The Big Suey: Kevin's Crazy Christmas (feat. Dianna Russini)
Dianna is abandoning her family for Christmas just because she has an incredible opportunity to work as the sideline reporter for the Netflix Christmas Day game between the Lions and Vikings. Is she a selfish jerk? Is she going to lose her husband and kids? Her mom sure thinks so. Also, NFL topics galore including the coaching carousel, "good" teams, and a questionable quote from Andy Reid.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Press play and read along
Transcript
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, Quervo.com, please drink responsibly. Cuervo.
Folks, losing at fantasy football has consequences.
It really does. I mean, a new tattoo, a bad haircut, waffle challenges.
I've seen those waffle challenges. Those look delightful.
You're stressing me out with that soundboard. Well, fantasy football is stressful.
So stressful that it can lead to nighttime teeth grinding. Dentech's mouth guards help with nighttime teeth grinding.
I'm actually a grinder, and it's a problem I have and that's why Dentech wants to protect your teeth while raising the stakes with this fantasy season. This is very exciting.
If you want the loser of your fantasy league 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. Void where prohibited.
For details and official rules, visit dentech.com/slash ultimate punishment.
The seven-seat Volvo EX90 is a car made for finding tranquility in traffic with a serene Scandinavian interior. Made for safely navigating the Golden State from Big Sur to the Bay Bridge.
And with intuitive technology and Google built-in, it's the car made for finding the best taco truck in East LA. The fully electric Volvo EX90 is perfect for California.
Visit Volvocars.com/slash US to learn more. Google is a trademark of Google LLC.
Welcome to the Big Sue,
presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? It's a podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan Levittard 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 that if they're just there.
That hasn't happened to you guys. I've done it.
And now, here's the marching man to nowhere, fat face, and the habitual liar.
This episode episode of the Dan Levittart Show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours.
So Tony got it right. The Thunder also have Utah's pick.
So if the season ended today, the Thunder would have the sixth, ninth, and 14th pick in the draft. Look at Zazzler.
You shouldn't be smiling like that. That's crazy.
If you love basketball that way, that team is too good, and they've got
what's going to go down as one of the worst trades we've ever seen because the Clippers, I can't explain to you how slow and old they looked last night to allow six blocks in the first quarter.
They're terrible.
They're just really bad. And to reiterate both Mike's point and the point I was making about Mike's hand being up Mario Cristobal's back,
you have Miami is the only team in the top 15 that isn't ranked ahead of the team it beat head-to-head.
So Georgia is ranked ahead of Old Miss, and Texas Tech is ranked ahead of BYU, and Oklahoma is ahead of Alabama, and alabama is ahead of vanderbilt and
and the quote from mario cristobal and tell me tell me if you've heard this before quote there's no one playing better football than miami right now we're playing better football than we were playing when we were number two in the country see if you've heard that quote before that's a coincidence
Diana Rossini is with us now, senior NFL insider for the athletic and the host of the Scoop City podcast.
She's working on Christmas Day, which I just cannot imagine is going over very well in her family.
She's doing the Netflix game. Uh, how you are you being accused by the family of ruining Christmas, of working too much? What's happening here? Is my family that predictable at this point?
Yeah, of course they are. How could I possibly work on Christmas Day when I, when I'm a mom? Um, I'm choosing myself.
I'm selfish. I'm not concerned about the family or the joy of Mikey and Joey.
So, um, I talk to my parents pretty regularly. That hasn't happened.
Uh, it's been a couple days because I know that they're mad and I just, I don't, I don't want to hear it. But I don't know, Greg,
what do you think? Bumble.
What do I do here? I think you're doing all the right thing. You know, you're juggling.
That's what you do, right? You juggle. You know, you're not forgetting the question.
Did you just get surprised by that question because you dropped something that you were juggling before she asked the question and you were surprised that it came to you? Is that what just happened?
Yeah, I dropped my phone and, you know, the rest is history. Okay.
So you want to think for a second? Because you didn't have time to think. You were thinking, like,
she's doing the right thing by
betraying her family on Christmas to selfishly choose herself and
Vikings lions. She's juggling.
She's multitasking. This is what strong modern women do, Dan.
They multitask. They juggle.
They do it all. Yeah, but she's not multitasking on this day.
She's choosing football over her family. I don't see that.
Well, what do you mean? It's Christmas Day and she's going to be not with her family.
I have not heard her say that. Did you miss Christmas? Christmas is coming up.
It's not happening yet. Christmas is coming up.
Thanksgiving was the one which just happened.
I meant Thanksgiving.
Christmas is the one coming up.
She's already anticipating missing Christmas. He's lost.
So, Greg, I heard her. Preemptive.
Greg is actually spot on with making that mistake because it reminded me. So, yes, I was with...
my family on Thanksgiving. Of course.
It was awesome. And we had a great day.
And when I saw the four-year-old for the first time in the morning and he was watching his cartoons, he said,
happy Mother's Day.
I said, no, Mike, it's Thanksgiving. He said, happy Mother's Day.
So my point is, every day is Mother's Day, but my point is they don't understand
what holiday is when anyway.
So I think if they were older, I would probably have a hard time taking this opportunity that Netflix is giving me me to work on Christmas on a big game.
But my thought is I can go do the game. I get to do something I've never done before.
And then I can just come home and Christmas can be on Friday, like the next day. And they won't even know the difference because they don't understand calendars.
They don't have cell phones to talk to their friends. Right.
Right. So, but I think the other kids are going to say, well, Santa already saw that.
I thought about that. I've thought about that too, because here's the other part that is probably important.
And now you're definitely going to turn on me.
I still, so we host Christmas, Kevin and I, we do it. And so we have about 25 to 30 people here.
Wow. I still believe we should do it, even though I'm not here because everyone likes that tradition.
My family thinks that that's outrageous that I would have him host without me here and put it all on him. And he wants to do it.
So that's the other factor in all this, that all these people are going to be at my house and I'm not here. I have not talked to you as your mother in a while.
Can you do an impersonation of what your mother is hitting you with here as if you don't already have enough guilt and shame about
finally choosing yourself for once instead of those demon monsters? So she's actually doing something she has never done before, which is why I know she's mad. She's not saying anything.
The only thing she said was when Netflix offered me the job and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at this, at the time, but there was like a 10-minute window where I wasn't sure because of the Christmas situation.
And I called them and said, look, this is what I've got going on. And she's like, wait, wait, wait.
On Christmas?
You're not going to be there on Christmas? You're going to work on TV on Christmas. I'm like, yeah, can't do that.
You can't do that. You got kids now.
You're turning very selfish.
You're very worried about yourself. And that's the problem.
You're going to wind up alone. You're going to lose Kevin.
Those boys are going to hate you.
And
like she goes that far. Like she does.
She pushes it.
And my father, who's, who's wonderful and says three words a year,
just weighed in and was like, you're making the wrong decision.
Family support.
Family support. Both of them think it's the wrong decision.
Exactly. And by the way, my husband sends me flower, like hog kiss, wakes up, is like, I am so proud of you.
Like, like everything you could ever hope for in a support system, right? And this is the person I'm, he's not blood. My own blood does not care.
They, they, first of all, do you think Camille and Rick Rossini are going to be able to even find Netflix? Like, that's still a part of this, right?
Like, they're going to be so, like, even for this show, because my dad loves you guys, like, just finding this has been such a big deal like like and i explain i show them on the phone on the youtube you know i do the whole thing um but i want it on my tv you know the whole so none of this is really gonna matter and it always goes back to as as traditional as they are is about the family it's gonna just go back to how many people at the deli come up to them and say they saw me If a lot of people say they saw me, they'll be like, oh yeah, yeah, she's doing so good.
We're so proud of her but if no one's if no one sees it they won't care like that that's why they had a hard time when i became a writer everyone's gonna see it every everyone's gonna see it they're gonna turn dan you know what you know why your husband is being so supportive about it right you know what you know what husbands love dan
dan they love money not as much as the wives no they love it not as much as the wives
but husbands
every bit as much as the wives uh i i have
to deal with me. Like, I know it's that.
But look, he gets it too. Like, this, I'm so excited for this opportunity.
As hard as it is,
I haven't done a lot of big games on the sideline. You guys always see me on the field doing pre-game and post-game.
I don't do a lot of sideline in-game, so I'm not. What game is it?
It's Vikings and Lions. It's Lions and Vikings.
You know what? I'm sorry.
I'm sorry to do this to Zaz.
Out to lunch, huh? Early?
Go hit the showers, buddy. Minor Penny, two minutes, four, not listening to the show.
We'll lock in. Diana, this seems to be a weird season for head coaching candidates.
Maybe it's because Ben Johnson was such a hot candidate.
We talked about him for two years that everybody knew who the bell of the ball was.
In college football, Lane dominated the story, but who's the hot coaching candidate that's going to be the bell of the ball this year with all the available jobs? There's some good jobs available.
Hi, Mike.
Look, I think the Titans obviously have had the head start on this, and you always just have to piece together who knows who because it's a relationship business.
And Mike Borganzi, the general manager there, comes from Kansas City where he had a great relationship with Matt Nagy. You know, and you look at this Chiefs' offense.
Look, the Chiefs. Oh, God.
Don't do that to King. The team is on life support.
No, I can't do this. No.
For a lot of reasons. But Matt Nagy,
you know, wants another shot at this. He got some opportunity last go-around with the Jets.
He met with them
before they settled on Aaron Glenn, obviously. But I think that's going to be a name.
I think Robert Sala is actually going to make another comeback in all this.
Look, whoever just like panted or exhaled or took a breath, like, I hear you because our memories are New York, right? It's that Jets debacle.
And we talked about it so many times in the show.
But what he's doing with the San Francisco 49ers defense is pretty tremendous.
And look, I give Kyle Shanahan tons of credit as well, but Sala's doing something with a lot of injuries and not a lot of guys.
By the way, so I want, I know you you can't like call into your show, but I was thinking of you guys yesterday.
I was, I was doing another show and I look down at my phone and I see the, I see the Vikings tweet out that they've moved on from Adam Thielen.
And all I kept thinking was, do you guys remember that day? 20 minutes.
So important.
It was, and I'm so embarrassed that I thought it was that important. And it was, it was a good moment of growth for me from then to to now, especially seeing that tweet.
I'm like, here I am being rude to my friends who are so kind to me, bring me on their show. I'm ignoring them because I'm trying to get a trade about a player that's not even on a team anymore.
So, you mentioned two guys had had opportunities before and it didn't go well for them. But who's the hot, sexy name? It's usually, you look, you usually look at the McVeigh or Shana entry.
So, is Chris Shula going to be a headman? Yeah,
I think if I may, Diana, just to add to that, it's a terrible coach year and quarterback year, right? If you need a coach or a quarterback, you're stuck.
And look at the teams that are thriving. They nailed the coach.
They got the quarterback, right? And that's always the name of the game.
And any coach that wants to get in or is trying to move up, they always just point to, do they have a quarterback?
And that's why certain coaches are taking certain jobs. Going back to this pass-off season with Ben Johnson, right?
When he was looking around and he pretty much could get any job he wanted to get, he went to a place where he thought thought the quarterback was the best for him.
New England at the time, obviously has the best quarterback in terms of what was available last year, but
they
obviously wanted Mike Rabel there.
So to answer Mike's question about Shula, yeah, I do think he's going to be another big name that's going to make a run here and get some attention.
But you're right. There isn't anyone at this moment that's like everyone's whispering about
of like, wow, this guy's got coach material. Anthony Weaver is a name that comes up during a lot of the cycles because he's a good mix of culture builder
and also he's a good defensive coordinator. 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 toffee 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.
Hey, Amin here, and the NBA on Prime is back tomorrow with another great doubleheader.
The action starts with one of the best rivalries in sports as Luka Donchitz and the Los Angeles Lakers face Jalen Brown and the Boston Celtics.
Then, Cooper Flag and the Dallas Mavericks meet SGA and the Oklahoma City Thunder. And if you're not a Prime member, that's not a problem.
Sign up for a 30-day free trial to get started today.
The Lakers and Celtics, the Mavericks and Thunder. Coverage starts tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.
Eastern only on Prime. Restrictions apply.
See amazon.com/slash Amazon Prime for details.
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 we save even more. Take the guesswork out of buying soccer tickets with GameTime.
Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code DAN 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. 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 Don Lebatar show with the Stugats.
Have you heard anything about Jeff Braum? Because my sources are telling me he's getting a lot of NFL interest.
No,
no, my sources didn't share that with me. What are they telling you about him? Well, I know that the Giants
wanted, we're kicking the tires on Ian Lane, and he's a name that's been bannied about. He's got the college job that he would want.
He's at his alma mater.
I'm sure if Alabama came knocking, he'd listen, but the pros, I think, are a better fit for him in terms of, you know, does he really want to recruit?
He's got a pro-game mind, and people would look to him to develop quarterbacks. Here's the one thing I can tell about New York.
They are definitely not tapping their toe in any college first-time head coach stuff.
They are on a mission to have someone come in here and build this thing from the jump. Like they're not in a space of being patient anymore.
They want a leader. They want identity.
They want to know who the New York Giants are again because I have no clue what they are now.
Let's play some sound here in a moment of Abdul Carter talking about being late again and sitting out the the first quarter.
And I want to also get to something from last night's game that I've never seen before, and I don't think any of us have ever seen before in a professional game.
But let's just get Abdul Carter again, sat out the first quarter, first-round pick. I think he got his first sack last night.
He has not been very good for them, and he was sort of a consensus beast that everyone wanted this person, but he can't show up to meetings on time. Here's his explanation after the game.
Keep an eye on.
The Hornets broke the Raptors 9 a.m. winning streak.
Okay, that's
so good. That's still Amin's weekend observations.
We'll go back to uh Abdul Carter here in a moment.
Amin was just still going, yeah, he's still going from the weekend observations. That's not a reference that uh Diana is going to understand at all.
So let's go back to Abdul Carter talking after the game.
Second time in three weeks, the meeting starts
happens.
What happened?
I ain't gonna get into detail when I said shit happened.
Why?
Why, Anto?
Ask me the same question. I just answered.
You can't be an irresponsible child when you're a professional and get mad that people were asking about it for the second time in three weeks. Grow up.
Yeah, I couldn't believe that the coach, the interim coach, asked about that. He says, coach's decision on why he sat out at the beginning of the game.
Call him on the carpet for it. Say what it is.
Say he just missed. He was late for a meeting the second time in three weeks.
What if it's worse than that? Well, say the truth.
I think teams like to conceal that to protect their employees. But if he, but he's getting upset at reporters, please, please.
Where are you on this, Diana? Yeah, look, this is not new.
This has been the problem with the Giants. And I'd heard it even when Brian Dable was here of just there was not a lot of accountability with the best players.
And the good teams hold their best players accountable.
Even I was at the Eagles game on Friday and I was in their losing locker room afterwards. And there's a certain way the leaders handle themselves, even when things are not good, because
they're not good at all in Philly.
You know, and I just think Abdul Carter is just very immature right now. And he hasn't had anyone else on defense.
He's had no leadership around him to show him how to do it.
Because that's a problem too, right? Like you have to be able to police your own locker room. Those are what the good teams do.
That's what the Chiefs have always been so good at.
They don't need Andy Reid in there saying, this is how you do it. They've got the dudes in there.
The New York Times don't have anyone to tell Abdul Carter, hey, man, show up.
Don't fall asleep in the training room or whatever it is that he did the last time.
So this, I mean, this isn't surprising. This is a team that's pretty dysfunctional at this moment.
Diana, the AFC South is getting very, very interesting. We got the Texans in the mix.
The Jags are looking good. The Colts with Daniel Jones is broken fibula.
What's going on in the AFC South? Yeah, how do you play with a fractured fibula?
I'm still trying to, I'm actually working on that right now. Like, how severe is this?
Like, I knew of a little boy once who fell off one of those jumpy jumps and he had a fracture fibula and he was in a cast for like six months like i get he was a baby but like i don't know how is he out there playing
um
so look i i first of all let's just the texans this is a team that i was i was just done with them actually i couldn't they were bothering me so much because i they have such a good defense and it was so obvious that on offense they couldn't figure it out and anyone i talked to around the Texans kept saying, like, it just needs a little bit more time.
There's so much change here. We've got a new OC.
We've got a new offensive lineman. And they're right, because now look at it.
And it's all clicking.
And I think they're just doing a really good job of taking care of the football, too.
And all the teams that are doing well, all the teams that are doing well have the most consistent thing going for them. And that's the run game.
Anyone that's running the ball.
well right now is winning games and and they've got the momentum on their side because of it.
Put it on the poll. Did you know a little boy once who fell off of one of those jumpy jumps? I want to look at some still images here of something that shocked me and Danny DeVito last night.
Danny DeVito was on the Manning cast and was just appalled that Young Way Ku, who I'm telling you, when I saw him in Atlanta, I'm like, that's as trustworthy a kicker as there is in the league when I saw him in Atlanta.
But those
jobs seem to test, mentally test some people in ways that seem excruciating.
When you're not a real football player, you're just the foot, and you come out onto the field, and none of the other guys actually respect you.
Young Wei Ku, the hold was bad, the ball was placed poorly. His left foot ended up too close to the holder, and then he just stubbed his right toe and never got the kickoff.
Is it the equivalent of a golf, like duff chip, where your club hits like the ground, like a foot behind the ball? I just Roy calls it a shot.
I don't, I don't even, I don't understand what happened there. So can you explain to me what the hell happened there? How does this happen to a professional kicker? You did it.
You said it all.
All the things played into it. And the golf analogy is perfect.
It's just essentially a whiff. By the way, I've done this in soccer before.
And usually it's because your eyes are looking too in front of you. Like you're, you're just, you're, you're too focused on the wrong thing.
And by the way, like, don't understate how much that hurts.
like what he did just think about your foot getting caught like that like there the ligaments in there and and that's what you think hurts about football turf toe dan turf toe that's what you think hurts about football we were all no no i think in that situation
like look we saw about five or six hits last night that you're like oh my god right in the cold and the the the type of hits they're taking but that is still that's painful that is painful to kick the ground but it's not think about how cold the ground is it's not just painful painful it's totally incompetent like it's his
his foot is stopped by the ground so thoroughly that it never gets near the football Yeah, Richard, New Jersey. You got to cut him today.
Group a Giants. You got to fire him.
You got to cut him.
I thought I fired him right then. Put it on the poll.
Should the Giants have come out on the field and fired Young Wei Ku as soon as his toe got caught in the ground?
The more impressive takeaway, I can't believe the Patriots have won 10 straight. I can't believe they're the first team to 11 wins in the sport.
And I also can't believe that Drake May is the best deep ball passer in the league. Like,
I expected him to be good. I can't believe how good he is deep with those skill guys.
Yeah, I think a lot of people have that same opinion and thought.
And I can just tell you from my own perspective of seeing him in the summer, like he was
good. He wasn't great.
Like I never left practice going, wow, this team is going to win 11 games and be top of the AFC. Like no way.
If anything, I've always said the same thing about the Patriots pretty consistently. And I am eating it badly now, which is they need a year.
They need a year to figure out what they're doing.
But they drafted well. They made some good signings in free agency.
Josh McDaniels has been spectacular with Drake.
They know what they are and they're bought in. Like all these little,
I mean, they're kind of funny, like no naps and, you know, one clap after the game for every person doing something. Whatever it is that they're doing,
they're eating it up and they're all in on it. And the leadership there to me has stood out because usually it's the quarterback that's the leader.
I still think he's a work in progress.
How could he not? He's 23 years old.
But the other guys around him, even like someone like Stefan Diggs, who I've come on the show before and definitely have criticized him for the way he's handled things before in the past on other teams, he's been tremendous up there.
Like everyone tells me he's all in. Like he's all about it.
And we know he's got a lot going on outside football too.
Diana, does Jerry Jones deserve some credit for the turnaround with the Cowboys right now? Yes, he absolutely does.
Because that was the same man who looked me right into my eyes outside that lobby of the hotel when I talked to you guys that day after during the league meetings.
And he kept saying, like, he was pushing back on me. Like, you keep asking me about our defense.
And I keep telling you the same thing and you don't want to hear it, which was we just need to make a move during the trade deadline, which they did.
And we just need to go back to fundamentals. When we fix that stuff and we focus on that, we're we're going to win.
And I was right. Diana, this is a weird year for me.
It seems like we're going to have a Super Bowl without a super team in it. A lot of good teams still waiting for a great team to emerge.
Do you agree with that? Or do you see any great teams?
Absolutely.
I don't remember the last time this far into the season. I still go, are they good? Like, you know, when we did that as a joke a couple of weeks ago? Like,
I couldn't tell you who was good. And I still don't really know.
Like, yes, you watched the Patriots last night and the way in which they're winning as well,
that tells me, okay, they're good. Are they super? No,
right? At some point here, I thought the Colts were a lot like the Eagles. They're nothing like the Eagles now.
I meant the Eagles, the good Eagles, the good version of them.
I'm not seeing that, right? If anything, I'm seeing them a little bit of a collapse here. All the good stuff that we talked about earlier in the year.
The Rams, to me, are probably the best of everyone i think they they collectively have it all um top to bottom but yeah no i i'm with you greg it is really hard to figure out it feels like every week anyone can win
You mentioned the Eagles here, so we've talked before about how important Lane Johnson is to them. They lose when Lane Johnson is out.
They've scored two or fewer touchdowns in six of their 12 games this season. They have the highest three and out
punt rate in the sport. They rank 28th in offensive success.
It's their worst ranking in two decades, and it's with 10 of 11 returning starters.
They have the worst points per game of any team with a winning record. Like everything.
And now their offensive coordinator is getting his house egged.
Yeah.
Well, first, let me just take you inside the locker room on Friday. So I see Cooper Degene, right? Obviously in his second year.
And the last time I saw Cooper in person was at the Super Bowl.
And so I made that observation. I'm like, hey, last time I say he was at the Super Bowl.
And he looked at me like, yeah, it ain't the same anymore. And it's like, yeah, you think?
So much has changed for this team. And they were able to hide so much of it last year, I think.
I think they really peaked at the right time.
And that was obviously in the playoffs and then getting into the Super Bowl and winning in the fashion that they did. So what's the problem now? Right.
And I spent a lot of time talking to all of them, all Saquon, AJ Brown, all the guys in that locker room about what is it? Like,
I'm sick of trying to figure it out. What is it?
And guys, I think it's a lot of things. I don't think it's just one thing.
It's not Kevin Petullo. It's not Nick Siriani.
It's not an injured offensive lineman.
It's not the fact that Saquon Barkley hasn't found his groove. It's not the fact that A.J.
Brown wants the ball at time.
It's not the fact that Jalen Hurts just wants to take care of the football and won't be dynamic. It's the offense is boring and no one is really focused on doing what they need to do.
Like that was my takeaway. And they're back in the building today.
And I can tell you from talking to a few people over the weekend about it since then in that building.
Like, they're spending the next few days figuring this out. Two questions, two questions.
Your husband, what kind of state is he in?
A wreck. Uh, he kind of ruined the weekend because he was grumpy the whole time.
And I had done locker room, and he waited for me after the game. So, I drove home with him and his dad.
And they put on WIP instead of listening to what I wanted to tell them on some of my conversations that were also off the record. So, I had intel that no one else on the planet had.
And
my father-in-law and my husband did not want to hear it. They wanted to hear WIP.
That's offensive. It's insulting.
But were you also booed when you were in Philadelphia? You personally?
Yes. What? Double booed.
What? Not single-booed. Double booed.
Not like this. Like straight in the face.
Two thumbs down from two thumbs down.
But you know what? It
ended up like I wasn't like my feelings weren't hurt because
I made eye contact with every person that did it to me and I could tell they were just really sad. It wasn't me.
It's the fact that their Eagles team on paper should be so good.
And here's the other thing about this, and I know I'm saying this, and people are going to tell me to shut up and feel like
how could they be so angry when they just want a Super Bowl? Like, I know the potential's there, but it's like the Super Bowl never happened.
They're acting like the Browns, like as if they haven't seen it ever. Like,
you just had it. On Fox One, you can stream your favorite live sports so you're there for the biggest moments as they happen.
For me, I cannot deal with spoilers, so I need to see it live, especially on college football Saturdays and NFL Sundays. With Fox One, you get it all.
NASCAR, the MLB postseason, edge of your seat plays, jaw-dropping moments, and that rush like you're right there in the action. Sports are meant to be watched live, and you can do that with Fox One.
Fox One, we live for live, streaming now.
All right, look, it's the holidays again, and people are running around and getting stressed out. And they're asking me, Roy, what should I get? What should I do? Do me some recipes.
And every year I tell them the same exact thing. Get meat.
It's not that hard. It's not that complicated.
It's meat.
And Omaha Steaks, they deliver the world's best steak experience, USDA-certified Tinder Steaks. It tastes like someone actually cares about you.
Burgers, steaks, comfort meals.
All that stuff makes you go, mm-hmm, that'll work. And now during the cyber sale, you can get 50% off site-wide and an extra 20% off select favorites at omahasteaks.com.
Plus, our listeners get an extra $35 off with promo Dan at checkout. I've had Omaha steaks many times.
I've given them out too. People lose their minds.
You hand them that box and suddenly they think you're the greatest human alive. Five generations, same family, 100% guaranteed.
Save big on unforgettable gifts with Omaha steaks.
Visit omahasteaks.com for 50% off site-wide and an extra 20% off select favorites during the cyber sale. And for an extra $35 off, use promo code Dan at checkout.
That's omahasteaks.com, promo code D-A-N at checkout. Turns apply, see site for details.
You ever find yourself late night scrolling, adding stuff to your cart you absolutely don't need? And then you see the beautiful, glowing purple shop pay button. Boom! Check out, done.
You didn't even have to get up and find your wallet. That, my friends, is Shopify magic.
That little purple button means that store is powered by Shopify, which doesn't just make it easy to buy, but ridiculously easy to start and run your own business too.
Whether you're a giant like Mattel or Gymshark or just launching something weird from your garage, like Greg Cody's garage, Shopify has your back.
Let's be real, if we can run a show with this much chaos, you can run a business with Shopify.
With hundreds of beautiful templates, tools for payments, inventory, analytics, marketing, it's all in one place. And yes, that purple button?
It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Shopify, it's how real businesses get built.
If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify.
Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash Batard. Go to Shopify.com/slash Batard.
Shopify.com/slash Batard.
Don Lebatard. 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 now you write. Who reads that? Stugats.
Why did he take a job at the Atlantic? Mom, I work at the Athletic. What?
You're on YouTube? This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugats.
I think that I do believe that there is one thing worse than just being poor. It's being rich than being poor.
I believe that these fans are angry under all circumstances, but now you spoil them and entitle them and allow them to win whatever it was, 20 of 21 games, they're going to get unreasonable about it.
You're going to be unreasonable about it because when you're also looking at the team, it's a lot of the same guys, as you pointed out before, right?
It's not like they had to go through a lot of transition and
significant injuries outside Layton Johnson and a few other banked up guys. They're not really dealing with that much.
And the dysfunction, they'll tell you, you know, guys in that building will be like, this is what Philly does. This is what we like.
And I think that works to a point because at some point, the dysfunction is just going to get them out of the playoffs. And that's going to be a disaster.
She's the senior NFL insider for the athletic. She's the host of the Scoop City podcast.
We will let her go on this note.
Do you have any disciplinary measures that are working better on those demon children? The good news is it's colder in New Jersey.
So the time that they spend outside when they're not doing the things they should be doing,
it's working better because they really don't want to sit outside.
The elf is helping. We have the little elf on the shelf.
Do you know what that is? Oh, yeah.
Tell us about it for those I know, but Chris Cody might need some help.
So Chris, we have this dumb little elf guy, and most families do.
And what you do is you hide them when the kids go to bed and you tell the children that that elf is going to communicate with Santa Claus. And they, you know, he's the eyes and ears of Santa.
So it's like having another parent in your house.
And you name him and he becomes part of your family. And like we, you know, ours is
Chip, Chippy or Pete. I don't know what his name is.
It's something one of those.
And then you have to hide it. And, but it becomes a problem too in your marriage because who's responsible for hiding the stupid elf before you go to bed? And you always forget.
And then the kids notice elfie didn't move.
So yeah, we, we don't like it. I, I don't know why I did it, but once you're in it, you can't, you can't quit.
Diane, it's a means of control, right?
Because the kids can't touch the elf either because all of a sudden all the magic is lost if you touch the elf. I also have a chippy in my family.
My niece and nephew have a chippy, so maybe it's from the same part of the North Pole. But if you touch the chippy, all of a sudden, as his magic is gone, he goes back, he disappears.
He tells Santa, the kids were bad, they touched me, it's over. Put it on the poll.
Put it on the poll at Lebatard show. Is the elf on the shelf part of your family? You were saying, Diana?
Well, Mike, I have a question for you, Dan. I feel like I'm not maximizing the power of this elf in my house, right?
Like everyone understands that he's the eyes and ears for Santa and that scares little children, but I feel like we could do more with them.
Like I feel like I could get Elfie to get my children to behave better or do more chores. I don't think you can do better than Chris Cody calling, dressed as Santa, FaceTiming him.
Now that we're in December, him in character, you showing the kids on FaceTime. No, I've got Santa's number.
Here he is. And you call Chris Cody.
I think you will get a month of good behavior. She's going to tell me some things they're doing wrong, and then I'm going to send a video with
specific items that they need to address. Yeah, but I'm embarrassed what I'm going to have to share with you because my children don't.
It's hard. I've seen a lot, Diana.
He's Santa. Santa is allowed.
Look, he knows when you've been naughty. He knows when you've been nice.
He knows you when you're pooping. He takes your confessionals.
You should absolutely use Chris as Santa. Diana, thank you for the information.
I can't believe believe your family of
cavemen wants to listen to WIP instead of Diana, who's been talking personally to the players off the record. Like, this is offensive.
Yeah, but I need to know what Joe and Bryn Mawr thinks, Diana.
I know, I got it.
Because I don't even get upset anymore. When I first started dating Kevin, I got offended by it.
I was like, God, because all of his brothers, like, they all think I'm dumb.
And, you know, I just don't listen. But now I just, now I'm like, I'll just write about it and you can read about it and be all upset.
You've lost Mike Ryan. Mike Ryan hasn't listened to a word you've sent since two words that you said.
Matt Maggie. He hasn't listened to anything you've said since then.
That's the exciting coaching pick. Lou Anarumo.
It's a better
athlete. Like, what else?
That is a good idea. I'm thinking.
That last one, you're trying to trick me. See you later, Diana.
Good talking to you. Good seeing you.
Thank you, as always. We have some sounds.
That guy was fake.
We've got a coach that you have heard of that is not fake, who looks the most like Santa of any coach who's ever existed. Andy Reed, what is the context for the sound that we're about to play?
Andy Reid, not the most electric of personalities.
What I remember Andy Reed saying was a cheese whiz joke that made me
like him because he talked about cheese whizzing his mustache, but he's not an electric personality.
He's being asked here about just their playoff chances and if they're gonna you know fight the fight the good fight to end the season and here's his answer he has some odd phrasing in here if you're coming to me on this matt i'm telling you we're gonna go after you every game you know that's how we roll we're gonna try to tickle your tonsils on every every play every game we're gonna try to tickle your tonsils on every play so he thinks yo he thinks the way to play football is to stick your hand in the other player's mouth you know that's how we roll we're gonna try to tickle your tonsils on every
play. See, all right.
Okay, Andy heard this at practice, and I don't think he
understood. Well, neither does Zaz, clearly.
There's going to be. It's not a mandible claw situation.
All right. Going to be a tickling of the tonsils when the Chiefs play you.
Oh, Zaz is so innocent.
Oh,
you got it now, buddy?
We're going to try to tickle your tonsils on every
play, every game. I got it now, Dan.
I got it. Yeah, nasty.
You got it too? Yeah.
Travis Kelsey said something at practice.
I like that. And he's so good-hearted that he didn't understand.
You guys immediately went to work writing things down as soon as I said Andy Reid looked like Santa. So what are you guys putting together?
Putting together top five of coaches that look more like Santa. All right.
We're going to try to tickle your tonsils on every
play, every game. Say what you mean, Andy.
How great would that have been?
We're going to try to ram our cock cock down your throat every time we're playing.
We're going to try to tickle your tonsils on.
Imagine how shocking that would be. Well, the way he says it, I got to tell you, it adds to it because he's
so special dirty. Like, he sounds like he's going to try to tickle your tonsils.
It's, yeah.
Do you think I'm picturing just like his PR person sitting next to him and he walks off there?
What'd you say? All right, we're done here. He's just like, hey, good, good press conference.
And they're like, I love Andy. Andy Reid should just go blue.
Like, just start working on it.
That would be great.
We're going to try to
put your tonsils on. He's looking to skull you just straight up.
He makes him, he amuses himself in the middle of this.
He's going to try to tickle your tonsils on every
play, every game.
He's like, we're 6-6. I'm just going to say what I want.
But listen to how he amuses himself when he realizes what it is. Do you think he sees the reaction for the room, maybe?
We're going to try to tickle your tonsils on every
play, every game.
Well, every play, every game. Give me some throat coat.
That's how you tire them out, Greg. I guess so.
Try to tickle your tonsils on every
play.
I've never heard an NFL coach sound dirtier.
We're going to try to tickle your tonsils on every
play. It's not the words.
It's not the words. It's he's amused by himself and he sounds lecherous.
Yeah. Rasp.
We're going to try to tickle your tonsils on every
play, every game. I also want to hear from Liam Cohen.
I have not heard from him since he did Duval, but I wanted to talk about it in the context of
Kevin Patullo, the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, getting his house egged. Like, we've reached a state where that's not okay, right? But their offense isn't good.
Yeah.
So, so, no, what do you think? That's just Philly. Like, we could chalk it up, like, egged house-Philly.
Like, that's just what it is. Yeah, but you got, come on, man.
His family lives there.
I'd be worried. I'd be concerned about my family if the neighbors knew where I lived and were so angry that we're 28th in offense, that they're damaging my house with eggs.
I thought eggs were too expensive nowadays for people to just be throwing. No, they're back down.
They're back down. No, they're good now.
Okay.
Can we hear from Liam Cohen, though, the Jacksonville coach?
And I would have thought that he would have inspired more indifference, but no, evidently, Liam Cohen is surrounded by death threats all the time.
One of the Titans players, I guess, after the game said Logan Cook threatened to kill him in one of those altercations there, and that's kind of blowing up a little bit.
I was just wondering your thought about whether that might have been across the line or anything, or if that's something, you know, that just happens during games.
I've probably heard that said like,
I mean, 100 times, you know, from players in games. So whatever.
Indifferent. I mean, a death threat.
I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna, he's heard a hundred times.
I'm going to kill you. I like the line of questioning, though.
Like, do you think that that crosses the line? I love how he's a little afraid of Lee and Cook. Let's, I want to listen to the question again.
He's like laughing through it. A question about murder.
One of the Titans players, I guess, after the game said, Logan Cook, I threatened to kill him in one of those altercations there, and that's kind of blowing up a little bit.
I was just wondering your thought about whether that might have been across the line or anything, or if that's something, you know, that just happens during games, it's just like, does that happen all the time?
That's Jacksonville's punter. Yeah, Logan Cook is their punter, by the way, who threatened to kill somebody somewhere.
Didn't Robert Salah have to apologize a thousand different ways for threatening to kill a coach in the post-Liam Cohen. Liam Cohen.
Wait, so maybe he does hear it.
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 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.
Brooksimo, cuervo.com. Please drink responsibly.
Cuervo.