On the latest edition of All The Smoke, Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson were joined by fellow DraftKings Network personality and sports media legend Dan Le Batard.
All The Smoke Best From the Stash marathon
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“Anyone crazy enough to f**k with me can play with me.”
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) February 14, 2024
Catch the All The Smoke Best from the Stash ASG marathon on the @DKNetwork starting Saturday at 12pm ET. pic.twitter.com/3rWVXjHqKB
Dan talked to Matt and Stak about everything from Disney trying to stop a baby hippo being named after him for fears it would escape and go on a rampage to the state of the Miami sports teams.
Stak notes that Dan probably feels the same about his Dolphins as he feels about his Cowboys, and Dan says probably the only thing that saves Tua with the Miami fans is what happened to Stak’s Cowboys. Stak says it may be a good excuse in Miami, but at the end of the day both teams finished in the same place — on a boat headed to Cancun and an early offseason. Matt disagrees, noting that the Cowboys have had three straight 12-win seasons and s*** the bed every time in the postseason, while Miami is on the come up with a solid young QB. Even if Dallas has more Super Bowl titles and Dwyane Wade has gone to college, had a Hall-of-Fame pro career and got a statute in the time since the Dolphins have won a playoff game.
What about the Heat? Dan notes that the Heat represents so many of the things Matt and Stak were about on the court. Dan says if you go there and are willing to work they will make any player better. To him, it’s been amazing to watch what Pat Riley has built since arriving in Miami because what he has built is a military silo where those players are united in nothing more than how do they get better so that Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and the like can get their contracts. What they build where they get guys to believe in the idea that hard work will pay off in all of us making money is how you get a team of players rowing in the right direction no matter who those players are. Dan says it’s not easy being as good as they are for as long as they have been with as many different players as they’ve had.
Dan admits he didn’t think Jimmy Butler was good enough to carry a team like the Heat. Stak says he knew Jimmy had the heart, but he didn’t know that he was good enough to do it. Matt says he didn’t know it until he saw it. But he also thinks it’s partially due to the environment Riley and Coach Spo have created. Matt thinks Spo is one of the best minds in the NBA. Dan points out the root of culture is cult and the Miami Heat are a cult. Spo grew up in the video dungeon and climbed to a point where he will probably running the organization next. When you can sell that to your employees, Dan says it becomes like a mafia family.
When it comes the Marlins, Dan says they have hurt Miami in so many different ways. They sold all their players after championships and have CRUSHED generations of fanbases by taking the feel-good and immediately making it all about finances. So somehow in a Latin city where an entire economy was supposed to flourish around their love of baseball, especially with the game’s growing flamboyance and joy, Miami is a broken baseball city.
Meanwhile, unlike most who came from traditional media, Dan is on board with the rise of new media.
Unlike most traditional media members, Dan Le Batard is a fan of new media.
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) February 15, 2024
The new wave of athletes controlling their own narrative is here to stay.
New episode of All The Smoke with @LeBatardShow is out now on our YouTube. pic.twitter.com/qvFtM3SKGs
Watch or listen to the full episode below and keep an eye on DraftKings Network for new episodes of All The Smoke every Thursday at 6 p.m. ET!
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Dan Le Batard on ESPN Break Up, Miami Sports, Meadowlark | Ep 219 | ALL THE SMOKE Full Episode
- On this weeks episode of ALL THE SMOKE, Matt & Stak are joined by one of their newest colleagues and sports media star, Dan Le Batard. The trio discusses the current sports media landscape and joining forces at Meadowlark. Plus, Le Batard opens up about his split from ESPN, Pat McAfee & ESPN, state of Miami sports, and much more!
VIDEO:
Check out the DraftKings YouTube page and the All The Smoke Productions YouTube page for more. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on Instagram at @Matt_Barnes9 and @_Stak5_ as well as All The Smoke Productions.
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