The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 1: Like Manu Going to Dania

Episode Date: February 23, 2024

Mike Ryan is a boomer, Chris Cote is still upset about football, the UFL is here, and A.J. McCarron is BACK. Then, Oddball's Amin and Charlotte are with Khaman Maluach in Indianapolis – an incredibl...e 7’2’’, 17-year-old prospect from South Sudan who is a growing success story for the NBA's Basketball Without Borders and the NBA Academy Africa. Khaman shares on Oddball how his experience has been as he's being recruited to play for the Kansas Jayhawks, Kentucky Wildcats, and Duke Blue Devils; his incredible development with the NBA Academy Africa leading him to be the youngest player to compete in the FIBA World Cup and how he's on his way to being a future NBA All-Star himself. Plus, a segment of Pablo Torre Finds Out featuring Pablo Torre, Katie Nolan, and Charlotte Wilder's Share and Tell on ENEMIES. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network. This is the Don Lebatore Show with the Stugatz Podcast. I don't know if I have this look right, because Chris Cody, I would say, is generally the most positive or the most generally consistently affable among us. You don't see Chris Cody having a whole lot of bad mood days. He's fairly consistent over the years, temperature-wise. But I see, I think, I think, I've known you since childhood, what looks like a sadness in your eyes, that you don't look exactly right to me.
Starting point is 00:00:46 You look a little despondent compared to where your mood generally is. Yeah, it's been harder to get out of bed in recent weeks, and I didn't know why until it hit me, football's gone. And I have a post football sadness, and I think we all have it. Maybe you haven't acknowledged it yet. I can see you have it, Tony, just by looking at it.
Starting point is 00:01:04 It's something that men don't talk about. They're not comfortable talking about the fact that their mood has been altered by the secret private depression they have. And I came up with something. I was like, it can be anyone who's struggling like me right now, we can all do this. Let's all make a goal.
Starting point is 00:01:19 I'm gonna do, let's all set out to do something. Maybe improve something in your life, eat a little better, spend more time with your family, and let's try to complete this goal by the start of football season. Like 190-some-odd days until football season. So it's all like right now? No, it's roughly 40. Not that I'm counting. The spring football is back, baby.
Starting point is 00:01:38 The UFL. It took the two biggest spring football leagues and combined them, and A.J. McCarron decided to come back to the battle Hawks. But real football is what we're talking about. That is real football. It's real good football. Let's talk about this for a second. Both your sadness and Mike Ryan, I heard that he listened to an 80-minute podcast
Starting point is 00:01:55 the other day about AJ McCarron. It was on YouTube. Choosing not to go back to the Cincinnati Bengals so he could go to the UFL's St. Louis Battle Hawks. Did you at least double speed it? No, you can't, it was on YouTube. And I wish that would. Boomer, you can do that.
Starting point is 00:02:08 You can do that? You can watch YouTube faster. Oh wow. Okay, cool, can you teach me? I can. You go with the playback speed? 80 minutes is a long time to watch. So you go to playback speed and you double it?
Starting point is 00:02:19 That's a relief. Because I spent 80 minutes waiting for A.J. McCarran to tell me whether or not he was coming back And I had to wait two more you could have been talking like this and then you could have got there a lot faster Really and that they do that on the mobile too. Yeah. Yeah Wow kick any YouTube film All right, Jeremy my two times beats pretty strong. I can do it pretty well. It was pretty good Thank you. I thought I think it'd be excellent if you tried to stay that punishment For one show you have to do double speed well What you can do as long as you want.
Starting point is 00:02:45 I just think to really think about what I'm gonna say. So I have something to say when I'm talking. Thank you. Do you think that you can do that without messing up? Because I already messed up. Yes, I know. I noticed that you're lacking confidence, but you came in very strong.
Starting point is 00:02:56 I also am enjoying it. I have to enjoy this. Mike Ryan being dismissed as boomer by Tony. And right now he's literally showing him. He's like, what you do is you push this button. But that should be the response instead of getting defensive like me and your dad would get about. That's all right.
Starting point is 00:03:10 I'm just like, I want to learn. Yeah, I want to learn. What do I do? I press the gear. It's not really cooperating. OK, playback speed. How about that? All right, can you guys speed up the sound of the sadness
Starting point is 00:03:23 in Chris Cody's voice as he talks about this post-foot football depression that he had? That is so much better. Thank you, Tony. Wow, I'm embarrassed, but I mean, I'm trying to get better and learn and not just say, oh, you know how that would land with other people. So God should be like, I forget it. Just, you know, just one speed.
Starting point is 00:03:45 That's great. Thank you for teaching me. It's really a game changer, Mike. You can watch many videos multiple speed. It hits every time. You don't have the confidence you need to have. Design is at four speed because people listen 2.0 speed. Now they're at four speed because he's doing 2.0. Mike, did I hear correctly that what you played
Starting point is 00:04:00 was sound from a show earlier this week in which I believe this, I don't believe we've talked enough about how disrespectful the controversy was that greg codi as ron mcgill talked about the great honor that it was to be inducted in the arbetters hall of fame a miami institution that greg codi couldn't stop laughing every single time it was mentioned that ron mcgill was truly flattered and honored and Greg Cody was mocking what was the honor of a lifetime.
Starting point is 00:04:27 Clearly mocking it. Laughing at it each time. Is that a new feature? The playback thing? They've had it for a couple years. They had a couple years? Wow, I've never seen anybody talking about this. I've never picked up on, I've never eavesdropped the conversation where someone's like, yeah,
Starting point is 00:04:40 I two and a half times speed it. I've just been out here like like just whistling in the wind. It could have been 40 minutes that you were listening to that AJ McCarron podcast. Yeah, just assume that there was no way. I never even thought to look. I would have thought that this advancement in technology I would have known about it.
Starting point is 00:04:56 I'm sure I'm gonna get dragged for it, but I'm not embarrassed, look guys, I'm trying to improve. Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I agree with my dad. It's an odd honor. Why is it an odd honor? Honor, it's just strange, man. It really is. You sounded a little like John Gruden. What I don't understand about all of this is why is there a USFL division and an XFL division, but the Houston gamblers are the Roughnecks, which is, as you know,
Starting point is 00:05:24 famously, the XFL-branded team. That's the part you don't understand. So if you have two divisions, do you have one? So, I mean, the season kicks off with Champion versus Champion, that's all cool, but you're supposed to have four and four. Supposed to have four USFL teams, four XFL teams. By the way, the tragic part in all of this is
Starting point is 00:05:42 teams went away. There's actually fewer opportunities, even though the spring football whole deal is presenting opportunities here, but for the league to survive, you had to actually reduce the number of opportunities there are over there. So you have a division for the USFL,
Starting point is 00:05:58 a division for the XFL, however, the XFL teams outnumber the USFL teams and you have the Houston Roughnecks in the USFL division where I would have thought the Houston gamblers, that is a proud tradition that they have. This is a franchise of Jim Kelly. Why would you opt for the Roughnecks over the gamblers? Dan, your thoughts.
Starting point is 00:06:17 I think Mike is overcompensating here. I think he is super sad that real football's gone and he is just totally faking all this just to make himself feel better about this. Oh, he's not faking it. No, at Levitarch Show, please put it on the poll. Do you question negatively the judgment of someone who listens to an 88, 80 minute podcast of AJ McCarron going to the St.
Starting point is 00:06:34 Louis battlehawk? And we know he's going to go back to the NFL when he's done. Like, there's no way to be like, nah, I'm good. No, this could be, this is the Astros release from the Bengals. It was, I mean, he got emotional last year, part of the heartstrings being pulled last year during the XFL season is he took this pay cut
Starting point is 00:06:51 because he wanted his children to see him play this position. They don't have memories of him doing it for Alabama. He's like, I got to show my kids that I can do this at a high level. It's actually really cool. And not only does he go to the battle hogs, but so does Brandon Silver. And now you're talking about an embarrassment of go to the battle hogs, but so does Brandon Silver's. And now you're talking about an
Starting point is 00:07:05 embarrassment of riches for the battle hogs who added job Pearson on the sea dragons. I got to be honest, Mike, I have not been in, but that AJ McCarran story actually may have just gotten me. That's pretty cool to think that there's a guy who, who's just like if Manu went to Dania, like what are we talking about here? These are two different leagues. This is not even I sawu went to Dania. Like what are we talking about here? These are two different leagues. This is not even close.
Starting point is 00:07:25 I saw AJ McCarron play at the highest level in college football and the idea that now, all these years later, he's trying to basically resurrect moments for his kids. Like for his kids to be able to see, hey, your dad can play. And like to have to share that, that's really special. If you watch the Spring Boulevard interview
Starting point is 00:07:43 with Maddie Fresh, AJ McCarron is actually taking this job, returning to the UFL. It's not just selfish on his part. He's trying to fight for the league. He revealed that he has sent several DMs to the rock that have gone unresponded. He left them on. He revealed that. Yeah. And he's, he revealed that the XFL players had to sign up for the USFL players union.
Starting point is 00:08:06 They're repped by the seal workers union and they don't think it's actually such a great thing. These people have only $1,000 stipends. I mean, there is something really heartwarming and something really relatable by all these athletes trying to make the decision to incur, in some respects, lose money over their day jobs to chase his stream and we're talking union efforts You really got me. It's like Manu going to Daniel. I mean if it would be like that. It's just a much lower level league. It's It's not like that and I go back I circle back around to the original sadness. You believe that there's a post Football you guys haven't felt it. I'm actually like not doing a bit here back around to the original sadness. You believe that there's a post football. You guys haven't felt it?
Starting point is 00:08:46 I'm actually like not doing a bit here. Like I woke up, like it's just been hard. You woke up sad because football's on. Maybe it's because of the industry we're working where it's just like, God, we were so excited and now we're like Vegas is done and we're just, now we're just thinking here, we're just like farting out.
Starting point is 00:08:59 You know what the number one? Farting out. No, I mean, it's just, I'm sad. I'd like that show better when it doesn't have football. Maybe it's not show really, it's just I miss football. Farting out. I miss, are we still gonna do Thursday Thunder? We are in a weird part of the calendar
Starting point is 00:09:12 because network television history was made this last week. Because the Daytona 500 got delayed a day, that allowed for a specific type of program to be the number one show on network television. This was the first time this happened in recorded history. Do you know what it was? The number one show on network television in this country last week because of the cancellation of the Daytona 500 and moving to the following week was Friday night Smackdown.
Starting point is 00:09:39 Wrestling was the number one network program on television last week, so it's slow. It's real slow and we need the battle Hawks to come back because that's the ratings. The ratings were almost here guys. Do not fret spring training baseball coming at you and seas. It is not that slow and I tend to like our show more when it has vastly less football in it. I don't like how much football has taken over our show. Nevermore so. I don't think than last year it's too much and it has vastly less football in it. I don't like how much football has taken over our show, never more so, I don't think, than last year. It's too much, and it's just because it's a commonplace
Starting point is 00:10:10 somehow where everybody is watching. And I don't think Chris is alone in having a sadness in his eyes about the intensity of snorting football. It's how it is that that keeps getting bigger and bigger. The gambling is part of it. There's something about gambling on football that seems to be more enjoyable
Starting point is 00:10:27 than gambling on the other sports. I don't know what's happening there. I really don't because I'm hitting a bet in any sports, pretty fucking awesome. But you were talking, you at least in part are enjoying that your Sundays, you clear out one day to gorge on the glutton. Oh, let's get nasty.
Starting point is 00:10:43 That is, well, you're the dirtiest. You're making an assortment of bets all over the place and hundreds of dollars are running up and down every field for you. You guys do the thing, right? Where it's like 8pm and you like smell your armpit and you're just like, yeah. Do, but with my inner thigh. Oh, the inner thigh? Yeah, I've been there.
Starting point is 00:11:00 Sick! That's so sick. Oh, shut up. Oh, shut up. It's like you never taught me. I'm not your son. I'm not your son. No, no, no.
Starting point is 00:11:08 It's the real test. It's the real test. It's when you need it. You're not putting your finger in your ass. Come on. Listen to me. We're not monsters. I am not.
Starting point is 00:11:16 I am not. Admit you've done it. I am not judging that you said it or that it happens. I am judging that you said it, or that it happens. I am judging that you said it out loud. That you would- Guys, I'm trying to get better here. This is a human experience. It's that seat, man.
Starting point is 00:11:33 You say crazy shit. No, it's not crazy shit. It's just, oh, yeah, yeah, no. I'm crazy for saying I occasionally put my finger on my inner thigh to see if I need to take a shower. I'll do it right now. I'll do it right now. I don't have to do it right now. I'm the only one that does it. No, nobody said you were the only one who did it a shower I'll do it right now it's a swampy region
Starting point is 00:11:55 it can't don't do it why are you guys doing it we don't need to see it relax guys there no you should you should not feel shame for this you should do it we just also shouldn't see it we shouldn't see it we shouldn't't see it. We shouldn't talk about it. Dear the mind, let's move the camera a little up and my handle just disappeared. Huh? Take that. No, but it's especially gross on a Sunday night after eight hours and oh yeah. And you still got the Sunday night game too.
Starting point is 00:12:20 You shouldn't say that out loud. You should keep that to yourself. Well come on. What's the result? You shouldn't say that out loud. You should keep that to yourself. Well, come on. What's the result? Hey, folks, it's Mike Ryan. Now, you've had the distinct privilege of knowing me for close 18 years, and you know that I've changed.
Starting point is 00:12:38 A lot of my personal life has changed. I've changed as a professional. I am a parent now. My level of involvement in my favorite college football program has also changed. But one thing that hasn't changed for me is my favorite beer. You know when it's real with me. I think you do anyways. And you know how much I love Miller Lite. I've loved it forever, really. It's my favorite beer of all time. And it made all the great moments in my life all that much better. And when Miller Lite came aboard on our show show I was super stoked
Starting point is 00:13:05 about it because I believed in the product because every time I take a sip of Miller Lite I look around and I think yeah this was the right call. Times change. People like me can change but you can always enjoy the great taste of Miller Lite. Tastes like Miller time. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door visit MillerLite.com slash Dan. We can try to find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 Outside with my mouth open wide If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops oh what a rain that would be
Starting point is 00:13:55 This is the Don Lebatar show with these two guys All right, we're here in Indianapolis and we got a very special guest He is the youngest player to ever compete in the FIBA World Cup, he was 16 years old. He's now the old age of 17 years old as he sits down with us. His name is Kaman Malwach. He is part of the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal and he's here part of the basketball without borders program. They've got a little game or tournament happening here
Starting point is 00:14:24 at All-Star weekend, which is a great kind of look to the future. So come on, thank you for joining us. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Come on, you just come in fresh off of a recruiting visit. Yes. You've been to Kansas and you've been to Kentucky so far.
Starting point is 00:14:39 And Duke. And Duke. Yes. What's that experience like? Because, you know, for high school players here, it's a big deal that, oh, I went on my campus visit to these great schools, great basketball programs. But you know, you're coming from the NBA Academy over in Dakar. Yes.
Starting point is 00:14:59 All of this must feel very new and very stimulating, right? Yes. It really feels new. Actually, the last two visits felt all right because I went on the first one. But it feels different, especially during the game time and then all the fans are there and then the crowd and then you see the guys play
Starting point is 00:15:19 and then you imagine yourself being on that court. It feels really different and the feeling is special. Did it make you, does it make you just want to be out there? Yes, like sometimes I'd be like what if I was just dressed up and then warming up with the team and play. What atmosphere felt the most exciting to you? I think all of them, that most of us, great started in Duke, in Cameroon and then then I went to Allen Field House, great fans and Big Blue Nation, it's like they all have great fans, like their fan base is really up there. How familiar are you with the different college programs before
Starting point is 00:15:55 coming over here? I didn't know much about that but I knew how college works, how they play, but I didn't know the culture in the schools because I've never visited in the school before, so I went and found out and checked up all those schools. You came here from NBA Academy in Africa what is the typical day there like for you what is that schedule like I feel like I don't think a lot of people know you know when you hear about it and it's like oh that's such a cool program but like what's the day-to-day for you? It It's fun, it's fun and people it's like a hard working day especially if you're not late like people have different schedules you have the time you work
Starting point is 00:16:32 out alone individual workout so basically me I work out at six so I've been in the gym like five thirty and then I lift at seven to eight and then we do a team practice and then everybody leaves the gym. We go get some breakfast, do school and then hang out together. We have like a cafeteria so we have a pool table, we have video games, we have TVs. We just hang out there and then have fun and then talk to each other, learn different cultures, different languages because all of us are from different places of Africa so we try to communicate and then maybe I'm trying to learn French too.
Starting point is 00:17:08 There you go, man. But French is a little bit hard. I'm telling you, man, every additional language you learn is going to come back 10 times down the road. You'll never know when it's like, oh, this came in handy. Yes. But that is wild when you think about it. You come to this academy and it's the best players from all over the continent.
Starting point is 00:17:30 Yes. Some of them speak French, some of them speak English, some of them... Portuguese. Portuguese if they come from Angola or Mozambique or one of those places. How do you guys communicate like that? At first, before anyone really knows kind of common words? It's I don't know how to feel it's it's a different like way of communicating. We might not speak the same language But when somebody says something you get it, no, he says it in his language
Starting point is 00:17:57 There's just a way you understand what he's trying to say and then you be like oh this and this and then Then they'll start learning English and And then we'll start learning that language too. You're the youngest player to ever play in the Feeble World Cup. And you, South Sudan, obviously, went far for a program that is fairly new and also not very well funded when you compare to the big powerhouse country. First of all, did you understand how big of a deal it was,
Starting point is 00:18:26 not only for you to be playing, but for the team to be playing that well? Yeah, like, when I looked at it more, I saw the bigger picture when I went back home, and then I saw what it did for the whole country. Everybody was waiting for us at the airport, everyone was happy, everyone was excited. It's like we have something, a sport in the country we support.
Starting point is 00:18:48 So it's like, that's when I saw the bigger picture of it and the Olympics is big deal. In Uganda, you were playing soccer before you played basketball. Can you tell people how you got into basketball, how you made that switch? Normally in Africa, everybody plays soccer. Everyone who is in Africa who plays basketball, they played soccer before that. But I started playing basketball when I went to watch a camp and then saw tall guys.
Starting point is 00:19:13 It's my first time seeing tall people, guys who are taller than me, barely find them. And then I was excited and I was like, I belong there and that's where I should start. Then the next time I just came on the court and started dribbling the ball and laying out. Now the fun part about playing for South Sudan
Starting point is 00:19:32 is that many of the players come from all across basically to scatter people, right? Yes. How cool was it to like meet other guys in different backgrounds, but kind of you all have a shared heritage. It was, we really had to bring it up together and like be on the same page at first,
Starting point is 00:19:52 because we have guys who don't speak the language, maybe guys from Australia who didn't grow up where we're from. So we had to teach them how our culture is. So that's why we spent like a month in the camp and then the company brought us together pretty good Where'd you guys do the camp? We did the camp in Australia and then we went from Australia to China and then China to Philippines That's so much travel. Did you have a favorite place that you visited?
Starting point is 00:20:16 I'm not among those ones, but I have a favorite place I visited that's in Rwanda and South Africa back in Africa Yeah, so you guys obviously after the World, you went back and you saw the reaction. What was that like for you? It was a good experience. The first time, I mean, nobody knew me because I wasn't on the team. But the second time, it was more exciting. My family was happy, my mother, all my siblings
Starting point is 00:20:40 were at the airport waiting for me. It's like the first person in the family to play on the national team. That's amazing. What does your family think about you coming over here and going on this incredible journey across the Midwest, looking at all these schools? Most of the guys in my family don't know much
Starting point is 00:20:57 about basketball, but they don't know how big it is to visit those schools like Kansas, Duke and all that stuff. So every time I try to explain to them, I'll be like, if you're in the basketball world, you'll know what these schools are, but because you're not there. The other thing is that they're also very good schools academically. Yes. So what are you looking for in, as you're trying to make this decision?
Starting point is 00:21:20 Yes. What are the things that are important to you? But first of all, the basketball part is the development, how I'm going to develop, how they're going to push me to develop in that player I want to be, and then how they'll help me go to the next step. I want to go somewhere where I will win too, because I want to play in the NCAA tournament, win a championship, and then be able to move to my next step, and I have a championship.
Starting point is 00:21:44 And I want to study school too, because when they offer you a scholarship, you can come back years later and finish your school and that's what I will do too. From a basketball standpoint, how do you want to develop? Like who are players that you've looked up to or you know were there guys that you would watch on YouTube when you were figuring all the basketball stuff out? When I started playing basketball, I saw videos of Yannis. That was like 2019. Yannis was in this prime. Back to back MVP defensive player.
Starting point is 00:22:12 I saw highlights of him and I was so excited. I'm like, I want to be this guy. I want to play like him. I watch a lot of big guys in the NBA. I watch other guys who play four between four and three. I watch Joel, I watch Yannis, KD. But to me, I'll turn into a player like Anthony Davis. He has my style of playing in B2. You've only been playing basketball for four years.
Starting point is 00:22:36 Yes. But your development is very apparent. Yes. What do you attribute that to? Why have you been able to develop so quickly? First of all is the work we do at the academy, is how they push us, how they develop us in two pros. Because all we do at the academy is what the NBA players do. We shoot from the NBA line, we use NBA courts and everything. So they develop me that way and I put in the work too. I stayed consistent with the work.
Starting point is 00:23:05 I work every day. I make sure I work on my game, whether it's a Sunday or Saturday, do something, work on my craft, because I started basketball late. So I always worked more so that I can catch up with the guys who started before me. Are there any specific superstitions you've developed
Starting point is 00:23:23 like before a game? Is there anything you have to do? Yeah. Not, I have routines, same routine, maybe the way I stretch, the way I shoot, foam shooting and everything, and then I have a routine, like before I check in the game,
Starting point is 00:23:39 before the game starts, so I'll be on the starting lineup and then I'll touch all my teammates' hands and it always gives me good luck. When did you realize, oh I'm actually good at this? I didn't discover my full potential until I went to the academy because before I was just playing basketball, it was like no more pick up. Until I went to the academy, that's when I realized I can be a good player.
Starting point is 00:24:04 Yeah, I can be great, I can play I realized I can be a good player. Right. Yeah, I can be great, I can play basketball and I can change people's life, I can impact people's life using this. And as soon as I went to the academy and then I decided to put in the work, I knew who I can become. What's been the hardest part of your journey? The hardest part was to start back where I was, the lack of, like, we lacked facilities and I'd walk a couple of, like, miles to go where I play basketball.
Starting point is 00:24:32 But yeah, the hardest part actually is staying, after that is staying consistent with what you're doing because with all that walking and getting tired and then all those miles you walk, you're going to play somewhere else in a different city. It would be frustrating, but staying consistent with it was very hard, kind of challenge me before. And then suddenly I just, just kept on doing it every day and it helped me get an opportunity to come to the academy and then I got recruited.
Starting point is 00:25:02 And then that's how I knew everything could go well from there. Cause where stay obviously the facilities like you walk like two minutes, three minutes and you're already there. Right. Yes. So I had no reason, had no reason, no excuse so I had to work out every day. Were the courts crowded when you would get there? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:20 Back in Uganda the court was pretty crowded. I would probably go at three, two, because by five the older guys would come and then they would pick up teams for pick up and then they won't pick you obviously because you're young and they'll pick somebody stronger than you. And then you play in the World Cup and you were like, ha ha, should I pick them up?
Starting point is 00:25:37 Yeah. If you could compete in any of the Saturday night things, so either dunk contest, three point shootout or skills competition, which one would you want to compete in any of the Saturday night things, so either dunk contest, three point shootout, or skills competition, which one would you want to compete in? I'll go with the skills one, or the three point contest, which ones are better. Yeah, I'll probably go with the skills one. I can win that too.
Starting point is 00:25:56 Yeah, there you go. Could you beat staff? In shooting? Yeah, in the three point contest. I don't know, I guess we have to find out. Yeah. Amazing. Good answer. Best of luck to find out. Yeah. Amazing. Good answer.
Starting point is 00:26:07 Best of luck to you. Thank you so much. And hopefully we'll see you again. Thank you. But as an All-Star. All right, for sure. I was gonna say, when you're an All-Star and you're too big and famous for us,
Starting point is 00:26:19 you still gotta come back because this is the first one we did. All right, I will. Okay. All right. Folks, whether you're hosting a game day, a movie night, DiGiorno knows that planning a watch party on a budget isn't easy.
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Starting point is 00:26:54 It's not delivery. It's Dijonno. Don Lebatard. Sports. Stugats. More sports. This is the Don Lebatard Show with the Stugats. I want to talk about whether we have enemies.
Starting point is 00:27:10 We know you do. Because I have been developing a list. I can't wait to hear it. I'm not somebody who naturally had... That is a big zig where I thought you would zag. You having a list of enemies feels so pure in some way. You know, my niece who was nine years old said something. We were at dinner and she was like,
Starting point is 00:27:30 I've never heard you yell at anybody. I've never heard you yell at anybody either. It would make me wildly uncomfortable to hear you yell. And it, I did not know that this was a thing about me that was so obvious to others. It was not obvious to me, but of course it's true. I don't remember the last time I really yelled at anyone. And so trying to generate hatred in list form was inspired by this. I have a rivals list. Everyone in the media that is within two years of me or younger than me, I must vanquish and I must be more successful than. I have to do it. They are all my rivals. And
Starting point is 00:28:09 the reason I mention it is right now, rising to the top of the rivals list is Pablo Torre, and he will be vanquished. The top Pablo is younger than me. Pablo made fun of me a bit on the show the other day, which only solidified that he is my rival, and it doesn't matter that we're friendly, it doesn't matter that he's always been kind to me, it doesn't matter that I was at a Christmas party with him, I will vanquish Pablo Torre. And then Nick Wright, host on FS1, opened his show with Kevin Wilde's, like this.
Starting point is 00:28:42 On Air Talent now, which we all know him as a producer, but On Air Talent. Correct. Live from New York, Spilts and-air talent now, which we all know him as a producer, but on-air talent. Correct. Live from New York. Spilt some coffee. So, have yours or mine? Mine, sorry about that. This show that's gonna vanquish Pablo Tore.
Starting point is 00:28:54 Oh, come on. Don't put that on the air. Why I'm serious about it. Okay, all right. If you want to do it, we're gonna do it together. All right, let's do it. All right, live. So I'm left here wondering like what to do with all of this.
Starting point is 00:29:04 And so I have a list of enemies. I put into my notepad app. And so number one is Vivek Ramaswamy, who if you listen to a PDF of... I mean, hell yeah. I mean, obviously. Awesome, awesome. It's a good enemy to have.
Starting point is 00:29:15 Yeah, I fucking sucks in deserving of yelling at. Number two is currently Nick Wright. He asked for it. Yeah, you got it. Otherwise you look soft. So advise me. He called you a rival, not an enemy. I think that's a compliment.
Starting point is 00:29:35 You think of me, that's very sweet. It's the, yeah. You could always do the like, oh, I don't think of the, the dagger or, yeah. Like I don't think of you at all. But, or put them on your rivals. Whatever motivates you,
Starting point is 00:29:46 because all that is is fuel for you. I think it does depend on what motivates you. What motivates me with my enemies, I have enemies. I'm not gonna name them because to me the most powerful thing I can do is not name them, not let them know I ever think about them and then succeed. So it's me trying to succeed as a form of,
Starting point is 00:30:06 well, try me now, or getting to a place where I have enough power in this industry in myself to not be pushed around by people in the past who were able to push me around. So that's sort of my MO. So I don't even know if I would have acknowledged the Nick right. Except that you have to, because it's content.
Starting point is 00:30:23 You have to. So you need to walk this line where like, it could be a joke to you. What's your relationship with Nick right? You're friendly. So we went to this Christmas party. Kevin Wilde's family Christmas party. I might invite lost in the main.
Starting point is 00:30:38 Don't know Kevin Wilde's, but my last name is Wilder. So it feels like I should have been grandfather. Maybe that's, he sees you as a rival. Cause if he's wild, you're wilder. Maybe. Just one keystroke away. Yeah. Two.
Starting point is 00:30:46 He's just a typo of you. Oh wait, wilds. Sorry. Math. Pfft. I, I liked Nick. I liked Nick. Oh, shi-
Starting point is 00:30:57 No, you, you can still like him. So once upon a time I was like, I would have, I would have reacted more like, uh, I'm kind of insulted that I'm Nick Wright's rival. And now I'm like, Nick's killing it. Yeah. Great. Like he's doing, but now I'm complimenting him. And I'm like, oh, am I supposed to do that? Yes you are. I think he was just sort of doing that. That was absolutely a compliment. He's saying your name. He didn't, it wasn't like a Stephen A. Smith video,
Starting point is 00:31:25 like the very carefully placed. Which let me just say, Dan and I like made food and like sat down and like, you know, did the drugs that we do just, and watch that. And what a high point of my recent. Literally. But anyway. No one has line read the word bastard exactly better than Steven A.
Starting point is 00:31:45 But so that's not what he was doing. He said my rivals or anybody within two years of me. How old is he? So I'm 38, 39 September. He is older than me. I think he's four. I think I guess 39. Sorry.
Starting point is 00:32:01 I'm so sorry, but you still have time to invite me. You're 40 a birthday party. October 3rd, 1984. He's a year older than me. Yeah. And I'm so sorry, but you still have time to invite your 40th birthday party October 3rd 1984 he's a year older than me. Yeah, and I'm a Libra. He's a Libra. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That's why arrivals Mm-hmm. It all comes back to astrology. I I feel like for content reasons and I should not even say this for content reasons I'm gonna play this up. Yeah That's fine.
Starting point is 00:32:26 I think it'd be fun. Your face, for the audio listeners, I wish they could have seen the shrug and sort of resigned smile Pablo just gave because that was beautiful. I'm an enemy's guy now. Is it kayfabe? It could just give them, give the people what they want.
Starting point is 00:32:38 He wanted to vanquish me. Yeah, what does that mean? Take up arms. Take away your show. He wants to... How do you vanquish someone with content? Yeah, I want stuff up and cut my head off with a samurai content I have an enemy currently actually yeah
Starting point is 00:32:51 Charlotte mentioned an enemy that she refused to say and I would like her to say it and will bleep the name out But I would like to react to who this enemy is Oh, well It's the Kate agent who wouldn't let me bring my fanny pack on as a third personal item which is absolute garbage because it's attached to me How does that take up space in the bag? It's only taking up my own space. What was it doing on the outside of your shirt? Put it under your shirt. She spotted me before it was this was a few months ago. Now I have enough coats that it just smartly. I could just yeah, it's just like a tire around my way. But you know, she at the time it was warmer and I didn't have my coat on yet and she had spotted
Starting point is 00:33:22 me before I had it and then but it couldn't fit in my back guys It was stressful. So that's that's an enemy. That's a good enemy to have I also actually you know what at one point I did have a public enemy, which was Ed Werter Because I tweeted there was a job opening at Sports Illustrated. I remember this Which is something I would love to be able to say now. Thank you, speaking of enemies. Thank you to ABG. Yeah, authentic brands. Group. I can't believe that's their name.
Starting point is 00:33:50 It's so funny every time. It is the funniest possible name. Authentic brands. They're just a corporate fucking issue stomping out. Authentic. So anyway, so, and there's a job opening and I tweeted it and I think I said something like, if you're a woman or a person of color,
Starting point is 00:34:06 especially reach out to me about this job opening. And Edward or quote tweets it and he was like, oh, what, like men are like white guys can't be good too. Like, and then we got into a whole back and forth. I don't think I would know. I think I'd just be like, I had knock yourself out buddy, but I was like, and dignity at the time,
Starting point is 00:34:23 I needed to cape for journalism and for those who don't have a chance and Dignit at the time, I needed to cape for journalism and for those who don't have a chance and also in the process, like get a bunch more Twitter followers and look. By the end of it, he was getting so dunked on that I just felt- Capitalism was what I meant. What does it mean at this point? Oh, I thought we were saying content. Oh no, I meant capitalism, unfettered content.
Starting point is 00:34:43 It doesn't matter. They're going to beep all of these. It's they're gonna be ball of these It's not like we're just saying the actual right words anyway by the end of it and everyone is like Charlotte You're amazing Edward or you suck. I felt so gross by the end of it I was like I hate this even being like the main character in a good way on the internet is gross So you've got a sandwiched Edward or and didn't love how it felt Yeah, I didn't and I have no ill will towards Edward, but it did give me one of the greatest gifts of my life, which was the headline on TMZ.
Starting point is 00:35:08 This was on TMZ, a headline, Edwardor accuses SI writer of sexism dot, dot, dot against men. Wow. I mean, a picture of me and Edwardor. This is you. A picture of me and Edwardor next to each other. Beautiful.
Starting point is 00:35:25 I remember that battle. It was a good beef. Yeah, so shout out to Ed. He's not an enemy. I have roles I could identify. I'm not gonna tell you who the people are, but like I've got one enemy, enemy light, not rival,
Starting point is 00:35:38 just a person I don't think well of. And if given the chance to bring negative or positive outcomes into their life, I will choose negative. That's this list of people is like, if given the chance, I'm not taking the road, less traffic, I'm gonna give them the short end of the stick. One of them is a guy who runs a charity
Starting point is 00:35:58 that I donated a lot of money to when I did not have any money that then when I got on baseball, he was like, he tweeted a picture of us in the booth and said, who even are any of these people? That guy. Oh. Then there was, then there's a man who I feel is mostly responsible for the outcome of one of my shows,
Starting point is 00:36:20 no longer being a show. He knows who he is and it's, we're not, then there's actually another one of those. And he's a- It's the second stop and he just got a show. He knows who he is and it's, we're not. Then there's actually another one of those that's the second stop and he just got a promotion. So good for him. But again, if his path crosses mine, it'll be a D motion. And then there's an X, everybody's got one X that it's like, I, no idea where this person is
Starting point is 00:36:41 at this point or like what their life is about. I don't keep any tabs on them. I hope it's going poorly. That guy sounds like a C word. Yeah, an unfettered C word. Unfettered C word. Can you guys help me workshop how to vanquish Nick Wright though like a burn, like a good roast?
Starting point is 00:36:58 Yeah, say something like Nick Wright, more than like Nick wrong. Yeah, that's bad. So don't do that. But you could talk about how his wife dresses him. He can't dress himself. Oh, a compliment and an insult. Mm-hmm.
Starting point is 00:37:13 What about something like- That was, Katie was like ready with that. I love his wife. I'm like a big kid. I know, she's great. Don't let her be. She had the Christmas party. No, she had the Christmas party.
Starting point is 00:37:21 She was great. You know, I know how you should, I know how you can vanquish Nick right? Have him on your show Actually, that's that feels like um, he feels like Nick right is and I love Nick right I will say I put Nick right on my show before multiple people are putting them on their show So I don't think Nick right and I arrivals I was on the record I'm only practicing that because of what I'm about you're supposed to be
Starting point is 00:37:43 Prefacing it because the main thing I'm about to say which is're supposed to be my, sorry. I'm only prefacing it because of the mean thing I'm about to say, which is that Nick Wright does give the energy of come on my show and debate me then. He's the guy that's like, well, he's strong at doing that. Yes. Which is why you should have him onto your show. Yeah, I still worry about you. I wouldn't want you to take an L, an unnecessary L. I just think invite him on for a really good night's time.
Starting point is 00:38:05 How the f***, Katie Nolan might be number three on my enemies list. Marcus Jordan and Lars Abedin, we're gonna be number three. Katie Nolan doubting whether I could defeat Nick Wright, that b***h ass b***h, in a debate. A PAB, he called him a PAB. Unfettered.
Starting point is 00:38:20 Unfettered. Oh my God. PAB. Listen. Now you have to do it. You don't go into every fight thinking you can lose it. Is that just me? Every time there's a possible fight, I'm like, how am I going to slap on my face here?
Starting point is 00:38:32 Like Super Sara's in a dunk contest. Yeah, dude. I appreciate how much you worry about me. Yeah. I'm like, go for it, man. Yeah, dude. Content. It's going to come out awesome.
Starting point is 00:38:43 Seriously, everybody would watch that though. I like that Katie Nolan is the gate agent at the. You can't bring that on, you have too many guys. You cannot, you cannot. And I'm like, dude. You've got enough, sir. That is, you've got enough. Too much dip on your fanny pack, sir. Hey folks, it's Mike Ryan.
Starting point is 00:39:05 Now you've had the distinct privilege of knowing me for close to 18 years and you know that I've changed. A lot of my personal life has changed. I've changed as a professional. I am a parent now. My level of involvement in my favorite college football program has also changed. But one thing that hasn't changed for me is my favorite beer. You know when it's real with me.
Starting point is 00:39:24 I think you do anyways. And you know how much I love Miller Lite. I've loved it forever, really. It's my favorite beer of all time, and it made all the great moments in my life all that much better. And when Miller Lite came aboard on our show, I was super stoked about it because I believed in the product. Because every time I take a sip of Miller Lite, I look around and I think, yeah, this was the right call.
Starting point is 00:39:47 Times change. People like me can change, but you can always enjoy the great taste of Miller Lite. Tastes like Miller Time. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit MillerLite.com slash Dan. Or you can try to find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 Galleries per 12 ounces.

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