Hour 1: Denzel Washington State University (feat. Taylor Twellman)

Speaker 2 All right, Smirnoff, official vodka of the NFL, world's number one vodka. Chris Cody, you're with me here.

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Speaker 4 Smirnoff!

Speaker 2 Not your favorite game day drink.

Speaker 5 What's your favorite game day food? Smirnoff!

Speaker 2 All right, here's the deal: game day is everything: the noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip again. Spirit off.

Speaker 2 Smirnoff off belongs in that mix because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smirnoff! Otherwise, it's not a real game day.

Speaker 2 They've been doing it since 1864, which is, I don't even want to do the math. It's a long time.
It's like when Greg Cody was born. They're award-winning.

Speaker 2 They make cocktails super easy and they're all about bringing fans together. So yeah, we do game days.

Speaker 5 That's their thing.

Speaker 2 And if you're over 21, you should too.

Speaker 7 Why, Chris? Smearing off.

Speaker 2 Grab a bottle of Smearinoff at your local retailer and head to Smearin'Off.com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game day. Smearing off.
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Speaker 9 New York, New York.

Speaker 2 Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age. Smearing off.

Speaker 10 This is the Don Labatar Show with the Stu Gats Podcast.

Speaker 12 And without further ado, we go right to the guest line. We bring in Taylor Twellman.
He is the lead analyst for Apple TV's MLS coverage and, of course, former USMNT member.

Speaker 12 And don't forget, Inter Miami, Mike Ryan's Inter Miami. He face off against Tigris in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals tomorrow night.
on Apple TV Plus. Taylor, welcome to the show.

Speaker 13 What's up, boys?

Speaker 12 Not much, man. We're chilling over here.
First of all, do you have any favorite time travel movies?

Speaker 13 No, I don't.

Speaker 13 I was really excited and captivated by your conversation, so that was wonderful. Thanks for bringing me into that.

Speaker 12 I always try. I try to be inclusive over here.
Taylor, before we start talking about the Lee's Cup.

Speaker 13 Maybe Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. That's kind of what I mean?

Speaker 3 That's a bad country. Of course, that counts.
Of course. That's a great answer.
See, you had one. Yeah.

Speaker 12 Well, you don't want to play this game. Come on now.

Speaker 3 I had one little song.

Speaker 13 I secretly did.

Speaker 12 But before we get into the Lease Cup quarterfinals, I wanted to ask you, there's been a lot of stuff

Speaker 12 on my timeline at least, sniping between current U.S. men's national team players and former U.S.
men's national team players.

Speaker 12 And I'm used to this in basketball because we've got a big problem where we have this generational feud at all times where the young guys say the old guys couldn't play and they were all playing against plumbers and the old guys say the young guys are soft and weak and all that stuff.

Speaker 12 And I'm I'm wondering, has this always been a thing for U.S. soccer, or is this a new development?

Speaker 13 I think it's a, I think you're, the word you use is perfect, generational.

Speaker 13 I think the fact that everyone has an access to an individual that maybe the older generations didn't have, whether it's podcasts, whether it's Instagram, whether it's X, whatever it may be, they have immediate access to have an opinion.

Speaker 13 Or in this case, a docuseries that I find very interesting that as a player, now I'm putting my former player hat on going into a World Cup.

Speaker 13 I'm not completely sure I would have done this and given the access going into a World Cup where it is the biggest moment in U.S.

Speaker 13 men's soccer history where you're given insight into maybe your vulnerability.

Speaker 13 The fact that now we have parents coming into this, and I'm glad you brought it up. It even happened in the NBA.

Speaker 13 Hallel Burton's father was involved, whether or not it was in the Eastern Conference final, then the NBA finals. Now we got Christian Pulisic's dad wanting to give his opinion.

Speaker 13 I don't care what generation you're from, anytime when you're an adult and you bring your parents into a rock fight or a cat fight or however you want to describe this, that's never going to be in good sight.

Speaker 13 But the reality is this:

Speaker 13 it is more a generational thing than a soccer thing.

Speaker 13 But I find it very intriguing that all of a sudden going into a World Cup where you as a team have been lackluster, if I'm being polite, with with your results over the last 24 months.

Speaker 13 And coming off a World Cup where you already had a family feud with Reyna and Burr Holters and their family, I just find this to be really, really immature and missing the boat with timing of everything, especially nine months before World Cup is in your backyard.

Speaker 14 Taylor, am I wrong for saying that this is their identity, it would seem? Because this is a team that for the longest time, you were part of it.

Speaker 8 You knew the U.S.

Speaker 14 men's national team soccer identity. We'd try to get you with our athleticism.
We'd counterattack, but you could always count on dogs, guys that would not just resign themselves to a talent disparity.

Speaker 14 And now it's just, let me get my dad involved in this. Let me fight for playing time

Speaker 14 politically and not on the pitch. And it's just, it's very confusing to me that you could always at least count on an American edge.

Speaker 14 Where are we in the international landscape where the U.S. still thinks that they've arrived to a point that they shouldn't have this edge.

Speaker 13 It's amazing, buddy, the way you just put that, because the reality is this is, first off, let's make this abundantly clear.

Speaker 13 The question of Christian Pulissic and his commitment to the national team was completely off base. He's always been committed and he still will be committed.

Speaker 13 That's not what we're talking about here, but that's what got Christian Pulissic and his family upset.

Speaker 13 He could have nipped it in the bud immediately releasing a statement of why he's not playing in the Gold Cup. And that is what U.S.
soccer expected. Then it doesn't happen.

Speaker 13 You just hit the nail on the head. They created this own identity.

Speaker 13 It's nobody on the outside's fault that they are reacting and doing their job at the same time of giving their opinion of the situation that's going on.

Speaker 13 But the reality is this, and you hit the nail on the head again, Mike, is that the identity of this team is no longer, we're going to outwork you. We're going to have a dog in this fight.

Speaker 13 We're going to roll up our sleeves and do whatever we can to beat you. Now we're questioning whether or not you have that.

Speaker 13 And in 2014 World Cup in the United States, tied Portugal, should have won. They barely lost to Belgium, even though Tim Howard made 15, 16 saves, most saves ever.

Speaker 13 The question then, which is about 11 years ago, is how can the United States men compete with the top 10 countries in the world?

Speaker 13 But over the last two years, this generation lost a Copa America, couldn't advance in the group stage in their backyard. They lost to Canada in back-to-back games.

Speaker 13 They've lost to Panama in three straight games and not gotten a result, all in their backyard, all going into the World Cup. And you have the audacity to complain about criticism.

Speaker 13 Imagine if you were from Argentina or England. or Brazil or Germany, the amount of pressure that would be on you.

Speaker 13 That's where you lose me with this, Mike. And so now we're having a conversation.

Speaker 13 I got to do the Lebatard show and talking about: are the players committed to going into a World Cup in their backyard in the biggest moment of their lives?

Speaker 13 And we're talking about a docuseries where the analysts outside are being called evil. Mike, they have completely lost the plot to me.
And they've created this on their own.

Speaker 13 But to think that they're the first generation to ever be criticized, you can miss me with that. That's never been the case.

Speaker 13 It's just now everybody's got a podcast, everybody's got a voice, so you hear it more. But it's getting to a point where it's ridiculous, and we're really talking about baby games here.

Speaker 14 So there are some examples where all this drama, the soap opera element, really just

Speaker 14 take a...

Speaker 14 a chainsaw to a team's chances in the World Cup. We saw it with Spain.
We've seen it with France before where the soap opera gets to be too much. But we've also seen these galvanized host nations.

Speaker 14 South Korea went on an incredible run with a late managerial change. Russia, there was other stuff going on there, maybe some performance enhancers.

Speaker 14 Well, not maybe, but they were able to get it together as a host nation. Is the fact that I know this is a shared World Cup, but is that enough to galvanize this team?

Speaker 14 Because right now, we don't have much proof that they can just rally together under a banner and get all on the same page and put their egos aside.

Speaker 14 If there's ever an opportunity to do that, it's when you're the host nation.

Speaker 13 Yes, the answer to that question is yes.

Speaker 13 And there is still a part of me that believes that nine, ten months from now, when the United States gets out of their group, they win a knockout round game, they maybe win a second one, all of us are going to look back at this and say, this is what galvanized the group together.

Speaker 13 There's always that possibility.

Speaker 13 You can't fret about yesterday and not really worry about tomorrow. You got to take care of today.

Speaker 13 And the reality is Christian Polistics coming off a weekend where he just scored a goal from Milan, and he looks like he's in good form he's coming off the two best professional seasons of his career absolutely this can galvanize the group but if you're going to ask me if I'm confident about that that's where I don't know it's August 19th 2025 in this moment the fact that we're talking about a docu series going into a world cup i don't fully believe in that however As a player, I will tell you this, that that group can come together in spite of what they believe everyone on the outside is saying and what everyone on the outside is rooting for and they can believe in that and they can use that as motivation and they can absolutely have the world cup of their dreams and then after that look at all of us on the outside and say i told you so but that's what they have to do now because they brought more attention to them for negative reasons they needed to Mike, now they've got actually more pressure on them, which is kind of hard to believe because this is going to be the biggest moment in the men's national team program in in the history.

Speaker 13 And I can't believe we're saying they've got more pressure on them now than they did about two months ago.

Speaker 12 Taylor, moving back to MLS talk, Messi is leading the league with 19 goals and 19 matches. How much of that is he's just awesome? And how much of that is the competition still isn't quite up to snuff?

Speaker 13 It's Messi being awesome.

Speaker 13 The fact that Messi goes to World Cup qualifiers at the age of 38 and contributes on the same level that he did 10 years ago, that will tell you that he's just, he's the unicorn. He is what he is.

Speaker 13 And this is what Messi is. Now, Father Time is knocking on the door.
There's a few more nagging injuries that pop up here and there that didn't pop up 10 years ago.

Speaker 13 But for a player to come to Major League Soccer like Lionel Messi has done, and now Rodrigo DePaul, who is the defensive midfielder, the bodyguard of Messi for Argentina's World Cup team coming up in eight months,

Speaker 13 for them to go to CONMEBOL in South America World Cup qualifying and still contribute at a high level, that tells you the level of Major League Soccer has risen, but also those players are just special.

Speaker 13 Messi is operating at a completely different level, and I can't believe we're still talking about him at the age of 38, because you can see declines in other players around the world when they hit this age.

Speaker 13 Messi's assist this past weekend, there's about two players in the history of the game that even saw that, let alone being able to pull that off, and Lionel Messi is one of them.

Speaker 20 Taylor, best guess, Messi will lead Miami to an MLS Cup title. And will Messi be back next season for the debut in the new stadium?

Speaker 13 I think Messi's will 100% open up the stadium for Inner Miami and Major League Soccer. I don't know if that's even really a debate right now.

Speaker 13 I think they're crossing their T's, dotting their I's and getting that together. That's also why they're making signings like Rodrigo DePaul and other signings that are going to come.

Speaker 13 Winning MLS Cup is so tricky because they're one-off games and they're not got round games, very similar to what we do in the NFL, where it's just a one-off game.

Speaker 13 And so there is this random optimizer, for lack of a better way, that if Miami's on the road and the goalkeeper for the other team stands on their head, FC Cincinnati beat Miami this year 3-0.

Speaker 13 So there is that one-off. But if everyone's fully fit, come playoff time, the answer to your question is Leonel Messi and Inner Miami will be the frontrunners to win MLS Cup.

Speaker 13 But it's a big if if everyone's going to be healthy.

Speaker 14 A couple marquee signings into MLS recently. Sonny has got the hottest selling jersey in the world for LAFC, and Mueller's now at Vancouver.
That's an interesting signing.

Speaker 14 More questions about their form and the stage that they're at in their careers than Messi had, where Messi was still very much recognized as the best player in the world.

Speaker 14 Sonny probably has more good football left in his tank than Mueller, but what is the early feedback from them being around these clubs?

Speaker 13 Hungman's son has been brilliant. And for those of you watching the show, he has asked everyone in the United States to call him Sonny.
So, Mike, rightfully so, calling him Sonny. Good on you.

Speaker 13 It's a first for Major League Soccer to have the star from South Korea come to Major League Soccer. So, he's brought eyeballs to Apple TV.

Speaker 13 He's brought eyeballs that maybe wouldn't have paid a lot of attention to Major League Soccer. So, the off-the-field part of that, he's a home run.

Speaker 13 On the field, I think he's going to be better than people think. Now, he doesn't have the name of Lionel Messi or David Beckham or Zlatan Ibrahimovich, but it's very similar to Robbie Keene.

Speaker 13 And historically in Major League Soccer, Robbie Keene's one of the best winners in Major League Soccer history.

Speaker 13 He also made a move to Major League Soccer and still contributed at the international level. That's exactly what Sonny's going to do.
I think LAFC really hit a home run with this.

Speaker 13 Tomas Mueller, I'm on the record and I'll be on the record. I don't know how to evaluate the signing.

Speaker 13 I love the fact that he's in Major League Soccer, but he did a 180 with three or four teams, Mike, in discussing contracts and where he wanted to play, how he wanted to play, what positions to all of a sudden being playing in Canada for Vancouver.

Speaker 13 Now, he believes in the next six months, Vancouver's got the best shot to win the Western Conference and be in MLS Cup. But he's also got an option to get out of that contract.

Speaker 13 Now, what we don't know publicly, is it 100% a player option or is it both Vancouver and his? Because I find that interesting. Is he coming here to test it, to see it, and then move on?

Speaker 13 He's there to win a trophy. Listen, he's won everywhere he's been in his life, whether it's with Germany or with Bayern Munich.

Speaker 13 But that's a difficult one to assess because I don't know how much is left in the tank, but I think Vancouver's a good enough team that they can help him acclimate himself, get him there, get him ready for the playoffs.

Speaker 13 And that's usually where the cream rises to the top.

Speaker 12 Taylor, what did you make of MLS suspending Jordi Alba and Liam Messi for missing the All-Star game?

Speaker 12 I know Mike Ryan was pretty upset because he felt like, look, Inter had done all these things that brought money and attention to the Club World Cup.

Speaker 12 And as a result, they deserve the break. And some of us here on the show are like, no, that's the job.
You got to just do it. So where did you land on that?

Speaker 13 Well, someone that played in the All-Star game during congested schedules, it's a different league. I get that.
But it is part of your obligation to represent Major League Soccer.

Speaker 13 In saying that, the Club World Cup was a huge part of this summer for Inner Miami.

Speaker 13 All it took for Inner Miami was Leonel Messi and Jorge Moss in Inner Miami to call the league and have a conversation into it.

Speaker 13 But as of the league and everything they've told me, Tuesday nights before the All-Star game, which was Wednesday, they didn't really know.

Speaker 13 All I'm saying to Leonel Messi is, and Mike Ryan's 100% correct, but just make a phone call, have a conversation.

Speaker 13 Saturday night before the All-Star game, they played in New York against the Red Bulls, and all indications after that game was Messi and Alba were going to come.

Speaker 13 Here's the rebuttal that I would say to Inner Miami. Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, told Spanish media at the All-Star game the year before they came so they didn't get suspended.

Speaker 13 Why all of a sudden did that change this year? That's all I'm talking about. A simple phone call would have happened.

Speaker 13 I think Don Garber 100% made the right decision because the following game was against FC Cincinnati and they had two players show up, a Vander and Miles Robinson.

Speaker 13 However, Cincinnati would tell you they didn't play in the Club World Cup.

Speaker 13 So if Miami and MLS came to an agreement that Alba and Messi probably deserved the game off, I don't think anything would have been discussed. The problem is they didn't call MLS.

Speaker 13 They just thought it was assumed. And that's where I think Don Garber and MLS handled it perfectly.

Speaker 14 Yeah, Inner Miami probably could have handled that better to get away from the suspension.

Speaker 14 What do you make generally, though, of the constant feather ruffling that Inner Miami does against the old guard in MLS, constantly pushing the boundaries?

Speaker 14 I remember when the ball was initially signed, checked in with league sources, no one knew if this was a DP. No one knew if this was a damn player.

Speaker 14 No one knew that, and just Inner Miami just kept pushing forward and essentially putting the onus on the league to figure it out. So what do you make of that?

Speaker 14 Because Inner Miami is not this old money. They have wealthy owners, but not the wealthiest, but they want to push this league forward in advance of this World Cup coming here.

Speaker 13 They got aspirations, Mike, and I love that.

Speaker 13 We're in our 30th year of Major League Soccer. There's conversations and real conversations now about changing the schedule to the way Western Europe is.

Speaker 13 That's ultimately going to put more money in the owners' pockets because right now when the transfer windows come around, they're operating a little bit with

Speaker 13 one hand behind their back because other leagues around the world are operating different times so maybe you pay 20 more and you could get 20 more for your players they're going to evolve do i think the schedule will change absolutely do the roster restrictions um salary cap restrictions need to change at mls absolutely that's part of evolution that's part of growth inner miami is raising those questions they're pushing the ball uphill now now in saying that you can't lose the competitive integrity of the league when other teams are operating under the assumption the rules are this in this present time but I love people that challenge it because everyone's in the same boat Mike the World Cup is coming here in nine ten months it's the rocket ship to the moon as Eddie Q and Apple will tell you well in order to do that you got to be ready with what's going to come after the world cup part of that is changing the roster and salary cap rules part of that is changing the schedule And that's the one thing MLS has done, maybe slower than others would like, but they still do it, is they will make changes that they see fit when it's necessary to grow the league.

Speaker 13 And I think Inner Miami has raised some good concerns about that. But all of that is about having the greatest player of all time in your backyard and bringing some of his friends.

Speaker 13 But I'm not sure Sonny,

Speaker 13 Tomas Mueller, six World Cup winners are in major league soccer. Think of that.
Post-Leonel Messi, that's in less than two years.

Speaker 13 Six World Cup winners, they're asking questions of the league and they want it to grow. I'm all for that.

Speaker 9 Taylor, do you hear other team executives maybe resenting the way Intermiami goes about their business?

Speaker 13 Yeah, but I think that's all out of jealousy and that's a good thing.

Speaker 13 I think it's no different than sometimes what we ask about, you know, it's not really the same, but you know what I'm going to say here, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, right?

Speaker 13 whenever there's this consternation regarding a team in an owner and a play and a group of players that's because there's a they're probably doing something that you wish you could do they're probably have to have something that you wish you have I love it.

Speaker 13 I think we need more villains in major league soccer because I think the leagues around the world, I think the leagues in all the other major sports in the United States, you have your villains, you have your enemies, the teams that you love to hate, that you constantly want to beat.

Speaker 13 I think Intermar Miami is one of those, and I think it's great for this league. I think it's backpage stuff, as they like to say, in Europe and in England.
I love everything about it.

Speaker 13 But to answer your question directly, absolutely, you hear complaints and conversations and arguments. And I just sit there with a smirk on my face because I love it.

Speaker 12 You can catch Taylor and the rest of the MLS season with the MLS season pass on Apple TV Plus. And of course, Messi and Inter Miami host Tigres in a Leagues Cup quarterfinal match Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Speaker 12 Eastern on Apple TV Plus. Taylor Twellman, thank you for joining us.

Speaker 13 Was Wayne's World time traveling or no?

Speaker 22 No.

Speaker 16 They did use that as an effect.

Speaker 3 Almost.

Speaker 16 It's not central to the plot, but there were time travel elements.

Speaker 12 I'll give it to you. I'll give it to you.

Speaker 23 I'm out of here.

Speaker 12 All right. Thanks a lot.

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Speaker 24 Folks, the leaves are turning.

Speaker 15 The weather's getting a little chillier.

Speaker 19 That means the football games are more important.

Speaker 21 That means football time should be Miller time.

Speaker 8 Game day hits different with a Miller light in your hand. From jaw-dropping touchdowns to fantasy heartbreaks, my fantasy season's over already, but you know what makes that better?

Speaker 28 Miller time!

Speaker 8 It's the beer that's been there for every moment.

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It's just 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Speaker 17 The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later. So whatever your game day looks like, remember Miller time is always a good time.

Speaker 6 Miller Light, great taste, 96 calories.

Speaker 8 Go to millerlight.com/slash stand to find delivery options near you.

Speaker 30 Or you can pick up Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer.

Speaker 17 It's Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly.
Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Speaker 10 Don Lebatard.

Speaker 18 I feel like we need to normalize saying the scientific terms for organs on the air.

Speaker 28 Like if someone, yes, you know what?

Speaker 18 If someone takes a foul ball to the penis, we should just say he took a foul ball to the penis.

Speaker 21 Say it.

Speaker 10 Stugats.

Speaker 31 That free kick hit him right in the cockadoodle-doo.

Speaker 10 This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugats. guards.

Speaker 13 That was some good breathing during that interview day.

Speaker 12 Oh my gosh.

Speaker 12 I was wondering what that sound was.

Speaker 25 I was like, was the air on? Greg's on fire?

Speaker 12 I literally was sometimes.

Speaker 4 You want him to die? I don't understand. Hold on.
Dad supposed to breathe? Hold on.

Speaker 6 In Greg's defense, you've been chapping his ass saying, get in front of a mic for months on end.

Speaker 16 Fairly.

Speaker 17 And now he's right on top of the mic and you take issue with it?

Speaker 12 Shame on you. Shame.
Shame. Shame.
What are you talking about?

Speaker 4 You know what they say, Christopher? Live life with a plum and alacrity.

Speaker 7 Thank you, Billy. I do say that.
Thank you very much.

Speaker 12 Is that how you say that?

Speaker 23 A plumb and alacrity. Okay.
Yeah.

Speaker 12 Just making sure Billy... It's a big two.

Speaker 14 Oh, alacrity is one word.

Speaker 3 Yeah.

Speaker 8 I've never heard that word either, but I thought it was two words, like alacrity.

Speaker 3 Oh, like one lacr, ah, lacrity.

Speaker 14 What does alacrity mean?

Speaker 20 Teach me something. It means like you.

Speaker 15 Well, you're back not in front of the mic.

Speaker 14 Cool.

Speaker 20 You tackle life with enthusiasm and excitement.

Speaker 4 Yeah, it's also not a plum, like, you know, the first of

Speaker 23 a plumb.

Speaker 20 Yeah.

Speaker 4 It's not like two, like plum.

Speaker 3 A plum and alacrity. They're not two separate things.

Speaker 20 A plum means you tackle a hard task with great self-confidence.

Speaker 5 Jeez, crazy.

Speaker 16 That's two words. I thought that were two words.
That's crazy.

Speaker 3 Thank you for teaching me something. You're welcome.

Speaker 20 Anytime.

Speaker 12 Time for weekend observations.

Speaker 10 It is time for Stu Gats to share his game notes.

Speaker 10 No one in the media will tell you what happened better than my boy, Stu.

Speaker 12 Oh, good.

Speaker 7 I mean.

Speaker 12 Thank you. Weekend Observations, presented by Miller Light.

Speaker 3 Dan.

Speaker 12 Every year it happens. It's annoying, but necessary.
Like how pollen season makes life go round, but also makes my life miserable. I don't need anyone to explain it to me.

Speaker 12 I just need it to happen without me noticing.

Speaker 12 Talking, of course, about people talking about fantasy football drafts.

Speaker 1 Oh, yeah.

Speaker 12 I know it has to happen. Just don't talk to me about it.
Sign up on draftkings.com, by the way. Promo code Dan.

Speaker 12 Dylan Gabriel. Well, that's not going.
Dylan! There it is. Dylan Gabriel.

Speaker 12 Saying they're entertainers and there are competitors.

Speaker 12 Then clarifying, oh, that wasn't about Shadur Sanders by claiming claiming he's been saying it about the media for years, despite no evidence of him ever saying it. The Stugats is strong in you.

Speaker 12 Heywood Highsmith, getting traded for a top 55 protected draft pick. More like highway robbery.

Speaker 12 Hey, would you fleece me?

Speaker 12 It's a cheap joke. I'm better than that.
We need more cheap ones. The trade was fine.
Hey, Cincinnati Open. Whoever's idea it was to have the finals on a Monday should be fired.

Speaker 12 Yannick Sinner retiring after five games due to illness. Understandable.
Alcaraz makes me stick to my stomach, too.

Speaker 17 How are you liking that tennis chat?

Speaker 12 Tops. I love it, man.

Speaker 21 There's sickos in there.

Speaker 12 I love it. They are sickos.
A lot more gambling than I thought.

Speaker 17 So much.

Speaker 15 A couple days away from Slam.

Speaker 12 It's really a gambling chat that talks about tennis.

Speaker 3 Little bit.

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 12 But Alcaraz, man, top spin.

Speaker 12 Got me on the Monte Carlo in the semifinal. Guy, it's crazy shots.
Yannis Anonucumpo slapping the ever-living bleep out of his teammate in the huddle. Leadership.

Speaker 12 Hamza domination of DDP.

Speaker 12 The second most entertaining UFC event from the weekend. The Arab Fighter behind only Tenday Tony's meltdown.
I could watch that on repeat. The Cuban sore loser.

Speaker 12 Comedians doing the Riyadh Comedy Festival Festival in Saudi Arabia. The Stugats is strong in all of you.
I'm jealous I didn't get an invite. Stugats is strong in me too.

Speaker 12 NFL fans, upset about male cheerleaders. Either haven't been paying attention or just pretending to care.
Top five things people pretend to care about. You ready?

Speaker 12 O of I, when a famous role in a TV show or movie reboot is cast with a slant towards diversity.

Speaker 3 What do you mean, the little mermaid's black?

Speaker 14 Why do you care so much about the Snow White remake? You're 47 years old.

Speaker 12 Number five, sports washing.

Speaker 12 We only care when it's a country that's not us. Number four, when someone says, hit me up, we should hang out.

Speaker 12 You don't really want to hang out. You're just saying it.
Number three,

Speaker 12 when someone video records people in public to defend our First Amendment's rights.

Speaker 25 That's my

Speaker 1 entire algorithm. TikTok, right? It's all the time.

Speaker 12 Those guys that are like outside of a mail, what the hell is like mailboxes, et cetera, or something like that.

Speaker 12 Yeah, post office.

Speaker 3 All right.

Speaker 3 You okay? I got it all on the record. That was.

Speaker 15 I hate those videos.

Speaker 3 That's what I meant there.

Speaker 12 And the people get so angry. It's like, what?

Speaker 3 Stop recording.

Speaker 12 I can record you too. I'm like, just walk away.
Who cares?

Speaker 25 How have you not learned at this point? Like, that's what they want. You're giving them exactly what you want.

Speaker 12 But that's the thing. These people, I'm not talking about the people reacting.
I'm talking about the guy originally recording. He doesn't care about your first amendment rights.
He's just a dick.

Speaker 29 Why are people outside of post offices recording people?

Speaker 25 It's a thing on the internet. It's just to prove that they can't because people don't like being videotaped.
So some old guy be like, hey, why are you videotaping me? I'm going to this post office.

Speaker 12 I'm just protecting our First Amendment rights.

Speaker 25 And then they call the cops. The cops show up and the cops say, technically, he's on the sidewalk.
He's allowed to videotape you, but I did not consent. You don't need to give consent.

Speaker 25 It's the same song and dance, but I love it.

Speaker 17 It's just, I can't stop watching.

Speaker 12 Number two,

Speaker 12 when someone on this show says something funny that might also have a factual error.

Speaker 12 You guys don't actually care.

Speaker 3 Hey, beer is carbonate.

Speaker 12 I don't care. What was that? It was the beer thing yesterday.

Speaker 21 Oh, oh, there's a carbonation.

Speaker 12 Guys, we're just dicking around here. I don't know.
I don't know if that came across yet. We're not actually beer experts.
We're trying to say, oh, this is how it works. And number one,

Speaker 12 when an athlete kneels for the national national anthem.

Speaker 12 You don't care. You didn't even notice until he said something about it.
Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson lay off the cafecito.

Speaker 12 I don't get it. Too intense.

Speaker 9 And it's just, it's performative. Everybody knows.

Speaker 1 Come on, man. It's a big three.

Speaker 7 Who cares?

Speaker 12 Francis TFO,

Speaker 12 forced to forfeit due to back injury. Only to resurface looking fine a few hours later at his girlfriend's birthday dinner.
Add a boy. And no, the dinner did not appear to be in Cincinnati.

Speaker 12 No skyline chili.

Speaker 12 Denzel Washington going on the Sports Illustrated podcast, talking about how he only wants to hear about sports from people who did it and not from people with opinions behind microphones.

Speaker 12 Funny how he said none of this when he was on first take. There's a little Stugats in everyone.

Speaker 12 Crocs striking an NFL licensing deal. Meaning now, my favorite NFL players can dress like their wards at a mental institution.

Speaker 12 I'm going to hell for that last one. Speaking of hell, Art Bryles, those are the weekend observations.

Speaker 17 Real quick, want to talk to you about how Game Time is the official ticketing partner of the Dan Lebetard show.

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Speaker 10 Don Lebatard.

Speaker 31 He called me on my own podcast. He called me full of shit claiming that I'm faking interest in the solar eclipse.

Speaker 18 You do do this.

Speaker 9 You love to just get excited about everything.

Speaker 31 Okay, Junior.

Speaker 20 Stugats.

Speaker 29 I had to school you and explain to you.

Speaker 6 He was going to take you to Augusta.

Speaker 31 I mean, when I was 17 years old, Alan Sherry and I used to haunt the Bueller Planetarium.

Speaker 10 This is the Don Lebatar show with the Stugats.

Speaker 4 Dental sounded old, right?

Speaker 12 Dude, I was like, it was.

Speaker 12 If that was kind of his thing, he did sound old. He sounded old, especially when he said he could still throw his hands and stuff.

Speaker 4 Looking a little older. He's 70.
I mean, if I look like that when I'm 70, I would take it, obviously.

Speaker 12 He's a national hero.

Speaker 21 But.

Speaker 9 He's a national hero.

Speaker 12 International. I'm sorry.
You're right.

Speaker 3 Hero? Well, he plays one in movies.

Speaker 4 I think he is.

Speaker 21 He needs a statue.

Speaker 11 He's an actor.

Speaker 3 Yeah, let's put it on his statue where?

Speaker 4 Where would you put his statue?

Speaker 20 Denzel, Washington. In front of every movie theater.

Speaker 3 It would be like a rotating, a movable statue.

Speaker 4 How about this? What if, you know, instead of a statue, just on some maps, we name it Denzel, Washington, D.C.

Speaker 20 You know, that's not bad.

Speaker 12 Why, why not all the maps?

Speaker 4 Well, because, I mean, people argue over what maps say now. Some say Gulf of Mexico, some say Gulf of America.
How about this?

Speaker 4 Like, I don't know the process of actually changing it to Denzel, Washington, D.C. But if you say it, then you print a map, you could just buy one.

Speaker 12 How about this? Denzel, Washington, D.C. on some of the maps, Denzel, Washington State on others.

Speaker 4 I like that.

Speaker 20 How about Denzel, D.C.?

Speaker 7 Drop the Washington.

Speaker 4 Hold on a second. A lot cleaner.
You know what? Maybe that's what the DC stands for.

Speaker 12 Washington, Denzel. Columbia.

Speaker 3 Maybe.

Speaker 4 Now, if you rename Washington State

Speaker 4 Denzel Washington State, then does it have to become Denzel Washington State University?

Speaker 12 Yes. Yes.
And the University of Denzel, Washington. Okay.
Absolutely. And when you send letters to people in Seattle, it's got to say Seattle,

Speaker 22 DW

Speaker 12 DW, yeah. D-W-A?

Speaker 4 Well, it could just say Seattle. Okay, so then does it say Seattle, Washington, or does it say Seattle, Denzel, Washington, or does it say Seattle, Washington, comma, Denzel?

Speaker 12 No, it goes Seattle,

Speaker 12 Denzel, Washington.

Speaker 4 Okay, that's true, because like North Carolina, you don't do, you know, like Raleigh,

Speaker 4 Carolina, comma, North. Exactly.

Speaker 7 You're right, yeah.

Speaker 32 I'm still trying to figure out the question.

Speaker 9 Why is a hero?

Speaker 12 He's a hero, man. He's an inspiration to many.

Speaker 3 No, he's. Okay, those are two different things.

Speaker 12 Well, that's what heroes are.

Speaker 25 Denzel George Washington.

Speaker 4 That's... Yeah.

Speaker 4 Denzel Washington Carter.

Speaker 12 Carter.

Speaker 7 It's a no. George Washington.

Speaker 16 Time to think fast.

Speaker 20 Is this a real or fake podcast?

Speaker 12 Oh, I love this game.

Speaker 25 Nice. Oh, I do too.

Speaker 22 It was a good game.

Speaker 29 Bit of a lifeline today. Bit of a lifeline.

Speaker 12 Here's our host. Oh, you didn't like the Denzel Washington song?

Speaker 29 That was lost.

Speaker 24 Zero Fox Given with Jamie Foxx.

Speaker 9 Oh, that's a good name. That's a good name, but I'm going fake.

Speaker 12 So he used to have a serious XM channel called The Fox Hole, and they took it and they gave it to Kevin Hart.

Speaker 12 Would he call it? No, I'm going to say fake.

Speaker 23 Great name, though.

Speaker 25 Couldn't hear you, Dad. What was your answer?

Speaker 23 It's fake. Thank you.
Yeah.

Speaker 16 It is indeed fake.

Speaker 9 He doesn't have time for a podcast.

Speaker 7 But he does.

Speaker 4 What is he up to, really?

Speaker 12 He's hanging out with his friends. I saw a video of him arguing with his friends about Jordan versus LeBron.
Never heard that one before.

Speaker 4 Imagine that on a podcast.

Speaker 8 The deal with Darren Revelle.

Speaker 12 Absolutely 100%

Speaker 12 the type of podcast that he would have. I'm trying to think if he could, he'd have a hokier name.

Speaker 12 It'd be hokier, right? Billy, I see you nodding your head.

Speaker 4 I don't think it'd be as simple as to.

Speaker 12 Yeah, it would be something else. I'm gonna go fake.

Speaker 9 I'm going real because the history of this game,

Speaker 9 Mike hasn't been giving us someone who has a podcast, but he's been giving us the wrong name of the podcast. That would be very tricky if he did that.
So I'm going, it's real.

Speaker 3 Wow.

Speaker 20 I think it's fake. I think his podcast is it's my business with Darren Ravel.

Speaker 12 I like that.

Speaker 17 That would be a great title. Here's something shocking.

Speaker 15 According to my research, Darren Ravel actively does not have a podcast.

Speaker 3 Whoa.

Speaker 25 Wow, he's the one.

Speaker 3 He's too busy collecting autographs and stuff, right?

Speaker 3 I guess.

Speaker 14 In the name of equality.

Speaker 29 Yeah.

Speaker 14 Caramel and cheddar.

Speaker 2 With Eddie Curry.

Speaker 12 No.

Speaker 11 It's popcorn?

Speaker 30 Caramel and cheddar.

Speaker 12 Oh, it's Eddie Curry and popcorn.

Speaker 3 I want that name.

Speaker 32 He's from Chicago.

Speaker 12 Not real.

Speaker 25 Yes.

Speaker 10 Yes.

Speaker 12 I'm going to say yes.

Speaker 2 The name is too ridiculous for it to not be real.

Speaker 3 Yeah.

Speaker 29 Co-hosts it with his girlfriend.

Speaker 21 Yeah. See? Really?

Speaker 1 He's from Chicago.

Speaker 12 It's a popcorn thing. They love the Chicago popcorn.
We'll talk to Jessica Smithana about it in a little bit. And he's a guy that likes to eat.
We're going to throw that out there.

Speaker 8 It's a real podcast.

Speaker 17 Levels to this with Cheryl Swoops.

Speaker 12 Yes, real.

Speaker 9 Yeah, you know, I know all the WNBA podcasts. That's a real one.

Speaker 12 That's a real one. Cheryl Swoops, definitely.
That's a type of title that Sheryl Swoops has. Yeah, too.

Speaker 23 Craig? Say no.

Speaker 20 I'm going to go the other way.

Speaker 8 That's a real podcast.

Speaker 7 I'm sorry, Cheryl.

Speaker 15 Now, last one.

Speaker 14 This question's only for Greg.

Speaker 14 One night with Steiny with Willie Collie Stein. Oh, wow.

Speaker 23 Yes.

Speaker 16 It's a real podcast, but not hosted by Willie Collie Stein. It's a trick question.

Speaker 12 Hosted by Steiny. Shame on you.

Speaker 23 Oh, my God.

Speaker 12 Mark Stein?

Speaker 12 That has been Real or Fake Podcast. Now we transition seamlessly to Greg Cody's topic that Chris thought wasn't interesting enough.

Speaker 3 Wow.

Speaker 12 Chinese robotic Olympics.

Speaker 12 Greg, tell me everything. I want to swear everything with this.

Speaker 20 The only thing I know about it.

Speaker 7 See, there we go. Okay.
No, no, no. Hear me out.
Let him talk.

Speaker 20 It has embarrassed itself. It's fallen flat because of the, you know, the robots are doing everything.
The robots are like three, four feet tall, but they're like in a boxing ring.

Speaker 28 They're doing all this stuff.

Speaker 11 They're all

Speaker 11 that's your form?

Speaker 16 They're all, yeah, they're all formed.

Speaker 5 That's a robot's form.

Speaker 20 I used to box a little bit when I was younger.

Speaker 12 So did Denzel Washington.

Speaker 7 He always used to do that.

Speaker 3 Oh, yeah. Hey.

Speaker 3 You do them.

Speaker 20 There you go.

Speaker 20 No, they're all falling flat.

Speaker 7 Like, literally.

Speaker 20 All the robots are falling over when they do anything strenuous or athletic. And so it's been like a big bust in China.
Now, it's a bad idea as well.

Speaker 12 I saw a clip of a kid. Oh,

Speaker 12 we got.

Speaker 12 We've got them playing soccer.

Speaker 3 Hold on. We got it.
Run that one back.

Speaker 12 Run that soccer one back. I like it.

Speaker 3 Look at that.

Speaker 29 It's like electric football.

Speaker 25 This is what seven-year-old soccer looks like.

Speaker 15 I like it.

Speaker 1 Soccer looks like to me.

Speaker 12 You know what's funny, man? Somewhere,

Speaker 12 Skynet is listening to us laugh.

Speaker 11 That's a foul.

Speaker 3 On who?

Speaker 25 Whoever made that is like, you guys think you could do better?

Speaker 5 Oh, here's the box.

Speaker 3 Ooh, okay.

Speaker 21 Keep the box.

Speaker 3 Yeah? Uh-huh.

Speaker 12 I don't know what the orange one is swinging at.

Speaker 20 Slow punches.

Speaker 12 Good lord.

Speaker 21 You could beat up that robot?

Speaker 20 Yeah, the punches are going like this in real time.

Speaker 21 What was wrong with Battle Bots?

Speaker 16 Ah, Battle Bots.

Speaker 3 Battle Bots was great.

Speaker 12 Whoa, that's weird. What's happening right here on the screen? I'm not good at describing this.
Imagine somebody gingerly running around.

Speaker 25 Whoa, that's standing up like that is. I was saying that.

Speaker 14 It's a breakdancing competition.

Speaker 15 I was in the Olympics, the real Olympics.

Speaker 12 I saw a video of a kid, maybe like a 12-year-old kid, fighting against one of these robots, and I was not impressed with the robot's reaction time.

Speaker 12 At the end, it flew, it just fell on its back like spread eagle.

Speaker 20 I could outrun that last robot.

Speaker 20 He was running about one mile an hour.

Speaker 31 Talk into the mic.

Speaker 31 I can outrun that robot. Robots are supposed to be superior to human beings.

Speaker 20 This proves they're not.

Speaker 20 What a colossal failure the Robot Olympics was. Eliminate all robots.

Speaker 12 I'm worried, though, Greg, that us taunting them right now is just feeding Skynet with all the motivation to let us know.

Speaker 25 Well, how do we know you're not a robot?

Speaker 20 Next time you put out a robot Olympics, they should run faster, they should hit harder, they should kick a soccer ball harder, they should be superhuman, and they're not. They're not even a robot.

Speaker 20 It's like electric football when they'd bump into each other and fall down and everything and

Speaker 20 the floor of the table would buzz and they'd all be jumping around.

Speaker 4 What if they're intentionally doing this to have us let our guard down?

Speaker 7 You know, you're like, oh, robots.

Speaker 21 Playing possible

Speaker 3 exactly right.

Speaker 20 In that that case it's successful because you watch these robots and you're going these robots suck who made these robots one of those robots missing an arm i noticed that i was yeah i hope he's okay robot paralyzed i didn't see any blood though you said it not me that's the one where the founder of skynet had in his uh living room the arm is his yeah

Speaker 7 yeah the arm of the black guy from from terminator yeah greg do you have all your original joints i do yeah yeah are you proud of that or would you want an upgrade no i think i'm good right now my my hips I lead the league in hips.

Speaker 4 Hips don't lie.

Speaker 20 Yeah, I mean, my only issue is my right knee.

Speaker 20 Trick knee? Yeah, I think I may need something done to my right knee.

Speaker 12 What if they got you a robot knee?

Speaker 20 Based on what I just saw, I don't want it.

Speaker 17 This is a great death scene.

Speaker 14 The guy from Speed.

Speaker 28 That was a good one, huh?

Speaker 7 Yeah, very, very good. Yeah.
Pretty good.

Speaker 14 Limited fake T2 guy that.

Speaker 15 Marketing for the Suez next year.

Speaker 14 Yeah, that didn't actually do what most capitalists do.

Speaker 15 And he's just like, what, this is bad for people? Let me destroy it.

Speaker 14 Rather than make money on it.

Speaker 16 Hey, we have breaking news.

Speaker 14 Hit it.

Speaker 14 Big week one ramifications for the Miami Dolphins.

Speaker 19 The Indianapolis Colts have announced their QB1. Oh.
And it is Daniel Jones.

Speaker 3 No.

Speaker 21 You guys love football, huh?

Speaker 3 Look at that reaction.

Speaker 9 It's a big news day.

Speaker 11 One and oh for the Dolphins. You guys whipped your heads around and all said, whoa, collectively.

Speaker 21 Season.

Speaker 12 I'm surprised he's still playing football.

Speaker 29 Wow.

Speaker 19 Danny Dimes, QB1.

Speaker 9 That is a disaster for the Colts.

Speaker 8 Is the injury thing?

Speaker 4 Is like Richardson that hurt? How much is it going to hurt if the Dolphins lose to him?

Speaker 9 Well, and you got Xavian Howard, who's out there for the Colts now, too, right?

Speaker 11 Yep.

Speaker 2 Man, Tyreek Hill is going to burn.

Speaker 8 200 in the air, 100 on the ground, and a pick six for Howard.

Speaker 12 You think Kyle Tucker's confidence is down? How do you think Anthony Richardson feels?

Speaker 12 Yikes.

Speaker 24 Folks, the leaves are turning.

Speaker 15 The weather's getting a little chillier.

Speaker 19 That means the football games are more important.

Speaker 21 That means football time should be Miller time.

Speaker 32 Game Game day hits different with a Miller light in your hand.

Speaker 8 From jaw-dropping touchdowns to fantasy heartbreaks, my fantasy season's over already, but you know what makes that better?

Speaker 28 Miller time!

Speaker 17 It's the beer that's been there for every moment. 50 years of great taste, simple ingredients, and that iconic golden color you can spot from across the room.
And here's the kicker.

Speaker 17 It's just 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later.

Speaker 17 So whatever your game day looks like, remember Miller time is always a good time.

Speaker 6 Miller Light, great taste, 96 calories.

Speaker 8 Go to millerlight.com/slash stan to find delivery options near you.

Speaker 17 Or you can pick up 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.