Bears - after losing the season opener, what's next for Ben Johnson?

Summary

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered — Episode Summary
Episode: Bears – after losing the season opener, what’s next for Ben Johnson?
Host: Dan Bernstein with Matt Abbatacola
Date: September 10, 2025

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into the aftermath of the Chicago Bears’ disappointing season opener under new head coach Ben Johnson. Bernstein and Abbatacola discuss how Johnson should handle the early turbulence, what it reveals about the broader state of Bears leadership, and where the franchise goes from here. The hosts also hit major recent developments for Chicago teams: the Bulls’ Josh Giddey contract extension, Cubs news, Anthony Rizzo’s retirement and ambassador role, and some offbeat diversions including a viral purported UFO video.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Bears’ Season-Opening Loss: Reading Into Ben Johnson’s Next Moves

(05:55–16:00)

• Coaching Psychology & Tone
  • Dan and Matt analyze the unique pressure on Ben Johnson as a 39-year-old, first-time NFL head coach confronting adversity right away.
  • “Early in his coaching tenure...I think Ben Johnson has to be very mindful and deliberate about what he projects to his team at this point.” (01:32, Bernstein)
  • They debate how transparent a head coach should be after a bad loss. Should the coach show concern? Reassure? Overreact or hold steady?
  • “How he expresses the middle ground—how he's able to let his team know this is unacceptable...while also sending the message that we're okay, it's one game, there's 17 of them.” (06:30, Bernstein)
• Bears Dysfunction as the Backdrop
  • The hosts revisit the notion of “endemic dysfunction” in the Bears organization, wondering if such deep-rooted problems can be traced to the performance on the field.
  • Matt introduces the concept of “gestalt”—the unknowable combination that always seems to make Bears football persistently underwhelming. (09:00)
• Learning From Last Year's Mistakes
  • Bears fans are haunted by reports after last year’s failed season that key issues in coaching and preparation only emerged too late. The hope is Ben Johnson is aware enough to correct on the fly.
  • "I want to trust that Ben Johnson knows." (12:16, Abbatacola)

2. Press Conference “Coach Speak” and What It Means

(13:38–17:00)

• Dan and Matt dissect the difference between coaches genuinely taking responsibility and simply paying lip service.
  • “You know it when you hear it, right? You gotta be better at... You know it when it's genuine and when the guy's really holding himself accountable.” (13:54, Bernstein)
• The hosts will go deeper into Ben Johnson’s postgame comments later on their Bears-specific Forward Progress podcast.

3. Organizational Questions: Do the Bears Have the Right People?

(10:12–11:27)

• They question whether GM Ryan Poles and others at the highest organizational levels are the right leaders for sustained success, noting the McCaskey family isn’t going anywhere soon.
  • “You may not have all the right people that you need to make that leap.” (10:32, Bernstein)

4. Bulls: Josh Giddey’s $100 Million Contract Extension

(21:56–26:58)

• Bulls commit to Josh Giddey, who signs a four-year, $100 million extension ($25M/year).
• Dan and Matt are skeptical about whether Giddey is a “franchise cornerstone,” questioning if his late-season surge is sustainable and whether the Bulls are settling for “good but not great” players.
  • “I don't know if they believe that Josh Giddey is eventually going to be the kind of star that elevates a team... Even his good numbers can be empty because of the lack of defense, because of his ball dominance.” (25:44, Bernstein)
• The Bulls’ apparent unwillingness to use the word “rebuild” is a recurring theme.
• They debate NBA team-building philosophy: spending “non-superstar money” on too many non-stars leaves you stuck in mediocrity.

5. Cubs Update: Kyle Tucker, Ballesteros, and Rizzo’s Retirement

(34:44–46:58)

• Kyle Tucker Injury: Cubs call up Moises Ballesteros after Tucker hits the IL, raising questions about Tucker’s free-agent value.
• Anthony Rizzo Retires as a Cub
  • Rizzo immediately becomes the youngest Cubs ambassador and is the subject of an on-air “Rizzo Quizzo” as Dan guesses Rizzo’s top-10 all-time Cubs offensive categories.
  • “He’s the all-time Cubs leader in times being hit by a pitch.” (43:01, Abbatacola)

6. White Sox & Playoff Picture Check-In

(38:08–39:20)

• The White Sox reach 90 losses but there’s hope in watching emerging young players (“sprouts of green”).
• Quick updates on Cubs, Reds, Mets, Dodgers playoff race.

7. UFO Viral Video & Congressional Hearing

(49:06–56:36)

• Matt recounts a video shown at a congressional UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena) hearing, allegedly showing a US military Hellfire missile bouncing off a mysterious flying object over Yemen.
• The hosts provide healthy skepticism but are fascinated by the lack of explanation from official sources.
  • “Nothing should be able to absorb a direct hit from a Hellfire missile unfazed.” (55:20, Abbatacola)
• Dan is dismissive: “Yeah, I don't buy it.” (55:36, Bernstein)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ben Johnson’s Predicament:
  • “This is not the way you come out of camp, it's not the way you respond after three quarters...this’ll be our finest hour. And we are gonna write the story.” (06:30, Bernstein)
  • “Just because he’s smart and good looking and young, it doesn’t mean he’s Sean McVay.” (08:57, Abbatacola)
• On Press Conferences:
  • “Coaches take blame all the time. But you know it when you hear it, right? ...when the guy’s really holding himself accountable.” (13:54, Bernstein)
• On Rizzo’s Legacy:
  • “He’s the all-time Cubs leader in times being hit by a pitch...at 165, it’s by a mile.” (43:01, Abbatacola)
• On the UFO Video:
  • “A five foot long, hundred pound laser guided Hellfire missile loaded with explosives...hits this thing and it spins a little but immediately gets back on its trajectory and continues on the same line undisturbed.” (51:03, Abbatacola)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bears and Ben Johnson Reaction: 01:32–17:00
• Press Conference Analysis: 13:38–17:00
• Organizational Leadership Talk: 10:12–11:27
• Bulls & Giddey Extension: 21:56–26:58
• Cubs Updates & Rizzo Quiz: 34:44–46:58
• White Sox Rebuild, Playoffs: 38:08–39:20
• Viral UFO Congressional Video: 49:06–56:36

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Tone & Atmosphere

• The episode features a mix of sharp, sometimes sardonic, Chicago sports commentary with loose, often humorous side banter between two longtime radio partners.
• Both hosts display a fondness for mixing serious sports analysis with some comic diversion (Wizzo vs. Rizzo, salami-for-dogs stories, cult film chat).

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Useful For…

• Fans curious about the immediate and long-term implications of the Bears’ poor season start and the Ben Johnson era.
• Chicago sports followers tracking the broader state of the city’s teams (Bulls, Cubs, White Sox) and how front office decisions are interpreted by veteran observers.
• Anyone seeking sharp, honest critique along with inside-baseball (and basketball) trivia delivered with dry wit and local flavor.

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For more granular Bears breakdown and Ben Johnson’s postgame remarks, listeners are advised to check out the “Forward Progress” podcast later that day.

Transcript

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[Dan Bernstein]

Dan Bernstein, Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports.

[Matt Abaticola]

It is Dan Bernstein, Unfiltered. Today's episode brought to you in partnership with my bookie here on 312 Sports. I'm Dan Bernstein along with our executive producer Matt Abaticola. I' hello. On this episode, I want to talk about how the Bears are handling this loss and what we can learn not just from moves that are made or improvements. We see what we did you just crack open one of your things?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I did. You didn't.

[Matt Abaticola]

What? You could have done that 30 seconds ago.

[Dan Bernstein]

I like to do it on the microphone.

[Matt Abaticola]

Is this a thing now?

[Dan Bernstein]

Is what a thing? Me cracking it? Yeah, it has been. This is the first time you've noticed it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Are you going to Flavortown? No, I'm okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no, I'm just. I'm. Here's what I'm drinking it today like this, so.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, fine. Just making sure the want to talk about how the Bears handle this internally and what we can read from their level of concern because I think early in his coaching tenure, I don't want to call it a crossroads, but I think Ben Johnson has to be very mindful and deliberate about what he projects to his team at this point. Also, the Bulls signed what appears to be a franchise cornerstone for a lot of money, 25 million a year over four years. Josh Giddey has realized giddy and should be. So we'll discuss the ramifications of that decision. And then there's some Cub stuff with Kyle Tucker belatedly hitting the injured list. And the news that broke this morning that former Cub slugger Anthony Rizzo is retiring officially for Major League Baseball and immediately stepping into his cushy job as the youngest and newest Cubs ambassador. Usually you gotta wait 20 years or whatever it is. Is he the, like, the youngest ever Cubs ambassador?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, easily, yeah. I mean, he's not. He's not doing anything right now. I think he's hanging out in Florida, living down there and just. Just kind of chilling.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know previously other people didn't make enough money that they probably had to have actual jobs or sources of income. He clearly does not. So now he's, you know, I haven't looked at his family, but how quickly does he, like, get big and ambassadory?

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know, but, like, can we. Does it mean that we have to add one more former player to the booth now? At times it's like. It's just too much. Yeah, there's too much going on.

[Matt Abaticola]

And what we're going to do in honor of that news is I'm going to give you, the longtime Cub fan, a Rizzo Quizzo.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not a Wizzo Quizzo, but a.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not Marshall Brodin. Not Wizzo.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not Wizzo.

[Matt Abaticola]

Of Bozo circus fame. No, not Wizzo Rizzo Quizzo. And then did you see what happened in this congressional meeting yesterday at the House Government Oversight Subcommittee?

[Dan Bernstein]

Is that the RFK stuff?

[Matt Abaticola]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

About the vaccine?

[Matt Abaticola]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

Did you see that one?

[Matt Abaticola]

That explosive.

[Dan Bernstein]

That was really good.

[Matt Abaticola]

But no, this. I'm actually into this now because there's some video here that if it is what they say it is, is absolutely wild. And this was the House Government Oversight Subcommittee hearing into unidentified anomalous phenomena. Anomalous phenomena, yeah.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

Anomalous phenomena. Do, do, do, do. So we'll get to that, but first we gotta talk about, most importantly, Wizzo. No, he. No, no. Wizzo and the Rizzo quizzes later. And it's not most important this week.

[Dan Bernstein]

Though, there is a story that we have to cover that has a Wizzo look alike in the story.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay?

[Dan Bernstein]

He's the college football coach that, according to my wife, looks like Wizzo.

[Matt Abaticola]

Does he have a hat? Does he have the TV Magic cards? Wait, wait, hold on. She's only like 29. How does she know Wizzo?

[Dan Bernstein]

She knows Wizzo. She's an old soul and she's not 29.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, well, I don't believe that she's 21, okay? But I. I don't believe that she knows Wizzo.

[Dan Bernstein]

She does, okay? She knows a lot.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right? That's.

[Dan Bernstein]

She knows more than you do.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, that's not hard. The Bears spin on this is going to be really interesting. And usually what a coach will do is get detailed. When a coach is scared of thinking about the big picture, they're gonna. The staff and everybody in the building always can fall back on details. Always can fall back. And we gotta execute this Block, we gotta run this play. We have to streamline this operation where we have the benefit of being able to say, oh my God, all of these things looking bad and wrong at the worst times is a shock to the system. The Bears may feel the same way, but they can't project that. And this is what I'm curious about, about how Ben Johnson as a first time head coach, a 39 year old, first time NFL head coach, has to stand in front of his team this week. And either there's a continuum, right? So on one end of the continuum is, guys, that was really bad and we gotta fix this or I'm fired. Oh, my God, I didn't think it'd be that bad. And he comes home at night and he's got imposter syndrome. Oh, I know. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can, honey, I don't know if I can do this. So that's one end. The other end is we knew this was gonna be a long process. Maybe the fans and the talking heads out there and members of the talking heads also didn't know that, how big a lift this was. And he knew the whole time. And he can say, boy, they got to look at the job I got to do. They know how far we are. And so the answer isn't either one of those of those polar opposites. It's how he expresses the middle ground, how he's able to let his team know this is unacceptable. This is not the way you come out of campus, not the way you respond after three quarters and let them know that while also sending the message that we're okay, it's one game, there's 17 of them. Nobody remembers after four weeks, nobody's gonna remember how bad this was or this'll be our finest hour. And we are gonna write the story.

[Dan Bernstein]

Ben Churchill.

[Matt Abaticola]

We'll write the story of our, of our redemption from this misery.

[Dan Bernstein]

Ben Churchill. Yeah, and I just wanna remind our listeners here too that we have an episode of Forward Progress that will happen later today as well, because those happen daily. Now you can get Forward Progress, our Chicago Bears podcast. We're going to, we're going to get into it in more detail of what happens now moving forward. Also some sound from Ben Johnson as well.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. I think full transparency on that. Is that in the infancy of 312 sports and our podcasts, we're trying to figure that out. Just so, I mean, I mean, totally, totally transparent here is that when we come in in the morning, we're trying to say, look, obviously Bears are our lead here and we're going to start with that because that's what everybody's talking about. But how do we make sure that we're serving our audiences properly with how much Bears we do here and how much are we. We don't want people to tune into forward progress and say, well, you said all that already and I heard all that already. And it's going to take us months before we know what our crossover is of who's listening to what and when and what the habits are. So allow us a little bit of latitude here as, as we try to figure out exactly what you want and how you want it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And I'm, I'm very excited about going over the sound from Ben Johnson and because I have, I have thoughts on Ben Johnson and there's. There's some good stuff and then there's some things that, that alarm me quite a bit.

[Matt Abaticola]

And if in fact, this all blows up on him, he wouldn't be the first.

[Guest or Producer]

No.

[Matt Abaticola]

Just because he's smart and good looking and young, it doesn't mean he's Sean McVay. It really doesn't. And we tend to think these things and we tend to project these archetypes and say, well, he's another one of these and this is another one of these. And the Bears have their this. But people are people. And there's too many factors involved and too much gray area. Especially with all of the endemic dysfunction of the Chicago Bears.

[Dan Bernstein]

Correct. Cause there is a lot of it from the top on down and has been.

[Matt Abaticola]

And we note that. And does endemic dysfunction mean that Jonah Jackson jumps off sides? It's hard to draw a straight line to any of that. But we know I use the word gestalt, this sort of unknowable combination of the whole that isn't necessarily made up of its parts that we don't know exactly how it all works together to make Bears football bad and annoying and miserable. We just know over time that, that something does.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And here's the thing, too. We, we may not have. Well, they. The Bears may not have all the correct pieces in place to get to that next championship. And that's from the top on down. Oh, and I'm not just talking about player stat or a player roster. I'm talking about within the organization.

[Matt Abaticola]

You.

[Dan Bernstein]

You may not have all the right people that you need to make to make that leap.

[Matt Abaticola]

And whether or not you include Ryan Poles in that or any 100%, I.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do any of the top on down.

[Matt Abaticola]

The hires that he's made. Whether ownership is part of that. It's the McCaskeys.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's never going to change anyway.

[Matt Abaticola]

That would certainly be a. That's a debate for another time or no time, frankly.

[Dan Bernstein]

Frankly, no time. They're not selling the team as far as we're concerned.

[Matt Abaticola]

But I do think that the tone that is set here is going to be a really interesting one because they're whether especially the free agents that signed here and that I'm including Ben Johnson, that the people that bought in. I wonder how they feel. It wasn't supposed to look like that. That's the thing for Tuney and for Dahlman and for these guys. They're here because we all expected something very much other than that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And what I would love to hear, and we never will, but I would love to hear their honest perspective of what they see now that they're on the inside looking out.

[Matt Abaticola]

And what I don't want is what happened last year when a lot of stuff about what happened in practice came out late. You know, they weren't really coaching us in practice, like when things happen after the fact, even though there were observers at practice, like, you know, they don't really look all that good. And we're kind of seeing them. They keep saying they don't make the same mistakes twice, and yet they do. And they make the same mistakes multiple times. But after Eberfloos left and after everything melted down last year, then we're like, well, practices were terrible. We didn't really understand the play calls.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, what do you like? How do you. How would you fix that, then? Because you're not going to have guys talk out of line right in the middle of it.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, what I'm saying is I want Ben Johnson to know it. I want to trust that Ben Johnson knows. All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hey, that's the difference.

[Matt Abaticola]

I want him, his job. All of these millions of dollars being paid for him to be like, hey, whatever we were doing in the lead up here didn't take. Or something about our messaging. Something didn't translate to the field. All of our thorough approach to everything are not allowing a mistake to go uncoached. Run it again, pull that guy aside, get somebody in there, whatever they try to do to make sure the smallest missteps get coached, something clearly didn't work well enough.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And I, I'm going to hold myself accountable. And I, I'm guilty of this. I had, I had higher expectations for Ben Johnson because of all we've heard about him as an offensive coordinator, the fact that he was the hottest guy out there on the market, but this is his first time being a head coach of an NFL team. And I kind of. I skimmed over that pretty quickly, thinking he would be extremely successful from the jump as a head coach. And I didn't allow him the time or the grace of having a learning curve of being the man in charge.

[Matt Abaticola]

And something we're going to get into on forward progress also is the difference between words and tone and trying to make sure coaches take blame all the time.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, it starts with me, but you know it when you hear it, right? You gotta be better at.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know it when it's genuine and when. And when the guy's really, like, holding.

[Matt Abaticola]

Himself accountable, I'm pulling, pointing the thumb, not just finger. It's coaching. It's everything right now. But we didn't execute. That means it's not really my fault.

[Guest or Producer]

Right?

[Matt Abaticola]

Or what did. What did. John Sumrall, the Tulane head coach, said. He said, it's not for lack of desire. It's not for lack of. We just. Everybody's got to do their jobs better.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. What Pat Summerall. What did he say? He said, I'll have another.

[Matt Abaticola]

He said, bring me another bottle of.

[Dan Bernstein]

Another bottle. That's what it was.

[Matt Abaticola]

Meanwhile, you know who Pat Summerall's sister is?

[Dan Bernstein]

Pat Summerall's sister? No.

[Matt Abaticola]

White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles. Oh. Oh, daughter. Excuse me? Daughter.

[Dan Bernstein]

Daughter.

[Matt Abaticola]

Susie Wiles is Pat Summerall's daughter and looks like him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Ooh.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Ouch.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And apparently she's the one that told him to stop drinking.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, really?

[Matt Abaticola]

Too late. Well, yeah, he finally. He's like, I will.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, maybe. She said after the first bottle of Crown, she should stop drinking.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, no, it was. It was. It was.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know.

[Matt Abaticola]

The last. In the booth, in the Calling. The Masters.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

One bottle before they went on the Air.

[Dan Bernstein]

That could be boring at times, though.

[Matt Abaticola]

But no, the Masters. And then the second bottle once they started on the air.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, the only multiple interns to get him down out of the thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

The only issue I have there is the choice. But, I mean, you know. Yeah, just. It just was never my little sweet.

[Matt Abaticola]

The bag comes in handy, though.

[Dan Bernstein]

The bag's cool. My mom had tons of those quarters in them.

[Matt Abaticola]

She could be.

[Dan Bernstein]

But she never drank, though. I don't know where she got the Crown Royal bags from. I think she just went to the liquor store and lifted them, opened the boxes, took the bag and went out.

[Matt Abaticola]

Or just or just asked for extras. Just, hey, by the way, hook me up a little purple.

[Dan Bernstein]

She always had them, but never drank it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Really appreciate it. So I do think the psychology of the Bears is. Is a significant aspect, and I've been accused, rightly so, of thinking that words matter more than they do in grading press conferences and all that. But I like to think over time, as a Bears observer, I'm pretty good at coach speak. I'm pretty good at interpreting people's words and their approach, their demeanor and understanding what it says about them and what it says about how they're doing their jobs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, no, and I agree, Dan. Think I've gone over press conferences in the. In the past and now this. This current Bears season, and, yeah, I. I may evaluate and examine the words too closely, but you. But that's how you understand patterns, and that's how you get to know a coach from afar. I don't get to sit down and talk to Ben Johnson one on one. You know, off the record, I. I don't get to know him that way. So I have to learn who Ben Johnson is through his pattern, through the. The choice of his words, through the. The key phrases he continues to use, which, you know, there's a few of them now that have. That have perked up. And every time I hear him, you know, what is the interpretation of that? You know, what does he really mean when he's saying that?

[Matt Abaticola]

I will also look this week at. If there is a symbolic example setting personnel move internally. Is somebody elevated? Is someone demoted? And does that show any sense of panic? Because that, again, is gonna be our evaluation of their response. How ser. How can they balance those things I described earlier? How can they balance. Holy shit, that was bad. And balance. It's one game. Don't overreact. It's the NFL. The NFL is weird. We're fine.

[Dan Bernstein]

And we had three starters not there on defense.

[Matt Abaticola]

And it's the first game of a new regime. And some of this is expected. You know, let. Let the outside people make the noise and do the worrying. We're not worried in here. How do they balance those two polls.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you know, whose words don't get examined very closely and where you have people on the outside examining it very closely and looking at it in great detail. Are teams that win football games consistently?

[Matt Abaticola]

Don't worry about it.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's not something you look at. What you do is you look at those teams that are losing consistently, not showing up on game day and playing NFL football. Those are the guys that get looked at for what they say and how they're saying it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And that built me a house. It's helping put two kids through college. So believe me, I understand that. I've spent a professional life, it seems, doing more of that than anything else. So, again, for all of the details and all of the sound and everything bears forward, progress is going to come out a little bit later today. You know the one guy in the group chat who hits that five leg parlay week one, and you have to hear about it for the rest of the season. Well, it could be you. And it should be you, damn it. Because my bookie makes it insanely easy to get in on the action. College ball, NFL super contests, Survivor pools. It's all the spreads, the player props, and in game lines you could want all under one roof. And if you're new to my bookie, we have a code for you. It's dbu, the initials of this show, Dan Bernstein unfiltered. And any bet you choose up to $500 is fully covered. You make your play. If it doesn't hit, you get it right back when you opt in using the bet back bonus token. Again, the code, dbu. No better time to jump in. No better place to play. Football's back. So let's make some money with my bookie.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Last night I was watching the Cubs game and I went into my bookie and I actually made a bet for the weekend. Made a play.

[Matt Abaticola]

Do you want to save this for your friend?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, no. But because it's not. Because this is.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is a fun one. Because it's my Vanderbilt team, I decided to.

[Matt Abaticola]

Diego Pavia.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Make a little play on Vanderbilt in South Carolina. We're getting, I think six and a half.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

So took that.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the. And the over. Because you know we're going to score a lot of points. I'm excited about it. Diego Pavia, Bears next year. Let's go. Starting quarterback.

[Matt Abaticola]

You're Vandy guy now.

[Dan Bernstein]

I am a Vandy guy.

[Matt Abaticola]

You and Jay Cutler.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah. Well, Jay's my guy. Always been. He's never liked me, but he's always been my guy. I love Jay.

[Matt Abaticola]

Will Purdue.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, yeah. Oh, that's right. Will and I have no relationship whatsoever. He doesn't hate me or love me.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, he.

[Dan Bernstein]

You will.

[Matt Abaticola]

You will.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I predict Will's awesome. Who? Vanderbilt. Locally? There was a bull named Charles Davis who went there. Not the broadcaster. Charles Davis.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah, I remember that. Yeah, he remember Charles Davis. Anyone else go there? Oh, oh, it's Commodore, not Commander. Because I was just working on my top 10 list.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no, no.

[Matt Abaticola]

We should say we're going to do this, right? Should we?

[Dan Bernstein]

Or.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I think we should.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay. So we. When we did the.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's up now on YouTube.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, the top 10 Vikings.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

So we're going to do this for every Bears opponent. For every Bears opponent.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is valuable because it's really valuable. Like, to preview a game, you have.

[Matt Abaticola]

To know it gets you ready for the game.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's sports. Like trivia knowledge. You know, people love that stuff.

[Matt Abaticola]

Talk sports. It is sports. Yeah. We did the top Vikings.

[Dan Bernstein]

The list of the top 10 Vikings of all time.

[Matt Abaticola]

Top 10 Vikings of all time. So this week, between now and Friday, at some point, you will get the top 10 Lions. Top 10 Lions of all time.

[Dan Bernstein]

All time.

[Matt Abaticola]

And we're going to do this in one way or another for every single Bears opponent, the divisional opponents. We may have to figure out when we get a second go round another angle on that or we just won't do it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, we'll see. We'll figure that out. But we're helping you or providing a service. I mean, you're, you know, you're going to your buddy's house this weekend to watch the Bears. Lions. You can bring this with you. This knowledge.

[Matt Abaticola]

You will have the list.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're sitting there waiting. Hey, guys. You know some of the greatest Lions were ever go over it.

[Guest or Producer]

Yep.

[Matt Abaticola]

And the Vikings, one. There's a lot in there.

[Dan Bernstein]

You are welcome.

[Matt Abaticola]

There's scouting reports. We're doing it for you and you should. You should appreciate it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Damn it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Big news for the Bulls. It's not really a surprise that they've resigned Josh giddey to a four year, $100 million contract extension.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

So.

[Dan Bernstein]

Contract extension, right?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. There had been some reports that they were far apart, that they were gonna let him test the market. And it sounds like ultimately where Giddey supposedly wanted 30 million a year and the team was like, eh, eh, 22 or 23 at least according to Joe Cowley's estimation. They're here at 25. And the obvious question is, which Josh Giddey are they getting? Are they getting the one that was ball dominant and terrible on defense and couldn't shoot from the outside, had to be replaced at ends of games, or are they getting the Josh Giddy who after the All Star break, you know what he averaged?

[Guest or Producer]

No.

[Matt Abaticola]

He averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, it was a triple Double wow.

[Matt Abaticola]

Averaged while shooting 45.7% from three.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so, yeah. Which. Well, which guy did they sign?

[Matt Abaticola]

If they signed something in between, which one they asked for, Most likely they.

[Dan Bernstein]

Said they asked for the second half guy because that would have been smart.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's funny, because they did. Explicitly, they pretty much said that you better be that guy. And a lot of it has to do with how hard he tries on defense and whether or not he even assumes a defensive stance. Because I'm not kidding.

[Guest or Producer]

That's not.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a bad look.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I watch him.

[Dan Bernstein]

No. Oh, no, no. I know.

[Matt Abaticola]

On defense, he. Like all you all. The first thing they teach you on the youth level is the defensive stance.

[Guest or Producer]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

And somehow Giddy has to remind himself every time to lower his center of gravity and put his arms out. And that's unfortunate. It is. He just doesn't seem to do it. It's a big commitment for the Bulls because they refuse to call what they're in a rebuild, even though it obviously is because of these fodder contracts that are coming off the books. Zach Collins and Kevin Herder and all of these and Vuch and some of these. There's going to be other moves. They're going to offload, some of this, maybe even IO is going to get offloaded. The question is, how much money are you going to devote to good but not great players? Because I don't think that's a path to anything.

[Dan Bernstein]

Kobe White's good, signing a bunch of good players, but no.

[Matt Abaticola]

Without a superstar in this league.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but that. That's a no. That that path leads you to being 8, 9, 10, 11, maybe in the conference, maybe.

[Matt Abaticola]

But Giddy, Kobe White and the guys you, the other pieces that you have signed, Jalen Smith and Trey Young. Right now, it's still in between for me. And if they re sign Kobe White, who's going to command a number, and Patrick Williams is still here. So you may just have a core that is underneath star level, and that's not where you spend your money. You spend that money after you found your core that is star level. So what they're locking in, I'm not sure. And I don't know if they believe that Josh Giddey is eventually going to be the kind of star that elevates a team. I don't think his game is the type of game that improves everything around him. I think those are in large part his. Even his good numbers can be empty because of the lack of defense, because of his ball dominance and the way the game is played now isn't a watch this guy go and everybody stand around kind of game. They did that with DeMar DeRozan.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, you didn't. You didn't sell this contract extension very well to me, so that wasn't my goal. Okay, well. Okay, well, fine. You still didn't. Is this good money then?

[Matt Abaticola]

Potentially it's okay money.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm doing so.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is 100 million over?

[Matt Abaticola]

It could be fine if there is a larger plan in place here. I don't understand why Isaac Okoro is here. That I don't get.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well, I can tell you right now, with the guys in charge, there is no plan. That's the problem. But at 25 million a year for Josh Giddey, you said it could be okay money, it could be fine money.

[Matt Abaticola]

That much in current NBA.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, that's what I was going to ask. As far as what. What he can deliver 25 million to your cap.

[Guest or Producer]

Is that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is that significant? Is it. It's not 30 and it's not detrimental to moving forward?

[Matt Abaticola]

No, it is not. Some. It's not. It's a lot, but it's not superstar money. Okay, but the question is how much in total they end up devoted to non superstar money. Because you're still on rookie deal for Boozelis and now you've got Isenge in here. Whether or not he even plays in the NBA this year, probably not.

[Dan Bernstein]

I wouldn't think this year whether they're.

[Matt Abaticola]

Going to work him through the G League or I don't know what the plan is for where Senge is going to be, whether or not he's going to contribute.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't think he's on your opening day like your opening night roster.

[Matt Abaticola]

Let's see. Let's see what, what other moves can be made here and who. Who else they can. Because you've got a lot of guys. If this is a proper rebuild and you have the guys that you have on these final year deals where they can become easier to trade. You know, IO Dsumu is a movable trade piece. And then of the expiring deals, I mentioned Collins, I mentioned Herder, I mentioned Vuch and Kobe White, who I think they intend to resign, is on expiring deal. And then Javon Carter, who's been a solid pro and a good guy, but really kind of a nothing as far as winning basketball games are concerned.

[Dan Bernstein]

We're going to. We're going to talk Bulls throughout the year on dbu, right? Oh, yeah.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay. All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

I didn't Think this through. So I'm going to. I'm going to have to get involved in that, watching those. The games.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'll handle most games. I'll handle most.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, no. God, yeah, for sure. That's. But yeah, I'll turn it on.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know it's not really your thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, it's not. I watched two games last year. We took Natalie and I took the. Took the boys, all the boys, to a Bulls Bucks game in December. It's a great product, which was a lot of fun. We had a really good time.

[Matt Abaticola]

Part of the problem is how good the product is. And then the actual going to a game, especially taking kids to a game.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was a blast.

[Matt Abaticola]

Great. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then Hank, Jack, and I sat down to watch the play in game, and by the end of the second quarter, right before halftime, I looked and the couch was empty. And I was alone. And I was like, oh, I guess I can turn this off now.

[Matt Abaticola]

So, you know, after Jason went to college, I still talked to the couch.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, do you really?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I would. I would look over and try to explain, and I would say something, and I said, like watching a college basketball game. I said, oh, that's a triangle and two. You don't see a lot of triangle and two exotic defenses. See, because those guys are staying where they are. And Beth was like, you know he's not here, Right? Last night we had. Maggie, our neighbor's dog came over last night. Maggie hates the cleaning people. Maggie, the talking dog.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Who says hello to me, but doesn't say hello to Beth or Zoe.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I say, hi, Maggie, hello, but only talks to me because I'm the guy that gives her salami. Salami guy gets the hello.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a good one.

[Matt Abaticola]

And now I used to say, sit and shake before the salami. Now she runs into the house, does it automatically sits and waves her hand like, give me the damn salami already.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what Frank does. If you go get any snack, he'll come over to you and just start pawing you because he's shaking.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, but this, like, he, like, Maggie's learned the routine for the salami already. Almost like it's a Pavlovian response.

[Dan Bernstein]

You always have salami in the house?

[Matt Abaticola]

When I know she's coming.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I actually.

[Dan Bernstein]

You go out and buy salami just for the dog. Who doesn't like the cleaning people?

[Matt Abaticola]

I do.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is that okay? No, that's good.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, it's cute because I like it, too. I like accurate salami too.

[Dan Bernstein]

I like that you like dogs.

[Matt Abaticola]

So sometimes it humanizes you a little bit more. Sometimes I declare salami party.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And then we both have salami.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cover yourself in it. Let her eat it off of you.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, because I.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like a giant salami shirt you wear.

[Matt Abaticola]

I give her a piece like a bride.

[Dan Bernstein]

They put dollars on the dress, but you put like salami pieces on your chest.

[Matt Abaticola]

Not a terrible idea. I'll take that under advisement. But anyway, so just don't bring Hal Phipps around. I was eating dinner and you know what I was watching? I was watching Evil Dead 2, which.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, I can't remember.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, come on. It's an army of darkness, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. But I can't remember watching Evil Dead 2.

[Matt Abaticola]

It was on the other night and I. And I immediately recorded.

[Dan Bernstein]

It wasn't like amc.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know what it was. I recorded it and I have it and it's like the last two thirds of it, which is pretty much all you need.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I was trying to explain it to Maggie.

[Dan Bernstein]

The dog.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah, okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm like, okay. Cause remember that the deadite part only got into his hand. So if he cuts off his hand, he'll be fine. He'll be okay. But he wasn't. Cause I forgot that he actually became a zombie and then got unzombied when he picked up the amulet. And I forgot that part. And I apologize. I'm sorry I gave you a bum stare on that one, doggo.

[Dan Bernstein]

Does she sit and watch with you?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, she's curled up on the couch and just kind of ignoring me and sleeping and farting and doing dog stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, last night we watched on Netflix there was a document, a doc on a documentary. As this woman said it in the show. She called it a documentaries.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Hey, buddy.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's called Unknown Number and it's about these two high school students that were receiving these bullying text messages. Dude, it's something you should watch. It's unbelievable.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, I don't know if I have time for this.

[Dan Bernstein]

You do have time. You talk to a dog and you let it eat salami off your chest. You're watching Evil Dead 2. You have time. Evil Dead documentary.

[Matt Abaticola]

Evil Dead 2 rules.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay?

[Dan Bernstein]

I have to go back and look at it again to see if I.

[Matt Abaticola]

See it's for whatever budget they had was like $4.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And somehow Sam Raimi made this thing work some somehow on a. Seriously? The budget.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, you have a good story. Doesn't matter about the budget.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, and a visionary director.

[Dan Bernstein]

So he. The guy lost his arm, he cut Wait, so Ash.

[Matt Abaticola]

Ash Williams loses his hand. He had to cut off his hand because his hand got possessed.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And then he finds a way to hook up the chainsaw to his stump.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And then one of his hands is a chainsaw.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is a chainsaw.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

But that prevented his whole body from getting possessed by cutting the hand off or.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's a similar line in that Brad Pitt zombie movie, the World War Z.

[Matt Abaticola]

Didn't see it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. So she got this one army gal, she got bit in the arm and he. And he cut it off at the elbow to prevent.

[Matt Abaticola]

Because zombie ness goes through your bloodstream.

[Dan Bernstein]

I guess this particular strain of it that came out of Philadelphia.

[Matt Abaticola]

If you need windows, Russ Armstrong is your guy. Not only is he your guy, he's Chicago window guys. He comes to your house, he gives you the estimate, he'll measure a bunch of things and then he'll custom make the windows for you and he'll make them locally here in Chicago. Russ uses no subcontracted labor. It's his crew. So the same crew that installed my windows when Russ came out, we'll install yours. He's got a price match guarantee you keep hearing about. Buy one, get one free. Our special 50% off. He's going to explain to you why those deals aren't really what they say they are. And he'll offer you the best product with the best price that is guaranteed. Here is Russ's number. Write it down. 847-302-9171. And you can check out his five star [e-mail] and I'm telling you, if other window people are coming out and you're getting quotes, which is fine. Ask them, hey, by the way, who's installing my windows? And they won't be able to answer because they use subcontracted labor where they don't know the people that are in and around your house. Russ will know those people so you know everything will be done correctly the first time. So. 847-302-9171 and chicagowindowguys.com Kyle Tucker has finally hit the IL. And they wasted a few days in there. Yep, because they tried to work with the patient to say, you think it'll be better he left a game, experiencing calf tightness after an awkward slide into second base and now he's out. It's retroactive, but he's been put on the 10 day il and if he doesn't come back solid and ready to go, I don't as the Chances seem to dwindle here. The move that they made was to call up Moises Ballesteros.

[Guest or Producer]

Yep.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I don't know what he is. He seems like a slappy fat guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

You mean slappy as in how he addresses the ball?

[Matt Abaticola]

Hello, ball. No, he's, he's, he's, he's. He's like a little slappy fat guy.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's not like late career Tony Gwynn, but he just. He looks like he should be more powerful.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Matt Abaticola]

He.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that's. That's a good way to just. He looks like he should be more powerful.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. The bat to ball looks fine. He hit it out of the park. So I guess Carlos Santana will help be the breadcrumbs in the meatloaf as they wait for Tucker to come back. But I. It's. And then there's the larger picture of what is this doing. What are these nagging injuries doing to Kyle Tucker's overall free agent value when he was expecting half a billion?

[Guest or Producer]

Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Where are we now? Then? It was 400 million estimate. Now are we at 300 million estimate? Is somebody going to make that commitment to this guy?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, someone will. I mean, it's not going to be the Cubs. We already know that. But someone certainly will make. Make the commitment to him. I mean, he's. He's still one of the. One of the best 20 players in the game.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, quick check on playoff ramifications and what is happening as they're jockeying for seeding.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So Cubs win last night six to one over the Braves. Ian Hap, two hits. You know what he's doing in September? He's hitting.300 with an OPS of.950. A couple RBIs for PCA. And Matt Shaw with a big hit last night that extended the lead out.

[Matt Abaticola]

Finally. Somebody did it last night. You're waiting. It was one of these frustrating games. Like, is this really happening again? And that was like clearing a blockage. You know, it just. If I. Oh, that big hit.

[Guest or Producer]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

With. With runners and scoring position. Matt Shaw gets the hit. Kate Horton gets the win. His 10th on the season. Six and a third. Four hits, one earned run, 10 wins. Now his ERA post all star break in 10 starts. 0.84.

[Guest or Producer]

Love.

[Dan Bernstein]

0.84.

[Matt Abaticola]

I love the way he stands on the mound and he's got an attack mentality.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he's developing into your ace of the stats.

[Matt Abaticola]

The way he gets the sign with a. With a purpose, like he's coming at you and he's trusting his pitches and you're seeing discomfort in the hitters. So he gets some bad swings. There's a lot of in between stuff that is telling you that he even. There will be a pendular effect here. But at the moment he's, he's ahead of the game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Last night also in major league baseball, the Reds beat the the Padres 4 to 2. So the Cubs now have a three game lead on the Padres. The Mets lose to Philly nine to three. So the Cubs are now up three on the Padres, up six on the Mets. In the wild card race, the Dodgers beat the Rockies 7 to 2. So they have extended their lead in the NL west by two games over the Padres as well. Tonight the Cubs take on the Braves once again. It's Jameson tyon makes his first start since August 24th. He goes against Chris Sale in his last three Sale ERA of 0.84 12 hits, 25 strikeouts, 2 walks in his last three games. Jameson Tyone in the month of August he made two starts, 164 ERA, eight hits, seven strikeouts and 13 walks. Gonna be a tough one though tonight against Chris Sale as the the Cubs in their last 12 games. When we started watching the wild card race, 6 and 6 in the last 12 with 17 to go and you.

[Matt Abaticola]

Said what was it, 20 and 9 over the last 20 when we started.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, we were looking at 19 and 10. 19 would be a realistic approach for the schedule that they have left. Also want to want to just mention the White Sox who lost their 90th game last night. They're 55 and 90. Can they avoid 100 losses, Dan? They need to go eight and nine.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

For the rest.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

The way they're playing, they have two left against Tampa. Then they have three game series against Cleveland, Baltimore, San Diego, the Yankees and Washington. Might be tough, might be tough, might be tough. But you can go 8 and 9 and avoid the 100 loss mark.

[Matt Abaticola]

But the good thing about the Sox is there, there's at least a reason to watch young material players.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And how did you say there's sprouts.

[Matt Abaticola]

Of green or sprouts of green and green shoots?

[Dan Bernstein]

There are.

[Matt Abaticola]

I do think there is a completely defensible reason saying hey, I'm a White Sox fan, I'm watching every inning of these guys and good. If you like watching Colson Montgomery. I like Minecraft and Lenine Sosa and Chase my droth or whatever.

[Dan Bernstein]

I call him Minecraft.

[Matt Abaticola]

Wickleman, Gonzalez, Minedroff, Mydroth, my droth.

[Dan Bernstein]

Minecraft, I call him Minecraft. Well, I like him.

[Matt Abaticola]

And they got another Montgomery coming up too. There was a big story about Braden Montgomery. No relation to Colson Montgomery. That's good, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

That they're not related.

[Matt Abaticola]

Bunch of Montgomery's. Why is it good?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, because if one wants to leave, then the other would want to also leave.

[Matt Abaticola]

Anthony Rizzo has retired from baseball. He is now going to settle into the cushiest Cubs Ambassador already. He's going to be. I applied, they said no, he's going to hang around.

[Dan Bernstein]

I tried.

[Matt Abaticola]

They told me because I think, isn't Ryan Dempster moving? I thought like I out of state. I thought Dempster was going somewhere that was gonna prevent him from being around all the time.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know.

[Matt Abaticola]

I hope I'm not breaking news there, but they've got this whole stable of guys who make their way in and out of the broadcasts and in and around. I have no idea if Anthony Rizzo is any good as a broadcaster or.

[Dan Bernstein]

If he wants to be. Maybe he just wants to hang out in Wrigleyville.

[Matt Abaticola]

The ambassador job. The latest ambassador job has been filled by Anthony Rizzo. Congratulations to him.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just missed out.

[Matt Abaticola]

I was runner up. Sorry. Well, keep applying. Keep applying before they stamp it with rejected and eventually it'll just say approved. I hope so.

[Guest or Producer]

Yep.

[Matt Abaticola]

When you're rehabilitated. Rizzo with four Gold Gloves, three all star appearances and of course the World Series championship and the leap into the arms nine years ago that will never be forgotten. Nine years ago. Ten years with the Cubs. There are on baseball reference. Here it is now. Here we go.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Wizoku.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is it. This, this is Rizzo. This is your Rizzo. Rizzo Quizzo.

[Guest or Producer]

All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is exciting. I love when you quiz me. This is fun.

[Matt Abaticola]

There are a total of 744 categories. Offensive categories for the Cubs all time history on baseball reference dot com. Now I'm pulling five of those categories out because they're newfangled and they only started them in 1969.

[Dan Bernstein]

So that leaves 39 left in.

[Matt Abaticola]

There are 39 categories that go back to 1912. 1912, where they didn't use like estimations for retroactive stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

Didn't use computers either.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, I'm sure there were some computers involved in the making of this, but not 1912. And no animals were harmed. I would like you to tell me of those 39 categories. There are five. There are five.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay, okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

In which Anthony Rizzo appears in the Cubs all time top 10.

[Dan Bernstein]

Five in the top 10.

[Matt Abaticola]

There are five in the top 10 now, of those. Of those, I will tell you, he is 10th in four of them.

[Guest or Producer]

Oh, okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And first in one.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, how about on base percentage?

[Matt Abaticola]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

Fielding percentage.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is only hitting.

[Dan Bernstein]

Only hitting. Oh, yeah, you said that, didn't you or did you not say?

[Matt Abaticola]

These are the. This is where he stands as an all time Cub. As a. As a hitter. He's. He is 10th in four categories. He is first in one.

[Dan Bernstein]

Home runs. No RBIs, no. Walks?

[Matt Abaticola]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hit by pitch.

[Matt Abaticola]

Number one. Yes. He's the all time, all time Cubs leader in times being hit by a pitch. At 165, it's by a mile.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is that a good thing to lead?

[Matt Abaticola]

Sure.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, yeah, because you get on base.

[Matt Abaticola]

You crowd the plate, you're on base. I mean, we might get hurt, but.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, there's a possibility.

[Matt Abaticola]

Number two is frank chance at a distant 137. But to do that in 10 years, that.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's about 16 and a half a season.

[Matt Abaticola]

Just about. Yeah, just about.

[Dan Bernstein]

I did the math on that.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know you did.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, so that's one.

[Dan Bernstein]

So hit by pitch.

[Matt Abaticola]

Hit by pitch is one.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, so I'm trying to think, what did I guess already? Because I've already forgotten. Did he. Oh, how about. How about in. Did I say hits?

[Matt Abaticola]

You didn't.

[Dan Bernstein]

How about hits?

[Matt Abaticola]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, how about intentional walks?

[Matt Abaticola]

Number 10? Yes. He had 67 intentional walks. So he's 10th all time. Number nine, Phil Cavaretta, but was 74.

[Dan Bernstein]

But wasn't there for on base percentage.

[Matt Abaticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

But is good on walks and good on hit by pitch.

[Matt Abaticola]

Correct. He had a high. It was 372, I believe. Career Cubs on base percentage? Not in the top 10.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wow, that's interesting.

[Guest or Producer]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'd like to hear that top 10 list sometime.

[Matt Abaticola]

I can bring it to you if you like.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, please do that.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right. All time.

[Dan Bernstein]

Give me a chance to think of other offensive stats.

[Matt Abaticola]

All time. Cubs on base percentage. Ray Grimes. Hack Wilson Riggs Stevenson.

[Dan Bernstein]

Give me numbers with those.

[Matt Abaticola]

418.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's good.

[Matt Abaticola]

Rig Stevenson. 408. Bill Lang. 400. Bill Madlock. 397.

[Dan Bernstein]

Really? Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Cap Anson. Frank Chance. Stan Hack. Hazen. Shirley Kai. Kai Kyler. George Gordon. Hazen.

[Dan Bernstein]

Shirley. Kai. Kai. Kyler.

[Matt Abaticola]

Hazen Shirley. Kyler was a stutterer.

[Guest or Producer]

Oh.

[Matt Abaticola]

So they'd say. What's your name, son? Kyler. And that's how he got his bullying nickname.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

George Gore.

[Dan Bernstein]

Way to keep it alive.

[Matt Abaticola]

And Mark Grace are tied for 10th at 386.

[Dan Bernstein]

386. And he was. 372. You said.

[Matt Abaticola]

So he was.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm not saying he's bad. No, no, no.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm not saying he's bad. Yeah, he was. He was real close, though.

[Matt Abaticola]

You have three more categories.

[Dan Bernstein]

Three more categories where he finished 10th in an offensive statistic.

[Matt Abaticola]

Top 10. An offensive stat.

[Dan Bernstein]

Let's think here. How about. How about extra bases? How about doubles?

[Matt Abaticola]

Extra base hits.

[Dan Bernstein]

Extra base hits.

[Matt Abaticola]

Total extra base hits. 10th. 10th with 538. Number nine is Jimmy Ryan. Never heard of him. 603. He play?

[Guest or Producer]

I don't know.

[Matt Abaticola]

Let me check. Yeah, you want to know all this stuff?

[Dan Bernstein]

I do. It's helped me think of other offensive stats as well, too.

[Matt Abaticola]

Jimmy Ryan. Jimmy. Jimmy. Ooh, ooh. That's an old timer there. Old Jimmy started in 1885. And he played for the Cubs his entire life. No, he played until 1900.

[Guest or Producer]

Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Did I say intentional walks?

[Matt Abaticola]

You did.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

And that was a no.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. One of these is probably a bad stat.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well, fire that one away.

[Matt Abaticola]

What is it grounded into double plays?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm thinking positive stuff.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's 10th in GDPs at 112. He needed only one more to catch Glenn Beckert, who had 113.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's why he stopped playing.

[Matt Abaticola]

And the last one is a positive offensive stat. And both that and GDP are functions of how often your teammates are on base.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

RBI is one of those stats, granted. Double plays. One of those stats.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sacrifice.

[Matt Abaticola]

Sacrifice flies.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Very good. Yeah, well, well done, man. Thank you. Very good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I'm impressed with myself that I even could think of enough categories.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is like. You remember when you did the question about the all time passing yards?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

I was actually impressed with some of the names.

[Dan Bernstein]

Some of the names you pulled up.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I was thinking about that. But sac flies. Rizzo is tied for 10th. He's got 38.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not Wizzo.

[Matt Abaticola]

He is tied. He's tied with Jody Davis and Sean Dunstan.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

An all time Cubs sack flies. And there you go. That's. That's your new Cubs ambassador.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, yeah, that's a. Yeah, that's a great guy to have as an ambassador for your team. He can ambassador your team really well.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's good at ambassading.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Ambassadorship.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it's. Yeah, I think. I think when Tom Ricketts picked Anthony Rizzo over me to be the next Cubs ambassador, I think he made a good choice.

[Matt Abaticola]

See, you also definitely can't be a Bulls ambassador in the Scottie Pippen mold.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why?

[Matt Abaticola]

Because that's the best job in the world. Because all you do is sit at half court and get drunk.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah, I could sit at half court. I just won't get drunk.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. But like, that's.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'll drink all the sparkling water you have at the United Center.

[Matt Abaticola]

But that's an awesome job.

[Dan Bernstein]

It is a good job.

[Matt Abaticola]

So here's a contract, sir. You sign here and we're going to give you money. What do I do? Come to the games, sit at half court and drink. Done.

[Dan Bernstein]

I have a bottle of the Scottie Pippen bourbon that he. He was selling.

[Matt Abaticola]

So, like the Frank Thomas vodka? Yeah, I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

I. But it was. I never opened it before I quit drinking, so I don't know how good it is.

[Matt Abaticola]

Ooh. It's. It's. Maybe you can now. It's special.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's autographed too. By Scottie Pippen. Not by like someone else. Like the guy at the liquor store didn't sign it. Yeah, no, it was Scottie Pippen, the.

[Matt Abaticola]

Cashier at the liquor store.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like, why does your bottle say Jim on it? Well, I don't have the.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, all right. This is important. And this actually had my jaw drop. And I'm not kidding, I promise you.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so give me a comparison between this story and the horses out in Wayne, which we found that we have a friend and colleague who lives in Wayne.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes. And the number of people who replied to the horse out there was a lot story and say just how weird it is out there.

[Dan Bernstein]

The picture you sent me last night.

[Guest or Producer]

Of the night?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, the COVID story. Oh yeah, that was great. They show the horses like. What the fuck you looking at?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, the furtive hiding horse. It looked like the. The famous picture of Ryan Pace, like looking around the doorway in through the ajar.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh yeah, that's right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, that's. The horse is like come and get me.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And then the strangles picture of the German dog too. Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

But this is the ABC news copy regarding.

[Dan Bernstein]

So this is not about the vaccines where he got knocked into a corner and he looked like an asshole.

[Matt Abaticola]

And you. You know that I am not a conspiracy theorist.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, you don't believe in anything.

[Matt Abaticola]

But this is wild. If you haven't seen it, if it is what they say it is. A never before seen video released yesterday by a member of Congress appears to show a US military hellfire missile bouncing off a bright shiny object being tracked off the coast of Yemen on October 30, 2024.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

The video is available. The video was released at a House Government Oversight Subcommittee hearing into Unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. That's the military's term for UFOs. They can't call it UFOs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Phenomenal phenomenon.

[Matt Abaticola]

They're called UAP. Okay, during the hearing. Representative.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wait.

[Matt Abaticola]

Unidentified Anomalous.

[Dan Bernstein]

Anomalous Sonoma phenomena.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, during the hearing, Representative Eric Burleson, a Republican from Missouri, played a video that he said, I've been given and that he claimed was taken by an MQ9.

[Dan Bernstein]

I went to school with Ivan.

[Matt Abaticola]

Given claim was taken by an MQ9 Reaper drone.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

The overhead video sounds deadly. Showed a fast moving object moving in a straight line above the waves in the waters off the coast of Yemen and captured what Burleson said was a Hellfire missile fired by another Reaper drone that appeared to strike the object. Now, just so you know, a hellfire drone is five and a half feet long. No, the hellfire missile is five and a half feet long dot Five and a half feet long. The missile itself weighs a hundred pounds.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And you've seen them in the video of blowing up terrorists and because, I mean, Obama loved these things. Obama blew up everything and everybody he could. It was his favorite video game. He would come to work and just. Just blow shit up and. And nobody really cared. That was a. It was a big deal in his administration. So this thing hits this Hellfire missile hits this object and it spins for a tiny bit. It just kind of spins the object. Spins the object, a five foot long, hundred pound laser guided Hellfire missile loaded with explosives, with dynamite, hits this thing and it spins a little bit and then immediately gets back on its trajectory and continues on the same line undisturbed.

[Guest or Producer]

Huh.

[Matt Abaticola]

You gotta see it.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you've seen this video?

[Matt Abaticola]

Everybody has. Okay, it's there. It's available. There is a distant that shows. Okay. It kind of knocked it for a little loop and then it immediately goes back to its trajectory, picks up speed and goes again.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, so they're. So we're claiming that this was a ufo?

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, it is technically a ufo.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

And there's no other logical, reasonable explanation of what could have happened that, well, the missile missed?

[Matt Abaticola]

No, it didn't miss.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's got some kind of unknown defense system that didn't allow it to.

[Matt Abaticola]

Let me just read you the rest. At the time the video was purportedly taken, the waters off Yemen were an active combat zone as US Navy ships and aircraft protected commercial shipping lanes from missiles and drones fired at shipping vessels by the Houthi militants. Not the Fish, but the Houthi militants in Yemen. US Navy ships were regularly shooting down those missiles and drones that posed a threat to them or commercial vessels. The video raises several questions. Did it capture a potential attack on ships? Did the object pose a threat to US Naval ships operating in the combat zone? So they have an investigative journalist there who seemed kind of sketchy to me, said the public should be seeing this stuff and why you're not allowed to, I don't know. He was a witness of the hearing alongside others identified as whistleblowers of military UFO incidents. He said, that's the Hellfire missile smacking into that UFO and just bouncing right off. And it kept going.

[Guest or Producer]

Huh.

[Matt Abaticola]

So they don't know what this was. A US Defense official told ABC News, we do not have anything to provide on this. When asked to authenticate the video and the time and location it was allegedly taken. Asked to comment on the video, a Department of Defense spokesperson said, I have nothing for you. So one possibility is the video's completely made up. It's AI slop. One possibility is that there's a massive cover up of something that happened. But I will tell you when you watch it, I'm watching it right now. And if there is, usually there's some kind of weird explanation that they say, oh, it's a weather balloon or it's some sort of a plasma or high atmosphere gas that creates that image on the screen, or there's some issue of parallax where the visuals get bent by gravity, whatever that may be.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so the thing that's coming along is the uap and then the missile comes out perpendicularly. Yeah. All right, so if the missile hit it, wouldn't it blow up, I.

[Matt Abaticola]

You think?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I'm saying, like, wouldn't the missile blow up? Like, how does the missile keep flying past it?

[Matt Abaticola]

It does. There's chunks of the missile. You see.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay, right.

[Matt Abaticola]

You actually see debris where the missile blows up.

[Dan Bernstein]

It looks like it's looking like debris to me.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, and then the. The object spins away, and then there is a shot from purportedly from a distance that shows it continuing at speed over the water on the same path.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know. How does this impact the Bears winning a championship this year?

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know, but I'm a little concerned about it. I just.

[Dan Bernstein]

What concerns you about this?

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

Nothing should be able to absorb a direct hit from a Hellfire missile unfazed.

[Guest or Producer]

Okay. Hmm. I don't know.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't Know either. I just, I thought that the video would be grainier and.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I don't buy it.

[Matt Abaticola]

And underwhelming. Well, no, of course you don't buy it.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, I don't believe it.

[Matt Abaticola]

But I've yet to hear a rational explanation for what it could be. That's what I'm waiting on. And maybe somebody's got it. Maybe they're gonna find an expert to an expert or they're gonna get somebody at least saying that here's a leak for the Department of Defense. He goes, yeah, it wasn't actually a Hellfire missile. It was some kind of dud missile that we use for training or it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Was like a football that we threw. Bounced right off, but at least it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Hit the target and it was out on time.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, they got. It's not Brett Favre thrown anymore, but maybe, you know, it could be other. Other retired quarterbacks. Maybe they got Dan Marino on an aircraft carrier launching. Leave this.

[Matt Abaticola]

Leave this open ended for now until we know more. All I know is you see the video.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Not supposed to survive a direct hit from a hellfire missile, let alone just immediately resume at the same speed and just kind of absorb it like there was no big deal.

[Guest or Producer]

Yeah. All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well, let's follow up on that because I wonder if it's the end of the world.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, we're going to follow up on that.

[Dan Bernstein]

We're all doomed.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, I'm sure at some point we're all doomed. That you can count on. And on forward progress, we're going to dive deep into Bears sound and all things Bears. If you like to bet on sports, and I know you do, don't wait for Sunday to start betting because then you're missing half the fun and half the money college football is cooking. Upsets, blowouts, wild covers. My bookie lets you hit it all. Game lines, player props, and more. Everything you need before the pros even kick it off. So when Sunday rolls around, you're already up. It's my bookie. And they've got it all under one roof. You win big on the NFL super contest. You like a survivor pool that's there. And if you are new to my bookie, this deal is there for you. Just use the code DBU. And then any bet you choose up to $500 is fully covered. You make your play. If it doesn't hit, you get it right back. When you opt in using your bet back bonus token. It's my bookie. Where bettors win together. Bragging's good, cashing in is better. Along with Matt Abaticola, I'm Dan Bernstein. Make sure if you are enjoying DBU or maybe you're hate listening. Maybe you're one of the people who just loves to say horrible things about everything.

[Dan Bernstein]

It makes stop talking about it.

[Matt Abaticola]

That makes you miserable when you're like, I hate this. These people suck. I'm watching and listening to every episode and oh, they suck. Good. That's great. Whatever has you clicking. Doesn't matter why. So come on in. Subscribe rate, download all the verbs and make it part of your daily life and get it into your routine. This has been Dan Bernstein Unfiltered, and it's been brought to you in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein.

[Dan Bernstein]

Unfiltered.

[Matt Abaticola]

Unfiltered.

[Dan Bernstein]

On three one, two. Sports.