The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Hour 2: Sam Morrill Misses Mitchell Robinson

Episode Date: January 16, 2025

Sam Morrill joins the show to chat with the crew about his New York Knicks as they've gotten off to a great start this season. He explains why he misses Mitchell Robinson so much, why Tyrese Maxey scares him, how the pain of the Jimmy Butler impending departure should hit Heat fans, and why he was "not upset" but definitely upset with Karl-Anthony Towns for wearing an Eagles jersey. Plus, he shares some of the jokes that were cut from the Netflix's "Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year." Also, the Deshaun Watson story in The New York Times (or was it the Athletic?) has further exposed his on-field struggles, and Mike discovers a perfect comparison for the way Watson has fallen apart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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This is the Don LeBattor Show with the Stugats Podcast. Last year for a period of weeks during a really special time in nicks basketball uh... we pitted sam morel who is a child about nicks basketball i don't think there's anything he cares more about in the world no animals no people uh... then whether or not mitchell robinson is coming back i don't i'm pretty sure i have this right about him uh... we pitted him against uh... d's is as nicks correspondent throughout

those playoffs the team got loud the team got eliminated the team got better he got his heartbroken because he fell in love with heart and stein who's now going to come back and break his heart uh... as an oklahoma city thundered team that he cannot beat without mitchell robinson his beloved mitchell robinson and is and your unreasonable and emotional about your team and i think that in part made you suffer in your battle against desus who also is passionate and cares but a little less seriously than you do he wants to be a big mouth about i've

got carl anthony towns he doesn't care so much about whether mitchell robinson is giving you guys the depth you need to knock off Boston. Well, it's just like you to pin two Knicks fans against each other. That's a classic Miami move, dirt bag move. I got no problem with these. He's a fellow Knicks fan. Yeah, of course I'm dying for a Mitchell Robinson

to come back. We need Mitch, man. You see the lack of depth. Campaign's been giving us a ton of effort, but the bench is a little thin right now. We need the help, man. And yes, Hardenstein broke my heart. He broke the whole city's heart.

We miss him. He's a great player. Sam, why did you guys ever think, I got a buddy of mine, he's a Grammy winning producer who's a huge Nick fan like you. Look at me moving, yeah. And he was literally researching all the different ways that the Knicks can quote-unquote make it up to Hartenstein and I'm like you don't understand he's gonna make a gajillion dollars there's no it's a

no-brainer he's obviously gonna take the money no it's different it's different like the power of friendship and all that stuff and the first opportunity I take the money got the money. Why do you guys delude yourselves? Into thinking things like that like people are going to go against their natural instincts. But first off Grammy-winning producer, but not naming names makes me think it's Diddy. I mean, I don't know Could not be but I mean, why would you not name him? Secondly, why do we delude ourselves? Cause it's part of being a fan, you know?

The power of friendship thing, look, it's ridiculous, but you can't deny the vibes were incredible last year. I think the vibes are in a slightly weird place right now, but they will make their way back. I think once Mitch comes back, Mitch is killing me with some of these Instagram posts. I just want him back. He he posts like a baby, you know, the

pickup trucks and the and the lip syncing music and his dogs and stuff. I'm like, just get back on the court. We need you. What did you think of Josh Hart multiple times last week? Talk about agendas, secret secret agendas personal agendas I love it he's a leader Josh Hart's one of my favorite Knicks ever I love how he carries himself you can't knock that guy's hustle man he's he's he is the heart and soul of the team he's been that guy played 49 minutes last night

he's the best so I think what he was doing was calling out some guys quietly, but which got a little loudly, which guys do you think he was talking about? I don't know. I would, my guess would be maybe OG because he's that. He's that big dog. He's getting the big money on the team. So when he said ego, maybe it's OG. Maybe he's not playing hard enough offensively or defensively.

Maybe it's something like that, but too many shots. I would like OG to take to be involved in the office more, playing hard enough offensively or defensively maybe something like that but too many shots i would like og to take to be involved in the offense more but just you know with cuts and stuff like that i think og is a great player and uh i don't know maybe that's the way he's doing it but last night the fact that he said uh og got us going i think that's him saying like that's how they lead you know brunson and and harder ball busters so I think that's their style of leadership and and I hope it works because OG we need OG we paid him the big bucks so we're not going anywhere in the playoffs with Adam. Sam I will tell you the same thing that I told Jessica a few days ago

it came up earlier in the show Mike did it again earlier in the show when he said something about Notre Dame didn't quit as analysis Sam just gave me as analysis the vibes will make their way back and it sucks as analysis like it if we're talking about How I assess Nick's basketball Sam really knows basketball, okay He does but the vibes will make their way back as analysis of how I'm gonna be Boston is shit Wait, but Dan like saying someone doesn't quit is the perfect actual analysis of how I'm gonna beat Boston is shit. Wait, but Dan, saying someone doesn't quit is the perfect actual analysis of Josh Hart. He's not a more physically gifted player than a lot of the other NBA starters in the league,

but he is literally someone who does not quit. His last name is Hart. That's why he's valuable to this Knicks team, because he's doing everything. No, but Sam loves those Hart and Steens. It's showing up on the stat sheet. It's not unquantifiable, but he plays hard and tough look sam is drying made of sandpaper he does not love heart he is uh... an acerbic dark wit uh...

who is against heart actively against heart uh... but when it comes to sports all my god those are ready nix but what he needs is carl anthony towns right up until it's him brunson taking all the shots and bridges is pouting and some other high-money guys don't play it quite the way hearten stein does and then they lose to boston because boston's better both times against both teams yeah i mean i can't deny that boston is the team to beat in the east they're

they're the best team right now so uh... you there and guys like payton pritchard off the bench becoming like killers it's They're tough as hell to beat. Even Philly, if they ever got healthy, they won't. But if they ever got healthy, would scare me just because of their length. Guys like Ubre and Bede and Maxie being healthy, but I don't think that's ever gonna happen. Orlando scares me even if they got healthy

because they're just so freaking physical. Orlando plays like the Knicks did last year. You know, like Suggs is such a physical player, Boncero is so skilled, Wagner is a hell of a player. They're surprising. I didn't think they'd be this good. I can't believe you say Orlando before Cleveland.

You disrespect Cleveland just because of this Mitchell Robinson. Yeah, but so's Cleveland. Cleveland's the best in the league. Cleveland is unbelievable right now. I think if we have Mitchell Robinson, we beat them, but without Mitchell, I don't think. There you go again.

It's infuriating. It's infuriating. I wanna fight him in the street. I wanna drag him. I've been yelling at him. I've been yelling at him. I've been making fun of him. I say, you walk like Joe Flacco runs.

He's an old, stiff Knicks fan. No, this is infuriating to me. You have Mitchell Robinson as the linchpin between championship and no championship. You have him as the most important player in the league. No, I have him on the most important player on our team because his durability has been a problem. You know, I think some of his anger is misplaced from the Jimmy Butler fiasco, Dan. What are you talking about? I mean, you should be upset.

This is a mess you're in. Is that a, well, who's 15? Is that Chalmers? I don't even know. No, it's my own personalized jersey, Sam. Thanks, yeah, they brought it over for me. Oh my God. You had to give them the A.

Really? Really? I mean- Vice jerseys are back, Sam. I don't know if you know that. Big deal, best uniform in sports. And we recognize Chalmers is six. I hate to give Miami any credit,

but the vice jerseys are pretty tight. Haha. We did it. No, they are sick I keep it real. I keep it real but Jimmy Butler that that hurts man to lose him for maybe nothing I was curious on on your take about this and my fear was that you just didn't think about us at all So I'm glad that we occupy some real estate still despite the last two seasons Of course you do Jimmy Butler has been a stud for you guys, so it must be so painful to have its ugly Kramer versus Kramer divorce. You know, Pat Riley, Pat Riley f***ed him. He f***ed him. You got to get him some other players. You can't carry that team to the finals on your back twice and get him nothing. mean look you have other good players obviously Bam and Hiro are

looking great but like for that for the first run that was Jimmy on on his back for the second run it was kind of Jimmy on his back so the fact that the Celtics get Holliday and poor Zingas and Miami does nothing. You got this shrewd Pat Riley who's just sitting there and doing jack shit. Come on, Pat, step up and do something for your team. You hurt me. I don't have the strength. I'm tired. We got him Kyle Lowry.

I'm tired. I don't want to fight anymore about this. People don't want to hear anymore about Jimmy Butler. Well, I'm curious because yesterday, Dan, I don't know if you know, the Knicks played a game and they had to go to overtime to be the Sixers team that was missing a lot of good players and I wonder Sam take us inside you watching a game like that Are you an eternal fountain of positivity like come on guys? We got this

Hey, the Sixers are tougher than you think or are you sitting there MF in your TV? I'm pissed I watching that game was frustrating because, I mean, look, they don't, Sixers are without who? Embiid, McCain, all these guys. Nixon without Carl Anthony Towns and without Mitchell Robinson and without a lot of guys. We don't have to go into detail here. But the main point is that's why Philly scares me

because Maxey scares me. I think he is that much of a pest and nuisance and he is a hell of a player. So yeah, we're thin right now. I don't like seeing Josh play 49 minutes. I don't like seeing all of our starters play 40 plus minutes. I mean, it's scary that Precious really had to bail us out there a couple of times.

But yeah, I mean, we lost to the Pistons twice on our home court in the last month. Like clearly there are problems that we need to address. We still have a better record than we did this time last year. So I am hopeful, but a lot of it is health. And you know, Tibbs is not gonna play these starters less than like 38 minutes a game. So- it was one lucky peanut punch from Maxie though that game would have ended in regulation and the Sixers basically just gave up in

overtime so I mean you have nothing to be worried about well it's easy to give up when your hometown is chanting MVP with Brunson at the free throw line how did we hold on how did you feel about Carl Anthony towns run the Eagles shirt on I hated it. I thought it was disrespectful. I understand that Towns and Brunson are Eagles fans, but you can't rock a Philly shirt in Philly when you play for the Knicks. That's what you get when you get Carl Anthony Townsbury.

It's a cold sweater though. It's like the Kelly Green one. He looks cool in it, I'm sorry. Yeah, but that New Yorker Nowhere shirt he was rocking in the second half looked pretty good too. He learned his lesson. Did he buy that at the team store at halftime? Cause it sure looked like it. What, the team store in Philly?

Maybe they are selling New Yorker Nowhere stuff, the way they, the garden hacking the Philly Wells Fargo arena with our fans. Did you get really mad at him for that? Were you legit? No, I wasn't really mad, but I was like, you don't do that. Don't actually, don't do that.

We love cats, so come on. He was mad, that's a yes. I didn't love it. I mean, the Giants, that's how hard the Giants are to root for though, right now, I'll be honest. I mean, we are tough, we are tough to watch. You're bought and paid for

because the Knicks give you access now as a celebrity fan, right? You will not say anything that lands wrong in that locker room among anybody, no matter what your opinions are no matter How harsh your opinions are are emotional about anything? Uh, no, I just said I didn't love it I didn't love that he wore that Scorching criticism from one of the most acerbic comic of our times. He did not love it

He roasted 2024 was the best thing on netflix on that 2024 rose He's got an amazing tour in which he's inviting the wrath of the Swifties. He's a tastemaker, he's a rising comedian who's conquered the business already with his tour, and when he gets around the Knicks, he's totally soft. But Dan, it's a big week for cats having the wrong fandom. I don't get it.

That's fine. That's fine. That's like a Steven Wright, that was like a thinker, I don't know. A couple people fine. That's like a Steven Wright. That was like a thinker. I don't know. A couple people will get it and they'll really like that. Soft Sam, you're soft on your Knicks. I am.

I mean, the owner has proven to hold a grudge against people that attend those games that have differing opinions. Dude, I confront, when Sam did the South Beach sessions here last year. I confronted about it. Like, how can you root for a team with an owner like that? And he gave me the most political answer. Oh, yes. He's bought and paid for. I was like, oh, man, they got to you, too. No, he just wants to be.

He gets court side. I mean, you would sell your soul for court. I love this front office. Yeah. And damn it. There it is. In 2025, the Knicks are gonna make America great again. Okay, there it is. He's been bought. Can you give me what it is that you think

is the best material that can be done around the Diddy stuff? Like, it is a playground that a lot of comics are dancing around and- I had one that got cut from the Diddy thing that I was mad they cut in that Netflix thing that I wrote like the day before where I said, of course, Diddy couldn't commit sexual assault

without having featured artists join in. Like, we knew he couldn't put out a hit song without a more talented performer. I guess his dick doesn't work unless Jay-Z carried that as well. And it got cut. Why did it get, what else got cut? It looked, there were times I saw you behind Jeffrey Ross, you looked really miserable.

You looked unhappy to me. Oh yeah, it was like a four hour shoot, Dan. It was brutal. I mean, it was a tough, it was like a 250 seat, LA, 250 seats and they gave them all to like industry people who don't laugh. So we were miserable and it was like a four hour shoot and I was proud that Mark and I did not flub any airlines.

We didn't, we didn't have to do pickups, but there were comics who flubbed lines and were doing pickups. So I had to watch them retail. It was, it was a lot. It was, uh, yeah, they cut a line. I did a line on Jeff Ross having cancer. They cut where I said, Jeff, you actually look like a lump.

And like a lump, women are terrified to find you in their shower. I thought that was a pretty good one. They cut some good ones. I don't remember, I couldn't look at it. No, we're gonna get the material, he's got it on his phone there. How dare they cut one of the great comics of our time? What is Netflix? Who's doing that? Who's making these decisions?

Uh, I don't know. I want to say they're time cuts, but it's Netflix. So they must have just not liked it Dan I believe I believe we have a Venmo fine bucket situation here. I think you said Desus when you meant Mero when you meant Mero. So. Oh. Buzzer tab. Buzzer tab. You're racist, dude. Wow.

So many levels. Man, you were racist, man. What's a fine for that? You have the chart. Here's another one they cut. Here's another one they cut. Norman had this line they cut that I loved where Jeff Ross is in a tux,

and Mark said, "'You look like the guy who hands out the baby oil "'at a ditty party.'" I love that one. I don't know why they cut that. The world is pretty bleak. I'm worried that you did it twice, Dan, so that's two of the same fine. I'm mortified, we'll get back to that in a second,

because I don't know what the fine for racism should be, because I deserve it. Well, 100. We'll add that to the list. Oh, one's Dominican, one's he's up. I deserve whatever the fine is, you're gonna have to tell me at the Venmo fine bucket You're gonna have to help me do this, but there's a lot of learning to do Dan. Thank you Sam

I appreciate you catching me when I was vulnerable by simply shouting into the zoom sky That's racist and yes, that's obviously why I'm mortified, but I have the audio now Let's confirm that this is the mistake that you made we pitted him again Desus Let's confirm that this is the mistake that you made. We pitted him against Deezus. Yep, confirmed. You see me pause there too, because I saw it coming. We pitted him against Deezus. The uh there.

Just trying to find which one. Brutal. Yep, yep. That's what happened. You can hear it right there. Thanks to Sam for catching me gracefully as he does. Let's talk about something slightly less controversial. Sam, what's the deal with congestion pricing in New York City? I don't know, man. I will say, though, it seems less crowded here.

It is kind of nice. It's messed up due to the outer borough people. I do think it's messed up. But also, like, this city isn't made for driving cars. That's the other thing. It's like a walking public transit city, you know? You're perpetually, I would assume, looking for content. The world seems pretty bleak right now. Is there stuff in the news that you're finding particularly funny? Because I imagine

wherever it is that you're working on projects and stuff, you're also noticing like real life is spilling through your windows in a way that's daily a little bit crazier than it's ever way that daily a little bit crazier than it's ever been or felt a little crazier politically and otherwise than it's ever been. Well, how could you not have a strong reaction to the Luigi thing? That was the craziest thing.

I mean, that was, I mean, we all kind of got it. That's what was so crazy about it is that he murdered a person in cold blood and we're like, yeah, I got it. That's what was so crazy about it is that he murdered a person in cold blood and we're like, yeah, I get it. Um, I mean, I, I, one thing that bugged me about it was how they, how the news handled it, where they were like, uh, he was a father, the guy they killed. And I was like, I, it doesn't do anything for me, you know? Like if he was single, I wouldn't have been like, well, luckily he had nothing.

That just bugged me. And, and, uh, and then it also just bugged me. And then and then it also just bugged me like, I don't know. He just. I even my I had a joke go viral a while back about not having kids. And every comment was like, enjoy dying alone, which is a strange thing to say. It's like not a very nice thing to say. It was a pretty inoffensive joke, but like that guy had kids, he died alone. You know, like you don't know how you're gonna die.

I guess Luigi was there, he wasn't holding his hand, you know? That was a crazy story. That story's crazy. And the other one I've heard bill burr are being very strong on uh... because it's interesting to watch him wade into some of these waters uh... because they're such a desperation because people know these health care

companies are the crime families that are going to give you your money and uh... now we can all go to the internet and say those fires are the fault of the governor because every damn thing is Political now your thoughts between both that the insurance companies and what's happening in California where a lot of people are very comfortable telling people how they should be managing hurricane fire Well, that's it's new to me Usually people on Twitter have a lot of humility and they don't weigh in on stuff like this. So this it's weird that this is the one they pick.

But no, every time this is what happens. I mean, yeah, everyone thinks they're an expert. Everyone is a Monday morning quarterback on a disaster where they're like, this is what you should have done. And look, one of the weird things is I'm in a viral clip. I didn't even know I was in. Apparently, Joe Rogan is predicting, he's like, this is what's gonna happen. This is what a fireman said.

There's gonna be a big fire and they're not gonna be able to stop it. It's gonna take out a huge part of Los Angeles. And it's this viral clip. And at the end, it just cuts to me being like, shit. No. Well, I guess I'm just in it. I guess I was on that episode, I guess I'm just in it. I guess I was on that episode, I guess.

And then the best part is Barry Weiss was on Fox News being like, Joe Rogan was talking to a fire expert. And I'm like, me? That was me on that show. Well how do you navigate some of this stuff? Because I don't know where it is you fit with all of the you know that it's small world comedy and uh... jessel nick will go after hinge cliff and uh... you know they'll be the popular comedians and they'll be the comedians that make their way in and out of rogans

world while rogan is now a political figure more than a comedian a podcaster more than a comedian and may for all I know, move to Austin because he thought that that's what part of what Californian taxes and Newsome, he wanted to get away from. How do you fit into that world in and among Rogan when I'm assuming many of your political viewpoints, I'm assuming this, I don't know it, are vastly different than his?

Well, you know, we live in a country where people have vastly different viewpoints. And I think when you just write people off based on their viewpoints, it's, you're not gonna get anywhere in your life. I mean, I think there's a lot of comics who now, their whole act is like, if you're not with me, then f**k you.

And to me, that's not comedy, you know? I always loved guys like Conan Conan who like, you know, you kind of leak as a comedian so people know who you are. But I think when all of your political views are known to the public as a comedian and everywhere you stand is obvious to the audience, then the show becomes predictable and boring. I think that's, you know,

if you look at like Chappelle's earlier stuff, like he really, you don't know what he's going to say, you know, and I kind of like that. So I think that us, everyone leading with politics and everyone saying like that's in their bio now, it's, it's just, it's a, I'll go to small towns sometimes and you could tell like they don't, they, it's like, it's considered rude to talk about politics, you know? And there's a part of that that I kind of miss. I think it's not making us more united as a country.

And you know, I think people are gonna vote who they're gonna vote for and it's unfortunate. Am I a Donald Trump fan? No, but over half the country voted for him. So I'm not gonna write off that whole part of the country. I don't think that's something that's constructive. And I don't think that's a smart move for an entertainer when you're trying to entertain.

It's bad for business. But it's also bad for business. I'm not saying it's bad for business. It's bad for your comedy. When you start leading with your political opinions, you just become kind of boring and political and dare I say pandering. I mean, I've seen people in New York do this shit

where they're like, I think gay marriage should be legal. And people, I'm like, you're clapping for that? That's the most obvious fucking take ever. Like, yes, it should be lit. So I think- Pay the whales. Meanwhile, I see people do edgelord shit in Texas, sometimes I'll see them go up and like, you know,

you can call people gay is not a punchline. You know, so I've seen both sides of it. And it's like, there are people on both sides who annoy the shit out of me comedically. And I try to, I try to remind myself like, am I being funny? Is this funny? That's kind of the main goal as opposed to like, am I reaching these people? Like those people sooner or later will,

if they just like me for one joke I do, they'll see who I am and they'll either stick around because they like the jokes or they won't, you know? Republicans laugh too. The Errors Tour, it's a new stand-up tour currently on sale, sammerell.com for show dates and tickets. I got one question for Sam. Sam, you often will do local morning TV

and the promote and sell things. It's the great, he can't do it anymore. It's been ruined, he's Ali G. He can't do that material anymore. He might have a couple in the can coming. No, it's the greatest joke being told right now on morning television. What's your favorite one that you did? Like that you could not believe you got this one off?

Baltimore was pretty good because it just kept getting worse and worse. And then I like Columbus was good because the guy just I did one in Columbus, Ohio, and the guy just like he spiraled he just like lost his mind well I just kept bringing up they have a human trafficking problem he just got really annoyed and by the end they kicked me off the segment he was like he was still angry afterwards he was like I don't get what he was doing I don't get it like I know he thinks he's edgy or something, but like that was to me pretty funny. Well, I mean, the reason I think it's brilliant

is because you're going in and all you're doing is merely not respecting the concept that morning television is sacred. Like you're just purposely making it awkward for TV people who don't know how to react to someone not playing nice. Yeah, it's just, I'm just, me going on there and playing nice

would be so freaking boring. It would be, it would make no sense. I've had to do it before. I went on New York One once and it was pre-taped. So I was like, I guess I gotta behave. And then I left and the woman was like, we thought he would be an asshole. Like that's why we booked him.

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the sole discretion of the retailer and may vary by state. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age. Don LeBretard. I'm just here to say one thing. The Knicks are f***ing back. Stugats. Tavi Salabran, six points, fraud. Stugats. Tavi's celebrating six points fraud. Everybody was like yo he's better than J.L. President. He's better than Nick should have drafted him. Fraud. This is the Don LeBattar show with the Stugats.

We're gonna get louder as we get to Nick's playoff basketball and we're gonna be that that show again. Well Cleveland. I don't know. You want to do it about Cleveland? You want to be a show that rides for Cleveland? I mean depends on how the draft shakes out. Did I say that?

Mike is in a very sensitive time in his life right now. I don't think we're giving him enough grace. Sometimes the flicker of the chance is so much worse than having no hope at all. You would have been a lot happier had this never been a possibility. Cam Ward to the Browns? Yes.

And they just hired Tommy Reese, so now I'm in a pickle. Yeah. By the way, it's a ditch. Shakespeare. Did you guys read that New York Times article on Deshaun Watson? Yeah. It's somehow worse than you could ever imagine. I'm not talking about the allegations. That's terrible, and it is worse than you can imagine.

But I'm talking about the feel to play and the situation. They got unnamed, presumably offensive lineman people familiar with their scheme on that team to say like yeah the protection looked bad because guy was supposed to drop back eight yards he was only dropping back six and he just never corrected this there were all sorts of people like why aren't we just keep Joe Flacco around it's not a threat to him keep Joe Flacco around to teach him the offense he does not know this offense they they jettison all these good coaches

to continue. They bring in Ken Dorsey because of his resume working with mobile quarterbacks. The guy doesn't run anymore. Like it's a freaking night. It is quite simply the worst transaction of all time in sports. It's crazy. This is from the, I think from the same article, his EPA per drop back with the Browns was minus 0.19 according to True Media, which ranks 197th out of 201 NFL quarterbacks since 2000, minimum of 15 starts, the only quarterbacks who were worse, Zach Wilson, John Skelton, Blaine Gabbard, Jamarcus Russell. And he's the only name on that list

who wasn't on a rookie. Well, this is what I would say of this, because you guys probably felt me getting a bit obsessed with this last week, right? Because in some ways, this is what I would say of this because you guys probably felt me getting a bit obsessed with this last week Right because in some ways this is more interesting to me than the even the Aaron Rodgers Disintegration on where body and mind meet on stuff and somebody just implodes Aaron Rodgers Whatever you think of him now Did that difficult thing better than anyone I've ever seen do it and then?

Did that difficult thing better than anyone I've ever seen do it and then Whatever happened happened. I don't even know how to explain what happened and he becomes something far different at the end in his late 30s then this story which I don't believe has any precedent in the history of American sport a dysfunctional organization that finally arrives at the desperation of expectations. Buries and torches Baker Mayfield, who's trying to play through 17 injuries just to drag, drag Odell Beckham and Landry to nine and seven.

See if they get the season of great expectations. Then their owner comes in, he's a ty tycoon we give too much emphasis to power and rich people he knows how to leave he's got some secret he's got a history that's all sorts of foul he asked the man on the street who she should draft and i quarterbacks tough to play johnnie manziel you cannot play it the expectations of browns football make it so they offer guaranteed money to something that is quite fundamentally selling the soul of a region in the name of football

hey we've got this alleged molester and terrible person let's give him everything let's fight over the right because we all agree well it might be a moral he's a top five quarterback and those are hard to get he made the texans matter then more than they ever have because they almost beat the Chiefs. They were up 24-0 in that game. That's the best anyone's ever played for the Texans. It's the only time we've thought of Texas teams getting out of the wild card round. Deshaun Watson was

the quarterback. All of that short-circuited and I don't know how to tie how much of it I can to everything that happened with him off the field that made him somebody that an organization tried to work with and they were dealing with someone physically broken and mentally broken. Yeah, I don't think it's without precedent, okay? Because keep in mind, there was a physical aspect too to Deshaun Watson.

I think everyone can kind of understand like, being away from the game throws off your timing, being at the center of a horrible controversy that probably has an effect on someone too and how they approach the game. But I kind of liken it a little bit to RG3. There are reasons why RG3 ceased being that and he was probably that initially because of the coaching staff he was around. So I think we should probably credit the Texans and Bill O'Brien for what they were able to do with Deshaun Watson. I think we should look at the injuries. I don't think we should discount the mental toll that all that went around him.

But it's not, there are quarterbacks that burst on the scene in that league and do fizzle out. So it's not without precedent. It's just everyone was pretty certain this guy was a surefire lock elite. Well, it's that but also like fizzle out is one thing Blaine Gabbard, Jamarcus Russell Don Skelton be worse than the sport like that's In this draft and making the most guaranteed money ever in this Times article like it's it's it's fodder Yeah, I saw I saw the Times while the New York. No, I'm of the same. Yeah I the well just if people are looking York Times. They're kind of the same. It's all the same. Yeah. Well just if people are looking for it.

They can find it on the New York Times. I read it on the New York Times, but in that article, like we all know the checkered history of Cleveland Brown's quarterbacks. Oh, fuck myself, sorry. They're all bad. They're all bad.

And he's like the worst. Like the only person with comparable numbers is like Charlie Fry. But this is the part though, Mike, this is where I say RG3 get out of here. First of all that was physical and the decline can be assigned whatever it's declined to. In his prime a player in his 20s went from being a top five quarterback and it's not just his body to can't play the sport anymore. I actually think the RG3 thing is actually kind of on the nose too because keep in mind what RG3 did. He

looked at one of the greatest staffs ever assembled when you look at the coaches that came from that and said and went to a whiteboard and started telling all those coaches you're not coaching me right this is what we're going to do we are changing the way that I play and he's looking at Sean McVeigh Kyle Shanahan and Mike Shanahan among others telling them that and that's essentially what this article gets into is what they kind of did. Deshaun Watson wasn't comfortable doing the same stuff that he was doing in Houston.

So I think that there's a lot of ego in play and it is pretty similar to the RG3 thing. Did you just call your own comparison, the RG3 one, a good one? Yeah. You said you were on the nose. Yeah, no, that's why I'm defending the merit of it. A minute later, you're like,

I think that's on the nose. I also am. And I think that will be fire. I'm tickled by the idea. Well, we've done like two years worth of shows saying that we've never seen anything like this, and I know we might have. Pat yourself on the back. That's a good one. Mike, it was a good one. But I'm tickled by the idea that you said RG3 stood before the greatest staff ever assembled. Sean McVeigh and Shanahan and the other Shanahan

and somewhere Jay Gruden's like, and Jay Gruden, and Jay Gruden, and Jay Gruden, say it, say it, god damn it, say it. Ha ha ha. The many interesting things about this are that it is a disaster of a guaranteed contract, one of the worst transactions in sports. And my result in game ward.

And yeah, and it was just total soul selling that ends up like contaminating an organization that was already contaminated from the inside. I want to get back to whether or not anybody is rooting outside of Ohio State and Notre Dame for anything other than both Ohio State and Notre Dame losing that game. Well, a lot of people are rooting to see a big game. And I've seen on the internet, the get in price being crazy expensive. We're talking about thousands and thousands of dollars.

You might have missed your first opportunity to hit the primary market. Now you turn to the secondary market and you're worried because there's all sorts of fees and surprises. I hate the fees. It's terrible. Guys, I'm a veteran of the secondary market and you're worried because there's all sorts of fees and surprises. I hate the fees. It's terrible. Guys, I'm a veteran of the secondary market. It has been a nightmare for me until Game Time came along. And Game Time came along, man, they made everything so easy. I got panoramic seat views, all my Four Nations tickets.

I'm going to the Four Nations. That's in Montreal. I've never been to this arena. What am I doing? They don't even really speak English all that much over there. How do I do this? Game Time had me because with the panoramic CPUs,

the all-in pricing, no surprises. So do yourself a favor, do what I do. I live it. This is not bit, this is not shtick. I've sampled it all. Game Time is the best. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code Dan because if you haven't,

you get a wonderful gift. $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Chris Cody, what time is it? What time? Code Dan, how do you spell that? One N. Not what I asked. I mean, I don't care what people are rooting for, but hey, you have the floor, Dan.

Two minutes left in the show that I'm on. I'm not here on Friday tomorrow. What do you want to know about Notre Dame before Monday night? She's being football fan martyr right now. That's so brave of you. Dan, you owe $2. We tracked down a fine. Mistake, I think that's the right thing.

You did it twice, by the way. You did it twice. No, that's not a $2. Racism is not a $2 fine. Well, it wasn't racism. It's a common mistake. Don't you not call yourself a racist. You made a mistake, right?

It's like I confuse Abbott with Costello. Let's make sure he did it twice, though. Here's the first one. We pitted him against Deezus. And here's the second one. Made you We pitted him against Deezus. And here's the second one. Made you suffer in your battle against Deezus. Oh, Lord.

Don't repeat the mistakes of Greg Cody and Lucy. You pay this fine on Venmo. Just pay it. Just open the app. It's real easy. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Jeremiah Smith if they continue to try to play man or single high.

Texas like triple bracket coverage Jeremiah Smith. I think they just regular bracketed him. There was a misleading photo that went viral that was like, oh my God, there's three defenders on him, but there was another guy out of frame. Look at all these brackets. And they're like, no, that bracket belongs to another guy. It was actually five people covering him.

I wish Benjamin Morrison was back though. Sucks that he got hurt. Which one's that one? He's gonna be probably a first round pick, cornerback, really really good player. You guys do corners well over there. Marcus Freeman. That is credit to Marcus Freeman, man.

Leonard Moore, freshman player of the year, gonna be starting in the national championship game now. You guys the other day on the show talked about, hey, playoff teams in the NFL should be able to bring back somebody for the big game, right? Who would you bring back for Notre Dame? Benjamin Morrison. A player that's on the team that hurt his hip

in like the middle of the season. But also, you know, I can't think of another cornerback. Jerome Bettis. Anti-TAO. No, because I mean, I guess I would want Jeremiah Love to be fully healthy. Oh Rudy, just for vibes. I don't think they need Bettis. The back room's good. To be in a higher state, you gotta be fully healthy. Oh Rudy, just for vibes. I don't think they need Betis.

The back room's good. To beat Ohio State, you gotta be more physical than they are. I'd say like Julian Love, but like he's playing safety now and the safeties are really good. Rudy, Rudy. You need a big beefy lineman. Zello, Zello, Rudy. Rudy.

Billy. Yes? You know what we've been talking about all season long? Smirnoff? Yeah, how'd you guess? I knew it. I'm a good guesser. You are.

They are the official sponsor of the Dan Leventhal Show with Stugato. You already know that it's an official vodka partner of the NFL and Super Bowl 59. We're gonna be there. Oh. Yes. I can't believe we're by 59 already.

Yeah. Time flies. It does, yes. We're old. I'm old. Hey, you know what, StGato, I was thinking. Yes. Since football season's winding down, Super Bowl's coming up,

Super Bowl 59, we've been celebrating football all year. I have an idea. What? Let's do a toast. OK, oh, wow. To football. Really? Yeah, me and you, let's toast football.

So just a toast. So we're raising our glasses of Smirnoff Vodka here. Glasses up, yeah. All right, and we are toasting to football. To football. To football, everyone. What we love about Smirnoff is that you can get the world's number one vodka without breaking the bank.

This feeling is what the good folks over at Smirnoff call. Billy, you wanna take a stab at this? Let me guess, Smirnoff's extraordinary? Nailed it! Wow! Oh my God! I told you, I'm a good guesser. Oh my God, and right now Smirnoff has partnered with Complex letting fans get their hands on some amazing items handpicked by celebrities including

NFL legend and Super Bowl champion Vernon Davis for the unbelievable price of $12.99 just like a bottle of Smirnoff. So head on over to smirnoffdrops.com to check out upcoming drops and check out, oh, Billy, you want to take a guess again? These? Smirnoff's extraordinary? Items. Oh, look at us. What's the website? It is smirnoffdrop.com. Smirnoff, we do game days. Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff, number 21 vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff company, New York, New York, pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer and may vary by state.

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