Pete Crow-Armstrong is becoming that Guy

Summary

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered (May 18, 2026)

Episode: "Pete Crow-Armstrong is Becoming that Guy"

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Episode Overview

This episode of Dan Bernstein Unfiltered is a classic, freewheeling Chicago sports breakdown with Dan and longtime producer/co-host Matt "Maddie" Abbatacola. The main thread traces Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s (PCA) emergence as a polarizing figure, spinning off to revel in the city’s baseball goings-on, compare legendary Chicago sports “heels,” and riff on everything from the White Sox’s unexpected fun factor, odd fan behavior at engagement parties, the state of retail sports betting, and the NBA playoffs—delivered with Dan’s sharp, irreverent commentary.

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Key Moments & Discussion Points

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1. Chicago Baseball: Cubs, White Sox & The PCA Saga

[01:20 – 14:54]

• Ballpark Atmosphere & Fans United
  • Dan sums up the city’s sports vibe: Cubs are "fine," the White Sox are "fun" but hard to define.
  • “The most fun to be a fan of a pro sports team is when your team is getting good.” — Dan Bernstein [02:35]
  • Notable united moment: Cubs and Sox fans spontaneously chant “Green Bay sucks.”
    • “That was fantastic. ... Everybody uniting in the Green Bay sucks chant. How can it—when the Bears are good enough to matter...?” [02:47]
    • “I love the fact that Cubs fans and Sox fans all got together to say ‘Green Bay sucks.’ That is just hilarious.” [11:00]
• The ‘Woman in White’ & PCA Engagement Party Heckle
  • Dan breaks down the viral incident: A White Sox fan organized her engagement party around heckling Cubs center fielder PCA; after a banter exchange, it set off social media.
  • “She planned her engagement party around heckling Pete Crow-Armstrong.” — Dan Bernstein [08:56]
  • “If you want to do that and go after him, then you can't be mad at what he says back.” — Maddie [07:58]
  • Both hosts alternately judge and laugh at the motivations and the spectacle:
    • “We're not being judgy, but we're being judgy.” [09:34]
    • “How did you celebrate the beginning of the rest of your life with your life partner? By saying ‘PCA sucks.’” — Dan [09:48]
  • Reflections on PCA’s response:
    • “Do people love or hate Pete Crow-Armstrong?...He might be built for it in ways that some other guys may not be—of wearing the black hat a little bit. I don’t think it bothers him at all.” — Dan Bernstein [04:22]
    • “It wasn’t exactly Churchillian level of wit...but it’s still fun.” [04:41]
• Comparisons to Chicago’s Most Love/Hated Athletes
  • Dan likens PCA’s polarizing energy to A.J. Pierzynski and Sammy Sosa:
    • “AJ wanted to wear the black hat...if he was going to be a jerk and he was your jerk, you loved him. But...nobody really loved him like people love PCA.” [12:01–12:19]
    • “Sammy’s vainglory was always a way to disguise his neediness...I don’t think PCA’s got that...I think this is just real stuff from him.” [13:00–13:49]

2. White Sox: Fun Factor & The State of the Team

[14:54 – 18:49]

• The Sox are on a hot streak, playing an expressive, entertaining brand of baseball.
  • “They play expressively. They don’t get cheated on their opportunities to celebrate stuff or jump up and down or congratulate each other…they’re fun.” — Dan Bernstein [14:41]
  • Standouts: Colson Montgomery (“a rising superstar”), Munetaka Murakami’s hitting approach, and the team moving beyond expectations.
  • “My personal expectations for the White Sox have changed....I said at the start of the year, if they got to 70 wins that would be a huge success…that would be a major disappointment for what they can do right now.” — Maddie [16:12]
• Jerseys & Staches:
  • Riffs on City Connect uniforms (“Bulls unis. Terrible. Yeah, they’re awful.” [17:24]) and Chase Mydro’s mustache (“He looks like a background extra from Urban Cowboy.” [17:56])

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3. Baseball Notes: From College Club Ball to Local High School Heroes

[19:01 – 30:32]

• Club Baseball Culture
  • Warmly recounts Stephen F. Austin’s ‘Lumberjacks’ turning Cardinals games into party zones by going “tarps off”:
    • “It was almost like a soccer crowd...anybody who’s ever played club ball, there is a different ethos...the right marriage of competition and silliness.” — Dan Bernstein [20:15]
    • “It almost brought tears to my eyes because...it’s a privilege...a lot of people who get to play club baseball because it’s fun are doing that because their families have the wherewithal to not have to worry about partial scholarships.” [21:20]
• Local Chicago High School Baseball: A Nostalgic Find
  • Dan shares a personal moment seeing the son of Hall of Fame bowler Diandra Asbaty pitch for Jones College Prep:
    • “Her son was the starting pitcher for Jones in that game…It blew my mind.” [27:47]
    • Reflects on old broadcast days and personal connections in Chicago sports.

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4. Baseball Standings & Upcoming Series

[30:32 – 34:04]

• NL Central: All teams over .500—a rare streak that may end soon as teams play each other.
  • “The Cubs have a game and a half lead on both the Brewers and the Cardinals.” [31:27]
• Upcoming series talk: Cubs–Brewers pitching matchups, White Sox’s tough road trip to Seattle.
  • “There’s a chance by Friday the Cubs are…not only not in first place, but could be in third place.” — Maddie [33:15]

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5. NBA Playoffs: The Real Championship is in the West

[34:04 – 44:18]

• Detroit Pistons Game 7 Collapse
  • Dan’s take on the Pistons’ “inexcusable” home loss and the Detroit vibe [34:04]
• Spurs vs. Thunder: SGA vs. Wemby, “This is the Real NBA Finals”
  • Passionate claims about the Western Conference Finals:
    • “SGA is the MVP. He is not the best player in basketball. Victor Wembanyama is the best player. I don't really think it's all that close.” [36:18]
    • “I find the Thunder to be corny and annoying...I'm Team Spurs.” [36:40]
  • Dismisses Cavs-Knicks as “junior varsity” compared to the West:
    • “I'm going to have a real tough time not thinking that this Cleveland, New York series is the junior varsity compared to what's going on over there.” [41:32]
• Notable Quotes:
  • “This is like, what year was it? 2011, when everybody's going crazy about Derrick Rose being MVP and nobody with a brain thought he was the best player in the league except a bunch of idiot fanboys…” [40:06]
• Maddie reveals “East/West conference pride” rooting patterns—roots for the NL and East, but not so in hockey or football. [43:41]

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6. Retail Sports Betting at Wrigley: Why It Flopped

[44:18 – 51:10]

• News: DraftKings shutting down in-person sportsbook at Wrigley Field.
  • “They’re saying city and state taxes played into the company’s decision. …The cost of operating in Illinois, including its high tax structure, makes it more difficult to justify continued investment in a standalone retail sportsbook.”
  • Dan’s reality check: “The reason why this is closing, as far as I can tell, is because it barely generates any money.”
• Stunning Stat:
  • “DraftKings was at 500 million [in Illinois],” but “total number…at the Wrigley Field sportsbook: 899,000 out of 500 million.” [48:34]
  • “That is unlike—It’s...that is the second to last graph in the Tribune story where they want it out there…No. This is a loser bet for us because you're cannibalizing your own clientele.” — Dan Bernstein [49:00]
• Riff on Modern Fan Behavior:
  • “That's going to be an age group that...is going to pull out the supercomputer from their pocket and use their app...Even if it is DraftKings.” — Maddie [50:05]

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7. Extra Chicago, Sports & Pop Culture Bits

[51:10 – 55:16]

• Soccer: Dan’s son is a Newcastle fan; Dan's take: “West Ham sucks, by the way. Are they always that bad?” [52:21]
• MMA: Riffs on the 17-second Rousey vs. Carano fight on Netflix.
  • “The actual hug...was minutes long. Like so much longer than the actual fight itself.” — Maddie [54:04]
  • “Last time I watched her, she was getting her face rearranged by Holly Holm...So I was kind of done with that then.” — Dan [54:54]

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8. DBU Picks: Tonight’s Bets

[55:16 – 57:22]

• Dan: Devin Vassell (Spurs): 3+ made 3-pt FGs; Julian Champagnie: 1+ block
• Maddie: Thunder -6.5 vs. Spurs (Game 1), paired with Knicks -7 vs. Cavs; both favoring the home teams after analyzing regular season trends.

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Notable Quotes & Highlights

• “He might be built for it in ways that some other guys may not be—of wearing the black hat a little bit. I don't think it bothers (PCA) at all.” — Dan Bernstein [04:22]
• “AJ didn't engender any of that, and didn't even want that...but it's much more like Sammy (Sosa).” — Dan [12:01]
• “There’s a thing about Jalen Brunson and being a Stevenson guy, which is local here in Vernon Hills…” — Maddie [42:34]
• “I’m going to have a real tough time not thinking that this Cleveland, New York series is the, is the junior varsity compared to what’s going on over there.” — Dan Bernstein [41:32]
• “That is unlike—It’s...899,000 was wagered there out of 500 million.” — Dan [48:34]
• “If you want to do that and go after him, then you can't be mad at what he says back.” — Maddie [07:58]

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Timestamps of Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 01:20 | Episode rundown, Cubs/Sox pulse, fan unity | | 03:36 | PCA engagement party heckle, instant local legend | | 12:00 | PCA vs. historic Chicago sports heels | | 14:54 | White Sox begin to surprise, Murakami/Montgomery | | 19:01 | Stephen F. Austin’s club ball hijinks | | 27:47 | Nostalgia: Diandra Asbaty’s son pitches at Jones HS | | 30:32 | Baseball standings updates; Cubs/Brewers preview | | 34:04 | Pistons flameout, NBA West is the “real final” | | 44:18 | DraftKings closes Wrigley sportsbook, why it flopped| | 51:10 | Soccer, MMA (Rousey/Carano) | | 55:16 | DBU picks: NBA props & spreads |

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Tone and Style

True to the “Unfiltered” branding, Dan Bernstein brings iconoclastic humor, skepticism, nostalgia, and earnest local sports love; Maddie chimes in as a grounded, affable foil. Their banter is both sharp and affectionate, relishing the quirks of Chicago sports culture. The episode offers smart context, engaging storylines, and plenty of laughs for any Chicago sports fan.

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If you missed the episode, this summary covers the wildest headlines, goofiest drama, and sharpest takes—no filter needed.

Transcript

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[Dan Bernstein]

Everybody talked about it since I first moved to Oregon. The big one. The earthquake that trashed the whole West Coast. Total destruction. Officially calling it the largest natural disaster in American history. I just didn't know what would help me next. So I took it all. Even the gun. It was time cello see why American Afterlife is the number one fiction and drama podcast in America Presented by pair of thieves. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Available now.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Dan Bernstein unfiltered unfiltered on 312 sports

[Dan Bernstein]

it's DBU on 312 and I'm laughing as I look at my little like rundown notes today and I see pca, NBA, SGA and PGA and that about sum it up. We are brought to you in partnership with my bookie and brought to you today also by our friends at Chicago Window Guys. Make sure you give Russ Armstrong a call. 847-302-9171. That was a fun three days. And the conclusions I have are are this. There are several with that matter coming out of this. The Cubs are fine. The White Sox are fun. They are. I don't I'm not quite sure what their overall vibe is right now. It's. It's not easily reduced to something at this point. But I've always said when your team is getting good is when it's the most fun to be a fan of a pro sports team. And I'm not sure how how good the White Sox are, how good they're getting, how quickly. But whatever it is is clearly fun. And the atmosphere at the ballpark over the weekend was I, I thought a huge positive just for Chicago sports because you had a little bit of everything. If you like it a little edgy and a little nasty, you had a little bit of that. If you like it a little more wholesome, you Had a little bit of that with the. And everybody uniting in the Green Bay sucks chant. That was fantastic. How can it when the Bears are good enough to matter just when your default setting as a Cubs fan or a White Sox and oh, we're a little bored. What can we do? I don't know. We could do. We can say Green Bay sucks. That'll give us something to do for a few minutes here. All right. That was fun. So, yeah. Nobody. There was no violence. There was a lot of stupid trash talk and some stupid baseball. Frankly. There was.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

You know, it was.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was some raggedy ball that's being played out there. But all good. All good. And I. I begrudge the White Sox nothing in their. Begrudge their fans nothing. And I don't think PCA does either. You want to. I. There's so much of that story I love. First of all, you. He tries to make the play.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

He.

[Dan Bernstein]

He probably is beating himself up because he lives for the attempts to make spectacular catches. He didn't make the catch. It hurt them in the game. And a woman who planned her engagement party around the opportunity to heckle PCA did. So he returns the favor with some unkind words. And everybody got what they wanted out of the exchange. Nobody got hurt. Everybody's being themselves, man. Do people love or hate Pete Crowe Armstrong? He's going to put himself on that list of polarizing Chicago athletes. And the difference is that I think he's. He might be built for it in ways that some other guys may not be of wearing the black hat a little bit. I don't think it bothers him at all. I think it's real and that's all we ask in situations like this. Be who you are. If somebody comes at you, starts chirping on you a little bit. He gave it right back. I didn't think it was particularly witty based on the various transcripts and Zapruder films available. But I think it wasn't exactly Churchillian level of wit that we were getting from Beavis there. But it's still fun. And if you want to plan your engagement party around the opportunity to heckle Pete Crow Armstrong, rather than, I don't know, make it a celebration of the engagement in your marriage, love that you

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

guys have and your future together with your family and friends and people that matter most to you.

[Dan Bernstein]

No.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a decision. That. That's a thing.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a decision. Say. Yep, this was our. This is our party and this is what we do. And I'm not making this up. I am. This is. This is the. What the Sun Times calls the woman in white. Our goal the entire time we planned this was. We knew PCA was in center field, and we're like, we're gonna heckle him at some point

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

about the fiance not having a say in what was done. Didn't you read something like that as well?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, as they tried to explain it at the end because he. Apparently, the fiance is a Cubs fan.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah, because if you see the video, it's a mixture of Cubs jerseys and White Sox jerseys, except for her white dress as the bride to be.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. So she said. He tried to calm me, but then he heard what PCA said to me, so. So I. He started booing him, too. Yeah. And after the game, PCA said, some lady decided to start talking, and I decided to say it back.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Okay. I thought you read something earlier about the fiance.

[Dan Bernstein]

The.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

The dude not having any say in what was going to be done for the engagement party, which seems, you know, pretty common. And. And. And rightfully so.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's what it says here. Wait, her fiance is a Cubs fan? He was the guy wearing the blue Cubs jersey evident. Evidently, he didn't have a say in the planning. So this is not. They're not. This is. Gordon Eads is presuming that he didn't have a say in the planning because he's a Cubs fan that may not have wanted to plan their engagement party around heckling the Cubs young center fielder.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. I mean, if that's what you wanted, you got it. He gave you some back.

[Dan Bernstein]

So, like, okay.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Oh. People are. That are offended or bothered by it or. He. He needs to be better. You know what? I know who. Who knows what they were saying, what she was saying to him the entire game.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know. Whatever it happened, you want.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

You want to do that and go after him, then you can't be mad at what he says back.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, my God. We've all been there, and it's fine. It's. Players get heckled all the time. I used to love it. Bo Jackson out in left field. He used to sit there and spin his glove on his finger. Just idly spin his glove. And he would turn around and just yak at people all game. You know, did whatever. He'd give it back. He'd yell, he'd point. He'd do all this. So believe me, and. And I'm trying to. Who was it? Was it Joel Skinner for the White Sox? I remember being at a Sox game, and Joel Skinner was Was yelling at a guy who was asking him for a baseball, and he's like. And. But it was just. It's just fun. It. The idea. You have any. That kind of little engagement with a major league player, and if he tells you to suck his dick, he told you. All right, so you had your engagement. There you go. Take that. Here's your wedding present.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah, I mean, she got what she wanted. She. She planned her engagement party.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Around heckling Pete Crow Armstrong.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. So you got everything that you asked

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

for, which seems a bit misguided in my interpretation, but if you want it,

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm with you on that.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Like.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like if. When. When somebody is, you know, 18 years old, how do you envision your engagement party? Like, well, all I can picture is, is if we were royalty, what would we do? We would go and sit behind a fence and. And heck all a baseball player at

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

a baseball bark bar.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

So good stuff. And you know. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I love the fact that we're. That we're both saying that we're not being judgy, but we're being judgy.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

I'm not being judgy at all. If you want to do that and celebrate your engagement and your true love forever at a baseball game to tackle

[Dan Bernstein]

a stranger, how did you celebrate the beginning of the rest of your life with your life partner by saying PCA sucks.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Right. Okay. Cub suck. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Suck. All right.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. Hey, to each their own. Maybe they can get married at the home plate there at. At the rate. Maybe they can do that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Or they could get married at the old home plate, which is in the parking lot. Yeah. You can actually get married at Comiskey home plate if you want. Where Babe Ruth himself stood. Not. Not Babe Conforto. The actual Babe Ruth. Yeah.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

You could have a. Yeah. A full wedding right there at the rate parking lot and celebrate your love forever. I bet you they invited PC. I bet you'd show up too.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hey, Mike. He might. He has fun with it. So it's his embracing of stuff like that. It's his. He knows it. He. He is aware enough that what I want to celebrate for the weekend is in large part the overall self awareness. I thought. Look, PCA knows they want to yell at him. He can yell at them. He's living himself out. He's. He's jumping up and out after the Conforto home run. Did you watch him? Yes.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Oh, dude, he did it. The Dodgers fans earlier this year.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Yeah, that's what he does. And so he knows. He's self aware. He Knows what's going on. I love the fact that Cubs fans and Sox fans all got together to say Green Bay sucks. That is just hilarious.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

That's probably my favorite part of the weekend.

[Dan Bernstein]

And just the fact that we are in a place as a sports city where everybody kind of agreed to do that. Yeah, Green Bay does suck. You're right. This doesn't matter all that much because that matters more. That's more important than we hate Green Bay and the four people who live there.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

And let's not. Let's not forget how the. The power went out at the rate as well.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, it happens.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. You lose your power and someone leaned on the switch and power goes off for a few seconds.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just kidding. But I think that PCA as to embrace being polarizing. I was trying to think in these series, AJ Pruszynski was clearly that guy. Right? He loved it.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

He enjoyed it. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

He ate it up. And a different kind of reputation because he was much more. The. Much more wanting to wear the black hat. Much more. Like. Yeah, because he's. And he was that way with his own teammates. Like, if he was gonna be a jerk and he was your. You loved him. He was your jerk.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

You loved him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. But when you hated when he was on the other team and he had that walk off at Wrigley with big three run homer. We know about the dust up with Michael Barrett. But I was thinking even Sammy Sosa, as far as polarizing, as far as love him or hate him. And the thing about AJ was everybody hated him. No one really loved him like people love vca. AJ didn't engender any of that and didn't even want that. He didn't want his teammates to like him or even his own fans to like him all that much. But it's much more like Sammy.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

But how so?

[Dan Bernstein]

Just because. Well, you had all the bad blood because he left the White Sox and he was on the White Sox. And then he goes to the Cubs and turns himself into something completely different through the use of pharmaceuticals and all of a sudden blossoms into this. This historic slugger. And there was always that bitterness. And his teammates didn't like him all that much with the jumping and the dancing and the texting and sexting and the music and all of that. So that you had all of these. But the difference was that Sammy's vainglory was always a way to disguise his neediness. That I always thought. And now we have the benefit of hindsight and watching the way he's been in all of these Years since, always unfulfilled and continuing to, to. To chase this idea of deserved glory. And I always thought that, you know, my people, they still love me. My people, my people, they love me. They. They. I always thought he still has this desire to be loved. And I don't know what it's replacing. I don't know what the, what that space is, but I don't think PCA's got that. I really don't. I don't think that he has this, this gnawing desire to be loved by everyone. I think this is just real stuff from him. Is it going to change as he ages? Maybe. But I also think the White Sox have something really fun going on too. They play expressively, I think. Like they don't. They don't get cheated on. Their opportunities to celebrate stuff or jump up and down or congratulate each other like that's. They're fun. The White Sox are absolutely legitimately on their own becoming a fun team.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. And I think over, I mean, you can take a look at their last, what, 25 or 30 games. They've been one of the better teams in baseball from a win loss record wise. And they're playing great. They hit a lot of home runs. They. You know, we've talked about Colson Montgomery on this show quite a bit. God. Sorry there. Geez. My, my stunt. My old stuttering habits came. Came roaring back. Did you know that I was a stutterer as a kid?

[Dan Bernstein]

I did not know I had to

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

take speech therapy for it. And season. Ls get me in, which is great. I love that I live in Libertyville. I always have to really concentrate to get Libertyville out without stuttering over it. But yeah, they have a rising superstar at shortstop who's just amazing. Had a couple home runs over the weekend. Murakami is just a load of fun to watch. What a, what a great, you know, two year deal the Sox have for him to really draw some attention.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he has a plan up there too. I will say that, that he is, he is not just swinging from his ass every single time at everything up there. He knows what he can and can't hit and does a pretty good job of, of getting himself ready in an area and you know, picking out like a, a quadrant and a velocity and basically saying, if you give me something here at this speed, I'm gonna kill you.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. And I just think with where they're at now and how they're again, we're what, we're 48 games into it. 47 games into it, the expectations, my personal expectations for the White Sox have changed. And I, I said at the start of the year, if they got the 70 wins, that would be a huge success. If they finish 70, 92, that'll be a major disappointment for, for, I think what, what they can do right now. I don't know if they're going to make the playoffs. I mean, they currently sit in a wild card spot. I don't know if that holds true. I don't know if they continue to. Unlikely.

[Dan Bernstein]

Better. It.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

It. It is.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's unlikely. They're just not good enough.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

It is very unlikely.

[Dan Bernstein]

Defense is bad, and I don't think they're. Relief can hold up.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. And we just don't know how the American League is going to continue to shape up and move forward. But you have some really, really interesting, nice pieces for the future. If this is what Davis Martin is going to be close to for his career, that's, that's great. That's great for the White Sox to have that guy and the way he's pitching and like we've talked about Montgomery, it's just. They're definitely pointed in the right direction. It's a lot of fun. And I will say this, though. I cannot stand those uniforms on Fridays. Those City Connect uniforms.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bulls, unis. Terrible. Yeah, they're awful. They're awful.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

So bad. And I generally like most of the City Connect stuff, but, man, I even did for youth baseball too, when I see it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Dan.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Black baseball pants.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it's bad.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

It's bad.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know what else is bad? Chase my dro's mustache.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah, it's my guy, though, now.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, I know it's your guy Minecraft, but I don't know what he's going for there.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

It's something.

[Dan Bernstein]

It is between like the, the blonde hair and the stash that is like, like, like a background extra from Urban Cowboy Dude.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Just keep it rolling, you know what I mean?

[Dan Bernstein]

Like this like where John Travolta is on the mechanical bull and there's a guy in back going, yeah, that's, that's Minecraft.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Or. Or he's like the, the, the hillbilly friend in the Cobra Kai dojo.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

There's.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

going for.

[Dan Bernstein]

And, and the porn stache thing is coming back. I noticed it in college basketball in the NBA. Like a lot of the, A lot of white guys are doing that little porn.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

It's not. It's. It's been. I mean, mustaches have been back for a bit. Yeah, but, but Fortunate.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't mind the baseball thing with the. The. The 70s. Like Andrew Chafin, 70. The guys are trying to look like Dick Tidro. That's got a little baseball thing going on, but, oh, boy.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah, we had an umpire yesterday that had. He took his helmet off and he had the full mustache all the way down to his chin.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah, it was interesting. The other umpire was like, 95. It was interesting.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hey, it's a tough job, and you're lucky to get anybody who's willing to spend a whole day out there with those parents and travel. Baseball, getting screamed at by everybody. You're very, very lucky. I've got a couple other baseball notes here. Let me first let you know that my bookie is where you have to go when you have a feeling, because you know what your angle, your thought, your hunch, your level of trust, or maybe your sense of a favorite. You want to fade. You. You can act on it. Maybe you think somebody's due. Maybe you can feel a little moment in a game before everybody else sees it. You go, oh, wait a second. I think that guy's hurt. That's where my bookie comes in. Because you got a place to turn your opinions into action. Maybe you're watching NBA playoffs, maybe a baseball game. Maybe you're getting ready for the World cup whenever you do. When you go to my bookie and you want to register and make your deposit, use the promo code DBU when you sign up, and you can claim an exclusive offer just for people who are here right now just for you for listening to this show. Back your side before the game. Follow your your thoughts live or make these moments you care about even bigger. That's the real reason to check out my bookie. You're already watching. You already have thoughts. Now you got a place to play it. Bet anything, anytime, anywhere with my bookie. Must be 21 plus. Please gamble responsibly. A couple other baseball notes from the weekend. The Cardinals had some fans show up and do something that they decided that they were going to make part of their thing, and Oliver Marmold decided to give him a bunch of tickets to do it again. So apparently on Friday night and then on Saturday, there was a bunch of college club baseball players in right field, and they all went what they called tarps off. They took their shirts off and they sang and chanted and waved their own shirts around, and I guess it was picked up by other people. It became a contagious feeling in the ballpark, and everybody loved it. And this was the Club baseball team from Stephen F. Austin, the Lumberjacks. And they were at the Club Baseball Division 2 World Series. And the Cardinals offered them tickets to the game that was in Alton, Illinois. The club National Club Baseball NCB Division 2. I think that's the division that my son's Tulane team was in and the division that. That I was in when I played club ball. And they went absolutely crazy. They came back to the game and they asked Marmole if he was going to buy them more tickets. And he was like, I'm going to go broke. I can't buy him tickets every game. But they were singing and chanting. It was almost like a soccer crowd. And it. Anybody who's ever played club ball, there is a different ethos about if a club is properly run. And it just. It almost brought tears to my eyes because any of us who have had the privilege to play club baseball in college know that it's just the right marriage of competition and silliness if you're doing it right. Because there are some schools where the club team is super serious and they've got 500 people who try out, and they. They make it a big deal. And they have their, you know, it's like one of the travel teams you play somewhere that they. They almost act like they're junior varsity to their big team. Like, I don't know, Alabama, for example. Alabama's club team has like, all of these tryouts, and it's incredibly controlled, and they have coaches. And where our club team, when I played, you know, we. We didn't have a coach. We ran it ourselves. We ran our own practices. We had our own, you know, team rules and made up our own lineups and made our own schedules and all that. And it was just. You got to wear your school's name and you had fun with it. You practiced a couple days a week. So every school's different. But that. That's what it's about. It's about being on the road and being stupid. And it should be. It should be fun. I've just. I had heard. I heard stories, I don't know, maybe from some of the Tulane kids about how seriously Alabama takes their club team. And I guess the next week when Tulane went to play at Mississippi State, they became very friendly with the Mississippi State team because both of them were making fun of the Alabama club team and how seriously they took everything. So they had a blast. And there's a great photo that was taken after their weekend series from a couple weeks ago of everybody on both Mississippi State And Tulane all mixed in together. It's not even one team and the other team, they're just, it's one big shot of all of them and just how much fun they were having. And like, to me, that's the point. And I, the reason why I say it's a privilege is because it is. A lot of people who get to play club baseball because it's fun are doing that because their families have the wherewithal to not have to worry about partial scholarships to get them a college education. And I think the part of the reason why they're sitting there having fun and drinking beer in the dugout is because they didn't have to bust their ass at showcases to get a partial for a Division 3 or Division 2 scholarship to go to college. And that's part of the reason the club teams should be about having fun. Because if you, if you wanted to do that, if you wanted to be that competitive, don't go to Alabama, go. If you're that good, you can get a D3 or D2 or go to a smaller D1 or do whatever you want to do. But there's a lot of kids who know that they're not going to be professional athletes and know that they're not going to get drafted and just don't want the commitment to any kind of full varsity thing where you're getting up at five in the morning every day to practice. So there is a large element of privilege that goes with the ability to play club baseball. But I, I just think it was really cool to see the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks doing what they were doing there. And, and that, that was a good example, I think, for, for the NCB or whatever they call themselves to say, here's what we're about. We're about going, we're there for our own World Series, but we're going to make our name taking our shirts off and singing songs at a baseball game. So I was kind of proud to see that. It was really cool. One other baseball note, and this is a local high school baseball note, that if you are a long time listener, if you go way back on the Boars and Bernstein show, you'll appreciate this. Matty, I texted you when I, when I saw this. So I went to the semifinal game for the Chicago Public League. I guess Whitney Young defeated Lane in one game and anytime Lane Tech loses, the rest of the city's happy because nobody likes Lane Tech. And a lot of people don't like Lane Tech baseball because they don't like to Coach, I think there's people on Lane Tech baseball, but the. I watched Jones got beat bad by Taft over at Granderson Stadium and I just love going to games at Granderson. I loved, you know, there were a bunch of alums from the Jones program that came back to watch that game. And I saw the name of the starting pitcher for Jones and his last name and I saw it's his last name was. Was Asbatty. A, S, B, A T, Y. Like I know that name, I know that name. Why do I know that name? And then I remembered and I did and I asked a couple questions and I turned, I thought, oh my God, I can't believe it. If you remember years ago, years ago, back on when we were in NBC Tower, Terry and I as a guest had Deandra as baddie when she was. God, she was in her 20s.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

It's a good get.

[Dan Bernstein]

She was in her 20s and she was at the time an up and coming Team USA and professional bowler. And she recently was inducted into the Bowling hall of Fame. Like she is a decorated champion bowler, has won all kinds of international medals and women's pro tournaments and all that stuff. And if you remember the sound drop, you would hear it because I think we kept the sound or she said something to the effect of, well, that's a, that's a lot of strikes. It's my 15 pound ball. And that was, it was one. You might remember the sound drop that we used. Her son was the starting pitcher for Jones in that game. And I was like, oh, whoa. Because I. It blew my mind. And she. Unfortunately she wasn't there. I went to find somebody to say hi because I was trying to kind of look around. I didn't want to be weird like wandering around the stands looking for. But it was. I. My very first thought was to text Terry. Honestly, my meeting fellows. Oh, I gotta tell you. Oh yeah, he's dead. I can't tell him. That sucks. And it was so. I had kind of a bittersweet melancholy moment there. But I texted you, I texted a couple other people.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

I replied with, who's this? You know, it's funny, I still, I haven't, I haven't gotten rid of my text thread with Terry on my phone yet.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know, I got stuff from like Lynn Bramer on there. Yeah, yeah,

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

that's really cool though. That's really cool. And I'm glad that you, you shared that when you texted me on it because that was fun. That was a fun get. That's one of those like out of the, like, out of the box kind of guess.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. You would do it every once in a while. Guys.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

And you guys, there was no pushback. There was no questions. It was like, here's the guest, here's why. Go have fun. It was great. There was no prep for it. There was no ask her this or talk about this. It just goes, go do your job. Right?

[Dan Bernstein]

It was, hi, who are you? What do you do?

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Why are you here?

[Dan Bernstein]

Why are you here? Welcome in and let's hang out for a little bit.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Let's have some fun. Yeah, she was great. That's really cool. And so he was this, he was the starting pitcher. Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the best, I think shortstop, you'd like the best player on the team. Really, really good player. That's awesome. And I guess her that his dad also a bowler. Not surprisingly. Yeah. That she, she married a, another bowler. And, and there he was out there. I, I, he's probably an awesome bowler. I didn't even get to ask him something really interesting.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

In the NL Central, all five teams are still currently over.500, which it may change this week. The Pittsburgh plays at St. Louis. Starting tomorrow, Pittsburgh is a game over.500. The Reds actually play a series with Philadelphia. Philadelphia has now gotten themselves over.500 for the first time in a while. They're 24 and 23, as are the Reds. We could see by the end of this week a couple teams in the NL Central that are below.500. We'll see how that, how that works out. The Cubs have a game and a half lead on both the brewers and the Cardinals. On the other side of town, the White Sox, Dan, are two games over.500 at 24 and 22. They open a series tonight in Seattle and Seattle currently is four games under.500. But that's gonna be a tough road trip and especially coming off that emotional series win over the White Sox and in dramatic fashion yesterday. Yeah, over the the Cubs. So we'll see where the, the White Sox continue to play if they can increase their, their record over.500 as well. To go into Seattle, if you need

[Dan Bernstein]

windows, you're going to call Ross Armstrong because he's going to cut through the bs. He's going to make sure that you're not as overwhelmed as you might be if, like I said, buy one, get one free or what am I dealing with here? Do you make the windows? Do you not? It's so simple with Russ. Russ is Chicago window guys. It's his factory. It's here in Chicago. He's going to measure. He's going to ask you what you want. He's going to show you some brochures so you can determine exactly what you need. And then he'll go make the windows for your home and then he'll call you or text you and he'll say, hey, they're ready. When can my crew come out? And it is always his crew. He doesn't pick up day laborers. He doesn't use subcontracted groups. He knows the people who are in and around your house. You have that peace of mind. And it's also just the windows are great and he can get you exactly what you need when you need it. And there's a lot of these other places you're going to go that have layers built in where they're actually just marketing companies that represent a group of windows people and you don't know which one you're going to end up getting. Make it easier. Just streamline it and, and talk to the person who owns the entire company and the factory and makes all the decisions. Makes it easier. 847-302-9171. Check out his five star [e-mail] you

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

know, I wanted to mention real quick too about the Central with the Cubs opening their series tonight against Milwaukee at Wrigley and the Cardinals hosting the Pirates, there's a chance by by Friday the Cubs are not only not in first place, but could be in third place in the NL Central.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sure, that's possible.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yes. Brandon Sproat tonight for the brewers takes on Shota Imanaga. The probables for tomorrow are Jacob Mizorowski and Ben Brown. Well, that's gonna be a fun one. I'm looking forward to that already. Already looking past tonight to see that. Then Kyle Harrison on Wednesday, Edward Cabrera for the Cubs. So those are the probables and should be a fun series at Wrigley. I'm very excited about the brewers being in town.

[Dan Bernstein]

I thought that that performance or, and I'm going to put that in quotes, the performance by the Detroit Pistons yesterday last night. Inexcusable. I don't know how you can come out in a game seven and get dog walked like that at home. At home and, and especially after that build up and everything they do. I love their game presentation there. I love the way that Detroit has kind of leaned into edgy and urban and, and the, that whole Detroit vibe and then you come out like that. You had me going a little bit with your, with your pre game and then you're just Flaccid, can't hit a shot. You get incredibly impatient. I think. I still think Cade Cunningham is a star, and I think he needs a little bit more help around him. But from where this team was earlier in this season, I don't know what happened to, to Jalen Duran and why he just became so much less effective. And, you know, Paul Reed kind of turned into the better player. I don't know if there's a nagging injury or what it was, but that was. I kept. They stayed connected. Like, it would be 18, then it'll be 14, it'll be 19, that'd be 50. Like, all right. They just. The run is coming. The run is coming, and it just never got started, never happened. And it's too bad. And all it does is reinforce my belief that this Western Conference final is going to be the first of many Western Conference finals that are essentially the NBA championship. I, I this. The from where the spurs are right now and where Oklahoma City is right now, these, these are two Titans, and they're gonna be battling a long time there.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

I'm, I'm not gonna disagree with that and about this statement in particular for this year and then the future moving forward. But I think, I think that the, the Knicks are going to have a really easy, easier run against the Cavaliers, and we'll be waiting for game seven to finish in the Western Conference finals before the NBA Finals even starts.

[Dan Bernstein]

That absolutely could be. And these, these two Western teams are going to beat each other up. But I, the way I look at it is like this SGA is the mvp. He is not the best player in basketball. Victor Wembanyama is, is the best player. I don't really think it's all that close. I think what he's capable of doing now and the way he affects a game, you can't argue with SGA stats. It's not to take away anything. Sg. I'm not a huge fan of his game to watch. Just like not a huge fan of James Harden's game either. But. And SGA is really good at getting fouled. And I know that the, the Thunder and the spurs don't like each other all that much. And if I have to pick a side in that, I'm Team Spurs, I find the Thunder to be corny and annoying. I, I think I find their fans to be, like, weird. The whole, that whole thing there seems weird. I'm just not a fan of it. I like.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah, I'm excited to watch this game. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Well, Wemby's gonna have to sit there and watch SGA get that award too before the game starts. And how do you think that influences or impacts his approach to the game?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, what should influence and impact his game is how they defend him and nothing else because they're, they do a really good job of showing him different looks of floating people toward him in different combinations. It's all very, very aware and fluid. They're a brilliant team there. It's part of what makes him annoying, frankly. It's part of what makes the Thunder annoying is how deep and how smart, how well coached, how sort of perfect and, and precious they are with everything that they do because he's just got to be aware always, every time he's out there. What's our matchup? Is it me? Is this, is this trip, is this my matchup or am I drawn somebody and we're, we're going to kick it, find the better matchup, recycle it. And relying on his, especially in game one, they're going to show you some things, not going to show you everything. You know, Dag, now he, knowing this game might, you know the series going to go six or seven. He's, he's not going to show you everything early. So play the game that's in front of you. You can't, you can't play game seven during game one. But it's fascinating and they are, both of these teams are full of guys. If you, if you're just a casual NBA fan, which is possible that you just don't watch all that much, familiarize yourself with some of these people because there's, there's going to be a lot of these names that are around for a long time to come. There's some young people out there playing very high level basketball and two good young coaches and Mark Dagno and Mitch Johnson. So these organizations are playing what I think is the real NBA championship in these Western Conference finals. The spurs got there sooner than anybody thought they would. They didn't. People didn't know Stephen Castle was this good. They didn't know Dylan Harper was this good. Now they know Kelvin Johnson is this good. My guy, Devin Vassell. You'll hear more about him later.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Well, it doesn't hurt to have Wendy

[Dan Bernstein]

and, and you have the best player.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yes. I mean that kind of.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's the best player. It, this is like what year was it? 2011 when everybody's going crazy about Derrick Rose being MVP and nobody with a brain thought he was the best player in the league except a bunch of Idiot fanboys out there. Nobody who watched basketball thought Derrick Rose was the best player in the NBA the year he won the mvp. And if you did, you weren't paying attention because everybody was paying attention when the Bulls met the Heat. And then you saw in that series that The Bulls lost 4 to 1. What happened when your MVP was guarded by the best player in basketball over and over and over again and couldn't get a good shot off because he was eaten alive? I know that's not part of the narrative that people don't want to remember that there's a lot of aspects to that era of Bulls basketball that people conveniently forget about. They forget about the whole Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose, that brutal loss to the Cavaliers where they were passive aggressively passing it back to each other. And then the Bulls just played like garbage because the two of them couldn't work out their stuff. And they forget what happened when the MVP met the best player in the league. So if we're thinking that, and we know when he's got some edge to him, we saw it that he can be frustrated into, into, into getting physical in that way. But there's, there are, there are all kinds of games to be played and mental, physical coaching games, the working over the officials, everything that we love about the playoffs, we are about to see. It's just to me, as far as interest level, as far as the quality of the game, as far as the matchups go, I'm gonna have a real tough time not thinking that this Cleveland, New York series is the, is the junior varsity compared to what's going on over there.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

No, it's. It certainly is. And I'm not ready to discount whoever the Knicks face in the, the finals and saying that it's going to be a foregone conclusion that the west comes out on top. They most likely will, even depending on either team, if it's the spurs or if it's the Thunder. But I'm still gonna. I'm still gonna. As much as it pains me, I'm gonna pull for the Knicks because I'm

[Dan Bernstein]

gonna always root for the East. Really? You have conference pride.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

I do. I really do. Yeah. I always. Yeah, I do. It's weird. I know, I know. And I also, it's. There's. There's a thing about Jalen Brunson and being a Stevenson guy, which is local here in Vernon Hills. And I, Man, I. As much as I hate it, it's just, it's this newfound love that I have for the, for the city itself. And for having gone to msg, I don't know. I'll. I'll be pulling for the, for the east and for the next. Regardless of who they play.

[Dan Bernstein]

I, I think Knicks fans are a blast.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Well, I certainly were against the 76ers.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I don't, I don't mind the Knicks at all. And I love playoff games in that building. I like turning it like it's a, It's a hot summer day. And that, that feeling of, like, descending into that building and having, having been there before for, for Bulls playoff games back in the day. And just when you hear that, that organ going and, and you know, it's like, well, I'd love to play golf, but. Oh, I can. I got a little garden ball here. You know, it's, it's. It pulls you in.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah, it's interesting. I guess I've never really, really thought through it, but. Yeah, I guess I, I do. When it comes to NBA, I root for the east in the Finals. And then in baseball, I, I do root for the National League.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

As a Cubs fan, I do pull for the NL in the World Series, but I don't have that same type of feeling in hockey at all. And then football, I don't either. Football, it's, it's really base. It's driven by the, by the teams.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. You don't have NFC pride.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

I really don't. Yeah. If I don't like the NFC team, I'm not going to root for them. Yeah, that's true. But, yeah, I think. Yeah, for. It's weird for the NBA. I really do have baseball. I definitely do.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I mean, I'm not, I'm, I'm not really judging. I think that some people will feel strongly. Other people will say, well, if we get knocked out of the playoffs, it's a better story if we lost to the eventual champion. No, I'm not rooting for them because I can't root for a team that beat us. Whatever. Also of note this week, did you see that DraftKings is going to stop taking bets at the Draft Kings sports book at Wrigley Field?

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

I did.

[Dan Bernstein]

And when I read it and I saw the story, I'm like, oh, boy, this. And I don't think. Think they're actually telling you why they're doing what they're doing because I thought they went a little too hard in explaining the decision that they're making. So DraftKings officially said. DraftKings has made the decision to discontinue on site sportsbook operations at draftkings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field. Following a review of a retail presence in Illinois. The venue itself will remain open, but in person, sports betting will no longer be offered at the location. That's the only operating retail sports book in Illinois that's connected to a sports venue. Remember, we thought these were going to pop up everywhere.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Remember this when this happened? Oh, that's it. Every single stadium is going to have a sportsbook now, and it didn't happen. DraftKings is partnered with Casino Queen in East St. Louis, and FanDuel is associated with Fairmount park near St. Louis. Those are the state's two highest grossing sports books. DraftKings will remain open as a sports bar, but they're saying that city and state taxes played into the company's decision. While we're proud of what we've built alongside the Chicago Cubs, we are taking a more focused approach to where we invest in the state. The company said the cost of operating in Illinois, including its high tax structure, makes it more difficult to justify continued investment in a standalone retail sportsbook. Okay, but you're keeping the Sportsbook open, keeping the partnership going, and still using it to advertise your product. And the devil's in the details here. The reason why this is closing, as far as I can tell, is because it barely generates any money. And for all of the extra red tape and fees that you have to pay for all of the licensing and everything else to keep that place open as a sports book, instead of just help add more deep fryers and sell more chicken strips and fries, you can make that up in an inning, right?

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Because I would imagine without knowing. I'm taking a guess here. Tell me if I'm way off, not intelligent enough on it, but to operate a sports book, they're probably losing money. Yes or no?

[Dan Bernstein]

Listen to this. FanDuel was the top sports book in the state last year, generating more than 552 million in revenue. DraftKings was at 500 million. Okay, okay. DraftKings. What percentage or what total number of $500 million? What do you think the total was for adjusted gross receipts last year at the Wrigley Field sportsbook?

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Out of 500 million. Out of.

[Dan Bernstein]

Out of 500 million.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

God, I don't even. I wouldn't even know where to.

[Dan Bernstein]

Where to guess?

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

I. I mean, 10 million? 20 million.

[Dan Bernstein]

899,000. Oh, yes. 899,000 was wagered there. Out of 500 million.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. So it's. And it's. It's definitely. It definitely has to cost More to operate.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh my God. Yes. With all of the licensing and everything you have to do to run a casino, a sport sports book.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Oh, yeah. For.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, that's a. So that's a no br.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

That's a no brainer.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a no brainer. That doesn't have anything to do with taxes. Nothing that has to do with this. This is a loser bet for us because you're cannibalizing your own clientele. They're sitting so.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

And like. But that, that's open. That's open year round. You can go year round.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. You could have gone in there and watched football games and bet on football games. Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sure. And you can still go there and watch football games and bet on football games through your phone.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

But.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

And so all they did was 900k.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not even. Wow. That's unlike. It's. That is the second to last graph in the Tribune story where they want it out there. They want to make it a much bigger statement about the difficulty they have doing business in this tax environment. Well, wait a second here. No. That anybody who is. Is. It's their job to determine how you're going to marshal your resources here. Yeah. 899, 000 in a year.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Come on.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. Well, you know, and when you, when you think through it too, like what age group do you expect to go through that? And that's going to be an age group that is. Yeah. Is going to pull out the supercomputer from their pocket and use their app and their favorite app to make their bets. Even if it is DraftKings.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. Instead of going standing in a lot, walking down to do some sort of thing and get a ticket from a window. You don't have to. And nobody knew, like that's what I'm talking about. Cannibalizing your own clientele. Because everybody's gonna be like, oh, I can do this for my phone. Oh, I'll do it right here. Here's the thing. I'm done. And these same people say, well, you know, if you want, instead of doing that, you can park, walk in, come over here, think of what you want to do, walk down here, get your ticket, come back, sit here. Meanwhile, everybody's over there in the game doing all the same things with their phone.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

So just over 800,000 out of 500 million.

[Dan Bernstein]

899,000 out of 500 million. Come on. So I just.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

So, yeah. 900K. Wow. That's crazy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep. But it's probably a very smart decision and probably a long Time coming. I guess it'd be probably a late decision then, but. All right.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. Sell more beer and chicken wings and

[Dan Bernstein]

not even wings strips. Your margins are. Are tough on wings right now.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Oh, everything's tough right now.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. But I mean, your mark. Chicken strips and, like, anything to get. Add deep fryers, fry up a bunch of stuff. Charge $25 for a bunch of chicken strips and that you're in your printing money and beer, and you're charged 15 bucks for your beer, and you're all set. Instead of everything else, they. Somebody probably looks at. Guys, why are we doing this? Yeah, people, why are we doing this? Everyone has an opinion right now about the upcoming World Cup. I actually might, too. I watched some soccer over the weekend. I've been following Newcastle. My son's become a huge Newcastle fan, so I watched them against West Ham. West Ham. I like the Premiership. West Ham sucks, by the way. Are they always that bad?

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

No idea.

[Dan Bernstein]

They suck. I thought West Ham was a good program. That was a relegation game, and they didn't even try on defense. They just, like, let him walk right in and cross it into the box. And one time it like, what are they doing? I don't even know the game that well, but I can tell when a team sucks. Ugh. But also, you know, I may. I'm going to formulate some really important World cup opinions for you, and my bookie gives you a place to put that opinion. You got a country you're rooting for. There's a favorite maybe you think is overrated. Or you've got a friend that swears they know ball because they watch three highlights and they bought a kit. Well, that's what makes this tournament so fun. If you're a new player, you can use our promo code, dbu, when you sign up to claim an exclusive My bookie offer just for you. Because you're listening to dbu. That's your code. The World cup turns every match into a conversation. My bookie lets you turn that opinion into action. Back your side before kickoff. Follow the match live. Stay locked in from opening whistle to final kick. The World cup comes around only once every four years. So don't just watch it from the sidelines. Get in on the action at my bookie. DBU is the code. Don't forget. Must be 21. Please gamble responsibly.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Hey, did you. Did you catch anything of what happened over the weekend with that massive MMA fight on Netflix?

[Dan Bernstein]

I saw it was over in 17 seconds, and it was a bunch of. It was two old people fighting. Right.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Well, it was Ronda Rousey. Yeah. And Gina. Karen. Gina.

[Dan Bernstein]

Gina Carano.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Gina Carano. Yes. Who's made a life. And movies, too. I didn't realize that, but she hasn't fought in 17 years and Rousey hasn't fought in like 10.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yeah. And she got under an arm bar and it was done in. In 17 seconds. The. The actual hug that they shared together while talking after the. Was. Was minutes long. Like so much longer than the actual fight itself. They literally embraced and held each other and spoke to each other. It was really sweet to see, but it was. It was several minutes long where the actual fight itself was like 17 seconds.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. I didn't really know about it and. And didn't watch any of it and don't care.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

We watched it. We want. Because there was a. A special doc on Ronda Rousey on Netflix. We watched. Which was interesting leading up to this.

[Dan Bernstein]

And then last time I watched her, she was getting her face rearranged by Holly Holm.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Yes. And they certainly talked about that. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

So, yeah, I saw that. And that they mean she was. Just kept punching her in the face until it was over.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

It was not good. No.

[Dan Bernstein]

So I was kind of done with that then. And now she's back and. And now it's over and I'm done thinking about it for the rest of the day. But I appreciate you bringing it up.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

It was interesting. It was interesting to see

[Dan Bernstein]

in that way. Time now for our DBU picks. Oh, let's go. My bookie presents DBU picks and I am going to let it ride with my guy tonight because he came through for me on Friday. Devin Vassell. I like the odds that I'm getting for three plus three pointers. It's what he does. He shot seven of them in the last game. He's going to shoot him because that's why he is in there. So I'm going to get my chances. Devin Vassell, three plus threes. And I also like Julian Shamhani for one blocked shot. That's all I need. I think he's a tough defensive player. Another three and D type. All I need is one block. Maybe you can do one of those peel backs. When Alex Caruso comes around that screen, you can knock it away from behind. But I've got Devin Vassell, three plus threes. Julian Chapani, one or more blocked shots.

[Co-host or Guest (possibly Maddie)]

Maddie, I'm going to go to the NBA tonight. We have the Thunder and the Spurs. If you look at all their games throughout the course of the regular season it wasn't always split. You know, home team didn't always win so you got some road victories in there. But every game the victorious team had a double digit victory in every game. I think that trend continues tonight. So I am going to lay the six and a half points and take the Thunder. I think they take game one at home so we'll give the six and a half points. I'm going to pair that with tomorrow's game, the Knicks hosting the Cavs. And with the Knicks being well rested and the Cavs coming off their second seven game series, I'm going to take the Knicks and lay the seven points at the Garden. So it's the Thunder minus six and a half, the Knicks minus seven. Play those together tonight and tomorrow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Those are DBU picks presented by my bookie. Lock in your picks now with my bookie Bet on anything, anywhere, anytime. And that is today's Monday's Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. It's been brought to you by Chicago Window guys. Make sure when you need Windows that you don't wait that you call Russ Armstrong at 847-302-9171 and check out his five star reviews at ChicagoNowGuys.com and brought to you in partnership with my bookie Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312Sports.