The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 1 - "The Old Dogs"
Date: October 24, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Notable Guests: Matthew Berry

Episode Overview

This episode, titled "The Old Dogs," blends signature Le Batard Show banter about the sports overload of late October—World Series season, the NBA's opening fireworks, and South Florida's buzzing scene—with both comedic riffs and some surprisingly rich analysis. The crew discusses the Miami Cyclones, the acceleration of Lionel Messi’s legacy with Inter Miami, recent NBA games and transcendent athletes like Steph Curry and Victor Wembanyama, plus a visit from fantasy football guru Matthew Berry for a fast-paced fantasy/betting rundown. The mood is irreverent, high-energy, and filled with running gags.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Overwhelming Sports Slate (00:16–01:02)

• Stugotz opens with a lament about the sports calendar's glut, declaring, "Sports are bursting right now. World Series tonight. Basketball last night was nuts. Just totally crazy. Too much sports to get to, not enough time." (00:16)
• The crew quickly veers to Cyclones, their local jai-alai squad, before pinballing to NBA, NFL, and soccer talking points.

2. Miami Cyclones Banter & Magic City Fronton (01:01–04:43)

• Mike Ryan, Stugotz, Chris Cote, and Tony Reali recap Cyclones drama: forfeits, injuries, and hilarious made-up narratives.
• Mike: "We are top of the table...We had the game in hand. We tried to rest our star, then Manu's got a groin. Mighty groin that is." (02:12)
• Name drops: Udonis Haslam (serious, ever-present owner), Ray Lewis (loves pelota), and local business/culture color.

3. Messi’s Inter Miami Extension (05:31–08:44)

• Stugotz pivots to major local soccer news, calling Messi "the greatest player there’s ever been in soccer."
• Mike Ryan vividly describes Inter Miami’s announcement video: "He puts pen to paper...Boom. Reveal: it wasn’t an office—it’s the stadium. He’s sitting in the middle of it at Freedom Park." (06:14)
• Local skepticism about the speed of Miami stadium construction. Dan: "That stadium being built that fast in our city has to be one of the greatest miracles I've ever seen in construction in this town filled with scam and everything else." (07:28)

4. Stadiums Near Airports—A Miami Concern (08:44–09:27)

• Roundtable ponders the wisdom (and chaos) of major Miami stadiums built adjacent to airports, before Mike points out, "There’s a lot of stadiums near airports. Trust me, sitting in SOFI, those planes come in low." (09:12)

5. World Series & Baseball-Obsessed Listeners (09:27–10:06)

• Jeremy Bernitz bemoans that “the greatest athlete who’s ever lived” (Ohtani) is in another World Series, but public buzz is all but absent. "We just...don't care." (09:43)
• Tony Reali jokes: "So Wemby's going to be in the World Series?" (09:55)

6. Wembanyama & the Generation Gap (10:07–10:54)

• Tony marvels at how quickly hype flips for stars—LeBron fans now sound like Jordan fans defending their "era." "It's finally happened. LeBron fans have gone through the looking glass...become the old guys." (10:31)

7. Deep Dive: NBA’s Opening Nights & the "Old Dogs" (10:59–15:23)

Featured Games & Performances

• Thunder vs. Pacers: Amin and Tony Reali highlight the Pacers’ resilience sans Halliburton; shoutout to A.J. Mitchell for seizing his moment ("Two games, guy's balling." 11:35).
• Running joke listing suspiciously Harry Potter-esque player names—Johnny Furfy gets special attention: "Johnny Furfy from Kansas—oh man, it’s real...he dunks on hard." (12:51)
• Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon: "10 of 11 from three...but he wasn’t the story last night." (13:13)

Steph Curry’s Mastery

• Reali: “The story was old Wardell, Stephen Curry II. The old dog still got it...if it weren’t on late, everybody would be talking.” (13:25)
• Show marvels at Curry’s late-game heroics, especially his "call that timeout" to Denver’s bench after hitting a dagger three. "That’s ballsy, man." (14:27)
• Stugotz and Amin: Curry keeps getting even better, despite (or because of) age.

8. Fantasy Football/Bets with Matthew Berry (20:28–24:46)

• Berry delivers a rapid-fire segment thick with stats and actionable advice, blending fantasy and sly betting signals:
  • Cowboys have allowed huge fantasy QB games: "Five of seven have scored at least 24 fantasy points." (20:52)
  • Dallas opponent Bo Nix, Giants’ Jackson Dart as sleeper rush TD, strong trends for Breece Hall, Isaiah Davis.
  • Kate Otten as a sneaky tight end play with no Mike Evans for Bucs.
  • Stugotz revels in the realization: "I just realized why he's popular. This man's just giving away money for 10 years." (23:51)

9. Ongoing Basketball Theatrics: MVP Chatter & Transcendent Talents (25:32–40:41)

• Ongoing MVP race parody: Aaron Gordon, Wemby, Luka—everyone’s proclaimed the new favorite after one game.
• Steph Curry compared to “survival of the fittest” in pro sports, still conquering despite new super-athletes:
  • Tony: "He will continue to give us moments to the very end." (26:46)
  • Mike: "Is this a transitive property thing? If someone outperforms Steph Curry, are they MVP?" (26:56)
• DeAndre Jordan/Ayton tangent: market for “good locker room guys” (27:48–28:20)
• Amin predicts: "Wemby is an unprecedented player...people are starting to say he’s top 10 all-time if he just stays healthy." (32:04)
• Mike: "He may be the one that makes the court larger, because it's an unfair [advantage]." (33:35)

10. Athletic "Unfairness"—Wemby, Ohtani, and Wilt (34:15–42:52)

• Wembanyama versus Ohtani as the most “unfair” modern athletes, referencing physical gifts vs. failure rates in their respective sports.
• Tony: "When all these guys are gone...you're going to say that stat line...that doesn't make sense. Like a Wilt statline. And then you say, 'That’s not even his best game.'" (41:13)
• Wilt's most unbreakable stat: "48.5 minutes per game for a season—more than the length of an NBA game, because he played every minute and overtime!" (41:52)
• Famed Curry-over-Wemby photo analyzed as a "moment of human ingenuity" (42:41).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Miami stadium construction:
  "That stadium being built that fast in our city has to be one of the greatest miracles I've ever seen in construction in this town filled with scam and everything else. And Messi built it."
  — Stugotz, (07:28)
• Curry’s clutch moment:
  "Down three with seconds to go...he hits what’s a bad shot for anybody else. With Steph Curry...it’s not even a 'no, no, no, yes,' it’s a, 'Oh yeah, this one’s good.' He hits the shot and looks at the Nuggets’ bench and says, ‘Call that timeout.’ That’s ballsy, man."
  — Tony Reali (14:27)
• Old Guard vs. New Guard:
  "Let me tell you something about these old dogs. Steph Curry last night turned in a performance that, if it weren’t on late, everybody would be talking."
  — Tony Reali (13:25)
• On Matthew Berry:
  "In plain sight, this man's been giving away money for 10 years."
  — Stugotz (23:57)
• Athletic unfairness & Wemby:
  "When someone comes...and is going to be a top 10 player in the league ever if he just stays healthy...every game is possibly going to feel like Shohei Ohtani hitting three home runs and striking out 10."
  — Stugotz (32:31–33:00)
• On Wilt’s untouchable feat:
  "48.5 minutes a game for a season—there are only 48 minutes in an NBA game!"
  — Tony Reali (41:52)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening, sports glut & Cyclones banter: 00:16–04:43
• Messi’s Inter Miami deal & Miami stadiums: 05:31–09:27
• Baseball, Ohtani & Wemby generational talk: 09:27–10:54
• NBA breakdown & "Old Dogs" (Steph, Gordon): 10:59–15:23
• Fantasy rundown with Matthew Berry: 20:28–24:46
• Basketball antics & MVP takes: 25:32–33:35
• Wemby, Ohtani, Wilt comparisons: 34:15–42:52
• Curry over Wemby photo/discussion: 38:18–42:55

Tone & Highlights

The episode flows with the show's trademark blend of informed sports nerdery, over-the-top analogies, inside jokes, and Miami local color. The panelists are quick to jump from statistical trivia to soundboard-style banter—often breaking up earnest analysis with a comedic hot take.

This hour is especially rich for listeners who love:

• The friction between old and new sports legends (Curry vs. Wemby)
• Miami-centric stories, local color, and stadium oddities
• Running jokes and fast pivots (from jai-alai to NBA mythology to soccer construction grifts)
• Real-time, actionable fantasy advice in Matthew Berry’s segment
• Playful skepticism about the next big thing and what truly qualifies as "unfair" in modern sports

In short:
If you missed the hour, you missed a hilarious, far-ranging debate about who's taking over sports (and how the old dogs just won’t yield), plus genuinely useful fantasy tidbits, all colored by the unique Miami flavor that only the Le Batard Show provides.