicago has a lot of nicknames to gods the city of big shoulders chaitown the windy city The second city still got in the eastern conference. What's Chicago the second city? You have picheria Uno. How many free throws did Derrick Rose make at the end? Uno. How many shots did Derrick Rose, the MVP, make when LeBron was guarding him the entire series? Uno.

Stugats, how many middle fingers am I holding up? Uno. You have the Curse of the the goat. We sacrifice them. You have Harry So his name is Jim Dishing out worms and pain We're slapping the corn in your face We're number one pizza for everyone Undefeated in conference games Kenny Cochie hits a three No less than trip to sweet sixteen Dukes going down, down, down, down on their knees

Aren't they? Aren't they? Larenegger Oh-ho Boss lay up, go with the right hand inside. Got it, oh my! Boss, two hand jab, Boss! Another 30 point game for Boss. Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, Boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, bossosh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Posh, Bosch Bosch Bosch AHHHHH Bosch Bosch Bosch Bosch Bosch Bosch Bosch Bosch

Bosch Chris Bosch Bosch Bosch Bosch Chris Bosch Bosch Chris Bosch Number one

BOSCH Bang bang bang Bang bang bang Chris Bosh Bosh Chris Bosh Number 1 Bosh! Here I come. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang! Keep coming. Take me out to the ball game. Take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. I don't care if I ever go back.

I don't remember the whole thing. Henning just killed a drive, called Wildcatherd and Long, went play action now it's gone. Tony, Henning's just begun, but eye if I'm not back again this time next season carry on carry on as if offense really matters boom boom boom boom I see a little silhouette to of a cam Cleo lemon Cleo lemon will you do the fandango Randy Mueller drafting very very frightening me Camarillo Camarillo Camarillo Camarillo Camarillo let them go I'm just Tedkin nobody loves me he's just a fast guy from a big family. Spare a head baby's life from his monstrosity.

Easy read, easy throw, will you let him throw? We will not know. We will not let him throw. Let him throw, not know. We will not let him throw. No, no, no, no, no. Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia. Wayne Heisinger has a devil for head coach for me. For me. For me. Zynga has a double forehead coach for me for me for me Bum bum bum bum bum bum In the draft goes to offensive line

So you hire a sparana when leave us to die Listen close to me tuna tuna! Just gotta get right, just gotta get right out of here. Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do to me Oh that music gets me motivated every time it gets me motivated Alright let's do this Hey Boston! Your doc loses game 7! Our doc's augment breasts! Your most famous party's Boston feature T! Our most famous party, Boston, feature T. Our most famous parties feature E. You eat Boston cream pies, baked beans, and chowder.

You know what we eat? We'll eat your motherfucking face. Why was Norris Cole holding the trophy at the end? Marquis Daniels looks like a catfish. The famous Sitko sign in Kenmore Square contains five miles of neon tubing! LeBron has that... ...in his pants! Give it to me again!

Yeah! Give it to me again! Give it to me again! We're getting ready to go to Oklahoma! Boston, you're just getting ready to go, Homer! The 60-story John Hancock Tower boasts 13 acres of glass! After game six, LeBron returned to South Beach and 13 acres of ass! You have duck boats! We have f*** boats! You salt your driveway! We have bath salts! You have only one rondo! We have a million Armandos! You have a lot of championship banners hanging from your rafters! We just have a lot of rafters! The seed and heading set on fire Dashing through the field One check down at a time It's third and twelve

But Chad Henny dinks a pass behind the line The offense plays like crap The field it seems so steep Hey over there the guy with the first down marker is asleep Oh gone to hell gone to hell Miami's out of the hunt The busiest man on the whole damn field is lining up to punt. Oh, gone to hell, it's another long field goal trial. What a treat. The settling dolphins take more three point shots

than the heat. One of the fascinating things about this Stugatz creature, and it makes it unlike most things in the animal kingdom, certainly among mammals, it doesn't feel shame. None. None. In fact, things that most creatures feel shame about, he feels good about. He feels pride in situations where you should feel shame.

That's what makes him a great salesman. It's like my superpower. It's like your superpower. He feels no shame. Shameless man. What a great superhero. Shameless man. I would love that as a comic book. Cape with an S on the back of it.

Not Superman, shameless man. And what would he do? What sort of things? What would be his powers? I mean, clearly, if you were making a movie poster, he wouldn't take, what would be his powers? He would, I mean, clearly, I mean, if you were making a movie poster, he wouldn't take no for an answer, right? It would just be, you know, like the guy,

he would be standing there with his hands on his hips, looking proud and asking a woman, so you're pregnant, right? And she says, no, I'm not. And he says, great. You know, it's just like, it's just like, Move on. You did it.

Fantastic. He'd throw his head back. You're not pregnant? You're just fat? He just moved on. Fantastic! He'd throw his head back. You're not pregnant, you're just fat. Ha ha ha! I'm shameless, man! And then he throws a cape over his shoulder and leaves. He's working behind the counter.

Somebody comes up, says, I'd like a such and such. He says, and I guess I'll have to give you the senior discount. They say, no, I'm only 51 years old great no senior discount it is fantastic and what's he leaving in his wake just press all in people press all in communities surrounded by crying wefallen people? Press-fallen communities? Surrounded by crying, weeping people that he's trampled. That's a special needs child that you have there, right? It's nice that you put him in regular school.

He's not a special needs child. Great! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Now you're fine. Visually you have to picture his piss on his hips and throwing his chest out.

Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! You have to be! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! He just laughed that out. Doesn't matter what you say to him. How's your mother doing? Well, you know that she died a year ago. Great! Oh, stop!

Stop it! It looks like you've lost some weight. Well, I have cancer. Great! It looks like you've lost some weight while I have cancer. Great! You have to picture him the leg Dwight Howard, the shape of Dwight Howard putting his fist on his hips and then upon saying the great throwing his shoulder blades back and his head back and sort of roaring at the heavens.

Great! Ha ha ha! And just leaving sobbing in communities around him. We were driving up to Gainesville on Friday, Friday after the show. We're headed up there and to keep myself awake, I am throwing down painted M&Ms, baby Ruths, Nathan hot dogs, sauerkraut, mustard,

I mean, whatever I need to throw down, I'm throwing down in order to keep myself awake. We got to Gainesville that night and then the next morning, now I have a massive stomach ache, okay? We woke up early, my wife wanted to go see her old sorority house, so we get there at around 10.15. Long story short, dad, so we're in the sorority house, okay? There's a lady, a mother there, okay?

Because all the students are sleeping and she says, hey, come on in, no problem. And my wife says, even my husband, she says, no problem, come on in, everyone, sleep it. So, you know, about five minutes into the tour, I went to her, Dan, I mean, the stomach was rumbling, okay? And the tour had just begun, and I'm not getting out of there for a while. I said, ma'am, can I use your, I'm really embarrassed,

can I use your bathroom? She says, no problem, go ahead. I go into the bathroom. Normally, Dan, if I had to go, you know, number one, I'd be done in 60 seconds, in and out and back on the tour. But, you know, five minutes go by, ten minutes go by, 15 minutes go by. Oh no. Oh no. My wife is mortified. They leave the house. They're so embarrassed. So when I come out of the bathroom, the only person there to greet me is the mom who allowed me to use the bathroom because the rest of my family and friends and daughters

have fleed the premises. They are gone. They want nothing to do with me, no association with me, nothing. The lady says to me, took a long time in there, didn't you? Oh no. Said sure did. Totally judging you. Yep. What college did you go to again? Clark University. If I called their athletic department right now and said, can you tell us how to contact one of your more successful graduates, John Weiner? Yeah. They would, they would have, oh yes, well, uh, well. You mean the guy's jersey, the tie in the rafters? BMOCK 92, of course. Just refer to me as Beemock from now on. Unbelievable. I went to the Clark University website and Stugats does indeed hold a couple of lacrosse

records. You guys thought I was making this up? He is on the website. Now, the only reason I don't own all the records, Dan, is my senior year, team player here, I'm a team player, okay? Senior year, our goalie went down with an injury, I had never played goalie before in my life. I played goalie my senior year.

You are Magic Johnson filling in for Kareem. For an entire year. Magic did it for a game. I did it for an entire season, okay? So had I played my normal position, which was attack that season, I would have shattered every record and I would still hold them to this day. As it is, as Hock has pointed out and seen now with his own eyes, I'm pretty high. I'm pretty close to being right at the top of all the list.

All the major categories, points, assists, goals. So just goals, that was the only one I saw. That's points too. Goals. And you went to Kellogg, where is that? No, honestly, I don't know. Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts. I can see why you'd make that mistake, Clark Kellogg.

Of course, of course, BMOC at Clark University. And then of course, my graduate school at CSB, was also the BMOC there. There's a texter who keeps sending here, because I just asked you off air how good was the team, and you said pretty good. Yeah, pretty decent. Yeah, there's a decent There's a texter here who keeps sending

What the records were of those teams that you were allegedly on? Yeah Go ahead. Were you 0 and 11 when you were the keeper for your lacrosse team? That was my senior year. Yes Now understand I made the ultimate team sacrifice there. I had never played goalie before in my life. And I went to play goalie because our goalie got injured and we went 0-11. I think it was 1-10 actually. I think we beat Bryant College. Is your name hanging from the rafters anywhere Dan? Human. Human.

Alex Rodriguez. Alex Rodriguez? Sales representatives. Sales representatives. Sales representatives. Ramen noodles. Ramen noodles. February. February.

Foot fault. Foot call, a foot foot, a fault call. Friends. Friends. Jabril Wilson. Jabril, uh, Jabril Wilson. Gillespie. Gillespie.

Registering. Registering. Mart Jabeer, Wilson. Gillespie. Glepsie. Registering. Registering. Martina Navratilova. Martina Navratilova. Miami. Miami. Ndomakin.

Nude Makong. Ndomakin. Again. Ndomakun. No Assemblance of a Running Game. No Assemblance of a Running Game. You could name the running back right now. No, no what of a running game? No semblance of a running game. You could name the running back right now. No, no, what of a running game?

I think I said a semblance. Non-attorney spokesman. Non-a-tony, uh, non-attorney, excuse me, spokesman. Or... Uh... Huge. Huge. Accomplishments.

As a compliment. Recovery. Recovery. Reggie Miller. Reggie Miller, uh, Miller. Remember we did a shoe drive in December for All Saints Episcopal Church and people were bringing shoes for the homeless here to the radio station. I kept one of those pairs of shoes and I keep them under my desk. It's a shameful admission and when

I have to go number two here at the bathroom, I put those shoes on. Get out of here. So that no one recognizes the shoes I'm wearing. And then when I come out, I switch my shoes back and it never seems like I was in the bathroom. Wait a minute, so you do the same thing that I do with the bathroom? Well, I disguise my shoes, you just hold your feet up. You have a special set of shoes for some people have bowling shoes, you have crapping shoes. You're wearing a costume in the bathroom.

Public restroom shoes, public restroom shoes. It's a smart idea more people are going to start doing it now that I let the cat out of the bag. Wait a minute, did you steal, you stole shoes from our charity? I believe I'm putting them to a better use than they would have been in the hands of the homeless. I've never heard something more shamefully admitted on our show. You stole shoes from the homeless in a charity so that you could wear a disguise. What disguise? In the bathroom?

A foot disguise? A foot disguise? You're not even making that up. You're serious. I can't believe what we've stumbled upon here. What took so long? Oh, God. It's time for I Gotta Tell Ya,

a Dan Lebatard show exclusive. Very exciting. I didn't know we were doing this right now. Should I go first? Yes, please. Me? Yep. You walk.

All right, I'll go then. All right. I gotta tell ya, blue cheese crumbles make anything better. Stu gots. I gotta tell ya, blue cheese crumbles make anything better. Stugots. I gotta tell ya, getting water out of your ear is a very underrated feeling. Danny.

It is. It is pleasurable, he's right. Oh my God. I know it's pleasurable, but how is it underrated? I think everybody would agree that getting water out of your ears is good. No, I think it's just one of those things you do. You don't think about it, but it happened to me yesterday.

Okay, I had water in my ear from my pool. I thought it took me 15 minutes to get it out. And when it came, oh God, when it came out. Like if you have a head cold and your head's stuffed up, and then the moment your ears pop, oh, and then all of a sudden they re, they get re clogged up again, like three minutes later. It's such a buzzkill I don't know if it's on the raid is just one of those things that you don't think about yesterday

I was thinking about felt good like toilets Yeah robot. I gotta tell ya those Geico commercials about the woodchucks make me laugh out loud every time I'm actually annoyed by those already. New game please. And now it's time for I Got News for You, another Dan Levitard show exclusive. Me fellas. Somebody's suggesting here by text who gots that you should have called East

Coast adjusters for the water in your ear. Thought about it. Flooding in my ear. Got a claim. Go ahead, Hock. I got news for you. If you're an adult and you're going out to purchase several hundred dollars worth of fireworks for your homemade 4th of July Fireworks celebration this weekend, you need to rethink things Stugots with you on that one, buddy. I got news for you. I thought Wynton Marcellus First name for years was pronounced Winston Danny Did a 60 minute piece on last night.

The more random these are the better. That is so you! Absolutely, I can see you for years saying you know I like that Winston Marsden. I know I've said it a number of times. Hahaha! Oh man. I got news for you. What USA

Network is doing in making all of its television shows exactly the same and Factory line producing all of this counterfeit stuff is proof positive to me that America is getting dumber. It's brilliant It's brilliant, but America is getting dumber tonight on USA silk stockings after that silk stockings getting dumber. Tonight on USA, silk stockings. After that, silk stockings. They're all the same. They're same. They're all, what's that guy's name? Stu Godge, you can help me on this one. Vincent D'Onofrio? That's his name, D'Onofrio? You know, he's in a law show of some sort. So here it is. Some people think I'm crazy The jury's still out on that What's Miami saying to Bill Simmons right now? Tell us how our asterisks taste! LeBron just stuck a footnote way up your a**!

Choke-la-homa city! Choke-la-homa city! And now your hearts are broke-la-homa city! You put your oil in barrels! We put our oil on women! Where's LeBron Eats, StuGuts? Where's he eat? Tommy dead. At Perkins! Yeah!

John Barry was traded for Allah Abdul Nabi! No way! You stole the Sonics! We'll steal your chronic! We traded Wade-fired Spoh and tore up the Blueprint seven games ago! I did that. Hey Bobby! What do you have to say to the national media?

They can kiss my old Cuban ass! Give it to me again! Give it to me again! Give it to me again! Give it to me again! Kendrick Perkins played the last three games with a pulled groin! LeBron is gonna spend his entire summer getting his groin pulled! Not one, not two, not three, not four! LeBron wasn't counting championships he was looking through your arena for a total number of teeth Mike Miller broke your back with a

broken back his back is broken spinal Eddie Curry has more rings than Barkley! I get buckets! I get buckets! Doodle jump! Doodle jump! How many lottery picks does Cleveland have? Not one, not two, not three, not four! Hey Poppy, what do you have to say to the national media? They can kiss my old Cuban ass. The Dan Levitard Show with Stu Gatz is sponsored by BetterHelp. What's something that scares you? Halloween is all about having fun with what scares us.

But what about those fears that don't show up in costume? Like fear of failure, rejection, or change. Therapy can be a powerful tool for facing fears that we just can't laugh off. It helps us build positive coping skills, set boundaries, and become the best versions of ourselves. It's not just for those who've experienced trauma. Sometimes the scariest thing is holding ourselves back by avoiding what we're really afraid of. So this Halloween, why not think about facing your fears? Not the ones dressed as monsters, but the ones that keep you from moving forward. Therapy might be just the place to start. If you're thinking of starting therapy,

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