Matt (5:24)

Yeah, when it comes down to it, Dan, you're looking at 2026, you know, and Ben Johnson told us the end of the year, something that we said on Ford Progress as well. You don't stack seasons, Steven. Seasons are one object in and of itself. And they were one of the 32, the one of the 31 teams that failed last year. So look at 2026, and if you need to pay Tyler Linderbaum 24 million, 23 and a half million, 23 million for next season, then you do that and you go out and try to win the Super bowl in 2026. That's what you do. And then you worry about the rest after that because all you have in front of you is the 2026 season. I know you get, you signed multi year deals, you have to do things, but all you can focus on is winning next year. You can't win in 2027. You can win in 2026, go out and do that. So it's interesting though, because I do trust this, this regime. I do trust this staff. I trust Ben Johnson. I trust Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles working together. The offense to me is retooling. And for me, the biggest need in the off season was left tackle until Drew Dahlman retired. For me, now it's center, then left tackle. Those are my priorities. On the defensive side of the football, though, it's not a rebuild. But it's not just a retool either though, because there are so many question marks and there are so many areas you have to fill.

Dan Bernstein (6:49)

Well, the defense was so bad.

Matt (6:52)

Defensive end, you have to fill linebackers and you have to. And there's cornerbacks and there's questions about your safeties and about Kyler Gordon and your nickel corner questions there. I mean, so it's not really a retool, it's not a rebuild, but you're in a, you're in a more of a dire situation defensively with what you need to do. And I say all that. And I still believe that center and left tackle are bigger priorities than what you have to do.

Dan Bernstein (7:17)

Defensively, DBU is brought to you in partnership with my bookie and today also by Chicago Window Guys. And I keep thinking that they. If the offense is really humming, if the offense is really what Ben Johnson wants it to be, the defense can be good enough. And the offense took a step last year, but that's not it. That isn't the end of things with last year's offense to. To that. That's the start of things.

Matt (7:49)

It's the start of it for sure. And when you say that the, that the. If the offense is humming, the defense can be just good enough. That's what the defense was last year, and that was with a lot of injuries and turnovers. And the turnovers covered up all the turn, of course. But the defense last year was just good enough. They were just good enough. And what happened at the end of it was the offense sputtered a bit. That's where the issue came in. The defense was just good enough with injuries. They were fortunate with all those turnovers that they did create some that went their way. But you don't need to have a top five defense to win if your offense is doing what it's supposed to do and they stay healthy.

Dan Bernstein (8:28)

And you know what? Ironically, in that last playoff game, the defense had one of its best games.

Matt (8:33)

Absolutely.

Dan Bernstein (8:33)

And they lost because their offense wasn't good enough.

Matt (8:35)

Absolutely. I agree with that 100%.

Dan Bernstein (8:38)

The defense had one. I thought Dennis Allen, that was.

Matt (8:41)

That was probably the best game of the season defensively.

Dan Bernstein (8:45)

Yep. And whether people are going to talk about conditions and all that. I don't think it was. I think it was game planning. I think the Bears had a. Had a hell of a defensive game plan and some terrific. And they got better as the game went on that I thought the, the execution just kept getting good until it just wasn't good enough against a really good football team. But you think that you. If you put up 35 points, things look a whole hell of a lot better there. It just. They're sitting on $44 million right now. That's as far as I know. That's the number for this year. Like, they've got money to burn. And for the first time in a while, it's a different feeling. And it isn't just, oh, boy, look at all these holes they have to fill. It's, ooh, look at all these guys. They can get to fill these holes now. And like you say, this isn't baseball. You don't have a ladder of players moving up at various times and waves of Harvesting that you have to do and nurturing to build out your roster for 2028. You've got this year's team, right?

Matt (9:54)

I mean, in baseball you could look at a guy and say, all right, this guy will be up halfway through the season. We can have this guy for the, for the back half of the season. You know, we're good to go. This arm will be here and be ready for us in the bullpen.

Dan Bernstein (10:03)

Or we want this guy to be here this year because of where he can be in two years. You know, you've there a baseball general managers board is way bigger because they've got the entire organization and they've got their, the prospects with arrival dates. In the NFL, your arrival date is right now because you've got free agency right now and then you've got the draft and you are fielding a team and you're going out and you're hitting people, right.

Matt (10:32)

And you're competing for 2026 because 2027 doesn't exist, period.

Dan Bernstein (10:37)

Well, in baseball it may actually not so well.

Matt (10:39)

Yeah, I mean that's literally may not exist in 2027. Right.

Dan Bernstein (10:43)

That's where that, the, the, the analogy is probably going to fall short.

Matt (10:47)

But you talk about all the money they have to burn. Like for me it's a no brainer. It's if you can get a deal done with Tyler Linderbaum, if he doesn't want to stay in Baltimore and do whatever number will keep him there and he wants to try something new, that's the guy. And I hope that's what they're working on right now. I hope that we can come back on Monday. Why not today, have a show.

Dan Bernstein (11:09)

Why not before forward progress today?

Matt (11:11)

Right. I mean, but have a show on the weekend or have news on Monday to get into that they made that signing and they brought Tyler Linderbaum. That's going to happen. Next Wednesday will be when it will be official. That's what I want to see happen.

Dan Bernstein (11:24)

Well, in somebody. Well, they didn't have this problem before and they would have had all his $44 million. Okay, I get it. They have a little extra money.

Matt (11:32)

Well, we don't know that. We don't know that they would have moved on from DJ Moore.

Dan Bernstein (11:35)

Who knows?

Matt (11:37)

We don't know that. We don't know what the Drew Dahlman retirement, what that forced, you know, the whole idea of DJ Moore, DJ Moore could still be here. Maybe he was a casualty of the retirement and they were looking at areas. I like to think that they would have moved on either way, because you can't have a guy who was at the end of the season your third target and before Rome was injured, I would have had him as your fourth target. You can't have that guy being your highest paid offensive player. You just can't.

Dan Bernstein (12:07)

I also think it's worth noting that we used to hear from scouts, you know, it's a deep wide receiver draft this year. You know how you know when we hear that now, every single year there's always a crop of pro ready wide receivers. That position now get used to it. We are, we are in an era of the college system and all these producing a lot of NFL ready players. A lot. They don't all have the full route tree, but if you're talking about big, strong, smart guys that can, can run and are ready, it is so different from those of us who've been covering the league for, for more than 30 years. Used to have a handful with that kind of polish and now in like in the Big Ten alone, there's five or six guys who theoretically could have first round grades on them. You know, we'll talk to some of our people as we get closer to the draft about some of these things, but I mean sec, there's wide receivers grow on now. They just do. It's not that big a deal to try to replace a wideout and well,

Matt (13:22)

not only that, but look back at your time as a reporter in the NFL and how college football has expanded beyond like the schools that were producing football players. And like look at the names of the schools of guys we're seeing in these mock drafts in the first round alone. You wouldn't have seen that 15 years ago.

Dan Bernstein (13:40)

No. A lot of that too is rather than the giant schools stockpiling eight deep at every skill position, those players would rather make nil money and, or get playing time and burnish their credentials at a smaller school where they're the star.

Matt (13:57)

Where they're the star. Instead of having on their resume the school they went to and they saw, you know, seven or eight games, right?

Dan Bernstein (14:04)

Say, well, yeah, great, you came from Alabama but you never played and now you're raw. They said, well, instead I, you know, transferred to Central Michigan or wherever it is and put up ridiculous numbers and you see what I'm doing. So yeah, I think the democratization, the number and the number of athletes playing football, they're not playing baseball. You know, there's the talent pool, the number of people who are playing their seven on sevens and in their youth leagues and going, there's Always the larger point. There's always wide receivers. Every single draft there's going to be one after the other after the other because there's just, they're being better trained, better prepared. They're, they're, they're getting their bodies in shape. All these players are getting pro bodies earlier and earlier to allow you to see the way that they can react. And, and, and the, the training systems. The complex nature of offenses does trickle down. High school offenses are more complex. You're, you're asking some of these wide receivers to do more things that they're going to have to do at other levels.

Matt (15:05)

Oh, Dan, you say that and it's immediately I go to my, my coaching, some coaching youth football and we, we get plays and we get, we get a zoom call with the head coach of the high school, of the varsity football team, you know, to learn terminology. And here's what we're doing. Yeah, here's some things you might want to incorporate in, you know, into your, into your levels. And they do that in basketball. Our feeder program is, works directly with the high school program. And we're talking, you know, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh graders are talking with the high school coaches. You know, this is the stuff that we're doing. Daniel Jeremiah tweeted this yesterday. One guy I do trust when it comes to draft stuff says, I see the sweet spot in this draft between 50 and 75.

Dan Bernstein (15:47)

And look where the Bears are now.

Matt (15:48)

There are going to be a bunch of solid starters in that range. The edge rusher, cornerback or wide receiver you get at 75 will be graded almost identically to the one you're getting at 45. And you see what are the Bears? The Bears have, they have a first round pick, they have a second round pick, two second round picks and what, two thirds or a third. So you're, I mean, and then if they can get those extra picks from Atlanta.

Dan Bernstein (16:15)

I don't think it's happening. I think I don't either.

Matt (16:17)

I haven't felt that good, especially after Ryan Poll said it was weird. I, yeah, I think it has too. But it's not official yet though, right? They haven't officially said yes or no.

Dan Bernstein (16:26)

I haven't heard. But I think if there were they were convening some sort of appeals court on this one, we would know about it. But it doesn't sound like the Bears are having to prepare a case and think they have any real shot at it. So if it falls out of the sky, but they got to tell us soon, I mean the order is going to be set relatively soon. So if it falls out of the sky, great. But as far as right now, you know, adding a second for DJ More, I'm still blown away that they were able to get that second round pick. And that's right in that sweet spot you're talking about, Maddie. Because you know, Buffalo second isn't going to be all that, that high because of their good.

Matt (17:02)

All right. The 2026 NFL comp picks are expected to be officially announced around March 11, coinciding with the start of the new league. So it could still happen. It could still happen. And I think the whole idea with Buffalo, you know, I heard, heard guys yesterday on. I was listening Tommy Waddle talk about the D.J. moore trade and he was really surprised about his second round pick. I think we were saying probably a fourth round pick as well for D.J. moore before this trade even, even happened, as we were just speculating on things and he was surprised by it. We're surprised by it. But you walk into a great situation where Buffalo, they were, they were in a, in an area of desperation. They needed to have a guy that they can call their number one wide receiver, which they feel DJ Moore can be that for Josh Allen.

Dan Bernstein (17:46)

Well, the clock is ticking.

Matt (17:47)

They were willing to not only part with a higher draft pick, but also take up salary. Well, and they're willing to spend more.

Dan Bernstein (17:53)

If I recall the order of events, there was a report at least that, that the Patriots had some interest in DJ Moore. So if you were talking about something within the division, maybe spurring conversation, you never know what to believe and what's floated out there. But the clock's ticking on Josh Allen. You know, you blink your eye and this is something we should know as Bears fans, that this whole idea of, not only of even after you pay your young quarterback, all of a sudden, they're not that young.

Matt (18:26)

No, they're not. And then you have the addition of Joe Brady as the new head coach who has experience and is familiar with DJ Moore from his time in Carolina. And the way that DJ Moore produced for crappy quarterbacks. Right. For crappy court. Well, that was all of his career until he gets the Caleb. Still funny though, his most productive year in the NFL was which year with what quarterback?

Dan Bernstein (18:48)

The most productive year was that P.J. walker. I'm trying to think who was 20, 23, huh. Those were his best numbers.

Matt (18:58)

He finished six overall in yards as receivers. As a receiver. So yeah, that's his most productive year. You look at. It was with, it was with Justin Fields. But you know Joe Brady has got that, you know, he brings in that I'm the new head coach and you're going to get a little more leeway and some leash and say, hey, I think, I think this guy can be what we need at the receiver position. I, I know him, I worked with him. He can be exactly what, what Josh Allen needs as a number one wide receiver. So not only are we going to go up in picks to get, you know, to keep him here instead of New England getting a shot at him, and then we're willing to take more money on too as well. So let's do that. And it just, it worked out really well for the Bears, man. Again, that's just that fucking luck of Ben Johnson.

Dan Bernstein (19:38)

Right?

Matt (19:39)

I mean it's like, like number of things, you know, hard work and the guy is smart and he knows what he's doing and organized, has a plan. But things have got to bounce your way at times too, you know, this is another thing that bounced their way.

Dan Bernstein (19:50)

All roads lead back to him. Everything leads back to having the coach and having the quarterback. Yeah, having the coach and having the quarterback. And if you're telling me right now that Ben Johnson has $44 million to spend on next year's team, it's, it's trust. It's why I led with this concept of getting over our old Bears fears of, well, I'm certain they'll screw this up. You know, everything outside of Ben Johnson's purview, feel free to default to that when it comes to all of the stadium clown show or other things that are done. But when we are just talking about the section of this organization that is running football nominally, we know that Ryan Polls is in charge, but I think that he is doing a really good job not leaving his office until he makes sure he knows exactly what Ben Johnson wants, when he wants it and why he wants it. That. What, what do you need, Ben? And if that's what polls is doing and Ben is allowed to say you're, you're going shopping, here's my instacart order. Take care of this as best you can. And I understand that there are some constraints here, but bring this over and then let me cook.

Matt (21:11)

Yeah, I'm just, I'm really curious to see how it all plays out here for this off season heading up into the, into the draft. I don't think, and I know we've talked about Max Crosby yesterday being the odds on favorite to land with the Bears, the Bears being the landing spot. I don't agree with that I don't want to see the Bears trade away those draft picks. I think. I think they're going to make one big huge splash in free agency and it's Tyler Linderbaum I really do like. It just seems like a no brainer to me.

Dan Bernstein (21:37)

Right.

Matt (21:37)

It really does. I think they'll address the defensive line and the left tackle position through the draft as well as a safety and linebackers. I think you're going to see a lot of defensive players drafted by the Bears this year. I think they'll bring back Kevin Byard and I just, I don't see them doing both Trey Hendrickson and Tyler Linderbaum. And if you're saying we can't do both, we're only going to do one for me, it's the center every day,

Dan Bernstein (22:02)

all day long, let's just say. Also thanks to Tremaine Edmonds, his work over the last three years as a Chicago Bear, the prime years of his career, 25, 26 and 27. A guy who came into the league very young at age 20. These are the final numbers on Tremaine Edmonds. He played 45 games, all of which he started. He had nine interceptions for 71 yards including a touchdown. He had 24 passes defended, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two sacks. He had a total of 335 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six quarterback hits. That's the accounting on what Tremaine Edmonds was. All of this is in the context of the changing nature of interior ML, interior middle linebackers and interior linebackers in general. Like the roles of these guys have been drastically altered. He was. He was only listed as the mike linebacker for the Bears in 2024 because he was listed as a multi position linebacker in 23, a multi position linebacker in 25. Even though it was more, more weak side stuff in this. But the way all these defenses are using linebackers now, the hybrid positions, the hybridization of multiple positions has made Edmunds as this sort of classic type of almost perfect Tampa 2 style backer, a different fit now and he'll have an opportunity to find just the right one as the Bears might be reprioritizing since that big contract splash of Edmonds. I think the Bears are re budgeting what they want to spend on that position in general as it changes around the league, which is fine and it's nothing against him. I think he played really, really well. I think he'll get a nice contract to to go use his terrific sideline to sideline athleticism and his giant effective radius as a player because of his arm length and his leaping ability, etc. I think he'll find a very, very good job.

Matt (24:22)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (24:23)

And.

Matt (24:23)

Yeah, wish him all the best. He was a great player for the, for the Bears.

Dan Bernstein (24:26)

And, you know, short of great, I. I think he was a. A solid player the. For the Bears. I would say when the contract was signed, I think I expected more on ball production. I think I did. I, I just maybe expected him to be a little bit more, you know, that, that picked up in the last year because he had. He only had one interception in 17 games in 2024. So it was his. His career was bookended. He had the four interceptions in 23, the four and 25. I thought there'd just be a little more action having his name called. So if I'm just being honest about at the time when they landed him, I thought there would be more impact.

Matt (25:05)

Gotcha. No, I thought it was a. I thought he was a really, really good player. I thought he was a great player for the Bears and enjoyed seeing him out there, a guy you could depend on and count on whatever was asked and needed. And I just, I hope. Hope we don't see him a couple times a year in the division. That would be. It would be good.

Dan Bernstein (25:20)

March is around the corner. Not around the corner. March is here. The tournament's around the corner.

Matt (25:24)

Yes, it is.

Dan Bernstein (25:25)

College basketball is going strong right now, and everybody's jockeying already. People are. Are angry ahead of time. People are angry in advance based on what they think their seating might be or who might be snubbed or who's following the. The last four in and the first four out. But there's a lot of grumbling among coaches and athletic directors and nothing's happened yet as the conference races tighten. But what's going on is now you can really scout what your wagers are going to be for the tournament. Who you like, who you don't, who might be. I don't know. The. The who's on the. The regional all tournament team. And you can find some sleepers there. That's the kind of stuff you can find on prop boards. Player points, team totals, futures tournament odds value all over the place, if you're paying attention. So you want to jump in, jump in now. MyBookie AG. The code DBU. And your first bet is covered up to 500 bucks. Everything's at MyBookie AG. One account, one wallet. You can bet the spread live bet the second half, hit the casino between games. Although once the tournament Starts not a lot of time between games. You gotta move right on to the next one. If that first bet, up to 500 bucks, doesn't hit with the code DBU, you have a bet back, bonus token and you can run it back. So register deposit, use the code dbu, and then you're not just watching all the madness build this month, you're making it pay. With my bookie, dude.

Matt (26:53)

39 and 1:30. I went. I went four and one last night because the fucking Bulls. Can someone tell them they're not supposed to be winning games?

Dan Bernstein (27:04)

No, don't tell them. Tell that God awful Phoenix team.

Matt (27:08)

Yeah, oh, yeah. Then tell them play some fucking defense. Jesus, man, Sexton looked like he got to the rim whenever he wanted to. I was so pissed. Like, I don't want to watch Bulls games to get fucking emotional pricks. I'm done. I'm done doing anything with the Bulls. I had the heat minus 13. They covered. Had New Orleans minus five and a half. They covered. Dallas was getting nine, they lost by one. Spurs minus three and a half. They covered the fucking Bulls, man. They were sons were minus ten and a half.

Dan Bernstein (27:37)

That was the easiest one on the board. It was.

Matt (27:41)

It was the second easiest one. The net, whatever the number is in the Nets games, just take the other team. Doesn't matter what it is. The Nets are a guaranteed winner for you. The Bulls were second favorite on the board for me, man, 4 and 1. So now overall I'm 39 and 1 in my last 40.

Dan Bernstein (28:01)

You didn't like watching a Lachlan Ulbricht realize that man's got a mismatch.

Matt (28:06)

And he is.

Dan Bernstein (28:06)

He has taken his guy down into the paint and hooking it over his head for a bucket. That's Lachlan. Old Brick. Don't doubt him.

Matt (28:14)

Where the sun's at in the standing, they like, are they in play in. Are they. They the playing thing. Are they? Yeah, they were top team.

Dan Bernstein (28:20)

They were around that.

Matt (28:22)

Yeah, well. Well, you know what? Enjoy your one playing game because then you're done. Play any goddamn defense.

Dan Bernstein (28:28)

They are right now. These Suns are in the seventh spot at 35 and 27.

Matt (28:33)

That's a playing team, right? You play. Play that stupid tournament, all right? Yeah, enjoy your one game. Be done with it.

Dan Bernstein (28:41)

Even this morning, are you being this mad about the NBA?

Matt (28:44)

Driving the boys to school and Jackson in the backseat, he's like, dad, why are the Bulls winning? I'm like, I don't know, pal. He goes, they should be losing every game at this point. I go, yeah, they should be, pal.

Dan Bernstein (28:54)

Well, when you look at that lineup, they're. They're kind of trying to. Did you see the yelling?

Matt (29:00)

Trade Jones, like, hitting threes left and right. Stop scoring.

Dan Bernstein (29:04)

And then he hit 1 3.

Matt (29:05)

Dillingham will shoot numb. He keeps shooting on the corner. Dillingham wants to shoot every time he gets it. And Sexton's like, I'll just take it, dude. Okay, here's their offense. Their offense is this. Get a rebound. Whoever gets the rebound, dribble down court and go to the rim. Like, what is that? And they're winning fucking games.

Dan Bernstein (29:24)

Well, you know what they did?

Matt (29:25)

It's a bunch of guys at a rec center playing pickup ball. It's like, yeah, you get the ball, just shoot.

Dan Bernstein (29:29)

They didn't.

Matt (29:30)

Real offense. Does Donovan show up anymore? Does he go to the games or is he.

Dan Bernstein (29:34)

Yeah, you saw how hard they were playing. Yes.

Matt (29:38)

I don't think I would even bother

Dan Bernstein (29:39)

if I was telling them. He said, go, go, go, go, go. And if you tell Colin Sexton, because he doesn't even know he has teammates. If you just tell him, it's like

Matt (29:51)

it's 10 guys playing individual games. When that's.

Dan Bernstein (29:54)

That's what it looks like. But when. When this is what Sexton does, and he plays really hard no matter what. And if you're going to say, take 19 shots, you're going to. If Colin Sexton gets 38 minutes, I was surprised he only got 19 shots, but that was the difference in the game is the fact that he went 11 or 19 out there. But, God, that. That Yabu Selle missed dunk. Did you see that?

Matt (30:19)

Yeah, I did. And then they were at one by one point. They were like. They had like, 12 missed threes in a row. I'm like, how are they winning this game?

Dan Bernstein (30:26)

Because you keep shooting them. Oh, you keep on shooting.

Matt (30:29)

Like, how were they ahead at that point? They'd missed 12 in a row.

Dan Bernstein (30:33)

Well, because if the Suns are not that good and they didn't hit anything either, you see Grayson Allen shot 16 threes.

Matt (30:43)

Yes, I did. And I love Stacy's, like, you give him a threes, and I hit it every time. Like, well, not this game, pal. That's. That's not gonna happen.

Dan Bernstein (30:50)

Yeah, except the 11 times that he didn't.

Matt (30:52)

So it's like. So our teams showing up to get play the Bulls and be like, we don't need to try. Because, like, the Celtics didn't try, the Suns didn't try. It's like, hey, guys, these guys are gonna run and they're gonna fucking run up and down the court again. They get a rebound, and the offense is. You get the rebound, you get a chance to shoot the ball.

Dan Bernstein (31:08)

They just missed everything. Come on. Like, Jalen Green was five of 20. Yeah.

Matt (31:13)

It's disgusting. Well, there's one one of eight for three was really.

Dan Bernstein (31:17)

Royce O' Neill one of four from three, Colin Gillespie one of five. Devin Booker only had two threes, and Grayson Allen took 16 and missed 11 of them. He was keeping them in the game for a while, but, yeah, this was their.

Matt (31:30)

Their defensive effort was brutal. Brutal.

Dan Bernstein (31:33)

Well, if. If the Bulls can only turn it over 12 times.

Matt (31:36)

Yeah, that was another issue. They had like two turnovers in the first half. Like, what the. Is happening.

Dan Bernstein (31:41)

Yeah. Because you can usually count turn the ball over on every possession. Yeah, that's what they've been doing. They've been setting records.

Matt (31:47)

Not only were they not turning the ball over, they were getting fouled on every possession, too.

Dan Bernstein (31:51)

All right, well, I'm sorry. I'm not going to talk you off the ledge here.

Matt (31:54)

I'm done. I'm done doing anything with the Bulls now.

Dan Bernstein (31:57)

Well, you don't have to watch them. I'm the one that has to watch.

Matt (31:59)

Well, no, I watch them when I play them, but now I'm done playing them.

Dan Bernstein (32:03)

All right, well, there. I don't. Can we.

Matt (32:04)

All right, so 39 and one in my last 40. That's NBA in college.

Dan Bernstein (32:09)

Would it help you to mention the Bears just to help your feelings a little bit? Because I'm getting a little concerned.

Matt (32:14)

No, I feel better now. I got. I got the yellow.

Dan Bernstein (32:16)

You're good. You're okay. You got that all taken care of because the. I was.

Matt (32:20)

Keep it up. I'll yell at you next.

Dan Bernstein (32:21)

No, you do that anyway, because the Bears are. Indeed they're retooling and they'll be okay. You know what they might be doing, too? I was thinking of this. What's that? It's not really a retooling. It's the sharpening of a knife. You know how when. Because technically when you sharpen steel, you're removing some of it. That's what sharpening is.

Matt (32:44)

There's little edges and debris.

Dan Bernstein (32:46)

No, no, no. You're actually removing the steel. It goes away. You're taking it off of there. The knife. You're removing mass from the knife because that's what sharpness is, is how much weight can be concentrated in the smallest possible area. How much force can be concentrated in the smallest possible area. So you do have to remove mass to create sharpness. And that's what the bears are doing.

Matt (33:11)

You know what they're doing, Dan? It's like they're trimming off body fat.

Dan Bernstein (33:15)

I like mine better. I like.

Matt (33:17)

I like sharpening the. Text me that last night.

Dan Bernstein (33:19)

I like that because I've been thinking about that.

Matt (33:21)

Yeah, you have.

Dan Bernstein (33:22)

I've been thinking about that.

Matt (33:23)

Did you sleep last night? Did you think about that all night?

Dan Bernstein (33:25)

Yeah, but my dreams were all bizarre. It was so I woke up in a. And I didn't know where I was because I was like. You ever get. You ever wake up in like the depth of a REM cycle? Like the deepest. It's a. It's a hard to wake up. And you're. You're. You still have this like fog of the dream state. Just trying to shake some of that off. It was so weird.

Matt (33:49)

What was your dream? Because I was dreaming about the bulls last night. That's how it was.

Dan Bernstein (33:52)

No, it was one of my typically stressful dreams. That was a combination of. I had a final exam project that had to be submitted.

Matt (34:02)

Why are you still having dreams about school and classes all the time.

Dan Bernstein (34:06)

All the time.

Matt (34:08)

Like have real adult dreams.

Dan Bernstein (34:10)

It is though. But it's like. It's the same. It just. That's how it manifests itself. Like my anxiety dreams are still often the literal high school finals. There was a class I didn't know I had. This was college. And there were classes that. And there was a project that I got the wrong instructions for. And my bibliography was formatted improperly. Wow.

Matt (34:33)

Not even your dreams are nerdy.

Dan Bernstein (34:35)

They're joking. But it was really stressful and it wasn't where I. It wasn't really a school. It was. And it was. I don't know, I was on this big bus and there were. There was like a basketball.

Matt (34:47)

Definitely wasn't a big bus stop was.

Dan Bernstein (34:52)

It was just bad. But I'm not kidding about what it was. But those are the ones that I have multiple times a month. I'll have some version of that dream.

Matt (35:01)

All right, let's get. Why does it Friday for you? It doesn't bother me.

Dan Bernstein (35:04)

No, you were insulting me.

Matt (35:07)

I wasn't.

Dan Bernstein (35:07)

You insulting. You said, why don't you have grown up dreams. Why don't you have adult Dr. Dreams?

Matt (35:11)

That's not an insult. That was just a question.

Dan Bernstein (35:13)

Well, I don't know. I can't control any of that stuff. It's. And sometimes it's a half lucid dream. Sometimes you get to the point where it's like I know this isn't real. I don't know why I'm sweating it. Why. Why am I so nervous about this thing? I thought I lived this and. And I thought I already took care of all this stuff. I didn't have to worry about it anymore. And now I hear I am in this stupid.

Matt (35:31)

Why are you still worrying about it then?

Dan Bernstein (35:33)

Because I worry about everything. Leave me alone.

Matt (35:38)

Go to Friday feedback. Friday I will. I need something happy in my life.

Dan Bernstein (35:42)

I will. But first, let me tell you about Ross Armstrong and Chicago window Guys. Because you are going to want to have the best possible windows in your home because it optimizes your life. It means you spend less on heating and cooling and it means sometimes these windows are even easier to clean. And they lift like a bed breeze. They slide. I'm not even. I'm used to it because our old builders windows were all stuck and gross and these are not. These are nice because Russ put all new ones in and he'll do the same for you. And it's not like dealing with one of these nameless, faceless, giant window conglomerates making you promises they can't keep. It's Russ. He comes to your house and he says, here's what I got. Here's what we'll do. Here's the deal. Let me go make the windows. And I remember I asked him, what do you mean make the windows? Like at my factory here in Chicago, we custom make the windows for your house to make sure they fit and they're exactly what you want. He's got a price match guarantee. Oh, that's going to be expensive. And he's not giving the same deals. Yeah, he will make sure you don't have to fall for one of these. Buy one, get one free gimmicks. It's just the best product at the best price guaranteed. Write this down. 847-302-9171. Do people write things down anymore to these? Punch into their phone, whatever you would do. Check out his five star reviews@chicagowindowguys.com and when.

Matt (37:04)

I just wrote it down, actually.

Dan Bernstein (37:05)

Thank you. Do it for everybody. And when you're getting quotes, ask the sales rep who is installing my windows, who's doing it, who's going to be at my house and most window places, like I don't know, whoever we get that day to install windows. That's not the way it works at Chicago Window guys. These are his crews, these are Russ's people who are going to be in and around your house he doesn't use subcontracted labor and he's got his own crew.

Matt (37:30)

Are you still installing for Russ or.

Dan Bernstein (37:31)

No.

Matt (37:31)

Or did he fire you?

Dan Bernstein (37:33)

No, I took too long. Yeah. And I kept hurting myself, so I can't. I'm bad at installing.

Matt (37:38)

Falling out the open window.

Dan Bernstein (37:40)

Wait, hold on. I'm the same guy who you advised not to install a light fixture.

Matt (37:43)

Oh, did you? Yeah. Did you do that or. No.

Dan Bernstein (37:45)

I opened the box, I looked at the instructions, I got the ladder, I got my tiny little toolbox, and then I decided not to. I came. I came very close. What.

Matt (38:00)

What made you not do it?

Dan Bernstein (38:01)

There was an extra wire. Like, I looked at the diagram and it had the wires and it said, connect this to this. And this one might be clear or it might be one. And this one is a ridged cord. And it said, you strip the thing off of here the moment it said that. Wire strippers. What is the. Is that what they are?

Matt (38:20)

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Dan Bernstein (38:21)

And I have them because some electrician left them at my house one time. I didn't go buy them, but the moment I saw that, and then I counted the wires and there was one wire for which I couldn't account. That might have been.

Matt (38:34)

No, thanks.

Dan Bernstein (38:34)

Might have been a grounding wire, but it was rat. I just looked at that. I'm like, no. And I think. I think discretion was the better part of. Good, good for you. Good, good. Thank you. Thank you. I had several emailers urging me to do it. Probably because they just wanted comedy there. Anyway, Russ Armstrong, 847-302-9171. Check out his five star reviews at ChicagoNow guys.com you're thinking, hey, it's Friday. What are you guys doing? Yeah, the Bears stuff is going to preempt our list today. We hope to be back with our Friday list next week because Matty's always making lists. He loves lists.

Matt (39:08)

I do love lists. We have a good one for next Friday. Got a good one for next Friday. As long as there's nothing breaking or pressing.

Dan Bernstein (39:14)

But with these Bears, you never know. Who knows? So we are. However, I have every week as your emails come in and sometimes I even reply and say, hey, thanks, cool info or whatever, but I have a folder right here that says fff. That folder is for Friday Feedback Friday. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to click on it and these are. These have come in from. This is all week of various things that we've discussed. And it's just stuff that I find interesting or entertaining. And we will start, believe it or not, longtime guy, maybe that. Maybe our. Our most dedicated listener, Strangles the Clown and he remembered this said guys, a while back you discussed the three living individuals referenced in the Abomination that is the song we didn't start the fire. If in fact. If in fact the line Ayatollahs in Iran.

Matt (40:21)

Yep.

Dan Bernstein (40:22)

Refers specifically to a supreme leader of Iran. Perhaps Ayatollah Ali Khomeini or Khamenei should have been considered a fourth living song reference prior to his death in 1989. Billy Joel might have been referring, and probably was, to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini or the theocratic Iranian regime in general. The term Ayatollah is generally bestowed to many high ranking Shia clerics. So certainly there will continue to be Ayatollahs in the region. However, given the political upheaval, we may have seen the last individual Supreme Leader of Iran with Ali Khomeini or once the US and Israel are done, at any rate, the songs song still sucks. Thanks Strangles, but I would bet against you on that one. And I think that from what it sounds like we're going to have very soon, at least temporarily, another Ayatollah Khamenei. The son of the one who was just destroyed.

Matt (41:31)

Yeah, They've got rid of the bad guy and then his son's going to

Dan Bernstein (41:34)

take over and is now highly motivated, perhaps. Correct. Okay, Johnny from Plainfield has thoughts for you. For me? Me? Okay. Yes.

Matt (41:48)

What's Johnny have thoughts about?

Dan Bernstein (41:51)

Guys, it says. Maddie, I realize it's only your opinion, but sometimes an opinion is just bad.

Matt (42:00)

Okay?

Dan Bernstein (42:01)

A sauce is not a garnish. A sauce is not a side note. And this has to do with the discussion of our of central Indiana shrimp and the horseradish sauce.

Matt (42:15)

Okay, well he's wrong already, so his opinion sucks, period. You don't even need to read anymore because he's wrong.

Dan Bernstein (42:21)

Oh, I'm reading more.

Matt (42:23)

Well, you can read more, it's fine. But he's 100% wrong, particularly in this subject here.

Dan Bernstein (42:30)

In Serious Cuisine, sauce is architecture. It's memory, it's identity. Entire culinary traditions are built around emulsions, reductions, ferments and gravies that people will cross state lines to experience. Right.

Matt (42:50)

Not shrimp cocktail, though.

Dan Bernstein (42:51)

If sauce were secondary, the French wouldn't have codified the mother sauces.

Matt (42:57)

Which is why it's called Shrimp Cocktail. It's about the shrimp.

Dan Bernstein (43:00)

Texas wouldn't debate brisket glaze like theology Buffalo wouldn't exist as a food city.

Matt (43:08)

They didn't go off on sauces. It was the shrimp cocktail sauce. They promote the sauce over the shrimp. It's called shrimp cocktail, period.

Dan Bernstein (43:15)

There are absolutely restaurants that are destinations because of their sauce.

Matt (43:21)

Johnny, you're so wrong.

Dan Bernstein (43:22)

Buffalo wild wings. People don't go there for fried chicken. They go for specific sauces. Mango, habanero, Asian zing, parmesan garlic. Their sauce is their product. Oh, yeah.

Matt (43:32)

Asian zing. One of the mother sauces from French culinary studies.

Dan Bernstein (43:37)

Hattie B's hot chicken. The heat paste, the oil spice blend is the draw. The chicken is merely the delivery vehicle. At Rao's, their marinara is so coveted, it became a national retail brand. The sauce built the empire. Franklin Barbecue, Brisket's elite. But the espresso barbecue sauce is iconic enough that fans buy it by the bottle. Din Tai Fung, the soy vinegar ginger dumpling sauce isn't an afterthought. It's a calibrated flavor system that defines the experience. And even in n out burger spread is not optional. It's the differentiator. Without it, it's just a burger. Let me add with it, it's just a burger. That's just my editorialization. Even outside single restaurants, entire cities are destinations because of sauce. Kansas City barbecue, Alabama white sauce. Mole in Oaxaca.

Matt (44:32)

Make a really good Alabama white sauce, too.

Dan Bernstein (44:34)

Or as Chip Carey would call it, oaxaca.

Matt (44:37)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (44:38)

Wait, you make a good Alabama white sauce?

Matt (44:40)

I do. I do it for my chicken thighs.

Dan Bernstein (44:42)

Yep. I've never had it.

Matt (44:43)

Crispy chicken thighs. Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (44:45)

I've never had Alabama white sauce. Yeah. A perfectly execute. Hold on. I'm not. Johnny from Plainfield's. Not done with you yet. A perfectly executed sauce is concentrated culinary intelligence. It binds fat and acid, amplifies umami, controls texture, and completes aroma release. It is chemistry. It is culture all at once. If a sauce is unforgettable, the restaurant becomes unforgettable. So, yes, a restaurant absolutely can be a destination based on the sauce. Some of the best ones are.

Matt (45:18)

Okay, first of all, I wasn't debating the importance of sauce, okay? And if we want to have a sauce debate, we can do that anytime you want. Johnny and Plainfield, you can come on by. We'll make sauces together.

Dan Bernstein (45:29)

My office is located on.

Matt (45:31)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (45:31)

Washington.

Matt (45:32)

Yeah. Kick your ass, too. Right on, Matt.

Dan Bernstein (45:34)

He's gonna kick your ass over this thing.

Matt (45:36)

But here's the thing. We were. We were discussing specifically St. Elmo's Steakhouse and how they promote their. Their cocktail sauce. You don't have shrimp cocktail. For the fucking cocktail sauce. It's ketchup and horseradish. You go there for the fucking shrimp and in this case you go for the land shrimp, which is the best ever in Indiana.

Dan Bernstein (45:55)

Right?

Matt (45:56)

Because you got to get. We weren't debating the importance of sauces. Please. God bless America.

Dan Bernstein (46:03)

We're going to have to have the rule that we used to have for who you crapping on these?

Matt (46:07)

Thanks for the email, Johnny.

Dan Bernstein (46:08)

Yeah.

Matt (46:08)

What's the rule?

Dan Bernstein (46:09)

Thanks. The just take it rule.

Matt (46:11)

Oh, no, you're wrong. I'll take a beating. I say a lot of dumb things all the time and I'm fine with that.

Dan Bernstein (46:17)

But here's. Here's another thought for Friday. Feedback Friday.

Matt (46:23)

Love you, Johnny.

Dan Bernstein (46:24)

Long similar lines Troy In Champagne, I laughed out loud this stuff. The continued discussion of Indiana shrimp. And the special horseradish sauce. See, that's when it. When, when the memorable aspect of our combine talk has to do with central Indiana shrimp and whether or not a sauce is a reason to make a restaurant a destination. Like, that's. That's what's defining. 3, 1, 2.

Matt (46:54)

Well, that's what DBU is all about.

Dan Bernstein (46:55)

That's what DBU is.

Matt (46:56)

Heavy combine stuff was forward progress. This was all about the periphery stuff of the combine.

Dan Bernstein (47:03)

That's why you get your education at dbu. That's a T shirt. I think the continued discussion of Indiana shrimp and the special horseradish sauce has driven me to pen dismissive rights. Troy. I feel like the continued focus on the providence and domain, the appellation of the ingredients is completely missing the crux of the issue, which is this. Is the restaurant's steak any good?

Matt (47:37)

That's one thought I've never had about St. Elmo's. I'm always too concerned about the fucking shrimp cocktail, right?

Dan Bernstein (47:44)

This is an issue that I've personally found vexing for years. As a transplant to champagne, I was directed by locals to the famous steakhouses of the region that I simply quote had to try. Much to my later disappointment, I found out neither of these steakhouses locally were actually famous for their steak. Now, he doesn't use the names of these steakhouse. I'm sure we could easily find them based on these descriptions. But I know what he's talking about here. He said the in town favorite, an institution that if it were a person would be excused away as being a product of a different generation, is best known for its salad bar.

Matt (48:35)

Oh boy.

Dan Bernstein (48:36)

While serving gray steaks on a 500 plus degree cast iron skillet, making any Attempt to order anything other than well done moot. The other one.

Matt (48:49)

A restaurant, Ponderosa, still exist?

Dan Bernstein (48:52)

I don't think so.

Matt (48:53)

Okay.

Dan Bernstein (48:53)

I think there's a Sizzler here or there, but no. Okay. I only went to a Ponderosa once in my life once. Said the. The other steakhouse here. A restaurant that can't even be bothered to be located in a populated area is best known for its yeast rolls, strawberry jam. These two colossal disappointments, among others, have led me to develop a personal creed. Of course they have, Troy. I refuse to get excited about any steakhouse that isn't famous for its steak.

Matt (49:35)

Steak. It's pretty good.

Dan Bernstein (49:36)

Very good, Troy. Wait. Yeast rolls and strawberry jam. What was the. There was a place in North Carolina that was like a. It was like a Sizzler or a Ponderosa where they served inexpensive steaks that they probably, you know, injected with that papaya juice extract. And it was. I think it was called Quincy's. And they had these. They had these radio commercials for Quincy's Steakhouse, and they had a character called the Big fat Yeast Roll. Oh, boy. And he would. In the radio ads, he would say, I'm the big fat yeast roll. So I'd never heard that before, and it stuck in my head. And for a while, that was sort of my celebratory shout during sporting events.

Matt (50:25)

Okay.

Dan Bernstein (50:26)

Much. Much to the dismay and disdain of my friends.

Matt (50:32)

So, yeah, this is Quincy's family steakhouse. Dan serving fresh food on our buffet daily since.

Dan Bernstein (50:39)

Is it. Oh, it's longer than that.

Matt (50:41)

Well, no, this is. This is the one location.

Dan Bernstein (50:43)

Florence.

Matt (50:43)

This is the first one that came up.

Dan Bernstein (50:44)

Oh, okay. So. But do they still have the Big fat yeast roll? Well, looks.

Matt (50:51)

Every picture so far has got a roll on the plate.

Dan Bernstein (50:53)

That's it. That's it. Because the radio commercials used to say it. And I would. I would watch games and be like, bobby Hurley makes a jumper. I'd be like, I'm the big fat yeast roll.

Matt (51:03)

Is that your. Is that your yeast roll?

Dan Bernstein (51:06)

Let me see. Hold on. I gotta click out of my email. I think that's it. It's big and fat, isn't it? Yeah, but that's not why you go to a steakhouse. Oh, I gotta hankering for some yeast.

Matt (51:20)

Yeah, I mean, what do you want tonight, honey? I'd like a good yeast roll.

Dan Bernstein (51:24)

Yep. I'm. I don't know. I'm sure. I can sure tuck into a big old plate of yeast right now. Oh, yeah.

Matt (51:33)

Oh, they have a. A 14 ounce thick cut ribeyes. Rib eyes for 2249.

Dan Bernstein (51:40)

Is that smelled like E Y, Z?

Matt (51:43)

No. No.

Dan Bernstein (51:44)

Okay. It's.

Matt (51:45)

It's E, Y, E, S. Rib eyes.

Dan Bernstein (51:49)

I don't know. I don't know if I like that. That sounds like. That they're trying to work their way at a technicality around it actually being a rib eye. Right.

Matt (51:57)

Because I've never seen rib eyes before. Unless you get more than one.

Dan Bernstein (52:00)

Or you. Or you've got some weird genetically modified cow where there's actually two of two eyes in the. In the ribeye.

Matt (52:08)

Yeah. I wonder if they don't realize it's. It's rib eye.

Dan Bernstein (52:10)

It's North Carolina rib eyes. Yeah. We don't know how many eyes the cows have down here.

Matt (52:16)

You know, it's funny. I watched that yeast roll last week. I was flipping through and I came across hell or high water.

Dan Bernstein (52:23)

Oh, it's so good.

Matt (52:24)

And the steak scene at the restaurant scene.

Dan Bernstein (52:26)

Yep.

Matt (52:26)

When she's like, what don't you want? What don't I want?

Dan Bernstein (52:30)

Yeah. Was that like the $5 steak or $2 or something?

Matt (52:33)

It wasn't. It was just. It was a rib eye. And you either don't want green beans or know you. You don't want corn, so what don't you want? And then. Yeah. Then she's like, all right, ribeye, medium rare. And he's like, can I have mine? She's like, that wasn't a question. That's a great scene.

Dan Bernstein (52:48)

Yeah, that was.

Matt (52:48)

That was a ribeye, not a rib eyes.

Dan Bernstein (52:50)

That's another one of these. It was a Taylor Sheridan Productions. Everything that Guy touches, he puts people in cowboy hats and they spend a lot of money on the cinematography. And then everybody thinks it's the greatest thing of all time.

Matt (53:02)

Well, you never watch Yellowstone, so you can't talk about it.

Dan Bernstein (53:04)

They're all the same shows. They're not. And Guy and Yellow.

Matt (53:08)

Completely different shows. It's like Yellow.

Dan Bernstein (53:11)

Yellow man and Landstone.

Matt (53:13)

Yes.

Dan Bernstein (53:14)

They're all. Yeah. Yellow man is actually the. The hardcore Jamaican. I don't even know what you call. It was like reggae, but it was proto dance hall. That's some of the stuff Yellow man was doing.

Matt (53:27)

Yeah, that was during.

Dan Bernstein (53:28)

Back in the day.

Matt (53:29)

Reggae dance hall. It was.

Dan Bernstein (53:30)

I did. I had a. I had a dancehall reggae phase. Not of my career, but just of my fandom. It would have been better if it were actually of my career and that, you know, there's always time, I guess.

Matt (53:41)

Well, there's room on 312Sports for.

Dan Bernstein (53:44)

Have a. Like a dance hall. Reggae podcast.

Matt (53:46)

Yes.

Dan Bernstein (53:47)

All right. I had an exchange here with this is, this is from. I'm not sure how to pronounce this. I believe his first name is Farace, who sent a note late at night and it said, what's up boys? I have an iraqpo alert. Dan, I'm sorry to say in a Planet Fitness commercial, Dick Vital was just a rack pod. Wow. What is the world coming to when Dicky V gets a rack pod? My childhood has been shattered. Crying, laughing emoji face, palm emoji. Crying, laughing emoji. So I just emailed back, oh no. And he sent. I couldn't believe it myself, but it was my responsibility to let the community leaders know, sir. Spread the word to the masses. And I just said, well handled, comrade. So he knew that it was important to run that information up the flagpole to get it to this very point. That even Dick Vital, someone as ubiquitous through look or sound, someone had to say, you're famous college basketball broadcaster Dick Vital. You better believe it, baby. Oh that, that, that's amazing. That is amazing that he had to be identified. I don't know what, what it says, but yeah.

Matt (55:15)

What's he doing on a Planet Fitness?

Dan Bernstein (55:17)

Probably working out. What else do you do there? Is that the purple one do at the gym?

Matt (55:23)

Yeah, that's the purple one. Didn't you just hang out at the gym and look at scrotums and stuff? You did used to go just to talk to old naked men. That was your.

Dan Bernstein (55:32)

I like this. That was just, that was kind of a knock on effect of doing a lot of steam and sauna and then then covet hit and now I'm never doing it again.

Matt (55:41)

Yeah, it's. Invited the guys to your house, Joe

Dan Bernstein (55:44)

in New York City. New York City said, guys, I laugh out loud when people who play baseball, a children's game, pretend not to have fun so they can do it like adults. This was our discussion about Team USA and the World Baseball Classic and just get the stick out of your ass and just have fun playing baseball. That was my easy ask of them. So Joe says, Tony La Russa can wear this serious man face all day long, but it doesn't matter because he wears fucking baseball pajamas to work. If you want to be a 1950s stoic man, be a bus driver, be a dentist, be a product manager at Meta. But he does the one thing I did when I was 12 and that's his job and that's great. I'm a 47 year old man who plays Nintendo, but I don't get up my own ass about it and insist that my children play video games the right way. I'm not down in my basement decked out in my Mario outfit and Pokemon slippers with a stern face, grumbling about the new generation of kids who smile too much when Yoshi swallows a Goomba.

Matt (57:04)

That's good.

Dan Bernstein (57:05)

It's like they don't think we know what their job is. And he adds, as a PS Norm's is elite neighborhood pizza. It's my go to delivery. It is not in my top destination pizzas. Next time you're in New York, check out L Industry or Cellos if you're staying near the Park Slope Norms. Fnf, Baby Luke's and Jusapina are great. Yeah.

Matt (57:36)

Law Industry was one I looked at.

Dan Bernstein (57:38)

You did?

Matt (57:39)

And we didn't. Yeah, we didn't go.

Dan Bernstein (57:41)

Oh, man, he gets.

Matt (57:43)

He gets to order Norms at home.

Dan Bernstein (57:46)

He said it's his go to delivery.

Matt (57:49)

You know, we're going. We're going in April. We're going to New York in April.

Dan Bernstein (57:53)

Oh, just to go. Are you seeing a show?

Matt (57:55)

We're gonna, we're gonna go see John show. We're gonna go see Dog Day Afternoon.

Dan Bernstein (57:58)

Oh, that's right. You told me that. Yeah, yeah.

Matt (58:00)

And then we're. I already told you. I already told Natalie. I said Norms at least three times.

Dan Bernstein (58:06)

And it's so good. See, I don't need elite destination pizza in New York. And Norm's cheese slice slightly well done, a little bit of parm. It. It's, it's, it's. That's. That's all I need.

Matt (58:19)

I don't. I will try the industry, though. I will. I'll give that a whirl. Since he mentions that I don't want. But oh, no, I'm going to do that. And I'll still do three times. I'll go to Norms.

Dan Bernstein (58:29)

I don't want fancy New York style pizza. I want the way, like, I cannot watch do the Right Thing. Like when that's one of those movies that just makes you crave New York pizza. Like, if I know if that movie's on, the first thing I do is I look at my phone to see what time it is and then to see if Jimmy's pizza is still open. Because if I know that I'm going to sit and watch do the Right Thing, I'm going to get. I'm going to get Jimmy's. And because you have to put some more Moosearella on that.

Matt (59:03)

It's very similar to when I watch Old Episodes of old episodes of Friends. I always want coffee.

Dan Bernstein (59:09)

There's a coffee and white people.

Matt (59:11)

Yeah. Even though they don't ever drink coffee on the show. They're just always there.

Dan Bernstein (59:15)

They don't drink coffee.

Matt (59:16)

I don't think. I don't think there's any. Any time where they actually ever see them drink out of the cup.

Dan Bernstein (59:19)

They should be kicked out then.

Matt (59:21)

No, that's where they hang out.

Dan Bernstein (59:23)

Well, you can't just hang out.

Matt (59:24)

They wanted to go hang out and see Rachel. I think they would order and pay. They just never. You never see them drink it. It's like watching the Bachelor. Bachelorette. They sit in front of a table full of food. They didn't. They never eat it.

Dan Bernstein (59:35)

That's stupid.

Matt (59:36)

Yeah, it's weird.

Dan Bernstein (59:38)

Brian has a note here says, guys, I want to make you aware of a well timed unintended pun you made on DBU a couple days ago that had me absolutely cackling immediately after you wrapped up the segment about the poor schlub in India who got killed. Who got killed by a falling cow. This is good, you know. You read this?

Matt (60:01)

Yeah, I saw this one.

Dan Bernstein (60:02)

He said the first line of your read for my bookie started, whenever the stakes are high.

Matt (60:11)

That was good.

Dan Bernstein (60:12)

Knowing your penchant for wordplay, my dumbass naturally interpreted that line as whenever the S T E A K S are high, since an airborne side of beef is quite literally when the stakes are high. Anyway, thanks for the additional bonus laugh. Thank you for pointing it out, Brian. And now you have paid it forward to everybody.

Matt (60:35)

Yeah. And I was. I received the text after that show because I kept saying that he was taking a leak on the train tracks.

Dan Bernstein (60:42)

Yes.

Matt (60:43)

And the. The text from one of my buddies was it. He probably was doing a number two. Even worse situation than when you die.

Dan Bernstein (60:52)

Yeah. Why? Why would you go to the train tracks to do it? I really have to go, but I got to get to the train tracks first. I don't know.

Matt (61:00)

Again with 23 year retired guy that used to work on the. On the train. So maybe that's where he felt most comfortable.

Dan Bernstein (61:08)

Or maybe he's making. Maybe.

Matt (61:10)

Maybe it's the only place that it would come out.

Dan Bernstein (61:11)

Or maybe it's a state. Maybe he's like, I put too many years of my life into this railroad. And all over your chest now. Here's what it means to me. Here's what it is.

Matt (61:21)

Here comes the flying ribeyes. Watch out.

Dan Bernstein (61:24)

Run away. Lastly, Jason said on today. This is yesterday. He said on today's DBU Matt, you mentioned it would be interesting to know what the true effect of missed ball strike calls would be and lamented how so it's impossible to know what would have ultimately happened. It's true, of course, but it is possible to determine changes in expected runs stemming from missed ball strike calls based on the probabilities of potential outcomes on where the pitch is called correctly. There is a Twitter account and a website called UMP Scorecards that has been doing just that. They record data on missed calls and they map them out right over the expected strike zone, highlighting the three most impactful missed calls per game and calculating which team was ultimately favored that game in net expected runs.

Matt (62:23)

Okay.

Dan Bernstein (62:24)

He provides a screenshot that's really interesting, showing how Lance Barksdale's calls overall favored the Cubs in last season's NLDS Game 4. Figured you'd find this interesting, and I'm curious whether this account will start to keep track of impactful ABS challenges. I assume it'll keep recording missed calls as usual, because after all, after every game there's still going to be missed calls that aren't challenged. Hmm. And if you really look at this, absolutely. I would think that this site, that this particular resource would be able to find a way to do that easily. I did not know about it. I as always, I think that this is probably a function of gambling, of everybody wanting the latest information on who's behind the plate and the effect that that may have on a game. But for whatever reason, having data is good and the data is here. All right, so I'm glad that he sent that to us. And once again, it is called umpscorecards.com all right, well that is this week's Friday Feedback Friday and we thank everyone who sent stuff in. I always tell you I will try to respond to every email I get, even if it's just a thank you or a thumbs up or something. But I I read everything and I will save stuff and move stuff around and always try to curate a representative Friday Feedback Friday from you. So thank you once again. My bookie is your place right now because it's March and there's a big matchup coming up on the schedule. Every time you turn on your tv, you know you've got something. And it isn't just college right now. There's NBA stuff there. We are getting close to baseball, so you're you may be watching some things, trying to figure out some futures bets for that. No matter what it is, and especially when we get into all of these games, don't Forget about the props, because they can be as much fun as the final score. My bookie has got the best props. Board, deep fun to play, player performances in game milestones, everything in between. The kind of action that keeps things interesting all game long. So if you ever want to get in, get in now. Right now at MyBookie AG. It's one account, one wallet. You can bet the spread. You can live bet during the action. You can jump into the casino during halftime or between games. Everything's right there. MyBookie AG. Register deposit, include the code DBU. And then your first bet's covered up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, you got a bet back, bonus token and run it back. So don't just watch the action, make it pay with my bookie. And that leads us to our DBU picks for this Friday that are presented by my bookie. Matty's been Mr. NBA Heat. Check. So all you.

Matt (65:16)

All right, so I have four games I'm looking at tonight, and do what you want with these. First is New Orleans at Phoenix. We're going to take the six points and New Orleans. So that's New Orleans plus six. Charlotte Hornets minus seven and a half against Miami. So we'll take the minus seven and a half. Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers at home. And we're giving nine and a half points against the Pacers. I'll take that all day long. And then my big one. This is a big one here, but I think Boston needs to bounce back with a big game at home. They are giving 14 against the Dallas Mavericks at the Garden. I will take that. So we're at Boston minus 14, Lakers minus nine and a half. Charlotte minus seven and a half. And New Orleans at Phoenix plus six.

Dan Bernstein (66:04)

The Arnold Palmer Invitational is at Bay Hill Club. And if I can grab XANDER SHOFFLEY at plus 1175, it's about 12 to 1. I think I like the value there. So I think even if I could get a place and when I do these golf bets, as I told you, when you're just kind of grabbing a name out of the field here, and because it's on a Friday, we're usually doing it after we get that free look at the leaderboard, and some of the numbers are going to change a little bit, but I'm going to go with that. And sometimes I like to, if I can just get to the final day where somebody might be offering me a cash out and have that opportunity, I kind of consider that a win. So I'm going to go with Xander Schoffley plus 1175 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Matt (66:54)

Very good.

Dan Bernstein (66:55)

And those are our DBU picks. Lock in your picks now with my bookie. Bet on anything, anywhere, anytime. Thanks for another terrific week of dbu. And don't forget about our sponsor, Chicago window guys, Russ Armstrong. 847-302-9171. ChicagoNow guys. And we have been brought to you in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein.

Matt (67:24)

Unfiltered.

Dan Bernstein (67:25)

Unfiltered.

Matt (67:25)

On 312 Sports.