The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Local Hour: Tony Calls Dan "Dad" (feat. Tom Bogert)

Date: December 5, 2025
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Mike Ryan, Chris Cody, Tony, Roy, Jeremy
Special Guest: Tom Bogert (The Athletic)

Episode Overview

This "Local Hour" episode, live from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, features the show's signature blend of South Florida sports, national headlines, soccer expertise, and the chaotic, playful banter that defines the Le Batard universe. The centerpiece: Inter Miami's surprising bid for a championship with Messi in the squad, analysis from soccer insider Tom Bogert, and plenty of digressions on the World Cup draw, college football playoff drama, the Florida Panthers’ woes, and LeBron James’ streak ending.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who’s That Guest? The Arrival of Tom Bogert

• [02:22] Mike Ryan and the Shipping Container crew joke about the "mysterious" person joining them—Tom Bogert, praised for his mustache and status as a soccer authority.
  • Dan: “He’s got a hell of a mustache... He’s the premier soccer insider in the United States. One of them behind me just. It’s me, Tom.”

2. World Cup Draw Hype and Sentiment

• [03:05] - [04:36] The crew banters about the World Cup draw spectacle.

  • Dan: “I think this might be the third largest global audience for any sporting event and it’s the World Cup draw. No games being played, just a lot of pomp and a whole lot of circumstance.”
  • Chris Cody: “Well, that’s stupid.”
  • Mike Ryan: “It is not stupid. What is your favorite pomp and what is your favorite circumstance?”

• Celebrity hosts get a mention; there’s incredulity over Shaq’s inclusion and Aaron Judge being the only active athlete among legends like Tom Brady and Wayne Gretzky.

  • Dan: "Aaron Judge is the only active athlete... it should have been Jeter, right? It should have been Jeter."

3. Battle Court, Cyclones, and South Florida Sports Smorgasbord

• [04:50] - [07:59] Show transitions to a busy Miami sports weekend: Battle Court playoffs, Inter Miami's championship match, NFL games, and more.

• Shipping Container banter on Cyclones and Battle Court format:

  • Mike Ryan: “I don’t understand how the playoffs work in your sport.”
  • Shipping Container role-plays as Battle Court players to explain the format, with classic Le Batard Show inside-jokes and misdirections.
  • Dan (on Cyclones): “We won the first title own once they added teams to the league. This is our first appearance in the playoffs since they expanded to six teams… We have had Manu as our stalwart… now we are the top seed. We are favored.”

4. Tony Calls Dan "Dad" – Comedy and Vulnerability

• [08:52] Tony accidentally refers to Dan as "dad", setting off a sequence of playful ribbing :
  • Tony: "I don’t even call my dad dad. Wow, that’s like. What are we doing?"
  • Dan (mock confusion): "Let’s talk about that. You confused me with dad."

5. Messi & Inter Miami: Soccer Talk with Tom Bogert

• [09:35] - [12:31]

  • Mike Ryan asks Tom: How momentous is Messi’s run with Inter Miami, and why has it flown under the radar domestically?

    • Tom: “In the soccer world, I wouldn’t call it too quietly...In the mainstream... it’s behind a paywall and...they haven’t really promoted it that well. But on the field it’s been awesome. He scored or assisted each one of the team's first 12 playoff goals...It is unbelievable. I wish that we were talking about it more... than, 'Hey, why is nobody caring?'” [10:22]

  • On Messi’s enduring greatness:

    • Tom: “He’s just an alien. There isn’t real precedence... While his left foot is the best of all time, I think his best ability is his intelligence... his way to camouflage himself within the action. There is nobody that you should be paying attention to more if you’re a defender, and he constantly finds ways to just hide and then sprint and it’s a tap-in... He’s just so smart and I think that’s his best quality.” [11:14]

  • On Messi’s World Cup future:

    • Tom: “It’s weird that he keeps saying, I don’t know if I’m going to play at the World Cup...He continues to play. He continues to be really, really great. And he still says things like, I don’t know...Is he doing what the committee’s doing with Notre Dame, Miami—just like keeping us interested?” [12:08]

6. Miami College Football Playoff Hype

• [13:08] - [18:00]

  • The guys discuss Mario Cristobal’s active media campaign for Miami’s College Football Playoff case, contrasting it with Notre Dame’s more reserved posture.

    • Mike Ryan: “He guaranteed it with every fiber of his being, not some of the fibers, not a percentage of the fibers, all of the fibers in his entire being.” [25:25]

  • Chris Cody recaps a Zaslow show interview with Cristobal comparing this year’s playoff scenario to last year’s, where Cristobal admits this year’s team has a much better case.

    • Cristobal (via Chris Cody): “Last year...we did not have a very good defense...This year it's not. This is about facts being presented. I just think that we have the best case scenario. You have a head to head, same record and common opponents and statistical data showing that we are playing our absolute best football.” [14:31]

7. The U.S. World Cup Draw: "Pot" Talk

• [23:22] - [24:09]
  • Tony (explaining): “Today’s a big day. You find out the groups, will learn who the United States are paired against. They are in Pot A, which means they will not draw... the best teams in the world. You get one team per pot, and we’ll find out the other three opponents for the United States and obviously everybody else.”
  • Mix of excitement and derision for FIFA's ceremony (and the invented trophy for Donald Trump).
  • Tony (on the spectacle): “They invented a peace prize award to give to Donald Trump, and I think today is going to take, I don't know, nine hours.”

8. The Imminent Messi Era 2.0

• [28:05] Tom Bogert: “This is going to be the last day of Messi 1.0 in Miami. Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets are retiring, maybe probably Luis Suarez. And then 2.0 starts after this. So it's either are they defending a title or are they still trying to get back over that hump.”
  • On the stakes: Even a win won’t guarantee greater U.S. sports interest, but it’s a watershed for MLS.

9. Florida Panthers Drama, Excuses, and Injuries

• [34:04] - [39:44]

  • Roy gets ribbed for his concern about the Panthers' losing streak.

  • Dan (on "good" excuses): “No one actually took out the Florida Panthers. Injury took them out, and we rebuild next year. But you could always say when you tell the story... [the team was] so banged up from all the winning...”

  • Hilarious, winding riff on hockey injuries, especially a bizarre “barbecue accident” and whether severed fingers should go in milk or ice.

    • Tony (after Internet research): “The human heart and grand criminal Internet is saying for a severed finger, you should wrap it in a moist cloth or gauze, place it in a sealed plastic bag, and then put it in ice and rush to the ER. Milk is not recommended.”

10. LeBron James’ Scoring Streak Ends

• [42:29] - [46:28]
  • Mike Ryan shares text from Nick Wright: "Ask Zaz what he thinks about how LeBron ended his streak..."
  • Chris Cody: “He was 4 for 17. All right, like, that's why he didn't get the streak, not because he chose to do the unselfish thing.”
  • Dan (on end of an era): “I think we're seeing the beginning of the end. Not that I think he's going to retire this year, because I think LeBron is going to announce a farewell farewell tour, which I think will last multiple years...”
  • Tony (mocking Nick Wright): “This has to be the worst take of the year by Nick Wright... saying LeBron would be an all star at 50 and then what he's done so far.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Messi’s vast impact:
  • Tom Bogert [11:14]: "He’s just an alien. There isn’t real precedence... his best quality is his intelligence."
• On World Cup draw ceremony:
  • Tony [24:02]: “They invented a peace prize award to give to Donald Trump, and I think today is going to take, I don't know, nine hours.”
• On Mario Cristobal’s CFA campaign:
  • Mike Ryan [25:25]: “He guaranteed it with every fiber of his being, not some of the fibers, not a percentage of the fibers, all of the fibers in his entire being.”
• On Tony’s accidental “dad” moment:
  • Tony [08:52]: "I don’t even call my dad dad. Wow, that’s like. What are we doing?"
• On the Panthers’ injury luck:
  • Dan [36:16]: “No one actually took out the Florida Panthers. Injury took them out and we rebuild next year. But you could always say when you tell the story…”
• On severed fingers (off the rails):
  • Tony [41:15]: “You should wrap it in a moist cloth or gauze, place it in a sealed plastic bag, and then put it in ice and rush to the ER. Milk is not recommended.”
• On LeBron’s streak:
  • Chris Cody [44:24]: “Is there an honest bone in his body?”
  • Mike Ryan [44:26]: “A fiber in his being? An honest fiber in his being?”

Important Timestamps

• [02:22] - Tom Bogert is introduced and praised for his mustache and soccer knowledge.
• [03:05] - World Cup draw hype and celebrity involvement.
• [08:52] - Tony refer to Dan as “dad,” leading to running jokes.
• [09:35] - [12:31] - In-depth Messi and Inter Miami discussion with Tom Bogert.
• [14:31] - Chris Cody presents Mario Cristobal’s stance on Miami’s playoff case.
• [23:22] - [24:09] - Tom lays out World Cup draw logistics and why he dislikes the spectacle.
• [28:05] - Tom on the transition from Messi 1.0 to 2.0 in Miami.
• [34:04] - [39:44] - Panthers’ struggles, hockey injury anecdotes, severed finger hijinks.
• [42:29] - [46:28] - LeBron James’ scoring streak ends, the ensuing debates.

Tone & Takeaways

• High-energy, irreverent, inside-jokey, but loaded with insight—especially regarding Messi’s career renaissance, South Florida sports culture, and the idiosyncrasies of American soccer’s spot in the landscape.
• Tom Bogert’s expert perspective elevates the episode’s soccer talk.
• Classic Le Batard Show chaos: frequent tangents, role playing, and meta jokes about the show’s own structure and interruptions.
• Memorable gags: Tony calling Dan “dad”, whether to put a severed finger in milk or ice, and the messy details of South Florida sports success and heartbreak.

For listeners who missed the episode: This Local Hour traverses the absurd and the insightful, delivering serious analysis on Messi's impact with Inter Miami, the pending World Cup draw, and Miami sports, interspersed with the infectious, unpredictable humor and group dynamics that define the show. Tom Bogert’s thoughtful soccer analysis is a highlight, while the “Tony calls Dan ‘dad’” slip and escalating hockey injury anecdotes provide classic, laugh-out-loud Le Batard moments.