Transcript of The Iconic Dance Of Mr. Met | Hour 2 New

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If you would like to help the people of Venezuela, there was an obvious calamity, two massive earthquakes on June 24th, just 39 seconds apart, a 7.2 and 7.5, and the visuals out of Venezuela are just unfathomable.

7.2.

You've got, uh, all sorts of weird stuff happening with the Earth. I was not aware that Cuba could have earthquakes. There was one felt downtown here in Miami in Cuba. But what's happening in Venezuela is their, their structures are no way built for this because it'd been more than 100 years since they'd gotten a hur— uh, an earthquake of any kind. And then they got two back to back like this. So there are thousands of people missing, and there are people sleeping in the streets because they don't trust the structures. So they're sleeping outside because some of the buildings that are still up are buildings that are, you know, just not trustworthy. And in South Florida, we have a huge Venezuelan population. If you would like to help here locally, we have a couple of places where you can do so: unitedwaymiami.org, foodforthepoor.org, and globalempowermentmission.org. I will give all of those again in the event that you wish to help, because if you are watching any of the video coming out of Venezuela, it's just unbelievably horrific. And you've got tens of thousands of people unaccounted for. You've got a whole lot of folks in Miami who work in rescue going to Venezuela.

Obviously, the, the amount of time to find survivors, if not already having dwindled, it's almost gone being able to find anyone still surviving. But if you want to help, GlobalEmpowermentMission.org, UnitedWayMiami.org, and FoodForThePoor.org. Because what you're seeing there in terms of video is a calamity that is unspeakable. And if you just from one moment to the other lost people that you cared about in something that catastrophic, it would obviously be something that hits you where it hurts. So help if you can. And I will transition awkwardly out of that into some more of the sports news of the day. Zaslav was saying during the break that there was a flurry of NBA news over the course of the last hour. Before we get to this latest flurry, one of the things that I wanted to get to, uh, congratulations to Al Horford, 20th season, going into a 20th season with the Warriors, which is, uh, kind of crazy. And I wanted to ask Amin, do you have any idea why the Pistons traded Isaiah Stewart, uh, to the Grizzlies? Like, what was the thinking behind that?

Yeah, they were getting return on value. Stewart is probably not going to get a much higher return than they got right there. Durant is who they're locked in on. They're going to pay him. So you got to clear out that money. And then they were able to go out and pursue Isaiah Joe, who gives them shooting. I think, look, the Pistons free agency front off offseason has just started. They're going to be aggressive with a lot of moves. Norm Powell is a name that's been linked to them and it would help them tremendously. But yeah, you got to give up stuff sometimes to get stuff.

What is the other news here that we have had over the last hours?

So free agency officially opened. Opens tomorrow, but players are starting to opt in and out of contracts. So James Harden has opted out of his $42.3 million final year of his deal for next season. I would assume— it seems that nowadays when you opt out of the final year, it's because you're going to restructure, you're going to sign extension with said team. I would imagine that is going to be the case with James Harden in Cleveland. Uh, Zach Lavine in Sacramento is opting in to his $49 million dollar player option. I would imagine that, uh, the Kings would— well, I'd imagine they're going to try and trade him. And you also have Draymond Green, who is opting out of the final $27.7 million in his deal. And certainly that's one that you look at where you're like, okay, is that Draymond Green willing to take more money but less per year? Because there's a lot of smoke as far as them potentially going after LeBron James.

And not just LeBron James, Anthony Davis has been linked also to Golden State. So this is Draymond doing the ultimate team thing. You know, usually, like you said, an opt-out is because he's going to sign a longer deal that guarantees him more money. Uh, in this case, I'm not even sure that's going to happen with Draymond, uh, not because he's not deserving, but this is his opportunity to give Golden State a real leg up in bringing in some reinforcements.

I know you guys talked about this some last week, uh, but when LaMelo Ball goes for what LaMelo Ball goes for, and you just mentioned Anthony Davis Is the Dallas trade of Luka Dončić somehow even worse now in retrospect than it was, given our visceral reaction to the fact that all you got back was essentially Anthony Davis, who no longer plays for you and now is going somewhere else? You didn't get anything for Dončić.

So they got Cooper Flagg.

Well, that has nothing to do with it.

No, they didn't.

That has nothing to do with that deal. They got Max Christie, though.

They traded Luka Dončić. Think about what LaMelo Ball went for, or even Giannis, while you're at it. Think about the number you've got. The equivalent of 7 first-round picks going for Giannis. We've talked before about Desmond Bane going for 4, Bridges going for 5, Rudy Gobert going for 5. And Dončić sits in the middle of that as something that Dallas gets nothing for.

But then this is the day of— the day of we were saying this is awful because even if Anthony Davis can stay healthy, when you trade a guy like Luka Dončić, 25 years old, 5-time All-NBA First Team, you have to walk away with multiple picks. That, that was the day of, and that was me not knowing whether Ante Davis was going to get hurt or not, and obviously ultimately traded.

You know, you did know. Uh, I saw Chris Cody's eyes light up during the YouTube break because I think he just realized that Eric Andre is on South Beach Sessions, and, uh, you're a big Eric Andre guy, right?

I'm very encouraged by that clip I saw. I was very worried when I saw him on the calendar last week. I was like, oh no. I was like, what's Dan gonna— he's gonna ruin Eric Andre for me. It's gonna be like an hour of just him crying about his saddest moments. But luckily we got a dildo with a Chinese finger trap story. So I'm feeling good. I'm gonna listen on my way home today.

It's a good story, right?

That, that story, that, that story that I was also scared when I saw it on the calendar. I'm like, this can go one of two ways. Either Dan's gonna ruin him or Eric's gonna show Dan his dick.

Yeah.

Did you see it?

Did you get to see it?

I did not get to see it, no, but he told—

So you ruined him.

He told stories involving his penis though, and being in a dangerous situation in a barbershop while locked penis to penis with a finger trap with a friend of his while doing pranks. He also, it was, he is an anxiety-riddled person, which is a place that I could have ruined the Eric Andre interview, But one of the things that he said that was interesting, and I encourage you to listen to South Beach Sessions because it was a lot of fun to talk to him and he was unusually vulnerable, but he's sort of slapping his forehead on, I don't understand why I saw some sort of nobility in not taking a pill for my anxiety. Like, I've been doing all of this work, I've lived with this anxiety for so long, and all I had to do was get properly medicated for it and it managed to even me out in a way that doesn't make me any less funny. So, uh, where is it that, uh, where is it that you became a fan of Eric Andre? Because I, I, I loved him just in Gemstones. I, I loved his character in Gemstones. But you love his prank shows, right?

The Eric Andre Show is where I really fell in love with him. I had seen him before that, but the Eric Andre Show— did you consider doing some Eric Andre Show antics in your interview with him? Like maybe just a zebra walks out in the middle?

Did you?

No.

Ah, so then True story. The original, original, original pitch I had for Oddball was an NBA version of the Eric Andre Show, and I wanted to do that, and I wanted it to be out there. And then Metal Ark happened, and then here we are.

Yeah, as a Pulitzer Prize-winning media company. Is that what you're welcome?

Yeah, you're welcome. Yeah.

And then Metal Ark happened, and here we are with a crazy sound. Like, what does that mean? Metal Ark happened to you? Yeah, it's Metal Ark's fault that you weren't able to do an Eric Andre basketball show. Yeah, it was your show though.

One more thing.

Keep our head on the ball, guys. Yeah.

Is there any other NBA news that's worth chronicling here? Like the opening of free agency? What are the big movements that we are expecting?

Why are we burying the lead? We have two federal indictments. Malik Beasley and Ed Davis, who hasn't played in the league in quite a while, which is kind of weird. How do they get— how'd they catch him up? But Malik Beasley— Dan, Dan, this was one of the things I was coming in here hot to trot, like, you know what, you know what's an off-the-beaten-path option for the Miami Heat? You know, still out there, great shooter, Malik Beasley. And, and then this happened, and now it's like, I don't think he's on the table anymore, guys.

Well, and also over the weekend, you had the Hornets make another trade that a lot of people didn't see coming, with Miles Bridges going to Phoenix. I really like what the Hornets are doing.

I love it.

And I think they're going to get Jaylen Brown.

They are not in the Jaylen Brown sweepstakes. That's according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

All right.

You guys love what Charlotte is doing, but they are coming off of their most relevant season since Jamal Mashburn. Like, they—

they—

whoa, purple shirt guy would like a word.

Kemba Walker did not win a playoff series.

This Hornets team has never been to the playoffs.

Like, neither has— the— never been to the playoff game. Like, we talk all the time, like, we did this with Jimmy Butler, right, where the Heat, they should have traded Jimmy Butler a year ago. You waited a year too long. I think the Hornets are making very proactive moves here. They finally got a year out of LaMelo Ball where he played, played, played 72 games. The 3 years before that, he played 47, 22, and 36 games. This is the definition of selling high on a player who never plays and has not appeared in a postseason game.

And you got something for Miles Bridges too, which after the last couple of years you didn't think you would ever get anything for him. You were able to, to buff him up a little bit and then get him out the door.

And they got two good players, two guys, Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neal. But when the LaMelo Ball deal happened, I was outraged. I was outraged. That's what I was outraged about. Nas Reid got traded. I thought the whole point of Julius Randle getting traded was now this is Nas Reid's time. He's going to be their starting four. He might be an All-Star caliber player and he goes out the door. I was staggered.

It's a great trade.

Staggered that the Timberwolves would do that.

It's a great trade for Charlotte.

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Dan Levitar.

Analytics have/are ruining the game. We're playing AI hoops.

That's his team. His team's in the forefront of all that.

Lance, ass, don't steal my thunder.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Jonathan Sasslow.

I get carried away. This is the Dan Levitar Show.

Is that A-Rod?

What's happening there? Because A-Rod, as soon as A-Rod got there, before all of that arbitration stuff started happening with the owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, A-Rod was said to be involved with, you know, the 5 draft picks traded for Rudy Gobert. What is happening there? I'm assuming that a lot of people are wondering, well, how is that going to work? LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards together.

Tim Connolly is something of a riverboat gambler. He likes makes big bold moves. Uh, the ability to give 5 first-round picks up for Rudy Gobert is because A-Rod said yes, be bold. And Tim Connolly, finally someone lets me go wild here. A lot of people are excited, Dan. They've been targeting LaMelo Ball for a while. Minnesota has— like, they, they look at him. They obviously needed a point guard. Well, because Anthony Edwards having to do so much playmaking takes a lot out of him, not only offensively but also defensively. He doesn't have as much energy on the defensive end. So LaMelo Ball as a playmaker frees him up to do that stuff. And let me tell you, if they had done this deal and Nas Reid was still a Timberwolf, I would have been like, home run. But the part where they gave up Nas Reid and Julius Randle, they went from one of the big teams— we talk about size in the West, right? The Thunder and the Spurs and, and Denver and, um, pardon me, Minnesota was one of those teams. And now they go from one of the biggest teams to Jaden McDaniels as your starting four.

I don't like that at all.

Does Minnesota deserve the benefit of the doubt? Because previously they made moves like Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle, and I do think that they spun those into wins when a lot of people were questioning those moves in very similar fashion.

Absolutely. Tim Conley is one of the most respected front office guys, but he is a riverboat gambler. And so telling me that the riverboat gambler has won on 2 consecutive bets or however many consecutive bets, Doesn't mean that the next one is gonna win. It means he's probably due for one that's gonna fall flat on its face.

Oh, but what I saw happening here almost has less to do with Minnesota than it does with the symbolism of Wemby hitting Nas Reid in the face and all of a sudden Minnesota realizing, yeah, we were close, but now those two teams are younger and, and they're going to keep getting better and we have to do something. The team that we have is not good enough to compete with OKC as constituted, the team that we have is not good enough to actually compete with OKC and the Spurs.

I, I just don't believe that. That, you know, they've been to the conference finals twice in the last 3 years. Last year they didn't make it because in part Anthony Edwards is hurt. Dante DiVincenzo is out for the entire series. Io Dušumu, who had a great game in that series, was also playing injured. So it was a compromised version of them. But also, if we're trying to compete with the Spurs with the Nuggets, with the Thunder, all these big teams. How are you gonna tell me trading away all your size is the answer?

And obviously they had a strong need for guard, for playmaking and stuff, which LaMelo and Ioannis cover. But now your front court against big, you know, big places in the West, uh, Chet Holmgren, Jokic, um, Wemby, anybody like that, now all of a sudden you don't have anybody. LaMelo does do a great job of creating for others though. He created how many you know, hundreds of threes for Concanipple, for Miller, for Bridges in Charlotte. So I'm interested to see what he does for Ant.

You're in it— like, Minnesota has championship aspirations. They've had championship aspirations for the last few years. You're in a big playoff game and the ball's in LaMelo Ball's hands. Give me— come on, give me a break.

So this is, this is what I'm gonna say, and I'm not like the biggest LaMelo Ball fan, but I am a big fan of Anthony Edwards. And we thought a certain way about Karl-Anthony Towns, and then Anthony Edwards got around him and he became way better, right? And way more focused.

We thought a third—

a certain type of way about Julius Randle, and then Anthony Edwards got around him, and then he played the best ball of his career. I feel like LaMelo, however wild or crazy, unreliable he is, you put him next to Anthony Edwards and there's a level of like, no, this is serious here. Making it to the playoffs is not our goal. Our goal is a championship. And that culture, I think LaMelo Ball will conform with.

You guys objected to what it is I was saying about this Hornets team. I was using the second half of the season. They just broke up the best lineup offensively that there was in the sport the second half of last season. LaMelo, Kinnipiel, Bridges, uh, Miller, and Diabate— their net rating was 26.4 in 509 minutes. Plus 26.4 the second half of the season. You guys are much higher on what it is that they're doing than I am.

Then all of that is true. Also, they barely squeaked by in a Miami Heat team that all you guys say is terrible. And then they got their asses annihilated by Orlando. So all of that's nice, but this is what I always say about regular season statistics: they're built on the corpses of all the awful teams.

You had like a third of the league that wasn't trying.

Yes, when you, when you play against a team—

but everybody was playing the bad teams, and this was the best lineup statistically. Everybody was playing those bad teams.

Sure, but my point is, once we get to a place where, okay, now it's serious, where it's not, uh, a divided attention, everyone on the staff, everyone on the team is geared to just beat your ass, they didn't perform quite as well. And LaMelo Ball was one of the biggest culprits. That's why Zazz is saying big playoff game, you're trusting him the ball in his hands. That's why he's saying that, because his track record is they haven't been in the playoffs, but they've been in the play-in a bunch of times. He's not good there.

I mean, they're also a byproduct of white-hot shooting for that stretch after the All-Star Game where they kind of take what Boston does and the principles that they do and brought it over to Charlotte. We're like, we're going to shoot a trillion threes with everybody here on the floor. And it's also shades of of that Heat team that went, what, 30-11 or whatever, and you're like, all right, we can run this back. Charlotte looked at it and said, there's character guys that we don't really like, there's guys that can show us that this is a bit of fool's gold. Let's be proactive like Zass says and get something for our return.

And they did just replicate in the aggregate what they lost in the 3-point shooting with Royce O'Neal and Grayson Allen.

It's an amazing roster that they're putting together. It's really deep. It's, it's— if, if, like, if we're gonna take like the Knicks as an example of, hey, maybe I don't have the best player in the league on my team, but I've got 9 to 11 guys who are all really, really good, bona fide rotation NBA players. Now Charles Lee's got to bring it all together. He's got to get everyone to buy in in the same way that Mike Brown did. But if I'm a Hornets fan and they're pissed— Rod Boone, uh, of the Charlotte Observer was on the radio show with us yesterday. He, he let us know the fans are pissed because they feel like, damn, I was like, wait a second, we had the best season ever and you guys are breaking up The Beatles. But the reality is, it's what Tony said. They know, hey, this isn't real. What happened, that's not real. That's not sustainable. We got good, and now it's the time where we can sell LaMelo Ball high, and we could sell a guy that was unsellable. Unsellable. Miles Bridges, because of the domestic violence, very graphic, very well-documented incidents, he was un— like, untouchable.

Even when he came back to the Hornets, people were like, what are you guys doing? So them being able to trade him for two rotation NBA players who are really good shooters, and now you're surrounding Brandon Miller with Conner Kanipel and Royce O'Neal and Grayson Allen and Naz Reid, who I think, again, I'll say it again, I think this guy is an all-star caliber big man. They're doing something very— like you guys, as you guys are worried about what the rest of the Eastern Conference is doing, look in your own division because that one right there, you got to watch.

But it's not just, though, that I'm looking at the second half of the season. If I'm a Charlotte fan, why it is that I'm bothered by this when I say the best team that they have had since, uh, Jamal Mashburn was there, even though you guys are throwing, uh, the Kemba Walker, uh, team at me. Um, the thing that Charlotte had that they probably haven't had in two decades is a player that the fan base falls in love with, for better or worse. This was a star basketball name that they had in Charlotte, and they haven't had one of those. Like, it's been a long time since their fan base can celebrate, oh, we have someone who's a star name. Whether you like his playing style or not, I don't trust him either. I think he's reckless in general. I think he's inefficient. He does a lot of stuff and did a lot of stuff before that Orlando game that is as smothered as you can be as an offense. He did a lot of stuff that was dumb, just flat dumb. It's not, it's not the way we're playing basketball anymore. We can extend the range of these players to 30 feet if you like, Like nobody's playing basketball the way LaMelo— as sloppily as LaMelo Ball is.

Yes, you're right. And he— but he is a star, undeniable, very popular, one of the biggest sellers of sneakers out there, the one of the, the most watched on social media. And he is a product of the social media generation, right? Lavar made him a star as like a sophomore in high school in that way, in a way that probably far surpasses actual basketball achievement. And so they're going to have to reckon with that in a market where they've already had to struggle to sell tickets and get people excited. They never really healed after George Shinn moved the team to New Orleans. And so they've always been kind of climbing this massive uphill back. But basketball-wise, I feel like this is a great thing. And to me, all of that stuff, they'll trade it all in for success. They'll trade it all in for a winner. And I think this is going to make them into a winner.

You know about that big ball brand?

Thank you. Thank you.

The, the Balls, they became famous with a generation of social media kids while playing in Lithuania as, as high schoolers. Right. Like it was just— they were very young and a generation of kids grew up with a different kind of social media star because this family came in and rattled the cages of the NBA where you have the Lakers as an example, Magic Johnson being bothered because, you know, LeVar, their father, is doing press conferences outside of the locker room.

Did you see it? He's back! LeVar had a press conference the other day. He sat there with the big baller brand step and repeat behind him, and he said, Minnesota, you made the best move ever. Now you can make it even greater. You get Lonzo.

Coldest move in the game.

Trade him for that Melo.

Get that Lonzo and that Jello, right? And you bring them together because you know what's better than one ball? Three balls.

Let's, uh, go to some video here I wanted to show you guys that reminded me of one of the funniest press conferences I've ever been around. It was back in Shea Stadium. It wasn't Citi Field back then, but let's go. The Mets fired their manager Carlos Mendoza, and for those of you who are not watching video, I would urge you on YouTube to watch what's happening in the background here as a mascot shows— is this Mr. Met? A mascot is ruining what is a very serious report from a reporter, or making it better depending on what angle you look at it from. The reporter is very serious, the mascot is not.

Answer for how the team got here, if there was, you know, they'd fix it. Um, there's a lot of layers to this, but what I will say is it's become clear that the Mets simply changed too much this offseason at one time. There's every reason in the to say that last year's team collapsed, we're going to make some changes. But when you turn over the entire roster, the entire coaching staff, you—

so for those of you who are just on audio, Mr. Met was doing an assortment of dances, including— what is this one called where you sort of, uh, Smith did that in the video where you karate chop on both sides up into the air? What is that dance called? Uh, Mr. Met is doing an assortment of dances.

Dan, this is one of those times where I tell— I realize we have a big audio audience while they're driving, while they're running, while they're doing the dishes, whatever. They can't watch. I'm gonna tell you right now, stop and go find this video and watch, because we cannot do it justice describing it. Because the— again, the report is about the manager got fired. Like, this is as dire a report as you can have.

Now, awful season they're having.

Yeah. And in the background, Mr. Met— all I could say is, like, imagine Chris Cody doing his dance moves while wearing a Mr. Met costume.

Meditieren, Yoga, Joggen, nichts entspannt mich. Echt?

Mich entspannt meine Steuer total.

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Dan Levitar!

I don't think stream is strange for me, but like—

Mike Ryan!

Oh boy.

This is the Dan Levitar Show!

Play it again here, and Chris, look up for me. That dance has to have a name. It has to have some sort of—

How would you describe it when you're putting it in Google right now?

Yes, go ahead and see if you can find the karate chopping the sky dance.

That's all I— That's, that's the dance.

Answer for how the team got here. If there was, you know, they'd fix it. There's a lot of layers to this. But what I will say is it's become clear that the Mets simply changed too much this offseason at one time. There's every reason in the world to say that last year's team collapsed. We're going to make some changes. But when you turn over the entire roster—

He's using excellent use of his giant head, which is 3 times larger than a human head. But the story I was going to tell you, I have rarely laughed, okay, in a in a sports setting more inappropriately than being on the field at Shea Stadium. And the Mets manager at the time, Dallas Green, a very serious man, comes out and he was talking about some very serious controversy. I think at the time, I'm going to guess here, I may have my timelines mixed up, but I believe at the time the Mets were dealing with dual controversies. One, Vince Coleman had thrown— not what Vince Coleman was saying, a firecracker was a firecracker, but it was like an M-80 kind of bomb. He had thrown it at a fan. And Brett Saberhagen, the pitcher, had used a water pistol to spray bleach on a reporter. And so Dallas Green came on to the field and was surrounded by the New York media, but I could not hear anything that he was saying because on the Jumbotron Fred Flintstone was talking way too loud as Dallas Green was very serious. And so the reporters were like complaining, but Fred Flintstone would not quiet down.

They could not get him to quiet down. And Dallas Green couldn't be heard addressing the controversy while surrounded by reporters. And I'm the only one gigglesnorting with laughter at the absurdity of what it is that I'm watching, which is this manager under duress. Like, this was viewed as the worst team money could buy. They had the highest payroll in baseball, and all of their players were behaving like idiots. And Dallas Green couldn't be heard because Fred Flintstone was behind him. Wilbon hates mascots.

I don't—

I think I can judge a person And I think I can make a character assessment of a person based on whether or not they hate mascots. You can't hate mascots, can you?

I also famously hate mascots. We have had this conversation.

Famously?

Yeah, we talked about this.

It's true. I've heard about it.

None of us know. Is it that famous?

I knew, and I didn't know because Tony told me. I knew because the internet let me know. Famous people who hate mascots: Mike Wilbon, Robin Lopez, 10 Day Tony.

Robin Lopez hates mascots?

He hates mascots.

He beats them up.

Really? Because he loves Disney, so—

He's got feuds with various mascots. Yes, he's got an assortment of— of feuds. Can I ask you guys here on Good Morning America this morning, there was— this was with Michael Strahan and Chris Johnson, former fastest man in the NFL, a running back a lot of you guys remember. The lost art of the breakaway run. It doesn't seem like those are available to us as often as they were during Chris Johnson's time when he was viewed as the fastest guy in the NFL and a game breaker. He shared the news with America and Michael Strahan that he has been diagnosed with ALS. And I don't know what to do with somebody who is this young getting the prison sentence that this particular disease is, but let's hear from Chris Johnson as he decides to share this with all of America.

You've chosen to share some personal news today, and it takes a tremendous amount of courage to share share it, what would you like for people to know?

First, I want people to know that I'm still me. ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn't changed who I am.

In 2025, at the age of 39, Johnson was diagnosed with ALS, the disease progressing so rapidly that he now uses his eyes to trigger a speech-generating device to speak. Why do you want to share this now?

Because if sharing my story helps Even one person get diagnosed sooner, inspires more research, or gives another family hope, then it's worth it. For those of you not watching the video on that, Chris Johnson is not moving as those words are computer-generated, as they explained in the video. And it is really hard to watch. I was not actually aware before this story that this is something that could move that fast on someone this I did not know. I was simply shocked, shocked to see Chris Johnson in the condition that he cannot speak for himself because of the way that he is trapped inside of his body.

Dan, last Saturday we had to bury one of my best friends from college who died of ALS. And it happened very quickly. It progressed very rapidly for him. And, you know, like Chris is saying, it's— my buddy Ken, He was completely aware and everything, it's just you can't move. And at some point he needed life support to work his lungs for him. And at that point he made the decision that we're gonna go ahead and transition. But it's awful and it feels like the worst possible death sentence because you're cognizant. And, you know, I, I just feel like any other kind of condition where you're not all the way there, at least there's some solace in that you're not recognizing what's happening to you. But in, in the case of ALS, he's, he's there. He's, he's cracking jokes up until the, until the very end. And, you know, it's the weirdest thing. We were talking about it before the show, Mike, is like, how does ALS happen? We don't even know. We have theories, but we really don't know what the cause of it is, and that's why the research is so needed, and that's why what Boog and Tom Havisham and all those guys do to raise money for research purposes is so important.

ProjectMainStreet.org is where you go if you want to help with this. This is obviously humanizing, okay? And it's startling as an illness in general, but it is made to me all the more startling when you're someone who has made made their living with their body being a picture of health that is healthier than the rest of us, that is bigger, stronger, faster. Anytime this makes an appearance, obviously, in people of any age, you, um, you can see for yourself what a prison this illness is. But it's even more startling to me because in my mind, when I associate Chris Johnson with word association, I'm associating him with he's faster than all the other guys. His body works more efficiently than all of the other bodies, and putting those things side by side and seeing him as, as someone who cannot even speak for himself— uh, thank God, by the way, that we have the technology to help these people communicate this way.

That was amazing.

This, I mean, this, this was even worse 25 years ago when you didn't have the ability to even write things down for yourself or communicate.

It was course, 2 years ago. AI will help in some of these cases, but also there have been incredible developments through the Ice Bucket Challenge. That's why researching and funding these programs is so important. If you guys want to watch a documentary, watch Gleason from 2016.

And he—

it— we know how aggressive and how quick this can change and ravage someone's body from that documentary, because it happened very quickly to Steve Gleason. And yeah, it is, as, as As you said, you are imprisoned in your own body. You know, you are fully aware of what you can no longer do.

I know we talked about this, what, last month? Because June 2nd was Lou Gehrig Day earlier this month, and you know, we had fun with it where I think this is the worst disease. It's not a competition, of course, but this is why I think it's the worst thing out there. You're literally a prisoner in your body. Mentally, you're 100% okay, and you can't do anything. But I know we don't know what causes it, but it's really hard hard not to look at the football players who get it. You know, we're talking Chris Johnson now, Mongo McMichael who died last year, Steve Gleason who, you know, is still out there doing tremendous work. I forget the one player's name, he played for the Dolphins and the Ravens, he had ALS as well. Where are the basketball players? Where are the baseball players? No, it's the football players who are— now I know there's other people who didn't bang their head against a wall for a living, you know, specifically Tom Habershaw's mother, but it's football players, it's not the other sports.

Yeah, head trauma seems to be a pretty clear indicator indicator that increases your, your chances of getting this horrific disease. People would point to, well, isn't this named after a baseball player? And I, I think I saw it on Real Sports because they did plenty with head trauma and ALS. Lou Gehrig, famous Iron Man, right? Well, there were actually chronicled instances in which he suffered severe head trauma, cracked his skull while playing baseball, and continued playing. Didn't get the appropriate rest, so it can't be ruled out with him either.

ProjectMainStreet.org helps caregivers have the funds that they need to take care of people. I told you that when my brother was dying, I just spent a great deal of time in, in hospitals where I just felt the weight of people loving someone who was sick all around us in the hospital and not being able to afford healthcare in a way that makes Americans comedians led by Bill Burr come out and be some kind of okay with the murder in the street of a healthcare CEO because of how frustrated people are with the poisons of the insurance industry and the horror of not being able to afford basic care when a loved one of yours needs basic care. So Boog and Tom Haberstroh and others are helping through ProjectMainStreet.org if that is something that moves you to donate because the caregivers, many caregivers, need help with what ends up becoming, uh, you're just taking care of somebody, uh, as if they're an infant, as, as if they're a toddler. I, I, so, so there it's for me though, when it happens to an athlete, it's not just that the body was once the tool that paid for the entire economy that funded your lifestyle.

So that's one portion. Of it. But these people are so pridefully self-sufficient. Like, what their body does in order to be professional athletes makes them proud of their self-sufficiency. And there is just a breaking of the soul that happens inside of needing in a way that most people are not comfortable being that vulnerable with need, but especially within the, you know, the huddle, the place that they're always comparing to war. And, you know, your teammates are at your side, and the most important thing is can you count on the guy, uh, next to you? And that's as far as need goes, right? Can I count— can I count on that person? Not for, for basic, uh, for basic needs of any kind. So again, if you're interested in helping, a couple of different causes around here that we are asking you to help with. ProjectMainStreet.org helps the caregivers take care of people with ALS who need that help. And also in Venezuela today, because— and over the last week, among the places that you can go to help: globalempowermentmission.org, unitedwaymiami.org, and foodforthepoor.org.

William Opeña.