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Dan Le Batard
All right, Smirnoff. Official vodka of the NFL. World's number one vodka. Chris, Cody, you're with me here.
Mike Ryan
Smirnoff.
Dan Le Batard
Wow, you're on the money with Smirnoff.
Chris
Smirnoff.
Dan Le Batard
I'm gonna ask you, Chris, what's your favorite game day food?
Mike Ryan
Smirnoff.
Dan Le Batard
That's your favorite game day drink. What's your favorite game day food?
Chris
Smirnoff.
Dan Le Batard
All right, here's the deal. Game day is everything. The noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip again.
Zas
Smirnoff.
Dan Le Batard
Smirnoff belongs in that mix. Because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smirnoff. Otherwise, it's not a real game day. They've been doing it since 1864, which is. I don't even want to do the math. It's a long time. It's like when Greg Cody was born. They're award winning, they make cocktails super easy, and they're all about bringing fans together. So, yeah, we do game days. That's their thing. And if you're over 21, you should, too. Why, Chris?
Chris
Smirnoff.
Dan Le Batard
Grab a bottle of Smirnoff at your local retailer and head to smirnoff.com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game day.
Chris
Smirnoff.
Dan Le Batard
Please drink responsibly.
Chris
Smirnoff.
Dan Le Batard
Number 21, vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.
Mike Ryan
Me? No. Now's a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila. Cuervo. What are you doing here?
Chris
Cuervo. Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.
Mike Ryan
Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think he could lay out, especially.
Chris
For one of our great partners, sweet, delicious Cuervo.
Mike Ryan
Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.
Chris
Cuervo.
Mike Ryan
So enjoy the tequila that started it all.
Roy
Cuervo.
Chris
Cuervo.
Mike Ryan
The tequila that invented tequila.
Roy
Proximo.
Mike Ryan
Cuervo.com, please drink responsibly.
Chris
Cuervo.
Zas
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Chris
Offer valid 11.
Zas
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Chris
Chris, did your father get lost on the way to the office again today? Where is he?
Dan Le Batard
It seems so. He's here. He's getting makeup, but it was a. A rush. The traffic seemed to get him today.
Mike Ryan
Oh, he's got a face.
Chris
Snarling he's coming. He just came in. He's coming in. Snarling Late again. He's. I'm. I'm saying at this point, what is.
Dan Le Batard
Now he's sweeping off his seat.
Zas
What is anger?
Chris
What is the anger at whom?
Stugats
I don'.
Chris
What is the percentage of times as though that you would guess that Cody, since you've been around, is on time? What percentage?
Zas
I would say 20%. One out of five.
Stugats
90%.
Chris
I really don't understand what happened. I got word on a text that you were going to be here at 8, 10 in the morning and then you're just walking in right now. Couple wrong turns, 50 minutes after that. So do you have any excuses, explanations? Why did you text us that you were going to be in at 8, 10? What are you smiling about now?
Stugats
I mean, I texted my initial estimate was 8, 16, 816.
Dan Le Batard
This to me feels exactly like the PFPI controversy from yesterday. Whereas maybe the traffic is mostly to blame, but there's a little look in the mirror of like, maybe I should.
Chris
Leave a little earlier.
Dan Le Batard
No, no, there's got to be a smidgen of blame.
Chris
He doesn't want to do the blame to him. He hasn't changed any part of his routine. But I want to ask the question again because I pointed out yester that Spotify sent us that big heavy trophy saying we had 100 million streams last year. And I will say again, that's just Spotify. We're on in a lot of different places. We're a big show. Tell me all the other big shows where Ryan Clark walks onto the set seven minutes after the show started.
Dan Le Batard
In my guess, my dad's defense, I did see Cam Newton walking onto the first take set. Last two, about like 10 minutes late, right?
Stugats
I'm going to start wearing hats like Cam Newton.
Chris
There you go.
Dan Le Batard
Maybe that's the punishment. He dresses like Cam Newton next week.
Chris
You know what though? I understand when Cam Newton does that once. You said you've seen it once, right? It was the first time. I've rarely seen it happen with anybody.
Zas
There was the one time Stephen A. Smith was running alongside the Seaport studios.
Chris
Remember?
Dan Le Batard
But these are one. Like to your point.
Roy
Yeah.
Stugats
You know, this is something that people can relate to, you know, that's why people love me so much. Because, look, in real life, sometimes you're tardy, not always on time.
Chris
I know, but Zaslo just guessed that you're on time 20% of times he's been here. I doubt that's happening with Cam Newton. He wouldn't be on first take anymore if it were happening with him.
Stugats
He'd be on second take. He'd be demoted.
Chris
Well, you see, when it's jokes like that that you get, you gotta be. You gotta tolerate talent when it gets here. You know what I mean?
Dan Le Batard
Isn't 8:30 technically on time for us? If 8:30 is the number, it's way less than 20%.
Stugats
You should start at 9, quite frankly.
Chris
But 8:30 is when the rest of us are here.
Stugats
Well, normally I am. Normally I beat you.
Zas
No, not normally.
Dan Le Batard
Normally is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
Stugats
I think normally I beat you in here. You know, you live a minute and a half away. I live a mile hour and a half away. Based on Miami traffic. If you think I'm going to leave my house at 5:30 to get here, you had another thing coming.
Mike Ryan
Was that a hi hat?
Roy
This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats podcast.
Chris
We've talked for a while around here about how time got sort of distorted at the start of the pandemic. But if you use that as a landmark, and we went back right to the start of the pandemic and I told you. Do you think it's possible in any circumstance where the greatest player in soccer would be playing in Miami at the top of his game for the championship in Miami, and that would happen quietly? Could you have imagined a scenario, could you have concocted an imaginary scenario where Messi would play well and have his team within a game of the championship against Vancouver and it happens quietly?
Zas
You don't think that, and this has been the case for a few years now with Inter Miami. You don't think they've done an extremely poor job at the promotion of their team?
Chris
They promoted Messi very well. It's been promoted all over town. I have felt the promotion of Messi everywhere. I have not felt the talk about this team and its championship chasing everywhere.
Zas
But then how many times has Inter Miami come to come to you and say you know, can we get someone on your show? Can we talk about it? How many times in the history of them existing here? Yeah, but I'm gonna guess probably zero.
Chris
Okay, it's right. That's. It's zero times. But I also think that's less important than it's ever been. I think at this point, I don't think that these teams in general need the support of local media. They need support of their partners. But local media is not something. Look, I've seen at the games the way that the local media, press seats have gone from courtside to the teams all realizing, oh, wait a minute, that's very expensive. Se. Let's put the local reporters up somewhere else where they're not close to the action.
Mike Ryan
Dan, you mentioned partners, and we've talked about putting their entire season behind a paywall at Apple and how that subscription service failed miserably to the point that Apple's doing away with that. And it just comes with your Apple tv. But not only do you get fewer eyes on your product, you lose a partnership. This is a Cup final that used to be on ESPN back in the day. You at least get some daytime programming dedicated to promotion. Espn. Remember when Versus was a thing and the NHL went away from espn? The NHL essentially almost died because they were largely ignored by the worldwide leader. And now Messi and MLS are totally ignored by cable sports programming networks.
Chris
You mentioned the correct thing when you said baseball and hockey suffered from what used to be the biggest and only alternative espn. We've had a lot change, though, in the last five years. And one of the things that I think has changed is these leaders in sports don't actually know how to react to a shifting tectonic change. And NBC is doing it very well. I've never seen Carmelo, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter on a pregame set. That's three hall of Famers. I've never seen it before. So it's a golden age of sports television money. Last night on NBC for a regular season game, they had three hall of Famers on the set. And it's something that I have never seen for a pregame show before because hall of Famers generally don't do that. Or if they do that, it's got Scottie Pippen who does it poorly, and everyone at ESPN is excited to have him around. But when you talk about how it's shifted there with leadership, what's also shifted is the coverage of it is so bad, for example. I'll give you an example, an easy example, but it's something that nobody's covering. It's being reported that the Bill Simmons move to Netflix is a hugely positive thing. And I think I understand that, why it would be reported that way. I assure you, Bill Simmons is not happy about that. He's an employee. He works for Spotify. They've done something to put his audience behind a paywall. He's worked very hard to build that audience. He has an idea of what kind of damage that can do to an audience. And what Apple and MLS and Messi underestimated is they thought, well, if it's Messi and Apple, surely there's enough money there to make all of that work. But we have a championship being played here. The playoff format is terrible. You can't go months playing the playoffs, and you can't go weeks without a game. That's ridiculous. Like, you can't do that. But beyond that, that's not the primary problem. Because we'd wait for football. Even if football was doing it that way, we would wait for American football. The best player in soccer, the best player ever, is playing at the top of his game. He's dominating the sport. And that can't happen quietly.
Mike Ryan
You don't have a promo on Monday Night Football saying the MLS cup is this weekend during the big game of Ohio State and Michigan. You don't see promotion for the eventual MLS cup final. I understand that it still needed to be sorted there, But Fox and FS1 say what you will about their daytime programming. I don't know if Nick Wright's going to dedicate any of his show time to, hey, we have the MLS Cup Final spoiler. No on network Fox. The big thing about losing a partner like ESPN is. And MLS has data to suggest whenever they did these big pieces about Zlatan and El Trafico, those MLS games would do numbers. It's not on people's radar. They're so totally unaware because conventional sports in this country, the two biggest ones, pro football and college football, are not promoting it. This is why the ESPN WWE partnership is actually a good thing. Not just because of all the money that they've made, but they've normalized. Talking about wrestling on daytime programs, mls, in going over to Apple and taking the most money available to them, actually hurt their product because of awareness. To the casual sports fan, it's a good example.
Zas
I mean, Stephanie McMahon was on ESPN radio yesterday. How many times this year do you think anyone related to MLS has been on any kind of ESPN platform?
Chris
So there's a language issue, right? Messi's a notoriously bad interview in any language, but especially in English. Cody, you know, this is a historic game. You've described this as a historic game.
Stugats
Yes.
Chris
History doesn't happen quietly.
Dan Le Batard
Yes.
Zas
I don't think that's a story. I don't think it's a story game.
Stugats
I think it's historic because soccer, pro soccer has been around in this town since the early seventies and a half a century later, they're on the cusp of winning a championship. I think that's what makes it historic.
Zas
It should be an historic game.
Mike Ryan
It should be.
Stugats
It should be. Yes, for sure. But let's be honest. MLS cup is drowned out by the NFL chugging toward its playoffs by the College Football Playoff. And all the controversy and debate around that. It just gets lost. And magnified by that is the fact that Lionel Messi is unlike any other athlete in the world. He is his own industry. He's in a cocoon. He's not available to anybody. Under normal circumstances, Lionel Messi right now would be doing interviews. He would be doing Spanish tv.
Zas
Did he used to do interviews when he played overseas, like right before he came here?
Chris
Interviews with him are rare and usually, usually not very interesting. He doesn't. He doesn't. There's not a lot of access.
Mike Ryan
You don't need an interview to make Messi interesting. He's interesting because to many, he's the greatest to ever do it. And he's astonishing. When you watch him, he captivates you with his play and universally agreed, the greatest player to ever play in that league by a wide margin. The story writes itself. The problem is no one's telling you the story.
Chris
Fifty years ago, it was Pele at the end of his career making soccer matter in New York. And he was bad. He wasn't any good at that point in his career. The point that Cody makes, though, is a good one. When you're a growing league. This happened with the wnba. You can't play your championship games when important American football games are being played. Like, you can't have important playoff games in the middle of a Sunday when every sport, everybody who cares about sports is watching something else, right?
Stugats
Yes. You can't do that. And look, Messi is appreciated by people who know soccer. How about you make him known to people who don't know soccer that well?
Mike Ryan
Everybody. Like, if you go up to anyone in the world, name one soccer player. It's either Messi or Reno.
Chris
He's been promoted a ton. Look, I don't think I'm gonna. I think I'VE got this right. I don't think there's ever been a player locally that I see plastered around town everywhere like restaurants in Little Haiti. Just more than Messi.
Mike Ryan
Number one for athletes, for sure. Number two in the market behind. And Dejar and Levine.
Chris
They have sold Messi plenty. This is not a sales problem. I don't. I don't know.
Mike Ryan
It is.
Chris
I don't. I believe. I don't believe it's a promotion problem. I believe it's more scheduling and timing and it's more paywall.
Mike Ryan
I paywall ties into the promotion in that you don't have a big time partner that is known by sports fans. No one's going to Apple TV for sports. Really? No one knows that as a destination they don't have dedicated programming to promote those events. So I think that is a huge misstep. They don't have espn. If I'm ML mls, I say Messi, you have to go to first take someone. You have to do this. No, but Mike, MLS Cup, Taylor Twelfman. Someone help us.
Zas
Yes.
Chris
My point though is that I could put Luis Suarez on first take as a controversial, polarizing figure. The paywall problem is Beckham's A1 is a bigger problem. The paywall.
Zas
Why can't Beckham do something?
Chris
The football. You can get your football for free. You can be broke and get football. You can do that. You simply cannot do that with Messi.
Mike Ryan
No, you can't do that with soccer in this country. Soccer. If you want to be a soccer fan in this country and follow all the leagues around the world, you are paying through the nose on this stuff. But again, it's promotion, promotion, promotion. I know this is probably too much soccer already for our audience, but on Friday, it's a huge soccer day because you have the national soccer media descending upon Miami because MLS cup is here. It's Messi versus Mueller. Are you going versus Miami? I might. I think that's a big game. But also on Friday is a World cup draw emanating from Washington D.C. so we'll have Tom Bogert, who is the number one U.S. soccer. Well, you will on Friday. He's the number one U.S. soccer insider and he'll just be around here on Friday to help answer some of these questions for us.
Zas
In a year from now, more promotion around the city. If we could fast forward in a year from now, more promotion around the city. Lionel Messi or Davion Mitchell.
Dan Le Batard
That's a great question.
Chris
Guys. You can't make this all about promotion. They have the Best player there's ever been, if not at the height of his powers. Not a appreciably declining. In the performance of the play that you're watching. You know, in important games. Three assists and a goal.
Mike Ryan
I don't think there's anyone in this studio or in our audience that knew this game was on network Fox before I said.
Zas
I did not. I did not put it on the.
Chris
Poll at Lebatard show. Did you know the Ms. MLS final was on network Fox this weekend? But if we're going to do before we get to yet more soccer, because it's a championship game and it's okay. We'll get to the University of Miami stuff in a second.
Roy
What happened with them?
Chris
I'm sure people are tired of that one as well. But I'd just like to quiz Chris and Roy here. Just as local sports fans. Are you familiar with. Could you get either one of the nicknames for either Inter Miami or Vancouver? Could you tell me what their. Their nicknames are instead of herons for Inter Miami? Yeah.
Roy
And the White Caps.
Chris
Glad Roy went. The Herons and the White Cats. That is. That is correct.
Dan Le Batard
Yep.
Chris
We both.
Dan Le Batard
You get the White cat.
Zas
We both knew that would have gotten white ca.
Stugats
The Vancouver Whitecaps have been the Vancouver Whitecaps dating back to the NASL days in the middle Ages.
Chris
So he cheated.
Roy
I didn't cheat. What are you talking about?
Mike Ryan
Their official name is Vancouver Whitecaps. The Herons are a nickname. Vancouver Whitecaps are an official name.
Chris
I don't understand the distinction.
Roy
There is a sport.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, there's a distinction because they're not the Inner Miami Herons. They're just Inner Miami.
Zas
Yeah, but everyone knows that's their.
Stugats
Yeah, there's a heron name.
Mike Ryan
Everyone knows. Everyone knows that Inter Miami is a heron.
Roy
It's their thing.
Zas
It's in their logo.
Roy
I mean, the official name. But it's team is right behind you.
Mike Ryan
I guarantee Spanish. If you polled most people in America, they don't know that those are actually herons. They would say flamingos.
Stugats
Yeah.
Chris
Or ibises. That's what I would have guessed. They might have guessed ibis is.
Zas
Those aren't the same thing.
Chris
Put it on the poll at Levitate show. Our herons are herons, ibises and cranes and flamingos. The same thing. The same thing. They are. Put it on the pole as well.
Dan Le Batard
There's a lot of cranes around that.
Chris
Stadium in Miami at Lebatard show. Yeah, I think. I think they should be the Inter Miami cranes. Yes, I put it on the poll as well at levitard show. Did you know Inter Miami was the herons? And did you know Vancouver was the white caps?
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Roy
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Chris
Don LeBatard, you are a fool.
Stugats
You're nobody.
Chris
You are an infant.
Mike Ryan
You have nobody skin.
Chris
I literally put together Mike Ryan stage for your toenail. I am your career right now, pal. No.
Dan Le Batard
Look at me.
Stugats
No.
Chris
I am your career.
Mike Ryan
No stugats. You have messed with McDavid, and now you're messing with me.
Chris
And I'm more dangerous, pal.
Roy
This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.
Chris
You're saying, mike, I am stunned to hear you pull the parachute on. Too much soccer talk after 20 minutes. When there's a championship game that. That Greg Cody is calling historic. But let's go to Zaz. Here is the official decider on Big game or not a big game. We're bringing in a soccer expert to our studios. So we're not talking about whether they're called the Herons and the White Cops, and we're talking about talking about this more intelligently. Big game or not Big game Friday, the White Caps against the Herons.
Zas
Well, the game's going to be played on Saturday, Dan, so you tune in Friday, you may miss it. Inter Miami, Vancouver Drive, Pink Stadium.
Mike Ryan
It's not called that anymore.
Zas
Okay.
Stugats
Hasn't been for a couple years.
Zas
Right across the street from empty graffiti warehouses and a Wendy's. The MLS Championship, also known as the MLS Cup.
Stugats
Usually known as the MLS Cup.
Zas
Lionel Messi and them boys versus the White Caps and them boys. I'm going big game. I have been out on Inter Miami, but I'm gonna be in Atlanta this weekend for the SEC Championship, and I'm gonna make sure that I watch it. So if I'm watching it, that's a big game. That's right.
Chris
Yo, chicken thigh, you're not going to watch. You're going to college football. Going out to P. You're making it up. You're out. You're out of Miami because you just didn't want to cover them or pay attention. White Caps.
Roy
Come on.
Chris
The White Caps and them boys. They're either the White Caps or them boys. They can't be the White Caps and them boys. Them boys are the white Cows.
Mike Ryan
Mueller.
Zas
There's like, one. No, but there's like one. And he's like the main one.
Dan Le Batard
Thomas Mueller's on Vancouver.
Chris
He is.
Dan Le Batard
That's funny.
Mike Ryan
Don't look up. His record against Messi. Head to head. So now I want to.
Chris
Last night, the committee got together and the wet sock came out again. And I believe he said the thing that should give Miami fans hope. I do believe that all of this is stupid. I believe we all are in agreement that NCAA leadership such that it is. Has been terrible for a long time. And this manifestation of it is the worst. And I'm kind of rooting for Duke to win because then they'll just stop doing it. Like, if Duke. If Duke make. If Duke wins the ACC championship and beats Virginia and gets into this playoff scenario with.
Dan Le Batard
They won't.
Mike Ryan
With five losses, there's a good chance that they don't because they won't be ranked.
Dan Le Batard
And then James Madison would make it.
Mike Ryan
Then you have James Madison boys to land in North Texas.
Dan Le Batard
Duke wins and the Dukes get in.
Chris
It's just chaos and it's terrible and it's dumb. It's, it's. Look, this is what I know about sports and I know obviously people are going to accuse us of bias because we feel like the Miami team is wrong. But what I do know about sports is that people do have at least the illusion that it's supposed to be a meritocracy. Like you could complain about the officiating and all sorts of things, but the scoreboard ends up telling the story that gives you finality. We have all sorts of imperfect measurement systems for our championships. All of them are imperfect. Basketballs is the best, but all of them are imperfect. There's going to be possibly champion of professional football this year that isn't actually the best team, is just the healthiest team at the end of the season that happens to win the game one game. Samples are not representative, but they're the best we've got. And so we have the illusion of merit being the reason it's not judges. And I think so. And let's get this conference, let's get this athletic director to come out and try and talk for a month in front of the cameras more than he ever has, Be more famous than he ever has been, be more polarizing than he ever has been. Let's get this sound. I don't want to remember this person's name. I don't know what his nationality is. I don't know.
Mike Ryan
He's a white man.
Chris
Yeah, but his.
Mike Ryan
Most administrators in that sport with a hockey name.
Chris
But his last name, I don't know.
Dan Le Batard
Hunter Yuricheck.
Chris
I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to say his name. I'm not going to give him this platform of knowing his name. But I think whatever the ethnicity is or the white. The lineages of that last name, the history of the last name, I think it stands for. We're making this all up as we go along.
Zas
Okay, here is a really important factor.
Chris
Too, because you're still honoring head to head between Alabama and Oklahoma with the Sooners being up.
Zas
But it has not carried the day for Miami and Notre Dame. Neither Miami nor Notre Dame play anymore. Among the teams who are finished playing.
Chris
Do not play this week.
Stugats
Week.
Zas
Can their order flip next, next Sunday in the final rankings? Or is the order for the teams whose hay is in the barn, whose resume is complete, Are they set in terms of where they are relative to one another? Great, great question.
Chris
Reese, the management committee during the off.
Zas
Season provided some clarification to some comments.
Chris
That were made last year.
Zas
And indeed, idle teams can move following the results of the championship games and how they impact the teams that around those that play in the championship game and data such as strength of scheduled.
Chris
Teams that may be idle.
Zas
So yes, teams that are idle can move up or down.
Chris
Ho, ho, ho. I think that's going to replace the hello. In terms of your evolving from your father and making noises and sounds meant to indicate the pleasure of being right. I, I will not feel any better about this system if Miami gets in, but he just said the thing that will allow you to watch for another week because all of this is just content to get you to the last 12 games when it becomes a beauty pageant.
Zas
So Mike, you, you heard that last night and that made you feel good, right?
Mike Ryan
If Texas Tech handles business, Miami's in.
Zas
And meaning because byu, I thought Miami's going to jump BYU last night, but if BYU loses again to Texas Tech, then you believe that Miami will then move ahead of byu.
Mike Ryan
I already know Jeremy's take on this and I'll speak for him because I don't want to hear him talk. BYU is being done wrong here and they're going to get penalized if they lose that conference title game. Normally that is a credo of mine. You should not be hurt by losing your conference title game.
Chris
It's a quality loss.
Dan Le Batard
But because it benefits Miami, you're changing your stance.
Mike Ryan
Well, that's because there's another life principle that I have that all football guys should have. If you're tied in record and you played head to head, the chief tiebreaker is head to head. So if you're going to normalize that not mattering, we're going to go ahead and normalize losing in the conference game mattering.
Dan Le Batard
So just so we can clarify, if two teams played head to head in their season and they have the same record at the end, and it's a matter of whether or not they should get into the College Football Playoff, head to head should be the deciding factor.
Roy
Correct.
Mike Ryan
They're mitigating circumstances, though.
Chris
So.
Dan Le Batard
So the mitigating circumstances are that last year when BYU beat smu, you didn't think it should be the case. But this year when it's Miami and Notre Dame, it should. And the reason is what?
Mike Ryan
Head to head BYU was not at all talked about last year in that cluster.
Dan Le Batard
Oh, because they weren't talked about?
Mike Ryan
No, no, no, no. Because they weren't talked about because they were not in that cluster. It was South Carolina, Miami, Alabama, and smu.
Dan Le Batard
All these two losses.
Mike Ryan
Thank you for participating.
Dan Le Batard
That's really interesting. Right.
Zas
Okay, can I, can I add, though, real quick here? Like, I, I, I, I think you're probably right that if BYU loses again, this time in the Big 12 championship, that Miami would jump them. But why should BYU get penalized there? And I'm not saying why should they get penalized for losing in their conference championship, which I do agree that they should not. But why would they get penalized for losing in their conference championship to a team we already know they're not as good as? Meaning Texas Tech. They, they already lost. We know Texas Tech.
Mike Ryan
I'll answer that question. They're being penalized or penalized, as you say, because the CFP basically admitted that they use buffer teams. That's why Alabama all of a sudden moved up ahead of Notre Dame. Euro check said the hot debate in that room for weeks has been Alabama versus Notre Dame. Yeah, that's what the national media has been arguing about for a month. Way to read the room. BYU is solely there so they don't have Miami and Notre Dame side to side.
Zas
Okay, so then it was bullshit. The whole talk about bullshit tears. It doesn't matter if you're in the same tier. Then it matters if you're next to each other.
Mike Ryan
First off, tears weren't a thing.
Dan Le Batard
Right.
Zas
Even though they told us they were.
Mike Ryan
Then tears were a thing because we all learned about tears together after week one, after the first week of the cfp.
Zas
But it's bullshit.
Mike Ryan
Okay, so then Miami had to move up a couple of spots to be considered in the same tier. They move up a couple spots. They were compared directly, but Notre Dame's still better. That was the most recent thing that we've heard. And now tears are no longer a thing. I swear to God, I sound crazy. This is what they're saying.
Chris
You say you call it bullshit. And I do believe most people listening to this would agree that they're making it all up as they go along. That is absolutely what is happening.
Mike Ryan
This is what Bruce Feldman, one of the more respected voices, did he say.
Chris
The F word last night on television?
Mike Ryan
No. Replying to a Kevin Clark tweet to Miami. Hurricanes cutting it up. This is also bleeping stupid. They just keep making it up as they go along. It's like the CFP committee is going out of their way to show that the sport is run by morons. I agree. And yeah, I feel bad for byu. BYU should probably be slotted ahead of these teams. But head to head, as Mario Crystal Ball likes to tell you should matter. And you're starting to see the tide turn. You're starting to see Kirk Herbstream come out and say, no, Miami deserves to be in there. Nick Saban, say it. Greg McElroy, say it. I woke up this morning and Jessica Smitten was tweeting out fei ratings. They're shook because they know what's gonna happen. I feel so good this morning because I know that if Texas Tech, a 13 and a half point favorite, handles their business, Miami will be in over Notre Dame because head to head.
Chris
Chris, stop looking at your phone. Hey, Amin here. And the NBA on Prime is back this Friday with another great doublehead. The action starts with one of the best rivalries in sports as Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers face Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics. Then Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks meet SGA and the Oklahoma City Thunder. And if you're not a Prime member, that's not a problem. Sign up for a 30 day free trial to get started today. The Lakers and Celtics, the Mavericks and Thunder coverage starts Friday at 6:30pm Eastern only on Prime. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.
Dan Le Batard
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Roy
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Chris
Don LeBatard.
Dan Le Batard
I think I would have been on his side.
Chris
I would have looked at you like, what did you say?
Dan Le Batard
I'm telling you, me and my friend, the rest of the way home, all we kept saying was, I ain't cheating.
Mike Ryan
Stugats.
Chris
It's like, why'd you got your ass? I think he got your ass.
Dan Le Batard
I got his way. Chris. Chris won this one for sure. Not that Jeremy. It was great.
Roy
This is the Dan Levatar show with the St. Gods.
Dan Le Batard
It's just wild to me that the. The BYU thing gets wiped away. Right, because this will be their fourth loss in two years. The thing that we're saying Miami having four losses in two years without going to a conference championship game will be in the position to do. And that's why they're this aggrieved party. But byu, a team that lost two games last year by a total of eight points, didn't make it. Wasn't even close to the conversation. This will be BYU's out of the last six seasons. This will be the fourth season where they started unraveling ranked and finished the season ranked. And that's what's really hurting them here is, is confirmation bias on the rest of these teams because all 11 teams around them, the 10 ahead of them, and Miami all started the season ranked.
Mike Ryan
I get your.
Dan Le Batard
So you continue to move them up regardless of merit, regardless of how much.
Mike Ryan
It's not a BYU Miami thing. This is about head to head. Okay.
Dan Le Batard
Okay. Last year, 9 and 1. BYU, 9 and 1. SMU head to head.
Mike Ryan
You just said those banking starts, said they lost by eight points and you touted that as a Merit. They lost 29 to 7. 7 this year to Texas Tech. By the way, that is more points than Miami has lost her last four games combined.
Dan Le Batard
Okay, but an undefeated Texas. We lost two games.
Mike Ryan
Miami's in the College Football Playoff. Why am I doing this with him?
Dan Le Batard
Because it's.
Mike Ryan
It's.
Dan Le Batard
Just because it benefits you now doesn't mean that this process is done.
Mike Ryan
No one's talking about byu, Miami, they don't matter here. They're named after a guy, but they. This is about Miami and Notre Dame. Stop it. Stop it. Miami beat Notre Dame they have the same record. Miami's playing the best football they have all season.
Chris
It's. Shut up. It's not just a guy. James Madison might have been just a guy. Brigham Young was not just a guy.
Zas
He was more than a guy.
Mike Ryan
Like, now you're keeping up for my.
Chris
For.
Mike Ryan
For your mark. You're keeping up for Brett, your mark. You're getting to a group of five guys in. Jeremy, the. The aggrieved UCF guy is being taken care of this year. Big boys are playing football.
Chris
Let me.
Mike Ryan
Power four conference. If you're a football guy, you know, head to head.
Chris
No, look, I want to talk for a second about just the conundrum that BYU has found itself in the entirety of my lifetime time. Because this goes back in my memory to, like, Lavelle Edwards having undefeated BYU teams that nobody respected because. Because BYU was playing lesser opponents. But I've told you this story before, okay? Head to head. One of the stunning results of my lifetime in college football was seeing Miami go to Brigham Young and lose, as I believe a defending champion, to Ty Detmer. And when they lost, I heard the single greatest explanation I've ever heard in a locker room for why they lost. Jesse Armstead, a professional linebacker who would be a top pick, said after the game that Miami was too fast and that Brigham Young was running its routes, and they thought that the routes would be run faster, and so their guys were out in front of the routes instead of like, actually covering the receivers because they were too fast for Brigham Young. This has been an affliction. I would be. If I were Brigham Young. I'd be so consistently mad. Mike says it's not a national conversation, and it's because it's just happening on local BYU radio somewhere in Salt Lake City. Like it's in Provo, even. It's not even getting to Salt Lake City. It's just in Provo.
Stugats
Nobody nationally cares about byu. Let's be honest. And here's the thing about the cfp. It does matter. Reputation does matter. That's why Alabama survives losing to Florida State, because they're Alabama. And by the way, Miami would be in. Miami would have won the ACC tiebreaker and been in the championship game had FSU finished with a 6 and 2 conference record instead of 2 and 6. So it's hurting Miami, but it's not hurting Alabama. The whole process is weird. Louisville, and. Here's another one, smu. And Louisville would be the fourth and fifth toughest opponent on Notre Dame schedule. Nothing makes sense here unless Miami gets in The.
Chris
All right, you have mentioned Alabama here. And I want to know if something is accurate because I saw Kirk Herb street saying, while putting up a link that Alabama is now changing its schedule, that Alabama is going to do what this entire system is going to cause, which is is don't play any difficult games out of conference. You're an idiot. You're going to get. You're not going to get rewarded for it. You're going to get penalized or penalized if you win. Yeah, if you win the game. But when you mention the allies you did, Mike, I notice you chose purposely credible allies. You're going to have some difficulty with Marco Rubio now coming to your side. He is an ally of yours, Mike.
Mike Ryan
Ryan, boy, and he is just like Governor DeSantis.
Chris
And he is now talking to a, you know, next to a Donald Trump who is clearly sleeping throughout everything. He's saying this. And I know I'm last, so I.
Mike Ryan
Wanted to be fast, but there was.
Chris
A lot to cover.
Mike Ryan
I do want to say this is the most wonderful, magical time of the year.
Chris
By that, of course, I'm referring to the college football playoffs.
Mike Ryan
And I just want to say this.
Chris
As a point of personal privilege.
Stugats
If, if.
Chris
And I'm a Florida Gator, but if the University of Miami gets screwed out of the college football playoffs after going 10 and 2 and beating Notre Dame.
Mike Ryan
The whole thing should be scrapped and.
Chris
You'Re going to have to take over.
Stugats
He kind of woke up when he said that.
Chris
More power. I can. I got. I got to have more power. Yes, that's a good. He said he agreed with it. He co signed it. He's like, that is a good idea. Put me in charge of more things. That's going well. I'll just bomb some boats.
Dan Le Batard
Marco sun plays for uf.
Stugats
Didn't know that.
Zas
Can I, can I potentially pour a little bit of cold water on the theory that Miami is going to get in if BYU winds up losing? Because head to head, Hunter Yuricheck said that, you know, teams could still move up and down after conference championship week, even if they're idle. He also mentioned there that that's based on strength of schedule being affected because the conference champions. So does that mean a team like Miami whose strength of schedule is not affected because of anything that happens in conference championship games is actually not what he's talking about.
Mike Ryan
You could be talking about Notre Dame. Boise State's playing for a conference championship. Boise State. Not your father's Boise State, but they're playing against unlv. They're favored by three and a half, they could become a Mountain west champion. And perhaps that's enough if Miami gets up there next to Notre Dame. But Miami and Notre Dame, by every conceivable metric, are very close.
Chris
I have a couple of questions for you guys. Based on what we're talking about, was there evidence from last night that the committee is positioning itself to allow Alabama to lose a close game to Georgia and still get into the playoff?
Mike Ryan
That's all that was last night, was to protect Alabama if they lose a game. Like, the only way Alabama is affected by what happens in that game is if they're embarrassed.
Chris
All right, so the second question I have is give me more information on Marco Rubio's kid playing at Florida. He is small.
Mike Ryan
He works right.
Chris
He has to be small, but he has to be physically small. Marco Rubio fits in my pocket.
Dan Le Batard
Anthony Rubio is 5 foot 9, 191 pounds.
Chris
What position does he play?
Dan Le Batard
He's a running back.
Chris
He's a running back. With what kind of bona fides? What kind of high school credentials does he have? Is he on scholarship?
Mike Ryan
Has he scored 5.4 yards per carry?
Dan Le Batard
Now that's on five carries, but I'll go ahead and figure that out. From high school. But that is what the Gators last year's year before.
Stugats
Yeah, yeah.
Chris
It's tiny.
Zas
Really.
Chris
Well, if he went to Belen, if he fits in my pocket.
Zas
Yeah, I don't know what kind of pocket you're wearing that day.
Chris
Whatever.
Stugats
Man got small hands as well. Of course, according to Trump Cargo Shorts.
Chris
If you can get me any more information on Marco Rubio's son, I'd like to know if they're just giving him political gifts in the backfield, that they're giving him carries, four touchdowns late in games just because there's some. Well, I don't know how he's gotten that 5.4 yards per carry average on five carries. I'm assuming it's by blowout. I blame Florida for not for Miami not being in the playoff because that would be a quality win for Miami. If. If beating Florida meant anything this year. Losing to Florida is keeping Texas out of the playoff.
Dan Le Batard
I'm seeing Marco Rubio's son was third team all day his senior year. He chose Florida over scholarship offers from Buffalo, Charlotte and Bryant.
Mike Ryan
Sounds like he's a walk on.
Zas
Tough decision.
Mike Ryan
Maybe he's a priority walk on.
Chris
Well, Belen and back a long time ago when my friends played at Pace and Columbus. I will not forget get their reaction when they went to play against Edron James and he was in the backfield and and he's carrying six of them into the end zone on his shoulders because he's just much bigger than everyone who playing for let's. Let's pair these two sounds here these two Cody sounds of being right and how good it feels to feel right. We've got. That's yours. Very Christmasy, very Santa. I'd like to hear that with Diana Rossini's kids But also I'd like to hear your dad which of these is better as a form of passion and excitement about being right. Chris, why did you get that excited that you became that you summoned a hysterical joyful Santa?
Stugats
When I'm right I like it doesn't happen often.
Dan Le Batard
Maybe that's why.
Chris
Also the Panthers have the last playoff spot got smoked by Toronto.
Roy
Hello.
Chris
Are in a very good team.
Roy
Well the shell of themselves seven players are out right now with injuries.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah but Roy, you spoke to something before the show. Bob been bad.
Roy
Yeah. He has a.883 save percentage of 289 goals against the average adjusted to 3.06.
Chris
So he's sounds bad.
Zas
It's bad Dan.
Roy
But he has goal saved above average negative 5.
Dan Le Batard
That can't be good.
Mike Ryan
And I want to clear up something that Dan said. He said that they had the last playoff spot. No, they're. They're bottom of the Eastern Conference right now but you know you get hot for three games and you're right back in playoffs.
Chris
How many points are they out final playoff spot?
Mike Ryan
Well, let me see how many games in hand that they have.
Stugats
Nine way tie it looks like.
Mike Ryan
Dan, you're not going to believe this. The Florida Panthers have come full circle. They are just five points out of the final playoff.
Chris
They lose last night four to one at home to Toronto. And Bob can be forgiven for not taking the regular season real seriously. Right.
Dan Le Batard
I told this year, I told Roy I said there's literally, literally nothing that guy can do to not start the first game of the playoffs. Yeah, like he could be worse than he's been the first half starting game one. If we make that. I mean granted if he is worse we won't make the playoffs.
Stugats
But this is the year you need good Bob, not bad Bob. Right.
Roy
Yeah. Especially with all the injuries that they have.
Chris
No, I would say the last two years is the two years in the playoffs they've needed good Bob, not bad Bob. It's totally fine for it to be bad Bob. The first 25 games of the season.
Zas
The year when they're hammered by injuries.
Stugats
Anyway, you got guys going on with barbecue injuries. I mean, it's ridiculous us that what's happening to the Panthers this year. And another thing, the home ice advantage has disappeared. I think the Panthers have lost like four of their last five home games or something of that nature.
Mike Ryan
It should be noted Florida's a bit of an older team and the schedule is a lot more congested this year because of the Winter Olympics.
Chris
Bobby didn't need to be noted. I didn't feel like Bobby.
Mike Ryan
Now's a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila. Cuervo, what are you doing here?
Chris
Cuervo? Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.
Mike Ryan
Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think he could lay out especially for one of our great partners.
Chris
Sweet, delicious Cuervo.
Mike Ryan
Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.
Chris
Cuervo.
Mike Ryan
So enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo. Cuervo the tequila that invented tequila. Proximo Cuervo.com Please drink responsibly.
Chris
Cuervo.
Date: December 3, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Main Cast: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Chris Cody, Mike Ryan, Roy, Zas
In this Local Hour, Dan, Stugotz, and the crew take a characteristically irreverent and passionate look at two major sports developments with a Miami focus: Inter Miami and Lionel Messi quietly reaching a soccer championship amidst poor promotion, and the University of Miami’s controversy in the College Football Playoff (CFP) selection—debating the meritocracy of the process, head-to-head records, and the system’s inherent flaws. This episode is packed with sharp local insights, familiar show banter, and witty takes on national sports issues.
This episode is high-energy, blending Miami pride with sharp skepticism and plenty of inside jokes. The tone is playful yet passionate, mixing genuine sports analysis with satire. Local loyalty, frustration at systemic sports injustices (and weirdness), and spirited banter define the discussion.
The show captures the spirit of Miami sports fandom and the crew’s trademark conversational chaos—whether they’re debating the sanctity of head-to-head wins, lamenting paywalls obscuring Messi’s impact, or riffing on Marco Rubio’s son. For fans of the show or South Florida sports, it’s a quintessential Local Hour.