The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Tony's Exclusive Interview With Larry the Cable Guy | Hour 2

Episode Date: October 7, 2026

"No, those are milk duds." Tony couldn't be more excited to have Tow Mater back with us as our Celebrity Prognosticator, and he's got some hard-hitting questions. Also, for whatever reason, Greg C...ote has a real issue with dudes named Ben. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 There is nothing casual about football season. You can tell yourself, you're just going to watch one game, and six hours later, you're emotionally invested in a fourth quarter between two teams you don't even care about. That's what I love about this time of year. The entire weekend becomes football. Your texting friends, tracking games, second-guess and coaches, convincing yourself you saw something before everybody else did. And then Monday comes around and you get to do the whole thing again.
Starting point is 00:00:28 Those are the weekends you remember. And for me, some of the best ones have usually involved some good people, a great game, and a cold Miller Light. No matter what triumphs are in store this season, legendary game days start with Miller Light. Cold, crisp, refreshing, that clean finish. And it's part of plenty of memorable football weekends. Make Game Day legendary. Go to MillerLight.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Game time is Miller Time.
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Starting point is 00:01:59 All right, it's time for a puck luck is presented by Draft King Sports. The crown is yours. Avalanche at Jets tonight, a surprising start for the Jets with Alconnor Hellebuck. And part of it is thanks to Kyle O'Connor having a good start to his season, having three goals and two assists. I have him getting a point tonight, so get him at a half point. All is at Ducks tonight. Take a look at shots on goal for Leon Drysidal. In the first three games of the season, he is averaging five shots a game.
Starting point is 00:02:22 Take him at three and a half shots on goal tonight. And Penguins at Capitals is the first of four matchups, four final matchups between Sidney Crosby and Alexander. Oveskin get them having at least one point tonight. Each, each. Each. A half point. These picks are at plus 750. Good puck luck, everybody.
Starting point is 00:02:41 Yeah, I love some good puck luck. All right, I had to kick Dan out of the studio because I don't think he did the respect that this legend deserves last week, who also went 5'0 in Celebrity Prognosticator. Larry, the cable guy, or more so, as I call him, Tomator. Larry, I want to bring you in here. I am a massive Cars fan. My daughter's two years old, and she loves the. cars franchise. Can I talk to you about each and every cars, uh, movie?
Starting point is 00:03:09 Oh. No, no. We're in the tornado and the trailer. There we go. All right, Larry, can you explain to the people that are listening? You got me? I got you. I got you, tow.
Starting point is 00:03:21 Listen, I want to know why Cars 2 is the greatest movie of all time. Oh, my God. Cars 2 is the greatest movie of all time because, uh, major than the whole. the whole movie. Now, people don't realize... You got me? Yeah, so here's the issue. Larry is right now driving in an RV across the country.
Starting point is 00:03:48 He's in the middle of nowhere. So, Mater, I want to tell you this. All right, Cars 2. What people don't realize is that Cars 1 is about Lightning McQueen. Cars 3 is about Lightning McQueen and Cruz Ramirez. Number 2 is all about how Toh Mader goes on a secret mission, becomes a spy, and he has no idea that he's a spy. When you heard the plots of the movie, where you're like, okay, I'm into this.
Starting point is 00:04:09 Sure. We were actually, I heard about that when we finished the premiere of the first movie at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. We all went out afterwards. I said with John Lassen and he goes, hey, I got an idea. How about if Mayder, they went to a race in Japan and Mayder went with McQueen and all of a sudden they thought he was like this undercover spy. So while the race is going on, Bader's deal. with saving the world. And I'm like, yeah, Cars 2 with Maiter.
Starting point is 00:04:42 I'm in. Let's do it. That's how it happened. That was pretty much it. It was kind of conceived right there after we got done filming the first one. So I'm all about it. Let's keep cars five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Let's keep doing it. It's your most profitable thing, right?
Starting point is 00:04:59 The Cars, the Cars franchise. Time! Larry, the Cable Guy. No, it is time for a celebrity prognostic. Let's win some money. That's right. Larry the cable guy hosts the new comedy series American Mayhem just came out on September 19th. He is our celebrity prognosticator.
Starting point is 00:05:17 Larry went 5 and 0 last week. Yeah. That's the best you can possibly do. Five and O. Our celebrities are a combined 15 and 5 on this season. We crushed Colin Coward, who is just 12, 7, and 1 on the year. You ready, Larry, to pick these games? Absolutely. Let's do. I got a quit winning, man. I got stuff to do.
Starting point is 00:05:41 All right. Let's go. Bengals at Dolphins. The Dolphins are a seven-point home dog. What do you like, Larry? I'm going with the Bengals this week. I went with the Dolphins last week. I'm going to go to Bengals this week. All right. The Bears are at the Packers. The Packers are a three-point home dog. Yeah, you know what? My wife is from Wisconsin. Brett Farb was a buddy of mine, all my family on her side from Wisconsin. So I'm going to have to go. I'm sorry, I got to go with the bear.
Starting point is 00:06:16 You said Brett Farb was a buddy of yours. Is he no longer a buddy of yours? No, no, he still is. I just haven't touched on. I love him. I'm going with the bear. I'm going with the bed. All right, you got to check in.
Starting point is 00:06:27 Don't let too much time go by. 49ers at Seahawks. The Seahawks are a two-and-a-half-point favorite. I'm going with 49ers. The Ravens are at the Falcons. The Falcons are a three and a half point favorite. I'm going with the Ravens. And finally, looking for another five and a week, the Raiders, Larry the cable guy, huge Raider fan.
Starting point is 00:06:53 Raiders are at the Patriots. The Patriots are a three and a half point favorite. I'm not going against them. I'm going with the Raiders. Yes, look at that. Tony, that's how you do it. Do what? And then Larry the King's.
Starting point is 00:07:08 table guy talks back. That's how that works. Larry's in the middle of Utah and a mountain somewhere. Larry, thank you. I hope you go 5 and 0 again, even though you don't want to go 5 and 0. You might dump those games because you don't want to talk to us anymore. I don't want to talk to him, but it's like I'm always doing something. I wish I had better reception, but I'm in
Starting point is 00:07:26 new Mexico. All right, it's good talking to you. How long do you go before you spit? Because that's a lot of chao in your lip. Yeah. No, those are a mountain gods. Okay. Very good. Thank you, Larry.
Starting point is 00:07:40 I'm on a health kick. Thank you, sir. Good talking to you. Mike Ryan, you were just hugging, Tony. 15 and 5 is pretty good. That's pretty crazy. Greg's been picking games for 36 years, and I don't know if he's ever started a season 15 and 5 against the spread.
Starting point is 00:07:59 I don't know that I have. No, that's tough. Anything above 500 picking every game is tough. Coward is not bad. I mean, his record's pretty good, but 15 and 5 is out of this one. No, I want to address what needs to be addressed. Tony, how are you feeling about that performance?
Starting point is 00:08:13 I feel fine. The reception was tough. He was receptive to my question. And he actually gave a great story. Charlotte Motor Speedway. They came up with the idea after a couple beers. That's a good story. I don't think that's ever been told before.
Starting point is 00:08:24 At around eight seconds of silence, were you feeling it? No. I saw you guys starting to freak out in the back. We were saying, talk. Well, yeah, when it was completely silent, what was going through it? We were just like, this is good right now? It was just clear he was frozen. And so it required some filibuster from you.
Starting point is 00:08:39 But you stop talking. No, if we replay that, there was actually a sound that I heard that I was like, oh, he's coming back. Wait a second. And then I stopped. And then he stopped. And then I heard Roy from the other room. No, I think we should clip it. Let's clip it and replay it.
Starting point is 00:08:50 I'm telling you, I know what I heard. Okay. But we know what we heard and you're outnumbered. Silence is gold. What else is new? So let's move on to other subjects here. And let's not try to get lost on the fact that our celebrities are 15 and 5 picking games. We've had two, five and oh weeks, even though there's not a good.
Starting point is 00:09:09 great deal of elaboration, even though many of the picks are, well, my wife's got from there, you know, it doesn't have a lot of analysis in it, but it's as good as any. Brett Farm and the Bears. Yes, right. He likes Brett Farm and he then picked against them. Yes. So we do have... You're still friends
Starting point is 00:09:25 with him, right? Yeah, what's a matter? Check in. Really important follow-up. Packers Bears is this weekend, and it is funny to see some of what is happening around Ben Johnson, one of the coaches in the league, who doesn't mind being a little bit arrogant here.
Starting point is 00:09:43 I'm curious whether you guys are ready to start a segment that is pitiful performance of the week. And when I say pitiful, I mean full of pity, okay? Because there have been a couple of times that we have played. All of these involve the bears for some reason, the interactions after games. Two of them involve Caleb Williams. So let's begin with C.J. Stroud. start with C.J. Stroud after beating Caleb Williams the way that he pitied Caleb Williams with small talk.
Starting point is 00:10:18 Yeah. Keep going. Stop taking those hits. Yeah, I know. Hey. Learn from, look, come me. Learn from those mistakes and everything that you got, bro, is in you already, bro. You're going to be a hell of a player in his lead.
Starting point is 00:10:29 All right, boy. Appreciate it. For sure. And sitting there, you can see Caleb Williams like, okay, buddy. Yeah, please stop talking at the side of my face. He told that man to come here. That's right. And then Caleb Williams.
Starting point is 00:10:39 though, did this to Canales, the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, after scoring 59 points on him. After scoring 59 points, this is what he has to say. All right, great defense, man. Good luck, you guys. So I was a wereworth hole, though. Great defense. Insulting. Great defense.
Starting point is 00:11:04 She'll punched him out. Great defense. You're mocking me? And now, Dan, now, they're not. This one is from this week that we're about to play. This is the best one yet. This is Ben Johnson, who used to coach with Aaron Glenn in Detroit. So they are, there is a relationship here.
Starting point is 00:11:18 But the way he, like, there's a pat in the back of the head or back here. Just listen to what he says here. I love you. I love you guys. You guys are close. Thank you. You guys are close. Ben Johnson.
Starting point is 00:11:31 You guys are close. What has Ben Johnson ever won? Well, wait a minute. Nothing yet. Nothing yet, exactly. But neither is Aaron Glenn. Right. That's for sure, but that's a little superior, though, for somebody who hasn't won anything.
Starting point is 00:11:43 I would say that Ben Johnson is in the same spot that C.J. Shroud was, where it's like, okay, you're having a little success here, but you're not at the point where we're patting people on the back and saying, you're close. Hey, Aaron, Glenn, you're close. Rough look. The Bears three-point favorites on the road in Green Bay without their starting quarterback is a really large indictment of how the Packers are playing football. Now, I told you before the season started, they were going to have a lot of trouble. their first four games because of the people that they had out and some of the issues that they have without Micah Parsons. But when we talk about Ben Johnson, I believe that his arrogance is
Starting point is 00:12:21 earned and I always like that in sports. I like when someone who has an earned arrogance doesn't conceal it in the name of false humility. And I especially like it from coaches who don't give it to you very often. So in that particular game, the context that's required of the back and forth with Aaron Glenn when he says Aaron Glenn is close. They had almost 400 more yards than the Jets in that game. I don't believe they punted. I believe they had more first downs than the Jets had plays. Like, close to what?
Starting point is 00:12:53 Close. Because that game was one of the only games in the last two weeks in the NFL that wasn't any kind of close. The Jets were entirely incompetent on offense, and Gino Smith is not a futuristic answer. Like, Gino Smith might be a Band-Aid for now that's better than the quarter- that you had last year, but he doesn't promise you any kind of future. The Jets don't have any better of a future than the Steelers have with Aaron Rogers at 47 years old or whatever age Aaron Rogers is.
Starting point is 00:13:22 Like, they're close in what world, close to what? Jets are not bad. They've been better than what we thought they were going to be. They be at the beginning of the season. The offense looks decent. The defense is a little bit better. They're close to being a team that could be close. I think if you're a losing coach at any level in any sport, the last thing you want to hear is,
Starting point is 00:13:39 condescending flatterings. You can't close over that. You can't close to being close. They're close to being close. They're close to being close. Greg was just waiting for his time to talk and just skipped right over the great analysis of the Jets close to being close to being close. I think they're close to that. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Starting point is 00:13:59 But I don't think they're close to being close. I think they're close to being close to being close. They're around a corner from being down the street. That's funny you say that because in useless sound this week, Aaron Glenn had the sound. need to be opportunistic when we get the opportunity. He didn't say they're close to being close. He said they're close to being a team that could be close. So that's close to what you were saying.
Starting point is 00:14:18 Exactly. We're in the same kind of street. I'm just one blog by. AI isn't something that's coming five or ten years from now. Businesses are already using it every day and it's changing everything from the questions they ask to the decisions they make and even the routine work people don't have time for. That's the idea behind NetSuite Next. The next generation of the business management suite trusted by over 44,000 companies
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Starting point is 00:15:27 Going for two when you're up by five. Switching the zone when man isn't working. Oh, and building your new stadium in the state your team actually plays in. In sports, some things just make sense. You know what else makes sense? Drinking Yeagermeister shots. Ice cold.
Starting point is 00:15:44 Drinking it any other way would be like, punting on first down, or letting your worst hitter bat first, or like going for two when you're down three with a second to go. It wouldn't make any sense. So don't let the team down. When it comes to Yeagermeister, drink it cold, or don't drink it at all!
Starting point is 00:16:01 Yeagermeister, damn that's cold. Drink responsibly. Yeagermeister lique, 35% alcohol. alcohol by volume imported by Master Yagermeister U.S. White Plains, New York. Dan Levitar! I want to address Tony and all men who would wear that shirt in public. Great Cody! Don't do it. This is the Dan Levitar show. I believe you're in a capsized boat in the lake near the street to wear clothes it is. Me halfway?
Starting point is 00:16:34 Here's a dolphin's boat. Are you bored? Are you speaking into the thermos instead of a microphone? No, I murmured. Thank you. intentional murmur. I wanted it to be an aside rather than a real statement. Catchphrases. The Greg Cody Show.com slash geocity slash angel fire. I know how to get him back involved.
Starting point is 00:16:55 Me Maximum, let's get the sound from the Greg Cody show featuring Greg Cody with Uncle Dick who gave his dirty dozen phrases that were stolen by Greg Cody and had only 10 of them. There was a burp sweet in the wild. to paraphrase and explain to you what happens. And this happens all the time on the Greg Cody show featuring Greg Cody podcast, where there are burps caught in the wild while they're, you know, Greg's not paying attention or not thinking that he's taping, but they like catching these burps in the wild. So you can now hear for yourself the way that Greg finishes some of his burps with a word. Which word from the burps suite in the top 10 of his catchphrases are we going to? I don't remember. Let's play it. That's a nice way of saying stolen. Yeah, I mean, I figured. By the context clues I gathered.
Starting point is 00:17:48 Sack. Can you, I don't care if you have them, right? Okay. Was that from the burp sweep? Yeah, we just got a sack in the wild. I'm sorry. On the screen, there were four different references to the Greg Cody show. So many.
Starting point is 00:18:06 How many times? And you have his microphone, too? Oh, there's five. No, there's six, the substack. I forgot. There's six different Greg Cody references on the screen at this one time. And really nice of Zaz to join the show in the lower right-hand corner. I thought Uncle Dick had hair.
Starting point is 00:18:30 Let me play for the people here. The Lane Johnson stats, I promised, early in the show. And we will get to this Bram Stoker recreat. here at some point that will be inopportune and inappropriate. Stat of the day. This year start of the day. Start of the day, start of the day, start of the day, this year start of the day,
Starting point is 00:19:00 start of the day, this year start of the day. Some of these stats are similar, but I'm going to give you four different Lane Johnson stats that would illustrate to you why he is the best right tackle to ever play the game when those things can be hard to measure. When he plays, the Eagles were 122, 63, and 1. So they won three quarters of their games when he played. When he didn't play, they were 18 and 30.
Starting point is 00:19:37 When he played, they had the third best EPA expected points added. When he didn't play, they had the 28th EPA. He went 558 pass blocks without a quick pressure. It's 210 better than any other player who's blocking people. And I don't know whether this is my favorite or not, but it's pretty damn good, okay, because in five of the last seven years, he didn't allow a sack at all. But the idea that he only allowed four sacks in 2485 pass blocking snaps is nuts. The idea that he had 558 pass blocks without a.
Starting point is 00:20:21 quick pressure. Like, think about what we're talking about there. It was 210 better than any other offensive tackle. And yesterday, he retires abruptly, surprisingly, and says flatly, it's to concentrate on my mental health. Says he wants to spend time with his kids. His kids are growing up too fast. And I really do wonder how much physical pain he has to be in and how much emotional turmoil he has to be in to push against all of the pressures that make you, uh, want to be out there for your teammates, gutting out one final season, and just saying in the middle of the season,
Starting point is 00:20:57 when they're falling apart and their offense is at its very worst in the last 25 years, I do wonder how hard it had to be to make the decision. You know what? I really need to get away from this. It's making me crazy. That's what it is, because you can't, like, I don't think you could say that he felt this way, or wasn't thinking this way at all four games ago.
Starting point is 00:21:21 like before the season started. He must have had thoughts about this, and it shows you how difficult it is for him where three games into the season. Like, I tried, I can't do it. I have to quit. It was a couple of years ago where he missed several games
Starting point is 00:21:35 because he was going through withdrawal from antidepressant. So this has been a known thing around Lane Johnson. He's been in physical pain. He's been in mental anguish, and even in his statement, touches on that. So yes, it's certainly worth,
Starting point is 00:21:51 wondering about, but also we know that it is a thing with Lane. But for it to happen during the season, a quarter into the season, it piled up on him, obviously. I mean, it was just a weight he could no longer carry. And I give him all the credit in the world for not going through the motions for the rest of the season just for the team. I mean, you've got to look for your mental health first and your family first. Well, you say that. Physical health, too. They're connected. Your mental health can be affected by not being there for your teammates, not being right by being in actual pain. I want to, though, sort of explore with you guys the idea of this because of the difficulties in making the decision. Among the things that he said is you can't do this if your heart's not in it.
Starting point is 00:22:36 He's been thinking for a while that this would be his last season. And when you start stacking the physical and emotional pain on top of each other, you have a very tough man, okay? And I say this is not any kind of indictment. I just say it as the difficulties involved with making this kind of decision. You have a very tough man by definition quitting in a sport that doesn't really allow that. Like you get dragged out on your shield, you get the uniform torn off of you. If this man, by any definition, the toughest among us does not have the physical and mental wherewithal to not quit because things hurt so much that he just has to take care of himself. I cannot imagine the amount of suffering that he's actually in in order to make the choice.
Starting point is 00:23:33 Never mind about the money in that locker room, in that huddle, where he's needed and admired, where he's important to those guys who can't play offense well without him. The choice to quit and to end, you could call it retirement, you can call it, taking care of your family, taking care of your mental health, he has to quit because it hurts so much. I don't offer an indictment there. I just can't imagine how much pain he is in in order to make that decision. That's what I'm saying. He must have considered this before the season started.
Starting point is 00:24:05 And it must have been so bad the first few weeks that he's actually quitting. Yeah, and some of it might be guilt feelings attached to all this too because he knows that from a team standpoint, it would have been much better for the Eagles had he made this decision over the summer or even five weeks ago. But he had to make it when it was in his heart to do it. Or he became a ghost. Greg, when you say that Ben Johnson has not earned much of his arrogance, the bears are favored at Lambeau Field with their backup quarterback. and it's the first time the bears have been favored at Lambo in 20 years. And it's with their backup quarterback because he's changed everything. And because whether it's Case Keenum or...
Starting point is 00:24:49 Also, the Packers suck. Let's take it easy. Well, no, but yeah. It's Ben Johnson guy. I don't like him. Take a shirt off. Look at a little look at me. Do something, right? Do something.
Starting point is 00:24:57 The one handshake we need to be watching for this weekend is Ben Johnson versus Matt LaFleur because of the fact that they've never met, but Ben Johnson secretly hates him. and that's why he took the Chicago job to stick it to Matt LaFleur over in Green Bay, even though they've never met. So if the Bears go up and win, that's going to be a nice one. The Packers win or the Bears lose. Bears lose. Put it on the poll. Is Ben a stupid name? Tony, you said secretly hates Matt LaFleur.
Starting point is 00:25:28 I don't think it's secret. No, no. No, no, no secret. There's no secret. It was secret at one point. Do you know what secret means? Relax, Strickland. Okay, I feel you're going to call me a slacker in a second.
Starting point is 00:25:37 Brickland. Wow, man. How do you feel about all that silence with your boy? I felt fine. See, I'm okay with silence. You guys freaking out about silence. You've been your whole life to talk to him. You got another to say.
Starting point is 00:25:47 First off, relax. Relax. Greg, what's your problem with Ben Johnson? He's interesting. He's arrogant. He's fun. He's got a great offense. He's got the best quarterback that the Bears have ever had.
Starting point is 00:26:02 And he hasn't done jack shit. The best offense that the Bears have ever had. And he wants to have the best offense. in the history of the league. My only problem is, I'm looking at the macro when I say he hasn't done anything. You have to, like, win the playoffs. You have to, like, be a consistent playoff team that consistently wins that division. Uh-huh.
Starting point is 00:26:24 And do so inside of two years. Well, he hasn't yet. I'm a macro man. That's all I'm saying. He made it to the playoffs last year and lost by three points to the Rams. That's right. That's right. That's right.
Starting point is 00:26:33 So he has to win in the playoffs. I mean, that's all I'm saying. Okay. been there one time and he got a home game as a Bears team that had Caleb Williams and a lot of people were doubted. If you think he's earned the right to be arrogant with another coach and condescending after a game, that's your opinion. How weird of a feud is this? Did he us know how much I hated Ben Johnson? It's a weird thing.
Starting point is 00:27:01 Greg, is there any disputing that he made the Lions more relevant than his thing? Jeff Halfley, I like. And in your entire lifetime, like, he made the Lions. Ben Johnson made Dan Campbell into something that he's not. It's a genius. No, I don't like Dan Campbell either. Yeah, he was a good offensive coordinator. And now he's a promising head coach, but he's not a proven head coach.
Starting point is 00:27:22 The entire NFC North. Let him win, let him win something appreciable. It's not proven? You don't think Ben Johnson is proven yet? Not as head coach. Is he? Is he? They won a playoff game last year against the Packers and then a loss to the Rams,
Starting point is 00:27:39 who was probably the best team. The Packers coach is a dip shot. If you think Ben Johnson is a proven NFL head coach, we'll respectfully disagree. Tony, you know that moment at a party or at a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks. I know it well. It's usually when I show up. Everybody goes crazy. Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it.
Starting point is 00:27:57 But it's because Tony usually walks in with Quervo. Walking like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quervo is a thing that turns hanging out in. to this is the night. It has that effect on people. It does. You usually take the credit for it, but again, it's the Cuervo effect. It's like that
Starting point is 00:28:13 moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hooting and hollering. Keep it quervo. Keep it quervo, baby. Ah, folks, listen up. You wouldn't want an offense alignment to play wide receiver, would you? No, you wouldn't. You need the right person. You need the right equipment for the
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Starting point is 00:29:05 and CVS. Dan Levitar. And you do eat butt all the time, correct? Great Cody. Oh, yeah. I just had some, a couple of weeks ago. This is the Dan Levitar show. All right, let's do this another way.
Starting point is 00:29:26 If I were to offer everyone in the league, Ben Johnson, how many teams are saying, no, thank you? I don't want Ben Johnson. I don't want to replace my head coach with Ben Johnson. Is it four? Not here to take a quiz. Hell no. It's at least half of the teams.
Starting point is 00:29:40 No way. Half the teams, Greg. Cook, I'm going to make sense of all of this. Greg, what are you talking about? And speak into the microphone, please. I am speaking into the microphone. You might be cornered. Dolphins take them tomorrow, Greg.
Starting point is 00:29:54 Oh, really? They're giving up on Hapley. Yes. They hire. You're crazy. They hired Hapley in January. And in October, he's gone because Ben Johnson.
Starting point is 00:30:07 They're giving up on it. One thousand percent they make that trip. I'm the idiot. I mean, I am going to lose if he doesn't give me a half. I went to the bottom of the barrel. There was nobody lower it I could have gone to. He's a first-year coach. In the history of football, a first-year coach has not been fired after four games, to my knowledge.
Starting point is 00:30:29 This is from Ben Solac. There is nobody from the moment he picked up the headset who has consistently stayed at the level of Sean and Kyle, the true upper echelon, then Ben Johnson. It's five guys. I'd sneak KOC in there and I'd also sneak Liam Cohen. Shopeenna has been to Super Bowl. You're not allowed to put Liam Cohen in there. I am. I absolutely am.
Starting point is 00:30:51 You're not allowed. I absolutely am. There's something there. There's something there. There's not some Ben Johnson there. There can be something there's a tinge of it. There's a tinge of it because he helped Baker to his career high. And all of a sudden, now he's changing Trevor Lawrence, Dan.
Starting point is 00:31:05 Don't be late on his dad. William Cohen is one playoff win away from being Ben Johnson. Yeah, he's close to being a coach that could be close. He's close. than the Jets are close to being close. A tinge. Thank you, Roy. I appreciate that accent of offering a tinge for me. I want to get into another story here, and I want to ask you guys who you're believing on something because LeBron is denying something that Mike Breen is reporting, and I want to get to this
Starting point is 00:31:33 story because Mike Breen doesn't do a whole lot of breaking news, but I think of Mike Breen, and I'm guessing you guys think of Mike Breen as the height of credible. Sure. When Mike Breen says something, I'm going on basketball, I'm going to believe that he's got it right. So listen to this sound. But I had somebody telling me before the game that they were out ready to practice. And an offensive foul. They were out ready to practice.
Starting point is 00:32:03 Joe Allen B. walked out on the court a couple of minutes late. And LeBron let him hear it. Yeah? I think it's super interesting. For one, I thought the biggest deterrent for LeBron to go to Philadelphia would have been Embed. Because this was something that was known to have taken place a couple summers ago at the Olympics, where LeBron got to see for the very first time firsthand Mbid's work ethic, and apparently regularly dressed him down based on his lack of work ethic.
Starting point is 00:32:34 And now their teammates, he's essentially hitched his wagon to that guy for an entire season and already we're starting with that. Where apparently, according to Mike Breen, Joel Embed is walking in late to practice and it gets even more interesting when I get it that it's
Starting point is 00:32:54 LeBron. He is the top guy in the NBA, okay? But there is still somewhat of a strange dynamic to me where you have Joel Embed who's been with the Sixers, what are we talking, a dozen years, like a dozen years, he's been the face of that franchise.
Starting point is 00:33:09 and LeBron's able to just dress you down in front of your team. LeBron's never played a game for the Sixers. Embed has been the face of the franchise for a dozen years, no matter what his work ethic is, no matter how much or how little he has actually won in Philadelphia, and LeBron is able to just do that to him in front of the whole team. That's interesting. Just so we know, LeBron denies it,
Starting point is 00:33:30 and Kellerman on Rich Paul's podcast or their podcast, he told Rich Paul that he's heard Joel Embed has a poor work ethic, and he questions if that can become a problem. with the Sixers, but LeBron denying it, who do you believe, Greg? Oh, I believe Mike Breen. I believe LeBron did that. Yeah, I got interrupted there. How do you like that, silence, boys? I don't know what just happened. I'm in the middle of a comment.
Starting point is 00:33:55 Quit. Believe it on Greg. LeBron is LeBron. He's his own individual franchise. I mean, he's a one-man franchise. If any player in the league can go into a brand new city and dress down the superstar on that team, it's LeBron. James. It doesn't surprise me that he did it. And I think it's justified that he did it based on everything we've known about Embed for his whole career, including that he's injured for half of his games. Shams from 2024, by the way, pointed out that Tyrese Maxie challenged Y'all and Bid to be on time to team activities. He called him out for being late to everything. So it's not new that people
Starting point is 00:34:38 know about it. It would be new that LeBron James is at the facility first every time and is bothered by it. But if you're LeBron James and you're denying it, is it because it's not true or is it because it looks better to not start that problem? The latter. Yeah, of course the latter. Like they haven't even played a regular game yet. And we're going to do the thing where Embed is a scapegoat and LeBron is trying to calm
Starting point is 00:35:08 that down. But hey, this is the eco-level. system that LeBron brings to your team. Like this is the kind of stuff where I'm reminded, you know what? Not so disappointed at the A&Sline with the Heat. But why would Mike Green lie like that? Not the kind of guy who's going to put his name on that kind of report if he doesn't know it to be true. And I just gave you some of the background on how it is that it could be true.
Starting point is 00:35:31 Before I get to setting up this conversation with Cory Booker that I think people are going to want to hear because it's going to be one of the few places where you're going to hear, I think. I don't know exactly what Corey Booker is going to say, but I think he's going to call BS on the preserve or protect college sports act. And so I wanted to get another voice on this that you're not hearing somehow in the mainstream media that has a dissenting opinion as you continue to get propaganda everywhere on how protected these players are. But before I do that, why is there an apple in front of you, Stanley Tucci, and why did I hear you say to Mike when he, brought in that apple. I'm not biting into an apple. Well, number one, it's a prop. When
Starting point is 00:36:16 you're doing a scene like I've been known to do, you want to be as authentic as possible. So there's an apple in this scene. We already watched that. And as far as me not wanting to bite into the apple,
Starting point is 00:36:32 I have, this is a fake tooth in front here. And so I'm afraid that I'll bite it and the tooth will all jacked up. Couldn't you do it on the side? You can't bite the apple a little bit on the side? Was he a horse? I mean, have an apple? I don't know. I guess I'll, I guess I can try. It's crazy. But I haven't been into an apple in years. You don't trust the tooth? No, because it gets stuck. I've heard that. You can't bite into an apple because the tooth, it'll stay into the skin of the apple.
Starting point is 00:37:00 It's a shoddy work. Funny visual. All right. Why do I want to risk that? All right. It would be a funny visual. No, it would not be funny. You had a lot of opinions about audiobooks. And he can't do the work. He doesn't want to look ridiculous. During the NBA finals, in Dallas, I walked around Dallas, Texas for a week
Starting point is 00:37:18 missing an entire front-tooth. That was in 2006. No, 2011. Oh, okay. Or five years later. I had no front-tooth the whole week, Dan. You were there. I don't know if you remember.
Starting point is 00:37:28 Are you alleging, as we talk about this, that it would not be funny after recreating a sensual scene with Greg Cody in which Greg Cody is seducing. you as a vampire if you lost your tooth biting an apple? Are you alleging that that would not be something that would be funny for our show? It'd be funny for all of you, but then I got to go to the dentist.
Starting point is 00:37:51 That's a pain in the ass, man. You should go to the dentist if you don't trust that tooth. I hate going to the dentist. Take one for the team. That's right. I want that tooth on that apple. I'm putting a bounty on it. I want that tooth.
Starting point is 00:38:00 You take one for the team. I want that tooth. If it comes out, I want it. You be horny with Greg Cody and take one for the team. That's right. By the way, congrats on that miracle recovery from your eyes. stye. He did have a stai yesterday.
Starting point is 00:38:16 He did. No, he didn't get him. It was a miracle recovery. I want to, though, before Cory Booker joins us and before we recreate this. So proud of himself. Look at him. It's such a stupid thing to say, so proud of himself. You were wearing a bandage. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. We got him again. Roasted. Before Cory Booker comes on with us here, I do want to point something out that I just, I don't believe that people are noticing enough, okay?
Starting point is 00:38:51 They got three minutes, bro. Could you ask Cory Booker to say one of my catchphrases on the Senate floor? Do you mind? Now that, please. Me Max moment. He's spoken into a thermos today. He got distracted by a stormy. stray sound and all he's
Starting point is 00:39:12 here for is to see how it is that we can place him in front of the masses more. Cory Booker, it's now your time. Punt. Very good. Me? You guys aren't going to let me get to
Starting point is 00:39:29 something that I think should be heard because, A, I don't think you're hearing it anywhere else and I think it's important that you do hear it. Are you talking about this scene from Dracula? No. I can make the argument that what is presently happening between college athletes and the pay structure that is about to be finagled by a whole bunch of people in power who would like it to feel a little more like it did 10 years ago. I could make the argument
Starting point is 00:40:02 that this is the most important sports labor issue in the history of sports. I can can assemble the argument that it affects 500,000 workers, okay? Like, it's 500,000 college athletes trying to divide this money, and you could make the argument that it's bigger than Kurt Flood or any of that stuff. I could also make the argument that at present, what you have in the NFL is a bit of a yellow union, that you have in Mahomes, somebody who's not as strong as Breeze and Brady and Jeff Saturday and Dominique Foxworth and Mike Vrable when
Starting point is 00:40:41 they were players. Brady and Breeze were writing op-eds. They were writing op-eds about workers' comp. They were supporting the Affordable Care Act. The players today aren't doing anything. Like the NFL
Starting point is 00:40:57 players today don't know what good union leadership looks like or how they're supposed to behave here. The fact that you have not heard from any of the NFL players on what might be the most important sports labor issue of our time and that it's been muted in ways that you don't hear from the Cory Bookers of the world? Like this stuff can't happen quietly.
Starting point is 00:41:21 It shouldn't happen quietly. And it can only happen quietly when the major network involved with all of this is in bed with protecting football and the television. Revenue streams. It's the only way it can happen, so we will discuss it with Cory Booker next, and we will also make Zaz lose a tooth biting an apple. Tony, you know that moment at a party or a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks. I know it well.
Starting point is 00:41:53 It's usually when I show up. Everybody goes crazy. Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Quervo. I'm walking like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night. It has that effect on people. It does.
Starting point is 00:42:08 You usually take the credit for it. But again, it's the Cuervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hooting and hollering. Keep it quervo. Keep it quervo, baby.

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