The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Big Suey: The Block M

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

"Oh, hey. What's up, Greg?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. Now's a good time to remember where Tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented Tequila. Cuervo. What are you doing here? Cuervo. Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up. Well, I do know that to be true, but even during ad reads, like...

Cuervo. I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners. Sweet, delicious Cuervo. Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion. Cuervo. So, enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo.

Cuervo. The tequila that invented tequila. Proximo. Cuervo.com, please drink responsibly. Queerville. Welcome to the Big Suey, 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. 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. Juju did a great job with all of that unrivaled stuff. It is a great idea. just a couple of concentrated months

of basically it's the bubble. It's put all of these players in a part of town that they would not normally be and just intensely have them compete and do work and make more money on the side. As part of our 20 year anniversary celebration, because many of you are demanding more Stugatz. We expect him back soon,

but he's following his daughter around the country. Where was he the other day? I asked this yesterday. He was along the college baseball path for some reason. And I was not surprised when I saw him in Syracuse, given that one of his daughters goes to Syracuse, but I was surprised to see him at a college baseball game.

You're asking us if we know where Stugatz is? It looked like a Northwestern baseball field. It was the standard, patent Stugatz two-armed selfie where he's clearly holding his phone with two arms. God, I love that. It's adorable every time, I have to admit. But yeah, I have no idea where he currently is. As part of the, were you gonna say something there, Billy,

before you take it? No. All right, good, all right, good. I idea where he currently is. As part of the, were you gonna say something there, Billy, before you take it? No. All right, good, all right, good. I'm glad that you just looked like you were gonna say something and then didn't say anything. Let's go to a behind the bit here as part of our 20 years celebration. Stump the Meach is always something that is popular.

John Amici, one of our most popular guests, one of our smartest guests, can never tell what Stugatsa's saying. This is behind the bit. This is behind is saying. This is behind the bit. This is behind the bit. This is behind the bit. For the past 20 years you've seen and heard bits on the Dan LeBataille show. You may have wondered to yourself, what are these bits?

What's wrong with these people? Who is John Amici? John Amici was a former NBA player and just a very intellectual man who, I don't want to say doesn't have a sense of humor because I don't think that's fair to John, but John takes himself more seriously than we would take ourselves, I would say. And John Amici is someone who would probably not be hanging out in the same circles as Stu Gatze, per se. So he's a very well-read man. He wasn't knighted officially,

but he has like a British royal title of sorts and just is into very smart things that go above the head of all of us. Levy scored the first ever points at the Miami Heat's newer arena. He was a close friend of Dan's. He made headlines once he retired when he penned a book where he came out to the nation. John Amici had a really strong relationship with Dan. They were good friends, and he was someone that was always so intelligent and wonderful to have them weigh in

on big, important societal topics on our show. You can never have enough smart people surround your show, especially when you have stugots there weighing the median average down. John, when he met Dan, took him to a gay bar. And Dan did not know that he was gay, despite bringing him to a gay bar. He didn't suspect that.

I'm like, this is a place to go. Like, OK. But yeah, that was pretty funny, thinking about that. But yeah, like, John is, just like Belmonte, one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. He's a constant ally and we are an ally of him and just all around good man. So we thought let's play a game and waste John's time

and have him try to figure out what it is that Stugatz, who's not well read, what he's trying to say mid-sentence, mid-thought, sometimes he just ejects in the middle of the word, sometimes he just mispronounces words. So what we would do is we would save a bunch of clips of Stugatz just not saying words the right way, and then horrify John Amici, who speaks perfect English. And John was terrible at this game, then horrified John Amici who speaks perfect English.

And John was terrible at this game. And I think he was frustrated because, you know, as an NBA player, as someone who's a successful businessman, he has succeeded at many things in life. And this is just one that we knew he was not gonna succeed at. And I think it drove him nuts that this dumb game always got the best of him and it was really unfair.

I mean, some of the words that we would play for him are four or five syllable words that Stugatz would condense down into one syllable and then move on to his next train of thought. So John never really stood a chance in this game. What is the first mispronunciation from Stugat? Analys. Dallas or analysis?

See I think it's Dallas but that's too simple. Analysis? That's what I would have guessed. Wow, spot on. That would have been my guess. Formula. It's either formula but having said that I can't imagine a context in which Stugots would have to say that word. Formidable. All right. You are overthinking this.

I think it's formidable. Despite Dan trying to help you out, it is formula. Oh no. Draw. Oh, come on now. Draw. I've absolutely got nothing. Drawer.

That is a tragedy right there. Hermaphrodites. Oh, Hermaphrodites. Oh. Dude. No. No. Hermaphrodites.

Hermaphrodites. Yes, of course. Right. Oh, there we go. Of course. Of course. Of course. What do you mean?

Oh, God. Merced. Oh, I hate you so much right now. Merced. Merced. Merced. Is it most or. Most, most, most. Is it most or is it, that's not my final answer. I'm gonna go with missed.

It's most. Oh my God! Oh my God! Holy sh!t! I was robbed. You were not robbed, you made your own decisions. I was robbed, I'm sorry, that was robbed. You made your own life choices.

You had victory in your hands and you let it go. How did this one start? Stugatz just pronounces things very poorly from a broadcaster. And John Amici is so smart. The idea of him trying to guess what language it is I'm speaking. Yes.

What words are coming out of my mouth, it's funny. It's such a great idea because all it is is us taking things that have been said in the natural flow of Stu Gott's broadcasting as Stu Gott's and he doesn't finish all of his words and he tries to get to the next thought a little faster before he's finished the other one. Small windows.

And so words get jumbled up and so we had an endless library of things that Stu Gott's had mispronounced. What I always loved about that segment is Mike would give him an easy one, like a fastball right down the middle, just so he can gain some confidence. I think this is the time I'm going to win the game. Meach has never won the game. Did he win once? He claims he won once. The only times he's won is when we've made terrible mistakes somehow.

It's not because he ever deserves to win. But Mike would groove the first one or two win and then the next three, chain jumps, curve balls, everything. Impossible. And me just swinging and throttling and falling to the ground. I mean, I can't win. I mean, I'm undefeated.

He can't win that game. He always wins. Dan Institute talked about it being like a palette cleanser. Did you create this bit, Mike? I just knew that we needed a device. Our show is really good at getting people in the tent and with nonsense. And then while they're in the tent,

we'll have an important discussion. And you're gonna be sitting there, not really understanding what you're sitting through because we've already put it in your head that we're just going from laugh to laugh and there's gonna be important societal discussions along the way but you're gonna enjoy the journey. So we knew that we needed to do something to dress it up. We had come up with games to play with guests. There was this game that we had called douche or

no douche that we had in our back pocket anytime we needed to spruce up an interview or we weren't exactly sure where to take the interview. And I really liked having that as a device. And I knew given how strong Dan and John's relationship was and knowing how playful John was and how much he'd liked our show and liked Su Gatze as a character, I knew he'd be down for this.

So it was all about tracking the mispronunciations as they would happen. And we started building up quite the arsenal. I'm proud of that folder. Roy had a very good ear for it. We'd all kind of mark it. Like anytime Sugats misspoke, put that in the something-meach file.

And we had to immediately write down what we thought Sugots was trying to say, because absent context, there was no way that we were going to figure out what Sugots was going to say. I mean, some of these clips were really ridiculous. I mean, after 20 minutes of super serious conversation with Dan, you need something. Yes, yes. We would.

It's a little bit of sorbet, a little bit of sorbet at the end of a societal conversation that makes your head hurt. It was like a treat for a dog. Yeah, a little bit. Thank you for giving us 20 minutes of serious shit. Here's to gods. Howdy folks, it's Mike Ryan, one to responsibly speak to you about my favorite time, Miller time.

Look, a lot of things are coming back in a season. MLS is back, P's and C's in the MLB. You know who puts the ML in those sports? Miller Lite! That's right, from basketball to hockey to game night, winter means more moments with the coolest people in your life. Make these moments even better with Miller Lite, the greatest tasting light beer for people like you and me who love their beer.

Now is a perfect time for friends, family, and a great tasting light beer. Tastes like Miller time! And it's got tastes that you know you can depend on, no games, no gimmicks, just great beer for people who love their beer! Because it's brewed for taste, it just hits different than other light beers because of simple ingredients like malted barley for rich balanced toffee note flavors and that iconic golden color. 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. Don Lebatard. It's all about me. Stugats. Wee.

This is the Don Lebatard Show It's all about me. Stugats. Wee! This is the Don Lebatard Show with the Stugats. Elle Duncan is going to be here shortly. We should play douche or no douche with her. We have not done that game in a while. I want to play for the audience some sound here of a West Virginia politician, the governor, Patrick Morrissey, really just pandering. It's a great way to get your constituency on your side to stand in front of a sign that

says National Corrupt Athletic Association, the NCAA. This is West Virginia's governor going very strong at North Carolina and the NCAA tournament for For a West Virginia school that probably could have made the tournament if in the first game of their conference tournament They hadn't lost to 3 in 17, Colorado West Virginia deserved to be in the NCAA tournament This was a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest levels West Virginia deserved to be in the NCAA tournament. This was a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest levels. Now who was the last team to get into the tournament?

Ahead of the Mountaineers. That would be the University of North Carolina. Now let's see how their resume stacks up. The Tar Heels went one and 12 in quad one games and even had a quad three loss. Jessica, why are you making a face? The National Corrupt Athletic Association is the sign that he's standing in front of. If you were a player on West Virginia, this would embarrass you, right? Like you would, you don't want this. Like you obviously you want to make the tournament, but you didn't, you lost some games that you needed to win to make it in. But then, if you saw this, you'd be like,

Okay, wait, can we just back up a second? You think so? You think that the players don't appreciate some support that they probably agree with? I agree with Jess. I think it's an embarrassment to the university that the- I mean, maybe if the athletic director wants to say that or the head coach it that's their domain but the governor go hey governor you don't have anything more important going on in your state that you need to worry about than than one of your college team well i'm not making the tournament sub 500 teams since january 1st like this is i understand being upset that you know we do this in college

football all the time the teams that don't get in and the head coach or the athletic director or the conference commissioner advocates for them and goes on ESPN and complains and blah blah blah but like the governor of the state is doing it and it's like that if I were a player I would be like okay you know what fair but I should have made my free throws. Yeah, that's beneath the governor's office. It really is. I'm not even saying that as a bit. It's not just that he's saying it, it's the language is so strong on what he's saying. Like, what are you actually saying for things that are miscarriages of justice that are egregious as opposed to this one that begins with you losing your last game to a team that was three and 17. West Virginia deserved to be in the NCAA tournament.

This was a miscarriage of justice and robbery at the highest levels. Now who was the last team to get into the tournament? Ahead of the Mountaineers. That would be the University of North Carolina. Now let's see how their resume stacks up. The Tar Heels went one and 12 in quad one games and even had a quad three loss. The rest of politics is so pure these days that that really stands out as shameless. That's true. Yeah. Also, Rhonda Santus did get involved

when Florida State got snubbed from the CFP last year. Which again, if I were a Florida State player, I'd probably be like. Getting involved is different than calling it the height of robbery. Yeah, and standing behind the word corrupt. No government officials had to get involved when UCF claimed their national championship.

You just go ahead, you take it from the people, you claim what's rightfully yours, and you move on with your head held high. No politician thought that you could get a single vote based on supporting UCF during its undefeated season with pandering. And here's one more thing for the governor of West Virginia. If I'm on the selection committee and it's a tiebreaker, this school or that school for the last invitation Gee, it's a no-brainer that you're gonna take North Carolina, which has a rich history in college basketball over West Virginia So West Virginia blew this on on different levels No, but I think also like North Carolina was one lane Violation from beating Duke like that. I I understand why people are mad North Carolina got in lane violation from beating Duke.

I understand why people are mad North Carolina got in, but also they played well in the conference tournament and they almost upset the best team in the conference. So I understand it. Obviously you have to make hard choices when you're talking about bubble teams in any sport. You're splitting hairs, right? Because if they were for sure in the tournament,

you wouldn't have to have this debate about them being on the bubble or not. But your splitting hairs, but quad two wins, quad one wins, net rankings, all this, conference tournaments, upsets who they've lost, how many losses they have, like there's never going to be a great option. And I understand people are mad because the,

you know, Bubba Cunningham went as the athletic director at North Carolina, I understand all of that. I do understand why fans are upset about that, but like we are sort of splitting hairs here. Okay, it's always splitting hairs when you get between 68 and 69. And it's subjective, but I'm surprised to hear Greg Cody say what he's saying,

which is merit doesn't matter. It's just North Carolina won a lot 10 years ago, so therefore they should be rewarded this year. I thought, like yours, I understand what you're saying, and it's the same thing that Taylor said yesterday when he's like, we're North Carolina and you're a Boise State, but it's supposed to be merit-based. Sports is supposed to be based on were you good this year or not, not were you good 20 years ago.

I think one of the weird things about the North Carolina thing too, right, is that this is like one of those weird like Play-ins that they become an 11 seed so they're not even necessarily one of the best 64 But if they then win they're like worst case the 44th best team Okay, they get in correct me if I'm wrong they get in if they win that last game Against a team with a 3-and-17 record. Colorado. Yes, okay So zip your lip governor there it is you had a chance to get in They win that last game against a team with a 3-17 record. Colorado, yes. They would have gotten in. Okay, so zip your lip, Governor.

There it is. You had a chance to get in. Just one of the lips. And you blew it. Also, North Carolina is not even in the bubble conversation if they upset Duke, I think. We saw the end of it. That was a devastating way for that game to end. I'm glad on that player's behalf it wasn't his last college basketball game, because it was a tough scene.

I have a fun stat. Billy said that if North Carolina wins, they become an 11 seed. 11 seeds over the past 10 tournaments have a winning record against the six seeds. So if you're making your brackets out there, look for those 11 seeds. I also have a correction from earlier.

We mentioned Duke, and Chris Cody and I were both pretty sure that Nike benefited from Zion Williamson quick Correction that game was on February 20th 2019 by February 25th 2019 Nike had lost 1.1 billion dollars in stock. What about a year after let's go like the long-term effect on it No, another correction that we want to make is that we said yesterday on the show that the Michigan baseball player who we think Tripled and then tried to snort the third base line We did not think that was going first to third on a single to right field

We didn't think it was stealing third base We thought it was a triple and then snorting the third base line that player is now Apologizing for his behavior. I would like to apologize for mying the third base line. That player is now apologizing for his behavior. I would like to apologize for my actions on third base yesterday. I made an immature decision in the heat of the moment. The gesture I made does not reflect my character, the household I was raised in,

or the block M that I represent in any kind of way. I take full responsibility for what I did, and I am truly sorry to all those who I have negatively impacted by doing this. How many were negatively impacted? Can we get, by the way, the video of that to show of him clearly? And now we have confirmation because you guys were saying

maybe he wasn't doing what it looked like he was doing. He was indeed snorting or pretending to snort the third baseline. Who did that negatively impact? My children were sobbing at the TV. They were so upset. I don't know about you guys, but I accept his apology. Let's let him have a second chance.

Who's with me? Okay, very good. It's good that you're forgiving. Billy, you mentioned earlier Tracy Morgan, and you didn't offer anything in the way of context for anybody in terms of details. He threw up during the game yesterday of the Knicks and the Heat, You didn't offer anything in the way of context for anybody in terms of details. He threw up during the game yesterday

of the Knicks and the Heat and then had to leave during the game. And he has battled an assortment of health stuff. So I don't wanna make any fun of this, but I don't know any of the details except what I just said to you. Yeah, from what I came out yesterday, it seemed like he had a nosebleed

and he started throwing up. He was courtside, just throwing up on the court. There was a delay. And yeah, unfortunately, he's been dealing with a lot of stuff, so we shouldn't make light of the situation. So I also want to apologize for anyone that may have taken offense to my actions earlier

and may have been negatively impacted by what I said. And I represent the block M here as well and I don't want to really be representing things that way. So I'm sorry. Did he throw up on the court? Yeah, on the court. Very graphic. We're not gonna show it because it's ugly.

Yeah. And the nosebleed. It delayed the game for like 10 minutes too. And then he had to get wheeled out in a wheelchair. It was very, very, yeah. I'm concerned about him. Same. Yes. Oh yeah, you got to be.

Speaking of the block M, Mitch Voight, so he issues this apology, right? That was 23 hours ago as of right now, but 16 hours ago, he's then named Big 10 player of the week. So I sort of wonder, was it like a, hey, you're gonna be named Big 10 player of the week, but I sort of wonder, was it like a, Hey, you're going to be named big 10 player of the week, but we need you to apologize first. But over the weekend, he had five doubles, 12 ribby, six runs scored 12 hits. He had a six 67 batting average is

amazing. Conference dangles player of the week over his head and is like, you got to what? I'm just saying. Look, Michigan might not have wanted that representing their Big Ten Player of the Week, and they said, hey, you represent the Block M. And you need to do this. Without him, no one would associate Michigan in cocaine. I think the funny thing about his apology, right, is like the people that would have been offended

by what he was doing, you'd then have to explain to them what he was doing and why they should be offended by what he was doing, right? So if it's like, oh, think of the children, it's like, so you're gonna sit down children, you're gonna explain cocaine use to children and why this is a problematic action by him? The worst possible apology, quote unquote,

is when you say something like he did, which is, oh, that's not me, that's not part of my character, that's not who I am. Yeah, apparently it was, because you did it. He's not 15 years old. If somebody in high school does that, they have the immaturity excuse. Five years later, that card doesn't play as well. He didn't actually say it. It was just the notes app apology that I read.

Apparently we all don't forgive him. Yeah, not everyone is in a forgiving mood around here. You guys were fine, but it would appear that Greg Cody is not quite as lenient as you guys are about Michigan baseball and snorting third base lines. He is taking a hard stance on this and he doesn't, he thinks this is the problem with America, is that you guys accept these apologies and then go straight to forgiveness after someone has snorted the third baseline have you ever done a notes app apology dad i don't know what notes app okay i don't know what it was born in two thousand four i feel like he can get away

with the immaturity excuse yeah okay so he's twenty one that's a ridiculous age to be born not even twenty one yet okay people born in the two thousands mit mid two thousand in college he might not have even lost his virginity yet Let's talk about when everybody else lost their virginity Dan you go first Yeah, go ahead would have been my junior year of college How old was I in my junior you were my age at 20 this guy teen?

I mean, no, it's not 20. It's 20 19 20 you were a junior at 19 Yeah, something like a skip skip your sophomore year or what? But now you have your answer. Now, what do we do? You just stare at me and imagine me having sex No, no, I'm glad we did that. It's good for the whole audience you guys mentioned not playing the video of Tracy Morgan throwing up is Is that something that also would risk making others throw up if you? What are the things in in both video form or in community that are? Contagious like yawning is said to be contagious is vomiting

Something that can be contagious if I show you Video of someone vomiting am I gonna get others all of a sudden vomiting? You guys have decided as a editorial decision not to play Tracy Morgan vomiting. I'm glad we make those. I didn't know we actually did that around here. That's good. Hey, video team, pat yourselves on the back.

Or Chris, whoever did that. I feel bad for the person two seats down who paid, you know $1,800 for courtside seats. That's a great story. All of a sudden He's smelling the vomit of a famous person imagine like the conversations that will start though years down the road of how was that that game? Oh remember when he threw up I was two seats over smelled terrible the person two seats over is like Ben Stiller So when Greg Cody says that he, he doesn't know what a notes, what a notes app is. I wanted to ask you guys a question based on a story I was

telling a couple of weeks ago around here. I had mentioned the game in which the Monday night game in which Derek Thomas was ejected because he just kept getting penalties because whatever it is that Shannon Sharp was saying to him and Shannon Sharp has said that he will never reveal what it is that was being said in that game that made Derek Thomas so insane. But some others have speculated whether it is true or not that it was a trash talk that

involved a woman, and more specifically, that it was just him repeating a telephone number over and over again. Now, again, I don't know what is true here, but I want to ask Greg Cody and the rest of you, do you guys know any telephone numbers anymore? Do you, any of you know telephone numbers? Because I know about three or four important telephone numbers, and then if my iCloud wasn't backing stuff up,

I would be proper bleeped on just about everything because I don't know any telephone numbers. How many telephone numbers do you guys know? I know my childhood house one, I know my wife's number, I know my dad's number and my mom. Just the emergency numbers, right? Yeah, and sharing contacts, you're right, we've lost this. Yeah, that's true.

We've lost all our recipes. At LeBattard Show, put it on the poll, do you know any telephone numbers, yes or no? Hey friends, it's Jerobar here, and I'm here to tell you all about Boost Mobile, which is now a legit nationwide 5G network. So I must take a break from the jokes here for a second and put on my serious voice. Because I would never ever joke about a 5G network that has invested billions building 5G towers across the country. Not even once. Not even if Mr. Boost Mobile himself asked me to.

There is nothing funny about it. Boost Mobile is now a legit nationwide 5G network and also provides coverage across 99% of America. Seriously. Visit BoostMobile.com or your nearest Boost Mobile store location to learn more. The Boost Mobile network, together with our roaming partners, covers 99% of the US population. 5G speeds not available in all areas. Don Lebatard!

Quiet man. Yes. You know, I'm a married man. I don't cheat on my wife despite that gratuitous line Back in my day. I wish you were here my wife. I really miss her No, I don't that's the thing about being married. You know you're not allowed to say I don't miss my wife I've been gone two days. I haven't been gone long enough to miss my wife. I'm sorry I call her I'm on the phone with her for 30 seconds. You know, what am I, hello, alright, alright, we'll see ya.

Alright, and then, you know, I'm gonna see her in two days. How's jumping, Charlie? Good. This is the Don LeBathard Show with the Stugarts. Elle Duncan joins us now. We're going to talk tournament and other stuff with her because I just enjoy talking to her about anything that's going on. Do you want to play that sound for her, Chris Cody, of the last time she was on and she called you something that is not your name so that we can get a formal apology that you have not yet forgiven her for? Yeah, the last time l joined us off air before we started

I was like oh, hey, how's it going and she said this oh, hey, what's up Greg? She called me Greg I get it Now Jessica makes me play this sound like once a week Do my defense I think I was looking at your dad I know that you're Chris I know that, I think I was looking at your dad. I know that you're Chris, I know that, but I think I was looking at your dad and then I heard, so I was like, what's up, Greg?

There you go. Sorry, Chris. That's a good attempt at a save, but I don't think he was in that day. Yeah, he wasn't in that day. That's okay, though. It's good work by you, it's all right. Oh, hey, what's up, Greg?

Thank you. No, I appreciate that. I was in that day. A hologram of me was sitting here. Yeah. Sorry, I love that. I was in that thing. A hologram of me was sitting here. Yeah. Sorry, I love you, Chris. I love all the Cody's. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

It's fine. Listen, the other day I called my husband Xander, who's my son, and it creeped him out, so don't feel bad. Do you have any telephone numbers? How many telephone numbers does L. Duncan know? Yeah, I was shaking my head going like this when you were asking that question. I know, same thing as Chris, not Greg.

I know my childhood. Oh, hey, what's up, Greg? I know my childhood numbers for a house that no one lives at anymore, and then I know my husband's, my mom and my dad's, and that would be it for me. So anybody else, like if I don't have my phone, I'm F'd. I actually remember the phone number

of my childhood house, 1440, which I haven't lived in in 55 years. Put it on the poll as well. I think most people might. At LeBataard Show, do you remember the number at your original home at LeBataard Show? Yes or no is the question. Elle, how often do you use your phone as a phone? Because one of the things that I'm super interested in as we've evolved is the sheer number of people

who get annoyed when their phone rings like a phone and have no interest in actually using it as anything other than a computer. I realized I was washed maybe like, I mean, I've known that I'm washed, but I realized like a couple of months ago, my phone started ringing and I was like, who the is calling me this late. It was like 7 45 So I don't I don't I don't like when people call me and then it also annoys me when people text me

So in general I'm learning I just don't like communication with people at all I should tell people incidentally that she's obviously been a mainstay on Sports Center for nearly a decade She's the host of the L Duncan show on ESPN and she's leading ESPN's coverage on the NCAA Division 1 men's basketball Women's basketball tournament beginning Wednesday, March 19th and the tournament is featuring more games on ABC and ESPN Than ever been before how are you seeing the change around? than ever before. How are you seeing the change around your coverage? Because ESPN has been the exclusive home for almost 30 years for the women's tournament.

So what have you seen change over the last 10 years? I think probably the outside interests, like me and Andrea Carter and Shania Gumake were on Good Morning America yesterday. And like real GMA, not like GMA three or GMA weekend, like proper one, like sitting across from Robin Roberts. So I would say that, like people wanting to have a set of events or wanting me to host events purely

because of my connection to women's basketball. I think, you know, you guys have all been in the industry a long time. You always had to come into whatever respective network it was, promising that you knew NFL, that you knew maybe NBA, like you had to cover the men's sports, and then women's sports were always an add-on, right?

It was like, okay, and then in addition to your main stuff, you'll also do, you'll dabble in women's sports. And now we're starting to see, I think, networks, ESPN and other ones as well, that are staffing specifically for women that are giving it to people as their full-time jobs as opposed to an add-on or a side hustle that they do.

So in terms of what I do, I think it's just, not just the interest, but the resources behind it. You know, like the women's, even when I took on this space four years ago, it was sort of a breeding ground for like new people. You know, it's like, you come and like, you learn your chops and you go through your, your whatever on the women's side.

And now we're getting, you know, the best of everyone, the best graphics people, the best researchers, the best producers. So I just think it's, it's how much more interest, but also just how much more resources are put behind it. I want to play for you some sound from West Virginia's governor here standing in front of a sign, the National Corrupt Athletic Association here to get both your reaction to this and to ask you whether the women's game has had more controversy than the men's game this

year because this is the big controversy from the men's game. West Virginia deserved to be in the NCAA tournament. big controversy from the men's game. Now, let's see how their resume stacks up. The Tar Heels went one and 12 in quad one games and even had a quad three loss. What are you laughing about, L? So silly. This is so silly. I love when like I love when politicians try to cosplay as like a rational angry fans. How much how many West Virginia games we think that dude's watched this year? You know, like how how like where's West Virginia in terms of public school rankings?

Because I think they're like 35th in the United States. Where, where's your outrage for that? Like, where's your outrage for literally anything else that's happening in the country right now, but this is your sticking point? Like, you're pissed about this? Here's what I would say. If you want to leave no doubt, that is completely in your hands to leave absolutely no doubt. You either build that resume throughout the year,

or you win your respective conference tournament, and then you don't have to worry about the corrupt committee. I don't agree with a lot of their opinions. I know that a lot of this is because, I believe the AD for UNC is the committee chair, and this happens across all of sports, is that if there's a selection committee, they typically come from a school,

they're supposed to excuse themselves when it comes to these conversations. But the truth is like anybody in this space, Dan called this a little bit ago. We had Tom Kreen on our show just the other day before the UNC Duke game. And he basically said, like if UNC fights a little bit and tries hard,

if all things are equal, they're always going to go with a blue blood. And that's because of ratings, right? Like they're always going to go with a blue blood team, like a UNC with the hopes that they'll face a Duke and that would be a ratings bonanza. Do I think that UNC was deserving based on their resume? Not really. I think they're one in 12 and quad one wins. Nobody even knows what the fat actually means. But, but like, like, whenever politicians do this, it's so annoying to me because you don't care. You don't actually care. You're just trying to rally up your base, curry a little bit of favor, but you don't care. And

there are certainly more important things in the state of West Virginia that need to be addressed. Well, but somebody who does care about her seeding is USC coach, Lindsay, Lindsay Gottlieb, who says, I never thought I'd be at one seat and feel disrespected, but I thought the committee, I thought there would be very little chance that we'd be the number four overall number one. You agree with that, yes? Yes, yeah.

When we saw this bracket, I was like, ooh. We talked to the committee after we got the bracket. We get the bracket right before the show airs because we do have to build graphics and things like that. Spoiler alert to the folks at home, we don't learn in real time. So we get a chance to just debrief with them before the show and they claim that they don't look

at those kinds of things, potential rematches from a year ago, they don't look at, you know, what would be, we we feel and as TV people robbing people of a potential Final Four matchup between two of the faces in the league in Yukon and USC. But yeah, she's looking at her bracket and she's going, we earned a one seed and you make us have the toughest path because to get to the Final Four, we potentially have to go through Yukon, a team that by the, ended their season last year when they were a one seed in the Elite Eight,

and a team that they already had to face this year. And the thing about Juju Watkins is, she is incredible and otherworldly. She's also one of those players that the more you play her, the more you sort of figure out a way to defend her. And so if I'm Lindsay, I'm absolutely upset. I know Dawn Staley was upset as well. She felt like they earned the right to be the number one overall seed. The thing that kills me with the committee is, is that sometimes it feels like they judge people

by some criteria and then they don't judge them by the other. For example, Texas. We talked to them specifically about Texas, who got absolutely boat raced in the SEC championship, who barely beat LSU in the semifinals, an LSU team that didn't have Anissa Morrow or Flage Johnson, which is like 45 points for them. And they didn't end the season particularly strong. She brought up UConn, beating the brakes off of South Carolina

as the reason that they didn't jump to that number one overall seed, but nobody finished the season out stronger than South Carolina. Notre Dame finished the season out stronger than South Carolina. Notre Dame finished the season out incredibly poor and they were punished by being on the three line, but they sort of just ignored Texas. So, you know, the criteria doesn't really tend

to make a lot of sense to me, but I think that, yeah, Lindsay's upset because she sees what awaits her and that's trying to get through another one of the best guards in the country to get to the Elite Eight. Well, do you agree with me, Elle, because when I hear what she said, I think that's an odd attitude for a coach.

I think most coaches would say, I don't worry about who we're playing, bring it on, bring them on, we're gonna beat whoever's in our path, or something to that effect, as opposed to complaining about, oh, we got a tougher road. I hear you, Chris. There we go. I had to get you back. I'm sorry. I hear you, Greg. I think, you know, they put these microphones in the face of these coaches very quickly. I also think that she's trying to send a message to the committee. She did say a few times in that clip, like, I don't know how my team feels. I'm sure they just feel excited. We're hosting games. We got a big game, a big game coming up with UNC Greensboro to start the tournament.

But I think she's just sort of expressing her frustration for feeling like, and here's my thing. We are still at a place like the numbers are growing and we know that the games never had more attention, but we are still at a place where the committee should be keeping in mind potential matchups and what that means for ratings. And I think like it would have been nothing you guys to swap Texas and USC. Nobody would have thought twice about it because yes, while UCLA ended up getting the best of them in the Big Ten tournament,

USC had beat them twice previously, handedly, right? And so it would have made total sense to swap those two. And then not only do you not have to deal with a USC-UConn matchup in the Elite Eight, but you also avoid, if everything goes chalk, you also avoid potentially having a Final Four matchup with two Big Ten rivals that will be facing each other for the fourth fricking time,

and two SEC rivals that will be facing each other for the fourth time. time, and two SEC rivals that will be facing each other for the fourth time. And as Rebecca Lobo said, that's not beautiful basketball. When you face a team four times in one year, it just doesn't typically lead to a great competition that's high scoring, this beautiful basketball that we hope to see that helps expand and grow the game. I feel like the committee could have taken that

into consideration. We said the same thing last year when we saw Iowa LSU would be in a lead eight matchup and not a potential final four matchup. It worked out in the end and we got UConn and Iowa. We got two of the biggest faces in the game playing each other. The ratings reflected it, as did the finals. But it just would have been nothing to swap those two. And I don't, I agree with her. I don't know.

I agree with you on the potential rematches in the final four. If all the one seeds make it, I think that that is annoying. And to think for them to be like, well, we're not paying attention to that. But then they have TCU and Louisville in the same little section with Haley Van Lith for the second year in a row potentially playing her old school. I'm like, you are paying attention a little bit though, right? Like I feel like I'm being gaslit a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. Like there's there. Yeah. You attention a little bit though, right? Like I feel like I'm being gaslit a little bit.

Yeah, yeah. Like there's, there, yeah, you build a little bit of that. And maybe you could say on one side that the committee says, well, we need these elite eight games to also have high ratings, right? If you look at the bigger picture. So that is going to be a ratings bonanza USC and Yukon. But yeah, that's my point is that I don't really know. I'm with Lindsay Gottlieb and that like, I would just love to just sit down

and figure out what exactly, they have to follow an S-curve. There's things like that. There's a whole lot of other things that they have to do. They can't have conference opponents meet each other too early. I get that they're dealing with a lot of metrics and it's not an exact science, but it just feels like it would be very easy

to manipulate these just a little bit to the point where like no one would know. It could be their secret. They could keep it to themselves, but ultimately we would get the matchups that we deserve. Let's play a game of Douche or No Douche with L. Duncan here. Give me my imaging.

I haven't heard it for a while. Uh. And now it's time to play Douche or No Douche. Here's your host, Douche Lebatard. Person who takes their dog to the grocery store, douche or no douche? Douche. Disgusting.

I don't want your, I don't want your dirty dog around food. Yeah. No. Why? Gross. And I know you're going to cook most of it, but like, no, especially the ones that like put them in a carrier,

so they have even closer proximity to the produce. Why? Do you need emotional support in the grocery store? Do you? Person who insists on talking to you about their fantasy team, douche or no douche? I don't play fantasy football, but I have one million friends,

and my husband's friends always try to talk to me about fantasy football. Here's what I'll say. The douchey ones are the ones that pretend like they just want to have a chat with you, but really they're trying to get intel for fantasy or for betting. Person who honks at you because you're texting

at the stoplight, douche or no douche? No douche, that's me. Go. Why do I, you're holding me up because you're distracted? No, I'm very impatient in the car, you need to fucking drive. A sideline reporter who finishes his sideline interview and then does this while walking away,

pumping a fist because he's pleased with himself. Douche or no douche? Nailed it, No douche. Thank you, Elle. It's me. Thank you for calling me not a douche. I was nervous. We've all been there,

and when we feel like we nailed something, we're like, let's go. I'll give a little subtle let's go. There we go. I reported the news. A subtle let's go. Elle, it is nice seeing you. We look forward as we always do to your coverage good talking to you Thanks for having me. Please have me anytime and hey Jess. Hey girl. Hey, thanks Tony. Thanks Tony

Yeah, okay