Dan Le Batard says "Scott Van Pelt is not important." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the focus of this episode of the Dan Le Batard Show?
This is the Dan Levitar Show with the Stugatz Podcast.
Hey, Taylor. Welcome to God Bless March Madness. Oh, it's so exciting. It's presented by Priceline. Dreaming about that trip? Book it and go to your happy price with Priceline.
Chapter 2: Why is West Virginia upset about the NCAA tournament?
Lucy, what I think happened is they looked into the shipping container. They saw Chris Cody, Mike Ryan, Billy Gill, and Jeremy Tesche looking back at them. I was like, anybody else? Can anybody else talk college basketball? Dan doesn't know that I'm doing this. And I want to start off by saying, huge win for Carolina, first off.
Joe Linardi, Seth Davis, Seth Greenberg, John Fanta, John Rothstein, and every West Virginia government official, dead to me. Lucy, it's been a brutal couple of days for West Virginia.
Yeah, they're not having a particularly good time. So it started Selection Sunday. I guess you could say it started in the Big 12 tournament. But Selection Sunday, West Virginia has left out in favor of Carolina, or at least that's the team they're kind of focusing on, the one that they were like, we deserve to be here more than Carolina does. So West Virginia is all levels of bad.
And despite that there were probably a lot more serious problems happening in that state, the governor was like, nope. This is not allowed. You have done it. You have waged war with the state of West Virginia. And so he comes out and is like, NCAA, it's coming for you. Good luck. Hope you're ready for it. Then we're going to destroy the selection committee. All of that is happening.
And they have all their focus on destroying the NCAA that they have no idea that their head coach is out interviewing for other jobs as they speak. As they were taking down the NCAA, Darian DeVries is at Iowa, is at Indiana, having these conversations. Unfortunately, he picked wrong, chose the wrong choice, and decides to sign with Indiana and leaves.
So West Virginia now has waged war with the NCAA. They're coachless. They're not in the NCAA tournament. They're not in the NIT. They declined the invite. So now... Things are bad. And just like a little cherry on top, the team that they focused on, that they were like, we're better than, Carolina.
Carolina in the first four beats the literal crap out of San Diego State to the point where I had to turn it off because it felt excessive. I said, I don't want to watch this. Not safe for young viewers. It was such a beatdown.
Yeah, they cut it to 30, and it almost didn't tell the full story of how bad that game actually was. But West Virginia, watching from home like everybody else, and I actually have a first-round game I'm most excited to watch. I'm going first game of the tournament, the 8-9 matchup. It is Louisville and Creighton.
I can't figure out the disrespect the committee gave to Louisville because in the final AP poll— I think you're pronouncing it wrong.
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Chapter 3: How did the women's tournament seeding controversy unfold?
With the women's tournament, what can you tell us about the drama that they had with the unveiling of their bracket?
I don't know if there's ever been a tournament release where so many coaches have been upset about one seeds, which I know it's only two out of the four, but that's a high number that it's happened twice. Usually people are pretty pleased to be a one seed. So it started with UCLA getting the number one overall seed. They only have... what, two losses on the year to USC both times.
And then South Carolina got the second overall seed. So Dawn Saley was super, super upset, saying that South Carolina deserved the number one overall seed. I test she's absolutely right, correct. What South Carolina did after that UConn loss, which was awful, it was a terrible loss. I haven't seen South Carolina lose like that in a very long time. They've completely turned it around.
They are playing like the best team in the country. And then you saw that in the SEC championship, where... Texas didn't stand a chance. It was all South Carolina the entire time. So Dawn Staley comes out and she's like, we should be the number one overall seed. This is messed up.
And then she kind of pulled a little bit what Alabama did when they were left out of the playoff and was like, we're not going to schedule tough teams anymore if we're not going to be rewarded for that. She was like, okay. And I do agree that South Carolina is the best team in this field. They probably should have been the number one overall seed. However, UCLA was number one overall seed.
UCLA has a head-to-head win over South Carolina. And when they have a head-to-head win over a team, you're like, girl... I think you're right, but they do have a head-to-head win over you, and it's hard to argue with that. And so I do think it's totally valid. I think they're the best team in the tournament.
I think they're going to win the whole thing this year, especially because I think that Dawn Staley definitely believes her team is the best overall team in this field. I think she's doing a little bit of the Kirby Smart thing, you know? Everybody's doubting you. They didn't even think you were the best team in the country. No one believes in you, South Carolina women's basketball.
And so now that there's somewhat of a chip on the shoulder for South Carolina, I think it's pretty much over for everybody else. At the same time, USC, the other one, the one in California, they were like, we don't like our number one seed. I think this one's a little bit more valid, especially because...
USC leads the series against UCLA 2-1, and the first two times they played, USC was really dominant over UCLA in a way that's made me kind of nervous about UCLA's tournament chances. And so USC got the fourth... overall highest seed, which just doesn't really sit right when they have those head-to-head wins over UCLA.
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Chapter 4: What is the significance of Scott Van Pelt on ESPN?
You know, the same way that, you know, you get older people say MTV, oh, why don't they have videos anymore? I feel like we're in that place with ESPN where they want more SportsCenter. And Scott Van Pelt, by the way, I think you're wrong about that part because that show is pretty damn important.
He gets amazing guests after all the big games, be it, you know, if it's college football game or if it's NBA or even if it's, you know, for next year, Major League Baseball. He gets the great guests on the field, on the court, right after the game. That show's pretty popular. Yeah.
I think you're wrong about this. And it fixed the ratings issue with that time slot at SportsCenter. I read a think piece that actually said stop thinking of him as a sports anchor. Start thinking of him as a late-night talk show host because his ratings kind of command that a little bit. That is good spin from the agent.
Incredible spin.
No, this is my price range. I'm more like Jon Stewart price range than Randy Scott price range. But you should absolutely think of him as a nighttime host because he's emceeing an evening talk show.
I actually found that stat. Oh, good. Thank God. Since 2015 in the NCAA tournament, wins above seed expectation, the ACC 21.1, the most of any conference, SEC minus 4.6. Overrated.
Jeremy just whispered to me, is this what it feels like when I talk? Is it that bad? You're less nervous. Okay. But you don't have the accompanying visual aid of popping out from under Mike Ryan.
That is endearing.
The Scott Van Pelt thing, just to clarify, OK, because I want to make sure people understand this. I mean it as no indictment of Scott Van Pelt. He's as good as anyone who has ever done that. I'm just saying the construct of what it is these things are. it makes it so that that kind of personality is less important than he or she has ever been and the movement throughout the industry seems to be
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Chapter 5: Which are the top sports Thursdays according to the show?
All right. Are there five great sports Thursdays, Zaslow? I don't think. That's why there are no OLIs. I could think of. I think there's some. I think you can, yeah. You think you can come up with six.
Well, should I give a few right at the top of my head?
No, you can't ruin his list. There are only five. I'm not totally sure how he's going to get to five. You better not leave any of mine off. Well, I don't think there are six. So let's see what his number five is.
Number five is Thanksgiving. Football, three football games. You've got four better than that. I do. Number four, opening night NFL week one. So the last few years, it's been Thursday night.
Hall of Fame game?
Number three, NFL Draft, round one. Thursday night. You got that better than the first game of the NFL season? Something about the draft. Yeah, because my team's usually not playing. It's like Bills, Chiefs. I like it, but the draft, everyone's got hope.
Your team is never playing because it's a defending champion. It's kicking off. But, you know, actually, not true. They've got to play another team in the Culpepper. It's never the Dolphins, though.
Number two, today, March Madness Thursday. 12-15, Creighton, Louisville. I think I know number one. Yeah, we all do. Number one, Masters Thursday.
Yeah. That was pretty easy, what he just did. That was like nothing.
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