Dan normally doesn’t like talking ratings, but after seeing the ratings success of the Iowa-Louisville women’s Elite Eight game, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz had to talk about it.
Sunday's Iowa vs Louisville matchup drew 2.5M viewers. That's more than any NBA game on ESPN this season. pic.twitter.com/NVuHOD7h8S
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) March 28, 2023
Dan admits being a little floored by this result, but he does note that Caitlin Clark has become a superstar — she even got a shoutout from John Cena — and, of course, the excitement of the Final Four. He also notes that as we continue to discuss player empowerment, we shouldn't just think of what men can do but we should also include women like Clark in that discussion as well. He also noted that this content is about to become very valuable and that’s something to see. The fact that a women’s college basketball game that wasn’t even the title game was able to beat all this season’s NBA games is no small value, in fact, he says it is a GIANT value.
Stugotz agreed it was amazing to see, and said it has not only to do with the star power in that particular game but also the overall growth of women’s college basketball in particular. Dan also noted that it feels like women’s college basketball is clearly growing in a way that he thinks is not being covered in a way it deserves to be covered.
Jessica jumped in to point out that it wasn’t that long ago that you couldn’t watch the early rounds of the women’s NCAA tournament on ESPN. She thinks this growth is the accumulation of a number of things, but the biggest thing being that if you put the games on TV will watch them and if you put the early rounds on you will build momentum and have more people tune in. It’s a pretty simple formula. She also pointed out that Iowa is a hotbed for women’s basketball and has been for a long time.
Jessica noted that there are a lot of really good storylines, but at the core it’s really good basketball. So, if fans like sports there’s really not that big a difference if it’s women or men playing.
Meanwhile, “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes joined the show in advance of Wrestlemania 39 this weekend and offered up an insight into growing up with his dad, the legendary “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes ...
"He slapped a guy at Waffle House in front of me one time for calling wrestling fake and I thought: that's a bit extreme!" – @CodyRhodes on the lessons he learned from his father, Dusty Rhodes, on what not to do
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) March 29, 2023
https://t.co/zytR5fxGWA pic.twitter.com/u46z3ZH93j
Check out the breakdown of Wednesday’s show below.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Local Hour: The Non-Traveling So-And-So
- Amin has flown to Miami to compete for the show’s Executive Producer position and has some strong takes on non-travelers at the airport. Stugotz tells us about the most underreported story from the NCAA tournament. Then, “Mr. Perfect,” Jordan Miller, joins the show to discuss the Miami Hurricanes Final Four run. Plus, Billy has a question about players holding out for NIL money before telling us his thoughts on Opening Day.
The Big Suey: The (Cuban) American Nightmare
- The ratings of Women’s College Basketball have continued to increase so Dan, Jess, and Amin discuss the future of the sport’s TV rights. Then, Miami Beach is preparing for the gigantic seaweed blob and the southernmost point of the United States is…on the move. Plus, the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes joins the show while sitting awkwardly close to Mike Ryan.
Hour 1: Chafes My Hide
- Mike Schur spends some bonus time with us today as he tells us about his love of baseball and why it’s not weird, NBA players with the most technical fouls, and the Top 5 Double Play Combos That Make You Smile. Then, Jer Bear’s Top 5 Whites and his Jonah Hill Memorial Top 5 Coolest Jews before Amin and Mike Schur’s Top 5 Places In West Hartford, Connecticut. Plus, the bizarre experience Dan, Jess, and Stu had while trying to interview Russell Crowe.
Hour 2: Ted Williams’ Frozen Head
- Jessica is tired of the Antonellis. The Shipping Container learns for the first time that Ted Williams’ head is cryogenically frozen. And Congressman Maxwell Frost joins us to talk about what happened in Nashville.
Postgame Show: A Mammoth Meatball
- The Shipping Container talk about the Mammoth Meatball experiment, what exotic animal meats they’ve eaten and what the correct steak temperature is.
Watch more below!
VIDEO:
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