NY sports talk host’s Evan Neal rant was like “watching an enraged Santa”

The Giants are 1-3 and have looked every bit as bad as that record sounds. However, after Evan Neal stepped in it a bit with his comments about booing fans, what The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz really wanted to talk about was an EPIC NY sports talk radio rant.

Yes, Don LaGreca wasn’t going to take what Neal said about “sheep” fans who are flipping hamburgers and hot dogs sitting down (although, technically, yes he was sitting down while ranting). No, he’s going to tell Neal what’s what about who pays his salary.

After playing the rant, Dan had one thought come to mind: “It’s like watching an enraged Santa heckle human beings.” Dan says LaGreca’s forehead turned radioactive red (although, as Mike points out the radioactive red contrasts so well with LaGreca’s Kenny Rogers motif). As Chris Cote pointed out, LaGreca probably went a little far. Dan notes that you really don’t need to call people pieces of trash, but then again that’s not how rage works. Dan then makes the following, scary, analogy — do you know how much of that rageful sentiment is running through our entire country right now?

Jessica was shocked, despite acknowledging that she knows this is what New York sports radio is all about. She’s also wondering who this man’s cardiologist is, because it seems like he does well for himself. Dan says LaGreca is just the evolution of Mike and the Mad Dog in one of the few places in America where sports talk on your radio is still a thing, where it matters who can get an audience. It’s an evolution of what sports radio has become over the past 25 years.

Mike says that’s good stuff right — it’s meeting the moment, awesome stuff. Tony loves that someone was trying to slow LaGreca down and he wasn’t having any of it and just kept going. Dan says the moment Evan Neal made his comments it was like gold bricks falling from the sky for New York sports talk radio hosts. Dan says they don’t want to talk Giants football, no, HERE’S a thing to talk about.

Dan says LaGreca is what the medium needs to be — funny, smart, rage-filled and willing to go right on the edge (including of cardiac arrest). And look, Dan acknowledges that he’s built a reputation for himself with his views of the world, but with the stress of the coming elections in 2024 looming on the horizon, Don LaGreca can call a person in New York a piece of garbage on sports radio as long as he lives and it’s OK just because they can laugh at his rage-filled face. Dan will allow it, even though we really shouldn’t be calling athletes pieces of garbage.

Meanwhile, Mike, of course, was ready to talk some Messi ...

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Local Hour: Zo’s Summer Groove

• The Marlins lost and have been eliminated from the Playoffs. The crew recaps their livestream from last night and make fun of the overeager Jeremy “Pander Bear” Taché for his interview with Jazz Chisholm Jr. before the series. Then, Alonzo Mourning might have been mean to everyone as a kid, and the Fuentes brothers need to #RespectTheBrand. Plus, Don La Greca graces us with some of the greatest sound we’ve heard out of New York Sports Radio.

The Big Suey: Heat Media Day...Three Days Late!

• The Dolphins get a chance to bounce back this weekend against the Giants, and the crew is grateful to feel like they consistently have a schematic advantage for the...first time in show history? Then, MLS and Inter Miami place some ambiguity around Messi’s injury. Plus, Chris, Tony, and Jeremy set you up for our Heat Media Day Interviews where Chris and Tony chat with Kevin Love, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Duncan Robinson.

Hour 1: Awkward Company Dynamics

• David Samson is here to confront the crew who hosted last night’s Marlins livestream about NOT receiving an invite, and things immediately get legitimately uncomfortable. Then, David sticks around to join Adnan to discuss the Top 5 Julia Roberts Movies. Plus, it’s time for Thursday Thunder, Jessica is hyper, and we’re relive some of the hilarious moments from Samson and Chris Cote’s confrontation.

Hour 2: GIVE ME THE DREAM

• The awkward company dynamics continue, but for a different reason: Amin’s rivalry with Jessica’s dog, Willow. Their rivalry leads to a newfound rivalry between Amin and Mike, and you can cut the tension with a knife. In the midst of all of that, the crew tries to get to WNBA expansion, Michael Penix Jr., Messi, and networks playing free Taylor Swift commercials. Plus, Kyle Brandt is here to talk all things NFL and compare starting QBs to foods.

Postgame Show: Can We Talk About Brock Purdy?

• The San Francisco 49ers take on the Dallas Cowboys on SNF this weekend led by QB Brock Purdy. Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant in the NFL Draft and has yet to lose a regular season game he’s played in from start to finish, yet he’s barely marketed by the NFL. How is that possible?

VIDEO:

Check out the Le Batard and Friends YouTube page for more and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show on X at @LeBatardShow.

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