Cubs are playoff bound - home or away?

Summary

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Dan Bernstein Unfiltered – "Cubs are Playoff Bound – Home or Away?"

Podcast: Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Date: September 24, 2025
Hosts: Dan Bernstein, Matt Abbatacola

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the Cubs’ late-season playoff hunt, breaking down the crushing loss to the Mets, implications for playoff seeding, and pressing questions around Matt Shaw’s absence from a crucial game for political reasons. It features classic Bernstein-Unfiltered humor, sharp baseball breakdowns, live reactions to the latest stats, and a candid discussion of the intersection between sports and athletes’ personal beliefs. The show also veers into typical lighter territory, from pizza debates to radioactive shrimp, drawing on both hosts’ signature banter and Chicago sensibility.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Cubs' Blown Lead vs. Mets: Playoff Implications and Emotions

• [01:41 - 14:55] The episode kicks off with the hosts recounting the night’s rollercoaster Cubs game, in which the team collapsed after a 6-1 lead (“What a shitty loss last night for the Cubs, man.” – Matt, 01:41).
  • Matt details his evening trying to juggle errands, frozen pizza anxiety, and following the game (“I raced home…because I don’t want the pizza to thaw…then I listened in the car. When Ian Happ doubles into the gap…and it’s 5 to 1, I’m like, oh, okay, this is easy.” – Matt, 03:13).
  • Discussion includes an animated back-and-forth on the right way to cook frozen pizza—Uno’s vs Geno’s, rest time, rack placement (03:59 - 05:32).

2. Cubs Bullpen Meltdown, Relief Pitcher Trust, and Mets' Big Night

• [11:16 - 14:55] Breakdown of the Cubs’ late-game collapse with focus on the bullpen struggles and praise for Andrew Kittredge (“Yeah, that circle of trust is basically old ass Andrew Kittredge out there just, just dealing.” – Dan, 14:09).
  • The Mets’ offensive firepower is dissected, as well as relievers who gave up costly home runs.

3. Playoff Race Picture: Cubs, Padres, Mets & More

• [11:57 - 14:55; 34:38 - 38:05] The hosts lay out playoff scenarios:
  • Cubs likely to face Padres as either 4 or 5 seed, debate the meaning and advantage (or lack thereof) between hosting vs traveling given each team’s home/away splits.
  • Dan reviews Cubs’ offensive and pitching stats both home and away, noting key players whose splits matter most (“Michael Busch…much better on the road. Kyle Tucker…numbers not even close…” – Dan, 35:53).

4. Injury and Roster Updates: Cade Horton & Matt Shaw

• [16:09 - 21:11] Cubs manager Craig Counsell’s comments about Cade Horton’s back tightness due to illness and over-coughing.

  • “Likely just…the illness has caused him to cough…wanted to be extra careful during the start tonight.” (Craig Counsell, 16:09)
  • Dan and Matt muse on whether this is genuine or a cover for more serious injury (“Is this like when the Russian premier has been dead for two weeks...he is cold, he is fine, meaning he is cold because he's dead?” – Matt, 18:49)

• [21:50 - 34:29] In-depth segment on Matt Shaw’s politically charged absence from a key game.

  • Bernstein expresses skepticism about Shaw’s answers for skipping the game (“Just don't. All I'm going to ask is believe what you want to believe…But don't treat us like we're idiots. And some of this stuff just doesn't pass the smell test…” – Dan, 30:30)
  • Discussion covers the difficulties that fans, especially LGBTQ+ supporters, may feel supporting players with opposing beliefs, and the broader question of separating on-field heroics from off-field values.

5. Around MLB: Historical Comebacks and Playoff Format

• [41:14 - 44:14] Matt explores the biggest division comebacks in modern baseball, spotlighting the Guardians’ epic chase this season and recalling personal baseball memorabilia and fandom stories (“I still have a baseball autographed by…every member of the ’78 Yankees. Except Reggie Jackson.” – Matt, 42:43)
  • The hosts applaud the current playoff structure, urging MLB not to expand, as the added drama feels "just right" (43:53 - 44:00).

6. Bears & NFL Interlude

• [50:14 - 53:59] Brief NFL pivot: remembering the last Bears-Raiders game and previewing the upcoming matchup.
  • “So that was the last time Bears and Raiders played. And then looking at…the matchup for this weekend, just want to remind people what the Raiders did this past weekend against the Washington Commanders…There is an opportunity here for Caleb Williams to continue to stack on what he's been doing in the first three games.” – Dan, 52:43

7. Radioactive Shrimp Recall & Superhero Tangent

• [56:40 - 60:28] Light-hearted coverage of a real shrimp recall due to radioactive Cesium 137 contamination:
  • “We have to figure out how to deal with this, because now there is a reasonable possibility of multiple people with a superhero origin story of becoming shrimp man, shrimp woman, shrimp boy, shrimp girl, shrimp person.” – Matt, 58:54
  • Bernstein riffs: “Or we all become shrimp people…I’m going to pick right now to stay human.” – Dan, 59:47
  • Speculation on the future interspecies dynamics and possible emergence of lobster-based supervillains.

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Quotes & Memorable Moments

The Pizza Debate

• “It's crucial to cook a frozen pizza while it's in its frozen state. It really is…If you cook a frozen pizza from a thawed state, your cheese overcooks while the crust doesn't get crispy enough.”
  — Dan Bernstein (03:59 - 04:32)

The Cubs Collapse

• “Yeah, that circle of trust is basically old ass Andrew Kittredge out there just, just dealing.”
  — Dan Bernstein (14:09)

On Matt Shaw’s Absence/Politics

• “Just don't. All I'm going to ask is believe what you want to believe. Support what you want to support. You're absolutely entitled to all of it. But don't treat us like we're idiots.”
  — Dan Bernstein (30:30)
• “I always thought that the teachings were of peace and love, but that could simply be…Somebody could simply say that, no, you're wrong. We believe that we're supposed to hate these people…I'm gonna need some help in understanding how one's faith connects to those hatreds, because I just don't get it.”
  — Dan Bernstein (25:01 - 26:00)

The Fan's Dilemma

• “If you went to every Major League Baseball clubhouse and actually heard what everybody really thinks about everything, you're not going to be a fan of anything.”
  — Matt Abbatacola (33:59)

Radioactive Shrimp

• “We have to figure out how to deal with this, because now there is a reasonable possibility of multiple people with a superhero origin story of becoming shrimp man, shrimp woman, shrimp boy, shrimp girl, shrimp person.”
  — Matt Abbatacola (58:54)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:41] – Cubs blow 6-1 lead: Matt’s game tracking adventure
• [03:59] – The frozen pizza cooking debate
• [11:16] – Playoff scenarios and Cubs bullpen meltdown
• [16:09] – Craig Counsell on Cade Horton’s injury
• [21:50] – Matt Shaw’s absence, politics and faith discussion
• [34:38] – Home vs Away Cubs splits; Padres analysis
• [41:14] – Divisional comeback history
• [50:14] – Bears-Raiders flashback and preview
• [56:40] – Radioactive shrimp recall and the shrimp person superhero riff

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Notable Sidebars and Banter

• Supermarket gripes: rearranged aisles and the joys of grocery shopping (61:39 - 62:50)
• Insider tributes to long-tenured Chicago radio staff, with authentic, affectionate references to Hubbard Chicago culture (44:53 - 47:36)
• Humorous mangling of Italian food pronunciations and tales of being corrected on last names in public (55:44 - 56:00)
• Robo-umpires coming to MLB in 2026, to be discussed in greater detail in a future episode (48:21 - 48:47)

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Takeaways for Listeners

• The Cubs loss against the Mets is stinging, but not a fatal blow to their playoff seeding—the numbers suggest road games in San Diego might not be such a disadvantage with this roster configuration.
• Bernstein and Abbatacola push for accountability and transparency from athletes (notably Matt Shaw) when personal beliefs or political actions affect team performance or fan experience—don’t treat fans as fools.
• The show balances irreverence and serious sports analytics, giving Chicago fans both catharsis and context.
• Life, sports, and society intermingle: from radioactive shrimp recalls to debating grocery store layouts, the show maintains a uniquely Chicago, unfiltered flavor.

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For the full range of takes, stats, and side-eye, this episode is peak "Bernstein Unfiltered": passionate, blunt, funny, and as Chicago as deep dish pizza fresh out of the oven (but not thawed first).

Transcript

[Dan Bernstein]

Dan Bernstein, Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports.

[Matt Abaticola]

Welcome to Dan Bernstein Unfiltered here on 312 Sports on this Wednesday in Chicago. Today's episode brought to you in partnership with my bookie, I'm Dan Bernstein. Our executive producer, Matt Abaticola alongside. And we've got a ton to do today. We've got a lot of Cub stuff. Baseball is top of mind for today for a lot of reasons. A lot of main stories, a lot that we're gonna get to. We obviously will have some bears, too. And importantly, a significant frightening update regarding radioactive shrimp. And you know that this is your place that Dan Bernstein, Unfiltered is your place to get all of the latest and the most significant information on our ongoing battle with the menace that is radioactive shrimp.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, how far along are you in the process to become shrimp man?

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, we need to debate. Have you consumed any yet or no? We need to debate this because this may change the calcul on shrimp man, shrimp woman, shrimp person, shrimp people about how this needs to be managed. And then we're gonna have to figure out perhaps how to incorporate shrimp people into our world.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, so everything's changing.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And if, were I a politician, I would be courting the shrimp person vote at this point because I do think that we are going to have a significant number of people who are at least half shrimp.

[Dan Bernstein]

So now we've completely reversed our thought process.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, let me get. I'll get to.

[Dan Bernstein]

We'll get to it later. Oh, man, I'm excited now.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, we're going to have to talk all of this stuff out.

[Unidentified Co-host]

All right.

[Matt Abaticola]

So what a shitty loss last night for the Cubs, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's not good.

[Matt Abaticola]

I believe it was their biggest blown lead of the year.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's correct.

[Matt Abaticola]

Up six to one. And I was. I was in and out of the car. I was driving around and I saw it on TV because I was stopped at a light. You know that great feeling when you're stopped at a light in the city and there's a bar with a bunch of big screen TVs on it and it's a loft you can kind of.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just watch in the game?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I'm just kind of watching the game. And then I get a text from Zoe. She says, can you pick up my prescriptions? And I go to Walgreens and I run. I'm like, yeah. And I had a frozen pizza in the back. So I had this ticking timer in my head. It's like, I don't Want the pizza to thaw. And I was getting all nervous, so.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you probably had the heat on in the car.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I didn't have the heat on in the car. I was just worried that my pizza was gonna thaw. So I. I run back in and I go to the back of the Walgreens, and then the rolling thing is down because it was break time.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, they were like, on dinner break.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

So then she's like, oh, 7:15 is gonna open. So it was 6:58. Like, all right, I gotta run the pizza home because I gotta get the pizza in the freezer. Because I don't want the pizza to thaw. Yeah, because I'm freaking out. Because that's like, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, you'll eat day old meat, but you're concerned about a pizza thaws. I get it.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's part of my thing, you know, that I'm on the OCD side.

[Dan Bernstein]

I get it, man. It makes sense.

[Matt Abaticola]

So I raced home and Zoe goes, where are my prescriptions? And I said, well, I haven't gotten them yet. She said, what do you mean? I said, I just. I came home just to put the pizza in the free. And she said, what the hell is wrong with you? She said, so why wouldn't you just cook the pizza from whatever state it was in and just change the time?

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a fair question.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I said, I don't want to answer that right now. I have to go. And I ran back out, and then I listened to the car. When Ian Hap doubles into the gap and a couple of runs score and it's five to one, I'm like, oh, okay, this is easy. Maybe I don't have to even watch the whole game. They'll put this out. So I was even looking around to see what else to watch, and then I flipped back and I thought, oh, God. Cause Shawshank Redemption was on, I thought maybe I'd Shawshank myself. As I'm flipping, I'm flipping. I was gonna watch the Kimmel monologue. I didn't stay up late enough to watch it because once the Cubs game was over and I felt bad and I ate a bunch of ice cream and I went to sleep, I recorded.

[Dan Bernstein]

It because I knew I wasn't gonna be up late enough to watch it. So I'll check it out later today. I can tell you something, though, and you can share this with your daughter.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes, it is.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's crucial to cook a frozen pizza while it's in its frozen state. It really is.

[Matt Abaticola]

Because I You're taking my side in this.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because I have a lot of experience with cooking pizzas, and I have. We. My. My boys love the little mini frozen pizzas. The home on ends. And I've done it where I've taken it out of the freezer and toss it in the oven while it's still getting to temperature. And it disrupts the actual proper cooking process.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know it does.

[Dan Bernstein]

And if you cook a frozen pizza from a thawed state, I know your cheese overcooks while the crust doesn't get crispy enough. Thank you.

[Matt Abaticola]

Thank you.

[Dan Bernstein]

You have to.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, as much as I want preach, as much as I want to agree and go with Zoe on this, you cannot cook a frozen pizza from a thawed state, and it comes out poorly.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I also. I think I've been wasting a lot of my life because I realized I like the Uno's frozen deep dish now better than the Geno's.

[Dan Bernstein]

Really?

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah. Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I. It's. It's better.

[Dan Bernstein]

So Uno's is better than Geno's.

[Matt Abaticola]

The Uno's regular sausage deep dish.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

Is the crust is better. It chars. If you. If you do the 55 minutes from frozen.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

At 375. 55 minutes. Like, to the number. To the second you get just enough char on the edge of the crust, make sure it's on the correct rat.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm going to try it.

[Matt Abaticola]

And you let it rest. Where do you put it?

[Dan Bernstein]

You put it in the middle or does it go. Whatever.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I think it's in the middle. And it just. It's. It's perfect. And then I do a tiny drizzle of the. Of good olive oil.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And it is.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you just do sausage.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

So. And I. I destroyed it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Let your. Let your daughter know. 999 times out of a thousand, I would take her side on this particular. Everything else. She is wrong.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

She's wrong. You have to cook a frozen pizza from its frozen state. Otherwise it does not come out.

[Matt Abaticola]

So I was not a crazy person.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, you are a crazy person.

[Matt Abaticola]

Do that. I came just to put the pizza in the freezer, and then I go back and then I get in line. And of course, by the time I get back in line, there's. The line is eight people deep at Walgreens. Just.

[Dan Bernstein]

Of course, it was just as they're.

[Matt Abaticola]

Rolling up the thing, the security thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

So I go to CVS in Vernon Hills. That's my. My pharmacy.

[Matt Abaticola]

Sure.

[Dan Bernstein]

And they have that window for lunch breaks.

[Matt Abaticola]

Lunch break and dinner break.

[Dan Bernstein]

When I was home during the day working, I would go and get my prescription during the day when I needed to. And no matter when I went, they weren't, they weren't always closed within that window. Sometimes it was like 10 minutes earlier.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Dan Bernstein]

Stick to it. I was very disappointed.

[Matt Abaticola]

Stick to my routine.

[Dan Bernstein]

So much so to the point where I almost complained, but I don't complain. So I just, I would leave and just come back and just be like, come on, just let's, let's get it right.

[Matt Abaticola]

And there's two pharmacists that work at my Walgreens and they both look exactly like Craig Calcatera. Oh, I think it's mandatory. You're not allowed to be a city of Chicago Walgreens pharmacist unless you look exactly like Craig Calc. Okay, maybe it is Craig. I don't know if he's asked. I should, but it's like there's David who's the main guy and then there's the fool's David who looks like David but isn't David, but he's also bald with salt and pepper like stubble on his head and wire rimmed glasses.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe they're related.

[Matt Abaticola]

They're not. Because one slightly bigger. I don't know what they did.

[Dan Bernstein]

Family members can be different sizes.

[Matt Abaticola]

This stamped out pharmacist.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, I'm over six foot. My brothers are under.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know, I don't think they're different sizes. They may be related to Craig Calcatera.

[Dan Bernstein]

But you could even be related and look different.

[Matt Abaticola]

That is true. Yes, it is possible. I haven't researched it, but I will. And then I was dismayed at the Cubs game last year. There's a lot going on in that game too.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Well, before we get into the details of it, Kyle Tucker's there and they showed him jogging.

[Matt Abaticola]

He did a fake swing a bit.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And he ran Josh base.

[Dan Bernstein]

Really good at the seed chewing though. That's a really good. That's a hard skill to get a handful and then do one at a.

[Matt Abaticola]

Time and to be able to shell it, eat the kernel, spit the shell.

[Dan Bernstein]

I can do it now, but it took two baseball seasons to master it.

[Matt Abaticola]

It actually distracted me when I played baseball.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, really? Yeah, I'm sure it did it actually.

[Matt Abaticola]

So I switched to beef jerky.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I could see how your brain would just. You would focus too much.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes, I just. On the process itself and like getting mad if I didn't do it right.

[Dan Bernstein]

And what did you play?

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, it depends on how high a level.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

The higher the level, the further away I got from anything I was in with good players.

[Dan Bernstein]

You were never a catcher?

[Matt Abaticola]

Outfielder.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I caught one inning.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

Never again. Yes, I got one inning. I got run over by a 275 pound offensive lineman and that was it. I was done. That's it. Someone else.

[Dan Bernstein]

Football is in catcher's gear.

[Matt Abaticola]

But no, he was a. He was an offensive lineman.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, but he was playing baseball.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Time big.

[Matt Abaticola]

The nickname Tank.

[Dan Bernstein]

Say what they do in Deerfield.

[Matt Abaticola]

His nickname was Tank.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, guys, we're gonna put football and baseball together.

[Matt Abaticola]

He was so Ernst in your catcher. He was so apologetic.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, really?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, because he absolutely, like, he. He had to pick me out from underneath the dirt and like shake me and he's like, I'm sorry, like Tank, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so you catch her for one inning and mostly outfield, though.

[Matt Abaticola]

Most. Okay, so you're out shortstop in summer league, outfielder in college.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so you're an outfielder in college. Working on your seed process. Fly ball hit. You not paying attention.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Trying to break the shell.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yep. Got a bad.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Bad jump on it.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah. All right. Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

But the best thing about the outfield, the farting all day, man, you could just do whatever in the infield, couldn't. You can on the infield, but everyone's like, like, what's wrong with this guy? When you're standing out there in center field like this, you. It's all day.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, we had practice Monday night. One of the kids on the defensive line, he farted and I thought he crapped his pants. I mean, it was.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's been done.

[Dan Bernstein]

Loud, sounded wet, and everyone just lost it from that. I was like, seriously, working into a play.

[Matt Abaticola]

Come on, work that into a play. Make that part of your cadence or make that a secret. That means like you flip the play or. That's a. That's a special hot read.

[Dan Bernstein]

So they showed Kyle Tucker. He jogged down to first base. You know, hopefully he can get in before the playoffs. And, you know, council said he'll be a dh, obviously, like we've talked about.

[Matt Abaticola]

Perfect.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I just. I don't get it. I still don't get it, but, you know, whatever.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, we got a compliment from a listener yesterday when we were talking about the possibilities of what the calf injury could be.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And we were working through the chronic versus the acute worst case scenario. Yeah. And actually our friend. Do you remember Polish physician?

[Dan Bernstein]

I do.

[Matt Abaticola]

Polish physician sent a note. He's A sports orthopedist and he just said really good differential diagnosis on the Tucker calf injury. Oh, good. So thank you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he could have contributed that before we had that conversation. It would have been smart to share.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's a podcast. He sounds like we're listening live.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know, we talked about it. Come on, be more proactive.

[Matt Abaticola]

Don't get mad at him. I'm not mad. No. We need our doctor friends out there to help us out. So it was actually a really interesting, exciting game when you knew that there was something at stake. Clearly not as much at stake for the Cubs as there was for the Mets. And I've got Mets fans in my family who are living and dying with everything that goes on.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cause now with that win, the Mets climb back into the six seed. They have a one game lead over the Reds and the Diamondback. So important game for the Mets. The Cubs are just helping out all these teams. They got the Reds in the playoffs with their four game sweep. Now the Mets with that win have jumped the Reds now. So they're, they're a game up. Padres are just now a game and a half behind the Cubs for that four seed. So the Cubs are either four seater, five seed. I mean they're obviously not going to fall down to the six. That's not going to happen. Can't happen. So they're either going to host the Padres for three or travel to San Diego for three. Hopefully, you know, hopefully it's a two game sweep for the Cubs either way. But I mean they're going to either go to San Diego or host San Diego at Wrigley.

[Matt Abaticola]

Who is that big dirt bag reliever the Mets brought in who threw a hundred mile an hour slide step?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he looks like he came out of the 80s.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes, yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

100%.

[Matt Abaticola]

He looked like, like Dick Tidro.

[Dan Bernstein]

Stanek. Right, Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes. Ryan Stanek.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

That they've got, they've got a bunch of guys like that. And I'll this about Pete Alonzo too. Pete Alonzo looks like central casting for like veteran big first base guy.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And he's, you know, he's got a little stubble going around. I loved it too when he fell into the net and he had a smile on his face and he gets up and flips the guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

He got really lucky because I know he didn't hit cement. I know net kept him from hitting the ground.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or the chairs.

[Matt Abaticola]

He was super lucky.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And he fell all the way through and then he kind of, he kind of grinned as he threw the ball.

[Dan Bernstein]

Guess what? Hold on to it, dude. Hold on to that ball. Come on, man.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's a kind of a tough catch.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that's a real tough catch. But you're, you know, hold on to it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, you're the polar bear, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

You're, you're the guy.

[Matt Abaticola]

You're the guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

So the, the Cubs with a game and a half lead on, on the Padres, the, the Mets now in that, that final spot in the playoffs. These games now, yeah, they are important for the Cubs whether it's home field or not. But the Mets are fighting for their playoff life. They are not going to not show up tonight and play again.705 game. But you looked at it with Michael Sirotka in there right before the inning got lost where they, the Mets tied the game. There was a shot, I think it was two. Alonzo hit it off the wall and another two or three feet, that's in the basket. And he served it up right down the middle of the plate. And I'm like, oh, man. So then they take him out. They bring Rogers in. What's Rogers do? I mean, serves them up right down the middle of the plate. The Mets, I mean, they slug. I think they're fifth in baseball. And home runs, they slug. They hit home runs. Can't serve these balls up, man, when we're, you know, coming in relief.

[Matt Abaticola]

I wish they had a million Andrew Kittridges. I really do. That's the guy I want to duplicate because they're asking so much of him. Yeah, he's the guy. He's the only guy you can really feel really good about right now. Yeah, that circle of trust is basically old ass Andrew Kittredge out there just, just dealing.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I like watching him pitch like it's enjoyable. Watch him pitch. Like early in the season was Porter Hodge. Like Hodge is a guy. His uniform is slightly too small and he looks like he would rip your head off if you got into a fight.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, Kittridge looks like a guy playing strikeout at the local grade school. Like when you and your friends would go over and chalk a strike zone on there and every time it's just like you just got that lean back and just.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he just, he's, he's fun to watch. I mean, that was, that was Porter Hodge early in the year. Kittrich, now, he just. It's really enjoyable to see him on the mountain. But yeah, they need more guys to be. I mean, that, that last night couldn't happen. You could not after a four game sweep. You're at home and you're fighting to keep home field advantage. You cannot lose that lead when you're up six to one. This can't happen. Terrible, terrible loss.

[Matt Abaticola]

You know the one guy in your group chat that hits a five leg parlay week one and then you have to hear about it for the rest of the season. Hey, remember that time at a five leg parlay, you know you want to be that guy. And you can through my bookie, because my bookie makes it stupid easy to get in on the action. NFL college ball, super contest, survivor pools, everything you like to bet, whatever you feel comfortable doing. The in game lines, player, props, spreads, everything's right there for you. All under one roof. And because you're new to my bookie, we have a code for you. It's dbu, the initials for Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered. Any bet you choose up to $500 is fully covered. Make your play. If it doesn't hit, you get it right back. Just make sure you opt in using the bet back bonus token with the code dbu. No better time to jump in. No better place to play football is back. So let's make some money with my bookie. Let's hear from Craig Counsel because he had some thoughts. He's got a job to do right now because he's got a leaky bullpen. He is missing one of his best players and we're going to get to his third baseman in a little bit. But this is what he had to say after last night's disappointment, right?

[Craig Counsel]

Kind of mid. Mid back, kind of on one of the ribs.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is on Cade Horton.

[Craig Counsel]

Cade was sick this week. Like we've had a couple guys sick and he was coughing a lot. He noticed the symptoms kind of Sunday, Monday, ish, no effect, throwing. And it just started to tighten up a little bit. So we, we pulled the plug on it. Then we're just gonna have to evaluate it moving forward. He had a little like, no, no symptoms throwing. He threw his bullpen. He threw yesterday. No symptoms, throwing. He just had a little symptoms on deep breaths. So, you know, likely just he, he. The illness has caused him to cough. Has been coughing a lot. You know, that may be it. I think that's what we feel like it probably is. And we wanted to, you know, we wanted to be extra careful during the start tonight, so we stopped it. We'll see how he feels tomorrow. I think next couple days will be important. You know, he wanted to keep going tonight and we said no. So just kind of see how it Goes the rest of the week. We lost. They. They came back, they battled well. They got some big hits.

[Matt Abaticola]

For sure.

[Craig Counsel]

We didn't put together a complete enough game to win. To win.

[Dan Bernstein]

I watched the video. He wasn't taking a big drag of a heater there.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's what it kind of sounded like, right?

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

We lost, and we just didn't get the hits that we needed.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's not Jim Leland.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, it's not.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

If you knew it were Jim Leland.

[Dan Bernstein]

It would be definitely a heater.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And Jim Leland not the only one. Or if it were Terry Bevington, it would a huge swig out of a beer. And then he used to. No nose burp. You'd sit at his desk, and you'd literally sit around the desk with Bevington. I'm not sure what happened. And.

[Dan Bernstein]

A nose burp. That's special.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, he'd, like, try to hold it in. Cause he didn't want to go in.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come out through his nose.

[Matt Abaticola]

Because if he didn't, it would be like a Barney Gumbel flapping lips. So he. He would just let it come out and he'd, like, breathe it on everybody. It's like, come on, just have a little bit of dignity.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, not so much.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

He had to do his pants on. He was in his jock.

[Matt Abaticola]

Don Zimmer would be sitting there, literally, with no pants on.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so Kate Horton had a cold, develops a cough. You know, I can see it. You know, I mean, your back muscles get sore.

[Matt Abaticola]

Is this like when the Russian.

[Dan Bernstein]

How bizarre.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm just wondering. This is like when the Russian premiere has been dead for two weeks. Yurian drop off, has cold. It's fine.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, he's good.

[Matt Abaticola]

Why wasn't he at the. At the military parade? He is cold. He is fine. Meaning he is cold because he's dead.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, at least Kate wanted to stay in. They took him out, wanted to keep going, thought he could keep going. He gave up the leadoff home run to Lindor and then settled down and became Cade Horton and got three innings out of it.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, here's my overthink it question.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay, go ahead.

[Matt Abaticola]

Did this cough, this cold exacerbate? Did the coughing exacerbate a pre existing back injury that only came to light because the coughing hurt, or did the coughing itself create the back tension?

[Dan Bernstein]

Fair question. I'm gonna go with the coughing itself created the back tension because he's had zero.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Zero signs of anything happening this entire second half.

[Matt Abaticola]

I understand he's a young pitcher at A. At a new innings load. And. And I just wonder if it's like, oh, it hurt. Why does it hurt to cough? Is that because I've got a back strain because I'm pitching a lot of innings?

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, have you ever. Have you ever had a back strain from coughing?

[Matt Abaticola]

I've. Oh, yeah. I've.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it's.

[Matt Abaticola]

I pulled my trapezius Sneezing.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it's not an uncommon thing. I think.

[Matt Abaticola]

Trapezius.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think we've all done that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Trapezius knees.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. So it's not too far of a stretch to say that this is what caused that. So I'm going to go with that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm going to believe him on it. He hasn't shown any signs of anything anytime this entire second half of the season. So let's go with it there.

[Matt Abaticola]

That.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was just that particular thing with the cough.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right. I'm just.

[Dan Bernstein]

That he wanted to stay in.

[Matt Abaticola]

Let you talk me off of that one, because sometimes you didn't know really, that your back was strained or your back was overworked until something awkward or. Or different brings that out.

[Dan Bernstein]

And even so, watching him pitch throughout those three innings as he went through, he looked normal. He didn't look abnormal. He didn't look like his mechanics were off at all. So it was fine. I'll go with it there. And hopefully he's better in a couple days and maybe. Maybe they get a doctor in house that can do some antibiotics, maybe get a trainer that can look at people's calves. So you're not flying to voodoo doctors in Tampa. I mean, let's. Let's get some stuff, you know, at home. Let's. Let's take care of that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, they did.

[Dan Bernstein]

Unless he's, like, on a plane to Washington State right now to go see some specialists who take care of coughs in. And he's in a cave somewhere or.

[Matt Abaticola]

Perhaps he's heading out to see Lee Greenwood sing.

[Dan Bernstein]

That may just.

[Matt Abaticola]

Because sometimes they just. Sometimes Cubs just say, well, I. Damn it, I need to hear Lee Greenwood. It's been too long, and it's very important to me. I need to hear Lee Greenwood sing live. I always. I follow Lee Greenwood around, and I always hear it's really important to me to have the fireworks blowing up. And I hear Lee Greenwood to tell me I'm proud to be an American, where people know I'm free. Because I think Matt Shaw thinks we're stupid.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I think Matt Shaw thinks we're stupid. If you want to go to Whatever that was, be honest about it. Just. Just be real. Just be honest. Don't put up layer after layer of all of these claims and disclaimers because I have a lot more questions and kudos to him for answering questions, for making himself available to Megan Montemurro and presumably others to stand in front of his locker and explain his decision to miss a game that may end up being important for his team. We don't know how important it's going to be, but it's a Major League Baseball game and he's the starting third baseman, and he decided that he had someplace he wanted to be. And I do understand the MLB's bereavement rules and how that all works, but I just. I want to be clear about something that I just. There's certain things in here that simply make me want to know more. I would like to ask some questions regarding this. When he went to this. And let's. First of all, let's define this. This was as much or more a political rally as it was a memorial service. That's what it was. They were selling merchandise. There were fireworks. There was Lee Greenwood. And what came out of it was. Were comments by politicians about their political movement. Primarily, those were. Those were the headlines. We are the storm was one quote. The dragon has been awakened. I don't know if there's another modifier for Dragon, like Grand, for instance, but they have. They've awakened the dragon. And like I say, this is in a stadium with thousands of people, fireworks, selling merchandise, people taking smiling selfies with their. Make all this. You've seen all the selfies. So what I'm interested in is why specifically, rather than a private graveside service, whatever it may be, awake a Shiva and sharing these moments, whether why it was important to be at this particular political rally slash service that was more important than whatever else he wanted to do. And here's the other thing that I don't understand. I'm gonna ask a lot. Let me just say first and foremost, a lot that I don't know and don't understand. And I'm gonna be completely transparent about that. That I did not know what the decedent was all about until I saw the south park episode. I knew the name. Of course, you know the name. But I had no. Until I saw that south park episode.

[Dan Bernstein]

Lampooning the whole thing, that he would go on campuses.

[Matt Abaticola]

I didn't know anything about that.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he would take conversations.

[Matt Abaticola]

I learned conversations and debate. And even when Cartman showed up with the hair.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

I didn't quite. I didn't get it. I needed to. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Okay. And I understand, okay, so that he's. It's a specific person that he's being. And then I. Oh, that's him. That's what he does. And I put it together. But the most edification that I got out of all of it was the south park episode, which is hilarious, by the way. Yeah, absolutely hilarious. I can't wait till tonight. I absolutely cannot wait till tonight's episode. So if I. My ignorance, I will cop to my ignorance on a lot of this stuff, because I genuinely do not know. And I have tried to educate myself as best I can and read up on of comments, videos, what was said, why it was said, et cetera. And I do know a lot more now. So Matt Shaw said he was friends, personal friends with Charlie Kirk. They texted all the time, and he said that he had not followed his content, the podcast, the videos, because he hasn't had any social media accounts. Now, if you're in touch every day, and if somehow this is connected to faith, I don't believe you. I don't think that's true. I don't think you need those social media accounts to know what a person believes and what they're proud to stand for. And that's also part of a personal friendship, at least in my eyes. My question would be, is this what you can say, a person who believes these things, A person who says this or a person who stands for this? A person whose entire personal, professional life, wherever one meets the other, is about these things? That's someone whose friendship is meaningful to you. Do you believe the same things? Is that part of your friendship? And I'm also curious about when he says it's about his faith. And, okay, that's your faith, but I don't know any faith in particular that codifies saying that black people are inferior or that LGBTQ people should be demonized or trans people should be blamed for things. I'm gonna need some help in understanding how one's faith connects to those hatreds, because I just don't get it. I always thought that the teachings were of peace and love, but that could simply be. Somebody could simply say that, no, you're wrong. We believe that we're supposed to hate these people, demonize these people, these people are lesser. And the idea of great replacement theory and how that fits in to religion. All I'm saying is I have a lot of questions, and I think to say that for him to say, I don't know about these things. I don't know. I don't know. I don't necessarily believe him because there's a lot more to this, and there are a lot more questions that. Okay, well, this is. This is what was said. This is. You show a video and say, this is what's being said in this video. Do you agree with this? There are certain things, at least. Look, Clayton Kershaw wears his homophobia on his hat. There are a lot of baseball players. I won't wear the pride thing. And we know who they are. And they can say, yeah, I don't do that. Because it goes. That being tolerant of these people goes against my personal interpretation of my faith. All right, well, they claim it. They know who they are. I know Clayton Kershaw is one of the greatest pitchers of all time and a piece of garbage for a lot of the things that he believes. Okay. I know that. Just don't. Don't pretend to be in the middle here. Don't say, I have to be at this rally, but I don't know about any of these things. It's right in front of you. You're sitting there. You're sitting there. You're walking by the merch tents. You're sitting there as the fireworks go off. You're hearing Lee Greenwood sing. You are hearing the president talk about how proud he is to hate his opponents. It's all right there. Awaken the dragon. We are the storm. So now to come back and say, I don't know about any of that. That's strange credulity. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cause it was Matt Shaw's own words that they texted. Did he say every day or regularly?

[Matt Abaticola]

After every game.

[Dan Bernstein]

After every game. But those were his words, correct?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

I want to make sure I have it right.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just. It's. It's interesting that if you're going to have that kind of close friendship, because I have some really good friends in life, and we don't text every day, but if I was texting someone every day and even the guys that I'm close with, that I don't text every day. I know who they are as people, and that plays a factor in the relationships that we develop and.

[Matt Abaticola]

Exactly. I choose my friends in large part based on what they stand for.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. Or it may impact a potential relationship based on what people stand for. I mean, which is fair.

[Matt Abaticola]

Just don't. All I'm going to ask is believe what you want to believe. Support what you want to support.

[Dan Bernstein]

Absolutely.

[Matt Abaticola]

You're absolutely entitled to all of It. But don't treat us like we're idiots. And some of this stuff just doesn't pass the smell test about. Well, I don't know about any of that. I don't know about any of that. Because when somebody makes a living out of using faith in large part to justify hatred, to justify othering people and calling people enemies, and I don't get that. I don't understand it. It's never been properly explained to me. And that just may be a hole in my knowledge. And I certainly could understand if that's the fact. But I've heard from a lot of Cub fans who are saying they're having a difficult time reconciling their feelings about Matt Shaw. And because there are a lot of gay Cub fans and LGBTQ Cub fans, they have a Pride night. They've got an owner who's. Who's gay.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And it's hard. And I can understand why it's hard. And. But that's unfortunate. That's sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's sports.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's sport you got. The Ricketts own the team. We've seen their emails.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it's. And I understand. I can empathize where people are coming from as Cub fans to have this difficult decision they're faced with. And the decision really is, am I going to root for my team or not? Root for the team because one of the guys on the 25 man roster feels strongly in a way that opposes my lifestyle.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's every team.

[Dan Bernstein]

You root for every team. And it's not even just political beliefs or human beliefs, but it's about criminals, too. You have criminals on teams that you support and that you root for.

[Matt Abaticola]

Look, we went through this with the Araldis Chapman thing when they won the World Series and.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bad guy.

[Matt Abaticola]

And most owners are evil billionaires.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right?

[Unidentified Co-host]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it's, you know, I get it and I understand the difficulty there and I really feel where people are coming from on it. So, you know, you don't wear a Matt Shaw T shirt jersey. You don't buy the Matt Shaw jersey. Maybe you don't stand and applaud when you.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's up to you.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's up to you. Right. It's what you want to do. But it, but it also doesn't mean that you need to stop. Stop supporting the team that you love because it's. It's sports. And sports are an escape for us to get away from, unfortunately, some of the evil, bad things that you might face as a member of that particular community. So.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I can Say this. The. I, I have the ultimate hypocrisy when it comes to football fandom.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I. And I cop to it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, you do. You owned it for years.

[Matt Abaticola]

My essential hypocrisy that I can get over it. Football is awful. Football is destruction of human beings. But, God, I love it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's absolutely the most glorious sport out there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. And people can get mad at you about it and say, all right, you can't go out and scream at the top of a mountain how dangerous it is for your brain and you shouldn't do it because it's terrible for you. But then go out and love the sport so much. How much you do love it, because, hey, and be honest about it, it's not my brain. It's not my kid's brain. I don't care. I'm going to watch you do it to your brain.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's fine. Yeah, it is. It is. There is so much hypocrisy with it, but you're out front with it. So, again, if you're struggling with it, I get it, you know, but that's a decision you have to make on your own.

[Matt Abaticola]

And it's probably one of these situations where in large part ignorance is bliss, that you probably don't want to get to know your heroes. You probably don't want to say, if you went to every Major League Baseball clubhouse and actually heard what everybody really thinks about everything, you're not going to be a fan of anything, depending on how you feel about.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And I also think.

[Matt Abaticola]

And that's one that cuts both ways, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Absolutely. Both ways. And if you have, have, if you have kids, maybe it's an opportunity to have that kind of conversation with them about idolizing sports heroes for their abilities and not for who they are.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, I have had that conversation many, many, many, many times.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Can I, Can I give you some Cubs numbers before we go on? Or you want to.

[Matt Abaticola]

Is there some other MLB stuff here? Yes, please do.

[Dan Bernstein]

So, I, I just, I want to. I want to. You know where my brain goes. I'm thinking worst case scenario. And I'm thinking, what happens if the Cubs have to go to San Diego for the Wild Card Series? So, again, just in case you forgot, it's a best of three, all three games in one location. So if the Cubs were the five seed, they're playing the potential of all three games in San Diego. In case you forgot how it works. Dan243, 20407, 727. Those are the Cubs Splits as a team at home. At home.

[Matt Abaticola]

Wow.

[Dan Bernstein]

256. 324, 41. 761 on the road. Slightly better on the road. The Cubs have 89 home runs at home, 120 on the road.

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe they don't want home field advantage. Is this where you're getting at?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, a little bit.

[Matt Abaticola]

Also because it's not as bad. Teams win these series.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, it's not as bad as you think. If this is the way it ends up. A batting average of balls in play. They are 13 points higher on the road. They're pitching. They have a slight edge at home, but it's pretty much a wash. But a slight edge at home. PCA is much worse at on the road than he is at home, so he's definitely a home field guy. Nico Horner. It's a wash. He has more home runs on the road. I think five to one.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's barreling everything.

[Dan Bernstein]

Playing so well.

[Matt Abaticola]

He doesn't have any power, but he's barreling everything.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it doesn't really matter for him. It's a wash. Suzuki 100 points higher ops on the road. Hap his, his ops is 80 points higher at home, so he has a little bit of advantage at home. Swanson is a wash. Michael Bush. His Ops 769 at home. 875 on the road. Much better on the road. The his home runs he has nine at home, 21 on the road. Total basis for Michael Bush. 99 at home. 150 on the road. So much, much better hitter on the road this year. Kyle tucker. He has seven home runs at home, 15 on the road. His numbers 243, 361. 771 on the road. He's 292. 524. 923. Not even close.

[Matt Abaticola]

So what's the. What's the conclusion?

[Dan Bernstein]

So the conclusion is if the Cubs have to go on the road and you can look at the. At the Padres as well too. The two teams have split their series this year. They're. They're three and three. The Cubs have, have lost two games at San Diego this year. They won that. They won two or three at home. The Padres are slightly better at home offensively, much better at home pitching.

[Matt Abaticola]

I was going to say, have you done the Cubs pitching splits entirely Because I would think that you'd have to look at that too.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, no, they're, they're, they're, they're pitching at home is slightly better because the home runs At Wrigley this year are down across the board.

[Matt Abaticola]

Pitchers park.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, it has been much pitchers park this year, more so than ever. Now, there are. There are two guys, though, that. That are really, really bad. So Kelly at home has 10 home runs, seven on the road. So he's much better at home. Matt Shaw on the road is much worse than he is at home. So those are. Those are two guys that really, really. And pca, too, that really need to play at home. But overall, as a team, offensively, it's going to be fine. It's going to be a really good matchup. As you see, they're three and three right now against the Padres in the season series. So if it ends up where the Cubs have to go to San Diego, not ideal, but also not the worst thing, particularly for Michael Bush and Kyle Tucker, who are extremely better on the road this year with the power numbers.

[Matt Abaticola]

So guess who was at my house on Monday? A famous person.

[Dan Bernstein]

Russ Armstrong.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. How did you know?

[Dan Bernstein]

Because I'm smart.

[Matt Abaticola]

Russ Armstrong, the owner of Chicago Window Guys, came over on Monday. It had been a while. So the first thing, he goes, let me see the windows I put in. So he. And he showed me, he said, see this builder's window? You see how the metal spacer here is all rusted? He goes, come here. Look at the windows I put in. And then he showed me his wind. He goes, see that? That is. What did he say? A butyl. Some polymer that. I didn't know exactly what the syllables were. He said, see? See how that's absolutely pristine. That's perfect. And he was showing me, he said, well, that's what we're gonna do in this next round here. And he's looking around, and he's looking at the window. He goes, okay. He goes, yeah, these are crap. These are. Well, I've had these for 20 years. He goes, yeah, they're crappy windows. Can I put some real windows in here? And I said, of course you can. And he went around, he looked everything over, and he goes, great, awesome. Terrific. This is great. And he's such. He's just a delightful guy. And he's also gonna do this for you. If you need windows, Russ will come out and he'll show you all the stuff you need to know about why his windows are so good. And then he's gonna give you the best deal. And it's really important, especially as it starts to get cold. Don't wait on this, because you're gonna save money. You see what's happening with the Heating and cooling bills and energy costs going through the roof. The best way to save that money and bring that bill down is have these double hung, double paned, low emissivity windows that keep the cold in, they keep the warm in. Whatever you want, you've got it inside your house instead of it leaking outside your house. And Russ can do a room for you. He can do a handful of windows or he can do them all. There's no high pressure sales tactic. He's not going to stay around your house longer than you want. He's not going to sit there and go through your fridge. But he'll come over and he'll explain why it's the best deal through him and why all this other stuff you hear is mostly sales gimmicks. So have Russ out and remember, his people install everything. There's no third party labor. It's all his guys. 847-302-9171. You can check out all his five star [e-mail] Russ is great. He wants, he wants to come to your place.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know. I gotta call him. I'll call him.

[Matt Abaticola]

You gotta have him out there. Everybody to whom I've recommended Russ has raved. 847-302-9171 chicagowindowguys.com he's such a handsome celebrity too.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm surprised he can leave the office.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know. And all his security people and the number of, of limos that have to pull up. Like you think he's just gonna pull up in his car, but it's just like, you know, these bulletproof limos and all these people get out with earpieces and they make a phalanx for him to walk through. He stops on top of the stairs and waves and smiles. You know, they have to come. Like it's, it's, he's, he's a big shooter, you know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is his code name still glass?

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know. I think that would be a little obvious. I think it changed.

[Dan Bernstein]

They must have changed.

[Matt Abaticola]

They have to keep changing his code name Glasses just to make sure he's, he's protected. So here is a list of the largest deficits ever overcome to tie or take a lead in a division.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, boy.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is for division or the league. So going back to 1900.

[Dan Bernstein]

So modern era of baseball, correct.

[Matt Abaticola]

What you know is the modern era. This is thanks to the great Sarah Langs. The 2025 Cleveland Guardians trailed Detroit by 15 and a half games entering play on July 9th.

[Dan Bernstein]

Was it really that much?

[Matt Abaticola]

It was 15 and a half. It was 10 and a half entering September. So congratulations. Congratulations to the 2025 Guardians who now with the tiebreaker. The record is tied, but they technically have the lead per the tiebreaker. The 1914 Braves won the league after being 15 games back. I'm old enough to remember the Boston Massacre and the 1978 Yankees, which, because I remember coming out of temple on, I think it was Rosh Hashanah when Bucky Dent hit the home run.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah, you would have been nine.

[Matt Abaticola]

With Willie Randolph's bat.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

And. And I like, we turned it on the radio and that's when it like it was a national. It was. Even though we're in Chicago, everybody in the country was following Yankees Red Sox because of what was going on. And I was a Yankee fan because Al Rosen was president of the Yankees and I'm a shirt tail relative of Al Rosen and he kept sending me stuff. I still have a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth. Every member of the 78 Yankees.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, wow.

[Matt Abaticola]

Except Reggie Jackson.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Oh.

[Matt Abaticola]

But there's multiple hall of Famers on like that's awesome. Yogi Berra and. Yeah. So I think it's worth a lot of money.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sell that.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I gotta sell it. I have it. Actually, you know what? I think I have it. I should put it in my backdrop.

[Dan Bernstein]

My home is it backdrop like in a case.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, it's in one of the little site squares. But this is an incredible baseball story. That's insane that's going on. It's. It's insane.

[Dan Bernstein]

I didn't realize it was. What'd you say it was? 10 and a half. It was the going.

[Matt Abaticola]

10 and a half going into September.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So the Tigers right now have the, the sixth seed in the playoffs with the Guardians leading the division. Houston's a game behind Detroit for that final spot in the playoffs. Badly. Yeah, they are. And the Tigers are just a game behind the Red Sox for that five seed. Hoping for the Yankees and Red Sox to stay there at 4 and 5 because I want that wild card matchup. But yeah, it's, it's, it's not done with either five or six games left on your schedule based on, on whether you play Thursday or not. So the Tigers with a one game lead on Houston. Cleveland with a one game lead on the Tigers now for the division. And man, that's crazy. But yeah, it's good time. And baseball loves that.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is what we want.

[Dan Bernstein]

Loves that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, this is what we want. And I hope, I know they're going to expand the playoffs further. But doesn't this feel just right?

[Dan Bernstein]

It does. It feels like enough.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is just right. This gives like enough, just enough of these little dramas.

[Dan Bernstein]

If you, if you look at it, where are the other teams that are currently trailing in the wild card? Let me see where, like, how far they are, right?

[Matt Abaticola]

They're close enough to like rebuilds and stuff, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Let's see. So right now, so after the, after the Astros, who are one game out on the outside looking in. The Royals are six games out. Rangers are six games out. That's just, that's just too much. And then on the National League side, the Mets have the six seed where the Reds and Diamondbacks are one game behind them. Cardinals are three and a half.

[Matt Abaticola]

You know what's happening right now? This is the first time I've really felt basebally. There's something about the start to the leaves turning. And I just, I know we've been the first month. And by the way, congrats, Congratulations on the first month of dbu. Oh yeah, it was noted yesterday.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's right.

[Matt Abaticola]

We had a town hall meeting here for Hubbard Chicago. And you know, I don't think I'm talking out of school here, but I just, I wanted to say this too. Dan Horwich, sales guy here, long time. Like he was a score guy and an XRT guy going back to like the earliest days of Belmont Ave Avenue. When I walked in the door In May of 95, he was already a well respected salesman there. And he's doing the same work here now at Hubbard Chicago.

[Dan Bernstein]

Looks the same too.

[Matt Abaticola]

I know. Bizarre, because he's always looked like he's six.

[Dan Bernstein]

His hair is a little grayer, but.

[Matt Abaticola]

He'S always, he's always looked like he hasn't aged. He's. Well, he. He did age a long time ago.

[Dan Bernstein]

He died a year, like years ago on Belmont. He's Long day and they just still drag him around into sales meetings and on calls with clients. He doesn't say much, does he? No, he's fine.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, he's good. He's good. Great sales guy, great listener.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's why they close deals, so they don't bring him back.

[Matt Abaticola]

Great listener.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, we'll sign right now. We haven't told you. We'll take it. It's fine.

[Matt Abaticola]

So he comes in yesterday and after the staff thing and he comes in, he goes, isn't this different? And I said, what do you mean? He goes, like the whole vibe here, like the culture people sat down. We're applauding for other People and everyone else's successes. And it was so like supportive and genuine and like nice and genuine. Authentic. Like you believed everybody.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it was really nice. We celebrated three of our colleagues here. 45 years in the industry. 25 years here at Hubbard.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Our chief engineer, Kent Lewin, who was Jonathan Brandmeier's engine, like built studios for Brandmeier.

[Dan Bernstein]

That picture of him and Johnny B. That's, you know, that's my guy.

[Matt Abaticola]

That was mustache Johnny B too.

[Dan Bernstein]

Seeing that was. That was really special.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Just. And all of these old. You see like reel to reel tape recorders in the background and all this stuff. But the fact that he was the guy that made the Johnny B studio sound multiple studios. And then Steven Gary.

[Dan Bernstein]

He was in the picture with Steven Gary worked for them.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

A serious OG in Chicago radio. 45 years at the various iterations of this corporation.

[Dan Bernstein]

So really, really cool. And then we celebrated our guy car. Wow. 25 years old.

[Matt Abaticola]

Score guy too.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Hated.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hated all the attention.

[Matt Abaticola]

Of course he did.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then out in sales cars for 10 years.

[Matt Abaticola]

Lauren cars.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah. So.

[Matt Abaticola]

But Dave Karwski too was. He was, I believe, the first score marketing guy when the station first started.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Oh, wow.

[Matt Abaticola]

He was the original.

[Dan Bernstein]

Should say car. Wow.

[Matt Abaticola]

The original marketing guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it was cool and it was really, really genuine and really nice. And. And it shows from the top down with Keith Lawless because he's just one of the nicest, most genuine guys you'll ever meet. And everything that he was doing yesterday in celebrating all of the Hubbard employees is just sincere and real. And it felt really good. Felt really good. And then. And we got lunch out of it too.

[Matt Abaticola]

It was good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Can't beat that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. I got. I will say that the chicken Caesar not as good as the protein bar chicken Caesar because you know, I always. I love a good chicken Caesar for lunch.

[Dan Bernstein]

We both do.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah. I had protein bar today. On the way in, I stopped and got a PB&J smoothie.

[Matt Abaticola]

I was gonna guess.

[Dan Bernstein]

So good.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh my God.

[Unidentified Co-host]

So good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Telling you, you've got to check it out. If you haven't checked out protein bar yet, please do.

[Matt Abaticola]

So we are going to have robo umps in 2026. And actually now that I check time, I want to. Let's table that. I want to talk about it tomorrow perhaps or. But I do. I just want to acknowledge the fact that 2026, that we're going to have the ABS. Is that what it is?

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Automatic ball strikes ABS system.

[Dan Bernstein]

Got to experience it. Two years ago at a minor league game.

[Matt Abaticola]

Not anti lock breaks, but automatic ball strikes. And we'll discuss that.

[Dan Bernstein]

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[Matt Abaticola]

You said you had a Bears note for us before I get on to our radioactive shrimp update.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, just real quick because we will talk more Bears. Raiders on forward progress a lot more. I want to ask you a question. Do you remember the last time the Bears and Raiders played? Wasn't all that long ago.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Yes and no.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was two years ago.

[Matt Abaticola]

I got visual memories of it and I think that's when I made. I had a. I had a pretty clever tweet. I remember. Didn't they have a tight end named Moreau? Is it Ethan Moreau? Is that his name?

[Dan Bernstein]

Let's see.

[Matt Abaticola]

And they said that he had. There was a one on one matchup with a linebacker and I. And I made. They said he was out on an island and I said they left the linebacker on an island with Ethan Morrow.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Oh boy.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I was patting myself on the back.

[Dan Bernstein]

You Know, it's funny when you said, look how cute.

[Matt Abaticola]

Look how adorable. Look at my precious tweet.

[Dan Bernstein]

When you said that, that you made, I thought you were going to. I thought you remembered the dish you made during this game and I was going to be really impressed. No, the Bears won. So it was October of 23. The Bears won 32 12. Do you know who started for the Bears that game? Game at quarterback.

[Matt Abaticola]

At quarterback in 2023. Was that a. I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was a Tyson.

[Matt Abaticola]

It was a Tyson Bajan game.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

21 of 29, 162 had a touchdown, no interception.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do you know the leading rusher for the Bears that game?

[Unidentified Co-host]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's just funny where, I mean, you're looking at the roster now. Dante Freeman.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, my God. Dante Freeman.

[Dan Bernstein]

89 yards rushing, 16 carries.

[Matt Abaticola]

A complete memory. Whole.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. I just. Dan, when I looked at the box score, I was like, Freeman was the running back.

[Matt Abaticola]

Dante Freeman.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Look, you know there's going to be.

[Matt Abaticola]

Guys on this team we say that about. By the way, I promise you there'll be guys on this team that you, if you give it another two years, we're going to be like, oh my God.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, there's a, there's some time. We'll have to get into it because I compiled my list of guys currently on the 53 man roster that will not be here when the Bears are competing for a, a playoff run, I'll tell you that. You know who the leading receiver was for the Raiders that game? Had seven catches for 57 yards. Devonte Adams. Okay, so that was two teams ago for Devonte. Bears leading receiver with eight and 54.

[Matt Abaticola]

Darnell Mooney.

[Dan Bernstein]

D.J. moore.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, was Mooney already gone then?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, Mooney was there.

[Matt Abaticola]

He was there.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

He had four catches for 32 yards. So that was the last time Bears and Raiders played. And then looking at, at the matchup for this weekend, just want to remind people what the Raiders did this past weekend against the Washington commanders. They allowed 41 points on 400 total yards of offense. Okay, so they're giving up a lot. Opponents are averaging 351 yards per game against the Raiders. They're moving the ball at 6.2 yards per play. So there is an opportunity here for Caleb Williams to continue to stack on what he's been doing the first three games. The Bears are averaging 25 points a game in these first three games. So there's an opportunity here to put more points on the board against a questionable Raiders defense. Now, my only Concern is, can the offensive line provide the protection that's needed to run the ball as well as get the ball out of Caleb Williams hands? Because Max Crosby is going to be looking for someone to kill.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's not my only concern. I am going to bring that concern, by the way, to an in depth conversation on today's forward progress because this DBU is particularly basebally. And that's. That's okay. I miss going to my kids fall ball games. I really do. I loved Go.

[Dan Bernstein]

I loved you like fall baseball.

[Matt Abaticola]

Love fall baseball. It was just. Everything was just great.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Henry did it once two years ago, but with football, it just. It was too much to do both at the same time. So he's just focused on football right now. Jackie's never done fall ball. We're just. We're just concentrating on football right now. Big game this weekend coming up for Libertyville Wildcats. We're playing North Shore at home again. North Shore need a win.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay. Because you're coming off a big win over.

[Dan Bernstein]

Coming off a big win over McHenry.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah. Good.

[Dan Bernstein]

28 to 0. It was a huge win, Hank, with two touchdown passes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Nice.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, we actually had two. Two touchdowns called back for penalties, too. So there could have been more.

[Matt Abaticola]

How Bears.

[Dan Bernstein]

We had. We had four interceptions, one for a pick six from one of my linebackers. It was awesome.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, I am waiting to find out when the Tulane baseball club is playing Louisiana Lafayette for their first fall series and. But I'm not wherever. I'm not going to Lafayette to watch the series.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why?

[Matt Abaticola]

It'll be on Game Changer. They do all their. All their stuff on Game Changer. They've got a little dugout assistant who handles everything.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is Game Changer not great?

[Matt Abaticola]

It's so good.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's so good.

[Matt Abaticola]

But the problem is there's two Bernsteins on the two lane baseball club.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, there's.

[Matt Abaticola]

And I think the other one also starts with a J. Is it like Jared and J something? So I'm like. Like he's hitting. They let him hit.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, no, no, no. Wrong Bernstein. And what's great is that the Game Changer lady, her voice, she pronounces my last name correctly.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, Siri does not. Yeah, they pronounce you abatacola.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well, in Game Changer, they do it right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Really?

[Dan Bernstein]

They don't say abatacola.

[Matt Abaticola]

But in Italian it would be. Would it be abatacola or abata? It is abatacola. No, Abatacola. Yeah, it is abatacola. Yeah, that's what I thought. Yeah. So Siri's got it, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Cause remember I got yelled at on the Viking cruise. You know, we're checked into the hotel and they put us all in a room and the Vikings people are going over things and she's doing a roll call and said my last name. And I said, oh, it's a bat. A cola. And she's like, no, it's not. She corrected me. Really? Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's awesome.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I was like, oh, I was super embarrassed. I was like, oh, God, it's like.

[Matt Abaticola]

What I did to the woman at Mariano's. I said, I'll have some of the orecchiette.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Oh, yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, you mean orechetti. Yeah, I said, yeah, the orecchiette. And I, you know, I like, you know, it's Italian for little ears. Yeah, but I know it's orechetti. I'm Italian.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

She was bothered when you walked up and said, scusi, boppity boop, boopity bop.

[Matt Abaticola]

Scusi orecchietti, per favore. But no, she's like, yeah, I know I'm Italian. It's orechetti.

[Dan Bernstein]

I got corrected on my own last name. It felt like an idiot.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And she actually waved her finger at me.

[Unidentified Co-host]

She did.

[Dan Bernstein]

The Cambodia.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, no, no. A Seattle based seafood distributor has expanded its shrimp recall due to potential radioactive contamination. According to the Associated Press, Aqua Star Corp. Announced Saturday it is recalling nearly 157,000 additional pounds of shrimp after concerns that some products may have been contaminated with Cesium 137A radioactive isotope. The recall affects several Kroger branded products, including nearly 50,000 bags of raw colossal EZ peel shrimp, about 18,000 bags of mercado cooked medium peeled tail off shrimp, and more than 17,000 bags of Aquastar peeled tail on shrimp skewers.

[Dan Bernstein]

Of those 35,000 bags of frozen shrimp, how many are in your freezer?

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't have any.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't have any because my favorite shrimp is the wild caught red Patagonian shrimp I love. And you buy them frozen sometimes? Well, they're all frozen. Even the stuff in the case.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, it's frozen.

[Matt Abaticola]

They just take out of bags and put in there. There's no. In Chicago, you're not getting anything like fresh fresh unless you're paying for it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, unless you go to.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Rafishmonger.

[Matt Abaticola]

The products were sold between June 12 and September 17 at more than 30 grocery chains across the U.S. kroger, Fred Meyer QFC, Ralph's, Smiths, King Supers, Fries, Food 4 Less City Market, Mariano's Metro Market, Pick and Save Baker's, Dylan's, Gerbs, JC Payless, Supermarkets and Foods Co. The FDA said the shrimp could pose a potential health concern, although I believe RFK Jr came out and said, you should eat as many of them as possible. This is if people are exposed to low levels of cesium 137 over time. It is a byproduct of nuclear reactions. Okay, now we have a huge. We have to figure out how to deal with this, because now there is a reasonable possibility of multiple people with a superhero origin story of becoming shrimp man, shrimp woman, shrimp boy, shrimp girl, shrimp person.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay. Right. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And we decided that it should only be one and that it would be you.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. But now, because we didn't need more.

[Dan Bernstein]

Than one shrimp person, I think we.

[Matt Abaticola]

Have to revisit this. Everybody's gonna need uniforms.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Oh, no.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, we're all gonna need, like, tight fitting uniforms with an S. And the ability to stretch in case shrimp people can be stretchy.

[Dan Bernstein]

But doesn't the whole idea of having more than one diminish the superpowers of shrimp person? Isn't that what we said?

[Matt Abaticola]

But maybe we're meant to work together. Maybe it's a puzzle to be solved.

[Dan Bernstein]

So humans and shrimp people.

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe something. No, as a collective. Once the shrimp people become shrimp people, then we'll somehow be able to intuit what our larger task is.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, well, I'm gonna pick right now to stay human. If we're doing more, I would volunteer to be the shrimp person, but I don't want to be one of many.

[Matt Abaticola]

Why?

[Dan Bernstein]

I just don't. I'd rather stay human.

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe this is how we come together as a people. Maybe this is how we bridge the divide with shrimp people.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or we all become shrimp people.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm saying that maybe that's how we get over our differences and we find common ground as shrimp people is through radioactive shrimp. Right.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm just trying to be positive about this.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, No, I get it. I get it. I'm just. I'm really troubled by that.

[Matt Abaticola]

And then we can get Lee Greenwood and the fireworks, and we can all gather together as shrimp people. I'm proud to be a shrimp person where people know I'm wet.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

So we can all. We'll gather together as shrimp people for a giant unification rally.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now, I think doing this, though, also creates the opportunity for lobster man or some kind of evil villain to come through.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Mmm.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, a lot of things eat shrimp. Pretty much everything.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right? That's. That's the problem?

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like a giant flamingo man appears and.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, they eat brine shrimp.

[Dan Bernstein]

Take over the world.

[Matt Abaticola]

But like, you know, reef sharks and all sorts of things. Eat shark man, shrimp, Rays eat sharks.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'd never heard of that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Rays eat shrimp.

[Dan Bernstein]

Fred Meyer grocery before, have you? I've never heard of Fred Meyer.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's just a guy's house.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, there's three locations in Illinois. Moline, Joliet and Quincy, which is why I've never.

[Matt Abaticola]

Fred Meyer.

[Dan Bernstein]

You heard of it? Because I've never shot.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

I got extra food. You want to buy it?

[Dan Bernstein]

So I thought. Wait, was it something to do with Meyer?

[Matt Abaticola]

No, no, no. Not N E I J E. It's.

[Dan Bernstein]

M E Y E R. Fred Meyer.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's Fred.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

You know Fred.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's a guy with the food, I guess. Yeah. He's got three, at least three grocery stores in Illinois. So congrats, Fred.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. Good for Fred.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Happy for him. But get rid of the radioactive shrimp.

[Dan Bernstein]

Never heard. I. I love grocery stores, though.

[Matt Abaticola]

As you know, I've. I've. The moment I get to a city where I've never been, I always love to go to a grocery store.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And I'm.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm still mad at my Mariano's though, in Vernon Hills because they rearranged everything again.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's the worst.

[Dan Bernstein]

And it's the worst. It's all different.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's an anxiety dream.

[Dan Bernstein]

Don't do that.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's an anxiety dream.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like, I had it down, Dan, where, like, I would see people wander and I would say I would. Strangers. What are you looking for?

[Matt Abaticola]

Ranch dressing right there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Tell them. I would tell them the aisle number.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now it's all different.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's really. I don't like it.

[Matt Abaticola]

I hate it.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't like it at all. I know there's no reason for it. Everything's fine. You don't need to make change just to make change. And then. And then they rearrange. Not only where things are, but the stuff that used to be higher up, eye level. They've dropped it. And they moved stuff up so that you see it quicker and faster so that we have to scan down to the products you want. I don't like it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, then you bring a kid with you and the kid sees everything at kids eye level.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, they're tall now. But grocery shopping is a. It's a. Yeah, it's. It's a peaceful time for me. I like it.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't want to bring kids wander around Maybe go by the hot bar, grab a wing.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, no, because it's. Now I. I can make my low. Well, I used to make my grocery list based on the aisles, so I would just write things down so I knew. So I could. I could go right down what I was getting. I wouldn't have to backtrack or do anything like that. But now it's all different. And I'm. I'm mad about it. Get it back the way it was. Damn it.

[Matt Abaticola]

If you're waiting for Sunday to start betting, you're missing half the fun and half the money because college football's already cooking. Meanwhile, you saw that the number one Heisman guy, your guy, he's out.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, is he really?

[Matt Abaticola]

He's hurt.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, no.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

His feelings are.

[Matt Abaticola]

No. Josh Matier.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. What happened?

[Matt Abaticola]

He hurt his hand. He's out for a month.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, no.

[Matt Abaticola]

But college football's here with upsets, blowouts, wild covers, and my book. Is it John Matiere. Josh Johnson. John. John Matiere. I think maybe Josh. Maybe Josh is fine.

[Unidentified Co-host]

J.

[Dan Bernstein]

Period.

[Matt Abaticola]

My bookie lets you hit everything. Game lines, player props, and more. Everything you need before the pros even kick off. So when Sunday rolls around, you are already up. And my bookie's got it all under one roof. So win big on the NFL super contest and survivor pools. If you're new to my bookie, use this code, DBU for Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered. Any bet you choose up to $500 is fully covered. Make your play, and if it doesn't hit, you get it right back. When you opt in using the bet back bonus token, and we bring you our DBU picks. You've been pistol hot on fire. Absolutely pistol hot. Matty to Greek has got everything for you. My bookie is where betters win together. Because bragging's good, but cashing in is better.

[Dan Bernstein]

John Matiere.

[Matt Abaticola]

John Matier.

[Dan Bernstein]

John Matier. And so he had hand surgery. Had surgery on his throwing hand. That's bad. But they said he'll return this season, but that's not good.

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe your guy, Diego Pavia, will make it into the Heisman.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hope. I hope so.

[Matt Abaticola]

You think maybe they get a special award for Diego Pavia? Just being Diego Pavia?

[Dan Bernstein]

They should, like. He should get, like, the man of.

[Matt Abaticola]

The Year award just because he's awesome. Yeah, okay.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, nominated. I don't have a vote for that. I have a Heisman vote. I do not have a.

[Dan Bernstein]

How about if we start it? I'll give you a vote.

[Matt Abaticola]

The Matabaticola man Of the Year.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

The College man of the Year. I'll start it. I'll give you a vote as long as you vote for Pavia. Well, because otherwise we could have a.

[Matt Abaticola]

Top, but that's extortion.

[Dan Bernstein]

You can't vote for someone else because we'd have a tie, and that'd be a bad thing.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, maybe other people should be able to. Maybe all shrimp people should vote.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe only shrimp people should be allowed to vote for College man of the Year.

[Unidentified Co-host]

All right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Or College Shrimp of the Year.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no, no, no.

[Matt Abaticola]

Because maybe the college player will also be a shrimp person, and that's going to be the market inefficiency.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do we know the superpowers yet of a shrimp?

[Matt Abaticola]

Like we said, mantis shrimp can kick.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that's right.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So you'd have to grow a giant, right?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, that'd be a kicker.

[Dan Bernstein]

You'd have one giant foot.

[Matt Abaticola]

Be a college kicker. Be like Gus the Kicking Mule.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Would you develop multiple arms then?

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do you have more than two?

[Matt Abaticola]

Maybe. And if you're a Langston, we already have multiple.

[Dan Bernstein]

With the two that we have.

[Matt Abaticola]

The Langostenes have the big claws, right?

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

But is that technically a shrimp? It's a prawn.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's a prawn.

[Matt Abaticola]

And then these aren't prawns.

[Dan Bernstein]

Antennas.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Full of feelers.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So that way you could feel the rush coming, even in the dark.

[Unidentified Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Extra sense out there before you get eaten by a reef shark. I don't know. I'm not sure how it happens. I'm taking it all under advisement. And that is Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. Thank you for tuning in.

[Dan Bernstein]

What the hell was that?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, we never know. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode brought to you in partnership with my.

[Dan Bernstein]

Book, Dan Bernstein unfiltered. Unfiltered on 312 sports.