The Big Suey: The David Samson Bridge (feat. David Samson)

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: The Big Suey: The David Samson Bridge (feat. David Samson)

Date: February 24, 2026
Location: The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Overview

This lively episode of The Big Suey brings together Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Greg Cody, Jeremy, Mike Ryan, and special guest David Samson to riff on sports honors and legacies, the business of team loyalty, the cultural weight of statues, the complexities of international play, creative rule changes in pro sports, and the deeper meanings of recognition in life—and death. The tone swings from irreverent and silly to poignant and reflective, offering both laughs and thought-provocation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pat Riley’s Laker Statue & The Politics of Sporting Honors

(Starts ~02:15)

• Pat Riley honored with a Lakers statue: Stugotz asks if it's odd for the Miami Heat's active president to be celebrated in LA.
  • David Samson: Finds it unprecedented and "ill-timed," but understands not wanting to wait too long ("when you’re older, you don’t want to wait too long because you’d hate to not be alive for it." [02:15])
  • Debate over Riley’s primary legacy: Lakers (Showtime, multiple titles), Knicks (deep playoff runs), or Heat (decades of dominance)?
• Ownership demands and legacy: Riley’s legendary NY-to-Miami move and the wild list of perks he demanded: “Team president? Hell yeah. Limo? Sure. Clothing allowance? Definitely. Springsteen tickets? Thumbs up.” (Samson, [05:01])
• Statue vs. Court Naming:
  • Greg Cody: “Statues are higher ranked than courts. Nobody calls it the Pat Riley court.” [07:03]
  • Stugotz: Counters, “The name on the court… There’s only one. Your name is literally on the television all the time, every single game.” [07:13]
  • Dan: Dismisses court-naming as a consolation prize: “We already named the arena. We have no other soil left to name after you.” [07:46]

Notable Quote

“When you’re older, you don’t want to wait too long because you’d hate to not be alive for it. So I was… mixed.”
— David Samson [02:15]

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2. What’s the Best Thing to Have Named After You?

(08:22)

• Samson’s fantasy: “A bridge would be first. You got to get over the bridge to get into Manhattan.”—David Samson [08:38]
• The table riffs about trophies, arenas, toll revenue, and even stadiums—with amusing asides on why some honors feel more permanent or prestigious than others.

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3. Honor’s Timing: When Should We Celebrate Legends?

(09:39)

• Greg Cody advocates for honoring active legends: “If their level is so distinguished… why not honor them during their career, toward the end of it?” [09:39]
• Samson: Notes the only baseball exception is Roberto Clemente—enshrined posthumously, waiving the normal 5-year wait [10:15].

Notable Quote

“Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it.”
— David Samson [36:12]

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4. International Play vs. Club Responsibility

(11:36)

• Crossover circumstances: LeBron traveling for Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ Cavs jersey retirement while still with Miami [10:55].
• Hockey's Country vs. Club dilemma: NHL pros missing club games for international tournaments. Samson’s take is hard-nosed: “If you had to give me a choice between the Panthers winning the Stanley Cup and the USA winning the gold medal… I want the Stanley Cup.” [12:49]
  • Mike Ryan counters: For many hockey players, “They care more about country than club. We just haven’t been confronted with that because NHL players haven’t been allowed to play for so long.” [14:29]
• Soccer parallels with Messi & club-country conflicts: Messi missing MLS games for World Cup prep is “baked in” to his contract; expectations differ by sport and star power [19:48, 19:58].

Notable Moment

“Would you give a tooth for a gold medal?”
— Dan Le Batard [22:15]

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5. Rule Innovations & Football Absurdity

(22:46)

• The UFL’s 4-point field goal for 60+ yards: Stugotz objects—teams will deliberately lose yards: “Why wouldn’t they just go and lose yards so they can kick a 60-yard field goal?” [23:46]
• Escalating the silliness:
  • Customizing goal post width, enforcing barefoot/head-on kickers, and only allowing kickers who play five line-of-scrimmage snaps [25:38-26:31].
  • Humorous debate over the exploits/ethics of kickers with physical differences: “Is there a rule in the NFL against a kicker intentionally cutting off his toes and having the same implant?”—Greg Cody [28:06]
• Nostalgia: Tom Dempsey’s famous “half-foot” field goal, and a bizarro discussion about super-dedicated athletes sacrificing body parts for the game.

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6. Recognition, Loss, and Empathy: A Documentary Reflection

(34:55)

• Samson reviews “All the Empty Rooms”: A documentary about parents’ preserved rooms after children are lost to school shootings. Strong reactions:
  • Stugotz: “You voluntarily watch this?”
  • Samson: “Just because you can’t put your head in the sand and pretend things don’t exist.” [35:51]
  • Dan: On the limits of imagination and empathy—“You can only imagine is… as bad a situation as I hope I’m… lucky enough to never… be in.” [39:06]
  • Mike Ryan and Samson challenge the notion that people can truly imagine another’s loss.

Memorable Quotes

“Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it.”
— David Samson [36:12]

“We move on, like, we’re on to the next thing… These families, there’s no on to the next thing.”
— David Samson [36:15]

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7. Miami Sports Legacy Debates—Who’s “U”?

(40:18)

• Is Miami U “QBU,” “RBU,” or something else?
• Legendary Miami right fielders (Stanton, Sheffield, Cabrera) vs. Canes QB/TE/RB traditions—whether the city's true "position group" calling card is at all reflected nationally.
• Greg Cody: Leans QB U for the Canes; others suggest their legacy is now more mixed (42:53).
• Mike Ryan: Brings up Lincoln Riley’s transient QBU status and compares historical Oklahoma QBs.

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• David Samson on legacy:

  "The cold-hearted... I have no loyalty... Him leaving [Riley from Knicks] hurt that much." [04:01]

• Greg Cody on honors:

  "Statues are higher ranked than courts. Like you said, nobody calls it the Pat Riley court." [07:03]

• Dan Le Batard being Dan:

  "What’s next? The next coach gets the chair named after him?" [07:49]

• Stugotz, always practical:

  "We romanticize these stat[ues]. Everybody’s got a statue now." [07:28]

• David Samson, on country vs. club:

  “I’m patriotic. I like the gold medal. I think it was amazing. But… I want the Stanley Cup.” [12:49]

• Dan, pushing empathy:

  “If you spend four seconds thinking about it, you will go into a real dark place of how grim that reality would be.” [37:52]

• Mike Ryan on risk and club contract:

  “It’s implied and it’s the risk that you take when you sign these all world, all elite athletes to these major contracts.” [20:12]

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Memorable & Entertaining Moments

• Samson’s dream honor is a New York bridge named after him [08:38]
• Tongue-in-cheek arguments on statuary etiquette [07:03–07:49]
• Delightfully absurd football rules—custom field goal widths and amputee kickers [25:38–28:31]
• Serious turn: wrestling with the reality of loss & the limits of empathy [34:55–39:10]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Pat Riley/Lakers statue debate: 02:15–08:22
• Dream honors & naming rights: 08:22–09:05
• When to honor legends/Hall of Fame: 09:39–11:36
• International play vs. club loyalty: 11:36–21:22
• Rule change hijinks (UFL/field goals): 22:46–28:31
• All the Empty Rooms/documentary grief: 34:55–39:14
• Miami’s best sports position group: 40:18–44:09

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Summary

The Big Suey transforms what could have been just another sports talk pod into a rollicking meditation on legacy, loss, and loyalty—with David Samson’s unapologetic business perspective and the crew’s signature blend of satire, sentiment, and heated sports debate. From deep dives on sports icons’ honors to playful thought experiments and tragic realities, listeners are treated to the full Le Batard experience: smart, weird, unfiltered, and, somehow, ultimately heartfelt.

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

Close your eyes.

[Greg Cody]

Exhale. Feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today.

[Ad Read Voice]

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[David Sampson]

And breathe.

[Ad Read Voice]

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[Ad Read Voice 2]

1-800-contacts.

[Stugotz]

Welcome to the Big Suey, presented by DraftKings.

[Jeremy]

Why are you listening to this show?

[Stugotz]

The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBatard podcast.

[Greg Cody]

I'm sorry.

[Stugotz]

I'm not going to apologize for that. In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging.

[Dan LeBatard]

I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries

[Jeremy]

that if they're just there.

[Dan LeBatard]

That hasn't happened to you guys.

[Greg Cody]

I've done it.

[Stugotz]

And now here's the marching man to Nowhere Fat Face and the habitual Liar.

[Greg Cody]

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

[Stugotz]

Our pal, of course, is David Sampson. Nothing personal with David Sampson you can catch every morning. Joining us now. Good to see you, David. How are you?

[Dan LeBatard]

Hello.

[David Sampson]

Look at you in the chair.

[Stugotz]

That's why I'm not wearing my hat, David. Because when I'm sitting on the throne, this is my look. I have a different look no matter what I'm doing. This is my look when I'm in the main chair.

[David Sampson]

I think you should be you, no matter what chair you're in.

[Stugotz]

Thanks, man.

[Greg Cody]

There you go. You should have a crown.

[Stugotz]

That's what I'm talking. Okay. All right. That's taking a little bit far, but that's, you know, your opinion. Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

You earned it.

[David Sampson]

And you need more makeup. It's very shiny.

[Stugotz]

Well, there's only so much we can do. All right. There's only so much that we can do. David, I want to start here by getting your thoughts. Over the weekend, we saw Pat Riley was the center of attention in Los Angeles. They honored Pat, and then the Lakers got smoked by the Boston Celtics. That Laker teams on. Any good? I got news for you. And Riley got the statue. Do you think it's weird, David, for Pat Riley to be all gung ho about the Lakers while he was still, you know, the sitting president for the Miami Heat? Is that strange at all?

[David Sampson]

Yeah, it is. I was trying to think of the last Time that an active player or an active coach or an active executive got honored with a statue while active with somebody else. And I couldn't come up with an. I don't know if you guys can, but that's a first for me. I give credit to Mickey Harrison and Nick Harrison because I would have been a hard. No, like just wait, wait your turn. We want to be the first ones to do a statue. We did a court. We did a bunch of stuff that was cool, no question in Miami. But no, he's not a Laker. He's not even known by most people. For Showtime, Lakers. For me, he's the Knick coach. For most of the world, he's the Heat guy. So I found it to be just ill timed. On the other hand, when you're older, you don't want to wait too long because you'd hate to not be alive for it. So I was in for that. So I was very mixed.

[Dan LeBatard]

He's primarily known as the Showtime Lakers guy. Right?

[Mike Ryan]

I would concede that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

And it's really didn't happen in my lifetime. But as the head man there, he won what, three titles?

[Stugotz]

Four.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, he was a part of a staff for one of them.

[Stugotz]

But he was 82, 85, 87, 88. He was the coach.

[Ad Read Voice]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, I assert he is Showtime. I mean he trademark 3P.

[David Sampson]

Yeah, yeah. Mike. I think that if you ask the majority of people your age, they would associate him with the Heat.

[Mike Ryan]

That's a different.

[David Sampson]

With the Heat.

[Mike Ryan]

And those are times. Those are people that don't know their history.

[David Sampson]

Well, listen, people don't remember him as the Knicks. He was the most important Knicks coach next to Red Holzman in my life. Not even close. Not even a close second. And when he brought that team to the finals in 94. And so for me, I. I love him as a Nick. I hated the trade. When he went to Miami, that was maybe the beginning of. And I wasn't in sports.

[Stugotz]

Maybe.

[David Sampson]

But him going to Miami is what made me the type of executive I was sort of the cold hearted. I don't care. I have no loyalty. Forget all of it. Because him leaving hurt that much.

[Jeremy]

Wait, David, would you fax in your resignation? If you got your dream job somewhere

[David Sampson]

else, you don't do that. So in my line of work, it's not even a fax. It's just a see you later. You leave everything at your desk. That's what Riley will just let you out.

[Jeremy]

That's what Riley did. Allegedly. Right. Like the Heat were courting him. And so when he left, he faxed his resignation to New York. That's why everyone called him Pat the Rat. That's because he didn't have, quote unquote, the balls to just walk into whoever was the owner's office and say, look, I'm. I'm out of here. I got a better deal somewhere.

[Dan LeBatard]

Really courted him, didn't they? Literally.

[David Sampson]

Well, it ended badly. I mean, as you remember back in New York, you know, we're talking a long time ago, but there was a power struggle and it ended badly. And he. When he came to the Heat, don't forget the deal, it was unheard of.

[Stugotz]

The list of demands are amazing.

[David Sampson]

Oh, my God, it's one of the great lists of all time. And Mickey Arison was just watch. Having watched the Knicks all those years in the Lakers, it was like, sure, what else? For ownership, no problem. Team president. Hell yeah. Limo back and forth to the game. We'll do that. Clothing allowance, definitely. Springsteen tickets, thumbs up. So it was, it was definitely problematic for me as a Nick.

[Stugotz]

It was by my homes from me, my LA and my New York homes and give me the money. It was, you know, use of, you know, limo to and from the game. 20% ownership stake. And Mickey Arison, like he had just taken over the team recently from his father. He wasn't going to say no. Like he had to make his huge splash. Like, Riley got everything.

[Dan LeBatard]

He, Riley owns 20% of the heat.

[Greg Cody]

He.

[Stugotz]

I don't know if it's that much, but he has an ownership stake now. He has an ownership stake.

[David Sampson]

I'm going to go low. I'm going to take the under on that.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[David Sampson]

But that said, it made me think about what Nick Arison, who is now, for all intents and purposes, running the team. What will he do? Does he have a big splash like that coming in the next iteration of the Heat to make his mark on the team the way Mickey did on that team? Because when there's a father son situation, very often the son wants to outshine the father wants to do something the father didn't do. And Mickey Harrison has quite A long

[Greg Cody]

shadow 30 years later, though, I don't think Mickey Harrison regrets everything he gave Riley. I think Riley has earned it. In terms of the statue thing, I think this makes the Heat look bad and not for the reason that everybody thinks. I don't think it makes him look bad that Riley went to LA for the statue thing. I think it makes look. Makes the Heat look bad because the Lakers out statute the Heat they should have had a statue for Riley while he's living to appreciate it in Miami. Not his name on a court. That's low level.

[David Sampson]

It's not low level.

[Dan LeBatard]

You can only get one court.

[Caller/Listener]

Greg's right.

[Stugotz]

Greg's right.

[Dan LeBatard]

I can have seven statues. Do you call it Pat Riley Court ever?

[Greg Cody]

In terms. In terms of. Of. Of eternal honoring?

[Dan LeBatard]

Someone can only give away one court name. You can do multiple statues.

[Greg Cody]

You can do stat. Statues are higher ranked than courts. Like you said, nobody calls it the Pat Riley court.

[Caller/Listener]

I do.

[Greg Cody]

Nobody.

[Stugotz]

I got to be honest. I'm on the side of the stat, of the. Of the court being better. There's only one. Your name is literally on the television all the time, every single game.

[Caller/Listener]

I.

[Stugotz]

Everybody, We. We romanticize these stat. Everybody's got a statue now. All right.

[Greg Cody]

Too many.

[Stugotz]

The. The name on the court. I think Chris is right. You know, there. There are a lot of statues outside whatever Staples center is called now. Crypto. A court you can only have one name on. I think.

[Dan LeBatard]

Consolation prize.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you. Yes. Bingo.

[Dan LeBatard]

We already named the arena. We have no. We have no other soil left to name after you. Well, oh, let's name something inside the arena. An item inside. What's next? Then the next coach gets the chair named after him. I mean, what, are we just going to name inanimate objects within the arena after people now that the court has been claimed?

[David Sampson]

I kept wondering whether. Dwayne.

[Dan LeBatard]

Scoreboard.

[David Sampson]

Do you think Dwyane Wade looked at the Pat Riley statue and said, wow, that looks way more like Pat. Mine looks like me. Oh, he's got to be thinking that, right?

[Caller/Listener]

Yes.

[Stugotz]

It's a good statue.

[Dan LeBatard]

David Sampson, if you could have anything named after you and to honor you in one city, what would it be? You could have a trophy. You could have an arena, a bridge. That's a great.

[David Sampson]

That's a great. Is it.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's a fantastic.

[David Sampson]

The Triboroughs now, the RFK Bridge. An airport. It would be second, but a bridge would be first.

[Ad Read Voice 2]

Wow.

[David Sampson]

You got to get over the bridge to get into Manhattan.

[Dan LeBatard]

Maybe the number one answer. Well done, David Sampson.

[Stugotz]

You wouldn't go. You want to go. Stadium having a stadium named after.

[Dan LeBatard]

They turn Lone Depot into David Sampson Park.

[Greg Cody]

Come on.

[David Sampson]

No, but nobody goes. It's not. It's not. It's negatively associated. You need the bridge.

[Greg Cody]

What about a cause?

[David Sampson]

I wouldn't mind if my family got a piece of the tolls.

[Greg Cody]

Wow. Well, negotiate that.

[Stugotz]

So, Dave. I mean, David, you think it made the heat look bad because they did it before the Heat, you know, Pat said he's not retiring. Like he's never going away, he's always going to have this job. And, and the Heat must think, well, you know, we're, we're not going to make a statue while you're still, you know why?

[David Sampson]

I guess when you talk what they did, Dwyane Wade, while Dwayne's alive, nobody's not playing.

[Stugotz]

And Riley said he's never going to retire. So he's always going to be working for the team.

[David Sampson]

So you have to be honored by a team. You have to be no longer with the team.

[Stugotz]

Maybe that's their stance.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, maybe that was the Lakers stance.

[Greg Cody]

Apparently it's a bad one. Bad one, I think. David, I'm curious if you agree. I think in terms of honoring an all time great executive, coach or player, and this applies to halls of fame, I think you should honor them during their career, certainly while they're alive, but also during their career. If you have an all, if you have Shohei Ohtani all of a sudden announces he's retiring, put him in the hall of Fame, now have active hall of Famers, if, if their level is so, so distinguished that their first ballot automatic, why not honor them during their career toward the end of it.

[David Sampson]

Do you know that there's only one baseball player who didn't have to wait the five years to get into the hall of Fame and it was Roberto Clemente who was put into the hall of Fame. He had to die. But a year after his playing career when he died in a plane crash with 3,000 hits. Exactly. He was elected into the hall of Fame. And Greg, I. This is a terrible question. Were you a voter back then?

[Greg Cody]

I was not for Roberto, No. No, I was. Sorry, no. I would, but, but I would have voted him in. Neither did I vote for Babe Ruth, by the way. I was not, I was not around.

[Stugotz]

Can we ask Greg at the end of the show if he would have voted and see if he remembers what his answer was?

[Greg Cody]

I'll nail it.

[Stugotz]

We'll circle back to that. David, this reminds me, you know, you didn't like that Pat Riley, as you know, he's still currently the president of the Heat. He's being honored statue at the Lakers. It reminds me what was, you know, clearly a bit of an ominous sign back in 2014 when LeBron still played for the Heat and during the season he flew to Cleveland to be at the ceremony for Jejuna. So gossip is jersey being sent up to the rafters. LeBron was there to honor Zydrunas on another team while LeBron played for the Heat. You remember that?

[David Sampson]

Yeah, I do. We would have given permission to players. If it's an off day. I would not have let a player miss a game. And the thing about baseball is there's no off days, rarely at all. And certainly to have an off day that's coincidental to a jersey retirement for a different player. I didn't like when our guys went to, like, graduations for kids, but I would say that missing a game. No, missing a practice. In the NBA, you know, an off day in baseball, you don't do much. Maybe you do infield or optional bp, but in the NBA, you're practicing. In the NFL, you're. You're installing a game plan. So I don't know that I would allow a player to miss something that was meaningful toward a game, but in and of itself, that doesn't bother me. You're honoring your teammate even though you're not his teammate anymore. It's just a matter of what your responsibilities are. Outside of that, where do you come

[Dan LeBatard]

down on the NHL players now trying to return, or maybe not returning and taking a couple few games off after? Outrageous to you? Because a lot of people in this room and outside this room would say, listen, it was for the glory of the US of A. That trumps anything for a club sport. Mike Ryan said, I'm used to that. That's how it goes in soccer. I remind him that we're not talking about soccer here.

[David Sampson]

Right? We're talking about the reminder. If you're the Panthers and you have to go 19 and 6 and you walk into the owner's office and say, man, I'm tired. I've been coming back from Milan and I had to go to Washington. I had to go to 11. I need a blow. Just. I need a couple of games. All right, now we're down to 23 games, and we have to go 19 and four. So I'm just not. That's unacceptable to me. I love. I'm patriotic. I like the gold medal. I think it was amazing. But if you had to give me a choice between the Panthers winning the Stanley cup and the USA winning the gold medal, to me, I'm sorry to tell you, it's not even close. I want the Stanley Cup.

[Dan LeBatard]

And what really your point is is that it involves the red, white, and blue. What if you're the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby says, I can't go right now because I was trying to bring a gold medal to Canada. Now You've lost the patriot angle on that. Now, should you be steamed not just as an owner of the team, but as a fan?

[David Sampson]

Yeah. That's why I don't want to say it's about what flag you. You're right. You have. Because it's not about patriotism. Because Sidney Crosby feels about Canada the way, you know, Kachuk does about us. It's totally great.

[Stugotz]

I think cares more he is said as much.

[Mike Ryan]

Kachuka said as much like I, I respect Lee. I understand what you're saying. It's obvious we're not talking about soccer here, but we are in terms of country reigning over club. That's how these hockey players feel about it. Now, it's not the same for every sport. Basketball, I imagine they have a loyalty to their NBA teams. Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

But you know, soccer operates differently with the Champions League and club and it's much more.

[Mike Ryan]

I think it's actually a perfect comparison. It's a perfect comparison because the last two years has happened in the middle of the hockey season. Much like soccer has to manipulate their calendars around the FIFA calendar with all these friendlies in that sport, just like in soccer, they care more about country than club. We just haven't been confronted with that because the NHL players haven't been allowed to play for so long.

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[Stugotz]

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[David Sampson]

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[David Sampson]

Taytas Stugats Taytas this is the Dan

[Stugotz]

Levatar show with the Stugats.

[Greg Cody]

I think soccer and and Pacquiao. Perfect analogy in this discussion. And if it applies to Lionel Messi the same way, he should prioritize the World cup, in my opinion. And if he, if he has to miss 1 or 2 of 34 MLS regular season games to get himself ready the way he feels like he needs to for the World Cup, I'm patting him on the back saying, leo, Leo, you do whatever you have to do. Go.

[David Sampson]

Do you writing the checks, Greg?

[Greg Cody]

I am not.

[David Sampson]

So I just. The math to me doesn't work because you're not going to refund 182nd or 280 or, you know, 1 41st of your salary, are you?

[Greg Cody]

No.

[David Sampson]

You have a job to do. No, but it's like if you're asked,

[Mike Ryan]

but it's baked into signing messy. It's baked into signing Messi that he's going to be depended on by his country.

[David Sampson]

Different.

[Mike Ryan]

And you take that with like you

[Dan LeBatard]

understand is right though. But Samson is right. It's different than saying I pay Connor McDavid millions of dollars to play. Now I'm supposed to sign off on him playing for Canada being more important than the sport that I'm paying for.

[Mike Ryan]

It's implied and it's the risk that you take when you sign these all world, all elite athletes to these major contracts is they're going to be in demand for their countries and they're going to prioritize that. And you need to understand where to fall in line.

[Stugotz]

Jeremy, if you were asked to go work for the Heat while you were supposed to be here doing this show, what would you do?

[Jeremy]

Wow.

[Mike Ryan]

Now we're doing the good Questions.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, that's right.

[David Sampson]

No, it's the right question because it's. Where's your. Your number one priority? This happens in contracts all the time. It happens. Jeremy knows in broadcast deals where certain sports have priority over other sports. We were always behind the Heat. If there were a conflict with the Heat on Fox Sports Florida, which has evolved into other names and now bankrupt, it would be. The Heat would have priority and we would know that baseball, for their national deal, they know when they were going to be on ESPN2 instead of ESPN. And it's in the contract. I'm not sure. The Devils, when they signed. Oh, God. I'm having a moment. Mike Hughes. I can't believe when they signed Hughes to a contract that they had. Okay, you know, you're going to be an Olympian. You're going to score the golden goal. Take a couple days, couple games, we're fine.

[Caller/Listener]

Wait, that network is bankrupt.

[Jeremy]

I got Jack Hughes, right? I pulled that one up my ass just from being at 11 last night. Look at how someone else's ass.

[Stugotz]

Look at that. Nice.

[David Sampson]

Did he get new teeth yet?

[Mike Ryan]

No, not. Not at 11, from what I could see.

[Stugotz]

How about that nice Jewish boy, David, who scores the game winning goal for the gold medal for the United States? That's forever. Come on now, David. Something to celebrate.

[David Sampson]

I was very happy for him, but I was thinking to myself, would I trade a tooth for a gold medal? They're both permanent. You get to keep the gold medal forever unless you have to sell it because you're in dire straits. But man, losing an adult, permanent tooth, that is not nothing.

[Jeremy]

By the way, seeing him up close, tiny guy.

[Stugotz]

They're all tiny.

[Jeremy]

He's a tiny guy. I thought, like a hockey guy would be. Big, strong guy, like.

[Greg Cody]

No, it's all pads and skates and he's a baby. He looks like he's like 17.

[Dan LeBatard]

David Sampson wouldn't even give a tooth. And you would visible lack of a front tooth for the rest of your life in exchange for a gold medal. That's an interesting. I would go even bigger. Would you give a digit of your choosing, even from one of your. From one of your two hands? Would you give a pinky or a ring finger in exchange for maybe not a gold medal, a Stanley Cup?

[Stugotz]

Are you asking as a player or as a fan?

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm not sure if you would ask. I'm not sure.

[Stugotz]

I'm telling you. I thought about it for a good 10 seconds.

[Mike Ryan]

This is huge sports news. The tush push has been banned.

[Dan LeBatard]

I knew it.

[Greg Cody]

Yes, that Is banned huge in the ufl.

[David Sampson]

They just said yesterday they were not going to deal with it.

[Mike Ryan]

Also field goals that are 60 plus yards, four points.

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, I like that. I like that.

[Stugotz]

Stupid. You know why that's stupid? Let me tell you why that's stupid.

[Mike Ryan]

You're stupid.

[Jeremy]

You're stupid.

[David Sampson]

Can you.

[Stugotz]

Can you hear what I'm gonna say?

[Mike Ryan]

Wait, wait, wait, wait. I think you're gonna want this other piece of of information before you formulate your take. Because in a vacuum I get what you're about to say. Why emphasize kicking? Well, guess what?

[Stugotz]

That's not what I was gonna say.

[Mike Ryan]

No, no punting from inside the 50 yard line.

[Ad Read Voice 2]

That is also.

[Stugotz]

Here's why the four points for a 60 yard field goal is stupid, Tony. All right. Sometimes you got to listen and develop an opinion before you just blurt something out. If a team, let's say, is on the 30 yard line. Okay, all. We're down four points. But this field goal is only going to be worth three. Why wouldn't they just go and lose yards?

[Mike Ryan]

They are.

[Stugotz]

So they can kick a 60 yard field goal backwards on third down.

[Dan LeBatard]

Cuz they are.

[Stugotz]

You think that's going to happen?

[Mike Ryan]

Yes, and I think it's going to

[Stugotz]

be fascinating to see.

[Dan LeBatard]

And you know, 60 yard field goals

[Mike Ryan]

are really, really hard.

[Greg Cody]

They're super hard.

[Dan LeBatard]

Wait, how about you?

[Stugotz]

But you're down. But you're down 4.

[Mike Ryan]

Why don't you leave? Can we?

[Dan LeBatard]

Guys? Why don't you lead the line of scrimmage where it is.

[Stugotz]

Do a punt style snap and that

[Dan LeBatard]

way there's way more room.

[Stugotz]

You don't happen too. That could happen. There's more room.

[Dan LeBatard]

They have to run to block your kick.

[Mike Ryan]

Dave has his hand up and that's

[Stugotz]

going to be ridiculous.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, that's ridiculous.

[Greg Cody]

Yes.

[David Sampson]

I don't want to be a part of this conversation until you tell me where you got that information.

[Mike Ryan]

From the league.

[David Sampson]

So you have a breaking news story that no one else has in the country?

[Mike Ryan]

No, I actually saw it. No, I actually saw it discussed on. On get up as well.

[David Sampson]

Yeah, take that, David. And it's happening in my UFL chat yesterday, Mike. It was not on the agenda for the competition committee. And what you're saying is that the rules not only were put forward, but they were voted on by the owners this morning.

[Stugotz]

I think David may have not heard a really important part.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, there's a penalty for not listening to the show, I believe. And David Sampson.

[Mike Ryan]

This is the ufo.

[David Sampson]

Oh for God.

[Dan LeBatard]

God damn it. I. You know What I'm going to use this opportunity though to, to. To bring back my great field goal related idea which is the kickers are too good. Now Tony, you're right, it is hard to do, but better. The guys of this generation are way better than the framers of the sport ever imagined they could be. They have warped the strategy of the sport. What we need to do is, is we need to complete the rectangle and put a crossbar atop the two crossbars. Now the standard is raised so that the shorter kicks are not a gimme. You have to squeeze it through the rectangle.

[Greg Cody]

Not a bad idea.

[Dan LeBatard]

Thank you.

[Stugotz]

Not a bad idea. I would take it a step further. What I've been saying is I think it should be closer to like the arena football where the, the, the posts are a lot closer together.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay.

[David Sampson]

Team should get to decide how they

[Dan LeBatard]

want their field goal to be like a home field event. If I got a great kicker, I make this.

[Stugotz]

Oh, that's not bad.

[Dan LeBatard]

Ever had. If I got a crappy kicker, I want extra a lot of field goals. Why you know what I would do? I would go so far as to say the original sin was allowing soccer players to sidewind. I would go back to. To you have to be a head on kicker.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

Or shame the devil. We're not bringing people over here to have nothing to do with football except to run out there two or three times a game and swing their leg and then go back into their hole. I'm done with that.

[Stugotz]

And shame that devil.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's right. And you know what? Let's. To entrench this, you have to play at least five plays from the line of scrimmage to be eligible to even try.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, what are you doing?

[Dan LeBatard]

Get somebody killed.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. Free safety.

[Jeremy]

Also no more shoes for kickers. Go back to the barefoot kicker. Yes. Yes.

[Dan LeBatard]

Why do you need head on shoeless kicker?

[Stugotz]

Shoeless David, are you still wallowing in your shame?

[David Sampson]

No. I'm now thinking about the NFL kicker at half a foot. And I want to say George Blanda.

[Dan LeBatard]

Tom.

[David Sampson]

Tom Dempsey is the better answer.

[Greg Cody]

New Orleans Saints.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's an outrage that he is celebrated because his, in his, his human infirmity was in fact an asset on the gridiron.

[Jeremy]

Thank you.

[Dan LeBatard]

Because it's a flat foot that he put a steel. He put a steel plate in that shoe. You can visit it at the hall of fame and when you do, you will see it is a driver that. It's a golf driver. It's a driver head. Of course he can make a 63 yard field goal. He was swinging a driver at the football.

[David Sampson]

David, you trade half a foot for the field goal record.

[Greg Cody]

He did.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, because I don't respect kick.

[Mike Ryan]

He no longer has it.

[Jeremy]

David Damachek, you and I park our cars in the same garage. Long term listeners of this show will remember when I said, was it Shaq Griffin, right?

[Dan LeBatard]

With the.

[Jeremy]

I said, you know what? It might actually be an asset to him because he just gets to swing indiscriminately with this club versus having a hand that could break and all these things. And everyone said to me, no. Oh, my God, you're so insensitive. This guy has a disability. That I said, it helps him. He's like Oscar Pistorius or that wrestler from Arizona State. And the kicker's the same way. Sometimes the disabilities can give you an ability.

[Greg Cody]

Is there a rule in the NFL against a kicker intentionally cutting off his toes and having the same implant?

[Stugotz]

I believe that is the rulebook. Yeah, I believe it is.

[Greg Cody]

Are you sure about that?

[Stugotz]

No.

[Jeremy]

Greg, Greg, I think you're onto something here. I think if you really want to be a winner in this league as a kicker, you want to really prove that, hey, I'm about this team. I'm about success.

[Caller/Listener]

You.

[Jeremy]

You do that surgery, you get it done.

[David Sampson]

I mean, I will never forget. I mean, I will never forget the first time that Christian Bale cut off his finger. The first time I saw it as. And it was the character and the prestige. I will never forget that moment as that is what it means to be all in on something. And if you're going to cut your toes off to be a good kicker, I mean, that is all in, and I love it.

[Dan LeBatard]

Ronnie Lott, there you go.

[Stugotz]

You know about the Prestige.

[Jeremy]

I mean, I know all about the Prestige.

[Stugotz]

Movie's awesome.

[Mike Ryan]

Christopher Nolan, it is time to talk to you kind folks about one of our best partners, one of our longest tenured partners, Miller Light. You know, we've been with Miller Light for about half of their illustrious existence, and I couldn't be more grateful.

[David Sampson]

We often ask you to support those who support us.

[Mike Ryan]

So the other day, I was fully in stay at home mode. Had the left turns on relaxing on the couch. Long day, sweatpants remote in hand, already planning which sporting event I was gonna flip to next. Then a friend texted me, nothing big. Hey, why don't we just have a small hang? And I said, come on over, pal. I got the Miller Lights on deck. I put out a bucket filled with ice cold, beautiful white cans of Miller Light. And we had ourselves a sundae. Next thing you know, the race is tight. Everybody's yelling at the tv. We're toasting our beers and we look at each other. We take a sip and we know that we made the right call. Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Lite. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Stugotz]

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[J]

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[David Sampson]

Spring break isn't what it used to be. It's better this spring. Stay three nights and get a $50 Best Western gift card. Life's a trip. Make the most of it at best Western. Visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions. Dan LeBatard Go pee pee. Stugats Go Pee pee.

[Stugotz]

This is the Dan LeBatard show with the stug. David, you know about the BAFTA awards from over the weekend?

[David Sampson]

Yes, of course.

[Stugotz]

I mean, what. Finally, I mean, David, give me some thoughts here.

[David Sampson]

I talked about it on today's Nothing personal, and I'm afraid that it it. I don't want it to come off as insensitive, but there. There are examples of places that I can't go for whatever reason. I gave the example that I wasn't tall enough as a kid to go on certain roller coasters. That's just it. That's the rule. Tourette syndrome is real. But being at a live show where there is an opportunity for that sort of talk and that sort of exhibit of what it is to have Tourette syndrome, that we can't have it, and he just should not have been invited to be at the BAFTAs. And I'm sorry. It's a. It's a great movie. I'm sure it won best actor for the guy who played him. And his statement, apologizing, saying that the audience was warned in advance that he has ticks. I don't want to get on a plane and hear that I can't eat peanuts because there's some with a peanut allergy that drives me insane. Don't fly, please. I want my peanuts. It is shocking to me that we have to sit and listen to someone say the N word and say, hey, it's Tourette's, and we warned you in advance, it's going to happen. Well, Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo certainly didn't look like they had been warned about what was going to happen. And BAFTA certainly wasn't ready with what would happen if that actually happened.

[Dan LeBatard]

Here's what I think is weird, David Sampson, is that there was somebody out there who discovered the symptoms and otherwise of Tourette's and decided to name that infirmity after himself. I mean, naming a bridge after yourself or an arena or a court is one thing, but how desperate, how vain are you that you want the attention if you discover the disease that is Parkinson's? Like, let's name it after me.

[David Sampson]

I want to hear Lou Gehrig's disease.

[Dan LeBatard]

I think that's Lou Gehrig. Didn't ask for that. They just tagged him with that. But imagine you're.

[Jeremy]

I don't know about that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Imagine if you're Dr. Papa. I came up with this smear that we're gonna do on women forever. Hey, name it after me. Dr. Randy Smear for rest of time now, whenever you smear a woman. I wanted to. I want my name involved in it. I thought it was Smear.

[Jeremy]

I thought it was Mike Pap.

[Dan LeBatard]

Mike Pap.

[David Sampson]

Yeah, I know.

[Dan LeBatard]

I. I can't remember.

[Stugotz]

Whoa.

[Dan LeBatard]

Trevor Parkinson. I don't remember.

[Stugotz]

Whoa.

[David Sampson]

Da, da, da, da, da.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, Dave, over your right hand, right there, there's a magic crate.

[Greg Cody]

You can see it.

[Stugotz]

I don't think it's there.

[David Sampson]

Oh, yeah, it's right.

[Greg Cody]

It should be right around.

[Jeremy]

No, it's not there, and it's glowing and it's got sparkles. Oh, wait, no, we've got it over here.

[Caller/Listener]

Will Jacob Marcy be one of the best outfielders in Marlin's history?

[Stugotz]

That was in the crate.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah, it was in the magic Crater content.

[Stugotz]

I had a hard time believing that

[David Sampson]

one home run in spring training. Let's go. It looks good.

[Greg Cody]

That's an Easy no.

[Caller/Listener]

An 8 bajillion ops at the end of his last season.

[Stugotz]

David, you got something for us to review today. What have you seen recently?

[David Sampson]

So we got the Oscars coming up and I actually haven't heard anything from Metal Arc as to what's happening. I heard some rumors, but nothing firm, which seems to track. But watch. I'm going through the ballot one by one and I got to the documentary shorts. So we're definitely at the short strings right now. I'm getting to the. To the rando categories, but, man, there are some unbelievable documentaries in that category. And I want to talk about all the Empty rooms, which is. Should be a favorite to win. It is a documentary that's short. It's 30 minutes, 32, 33 minutes. It's about a documentarian who goes to the homes of parents who lost their children in school shootings and films the rooms.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, my God.

[David Sampson]

That. It's heavy. It is heavy.

[Stugotz]

You voluntarily watch this?

[David Sampson]

It's nominated for an academy.

[Jeremy]

Oh.

[Stugotz]

I'm not saying it may not be really good. I'm saying why would anyone watch that?

[David Sampson]

Because. Just because you can't put your head in the sand and pretend things don't exist, Zaz.

[Jeremy]

Especially with a big ass like that.

[Stugotz]

I mean, I. I know that these things have existed, but I wouldn't want to make myself feel even more worse about it. Like, I. I know these are terrible things. I just, I would. You must have felt horrible after watching it though, right?

[David Sampson]

Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it.

[Stugotz]

Not trying to.

[David Sampson]

Where you live. It is critical to understand and think about these shootings and understand what we do when we vote for certain candidates or what we think about when we think about certain constitutional amendments. And this is an up close and personal example of what it is. The shattered lives that are left behind. And it becomes. You just said something about the news cycle earlier in this segment where you move on. Like, we're on to the next thing. It doesn't matter. Well, these families, there's no on. There's no on to the next thing. This is something that they live with every day, all day, except when their eyes are closed. Other than that, that's it. You only think about the death of your child. So this documentary goes through some rooms of these kids. It is incredibly powerful. Loss of life. It's hard for me to understand how anyone could argue in favor of guns when you see the destruction that involves with school shootings. So it's. It's a movie that you should watch as. And it's important to watch.

[Greg Cody]

I would think that it has a real cathartic impact for the parents who had to agree to let these rooms be part of the movie. I can only imagine. And thank God I've never had to experience it, but I can only imagine if you lose a child in this manner, you never stop. You never get over that, ever. And if this can give those parents some catharsis, some meaning to anything, I'm all for it. It makes me want to watch the movie, even though it would be very difficult to do so.

[Dan LeBatard]

I think that's exactly right. People say, in. In fact, Greg, you just said you can only imagine the phrase that people use all the time that is 180 degrees from accurate is I can't imagine what that would be like. Yeah, you can. If you spend four seconds thinking about it, you will go into a real dark place of how grim that reality would be. And that's what we need to do. That's why you do need to look at it. I hate to get up on Mount Bias, but that. Oh, that's not correct.

[Mike Ryan]

No.

[David Sampson]

Because I used to think that I could imagine things that I now am dealing with, and it turns out I couldn't. So I used to say the exact same thing you did, and that is ignorant bliss that I wish I could return to. But when the reality of something happens, then you look at it and you say, wow, I did not imagine that this sort of pain or this sort of terror existed. I pictured feeling differently or I pictured reacting differently. So I would say, Dave, keep. I hope for the rest of your life that you only can say, I can imagine.

[Mike Ryan]

No.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, I would like to say. Yeah, I can't. I can only imagine is. Is about as. As bad a situation as I hope I'm. I hope I'm lucky enough to never. To never be in a worse situation than that. Yeah.

[Stugotz]

David, excellent job, as always. Nothing personal with David Sampson. Thank you, pal.

[David Sampson]

Appreciate you ufl. God damn it. Thank you, David.

[Dan LeBatard]

Sam, though, he got the right answer. The Samson Bridge.

[Stugotz]

I think there is some truth to what you were saying where if you think about it like, I've dealt with, you know, very close loss, and I always think, you know, when someone were to say something like, you know, I can't, you know, how does that feel? And I would say something like, all right, well, imagine it. Imagine that the thing would happen to you. Like, okay, I can imagine it feels really terrible. I'm like, now multiply it by a million and that's how it really feels. You know, that's, that's the way that I describe something like that. And I don't, like, I don't want to say for the movie that he reviewed there. I'm not saying it's, it's something that I don't want to know about. I know plenty about it. Okay? I just, I don't want to sit there for however long the short film is and have that really terrible awful thing consume me for however 30 minutes, hour and a half, whatever. It's like, I know about the really awful thing. I don't want to sit there and feel even worse about it in this moment. That's, that's. I'm not saying I don't want to know about it.

[Dan LeBatard]

I feel bad that Miami's greatest position is soccer attacker. That's Marlin's right fielder.

[Caller/Listener]

I'm telling you.

[Dan LeBatard]

Marlins right fielder list.

[Caller/Listener]

Jamal Charlo Stanton won an mvp.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay.

[Caller/Listener]

Gary Sheffield, Miguel Cabrera.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, nobody of Gary. It doesn't, it doesn't mean that. I don't care. Nobody associates Gary won a World Series. Okay, you're right, you're right.

[Caller/Listener]

I agree.

[Dan LeBatard]

He should be a Hall of Famer. And you're right. I think of him in the turquoise hat. Okay, and who else? You have two.

[Caller/Listener]

Miguel Cabrera, maybe the greatest right handed hitter of this century.

[Dan LeBatard]

He counts as a right fielder though. He played some right field where he started.

[Mike Ryan]

It's when he won the World Series. He was a right fielder.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah.

[Caller/Listener]

When he got brushed back by Clemens and then hit that home run opposite field.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's funny that the Canes, I think are nationally sort of referenced as qbu. Or is that USC more, I feel like tight end.

[Stugotz]

You.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, like briefly though in the 90s when they had a run of quarterbacks. So that were always in that Heisman picture. They were QBU running backs. They became tight end you the same way that Penn State is like linebacker.

[Dan LeBatard]

You. Yeah, but those are, I think those are misnomers at some point, you know, you just. It's the same thing as the Cowboys. Self iding is America's team. When in the year of the Lord 2026. Does anybody consider the Dallas Cowboys America's team? It's much more Likely the Buffalo Bills or the Detroit Lions or something like that.

[Mike Ryan]

No, I think that the Dallas Cowboys have something about their brain talked about more often and they're, you know, they

[Dan LeBatard]

get the attention but best picture changes every year and so should America's team. And perhaps we should reevaluate who RBU actually is in college football and QBU is in college football at any given year. And I as a. As an olive branch because I still feel real bad. I was happy again with this as an Indiana University graduate, I was really happy that the Hoosiers won the national championship. But I really don't want you Canes fans hanging your head. You have nothing to be sad about. You had a really nice season and good for you. Now I think that condescending. I think that the Canes might be able to lay claim to rbu, the best collection of running backs for any college in history. How say you, Greg Cody?

[Greg Cody]

As a historian, I think they've had six or eight running backs who are top tier. Who you're referring to the Edger and James type. Clinton Portis. But I still think it's Quarterback U for me. And as recently as two years ago, Cam Ward is breaking every season record practically for the Canes. And you know they and Beck would

[Dan LeBatard]

have cinched it for you too if he wins the national championship. Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

And he didn't win now and he almost won the Heisman. He was a finalist there and then since then they've had two quarterbacks who were considered the primary bullseye from the portal. So I think just in the past three years, I think they've feathered the reputation quarterback.

[Mike Ryan]

Use a stretch quarterback you is Lincoln

[Jeremy]

Riley wherever he's at. Oh, that's it.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, that's a funny point but I mean Jim Kelly. People forget about Jim Kelly as a matter of fact because the titles don't start coming until Bernie Kosar. But Kelly Kosar and Testaverde and then

[Greg Cody]

Cam Ward and Gino Toretto.

[Mike Ryan]

Long gap between Baker, Tyler Jalen hurts. It was a hell of a run that happened recently. Caleb was in that quarterback room. Went with Lincoln Riley won a Heisman Trophy.

[Dan LeBatard]

It doesn't have to be that they go on to pro success. Jamel Holloway makes the list. If you're talking about Oklahoma QBs 80s great national champion. Master of the option. Yes.

[Jeremy]

I mean, thank you, Dave. I was gonna say Heat centers. You got morning Shaquille o'.

[Caller/Listener]

Neal.

[Stugotz]

Shame on you. Not starting with Ronnie Cycley.

[Jeremy]

Ronnie Cycle. Jack Hassan. Whiteside legacy continues.

[Dan LeBatard]

Consider me underwhelmed.

[Caller/Listener]

Small forward to LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Pelo Larson.

[Mike Ryan]

Don't forget Glenn Rice.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, like as a for instance, I live in Los Angeles. You have two. You have two position groups in that town that outstrip anything Miami has. You have Dodger starting pitchers. Is in contention for the greatest single position group for one franchise. But so too is Lakers center. But both lose out ultimately to Pittsburgh Penguins center iceman Sydney Crosby, Geno Malkin. And the greatest player to ever put on skates in the history of people, Mario Lemieux.