Local Hour: Many Miami Mannys (feat. Brad Williams & Some Kid From UM)

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Episode: Local Hour: Many Miami Mannys (feat. Brad Williams & Some Kid From UM)
Date: January 16, 2026
Theme:
Broadcasting from the Elser Hotel in Miami, this episode captures the kinetic chaos and Miami-centric humor that defines the “Local Hour.” The crew, joined by comedian Brad Williams and a University of Miami student named Manny, riff on the South Florida scene, dig into Miami sports (especially the Heat and Hurricanes), dissect fan culture, and lampoon each other with the help of quirky live interactions. A special focus is given to Miami’s sports identity—a blend of pride, self-deprecation, and defensiveness—while previewing a big Miami game and reflecting on the dynamics of the Heat and Hurricanes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Show Format & Guest Anxiety

• Media Star-Struck: Zaslow is openly nervous about interviewing ESPN's Chris Fowler, describing him as a personal favorite and elevating him above recent guests (01:28). He’s anxious about the show’s unpredictable “who you got?” format interrupting Fowler:
  • “But this is Chris Fowler. That’s the point. This is Chris Fowler.” —Zaslow (02:56)
• Chaos is the Bit: The team leans into having random guests join for game predictions. There’s comic tension over whether this “Miami circus” format would offend someone as esteemed as Fowler.
  • “At any point during the show, somebody can stop by and it's just going to be who you got. Indiana, Miami.” —Mike Ryan (01:39)

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2. Cuban-ness, Miami Identity, and Campus Report

• Cultural Banter: The cast jokes about Cuban idioms, South Florida localisms, and who really counts as “Cuban” (03:25-04:43).
• Tony's Miami Campus Dispatch: Tony reports live from the University of Miami, riffing with a student, Manny, about the abundance of “Mannys” at Miami’s Columbus High School—playing up the in-joke of Miami’s repetitive, insular culture.
  • “How many Mannys are there at Columbus?” —Tony (24:26)
  • “There’s actually quite a few.” —Manny (24:47)
• Name Stereotypes: The group jokes about the most common names among Miami’s Cuban-American community: Manny, Alex, Jose, etc. (25:05-25:21).
• You Can’t Find a Villain: Tony tries, unsuccessfully, to get Manny to dish dirt on UM quarterback Fernando Mendoza—he’s only labeled a “dork” and “lactose intolerant” (26:00-26:42), reinforcing Miami sports’ reputation for likable, if unthreatening, heroes.

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3. Miami Dolphins, McDaniel & Tua—Organizational Dysfunction

• Dysfunction in Dolphins Leadership:
  • Darren Waller’s Story (07:38): Shares a behind-the-scenes look at Miami Dolphins’ GM search and Mike McDaniel’s firing—revealing an awkward, haphazard process where McDaniel was left in the dark.
    • “My exit meeting was that Thursday morning… Stephen Ross kicked the door in... I come up from the massage, check my phone, he’s fired. And I’m like, damn.” —Jeremy, recounting Waller's story (07:38)
  • Comedian Dan Soder on McDaniel: Offers a passionate defense of fired coach Mike McDaniel, blaming dysfunction on ownership and questioning national punditry:
    • “I think [the Dolphins] stabbed Mike in the back… Your fans don’t know ball... I hope [McDaniel] goes and wins ten Lombardi trophies and shoves them up the owner of the Dolphins one at a time.” —Dan Soder, via Brad Williams (09:18, 10:23)
• Tua’s Trauma & Compassion for NFL QBs (13:11–18:32):
  • Waller speculates about Tua Tagovailoa playing with “trauma stored in his body,” referencing "The Body Keeps the Score” and linking play to lingering, unspoken fears from past concussions (13:36–14:47).
  • Dan and the crew unpack how national criticism of Tua ignores this psychological reality, lamenting the lack of compassion in the public discourse:
    • “The criticism of Tua doesn’t have that compassion in it… All of us would short-circuit if what he’s describing.” —Mike Ryan (15:46)

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4. Miami Heat Reality Check

• SPO Goes Public:
  • The usually tight-lipped Erik Spoelstra’s public criticism of young big man Khalil Ware is dissected. Ware’s effort and attitude are questioned on air—“He’s stacking days in the wrong direction now”—an unusually blunt display for the Heat organization (29:18–30:04).
  • Diana Rossini notes it’s rare to see Heat brass “embarrass” a player publicly:
    • “It’s surprising to hear this type of sound from Spo…” —Diana Rossini (30:05)
  • The group debates Ware’s value as a core piece versus trade bait as the Heat stagnate around a 10-seed ceiling (32:17–33:19).
• Celtics/Heat Divide:
  • The gap between Boston and Miami, once separated by a single Bam Adebayo block, is now wide:
    • “Since Boston’s best player was stopped by Miami’s best defensive player at the rim in the bubble… Boston’s become a champion…Miami’s in a place where a week ago you were trading Bam.” —Mike Ryan (36:50)
  • There’s longing for the old Pat Riley “blow it up” days (37:28), with a sense of resignation and I-told-you-so among the group.

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5. Game Predictions & Miami Fandom

• Brad Williams Joins (39:02):
  • Williams, a lifelong Broncos fan and Miami show supporter, is roasted for his “short” prediction segment.
  • He launches into a playful, self-deprecating rant about being fat-shamed by the show, rolling out a tongue-in-cheek list mocking show members for hypocrisy.
    • “You just told a dwarf to keep it short.” —Brad Williams (39:15)
    • “The number one thing less hypocritical than Dan Le Batard fat-shaming me: Michael Irvin saying you have a cocaine problem.” —Brad Williams (40:03)
• Jason Benetti’s One-Word Prediction (44:14):
  • Benetti, in true show style, is directed to keep it brief while offering trivia about Indiana football’s futility; the bit is that every guest must quickly pick a winner.
• Miami: Perpetually Overlooked?
  • The hosts debate Miami’s underdog status and whether the national media, or even the hockey world, ever truly roots for South Florida:
    • “Miami doesn’t get to be Cinderella here as the eight and a half point dog, like, which is crazy.” —Mike Ryan (45:37)
    • “They’re a ten seed. A two-loss, ten seed. They’re Cinderella.” —Greg Cody (45:49)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (by Timestamp)

• (01:28–02:56) – Zaslow's Anxiety:
  • “But this is Chris Fowler. That’s the point. This is Chris Fowler.” —Zaslow
• (03:03–05:54) – Cuban Miami Banter:
  • “Carreta, it’s hard to learn in South Florida about Cuban things when you live in Broward.” —Tony (03:32)
• (07:38–08:14) – Darren Waller Recounts Dolphins Dysfunction:
  • “Stephen Ross kicked the door in… I come up from the massage, check my phone, he’s fired. And I’m like, damn.” —Jeremy, quoting Waller
• (13:36–14:47) – Waller on Tua’s Trauma:
  • “I think there might be… trauma still stored, like, in his body from what he’s gone through, like with the head injuries and stuff.” —Jeremy quoting Waller
• (15:46–16:02) – Lack of Compassion for Tua:
  • “The criticism of Tua doesn’t have that compassion in it. None of it. It doesn’t have any of the idea that somebody might be out there playing scared and can’t tell anybody he’s scared, although it shows up in his performance.” —Mike Ryan
• (29:18–30:04) – Spo Blasts Khalil Ware:
  • “He needs to get back to where he was… he was stacking days, good days. He’s stacking days in the wrong direction now.” —Zaslow
• (36:50–37:28) – Heat vs. Celtics Trajectory:
  • “Since Boston’s best player was stopped by Miami’s best defensive player at the rim in the bubble… Boston’s become a champion…Miami’s in a place where a week ago you were trading Bam.” —Mike Ryan
• (39:15–40:46) – Brad Williams Roasts Show:
  • “You just told a dwarf to keep it short.” —Brad Williams
  • “[Dan Le Batard] fat-shaming me… that’s insane… The number one thing less hypocritical than Dan Le Batard fat-shaming me: Michael Irvin saying you have a cocaine problem.” —Brad Williams
• (44:14–44:52) – Jason Benetti One-Word Bit:
  • “The number one song in America in 1950 was Goodnight Irene... Indiana, in that span, had three seasons with more than five wins. You have to root for Indiana a little bit, right?” —Mike Ryan/joking with Benetti

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp Range | |----------------------------------|----------------| | Zaslow’s Fowler Anxiety | 00:57–02:56 | | Cuban-Miami/Naming Banter | 03:25–05:54; 24:26–25:21 | | Dolphins Dysfunction (Waller) | 07:38–10:50 | | Waller/Soder on Tua & Trauma | 13:36–18:07 | | Tony's Campus Dispatch (UM Manny)| 23:36–27:26 | | Heat’s Khalil Ware Controversy | 29:18–32:11 | | Celtics v. Heat Assessment | 36:50–38:15 | | Brad Williams Comedy Segment | 39:02–41:29 | | Jason Benetti & Predictions Bit | 44:14–44:52 | | Miami Underdog/Fandom Talk | 45:04–45:49 |

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Style & Tone

As always, the show blends local pride with biting self-awareness, rapid-fire banter, and meta-comedy. Miami is lovingly roasted as a place of both insularity (“How many Mannys are there at Columbus?”) and perpetual underdog status. Guest interactions are irreverent and thrive on comic interruption, with sports analysis veering into the absurd.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a quintessential Local Hour—a raucous celebration of Miami, a roast of its sports teams’ dysfunction, wistful longing for past glories, and the sort of comedic self-lampooning only the Le Batard universe delivers. The show’s heart lies in finding humor in being overlooked—whether as a city, a team, or even a Miami “Manny.” For listeners, it’s both a loving Miami time capsule and a sharp satire of sports talk conventions.

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

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[Zaslow]

I'm nervous, Dan, because, well, we have a great guest coming on today. Chris Fowler is one of my favorites. I like. Matter of fact, some may say he's a colleague of mine and I feel like, I don't know, like I want to impress him.

[Mike Ryan]

You've struggled there this week. Diana Rossini and Nick Wright, you're doing zazz stuff in front of the. The media elite and you've stumbled a couple.

[Zaslow]

Yeah, I wasn't nervous around any of them, but it's Chris Fowler. I don't know. A lot of pressure I feel, you know.

[Mike Ryan]

And so what are you worried about? Today's show is a bit crazy.

[Diana Rossini]

Right.

[Mike Ryan]

We're ramping up until Monday when we just throw the entire kitchen sink of Galle Ocho. Every. Everything that has ever been in Miami is going to be thrown at Monday. But today we're warming up for that by just basically calling everyone we know for predictions. So at any point during the show, somebody can stop by and it's just going to be who you got. Indiana, Miami. If they say the wrong thing, we'll immediately get rid of them. If they say the correct thing, we'll talk to them for a long time. And you're worried what, that this is going to happen during Chris Fowler?

[Zaslow]

Yes, yes. And he won't think that that's like, worth his time. You know, he's a busy guy.

[Mike Ryan]

And so you think he's gonna blame you instead of me on that?

[Zaslow]

Well, I think it's guilt by association at the very least. Right.

[Mike Ryan]

Are you guys worried about this at all? Because I'm. I want to have as Many voices talking about this game as possible. But that is a pretty signature voice to have and to interrupt him for. Say, I don't know. Brad Williams might be strange.

[Diana Rossini]

I don't know. I feel like that's exactly what we want this show to be.

[Greg Cody]

It's been that kind of week.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

But Zaz is scared. It's been that kind of week. And Zaz has played nervous some this week. But I. He hasn't said before a show. I'm nervous. Right.

[Zaslow]

Like, I. I like the show being that. But this is Chris Fowler. That's the point. This is Chris Fowler.

[Dan LeBatard]

And we got Tony on campus. This is exciting.

[Diana Rossini]

Dan.

[Dan LeBatard]

They actually let us on campus.

[Mike Ryan]

Is that right?

[Greg Cody]

I don't think we told anybody. It's just a campus you can walk on.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, yeah. What's good, bro?

[Mike Ryan]

How Cuban are you? Okay, Billy Corbin, if I know anything.

[Dan LeBatard]

I know you're not Cuban.

[Diana Rossini]

It's prompting nagging.

[Tony]

Carreta, it's hard to learn in South Florida about Cuban things when you live in Broward.

[Zaslow]

It's prompting Negian.

[Mike Ryan]

Name a single flaw.

[Greg Cody]

He's a dork. It's prompting neg.

[Diana Rossini]

I don't know what talco is.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, Jesus. Portumadri.

[Dan LeBatard]

I imagine it would be like, your mama. Portumadre.

[Mike Ryan]

Salud.

[Dan LeBatard]

Masabe et diablo.

[Tony]

Port diablo.

[Manny]

Is this a Cuban expression?

[Mike Ryan]

What the hell does this mean?

[Diana Rossini]

Come compota. Is that like the, like, raspberry compote they do on Great British Baking show?

[Tony]

Guess what? We're doing the party. We're doing it at Bird Bowl.

[Zaslow]

He had Cuban coffee for the very first time. He thought he was having a heart attack.

[Tony]

You hit la cazuela, and that's what that is.

[Mike Ryan]

It's prompting negative how I do Dave.

[Dan LeBatard]

Dunn, what's your favorite Cuban dish?

[Diana Rossini]

Is taco and baby powder the same thing?

[Mike Ryan]

Yes, you doofus. What kind of Cuban are you?

[Tony]

Are you a bread chaser? Because they have them right here, dude.

[Greg Cody]

Oops.

[Dan LeBatard]

There goes another rubber tree plant.

[Zaslow]

It's propting, nagging.

[Mike Ryan]

I am not quite ready for everything that cometh this way. I am not ready for today's show. We've got some sound I have to get to of Darren Waller, of Eric Spoelstra, and weirdly, of Dan Soder. But before we get to the bigger sounds, I need to do some calisthenics around here with just the sounds at my availability today. What? What sounds do I have available today to get people fired up. Okay, Jessica, snoring is not a sound that's going to get anybody fired up that I thought that was doctored. People have to think that's doctored. People have to think that we're. That we're faking that. Can you get me any of the Zaz mess ups from this week to packers winner.

[Zaslow]

The bear lose. Bears lose.

[Mike Ryan]

Get me a different one.

[Zaslow]

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

[Mike Ryan]

Get me fired up for the Miami game with some of the sounds that we had. Give me some different. Yeah, that's a good one. I want to give all the glory to God. Yeah, that's not bad.

[Diana Rossini]

It's prompting.

[Mike Ryan]

No, something bigger than that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oops, There goes another rubber tree plant.

[Greg Cody]

Well, I'm ready.

[Mike Ryan]

Perfect. I'm ready now, too. Let's. Before we get to the spo sound because the Heat haven't had a lot of things like this where you're. Where you're watching the. The coach take out a player.

[Zaslow]

You didn't understand what I was trying to ask.

[Mike Ryan]

I. I would love somebody who's listening to yesterday's show. Let's play the old sound from yesterday. Somebody who didn't hear yesterday's show, and it's just listening to today's. I would love for them to. To translate what Zaz was talking about here.

[Zaslow]

You want to know how that. What were the kids doing? This. What I'm worried about with Fowler. Like one of you is going to decide it's fun to play that for Fowler, and then I'm disgraced.

[Mike Ryan]

You mean like asking a guest what's the hardest thing about the life? The. The spo sound is not something you'll see a lot of in Heat history. The coach putting his voice publicly. They keep this stuff private unless they're trying to embarrass somebody.

[Greg Cody]

And I don't think we've heard Eric Spoelstra spe this way about a player since Kale. Where.

[Mike Ryan]

Can you guys get for me before we get to that, though, the sound of Darren Waller on Johnny Manziel's podcast before we get to the stuff he had to say about tua, which I thought was interesting, it turns out he's the guy who was in the exit meeting that I was telling you guys about that was just sitting there and it happened the way that I told you it happened where Waller's just sitting there across from McDaniel and then listen to what happens next.

[Jeremy]

I was at the scene of the crime, bro. I think I was the last person that saw him before he got fired. My exit meeting was that Thursday morning, and he's like, definitely want you back next year. And we're just, like, reflecting on the year. And then Stephen Ross kicked the door in, and he comes in, like, joins the conversation. We're just all talking, reflecting on the year. And then the conversation kind of hits a low, and I'm sitting across the desk from Mike. Steven Roth is standing there just kind of looking at me like, it's time.

[Greg Cody]

For you to get the hell out.

[Dan LeBatard]

I looked at Mike.

[Jeremy]

He was like, we'll finish the conversation later. Because I didn't know they had. The GM search was in full flow. I didn't know what they have big business talk about. Like, so I go out the meeting, I go downstairs and get a massage. I come up from the massage, check my phone, he's fired. And I'm like, damn.

[Mike Ryan]

Like, that's fast to go. From the meeting room. McDaniel thinks, he says has a job to coming out of the massage. And it's already in the news. Like, it's already. They've already released it, and McDaniel was the last to know.

[Zaslow]

I would have to be of the opinion that, you know, certainly it's sloppy the way Stephen Ross handled it. Why didn't he fire him on Black Monday? Why did McDaniel have the impression that he was staying? He's doing exit interviews, African American Monday. But I would have to figure that the new general manager, maybe, maybe even several of them that they were interviewing, said we should move on. Like, I would go in a different direction. I think it's interesting that if I'm right about that, I think it's interesting that Steven Ross decided, okay, I'll fire him. I'm not gonna hire you and make you fire him.

[Mike Ryan]

McDaniel ends up okay in a situation where this is a little bit embarrassing. And his friend Dan Soder, the comedian, a childhood friend of Mike McDaniels, was all manner of pissed off about this. Is this the We Must Be Drunk podcast?

[Dan LeBatard]

But he'll get a gig, right?

[Greg Cody]

Somewhere else?

[Brad Williams]

Absolutely. In fact, I think he's better off because I think. And listen to me right now. I think it's a organization. I think it's. I think it's ran by an old. That stabbed Mike in the back after he told him he was going to be all right for another season. And the Dolphins. And honestly, Miami as a comedy town, when having a friend that's an NFL coach, you notice. You listen more when people talk about your friend, huh? And Troy aikman shits on McDaniel in a way that I'm like, he doesn't like Mike. Whoa. And me and my friend Chad, who grew up with Mike were like, Chad was. The first one was like, I bet Aikman had something to do with it. And then I was just like, Troy.

[Mike Ryan]

Aikman looking like white Jay Z. Quarterback.

[Brad Williams]

That was falling off. Tua stinks. But people listen. I think McDaniel got fired because he tied himself to Tua and they lost. That's a sign of my friend being loyal. So, like, as a friend. As a friend, I go, yeah, he stuck with him. And I hope the next team he goes to, the quarterback goes, well, this guy's stuck with him. So I believe in him.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

So I'll play for. I just hope McDaniel goes and wins, because 10 Lombardi trophies and then shoves them up the owner of the Dolphins one at a time. And I hope the Dolphins never win another game. Your old logo is better. Your new logo looks like a penis jumping through a nuva ring. Hey, your fans don't know ball a couple of them at the stadium. It's. It was like crazy watching them not know when to cheer on third down.

[Dan LeBatard]

Jesus Christ.

[Brad Williams]

That whole organization.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay, Zation, so he's. He's mad. Thank you, Mike, for the help there. The thing that I was noticing Zaslow during that, and I understand the sound is spicy, but I was noticing the Mark Norman sounds and only the Mark Norman sounds. And the reason I was noticing them is because before I did his show with told me he doesn't know anything about sports. So the sounds of Mark Norman coming out of him are like, wow, he doesn't. But he doesn't care at all about just about anything. Dan Soder's just railing against. Against something that Mark Norman doesn't care about.

[Zaslow]

And me and my friend, he had good contributions.

[Greg Cody]

I thought he did. That's a proper reaction to shoving 10 Lombardi trophies up Steven Ross's asshole.

[Zaslow]

Ten's ridiculous. Nine maybe, but 10, right?

[Greg Cody]

He's 85 years old.

[Mike Ryan]

You gotta go to the grave. You gotta win him in a row, and you gotta go to the grave.

[Greg Cody]

At 85 years old, you gotta think the second one being shoved up there probably kills him. Uh huh.

[Mike Ryan]

There's a lot to talk about in the Miami Heat organization. But before we get to that, though, the. The sound. He also dropped in there. And I'm curious whether any of you care about this part. Maybe you don't. I believe Dan Soder when he says My friend was told he has another year. And now where are we on that? Like, that particular detail. That particular detail of what are you.

[Zaslow]

Guys doing because Ross is sloppy. That. That's exactly what Ross is sloppy, I would imagine. Ross told him, I'm not firing you. That's why Black Monday came and went. And McDaniel still the coach.

[Mike Ryan]

African American Monday, and then he hired.

[Zaslow]

A GM who wants to move on.

[Mike Ryan]

And.

[Zaslow]

Okay, like, he's going to move on. He's sloppy.

[Greg Cody]

I don't think Dan was really wrong about anything there.

[Zaslow]

Hey, the Miami being a comedy town. Come on now.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, fair enough.

[Brad Williams]

And honestly, Miami as a comedy town.

[Greg Cody]

The fans that don't know ball, I actually think that's fair. But I mean, yes, even Ross probably didn't handle this right. I mean, we can tell from where we're sitting, right, without knowing much Mike McDaniel was saying that he was going to be involved in the GM process. That. That. That is a little sloppy. And I can certainly understand why anyone close to Mike McDaniel would feel like this was handled incorrectly.

[Mike Ryan]

We're going to have Darren Waller through here for a South beach session. I find him refreshing. Listen to what it is that he is saying here, though, as it rel to us as. Have you heard any of this sound where he's talking about a teammate and being in a huddle and being in a locker room where you're not sure if your friend and teammate and leader's head is right?

[Jeremy]

But I was watching most of the training camps. I'm on the sideline. I'm watching this man throw darts every practice, bro. Like, it was just like, what the am I watching? Like, I had never seen the anticipation and the accuracy out there. So it's like, I think from my standpoint, the skill set for him is still there. Well, I think, like, maybe some of, like, the disconnect comes from, like, seeing it translate. I think there might be, like, some. There could be some, like, trauma still stored, like, in his body from, like, what he's gone through, like, with the head injuries and stuff. Because there's this book called the Body keeps the Score, which is, like, the number one book about, like, trauma. And they talk about how trauma was first with, like, war veterans and, like, what they went through there. And, like, they'll come home and they'll see, like, a car sitting by itself in a grocery store parking lot, but they're in their body and their brain will tell them, like, that car is about. Has an explosive in it when it's Just like a car sitting at Publix or something. And so I think like in what, like I can notice him like trying to make things happen like in the game, like he's trying to pull the trigger. But it's almost like his, his body and like his system won't allow him to do it. Do that.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

You know what I'm saying? So I think, I feel like if there's a way for him to find some healing in that regard, I think the skill set is definitely still there. Like you said.

[Mike Ryan]

Can you imagine as we diagnose this very poorly while watching, just imagining dropping back in traffic in the particular traffic of football and having any kind of hitch anywhere in your body that's a short circuit on. Well, I can do this over here, but now I've got post traumatic stress disorder because the wiring in my brain's not right. You will never get that information from Tua while he's playing at a microphone. You will never get honesty about. So any criticism of him that it doesn't have that in it is a little bit empty, I think because all of us would short circuit if what he's describing. You're walking down the street living a life and you think every car is going to explode. And I just can't imagine playing that sport that way. You can't play that Sport unless you're 100% free flowing.

[Zaslow]

I think we, we saw it right. Like, I think it's a perfectly reasonable explanation or observation that Darren Waller is.

[Mike Ryan]

But it's not in any of the criticism of tua. Like the criticism of Tua doesn't have that compassion in it. None of it. It doesn't have any of the idea that somebody might be out there playing scared and can't tell anybody he's scared, although it shows up in his performance.

[Greg Cody]

Really. I kind of felt like that was the gambit when it came to Tua, that he was forever changed by what happened and naturally it would affect how he plays the game.

[Mike Ryan]

You think the majority of America, when they've been arguing for years about the polarizing quarterback of the Dolphins, can he play? Can he not play? You think the majority of Americans are saying he's regressed because of his brain.

[Greg Cody]

Maybe I'm an idiot, but I think that's implied when you discuss Tua and all that goes with it.

[Zaslow]

I think we saw this year and acknowledged throughout the season that he looks scared. And I know that's something where, when you say that about a football, but what do you mean? They're all Tough, not scared. It's like, no, I think in this instance, we're watching a guy who looks scared back there.

[Greg Cody]

Perhaps it deserves more nuance. But I just assumed that if you're familiar with Tua's story and the downward trajectory of his professional career, that the head stuff is all encompassing.

[Mike Ryan]

Doesn't it feel cold to you? Yes, because it doesn't. If it were encompassing, I would think it would show up as compassion somewhere in the critique. Somewhere.

[Greg Cody]

I think, look, people have gone at Tua every time we talk about his play. I think we've worked that into the conversation. And by working that into the conversation and making it a part of the discussion, I do think that does show compassion, because we're not just saying, wow, this guy was a fraud. He sucks.

[Zaslow]

I don't know. I mean, when I sit here telling him to get out of my city, I'm not showing very much.

[Greg Cody]

No, I understand. And I'd probably feel a similar way if I were a Dolphin fan.

[Jeremy]

Right.

[Greg Cody]

But I don't think that we've discussed who lacking compassion. Maybe we could be more compassionate. But I think it's been part of the discussion, always implied and always hanging over it.

[Zaslow]

I do think what's part. Part of what has turned off the Dolphin fan, even if we can acknowledge that maybe we should show some compassion if this is what's going on, is, man, like, he has said some really weird things throughout this season, some really unlikable things throughout this season. And that part, I think I know as a Dolphin fan, has really turned me off.

[Greg Cody]

I think every time we've analyzed what he said and said, this is strange behavior. We have applied the context of, you know, he's gone through a lot in his career, health wise.

[Mike Ryan]

I wasn't actually talking about us. I was talking. I wasn't talking about our show. I know we've talked about it plenty. I was talking about America as it regards to measuring can this person play or not.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Outside fans probably don't think of it.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah.

[Zaslow]

I don't think they're looking at it that well.

[Greg Cody]

He had some pretty shocking concussions on standalone TV windows.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah. But I just don't think any of us really understand it. Like, how can we possibly.

[Zaslow]

Does anyone.

[Mike Ryan]

How can. How can we possibly understand?

[Greg Cody]

He was the league's leading passer, you know, and he is very clearly dropped off. And there's a line of demarcation from when he had the fencing hands.

[Tony]

All right. Kicking things off with smearing off the official vodka sponsor of the NFL and the Number one vodka in the world. Chris Cody, you're here.

[Dan LeBatard]

Smirnoff.

[Tony]

Wow. You're on the money with Smirnoff Smirnoff. Chris, do you know what goes great with Smirnoff?

[Greg Cody]

Smirnoff?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes.

[Tony]

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[Jeremy]

Wow.

[Tony]

The merch will be dropped on select dates from December to January 21st. And it's all courtesy of what brand? That's right, Chris. Fans 21 and over can head to Smirnoff Socials to learn how to sign up. And don't forget to grab a bottle of Smirnoff vodka, number 21 at your local retail, please drink responsibly. Number 21 vodka distilled from grain 40 alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anybody under legal drinking aid. No purchase necessary. Must be legal. U.S. resident, 21 or older. Sweepstakes starts 12 15, 2025 at 12:00am Eastern and ends 1232026 at 11:59:59pm Eastern. See official rules at program website.

[Diana Rossini]

Hello listeners. You know that I live in Miami, which means my idea of quote unquote winter is just putting on a hoodie or a cardigan and acting like I've suffered. But every time that I travel somewhere that's actually cold, I'm reminded that my wardrobe is going to completely and utterly unprepared. But that right there is where Quince comes in. I also realized that if I'm going to be on camera for broadcast gigs, I probably shouldn't look like I just grabbed whatever was closest to the door. Quince makes clothes that deliver premium materials, thoughtful design and pieces that hold up season after season after season after season. And particularly with quints. Their outerwear has been the thing that's especially impressed me. Those down jackets, wool coats, Italian leather. And folks, that cashmere sweater, ridiculously soft, looks great and somehow doesn't cost what you'd expect. Trust me, I am the only one on this show who actually dresses to impress. And Quince is what's now helping me do it. Refresh your winter wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.com dan for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q U I n c e.com dan. Dan Free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com dan Happy New Year, everybody.

[Greg Cody]

2026 is already getting off to an incredible start. Because you want to know how I rang in the new year? It was with a bunch of friends in a Dallas hotel lobby bar ordering a bunch of Miller Lights. Because that's how you do it. That's how you make special memories. Miller Lite has been by my side at many special football memories this year. And hopefully we get to write a few more memories with Miller Lite. Some of my most legendary moments have started that exact same way. A buddy's house, a lobby bar, a game. No big plan. And then you crack open a Miller Lite, you take a sip and you look around and you immediately recognize that you made the right call. Legendary moments start with Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. You or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Mike Ryan]

Don LeBatard.

[Zaslow]

John, can you rate my Al Pacino from that billiard scene in Carlito's Way if I do it for you? I think it's pretty good.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. Okay.

[Greg Cody]

Stugats.

[Zaslow]

You think you're big time or you're gonna die big time.

[Dan LeBatard]

That is on my infamous scale of 1 to 10.

[Greg Cody]

That's a.

[Zaslow]

That's a 7.6 solid.

[Greg Cody]

That's a suey nominee right there.

[Mike Ryan]

This is the Don lebatar show with the Stugach. I see that Tony is on the lovely, lovely campus of the University of Miami. I was thinking today, man, oh, man, did I feel my age today. Because it didn't dawn on me until today, because it's 2026. Oh, shit. It's been 40 years since I walked onto that campus to go to school. Four. Zero. I was. Yeah. That's the face to make, Tony. That is correct. That's exactly the face I made when I was like, tony's going to campus today. And I walked on it for the first time. 40 years ago. Tony, what's going on out there?

[Tony]

Can you.

[Mike Ryan]

Can you feel the buzz? Can you feel the emotion? Can you feel the electricity of students walking past the lake and people at the architecture school thinking of the hurricanes?

[Tony]

I can definitely feel the buzz in the air. Dan, there's. There's about 17 people walking around campus right now.

[Greg Cody]

It's still a little early.

[Tony]

There's classes going on. People are definitely looking at me like, who's this guy? Why is he here? There's a camera. People are kind of confused by the camera, but I feel like a little bit of. Kind of an infidel because I was never allowed to even get on the campus. Last time I was here was for Frank Hates team camp when I was.

[Dan LeBatard]

A sophomore in high school.

[Tony]

So, like, 20 years ago. But, yeah, Dan, so excited to be here. We've already got a person who's a big fan of the show, and can we interview him really quick?

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, yeah. Okay, let's go. Let's go.

[Tony]

Okay. All right, we got Manny here. What's up, Manny? Big, big fan of the show. Manny was at Columbus. He's also working on the. On the broadcast team here at University of Miami. He was also over at Columbus. A couple days ago, graduated Fernando, with Fernando Mendoza from Columbus. But I want to ask him, Danny, very important question. Manny, how many mannies are there at Columbus?

[Manny]

There's actually quite a few mannies at Columbus. So I want to say the kids that graduated with me, there was about three more Mannys in my class.

[Tony]

No, there's no way. There had to be, like, about 10 or 11 or 12 at least.

[Manny]

It wasn't that much, but mine was. I'm Emanuel. But most of them were manual, so it was different. Different kind of.

[Tony]

Manny, top five names at Columbus. We had to go. Manny. We got to go.

[Mike Ryan]

Alex, Armando.

[Tony]

There's got to be a lot of amanditos. No, that's. Dan. That's. That you're talking about from the 80s. Nobody calls their kid amandito anymore.

[Greg Cody]

A couple of generations.

[Tony]

There's got to be Knicks. A lot of Knicks.

[Manny]

My best buddy from Columbus is here right now. Name is Nick. And then there's a lot of Joses as well.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay.

[Tony]

So, yeah, Dan, he was. He was a. He graduated with Fernando Mendoza. So, Fernand, to see Fernando from what he was in high school to where he is now, what's your. How do you gauge that?

[Manny]

Well, I mean, he's still a great guy, a good friend.

[Greg Cody]

Still.

[Manny]

Well, I wasn't that great of a Friend with him when I was there, but we had classes together, but I still give him a text every time. He had a big win this season, and he. He did respond, which was pretty cool.

[Tony]

Every time or every time? Okay, so we're trying to figure out somebody who could say a bad thing about Fernando Mendoza. Coach Dunn said that he was a dork, and that's kind of the worst that we've had. Is there any. Anybody that we can find anywhere that can say something bad about Fernando?

[Manny]

A little bit of a nerd, smart guy. That's. That's about it. I can't say anything bad.

[Tony]

Would his brother say something bad about him? Can we find his brother Alberto or.

[Manny]

Max, the little one?

[Greg Cody]

Oh, I don't know.

[Tony]

You tell me. Who's spicier?

[Manny]

Well, Alberto's his teammates. I don't think you're gonna get anything out of him. Maybe the little brother Max, but he's always with the dad, so they're always hanging out together.

[Tony]

Okay, so we've got. We've got some work to do, Dan, if we want to find somebody to say something bad about Fernando Mendoza.

[Mike Ryan]

No, we're doing well. We got lactose intolerant, and we've got a second source now on dork. We've got. Miami's not gonna get beaten by dork. That can't happen. How. When's. When does that happen? Miami's not gonna get beaten by a nerd.

[Tony]

Yeah, Dan. Yeah, Dan says there's no way Miami gets beaten by a dork. We have two. Two accounts of him being a dork, and we also have him being lactose intolerant. Did you know that?

[Manny]

I did hear that. Released by the Dan LeBatard Show. I did not know that, but that's news to me.

[Diana Rossini]

He saw my journalism.

[Tony]

Anything. Anything you. He saw Jimmy's journalism.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Tony]

Anything you can give us as far as insights to Fernando, insights into Columbus, insights into anything that. That people wouldn't know in the national landscape.

[Manny]

That's a great question, Tony.

[Tony]

Thank you, buddy.

[Mike Ryan]

Let's end it there because he's filibustering with the. That's a great question.

[Manny]

Great experience at Columbus. I think the athletic program has done a great job. And if everything that's. That I just said stays true, it might. He might be a little bit of a problem. But I think the Canes are still.

[Mike Ryan]

Going to win because he doesn't have anything, and we're going to.

[Zaslow]

Touchdown.

[Manny]

I think the spread is way too big right now. I think it's going to go down smart. Money comes in later.

[Tony]

Great. Cody. Wow. So our money comes in later, Greg. Cody Manning. Thank you so much, buddy. Appreciate you. He's got to work at 9:30 or else he would have done another 25 minutes. If that's okay with you, Dan.

[Greg Cody]

We lost to Craig Krenzel.

[Mike Ryan]

Yes, that's right. With the greatest football team there's ever been. With the greatest roster that's ever been.

[Greg Cody]

It happens. BYU pushed us in a locker one time, Jeremy.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm sorry. Tony, good job. Freudian slip. Good job on the sideline reporting. Yeah, I'm sorry. We'll come back to you later in the show. Thank you.

[Diana Rossini]

So close to Dan saying, jeremy, good job for the first time.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah. And I think I did say it. I just didn't say it toward you.

[Diana Rossini]

Someone clipped that for me.

[Mike Ryan]

Let's get to the other thing that I wanted to get to here because it's not something that I see very often around the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat reportedly don't have Kevin Durant because they weren't willing to separate from Khalil Ware. I assume that John Morant will cost at least one young player like that. I might be wrong.

[Zaslow]

I don't think so.

[Mike Ryan]

He might be so discounted that it's not even one young player like that. But I think that Heat fans would be really excited about whatever it is that Khalil Ware becomes. But he hasn't played great with bam on the floor. He's gone to the bench since Tyler Herro has returned and SPO doesn't like his attitude about going to the bench. So where is the sound here on SPO doing something that the Heat organization rarely does but has now done several times in some way to Khalil Ware. It must stink Zaz to be in the doghouse of this coach when he protects him, everybody. He doesn't want anything in public, and he continues to shame only one guy on his team. And really, outside of Hasan Whiteside, only one guy ever. And it's Khalil Ware.

[Zaslow]

With Khalil, I know that's a lightning rod topic. He needs to get back to where he was eight weeks ago, seven weeks.

[Greg Cody]

Ago, where I felt and everybody in the building felt he was stacking days, good days. He's stacking days in the wrong direction.

[Zaslow]

Now he's just got to get back to that stack days, build those habits, force well, make sure you're ready and play the minutes that you're playing to a point where it makes me want to play you more, you know, and.

[Greg Cody]

You know I get it.

[Zaslow]

With some young players, you sometimes subconsciously play poorly to say, hey, I'll play poorly.

[Greg Cody]

If until you play me the minutes.

[Zaslow]

You know, I think I'll deserve, then I'll play well. That's not how it works, Kalel.

[Greg Cody]

No.

[Diana Rossini]

It's surprising to hear this type of sound from SPO in certain ways. Right. The young players forcing him to play them is a thing he's considering.

[Zaslow]

That's a common line.

[Diana Rossini]

Nico Jovic dealt with it earlier in the year. He played really poorly at the beginning of the year after coming back from injury. He didn't have the energy that SPO was looking for. He rode the bench for three weeks before finally earning his way back in. Bam spoke after the game about guys needing to do role player things. Even, even the best players, they lost.

[Mike Ryan]

To the Celtics last night. They get off to a big lead early and then lose late.

[Zaslow]

Celtics. So many offensive rebounds in the second half.

[Manny]

Yeah.

[Diana Rossini]

And that was the fans frustration is. Well, Khalil, where you would think could be a part of fixing that same thing.

[Mike Ryan]

Same thing happened against Phoenix. He allows a lot of offensive rebounds when he does and I can see how people would think, hey, he's not trying very hard there.

[Diana Rossini]

I went back this morning and watched the eight minutes that he was on the floor and what you didn't see were crashing toward the rim on shots where for. For offensive rebounds of your own where he was out by the perimeter. What you didn't see were the box outs on the defensive end where you would look for throwing your body around. He had five rebounds in those eight minutes. A couple of them did just follow them. A couple of them were solid rebounds as a big guy. But when you look at him on the offensive end, he took five shots. Four of those were threes. Now he's a really high percentage three point shooter. It's part of the offense. But SPO has been looking for this from Kahlil all year long and I think that you can see it when you watch the game. There is a difference between how Kahlil plays for the force of a full game when he is engaged from the jump because he's in that starting lineup, he's getting the ball in the first few possessions versus what it looks like when he's coming in in the flow of a game. And I don't know if that's, you know, the insinuation of like, like personally sabotaging your own minutes. That doesn't seem like what a professional would do when they're trying to earn their way into the league. But at the same time you can see the difference in what the motor, which was the one knock on him coming out, not the talent seems to look like in those games.

[Greg Cody]

Bonafide coming. I watched a game with sound on. First time I've done that since the playing game.

[Zaslow]

Four quarters.

[Greg Cody]

All four quarters. And do you guys consider Ware a core piece? I don't. I think. Here's the issue because.

[Zaslow]

Do you not consider him a core piece because you think they're going to use him to trade for another player?

[Greg Cody]

Well, potentially that's framing it, but also he's not on the, on the court when the games are hanging in the balance. And the guys that I did see on the court couldn't make a layup. You know, we were puffing our chests out after we beat Phoenix and then I saw Bam not be able to make a layup and look, I, I don't want to do the repeat takes here. I think it's very clear and I don't want to put anybody in an awkward situation. Two time champion broadcaster guy who does a great job on the broadcast. I think it's fairly evident that this core is not going to get it done. We have seen this core max out and they're always hovering around the Hawks and Bulls. Something needs to be done to this roster. I don't know how drastic. I just know the core individuals on the Miami Heat roster appear to have a ceiling over the course of several seasons. And that ceiling is 10 seed, maybe get hot in the playoffs.

[Zaslow]

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[Dan LeBatard]

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[Mike Ryan]

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[Zaslow]

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[Mike Ryan]

See official rules at DKNG co livemillions for entry period and free method of entry. Sponsored by Crown gaming Inc. Don LeBatard.

[Zaslow]

All these high paid analysts.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't want to mention names. Tnt, espn, you know.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh yeah, they, they are dead. They cannot, they're not going to make it, you know, even if they win in, if they lose in Miami. I need to calm you down.

[Zaslow]

I need to calm down.

[Mike Ryan]

That's right. They lose in Miami, they don't got.

[Dan LeBatard]

A chance in both.

[Mike Ryan]

They are going to have their ass.

[Dan LeBatard]

You know what in Boston, you know, stugats. They were wrong.

[Mike Ryan]

Are they going to lose their job?

[Dan LeBatard]

No.

[Mike Ryan]

Are they going to get a cutting page? No. What are they going to do?

[Zaslow]

Keep predicting.

[Mike Ryan]

What is the obvious. They are going to say, oh, the Nuggets are going to win.

[Zaslow]

Oh, Denver, the altitude.

[Mike Ryan]

And you know what?

[Zaslow]

The Heat are going to win it all.

[Mike Ryan]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats. Here's what's not up for dispute. Zaz. And it's been fairly shocking to watch, okay since Boston's best player was stopped by Miami's best defensive player at the rim in the bubble.

[Zaslow]

What a moment.

[Mike Ryan]

The Miami Heat have gone in one direction. And the Celtics of last night without Jayson Tatum are just as good or better than Miami. And that's Miami healthy, and that's not Boston healthy because Boston doesn't have its best player. And this season at the halfway point, Boston without Jayson Tatum is just as good as Miami. That gulf of separation, the things that have changed there, they were separated by a block at the rim in the bubble. And since then, what's happened is Boston's become both a champion and a champion with the architecture that looks right, that can withstand not having Jason Tatum and Miami's in a place where a week ago you were trading Bam.

[Zaslow]

Yeah, my biggest frustration, and I get it, the league is different. There are certain rules that make it more complicated. But. But, man, it wasn't that long ago where if. If Pat Riley acknowledges a team that is not a championship team, he says f this and he blows it up and he makes trades.

[Mike Ryan]

It's going to happen. And now it's going to get.

[Zaslow]

How long we've been saying that they're.

[Mike Ryan]

Going to go get jaw, it's going to go get blown up. Like, it seems obvious now that that's what's going to happen. They're 500 at another break. They're. They're not a team. I mean, Hero missed some games, but they've been herky turkey. And their best player, whether it's Bam, Norm Powell, Tyler Hero, Khalil Ware, whoever you think their best player is, isn't good enough to lead you to a championship.

[Jeremy]

Khalil.

[Mike Ryan]

No, that part seems obvious to me. And you guys are at a level of frustration that I haven't seen you before. Mike has been there for a while, but Zaz is usually a die hard and Jeremy's alone on Lonely Island.

[Zaslow]

I'm still a die hard. That hasn't changed.

[Diana Rossini]

I am like the Lonely Island.

[Mike Ryan]

Jeremy. Jeremy does not want Bam. Trade. Trade it. Jeremy. There are not a lot of players like that who can guard everybody. Like, that's a really valuable piece. I just. I understand that you don't want it to be your best player because it can't be your best player.

[Zaslow]

I don't want Bam traded either, but I don't want him making $50 million a year more.

[Mike Ryan]

You've already said you're trading. Sorry, Jeremy. I'm sorry. There's a knock at the door. Yes, there's somebody knocking.

[Dan LeBatard]

Our first guest.

[Greg Cody]

Look, they establish that sound then. Thank you.

[Mike Ryan]

There is Brad Williams and it's our first guest in a barrage of Guests to predict Indiana against Miami. So, Brad, welcome to the show. Please keep it short.

[Dan LeBatard]

Keep it short.

[Zaslow]

Wow.

[Dan LeBatard]

You just told a dwarf to keep it short.

[Zaslow]

Really?

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, that's fun. You just told me to keep it short. Also, just a prediction. You fat shamed me earlier this week. Okay? You let Andrew Santino be your Bears correspondent. You let Sam Morrow girl be your Knicks correspondent.

[Tony]

You.

[Zaslow]

You.

[Tony]

You.

[Dan LeBatard]

You worship the ground that Shane Gillis farts on. And then I actually rep your. Your rep your show. I support the show. I'm a die hard, lifelong Broncos fan. They're on a historic run. You're not letting me in. And then you fat shame me. You Dan Ler. Fat shame me. That's insane.

[Jeremy]

You.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's all people know about you, Dan Lebatard, is that you're fat. Watch this. Watch this. Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, sir. Do you know who Dan LeBatard is? Yeah, he's the fat guy. Yeah, he's the fat guy.

[Zaslow]

Look at that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Dan Lebatard. I have a top five list of things less hypocritical than you fat shaming me. Number five, Chris Cody fat shaming me. Number number four, Jeremy saying that joke was corny. Number three, Mike Ryan saying you stick up for your team too much. Number two, Greg Cody saying, be more professional. And the number one thing less hypocritical than Dan Libertard. Fat shaming me. Michael Irvin saying you have a cocaine problem.

[Mike Ryan]

Shorter.

[Zaslow]

Come on, Shorter.

[Dan LeBatard]

You haven't even talked about the fact that many of your show was at my show. Chris, Cody, Greg. Cody Zazzle. They all came to my show. Fort Lauderdale, killed it while on stage. I said that Zazlow, it's ironic he has a foot fetish because he looks like a toe. And you guys never talk about this. You never bring it up.

[Zaslow]

My wife is in the crowd. I had to explain that he was gonna win.

[Mike Ryan]

The you's gonna win. We got our pick. The prediction. The you going to win. You have a.

[Dan LeBatard]

Because I know. Because I know that the you winning will piss off Dan Lebatard the most. And that's what I'm rooting for.

[Greg Cody]

What many are saying. Yeah.

[Diana Rossini]

That fake Cuban.

[Dan LeBatard]

Check out Brad's new podcast, Heightened Babble, huh?

[Mike Ryan]

What, you think it'll make me happy for the University of Miami? L. You guys, I don't understand what's happening around. Absolutely not. All right. Broncos correspondent Brad Williams on with us.

[Greg Cody]

I feel like we calmly explained it to you.

[Mike Ryan]

There's a lot of rationale, because I said, reputationally, that Mario, Crystal, let's not do this again.

[Greg Cody]

No, no, no. It wasn't an isolated incident. This is, you know, a decades long bit.

[Dan LeBatard]

Trust me, Dan, I'm here in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Salt Lake City airport, and even they're shaming your name in these streets. You're not out here, Dan. You don't know what they're talking about. The U is back, baby.

[Mike Ryan]

All right, thank you. I appreciate the time. Brad. I. I appreciate you the correspondence. I didn't feel like I fat shamed you. I just said that if they were going to throw you seven yards on fourth and short, they might want to get someone lighter than you.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's not bad shaming. I'm not sure Bryce Young could throw.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm just thinking it's an efficiency thing. It's not fat shaving. Five pounds lighter means lighter than you, and that might go a little further if someone were to throw somebody on 4th and short that was 5 pounds lighter or even a muffin lighter. Like. I'm not. I'm not fat shaming you. I'm just saying a lighter thing can be thrown further.

[Dan LeBatard]

Have you watched these guys work out in the gym? You think NFL players are gonna be like, yeah, I would throw a human being over the line, But Brad, a little too big.

[Mike Ryan]

You're thick and muscled. You're thick and muscled. Like. I'm not. You're just. I'm not saying you're fat. I didn't say you were fat. I said you were too heavy to be thrown seven yards on fourth and sixth. That's what I said. And this is supposed to be one word. We're off to a bad start. We're just supposed to have people here who come in and say Indian or Miami and then get out of here. Create shorter. Shorter. Brad Williams. Shorter.

[Dan LeBatard]

Shorter. Really? You're saying me shorter?

[Tony]

Do you want.

[Dan LeBatard]

Do you want to tell the black guy right here to lighten up? Is that. Is that what you want to do? Jesus.

[Mike Ryan]

See you later, Brad. Thank you. We appreciate the time. Throughout the show today, Zaslo's worried about this because Fowler is going to be here a little bit, and I don't.

[Dan LeBatard]

Think they can be longer than that.

[Mike Ryan]

No, they can't. See, this is what I'm worried about, though, as it relates to Fowler, that we're going to.

[Brad Williams]

To have.

[Mike Ryan]

Have 20 minutes of Fowler's time and somebody's going to come in and do that. I got a top five list. I want to do this.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, someone else is here.

[Mike Ryan]

Here. What is that? Jason Benetti. What? What the hell is Jason Benetti doing? Jason? Billy, I suspect that it'd be good to talk to Jason Benetti about Kyle Tucker and the fact that Kyle Tucker. I think Jason Benett was talking to Lewis back there. The fact that Kyle Tucker. Now, now, Zazlow, you've got the Dodgers. $60 million a year. The Dodgers get Kyle Tucker. That came out of nowhere for me. I thought somebody else was gonna get him.

[Greg Cody]

You're setting Benetti up to say more than one word.

[Dan LeBatard]

So Jason Benetti, who you got?

[Mike Ryan]

Um, the number one song in America in 1950 was Goodnight Irene. The number one song in America in 1979 was My Sharona by the Knack. We made it all the way from Goodnight Irene to My Sharona in music. And Indiana in that span, had three seasons with more than five wins. You have to root for Indiana a little bit, right?

[Greg Cody]

Probably.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, think of all the music in between. I need one word for these people. Get out of here. Benetti. I need one word. What people? What don't these people understand?

[Greg Cody]

Is that his prediction, though, or just who he's rooting for?

[Dan LeBatard]

That's an Indiana prediction. I mean, it's definitely not a Miami prediction prediction. So we're split one one.

[Mike Ryan]

He said you have to root for Indiana. He said you're obligated to root for Indiana.

[Diana Rossini]

He also loves Fernando Mendoza.

[Mike Ryan]

You guys agree, right, that nothing in sports around here has felt quite this alone since the heat gathered as LeBron, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Right? Like where the. The nation is rooting for something else.

[Greg Cody]

The hockey world at large did not want to see the cup go to Sunrise, Florida.

[Zaslow]

We were up three games to none. We got to that game seven, find who was still rooting for the Panthers.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, it's. In that insular hockey world, no one wanted to see it and they certainly didn't want to see it a second time.

[Mike Ryan]

I do understand that in the insular hockey world, but what about the rest of the world? Because I do believe, like, Miami doesn't get to be Cinderella here as the eight and a half point dog, like, which is crazy.

[Greg Cody]

They're a ten seed. A two loss, ten seed. They're Cinderella. Happy New Year, everybody. 2026 is already getting off to an incredible start. Because you want to know how I rang in the new year? It was with a bunch of friends in a Dallas hotel lobby bar ordering a bunch of Miller lights. Because that's how you do it. That's how you make special memories. Miller Lite has been by my side and many special football memories this year, and hopefully we get to write a few more memories with Miller Lite. Some of my most legendary moments have started that exact same way. A buddy's house, a lobby bar, a game. No big plan. And then you crack open a Miller Lite, you take a step tip and you look around and you immediately recognize that you made the right call. Legendary moments start with Miller Lite. Great taste 96 calories go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.