The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Local Hour: The Clown Shows
Date: October 24, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

Episode Overview

This "Local Hour" episode—taped at the Elser Hotel—dives deep into recent Miami Dolphins disappointment, NBA betting scandals, and the peculiar intersection of sports, personalities, and clownish chaos. The regular crew (Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Amin Elhassan, Chris Cody, Pablo Torre) brings their signature irreverence and baggage of South Florida sports heartbreak, laughing through stories of institutional failure, media narratives, and breaking news around Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups. The show is fast, dense, and emotionally honest, with the hosts jumping from musical bits and family jokes to the underbelly of professional sports corruption.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

I. The Clown Show of Managing Personalities and Topics (01:11–03:47)

• Dan Le Batard vents about trying to corral the Meadowlark sports/friend group into relevant conversation.

  • Dan wants to talk about Aaron Gordon’s big NBA night, but Mike Ryan is obsessed with hockey, and Tony has to ask what a hat trick even is.
  • Amin Elhassan offers advice: "To lead is to manipulate them, to trick them." (03:47)

• Stugotz boasts about NBA bets by referencing Siakam’s over/under and Curry’s highlights — showing the panel’s wandering focus.

II. Nostalgia, Humor, and the Greg Cody “Backjack” Running Gag (05:51–07:49)

• Dan and Stugotz joke about musically themed show opens featuring Chris Cody’s dad, Greg.

  • Dan likens wheeling out Greg’s singing career to forcing Ozzy Osbourne and Axl Rose onto stage in their twilight.
  • "He ages five years every time we bring something back, Jack." – Stugotz (06:11)

• Morbid hilarity about Greg’s mortality and the plan for the first Greg Cody show after his death.

  • "He’s been coughing for 10 years. He’s been warning us as a siren, an alarm on mortality for 10 years, and now we’re just wheeling him around." – Dan (07:49)

III. Dolphins Meltdown: The Worst Era Yet (07:49–23:25)

A. Tyreek Hill’s Podcast and Dolphins’ PR Issues (07:49–10:17)

• Dan is stunned at the “sheer lunacy” of the Dolphins’ public voice situation—three players are now de facto media spokesmen, none suited for it.

  • "Tyreek Hill had a popular podcast... Kansas City did not let him talk because it is unwise to have at microphones someone who’s likely to get in trouble or say the wrong thing when he speaks." (09:09)

• Dan reflects on the new low: Dolphins are unique in making fans wish their key figures would be silent.

B. Fan Disillusionment & Decades of Failure (13:15–23:25)

• Dan shares personal stories of growing up a Dolphins fan, including his father forging the undefeated team's signatures.

  • “All those signatures looked like my dad’s ... the signatures identical and simply the names of the players.” (14:19)

• Comparison to other failed franchises (Lions, Bills, Jets), but the Dolphins’ collapse is generational.

• Bitterness and humor about constant regime changes and wasted draft picks.

  • "Chris Greer went through $1 billion, 21 first and second round picks. ... All that rains down on you in the end is a mountain of shit from a fighter pilot ... They should have the poop emoji on their helmets." – Dan (17:37)
  • "Have you ever seen this ... 20 years you’ve been failing, you’re the laughingstock of the league." – Dan (15:00)

• Amin’s punchline: "Are the Dolphins the Knicks of the NFL?" (18:47)

• Dan’s agreement: "Yes." (18:55)

• **Stugotz and Amin riff on Tua Tagovailoa as ‘Jeremy Lin’ or even ‘bubble T.J. Warren’—players whose success was short-lived and maybe overhyped by fleeting circumstances. (19:35–20:36).

IV. The Dolphins' Enduring Dysfunction and Miami’s Pain (20:36–25:49)

• Reflection about organizational rot: Pittsburgh’s steadiness vs. Miami’s churn post-Marino.**

  • "It’s one of the most amazing stats in sports – three coaches ever on the Pittsburgh Steelers." – Dan (21:06)

• The cyclical hope-and-collapse of Dolphins’ recent history.

  • Stugotz: "In the 21st century, you have a regime takeover... you get excited at one point and then you have to rebuild." (25:02)

• Amin: "That’s why Dan thinks this is the worst. Because the expectation was built because there’s hope ... the Delta. You were above the water this much. Now you’re below the water this much." (25:32)

V. NBA Betting & Match-Fixing Scandal: Rozier, Billups, and the FBI (31:47–46:20)

A. Terry Rozier Betting Investigation Developments (31:47–34:42)

• Brian Windhorst explains the timeline and sportsbook vigilance:

  • NBA and sportsbooks caught a wave of big under bets on Terry Rozier; Rozier was abruptly benched for the season not for injury, but because of the scandal.
  • "The sportsbooks caught the irregular, irregular betting on Terry Rozier the day it happened ... they caught it." – Windhorst (31:47)

• Amin clarifies: The NBA never officially 'cleared' Rozier—it hit an investigative wall because it lacks FBI-level powers, but never truly exonerated him.

  • "They just reached a roadblock in the investigation where they couldn’t investigate anymore." – Amin (32:47)

• Criticism of NBA communications:

  • Stugotz: "The league didn’t feel compelled to come out and say that’s not the case." (33:34)
  • Chris Cody notes the “bullshit spin” from the league; Stugotz calls it a “circus.” (34:08)

B. Mechanical Failure of Sports Leagues to Police Themselves (34:42–36:01)

• Dan: Pro leagues are unprepared to handle criminal-level gambling issues; investigators have little real power; it’s an unprecedented ‘wild west’.
• Amin and Pablo are reporting on this evolving story for "Pablo Torre Finds Out."

C. The Chauncey Billups Mafia Poker Game Allegation (36:33–45:46)

• Matt Berkey (successful poker pro, on ‘Only Friends’ podcast) claims insiders have known for years about a fixed Billups-centric poker game, stacked against professional players.

  • "Only the pros are losing." – Matt Berkey (38:17)

• Context: The FBI indictment uses ‘face card’ as an allegory for Billups’ celebrity attracting marks to a rigged game.

• The group discusses the blurred lines between coaching to lose (tanking) and active match-fixing.

  • Amin: "To my mind, there’s a difference between Johntay Porter ... faking an injury ... versus the head coach of an NBA team saying 'we're tanking'." (43:49)

• Pablo Torre reads from the DOJ indictment, describing the circumstantial evidence around ‘co-conspirator 8’ believed to match Chauncey Billups’ career and location. (42:02–42:49)

• But everyone is careful not to leap to conclusions on guilt.

  • Pablo: "We don’t put the baby cart before the horse." (46:20)

Notable Quotes and Moments

• On alpha management:
  "To lead is to manipulate them, to trick them." — Amin Elhassan (03:47)

• On Dolphins futility:
  "Chris Greer went through $1 billion, 21 first and second round picks ... and all that rains down on you in the end is a mountain of shit from a fighter pilot ... They should have the poop emoji on their helmets." — Dan Le Batard (17:37)

• On the betrayal of hope:
  "When you deliver hope, it’s the intoxicant, man ... The Marlins have made money off of indifference for 25 years ... but the Dolphins gave you hope." — Dan (25:49)

• On Rozier’s non-exoneration:
  "They never cleared Terry Rozier ... The NBA also didn’t clear him either. They just reached a roadblock in the investigation." — Amin (32:47)

• On the NBA’s lack of transparency:
  "We hit a roadblock. We didn’t want to announce the roadblock. We just let everybody else think that we cleared him." — Stugotz (34:08)

• On Billups poker game:
  "Only the pros are losing." — Matt Berkey (38:17)

• On the NBA and FBI, both at sea:
  "FBI clown show, NBA also clown show—don’t know how to do any of this." — Dan (35:06)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:11–03:47] Leadership, manipulation, and sports talk chaos
• [05:51–07:49] Greg Cody musical bits and aging/life jokes
• [07:49–15:00] Dolphins PR debacles & fan bitterness
• [17:21–25:49] Organizational rot & cyclical despair
• [31:47–34:42] Details of the Terry Rozier betting investigation
• [36:33–39:50] Chauncey Billups and the rigged poker game
• [42:02–42:49] DOJ indictment details, speculation about “co-conspirator 8”
• [43:49–46:20] Match-fixing discussions and careful reporting

Tone and Style

• Playfully bleak, honest, and irreverent: The hosts blend Miami sports frustration, insider knowledge, and sharp observational humor. Even as the stories get heavy—betting conspiracies, lifetime franchise letdowns—they keep things moving fast and never lose their comedic edge.

For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode is a signature "Local Hour": brutally honest about broken sports franchises, skeptical of power and leagues, and eager to dive into both the latest news and evergreen nostalgia. Fans of the Dolphins, South Florida, or sport’s underbelly will find catharsis, sharp analysis, and plenty of laughs. Amin and Pablo’s ongoing Rozier/Billups coverage hints at more to come, especially for those who want to understand how deep this betting/match-fixing mess might go.