Local Hour: Pouring Gasoline On An Idiot
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Chris, I'm a little bit worried about your father. He's been coughing a lot. Zaslow is roaming around the premises here. He would never admit that being face-to-face with Zaslow would be a thing because he's a longtime newspaper guy and Zaslow's just a radio foof.

But Zaslow's here and he's not happy. And your father has already begun his coughing. And so I told him, do you want to switch seats with Zaslow where you have a cough button? He's like, no, I've got it under control. And I'm like, really, Greg, you've never had this under control.

And he's like, well, I can't guarantee anything. And I'm like, I'm really worried about this cough in the first segment because this is an important show we're doing. There haven't been a lot of shows like this in our history. And your father has already begun coughing. What do I do about this? Well, the great ones, they tell their body not today.

And so rest assured, I have the control over my own body. I will not cough today. You've passed out twice trying to prevent coughing once at Highline. You've passed out trying to stop coughing. That's true. He's honestly, he's a guy though, he's staying who he is in the most critical times. Like if he came in here today and wasn't coughing,

That would be alarming. Like, he's a cougher. He's coughing today. What do you want from him? Yeah, that's the point. Okay. All right. All right. Let him be who he is. Just like we need Bob to be, just like who he is. This is the Dan Levitar Show with the Stugatz Podcast. Today's episode is sponsored by DraftKings. Stay tuned because you'll hear more about DraftKings and all it has to offer throughout the show. DraftKings, the crown is yours. Meow.

My friends hate me. This is the fake pregame show. Our Panther group chat, we're confident against the lighting. With Dan Labatard. The better the fear, the better the fulfillment after you conquer the fear. Jonathan Zaslow. I'm telling you, if the Panthers don't win this series, I'll never forgive Greg Cody. It's a million times worse than the trade Marino article. I will never forgive him. I

And the shit-stirrer himself, Greg Cody. Look overrated. Angry Game Show. For weeks, I wondered aloud what Kevin Stenland did. And then about three weeks ago, it hit me. He gives them one of these. And he gives them one of those. I'll give them one of these and I'll give them one of those. Here comes Kreps down the right side. He's got Strassens with him. Kreps fires a shot. Rebound. It's good.

World RAR 3. We're going to get that off the ground. World RAR 3, colon. Our group chat has a pretty good feeling about this one. Stugatz is at a dead show. Is there any chance that Greg Cody might be a little bit right about what he wrote about Conor McDavid? No. Zero. That is actually funny. That's a headline grabber. I don't know how anybody could call Conor McDavid overrated.

Conor McDavid is the real deal. Anybody who says any different has never played against him, and no offense to your co-team, you've never played against Conor McDavid. He probably plays, what, seven, eight minutes a game? Seven, eight? What? Oh, crap. How many minutes does Conor McDavid play? I think it's up to him. I don't have to say anything. Hey, you!

And I told them like this. I told them like this. I'm giving up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I believe you. I believe you. Some people are saying here there should be an option to decline a penalty and a power play. It's the biggest game in Florida Panthers history. Scared shitless.

I care more about Matthew Kachuk than I do my daughter. Fake pregame show. McOverrated. This guy comes in as the next Wayne Gretzky. His nicknames include The Chosen One and McJesus. And this is coming from a guy that's watched Connor play six times. Right. If that. Puck drop is 11 hours away. Ah!

But the fake pregame show starts now. I am unusually fired up for a number of different reasons. We've got mustachioed coughing Greg Cody in here face to face with Zaslow. Two legitimate South Florida media legends.

The original gangster, Greg. Greg, I'm worried about you. I'm worried about you. Do not stifle those coughs. Let them go. Just let them fly. Don't make me laugh then. Quit referring to me as mustachioed. Your mustache looks ridiculous. You've been growing it for 10 days. Zaslow is legitimately enraged with you, and we've brought him in.

To pacify that baby, Mike Ryan. I come in here today and he's like, you should be thanking me. Thanking me for protecting your ass. To pacify this baby, Mike Ryan, who wants to talk with a real person.

Florida Panthers fan deep in the weeds on all the important hockey things that need to be discussed today. And Zaslow is legitimately disgusted with you. Sure. Yeah, he's trying to stare me down. No, he's not trying to stare you down. He is successfully staring you down. We will get to him in a second because he is fired up. So I love that I'm here with two old friends and that we've got this tension in the room to play with. But the thing I'm more excited about is...

That the next few days have a chance to create generational sports fandom in this town for a sport not unlike it happened in Tampa. Because everyone can fall in love with this team the very best way. Because it beats the best at its best in the biggest moment. It's a giant success.

hockey time in this town. And I can think, I can count on one hand the number of teams that I have truly loved in this market.

Truly loved. And there is only one of them among that group that didn't win the championship. It was the 96 Panthers, a team not as good as this one that taught me and my father about hockey. My father was weeping in the stands, getting swept in the final, and he thought the puck was made of metal.

Because this sport is the best this time of year. That team was not as good as this one. But what that team taught me, what that team taught me in going through the Boston Bruins and Eric Lindros and two McDavids, Yager and Lemieux, is that the best team wins this time of year. Not a team with one player.

Not a team with one guy who's better than everyone else. But this guy's so good that he can take you down and he can make you a laughingstock from up 3-0 because he's that good.

And I am scared shitless. But I also believe in this team. I believe in its ability to be better in the third period than other teams. So let's get to the tension of the day. Zaslow against Greg Cody. Because, Greg, I can see you squirming around. I don't blame you. Zaslow, the floor is yours. Tell the people why it is that you're so mad at Greg Cody.

All right. Hey, guys. Sorry. That was a hell of a stare down. You would have won the Stare Down Olympics on the Greg Cody show featuring Greg Cody. I blacked out for a couple minutes. Sorry. Doesn't a stare down require two people looking at each other? Well, you were looking away. Well, I forgot Zaz was in the room. Listen. All right. Listen.

Greg, I don't, this is the first time I've ever been in studio with Greg. Right? First time ever. You have not liked Greg Cody's columns for a long time. Well, I don't have to, he doesn't have to like my shows. I don't have to like it. That doesn't mean I dislike all of them, but I don't have to like all his columns. He doesn't have to like all my shows. That's nothing personal. I'm sure he's a really nice guy. And here's the thing, Greg. All right. And please, I'm trying, I'm going to say this in the nicest way possible. Okay. If the Panthers lose this series, you're going to be remembered for this because

this. People are going to be so angry. They are going to remember you for this. You've had a great career here, a legendary writer for the Miami Herald, and that should be your legacy. That should be what everybody remembers one day. Wow, Greg Cody, amazing writer, represented the Herald and South Florida. But if the Panthers lose, they're going to remember you for this and

And you shouldn't be remembered for this. You should not be remembered for the Panthers losing. You should be remembered for saying Marino should have been traded. Not this! Yeah. There's two people on earth who are going to blame me if the Panthers lose this series. Zaslow and Mike Ryan. Because what an ultimate conceit

To think that something, anything I wrote, and by the way, it wasn't a whole column, it was two paragraphs in a column. To think that that has a scintilla of effect on the outcome of this series is beyond the pale of ridiculous.

beyond the pale of ridiculous. It's just, it's anti-logic, it's anti-intellect. Superstition is in thin air. You're choosing to be superstitious. You're choosing to believe in jinxes. None of it matters. What matters more is if a fourth line panther falls asleep for five seconds and gives up a goal tonight. What, look,

Mike Ryan has no—superfan. Superfan Zaslow and Mike Ryan have zero effect on their team winning. What a writer writes has zero effect on a series. To think otherwise is just patently absurd. But it can't help. Well, see, that's my point. That's my point right there.

I don't even disagree with the things that you're saying, okay? What you're saying is completely logical, all right? But saying what you said about McDavid, it's not going to help the situation. It could only hurt, and we know that to him. Kyle McDavid's fucked.

You think Conor McDavid's father's keeping a secret at this point? He definitely called his son up and said, hey, listen, son, you know, I know you got some things on your mind, but there's this Greg Cote who's down in South Florida, says you're overrated. What are you going to do about it? Now, maybe nothing, maybe he doesn't do anything about it, but maybe he does do something about it, all right? Maybe he'll walk asleep in China. That's all I'm saying. Yeah, you know what happened? Yeah, when Dad and Conor were speaking, the way that conversation ended was, you know what, Dad?

I wasn't particularly excited about this series. I mean, granted, it's my first final ever, and winning it is going to take such a burden off me. It's the biggest series of my entire life, but I needed that little extra incentive from a Miami writer I'd never heard of calling me overrated. Now, now I'm ready to do something. He had one point, though, through the first three games. Maybe he said, listen—

It's bad enough to lose the Stanley Cup final. I also don't want Greg Cote to end up being right. So look at you now. Game four and game five. He's the best player you've ever seen. Maybe it did wake a sleeping giant. I wrote what I wrote. Maybe it didn't, but maybe it did. I wrote what I wrote before the series. So what happened in those first three games? He was the leading point scorer.

Yeah, and they were 0-3. Yeah. And then you started playing in billboards around town. Yeah, then you started playing in billboards around town. Get on your hands and knees and thank me for saving your legacy. Do it right now. Both of you. You and the clown in the hat.

Has anyone thanked Mike Ryan yet? Has anyone thanked him for making sure that billboards don't go up before the series is over? Has anyone thanked him? I haven't decided if they're not going up or not. Well, they're not up yet. No, but they're not. But there's another weekend to think about it if they lose tonight. Are you serious, man? You guys are assholes. You guys are assholes. This matters. This matters.

This matters to me. This is my life. This matters to him. This is my life. This matters to him. This matters to him. And you're making a joke of it. Don't screw with my life.

You would never do this to other franchises. You're showing your ignorance because it's hockey. You would never. You know how I know you would never do it? Because you've never done it before. You said this is one of the arguments you made that's infuriating, okay? You said the Panthers would think it's classless. I got suspended at ESPN. You think what I did there that he thought was classy? Do you think that what I did there to get suspended from ESPN, do you think the Heat was like –

That's a classy move, what Dan's doing, getting suspended there. They liked it. They were bitter. Their own president said smiling faces hit an agenda. Are you kidding me? You waited until after he left. You didn't do it in the middle. I'm in reruns on this. It's an old joke. I've already made it. I'm hoping nobody notices. You never actively tried to celebrate a championship before it's been won. You never did that. Rants notwithstanding, you have never, with your team up 3-0, tried to put up billboards.

You should be thanking me. Because you know how much different your life would be after the last two games if those billboards were up. We're talking national controversy. We're talking the greatest mush of all time. Wait a minute. You're talking national controversy? Please, let's get on the screen the video I've enjoyed so much the last couple of days of how I've gotten dragged into national controversy. Show me Steve Levy at his maximum Steve Levy doing television ever so graceful. Tan too much from the

Boca Beach Club and pointing to the camera with his left hand because he doesn't even need his dominant hand to be great at television. Connor McDavid saying it now and he's doing it on the biggest stage. Leave Buckle up. Don't get me going. He's all world, this guy. Overrated? What's going on? Dan Levitar.

Oh please, no national controversy! Don't give me any of that! Please, don't give me any of that! So you're doing this for attention. Because it doesn't matter to you. It doesn't. You're just an attention-seeking charlatan. That's what you are. You are way worse than him. He's an idiot. No one took him seriously. They had a week to draw up a storyline. No one gives a shit. They talked about it because they had a week and they moved on. You are pouring gasoline on this idiot.

This is really taking a turn. He said he played seven minutes a game. No one took him seriously. Greg is mad. Greg is legitimately mad. And I knew this was going to happen. I knew this was going to happen. You know, for Mike's next birthday, somebody ought to buy him a giant wooden cross because the burden you bear, the burden you have to bear as the self-appointed world's biggest Panthers fan who apparently has already given up on his team. That's right. That's the part. That's the part.

That's the part that infuriates me. Shove this crucifix up your ass. You don't have to give it up on your team. Because I am not the self-proclaimed biggest Panther fan. I am one of six. You're a fake. I am one of six. You're a fake Panthers fan who has already given up on his team. Shut up. You're a fake columnist. You're a fake sports expert. You thought he played seven minutes a game. If you believed in the Panthers, you would not be nearly as upset right now.

I would want to be the Panthers. I believe in the Panthers, but I also believe you guys have made a mockery of this. And you're doing it again, against my wishes. You got all this shit going on behind me. We're spending 12 minutes on the top talking about you guys, which is all you wanted, and it's all you love. I don't know what we're yelling about! You don't? We've spent two weeks on it! I wrote two paragraphs online.

Connor McDavid, okay? And the idea that I wrote this for clicks, let me bring you into the analytics a little bit. I have written three columns this month that have been more read than the Connor McDavid column, which ranks for the year, the year's not even half over, that is the 19th most read column I have written. The idea that I wrote two paragraphs...

What did that say? Stat of the day. It was my father singing. Okay. I thought I heard poppy. It's like I'm making some levity to this unnecessary stat. It's weird. Not that this is about clicks. That was my 19th rated click column. I want people to know that I didn't write this. Which one was the 12th rated? No.

I could tell you if you want me to. Please look it up. Not surprising that we would go to the depths of your self-involvement. Zaslow, please. I don't want to talk about his columns. And I don't actually. I do want to talk about this game and this next couple of days because I do believe in this team. Why would you not? Oh, I believe very much. I think it's going to end tonight. I believe very much in this team. It's just this is my life. This is.

There's so much stress that guys like me. First of all, I need this thing to end tonight. I really do. It's consuming my life. It's all I think about all day long. Every day. It's all I think about. I can't sleep at night. You think I want to wake up in the middle of the night thinking about Conor McDavid and Riot Nugent Hopkins and Stuart Skinner?

think about these people i need this series to end tonight and i don't want the mockery again everything that you said greg is completely logical but all the logic logic doesn't matter what my feelings involved right now i watch these games greg i'm on the verge of projectile vomit for 60 minutes all right and i don't want to hear about conor mcdavid being overrated and then we happen to know that it got back to conor mcdavid like if i said something about conor mcdavid right now he's

never going to know about it. He knows what you said. Maybe he decided to try a little bit harder. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. That's the point. He's not going to try less. That's for sure. Maybe he winds up trying harder. I don't know. I don't know. I'm trying to win a Stanley Cup here.

I don't want to hear about Conor McDavid being overrated. Here's the thing. Panther fans, all right, like myself and like Mike Ryan and like the great Roy Bellamy, who, by the way, was on my show yesterday. He was phenomenal. He was in the car on the way to Edmonton. What a terrible trip. Good get for you. But soup—

Super longtime Panther fans, we've been waiting our entire life for this series, for tonight, and instead in the middle of the series, you're right smack in the middle of it. I wasn't thinking about that 20 years ago. You know what? The next time the Panthers have a shot here, Greg Cody's going to be the main conversation. That's not what I was planning on. I'm the main conversation because you and Mike Ryan are acting like... No, no, you're the main conversation because of the dude in the middle. Because of the dude in the middle. Greg, what'd you text me yesterday about the podcast?

Our podcast. It's doing good numbers. There's your stat. Okay. And I don't think I even mentioned Connor McDavid in my last podcast. Did I? You did an emergency podcast episode. Yeah, that was a couple weeks ago. Response to Canada. Yeah.

I don't want to keep covering recycled ground because I do want to talk about the game, but I cannot abide Mike Ryan with the Steve Levy left hand pointing at me and saying that this is my fault when I was off that week. I was simply off that week, and when I came back, they were up 3-0. You cannot blame me for anything here. Guess who's back and ruined everything? Where's your hot dog costume? Because we're all trying to find out who did this. Yes.

You just pointed it out. Can you go back to where you were? Yeah, please, Leo. Scram! Skedaddle! This is not adult behavior. It's childish behavior. This is sports! It is childish behavior. This is completely appropriate behavior. Yeah, that's how sports work, man. You know what the Stanley Cup can be once a night? It's completely appropriate behavior. Do you think this is a game? Yes, like, what do we do if we win a championship? We pour drinks on one another and we have a parade.

This is childish. He thinks this is a game. He does. He's playing with our emotions, and Dan is also playing with our emotions because admittedly, he hasn't cared since 1996. He told you himself. No. Stop f***ing with my life. What I said was, don't misquote me. I'm not going to allow you to misquote me. What I said was that in my lifetime, I think there are five teams

in this market that I have truly fallen in love with for a variety of different circumstances that I won't bore you with here. And the only one in my lifetime, it wasn't last year's Panthers for me. It was not because this franchise has done to me what the Marlins have done to me, which is sort of kill my soul a little bit. And I don't want to watch mediocre stuff for 30 years and keep caring. So I was late to this particular party.

but they have gotten my attention because what they can do right now is bigger than what they could have done last year, even though it would have been an upset, by slaying the most giant of the giants at the end. It's not just that you took your nemesis down and that was the appetizer. You took down the deserving champion that has ruled this state and made hockey matter in Florida. You took

them out after they were your nemesis. And then what you do is you take out the historic franchise that everyone in Miami hates because Boston's racist. And then you take out the New York Rangers and we hate everybody from New York because they've come down here and infected our town with everything they do. And then who do you take out the end? The biggest, baddest giant. So don't tell me I'm not excited. I'm telling you the next two games are for my love. They're for my love. For me remembering you. Stop saying two games. There's one game. One

For the rest of our lives. May there be a game seven overtime so I can be scared. Maximum scared. Maximum scared. Let me step out a bit. Maximum scared. Let me step out a bit for one second and try to calmly articulate how important this is to me. I'm scarred by the Stu Barnes trade for Chris Wells. After I left high school, I went straight into an organization that was on a lockout. I missed an entire season, and I worked under Michael Yormark. I saw...

50 people get fired. I didn't get paid a single cent. I've seen this team go from blue to red to possibly move into Hamilton to maybe Hank Aaron owning the team. I've seen them trade Pavel Burry after they acquired his brother. I was so excited to see that tandem. I didn't really get to see it. I've seen Todd Bertuzzi come here for Roberto Luongo and Luongo have a Hall of Fame career. I had Mike Keenan. I shared elevators with Jacques Martin and Mike Keenan.

This matters to me deeply. And it would have been fine and wonderful if I won it in four games. It would have been amazing. I wouldn't have felt...

any better if I won in four games or six, but you were making a mockery of how much I care. And it was very evident to everybody how much we all cared about the Miami Heat. You don't care the same way? I get it. But I do take offense to you guys making a mockery of it because this is serious stuff to me because I'm a grown man child. I'm 38 years old. I want to see this. I feel like I deserve it. Why is this a mockery?

No, I'm asking you. Please. Why is this a mockery? Yes. What have we been talking about? A column, a throwaway line that you even added boom after because you knew what you were doing. Right. Why is it a mockery for anybody, not just me, to have the opinion that until Connor McDavid wins a Stanley Cup, he has not lived up to the hype? That's a valid opinion. All the game's all-time greats.

Yes, because you've made a mockery since. It was the Mick overrated. Let me ask you something. Going into the 1991 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan never won yet. Going into the NBA Finals, would you have said Michael Jordan overrated? I would have said it with the qualifier, until you win an NBA Finals, you have not lived up to your hype.

to your potential and that you have underachieved based on expectations. Yes, absolutely. I think that's consistent across sports. Dan Marino was a great quarterback. The fact he never won a Super Bowl matters. You better not say it. It matters. I mean, let's look. You better not say Marino's overrated. You better not say that. Marino underachieved based on his. Oh, my God.

Based on his talent? Did you ever go to Nike Town and see the cleat he was playing with? Did you just say he was overrated? Are you saying now for the first time, are you doubling down now on also Marino is overrated? Are you saying that Marino is overrated? Is that what you're announcing today? Don Shula next? Yes or no? I'm not going to say yes or no. Yes or no? Overrated? Who all of a sudden has respect for something. He's never won a title.

Look, the words overrated and underachiever are incendiary, okay? In this case, perhaps they were intended to be. They certainly were attention-getting.

which is part of it. I'm not going to shy away from the fact that as a writer, I love it when I write a column that becomes a conversation piece. That's a good thing. This is not life and death, despite the rant you just heard from Mike Ryan. This is not life or death. This is sports. Pretty close. You found your lane. You're the overrated guy now.

Look, okay. Is Dan Marino overrated? When you call yourself McJesus. He didn't call himself that. He didn't troll into the league and say, I'm McJesus. That was LeBron. LeBron's the one who did that. LeBron, he comes into the league the king. He lived up to it eventually. Can you imagine? He walks into the league, I'm McJesus. McJesus, please refer to me by that. I'm 18 years old. I'm McJesus.

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Don Levitard. This guy comes in as the next Wayne Gretzky. His nicknames include The Chosen One and McJesus. Okay? He's a great player. He scores a lot of goals. He scores a ton of assists. But it hasn't translated to making Edmonton a powerhouse in the league. They're in the final. Stugatz. What's your nickname for him? McOverrated. This is the Don Levitard Show with the Stugatz. ♪

I genuinely and really do want to get to the micro about tonight's game. I can't tell you the last time I was excited about the idea of doing a pregame show because the minutiae of the game is also interesting to me in hockey. It's been a long time since I felt that. And I will say as we're sitting here arguing among family and friends, and Greg Cody is hot.

right now like greg cody told me during the break he's mad like he's in fact because some people are going to be thinking that this is bit you go ahead and tell the people what you just saw from greg cody during the yeah he's mad and and i don't look i don't want you to be mad at me i think you're a nice man okay oh he's not mad but he's not mad at me he's not mad at you i was glad he's not mad he's mad at mike ryan he's really mad he's really mad at mike ryan's

Okay, we'll get to that in just a second. He's not the real villain. We'll get to the micro of the game in a second. But just macro, because I really do...

I want to agree with Stugatz and Zaslow somewhere here on where it is that sports reaches us in the best places, in the very best places. The last three years, I think we can admit around here at this company, life in America, like super, super hard. OK, for anyone listening to this for a variety of reasons, the last three years have been really hard. If you've been listening to this show and me falling apart,

grieving falling apart for three years the last three years have been hard to feel this particular medicine that takes you away from real life problems is why sports are the giant business that they are because people care unreasonably about this medicine that soothes them and allows them to escape

During a hard time. I'm sorry that we're fighting during all of this because this is a legitimate, lovely time. But this is what happens around sports. Everyone's falling apart. And now Greg Cody, during the break, you heard he said he demands an apology. He said he demands an apology. I demand a thank you.

For fighting against the billboards. I demand a thank you. Hold on a second. How about, and this is not surprising coming from you, you don't respect your superiors because you don't think anyone is superior. He...

looks at you and says, "I won't be called an idiot twice to my face on the air." Well, I had Greg just say that. Greg just said that. I know, but I just heard him say it. And he says, "I demand an apology." He was telling me off-air, like, he's not joking. He's demanding. He's not asking for an apology. He's demanding one. Okay. I don't mind anyone disagreeing with anything I've written.

And I'm used to it and I have thick skin for it. And I would say if, and I don't read comments, social media comments, if somebody I don't even know calls me an idiot, who cares? When somebody I do know calls me an idiot twice, how about you control your emotions?

No, I'm serious. Oh, that's what I want to hear right now is calm down. Okay. That's what I want to hear. I mean, you're... Your skin is so thick you bumped into a door and started bleeding today. You're... I don't believe you for a second. And no, I'm sorry. I've told you for two weeks now how this has bothered me. And when you did it, I wasn't here to check you either. So no, I will not apologize for...

for doing something on air because you've made my entire life performative for everybody else. I care deeply. And if you want to keep running this bit and your jolly friend over there wants to keep ramping things up because you are just a member of the family and you are sitting next to Charles Manson. Whoa.

Jolly. Be careful with jolly. That's coded. My dad does have thin skin, but thick toenails. Am I right, Dad? Yes, you are right about that. No, I'm not going to apologize. I wouldn't expect you to apologize. You're a giant infant. Okay. You have no control over your emotions.

You have no control over your emotions when you're calling someone you know an idiot. I don't deserve it Okay, I don't deserve it. All right, and you're a fool for saying it. Okay You're a fool. Yeah, I was kind of falling right now. You're locking in on us. Yeah, let's drop the gloves pal Thanking me for what every day for what what I've done around this character and the second shit gets real for you You want to come at me and call me a fool?

Huh? No, no, no. Seriously. Jeremy just whispered. I've added 10 years to your career. You want to call me a fool? Wait a minute. You'd be toiling away. You'd be Michael Yormark. You owe me everything. You owe me everything. You have added 10 years to my career? Yes, I have. This man has. You haven't. That man. Who the hell are you? Let me tell you. Who the hell are you?

Don't be banking! Bullshit! Me! You're a rude young man. You're a fool! You're a fool! I already called you a fool. You're a fool right back! You can't call me a fool. You're an idiot again! It's a four-off! You're an idiot twice! You're an idiot for dismissing how much I've helped you. You are a fool! You're nobody. You are an infant. You have no thick skin. I literally put together a freaking stage for your toenail! I am...

Your career right now, pal. Look at me. I am your career. You have messed with me, David. And now you're messing with me. And I'm more dangerous, pal. So apologize or leave. Too many pounds. This is Dan's fault again. You brought all this to air with my dad. Come on. Yeah, he's in there muttering under his bed.

under his blood. Let me out of here. You're apologizing. You're going to end with it. Thank me. No. This is what you've done. This is what you've done. So how about that apology? Well, Mike did say in there, no, I'm sorry. I've told you how I felt about this for weeks. So no, I'm sorry is going to be what you get

No, I'm sorry is going to be the closest we come to an apology there. He did say the words, I'm sorry. It was just, no, I'm sorry. I've told you how I feel about this for two weeks. It was me saying, no, I'm sorry. Well, that's not what it sounded like. No, I'm sorry. Zero, I'm sorry. I do want to get to the smaller stuff here, but this is genuinely tense now. And Jeremy, he was whispering. I wrote a back in my day song on a number one album for you.

Mike, I need you to stop with the bona fides here. He does not respect what I do. He doesn't. He doesn't know what I do. I understand you're a voice actor as well. Is that right? When you quit Metal Ark in May, you're going to become a voice actor? Well, he's very close to quitting.

He's very close to quitting. Not close enough. Well, he's also close to being fired. So, like, we're in both places. Once he gets there with the—I mean, he called me a dick the other day by text because he's totally—he's lost his mind, as many people have, because sports will do this to you. When did he call you a dick? Like, when—

It was while you were losing 4-2 to Edmonton, headed into the third period. Oh, it's a very stressful moment. Very stressful. Just I was losing, not you. Very stressful. Mike can't control himself. He's an immature man. He wouldn't admit it, but there's a real immaturity to someone who calls his boss a dick, who calls an older co-worker an idiot. You just don't do that in polite society. You should probably tell him to calm down again.

Yeah, that's never good. I'm sure that's going to help. That's never good. Jeremy whispered in my ear like a scared child. Jeremy was so scared. Well, no, he did whisper. He's like, can I leave the room? I want to leave the room. I know the feeling. I mean, seriously. It's like this is not a working condition. You're the one that wanted to make it real.

This is what happens. What does that mean? I wanted to make it real. This is what happens when people stop being fake and start being real. I wrote two paragraphs three weeks ago. I take responsibility for that.

What else am I responsible for? The Panthers losing two in a row? He is a writer. Really? He's a writer. I love how you make it that only two paragraphs kind of distances you from it. You still said it. Calling him overrated in just two paragraphs instead of an entire column is still saying it. I saw T-shirts. I saw McDavid, McOverrated, Dash Greg Cody T-shirts. That's all you did? Those are not for sale in my merch store.

My point exactly. Stop fighting with me and avert your eyes and turn your attention to the real bad guy. Because Dan didn't call me an idiot. He's more polite than that. To your face.

Well, I did say that my favorite part of the inside joke for only our audience, like the favorite part of the joke is that the people listening to this, when we put the billboards up, those people who listen to this show will know where the opinion came from. And so it will be all the funnier, not that it came from an idiot, but that it's an idiotic opinion. And we all know it, that it looks like a duck, Greg.

No, I do. I mean, if it writes two paragraphs like a duck, Greg, boom. But me thinking that idiotic is not calling him an idiot. I know it's not. It's I don't. And me screaming into this microphone doing what I do best, better than anyone who's ever been a producer in this industry has ever done it. Calling you an idiot and taking it personally. Shame on you. But if you want to get real, we can get real, pal.

We can get real. Another pound? We can get real. That's a third pound. We'll get real. How are we in three pound territory? How is this escalated? What's game seven going to be like? One of these. One of those. How do we not talk about game seven when they're going to win it tonight?

it out forget about game seven what's game seven gonna be like stop with that all right tonight is gonna be one of the best nights of your life i need to hear about game seven when next year the year after there's not game seven this series this is ending tonight i'm going to watch my favorite little hockey team the best hockey team in the land that includes canada raise the stanley cup over their shoulders you know how great it's gonna feel when sasha barkov hands that stanley cup to aaron ekblad don't

Don't talk to me about game seven. It ends tonight. Finish him. It's my life. That's what you got to do to McDavid. You got to do that. But we haven't broken out the finish him in a minute. And now it's getting aggressive. It's a three-pal situation and a finish him situation. Finish him. It's a three-pal and a finish him situation on McDavid. And when you say scared, I'm not scared. There's plenty. It's running down my leg. I'm scared of him. I'm scared of him.

And I believe the best team wins in that sport. I believe the Panthers are the best team. It's empirical. What they do in the third period is better than anyone in the sport. I saw it coming back, even with what he did in Game 5. I saw it coming back. They were pelting Edmonton because they are championship worthy. This is the most championship worthy team I have ever seen play hockey in this market. Go on. No, it is.

This is the best Panther team there has ever been. That's not in any way up for dispute, but it's empirical. It's not just that they're not doing it as an eight seed last year. No, it's that they were a hundred point team all season. They play a style of play that wins this time of year. Edmonton plays a style of play that

that doesn't win the way this one does, but they have a player that can nuke everything. They have a single player that can nuke everything historic in hockey that happens to the best teams. And then on top of that, hockey can happen to you. Hockey can just happen to you because you hit the post a couple of times. Hockey can happen to you if the ice is choppy. They had a Snoop Dogg concert last night. I think that benefits the Panthers. Probably. That's a percentage.

I like that, actually. Slow it down. Slow the game down. Bad ice is a tricky thing because you never know when it's going to pop up, and it could pop up during a golden opportunity for you. But if I told you that the player that relies on puck handling and precision the most –

and is the greatest skater maybe ever. He might be the greatest, like Scott Hamilton would like a word. That's it. Like there has never been a better skater in that sport. You'll take it. You know that you've won some grinders out there. And I think that's what tonight is going to have to be for the Panthers to win this year. I don't see this being, you were talking before the shows as, and you said maybe a six, four final.

Well, no, no. I had a dream. My dream was that last night they won 6-4. I don't think it's going to be 6-4. You're going to have to choke the life out of this game, I think. Yeah. It just...

Can't we just be up 3-0 after the first period? Well, we were up 3-0 after the first three games. Doesn't that make everyone's life easier if they're up 3-0 after the first period tonight? Isn't this just all? It's easy to say, but it feels like this is just all on Bob because that's the difference the last few games. If Bob is Bob, like from the first three, we got this. How about don't get doubled up on the special teams for the series? Well, listen, five on five, the Panthers are a better team, and I don't care who argues that.

It's after that when the trouble begins. If they stay out of the penalty box, they win tonight. They win the series. All is well. People don't hate me anymore. It's perfect.

If they get in the penalty box a lot, people still hate you. People are mad at you. They are taking chances, though, with their fourth line. They're bringing in Ryan Lomberg, who was there the last game and I thought provided the energy. Cousins tonight. But Cousins, these are Ryan Lomberg and Nick Cousins are reputed to be your two biggest mistake makers.

Nick Cousins, reputed Rat King, hothead. Is Paul Maurice keeping Verhege on the top line? Everybody switched that, right? Verhege and Barkov had this weird thing. This is a Verhege game. He's only had one goal this series. Come on. Say his name and he appears. It's time to have a conversation about Carter Verhege. Say his name and he appears. I believe in Verhege. Carter Verhege, that's my dog. I believe in Verhege. I thought Ekblad was one of their big mistake makers. Ekblad, too, that's my dog. Ekblad's not a great skater.

Oh, he's been great, though, this postseason. He has, but the last two games, he had that really unfortunate thing happen to his ankle. And when this is over, we'll find out how hurt everybody is. And he's not necessarily a player that has shown you he can maintain a really good level of form if he's hurt. He's going to be great tonight. He's going to be great. I believe.

Are you a homer, Zaz? How does this work? I know you're scared, so you're projecting confidence at every turn, but I know you're scared of—it's not even the history of the Edmonton Oilers, though you could be scared of that, too. This is a historic franchise now being led by the second coming of Gretzky, and you're going into a building. Let me assure you of this, okay?

Edmonton's number one pride internationally is this hockey team and this player. That place cares about that player and that team in a way that gives it its name, its city name. Edmonton is known for what Gretzky did in that uniform, and now McDavid is the second coming of Gretzky. That building is going to be a total insanity. This Panther team, they've been better on the road in the postseason. They don't get phased with these offseason

road crowds the biggest problem to me with playing this game on the road tonight is not having last change that's a major major deal we're never i mean really rarely going to be about barkov and forsling and ekblad on the ice at the same time maurice has to pick one or the other it's a fantastic point so when we talk about home ice advantage the crowd like that that

It doesn't matter. It's about not being able to get our guys on the ice all the time alongside McDavid. So that is a major disadvantage for tonight's game. That's the part that I'm most worried about. But I know our guys are going to be great tonight. I know they are. Last change really pokes its head out when you have a face-off in your own zone. Yeah, it's a big deal. Everything else can be on the fly. We've seen McDavid...

We've seen Knobloch send McDavid out on the ice when Barkov's not on the ice. He didn't need to be a home team to take that advantage. So you're going to have to take it where you can get it. But it can't be understated. We're going to start with the Barkov line tonight. Morty's is going to hand in his card. We're going to start with the Barkov line. And they're going to start with their second line. McDavid's not going to start for Edmonton tonight because we're going to put our first line out there to begin the game.

and that's where the chess match begins now not that i don't trust paul maurice because it's amazing that i was calling him all year last year the murderer of fun and i kicked him out of my city and now i love him so much paul maurice my dog all right he is my dog so i trust him but look that's that's the that's my biggest concern tonight is not being able to match up with mcdavid but i think tonight's gonna be one of the best nights of my life i'm

So excited! Dan, earlier you said that in 96, they went through two guys that are McDavid in Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux, two of the all-time greats. They have another McDavid on their team. Dreisaitl, he's been fairly quiet, not recently, and his biggest impact in the series has been that dirty hit that he had on Barkov, but they have two of the top five players in the world. This is a really good team, and because McDavid is that good, the Dreisaitl thing is...

is not really a storyline. They have the two best players in this series. And everybody else, like Florida just throws waves upon waves of depth. And that depth, things like the fourth line decision, taking out Lorenz, taking out Oposo, that's going to matter tonight. That depth is why, empirically, they're the best third period team in the league. The thing that I want to ask you guys, because...

The best third period team in the league is something that continually wears you down over the course of the game so that by the end, the way that you want to knock off Lemieux and Jagger is it's too much. There are too many waves. It's too much of it. The thing that I want to ask you about, Paul Maurice, is this. I have seen over the last two years something that I did not think was possible, OK?

Barkov, in whatever it is that they were doing before two years ago, was a source of great frustration for everyone in the fan base. And then this style comes here, built around everything he does, and now it's best two-way player in the world, where I heard all the muttering complaints about this player for a really long time. And I don't know the sport well enough to know how much Paul Maurice has to do with that, but I extend from that, oh, you guys trust this guy like you trust Spoh.

You guys trust that this person will make the right decisions. You might have quibbles with where he's putting Montour every once in a while, but generally speaking, you're extending your trust to this human being as being smarter than you and trusting him implicitly. He's also never done it.

When you look back, he's coached among the all-time leaders in games coached. He's also among the all-time leaders in losses. He's never done it, ever.

He's gotten close. The face of joy has now taken four flights and landed in Edmonton. Roy Bellamy, who starred on Zaslow Show. Tell the people where they can find you so they know how they can get more Zaslow. Yeah, Zaslow Show 2.0. Wherever you get your podcasts.

I could list all the places, but I'll be sitting here forever. So wherever you get your podcasts, Zaslow Show 2.0 every day. I love you a long time. Roy was there with you yesterday and he brought the charisma. I am told he smiled more than he usually does around here. He is not smiling right now. Roy, how bad was the flight and how bad is your breath right now? I brushed my teeth. My breath is fine. The flight was much, much better than it was yesterday.

Flying to Edmonton the first time, I'll tell you that right now. It was 11 hours plus a three-hour drive. So, yeah, the flight was good. The drive was so-so. And how are you feeling about things? We've got a lot of tension here back in the studio since you left. I think you might be enraged with Greg Cody right now as well. Mike Ryan has called him an idiot twice. What are your general feelings about Greg Cody right now?

He's doing it for clicks, and I'm not happy about it, Dan. He's embarrassed us as a fan base. He's embarrassed us as a journalistic entity. So, yeah, I'm not happy with Greg Cody right now. Okay. Us? Who do you mean by us, Roy? I'm here right now, aren't I, Greg? Yeah. So by us, though, do you mean fellow Panthers fans? Let's be careful with anything else. By you people, he means Panthers fans. Yeah.

Yeah, okay. Just making that clear. On both ends of the spectrum. Okay. Yeah, okay. Okay.

Roy speaking to what's bothered me up there, like top two things that's bothered me about this is this should be a moment of arrival and a moment of legitimacy. And it might still be. It may be. It will be. Well, there's a nice little guarantee right there from Dan, but I think we've made this a circus. I'm not happy with my actions today because this is taking attention away from what should be. If this team does it,

talked about as one of the greatest teams in the 21st century. Whoever wins this series is going to be stacked up with the Penguins and the Blackhawks. What the Panthers have done in this... Overcoming this group of teams this postseason is a monster run. It's not just a postseason.

It's the regular season, too, and how great everybody was. And for once in my life as a Panther fan, I felt like I was being taken seriously, and people were having to already cope once they went up 3-0 with the fact that this market has arrived. The ugly stepchild of the state of Florida when it comes to hockey has finally been here, and we're fighting amongst ourselves. We're trying to put up billboards before the thing's been done, and we've made an absolute circus of these things when all I wanted was what Zaslow gave me.

What all I wanted was talking about the quality of the ice and talking about Nick Cousins and his discipline. That's all I ever wanted out of this stuff. So you got, you get to have your cake and eat it too, I guess, Dan, because you wanted more fireworks and you got them. Not just that though. Roy's hockey show. If you want some of the deep in the weeds analysis of all the good stuff, he's been doing a great job with David Dwork and he keeps flying out to Edmonton. But I want to get at this tension that there is specifically with newspaper guys and

and radio guys, because I've seen it for a long time in this market and elsewhere, and Greg does not respect radio, and Zaslow doesn't respect some of Greg's columns, and you just derisively hit Roy with, you're not a journalist. You just did that to Roy. Okay, Roy is, I don't think Roy would call himself a journalist. Maybe he would.

I mean, Roy is gonna have a plaque in that arena. What are we doing to each other? I don't like any of this. You guys are going at Roy now? All because you said something stupid! I'm not going at Roy. Just admit you said something stupid! I love Roy. I said I had Roy on my show yesterday, and your response was, that's a good get. It was a good get. Now you're gonna attack Roy. You're just gonna keep going at everybody. I am not attacking Roy.

And just not admit that you said something stupid. Roy's had such great content over these last few weeks. It's among the best work he's ever done. I really like Roy. Roy, can I ask you one quick question, though? Roy, are you there? Is this the fourth game that you've traveled to this postseason? Yes, it is. What is your record? This is number four. What is your record? That's an important question. Very important. Currently one and two. One and two? Uh-oh. Which one did you win? Game one in New York, I believe.

The Rangers game, game five. Yeah. Oh, my God. All right. Thank God. The Panthers are doomed. Thank God. If Roy is one and two on the road, it's a jinx. It means the Panthers are doomed. Roy, get the hell out of there. Fly back. Save the Panthers. Or it could mean a split.

That's right. You become 2-2 and you're holding up the trophy and you're in Edmonton. 2-2 is a good road record in the playoffs. It is. I do not want to cope with that, Roy. And that is a long flight. And for you, it's probably three connections. I don't even want to consider what our lives would look like if they lose this game. And everybody in North America will be saying this series is essentially over. And this market would have to endure a second straight year forever.

of having a team in the summer blow a 3-0 lead. The odds of that have to be astronomical. You always, Dad, go at it with Mike. Are you seeing yourself in the mirror now? You went at it with Roy. Can you take a step back? If Roy's attacking you for this take, can you see it now that maybe it was a dumb thing to say? Roy is a Panthers fan.

Which disqualifies him from being considered a neutral journalist. He's going to have his picture up in the press box. He covers that. He's covered more Panthers games in the last month than you have your entire career. That's not true. Tell him, Hawk. I have been behind the scenes campaigning for Roy Bellamy to be added to the Wall of Fame. I've never heard that. In that press box. I've never heard that. I have. No, you're making that up. I've never heard that. You've made that up. I'm going to start that. I'm going to ask Jameson.

I didn't make that up. Roy is a legend. Yes, he is. He's also a Panthers fan. Can we get Roy's analysis then? So are you then, by that math. You're not a Panther fan, dude. You're rooting for them too. You're supposed to be a champion for this market. You've always been like the fan columnist. You're a Homer. You're a Dolphin fan. Look, boxing Roy out, and I feel bad about it. Okay, let's go to Roy. I agree. What are we going to Roy on? The game! The

the biggest game of our lives where is Roy I want to know like he covers a team David Dwork covers the team I want to know what the vibes are I want to know if this team that has never been this close if I can read into the fact that they've lost the two games and they've lost the two games on aggregate by a lot not by a little I want to know if what we saw through the regular season is going to play itself out or if that Edmonton team is too good and they figured something out

Roy, talk me off the ledge, pal. That's the nicest pal I've delivered today. Yeah, I'm sure it is. I found it interesting that Brandon Montour is not going to be on the power play line number one, considering that was his turnover that led to Connor Brown's breakaway goal shorthanded. So he's not going to be on that line. So I found that pretty interesting. And, of course, the lineup changed for the fourth line. Like, it...

Paul Maurice is making changes right now to his lineup, and he's trying to match up with the Oilers. And the Oilers still don't have Evander Kane, so that's going to be an interesting matchup. Just cut to it. Are they going to win tonight, Roy? Come on. Can you tell them to start Evander Kane?

I can't do that. The series turned when Invader came and was just like, I can't do it anymore. Wait, you just... Yeah, that's what things flipped. You stepped on Roy saying the very strong, not quite a guarantee of yes, I believe they will win, just sort of farted out of the side of his mouth. Do you think we're going to win? Say it similar bass in your voice. Yeah.

Yes. Yeah! Yes, there it is. Roy, can you give me with some bass in your voice the best and most positive of analysis that you would put together because you actually believe in this team? I was saying before you came on here that historically, if you are the best group of players, the best team that goes up 3-0, there is no coming back from that, even if you have Connor McDavid. So explain to us in your bassiest tone

tone why it is that the Panthers will win tonight. Well, I believe they will stay disciplined tonight. They will limit their penalties tonight, and the defense is going to come back and help Bob in this game. So that's why I believe the Panthers will win. There it is. Set it all. Set it all. There it is. Ladies and gentlemen, we sent him to Edmonton for that report. Not quite a guarantee, but the vibes are positive.

and Roy is positive. Keep up the good work, Roy. You're doing well. Yes, Roy. Where can people find you after the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers hold up the trophy tonight? Where can people find you and David Dwork immediately? I'm assuming that sometimes on a Friday that tonight would be one of the nights where people can find you after the game.

Well, we have the hockey show that is today that is going to air today. That's leading up to tonight's game. And then we got the postgame show, which will hopefully be uploaded sometime within the next week. In the next week? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe in the next week. Well, tonight would be a night to capitalize. Who knows? Okay, very good. Who knows?

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