The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Hour 1: THE BUCKET RETURNS

Date: September 4, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Main Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz
Regulars: Chris Cody, Mike Ryan, Tony, Billy, Zazlow

Overview: Episode Theme and Purpose

This episode marks the return of football season – and with it, the beloved (and oft-mocked) "bucket" segment, which brings heated (and chaotic) group predictions and punishments back into the spotlight. Amid calls for more football talk from fans and staff, Dan surrenders to the frenzy and lets the crew dive into Tony’s "Top Five Teams I’m Keeping an Eye On" (not necessarily "best") for the new NFL season. The show also sees the group dusting off their infamous punishment bucket for straight-up pick’em games, with on-air bickering and friendly jibes throughout.
The episode blends signature Le Batard banter: relentless self-deprecation, in-jokes, Miami/South Florida flavor, and inside-baseball references around the show’s evolving rituals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Behind the Scenes Chaos: Opening the Show

• Control Room Confusion: Dan and Chris joke about the haphazard countdowns and in-ear communications as the show tries (somewhat unsuccessfully) to launch into football coverage.
  • "I just heard in my headset: Five, four, three, oh, two. And then you’re looking at me and you don’t have any idea what we’re doing." (Dan, 01:09)
  • Chris echoes Dan’s confusion, poking fun at being unprepared.

2. "Tony’s Top Five Teams I’m Keeping an Eye On"

Premise: Not a list of the best teams, but the most intriguing ones for Tony—those that (mostly) no one else thinks about.

The List:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars

   • Perennial punchline on the show; Tony continues his curious, stubborn support.
   • Liam Cohen now head coach: "I’m making a play on Liam Cohen. I think Liam Cohen revitalized Baker’s career..." (Tony, 04:11)
   • Dan roasts Tony’s Jacksonville fixation, referencing past failures and the uniquely grim “grainy footage” reputation of the Jags.
   • Group jokes about no one admitting when they're wrong about the Jags.

2. Atlanta Falcons

   • Excitement about new direction post-Arthur Smith, with Michael Penix Jr. at QB and Zach Robinson as OC.
   • Focus shifts to underperforming star Kyle Pitts:
     • "If it doesn’t happen this year, Dan, it’s over." (Tony, 07:08)
   • Dan’s memorable bit about odd football player comparisons (Kyle Pitts to Aaron Hernandez/Gronk; Tyreek Hill to Ray Carruth). (07:39-08:07)

3. Tennessee Titans

   • Rookie QB Cam Ward’s potential as a “number one pick.”
   • Group debates whether instant rookie QB success can be expected, with Le Batard pushing skepticism:
     • "No one knows what to expect from Cam Ward. But I’m telling you that all history suggests that he can’t be Jaden Daniels. It can’t keep happening like that…" (Dan, 09:13-09:54)
   • Back-and-forth about rookie learning curves, with Mike Ryan arguing players with extra COVID years are more ready.

4. New York Giants

   • Tony touts the defensive front and emerging offensive pieces, even though expectations are low.
   • "No one thinks the Giants are going to be any good this year." (Dan, 12:06)
   • Tony: “...they’re not going to be a ton of winning football, but they’re going to be fun.” (12:34)

5. New England Patriots

   • Mike Vrabel’s head coaching, rookie Drake May at QB (likened to "Josh Allen light"), and RB Travion Henderson possibly as rookie of the year.
   • "I think we got like a Josh Allen light in Drake May. I think he’s going to run the football. I think he’s going to throw pretty well." (Tony, 13:00)
   • Dan chastises Tony for focusing on, what he calls, "the very bottom of the league." (13:34)

3. The Return of "The Bucket" – Pick’Em and NFL Week 1 Chaos

• How It Works:
  • Every participant draws a team from a bucket. Can swap once.
  • Whoever gets assigned a team that loses faces a costume or other punishment (enforced by new contract language—thank you, John Amici).
  • Zazlow explains the (still evolving) process: “We rummage, you get two picks in the bucket. If you don’t like the first one, you can put it back...” (20:14)
• Immediacy and Chaos:
  • Several segments of confusion about the rules, who starts, and swapping mechanics.
  • First games previewed include Jags-Panthers, Bengals-Browns, Cardinals-Saints, Bears-Vikings, Jets (versus ?) and more.
  • Zazlow gets the Jaguars and is excited.
  • Mike Ryan takes Arizona, confidently predicts them to make the playoffs: "I like Arizona this year. I think they’re making a playoff." (21:20)
  • Billy picks the Bears: “I am Bear down, Billy. But I don’t like the last game of the week.” (21:45)
  • The "swap helmet" segment devolves into a comic, circular argument about how to correctly swap and with whom, leading to impromptu negotiation and a breakdown in picking logic (especially between Chris Cody, Billy, and Mike Ryan).

4. Punishments, “The Helmet,” and Show Rituals

• New, Strict Enforcement:
  • Contractual obligations (via John Amici) will now ensure that losers face costume punishments.
  • Dentek sponsors both mouth guards for punishment and the bucket/helmet segment.
  • Dan: “There are outstanding fines all over the place. We haven’t been able to get it under control. And John Amici wrote it into the most recent contracts... We’re doing the bucket again.” (18:58)
• Running Jokes:
  • No one pays their fines/costumes seriously.
  • Jeremy is now in charge of handling the costumes, apparently after recovering from being hit on the head with a bottle earlier.

5. Sports Doc Drama: The Charlie Sheen Documentary Bid

• Inside Baseball:
  • Metal Arc (the show’s company) nearly landed the Charlie Sheen documentary, and Dan asks the crew to guess how much they would have paid for it.
  • Billy jokes he confused "Sheen" with the Chinese e-commerce giant "Shein."
  • No consensus emerges on an acceptable bid.
  • Meta-joke: always the “bridesmaid,” never first to a big rights deal.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan Le Batard (on chaos at show open):
  "I just heard in my headset: Five, four, three, oh, two. And then you’re looking at me and you don’t have any idea what we’re doing." (01:09)

• Dan (roasting Tony’s Jacksonville fixation):
  "Tony, being a Jacksonville guy is one of the biggest national support voices Jacksonville has had, because no one cares about the grainy footage coming out of Jacksonville, which smells bad and is stuck in 1998 praying for Mark Brunell." (04:25)

• Chris Cody (on Falcons' improvement):
  "They should shift from playing bad to playing good." (06:34)

• Dan (on Kyle Pitts and football comps):
  "Because you just compared Kyle Pitts to Aaron Hernandez and you did it so casually. Next time you see a running back that flashes to you in college, compare them to O.J. Simpson." (07:39)

• Dan (on rookie expectation cycle):
  "No one knows what to expect from Cam Ward. But I’m telling you that all history suggests that he can’t be Jaden Daniels. It can’t keep happening like that where someone comes into the league and is immediately… That can it?" (09:13)

• Dan (sarcastically):
  "I want to issue a public apology to the audience for a list that, when…it took the show from me to talk fuck football, did so with the very bottom of the league to analyze the teams that have the very least expectations." (18:29)

• Group banter over the swap helmet/picking process:
  Hilarity descends as Chris Cody, Billy, Mike, et al. debate, barter, and get lost in the mechanics of the swap, leading to memorable lines like:

  • "You slobber with me, you want to do business with me? You wanna slot with me? Maybe I have the Broncos." (Chris Cody/Billy, 26:00-26:30)

• Mike Ryan (reminiscing):
  "We actually really did [fist bump]. Whether it’s that touchdown you didn’t see coming or just arguing about fantasy lineups, you and I did plenty of that." (14:37)

Segments with Timestamps

• 00:59: Show officially kicks off.
• 01:09-01:37: Opening chaos and banter about on-air confusion.
• 01:45: Football focus begins; Tony cues up his list.
• 02:44-13:34: Tony’s Top Five Teams I’m Keeping an Eye On (detailed above).
  • Jacksonville Jaguars: 04:04
  • Atlanta Falcons: 06:18
  • Tennessee Titans: 08:11
  • New York Giants: 11:41
  • New England Patriots: 12:52
• 18:17-19:59: Dan’s apology for giving over the show to a “bottom of the league” football list; rituals reestablished.
• 19:59-24:16: The return of “the Bucket” and NFL Pick’Em, the rules, first picks, and confused swaps.
• 24:32-25:52: Arguments and chaos around the swap helmet – meta-game about who’s swapping, and how.
• 31:29: Jeremy is comically appointed as the new "costume enforcer."
• 32:03: Dan pivots to the missed Sheen documentary bidding war (more meta/media industry content).

Tone and Language

The episode is quintessential Dan Le Batard Show:

• Loose, anarchic, and self-referential: The group continually roasts one another, subverts expectations, and mocks show bits even as they execute them.
• Sports as a medium for comedy: Football analysis veers into parody, with outlandish analogies and loving mockery of the game’s obsession with predictions and “takes.”
• Meta-show banter: The group references contracts, sponsors, show history, and the ever-growing list of inside jokes.

In Summary

This episode captures the heart of the Dan Le Batard Show: the messy pageantry of football fervor, layered with wit, skepticism, invented tradition, and the show’s unique take on sports radio. The return of “the bucket” is at once a celebration of football’s return and a tongue-in-cheek send-up of “expert picks.” The “Top Five Teams” segment shows the crew delighting in discussing also-rans and wild cards, while the ever-present game-within-a-game and ritual punishments keep the meta-comedy flowing. Amid the football talk, the group can’t help but lampoon its own inability to focus, governing contracts, and many, many years of recurring bits and bets.