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Dan LeBatard
All right, Smirnoff. Official vodka of the NFL. World's number one vodka. Chris Cody, you're with me here.
Jason Benetti
Smirnoff.
Dan LeBatard
Wow, you're on the money with Smirnoff.
Sponsor Voice (Liquid IV)
Smirnoff.
Dan LeBatard
I'm gonna ask you, Chris, what's your favorite game day food?
Mike Ryan
Smirnoff.
Dan LeBatard
That's your favorite game day drink. What's your favorite game day food?
Mike Ryan
Smirnoff.
Dan LeBatard
All right, here's the deal. Game day is everything. The noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip again.
Jason Benetti
Smirnoff.
Dan LeBatard
Smirnoff belongs in that mix. Because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smirnoff. Otherwise, it's not a real game day. They've been doing it since 1864, which is. I don't even want to do the math. It's a long time. It's like when Greg Cody was born. They're award winning, they make cocktails super easy, and they're all about bringing fans together. So, yeah, we do game days. That's their thing. And if you're over 21, you should too. Why Chris Smirnoff. Grab a bottle of Smirnoff at your local retailer and head to smirnoff.com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game day.
Mike Ryan
Smirnoff.
Dan LeBatard
Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff number 21 vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age. Man off Are you coming off a losing fantasy week? That means you're one week closer to losing your league, and that's pretty stressful, which can lead to nighttime teeth grinding. Dentek's mouth guards help with nighttime teeth grinding. Dentek wants to prevent teeth grinding while raising the fantasy stakes with a once in a lifetime punishment. If you want your league's last place finisher to live in infamy at the 2026 Football All Star Game, sign up for the ultimate Fantasy football punishment@dentek.com ultimate punishment. No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC who were 21 years of age or older. Contest ends on December 8, 2025. Void where prohibited. For details and official rules, visit dentek.com.
Zaslo
Ultimate punishment Mike, you know I have one rule to live by, right?
Stu Gats
Don't place parlays on multiple long shots. Don't say a game is won when it hasn't hit triple Zero.
Zaslo
Always drink your Jagermeister ice cold. That's the rule. Everything else is merely a suggestion.
Stu Gats
Everything else?
Zaslo
Everything else.
Stu Gats
Wearing clean underwear every day, well, that's.
Zaslo
Just a personal decision. Brushing your teeth, obviously smart, but not a rule.
Stu Gats
Never pee pee on an electric fence.
Zaslo
Okay, Maybe there are two rules, but the one that is 100% that I insist on completely, Jagermeister must be drank ice cold or don't drink it at all.
Dan LeBatard
Damn, that's cold.
Zaslo
Exactly. You're finally starting to get it.
Stu Gats
Drink responsibly. Jagermeister Liqueur, 35% alcohol by volume, imported by Mass. Jagermeister U.S. white Plains, New York.
Jason Benetti
This is the Dan Levator show with the StuGats podcast. Number one podcast.
Dan LeBatard
When Mike Ryan checks.
Jason Benetti
On Wednesday morning.
Dan LeBatard
The best in the land.
Mike Ryan
That is routinely true. We are often number one sports podcasts in America on Wednesday mornings when Mike Ryan checks. That's a thing. That is absolutely true.
Dan LeBatard
These are just facts.
Mike Ryan
That is not false advertising. Since we're playing music, though, can you get me the polka Nakua? That was me just saying Puka Nakua incorrectly one time. And then you guys deciding to make a polka Nakua song.
Amin Elhassan
Dan calling Puka Nakua, Poka Nakua, and nobody on the show catching him on it.
Stu Gats
We need to get in the lab. All right. Hee Haw 3, you have been tasked with making the polka Nakua.
Mike Ryan
I want to talk to you guys for a second about precision. Puka, the rest of you doesn't have to get open, just your hands. Just get Puka's hands open. It doesn't have to be the rest of him, just where his hands are. Where are Puka's hands open? Just get the hands open. The rest of them doesn't have to be open. We're going to do this super precise.
Stu Gats
It's all right, Dan. That's a little too much poking Deion Sanders toes. And if you say they just need Puka's hands open for a fourth time. This show, we're stopping you.
Amin Elhassan
Penalty box.
Mike Ryan
For you and me.
Jason Benetti
Puka Nakua is here for you and me. With that we can all agree. So many receptions. Mina comes with the perception that he could become the mvp. We should all anticipate this. Cause he's got precision. Greatness echoing throughout eternity. Sanford throws a frozen rope in and in. Pukka's hands are open. It's a touchdown for you and me. Everybody do the Fuka Fuka. This quarterback is not Ningtonga Baloa. So come along now. Rise and shout to the whole World about Nakua for you and me.
Mike Ryan
Jason Benetti is wincing and.
Zaslo
Yeah, he was bobbing along.
Mike Ryan
He was dancing. No, he was dancing. He loves it. He loves the Kenosha Kickers. He felt like it had some promise and then it didn't. And he is the guest that we have more than any other that I imagine polka is in the bedroom more than any other guest that we have on the show. I believe him to be a polka lover. Do I have this wrong? Jason Benetti. And thank you for joining us.
Jason Benetti
So, you know, first of all, how many key changes are in the polka nakua? I counted 12.
Stu Gats
Take your word for it, pal.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, you were listening.
Jason Benetti
It was like. It was like living on a prayer, you know, this the third halfway there, but it happened like four times in a row. It was awesome. When the Pennsylvania Polka played in Groundhog Day, little Jason Benetti liked that very much. Yes.
Mike Ryan
You thought that song had promise. At the start. You were smiling. You were joyous. And then it went on about 30 seconds longer than you wanted it to.
Jason Benetti
I was. I was waiting for the mispronunciations. They like, they should be featured in the actual piece more. I feel like I don't.
Stu Gats
I don't understand what's happening right now. This song is excellent. Dan just didn't like it because it sees on echoing throughout eternity. Puka's hands being Puka's hands. And another shoehorn reference to the Miami Dolphins quarterback. For some reason, I love that.
Jason Benetti
I mean, yeti. No, that was the best part. The tongue of Iloa kind of rhyming. That was. That was like. Remember when the kid did the update at Ball State and it went viral and he was like, Reggie Miller looking good because it was the one guy he knew showed up on the screen. Boom goes with the. Yeah, the boom goes the dynamite guy. But at one point, he finds his footing and he's like, Reggie Miller looking good. And then like, Hakeem Warwick shows up and he calls him hack and Warwick and the wheels fall off again. That's what the tongue of Iloa shoehorn felt like. It was great.
Mike Ryan
It's the second time we've done it, and I just think. Think it's so weak to rhyme it with Tonga by loa by just saying that that's not his quarterback. Like, it's just. It's just.
Zaslo
That's the joke.
Mike Ryan
It's not the correct way to do that.
Amin Elhassan
Dan, we get it. He's no Gus Polinski. He's trying, though.
Mike Ryan
Jason Benetti is doing all the games he is doing baseball games, he is doing football games. He's doing college football games. It's Texas Tech this weekend for you. Like you're doing Texas. So. So you're watching the World Series though, right? You're not like so busy preparing for college football that you. Segway, you're still interested in everything that's happening with the World Series, right?
Jason Benetti
Absolutely. I can't say that I made it through 18 innings, but I rewatched the other day. I fell asleep at like midnight. It was not good. It was not good baseball fan behavior, I'll tell you that much. But I think I'm the first person to go from Manhattan, New York to Manhattan, Kansas, back to Manhattan, New New York in a week.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, that's not, that's not great. That's not a great situation. Well, these, these, these small college towns can't be funny. You can't get in here easily, can you?
Amin Elhassan
I hold in my hand my Jason Benetti baseball card.
Mike Ryan
Revoked. What?
Amin Elhassan
Revoked. You fell asleep. You fell asleep. How were you not filled with adrenaline and intrigue and mystery on who was going to win this epic baseball game?
Jason Benetti
What a movie trailer that was. I would say I had enough intrigue and heart rending behavior when the Tigers got knocked out in a 15 inning game that I was watching in Lubbock, Texas. And I was like, you know what, I'll catch up tomorrow. I'm so sorry, like, really, apologies. But what if the story was somebody drugged me as part of a bank heist that I witnessed and then they knocked me out so I couldn't watch the end of the game? Is that better?
Mike Ryan
Go on. Yeah, that, that, that is slightly better. Even you'd concede that much, wouldn't you?
Jason Benetti
Yeah, like I could get my baseball card back if I, if I said that, you know, like I just couldn't stay up for some, like some nefarious reason. Right. Maybe I was part of the, the Louvre heist.
Mike Ryan
Can we, can we segue here into something that I'm shocked by? I'm shocked that Chris Cody has never heard Boom goes the dynamite. What? He doesn't know what it is. He doesn't know anything about what Boom goes the dynamite is. He doesn't understand the reference. So we'll get the video here in a second to play it for him because if you get secondhand embarrassment for people, you will get some second. Look at, look at Benetti. He is shocked that Chris Cody doesn't know what this is. So we'll play it for Chris Cody in a Second. But I want to talk to you for a second about what we witnessed before you fell asleep and after you fell asleep in that 18 inning game yesterday. We were talking and I don't think we're prisoner of the moment to say that we're watching Babe Ruth 100 mile an hour fastballs, we're watching the modern day Babe Ruth. But where would you go if I said that Shohei Ohtani is the single greatest athlete that we have ever seen? Now, we have not seen LeBron James or Shaq as a tight end, for example. I imagine they would be great tight ends and I imagine if they played both sports, they would be great at both sports. But Shohei is doing two different things in a sport that only one other guy has done reasonably well. I guess you could say Rick and Keel. But there aren't many who have done it in a Ruthie and fashion. There are only two. So. So where do you land as an observer of sport on Shohei Ohtani possibly being the best athlete that there's ever been?
Jason Benetti
Yeah, you know, like my mind goes to like Jim Brown, Jim Thorpe, you know, there, there are a couple others that you could argue did otherworldly things kind of like this. But I, you know, to watch him, there was a, there was a number floating around of his power to the pole side and his power to the opposite field and center field and they're both in the top five. Like not only is he a great pitcher and a great hitter, but he's great at very specific things within those two that people don't do either. Right. Like he's very willing to hit a ball out of the strike zone to create problems for people. There, there are all these micro reasons that he is one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest ever. But where my mind goes, honestly Dan is like what if in the next 40 years we're at the vanguard. I'm certain we are watching college baseball and how players are trying to do it right. But what if there are of these? Like what if we just have not engineered them well enough and I sound like an AI inventor type right now, and I don't mean to but like what if there are ways to create this and study him and do more of that? Like what, what is the end run of all of this? Or is he the only person because of the way he's built, because of genetics, because of his musculature, like all this stuff? What if he is truly the only one? And I saw my answer to your question kind of long winded but my answer to your question is I think we' find out at the end of this trial period, however long it lasts, where people invariably are going to try to recreate it and if they can't, then I would say definitely, decidedly, he's the best ever.
Mike Ryan
Okay, so let me ask you this question because I believe the Dodgers and that roster are uniquely qualified to win it. Postseason baseball, I believe it's the best roster ever assembled even though they didn't win more games than everyone during the regular season. And I believe they're built for this time of year. Can I plausibly say that if the Blue Jays beat them, a team that won more games during the regular season than the Dodgers, that it will be one of the biggest upsets in the history of baseball?
Jason Benetti
Yeah, it's so hard to because of the Blue Jays win total. But I don't know how good the American League was this year. But that's not taking anything away from that. Like I, I'm going to answer this question agnostically from the taking away from the Blue Jays. I think so too. I agree with you on the Dodgers roster and I think showed specifically in that 18 inning game the way they construct a bullpen and the arm angles and their ability to get a loaded lineup out even though there was some pinch hitters that came in and they're missing a couple guys late in that game. Like I do think it is a really substantial upset. And the Blue Jays I think are very, very good. It's a deep lineup. Like Shane Bieber pitched his tail off yesterday. They made some very savvy moves around the edges of the deadline to make themselves better. But I have thought all year the Dodgers are the best team in baseball and it' particularly close in in the depth they have.
Mike Ryan
Am I overreacting when I say, am I being prisoner of the moment when I say I have never seen. I know it's all Shohei Ohtani all the time, but I have never seen a postseason in which a player consistently hits the ball harder more often than Vladimir Guerrero.
Jason Benetti
Yeah, man, every time the Tigers play them and every time the White Sox played them. When I was there it was like 115 mile an hour Scud missile and then like Alejandro Kirk comes up and he hits a ball that's two balls off the plate into right field. Yeah, he is just a mammoth human being. But I do want to double back because you said prisoner of the moment twice and I wonder if the moment is the bailiff or is it a prison of the moment. Is it like a pop up shop prison? The prison of the moment is a visual to me that I think somebody should explain.
Mike Ryan
The moment is a sheriff and he locks me up immediately when I say anything is the best I've ever seen. When it happened six minutes ago.
Jason Benetti
And that's the moment comes over to you and is like, hands up, varmint. Right. The moment is doing it. You're not going to a prison of the moment.
Mike Ryan
No, it is a moment that comes over, handcuffs me, roughs me up, plays by its own rules and throws me immediately in a prison that is government.
Jason Benetti
Run frontier moment justice. I love it.
Mike Ryan
Vlad Guerrero, though, is getting overshadowed because he's hitting the ball hard every time. Jason. Like it's, it's, it is just totally insane. I understand why we're talking about Shohei Ohtani, but Vladimir Guerrero, your Tigers were really good. The Mariners were really good, the pitching is really good and he's hitting everything hard.
Jason Benetti
Yeah, he, you know, the thing about him is, and I've heard people say this about like Jordan Alvarez and for a while this year we looked it up when the Blue Jays were in town. Alejandro Kirk was the best bad ball hitter in baseball. This has been a good bad ball hitting lineup. And I say that because Guerrero takes pitches that are off the plate well. But he also is very willing to smartly expand the zone. And so if you're a ball, ball and a half off the plate, he still can hurt you. Now it's the first, the first connection people make is to his dad, right. Hitting the ball off the ground for base hit that iconic picture. But like part of this is their lineup is geared to that and they are, they are a very concentrated lineup of hitters who can do damage on baseballs off the plate. And I think that's part of where this comes about is we hear like John Schneider gets asked the questions about Ohtani, right? Are you going to walk Ohtani? They walk him a bunch of times, whatever. If you unintentionally try to intentionally walk Vlad Guerrero Jr. He can beat you on your misses. And I think that's the real problem. And then pitchers feel that tension and then those middle, middle pitches, he rarely if ever misses.
Mike Ryan
It is crazy. He's one of the best play by play announcers anywhere in sports. He's the television voice of the Detroit Tigers and you can hear him on Fox calling college football, basketball and NFL games. I want to play the game with you that we did last time where I just throw out a handful of things and you give Me your first thought. Okay, you do this on your social media. You post a picture of a ballpark or stadium on socials and you ask first person that you think of. So Blue Jays. First person that you think of.
Jason Benetti
Joe Carter, Dallas Cowboys.
Mike Ryan
First person that you think of.
Jason Benetti
Emmett Smith, Fighting Irish.
Mike Ryan
First person that you think of.
Jason Benetti
Tony Roberts, their longtime play by play announcer who I listened to as a kid.
Mike Ryan
Dodger Stadium.
Jason Benetti
Oh, can it be Dodger Dogs. Vin Scully.
Mike Ryan
Whoa, that was offensive as a broadcaster that you went Dodger Dogs first before Vin Scully. The greatest to ever do what you do.
Jason Benetti
But that's the fun part of first person you think of. You know, it could have been. It could have been Raul Ibanez. Like, I don't know. It's just whatever pops into my tortured mind.
Amin Elhassan
The funny thing is when you eat Dodger Dogs, you get hot shit, hot foul.
Tony
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Stu Gats
Oh, the football season. Cruel beast. Sometimes it gives. Sometimes it rips away. Sometimes you got good times, sometimes you got bad times. But one thing that'll always lift your spirit is making it Miller time. Because game day just hits different with Miller Lite in your hand. 50 years of great taste, simple ingredients, and that iconic golden color that you can spot from across the room. It's a Real eye catcher, folks.
Dan LeBatard
Folks.
Stu Gats
And here's the kicker. Just 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later. So whatever your game day looks like, remember, Miller Time is always a good time. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
Tony
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Dan LeBatard
And you know what?
Tony
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Guest Caller / Listener
Don LeBatard, can I tell you something? I don't know, Maybe like a month ago and I decided to watch Pitch Clock and I told Jeremy Stugats, this is a good show you're doing.
Jason Benetti
This is the Don Levatar show with the Stugats.
Zaslo
Benetti, true or false? I'm not saying that there are dozens of players that can do what Shohei is doing. I'm saying, are there dozens of players around the league who are reaching out to their agents saying, hey, I'm a good pitcher, I can hit two. Like, do you think he's inspiring other players that think they can do what he's doing?
Jason Benetti
I think at this moment in time, every pitcher thinks they can hit. And I think some hitters think they can pitch. But, you know, like when, when you get into the 13th inning in a regular season game, we should always cut to the dugout because there's a line of, of pitchers saying, I'm good. I got this. Like, put me in. I'll double the left field. Like, every pitcher thinks they can hit. What is going on in the background? There's, like, a lot of shenanigans.
Zaslo
A rule play down at first base. We had to check with the umpire.
Mike Ryan
Have for Benetti. Quit distracting Benetti. I'm trying to do a show here.
Guest Caller / Listener
I, I, I, I asked Boog Shombi last year, why can't more players do what Ohtani's doing and, you know, meaning, like, hit and throw off the ground, pal. And Boo Boo got mad at me.
Jason Benetti
What did Boog say? He's like, you don't, you don't watch baseball, do you?
Stu Gats
That's a good one. That's a good one. That's a good one.
Jason Benetti
That's a good one.
Mike Ryan
That's a good Boog. He does. Oh, we haven't done the impersonations with Benetti in a while. Can we, can we talk to Boog about his Cubs? I'd like to talk to Boog.
Stu Gats
I got Dan Bingo.
Jason Benetti
It was counts and I counsel, we're talking and yeah, you just got to do better. You know, you got to do better.
Mike Ryan
When we mentioned Dodger Stadium, I thought of this the other day. Usually I have heard some people hit a stadium out of a. I'm sorry. Hit a ball, a home run out of a ballpark. Shohei Ohtani hit a ball out of the stadium. Stadium. It's not something I'd seen before at Dodger Stadium. I, I can get my head around hitting a ball out of a ballpark, but that's not a ballpark. That is a stadium. Have you seen a ball hit out of Dodger Stadium before?
Jason Benetti
Never.
Mike Ryan
No.
Jason Benetti
Watching that baseball, like, these stadiums give you so much frame of reference because we watch and we see so many things happen inside of them. So immediately you go like, nope, never, never, never in a, in a million years. I mean, I did, I did the Home Run Derby at Dodgers Stadium a couple years ago and don't remember a ball leaving the ballpark. So, yeah, no, that's insane.
Mike Ryan
Well, but I'm just. Home Run Derby. But I've never seen it. I, the Dodger Stadium. I don't think people, do people understand how cavernous that is. Like, you don't hit a baseball out of Dodger Stadium.
Jason Benetti
He did that.
Dan LeBatard
And it might not have even been in the best game that he played during this postseason. And we're asking whether or not there's other guys that could do it.
Guest Caller / Listener
Yeah, why not?
Jason Benetti
It's like hitting a ball to a different neighborhood. It's like. It's like a different point on the map is what that is.
Mike Ryan
Who have you talked to that can put context on what it is that we say beyond unbelievable or amazing or Ruthiean or anything else? Like, when you talk to somebody, Jason, and they explain to you the mystical magic of what it is that you're presently watching this giant from another land doing things that have never been done in this sport before, what is the context where you're like, that person? They gave me some insight here that illuminated this for me, because baseball people are confused by this. As confused by this as we are. Right?
Jason Benetti
Yeah. I don't. I don't know that anything involving context does anything other than make him.
Dan LeBatard
More.
Jason Benetti
Of a unicorn, I guess. I mean, the one where my mind goes when you say that, because I don't. I can't remember, like, a conversation that crystallized it. But, like, you remember a couple of years ago, the Angels opened against the White Sox on Sunday night baseball, and Ohtani hit a home run off of Dylan Cease. I want to say, and this is the thing that sticks out most to me. Ohtani hit a home run off of Dylan Cease. And there was a news item the next couple days. ESPN had to come back and refute a report that they jacked up the microphones in order to make Ohtani's homer louder. The ball is set. Cannon fire off of his back that networks are being asked if they juiced the microphone. And that is one of those things that has stuck with me and has etched into my mind because it sounded like a Revolutionary War reenactment when he hit the home run. And people were like, did you mess with this? Like, was that artificial? And they're like, what are you talking about?
Dan LeBatard
When it comes to Ohtani? And you hear things like that, you realize the. The freakishness of who this athlete is. But, Jason, like, there's been so many other random things about this World Series that have been so fun, whether it's a guy like Will Klein throwing four innings in extra innings or Boba Shet coming back and being able to hit, you know, for.400 average in his first three games after not playing for a month. What's kind of one of the random things that you look at that' like, niche baseball within this series that has stood out to you that, that you've enjoyed outside of the obvious in Ohtani.
Mike Ryan
And Guerrero when you're awake, when you're not sleeping. Yeah, that's true.
Jason Benetti
Yeah. No, no, no, that's a, that's a really good point. I, the Will Klein stuff is fascinating to me because he, I just love that he has enough a sense of humor to say in his press conference because he's like the anointed hero now. I guess that's the opposite of how they felt about me before. Like I appreciate somebody that gets that. I think that that's the fun part of World Series is, is that baseball moments in the regular season just kind of fizzle over time. Like if I asked you all like what happened if I. Jeremy, if I asked you like what happened in the Marlins in this game in June, like you'd be like, I, I don't know. But like Will Klein is going to eat for free at some high end restaurants for a long time. And I. That's. That, that's the fun part of the random baseball is so un. Random in the regular season that now it just gets exacerbated in, in the postseason.
Amin Elhassan
I don't know about this.
Zaslo
I don't mean for free forever.
Mike Ryan
I mean, he didn't say forever.
Zaslo
He's gonna have to walk in a while.
Jason Benetti
Okay, here's the context.
Zaslo
I'm Klein, I did this.
Amin Elhassan
No, Chris, he's gonna have to come in uniform with a baseball, throwing it and on his phone replaying the highlight wearing his jersey. Yeah, exactly.
Jason Benetti
He's gonna have to call. He's going to have to have somebody call for him and say, will Klein would like to come to your restaurant.
Zaslo
Sorry, who?
Jason Benetti
Four innings he threw. I was. Don't worry. Are you run a restaurant? Is there, is there a Dan Levitard show restaurant?
Mike Ryan
He runs a restaurant and all they do is interrupt the customers. That's all they do.
Jason Benetti
Sorry, sorry, we're closed for a private event.
Dan LeBatard
Sorry, I decline.
Jason Benetti
Oh, wow. It's the end of the world as we know it.
Mike Ryan
Miguel Rojo Rojas was very close to pitching in that 18 inning.
Stu Gats
Oh God, it would have been so awesome.
Dan LeBatard
They warmed up Yamamoto, but they could.
Jason Benetti
Have gone to Rojas. There should be a nuclear treaty. Like when, when, when the headset doesn't work for one coach in football, they turn off the other headset. If one team runs out of pitchers. Like you should have one inning where you can use a regular pitcher, but if you don't score in the inning against the actual non pitcher Then, then your team should have to use a non pitcher too for the ignominy of not getting a run against that guy.
Guest Caller / Listener
Jason, what do you make that people are complaining after last night that baseball should do away with the intentional walk?
Jason Benetti
People need to get a hobby. Just, just get a hobby instead of complaining about stuff that actually works fine. Like my, my, Let him, let him walk him to first. But do you know what it does to the, to the ability to score runs when there's a baser on or on first, especially as the leadoff man? Like, you' probably should get runs because of it. You're probably going to score. So you know, it's a tactical piece of baseball. And like, think of how many times we talk about Barry Bonds getting intentionally walked with the bases loaded. Like it's a, it's a piece of strategy. I got no problem with it. That's like saying, like, why do those bishops only move diagonally? I hate that. Let them move in an L shape like the Knights. Like, come on, man, go. If you want to go play checkers, then go play checkers. Yeah. Yes, yes.
Mike Ryan
That is. That, that is as indignant as this decent kind man gets when he just tells you to go play. That is his. You bleep off. That's how he does it.
Jason Benetti
Go play Chutes and Ladders if you want a basic game. Go play Shoots and Ladders, it's fine. Or get a little mallet and play. Don't break the ice. Like, whatever, whatever we want to do. Just don't play baseball.
Mike Ryan
Then where is this, where is this school trade talk coming from everywhere?
Jason Benetti
It feels like, like, I mean, it's, it's all up. It's all the contract situation, right? Like, and his agent and all of these things. And I, you know, I have no idea. And I, I don't. I think if I, I don't even know that the Tigers know what they're going to do staunchly of what Skubal is going to be in a year. All I know is like, that guy is a top five player. I've covered to watch emotionally and just theater wise and you know, it would be really hard to see him in another uniform.
Mike Ryan
He better not be a Dodger.
Jason Benetti
I'm threatening you because the Dodger. Because the Dodger dogs are Vin Scully.
Mike Ryan
I am threatening you personally. If Scubal becomes a Dodger.
Dan LeBatard
If you let that happen, Benetti, I'm.
Mike Ryan
Gonna have to harm you. I'm gonna have to chop off one of your arms and beat you with it. Okay?
Jason Benetti
It's Time for a Restraining order from Dan LeBatard Mike Ryan here want to.
Stu Gats
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Zaslo
One rule to live by, right?
Stu Gats
Don't place parlays on multiple long shots. Don't say a game is won when it hasn't. Here Triple zero.
Zaslo
Always drink your Jagermeister ice cold. That's the rule. Everything else is merely a suggestion.
Stu Gats
Everything else?
Zaslo
Everything else.
Stu Gats
Wearing clean underwear every day, well, that's.
Zaslo
Just a personal decision. Brushing your teeth, obviously smart, but not a rule.
Stu Gats
Never pee pee on an electric fence.
Zaslo
Okay, Maybe there are two rules, but the one that is 100%, that I insist on completely. Jagermeister must be drank ice cold or don't drink it at all.
Jason Benetti
All.
Dan LeBatard
Damn, that's cold.
Zaslo
Exactly. You're finally starting to get it.
Stu Gats
Drink responsibly. Jagermeister liqueur, 35 alcohol by volume, imported by mass. Jaeger Meister, West White Plains, New York.
Mike Ryan
Don LeBatard punctuate this segment with what is your strike three call?
Zaslo
Strike one would be strike.
Dan LeBatard
And then you stand up and you.
Zaslo
Give a good point to the right sts. That's same for strike two. But strike three. You get down low, you got your hands behind the camera. Catcher. All right, the right arm goes up into the air.
Stu Gats
Yeah.
Zaslo
And then you finish it with the punch. The right arm flings way up into the air.
Mike Ryan
I wish I could see that.
Jason Benetti
This is the Dan Levatar show with the st.
Mike Ryan
We have some Boom Goes the Dynamite video to introduce to Chris Cody. I'm told the video is not great and we had to shorten it here. So this. Chris, I'm telling you that this is a college broadcast that probably lasted eight or nine minutes. We are not playing all of it for you because the video is bad. I mean, what do you have here for us?
Stu Gats
So.
Amin Elhassan
So the actual clip is four minutes long. It's a lot of stumbling. It's hilarious. But obviously we can't play a four minute clip. So I decided to zero in on just the part that Jason mentioned earlier.
Guest Caller / Listener
It's his first time ever doing a sports. He was like a last minute fill in.
Mike Ryan
It's a college broadcast. He's doing a highlight package.
Stu Gats
I believe it's a college broadcaster doing a legitimate newscast, like a local newscast.
Mike Ryan
You think this is a local newscast? I thought, no, it's at Ball State.
Jason Benetti
I think it's a college. It's a college.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, I thought it was a college broadcast. And you will hear his nerves. Let's go ahead and play this.
Jason Benetti
Reggie Miller's looking good. He shoots the three and it's good. Later, he gets the rebound, passes it to the man, shoots it, and boom goes the dynamite. The final scores ended up with the Pacers 63 to the net, 61 passes to the man.
Amin Elhassan
Now, I love that the video starts with the ambient sound of the highlights in the background. And I know everyone's gonna leave. Like, did we get the wrong video? No, that's him nervously breathing because he doesn't know what the hell he's doing. And then he finally sees it's Reggie Miller. Says, ooh, looking good.
Jason Benetti
That is the best. That is the sneaky best part of the video because he literally has no idea what to say. He's shuffling his papers. It is full absolute five alarm panic. And he's like, oh, God, I finally seen somebody that I know. And like, it's Reggie Miller. And then he's looking good and this dude feels great about it. And then there's sadly another highlight. So he says he passes to the man and boom goes again.
Mike Ryan
Let's play it again. Because he had. Boom goes the dynamite. He had that loaded up to make sure that he was going to nail it on the brunch. But the entire thing is four minutes. That is absolutely worth your time. It's the sound of a broadcaster drowning.
Jason Benetti
Bridget Miller's looking good. He shoots the three and it's good. Later he gets the rebound, passes it to the. The man, shoots it and boom goes the dynamite. The final scores in an up with the Pacers 63 to the net, 61.
Guest Caller / Listener
Can we acknowledge the final score was 63?
Mike Ryan
61.
Amin Elhassan
Oh, 2000s basketball.
Mike Ryan
So much better. I don't know, whatever. These guys don't defend anymore.
Amin Elhassan
That was a real score.
Dan LeBatard
That was the real score. The Miami Heat had 74 points at the half yesterday.
Jason Benetti
And boom goes the dynam.
Dan LeBatard
And they're the Heat.
Guest Caller / Listener
Chris, you got to go back and watch the whole thing. Like that's. It's the original viral video. Before things were viral.
Mike Ryan
You were saying, Vanetting, can we, can.
Jason Benetti
We talk about the sigh? When's the last time you sighed? In the middle of.
Mike Ryan
It's because he knew he was drowning. Let's one more time just play it so you can hear the shuffling of papers, the general panic. And because you're. If you're in the audio audience, you can't see the video. He's trailing the highlights by about seven seconds. Seconds.
Jason Benetti
Reggie Miller's looking good. He shoots the three and it's good.
Guest Caller / Listener
Feet clearly inside the arc.
Jason Benetti
Later. He gets the rebound, passes it to the man, shoots it, and boom. Goes to dynamite. The final scores in an upper with the Pacers 63 to the net, 61.
Mike Ryan
You can't be right. That's not the final score. There's no way he got the final score wrong. There's. There's that look, man, they didn't play games in the 50s that were 63, 61. That is simply inaccurate.
Guest Caller / Listener
Why would you think he got something wrong?
Mike Ryan
There's no, there's just no way that that was the final score of that game. Benetti, always good talking to you. Thank you for making the time as you always do, sir.
Jason Benetti
Thanks, guys.
Dan LeBatard
Final score was 98, 91.
Jason Benetti
New Jersey Nets.
Mike Ryan
It was for some reason believed that a game in the 90s would have finished 63, 61. And I believe there were some Heat Nicks playoffs games that were pretty close to ending in the 70s.
Guest Caller / Listener
Those are the days.
Amin Elhassan
There was a finals game, Jazz, Bulls. That was like 61 to 57.
Guest Caller / Listener
No, I think the Jazz were in the 50s that game.
Amin Elhassan
Yeah.
Jason Benetti
No, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest Caller / Listener
Bulls won by like 40.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, but it wasn't both teams having. It wasn't both of them. It is fairly absurd that all of us in here would think that the Pacers and then the New Jersey Nets would have played a 63 to 61 game in our lifetime.
Guest Caller / Listener
I'm giving the broadcaster credit. Why would he have gotten it wrong?
Mike Ryan
See if you guys can find for me and whether or not it would be worth to play any more of the Boom goes the Dynamite. Yes, Chris, it was delightful to be able to share that with you. I was indeed surprised. Surprised that that is not something that you had any reference point for because. So you'd never heard the expression boom goes the dynamite before.
Zaslo
I had heard it, but I thought it was like more of like a professional, like boom goes the dynamite.
Guest Caller / Listener
I'm so excited that you get to experience this clip now for the first time, the kid ended up going on Letterman. Now granted, Letterman's a Ball State grad as well, so there was a connection. But it was, like I said, it was viral before things were viral.
Amin Elhassan
Zaz, correct me if I'm wrong, he says boom goes to dynamite several times, right?
Mike Ryan
He might.
Amin Elhassan
He goes back to it like as. Like as a crush almost, because it.
Stu Gats
Was really working and it became a thing.
Guest Caller / Listener
Like Kevin Calabro, the all time great Seattle SuperSonics broadcaster. He then began using it in his.
Amin Elhassan
Broadcast as an okay, also the Cleveland show and Family Guy, Cleveland Brown. When he has sex, you go and boom goes a dynamite.
Stu Gats
I read something really funny during that Benetti interview that I think I'm gonna surprise all of you with. I read a detail. It was an article about Brian Kelly and there was a detail that emerged from that. Brian Kelly, this offseason, entering this season, worked with an image consultant.
Mike Ryan
No, I was confused by a couple of the different details on that, did you understand Mike and some of the reporting where he was told to fire his offensive coordinator? And then according to the reporting, he said, and I also want to fire my offensive line coach. He was not allowed to fire his offensive line coach. And then the athletic director stormed out of the building. And the reporting is that Kelly was using the leverage of his buyout or trying to use the leverage of his buyout. Why wouldn't Brian Kelly just. Also, why would he want to fire someone else? And that be the sticking point on whether he keeps his job or not? Usually you get to make the threat of, no, I'm going to protect my guy. You can't fire this guy. But this was the opposite of that. This was Brian Kelly saying, no, I'll fire somebody else. I was confused by that detail.
Guest Caller / Listener
I think the answer is because he's an asshole.
Mike Ryan
Well, judges, Roy exhibited the behavior of an asshole.
Amin Elhassan
What is that?
Stu Gats
No, no, no, no. He went. He went on.
Mike Ryan
Roy, you're out. Roy. You know what? Roy, that.
Dan LeBatard
Oh, what are we doing?
Mike Ryan
Roy, you're Angel.
Amin Elhassan
What's his name over here?
Mike Ryan
Roy is incorrect.
Stu Gats
Angel Hernandez didn't see the strike zone.
Mike Ryan
No, Roy. Let's see. We've got to get Roy out.
Zaslo
Minor penalty.
Mike Ryan
Two minutes, sport.
Jason Benetti
Came out of your mouth.
Guest Caller / Listener
Literally. Wow.
Mike Ryan
It still came out of your mouth. I could smell it from here.
Zaslo
If we're going to appeal, we got to go with what he says. Like, what are we doing?
Jason Benetti
We challenged.
Stu Gats
We challenged. I do find it funny. It does seem like the ultimate Brian Kelly move to leverage his own buyout.
Mike Ryan
I saw.
Guest Caller / Listener
Is the report true? I saw a report that when he showed up to the facility in the morning, his thumbprint didn't work anymore on the door. Could that be true? Could that be true?
Zaslo
Sometimes those things just don't work right. It's like I can't get it.
Stu Gats
I saw, like, a really. A photo that made me happy. It would make you sad otherwise, but it was him eating alone in a booth at a restaurant in Baton Rouge. And I was like, yeah, that makes me happy. His misery.
Mike Ryan
Let's. Let's punctuate this hour by getting Amin's top five Week one NBA observations. This has got to be good here. Let's see what we've got here. Do we have any Oli, or are we just going to start with number five?
Amin Elhassan
Yes, we got one Oli, which is that Steph Curry is old and he should retire, and he's awful. And the warriors in trouble. Oh, wait, no. They're awesome and he's awesome.
Mike Ryan
Jimmy Butler shooting 57% from three and he's got a game with 14 of those in attempts and 16 of those attempts. So that's how his game is going to age. They're going to let him shoot threes over there like he's Klay Thompson.
Dan LeBatard
Larson had 17 points last night.
Amin Elhassan
Number five, Victor Wembanyama is a lot better than we thought he was going to be, even though we thought he was going to be awesome.
Mike Ryan
They're 40 here. The Spurs. How good are they going to be? That's. Are the spurs going to be top of the conference good?
Amin Elhassan
Not top of the conference good, not top of the conference good. But I thought they were going to be fighting for a play in spot.
Mike Ryan
And they were going to get it.
Amin Elhassan
And I'm now I'm like, I think they're going to be clearly above the six seed lines.
Guest Caller / Listener
Heat about to tag them with that first loss tomorrow. And I tell you what, you know.
Dan LeBatard
The spurs have never started five and.
Guest Caller / Listener
Oh ever not going to this year.
Stu Gats
Isn't that weird?
Amin Elhassan
Number four, Zion is still hurt. Number three, Amazon and NBC have come to save basketball.
Mike Ryan
We undercut that one for you by talking about it for an hour in the second hour of the show. Right?
Amin Elhassan
Number two, and this one's a big one, Dan. The Rockets maybe we bought a little too early on them. And the number one observation, Dan, from the first week of the basketball, the Sixers might be better without Joel Embiid and Paul George.
Mike Ryan
That's crazy.
Dan LeBatard
Not might.
Mike Ryan
That's crazy. Not might.
Guest Caller / Listener
Not might. No, not might.
Amin Elhassan
For the first time in about six, seven years you can watch a Sixer game that doesn't have Joel Embiid in and be like, I kind of like what I see. I kind of like what I see.
Mike Ryan
Let's do a brand new segment. Zaslo's daily MVP nominee.
Stu Gats
The.
Dan LeBatard
Be.
Jason Benetti
Of the day.
Guest Caller / Listener
If we're talking MVP, Tyrese Maxey needs to be in the conversation. 39 points and 10 assists last night. The Sixers come from behind once Joel Embiid went to the bench. Sixers come from behind, win in overtime. Undefeated Maxi. He needs to be in the conversation.
Stu Gats
Back to back days.
Dan LeBatard
Back to back days for him. That's huge.
Stu Gats
Reigning King of the Mountain mvp.
Mike Ryan
That is super strange.
Stu Gats
That's the longest streak so far, Dan.
Mike Ryan
Greg Cody said yesterday that Philadelphia should change the name of its arena to the Maxi Pad and that he will deny having said it and that he will make sure that no one knows that that's something that he ever thought.
Jason Benetti
FVP of the Day.
Stu Gats
Oh, the football season. Cruel beast Sometimes it gives. Sometimes it rips away. Sometimes you got good times, Sometimes you got bad times. But one thing that'll always lift your spirit is making it Miller Time time. Because game day just hits different with Miller Lite in your hand. 50 years of great taste, simple ingredients, and that iconic golden color that you can spot from across the room. It's a real eye catcher, folks. And here's the kicker. Just 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later. So whatever your game day looks like, remember, Miller Time is always a good time. Miller Lite Great Taste, 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
Date: October 29, 2025
Guest: Jason Benetti
Broadcast from the Elser Hotel in downtown Miami, the first hour dives into the show's signature blend of irreverent sports talk, pop culture riffs, and in-the-moment humor. The episode features Fox/Detroit Tigers' play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti, who joins the crew (Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Mike Ryan, Amin Elhassan, Zaslo, and others) for debates about the World Series, the singular greatness of Shohei Ohtani, viral video lore, random sports memories, and the delightfully awkward "Boom Goes the Dynamite" clip that inspired the episode title.
Poka Nakua Song & Mispronunciations
The crew pokes fun at Dan mispronouncing “Puka Nakua” as “Polka Nakua,” leading to a lively original polka song performance about the Rams receiver.
Viral Video Lore and Instant-Classic Banter
Benetti brings up the “Boom Goes the Dynamite” viral newscast as a touchstone for broadcast mishaps, setting up a segment where the crew plays the clip for Chris Cody, who shockingly has never seen it.
Ohtani: Ruthian Marvel or Best Athlete Ever?
Dan posits Ohtani as maybe “the single greatest athlete that we have ever seen.”
Precision, Context, and Baseball’s Future
Benetti speculates whether Ohtani will inspire similar two-way players or if his abilities are genetically singular.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Elite Bad-Ball Hitters
Guerrero’s penchant for hitting un-hittable pitches is spotlighted:
First-Association Game
Benetti responds in rapid-fire fashion to teams/venues with the first thing that comes to mind:
World Series Small Moments
Benetti lauds actual series oddities, such as Will Klein’s unexpected heroics, and the tradition of random postseason legends:
Debates: Intentional Walks and Baseball Strategy
Benetti defends the intentional walk as “a piece of strategy,” humorously telling critics:
Context and Reaction
The iconic Ball State “Boom Goes the Dynamite” clip is played for Chris Cody, with Benetti and the rest dissecting its nervous energy and accidental comedic brilliance.
Unpacking the Classic
Benetti highlights the relatable nature of recognizing Reggie Miller and clinging to a familiar phrase as lifeboat.
Origins and Legacy
“It’s the original viral video before things were viral.” – Guest/Caller, [38:25]
Benetti and others recall how the phrase entered both the NBA lexicon and pop culture, including Family Guy.
Amin’s Top 5 NBA Observations
Zaslo’s Daily MVP Nominee
On Ohtani’s Unique Talent:
“There are all these micro reasons that he is one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest ever.” – Jason Benetti, [11:41]
On Baseball Randomness:
“That’s the fun part of World Series – baseball moments in the regular season just kind of fizzle over time... Will Klein is going to eat for free at some high end restaurants for a long time.” – Jason Benetti, [26:53]
On "Boom Goes the Dynamite":
“It's the sound of a broadcaster drowning.” – Mike Ryan, [37:25]
On Criticizing Baseball Strategy:
“That's like saying, 'why do those bishops only move diagonally? I hate that.'... Go play checkers, then go play checkers.” – Jason Benetti, [29:21]
On Virality:
“It’s the original viral video before things were viral.” – Guest/Caller, [38:25]
Running Gags:
Crew Chemistry & Inside Jokes:
| Topic | Time | |-----------|----------| | Opening/Polka Nakua bit | 03:10 – 06:40 | | Ohtani as greatest athlete? | 09:21 – 12:25 | | Precision & Ohtani’s influence | 10:43 – 12:25 | | Dodgers/Blue Jays upset? | 12:25 – 13:49 | | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. appreciation | 14:04 – 16:53 | | "First thing you think of" game | 17:23 – 18:05 | | Random World Series heroes | 26:16 – 27:51 | | Intentional walk debate | 29:14 – 30:19 | | Boom Goes the Dynamite clip/play | 35:20 – 41:18 | | NBA Top 5 observations | 44:11 – 46:10 | | Zaslo’s MVP nominee | 46:31 – 47:03 |
This episode is quintessentially Le Batard: a freewheeling, laugh-filled hour blending sharp sports insight with ridiculous song parodies, deep-dive baseball nerdery, and communal celebration of viral oddities. With Benetti’s playful participation, the show delivers both substance—especially around Ohtani's place in history—and sublime silliness (as with the “Boom Goes the Dynamite” viral legend). The chemistry, callbacks, and sheer volume of references make it a rich, rewarding listen for sports fans and podcast regulars alike.