Major news on the future of the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Meadowlark Media & DraftKings
The deal is expected to be for three years. The previous contract was worth $50 million. Expectations are that the new deal will be officially announced as soon as next week.
The flagship Le Batard Show, South Beach Sessions and Nothing Personal with David Samson are among Meadowlark benchmarks of emphasis in the new agreement, which was first reported by Front Office Sports.
Closing the deal had its recent pitfalls with reports that top executive John Skipper had left Meadowlark and that popular sidekick Stugotz would have a slightly lesser role on the main show.
A source tells us the deal Stugotz signed will allow him the freedom to appear a bit less on the main show in order to grow his own affiliated shows, God Bless Football and Stupodity.
The Miami-based Le Batard Show is the biggest, most popular property for Meadowlark, regularly ranking in the top five among national sports-related podcasts.
Le Batard ended his long relationship with ESPN in January 2021 to go independent in what was said to be by 'mutual agreement.' Le Batard and Skipper, a former ESPN president, launched Meadowlark Media soon after.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Baseball fans would take a hit if Rob Manfred's latest idea about expansion and radical realignment becomes reality
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Say it ain't so. Advertisement 'The problem with the proposal is that it's too logical, it makes so much sense, just as it works in the NHL and the NBA,' says Jane Leavy, the preeminent baseball biographer whose Advertisement 'But baseball is different. It can't presume the way those leagues can to eliminate the perquisites of its history, and so what makes sense doesn't always work for baseball. 'It's like, 'Erase the record books, erase the collective unconscious, wipe the slate clean.' Baseball is too much trapped by its history, I understand that and I get that, but it also is indebted to its history in ways that younger sports are not.' Manfred would do it all anyway, determined as he seems to write a lasting personal legacy over what's best for the game. He's already overseen dramatic change, some of it excellent (the pitch clock), some of it OK (universal designated hitter, extra-inning ghost runner), and some of it bad (automated balls and strikes, automatic intentional walks). And he's pushed back on some truly awful ideas (such as the golden at-bat). But this latest salvo shows once again how much of his own baseball soul is missing, a willingness to use the inevitability of expansion to fundamentally alter baseball fandom and history as we've known it. 'In my mind, I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign,' Manfred said on the ESPN broadcast. 'I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN because you'd be playing out of the East, out of the West, and that 10 o'clock where we sometimes get Boston-Anaheim would be two West Coast teams. That 10 o'clock slot that's a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience.' Advertisement We get it — baseball hasn't expanded since the 1998 addition of the Rays and Diamondbacks, and has two existing teams, Las Vegas (via Oakland) and the itinerant Rays awaiting new stadiums. Travel demands have indeed grown, but part of that is on baseball for adding regular-season interleague play. And let's be honest, the private chartered life of a baseball player is not the same as flying commercial. Plus, baseball could help that problem with smarter scheduling on its own, grouping cross-country road trips and emphasizing division rivalries. But Manfred would rather blow it all up, or at least bring the idea to the upcoming bargaining table with the players' union, attempting to curry favor with ideas as better for player well-being, while ignoring what it might mean to longtime fans who thrive on those rivalries, who grew up with those adversaries, who invested those emotions. 'I don't like any of that,' Hall of Famer Jim Kaat agreed. 'What's the World Series going to be like without the competition of the two leagues?' Kaat already is on record about baseball So, apparently, is the link to the past. 'You can see that incrementally they've been working toward this. I've heard about it for years,' Leavy said. 'I understand, but there's got to be a way to balance the needs of growth and modernity without erasing the game's essential self.' Advertisement Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
ESPN NFL Analyst Taking Heat For Joke About Jesus' Resurrection
ESPN NFL Analyst Taking Heat For Joke About Jesus' Resurrection originally appeared on The Spun. ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark can be pretty polarizing at times. But a recent joke he made about Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco seems to have been over the line for some fans. During a recent segment on ESPN, Clark spoke about the Browns' recent decision to name Flacco the starter for the 2025 NFL season. Clark started gushing about how Flacco has managed to continuously get work in the NFL despite having semi-retired several years ago. He then declared that Flacco's return to the NFL is "the greatest resurrection since Jesus Christ," which as you might imagine didn't sit well with some. "I'm gonna tell you what, man," Clark said. "Joe Flacco must have the faith of a mustard seed, right? Because this is the greatest resurrection since Jesus the Christ. Like, at some point, Joe Flacco was thinking about getting into TV, right? Joe Flacco didn't have a job. And then, now, you not only coming back and starting for the Cleveland Browns late in the 2023 season, but they came back around to you and you're now the day one starter for a franchise that just two years ago was in the playoffs." The reaction has been pretty nasty Fans were already pretty exhausted of Clark's hyperbolic analysis and were even less amused when he decided to compare an NFL quarterback to the legendary Christian figure. So after seeing that quote on their social media feeds, fans quickly made it clear how much they absolutely despised Clark: "Ryan Clark is literally the worst sports commentator of all time," one user said bluntly. "I think im honestly fine with never seeing Ryan Clark again," wrote another. "Ryan Clark is exactly why ESPN has been unwatchable for years. The dude is absolutely terrible," a third remarked. "Ryan Clark says he's a Christian and says something like that. Seriously. Comparing a guy who was pretty much named the starter before the pre season ever started is hardly a surprise. Ryan Clark is a terrible Stephen A Smith Wanabe." "Ryan Clark does not understand the parable of a mustard seed." "Does this show have a contest every day for who can say the dumbest (expletive) possible. Think so." Nothing new Ryan Clark has made a habit out of saying something ridiculous and then making it something about himself or his own beliefs. Perhaps the biggest example was his recent beef with Robert Griffin III, which is an entirely different can of worms not worth opening today. Suffice it to say, Clark's gift of gab may be wildly entertaining to the ESPN cast and crew, but it has a very different reaction from the audience they're trying to appeal to. ESPN NFL Analyst Taking Heat For Joke About Jesus' Resurrection first appeared on The Spun on Aug 20, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
ESPN Analyst Accuses Bengals Of 'Wasting' Joe Burrow's Career
ESPN Analyst Accuses Bengals Of 'Wasting' Joe Burrow's Career originally appeared on The Spun. An ESPN analyst believes Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals are in danger of replicating a disappointing 2024. Burrow led the NFL in passing yards (4,918) and touchdowns (43) last season, but the Bengals missed the playoffs with the league's No. 25 defense. Fans felt some deja vu watching Cincinnati allow 14 points in the first quarter of Monday's preseason win over the Washington Commanders, who rested Jayden Daniels and other key starters. Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark expressed concern about his old division rival's defense on Tuesday's Get Up. He responded, "Absolutely" when host Mike Greenberg asked if he's worried about the Bengals "wasting" Burrow's peak years. "If you watched that game last night and you think about, especially early on last season, we've watched people run for more miles against the Cincinnati Bengals than (ultra-marathon runner) David Goggins," Clark said. Defense remains a sore spot The Bengals certainly didn't derail Burrow's passing prowess by signing star wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to long-term deals. However, they haven't done much to address a defense that allowed at least 34 points in six of last season's eight losses. Cincinnati remains in a contract standoff with star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, who led the team with 17.5 sacks last season. Nobody else tallied more than five. According to ESPN's Laura Rutledge, Hendrickson said the two sides are close on the length and salary of an extension. Yet they remain divided on guaranteed money. Clark believes that situation poses a significant problem for the Bengals. "The Cincinnati Bengals are trying to figure out a way to capitalize on having one of the best quarterbacks of this generation," Clark said. "And so what they did in the offseason was re-sign Tee Higgins. Re-sign Ja'Marr Chase. But now you're looking at a defense that hasn't improved. And not only has it not improved, but you also haven't signed your best player, and one of the few impact players you have on that side of the football." Clark claimed that Burrow played on Monday night because he realized the Bengals may have to score 40 points to win some games in spite of an "absolutely putrid" defense. He's not sure that will even be enough. "When you watch this in the preseason, you have to be sick to your stomach," he said. "Because you know there's going to be some games where you sit in the post-game press conference, that you scored 35, 38, maybe 41, and you still catch an L." ESPN Analyst Accuses Bengals Of 'Wasting' Joe Burrow's Career first appeared on The Spun on Aug 19, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
