Deadspin: Dan Le Batard

Media Approval Ratings: Dan Le Batard

Leitch — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:05:46 EDT

Dan Le Batard still writes columns occasionally. You might miss them, but they're out there. But mostly, yeah, he's a TV and radio guy. Who sometimes wears funny hats.

We don't live in Miami, and we don't listen to the radio, so we don't hear Le Batard much. (Though, it should be mentioned, we have been on his show a couple of times. We stutter a lot.) He is sometimes seen as the "race" columnist, or the "wacky" guy, and sometimes he gets in fights with Jay Bilas. So that's fun.

But let's not dance around it. Do you like the Dan Le Batard? Do you not like the Dan Le Batard? Let us know.

Bilas Vs. Le Batard: Quien Es Mas Macho?

Leitch — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:10:25 EDT

In case you haven't heard it, here's the exchange on Dan Le Batard's radio show between Le Batard and Jay Bilas. It's possible these two don't like each other very much.

Generally speaking, we think Le Batard is more prone to discuss matters of race in sport than most of his colleagues, something we find commendable. But we kind of agree with Bilas here: We're really not sure what Le Batard's point is supposed to be. If Michael Beasley were white? If Tyler Hansbrough were black? Where you going with this?

That said, Bilas is awfully short fused here; the man's pretty serious for a guy who was in a Dolph Lundgren movie.

Dueling Dan Le Batards

skeets — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:00:32 EST

Not much going on today besides ex-sports stars trying to out-drink and drive each other and Wisconsin upsetting No. 9 Texas on a huge three-pointer. So here's two Dan Le Batard's talking about Bill Parcells on some well done Pardon The Interruption parody. Whatever. It's the final weekend of the year. Laugh a little.

Dan Le Batard Horrifies You The Most

Leitch — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 12:45:55 EST

Congratulations to Dan Le Batard, who you say has the most terrifying ESPN: The Magazine mugshot. It was a tight race, with Le Batard — who was joking about the mugshots and this poll on his radio show yesterday, quoting from several of our great commenters — edging out Stuart Scott (who actually got our vote).

We've heard that even the magazine's staffers recognize how horrible the mugshots are; they're going to be gone from the next issue. We suggest they just use an Etch-a-Sketch this time.

Poll results are below.

Poll: Scariest ESPN Mag Mugshots [Deadspin]

Poll: Scariest ESPN Mag Mugshots

Leitch — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 11:00:16 EST

Yesterday, we tried to figure out what was going on with Bill Simmons' ridiculous mugshot in ESPN: The Magazine. Well, now we've got copies of all four main mugshots in the magazine, and they're inexplicable. And horrifying. Take a look at them below, and let us know which one makes you want to cry the least.

Why Your Hometown Columnist Sucks: Dan Le Batard

Leitch — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 13:45:04 EST

We've never met Dan Le Batard, but this is how we picture him: green makeup, pointy hat, always carries a broom. He's looking into a crystal ball, wherein a typical Miami Herald reader is stuck, motioning helplessly, calling: "Dorothy? Where are you?" Le Batard cackles, and flying monkeys then fill the skies. And the next morning, his column appears on newsstands. Or something like that. The most common complaint about Le Batard is that he's so aggressively pro-athlete that even his most plaid columns feel like they should come with pom-poms. But let's go to the vital statistics:

Name: Dan Le Batard
Columnist For: Miami Herald
Attended: Chaminade-Madonna College Prep (Lions); University of Miami
Nicknames: Dan LeRetard, The Bastard, Billy the Marlin
Most often seen/heard on: Pardon The Interruption, Around the Horn, Cold Pizza, 790-AM "The Ticket"
Most resembles: Kent Dorfman
Best description on Road From Bristol: "He's an arrogant, lying, self righteous prick who should have been fired 100X over for the lies he writes in his column. — JoeyT
Fun rumor: Once dated Heat TV host Jill Martin, who broke it off with him because he was too fat.

What does Dan Le Batard think? He thinks that if you didn't vote for Shaquille O'Neal for NBA MVP, you're a racist. (As preposterous as the first column was, the follow-up, where he attempts to clarify his stance, is even lamer). He thinks that "No one who looks like Steve Nash" should win the award. He thinks that Ricky Williams should have been elected Pope. He thinks that steroid use is no big deal. He has a man-crush on Billy Beane. All of this — save perhaps the Billy Beane part — is what comes from attending the University of Miami. It changes a person. We are convinced that this school should be detached from the rest of Florida and pushed out to sea — but not toward Cuba, which would make Le Batard happy.

Then there is the electronic Le Batard, whose appearances on "Pardon The Interruption," "Cold Pizza," "Around the Horn" and "The Sports Reporters" will probably lead to Earth's destruction sometime in the dim future, when those waves eventually reach an alien civilization with enough technology to takes us out. But as annoying as he is on TV and radio, he's twice so in print. Take this recent lead, about the Miami Heat:

More fun. More athleticism. More volume. More drama. More attitude. More confidence. More electricity. More versatility. More youth. More stars. More bench. More flash. More relevance.

More Excedrin, please. Then of course there's the fact that too often he just phones it in. In this column, there are 22 paragraphs, 15 of the short, one-sentence variety. There's more air in this piece than in a typical bag of circus popcorn; it contains fewer insightful thoughts than a Klan rally. But that's our Dan — coasting along, intoxicated by the fumes of his own fame. Dan, if you're going to do schtick, could you at least be funny? Here's an idea: Instead of holding hands with Ricky Williams, try hanging out with Dave Barry for a day or two — you work at the same newspaper, for God's sake.