Transcript of Hour 2: B-B-B-B-B-BAD QUARTERBACKS

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This is the Dan Levatore Show with the Stugats podcast. Start of the day, start of the day. It is the start of the day. Start of the day, start of the day. It is the start of Stat of the Day. Start of the Day. Start of the Day. This year's Start of the Day. Start of the Day. Start of the Day. This year's Start of the Day.

Stat of the Day. Presented by Amazon Prime Video. Thursday night football is on. The Minnesota Vikings take on the Los Angeles Chargers. Coverage begins Thursday at 07: 00 PM Eastern, only on Prime Video. How we're going to do this this week, Dan, is we have competing stats of of the day.

I'm going to give a stat. What just happened to you there? Explain to me everything that just happened there where you pointed to me and then started talking and then just ran and tripped over your feet.

Trying to set up what we're doing today, Dan. Let me try it again. Take two.

Okay, but you said you wanted it. You said you were going to do the state of the day music. You said you were going to get us off to a roaring start, and now look at us. He didn't say any of that, Dan.

Come on, be a teammate. Lift him up. It's not like we seize on every mistake on this show.

Here's the stat to beat. I'm going to say this stat, and then we can go around the room if anyone wants to compete. But I got news for you. You're not going to beat this one. On Sunday, the Chiefs had 31st downs. Also on Sunday, In the same game, the Raiders ran 30 plays. Try to beat that.

You gave that stat yesterday.

It's so good. It was worth repeating.

He gave that stat yesterday. These are recycled stats.

Well, nice. He said it twice. Yesterday, I just casually worked it into conversation. Today, gave it as a stat.

All right, here's my stat. I'm going to try to beat it here.

It shouldn't be very hard. This was a stat we already had yesterday. So all you have to have is a new stat. This game is very easy to play when all you have to do is produce a stat the audience doesn't know because they weren't listening yesterday when it was said and then recycled today and stole the... This is like- Did you misspeak stole? This is sponsored, and you're bringing a stat from yesterday that's 24 hours old.

Damn good stat Try to beat it, Roy.

All right, this is from the Falcons 49ers game. Christian McCaffery had more rushing yards than both teams combined. Mccaffery had 129 yards to 107 for everybody else. Oh my God. He led all players on both teams in receiving yards. He had 72, and he scored more points than the other team.

Somehow, both of these stats stink. Somehow this sponsor-I think I got one.

I'm not done. No other player in the Super Bowl era has done all that in the same game.

Bad game. Atlanta has Béjon Robinson on it, so that's impressive. The craziest thing about this football season is everyone on San Francisco is hurt, except for the guy that everyone thought would get hurt.

Who's made of bones at this point. And those are two truly terrible stats of the day.

My stat is fantastic. It's a great stat. My stat is better than his.

Your stat is great, but it's stale. It's a stale stat. It's 24 hours old. We're moving really fast in this day and age.

Stats can't get stale. There I said it.

You got to come up with a fresh stat.

Per NFL Plus, after Dan declared their season over, the Panthers have won three straight games for the first time since weeks one through three of 2021. So Jeremy wins just because it's fresh?

Yes. And it makes fun of me. And I was thinking about this this morning because I was thinking, I proclaim the Panthers season dead Because that team is uninteresting and I don't want to watch them play the rest of the season.

So don't watch them.

I feel like if they had packers jerseys on, you'd have a different attitude. Hold on, Dan. Or Alabama jerseys.

Or Tampa Bay Rays jerseys.

No, I just want... Look, they are- That would be funny. This is what's going to happen, and I'm going to give you my honesty here on what it is that I'm doing with Carolina. Because they have the schedule of feeding off the shit that is that division, and now they get to feed on Jets and dolphins as well because they're playing against the AFC East, they might They might stumble their way into 9 or 10 wins that I don't want to see in the playoffs because they're not good enough. They might stumble their way in because you get to beat the Saints, and Baker Mayfield somehow can't have... He's going to be down seven receivers by the time he gets to them late in the season.

They destroyed Atlanta, and they beat Dallas. Their resume isn't as flawed as you're making it.

Also, can I make you a little bit intrigued with now, Bryce Young? High ankle sprain. Guess who's up next?

The Red rifle.

Revenge game against the Bills.

There is a conversation surrounding Bryce Young that I'm interested in because I don't know why I do this to myself, but I sat down in front of a television. Well, it's because I had money on it. I sat down in front of a television to watch C. J. Stroud and his offense play football. He stinks. Wolf, remember the conversation? And I guess, remember that list that I put together yesterday?

He's going to say one year wonder on C. J. Stroud.

They made the play on his first two seasons. He wasn't nearly as good as he was as rookie season, but the rookie season was incredible. He was unbelievable, making every throw, super athletic. He himself is now saying, I've gotten old. What are you talking about? I would rather have Bryce Young at this point, and that was not the discussion.

Can I analyze something with you guys, though, that gets forgotten in wherever it is that it's superhuman Joe Burrow who can't be shaken of confidence even as his body falls apart on the difficulties of playing the position? Because I think the humanity gets lost inside the helmet. So I ask you this question. David Carr is the single best college quarterback I have ever seen, Fresno State with Pat Hill. And then he gets to the Houston Texans and gets sacked so much that they run him right out of the league because you cannot be sacked 55 times in that league and keep your confidence. You have to have confidence in that pocket. It's a terrifying place. It's violent and scary, and you can get hurt. C. J. Stroud was protected for many seasons, but that franchise can wreck a quarterback. When I do the quarterback analysis, so much goes into this. I want to explore this with you guys because I think it's fascinating. Clearly, the way they do the measurements, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold have unique skill sets that would make them good at the quarterback position. But then they have to go through a million different things that means burning up the Browns organization to the ground or failing in New York where it hurts to fail, learning whatever they had to learn.

The measurement was right on what they are physically. Top five talents. They can play in this league, but it is a buzz saw to be sacked. Kam Ward has been sacked 27 times this season and has five fumbles. Learn it, eat it in seven games, best college player. Your team is terrible, and you're going to be terrible, too. Learn it fast, get ruined or get better. Do it fast. Do it faster than ever.

I'm a huge Jackass and Kam Ward fan. I love Kam Ward. I think it's really interesting that everyone who watches tape says, This guy is going to be good. Surround him by the right talent. He's off to a worse start than Will Levis was. If you watch these games, and I watch every single snap of- But his team is worse than what Will Levis was given. Yeah, and certainly the coaching staff. I mean, it's- And Vrabel matters.

Vrabel does matter.

But Kam Ward needs to do a better job of helping his team out. And it's not be number one pick great. I think when we apply proper context, we know how difficult that position is under the circumstances that he's playing it. But be better than Will Levis is a low mark to clear, and he's got to do that. And C. J. Stroud, same thing. I'm not going to say for three years, pressure up the middle. You know what? Deal with the pressure up the middle. That's the fact of you playing football now for this franchise. Do better or they'll find somebody else. It's not just pressure up the middle. They know exactly what they're doing on defense to neuter C. J. Stroud, and he doesn't have an answer.

How much money did you have on this game last night?

No, I had the Seahawks.

Jackass, meet Jack shit. Yeah, I mean, I'm not surprised Kam Ward is struggling. He didn't even have as good of a fall camp as Carson Beck. And that guy just threw four pics in a college football game. Jack.

Jack Shit is the name tag that Jeremy is presently wearing.

Why The excuses that I have made more excuses for C. J. Stroud over the course of his career than I have waxed poetic about him.

There was plenty of poetic waxing. Thin line between excuses and explanations. When I'm telling you that these jobs are hard, the jobs are hard for a number of different reasons, including when C. J. Stroud is failing, he cannot publicly say to anyone if he thinks it's a reason other than him. He can't say it's organizational. He can't say it's the coach. He can't say anything publicly. This is what swallows to it right now. If indeed C. J. Stroud is a one-year wonder, what happened last night is informative to me. To me, it's informative. You know the Detroit Lions are one of the best teams in the league, and you know that Baker Mayfield He does a lot, but you can't keep losing receivers and keep beating the best teams on the road. He already beats Sam Darnold. We know Seattle's good. If they're healthy, they're good. They've got a great receiver. They've got big plays. They'll beat just about anyone because Sam Darnold is an NFL quarterback who took all of this learning to show everyone he's a top five pick, physically. Top five pick, Baker Mayfield. They measured his guts, and they made him- And a CNB.

A top five pick. And Kam Ward, in seven games, can either get wrecked, ruined, or he blossoms out of it. But I got to imagine, and my larger point is, this position is even harder than you think it is, and it's harder than it's ever been. You're forcing upon people who are too young a pressurized scenario where they're not even old enough to know. You can't say it was the tackle's fault. You can't say it was anybody's fault but yours, or we'll start talking about whether your brain's injured.

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Howdy, listeners. It's Mike Ryan and Chris Cody. Hey, everyone. Hey, Chris. We love hanging out so much. You were at my birthday the other day. You're old. You know what I saw in your hand? What? A can of Miller light. Whether it's a can, whether it's a bottle, a draft pour of Miller light. The draft pour, you see that beautiful, iconic color right away.

The coldness to it.

Yes, Chris. The ice coldness to it. Whether you're hanging out with me on my birthday because I'm old or you're at a game, that Miller light just makes every special time a Miller time. That's how you make the Special Times by making them Miller Times. Game day just hits different with Miller Lite in your hand. Hitting different. From jaw-dropping touch downs to fantasy heartbreak, it's a beer that has been there for every moment. Fifty years of great taste, simple ingredients, and that iconic golden color. That coldness, Chris. That icy coldness. That icy coldness. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later. Miller Light. Great taste, 96 calories. Go to millerlight. Com/dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3. 2 carbs per 12 ounces. I see coldness.

Don Levatard. While there's nothing official, and conversations are still ongoing. Was that a fake Schefter?

Because it was excellent. It was pretty good. It was excellent.

I feel like there's legs. I tried at the beginning, and then I lost confidence in it. Why? It was good.

You got this.

There's nothing official. It's so good. Conversations are still ongoing. Stugatz. It is trending towards nick Seriani, remaining the head coach of the Eagles. This is the Dan Levatard show with the Stugatz.

You mentioned a couple of examples that you could make the argument, Well, the league found you out. How are you going to adjust? Of course, in one same deal. They found ways. I'm not C. J. Stroud is beyond that. But I'm saying he's got to find that. He's got to tap into what Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield did, because I think we're at that point in his career where you got to start wondering, Are we going to pay this guy? Is this guy really our franchise quarterback? Because for as many people on the planet as there is, there are seven guys that we've deemed are good enough to quarterback the game's most important position and win you a Super Bowl.

No one doesn't pay the guy. No one. Everyone pays him. What's the example of... Okay, CJ Stroud, fine. What's the example of the guy where it's like, Yeah, we don't think- Sam Darnold.

Baker Mayfield.

Here's the thing with Sam Darnold. That's a good example, except they didn't expect Sam Darnold to be anything, and they had already drafted someone at number 10.

Sam Darnold had the benefit, had the esteemed honor of not being the guy they pay twice because he had a career year in Minnesota. He seemed like he figured it out. And Minnesota was like, We're going to let you go.

Well, they would have paid him if they didn't draft McCarthy the year before.

You can have him sit for a couple of years.

Mccarthy was injured for an entire season. You forget real quick about that hope. It was a tourmanage, by the way, too.

Nobody does that anymore.

They won 14 games with Sam Darnold.

He was sitting in the quarterback's. No one does that anymore.

Okay, but what if you buck the trend and start doing it again? Because now you're looking at Cam Ward, Bryce Young, C. J. Stroud. Look at Kyler Murray. He's been in the league for six years. You're like, Is he even good? We don't know.

He was really good in his rookie year, and then they had answers for him, and he doesn't seem to have an answer back.

We know the way this league goes now. The only way that you wind up winning. There's two ways with your quarterback. Either he's an all-time Hall of Fame-level talent who, of course, you pay a ton of money to, or he's a quarterback who is far out playing his rookie contract. There's no in the middle. Got a lot of in the middle guys, all right? Tua, Trevor Lawrence, Kyler Murray, a lot of in the middle guys. You only win two ways. Hall of Fame caliber making a ton of money, rookie contract outperforming his contract.

It's why I don't want to see the rules changed, because I think defense and defensive minds in that league are at an all-time high right now. And if you give a defensive coach an offseason of obsessing over to take away what you're good at, you need to be good enough to take what the defense gives you. It's literally Tom Brady's greatest achievement in that he recognizes what defenses are going to take away, and he will play to win the game. At no point in Tom Brady's career was he the best and most talented at anything except for that trait. And guys like C. J. Stroud need to figure that out.

And the quarterback sneak.

And the point to C. J. Stroud, too. We have some of the smartest football minds on the planet. Has anybody figured out what the situation is with C. J. Stroud? Is everybody just like, Oh, he just stinks right now?

Laramie Tuncil matters. They traded him before the season. We forget that. Never mind pressure up the middle. Also, Delt was important for them. They used to have two wide receivers. It wasn't just Nico Collins. They had two wide receivers. Look, there are a lot of reasons all this stuff happens. All I'm saying to you, as we obsess over the quarterback position, Precision. Last night, the quarterbacks who were playing, we have now reinvented golf through system and talent and precision there. I keep coming back to precision for this reason, okay? The Chief's season was saved because against the Lions, who we all know to be good, when they were down 10, 6. They scored at the end of the first half to take the lead. They scored at the kickoff of the second half to take the lead. And look at what happens to change the season there. While the Dolphins come out 17, 6, they score a field goal to end the first half, and they come back first play, pick six, your season's over right there. In terms of precision, what I'm talking about, the little tiny things that are the reason that football games get won and there are winning organizations.

Last night, you've got one quarterback in Detroit we all expect to see in the playoffs. Don't totally trust that he won't be the reason they lose in the playoffs because four interceptions get thrown. Don't totally trust it. You got Baker Mayfield, who's out there with a crew of receivers that Rob Gronkowski, if you gave him a lot of practice, still wouldn't get it right. Emeka, a big boo. He's running around, shouldn't probably even been playing last night. Should not have been playing. God knows how much they shot him up with to get him out there with Baker Mayfield. Fifty yards because that guy on one leg will get you 50 yards.

You got receivers running into one another in routes. And yeah, Baker was off, no doubt. And credit to Detroit's defense. I'm not sure there's a team in the sport that beats Detroit last night. They were awesome last night. That was awesome. It's not often where you're watching a football game with a talented quarterback and a talented team, and you're like, Man, this shit looks hard.

Kelleher never played for the Dolphins. I forgot that.

Baker was missing high. But also, we don't know that if it's his normal complement of healthy receivers, if those balls are on target, if there's something that these wide receivers are doing.

He just beats Darnold in Seattle with a slugfest when he had some of his talent out there because Look, we've seen enough so far to know that even Mahomes can be slowed in a way that makes me sound stupid if for 18 weeks, he doesn't have his primary weapons. To me, the miracle has been that Baker Mayfield has stayed relevant without the weapons. To me, the lack of weapons sinks everybody. What I just saw this weekend, look, man, what Philadelphia pulled out of its bag with Jalen Hertz, Oh, you're going to dare me to throw deep? All right, I'll do it to you that way. I'll have the best game you've seen as a pro because A. J. Brown and Saint Juan keep getting mad at me because they want the ball. They want the ball. They want the ball. I'm like, No, I'd rather just win 20 of 21 and push push and learn all the things that need to be learned so I could be the Alabama quarterback whose career isn't what two is about to be. Because because he gets swallowed whole by the organization. Jalen Hertz, what he did to Minnesota.

When you talk about the fight in the trenches where Brian Flores is inventing things to try and stop the push push, Vikings in the red zone, five field goals, okay? And Wentz kills them with the pick you can't throw. It just kills them with a pick six that in a game of precision, Wentz kills them and then kills himself to try and get back in the game. Defense is great. Slowing Philadelphia. Daring Jalen Hertz to throw deep. Okay, here you go. We can do that, too. We'll do that on the road. We'll save our season because A. J. Brown is better than your corner. I saw your corner in a game this year. Have the best game I've ever seen a defensive player have when Rodgers is getting, whatever it was, two pick sixes and a fumble cause. Here's my best player against your best player. I'll use A. J. Brown when I need him. That's some shit at the top of the league where when you see how organizations are run, I can't believe what I'm watching on Sunday is the way these coaches are behaving on fourth Vrabel bent over sick on the sideline because it hurt him up 17, 13.

Instead of kicking a field goal on fourth and 2 inside the 10, he was going to go for it. He had to, but it looked like he was going to throw up because we used to always kick a field goal in that spot to make it a field goal lead. He's like, No, I want Cam Ward back here. I'll go for it. These coaches are crazy now on fourth and short. It's the mathematically prudent thing to do because why wouldn't I throw deep to A. J. Brown? I've got that in my back.

Fourth and short, here's a 60-yarder.

I rarely use throwing to A. J. Brown deep. That team has dominated the sport for the last 24 weeks, and what they just did to Minnesota is tear their soul out.

And the weird thing is, they want to play this control the line of scrimage game. They want to play complementary football, run the ball 46 times, play great defense. But then they have these moments where you look at them against the Rams. They were down 26-7, come back. Jalen Hertz looks like the MVP. And then this game against Minnesota, where he looks, again, like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. You're like, Why don't you just do that all the Why are you guys trying to play this football brand that doesn't make sense?

It's interesting to watch the ego check at the door when the quarterback can always play like that. You're like, Why aren't you guys always doing that? It's what A. J. Brown is complaining about. He's like, Guys, hello. Guys, I used to do this in Tennessee. Look what they've become since I became this guy who you can always throw the ball to who's always open. It's a funny thing, is it not? We were introduced by Vrabel to A. J. Brown and the idea that Tennessee can play explosive football, and we'll fool another franchise into thinking Tana Hill's the answer for six years.

The Eagles sometimes, in a way, remind me of the Big Three era heat, and that they would always try to win by playing defense and win like 85 to 82. It was like, You have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Why don't you just go score 120 and play with pace? And whenever they felt like it, they could. But for whatever reason, they decided, no, we want to be a defensive-oriented team. We want to hold possession of the ball like the Eagles. It It made no sense then, and it doesn't make any sense with these guys.

Seriani is holding them back. They should have won 24 of the last 20.

Now you're getting to the root of it.

The Anchor meathead is holding them back. He's confining A. J. Brown. They should be slaughtering everyone instead of leading the league in three and outs because they insist on pushing their way to victory.

I'll tell you, it's going to be cool when they stack the defenders.

It's a great idea by you, by the way.

That's going to be a pivotal moment.

Dan Levatard. Where the motherfucking Roeys at? Bring his ass on here. Where's the motherfucker Roeys This is a great question. Stugatz. Running, he running today. I'm ready. This is the Dan Levatard Show with the Stugatz. I have two things that I have not gotten to today that I'm at least a little bit ashamed of. The basketball season starts today, and also because it's a touch confusing to me to see the two-time defending NHL champions being led publicly by Brad Marshawn, being led to microphones, to cameras, replacing Kachuk, replacing Barkoff of. This iteration of the defending two-time NHL champions are going to be represented in star power by the name of Brad Marshan. Zazlo is a resident hockey fan who cut short his vacation in order to win one championship for the Panthers in a way that was thanked publicly by Paul Maurice. What can you tell me about how I am to feel about Brad Marshawn being the face and leader of this team?

I mean, it's the juicy story right now because they're on ESPN tonight. That's the main reason that you have this impression that he's the face of the team. It's on ESPN. They're in Boston tonight, and it's the first time that Marshan is facing his former team in Boston. I know throughout the day today, they're going to be airing parts on ESPN of his sit down with Mike Monaco, which I'm really looking forward to hearing. Apparently, he gave him a lot of time, and It'll be interesting how that crowd reacts to him tonight. I imagine there'll be a video package at some point in the first period during a commercial. He'll give the wave and all that. But Marshan is coming up. A couple of things. The team's lost four in a row. They look like shit.

They can't score. After winning three in a row at home, they went on the road and immediately... And that's not surprising. What's surprising about that? They're missing two important players to score.

You got to go to Buffalo with Bernie Pomily and lose to the listless Buffalo Sabers.

And Marshan is also coming off a game where he clearly has decided, Okay, we need to kickstart something. He fought that Daleen, and then he ripped up his helmet and the straps. It was very, very cool.

That's as pissed as I've seen Brad Marshan in that sweater that I love watching him wear so much.

He's in a mood going into tonight's game. So it'll be interesting if he's picking fights and pulling his Marshawn tricks against the Bruins this evening.

I don't know how Cowboy Mike Ryan gets away with any of this. What?

By admitting that I'm wrong? I was wrong the whole Brett Marshawn thing. He's our rat. He's going to Boston right now, a city that he once played for but won't be remembered for playing.

I love Dan talking about Marshawn being our vocal leader right now. Are you longing for this? Bobby. Because that guy never said anything.

I miss him. So it is curious that Brett Marshawn is a huge star in the sport. And naturally, I understand why that's where the media goes. I'm not so sure. Maybe Roy can speak to it with more authority on this. You're around the team more. I'm not so sure that that perception in his reality. I know he's one of the leaders, but the fact that we've made this guy who was playing on the third line last year, now the de facto captain with these guys out, I think it insults some of these guys that have been around, like Sam Reinhardt and some of the other leaders on the team.

No, I don't really think so because he's a veteran. He's been around this game for 20 years, so I don't think that they have that much animosity towards him taking over a leadership role.

I'm not suggesting animosity. Is it so? Is Brad Morshan now the leader of this team? Because they don't lack for leadership.

I think he potentially is. Are we just basing that off of TNT interviewing him and then him doing the helmet thing? Because I'm sure Reinhardt is leading.

This is all that happens here, and it is the normal thing to happen. The leader of your team in this circumstance, if he weren't kookey and trying to fight his way through his second language, would be your two-time champion goal tender. That would be- Bobby.

Goaltenders are all weird.

Okay, but this... I mean, Patrick Waal was the leader of his team when he was the most important player.

Joe Sackik. Patrick Wall was a psycho.

You don't talk to the goalpost.

You don't want that guy leading your team. Look, Aaron Eklad is probably Yes. Maybe it takes a village with Florida, especially with those two guys out.

Marshan is the star tonight. They're in Boston for the first time. That's really what it boils down to. He's the star tonight.

I saw a commercial during Monday Night Football hyping up his return to Boston in his sit-down interview. So cool. A Florida Panther. What I'm saying is the national perception may not even be that far off the truth, but it doesn't appear to be the truth. But they've decided it's Brad Marshan, and it's his team now.

Just win tonight. Thank you.

There was an interview last week that Marshan did with TNT, and TNT has killed it again with its studio shows. We've known this for a while. This is not new information, but they know how to do the studio show well. Do we have the sound? Can we get the sound in moments about how Marshawn is going to be presented as the face and voice of this team, whether he is or not? Because he's a bigger star than Reinhardt and Bennett and Bobrowski and all of them. He's an American star. That matters. Kachuk represented this team before. That's not irrelevant. Barcuff might be the best player, not a great public speaker, not a great interview, not a great personality, not embraced by people beyond hockey because he's a superstar, and the people in hockey know that he's transcendent on the ice, but not the personality that's going to be loved beyond regionally.

Well, you got to keep in mind that Marshawn, the media converges around him because he's the best quote on the team. He even knows how to work a microphone. I mean, you've seen on TNT, him and Paul Bisonet have a nice rivalry How are we going?

Brad, thanks so much for joining us.

Appreciate it.

Paul Bizzanette has got about 19 questions for you. He has a eye patch on for some reason.

Is that Bizz trying to get playmaking advice?

No, I said that you guys have-What are we doing here, fellows? Time out. I said you guys have a big core group, and then you guys are familiar with each other's tendencies. All right, Brad? And by the way-Okay, I didn't catch that part. Yeah. Well, if your ears were as big as your nose, you would have. First of all, congratulations on your six-year deal. I'm no rocket scientologist here, but that would bring you to 43. You're going to still be playing in six years, Brad?

Well, the two choice I have are to keep playing or I got to come sit and listen to you every day.

I want to keep doing this so that my ears don't take a beating. We got a new guy on staff, Diener, and I wrote down the question he had. He goes, How does a 37-year-old who's so slow get so many breakaways? Can't really hear what you're saying, Biz, because I got my two cup brains plugged in my ears.

Beautiful.

Perfect. Well played. Drop the mic. You can't do better than an eye patch there in terms of visually. There's just nothing I can put in there that's visually funnier than the eye patch.

Also, I like the point guard. I don't know who the guy is who's the host of the TNT. Liam McHue. Okay, I feel like he got very nervous there for a second. He's like, All right, mic drop, guys.

Okay.

All right, relax. Hockey has come a long way with its interviews.

I mean, the iPad is just what you wear if you're a rocket scientologist.

The Hockey Player is a notoriously bad quote. You're not wrong when you say, Marshawn dominates microphones. Tonight, basketball returns, and it does better-Thank you. With the soap operas than any of the other sports. We just read you. Everyone's eating up those details on Westbrook and LeBron, but I'm genuinely curious from the group here. Because LeBron James has spent 20 years as this generation's most dominant American athlete, but he's always paled and failed in chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan, and Roundball Rocks, and NBC from a Different Time. Michael Jordan's return with Mike Tariko tonight as voice and lording over the sport still from on high. Are you guys expecting anything from that? Because if Last Dance brought us together during the pandemic, Michael Jordan coming out from hiding to play the role of Tom braided, my guess is this is going to hit nostalgia across generations. Is it not?

I'm super excited. They haven't had NBA and MBC, I think, since 2002. I grew up with NBA and MBC. I am excited for this broadcast tonight. I don't know how good Michael Jordan is going to be over the long haul, but look, they've been able to prepare him for tonight for a long time. Like, tonight, he'll probably be good. Hit it, Chris.

Yeah, I'm into the hoops. Basketball. Give me, give me the ball, I'm fired up. Dunk it. Yeah.

Basketball, give me, give me, give me the ball because I'm going to dunk it.

Yeah. Basketball. Shut up, Jack. Mbc was incredible at covering the NBA, and I'm nostalgic, and I'm hopeful they can just microwave it back up. And I'm super into Michael Jordan being there. Look, I follow the sport that Michael Jordan actually is an active part of. And I happen to like his interviews in Nascar because he has a real passion for it. I imagine people are aware of his deficiencies. They're going to produce this thing. You know who else has deficiencies when it comes to public speaking and being Karezbo? Nick Saban, and the guy's a goddamn best on television right now. This is how I We celebrate peak October.

Dan, I was going back into some of the archives of NBC and the NBA, and I think they need to bring back the monolog. The monolog is a missing place. That made it feel so much bigger.

The Bob Costas monolog?

Give me a monolog. Give me a monolog, okay? Set the table for me. Set the scene. Make it feel big. This is big, and I need it to match with the monolog.

They wouldn't do that. They wouldn't bring Costas out of retirement just to do one essay to lead them in. What about Marv? If Tarek goes in charge. Marf.

Aren't they bring it back like an AI-generated voice to make it feel even more nostalgic?

Yes, the guy who intros the actual broadcast.

They got it right. The framing, the AI, the old-school-route-ball rock. Just bring back the '90s graphic package. Exactly. I'm good with it. Yes.

Recreate that, please. Okay, but let's talk for a second here as we talked about TNT in the Studio show and what producing and broadcasting requires. To have the correct touch much on 'NBC Returns to Basketball. You're basically reaching for a whole lot of 40 and 45 and 50-year-olds who want to tap back in to when Michael Jordan and Ahmad Shahad were friends.

It's what's happening with me. It hurts me to say I am now one of those 40-year-olds that is looking to tap back into the sport. This is a nice way for me to start. There's going to be a basketball game on the TV every night this season, it would appear.

Well, look at the framing of this. Look, man, so much is about to change. The Rams just played a game at 6: 00 AM, and you just saw a football game between Houston and Seattle. They're like going to bounce against time zones here to just hit you with as much action as you can as the streaming services are all in the fight for this stuff. But NBC returning to this fight, they have to hit the note of, Bring dad and grandpa from a previous generation. Let's show you what it sounded like when Bob Kostas was welcoming you in to the National Game of the Week with an essay because you know the Knicks and the Heat hate each other. It's an unbelievable soap opera.

Give me, give me, give me the ball because I'm going.

Yeah. I think this has...

Are you playing the bass, Mike? Yeah.

It sounded like hearing a water bottle sing. It's fun to do, though, right?

Good hoops tonight, by the way, boys. We're getting away from the whole point.

Okay, so yes, thank you for that. Jimmy Butler has some quotes saying there's some... I don't know if we're tired. What do you saying? That's my gimmick. Sorry. Are we tired of the Jimmy Butler stuff? He has told the San Francisco Chronicle, quote, All that noise, all that chaos paid off in a major way. I'm lucky to be part of this phenomenal organization. Everywhere starts off great, but then you know someone has to be the bad guy, and it gets to be I'm always the one doing something unbearable all of a sudden, but that's okay. I get to play in this wonderful league with amazing teammates. But being here, they've only got one goal to keep hanging those things up on the wall. Ain't no hidden agendas. That's bullshit.

What? He's being super truthful. I'm always the one that's making it unbearable. Yeah.

No, but what hidden agenda had the Miami Heat had? There's one agenda. Win. Play basketball. Win. Where's the hidden agenda from the Miami Heat? That's why it's bullshit. What's he talking about? Man. Jimmy Butler.

He will always get under your skin. Will you ever forgive him?

Forgive him for what?

That's where I met with Zo. Every time they do the... I know he was my boy. I knew he was my boy during 2006. But every time I'm like, I remember what you did. What did he do? Yeah, he left.

He got sick.

He wanted him to leave. He left. He didn't want to pay him.

Yeah.

No. You're off base.

You don't do You're off base.

You don't do what?

Wait, am I not knowing Jack shit right now?

Are you talking to me?

Tony, when you say that the basketball is good tonight, if you want to enjoy a night of nostalgic basketball, it's the old timers tonight. They're giving you the star power with a little Luca, but it's Kevin Durant out there. It's Steph Curry. It's LeBron James. It's the 40-year-old league debut. They're not giving it to Anthony Edwards tonight. They're not giving it to any in the New York Knicks. They're giving it to the people who have run the league for the last 20 years.

I looked at these rosters, Tony. Clint Capella still out there doing it.

A lot of old faces in new places. Chris, hit it.

Oh, my God. Are you kidding me?

Hit it.

Now.

Dano, old faces Faces, new places. We love doing this during the NFL season, right when the NFL starts. Now the NBA starts, Dano. We've got old faces in brand new places.

Love this game.

We're going to start tonight. He's on one of these four teams.

Maybe you say the team, and then we guess the player. All right, go ahead. Do your way.

That's crazy, though. First of all, who do we have playing tonight? Set it up for the audience.

We got Rockets versus Thunder in the first game on Peacock.

Then you got the Lakers.

Then we got Lakers, Warriors after that in the nightcap. What team does Marcus Smart play for?

Marcus You're smart.

Washington.

Again, one of the four teams playing tonight.

The Rockets.

Why would they do that?

Gaslow, why did you do what you did after we just covered which teams we were talking about?

Because I was confident that he played for Washington.

Probably Houston.

He's an LA Laker.

No.

That's an old face in a new place. No.

Why would they do that?

He was the heart and soul of the champion Celtics before they became champions.

I was happy every time he had a basketball.

What's the next one? Always wanted him to shoot with the game online.

Next one.

Somebody from local. Where does Kevin Love play this year?

He's a Laker. Utah.

Yeah, well, that's- He's a Utah jazz.

Oh, Jazlow. Jazlow.

He's in Utah. That's not a team that's playing tonight.

See, that's why I guess Washington. You see?

But I didn't say that tonight. I didn't say that tonight. I said that for the first one.

Can I ask you a question? Why is Kevin Love still doing this? Love the game. Love. In Utah?

Yeah. They're paying money, right?

You can't love the game.

They need car washes there.

Good point by him. All right, we'll rally through a quick one. John Collins. Where's John Collins? A friend of the show.

He is?

Yeah, a local guy.

He's not a friend of the show.

He's a clipper, Dino.

They're not playing tonight.

Definitely not a friend of the show if he's a clipper. They're not playing tonight.

You're hung up on that.

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