The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Local Hour: Playoffs For Dummies

Date: September 24, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Zaslow, Mike Ryan, Jerry, Tony

Episode Overview

In this “Local Hour” episode, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the crew dive deep into South Florida sports, focusing mainly on the Miami Hurricanes’ football performance, outrageous sporting event ticket prices (with a special grumble from Zaslow over WrestleMania), the Miami Marlins’ improbable playoff permutations, and a spirited chat about great sports collapses across history. The episode balances debate, local color, sports math, and the group’s trademarked blend of irreverence and heated fandom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. WrestleMania Ticket Prices and the Live Sports Experience

[01:26–05:04]

• Zaslow opens the show fuming about exorbitant ticket prices for WrestleMania, lamenting:
  “The worst tickets, 400 level, are $900. The best tickets are $9,000...that seems steep.” (Dan, 02:23)
• Stugotz chimes in with cynicism about modern ticket sale practices and urges fans not to buy early at inflated prices:

  "If you pay those prices, you’re a sucker. You’re a sucker. You’re a sucker." (Stugotz, 02:34)

• The crew contrasts the live experience versus watching sports or concerts at home, especially from nosebleed seats:

  "You're literally watching the screen the entire show. Now I've never sat up there, but that's definitely what you're doing." (Zaslow, 03:47)

• Debate extends to other live events like comedy shows, with the hosts questioning whether it’s even worth sitting in the “400 level” for anything.

2. Miami Hurricanes Football: Angst, Optimism, and Context Wars

[05:12–17:42]

• Jeremy rushes in (unexpectedly) after the Marlins’ win to break down playoffs, but quickly the focus shifts to lingering disagreements about the Miami Hurricanes’ football narrative.
• Stugotz launches into a passionate defense, contesting Dan and Jeremy’s recent criticisms:

  “Yesterday's college football talk as it pertains to the Miami Hurricanes was just, you know, an embarrassment. But I don't go to you or Jeremy for ball.” (Stugotz, 12:12)

  • He cites improvements in both offense and defense, blaming close games more on bad luck and bad refereeing than flaws in Miami’s play.
  • Stugotz stresses context: fewer offensive drives, improved “complementary football,” and that “Miami has not trailed” in these games.
• Dan voices his recurring unease—that the Hurricanes are much better but the games seem inexplicably close:

  “When I watch what I'm watching, I'm...finding it inexplicable that the games are close. That Notre Dame game, I don't understand how it was close late. That Florida game, I don't understand how it was close late.” (Dan, 14:53)

• The group debates the narratives about Mario Cristobal’s game management, referencing past seasons and the stubbornness of public perception:

  “There is a narrative and people have decided that what will get in Miami’s way is Mario Cristobal’s game management. And that may very well be true.” (Stugotz, 13:21)

3. South Florida College Football: Strength of Schedule and Rivalries

[17:23–17:53]

• Discussion of the quality of Notre Dame and Florida, the weirdness of ranking systems, and strong opinions on “quality losses” creep in.

  “Notre Dame now being 1 and 2 and ranked 22nd. They're telling us that Notre Dame is good. They're clearly saying Notre Dame's good if they could be one and two and...” (Zaslow, 17:23)

• Stugotz points out Nick Saban's weekly defense of Notre Dame as a “playoff team,” anchoring Miami’s schedule strength in respected voices.

4. Miami Marlins Playoff Permutations: Math for Dummies

[26:31–29:49, 32:24–35:29, 40:49–42:28]

• Jeremy dives into detailed scenarios for possible Marlins postseason berths, walking the reluctant panel through “playoffs for dummies.”
• The group interrupts, jokes, and feigns confusion while Jeremy persists:

  “Ultimately, if there is a three team tie at 82 and 80 for the Miami Marlins, they win five of those six scenarios.... In every other scenario, the Marlins would actually clinch the final wild card spot.” (Jeremy, 40:49)

• Dan and others marvel at the unlikelihood that these games even matter at the season’s end, and reflect on how unexpected it is for Marlins fans to have “hope” at all.

  “Marlins are one of the biggest surprises in the sport.” (Dan, 34:20)

5. All-Time Collapses: Detroit Tigers, Dolphins, Other Sports

[35:29–43:01]

• The crew discusses stunning late-season collapses, focusing on the Detroit Tigers’ recent meltdown:

  “They were ten and a half games up at the start of September and they've now lost...That means they've lost two schools...and in losing the Scubal start yesterday because your ace has to go out there and shut them down.” (Dan, 36:11)

• Reference is made to famous choke jobs in baseball and other sports (Mets in 2007, Dolphins in 1993, Warriors 3–1 lead over Cavaliers, Patriots' Super Bowl loss).
• The “slow death” of baseball collapses versus the suddenness (or postseason-centering) of collapses in other leagues is debated:

  “There's no collapse in the NBA regular season because the division just means nothing.” (Zaslow, 42:48)

6. Modern NFL: The Death of the 400 Yard Passer?

[44:25–46:16]

• Dan asks if the NFL has “quietly” eliminated prolific passing games, citing Jordan Love’s shallow average depth of target:

  “Have we basically eliminated the 400 yard passer? ...unless you're trailing and just hurling the ball all over the place…” (Dan, 45:15)

• The group agrees that a combination of improved defense and more risk-averse play calling has changed the passing game.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Banter

• Stugotz on ticket prices:

  "If you pay those prices, you're a sucker. You're a sucker. You're a sucker." (02:34)

• Zaslow on live event misery:

  "You're literally watching the screen the entire show. Now I've never sat up there, but that's definitely what you're doing.” (03:47)

• Dan on close Miami games:

  “When I watch what I'm watching, I'm...finding it inexplicable that the games are close...I'm watching a better Miami team than the one that I have seen for four years.” (14:53)

• Stugotz on the Miami Hurricanes narrative:

  “There is a narrative and people have decided that what will get in Miami’s way is Mario Cristobal’s game management. And that may very well be true.” (13:21)

• Dan on collapses:

  “When I think of all time collapses and the Red Sox have been in, in a couple of them. Do you think of collapses outside of baseball? I know we have the December collapses in football around here with the dolphins.” (38:14)

• Jeremy solidifies his math nerd title:

  "Ultimately, if there is a three team tie at 82 and 80 for the Miami Marlins, they win five of those six scenarios..." (40:49)

• Jerry sums up Miami fandom:

  “Have the Marlins had a top 10 season this season? No, not for like. Of all the teams in baseball....Maryland's top 10 as a surprise. Yes. They're one of the biggest surprises in the sport…” (34:11)

Important Timestamps

• 01:26 – Zaslow rants about WrestleMania ticket prices & the futility of nosebleed seats
• 05:12 – Jeremy bails on his day off for Marlins playoff math; pivots to Miami Hurricanes debate
• 08:02 – Stugotz counters critiques of Miami’s offense and “complementary football”
• 12:12 – Stugotz accuses Dan and Jeremy of Miami football “embarrassment”
• 14:53 – Dan explains his perpetual nerves watching seemingly superior Miami teams battle through tight games
• 17:23 – Zaslow & Stugotz on the logic of college football rankings
• 26:31 – Jeremy breaks down Marlins playoff permutations
• 35:29 – The group discusses the Tigers’ September collapse and other great sports meltdowns
• 43:01 – South Florida's near catastrophes in recent postseasons (Heat, Panthers)
• 45:15 – Dan poses the question about the shrinking 400-yard game in the NFL

Tone and Panel Dynamic

The episode is both locally passionate and playfully combative, with hosts often talking over each other, pressing for clarity, then cracking jokes about their own confusion. Analytical breakdowns (especially Jeremy’s mathematical playoff paths) are balanced by storytelling, regional pride, and cynical humor about the state of live events and Miami sports.

Final Thoughts

Listeners who missed the episode will come away understanding:

• The exasperation over current live sports economics
• Ongoing existential angst and debate over Miami Hurricanes football
• The ridiculous complexity and last-hope optimism in Marlins playoff math
• How spectacular collapses shape the legacies of teams far more than their regular seasons or even their successes
• That, above all, South Florida sports are best experienced while arguing about them—loudly, together, and with side bets on improbable outcomes