The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – The Big Suey: The 10-Foot Pole

Date: February 25, 2026
Hosts and Panelists: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Greg Cody, Tony, Jonathan Zaslow, Dave Feineman
Location: The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

Episode Overview

This episode of "The Big Suey" centers around the show’s literal and figurative use of the 10-foot pole—diving into topics that most people wouldn’t “touch with a 10-foot pole.” With the physical pole present in the studio, the crew examines sports debates, food takes, and the human versus technology dynamic in officiating, all while wielding their signature blend of humor, bickering, and pop culture reference.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The 10-Foot Pole: Introducing the Gimmick

• Premise: The crew uses an actual 10-foot pole as a visual metaphor, prompting discussion of topics that are either hot takes or slightly taboo.
• Dan Le Batard: “I'm glad it's time to start holding people's feet to the fire here around this show… But you know what? We go the extra mile. It's not a figurative 10 foot pole. We have a literal 10 foot pole. What will you touch with it or refuse to touch?” [01:46]

1. Luka Doncic & the Lakers: Will He Win a Ring?

• Prompt: Will Luka Doncic finish his Lakers tenure without a championship?
• Amin's Take (through Dave): “I'm stabbing it with the ten foot pole... winning championships is hard… Luka Doncic has not historically been a durable guy… The Western Conference is cutthroat… How long is his Laker career even going to be? He might be gone in a couple of years.” [03:13–04:16]
• Dan: “So Amin would touch that with a ten foot pole. So as a result, he's got the pole.” [04:24]

2. The Great Breakfast Meat Debate

Prompt: If you could only consume the flesh of one animal for life, is pork/swine the right choice?

• Dan (pro-ham): “If you can only consume the flesh of one beast to the exclusion of all others for the rest of your life, the correct beast to choose is swine. Will you touch that with a ten foot pole?” [05:43]

• Panel Reaction:

  • Zaslow: “It is the cow… The cow has so many different things. I can cook steaks, I can get ribs, I can do burgers, I can do whatever.” [06:25–06:28]
  • Others Debate: Bacon, pork ribs, hamburgers, beef ribs, and even religious and personal backgrounds emerge (including Stugotz’s first time eating ham at age 16 due to a Jewish upbringing) [08:08].
  • Dave: “Every time I've accidentally had pork. Disgusting, really... But you give me some beef bacon. Oh, my God. Beef bacon is amazing.” [09:31–10:24]
  • Dan (on bacon marketing): “Taste buds were duped. Is that your claim? Big, big and big pork.” [11:02]

• Notable Moment:

  • Stugotz: “I did not try ham. I never tasted ham for the first time until I was 16 years old.” [08:08]
  • Dave: “You were programmed by the white pork sellers of America. Yes, the other white meat. Look at you.” [11:07]

3. Patrick Mahomes – Has He Won His Last Lombardi?

Prompt: Patrick Mahomes is finished winning Super Bowls. Will you touch that with a ten foot pole?

• Zaslow: “I am touching this with a ten foot pole… He’s already won three… It’s plausible, at least if not likely, that Patrick Mahomes has won his last Lombardi.” [17:48–18:48]
• Dan: “If you win three in a row, there’s at least a case to be made. And then it would be the MJ…” [18:27]
• Panel Discussion: The difficulty of sustained greatness, comparisons to Troy Aikman and Terry Bradshaw, and how era and stats shape legacies. [18:59–22:34]
• Dan (on Bradshaw): “It is going to be the most important thing of the season and who wins it. And in a. And in a league called the quarterback league… whether or not you win those games is everything. And so Terry Bradshaw won four of them.” [21:41–22:34]

4. Baseball’s Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System (ABS)

• Context: MLB is introducing ABS challenges. Panel wrestles with the merits and flaws of challenging umpire calls.
• Greg Cody: Explains: “I believe it starts with two [challenges]. And so long as you get it right, it like, stays at 2…” [25:05]
• Stugotz: “So anyway, yesterday there was a game and poor umpire… He’s on trial. I was wrong for everyone to see... five consecutive challenges. The challenge was successful and he had to announce that he was wrong. I’ll tell you, I don’t know how this is going to be a positive thing.” [27:06–27:30]
• Tony: “Who would want to be an umpire when you’re second guess routinely?” [27:30]
• Dan: Defends using technology: “I got great news. We have their replacement. It’s called the video cameras.” [27:38]
• Tony (opposed): “I like the human error involved in officiating. I think we should live with the human error... Quit waffling in between with the challenge.” [27:44–28:05]
• Dan: “It is the dumbest thing in all of sports that the last couple of seasons, I'm at my house on my couch, and I see that it's a ball or a strike, and this umpire in the game that matters is just getting it wrong.” [28:45–28:53]

5. Human vs. Tech in Officiating

• Panel divides on:
  • Whether technology should fully replace human officiating,
  • If challenge systems create “purgatory,” and
  • The effects on the vibe of the game and job security for umpires.
• Greg Cody: “If they're going to challenge... I could tell. I know what. It's a ball and a strike.” [26:27]
• Dan: “We have the technology available... Why are we pretending that that doesn't exist?... If you don't think that was the right call, then challenge it, player. And the reason Chris Sale doesn't want to challenge it is because he's being political in the here and now.” [35:07–35:58]
• Tony: “Nothing slows sports more than a challenge… You put up with the occasional human error instead of a pitch being a quarter of an inch outside and having a replay or an ABS system to tell us whether it was a ball or a strike.” [36:54–37:20]

6. Analytics, Officiating, and Vibes

• Dan: “Vibes over stats is such a great place to be. Who wants lasers and technology? I want vibes. That’s why we’re here, Dave. Cuz we want the vibes of sports. No one wants to do math on a calculator. We want to see drama play out.” [36:37]
• Dan (on how quick replay could work): “When they show the replay. Do you not know, Greg Cody? I know immediately. I see it in real time very often. Why? Because I'm watching on hdtv...” [37:44]

7. NBA Parallels: Challenges and Player/Coach Strategy

• Dave: “One of the most annoying things, if you're watching NBA basketball right now, ball goes out of bounds, and players instantly go… Twirling their finger… There's a twirl in their finger... This is the solution. The solution is to do what baseball did, which is, you know what? It's like a timeout. Any player can call it. And you know what? Doesn't matter if you don't have one. No take backs, no take backs. We'll do it. And if you don't have any. It's a technical foul.” [34:08–34:51]
• Zaslow: Complains about early use of challenges by coaches: “Why do these coaches challenge an out of bounds play four minutes into the first quarter? What are they. Are they stupid?” [44:08–44:41]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan Le Batard: “It will be a weird day when it's just the catcher.” (on robot umpires) [39:52]
• Dan Le Batard: “We have to support their jive. Their jive explanations like, well, it would take too long. It would bog the game down. Doesn't have to. It doesn't have to. We could instantly know yet. Strike. Strike.” [39:06]
• Stugotz (on ham): “I love ham. All right? Don't get me wrong. I did not try ham. I never tasted ham for the first time until I was 16 years old.” [08:08]
• Tony: “Beef bacon is the superior bacon.” [07:29]
• Dave: “You were programmed by the white pork sellers of America. Yes, the other white meat. Look at you.” [11:07]

Timestamps and Segment Index

• [01:39] — Introduction of the literal 10-foot pole, show theme
• [03:13] — Luka Doncic/Lakers championship debate
• [05:43] — Swine vs. cow: the ultimate meat debate
• [08:08] — Stugotz’s first encounter with ham at age 16
• [11:07] — “Big Bacon” conspiracy, bacon marketing debate
• [17:48] — Patrick Mahomes: Is he done winning Super Bowls?
• [21:41] — Dan’s impassioned defense of titles as the core QB metric
• [25:05] — MLB Automated Challenge System explained
• [27:06] — Umpires on trial with ABS, impact on officiating
• [36:37] — “Vibes over stats” debate: embracing the human element
• [39:52] — Visual strangeness of a potential robot-umpired MLB
• [44:08] — NBA challenges and questionable coach decisions

Conclusion

The episode delivers classic Le Batard Show banter—escalating ridiculous sports hypotheticals, pop-culture riffs, culinary debates, and spirited takes on the evolving role of technology in sports. The “10-foot pole” motif provides a playful framework, prompting the team to poke (and prod) at everything from Luka Doncic’s title hopes to the fate of the breakfast sausage—and the very nature of sports justice itself.

Essentially, it’s a blend of hot takes, nostalgia, and kinetic storytelling—always anchored by signature irreverence and rapport.