Local Hour: Zas Is In A Bed

All right, Smirnoff, official vodka of the NFL, world's number one vodka. Chris Cody, you're with me here.
Smirnoff!

Wow, you're on the money with Smirnoff. Spinoff.
I'm gonna ask you, Chris, what's your favorite game day food? Smirnoff. Not your favorite game day drink.
What's your favorite game day food? Smirnoff.

All right, here's the deal: game day is everything. The noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip again.
Spirit off.

Smirnoff off belongs in that mix because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smirnoff! Otherwise, it's not a real game day.

They've been doing it since 1864, which is, I don't even want to do the math. It's a long time.
It's like when Greg Cody was born. They're award-winning.

They make cocktails super easy and they're all about bringing fans together. So yeah, we do game days.
That's their thing. And if you're over 21, you should too.
Why, Chris? Smearing off.

Grab a bottle of Smearinoff at your local retailer and head to Smearinoff.com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game day. Smearing off! Please drink responsibly.
Smearing off.

Number 21, vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume, the Smearin' Off Company. New York, New York.
Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age. Smearing off.

Are you coming off a losing fantasy week? That means you're one week closer to losing your league and that's pretty stressful, which can lead to nighttime teeth grinding.

Dentech's mouth guards help with nighttime teeth grinding. Dentech wants to prevent teeth grinding while raising the fantasy stakes with a once-in-a-lifetime punishment.

If you want your league's last-place finisher to live in infamy at the 2026 Football All-Star Game, sign up for the Ultimate Fantasy Football Punishment at dentech.com/slash ultimate punishment.

No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S.
states and DC who are 21 years of age or older. Contest ends on December 8th, 2025.
Voidwear prohibited.

For details and official rules, visit dentech.com slash ultimate punishment.

Now's a good time to remember where Tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila.
Cuervo. What are you doing here? Cuervo.
Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.

Well, I do know that to be true, but even Durham and reads like, Cuervo. I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners.
Sweet, delicious Cuervo.

Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.
Cuervo. So, enjoy the tequila that started it all.
Cuervo. Cuervo.
The tequila that invented tequila.

Proximo, Cuervo.com. Please drink responsibly.
Cuervo.

What a motley crew of fools we've got today. We've got Tony injured and on crutches.
I'll save the visuals on everything else that's going on around here for five minutes from now.

Well, I'm going to have difficulty doing the show with this person because I've never done a show the way that I'm going to have to do it with Zaslow today.

This is going to be hard, and I think the chemistry on this is going to be

hard, but I see that the negotiations with Eudonis Haslam are already bearing fruit because at least two of you are serving punishments today, and I've got to serve one tomorrow.

I don't know, Mike, how this went for you yesterday with your live stream doing the University of Miami and FSU game, but you'll be happy to know that Heather Dinich was on unsportsman-like this morning, and

she was asked who she would pick for her Heisman vote, because she has one, and she said Ruben Bain. Hell yeah.
So Ruben Bain

is beginning to get a following. Defensive players are never allowed to win that award.
Has a defensive player won it last year.

Okay.

Thank you, Billy. You were very quick with that.

You're very quick. That's the one time you decide to be like super quick when it immediately embarrasses me.
Billy you're a college football expert. He had to do both.

He had to play both sides, but Billy's 100% right. Top odds.
Way back to 2024.

Top odds to win the Heisman currently. Dante Moore, Ty Simpson, Jeremiah Smith, and somehow Carson Beck.
I don't understand why Carson Beck is up there.

Because Carson Beck has one good game against FSU, and he's a quarterback for a top three team in the nation that plays relatively well.

There isn't a quarterback in the nation that's played Florida well i think if you look through the box scores you can make an argument carson becks played florida better than any quarterback in the nation so far we'll see what they got for arch that is a weird line it's not just a weird line uh can you tell me where the total is on uf texas because it started at 53 and i don't know how often i've seen a number be that off i think it might be low 40s already i think the total in that game because People don't believe that Arch Manning will be the one who can do anything against Florida's defense in Gainesville.

I think that line has already dropped double digits on the total. 41 and a half on DK right now.
Can you find where it is that that started?

Because I thought it was mid-50s that that started and it must be so much money coming in on the idea that Arch Manning isn't going to be what Arch Manning was supposed to be against the Florida defense.

I can't remember the last time I saw a number drop 12 points from Monday to Thursday without an injury. Like that's that's totally crazy.

And it just means that everyone is telling you all the smart money in Vegas. That's not random, okay?

The people who are betting early in the week on numbers, the amateur gamblers like me are the ones who show up at about 11 o'clock before Saturday morning. Yeah, before a noon game.

Yeah, no, I know. Watching game day, you're like, what can I get in here? That's where the bear picking this week.
That's where Vegas makes its money. The smart people are making the bets on Monday.

Monday when they realize that the lines are bad before it is that the rest of us get to that on Saturday. But I, I, Zaz, do you remember a number going down from Monday to Thursday without an injury?

A total going down from

low 50s to low 40s like that. That scares me.
I got to stay away from that. There's something going on.
There's something shady going on there. Shady? Yeah.
What do you mean shady?

It's just that the Gainesville defense is really good.

Yeah, that's right. That's what I said.

Yeah,

you look ridiculous. Why? Chris Cody has muttered under his breath, I'm worried about the camera angles with Zaz.
I'm

because I'm seeing thigh.

What's wrong with Cody?

Look at me.

I'm seeing. Thank God for shorts.
Look at me. Chins.

Like, there's just dangerous chin angles. Yeah, that's true.
That's true. Look at you now.

Look at you now.

This is the Dan Labatar Show with the Stu Gats Podcast.

If you've been listening for a long time, or even if you haven't been, you know that Billy is clever and quick. Eager? Not so much.

And I've never seen you as eager as you were to say anything as you were there to say that last year a defensive player won the Heisman Trophy. What do you mean?

Travis Hunter did indeed win the Heisman Trophy last year. Can you guys tell me the last time a defensive lineman was invited to the ceremony? I'm just curious.

I know Aiden Hutchinson finished second, and that was very recently.

What's going on with Travis Hunter and the Jags?

I mean, he's getting the snap count of a backup tight end over there. He's not really playing on defense.

He's not being good at anything right now. He was supposed to be good at two things.
Draft a guy high and don't use him. Right? Like, now we're next level 4D chess.

By the way, high, they trade it up together. Yeah, they don't have a trick next year, right? That's true.
You're in trouble, by the way.

I'm in trouble. Oh, well, buddy, are you in trouble? Why am I in trouble? You're the head of this company, right? Yeah.
Yeah. Look at these crutches.

There is a lawsuit coming. Yeah.
Very litigious, by the way. Don't tip your hand.
No, no, I want it to be known. No, it's not tipping my hand.
Wait till he finds out who my attorney is.

Who's your attorney? Don't worry about it. I don't want to tip my hand on that.
Just know, my people are going to be contacting your people, and you're in trouble.

If you do not know, Tony injured himself kicking field goals. He missed all the field goals.
The thing that was most injured was his pride.

Before we get to that and all the things going on locally, Roy, what is the punishment you're serving today?

I feel like you look sad, you look forlorn, and I think it's Zazzlo did Tommy Topper on the punishment with you.

And I feel like you were going to get the big celebration for being the old-timey baseball player today, but you got usurped by Zaz over here. Yeah, you're absolutely right, Dan.

And you just said an old-tommy baseball player. That's what I'm dressed up as.
I have the mustache, the fake mustache on my face right now, and these baggy

baseball uniforms. It suits you.
The look is, it's a good look for you.

You look like somebody who was hitting like 275

as a speedy outfielder.

I was. Oh, come on, Dan.

What? Looks more like a catcher. It's just how he looks.
Looks like an airport. He does not look like a catcher.

Who's that too?

He does not look

like a catcher. What are you doing? You got him in center field.
He's talking about stoutness. Roy is not a stout guy.
Catchers are stout. I will let you guys explain what it is Zaz is doing.

Minor penalty, two minutes. Accidental racism.

Look at him. He wanted to go up this way.

yeah i don't know if he can hear me but it was indeed aiden hutchinson in 2021 the last offensive player invited to the heisman ceremony

all right there you go well outside of last year's winner that billy noted there you go there you go i gotta tell you something

this is not a bad getup i can understand why folks uh

you know men in particular Used to dress like this to go to sleep.

It's a good getup. Do you often just sit crisscross applesauce in your bed? No, no.
Lay down, dude. Lay down.
Yeah. Get comfortable.
Yeah.

You know, be careful. Reveal a few things.

All right. There we go.
Let's see. What are the sheets, by the way? What are those sheets? What do you got going on there? Oh, look at this.

Construction.

Look at me. Come on.
Yeah, these are my sheets. These are nice sheets.

I could take a little schlough here during the show. Let's talk some barkoffs.
Why do you dress like that? Like, what is this? This is how I dress when I sleep.

What are you questioning me like that for? But it's just. I don't ask you how you sleep.
Okay. You look like one of the three stooges.
What do you wear? Just regular clothes?

Trying to get comfortable when I sleep. What do you wear to sleep, Billy?

It's just shorts and a shirt. Yeah.
Yeah. Is that weird? Sometimes, you know, pajamas.
I just go boxer briefs, no shirt. Really?

Sometimes socks. Yeah.
This is what I wear. I wear a gown and I wear a nightcap.
I'm a big go-to-sleep with the socks on, but at some point I'm taking those bad boys off. Yeah.

At some point, I'm doing the awkward thing where you got to like reach down and like take off. No, that's a hammy pull waiting to happen.
I know. It's a cramp often.
A cramp, yeah.

Sometimes I wake up and I'm wearing different clothes than I fell asleep in. And then I remember, like, oh, I was wearing like sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt or like a hoodie.

And then I wake up and I see. Can't them on though.
Why are you wearing a hoodie and a long sleeve shirt? I don't know.

I think maybe I was born in the wrong environment. I love to hang out in sweats, like a hoodie, nice sweatpants.
I have these Patrick Mahomes sweatpants that are incredible.

Love them. I got them on sale.
They haven't seen them on sale since. So I'm not, I'm not.
I love Patrick Mahomes sweatpants. Adidas, if you're listening, send them my way.

I'm not paying full price for Patrick Mahomes sweatpants. What do you keep the house at that you're walking around in sweatpants and a hoodie? You know, it's a good question.

What is a normal temperature? I keep the house around 70. Yeah, I'm like, I like it.
That's cold. That's pretty cold.
Is it? I'm a 72, 73 man.

No, 73, we're already trying to call Carlos the air conditioning guy to figure out why it's not going lower. I'm 74.
74? Do not invite me to your terrarium. Are you an annibal? I'm 74.

I don't know what to tell you, man. Jeez.

Maybe my AC is better than yours.

It's definitely not. If it only goes to 74, that so

maybe you got one of those Bobo ACs. That's one of those old manner ACs.
Exactly.

He needs the air. When you put you bit like a big-ass ice cube and then you put fans on that breakout or something.
What is that? No, I mean,

I got that good AC that at 74. It blows that good wind.

74 is bad AC. Dan seems like a 68.
Good AC gets you down to 66. Dan looks to me like a 77 guy.
Like he keeps

our studios, dude. Are you insane? Chris has got it exactly right.

I'll dip right under the 70s. I don't know why Zaz is sleeping in a terrarium.

It's crazy to be in South Florida, sleeping mid-70s in South Florida. But what is your punishment, Zaz? You just have to do the whole show from a bed.
Yeah. And I want to ask the group here.

Get my comfort on. Who in sports do you guys think of and say is most likely to sleep in that outfit? Because I'm going to start the bidding with Lou Holtz.

You love a town

being visited by the ghost of Christmas past. He's a separate bad guy, right?

Ricky Ricardo still.

I got George Carl. Jerry Sloan, R.I.P.

Oh. Hubie Brown? No.
92 years old, Hubie Brown. He celebrated a birthday like two weeks ago.
92.

Hubie Brown is good.

Let's find the guy below 60, though. Let's make it.
No, but it doesn't. It really doesn't.

P. Carol.
He's not over 60, but Miles Garrett. Pete Carol.
Miles Garrett is actually a really good one. Wow.
That is.

Now you're

on one today, Bill. It doesn't work when you say CK Metcalf.
No, it doesn't.

But Miles, he's got an old soul.

Not that old.

What is that called?

Is it called a sleeping cap? Yeah, it's a nightcap. Nightcap.
Russell Wilson?

Nightcap like Shannon Sharp and Ojo Cinco sleeping.

Yeah, they stole it from me.

I want to get to some

news that Zaslow is in in and around in sports. As you know, he is continuing to climb in the industry.
He is a star on Saturdays on ESPN Radio around college football.

And, you know, Mark Schlareth was on the show, was on Zaszlo Show 2.0, which is also climbing, rocketing up the charts now.

And Mark Schlareth was on his show. So I want to get to some of that sound.
And I also want to get to the sound of Eric Spolster. But let's start with Schlerith.
Zaslow has been on a kick or a punch.

He's been on a run here where he is saying that he needs to and wants to eradicate punching from football. And Mark Schlerith, who Mike Ryan has mocked, is a manly man.

He's more manly than any of us around here.

Mark Schlerith, I'm curious about what his opinion is on the idea that everybody in football is punching other people.

If you miss the ball and you're just punching a player and said attack on him, like, do you think, is that okay?

Dang, it's okay with me, but like, I played in a time where there was some frontier justice in the league. I get, I get pissed watching guys just take it, you know,

the way we, the way we do the defense, like, hey, man, you know, we'll change the rules to make it more offensive friendly. That stuff bothers me.

So punching, hey, if you accidentally catch someone in the jaw, that's that, hey, them's the brakes. That's the way it works.
Embarrassing that he's talking to legends of the game, okay?

Mark Slayer with Man 101, and he's asking him about punching. Yeah, I don't agree with

stinking that spot, but I wasn't about telling him. How about that? You stink.
What do you mean I stink? You stink. Did a hurricane hit his house that we're unaware of? Like

the AC goes down to 74. He does a show in the dark.
Like, what's going on at the manor, man? Never heard of lights button.

First of all, it's a mansion, but it's funny that you bring up the lighting because I cannot figure out how to get the lighting to work in the Zazzlo mansion. You turn them on.
How about that?

Believe it or not, my lights are on. I have three ring lights.
And there is a, you know, there's like foreground light and background light and mid-ground bullshit. I don't know.

I can't figure it out. I got a guy.
I'll send it over to your house. Yes.
Send somebody over to help me with my lighting. Tony's always got a guy.
And that guy. My guy's Danny B.
Danny.

The trading guy.

Tony has always got a guy.

But Spo was talking, and I want to get... This was a very unusual place to get my Barkoff news.

But Spo, who rarely says anything that's newsworthy, did say something about Barkoff that we'll get to in a second.

But the first thing that he did, and the sound that I want to get to first, guys, I don't want to go to the Barkoff sound first.

I want to get to the sound that, again, illustrates how it is that Zaz is rising in the business. We've been trying to get Eric Spolster.

I've been personally asking for Eric Spolster to come do South Beach sessions. What's the problem? And I can't get him to do it.

And he won't do it. I've been asking for two and a half years.
Riley's come over here, but Spo won't do it. Should have come to me.
Maybe I'll help you.

Well, I don't understand how it is that he ended up on your podcast. So let's play some of the sound here as to why and how he ended up on Zazzlo Show 2.0.

Hey, Zaz, here's to many, many more years for you and I doing this. All right.
I remember Spo came up in the business doing this. I appreciate you.
Thank you, Coach. Spoke right.

Spo, you and I also came up in the business. Not like me and I.
I don't understand why you won't come on this show. But did you talk to him before? You're like, oh, it's the the video nerd.

I talked to him when he was retrieving free throws. He'd retrieve the free throws, although he did that as the head coach.

What did you say to him? Like, how's your day going? Or like, get me a coffee nerd? Like,

I'm just, I'm going to put it out there. This seems like a personal thing.
Yeah, a little bit. You think that I went over?

to the heat facility and said to the video coordinator, get me a coffee nerd, the way that Conor McGregor did to Nick Diaz when he was being interviewed on

that business show a million years ago when it introduced us to Conor McGregor. Because he said,

see if you can find me that sound of me of Conor McGregor talking to Nick Diaz and just telling Nick Diaz to go get him coffee. You're asking Chris or Spo to do that for you.

He's like, that's the problem. Billy, go get me a cup of coffee, please.
No, you're not going to like what's going to be in it.

Special cream, if you know what I mean. Oh,

oh, oh, oh, no,

Philly's on one this week.

The James Levy stuff, big and he's hairy.

It's the holiday season. Fantasy football probably not going your way like most of America.
Your football team, hopefully you're still in the mix.

If your college football team is in the mix, congratulations, you've made it this far. Why don't you toast your friends with some Miller Light at the holiday party? It is a surefire winner.

It's the holiday season right now, so why don't you celebrate the 50th anniversary of my favorite beer, Miller Light.

Every time I crack open a Miller Light, I look around at my friends and family and I think, yeah, this was a right call.

It's a taste you know you can depend on, brewed for flavor with simple ingredients like malted barley, rich balanced coffee notes, and that iconic golden color.

And at 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces, it lets you enjoy the season without weighing you down. The best holiday beers are the ones you don't expect.
Miller Light, great taste, 96 calories.

Go to millerlight.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer.
Tis Miller time. Celebrate responsibly.

Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. The holidays are coming up, which means traditions.

Some families have these beautiful, wholesome rituals, and then some of us are just trying to keep our family from arguing over who ruined the stuffing last year.

But this time of year can also be a lot. It gets dark at 4.30, everyone's stressed, and suddenly the holidays go from magical to nightmare.

It's time to start some new traditions, ones that aren't chaotic. Therapy can be one of those new traditions, and BetterHelp makes it easy to fit into your life.

They've got over 30,000 licensed therapists. They've helped more than 5 million people, and they've been doing this for over 12 years.

Plus, they average a 4.9 rating for more than 1.7 million reviews, which is better consistency than any team I root for gives me during the holiday season.

You fill out a quick questionnaire, they match you with someone who fits your needs, needs, and if it's not the right fit, you can switch therapists anytime.

This December, start a new tradition by taking care of you. Our listeners get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash DLB.
That's better H-E-L-P.com slash DLB.

The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 94. 48 teams, these giant stadiums, the whole continent turning into one massive party.
I cannot wait.

But actually getting tickets to any of this? Yeah, that part is brutal. That's why the Game Time app has been a total lifesaver.
It gives the advantage back to us, the fans.

You can track price drops in real time, get alerts when seats open up, grab tickets the second they hit the app, all backed by the Game Time Guarantee.

I'm on the app looking at World Cup matches in Miami because you know I'm not missing that. I'm scrolling through every section in the building.

Behind the goal, midfield, lower ball, upper ball, and the deals are good. I had great seats locked in within minutes.
The experience is so simple and intuitive. Two taps and I'm done.

And the price, no surprises. Fees are included.
The seat views are my favorite feature. You get a full panoramic look before you buy.
And I love zone deals.

GameTime picks a seat and you save even more. Take the guesswork out of buying soccer tickets with GameTime.

Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code DAM for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.
Again, create an account and redeem code DAN for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go.

Download the GameTime app today.

Don Lebatard. I've never stepped foot on that campus.
If you told me right now your life depends on it, go to Santa Fe University and just

take a picture. Stugats.
I would die. I don't know where it is.
This is the Don Lebatar show with the Stugats.

But thank you for the segue. That allows me to get to, and I didn't think this is where we'd end up this quickly in the show,

Big Ten coaches talking about whether they like cream in their coffee or not.

I always enjoy

seeing these coaches who are professional salesmen put on the spot on the spot to be funny or interesting, and they have trouble doing it because they're made out of starch dry cleaning.

And so they're all just asked here how they take their coffee and not a one of them can be entertaining. Mike, what do you have here?

As Spencer Hall outlined, keep an eye out for how terrifying Kirk Signetti is. i mean lately i've been on the black just black coffee so i'm good with it plain black

yeah uh just a little bit of cream in there that's it black coffee honey i don't drink coffee i'm i'm trying to become a black coffee guy which i absolutely hate um but i'm trying to i'm trying to embrace it it's been a about a three-year battle oh cream or sugar nothing has to be black it's got to be black and it's got to be you know fairly strong ice extra that frozen whip like it's more whip than it is coffee.

I just got into this whole coffee thing. I grew up on Mountain Dews and Red Bulls.
Not anything longer than one word.

I don't really drink a ton of coffee, but when I do, whatever it is, extra pumps of syrup. Oh, gosh.
Black. No cream, no sugar.
Original, straight black, no cream, no sugar.

I could watch every coach tell me about coffee, by the way. But it reminded me of this GOAT clip of one of the greatest personalities to ever be a head coach in college football, Mike Leach.

This was an interview when he was at Mississippi State with Morty Smith talking about coffee. What's the best way to take your coffee?

Well, coffee tastes terrible anyway, so don't put anything in it to obstruct the harsh, bitter taste and just put it down one sip at a time, you know? So it's just all about the effect.

The taste, it's not about the experience at all. It's about the outcome.
No, the experience is terrible.

See, I got it.

Put it on the poll at Lebatard show.

How do you take your coffee, black or not?

So, because I'm surprised by the number of guys there who aren't putting anything in their coffee.

We'll get to that Conor McGregor sound in a second, but there's some other things that I want to talk about here locally. First of all, four years, $62 million

the Miami Heat are giving Jovic. Are we surprised by that? Now,

I remember being on the air with Woge when he told us what Tyler Johnson was going to get from the Nets in free agency.

And it changed salaries forevermore in that sport in a way that made me not understand anymore how it is that they were doing it.

When Tyler Johnson ends up in a bidding war and the Brooklyn Nets are giving him roughly this amount of money, it changed the

landscape. The Miami Heat believe that Jovik can be Danilo Galinari.

Jovich is somebody who plays very well off of BAM. He's a good shooter and he's very young.
He's 22 years old. What did you guys think of that contract? I still defer to the Heat on these things.

I still am assuming that they know all sorts of things that I don't know about how a player can grow and what a player looks like in practice to make him the ninth guy that they're guaranteeing this money.

They are saying that this is a part of...

our future and we believe him to be valuable and if you believe some of the reporting this offseason you will also believe that Jovich was not a piece that they were willing to get rid of for anybody, for any of the Kevin Durants that might have been available.

I think it's really easy to be skeptical of it because they're giving a player $15 million a year, which, by the way, in today's NBA is not a lot of money, but they're giving $15 million a year to a guy who has kind of done nothing so far.

So I get like we've been waiting for four years for this guy who they seemingly love to do something. So I can understand the skepticism, but two things.

Number one, I always like to trust the coaches who see the player every single day.

You're sitting in your chair. Some people may be lying in a bed with a nightgown on.
All right. They see Jovich every day.
So I kind of trust that they're not just giving out the money for no reason.

And the second part is, hey, in a salary cap sport, you know, the way that you beat the salary cap is by getting the really good player at the really good value.

So yeah, there's some risk here, but they probably believe that the reward is greater. It's not much risk because this is an average salary.

The average NBA player, this is what the average NBA player makes, and he can't opt out for four years. Mike, why are you playing? Why are you making faces on this?

He had a lot of DMP coaches' decisions. I was shocked to find out Jovich is getting $64 million.

I know that

the average rate of a

medium-level basketball player in the NBA is about that, but it's still shocking to see a guy that, you know, for large stretches of his time here in Miami, Eric Spolscher didn't trust to put in the game.

It's also kind of a low-risk thing, right? Like $60 million in this NBA, it's like, okay, $15 million a year. Like what are you going to do with that? You could trade him in two seconds.

He's not an above-average player yet. He's being paid above-average salary.
The average salary in the league is $14.1 million. They're giving him $15.6.

What does this do in terms of like the cap and financial flexibility? Because the reason that they weren't making moves is because they were saving the money to do stuff.

And now they've signed a player that you guys aren't very high on the signing. So is this now preventing them from going whale hunting again? I'm glad you brought that up because

this idea of flexibility, which he'd have been preaching forever. I'm so tired of it.
This idea of flexibility and cap space, it's nonsense. That's not how today's NBA works.

You don't get really good players. You don't get star players in free agency anymore.
When's the last big star player

that hit free agency? You get players via trade. And that means having as many assets and tradable players as possible.
So, yeah, you know what?

They got what they think is a good player at $15 million a year. That's how you acquire star players is by having players on your roster who are tradable, not having salary cap space.

The play-in game against the Hawks. I believe that's the last game we saw the Miami Heat win.
Jovich was a DMP coach's decision. It's just hard.
No, he just came back from injury, though.

That's not fair. He was available.
Eric Svolscher did not put him in there. And this was a guy that went through a run in December where the coach didn't trust him either.

So I'm just saying, I understand Galinari comparisons, and I know that the heat have always been high on him. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around it.
It's not just high.

At the introductory press conference, Pat Riley said, quote, we're going to hang this from the rafters one day. That's a little bit higher than high.
It's literally high when he's talking.

I don't know whether it's drugs high or rafters high, but it's literally high what we're talking about. They will have no cap space next summer if Wiggins opts in.

I don't know if Wiggins is going to opt in at twice that salary. It's $30 million on Wiggins, and I don't know if Wiggins thinks he can get more money than that.
I hope he does opt-in.

Salary cap space is gone. It doesn't mean anything.
I hope he does opt in.

Use $30 million of his salary to trade. They'll have the large mid-level is what they'll have.
have if Wiggins does opt in.

Let's get to Spo, though, on the Barkoff injury because I hadn't heard anybody else saying this.

I don't know if I'm supposed to believe this because it doesn't sound accurate or right that Barkoff would only miss five or six months with an ACL and MCL tear.

If he only misses five or six months, he would be ready in time for the playoffs, which doesn't seem like that's possible. But let's hear Spo

saying something I don't hear anybody else saying. It's been an electrifying volume that they've had the last three seasons and he's a major part of it and yes he has the talent

but then when you start diving into what everybody says about his character, his leadership, his mentorship, he's about all the right things but he moves a locker room because of what he's about.

You know that's

that's real talent.

And

you know, I see those kind of possibilities with with Bam.

But everybody else, it's inspiring to see that. And it is heartbreaking, you know, to see him in crutches.
But then he talked to him and say, oh, no worries. I'll be back in five or six months.

And, you know, I love that spirit. I'm sure their medical staff will be

seven to nine. Yeah.
Okay. Yeah.

I love that guy. I love everything he's about.

Coach Spo breaking hockey news.

You could see Spo's face when they said seven to nine. He's like, oh, shoot, I just said something.
Yeah.

No, he actually, no, I thought what he was saying was like, okay, you doubt him at seven to nine. He told me five or six, go bleep yourself, Barry Jackson.

That's what I got off him. I hope it was European doctors.
What they're doing over in soccer. I saw a dude come back from an Achilles injury in four months in Europe.

So they're doing some good stuff over there. But everybody speaks about Barkey that way.
And Barkey's been a longtime basketball fan. Moves the locker rooms.
Yeah, he's often at heat games.

He's been at FAU basketball games. Paul Paul Maurice was asked about the next man up mentality that is attributed often to hockey, and he said there's no next man up for Sasha Barkov.

You cannot replace what he brings. First of all, shout out to one of the guys I came up with, Heathead coach Eric Spolstra.

But the Barkov comments are so interesting because we've been hearing about this for a couple of years with him now. And

publicly, he looks like the dullest, most ordinary, no-personality guy, Sasha Barkov. Heck,

he never celebrates. He's never happy when he scores.
This is what I do, you know. But then you hear guys who talk about this is his room.
It's his dressing room. He's the leader.

He's why all of this is happening. It's like there's something there with him that on the outside, we obviously are not privy to, but it's clearly a very real thing.
Thank you.

But if we are going to have the conversation about who kind of steps in, it's Lundell, right? If you have to say which guy has

to be calling him baby Barkov for the last two years and not expect, okay, hey, man, this is the time. He's been the guy that kind of steps in when Barkov does miss.

We got to be careful with this camera angle with Zaslow. Boy, it's a good one.
I saw his balls. It's the old dog.
Roy's analysis initially was a friendly reminder here, and I understand.

We're all looking to Lundell. It's obvious he's going to have to probably move up a line.
It'll be interesting to see how that shakes out baby Barkov and all that.

But the guy that probably should have won the Selkie is also also on this roster it's sam reinhart he's the guy that's going to do the things defensively that allow the florida panthers to keep their defensive identity and lundell

they had they had such a gift in that they had three centermen well four and no shik is also out for a while too they had four centermen that could just keep the pressure and maintain their defensive identity they're going to need to find that there's going to be a weaker line on florida and that's not something that we've seen this incarnation of the panthers have recently yeah we're lucky that this team is uh pretty pretty deep to get a Brand Marchanda that you can shift over to center as well.

That's my dog. Who gets the A?

Because we're not going to give anyone a C, but we're going to probably add an A, right? Who gets the A? Reinhardt? Oh, you already have Bennett. You already have.
Oh, Reinhardt already had one?

Yeah, it's one of those home and road situations. But will they add an A with Barkoff being out for you? They don't have real A.
I want Bennett to get an A.

So bad. Why? Because he deserves one.

Because of that shift. I did forget about the Con Smythe winner.
That's something. What a shift.
He shifts. What a shift.

What a shift. Forgot Sam Bennett took less to stay here.
Man, they're a good team. They can make the playoffs, guys.
It is rare, though. They're back, baby.

It is rare for Paul Maurice or a coach of any kind

to say, no next man up with this person.

Because every coach is always saying, no excuses. I don't want to hear it.

You know, show me the baby. Don't tell me about the labor.

This time of year, it's a lot. Lights, noise, pumpkin spice, it's everywhere.
But one feeling that we are all still chasing is coziness.

And Bumbus has the socks, slippers, and tees, basically everything to get you there. There's something oddly therapeutic about a fresh pair of socks.

And Bumbus knows that feeling and builds it into everything they make. Slippers you can melt into.
Tees that feel just right. Comfort that holds up, wash after wash.

And gifting, Bumbus makes that easy too. Your wife, your kid, your kid's girlfriend, your neighbor's newborn, your mom's new friend.
Yeah, they got socks for them all.

They're even stepping up the footwear game. New colors, new styles, fluffy things, suede things.
If you got feet, they've got something for you.

And the best part, every pair you buy, Bombas donates one to someone experiencing homelessness. Cozy for you, cozy for someone else.
I wear bombers.

I got myself three pairs of underwear from Bombas, and they don't ride up, they don't bunch, they are very comfortable, very soft, and enjoyable to wear. It's cozy season.
It's bombers season.

Head over to bombas.com slash dan and use code dan for 20% off your first purchase. That's bombbas.com slash d-a-n and use code d-a-n at checkout.

If you could stop somebody from breaking in before they got inside your house, why wouldn't you?

Most old school systems only go off after somebody's already in your place, opening your fridge, petting your dog, whatever. At that point, it's too late.
It's reactive. Simply Safe is different.

It's proactive with this double layer of defense that helps stop crime before it even starts.

First, their AI-powered cameras spot potential threats outside, not just in motion, but an actual person lurking around in the bushes behind a tree, in a car, under the car, wherever they may be.

Then live monitoring agents jump in right away. They talk to the person through the camera, let them know they're on video and that cops are getting called if they don't leave.

That's how you stop crime before it starts. Personally, I trust Simply Safe to protect what matters most at my house, my wife, my daughter, my possessions, my things, my home, my safety, my peace.

I trust that to Simply Safe. That's it.
That's the list.

No long-term contracts, no hidden fees and simply safe was just named the best home security in 2025 by u.s news and world report right now it's the best time to jump in simply safe's last chance black friday sale 50 off any new system go to simply safe.com slash dlb again that's simply safe.com slash dlb there is no safe like simply safe

holidays fun holidays as a dad Tough. Travel, gifts, matching pajamas.
Don't get me started on matching pajamas. It's hot in Miami.
My wife says, why don't you want to do this with us?

My daughter's crying. Anyways, school parties, hosting a family.
Next thing I know, I basically put Christmas on my credit card and have no idea what I spent where.

If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch, rated Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app at 25.

Monarch's the all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or on your phone.

Right now, just for our listeners, Monarch is offering 50% off your first year, a massive deal. Monarch showed me how fast the holiday budget was disappearing.

Flights, gifts, late-night online shopping, and helped me pump the brakes before the bill hit.

Now, my wife and I do quick money check-ins, look at our holiday spending category, and actually enjoy the holidays without starting January and the new year in panic.

Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code DAN at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year.

That's 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code DAN. And don't give me those matching pajamas.
I swear.

Don Lebatard. My algorithm on Instagram is Dan's all boobs.

Stugats. It's a good algorithm.
This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugats.

We've got coaches in this market who say things sometimes, suppose not one of them that other coaches don't say. So, how about we look here at what Mike McDaniel had to say when he was asked

about the time so far to describe how he would characterize so far Cam Smith's time in Miami. He says, it's been time.

Man, vibes are bad around this guy. Second round pick.
I mean, Chris Greer needs to look in the mirror with this one. Right.

Isn't that Mike McDaniel trying to be as not disrespectful as possible to Chris Greer, right? No, that's pretty disrespectful. That's to say.
That's more a shot at Cam Smith.

I wish I would have done this a while ago is what he's saying. How would you characterize Cam Smith's time in Miami? Time is disrespectful.

Who's he taking the shot at, though? It's just general disrespect spewed like acid into the air with one syllable. It's exceptionally efficient acid.

I mean, but they have to be fighting at this point. Like, if you're McDaniel and you're Greer, you know someone's got to go.

Like, now is when there needs to be a line drawn in the sand and they need to be taking shots at each other. That's McDaniel saying that's a Greer guy.

Well, if that's the case, and I don't know that's the case, billy you're saying some things if that's the case don't forget when brian flores was here for like the last year that flores here him and greer weren't talking to each other anymore so if we're in a place and i don't know who you are billy you're saying crazy things if we're in a place where mcdaniel and greer are maybe not on the same page

just saying do you figure you take mcdaniel on that side of the of the line of course you got it you got to let go of greer and be like hey buddy you've had two different coaches you've had two different times to like get these things right and you continue to not not do it.

I don't want to sit here and defend Mike McDaniel, but if we have to say which of them have shown us they are more capable of doing their job, I think it's Mike McDaniel.

I mean, but Chris Greer got Tyree Kill.

That's fair. And that kind of turned around.
I mean, he's getting for a bag of chips. Like, they gave up.
No, I know, but that, like, turned around the Dolphins.

The Chiefs wanted to do it too, though, right? Like, if the Chiefs didn't want to do it, he wouldn't be. Well, I think that the Jets were like the ones that were supposed to end up with him.

And then they were able to pull it off at the last minute.

Guess how they did that? They gave up. by offering more money.
So like does Chris Greer get you get a thumbs up because you gave more of Steven Ross's money? That was a good move.

Like come on, that helped the dog. I'm just saying like if you and I and Watkins was good, but he ended up leaving because they didn't re-sign him, but they drafted him and that worked out.

Like he got some of the pieces that Mike McDaniel gets the credit for making work. I don't look, I think both of them should go.

I think they've both been kind of a disaster so far and a disappointment with what it is that the expectations were the last couple years.

But, I mean, you can't just say Mike McDaniel is the one that gets all the credit when Chris Greer brought in the pieces for Mike McDaniel. Well, but

we do this all the time in sports, right? All the credit, none of the credit, some of the credit.

The fact is, Chris Greer has had more time in that position than any GM in the league who never wins anything. That's a fact.
That's not even my opinion.

GMs do not get to keep their jobs that long. And ultimately, if I give any GM in the league, Billy, I'm not kidding you, me or you in charge of the Dolphins, we're going to hit on something.

Like, if I give somebody 10 years and I never have to win, never have to win a playoff game, I could just go out there and keep making moves. Some of them are going to work.

No, I mean, I'm telling you, I think that they both probably need to go at this point in time.

But without Tyreek Hill on this team, I don't think Mike McDaniel ever looks the way that we thought Mike McDaniel would look.

We will see this weekend because you guys argued with me recently when I said that Tua needs Tyreek Hill more than Tyreek Hill needs Tua.

And you specifically read the stats to me of what Hill does when Tua's not out and what Tua does when Hill is out. And this weekend, with a road game in Carolina, I expect them to lose.

I expect them to continue getting gashed right up the middle, even though Carolina stinks, because I think every team in the league is going to run on the Dolphins this year. That team is bad.

Yep, and so are the Dolphins. But I mean, they put up 30 like two weeks ago.
Like, the Dolphins are going to make Carolina look good this weekend.

I don't know that they're going to lose, but what you need is Jalen Waddell to play like a number one receiver that he was drafted to be and is paid to be. And he hasn't been so far.

So, like, he needs to come in and he needs to step up. We were talking about this off air yesterday.
We're like, well, what happens now that Tyreek's done? Where are the touches going to go?

And then the conversation became, Malik Washington will probably get some of those touches and he'll probably become the number one guy. And it's like, that's a problem.

When you're paying Jalen Waddell, what you're paying him, Malik Washington is not going to be your Tyreek Hill. That's not what you can have happen.

When you look at that draft 2021, you look at the guys who were taken directly in front and directly behind Jalen Waddell, and in front was Jamar Chase and behind was Penny Sewell, and you're like, damn, Jalen Waddell, you're getting mentioned with guys that are trajectory Hall of Fame guys, and you're not even talked about on your team as the number one guy.

You're talking about Nick Westbrook, Akine looking good. I mean, Jalen Waddell was the number one guy the year before Tyreek Hill got here.
Jalen Waddell had 100 catches. Lay down.

Lay down in the bed and serve your punishment the way that you're supposed to serve your punishment. I don't know what to do.
Look away because I'm

Look, you're already doing that in a way that makes me deeply uncomfortable.

We're looking right up your gown.

When it comes to the Dolphins, and I understand why we do this, okay, nationally and regionally, the only players talked about on the Dolphins are the players who are on offense.

So when you say Waddle and Tua and Washington, I'm saying Carolina's just going to hold the ball all game.

I believe that that Dolphin defense is going to have all sorts of trouble getting off the field all season, and I believe no one's going to do it for them the way that the Jets did, just turning the ball over three times and having 174 penalties in the game.

No, the defense, I mean, the thing is, you go into the game knowing the defense is bad, and they're going to give up a ton of yards, and they're going to give up a ton of points, which is why the offense needs to respond and put up a ton of points.

And if they can't, then you're not going to win many games. I don't have confidence in anything the Dolphins are doing.
Traveling, they are a favorite in the game.

And as I mentioned after the Jets game, I thought that game had a lot more to do with the Jets losing it than the Dolphins winning it because

I have not seen a single team look more undisciplined than the Jets did in that game with the number of penalties, pre-snap penalties, they couldn't get their shifts right, the number of false starts, and then as well, they gave up three turnovers to a team who can't create turnovers.

I will say the Panthers do have Austin Corbert, Corbett, and Robert Hunt. They're two offensive linemen that will be on injured reserve.
They're two offensive linemen, they just lost for four weeks.

So that could give the Dolphins an edge.

They will not.

You guys haven't been listening to Dan. Dan's talking about they're going to run up the field on the Dolphins, and they're missing two of their offensive linemen.

Your lack of conviction in how you petered out. You petered out.
I was laughing at

the state of the franchise.

Your general lack of confidence in talking about the... It was Austin Corbett that really got me.
I was like, is it Corbett? Do it again one more time? Because you messed it up there, too.

You got Austin wrong. Austin, Corbett, and Robert Hunt, Hunt, former dolphin, and dolphin should have paid, honestly.

We all reacted the same way to you leaking confidence at the end of your announcement. I get it.
You don't like my facts. Carolina offensive.
Disprove your point, Dan. It's fine.

I picked up Brico Dowdle. Dude, I'm waiting for a fantasy piece.
Hubbard's hurt, too. Hubbard's day-to-day with a calf.
We don't know what he's going to do. Aha.
Put it on the poll.

Is Hubbard day-to-day with a calf? That's not what the season was supposed to be about, was it?

I'm going to get to tying a bow on this segment by getting to that

Connor McGregor Nick Diaz sound in a second because it was funny. It was neat.
It's always a dangerous game, man. My bad.
You should have just said Diaz. My bad.
Or Diaz if you're an antido.

But before the UM FSU game of the weekend, Mike, how did your live stream go? It was disastrous. What, what? Yeah, I was just said.
Sedano was on. We couldn't see him.
All sorts of.

There's always some tech thing.

He's changed. Hollywood George.
You know, he spent more time out there on the air than he's spent in this market. It's kind of crazy.
He's an L.A. guy.
He's not even a Miami guy anymore.

He looks like it. He was great.
We were bad. But either way, you know, I learned a little bit more about FSU, trying to figure out, I do have a prediction for this game.

And I think Miami is going to trail for the first time all season in Tallahassee. And I'm curious to see how they respond.

If you're looking for pathways for FSU to win, it's probably got to be a shootout. They obviously need to score points.

They're not going to win a low-scoring game because that means Miami's controlling the pace. But if you look at the home road splits for Carson Beck last year, now let me contextualize

a lot of top six defenses that Carson Beck went on the road against. I mean, you're talking about an NIL budget of, you know,

close to $60 million just on the defensive side alone of the teams that he's playing. But at home, 21 and 2 touchdown interception ratio on the road, seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions.

So it's a little concerning there. And I do think that there's a pathway and a raucous atmosphere, and we got to see this team do it on the road.

I mentioned last year early with Cam Ward, and it would be the same analysis that I have this year.

Early with Cam Ward, in some of those early games, what I was saying is we have now seen the way Miami will lose if they lose.

They will lose in a shootout like they almost lost at California last year. I think we've also seen this year how Miami will lose if it loses, which is

their quarterback turns the ball over and puts them in bad positions.

I do not believe their defense will lose them this football game, even though I believe FSU and Castellanos are very good at offense.

I don't believe it'll be because FSU is able to move up and down the field

on Miami. I believe it's because Carson Beck will give them good field position if he makes turnovers.
And that's how it is that you will lose to FSU. They'll get out on the perimeter.

They'll cash Miami once or twice.

Heatherman's defense has been so much different than Lance Guidry's, not just because of the effectiveness, but you think about last year, you think about those sweeps to the outside, you think about any play to the flats, and there was just a corner on an island, and it came down to whether or not he can make a tackle oftentimes with a lead, a blocker out there, and that's not a good position for your secondary to be in.

This year, gang tackles. Okay, maybe you can live with one missed tackle, but there's somebody else right there to pick him up.

I do think Poiser is going to be isolated sometimes because that's what Gus Malzon does. I think they'll hit some big plays.
By the way, I found out something yesterday.

Cameron Ward gave an interview earlier in the week, and this is like a quarterback coach thing. They have the same quarterback coach.

Casolano said that Cam Ward gives him advice every week. I don't like that.
That's a problem. That's a problem.
Don't like that. Cam Ward also should not be giving advice right now.
That team is...

I'm kind of with you. Mike, you're saying that you expect them to get cash some and you expect them to give up big plays.
I've seen them give up no big plays this season.

But to me, the thing that's startling about the University of Miami this season is that their defense is disciplined about not getting dumb penalties, and they haven't given up easy touchdowns or even chunk yardage.

Just Melzahn has had deficiencies along the lines his entire career,

call him plays, and he's gone up against big, bad defenses before, and he's found ways to get guys on the outside and put them in positions to hit big plays.

I'm not going to go into this thinking that I would be stunned if FSU hit zero explosive plays. They're an explosive offense.
Casolanos has been more consistent throwing the ball. He thrives in chaos.

If Miami collapses a pocket, that'll allow for him to step up. We've seen Miami be susceptible to that with even CJ Carr, who I'm a big fan of, by the way.
But

I'm excited for this test. I think the line is right on the money.
And I think that, like all these rivalry games, I think the other team hangs around for a little bit and then Miami pulls away late.

Last year, Haynes King ran all over the Kanes. Do you fear a running quarterback against this defense? I don't think we expected that from CJ Carr, them running quarterback draw the entire time.

It's not, this is not going to be a Kalen DeBoris situation. Miami's not going to be surprised by what Gus Malzahn has to offer, and Miami has the personnel.
They have advantages.

There's like three players on FSU that can play for Miami right now. Miami has more talent, but these games don't often come down to that.

Play that sound, please, of Conor McGregor to put a loop on the segment and coffee drinking of Conor McGregor introducing himself to people by just crushing whichever Diaz brother this was.

Hey, Connor, Nate, it's Shane Wells with CNBC. How are you? Very good.
How are you? I'm going to talk about money because we are the business network and the business of the USC and all that.

I'll take over from here, Nate. You can bounce.

Take a coffee break, Nate.

And by coffee break, I mean bring me my coffee. No.

They want you to give us a quick count to 10, both of you gentlemen, if you don't mind, just if you wouldn't mind counting to 10. Nate can only count to five.

Can.

Count the five, Nay, will you, if you can? You can't

with that coffee.

I'm holding you up with that coffee.

Now is a good time to remember where Tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila.
Cuervo. What are you doing here? Cuervo.
Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.

Well, I do know that to be true, but even during ad reads, like, Cuervo, I think you could lay out, especially for one of our great partners. Sweet, delicious Cuervo.

Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.
Cuervo. So, enjoy the tequila that started it all.
Cuervo. Cuervo.
The tequila that invented tequila.

Proximo, cuervo.com. Please drink responsibly.
Cuervo.