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Dan Bernstein
What's your Mount Rushmore podcast? This episode, Our favorite cocktails. It would have never occurred to me prior to the Big Lebowski to say, can I get a White Russian? After watching that movie, I think I even said to Susan, I'm like, I want to have a White Russian now. So out of context to turn to your wife and say that once you know what? I want a White Russian. Yes. What did I do?
Co-host or Guest
Mail order bride. Get on the Internet and find one.
Dan Bernstein
What's your Mount Rushmore? I don't know. Listen wherever you get podcasts. Dan Bernstein Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports. It's Dan Bernstein Unfiltered on 312 Sports. And we are brought to you in partnership by my bookie. Well, happy primary day in some places. And by the way, if you haven't seen where your particular voting spot is for early voting for you, we're now two weeks away from, from the Illinois primary. So just make a plan there just as a public service announcement. Realize that it is indeed that we basically, if you're like, I am. All you're doing right now is going through your mail and finding all these expensively produced cardboard glossy flyers and realizing first you open your mailbox and you go, holy shit, we got a lot of mail. And then you look at it, you're like, oh, it's all of these things. My opponent said this. My opponent said this. This person's evil. This person's evil. They're all evil. Everyone. Don't vote for the evil. And then you throw them all out and you bring them inside just so you can throw them in the recycling. So that's if you. But still make plans for two weeks from today, if you haven't already. Did you notice that it, it took a little while and it's still taking time. But after all of the, the Bears Stadium Indiana silliness was started after, after Kevin Warren, the Pied Piper of Hamelin, found his, the willing people as he, as he tootles away and all of the little followers sort of marching in behind him. Where are we going now? Where are you leading us, Kevin? Where are we going? What should we do? And he said, oh, look at this. Look. What's Indiana? Look at, we're going, we're coming here. Everyone tell everyone tell, tell the world that the Bears now are walking across the border to Indiana. Of course it's, it's, it's all bullshit. But as he's doing this and all the Indiana Paul's race For the cameras like moths. And they. They start to say, oh, this will be. We're gonna move quickly. We're gonna bring everybody here. That there is a very small, I believe, but very vocal group of Hoosiers who are daring to ask questions. Questions like, this. Is this my money? Is my life gonna get more expensive for something I don't really want? And I'm never, ever going to use. Quiet you. All of these questions, these kinds of questions, like, uh, yeah, I'm not a big football fan and I don't really go to Bears games, and why are my groceries going to. Going to be taxed more?
Co-host or Guest
Yeah, it took a little longer than I. And not. Not that it needed to, for me to feel good, but at least I feel better about some people in Indiana now.
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Co-host or Guest
That there are some people that don't want this to happen because it's going to make their life more expensive.
Dan Bernstein
They said, wait a second here. And not only is going to make it more expensive, it's for something called the Chicago Bears that will continue to be the Chicago Bears. And as maybe some people are actually getting around to reading the text of some of this stuff and, you know, the facts and the information part of it, that there are some people, a dwindling number, but there are some people who are actually going to, you know, read and process the information that's in there. And people are saying, well, Chicago is still going to reap all the benefits of this, and they're going to stay in the hotels in Chicago and go to the restaurants in Chicago and. Wait a second here. And wait. Most of the money is going to end up in the pockets of the McCaskeys. Really. And we're ceding all this control over this, that I'm going to build it for them.
Co-host or Guest
Yes, we know the story that the Bears are going to put 2 billion towards the stadium. The state of Indiana says they'll put 1 billion through taxing their residents in these various counties. A 1% food and beverage tax.
Dan Bernstein
And now the. Now finally, after a week and a half or longer, the actual residents whose money it's going to be are actually saying,
Co-host or Guest
wait, hold on a second here.
Dan Bernstein
Hold on. Whoa, wait a second. We didn't sign up for this. And I. It's. I think it's a vocal minority right now, but there are already two official groups that have been put together to try to ask some of these questions and at least ask for representation. There's Hoosiers for Responsible Taxation that is just saying no blank checks for stadium deals. No hard earned tax dollars for billionaires. And they added no attacks on Indiana freedoms. I don't know what that is. I don't know who in this is attacking your freedoms, who doing that? Who, who, who attacking those freedoms. We can't have any of that. You must be completely free to do whatever you want, regardless of its effect on anyone else, because that's what freedom is. But they do say that. Wait, no hard earned tax dollars for billionaires. It's an interesting case to be made in the rock ribbed state of Indiana, the town of Rock Ridge.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah. So they're looking at a 1% food and beverage tax, a 5% hotel tax and a 12% admissions tax. So ticketed events, special events going on.
Dan Bernstein
All right.
Co-host or Guest
Tax an additional 12%.
Dan Bernstein
Let's start with a 1% food and beverage tax in Lake and Porter counties. Okay, maybe, I mean, that's over time. Do that math. Over time. Do the math per year of what that's going to add up as people look at their grocery bills. Our grocery bills, Our skyrocketing grocery bills.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah, our grocery bills are more expensive now as, as it, as it sits. And then you're going to add another additional tax to it, to people. And you're, I mean, I'm just assuming in this area you're looking at more, I don't know, blue collar type work. I mean, I don't, I don't think you're, you're looking at, you know, master's degrees and above. Well, I'm sure, I'm sure there are. No, I'm just saying I would think this is more of a rural type, blue collar type work where even a small increase in what you're paying in taxes is not going to be, is going to be felt in a fashion.
Dan Bernstein
And remember too that there are a lot of Chicagoans, you can call them people who, who are from Chicago and work in Chicago, who moved to Indiana. And if you know any of these people, you know what, they're constantly talking about how low their taxes are. Well, why did, why did you move out of Illinois? Well, I don't want my taxes going all of you, because you know all the subtext of that about where your tax dollars are to going, going, and we, you know, we don't have to rehash all that. But you, you know where that all comes from in large part. And that now we're saying, okay, well, here's the thing. Things still cost money and there's no free lunch. There's never a free lunch. If, if you Want something, you're gonna pay for it. And politicians don't wanna spend their money, they're gonna spend your money, they're gonna spend your money to enrich billionaires. It's just taken some time for certain people in certain places to wake up to this. So a 1% food and beverage tax in the most populated counties of Lake and Porter, where there are a lot of people who live and work in Chicago and have family Chicago who are, who consider themselves Chicagoans who live in Lake and porter counties. A 5% tax increase on hotel rooms in Lake county. And that is anytime you see a hotel tax increase, people will say, well that's, that's paid for by outsiders, it's not paid for by residents. For the most part it's probably true, with the exception of people that might be coming in for a game or coming in from elsewhere in the state or just saying, hey, we're gonna do a staycation, we're gonna stay, we don't wanna. By the time we pay for parking, et cetera, it's gonna be worth it, let's just get a hotel room and make a weekend of it kind of thing. So there is some pain that is felt by locals. Now. The one that really is, that jumps out to me. And this is part of the other group that has been organized for it and this is the admissions tax. And the other group is Americans for Prosperity in Indiana, which is a libertarian group. Americans for Prosperity. We have the two groups here that we've talked about, Hoosiers for Responsible Taxation, Americans for Prosperity in Indiana. They were initially neutral and now their legislative director, according to the Tribune here, said the organization is officially against the measure. They have sent out a letter to state senators that says it exposes taxpayers to massive financial risk while delivering little public benefit. Hmm, interesting. Right? Someone, someone looked something up. Decades of economic research show stadium subsidies fail to generate net growth. Ah, someone's reading J.C. bradbury's pieces and somebody's actually looking at what has been studied about what actually happens. This proposal repeats the same mistakes, granting broad powers, open ended liabilities and special treatment for private sports franchises at a taxpayer expense. We welcome the Bears and private investment, but it should not be on the back of state and local taxpayers. Well, it's going to be now. I can't say this enough. The Bears are not going there, correct? They're not, no. Because of all of the number of hurdles that would still remain to even getting a shovel in the ground in a toxic swamp. That's not going to happen. This was all an ill conceived, ill timed, thinly veiled bluff that was overplayed brutally by Kevin Warren. This was completely overcooked and didn't fool anybody. Well, it didn't. I mean fooled some people.
Co-host or Guest
Fooled some people. In that same article too there they also they spoke with Chuck Pullen, radio personality there wjob and he talks about the people in that area. A lot of blue collar people in the area are struggling to get by. They're asking where's our local and state government to help us and why do the bears get special treatment? Very fair questions. Very fair questions of why do billionaires get the benefit while people in our own state, our own people in Indiana are struggling to get by and yet we're going to tax them to make everyday living more expensive. You talked about that 12% admissions tax.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. I'm curious what an admissions tax is because that's a 12%. A big number.
Co-host or Guest
It is a big number, but so that would, that would go towards like ticketed events. Like say for example, I looked up some, a list here of items in Lake county, the Lake County Fair, for example, you know, and I mean we're all familiar with local, you know, we go to the Lake County Fair here in Illinois and it's a fun event and food and food trucks and bands and all kinds of activities for families. A ticket for that is probably around 8 to $10. So you're thinking, oh well that's, that's not a whole lot. But again there's more increase that everyday people have to pay for the bears to benefit. Lake County Fair in Indiana. The Pierogi Fest, another event, Dan, that would be ticketed and would would be increased ticket prices.
Dan Bernstein
The, the Pierogi Fest and the county fair would, would be. The price is going to go up and that money would be going to the bears.
Co-host or Guest
To the bears. There's also the Festival of the Lakes which is like a big music fest. This is an interesting one, the Gary Air Show. So I'm assuming it's like Gary, Indiana and airplanes or it's a guy named Gary who does things in the air.
Dan Bernstein
Like the Gary has its own airplanes.
Co-host or Guest
I guess. So the Gary Air show, very popular. The Cedar Lake Summerfest. Here's there's certain events at the Buckley homestead. Here's one, Dan, the Maple Syrup Time event which talks about the process of tapping trees and making. Now you're going to pay more money for that people in Indiana and that extra money will go towards the bears. There's the Voyager Rendezvous. Oh, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Another ticketed event that the people in Indiana will pay more money for to help benefit the bears. But the pierogi fest, I want to actually go to that all about, like, there's. It's all a polish fest on obviously savory and sweet pierogies and then kielbasa and different sausages. It sounds like a fun event.
Dan Bernstein
Gary. The Gary air show is scheduled for August 22nd and 23rd, 2026.
Co-host or Guest
And so it's like a regular air show.
Dan Bernstein
Right.
Co-host or Guest
Not like a guy named Gary who does things in the air.
Dan Bernstein
As far as I can tell, it's at Marquette Park. Aerial acts performing on the south shore of Lake Michigan in $40 per day of parking. So it's free to attend, but they make their money on the parking fees. Okay, so my guess is this is where they would get you.
Co-host or Guest
Yep.
Dan Bernstein
Because that's how they make their money. $60 for the weekend, $40 for the day. So if that goes up 12%, it's $4. A little, you know, $4. And then. Yeah, so that you might as well just send that out to the bears right now.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah. So that's what the 12% admission tax is. And again, the 5% hotel tax and then 1% food and beverage tax.
Dan Bernstein
Well, they've made a name for themselves trying to lure people from Illinois with their low taxes. And then they can say, oh, wait, a billionaire wants money. Well, people's taxes are going to go up. It just. It's amazing how long it takes for certain things to soak in. And it's that whole thing about the Simpsons did it first. I always think of the Simpsons episode when there's a bear. Remember that big grizzly bear in the middle of Springfield, and everybody's being terrorized by the bear. So they ask. People are saying, well, where is our government? Where is it? Where. Where are the people in charge? Get rid of the bear, do your jobs, government. And they. They get like a helicopter or whatever. They need to go get the bear and take the bear away. And then people notice when the tax bill comes out that there's a line item that says bear removal tax. And people say, what are you talking about? It's like the scene in ghostbusters where Dan Aykroyd is walking out of the hotel ballroom with the slimer, and he's like, well, we can just put him back.
Co-host or Guest
Right?
Dan Bernstein
You know, it's like, things cost money. They do things. Things cost money. And if it's a government, they're going to ask for more of your money because that's how it works.
Co-host or Guest
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
And it takes a. Wait, hold on a second here. You mean they didn't make this up out of whole cloth and throw it at the bear? The good news is it's all a bluff, that it's all smoke and mirrors. And it was only there because Kevin Warren ran out of leverage.
Co-host or Guest
Yep. So he didn't really have much when he got here.
Dan Bernstein
So, no, he's never really had any, and he still doesn't. And they're trying to do this just by kind of asking Illinois to help him out a little bit. And Illinois said, okay. Yeah, there are things that can do both that can benefit the taxpayers and benefit you. And why don't you see how much money you can kind of put into this? And maybe if you have a little more skin in the game, you'll be able to make a little more of it back.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah, because Kevin Warren, you know, he used any leverage he could find. All right, we're going to move to Indiana. And then he comes to find out that, oh, George Hallis wanted to move the Bears to Arlington heights back in 1975. Kevin Warren says, oh, that would have been helpful information to know. Oh, you already purchased the land before I got here.
Dan Bernstein
This is great.
Co-host or Guest
Now what do I do?
Dan Bernstein
Well, and I also laugh about the fact that I don't know if Kevin Warren knew that in 1995, Michael McCaskey tried to pull the same stupid stunt or on similar land. The Gary Planet park boondoggle. Yes. And they had mockups and everything and cardboard models, and they brought it all out there. And I hope Kevin Warren knew that. Some of us actually remember that.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah, I'm not. I'm not sure if he was made aware of what took place.
Dan Bernstein
All you need is a computer. All you need is your phone, and you can look it up. And you can look up the Gary Bears and everything that was going on in the midnight. Oh, this is real. Same thing. Oh, this is. This is like.
Co-host or Guest
It should have been really easy, Dan. It should have been. The Bears purchased the land. All right, we need to find a guy who's going to help us build a stadium. Kevin Warren has experience. No one else wants him. We'll bring him in. Hey, Kevin, we bought the land. We want the stadium here. George wanted the stadium there, you know, 40, 50 years ago. So go make that happen. All right, let's, you know, let's start the meetings. Let's start the process. Let's sit down and talk. How are we going to do this? Where we need to Put up our own money. But we also need to have some kind of assurances on tax. Let's figure this out. Oh no, no, no, let's. We're going to stay in the city because this is a beautiful skyline and we want to keep it in the city. Oh no, we're going to move to Indiana. Oh no. Iowa's interested. Oh, we're going to float a stadium out in the middle of Lake Michigan. Dude, come on.
Dan Bernstein
Like literally float. Not just float the idea.
Co-host or Guest
No, literally float a stadium in Lake Michigan and have people go on boats and then sink and they'll die on, bro.
Dan Bernstein
The move to Arlington Heights in 75 that we talked about, that was MSG Corporation doing a feasibility study of a sports stadium near Arlington International Racecourse. The Bears had plans to build a publicly funded 80,000 seat stadium and sign a 35 year lease to use it. But city voters did not approve the funding. How about that? After they planned to move the White Sox to the Village as well. And that fell through. Now in 1990, Michael McCaskey said the Bears have not ruled out the Arlington Heights project. That was in 1990. Yeah, think about that. And that was before all of the silliness about Planet Park. Right.
Co-host or Guest
I mean this has been in the works for 49 years. And at that time in 75, Richard M. Daly, who was senior, was he Richard M. Richard. Richard J.
Dan Bernstein
Was junior.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah, so, so. And he, and he told, you know, Hallis said, hey, if you're moving the team all the way to Arlington Heights, guess what? You're not taking the name Chicago Bears with you.
Dan Bernstein
That's not happening.
Co-host or Guest
You're not going to be the Chicago Bears in Arlington Heights.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I'm not sure you can do that.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah, I'm not sure either. But it made for a fun story.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I didn't know he, he owned the name.
Co-host or Guest
He's not taking Chicago with him. Not if he moves all the way there to Arlington Heights.
Dan Bernstein
No, you can't do it. And that's because it was. Remember Arlington Heights was back then it was all cornfields. Like there was nothing. There wasn't anything to it there.
Co-host or Guest
Right.
Dan Bernstein
There was not anything there. And it was also in 1990 when Michael McCaskey said that they still could build in Waukegan. You know, he was keeping absolutely everything open for the longest period of time. And it kept going and kept going and kept going and kept going. So it was the Northwest Indiana Chicagoland entertainment company that tried that proposed a 205,075,000 seat open air stadium as part of a half a billion dollar redevelopment project west of the Gary regional airport called Planet Park. The moment they rolled that thing out, it was dead.
Co-host or Guest
It was hilarious.
Dan Bernstein
I mean, trust me, I was standing there. It was one of the first stories I covered there on Washington street. And they walked in, ladies and gentlemen, Planet Park. And they carried on a board a cardboard and Q tip mockup.
Co-host or Guest
Oh, boy.
Dan Bernstein
And set it down on a table.
Co-host or Guest
You were on Washington street?
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I was there in old Alice hall.
Co-host or Guest
And then Ditka walked out and punched you in the face.
Dan Bernstein
I know. We were talking to Rashaun Salaam about his holdout that he didn't really even know was going on. It was a very strange. And Brad Palmer. Hey, Rashaun, what do you mean your agent works for you? Why don't you talk to your agent? And Rashaun's like, I don't know anything about that. I just know that my agent. And he's like, come on, Rashaun, what are we talking about here? It was different times. And then they set the thing down and they said, this is the bear's next home. Everybody looked up like, no, it isn't. It was so bad.
Co-host or Guest
Move along now. Keep that going.
Dan Bernstein
Thank you. It was so bad.
Co-host or Guest
Back to business.
Dan Bernstein
Like that. No, no, it's not. Go away. Now. Can we go back and talk to the Bears? Because this thing's dead. But, yeah, this is just sort of the same thing, except way more exp. And it's as silly, but in its own way. I don't know. I'm entertained by the fact that Indiana's waking up to the fact that it's going to. Were this to happen, that somehow. Well, I done. I've added this all up. And you know what has to happen, Maddie? The money's got to come from somewhere. See how that works? See? See how that works? And my grocery bill, which already is pretty insane, is going to go up even more for the Chicago fucking Bears.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah. And then you go out to a restaurant, you're going to pay more money so the bears can build their stadium. Yeah. So I knew there had to be opposition to this, and I figured it would come out sooner or later. There would be at least a dozen people that would think this is a bad idea in the state of Indiana.
Dan Bernstein
So I don't know how many people. It could be three guys. It could be like the group of people that were. Remember the group of Cuban expats that got Ozzy Guillen fired? It was like the same 12 people. Every time they turn the camera on.
Co-host or Guest
But even if. Even if there's one guy with 12 people, yeah, that's great.
Dan Bernstein
At least.
Co-host or Guest
At least there's 12 people that have a brain, think this is a bad idea for us?
Dan Bernstein
And can you actually say, hey, Hoosiers, listen up, that this costs money? Your money is how this works. And you don't get anything from it. You don't benefit at all from it. You just pay for it. All right, well, good. Good on you. Who these. These two lovely organizations. I don't really think a lot of this is going to be needed at this point. And, you know, and sometimes when you start seeing sketchy organizations, you wonder if they're just sort of straw groups that have been propped up by opponents, because that happens all the time, too. But no, there's. There's. There's quotes here from actual people who are actually asking questions about, does this help us in any way? Does this help the taxpayer? And the answer is no, no, no, it doesn't. And that's okay. You know, whenever the stakes are high, my bookie is where you go to turn bets into bankroll. There's always a big matchup on the schedule. Everybody's watching, everybody has a take. And no matter the sport, you know what's really fun? The prop bets. I lost my YIC prop last night. My Keante George one came in like double. I should have. I should have.
Co-host or Guest
Oh, did you go one and one?
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I should have got deeper on that one.
Co-host or Guest
I went one and one last night.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, but see, for me, one and one is good. For you, one and one is bad. Yeah, because you're better at this than I am, so it's different. I can. I can declare victory while you must. Must sulk in the ignominy of defeat.
Co-host or Guest
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
Or something. I don't know. My bookie is where you should be. The My Bookie prop board. Deep fun to play. Player performances, game milestones, everything in between. This is what keeps things interesting all game long. And if you want to get in, now is the time to do it. One account, one wallet at MyBookie AG with the code DBU. Your first bet is covered up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, you have a bet back bonus token and you can run it back. That's whatever you like the spread. You like to wait for the game to start, to get live action, because sometimes that's where you can find some of those advantages. You can jump into the casino during halftime or between games. Everything's at MyBookie AG and that code DBU gets you the bet back. Bonus token. That'll cover that first one up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, you can use it, you can run it back. And then you're not just watching the action, you are making it pay with my bookie. And speaking of the action that is upcoming, we are already getting into some of the March Madness silly season with teams trying to pitch themselves as more worthy than others. And they will. There are some that will just have no criticism whatsoever directed at that. At them. And you, you want somebody to come riding to the rescue of the poor Miami of Ohio RedHawks.
Co-host or Guest
This is great, dude.
Dan Bernstein
My goodness, when I saw the headline, I'm thinking, what happened? What slander was directed at Miami of Ohio? What could possibly have been said to cause this level of a ruffling of feathers? How dare you, sir, say this about us? David Saylor, the Miami ad, has called out Bruce Pearl.
Co-host or Guest
Wait, Bruce. He's coaching a team, Another team now? Right. He's the head of coach of a team. What's Bruce Pearl doing?
Dan Bernstein
He was, I think. What's his job right now? I think he's a TV commentator who is employed to have opinions about college basketball. Interesting.
Co-host or Guest
Okay.
Dan Bernstein
I'm glad you asked that, though. Yeah.
Co-host or Guest
Because I think it's important to know.
Dan Bernstein
I think it is important to know that Bruce Pearl, who is an analyst for CBS and tnt,
Co-host or Guest
is he a college basketball analyst?
Dan Bernstein
Yes, exactly.
Co-host or Guest
Okay. All right. So he's not like an NFL or NBA, and he is a college basketball analyst on tv.
Dan Bernstein
Correct.
Co-host or Guest
To talk about college basketball and to
Dan Bernstein
have strong opinions about college basketball.
Co-host or Guest
Okay. All right. Now again, I got all the background.
Dan Bernstein
Good.
Co-host or Guest
Thank you.
Dan Bernstein
Okay. Is that anything else you need? I can answer any other sort of expository questions here. Background that you may need.
Co-host or Guest
Job, college.
Dan Bernstein
Yep. He sits.
Co-host or Guest
Oh, but he's.
Dan Bernstein
He's.
Co-host or Guest
He's not familiar with college basketball game though, himself. Right. Because he was he. Was he involved in college basketball previously?
Dan Bernstein
He was. He, he. He was the 2025 AP Coach of the year. He's been to a couple final fours in college basketball. Coach of the year. Yes, actually in college basketball. That's what gives him the authority and gravitas to have these opinions.
Co-host or Guest
Okay, so has a backgr.
Dan Bernstein
Coached.
Co-host or Guest
Works in TV in college basketball. Right now?
Dan Bernstein
Correct.
Co-host or Guest
Okay, got it. I'm good now. Thank you.
Dan Bernstein
Sorry. Here's what he said. Miami. Here's the deal. Are we selecting the 68 most deserving teams? Are we going to select the 68 best teams? If we're selecting the 68 best teams. Then Miami's going to have to win their tournament to qualify as a champion. As an at large, they are not one of the best teams in the country, and that's going to be a difficult choice for the committee to make.
Co-host or Guest
Okay, what else did he say? Did he, like, talk badly about parents, about the kids themselves?
Dan Bernstein
No.
Co-host or Guest
Did he. All over the university itself. What did he say? When does it get bad?
Dan Bernstein
That's all I have that he said. Okay. But it brought back sweeping condemnation and high dudgeon from. From Sailor. So Sailor. David Saylor. Hey, there. Sailor took to social media, okay? And he wrote directly. And he tagged Bruce Pearl and said, you are flat out wrong about Miami when you say we would finish last in the Big East. The disrespect is awful. You should not be near a TV studio covering this sport when you show your true colors. Even slipped in a Wii when talking about Auburn. Nice. Okay. And then later, Saylor was on the radio, on ESPN, and he said, since 1985, only five teams have finished the season undefeated. That's over 12,000 teams that had the chance to do just that, and only five have done it. If we get to that level of status, I just don't understand how somebody can make the comments he's making and not put respect on what our student athletes are doing. This goes on. So settle in. And so I didn't go into work today thinking I was gonna put something out like I did. What really pushed me over the top was trying to say that we would finish last in the big Easter, towards the bottom. And then when he used the word we in describing Auburn, just the media bias and the stumping for something that is inappropriate, especially at the expense of our young men who've worked their tails off to be in a really historic place. I think they deserve more respect. Okay, a couple things here, Saylor. Let's. And I am no fan of Bruce Pearl. Correct.
Co-host or Guest
Never have been. Yes. This is not about defending Bruce Pearl.
Dan Bernstein
No. And, boy, I mean, you know me, I go back. Terry was covering. He was covering Illinois during all of the famous Bruce Pearl skullduggery. All of the stuff with Jimmy Collins and the secretly recording recruiting pitches and phone calls illegally.
Co-host or Guest
Terry hated Bruce Pearl. Like, if Terry was on fire, he wouldn't let Bruce Pearl put him out.
Dan Bernstein
He wouldn't let Mitch Albom cross the street to let Bruce Pearl put him out. That's right. If somebody was on fire.
Co-host or Guest
One of the best lines ever.
Dan Bernstein
Yes. We're not sure who's on fire. We're not sure who's putting somebody out, but either way, he's got righteous anger about.
Co-host or Guest
And whoever it is, we're going to bury Johnny Red Kerr's kids with him and Skip Perry.
Dan Bernstein
All of them. Yes, they're all dead. They all fell asleep and died in someone else's sleep. They're all getting buried and they're all on fire. So you could just. If you think we're going to show any mercy in that regard, that you disabuse yourself of that silly notion. So. Wait, there's more here. I'm not done. Yes, first of all, the word inappropriate. Inappropriate, really? To have a thought about college basketball. Let's just. No, it is perfectly appropriate. And this idea of media bias, that's his job. He's an. He's an analyst. His job is to have strong opinions that might be, gasp. Divisive. That might have somebody saying that that guy's wrong. That man's nuts. Grab him. Yar. Yar. So he's doing his job and he has an opinion that Miami of Ohio, even with their gaudy, perfect record, isn't. Isn't particularly good compared to some of these other teams that are better. I don't even know. And I want this really clear. I don't care. I don't have a strong thought. I haven't seen Miami of Ohio play. It's a terrific school.
Co-host or Guest
I watched one game and it was when they played Ohio, when I had that. That bet for the state of Ohio. Throw out all the record books. When. Yeah, they won 90 to 74. Outside of that, I'm not. I don't even know some of these teams that they played. I'm not familiar with. With Mercy Hearst.
Dan Bernstein
Mercy Hurst?
Co-host or Guest
Yeah. I don't know Mercy Hearst. And then there's like one school on here that you can't even highlight it and expand it on espn.
Dan Bernstein
Who.
Co-host or Guest
It's abbreviated M I. L L I. Is it. Is that a mill. Milliken.
Dan Bernstein
Milliken. They didn't play Milliken, did they?
Co-host or Guest
I don't know what it is, but I'm looking at their schedule and it says M I, L L I. But it's highlighted where I can.
Dan Bernstein
They played Milli Vanilli where I can expand it.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
So it might be Milliken. Milliken. Another good school, but I did not known as a basketball powerhouse. But I understand protecting your kids. I do. Yeah, for sure. I understand being seen. It's been a really exciting year, but inappropriate for a network college. Basketball analyst to have an opinion.
Co-host or Guest
It's fair criticism too. It wasn't like he went over the line of any measure at all. You know, if you want to go to Twitter, which was probably a bad
Dan Bernstein
idea
Co-host or Guest
as the ad, you just say, hey, I can appreciate Bruce Pearl's opinion. You know, he has a. He comes from a great resume of coaching, you know, But I'm really proud of what our team has done this year and I think our record speaks for itself.
Dan Bernstein
You leave it there, that's all right. Because once you go here, I mean, and then he says he goes. The bubble is a fascinating thing because it seems like some teams never go off of it. Some of these teams are on the bubble and they lose games to unranked teams and they don't move, they still sit there. And for a team like ours, we lose one game and it's going to be like, oh my gosh, they don't belong. We've been ranked for a month now. We're up to 19th in the country. It's the highest we've been ranked since 1953. This should be celebrated. This is about the magic of March Madness. This is about the heart and soul of college basketball. And I just feel that some of these people are trying to ruin it and they just want ranked teams versus ranked teams, Power four teams. Power four teams. And I'm not here for should just be celebrated and have fun with it. Let's roll with this. Celebrated. Yes. It's March. I'm dealing with hearing these kinds of things and I just don't think it's fair to the Mac and fair to anybody else who competes at the mid major level. I walked down to Travis Steele's office three different times after watching coaches gift give press conferences saying they would wouldn't get anybody to play them. And we called them within an hour and we're told, yeah, we're not talking about you. We don't want to play you guys. Because it's turned into not just are you going to win or lose the game, it matters how close the game is. Now the metrics have gotten so detailed that if you come out and light them up and score a bunch of points and they barely win, that's not even good enough for the Power 4 schools anymore. So sometimes these coaches have egos, they have different situations. They just don't want to find the games. I know for a fact Travis tried multiple times with multiple people trying to put this thing together and nobody wanted a part of RedHawks. We won 25 games last year, a program record. That's what Travis accomplished. This isn't some cute fluky story this year about Miami basketball. Travis is doing it amazingly well. People don't want to play us. It's the truth. Okay, then why shouldn't they win their tournament?
Co-host or Guest
Right then, yeah, win your tournament. And looking at The Bracketology on ESPN, they have Miami Ohio as an 11 seed playing Kentucky, okay? And so, yeah, go ahead, beat Kentucky. And then they get to play the, the privilege of playing Kansas and losing by 20. So there you go.
Dan Bernstein
And right now you've got the. Nothing's been decided yet.
Co-host or Guest
A lot.
Dan Bernstein
There's a lot of games that have yet to be played. They might indeed make the tournament. But are we really going to the mat like this? And if, if stuff like this is this important to you, go be an AD at a big school. I mean, congratulations, and I love the idea of an undefeated team and maybe you'll run roughshod through everybody. And if you win the tournament, and it makes it sound like when you read the resume like that, how could it even be remotely possible if none of these big four teams want to play you, how could you lose a tournament game?
Co-host or Guest
It's a fair question.
Dan Bernstein
If all of these teams in the Power 4 conference, like, oh, no, no, we can't touch you. You're too dangerous. You're too dangerous, then there's no reason why you should lose in the conference tournament. Right, Right.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah. I just think the whole, you know, getting, getting back to the, like, the bare minimum of it all. Bruce Pearl has been involved in college basketball for, for so long, has found so much success there as well. His current job is to be a TV analyst, to have opinions and thoughts. And his opinion and thought on your program wasn't all that egregious. And it was, you know, you could, you could look at it and some of the metrics. Yeah, I think there's, there's a lot that they look at, maybe too much, but it was kind of fair criticism. So go out, win your tournament.
Dan Bernstein
What?
Co-host or Guest
They're in the Mac, right? Mac, yeah, yeah, go, go win your tournament. Then you shouldn't, you shouldn't have an issue.
Dan Bernstein
I would be interested.
Co-host or Guest
You'll get in. And if you're, you know, a 10 seed, 11 seed, a 12 seed, then go in that first game and see what happens.
Dan Bernstein
I'm wondering if David Saylor isn't maybe feeling like he has to burnish his credentials with the coach. Has there been, hey, nobody's going to bat for us here. Do you think There was some sort of closed door issue where the coach is like, yeah, why don't you go public and push us a little bit? These other schools have massive PR campaigns and people doing the work for him and trying to drum up public support. And maybe he's doing this because coach is pushing him out there and saying, you know, go, go take a stand. If you're calling radio station. When you think about the actual sort of PR plan here. Yeah. You don't tweet that. You don't then go on a radio show and say, well, boy, I don't know what got into me there. I guess I finally boiled over. I don't believe any of that. This is clearly a part of a plan that they thought through. They said, you're going to put this out there. Go ahead, be mad publicly and then you can back it up, go again and some podcast out of Chicago will spend time talking about it.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah, but I don't get it because let the season speak for itself. You've had a really great year, something historic for college basketball. That should be enough. And to get to get bothered and bogged down by what a college basketball analyst has to say, you should, you should be above that. So. And I'll tell you what. Well, here's what it's done too. It's, it's drawn eyes on them and if that's what they wanted. But they're not, they're not, they're not going to get the support that they're looking for out of this. I think if anything he'll root for him. It's more negative, I think. I think people are going to want them to lose in the tournament and
Dan Bernstein
maybe he wants that and maybe he just wants to bring that on him.
Co-host or Guest
Maybe.
Dan Bernstein
There's got to be a calculation here. They're. They're a well respected university with a lot of money behind whatever public relations stunts they want to pull.
Co-host or Guest
Oh, I think their next move, Dan, is you need to get Ben Roethlisberger out there to speak for you.
Dan Bernstein
I'm going to go with Wally Zerbiak.
Co-host or Guest
No, you need to get a Big Ben here, here. Big Ben has things to say about our program.
Dan Bernstein
You know who else could be out there? Who? Adam Eaton. Oh, wow. Or is he? Wasn't Adam Eaton Miami of Ohio, was he?
Co-host or Guest
I don't have to look.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, just check them because I think it'd be awesome if you have, you have Big Ben, Adam Eaton, and then Adam Eaton could get Drake Laroche to come help out.
Co-host or Guest
Oh, that's who it was? Yeah, it was LaRoche's kid, Drake.
Dan Bernstein
LaRoche's kid. We lost a leader in Drake. You lost a leader?
Co-host or Guest
That was unbelievable, man.
Dan Bernstein
14 year old child in the locker room. We lost a leader. Believe that happened. And the only reason he was out of there is because Jimmy Rollins had come to the team as a free agent and asked Kenny Williams like, what's going on with a kid? Why do you have somebody's kid in here? What the hell is going on?
Co-host or Guest
Adam Eaton. Yep, yep.
Dan Bernstein
Miami, Ohio. So here's, you've got, you've got Spanky Eaton and then you've got, you know, Gray Dick Roethlisberger. And then you've, there's, Here we go. Listen to what these guys have to say.
Co-host or Guest
That was something, man.
Dan Bernstein
All right, well, go ahead and win your conference tournament or maybe, maybe they end up with an at large. Here's the other thing, too. The committee wants stuff like this. If anything, they know what they're selling. They would love that. You know how and when you start thinking about it, you think the committee would love to have either people love or hate Miami of Ohio. And however they get in the last day, they, they can bring the CBS camera out there and they show them all going crazy when they're the 11 seed and they get all the eyes on them and it becomes a bigger thing. And I don't know, they probably have some hot shooting little white guy that everybody will fall in love with. I don't even know who's on their team. I'm just guessing.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah. No, I just think even if they don't win their tournament, I think they, you know, if they, if they finish with one loss in the season, they should get in even without winning the tournament. You know, if you finish whatever 30 and 1 or 32 and whatever they'll end up at, you deserve to get in and you might not be as high as an 11 seed. You might even have to do like a play in game, but just go out and win your games. Then if you're, if you're that good, then go out and win your game and see what happens with it all. But to act like, you know, Bruce Pearl doesn't deserve to run a basketball team to have these kind of thoughts about our program.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, he can have, he can have
Co-host or Guest
thoughts and they might be good, they might be bad, but that's his job. His job is to have a thought on college basketball.
Dan Bernstein
That's it.
Co-host or Guest
He doesn't think your team would do that good in the big East. He didn't say you'd go.
Dan Bernstein
That you would.
Co-host or Guest
You would go winless.
Dan Bernstein
He just said you're not gonna.
Co-host or Guest
You're not gonna do well in the Big East.
Dan Bernstein
That's. He also didn't say you're bad.
Co-host or Guest
Right? He just said you wouldn't do that good in the Big East.
Dan Bernstein
He also said that, you know, you're. It's not like he's saying that their wins should be vacated. Right. You're a shit program.
Co-host or Guest
You don't deserve to play basketball in this country.
Dan Bernstein
Come on.
Co-host or Guest
Like. Yeah, Just relax, man. Yeah. Who knows? Who knows? I. I hope it's not calculated and deliberate. I don't. I don't want it to be. I like it that it's more, like, pure in the moment. Like, I just. I boiled over and lost my mind because Bruce Pearl had bad things to say about my program.
Dan Bernstein
Just too consumed with Red Hawk pride. My Red Hawk pride came bursting out of me. Oh, no. Again.
Co-host or Guest
You should.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
Co-host or Guest
Get better out there in front of cameras to represent your program.
Dan Bernstein
Myself, I'm so bursting with Red Hawk pride. And we got to be careful around here, too, because, you know, our. Our general sales manager is. Is really into. Into his Redhawks. He's been.
Co-host or Guest
Oh, is he a Miami, Ohio guy?
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, he's. He's. Oh, he's. He's paying a tuition there. Oh, okay. Yep. So I think.
Co-host or Guest
Is he just walking around the hallways angry and just boiling over, what Bruce Pearl had to say.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, yeah. Kicking over chairs and. And people left. Flushing all the urinals in the bathroom so he doesn't have to hear, you know, people talking about it. Oh, no, wait. That's Murph. I forgot. Hey, you know what? What I've figured out, that's really good. And even though we don't have one of my favorite Southern restaurants here in the north, where I would crave my steak and eggs and. Because there's a certain kind of flavor and ambiance, and I do it in my own home, and I create the best steak and eggs I possibly can because I absolutely love steak and eggs. And the Omaha steaks that I have in my freezer are ideal for it. And if you think regular steak and eggs is good, try Omaha Steaks, filet mignon, and eggs, because I have. And I've made it a thing now that I look forward to it for days. And I sort of, you know, me. I, like, fetishize it my planet. And, oh, man, I do potatoes. I bake, like, home fries with the skin on potatoes. And onions and I cook those down. And then I do what I would do at Waffle House where I would put, you know, I take the runny egg yolks from three sunny side up eggs and I set those on top of the hash browns. And then as I eat the steak with covered in steak sauce, sometimes not as much because the Yamaha steaks are really good and I will and I dip it in the broken yolks and then the rest of the runny yolk just kind of runs down into the hash browns. But I get that little piece of meat that has just got the runny rich yolk dripping off of it. That's living man. And you talk about protein. Haha. I laugh at your protein powders and all of your added protein things are all cereals got extra whey protein in it.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
You know what I'd rather have? I'd rather have a juicy steak covered in drippy egg yolk and have the steak juice dribbling down my chin. But that's just me. And you can have it too because Omaha Steaks will deliver you the best everyday protein. And right now during the semi annual sale you can get 50% off. That means all the stuff you like to eat on hand. Exceptional Omaha Steaks options, whatever you like to eat. And burgers, chicken, pork, seafood, easy to prepare comfort food. And what I mean there, it's like meat lovers. Lasagna, beef, shepherd's pie, fully cooked beef, pot roast. If it's convenience you want, you can get your protein, your deliciousness and your convenience from the variety of options that Omaha Steaks has now. Right now during the semiannual sale you can get 50% off their exceptional handcrafted flavor and the convenience of Omaha Steaks. So what this means is 50% off the world's best everyday protein. You go to Omaha steaks.com for 50% off site wide during their semiannual sale and you want an extra $35 off the promo code Bernstein is for you. Just my last name. B E R N S T E I N. It's Omaha Steaks. Every steak aged perfectly to maximize tenderness. Hand cut by master butchers in America's heartland. The choice of steakhouses and professional chefs because it's grass fed grain finished beef, more marbling for exceptional flavor. That's 50% off. That big box comes and life is good in your world. 50% off@omaha steaks.com an extra $35 off with a promo code Bernstein at checkout terms apply C site for details.
Co-host or Guest
All right, so if Indiana wants the Bears here. How about if this would be a fair trade? Bears go to Indiana, we get some Waffle House restaurants.
Dan Bernstein
The closest one is in Indiana. Correct.
Co-host or Guest
The closest one from my house is 195 miles away in Pendleton, Indiana. That's the closest.
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
Co-host or Guest
There's one in avon, Indiana, also. 195 miles. Daleville, Indianapolis. Anderson. Yeah, we, we need a Waffle House here in the northern suburbs.
Dan Bernstein
No, we need one near me in like Roscoe Village, Wrigley.
Co-host or Guest
No, that's what I'm saying. Like multiple, like take multiple Waffle Houses in Indiana and bring them here. So you get one, I get one nearby.
Dan Bernstein
I'll put money behind it.
Co-host or Guest
I haven't, I haven't Waffle House in.
Dan Bernstein
I'd invest.
Co-host or Guest
15 years.
Dan Bernstein
I'd invest. If we could get one here, I would, I would put my money where my mouth is.
Co-host or Guest
It's the best.
Dan Bernstein
Because I think it's a winner. I, I do. I, I, I would invest. I just don't think they want to come here. I think they might be too, too frightened.
Co-host or Guest
Why? Too violent here?
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Co-host or Guest
Is that what it is?
Dan Bernstein
I, I wanted to bring up this story too, and I've been waiting this a couple days here. I just, I got such a kick out of this. Remember when I was complaining about the Pokemon which time Commercial. I knew that was coming. I, I walked right into that.
Co-host or Guest
Yes, you did. Remember when I was complaining? I do, actually.
Dan Bernstein
I don't, I don't. When could, when could that possibly have been?
Co-host or Guest
All right, so you're complaining about Pokemon.
Dan Bernstein
I was complaining about the commercial.
Co-host or Guest
Because you're old.
Dan Bernstein
Yes, because it's old. And like, what is this? I don't understand what's going on. So I. And the whole Pokemon thing, what is it? Is it the Pokemon where you find the things that aren't really there and you hold up your phone and you stand and do odd things in public places? Or is it just the trading cards? Because the trading cards are huge. And that was top of mind when I read this story. So I'm going to, I'm just going to read this per the AP copy. Okay. This came to us from Washington, Florida.
Co-host or Guest
Okay.
Dan Bernstein
A man is accused of stealing trading cards worth thousands of dollars from Florida Target and Walmart stores in a scheme that involved taco seasoning packets. According to authorities. Okay, so help me. Help. Walk me through this. Keith Wallace, 39, of Palm beach faces charges of felony organized retail theft, felony dealing in stolen property, and felony money laundering. According to the office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeyer. Or is it Uth Meyer? Ooth. Uth Meyer. Yeah.
Co-host or Guest
Let's go with oof.
Dan Bernstein
Hut. Oof. Maybe it's a schwa sound. Maybe it's Uthmeyer. Wallace would take large boxes of trading cards and an equal number of 99 cent taco seasoning packets to the self checkout and would pay only for the seasoning packets. Got it. Uthmeyer's office said in a news release. Okay, now what does that do that's different than just walking out?
Co-host or Guest
Well, it, because, okay, so if you're doing a self checkout and you have a self checkout, an employee there that watches, that monitors the self checkouts and I would imagine at a wall. Is this Walmart?
Dan Bernstein
You said Walmart and Target.
Co-host or Guest
Okay, Walmart and Target. And have you, have you done a self checkout at Walmart or talking?
Dan Bernstein
So both.
Co-host or Guest
There are at least a minimum of a dozen to 15 of the self checkout lanes.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, at the Walmart up off of TUI, there's like 25.
Co-host or Guest
Okay, so 25. And how many employees are there monitoring those 25 checkout dates?
Dan Bernstein
There's, there's one person 90 years old and there's, there's another hired security person who's on his phone.
Co-host or Guest
Okay, so there's. Yeah, generally when I go to Target or Walmart, there is one person. They're generally on the, on the closer end of the grave scale or very, very young and not interested.
Dan Bernstein
The grave scale? Yeah,
Co-host or Guest
they're not paying attention. But in order to make it look less obvious that you're just walking out with something or get caught just walking out the door, I could see it. You take one of the packs of cards, you put it like on top of the packet of taco seasoning. You scan the taco seasoning, you throw both in the bag. Oh, this guy's checking out. So if someone who is half interested got it.
Dan Bernstein
Because they're not looking at the price, they just see the beep.
Co-host or Guest
They see that they're doing something, that there's a beep and putting something in a bag. And you could kind of hide that up, cover it up and. Yeah, I mean you can, you can even sandwich.
Dan Bernstein
That's interesting. So they're putting the taco seasoning barcode. I got it, I got it.
Co-host or Guest
You can even sandwich like the pack of cards between two taco seasoning packets. And those are thin enough to. In your hand. Maybe this guy's got really large hands. And just scan it and throws it in.
Dan Bernstein
And you wouldn't need the second one.
Co-host or Guest
You wouldn't need the second one. But even if someone is, like, looking over, they would just Taco. Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
So, okay, so then the suspect. The suspect is accused of selling the trading cards on ebay.
Co-host or Guest
Okay.
Dan Bernstein
Investigators made controlled purchases of the cards from ebay and confirmed the proceeds were deposited into Wallace's personal bank account. According to the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office, Wallace is accused of committing 75 thefts across Florida, spanning from Orlando to Miami, between July of 2025 and February of 2026. The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office said about 39 of these thefts were Target stores, and they resulted in retail losses of more than $10,000.
Co-host or Guest
Wow.
Dan Bernstein
Wallace got nearly $40,000 in revenue from the resale of the cards. So he had this down. He knew what he was looking for. I don't know if he's looking for two or three specific cards that carried all the freight for him, or he could move mass amounts of them, but he knew what he was looking for.
Co-host or Guest
Was he selling the packets themselves? He wasn't opening the packets and selling individual cards. He was just selling the packets because. Hard to find sometimes.
Dan Bernstein
Okay, maybe he was. He's also suspected of theft at Publix locations.
Co-host or Guest
Like a Publix. Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
They're good fried chicken. Even though I think the ownership is trouble. Troublesome. But that's not surprising. If he's found guilty on all charges, he faces up to. How many years in prison? According to the Attorney General's office, how many years in prison do you think he's going to get for these three felony charges of stealing what I presume are Pokemon cards and reselling them?
Co-host or Guest
Let's go with 16 years.
Dan Bernstein
90. 90. 90.
Co-host or Guest
Jesus.
Dan Bernstein
By the letter of the law in Florida, he faces up to 99. Zero years in prison.
Co-host or Guest
He said he's 38, right?
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. He would be 118.
Co-host or Guest
Yeah. He's not gonna have a good life
Dan Bernstein
when he comes out. Yes. Slow up a lot. I think that would. It would.
Co-host or Guest
You know, he'd still find love, though.
Dan Bernstein
Probably still. You know, he could. Pickleball is what I'd suggest at that point. Probably.
Co-host or Guest
Probably go back to one of those Walmarts and get a job.
Dan Bernstein
Look at me, full circle. This is UTH Meyer, who says Florida has the number one economy in the nation because of our commitment to law and order. I like the show, too. I especially like the one liner from Jerry Orbach. Yes. Organized retail.
Co-host or Guest
No one puts Baby in a corner.
Dan Bernstein
It drives up prices for consumers, and that is not a result. We're gonna tolerate these schemes will be met with the maximum punishment allowed under the law. Wow. That man's going away for a long time. If in fact you get the maximum punishment, this man will be in prison. Keith Wallace. He was 39, so it'll be 129 when he gets out. 129. That's right. They add, that's 129. There you go. You do slow up a lot.
Co-host or Guest
Too young to get a Walmart job.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, that's. He gonna be owed when he gets really, really old. When he gets out, he might need some help.
Co-host or Guest
I don't know. Maybe you can run for president, get those charges dropped.
Dan Bernstein
I don't know that would help him. He hasn't announced the possibility yet. I don't know. But good luck to him. 90 years for that and I still don't know any of the Pokemons. So I don't know if really helped me. Wow, that's great, isn't it?
Co-host or Guest
You know, he probably had to think about this and say, oh, by the
Dan Bernstein
way, did you hear how I just said isn't it? I just said, isn't it?
Co-host or Guest
Isn't it? Where's that from?
Dan Bernstein
I say it sometimes and Beth hates it. Hates it. So now I. That's the only reason I heard myself say it was she. She says, you're it. It reminds her of like the cockney in it. In it. But she, for whatever reason, it's a pet peeve. So I have to say, isn't it? And I should.
Co-host or Guest
That's more annoying to me than isn't it. Isn't it like hearing you hit those T's really hard that I would be like, what the fuck are you saying that for?
Dan Bernstein
Isn't it?
Co-host or Guest
Yeah, that's annoying.
Dan Bernstein
I had to stop myself the other day because she just. She's decided to make this something that I have to stop.
Co-host or Guest
Does she. Does she like. Does she smack you when you say it?
Dan Bernstein
Maybe if I play my cards right.
Co-host or Guest
Take that to the bedroom with you. Knit honey and knit.
Dan Bernstein
Bedtime. Maybe I'm playing the long game.
Co-host or Guest
Give me a little bit.
Dan Bernstein
Give me a little bit of credit here. March is here. College basketball is heating up. Don't, don't tell David Saylor, though, at Miami of Ohio. It makes him angry, but it's time to get in on the action with my bookie. Conference room races are tightening and Leon is getting larger. Bubble teams are fighting for their lives. Every game matters. Every possession is bigger. Oh, my God. This is when things start to really get fun. It's not just about picking winners. There's the prop board. It's loaded with player points, team totals, futures tournament odds. There's value everywhere if you're paying attention. And if there was ever a time to jump in, it's right now. Because now you can get started. You get registered and you make your deposit at MyBookie AG. There's one account, there's one wallet, all there at MyBookie AG. It all lives there. So then you have the code DBU for Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. Your first bet covered up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, that means you have a bet back bonus token and you can run it back. It's MyBookie AG. Your code that I present you with right now is dbu. Don't just watch all the madness build. Make it pay with my bookie. And thanks for being a part of Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. Today we have been brought to you in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. Unfiltered on 312Sports.
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Podcast: Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Episode: Chicago Bears NEW STADIUM in Indiana could be too much for Hoosiers to pay
Date: March 3, 2026
Host: Dan Bernstein
Guest/Co-host: Matt Abbatacola
This episode of Dan Bernstein Unfiltered tackles two core topics:
Bernstein and Abbatacola bring their signature blend of humor, deep Chicago sports knowledge, and pointed commentary to both debates, underscoring the often absurd intersection of sports, politics, and public money.
“Of course, it’s all bullshit. And as he’s doing this and all the Indiana pols race for the cameras... there is a very small, I believe, but very vocal group of Hoosiers who are daring to ask questions—like, is this my money?”
— Dan Bernstein (03:05)
“There’s no free lunch. If you want something, you’re going to pay for it. Politicians don’t want to spend their money—they’re going to spend your money to enrich billionaires.”
— Dan Bernstein (07:23)
“Decades of economic research show stadium subsidies fail to generate net growth... We welcome the Bears and private investment, but it should not be on the back of state and local taxpayers.”
(Americans for Prosperity Indiana, quoted by Bernstein, 09:52)
(Discussing the Gary Air Show)
Dan: “So if that goes up 12%, it’s $4... you might as well just send that out to the Bears right now.” (14:24)
“Where’s our government? The tax bill comes out, and there’s a ‘bear removal tax’... Things cost money! If it’s a government, they’re going to ask for more of your money because that’s how it works.”
— Dan Bernstein (15:45)
“The Bears are not going there, correct? ...This was all an ill-conceived, ill-timed, thinly veiled bluff that was overplayed brutally by Kevin Warren. Completely overcooked and didn’t fool anybody.”
— Dan Bernstein (10:41)
Dan recalls covering the Planet Park press event:
“They walked in, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Planet Park!’ and carried on a board a cardboard and Q-tip mockup. ...Everybody looked up like, no it isn’t. It was so bad.”
(21:19)
(27:24–44:56)
“Are we selecting the 68 most deserving teams? Or the 68 best teams? If we’re selecting the 68 best... Miami’s going to have to win their tournament to qualify.”
— Bruce Pearl, quoted by Bernstein (28:50)
“I’d invest. If we could get one here, I would put my money where my mouth is.”
— Dan Bernstein (50:12)
(51:30–57:53)
Dan: “By the letter of the law in Florida, he faces up to 90 years in prison!”
Matt: “Jesus.”
Dan: “He’d be 129 when he gets out.”
(56:23–56:45)
A thoroughly entertaining, insight-packed episode where Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola cut through the theatrics of sports-business politics and media outrage—reminding listeners to follow the money, scrutinize PR moves, and see through bluffs on and off the field.
For full context and more sports talk, listen to the episode.