The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 2: Valerie's Lack Of Trust #FlyCommercial #ServeOthers
Date: January 6, 2026

Episode Overview

In Hour 2, broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the crew deliver their trademark blend of sports, pop culture, and personal stories with plenty of irreverence and inside jokes. The episode moves through reactions to Lane Kiffin’s public contrition, college football’s business transformation, the value (or lack thereof) of NBA stars like Trae Young, competitive work relationships, and a recurring thread on trust—and sleep—particularly within marriages and professional circles. Memorable moments include frank conversations about money in college sports, a hilarious sleep confessional, and sharp commentary on shifting sports landscapes.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Lane Kiffin’s Public Contrition and Social Optics

• Lane Kiffin’s Hashtag Regret:
  The show opens with Mike Ryan ridiculing Lane Kiffin’s attempt at public apology after being caught with a grocery basket, as Kiffin posts hashtags like #returnbasket, #saveenvironment, #setexampleforkids, #flycommercial, and #serveothers.

  • Mike Ryan (00:08): “The way Mike Ryan says that Lane Kiffin is capable of regret doesn't seem to fit with the entirety of his personality... I don't think he's doing very much in the way of regret... He has not had an exit that isn't like this anywhere. It’s sort of like, if he was going to learn the lessons from it, he would have learned them.”
  • Dan Le Batard (00:37): “Moving to another SEC school is difficult... this is a huge part of his legacy. And for a guy that had like one of the big oopsies when it came to doing this, he somehow made it worse. This is worse than leaving Tennessee in the way that he did.”

• Impact on College Football’s Brand:
  The panel discusses how, despite ongoing controversies and an epidemic of program-hopping coaches, fans remain engaged and TV ratings continue to soar.

  • Zaslow (02:42): “These people love it as much as they have ever, ever loved anything.”

2. The Money Tsunami in College Football

• Fans, Donors, and Open Capitalism:
  The conversation shifts to the escalating arms race in college sports, with wealthy alumni and donors shaping programs more than ever.

  • Mike Ryan (05:04): Plays a sound clip of Arizona State Coach Kenny Dillingham begging for a $20 million check to change the program’s fortunes.
  • Kenny Dillingham, ASU (05:14): “We need to find one of these really rich people in this city to step up and stroke a check... There's somebody out here who can. There's somebody.”
  • Mike Ryan (06:28): “You say it's amazing, it's dumb. Because as I've said for a long time, please allow all of these rich people to compete against each other for money, begging for a quarterback instead of a donor begging to pay a quarterback.”
  • Zaslow (07:11): “You don't think Stephen Ross would call up the Cincinnati Bengals and say, hey... I'm going to give you $500 million. Right now, you just give us Joe Burrow.”

• College Equities vs. Pro Sports Restrictions:
  The freedom of college donors to do things pro owners can’t (e.g., directly buying players) fascinates—and sometimes rankles—the crew.

3. Sideline Assignments and Over-Competitive Friendships

• Ambition and Backstabbing:
  Zaslow shares a comically honest confession of trying to steal Evan Cohen’s sideline assignment for an ESPN game broadcast and the politics involved.
  • Zaslow (08:06): “I went behind his back. I tried to steal that job. It's really simple. That's literally what happened. I decided rather than ask for permission, beg for forgiveness.”
  • Zaslow (09:43): “What if me and Amber Wilson, we'll just do our shtick. We'll do the sidelines together.”
  • Mike Ryan (09:34, ribbing): “Or the forgiveness.”
  • Discussion follows on how personal ambition, even among friends, can breed awkwardness and competition both on the air and behind-the-scenes.

4. Valerie’s Lack of Trust—Mike Ryan’s Sleep Confession

• Marital Distrust and Sleep Habits:
  Mike Ryan tells a story about offering to accompany his wife to a classical music performance, only to be told she doesn't trust him not to fall asleep. This segues into a hilarious segment on public napping.

  • Mike Ryan (10:31): “My wife bought tickets to a classical music performance... I said to her, I'll go with you... And she doesn't trust me to not fall asleep.”
    • Memorable Poll: “Can you be trusted to not fall asleep at the classical music performance?”
  • Mike Ryan (11:14): “I fell asleep on. When we were in New York, I did fall asleep. You fell asleep during a Broadway show? Not only did I fall asleep during a Broadway show, I fell asleep during Jon Stewart.”
  • Zaslow (11:36): “You went to the head bob.”
  • Mike Ryan (11:37): “No, so asleep that the head didn't even bob to wake me up. I just fell asleep.”
  • Dan Le Batard (12:23): “I'm a zombie for what feels like an eternity. But really it's just 17 minutes.”

• Cultural Debate Over Head-Bob Sleep:
  The group polls the audience on whether nodding-off-sleep ("the head bob") is enjoyable or not, drawing out relatable humor and self-deprecation.

  • Mike Ryan (13:18): “Put it on the poll... Do you like the sleep where your head is nodding and then waking you up on its descent?”
  • Dan Le Batard (13:26): “It's kind of weird because I hate it, but I also kind of like it.”
  • (*Throughout 10:31–13:41: Various exchanges about the shame and comfort of public naps and sleep.)

5. NBA Quick Hits—Durant’s Persecution Complex and Trae Young’s Diminished Value

• Kevin Durant’s “Kicked Out” Narrative:
  After a buzzer-beater against his former team, Durant makes pointed comments about feeling like a scapegoat.

  • Kevin Durant (19:23): “A place that I didn't want to leave... To be kicked out of a place... felt like I've been scapegoated, you know what I'm saying, for the issues we had as a team last year. Yeah, it felt good to beat them and hit a game winning shot.”
  • Mike Ryan (20:08): “Kicked out and scapegoated when he was the best player on a team that underachieved. And I thought Bradley Beal was getting all the criticism for that.”

• The Curious Case of Trae Young:
  Despite being a four-time All-Star, Trae Young has become nearly untradeable due to his defensive liabilities and reportedly difficult personality.

  • Mike Ryan (24:30): “What's the value of Trey Young four time all star?... I would not want him on my basketball team... not a player that I want.”
  • Zaslow (24:41): “If you would have just told me, hey, you want Trae Young? Like, man, that sounds exciting, but at the same time, I don't know that he has any value, certainly any value to a team that's in a position for winning.”
  • Jeremy (25:21): “There have been reports previously that, like, teammates don't enjoy playing with Trae Young.”

6. Live Events as Sports Programming and Pop Culture Sidequests

• Netflix and Action Documentaries:
  Transitioning to Elle Duncan’s new role, the cast banters about the definition of “live sports,” citing Netflix’s live broadcast of a skyscraper climb and the popularity of stunts—riffing on Free Solo and action movies like "Skyscraper."
  • Dan Le Batard (29:05): “But what she's broadcasting, the details are somebody is climbing a skyscraper live on television.”
  • Mike Ryan (29:22): “That documentary was exceptional. You think he's climbing a mountain, and the mountain is relationships. Because this is an unusual human being who risks his life.”
  • Zaslow (33:01): “Put it on the pole. I don't think you can say peg leg anymore.”

7. Workplace Rivalries and the Pen-Petty Journalist Story

• Greg Cody’s Petty Locker Room War:
  Old-school competitive vibes return as Dan shares an anecdote about Greg Cody refusing to lend a pen to fellow journalist Richie Rosenblatt in the freezing cold.
  • Dan Le Batard (40:19): “Evidently, when Zaslow talks about his friendship with Evan Cohen, this is how competitive friends and rivals can be. Greg Cody... pens were freezing up because it was zero degrees. And Richie Rosenblatt's pen wasn't working as he was trying to take notes. And Greg Cody had an assortment of pens that were working. And Greg Cody would not share any of the pens.”
  • Zaslow (40:19): “But that would be like if I'm sitting next to Evan Cohen and his microphone stops working and I have multiple microphones and I just say, tough shit.”
  • Underlying message: Even in supposedly collegial professions, cutthroat competition (and pettiness) runs deep.

8. Miami’s Championship Run and Media Coverage

• Homerism vs. Objectivity in Sports Fandom:
  The episode closes with clashing philosophies on how to cover the University of Miami’s football success, lampooning Dan’s “rational” fandom versus the expectation to lose one’s mind over this unlikely playoff run, and the show’s playful annual tradition of fake pregame hype.
  • Mike Ryan (38:13): “It's been 20 years and you're still doing this thing where you're speaking for an audience that's annoyed by homerism. Mike. Okay, all right, I get it... Instead you left me in the foxhole alone to fight for this team in the cfp and you were talking about they. You were repping them. Now's the time. Get over here. Who's asking for this bit from you, Dan LeBatard, who is asking you to be a Rational guy that speaks for the other people that are Miami Hurricanes when you, more than anybody should be standing on the table losing your fricking mind for what you're seeing?”
  • Dan Le Batard (41:00): “Can you imagine your child, that being the soundtrack to your childhood when you hopped in a car?”

Notable Quotes

• On College Football’s Immunity to Scandal:
  Mike Ryan (02:03): “It is amazing... to see [college football] turned into this much of a business, I would have thought would have hurt the product, and the product cannot be hurt.”

• On Donor Power:
  Kenny Dillingham, ASU Coach (05:14): “Step up, step up and be that dude... somebody step up and completely take this place from the direction it’s going to... holy cow.”

• On Trae Young’s Steep Fall:
  Zaslow (24:41): “Trae Young, for his career is 25 and 10. That's a star. And I don't know if he has any value.”

• On Sleep and Trust in Relationships:
  Mike Ryan (10:31): “My wife doesn’t trust me to not fall asleep at a classical music performance."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Lane Kiffin’s “Regret”: 00:08–01:36
• Money & Donors in College Football: 02:42–07:32 (Kenny Dillingham plea at 05:14)
• Zaslow’s Sideline Assignment Confession: 08:06–10:17
• Valerie’s Lack of Trust Content (Mike’s Sleep Habits): 10:31–13:41
• Kevin Durant “Kicked Out”/NBA Trades: 18:03–22:27
• Trae Young’s Value Debate: 24:30–26:07
• Petty Journalist Story (Pens): 40:19–41:13
• Miami Playoff/Media Coverage Dynamics: 38:13–43:40

Memorable Moments

• Lane Kiffin’s performative hashtags after a public gaffe
• Arizona State’s coach’s “rich dude” plea for donor money
• Zaslow’s total transparency about trying to swipe a coworker’s national sideline job
• Mike Ryan’s sleep stories—especially his Broadway nap (11:14), which led to a segment-wide debate about nodding-off-sleep
• Kevin Durant’s rare vulnerability after a buzzer-beater (19:23)
• The existential roasting of Trae Young’s NBA value
• Greg Cody’s ruthless pen-hoarding in a frozen locker room

Tone and Style

The episode’s tone is classic Le Batard—a blend of sharp skepticism, playful self-mockery, and affectionately cutting banter. Guests and hosts rib each other, digress into personal stories, and sprinkle legitimate sports commentary amidst jokes and comedic polls (“Are Charlotte, Sacramento, and Washington rest stop bathrooms?”).

For listeners, this hour delivers the spirit of the Le Batard Show: passionate about sports, unafraid of tangents, and never taking themselves too seriously.