The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Big Suey: David Samson, The Saquon Barkley Handler

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

David's shrinkage, a Pete Rose debate, Bar Mitzvah appearances, and the most evil laugh in show history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. Warning. I've got this condition where I don't feel pain. You're a superhero. No. If this is how intense Nova Kane sounds... Oh, wow! Imagine how it looks.
Starting point is 00:00:23 Is there more? Yeah, big time. Nova Kane. Forming theaters March 14. Now's a good time to remember where Tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented Tequila. What are you doing here? Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up. I do know that to be true, but even during ad reads, like, I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners sweet delicious quervo since then quervo stayed true to its roots the same
Starting point is 00:00:49 family the same land the same passion quervo so enjoy the tequila that started it all quervo quervo the tequila that invented tequila proximo quervo.com please drink responsibly quervo at queervo.com. Please drink responsibly. Queervo. Welcome to the Big Sui presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBattard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not gonna apologize for that.
Starting point is 00:01:16 In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys? I've done it. And now here's the marching man to nowhere, fat face and the habitual liar. I cannot believe the number of people who just climbed into my ears and said, hey, we
Starting point is 00:01:41 requested promos for nothing personal from David Sampson and his team and still have received nothing from David Sampson who came on last week complaining that metal arc doesn't support anything that he does. David, how do you defend yourself? Because I've got both rooms shouting in my ear that you sent nothing. Yeah, I just think with a few weeks left in any sort of deal, there's no reason to start promos after two years of being with you. That's all. Too little, too late. Oh, so your contract's up and you don't want promos?
Starting point is 00:02:11 I'm not going to talk about it. I'm just saying that the promo that you asked for, I'd like, it's all good. That's how you're leading the segment. You just talked about it. Why don't we talk about what a great promo was that Good Follow just had and encourage people to watch Good Follow and engage with it and stop pointing out the things that aren't done by Metal Arch or by me and things that are done we should focus on, like how great Good Follow is.
Starting point is 00:02:33 In David and Koka's defense, I will say, for the most part, the promos are done for shows that are done like once or twice weekly. David's is a daily show, so by the time he cuts a promo for the show, the show's already out. And the next day, it wouldn't be useful anymore. So unless you want to say, hey, go check out my episode from last Wednesday,
Starting point is 00:02:50 we talked about the basketball games from the night before. I don't know that it really would serve David very well. It could also just be an evergreen sell of the show, I think. Yeah. Is David leaving? When is your contract up? He hinted at that.
Starting point is 00:03:04 I'm still looking for graphics help. So the answer is, I don't know. I just know that when you asked me to join, it was for two years, and the two years is up this month. So this is your opportunity to get rid of me permanently. Are you coveted? I guess you'll just have to figure that out. If you do like nothing personal when you listen.
Starting point is 00:03:25 Yeah, nothing personal is great. I say it all the time. I just didn't know that your contract was up. You threw that at us. You didn't know that? Well, I don't expect, the irony of you not knowing that, it's obvious why you don't know that.
Starting point is 00:03:38 Because when I ask you to engage in conversations, because you're the one I have to talk to, it's all good. I'm not the one, I am not the one. This is not something we should be talking about. I am not the one you have to talk to. It's all good. And this is not something we should be talking about. I am not the one you want to be talking to about. Jess is handling your negotiations, David. There is some.
Starting point is 00:03:51 I'm not laughing because Jess couldn't. I'm laughing because Jess isn't. I'm simply laughing. Of course you can't. That we have so much to go over right now in the world of sports business and interesting things to talk about that I just. David, I'm hiring you to a lifetime contract.
Starting point is 00:04:06 I appreciate that. And I think you're doing that because you know how old I am and how short term that would be. Oh, you're my friend. Thank you, Amin. There you go. Promo.
Starting point is 00:04:16 Last week on the show, we didn't talk about this nearly enough. You thought that as you aged, you would not get any shorter. You would get taller. Like that's, I still don't understand. I have a follow up Dan, because it is true that I have a direct line to my doctor.
Starting point is 00:04:39 And after last week, I was so despondent that I did call the doctor to talk about this because I wanted to understand what I was in for. I don't like surprises at all. And it was told to me that short people shrink less and I am in position where there could be a lack of shrinkage. But they shrink. You thought they would grow. Short people also shrink.
Starting point is 00:05:07 Nobody with age grows after a certain age. You do have less to shrink. No one's disputing that. This is an accomplished doctor. This is not like a Cracker Jack's box, holiday and express type of thing. This is a famous doctor who said that the chance of me shrinking is de minimis.
Starting point is 00:05:26 You go to McGillicuddy too? Look at me, Louie, because I have a doctor. Famous doctor. Does a famous doctor make you a better doctor? Ask Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz. Well, those are not the type. Hold on. Those are different doctors.
Starting point is 00:05:41 That's not the type of doctor. Now I do see and pay attention and talk to doctors like that from time to time, every Wednesday at 6 p.m. But that is not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to a medical doctor, a cardiologist, because I do have a 32% issue that he did tell me about on the call when he told me I didn't have shrinkage. He said I've got some other things
Starting point is 00:06:01 that we have to deal with. Not ideal. If I were you, I would not look at me long term. Is that what you were gonna report in the first part, Dan? Is he the one that's sick? I mean, this is the wrong president we thought was dying. Jessica, I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said. There were three other jokes being made
Starting point is 00:06:16 between just Billy and Amin, on and off air. Can you tell me, please, David, because I wanted to talk to you about something they mentioned during the shadow show earlier Jessica and Jeremy Disagreed with what it is that we had to say earlier in the week about Pete Rose I don't know what your take is on Pete Rose David and the Hall of Fame and Manfred now considering it and Being in a position where Donald Trump is pardoning is pardoning Pete Rose posthumously.
Starting point is 00:06:46 Well, first, let's talk about the pardon of Pete Rose by Donald Trump. The only thing he can pardon him for is for his conviction of the federal crime of tax evasion for which he served a five-month sentence. He actually served five months. You can do a posthumous pardon of that. You can wipe the slate clean. You can do anything you want when it comes of that. You can wipe the slate clean. You can do anything you want when it comes to a federal crime if you're the president.
Starting point is 00:07:08 The president has zero say, zero, in terms of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. What the president can do is threaten baseball with a couple of ditties. And what I talked about is the two ditties that Trump has is the owner's tax loophole, which they use that we've talked about on this show, where when you buy a team, you get to depreciate the assets of that team, which just means you get a tax break for five years.
Starting point is 00:07:34 And Trump is threatening to close that tax break. That's a big one. And the second one is the antitrust exemption. He could threaten to take that away. But all I can do is threaten to do it if you don't reinstate Pete Rose. But even Trump may know that reinstating Pete Rose does not therefore put him into the Hall of Fame. It makes him eligible. I'm sorry, if I already served the time, please don't wipe my sleep clean.
Starting point is 00:08:01 Especially after I die. That does nothing for me or my family. Well, that was kind of part of my question, was what are you pardoning him from? Is it the potential child sex crimes that have been reported? Because, no, that's the thing here. Like, we as a show, we're all sort of gung ho about,
Starting point is 00:08:17 like, you know what, here's another thing to agree with Donald Trump about. Let's get Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame. That guy sucks. He's a terrible human being who He was. He's dead. And I don't know why we have to re-litigate it now as if this is some big culture war that we need to get to. Oh no, Pete Rose is in justice. I wonder why Donald Trump thinks that a guy like Pete Rose, who served time for tax evasion, needs to be thrown back into
Starting point is 00:08:42 the public sphere as some hero and have his reputation brought back into everything. It's crazy because John Dowd is the guy who reported all of this about Pete Rose. The former guy from MVP baseball 2005. Yeah, that John Dowd. No, John Dowd, the lawyer was the one who went after him. And if you think if you think for some reason that the only reason I'm going after Pete Rose is because of a relationship with Donald Trump, well let me tell you, John Dowd is
Starting point is 00:09:07 the lawyer who defended Donald Trump in the Russia probe from 2017 to 18, and I shit you not, the other lawyer that he decided to bring on was a guy named Ty Cobb. More baseball for you. Wait, really? Yeah, John Dowd hired Ty Cobb to defend Donald Trump. Not that Ty Cobb! Oh, okay. A different lawyer. It's just unbelievable that we would even spend
Starting point is 00:09:26 any amount of time arguing that Pete Rose, that guy, deserves an opportunity to go to the Hall of Fame. What is the thing about character? They even talk about it. What are we doing? And that was Jeremy's woke take of the week. Dan wanted to make a posthumously, posthumorously joke on Monday
Starting point is 00:09:44 and that was how he was able to fit it in. Good. Speaking of that Russia probe, you cringed shit. That's crazy, huh? As soon as Dan gets the reins back to the show, we can possibly continue to talk about the issue with Pete Rose was talked about with the commissioner 10 years ago before he became commissioner,
Starting point is 00:10:01 and whether or not as part of becoming commissioner, should we take Pete Rose off the permanently ineligible list and give the writers an opportunity to decide what to do with him? And the decision was made at the time, no, we're going to stay with what Giamatti decided and what Selig has enforced and been passionate about. And then the gambling money came into sports in a very direct way. And it became clear that there had to be a third rail. And the third rail is not everything you described at all, Jeremy.
Starting point is 00:10:32 The third rail is the betting on baseball. That is the reason why there has not been any thought to take him off the permanently ineligible list. And I think it would be a very bad move for baseball to take him off that list even after he's croaked because I don't want anyone to think that betting on a sport that you are playing in even to win is a good idea. I agree with you David there's already plenty of reason to keep him out and then there's also all of that horrible shit about him as a human being. But but Jeremy again you have to look at the Hall of Fame,
Starting point is 00:11:06 and there are decisions that writers make. Dan, you can ask Dan. He was one of the lucky few who had a ballot to vote people into the Hall of Fame, and I'm not sure what percentage character played in his voting process. No, not at all. I gave up my vote for that very reason,
Starting point is 00:11:23 because the moralizing about a museum bothered me. But Jeremy is talking about real and legitimate sex crimes that Pete Rose went to the grave, you know, never suffering consequences for. And he was a horrible person and that has nothing to do with any of the things that we're talking about here. What But it has everything to do with it, the things that we're talking about here what what it has everything to do with it Right because if reputationally we're talking about Pardoning this man for all of the things that we're having this negative skew about him publicly for it's important to have the whole Context of the man who was no longer here. I just don't understand the reasoning behind it
Starting point is 00:12:02 I hear you Jeremy on the other hand hand, remember how he used to run the first base? Oh, and he would slide in his helmet, would fly our... Charlie Hussle. Jeremy back. Oh, the Hussle, dirt on a uniform. So which is it David? Nothing to do or everything to do?
Starting point is 00:12:15 Because Jeremy just agreed with me and then took the polar opposite position. I can't figure out frankly, and I'm trying very hard to listen as everyone talks at once, what Jeremy's point is, because I know he knows that a presidential pardon has nothing to do with any crimes that have not been charged to Pete Rose or his character flaws or his gambling.
Starting point is 00:12:38 The pardon as defined, the power of the pardon is for federal crimes. That's right. Look, he already served his time is for federal crimes. That's right. Look, he already served his time for the federal crimes. So my question was like, what are we really pardoning for? And that was a sarcastic question because they show a grieve. But Jeremy, pardons happen all the time. I understand that pardons happen all the time. Pardons happen all the time for people
Starting point is 00:12:56 who've served their time already. That is a very common use of presidential pardons because it does wipe your slate clean. So for example, have you ever been convicted of a felon? You actually get to say no. And my question would be is why are we doing that for Pete Rose? What does that have to do with anything or anyone?
Starting point is 00:13:16 And why are we calling for MLB to get off their quote, fat, lazy ass and do something about it? It's insane, David. We don't have to dis, like we agree on this, right? fat, lazy ass and do something about it. It's insane, David. We don't have to dis, like, we agree on this, right? This isn't that crazy what I'm saying. It's not that crazy to say we shouldn't agree with Trump on pardoning Pete Rose because that guy sucks.
Starting point is 00:13:37 What's so complicated? You have to go through the pardon list of everyone who gets pardoned by every president in order to have the position you're taking. No, no, you don't. I don't just have that position because he is a baseball fan. Yeah, I'm allowed to not like Pete Rose and think he should be pardoned for those times. Well, it is true. I take it back. You may have any position you want. That's the beautiful part of what is and could potentially be in the future our country.
Starting point is 00:14:01 Well, not on college campuses because because they're gonna pull off federal funding if you protest on a college campus. Anyway, Dan, back to you. Thank you, guys. Jeremy. David, can you explain to me why I heard on Nothing Personal that you were at a bar mitzvah with Saquon Barkley? I was.
Starting point is 00:14:21 So, this is a true story. I was at a bar mitzvah where all of a sudden a special guest was introduced and the special guest was Saquon Barkley, who was there prior to signing his deal that became made him the highest paid running back ever. And he is now having spent one hour with about 120, 12 and 13 year olds, boys and girls at a bar mitzvah who were better behaved than the adults at the bar mitzvah who were elbowing the kids out of the way
Starting point is 00:14:54 to ask Saquon to do the hurdle. And you can see the way he was dressed, which was in a nice puffer jacket and he was dressed very nicely actually. He wasn't gonna do the hurdle. And part of the deal of Saquon coming was, hey, I'm here for the kids, not the adults. And the adults were a bunch of babies.
Starting point is 00:15:13 They were out of their minds. And we got Saquon to autograph a couple of things, including Super Bowl hats. And so Saquon autographed them, and they were for the kids only. Wait a minute, so the adults were very poorly behaved, you not being one of them, but you took pictures with him and asked him for his autograph. I'm just saying that the adults in general were poorly behaved and I had the opportunity
Starting point is 00:15:39 to meet him and be helpful in this project of having Saquon Barkley attend the Bar Mitzvah and therefore I was able to secure a chapeau. Did you get the indication from Saquon's participation that had he signed his contract the day before he would have still done said Bar Mitzvah appearance? He is so good Billy. I've done so many appearances with athletes in my career. He's one of the best, most interesting, friendly, well-natured athlete I've been around. He was so pleasant and good. He was there with his fiancee and a great friend of his. And there was just nothing bad to report.
Starting point is 00:16:18 And there was breaking news that happened while we were together. And that was the Debo Samuel trade. It broke Saturday night while we were in the green room waiting for the appearance to happen. And his reaction to the trade fascinated me because at first I presented it in a funny way. Hey, breaking news, Saquon, Debo Samuel's been traded. And he said to the Eagles?
Starting point is 00:16:41 And I said, what's the worst case scenario? Cause that's where he was traded. And he said, NFC East. And I said, commanders. And he said, at least it's not Miles Garrett. So it is true that he was thinking about his sort of health and safety and Miles Garrett being a bigger issue, but he acknowledged that getting firepower around a young quarterback is a smart way
Starting point is 00:17:09 to get better if you are a football team. But he certainly is looking forward to trying to defend their Super Bowl title because he doesn't want to. He wants to have to pay Pat Riley. You just mentioned a green room. Were you like a guest of honor as well? Like, why would you be in the green room with him? So I was sort of the coordinator of the event
Starting point is 00:17:30 of the time with Saquon. I was helpful in trying to get that accomplished. All right, well now I want more details. You kind of sound like a pimp. All right, now coordinate. There was no sex in the green room. Well, I'm, well. There's green in the green room, but there is no sex in the green room. Well, I'm. Oh, there's green in the green room,
Starting point is 00:17:47 but there is no sex in the green room. There is that now. If you're a rock star on tour, I would say that there could be sex in the green room or in the after show. But in this case, no, this was a green room at a bar mitzvah at a venue. So the detail is that I was asked to help foment an appearance by a football player and the thought was that the Bar Mitzvah boys favorite player was Saquon Barkley and would I have any ability to help bring Saquon Barkley to this child's Bar
Starting point is 00:18:15 Mitzvah and the answer is of course I could I did and it was a about a five month process but it all works out in the end and he did make the appearance and he couldn't have been better Howdy folks, it's Mike Ryan I talked to you about Miller time all the time But we're in the wintertime right now and one of my favorite pastimes is to crack open a Miller light and enjoy myself Some Miller time during the wintertime because when there's a brisk chill in the air It just makes everything right my friends and I who live down here in South Florida can actually sit outside because it's not super muggy.
Starting point is 00:18:48 We can thoroughly enjoy our Miller time together. And for you listening, I know there's a lot of things going on right now. Sports chief among them. Nothing more important than sports. From basketball and hockey to game night, winter means more moments with the coolest people in your life. Make these moments even better with Miller Lite, the great tasting light beer for people who love beer.
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Starting point is 00:19:39 The Dan Levitard Show with Stu Gotts is sponsored by BetterHelp. Who's in your support system and how have they changed your life? Think about that your favorite leaders, mentors, idols, they don't all have the answers, but they do know when to ask for help. In a world that glorifies hyper-independence,
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Starting point is 00:20:48 Roy, you know that moment when you're out watching puck and the server comes over and asks the table, what can I get you guys? And everyone freezes up. You know what you should do? What should I do, Mike? You've gotta have some confidence. Or as Jägermeister calls it, shotfidence.
Starting point is 00:21:01 I love it. If everyone's struggling, take control. Just order for the whole table, a round of ice cold Jägermeister shots. Damn that's cold! Because apparently, we've all been drinking Jägermeister wrong. Well how should we be drinking it? We should be drinking it ICE COLD. At zero degrees Fahrenheit, Roy, like Jägermeister, what else is infinitely better ice cold? The sport of hockey, Mike. It's in the name! It's ice hockey!
Starting point is 00:21:26 Ice hockey! Yes, regular hockey. Not as great. Not floor hockey. Ice hockey! Real good! Damn right. Wherever you are, if you're hanging with friends, or at the bar, call the shots!
Starting point is 00:21:37 Cheers with ice cold shots of Jägermeister. Damn that's cold! And remember to check Jägermeister out at DraftKingsXJägermeister.com Drink responsibly Jägermeister Liqueur 35% alcohol by volume Imported by Mass Jägermeister US White Plains, New York Shafredence! Don Lebatard! Go pee pee!
Starting point is 00:21:59 Stugatz! Go pee pee! This is the Don Lebatard Show with the Stugatz! to wait a minute i want uh... you answer some questions here to the degree that you're comfortable because if you're saying it's a five-month process you do have to understand at this point in terms of getting seqon barkley to do something like that whatever that cost now
Starting point is 00:22:23 probably not what it cost five months ago, but my guess is what it would cost now would be like half a million dollars, a million dollars to get Saquon Barkley to give you that time now. What can you give us in terms of details of how hard this was to coordinate over five months? So, his agents were great, his mother's great, he's great, but the fact of the matter is that we identified him as a guest many, many moons before he was gonna break
Starting point is 00:22:49 Eric Dickerson's record, many moons before the Eagles had their run to the Super Bowl. And I did have the mother of the Bar Mitzvah boy calling me every five minutes for two weeks in between the NFC Championship and the Super Bowl, saying, what are we rooting for here? Is he gonna blow blow us off if he wins? Is he going to blow us off because he's angry if they lose? And of course, when the Eagles had that big lead at the half, she called and said, and what's your decision? So I did have to speak to the agents after
Starting point is 00:23:18 the Super Bowl. And as you'd imagine, there is a rate card difference once you're a Super Bowl champion, but it deals a deal deal and once you sign a deal, that's your deal. And Saquon again, could not have been a better choice in terms of the way he acted and how great he was, but it's more than an hour. There's travel time to the venue. He doesn't live in New York anymore.
Starting point is 00:23:39 So there's travel time to the venue. There's travel time back home. So it's a pretty big commitment from him. And the good news is that he wrapped it around other appearances at much higher rates because he's able to do that in a way that with our deal, we had a contract signed already. David, forget about his compensation.
Starting point is 00:23:57 I hope you got compensated well because the idea of A, having to deal with someone pestering me for something that I booked B, to get there, it's okay, I booked the guy, he shows up, we're good, right? Nope, you have all these adults, I'm staggered, that there are actual grownups who would behave in that way in terms of not in terms of- Oh, I mean.
Starting point is 00:24:17 No, no, no, not in terms of pictures and autographs. Do the hurdle, are you high? It's- Who asks someone, hey, just jump over, hey, you, you kind of leap at him and then you jump over him and split your legs. Who asks something like that earnestly? Not as a joke.
Starting point is 00:24:34 What about this one? There were people who asked him for a hug and I said as his protector for the time he was there, I played the bad guy and I said, there will be no hugging. So I started with that. I allowed a few fist bumps. A great slogan for you in general at life, by the way, just in general, there will be no hugging. His name is memoir.
Starting point is 00:24:57 No, I'm a big hugger, Dan. I love hugging, but there's no reason to have people hug Saquon. So I had a list of me, is your answer. We had agreements on how many photos would be taken or how many things would be signed or how long he'd be there. And I had very, very detailed lists that I still have with me that have each photo and each thing that's signed.
Starting point is 00:25:20 So it was extremely organized. And at the end of the time, Sehkwan said he's never had an appearance quite like that one where he was so well respected and handled in a way that made him realize that, yes, I had run a team before and been around athletes before. I mean, why are you laughing in David's face?
Starting point is 00:25:39 Because the whole thing that he just gave us there was just to serve the last statement, which is, oh, you'd never been handled like that in an appearance before. He said it was the most professional, most awesome experience of his life. I mean, he had to be back in the car. The deal was that he'd be back in the car at 730 on his way out the door. He was back in the car at 729. And to get that done, the rush of people who had to be parted.
Starting point is 00:26:05 I mean, he's a major, especially at Bar Mitzvah, you're talking or anywhere, Saquon Barkley is an A-lister when it comes to 13 year old boys and their parents. And having been a former giant and having just won the Super Bowl, there was a tremendous amount of activity and I did not have security hired because I didn't want to pay for that or have anyone pay for that.
Starting point is 00:26:31 So instead I was the security and the irony is that I counted, I mean, you'll be pleased with the fact that my brain was working. There were 12 of the 13 year old boys who were already taller than I was and they were awfully aggressive, but yet I somehow was able even in my blazer to fend them off Heisman style. You were lead blocking. That blazer would fend off anyone though to be fair.
Starting point is 00:26:57 Oh, that's a great blazer. You were lead blocking for Saquon Barkley. I was actually. And it's funny because yes, I am smaller than he is by a lot. And there were bigger people around me, but my voice was strong. And remember, I had incentive to do this, which is I wanted to be protective of him
Starting point is 00:27:18 and how great he was and all of the great charitable work, all the cool stuff he does. I didn't want him to have a bad taste in his mouth about bar mitzvahs because there are certain people who don't make those type of appearances. If need be, David, were you prepared to neutralize any 12 or 13 year old threats? Oh, I did neutralize some of them.
Starting point is 00:27:37 I absolutely did. Your pressure point guy, like you go behind the ear and then they fall to their knees and they pee themselves or something. How do you do it as a security guard? Your pressure point guy, like you go behind the ear and then they fall to their knees and they pee themselves or something. How do you do it as a security guard? No, when you're 65 inches, you do everything with your voice.
Starting point is 00:27:52 I do nothing physically because that's gonna be a losing proposition. So I do it with my voice. 65 inches for now. But he can only go to 64. There's gonna be very little shrinkage, Billy. I'm with you. Can you, uh- No matter where I swim.
Starting point is 00:28:09 Before we get to the Mavs price hike- Dick joke. Yes, that's what he threw at us at the very end. Tiny little joke at the end. No, not tiny, he told us. I wanna get to the Mavs price hike, but the way that you're saying that Saquon Barkley is going from Bar Mitzvah
Starting point is 00:28:25 to Bar Mitzvah on a Saturday could say- No, I didn't say Bar Mitzvah to Bar Mitzvah. Or no, event to event, or appearance to appearance. Events, appearances, things that he does. But so what I'm asking you is can Saquon Barkley make a million dollars doing that on a Saturday? Not just at yours, just bouncing around. It would not be out of the question for Saquon Barkley
Starting point is 00:28:48 to be able to make that amount of money. It just would not. Do I think it happens Saturday? I'd have no way to know, but I would doubt it. There's a nice hug with me and Dominique. Although that was more of a dab than a hug, I believe. Dab. Damn it.
Starting point is 00:29:03 Damn it. A dab is damn it. Damn it. A dab is when you get really high. I want it to be so cool right there. You're so bad. I believe that's a dab. A little dab will do ya. The words you use during these 20 minutes, diddies, you threw a diddies at us,
Starting point is 00:29:21 you threw a croaked at us, which I don't think a lot of people are using for debt anymore. Put it on the poll at LeBotard Show. Do you use the word croaked to talk about death? I mean, do you have any thoughts on the MAVs raising their ticket prices? Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to David about this
Starting point is 00:29:39 because the raising of the prices actually is fairly standard and David can fact check me on that. That's 8.6% across the board. Isn't that egregious? Including, I believe it's at 20% on some of the floor seats. The egregious part about it was A, it comes on the heels of a lot of bad PR
Starting point is 00:30:00 for the team locally. B, the fact that in these letter to these season ticket holders, they said this is for investments in the team locally. B, the fact that in these letter to these season ticket holders, they said this is for investments in the team and in fan engagement. And C, this is perhaps the most egregious part. They name check, hey, if you sign up early, there are strong financial advantages
Starting point is 00:30:22 to getting tickets such as the Lakers in April. And that to me is like that the first person I thought of was David I said David how do you have such a breakdown in communication because Nikko Harrison is not responsible for any of that but as a as a organization there has to be some sort of unified voice on this you can't be so tone-deaf as to send to your season ticket holders, hey, remember the team we traded your favorite player to? Guess what? If you sign up now for these increased season tickets, you'll get a priority on these tickets
Starting point is 00:30:55 against that player. Yeah, it's not uncommon to promote when you are playing against a team that has a former player of yours. It is uncommon to do it at that time. My issue with this, Dan, was the timing. And I mean, I can tell you that there has gotta be a big mistake that they announced this season ticket price increase.
Starting point is 00:31:15 And let me tell you how the math should have worked. If I wanna increase my gate revenue, I'm gonna increase floor seats because you get a lot more bang for your buck by going from 300 to 400 and Then you do by raising tickets, you know in the upper deck from 20 to 24 And then it looks like you're doing a 20% price increase You're really always solving to maximize your revenue and what I told my salespeople after a bad year is we want to announce
Starting point is 00:31:44 no And what I told my salespeople after a bad year is, we want to announce no increase, but we are going to increase revenue by increasing certain tickets, but we wanna be able to have a PR statement that says, overall, there was no price increase. And we wouldn't then get into specifics about where there were and where there weren't. I never would have allowed an announcement of plus 8.6 after
Starting point is 00:32:05 a season of folly that the Mavs have had. David, is there any universe where if you're looking at revenues and you're saying, look, we need more money, is there any universe where you say, maybe we freeze it for a year and then revisit this a year from now based on the incredible negative reaction that we've gotten over the last month So I would have after what happened with the mavs. I would have actually announced a decrease I would have found a way to announce the decrease but having it actually will not be a decrease in revenue because of what we did in Certain sections because you're right and nico harrison. He's not blameless here
Starting point is 00:32:42 Did you read his statements? I talked about it on Today's Nothing Personal, which is for today. Tomorrow there'll be another one at 8 a.m. live. But today I talked about Nico's statement about Kyrie Irving comparing Kyrie to Kobe and what a great person Kyrie is and how important he is to the fabric of the city and how much they love him and how,
Starting point is 00:33:03 it was so bizarre to me that I just asked Nico during the show that I did, if he could just shut the yapper for a hot second, because I think he's not helping himself at all with all the things he's trying to do. There was no reason to go to the Laker game and have a stare down with Luca. There was just no reason for that. You can go to the game as the opposing GM and not be on TV on the court during practice like that
Starting point is 00:33:28 when you know the cameras are on you. So everything he does is purposeful and I think it's all wrong. Listen to Nothing Personal Every Day where you can hear live David Sampson tell Nico to shut his yapper for a hot second. What was that? Shut your yapper. What are you doing? Shut your yapper for a hot second. What was that? Shut your yapper.
Starting point is 00:33:45 Shut your yapper for a hot second, Niko. Are you saying that's another old statement? We just don't know what you're saying. A hot second? Like what are you doing? What's a hot second? How many, the second is, why is the second hot? Okay, you guys are picking on him now.
Starting point is 00:34:01 Language is meant for communication, Dan, and I believe the listeners of our show know exactly what I meant, and the listeners of your show do too. And what they're asking themselves now, likely, is why are you even commenting on my use of Yapper and Hot Second when we could be doing a movie review or something else in our remaining time?
Starting point is 00:34:19 David, let me bring you in on something we were discussing earlier. Would you agree that a vow renewal is a stop on the train track to divorce? That's a yes. That's a yes. That's a, I've had one. That's what that laugh is.
Starting point is 00:34:33 Whoa, okay. So listen, renewals in general are for old people who have no other option, but to say, hey, we might as well stick it out no matter how miserable we are. I'll start with that and I'll end with, I don't want, you don't get a gift. I'm not going to attend.
Starting point is 00:34:50 I want no part of a vow renewal of any kind. I think it's absolute horse hockey, personally. People, all right, you're in love, you're still married. What are you showing off? Cause the rest of us are divorced? Oh, for my 25th anniversary, I'm going to renew my vows in Vegas. Give me a break. I'm totally out on vow renewals. I think it's ridiculous. Maybe grandparents
Starting point is 00:35:10 can do it like the notebook. Give me James Garner doing a vow renewal, but that's about it. He is right. It is flaunting. It's kind of like, Hey, we're still together. It's not. Do you guys not like going to parties? I like, Hey, if anyone has a vow renewal, you want to buy it? Just have an anniversary. Why do you need to do the vows again? As long as there's an open bar.
Starting point is 00:35:28 I'm there. Like, I'll celebrate love. I love love, as everyone knows. No, but you love booze is what you're saying. No, I love love. You don't care about love in that scenario. I love love. You want the open bar.
Starting point is 00:35:36 And well, I love that too, but I love love. David, would you ever stay at a White Lotus resort? I would, except they practice usury, and it makes me crazy. I wanted to go where they filmed season two, and they upped it to like four grand a night after it came out. And I said, that's absurd, because I
Starting point is 00:35:56 was able to ascertain from a travel agent that it used to be about 1K a night, and they pushed it up to 4K K and I found that to be offensive. So I was a hard pass. But the answer is I would go to a place where White Lotus was filmed, cause it looks amazing. Do you have any relationship with Mike White through Survivor or you haven't met him that way yet?
Starting point is 00:36:17 I've not met him. He is a Survivor player. He puts former Survivor cast members in his shows. Yes he does. It's from his cast, mostly from his tribe, though this season he actually put someone from his season but not his tribe in the series. But yes, he does do that, which is really cool.
Starting point is 00:36:34 Mike White, when he was on Survivor, was a great player and he made it far, really far, and did not win the game. Someone gave me a list recently because Survivor 50 is coming out, a list of all of the people in sports who made it longer than I did. And one of them was the recently retired Jimmy Johnson, who was also on Survivor, and he did make it further
Starting point is 00:36:57 than I did, and frankly, so did John Rocker. To be clear, it's OK for Saquon Barkley to raise his rates because he won a Super Bowl, but it's not okay for a resort to raise its rates after hundreds of thousands of people, assuming, are now interested in staying there. Oh, I mean, I think it's brilliant that they raised the rates because they only raised the rates to the point that people are still booking. If the place is unbooked, then they're going to lower the rates again.
Starting point is 00:37:22 I believe that you should raise your prices as far as you can until people stop buying your product. And if it's different people, it's different people. If you price yourself out of certain people, forget it. Maybe the Dallas Mavericks don't care about the 20,000 people that go to games now who are angry because there's 20,000 new people who love Anthony Davis and love an injured Kyrie Irving. So they're raising their prices.
Starting point is 00:37:44 So I'm all in. I just said I wouldn't pay the four grand a night to go to that because I wouldn't. That's all. Cuse them of usury, which is I believe a biblical sin. Well, I don't know that it's biblical. I mean, I believe it's just definitionally an overcharge. What laugh is that?
Starting point is 00:38:04 It's yours. Is it? Oh, it is. That was us discussing vow renewals. What laugh is that? It's yours. Is it? Oh, it is? That was us discussing vow renewals. Oh, that is funny. That is, Billy emerged with a surprise question that made you laugh gutturally like that, and it is the devil's laugh.
Starting point is 00:38:21 That's the devil I know. I just think that that laugh does sound horrible. And it's not my view of love in general, sort of, but it's sort of. Sort of. That's the sound I think I made right after we got the final vote in the county commission. That's sinister.
Starting point is 00:38:43 I didn't mean that. I didn't laugh. You did it again. I thought I hit the button. That is sinister. I didn't mean that. I didn't laugh. You did it again. I thought I hit the button. That is sinister. That is the laugh of evil. That is absolutely... Look, if I tell you Greed has just gotten a promotion to evil, that's what it sounds like. Is this not the same program you're using to make your voice sound good on the opera?
Starting point is 00:39:08 Is that really the natural sound of the laugh? The natural sound of evil. The Skeletor, right? I think you've done something. There's zero doctoring to that, David. No, that's how you react. Chris, is that the case? I swear to God, it really is real.
Starting point is 00:39:23 To renewed vows. You sound like Skeletor. That's how you react. It really is real. To renewed vows. You sound like Skeletor. Ha ha ha ha. That's really a problem. What's the movie you're reviewing today, David? I have a real complaint, and I'm upset about this, and I'm not over it. I'm not reviewing a movie.
Starting point is 00:39:38 I'm not reviewing the fact that I lost to Adnan in the Oscar ballot. I'm not gonna talk about the Oscars. You covered it well. Adnan and I covered it well in the after show recap. I'm talking about a TV show on Max called Bookie. And I don't know if any of you have ever watched it. It's two seasons.
Starting point is 00:39:54 Yeah, with the Man of Skelton. I loved it. Yeah, me too. And I was shocked when it got canceled. Now, it's 22 minutes an episode. It's not exactly high budget in the way that White Lotus has changed in season three with all of the I don't know which of you is watching it, but I assume Jessica, if you're watching it, you've noticed there's way more budget being used
Starting point is 00:40:14 in all of these non-dialogue shots of all of these interesting visuals more so than ever. And Bookie was just good. 22 minutes of good dialogue, good story. It was, it can't be expensive to make unless Sebastian had some sort of contractual requirement, which I don't think he did. So I just don't know why it was canceled. So I'm hoping, Amin, that somebody picks it up. Because that can happen.
Starting point is 00:40:42 I know Omar Dorsey, who plays the other guy in the show. He's so good. And based on the way he was talking, I don't think it's anything cast related in terms of financials or demands. I think this is just, you know, a decision made levels and levels above them. So is he willing to, have you asked him,
Starting point is 00:41:04 is he willing to keep doing it, but under a different studio? I'll ask him. Sure, I'll send him a message right now. Can you ask him now? Yeah, I'll send him a message right now. Or call him? You want me to ask Sebastian Menescalco?
Starting point is 00:41:14 Oh, wow! Let's see who answers first. Call him on speaker. Both of you on FaceTime. Yeah, both of you FaceTime and then have them talk to each other through your phones. Take off your shirt, though. I'm not gonna FaceTime him,
Starting point is 00:41:24 but how would you like me to word the question? What's up, big dog? Are you willing to do bookie season three with a different studio or is the show dead forever? You really can just text him like that. Some more reporting from Dan today. We're blessed. Oh, David, yeah, you missed it before.
Starting point is 00:41:39 Dan came in and he reported that the Dwyane Wade story that Pat Riley took LeBron James' cookies off the airplane and that's what led to him leaving was not true. It's preposterous. But Pat Riley does love cookies and the nutritionist said it wasn't cookies, it was ice cream. But had Pat Riley been on that plane
Starting point is 00:41:57 because he doesn't fly in the plane with them. That's not the nutritionist who said that, sources. Sources, okay. But had Pat Riley been on the plane which he doesn't fly with the team, he would have done it. I was just gonna say, Billy, the number of times that Pat Riley's on the plane which he doesn't fly with the team he would have done it I was just gonna say Billy the number of times that Pat Riley's on the team plane. My guess is you can't Get through one hand of fingers fully fingered not Alf and second style. It's a one-way season
Starting point is 00:42:15 I am going to tap out of texting because I just realized It's been a long time since I texted him the And if I ask, hey man, would you be willing to do the show on a different network? That makes it sound like I have a network that might be interesting. That's also curiosity. I don't think anyone thinks. You know what you need?
Starting point is 00:42:33 If you haven't talked to someone in a long time and you wanna get something out of them, you do like a setup, hey, how's it going, man? Hope all is well. And then tomorrow you ask him about the important stuff. That's so weird, just hey man, how's it going? Hope all is well. You can do it in one text to me
Starting point is 00:42:44 and you can say, hey, it's been a minute, I'm live on the air right now, quick question for you, would you be interested in doing a season three on a different network? Got it. So I didn't do any of that, I just did what you guys told me to do, and now Sebastian Menescalco's gonna think
Starting point is 00:43:00 MetalArk Media wants to make season three of the bookie. Listen, would that surprise you? I just shouldn't have done that. Well, how'd you start it? Can I be in it? Lose the the. What's up, dog? No, big dog, that's where you lost them.
Starting point is 00:43:13 You started with what's up, dog? See you later. Howdy, folks, it's Mike Ryan. I talk to you about Miller time all the time, but we're in the wintertime right now and one of my favorite pastimes is to crack open a Miller light and enjoy myself some Miller time during the wintertime because when there's a brisk chill in the air it just makes everything right. My friends and I who live down here in South Florida can actually sit outside because it's not super muggy. We can thoroughly
Starting point is 00:43:38 enjoy our Miller time together. And for you listening I know there's a lot of things going on right now. Sports cheap among them, nothing more important than sports. From basketball and hockey to game night, winter means more moments with the coolest people in your life. Make these moments even better with Miller Lite, the great tasting light beer for people who love beer. Now's the perfect time for friends, family, and a great tasting light beer. Tastes like Miller time. And you know, Miller Lite is brewed for taste. It hits different than other light beers and at just 96 calories and 3.2 grams of carbs per 12 ounces, Miller Time is always a
Starting point is 00:44:11 good time. Miller Lite, great taste, 96 calories. Go to MillerLite.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Tastes like Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. The Dan Levitard Show with Stu Gotz is sponsored by Better Help. Who's in your support system? And how have they changed your life? Think about that your favorite leaders, mentors, idols,
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