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Dan Bernstein
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Adam Reeder
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Dan Bernstein
Dan Bernstein Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312Sports
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Foreign.
Rich Miller
312 brought to you in partnership with my bookie and today by Chicago Window Guys as well. Call 847-302-9171. Check out Russ Armstrong's five star reviews at ChicagoNowdownGuys.com and by the Chicago Stars, making this a soccer filled summer in Evanston. Come to a match for family friendly pro sports on the lakefront. Get tickets at ChicagoStars.com/tickets. We as as our Bears saga turns, we have the latest unsurprising story. So just to pick up where we left off, there was news coming out the last couple days that today was going to be the day that they finally agreed that there's going to be a special session. We were told the Bears were engaged with both the Senate bill and the House bill. Finally, finally after three years, the the Bears were listening to the lobbyists involved who were there the whole time as part of the plan to try to help them craft legislation. And let me digress momentarily on that subject because I am I'm tired of hearing these. It's not the Bears job. This is why Illinois sucks, because they don't craft legislation. Let me explain something to people who don't understand the way laws get made. Private businesses, private interests, private parties are constantly drafting legislation. It's the legislator's job often to put them in proper form and vote and enact. The whole lobbyist ecosystem is there to craft legislation. When you say there ought to be a law, well, most of most legislators aren't going to listen to you until you have some semblance of a law that you think they should introduce as a bill and vote on and enact. Most of these things don't start from scratch. Businesses are constantly enlisting lobbyists. That's what the lobbyist class does. It isn't just wheedling, saying, hey, vote for this, vote for this, vote for this. Look out for us, don't worry about us. You know, don't worry about them, worry about us. It isn't just that these experienced lobbyists, who are often former legislators and former clerks and lawyers who've worked with legislators, actually put together the bill because a lot of the legislators themselves aren't going to do a lot of the heavy lifting. They'll look it over. What would a bill look like? And the Bears, a long time ago, years ago, were asked to play their role in this. And they had lobbyists, they had people, they brought them in. And time after time after time, Kevin Warren sidelined them. Kevin Warren had no use for them because he was busy holding press, press conferences. He was busy hijacking Bears on field moments to send out position papers. He was busy putting himself in front of the cameras after games. He was promoting himself for whatever his next job is going to be whenever he can find it. But they didn't do the work until we thought about a couple days ago when we thought, wait. And we talked about a forward progress yesterday too, like they're actually engaging. The Bears have looked at the Senate bill and the House bill and now all the people who the Bears have either hired full time or enlisted as legislative consultants or put on retainer to be a part of this, they hadn't been doing all this work. They've been doing it. And Kevin Warren hadn't had any real time for it. He didn't have time. They didn't even show up for whatever the Bears were doing. Grandstanding, grandstanding, grandstanding, rather than the nitty gritty grinding of putting legislation together the way a lot of private businesses do when they're invited to do that legislators love that. Like, you know what, I'm not gonna write up the bill. We'll go through it, we'll look at it. Give me something that I can, I can put on the floor. That's the way it works. That happens all the time. And that's all they told the Bears to do. Do the work, come up with something, bring it to us and then we'll do a vote count and then we'll do a special session. So there were a bunch of rumors flying around Springfield last night. A lot of things going on last
Dan Bernstein
night, a lot of sports, a lot
Rich Miller
of things going on last night. But if you were following what was going on in Springfield, a lot of rumors about is there's going to be a special session. It's going to be called. It's going to be called. It's going to be called. Well, it wasn't and apparently now there are. Everyone's wondering what the hell is going on with the Bears. This is from the Capital Facts newsletter. This is Rich Miller in Springfield and this is the subscription newsletter. And I'm just going to tell you what he reported. I'm not editorializing at the moment. This is his report as of this morning. JB Pritzker told reporters yesterday that the Bears are looking at ways of piecing together a bill that could help them build a stadium. And Pritzker said they're looking at both the bills that passed, the one in the House, one in the Senate. They're hoping to put the provisions of each together in a form they think will pass. So we celebrated that yesterday. But again, this is, this is Capital Facts. A very high level source close to the Bears said yesterday the team has made it, quote, abundantly clear they need two things. Property tax certainty and the infrastructure. How you get that done is not something they care about. Close quote. The source said the team had given feedback on various proposals for months, although the Bears didn't have time to analyze the Senate proposal that emerged late on the last scheduled night of spring session.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Why was that, Dan?
Rich Miller
They didn't have time.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Why didn't they have time?
Rich Miller
They weren't there.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Oh, that's right, they weren't there.
Rich Miller
That's right. They didn't even think to send a high enough ranking official or officials or a group of people to be involved. So to say they didn't have time isn't quite right. They didn't have the presence. They couldn't be in those meetings. They couldn't have things explained to them because they weren't there.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Now you said that maybe they should have sent someone. Kevin Warren should have been there. Of course, this is his main job, why he was hired.
Rich Miller
If you need more evidence why he should be launched, it's right here. It was stressed that no new proposal was coming from the Bears. The team also proposed its own plan years ago when they stood with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. That plan was immediately shot down by Governor Pritzker. So this is the key graph here. So what the heck is going on? Well, for starters, it's the Bears. This isn't me. This is Rich Miller, who knows the Capitol way better than I do. The team doesn't always speak with one voice. Maybe somebody gave the impression to the governor's office that they were working on a bill, but that work does not appear to be taking place. I do know that high level people at the governor's office did believe the Bears were attempting to draft a proposal. So I don't think the governor was knowingly conveying a falsehood. And again, this is, this is Rich Miller here. I've basically given up trying to understand what the game plan is here. But the governor has been saying for weeks that it's all up to the Bears. Now a very good source with the team is saying it's up to the General assembly to go figure. Meanwhile, a Chicago based reporter contacted several legislators yesterday asking about. A rumor is what I'm talking about, that a special session for a Bears bill would be announced today. That in turn set off an explosion of rumors about a special session. But nobody I talked with had heard a single thing about such an announcement. First of all, you need a bill which doesn't exist and nobody now is apparently drafting at the moment. Then you need a convincing roll call to show the bill can pass both chambers, which hasn't been taken because there's no bill and no advance lobbying has been done. This is what's so galling. Then you need to make sure that members would be even willing to show up for a special session to help a sports team build a massive stadium. And that could be a really tough sell, particularly since other groups like for instance, the Chicago Teachers Union or data center opponents or you name it, will want to be included. So again, finally, given a direct order slash request from the governor. We go back to how, when everything blew up, when everything, when the, when it all ended and there was Kevin Warren saying the Aristocrats, when that happened, the governor said, hey, just do the work. That's all we ask. Do the work. Tell us what you want. There's lobbyists here, we know the same lobbyists. You know, we trust them. These are the people that do the work of government. This is the sausage being made. Make sausage. And it sounded like somebody with the Bears was telling them, yep, we're on it. We're absolutely on it. We're like, thank you, and yes, we'll do that. And somebody else with the Bears whose job it is to do it, didn't do it there. The level of dysfunction in the Bears front office right now as far as communications, as far as the actual what is being represented to the governor and to the. The parties involved, the same stuff that we heard Jim Tenalia and the Arlington Heights. There were some of these similar complaints. When it comes to the Bears. You hear one thing, you hear another, who is representing them. If somebody's. If the governor's talking to George and George is saying, we're doing this, we're doing this, we're doing this, we're doing this. And then it's not done. What's missing is George going to the guy he hired and saying, what the hell do you do? What are we doing? Nobody knows what the actual plan is to actually get something done despite everybody involved. From jump for three and a half years, for three and a half years, it's like, this is what you do. This is how laws get made. If you need this, you hire lobbyists, you hire experts, you hire lawyers. They put everything together, you exchange proposals. And the Bears have essentially said, no, take care of us. Figure it out. It's your job. You must take care of us.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
And right then, that's the only legitimate path for the team. To say we're moving out of state is to say we've put together multiple proposals.
Rich Miller
We've exhausted every possible everything and financially and ours.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
We've put multiple proposals forward and Illinois will not accept any of the proposals we've made. We've given concessions based on their recommendations, what they would approve. They still haven't done it. Therefore, we are focusing on moving to Hammond, Indiana. It's all been a bluff and a lie. And you want to talk about launching Kevin Warren, while I agree with you, George McCaskey needs to step down as the chairman of the board. Period. If they.
Dan Bernstein
If the.
Rich Miller
The simplest thing the Bears can do is know who's in charge, know who's speaking for them. Not to me, not to you, but to the governments, to everybody involved here as they're trying to play the charade that everybody with a brain sees through the instant they're making phone calls behind the Scenes immediately after saying, oh, we're focused on Hammond. Oh, we're not.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
They did that.
Rich Miller
That's what happened.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Yep.
Rich Miller
They kneecapped themselves immediately. And that's why Cam Buckner and Governor Pritzker are exasperated. Dealing with a team that still thinks that somebody's going to come waiting on them hand and foot without them doing the work. And yet they were told from jump, this is how it works here. It doesn't matter what, what you think happened in Minnesota. It doesn't matter what happened elsewhere. This is the way business is done.
Dan Bernstein
Do it.
Rich Miller
And nobody has taken that. It was a hint, it was a suggestion. Now it has been an instruction. And it continues to be the refrain of everyone else involved. Where are you in this? When are you actually engaging in the process of doing, doing something? And we'll find out more because again, with every report that comes out, somebody else is talking to somebody else with the Bears where one person says, yes, absolutely, and we're getting to work and this is what we're going to do. And we're putting these. Somebody thought, somebody with the Bears thought they were doing that. Somebody's talking to the governor, so you can try to figure it out yourself if you want, but somebody talking to the governor, representing the Bears gave the governor the indication that they were doing the work. And now somebody else with the Bears says, no, we're not. It's an absolute all time clusterfuck. And watch this because they, they can't go to Hammond. They can't build in Hammond. Watch them extend that Soldier Field lease, I'm telling you. Keep with every, every day that goes by. You called it.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
I'm, I'm lean. Yeah. Leaning closer and closer to that.
Rich Miller
You called it. That's. That, that's watching.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
That's, that's going to move up to the top of the list here soon.
Rich Miller
And with every day that goes by, with every single day that goes by, that 2 billion that they pledged becomes less and less of a stadium. How far is your 2 billion going to go from five years ago, from three and a half years ago where, with building cost a year ago, with, hey, we're pledging 2 billion. Okay, well, who, how are you, who's paying for the rest of it? How is that all getting paid for now by the, the, the way they have frittered away the value of their time and everyone else's time, they have driven the price through the roof.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
And I'll say it one last time, Kevin Warren did not miss an opportunity to be on camera in the Locker
Rich Miller
room after victories, but could not be in Springfield for the most important legislative moment, one of the most important moments in Bears history, and they weren't there. And it's continuing to affect them. They're having comm.
Progressive Insurance Announcer
They.
Adam Reeder
Hi.
Rich Miller
How many communications people did they hire? They hired all these different people. They hired Ted Cruz and all these different people. And their communications are a joke. Nobody knows who's speaking for the Bears with authority right now. It is a. It is a complete mess. The. The person they hired to handle it has bungled it and is bungling is to watch this happen. This slow motion traffic accident that we've been watching, seeing it coming and watching all of this happen. It was. This has all been completely avoidable. Everything was set in place to give Kevin Warren a path with governmental experts and lobbyists. It's all anybody asked. Just do a lit. Just lift a finger. Do a little bit here. Don't just say, you know, I'd love to have these. I want infrastructure and I want a million dollars and I want all the candy I can eat. And it just, it's, it's. That's. This isn't the way actual things work in the real world. You can't just say in a. In a world that it would be perfect for us. Everybody just takes care of us and then expect them to do it. And that's apparently what the bears are doing if, if, if this one particular bear source is to be believed. So there is not going to be a special session for them if there's no bill, if there's no way to make sure that they have the votes on the bill. They won't call a special session unless there's an actual bill that is going to pass. They're not going to convene everybody, make everybody fly in there and then have the bears not show up again and have everything collapse. Come on. Like, this is. This is just. It's funny because it's such farce, but it's also pathetic. It's. It's just. It's pathetic that an NFL team is choosing incompetence and that's what the Bears are doing.
Dan Bernstein
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Rich Miller
How could we make sure things were taken care of for the kids if
Dan Bernstein
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Rich Miller
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Sports Analyst/Commentator
I don't think anyone call Caleb Williams Caleb Wilson.
Rich Miller
It'll be the other way around.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
It'll be the other way. Yeah, for sure. Caleb Wilson will be called Caleb Williams a lot. I don't think anyone will call Caleb Williams.
Rich Miller
But you're stopping to try to do well. Yeah, just to make sure I it's hard correctly but I don't think, I
Sports Analyst/Commentator
don't think anyone will.
Rich Miller
It's going to be really hard.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Wilson is not going to be top of mind for for Bears die hard Bears fans.
Rich Miller
Yeah, maybe for those of us who spend a lot of time thinking about the Bulls, it'll be more of an issue. But what a nice young man he is. Really just what a, what a. What a nice young man. And I am impressed with his drive. I'm impressed with what I hear about his desire to be great and his, the skills, the athleticism, the motor. And not just his on court motor. I mean the motor that gets him staying after at practice, the motor that gets him watching tape. And there are every story I read about him says he's been like that since high school, that he wants to constantly figure out what else can I do. And he was. The thumb injury set him back. He said he's been doing all kinds of hand strengthening exercises to make those injuries less likely to trying to build up the muscles in his hands. And he's. I'm. I'm very excited about that possibility. And now we have to wait now, now we, now we have to watch him take time, develop and he'll play summer league. It sounded like Thiago Splitter is going to coach at least some of the games in summer league, which I think is good. He's going to be alongside that team. He'll be working, we presume, with both Wilson and, and Dalen Swain, who's even more of a project. But he is. He's a tall guard. He's an aggressive, athletic, 6, 7 rangy guard prospect who they took at 15. Then we'll see who they get tonight. But it was fun. It was. It was fun talking to people. I got to talk to Bryson Graham for the first time, introduce myself, introduce 312 sports, introduce organizations, win championships and see some old friends. Somebody was telling us, somebody sent me a screenshot because the, the score had their, their webcast set up there and I guess that OWC we were recording around, they were sitting preparing around the same time right behind them, like in between Chuck and Gabe. So there are some people who are getting a kick out of that particular juxtaposition. Boy, Chuck went crazy when they drafted Swain too. Man, he was excited. He was literally pounding the table. Oh, yes. I told you that's the guy. I won't. And you see Chuck's beard? He's got this.
Progressive Insurance Announcer
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Rich Miller
Yeah, I told him to keep it. I said you got to keep that. I said it makes you look artsy. That's the first time anyone has ever described me as artsy. Well, it's not going to be the last. I think it's. I think it's a good look for him. But thanks to the Bulls for having us there. I also, there's a couple little things I heard too. Bryson Graham has been instructed to not use the term SLAP anymore. Oh, really? Yep.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Yep.
Rich Miller
I learned that last night that after he used it, there were, there were some people who made it. Who helped Bryce Graham understand that this city's sports fans have an allergy to acronyms.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Well, that's good to know.
Rich Miller
Yes, it is like they made it. He's only used it once. He's only said it once. And apparently that is the last time you are ever going to hear it.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Good. Remember that. That caused me to have some concern
Rich Miller
because a lot of people and, and the voicing of some of those concerns and the history of the hits principle is it resonates still so much. The stench of the hits principle was enough. I am, I am told, on very, very solid authority that Bryson Graham. What's not. Hey man, let's, let's I on the old, the old A.C. el Slappe thing. No more that.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
And then tonight they have picks number eight and then 20 something, 26, 28, something like that.
Rich Miller
Yeah. I mean there's. Now, now, I mean, who knows? I, I think after. Is there a Bull second pick? It was all kind of. Anyway.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Is there a chance at. With that eighth pick to get Emmanuel Sharp from Houston?
Rich Miller
I don't know. Oh, okay.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Why? Because I like him.
Rich Miller
Why do you like him?
Dan Bernstein
What does he do?
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Good shooter.
Rich Miller
Okay.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
I mean, gave him a good program, plays good defense. He's a good outside shooter. I think he shot nearly 38 from three.
Rich Miller
Okay, I'll, I mean, I'll take that under advisement. I, I don't. I, I, They. You need everything.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Oh yeah, you do. You certainly do.
Rich Miller
And just, you know, keep, keep accruing guys, keep bringing in guys. We'll see where they fit. The only players who were there, who I saw last night, Josh Giddey came in early just to kind of say some hellos. And then Noah Essenge was also walking around as well.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Oh yeah, I forgot about him.
Rich Miller
Yeah, well, I mean now that that was a first round pick with who, who does fit.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
No, I keep forgetting that he's on the roster.
Rich Miller
What these guys say they want. So we're all, we're into the great unknown Here they haven't even committed to a style of play. They don't.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Is it grown anymore? Is he, like, 75 now?
Rich Miller
He is taller.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
He is, but he's not 7 5.
Rich Miller
No, but he is. He's definitely taller. That. That is true. That's noticeable. I just. I thought he. I'm still waiting for them to be wider. That's what I'm. But. And he was in a big, baggy T shirt, and it was kind of weird. Jason and I were debating whether or not he's added any weight. I said, no, he definitely hasn't. He said, no, the T shirt was hiding the weight that it has.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Okay.
Rich Miller
You want to give him the benefit of the doubt? Maybe, perhaps. But it was. It was a very interesting night to see this new. And what I come away with, the. The effect is there's an energy there. There's an energy that's infusing every aspect of the organization, being. Being into this. This unknown. But the fact that you've got a person in charge who's 39 years old, you got a coach who's 41 years old, you just drafted a guy who's 19, and he's. He. He. He wants to be great. He says he wants to be great.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
It certainly would feel like there's. That the vibe is alive when the guy in charge actually acts like he's alive.
Rich Miller
That makes a big difference and seems to like talking. Yeah.
Adam Reeder
In.
Rich Miller
In past years, after the draft, everybody, there's a. You want to hear a funny story here? And this is. This is true. So for a while, when John Paxton and Gar Foreman were doing the draft, there'd be. The Bulls would pick wherever they were in the round, and then they would.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
The.
Rich Miller
They would come down and be available for interviews while the draft was going on, while the first round was going on, talking about the Bulls pick. Apparently that stopped because people on Twitter went crazy that the Bulls executives in the middle of the draft were not on their phones making calls even after they'd made their pick. So we're like, what are they doing? Why are they talking to the media? They should be upstairs making deals. And eventually they're like, fine. Everybody acquiesced to the. To the dumbest people on social media. And they said, now they. They changed the policy that at the conclusion of the round is when they come down and talk. So it used to be that AK would take a while, that the round would be over, and It'd be another 40 minutes or whatever. And we saw, you know, the windows to the PR office on, on the first floor were open. It wasn't two minutes after Co opiete was drafted as the final pick in the first round. There's Bryson Graham. He, he was ready to walk right outside, walk right to the microphone. And he walked by the PR office and they're like, hey, you want to check with us first? You know, we might want to, you know, talk about some things before you head out there. He's like, oh yeah, sure, okay. But he, yeah, I think he. And he. The first thing he said, he sat down, he said, thanks for sticking around. I know it's a late night and everybody's here. I appreciate everybody being here this late because it was like 10:30 when he talked for AK.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
They had to pump him full of life and it took about 30 minutes be able to get him back downstairs.
Rich Miller
So. Yeah, but it was cool. And what I asked Graham about was, was his phone ringing with people trying to pick on a first time decision maker because people maybe say, hey, let's check the new guy. Let's make some trade offers to the new guy. And he said yeah, he said that they were. It was very busy that even right up to turning in the card, they were getting calls and they were evaluating possible moves. So he wasn't real interested in answering my follow up and technically I wasn't supposed to ask a follow up, but I did.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
And the. Yeah, because we were, we. I was out walking the dogs and we were listening to the Cubs game and then I was monitoring the draft on my phone and it felt like their, the fourth pick took longer to get in than the other. So maybe, yeah, maybe they were doing.
Carvana/Granger Advertiser
I don't know.
Rich Miller
But they just said that it felt longer. Yeah, just right. They were evaluating offers for everything as they should. Good. That's their job. And he said, I will. I was listening to anything that I thought could make this franchise better. And he didn't shy away from it. They didn't say, oh no, no, we wouldn't listen for it. He said, yeah, he said that basically it's my job to, to evaluate all these things. And he said it was, it was busy and there was the, the whole coaching staff looked like they were there. They all, they're all dressed in black. The whole. They came out later and I saw slimming.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
That's why.
Rich Miller
Well, but they all, it all. I kept waiting for them because they were standing on a balcony because their offices are up top and they had the. Whoever was on, you know, the basketball people, the. And some. Whoever's still and I didn't see unselled but there was Splitter and then there were everybody else. They're all head to toe in black. And I kept waiting for like a mime bit because it just looked like they were all standing there ready to perform for us, some sort of of, of mime routine. But no they didn't. And when, when the question was asked of Graham, is Thiago Splitter going to coach the summer league? I immediately looked up at Splitter and he just kind of smiled and he, he looked down at Graham like and because Graham said I think he's going to coach a couple of games and then Splitter starts laughing and somebody said something to him. So I don't know what was up there. But the good news is I think he is going to start jumping and getting involved. I like the guys they took. I'm very, very excited about Caleb Wilson and I love the potential upside there. And we'll have to be let to be patient. We'll have to see how they want to use him and when and against whom and in what matchups. But they got a guy. They got a guy who could be potentially a guy with a capital G. But we will find out.
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Rich Miller
Russ Armstrong is the owner of Chicago Window Guys and you know that name already because I talk about him a lot because he's a friend of 312 sports and he's going to be your best friend in the world if you want windows and you need him because it's believe eventually the weather is going to get hot. I promise it is. And your air conditioning is going to come on and you want that air conditioning to keep your house cool. And then later on you're going to want the heat to keep your house warm and not go outside the house and that's what windows do. And you get the convenience of having new windows that don't stick and slide in, that are easy to clean and all of that. But the primary job of these windows is to use that double paned low emissivity to try to pay for themselves. And they often do. He'll also Russ will match any price. So go ahead and get quotes. If you really want to take all of that time, go get quotes and then say, hey, here's what other people quoted me. And Russ can say, oh, well, that's a gimmick. You're not really getting anything for this. And he can talk you through why you see the numbers that you see. And he'll match any price. So you don't have to fall for any gimmicks. It's just the best product at the best price. And you can ask these other places who's installing my windows? And they'll say, I don't know. Because they use third party labor. They pick up subcontracted installers. Russ doesn't. Russ has a crew that will do the installation. The same people that installed my windows are going to install yours. Give him a call at 847-302-9171 and check out his five star reviews at ChicagoNow,DowGuys.com real quick, did we, did the White Sox shake the, shake the Bernstein off of them?
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Yeah, I think they won a couple in a row, haven't they?
Rich Miller
Yeah, I think it was the Sam Antonacci first pitch single that probably did it. And then they get the win last night so they're in first place. I just want to make sure I didn't kill them. I didn't, I didn't ruin everything. They're, they're back alone in first place. So that's fine. Okay, good. Because I was trying to follow the Cubs game and the Sox game and everything else. And I was also following apparently a, a miserable Blackhawks trade. I'm just telling you what people in my orbit who care about hockey and care about the Blackhawks hate this trade. So I'm representing their feelings based on the way it's been explained to me. It's sort of a panicky, superfluous deal that didn't address their most glaring needle. As I understand it, and I do not claim to be an expert and I'm not giving you a hot take. As I understand it, based on what I have heard and read, the goal for this off season was to put somebody next to Connor Bedard to be skilled enough to get the most out of a potential superstar to operate with a winger on his line that can be a either a receiver of his passes at the net or somebody who can just help facilitate getting the most out of the Bedard line. And instead the Blackhawks trade away one of their solid defensemen, the number four pick and the number 45 pick for Bowen Byram, who was could have been drafted by the Hawks years ago when they took Kirby Dock. And now Byram is a good but not great defenseman for whom they've traded instead of trading for that winger or using that pick on a defenseman. I was very confused. But all I can do is represent the apparent feelings of people that really, really care about hockey. Everybody hates this. Okay, I the Then I'll. Then I'll agree with you because if there's anything I want in the Blackhawks, it's for Connor Bedard to be great and for him to be a reason the reason why. And I thought that's what they were getting when he was a rookie. I thought for everything we heard they win the Bedard sweepstakes. It's the same as Victor Wembanyama. Remember the comps to Wemby that because you have this guy, your team should be great and the Blackhawks have had this guy and they're bad. And that as just as a sports fan, I root for greatness. I want whether it's this team. I like to watch greatness. I like to watch and see things I've never seen before and see the best in the world at what they do do what they do. And apparently the Blackhawks have a guy that everybody believes can still be that guy, but they're not doing everything they can do to make him that guy. And I. I can't pretend that I have really strong feelings about the Blackhawks. I'm happy to pretend at some point when they get good and every we're all paying attention to Stanley cup finals and the Blackhawks are in it. Yeah, I mean, I can. I'll enjoy it as much as the next person perhaps, but I'm not. I'm not going to misrepresent some deep set level of passion for what they do. But one thing I do care about, I hate wasting talent. Whether it's a player who wastes their own talent by not working hard enough or not understanding or not caring. To me it's like throwing out food. Also, I can't stand it. You know, I want everything.
Adam Reeder
I want.
Rich Miller
I want everything maximized. I want to get the most out of everything, especially great athletes. And if something the Blackhawks are doing or multiple things the Blackhawks are doing is somehow preventing a potentially great player from being great, that's a problem regardless of how much you care about the team. Like that's, that's malpractice. And I hope it's not the case here. But people that I know and like who have much more invested in the success of the Blackhawks emotionally and professionally than I do, do not like this deal. So I wish Bowen Byram the best of luck. He hasn't done anything wrong. But people who are calling him the next Seth Jones, they're gonna have to pay him a lot of money because he's in the final year of his deal. And now I guess they're going to work on a brand new contract for a guy who wasn't going to be a starting defenseman on his own team because they have great defenseman in front of him. He's 25 years old and great. I just the reason why I want to say, hey, I wonder what's going on the Hawks game. Maybe I'll flip it on. Maybe I'll give that a watch is I want to watch Connor Bedard do things I've never seen before. And I don't know, I hope I get that chance because it would be a, it would be a crime if they somehow waste his talent when they lucked into that pick and they were, and they played into that pick by being awful. Like the fruits of your misery are supposed to be those opportunities. And I'm always going to think about it in the context of Victor Wembanyama because of the comparisons that we made. That's all. If you want a great summer activity for you and your family that is exciting, different and fun and a great value, you know what you should do is you should go take in some Chicago Stars soccer. And a great opportunity for you to do that is coming up soon. July 5th, the Chicago Stars are going to be back in Evanston against Utah Royals fc. They play at Evanston at Martin Stadium, which is lovely. It's right along the lake. It's easy to get to car, bike, CTA Metra and your kids. And you can see pro players, Olympic medalist Mallory Swanson, Alyssa Nayer with tickets starting at just $19 in a family friendly atmosphere. They also have a kids zone. They've got a little mini pitch, they've got yard games and you don't want to miss this game against the Utah Royals fc. It's pro women's soccer, never more accessible. You Got family friendly pre match entertainment and then you can cheer on Mallory Swanson and Alyssa Nair right on the lakefront. Summer soccer does not get better than this. So get your tickets now@Chicago stars.com/tickets. There was a letter that was sent yesterday and made public that is a. It's a piece of artwork. This letter. Now normally I'm never going to go to bat for the big powerful NFL because I am all about jousting at the powerful. It's my natural instinct generally is to try to try to topple icons and not to celebrate them. Just like putting the traffic cones on the heads of the statues that spoke to me. I love that. But in the case of a football player who can't stop gambling and who feels he's entitled to be in the NFL because he was kicked out of college football, the NFL has told him in no uncertain terms, not so fast, young man. And the National Football League yesterday made this letter public. It's a letter to Brendan Sorsby, whom we've talked about when it first surfaced that Brendan Sorsby was not just a dabbler in sports gambling, but an inveterate addict who made thousands and Thousands of bets, 9,000 bets, including bets on his own college teams. And he was finally told, even though there was a misguided attempt by the entire state of Texas and Texas Tech to keep him there as their quarterback, that it failed and he is not going to be eligible to play college football anymore because it's hard enough to find out who is in charge of college football and makes those decisions and can keep him from playing, whether it's the NCAA or conferences or whatever. So it's like, okay, well, fine, I'm going to go in the supplemental draft. Well, there isn't always a supplemental draft. The NFL will review applications and if there are people eligible for whatever reason for a supplemental draft, the NFL decides to hold one and then it's a blind bid. And teams can use their next year's draft picks in a given round to, for each round they can say yes or no, we're going to use this pick or not use this pick. And then they can, they can try to grab players given this opportunity. Well, the NFL announced there will be no supplemental draft this year. It's not going to happen. Brendan Sorsby is not going to get a special opportunity. They're not calling a special session. He's not going to get this opportunity to become property of one NFL team or another. But the letter is art. And there, there are points made in here that are not so subtle. The points made by the NFL and their general counsel, Lawrence Farazani. He's listed on LinkedIn as Larry, so they call him Larry Farazani. I just think you'd get a kick out of this. And I if I were Sorsby, I would not have enjoyed reading this letter. Because what this is, it's got a capital F and a capital Y. You could have boiled this letter down to two words or one gesture Dear Mr. Sorsby, we are in receipt of your petition for special eligibility and I'm going to redact some of the details here. As announced earlier today, the League has elected not to conduct a supplemental draft this year. Under our collective bargaining agreement, the League retains sole discretion to determine whether it's appropriate to conduct a supplemental draft in any given year. The League has not conducted such a draft for several years, and prior to your submission, the League had no plans to do so this year, as no other player has sought entry. Your petition, filed three business days before the deadline without any supporting information or documentation and only after abandoning your recent litigation efforts to avoid NCAA sanctions, does not provide a basis for the League to alter those plans. The issues presented by your petition are too significant and too closely tied to the League's core integrity interests to permit meaningful review within the timeline presented. You're too big an asshole. The sole reasons identified in your petition for seeking entry are that you've been declared ineligible by the ncaa, have exhausted all avenues to continue in the ncaa, and and want to now play in the NFL. The petition provides no information regarding the basis for or timing of the NCAA's decision. Public sources, however, indicate that in May of 2026, the NCAA issued a determination declaring you permanently ineligible from participation in college athletics based on a sustained pattern of improper gambling activity during your collegiate career at three different universities. The League does not have the complete record of the NCAA's investigation and you did not provide any such materials with your petition. Available information nonetheless indicates that over the course of your collegiate career, you knowingly engage in repeated and significant violations of NCAA rules designed to preserve the integrity of athletic competition. Reported conduct includes placing wagers on your own team and teammates and, to avoid detection, establishing or funding accounts in the names of intermediaries who placed bets on your behalf. There are also reports you may have violated state criminal law. Your petition does not address these matters, and this is where it gets fun, nor does it demonstrate accountability for your conduct or indicate whether or how you would adhere to the League's rules and policies governing the Integrity of competition. Instead of. Even after receiving Notice of the NCAA's decision rescinding your college eligibility in May, you sought to avoid the consequences of that determination through litigation. Rather than accepting responsibility for your actions, you pursued entry into the NFL only after abandoning those efforts. And now this is the wrap up last graph. As Commissioner Goodell has emphasized, participation in the NFL is a privilege that carries with it significant responsibility responsibilities, including accountability. By all accounts, you are a talented player with the potential for future success. We encourage you to focus on preparing for possible entry into the NFL through the 2027 NFL Annual Draft. Sincerely, Lawrence P. Ferrazzani, Jr. Larry says, Go yourself.
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That.
Rich Miller
That's what this is. He is not a hero in this. And I know there's the, the caping for him has been rampant and widespread. I'm just not quite sure what, what you're choosing to support here, but this. The. Basically the NFL is like, nope, don't need this right now. We don't need this guy.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Yeah, the NFL can also go themselves too. You want to talk about accountability? I mean, go.
Rich Miller
Oh, no, there's that again. That's why, that's why I prefaced it the way I did.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
I. I know.
Rich Miller
I know you did. There's no black hat and white hat in this thing.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Give me a break.
Rich Miller
But just the idea of the, of the entitlement. I, I love a, A well crafted letter that says such things like this. And basically it's just. How about.
Adam Reeder
No.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Yeah, no. I mean, the NFL doesn't want him. I don't blame them. I'm not, I'm not disagreeing with their, their stance on it and their decision, but I mean, to act like you're something you're not is, man, it's, it is disgusting.
Rich Miller
This is not to exonerate the NFL from any of whatever you want. You can accuse them of doing things bordering on criminal pretty much every day or covering up things that are borderline criminal.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Well, let's talk about accountability. Encouraging him to take accountability or his lack of taking accountability.
Rich Miller
What about you? Yeah, you.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
NFL, please. What a joke.
Rich Miller
It's. It's hysterical. Yeah, the entire thing is hysterical. But to, to, to misread the room, I think to say, like, oh, the NFL's gotta let me, and I can't play in college, therefore, because I can't play in college, now I just get to go to the NFL.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Nope.
Rich Miller
No, you kind of don't. And now that there is more crossover with the ufl, I don't think you get to play There either. I think oh, Canada would be calling for a Brendan Sorsby. And here's the thing too. All of this high minded everything. If all he's got to do is go play for Saskatchewan, chuck the ball around and not gamble for a little while, he'll get a shot.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Well, I would say not gambling. And I think his, his fastest path to the NFL would be honestly, and I'm not kidding around about this is to create a relationship or get a relationship with Jay Glazer and start training. I think that would be a really smart move for if that's what he wants to do, get in the NFL.
Rich Miller
I know that sounds silly. It's not bad advice. No, it's not. It's not to, to go to that sort of car wash. Yeah, I mean
Sports Analyst/Commentator
show some contrition and take accountability. And then. Oh, by the way, I started working out and doing training with Jake Laser would go a long way for his
Rich Miller
path to the NFL. And if he wants to. Actually I don't know if he gets to go to Mike Vrabel wiener counseling, if that helps. Is there a gambling version of wiener counseling where. Because wherever they sent Vrabel was apparently enough to prevent anybody from saying anything to him about anything.
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Rich Miller
So if that whatever agency handles the wandering wiener counseling, maybe they also have a dude that 9000 is too many bets. That's too many bets. And having the burner accounts and proxies making your bets.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
No, I mean if you had to stop the 8500 it might have been okay.
Rich Miller
Oh, sure. Oh, 9000.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Yeah.
Rich Miller
Oh, gotcha.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Sure.
Rich Miller
But Winkler. Yeah. I think you go like, you know, 7,000 bets then, then works. Then we can actually have a conversation. We're talking some reason, but 9,000 right out.
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Rich Miller
i sold my car in Carvana last night.
Sports Analyst/Commentator
Well, that's cool.
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So what's the problem?
Shopify Advertiser
That is the problem. Nothing in my life goes as smoothly. I'm waiting for the catch.
Carvana/Granger Advertiser
Maybe there's no catch.
Shopify Advertiser
That's exactly what a catch would want me to think.
Carvana/Granger Advertiser
Wow. You need to relax.
Shopify Advertiser
I need to knock on wood. Do we have wood?
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Rich Miller
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Rich Miller
One last thing before we get out of here. We're heading into some massive World cup matches over the next few days. Maybe it's England and Ghana that you were watching. Maybe it's tomorrow. USA and Turkey, maybe Uruguay, Spain on the 26th. You can spend hours breaking down the tactics and the lineups and the positioning. And are they playing a diamond defense or a two by two box? Or maybe they have what is the diamond, the stopper and the sweeper. See all those things? Or you can just ask a simpler question. Here's the question. Will the McDonald's logo show up on the broadcast? That's an actual bet at my bookie right now. Will the golden arches show up on the broadcast? No injury reports, no expected goals and no pretending that you watch qualifying matches from six different confederations. It's just one of the biggest sporting
Dan Bernstein
events in the world.
Rich Miller
And you can be there with my bookie with a promo code DBU. Claim your deposit bonus and get up to 500 in protection on your first bet at my bookie. And remember, once you see the logo on screen, it's over. That's gone. So you want to get in on this, you know where to go. Use the code DBU at my bookie. I want to urge you too if you have not checked out organizations win championships from last night. Our immediate reaction from the Advocate center, that is up for you to do that as we were going to be monitoring the second round picks tonight. And you don't want to miss forward progress today either. And there may have just been a reference to what we're going to be discussing on that show. We had so many things to do today that we had to sit down and actually figure out what was going where because this is. We actually had a lot of stuff happening last night, so we'll do that. And I also want to tell you, if you haven't heard about what's going on Friday, this is a. An off the Ivy little special that we're doing here. You know our guy, Cody Delmendo? Well, we're having a contest called Find Cody and Win and this is Friday. Mattie, make sure I get this right. For your chance to win Cubs Tickets and a Swag Pack exclusive 312Sports swag and a pair of tickets to a future Cubs home game. This Friday after 6:00pm Cody Delmendo is heading to a Wrigleyville bar. He's going to watch the Cubs take on the Brewers. He's probably going to be miserable and he's bringing tickets with him. So all week long on the 312Sports app, Cody is going to be dropping little clues, little hints. I think he's given one already. Go to our social channels, follow the hints, track him down, be the first person to find him on Friday. When you find him, you got to show him your 312-sports-app account. Then you have to answer a Cubs trivia question and then you'll get the tickets and the 312Sports swag. So get the app. The 312Sports app. It's free. Get it in the Apple App Store, Google Play. Follow us at 312Sports Start watching for clues. Find Cody, beat the crowd, Win Cubs tickets. And that is today's Dan Bernstein Unfiltered that has been brought to you by the Chicago Stars making this a soccer filled summer in Evanston. Come to a match for family friendly pro sports on the lakefront. Get tickets@chicagostars.com tickets by Chicago Window Guys 847-302-9171 and in partnership with my bookie
Dan Bernstein
Dan Bernstein, Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports On July 5, the Chicago Stars returned to Evanston vs Utah Royals FC. The Chicago Stars celebrating a summer of soccer on the north side and you don't want to miss it. With an easy to get to stadium and tickets starting at $19. Pro women's soccer has never been more accessible. Come to a match for family friendly pro pre match entertainment than cheer on us Olympians like Mallory Swanson and Alyssa Nayer playing right on the lakefront in Evanston. Summer soccer doesn't get much better than this. Get your Tickets now@chicagostars.com Tickets when you're
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This episode focuses on the ongoing dysfunction and lack of progress within the Chicago Bears' front office regarding their push for a new stadium deal. Dan Bernstein and his co-hosts analyze the team's failures in legislative engagement, leadership confusion, and communication breakdowns. The discussion also touches on the impact of this incompetence on the Bears’ prospects and reputation, before pivoting to lighter Chicago sports topics.
Lobbyist Process 101: Dan Bernstein breaks down the normal way high-profile business-driven legislation gets made: private parties/lobbyists draft the initial legislation, then work with legislators to get it into legal form and through the process.
“Private businesses, private interests, private parties are constantly drafting legislation... It’s the legislator’s job often to put them in proper form and vote and enact.” (Dan Bernstein, 03:05)
The Bears’ Negligence: Despite being told for years what steps were needed (draft a serious proposal, engage actual lobbyists), the Bears’ president Kevin Warren repeatedly ignored, sidelined, or did not deploy their lobbyists effectively—choosing grandstanding over legislative work.
“Kevin Warren had no use for them because he was busy holding press conferences... promoting himself for whatever his next job is going to be…” (Dan Bernstein, 05:01)
Result: The organization missed legislative windows and failed to advance a bill—a critical misstep in the stadium effort.
No Special Session Forthcoming:
Communication Meltdown: The show illustrates just how unclear the Bears’ chain of command is:
“The team doesn’t always speak with one voice... If the governor’s talking to George [McCaskey] and George is saying, ‘we’re doing this’... and then it’s not done. What’s missing is George going to the guy he hired and saying, ‘What the hell do you do?’” (Rich Miller, 11:07)
No Legislative Groundwork:
"First of all, you need a bill which doesn't exist and nobody now is apparently drafting at the moment. Then you need a convincing roll call to show the bill can pass both chambers, which hasn't been taken because there's no bill and no advance lobbying has been done." (Rich Miller, 11:50)
Kevin Warren & George McCaskey Criticism:
Warren is repeatedly blasted for absence in Springfield and self-promotion in the media, while failing to drive the legislative process.
“Kevin Warren did not miss an opportunity to be on camera in the locker room after victories, but could not be in Springfield for the most important legislative moment, one of the most important in Bears history, and they weren’t there.” (Rich Miller, 17:02)
Hosts suggest Warren should be fired and McCaskey should step down ("If you need more evidence why [Kevin Warren] should be launched, it’s right here." – 08:49; "George McCaskey needs to step down as the chairman of the board. Period." – 13:34).
Consequence: Bears Likely Stuck at Soldier Field
"Watch them extend that Soldier Field lease, I'm telling you. With every day that goes by, that 2 billion... becomes less and less of a stadium." (Rich Miller, 16:10)
“Their communications are a joke. Nobody knows who's speaking for the Bears with authority right now. It is a complete mess.” (Rich Miller, 17:32)
Blackhawks Critique:
"If something the Blackhawks are doing... is somehow preventing a potentially great player from being great, that's malpractice." (Rich Miller, 43:28)
Bulls Draft Vibes:
"Bryson Graham has been instructed to not use the term SLAP anymore... this city's sports fans have an allergy to acronyms." (Rich Miller, 28:15)
NFL Refuses Supplemental Draft:
“You could have boiled this letter down to two words or one gesture... Larry says, Go yourself.” (Rich Miller, 53:57)
Cynical Laughter at NFL’s Hypocrisy:
“Yeah, the NFL can also go themselves too. You want to talk about accountability? ... What a joke.” (Sports Analyst, 54:21–55:22)
“The Bears have essentially said, no, take care of us. Figure it out. It’s your job. You must take care of us.”
– Rich Miller (12:55)
“It’s an absolute all time clusterfuck. And watch this because they, they can’t go to Hammond. They can’t build in Hammond. Watch them extend that Soldier Field lease, I’m telling you.”
– Rich Miller (16:20)
On the NFL’s letter: “You could have boiled this letter down to two words or one gesture… Larry says, Go yourself.”
– Rich Miller (53:57)
This episode is an exposé and exasperated critique of the Chicago Bears’ stadium deal stagnation—spotlighting gross mismanagement and communication failures at the highest levels, especially Kevin Warren’s absence and George McCaskey’s lack of oversight. The hosts contend that this lack of actionable work, despite ample warnings and resources, puts the team in danger of squandering its stadium opportunity and, by extension, hamstringing its future. The broader narrative is one of wasted opportunities—whether for the Bears, Blackhawks, or individual athletes like Connor Bedard and the embattled QB Brendan Sorsby. For Chicago sports fans, this episode supplies both catharsis and context for the current dysfunction, plus some lighter Bulls and hockey talk as a chaser.
End of Summary