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Dan Bernstein
Dan Bernstein Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports DBU on 312 Brought to you in partnership with my bookie and by Russ Armstrong and Chicago Window Guys Illinois is out of the tournament and not for the reasons that concern me. To be fair that if I thought that the tactical chops and the strategic failures of Brad Underwood were the reason why Illinois got bounced in the Final Four, I would say so. I don't think that's the case. I think there's if you want to nitpick at the job Brad Underwood did, you can it wasn't perfect, but I don't think that, that my fear of his coaching being the limiting factor, particularly his end game play calling, awareness of matchups, etc. Matching his counterpart. Tactically, that's not why Illinois lost. And I know this may be difficult to swallow in this way, but they had just one of those bad days, man, they're missing layups, they're, they're, they're missing putbacks, just missing too many shots that they would otherwise make. And they, they tried on defense they did about as well as you could do consistently against that relentless Yukon half court offense. It doesn't stop those actions that the, the dribble handoffs that force you to make decisions over and over and over again. They're so disciplined it's like they can do it in their sleep. Their second unit can do it almost as well as their first unit and I think for the most part there were a couple matchup problems early on making sure that they didn't get a big against the smaller but wasn't their day and they weren't as good. They just weren't as good and they're not as good. So however that makes you feel I thought the really some of the best performers in the entire season for Illinois have been the fans. Their crowds have been spectacular all year. They have had outstanding in game support and just you know what you see during games Just, they have, they have really had a lot of energy behind them and it ran out on a day where your opponent was just better.
Jason Bernstein
You know, Dan, I'm not going to disagree with you about Brad Underwood now. The reason they lost the game is because they just, they missed too many open shots.
Dan Bernstein
They just did and, and, and contested shots. They just missed too many.
Jason Bernstein
They missed too many shots. But here, here's the thing about Brett Underwood where I, I will be critical of the head coach in, in a day where his team just wasn't shooting the ball well, nothing was falling. Where on UConn's end, everything was falling. Things that shouldn't. Brad Underwood, I thought, could have stepped up and done more to help his players out. Now they still had to execute and make shots. I get all that, but I, but I thought he didn't do enough to try to help his team in a day where it just wasn't their day. I don't, I don't think they, they isolated the big man. I think two possessions in a row, they didn't do it enough. Reed was in foul trouble with three. I don't think they attacked him at all down low, which I wanted to see. But the biggest thing for me is there were too many singular possessions. Guy gets rebound, guy dribbles down, guy attacks the ball, guy pulls up and shoots a long three. There was too many of those. I know there was only three assists in the game, and I know a low number of assists is a byproduct of an off shooting night, but it's also a byproduct then of not moving the ball and not moving your body on offense. That's where a coach can come in and play a part. He's not the reason they lost, but I don't think he did anything to help his team either.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I, I, I'm of two minds when it came to the isolation of Visage, which I didn't mind, but it's still a contested two.
Jason Bernstein
But I like that though. I like it. They just knew it enough. And especially when you had Reed and foul trouble because you get an opportunity to get your shooter spread out and you isolate down low. Fine, let, let Reed beat you. Let Reed beat your big man and contest those shots. Block the shots and fine, but do something different. Do something to help your guys out when they're just struggling to hit outside shots.
Dan Bernstein
Nobody's blameless in a loss like that where they were trying to claw back in it the entire time. You kind of established their dominance in the game early and it just took them a while. Illinois kept fighting and kept. But they eventually just squeezed the life out of them, and it was over and. And the better team won. I think if they play 10 times, UConn wins seven or eight of those games.
Jason Bernstein
That's probably fair. I was going to say seven. Yeah. And.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. And you. You just. You couldn't make that one one of the two or three. And that's all right. It doesn't mean that anybody. I'm. I'm not going to go too hard on any single part of that. What's unfortunate is now the pieces of this special season are all going to scatter to the winds, and you're going to figure out who wants to come back, who's going to go elsewhere, who's going to either play pro in a European league, take a shot at playing in the NBA. You know, Keaton Wagler's gone and obviously should be because he's had a magical season to go from an unrecruited freshman to a lottery pick. You don't stay in school for that. If they can bring back Mirkovich, you got a chance to redo some of this. But the. They just didn't look like the team in that game that was ready for a stage that. That big. And what's unfortunate is you don't get to redo it with this squad. It's not like it used to be. We're like, well, they're underclassmen and they'll come back and they'll take their lumps and. No, they move on and they do different things. And it is going to be on Underwood to try to put it back together, recapture whatever worked in this. But, you know, I will say we knew it. We knew it early when we looked at it and. And looked at our checklist of what Final Four teams have. They had a hell of a year. This was a great year for Illinois basketball. They did not break through and win that first title. And Illinois is going to be the. The Cubs now, where you're one of those teams that keeps getting to Final Fours and cannot break through. And it's just going to make it all the more special when they finally do. I don't know if it's going to be Underwood or the next guy or the next person after that, but they. They've got a lot to be proud of this year, especially the way an unheralded freshman developed into somebody that important.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah. And it was neat to see, too, the. A similar pattern to the Iowa game where. Where Sturts like goes off in the first half and they, they limit him in the second half. Same thing with Mullins and with Reed. They both went off in the first half, but unfortunately other guys on the bench and other starters stepped up in that second half. Even if their main guy, what's his name? Karabi.
Dan Bernstein
Caravan.
Jason Bernstein
Caravan, sorry, Caribbean. You know, he had a, he had an offshooting night. He didn't score a ton of points. Other guys stepped up and scored a lot of points for him. What really frustrated me, Dan, as at the end as they were closing the gap and Mullins gets that long rebound on a miss and then turns that into a three. That was that like when that happened, that when he got that rebound, I like, I just, I literally deflate. I was like, oh, like really like that. That was the chance right there. So you felt maybe that the game was going to turn there and get that huge long offensive rebound and then turn that into a three again. He went off in the, in the first half and they, they held him in the second half, but he had that huge three pointer there that just really, I think was, was the final shot for the game.
Dan Bernstein
And in the other game, I don't know what you say anymore about Michigan. We'll, we'll talk about tonight's game later on when we do our DBU picks brought to you by my bookie. We will definitely talk about that. So I'm gonna save a little extra time. But you know, you spend, what is it, $10 million or whatever it is to put a team like that together and your best player is on one leg and it doesn't really matter. What I found really interesting was the conversation. And I think we got into this on, on OWC a couple of weeks ago, but Ade Mara has, has to have played his way into higher first round pick consideration than before. That dude is 7 foot 3, 7 foot 4, and I'm not saying he's Chris Daps Porzingis, but if Zach Edie can have, could, can do a reasonable job of being a viable NBA player, then I don't know why you're sleeping on Mara. Because Mara is quick for his size. He's got terrific hands. He's got great sort of digital control around the rim. He seems to know the game. The other aspect of Ade Mara that I love, his outlet passing, that is such a skill. Some of these outlet passes that he zips out of there are like Kevin Love level outlet passes with either hand whipping that thing to half court, zipping it out there. So it's it's, I, I, I would be very surprised if some of the earlier projections on Mara had him ranked. I think NBA draft.net or whatever that is had him like 70th or 65th on their top 100. If, if you're an NBA team, you got to look really closely at what a guy that height and with that surprising athletic ability. I know he doesn't look the part and his upper body doesn't quite look right, but the, the movement skills are there and if you can get him working on a shot that is just enough that that's an NBA player, I don't have a single doubt in my mind that somebody at, and he's a good screener too. You know, it's not like he doesn't do some of the big man stuff. He'll get pushed around because he's, he doesn't have the powerful bass and he doesn't have the, the thick upper body quite yet. But maybe I like him more than, than some of the, the other projections do. I'm going to keep a very close eye on how he performs in this game tonight against their, their bigs and see how he holds in there. And meanwhile, that backup big on Connecticut. What? He, he's awful. That guy is just.
Jason Bernstein
Which, which guy?
Dan Bernstein
The. Who, who is the backup center? The white guy. Who, who.
Jason Bernstein
Oh God. Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Oh my.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah. What's his name? Yeah, because when, yeah. Reed Reed was out for a few in this. Yeah. Oh my God, I can't remember his name.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, there were, there were a couple dudes who. Reeb. Eric, Reby or Ryby. That guy. Yikes.
Jason Bernstein
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dan Bernstein
I mean fouling everybody. And, and, and yeah, I think he
Jason Bernstein
came in and instantly had two fouls.
Dan Bernstein
If he came in, I would instantly take him out is what I would do. And then I would wonder why I put him in. I mean, I'm sure he's a lovely guy, but I'm good, I'm good on that one. I'd rather go with a smaller lineup maybe tonight. I know you couldn't do that against Illinois because they're so huge.
Jason Bernstein
He's 19 year old kid. Yeah. He had five minutes and he had three fouls.
Dan Bernstein
Maybe that's what they wanted him to do. And maybe the guy grows into the next Donovan clinging at some point, but I'm not seeing it.
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Dan Bernstein
We know that Illinois's magical run ended at the hands of UConn. Michigan absolutely obliterated Arizona in a beatdown. So your bracket might be cooked, but your bankroll doesn't have to be. It's the final live bets. So when you're watching that game, catch the swing before the odds adjust. When you have an idea of what you think is going to happen in the game, you might all of a sudden get better money line odds. If you stick with your gut. You. You never needed a perfect bracket. I know I didn't to. To win our staff pool. You know, I think, well, yeah, I'm number one. Number one. Number one. I'm the wiener. Hot dog. I'm the wiener there.
Jason Bernstein
Oh, I don't know how the point totals work here, but yeah, it wasn't even close.
Dan Bernstein
I don't know how it works either. I really don't.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah, you were up 14 and on Cody, 15 on me. Whatever that means.
Dan Bernstein
I don't know, I. But it has. But I'm nowhere near the actual leaders.
Jason Bernstein
No, the actual leaders is Mat.
Dan Bernstein
Matt.
Jason Bernstein
Matt Cohen. Matt Cohen. He's 127. You have 88. Yeah, whatever. That means you're really far away.
Dan Bernstein
I think he had the whole final four and had Michigan winning it because you can click on a name if you go to the 312 sports app and you want to look into our busted bracket challenge brought to you by Giordano's and make sure you have your. Your Giordano's.
Jason Bernstein
Oh, no, he had. He had Michigan beating Wisconsin.
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
Jason Bernstein
But Michigan over Yukon in the final. So he had that right.
Dan Bernstein
Either way, with the live bats, you can get in on tonight with my bookie. Be in it to win it go to my bookie AG. Don't forget the promo code. DBU for Dan Bernstein unfiltered and then your first bet is covered up to 500 bucks. If it misses, you can then activate your bet back bonus token and run it back. The tournament finale is here tonight. Don't just watch it go big, win from it knowing we've got your back. MyBookie AG the promo code DBU first bet covered up to 500 bucks only at my bookie. Get to some more basketball in a bit, but we are going to find out probably later today what the situation is with Kate Horton. I would think he could get in for a nice early mri. I don't think that the the Cubs are on the phone with the automated system trying to find an appointment for him. I think they can just drive him over and get him looked at and then Craig Council will let us know what's going on. Either way, I think it's important to remember that this is our new life in baseball. If you're really following what teams do now, and I did mention this last week, I just wanted to be really clear when I said you've got to be drafting and developing hard throwing pitchers and then you figure out where they go and just keep drafting and developing them and get them up to the major leagues and keep that line moving. This is what happens is the guys come up and they throw and you get what you can and they get hurt and then you move on. A lot of, a lot of Cubs observers, a lot of Cubs fans still have some old echoes of whoever it might be, Kerry Wood or Mark Pryor or any of these, where it's always been, when are they coming back? Are they hurt? Are they back? Are they hurt? Are they getting surgery? Which injury is it this time? Teams don't want to do that anymore. Teams don't want to spend time nursing everybody back to health and investing all of that money. You just say, sorry, thank you. And if somebody wants to rehabilitate you elsewhere, they will, just like the Cubs have done. The Cubs have gone shopping on that market of Tommy John guys who get cut or rotator cuff guys who get cut. And they say, all right, well, we'll see if they can come back. We'll get something. There's a whole market there, there's a whole secondary market of rehabilitating injured pitchers and there always is because there's so many injured pitchers and that's a part of the market now. It is a part of major league baseball where instead of saying, well, when is he going to come back? The really good teams don't care because the next guy's ready. Dodgers, whoever might be. The Dodgers are always out of pitching. Yes, the Dodgers spent all the money on pitching and they're always out of it. Last year was. Was one of their better years, but it's. This is major League baseball now. And if Kate Horton needs another Tommy John because he's already had one, the odds of success go down. They're still not terrible. There's a 65% chance hell there. The Cubs starting pitcher today, Jameson Tyon, already said two Tommy John's. So it can happen. And we don't know that he needs Tommy John. But either way, I just want to say, if you are a fan, don't get trapped in the old feeling of going through the cycle and the rehab stints and the towel drill and everything you lived through. It's more likely that a team just like, sorry, Ben, we're not waiting around. We got other guys who can come in and throw hard. The problem with the Cubs is he was one of two guys who throw hard, not five. You need in your starting rotation and Andrew Bullpen, you need everybody to throw hard. And it seems worse for the Cubs because when you have one guy who throws 98 or two, you're like, oh, that's our good pitcher. You gotta have everybody throwing 98. Velocity can't be this little luxury. It's a necessity. It won't feel as bad when you're producing more guys who miss bats. So it's not a callous way of telling you get over it. It's just the reality of the modern game.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah. You know, it's interesting, Dan, because on Friday when it happened, I was. I'm disappointed that he's on the DL and don't know how long he's gonna be out for. Don't know what the diagnosis is right now, but I was more upset last year when Justin Steel went down. I know what Kate Horton did in the second half of the season last year. I know what his potential is. But that's all it is at this point. It's all potential. I know what Justin Steele can do for an entire season. That's why I was. I was more disappointed last year when he went down as a fan and I'm disappointed that Cade's down. But I was like, all right, yeah, he's. He's out. Like, who are. Who's taking a spot in the rotation? Like, when his spot comes up next, who's starting for him. Where are the Cubs going if they're nine games in now? So I don't feel as, I don't know as, as bad as I did last year with Steel going out or previous seasons. Yeah, it's unfortunate and I love to watch Kate Horton pitch and I think he has great potential, but he hasn't done much of anything yet for a Cub season. So.
Dan Bernstein
Correct. And metrically it's not a huge drop off because most of the projection systems understanding that, that history had him maxing out at like two wins this year. And you can eat that number purely metrically.
Jason Bernstein
Two wins for war. For war.
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah. Yeah. People are confused that like. Oh no, not.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, no, thank you. That's. That's a, that's an important clarification to be worth two wins.
Jason Bernstein
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
Over replacement and that should be replaceable. It shouldn't be enough to kill a season. If you could lose Justin Steele last year and win over 90 games and be a viable World Series contender, that you should feel the same way about this. Not to mention you hope Matt Shaw keeps hitting opposite field home runs because maybe that's the guy you can flip for deadline help and, and add that arm that you need when you're trying to chase a title this year. That's all on the other side of town. Congratulations to Ozzie Guillen for the. After the announcement that he will be getting his number 13 retired by the White Sox, how happy did that make you? It made me very happy. And you heard several weeks ago when we did our favorite baseball players, you were a little surprised to hear how high up the list Ozzy Guillain was. For me, because he's. That was, it was a big deal in 84 when they signed that little, that kid that looked like a kid and nobody thought he looked like a major league baseball player at the time. And then you watched him flash his glove and everything that he's. That he has done through his managerial World Series championship and how nicely he's settled in to distinguishing himself as a critic and a broadcaster. The fact that he's. He's totally bulletproof. He's able to say things about the White Sox that others can't. And he knows that to be true. And he uses that to inform the White Sox fan in ways that others don't. I think his name fits just right on this list of retired numbers. Outside of the league wide retirement of Jackie Robinson. In numerical order, the White Sox retired numbers will now be Nelly Fox, Harold Baines, Luke Appling, Minnie Minoso or Minoso Excuse me. Luis Aparicio Ozigi and Paul Canurco, Ted Lyons, Billy Pierce, Frank Thomas, Mark Burley and Carlton Fisk. I think it is absolutely appropriate and earned. And I hope it is a celebratory day befitting the spirit of Ozzy Guillen, which I always thought was positive and fun and made you feel good about baseball. He. Every at bat could be an adventure with him for good or for bad, but so could every ball that was hit anywhere near him, which usually was bad for the team. So I'm. I'm very, very happy. And you saw from his extremely genuine and emotional reaction that it means a great deal to him. And I think it should make it special for fans that this isn't just another thing. This is. This is something that's extremely important to him. It's not like he's got a shot at the, at the hall of Fame, but this is an appropriate career topping achievement for what he's done.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah. And it's just too bad as the White Sox manager, they never were able to win the big game. When win that World Series.
Dan Bernstein
Some. Sometime at some point, the baseball annals and archives will reflect that the Chicago White Sox. What makes me crazy is they not only won the World Series, they dominated the playoffs.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah. Their pitching was just stupid.
Dan Bernstein
They stupid wrecked shop in the playoff. They. They are an all time great playoff team. Yeah.
Jason Bernstein
They went 11 and one, Dan.
Dan Bernstein
Yes. They went 11 and they finished a World Series. They swept a World Series with four complete games.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Am I right?
Jason Bernstein
One of the greatest. It's.
Dan Bernstein
No, it wasn't four complete games because they. The. The one, the. The long one, the Jeff Blum homer wanted.
Jason Bernstein
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dan Bernstein
That had Mark Burley coming in later to get the save. But they had, they had starters in. Was in no particular order. It was Contreras, it was Garland, it was Freddy and who was the fourth one? I'm. I'm forgetting? Oh, yeah. And Bobby Jenks had the saves. They weren't complete games. But to have starters do what they did in those series is ridiculous. So Ozzy managed that. We had three different closers. Show me another World Series champ in the era of the established named closer. They could start with Shingo Takatsu, go through everything they did with Dustin Hermanson and finish up with Bobby Jenks. And they were moving guys all around, getting the performances they got from Cliff Police and Neil Kots and guys up and down that roster.
Jason Bernstein
You gotta say from Mark Burley in Game 3.
Dan Bernstein
Burley got the save. I remember. Congratulating.
Jason Bernstein
Him.
Dan Bernstein
The next morning I saw him in the hotel lobby. I'm like, is that Dennis? Dennis Ackersley? Oh, no, it's Mark Burley. Hey. And that's when he said he had taken his shoes off and had a beer and then they. Or two beers or whatever, they brought him back out to pitch.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah. It was interesting. Last week on the latest episode of from the 50, I interviewed Ed Tolzine, who is the general manager of our slammers baseball program. And he was a baseball player at Illinois State and he was in the angel system. Got drafted in by The Angels in 2001. Was actually played in Provo, Utah and was. Was road roommates with Bobby Jenks.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, cool.
Jason Bernstein
And talked a little bit about Bobby Jenks on the, on the podcast. And Bobby never liked going out. He liked going right back to his. His room, laying in bed with a giant pizza box and multiple cans of beer. And that was, that was his night. That was his way to unwind and relax. So pretty funny stuff there. But yeah, I mean, you're talking about 11 and one performance throughout a playoff run that was completely dominant and just, just incredible yet, you know.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, it was. Burley.
Jason Bernstein
Hardly recognized by espn.
Dan Bernstein
Burley, Contreras, Garcia, Garland, and the stuff that El Duque did. There was, there was so much magic that season and, and Ozzy was the guy in the middle of it. So well deserved. Good job White Sox in taking care of somebody. And is it, look, is it a publicity thing that gets you some goodwill among everything else? Of course it is. And all of these, these jersey retirements are. But it is, it can also be true that it is deserved.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah, it certainly is a very feel good story. Well deserved for Ozzy. And you know, based on your perspective, you can look at one team being four and five, the other being four and five and one looks really good and one looks terrible.
Dan Bernstein
So gee, yeah, I wonder which is which, right? Smokey the Bear.
Jason Bernstein
Then you know why Smokey tells you
Dan Bernstein
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And you don't want to deal with some nameless, faceless giant window company when Russ is right here and you can just call him and he can make sure that you're getting the best deal and tell him what you heard. Tell him if other people have been in your house and other people have said, here's what we could do, just give Russ all the information and he will make sure he matches any price and offer you the best product with the best price. His number is 847-302-9171. His five star reviews are available at ChicagoNowguys.com and the same people that installed my windows are going to install yours because they work for Russ. When you're talking to these other companies, ask them who's installing my windows. They're not going to know because they use subcontracted labor. They'll pick up somebody for that day or they'll have crews that rotate in and out. Russ doesn't. Russ has his own crew, so it'll make you feel good knowing the people spending all that time in and around your house work directly for Russ. So he is going to explain the quality of the windows. And I'll be honest, I didn't really understand what he was talking about because to me, I just said, russ, whatever we need to do to get good windows in the house, handle it. He's like, well, this one opens this way and this is made of this and this is made of that. And I said, I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about windows. I trust you and it's been great. The windows are fabulous and they are so much better than what the builder put in there. You'll have the same experience with Russ Armstrong. 847-302-91715 star reviews@chicagowindowguys.com the Bulls have major issues going into the end of their season and we're going to get to some of these possibilities or problem probabilities that are beginning to surface about major changes. But there's something more urgent and I don't want to lose sight of this. Video surfaced over the weekend of former bull Jaden Ivy, who had been released by the team for conduct detrimental to the team. Video surfaced of him at what's believed to be Toomer's Corner in Auburn, Alabama, of Jaden Ivy street preaching. And last week we posted a video from this show where I was comparing the Jaden Ivy quotes that had already existed and the stories of what was going on behind the scenes that caused his release. And I compared that to, I think I said something like, this is the kind of stuff you hear from somebody preaching on a street corner. And then indeed there are videos that have surfaced that have been reported on now by several outlets apparently confirming that it is Jaden Ivy on the street standing in front of signs that say Repent and be saved, almost cartoonishly on the nose, literally on the street, holding a microphone connected to a little amplifier, preaching the apocalyptic messages that he had been about who's going to hell and who's not going to hell. He needs help. He needs help. There was a piece written by Parker Malloy that summed everything up brilliantly over the weekend that there are innumerous bad faith religious grifters who are trying to make Jaden Ivy a cause celeb who do not care about his well being. And anybody close to Jaden Ivy who cares about him is flashing these warning signs that he's having some kind of break, some kind of event or episode that requires intervention. And Josh Giddey repeatedly said, I hope he gets the help he needs. His own wife has said things recently that he needs or he says things to get attention. People close to him are saying he needs help. The Bulls and the NBA, maybe the Pistons too, have a responsibility here. If indeed he is standing on a street corner in Alabama, there should be some kind of intervention going on. There should be calls being made as we speak to his family. He has children. He has a wife. I want to make sure everyone involved in his life is okay. I want to make sure that he is okay. As he is apparently spiraling. If he is standing on the street at night preaching and arguing with people about whether they're going to hell, there must be some kind of intervention before he is in a danger to himself or anyone else around him. And this isn't about suppression of free speech, which is certainly not. He has more free speech than he needs right now. This isn't a constitutional issue. This isn't even a religious freedom issue. This appears to be a personal issue and possibly a diagnosable and serious mental, mental health issue that needs care and intervention. And it needs more people who actually care about Jaden Ivy than using his mental health issue for their own social media clout. Right on And I'm worried. I'm worried about him. And I hope that he gets this help that he needs. I really do, because I just hope there's nobody in danger. Things. And I kept thinking that a case like this may not end well. So whatever's going on elsewhere with the Bulls, Adam Silver, Michael Reinsdorf, and maybe people on the Pistons should be trying to find him and help him. This is the last question that I have because it's part of my concern. We've heard a lot about. His mom has been in the news. Neil Ivy is the head coach of the Notre Dame women's basketball team. She's been in the news relatively recently. This is her only child. If it were my only child, I just know what I would be dropping. Everything. Everything in my life would be dropped. If I got a phone call or I saw a video of my child ranting incoherently on a street corner, I wouldn't be here right now talking to you. I wouldn't be doing anything. I would be on a plane in a car immediately going to help my child,
Jason Bernstein
to
Dan Bernstein
hug my child and say, we're going to make sure you're okay, that all I would care about in my life is helping my child. If somebody said that one of my two kids or anybody close to, you know, my wife or somebody was standing on a street corner ranting incoherently to nobody in particular, that is an indication this is an emergency. So I hope, I hope, I hope while I'm saying this, and I hope that the moment we're done recording, I can look at the news and I can see that his mother went and picked him up off the street and got him somewhere where he could be helped. That's my hope. Meanwhile, the Bulls are in a situation where everything else might be coming to a head. And as we heard from Julia Poe of the Tribune, if you listen to last week's OWC and I know that there were a lot of, a lot of you checked that out because she was great. And one of her beliefs is that because the ownership level acted swiftly and is terribly embarrassed by what happened and what is happening with Jaden Ivy and were put in that position by a front office that did not vet him properly and wasn't aware of this developing issue with his mentality and this behavioral issue that had started to intensify since his 2024 backyard swimming pool baptism, that the behavior became more erratic. The Pistons knew about it. It apparently didn't bother the Bulls. They brought him in and the reverberations of this and other trade deadline issues and the abject failure of this front office, coupled with the possibility that Billy Donovan may indeed be frustrated by what's happening has created speculation that the end of the Bull season could bring massive change. Joe Cowley of the Sun Times has has had all kind. He's even talking about names that could replace him, talking about Bob Myers at Golden, the former executive, Mike Dunleavy, the current Golden State executive I'm not quite there yet with or the imminent departure of Billy Donovan. And included in this the possibility that Billy Donovan could be in charge of the organization and select his own personnel people or pull a Brad Stevens and boot himself upward and be up there if he doesn't want to coach anymore. This is all just kind of blasted out there over the last few days and I'm not sure honestly what to make of this yet. I haven't. I'm, I'm going to investigate further and find out what's real and what's speculation. But it is tantalizing. It is exciting to think that the Bulls may finally have ownership, deciding that this isn't good enough. There have just been too many mistakes. There have been too many mistakes that might be fireable for others. And not to mention this group's very first top five pick sucks. And that's Patrick Williams. And they gave him every chance and every chance and every chance I did too. But that's done that. That's over. And the fact that he has been outplayed by a trade throw in in Leonard Miller who just came in and just decided to play run the floor and jump up and down and, and, and shoot the ball and do things on a basketball court because he can and because you get, you can just play hard. And he's shown Patrick Williams how to do that and there hasn't been any response. There hasn't been any uptick in Williams's play despite getting every opportunity in a tank season is frightening and we will see where this goes. We're going to stay on it. Well, I'm certainly going to feel we'll have more to do to go in deep on OWC on Wednesday and in here on DBU tracking everything that is going on with the the reeling Chicago Bulls right now.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah, OWC is our Bulls podcast here on 312 sports organizations win championships with Dan Bernstein, his son Jason Bernstein and new episodes release every Wednesday here on 312Sports. I saw this note on Twitter, Dan for the NBA and I thought you might like this.
Dan Bernstein
You called it Twitter instead of Twatter. What happened?
Jason Bernstein
Oh, did I say Twitter?
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, you did.
Jason Bernstein
Shoot, it's Twatter. My bad.
Dan Bernstein
Okay. Okay. There you go. Thank you.
Jason Bernstein
Thank you for correcting me on that. Yes, it is. Yeah, it's called Twatter. So There have been two days in NBA history, so spanning over 80 years where at least nine games were played with an average margin of victory being at least 24 points. So it happened twice in the last week. It happened on Friday and then it happened Sunday before that. So March 29 and then April 3, at least nine games with the average margin of victory being at least 24 points.
Dan Bernstein
And that will be Adam Silver in these emergency meetings that they are holding. And let's be very clear, this anti tanking effort is on a fast track. They're not waiting around doing blue ribbon studies and waiting for people to hand in their essays. This is, the anti tanking stuff is going and it may not. They're going to, they're going to implement something that may not necessarily work. But this is not wait and see, collect more data, larger sample size. They're acting on this and they feel that this is a, if not a crisis, it is a, a, an urgent action item for them to solve. So I saw that and I just thought that there is, there is reason to think that they are going to be doubling down on some of these efforts to cut down now with that last night's NBA game. Man, if you didn't watch this, this beat up Lakers team taking on Cooper flag, I think he's rookie of the year. I think after he puts up a 50 burger and follows that with a 45 and then you watch LeBron James going for what like 30 and 12 and nine. Yeah. Where it's the first time ever in an NBA game a teenager and a 40 year old or more have each scored 20 points and they did it in the first half. That read that all time NBA mark was broken last night in the first half. Flag had 22. Just over a quarter. LeBron without, you know, Luca is out. Luca's got a hamstring issue and he's just gotten special permission to go back somewhere in Europe to get a treatment for his hamstring that is maybe not is certified, not allowed, not sanctioned here that he's going to go over there and do it. The team has said okay. And that's what he wants. It's his body. He's going to get that treatment. He's going to come back. Austin Reeves now has an oblique issue and a 41 year old LeBron James, he's 41, said you guys. And they were down 20 early. And that man who, he can't jump like he used to, but he can occasionally and he knows when he wants to. That was unbelievable what he, what he was doing. And watching Cooper flag at 19 years old retake the lead in the rookie of the year race over his former college teammate, Con Canipple.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah, I was just going to say that on my bookie, AG Dan. He's, he's flipped it now. So Cooper flag is a minus 200. Con Knipple is a plus 150.
Dan Bernstein
There is nobody in this year's draft as good as Cooper Flag. There may not be anybody in the next three drafts that's as good as Cooper Flag. If there is, I haven't seen that person yet. I'm a huge AJ debona fan. But, but all of that talk about I was Cooper Flag really this good? Hell yes, he is. You just wait because the, the last rookie, I think he's the first one since Walt Disney Bellamy to have back to back 45 plus games. And it was, it goes back to Allen Iverson for a rookie to have, I think he had four consecutive 40 point games. I don't put it past Cooper Flag right here. Doing it during April. You know, March and April are NBA. Weird times and odd things happen. But there was a lot of NBA history being talked about. Watching that young man run up and down the floor and the ease with which he plays that hard. He plays that hard without looking like he's playing that hard because that, that's a very, very special player. Also, man, if you had told me that Jamal Crawford was going to be sitting next to Mike Tirico was. He was going to be at least for a night. I know it's not the usual number one team that Reggie Miller's usually got that. But he was fantastic. That Jamal Crawford, I had no idea that he had it in him to, to do the games in the way that he does them. To be as forthright as he is with some of the criticism. I loved some of the insider analysis that he was given talking about when LeBron James was mad at Rui Hachimura for like a bad shot or a bad catch or not knowing where he was supposed to be and then still went right back to him and kept feeding him the ball. And Crawford pointed out how selfless that is and what it says about a leader, like he's not going to hold a grudge, he's not going to freeze A guy out, he's not going to say, well, I'm not going to give you the ball because you, you haven't earned my trust or you lost my trust that LeBron has always been about making the correct basketball play, no matter what. Sometimes the correct basketball play is. LeBron does everything he can do to score and other times it's not. But, but regardless of his age, at any point in his career, he's always been beholden to making the correct basketball play. And it is. The numbers are staggering. If you need to put on the LeBron James glazing music, go ahead and do it. And I do so unapologetically. But that is a 41 year old man out there and you saw what he was doing in a game where there's a 19 year old on the other side. And we saw LeBron when he was 18 and 19. We saw that and now we're seeing this. Just appreciate him, man. And if you don't, and if something prevents you From Appreciate appreciating LeBron James, you got a problem, you got a sports problem.
Jason Bernstein
I, I appreciate, I appreciate LeBron. Does he. Is it normal that he doesn't run back on defense or is that just happened a couple times a game?
Dan Bernstein
It happens a couple times a game
Jason Bernstein
where he just stands there in the offensive side and just stands under the basket.
Dan Bernstein
Depending, depending on the matchups, there are a couple times where he's.
Jason Bernstein
Because he doesn't move at all.
Dan Bernstein
Okay. He doesn't play minutes like that because
Jason Bernstein
he appreciate that about him. He is smart.
Dan Bernstein
Well, he is a. To see somebody doing what he's doing at his age is, it's, it's just never been done. There's, there's no precedent for it. No one has ever been able to play his game at this stage before. No one has gone out of his way to take care of himself like he's taken care of himself to be able to do this. And for him to have been thinking about this when he was in his twenties and thinking about this in his, in his thirties and into his late thirties to understand that this is how long he wanted to play this might. This probably it. My guess is this is it. And that's why I'm making sure that I can, I can appreciate the, you know, every last minute that I get to see. Last night was really special and it's, it's going to be a long time. But the fact that he's playing right now at the same time Shohei Ohtani is playing, that we're seeing two of the best, I mean, certainly the best ever at one sport and one who may, when he's done, be considered the best ever at his sport. That, that is something to, to, to always make sure that one is aware of because those opportunities don't come along in everybody's lifetime for one, let alone for two. Now, thank you, thank you, thank you for sending me the following story. To everyone who sent me the following story. And there were, there were many of you. When a government official in, in a significant role in a government agency is a, is a major loon, sometimes it's just fun. And this may be one of those cases where I just have to make sure that, like I say that I'm enjoying this as much as possible. But if you haven't met Greg Phillips yet, Greg Phillips leads a government office of about 1,000 employees. He's a top ranking official at FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Jason Bernstein
That's a thousand two money for this
Dan Bernstein
guy to be in charge of. Just. Yeah, he's, he is the head of FEMA's Office of Response and Recovery. They've got a budget of $300 million. It is central to FEMA's job of responding to disasters, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires. And it's not surprising that he was known before his appointment. And this is according to a wonderfully dryly drolly written New York Times Sunday article refer refers to him. It says Mr. Phillips was known at the time he was appointed as a proponent of election fraud conspiracy theories, some of which have been amplified. He's more than that. It says things got stickier for Mr. Phillips last month with an investigative report by CNN that detailed how on podcasts and social media he had propagated other conspiracy theories. He had used violent rhetoric in discussing other political figures. And he recounted how on two occasions he had found himself being moved by forces beyond his control dozens of miles from two different starting points in Georgia. He believes he, Greg Phillips has been teleported. He said this is his quote. Teleporting is no fun. He said on the podcast Onward because he claims that he was teleported to a Waffle House, but not just any Waffle House. He teleported to Rome, Georgia, that he was he teleported to the Waffle House. There's three Waffle Houses in Rome, Georgia. And the New York Times went to all three of them because Rome is a city of 39,000 people northwest of Atlanta. They said among two dozen workers and regulars interviewed last week at Rome, Georgia's three Waffle House locations, none said they were aware of anyone Traveling to the 24 hour restaurants by paranormal means, despite their reputation as magnets for the sort of idiosyncratic characters who surf the psychic fringes of the South.
Jason Bernstein
So
Dan Bernstein
Phillips wrote on social media that the incident took place while he was heavily medicated as part of a cancer treatment. And he described it as a miracle performed by God. And he lies here because he said the word teleportation was not mine. But that's not true. His words on the podcast we have this on recorded, he said teleporting is no fun, he said. Later he goes the word was used by someone else in the conversation. The more accurate biblical terms are translated or transported. And he said these are not new ideas for people of faith. Oh, okay, cool. I didn't know this, they said. But no one at any of the three Waffle Houses recognized his picture. In a phone interview on Thursday, Sidney Perkowitz, emeritus professor of physics at Emory University that's in Atlanta, said that pulling off the teleportation of an entire human being would be a neat trick. He said the amount of information you need to reproduce something as complicated as a body is so immense that I don't think there's a number that can express it. Expressing what you need about every atom, every electron is just off the charts as far as the data goes. FEMA's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. So Mr. Phillips's claims are part of a growing trend among high profile American conservatives to assert the physical presence of beings from the spiritual realm. And they talk about Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, saying he was mauled by a demon in his sleep. And that former Representative Matt Gaetz at an army official told him about hybrid breeding programs where captured aliens were breeding with humans to create a hybrid race that could engage in intergalactic communication. Representative Tim Burkett, a Republican from Tennessee, told Newsmax Wednesday he'd been briefed by government officials about aliens, adding the country would have come unglued if they heard all that I heard. So they continue to ask people about whether or not they had seen Greg Phillips teleport into a Waffle House. But they did add The Austin Spears, 29, a land surveyor found Mr. Phillips's story to be dubious, but he acknowledged that all human lives are studied, are studded with little mysteries. He said, I can say I've been drunk and ended up at a Waffle House. I don't know how I got there, but I was there. So let's say Greg Phillips can in fact, teleport, but he can only teleport into a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia. It doesn't say how he got out of the Waffle House, whether he got out by normal means or paranormal means. If he left, like, in a car or somebody took him home or he had to teleport out, we don't know. But if your power was only the ability to teleport into a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia, how often would you invoke it? Like, sometimes you just get annoyed and they say, well, go to your happy place. But first of all, I gotta know how I'm getting home. Because if I'm just annoyed or I'm bored, or you're sitting in, like, a workplace mandatory meet HR thing, or you're. You're out with your significant other, and your significant other is shopping for candles or linens. You're kind of, you know what? Fuck it, I'm going to Rome, Georgia. And you can just go there. Poof. And you disappear and you. And then it's like, oh, hash browns. Okay. Like, how often you. You gotta really want Waffle House. Even if it's a good Waffle House, you gotta really crave it. You gotta really want it. And just. It's one thing to know you're going out close to home and trying to figure out, am I walking home? Am I ubering home? Did I drive? You know, that, that whole thing. It's another thing if you know you're gonna be in Rome, Georgia.
Jason Bernstein
Well, if I'm guaranteed to teleport back from Rome, Georgia, I'm doing this at least once a week.
Dan Bernstein
I think that's what I would think if I could teleport right back. Once a week is probably about right.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah, I could. I could go for a Waffle House meal once a week. I would teleport there. Teleport back. No one's any the wiser. I would do that. Yeah, I think. I think once a week is very fair.
Dan Bernstein
Also. I wouldn't wiser. You're going to disappear from wherever you are.
Jason Bernstein
Well, not necessarily. Because, like, I mean, what if. If you can do it and you're. And you're back in a half hour. I mean, I can spend a half hour down here in the basement. My wife would never know if I was in the house or. Or not.
Dan Bernstein
Or. What I was wondering is, does your present time. And somebody who knows the. The quantum possibilities of this, would you? Maybe you never disappear from your present time. Maybe that's. Maybe it's instantaneous. That you could go spend, you know, an hour and 20 minutes sitting at the Waffle House, sipping coffee and nibbling and reading a paper and then zap back and you never left.
Jason Bernstein
I would do that. Yeah, I would do that.
Dan Bernstein
That's great. That's great.
Jason Bernstein
I also. I also wouldn't. If I were you, I wouldn't diss any mandatory HR meetings.
Dan Bernstein
But that's just me, so I'm allowed to say that they're not exactly at the top of our list for something we want to do every day at work. I'm not. It's nothing. I criticize hr, though. Well, you can't. But I definitely believe in the importance of hr and the importance of those meetings doesn't mean I enjoy them. It was the first thing that came to mind. I apologize for not using a more neutral example. Say, like, sales meeting particular to your household.
Jason Bernstein
Say sales meeting.
Dan Bernstein
I like sales meetings. I'm into it. You know, I'm spreading the gospel in those.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah, but, like, if. Even. Even if. Even if time doesn't stand still and the amount of time that I'm there at the Waffle House is what passes here in the house, I would still do it once a week. As long as you guarantee that I teleport back.
Dan Bernstein
Also, like, if I get there and
Jason Bernstein
then it's like, well, how you getting home? I'm not interested in that. I wouldn't use it.
Dan Bernstein
The other issue to me is a guarantee that I'm not going to teleport, like, onto someone's lap or sitting in someone's waffle. Like, how do you plan it to know that you're going to be in a booth or at the counter?
Jason Bernstein
I would just assume that there's. There's. You're. You're coming into a safe space that you're not landing on someone or in their food or in the kitchen or on the griddle.
Dan Bernstein
Right. That would suck. Ow. That's hot. You know, I just.
Jason Bernstein
In the ladies room. And then you get arrested.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, right, right. Or locked in the cooler or something or whatever it is. I want to. If I'm going to teleport to a Waffle House, get me there safely and. And get me in a seat. And do you think, like, the manager would be like, oh, hey, hey, Greg. Greg's here. Where's he from? Washington. He just shows up.
Jason Bernstein
So here, let's. Let's bring this full circle. Let's close this loop off so you tell the story. He's the head of fema. Response has about a thousand people under his command has a budget of 300 million. So give me your assessment, your opinion, your evaluation as a US Citizen. Taxes go towards the government and whatnot?
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Jason Bernstein
Do you feel comfortable with this man in charge of a federal agency responding to emergencies with a $300 million budget?
Dan Bernstein
No.
Jason Bernstein
Okay.
Dan Bernstein
But there's nothing I can do about it.
Jason Bernstein
Oh, no. I just wanted to ask. I wanted to just close that circle and. Yep. Okay. I want to know if the point of it was because I felt uncomfortable and I wanted to see where you stood on it.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, no. We've clearly put a lunatic in this position. The best part is his pushback isn't that it actually happened. His pushback is what it was called. I didn't say teleporting. This is translated or transported. But he did say teleporting. And he said it's.
Jason Bernstein
He did say teleporting, but then when he tried to correct that, he said transporting or whatever. He said Bible as well.
Dan Bernstein
No, he said not new ideas for people of faith. Okay. I. I didn't know this was part
Jason Bernstein
of the liturgy, but it's new to me, too, Dan, so.
Dan Bernstein
Well, I mean, you know more than I do, but why would it be no fun? He didn't explain why it's no fun.
Jason Bernstein
That's what that was. My next question. Why is it no fun?
Dan Bernstein
Is it.
Jason Bernstein
Is it. Is it rough?
Dan Bernstein
Does it. Are you going like
Jason Bernstein
you feel like you're falling?
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, like, I. Maybe it's there. Maybe there's like, the. Is it like Stephen King's short story, the jaunt? Where to other people, it's instantaneous, but you age hundreds of years and die when you arrive. I don't know, because he apparently did it safely. I want to know what he ordered. Maybe teleporting builds a big appetite. Maybe you're just super hungry. What did you order? When you show up, you're in a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia, and you don't know. Do you, like, if you. Has she brought water yet? Have you been greeted or was somebody else. What if you're walking in and you're like, oh, open booth. Let's grab it. And as you're walking to the booth and you're sliding in, and then this dude just appears there. Oh, yeah, there he is. Like, who are you? It's this guy. Yeah.
Jason Bernstein
There's lots of questions that he needs to answer for us. Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Most importantly, what did you order?
Jason Bernstein
We'll put them on the guest list.
Dan Bernstein
And why is teleporting no fun? I think it'd be awesome.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
And I would. Even if I didn't feel like I was falling, I would feel obligated to
Jason Bernstein
go
Dan Bernstein
as if I were. I just.
Jason Bernstein
I'd be very curious to know how it works. So we'll get him on and we'll. We'll talk through all these questions.
Dan Bernstein
Thank you. Thank you. Put that call in forthwith. I would appreciate it. March Madness has delivered and we got one more game for it to keep delivering tonight. Upsets, blowouts and buzzer beaters. Almost all the brackets are busted, but you're still in. Your bankroll is in and can grow because you got live betting on the finals tonight. You don't need to be perfect. You just need the right read at the right time. If you're going to be in it, be in it to win it. Not to mention you always got that full slate of baseball games. You got NBA weird time and you can make a lot of money in NBA weird time. This pre playoff time, we were just giving you some numbers there that might be actionable when it comes to some of the tanking that's going on. However you want to find these market inefficiencies, do it at my bookie by heading to MyBookie AG. Use the promo code DBU and get that first bet covered up to 500 bucks. If it misses, you can activate your bet back bonus token and you can run it back. See how easy that is? And it's up to $500. Why wouldn't you do this? MyBookie AG? The promo code D be you don't just watch the tournament. Don't just watch games. Go big win from these games only at my bookie. My bookie presents DBU picks and my pick tonight. I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm going to. I'm taking Connecticut and the seven points.
Jason Bernstein
Wow.
Dan Bernstein
It's too many points for a game with a lot of variance. A single college basketball game where, as we saw from Illinois, sometimes a team just has a bad night and seven might just be enough for me to think that the UConn defense can keep hanging in there and the officials have been letting them play. I don't think they're going to decide this with fouls. Yoxel Lindeborg, if they're telling the truth that he has a sprained ankle and a sprained mcl, I don't know what can be expected from him other than a Willis Reed type performance that we got in the last game. And I loved that call by Ian Eagle. After there were consecutive threes and he called it a double yaxle and he was very proud of that. He delivered it preciously. He knew it was cute. I think he'd been waiting on it and waiting to use it. But i7's a lot and that was, that was just sort of an immediate trigger for me to take a team that's, that has proven it knows this stage, that it can keep it tight. But I still think Michigan's going to win.
Jason Bernstein
Yeah, I agree with you on, on Michigan winning. And I'm also, I'm going to take the, I'm going to take Michigan and minus seven. So I'm going to lay the points. You'll take the points. I'll lay the points in Michigan. I went three and one over the weekend, Dan, so nice little bounce back. And I have a few other NBA games I'm playing today too, so.
Dan Bernstein
We both hit that Bulls call, by the way.
Jason Bernstein
We sure did. Was, yeah, that was part of my, my, my winning weekend. But Michigan -7 and the NBA side of things, I'm gonna take Cleveland -13 and a half playing a Memphis, the Spurs -7 and a half hosting the 76ers and Denver -8 and a half hosting Portland. So we'll go Michigan -7, Cleveland -13 and a half, Spurs -7 and a half and Denver -8 and a half. For my pickswith mybookie AG.
Dan Bernstein
There it is. DBU picks brought to you by my bookie. Lock in your picks now with my bookie Bet on anything, anywhere, anytime. That's DBU for Monday. He's a Bata Cola. I'm Bernstein. Thanks to Chicago Window guys and we have been brought to you in partnership with my bookie Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312 Sports Foreign.
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Dan Bernstein Unfiltered — April 6, 2026
"The Game Moves On: Cade Horton Injury, Illini Woes, and Unfiltered Reality"
Episode Overview
Dan Bernstein, joined by co-host Jason Bernstein, delivers his signature no-holds-barred Chicago sports analysis on everything from Illinois’ Final Four exit and the lasting sting of college basketball heartbreak, to the realities of MLB pitching injuries and unfiltered commentary on NBA tanking, teleported bureaucrats, and mental health crises around the Bulls. The show swings from hard sports breakdowns to moments of raw candor and irreverent humor, ultimately delivering the honest, context-rich Chicago sports talk listeners expect.
[00:33–08:45]
Not About Brad Underwood’s Coaching:
Dan immediately sets the record straight — Illinois’ Final Four loss to UConn wasn’t due to tactical deficiencies. "If you want to nitpick at the job Brad Underwood did, you can, it wasn’t perfect, but... that's not why Illinois lost." [00:33]
Minor Coaching Critiques:
Jason argues Underwood could’ve done more when shots weren’t falling — more ball and body movement, further isolation of mismatches, and attacking UConn’s big when in foul trouble.
Roster Turnover & Future Outlook:
Dan laments that today’s college game means Illinois won’t get a mulligan with this group. “What's unfortunate is now the pieces of this special season are all going to scatter to the winds...” [05:42]
Pivotal Moments:
Jason relives the “gut-punch” rebound and three that sealed the loss. “When he got that rebound, I literally deflated. ... That was the chance right there.” [08:00]
[08:45–12:24]
[15:01–20:47]
A New Baseball Reality:
Dan delivers a bracing analysis of modern pitching: draft, develop, use, and move on from hard-throwers due to inevitable injuries.
On the Fans’ Feelings:
Jason confesses he feels less impact over Horton than previous major Cubs injuries: “I was more upset last year when Justin Steele went down. ... Cade's potential—but he hasn't done much for a Cub season so." [19:21]
Replacing Production:
Dan points out the projections only had Horton worth two wins above replacement (WAR), making it a surmountable loss. “It shouldn’t be enough to kill a season.” [20:47]
[20:47–27:10]
[27:10–39:50]
Jaden Ivey’s Public Crisis:
Dan addresses viral video of former Bull Jaden Ivey street-preaching in Alabama, echoing prior on-air concerns over his mental health.
Ripple Effects for Bulls' Leadership:
The organization’s failure to vet Ivey and broader trade deadline blunders have stoked speculation of sweeping changes, possibly including Billy Donovan’s exit or executive reconfiguration.
[39:50–46:23]
NBA Blowout Epidemic & Anti-Tanking Agendas:
Jason notes eye-popping blowout statistics: two nights in a week with nine games averaging 24+ point margins. [40:12]
Cooper Flagg Hype:
The Rooks shine as talented forwards jump into Rookie of the Year discussions.
LeBron’s Longevity:
The pair marvel at LeBron’s continued dominance at age 41, especially in contrast with teen star Flagg.
[46:23–61:34]
[61:53–65:16]
On the inevitability of pitcher injuries:
“This is what happens: the guys come up and they throw and you get what you can and they get hurt and then you move on.” — Dan [15:30]
On Illinois fans:
“Some of the best performers in the entire season for Illinois have been the fans. Their crowds have been spectacular all year.” — Dan [01:46]
On Jaden Ivey:
“He needs help. There was a piece written by Parker Malloy that summed everything up brilliantly...There are innumerous bad faith religious grifters ... who do not care about his well being.” — Dan [33:06]
On NBA tanking:
“This anti-tanking effort is on a fast track. They’re not doing blue ribbon studies ... this is, if not a crisis, it is an urgent action item.” — Dan [41:00]
On Greg Phillips and teleportation:
“No, we've clearly put a lunatic in this position. The best part is his pushback isn't that it actually happened. His pushback is what it was called.” — Dan [59:42]
“If I'm going to teleport to a Waffle House, get me there safely and get me in a seat.” — Dan [58:11]
Tone & Approach:
For Listeners:
This episode captures Chicago sports at a crossroads: big dreams ending, rosters re-setting, a shifting understanding of how teams handle talent, and unsettling off-court headlines. If you missed it, Dan and Jason’s blend of insight, urgency, and irreverent humor will get you up to speed — and probably make you laugh, wince, or shake your head in equal measure.