Thoughts on the status of Stugotz and God Bless Football

TLDR: Friday’s news may not be as much about Stugotz being on the main show less as much as it is about trying to save/grow GBF and Stupodity.

I posted the Awful Announcing article the other day, but judging from Mike’s tweets that were posted on this sub (https://www.reddit.com/r/DanLeBatardShow/s/lFwpejMaDO), I think my paraphrase of “leaving” Meadowlark may not ring as true as the initial report made it sound.

It appears that most Meadowlark podcasts that have been cancelled have been audio exclusive without a video component. However, shows that are strong enough to exist on their own as audio products have continued, just not as Meadowlark properties. One of those shows (Basketball Illuminati) is now with Count the Dings after a hiatus. Another show (Shutdown Fullcast) has gone independent.

While most Le Batard and Friends shows at this point are available on DKN and YouTube, the Friday version of God Bless Football that released during football season continued to have several portions that were either audio only or cut out of the DKN version. Also, Stupodity has never had a visual component.

If I could cue the Reckless Speculation sounder (Stugotz: “You’re Good!”), I think that either Meadowlark or DraftKings management did not want to renew the deal for those two shows, so Stugotz is continuing them outside of that umbrella. (Whoever said “SportsBang 2.0” on another thread may be on to something.)

Further, Meadowlark already employs several contributors that have side projects (inc. Amin) or main roles with bigger platforms (inc. Mina). If Stugotz wants to continue his own shows, it may make more sense to classify him as a contributor rather than a full-time Meadowlark employee. This would especially make sense if his work schedule is going to be divided and they’re no longer going to be able to use the Elser studios to record those shows. I’m sure Stugotz won’t mind not having to commute on GBF days like he had to previously.

I think Dan has had a role in this decision as well. Dan has cared strongly about ownership of content, so he’s not going to get in the way of Stugotz (and Billy) wanting to continue these shows. Plus, now that the show no longer has a seasoned EP, I’m sure it should (in theory) be much easier to pin Stugotz’s schedule down in this scenario than when he had unlimited PTO.

Finally, knowing that Stugotz is no stranger to negotiations and leverage plays, I’d figure that was one of the reasons for his extended absence. We know that he was visiting one daughter in Australia, another daughter’s lacrosse games, and of course his beloved Dead shows. He may have been taking the time in between those travel plans to figure out his next career moves.

I just hope that this move leads to all shows and all people involved being in a better place. One thing I wouldn’t mind would be if there were specific days of the week that were “Stugotz days”. While the main show still has its fastball from time to time, the lack of consistency in terms of hosts and producers has been incredibly frustrating and has had a tangible impact on the show’s chemistry. If the show can’t have the same cast all five days, it at least needs to have a consistent cast on EACH day of the week (I.e. Greg Cote every Tuesday) so it can start to regain some of the natural rhythm it used to have.