Hour 1: Equal Opportunity Everybody (feat. Ron Magill)
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This is the Dan Levitar Show with the Stugatz Podcast. Join us in the cheap seats tomorrow night. Dan and the Kid Mero are watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals presented by Remy Martin. Catch the live stream starting at 8 p.m. on the Levitar Show YouTube channel.

Looking forward to that one because I don't know how many of you guys are going to be involved with that. I don't know who's coming, but tomorrow night, I think this was scheduled back when we thought it was going to be Knicks. I'm assuming that that was where it is that we got the kid Mero from. I'm assuming we didn't do this. Huge Pacer fan, Dan. What are you talking about? I'm talking about you. We will hate watch. Yes, that's right. We will hate watch the

the finals with, with the kid marrow. I'm assuming he doesn't want to watch that with us anymore. I thought he was signing up for something else. We will do that tomorrow night and we will have an assortment of surprises for you. I wanted to ask the group here and I be careful. You might tell on yourself here. How do you guys feel? And Tony, you're too young for this, but how do you guys feel about the last day of school for, for the kids? Oh,

I mean, it was always a fun time for me. No, no, no, no, no. As a father, Chris, not the last day of school. Everybody, of course, likes the last day of school for them. Everybody likes getting out of school. I love it because it means traffic will be better. You enjoyed summer as a kid? That was good? Yeah. That's why I thought it was a terrible question, honestly. Oh, my God.

I mean, I was just like, what did you guys think of summer? I enjoyed it. Tony, you're too young in your parenting. I'm too young for any sort of parenting. It's traffic, Dan. Nowadays, it's traffic will be lighter. I want to examine what you think I thought. Camp better than school? What you think.

I thought maybe you were like, on the last day of school, are you going to do some funny business at the school, pull a prank on something? I don't know. How do you handle the last day? Do you celebrate? I'm asking you as a father. Traffic. Traffic will lighten up. Spoken like a man with one of them things.

Man, last day of school. The contrast between, I appreciate you, Chris, because the last day of school when I was young, so thrilling. You enjoyed it? That's obvious. But everyone loves the last day of school. What did you think that I was asking you? No more homework? Better than homework? I think Dan, Dan, you probably like school, huh?

I like the last day of school. I like the freedom of summer, but I also liked school. And he's not totally wrong that every once in a while I'd like to stay for a couple extra days. But now the countdown to the last day of school, because I got my kids are at the age now where they're a little old to be sending them to camp. And obviously they're too young to like go get a job or for me to just let them loose on the summer all by themselves. So it's just like, yeah,

asking can they do things, then I'm like, yeah, I want you to hell out the house, but I also don't want to have to worry about you for the next six hours. It's just...

That's in the preview. I know it is. Don't let them distract you with what it is that the video team is doing in the preview. I know that it's in a preview. Okay. You can't let them distract you. Oh, man. That's unfair. It's much better than me talking about the last day of school. Ron McGill is now available. Ron McGill. Let's listen to him. Let's listen. Eavesdrop on his call. Thank you.

No, we can't do that, man. No. You put him up. It's not my fault. The video team's taking over today. You've allowed them to distract the talent by putting up pictures that are in the preview. 900 Shonies. Right. We can't do that. That's not my fault. At their peak, did they even have 900 Shonies at their peak? Roy, accountability. You say it's not your fault. You're in charge. You're in the seat of the executive producer. Accountability is...

We just eavesdropped on Ron's conversation because he was put up and we heard him yelling at somebody. We've never seen that side of Ron McGill before. He's like, I need more photos behind me. That's what he said. Ron, take us through some of the pictures behind you of all those television and media celebrities that nobody cares about. Is that what we're going to talk about today? Yes. Take us through those pictures behind you. Take any one of the photos off of the wall and take us through it. There's Coach Spoh.

Right there. And there is LeBron and Udonis Haslam right there. And right below them is Shaq. Right there, right there, Shaq. Is that Frank Fort I see up there? Yeah, Frank Fort. You're giving me a lot of the big names, but I see a lot of small names up on that board. All of your media friends. Don't insult Frank. Don't insult Frank.

You got a lot of people up there. There's a lot of good people that I've worked with over the years, and I'm very happy. Well, who are you pointing at now there, Chris? Local news guy. His name is... There are nine of those up there. Local news guy. His name is... Great teeth. Yes. Hold on a second. You're talking about Michael Williams. There he is. Oh, Michael Williams looks like television. Where's Rick Sanchez?

Is Rick Sanchez up there? Yeah, he's up here. Hold on. I'll get him for you. Hold on. Okay, let's get him. How do you like that, Paul Dano? That's good. Dwight Lauderdale. That's a never-ending wall of photos right there. Is Dwight Lauderdale up? Oh, that's... Ah, yeah. What an essential Sanchez. That's young Sanchez. That is up-and-coming Sanchez. Newsplex Sanchez. That's a collector's item right there.

Dwight Lauderdale! With the mustache! Yes! Do we got an Ann Bishop? Oh, where's Ann Bishop at? No way Ann Bishop is up there. Oh! He got her! Yeah! It is a media hall of fame. Look at that. It's autographed. He's got the rarest of collections. The autographed Bishop combined with the Lauderdale mustache, the television mustache.

Hold on a second. I got better. Don No? Don No has been requested. Who else are you requesting? Don No. Don No. The weatherman Don No. I'm sure Brian Norcross is probably up there somewhere. Brian Norcross is here. Yes, Brian Norcross is here. But wait a minute. I was trying to find someone who used to be a mainstay and then all of a sudden kind of disappeared. Where the heck did I put her? She's here somewhere.

Oh, here we go. How many of you guys recognize her? That's Sally Fitz. There you go. Sally Fitz. How does Roy know that? What do you mean? How does Roy know that? She's iconic.

But I didn't know that. Yeah, that was a co-actor with Rich Sanchez. Yeah, but that's young Sally Fitz. I did not recognize her. Sally Fitz was on in this market for, what, 30 years? Yeah. Yeah, she was. Yeah, yeah. It's a better one. Hold on a sec. I got one here for you. Hold on a sec. Bob Sober. I love this. This is a great game. It's a great game. Ron just wanders around his office. Here we go. Here's Bob. Oh. Is that Rinnick? No, he said Bob Sober. Oh, yeah. There you go. Bob Sober. Oh.

Who's the best Dan you got on the wall? Got any impressive Dans up there? I've asked Dan for a picture, but he wouldn't give me one. Oh, my God. Chris Cody just pointed out something that I didn't think that Ron McGill was prepared to answer for. Chris Cody just said, I saw one black guy on that wall. Cambrough Marshall? No, I think it was Dwight Lauderdale. Yeah, it was Dwight Lauderdale. There's another one. In color. In color. In color. The one in color. You ask and you shall receive. Cambrough Marshall!

Classic sports newsman, Cambrough Marshall, a titan in the industry for nine years. Now he's got Jawan Strader there. Jawan Strader. Oh, it's Calvin Hughes. That's who I was pointing at. Calvin Hughes still doing it. Notice he's in color. Everybody else isn't. Calvin Hughes. That's offensive. Be careful. Picture.

Pictures in color. Hold on. Hold on. Oh, he may have found one. How many of you guys are going to remember this guy? Who did he play for? I don't remember Tom Randall. Now you're just flexing black guys. No. Ha ha ha!

Again, not in color. You guys confused me for only having one black guy on the wall. That's right. Okay. You have to say that whoever the last guy was, first black guy with the shape up up there. I respect that. He had a nice sharp line. Calvin Hughes? Yeah, he was the first one. He's still doing it. That's why. All the ones were older. That's why they're in black and white. Calvin Hughes in color. Remember her? I do not remember. Oh, it's...

Maria? Maria Janero? You don't remember her? Did she go to California after that? Yes, she did. She went to Los Angeles. Ron, I'm troubled by the absence of black women on your wall. How about Dougie Dunbar?

Classic. Oh, yeah. Doug Dunbar. Classic. This is a real trip down memory lane. I'm sorry to the audio audience. I'm sorry to anyone who did not grow up in South Florida. Hey, we found one. Yeah. I got to be honest. No, I got more than one. Don't look.

Who else, Dan? What do you want? Ron's got it. All right. All right. Jose Diaz, we all belong. Okay. A baseless accusation of racism against the wall in Ron McGill's office. I retract it. They were all out of the shot, though. They were, though. They're not prominently featured. How does it go? They're none of them are prominently featured. Ah, Tony Segreto. A great Tony Segreto. A classic. What's Jim Berry at?

You will not do better than the mustachioed Dwight Lauderdale paired with the autographed Ann Bishop. That is the highest form of media coupling that you have on your wall. Is that Michael Jackson? I think so. I didn't want to say it, but I think so. That's one of his famous stories, yeah. Oh, he's been dying to tell this one. Here we go. Here we go. Michael Jackson. I'm not telling you the story. Yeah, he's told us a bunch. I don't want to hear it again. Not interested in that story again. Anyway, enough of that segment, but I just wanted to let you know that

I am a, you know, I don't, I don't,

Nope. You're famous. I'm an equal opportunity everybody. There we go. Nailed it. What the hell were you trying to say there, Ron? Equal opportunity everybody. You're equal opportunity everybody. First of all, you said you have one black guy up there, you have one black woman up there. I have many, okay? There are many of my friends up there, okay? They weren't prominent in the shot. All I'm saying, Ron...

That's all. That's all. I got people. I got people that are much more, much bigger to me. I mean, to me, like the icons of the world for me. Like, I'm going to show you just one more. The single most important person to me. Hold on. Is this going to be Don Francisco? Greg Cody.

Don Francisco? It's got to be Don Francisco. What's the most important person? Does anybody know who that is? I see you in a reflection. Yes. We can't see who that is because of the reflection. Who is that? Is that your father?

No, that's not my father. That is the father of nature television. That is Sir David Attenborough. Oh, yeah. That was like 25 years ago. I used to his voice. That's what it is. The voice of nature did Planet Earth, did the Frozen Planet, did all those incredible documentaries. The man is a god when it comes to nature television. He's the founder of nature television.

Super white. Wow. I don't understand this. I don't even understand how that subject comes up. I don't. I really don't. Hey, Ron, he's just messing with you, man. Don't fall into Dan's trap. He's trying to get you upset. Just go ahead. Well, I want to know why Dan hasn't sent me a picture of him. I have a picture of him and I. I don't want to be on your racist wall. Whoa.

I boycott your racist wall. Can a wall be racist? Roy, you're not going to say anything? You're not going to say anything, Roy? Why do you have to point Roy out? Roy, don't throw Roy in the middle of this. Now all of a sudden you want black people on the fringes of your wall but in the middle of the controversy. Wow, you're looking serious too, Dan. I mean, you're really going to do that seriously, right? I don't believe you. I can't believe you even... Are we on live television?

DEI wall over here. We need that. Don't you have any dumb video you want to show me? I do, actually. Thank you for bringing that up. Now that you mention it. Yeah, I do. Thank you for doing that. We will get the video department now to play this first. So you tell me what's happening here. Explain everything that you see in front of you, Ron. Okay. Oh, it's an octopus taking out a shark! That's a great sentence. Mm-hmm.

- A great sentence. - There you go! - If that doesn't get you over to YouTube, that is an octopus. I did not know the octopus could do that, Ron. - Oh yes they can. You know, an octopus has a tremendously powerful beak, almost like a big parrot, but it's more powerful and they'll take out anything. An octopus could put a hurtin' to whatever it decides it wants to eat. - Is this eating it or is this like engulfing it, like strangling it? It's hard to tell what's even happening here. - I'm sure it's probably eating it, yeah.

Can you explain, though, what larger than that can an octopus take out? Because I did not know. Put it on the poll at Levitard Show. Did you know that an octopus could take out a shark? Is that too small of a shark? Tony, are you impressed by this or not impressed by it? I'm impressed that he can grab it. I think the shark is getting away. The shark gets away. The shark gets away. The shark gets away. Ron, who would win underwater if I got like two minutes of breath in me?

Like me and an octopus. You do not have two minutes of breath in you. Two minutes, brother. I got like 90 seconds. Aquaman? Two minutes. That octopus we just saw. I feel like if that thing comes at me, I'm just taking it and I'm like stretching it out. I'm just like breaking its arms. You wouldn't even be able to hold it because it's sliding right through your hands. You wouldn't be able to hold it.

You think you would break an octopus apart in pieces? I think when one of its limbs comes at me, I just grab it and it feels the force that I'm grabbing it. I don't know. And then it... It has seven others. Yeah, but... I don't have their own brains. Ron, tell me, would I get my ass kicked? Now, you wouldn't get your ass kicked by that octopus because that's a fairly small octopus. But if you got a giant octopus, yeah, you could be in serious trouble.

I mean, two minutes. We could do that at some point. You called out two minutes. We got it. We got it. Two minutes with an octopus with an overall length of six to seven feet is going to wrap all eight limbs around you, confine your arms, and you're just going to freaking drown. That's what's going to happen. But wait a minute. Can we go back for a second to the video? The shark got away. Can an octopus take out a shark? Yes or no?

Theoretically, if it wanted to, yes, it could. But it clearly wants to here, does it not? It seems to want to here. I don't know. I can't read the octopus's mind. Maybe the octopus is saying, listen, listen, one more time and you're not going to be so lucky. Okay. Go away and don't come back. All right. Maybe that's what it is. I'm going to see how long I can hold my breath. It will not be two minutes. Two minutes is a

Someone count me down to start. No, come on in here. You couldn't hold your breath for a minute, Cody. Come on in here so we can judge you. Come on in here. Yes, come in here. You couldn't hold your breath for a minute, Cody. Not even a minute. Maybe a minute. No, not a minute. I'm telling you, Cody's not going to hold it for a minute. Wow.

His father, oddly enough, because we're in reruns, we did this with his father six weeks ago, who's had famous asthmatic problems for about, I don't know, five years. And his father was able to hold his breath for a minute. I don't know if that's hereditary or not, but I think Chris Cody will be able to do a minute. Two minutes, no shot. I have under 30.

No, he'll make it to like 50 seconds. 15. No, he will make it a minute, but he will be surprised by how long a minute feels. I think Chris Cody is – Two minutes is – there will be no two minutes. A long time. Chris Cody has surprised you guys all the time. If he makes it to a minute, he's going to look like a tomato. He's going to look like a tomato, but I got Chris making it to two minutes.

No way. Okay. Can we put something on that? Make sure somebody plugs his nose, holds his nose shut. He's not a liar. Everyone thinks he's going to be a cheater. That's why I brought him in here so I can see if anything. I have that Greg Cody loud breath. You'll be hearing if I'm breathing.

- Hell yeah. - Let's play another video for Ron. - Let me gather myself here. - And just put Chris in the picture in picture, start a timer for him, get ready, and we will all do this together. But for the moment, just put up the next video for Ron to do play by play on, please. What's happening here, Ron? - Oh, this elephant is looking in the water. Oh, there's something in the, oh, it's an antelope. I must help this antelope.

"Oh no, don't worry, Antelope, I'm here just to help you. Just let me rub my trunk around your horns. Let me pull you out. You will not drown. I'm here to save you. Elephants are kind, smart animals." - Oh, wow. - Yes, there you go. - Wow. - There you go, my friend. There you go. - Holy shit, how did you know that? How did you know that that elephant was there to help and not hurt? - Because you saw how gently he was using his trunk. If it was gonna hurt, he'd be slapping it around like a baseball bat. - Okay, that's not what he was doing. You've seen an elephant do that? Have you seen an elephant use its trunk as a weapon?

Use its trunk to grab something that it then stomps on. Yes. Let's play another video here for Ron. Chris, you're ready? You're getting ready? And video is getting ready to have the timer with you. Let's play this next video. They told me they want me to have my timer up. Okay, you can do your timer. But let's see this next video. Ron, tell us what this is. Is this a fish with legs? It's some type of fish. I'm not sure what kind it is. It looks like in the remora family.

But I'm not sure what it is. Those dangling things are pretty cool. It's very cool. Listen, you know, I've said it over and over. There's so much about the ocean that I especially don't know, but most of us don't know. And this is one of those very unique fishes that I've never seen before. It's called a tripod fish, but those are not functioning legs, are they? No, no, no, no. Those are modified fins. And I guess they call it a tripod because it seems to kind of

isolated stuff on top of them there in the bottom of the ocean or whatever body of water that it's in. I don't know if it's a freshwater fish, an ocean fish, what it is. It's unique looking, though. Cool. Thanks for sharing it with me. I'm ready. All right. Chris Cody is defying all of you, and it's 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. In the interim, let's play this next video here as we do nature videos with Ron McGill as Chris Cody multitasks with the holding of breath.

Ah, the infamous mountain gorilla. These are incredible experiences. This mountain gorilla has grabbed this woman's shirt. The key thing is you don't turn around and stare at it. Do not do that. Do not do that. I told you not to do that. Jesus Christmas. You do not turn around and look at the gorilla. You wait until the gorilla lets go on its own. You turn around and look at it. It'll get even more determined to pull you in. Now watch what happens. She turns around. I said, oh, yeah.

And then the guy had to come in. The guide had to come in to save her. You don't look at those grand primates like that. You just don't do it. 40 seconds in, Chris. Why are they grabbing? To the best of your knowledge, what's the point of the grab?

I was just curious. Hold on one second. I am sorry. I'm still on this interview. I will be done in two minutes. Seven seconds from a minute. Five seconds from a minute. He's going to get to a minute and only a minute. Okay, perfect. Thank you so much. I'm so sorry. Okay. He's longer than that so far. He's longer than a minute? He's breathing, I think. No, I think he was cheating. I think he just blew a bunch of coronavirus in her face. Exactly. That's...

You did over a minute. See that, honey? You got over a minute. Respectable. What are you supposed to do when a gorilla grabs your shirt? Put it on the poll at Levitard Show. Do you know what to do when a gorilla grabs your shirt? What are you supposed to do? Don't move. You don't look at the gorilla. You just stay. If you're not already in it, just get in the fetal position. Do not move. Do not look at the gorilla. Do not face the gorilla.

And that's the worst thing that you can do because the gorilla wasn't going to do anything other than be playful there. I can't tell you that the gorilla wasn't going to do anything. But when you turn and face and stare at a gorilla, that is that is interpreted as a threat. That's pretty much with any primate. So you should never look at a primate in the eye like that. Turn around and look at him like that because that becomes a bit of a threat.

Put it on the poll, please. Should you ever look a primate in the eye at Levitard Show? Ron, it's nice seeing you. Thank you for tolerating all of our nonsense. I hope I get aggregated calling you a racist and I hope your indignance is taken seriously by all media outlets. Thank you. And I hope that you send me a signed Dan Levitard picture. And if you write to Ron, best wishes, Dan. I swear to God, I'll never do it. I won't. I'm going to be like, I'll write it. But what I'll write is I will not be on this racist wall unless I'm a centerpiece.

I will not on the fringes of your wall where you put the other minority segregated away from all of the beautiful segretos. All right, buddy. The preferred the preferred. I'm done. White. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Nice seeing your white wall there. Oh, white wall.

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Howdy folks, it's Mike Ryan. Now if you've been listening to the show a lot lately, you've heard so much playoff talk. Playoff hoops down here in South Florida were especially enamored with playoff hockey. It's not just limited to the playoffs. Motorsports, tennis, golf. It's truly one of the best times in the sporting calendar. And with the weather outside warming up,

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Don Levitard. I saw a post on Twitter yesterday how the Toronto Maple Leafs, that they won the division. Guess what? It's been two years, and that's two years too long. Stugatz. You can take that ass too. Oh, we're taking two asses. This is the Don Levitard Show with the Stugatz.

I think I could have done better. With Calvin Hughes on the fringes. There was a lot of pressure on me there. I didn't get a great breath to start. A little disappointed. Minute 20. We didn't even get close to two minutes. I could do better. We thought that you were breathing, though, at the end. We thought that there was a little breath at the end. That was me trying to hold the

breath even longer and then it just exploded out. I know, but it is hard to do. Is it worse to explode out than it is to fracture a testicle or to what was it? What was the other word? Rupture. Rupture. So which is the word? The worst of the verbs is rupture, you guys are saying, not fractured. To me, yes. A ruptured testicle is worse than a fractured testicle. It feels that way. Yes.

I'm not sure it feels that way. I feel like it feels pretty similar. I'm feeling like if it ruptures, it's good and it's gone and the pain's gone. Where it's fractured, it's throbbing and staying. Rupture implies explosion. Yes. Whereas fracture just implies there's a little slit in it. Sounds like a break as opposed to a tear.

It sounds worse than that. Good deal worse than that. Doesn't sound like a break or a tear. It sounds like you guys are talking about either a fractured testicle or an exploding testicle. Because ruptured is a spot before exploding. Or are they synonyms? We're doing synonyms? It's an exploding testicle? Because I think we'd agree that an exploding testicle is worse than a ruptured testicle is worse than a fractured testicle. I agree. I'd rather have my testicle rupture than explode.

I mean, I think so pull and tear are different terminologies when you're talking about muscles, but they're both essentially like different levels of a tear. Can you pull a testicle? I have. Why can't you? What? What did you say? You heard me. What's the worst thing to rupture? I'm all in on spleen. You said you pulled a testicle? Put it on the poll at Levitard Show. I asked if you could. Yeah. Go right ahead. No one's stopping you. Is the worst thing to rupture a spleen? Pulled my right ball.

Can you stop? Can I get you to stop? Stop doing everything that you're doing over there. I think like there could be another lesson to be learned is like the game is to get very close and make everybody think you're going to say or do the thing, but never actually say ball.

That's like the move, right? Yeah, but subtlety is not a strength. Sometimes you got to go with it, though. You don't, though. You slap him over the head with it. Sometimes. Again, though, getting back to the original story that birthed all of this.

The fractured throat. Can you guys look up for me what difficulties there would be in playing football with a fractured throat? It sounds like a terrible thing that you would not want to re-injure. One of the things that Dominique and I were talking about during the break, I think this is a strength that Dominique has that most in our profession do not. He can crystallize for you how hard it is to get to the points of excellence where you are stronger than the man with

willing to play with a fractured throat because when we talk about what you know i i know we do too much with gladiators and whatnot but for 13 for armstead was at the draft the single most impressive physical offensive lineman there's ever been running and jumping

His speed at his size was not precedented in the history of the draft. He's a little undersized for an offensive lineman. But what I know about him is that no one can get around him. And the second thing I know about him is that he might not play this Sunday. And obviously he won't play this Sunday because there's no football and he's not going to play any more Sundays because he's retired. But every week for the last five years of his career, it was always that guy's not going to practice. That's a game time decision and they need him.

And if he can only do it at Sunday for three hours, they're going to take that body and they're going to shoot it up with whatever gets through those three hours. Dominique speaks better than most on the idea of what it takes to get to that kind of excellence in that sport. And when you read that article, were you surprised by what it is the pain was? I was absolutely surprised but reminded. And I think that...

This is what was blowing my mind is as I kept yelling fractured throat and looking into the room, I didn't see anybody as stunned as me. I was very confused by it. I was like, no, guys, but like his throat was fractured and yelling about Armstead not being able to walk to Wednesday or Thursday after Sunday game. And I was like, no, guys, but like his throat was fractured.

He never played a full 16-game season, and that's why. I get it, because in his third season, and he played 12 years total, his third season, he had a knee injury that inhibited him from practicing again without painkillers. And I think one of the things that I've noticed is, like, obviously there's some genetic factors that make it so, and we see every time we watch the NFL or NBA draft, there's last names that you recognize, and there are factors physically that allow players

people to be to excel in certain sports. But the mental and emotional stuff is the stuff that I think I find most interesting because it is really and we talked about a little bit yesterday with the emergence of those tennis pros. It's a place that you have to go to or have the ability to go to mentally sometimes that I don't think many of us are familiar with.

And then to be even greater than the greatest, that's how you differentiate. And I think we talk about, or at least I talk about, the people who make it to professional sports. I think it's from a very small pool of people that are physically capable of doing those things. But then that's the part.

that I think you find interesting most, Dan, and I do too, is like, what is the difference between all of those people who want the very same thing, being able to answer every question and every test to the degree, while not only are you trying to overcome something very difficult, someone else right next to you is trying to stop you from doing it. Is it,

It's amazing to me, even though I did it at one point, I guess. Well, the thing that I find most fascinating about the sociology of sports here is over the entirety of the world, war-torn countries in basketball, inner cities in basketball and football in America, you have fighting for status, power, respect, and money,

fame, everybody who is the most competitive in the world fighting for the same pot of dollars. Physically, a certain number of people can get that high. But when we're at microphones asking these people to be tougher, I'm telling you that that next top 1% of top 1%, those aren't physical gifts that get people there.

There are a number of people who have those physical gifts, but there's nobody at the top of that that's throwing it away. And when you guys ask those people to be tougher, I'm like, how much tougher would you like them to be? I understand why you make this assessment of Karl-Anthony Towns, but do you understand that that's not just because he was born seven feet and can shoot from three, that that's as good as that is? Like, that can't be.

No one gets to that level of high unless they are some semblance of tough that we don't probably understand. But the Dolphins' offensive line is so much better when Armstead plays. So toughen up and get out there and play. I mean, Dan brought this up as an area that we should explore because he and I find it interesting, but I know y'all don't give a shit. I know you just want your games, but I do find it interesting. And to your point, Dan, I think that there's –

There's a level to make it to that's really difficult. Then there's a higher level to make it to that requires you to push yourself past some really challenging things, which is fun. But I do recognize, ultimately, it's entertainment. And the way that people talk about entertainment is like the same way you would talk about a movie that someone spent years raising money for and writing and filming and acting. And they were like, eh.

I want my 90 minutes back. That movie sucked. It's the same way. It's the exact same thing. And I know that to be true, which is why it's not an area I often go down. But I do find it interesting. But I know they don't care. No, but this is the thing. I know it's more fun to just talk about the fighting last night and your team being better and we mentally broke them. But I'm actually interested in – and I don't think you can dissuade me of this –

When Mike Ryan loves to say someone's banged up this time of year, when none of us would come to work if we felt like whatever banged up was for those guys, clearly Dreisaitl was hurt last year, obviously.

When I ask in that sport, Connor McDavid, to overcome four lines of people who want it as badly as he does, I don't think most people watching actually know what it takes. And to me, that's the most interesting part. Like, whatever the results are, those can happen with process and bounces. Right.

The most interesting part is how did the toughest people actually get to winning beyond the luck? How did they get to be stronger than the other person who I know to also be strong? That's why I think this thing is so interesting as a view point.

These are heavyweights fighting, and Conor McDavid wants his immortality. He's willing to play the human limits of the body in that sport, but can only be out there half the time. And what happens when the waves come at you when you're not out there? Can he be good enough in half the time out there than all of them are in all the time they're out there? And it just makes it really hard when you're asking to overcome that. And don't tell us about your injury. Also, don't tell us you're hurt.

Because this guy played with a broken leg. Get out of here. How could you play with a broken leg in hockey? One of the most famous goals ever scored in hockey was scored on a broken leg. But it's all relative. It's all relative, which is why I understand that

The point that we're making is that these people are tougher than us and they're tougher than everybody. But in that community, there are people that are even tougher than them. And we're looking for those guys. And in order to exalt those guys, you got to point out that the other guys aren't as tough. And it's not fun to do, but you kind of...

What are you going to say? Is it true, though? No, it is true. It is true that there are people. There were people. I was tougher than people to get there. And then there were people who were tougher than me. I freaking saw it, Dan. There were people who were willing. I was willing to do some absurd things. In my contract year, I was in Atlanta. I got hit on a crackback block by Eddie Royal and killed.

Right in the chest. I got up. Little Eddie Royal? Yeah. Little Eddie Royal. Cute, adorable little Eddie Royal. Little speedster. Yeah. Think about it. Tiniest guy on the field. Jay Cutler. So it was the team. It was the Broncos. The Broncos traded me before my contract year to Atlanta. We're playing against the Broncos down in Atlanta. Jay Cutler. So this is my teammates. I went to training camp with them. I played at that place for three years. Jay Cutler scrambles to the right.

And then scrabbles to the left. I go to the left one. Then he comes back to the right. As I'm coming back, Eddie Royal dives through my chest. And I thanked him after the game because he didn't hit me in the head because it was legal back then. I got up from that play and started coughing and spitting out blood.

And then I started to walk in the direction of the sideline because this ain't normal. And then it hit me. Nah, bruh. It's a contract here. Lined up and played the next play. And there are people who have done much more absurd things than that because I wasn't even that good. That's so sexy. It is. It is.

That I grounded into the turf there. And that was Eddie Royal that made that hit. That's wild. When he says there are people tougher than me, this part I'll never understand, and it's not mythology. People say it's so. Ray Lewis, when he hits you, it hurt more. I don't understand that. I don't understand what would...

What would have to be happening in the human body that would make him be someone who's hurting other people who know what hurt feels like more than they're usually hurting? I'll tell you this about Ray Lewis. So I remember, like, being in high school and, like, looking around at my teammates and being like, like, I loved them and they did the best they could. But looking around at them and being like, these guys suck.

they ain't got it they're not gonna fight through whatever then in college there were fewer of them but they were still guys and i was still like among the top like all right yeah they ain't got it they don't care about this as much as i do i get to the nfl and there are fewer people that i recognize are like that and i look there's a couple people that are like care more than i do i eventually finally get in my fifth year get to the ravens and ed reed or excuse me ed reed and um ray lewis ray lewis specifically is towards the end of his career

And we had, I've told this story before, we had a pretty much nothing game on a Thursday night in Cleveland. And I showed up there like, all right, let's go out there and whoop these bums and get on with our business.

And he cares more than me. We're in the tunnel and I'm thinking about let's get this job done so we can get back home. And he's in the tunnel talking to himself with tears welling up in his eyes after already having won the Super Bowl, established himself as probably one of the best linebackers ever, a random Thursday night game. He's like, no, this means something to me. This means something to the city of Baltimore. It means something to my family. It means something to everyone.

And I'm like, but what about all these millions of people who I was tougher than and I cared more than? And I'm looking at you like, I don't care. I should. I wish I did. But I don't care like you care. Well, keep in mind with the Florida Panthers, not only are they playing through injury. I mean, this is the third Stanley Cup final. They played an extra season worth of postseason.

postseason games. Well, but see, this is the part that I really don't know what it costs when I ask Dominique or anybody, hey, the Miami Heat of LeBron blew up after four years. Kevin Durant, that whole thing, four years. Uh,

Jokic, tires came off at the end. Four years. Celtics, Tatum blows up. Four years. Like, it's hard. It's difficult at the top of stress. You remember the Ed Reed, I'm hurt dog speech. Like, that stuff is...

Real. And to your point, on top of the physical strain and on top of the pressure on each of you, depending on each other, because all that stuff matters to your your livelihood and everything that you've hoped and dreamed of. There are millions of people watching and criticizing everything.

everything you do. You can't leave. You can't walk out your house. You can't open your phone without hearing someone have something to say about what you have done. And then you go back into the locker room and you look across at these people and you want everybody to care as much as you care, but some of them don't. Did Ray know you were just playing the Browns?