The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 1: The Brobdingnagian Pregame Show (feat. Jonathan Zaslow)
Date: January 8, 2026

Episode Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and their crew (with guest Jonathan Zaslow) gear up for what they call the “biggest game in 20 years”—the Miami Hurricanes’ historic college football matchup. The Hour 1 show leans into comedic excess, parodying sports pregame show tropes while blending major breaking sports news (the Dolphins firing Mike McDaniel), a lively debate on coaching economics, and irreverent pop-culture tangents.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Parody of Pregame Show Excess ("Big Fake Pregame Show")

• The crew satirizes the melodrama and overstatement of televised sports pregame shows, repeatedly emphasizing the game’s “bigness”—using playful and even nonsensical language.

  • The invented term “Brobdingnagian” (meaning gigantic) becomes a running bit.
  • [00:02] Dan (sing-song): “It’s the big fake pregame show. Fake pregame show. It’s big. The biggest game in 20 years.”

• They play competing "show opens" produced by Roy and Jeremy, seeking Zaslow’s expert opinion on which one is “bigger.”

  • [01:43] Stugotz, listing Zaslow’s credentials: “Zaslow, you’ve been a radio producer for a long time… I need them both to be bigger.”

Notable Quote

“I keep exhorting these people, please make it bigger. So Roy made a new open and Jeremy made a new open, and I need them both to be bigger.”
— Dan Le Batard [01:43]

2. Breaking News: Dolphins Fire Mike McDaniel

• News breaks live: The Miami Dolphins have let go of head coach Mike McDaniel.
• Stugotz and company react instantly, diagnosing the desperation and timing as a move to clear the decks for a “star coach” chase (immediately linking to Jim/John Harbaugh rumors).
  • [05:01] “As we also have breaking news. Dolphins have hired [fired] Mike McDaniel.” — Dan
  • [05:08] Zaslow quickly pivots: “So, I mean, we’re gonna have a big celebration… but like he’s actually fired now, so. Alright, it’s a party, I guess, right?”

3. Harbaugh Sweepstakes: The Price of Desperation

• The crew launches into a layered conversation about NFL coaching economics, owner desperation, and Miami’s chances in a hypothetical sweepstakes for John Harbaugh.
• Key points:
  • The only advantage the Dolphins may have is owner Stephen Ross’s willingness to wildly overpay and cede total power to Harbaugh.
  • Wild salary speculation ensues—Zaslow floats $50 million/year for Harbaugh. Roy calls it fan fantasy; Stugotz says “what else can Miami offer?”
  • Historical context: The Browns’ guaranteed contract to Deshaun Watson is offered as precedent for outrageous moves to lure top talent.
• Discussion explores how billionaire owners actually spend (or don’t), with Roy mocking the idea that “money is no object” for even the super-rich.

Notable Quotes

“You can have all the power, you can do everything, and you can pick your next quarterback… wildly overpay him. But also tell him… you can have all of the power.”
— Dan Le Batard [06:33]

“If you just pay the coach an exorbitant amount of money with no salary cap, go offer John Harbaugh $50 million a season. I dare him to say no to that.”
— Jonathan Zaslow [07:25]

“They don’t spend $50 million… That’s why he can afford it.”
— Roy [20:06]

• They compare and contrast spending on coaches vs. players, and Steven Ross's potential end-of-life, “legacy move” motivation:
  • “This owner in South Florida cares deeply about not being a clown... This guy’s only advantage… is to have more money than the next guy.” — Stugotz [18:15]

4. Media & Insider Dynamics

• Dan presses Zaslow to “report” the story as breaking news and own the Harbaugh-to-Dolphins angle, teasing the gamesmanship of being first.

  • [27:03] Stugotz: "Put my name on the crawl, I’m telling you."
  • Zaslow, tongue-in-cheek: “I gotta make a couple calls. I’m a real journalist here. I don’t just throw things out all willy nilly…” [27:14]

• The group good-naturedly mocks ESPN/Meadowlark rivalries and Zaslow’s live location in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl—while all the action is supposedly in Miami.

5. Hotel & Travel Silliness

• The crew riffs on hotel aliases, room privacy, and the dangers of “outing” on-air broadcasters’ locations.

  • [28:14] Stugotz: “Why would he do that? He shouldn’t do that.”
  • Zaslow: "I stay under an alias. Don’t worry about that."

• Zaslow recounts a horrific first-class airplane experience—his nearby passenger a “slob” with bare, talon-like feet on the bulkhead. The group jokes about body shaming, class, and what constitutes “belonging” in first class.

  • [34:01] Zaslow: “I don’t understand people, man… They’re always slobs, right? It’s never like a good look.”
  • [36:35] Stugotz: “You’re being a classist and a body shamer.”

6. Pop Culture Debates: Rewatching TV Shows

• Zaslow is binging The Sopranos on his travels. Roy defends “Family Ties” and other classic sitcoms as just as worthy of rewatching, sparking a friendly generational TV debate.

  • [31:22] Zaslow: “I’m actually in the middle of a binge rewatch of The Sopranos.”
  • [37:59] Stugotz: “To say that it airs as a rewatch in comparison to the Sopranos is as bad a take as you’ve ever had.”

• Roy & Dan discuss the evolution of television anti-heroes and U.S. film history—tracing modern storytelling from the Hays Commission rules to The Sopranos.

  • [40:24] Roy: “This is an American invention: good guy has to win… it’s why all that stuff happens now… The moment someone did [an anti-hero], it was like, this is so revolutionary.”

7. Running Gags & Musical Bits

• The recurring mention of “there goes another rubber tree plant”—a Sinatra reference—takes on a surreal life as a punchline for arbitrary bigness.
  • [32:01] Jeremy: “Oops. There goes another rubber tree plant. Came from the 1959 winner for best original song… High Hopes by Frank Sinatra…”

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Dan demandingly vaudevillian:
  “Please make it bigger. Bob Dignagian. I need it to be bigger than all big because it’s bigger than Bob Drignanian.” [01:43]

• On NFL coaching market tactics:
  “Great coach and most coveted coach at the most desperate time with the most desperate suitors. Those things are the same thing.”
  — Stugotz [12:18]

• On billionaire logic:
  “They don’t spend like that… That’s why he can afford it.”
  — Roy [20:06]

• Pop-culture meta moment:
  Jeremy: “I want to hear the podcast of that guy… talking about Zaslow as like this disgusting guy with a soda drinker’s body and a big ass head watching Sopranos.” [37:13]

Notable Timestamps

• 00:02 — Satirical “Fake Pregame Show” open: the “biggest game in 20 years”
• 04:41 — Absurd rubber tree plant bits, Sinatra song reference
• 05:01 — Breaking news: Dolphins fire Mike McDaniel
• 06:33 — Dan outlines the Harbaugh “all the power and money” pitch
• 07:25 — Zaslow floats $50 million for a coach
• 18:15 — Stugotz on owner desperation and legacy
• 27:03 — Stugotz goads Zaslow to “report” the Harbaugh story
• 34:01 — Zaslow shares his infamous first-class airplane “slob” story
• 37:59 — Family Ties vs. The Sopranos as “rewatchable” TV
• 40:24 — Roy explains the Hays Commission and anti-heroes in media

Tone and Style

This episode is energetic, irreverent, and self-referential—blending genuine sports analysis with parody, in-jokes, and cultural digressions. The hosts and guests riff with each other, oscillating between thoughtful sports talk and playful bits, always with a wink toward the absurdity of sports media.

For Listeners Who Missed It

This hour is quintessential Le Batard: a parody of sports media’s excess, grappling with real sports news and big-picture NFL economics, punctuated by pop-culture gags and sidetrack storytelling. The focus on both the absurd (giant fake pregame openers, Sinatra song misquotes) and the urgent (coaching changes, NFL market realities) means you get laughs and insight—and maybe more context about why Miami sports fans are currently losing their minds.