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This is the Dan Ledbetter show with S2 got Sparkasse. My apologies, Christine, Lisa, we interrupted you. And finally, there are no squirrels in Hawaii. How about that? How about that? OK, put that on the pole gear Mileva talk show, did you know that there are no squirrels at Hawaii making it just like Augusta?

Think about it. It's in the middle of nowhere. How would they get there? How would they get there? Invasive species. Someone brings one over, but they're actually very strict in terms of what you can bring in the country. I always heard the urban legend was no snakes in Hawaii. They do have snakes, but snakes that they actually brought over for a purpose to eat another invasive species. So it's a it's a beautiful place.

But I've been to Hawaii. That's right. That's right. How did I keep myself if I had my buttons? I wanted to ask you guys.

After a very busy football weekend, you've got Kolby Covington saying that LeBron James is the spineless coward because that seems so strong no matter what. You're a bit. No, I mean, no matter what it is you're talking about and you can have your disagreements with any any number of LeBron James things, calling him a spineless coward seems to be escalating the rhetoric to an unnecessary place, which is on brand for Kobe Covington.

And he's going to make money this way because he is a talker and people will pay to watch the talkers either win and then be able to talk some more or lose, but spineless coward. You're doing that gratuitously just so that you can get clicks. It's why I think the whole act with him is an act. I don't believe that it's authentic. I believe he has realized there's money to be made here if I just continue to yap.

You think he thinks that LeBron really does have a has a spine and he's not a coward? Yes, I think spineless coward is just too strong a criticism of LeBron James does form a lot of super teams down.

I'm guessing that's probably not what he's calling him a spineless coward about. But my guess is that he also doesn't know any of the nuances of the issues about the thing that he is calling him a spineless coward.

Right. I also don't think he knows that LeBron built a school. Yeah.

And any number of things like that that he has done, although I guess spineless cowards can also build schools. But the thing that I wanted to ask you guys about LeBron James, because I really I'm asking this question totally, genuinely on my confusion. And I want to talk around this a little bit. Because I don't want to smoke out LeBron James, his kids. But what do I do with people shaming LeBron James as a father and how do I cover the sun when the Sun does something on social media that people can cluck about?

What do I do? Stuarts In terms of covering, we covered LeBron James since he was a kid. He has navigated the slalom course of fame through adulthood in a way that very few child stars are able to do. And his son now, by virtue of his own talents and who his father is right. Is a mini celebrity at a very young age. So when he does something, I'm not going to say what it is right now. I don't know what the rules are legitimately.

Don't know how I'm allowed to talk about this. I don't know if it's been on ESPN or whether ESPN has a do not report on it. I don't know. It's even as far as offenses go, it would be a minor offense. But when you're LeBron James in name, there is no such thing as a minor offense. Everything gets, you know, multiplied.

But you would rather people not reporting on the sun is what you're. So I don't know.

This is what I'm saying is I don't know. I have always known to not cover kids like adults. I have always been very gentle in my criticism of whatever college athlete mistake there has been because they are kids and they are not professionals. And I don't believe I believe that the professional athlete, when he signs that contract, one of the things that he gives up is the fairness of I'm not going to be treated the way that other people are because I am famous and I am signing away some of my rights here with that fame.

A lot of great stuff comes with that fame. But the downside is I'm a professional now and I represent the brand of uniform that I wear. And so that's where I've always drawn the line. LeBron James made it difficult a long time ago, being on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16 years old, showing up, you know, showing up to high school in clearly an automobile that had been bought against future earnings. But don't you think LeBron Brauneis fifteen now.

So do you think LeBron has had those conversations? Because LeBron is a super smart guy, very thorough guy, like don't you think he's had the conversations about, hey, you're my son, you're going to be covered in a way that that, you know, 15, 16 year olds are not going to be covered. It comes with the territory. They also get a lot of perks from it as well. The video was deleted. And I it seems like something not very smart to do.

If you're LeBron James, his son, it also seems like something a 15 year old who is coming into his own as an adult with his own fame. It it is also something a 15 year old would do if you had kids.

Wouldn't you tell your kids because you're famous, you're not LeBron famous, obviously, but you're famous, right? Like people recognize you. What do you mean? I don't know about the telling of the kids. Fifteen is a difficult age. You'd have to help me. You're the one with teen age. I tell my kids, hey, you have to operate by a different set of rules. Like there are certain things you could do that a representative me that might get me fired.

I know. I think all those things would only be Apple falling far, not very far from the tree. Like, I don't believe there are things your kids could do that would get you fired. I believe there are only things kids you could do.

Your kids could do this one to be able to blame them, just your reputation as a snake, to make me an old fogey, to think that regardless of where you fall on the actual doing of the thing that he did in that video, which we're talking very carefully about, I don't mind, because I'm too I'm sorry.

Look, let me explain to the audience this very clearly. It's it is a minor offense, no matter how it is that you want to literally in some state.

Yes. Well, it's not even an offense in some state.

But I'm I'm saying I don't know how to talk about it because of all of the layers that I'm talking. I think you should be careful just because of what it is and because it's the kid in the video. It's not an adult just yet. I think the posting of it is probably the worst thing, right? I mean, I'm applying my own moralities, but you may he may even have that agreement with his parents. You never know. But posting it is what's inviting all sorts of problems.

My apologies to the audience in the way that we have talked around. It's very poor now. Well, but, Mike, it's because I am telling you and I still don't have an answer to my question. Yeah, I'm telling you on the front end, I don't know how to talk about this and I don't know how to cover it. I don't know what is right. It's what's making it the conundrum for him.

If you saw it or if a trusted source told you about it, would you write about it? Would you report it? No, I would not.

Yeah, no, no one's told. No one's told me about this. I'm applying. I'm not really even considering what ESPN's rules are on it. I think we're applying our own rules because it's someone that's under the age of 18, it's someone's child and it is illegal at that age. So that is that is in any state, in any state, no matter what your arbitrary moralities are.

Deon Sanders has arrived at Jackson State. He is the head coach in Jackson State. Now, it was announced this week and he announced it via his podcast to to any amount. And he came in the way that you might expect. I was disappointed because there wasn't a limo showed up for his final games at FSU in a top hat, a tuxedo and a limo after getting a zero point zero grade point average because he had already turned pro and all the meaningful ways he showed up as the football coach, he showed up marching band in a place that you might not normally find a marching band and also with a police escort.

Motorcycles came into the auditorium first and then a police car.

It was all unnecessary, totally unnecessary. If your dad could have just sort of walked, all of it was hugely unnecessary. But then Don got out of the final car, which was not, unfortunately, his limousine. I've got no idea what the bronze kid did. Can someone tell me? It's a new season and it's sport clips, haircuts, all of our stylists are clean certified and guys smart. So come in and get yourself back in the game with our legendary MVP experience.

It's a man, Kaisha, with our hot steam towel, relaxing shampoo in a winning cut.

Check it online and walk out with confidence. Sport clips. It's good to be a guy. And you guys been like, hey, it's your homey, sorry, it's your home. I know you don't like it when I call myself your old man, so I have some favors to ask you. Could you get rid of a few chairs in the living room? My floorboards are tired.

Another easy thing.

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So the audience, the critics have arrived and they are not happy with the last segment that I did, the last segment I did was not good or good enough for them. And they are saying, Lebert tarde, why do you spend an entire segment telling us you don't know how to talk about something?

A It's a trick to talk about it.

B, I am tempted to double down and just spend this whole hour talking about things I don't know how to talk about because I could fill a garbage bag with all of the things that we could talk about here that I don't know how to talk. I could fill a garbage truck.

I mean, so why don't we go back to the original topic of where the hell did the middle linebacker go in the NFL like? That was a question I couldn't answer. So much of this show is I don't know how to talk about this thing over here. I don't know any of the measurements on Josh Allen. I dismissed him as an inaccurate, reckless quarterback, but I don't know if he's going to be any good or not. I really don't.

And you know what else?

Neither do the bills, unless you think we have no idea how to discuss things on the air. Only during the breaks I was asking, how do I break down the Browns this season? I've got no idea what kind of team they are.

That's right. In game one, they played a good team and they look terrible. In game two, they played a bad team and they look good.

The only thing I know how to talk about is the Jets. They're horrible. This is the thing, though. If you guys are going to criticize us fairly, by the way, for doing a segment that didn't meet your standards, because I don't know how to talk about something. I welcome you to how our entire network covers the NFL. Save for now NFL Live, because they've got some metrics, people on it. But we have been doing such a poor job over decades covering the sport of football because we haven't known how to do any of the value measurement.

So that fourth down talk that we've been doing for a decade has been groundbreaking radio because it actually applies some analytics to stuff.

I have something like I don't know how to discuss all the injuries that happen in the NFL yesterday, say KWAM Barkley out for the year. McCaffrey is out multiple weeks. Michael Thomas is going to be out. Is it because of a lack of preseason games? Not as much training camp I don't want to talk about because it's just football. I'll give you another one. Why is it in the bubble that some teams are better shooting than we've seen? I think it's because of sight lines and no fans and not tired because of no travel.

But I don't know how to talk about that.

You know, we can do we could do this for days, for months.

Kirk Cousins, I still don't know.

You know, Kirk Cousins put it on the pole. But Joe, do you know Kirk Cousins? Yes or no? Mike, you're going to say yes because he lost twenty eight eleven. But I saw him beat Drew Brees with a throw in overtime field. It was as good a throw as a quarterback can make. I feel like I know. But every time I feel like I know that he this is the part in the Kirk Cousins journey where he gives me a little bit of doubt.

It's an annual tradition unlike any other at this point. Well, are you talking about the Sammy Watkins week to injury? Well, that and figuring out whether or not Kirk Cousins is good. Sammy Watkins good. Are you sure it's good to see a buster? Is he good? Sometimes, yeah. I want an answer. Sammy Watkins. Good when he'll get to enjoy. If you do not sit on the. I don't know. I don't know.

What do you want help. You can't say. Somebody say we walked into and healthy together. He's never healthy. He sometimes good.

It is damn near impossible in that sport. I will ask the question again. Where'd the middle linebacker go? Where did the famous middle linebacker go? I miss my days of Mike Singletary and Zach Thomas. What happened?

I don't know. Can you tell me what's going on with the Chicago Bears?

I don't know. The Chicago Bears. What happened yesterday in their end zone?

They could just as easily be. I would, too. I mean, that sport is maddening.

It is in week one, Daniel Jones goes right down the field, third down play after third down play. It looked like a master class in how to play quarterback. And then he rolls to his left, his arm gets hit interception at the goal line. You're a failure. You're a bum fired. Gettleman Daniel Jones. Good. Doesn't look like it right now, right? I don't know.

But we do know some people are good, right? We know. We know the chiefs are good. We know that Patrick Mahomes is good. We know that the Seahawks are good. We know that Russell Wilson is good. We know that Aaron Rodgers is good. But do we know if the Packers are good or not?

We don't I don't know who do we know for sure is good. Do we know that the bills are good? Did you say the Ravens?

Yes, the Ravens are the Rangers. We know if the Steelers are. But but the Ravens are. Oh, wait, wait. Wait a second, though. If Lamar Jackson gets into the playoffs, will improve mode. Then what if Lamar Jackson gets hurt?

Mike Oh. Oh. What if Patrick Mahomes gets hurt?

Look at that is put to it. Yeah. Where do you come from? What happened there? Did you come from with oddly bad timing? My apologies, Christine Lacy, we interrupted you. And finally, big news that affects his daily breakfast Cracker Barrel is adding alcohol to the menu. So there you go, Dannion. You know, hunger keeps sneaking it at it.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Cracker Barrel. For answering all of my letters.

What's going on with the pipe in your mouth?

Bob Ryan joins us now, Boston Globe. We've got Celltex and he wed. Bob Ryan is a basketball historian. He knows more than you can possibly imagine about the sport. I'm genuinely curious whether you even like what's happening right now with all the three point shooting. Bob, it's such a distortion of the reasons that you you know, the reasons the Celtics were winning many, many years ago.

I'll try to be as polite as possible. It is a distorted game. The game has been completely distorted into something very different by the reliance on the three point shot. And I don't enjoy it visually, aesthetically as much as I once did. It doesn't mean I don't like basketball at all, but it is a different game and I'm having a hard time accommodating myself to it. That's the truth.

Bob, how do you feel about the lack of fans? Has that affected your your viewing experience? Does it feel like a real title run to me at least?

I think they've done a remarkable job in both football and basketball, particularly in basketball. I can't speak for hockey in recreating, you know, a full atmosphere to the degree that they have. I'm amused by the virtual fans. I think the noise thing has been intriguing. I salute them. I think that they've done as good a job as anyone could have asked them to do to to simulate not having fans. Of course, it's not the same, but I do think that they deserve commendation for their effort.

Who's better, Boston or Miami?

I think the Celtics are more inherently talented with more top shelf players. But that doesn't mean they're going to win this series necessarily, but they're back in it. You know, I've seen everything and all these years except in 03 in basketball, that's the one sport that we've had it in hockey. We've had it now in baseball, but we never had it in basketball coming back from 03. So it wouldn't even be a big shock to anybody if the Sonics come back to win.

But I think if I put it this way, guys, if they each play their A game, A plus game, the Celtics a A plus game is better than Miami's, but that doesn't mean they will play that game.

The game three result is about as predictable as basketball gets, is it not?

Ordinarily, when it comes matter of of back coming back home, you know, if you want to, but you're now coming back home. But that's off the board now because there is no home. And of course, there was a different dynamic here due to the Celtic explosion locker room, freakish, whatever it did actually take place after game. Isn't that stuff silly?

Bob, you've been covering this sport so long. Isn't that stuff silly? Silly, I know.

No, no, not really. I mean, here's a situation I think they have a belief and I think they felt they weren't playing up to they started I guess it was Marcus Smart felt that we weren't playing up to their potential and stop screwing around and let's go. Let's get going. Now, he, of course, was not guiltless. He had a sloppy pass in there that Butler picked often. And he wasn't 100 percent blameless there. But but I don't know.

Every once in a while, they're still there and they're not robots. They're still fallible human beings. And I think we never we should never lose sight of that. I understand.

But Bob Jaylen Brown, be more aggressive in a game three doesn't happen because Marcus Smart bothered him or yelled at him. That happened because Jayson Tatum is really good. And Game three, when a better team is down, how do you get desperation at the rim throughout the history of the sport? It's not because Marcus Smart yelled at him. Well, we need it.

It's all individual personalities. And Jayson Tatum apparently needs a little bit of reminder about what his full capabilities are. Sometimes that's all. And maybe that was the thing that did it. Now I see where you're going, but I'm just going to say it's not silly. It it's it's not out. It's nothing we haven't seen before in some somewhere along the way in all sports and even baseball, which is not the ultimate non team sport in terms of, you know, how it's put together, you still see that emotion comes into it.

No, you're right about the desperation of 02. I mean, that's clear that, you know, you don't in basketball ever want to get down 003, but you got to perform. You got to put the ball on the back. You can be emotional all you want, but you've got to put the ball in the basket. They want to put forward twenty point scores. And they did play, you know, and they did have to figure out a way to solve that zone defense.

And that's all. I mean, all I'm saying is this all is you want it to happen. The fact is that that they had to win that game. They had to win that game.

It had to save the series by being the basketball historian that you are. You know more about basketball than that, all of us. Who would you compare Jayson Tatum to?

Well, we're now in a new era of six, ten guys that do stuff that we used to, but it wasn't possible. Much more than six. Six. I don't know if I'm trying to think now a poor man's. Here you go. A poor man's Kevin Durant.

Take it. I'll take in there.

And actually maybe a better passer already. But, you know, Durant is a proven stud in the biggest with the biggest spotlight on him. Tatum hasn't proven to be that, but that's the physical talent that he possesses to be the next Kevin Durant. Right.

So God is dancing around the studio. Can you explain performance to him? Because I don't think that he understand what he's getting there. What what poor man Kevin Durant means. Not the red means not Kevin Durant. Well, close. It's not yet.

It was the of announcers off the top of my head. I wasn't prepared for that question, but suddenly it occurred to me, you know, the size, the dexterity, the ball handling ability to the shot range, the you know, and the ability to go to the basket or shoot. I mean, he's developing into a good defensive player, is becoming an excellent passer. That's that was my instant answer. Maybe upon further analysis, I think is somebody else.

Now, stay right there. The Bam block, where does it rank at the risk of offending your bill?

Russell SR1 First of all, there are two kinds of great blocks. It's the greatest block of its kind in context that I have ever seen in my life. That is the You ain't bought, you ain't dunking on me block. All right. That's opposed to the run down. Everybody talks about the LeBron James block against a good dollar, which they should. It was it was a contextual thing in the finals and it was a great, great play.

I reminded people or tried to remind them at the time. Yes, absolutely fantastic play. Bill Russell made it. No one knows how many times, including one famous one. You're talking about the greatest blocks of all time. And you talk to people who we got to live and breathe in, guys who were there, acoustician, heights, and both completely in command of their faculties at ages ninety two and eighty six, respectively. The greatest play they've ever seen in their lives was Bill Russell running down Jack Coleman in this game seven of the 1957 finals, when Russell, having just completed a basket at the UN, taking the momentum, a fast break layup, taking him off the floor, ran down a very good athlete with a half court spot and blocked the shot to save the game.

That is the greatest play in the history of the NBA finals. And LeBron James is his second.

We love you so much. Let's get him to explain some tweets. We don't have the normal imaging that we play here because of our computer malfunctioning. But let's get. Paul Ryan to explain some of his tweets, go ahead, got all right, anyone who played basketball at any level in the 50s and 60s who went behind the back for a pass or dribble was guaranteed to hear someone, usually a coach, say, who do you think you're are?

He was called Mister Basketball for a reason.

Yeah, that's exactly the truth. Bob Cousy that anybody that played basketball knows exactly the truth of what I just said. If you went behind the back or there were nobody went through the legs. No, that wasn't done. But he went behind the back in any way. It was who you think you are. CUZZI There's never been a reference point in the history of basketball to to equate it. There's nothing that has happened afterwards that no one's individual shot or move or cause that kind of universal, you know, reaction as to as Cuzzi did in the 50s had no choice but to break away to see Johnny Weir on Dancing with the Stars.

He was good. Not great. Now back to football.

Yeah, it's true. And I'm going to watch him tonight, too. And because it's Johnny Weir, for God's sake, he's one of the most interesting characters that's ever come across or been presented to us. And I wanted to see and I had watched Dancing with the Stars and I can't tell you maybe 10 years. I watched it faithfully the first three or four years, and then it got away from me. But I want to see Johnny Weir.

Yeah, Johnny Weir. So he was good. He wasn't great. But I just like you want to see what it's going to what kind of hair is he going to have? What's he going to wear. You mind if you've got. So yeah. That that doesn't deserve any, you know, defense.

I love Bob Ryan's perspective because look, after every shot people, whether it's into a wastepaper basket or a shot in a gym, people yell Kobe all the time. Now it's a it's a meme. Anthony Davis said Kobe after it should be guys, never entered a Honda. I think that person is so weird. If after a shot they talk, they would just go goose cuzzi.

He's not funny, right?

Although I've never heard it. I mean, and I don't think it should be Kobe that you think it should be it. Wait a minute. You know, but it shouldn't be there now.

And I don't think so, Larry. It should be Bill Russell.

Oh, no, no, Michael. You know, he's still he's still a gold standard. You know, Kobe's raised Kobe is the closest thing to Michael in style and competitiveness. But he ain't Michael. There's still only one.

Michael Chris Cody would like to see Bob Ryan on Dancing with the Stars, put it on the pole at the Taj. Would you like to see Bob Ryan? What what are you on about? Yes.

Well, the funny thing is, I guess I meant I in my youth, I was a tap dancer and I was the best tap dancing first baseman in the North Little League.

Oh, my God. I would pay good money to see you tap. I love this.

Oh, I still can do a soft shoe. It's very no problem, Bob.

You win. When the heat win, you give us a soft shoe. I think it's I think he enjoys doing it. We don't even know. Can we get a video Bob. Can we get a video of either of these things next time. All right. All right.

We need to get this. This is very exciting news. Thank you, Bob. Good talking to you.

All right, guys, always fun. Bye bye. Thank you, Bob. So, as you've probably noticed, a lot of sponsors where NASCAR at the moment, and so this is a very short segment here, but if you want to check out funniest thing from the sports weekend, we will do so in the post game show. Your best bet these days is to go and find wherever it is you do these things with your devices, the local power, the digital, our the post game show, and you will have the proper framing for what we do here for two hours on terrestrial radio.

I wanted to get to Virginia Tech and the fact that they don't they haven't started their season. Their coach is out here saying, I don't know, maybe we'll play, maybe I hope I've got enough players.

I don't I don't really know. And we're going to keep it moving. Two weeks of college football, none of the games have been between teams that you want playing each other.

Well, we all get excited when we see the Big Ten football schedule drop and it's condense eight weeks. But whatever. This is amazing. All big games. And we think they're all going to happen because why wouldn't they? These are big time football programs like BYU, Virginia Tech, that are having difficulty with these things. College Gameday is going to be broadcasting live from a site in which the head coach can't be there for one of the teams because he tested positive.

But we just keep it moving. Just keep it moving. What's the next big game? OK, that's fine. Georgia State will be on my TV.

The greed has never been laid. This naked bear never, never in my history covering sports.

But I will feel, I think, more normal this week of Auburn and Kentucky, of Miami and Florida State. Even though the coach is likely not going to be there, the head coach of Florida State is likely not is not going to be there. Yes, it would be a betrayal of standard protocol, but nothing would surprise me nowadays.

He might, right. He might just come out and say, look, important game. I mean, I understand. I understand everyone in the stadium might get sick. I would. It's Miami. I mean, come on. I got the Memphis. You are. We got to play Miami. It's early in my career. You guys understand, right? It'll be OK. And we'll be in the background counting our money as well in the media because we get to cover game.

A difficult start for Mike Norvelle over at FSU. If you just research it, this guy, I wish they were freezing cold, takes in the locker room because this guy was probably preaching accountability and how you hurt the team if you put yourself in bad positions and now he's tested positive.

Well, but I don't know. Wait a minute. I feel like that one's a little bit unfair. I feel like there can be people who are being responsible and can get the virus.

No, I don't know if this is a contact. Well, he tested positive. So I mean, yes and no because of how the ACC has talked. He hasn't bought up.

It's not as bad as George said.

I know wanting to suspend Rudy Gobert oh for things is better than getting sick. But he's still in trouble. It's it's in the realm though. I don't think you can get back. Can we assume that he was irresponsible.

I don't feel like we can assume that with an airborne virus none of us can see that have shut down the country for the last year.

Fine, but he's lost the locker room. You agree?

Time's an illusion. I'm confused. My weeks are incredibly long, but feel like they go by too fast. And he also lost a Georgia Tech. Oh, there was that as well. That's that's the start of his career. No bueno.