Chicago Bears / Maxx Crosby - make the call!! | Team USA may not advance in WBC

Summary

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered

Episode: Chicago Bears / Maxx Crosby – Make the Call!! | Team USA May Not Advance in WBC
Date: March 11, 2026
Host: Dan Bernstein (with Russ Armstrong)

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Episode Overview

This episode zeroes in on two primary topics:

1. Should the Chicago Bears pursue Maxx Crosby following failed talks with the Ravens over medical concerns?
2. Team USA’s precarious position in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) owing to managerial misunderstandings of tournament rules.

Along the way, Dan and Russ also touch on the Bulls’ tanking strategy gone awry, quirky Chicago weather reports, and a lighthearted look at “happiest cities” rankings.

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Segment 1: The Maxx Crosby Situation – Discounted Meat or Risky Buy?

[00:00–20:32]

Main Discussion Points

• Crosby Trade Drama:

  • The Ravens pulled out of a deal for Maxx Crosby due to medical red flags.
    “What I thought was really telling was... Crosby’s agent didn’t vehemently deny the medical concerns. Their statement sounded more like they copped to whatever the physical issue was.” — Russ [01:00]
  • Crosby’s surgeon, Dr. Neal El Attrache, claims the player is ahead of recovery expectations, but specifics are worrying.

• Should the Bears Call?

  • Both hosts agree there’s zero downside for Ryan Poles (Bears GM) to make a phone call—“Why not see if this discounted meat is worth buying?”
    “There’s never any downside to talking. It’s a free chance to be involved... see how your players are valued, how your draft picks are valued. So why not do that?” — Russ [01:26]
  • Teams evaluate medicals differently; risk tolerance varies.

• Medical Analysis:

  • Crosby’s injury: a “significant meniscus tear” and “related stress injury to bone and cartilage.”
  • Both hosts with personal (and heavily anecdotal) insight into meniscus injuries, emphasizing NFL players often trade long-term health for quick returns.
    • “Usually, professional athletes will say ‘just cut out the damaged tissue, get me back,’ especially football players... it’s their time to set themselves up financially.” — Russ [04:52]
  • Much of this decision is subjective. Bears doctors may see it differently than Ravens or Raiders docs.

• Timeline of Injury:

  • Injured vs Chiefs (Oct 19)
  • Played through two months, shut down after Week 15, surgery Jan 7
    “He played that for two months. He was shut down after week 15... the video of him bouncing in the trampoline was just over a week before the surgery.” — Dan [09:35]

• Cost, Risk & Precedent:

  • Even if Crosby’s health is dicey, the price might drop, making the risk more acceptable.
  • Example: Tommy Harris (the Bears knew he’d be great, but not for long—a risk worth taking) [08:00]
  • The hosts dismiss the conspiracy that Ravens just got cold feet and quickly pivoted to Trey Hendrickson, but note the suspicious timing.

• Bottom Line & Action for the Bears:

  • Ryan Poles should do due diligence, gather all possible info, and see if Crosby can be had “on a deal.”
  • Full medical transparency is ideal, but process is hampered by patient privacy (HIPAA).

Notable Quotes

• “I love discounted meat. This is like walking over to the cooler — here’s a prime steak that’s usually $24, that’s $13... That’s why you got a freezer.” — Russ [02:13]
• “Every patient is different, every knee is different. It is complicated. Even the best doctors still don’t understand as well as they will. This could be one of those cases.” — Russ [07:30]
• “If there’s a possibility of getting a great player at a discount, make the call. At least, be able to say you passed on this discount with the best info.” — Russ [10:27]
• “There is zero downside to simply opening the door again... If it’s, like, ‘oh, this guy’s toast,’ ok, fine. Or, maybe you only have to give up a third-round pick.” — Russ [17:18]

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Segment 2: Team USA’s WBC Blunder – Know the Rules!

[23:34–40:36]

Main Discussion Points

• Manager Mark DeRosa’s Mistake:

  • DeRosa believed Team USA’s spot in the WBC quarterfinals was guaranteed after beating Mexico, telling media they could “get some guys off their feet” for the next game.
  • Turns out, the rules and tiebreakers made their advancement far from secure. “Apparently Mark DeRosa didn't. Mark DeRosa gave an interview before the game where he said, ‘our ticket is punched.’” — Russ [26:31]

• Fallout:

  • Team USA trotted out a “hangover lineup.” Their loss to Italy left their fate dependent on convoluted run-differential tiebreaker scenarios.
  • This mistake is “managerial malpractice” and relatable for any youth sports parent or coach.
    “To not know the situation, to not know the standings, to not know the rules, is malpractice.” — Russ [27:43]

• Arbitrary Tie-Breakers:

  • Tiebreakers include fewest runs allowed per defensive out among tied teams, then batting average, then a “drawing of lots.”
  • The hosts mock the absurdity:
    “Batting average. That’s the John Smoltz rule... If that can’t solve your problems, then a drawing of lots. So, like, short straw in your house?” — Dan [34:51]

• Team Mom Solution:

  • Dan suggests Team USA simply needs a “team mom” to meticulously track rules and scenarios—the same way every little league team does. “That’s what Team USA needs: a good team mom... That goes over the rules and tells the coaches ‘I think we need to win this game by this.’” — Dan [39:19]

Notable Quotes

• “This is bad... Know the rules, know the rules, know the rules. And apparently Mark DeRosa didn’t.” — Russ [25:55]
• “There’s always a mom that monitors GameChanger and watches everything. That’s what Team USA needs.” — Dan [40:14]

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Segment 3: Chicago Bulls – Stop Winning, Start Losing

[42:30–47:44]

Main Discussion Points

• Tank Fumble:

  • Bulls’ young players logging overtime minutes in a win against Golden State is counterproductive to securing a better draft pick. “Attention Chicago Bulls. You have one job: lose games. There is no excuse... in an overtime win at Golden State.” — Russ [42:30]
  • Criticizes Chicago’s medical staff for obvious misses, like Rob Dillingham’s cysts, and points out the franchise’s poor medical reputation.
  • Russ is adamant: playing banged-up younger guys helps nobody—either for tanking or player evaluation.

• Draft Position:

  • Bulls’ odds for a top-4 pick increase substantially with worse records; beating Memphis (in loss column) is key.

Notable Quotes

• “You want to pick nine again? You want to pick Jack ballsack from Georgetown at 9? No, you want a real difference-maker.” — Russ [43:10]
• “Another edition of ‘stop doing this’: stop not knowing the guys you traded for are hurt.” — Russ [47:02]

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Segment 4: Quick Hitters & Lighter Moments

[49:57–61:32]

The Happiest Cities (WalletHub Study)

• Chicago ranks #83 out of 182 for happiness; Aurora tops among Illinois cities at #35.
  • “So Chicago ranks the 83rd happiest city. Yes. Well done.” — Russ [53:38]

Chicago Weather Watch

• Hilarious recap of panicked local TV coverage of severe storms and a chemical leak at Byron Nuclear Plant.
  • Underlines “confusing” guidance: “Get in the basement, but also keep valuables above flood line.”
  • “He looked earnestly in the camera and said, ‘If you have a bike helmet, put your bike helmet on.’” — Russ [55:55]

Godzilla Jokes & Local Color

• Imagining Godzilla rampaging Illinois during a supercell tornado.
• “Rockford Joe” is immune to everything thanks to eating imitation crab.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments – At a Glance

• Discounted Meat:
  “I love discounted meat. This is like walking to the cooler. Here’s a prime steak that’s usually $24, now it’s $13.” — Russ [02:13]
• Medical Uncertainty:
  “Every team has their own grading system... two teams could look at the same knee and say, ‘yeah, we’re good.’ Other could say, ‘we’re not good.’” — Dan [03:03]
• On ‘Knowing the Rules’:
  “To not know the situation, the standings, the rules, is malpractice.” — Russ [27:43]
• On the Bulls’ Mishaps:
  “Stop not knowing the guys you traded for are hurt.” — Russ [47:02]
• Bike Helmets in Tornadoes:
  “Put your bike helmet on. No, I don’t have a bike helmet. I’ve got a football helmet. I could’ve put that on, looked like Mike Singletary.” — Russ [56:01]

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Segment Timestamps

• Maxx Crosby / Bears trade scenario: [00:00–20:32]
• Team USA / WBC tiebreak rules fiasco: [23:34–40:36]
• Chicago Bulls tanking confusion: [42:30–47:44]
• Happiest cities chat: [49:57–53:38]
• Chicago weather TV recap: [53:38–61:32]

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Tone & Style

The episode is classic Bernstein: blunt, funny, sometimes exasperated, with lots of personal anecdotes and deep dives. Russ brings expertise and irreverent humor in equal measure. Whether breaking down medical jargon, lambasting front office follies, or riffing on the perils of Midwest weather, the show balances sharp analysis with lighthearted banter — distinctly Chicago, deeply unfiltered.

Transcript

[Dan Bernstein]

Dan Bernstein, unfiltered.

[Russ Armstrong]

Unfiltered on 312. Sports DBU on 3. 1, 2. Brought to you in partnership with my bookie. And wow, do we have a lot going on right now. You know, there's one thing that I love, it's discounted meat. And now Max Crosby is over there on the left with the discount sticker on him. So my question right now is. And. And I'm going to answer my own question because it is. Is it worth a phone call? And based on our conversation yesterday, right here, when we talked about, you know, why were the Bears interested, as I think he said the Rich Eisen show had reported that the Bears had interest and were and. Or were involved in talks for Max Crosby. So. And I said, there's never any downside to talking. There's never. There's only upside to having these kind of conversations. Nobody knows your actual intent. Nobody knows if you are in it for real or if you're just trying to get information. But it is a free chance to be involved in some of these negotiations and see how your players are valued, how your draft picks are valued. So why not do that? And now that we've got this bizarre situation, we found out yesterday afternoon that the. And it was a. It was the Raiders commenting first, like, hey, the Ravens backed out of this deal. We have no further comment. Not sure what's going to happen. And what I thought was really telling was the next thing we heard was a statement from Crosby's agent that sounded like they were copying to whatever the physical issue was. They did not come out hard and say this, this is unfounded, that the facts are wrong. We don't know. This is an outlier opinion by their doctors. They could have done that from Crosby side of things, but they didn't. What they said was, he's going to be ready. He. Dr. Neal El Attrachet says he is further along in his rehab than expectation. And to me, that was an indication that whatever the Baltimore Ravens doctors flagged had some truth to it. Now, we're going to talk about that in a second, because people have to understand that medicine is subjective. Medicine is not absolute. It is very far from it. And some of these orthopedic diagnoses are nebulous, and this may be one of those cases. But should the Bears get involved again? Should they make a phone call? Hell, yeah, they should. I love discounted meat. This is walking over to the, to the, to the cooler, and it says, you know, here's a. Here's a prime Steak that is usually $24. That's. That's 13. Yeah. That's why you got a freezer.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right? There's absolutely no harm in just making a phone call. You know, we don't know how deep the Bears were involved. If it went, you know, it was previously previously. If it was just a phone call before, great. Make that phone call again. And this is what the doctor said. The doctor said that. That doing that. He's doing very well. Early part of his REH rehab and recovery from surgery to treat a significant meniscus tear and the related stress injury to the bone and cartilage in his knee. He is certainly on track in his planned program. And what I've learned about these physical evaluations by teams, that each team has their own grading process and grading system where one team may say, hey, I'm not willing to take that risk. Where he's at, where another team could look at it and say, yeah, the doctors say he's well on track, and he's. He's on pace, and he'll be back at this point. And we believe confidently in what our doctors say about his return to 100% health. And a team, you know, two teams could look at the same knee and say, yeah, we're good. Other team could say, we're not good.

[Russ Armstrong]

All right, read me the exact description again of the surgical meniscal repair. Is it the words that they use?

[Dan Bernstein]

Here's the words. And this is. This is more than I thought it was, Dan. So when I first read this, I was like, okay, this is more than I thought. So the doctor said that he is doing very well in the early part of his rehab and recovery from surgery to treat a significant meniscus tear and the related stress injury to the bone and cartilage in his knee. He is certainly on track in his planned program now.

[Russ Armstrong]

There's a lot there.

[Dan Bernstein]

There is a lot there, and there's a lot more than I thought it was.

[Russ Armstrong]

Okay, meniscus tear. What is significant? What. What. Significant meniscus tear, which is not a deal breaker.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not.

[Russ Armstrong]

It isn't, because you can go in and you can resect damaged meniscus, you can repair it, but that takes a lot of immobilization, and then you get muscle atrophy, and you've got to rebuild all that muscle over time. Usually professional athletes will say, I'll take the. The. The difficulty later in life. I'll take the knee replacement later in life. Just cut out the damaged tissue now and get me back on the field quicker, especially football players who know that this is their time to set themselves up financially for the rest of their lives. So it is almost 100% for these guys to just say, cut out the damaged tissue and we'll see whatever kind of the padding we've got left, whatever we've got in between the tibial head and the femoral head in that leg. And there's so many variables here. You've got the variables of where on the meniscus. It makes a much bigger difference. And I, and I know this because I've got two messed up knees. I had a complete reconstruction on the right knee. I know way too much, way more than I should about the condition of the medial and lateral menisci, the surrounding areas. Which part of the meniscus is better to be without than the others? I don't claim to be anything close to a professional athlete, but I do have some experience talking to a lot of orthopedists about these things. So there's a ton of variables. Stress, injury to the bone and cartilage. Which cartilage?

[Dan Bernstein]

The related stress injury to the bone and cartilage.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yes, which cartilage? Because the meniscus is cartilage, but that is different than the articular cartilage that is actually connected to the bone itself. And that can be a bigger deal. That's when you really get into trouble and you start looking toward the necessity of later replacements in life if in fact there was that the injury had all of this collateral damage. Now, bottom line is I've got no clue what the imaging told these doctors. And every, you could have a team of the same doctors who went to the same med schools with the same experience and the same qualifications and, and they can look at all the imaging and everything available and most importantly, talk to the patient because that is the critical glue in all the information is what hurts? When does it hurt? How does it hurt? Because you can look at imaging on somebody and say, well, this looks like this is the knee that hurts. And the patient will be like, well no, actually it's this one. This is the one that hurts. Because that stuff is really nebulous. And when you're trying to figure out why the, the, the body can deal with certain things and not deal with others. Every patient is different, every knee is different. It is complicated. And there's a tremendous amount of this that doctor Even the best doctors still are, still don't understand as, as well as they will when they do. Every day they learn more. But there are, there there's all kinds of reasons to. To have leaps of faith, to have interpolation between the data points that you have that are uncertain. And this could be one of those cases. So at the very least, if I'm the Bears, I want my doctors of having every opportunity to look at everything. And even if that's the phone call, even if that's Ryan, Paul's just saying, hey, I don't know what we're doing. We may be interested. We may. We may absolutely be interested. But. But now, please disclose everything. Share everything with us before the fact, Whatever you can do, whatever HIPAA is going to allow, whatever Crosby wants us to do, because we've. We want our own doctor's eyes on it here. And if there is a possibility of giving up a whole hell of a lot less, and you think you could get two good years as long as, you know, just like the Bears do. I was giving the example of Tommy Harris. They knew when they drafted Tommy Harris that he was probably going to be really, really good for a short period of time, and that was going to be it. And I'll be damned if that wasn't exactly it. Unfortunately, it was right before the Super Bowl.

[Dan Bernstein]

But he was. He was a good player.

[Russ Armstrong]

Good player. He got one of the. That was what. On the Chicago Bears. That was an unbelievable defensive tackle year. I mean, the production, the. The effect that he had on everybody else. They got it, but they knew the deal that they made. They knew that it was lightning in a bottle, and they drafted it and they got it and they had it. But this is football, man, and these are the tough decisions that you make when you're talking about the fallibility of. Of the human body. Let me.

[Dan Bernstein]

Let me give you this, too, Dan. Let me give you this real quick. A quick timeline. So Max Crosby played through a significant knee meniscus terror sustained on October 19 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He played that for two months. He was shut down after week 15, officially placed on IR and underwent a minor meniscus repair on January 7, roughly 11 weeks after the initial injury. So he played through the injury October through December. He was shut down late December, had the surgery on January 7th. That video of him shooting hoops and bouncing around in the trampoline was December 28th. Okay, so that was just a little over a week before the actual surgery.

[Russ Armstrong]

Okay. I'm not making any judgments based off those videos.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just want to share a timeline of it because I didn't realize it happened in October. Yeah, well.

[Russ Armstrong]

And I don't Know what the stress injury is? That's what I'm literally circling here. Significant meniscus tear, stress injury to the bone and cartilage. The. That's what I got to know. Because then you're starting to talk about these. The possibility of like the. I don't even know if they still do micro fracture surgery to increase blood flow and sort of push the reset button on that. That. That scares me. That absolutely scares me. So. But to be clear, to be clear, even with the possibilities that I don't make the move. Make the call, Ryan Polls. Make the call at the. You gotta do that. You've got to at least with this opportunity to maybe get a great player at a discount, make the call, at least be able to say when all is said and done, that you passed on this discount possibility with the best information you've got from your doctors. Your doctors may not agree. Then the call gets tough. That's. That's when it gets difficult. If, if the Bears orthopedists with the same information come to a different conclusion. That. That's. That's sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

But that, But Dan, though, his.

[Russ Armstrong]

The.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Bears doctors don't have a chance to evaluate unless there's a deal in place.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah, there is. I. I wonder what you would be able to, like.

[Dan Bernstein]

You can't share information like that. You can't. You can't do that.

[Russ Armstrong]

Well, if the patient lets you, you can. It's all up to the patient. I mean, that's what the hipaa, Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

It is up to the patient. But that's not how the process works. Like, once you, Once you get, you know, agreed to a deal, then you get your hands on the guy and get to see what his medicals are.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah, but there, but there has to be some kind of disclosure so this doesn't happen again. And I don't know exactly didn't happen the first time. Well, if I also want to know what the initial judgment was, and this is. These. These are all the wacky conspiracy theorists out there who, you know, are going to come out of the woodwork and say things like, well, this is just cold feet, that this is just them finding something after the fact. Because, like, you know what? Let's just sign Trey Hendricks instead. Because they ran out and signed him. Are you telling me they negotiated that deal in a day that. That all of a sudden, boom, they got this news and it's like, well, wait a second, we're out. Oh, well, okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Was it a four year, $112 million deal? Something like that?

[Russ Armstrong]

No, it was four years for 120. 60 million. 120.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, okay.

[Russ Armstrong]

60 million guaranteed. 20 million signing bonus with multiple sack threshold escalators built in. And if you think that that just got done. Wait a second. What do you mean he failed the physical? Well, what do we do now? Let's get. I. I'm. And I am not peddling these. These conspiracy theories. I just think things got weird real fast and that you're going to hear a lot of things about the. The Ravens doing this out of cold feet and finding a way to. Oh, by the way, he failed the physical.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, it's just. It's strange, though, that Trey Hendrickson didn't get any kind of play, that there was. There was no talk of Trey Hendrickson on day one. Zero talk, and then this happens, and then they sign him pretty quickly.

[Russ Armstrong]

All I want you to do is the. The only imperative here for Ryan polls. Have the conversation. You should be talking to your own doctors right now. You should be learning everything you can do back channel wise and elsewhere about people who know Max Crosby and any. Anything you can do legally to find out the information, talking to agents, what's real and what's not. You. You've got to be investigating this on your end, and you should all. You should simultaneously, concurrently have that kind of conversation, beginning with the Raiders. It's very simple. And this is not. There's no skullduggery involved here. There's. There's no double dealing. There's. There's no ulterior motive. This is all above board to just say, yeah, you know, we're interested until we're not. Until he's completely unavailable. And, and maybe they're pressured to move him if they don't want him back. Hell, they. You know, they. They already larded up their roster with the salary that they weren't going to spend there, and they bring in Linder Baum and they've added plenty of players here. And we don't know what Crosby wants. We don't know what he thinks. We're not sure what the actual truth is about where he thinks he is in his rehab. And it's possible he doesn't think he'll ever be the same player again. We have to look at all sides of this, and this is not some stupid rant about go sign or go get Max Crosby, go trade for him now. Make. Make that deal and put this big contract out there. No, it's just that we've got a reset. We have an opportunity to reevaluate Everything specifically and particularly the cost to get him and then also the cost of, of if the agent is already copying to all of these things. And again, that quote about the injury came that you read to me. Came from whom?

[Dan Bernstein]

The doctor.

[Russ Armstrong]

That's the.

[Dan Bernstein]

So that was, that was the doctor telling Adam Schefter, I want to say.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yep, yep. So when, when that comes from the team that's making the decision, it's going to sound worse.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. When it was the doctor. What's his, what's his last name?

[Russ Armstrong]

Oh, that's, that's Crosby's doctor. Or that is Dr. Neil. Dr. Neil Elatrache.

[Dan Bernstein]

L attroche. And where's he from?

[Russ Armstrong]

LA.

[Dan Bernstein]

So okay, so yeah, he told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday morning. So that's the quote from Wednesday morning.

[Russ Armstrong]

Okay, so that's. See these doctors should not. And he's El Attrache is sort of doctor to the stars and a bit of a celeb himself.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, Dr. Neil.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah. Dr. Neal. Yeah. And he's. I believe he's.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's.

[Russ Armstrong]

Sylvester Stallone is married to El Atrache's sister. Is that right? I know he's. He's a Stallone in law or Stallone sister. Maybe he's married to Frank Stallone. I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know he also do Sly's facial work too.

[Russ Armstrong]

I just know there's some connection between Sylvester Stallone and Dr. Neil Alatroche, who's very, very highly respected as the best at what he does. But he's a bit of a, a bit of a star himself. So for him to drop that bomb of a quote, to call it a, what was it? Serious or significant? Significant. A significant meniscus tear. Significant stress injury to bone and cartilage.

[Dan Bernstein]

I've got related. Related stress injury.

[Russ Armstrong]

I've got to know more. I've got to know more, but make that phone call. I think you have a. There's an imperative. There's a responsibility for any other team that would. And whether or not you were in the conversation before and that report we were heard from the Rich Eisen show is true. Just find out. You're not committing anything. You're not doing anything. It doesn't cost you anything. If you're the Chicago Bears, there is zero downside to simply opening the door again. And if it's, if it's like, oh, this guy's toast. Okay, okay, great. Okay, cool, fine. Or if it's like, you know, he might be toast but now you only got to give Us a third round pick. I obviously think it's probably going to involve a first round pick but we don't know. We have no idea what the market might be. His market could be crashing. Right now we, these things are really fluid and right now we have a fluid situation with unknown information that is going to be critical in the decision matrix. There's, it is too big a risk to do it sort of sight unseen and what I wouldn't want to do is make a deal and then say well now we're going to look at him some of this stuff. I do think that there now is a responsibility that does fall on the Raiders as you would have in any situation. We're going to get to the bulls on this too because they fucked up again too. So we're going to get to that. But you have a responsibility to make sure that there's, there's full disclosure on everything involved. But just reprice it Just, just go back. It's you know would be like I use this idea of discounted meat because that's you know, close to my heart. But there, there might be people who know that the auto industry better and know where some of the value is in maybe a car that came off the assembly line but there was something a little bit wrong with, with, with a paint match or maybe there was something that doesn't. He doesn't affect the powertrain but they just can't price it the same way. Hell, if you're, if you're, if you're at Marshalls and there's. There's a, there's a belt that you want and Instead of being $30, it's six bucks because there's a couple of stitches that are on.

[Dan Bernstein]

But you know what?

[Russ Armstrong]

It's pretty good. Decent leather belt. Nobody's gon hair. I'm, I'm a big one of those

[Dan Bernstein]

button down shirts where the buttons and the holes don't match.

[Russ Armstrong]

Maybe not quite.

[Dan Bernstein]

They don't, they don't line up and hey, you know. But you get it for you know, a third of the price.

[Russ Armstrong]

Right. And you're, and you're gonna wear it with that button open anyway or something. You know, you just. Yeah. You never button your buttons for whatever reason. For whatever reason there is something there that fits your needs at a price that's right for you. So yeah, I would say that Ryan polls at the very least make the call. Be talking to your doctors today about what they think about such things and then just get all the information and stay in it until you're not in it anymore because why not? You know, March is here.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know that?

[Russ Armstrong]

It's like, I think it's the 11th already.

[Dan Bernstein]

It is the 11th.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yes. Yeah. You know what that makes tomorrow, by the way?

[Dan Bernstein]

The 12th.

[Russ Armstrong]

Of what month?

[Dan Bernstein]

March. March 12th.

[Russ Armstrong]

So it's. It's what on.

[Dan Bernstein]

Move your head over a little bit so I can see behind you. Other way. There you go.

[Russ Armstrong]

Three.

[Dan Bernstein]

One, two.

[Russ Armstrong]

Oh, it's 3:12.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's 3:12 tomorrow.

[Russ Armstrong]

It is 3:12 tomorrow. And it's in honor of that, we're working on a special something for tomorrow to make you the 312 sports and DBU listener very, very happy. So stay, stay tuned to what we're doing here. I'll have all that information for you. What, what's so funn okay, here in March, you got to get in on the action with my bookie because the games, all of the tournament games, all of the everything, when everything is happening around you and you can feel all these results and possibilities and things flying through the air with the bubble teams fighting for their lives. You turn on the various ESPN and their schools that you've never heard of with strange looking, short like fat guys running around and they're winning their conference titles and they're going to the tournament. So you got to know them too. And it's fun, man. You can pick winners. You can go to the prop board with player points and team totals and futures and tournament odds and there's value everywhere. So if you want to jump in, jump in right now at MyBookie AG. It's where everything is one account, one wallet. Bet the spread live, bet the second half, hit the casino between games. Everything is at MyBookie AG. And you've got our code. DBU. It's yours. Those three letters. Dan Bernstein unfiltered DBU. And then your first bets covered, up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, you got a bet back, bonus token, run it back. And then you're not just watching the madness build, you're making it pay. With my bookie. Easy to prepare comfort food full of protein. And right now with Omaha Steaks, you can get 50% off. During their semi annual sale, Omaha Steaks has their exclusive lineup. USDA certified tender steaks. Gourmet burgers, all the versatile chicken, pork and seafood. Everything's delivered right to your door. And the going through that box and deciding what goes to the downstairs freezer and what is the upstairs freezer. Freezer. Because I know I'm going to make it soon. Omaha Steaks is the choice of steakhouses and professional chefs around the world. This is grass fed grain finished beef with more marbling for exceptional flavor. And the burgers that I use, they have some that are made from like brisket and short rib. It's a family owned company. Over 100 years of expertise in the meat industry. America's original butcher since 1917. Right now you can get 50% off the world's best everyday protein. Go to Omaha steaks.com for 50% off site wide during this semiannual sale and for an extra $35 off, use the promo code Bernstein at checkout. That's just my last name. B E R N S T E I N Little note here to Mark DeRosa, manager of Team USA baseball.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is bad.

[Russ Armstrong]

You've got one responsibility when you enter a tournament. And anybody who has been involved in travel, youth baseball anywhere knows this. When you enter a tournament, the very first thing you do with your assistant coaches is you go over the rules with a fine toothed comb. Never get the rules wrong because then you're out of pitching. Then all of a sudden you didn't realize that there was a pitch count or you. Believe me, I've been, I've seen situations where you go to the wrong field. I've done it. I've gone to the wrong field at a travel baseball tournament because I didn't look carefully enough and I said, why am I in Carol Stream when I'm supposed to be in Darien or something like that. Or it's, it usually doesn't. It's not like, you know, why am I in Cleveland when I'm supposed to be in St. Louis? But there are, there are situations where you gotta, you gotta re. And if you're the coach. Which is why I love the fact that for most of my son's travel career, at least one of his coaches was an attorney. Because those guys read everything. And they would always know how to work the rules of the tournament in a certain way. How to lose a game when you want to save your pitching, how to win a game. And all the stuff that we hear about, well, you got to win today's game today. That's true. But things change in baseball tournaments that have arcane tiebreakers like runs or earned runs or run differential. And if it's per inning or will a game. Is. Is there rain? Is rain going to stop things? Believe me, it's one of them. I'll never forget winning a tournament only because everybody was sitting in the car waiting to see if the Game was going to be played, and they came. I think we were in the big complex in Wheeling, and some guy comes out and he's like, the tournament has ended. And I think at the time that we were one and one in pool play, and they went through the runs and. And then they went through whatever was next and they knocked on the window of the van and they said, you guys won the tournament. And we look at like, we did.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, yeah, that happened to us, too, for Jackson at Wheeling. And rain actually canceled the championship game. So they just said, fuck it. Both teams are champions.

[Russ Armstrong]

Well, we. We ended up actually winning. Like, okay, I think we. I think we beat out Batavia or something. And it was like, yeah. All right. Go Wells Park. Congratulations, nine. You beat your Chad. They gave us the home plate trophy thing. Every standing in the rain, the picture is like, everybody's wet. You know, they got the cheap medals on, and the kids are all like this. So know the rules, know the rules, know the rules. And apparently Mark DeRosa didn't. Mark DeRosa gave an interview before the game where he said, our ticket is punched.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. So he thought they. They punched their ticket to advance after the. The win against Mexico.

[Russ Armstrong]

Correct. And you know what he did? He. He basically gave the signal for the guys on the team to go tie one on. And they did. They went out. So the US Beats Mexico. And then after the game, some guys had a kind of a long night. And he's. Here's Mark DeRosa's quote after the win on MLB Network. We want to win this Italy game even though our tickets punch to the quarterfinals. And then he pledged. He said, we're going to get some guys off their feet. So if you noticed that was a Sunday day game after a night game lineup. That's a hangover lineup. There was to start that game. There was no Raleigh Bregman, Buxton Harper to start. And then before the Italy game, What did Mark DeRosa say? There's some guys dragging today.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep.

[Russ Armstrong]

Well, why are they dragging? Did they go out and celebrate? I think they did. And maybe you didn't know the rules. And then MLB Network took that interview down, and then they put the interview back up. Only when people noticed that they had taken it down. And now by the Streisand effect, there's more attention that's drawn to it. But to not know the situation, to not know the standings, to not know the rules, is malpractice. I can't tell you how many conversations and Maddie, whether it's been, you know, it. It's a Red Robin. It's a, it's a Buffalo Wild Wings. And there's a big screaming table and then there's the coaches table. And the coaches are going over the standings and the rules to see where are we, what do we need, what are all of our pitch counts, who do we have left and what do we need to advance?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, dude, we would have spreadsheets and we would talk about it. Even, even the parents do it. And it's just.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so you're watching on Game Changer. You're watching two teams playing. Play you don't care about to see. All right, now if this team wins by five or more, then we'll play tomorrow at eight. Now if this team loses by, you know, three or less, then we'll play at 10 o' clock tomorrow. So, so we want this team to win. So we're there at 10 and not there at 8 again.

[Russ Armstrong]

Oh my God. How about, how about the Dells for hockey where you're doing all this and there's four different rinks. One of the rinks is 45 minutes away and everybody's. You're, and you're in, you're in some like, shitty water park. And everybody's scream and, and you're, you're trying to write, okay, what time do I have to go to bed? And then somebody gets a text or is looking at, at whatever the refreshing the website of the tournament. And they say, oh, by the way, we got to get up at 6:30 tomorrow. I'm like, what do you mean we got to get up at 6:30? Well, the, the team from Waukesha lost to the team from Pittsburgh, so we weren't expecting that. And now we're playing in this game and we're like, all right, kids, everybody out of the pool. We got to go to bed.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right? Because there's, there's the main location and then there's the offset one, which is 30 minutes away. Then there's the one that's 45 minutes away.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like, all right, so you're playing at the junior high or the middle school because you guys are in the consolation bracket or the bronze bracket for this tournament. So, yeah, you guys are far away in the shitty gym with maybe one referee.

[Russ Armstrong]

Exactly. We were supposed to be at Sauk Valley or whatever it is, and now we're at the Reedsburg Rink, which sucks because it's so cold in there. You gotta go outside to warm up when it's 22 degrees outside.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah, I love it for the basketball Tournaments where they pose and it's like, all right, so if you're in the. If you're in the championship bracket, you're on the wood court. It's a beautiful wood court, bleachers. If you're not, you're playing in the. It's a multi purpose room with like the rubbery, you know, bumpy kind of floor. And there's maybe 12 folding chairs if the parents are lucky. Yep, yep.

[Russ Armstrong]

But you got to know the rules. This is. This is bad. And it'll probably end up being fine. But I was wondering, like, you know, why don't, you know, just. And also, at some point, you might want to just take the L. You know, when you get down eight nothing. Don't put those guys back in the game. Don't. Don't start going any high level.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, they're playing for American pride, Dan.

[Russ Armstrong]

But just, Just take the L. Armstrong

[Dan Bernstein]

put the team on his back.

[Russ Armstrong]

Okay. It was too late. It was too late. You're down to eight nothing at that point.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, maybe you don't give up those home runs to the White Sox.

[Russ Armstrong]

Well, although, see, John Smoltz didn't like the home runs because they're home runs. All he wants. Well, he wants those opposite field singles now.

[Dan Bernstein]

I need to find a way to get. So you can't hear him anymore. Like it's. You're going to. You're going to have a heart attack one day.

[Russ Armstrong]

Oh, my God. And last night, I'm telling. It never, ever stops. He just. He doesn't like home runs. He doesn't like pitchers who rely on strikeouts. Like everything, everything about baseball is somehow bad or wr to him. And then Pete Crow Armstrong hits his second home run and didn't say anything, nothing until he crosses the plate and he's jumping up and down. And then he just finally grudgingly goes, well, that was very impressive. Go fuck yourself,

[Dan Bernstein]

San Diego.

[Russ Armstrong]

Seriously, it's just come. I mean. Well, that was. That was very impressive. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. It's. It's just. So. Sorry. I digress. Mark Derosa better hope that Mexico wins and scores more. Was it five or more runs? So we. This, I believe this is. Let's. Let's get the rules right here.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right. So the team is wrapped up play in group B with a 3:1 record. The Americans beat Brazil. Great Britain easily over the weekend, notched 5:3:1 over Mexico on Monday, lost to Italy. Team USA does not take the field again in pool play. Mexico and Italy face off on Wednesday. That's at 6:00 clock tonight, the first and second place teams from pool B will advance. The Americans can still finish anywhere from first to third in the group. So where are the. Where are the type?

[Russ Armstrong]

I think I'm pretty sure that Team

[Dan Bernstein]

USA moves on if Italy beats Mexico or simple option or. So if Italy completes its undefeated run through the pool play, the Italians will be four. No, USA will be three and one and ahead of Mexico's two.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah, but Italy's out of pitching now.

[Dan Bernstein]

So if Italy wins, that's the easiest scenario to move forward.

[Russ Armstrong]

They're not going to win. Italy's out of pitch.

[Dan Bernstein]

If Mexico beats Italy on Wednesday, there'd be a three way tie on top of pool B. Team USA can advance if it wins a tiebreaker. So Team usa, Mexico and Italy will finish three and one overall. The tie breaks. All right, here we go. If two teams finish the same record, the team that won the head to head matchup finishes the higher seating, the three team tiebreaker. It's not that simple. Blah, blah, blah. All right, Lowest quotient of fewest runs allowed divided by the number of defensive outs recorded in games between the teams that are tied.

[Russ Armstrong]

If your brother is coming and you are getting a haircut, you move your clothes to the lower peg and you play rugby against the masters on Sunday.

[Dan Bernstein]

100%. That's what it is.

[Russ Armstrong]

Come on, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

Lowest quotient of fewest earned runs allowed

[Russ Armstrong]

divided by earned runs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Defensive outs recorded in games between the

[Russ Armstrong]

teams that are tied, that's earned runs. So I think if Mexico, if Mexico wins, three to nothing, US is out and Italy advances so they can do this together. If you think about it. So if Mexico goes up 2 or 3 to nothing and everybody just chills, then both teams in that game advance and the Americans stay home.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, here's the third tiebreaker. The third tiebreaker is highest batting average in games in that round between the teams.

[Russ Armstrong]

That's the John Smoltz rule. Batting average. All right, batting average. Now, if that's not scoring runs, it's about batting average.

[Dan Bernstein]

If that can't solve your problems, Dan, they go to the fourth tiebreaker. Yes, A drawing of lots. Not locks.

[Russ Armstrong]

I'll just say I could. I could draw locks.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, drawing of lots. So what they do like short straw in your house?

[Russ Armstrong]

I think so.

[Dan Bernstein]

So you get like the three managers. It's like the coin flip in Friday Night Lights.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yes, that's what it is. There will be a drawing of lots. That's the equivalent of somebody walking out of the office and knocking on the window. Of the van. You guys won the tournament. Sweet. All right, let's go home. We're all busy. You all have other lives.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, yeah. This could end up being disastrous. It probably won't be that Team USA lost a school.

[Russ Armstrong]

I don't think Italy's got any pitching left. That was their Super Bowl.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hey, don't. Don't count the Italians out.

[Russ Armstrong]

I mean, they're mostly. They're very American Italian, though. So I kept waiting after the win last night, so when I texted you, we're going Olive Garden.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. I thought you were being serious. I'm like, no. Why? When I was so concerned?

[Russ Armstrong]

I'm just. Because the. The American Italians, the ones with one quarter of their heritage, being Italian is

[Dan Bernstein]

like, all right, we're going to Uncle Luigi there last night after he was in town to watch the game.

[Russ Armstrong]

Uncle Waluigi is coming in, and he loves Olive Garden. Here we go. Let's get it. So that's where they're sitting. That's where Mark Derosa and is seeing the Italian. They're. All their cars are rolling up, and all the. All the kids are getting out and they're going in to eat.

[Dan Bernstein]

So here's what we're playing for right now. Italy. We need Italy to win. That's the easiest way. The simplest way for the US Team to.

[Russ Armstrong]

This is if you're rooting for the US this right.

[Dan Bernstein]

If you're rooting for the US you want Italy to win. To go four.

[Russ Armstrong]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

And win the pool. USA would be three and one. Mexico would be two and two. And then Team USA advances on the. On the backs of the Italian team because they beat Mexico. And if I know the Italians, Dan, they're playing for pride. They're playing for their nation. They're playing for the flag. They're going to go out there and do everything they can to beat Mexico.

[Russ Armstrong]

Hey, Francisco Cervelli is a real one, man. He is. I I that. That dude cares. I. That.

[Dan Bernstein]

What about your. What about your White Sox, man?

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah, they were Sam Anton.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And Teal. What's Teal's first name?

[Russ Armstrong]

Kyle Deals. Oh, I pulled my hamstring. You see that? He's running the second base. He popped his hammy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Russ Armstrong]

Of course that happens to the Sox. He's out. He's done. That's no more a Kyle Teal. He's probably headed home to find the White Sox doctors. That wasn't good. He was halfway to second base. Like, whoa, there that goes. And he flops. I thought he hit his balls on the base. Because he slid in head first, and then he was kind of like, oh, oh. And he's pounding his face. I'm like, oh, what did he do? He racked himself on the base. And then it's like, nope, there it is.

[Dan Bernstein]

What are his balls at the end of his hands?

[Russ Armstrong]

No, he slid. He slid all the way over. Okay, he slid and he finished like this. Because he didn't. He. He knew his hammy was gone, but

[Dan Bernstein]

his balls were on his fingertips. That would be weird.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah. It'd be awful for everybody involved. But that is not the case. We just know that he's out right now.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so we're rooting for team Italy. Let's go. If you want usa, if you want

[Russ Armstrong]

the USA to advance.

[Dan Bernstein]

If you don't, then you're pulling for Mexico.

[Russ Armstrong]

But not to score too much, Right. Like, Mexico can't score five. You need, like, a nothing win. Four to three. I think anything under five, okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

But. Yeah, but it's. That's a bad look for your manager. That's not good.

[Russ Armstrong]

It doesn't. Right at this point, it's like, hey, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

But luckily, it's just an exhibition.

[Russ Armstrong]

Okay, but let me ask you this. What. How. How does he. How isn't there somebody involved who's not looking at the rules? It's one thing to blame Derosa, and ultimately the buck stops with him. He's. He's the manager.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I'll tell you how it happens. They were just looking past him. Italy.

[Russ Armstrong]

But how do you not. How do you not understand what the rules are? Like, if that. Somebody in your organization. We're gonna go. Somebody. Someone assigned. When you start his Team USA entering the World Baseball Classic, you don't have anybody in your entire group, anybody on payroll, you can say, hey, Mark, got a solution?

[Dan Bernstein]

When's this? Every two or three years. When's this? The World Baseball Classic? Two or three, four, whatever it is. Four, six. Here's what they need to do, and I got the perfect mom for it. You need a team mom.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I say if. If it's Pete Crow, Armstrong's mom, next time around.

[Russ Armstrong]

Ashley Crow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Russ Armstrong]

Will be the team mom.

[Dan Bernstein]

I nominate her to be team mom. So she'd bring, like, the orange slices, the juice boxes, the applesauce, squeeze seeds. The seeds. Unless you can't have seeds.

[Russ Armstrong]

Oh. Because. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe that field says no. No seeds.

[Russ Armstrong]

No. There'll be no bigly chew in the dugouts.

[Dan Bernstein]

No bubble gum, no seeds.

[Russ Armstrong]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

So, yeah, you need. You need a team mom. That goes over the rules and tells the rules. That goes and then tells the dads, in this case the coaches. I think we need to win this

[Russ Armstrong]

game by this volunteer mom.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, volunteer mom, right?

[Russ Armstrong]

Volunteer team manager, Team mom. That is a great call. That's what Team USA needs right now because that is a bad look. And you send them all out there, drink and tell them you're going to give them the day off the next day because your ticket is punched. Ticket not punched.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because there's every, there's like every team has a mom that monitors Game Changer and watches everything.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

And yeah, for my stepson's teams, it's, it's my wife. My, my wife is watching Game changer and has got down different scenarios. This team wins here. So that's what, that's what Team USA needs, is a good team mom.

[Russ Armstrong]

All right. It is. It is time for you to look at your windows. And it's time for you to say, are these good enough? Are these doing everything that I need my windows to do? And you say, well, what do you need windows to do? Well, you need them to keep the temperature of the house inside the house and the temperature outside the house outside the house. You also want them to really look nice and be low maintenance. And that's why you got to call Russ Armstrong of Chicago Window Guys because he will make sure you have all of those things with your brand new windows at the best possible price. His number is 847-302-9171. And you can read his five star reviews at ChicagoNowGuys.com and go ahead and get quotes and you'll hear about all these ridiculous sales that sound too good to be true about buy one, get one free and buy two, get one or whatever it is when it comes to windows, they're all gimmicks. And Russ not only will match any price, he'll explain what prices are real and what these teasers are that aren't exactly real. And then what he's going to give you is the real deal for the real windows locally made here at his factory in Chicago. He will custom make them for your house like he did for mine. And there's no subcontracted labor. There aren't just randos that, that he picks up that come over and install the windows. These are all his crews. He knows everybody who's going to be in and around your house. And when you're getting quotes, ask those other places who's installing my windows. They won't know like Russ does because they use third parties to do all that stuff. And when it's Russ's people, you know everything's going to be done right the first time. So call 847-302-9171 and check out the five star reviews at ChicagoNowGuys.com on today's episode of Stop doing this.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Russ Armstrong]

Attention Chicago Bulls. You have one job lose games. There is no excuse for modest Bouz Ellis and Josh Giddey to be playing 45 minutes and 43 minutes respectively in an overtime win at Golden State. What are you doing? What are you doing? Put other people in the game. Rob Dillingham only played 20 minutes. He could play a lot more. Nick Richards only played 28 minutes. He can play a lot more. Put the players in the game late who aren't as good. You can't win these games. If you go to the standings at Tankathon, you will see that you gotta catch Memphis. And you can catch Memphis, but not if you keep doing this. Your chance at a top four pick goes up 6%. You want to pick nine again? You, you want to pick, you want to pick, you know, Jack ball sack from georgetown with at 9 or whoever, it's going to be of some schmuck at nine. No, you want one of the real difference maker player guys. And if you don't, fine. But you have to do everything in your power to have a shot at those guys. Once you made the moves that you made in the deadline, commit to it. This makes no sense. This makes no sense. I thought when Colin Sexton came out of the game the other night with that contusion on his knee that they were finally doing something right. It was an actual contusion. It was just dumb luck that they made the right move. Figure this out, streamline it, talk to each other.

[Dan Bernstein]

Are they trying to figure out what guys can stay and move forward and

[Russ Armstrong]

no, none of these. All these guys suck. And meanwhile, meanwhile, Rob Dillingham is hurt. That we're only finding that out now thanks to what I'm reading here for Julia Poe, by the way, has been killing it on the Bulls beat.

[Dan Bernstein]

So he was hurt coming to the Bulls.

[Russ Armstrong]

Well, that's what happens. Yes. He has a cyst on his shooting wrist.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, okay.

[Russ Armstrong]

And this is according to Julia Poe with the Tribune, this was hiding in plain sight. The growth is visible that he's got. And he has a pair of ganglion cysts in his shooting wrist and it's apparently inhibiting his range of motion and, or his feel. And this is why his shooting is so bad. He's been bricking things. He leaves things a foot short or it hits the side of the backboard. And keep playing him, first of all, because here you've got this. This is a golden opportunity. And he says that it's fine. Billy Donovan said it's nothing majorly serious, but he has some wrist issues that are going to need to get resolved in the off season. He doesn't feel right all the time shooting the basketball. It's something he's battling and dealing with. And again, that you should have known before you traded for him. It's three now. Jaden Ivey's probably done. Anthony Simons had a fractured wrist. And now Rob Dillingham has these harmless ganglion cysts in his wrist that have to be fixed. That. That. That have to be. And now you're. What are you learning from him now when he says, well, I can't really shoot? You're not getting. So the whole idea of getting a good look at these guys is negated. That was the entire point. You get a free look at some of these, these wild cards, some of these, like, secondary draft guys who are still in their rookie contracts. You know, one guy broke his wrist, the other guy has. Is on one leg. And then this guy's got. Got growths in his shooting wrist. What the hell are they doing? What's going on over there? For a team that already league wide has a bad medical reputation. And I keep getting back to that. It was like this before any of this, that people around the league is like, yeah, you know, the Bulls, the players talk about it. It hurts you. It's a bad look, stop doing that too. Another addiction of stop doing this. Stop not knowing the guys you traded for are hurt. And look, I had a ganglion cyst. It was right here. And now it's gone. They disappear on their own. They're completely harmless. And sometimes they're just there and they're gone. And I had it for like five years and then it. And I didn't even think about it. And when I saw anything do it,

[Dan Bernstein]

you didn't have any. Okay. Because it's just all it is. It's not a bad thing. It's not. I mean, you don't want it, but it's just a fluid.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Filled like blump. Right.

[Russ Armstrong]

Bump. Yeah. Yeah. And that's all.

[Dan Bernstein]

You didn't have that. You don't have that removed the fluid drain or anything?

[Russ Armstrong]

No, it just disappeared.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Russ Armstrong]

It's just gone. I didn't even.

[Dan Bernstein]

I thought you had to.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yeah, I didn't even really know. And I could only really see it when I would flex my. My wrist or extend it, I guess. And it was like, oh. And I looked at it today. I'm like, oh, yeah, I used to have one there and now it's not there anymore. And I hadn't really thought about it, but it didn't. It didn't impact me. It wasn't where my watch sits. It can impact you if it is near a nerve, if it's near a muscle, if it. If it does interfere with something that. With what you would interfere with his shot. That's what he does for a living. He shoots a basketball for a lizard's job, and he's got two of them that are interfering with it. It's probably nothing, but. How did you not know? Oh, it just. We're going to do a lot more today on organizations, win championships about what's going on with this Bulls team. And there's a lot to be said about it. And it's. It's too bad that they find themselves in this situation if you're one of the people still hanging on and still following what the team is doing. But I don't get it. And I hope they can figure out what they want to be and why. But you got to lose more games, man. Otherwise you don't understand why you did what you did, and you're the one who did it. Whenever the stakes are high, My Bookie is where you turn bets into bankroll. There's always a big matchup on the schedule and everyone's watching. We all have our takes, and regardless of the sport, the props are just as much fun as the final score. And that's why My Bookie is for you. If you like prop bets, and you know that I do, because the My Bookie prop board is deep and fun to play. And, man, once these tournament games start, you talk about a menu. It's player performances, game milestones, everything in between, whatever action you like to make things interesting or exciting. Get in now, get registered and make your deposit at MyBookie AG with the code DBU. This is one account, one wallet, all living at MyBookie AG. And everything you want to bet. You like parlays, you like moneylines, you like spreads. You can do everything you want to do casino games at halftime or between games. Everything is at MyBookie AG. And with the code DBU, your first bet is covered up to 500 bucks. And then if it doesn't hit, you've got a bet. Back bonus token. And you run it back. So you're not just watching the action at that point. You are making it pay with the code DBU at my bookie.

[Dan Bernstein]

Can I. Can I share one thing with you before we get into our final thing? So this was. This came to us via email from our guy Russell. Not Russ Armstrong, but different Russ. There's a new report out from Wallet Hub and it's. It lists the happiest cities in America. Mm. And here's the criteria for it. It's based on three things. Emotional and physical well being, income and employment and community and environment. So these are the happiest cities in America. WalletHub.com those three parameters. Here's the top 10 for you. Fremont, California, Bismarck, North Dakota, Scottsdale, Arizona, South Burlington, Vermont, Fargo, North Dakota, Overland Park, Kansas, Charleston, South Carolina, Irvine, California. Gilbert, Arizona, and San Jose, California. You have to scroll down to number 35 to find a city in Illinois. And that city is Aurora. And he emailed this to us because he said, did you see where Chicago ranked? So I was scrolling down. Okay, and I scroll down too far.

[Russ Armstrong]

How do they. What are the metrics they use to decide happiness?

[Dan Bernstein]

So again, emotional and physical well being, income and employment and community and environment. Those are. Those are the three areas that they rank. So they give each city an individual rank on those three things.

[Russ Armstrong]

All right?

[Dan Bernstein]

And then they, they aggregate those three and they rank them. So I scrolled down and I shot way past Chicago. I had to scroll back up to find it. Any idea where Chicago would land on this list?

[Russ Armstrong]

None. Because there's, There's. So for every list that comes out, there's another one that's upside down. Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I'm, I'm gonna, I'm gonna push you on this to make a guess. Could you guess where the city of Chicago. Why? Our listeners sent this to us. Why someone in our community would send this to us.

[Russ Armstrong]

Okay. How many total cities are there listed?

[Dan Bernstein]

They rank one through 182.

[Russ Armstrong]

All right, they're 178.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, think about it. Think about us, our listeners. Where does Chicago rank? Pick a number.

[Russ Armstrong]

I'm just trying to think what he's trying to prove. I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

83. Oh, that's where Chicago ranks well.

[Russ Armstrong]

And that was. Those were all the bam out of bio. Local. The memes that if you know, you know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Russ Armstrong]

Seeing bam out of bio, holding up the piece of paper that says 83. And meanwhile, our guy, Chicago's own Lawrence Tanter, who is the voice of the. Of the arena for the Lakers. Stable center.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah, I heard that he's the

[Russ Armstrong]

guy who talks like this.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Yeah.

[Russ Armstrong]

Chicago guy. Great dude. He and Terry were buddies. And when. When he had his. Here's a melancholy footnote.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Russ Armstrong]

And he announced it as a melancholy footnote that Bam Adebayo had passed Kobe Bryant's 81 as the most verifiable points ever scored in a game and what a lot of people believe are the most actual points ever scored in a game. Because there are. There are people out there say, yeah, the Chamberlain thing was kind of BS because no one really saw it. And everybody knew that he was. He was going for 100, and every kind of let him go for 100. Just like the Wizards kind of didn't really guard anybody. But hey, man, that's how it happens. That's how you get nights like that. When teams decide not to play defense, they're all like that. So congratulations to Bam Adebayo for also finding that milestone of 83.

[Dan Bernstein]

So Chicago ranks the 83rd happiest city.

[Russ Armstrong]

83 in the country. Yes. Well done. I'm Russ. So last night, as all the weather is going crazy, I never really watch local news.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, when you texted me, I thought the world was ending. I got nervous.

[Russ Armstrong]

I turned to the basketball.

[Dan Bernstein]

It wasn't a usual text.

[Russ Armstrong]

No, I was watching. This is part of what I'm. So I'm watching the Celtics and the spurs getting ready for the game to come on, and there is an out of breath Brent Miller pointing and gesticulating madly in all directions. And then he brings it back to his little assistant, and he's talking and talking and talking. I'm like, you know, you got somebody. Somebody there who was doing a perfectly good job. And so then Brown's like, oh, yes. Well, what do you think? And he. There was a lot of information. It's a difficult night. But he. And they did. I thought they did a very good job keeping everybody up to speed on where some of those downstate tornadoes were going. And at one point, he was warning everybody to. First he said, go down the basement. Go to your safe place. And then he was telling everybody flooding was coming. And he said, well, if they go to your basement and get your valuables, your family, your priceless family heirlooms and elevate them off the floor and put them on tops of shelves because of the imminent flooding. And then I thought, wait a second. Did you tell us to go down the basement? So how can we. You told us to all go down the basement. You're gonna drown everybody. Because if. Now the order is, get all of your priceless heirlooms up off the floor of the basement. What about your toddlers? You just say, everybody's down there now. What if you got. Oh, okay, well, here's. Here's grandma's first stole. Where's Braden? Oh, I guess he's. I guess he's gone. I don't know what happened. So.

[Dan Bernstein]

But that was for. That was for the flooding areas. But the hurricane, the tornado areas. It was getting the basement, but flooding. Stay out of the basement.

[Russ Armstrong]

I just thought, what if it's the same area?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, well, yeah, that'd be bad.

[Russ Armstrong]

That's what I mean. Like, at the first I said, go down the basement. Oh, wait, get out of the basement. And I'm saying, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, I'm there. Where am I going? And then it's like, put your bike helmet on. It was official.

[Dan Bernstein]

He really said that.

[Russ Armstrong]

We have graduated. Right when I told you to put it on is when he said it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Russ Armstrong]

Get the spot. Get the timestamp of my text. And he looked earnestly in the camera and said, if you have a bike helmet, put your bike helmet on. No, I don't have a bike helmet. I've got a football helmet. I've got an actual good football helmet. I could have put that thing on and look like a damn Mike Singletary eyes going, where's the storm?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Russ Armstrong]

So you could have put a football

[Dan Bernstein]

helmet on and then just, like, sat in the middle of your staircase because you couldn't be upstairs and you shouldn't be downstairs.

[Russ Armstrong]

I've got that. I've got baseball helmets. I've got every helmet but a bike helmet. So I could have multiple helmets on. But if it's. So put that. And then I'm not.

[Dan Bernstein]

We've gone from books to bike helmets now we've graduated.

[Russ Armstrong]

Yes. We're up. It's not. Put a book on your head. Maybe put the book on top of the bike helmet. Right. You could do that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or maybe because Brandt seems like a reader, so maybe he wants you to read the book with the bike helmet on while you're sitting in the middle of the staircase because you can't go up and you can't go down.

[Russ Armstrong]

Right. You're kind of halfway down the stairs in case. But then the floodwater comes and. And you've got to get, I don't know, the picture of grandpa with somebody. That is a priceless family heirloom.

[Dan Bernstein]

Then why is it in the basement.

[Russ Armstrong]

Right, Right. Get that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Priceless.

[Russ Armstrong]

Get it in a safe deposit box and get it out of your stupid basement.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or display it somewhere where the family lives.

[Russ Armstrong]

I. I don't. I. I don't know. On my. On my Ofrenta. Wait, I don't.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, and by the way, that, that, that. That other person that was with Brett Miller is Aisha Scott.

[Russ Armstrong]

Also, she was doing great. Meteorologist. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Aisha Scott was handling everything just fine. And I, and I kind of was saying, like, you know, can you go back to her?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Why was he. So I text you, like, why is

[Russ Armstrong]

he out of breath?

[Dan Bernstein]

Why was he like, was he running up and down stairs?

[Russ Armstrong]

Everything was. I don't know. Everything was happening.

[Dan Bernstein]

Was he on a treadmill that we just.

[Russ Armstrong]

I don't know. He's running like Mitch making a phone call. But. Yeah, but the. Go back to Aisha Scott, who had it all nailed down. And it was calm and it wasn't alarmist. It was just giving the information and then at least she was willing to say, hey, is this weird that it's March 10th and this is happening? It's winter. It's winter still.

[Dan Bernstein]

And this is. And then he got into it, though. Yeah.

[Russ Armstrong]

And he's like, well, yeah, I don't know. Like. Well, yeah, obviously that's the big story here is. Is things just aren't right. This is not supposed to happen in Illinois. We're not supposed to have massive wedge shaped. What are they saying? Potential F3 or F4. Okay. But lastly, this is the only thing I was really unhappy about. Okay. He's got his producer in his ear, whoever it is, Johnny or Jimbo or Jingus or whatever it was, and he said, my producer is telling. Wait, what is this? There's a chemical leak at the Byron Nuclear plant.

[Dan Bernstein]

So that's. When you, that's what you first text me about that. I thought that there was like a, like some kind of like radioactive cloud floating through Illinois.

[Russ Armstrong]

Well, there was bad. It was hydrazine gas that apparently 10 people were hospitalized who worked there. It's. It's a gas that they use to take oxygen out of the cooling water or something. It is a. It's something that is used at nuclear plants.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Russ Armstrong]

As part. It was not radioactive, but.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it's not. Yes, it was not nuclear stuff, but some chemical.

[Russ Armstrong]

When you break it, when you say, I'm being told that there's been a leak at the nuclear plant nearby, and then you don't get back to it, and I'm saying, well, what. What's going on with the leak of the nuclear plant? I know it's raining in Kankakee. I understand that, but how's that. How's that leak at the nuclear plant going, folks? Can you tell me a little more about that? That would be nice if we're all going to be zombies or something.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. So that's when you texted me for. That's when I turned it on.

[Russ Armstrong]

And they didn't say anything about it.

[Dan Bernstein]

They never went to it.

[Russ Armstrong]

So he told me to put a bike helmet on my head. Is a bike helmet on my head going to protect me from whatever is leaking out of the nuclear facility?

[Dan Bernstein]

So I googled it just to make sure that there wasn't like something like a Chernobyl type situation.

[Russ Armstrong]

No, but it happened. No, it was. It was. It was in Byron. If you look like all of the Rockford stations were reporting on it. Yeah. W R E X wifr. I'm looking at it and they're all reporting on what's going on there. And I'm like. I'm looking at the map and I'm just waiting for this blip on the map. Like a Godzilla. Well, we have a supercell storm that is right over Kankakee. Oh, I think. Yeah, that's Godzilla. Godzilla's coming. So be halfway to your basement with a bike helmet on because Godzilla is coming. Because there was a problem at the nuclear plant. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I texted Rockford Joe to make sure that he was good and he said that the chemical leak not impacting the imitation crab so everything was fine at the salad bar.

[Russ Armstrong]

Oh, no, he's immune. He's eaten enough of it that he's completely immune to radioactivity. Now he also that Rockford Joe, you know, because he has a holster with a gun on either side now.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, he has to.

[Russ Armstrong]

Oh yeah. He's protecting himself from his. He's got spurs on his boots.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Russ Armstrong]

And he's got the old fashioned six shooters. He's got these Colt 45s down here. Here. And not the good kind either. Like. Like Edward forty hands. I mean like the actual ones.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Russ Armstrong]

And he can just. He can. He can shoot the tornado. So I think that's what will.

[Dan Bernstein]

But that's what they should do though. If the NBA is going to stay on NBC, you should do a live split screen of just like live weather reports with the game.

[Russ Armstrong]

They eventually did that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Every game should be like that. I want Brant Miller giving live weather updates during every NBA game. But. But I want him on a treadmill out of breath with a bike helmet

[Russ Armstrong]

on, wearing a bike helmet just in case. And then if there is a horrible mishap at the local nuclear plant, don't even bother updating us. Don't worry about it. Let's, let's check the scoreboard first. I mean, come on, man. All right, we have a lot to do on Forward Progress today because the Bears got a bunch of other guys that we didn't even address. So join us at Forward Progress, but that is Dan Bernstein, Unfiltered, and it has been brought to you by our friends at the Chicago Window guys, Russ Armstrong, 847-302-9171 and in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein, unfiltered. Unfiltered. On 312 Sports Safeway and Albertsons have made saving easier than ever with great savings on family favorites this week at Safeway and Albertsons. USDA Choice beef, boneless, tri tip, whole or flank and style ribs bone in are $6.99 per pound member price and asparagus or $1.99 per pound member member price plus 16 ounce strawberries, 6 ounce raspberries or blackberries are 197 each. Limit 3 member price with digital coupon. Hurry in. These deals won't last. Visit safewayoralbertsons.com for more deals and ways to save.