Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Episode: The 2025 Football America! Mid-season Awards Show with Mike Ryan Ruiz and Ten Day Tony
Date: November 7, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Guests: Mike Ryan Ruiz, Ten Day Tony, Mike Fuentes, Gino Fuentes
Host: Dave Damashek (with contributions from the Le Batard crew)
Episode Overview
This episode is the inaugural "Football America NFL Mid-season Awards Show," featuring a lively, irreverent roundtable of football opinions, uniform talk, playoff predictions, and trademark banter from the Le Batard/Football America universe. With the NFL season at its halfway point, the panel hands out tongue-in-cheek "awards" (like “Guy who gets MVP chatter but won’t win”), debates about team trajectories, obsesses over uniforms, and digresses into Miami food culture and sports fashion. The group also makes Week 10 picks and answers big-picture questions as only they can: with humor, hot takes, and a dose of local Miami flavor.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. 23 Club & Miami Anecdotes
- Jersey Number 23 Chat (00:00–02:22)
- Classic "23" athletes are debated: Michael Jordan is the clear winner, with shoutouts to LeBron, Devin Hester (with praise for record-setting returns), and Christian McCaffrey.
- Quote: “Devin Hester, I feel like, owns a lot of records that because of new kickoff rules will never be broken.” — Mike Fuentes [01:35]
- Miami vs. Dallas & Local Eats (02:22–05:54)
- Ball-busting about South Florida traffic and the virtues of the Kendall neighborhood. Stories about food at Kendall Flanagan’s: wing and garlic roll worship.
2. Fashion & The Oven Mitt Debate
- Baseball Trends Gone Awry (05:56–07:31)
- The panel riffs on the “oven mitt” base-running glove and its potential to impact major plays.
- Quote: “What if the margin of victory in getting the World Series was the oven mitt? Where do we go as a society from there?”
— Dave Damashek [05:54] - Mike Ryan cleverly suggests “just use soccer goalie gloves with splints” instead — they allow dexterity and avoid replay controversies.
3. Jets vs. Dolphins: Which Franchise Is in a Deeper Hole?
- Team Trajectories (07:31–09:31)
- Tony prefers the Jets’ position (“not saddled with a massive quarterback contract that you don’t know you can get out of”) over the Dolphins’, whom he calls “in purgatory.”
- Mike Ryan points out a Jets flaw: “We assume they’ll make good picks, which is already... a big asterisk.”
NFL Mid-Season Awards Segment
[Begins 12:47]
4. Award: "Guy Who Gets MVP Chatter but Won’t Win"
- Daniel Jones Hype (13:21–14:26)
- Tony pushes “Daniel Jones” — a claim only he buys — and Sam Darnold as perpetual also-rans.
- Mike Ryan picks “Matthew Stafford”: “An incredible quarterback... but I just don’t think Matthew Stafford will ever win an MVP.” [14:49]
- Dave Damashek highlights the perennial quarterback bias and running backs being overlooked: “They’re not giving it to a running back in the year of our Lord 2025. So let’s stop talking about it.” [15:32]
5. Team Currently in a Playoff Spot... That Won't Make It
- Contenders: Jaguars & 49ers (17:05–18:29)
- Mike Ryan: “Jags. Presently in the final playoff position... I just don’t think they end up doing it.”
- Tony goes bolder: “My team... that won’t be [in the playoffs] is the San Francisco 49ers.” [17:54]
- Panel debates division strength and probability of three teams making it from the NFC West.
6. Team Not in the Playoffs Now... But Will Be
- Chiefs & Ravens Lead the Way (19:54–20:25)
- Tony picks the Ravens: “If they sweep the Steelers, they’ll win the division, they’ll be in.”
- Mike Ryan shouts out the Vikings as a dark horse: “They haven’t had their quarterback... but if you were to bet on a last place team, I think Minnesota [could do it].” [20:25]
7. NFC #1 Seed Prediction
- Eagles Are the Consensus (22:04–22:39)
- Mike Ryan: “I think it’s going to be the Eagles... I like the way the schedule works out.”
- Mike Fuentes: Suggests the Seahawks or Rams if they win their key November 16 face-off. [22:41]
8. AFC #1 Seed Prediction
- Patriots & Bills Debate (24:04–25:20)
- Tony claims a “crazy take”: Patriots as AFC #1 seed, noting their “cake” schedule and rookie QB Drake May feasting on weak opponents.
- Mike Ryan argues for the Bills, pointing to tougher competition but the edge of “Superman under center, Josh Allen.”
9. QB You Want for the Rest of the Season
[26:05–28:16]
- Mike Ryan: “I want Baker Mayfield. Yeah, Baker Mayfield. Bold.” [26:05]
- Tony & Damashek: “Give me Matthew Stafford... the Old War Horse.” [26:41, 26:59]
- Sam Darnold and Brock Purdy are jokingly floated; panel muses that Shanahan's play-calling, not just the QB, makes San Francisco formidable.
10. Team You’d Least Want to Root For
- Browns, Dolphins, and the Pain Index (28:49–29:44)
- Mike Ryan: “I am so happy I don’t have to root for the Cleveland Browns anymore... They’re in way more dire straits than the Miami Dolphins.” [28:49]
- General agreement that the Browns, given their untradeable QB contract and dysfunction, are unrivaled for fan misery.
11. Best Uniform/Get-Up of the Season
[30:12–33:57]
- Mike Ryan: “I’m going Bucs throwback whites... Incredible looking game... I just love the road whites.” [30:12]
- Tony: “Kelly green Eagles with the gray pants.” [32:01]
- Much love for throwbacks (Pat Patriot, Seattle, Denver’s Orange Crush), and an in-depth geek-out over "pant" vs "pants".
- Quote: “I like it when people call it pant. You sound like a fashion aficionado when you say that.” — Mike Fuentes [31:19]
Super Bowl Picks & Bold Forecasts
12. Super Bowl 60 – Who Loses, Who Wins?
[35:25–39:33]
Who Loses Super Bowl 60?
- Tony: Buffalo Bills
- “They get past the hump of Kansas City... but they don’t get in.”
- Mike Ryan: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- “I don’t think [they] are the No. 1 seed, but I think they make it out of the NFC... Guts, guile, and a little bit of Baker Mayfield... built for this.” [36:09]
- Damashek: Green Bay Packers
- (Defending his unlikely pick with: “I’m bold, if nothing else.” [37:49])
Who Wins Super Bowl 60?
- Mike Ryan: Buffalo Bills
- “I don’t think it ends in heartbreak... I think Bills-Bucs... and I’m betting on Josh Allen to have the ball last.” [37:56]
- “I want their fans to win this. I love Josh Allen, their story. I’m rooting for them.”
- Tony: Philadelphia Eagles
- “Eagles beat the Bills... Tush push is all over the field... Jalen Hurts scores an octopus based just on the tush push.” [39:01]
- Predicts the infamous “tush push” play will define and then be outlawed after the season.
- Damashek: Buffalo Bills over Green Bay Packers
- “If those two fanbases could go up against each other — what a gay time that would be in Santa Clara.” [38:34]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On MVP Bias:
“They’re not giving it to a running back in the year of our Lord 2025. So let’s stop talking about it.” — Damashek [15:32] -
On the Browns' Fan Misery:
“I am so happy I don’t have to root for the Cleveland Browns anymore.” — Mike Ryan [28:49] -
On Miami Traffic:
“I was cautioned about how long the drive was going to be from downtown Miami to Kendall... No, it was an hour, it was an [hour and] 20 minutes.” — Damashek [03:54] -
On Being a Football America Hipster:
“I’m gonna be hipper still — a guy we haven’t seen play in at least a month and a half. How about Brock Purdy? ...No, I’m taking Kyle Shanahan is what I’m taking.” — Damashek [27:48] -
On Team Purgatory:
“The Dolphins right now are in purgatory of: A, we’re not good. B, we’re saddled with a bad contract. C, we think we have a lame duck coach…” — Ten Day Tony [08:32] -
On Fashion Nerding Out:
“I like it when people call it pant. You sound like a fashion aficionado when you say that.” — Mike Fuentes [31:19] -
On the Super Bowl & Rule Changes:
“If the Eagles win it leaning on the tush push and then they throw it out the window... what are we supposed to think of the Eagles at that point?” — Damashek [40:40]
“If you don’t like it, stop it.” — Ten Day Tony [40:37]
Timestamps of Key Segments
- 23 Club/Opening Banter: 00:00–03:00
- Miami Eats/Traffic Stories: 03:00–05:50
- Oven Mitt/Fashion Debate: 05:56–07:31
- Jets vs. Dolphins State of the Franchise: 07:32–09:31
- Mid-Season Awards Begin: 12:47
- MVP Chatter but Will Never Win: 13:21–15:32
- Teams Likely to Fall Out of Playoffs: 17:05–18:29
- Teams Likely to Jump Into Playoffs: 19:54–20:25
- NFC/AFC #1 Seed Picks: 22:04–25:20
- QB You Want for the Rest of Season: 26:05–28:16
- Team You’d Least Want to Root For: 28:49–29:44
- Best Uniform & Fashion Digressions: 30:12–33:57
- Super Bowl Loser & Winner Picks: 35:25–39:33
- Ending Reflections & Playoff Fuel: 40:33–41:44
Tone & Style
- Language: Casual, snarky, rapid-fire, loaded with football lingo, and plenty of in-jokes.
- Group Dynamic: Panel format with hosts riffing off each other, friendly trash talk, and regular sidetracks to food, culture, and fashion.
- Approach: Equal parts analysis, humor, and detour into the quirks that make the show unique.
For Listeners Who Missed the Episode
This episode exemplifies Football America’s/Le Batard’s offbeat approach to sports talk: it’s a blend of mid-season NFL context, tongue-in-cheek “awards,” honest gripes about teams, gridiron fashion critiques, and Midwest/East Coast/Miami color. Irreverent, info-packed, and full of the panel’s unique personalities, the episode is the perfect snapshot of mid-season football energy — with enough laughs and insights to make any fan walk away smarter and more entertained.