The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – Hour 1: “Tony’s Hard Out” (feat. Spice Adams)

Release Date: December 4, 2025

Episode Overview

Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Jeremy, and company deliver another lively hour blending sports, pop-culture, and irreverent humor. This “Local Hour” leans into the absurd, as the crew tackles a viral “pizza-walking” debate, dives into football insight with guest Spice Adams, and navigates a hilariously botched sponsored interview with abrupt, on-air interruptions. The episode oscillates between playful nonsense and sharp sports commentary, all in the show’s signature chaotic style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Walking Pizza Debate with Spice Adams

• Prompt: “If a piece of pizza walked, would it walk with the crust at the top or bottom?”
• Stugotz sets up former NFL player and viral entertainer Spice Adams as the “expert” (on behalf of Red Baron Pizza) to resolve a crucial, utterly silly show debate.
  • Spice Adams, after clarifying the question:
    • “Spicy on the bottom, everybody.” (03:00)
    • The group ponders: is the crust or the pointy end “the bottom”?
    • Dan Le Batard: “But what do you consider the bottom? The crust or the pointy end?” (03:00)
  • Jeremy jokes about Dan’s pizza expertise. Laughter erupts over the topic’s absurdity.
  • Stugotz proposes, “Put it on the poll at Lebatard Show: Is the bottom of the pizza the pointy end or the crust?” (03:26)

2. Spice Adams’ Journey: Football to Entertainment

• Spice shares his early inclination toward entertainment due to growing up as an only child.
  • “Entertainment has kind of been what I've been doing my whole life...So everything all worked out, and it's been a great ride, man.” (04:05)
• He details his unusual early size (290 lbs at age 12; mistaken for a Little League coach), and how his mom nudged him into football.
• Locker Room DNA: Spice credits former teammates for encouraging his post-NFL content creation, especially Earl Bennett and Chris Harris.

3. Football's Physical Toll & Comedic Perspective

• Discussion shifts to the mangled hands of linemen and wide receivers:
  • Spice holds up his deformed fingers, humorously: “I'm throwing up the west side, and I ain't even really doing this...I can't put my fingers on a flat surface.” (05:26)
  • Reminisces on Torry Holt and Anthony Munoz’s infamously bent fingers.
  • Dan Le Batard: “His job is to catch footballs, and his pinky finger is a 90 degree angle. It's insane.” (06:44)
  • The group marvels—and winces—at the lingering physical cost of football, with jokes about how ex-players struggle with daily tasks.

4. Coaching Hot Seat at Penn State & Mike Tomlin Rumor

• Spice reacts to Ben Roethlisberger suggesting Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin leave for Penn State:
  • Spice champions interim coach Terry Smith as the right fit:
    • “He's passionate about it...He has these guys on fire right now. So why not hire from within and hire someone who understands Penn State tradition? So I say keep Terry Smith.” (07:40)

5. Meme Fame & the Red Baron “Humble Pie” Plug Fiasco

• Dan brings up Spice’s internet omnipresence: yellow jacket, rubbing hands meme.
• Spice leans all-in on the sponsor tie-in, launching into a Red Baron “Humble Pie” promo (spicy Carolina Reaper version) mid-answer:
  • “Guess what? If y'all into fantasy football league, y'all could get this humble pie...Got the red bear Carolina reaper sauce on...” (09:16)
• Stugotz and Dan call him out for the blatant promotional detour.
• Abruptly, a disembodied voice interrupts, repeatedly insisting “We gotta wrap, Tony!” (with “Tony” being Spice Adams’ real name).
  • The crew, confused and laughing, is forced to end the segment.
  • Stugotz: “That was total, unequivocal bullshit, what just happened at the end.” (11:00)

6. Bots, Interruptions & Air Time Chaos

• In the aftermath, Dan, Stugotz, and Jeremy express annoyance at the sponsor-imposed “hard out.”
  • The reveal: “Tony” is Spice’s real name.
  • “How is it that that person ended up live on air with—” (Stugotz, 11:33)
• Group vents over lost opportunity (“Great American Baking Show” question), unplanned live interruptions, and the frustrations of time-constrained branded interviews.

7. Show’s Signature Bickering & Meta-Chaos

• Banter about who was actually yelling, whether the voice sounded like David Samson or an old woman.
• The crew riff on the chaos of air traffic control, multiple voices, and how the show’s production soup often spills over into the live product.
• Ongoing inside jokes about “we have to rap, Tony!” reverberate throughout the next segments.

8. Sports Talk: NFL Turnover Luck & Team Analysis

• Stugotz, Dan, and Jeremy tackle the “randomness” vs. “skill” of turnovers in football:
  • Stugotz: “I believe that turnovers are largely lucky...I don't actually think the causing of turnovers is an ability.” (35:36)
  • Dan pushes back, emphasizing game-planning and execution, citing Carolina’s recent performance.
  • Jeremy references running back usage and late-game execution as variables in team fortunes.
• Statistical tidbits sprinkled throughout:
  • “Cardinals have lost seven games by four points or less.” (40:24)
  • Debates on one-score game outcomes, changes year-to-year.

9. Show Picks—NFL Helmet Bucket

• “Dentek bucket” game: hosts select NFL matchup “helmets” for picks, riff on team chances, and futility of some franchises’ playoff hopes.
• Tons of joking about rules, helmet re-drawing, and the perennial chaos of this running bit.

10. Meta-Jokes & End-of-Hour Levity

• Bit concludes with the ongoing “we have to rap” impression, now a meme within the show.
• Short forays into impersonations (Trump, Biden) and debate over “putting a bow” vs. “putting a button” on segments.
• Show ends as it began: with raucous, circular debate and relentless self-reference.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Pizza Dilemma (03:00, Spice Adams): “Spicy on the bottom, everybody.”
• Mangled Fingers (05:26, Spice Adams): “I'm throwing up the west side, and I ain't even really doing this...this is just how my fingers are.”
• On Meme Fame (09:05, Spice Adams): “I knew it was famous when I saw what I was looking at. I was looking at a Red Baron pizza.”
• Sponsor Plug Interruption (09:16, Spice Adams): “...y’all can get this humble pie at redbaron.com...”
• Hard Out Chaos (11:00, Stugotz): “That was total, unequivocal bullshit, what just happened at the end.”
• Frustration with Sponsorships (12:59, Stugotz): “What is the great urgency with Spice that he's got to get out of here after exactly nine minutes with such urgency that he crams in his promotion?”
• Turnover Luck in Football (35:36, Stugotz): “I believe that turnovers are largely lucky. There are some instances...but I don't actually think the causing of turnovers is an ability.”
• On Production Chaos (14:54, Dan Le Batard): “You almost screamed at Lewis. I saw it.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:41] – Opening, Set-up for Pizza Debate
• [02:33] – Introducing Spice Adams and the Walking Pizza Question
• [04:05] – Spice Adams on His Entertainment Roots
• [05:26] – Spice Details His Deformed Fingers
• [07:18] – Penn State & Mike Tomlin Topic
• [08:43] – Meme Fame & Red Baron Plug
• [09:16] – “Humble Pie” Promo and Rapid Sponsor Pivot
• [10:08] – On-Air "Hard Out": “We gotta wrap, Tony!”
• [11:00] – Show Crew Rants About Sponsorship Chaos
• [15:28] – Inside Baseball: The Chaos of Live Show Production
• [20:15] – Shift to Clippers Announcer/Trivia Tangent (endless digressions)
• [35:36] – Deep Dive: Turnovers, Luck, and NFL Team Analysis
• [44:03] – “We have to wrap, Tony!” Returns

Tone and Style Notes

The episode embodies the Le Batard Show’s chaotic, improvisational personality: fusing never-too-serious sports talk with running gags, absurd debate, and a self-aware, often meta approach to their own format. The interplay between hosts is alternately zany and sharply insightful, with playful antagonism and tongue-in-cheek irreverence at every turn. Even the “hard out” and sponsor chaos becomes fertile ground for roasting, in-jokes, and escalation—a testament to the show’s ability to find comedy in behind-the-scenes mess.

Summary Takeaway

This hour is classic Le Batard: a blend of comedy and sports, existential “pizza-walking” ponderings, and a revealing glimpse into the unpredictability of live radio/podcast production. Whether you’re here for football nerdery, internet meme lore, or the escalating absurdity of creative sponsorship gone awry, there’s no escaping the show’s unique gravity—or the sound of someone yelling, “We have to rap, Tony!”