Hour 2: A Rather Melancholy Footnote (feat. Jessica Smetana & Jemele Hill)

You said you were over him, but his hoodie is stealing your rotation.

It's time.

Grab your phone, snap a few pics, and sell it on D-Pop listed in minutes with no selling

fees.

And just like that, a guy 500 miles away just paid full price for your closure and ride

on cue.

Nope, but I've got tonight's dinner paid for.

Start selling on D-Pop, where taste recognizes taste.

List now with no selling fees.

Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply.

See website for details.

This is the Don Laboratory Show with the STUGATS podcast.

Jessica is going to join us here in a little bit, Jamel Hill, as well.

We are going to try to not talk BAM with Jessica and Jamel.

I will put a little bit of a ribbon on some of this with BAM out of bio and how it's being

received nationally and in Los Angeles.

This is a tweet from Jorge Sadano in June of 2017.

Yo, all the times I've got to tell you.

According to scouting reports, Adabayo is said to project to be a poor man's Tristan Thompson.

And now he is the record, or he's not even the record holder, it's willed at 100.

This isn't an unusual thing.

Second place usually isn't, second place by 17 points, isn't usually celebrated this way.

Or making people in Los Angeles sad, the Lakers last night.

There was a fun basketball night last night if you're watching Boston and the Spurs.

Wembee goes crazy against Boston.

Jalen Brown is ejected in a way that you really shouldn't be ejecting him.

How many got pushed?

Like he obviously got pushed and they called the other way.

If you went out of bounds, he went nuts, the other guy gave him a tech.

But it was shocking though.

The Lakers, juju told us recently that the Lakers stink with a capital age and they don't

actually stink.

They're about 10 games over 500 and they're a little bit confusing.

They do stink at defense, but they beat Minnesota last night and during the game, the public

address announcer for the Lakers announced BAM out of Bio's record setting night this

way.

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please, this evening, a rather military footnote

and NBA history occurred, Miami beat Washington 150, 129 in N.A.

Miami forward BAM out of Bio's story, 83 points.

Get the hell out of here losers.

That's shocking.

That's real.

A rather melancholy footnote is how BAM scored 83 points.

Melancholy footnote, BAM said after the game that that's the best he's ever felt after

a game and it is a rather melancholy footnote in Los Angeles.

That's shocking.

Just shit, man.

Just the quickest thing on how this could possibly be melancholy because BAM out of Bio

is a guy who, when it Kentucky, would stay late after practice and John Colapari said

that he would, he would go up to him and be like, why are you still here in the gym?

And what BAM would do is just turn his phone where his phone background was the trailer

that he and his mom grew up in.

And when he got his first big contract, he bought his mom a house.

He was there last night, Aja Wilson was there last night, a fellow record holder.

This was anything but melancholy.

What a cool moment for them to shit on.

Kobe didn't have the record.

He was second.

A rather melancholy footnote, Jessica joins us now and we are going to change the subject

matter around here because we've been talking about this BAM thing for three hours.

But before we get into the meat of some sports topics, Zazlow is out on Quentin Tarantino

now.

Well, no, not out.

No, not out, but I do have thoughts on it.

Well, yeah, I mean, I say you're out because you won't watch Django unchanged.

You won't watch it again.

You're that's out.

Still represented his feelings accurately.

So so Quentin Tarantino, I, you know, has been getting for years, gets like very famously

a long time ago, Spike Lee, like took him to task on his use of the N word in his movies

and he writes the N word into his script many, many times says it himself when he puts himself

in his movies is very comfortable as a white man using that word and has defended it at

every turn.

I mean, that's seen like his scene in pulp fiction, which is my favorite movie.

His scene in pulp fiction is hilarious and also really over the top with the use of

the N word.

As are some scenes in a lot of his movies, I will tell you that Django unchained, which

obviously is the N word a lot and is like, you know, we're dealing with slavery here

and has some rough scenes.

He's my favorite director is movies are my favorite, but I will tell you, I've seen,

I've seen Django unchained, it's a really good movie.

I've never watched it again, like every time that I pass by it on television and I'll

see it for a few minutes like, it's always kind of a tough watch, you know, and not just

because of the N word, like, it's a little bit rough to watch.

So the most recent, I guess, actress to come out and be critical of Quentin Tarantino,

here is Rosanna Arquette, who worked with him in pulp fiction.

All right.

And so Rosanna Arquette, you'll remember was Eric Stolt, he was the drug dealer, she was

his girlfriend.

All right.

And very famously in the scene with the OD adrenaline shot with Uma Thurman and Rosanna

Arquette in a magazine piece about her career, talked about Quentin Tarantino, saying,

quote, personally, I'm over the use of the N word, I hate it.

I cannot stand that Tarantino has been given a hall pass.

It's not art, it's just racist and creepy.

And so obviously Quentin Tarantino is going to respond to that.

And he writes, dear Rosanna, I hope the publicity you're getting from 132 different media outlets

writing your name and printing your picture was worth disrespecting me.

And a film, I remember quite clearly, you were thrilled to be a part of, do you feel

this way now?

Very possibly.

But after I gave you a job and you took the money to trash it for what I suspect is

very cynical reasons, shows a decided lack of class and a less honor.

They're supposed to be an asprit decor between artistic colleagues.

But it would appear the objective was accomplished.

Congratulations, Q.

Jessica Smiling, because of how you just pronounced free the core,

you can see it on her face.

I can see her face.

Dan, that's not fair.

Is it wrong though?

It might not be fair, but it's wrong.

Running your thoughts on everything that he said there, Jessica.

I mean, I think she's entitled to change her opinion over the span of what,

30 years since the movie came out.

And I think that her criticism, like you mentioned, is something that has been said

many, many times about him.

And creepy and racist is, yeah, I mean, that's certainly things that people have called

him before.

Not just creepy and racist, also affiliated with Harvey Weinstein in a way that hasn't blown

back on him the way you think it might.

And look, man, his arrogance is earned.

He makes great films, but he carries himself as if he knows that he makes great films.

And he's untouchable because he's doing something there that no one else is doing.

No one else is comfortable doing that in 2026.

No white man is comfortable doing that.

There's been a lot of controversy this week regarding the movies, Dan.

I know that the Oscars are coming up this weekend.

There's been several just bad PR moments.

So I would like to take this time to transition to one of my favorite controversies of the

week, which was something Timothy Shalamay said in an interview with Matthew McConaughey.

Have you seen any of the blowback to Timmy Shalamay's comments to Matthew McConaughey?

I think we might have Desroy.

Do we have the clip?

Yes, we do.

And I don't want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it's like, hey, keep

this thing alive, even though we don't care about this anymore.

All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.

I just lost 14 cents in viewership.

But you can't.

I just took shots for no reason.

I was so shot at here, would you say?

Yeah.

I'm sorry.

I tried to save it there with the little operatic note at the end, Dan.

But this clip went platinum viral on the internet and the opera and ballet communities were

so mad because in this clip, it appears as though out of nowhere, Timmy Shalamay is

taking a shot at ballet and opera for not being relevant in the mainstream.

And so he has been just, people are very, very upset at Timmy Shalamay.

So I was like, that's interesting, I would consider myself a fan of Timmy Shalamay.

I'm going to watch this interview.

I would also consider myself a fan of Matthew McConaughey and especially the film Interstellar,

which is what they spent a lot of this interview talking about, Dan.

So I watched this entire hour long interview with Timmy Shalamay and man, it's not that

I got taken out of context, but it's almost as if like no one who reacted to it cared

at all why he brought up ballet and opera.

And what he was trying to say, what they were talking about was that the younger generation

apparently directors are making films where there's a shorter first act and they want

more action sequences earlier in the films to capture people's attention.

And he was sort of talking about that and they were kind of talking back and forth about

that and he was saying that he doesn't, he wants younger people to go to the movies and

he doesn't want the movies to become like ballet and opera where they're not part of the

mainstream.

And you have to beg people to go see your movies because they're only watching like short

form videos and things that capture their attention.

So the others, you know, I understand, he probably shouldn't have used that as an example

because it was kind of mean and dismissive.

But the other side of that Dan is like, I don't watch the ballet or the opera.

So I can't sit here and be like, well, he's an asshole and he's wrong.

Because I would have to agree.

It's not like a mainstream form of art anymore like it used to be.

But based on what he said there, Timothy Shalamey, like, do we take into consideration

all that opera sucks?

No, it's not surprising.

It's not surprising.

It's not surprising that people who love opera and ballet would be defensive and protective

of opera and ballet.

The more interesting thing to me is doesn't Shalamey in these times that we're in where

no one gets to be universal, universally popular and everyone is polarizing.

He never has bad public moments, does he?

He's a bit, it almost feels like overexposed here, right, Jess, where it's like he's been talking

and talking and talking and talking and was eventually bound to put his foot in his mouth.

I mean, he's doing podcast, he's doing podcasts about putting his foot in his mouth about

opera.

I was going to say 1837, but you're proving my point, which is that like if this is the worst

thing that's been said, if this is the big controversy, you're doing a pretty good job.

If when you're going on podcasts with LeBron and Steve Nash and breaking down Ball or Carmelo

and doing that as well, like he is everywhere right now and this wasn't really intended

to be a shot at the art form.

It was like, hey, I don't want to have to put the whole team on my back to get everybody

to the movies.

We need to be able to create stuff that gets kids to the movies, right, Jess?

I think it's also, it kind of proves this point because I think it's way easier for

people to see the 30-second clip and have a really strong reaction to it because it was

mean and dismissive and he shouldn't have said no one cares about this.

I would argue that fewer people care about ballet and opera than cinema and film and movies

and that was kind of what his point was, but it's a lot harder to sit down and watch

a full hour long interview and actually get a sense for what the context was, which I

really think it kind of proves this point that our attention spans kind of suck right

now and so like people just want to watch short videos and get outraged by them without

taking the time to actually read what the conversation was about in the first place.

Mike Ryan came in here crushed today because Stanford lost to Pitt in the ACC tournament

which is now begun on both sides, women and men.

Your thoughts, the most interesting things you've seen so far, not that there have been

that many as March Madness gets ready to start trembling.

As well, the ACC tournament is so fun again because only three teams don't make the ACC

tournament because the ACC is too big for every team to make it now and yes, Notre Dame

was one of those teams.

I don't know how Pitt made it.

Well, I do know because they beat Notre Dame like two weeks ago and Pitt is a terrible basketball

team.

But good for them, got a win.

But the most interesting thing happened during the game, which was that some random fan

was loudly and obnoxiously singing the Goo Goo Dolls during the game.

Hell to three in the first place.

God was my second.

The Corey hits the free throw and despite the pleasant, so the really loud guy is singing

the Goo Goo Dolls by this.

That's your head I didn't throw them up.

This is some list to be on Duke Duke and Duke freshman 30.

Mike loves the Corey.

That's all Mike.

Mike was just staring at a Corey and talking about the 730 point game.

Yeah, I regret not having the sound on for that game as I was dialed into it, just standing

up to a second TV because let's say what needs to be said, Goo Goo Dolls, Iris, Banger.

That's great.

Great song.

More of that.

More people randomly singing at the 12 o'clock tip off games of conference tournaments.

It's a great guitar riff, you know, the bridge and Zaz, thank you for your bravery.

Only with the guts to say the ballet and opera, not their thing.

Oldies?

Oldies.

That's definitely an oldies.

Ancient.

Not even oldies.

Ancient.

So Goo Goo Dolls, you guys are putting oldies.

And oldies.

Goo Goo Dolls, Jay-Z, you're putting them in the Frank Sinatra Krunner's class.

Yes.

The big band class.

If those are oldies, what are songs from the 1950s?

Oldies.

Oldies.

Dinosaur.

Dinosaur.

Dinosaur.

Oldies.

Yeah.

Oldies.

Yeah.

Oldies.

Oldies.

Oldies.

What a boy.

Jessica, what were your thoughts on the NBA turning around and cancelling magic city night

because of the public pressure?

And I'm going to say it's just the sponsors because of the sponsor pressure.

First of all, did you guys see what Asia Wilson's boyfriend did last night?

Yeah, we're not talking about that.

Thank you very much.

Yeah.

I, Dan, I was, I was, I guess, not surprised that they canceled magic city night.

But maybe a little bit surprised.

And I read a really good interview with a woman who works for a, like, workers rights group

for strippers and dancers and entertainers.

And she was like, basically saying, I wish I remembered what outlet it was in.

But it was a good interview and people should, people should read it if they could find

it out.

They're not going to be able to find it based on the way you're just working for strippers.

Search it.

Search strippers.

See how that goes for you.

I'll find it.

I bookmarked it.

She was like, you know, pushing dancers and entertainers and strippers into the margins

is not actually looking out for us, Luke Cornett, and I'm paraphrasing there.

And I thought that that was very well said because there's been a lot of conversation

about this whole promotion.

And most of it has just been from the perspective of, you know, basketball players and media

people like me and, and you guys and not from the actual women who work at Magic City

who thought that this was kind of a bummer.

Check out her weekly Notre Dame podcast, The Echoes with Mike Golick Jr.

Yes.

This is not an echo, the Echoes with Mike Golick Jr.

Jessica, thank you.

Good seeing you.

Appreciate the time.

Bye.

Not enough BAM out of bio talk with her.

There will be none.

Not nearly enough BAM out of bio talk on this show today, Dan.

Not nearly enough.

There will be none of that with Jamal Hill.

Maybe there will be some of it with Juju Gotti, but I am making this a BAM out of bio

free zone with Jamal Hill next.

Listeners, you know this about me.

I am the only person in the shipping container who actually tries every day when it comes

to my style.

I genuinely care about clothes.

I care about my wardrobe and I finally hit the age where I realized something, which

is that you don't need more clothes, you just need better ones.

A thoughtfully built wardrobe comes down to pieces that mix well and last.

That's where Quince shines.

With their premium fabrics considered design, everyday essentials that feel effortless

season to season.

I'm telling you this because actively, as I speak to you right now, I am currently

wearing one of my favorite Quince pieces, which is my Mongolian Kashmir hoodie.

And I'm talking to you about their lightweight Kashmir sweaters, their short sleeve Mongolian

Kashmir polos, linen shorts, and T's and 100% Pima cotton.

These are the pieces that actually make your wardrobe work.

Right now, go to quince.com slash dan for free shipping and 365 day returns.

That's a full year to build your wardrobe and love it.

And you will.

Now available in Canada too.

Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last.

Go to q-u-i-n-c-e.com slash dan for free shipping and 365 day returns.

Quince.com slash dan.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

March is one of those months where we talk about celebrating women and it's very, very

deserved because when you actually look around a lot of women in our lives are carrying

a ton.

Work, family relationships, expectations, nobody notices or sees.

I start thinking about the women around me, my wife, my mom, my sister, my friends, my

coworkers, people who somehow take care of everybody else while still trying to hold it

together themselves.

And it's a ton to carry.

Therapy can be a place to put some of that weight down.

It can help you figure out what's yours, what isn't, and how to set better boundaries

so you're not running on empty all the time.

BetterHelp works with fully licensed therapists in the US and they handle the matching process

for you.

You fill out a short questionnaire and if your therapist is in the right fit, you can

switch at any time with more than 30,000 therapists and over 6 million people serve.

It's the world's largest online therapy platform with an average of 4.9 out of 5 session

ratings.

Your emotional well-being matters.

Find support and feel lighter in therapy.

Turn up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash DLB that's betterHelpHELP.com slash DLB.

Love the night.

Reach for Zen After Dark, a limited cocktail-inspired series for those who get up when the sun goes down.

Try Zen's Mojito, Spiced Cider, and espresso martini nicotine pouches.

Find them at Select Retailers, available while supplies last.

Find them at The After Dark, bring on the night.

Warning, this product contains nicotine, nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Don Lebatard.

I don't think I ever got that many roses in my whole life.

Stugats.

Certainly not from your lovely grandfather got a mass so rushed in peace.

This is the Don Lebatard show with the Stugats.

Walk me through what you found most interesting about the Atlanta Hawks having a magic city

night, trying to frame it as this is about chicken wings and cultural identity, an iconic

establishment in Atlanta, Luke Cornette objects to it, and a soon after sponsors object

to it, and then the NBA ends up canceling the night.

What did you find interesting there?

What I found interesting, and I will be totally honest, I say this as somebody who has thrown

plenty of money up in magic city, in fact the last time I went I think me and my husband

went it was New Year's Eve, we went to magic city and had a blast.

What was most interesting to me, notice most of the objections weren't from women.

They were from men, and this really surprised me, and I think a lot of it is the fact that

we don't put magic city culturally or even from just a pure strip club standpoint in

the same category as other strip clubs.

You all have something pretty similar in King of Diamonds, even though I would say King

of Diamonds is not necessarily the same cultural fixture that magic city is in Atlanta.

Now I'm probably pretty biased because last summer in Miami I hosted a panel that was

about magic city, the docu series that's on stars, which is very good, and really takes

you inside how this club became such a cultural fixture in the city.

Could every city get away with what with a magic city night, something after a famous

strip club?

No, but I think Atlanta could have pulled it off, but it was really interesting to me

that most of the objections were coming from men and not from women.

I'm going to make you feel even older, King of Diamonds is now a Cadillac dealership.

I know you lie it, what is happening to my you, what is happening to, it did it.

It was a short run.

No, it was really in retrospect a store streaking across the sky.

It does not have the kind of legacy that Tootsies would say.

Gee, this is all around depressing conversation thanks Dan.

The other thing I will say just really quickly about magic city is people raise their

eyebrows when I say this, but it's true.

The reason women enjoy strip clubs is it's the safest place for a woman to be.

You can get good food, you can get great music, you can see women who are very athletic,

dance, and have conversations with them, and the men leave you alone because you're not

the naked ones.

So it's like the best place.

You get all the things that you want to enjoy about a nightclub experience without being

hassled by men on night.

I'm serious when I ask this question.

In Atlanta, what is a bigger cultural fixture as you say, magic city or the Atlanta hawks

themselves?

Magic city.

I don't know if I have the right to say that as somebody who's not from Atlanta, but

while there certainly the hawks have had their moments, obviously the Dominique Wilkins

error is a pretty big one in Atlanta hawks lore, but I'll put it this way.

If one of those institutions left, which one would people be more heartbroken about?

And I would argue it might be magic city.

You and Ryan Clark spoke to writer Ellen Briggs recently about this extremely dangerous

trend.

You both have faced and countless others in sports media have faced of having fake quotes

attributed to you and then going viral.

How often are you experiencing this and how bad is it?

It's pretty bad.

And I would say, and I'm probably being conservative by saying at least monthly.

And I just don't, I understand how people are able to get away with it because once

most of the social media platforms, if not pretty much all of them dropped any kind of

safeguards around false information and vetting that out.

And not that what they had in place was perfect, but at least it was something.

But once they decided to drop all kind of these safeguards and guardrails about profiting

off of false information, it has led to not just me and Ryan Clark, but I'll just say

people that they know will create a reaction, and especially if it involves race or gender.

And the number of fake quotes I see supposedly coming from Angel Reese is astonishing.

And that's because she's polarizing, you know, through in many ways, you know, no fault

of her own.

So we know based off research that the people most abused on social media are women.

We also know black women are right there, you know, maybe even higher than just women

over all, just black women in general.

And so if you could take somebody like me who often speaks about racial and social issues

and you could throw my face on a pretty looking postcard and a pretty looking graphic and have

a quote that's totally made up, the engagement goes through the roof.

And I have had to encounter this at least five times.

And I don't know even what else is circulating, but I just know that when the vitriol shows

off in my shows up in my inbox, something somewhere has contributed to that.

And probably like maybe one of the worst cases is when, you know, speaking of Angel

Reese, they found a way to put us, you know, together, like combining their polarizing

boltrons to get maximum engagement.

And there was a fake quote that was circulating that said the Angel Reese is the Michael Jordan

of the WNBA, something I've never come close to remotely saying.

And the level of vitriol that that generated, I mean, I honestly hadn't been caught

the in-word that many times since I said what I said about Donald Trump.

Like that's how bad it was.

And I'm just like, it really blew my mind because let's just say in some crazy universe,

I did say that.

It's still a basketball opinion.

Certainly nothing worthy of me receiving that kind of very dangerous and horrible feedback.

And so it's been a real problem.

I've been threatened many times because of these fake quotes.

And I just wonder what the legal recourse is for myself or others who have had to endure

this because it's not right.

And then they're able to profit off of it.

And I don't know if it's bot farms.

I think according to the article, you know, a lot of these sort of mechanisms that are

operating overseas and they're just doing it for clickbait and engagement and monetization.

And it's, it's really, really horrible.

Quick break to tell you about a special miller time I had with my good buddy, Mochetta.

Mochetta texted me the other day, he said, hey, what are you doing for the game?

I said, I'm just on my couch right now, doing nothing, enjoying it.

He's like, hey, do you want some company?

I said, from you, Mochetta?

Absolutely.

Mochetta comes over to the house and I pull out the Miller Lite.

Miller Lite made that casual hang, a memorable good miller time with my good friend, Mochetta.

As Miller Lite brought us together, we took that first sip after we toasted our beers and

we knew we made the right call.

We watched a game, all of a sudden we're standing up on our feet, big threes are being

drained and white cans are being clanged.

See times like these?

That's exactly why Miller Lite is my go-to, clean, refreshing, easy to drink, brute for

taste with simple ingredients.

The original Lite beer since 1975 and it still hits different for yours truly and is good

friend Mochetta.

Cheers to legendary moments made with Miller Lite.

Great taste, 96 calories.

Put a Miller Lite.com slash stand to find delivery options near you or you can pick up some

Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer.

It's Miller Time.

Celebrate responsibly, Miller Brewing Company will walk you Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2

carbs per 12 ounces.

In sports championships on one alone, the one with the right people around you.

That's exactly what Intuitobotax brings to taxes.

With Tobotax Expert full service, match with a dedicated tax expert who handles your taxes

from start to finish.

The experience is seamless, starting in person, finish online, move between both whenever

needed.

The dedicated tax expert keeps things updated every step of the way so nothing falls between

the cracks.

Think of it like having a great head coach with a solid game plan.

The plays are called, adjustments are made, and the work gets done while everyone stays

focused on what actually matters.

And just like GameFilm doesn't wait for business hours, neither do taxes.

With Tobotax Expert full service, you can get any tax question answered at no extra cost,

even on nights and weekends during tax season.

This is having someone in your corner running the whole operation and helping put points

on the board.

Get started at Tobotax.com.

All you available with Intuitobotax full service experts, real time updates only in iOS

mobile app.

DraftKings Sportsbook, the number one sportsbook for live betting, is built for March.

The tournament is unpredictable, but the rewards are gear, run, tea, baby, and DraftKings

is delivering some of the most generous rewards in the market.

New to DraftKings, bet just five bucks and get 200 bucks in bonus bets instantly, download

the DraftKings Sportsbook app, and use code Dan.

That's code Dan, to turn five bucks into 200 bucks in bonus bets instantly, in partnership

with DraftKings, the crown is yours.

Gambling problem called 1-800-Gamber, or 1-800-Myreset, New York called 877-8 hope in

wire, text hope in why, Connecticut called 888-789-7777, or visit ccpg.org.

On behalf of Boot Hill, Casino and Kansas, wager tax pass through may apply in Illinois, 21

and over in most states, void an Ontario, restrictions apply, bonus bets expire seven

days after issuance.

For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, csportsbook.draftKings.com slash

promos, limited time offer.

Dan Lebatard!

Are the stakes that high that if injuries loses to Kaelin Clark, you need to start over

again as a race.

Still gots!

I don't know that we have to necessarily start over, but it might have to be, it will be

a black people's meeting, an important one that will be called the next day.

We might have to put some things on the agenda given off the table.

This is the Dan Lebatard show with its two gots!

You and I have talked on South Beach sessions and elsewhere about you being in the office

of John Skipper after a controversy that now seems quaint instead of poisonous, the idea

that not that long ago you were calling Donald Trump a white supremacist and now all

of a sudden we see everything that's happening, you were crying in Skipper's office.

If I had showed up next to you at that moment and said, here's where we're going to be

in America in 2026 and it looks like it presently looks right now.

Would you have believed the things would have gotten this crazy?

No, and I often have said to people that it's a time where I wish I would have been

proven wrong.

Where I wish a year later or three years later or five years later, people would have

looked back at what I said or said, hey, remember when you said this and he's totally not

that way, this is completely different and I just would have had to wear a little

egg on my face and as opposed to us being in this very dangerous moment being led by somebody

who is a danger to a lot of people's existence and frankly to this country.

And so I never wanted to be more wrong about somebody than I was about Donald Trump.

But even in my wildest imagination, I didn't imagine this and the only reason I didn't

imagine it getting to this level is because despite who he has surrounded himself with

and we saw this in the first term is that while I had similar thoughts about the people

he's surrounded himself with, these are people who sort of grew up in government and believed

in the functioning of government.

The people around him now don't believe in that.

They want not just chaos, but they want to break government.

They want to completely break people's faith in the institutions and what it has exposed

is that for a long period of time, maybe throughout our entire history, we have operated

as if these institutions that we revere and learn about in our history books were simply

going to be able to stand for themselves.

Well, democracy is only worth it if the people actually defend it.

The Supreme Court only means something if somebody is actually willing to defend it.

The three branches of government only means something if someone is actually willing to

enforce it.

And so what we have seen is not just his behavior showcasing our weakest and most vulnerable

points as a nation.

We've also seen that the political cowardice really runs among throughout our government

to where even the people that say they want to protect these institutions actually really

don't.

So it just really teaches you how much people will lean into the most grossest things

in order to have comfort.

You mentioned Angel Reese.

You've covered a lot of work stoppages in your time as a journalist.

What do you think is going to happen with the WNBA negotiations?

I always believe that a deal will get done $11.59.59.

I don't know what the back and forth is like at this point.

And I know for a lot of people, they are thinking this will be a doomed day scenario because

the players are pretty dug in.

But I think a deal still will be done and I think the season will start on time.

It will be rushed.

A lot of it will be thrown together.

It will be kind of chaotic.

But I think both parties realize even though the players, they went through, I think it

was a few months ago, where they pre-authorized the strike, which over 90% of the players were

in favor of if it got to a point where they didn't get some of the things that they want

to get.

And I know some of that has changed a little bit because they're sort of concerned and there's

anxiety there.

And it's anxiety that I believe that the league purposely created.

I mean, we had Niko Gummike, who's the president of the Players Association on Flagor

and at funny, and they gave the league a proposal, a counter-proposal, and the league sat

on it for six weeks.

And I think they did that.

I agree with Netto that they did that on purpose so that the players would then start

to second guess what they were standing for.

I mean, everything I've seen has played out in so many labor negotiations in the past

where the goal of the league is to break the union.

And by break the union meaning create enough anxiety so that the things that they need

to stand and hold firm on so they'll back off those things and just basically creating

division and friction.

And so hopefully the players don't go for it because this CBA could really set the

table for the future generations of the WNBA.

We see the money coming in.

It's $2.2 billion media rights deal.

They have multiple franchises now that are valued at over $300 million.

I mean, the Valkyries, they just started two years ago and that franchise has already

valued at $500 million.

The New York Liberty value at over $400 million.

The players see this, okay?

And so they know if they don't stand firm on certain things, they'll never get them

in the future.

It'll always be wait.

And I think as the money is coming in, as they're building the business, they deserve

to reap the rewards of building that business, especially when you consider how many

elves they've taken to get to this point of having some kind of leverage in the negotiations.

You're a biased homer on behalf of Michigan State.

Certainly you cannot defend Jeremy Fears out here kicking people in the junk.

I can't defend it.

I watched the game.

I was watching the game live then.

I will say live it didn't look like that.

And sometimes, slo-mo can sort of cast a different perspective on things.

Like Jeremy Fears is a very, I'm not defending it, I'm not defending it.

I'm just saying that it didn't look that way live.

On the slo-mo, I understand.

But here's the thing.

Jeremy Fears is a hard competitor and I know that people will probably look at the fact

that Dre mind also wants to Michigan State and try to draw some kind of correlation and

say, oh, is this the kind of player that Michigan State produces?

I will say this, as an unabashed homer of my university, you talk to any coach.

They would much rather have to tell you to take the edge off than have to teach you how

to have edge because they feel like you, they can't teach you how to have edge and play

with a certain type of grit.

I do think that the complaints from Michigan are rival now that they had from the previous

matchup that was in East Lansing were overblown and a little whiny.

And now that put a target on Jeremy's back to some degree and I thought that was wholly

unfair.

But I understand why people have a problem with it, had no problem with the call that

was made.

I think Jeremy is a really excellent player.

He's got a competitive edge and he's got a nasty streak and he's just got to learn as

he matures how to get a better handle on that.

Stop kicking people in the junk.

That's what he's got to learn because he's a serial offender.

If you watched it live, you would have never thought that.

You would have never thought this.

It's not his first time doing it.

I mean, it kind of looked like one of those old school rick flare ones where it's just like

he's facing the referee and then the like it wasn't the first time he's done it.

It wasn't the first time he is he has created a lack of doubt.

I understand this that people look at the reputation and they say, of course, that's

exactly what he intended and wanted to do and I don't know if he did.

But I know that his reputation isn't going to do him any favors and some degree that's

undeserved.

All right.

Hold on a second.

A list here, a top five list, top five Jeremy fears, are you ready?

Go ahead.

Number five.

These are my top five Jeremy.

We got it.

Number five.

Number five.

I already said that.

Number four.

A baseball lockout.

Number three.

My wife realizing she's so much better than me.

Number two.

Dan.

Number one.

Leaving removed from streaming services.

You could watch new episodes of flagrant and funny with Jamel and her long time friend

Kerry champion.

As I mentioned, and it's Jamel Hill on YouTube, Spolitics on her YouTube channel.

The YouTube channel is it's Jamel Hill.

Always nice seeing you Jamel.

Thank you.

All right.

Good to see you guys.

Shot clocks.

Big shots.

Upsets.

Aces.

TGL playoffs are here.

First, Atlanta Drive starts their repeat run against Los Angeles Golf Club.

Then, Rory's Boston Common Golf and Tigers Jupiter links face off in their playoff

debuts.

Who will advance?

Keep up.

It's playoffs.

at 6.30 p.m.

And 9 p.m. only on ESPN and the ESPN app.