Blackhawks host a great PRIDE NIGHT | Murakami gets his bidet

Summary

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Dan Bernstein Unfiltered — Blackhawks Host a Great PRIDE NIGHT | Murakami Gets His Bidet

Podcast: Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Host: Dan Bernstein, with producer Matt Abbatacola
Release Date: February 3, 2026
Episode Theme:
A two-pronged episode blending Chicago sports culture and societal progress: Dan’s firsthand experience at the Blackhawks’ transformative Pride Night—heavily influenced by the LGBTQ-themed hit series "Heated Rivalry"—and the lighter, entertaining saga of White Sox star Munetaka Murakami’s new contract perk: a bidet. Extended, unfiltered musings on stadium nostalgia, Bears stadium politics, and food culture round out the show, all delivered in Bernstein and Matt’s signature irreverent, conversational style.

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1. Blackhawks PRIDE NIGHT & the "Heated Rivalry" Phenomenon

[00:59–21:19]

Blackhawks Embrace Pride Night — With a Twist

• Dan attended the Blackhawks’ Pride Night, unexpectedly joining his wife’s “Heated Rivalry fan club” comprised of friends from SoulCycle (01:44).
  • “Sweetheart, love of my life, it is by its very definition what you have and what is going to the Blackhawks game is a heated rivalry fan club!” (Dan, 01:23)
• "Heated Rivalry", a Canadian hockey romance series (originally from the Crave Network, popularized by HBO), is driving new, passionate, LGBTQ-friendly fan bases to hockey and making waves in the NHL.
  • Quick primer: It fantasizes about a romance between two NHL rivals—a plot that’s captivated non-traditional hockey fans and even drew commentary from the real NHL commissioner.
  • “Heated Rivalry is kinda loosely fanfiction based on if Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin…had become secret lovers.” (Dan, 02:27)

PRIDE Tape & Personal History

• Dan discusses the emotional pull of Pride Tape, rooted in his son’s experiences with inclusive hockey coaches and a bar mitzvah project for the You Can Play team.
• "I would love to have seen Blackhawks players have Pride tape, at least for warmups.” (Dan, 04:55)
• Reminisces about inclusive Blackhawks events: “Adam Raghavin and Tommy Wingles… part of everything, the social media campaign and the hashtag campaign to raise awareness for inclusion, inclusivity and open arms in the world of hockey.” (Dan, 05:46)

Pride Night Vibes: Inclusive, Joyful, Uniquely Contemporary

• Club music, Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus performing Cher covers, photobooths—an atmosphere far removed from the old days of Blackhawks hockey at Chicago Stadium.
• “If you’re going to dare people to dance and put on banging club music, people will dance… and they’re going to take their shirts off. And they did.” (Dan, 07:34)

From Nostalgia to the New Arena Experience

• Dan and Matt contrast the old rough-and-tumble hockey nights (“fights and cigars and weed and beer being spilled on you,” 09:00) with the new, more entertainment-driven experience.
• The vibe now: “It just wasn’t what I anticipated… because it wasn’t what I was familiar with.” (Matt, 08:33)

Easter Eggs & Fandom Inside Jokes

• Blackhawks’ production referenced "Heated Rivalry" throughout—Tommy Hawk (the mascot) prepared a blueberry-banana smoothie (nod to Scott and Kip on the show), a tuna melt (in-story food).
• “Everybody who was kind of into it loved the fact that one of the Hawks’ goals was scored by Ilya Mikhayev…because the main character played by Connor Story, the Russian—the sort of Ovechkin-ish guy—is Ilya Rozanov.” (Dan, 10:54)
• “It’s the first time I’ve been at a hockey game where every time they showed a picture of one of the players, like out of uniform… everyone around me had thoughts. The eavesdropping was a lot of fun.” (Dan, 11:56)

Hockey Family & Rediscovery

• Ties to Dan’s family’s hockey life: His wife’s deep engagement in running his son’s youth hockey club, missed community connections—“She really missed it…for that not to be in our lives right now, I kind of felt it all come back.” (Dan, 14:08)
• Nostalgia over old jerseys (14:58), inside jokes about custom team swag.

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2. Murakami Gets His Bidet — International Player Amenities & Japanese Influence

[33:24–45:12]

White Sox’ New Star: Munetaka Murakami

• Munetaka Murakami—power-hitting Japanese import, two-year, $34M deal (“He swings out of his shoes…a cool-looking lefty swing,” Dan, 34:24).
• Notable contract request: a bidet in the locker room.
  • “Murakami had a contract request… he asked for a bidet in the locker room.” (Dan, 35:59)
  • “One thing that stood out… we didn’t have a bidet in our locker room. That’s something that’s new to him. We’re putting one in.” (Dan quoting Sox exec Chris Getz, 36:01)

Japanese Player Marketing: New Frontier or Recent Trend?

• Discussion about growing Japanese influence in MLB marketing—broadcasting games back to Japan, sponsors like Hankook Tire.
• “Are we erasing Tadahito Iguchi and Shingo Takatsu?…[Iguchi] hit a three-run homer in the Red Sox series that changed everything!” (Dan, 37:24)

Dodgers’ Bidet Arms Race

• The Dodgers reportedly have eight state-of-the-art, heated-seat, Japanese-style bidets to accommodate Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki et al.
  • “Eight bidets. And the Sox had none. Who’s falling behind? The bidet arms race.” (Dan & Matt, 40:36)
• Playful speculation: Will the Sox clubhouse know how to use the bidet? Jokes about new amenities being mistaken for drinking fountains, and ranking White Sox history by "cleanest crack".

Bidets, Music Gifts & Marital Banter

• From bidet comedy to anniversary presents—Bernstein riffs on wedding gifts, considers composing a love song instead of buying crystal: “Music? Yeah… I’ll get her a hammer dulcimer… Actually my brother-in-law is a steel guitarist, a virtuoso in fact. And a luthier. He could actually build… an instrument.” (41:56–43:25)

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3. Chicago Sports Odds, NBA Trade Whispers & Stadium Politics

[21:20–33:24 / 49:14–35:07 / 55:26–59:02]

NBA Trade Deadline Chatter

• “Two big shoes to drop… James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo.” (Dan, 25:26)
  • Possible destinations and implications—Giannis, Harden, Anthony Davis, Bulls' asset movement.
  • Bulls continue to dance around the edges of trades, collecting picks and being opportunistic as a “facilitator.”
  • “Bulls continue to…recoup a couple of second round picks which school?” (Dan, 26:05)
  • Brief musings on smaller stories: Yuki Kawamura—shortest player in Bulls history (“He’s out there trying really, really hard…what else does somebody 5’7” have to do [to] belong in the NBA?” — 29:22)

Bears Stadium Drama & ‘Keep the Bears in Illinois’ Billboards

[52:53–59:02]

• Bernstein and Matt dissect “mysterious” billboards urging fans to keep the Bears in Illinois.
  • “Does not say who paid…does not say who actually said, ‘put that billboard up’…I think it’s the Bears.” (Dan, 53:06)
• They suspect not genuine grassroots sentiment, but top-down astroturfing spearheaded by the Bears' own PR.
• Sharp critique of “tax certainty” language—a rebranding of demands for tax breaks.
  • “Don’t fall for their language when they say ‘tax certainty’…It means tax cuts is what it means. It means free money.” (Dan, 55:54)
  • “It’s all bullshit. All those studies are PR. They’re not scientific…If Indiana wants to fall for it, let Indiana fall for it.” (Dan, 56:43)

Bears' Ownership & Timeline

• Questioning the realism and politics behind promises of a new stadium by 2025.
  • “Kevin Warren said he’d have a shovel in the ground before 2025 ended…So at what point …what would you imagine for the McCaskey family? [59:02] No answer—just speculation on public/private negotiation games.

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4. Nostalgia, Food, and Comic Interludes

Throughout

Food & Chicago Culture

• Tangents about food—from tuna melts (“Where are you on tuna melt with bacon?” — 13:07), to raw vs. grilled onions on burgers, to Omaha Steaks (32:36).
• Bernstein’s candor: “Are you going to burger-shame me? I ate four burgers!” (33:09)

Growing Up With Hockey

• Miraculous 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey memories—documentary recommendation ("Miracle: The Boys of 80") and the emotional impact of that team (“You should have seen the walls of my bedroom…cutting out collages of everything.” — 18:24).

Smart, Cynical, True-to-Chicago Tone

• Trademark Bernstein candor and local color: critical, playful, always straight-talking.
• Memorable lines:
  • “If you want to give subsidies to billionaires somewhere other than Illinois, go ahead. I don’t care.” (55:13)
  • “All those studies are PR bullshit…all kinds of academic papers full of evidence to prove all these estimations of jobs and economic impact. It’s PR bullshit.” (56:43)

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5. Notable Quotes & Segments (by Timestamp)

• 01:23 — “Sweetheart, love of my life, it is by its very definition what you have and what is going to the Blackhawks game is a heated rivalry fan club!” (Dan)
• 04:55 — “I would love to have seen Blackhawks players have Pride tape, at least for warmups.” (Dan)
• 07:34 — “If you’re going to dare people to dance and put on banging club music, people will dance… and they’re going to take their shirts off. And they did.” (Dan)
• 10:54 — “Everybody who was Kind of into it loved the fact that one of the Hawks’ goals was scored by Ilya Mikhayev…” (Dan)
• 35:59 — “Murakami had a contract request… he asked for a bidet in the locker room.” (Dan)
• 40:36 — “Eight bidets. And the Sox had none. Who’s falling behind? The bidet arms race.” (Dan & Matt)
• 55:54 — “Don’t fall for their language when they say ‘tax certainty’. It means tax cuts…free money.” (Dan)
• 56:43 — “All those studies are PR bullshit… It’s PR bullshit.” (Dan)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:59] Blackhawks "heated rivalry" Pride Night
• [04:00–08:30] Old vs. new stadium hockey atmosphere
• [10:30–12:00] Heated Rivalry’s embedded in-game references
• [14:00–16:00] Family hockey nostalgia
• [25:26–27:30] NBA trade deadline overview
• [34:24–41:30] Murakami’s bidet request & Japanese baseball influence
• [52:53–59:02] Bears stadium saga and political commentary

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In Summary

This episode captures the evolving intersection of sports, culture, and business in Chicago—showcasing how fan communities are changing, how teams are adapting, and how unfiltered, candid commentary on politics, amenities, and nostalgia can turn even a discussion about toilets into comic gold. Dan and Matt deliver their signature mix: deep sports insight, lived experience, skepticism toward PR spin, and the everyday color of Chicago fandom.

Transcript

[Dan Bernstein]

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[Matt]

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered is brought to you in partnership with my bookie Boy, did I have a good time at the Blackhawks game last night. And I didn't expect that I was going to be going to the Blackhawks game. I did not know that my wife has she put together an actual heated rivalry fan club chapter. It's not official. I called it that. And she bristled. She's like, it is not a heated rivalry fan club club. And I said, you know, actually, sweetheart, love of my life, it is by its very definition what you have and what is going to the Blackhawks game is a heated rivalry fan club. And she said, no, it just happened to be friends of mine from. And I said, well, hold on, let me. Let me just see if I'm defining this right. There's like five of your favorite Soul Cycle instructors, other people from SoulCycle who you've become friendly with because why again? Oh yeah, because of heated rivalry. And you've been sharing all the stories. And if you're new here or if you've been on another planet for the last two months and you don't know what heated rivalry is, it is the phenomenon of a show on hbo, originally a Canadian show, I want to think it was called from the Crave Network. And Jacob Tierney, the awesome show runner behind Letterkenny and Shorzy, did a televised version of novels that have been written about a hockey romance that has taken the world by storm and taken the NHL by storm. And even Gary Bettman and even the NHL has had to come out and say, what a great. I don't use the words come out to mean it's any more Symbolically, but to understand what it is meant for hockey and what it's done for people who wouldn't otherwise be interested in hockey. The Blackhawks do an annual Pride Night, but this year it was different just because of what Heated Rivalry has been doing. And quick primer. Heated Rivalry is kind of loosely fan fiction based on if Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, from the moment right before the NHL draft, if they had become secret lovers. And that's essentially what this five episode season, the first season of Heated Rivalry was. And it's awesome, it's great. And it has spawned all kinds of fans from all over the world that have been into this show and I've talked about it before, but last night was the Blackhawks opportunity to embrace Pride Night in a totally new and different way with this being a part of it this season. So she, she said, I got an extra ticket. You want to come along and be part of the Heated Rivalry fan club? Because she admitted I was right about that. And I said of course. And it was great. It was great. You know, I would, I have liked if some of the players had Pride Tape on their stick just because of the previous relationship that we had in our family with Pride Tape. Because you know, again, I'm, I'm digressing, but, but one of my son's most important, significant, meaningful, influential hockey coaches. When he was in his second year, he coached him in three different seasons. But he was also a player in what used to be called the Chicago Gay Hockey League, the Gay Hockey association. And he and his partner, I believe now husband, were always a big part of our hockey experience. So when it was time to do the service project for his bar mitzvah, Jason did a game, an exhibition game in Skokie by celebrating Pride Tape and the youe Can Play team organizations to help for inclusiveness of LBGTQ in the sport of hockey. The Blackhawks were awesome with it. Adam Raghavin and Tommy Wingles, the Hawks player at the time, came out and they were part of everything, the social media campaign and the hashtag campaign to raise awareness for inclusion, inclusivity and open arms in the world of hockey. So that was a big deal. I would love to have seen Blackhawks players have Pride tape, at least for warmups. But I'm not going to let perfect be the enemy of good here. On balance, I think the Hawks did a really good job last night. We had a blast. The game was actually really fun. It ended up being 6:3, so it's kind of a wild kind of A raggedy game. There were some. Some penalties and things. And you had two, interestingly, the two young stars of the league for my same draft class, Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini of the Sharks. And so they're just children celebrating. You look at his picture out there on the Jumbotron, and He's. He's like 19 years old still. Oh, is he a good player? And you got everything you wanted. Bedard scored the first goal. I think Celebrini had a goal and an assistant. But what was going on everywhere else, you couldn't take your eyes off of whatever was moving around at the time with the production they were doing. They had a special DJ in there who was playing club music, and they had the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus, who, during one of the period breaks, they performed in the atrium beforehand. And there were places to take pictures and stuff in the atrium. We got there very early and kind of wandered around. And then they performed a couple of Cher songs. Not Tom Cher. They didn't do Tom Cher songs. It was the actual Cher. Cher, Hawaiian. Why My Brother. And they did. They did those songs during one of the period breaks. The music was spectacular.

[Matt]

Full house.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Nice.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah. And I loved our seats, too. We were in, I think, what we're the fourth row, 300 level, kind of in the corner, which is one of my favorite angles at which to see hockey, because you can actually watch plays develop. You can see the shapes of things better from that angle. You guys and hockey in person, obviously, when you understand when they're changing. And it was a really, really good time, and I loved it. I'm glad that I was invited. I felt included, actually. I was glad to be a part of that. It's just a fun group of people. And it seemed in general that people were really enjoying themselves. And they kept showing people on the camera, like, daring people to dance. And that is a crowd where if you're gonna dare people to dance and put on banging club music, people will dance. People are going to dance, and they're going to take their shirts off. And they did.

[Matt]

So when's the last time you went to a game?

[Dan Bernstein]

Last time I went to a Blackhawks game.

[Matt]

Blackhawks game, yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Years.

[Matt]

Okay. So, yeah, same. Same for me when we went earlier this year when they played the Senators in October, Bedard had his hat trick. It's. It's a very different atmosphere, isn't it, for Blackhawks? Remember I mentioned that to you? That it's just very different and a lot busier outside of the ice activity, everything. It's very.

[Dan Bernstein]

Game shows that they're very different. And it's. I mean, I know that's every sports experience.

[Matt]

I know, but it wasn't what I had anticipated because I never experienced that with a Blackhawks game before. And it just. And I know it's like. It's like. It's like that no matter where you go, no matter what the sport is, and nothing negative or no criticism about it, it's just not what I anticipated because it wasn't what I was familiar with. With going to the UC for a Blackhawks game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I mean, I go back to the.

[Matt]

Well, I go back to Chicago Stadium. Right, right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Where.

[Matt]

Where it was just hockey and fights.

[Dan Bernstein]

And fights and cigars and weed and.

[Matt]

Beer being spilled on you and people.

[Dan Bernstein]

Throwing garbage at you. Yeah.

[Matt]

So not.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not.

[Matt]

It's not. It's not a criticism of the Blackhawks because certainly it happens everywhere. But, like, it's. It was different than what you anticipated or what you'd experienced in the past, obviously. Yeah, it was very different for me, but it was. It was still fun. It just. I just didn't expect that with a Hawks game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, it had everything, too, because the actual hockey was fun. They Blackhawks scored four goals in the second period. Right.

[Matt]

The game we went to, I think they scored seven.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now, what was really cool, though, and I kind of felt like one of the insiders here, they kept giving little Easter eggs to big fans of heated rivalry. At one point before the game, they go to Tommy Hawk, who's like the star of these shows, by the way. Tommy Hawk is all over your screen, and he's everywhere. And he's the mascot who actually looks like a Hawk. And before the game, he was making a blueberry banana smoothie in a blender. What's Tommy Hawk making? And so everybody who watches the show knows that when Scott Hunter met Kip, it was Kip who made him the secret blueberry banana smoothie. And then Scott Hunter kept going. No spoiler alerts here, but, yeah, Scott Hunter kept going back. His excuse to see Kip was the fact that he was sort of set in his ways and he had a good game after having the special off menu blueberry banana smoothie. And so he made that. And then Tommy Hawk also made himself a tuna melt. So if you're nodding your head, you know the significance in the show of the tuna melt when Shane Hollander decided that he was offered to make that for Ilya. And at one point, this is really. This. Everybody who was Kind of into it. Loved the fact that one of the Hawks goals was scored by Ilya Mikhayev, because the main character played by Connor Story, the Russian, the sort of Ovechkin ish guy, is Ilya Rosanov. And when Ilya Mikhayev scored his goal, everybody went. Ilya went crazy. And then who assisted on the goal, But Conor Murphy, who also had a goal of his own, and there was a lot of Connors out there. The actor who plays Ilya Rosenoff is named Connor Story. So everyone's like, oh, Connor assisted on Ilya's goal. So it's the name of the actor and the character. And everybody got into it. And they're also. It's the first time I've been at a hockey game where every time they showed a picture of one of the players, like, out of uniform or out of helmet or whatever, everyone around me had thoughts.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Had very, very specific thoughts of. Of where I was. The eavesdropping was a lot of fun. I'll just say that.

[Matt]

Well, now I want a tuna melt really bad, so. Thanks for doing that, though.

[Dan Bernstein]

I will say this, the one on the show looked pretty good.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt]

I love a good tuna, don't you? Oh, I do. Don't you love a good tuna melt?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, the whole, like, fish cheese thing. I know in Italy, it's a real. No, no. Like, you don't put Parmesan on anything. Shrimp.

[Matt]

Well, it's not even. As Italy, like, fish and cheese do not go together.

[Dan Bernstein]

Except Coquille St. Jacques.

[Matt]

Except for tuna melt.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, the classic French presentation of Coquille St. Jacques. Right. Like the plate that's shaped like a scallop, and it's the baked scallop with butter and herbs and occasionally a little bit of Gruyere. Yeah, right.

[Matt]

A little bit would be fine, but like, a cheesy pasta dish is just. Is not.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not with shrimp or.

[Matt]

Yeah. Not with seafood.

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Matt]

It just shouldn't go. Except for a really well done tuna melt.

[Dan Bernstein]

Where are you on a tuna melt with bacon?

[Matt]

I've never had it, but I'd be down with that for sure. There'd be no opposition to that whatsoever.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Like, if someone presented it, I wouldn't say, take the bacon off. No, I'm good to give it a try, actually.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bakenoff was also in the show. Sergey. Sergey Baconoff. He didn't want one of the smoothies, but he came through. He also wanted to meet Kip. Sergei Baconov. We gotta add him to the team.

[Matt]

I've already jotted it down.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I spent a lot of time with that. And I have been very clear about my kind of tortured relationship with the Blackhawks and. And kind of with hockey. And I realized my wife really misses hockey because she was very involved as much as we all were in my son's youth hockey career and playing. God, how long? He started when he was 5, and he went through, so 13 years of organized hockey, up to traveling to other cities.

[Matt]

A lot of time and money right there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. The high school level and all the people that we've met, all the places that we've gone and the All Star games and everything he's done. And it's, you know, all the leg pads and all the Play it again sports and everything we've been through. And she really missed it. Cause she was actually the president of the high school club. She ran it, and she was on the calls with a high, and she was the one negotiating ice time. So she was sort of an experienced more than just like the team manager getting cookies and stuff. She was figuring out scheduling and where we're playing and when we're playing and travel budgets and all that stuff. So for that not to be in our lives right now, I kind of felt it all come back a little bit. And I wore one of his old jerseys, the Chicago River Dogs jersey, last night.

[Matt]

Oh, nice.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I wanted. It's so funny because I wanted to wear one of his jerseys and he saved a lot of them. So my goals were, I want to find one that can fit me because the goalie ones were always big and they all said Bernstein on the back. So I don't want to walk in to the United center, something that says Bernstein on it because, you know, somebody will attack me or something horrible is going to happen. So I kept going. And then one, I couldn't find one that had, like, hockey smell over all the. So I was sort of sifting through all these, and I found one that didn't fit. You didn't say Burns that had. The nameplate was off. I don't know if we were, like, in between. I don't know what was going on with the nameplates, but it was a perfect one. I love the black New River Dogs jersey.

[Matt]

Isn't that when he had the period of life he was considering of going just by Jason?

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it was.

[Matt]

No, he was going to drop the last name.

[Dan Bernstein]

He was going to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol, I believe, and go by the artist formerly known as Hound sign. Yes. It was going to be something to rip the name off.

[Matt]

Yeah. Years ago, the Blackhawks gave us jerseys. We went to a game night, and it was the really cool black sweaters. And I got number 18. And it says Bat a Cole on it, though, so I don't like wearing it out.

[Dan Bernstein]

I have an entire. I must have seven or eight awesome jerseys. One of the Bears throwbacks, I've got a Chicago rush.

[Matt]

And they say burn suit on them. Yeah. You can't wear them.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like, don't put my name on there. Put someone else's name on there. And I'm. Or no name at all. And I will wear it.

[Matt]

Yeah. Because I saw the 18 and I was like, oh, man. Sweet. I'll take a Savard. That's great. And then opened it up and it was like, oh, the other thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

And also no one else has your name. Right? Like, there's no gonna be nobody else. Are you also named about. My name is also Bort. Right. It's just. There's gonna be another one out there. So the. The other jersey that he has that's really cool is he's got one of the actual Charlestown Chiefs sweaters.

[Matt]

Oh, nice.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it says Hanson. Did he.

[Matt]

Did he play just goalie or was he more than first year?

[Dan Bernstein]

He skated out a little tiny bit. And then he tried once. He tried goalie for the first time. Movie. That was it. That was it. It just. It's, you know, the wand chooses the wizard. Yeah. It was one of those cases where there was like, oh, oh, okay.

[Matt]

While you're talking hockey, I finished last night documentary on Netflix called Miracle the boys of 80.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, my. Guys. Yeah.

[Matt]

So you've got to watch it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. It's a documentary.

[Matt]

It's documentary.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, cool.

[Matt]

It is one of the most well done documentaries. And maybe it's just the topic and the theme.

[Dan Bernstein]

As good as the 30 for 30 from the Soviet side. Because that was incredible.

[Matt]

You have to watch and watch it soon so we can talk about it. Because I don't want to talk about it until you watch it.

[Dan Bernstein]

How long is it?

[Matt]

90 minutes. Maybe it's less than two hours, but it was fantastic.

[Dan Bernstein]

Love every second.

[Matt]

It's called Miracle the boys of 80.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was great because you know how important that team is.

[Matt]

Absolutely great.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt]

With game highlights and interviews. It was. It was fantastic. I loved every second of it. So you've got to watch it so we can discuss it. Because the anniversary, the 46 years on Friday the 20th, 46 years of the game against the Soviet Union.

[Dan Bernstein]

You should have seen the walls of my bedroom at that time. Really everything I could find, I cut out pictures from newspapers. Everything, every magazine, everything I could possibly find, I put up on the walls. I made my own collages of stuff. I loved that team.

[Matt]

Yeah. I don't have many memories of watching sports with my dad or my brothers growing up, but I distinctly remember that Friday night and where we were sitting. I can picture the living room and the TV and watching that game and.

[Dan Bernstein]

Which one?

[Matt]

Well, I mean, the Soviet game is the one that stands out, but obviously.

[Dan Bernstein]

The 22 tie against Sweden, I think it was 2 2.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, they tied Sweden.

[Matt]

Yeah, it was a 22 tie.

[Dan Bernstein]

Then that when they beat Czechoslovakia, I.

[Matt]

Think that was three one was the second. Second best team in the world at the time.

[Dan Bernstein]

When they beat Czechoslovakia, think, okay, hold on a second. This might be real. And it kept building, Right. And people don't remember that the victory over the Soviets was not the gold.

[Matt]

Medal game against Finland.

[Dan Bernstein]

Four two, Mark Johnson, two goals.

[Matt]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

And.

[Matt]

And they were. They were tied going into the or. No, they were down going to the third.

[Dan Bernstein]

The third period.

[Matt]

And they played like shit the first and second period. And then. And then they just. They turned it on. And they played their best hockey in that. In that third period against Finland, and it was. Yeah, they. They looked like the superior team. Well, but I'm telling you, you've got to watch it. It was. It was. You'll love it. It was fantastic.

[Dan Bernstein]

Good. Okay. I will definitely do that. But I've been hard on the Blackhawks, and I think for good reason, because of what had happened with Kyle beach, the behavior. I still have a tough time getting past the behavior of Rocky Wirtz at their press conference afterwards. That always bothered me. And I also have had, as a television viewer, not having Pat Foley and at all. Check there has been difficult for me, but I've got to get over it. I got to get over it because this team's pretty good. It's a little Canadian sounding to me. What I liked about the previous TV broadcast, because it sounded like Chicago. The broadcast now does not sound Chicago at all. And I know that, and I'm aware of it. It doesn't have to. And you know that I'm usually the furthest thing from a provincialist on such things. Yeah. But it is noticeable that the broadcast could be anywhere in Canada.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And.

[Matt]

And we talked about this when I. When I went to the game that night.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt]

No, they're.

[Dan Bernstein]

They're.

[Matt]

They're great.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt]

But it Just. It doesn't sound like home to me.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt]

You know, Pat Foley will always be for me the soundtrack of the Blackhawks always on television.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because John Wideman is. And I. And I've said this years ago that John Wideman is better than Pat Foley ever was at radio. He just. Better.

[Matt]

Yeah. But growing up, it didn't matter to me. I mean, it just his. His voice was Blackhawks hockey, period.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I learned a lot from Eddie Oldcheck over the years, both on the air and off the air about hockey. And it's. But, you know, times change and I've got to get with it. I give the Hawks credit for. And next time, players Pride tape, man. Put the. Put that Pride tape on your sticks. Get out there and there's nothing wrong with it. Go ahead. Your stick's not gonna catch on fire. Nothing horrible is gonna happen. But. Cause Pride tape is cool. So. But it was a really nice night. I'm glad I got to enjoy it with my wife and her friends to see kind of her in her element with her SoulCycle people. Because that's another culture altogether. Is like the hardcore soul cycle addicts. I mean, she's done three rides in a day before, which I think is. Is a little much like I did one ride. I did a Taylor Swift ride with Zoe. And that. I just realized that it was just. I can't. I can't do the dancing part. I'm not coordinated enough to ride a spin bike really fast and dance because I'm not really good at dancing while my feet are moving that fast. It was. Everything was very close to a disaster for me. It's fun, it's loud, it's fun and it's supportive and all that. But yeah, that'd be your thing. Not my thing. I got scared. There are trade vibes throughout the NBA right now. I do want to mention. Yeah, there's a ton of football stuff. Forward progress. We're going to get to all of it. Big headlines. We got Roger Goodell and Matt Nagy and Kevin Byard and there's Bears related stuff. All of that is going to be on forward progress today. Why aren't you talking Bears? It's enough of your gay hockey. Bernstein, Stop talking about hockey game night. I don't want that talk Bears. We will. Don't worry. But in the NBA, we are seeing and hearing all kinds of things. I think we're waiting for two big shoes to drop before things really start to happen. Want to get to it? Quick reminder. The super bowl is here. It is Sunday. Where are you going to turn your bets into? Bankroll my booking. Maybe you haven't done this before. Maybe you've been waiting to get registered and make your deposit. Don't wait because there's just so much fun to do it. Just if you need something to spice up your party, everybody can get involved. You can go through all these props and do all sorts of fun stuff. This is the one game where props are king. My bookie is the king of props. The super bowl prop board. Deep fun to play. Jimmy Kimmel Live talks about it every year. So if you want to get in, get in. It's one account. It's one wallet. You want to bet the spread or live bet the second half, hit the casino during commercials, you can do that. But the props are fun. I gave you one on Monday in our DBU picks. I said I was going to go under the 38.5 Drake May rushing yards and I gave you my rationale for it. Considering the amount of zone defense that Seattle plays and the amount of time I think that they're going to have to spend throwing the ball to try to catch up in the game. My bookie ag. That's where you go. Mybookie ag. Everything's there and we have a promo code for you. D When you use that promo code, your first bet is covered up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, then you have a bet back bonus token and that way you can run it back. So go to my bookie if you haven't yet. It's a great time and use the code. Dbu. Then you're not just watching the game, you're making it pay. It's more fun, it's more interesting. And you're doing it with my bookie. So here are your two NBA names that I think are going to be the bellwethers of everything that goes on. One is James Harden and the other is Giannis Antetokounmpo. We're hearing and seeing all of the smoke around these names and the only big trade that we've had pre deadline so far was the Trae Young deal and there was some moderate stuff over the weekend in which the Bulls were involved. We mentioned yesterday the Bulls as a facilitator were able to recoup a couple of second round picks which school? But ESPN said that James Harden and the Clippers are trying to find a home for Harden elsewhere. That's a tough one for me. I'm not exactly sure how much of your contending team you can turn over to James Harden and where you are vis a vis the salary aprons for what you're going to pay for that. Apparently the Cavaliers are interested in Harden and you know, he's a future hall of Famer, he's playing well, but he plays a very specific kind of game where he's going to have the ball, he's going to do his things and the rules have changed a little bit around what made him, what allowed him to go to the free throw line is being officiated a little bit differently now. But the Cavaliers are are a possibility and the 76ers have been mentioned in various permutations. The Oklahoma City Thunder are being mentioned. So then you have Giannis Antetokounmpo as well, where the Bucks are working to sort through possible offers and ever since the loss of Jimmy Butler, Golden State is being named there. Miami Heat could be a possibility. I don't know how you have him and Khalil where and how you make that work or maybe it's going to be a short term deal, but there's that possibility. And also now Anthony Davis of course is hurt again, but were he not, that would be another name that could be out there. And usually a lot of these teams are going to wait for some of the big deals to happen and or stay by the sides of the transaction and see if there aren't things that can be be picked off like the Bulls just did that sometimes there are third teams needed because of cap restrictions to say look, if we absorb a deal, can we find a second round pick in here or maybe a late first or a protected first. Keep an eye on everything. Thursday afternoon is the deadline and the Bulls continue to, you know, they're dancing here and there and the rumors that we've got. We'll talk this through on OWC tomorrow when that all comes out. But Joe Colley of the Sun Times yesterday reported again and this was the stuff that he had first previously that the Bulls had talked to the Rockets about Terry Eason and talked to the Pelicans about Eve Mecy and or Zion Williamson. So all worth discussing, especially Meesee Young, rim protector, rim runner. It's exactly the kind of thing the Bulls miss. I don't know about Zion and what that commitment would be about where he is physically, mentally and whether or not stardom is still in there and what risk that that's worth. And I just want to know what the Bulls feel about finally, finally, finally picking a lane and deciding to do something that either says this team, this Year is going to go as far as it can with a little bit of help in the playoffs, or we got it. We're too late to recoup and too late to start understanding the importance of draft capital and. But there's no better time to start than right now if these people are going to be around. If Arturis Coroner Jovis has been told, you're going to be here to see this through, and they want to actually try to find a way to clear the decks to give themselves opportunities to get better. Go ahead and get started. I'm not going to get mad at you if all of a sudden you wake up and you realize that and you want to do it. So we'll keep a very close eye on what could happen with the Bulls. Meanwhile, Yuki Kawamura will be active once again tonight. I get the Milwaukee Bucks and the Bulls. So we get to enjoy Yuki while you can. Just enjoy him while you can. He's fun.

[Matt]

Enjoy him while you can. See him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, you got to look for him. Yeah. But he's out there trying really, really hard and doing the things that answer the question, what else does somebody 5, 7 have to do in the NBA in 2026 to look like they belong on the floor with everybody else?

[Matt]

I saw yesterday online that he's the shortest player in Bulls history.

[Dan Bernstein]

He is. Although I think I want to know the actual measurement of Tyler Ulis. Remember him? I don't. Tyler Ulis, I believe, was listed at 5, 9, but I never thought he was close to 5 9. So I don't know if they're fudging around with some of the official heights as they often do. Diego Pavia. Diego Pavia. That. It happens when you say somebody five, nine is six feet. I don't know if Yuki is. My guess is Yuki and Tyler Eulis are about the same height. Yeah.

[Matt]

They said Tyler Ulis was five' ten, which he.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no.

[Matt]

I recognize him now looking at pictures. No, no, he was not five' ten.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, he wasn't. He isn't. He is never going to be. Not on his best day. Not happening. Yeah. No, sir, you need to get more protein in your diet. I know that, and you know that. This is something that is important to a lot of people, especially people who are using GLP1s and have to be very, very mindful about nutrition. But it doesn't mean that it shouldn't taste good and be awesome. You know what else happens to be protein? Great steak that comes from Omaha Steaks, Handcrafted, USDA certified Tender steaks or their gourmet burgers versatile chicken and pork. Omaha Steaks has an unmatched variety of, you guessed it, high quality proteins that you also are going to love. And right now, here's your chance to taste the difference. Get an extra $35 off@omaha steaks.com with the promo code Bernstein at checkout. Maybe it's you. Maybe it's somebody in your family. Maybe you're like, well, we gotta make sure that everybody is everybody's protein crazy. But don't forget that Omaha Steaks has been doing this since 1917. This isn't new to Omaha Steaks. They've got unrivaled quality and variety. Every bite backed by their 100% satisfaction guarantee. Every steak perfectly aged to maximize tenderness. Hand cut by master butchers in America's heartland. I had some of the burgers last night that they make from filet mignon. And I made them the other night just simple, just with a little bit of kosher salt and, and cheese and raw onion. And I did them through to like medium. Oh, my God. So, like, just fantastic. Toasted the buns. They toasted buttered buns.

[Matt]

How many? Be honest. Three. You ate three of four.

[Dan Bernstein]

Four. Jesus. What, are you gonna shame me? Not at all. Dude, do not burger. Are you burger shaming me?

[Matt]

Wait, did you like four individual or did you double them up?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, four, because I wanted the whole thing. I have taken them before, smashed them together, and then made like one giant one or two. So this one I wanted because I wanted like the. The crisp edges on the bun just right and just a little bit. And I was debating grilled onion or raw onion. And I did very, very thinly sliced raw onion.

[Matt]

I always prefer raw on a burger.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, I've come around to that too.

[Matt]

I've always preferred raw. Yeah, I prefer like raw.

[Dan Bernstein]

Except a patty melt. A patty melt's got to be grilled.

[Matt]

Got to be grilled. It's the nature of the beast.

[Dan Bernstein]

So right, A patty melt's got to be grilled. But everything else, you're right. I just think, and like, you're right. Red onion is like a pretzel bun and aioli. We always get hungry.

[Matt]

I'm starving.

[Dan Bernstein]

Omaha Steaks, a family owned company, over 100 years of expertise in the meat industry. So let Omaha Steaks deliver high quality, quality proteins right to your door. Visit Omaha steaks.com and get an extra $35 off with the promo code Bernstein at checkout. That's omahast.com promo code Bernstein terms apply C site for details I got to give it up for my man, the guy who is going to be everyone's favorite player on the White Sox this year, Munetaka Murakami. He is an we've just said before, if you ever watch a video of him swinging, you're going to be a fan. He swings out of his shoes.

[Matt]

Yes, he does.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's like vintage. It's like Javier Baez, remember young Javi Baez, where I would never describe the swing as pretty because Javier would swing out of his shoes and his feet would tangle up and he'd fall down half the time. If you take that effort but you make it into a cool looking lefty swing, that's Munetaka Murakami.

[Matt]

Yeah. Now little more stability in the swing.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, a lot more stability in the swing. A lot. But it is a he takes a big cut every time and he signed a two year, $34 million deal and apparently, apparently as part of that deal, I'm getting this from Bleacher Report, who I think is getting it through Scott Merkin at MLB.com, i think is where the initial report comes from. He Murakami had a contract request. Now it's possible that this was like the Van Halen thing that we always heard about in the Van Halen concert Writer where they would mention we want a bowl of just green M&Ms.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it wasn't because they actually wanted it. It was an indicator that somebody had read the contract writer, that they always knew if they got to the dressing room and that was there. At the very least the venue, the promoter, whoever had read the contract. Right. So they would put in something there, something silly like that. But Munetaka Murakami asked for a bidet in the locker room.

[Matt]

Sure did.

[Dan Bernstein]

And this is Chris Goetz to mlb.com One thing that stood out, one thing he Murakami did notice, is I think we didn't have a bidet in our locker room. That's something that's new to him. We're putting one in so it's like, okay, that's new. We can do that. They said the White Sox had plenty of reasons to facilitate that request. The hope is that Murakami, one of Japan's best power hitters, will improve the product on the field. But there's the marketing side to the addition and Brooks Boyer quoted it talking about what the Dodgers have done with Ohtani and Yamamoto and Sasaki. So the Dodger games are distributed significantly back to Japan. When you talk about Murakami Triple Crown winner in Japan, a hero in the last wbc. There's interest in Japan. Our games will go back there to open some unique opportunities mentioned. The Cubs have taken advantage of this with Imanaga and Suzuki. So obviously they want him to be happy. They have approved or will approve the construction, the installation of a bidet and also the White Sox. I know a lot of people have excised the 2005 team from memory, but correct me if I'm wrong, if I'm missing something here. Are we erasing Tadahito Eguchi and Shingo Takatsu?

[Matt]

Oh, I guess. Yeah. Like the.

[Dan Bernstein]

The starting second baseman.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Who hit a three run homer in the Red Sox series that changed everything. A massive three run home run. Is Shingo Takatsu. Excuse me. Is. Is Tadahito Iguchi.

[Matt]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

So I hope we don't forget that. Also made some other spectacular plays. The famous one of him falling to the ground scooping the ball up with his hand as he tripped and throwing it over to first. And Takatsu was their closer to start the year. Right. They went through three Shingo Takatsu, Dustin Hermanson, the man with the magic grape juice and then Bobby Jenks. But I hope this isn't really a new thing or the Japanese marketing. I think. Didn't Hankook Tires at one point actually spend money with the White Sox?

[Matt]

That sounds correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the White Sox also.

[Matt]

Yeah, that sounds right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. I believe they weren't the only one. Because I'm trying to remember when the Cubs. Help me remember. I think I remember seeing Hankook tires at a White Sox game before. Just. Just a thought. So I this. And I'm glad that Brooks is talking about this in the way that he is, but they really shouldn't be. You know the White Sox had Kosuke Fukudome too.

[Matt]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

After he was with the Cubs.

[Matt]

Yeah. When was he with the Cubs?

[Dan Bernstein]

Was that Fukudome was the first Japanese player on the Cubs. It was 088 through 2011. And then he was with the White sox thereafter. In 2012, Hancock Tire had a.

[Matt]

They had a partnership with. With Major League Baseball.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Yeah. So we have seen it there. But yes. So Murakami gets the bidet in a clean heine. Well, yes. That's the other part. Now here's my question. First of all, how many do you think the Dodgers already have one? I guarantee you they do. I bet they have more than one. If this is a cultural issue.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's no question the Dodgers. And wouldn't the White Sox Know that because they share a spring training facility.

[Matt]

Oh, yeah, they do.

[Dan Bernstein]

So this is all the stuff that's running through my mind. Also in a baseball clubhouse. I'm waiting. I'm waiting for the first. Hey, that's a weird drinking fountain they put in.

[Matt]

Somebody's not going to know what it is. There's going to be somebody.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why is there a drinking fountain right there next to the toilet? I don't understand. I don't think that's sanitary. You see, our new demon got his own drinking festival.

[Matt]

The Dodgers have.

[Dan Bernstein]

Eight.

[Matt]

Eight. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 bidets. State of the art heated seat, bidet equipped Japanese style toilets.

[Dan Bernstein]

Let's go.

[Matt]

To accommodate players like Roki, Suzuka, Sasaki.

[Dan Bernstein]

Eight bidets.

[Matt]

They have eight.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the Sox had none.

[Matt]

Who?

[Dan Bernstein]

They're falling behind. The bidet arms race.

[Matt]

He requested these amenities during his recruitment process.

[Dan Bernstein]

Where'd you find that?

[Matt]

Not racist Google.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not racist Google. You just googled Dodgers and bidets.

[Matt]

Do the Dodgers have a bidet?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, they have eight. State of the art Japanese toilets seat.

[Matt]

Bidet equipped Japanese style toilets.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, where's mine? I want a heated seat, bidet equipped Japanese toilet. Right. Damn. Here. We should put them in here.

[Matt]

My hotel in Rome.

[Dan Bernstein]

Mine too.

[Matt]

Had one.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was. Well, we needed it. Because first night in Rome, both Beth and I, we ate something that wasn't good. First night of the honeymoon was anything we could find in which to throw up. We were throwing up.

[Matt]

Well, I think Beth was realizing what she did. Yeah, she's like.

[Dan Bernstein]

She woke up from the sodium pentothal. She had a huge hangover from the sodium.

[Matt]

What are you doing here? Why is he here?

[Dan Bernstein]

Who's that? I got a reminder of that. Our 27th anniversary is a month away. Wow. 27.

[Matt]

March. What?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep. I'm not telling. March 20th. Why would you tell? That is secret. March 20th. Okay, March 20th. March 20th. It's going to be 27 years. So I got to look up the gift. What's the gift for 27? Because I gave her a silver thing.

[Matt]

Gift for €27.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's a euro of extra tzatziki.

[Matt]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's the Chicago version of the 27 with a dog. That's right. Actually, I think 26. You go over to the Cermak Foods and get her some chicharrones. That sounds good too.

[Matt]

Actually, the traditional gift for the 27th anniversary is music. That's traditional.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, I can just singing.

[Matt]

Consider gifting a musical instrument or concert tickets.

[Dan Bernstein]

I will get her a contrabassoon.

[Matt]

The modern zither. The modern gift is crystal.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh.

[Matt]

Which symbolizes clarity and beauty.

[Dan Bernstein]

We bought crystal for our. We had it on our wedding registry and I think we've used it three times. Oh, really gorgeous crystal. Yeah, Beautiful.

[Matt]

Yeah. I wouldn't get anything crystal. I would go for the music gift.

[Dan Bernstein]

Music? Yeah.

[Matt]

Take her to a concert.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'll get her a hammer dulcimer.

[Matt]

No, take her to a concert.

[Dan Bernstein]

A concert or a steel guitar.

[Matt]

Make her play some country music.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, get her a fiddle.

[Matt]

Make her fiddle around the house.

[Dan Bernstein]

Actually, my brother in law is a steel guitarist. Really? An accomplished steel guitarist. A virtuoso in fact. And a luthier. He could actually build like in the shower. An instrument. What?

[Matt]

A luffier.

[Dan Bernstein]

Luthier. He builds guitars for rock stars.

[Matt]

It's called a luthier.

[Dan Bernstein]

A luthier? Yeah.

[Matt]

Is a guitar builder.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think so. Because it's like the one who makes a lute. It was called a luthier. He worked for a place. Used to work for a famous place in New York called Sadowski where they would build custom guitars and bass. Means the Dowskis over there by Sadowski's. Yeah, yeah, they. Walter Becker from Steely Dan.

[Matt]

Yeah, I would. I would. Yeah, music. Or I would compose your own love song for her and record it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just an old fashioned love song.

[Matt]

No, write your own.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's been written already.

[Matt]

Write your own, record it here, come along.

[Dan Bernstein]

In three part harmony.

[Matt]

Kaz can put a music bed for it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just an old fashioned love song. Who sings that? I don't know why that was the first one to pop into my head.

[Matt]

I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Something, something, something, you and me.

[Matt]

Or take her to a concert. I think you should go to. What is it? Guns N Roses.

[Dan Bernstein]

And we could go see Thomas Dolby. Yeah, we could. Available on the app if you want to use the keyword.

[Matt]

Honey, I got you these free tickets to a concert.

[Dan Bernstein]

Happy anniversary. Well, if Duran Duran ever came back. She almost. She almost like slapped my hand away from the radio and I was punching buttons. Yesterday I almost turned off Hungry like the wolf. That's a big violation.

[Matt]

Hungry like the wolves.

[Dan Bernstein]

Big wolves. Hockey. Big foul. So I will say this about. And I know you're already sending this in. Yes. Munataki Murakama could take Jardians.

[Matt]

Oh yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

If in fact his hygiene is that good. That he will. Then is this. I think this is. This is not up for debate. He'll have the cleanest crack of any White Sox player of all time.

[Matt]

Well, it Depends who else uses it. Unless he. That's what I mean. If he's exclusive, if no one else.

[Dan Bernstein]

Can use it, that just. Hey, you gonna let me use that thing? I don't even know. Oh, that feels good. Well, all right. Hey. Hey, Travis. Jethro. Come on over. It's not a drinking fountain.

[Matt]

We're gonna have to go through the roster and see who most likely not to know what it is, most likely.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not to know what a bidet is. And then we need to go through White Sox history and rank by how clean or not we think their respective cracks are.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, boy. Come here. Carcaveist.

[Matt]

All right, I'm gonna. I'll put that on the list for later. I don't know if I want to do it this week.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sorry, Carcaveis. Two trips for you.

[Matt]

Ten dirtiest cracks.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sorry, Carco. One. One trip's not gonna do it for. For old cargo boy. I don't know why he catches astray in here.

[Matt]

Yeah, why?

[Dan Bernstein]

First name to pop into my head.

[Matt]

I would have picked Fisk.

[Dan Bernstein]

But no, no, Fisk was. He's a clean mountain man. He knew what he was doing. And then he find him out in the cornfield.

[Matt]

That's what I'm. That's what I'm thinking.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, sometimes you end up in your truck in a cornfield. It happens. Poop your pants. I love what his lawyer said. Well, you didn't see him driving there. You don't know how he got there.

[Matt]

Dropped in from a helicopter. You don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was all presumption. I admired that legal strategy. Your client was found sleeping in a truck in a cornfield. We're not arguing it. We'll stipulate to all of that.

[Matt]

Man, the doctors do everything right.

[Dan Bernstein]

What else are they doing? Well, they've eight heated seat bidets. Not one. They have eight. Eight.

[Matt]

State of the art.

[Dan Bernstein]

Eight. Yep. They're probably updating them because I guarantee you they're all Bluetooth and AI toilets and all Internet connected, and they're downloading all their updates all the time. Probably means the toilet doesn't work until it's finished. Updating. And there's like, a little taskbar.

[Matt]

Have you ever seen a toilet like that?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt]

That has an app. Yeah. Yeah. One. How? We looked at a house that had.

[Dan Bernstein]

Had one in the mike. My cousin.

[Matt]

The primary suite.

[Dan Bernstein]

I excuse myself to use the bathroom.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Panicked.

[Matt]

Oh, I wouldn't know what to do.

[Dan Bernstein]

I saw it, I went in. I was so embarrassed. And I like. It came out. I was like, I don't know.

[Matt]

Yeah, dude, I saw it.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was.

[Matt]

So we're looking at this house. It was in the. It was in the primary suite. And I'm. I'm. I walked in the bathroom and I'm like, I turned the net go. We're have to change this out the first. First thing we do. I have no idea what all these buttons are that.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, I was worried.

[Matt]

I need a. I just need a toilet.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't. I don't need a. I'm sure I'd be fine.

[Matt]

Once I learned fancy device.

[Dan Bernstein]

Once I learned it, it would be fine.

[Matt]

Yeah, but I don't need a toilet with an app, though. That's not necessary.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, this just had. It looked like a science fiction movie. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was like a microwave oven.

[Matt]

Yeah, I didn't.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't.

[Matt]

When I was driving in today, I saw a road sign, a really funny one that the state has on there. It was keep your head on the road or keep your eyes on the road.

[Dan Bernstein]

Keep your head on the road.

[Matt]

Keep your eyes on the road. Now listen. Shut up. Keep your eyes on the. And your head out of your apps.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cute.

[Matt]

Yeah, I thought it was good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Although I saw Illinois said now you're not allowed to have clever things written on because it's distracting.

[Matt]

Because it's distracting doing this.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hey, that's funny. Right? Right.

[Matt]

Some comedian there writing stuff for the state.

[Dan Bernstein]

I hope they can still congratulate whatever Chicago team wins the next sports championship. Oh, yeah, I remember that. When the White Sox won and it said, congratulations, White Sox.

[Matt]

Yeah, I always wondered that about the cause. They always put up, like, if there's AMBER alerts and then. And so you're reading the car and the price down. Right. Or you're just looking at it and trying to get a hold of it in your brain. And then all of a sudden, the traffic ahead of you stopped.

[Dan Bernstein]

And that's not what I'm thinking about. I'm always thinking, like, maybe it's the car right in front of me and I get to do a high speed chase. Like, if you look down, I say, well, it's a. It's a silver Kia Sportage. And you're like, wait a second. That I've got them. Here we go. It's on. Yeah.

[Matt]

And then a little maneuver. You just tap them.

[Dan Bernstein]

You don't know the name of the maneuver.

[Matt]

I don't.

[Dan Bernstein]

I forgot what PIT stands for. It's like protective interference technique or Something. I forgot what it is, but it's where you just hit the back so they slide safely.

[Matt]

Oh, no, I want them to roll. I want them to slide safely.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's not a pit maneuver.

[Matt]

It's a Amber Alert. You don't want them to roll or I mean, slide nicely in the car. Maybe, maybe not.

[Dan Bernstein]

You presume the captive is in the car. I'm no law enforcement expert, but my presumption would be, if it's an Amber alert and you're looking for the car, that the captive is in the car.

[Matt]

You could presume that, but you may not be correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but you still don't want to roll it over.

[Matt]

Maybe the captive was left at a house and this guy's going out for.

[Dan Bernstein]

Possible, but you don't. For vittles and stuff, you know, out for Slim Jims.

[Matt]

Yeah, chicharrones, that tuna melt.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why did you leave the hostage? Well, Funyuns, you know, I mean, I thought we could get a big return on this one, but I was just craving some Funyuns and a big old Faygo.

[Matt]

Yeah, I mean, if I'm doing that maneuver, I'm not just trying to get him to slide nicely somewhere. I want him to barrel roll.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's a different maneuver then. I don't know that I can sign off on your police work there, Matti. But you do you. The super bowl is here. It is Sunday. It is our annual secular holiday. And the way you celebrate is with my bookie. That is where you turn bets into bankroll. Everyone's watching. Everybody's got a take. And props, props and more props. It makes it fun. And I can say this because it is true that many years ago, I finished third in a national super bowl media prop contest and actually won a donation to charity. So I. I speak as an expert on super bowl props, even though Jason made a lot of the picks. The super bowl prop board at my bookie is deep and fun. That's the whole point. And that's why Jimmy Kimmel Live always makes mention of it around game time. If you've been meaning to get into my bookie, get in. It's right now. Do it. One account, one wallet. So whatever you like to bet. There's the spread, there's money lines, and all the basic stuff. Parlays. Of course, you live bet the second half, because sometimes you come out of the halftime show like, oh, yeah, there was Green Day and Bad Bunny, and, oh, yeah, there's football, so jump right back in. Or hit the casino during commercials. It's all in one place. It's all at MyBookie AG. And we have a promo code for you, DBU. Make sure you use that code when you sign up and make your deposit. Then your first bet is covered up to 500 bucks. And what that means is if it doesn't hit, you can invoke your bet back bonus token and you can run it back. So don't just watch the big game. Make it pay with my bookie. You just mentioned driving and seeing billboards. I have another question. And it was right around where I saw that Alex Bregman billboard. Remember I was asking? So similarly, this was driving inbound on the Kennedy and there is a billboard that. Twice on one of the electronic digital billboards, there were two different, different bears related boards that express the same sentiment. Okay. One said, it said, like, keep the Bears in Illinois, don't go. Also like, bears, keep the Bears in Illinois, stay here. Something like that.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Does not say who paid. Does not say who actually said, put that billboard up that says keep the Bears, don't let the Bears leave for Indiana.

[Matt]

I have a guess.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it's the Bears.

[Matt]

I think it's the Bears.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it's the Bears. It didn't want to put the Bears logo on that. And I think it is the Bears trying to create a grassroots sentiment that doesn't exist yet. Yep, good luck. And if you're spending money on it, that's not cheap. That's that billboard right in by the big skyline view. And that billboard twice on their flipper, twice, no go bears in Illinois. Are you hearing any grassroots like that should be marching around worried about anything stupid like that?

[Matt]

No, I just. I think there's. There's other things going on that's kind of overwhelmed. You think the concern of where the.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bears are playing, whether Indiana or if you're out in the streets, you're not talking about football.

[Matt]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're talking about things way more important than football.

[Matt]

I thought it was weird though, that the Cubs had a billboard that said, sell the socks or socks go away socks to Florida. That was odd. Paid for by the Chicago Cubs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. I didn't even think they knew the Sox existed. So it's pretty, pretty amazing. But that was my guess too, Matt.

[Matt]

Was that, yeah, it's for sure.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is it? The Bears are like, hey, if we buy billboards and maybe people think, yeah, we've got to get on this. I'm going to talk to my local representative and tell them that this matters so much to me. I'm not sure what the Bears were betting on or that they figured, hey, Bears are good. People aren't going to want to be. People are going to really care about this. Right now. We've got to strike while the iron is hot, and the Bears are good, and the sentiment is there. So let's buy this out there and build this. It rings kind of hollow to me considering what people really do care about in the world right now.

[Matt]

Yeah. And we've talked about this a number of times now. I don't care what they play. It doesn't matter to me.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it doesn't matter if another state wants to make a terrible deal to give you money, let their taxpayers do it. Go ahead if they want to. Wherever they want to find the money, if they want to take it from schools or roads or healthcare or anything else where taxpayer dollars go, let Indiana do it. Go ahead if you want. If you want to give subsidies to billionaires somewhere other than Illinois, go ahead. I don't care.

[Matt]

But they've got to figure something out, though, as a. As an organization, when you're, you know, once again, the lowest attendance of the National Football League and you're in a highly competitive division with a crazy fan base that unifies the city through all the sports teams that we have here, and you're the lowest attendance in the NFL.

[Dan Bernstein]

Fine.

[Matt]

Build, build.

[Dan Bernstein]

You want to build and you want all of this stuff and you want. I love the joke.

[Matt]

I don't know. They realize that the bigger the stadium.

[Dan Bernstein]

The more money they make, but I love when they. They keep using. And. And here's another note. Don't fall for their language when they say tax certainty. They keep. And it's smart of them. If I were advising them, I would say, don't say tax cuts, tax breaks, tax relief, tax certainty. They use the word certainty. It means tax cuts is what it means. It means free money. It means not funding schools in a way other businesses would fund schools. So all we're asking for is tax certainty. No, you're asking to pay less. You're asking to give less than what your share would otherwise be. And then you give us phony baloney numbers. Oh, we're creating jobs. We're the jobs creators. Look what we're doing. Bringing to the economy. It's all bullshit.

[Matt]

The job monster.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's jobs. All bullshit. It's bullshit and it's always been bullshit. All those studies are pr. They're not scientific. They're not even. They're wrong. And there are all kinds of academic papers full of Evidence to prove all these estimations of the jobs and economic impact. It's PR bullshit. And if Indiana wants to fall for it, let Indiana fall for it. If eventually the Bears say, yeah, we'll pay a fair share of taxes, and the state says, you know what? Okay, fine, we'll build an exit ramp, we'll build you some stoplights, we'll help you out with some infrastructure. I don't mind that. That's decent government. But find a way to make all that work without it being onerous on taxpayers for bad reasons. And it's not the taxpayer's job to make billionaires more billions.

[Matt]

No, you're right. You're absolutely right. The, The. I remember that Kevin Warren said he'd have a shovel in the ground before 2025 ended. So we're now February 3rd of 2026. And the, the lease for the Soldier field is through 2031.

[Dan Bernstein]

Got you.

[Matt]

2032. 2031. So at what point, like, what would you, what would you imagine for the McCaskey, the McClasky family? The, like, what's that point where there's no activity that it's an issue for their relation with Kevin Warren? Like, when does that come?

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know. That's a great question. I don't know that we'll ever know that answer. Where is he on the timeline that he gave them?

[Matt]

Because he said shovels on the ground before 25.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what he said publicly.

[Matt]

Right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. We don't know what he said privately. It's possible that he's right on his private timeline.

[Matt]

Right?

[Dan Bernstein]

We don't know. Or it's private, Idaho.

[Matt]

Yeah, but why, but what's the point, though, of saying one thing privately, one thing publicly? Like, if he told McCaskey's 20, you know, 27 is more realistic to get, you know, shovels in the ground, but we're going to put it out there because that's. That's terrible pr.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know.

[Matt]

It's terrible pr.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know the reasons behind it. I just. I can't. I don't know what he told them. Yeah, I don't know what their expectations are.

[Matt]

Yeah, I'd love to know that. And I just would love, would love to know, like, when that, that timeline is and when it's like, when there's no activity, it's like, hey, Kev, what's going on here? Well, what are we doing?

[Dan Bernstein]

We have a lot of Bears talk a. Of NFL talk come your way today. Do not miss this episode of forward progress that's going to be coming up because that's going to do it for Dan Bernstein Unfiltered for this Tuesday, brought to you in partnership with our friends at my bookie.

[Matt]

Dan Bernstein, unfiltered. Unfiltered on 312 sports.