← Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Chicago Bears stadium development - don't fall for the games being played
01:02:24
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- [00:01]
Commercial Announcer
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with a name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it@progressive.com, progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.
- [00:21]
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- [01:12]
Matt Abaticola
Can I make my site firmer?
- [01:14]
Dan Bernstein
Can we sleep cooler?
- [01:15]
Commercial Announcer
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- [01:40]
Dan Bernstein
Dan Bernstein unfiltered unfiltered on 312 Sports it's DBU. Those letters stand for Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. And you have it right here at three one two Sports. I'm Dan Bernstein. That is Matt Abaticola. We are brought to you in partnership with my bookie boy. There's a lot of stupid out there today, man. There is. There is the air. The hills are alive with the sound of stup Stupid.
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Matt Abaticola
Yeah, you're on it today, man.
- [02:10]
Dan Bernstein
Good Lord. It's just Everybody take a step back and a deep breath and understand this political posturing when you see it. Even like the mayor of Hammond, Indiana and the Indy star is talking about. The Bears have said that they are committed. The Bears make a commitment. No they didn't Read what was said this morning. We've got dueling legislation and meetings going on in the various state houses from Indiana and Illinois and committee meetings. And everybody's trying to read into this meeting being canceled and that meeting being canceled. And so much of this is just complete bullshit. Take a step back and just know that the Bears are stringing Hammond along as long as they can because they need a foil. The Bears screwed this up from jump. Don't lose sight of that. Don't all of a sudden say, well, look at the Bears. The Bears are playing three dimensional chess here. They're still playing catch up. The Bears made, they, they came blundering into this presumptuously from the start, from the moment they rolled this all out. And that's why this hasn't resulted in anything yet. This is why nothing has happened yet. Because they're still catching up and they're still pulling back. They're still trying to convince Governor Pritzker and Illinois and most of the important Chicago based legislators that they can make up for the awful rebuild of Soldier Field on which everybody still owes. There's all this taxpayer dollars that are owed here and everybody wants that taken care of first. And then they have to figure out and they talk about tax certainty. Tax certainty, stop using that term, stop calling it tax certainty. It's massive handouts of tax money they would otherwise have to pay being taken off of their bill. That's what they're asking for. They're asking for your money. If you are here in Illinois, they want your money. The Bears owners want your money. That's what these deals are. The Bears statement today said this, this is because of what was going on in Indiana. The passage of State Bill 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date. Now listen here. We are committed to finishing the remaining site specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. There's a lot of clauses in there, right?
- [05:28]
Matt Abaticola
Because yeah, all it means that they're, they're going to continue to look at the property and a week from now, two weeks from now, a month from now, Dan, they could say, you know what?
- [05:36]
Dan Bernstein
After all of our work, we've completed our due diligence, we're going Arlington.
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Matt Abaticola
A lot of good sites, right? This is not a good site for our property.
- [05:43]
Dan Bernstein
Just, I mean this is, people just stop at we are committed and say, whoa, our Bears are committed. I mean really, just keep reading for two seconds. We are committed to finishing the remaining site specific, necessary due diligence to support our vision. That doesn't mean anything. That is not any kind of commitment. And then it's all the rest of the flowery gobbledygook. We appreciate the leadership shown by Governor Braun, Speaker Houston, Senator Mishler and members of the Indiana General assembly in establishing this critical framework and path forward to deliver a premier venue for all of Chicagoland and a destination for Bears fans and visitors from across the globe. We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to build our working relationship together. Awesome. And if this deal is so good and it's so meaningful, go already, take it.
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Matt Abaticola
All right, let me, let me ask you this question then. From a fan's perspective, who doesn't care where they play? I don't live in Cook county and I don't care where the Bears play. As long as the Bears exist, I don't care. So tell me that, tell me that the Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee meeting that was canceled abruptly this morning at 8am was supposed to happen. They canceled it. And the fact that this bill passed in The Indiana Committee 24 to 0 goes back now to the Indiana House. Tell me that the meeting being canceled is meaningless and that this meeting or that the, the bill passing the Illinois Senate or the Indiana Senate Committee is meaningful. So tell me, tell me on both sides of it.
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Dan Bernstein
I don't think either one is meaningful. Okay. I really don't. Because committee meetings get canceled all the time. It's not a big deal.
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Matt Abaticola
So then what's the political purpose of Illinois canceling, like deliberately and publicly canceling this meeting, saying we're not going to have this on the Bears agenda, We're
- [07:46]
Dan Bernstein
not going to do it today because they're negotiating. They have the upper hand at this point.
- [07:51]
Matt Abaticola
It's all political ploy. Yes.
- [07:53]
Dan Bernstein
Because they may want the Bears to do what the Cleveland Browns did and say, look, if you're going to turn Soldier Field into an empty white elephant and you owe all this money, and that's what a lot of the Chicago based state legislators are saying, right? Yeah.
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Matt Abaticola
The Bears all this.
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Dan Bernstein
Figure this out. Yeah, yeah. Cleveland did that. The Cleveland Browns did that when they moved to the suburbs and they had just redone their building and they owed all this money and I think they paid $100 million and the demolition costs.
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Matt Abaticola
Yeah. What is, what's the, what's the Bears current tab right now that they owe for the renovations?
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Dan Bernstein
Is it ultimately like, Is it like 75 million? I've seen eight with every year that goes by, it's a little less because that's the one thing that's happened is they've as, as the, have dithered, at least that cost has dropped a little bit because they keep paying it off. You know, that's, that's the further you get down, the less they have to owe. So you want to just cut a check at that point. And if in fact they're pledging $2 billion to build a stadium and the rest will be taken care of, that Indiana taxpayers will get fleeced for all that, for whatever else they're going to get. That's not much of a Stadium for 2 billion anymore. I don't know what you're expecting or what you want, but if you want this done on the cheap, if you want to get that feeling like you're walking into the car dealership and all these things are the brochures and the websites are dancing in your head and then you look at the actual cost of everything and you strip this out and you strip that out and you say, well, here's our shiny new stadium. Well, how are the bathrooms? How are the escalators? How are the creature comforts? How does it look? How does it play? How does it feel? You want 2 billion. Think about that. You built Allegiant Stadium, the big little convention center looking thing out in Vegas where land is essentially free because you've got nothing but desert as far as the eye can see. There's no value to any of that land. And you say, all right, here we go, here's 2 billion. Okay, how long ago was that, when was that deal signed? When was that? Was it seven years ago when they actually agreed on what those costs were going to be? You think you can build a decent NFL stadium around here for, for your franchise and be something you can be proud of for 2 billion? Hell no.
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Matt Abaticola
Well, this says Dan. The team faces pressure covering the remaining 356 million to 500 million in bond debt for the 2003 stadium renovations.
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Dan Bernstein
Okay, well, I don't know exactly how they're going to, they're going to buy all that off or what the agreement is going to be, but just there's so much water carrying, going on, on a lot of levels and there's water carrying, going on right now for, for baseball owners too. I don't know why people and why we, we live in a state where you've got Chicago and then you have the, the rest of the state, that's Mississippi. And I don't want taxes. I'm going to pay taxes. I do my taxes. I keep getting my state taxes. And it goes all to the city. All the black people take my taxes. You get a lot of that in this state. That's the culture of the state and has been. I don't want to give my taxes to Chicago, the big, dirty, awful, disgusting city. It should be down here with the people who matter more than the real Americans. And then. And then the same people, maybe you're one of them. The same people who are bitching about all your tax money going to Chicago. They got to keep the Bears. They got to cut a deal. They can't go to Indiana. Well, which is it? Pick a lane. You'd rather pad the pockets of billionaires with your tax money. This is all the we need tax certainty breaks, handouts. That's all that means. Certainty is a euphemism that is. That is employed by the people wanting a handout. They want you to subsidize the billionaires to make them richer, to make them immediately richer because you decide to give them and give. And for schools to give up money that should be paid to them.
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Matt Abaticola
So the new stadium in Tennessee for the Titans, approximately 2.1 billion to 2.2 billion in cost. It's going to open in 2027. 60,000 seat, enclosed dome stadium, translucent roof.
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Dan Bernstein
60 is all it is. That's all. It's smaller size of Soldier Field.
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Matt Abaticola
Yeah, it's smaller, which is why it's the lower cost, too. Having the largest public subsidy for a sports stadium in history with over 1.26 billion in public funding. So a little more than half.
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Dan Bernstein
Unbelievable.
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Matt Abaticola
Anywhere from half to a little over half in public funding.
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Dan Bernstein
These deals are always bad for the taxpayers. They're always bad. Well, if they leave for Indiana, they're taking all of that business with them. No, they're not. Where do you think people are going to stay? People come in for Bears games or go to Bears games. They're going to be hanging out in Hammond, Indiana. They're going to be hanging out at Wolf Lake. Well, we're here for the Bears game. Why don't we stay and catch a. Catch a couple of fish while we're here in Wolf Lake? Come on.
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Matt Abaticola
Well, you know that stadium money staying in Chicago, that stadium in Tennessee at 60,000 seats. You know what that means? Not big enough for a Super Bowl.
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Dan Bernstein
Which is fine.
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Matt Abaticola
Remember. I know I'm saying, but the. Like, the minimum capacity was what, 75,000?
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Dan Bernstein
I think that was.
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Matt Abaticola
Yeah.
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Dan Bernstein
Based on all of those ridiculous bullet points that you read in that letter in this space. But it just. The bears are very, very likely to end up in Arlington Heights. The state government is very likely to come to some sort of compromise to allow them to leave Soldier Field and to create. To build whatever this, the. The infrastructure and that. That's okay. If you need roads, if you need stoplights, if you need exit ramps, if you need some help with some parking areas, if you need to expand some to accommodate more traffic, that helps everybody. That's what tax dollars are for. Not to privatize the profits of a socialized building. That's not how this should work. And almost every time, despite all the claims and we'll create these jobs and here's this tax base and we'll bring all this in, then pay your fair share, then give those monies to the Arlington Heights schools. It's the, the, the. The number of people who are willing for. For no cost, willing to take up arguments on behalf of billionaires is incredible to me. It's. And it's unbelievably inconsistent with a lot of the complaints we receive from the same people. Just because football. Just because football. They can't wait. Sure. The court's not going to leave. Let them. Let them leave. And no one will care. You won't care that Indiana's taxpayers are getting fleeced. It is just. It's going to play out. Don't fall for the, the people carrying water on behalf of the bears and all this panicking. Well, they. There are so many reporters who are parroting bears talking points. Bears are very serious about going to Indiana.
- [15:17]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, I don't know.
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Dan Bernstein
They could go to Indiana. The bears have told me that this is absolutely serious. It is so obvious who is getting their information directly from the bears. You can sniff it out in two seconds. Use your instincts here. Understand who is speaking on behalf of the citizens and taxpayers and who's speaking on behalf of the bears and businesses and directly connected to the bears or investments that are tied into the bears that I don't think that the state legislature is going to be extorted into a handout of billions of dollars. But this idea, and if I read this correctly, even if the state, Illinois, if the Illinois bill passes, all that does is it allows the bears to negotiate set payments for their taxes with Arlington Heights. It allows them to negotiate. And some of that has been going on concurrently. Correct. And my hope is that there's the hard bargain. You can get that bill passed and you can get the legal right to negotiate those terms and then it's up to Arlington Heights. All right?
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Matt Abaticola
Now it's up to the local leaders to say, yeah, this is what we'll do or we won't do. And that, that may come to an obstacle and not either you, but you
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Dan Bernstein
can say you expect that we're not going to give you some 40 year set rate that isn't going to go up based on our population, based on the stresses on this community, based on what we're going to need, based on the growth out here that could end up having. We don't want. We're not going to have crowded schools and underpaid teachers. And that's up to Arlington Heights to figure that out. Right.
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Matt Abaticola
To make that decision. So I think there are five destinations for the Dan. For the, for the stadium Dan. I'm going to rank them in order for you. Arlington Heights, that's where they're going to be. They remain in Soldier Field. Unlikely Indiana.
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Dan Bernstein
Unlikely Iowa.
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Matt Abaticola
A floating stadium on Lake Michigan.
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Dan Bernstein
The only, the only people who would be supporting floating stadium on Lake Michigan would be the union of America's disaster movie directors, Michael Bay. Right.
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Matt Abaticola
It's like, couldn't you see, like, I mean like the boat taxi system getting fans to and from the stadium without any issues.
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Dan Bernstein
I could see no problem. Big giant floating stadium. I'm telling you, like Michael Bay or Paul Verhoeven or whoever with James Cameron. Like, they would be the only people who directed Poseidon Adventure. This is what we're talking about here. It would be that group of blockbuster disaster movie directors that would love to have the floating stadium somewhere in Lake Michigan.
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Matt Abaticola
Avatar 4, the Bears Stadium.
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Dan Bernstein
It might, you know what? Right. Bear stadium sinks to the bottom and it's the wreck of the water people. Save them. Yes. Oh, I forgot about the water people in Lake Michigan. Except they'd be really, they wouldn't be sort of romanticized water people. They'd be like the people who, people I fish with who fell in and just learned how to live down there because they grew gills.
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Matt Abaticola
Yeah. What's in the Pirates of the Caribbean but with like south side accents.
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Dan Bernstein
They're not particularly good at being water people. They're complaining about stuff. They'll talk about the bears a lot. Although I will say a floating stadium could give a little more structure for, for some of the smallmouth bass. There could be some areas where we could, you know, treat it like a floating reef or something like that. But man, this is just, it's like we haven't been through this before. Like we haven't been through the whole White Sox thing. I mean, everybody's such a. Are we really rubes in this town? The Bears are committed. Oh, my goodness. Look what's going on. Are they going to leave? What the hell, man? You're going to have Bears football. Bears football and going anywhere. No. You can have a lot of dumb money going to billionaires. You can have otherwise valuable money that could actually help with schools and roads and things that people need. But you know, just be sure if you're one of these. I don't like paying taxes in Illinois. I don't like paying taxes Illinois neither. I live down here close to Kentucky, and I don't want to give my money to all those black people in Chicago, all the welfare queens. But better keep the Bears. Can't lose them.
- [20:02]
Commercial Announcer
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with a name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it@progressive.com, progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match, limited by state law. Not available in all states. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with a name youe price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it@progressive.com, progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match, limited by state law. Not available in all states.
- [20:44]
Dan Bernstein
Whenever the stakes are high, my bookie is where you turn bets into bankroll. There's always a big matchup on the schedule. Everybody's watching, everybody has a take, no matter the sport. You know, the props are just as fun as the final score. Sometimes more fun, especially if you're watching the bulls. And that's why my bookie is the place for you because of their famous prop board. It is deep. It is fun to play. You can do individual player performances. You can do game milestones and all sorts of fun stuff in between. This is the kind of action that can keep things interesting all game. Long live. Betting does that too. You want to look at the score at halftime and think, well, this is moving a little differently. Maybe there's some opportunity in this, so get in and enjoy it. Right now, it's one account, one wallet.
- [21:31]
Matt Abaticola
Everything you like.
- [21:32]
Dan Bernstein
You like spreads, you like money lines, you like parlays. It's all there. There's a casino at my bookie. You can jump in during halftime or between games. Everything's in one place. Everything is at MyBookie AG. And because of our code, it's easy for you, DBU. You punch that in and then you have what's called the bet back bonus token. And that first bet, up to 500 bucks is covered. That means if it doesn't hit, you invoke that token and then you can run it back. It's like it didn't happen at MyBookie AG. The code, when you register, when you deposit, and you gotta do both those things, use the code dbu, and then you're not just watching the action, you are making it pay with my bookie. This is also another little public service announcement here. Speaking of stupid, there are a lot of baseball reporters around, nationally and locally who are total MLB ownership suck asses, absolute lick spittles, bootlickers. Be careful and beware because you're getting a lot of it all. There's a. There's a lot of people who've been reporting on baseball for a long time who are following everything. Baseball wants you to think about it being the player's fault that they have some grifting owners, that it's the player's responsibility to make up for the fact that certain owners don't like spending money and they just want to sit on their revenue sharing and make their splits and take a little bit of local TV money and not do anything because it's easier for them and they don't have to deficit spend and they don't have to go into their cash reserves. And somehow, apparently there are those who are gullible enough to think that's the player's fault in some way. They've got to give us a salary cap. All a salary cap does is make owners richer. All a salary cap does is it makes billionaires richer. And if that is a convincing argument, yes, I'm all for making billionaires richer. All right. Okay. Well, great. I don't understand that and why that's something you'd root for, but I applaud the players for their swift selection of their brand new union chief. I applaud the mlbpa. And from the stuff I heard yesterday, the stuff I'm hearing early from executive committee members, from team representatives, the stuff I heard from Ian Hap, the stuff I've heard from Chris Bassett, I think they're doing a nice job early trying to lay that out. But Bruce Meyer is the new executive director of the players union, replacing the embattled boy. That word's doing a lot of work there. He's. You're talking about embattled. This Was our discussion yesterday that my wife and I were just, we're talking about where we were laying out the whole, you know, the guy's boinking his, his sister in law and we're like, oh, wife, sister is. Or is it wife's sister? Is it brother's wife? Is it sister's wife? And it turns out it is wife's sister. I think, I think that's maximum carnage.
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Matt Abaticola
No, I think, I think, I think brother's wife is, is. Because that's, that's, that's within, like internally within your own family unit.
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Dan Bernstein
Yeah, but so it's also the other way.
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Matt Abaticola
It's all bad. It's all bad.
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Dan Bernstein
But I think we were debating maximum carnage fracturing.
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Matt Abaticola
I think maximum carnage is fracturing that relationship with your own, your own brother while destroying multiple family units.
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Dan Bernstein
Yeah, this is, we will table that debate. But either way, just simply getting him out of there and being like, all right, whatever that was is gone. And now the actual labor lawyer, Bruce Meyer, who is going to be, regardless, he was going to be the man in the room where it happens during the negotiation. And I don't believe that unions should be led by former players, unless coincidentally, the former player ends up being an educated and accomplished labor lawyer, which is possible. But the great thing about Bruce Meyer is, first of all, he's not universally liked, which is a really good sign. It's a sign that he's doing his job on behalf of the players to come and not necessarily the players who are there now. And that's the nature of these negotiations. And it's why owners usually win these negotiations is because the players have to be selfless and know that they themselves may not gain. They in the rank and file may not gain, but those who come after them will. That's what Marvin Miller was able to sell to his constituents. That's what Donald Fear was able to sell to his constituents. Donald Fear, who came up as a junior lawyer working with Marvin Miller, you know, Michael Weiner before Tony Clark, that, now you've got that back, that the, the, the Tony Clark era is over and you've put it back in the hands of an actual trained labor attorney with a history alongside some of these giants of sports labor law.
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Matt Abaticola
You know, and one of the best things you mentioned, Chris Bassett, MLBPA Executive subcommittee Member. One of the very best things that I've read on this, I saw this yesterday on Twitter. He says the salary cap doesn't fix anything. If you look at every major sport with a salary cap, we have the best parity the salary cap is not the issue. Having suppressed salaries across the league so owners make more money is not the answer. If I were to tell you in 25 years the Dodgers would be going to 10 World Series and winning seven of them, is that an issue? Because that's the Patriots. The Chiefs have been to what, six or seven? The Philadelphia Eagles have been the four or five. The parody in our sport is better than any other sport. And that's a fact too. You can take a look at that. We will make changes to try to help the so called bottom teams out. But a salary cap and suppressing salaries and taking from players to try to help the so called bottom teams spend more, that's not the answer. Because if you're trying to make a competitive league across the board, we have proof that every single league has less parity than ours. So how can you sit there and say a salary cap is going to fix this when every single salary cap sport has less parity than ours? It makes no sense. Again, the root of the answer is not the salary cap. The root of why owners want a salary cap is not for competitive balance.
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Dan Bernstein
That's absolutely true. They want a salary cap for, for franchise values. They want set costs. They want the values of their franchises to rise commensurately with those in capped leagues. That's where the capped leagues have had an advantage and that has been the franchise values. Because people don't want to get into businesses. People don't want to enter arenas where their costs are not well known. And if you can set the cost to say this is what it costs to open a 711 or open a Subway or have a baseball team. Your costs are not going to exceed this. They can, but it's all going to be yours. It's all going to be. This isn't subsidized and this, that. I think it's a. The sleight of hand on behalf of owners. And this is part of what you're gonna be hearing. It's part of what. And be very, very. You have to. And I got, I do this against my better judgment because I know that as a people we're getting worse and worse and worse and worse at reading critically and thinking critically. I had to send somebody, somebody emailed me this video last night. Watch this, watch this, watch this. And I said it's fake. I'm happy to watch. It's not real. This never happened. This person never said these things. You've got to read critically. You've got to understand the sources who is saying What, Why are they saying it? Is it somebody represented by a media outlet that would benefit when owners benefit? Is it a media outlet actually owned by owners that find themselves, whether it is simply passively or being told actively to take up these, these positions to carry water for ownership? Labor doesn't own networks. There is no players media outlet other than some of what you're saying, when, when the players spokespeople themselves, when it is Chris Bassett or Ian Happ or people in other sports. So just make a pledge to at least try, at least try, at least try to understand why is this reporter reporting this in this way who benefits from the presumptions, from the nudges, from the default settings that are presumed in a report, no matter how big the, especially when it comes to how big the name. That's. It's really all I ask. And you'll be able to be an informed consumer of media and an informed taxpayer and an informed fan. I'm going to make mistakes because that happens. We all do. And all I can do is be aware of them and try not to make mistakes again in how I process information and, and how I read some of this stuff. There's a lot out there. It's not, it's not easy. There is no, you can't just run this through an AI filter and dumb it down for you sometimes. And it's hard and it takes a little more time to, to then ask those questions of yourself. And they're saying, okay, why is this person reporting this who's quoted and where, where in the story are these people quoted? Interesting. I saw, I've seen that quote and I saw that a couple of weeks ago and this writer used that. There's a lot that has to be done here, but just know that that stuff that Chris Bassett said is pretty much correct. And I do like the fact that there's a hard ass, educated, experienced labor lawyer who not only is going to be the tip of the spear in negotiations, but is now the interim head of the union. And he comes from that history. He comes from Marvin Miller, hall of Famer Marvin Miller, who was alongside Kurt Flood and alongside Andy Messersmith when they were able to strike down the reserve clause. Marvin Miller, who helped use a loophole in Charlie Finley's contract with Catfish Hunter that allowed him to become a free agent. And those guys who didn't make the same kind of money, they paved the way. The sacrifices, that's really what it is. It's the understanding of labor sacrifice now for what could be better for Everyone on your side of the bargaining table and later. And it's really difficult. And owners usually end up winning. They end up that sports unions have struggled because of the, the, the disparity in resources to weather work stoppages. And that's why a lockout is coming, because they're, they're going to count on the players to break. They're going to count on the player, the players to, for the union to crumble before these, these disparate ownership groups, the grifters against the people sitting on their own TV deals before they come to any kind of agreement. They say, yeah, well, let's just put it on the players. Let's make them pay for the fact that we can't figure out how to do our business in a way that benefits every owner. All right, so we'll see how this goes. There's going to be ebbs and flows. There's going to be pushes and pulls. But I guess on both subjects here, whether it comes to the Bears stadium and the politics involved and the positioning and posturing, don't just promise not to be a pawn. Don't be an unwitting pawn. Try to evaluate things and evaluate it as both a fan, as a taxpayer, as a citizen, and look at all the various responsibilities and ways that you can look at yourself rather than just selfishly. That's all. And ultimately, I think everything will end up with the Bears. It's going to be fine. It doesn't really matter what your, your Bears, your relationship with the Bears isn't going to change at all because the. They're probably going to be in Arlington Heights. I'd say there's a 90% chance they're in Arlington Heights. Probably more probably 99% chance in Arlington Heights. The Hammond thing is the last scrap of leverage that they have to try to force some action as they're trying to claw as much of a handout, tax wise, as much of a handout of your money as they can.
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Matt Abaticola
Yeah. Cause just keep in mind they did it backwards by buying the property first. Then they hired the guy. So. And just. That's always the point to go back to.
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Dan Bernstein
And they fumbled it out of the gate, right?
- [35:48]
Matt Abaticola
Absolutely.
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Dan Bernstein
And they screwed it. This is. They're all trying to make up for their own mistakes. This isn't. Boy, the Bears have got them now. The Bears have got them on the run. No, they don't. They don't.
- [35:58]
Matt Abaticola
Just, just keep in mind that they, they've committed to doing their due diligence. So, Dan, that should scare you. A couple other baseball notes for you, too. I don't know if you saw Zach Veen from Colorado.
- [36:11]
Dan Bernstein
Not Zach Levine?
- [36:13]
Matt Abaticola
No, not Zach Levine. Zach Veen. He went from 190 pounds at the end of last season to about 234 right now.
- [36:21]
Dan Bernstein
Just.
- [36:22]
Matt Abaticola
Just take a look at him when you get a chance.
- [36:23]
Dan Bernstein
Just keep that.
- [36:24]
Matt Abaticola
That name in mind.
- [36:24]
Dan Bernstein
He. He makes.
- [36:26]
Matt Abaticola
So like, I always thought Aaron Judge was an imposing figure. He makes Aaron Judge look small. I mean, this dude is jacked. He's just look it up right now. Look up Zach Veen. V, E, N. Zach Veen. Z, A, C. Veen.
- [36:43]
Dan Bernstein
Zach Veen. An American outfit. Well, this must be an old picture then. Oh, yeah, this. His face looks different.
- [36:53]
Matt Abaticola
Dude, he is. It looks insane. He looks like a monster. He looks like a fucking football player.
- [37:00]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, well, you don't. Okay. Yeah, he's. That's £40.
- [37:06]
Matt Abaticola
He said he quit drinking. He's changed his diet, his. His exercise habits, the weight room. It's just. Man, it's. It's crazy looking, right?
- [37:15]
Dan Bernstein
Is he eating garbage trucks?
- [37:17]
Matt Abaticola
That does not look like a baseball player, does it?
- [37:19]
Dan Bernstein
No. No, it doesn't. Now he's how tall?
- [37:23]
Matt Abaticola
I don't know. What's. He.
- [37:24]
Dan Bernstein
He was the ninth overall pick in the 2020 draft. Yeah, that's a. That's a big human. Wow. Okay.
- [37:31]
Matt Abaticola
You see some old footage of him. He was under 200 pounds. He was like 190. He was just in his. A rail.
- [37:37]
Dan Bernstein
All right.
- [37:38]
Matt Abaticola
He looks like a monster now, though. I know another guy that, that I
- [37:41]
Dan Bernstein
know what I would have thought a long time ago.
- [37:44]
Matt Abaticola
100%. 100%. And I think that's why he went to detail as far as, like, what he did in the offseason.
- [37:48]
Dan Bernstein
Jesus.
- [37:50]
Matt Abaticola
Another guy that has changed his workout regimen in the off season, hoping it pays off at the plate, is Dansby Swanson. And I know we'll get more into the baseball stuff as we. As we get into spring training here and get through that as we get more focused on baseball things. One other interesting note that I saw from MLB.com, three of their writers went through and picked out based on fan graphs, depth charts, steamer and zips projections, who the best players were going to be in each team. And just want to look at the. At what they wrote down for the. For the. For the. The Cubs.
- [38:23]
Dan Bernstein
Is this by B War or F War? It's.
- [38:27]
Matt Abaticola
Well, what they have listed here is just war.
- [38:30]
Commercial Announcer
Okay.
- [38:31]
Matt Abaticola
4.7 War for Pete Crow, Armstrong being the number one player, and then for the White Sox on the south side, it's.
- [38:37]
Dan Bernstein
Guess. Let me guess. You're the. Oh, boy, that's a tough one. Because even they're good.
- [38:43]
Matt Abaticola
Really tough. Really?
- [38:47]
Dan Bernstein
Only because he's the shortstop. I'll say Montgomery.
- [38:50]
Matt Abaticola
Yes, that's correct.
- [38:51]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [38:52]
Matt Abaticola
And let me just pull up what they do at 2.2, 2.5 war.
- [38:56]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [38:57]
Matt Abaticola
Colson Montgomery. Yeah. I mean, I would have said Minecraft only because I love him, but. Yeah, Colson Montgomery is. Is the guy. Yeah. I just like saying his name too. Okay, so they have PCA and then Colson Montgomery. But again, as we get more into spring training, I know the. The Cubs and White Sox play each other tomorrow. After that'll be a televised game. So as we're getting into the swing of baseball things, just some fun stuff. But I wanted to point out that Zach Veen, because I wasn't sure if you'd seen him, but I hadn't. Frightening.
- [39:24]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know, about £40. I. I'm gonna. I'm just conditioned to be skeptical about that.
- [39:31]
Matt Abaticola
It's hard not to be with baseball.
- [39:32]
Dan Bernstein
I. I know.
- [39:34]
Matt Abaticola
Like, I saw the guy with his jersey on and, you know, short sleeve. And his man is. Seriously, he looks like he'd be a football player. Like, if you saw the guy at a restaurant, you'd say professional football player, not outfielder.
- [39:46]
Dan Bernstein
And now we. You probably also have to go through and see which of those pictures have been. Have been AI. Manipulated too. That's part of the.
- [39:52]
Matt Abaticola
Maybe all of it has.
- [39:53]
Dan Bernstein
Right. Right. He's five. Three. Yeah. Wait a second. They made up this guy. I have an anagram to Zach Veen, but I could. To see if there's a hidden meaning in there.
- [40:07]
Matt Abaticola
That's a tough one.
- [40:08]
Dan Bernstein
There's not a whole lot to work with. Zen cave. Does that work? Yeah, it does. Maybe he's been in a Zen cave. I don't know. See if there's any anagrammatical hidden meaning there. Let me give you a basketball note, too. Apparently, Josh Giddey is back for the Bulls tonight against the Rap Tours. Okay, and this gets to. We talked about this. There's a new OWC that is out that we put out yesterday that this really is sort of the Bulls conundrum right now. There's 27 games left, and ideally they'd lose all of them. So the perfect storm that you could have is these. These new players, the ones that actually matter and the ones that were. They're determining if they matter. Simon Sexton, Ivy Dillingham, and Then maybe some others after those, I don't think Yabu Selle, you know, maybe Nick Richards and. But really those four, Ivy, Sexton, Simons and Dillingham, how they play with Giddy, they're going to play hard and it's going to be fun to scout because that's what we have to determine. Now. We're going to watch them with Josh Giddey and to a lesser extent with Modest Bou Zealous, but primarily with Giddy because he's going to have the ball. How do they operate? How do they play? Because they're going to. And they're going to play hard because Billy Donovan's teams play hard. You just have to hope that as hard as they play, by the time that fourth quarter rolls around, they get tired as they have been getting tired, and they lose because you want to root for them. You turn on a Bulls game, you want to root for the Bulls, say, ooh, I like that guy. I like that move. I like that. Oh, are they winning? That's not good. So we're going to have to figure out emotionally how to deal with that. And that's what I would say. Just scout these players as best you can with how they feel fit in, what they're doing offensively, defensively and transitionally with Josh Giddy on the floor because that's going to determine their future.
- [42:09]
Matt Abaticola
Or you could do like I'll do tonight and watch to root for the Raptors because they're giving five and a half in my three team parlay tonight.
- [42:17]
Dan Bernstein
And this is yet another situation where you, if, if the Bulls have a late lead, look at who's played what minutes and then realize how tired they've been getting and how worn down because they're small and they're out of shape, they get worn down on the boards.
- [42:33]
Matt Abaticola
So I have the Raptors tonight, minus five and a half. I have the Pistons getting points in New York, they're getting four and a half and then doing a big one. I always like doing a big one. The Cavs minus 16 and a half. They're hosting the Nets. So that's my three teams tonight. So Cavs minus 16 and a half. Raptors minus five and a half. Pistons at New York, plus four and a half, which is the game of the night.
- [42:54]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [42:56]
Matt Abaticola
Last night too, if you saw the Illinois game, they number 10. Illinois beat USC. Pretty easy game. 101, 65. Wagler had 10 points in 29 minutes. So Akovich, off the bench, led Illinois with 22. They were 24 of 26 from the free throw line. They cleaned up on the defensive boards, which is what they need to do to keep winning. So they took care of usc. They play at UCLA Saturday night before they host Michigan, currently number one ranked Michigan. So that's their next two games at UCLA and then Michigan at home. I think next Friday, I want to say.
- [43:31]
Dan Bernstein
All right, which leads us to the most important part of Dan Bernstein unfiltered in this particular fortnight. And that is your 312 Sports Olympic update with our Olympics correspondent, Matt of At A Cola.
- [43:54]
Matt Abaticola
Well, it's a quick one today for you because we're just going to focus on what's going on in hockey. The women's ice hockey team plays in the gold medal game today against Canada. So it's USA versus Canada. That's a 1210 drop of the puck for the gold medal game. The men's hockey team won in the knockout round Yesterday against Sweden 2 to 1 in overtime, which was an outstanding game. I don't know if you ended up watching it. I know we chatted that you were, had recorded it, but did you get a chance?
- [44:22]
Dan Bernstein
No, I was recording OWC when it was on. Yeah. So we were in the middle of talking about the Bulls.
- [44:29]
Matt Abaticola
It was, it was awesome. And then what's his name? Hughes from the Wild. I want to say Austin Hughes. It's not Austin, but he scored the game winner in overtime. Overtime, period. That in international hockey goes to three on three.
- [44:45]
Dan Bernstein
The US Apparently Skip Bayless didn't know.
- [44:48]
Matt Abaticola
Oh no.
- [44:49]
Dan Bernstein
What happens? I didn't know Skip Bayless was still working and apparently is he still doing a TV show? I don't know. Okay, but, but apparently he said like NHL, wake up and look at how much action you could have in three on three overtime. Oh
- [45:13]
Matt Abaticola
no, I thought you meant he didn't know that they do it in international hockey.
- [45:18]
Dan Bernstein
No, he didn't know the NHL did it.
- [45:22]
Matt Abaticola
And then he actually went out on
- [45:23]
Dan Bernstein
air and went on Twitter, on Twitter and said like, basically like the NHL should wake up and understand what this can do for overtime. It was like
- [45:35]
Matt Abaticola
so as nerve wracking as overtime. Like important hockey is playoff hockey or in this case Olympic hockey. Having that three on three. Oh my God. It just, it, it, it amplifies that anxiety even more. But it was a overtime period that the, the U.S. dominated. There was six shots in the overtime period, all six by the U.S. and then Hughes gets the game winner 2 to 1 over Sweden, which was, and you know, Sweden tied the game with a minute like about A minute to go in the game. They, they pulled the goalie, they got a couple, they got a possession, and then they get it. They got a shot that went in to tie it late in the, in the third, but us win. So now the men play Slovakia tomorrow at 2:10, and then they win that game. They get into the gold game. Canada is playing Finland tomorrow, so the winner of that game will meet whoever wins the USA Slovakia. So we're looking at a another possible USA Canada gold medal game. And that gold medal game takes place on Sunday. Our medal count right now is Norway 34, Italy with 26, the US with 24.7gold for the US which is 3 off their best ever for Winter Olympics. I think their highest was in Utah, Salt Lake City, where they had 10 golds. So they're three behind there. And hopefully a couple more come from hockey. Japan with 22 and Germany with 21. So that's your medal count for the
- [46:56]
Dan Bernstein
Winter Olympics, and that is your312. Sports Olympic update. Marches around the corner, and college basketball is heating up, which means it is time to get in on the action with my bookie. Those conference races are tightening the bubble. Teams are fighting for their lives. Every game matters, every possession feels bigger. It's when things start to really get. And as Matt was talking about watching here, just some of the Big Ten teams, there are a lot of those teams that matter. And Illinois could win the national championship this year. So if you haven't been watching and you want to see what they can do, and then you start thinking, ooh, how are my brackets going to set up? Who's. If I start looking, who's on the one line, who's on the three line, who are the first four out of ten, the last four out, first four in. I forgot how that works. But it's not just about picking winners. It's all in the props. Player points, team totals, futures. Right now, you can bet the tournament odds. There's value everywhere. If you're paying attention, now is the time to jump in at MyBookie AG, because we have a code for you. DBU for Dan Bernstein, unfiltered. And then your first bet's covered up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, you then have a bet back, bonus token. And then you can run it back. One account, one wallet, all there at MyBookie AG. Bet the spread, live bet, second half or in between games, there's a casino so you can go in there. It all lives in that one place at MyBookie AG. So make your deposit and use the code DBU for that 500 value bet back bonus token. Then you're not just watching the madness build, you're making it pay. With my bookie.
- [48:48]
Matt Abaticola
That's Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild. So. I'm sorry, the Hughes family, they listen to the shows, so.
- [48:54]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, yeah, I know they do.
- [48:55]
Matt Abaticola
Quinn Hughes. I mean, we're big among hockey families.
- [48:58]
Dan Bernstein
Huge. I'm gonna return a favor. Okay. You. Because you did this for me a couple of months ago, maybe a month ago. Looking ahead at movies.
- [49:09]
Matt Abaticola
Okay, this is a movie list.
- [49:11]
Dan Bernstein
This. I have a list. I just have a list. And we've seen the trailers for some of these, Super bowl, etc. But I've got. And this was, it was put up. This is npr and they did a report on the upcoming movies. And I just want to take your temperature.
- [49:30]
Matt Abaticola
So if I'm going to see them, if I'm interested, just thoughts, whatever, whatever
- [49:35]
Dan Bernstein
your thoughts are on what you know, on what you've seen on. Based on any descriptions that you know, your, whatever your fandom may be just what's going to speak to you in a certain way and. Or if you have an opinion, whether or not you think it's going to be good or bad. Okay, let's go subjective objective. We will start with a movie that is coming out in theaters March 6th and it'll be on Netflix March 20th. I know my parents will be excited about this because they love this show. Peaky Blinders. Peaky Blinders, the Immortal man, the British series about a Birmingham crime family ended its sixth and final season four years ago with Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby setting fire to his Romany wagon and galloping on a white steed into a war torn 1940s Britain teeming with fascists. Cool. Murphy said at the time he'd return for a big screen finale if there's more story there. Evidently there was because he and all the cast, surviving principals, will be back to usher in a new generation.
- [50:44]
Matt Abaticola
All right, so I can tell you that I've never watched Peaky Blinders, the series. I've been told by several people that I should, that I would enjoy it. And looking at, you know, the synopsis of it, I think I would enjoy it. I just never have. Okay, so my temperature on it is cold because I know nothing of the story. So to see the movie would seem kind of pointless.
- [51:06]
Dan Bernstein
All right, movie number two in theaters March 6th. Disney, Pixar's Hoppers.
- [51:18]
Matt Abaticola
Yep, I've seen the commercials.
- [51:20]
Dan Bernstein
Scientists have invented a Way to hop human minds into lifelike animal robots. In Pixar's latest adventure, Mabel, an animal loving teen uses this new tech to inhabit a robot beaver.
- [51:35]
Matt Abaticola
Hey, nice beaver.
- [51:36]
Dan Bernstein
I just had it stuffed. And quicker than you can say Avatar meets Mission Impossible, she's leading local critters in foiling a construction company's plan to wreck their habitat.
- [51:50]
Matt Abaticola
Okay, so I have seen the commercials. It is something I will watch and I'll probably watch at home when it becomes available some streaming service. I would have said that we would have gone to the theater to see it based on the boys interest in seeing it. And I can just tell you now that they probably will not be interested in seeing that. So I won't be going to the theater, but I will watch that. I do like all animated stuff, those kind of movies.
- [52:14]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. One thing you notice that Disney Pixar generally makes quality entertainment for sure, one way or another.
- [52:21]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. If I'm wrong and the boys are interested in going to the theater, then I'll certainly go see that here in early March.
- [52:27]
Dan Bernstein
All right. In theaters March 20th. Our 27th wedding anniversary project, Hail Mary. Ryan Gosling plays a middle school teacher who may be the world's only hope. When the sun and most of the galaxies adjoining stars start to dim. He resists being packed onto a spaceship and sent to the one nearby star that's immune to the dimming. But he gets more psyched about his mission when he encounters an alien life form. Based on a novel by Andy Weir, who wrote the Martian, this is another story about a lengthy and dangerous space flight that leavens suspense with humor.
- [53:13]
Matt Abaticola
Yes. Have a desire to see that. Saw the trailer in the movie theater and I do like Ryan Gosling and as you said, the author of the Martian. So it was. I laughed out loud at the trailer. So I'm interested in seeing that. I will be seeing that at the theater.
- [53:29]
Dan Bernstein
I loved the Martian. I thought this trailer was a loser. I thought that the trailer when all of a sudden like, oh, here's the alien and he's made of rocks and his name is Rocky. Okay. I am always willing to presume that the trailer can market a movie to a certain kind of audience. That and then they can change their tack later, that the editing of trailers can make a movie look all kinds of ways that they want. But I don't know, man. I hope that the trailers that I've seen are not necessarily indicative because like I say, I love the margin. I have not read this book, but as of right now, I'm a I'm a big old negatory on this one, right? Yeah, I'm a yes on it until I read otherwise.
- [54:30]
Matt Abaticola
When's the last time you watched the Martian or you've seen the Martian?
- [54:32]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, it's. Whenever it's on, I'll watch. Okay.
- [54:34]
Matt Abaticola
I watched it about a month ago, actually.
- [54:37]
Dan Bernstein
The music is great.
- [54:38]
Matt Abaticola
I came across it and I was like, you know what? I haven't seen this in a while.
- [54:41]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, it's a really good movie. The star power is great. And you always, when you have these, you know, big screens filled with big stars, good looking faces and good music and, and high production values and all that. I like the Martian.
- [54:54]
Matt Abaticola
All right, so what do you got for me? So I'm a. I'm a no, I'm a maybe, and I'm a yes so far.
- [54:59]
Dan Bernstein
All right, next up, Michael. In theaters April 24.
- [55:06]
Matt Abaticola
About Myers.
- [55:08]
Dan Bernstein
Antoine Fuqua directs this biopic about the rise.
- [55:12]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, Michael.
- [55:13]
Dan Bernstein
Of Michael Jackson from lead singer of the Jackson 5 to superstar status as the gloved one. Stepping into Jackson's shoes and presumably moonwalking is the king of pops look alike and sound alike nephew Jafar Jackson, while Colman Domingo plays his father, Joe.
- [55:41]
Matt Abaticola
We will be seeing that.
- [55:42]
Dan Bernstein
Yes. I'd like to know, do they deal with the whole pedophilia thing?
- [55:52]
Matt Abaticola
I haven't seen that in the trailer. Haven't read that anywhere.
- [55:56]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Otherwise, isn't that kind of hanging over at all?
- [56:00]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, I guess we'll see what they do with it. But I know that's there's one. There's interest in my household for that movie, so.
- [56:05]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. I would, I would just like to see if the, you know, considering the times in which we live and that we're currently just swimming in information about a global pedophilia cabal, I think it would just be interesting to know if this movie decides that it wants to see, just kind of not talk about that or kind of hope we don't think about it or confront it head on. I don't know. So you're, you're a yes on that?
- [56:40]
Matt Abaticola
Yes.
- [56:41]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, how about The Devil Wears Prada 2?
- [56:47]
Matt Abaticola
Yes.
- [56:48]
Dan Bernstein
Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep's Miranda is still Runway magazine's queen bee, and Stanley Tucci and Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt are still buzzing around her. Though with an altered media landscape, the power dynamics have shifted. Emily's now the head of a luxury brand with ad money to SPE. This one is based on the 2013 sequel novel Revenge Wears Prada. The Devil Returns.
- [57:13]
Matt Abaticola
Yes. I will definitely be seeing that in the theater.
- [57:16]
Dan Bernstein
See, here's where I am on this. It's probably going to be bad, but I'm going to see it.
- [57:25]
Matt Abaticola
You're probably correct on that because it's not going to be as good as the first one.
- [57:30]
Dan Bernstein
No way.
- [57:31]
Matt Abaticola
It can't be Secret Maverick.
- [57:33]
Dan Bernstein
And we didn't see the first one coming. The first one is awesome. I love the original. Love it, love it, love it, love it, love it.
- [57:42]
Matt Abaticola
And I saw the play on Broadway in Chicago as well, too, which was fantastic.
- [57:47]
Dan Bernstein
Was it?
- [57:47]
Matt Abaticola
Yes, it was great. It was great.
- [57:50]
Dan Bernstein
Well, it is. I. I'm gonna see it just because I know I will because I love the first one so much.
- [57:59]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah. So if we're prioritizing those 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 movies so far, that is number one on the list that I'm seeing for sure.
- [58:05]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. My expectations are very low. I'm going to keep my expectations very low, but I'm sure you got my 17 bucks or whatever it is. It'll be a nice little date night movie. We'll go out and have a Lovely dinner.
- [58:19]
Matt Abaticola
Agreed.
- [58:21]
Dan Bernstein
May 8, we'll see the debut of the Sheep Detectives. Not familiar with this one, The Sheep Detectives. I saw this trailer last night
- [58:37]
Matt Abaticola
and
- [58:37]
Dan Bernstein
I said, I think that could be really good. And Beth said, you know it's a kids movie, right? I said, I don't. Whatever it is, it looks like it might be good. Hugh Jackman's shepherd makes sure his flock is not just fed and groomed, but entertained by reading his sheep murder mystery whodunits every night. So when the sheep find him one morning, cold and motionless, they're way ahead of the bumbling local cop. Nobody's pulling the wool over their eyes. The cast includes Emma Thompson and the voices of. I'm going to say one name here and you're going to be in. Okay.
- [59:27]
Matt Abaticola
Tom Cruise.
- [59:28]
Dan Bernstein
No, there's one name. No, you will be in. This is. This is one of your. Maybe your biggest crush.
- [59:35]
Matt Abaticola
Okay.
- [59:37]
Dan Bernstein
Is the. So I'll mention her first. Julia Louis Dreyfus.
- [59:41]
Matt Abaticola
Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll see it. I knew it.
- [59:44]
Dan Bernstein
I knew it. That's your automatic there.
- [59:46]
Matt Abaticola
I'll go see it.
- [59:47]
Dan Bernstein
I know you have.
- [59:47]
Matt Abaticola
You had to think of.
- [59:48]
Dan Bernstein
I know you've had to think of her forever. Julia Louis Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston and Patrick Stewart.
- [59:56]
Matt Abaticola
All right, I'll see it.
- [59:57]
Dan Bernstein
Those are the voices of the sheep.
- [59:58]
Matt Abaticola
I don't necessarily know. I'll be at the theater seeing it, but I'll Definitely watch that with anticipation.
- [60:04]
Dan Bernstein
I thought it looked pretty good.
- [60:05]
Matt Abaticola
I don't like Matthew Jackman Dies, though. Well, was that a spoiler alert?
- [60:10]
Dan Bernstein
No, it's not. I mean, I think that that's kind of the.
- [60:12]
Matt Abaticola
It's kind of, kind of declared when you said they found his cold, motionless body.
- [60:16]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, that's really the, the setup of the whole thing, as far as I can tell. All right, one more. And that is the Mandalorian and Grogu in theaters May 22. The little guy we first met as Baby Yoda is making his big screen debut in the 13th Star wars film. Disney's attempts to extend the series beyond the three original trilogies on the silver screen were spotty. But with the Mandalorian, a smash hit on Disney plus and a seven year gap since the last big screen battle between First Order and Resistance Resistance warriors, the thinking is there's some pent up demand. So enter bounty hunter Din Jarin and his apprentice.
- [60:59]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, I'll see that. I'll see that in the theater too, for sure. I'm disappointed though that they referred to him as Baby Yoda because it's not Yoda.
- [61:06]
Dan Bernstein
Well, it's in quotes. Okay.
- [61:08]
Matt Abaticola
All right.
- [61:08]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, the little guy we first met as Baby Yoda. But no, he's. It's Grogu.
- [61:14]
Matt Abaticola
Right. So it never has been Yoda.
- [61:17]
Dan Bernstein
Right. But when people saw him, they said, oh, it's a baby Yoda. Right.
- [61:21]
Matt Abaticola
So anyway, so.
- [61:22]
Dan Bernstein
But that's a yes.
- [61:23]
Matt Abaticola
What about you? Yes, I'll see that. Because you probably haven't kept up on all the Star wars stuff on Disney Plus.
- [61:33]
Dan Bernstein
No, not the TV stuff. Most of it. Yeah. I loved some of the others. I, I thought Solo was. Was fun. Bad. Not fun, but. It was bad, but fun. I liked Solo enough. And I loved Rogue One. Loved Rogue One.
- [61:48]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, that was great. The Obi Wan series was fantastic. And you get, you get more Darth Vader 2 in it. It was really. That was really great.
- [61:56]
Dan Bernstein
Wait, Darth Vader 2?
- [61:58]
Matt Abaticola
Darth Vader's also.
- [61:59]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, Darth Vader also is a big
- [62:01]
Matt Abaticola
part of Obi Wan. They bring the story back through. So. Yeah, Johnny, something got me onto that one. Maybe told me I had to watch it, so I didn't watch it in a week.
- [62:09]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [62:09]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah.
- [62:09]
Dan Bernstein
All right, well, there you go. There's a little movie preview.
- [62:12]
Matt Abaticola
I love movies. And I love movie lists.
- [62:14]
Dan Bernstein
I know you do. That's why I decided to bring this along. And we should mention that speaking of lists, that tomorrow here on Dan Bernstein Unfiltered this was Matt Abaticola's idea. Each of our top 10 proposed Olympic sports, winter or summer, the top 10 events that we can, if right now, we could declare that there will be multiple national teams competing at these sports. That is what we're going to do.
- [62:49]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, it was actually. It was my. My wife's idea. So Natalie came up with it, thought it'd be fun. I loved the idea because I thought we could get creative and goofy with it because it could be serious, it could be real, could be something silly, it could be something. I don't know what your parameters will be when you create your list, but it could be something that you feel like you would compete well at. That's an angle I'm looking for myself. I mean, that could be a really good. And you can make any Olympic sport you want, and it could be something that you would be really good at.
- [63:19]
Dan Bernstein
Like I say, if there is a US Worrying team. If you had. If you right now put together
- [63:28]
Commercial Announcer
in
- [63:28]
Dan Bernstein
the United States of America and you had, like, the 300 meter freestyle worrying, I would proudly represent this country.
- [63:36]
Matt Abaticola
Gold medal.
- [63:37]
Dan Bernstein
Yes. Oh, are you kidding?
- [63:39]
Matt Abaticola
A couple other things, too.
- [63:40]
Dan Bernstein
About Charlie Puth. Sing the anthem.
- [63:42]
Matt Abaticola
About tomorrow, we have a little special segment we're going to do on DBU. So this will be fun, because on Sunday, February 22nd, it'll be the 46th anniversary of the hockey game between the USA and Russia.
- [63:59]
Dan Bernstein
Okay?
- [64:01]
Matt Abaticola
So tomorrow we're going to have an old friend join DBU for our opening segment. He was there in Lake Placid in the building to witness the game firsthand.
- [64:16]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, that'll be fun. Yeah.
- [64:17]
Matt Abaticola
So we're going to talk a little USA Russia hockey with someone that we know, well known for years, that was there in the building.
- [64:25]
Dan Bernstein
Cool.
- [64:26]
Matt Abaticola
Yeah, it will be cool.
- [64:27]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, this will be fun. All right. This is good. And that will do it for today's Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. We have been brought to you in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered. Unfiltered. On three, One, two, sports.