Hour 2: The Bevacqua-Off 2.0 (feat. Jessica Smetana)

This is The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.

The wait is over, Jessica; we saved Wednesday for your tears, so walk us through how Sunday hit you.

I burned through the grief stages and landed on acceptance, and the only thing I cried about was a fake future where Baby Lando wins F1, so no tears for you.

I’ve reset my expectations for you and kind of love the deadpan more than crying, and your AD is working the angles well; your Echoes interview with Pete Bevacqua was the best thing I heard on this.

Notre Dame fans already assume we’re disliked, and the ACC’s tiny-account flexing was corny; the real issue is those Tuesday ranking shows that talk in circles and make the process feel made up.

They vaulted Alabama for edging a five-and-seven rival, then everyone suddenly cared about head-to-head and Notre Dame got trapped by Miami while big voices spent a week shaping the narrative.

When you’re independent, there’s no commissioner banging the table for you, and it stinks that public campaigning matters, but that’s the price of staying outside a league.

So why did Bevacqua feel comfortable blasting the ACC?

Notre Dame fills stadiums and brings real money with the five-game deal, but yes, the ACC actually cashes in if Miami gets in; frustration is really about the committee’s flip-flopping that again favors the SEC, from Alabama’s bump to how Miami’s profile got twisted up.

He smartly swung at the ACC because no one wants to tangle with Greg Sankey; Notre Dame’s friendly with the SEC, while the ACC chose a fight it could win, which felt like punching down.

Exactly, and Brett Yormark piling on is just showmanship.

Did you know about Notre Dame’s top-twelve path next year?

It’s a memorandum of understanding, not a golden ticket, and you still need to be ranked in the top twelve, which usually means ten or eleven wins.

About the Pop-Tarts Bowl opt-out, I’m with you; that game is a clown show, but why so fast?

I love bowl season, but it’s fine if players decide the risk isn’t worth it; captains led the call, and I support giving them agency instead of forcing an exhibition right after a playoff snub.

The worst case is CJ Carr wrecks a knee for a snack-sponsored showcase; and no, this isn’t the Orange Bowl with legacy stakes—most kids didn’t grow up revering these bowls the way older fans did.

Sounds like Bevacqua knows he has to pay Marcus Freeman like a top coach, even with sportsbooks tossing his name into NFL rumor mills.

If he ever left, the winningest coach in school history is oddly available—hi, Brian Kelly—and yes, our Bevacqua interview is on Echoes; next time, book me Monday if you want tears.

Thanks, Jess, and shout to our director for cutting away before an upside-down U; on the Heat, Herro’s return has thrown off the second unit and they always seem fine without him, so to me he’s a tradable luxury.

Stagger Bam and Herro with the bench and a lot of that cleans up because their two-man actions can lift those groups.

Either way, he’s an ideal asset for a bigger swing: productive scorer, movable deal, fits what selling teams want back.

Also, Stephen A. unveiled his greatest wrestlers and somehow put Goldberg at the top, which melted Amin’s brain.

And hearing him spit ‘Bevacqua’ with full disgust was an instant classic.

Tony time: give me Bills–Bengals snow, the Chiefs’ dynasty eulogy, a side-eye for that Raiders finish, and the Bears selling hope.

Rich Paul launched a pod with Max Kellerman, keeps praising Heat culture, and even says the Lakers aren’t really contenders while hinting how LeBron should be used.

Making LeBron a primary screener is a playoff card; you don’t show that now and let the league study it for months.

What matters more to him at this point, being the main attraction somewhere else or being a role that helps win another ring?

If he wants a title that echoes forever, it’s New York; that’s the one market where one ring counts like many.

Sometimes when you chase a star, it has to hurt a little.