September 3, 2026 • 41 mins
Investigative reporter Pablo Torre of “Pablo Torre Finds Out” joins Dan to talk about the punishment handed down to the Clippers stemming from his detective work. Torre defends himself and his reporting and explains how the NBA found this evidence. NBA insider Brian Windhorst talks to Dan about the implications for the Clippers from this investigation, the corruption that went into the Clippers arena and the implications for Kawhi Leonard, Steve Ballmer and the rest of the NBA.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Final hour on this Thursday, Dan and the Danettes, Dan
Patrick Show. Pulitzer Prize winner Pablo Torre. He will join
us coming up after the NBA dropped the hammer on
the Clippers yesterday. And is there more to come? Brian
Winhorst of the Mothership will stop by in the final
hour of the program. Fritzie is here. We found out
(00:26):
he has four stitches. He didn't realize he had four stitches,
but the bandage is off, and Todd is here.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Full strength-ish.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
I don't like to look at that stuff. Even though
I've been through far worse than a little finger surgery,
it's just kind of gross seeing those black stitches.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Dylan is here, Marvin, and Big Day Ray.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
You're right.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
I was going to just ramble on endlessly about my stitches.
No one needs to hear that. That's not why they're
tuning into the Dan Patrick show.
Speaker 5 (00:53):
Continue introducing everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Big Day Ray is here because Paul is prepping for
his show, the Not So Fast with Pabst and Perloff.
That'll be after this show at noon Eastern on Peacock.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Yes, Marvin. Yeah, this hour might be tough for you.
There's no Paulie and four guests Fritzie.
Speaker 6 (01:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
We already talked to Mike Tomlin, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti.
You got Brian Windhorst. You got Pablo Torre. And Todd
is for guest Fritzie. Stat of the Day brought to
you by Panini America, the official trading cards of the
Dan Patrick Show. Next Saturday, the Premier League has Hull
City against Aston Villa. They kick it off at 1230
(01:31):
Eastern on NBC and Peacock, which is where you can
find this program. Or if you're listening on our over
400 radio stations around America, we say good morning. A
poll question for the final hour of the program is
going to.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Be what, Dylan?
Speaker 7 (01:47):
Well, what should Kawhi Leonard's punishment have been? We've obviously
debated that. We have some options, Dan, if you'd like them.
Speaker 6 (01:54):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (01:55):
Find the approximate total amount he made off the books.
Speaker 6 (02:00):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (02:01):
Have to stay with the Clippers. Or, and I like
this one, Marvin and I were in agreement, actually go
plant the trees that he said he was planting.
Speaker 6 (02:11):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (02:12):
Which actually, they should just plant a tree instead of
a statue for him outside the stadium.
Speaker 6 (02:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
I don't think he gets statue-worthy.
Speaker 6 (02:19):
Tree-worthy.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
He'll get one in Toronto.
Speaker 7 (02:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Is the Raptors over-under? Did it change, Ray, after they
made this, I guess, official? Now the punishment's over and
Kawhi can go to Toronto?
Speaker 8 (02:32):
I think the sportsbooks have been expecting this, but their
over-under this year is 45.5.
Speaker 6 (02:36):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (02:36):
What was it last year? I'm checking right now.
Speaker 6 (02:42):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I don't know how much this changed. Todd, is Pablo there?
Speaker 4 (02:47):
He sure is.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
All righty.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Pablo Torre, journalist, podcaster, host of Pablo Torre Finds Out
with Metal Ark Media. Well, you did find out, but
I'm curious through all of this, any doubts along the
way of your reporting? If your ESPN comes out with
an article recently, hearing from the Clippers, hearing from other people,
(03:10):
Any doubts? Any conversations with the wife at night of, uh-oh?
Speaker 9 (03:16):
The doubts were, hey, we're still going to be married
at the end of this, right? Because you're on the
phone talking to sources all of the time that you
say are very important. And we're at the beach with
our daughter on your quote-unquote vacation. That was the doubt.
But In truth, those sources were right the whole time, Dan.
The thing that was interesting yesterday, and many things were
(03:38):
interesting yesterday, was just what the NBA would do about it.
And that's what we found out, is what does the
internal politics of league governance look like when you have
a scope that leads to a rabbit hole that has
four separate companies in it, manufactured paper trails, fake jobs,
not just for Kawhi Leonard, but for the companies, like
(03:58):
fake consulting jobs for the companies that funneled money to
Kawhi Leonard through the Clippers, as well as those companies.
And you have now, as of yesterday, an SEC, Securities
and Exchange Commission, not Southeastern Conference, SEC investigation into the
scoreboard company that, according to the NBA, got the deal
(04:20):
to build the Halo board in Intuitome because they were
willing to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
That's what the NBA could not deny. What did you
make of the punishments? I thought that it could have
been more. And I think that it is two things.
Speaker 9 (04:39):
The biggest punishment for an owner that we've ever seen
in American sports, I think, when you account for the
fact that it is Steve Ballmer banned from the building
for a year, his head of business banned from the
building for a year, his head of basketball banned... from
the building for six months because Lawrence Frank, that basketball
ops president, participated and provided contemporaneous notes to the NBA,
(05:02):
by the way, a whole other rabbit hole of like,
why was Lawrence Frank taking notes during the cap circumvention
meetings in which he is quoting the thanks to the
NBA's investigators, Steve Ballmer talking about how he's going to
service Dennis Robertson and Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the cap.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
Why was that there? Interesting. $ 30 million is.
Speaker 9 (05:25):
Change to a guy with $ 145 billion, depending on Microsoft stock.
But the thing about The scope and the vastness of it,
the five first-rounders, I mean, I just, I think it
was unprecedented in that regard, but also because it was
narrow in scope. There are names in this report that
we have been talking about for a year that did
(05:46):
not show up. There is a line that Wachtell Lipton,
the law firm, put in. Their investigation is ongoing. They
are still receiving tips. As recently as Just weeks ago,
they are still investigating. It's only the beginning somehow, which
is kind of the through line of the whole thing.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Can you give me best guess of what you think
could be next involving the Clippers?
Speaker 9 (06:11):
Well, let's just take Steve Ballmer at his word. He
has written a letter via his very expensive attorneys to
Adam Silver blaming Clippers. this podcaster for getting the NBA
to do a prejudiced investigation. And at first, after the
ruling came out, he threatened arbitration. But this is something
that's very interesting that I don't know if people appreciate
(06:31):
about what the NBA did. When the NBA tried to
settle with Steve Ballmer and they said, hey, we have
a narrow scope. We have undeniable evidence. We want to
just make sure that you have the opportunity to take
your punishment, admit wrongdoing and let us all move on.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Steve Ballmer, according to everything that we've.
Speaker 9 (06:48):
Seen now play out in public after that ESPN story
two weeks ago, decided to fight, decided to mount his
own campaign. And the NBA said, well, in that case,
we're going to do something that perhaps caught Steve Ballmer
by surprise. They found a way to settle with Kawhi
Leonard and the Players Union. Why is that important? When
Kawhi gets a slap on the wrist, that's where the
(07:10):
slap on the wrist was, Dan, by the way. $ 700, 000.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
For Kawhi Leonard. Again, historically, that's quite a bit.
Speaker 9 (07:16):
But in terms of the role he had in the
whole story, that's a slap on the wrist. He can
now go on to Toronto and the betting lines can
adjust based on that. If Toronto wants to go through
with this, not knowing what else is in the box.
Speaker 6 (07:28):
I digress.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
They got Kawhi to settle.
Speaker 9 (07:32):
And in the NBA, what Adam Silver knows better than
Steve Ballmer and his lawyers know apparently is that arbitration
can only be activated by the union. And so arbitration,
because of that settlement, is off the table. Can't go
to arbitration. What can Steve Ballmer do? He can literally
sue the NBA.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
He can sue Adam Silver. He can sue me. He
can sue Wachtell Lipton. He can sue you. He can
sue everybody.
Speaker 9 (07:58):
And that opens the door to, spoiler alert, more discovery
of documents.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Could he have mitigated, like how much damage could he
have mitigated by just saying to the commissioner, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
I fall on my sword.
Speaker 9 (08:20):
Something that was really interesting in this Wachtell report was
how much the NBA leaned on the interview he did
with ESPN and Ramona Shelburne the day after part one
of my story came out. When Steve Ballmer went on air,
and it is so interesting, if you guys have some
free time, if you want to, you know, threaten your
own marriages, go rewatch that game film sometime. Take time
(08:43):
out of your day to rewatch what Steve Ballmer did
after knowing what he actually did. And you will see
that he is lying repeatedly. And once he does that,
and he's on the record lying in public... about what
happened here, the NBA now has the ability to fact
check as I did, as I have been doing this
whole time. And because he decided to fight from day one,
(09:04):
as opposed to what you suggest, which is say, I
am horrified by what I tried to do.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
I love basketball too much.
Speaker 9 (09:11):
I wanted the thing that I know I can't have,
even though I'm the richest owner in sports. And I
am so humiliated by this. And I want to put
this behind me and move on. I don't think we're here.
I don't have a 15-part series. I may not have
a Pulitzer Prize. The NBA might not have a 35-page
legal report. Steve Ballmer may not pay $ 50 million, as
(09:33):
he has now said, for the legal investigation into him,
which is what has happened.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
It's crazy. That was the fork in the road, and
he chose, I would say, to not tell the truth.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
We're talking to Pablo Torre, the journalist, podcaster, host of
Pablo Torre Finds Out with Metal Ark Media. This isn't
the first time that this has happened with an owner.
It won't be the last, but I'm just surprised it
hasn't come up before. Now, I know that Balmer tried
to do this with DeAndre Jordan, which doesn't help his
(10:05):
case in this situation. But do you think that this is,
how prevalent do you think this has been? And is
there anything that you're interested in that might be going
on akin to this of circumventing the salary cap?
Speaker 9 (10:21):
You got me to do it one time, and I said,
what about a certain player who plays in a city
where I may be living right now? And I said that,
and I've been trying to manage the expectations ever since.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Stan, I see what you're doing. You're a clever interviewer.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
But are you looking into the Knicks and Jalen Brunson?
I am not focusing on the.
Speaker 9 (10:43):
What do they say when you're an ESPN employee and
you're trying to break graphics without breaking graphics? You say,
I am not currently targeting. I am not currently looking into.
I'm not currently circling Jalen Brunson and the Knicks.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
I have had all sorts of calls about so many teams.
Speaker 9 (11:01):
I've talked to people on the Knicks about all of this,
and they're just not the focus because we have other
things that are, by the way, coming very soon that
are in the vein of what are billionaires who run
sports trying to get away with using your money? And
I will leave it there just for now, because I
think we got to button some stuff up, but that's, there's,
let me say this soon on the show, we will
(11:23):
start a new series and that new series will speak
to a lot of the themes and even more, I think, uh,
even greater complications for what the everyday person in America
should be worried about.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
And so what did Ballmer do here? What makes this
one special?
Speaker 9 (11:41):
He had the ambition of creating a scheme that is
beyond what other owners have attempted. That much I'm very
comfortable saying. This is the furthest point in the spectrum
of attempted salary cap circumvention.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
People do it by degree. No one did it by
this order of magnitude.
Speaker 9 (12:03):
And that's why the NBA, which wanted to make everybody
stop talking about this.
Speaker 5 (12:08):
It's why they had to do the thing we saw yesterday.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
How does ESPN go with the story with their finest
investigative reporters that basically exonerated the Clippers and Steve Ballmer?
I mean. I, for 15 parts a year, did, of course,
the other thing. I found sources, whistleblowers, documents who were
willing to tell the truth. What was left open, if
(12:36):
you think of all of this as sports, right? What's
left available as territory for us to claim? What ESPN
apparently saw was the Clipper side of the story. And
the NBA immediately, within an hour, refutes it vociferously with
Mike Bass's name attached, Dan, and you know how rare
that is. for there to be a byline on a
statement that says significant and numerous inaccuracies. And what ESPN
(12:59):
had done, according to my reporting, is they were fed
a story by the Clippers that the Clippers may have
known was not true.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
And why do you do that?
Speaker 9 (13:11):
Well, perhaps it's because that's the available territory that you have,
having been beaten before.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
On the other part of this landscape.
Speaker 9 (13:17):
Perhaps you really believed it because the Clippers look you
in the eye and for months or a year said
to you, we're telling the truth, that annoying clout-chasing podcaster
is lying to you. And at a certain point, it's
a test. Do you choose to believe the evidence, the sources,
the journalism, or do you try to get a win
(13:38):
even when the game's already over?
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Do you care? Have you received an apology from ESPN?
Speaker 5 (13:45):
You know what's interesting?
Speaker 9 (13:46):
I submitted, I was told after the story published, hey,
if you want to have a comment here, because this
is effectively refuting your whole deal here, we'll include.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
A statement from you.
Speaker 9 (14:00):
And so I submitted a statement, and I'll just paraphrase it.
It was, we stand by our reporting, and we look
forward to the NBA's ruling. Our investigation continues. For whatever reason,
ESPN did not include it. And so I don't expect
an apology. I don't expect anything.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Nor do I think I even need or deserve one, right?
Speaker 9 (14:22):
Like, I'm a big boy, as they say. I just
wonder why it happened like this. Because in this story,
a story of no alternate rational explanations, it sure seems
to me, based on my reporting, that they got fed
a story by the people who were lying to everybody
(14:42):
this whole time.
Speaker 5 (14:43):
And I got implicated as a result of it. How
much money did Kawhi Leonard make off the books, in
your opinion?
Speaker 9 (14:50):
So I'll tell you factually what I know and what
I don't. So Aspiration has a total value of $ 48 million.
Now let's bring in the other companies, right? Boingo Wireless.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Of course.
Speaker 9 (15:03):
Which is just funny because, of course, the wireless provider
of the Intuit dome is giving Kawhi Leonard payments off
the books.
Speaker 5 (15:12):
Of course, Daktronics, the scoreboard operator, is. Of course, Lockton Insurance,
the insurance company on the construction of the dome, is
doing the same thing, Dan. Wow. Those three companies, according.
Speaker 9 (15:24):
To the NBA's investigation through 2021, guaranteed $ 18 million to
Kawhi Leonard.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
So doing the math, that's $ 66 million.
Speaker 6 (15:28):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Only through, let's call it 2022.
Speaker 9 (15:34):
He re-signs with the Clippers, as I've said before on
my show, in January of 24 for a discount.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
A discount. Less than the max. Why and what happened there?
Speaker 9 (15:49):
And so you're at 66 million plus. I've told the story,
the beginning of it, around the Rhode Island Football Club.
Started in LLC, in which he got secret undisclosed equity
the week before he signed the extension. And I ask,
as always, what else was there? And I have a feeling,
as always, that there is more.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Congrats.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
It's been a long process there. And at least you
get a trophy. You get something the Clippers don't have.
You get a trophy.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
You know, I wasn't going to make the joke, but
I'm glad you did.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Pablo.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Pablo Torre. He won a Pulitzer Prize. I think it's
a trophy.
Speaker 6 (16:34):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
I haven't even seen a Pulitzer. Is it a statue?
Is it a plaque? Maybe some of my best people
could get on that right now. A ribbon? Wait, Pablo.
okay what i.
Speaker 9 (16:49):
Hope i don't i don't admittedly i've become known now
for my investigations i don't know what this looks like
either which is perhaps embarrassing but my hope is that
it's a karate trophy oh i want a big karate
trophy with a karate man on the top because i
only was a white belt and i've been chasing that
high ever since so that'd be nice.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
You might need that white belt You're going to.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Need a black belt.
Speaker 6 (17:15):
You know what?
Speaker 9 (17:16):
The more questions you ask about Jalen Brunson, the more
martial arts training.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I'm going to need in New York City, Dan. You
brought up Jalen Brunson again.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
You pesky journalist with your questions.
Speaker 6 (17:27):
Yeah. All right.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I'm not winning a Pulitzer.
Speaker 6 (17:30):
All right.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
That's Pablo Torre. Did a great job. All right. Let
me take a break.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Brian Windhorst, we'll talk the basketball angle of this coming
up with Wendy after this.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
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Speaker 3 (17:50):
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Speaker 3 (18:20):
More phone calls coming up.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Stat of the Day brought to you by Panini America,
the official trading card of the Dan Patrick Show. ESPN
senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst joining us. Wendy, great to
talk to you. Is there any way the Clippers can
mitigate any of this damage moving forward?
Speaker 11 (18:41):
Absolutely. You know, number one, they can drop their chance of,
you know, threats of legal action because I don't think
it's going to be successful. And, you know, they really
need this Kawhi Leonard trade to go through that they
negotiated with the Raptors as constituted because they're going to
(19:02):
get two first round picks for him. And, you know,
in the case of the Minnesota Timberwolves situation, and I
think It's really reasonable to point that out because obviously
it's the one comparable incidence in history. They were docked
five first-round draft picks, just like the Clippers. And when
the Timberwolves kept their noses clean and stayed on the
(19:23):
straight and narrow, David Stern ended up giving them back
two of the picks. And that happened over a five-year span.
They were hit with the picks immediately over the following
five years. In this case, the picks are starting, the
penalties start in 29. They go out to 34. Who's
to say that by 2031 or 2032, if the Clippers
(19:45):
keep their nose clean, they won't be able to get
some of that you know, one or two of them back.
That's something that you can, you know, talk about off
the record right now. And so in the case of
the Timberwolves, Joe Smith's contract was vacated.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
It was voided.
Speaker 11 (20:01):
He was a free agent. In this case, the Clippers
are permitted to keep the player with no significant penalty.
They can trade him and get assets back for him.
Not only that, but the length of the investigation the
Clippers used in their favor. They were able to make
moves that landed them the number five pick in this
year's draft and the ability to negotiate this Kawhi trade
(20:21):
without a suspension hanging over his head. So they are
in a lot better position to absorb this than they
would have been if this was handled differently. And while
I understand that hell hath no fury like an angry
billionaire with $ 100 billion.
He probably should listen to a little bit of reason
(20:42):
because the league said, or at least the report said,
that this investigation isn't over. They left open the possibility
there could be more. So, yeah, I think obviously there's
a shock in the announcement and there's a shock when
you read all the details. When you get past it,
I think the Clippers can mitigate this in a way
(21:03):
that can... I see people referencing a death penalty. It's
not a death penalty, Dan. They didn't give them a
playoff ban. They're still going to have cap space this summer.
They're still going to have, Dan, they have a first
round pick in the 2027 draft. They didn't take it.
It's a swapped pick. They're going to swap it. I
think with Denver, Oklahoma City, it's probably not going to
(21:24):
be a good pick. They have a draft pick in 2027.
So this is, it's bad. It's a blow. You know,
you're losing a limb, but this is not a death penalty.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Billionaires usually don't get told what to do. So I'm
sure that Steve Ballmer is surrounded by people who tell
him what he wants to hear. But at some point,
you have to. I mean, they Lawrence Frank was taking
notes in the meeting about circumventing the salary cap. Like,
at what point do you say, hey, I'm impenetrable, or
(22:00):
the commissioner needs me, or I'm so– like, I don't
know if there's arrogance involved in this that led him
down this path.
Speaker 11 (22:09):
Well, I don't have, you know, omnipotent understanding of everybody's
feelings on this. But what it looks to me like,
based on this array of statements yesterday– and the Clippers
put out a public statement and then released a two-page
angry letter to Adam Silver. There's a lot of copy
generated yesterday– it looks to me like what they are
focusing on is a legalese situation about how the arrangements
(22:34):
were made. Like, no, no, we didn't facilitate the deals.
We just acted as middleman. And that seems to be
their legal argument and where they're ready to go to
battle on. But Dan, here's the thing. He didn't do
any work for these companies. He didn't do the endorsements.
He didn't do ads. He didn't do any of it.
(22:55):
You don't have to have next-level understanding of all this
stuff to understand that it reeks of quid pro quo.
And what we didn't understand until yesterday was that this
was four companies, four of them. And, Dan, I don't know.
Two of the companies openly cooperated, Aspiration and Daktronics. Now,
(23:19):
Aspiration cooperated. And even the report says that the guy
who's in the federal penitentiary is not credible.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
And I agree.
Speaker 11 (23:25):
I don't find him credible. So they're kind of even,
I mean, they put it in there, but they're kind
of ignoring him. But they had Daktronics. Daktronics copped to it.
They openly said what happened. And I get why they're
saying it, because their CEO yesterday had an earnings call
and said that the SEC is on their backside. Like,
this is not to be messed around with. Plus, They
(23:49):
sell scoreboards. Do you want to be in business with
the NBA if you sell scoreboards? I think you do.
So they cooperated. But here's the thing, Dan. These investigators
had the data and the money for all four companies.
How'd they get it if two of the companies didn't cooperate?
They had internal whistleblowers participating. They had the dollars, Dan.
(24:12):
They knew exactly how much was paid. So these companies...
didn't do any ads with Kawhi. He didn't act as
an endorser. So this is a thing like Steve Ballmer
or another owner could look at you square in the
face with their hand on the Bible and say, we
have the agents for our superstar players on our backside
all the time about getting them deals, getting them endorsements.
(24:36):
Absolutely that happens. And absolutely there's teams out there that
have acted as middlemen. In fact, there may have been
teams out there that have acted as more than middlemen.
But those players, to our knowledge at least, are doing
the endorsement contracts. Like when you see the star player
doing a deal with the team sponsor, he's at least
out there with his face on it. The reason this
(24:58):
is so repugnant is that it just is very cleanly
obvious that it was a kickback. Because in this case,
in 2019, they didn't just sign Kawhi Leonard. They were
also building the arena. And so that meant there was
a whole bunch of vendors and companies that they were
doing hundreds of millions of dollars in business with that
(25:19):
they don't normally do. You don't build an arena every year.
You don't buy a $ 100 million scoreboard every year. But
this year, they were building the $ 100 million scoreboard. And
Pablo Torre and Hunterbrook Media went and dug into that
Daktronics was struggling at the time. I don't need to
go into all the details. This report... If you were
on a jury and you didn't know anything about basketball,
(25:41):
you didn't know whether the Clippers played in Los Angeles
or London, if you got this report and you read it,
you would vote to convict. I don't think it's even
really close.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
How did Kawhi kind of skirt?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I know it's $ 700, 000, but I thought he was going
to get suspended or they would void his contract.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
What about you?
Speaker 11 (26:02):
Well, I think there was two reasons. Well, I would
say this. There's probably some unknown reasons that we don't know.
I'll just leave it at that. The second thing is
when you have a disciplinary action with a player, there's
an arbitration process spelled out in the collective bargaining agreement.
(26:23):
The arbiters are already picked. The process is set out.
And you're going to have to present evidence and potentially
do interviews and stuff like that. You have to go
to court. And I'm not sure that the that the
investigators had the documentation where they could win an arbitration
against Kawhi Leonard. I do think they felt like they
had the documentation to go against Jillian Zucker and Steve Ballmer.
(26:45):
And so basically the burden of proof with Kawhi was
much higher. But I'm not going to say.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
More than that. You know more than that.
Speaker 11 (26:57):
I don't know. I speculate.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
I'm not going to get into that.
Speaker 6 (27:00):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
I always find this tricky that You know, whenever I
have a source, you always have to wonder what if
the source has an agenda. And I don't know how
you navigate this. Now, first 10 years at ESPN, you know,
it was pretty powerful place even then. And then I
never questioned as much as I should have. What is
(27:23):
somebody's agenda here?
Speaker 3 (27:25):
And I don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
How do you navigate if somebody gives you the information of. OK,
do I trust them? Can I go with this? You know,
like Pablo Torre. He's one guy going against very powerful
person here and didn't back down. But you also have
to wonder about that source or sources. What's their agenda?
Speaker 11 (27:44):
Yeah, it's an absolute the complex web that we operated
in the modern era. This is absolutely a factor. And
you try to do your best as the either you
try to do your best.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
You don't.
Speaker 11 (27:56):
That's the basic way you can say it. I mean,
even a moment ago, I praised Hunterbrook Media. Hunterbrook Media
has done a bunch of investigations. I don't know if
you're familiar with them. They're a new media company, and
Pablo has partnered with them. Hunterbrook Media is a hedge
fund-backed media source. They do investigations and then oftentimes short
(28:20):
the companies that they do the investigation against, which they disclose, right?
And I'm just telling you that they did great work here.
But they have an inherent conflict of interest. So, yeah,
it's a hard thing to figure out, which is why
(28:41):
a lot of people end up stepping in quagmires. And
caution doesn't always win the day. Um, sometimes people who
are cautious get, get, get rolled over. This particular situation
is extremely thorny and this is an imperfect response. The
NBA is not going to be able to get up
because it's so nuanced. Um, that's why I think the
Clippers are so mad because I think the Clippers feel
(29:05):
like they were dancing within the rules here and they
feel like they can more to the point. they feel
like they can prove that we can dance within the rules.
And the league is basically saying, we don't think you can.
I think the last one of the public statements that
the Clippers made was so telling during this process. They said,
we are not guilty of what we are accused of.
(29:31):
It's a loaded sentence. So you get into situations like that. Look,
I have spent a lot of hours in the last
couple of weeks reading legal documents, Dan, while covering the
NBA with the whole Buss family and now the Clippers.
This is the era that we're in, is that I've
got to read all these legal documents to cover the NBA.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Talking to Brian Wendhorst of The Mothership, what happens with
the Lakers with the Buss family?
Speaker 11 (29:57):
Well, the gigantic difference between a year ago when the
Lakers sold and then this time, and this is elementary,
but it needs to be pointed out, is that a
year ago, the buses had majority control. And now they
do not. And when you are a minority shareholder, you
are exactly that. You don't get to have say. Now,
(30:20):
Jeannie Buss' standing is a little bit different. She is
the governor. But she, as the governor, you serve at
the pleasure of the controlling owner. And so the Lakers
controlling ownership is going to change hands whether the Buss
family can get their act together or not. And whether
Jeannie has the title of governor or not, the controlling owner,
(30:42):
which is going to be Josh Kushner, assuming that he
completes it. And I think Bob Iger is going to
be the managing partner. They're going to have control over
the Lakers because they don't need the 17%. The Buss
family drama is amazing. There has been two television shows
in the last five years about the Buss family, one directly,
(31:04):
the HBO show, the second one, Running Point. The Netflix show,
which Jeannie made, was really about her. It was based
on her life. And neither of those shows will be
anywhere near as good as the true story of what's
happening within that family drama. It is incredible palace intrigue.
But they no longer have control over the Lakers. And
so it will remain palace intrigue. It won't affect the
(31:26):
decisions with the basketball team.
Speaker 6 (31:28):
$ 12.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
5 billion. What do you make of that price tag?
Speaker 11 (31:32):
I make that Jeannie Buss sold low so that she
could get a sweetheart deal for herself because I think
$ 10 billion was low. And I'll tell you this, I
can't predict the future. I wouldn't sit here and try
to guess the macroeconomic future of the country. But my
guess is that the $ 12 billion purchase will not end
up being a bad one. And here's something else. Bob
(31:56):
Iger and Josh Kushner were trying to buy the team
in Vegas. And the thought process was that that was
going to cost maybe $ 8 or $ 9 billion.
Speaker 7 (32:06):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (32:08):
And maybe more.
Speaker 11 (32:08):
Maybe it'll end up being more. I don't know the answer.
But that was about what people thought it was going
to cost. So they were trying to raise $ 8 or
$ 9 billion. This is what you have to understand. When
you hear that the Lakers sell for $ 12 billion, they're
not actually selling for $ 12 billion. They're buying about 73%
of it at the $ 12 billion valuation, which means that
(32:29):
they're going to be paying about $ 8 or $ 9 billion.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
Okay?
Speaker 6 (32:32):
So.
Speaker 11 (32:33):
Yeah, they only have 73%, but they're controlling it. So
what would you rather have, Dan?
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Would you rather.
Speaker 11 (32:41):
Spend the same amount of money to own the Vegas,
this name goes here, or the Los Angeles Lakers?
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Is LeBron still in the hunt for the expansion team?
Is he allowed to have his name involved in this?
Speaker 11 (32:57):
So he has openly said that he is no longer
pursuing that. Two things happened. I think, number one, LeBron
was never going to be able to be the controlling
owner of a team. He has done fabulously well. His
net worth is north of a billion dollars. A billion dollars,
even if he sold everything, doesn't get it done. And
(33:18):
even two or three years ago, when he was really
looking at this, it was still going to take in the...
So you needed a partnership where you would partner with
somebody who had a giant piece of money that would
be your partner. His partners with Jerry Cardinal and the
Fenway Sports Group, those were the groups he was in
business with. They have backed away from NBA ownership. In fact,
(33:39):
Fenway is divesting. They just sold a big portion of Liverpool.
They're selling. Jerry Cardinal has gone on the record a
number of occasions saying he thinks prices for NBA teams
are too high. So his preferred partners were not looking
like they were going to bid on Vegas. So that
was one of the things that happened. I mean, he
(33:59):
could have found other partners, but that's one thing that happened.
The second thing is he's still being a great basketball
player and he's still able to continue to play and
he's not retired at age 41. So he's going to
keep playing. The expansion teams are probably going to get named,
and he's going to miss that window. But I'll tell
you this. If you think LeBron's done trying to be
an owner or trying to have heavy involvement in the NBA,
(34:19):
he's not. His life has many decades left in it.
His influence is going to be on. It's just not
going to be with this particular expansion deal.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Always great. I know you're busy. Thank you, Wendy.
Speaker 4 (34:30):
Thanks, Dan.
Speaker 11 (34:30):
Have a good day.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
That's Brian Windhorst of the Mothership. Take a break. Last
call for phone calls. What we learn, what's in store
tomorrow after this.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at FoxSportsRadio.com. And
within the iHeartRadio app, search FSR to listen live.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Last call for phone calls, what we learned, what's in
store tomorrow. Pabst and Perloff, if you're watching on Peacock,
that'll be coming up top of the hour. Dan Orlovsky
is going to join us tomorrow. Orlovsky came out, and
I think he said that Matthew Stafford, if he wins
(35:09):
another Super Bowl, could be a top five quarterback of
all time. I know he loves Matthew Stafford from his
time in Detroit, but okay.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Well, that's why we'll have him on. Yes, Todd?
Speaker 4 (35:22):
I think our friend Nick Wright, among others, had a
big problem with that take.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Ross Tucker will join us on the program tomorrow as well.
We're going to be talking football.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Yeah, football.
Speaker 6 (35:31):
Yeah, Dylan.
Speaker 12 (35:32):
I will say to the Matthew Stafford point, he survived
a long time in Detroit, which I think he should
actually get bonus points for on top of the later
success that he's had. What he did there was actually impressive.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Kirk in L.A. Hi, Kirk. What do you have for me?
Speaker 6 (35:50):
Hey, Dan. As a long-time suffering Clipper fan, I know
Wendy just said that this is not a death blow,
but it certainly feels like one. But my question is,
and I know you touched on it, is this ESPN article.
(36:10):
You know, so much was made about it last week,
and Ramon is in the byline, all kinds of heavyweight people. Yet,
you know, he's just like, oh, well, they got the,
you know, information fed to them by the Clippers. And
I just feel that, you know, it's going to get
swept under the rug. But, you know, they're the worldwide leader,
(36:31):
and clearly they got it wrong.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
Well, I think this is what I don't understand.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
Let's say Steve Ballmer hand-delivers you all this information. You
get access. He's saying, I didn't do it. And you
believe him. You at least have to run it by
somebody on the other side. You at least have to
run this by the NBA. Look, you've got decorated reporters.
You know, these investigative reporters. And if you're only going
(37:01):
to sit on one side and you did not do
your due diligence. But when it came out, it's like
basically Ballmer and the Clippers are totally exonerated. And I'm
thinking there is there's no way the commissioner is going
to come out of this with nothing, because then it'll
really look bad that you sided with the richest one
(37:22):
of the richest men in the world. that there had
to be something there. And having spoken to Pablo Torek,
I knew there were things there. I didn't know the
agenda of his sources, but so what? There are times
when somebody is going to give you information about somebody else.
(37:42):
Then you have to kind of play referee. You go, okay,
is this real? Is this person going out of their
way because they don't like this coach or this player,
this school? And it took me a long time to
get people who, in my opinion, don't have agendas to
(38:02):
be hurting people as much as enlightening me on what
is going on. That's all I've ever asked. I don't
need to break stories. It's a pain in the butt
when you break a story and then you've got to
answer to everybody. And I'm like, I don't need to.
I mean, go back to when I said the Big
Ten was going to be shutting down football during COVID-19. Oh,
(38:24):
the college football insiders came after me. You know, stick
to your job. Bobby, you know, I'm going, okay. Playoff expansion,
when I brought that up. So that's information not to
hurt anybody. That's information to enlighten you. But, you know,
I've been used before a couple of times when it
(38:46):
comes to somebody telling me something about somebody. And, you know,
I learned, you know. Brian in Texas. Hey, Brian, what
do you have for me today?
Speaker 6 (38:59):
Hey, DP. Hey, I just want to tell you real quick.
Speaker 13 (39:02):
You know how we talk about how athletes, they're transitional superstars.
Speaker 6 (39:07):
I just want to say you are a transitional superstar
in what you do. Oh, thank you. Like from yesterday, that.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Was very cool. Thank you. I had a.
Speaker 6 (39:15):
Shirt idea for Todd, if you don't mind.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
Yes.
Speaker 7 (39:18):
All right, Todd.
Speaker 6 (39:21):
I got Toddy, Toddy, Hoddy.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Party hottie.
Speaker 6 (39:31):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (39:34):
How about that, Todd?
Speaker 4 (39:36):
That's pretty good. I don't know what Fritz Blitz is.
Is that because of the football season?
Speaker 1 (39:41):
Yes, Ray.
Speaker 4 (39:42):
It's funny.
Speaker 8 (39:42):
Back here, I can kind of hear Todd, and the
guy comes on, and Todd's like, this isn't going to
be good.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
Automatically expecting. I thought I whispered that to Todd. I go,
this is going to be negative.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
Matt in Charlotte. Hi, Matt. What do you have for
me today?
Speaker 13 (39:55):
We're on our left side.
Speaker 6 (39:57):
Got it.
Speaker 13 (39:59):
Hey, a little show idea off of what we found
out earlier in the week with the not good drop
by Brady Hoke.
Speaker 3 (40:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 13 (40:08):
And I think you guys got some Stern fans on
your on your staff there. So I think, you know,
like they do the behind the drop thing sometimes, you know,
Fred drops all through the show. Now, granted, Stern's got fans.
decades and a lot of them but you yourself the
show they got a lot of them in a little
little segment before you retire that gives us a little
bit you know behind the scenes um uh of these
(40:30):
drops even the height and weight for instance i've been
listening to you for for 20 years i i don't
particularly remember why that was.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Rob dibble when i work with him at espn dibs
would always give you like he was always working out
he was in great shape and he'd always tell you
You know, I'm 6'4, 237.
Speaker 3 (40:47):
And then.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
I wanted to have a height and weight bell to
kind of remind him that he says it a lot.
I don't know if Dibs ever picked up on it,
but we just ended up doing height and weight, and
that was it, you know. And then people started giving
their height and weight, and then we'd ring the bell. Todd,
did you learn anything today?
Speaker 3 (41:07):
I sure did.
Speaker 4 (41:08):
Since he's not still coaching right now, Mike Tomlin has
never seemed calmer or happier these days.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Great job by Todd. Got Mike Tomlin, Tony Battini, Commissioner
of the Big Ten, Pablo Torre, Wendy, Dan Orlovsky, and
Ross Tucker on the program tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Thanks for joining us. Have a great day.
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Final hour on this Thursday, Dan and the Danettes, Dan
Patrick Show. Pulitzer Prize winner Pablo Torre. He will join
us coming up after the NBA dropped the hammer on
the Clippers yesterday. And is there more to come? Brian
Winhorst of the Mothership will stop by in the final
hour of the program. Fritzie is here. We found out
(00:26):
he has four stitches. He didn't realize he had four stitches,
but the bandage is off, and Todd is here.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Full strength-ish.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
I don't like to look at that stuff. Even though
I've been through far worse than a little finger surgery,
it's just kind of gross seeing those black stitches.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Dylan is here, Marvin, and Big Day Ray.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
You're right.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
I was going to just ramble on endlessly about my stitches.
No one needs to hear that. That's not why they're
tuning into the Dan Patrick show.
Speaker 5 (00:53):
Continue introducing everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Big Day Ray is here because Paul is prepping for
his show, the Not So Fast with Pabst and Perloff.
That'll be after this show at noon Eastern on Peacock.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Yes, Marvin. Yeah, this hour might be tough for you.
There's no Paulie and four guests Fritzie.
Speaker 6 (01:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
We already talked to Mike Tomlin, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti.
You got Brian Windhorst. You got Pablo Torre. And Todd
is for guest Fritzie. Stat of the Day brought to
you by Panini America, the official trading cards of the
Dan Patrick Show. Next Saturday, the Premier League has Hull
City against Aston Villa. They kick it off at 1230
(01:31):
Eastern on NBC and Peacock, which is where you can
find this program. Or if you're listening on our over
400 radio stations around America, we say good morning. A
poll question for the final hour of the program is
going to.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Be what, Dylan?
Speaker 7 (01:47):
Well, what should Kawhi Leonard's punishment have been? We've obviously
debated that. We have some options, Dan, if you'd like them.
Speaker 6 (01:54):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (01:55):
Find the approximate total amount he made off the books.
Speaker 6 (02:00):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (02:01):
Have to stay with the Clippers. Or, and I like
this one, Marvin and I were in agreement, actually go
plant the trees that he said he was planting.
Speaker 6 (02:11):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (02:12):
Which actually, they should just plant a tree instead of
a statue for him outside the stadium.
Speaker 6 (02:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
I don't think he gets statue-worthy.
Speaker 6 (02:19):
Tree-worthy.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
He'll get one in Toronto.
Speaker 7 (02:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Is the Raptors over-under? Did it change, Ray, after they
made this, I guess, official? Now the punishment's over and
Kawhi can go to Toronto?
Speaker 8 (02:32):
I think the sportsbooks have been expecting this, but their
over-under this year is 45.5.
Speaker 6 (02:36):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (02:36):
What was it last year? I'm checking right now.
Speaker 6 (02:42):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I don't know how much this changed. Todd, is Pablo there?
Speaker 4 (02:47):
He sure is.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
All righty.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Pablo Torre, journalist, podcaster, host of Pablo Torre Finds Out
with Metal Ark Media. Well, you did find out, but
I'm curious through all of this, any doubts along the
way of your reporting? If your ESPN comes out with
an article recently, hearing from the Clippers, hearing from other people,
(03:10):
Any doubts? Any conversations with the wife at night of, uh-oh?
Speaker 9 (03:16):
The doubts were, hey, we're still going to be married
at the end of this, right? Because you're on the
phone talking to sources all of the time that you
say are very important. And we're at the beach with
our daughter on your quote-unquote vacation. That was the doubt.
But In truth, those sources were right the whole time, Dan.
The thing that was interesting yesterday, and many things were
(03:38):
interesting yesterday, was just what the NBA would do about it.
And that's what we found out, is what does the
internal politics of league governance look like when you have
a scope that leads to a rabbit hole that has
four separate companies in it, manufactured paper trails, fake jobs,
not just for Kawhi Leonard, but for the companies, like
(03:58):
fake consulting jobs for the companies that funneled money to
Kawhi Leonard through the Clippers, as well as those companies.
And you have now, as of yesterday, an SEC, Securities
and Exchange Commission, not Southeastern Conference, SEC investigation into the
scoreboard company that, according to the NBA, got the deal
(04:20):
to build the Halo board in Intuitome because they were
willing to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
That's what the NBA could not deny. What did you
make of the punishments? I thought that it could have
been more. And I think that it is two things.
Speaker 9 (04:39):
The biggest punishment for an owner that we've ever seen
in American sports, I think, when you account for the
fact that it is Steve Ballmer banned from the building
for a year, his head of business banned from the
building for a year, his head of basketball banned... from
the building for six months because Lawrence Frank, that basketball
ops president, participated and provided contemporaneous notes to the NBA,
(05:02):
by the way, a whole other rabbit hole of like,
why was Lawrence Frank taking notes during the cap circumvention
meetings in which he is quoting the thanks to the
NBA's investigators, Steve Ballmer talking about how he's going to
service Dennis Robertson and Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the cap.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
Why was that there? Interesting. $ 30 million is.
Speaker 9 (05:25):
Change to a guy with $ 145 billion, depending on Microsoft stock.
But the thing about The scope and the vastness of it,
the five first-rounders, I mean, I just, I think it
was unprecedented in that regard, but also because it was
narrow in scope. There are names in this report that
we have been talking about for a year that did
(05:46):
not show up. There is a line that Wachtell Lipton,
the law firm, put in. Their investigation is ongoing. They
are still receiving tips. As recently as Just weeks ago,
they are still investigating. It's only the beginning somehow, which
is kind of the through line of the whole thing.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Can you give me best guess of what you think
could be next involving the Clippers?
Speaker 9 (06:11):
Well, let's just take Steve Ballmer at his word. He
has written a letter via his very expensive attorneys to
Adam Silver blaming Clippers. this podcaster for getting the NBA
to do a prejudiced investigation. And at first, after the
ruling came out, he threatened arbitration. But this is something
that's very interesting that I don't know if people appreciate
(06:31):
about what the NBA did. When the NBA tried to
settle with Steve Ballmer and they said, hey, we have
a narrow scope. We have undeniable evidence. We want to
just make sure that you have the opportunity to take
your punishment, admit wrongdoing and let us all move on.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Steve Ballmer, according to everything that we've.
Speaker 9 (06:48):
Seen now play out in public after that ESPN story
two weeks ago, decided to fight, decided to mount his
own campaign. And the NBA said, well, in that case,
we're going to do something that perhaps caught Steve Ballmer
by surprise. They found a way to settle with Kawhi
Leonard and the Players Union. Why is that important? When
Kawhi gets a slap on the wrist, that's where the
(07:10):
slap on the wrist was, Dan, by the way. $ 700, 000.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
For Kawhi Leonard. Again, historically, that's quite a bit.
Speaker 9 (07:16):
But in terms of the role he had in the
whole story, that's a slap on the wrist. He can
now go on to Toronto and the betting lines can
adjust based on that. If Toronto wants to go through
with this, not knowing what else is in the box.
Speaker 6 (07:28):
I digress.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
They got Kawhi to settle.
Speaker 9 (07:32):
And in the NBA, what Adam Silver knows better than
Steve Ballmer and his lawyers know apparently is that arbitration
can only be activated by the union. And so arbitration,
because of that settlement, is off the table. Can't go
to arbitration. What can Steve Ballmer do? He can literally
sue the NBA.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
He can sue Adam Silver. He can sue me. He
can sue Wachtell Lipton. He can sue you. He can
sue everybody.
Speaker 9 (07:58):
And that opens the door to, spoiler alert, more discovery
of documents.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Could he have mitigated, like how much damage could he
have mitigated by just saying to the commissioner, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
I fall on my sword.
Speaker 9 (08:20):
Something that was really interesting in this Wachtell report was
how much the NBA leaned on the interview he did
with ESPN and Ramona Shelburne the day after part one
of my story came out. When Steve Ballmer went on air,
and it is so interesting, if you guys have some
free time, if you want to, you know, threaten your
own marriages, go rewatch that game film sometime. Take time
(08:43):
out of your day to rewatch what Steve Ballmer did
after knowing what he actually did. And you will see
that he is lying repeatedly. And once he does that,
and he's on the record lying in public... about what
happened here, the NBA now has the ability to fact
check as I did, as I have been doing this
whole time. And because he decided to fight from day one,
(09:04):
as opposed to what you suggest, which is say, I
am horrified by what I tried to do.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
I love basketball too much.
Speaker 9 (09:11):
I wanted the thing that I know I can't have,
even though I'm the richest owner in sports. And I
am so humiliated by this. And I want to put
this behind me and move on. I don't think we're here.
I don't have a 15-part series. I may not have
a Pulitzer Prize. The NBA might not have a 35-page
legal report. Steve Ballmer may not pay $ 50 million, as
(09:33):
he has now said, for the legal investigation into him,
which is what has happened.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
It's crazy. That was the fork in the road, and
he chose, I would say, to not tell the truth.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
We're talking to Pablo Torre, the journalist, podcaster, host of
Pablo Torre Finds Out with Metal Ark Media. This isn't
the first time that this has happened with an owner.
It won't be the last, but I'm just surprised it
hasn't come up before. Now, I know that Balmer tried
to do this with DeAndre Jordan, which doesn't help his
(10:05):
case in this situation. But do you think that this is,
how prevalent do you think this has been? And is
there anything that you're interested in that might be going
on akin to this of circumventing the salary cap?
Speaker 9 (10:21):
You got me to do it one time, and I said,
what about a certain player who plays in a city
where I may be living right now? And I said that,
and I've been trying to manage the expectations ever since.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Stan, I see what you're doing. You're a clever interviewer.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
But are you looking into the Knicks and Jalen Brunson?
I am not focusing on the.
Speaker 9 (10:43):
What do they say when you're an ESPN employee and
you're trying to break graphics without breaking graphics? You say,
I am not currently targeting. I am not currently looking into.
I'm not currently circling Jalen Brunson and the Knicks.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
I have had all sorts of calls about so many teams.
Speaker 9 (11:01):
I've talked to people on the Knicks about all of this,
and they're just not the focus because we have other
things that are, by the way, coming very soon that
are in the vein of what are billionaires who run
sports trying to get away with using your money? And
I will leave it there just for now, because I
think we got to button some stuff up, but that's, there's,
let me say this soon on the show, we will
(11:23):
start a new series and that new series will speak
to a lot of the themes and even more, I think, uh,
even greater complications for what the everyday person in America
should be worried about.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
And so what did Ballmer do here? What makes this
one special?
Speaker 9 (11:41):
He had the ambition of creating a scheme that is
beyond what other owners have attempted. That much I'm very
comfortable saying. This is the furthest point in the spectrum
of attempted salary cap circumvention.
Speaker 5 (11:59):
People do it by degree. No one did it by
this order of magnitude.
Speaker 9 (12:03):
And that's why the NBA, which wanted to make everybody
stop talking about this.
Speaker 5 (12:08):
It's why they had to do the thing we saw yesterday.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
How does ESPN go with the story with their finest
investigative reporters that basically exonerated the Clippers and Steve Ballmer?
I mean. I, for 15 parts a year, did, of course,
the other thing. I found sources, whistleblowers, documents who were
willing to tell the truth. What was left open, if
(12:36):
you think of all of this as sports, right? What's
left available as territory for us to claim? What ESPN
apparently saw was the Clipper side of the story. And
the NBA immediately, within an hour, refutes it vociferously with
Mike Bass's name attached, Dan, and you know how rare
that is. for there to be a byline on a
statement that says significant and numerous inaccuracies. And what ESPN
(12:59):
had done, according to my reporting, is they were fed
a story by the Clippers that the Clippers may have
known was not true.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
And why do you do that?
Speaker 9 (13:11):
Well, perhaps it's because that's the available territory that you have,
having been beaten before.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
On the other part of this landscape.
Speaker 9 (13:17):
Perhaps you really believed it because the Clippers look you
in the eye and for months or a year said
to you, we're telling the truth, that annoying clout-chasing podcaster
is lying to you. And at a certain point, it's
a test. Do you choose to believe the evidence, the sources,
the journalism, or do you try to get a win
(13:38):
even when the game's already over?
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Do you care? Have you received an apology from ESPN?
Speaker 5 (13:45):
You know what's interesting?
Speaker 9 (13:46):
I submitted, I was told after the story published, hey,
if you want to have a comment here, because this
is effectively refuting your whole deal here, we'll include.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
A statement from you.
Speaker 9 (14:00):
And so I submitted a statement, and I'll just paraphrase it.
It was, we stand by our reporting, and we look
forward to the NBA's ruling. Our investigation continues. For whatever reason,
ESPN did not include it. And so I don't expect
an apology. I don't expect anything.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Nor do I think I even need or deserve one, right?
Speaker 9 (14:22):
Like, I'm a big boy, as they say. I just
wonder why it happened like this. Because in this story,
a story of no alternate rational explanations, it sure seems
to me, based on my reporting, that they got fed
a story by the people who were lying to everybody
(14:42):
this whole time.
Speaker 5 (14:43):
And I got implicated as a result of it. How
much money did Kawhi Leonard make off the books, in
your opinion?
Speaker 9 (14:50):
So I'll tell you factually what I know and what
I don't. So Aspiration has a total value of $ 48 million.
Now let's bring in the other companies, right? Boingo Wireless.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Of course.
Speaker 9 (15:03):
Which is just funny because, of course, the wireless provider
of the Intuit dome is giving Kawhi Leonard payments off
the books.
Speaker 5 (15:12):
Of course, Daktronics, the scoreboard operator, is. Of course, Lockton Insurance,
the insurance company on the construction of the dome, is
doing the same thing, Dan. Wow. Those three companies, according.
Speaker 9 (15:24):
To the NBA's investigation through 2021, guaranteed $ 18 million to
Kawhi Leonard.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
So doing the math, that's $ 66 million.
Speaker 6 (15:28):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Only through, let's call it 2022.
Speaker 9 (15:34):
He re-signs with the Clippers, as I've said before on
my show, in January of 24 for a discount.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
A discount. Less than the max. Why and what happened there?
Speaker 9 (15:49):
And so you're at 66 million plus. I've told the story,
the beginning of it, around the Rhode Island Football Club.
Started in LLC, in which he got secret undisclosed equity
the week before he signed the extension. And I ask,
as always, what else was there? And I have a feeling,
as always, that there is more.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Congrats.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
It's been a long process there. And at least you
get a trophy. You get something the Clippers don't have.
You get a trophy.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
You know, I wasn't going to make the joke, but
I'm glad you did.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Pablo.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Pablo Torre. He won a Pulitzer Prize. I think it's
a trophy.
Speaker 6 (16:34):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
I haven't even seen a Pulitzer. Is it a statue?
Is it a plaque? Maybe some of my best people
could get on that right now. A ribbon? Wait, Pablo.
okay what i.
Speaker 9 (16:49):
Hope i don't i don't admittedly i've become known now
for my investigations i don't know what this looks like
either which is perhaps embarrassing but my hope is that
it's a karate trophy oh i want a big karate
trophy with a karate man on the top because i
only was a white belt and i've been chasing that
high ever since so that'd be nice.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
You might need that white belt You're going to.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Need a black belt.
Speaker 6 (17:15):
You know what?
Speaker 9 (17:16):
The more questions you ask about Jalen Brunson, the more
martial arts training.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I'm going to need in New York City, Dan. You
brought up Jalen Brunson again.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
You pesky journalist with your questions.
Speaker 6 (17:27):
Yeah. All right.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I'm not winning a Pulitzer.
Speaker 6 (17:30):
All right.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
That's Pablo Torre. Did a great job. All right. Let
me take a break.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Brian Windhorst, we'll talk the basketball angle of this coming
up with Wendy after this.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan
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Speaker 3 (17:50):
Hey, it's Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 10 (17:53):
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Speaker 3 (18:02):
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Speaker 3 (18:20):
More phone calls coming up.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Stat of the Day brought to you by Panini America,
the official trading card of the Dan Patrick Show. ESPN
senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst joining us. Wendy, great to
talk to you. Is there any way the Clippers can
mitigate any of this damage moving forward?
Speaker 11 (18:41):
Absolutely. You know, number one, they can drop their chance of,
you know, threats of legal action because I don't think
it's going to be successful. And, you know, they really
need this Kawhi Leonard trade to go through that they
negotiated with the Raptors as constituted because they're going to
(19:02):
get two first round picks for him. And, you know,
in the case of the Minnesota Timberwolves situation, and I
think It's really reasonable to point that out because obviously
it's the one comparable incidence in history. They were docked
five first-round draft picks, just like the Clippers. And when
the Timberwolves kept their noses clean and stayed on the
(19:23):
straight and narrow, David Stern ended up giving them back
two of the picks. And that happened over a five-year span.
They were hit with the picks immediately over the following
five years. In this case, the picks are starting, the
penalties start in 29. They go out to 34. Who's
to say that by 2031 or 2032, if the Clippers
(19:45):
keep their nose clean, they won't be able to get
some of that you know, one or two of them back.
That's something that you can, you know, talk about off
the record right now. And so in the case of
the Timberwolves, Joe Smith's contract was vacated.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
It was voided.
Speaker 11 (20:01):
He was a free agent. In this case, the Clippers
are permitted to keep the player with no significant penalty.
They can trade him and get assets back for him.
Not only that, but the length of the investigation the
Clippers used in their favor. They were able to make
moves that landed them the number five pick in this
year's draft and the ability to negotiate this Kawhi trade
(20:21):
without a suspension hanging over his head. So they are
in a lot better position to absorb this than they
would have been if this was handled differently. And while
I understand that hell hath no fury like an angry
billionaire with $ 100 billion.
He probably should listen to a little bit of reason
(20:42):
because the league said, or at least the report said,
that this investigation isn't over. They left open the possibility
there could be more. So, yeah, I think obviously there's
a shock in the announcement and there's a shock when
you read all the details. When you get past it,
I think the Clippers can mitigate this in a way
(21:03):
that can... I see people referencing a death penalty. It's
not a death penalty, Dan. They didn't give them a
playoff ban. They're still going to have cap space this summer.
They're still going to have, Dan, they have a first
round pick in the 2027 draft. They didn't take it.
It's a swapped pick. They're going to swap it. I
think with Denver, Oklahoma City, it's probably not going to
(21:24):
be a good pick. They have a draft pick in 2027.
So this is, it's bad. It's a blow. You know,
you're losing a limb, but this is not a death penalty.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Billionaires usually don't get told what to do. So I'm
sure that Steve Ballmer is surrounded by people who tell
him what he wants to hear. But at some point,
you have to. I mean, they Lawrence Frank was taking
notes in the meeting about circumventing the salary cap. Like,
at what point do you say, hey, I'm impenetrable, or
(22:00):
the commissioner needs me, or I'm so– like, I don't
know if there's arrogance involved in this that led him
down this path.
Speaker 11 (22:09):
Well, I don't have, you know, omnipotent understanding of everybody's
feelings on this. But what it looks to me like,
based on this array of statements yesterday– and the Clippers
put out a public statement and then released a two-page
angry letter to Adam Silver. There's a lot of copy
generated yesterday– it looks to me like what they are
focusing on is a legalese situation about how the arrangements
(22:34):
were made. Like, no, no, we didn't facilitate the deals.
We just acted as middleman. And that seems to be
their legal argument and where they're ready to go to
battle on. But Dan, here's the thing. He didn't do
any work for these companies. He didn't do the endorsements.
He didn't do ads. He didn't do any of it.
(22:55):
You don't have to have next-level understanding of all this
stuff to understand that it reeks of quid pro quo.
And what we didn't understand until yesterday was that this
was four companies, four of them. And, Dan, I don't know.
Two of the companies openly cooperated, Aspiration and Daktronics. Now,
(23:19):
Aspiration cooperated. And even the report says that the guy
who's in the federal penitentiary is not credible.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
And I agree.
Speaker 11 (23:25):
I don't find him credible. So they're kind of even,
I mean, they put it in there, but they're kind
of ignoring him. But they had Daktronics. Daktronics copped to it.
They openly said what happened. And I get why they're
saying it, because their CEO yesterday had an earnings call
and said that the SEC is on their backside. Like,
this is not to be messed around with. Plus, They
(23:49):
sell scoreboards. Do you want to be in business with
the NBA if you sell scoreboards? I think you do.
So they cooperated. But here's the thing, Dan. These investigators
had the data and the money for all four companies.
How'd they get it if two of the companies didn't cooperate?
They had internal whistleblowers participating. They had the dollars, Dan.
(24:12):
They knew exactly how much was paid. So these companies...
didn't do any ads with Kawhi. He didn't act as
an endorser. So this is a thing like Steve Ballmer
or another owner could look at you square in the
face with their hand on the Bible and say, we
have the agents for our superstar players on our backside
all the time about getting them deals, getting them endorsements.
(24:36):
Absolutely that happens. And absolutely there's teams out there that
have acted as middlemen. In fact, there may have been
teams out there that have acted as more than middlemen.
But those players, to our knowledge at least, are doing
the endorsement contracts. Like when you see the star player
doing a deal with the team sponsor, he's at least
out there with his face on it. The reason this
(24:58):
is so repugnant is that it just is very cleanly
obvious that it was a kickback. Because in this case,
in 2019, they didn't just sign Kawhi Leonard. They were
also building the arena. And so that meant there was
a whole bunch of vendors and companies that they were
doing hundreds of millions of dollars in business with that
(25:19):
they don't normally do. You don't build an arena every year.
You don't buy a $ 100 million scoreboard every year. But
this year, they were building the $ 100 million scoreboard. And
Pablo Torre and Hunterbrook Media went and dug into that
Daktronics was struggling at the time. I don't need to
go into all the details. This report... If you were
on a jury and you didn't know anything about basketball,
(25:41):
you didn't know whether the Clippers played in Los Angeles
or London, if you got this report and you read it,
you would vote to convict. I don't think it's even
really close.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
How did Kawhi kind of skirt?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
I know it's $ 700, 000, but I thought he was going
to get suspended or they would void his contract.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
What about you?
Speaker 11 (26:02):
Well, I think there was two reasons. Well, I would
say this. There's probably some unknown reasons that we don't know.
I'll just leave it at that. The second thing is
when you have a disciplinary action with a player, there's
an arbitration process spelled out in the collective bargaining agreement.
(26:23):
The arbiters are already picked. The process is set out.
And you're going to have to present evidence and potentially
do interviews and stuff like that. You have to go
to court. And I'm not sure that the that the
investigators had the documentation where they could win an arbitration
against Kawhi Leonard. I do think they felt like they
had the documentation to go against Jillian Zucker and Steve Ballmer.
(26:45):
And so basically the burden of proof with Kawhi was
much higher. But I'm not going to say.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
More than that. You know more than that.
Speaker 11 (26:57):
I don't know. I speculate.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
I'm not going to get into that.
Speaker 6 (27:00):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
I always find this tricky that You know, whenever I
have a source, you always have to wonder what if
the source has an agenda. And I don't know how
you navigate this. Now, first 10 years at ESPN, you know,
it was pretty powerful place even then. And then I
never questioned as much as I should have. What is
(27:23):
somebody's agenda here?
Speaker 3 (27:25):
And I don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
How do you navigate if somebody gives you the information of. OK,
do I trust them? Can I go with this? You know,
like Pablo Torre. He's one guy going against very powerful
person here and didn't back down. But you also have
to wonder about that source or sources. What's their agenda?
Speaker 11 (27:44):
Yeah, it's an absolute the complex web that we operated
in the modern era. This is absolutely a factor. And
you try to do your best as the either you
try to do your best.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
You don't.
Speaker 11 (27:56):
That's the basic way you can say it. I mean,
even a moment ago, I praised Hunterbrook Media. Hunterbrook Media
has done a bunch of investigations. I don't know if
you're familiar with them. They're a new media company, and
Pablo has partnered with them. Hunterbrook Media is a hedge
fund-backed media source. They do investigations and then oftentimes short
(28:20):
the companies that they do the investigation against, which they disclose, right?
And I'm just telling you that they did great work here.
But they have an inherent conflict of interest. So, yeah,
it's a hard thing to figure out, which is why
(28:41):
a lot of people end up stepping in quagmires. And
caution doesn't always win the day. Um, sometimes people who
are cautious get, get, get rolled over. This particular situation
is extremely thorny and this is an imperfect response. The
NBA is not going to be able to get up
because it's so nuanced. Um, that's why I think the
Clippers are so mad because I think the Clippers feel
(29:05):
like they were dancing within the rules here and they
feel like they can more to the point. they feel
like they can prove that we can dance within the rules.
And the league is basically saying, we don't think you can.
I think the last one of the public statements that
the Clippers made was so telling during this process. They said,
we are not guilty of what we are accused of.
(29:31):
It's a loaded sentence. So you get into situations like that. Look,
I have spent a lot of hours in the last
couple of weeks reading legal documents, Dan, while covering the
NBA with the whole Buss family and now the Clippers.
This is the era that we're in, is that I've
got to read all these legal documents to cover the NBA.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Talking to Brian Wendhorst of The Mothership, what happens with
the Lakers with the Buss family?
Speaker 11 (29:57):
Well, the gigantic difference between a year ago when the
Lakers sold and then this time, and this is elementary,
but it needs to be pointed out, is that a
year ago, the buses had majority control. And now they
do not. And when you are a minority shareholder, you
are exactly that. You don't get to have say. Now,
(30:20):
Jeannie Buss' standing is a little bit different. She is
the governor. But she, as the governor, you serve at
the pleasure of the controlling owner. And so the Lakers
controlling ownership is going to change hands whether the Buss
family can get their act together or not. And whether
Jeannie has the title of governor or not, the controlling owner,
(30:42):
which is going to be Josh Kushner, assuming that he
completes it. And I think Bob Iger is going to
be the managing partner. They're going to have control over
the Lakers because they don't need the 17%. The Buss
family drama is amazing. There has been two television shows
in the last five years about the Buss family, one directly,
(31:04):
the HBO show, the second one, Running Point. The Netflix show,
which Jeannie made, was really about her. It was based
on her life. And neither of those shows will be
anywhere near as good as the true story of what's
happening within that family drama. It is incredible palace intrigue.
But they no longer have control over the Lakers. And
so it will remain palace intrigue. It won't affect the
(31:26):
decisions with the basketball team.
Speaker 6 (31:28):
$ 12.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
5 billion. What do you make of that price tag?
Speaker 11 (31:32):
I make that Jeannie Buss sold low so that she
could get a sweetheart deal for herself because I think
$ 10 billion was low. And I'll tell you this, I
can't predict the future. I wouldn't sit here and try
to guess the macroeconomic future of the country. But my
guess is that the $ 12 billion purchase will not end
up being a bad one. And here's something else. Bob
(31:56):
Iger and Josh Kushner were trying to buy the team
in Vegas. And the thought process was that that was
going to cost maybe $ 8 or $ 9 billion.
Speaker 7 (32:06):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (32:08):
And maybe more.
Speaker 11 (32:08):
Maybe it'll end up being more. I don't know the answer.
But that was about what people thought it was going
to cost. So they were trying to raise $ 8 or
$ 9 billion. This is what you have to understand. When
you hear that the Lakers sell for $ 12 billion, they're
not actually selling for $ 12 billion. They're buying about 73%
of it at the $ 12 billion valuation, which means that
(32:29):
they're going to be paying about $ 8 or $ 9 billion.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
Okay?
Speaker 6 (32:32):
So.
Speaker 11 (32:33):
Yeah, they only have 73%, but they're controlling it. So
what would you rather have, Dan?
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Would you rather.
Speaker 11 (32:41):
Spend the same amount of money to own the Vegas,
this name goes here, or the Los Angeles Lakers?
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Is LeBron still in the hunt for the expansion team?
Is he allowed to have his name involved in this?
Speaker 11 (32:57):
So he has openly said that he is no longer
pursuing that. Two things happened. I think, number one, LeBron
was never going to be able to be the controlling
owner of a team. He has done fabulously well. His
net worth is north of a billion dollars. A billion dollars,
even if he sold everything, doesn't get it done. And
(33:18):
even two or three years ago, when he was really
looking at this, it was still going to take in the...
So you needed a partnership where you would partner with
somebody who had a giant piece of money that would
be your partner. His partners with Jerry Cardinal and the
Fenway Sports Group, those were the groups he was in
business with. They have backed away from NBA ownership. In fact,
(33:39):
Fenway is divesting. They just sold a big portion of Liverpool.
They're selling. Jerry Cardinal has gone on the record a
number of occasions saying he thinks prices for NBA teams
are too high. So his preferred partners were not looking
like they were going to bid on Vegas. So that
was one of the things that happened. I mean, he
(33:59):
could have found other partners, but that's one thing that happened.
The second thing is he's still being a great basketball
player and he's still able to continue to play and
he's not retired at age 41. So he's going to
keep playing. The expansion teams are probably going to get named,
and he's going to miss that window. But I'll tell
you this. If you think LeBron's done trying to be
an owner or trying to have heavy involvement in the NBA,
(34:19):
he's not. His life has many decades left in it.
His influence is going to be on. It's just not
going to be with this particular expansion deal.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Always great. I know you're busy. Thank you, Wendy.
Speaker 4 (34:30):
Thanks, Dan.
Speaker 11 (34:30):
Have a good day.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
That's Brian Windhorst of the Mothership. Take a break. Last
call for phone calls. What we learn, what's in store
tomorrow after this.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at FoxSportsRadio.com. And
within the iHeartRadio app, search FSR to listen live.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Last call for phone calls, what we learned, what's in
store tomorrow. Pabst and Perloff, if you're watching on Peacock,
that'll be coming up top of the hour. Dan Orlovsky
is going to join us tomorrow. Orlovsky came out, and
I think he said that Matthew Stafford, if he wins
(35:09):
another Super Bowl, could be a top five quarterback of
all time. I know he loves Matthew Stafford from his
time in Detroit, but okay.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Well, that's why we'll have him on. Yes, Todd?
Speaker 4 (35:22):
I think our friend Nick Wright, among others, had a
big problem with that take.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Ross Tucker will join us on the program tomorrow as well.
We're going to be talking football.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Yeah, football.
Speaker 6 (35:31):
Yeah, Dylan.
Speaker 12 (35:32):
I will say to the Matthew Stafford point, he survived
a long time in Detroit, which I think he should
actually get bonus points for on top of the later
success that he's had. What he did there was actually impressive.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Kirk in L.A. Hi, Kirk. What do you have for me?
Speaker 6 (35:50):
Hey, Dan. As a long-time suffering Clipper fan, I know
Wendy just said that this is not a death blow,
but it certainly feels like one. But my question is,
and I know you touched on it, is this ESPN article.
(36:10):
You know, so much was made about it last week,
and Ramon is in the byline, all kinds of heavyweight people. Yet,
you know, he's just like, oh, well, they got the,
you know, information fed to them by the Clippers. And
I just feel that, you know, it's going to get
swept under the rug. But, you know, they're the worldwide leader,
(36:31):
and clearly they got it wrong.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
Well, I think this is what I don't understand.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
Let's say Steve Ballmer hand-delivers you all this information. You
get access. He's saying, I didn't do it. And you
believe him. You at least have to run it by
somebody on the other side. You at least have to
run this by the NBA. Look, you've got decorated reporters.
You know, these investigative reporters. And if you're only going
(37:01):
to sit on one side and you did not do
your due diligence. But when it came out, it's like
basically Ballmer and the Clippers are totally exonerated. And I'm
thinking there is there's no way the commissioner is going
to come out of this with nothing, because then it'll
really look bad that you sided with the richest one
(37:22):
of the richest men in the world. that there had
to be something there. And having spoken to Pablo Torek,
I knew there were things there. I didn't know the
agenda of his sources, but so what? There are times
when somebody is going to give you information about somebody else.
(37:42):
Then you have to kind of play referee. You go, okay,
is this real? Is this person going out of their
way because they don't like this coach or this player,
this school? And it took me a long time to
get people who, in my opinion, don't have agendas to
(38:02):
be hurting people as much as enlightening me on what
is going on. That's all I've ever asked. I don't
need to break stories. It's a pain in the butt
when you break a story and then you've got to
answer to everybody. And I'm like, I don't need to.
I mean, go back to when I said the Big
Ten was going to be shutting down football during COVID-19. Oh,
(38:24):
the college football insiders came after me. You know, stick
to your job. Bobby, you know, I'm going, okay. Playoff expansion,
when I brought that up. So that's information not to
hurt anybody. That's information to enlighten you. But, you know,
I've been used before a couple of times when it
(38:46):
comes to somebody telling me something about somebody. And, you know,
I learned, you know. Brian in Texas. Hey, Brian, what
do you have for me today?
Speaker 6 (38:59):
Hey, DP. Hey, I just want to tell you real quick.
Speaker 13 (39:02):
You know how we talk about how athletes, they're transitional superstars.
Speaker 6 (39:07):
I just want to say you are a transitional superstar
in what you do. Oh, thank you. Like from yesterday, that.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Was very cool. Thank you. I had a.
Speaker 6 (39:15):
Shirt idea for Todd, if you don't mind.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
Yes.
Speaker 7 (39:18):
All right, Todd.
Speaker 6 (39:21):
I got Toddy, Toddy, Hoddy.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Party hottie.
Speaker 6 (39:31):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (39:34):
How about that, Todd?
Speaker 4 (39:36):
That's pretty good. I don't know what Fritz Blitz is.
Is that because of the football season?
Speaker 1 (39:41):
Yes, Ray.
Speaker 4 (39:42):
It's funny.
Speaker 8 (39:42):
Back here, I can kind of hear Todd, and the
guy comes on, and Todd's like, this isn't going to
be good.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
Automatically expecting. I thought I whispered that to Todd. I go,
this is going to be negative.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
Matt in Charlotte. Hi, Matt. What do you have for
me today?
Speaker 13 (39:55):
We're on our left side.
Speaker 6 (39:57):
Got it.
Speaker 13 (39:59):
Hey, a little show idea off of what we found
out earlier in the week with the not good drop
by Brady Hoke.
Speaker 3 (40:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 13 (40:08):
And I think you guys got some Stern fans on
your on your staff there. So I think, you know,
like they do the behind the drop thing sometimes, you know,
Fred drops all through the show. Now, granted, Stern's got fans.
decades and a lot of them but you yourself the
show they got a lot of them in a little
little segment before you retire that gives us a little
bit you know behind the scenes um uh of these
(40:30):
drops even the height and weight for instance i've been
listening to you for for 20 years i i don't
particularly remember why that was.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Rob dibble when i work with him at espn dibs
would always give you like he was always working out
he was in great shape and he'd always tell you
You know, I'm 6'4, 237.
Speaker 3 (40:47):
And then.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
I wanted to have a height and weight bell to
kind of remind him that he says it a lot.
I don't know if Dibs ever picked up on it,
but we just ended up doing height and weight, and
that was it, you know. And then people started giving
their height and weight, and then we'd ring the bell. Todd,
did you learn anything today?
Speaker 3 (41:07):
I sure did.
Speaker 4 (41:08):
Since he's not still coaching right now, Mike Tomlin has
never seemed calmer or happier these days.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Great job by Todd. Got Mike Tomlin, Tony Battini, Commissioner
of the Big Ten, Pablo Torre, Wendy, Dan Orlovsky, and
Ross Tucker on the program tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Thanks for joining us. Have a great day.
Hosts And Creators
Todd "Fritzy" Fritz
Dan Patrick
Patrick "Seton" O'Connor
Paul Pabst
Marvin Prince
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