Hour 2: A Pound of Flesh From Chris Wittyngham
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You're listening to DraftKings Network. Now's a good time to remember where the story of tequila started. In 1795, the first tequila distillery was opened by the Cuervo family. And 229 years later, Cuervo is still going strong. Family owned from the start. Same family, same land. Now's a good time to enjoy Cuervo.

The tequila that invented tequila. Go to Cuervo.com to shop tequila or visit a store near you. Cuervo. Now's a good time. Trademarks owned by Bekle. SAB the CV. Copyright 2024. Proximo. Jersey City, New Jersey. Please drink responsibly. This is the Dan Levitar Show with the Stugatz Podcast. You know what's amazing? In the modern age of the internet, we have never seen a photo with Vanessa Carlton and Terry Crews together. That's such a good point. They got a...

They've had to have bumped it. Well, I don't know what Vanessa Carlton's up to, but how are they not cross paths? Mike, maybe...

Maybe they did. You just don't know what the f*** she looks like. I know what Vanessa Carlton looks like. I was in high school during TRL. She was not on TRL. Yes, A Thousand Miles was a thousand percent featured on TRL. Was TRL still on there? That music video was huge. She could have walked in here and I wouldn't have known. It was huge. She was on a flatbed truck playing the piano. How do you do these things? There's parodies of that in all sorts of TV shows. I think you guys are music heads. I think most people know the song and probably couldn't tell you what she looks like.

They know her name. I feel like that's the more, knowing exactly what she looks like is I think a little more music-ish. She's like the, if Michelle Branch is the late stage Pokemon, Vanessa Carlton is like the mid-stage Pokemon. But if you put them side by side, I won't know who's who. Let's ask Witty if he knows. Yeah.

Hey, welcome aboard, Chris Whittingham from Paramount and soccer. And the New York Rangers fan club. I got so many things to shit on you today, brother. We'll give people their pound of flesh when it comes to the hockey in a moment, but I have to ask you a more pressing question. Actually, two pressing questions just on the heels of the last segment. Have you ever raw dogged a flight? Raw dog in what sense? My man. In that sense. Both senses. Ha ha!

Raw dogging a flight, quite briefly here, is no booze, no gummies, no headphones, no music. You're just looking straight ahead, looking at the flight map. No book. Yeah, you're just locked in your entire flight. You're just looking straight forward, raw dogging it. No sleeping also, because... I don't think...

I've ever done that. No, no. Just staring ahead? No, no, I've never done that before. Maybe every once in a while, like the last 45 minutes of a flight, I'll stare at the map.

but never for the whole thing. Never for the whole thing. Because it's becoming like a social media thing. Yeah, I saw that. It was like a GQ article or something where someone was writing up how this is a thing. Why are you trying to get this soundbite of me saying that? I don't understand. Just do me a favor right now. Google raw dogging. And narrate as you type. I'm shocked Woody doesn't call it Gentleman's Quarterly. And the second quick question that we have is do you know what Vanessa Carlton looks like?

No, no. I have no idea what she looks like. It looks like Vanessa. And while you were discussing that, I looked up, A Thousand Miles came out in 2002, which was kind of like my peak TRL watching period, and I have no recollection of even heard that music video. So when you think of that, you only think of Terry Crews, right?

Yes. So it turns out Vanessa Carlton and Eve visited TRL All Access Week at the MTV Beach House in Seaside Heights, New Jersey on the same day, July 16, 2002. That was a good MTV Beach House. I feel like TRL, didn't TRL have like a beach house in San Diego? That's the one that I seem to remember the most. I remember when they went to Mexico as well. That was good. That was fun. I think that was when Fred Durst blew up a sailboat.

Was that the year they did Springer Break? They did the Wile E. Coyote thing. Man, they used to have such budgets. There was also a Bush performance where I don't know how they weren't electrocuted, which was a lot like the Panthers parade. We'll get back to that in a second. Remember cable TV? We got a thousand mile hood version. That's the one I know. It's like, making my way downtown with your boo and that stick is on me.

Salute. Well, everything's going to be cable TV again, it seems. But let's talk about some soccer real quick. And we got a real cool promotion that our partners over at DraftKings have provided. Not just one, but two massive soccer tournaments going on right now. Level of play, we'll get into that in a second. But our partners over at DraftKings Sportsbook have an offer for all customers. That's right.

every single customer. When you place a pre-match three-way Moneyline bet on a team to win only, if that bet ends in a draw, you get that original bet back as a bonus. I've been, if you've been following at Levitard Show, I've been posting some pics up there. We're doing pretty well. The only time that we actually lost a bet was when Greg Berhalter decided to lose to Panama. But even then, we got the goal scorer right. So basically, yesterday I was on France.

I was sitting pretty that entire game because I knew, you know what, if this ends in a draw, I get my bet back as a bonus bet. But we won. So the soccer hasn't been super great. But you have this drawbreaker deal over there in your back pocket. Make it a little bit more exciting.

Euro 2024 or Copa America only. Pre-match money line bets to win only. Max reward varies. Opt-in required only on DraftKings Sportsbook. The crown is yours. Witty, let us talk about the main topic of conversation here in this country when it comes to soccer, and that is the U.S. failing to get out of their group in Copa America. Who could have seen this coming except for everybody? Chris?

I mean, I don't think that people would have seen the U.S. losing at home to Panama coming. I think that... Did you not see it a couple of months ago when they did it? They're doing this. They're making this a thing. Okay, the last time that they did it was in the Gold Cup when they were playing like a C squad. If you look at the starting lineup that day, it wasn't the U.S. men's national team. It was their kind of third or fourth best team. But either way, look, the red card happens and when you're not good enough...

Which the U.S. have not been, certainly from an attacking point of view under Greg Berhalter, you are left to the vagaries of international football. And that's exactly what's happened here. And I think this was the tournament where I would say until now, everything of the Berhalter era was passing.

It was, you know, a C plus B minus student. They did enough to qualify for the World Cup. They did enough to get out of the group in the World Cup. They seemed to bring through a generation of young players that were forming a decent amount of cohesion. Things were...

at the standard that they should have been before. But this, I think, was the cycle for them to take that next step up. And they've had numerous opportunities. They played Germany last October. They got smoked. They played Colombia this summer. They got smoked. They played Brazil and got a draw. And ultimately, this tournament wasn't even about getting out of the group. It was about beating one of the big teams. Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina. Beating one of them. Elevating yourself beyond just

hitting the standard and giving the nation a fair amount of hope for the World Cup in 2026 that's being hosted in the United States, Mexico and Canada. And instead the opposite has happened. I think a lot of people are as down on the program as they've ever been. And even if a new manager does come in, they're not going to have the time nor the quality of games to really lift the spirit of the nation. It's entirely going to have to come from their performance in that World Cup. And I don't think that enthusiasm will have built, which is obviously a huge missed opportunity.

You've always been more patient than me in almost every aspect of life. As long as we've been creating soccer content together, we have fundamentally disagreed on the Greg Berhalter experience and all that goes with it. Where are you now? It's got to end. It's got to end. Like I said, when you went into the last World Cup cycle, there were pretty basic standards to hit and Greg Berhalter hit them.

And I even was okay with this notion that the players backed him. But if you believe that the players backed Greg Berhalter, and these are the results that have been delivered since, again, you go back since he actually took over last September, there are losses to, there should have been a loss to Jamaica in a competitive semifinal that would have set them crashing out of the CONCACAF Nations League. Yeah, he might have been fired after that one. Seriously. I remember that being a thing.

Yeah, there is an own goal that bounced off of a Jamaican defender, and that's how the U.S. got into a final against Mexico, and finals against Mexico are the only thing that have kept Greg Berhalter in this job to this point. And Mexico's bad now. Mexico's flatly bad, dude. They're bad.

They're a bad soccer team. They're worse than the United States. So when you look at that standard, he hit that standard, but now it's time to go and hit your home run higher. And the new sporting director, Matt Crocker, did do so with Emma Hayes.

He went out, they got rid of Flacco Andonofsky. Everyone said it was the U.S. Women's National Team's manager's fault at the last World Cup. And over the last cycle, they got rid of him. They brought in the best possible hire, in my opinion, in Emma Hayes. When you look at her pedigree working in Europe in the WSL, her pedigree having some American experience, she is going and already has done, namely by leaving Alex Morgan off of this Olympic squad.

made sweeping changes to the national team. It's time for the men's counterpart to do the same. It's time for somebody to come in who has the gravitas, who has a big voice and can get that enthusiasm going in the nation. The one thing that is a problem is how attractive is this job? How attractive is international management? We're looking at... No, I mean, we're looking at these heroes. It's attractive. Host nation of America.

men's world cup in 2026 and not just any nation this one like in that moment in time i think it's super attractive and look it's a pretty cushy job you got plenty of job security if greg berhalter has anything to say about it yeah and you also go back to i think with berhalter the other thing that happened too was everything that happened with geo rain at the last world cup there was that easy breaking point and i don't know why u.s soccer particularly given the negativity from the fan base like at a certain point you have

to take into account that there is not a lot of enthusiasm around your program. And people say, oh, money this and money that. The U.S. performing like this is not good for anyone. It's not good for people that cover the soccer space. It's not good for the sponsor of Copa America. It's not good for the broadcasters of Copa America. Believe me, nobody bought the rights to Copa America hoping that the U.S. and Mexico crashed out in the group stage. This is an unmitigated disaster for a lot of people. This is not good for anyone.

And Jesse Marsh has made it to the knockout stages with Canada in a tougher group. And him being American. Him actually having more of a resume, because Greg Berhalter's resume does not stack up with a job. And to get repeated chances. And you make a great point with the Emma Hayes hire. But this is also a federation that decided, after the mess that was, the fallout from Qatar. And how ugly that publicly got with the Reynas. To bring him back to...

So I'm a little hesitant to say that they're just going to replicate the formula with Emma Hayes. You at least had a program that had a sustained level of success, a multiple-time world champion. That culture does not exist on the men's side. Greg Berhalter was actually a culture higher because they're still struggling to formulate a culture over there. And I don't think it's a good thing that the players had his back. I think it actually worked against him. I think you can blame Tim Weh's emotions in that

moment on Greg Berhalter because of this atmosphere that he's cultivated. Carly Lloyd spoke to it yesterday on Fox. We won championships without liking our manager in charge. Sometimes being afraid of the manager is a good thing. What would you like to see in a hire out of the U.S. Soccer Federation if this is indeed the end of Greg Berhalter's time here? Something that represents a wow factor. I know that sounds very vague, but you're also talking about, again, I do think that

internationally, I know your boy Jose Mourinho is someone that you've wanted for the program for a long time, but he was offered the chance to manage his home country, leave Roma and manage his home national team in Portugal, and he said no. If you look at the quality of people that are in charge of the national teams at these tournaments, Brazil

couldn't get a top-level manager to come in from abroad. They went for Carlo Ancelotti, they couldn't, they promoted from within, and the manager's largely been unimpressive. Argentina's manager is their promoted under-23s coach. Spain's manager is their promoted under-23s coach. England's manager is their promoted under-23s coach. Generally, the pedigree...

of national team managers isn't great because it's not as attractive as managing the club game. It's very hard. You have very limited windows. You're not really coaching most of the time. You're kind of managing players. You get players for three training sessions and send them out there for major tournaments. It's hard, but I do want that sense of, wow, the U.S. have taken a big swing here and it represents someone with a pedigree, maybe in Europe, maybe it's a great MLS coach. I don't know, but someone where you go, their background,

suggests that they are ready to take the U.S. to the next level. Because like I said, this Copa America was about taking the U.S. to the next level. It's the last chance that you get before the home World Cup to suggest to the nation that you're ready to compete at the highest level. And they did the opposite. Yeah, I would like the wild factor too, especially since you're hosting. While Mourinho's turned down jobs, Ancelotti looks certain to be going to Brazil and then that changes.

You do have a manager with pedigree in Jurgen Klopp that is kind of waiting for his next move here. I think that would be a home run. But I would also... It's sort of like make them say no. Godfather offers. But I wouldn't mind... Chris, I wouldn't mind an international soccer lifer that just gets results and comes in, has a program, realizes, I'm in there to flip this house, essentially. I'm here for a three-year window. Like...

A Herve Renard archetype, like a type that has gone like a Scolari archetype that has gone into programs, flip them, gotten results and moves on. Like, that's kind of what I want to see here if we're actually talking realistic expectations. But if there's ever a moment in time, Chris, to give up a godfather offer and make them repeatedly tell, you know, until you finally break them, it's 2026. Why is there no sense of urgency to any of this shit?

I don't understand. And part of the, Chris, they don't have qualifiers to round into form. That's what was so frustrating about bringing Greg Berhalter back. You've lost valuable time here. This wasn't about just, you know, let's make a nice little showing. This is about beating the teams. As you said, this is about making a deep run because you're not going to have a lot of high intensity matches in your preparation for 2026. They screwed the pooch from day one, bringing them back.

Totally. And again, there was an easy excuse to not bring him back. And to your point, I think the international calendar really gets in the way of the United States playing difficult games because next summer there's a Club World Cup. So there's a chance that a lot of the big players won't be released for international games. And realistically, over the next two years, all the countries from South America and Europe are going to be playing either World Cup qualifiers or Nations League.

and really limits the US's opportunities to schedule games against big opponents. It's gonna be a lot of playing against the other CONCACAF teams, playing against teams from Asia or Oceania or countries that are not going to really elevate your standard. I mean, you ask a really good question: "Where is that sense of urgency?" I think that's a really good point because

This national setup, the U.S. Soccer Federation appears to have been happy with Greg Berhalter for the entire five years and kind of living in their own bubble where they think this is going great. We believe in this guy. Whatever he's doing behind the scenes is getting everyone going. And they seem to be the only ones this entire time that have thought, wow, what a great job he's doing. And at some point, you kind of got to step out of the bubble and go.

we're nowhere near it we're nowhere near it and you can talk about the players not being as good as everyone talks as as everyone says they are but

We don't even see the versions of the players that Christian Pulisic is for Milan for the U.S. men's national team, that Tim Weah is for Juventus for the U.S., Weston McKinney is for Juventus in the U.S. We don't see that version of those players, and ultimately, when those players aren't hitting their ceiling or scoring goals, because the kind of low-key thing is that they've been good defensively over these last two major tournaments. At the World Cup, they scored two goals...

and they conceded two goals in the group stage. In this Copa America, they scored three goals and conceded two goals. So they've actually, I'm sorry, they conceded three goals. So they've actually been fine defensively. It's this attacking group where theoretically that's where your best players are that don't deliver. The strikers have never delivered under Greg Berhalter. And so I think they do have to step out of that bubble and realize the next two years, even though you don't have the games to really prep defensively,

is the time to make an impression and get the fan base excited because they have not done and there is no urgency. You're 100% right. - I think they're trying to do too much in the final third, honestly. Dig your heels in and go. You have some speed advantages along the pitch.

which goes to just the general counterattacking style. And I think that, look, the back line was an atrocity several years ago. And I do think it's starting to come online and there's reason to hope there. And there are some really good working parts here for a manager of repute to walk in, command a room, hold players accountable, get the

best 11 out there and let's pin our ears back and go let's let's dig in counter-attack and try to scummy our way over to win which actually seems like what a lot of elite teams are doing on the international scale France all of a sudden is playing the type of style that I I want the US to replicate by digging their heels in being this counter they always have done

They always have done it under Deschamps. They've never been as exciting as they could be. Despite all the immense talent over there. And that's what you have to do. I've always felt in the international game, because of the time that you have with these players, you don't have a lot of time to institute these really...

these really sophisticated attacking schemes. So we're seeing England struggle a little bit. Southgate, not a totally dissimilar situation, although much more success on the international level than Greg Berhalter. It felt like he was going to go Jude Bellingham and company save his ass. And France...

A late winner, Belgium, maybe that's a bow on that generation, which was golden, without any real hardware to go alongside of it. So what do you make of this Euro? It's been pretty cagey. It got off to a pretty hot start. Everyone was saying how much better than the World Cup it was. And other games have really tailed off as the stakes have been ramped up.

Yeah, it feels like that first game of the group where there aren't really a lot of stakes just because a lot of third place finishers are making it basically gave everyone that, hey, let's go have some fun. And then when the stakes really dial up, everyone is really kind of dialed back in and is super defensive again. To me, the thing that is interesting is the point that you make, which is that the big teams...

are really not playing well. When you look at France and England as being your joint favorites, I think France is a little bit more by design. Like I said, they have generally been this way when they came very close to winning two World Cups. The French public, even when they were close to winning two World Cups, are like,

We can play a little bit better than this. Why isn't this team more fun? You look at the talent that they have. It is absurd. The England thing is way less by design. They're just bad. Yeah. And I would be shocked. But they got so much talent, dude. I know. They got so much talent. So much. Yeah.

I don't understand what Southgate is doing in not playing Cole Palmer all that much. But maybe it just compounds some of the issues with Phil Foden over there. For whatever reason, Foden and Bellingham like oil and water. And now Kane's kind of struggling to fit in with those pieces. I don't really understand...

I don't, it's not a talent issue. England's got one of the more talented sides in the world, but they could also benefit from a change in leadership, I think, regardless of the outcome. Even if they go on one of these miraculous runs where, hey, kind of like Argentina, we haven't really played well, but we find ourself here. I think it's time for a change in leadership there, no matter the outcome. One team that has really impressed me, that has actually played well and kind of gone a little bit against its identity in these international tournaments, even though they've had some big victories, is

They beat Spain in a World Cup that Spain eventually won. Switzerland, there's a lot of talent now in that attacking third, Chris, that hasn't been there in previous years. I've come away really impressed with them.

Totally. And I think they go into, in my opinion, if you look at the odds on DraftKings Sportsbook, it's actually kind of remarkable how big of underdogs, in my opinion, that they are. If you go off what you've seen in this tournament, Switzerland's been favored. They were so much better than Italy. So much better than Italy, and they have been so much better than England in this tournament. And yet, I think if you look at it right now, the money line for Switzerland to win the game is like plus 275. It's got to be my drawbreaker. It's crazy.

Right, exactly. I get a bonus bet, and if I bet the money line, I'll take that all day. Yeah, and it's one of those things where you look at Switzerland, and you look at England, and England obviously has more talent. But sometimes in international tournaments, you kind of have to trust your eyes and go, who's better? And I think Switzerland are just better. And also, a reminder, they knocked France out of the last Euro and went out to Spain on penalties.

So they do have some pedigree in this tournament. Switzerland are a good team. I'm actually really excited to watch one of the teams that's in action today. Austria, for me, have been one of the three or four best teams at this Euro as well. I would not be against doing one of those draw no bets. I'm so glad you said that, Winnie, because Austria is my draw breaker play of the day at Levitard Show. That's a DraftKings Sportsbook promo that I'm running with. I really like Austria.

today. Alright, so we've talked soccer. It's great to have you back on the show, pal. Pound of flesh. We want our pound of flesh. This is the first time this show has had an opportunity to speak to you after Matthew Kachuk and the Florida Panthers win a scary cup final in seven against the Edmonton Oilers. How did you experience that for the audience, Chris? Fraud.

About as miserable... Honestly, this last week has been rotten. Because as much as... I know you were rooting against the US Men's National Team because you've been wanting Greg Berhalter out for a while. There's a Randy Shannon vibe to all this for you. But for me, I wanted the US to kind of defy the odds and beat Uruguay and go into the knockout stages of Copa America and be excited. And last month... Honestly, I lived a groundhog day yesterday. I wanted a result in sports. It didn't happen.

I was up until 2 in the morning reading Twitter. The only thing that was missing was you gleefully FaceTiming me from the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot. Because that's about the only difference between last Monday and Monday night. Would have been from a satellite orbiting Arrowhead as the main broadcast feed.

So I've eased up. I've always FaceTimed you after big time Matthew Kachuk results and been like straight up f***y witty. And my wife and I have both reveled in that. My wife genuinely looks at you differently. And it's a real shame because we loved you. Uncle Witty was a thing in our household. Not so much. You ran away. You left us. And on top of that, you started taking pot shots at the thing that we love the most. You were a Rangers guy. We stuffed you in a locker. Stuffed you in a locker.

Dork. And now they have the cup. They're, Woody, I was sincere. Chris can tell you, we've said in a microphone several times over, we've given you every opportunity to come back. And yesterday, I finally came across the realization, this is the most stubborn, pig-headed, American male point of view. Toxic masculinity. It's toxic that Chris Whittingham has ever had. And I'm low-key proud of him.

I'm proud of you for finally saying, yeah, I know what the result is. I will deny those results. I am going to stick to my guns here. I know it's a bad one for me. I don't care. Stop the count. I will not acknowledge these results.

I'm a low-key part of you. You have to acknowledge the results. Although you did say Matthew Kachuk and the Florida Panthers, despite Matthew Kachuk's very limited contributions in the Stanley Cup final and Eastern Conference final. Yeah, it was a weird team. That's how Connor McDavid finds himself winning consmite rather easily, is that there wasn't a singular guy. This was a real ultimate team performance. I would have loved Matthew Kachuk to have that crowning moment because at that point, what can you say? I guess if you're holding on to any thread...

He's like, well, he didn't actually do it in the cup. He only had like one cup good game. But forevermore, it is the worst time to tuck and run. Hold on. He shit on Paul Maurice too. I mean, a lot of people did. You know what? Keith Kachuk did. Like, Keith Kachuk went on the radio and lit Paul Maurice up. It's one of those forgotten things that happen in that year of panic. And by the way, Chris Whittingham was still on board as –

During the Matthew Kachuk era, the early stages of Paul Maurice, there was just something that happened in that first initial run that made him say, you know what, I can't fake this anymore. I am no longer a fan of Kachuk. It was more that I was desperately hoping for it to fail. And it was going a large way towards failing until Alex Lyon pulled a week of form out of his ass.

ass to qualify for the playoffs and then they somehow come back from 3-1 down in the first round against Boston. If either of those things don't happen, I don't even like maybe they in the offseason fix a lot of things and in that second season would have been fine. But yeah, I mean the first year happens and look, I mean, I acknowledge you guys are Stanley Cup champions. What I just feel is nothing.

I'm vacant, empty nothingness. That sucks because you were always like such a hard, upset about that. Such a hardcore Panthers guy. This was something that really brought us together. And for you to, for you to just dip on us as in literally the worst time in recorded history, they go on an unbelievable run. They're Stanley cup champions for the first time in the 30 year, 30 year history. All we wanted to do was enjoy this with you. And the hill that you died on costs $110 from fanatics because you're

You love Jonathan Huberdeau so much. I don't get it. Congratulations on getting Ryan Lomberg, though, to play alongside your guy Hubie. That's a nice little reunion. Yeah, I mean, it's time they finally built around Jonathan Huberdeau. There's that enormous skill set there that can go into this offseason and start to build around the one true great player in the National Hockey League. Yeah, look, man, it was as desperate as...

as I've ever felt on Monday. I felt very alone. I was in my sad Connecticut apartment wondering what the hell, why did I do this to myself? To be fair, that Connecticut apartment is sad regardless of what happens in the Stanley Cup. Good point. But I did the whole cycle of thought that I've done probably eight times since I started and I come back to the same conclusion every time. I'd do it again. I'd do it again.

I'd do it again. As stupid as it is, I would not change a single bit of my process. Stop gaslighting us, Woody. I'm not gaslighting you. This is genuine. I would do it all over again. Mike, stuff him in a locker, Mike. Come on! We can't find another Panthers fan with this same trail that he's taken. Has anyone followed him here?

No, literally Mackenzie Weeger and Jonathan Huberto are the only ones. And even Weeger congratulated the Panthers.

And literally our friend, our friend Stefano Fusaro has made every one of my colleagues at CBS aware of the fact that he's a big Panthers fan. And so people come to me and are like, hey, aren't you excited about the Panthers? I'm like, no, I'm not. They're like, why? And I'm like, it's really a dumb, boring story. I've had to tell the dumb, boring story. The dumb, boring story of why I'm not a Panthers fan abounds.

billion times. I'm tired of telling it myself. Do they look at you like you're crazy? Yes. 100%. Shout out to Stefano Fasaro for planting that seed for people to torture you every goddamn day. Yeah. Woody, my bold prediction is that in 2026, you're going to be calling one of the more important World Cup games over here. Really happy for all your success. Sad that it took a move to Connecticut. Sad that we couldn't enjoy the Stanley Cup with you. But I'm really happy that

You didn't decide to be stubborn when it came to Greg Berhalter and you finally saw the light that he's got to go. Thank you for joining us. And I'm going to be taking Austria. And I appreciate you guys. Thank you.

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The Smell Not Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age. Dan Levatard. I'm going to get some golf ASMR. Stugatz. Oh, f*** me. This is the Dan Levatard Show with the Stugatz. Stugatz.

It's going to be my last day of work for the rest of the week. I'm off to Chicago. I'm going to take in a Cubs game. Boop Shambi hooked it up there. Going to be going to a NASCAR race in Chicago. My very first NASCAR race ever. Really excited about that. You've never been to a NASCAR race? Never, ever been. Are you going to be in the bleachers or are you going to be in the pit, not in the infield or whatever? I don't know. Maybe what I'll do is I'll open up the Game Time app.

I'll check out panoramic views from my seat, and I'll figure out where exactly I want to sit because I know I'm guaranteed the lowest price on the secondary market, and if I find a better price out there, GameTime will match it up to 110%. What? If you're new to the GameTime world, do me a favor. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code DAN for $20 off your first purchase. That is $20 off your first purchase with the promo code DAN.

I am their most loyal customer. I am on this app all the time. I'm really excited about NASCAR because right now, I mean, we have a full-fledged rivalry at the very top of the sport. I got to tell you, I've been to one NASCAR race in my life. It was fun as hell. I can't tell you what happened, who won, but I know it was a great party. So this one's kind of unique because it's a street race. The race on a street race...

You never really know with those. It's in Grand Park, which is special to me because I went to like 10 consecutive Lollapaloozas there. But it's a street course. But what NASCAR is trying to do with this race is they're making it a weekend thing. It's like a music festival. Like Black Keys are playing a 90-minute headlining set out there. Keith Urban's playing, Chainsmokers. So it's going to be a...

I'm bringing my daughter. It's going to be a nice little family-friendly thing. But I'm really excited to see what's happening between the 11 and the 5. Two biggest stars in the motorsport, Denny Hanlon and Kyle Larson, have been quietly feuding, and they're friends off the track. But...

Week by week, this is getting a little bit more intense and they're trading paint. And finally, Kyle Larson, who listened to his very sassy spotter, say he does that because you let him. Oh, yeah. And Kyle Larson told him to shut the F up.

in response. Well, he took the spotter's advice and Denny Hamlin tried to move on him and Kyle Larson got really aggressive. Kyle Larson got really aggressive at the end of that race and bumped the one car out of the way and almost messed with Denny Hamlin. In fact, there were so many restarts in overtime that there was one moment

Overtime is three laps to end the race because no one's going home under caution. And we had 11 and five next to one another, and they were going to race, and it was going to be amazing to the end, and then Kyle Larson runs out of gas. But the big part about all this, all this setup, is to say Denny Hamlin, for the first time, has finally acknowledged that, yes, it is indeed a rivalry. He used that word. He didn't want to use it last week when they asked him about it, but because of Kyle Larson's actions...

on the track. He is now calling it a rivalry. Do we have that video from Denny Hamlin? Let's get excited, folks. I'm in this for the long haul. I'm fine with the way we're racing, and it's going to keep going, and it's going to keep getting raced. So is it a rivalry? Sure, if you want to call it a rivalry. I'm finally calling it one. I just said, fine, whatever you want. I don't care what you want to call it.

He acknowledged it. It's a rivalry now. It's a thing. 5 and 11. Two biggest stars in the sport. I'm going to call you out on this. The way you set it up. I thought he was like, hell yeah, it's a rivalry. I'm about to bust him right in his jaw. Look, he refused to call it a rivalry. He would always push back on that. These are the top of the mountain superstars in this sport. And so for them to publicly acknowledge, you know, this is going to be a thing. We're going to go at each other every week on the racetrack. He even said, like, my teammate 45 better be there to pick up the pieces because if we're going to crash each other out of this race, like, let's do it. I'm here. I'm here.

And we'll find out the sustainability on that. But all he did was at the end go... That was the dismount of the video. A great soundbite.

You saw that? Kyle Larson's a different dude now. Yeah. After a spotter lit him up like that. All right, I want to talk to you about a documentary that I finally got around to seeing. We mentioned that Celine Dion announced the Montreal Canadiens pick, and that was a really big, well-guarded secret by the NHL. It got an immense pop. It really spurred me to watch this documentary that's out. We've mentioned it on the show before. Celine Dion is not actively performing anymore because she's been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome.

That is the actual name. And what it does is it's exactly what it sounds like. There are moments in time where your muscles go against your body and you tense up, and it's a really horrible thing. I watched this documentary, and it was heartbreaking to watch Celine Dion because when I say Celine Dion at the height of her powers, what did she give off, Amin? Like a big voice. She gave off a big voice, but immense confidence, like diva. She was good, and she knew it.

Her identity was so tied up and not just being a good singer, but being the best singer. Right. Like one of the great voices. That she is. Her, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey. That's the whole thing.

in being not just a good singer, but being the best singer. And she's constantly surrounding herself with all these triggers, all these reminders. She's always watching older videos of herself performing because nobody could get after it on the mic like Celine Dion could. She looks totally different. In this documentary,

She actually has an episode, which is really scary to watch unfold. But I think the saddest moments, a moment that made me a little watery, I guess I'm like all people that have children, I become a little bit more emotional. There is a moment in which she's in a recording studio and she's trying her best. She cannot hit those notes. There's one time that she sings and it sounds pretty good, at least to me.

She cries because she sounds like me singing. I'm like, I actually thought that sounded pretty good. But she knows where it was. So she's in the recording studio. It's like me watching Brazil. She's in the recording studio and she's having her track played back to her. And you could see it in her face just how devastated she is. And at one point she says, imposter. Imposter.

at listening to her own voice. - That's devastating. - There isn't a happy ending to this. - No. - Like the happy ending that I got, I didn't know it, was her announcing the draft pick at the NHL Draft. It is just like, she has got this identity crisis, she can no longer do what she once did, she is heartbroken by it, and there's no real happy ending here. - Can I say that when it comes to documentaries, I know people went crazy off of The Last Dance,

The best documentaries are the one where there's a fall at the end, right? So I haven't seen the Celine Dion one. I have seen the Michael J. Fox one. I have seen the Gene Wilder one. And obviously, all three of them

are afflicted by an awful, awful illness that robs them of their greatness. This is sad from the jump. There is no come down. You do flashbacks to her and her hype, but you're in the middle of it. Oh, for real? Out the gates. It's a pretty tough watch. The Michael J. Fox one is really fascinating because I did not realize his path and how he broke in the industry and then how early...

the first signs of Parkinson's afflicted him and how they hit it so well for the longest, right? So Link gets into some of that, like where some of the earliest signs of her having this stuff, like when her voice started to betray her and how she tried to manage that stuff. And I found that stuff very interesting. I think they didn't delve into Parkinson's

Like her climb, there's been a lot of stuff out there. And if you want to dig into the internet to see who she married and how that came to be and the circumstances around that, I can understand why she didn't want to get into any of that stuff. This is all grief eating from the very beginning. It's a really difficult watch. And I'm not really sure it has a redeeming quality other than like... Exposition. Empathy. I am just so...

Just so sad for what she's going through. She has a support system. She had an amazing career, but there's no happy ending here, dude. Kind of like the Miami Heat. Well, what's so sad about something like what Celine Dion is going through from the talent perspective is in so many other things like athleticism or things where your identity is wrapped up in it, you expect that to fade at some point.

One of the only things in which you can reach stardom and fame from that normally lasts through your whole life. The Rolling Stones are still playing concerts. The Grateful Dead are still playing concerts. You expect music and singing to be something that can stick with you forever as a part of who you are. You develop it as a child. And now Celine Dion, one of the great voices we've ever had, has to deal with music.

with not experiencing that. It's devastating. She's watching YouTube videos of her best performances and other people performing. And you could just tell how much she loved being in front. It was her entire identity was commanding the stage, blowing people away with her voice. And that's not available to her anymore. And it's a really tough watch. I don't even think I can actually recommend it anymore.

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