Hour 1: The Fourth Rail

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Hour 1: The Fourth Rail
Date: January 22, 2026

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Episode Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the crew deliver a freewheeling, humorous, and occasionally chaotic hour delving into current sports matchups, the quirks of coaching legacies, the agony of near-miss championship defeats, and a wild detour into podcast trivia. This episode’s main themes are:

• Dissecting dramatic NFL and college football games and coaching strategies
• Debating the concept of "bonehead" coaches who've won championships
• Mourning (and analyzing) Miami’s heartbreaking title loss to Indiana
• A lively (and confused) discussion about "the fourth rail" and breaking the fourth wall
• Examining unusual athlete behavior and speculating on causes
• Wrapping up with a playful real-or-fake podcast game

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Seahawks-Rams Playoff Matchup & Sam Darnold Discourse (01:08–04:41)

• Kenny Ducey sets the stage with stats on the Rams vs. Seahawks—a battle between the league’s top scoring defense and offense, featuring razor-thin lifetime margins:

  “The Seahawks are 29 and 28 against the Rams all time. They’ve scored 1,223 points. The Rams have scored 1,222 points.” (01:22)

• Tony recalls their previous wild game as potentially "the best game of the year," and relitigates Sam Darnold’s reliability.
• The panel pokes fun at Darnold’s notorious hesitation in high-leverage situations:
  • Quoting unnamed announcers:

    “[He’s] holding it too long…Throw it, man!” (04:13)

The GOAT of "Bonehead" Coaching Champions (04:41–06:53)

• A lively debate on which "not-so-great" coaches have still managed to win championships.
• Nominees: Doc Rivers, Nathaniel Hackett, Gene Chizik, Larry Coker, Barry Switzer, Ozzie Guillen, and Signetti.
• Dan:

  “Are we doing the goat of bonehead coaches?... the goat of coaches to win a championship who you still don’t consider any good..." (05:27)

The ‘Fourth Rail’: Breaking the Fourth Wall and Mixing Metaphors (06:51–09:17)

• Tony: Praises Indiana coach Kurt Signetti, claiming he "plays the fourth rail," intending to refer to breaking the fourth wall and drawing laughs and corrections.
  • Kenny Ducey:

    “What’s the fourth rail and why is he playing on it?” (06:53)

  • Dan:

    “No, that’s a wall.” (06:58)
    “It’s bad when you confuse all of us.” (08:02)

• The crew riffs on the confusion, mixing up theater and subway metaphors with abandon.

Coping with Miami’s Championship Loss to Indiana (09:51–23:20)

• In-depth rehash of Miami’s loss, scrutinizing pivotal plays, special teams, coaching decisions, and the psychology of fans obsessing over "what could have been."
• Dan:

  “I really do feel like I can go to any football game that’s played that is close and find 30 different plays that would have changed the outcome of a game if somebody had seen something.” (11:23)

• Extensive breakdown of Miami’s unique strengths and the agony of falling just short:
  • Dan:

    “Miami lost to what is going to be talked about when you see top 10 lists for the rest of time…greatest College Football Championship 16–0. Indiana will be on those lists. And Miami had an opportunity with a minute left in that game to beat them having a miraculous season. And it came down to execution.” (22:10)

• Recognition of Indiana and coach Signetti’s execution under pressure.

Taking Inventory: Health, Injuries, and Athlete Absences (23:20–33:12)

49ers’ Injury Woes and the "Power Plant" Theory

• Kenny Ducey and Dan riff on the ongoing mystery of why the 49ers seem to have so many injuries, joking about substation proximity:

  “...I fear that my players are contaminated with radioactivity. That’s not a normal thing that you get in a post season.” (24:21)

• The Ayuk controversy: Why a player would forfeit millions by simply not showing up, with Kyle Shanahan’s direct quote:

  “It’s unfortunate and it’s confusing because it’s confusing for all of us. But it eventually becomes. It is what it is.” (25:22) – Shanahan

• Psychoanalyzing unexplained football retirements/absences, referencing Antonio Brown’s trauma as a cautionary tale.

Football’s Relentless Toll

• Discussion on training trends and whether it’s possible to truly prevent injuries.
• Dan:

  “None of us are taking any actual inventory of how any of those bodies feel at this point in a season. Correct?” (33:05)

Podcast Game: Real or Fake? (34:06–38:14)

A break for levity—a rapid-fire game where Dan quizzes the crew on whether a podcast is real or made up:

• “Game Recognized Game with Miles Turner” – Real
• “The Rush with Max Crosby” – Real
• “Up On Game with TJ Houshmandzadeh” – Real
• “We Want the Funk with Dory Funk Jr.” – Fake
• “Cousins with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady” – Real (new launch)
• The crew’s terrible record at the game pokes fun at their lack of podcast literacy.

More Comedy: The “Fourth Rail” Redux & Show Mishaps (40:33–end)

• Self-deprecating humor about the confusion over metaphors (“third rail,” “fourth wall,” “fourth rail”) and previous show mistakes.
• Dan, ribbing Tony:

  “He was off the fourth rail this week.” (40:33)

• Further clarification of what Tony was “trying to say” about Signetti and the cameras.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “The Seahawks are 29 and 28 against the Rams all time. They’ve scored 1,223 points. The Rams have scored 1,222 points. So this…feels like it’s for the championship to me.” – Kenny Ducey (01:15)
• “He’s holding it too long… Throw it, man!” – Unnamed announcer (04:13–04:32)
• “Are we doing the goat of bonehead coaches? Not bonehead coaches, but the goat of coaches to win a championship who you still don’t consider any good…” – Dan Le Batard (05:27)
• “What’s the fourth rail and why is he playing on it?” – Kenny Ducey (06:53)
• “It’s bad when you confuse all of us.” – Dan Le Batard (08:02)
• “I really do feel like I can go to any football game… and find 30 different plays that would have changed the outcome…” – Dan Le Batard (11:23)
• “Miami lost to what is going to be talked about…greatest College Football Championship 16–0. Indiana will be on those lists.” – Dan Le Batard (22:10)
• “I fear that my players are contaminated with radioactivity. That’s not a normal thing that you get in a postseason.” – Dan Le Batard (24:21)
• “It is what it is. A guy’s under contract, the money’s guaranteed. They never take away your guarantees. They’re guarantees. They’re taking away his guarantees because he just stopped showing up.” – Kenny Ducey (25:41)
• “None of us are taking any actual inventory of how any of those bodies feel at this point in a season.” – Dan Le Batard (33:05)
• “Put it on the poll at LeBatard show. Does anyone want to see an 84 year old professional wrestler?” – Kenny Ducey (37:46)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:08 – 04:41: Seahawks-Rams, Sam Darnold conversation
• 04:41 – 06:53: GOAT coach debate (Bonehead Coaching Champs)
• 06:51 – 09:17: The “Fourth Rail” confusion and comedy
• 09:51 – 23:20: Miami-Indiana game recap, “what ifs”, Signetti analysis
• 23:20 – 33:12: 49ers injuries, Ayuk absence, football brain health, injury prevention
• 34:06 – 38:14: Podcast trivia game: Real or Fake?
• 40:33 – End: Recap of show mishaps, “Fourth Rail” mix-up, end banter

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Tone and Style

• Irreverent, quick-witted, and at times intentionally convoluted
• Frequent in-jokes, running gags, and playful ribbing among the hosts
• Sports analysis laced with randomness and self-deprecation

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This episode exemplifies why the Dan Le Batard Show is beloved: no major sports story is too sacred for their brand of chaos, humor, or a little accidental brilliance—and everyone is fair game for a roast, especially themselves.

Transcript

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[Kenny Ducey]

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[Kenny Ducey]

So we have a situation with this Seahawks Rams game where you've got the number one scoring offense against the number one scoring defense and usually defense wins that game. 71 all time. When you have that kind of matchup, the all time stats between the Seahawks and the Rams. The Seahawks are 29 and 28 against the Rams all time. They've scored 1,223 points. The Rams have scored 1,222 points. So this is, this feels like it's for the championship to me. I don't know how that feels to you. The Patriots have had a really easy schedule and it's rare for a team like the Patriots to just cascade through everything and win the championship their first time through this. So I know I've doubted them all season and they're a five and a half point favorite on the road because they've gotten very fortunate here against the Broncos because Stidham is starting. But that's the game I'm interested in. I'm just not interested in the other one.

[Tony]

The part that sucks is that the game that it was actually during our holiday party, that Thursday night game between the Rams and the Seahawks was probably the best game of the year on a back and forth basis. Like how do you top that game that the last time we saw these two teams play, it was the best game we've seen in a really long time. And like, all right, do it again, right?

[Kenny Ducey]

The two times they've played, right? The Seahawks were the Seahawks. The first time they played the Rams, they had a minus four turnover differential and was still trying to kick a 61 yard field goal at the end to win the game, not even tie it, because they somehow overcame that. And then the last time they played, outside of that weird Broncos Giants game earlier this season, that had all that chaos in the fourth quarter and the game that the Titans won against the Cardinals, the weirdest game I saw this season was the ending to Seahawks, Rams, the last time they played. But I believe that most of the people listening to this are going to take the Rams in that game just because they don't trust Sam Darnold. They think Sam Darnold is gonna. Sam Darnold even with the best defense in the league. Tony, you're making a face there. You're willing to trust Sam Darnold?

[Tony]

I'm willing to trust Mike McDonald. I'm willing to trust the defense because Sam Darnold had the game that we all thought he would have against the Rams, and they were 61 yards away from winning the game. Right. Got on a field goal like this, you've seen the worst possibility. He throws four interceptions that are terrible. They have five turnovers in the game. And then all of a sudden you look and say, all right, 61 yards.

[Kenny Ducey]

But I don't understand how the Rams lost to them last time. 5 minutes left in that game. Like it was improbable. They were all, look, I could also make the argument that both Packers Bears games of the last month were among the weirdest of the comebacks. But the Seahawks winning that second game against the Rams was damn near inexplicable. And when it comes to distrust for Sam Darnold. You guys remember the radio call last year? Minnesota went 14 3. They won all their one score games and they get to the playoffs and Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold in a way that had the broadcasters really frustrated.

[Tony]

He's holding it too long.

[Kenny Ducey]

Throw it, man. That was the pissed off announcer talking about Sam Darnold with obvious frustration.

[Tony]

He's holding it too long.

[Kenny Ducey]

Just run, throw it, man. That was both of them actually. Just run.

[Tony]

He's holding it too long.

[Kenny Ducey]

Throw it, man.

[Tony]

That man comes from a very deep place in the loins. He's holding it too long.

[Zaslo]

Just run, throw it, man.

[Tony]

Baby.

[Kenny Ducey]

Welcome in another New sponsor here. We love new sponsors. We ask you to support the people who support us. And we've got a goat conversation that I want to continue from earlier in the show of worst coaches to win a championship. We were talking about Doc Rivers and the fact that Doc rivers is now 18 and 25 with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Doc Rivers has some bad failure on his resume. It's not just the game sevens the collapses with three one leads. He had an Orlando team with Andrew. Now Grant Hill was hurt on that team, but he had a team that never got out of the first round with Anthony Hardaway. Are we doing the goat of bonehead coaches? Not bonehead coaches, but the goat of coaches to win a championship who you still don't consider any good, I gotta.

[Dan Le Batard]

Scratch off Nathaniel Hackett.

[Kenny Ducey]

So you're just doing bonehead coaches that saw he.

[Dan Le Batard]

He worked the clock to set up a 64 yard field.

[Kenny Ducey]

We're talking a goat conversation. We need to get the goat of bonehead coaches. I mean Nathaniel Hackett.

[Zaslo]

Try to beat that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you remember that guy?

[Kenny Ducey]

I mean, Gene Chiswick. I wanted to go goat of coaches who won a championship and you still consider incompetent.

[Dan Le Batard]

Larry Coker, very Switzer.

[Kenny Ducey]

Those are good ones.

[Zaslo]

Don't say Coker.

[Tony]

Come on.

[Kenny Ducey]

Ozzie Guillen. I mean, look, I had Larry. Larry Coker. I think Larry Coker had the best start to a coaching career there's ever been. I think he won his first 32 or 34 games and then when he left Miami, wasn't allowed to coach anywhere else.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, thank. I can't say that anymore. It's Signetti.

[Kenny Ducey]

This hot takes go conversation is presented by Frank's red hot. Make every dish the greatest.

[Zaslo]

Eat the goat.

[Kenny Ducey]

Barry Switzer's pretty good. Really good one. When. When you mentioned Signetti. Have you come around on Signetti, Tony? Have you. What is your feeling on Signetti? Are you seem to have some bittersweet, troubled, conflicting feelings after, you know, proper time to.

[Tony]

To really think about and reflect on the loss. I started thinking about Signetti and I started thinking about his timeline of where he's been and how he's gotten where he's gotten. And it's like this guy's a great coach and I like his style. I like how he's always looking at the cameras. He's playing on the fourth rail.

[Dan Le Batard]

Google me.

[Tony]

Like, that's probably one of the greatest.

[Kenny Ducey]

What's the fourth rail and why is he playing on it?

[Tony]

Fourth rail? Yeah, he's breaking. He's breaking. The fourth rail.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, that's a wall.

[Commercial Voice]

Fourth wall.

[Tony]

It's the third rail.

[Kenny Ducey]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is really funny considering the conversation we just had prior about the Boneheads. Yeah.

[Kenny Ducey]

What is the. What is the fourth rail? I don't know what the fourth rail.

[Dan Le Batard]

Fourth wall.

[Kenny Ducey]

Final penalty, two minutes. Tremendous.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. There's a third rail.

[Tony]

Don't write it down.

[Dan Le Batard]

And a fourth wall.

[Tony]

Don't write it down.

[Kenny Ducey]

I'm sorry, Tony. You're gonna have to leave. Sam Darnold with the Vikings versus the Rams. Last year in the playoffs, he lost 27 to 9. Nine sacks, 12 QB hits, two turnovers. Also, almost half of his interceptions this year have come against the Rams.

[Tony]

He said, google me. And then he did it.

[Dan Le Batard]

You gotta go, baby.

[Tony]

Like you.

[Kenny Ducey]

Did you not hear song? I don't know what a.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I heard it.

[Kenny Ducey]

I know, but I don't understand what that was.

[Tony]

AS analysis said 18 things that haven't made sense in two weeks.

[Zaslo]

Yo, don't bring me into your business, all right? Don't mind your own business. Go on. Penalty box. Keep my name out your mouth.

[Kenny Ducey]

I just don't understand what he was even trying to say. He plays on the fourth rail.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's bad when you confuse all of us.

[Kenny Ducey]

It's a word salad of nothing. And. And I thought that he'd come around on Signetti.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a shame. I wanted to hear the rest of his Signetti point.

[Kenny Ducey]

It is a shame, isn't it? We'll never hear about it, but he doesn't deserve for it to be heard. When you say he plays on the fourth rail like nobody understood what he was talking about. It's just saying words for no reason.

[Dan Le Batard]

Fourth rail was wild. We were so close, so close to having a game, a national title game in Wilson. People were questioning Kurt Signetti's game plan and clock management and touting what a great call Mario Crisaball made. We were this close.

[Kenny Ducey]

What do you think Tony meant? Just. Just.

[Dan Le Batard]

Fourth wall. Fourth wall. Right. Breaking the fourth wall. You think if you had a camera.

[Zaslo]

Explain what the fourth wall is, he'd be able to properly put the words together?

[Kenny Ducey]

I don't know what he's saying. Nah, it's a wall. You break the wall that he doesn't play to the camera?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Kenny Ducey]

What? He's just pissed off all the time.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, no, he. He knows exactly where the cameras are. You kidding me? That's. That's his thing. He's constantly looking at it.

[Kenny Ducey]

You.

[Dan Le Batard]

You didn't notice this about.

[Kenny Ducey]

Just pissed off all the time.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's he's always playing to the can. The guy's such a ham. You know when he said Google me, it wasn't about his record. It's because it's something that he does every morning. The guy loves himself.

[Zaslo]

He had that Google me line locked and he loaded.

[Dan Le Batard]

Definitely rehearses his moves. And you know what? He's a champ theater kid. He's the frickin man. Man. How did that corner not bite on Mali underneath? It's like they knew where we were going with the ball.

[Zaslo]

I spent all day thinking about that fake punt. Not fake punt, but the, the punt return that ever materialized. I spent all day yesterday thinking about it.

[Kenny Ducey]

All right, so for those of you who do not know a play that Chris Felica has pointed out before the blocked punt that turned that game, Malachi Toney caught a ball at the five yard line. And because the punt was so good, the University of Miami was not able to execute a play that I don't believe I've ever seen tried executed on a punt. I've seen it tried on kickoffs before, before they changed all the kickoff rules, but I don't think I've seen. I can't come up with it from my memory a play where you, you field a punt and then make everyone. Because Malachi Toney obviously draws a lot of attention, come to the right side of the field and then lateral it across the field by throwing it own end zone to a player for the Hurricanes who was wide open over there unattended to. And a lot of people were sending me this over the last few days saying look, Miami had set up according to Chris Felica. I keep making him phallic for some reason. I always do. That had set up what would have been a seismic ballsy play call. Now we're going to associate that game, I think with Signetti making the ballsy calls because the Hoosiers scored two touchdowns, one of them aided by several University of Miami penalties, the other one aided by two fourth and fives that they converted that Signetti could have been forgiven for if he had not gone for them. And I thought it was kind of surprising that down in distance that he not only went for it, but chose to unleash his Heisman Trophy winner's legs for the first time on a design draw play. But you can't stop watching that play because of the almost. And the thing that I found curious in the coping of that is I really do feel like I can go to any football game that's played that is close and find 30 different plays that would have changed the outcome of a game if somebody had seen something. And for some reason, this one is the one that University of Miami fans can't stop talking about because it's so.

[Zaslo]

Extraordinary that they were trying to even attempt that kind of risky play. And on top of it, it's like, yeah, it was gonna work.

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[Zaslo]

That's. It's the. What could have been that has captured me.

[Dan Le Batard]

There were like six could have beens in that game, by the way. Like, it's kind of remarkable that. Malachi, Tony. Most people, when they have a design play like that and have the ability to throw, they'll force something bad.

[Zaslo]

Like, how many times do you see the flea flicker who just about gets blown up and the running back still tosses him back?

[Dan Le Batard]

Or reversal wide receiver who forces a ball.

[Sponsor Voice]

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[Dan Le Batard]

And it's picked off Mallie just like he had the presence of mind. Like, all right, it's not there. I have a split second to just tuck this down and not even look. And to the point that Chris was on the sideline, he's like, I think they had something cooking on that. It was kind of. Kind of weird. But nobody that was in attendance thought other than Chris, like, oh, that's a. That's a fake play. But there were six plays in this game, and two of them were mono amano plays. Back shoulder throws where you just tip your hat like, okay, that's football. Can your guy beat our guy? And they did that. But the rest of them were straight up balls and execution. And that was the book on Indiana. They execute and they take advantage of any mistake that you made. You mentioned the. The draw play by Mendoza. Corey Heatherman said post game, he knew that was the play call. He knew that was a play call. We were just late in getting that play call in. And the corner, the safety comes outside as opposed to inside. The punter booming that punt. Us not being able to maintain the block there, obviously the block punt, all this stuff, the procedural stuff, the operational stuff, it all worked in Indiana's favor. And I thought it was cliche. All right, we'll see. I see these guys on. On the field, our guys are a lot bigger than yours. Now, a lot of that stuff played out. Miami effectively ran the ball, but the game was won by execution. And I'm just flabbergasted that everything that was said about Indiana was absolutely true. You cannot make a mistake against them. You will pay for it immediately.

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[Dan Le Batard]

Batar to US Residents.

[Kenny Ducey]

Oh wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's in there.

[Tony]

It's better.

[Dan Le Batard]

You think I haven't been practicing stugats.

[Kenny Ducey]

I didn't realized we had a substitute. Complicated Legacy by headquarter Toyota 441 Power.

[Tony]

Line Road second down to nine.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the D? Ler show with the St.

[Tony]

The point I was making about the fourth rail was that Signetti is such a good coach, right? And it just kind of seems that he came out of nowhere and it just like he got one job after another job and then he got the Indiana job which is historically one of the worst in college football. Is like I'm going to win. Google me. And everybody's like ah, look at this guy, he's kind of a joke. And then all of a sudden they started being good. All of a sudden they started winning. And then this season they've just been the best coach team. It's like how do you go in completely change a program and in a.

[Kenny Ducey]

Culture like that they didn't play that good a game. Honestly that in term that is not his signature game in terms of the team not making mistakes and playing well. Like they did not play the normally clean game that they play, right?

[Dan Le Batard]

But the the corner that made the interception sharp like that. That is a testament to film breakdown and coaching because Malachi Tony was open underneath. You can hold that against Carson Beck. He took a shot, his head bounced off the field. But like usually the corner follows the underneath wide receiver and that way you have a bigger hole to drop that pass into. And if you look at the film like Marion is kind of open if it is a perfect pass. But it has to be that precise because the corner has Carson Beck read like a book. He's going his one read. This is a play call. I'm not going to follow Malley. I'll allow Malley these 20 yards underneath because I can go win A national championship right now. And. And on top of that, he makes the catch too. It's a, it's a hell of a.

[Zaslo]

Team, dude, to Tony's point. And I, I've been thinking about this as well, you know, through the latter part of the season. Signetti's what, 63 years old. How does that happen? Where he become. You have a coach who becomes, you know, like, like we're going to start talking about him alongside Kirby Smart. Right. As best coaches in college football. But Kirby Smart is significantly younger. Like, how do you become one of the best coaches in college football out of nowhere and you're in your 60s? Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know what's going on. Maybe, I mean his attitude, maybe he's always kind of had that. And at the lower ranks that doesn't fly. It's kind of weird for a guy that stood that close to Nick Saban, that was responsible for some big time recruiting acquisitions and wins, to have to go to a lower level and build himself back up. Very rare for the Saban staffs to do that. Very rare.

[Kenny Ducey]

Are you still turning off the television when you see the remnants of the highlights from that game? I see all over our wallpaper city. I do see still national flippin champions are postered. Like all the Indiana people have left. There's no longer a bunch of red in all of our streets. They have left the city, but they've left behind some wallpaper.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, honestly, I thought about taking a personal day this week because I was so sad. But doing the job has kind of made me cause of the performative aspects come up and realize, yeah, it was a great season. I enjoyed putting together the badass plays. I'm really happy about it. But yeah, it's still pretty triggering. Dan. Like, it's one thing if you get like blown off the field and you run into that team, it's another thing entirely where you're like, damn, like, it was so hard to get there. They had to win four games essentially on the road where you don't have the home field advantage, like to do that at College Station. We're talking about cream of the crop programs that Miami had to go through. It's so hard. And everybody was saying, like, all right, we'll just get them next year, dude. There's 150 teams in Division 1 college football. There's about 25 that can talk themselves into, we legitimately have a title chance here. It is hard. You're not going to have the overwhelming talent advantages that the teams of the past did. Like there is talent spread evenly throughout. You just have to get as many lottery tickets as you can. Like, like hopefully we make the College Football Playoff and we can talk ourselves into get us. We get in the tournament, we got a shot. But it is hard to get back here. I didn't want to take it for granted whatsoever because there's no guarantee.

[Kenny Ducey]

It's not just that it's hard to get back there. It's hard to get into a position where you're playing the championship game and you're the team with more pros where you obviously have first round pass rushers that can wreck any other team's game plan because you've got two first round edge rushers. That's the first time time Miami has ever had two first round edge rushers. That's not. They've had some decent pass rushers but they usually come through the middle. They don't have the great guys on the edges. They had two of them this year. In the history of the program, you've got like Calais Campbell, you've got Rusty Medeiros, you've got Greg Mark. You don't have two first round pass rushers on the edges.

[Dan Le Batard]

The game was right there. Like Miami lost to what is going to be talked about when you see top 10 lists for the rest of time. Like greatest College Football Championship 16 0. Indiana will be on those list. And Miami had an opportunity with a minute left in that game to beat them having a miraculous season. And it came down to execution. We all thought Miami's best would beat Indiana's best. I think that kind of. That one game sample kind of proved that. And Miami just didn't quite meet the moment. They didn't quite play the game that was good enough to win. I think the Bill Connolly win probability measurement was like 14% for Indiana. Like they didn't.

[Kenny Ducey]

Based on the stats from. Once you check out the stats after the game, the win probability of Indiana, given that they only had two touchdown drives, the win probability was 14% based on all of the metrics after you consume them when the game's been played.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, my offense versus your defense. Your defense versus my offense. Miami outplayed Indiana in that regard, but it was execution and special teams. And that's what everybody said. You got to watch out for Indiana on. And they proved it.

[Tony]

And also Roy said the thing, baby, I'll never forgive him, baby.

[Kenny Ducey]

There's that as well. I wanted to ask you guys something from a couple of the different press conferences that there were yesterday when people start taking Inventory and doing the autopsy on their NFL seasons. Put the Buffalo press conference off to the side for a second. John lynch of the 49ers. It's still strange to me to see John lynch running the 49ers. I don't think a lot of people listening to this know that John lynch threw the first pitch in Florida Marlins history. He was the Single A pitcher who threw the very first pitch in organizational history. And now he runs the 49ers. Not only does he say that they're going to look into whether or not their players get injured more than any other team in the league because they practice next to a power plant. So now you've got a GM of the league. Even though scientists have said, look, there's not a link between these things. Basically what you've got is a GM in the league saying, I fear that my players are contaminated with radioactivity. That's not a normal thing that you get in a post season.

[Tony]

Okay, not radioactivity. EMF frequencies, but that's different.

[Dan Le Batard]

And not a power plant. I misspoke. It's an electrical substation. Whatever. No one knows what to call those things.

[Kenny Ducey]

Funnier. My way to have them contaminated by radioactivity. But when you talk about radioactivity in their locker room. They did also have that with the Ayuk situation part that I wanted to get to with you guys because the quote from Shanahan was kind of shocking given that you had ayuk. He had 27 million in guarantees in a contract that they were kind of skittish about giving to him, but they gave him the contract and then IUK stopped showing up when he was injured. And this is the quote from Shanahan, quote. I'd say it officially stopped for me when the last time I tried to get a hold of him and couldn't, and then tried a couple more times and still couldn't, couldn't. And then that matched everyone else that was trying to get a hold of him to come in. And eventually there's not much of an explanation because it's really hard for us and anyone else to understand. And that's why it's something I've never seen in 22 years of coaching. It's unfortunate and it's confusing because it's confusing for all of us. But it eventually becomes. It is what it is. A guy's under contract, the money's guaranteed. They never take away your guarantees. They're guarantees. They're taking away his guarantees because he just stopped showing up. How do you stop Showing up if it risks millions of dollars when you don't actually have to go in and do the work, you just have to get perfect attendance. Like, you don't even have to get perfect attendance. You just have to return the calls of the people in charge.

[Zaslo]

You just have to not violate the terms of your contract.

[Tony]

Just show up.

[Kenny Ducey]

Yeah.

[Tony]

Just literally show up.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Tony]

You could do whatever you want. You could play, drive to the facility.

[Kenny Ducey]

And just sit there. But have you guys ever heard of such a thing? And incidentally, I can't help but do this. It's not fair. I know we do this doctor diagnosis when we're not doctors, but anytime I'm confronted in that sport with something that doesn't make sense to me, like, I was talking about this a lot on the end of Antonio Brown's career when he plays for three teams and whatever it is, six months and you're like, what's happening there? That's one of the best receivers you've ever seen. What's the craziness of this behavior where I don't see any precedent for it. And it can be addicted to social media, but anytime something this strange happens that I can't explain, I wonder, fairly or unfairly, hey, what's going on with this person's head? Like, what. What did football help do to this person's head?

[Dan Le Batard]

Power plant, dude.

[Tony]

Substation.

[Zaslo]

Have we not heard at all from Brandon iuk's agents? Like, has the agent fired him? Normally, when something similar to this is going on, we will hear from the agent.

[Dan Le Batard]

You guys remember the summer of iu? We talked about this guy non stop for two months and he's fallen off the face of the earth. Don Lebatard.

[Zaslo]

I've never stepped foot on that campus. If you told me right now your life depends on it. Go to Santa Fe University and just take a picture.

[Dan Le Batard]

Stugats.

[Zaslo]

I would die. I don't know where it is.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Kenny Ducey]

Is it something that's unfair for me to do? To wonder whenever I see erratic football behavior from a player that I simply can't explain, that I have never seen, that Kyle Shanahan is telling you, I haven't seen this in 22 years of coaching where someone doesn't show up for his guarantees when all he's got to do is show up for work, he doesn't have to exercise, he doesn't have to rehab, he just has to show up at the facility. I don't know, because he's not his Family members have spoken. Look, he was wounded that they didn't throw more to him at the end of last season. He was wounded that he's not their number one receiver as a priority, even though it doesn't matter who plays for that team. That team wins 11, 12 games even if everybody is injured. I don't think it's a logic leap that's fair for me to make, but I can't help but keep making it when confronted with behavior I've never seen before. And I only do it in that sport. I don't do it in hockey, where there are plenty of collisions and concussions. I don't do it with any other sport. It's only that sport where I'm like, oh, do we not yet know where it regards brain chemistry, how damaging some of this is? Because the Antonio Brown behavior started immediately after Vontez Burfict hit him. Like, all of that behavior started when he was incapacitated on the field by a dirty hit by Vontez Burfik, who was trying to make that hit, who was trying. Trying to purposely injure him. And not only did, evidently also derailed Antonio Brown's entire life.

[Tony]

But you have, like, a point. You have a genesis of where the thing started with Antonio Brown. You look at Brandon, it's like he tore his, you know, all a bunch of ligaments in his knee. But, like, that has nothing really to do with his head. Right? So it's like, is it the. The rehab and how grueling it is to come back? Maybe that kind of.

[Zaslo]

Well, that's why Dan's asking whether or not it's even fair to ask that question.

[Dan Le Batard]

Text Pablo and tell him what to do, can you? I need a deep dive on this one. I'm just talking about the power plant.

[Tony]

I looked into it. I spoke to Peter Cohen.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, I would be totally here for Tony finds out.

[Tony]

You can go find it on my YouTube channel. Atony.

[Kenny Ducey]

I don't tell Pablo anything about what to do. No, I don't.

[Dan Le Batard]

Look at this power plant.

[Tony]

I mean, it burns down the collagen in your bones is what. Is what the conversation is about.

[Kenny Ducey]

But hasn't that substation been there since the 80s? Like, haven't they won?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, but they haven't been there since the 80s.

[Kenny Ducey]

Okay, but they've had multiple teams next to it without this kind of injury.

[Tony]

Agreed.

[Dan Le Batard]

Injuries, they've been hurt for, like, eight years, Dano.

[Tony]

Agreed. But from the 80s to now, that substation has increased, like a million fold of output because, you know, Back in the day, we weren't really using that stuff.

[Zaslo]

Being used, it's my gimmick.

[Kenny Ducey]

I remember having the argument with Stugats when Bill Parcells was running the Dolphins and they went 11 and 5 with Pennington getting second in the MVP voting and they had an injury free practice tactically year and Stugatz is saying, yeah, Parcells can do that. I'm like, Kenny, you think Parcells can come in and make sure his guys don't get injured?

[Tony]

Nobody turns an ankle.

[Kenny Ducey]

So Sirianni, the last few years before this recent spate, the Eagles were the healthiest team in the league. What are they doing? They're doing something to keep their players healthy. I remember Chip Kelly when they hired him, he had protein shakes and you know, he was measuring their hearts with, you know, apple watches and he was ahead of the game. You guys believe that there's a way to either prevent injuries in football with your training appreciably better than someone else's training staff.

[Zaslo]

How much would that guy get paid who can keep your team from getting hurt all year?

[Dan Le Batard]

Have you considered God? Well, they are in that godless city of San Francisco.

[Tony]

Finally. Somebody said it, baby.

[Kenny Ducey]

I did enjoy the idiocy of Segura. Tom Segura coming on with us the other day and saying he was at a table with a bunch of football players who were talking about how they got injured. And then he started talking about in high school he broke or he hurt his tailbone and he's like looking at one of the boats who are like, it's. It's such a flabbergasting lack of self awareness to get into that conversation. It's like talking to war veterans when you got into a fight one time in your sixth grade cafeteria about like the perils of conflict, the crucible of life.

[Tony]

Guess who's not there with me?

[Kenny Ducey]

Boy, it's just. I just can't believe, I can't believe that any human being, never mind Tom Segura, that any human being would sit at a table with three football players who are talking about injuries. Like, do you guys. Do you guys do any assessment? Assessment? My Valerie does this all the time and I've become numb to it over the years. Okay? The amount of stoppages in football for an injury are so commonplace that now my wife has me self conscious because every time she walks past the television, someone's on the field hurt. And she doesn't understand why we're still doing any of this. Right? She's watching it and she's like, like, let me guess, someone's hurt again because they're carrying people off every couple of plays. And it's just the most normal thing in the world. None of us take any inventory right as they play an extra game. And the Rams and the Seahawks and the. And the Patriots and the Broncos are all some form of broken by the end of this season. None of us are taking any actual inventory of how any of those bodies feel at this point in a season. Correct. I'm taking inventory that during the playoffs we have to sit and go to a commercial break as opposed to going.

[Zaslo]

Over to Buffalo for another game.

[Kenny Ducey]

That's in the red zone.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I'm taking inventory of it when I have to sit down and watch. Jared Stidham, no doubt took inventory when.

[Tony]

Marvin Mims got the microphone.

[Dan Le Batard]

That was crazy. I was like, oh, yeah, up his butt, man. That was crazy.

[Tony]

It was very close to up his.

[Dan Le Batard]

Butt very well, dude.

[Tony]

It's like hit him in his back and his tailbone, but he arrived at a different angle. You might be having a big issue.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know, in radio, you can't say anything is going in and out of a butt. That's why I'm glad to be a digital audio pioneer, because, I mean, sometimes it's absolutely necessary. The whole microphone almost went up the bus. You can't say that. Nothing can go in and out.

[Zaslo]

Put anything in or out of one of your orifices.

[Kenny Ducey]

Thanks, YouTube. Dan Soder did that to Steven Ross. He was stuffing 10 different championships up the owner of the Dolphins. But speaking of digital pioneer, one of the most popular games anywhere to be found in the digital space is real or fake podcast. Let's play it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Listen up. Time to think fast. Is this a real or fake podcasts? Been a minute.

[Tony]

Talk to him, baby.

[Dan Le Batard]

You guys remember how to play this game? I say a podcast name and you try to guess if I'm trying to trick you with a fake one or if it's an actual real pod.

[Zaslo]

Do we have buzzers?

[Dan Le Batard]

No, we just go around the. The main room over there. Here we go. Game recognized game with Miles Turner. Is this a real or fake puzzle podcast?

[Kenny Ducey]

I'm going to say fake. I don't. Come on.

[Zaslo]

I'm saying fake.

[Dan Le Batard]

That is a real podcast. It felt real. Co host it with Brianna Stewart.

[Tony]

Oh, that makes game recognized game boys.

[Dan Le Batard]

Game recognized game. Next up, actually, the Rush with Max Crosby.

[Kenny Ducey]

I don't think Max Crosby has his own podcast. I've heard him be, you know, available to all other podcasts, but that'd Be a good name for him. The Rush with Max Crosby. I'm gonna say no.

[Zaslo]

I'm going no.

[Dan Le Batard]

It is indeed a real podcast. The Rush with Max Crosby, co hosted by Cooper Rush. Up on game with TJ Hushmanzada.

[Zaslo]

What is it called?

[Dan Le Batard]

Up on game with TJ Hushmanzda.

[Kenny Ducey]

It's a great name. I salute. It's. It's a funny name and I'm gonna say it's fake. Just because you went for the funny name.

[Zaslo]

I don't think it's a funny name.

[Kenny Ducey]

I don't think TJ put it on the poll at LeBatard show. Is TJ Husmanzada a funny name? Yes or no? Oh, no, no.

[Zaslo]

That's a.

[Dan Le Batard]

But not up on. Oh, you missed. You're having a bad week, dude.

[Tony]

Write that down.

[Kenny Ducey]

Is it real or is it fake?

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm trying to guess what Zazzle even meant. I don't think it's real. Did you make a. No, it's a real podcast and it's co hosted with Levar Arrington. You guys are bad at this. Game. We Want the Funk with Dory Funk Jr. Oh, is this a real or fake podcast? Rest in peace, Terry Funk.

[Zaslo]

You know about that Funk family?

[Kenny Ducey]

I know. The Funk brothers. There's no way that's real. There's just not a way out of.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wrestling podcasts out there.

[Zaslo]

I'm going real.

[Kenny Ducey]

I'm. No.

[Zaslo]

Yeah, it's got a lot to say.

[Kenny Ducey]

Is this the fourth. Fourth best funk brother you believe?

[Dan Le Batard]

We Want The Funk with 84 year old Dori Funk Jr. Is a real podcast. You are incorrect. It is fake.

[Zaslo]

We're friends on Facebook.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dorie Funk Jr. Yeah, I'm glad I got that story. Lastly, cousins with Vince Carter and Tracy.

[Kenny Ducey]

McGrady and Kirk Cousins. I'm gonna say no, that's a fake podcast. I think they've got too much work elsewhere to do their own podcast.

[Zaslo]

This is real. It is a new podcast they are launching.

[Dan Le Batard]

Says look at you. Way to rally, pal. It is indeed a brand new podcast and the inspiration for this entire list that featured. We Want the Funk with Dory Funk.

[Kenny Ducey]

Jr. 84 year old Dory Funk Jr.

[Zaslo]

Still doing it.

[Kenny Ducey]

Starting well. Not podcast. Podcasts. He's evidently still not doing podcasts. He's still. By still doing it, you mean he, you mean living, right?

[Zaslo]

No. Wrestling.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, he's still living.

[Zaslo]

Yes, he is wrestling.

[Kenny Ducey]

He's not. He's not. He's 84. He's not wrestling. What are you talking about? He's older than My father May Young.

[Dan Le Batard]

And the Fabulous Moolah still wrestling in today?

[Zaslo]

Yeah, he does a school. He's still teaching. He's in the ring.

[Kenny Ducey]

He. He may teach that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Nobody have a staffer here that was trained by Dory.

[Kenny Ducey]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Does anyone want to see an 84 year old professional wrestler? There's no way like he might be teaching. There's. He's not wrestling. He's not actively wrestling.

[Zaslo]

I guarantee you he has wrestled a match within the last year.

[Kenny Ducey]

Put it on the poll at Levittard show. Do you think 84 year old Dorie Funk Jr. Has wrestled a match in the last year year.

[Dan Le Batard]

Great game and I miss this one.

[Kenny Ducey]

Did David Sampson report earlier that it's like if that we came we come in next Tuesday and find out that Ohtani is dating Tyler Glass now and everyone's just going to be like yep, that's a normal thing. Like David I should have asked some follow up questions there when he said that the movie heated rivalry TV show is a normal is a normal thing.

[Dan Le Batard]

I have a bold pretend you remember when Drive to Survive became a huge hit and everybody in every pitch meeting for like the next five years was like it's like the drive to survive but for LPGA golf, watch out for gay love stories across all other sports it's like heated rivalry but for NASCAR.

[Kenny Ducey]

There'S already a it's a whole genre of books. Yeah my wife is very into it.

[Dan Le Batard]

There's already a softball show that was greenlit by the same Canadian comedian network Crave. I believe it's either crave or Pop.

[Zaslo]

I'm not sure Dan. It turns out that I am in fact wrong about Dory Funk Jr. Because his last match was over a year ago. Matter of fact it was August of 2024. So barely over a year ago. But I do have to tell you his last match was a double hell Current explosion Ocean death match.

[Kenny Ducey]

Let's get all the sounds that record for posterity Zaslo's terrible 10 days around here that culminated with him telling you to subjective take the nets last night who lost by 56 points.

[Zaslo]

You want to know how that. What were the kids doing?

[Kenny Ducey]

I really failed in not playing that for Adnan and Samson and asking them what movie he was talking about.

[Zaslo]

The packers winner the bear lose. Bears lose.

[Tony]

You live by a substation buddy.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh boy.

[Zaslo]

I don't think strange for me but.

[Kenny Ducey]

Like oh boy again. And the whole thing culminated with him yesterday in a first time appearance for a sponsor that we really value in a betting segment that we value. Zaslo told you to take the nets plus 11. Plus 11 and a half. And again, they lost by 56 and scored a league low this season. 66 points in an NBA basketball game.

[Zaslo]

Don't be afraid to buy up to plus 55. That's on you. You always want to, you know this one. Play it safe.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, boy. He was off the fourth rail this week.

[Tony]

You can tell how that was an honest mistake, right?

[Zaslo]

I got burger out of it.

[Tony]

We got fourth, fourth wall, third rail. You mix them together, what do you got? Fourth rail.

[Dan Le Batard]

Keep it moving, baby. He's right about that.

[Tony]

A Dan from you coming. That's rich, by the way. Absolutely rich coming from you.

[Dan Le Batard]

From you, from you coming. That it's like the heated rivalry but of PGA golf from the maker of the fourth rail. The you coming.

[Kenny Ducey]

What were you trying to say about.

[Tony]

Okay, okay. What I was trying to say was that I like the fact that he said google me, and then he went.

[Dan Le Batard]

Out and did it.

[Tony]

What I was trying to talk about the fourth rail, okay, between the fourth wall and the third rail, is that he looks at the camera, which you didn't know, by the way. Non ball watcher.