Chicago Bears take a chance on Jedrick Wills Jr. | USA Advances in WBC!

Summary

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered – March 12, 2026

Episode Theme:
Chicago Bears take a chance on Jedrick Wills Jr. | USA Advances in WBC!

The March 12th episode of Dan Bernstein Unfiltered on 312 Sports delivers classic Chicago sports radio energy with sharp, no-nonsense discussion from Dan Bernstein and producer Matt Abbatacola. The episode centers on the Chicago Bears' risky signing of former Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., the latest angst surrounding the team’s offensive line, the USA’s advancement in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), memorable Chicago sports anecdotes, and a pop culture deep dive into sports memorabilia, Hall of Fame culture, and surprising nostalgia.

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Key Topics and Insights

1. 312 Day, Giveaways, and the Chicago Bears’ Offensive Line (03:12–19:21)

The Meaning of "312 Day"

• Dan and Matt mark “312 Day” – a playful nod to Chicago’s area code – with a festive opening and the promise of giveaways, including 312 Sports swag and Cubs tickets.
• Enter code “312” on the 312 Sports app or website to participate (19:21).

The Bears’ Puzzling Left Tackle Situation (02:24–19:21)

• The hosts break down the chaotic state of the Bears’ left tackle position, now featuring five "live bodies" and no clear-cut answer.
  • Starters and backups: Theo Benedet (left tackle), Ozzie Trapillo (backup), Braxton Jones (resigned for right tackle, now a backup), Kiran Amagadji (third string, right tackle), Darnell Wright (firm at right tackle).
• Notable Quote:
  • “I don’t like starting the season with Theo Benedict at left tackle. This… doesn’t look right to me.” — Dan Bernstein (06:12)

The Jedrick Wills Jr. Signing

• Wills, the former Browns’ first-round pick, enters the competition after a season off with a major knee injury and mixed results in Cleveland.
  • “Browns fans…have just referred to him as an unmitigated bust and nobody is unhappy to see him go.” — Dan Bernstein (06:31)
• The risk: Injury history, underwhelming recent play, but high physical upside and former top-10 draft pedigree.
  • Combine highlights: 6.85 grade (nearly All-Pro range), exceptional athletic scores. (14:00)
  • “His range is good starter to All-Pro…His floor was considered good starter.” — Dan Bernstein (15:05)
  • Wills is regarded as a “reclamation project,” reminiscent of the Cubs’ strategy with undervalued, high-upside athletes.

Reality of O-Line Competitions

• The hosts question whether “competition” at left tackle is genuine, or a symptom that nobody is good enough to claim the job.
  • “Usually competitions mean everybody sucks…If you don’t know who your starting left tackle is, that in and of itself can easily be considered a problem.” — Dan Bernstein (11:22)
  • Bears fans’ healthy skepticism is well-earned, given a history of injury flameouts (Karimi, Colombo, Chris Williams).
• Matt expresses trust in the staff, underscoring the importance of having a clear starter:
  • “You’re not going into the first year as a head coach. You’re going in as defending NFC North champions…They’re going to have five guys they’ve identified as starters. That left tackle will be there. It will not be some silly competition.” (18:13)

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2. World Baseball Classic – Drama, Clinching Scenarios, and Italian Style (25:41–33:38)

USA Advances Amid Confusion

• Detailed breakdown of the convoluted clinching scenarios for Team USA. Dan is adamant the broadcasters missed the logic:
  • “The moment Italy went up 4-0, it’s over. That fourth run by Italy was the clincher for the US…” — Dan Bernstein (29:30)
• A light roast of Mark DeRosa, US coach, for mishandling clinching scenarios and alleged “anti-union” leanings.

Italy's WBC Run: Espresso, Opera, and Fun

• Enjoyment of Italy’s unique home run celebrations – espresso shots and opera music in the dugout.
  • “I love the espresso. I love the opera music for home runs. It’s fucking great…And they have a real espresso machine!” — Matt (31:30)
• The segment segues into Italian food appreciation and the hosts swapping fennel salad recipes.

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3. Sports Culture and Nostalgia

Andre Dawson, the Expos, and Hall of Fame (38:22–50:42)

• Andre Dawson will now have a “blank hat” (no team logo) on his Hall of Fame plaque – finally allowed to reflect his wish for neutrality between Cubs and Expos.
  • Commentary on why players lost the right to pick their team logo (the “Wade Boggs Rays money” rumor).
  • “Getting rid of the Expos logo on Dawson’s cap is just the latest example of [Expos erasure].” — Dan (43:02)
• Heartfelt tribute to “Gary from Evanston” – legendary caller, Expos superfan, and radio character, illustrating the passionate, quirky side of Chicago sports fandom.
  • “His love for the Expos and the fact that after he passed away…listeners met up just to remember him…his daughter put together all of his ‘Who Ya Crappin’ entries he never read.” — Dan (47:45)

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4. Kobe Bryant and Generational Hero Worship (51:42–58:26)

Kobe Discourse: Why the Weird Veneration?

• Bam Adebayo’s 83-point NBA game and why some Kobe fans expected him to stop at 81 as a tribute.
  • “One of the senior NBA writers at The Athletic said Bam Adebayo should have stopped at 81 out of deference to Kobe Bryant…that’s really bad.” — Dan Bernstein (55:28)
• Debating the cultural reasons for Kobe’s idolization (“the tragic helicopter crash with his daughter”), the “meat rider” phenomenon (as labeled by another host), and how younger fans mythologize Kobe and Jordan, often without witnessing their primes.
• Matt’s take:
  • “There is this idolization and worship of Kobe Bryant…kids who really never watched him play…And it kind of washes over what happened in Denver, unfortunately.” (55:29)
• Dan gently critiques the selective cultural memory and rewriting of legacy:
  • “If [Kobe] were still alive, he would have congratulated Bam Adebayo. That’s what’s so weird.” (53:29)

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5. Sports Memorabilia: The Wild Jim Irsay Hall of Fame Auction (58:37–69:10)

A Museum for Sale

• Jim Irsay’s (late Colts owner) unrivaled collection is going up for auction via Christie’s – with an inventory that reads like rock, literary, and sports history come to life:
  • Music: The Buddy Holly "Winter Dance Party" poster (the day the music died), guitars from legends (Lennon, Harrison, Clapton, Garcia, Cobain, Prince), John Lennon’s upright piano, Ringo Starr’s drum kit, Elton John’s Steinway, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics, Miles Davis’ trumpet.
  • Pop Culture: The “Wilson” volleyball from Cast Away, Stallone’s Rocky script notebook, Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing car.
  • Sports: Jackie Robinson’s bat, Wayne Gretzky’s Game 7 jersey, Secretariat’s 1973 Triple Crown saddle, Muhammad Ali’s robe.
  • Tech and Lit: Steve Jobs’ signed letters, the original scroll of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
• “If you want any of these things…it’s all available at Christies.com. Start making your bids.” — Dan Bernstein (66:29)

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6. Notable Quotes & Moments

Quick Hits:

• “Usually competitions mean everybody sucks.” — Dan Bernstein (11:22)
• “His range is good starter to All-Pro…His floor was considered good starter.” — Dan Bernstein (15:05)
• “If you don’t know who your starting left tackle is, that…can easily be considered a problem.” — Dan Bernstein (11:22)
• “Getting rid of the Expos logo on Dawson’s cap is…Expos erasure.” — Craig Calcaterra, quoted by Dan (43:02)
• “Why are Kobe Bryant fans so damn weird?” — Dan Bernstein (52:54)
• “That should be the working slogan for 3Q tips. Toilet paper and eggs, man. You can’t go cheap.” — Matt (37:25)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 312 Day Celebration and Bears O-Line Set-Up: 03:12–06:11
• Bears’ Tackle Situation & Jedrick Wills Jr. Analysis: 06:12–19:21
• WBC & Italy’s Wild Celebrations: 25:41–33:38
• Andre Dawson & Expos Nostalgia: 38:22–50:42
• Kobe Bryant Idolization & Bam Adebayo: 51:42–58:26
• Jim Irsay Sports/Music Memorabilia Auction: 58:37–69:10

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Tone and Final Thoughts

Dan Bernstein is irreverent, precise, and leans into Chicago’s long tradition of skeptical, plainspoken sports radio. Banter with Matt is sharp, and the signature mix of deep-dive analysis, historical context, and affectionate storytelling keeps even the most inside-baseball topics entertaining and accessible.

For listeners wanting quick-hit takes on Bears roster moves, the dynamism of the World Baseball Classic, and the emotional legacy of sports icons and oddballs alike, this is a rich, unfiltered episode.

Transcript

[Dan Bernstein]

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[Co-host]

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

DBU on 31 2. And it is a celebratory day for us because here, March 12, 3 12, it's 312 day here in Chicago. And if you ask us, how are you celebrating 312 day at 312 sports? See behind me, wrong side here. 312 sports. I'd make a bad weatherman. I'd be like, I don't know, that's Maine, that's Arizona.

[Co-host]

I don't know. Stand right in front of the. The map.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, right. Although I could tell people to put a bike helmet on their head. I could be very good at that. And go down the basement, but then come up halfway down, halfway down, halfway down. And save your family heirlooms and make sure they're off the ground. But if your toddlers are down there, because I told you to go down there, you pick them up and put them on the shelf as well.

[Co-host]

Floaties. Not floaties.

[Dan Bernstein]

Float. Floaties for the toddlers heirlooms off the ground, bike helmet on, halfway down the stairs. Clear hearts, clean pants. Let's get it. I don't know.

[Co-host]

Good to go.

[Dan Bernstein]

Good to go. We're brought to you in partnership with my bookie. And here on 312 day, we're doing something for you because we love you dearly all day today, you will have the chance to not only win a 312 day sports package, three winners are going to be selected between now and the end of the day. And what you do is you open the 312 sports app or you go to 31 2sports.com and you enter the code.

[Co-host]

What's the code, Dan?

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm not telling you yet.

[Co-host]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

I might tell you a little bit later. You just, you have to be listening and just don't let me forget it because that would be really stupid.

[Co-host]

If we get to something we would do for sure.

[Dan Bernstein]

If we get to the end of the show. That I forget. I've done that before. I forgot. So we're going to give you that code and then what you can win. We have two winners that will be drawn for exclusive 312 sports swag and then one winner will get a pair of tickets to the Cubs opening weekend against the Nationals at Wrigley for Saturday or Sunday. So it's going to be the opening weekend Cubs nationals and we are going to have all of that for for you if you are the lucky 312 day winner here at 312 Sports. Nice. So help me figure out and you put this in my head regarding the ongoing significance and nebulousness surrounding the left tackle position. And for the moment and I know that everything has and I have to keep reminding myself that no individual move is ever in a vacuum. That there's always a larger plan and there's always a strategy. These things have reasons. But I will say for the moment I'm not quite sure what they're doing at left tackle. I don't quite get it because at the moment this does appear to be a a collecting of bodies. A collecting of guys that will eventually be in competition I would think because right now you've got, you've got four. Excuse me five. As we understand live bodies at the Bears tackle position and the latest one is certainly an intriguing one but just to remind you there was a competition at the position and I understand when a coach takes over a team and an offensive minded head coach and he knows how important every spot there is and locking everything down and we certainly knew how important it was based on the money that was spent everywhere and especially guard, center guard with the trades and the signings and now the upheaval that they have at center has certainly changed things and now that's we know that is probably a non moving piece in Garrett Bradbury for the moment but with Darnell Wright ensconced at right tackle as we understand and he was a competitor at left there were several practices when they, they, they gave him his opportunity because they, they should, there should be every option on the table. They have a. They had a brand new offensive line coach in Dan Roshar but at this critical spot right now the listed starter on the our lads depth chart. That's my, my favorite of the depth charts just for the I looked at it this morning and facility and they also keep up really well and it's all color coded. And@our lads.com Theo Benedet is the Bear starting left tackle.

[Co-host]

Yeah. And who and who they have listed as the backup?

[Dan Bernstein]

Ozzie Tropillo.

[Co-host]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, because they haven't made a move with him yet and they don't have to. Right.

[Co-host]

But he's the backup. And then you have Braxton Jones as the backup to right tackle Darnell.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. That's what I see. I see Darnell Wright at right. Braxton Jones recently just resigned on that bargain deal to give him another shot at right tackle. Now, the name's still in the mix here. Kieran Amagadji is listed as the third stringer at right tackle. He's not going in the right direction on the chart.

[Co-host]

No, he's not.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's the Amaganji depth chart. Trajectory for a third round pick is not the way you want it right now if you're him. But that's fine. If they feel that there's going to be some bench value or swing value there, that's fine. I don't like starting the season with Theo Benedict at left tackle. This is. This doesn't look right to me. And it may just be that the backup right tackle spot is a placeholder for Braxton Jones. But I am, at the very least, I'm intrigued by the signing yesterday. And I knew I remembered the name. But Jedrick Wills Jr. Is a Chicago Bear. Jedrick Wills Jr. Is A. And it was fascinating to see how the Browns fans have been talking about. I haven't called my friend who's the Browns expert, but when you look at some of the headlines here, he's just referred to as an unmitigated bust and nobody is unhappy to see him go. But according to one of their fan websites, the headline just says, brown's first round bust, Right. Ready to make his return to the NFL. And this looks like kind of a Bulls Jaden Ivy situation where if he has a working knee, he might be pretty good. And so it's in the back of my head because of what we're saying about Ozzy Trapillo and just how quickly a draft pick with high hopes can be derailed by a simple knee injury. And we've had experience with these guys getting hurt if in. And I don't mean to invoke these names to trigger your Chicago Bears anxiety, but remember what happened with Mark Colombo. Remember what happened with Gabe Karimi. Remember what happened with Chris Williams out of Vanderbilt, the first round pick, left tackle. So Chris Williams, I think it was.

[Co-host]

Yeah, Chris Williams. Colombo was a back injury. What was Gabe Karimi.

[Dan Bernstein]

Columbo was a knee also. I think.

[Co-host]

I think, I thought he was back. I believe it was the significant thing

[Dan Bernstein]

that derailed his career. I know he had both. I know there was a knee injury in there also. But sometimes these giant human beings are undone by the Achilles heel, as it were, of being giant people who need unfettered movement and don't have a lot of margin for error when it comes to the levers and the mechanisms that propel these, these giant masses around. And sometimes you're just done. Jedrick Wills took an entire year off and this is why, you know, the Tripillo thing when they're already taking a gamble. Amagadji was hurt, Tripillo's hurt now. Jedrick Wills, Will was hurt. And they're fresh off of having to move their left guard to tackle in the most important game they've played in decades. That happened. So now they're just going to keep throwing bodies at it. But let's get most of the details here on Jedrick Wills. He took all the last season off because he was recovering. The full season thing, it's sort of like what we went through with Amagadji, who had the bad thigh injury, the quad tear that kept him out. He never got up to full strength. Hell, even Braxton Jones, even Braxton Jones was too hurt to work out and build his anchor. But Jedrick Wills had been on a tour of visits with NFL teams and the Bears weren't mentioned in the story from Brownswire, but they said that it included the Patriots, it included the Lions. And he expected when he started that tour, he said he fully expects to be with an NFL team this season and he spent a week with visits and the Bears maybe found a match there with style of play and with need, with opportunity. And if you got a 26 year old former top 10 pick who was believed to be a plug and play tackle, at the very least somebody who could be your third tackle immediately upon arriving, the money's about right. But this is the kind of signing I don't mind. I like high ceiling pedigree signings that if in fact you get a free look. And Dan Roshar, who's already probably worked him out if they, if he's been working out for people and the Bears offensive line coach says, you know, he's moving okay enough if, if he were just completely done, I don't think the Bears would do this at all. I don't know how long a Runway they're going to give him. But I don't mind this idea. I don't mind throwing another body out there. I just Wish I thought that they weren't running back. Last year's plan. And this kind of what it sounds like is first of all, rotating bodies into practice. The longer you do that, the more disruptive it can be to the cohesiveness of your offensive line. And they set it last year, Ben Johnson's, when they set out with the competition. We all roll our eyes anytime we hear about a competition in training camp and we shouldn't because we shouldn't let our previous Bears experiences haunt Ben Johnson. He doesn't deserve that. He didn't do anything wrong. He might earn it in time. But that kind of healthy Bears skepticism about such things is just because of our experience is well earned. Because usually competitions mean everybody sucks. That's generally the case. You got two quarterbacks, it means you got no quarterbacks. You know, some version of that. If you don't know who your starting left tackle is, that in and of itself can easily be considered a problem. And then coaches will say, well, we're, we're going to have steel, sharpened steel or iron, sharpen iron or whatever you want to call it. And these guys are all going to make each other better and everybody's going to be awesome. Okay, great. I don't know how it's going to work.

[Co-host]

No, you don't. And we don't know what their philosophy, their motivation behind it. Last year calling it a competition. So I think they understood where it was going to fall into place last year and I think they might have used it as a motivation tool to push guys to see. Now we talked about Theo Benedict, an undrafted guy in 2024. You have Karen Magogadji who just. Who wasn't fully healthy. Braxton Jones wasn't fully healthy. They drafted and targeted Ozzie Tripillo who ended up being the guy. So let's give them credit for that. They drafted him. He ended up being the guy and was playing really well until he gets hurt. So Jedrick Wills Jr. Dan, he was the number 10 pick in 2020. He played 13 games in 2023 and 2024 due to injury and bad play. Took the entire season off last year, as you mentioned, I went back to look at his combine stuff. He graded out at a 6.85 which is a day one starter. Yeah, that's day one starter. His production score, next gen scats was a 97 which was tied for first overall. He had an athleticism score of 82, a total score of 89. He ran the 40 and 505. He had a vertical jump of 345 and a broad jump of 9ft 5 inches. This is the write up on him on NFL.com he is tailor made for the NFL. His range of success is good starter to all pro. His strengths are big, wide, extremely athletic body plays loose hips and fluid twitchy feet. Quick out of the gate to cross face defenders from the backside. Moves like a tight end in space to adjust moving targets. Good flexibility and leverage at the point of attack. Can unlock hips and rips into initial contact with jarring force. Bulldozes down blockers. Follows his feet to sustain space. Basketball footwork to mirror athletic rushers. Protects with locked in base with jabs. Rushers with either hand and has talent to meet and refire in an instant. Plays with unusual pose against counters. Power balance and feet are outstanding in recovery plays with nasty disposition. That's good stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm excited.

[Co-host]

That's good stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

What I circled was his range is good. Starter to all pro to all pro.

[Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

His floor was considered good starter.

[Co-host]

Yeah. Dan, you get it at 6.85. I mean you're, you're almost at 7 which is all pro.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. How much is left? How much of that athleticism, how much of that is.

[Co-host]

And that's what I love about reading about him is that he like you have a tight end or a tackle that can move feet like that that they compare them to a tight end.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, remember famously it was Darnell Wright who we heard was given the off season workout quote unquote accidentally he got the tight end conditioning workout right and he did it and they're like oh, we gave you the wrong one. We didn't give you the tackle when we gave you the tight end way. Yeah, well, I completed it.

[Co-host]

Yep. So his weaknesses A shorter than average as a tackle. He plays too far forward at times. As a run blocker will one pop a block over sustaining at times. He can improve centering and controlling zone blocks. Inconsistent tempo on workup blocks. Rare to see him latch in close distance with hand grip. Average instincts and recognition against the blitz. Losses and pass protection usually due to overextending. Occasionally beaten by inside moves and spin counters. So yeah, weaknesses there. Everyone has them. Those are that stuff you can overcome with good coaching. It's the, it's the pure natural stuff that he has that's really exciting to see which is why he was taken number 10 overall at Alabama by Cleveland. And you get derailed by injuries and injuries are going to lead to bad play and bad plays and lead you not being on the field. And then when you can't play, you're not going to be there altogether. So I like this. It's a reclamation project. This is a top 10 pick that had a really high pedigree and they're not throwing a lot of money at it. What's it hurt to put him in the mix? And I'm really good with it. And you know, if it turns out great, then awesome. And if it doesn't, fine, fine.

[Dan Bernstein]

But what it reminds me of too are some Cubs pitching signings. You know, the Cubs, this particular regime, they love having undervalued high pedigree guys or. And just saying, look, we, we're better than our competitors at reclamation and we're better than seeing what we've got and tweaking it and changing an arm angle or adding a new pitch or changing a grip and finding this effectiveness. But, but, but similarly, a lot of it is reading those scouting reports and saying, I'd rather have a slightly deteriorated special guy that we can get the most out of or get something valuable out of than try to take somebody that you know and. And add a ton of weight to him or somebody who isn't that quick or athletic. You, you start with all of that stuff. The guys who might have a step to lose, you know, the pitchers that might have a little bit of velocity to lose because they're good at other things. Talent, talent, talent, talent, talent. And then see what you got. This sounds like one of those informed upside signings. So crossing my fingers for him might be a great story.

[Co-host]

Yeah. And again, I'm going to go back to the whole idea of trusting the coaching staff. I'm going to trust the coaching staff. I said that left tackle is a priority. Then Drew Dahlman retires. For me, center became the priority. Left tackle was second. If they think Theo Benedict, Braxton Jones, Kieran Amagadji and Jedrick Wills Jr. They have a guy in there that can be a starting left tackle and can play the year or at least hold a spot until Ozzy comes back and they feel he'll be at 100%, I'm going to trust that they can do that. I'm going to trust that given a year under Ben Johnson's offense and a year of getting healthy and getting ready to participate, I don't feel like it'll be this big competition. I feel like they're going to have their guy identified because you're not going into the first year as a head coach. You're going in as a defending NFC north champions who are competing for a Super bowl this year, you need to know who your guy is. They're going to have that guy identified. They're going to have their starting offensive line when it, when it matters, when it counts. They're going, they're going to be. They're going to have five guys they've identified as their starters. That left tackle will be there. It will not be some silly competition.

[Dan Bernstein]

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[Co-host]

Oh, good job in remembering.

[Dan Bernstein]

Thank you. You ready for it?

[Co-host]

I know it. So, yeah, I know it.

[Dan Bernstein]

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[Co-host]

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[Dan Bernstein]

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[Co-host]

that left tackle too, Dan. So Theo Darnell, Karen Braxton, Jedrick. Ozzy obviously was injured. That's all the names right?

[Dan Bernstein]

And, and Joe Tooney in a, in a pinch.

[Co-host]

So, so your two tackle positions, you have five bodies, five healthy bodies right now that are in there. Ozzy's injured. Maybe they add someone in a, you know, in a day three pick that they've identified that they could work up and, and have as, as a body. Who knows what that could be? Obviously the use of your tight ends in helping blocking on the offensive side of the ball is important to what Ben Johnson does. And that took a little ding as Derm Smythe signs with the Ravens and goes and joins Declan Doyle. So now you have. You know, you have Loveland, you have Cole commit. You're gonna have to add a third tight end there as well. So that's. That's another body that you're gonna have to identify.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that might. Maybe that's a draft pick.

[Co-host]

It could be a draft pick.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know, maybe. Maybe that's a day three basketball player thing. You know, where they find. They find one of those guys, or I hate to say small college, because then I've got these Adam Shaheen, Ashland vibes, and I. Yeah, but I mean,

[Co-host]

but you have to. I'm sure that it's in their plan because you have to identify who your third tight end is going to be. They use three tight ends consistently. So with. With Smythe leaving and going to the Ravens, you have to find that third body.

[Dan Bernstein]

Where is Adam Shaheen? Do we care? Do we know?

[Co-host]

Yeah. I mean, he's. He's a human, so I care that he's okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Are we sure? He may not be. He may be now an AI, but, God, I remember that people are so excited and he's big and he was bad, and he had, like, a lifelong Chipotle card. Remember, that was. That was. The big story about Adam Shaheen is he apparently ate so much Chipotle that they gave him a card that let him have a free burrito bowl whenever he wanted.

[Co-host]

So when he retired from professional football, Dan. He is currently transitioning into MMA training.

[Dan Bernstein]

What.

[Co-host]

Including Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. As of January 2026, he's also involved in coaching, having joined the staff at Summit Academy High School to coach tight ends.

[Dan Bernstein]

Good for him. There it is. There's your. Your Adam Shaheen wellness check has been taken care of here by your friends at dbu. I'm watching baseball last night and just, you know, hoping against hope. I didn't think it was going to go all that well. And by the way, I went back and I checked the tape and I knew that I was right when I said that the Italian team had out of this world pitching. Wasn't that what I said? I listened very carefully and I said, they're out of this world. Wait, they're pitching? I think. I think that's what it was, Dan.

[Co-host]

Yeah. Oh, no, right. I got it right here. I got it right here.

[Dan Bernstein]

We're going to go to the court reporter. Can you read that back to me, please?

[Co-host]

Yeah. Here. I'm going to include the laughter, too. Ha. Italy's out of pitching. Ha ha. Ha ha.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't appreciate the editorialization that comes from the court reporter. But. Okay, so I'm just making sure.

[Co-host]

I heard, I said they were out of pitching.

[Dan Bernstein]

I heard, I heard what you just said. And what I heard was Italy has out of this world pitching.

[Co-host]

Okay, wait, let me, let me just double check. Wait, hang on a second because I think I texted you last night. 8:11pm I think they were up at that point. 6 0. My text to you. Too bad Italy didn't have any pitching left for this game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I just said they were out of this world.

[Co-host]

Did you forget about Aaron Nola?

[Dan Bernstein]

It wasn't him. No, it's because of the pit. It was because of the pitch counts. I thought, I know, I didn't, I didn't think he was going to be that efficient and I thought that he'd be out and then they would, they'd get everybody else because all the high leverage guys were used.

[Co-host]

He was out after five innings and scoreless.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, yeah, he, he, he got the, he got the most out of his pitch limit. And I wasn't sure that a guy who nibbles with a lot of curveballs

[Co-host]

and he got lucky to get through the 5:2 because you get a guy on base and was like, all right, set 64 pitches and then I know. Asshole gets thrown, thrown out in seconds and it's like, oh, he's gonna, he's gonna finish this inning, isn't he? He sure is. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And some of the base running.

[Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not, not the best. But what, what was weird, I was watching the broadcast and correct me if I read this wrong, okay. But after the whole Mark DeRosa fiasco, and I'll have some more thoughts on, on him at some point because apparently he's not as good a guy as, as I presumed based on his relationship to Rob Manfred. And, and apparently he's sort of Rob Manfred's hired, hired anti union muscle. Okay, It's a, that's a bad look and I really don't like that. I don't like the fact that he's kind of a martinet for Rob Manfred as they head into a labor negotiation. It's too bad that he's been kind of co opted on the owner's side rather than the player side, which I did not know. But the moment that Italy went up 4 nothing, it's over. That's the clinch that clinched a spot for the Americans because as I understood it, the only way the Americans would be eliminated is if Mexico won and scored fewer than five runs. That's on every matrix. I looked at if that. If Italy wins at all, the US Is in. And the only way that a Mexico win would have the US in is if they won 4, 3, 4, 2, 4. Like you can. There were charts, but if they scored five, it was over.

[Co-host]

I'm sure you're right.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm pretty sure I'm right. So let me just double check at that point, the only way Mexico could have won was a 54 win. The moment Italy's got four runs, it's over. Because the only way Mexico can win would be to score five. And anything else on your chart would be. It would be an Italy win. So that was it. That fourth run by Italy going up four. Nothing was the clincher for the US that thought they had clinched before and they went out and they got drunk and they were bad and they lost and then they lied about it and then they took the video down. The whole thing still is bad. Make no mistake that is. Or make a mistake that is. That is still a huge gaffe on the part of Derosa.

[Co-host]

But, I mean, I'll say this. So the final last night was nine to one, correct?

[Dan Bernstein]

I think so. Yep.

[Co-host]

Nine to one. And the run differential, Italy finished plus 21. USA was plus 18, Mexico was plus 12. So. Yeah, I'm sure you. I'm sure you'd read that correctly.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Co-host]

And the fact that they didn't identify it. Whatever, it's fine. The coach for USA didn't even know. But, you know, thinking back through to it yesterday, in anticipation of watching that game last night, Bryce Harper sat. Who else sat for the usa? I mean, that team still should have beaten Italy. Oh, they still should have beaten Italy with Bryce. Where they're hungover because guys play hungover all the time. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

The USA backups are certainly good enough to be team Italy.

[Co-host]

Yes, they should have. They should have won that game, period. But, you know, it was just. It was a matter of time for Italy. I mean, they're building statues for that coach now in Valley. Yes. I think the prime minister was like, we're going to build a statue for you. I mean, you know, when you pull this off, dude, I love the espresso. I love the opera music for home runs. It's fucking great. What did Natalie tell me too, last night? Is it Dominican Republic players when they hit a home run, it's like 11 to 12 seconds longer to get around the bases.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, famously.

[Co-host]

I mean, that's. I mean, that's the stuff with the WBC that I love.

[Dan Bernstein]

Enjoy it. Yes.

[Co-host]

It's so much fun. I love the opera music, though. And make an espresso, and you get to the dugout and you do espresso shots. It's fucking great.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And they. And they. It's not fake either. Like, they have real espresso machine. Espresso machine.

[Co-host]

And they.

[Dan Bernstein]

And they get it and they hand. They start brewing it. Like, the moment the ball is over the fence, somebody runs down to the end and brews a fresh espresso for them. Oh, that's like.

[Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's so much more you could do, though. I. Why. Why not, like, just a little bit of prosciutto? You know, a little plate of, like, fontina and prosciutto, a little bit of pecorino Romano.

[Co-host]

Chef in the. In the dugout that's preparing, like, carbonara. You get in. You get a big bite of carbonara.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that. I'm telling you, the tableside plating of the carbonara, at Almoro, they call it spaghetti almoro.

[Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

But when you see the, like. And it's the European eggs that just look better because they are better. And when you crack these European eggs and the. The yolk is like this wonderful golden orange color, and they stir that in, and it disappears, and it's just the yolks into the. And it's guanciale, the jowl.

[Co-host]

Oh. So I'd have to find the name of the place that we had carbonara. I'll pull it up. I'll tell you when we're offline. But, yeah, they brought up the. It was the giant cheese wedge. Oh, they did it in the wheel table site.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Co-host]

It's really, really cool.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do you.

[Co-host]

Are you a fan of fennel? Do you like fennel?

[Dan Bernstein]

Sometimes, yeah. I use. The way I use fennel is if I'm making, like, a seafood soup or chowder, I will sub fennel ribs for celery.

[Co-host]

Why?

[Dan Bernstein]

And in my mirepoix, I will. I will use fennel in, like, a soup base. Just because I like. I don't like too much of it, but, you know, I love that flavor. I love Anna's flavor. Yeah. Yeah.

[Co-host]

So you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why do you.

[Co-host]

Why do you substitute celery just for that extra flavor?

[Dan Bernstein]

I substitute fennel for celery in anything sort of seafood. Yes.

[Co-host]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because it gives you. It gives you the similar properties, but it also has that great little. It's like the way in a bouillabaisse when people will add perno or are on a zette. Yeah.

[Co-host]

I just.

[Dan Bernstein]

I. I like that when I do chipino I'll always use fennel.

[Co-host]

That's interesting. I like that. I. I probably. I'll do that. I'll do that. But I'm not going to take this. I won't substitute celery out because I like this fact that seller celery stays. It stays toothsome right in. In liquid. I like that crunch and I love it. And sometimes I'll add it late to a. To a product. No. I made a salad last night for myself. I did fennel and celery and red onions. I did slice the red onions really thin and put them in red wine vinegar and let them sit for a bit. Added the fennel and the celery and then some cannellini beans and then little more red wine vinegar and then olive oil and salt and pepper. It was really good.

[Dan Bernstein]

That sounds awesome.

[Co-host]

Yeah, it was really good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. I make a fennel arugula salad for Beth that is. It's just fresh lemon juice and good olive oil, black pepper, sea salt, and then with a poached egg on top, because it's sort of like a. It's like an Italianized version of a. Which is the salad. It's not Provencal. It's not the Frise salad. I'll remember the name of it. But there's. And I always forget. But there's a. There's. There's the French salad that has that. And I don't know. I just. Beth loves fennel, too, so we.

[Co-host]

Yeah. Does she do the. You do the orange. Orange and fennel salad.

[Dan Bernstein]

I haven't. She likes.

[Co-host]

Oh, God, dude. Yeah. It's a wonderful combo. If she likes fruit, you got to do orange and fennel.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't think she likes orange that much.

[Co-host]

Oh, But I just throw a couple wedges in there with it. Oh, man. Throw a little celery in there.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's.

[Co-host]

Oh, it's good stuff. Really good. Yeah. So I can't remember the name of the restaurant. I'll have to. I'll have to find that now.

[Dan Bernstein]

This is killing me. The name of this salad. French poached egg.

[Co-host]

Oh, that's what I was going to tell you.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not Province. Lyones. It's a Lienez.

[Co-host]

Oh, Lyones. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. The egg and bacon.

[Co-host]

Okay. Yep. Vital Farms. You can find it at, like, Target. Mariano's has it. I think Juul sells them to the Juuls. Vital Farms. Those are the eggs I get. I don't know what eggs you buy.

[Dan Bernstein]

I generally buy the inexpensive ones because I'm not going to spend $9 on eggs? Unless I'm making something special.

[Co-host]

Oh, okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's not regular everyday eggs.

[Co-host]

These are nine bucks for a dozen. I think they're like 12 for 18. And, dude, that's all I buy because, I mean, we eat eggs every day. If I make a lot of hard

[Dan Bernstein]

money, I know we eat a ton

[Co-host]

of eggs, dude, it's worth it. You got to have the good eggs. You talk about those good. The golden orange yolks.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, these are.

[Co-host]

That's a good stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know. You're right. You're right, you're right. Yeah.

[Co-host]

I don't buy cheap. You can't buy cheap eggs. You can't buy cheap Q tips. You got to buy the real brand.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a good point.

[Co-host]

Toilet paper.

[Dan Bernstein]

I tried to buy. I tried to buy off brand Q tips.

[Co-host]

Oh, dude, it's like putting a pencil in your ear.

[Dan Bernstein]

I got. I got into get yelled at rubble. I got in trouble. And because we.

[Co-host]

There's like, Danny, save a dime to spend the money.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. There's a. There's a glass container of the Q tips. Oh, yeah. A really nice glass. Yeah. With a metal lid. And. And I replaced them, and it took one, like, one moment. And. And I just. From the. From the bathroom, like, what the hell is this?

[Co-host]

I. I don't blame her at all. And I either it's like. It's like sticking a pencil in your ear or the stick is, like, really flimsy, and it's like. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I walked in gingerly. I'm like, oh, what? And she's just pointing to it like, nope, whatever. Whatever these are, throw them out.

[Co-host]

Were you like, but, honey, I saved A$29.

[Dan Bernstein]

I had a coupon. Yeah, she said. She said, I don't care if you own the damn place.

[Co-host]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Get these out of my house.

[Co-host]

Q tips, toilet paper, eggs, man, you can't go cheap.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, that. You know what? I think that should be the working slogan for 3Q tips.

[Co-host]

Toilet paper and eggs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Eggs or eggs? Eggs.

[Co-host]

Eggs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Eggs. B. Well, the bourbon. A, Eggs we can't afford, obviously. No, I think they all blew away. Did you see the D? Did you see the damage down there?

[Co-host]

Oh, it's bad.

[Dan Bernstein]

That was an F3.

[Co-host]

Yeah, it's not good.

[Dan Bernstein]

That was. Holy moly. Because when those things come through at night and you can't see them.

[Co-host]

Yeah. I hope everybody had bike helmets on

[Dan Bernstein]

and they were halfway down their basement.

[Co-host]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, my God. That was bad. With verbo care, help is always ready before, during, and after your stay. We've planned for the plot twists, so support is always available because a great trip starts with peace of mind. Oh, I have another baseball note here.

[Co-host]

Okay, what do you got?

[Dan Bernstein]

And, and I always mention this, if you're not reading Craig Calcatera's cup of Coffee newsletter, you're starting your day wrong. You should be. And with baseball season coming, the best thing you will do is spend a little bit of money to subscribe to the cup of Coffee newsletter from Craig Calcatera because he is a brilliant, cantankerous, observant, fun, funny, misanthrope of a dude. And he's a, he's just a wonderful writer. He gets a lot of information and it's, there's a lot of, of music and pop culture and other cool stuff that he does. So he had this information today and we knew the story about, of Andre Dawson. Andre Dawson, we know, has wrapped himself in Cubdom. He has embraced the Cubs despite the fact that he has played, you know, in life. He was famous with the Expos and made his name with the Expos and had his, his, the prime of his career and then sort of had a second prime with the Cubs and famously signed the blank check contract and said, whatever you want to pay me, get me off of this awful astroturf, get me onto grass, let me extend my career. And he has become a beloved Cub over time. And yet his hall of Fame plaque features him in a Montreal Expos cap. And I didn't really know the extent to which Dawson resented that he didn't like the way his time in Montreal ended. Apparently there was some collusion when he hit the market and he is much happier about being a former Cuban that he is a former Expo much, much prouder. And when Andre Dawson was inducted, he couldn't choose his own cap. And they didn't have the blank cap as an option. It defaulted to the Expo's cap. But now the hall of Fame has come out with a statement and it's always, of course, it's the hall of Fame self important, turgid, sort of ancient, stilted stuff that they do because they're, they're a museum that prides itself on being self important, they said. The hall of Fame Board of directors voted unanimously to provide Andre Dawson with the option of having no logo on his hall of Fame plaque, which will be recast to reflect his wishes. This decision gives Andre a choice that he would have taken if had it been available when he was elected in 2010, just four years prior to the formal implementation of that alternative. Apparently Andre Dawson and the hall of Fame have been talking about this for a couple of years.

[Co-host]

Wait, so now you can choose how you go in?

[Dan Bernstein]

You can choose.

[Co-host]

That wasn't an option.

[Dan Bernstein]

The blank cap was not an option. You cannot choose your own.

[Co-host]

Even today, you couldn't choose. You play for six teams, and you want to go in the team that you were there for a year only, but that's what you want to do. They don't let you pick.

[Dan Bernstein]

You used to be allowed to pick. Okay, but it stopped. Based on, from what I can understand, it was the Wade Boggs thing. Remember when there was some uncertainty and I went back and looked, this was. And I think Craig links to it, that there was a story that Wade Boggs said that the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays offered him a million dollars to be the first Devil Ray in the hall of Fame. But then they deny that it actually happened. Or Jose Canseco. There was some apparently, and Boggs has talked about this afterward, but Jose Canseco said something and said that Boggs had been offered some of this money. And then Boggs denied being offered that money. So the hall of Fame was just like, we can't have any of this. Harrumph, harrumph, harrumph. We have to shut this whole thing down. And you can't choose. We can choose because we're the hall of Fame. So they made it so they would make the proper decision about something as monumentally important as a logo on a hat.

[Co-host]

Okay, yeah, the player should be able to choose. That's kind of silly, but didn't Wade Boggs try to, like, build an extra wing or something on the hall of Fame and, like, get, like, cheap. Get like, cheap wood or something?

[Dan Bernstein]

Or at $35,000, I could build a whole wing for the steroid users. Yeah, but his. His estimates were way low. I think that his. The Wade Boggs construction does stuff on the cheap when it comes to building a museum wing for steroid people. But here's. Here's the main reason I bring it up.

[Co-host]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is this. Is. This is Calcatera here. He says the Expos, while still beloved by baseball fans of a certain age, no longer exist, and Major League Baseball has more or less allowed their history to be erased. Getting rid of the Expos logo on Dawson's cap is just the latest example of that. We are pretty quickly approaching a time when the Expos will have no richer historic currency than the Louisville Colonels or Cleveland Spiders, which is kind of a shame. Now, you know where I'm going with this. You know of whom I am thinking, yeah, first guy that I thought of, Gary Gerstein. Yep, the late lamented great Gary Gerstein. Who? You know him as Gary from Evanston and if you don't know him as Gary from Evanston, you don't know of Gary from Evanston. He was a real guy, a wonderful guy and truly a like a legendary old time sports radio personality. And because of the Boris and Bernstein show and his role in who you Crappin and his unique mind, really, really, really unique mind that he was the biggest Expos fan I've ever met in my life. He would not stand any aspersions cast on the mascot youp Gary had Expos jerseys, Expos hats, Expos swag and knew everything about their history. Well, the guy knew everything about everything because he was absolutely brilliant. And Gary was our, our hall of fame all time greatest who you crappin participant which he won famously at McNally's in one. One of the greatest live orations. One of my favorite moments ever in radio was being there that day at a dive bar in the middle of Beverly with peanut shells on the ground and hearing an entire packed bar chanting Gary's name as he has hit the equivalent of a walk off grand slam in the who you crappin finals. He was amazing. Somewhere I think Chris Tannehill may have that tape, but his love for the exposure and the fact that after he passed away relatively young, I think he was in his mid-60s, that listeners at the time met up just to remember him spontaneously, that people got together and celebrated his life. His daughter, I believe, put together from his computer all of the Hooya crappin entries that he never ended up reading that he had saved, a lot of which were references to episodes of Bonanza from the early 60s, that they're all still there. There's a record of these things and I'll just, I'll close this by saying my favorite line. The hardest that Gary ever made me laugh. I mean other than that day when I was just. I had tears running down my face and just watching, seeing the smile on his face and just seeing everybody going crazy. You should know Gary was autistic and he found he had a job for decades. He found an incredible job where he was the proofreader, the document proofreader for the large Chicago law firm of Chapman and Cutler. And he had a unique ability to go through stacks of legal documents and find errors, find typographical errors, formatting errors, any whatever he was told. You know, scan more than Any computer, more than any program, his brain and this law firm realized that they had something unique. And he was just installed. The guy was. In some ways, this guy gifted computer when it came to scanning with his eyes and his brain, scanning legal documents for mistakes, errors, or anything that was somehow out of place. And we were at the. We were at the auto show. I don't know if you were there that day. I think it was after your tenure, perhaps, like recently maybe. We were at the auto show surrounded by auto show folks and during a commercial. And this is when the people would come up to us and be like, can you make an announcement? I can't find my wife. Yeah, we're not. We're not the PA system here. Do you know where they're selling the popcorn that has caramel? Can't help you right now.

[Co-host]

And I would always be like, ask that guy there and point it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or me. And so Gary comes up to me and he goes, hey, hey, hey, Bernsey, what's up? He goes, you know, some of the people here are so weird. They make me look normal. I absolutely creased myself, doubled over laughing. So when I read this today and saw this about Andre Dawson, it was a little bittersweet. So here's to fighting Expos Erasure in the name of Gary from Evanston Gerstein.

[Co-host]

And I know I've brought this up before on the pod, the documentary on Netflix that came out last year, who Killed the Montreal Expos? If you have not watched it, you need to watch it. It's thoroughly entertaining and informative and just a really, really good watch. And as we're getting close to baseball season starting, get back into the swing of baseball mindset and baseball mind, watch that documentary, who Killed the Montreal Expo? It was really, really good. And, you know, I didn't know that. I didn't know Gary was autistic.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Oh, yes.

[Co-host]

I did not know. I did not know. I loved every interaction with Gary. I loved when he would call in. I just. It was great. I had no. I had no idea. I knew about the job. I just. I just. I knew he was a. He was a. He was a brilliant, brilliant guy. And I just. I loved. He was just a really sweet, genuine guy, too. And I loved every interaction with him. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he told me that one day because I was talking. Because when he was explaining his job as a proofreader, I'm like, wow, that sounds incredibly intense and tedious. And he's like, no, well, I'm autistic, so it's just something I Can do. I was like, wow. Wow. And I also didn't know that he apparently was. When he was in high school, he was really, really successful and decorated at Model UN that if that. And that's. That is not something I ever did. But apparently he. And a lot of what he was good at, he said at Model UN Was the parliamentary procedure of, like, the rules of debate and. And the structure. That he was just. He had a unique. Again, this unique ability to understand and anticipate stuff like that. When it came to managing parliamentary procedure, I just thought that was really cool.

[Co-host]

All right, so back to Andre Dawson. It now. Does his hat. Is this hat blank? Is he a blanket? So he has a blank hat blanket. So it was exposed. Now it's blank.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Co-host]

Okay, well, that's too bad.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know. But look, you're not gonna. You're not gonna mess with the. The hall of. I don't know if you could put Carthage Firebirds on there, because that would be yours. You would definitely go in with a Carthage Firebirds 1. You love that hat.

[Co-host]

Well, it fits really well.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's why you love that hat. Yeah, you. You probably. If you look at what you've. The advertising you've done for them. Hell, I'm pumping Wells park today with a little home plate cut out here.

[Co-host]

But, yeah, yeah, it fits well, We've talked about this. It's not. It's not the. The circumference.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's the.

[Co-host]

It fits really well. And yeah, I'm not judging.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it goes with a lot of your outfits. You got a little bit of the orange here and. And. And, you know, Libertyville's got a lot of orange. Oh, that's red. It's red.

[Co-host]

Yeah, the Carthage is red.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, okay. Sorry. But you know. You know that the colors on here are weird because I see this as red, right?

[Co-host]

But it's yellow.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's yellow. But I see yellow on the screen. Right? It's yellow on the screen. I'm looking at it, and it's red to my eyes.

[Co-host]

What color is mine is mine.

[Dan Bernstein]

What is.

[Co-host]

Mine's green.

[Dan Bernstein]

I see green on the top of your sure mic there. Right? That didn't change. It has to do with the. Apparently the intensity and somewhere along the visible spectrum. Anyway, I want to get to one more thing before I. I've got something super cool, but what is. Why are Kobe fans so weird? Why are Kobe Bryant fans so damn weird? In the wake of the Bam out of bio 83 point game and having to make whatever 83 jokes you want We've done all that. And this came up on OWC yesterday and we talked it through. I learned a new term, by the way, because my co host on owc, as he so diplomatically and delicately put it, he referred to the Kobe Bryant meat riders. And I guess that's a term. I would, I would say fans. Yeah, fans. Or, or stands perhaps, but he referred to them as meat riders, which sounds, which, which sounds like a, like a 70s band that had a couple of hits and went away and then, and then is playing in casinos or something like that. But God, when did Kobe Bryant become this, this, this sainted sacrosanct figure? That. And a lot of this comes from the unfortunate column that Sam Amick wrote for the Athletic that was published in the New York Times. I like Sam Amick, but oh my God, did an editor have to spike this when he said bam. Adebayo should have stopped at 81 points in deference to Kobe Bryant?

[Co-host]

Oh, what? I didn't see that. That's going a bit too far. I mean, I can answer your question for you. And the fact that he died in a helicopter crash with his daughter, I mean that's, that's your answer right there. That's why it's like that. But were he still alive today, you wouldn't see the same things.

[Dan Bernstein]

And if he were still alive, he would have congratulated Bama to bio.

[Co-host]

Yes, he would have.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what's so weird. But, but I, I had no clue that there was this veneration of Kobe Bryant and his records, everything. Kobe Bryant's a really good basketball player, great scorer, a Hall of Fame basketball player. But you don't want to start, you know, ranking him in the pantheon of like all time Lakers, you know, come on. Not even on his team. Like, let's, let's, let's just settle a little bit here on that and that. And I'm not even bringing up. And I saw this especially on, On Blue sky and I liked being educated more about this where there are a lot of people who have not really felt empowered to say how they really feel about what the facts of the case were in Denver in the rape trial. And if we looked at that rape trial and the actual testimony and the facts of that case and we looked at it through the modern lens rather than just kind of saying, oh yeah, that happened. And if we, if you really look at that and then make some decision and make some judgments about the way we can, the way we're better now at understanding the pressure on victims and understanding how slanted the justice system is against plaintiffs and. Or victims and. Or alleged victims. I do think it changes the context. And I understand where a lot of this is coming from. But, man, some of the responses from COVID just stop being weird. Just because it's one thing to like your. To have a favorite player like your guy. It is another thing for one of the senior NBA writers at the Athletic to say something as ridiculous as Bam Adebayo should have stopped scoring and should have not broken the verifiable record out of some deference to Kobe Bryant.

[Co-host]

Yeah, that's.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's really bad.

[Co-host]

I mean, so it's been six years since he died. And so my. My kid was seven. Seven and six when. When Kobe. And even in this younger generation at 13, 12, these kids, you know, middle school, high school now, who really never watched Kobe Bryant play basketball, there is. There is this, this, this idolization and worship of Kobe Bryant and his ability now. He's one of the best players I've ever seen play the game. And there's a lot of apparel out there now with Kobe's face and a lot of stuff about Kobe. And it's just a lot of younger generation who really aren't familiar with his game, really love Kobe Bryant. And so that's why I think you see that and the fact that he died in a helicopter crash with his daughter, that's going to influence a lot, and it kind of washes over what happened in Denver, unfortunately. But that of all. You could pick out a lot of bad things in this whole conversation, Dan, that. To write that, though, is. That's pretty pathetic. Like, that's. That's really pathetic. Like, you're not gonna like, why.

[Dan Bernstein]

Somebody's got to spike that.

[Co-host]

Yeah, somebody.

[Dan Bernstein]

That. That's why you have editors.

[Co-host]

It's not good.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's why you have editors. For an editor to be like, yeah, we're not. We're not going to do this. Because they probably say, hey, do you have a Kobe take for us? Everybody's writing Kobe today. I need a Kobe column from you. Yeah, sure, but. Come on, man.

[Co-host]

But why? Like, I want to hear. I want the explanation.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why.

[Co-host]

Why should he have stopped? Yeah, it was because. Because he tragically died.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's part of it.

[Co-host]

Why? Because he was a great player. Why should he have died? I mean, why should he have stopped? That's. That's crazy.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's part. I'm not going to read the whole thing. I would say if you, if you listen to owc, because we do Go through the whole piece on the most recent organizations win championships. You can find that when you know it. We're at 312 sports. We did discuss it at length. And, and yeah, I didn't, I didn't see that.

[Co-host]

I didn't know that you were bringing that up there today. That's, that's really odd. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Jason takes on what the people he refers to as the meat. Writers.

[Co-host]

Writers. Yeah. Yeah. So it's really interesting. There's a, there's a whole growth of younger, younger people that never really saw Colby play for in live Jordan, too.

[Dan Bernstein]

And that, that's part of the whole Jordan legend thing too, because he's, he's, he's a brand. He's a living brand outside of. It's like nobody realized that Jordan had bad games,

[Co-host]

right? Well, yeah, of course, of course he had bad games, but he's still the greatest player to ever play, so.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, but we're not doing that today.

[Co-host]

But he is. Yeah, we're not going to do it. But he is.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no.

[Co-host]

Yeah. No. Yeah, but. Yeah, we won't do it, though.

[Dan Bernstein]

But, but he is greatest competitor and, and, and you can argue most accomplished, but not the best basketball player. Whoever.

[Co-host]

If you had, you had one game to win and you had one guy to pick, who would you pick?

[Dan Bernstein]

What, what rules and what. When are we playing basketball rules.

[Co-host]

Playing NBA basketball.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think I'd take LeBron. Okay.

[Co-host]

I'd pick Michael Jordan.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just, I'd rather have the guy that can guard five positions. I just, I'll take the six, eight guy. There is an auction today.

[Co-host]

This is cool, dude. Oh, man, this is really cool.

[Dan Bernstein]

You brought this up. Yeah. I want to make sure I can credit the person who sent this in. This was sent in by Sean. Sean, thank you for emailing me this. And we'll get in, by the way, tomorrow. Friday feedback. Friday we got a lot of good stuff and we got a great top 10 list tomorrow.

[Co-host]

Oh, yeah, let's make sure we. Oh, no, we don't share those, do we?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, we can.

[Co-host]

That's right. We. No, no, we don't have to.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's right. Okay. All right, I. Okay, forgot. The late former owner of the Indianapolis Colts, Jim Irsay, who was a troubled and eccentric man with all of his say, well, what did you do with all that money? He collected memorabilia. And I'm not talking about a baseball card here or, oh, game worn jersey there. The Jim Ursay collection is up for auction. His hall of Fame collection is up for auction for auction tonight. This afternoon, in fact, four o'. Clock. If you go to Christie's.com the Jim Ursay hall of Fame collection, item by item is being [e-mail] the bidding starts in, in five hours from when we're recording right now. So four o' clock central. These are the items and I'm just going to read them because there's pictures here. You are not going to believe this. The first item is a rare concert poster advertising the concert that Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens didn't make because their plane crashed.

[Co-host]

Oh, wow.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Moorhead Armory, the rare concert poster. They think that's gonna go for $400,000 because the day the music died, that plane crash, this, what was called the Winter Dance party never happened. And here's the poster promoting it. There is a custom prototype Les Paul guitar that's going. They think the opening bid's $100,000. They have Johnny Cash's acoustic guitar, Ringo Starr's pinky ring. Ringo Starr's first Ludwig drum kit that was used with the Beatles from May 1963 to February 1964. They believe that that could go as high as $2 million.

[Co-host]

Wow.

[Dan Bernstein]

These are all. These have certificates of authenticity. Everything's been officially authenticated. George Harrison's Maytown Mastersound guitar. The Beatles logo drum from the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 when they. He said the Beatles and it's that drum that says the Beatles on it. That actual bass drum is up for auction. John Lennon's stage played Rose Morris Rickenbacker. John Lennon's Gretsch 6120, Chet Atkins. George Harrison's Gibson standard guitar. Like these. These are the guitars that they used. George Harrison's. Oh no, let me see. This is. Oh, how about this? An upright broadwood piano that belonged to John Lennon on which he composed Lucy in the sky with diamonds. A day in the life Being there for the benefit of Mr. Kite from Sergeant Peppers. Just a simple upright piano that was used to compose those, those songs. A Beatles sign poster. A custom prototype vox guitar. Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics for hey Jude. One, hey Jude, don't make it bad break two, hey Jude, don't be afraid Middle. And anytime you feel the pain, like his handwritten that's cool hey Jude lyrics. They believe that is going to be around $800,000 a starting bid. Ringo Starr's snare drum. Paul McCartney's left handed Yamaha bass. Eric Clapton's Gibson SG. No thank you. Bob Dylan's handwritten lyrics for the times they are a Changin. Janis Joplin's Gibson acoustic guitar. John Coltrane Yamaha Nippon alto sax. An electro voice microphone used by Jim Morrison. Jim Morrison. Handwritten notes in a. In his notebook. It's the. From 1969. It's his composition notebook. Man, I don't know how he found all these things.

[Co-host]

How did you get all this shit?

[Dan Bernstein]

David Gilmore's Fender Stratocaster known as the Black Strat. His. David Gilmore of Pink Floyd. His famous Black Strat. They have upwards of $4 million on that. David Gilmore's Martin 35 acoustic. How about this? A Steinway and Sons grand concert piano. That was Elton John's.

[Co-host]

I was gonna say Elton John. That was my guess.

[Dan Bernstein]

That is Elton John's.

[Co-host]

Now this is. Now this is all online, right? This is not like a live.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it's going to be live. It's going to be live online.

[Co-host]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

So if you have a spare couple million dollars. I'm only about half done. Hold on.

[Co-host]

Can you imagine the current artists that'll be bidding on items like to get their hands on some of this.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know to whom it's that important. I really don't know.

[Co-host]

I bet you like artists and musicians. It would be.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm not. There's more.

[Co-host]

I didn't say you were done.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bastard.

[Co-host]

I'm just add a question for you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Jerry Garcia's custom built guitar known as Tiger with the Tiger logo on there and the three pickups.

[Co-host]

They.

[Dan Bernstein]

That is already the starting bid on that is a million dollars. Miles Davis's Martin Committee trumpet. A Gibson Explorer reissue used by the Edge. Here is what may go for the most money of any of the musical items. The blue Fender Mustang Kurt Cobain used in the video shoot for Smells like Teen Spirit.

[Co-host]

How much? What's the opening bid?

[Dan Bernstein]

2.5 million. They think it could be as much as 5 million. Prince's yellow custom cloud guitar. James Brown's Godfather of Soul cape. The I can't do no more cape.

[Co-host]

Nice.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sylvester Stallone's handwritten script notebook for Rocky. A spiral bound mead notebook that was in a. In a black ballpoint pen with edits in red sections of dialogue for Rocky, Adriana, Apollo and other characters. Wow. It says Adriana. It says maybe was her name Adriana before it was Adrian now wait, here's another. How about from Castaway Wilson, the volleyball.

[Co-host]

What's the opening bid on that one?

[Dan Bernstein]

60 grand.

[Co-host]

I can do that. You want to do that?

[Dan Bernstein]

You can do that. They're estimating it's going to only get 80,000. Because I think there's more than one. But the hand, the bloody handprint. Wilson. Volleyball.

[Co-host]

I think we should put a bid on that.

[Dan Bernstein]

A Jackie Robinson bat.

[Co-host]

Oh, I'd like. What's that going for?

[Dan Bernstein]

Quarter million to 350. They're estimating, but these are just estimates. Muhammad Ali's robe for the. For an everlast weigh in Robe from 1965, there is a Wayne Gretzky jersey where that it was photo matched, worn for his 500th career goal and the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals clinching Game 7. So that's the Gretzky jersey. Then a. The Secretariat race used 1973 Triple Crown saddle.

[Co-host]

Wow.

[Dan Bernstein]

This came from Ron Turcotte. This is the actual saddle that Secretariat wore for the 73 Triple Crown with the stirrup irons and leathers. A letter of authenticity from Ron Turcott and stuff signed by Ron Turcott. There's like a whole. God, Terry would just go crazy for this.

[Co-host]

What's the opening bid on it?

[Dan Bernstein]

1.5 million for that. And there's only a few more things. There's a letter from Steve Jobs. A spiritual letter postmarked the day before his 19th birthday. If this is the kind of memorabilia you're into. An Apple II manual inscribed and signed by Steve Jobs. The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 1973 Chevrolet Caprice Classic convertible known as the Red Shark. Huh? Hunter Thompson's 1973 Chevrolet Caprice Classic. And lastly, the item that. The only one in this collection that I knew that Jim Ursay had, and that is the original typescript vertical scroll for the first draft of Jack Kerouac's on the Road, that is. The range is 2.5 million to $4 million. If you want any of these things, it's all available@christie's.com. just look up Jim Ursay hall of Fame and start making some bids. And you can own any one of those items that I just mentioned. Pretty incredible, isn't it? It's really cool.

[Co-host]

I got. I got back at my winning ways last night with my bookie Dan. I. I wanted to do a clean sweep of all the NBA games. There were six games, so I played them all and I went four and two.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's good.

[Co-host]

So it was good. No, I'm good. So I'm. My. I'm up to 40, 17 and one now.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's. Actually, I'm. Seriously, that's unbelievably impressive.

[Co-host]

Yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy. The cab I had, the Cavs minus four. They lost to Orlando by six. And then I had the Jazz getting 14 from the Knicks, and the Knicks won by 17.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, March is here. College basketball's heating up. That means my bookie is your destination for all of the action, whatever it is, whether. Whether you're. You're following Maddie or you're getting ready to fade him because you think he's going to regress to the mean. Conference races are just about done. We are into the conference tournaments now. The bubble team's fighting for their lives. Everything is important. Every outcome, every possession feels bigger. Things are getting really fun. So whether you're picking winners or betting props, player points, team totals, futures tournament odds, parlays, there's value everywhere if you're paying attention. In all this chaos, there's always opportunity and value. If you haven't jumped in on my bookie, you do it right now. One casino or one One place. They do have a casino. One account, one wallet. You bet the spread, you live bet the second half. In between games, you can go play casino games. It's all at MyBookie AG. You never have to go to a different spot. MyBookie AG. And because you have the code DBU, and your first bet's covered up to 500 bucks. If it doesn't hit, you got a bet back bonus token, and then you can run it back up to $500. So don't worry about that. You're set because of the code. Dbuybookie ag. Don't just watch the madness build. Make it pay with my bookie. That's going to do it for DBU on this Thursday. Remember that code that we gave you? 31 2. At the 312 sports app or 312sports.com the code is 312 for your all day. 312 day on 312 sports. Prize opportunities for Cubs tickets for 312 sports swag. We are brought to you in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered. Unfiltered on 312 Sports.