The Big Suey: Samson Is In The Epstein Files (feat. David Samson)

Summary

Episode Summary: "The Big Suey: Samson Is In The Epstein Files" (Feb. 5, 2026)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz ("The Big Suey") is centered on lively, irreverent discussion of sports, media, and pop-culture, with a special focus on boundary-pushing takes and the intersection of sports with serious off-field news. The episode features David Samson, who addresses his own surprising mention in the Epstein files, and the crew’s reaction to major sports headlines, shifting sports media business models, and classic arguments about Hall of Fame credentials and sports upsets.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Brandon Marshall Hall of Fame Debate

• Context: Dan plays a charged clip from his interview with Brandon Marshall, where Marshall pushes Dan to genuinely declare if he believes Marshall is a Hall of Fame-caliber wide receiver.
• Discussion: The crew dissects interview techniques, honesty vs. evasion, and how difficult it is for receivers to get into the Hall of Fame.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Brandon Marshall: “One of the things you just said is one of the most prolific wide receivers ever. And so now you’re putting me in the same conversation as the best pass catchers…” (02:49)
  • Dan Le Batard: “Six 100-catch seasons is usually good enough to get into the Hall of Fame.” (03:31)
  • David Samson: “You just say yes, sure, Hall of Famer… That’s what being a host is.” (11:35)
• Discussion Pivot: They recount another tricky Hall of Fame encounter with Reggie Miller (07:02), and Sampson urges Dan to just “play the game” as a host.
• Timestamps:
  • [02:36] – Marshall challenges Dan on Hall of Fame credentials
  • [10:23] – Arguments on Marshall’s lack of playoff appearances
  • [11:37] – Samson’s take on interview honesty

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2. David Samson in the Epstein Files

• Big Moment: Dan reveals, with Samson’s blessing, that Samson’s name appears in the newly released Epstein files.
• Samson’s Explanation: Samson clarifies it’s due to his role in the Challenged Athletes Foundation; his name appeared in a charity dinner invitation sent to Ghislaine Maxwell. He stresses the importance of context and thorough investigation.
• Notable Quotes:
  • David Samson: “No, let me be clear. I am part of a charity... An invitation was attached in an email sent to Maxwell... I don’t know Maxwell. I don’t know Epstein… That’s why you have to go deeper.” (21:55)
• Discussion: The show critiques media aggregation for lacking nuance and jokes about misleading episode titles (“Samson is in the Epstein files”).
• Timestamps:
  • [18:17] – Discussion of NFL owners in the Epstein files
  • [21:28] – Samson explains his own inclusion
  • [22:46] – Stugotz quips about the episode title

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3. NFL, the Giants, and the Epstein Scandal

• Focus: The crew scrutinizes Roger Goodell’s guarded response to Giants owner Steve Tisch’s mention in the Epstein files—and the broader lack of coverage in sports media.
• Samson’s media critique: He describes best PR practice: announce an investigation, stay silent, and handle the issue behind closed doors.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Samson: “Roger Goodell… says, let’s just get the facts… what Goodell should have done is immediately said, ‘Of course, we’re going to investigate this. For crying out loud, they investigate everything!’” (18:46)
• Timestamps:
  • [18:13] – NFL and the Epstein file fallout
  • [20:36] – Samson’s media advice

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4. Shifting Sports Media Landscape (Bill Simmons, Netflix vs. YouTube)

• Discussion: Bill Simmons declares Netflix is the future, not YouTube, after his show’s move behind the Netflix paywall. The crew analyzes whether Simmons’ audience was “sold,” and the broader implications for creators and fans.
• Samson’s Take: Moving to Netflix doesn’t bring in new subscribers just for one show. YouTube’s ecosystem is fundamentally different—driven by discoverability, not exclusivity.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Dan Le Batard: “From afar, I viewed what happened with Bill Simmons and Netflix as Spotify sold his audience and put it behind a paywall.” (38:30)
  • Samson: “When you sell, you are giving up control. Definitionally.” (39:28)
• Timestamps:
  • [35:14] – Trade deadline NBA talk leads into Bill Simmons discussion
  • [36:27-41:18] – Deep dive into the business of sports media

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5. Pat Riley, the Heat, and Gratitude vs. Critique

• Debate: Mike Ryan and Samson spar over whether Heat fans are sufficiently grateful for Pat Riley’s 30 years of league-leading excellence, or whether it’s time for sharper criticism amid recent roster stagnation.
• Notable Quotes:
  • David Samson: “Either lose a hundo or try to win a hundo. But winning 75 to 85 games, which was my specialty…” (29:00)
  • Dan: “Miami has had the third best winning percentage in the entire league. That’s really hard to do over 30 years…” (34:54)
• Timestamps:
  • [27:01] – Pat Riley and Miami Heat debate intensifies
  • [34:03] – Dan puts Heat success into perspective

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6. Greatest Sports Stories of All Time

• Feature: Samson reviews the Netflix documentary Miracle: The Boys of 80 and declares the 1980 US Men's Hockey team win as the "greatest sports story ever."
• Discussion: The team banters about all-time sports upsets and what makes a moment truly "GOAT" material.
• Notable Quotes:
  • David Samson: “If you had to give me a top five sports stories of all time… Don’t give me Rudy. You give me the Miracle on ice in 1980…” (42:18)
• Timestamps:
  • [42:01] – Samson’s review of Miracle: The Boys of 80
  • [43:19] – Debate over greatest sports upsets

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• "You just say, yes, sure, Hall of Famer." – David Samson on playing the interview game (11:35)
• "Samson is in the Epstein files." – Dan Le Batard (21:45), followed by the entire crew fixating on the importance of context and proper investigation.
• "Either lose a hundo or try to win a hundo. But winning 75 to 85 games… was my specialty." – David Samson, on mediocrity in sports management (29:00)
• "Miami has had the third best winning percentage in the entire league… That's really hard to do over 30 years." – Dan Le Batard (34:54)
• "When you sell, you are giving up control. Definitionally." – David Samson, on the sports media business (39:28)
• "Miracle on Ice in 1980… is the greatest sports story." – David Samson (42:18)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 02:36 – The Brandon Marshall Hall of Fame interview plays
• 10:23 – Hall of Fame debates: playoff appearances and QBs
• 18:13 – NFL owners, the Epstein files, and media response
• 21:28 – Samson explains his inclusion in the Epstein files
• 27:01 – Pat Riley, Miami Heat, and gratitude vs. critique
• 35:14 – Bill Simmons, Netflix, and the sports media business
• 42:01 – Miracle on Ice documentary review & GOAT sports stories

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Tone & Language

As always, the show is deeply irreverent, sardonic, and quick-witted, filled with running jokes about body image, self-deprecation, and inside-baseball takes on media and sports business. Much of the discussion is tongue-in-cheek, with roundtable arguments frequently dissolving into playful bickering.

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For New Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

• Reveals how star athletes interact with the media and crave validation
• Uses real-time sports controversies to illuminate broader flaws in media coverage
• Explores how shifting business models (Netflix/Spotify/YouTube) reshape the sports media industry
• Blends hard news (Epstein files, NFL) with classic fan debate (Hall of Fame, sports GOATs) without sacrificing humor
• Exemplifies the show's balance of playful provocation and substantive insight

Transcript

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[Dan Le Batard]

Welcome to the Big Sui presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show, the podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBatard podcast?

[David Sampson]

I'm sorry.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm not gonna apologize for that. In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys?

[Stugotz]

I've done it.

[Dan Le Batard]

And now here's the Marching man to Nowhere, Fat Face and the Habitual Liar.

[Show Announcer]

This episode of the Dan Lebatard show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.

[Dan Le Batard]

We're gonna get to David Sampson in five minutes. Here to talk about an assortment of things throughout sports worth talking about and outside of sports. But before we do that, I want to play for all of you a clip with Brandon Marshall. I don't know if any of you guys know this. He was on South Beach Sessions today. It released today and he came in hot and he disarmed me off the top. There are all sorts of things that people do with interview techniques in order to soften someone off the top and he alpha'd Me quick, because right off of the top, this is the back and forth. I'm introducing him. And this is where Brandon Marshall and I start. And I'd like to ask David Sampson and the rest of you how it is that you would react to this situation. If you, like me, think that Brandon Marshall is right on the line of being a borderline hall of Famer.

[Brandon Marshall]

Do you really mean what you just said? Prolific? Because are you just. Are you just trying to. You know, how are you not.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know, you had 21 catches in a single game. Six seasons of 100 catches with no quarterback help. Like, your quarterbacks were pretty bad.

[Brandon Marshall]

Well, I know my stats, but one of the things you just said is one of the most prolific wide receivers ever. And so now you're putting me in the same conversation as the best pass catchers that ever. You know what I'm saying? Coming into the NFL.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know how many.

[Brandon Marshall]

I'm not in the. I'm not in the hall of Fame right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

I. It's hard to get. It's hard to get into the hall of Fame as a wide receiver. I wish you had had better quarterback.

[Brandon Marshall]

As a Hall of Fame wide receiver.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're right there.

[Brandon Marshall]

See, that means you're on the edge.

[Dan Le Batard]

That doesn't mean. No. I say no. If the. Do you see yourself as one you.

[Brandon Marshall]

Or do you have a vote?

[Stugotz]

I don't.

[Brandon Marshall]

You ever have a vote?

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know.

[Brandon Marshall]

You should have a vote. But if you had a vote, like, what would you. What would you vote?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I'm in front of you right now. I can't see. No, it's not. No, I can't. No, no, no, no. But. No, no, no. Wait a minute, though. I'm not saying no because I don't have the numbers in front of me. 6, 100 catch seasons is usually good enough to get into the hall of Fame.

[Brandon Marshall]

Number one in the NFL. You knew that.

[Dan Le Batard]

I did not know that that was number one. Well, see, there you go.

[Brandon Marshall]

That's right.

[Dan Le Batard]

And you didn't have a quarterback. You didn't have a legitimate quarterback. You really turned that. No one has ever turned this around on me faster. We just started and you already got me in a corner.

[Brandon Marshall]

Yeah, yeah. I got you in a little pickle. I turned my phone off. I was going to let you read something that one of the. Cliff who was our. And I don't really care at all. Really, I don't. But hearing you say that made me think, does he really mean this? Right. But I. You Know I was gonna turn my phone on, let you read through what our, our the Cliff Chicago Bears. When I was there, he did all the contracts, right? He was, he was in charge of the salary cap and he sent me this memo of why I should be in and it was like, wow, this is pretty cool, right? And when you're retired, you know, you see things a little differently. You know, you, you're more grateful, you know, you slow down a little bit. So it's always cool hearing other people's perspective.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want to be clear though, I don't have the numbers in front of me to compare you to why it is that Andre Reed or Tory Holt, like I don't have them in front of me. That's the only reason I'm being hesitant. I'm not being evasive, nor am I being dishonest with you. I didn't know, for example that you were the only receiver with six, 100 catch seasons.

[Brandon Marshall]

Well, there's two. There's myself and Antonio Brown. I believe it's so I'm tied with maybe him and maybe one other. And it's six in a row is the record. It's not just six because you also have Mike Evans. He's done it. You know, it was like, well, he had 10,000 yard seasons but 100 catch seasons in a row.

[Dan Le Batard]

But you say you really don't care. That seems like not easy to believe that you don't care.

[Brandon Marshall]

And I can understand why because of, you know, how I started. But basically you said prolific. One of the most prolific wide receivers. You know this. I'm a podcast host as well. You want the best intro, et cetera, et cetera. So I just wanted to see if you really believe that that's it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Sampson was smiling throughout all of that. What is your guys take on all of that? Because my takeaway, my entire takeaway given how you guys have scarred me over the last couple of days with that AI making me a lot fatter than I actually am. I'm watching this and I am seeing that Brandon Marshall is a deal bigger than me. He made me look the way that Billy looked next to Derrick Henry. Like the size of Brandon Marshall next to me. When I'm not in any way small. He looks giant.

[Show Announcer]

Wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

Like, compared to me because I'm like, I'm six, three and a half.

[Stugotz]

That's perspective too.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm six three and a half.

[Stugotz]

And you're right there.

[Dan Le Batard]

What are your thoughts on what just happened?

[Stugotz]

You're right there was my favorite line of the entire thing.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, you guys understand? Well, because I don't have the numbers in front of me right there.

[Show Announcer]

Why can't you just be honest that you don't believe he is?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, but because I'm not informed the way you would need to to cast that vote.

[Stugotz]

Which is why you're right. There is a great answer. And he already said it was the most. One of the most prolific wide receivers.

[David Sampson]

He can't also say, hey, yeah, you're.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not a Hall of Fame.

[David Sampson]

You're right.

[Show Announcer]

There is something you say when you don't believe you're in the hall of Fame, because otherwise you would say, yes.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know.

[Stugotz]

Do we have the Reggie Miller one?

[Dan Le Batard]

All right. Boogie Shombi did something cruel to me at the Versace party. We were in front of Reggie Miller, and I. Maybe. Maybe you guys are right. Maybe subconsciously I do not realize that I am scarred from this. Are you a Hall of Famer? No.

[Brandon Marshall]

There's too many other guys that are.

[Stugotz]

More deserving than I. Levittar, you think he's going in? No, I think you are.

[David Sampson]

Yeah.

[Stugotz]

You're going in.

[David Sampson]

Yeah.

[Show Announcer]

It's good move.

[Dan Le Batard]

He boog squeezed my knee when he asked it because he knew I didn't think that Reggie belonged. But that's an easier hall of Fame to get into. And receiver is the hardest way to get into the Football hall of Fame.

[Stugotz]

Such a great setup, too, when you're immediately ready to fire back. I think you are.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's why. That's why he squeezed my knee, because that was his opinion compared to mine. Sampson, what are your thoughts here and welcome? Nothing Personal is the name of his podcast. I urge you to check it out. He is covering a lot of good stuff that no one else dares to talk about. What are your thoughts here? What do you do in that situation?

[David Sampson]

I feel so safe because he's wearing a Trust God sweatshirt, so I could pretty much say anything. He's not going to get physical even with someone my size. You cannot punch someone with a Trust God sweatshirt. So I feel like you could have gone way further.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Can you trust someone with a Trust God sweatshirt?

[David Sampson]

No, that's not what I said.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay. Can you. Can a person who's wearing a Trust God sweatshirt punch you at Lebatard show? You didn't really answer the question, though. Okay. So you don't fear it and what you would have. I don't know whether or not Brandon Marshall has the numbers to be in the hall of Fame. He never. The problem with Brandon Marshall of course is that he didn't play in any playoff games. Like did he play in one? Is there a single playoff game that he ever.

[Stugotz]

Marshall?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. Did he play in one?

[Stugotz]

No, I don't think he played in one.

[Dan Le Batard]

So. So this is the thing that I think of when I think of Brandon Marshall and it's not something that I brought up to him but in terms of numbers, he's got the kind of numbers that you would need to be in the hall of Fame from what I remember. But I have.

[David Sampson]

Yeah, but I don't know Dan. I don't know Dan. He went off so fast. He was the only guy with six 100 catch seasons and then all of a sudden. No, no, wait a minute. It was Antonio Brown. Yeah. Mike Evans. No, maybe that was thousand yards. Wait a minute. It wasn't in a row. So frankly I didn't learn anything during that clip. I mean I'll watch the whole episode.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's just him and Antonio Brown and He played for 13 seasons but he didn't play in any playoff games. And they're always going to hold the non winning against you. Even if you didn't have a quarterback.

[David Sampson]

Why do you keep saying he didn't have a quarterback?

[Dan Le Batard]

Because he didn't.

[David Sampson]

Is Sam Dar Arnold. If they win a ring on Sunday, does everyone who wins a ring, do they, do they get the pass? Hey, you didn't have a quarterback.

[Dan Le Batard]

Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jay Cutler are the best quarterbacks that Brandon Marshall ever played with. That's ridiculous to put up those questions about the Seahawks.

[David Sampson]

Is it not real? What? What I don't understand what you said. Brian Fitzpatrick, Jake Cutler, those are quarterbacks. They may not be the best quarterbacks. They were the best of 32 at that point.

[Stugotz]

There were certainly quarterbacks that can get the ball in the hands of their receivers. Like they weren't shy about airing it out. Like it. They've proven that they can get guys numbers when they're the quarterback. It's not a terrible situation. Yeah, it's not a hall of Fame or champion level quarterback there. But you know, it's also not exactly the truth.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's.

[Stugotz]

They're right there.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's not a terrible situation that he never played in a playoff game and had as many catches as Antonio Brown. You guys are looking at me and saying that that's not a, that's not a terrible situation.

[Stugotz]

No, we're talking about two different things. No, but I don't think his quarterback situation was as bad.

[Dan Le Batard]

His quarterback situation is the reason he never played in a playoff game. It's not because he wasn't excellent enough to be a playoff player.

[Stugotz]

That's correct. Yeah.

[David Sampson]

No, that's not correct. You can have Peyton Manning and the Broncos won a Super Bowl. It wasn't a good Peyton Manning. They had a great defense. Peyton Manning was worse than Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jay Cutler the year the Broncos won their super bowl recently. And, and this year, right now, Seattle's defense is a Super bowl winning defense. Jake. Jake Cutler. Can you imagine Sam Darnold? I, I just think that you're. What about all the Dolphins for the past 25 years? Not one playoff win. Therefore, you can't have a Hall of Famer because they must not have had a good enough team. Yeah, give me a break.

[Stugotz]

Jay Cutler did make an NFC Championship game without.

[David Sampson]

Yeah.

[Stugotz]

Marshall, you know, so you guys would.

[Dan Le Batard]

Have done what in that situation?

[Show Announcer]

Told the truth?

[David Sampson]

I wouldn't have started with prolific.

[Smirnoff Advertiser]

You just say he's a Hall of Famer, like, play the game. What do you mean?

[David Sampson]

You just say, yes, sure, hall of Famer.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, but look, look at how David smiles and says, yeah, just lie. Just lie to his face. But you didn't offer that as advice. When I keep asking you, what do you do? You didn't say, just lie to his face. Just say whatever it is he wants to hear and keep it moving.

[David Sampson]

That's what being a host is. That's if you're trying to get him to open up and you're trying to get down deep into his emotions so there could be the tear shot with only one camera, then you got to start by at least saying, yeah, of course you're a Hall of Famer. Let's talk about your parents.

[Show Announcer]

But then, unlike the next episode, do you then admit to your audience what you did and you just did it to be a good host and you don't actually believe he's hall of Famer?

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm sorry, audio audience. But they are, again, distorting the size of things. And really five feet tall. Brandon Marshall is legitimately twice the size of me, which is hard. Did you see the size of me yesterday? The size of me yesterday? It's his asinine what it is that they're doing around here. And it's the perpetual whack a mole. Imagine how big Brandon Marshall has to be to be bigger than I am. There a number of things inside and outside of business to talk to David Sampson about. I imagine that the president of espn, Jimmy Pitaro, is wounded by the Fact that Disney has decided to replace Bob Iger with somebody who basically just run the parks. Is it fair to say that ESPN has now become a line item in the Disney portfolio that they are sort of getting into, you know, something different than content when it comes to priorities? Given that at one point ESPN was the thing at Disney that made more money for Disney than any other thing.

[David Sampson]

And at one point you were not the fat bastard. So yes, that was espn. One point. It's just not that point today. ESPN has been a line item at Disney for a while. And what this line of succession has done, it's basically made Jimmy Pitaro somewhat of a eunuch where he has to perform as a silo in a way that he's not going to get the 20 million to get another Stephen A. Smith to the extent that that would even be something they'd want. They're going to have to perform as an entity that helps the overall stock price of Disney because they the board voted to bring in tomorrow. And what his job is basically run a company that will get us eps, will get us earnings per share. And so ESPN will have to be profitable. They will have to find a way. The old days of cable and all, everything that Skipper did when they were printing money and they were the behemoth of getting every sports right live and just every anchor, everybody wanted to be the spn. Those days are over. And that's proven by who Disney named to succeed Bob Iger.

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[Stugotz]

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[David Sampson]

Don Levotard Taytas Stugats Tae Tas this is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats.

[Dan Le Batard]

We are doing a trade deadline show live today live stream from 2 to 4pm Although Zaslo is threatening to leave at 301 if the heat do not acquire Giannis because I'm always telling you that David Sampson tackles stuff that no one else is tackling in the sports media. Roger Goodell had to sidestep the entire issue during super bowl week of one of your owners. Tish of the Giants is in the Epstein files. What did you make of Goodell's response?

[Stugotz]

What.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do you do in that situation? If you're Goodell or anyone else, the media is not covering this very well. The Epstein files are being talked about everywhere else in media, not in sports. And here's an NFL owner right in the middle of this, like right in the middle of this in a way that cannot go unnoticed, never mind unpunished, if it's true, if any of the allegations are true and any of the denials from him are false. But what do you make of what it is that Roger Goodell should be doing here?

[David Sampson]

Well, first, Josh Harris must have great PR because you did not mention his name name. And he appears in there. And he had to release a statement, which he did. And of course Steve Tisch released a statement where he wanted to make sure we all knew that it was adults who he was referring to, not children. Because that is beyond the third rail if you're dealing with underage sex trafficking. But if you're just dealing in your run of the mill, you know, Russian people who get paid by the hour, you know, let's not make ourselves crazy. And so Roger Goodell, stitches, sits down and does an interview and says, let's just get the facts. Let's not talk about punishment. Let's just see where we are. As though he's Adam Silver talking about Steve Ballmer and salary cap circumvention, which obviously is not nearly as important as something that may involve human sex trafficking and felonies. And so what Goodell should have done is immediately said, of course we're going to investigate this, for crying out loud. They investigate everything. Just say we are investigating because we do not want our sports to be associated with the possibility of trafficking of underage girls. And so we've started that immediately and then stopped, not said another word. But he tried to upset the reporter by saying, you know, why are you trying to get ahead of yourself? Why are you talking about punishment? I thought that he got super defensive when he didn't need to be.

[Dan Le Batard]

The move then is just to say, cuz you can't give it air, right? If Goodell gives it anything in the way of air, if he says anything, then it becomes yet more attention to something he doesn't actually want attention on. You're saying the public relations Advice is simply to say what he said, part of what he said, which is we need to get all the facts. We're investigating hard.

[Stugotz]

Stop.

[David Sampson]

Yeah, just say you're investigating and then you started behind the scenes negotiation with Tish. Because where this needs to end is where Tish is no longer part of the NFL with the Giants. You may not make him sell his shares, but not go to meetings, not be a part of NFL jewel events. And you have to look at the different layers of what you're calling the Epstein files. It's a data dump of all emails and all correspondences. That's not enough. You have to look and see what is in an email or a text or what is the relationship that is with Epstein or is in terms of were you, were you doing things with Epstein you shouldn't be doing? Were you asking him to do things for you that no one should ask to have done? So it does require multilayers and that's why you say, hey, we're going to investigate it.

[Dan Le Batard]

You guys may not have noticed what David did there because what he did there was accurate. There is a lot of information inside of there that is not incriminating. And I'm going to say something to you that's going to show shock everybody in the room. Sampson is in the Epstein files.

[David Sampson]

That's Dan.

[Stugotz]

I saw that.

[David Sampson]

Dan, stop.

[Dan Le Batard]

You just gave the context beforehand by saying you just gave the context, say like that.

[David Sampson]

You get aggregated. Samson's in the Epstein files. No, no, let me be clear. I am part of a charity called Challenged Athletes Foundation. I'm on the board. And the invitation to a dinner where I was listed with my family as a sponsor of the dinner. An invitation was attached in an email sent to Maxwell saying, would you like to come to this charity dinner? And my name somehow is searchable because of that. And it's literally, it's obviously nothing. I don't know, Maxwell. I don't know. I'm a charity. I'm on the board of a charity called Caf, And I don't know, I've seen, never met. I. I don't even have one degree of separation that I knew of. And so, yes, that's why you have to go deeper. You can't just assume by reading something that, oh, that's true. Which is why you say there's an investigation.

[Dan Le Batard]

Who.

[Stugotz]

Thank you for the podcast episode title.

[Sports News Reporter]

The Big Suey. Samson is in the Epstein files.

[Dan Le Batard]

He is in the Epstein files. And he offered you the context beforehand.

[Stugotz]

That explains some of this context will be Totally absent from the episode title. Well, that's a game, like, right there.

[Smirnoff Advertiser]

Makes me want to listen.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you guys realize how long it takes to read 3 million documents?

[Show Announcer]

3.

[Dan Le Batard]

Like, I don't know how they were doing this. And I know many of the mistakes that have been made that have somehow protected some people who are cesspool.

[Stugotz]

I know it's a cesspool. Not just the files themselves, but for misinformation. Because no one's going to go through the files. They're just waiting for Pablo to sift through them and give it to them in bite portions. Because there are so many fake emails out there. There is one about World War Three starting on Sunday, that this is how misinformation spreads. It's because it's believable enough. Think about what we're talking about, which is just all so surreal that people are inclined to believe something on the Internet even more with this.

[Dan Le Batard]

It is so surreal when you think of the President's name being in there, whatever it is, 38,000 times. Even with the redactions, the idea that Trump is now suing Harvard for $1 billion and the New York Times for $15 billion and the IRS, which he now runs so that he can get a settlement. The amount of things that are in the news stream here, David, this is baffling to me and hard to stomach. Okay. Some of the QAnon stuff started with the idea of Pizzagate and the idea that the left was running a child sex trafficking ring outside of a pizza shop. An assortment of things that could topple any president before this one make an appearance every single week, and that the only thing that he couldn't get past would be a pedophilia scandal. And yet here he is right in the middle of one that he can't get around, and he arrests Don Lemon and does a bunch of different shit to try and keep distracting from the fact that he's front and center in the middle of this, even as the Department of Justice tries to protect him.

[David Sampson]

I have thought so long about what would happen if Watergate were today. Would President Nixon have resigned? Go back and think about what he was doing and what Watergate was. If your audience, I guess, listen, you didn't even talk about Wes Unseldon Elvin Hayes saying the. You know, the Wizards and Bullets have been irrelevant your whole life, which is obviously wrong. But people listen to you and think you know what you're talking about. So I don't know if people know about Watergate or if we're too old for that. But what is acceptable behavior today, given social media, given how public everything is, given the invasion of privacy, given the expectation of information that people have not it, whether it's right or wrong, what would Nixon have done today? And the answer is, he wouldn't have resigned. Nixon would have taken the camera, taken the microphone, said, yeah, whatever, I'm suing the Washington Post. That's what he would have done. So times have changed in a way that is going to cause different results depending on your moral compass.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mike Ryan and Tony appear to be.

[Sports News Reporter]

Arguing back there about breaking news in the NBA. Per Sham Sterania, the Minnesota Timberwolves have traded for IO Dasunwu.

[Show Announcer]

You're on the bullshit.

[Stugotz]

No, that's not the bullshit.

[Sports News Reporter]

Seven and a half million dollars to.

[Show Announcer]

Expire IO for the move. Is there gonna be a pig such a hack.

[Stugotz]

Why are they buying other players? Talking about IO this isn't creating room. Looking at the CIA. It's an expiring deal. Hey, yo, maybe they're positioning themselves even more for the June pursuit of Giannis.

[David Sampson]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Did I just hear a stray? Look into the CIA on Watergate?

[Stugotz]

If you want to be serious about. If you want to have technicalities about it, CIA side, put it on the.

[Dan Le Batard]

Poll at LeBatard show.

[Stugotz]

Look at Bob Woodward where he started working before the Post.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll at Lebanon show. Is. Is there a Watergate every single day now. Does Pat Riley owe anybody anything? David?

[David Sampson]

I love you, Mike, but my God, you're just so wr about your view of Pat Riley in the Miami Heat. You've had a lifetime, Mike, a lifetime of success with your Heat franchise. You could be in the lottery, Jamie Gertz style, for the rest of your adult life. And you've had enough of winning. And it's all because of Pat Riley. And I am the first to tell you that it's not going to happen again. And it's not his fault. You're not getting honest today. You're not sit there all day with Zaz. You're not getting them today. They're not stupid enough in Milwaukee. Milwaukee people are smart. They're going to wait till the off season and then they get to maximize their return. Of course he's not getting traded today. So, Mike, give me a break. And Pat Riley. Why don't you just say thank you and be on your way?

[Stugotz]

Well, you just mentioned that they could be in the lottery. They're worse than that. They're.

[David Sampson]

They're in.

[Stugotz]

They're in the plan for like five consecutive years.

[Show Announcer]

Why is it Jamie Gertz style?

[David Sampson]

She's always in the lottery with the Hawks. She's married to the Hawks owner. So she's the one who goes to the lottery. The actress.

[Stugotz]

Well, you know what?

[Dan Le Batard]

The Milwaukee people. Smart. Because you're from Milwaukee.

[David Sampson]

No, Milwaukee people are just amazing.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is it because you're from there?

[David Sampson]

I was born in Milwaukee.

[Stugotz]

Yeah. And by the way, they now have a player they can build around because they were in the lottery. The Dallas Mavericks were in the spot that the Miami Heat should have been in last year in the lottery, and they got Cooper. Flag that the lottery is a path to. My lament here is that we're caught in no man's land. We are not being aggressive enough to get the guys to improve us, and we're just keeping a roster that has proven time and time again to a memeable degree. They're right there with Atlanta, in Chicago every year.

[David Sampson]

I agree.

[Stugotz]

Give me the lottery.

[David Sampson]

No. But say thank you to Pat. I agree. What you're saying is the right analysis. They are in the middle. It's what you learned in baseball. Either lose a hundo or try to win a hundo. But winning 75 to 85 games, which was, like, my specialty.

[Stugotz]

I have said thank you to Pat. Pat's the greatest executive in the history of this sports market. He can be that and worthy of criticism. For the last few seasons, and that's all I'm doing. We've. This show in particular has blown sunshine up Pat Riley's ass more than any other show in the history of the media. All right? I'm not gonna get shit the first time that I decide to take him to task and be like, hey, what's with the whales? You're the one that tells me every offseason.

[David Sampson]

Hear that?

[Stugotz]

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[Zyn Advertiser]

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[David Sampson]

Don LeBatard.

[Stugotz]

I'm not gonna apologize. I'm.

[David Sampson]

I wouldn't expect you to apologize.

[Stugotz]

Then.

[David Sampson]

You're a giant infant, okay? You have no control over your emotions. You have no control over your emotions when you're calling someone you know an idiot. I don't deserve it.

[Brandon Marshall]

Okay?

[David Sampson]

I don't deserve it.

[Stugotz]

All right?

[David Sampson]

And you're a fool for saying it.

[Stugotz]

Okay? Stugats.

[David Sampson]

You were a fool. I was kind of following you.

[Stugotz]

Oh, you're locking in right now. You're locking in on us. Yeah.

[David Sampson]

All right.

[Stugotz]

Let's drop the gloves, pal. Let's rock you. You should be thanking me for what? Every day. For what? For what I've done around this character. And the second gets real for you. You want to come at me and call me a fool?

[Dan Le Batard]

Huh?

[Stugotz]

No, no, no.

[Dan Le Batard]

Seriously, Jeremy.

[Stugotz]

Seriously. I've added 10 years to your career.

[David Sampson]

This is the D? Ler show with the.

[Dan Le Batard]

You've been doing it for five years while they've made the finals twice. You are, though, a modern day James Baldwin who only criticized this country because of how much he cared for it.

[Stugotz]

That's right. He's. Look, we're talking about culture, something that I'm pretty sure this show helped give voice to. And the heat marketing folks were like, hey, let's build a campaign out of this, all right? He's the one every off season that loves the media spotlight and loves jacking people up with Whale. We're gonna be there, we're gonna be in the mix. I am a byproduct of the expectations Pat Riley helped create and nurture. Not just over the last 20 years. I'm talking about very recently.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll, please. Juju at lebatard show. Has anyone blown more sunshine up Pat Riley's ass than history of the medium and put it on the poll as well at lebitage, what would you prefer? Blown up your behind, smoke or sunshine? Because I don't know when you guys go sunshine or when you guys go smoke, but neither of those seem like things that anyone needs to blow up anyone's mind.

[Stugotz]

They're both relatively insincere.

[Show Announcer]

Yeah, I go more, I go smoke because smoke. I feel like they're telling you what you want to hear.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, but is it tickling? Like, why is it smoke? I've never understood. What is that expression? When is there smoke blown up? Anything like sunshine? At least I understand sunshine.

[Smirnoff Advertiser]

Seems like.

[Stugotz]

Dan, I'm asking you, do I give off like I'm ungrateful for Pat Riley?

[Brandon Marshall]

No.

[Dan Le Batard]

You have talked for many years and you have accepted that his standard is the highest standard. It's the one that he taught everyone around here. And when he doesn't meet it or reach it or doesn't come close and they're not as relevant as you like, you get very frustrated with him. It's not like your standard is any higher than his standard. What, what Sampson is saying, though, as an executive who know how knows how hard these things are to do, is for 30 years, Miami has had the third best winning percentage in the entire league. That's really hard to do over 30 years when you've got a situation that your players are always changing. Like it's the spurs, it's the Lakers have won a little bit more and that's it. It's 30 years. The entire time he's been in charge, they've won a great deal more than they've lost. They've got the third best winning percentage in the league. And so Sampson is saying to you, that's hard to do. Respect it. Be grateful for it.

[Stugotz]

I know I am and I am. I'm super grateful for it.

[David Sampson]

Sound it.

[Stugotz]

I think Pat Riley's probably more frustrated than I am that he hasn't been able to get this done. Expectations and standards are not bad things.

[Show Announcer]

It's looking at me like Miami's last team standing after Minnesota just made this trade. They traded four second round picks to Chicago.

[Dan Le Batard]

Here's Jake Fisher. Jake Fisher is reporting. The Wolves and Heat sources say, still believe they are in play for landing Giannis Antetokounmpo today. Although like the warriors, few believe Milwaukee is actually serious about parting ways with their franchise Face he's being told the Bucks are also engaged with the Grizzlies on Ja Morant as well. What do you make of the changes in reporting, David? Adam Schefter is breaking Hockey news now. The agencies and the insiders are aligned. Media is not terribly independent anymore, is compromised in a lot of places. And I saw the story here recently. It's a sports media business story. But I'm imagining that you're curious about it. Bill Simmons just said that YouTube is not the future. Netflix is the future. Bill Simmons has a deal with Netflix. I don't know why you're laughing, but Bill Simmons, from my vantage point, just knowing a little bit about this business, what I I think just happened is that Spotify took Bill Simmons, his audience and sold it to Netflix and doesn't allow him to be on YouTube anymore. So I think that's the reason he might be saying this, but maybe I've got it wrong. Do I have it wrong?

[David Sampson]

No. You can still do clips. You just can't do shows. But what's funny is what you said, which is Bill Simmons talking about the fact that YouTube is not the future, but Netflix is, is when he is behind the Netflix wall. I would like to to have said that prior. Why? After you're on the team, it's like being traded to the Heat and then wearing a Heat shirt. Yeah, of course. Because you're on the Heat. So what his point should have been was the benefits and the costs of going and being on Netflix the way that some of these shows are doing. And it's not dissimilar to the conversation we had about Howard Stern when he went to Sirius. That was a huge thing. And Sirius, which then merged with xm the View, was that we will get our money back because people will follow him. And they were right. Are people going to follow to Netflix, where it's all about new subs. It's not even about retaining old subs because what you talk about with Wall street analysts, how many new subs do we have in this quarter? Well, I want to see Simmons. I can't do it on YouTube, YouTube, therefore I'm going to get a Netflix subscription. Do I believe that that will happen? And the answer is no. I think the model that Netflix has is we want more content choices like we want Kevin Hart and Adam Sandler, and we want podcasts. All of that is part of the opportunity when you are a Netflix subscriber and what you're going to come to expect. But again, Dan, I don't think anyone signed up for Netflix because they wanted to see an Adam Sandler movie or a Kevin Hart movie movie. I think it's just part of what they get when they're already a subscriber. But I believe that YouTube is what the people view as their. Their atmosphere of content is YouTube. They get the opportunity to see things that are pushed to them that they may not otherwise see, that they may not otherwise have heard of. They get the opportunity to participate in ways that Netflix showing video does not offer an audience.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, I am asking this question because I do care about this subject matter, but I'm not totally as informed as I need to be on this subject matter. From afar, I viewed what happened with Bill Simmons and Netflix as Spotify sold his audience and put it behind a paywall. That wouldn't have been something Bill Simmons wanted necessarily. That's something Spotify wanted, and it's something Netflix wanted. And so you get the audience being sold and put behind a paywall. It's something around here that I've been very reluctant to do, even though there's money to be done there. So I'm asking you, do I have that wrong? Because I don't know if I've got it right. I just think I have it right, but I don't have enough information here. I've got. I've got more than most because I know how some of this business works. But I don't know if Spotify just sold Simmons's audience to Netflix.

[David Sampson]

Well, they had that right. But you're asking a question of what Bill Simmons wanted. And I can't speak to his frame of mind when the Netflix deal was done, only to his frame of mind when the Spotify deal was done, because that's a deal ago. And it's the same thing when Meadowlark Media does a deal with DraftKings. I can know your state of mind, but what DraftKings then does with your show. That really, in. In theory, we don't have to talk about that specific deal, but you do not necessarily have control over the. That Bill Simmons would not have control over how that show is being monetized. So Spotify can get a return on its investment in Simmons and in his other shows. And so when you sell, you are giving up control. Definitionally. Think about when you sell your little studio, movie studio to One of the big giants. You are giving up control in order to take money off the table, in order to diversify your whole holdings, not have your net worth, just in your media company. That's why little companies sell to big companies who spread risk over a bunch of different things. Some work, some don't, and you move on. When you own it, you want the payday, and the strategy is, when do you take it? And Bill Simmons took it. The Netflix deal was not the specific payday for Bill. It was the Spotify deal.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, our language might be a little harsh here, even though selling the audience when you get down to brass tacks is probably what's happening. I look at it more as a cash in, both with ringer Spotify and now with Netflix. You get to a certain size and you look at a pile of money and you decide, is this worth it? And some people do, and some people decide to eschew that for the time being and look at market inefficiencies elsewhere and decide, no, we're not at the place where we can cash in yet. Let's still grow. Let's still be as inclusive as possible.

[Dan Le Batard]

An excellent bit of nuance and context there. I am certain that I will not get aggregated with a. A giant picture that makes me look like Fat Bastard there. Now that you've offered that nuance, I'm sure everything there will be treated fairly and my crude language will not be misrepresented in any way at all. Sampson, what movie are you reviewing for us? That picture is so unfair. Like you guys.

[Stugotz]

The size of the couch.

[Dan Le Batard]

You guys.

[David Sampson]

Not right.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's shameful. It is. It is body shaming me. Look, man, it's hard running a business business. And I've been secret eating ice cream in my bathtub. And it just happens because I'm under a great deal of stress. What is the movie you're reviewing for us today?

[David Sampson]

Sampson, you better not make fun of me because of the age of this. But I watched a movie on Netflix, a documentary called Miracle the boys of 80. And you're going to say no one was alive in 1980. No one remembers that. It's the greatest sports story. If you had to give me a top five sports stories of all time.

[Dan Le Batard]

Time.

[David Sampson]

Don't give me Rudy. You give me the Miracle on ice in 1980 with the USA men's hockey team of amateurs and college players with Jim Craig and goalie. What a great documentary. Revisiting it. They're walking through the streets of Lake Placid. You have to have been alive and I was 12. And you're very aware of the Cold War. You're aware of CCCP and what the enemy is and the fact that you didn't have one chance to beat Russia. Russia and then you do. Spoiler alert. They beat Russia in the semi finals and then went on to win the gold medal. And it was one of the greatest things and I remembered it so well and I was young and I got to relive it and it's great. If you don't know the story, watch Miracle. There have been movies about it. Kurt Russell played her. Brooks, who all the players hated by the way, which I loved. That means he was a great coach.

[Sports News Reporter]

Coach.

[David Sampson]

I love the documentary.

[Stugotz]

Is that your goat Sports story in the history of sports, man, it is.

[David Sampson]

The greatest sports story in the history of sports that given the circumstances that were going on, given that people don't understand the Olympics today. Do you know they started already in Milan?

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[David Sampson]

Who knew Curling.

[Smirnoff Advertiser]

Who knew?

[Stugotz]

It's on in the office here. I'm going to go Leicester City, put.

[Dan Le Batard]

It on the poll at Lebatard show. Do you have to give a spoiler alert if you're talking about the results of the 1980 U.S. olympic hockey team? And also I do want to have this goat conversation. And you know what else I want to have around the goat conversation? What it is you'd put second since it seems to be consensus that everybody would put first. The greatest upset in the history of American sports is the 1980 US Olympic.

[Sports News Reporter]

Hockey UMBC over Virginia, a 16 seed over 1. I, I remember where I was watching this that I know I wasn't alive in 1980. So I would have remembered that there wasn't all of the like political circumstances. But that was 16 over one for the first time after Pablo had predicted it for like 15 straight years on around the Horn.

[Stugotz]

Truthfully, Indiana winning the national title is up there. Yeah. And if Ole Miss getting as far as they did is up there in one of the great stories, their coach didn't even believe in that.

[Sports News Reporter]

NC State over Houston, the 2007 Giants.

[Stugotz]

Over the undefeated Patriots with the catch from Manningham. Him or excuse me, David Tyree on.

[Smirnoff Advertiser]

The helmet like this Goat conversation is presented by Frank's Red Hot. Make every dish the greatest.

[David Sampson]

Eat the goat.

[Dan Le Batard]

Look how happy Samson was at the seamless sponsorship transition. Samson always sees money wherever it is that people are making it.

[David Sampson]

Cody, you're the best.