The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Big Suey: Zaslow Asks a Question (feat. Dianna Russini)

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

"Did the Packers win or the Bear lose?" Dan wants to get Dianna's football information on John Harbaugh, the 49ers, and the Dolphins, but uhhhhhh, Dan... are you going to let Dianna speak or...? L...earn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:02 Welcome to the Big Suey, presented by Draft Kings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan Levitard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not going to 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? I've done it.
Starting point is 00:00:26 And now, here's the marching man to nowhere, fat face, and the habitual liar. This episode of the Dan Levitart show is presented by Draft Kings. Draft Kings, the crown is yours. And the argument on the other side, simply enough, is that Indiana has a plus 473 point differential this season. That's the best of any team since 2019 Clemson. Huh. Haven't lost a game and have dragged the most two most recent opponents. And there's plenty of sound now in the library for how laughable it will sound.
Starting point is 00:00:55 If indeed you are right, America, that that line, that betting line is not. disrespectful. It's where it should be. The money tells you where it is and the money says Indiana on Miami's home field is a seven and a half point favorite. You understand why that's funny to me, correct? It's funny because history. Yeah, you follow this sport. Indiana is the second most losing major program ever. Look, don't get a twisted. If Indiana does what the sports book say it's supposed to do, which has come down here to Miami and win this game that there are a seven and a half point favored in. Indiana can lay claim to greatest seem of all time. No team has ever gone 16 and 0. You mentioned the point differential. You mentioned they slayed the
Starting point is 00:01:40 defending champion in the Big Ten championship game. They've gone through Alabama. And to do it against Miami, who's gone through its own murderers row in Miami, I know that they don't have the talent of Jamar Chase or Sean Taylor and Ed Reed, but they're going to be in that discussion, especially with a Heisman winning quarterback. And the fact that no one else has ever gone 16 and No, ain't in a power conference, get out of here. That's greatest team of all-time talk. The point differential thing is a bit of a mirage because if you look at their schedule, they didn't really play a ton of tough teams.
Starting point is 00:02:07 Kennesaw State, they beat 56-9. Indiana State, they beat 73-0. Larry Bird wasn't there for that one. No, it was the Illinois game. UCLA 56 to 6, Maryland 58-10. They'll put up 50 plus on you. Oh, look. On a bad team.
Starting point is 00:02:19 It's getting more. Look, it's getting more Cuban in here. Purdue, Zaz. We've got another college football expert. I know, Poppy. And Christopal ally and friend. and more Cuban than most of us. Jorge Sedano.
Starting point is 00:02:32 Is this indeed Jorge Sedano Miami style or is this Hollywood George? No hoda, Dan. I'm here here. Okay. I'm here. Oh, the city has got an electric here early. Tuesday.
Starting point is 00:02:45 You can't have the loud Cubans in town this early. George, stay there for a second because Diana's on the phone. She's very busy this time of year. She's a senior NFL insider for the Athletic. She's the host of the Scoop City podcast. And we have 15 minutes of her precious time. It is very valuable. Football is lunacy. It is crazed. It is not overreaction to say,
Starting point is 00:03:05 right? Last night's game stunk. Not surprising. The end for Emma Rogers will be interesting to people, I suppose. Best I've ever seen four-time MVP collapses, wheels fall off at the end. Tomlin hasn't won a playoff game in eight years. Bored by that team, bored by everything happening there. Eight years, you're exactly the same team. I'm really happy that Mike Tomlin is as great as he is. it's an amazing tribute to his stability. But they are the same team every single year. They've had three coaches their entire history. That team is not good enough.
Starting point is 00:03:35 And their season ended the way you figured it would with a defense that is championship worthy. We understand. Thank you for being with us. But Denver and Houston have defenses. Which is the better defense? All of that? To ask me, what's the better defense?
Starting point is 00:03:52 No. First of all, hello. Joey says hello. Thank you so much for last week being patient with us while he was fighting that little stomach bug that he lovingly gave to his mother, which I received yesterday. So we had a fun day here in our households. So it's too much information, Diana, but thank you for bringing it back up.
Starting point is 00:04:12 Greg Cody's stomach did make that noise in the last segment. He was too embarrassed to tell it. It would have been comedically perfect. He's had only coffee this morning and probably too much of it. The sound came from his belly. Now that's where we are. Right. I'm flying on caffeine.
Starting point is 00:04:27 I mean, Diana, they call it dancing swords in my house. That means when you've got that sound in your stomach, you're going to repair quickly to another room in the house. I'm just saying that. I'm not going to get into any details. Yes. Yes, you paint a beautiful picture of what I was doing all day yesterday, except it was more from this part of my body.
Starting point is 00:04:50 Wow. All right. Which was crazy because I was at that Eagles Niners game on Sunday. And in the post game, obviously, you can imagine there was so much to gather because there was so much excitement for the Niners after such a great win. And then, of course, the demise of this Philadelphia Eagles team. And I was fine. I was completely fine. And I do regret one thing.
Starting point is 00:05:11 I did eat a hot dog, which I haven't had a hot dog in probably five years. But that's all the Philly press box had. And I was like, I need to eat something because I've got a long night ahead. And I drove home. It was like a two-hour ride. And the whole ride, I'm like, something's not right. Something is not good here. Dancing swords.
Starting point is 00:05:31 You never want a stomach bug. But if you're going to pick a time to have a stomach bug, we all agree. Post-holidays. Yeah, you're kind of rooting for that. Not a terrible way. Take it easy. Do you think it's worse to have the stomach bug as the driver or the passenger? Because I kept thinking, I wish I was in an Uber right now because I could open the window.
Starting point is 00:05:51 I could breathe. I mean, I guess I could do that while I was driving. But I would pull over like, I don't know, every 15, 20 miles and just like on the New Jersey Turnpike and just be like, okay, we got this. And like the self-talk is incredible because you just don't want to just because I knew if I lost it, what was I going to do? Just stay on the side of the highway at, you know, midnight one in the morning. But I was able to toughen it up and I got all the way home. That's great stuff. Only here.
Starting point is 00:06:19 Can you hear Diana Rossini talking about pinching a little? Yeah, thank you. That's the exclusive domain. of everything we're building here. There was plenty of football to talk about. I want to talk about the Eagles in a second, but you will forgive me. Video, can you please put the center of that room on camera just real quick?
Starting point is 00:06:35 Not my parents. No, please, in the center of the room. There's a person in there who seems to be dressed like a wrestler. And I don't know who that person is. I can't see from here. It's a host of the game show that I just cooked up. He's called Domagnol. And that is former CCW.
Starting point is 00:06:54 southeastern heavyway champion and domino who is the most Cuban person I have ever met in my entire life. More Cuban than Sedano? Yeah. More Cuban than Sedanos. All right? Spoiler alert. Yeah. This dude
Starting point is 00:07:10 is aggressively Cuban. I watched him in a street fight last week and he was bleeding. What? He won. That's all the matter. Spoiler alert. Okay. So that game show is coming up. But the Philadelphia Eagles, that punctuation, Make it in fiction out of your imagination a worse ending than the one we've got for A.J. Brown in Philadelphia. And just what that city is going to feel about him at what should be a time in Philadelphia to be really grateful for the team that you had that ran physically roughshot over everyone.
Starting point is 00:07:44 And then this season sort of ground to an halt three and outs because however constipated they are with the football. Yeah, well, to steal Domino's name, it really was a domino effect going back to probably October when it was really apparent that A.J. Brown was not happy. And I feel like nobody wanted to hear it. Everyone was in denial that how could a team with so much talent not figure it out? And it was obvious that this offense didn't feel like they could be, they weren't playing up to their potential. And everyone is just blaming everybody, right? Jalen Hertz appeared to be blaming the offensive corner. coordinator, AJ Brown was blaming Jalen Hertz. There wasn't a lot of pointing back at themselves. That was something I noticed throughout the whole season. No one ever came up to the podium or spoke to reporters and said, I need to be better. I have to do a better job. Everyone just kind of just sat in the muck, in the yuck of this isn't good.
Starting point is 00:08:41 Because here's the thing. That's the truth. I think now everyone knows. You should not be surprised that the Philadelphia Eagles lost in the first round of the playoffs. that should not be surprising. What did they show us this year? At what point did this offense ever put together a performance that made you go, this team is going back to the Super Bowl?
Starting point is 00:08:58 They never did. The only times they looked decent were against, like, the Giants, right? And that was just okay. The back end of the Rams game. Look, the Rams, this sport is weird, man. It's weird and it's crazy. So let me just step back from what you witnessed this weekend, okay? Okay.
Starting point is 00:09:13 The dogs, okay, all of the underdogs, the chargers, end up collapsing at their end because their offensive lines shouldn't have been in the playoffs. All the other underdogs, either one or covered. The league is that close. And one of the games has, in the Rams, what I believe to be the best team in the league, only lose if they have three turnovers. It's going to beat Seattle, except they could have used that rest, and that game needs to be at home. And, uh-oh, they might have thrown away their season because they're a five-seat
Starting point is 00:09:43 because they left five of these close games. They play Carolina. Worst point differential history of the league. fighting for their life in the first road game because of how hard all this shit is after an extra game and all these bodies are broken. Yeah. You missed out on the Niners. The most one pick one thing. The most interesting thing from this weekend is a football.
Starting point is 00:10:06 I really care about this history and perspective-wise. Crazy week. The most interesting thing in it was what? To me, it was the San Francisco 49ers figuring out a way to win. I know we just spent a few minutes talking about that the Eagles stink. but Dan, I had the card in front of me in the press box, you know, with the roster. And I was playing a game with myself of can I name the starting linebackers of the San Francisco 49ers without looking? Like, I didn't know who these dudes were and were in the playoffs here because they've been able to just piecemeal.
Starting point is 00:10:40 Yes, Kyle Shannon has been brilliant. Robert Sala was brilliant. The Philadelphia Eagles were outcoached on Sunday. So I just, I've always thought the Niners story was, was kind of cute. Like, look at these guys. They're playing with passion. They're playing with heart. They're finding ways to win.
Starting point is 00:10:56 But I didn't think they'd be able to make it this far. So to me, that's been one of the best stories in football. This is a team that's been decimated. It's interesting to hear you say that because empirically, that sounds right in the value of things, right? How does San Francisco, even though all of its best players are hurt, How do they go and dethrone the most physical team and the defending champion and they lose kittle during the game? How year after year do they physically get to this point when they should have broken three
Starting point is 00:11:28 times this season? How are they with Seattle as an organization and with the Rams when physically this whole thing should have been ground to dust? You would agree? And yet they still somehow win and it's a mystery. And it's a mystery. I don't know if it's a mystery. I think it's actually pretty simple to understand.
Starting point is 00:11:48 You have a really good head coach who knows how to scheme and puts the work in and has the pulse of this team and understands ways to win and how to take advantages of the things that they've been facing. But also just asking guys like Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey after the game, like, give me just in one sentence why you are able to be here right now. And they're like, we got nothing to lose. Like we're not supposed to be here. And I think that's a date.
Starting point is 00:12:14 dangerous place for a team to be in, at least for the opponents, right? Like, this is a good spot because they're playing loose. It's just crazy. It's just crazy. I'm sorry to interrupt you, Dan. It's just crazy to me that the San Francisco 49ers are in this position again. Because you're saying that they're playing loose and Seattle and the Rams have looked better than them all season.
Starting point is 00:12:39 They carried part of their season with Mack Jones. Darnold and Stafford don't miss games. San Francisco got to hear fighting with these two teams with Mac Jones in the middle. If you're basically telling me empirically that they have a coaching advantage that is seismic between whatever number one and number two is in this league, that it's not small. It's like people don't understand the difference in value there. Yeah. And look, he is definitely going to be up there for coach of the year.
Starting point is 00:13:07 We turned in our nominations last week. I think it's going to be neck and neck with Brayball. I'm interested to see what the voting is going to wind up being. Because obviously you can give Mike also tons of credit for what they're doing with this Patriots team. But look, and the reason why I leaned towards Reble when I was discussing this with some people, I think just when you look at what they've done, how they've bounced back from what they saw, what they were last year. And it's not like Drake May's got these incredible pieces around him either. Happy New Year, everybody. 2026 is already getting off to an incredible start because you want to know how I rang in the new year.
Starting point is 00:13:42 It was with a bunch of friends in a Dallas Hotel Lobby Bar ordering a bunch of Miller Lights because that's how you do it. That's how you make special memories. Miller Light has been by my side and many special football memories this year. And hopefully we get to write a few more memories with Miller Light. Some of my most legendary moments have started that exact same way. A buddy's house, a lobby bar, a game, no big plan. And then you crack open a Miller Light. You take a sip and you look around and you immediately.
Starting point is 00:14:12 recognized that you made the right call. Legendary moments start with Miller Lite. Great taste, 96 calories. Go to Miller Lite.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing
Starting point is 00:14:27 Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. All right, kicking things off with Smeering off, the official vodka sponsor of the NFL and the number with vodka in the world. Chris Cody, you're here. Smearned off! Wow, you're on the money with Smyronoff.
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Starting point is 00:15:39 Please do not share with anybody under legal drinking aid. Smyrano! No purchase necessary must be legal. resident 21 or older, sweepstakes starts 1215, 2025 at 12 a.m. Eastern and ends 1.23, 2026 at 11.59.59 p.m. Eastern. See official rules at program website. Don Lebatard. Daddy says you're doing a live show on the draft. Wick, is it Channel 7? Stugats. Those girls on eyewitness news? They look good. They're mothers. They look good, though. This is the Dan Levitar show with the Stugats. I just really am. The body count. Warner.
Starting point is 00:16:17 Bosa. Trent Williams is not himself anymore. Like physically, it's obvious that he's just, of course, the game is going to physically break all of them. Kittle goes down during the game. Purdy's Mr. Irrelevant. Last in the draft, Pearsall's been shot. And he missed less games. And again, played with a bullet immediately. You know I embrace my stupidity pretty comfortable, comfortably at this point. And so I've known Trent for years. I covered him in Washington and so we kind of like came up together so he's one of the very few players that when i see it's just like a really genuine conversation of catching up and so i see him and i'm
Starting point is 00:16:55 my brain's going 100 miles an hour because i got a million things i want to do and see and talk to people i want to talk to and i'm like hey man what's up i'm like how you doing you guys are great i'm like how you feeling and he just like in the like coldest look was like not good at all and i was like what's up he's like my hamstring i'm like yeah but you're active he's like active because I have to be. It's the playoffs. So I saw him after the game. I was like, how's that hampshire? He's like, not great. Okay. Diana, you know, so it's a to your point. But you're sitting here. You're grinning maniacly at the toughness of this human being. Can we just, for a moment, examine these incredibly strong people, human beings are breaking each other every week.
Starting point is 00:17:35 Trent Williams has been the best and the strongest among them for many years. He's part of why San Francisco is so good. And while Shanahan can look that good, he's been physically dominant forever of course that's going to break his body. It's going to be totally broken and now he can't play anymore, but he's on the field. Warner and Bosa are in the box, and they don't have anyone out there
Starting point is 00:17:56 except Mr. Irrelevant. Ayuk's not out there. And they don't have players. Fred Warner's trying to get back. They're not going to open the practice window this week, but if they can get past Seattle, no, he's not going to get back with a bro. He's been, no.
Starting point is 00:18:10 The buzz, the buzzes? They're trying to get Fred Warner. So then you have this, then you have them in the same. second quarter, George Kittle goes down. And I mean, everyone can see it on camera what happened. And so the athletic had sent like eight reporters there to the game. So I was sitting next to Mike Silver, my colleague. I'm like, I'm going to go to the tunnel and see if like anything happens. Because it's George Kittle. Like he's incredibly magnetic and he's got such a big personality.
Starting point is 00:18:35 And he doesn't strike me as a guy that's going to get injured and just like put a towel over his head. So I went down to the tunnel and I see his his wonderful wife, Claire, and Jed York, the owner, just walk in there. And they, you know, they look miserable for obvious reasons. And so I'm just about to walk off. And I see a guy that I'd seen on the field that worked for the Niners. And he had a tequila bottle under his arm. And he went into the locker room.
Starting point is 00:19:00 And I didn't want to make assumptions, but it was pretty obvious that that tequila bottle was for George Kittle. And it turns out that they took shots and they basically just drank their heads off at halftime, or at least through the game, because he was so miserable. And Jed York had walked in there and was like, hey, man, can I do anything for you? And George is like, yeah, can I get some tequila? So after the game, all the players went in there and they see George and he's like hammered. And he's like, let's go.
Starting point is 00:19:29 And everyone started taking shots. And that bottle was on the floor, empty, obviously. So it was quite a celebration in a locker room that, you know, from a team that wasn't probably expected to knock out the Super Bowl champ. Slay that giant on the road, Mac Jones and Mr. Irrelevant again without their receivers now without their tight end. It's lunacy. It doesn't. Philadelphia, like to me, wherever it is, I understand that Philadelphia gets emotional about these things. But there is no shame in being dethroned by that thing, which is represented the elite.
Starting point is 00:20:02 No, there is shame. I disagree. You are more talented. You are naturally more gifted on your field, right? and that's credit to how they structured this team. You've had the luck of very few injuries outside Lane Johnson, right? You are the better team on the field. Everybody knows that based on who's able to play. And you let that slip away. You let a team that wanted it more, knock you out, at home, at the link, coming off a Super Bowl.
Starting point is 00:20:34 That's embarrassing. Against a San Francisco team that had just gotten its ass kicked by Seattle in a really meaningful. game. What was it? 16 to 3, 19 to 3? 13 to 3. Well, the Seattle defense can ransack you in the spot this weekend, Diana. Every team that's ever had the kind of rest Seattle has wins this game. And the only reason people wouldn't believe that they'll win this game is Sam Darnold. It is two words, and people won't make it about more than that.
Starting point is 00:21:02 We've seen Seattle. Shanahan's brilliant. Seattle in the game for everything, before the games for everything, ransacked him. Like Shanahan's never looked that bad. Shanahan, coaching genius. Yep. Didn't matter that he'll beat you with Darnel. McDonald will beat you. He'll be 15 and 2 and he'll beat you on the road with Darnold. And he'll beat you on the road with Gino Smith. That's what's happened twice, correct?
Starting point is 00:21:22 I am not going to sit up here and say the San Francisco 49ers are going to beat the Seattle Seahawks. I can just tell you if a team that is going to continue this mentality that we've got nothing to lose with maybe the carrot of a return of Fred Warner in the corner with a motivated defensive coordinator who's trying to get a head coaching job is basically just putting on a display of his own talent and skill set as a coach. I don't know. And look, you're acting like Sam Darno's had ultimate success of the playoffs. Like, isn't his narrative, isn't the story that he's not able to get off, you know,
Starting point is 00:22:00 get to the other side here and perform at a high level? Get Sam Darnold seeing ghosts the last Minnesota season that ended here when we dared to believe that Minnesota was what Seattle is this year. Asla, I want you to get in here, and I also want to start going, speeding all of this up, not because I mean to do this, Diana, but because there's so much to get to with you that I need to speed it up at 30-second bites on each, because let's start with Mike Tomlin. That's eight straight years with no playoff victories and doomed in this purgatory of, we're always going to win this many games, and should we bring Aaron Rogers back? Oh, it's all over in Pittsburgh. That's what it's not going to look any better than that. There are another team that needs a quarterback.
Starting point is 00:22:44 I think it will look different. Look, we don't know what the future, you know, what the future is going to be. I know the Steelers want Aaron Rogers back. We'll see if he continues to play. We'll see what Mike Tomlin decides to do. I think TV is a real thing. I think him stepping away is on the table. I don't think that's just a gossipy rumor thing.
Starting point is 00:23:00 That's kind of one of those things that everyone around football kind of is like wink, winking, like Tom is going to probably do this. He also has another year in his deal. he may want to return as well. So you have those options there. Then you've got, you know, their general managers, got great relationships with a guy like Mike McCarthy. We'll see what happens if Tomlin does step away.
Starting point is 00:23:20 Where are they going to go? Because, guys, look at this coaching cycle right now. It's out of control. I can't even keep track of how many people the Titans are interviewing right now. Okay, Diana, look, so I know there's a lot here. And I'm going to, I'm going to tighten you up. This is going to be right here.
Starting point is 00:23:33 This game, 30 seconds on each thing. And we got to hit her with a sound of some sort that tells her times up because I know you can talk for 10 minutes on each of the subjects I'm about to give you. Just tell her to be quicker. Thank you. Guys, I could be quicker. You need to be quicker too. Yeah, faster. I don't understand why you guys want to speed me up.
Starting point is 00:23:54 If I have good information, you should slow down. That's exactly right. What I'm giving you. Short attention, I'm not the person to speed up if I'm a football fan. I'm the one you go, hey, stop talking and let her tell you everything she knows. Slow down. You have to wrap. No, I'd say the 30 seconds.
Starting point is 00:24:12 All right. Let's not fight over this. It seems as though there was a report that teams are just going to ignore Marcus Freeman and still try to talk to him about these head coaching vacancies. Yeah, I think Marcus Freeman is still going to be a guy that people keep an eye on. They want them. I just don't get the idea or thoughts or information that Marcus is actually going to do it. I don't think this is the time he wants to do it.
Starting point is 00:24:36 We'll see them. Diana, did the Packers win or the Bears lose? The Packers lost. That was like 15 self-inflicted wounds. Credit to Caleb Williams, who figures out how to win in the fourth quarter. What a sucker move. But I just think Green Bay collapsed.
Starting point is 00:24:52 Man, I'm embarrassed now. Diana, is that little kid right? Does Kevin Petulun be flipping burgers? Brutal. It was really bad. Brutal. That little kid, he was electric.
Starting point is 00:25:02 A little kid is the symbol of Philadelphia. They need to make him the mayor. I think, I don't know if he's going to be flipping burgers. but I think they're having serious conversations about the future of Kevin Petulah there. I do not think it would be surprising if they decide to move on from him. That was so bad, Zaz.
Starting point is 00:25:19 We're going to cover that one in the post show. We're writing it down. We're going to cover it as soon as she's off. No. Bears lose. A mid-segment meeting. Barrettless? Several times.
Starting point is 00:25:29 That was bad. He asks good questions. I always like when Zaz talks because he always asks me real things. Yeah, but I just embarrassed myself in front of you, Diana. because my question, see, Diana didn't even pick up on it. No, but she's not playing the same game you are. We have expectations around here, around.
Starting point is 00:25:46 You waited 10 minutes before talking. I love that he's wondering if he's embarrassed by what he said. No, I'll explain it to you. So that we don't exclude. This culture is my costume. Exclude this. This is my look now, Diana. This is how I dress.
Starting point is 00:25:59 Okay. I will tell you what happened there, Diana. I don't want to exclude the audience about what we're laughing there. What happened is Zazlo hadn't spoke for about 14 minutes. He really was the Tio. He really was the Tio at the party who doesn't speak and everyone just believes he's Cuban.
Starting point is 00:26:16 I love rooting for my team and so the entire show turned to him and he was just going to hop in and out with a question. There was two sentences, radio professional, and he stumbled over one of them and four of us noticed, but he saw that we noticed and the show fell apart right there, Mike, enjoying that Zaslow
Starting point is 00:26:32 had tripped over the jump. For a second, I was hoping no one noticed. He's a radio professional, but doing it. for 20 years. Don't talk for 15 minutes. Here's your chance. Here are six notes. Don't up one of them. The pressure. He's Sam Darnold. So, okay, I'm sorry. Harbaugh, either one of them. 30 seconds on each. John Harbaugh's going to have his choice. I think he really wants to stay in the NFC. I think the Titans are interesting because they've got Cam Ward, but I think for him he wants to be in a division that's not in his brothers. And also the teams in the NFC like
Starting point is 00:27:06 the Atlanta Falcons and the New York. Giants are pushing hard. And I think those are going to wind up being the teams that he zeroes in on over the next few days. As for Jim Harbaugh, look, I mean, when is he going to get Justin Herbert to a point where they're going to get further in the playoffs? I believe in his program. I know what he does is really well. I just think it needs to be better with such a good quarterback. Do you agree with me that the Chargers offensive line didn't belong in the playoffs and that Harbaugh should be prosecuted for criminal charges for close to manslaughter for the way he made Justin Herbert play the last six weeks of the season. Look, he had no choice. He had no choice. He had to do what he had to do to try to get this team as far as they were able to. Justin is the reason why they're playing in this
Starting point is 00:27:51 playoff team with absolutely no protection. Look, injuries happen. It's going to be part of it. But his brother, his brother's going to have a pick of the litter, so to speak. Can you give us the latest John Harbaugh situation? Because the dolphins are not interviewing him. He's not, and why is that? And what do you make of the dolphin? hiring the GM, it's weird that the dolphins would handle things the way that they've handled them and not feel like they were going to get in on Harbaugh. The Dolphins had to have planned to get in on Harbaugh. Yeah. So I actually, I'm with Zaz there.
Starting point is 00:28:25 Like, it's not weird because they're very clear with how they want this to operate. We saw it with Chris Gruer all those years. They were very transparent with their process. And it was, we are going to hire a general manager for. We don't care about anything else around it. And that's their choice. That's how they think they can build the correct structure. Obviously, Troy Aikman has had a big say in there,
Starting point is 00:28:49 which is why the general manager that landed there is probably had the inside track from the start. Troy was a huge fan of his. Look, the conversations with John Harba right now are, it's a lot of screening, we'll call it, where every team has talked to him. Just because nothing's been formal, Nothing's been formal.
Starting point is 00:29:08 Like you haven't seen the tweet from the team account. Like we have formally interviewed John. There's been so much backchalling and work done by John and his camp to try to get to know each of these teams, their ownership, the structure, how they want this to run. So don't freak out if you're a Dolphins fan and you haven't, and you want John Harbaugh and you haven't seen anything formal. They've talked to him. They know what he's looking for. And they know what they can get from him. So I just don't think that the dolphins have the inside track on John in terms of his interest.
Starting point is 00:29:36 Do you guys have anything football related for Diana because I want to let her go. Mike Ryan is distracting me. Diana, thank you for your time. I'm sorry that I interrupted you a couple of times. There's senior NFL insider for the athletic host of the Scoop City podcast. She is great. Her information is exceptional. Don Lebertard.
Starting point is 00:29:55 Are you on the fan right now? Did Mike Greenberg call you yet? Are you ever going to go back to ESPN? People think it's so weird you're a writer now. All those years on TV? All those years? and they're right? Who reads that? Stugats. Why did you take a job at the Atlantic?
Starting point is 00:30:10 Mom, I work at the athletic. What? You're on YouTube? This is the Dan Lebatar show with the Stugats. I was saying yesterday there's just a handful of people doing it this way, like really mastering both information arts and walking through where all the conflicts are, right? Because all of these information people are in conflict with each other. He's walking a tightrope, but while she's doing this, Mike Ryan is staring at Zaslo and shaming him. Well, Zazzo won't look him in the eye.
Starting point is 00:30:57 I embarrass myself in front, Diana. Zaslo will not look Mike Ryan in the eye. The Mike Ryan victory lap continues all week. He's burying people and he's being Miami about it. He's being arrogant. He just saw Zaslo trip over. Zazel just got offered a lob there. Yes.
Starting point is 00:31:14 What do you laugh at? It was an alley-oop. Zaslo had an alley-oop and instead it turns into a cover. Career low, what an embarrassment from my friend Zazlo over here. Wow. I mean, I can only imagine. So this just happened. We just all witnessed it.
Starting point is 00:31:29 Zaz is ashamed, so ashamed he will not look Mike in the eye because they know 20 years of production. Look away. 20 years of production history between them. They're like, no, that's the lob that I dunk. The Packers winner, the Bears lose. Oh, my God. What a dork! That'll never go away either.
Starting point is 00:31:46 You heard, like I stumbled the Bears bar because. mid-sentence I realized I had it backwards. The Packers winner, the Bears lose. Oh, bears was plural. Yeah. I think it's a pretty good explanation for what happened at the end of that Packers' Bears game.
Starting point is 00:32:09 The Packers winner, the Bears, Bears lose. Okay, so look, that is what happened. That is the correct. That is the correct analysis. on that Packers Bears game. You know what allows Ben Johnson to run off the field saying, yeah, I'm not apologizing for that. Bleep the Packers.
Starting point is 00:32:26 The Packers winner, the Bears lose. Bears lose. And the answer to that is, people say, I knee jerk yesterday. Don't you remember, Dan, the Falcons were up 283 in the playoffs? Yes, but as a statistical probability, the time left in that Packers Bears game to lose it again when you were in the positions that you were in, it's an insanity that the Packers threw away another season
Starting point is 00:32:48 in a more bizarre way than they did a couple of weeks ago to a bear's team that has the cruelest loss right in the middle of that. The Packers winner, the Bears lose. Yo, tell Mike, stop staring me. That's a two-time champion broadcaster who just made that football. Get his ass, Greg. I mean, it's undeniable. You've got to live up to the standard.
Starting point is 00:33:07 Good for you, Greg. You've been waiting for two years for this. Thank you. The Packers winner, the Bears lose. Nice hat, asshole. Both of you. It is mean. How much delight you are getting from Zaslo tripping over that jump rope right there. It's absolutely cruel.
Starting point is 00:33:27 Do you know the hells... It's also the coffee. Do you know the hellscape that the next eight days are going to be as we build up to a live stream on Monday night? And it began on Tuesday with Remanga and a career error from Zaslo. A career stain for Zaslo as he ascends in the media industry trying to keep up with metal. arc media standards. The Packers winner, the bear, lose. That's the best analysis in that game I've heard anywhere.
Starting point is 00:33:56 The Packers winner, the Bears lose. Paul King said, Dominate. Guess what you did. Please put that in the time capsule as reprimandings as for accurately describing this play during this historic time. The Packers winner, the bear lose. That's exactly what happened, yes. How can anyone take me serious now?
Starting point is 00:34:15 Exactly. To be honest, if he was a Cuban deal, that's how he would have asked a question. Because he takes the S off the end of bear. Let's play it one more time. The Packers winner, the bear lose. Bears lose. Did the bear loose? I think anybody ever took you seriously.
Starting point is 00:34:28 I mean, neither of those things happened. The Packers didn't win and the Bears didn't lose either. The dumbest question. But at least it was smooth delivery, pal. And you heard Diana said she likes when I ask her questions. And now it's like, I'm a bumbling idiot. The Packers winner, the bear's lose. I've lost all my credibility with Diana.
Starting point is 00:34:45 The Packers winner, the bear loose. Just Diana? You think just Diana is where you lost? credibility? That shit's important to me. Look, do you know how hard it is for me to throw you the alley-U? But, oh no, Cody's dunking on you. Mecago-int-res. Good.
Starting point is 00:35:02 Cogneo, Poppy. Bobby, did you hear what Zaslow just said? What do you mean? Maca-on-Tres? That's a T-E-S for me. What do you mean? Hold on. Hold on. My father's here. I saw my father somewhere. I saw there's a wrestler in there. Poppy's getting ready for
Starting point is 00:35:18 Cuban trivia. me cargo and tres my mother's back there mom do we want oh listen to this no my mom is waving off the camera okay I want you to zone in on my mom there and go ahead I override her wanting to hide from the camera no because I need to shame this woman no I need to shame her I'm going to publicly out her don't do it don't do it don't do it no no I have to don't do it we care about you Tony I have what I believe Tony I have what I believe Tony I believe I have traitorous news within the Lebitard family. Whoa.
Starting point is 00:35:54 And when my mother said this to me, I was legitimately offended as schoolboy Dan, all of a sudden, school spirit guy. My mom's like, yeah, rooting for Mendoza. No. As she should be. And I'm like, Mom, we paid for that school. Mom, what do you mean?
Starting point is 00:36:15 You're rooting for Mendoza? And I want her. around it. She's traitors back there. Look, she's hiding behind my father. Tony, you say I should be respectful. But no, that is not, that's no respect of Miami history. You're right. I'm not sure it's respect of Cuban history. You're right. To root for Mendoza. A sweet young man like that who represents the Cuban heritage to right way. You can't root over that over Christobal when she married Christobal. She didn't marry Mendoza. But she raised Mendoza. She birthed Mendoza, yes. Well, Christobal could be your brother, right? It could be like one of your family members.
Starting point is 00:36:48 rooting on your brother, like same age. I believe bigger news than Zazlo saying, finally, the heat should trade Bamababaiobio is my mother. I'm going to respect that guy. The Lebitard family. A member of the Lebitard family is rooting for Fernando Mendoza in a Miami Orange Bowl. Like, you guys have never seen or looked at my mother this way.
Starting point is 00:37:09 It's not surprising. That whole generation loves Mendoza. I'm telling you right now Mendoza could run for president. Which party? Look, he went to Columbus, but he also went to Berkeley. We know that he can work across the aisle. It's offensive to me. It's offensive that my mother is looking me in the face.
Starting point is 00:37:30 I'm like, what do you mean? You're not like torn about it or anything? No, she didn't have been Mendoza. But I went to school there. My dad downloaded Chad GPT just to send me Mendoza photos. Wait a minute. The Auelos are rude. So, okay, wait, so this is Awello's, this is Awello's quarterback.
Starting point is 00:37:48 A way last quarterback. I'm telling you right now, if Miami was not in this game and it was in another location, my dad who barely watches college football might fly into that city to root on Fernando Mendoza. You have no idea what this guy is meant to the older Cubans. I mean, I would be wearing a Mendoza jersey if the Keynes weren't in. I'd be honest. Sedano, you should speak to this because Mendoza is an archetype of a good Cuban boy that has made the most of himself in this country.
Starting point is 00:38:14 Mendoza is a dream scenario for the older Cuban heads. So let me tell you something. I met Fernando Mendoza last season. Okay, I did four of his games at Cal. And the minute I met him in a production meeting, he came into the room after the coaches to talk to us. We looked around and were like, wow, I love that kid. Holy, holy, holy.
Starting point is 00:38:37 You put it in the group chat, and you were like one of the older Cubans because you met him and you were like, this Mendoza guy's amazing. He's incredible. And, like, this was after the Miami game. I had him shortly thereafter, and I had him four other times the rest of the season. And he's the sweetest kid ever. And, you know, we were talking about Miami and Cuban life and this, that during the production meeting. And then eventually we got to football.
Starting point is 00:38:59 So I fell in love with him. And I do love him. But not on Monday. Not on Monday. Not on Monday. I love him. I love him on Tuesday. Win or lose, but I don't love him Monday.
Starting point is 00:39:14 So I'm willing to say publicly put her back up on the screen. my mother, comunita. Oh! You can't. Dan? I'm good with it. I'm good with it. You be careful.
Starting point is 00:39:22 That is disrespectful. Walking back. You can't say that. Don't that is third rail. Maybe even the fourth one. Perhaps a fifth rail. Not the serial. I know what you said, but tell Zaz.
Starting point is 00:39:32 You can't be pro Mendoza. You can't be my mother and be, not, not pro Mendoza. You can be very happy for Mendoza. Not more pro Mendoza. You can be very happy for Mendoza in the pros. You can wish him a great deal of well. You can't root again. the school that made your son when your son's entire career is born on the back of this school's program.
Starting point is 00:39:52 I think you can do both. I think you can root for a narrow Miami victory despite six touchdown passes from heroic Fernando Mendoza. That's what you're root for right there. Did you see Zaslo's mistakes? Sonano here, you can come laugh at Zaslo as well. Look at what happened here. He analyzed the end of the Bears Packers game. The Packers winner, the Bears lose. Wow. Two-time champion brought up. He asked Diana Rusini. this question. The Packers winner, the bear lose. Bears lose. Literally, neither of those things happen. All from grace. You all right there, pal? Do you have a stroke? So you're going to do a game show better than the game show that I was going to do the hungry off, the who's hungrier, Mike? You're going to make something better than that. I'm not sure it's
Starting point is 00:40:34 going to be better. It might be a mess. But that's what this show does. It's got a better name, though. Domino. Better name. Next.

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