The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Zaslow Files: Deep Conversations and Omelette Debates
10 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: Is the Vegas Omelette Bar worth the wait?
We've got Jonathan Zaslow on the way to talk about the greatest first overall pick in NFL, nay, sports history. In the meantime, after another march filled with madness, I've got regions on my brain.
If you ask anybody what the four points on a compass are, they'll say north, south, east, west, which is kind of weird because we read left to right as our society, as you may have heard, so you'd think it'd be west, north, east, south, right? You wouldn't say North, East, West, South, except when you say the acronym NEWS, N-E-W-S. What's it all mean?
Chapter 2: What are Jonathan Zaslow's thoughts on fashion: Gold Jacket vs Green Jacket?
I don't know! But one thing's clear, putting those directionals in order gets easier when you do it by NFL division over the past decade, at least if you're trying to rank the quality of said divisions, which happen to pair up very neatly by region. Long story short, the West times two is best. or our best.
The NFC West is the only division with more than one team to win a Lombardi over the last 10 years. Matter of fact, the Cardinals are the only team from that division who hasn't at least played in a Super Bowl during that stretch. And the AFC's version of the West, which for some reason includes a team based in Missouri,
Chapter 3: How does Jonathan Zaslow view the current state of NFL divisions?
or Kansas now, I'm not clear. Either way, it's the Chiefs I'm talking about. And the Chiefs have made five Super Bowl appearances over just the last seven years, and that leaves out last year. Plus the three Lombardis to go along with those ones won by the Rams and Seahawks. So like I say, the West is the number one region in all of football America.
And that brings me to the other side of the equation, the two South divisions, the two worst. in the NFL. Over the last four seasons, the NFC South has had one team, the 24 Bucks, win double-digit games. One! Win double-digit games and it was just 10 games in the age of 17 game seasons. Even Tom Brady had a losing record in his final season. The NFC South broke the GOAT.
Sure, he was roughly the age of the Pittsburgh Steelers, 2026, starting QB when that happened. But still, it is weird the South is the only one division besides the NFC West to have had more than one team reach a Super Bowl over the last decade. But even those come with baggage because of Tom Brady.
He delivered that 21 Lombardi, which predictably is and always will be remembered as his and his alone. The Bucks and the fans, just a vessel to wield against his old rival Bill Belichick, with whom he teamed up six years prior to 28-3 the South's Atlanta Falcons.
Brady's Patriots passed the baton on to Allen's Bills in the AFC East, and the Eagles' soap opera has yielded success in awards season. And as for the two Norths, they haven't been to a lot of Super Bowls over the last decade, but they've been lousy with high-end QBs, future Hall of Famers, and Super Bowl contenders.
So the East and the North regions are kind of like the two guys in the middle of a good four-man bobsled. Not first, not last, not deeply important, but not bringing up the rear either. No, that's the South's job. Why? Because in SEC country, Sunday just means less. P.S. The Big Ten now means more on Saturdays, too. But we can talk about that at a later date. Let's start the show.
Yes, hi, and hello, my fellow football Americans. Welcome to Football America, presented as ever by our pals over at DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours. It's episode number 59. We have a lot to get to here. We're at the time of this recording, exactly two weeks away from the kickoff of the draft on the banks of the Three Rivers. Pittsburgh, PA, can't wait to get out there.
Me and Lucy Rodin are going to be chiming in on the big live stream with Levitard and everybody else. I don't know if this character is going to be there, but let's say hello to him right now. You know him from Zazz Show, as well as the aforementioned Levitard Show.
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Chapter 4: Who is considered the greatest first overall pick in NFL history?
It's our pal Jonathan Zaslow. What's the poop, fella? How you been? Hello, Dave. How are you? Good to see you. I'm well. I'm well. You came back from vacation a little bit early. I want to hear about that, but first we have to tend to our usual business here. Gino Fuentes, what's the poop with you? It's episode 59. So which player in NFL, nay, sports history wore that number best?
Got a lot of linebackers here in the end of the 50s. I got Jack Hamm, London Fletcher, and Luke Keekly, who I heard from you, wore his number 59 to honor Jack Hamm.
I didn't realize that until recently. By the way, my sister Amy and I saw Jack Hamm at a Pittsburgh Penguins game in the Igloo, the now decimated former home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And we saw Jack Hamm sitting there and we said, oh, we got to go get his autograph. And so we went over to him.
with a piece of paper and a pen and we said hey hey Mr. Hamm could we get your autograph and he said sure and he he went and he was like he like went to try to write it and they looked up at us and he tried again and he looked up at us again he said sorry your pen doesn't work and that was the end of our interaction with the Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Hamm also I got to throw in Jake Gensel
of the Tampa Bay Lightning, formerly of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the guy who replaced him in number 59 in black and gold, Igor Chinnikov, lighting up the NFL. I mean, the NFL, the NHL, and Roman Yossi also wore it in the NHL. I think we got to give it to, I don't know, let's ask Zaz. Zaz, who's the greatest 59, Hamm or Keekly?
Ooh, I think Jack Hamm. I think Jack Hamm is revered more than Luke Keekly is. I think it's Hamm. Short career for Keekly, too. Yeah. Short career.
Well, both Hall of Famers, and Hamm was great, was apparently ahead of his time in his ability to cover running backs and linebackers, I mean, and tight ends and otherwise, which was a rare skill for guys playing his position as an OLB. Now, Zazz, you had a less successful vacation. Yeah. You returned early.
It seems like something that happens in movies, but people, I don't think I can think of ever knowing anybody who's like, yeah, I'm just going to leave vacation a couple days early now.
We've done this several times. I've pulled this move several times. in the last couple years on family vacations where we come home early. I did it last week. My family, we went and we stayed in Vail.
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Chapter 5: What makes a player a bust in the NFL draft?
We had a great time. We stayed in a really nice house. A friend of mine gave me her house for the week, so we stayed there. We're a skiing family, the Zaslos, but we normally go to Park City in Utah. We wanted to go try Vail this time, but we know it's a gamble going at the end of March. We're trying to get in the very last week of skiing season. So we knew it was a gamble.
It looked like there was going to be one day that I could ski. The slopes were open, but I'm not trying to ski on ice here. I'm not an Olympian. I ski the greens. I have a good time. Not an Olympian. Right. Not an Olympian. No danger involved here. I'm not trying to win a gold medal with skiing. So I needed to snow so we can get a little bit of the powder.
And it was supposed to snow the day before our last day, so we would ski the final day. It didn't snow, so the skiing was not up to snuff for your boy. So I just said to my wife, I go, you want to just, like, should we get on a plane today? You want to leave early? And she's like, yeah, we may as well because we've done everything. Like, otherwise, we're just going to sit here in the house.
So we came home a day early. No big deal, you know? Holy hell. Good for you. I did it one other time, though, Dave. One other time I've left. Decisive action. I like it. Go ahead. One other time. It was two years ago. No, actually, it was one year ago. Excuse me. It was after we were in, me and my whole family, along with my mother, too. My mother came with us also. We were in North Carolina.
Chapter 6: How does Jonathan Zaslow feel about comparisons between LeBron James and Michael Jordan?
We had a cabin in North Carolina. And it was the beginning of the Stanley Cup Finals. And the Panthers, so this is last year, they're trying to go back-to-back. And the Panthers, they lost Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. We watched it in the cabin. Panthers lost Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in overtime. This was so upsetting to me that the next day, I told my family, we're loading up the car.
It's time to go home, all right? My team needs me. I watched every game last year, Stanley Cup final, from the Zaslow Mansion in the family room, and we won the Stanley Cup. I watch it here in this cabin. We're down one game to none. Time to go home, everybody. We packed up the car. We went home. And guess what happened, Dave? Guess what happened that series?
I know what happened, as a matter of fact. Can I say spoiler alert? Go ahead. The Panthers won the Stanley Cup. Including games. including game two right when we got home. That's right. They won the Stanley Cup again.
Brad Marchand, overtime winner.
Yep. Look, I had to do what I had to do for the team. Did it for the team.
Bruins legend. Yeah, listen. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. But I like where your head's at with this. I am one of these people who, like, I'll listen. Maybe in September, early in the season, the Steelers are playing the Jaguars down in Duval County. Maybe I could go watch that with some other people.
I can hang out and tilt the elbow a little bit over the course of the three and a half hours and drink in the action and some beer and kibitz along the way. When it gets to the playoffs... The gang's worked hard enough all season long that I think it requires me to give a little bit too. I'm just going to shutter the outside world and focus in.
And this is the important time and it needs my full attention as well as the players. So that's how I try to operate, right? So we park our cars in the same garage once again. By the way, great shows the last few weeks here. We've been on a real roll here. Amin El-Hassan last week, Pablo Torre the week before that, Daniel Jeremiah the week before that.
Point is, go and subscribe on YouTube to the Football America page and or wherever you find your podcasts. We really appreciate it. And keep the comments going in the YouTube section.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of the recent NFL draft discussions?
Zazz, as somebody who commits and commits hard, a lot of people love this weekend. They love lazing on the couch and watching high-end golfers in Augusta. If you're a skier, usually skiers aren't golfers and golfers aren't skiers. I don't think maybe they are, but either way, what would you rather have? You can... By deed.
It's not like it's going to be delivered to your front door tomorrow by Amazon. It's like you will have done what's required to earn this. Which would you rather have earned in your career? A Pro Football Hall of Fame gold jacket or a Masters green jacket?
It's a good question. I'm not a big golf guy. I will watch the Masters this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. My older son is a golfer, and he'll be way into it. So I'll watch the Masters for sure. But I think it's the gold jacket. There have been guys. There are some guys who win the Masters. They have a green jacket. Like, whoa, that guy won a green jacket one time?
But everybody who's wearing that gold jacket, it's like they had a Hall of Fame career, of course. So I think I would go gold jacket.
well i hear you but chris hamburger and bob greasy have gold jackets so it's not that esteemed fuentes boys any thoughts here gold looks so much cooler than the green you know i'm an estate i'm bo brummel of of sports i care about what it looks like but i i'm not really looking at like do you want to neither one is a winning look you want to walk around in a gold or a kelly green jacket no yeah but with the little you know with the with the with the thing the
patch on there that's that's gonna tell the story i would go out i by the way when people do the thing like oh they keep it behind glass and sheltered no no at least once a week i go out to dinner in whichever one i went to remind everybody like already showing off yeah that's goddamn right that's what i'm doing i'm wearing my gold jacket out you don't have one
Yeah, I'm not a golf guy, number one, but like Kelly Green suits.
I'd wear it to bed, too. I'd wear it to bed, be the only thing. Be the only thing I show up to bed in.
But Kelly Green jackets.
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Chapter 8: What is the significance of Mario Lemieux in NHL history?
It's a hobby they put on TV. Okay, I'm done with it.
All right, if you want to make that weird distinction, that's your business.
How am I wrong? How am I wrong? How am I wrong? One's a sport where 11 guys are trying to kill me, okay? And then one is, I go on my little stick and I hit a ball down some grass and maybe the wind gets me or I hit a bird or some old lady eating a pimento cheese sandwich gets hit with my ball and I got to take a penalty. Not the same thing. You all right, man?
You need someone to talk to?
What's wrong with him?
I don't know. He's charged up today. Take it easy, man. Dave, you want to know why? Jason, hit the imaging.
He's being rude to our guest.
No, no, because Dave, guess what? It's time for the return of the count. Oh! Yeah, what a treat for you. All this stupid hobby golf talk has got me thinking how we're only 22 weeks away from the start of the NFL season. How many weeks, Gino? I got you. Don't worry. One, two, three, four, five. Wow, 22 is further away than I thought. 22 weeks until the start of the NFL season, Dave Damoschak.
22 more weeks. Well, two weeks till the draft, and it's funny, Zazz.
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