Transcript of Did Jaylen Brown Ignore Jayson Tatum? | Hour 1

You're listening to The Dan Le Batard Show, in partnership with the DraftKings Sports app, now live in all 50 estates.

All right. Good job so far with the training, Tony. You're doing all right.

Is it really training when you know what you're doing, or—

Okay.

Just kind of like—

Just doing it.

The Alex Dano Show, dude.

Thank you.

Six to the ground.

Six to 10.

It's training. Keep it on training just in case you mess up. You dig it?

Yeah.

Because now they're going to expect something from you.

Yeah.

Wasn't aware of your credentials.

I told you at the beginning. Alex Dano Show, six to 10.

All right. Very good. All right.

Very good.

So has the time come, are we going to check in with the boys out in Tamiami Park? It is the Pitch Clock Competition to break the tie from this year's trivia. We have Jeremy Tasche pitching to Chris Cody. There they are. If you want, pull up. All right. Tamiami Park. They're out there on the baseball field, which, by the way, looks like a flat mound. Now, Jeremy's pitching from the regular rubber. He's, you know, regular length, but that's a flat mound.

Another excuse.

It's not.

Flat mound.

All right.

Someone yelled, "No, it's not."

Not a flat mound.

That's Chris.

It looks—well, yeah, Chris is trying to say that it's not flat. It looks pretty flat.

Jeremy just bounced one.

It's not. It's just not.

I'm going to make a request. Can we get a little tighter on the shot?

It's like, heck, sheesh.

We need some space in this shot right here.

Go a little further. We need the batter's eye angle.

Yeah. All right. So the guys are mic'd up. They could hear us as well. Jeremy, as you're warming up now, Chris is getting ready. He's got the helmet on. Ethan is catching. He's got the full catcher's mask with the tag still on. Okay. We'll make sure we're—

He's taking that guy back.

—get the money back afterward. All right. Got the tag.

The tag's stealing.

Dangling from the side of his face there.

Where's the totally impartial umpire? I don't see any umpire there.

Yeah, there's going to be an umpire too, which is Jeremy's brother, right? Yeah, look, he's back there. He's—

No relation.

Yeah. Jeremy, so three at-bats here. Obviously, if you strike him out, you win that at-bat. If he walks, he wins that at-bat.

Correct.

But what constitutes a hit?

I mean, if it looks like a hit.

Okay. All right. So just if it looks like a—

Ground ball or stop. A ground ball to third. Yeah. I mean, Chris basically wants this judged like porn, if you know it when you see it.

Okay.

Okay.

And to me, you know, just keep in mind a weak ground ball is a weak ground ball.

Okay. Now, Jeremy—

A flyout is a flyout.

We gave our votes here, essentially. Who—

Yeah, I heard you. You all chose Chris. Every single person.

Yes. Seven nothing.

Yeah.

Clean sweep.

It's fine. Doubt me. Just don't doubt the three and two road trip.

I mean, maybe we're just trying to inspire you here. Like, if you wind up winning this here, you could credit us for lighting a fire under you.

The reverse jinx. I already had a fire lit. And I do want to make one clarification. Not complaining about my groin. Complaining about my glute, which only happens if you do not have a flat ass.

Nah, we saw that tush, man. There's not a whole lot going on there. So, all right. So, Chris, are you good to go? Are you ready?

Yeah. Today's not really about Jeremy and I. It's about me and old Betty getting to dance again.

Now, how long has it been since you've taken legit swings?

Like, baseball league, about 10 years ago.

Greg, that's a long time.

What about men's softball, though? Yeah. I mean, that was a few years ago, but that's totally different.

Chris, you got a strategy here?

Seeball, hit ball. I mean, Jeremy's been struggling to throw strikes here. So I'm going to try to be aggressive. I heard you guys talking before. I do not want to walk. Like, if it's close, I want little—if it's close, I'm swinging.

Now, I'm a little bit concerned about balls and strikes here. Is Jeremy's brother behind the fence?

Yeah. Jeremy's brother—his brother is behind.

That's correct.

—Jord Tarrison is behind the fence. We do have Ethan. And we've told Ethan that if something is egregious back there, he can overrule. That's called the EBS. But yeah, we've got him. We're doing our best. I think Chris and I both know what a ball and a strike is.

All right. Let's get after it.

All right. Let's do it.

Oh boy.

So Zaz, you got to do play by play.

Yeah. All right. The batter's in the box now.

Oh no, Greg. Greg, do play by play because you've done it before. You were an announcer.

And here comes the pitch.

Strike one.

Looking low and in, right?

Low curveball, first pitch. I told him I was taking one.

It's obvious strike.

That was low.

That was low and in, right?

Yeah.

Guys, guys, guys.

That's a strike. No, that's a strike.

That's a strike.

That's a strike.

Chris called it a strike.

All right.

Don't judge.

Keep your head in the game, kid.

Don't judge where Ethan is catching the ball.

All right. 0-1 count. Try and frame the pitch a little better, Ethan. All right. Here's the second pitch. Little hive. They're going strike two.

Both of those were strikes.

Wow. Chris just standing up there, watching. Hey, Chris, get the bat off your shoulder. 0-2.

I thought that's—

I think it's 1-1, but we'll play.

You want to call it 1-1?

No, no, no, no, no.

It is 1-1.

All right. Here comes the pitch from Jeremy. Here's the wind. Here's the pitch.

Strike three. Right down the middle.

Wow.

Strike three.

Wow. Even though the catcher did not hold on to strike three.

Catch it.

They're calling that a strikeout.

You're not going to sit here and complain. That's an obvious strike.

Well, Chris has to run to first.

Okay.

Okay. Wow. I did not see this going controversially at all.

That was right down the middle, but Ethan had to reach for it. I mean, guys.

That sounds like out number one.

We could—okay. Fine. How about this? 1-2.

I mean, when the umpire's set up in the parking lot, it's hard to call strikes.

We're evening it out.

Have you ever heard the umpire give a hee-haul three and then take it back?

Ground out.

That's a chopper, a short.

I know. I know when I see it.

That's out, right? That's an out. All right. That's out number one.

We need more from his brother, man.

All right. Out number one. Okay. Now, hang on a second. Hang on a second. Chris, how you feeling? Like, is the ball coming in a little faster than you thought it was going to? How you feeling?

Nah, I mean, that first at-bat was always going to be the toughest. I got to see it. I'm ready.

And Jeremy, how about you? Do you feel like your control is—you happy?

That's a chop out. I feel like it's certainly better than I thought it would be during my warm-ups.

Tell Ethan to stop talking.

I just want to keep Chris off balance.

Yeah.

Now, if they were playing—now, if they were playing me to pull, would that have gotten up the middle? Possibly, but we don't have to go there. That's hilarious.

You had the shift on?

Now, real quick. Quick question, actually, for Ethan. Ethan, is your dog running around in the outfield somewhere?

Is your dog here? Percy is not running around in the outfield.

No.

You know, now that I think about it.

Here we go. Here we go. Here we go.

All right. Here comes the second at-bat. Here's Jeremy with the wind. The pitch.

Outside. Is that right down the middle too? That's like where he had to reach before.

Way outside.

He caught that one.

Strike as far as outside.

1-0. Way outside.

Greg, stop being a homer.

It's the first ball Jeremy's throwing, according to the umpire there.

I am so worried about rows.

All right. Here comes the second pitch. Here's the wind.

All right. We're locked in.

That's tight.

We're locked in, folks. I see it now.

Is it a ball?

He's got the timing down, though.

Yeah, it's a ball.

It's timed him.

2-0. 2-0.

We're locked in.

The glute must be acting up.

All right. Hitter's count. 2-0. Here's the pitch. Outside. Ball three.

Ball three. No, he doesn't want none of that.

Chris, you can't take a walk. Come on.

I'm sure I don't want none of that.

He could take a walk.

Come on.

Green light. Green light.

All right, Jeremy. Give him something to hit here.

Basic right there. All right. I'll give him a single.

Oh, look at that.

Oppo. Oppo.

Oppo.

Oppo field.

Oppo field.

Coming down to the third at-bat.

I'll give him a single.

Shallow right. Oppo field.

Tell Ethan don't sweat too much in that.

In that mask. Tell him to take the mask off between rounds so the dandruff don't get in the return.

Jeremy, how you feeling? Are you going to change anything up here with the rubber at-bat?

No, I mean, I feel pretty good about how things are going here. You know, I got down early in that count. I tried to work my way back with a breaking ball. I think now it's just about getting ahead. 0-1 is the best pitch. And I can keep Chris off balance. That was weak contact. And you know, if your second baseman's playing back toward the grass, that is an out. But I'm giving him a line drive base hit, and I'm okay with that.

Chris, the pitcher's talking shit. How you feel about that?

Yeah. That would have been—if that first one was a definite ground out, then that one's a definite hit.

Sure.

That's just how I'm doing this. There's no defense. What do you want from this?

All right. Let's do it.

Right there.

At-bat number three. It's for all the marbles now.

All right. I'm feeling it now. Feeling it now, boys.

Little Sheffield.

Here's the wind. The pitch.

Foul ball.

That is a ground ball foul down the third base line. Greg, how you feeling right now?

Throw that curveball.

I'm a little nervous.

Please throw that curveball again.

Please throw that curveball again.

Please throw that curveball again. Okay.

Oh, okay.

I think there should be more of this in baseball, where the pitcher and the batter talk during the at-bat.

To one another.

Yeah.

Can we keep the cameras like this and don't switch it when the pitch comes?

All right. Here's the pitch.

Strike.

That was so far outside, and Chris still swung.

He swung.

Chris, what are you doing?

I want to be aggressive again. Try to be aggressive. I want a hit.

Wow.

Throwing shit to the backstop.

Wow. 0-2. Brutal. Brutal swing.

That wasn't good. That wasn't good. That wasn't good.

Come on.

Come on, kid.

Now, Jeremy, are you trying to throw him something that he's going to chase, or do you want to throw him like the high heat and get him swinging hard, you know?

Let's go. Challenge me.

He's shaking off Ethan.

You'll see.

What the hell is Ethan calling for? Here's the pitch. That is high.

Trying to drop down, guys.

That's ball number one.

Back in the day, I could do that.

All right.

All right.

Chris, you're protecting the plate here. What's the approach?

Choke and poke. I want something to hit here. I want to hit a line drive right back at him.

Wow.

All right.

All right. 1-2 count. Jeremy's shaking Ethan off again. I don't know what the hell he's doing. Here's the pitch.

Oh. I saw that one.

Fouled back.

Right down the middle.

That was juicy.

That was that right down the middle.

Greg, your son's staying alive here.

I know. I'm nervous, though. Two-strike count. That was the pitch to hit. That was it.

All right. Why are you got an open stance?

That was the pitch for him to hit. Should I bring it in a little?

Greg, with the constructive thinking.

I'll bring it in a little.

20 years ago, that's gone.

It's a good note. Good note.

All right. Jeremy, throw him some heat here. Reach back. Come on.

His glute's his glute.

Here's the pitch. 1-2 count. That's low. 2-2.

Oh boy.

Losing that command.

Glute, man.

Better warming someone up.

Manager's going to come out and have a conversation with him.

Oh, your glute.

That's right. This is a good time for a mound visit.

I am not a crook.

All right. I'm breathing so hard right now.

I don't want to approach this.

He's doing the Ethan running pitch show.

He's doing the Ethan show. 2-2 count.

Nixon has to do it.

Pitch is starting to look a little fatigued. Here's the pitch. That is outside.

He's doing as Mel Clark.

Oh boy. The count is full. You got to age him with you right now. The pitcher looks like he's losing control.

Oh boy.

Lock in, Jeremy. Lock in. Remember, they don't want to see you win.

It will be very anti-climactic if this ends on a walk.

Kids, he's an angel.

I'm going to keep going. I'm going to keep going if he walks me. I don't want to stop that way.

Here we go. Count is full. The pitch. That is high.

That's ball four.

Full count again.

Full count at-bats then? Full count again.

You want five at-bats? It's ball four, but the count remains full.

You want five at-bats? Oh, now he's offering me five at-bats.

That was a walk.

You should actually rotate it.

That's right.

So then he's up 2-1. Then he's up 2-1. It's up to you.

All right.

You want to call it?

Jeremy's taking his best at it five.

Staying on 2-1.

2-1.

That's what Jeremy wants.

I'm cool with that.

All right. It's best at it five now.

Base hit here, it's over. Base hit, it's over.

Here's the pitch. Swing and a miss. Well, that was some heat right there, Jeremy.

Ooh, the whiff.

All right.

Waiting with the quick pitch.

Got to lock in.

All right. Less from the catcher.

I don't like losing.

Come on, Mel.

0-1 count. Here's the wind. The pitch. Another swing and a miss. 0-2.

That was a Stanton.

The whiffer.

He couldn't lay off. He couldn't lay off. Low and outside. He couldn't lay off.

All right. Now the pitcher's feeling it. Here's the wind again. He's in a good rhythm now.

Ground out to short.

And that is a weak ground out to short.

Weak.

So.

Weak. No strike out. Need a ball.

2-2 now.

All right. 2-2. Rubber at-bat.

There's some heavy, heavy breathing going on right now.

Yeah, that's on me.

Podcasters.

It's on me.

How's this going?

It's feeling good. Look, guys, the curveball's moving. The fastball's there. I didn't have my timing right.

Thank you, Jason.

In getting ball up near my ear at the right time. Separation.

How's the crowd there? Did anyone show up?

A little more in sync. I mean, the crowd's great.

It's Jeremy's brother.

There's no one here, but.

It's all right.

Jason's doing well.

Rose is in a dangerous spot too.

All right.

All right. Here we go. The fifth and final at-bat as we are tied at two. Here's Jeremy. First pitch, the wind.

Up, up.

That's up.

Up, I guess.

Chris wanted to swing.

Up, up, and over.

He held that.

I had a catcher. I want to swing every pitch.

Tony Danza dies in six months, by the way.

All right. Yeah, that's true.

Oh, Mel Clark.

Great to work me in, Jeremy. I'm really looking more for Chet Steadman here.

All right. 1-0.

Float it.

Here's the pitch.

Damn.

That is low.

Rosenberger.

2-0.

You may actually want to float it.

Dirt ball.

Throw an Ethan's pitch.

2-0.

2-0.

Jeremy, get him off the plate.

All right. Hitter's pitch.

Gyro ball.

It's all right. I got him. That's what I'm saying, Juju. That's what I'm saying, Juju.

Buzz the tower. 2-1. Oy. All right. Here's the pitch. 2-0 count.

Strike.

That's a strike.

Right over the middle, guys.

That's a strike.

All right. Playing that little wide there.

2-1.

Wide plate.

I would give it 2-1.

2-1 count here.

Ethan gave it to me.

He started a little outside by the time I hit it.

There you go.

Less from the catcher. Less from the catcher.

You and I call like that. You and I call at the end of the game in South Bend.

All right. Here comes the pitch. It's a 2-1 count.

With signs and everything.

Goddamn.

That is way outside. Hits the back.

All right.

Almost hit the umpire.

Yeah, I know.

Went through the chain link fence and hit the umpire.

I know. The grunt is not something I'm happy about.

You're calling about a grunt?

The grunt is not something I'm happy about.

It's 3-1.

Need a super cut.

Ah, lighter over here.

3-1. Potential 2-1.

Sorry. Pitching me like I'm Barry Bonds.

Here we go.

Not like Steffi Graf.

Throw him some chin music.

Damn.

Oy.

Eyes over.

Four pitch.

Four.

Wow.

And it is one more pitch. This is it. One more pitch.

You want one more pitch?

One more pitch.

We need a result.

Okay.

We can go to a judge.

3-2. I don't even care.

We got plenty of results.

He calls it 3-2.

Don't try that.

I know. One more pitch. One more pitch. I know. I know. One more pitch.

Don't try not to grunt, Jeremy. Give it all you got.

Yeah. Give it to us.

Shaplonka. Ground ball to short. Oh, I hit Rose.

I hit Rose.

All right. That'll do it.

We finally did it. We did it, everybody. We hit Rose. Yeah. All right. Rose.

The camera's upside down.

Did she hear her yell?

Yeah, she yelled. She got hit.

The camera's on the ground.

The camera's upside down.

Poor camera. MVP, man. Rose.

Oh.

Rose.

Would you like to speak to the microphone?

I think that was through the hole. It shortened between short and third. What do you guys think?

Look at Rose. She's doubled over.

You fell off and knocked the double through.

All right.

Hit her right in the shin.

Yes, I am all right.

I'm so sorry.

All right, guys.

My defense, they put her right at the shortstop.

That went about as expected. Both of us looked bad. I'm assuming you guys will go 7-0 the other way.

Jeremy, in fact, the entire contest was a blowout because we were taking some inventory here in the studio, and we realized you didn't wear your football pads and helmet. And a deal's a deal.

Oh boy.

I'm out of here.

Yeah. We're tacking on an additional day.

Yes, sir.

Damn.

I'll be in to wear that later. Don't you worry.

No strike out. I'm not hurt. I think Jeremy pulled his ass, but other than that, I think we're good to go here. Who wants? Who wants?

Who wants?

They don't want to say you.

Despite you making no hard contact, they'll say you.

No hard contact.

No hard contact. That's okay. I'm okay with that. He didn't square anything up.

There was as much hard contact as strikes.

No football pads.

No, I mean, there was not any hard contact. At least there were.

No helmet.

And that's okay.

No contest.

I'm okay without the football pads and the helmet, Mike. I understand.

Gentlemen, you said it all.

Yeah. Good stuff. I know.

So who won?

Really impressive. So are you going to pick a winner, or are we both lose?

It's pretty obvious.

Chris won by a lot.

Yeah.

Yeah. For you, Greg. Thanks for being a homer.

No problem. Me and the umpire. Jeremy, I'm proud of you, brother. You look great out there.

Thank you, Juju.

You did your thing, bro.

Did my best.

Yeah. It's pretty clear that Chris.

Pretty clear Chris won.

Cool. See you guys.

All right. There you go.

So they both lost, yeah? There's always one game on the schedule that makes you start doing dangerous math. How long is a flight? Can I get back before work? Is this a terrible financial decision or a memory I'll have forever? Week nine gives us plenty of temptation. Bengals-Falcons from Madrid, Giants-Eagles, Raiders-49ers, Packers-Patriots, Buccaneers-Bears on Sunday night, and Bills-Vikings on Monday night. That's a good one. When I start talking myself into a trip, I check game time. It's easy to find tickets. And the panoramic sea views let me see exactly what I'm buying.

Can I tell you something? I don't know. It was maybe like a month ago. And I decided to watch Pitch Clock. And I told Jeremy.

Jonathan Sassolo.

This is a good show you're doing.

This is the Dan Le Batard Show. I mean, that I thought. That was a losing effort on both sides.

I'm a little disappointed with Chris. I got to be honest.

Why? He walked twice.

He won.

Yeah, but.

Jeremy couldn't hit the broad side of a ball.

But the pitches that he did make contact with, like the Oppofield hit, that was good. Although I would have liked him to power one maybe down left field.

I thought he was going to get good wood on the ball, and he really didn't.

But the other balls that he put in play were just weak bouncers. I thought he would get a hold of one.

Yeah, that last one was a don't strike out contact, where you just want to get wood on the ball.

All right.

Oh well.

It's a metal bat.

Was it?

Yeah.

Okay. Should have been wood.

So last night, we had the drama. I'm watching last night. I got the Panther game on the big TV in the Zaslo Mansion family room. And on the smaller TV, I got the Celtics and the Sixers. That's right. And luckily, I think it was actually I think it was intermission at the Panther game, so I was able to switch the TVs at the start of the game. And I had to rewind. We're all waiting, right? We're all waiting for the start of the game. This is going to set the tone for the night. Are they going to say hello to each other at the start of the game, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum?

Absolutely. I had the same feeling. I was like, nah, don't do it like that, Jaylen. I know that what you just did, bro.

It was weird. I didn't know what happened. And you could see here, Greg, on the video, Jayson Tatum walks up to him, gives him a couple pats on the chest, gives him a pat on the ass, and Jaylen Brown is just standing there spinning the ball on his toe.

No eye contact at all.

None. None. And Jayson Tatum made his rounds. He said hello to other Sixer players.

He and LeBron hugged.

And he said hello to all the players around the center. And when he went up to Jaylen Brown, Jaylen was just and Jaylen said hello, by the way, to other guys too. And Jaylen is just spinning the ball on his finger, not looking at looking in the direction, but not looking at Jayson Tatum. Tatum goes up, clearly tries to say hello, and Brown straight up ignores him.

Well, guys, I have clarification here from the postgame comments from Jaylen Brown. He was asked about whether the emotions got to him, and he said, "I didn't have any emotion. I was locked in. I was focused. I was ready to go." So there you have it. He's just locked in. That's all.

Well, let me give you Jaylen Brown now. He was asked postgame by the media on the exchange.

I'm just focused on doing what's best for my team. Everything else was just to be honest, I wouldn't even get into it. But credit to Jayson for playing well today. Credit to the Celtics that executed. They shot the hell out of the ball, and they were the better team than I.

That makes all the sense in the world. You want him to be focused for his team. He can't afford to say hello to anybody.

As a Jaylen Brown guy, you feel me? I'm embarrassed by that. You feel me? I feel like at least dap each other. I'll give each other good salutations because you got a history.

Every time before the finals, I'm like, what are you doing? Why are you a high five? Really?

With these stakes. So he said that, to be honest, I didn't notice him. I wasn't paying attention. Jaylen, Jaylen. The days leading up to the game, everyone knows there's going to be a moment before the game where the two of you are going to say hello to each other. Jaylen, you noticed everybody else to say hello to them. You didn't notice Jayson Tatum. Greg, let me ask you something. When somebody comes up to you, pats you on the chest twice and then on the ass, do you not notice them?

Yeah, I tend to notice that. Yeah, I tend to notice that. Why can't in a postgame press conference, why can't you just admit, yeah, it was a little bit awkward? A little bit of an awkward moment.

Right, bro.

That's all.

That's why I don't like some of these things. It's okay to be real at the postgame. You be like, boy, I dropped the ball tonight, boy. I was ass, and I didn't dap him off. Shame on me.

I mean, to be honest, I wasn't paying attention. Jaylen, to be honest, that's cap. That's cap. It's a blue cap. Jaylen Brown came off childish to me. He did. You played with that guy for a decade. Have a human interaction.

Right.

This is what I'm going to say. You can do all that. You can actually behave the way you do. What you cannot do is follow up with a very ass game, where every time he touched it, he tried to force it. He's falling everywhere. The ball's splurting out everywhere. He's going up contested against six dudes, getting blocked. I'm like, what are you doing, dude? You are clearly trying too hard as opposed to playing within the flow of the game. You know who had a return revenge game and played within the flow of the game and played great? Podcast P. Podcast P.

Shaq and Kobe hated each other when they broke up. Hated each other.

No, Shaq will say it was just marketing.

Hated each other when they broke up. And Shaq definitely wanted nothing to do with Kobe. That Christmas Day game where they played each other for the first time, Heat and Lakers. But yet, be a human being. Where Kobe came up to him. Shaq didn't look at him because he doesn't like him. But at least pat on the back, keep the F moving. Have to have a human interaction.

Well, the other thing is, if you're Jaylen Brown, and you got that vibe from Tatum. If you're Jaylen Brown, this is symbolically the opportunity to start a new chapter in the relationship, to leave all the vitriol behind.

Now the next matchup, we're doing this again. Instead of it ending last night, we're still going to do it next game now. Ooh, are they going to say hello this time now?

Yeah.

It was a poor choice by Jaylen Brown last night.

Yeah, just be a little just be the minimal cordial.

Yeah, right.

The minimal cordial.

Totally.

And then the controversy goes away. Then after the next meeting, nobody's saying, "So, how's it going to be at the beginning of the you could have gotten rid of all that baggage and you didn't."

And I think that played into what you said to me, him playing like ass. Because you trying to be something that you're not necessarily are, man. Trying to be tough and mean to this brother. And you out there trying to keep that facade up. And it showed in your game, man.

Juju, you know what it popped out for me was when that first time he went up against Tatum. And Tatum poked the ball out of bounds, and they called it out of bounds. And then Brown, for playing a few minutes into the first quarter, complained about that call nonstop.

What are you doing? He had his arm around me. What are you looking at? What are you doing?

He just kept doing it. I'm like, buddy, play the game, play the game. Then he started guarding him too hard, face-guarding him.

Quick fouls.

Lost him on a quick foul and then lost him on a backdoor cut because he was too fixated. And next, he was like, am I switching? Am I not switching? It's like everything about it was this game clearly means the world to you. And I'll be honest, I thought Tatum kind of just did I ridiculed him before the game because he said, well, Brad Stevens says it's just another game. And we're like, yeah, it ain't just another game. But he literally played like it was just another game and let Paul George be the star of the night. And Peyton Pritchard also, it was just everything was obvious that this was such a huge deal for Jaylen Brown.

Let's hear from Joe Mazzulla after the game on the way Tatum handled everything.

To me, he doesn't get enough credit for his emotional stability, his emotional intelligence, and his maturity. I mean, he just has an innate ability to stay focused on the things that he can control and the things that matters most. And I think it's unfair to him because sometimes his quietness comes off as if he's aloof or doesn't pay attention or doesn't care. But it's the opposite. He's just highly emotionally intelligent and has an innate ability to focus on the things you can control and the things you can't. And he cares about being a great teammate, and he cares about winning.

Shocking to see Joe Mazzulla be kind of normal.

Right. Right. Who was that last night?

Who was that guy?

Yeah. Jaylen Brown will be the one who doesn't act like a human being. And Joe Mazzulla acts like a human being.

To be fair, if you roll the clip a couple more seconds after he just ended right there, he does the Will Ferrell. I blacked out what just happened.

Oh, yeah. Dan Le Batard.

This is the quickest it goes. Hey, this is the quickest it goes.

Greg Coty.

Everybody, this is the quickest it goes. Yeah.

This is the Dan Le Batard Show. Jayson Tatum was great last night.

Yes.

He was great. And just the whole thing leading up to the game last night with Jaylen Brown from Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown told him, stay ready. Tatum looked ready. Jaylen Brown didn't look ready. And Jaylen Brown saying there's no beef. I don't know. You completely ignore someone when that guy goes up to say hello to you. It kind of feels like there's a little bit of beef.

A little bit of major beef.

Especially. Especially when you're the person saying all this. If anything, I feel like Jayson Tatum could have came out and not dapped you off because you've been talking. He was big enough to be like, you know what? What's up, bro? And you still showed him the cold shoulder. That was lame.

Why can't athletes admit that it's not just another game? OK, there are special it'd be like if Mensah and Barkate tried to say, this is just another game. Just because we're playing Duke, the team that we left, it's just another game. Why can't Brown say, no, it's not just another game. There's some weird shit going around this game, and we're going to get through it, and everything's going to be fine.

Well, Greg Coty, yesterday I interviewed Cedric Corbredd Maxwell, and he said exactly that. He said, it's not just another game. I said, has it ever been just another game for you? He's like, nope. Every time we played his words, the Fakers, every time, he said, they knew this was going to be a big deal. I'm going to try and tweet through this, by the way. He said they would walk by the Lakers locker room, and ML Carr would be like, just talking shit. Guys, come on out and get this ass open. This is for a regular season matchup. So yeah, there are guys out there.

Maybe.

They like a lot of passive, aggressive behavior. I wonder if we'll ever get that.

Well, and that's why I love last night. I love last night, and I love the build-up to last night. I love that they clearly don't like each other.

Yeah, we love the drama.

I love the drama.

It's great for sports.

The NBA to me for years now is too much hugging and kissing. And I like that this is a rivalry now. It's OK to not like the guy on the other team. I loved what Jaylen Brown said a couple days ago when they asked him, are you going to talk to him? He said, there's nothing to say. He plays on that side. I play on this side. I want more of that. Yeah, I love that.

You know what was funny about that video we showed? After Brown gave Tatum the obvious cold shoulder, no eye contact even, that's when LeBron and Tatum hugged each other. And LeBron was kind of smiling, almost laughing. I guarantee it was because of how Brown had reacted.

I think that Steele, Tudow, the game, it shows this is proof of why the Celtics lose in the playoffs, though. Because they fell in love with them threes. They was falling. They was falling. And in the playoffs, I don't think them threes going to fall like that.

I mean.

That's interesting that you say that. From a Celtics perspective, OK. But to me, last night from the Sixers, I feel like we saw a little bit of why it's not going to work in the playoffs.

For sure.

They can't shoot.

They can't shoot. I said, Dean Wade, not a shooter.

Can't shoot. And LeBron for the first time this year, and we're only in game number like 11, LeBron for the first time this year looked old last night. And Embiid, you got to be kidding me. I mean, he can't jump anymore. He can't jump over a piece of paint.

He just want to land under the basket when Edgecombe dunked it.

Well, he misses a he tries to finger roll, and it hits the front of the rim. And so Embiid says, OK, let me lie on the ground now and pretend that I'm hurt. And VJ Edgecombe's like, yeah, I'm just going to jump over you and dunk.

The only way that's going to work is if they get another bit, man. Because you can't rely on Embiid. Mike said it a couple when I first said I like the Sixers, he was like, ooh, boy, you going to hate Embiid. Look, I think we got to get that brother some help. Because them Sketchers, them low top Sketchers, they are doomed to fail.

Great night for the Celtics and the Celtic fan. Bad night for Jaylen Brown and the Sixers. Mike, yesterday, you missed it. Jimmy Johnson, not football Jimmy Johnson.

How about them?

Oh. Jimmy Johnson, NASCAR Jimmy Johnson. He was in studio with us.

He's a good looking man.

He is a good looking man.

He was great yesterday.

Yeah. Yeah, he's a fantastic talker and incredible driver. Most successful NASCAR driver maybe ever. You can make the argument, him and Richard Petty, right? Yeah, Homs said the championship race was down here, finally back where it belongs. And I took Jeremy with me for a real fish out of water story. Here's the video package.

Hey, Jeremy.

Hey, Mike.

Jeremy. Why?

It's too much.

I wanted to dress the part.

It's a championship race.

Yes.

We're over here at Homestead Miami Speedway, beautifully renovated.

Right.

We're going left all day.

Let's go.

All right. Jeremy, it's a rite of passage. Making the world's fastest margarita, banging our shins, and having a general amazing time.

Let's do it.

What am I trying to get to? I'm just going as fast as I can. I don't feel like this is part of the challenge anymore.

It's good. I'm good. I'm good. I'm just going to stay here for a minute.

I'm in third.

There was no first or second competitor, but that's OK.

We're going to have some unfiltered fun thanks to our friends over at Cuervo. Remember, for every lap, keep it fun. Keep it Cuervo. Oh, we got the Cuervo challenge. And the first challenge we have is the championship cheers.

Ooh.

Kick off the day with an impromptu celebratory toast at the Cuervo party pit. Let's toast.

Ready for the toast.

Woo!

It's a Homestead.

It's great to have Homestead back as a championship race. The renovations look beautiful. What has you most excited about the brand new Homestead?

Now it's seen this. We spent a lot of time preparing for it. It's like building a train set. Now we got to watch it run.

Championship cheers to you.

Thank you so much.

Now it is time for our next challenge, the $100 NASCAR makeover by the most outrageous race day outfit. I think I'm just going to pocket the $100 here Jeremy.

I can't.

All right. Let's spend some money.

All right. Looking for as many colors as I can find.

Do we have the same idea here?

Yeah.

Damn. You look great, dude.

All right. These challenges have been really working out for us.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy about this.

You know, we could have went overboard and made the other person look like a you already handled that on your own.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Oh, this is awesome.

Oh, man. Thank you so much.

Truly.

2311, guys. Choice, pick a championship driver to root for based on an unconventional reason.

Michael Jordan.

No?

Let's just go with Denny Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin.

I have a hat.

All right. What's your say?

Jeremy's wild card. Get an autograph on a hat or a shirt from a driver.

All right.

OK.

Find the most outlandish food snack available to eat.

All right.

Yeah.

This is more difficult.

I think I found some.

Driver?

Jeremy, it's not a driver.

It's not?

It's not a driver.

OK.

That guy's not a driver either.

This guy?

That guy's not a driver either.

But everybody here?

Not a driver.

But look at them. They look like drivers.

All right. I got the cubano hot dog, which is basically a Cuban sandwich on a hot dog. And you got a vice dog.

Yeah, the vice dog. It has guava.

Yeah, there's guava barbecue sauce on here.

All right.

Looks delicious. Cheers.

The skill is taking the maneuver aircraft inside, carrying thousands of pounds of cargo.

It's a good challenge.

Good challenge.

Good, good.

Exactly where it needs to be.

You will get this.

Think I found the drivers.

They're a little far from war autographs, though.

Oh my god, drivers.

Drivers, drivers, drivers.

All happen.

Can you sign this, please?

Thank you so much.

I just got a signature from my favorite driver. I think it was Denny Hamlin. OK, so I looked it up. Not Denny Hamlin. That, after many Google searches, I figured out, is Austin Dillon, my favorite driver.

All right.

I get to sign the wall.

This is like about as religious of an experience as I could have as a NASCAR fan.

I heart NASCAR.

This is what I was born to do.

Oh.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

It's time for our unfiltered finish to capture the most unforgettable moment of the championship race. If it wasn't the pace choppers.

How about it's green flag right now?

Green flag. Let's go. An exciting race off the pits to kind of determine how this race shaped up. Ryan Blaney, you're winner of the Homestead Series finale. But also, Kyle Larson is a back-to-back champion. And while there wasn't much drama in the chase today, there was plenty of drama a couple weeks ago in Talladega. Going from 11th to first, that's really a championship winning move. But it was a sellout crowd. The facelift has done wonders for Homestead. And I think we got a brand new fan in Jeremy Tasheng.

That's right. There were two winners out there and two winners right here, me and Mike Ryan.

Friends over racing now.

Friends over race.

Thank you so much, Cuervo, for all your support throughout the NASCAR season. They've sent us to Talladega, Daytona, and the championship race at Homestead. Really glad to be partnered with them. Remember, for every lap, keep it fun, keep it Cuervo.

All right. How about that? I enjoyed Jimmy Johnson here yesterday.

He was great.

You know? He was very good.

Yeah.

And then he ended it with he ended it great. He said, next time, come with better questions. Because we asked him a lot of shenanigans, Mike. I don't know if you saw.

Yeah, I wanted to ask him about the chase.

I mean, Mike, haven't you always wondered how realistic Mario Kart is?

Did you ask him if he peed his pants during a race?

We did.

We did.

He said never.

All right.

He said never.

Sick.

He's a liar.

Yeah, I did.

Really?

Yeah.

We should have asked him, did he poop? Different answer.

Could have been.

Yeah. Good idea, Juju.

Yeah.

What could have been?

We can come back for Southeast sessions at some point. And then we can ask all those questions.

Real missed opportunity there. All right. So you and Jeremy now, like race car buddies.

I mean, there is something. You can hate on the sport all you want. Many of you don't choose to not watch it at all. But when that green flag drops, and those cars start maxing out, and they go by you, and you feel it in your chest, I just love it when they go fast.

It's one of the most fun sporting events I've ever been to in person. I went to Phoenix International Raceway. This was years and years ago. But I was like, man, this thing is fun. This is exciting. I'm like, Jeremy, I'm like, driver, driver. I love that. It's like, imagine going to a football game. So you got to get an autograph from one of the Cowboys. All right. Football? Football player? Football player? Oh, there it is. There's the autograph.

Yeah, from Austin Dillon. Jeremy was super pumped to find out what plane he flew on the week before.

Was it 737?

Qatars!