Why Colson Montgomery Matters More Than Murakami

Summary

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered

Episode: Why Colson Montgomery Matters More Than Murakami
Host: Dan Bernstein with Matt Abbatacola
Date: May 4, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the current state of Chicago sports, with a particular focus on the Chicago Bulls’ front office and coaching search and a robust discussion on why Colson Montgomery’s emergence is a bigger deal for the White Sox than Murakami’s headline-grabbing homers. As always, Dan and Matt cover the significance of smart management, emerging local talent, NBA playoff mayhem, and the quirks of youth sports—all with the unfiltered candor that defines their show.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Chicago Bulls Front Office and Coaching Search (00:41–13:23)

• Matt Lloyd as Front Runner: Dan shares that Matt Lloyd is very likely to be announced as the new Bulls head of basketball operations, highlighting Lloyd’s background, skills, and the importance of blending scouting acumen with analytics.
  • “What I loved is in the last graph of the Joe Cowley article in the Sun Times mentioning that it's possible that Michael Reinsdorf may do exactly what you heard me suggest here... hire a couple of them with a clear structure in place.” (04:20, Dan)
• Balanced Front Office: Suggests if Lloyd, who leans scouting, is hired, the Bulls should complement him with an analytics-heavy executive for intellectual balance.
• Micah Nori as Likely Coach: Dan describes why Timberwolves lead assistant Micah Nori is a probable pick for Bulls head coach, praising his offensive philosophy and creative approach.
  • “Nori is a really bright, creative basketball mind who... wants his players to think for themselves.” (07:40, Dan)
• Front Office Comparisons: The hosts push back against narratives lumping Lloyd in with Reinsdorf-family favoritism, arguing Lloyd made his name away from Chicago (Timberwolves GM).
  • “He left and did his own thing... created some analytical database that all teams use now or something.” (29:09, Matt)
• John Paxson’s Role: Dan and Matt consider how Lloyd’s mentor, John Paxson, might influence or recede from team affairs.
• Bulls Roster Questions: Briefly discusses how decisions on key young players (e.g., Josh Giddey, Modestas Buzėlis) and the need for rim protection may shape the next era.

2. Around the NBA and Playoff Notes (13:23–26:45)

• Billy Donovan Speculation: Touches on Billy Donovan’s fit with the Magic amid their front office shakeup.
• Jared Allen’s Dominance: Dan applauds Allen’s critical third quarter in a Game 7 and muses on unattractive Cavs’ home aesthetics.
• General Playoff Vibes: Quick hits on ugly games, NBA refereeing (Max Strus’s flagrant), and the importance of rim protection in modern build strategy.
  • “Watching Jared Allen and all these other teams have actual rim protection... will we finally, finally have someone who can guard the rim?” (22:00, Dan)

3. Chicago White Sox: Why Colson Montgomery Matters Most (34:09–44:13)

• Montgomery vs. Murakami: Bernstein argues that, despite Murakami’s monster home run totals, Colson Montgomery’s ascendance at shortstop is more important to the long-term future of the franchise.
  • “What matters more is that Colson Montgomery has continued to do what he did in the second half of last year. Star shortstops do not come and go.” (37:30, Dan)
• White Sox Youth Movement: Praise for Noah Schultz and improving starting pitching. Play is worth following, even if TV presentation is lacking.
• Projections & Playoff Probabilities: Matt and Dan compare Baseball Reference, FanGraphs, and Baseball Prospectus playoff odds—with the consensus being that the White Sox’s chance at postseason is slim (1.7%–22%).
  • “The projections systems... Only in 2.6% of those scenarios do the White Sox find a playoff spot.” (41:31, Dan)
• Third Order Record: Explains advanced standings metrics and what they reveal about the club’s luck and performance.

4. Youth Sports: Umpires Gone Wild (55:44–63:36)

• Wild Youth Baseball Story: Matt narrates a surreal sequence at his sons’ baseball tournaments, featuring:
  • An umpire ejecting coaches for minor grumbling
  • The same ump later being escorted off the premises by police after arguing, making inappropriate remarks to parents, and checking a child’s cup by demonstration (!)
• Dan’s Response: Expresses concern at adults ruining youth sports and the need for thick-skinned, responsible umpires.
  • “Youth sports, man, it’s ruined by adults.” (63:02, Matt)
• The anecdote concludes with both lamenting the scarcity of good officials and joking about whether Dan has encountered this umpire before.

5. Lighter, Off-Topic Moments

• Devil Wears Prada 2: Dan debates seeing it and shares listener feedback about why it’s “empty calories fun,” with Matt ribbing him for hesitating.
• Inside Jokes: Amusing banter about iconic KISS songs, “emergency wiener counseling,” and the viral “Gone Fishing” NBA graphic lampooning the Mike Vrabel–Diana Russini rumor.
• Giveaways: Announcements of concert and dinner winners (Weezer, Giordano’s, Wu-Tang Clan).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Bulls’ New Braintrust:

  “If you can get someone who’s more of an analytically minded scouting side guy...then another person who’s more toward the other side...a balanced set of brains there in the front office, I’m cool with that.”
  Dan (03:45)

• On Micah Nori’s Appeal:

  “Nori is a really bright, creative basketball mind who has a balance between offense and defense...He wants his players to think for themselves.”
  Dan (07:40)

• On Lloyd’s Qualifications:

  “Yeah, John Paxton gave him the start, but he left and did his own thing and walked away and created his own path without John Paxton.”
  Matt (29:09)

• On White Sox Prospects:

  “Star shortstops do not [come and go]. It matters way more that Colson Montgomery already is a 1.4 fWAR player, way more than a slugging three-true outcome first baseman.”
  Dan (37:30)

• On Montgomery’s Real Value:

  “Colson Montgomery is a 24-year-old burgeoning star shortstop. That’s a bigger deal than a slugging three-true-outcome first baseman. Those guys come and go. Star shortstops do not.”
  Dan (37:35)

• On Umpiring Debacles:

  “Youth sports, man, it's ruined by adults. I mean, just absolutely ruined by adults.”
  Matt (63:02)

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Timestamps for Critical Segments

• Bulls front office search & Matt Lloyd background: 00:41–11:24
• Coaching talk (Micah Nori): 07:00–13:23
• NBA playoff discussion, Jared Allen segment: 19:07–22:01
• White Sox segment (Montgomery/Murakami focus): 34:09–44:13
• White Sox playoff odds: 41:21–44:13
• Youth baseball umpire saga: 55:44–63:36

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Tone & Style

True to form, the dialogue is sharp, spirited, and laden with wry humor, inside-baseball references, and candid opinions meant for a knowledgeable, passionate Chicago sports audience. Both hosts mix detailed analysis with banter, inside jokes, and the occasional callback to the city’s storied sports past and radio traditions.

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This episode of Dan Bernstein Unfiltered offers a comprehensive, opinionated take on what’s next for the Bulls, why Colson Montgomery—not Murakami—should be the real focus for White Sox fans, and serves it all up with the irreverence and authenticity that defines classic Chicago sports conversation.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over $900 on average. Pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99% of their auto customers earn at least one discount. Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates national average 12 month savings of $946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Potential savings will vary

[B]

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[C]

Yeah. Dan, if people aren't familiar with Matt Lloyd, can you give a real brief little timeline? Because he was a former Bulls employee, so I'm not sure if everyone knows who Matt Lloyd is.

[B]

I first met Matt when he was a kid and I was doing DePaul games and he was, I think, the number two guy in the Conference USA media relations department. So I would see him around all the time as he was representing the conference, and then he got a job with the Bulls through media relations. So he originally was on the comms side of things before making the switch over to the, the front office side, working with John Paxson. I mean, initially he was breaking down film and he paid his dues. I mean, like the real typical video guy, quality control kind of stuff. And then working his way up through the various rungs of the scouting department into the more executive scouting role for college. And parlayed that after, after his apprenticeship under John Paxson, parlayed that into opportunities, going over to the Timberwolves, ascending to general manager of the Timberwolves. And he's, he's still youthful guy. What is he? He's younger. He's probably 10 years younger than I am, right. Late 40s, I think now, and I think that's right for Matt. But he's, I, I, I do think that he would have the, he's got enough wisdom on him. There's a, there's enough sort of grit and grizzle. Haven't been around the league a little bit now, enough of that good age to have him understanding what they're, what they would be trying to do. The question then becomes, who's the coach? And I think the answer to that, if this all goes according to plan, the next coach of the Bulls is very likely to be Micah Nicholas Nori. And Micah Nori, if you don't know the name, he is. He played baseball at University of Indiana. He was a shortstop who kind of maxed out as a D1 college player and knew it, so knew that he wasn't going to pursue professional opportunities in baseball and then ended up as an assistant coach on the Raptors and has become kind of a darling among assistant coaches. Was very close to Chris Finch and has a reputation for being a creative and curious basketball intellect. Outside of just the regular stuff, he is. He's got kind of a cult following among Timberwolves fans for doing colorful halftime interviews. They compared him to Ted Lasso for some of his folksy similes and metaphors describing his team's play, and even admitted after the fact that some of it was on a dare. And some would tell him, like, okay, when they interview you at halftime, you have to work in SpongeBob SquarePants. And he would do it and he would find a way to do that. And it was like years ago, Chris Sale did that with the White Sox, where they'd give him a word of the day and he'd have to figure out how to put that into his, his interviews that day. He's. But Nori is a really bright, creative basketball mind who has a balance between offense and defense. I wouldn't say that he is just a defensive guy as I can fit together the pieces of what that puzzle would look like. He does believe in more of a free flowing offensive system, more of a style of play rather than simply calling this play, that play, this matchup, that matchup. He wants his players to think for themselves. He wants them to understand regardless of what the lineup is, what the responsibilities are and how they play a certain way. So I do expect it would be up tempo with lots of ball movement. They. They don't want it to stick. They want it moving around to find the correct shot every time. Is it a three often? Yes, because we know that three is worth more than two and I'm pretty sure that Micah Nori knows that as well. But by all accounts from anybody I've talked to, he is well, both well liked and well respected. What I do not know is how quickly they would be able to move based on whatever rules there would be for posting a job and going through whatever machinations they have to do. I also would advise if I were running the PR department. Did you. You'd get headlines. You don't want to say that on the same day in the same press conference announce both. I don't think you would want to get that done that fast. I think you would want to announce your brain trust, whatever that may be. And even if the negotiating is going on or the contracts are being finalized with a coach and a coaching staff, that becomes an entirely second opportunity. A second bite at the apple for publicity and excitement and storytelling and let the coach sort of have his day at that point. But that would be the understanding would be even with the other names that are out there and you can go look at the odds and you can see what they are and if they're. If they're moving or changing today. I'm not as up to date as you might be on.

[C]

I haven't looked at them. Yeah.

[B]

Trying to find out exactly who's where. But I, but my, my guess would be if it is Matt Lloyd, I. If I were a betting person I would probably. You're probably too late to the trade right now.

[C]

But.

[B]

But I do think that the presumption in the basketball world is that Nori would be joining Lloyd here and that would be. He would be your new Bulls head coach.

[C]

Yeah. And like Nori, if you. Yeah. Obviously currently the lead assistant with the T. Wolves starting a series tonight with San Antonio. So that's still going on. I love this, too. About. About Mike and Nori. Has two kids, one son, Dante. Very talented baseball player. Actually plays professionally with the Phillies organization right now. Played for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic this past March.

[B]

Now this guy's.

[C]

I like it.

[B]

Cut from the same cloth.

[C]

You. You know, let's go.

[B]

Yeah, this is your guy.

[C]

Let's go, Micah.

[B]

And he's white. I think he's your age, too. He's like.

[C]

Yeah, he's a year.

[B]

Year younger than three.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yep. So the exciting and interesting times for the Bulls, I credit the job that they've done, keeping this relatively quiet. There's a couple other NBA notes, one of which is, if you're just waking up, depending on when you're listening here, that Jamal Mosley's been fired by the Magic. I don't think it comes as any surprise whatsoever, because that team has got some ego issues. They have some. Some sharing issues. There's all kinds of things going on in that locker room right now. So does Billy Donovan want to go to work right damn now? And I don't know the answer to that, but there was speculation that Donovan just being available was going to hasten Mosley's ouster. And then the way that this ended made that really clear with them blowing the lead and 3:1 lead, by the way. And there are reports, not just the 31 lead, but the lead within the game and the.

[C]

Yeah, there's.

[B]

There's already reports of infighting among the players and trying to manage Bankero. Of course, Billy Donovan's capable of handling it, and this is where, you know, where he lives. This. It sets up perfectly for him to take this over, but I don't know his level of desire to go to work immediately right now with it, where. When the expectations are high, you know, this is not a rebuild. So you would be. You'd be stepping into a really talented team on the rise, and as difficult a time as they had scoring, you got to unlock that because you have some individuals who are really good at scoring, and they just didn't do a good enough job of putting the ball in the basket. And this would be an opportunity for Donovan to take over a team that's ready to win right now. The most important people shape your life through choices, gestures, and the kind of impact you come to understand with time. Vitamix Blenders are created with that same intention. Timeless, enduring, and meant to stay with mom through whatever comes next that's why Mother's Day isn't about more things. It's about choosing something worthy of her. This Mother's Day, give her the mother of all blenders. Vitamix. Only the essential. And whenever the stakes are high, my bookie is where you turn bets into bankroll. There's always a big matchup on the schedule. Everybody's watching, everybody has a take. And regardless of the sport, the props can be just as fun as the final score. I love prop bets, and I don't care what anybody says about them. I just think it's an interesting way of looking at the game. I find them entertaining. And I also, it's. It amazing amazes me that how the odds makers at my bookie always seem to do the perfect job. Every time I think I've got an angle on something, every time I think, you know, are they already aware the answer is already yes. So they already beat me to that and make me think more. But I got a couple for you. Near the end of the show today, when you go to MyBookie AG, use the code DBU. And that's going to get you your first bet covered, up to 500 bucks. Covered means if it doesn't hit you then have a bet back bonus token, and you can run it back. Everything is there at MyBookie AG. One account, one wallet, and it's everything you want to bet, it's right there. You want to do casino betting during halftime, you can do that. You want to bet the spread, you want to live bet. Everything is at MyBookie AG, use that code DBU. Don't just watch the action. Make it pay with my bookie.

[C]

You know, you said earlier, if you're just waking up, it's 9:54. Get your ass out of bed. It's Monday morning.

[B]

Yeah, I. I know.

[C]

Get your ass out of bed. What are you doing?

[B]

Get up. Yes. Get down. Yes.

[C]

Party people.

[B]

I was doing. I was doing Kiss, right?

[C]

I know you were, but I'm just bringing all the shows back together.

[B]

I always wondered. They say get up, get down, and it's like, which is it?

[C]

Exercise class, right? Get up, get down, get up, get down.

[B]

Which is it? Gene, come on, man. You know, be consistent here. I don't know.

[C]

Hey, do you remember years ago, the Kiss song that we would play, like in the middle of a show in

[B]

the middle of our show that we would play?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

No.

[C]

You don't remember this?

[B]

A Kiss song.

[C]

So do you remember? And this is early on in our. Our time together on bnb. That your wife would call the studio quite a bit.

[B]

Oh, the song. Beth.

[C]

And we. And we would just. In the. You could be in the middle of a sentence and we would just play the song. Beth.

[B]

She would call the studio all the time.

[C]

She would call the studio regularly for you. So I'd answer and be like, hey, it's Beth. We talk to Dan. I'm like, yeah, hang on a second. And we would play. Beth, I hear you call in right in the middle of a sentence. You guys could be talking. You guys could have a fucking guest on. Just start playing. Beth.

[B]

I don't remember that.

[C]

Do you really? Oh, okay, that's funny. You remember everything.

[B]

No, I get.

[C]

I forget everything. You remember everything.

[B]

You're probably making fun of me without me knowing.

[C]

Oh, 100 making fun of you.

[B]

I'm just trying to remember when she was that interested in contacting me, you know, That's. That's really, like. That had to be a really long time ago.

[C]

It was a very long time ago

[B]

when there was actually a reason why she wanted to talk to me.

[C]

Yeah. And especially since, you know, so this had to be early on. These are the early iterations of cell phones, I would imagine. We didn't even have Apple phones at that point.

[B]

Yeah, that's true. We had. I remember the phone I had. I had with that. I had a deal with some fly by night guy.

[C]

Like Joe's Wireless, right? Yeah.

[B]

He was setting everybody up with these phones. And then you never saw Bill. And then my phone stopped working. And I said, I called him and they're like, oh, yeah, he's not here. What do you mean he's not here? Like, he's just. He's like, not here. Not here. So I don't know if they threw him in jail. What was his name? Vince.

[C]

Or if he left the country.

[B]

I think his name was Vince.

[C]

9 extradition vacation.

[B]

Yeah, I had. I had. All I know is I had this awesome phone and I never paid for anything. Well, no, I did. I did pay for something, but it was way.

[C]

I don't know what it was. I just know money either.

[B]

It was part of this. He was a friend of the station and he was an advertiser and I got this great endorsement deal and then he was gone. Yeah. Probably remanded somewhere or.

[C]

Yeah. So this was. Yeah, this was early on. Yeah, we would play. Play, Beth. Right in the middle of the show.

[B]

Okay. Why are you guys playing music? Why.

[C]

Why is there music playing?

[B]

Here's the other NBA note. Did you see Jared Allen last Night. I did not.

[C]

No, I did not.

[B]

Man. That he had in the third quarter of a game, seven 14 points and 10 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds in the third quarter. In the third quarter alone.

[C]

Oh, wow.

[B]

The third quarter. That completely decided that game. And I also, I will, I will argue this. That particular matchup, Cavs, Raptors, those uniforms and that floor in Cleveland, one of the worst, some of the ugliest television possible.

[C]

Yep, I agree.

[B]

It was, it's just. Anyway, like, the lighting was yellow. It reminded me of the old Milwaukee. Was it the Mecca where the Marcus Johnson, Sidney Moncrief teams would play against the Bulls? And you knew it was like a big playoff series. And it was always. It was, it was crazy yellow looking. Just how they, how it was lit. And it reminded me of that. So I kind of had this nostalgic NBA feeling. But when you got everything like in HD and hell, when you can finally find the game and first you're like, is it Prime? Wait, abc? NBC? Yeah, there's.

[C]

There's a lot, lot going on to find this weekend.

[B]

For me, it was a victory. The two things I was excited that I found this weekend, the smoke detector. I needed to find, driving everywhere, all around the northwest side and then into Skokie and then up here and over here, I didn't know where I was. And it took me a half a day to the smoke detector. And then when I can sit down and find the NBA game I want, that's a massive victory.

[C]

Yeah. I decided I wasn't going to watch any more Raptors basketball after I watched Friday. Oh, my God.

[B]

It's when without Ingram, like, if they don't have an easy pressure release, they can't score.

[C]

They're terrible. It was so hard to watch. I know I was bothering you. I know you were out celebrating something.

[B]

I was, yeah, it was, it was

[C]

a mad texting you. I was so angry. It was like, this is terrible to watch. And then that stupid three pointer. They made the dumbest three pointer. Hits the heel, then it goes 15ft in the air, then straight through. It was. Oh, that was rough. So, yeah, I said after that game and I won that game. I went two and one Friday. So I'm up to 60, 36 and one now in college and, and pro. But I said, I'm not, I'm not watching anymore. I wasn't watching more Toronto basketball. I'm like, I'm done. Not, not going to do it. That was brutal. Offense was awful.

[B]

Well, watching Jared Allen and, and watching him dive on the Floor, too. Like, that's. That's your big dude.

[C]

That's a big night, man.

[B]

That's your big dude. And he was chasing every single loose ball like it was his last meal. And just how hard they played. And if you can get a team with James Harden on it to. To make me, like, want to watch, because I can't stand watching James Harden, and I never could, and I. I

[C]

don't like watching him either. And is he. Has he gotten puffy or is my eyes always been that way?

[B]

Always. He goes up and down. He's. He's. He's actually in better shape than he's been in. In a couple of years. Okay. He can get real round. He can get pretty round. Yeah, he can get pretty weebly pretty quick, but. Yeah, but he's. That's just how he is. He didn't look abnormal to me, but, you know, in Max Strus, I thought he was going to get kicked out for the headbutt. I really did, because I thought it was clearly, like, out of control and on purpose. And he couldn't have seemed more guilty when he found out they were reviewing it. Oh, my God. His. He was just. He was just exuding. He was. He was sweating guilt through every pore when he's like, I don't know. And he. He was already talking to the ref, and the ref is giving a little say. All right, man. Okay. But he knew he fucked up. He absolutely knew it. And he's so lucky that Zach Zarba, who's a really good referee, that they judge that as unnecessary but not like, whatever the words are, not violent contact or endangering contact. Whatever it was, it was just unnecessary contact. Flagrant 1 instead of flagrant 2. But what is he doing out there? Stop doing that. Watching Jared Allen and all these other teams have actual rim protection. I don't care if it's. If it's Matt Lloyd and Mike and Nori or whoever it is, but in the interview, I just want to know, is that important to you? Is it important when you come take over the Chicago Bulls, will we finally, finally have somebody who can guard the rim, who make. Who can guard the rim and make sure you're not eating rim. Oh, eating room. Just somebody who cares about making it more difficult to get to the basket and put the ball in the basket or multiple people when it becomes a function of how you defend that, there's always somebody there who can help defend the basket. It can even be a guard. Believe it or not, there are really good defensive guards who can challenge something at the rim in a way where they're not fouling, but just make that a part of your defense. So the cool thing, as names start to pop up and we're thinking, all right, the Bulls are zeroing in. They're, they're making smaller concentric circles toward Matt Lloyd. And then it's going to be Mike and Nori in what do they believe? What matters? Does Mike and Nori look this over and be like, I can't win a title with Josh Giddey because I, I get it. I like Josh Giddey. I think he's really good. But it is, you have to allow that person to make those decisions and to say, hey, this is. If this were just offense and you have a guy who's 6, 8 and can create these mismatches and can get where he wants with the ball, he is a adept at keeping his dribble alive and finding people at the end of a play, that's fine. But you, you, you must not be a defensive negative. You can't be a liability in what we do. So there they would look to move him? I don't know. Or do they? Look, it is possible that these guys look at modest Bou zealous and say he needs to be closer to the basket. As much as he wants to run around and shoot threes on, that's fine, but we have to design a defense that takes advantage of his natural ability to challenge and block shots. And we can have our cake and eat it too. That we're not going to say that you're just a big plotting big man, but we are going to put you in a position rotationally to affect more shots. Maybe that's, that's what's going on too. Or maybe they're coming in, they're like, yeah, these, all these players suck and we don't need any of these, these crappy second round picks. We're going to figure this all out. That this, the Chicago Bulls start with this year's draft and these two picks are going to be the cornerstones, not anything that's on the roster right now. And if that's their decision, so be it. You have to allow for that to be their decision.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And, and, and not impose anything on them. Now the other issue that we're going to get into as this goes on, and if in fact it is this week that they, that they make it, Matt Lloyd is will Pax be able to do what he wants to do? And that's kind of recede into the background Again. And they. Every time, like, they. He emerges when they need a basketball voice, which is right now, when Billy left them high and dry. Because Billy's like, see ya, Deuces. Enjoy this. I'll be over here waiting for Jamal Mosley to get fired.

[C]

Yeah. Why? You're not wrong, though. I don't like that negative connotation with that type of description of what Leaving them high and dry.

[B]

Well, he. He. He did it when. In his own inimitable way, sure.

[C]

But he's not walking away from a team that's on the doorstep of anything great. I mean, he's not like.

[B]

No, no, no, no, no, no. When I say leave him high and dry, I mean their reliance on him to be a.

[C]

Well, if fight. Yes. Okay.

[B]

That's why that's fair.

[C]

And they deserve that. Then.

[B]

Yes. If you have to take John Paxton back out on mothballs and bring him down and make him do these interviews, okay, that's what you got. He's Bob Pulford. Yeah, he's become Bob Pulford. And that's sort of your basketball. Who. Who here knows basketball? Who's left? And John Tax is like, all right.

[C]

Like a company wide email.

[B]

Yes. Seriously, employees. That's about it.

[C]

Knows basketball. Michael Reinsdorf.

[B]

It really is. And then Paxton comes in and he handles all this and he's like, well, Matt Lloyd is his basketball son. That is his protege.

[C]

That's.

[B]

He's. He put in a lot of time to get. He's very, very, very proud of Matt Lloyd. Now, will he be able. Because of that connection, will John want to be more involved? Will he want to be texting him all the time, or will he be able to understand? Congrats, young man.

[C]

I'm.

[B]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna go golfing. Call me if you need me. Which I would be the proper move. And I. My guess is it'll be the latter. I agree with that. For his own mental health, I think Pax would probably just be like, hey, man, you made it this far. Congratulations.

[C]

And then, like, Matt Lloyd needs the Runway to be able to do his own thing without being in the shadow of. Of John Paxton or have that relation. Because I think, like, again, it's very important that Bulls fans understand that Matt Lloyd. Yes. While he came up through and John Paxton selected him and said, I want you to do this, he left and did his own thing and walked away and created his own path without John Paxton. John Paxton gave him the start in the NBA, but he did his own thing. Didn't he create some database that all like. And some analytical database that all teams use now or something.

[B]

Or.

[C]

I mean, so it's like he, he's done his own thing. I don't want Bulls fans to confuse Matt Lloyd's relationship with John Paxton as this is. Oh, this is a John Paxton thing. That's not.

[B]

No. And I've already heard some unfair comps is why I mentioned it at the outset. I've heard some unfair comps to the Chris Getz hire. That's, that's right out. That's the case.

[C]

Not accurate.

[B]

Not that at all.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

Not that at all.

[C]

Because, Chris, that Bulls fans understand that and, and retain that in their filter of understanding this possible hire.

[B]

If that does happen. Correct. Had had Chris Getz at a very young age left the White Sox and went to help run another very, very successful organization for 15 years or whatever it's been. We'd be talking about it. But that is there is a sort of a facile way to try to connect all of these Reinsdorf organizations, especially. And especially because this is a Michael Reinsdorf organization where the White Sox are a Jerry Reinsdorf organization and they're, they're, they are the same ownership family, but they're run differently in that regard as well. Here's a basketball note, too. And this is, this plays back into our discussion of last week and what's going on and what's not happening at ESPN when it comes to finding out the truth behind the Mike Rabel, Diana Rossini stuff. And usually this is no big deal and it's just a fun thing when Inside the NBA does its graphic of gone fishing and they've. There used to be just a really nothing silly thing of a guy in like a, you know, a floppy hat with, with lures stuck in it and holding a, you know, holding a rod and sitting somewhere. They would do these graphics. But now it's almost like the NBA schedule release where we start looking at the graphics a little bit differently and more specifically. So it's funny when the only commentary of any kind that we're actually getting from ESPN that may understand that the Vrabel Rossini thing is a thing is from whoever designed the Gone Fishing graphic for Inside the NBA because they created a, a ship. It looks like, I don't know if it's like a lobster boat, you know, just a fishing boat. It's got Bill Simmons there that everybody's wearing their, the, the rubber overalls says Boston Fisheries on it. The name of the boat is SS Heimlich. We get it and on the graphic there's Jason Tatum, there's Jalen Brown, Bill Simmons, John Krasinski, Mark Wahlberg, and then Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. But it's, it's the goodwill hunting. It's got Matt Damon as if he's writing on the chalkboard, solving the math problem, but he's over by the near where the helm of the ship is. And then in the very, very front of the boat, the very front, in a pose that will remind you of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet at the prowl of the boat in Titanic. It's a picture of Rabel with his hands on Diana Rossini's waist behind her, and she has her arms out to the side. He's got his sunglasses on. And they, they took some time with this, but that is absolutely unmistakable there in their gone fishing graphic. So, and apparently Barclays reaction was you guys. And then he stopped. And then Kenny, Kenny Smith said, who are those two people at the front? I don't know them. And then Ernie Johnson said, oh, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Tatum Brown, I don't see anything else. And Shaq didn't say anything. Barkley just said, stop it, stop it. But good for them, Good for them. I, I hope they made some of their bosses uncomfortable.

[C]

Put it.

[B]

And I don't know what's in the water in Boston, but between that and, you know, IME Udoka, I don't think he's top of mind at the moment, but nice job with that one and I'm certainly, certainly glad they did it. Also, I want to say nice job to Russ Armstrong with putting the windows in my house because I don't care how weird the weather is. And it has been weird where the heat is on, the heat is on and then the AC is on and then the heat is on. It's on the street, the heat is on. And that's automatic in our house. By the way, if I'll say, do you turn the heat on? The heat is on. And then she'll be walking away and she'll. It's on the street. You have to say it, it's automatic. Yeah, it has to. Because the windows should hold whatever temperature you want. And that way you don't have to keep spending money to heat or cool the rooms that you're in. That's the whole point of really good windows. They're called low emissivity windows. They're double paned and they are designed often they have a coating that allows however it is for the molecules to Bounce the way you need them to bounce. Russ Armstrong has those windows. He put them in my house. He will put them in your house and he will do so at a price that matches or beats anyone that you're going to get from anywhere else. It's really that simple. He's the owner, so he has the factory. It's his factory that makes the windows, custom makes the windows for your house. And the factory is here in Chicago, which makes everything easier. Call him at 847-302-9171. Check out his five star reviews at ChicagoNowBeyond.com Go ahead and get quotes from elsewhere. By all means do that because when Russ comes over, you're going to appreciate the difference and you will know the difference between somebody who is basically selling, working for some giant national company that has to do a prepared presentation. That's the same way Russ can look at your house. Russ's experience, he's done all different kinds of houses all over the area and he will know what it's going to cost. He will have an idea immediately. He doesn't need three hours of your time. He can give you an honest assessment of what's going on. The good thing is too, it's all his people that do all the installations. So don't wait and go ahead, get those quotes. Ask those people who's installing the windows. They won't even know because of the amount of third party labor that they use. Russ only uses his crew, people who work for him. So he knows all those people. 847-302-9171. Check out his five star reviews at ChicagoNowdownGuys.com it's taken me a little while, but the White Sox are worth a watch here and there. They're worth checking in on, they're worth seeing who's playing and getting to know some of these names. And while Munetaka Murakami is getting most of the attention, and deservedly so, the numbers from Murakami right now are ridiculous. He is, he is on base 362. He's slugging 545. His WRC plus is a sensational 145. And obviously the home runs are the draw and he's hit a league leading 13 of them. He isn't the biggest, best story of the White Sox this year. What is is that Colson Montgomery has continued to do what he did in the second half of last year. That's what matters more. Colson Montgomery is a 24 year old burgeoning star shortstop. That's a bigger deal than a slugging three True outcome, first baseman. Those guys come along. They come and go. Star shortstops do not. It matters way more than Colson Montgomery already is a 1.4 F WAR player. It matters way more that he's got 5.2 defensive runs above average. He himself has hit nine home runs. He's got an isolated power of.269. And both Ian Murakami have low batting average of balls in play right now. That should regress positively, but that's the story. They're also getting surprisingly decent starting pitching from this crew. Noah Schultz matters more than anybody. And Schultz looked really good like that that Saturday game, where was it? 7 nothing. And you get the big home run from Murakami. Schultz, while he's still a little too wild, was able to hold things down. Find enough of the strike zone, and then you start looking at that. You're like, all right, if you're. If you can win games and your own young players are the reason why you're winning those games, that's reason to watch. That's good stuff. I certainly wish the play by play was more palatable because I struggle with it on tv. Yeah. I just struggle with it. Every. It's always something. It's just like, first of all, it's just like, unless Steve Stone is talking, it's just not interesting. Is somehow they found a unique way to make things less interesting. They've got to fix that. They've got to figure that out somehow. And it's all these, like, cheesy homer garbage that doesn't even sound genuine. And it's. It's like either too little enthusiasm or too much enthusiasm. It does. It doesn't work. Yeah, it doesn't work. Whatever they're trying to do there is simply broken. And the sooner they can fix that in my world, the better. But these. Nobody can be begrudged wanting to check out some White Sox baseball right now.

[C]

Yeah. Going into the season, I said if they finished 72 and 90, that would be. That'd be quite the year for them to get to no more than 90. 90 losses.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

That would be great. Baseball Reference in their baseball playoff odds has them right now for finishing anywhere between 73 and 83 wins. I'm sorry, 78 and 83 wins.

[B]

78 and 83. Yeah. Okay.

[C]

78 and 83 wins, which would be huge if they could get to 83 wins.

[B]

Well, no, no, that's not happening. What do you think? Right now with the record of 16 and 18, the Tigers and the Guardians are leading the AL Central with identical 18 and 17 records. White Sox are a game and a out. And then the Royals are a game behind them. The Twins a game and a half behind them. What do you think the fan graphs. Estimated playoff possibility percentage is for the White Sox,

[C]

22%.

[B]

2.6%.

[C]

Oh, seriously?

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Jesus.

[B]

Yeah, so the, the projection.

[C]

Oh, did I say 20? I meant 2.2.

[B]

Yeah. The projection systems here that are constantly running their a version of the season, they can run a million versions of the remainder of the season, and then they give you the percentage possibilities. Only in 2.6% of those scenarios do the White Sox find a playoff spot. Wow. Currently constructed in this particular competitive environment.

[C]

Let me see what. What Baseball Reference has them at, but

[B]

that is as far as playoff percentage.

[C]

Yeah. Let me see where they're at to make the postseason. Oh, so that's why I said that. So to make the postseason. And they run 25,000 simulations of the season, they have them at making the postseason at 22.1%. Okay.

[B]

So now let's look at Baseball Prospectus. Baseball Prospectus uses Pakota to determine their playoff percentage. And at the moment, the Chicago White Sox are projected to have a record of 70 and 92. And Baseball Prospectus gives them a 1.7 chance of making the playoffs. Really?

[C]

Yep. All right, so, yeah, Baseball Reference has their worst possible finish of 70.

[B]

92.

[C]

Their best of 88 and 74, and they have their average of 78 and 83.

[B]

All right.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

These are. I don't know if it's going to make people mad. These are all just kind of. Yeah, the numbers here. But if you would like to know what the third order record is here. Yeah, what is that? The Clay Davenport standings have the. In third order record. As I always feel like I should mention this, this is a way of. This is a way of looking at run differential, defining what your record should be. And it's off of the. The old Bill James idea of the Pythagorean record of where. Based on your run scored and runs allowed, where you should be. And then you have different layers here in Evolved that bring in the run environment and the quality of your competition. Yes.

[C]

So it's. Yeah, it's a little more detailed. Look at it.

[B]

Right. You can't sequence runs. This is understanding. You cannot see. You can't spend runs differently. If you're going to win a game 17 to 1, you can't take 15 of those runs and apply them elsewhere. So this is out of your control. But this is in some way of giving them more context. The White Sox by third order record right now are 14 and 20 and would be in last place in the Central. Wow. And they get the Angels again. Have they played the Angels more than anybody else?

[C]

It seems like it.

[B]

Okay. Because, yeah, the Angels are a really bad baseball team, so you are.

[C]

And Mike Trout's having quite the fucking year too.

[B]

Of course he is. But you need to take advantage of those opportunities. I. But I will say it just a long way of saying that the White Sox were at least interesting over the weekend. They're. They're worth keeping tabs on. And regardless of how good they are, as long as you can still have an entire ballpark to yourself, especially on a weekday, it is. It is worth going. And I will always say that it can be. Is. You don't. Don't wait till they're good for some of that. Because when your major league team is bad and you can get an inexpensive ticket and take advantage of like, the Tuesday night $5 concessions and all that, it is. It is an unbelievable deal. So I would absolutely suggest that

[C]

if

[B]

you're an NBA fan, the playoffs are providing you opportunities for easy money at my bookie. But you gotta stop overthinking everything. You don't need a crazy parlay. Or maybe you don't want to listen to me and do the scoring props that I enjoy, but no spreadsheets. Just. Just a team that you trust. Like the way Maddie does it. And playoff basketball hits really well at my bookie. Clean board. You want to keep it simple, keep it simple. Back the Thunder, back the Celtics. Ride the team's built to win. Let the playoffs do the rest. And if you're new to my bookie, if you haven't made a deposit, there's even less reason to sit out because of our promo code. Dbu. That stands for Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. Any bet you choose up to $500 is fully covered. You make your play, and then if it doesn't hit, you're going to get it right back. You just opt in using the bet back bonus token. You pick a squad, you take a shot, and then because you've used dbu, you got that token. You can apply the token, and then it's like it unhappened. So don't just watch the playoffs. You can cash in on them only at my bookie. Before we get to some other things, I have some congratulations to give out because I mentioned last week we reloaded our promo page rewards that you can get at the 312 Sports app. So when you download the free 312 Sports app, the Apple App Store, Google Play, and you go to the rewards right now with the promo code, Matt. M A T T. Matt. For any of these, you can enter to win dinner for two at Giordano's Authentic Chicago deep dish pizza that has been serving Chicago since 1974. There's the capital Grill, the renowned steakhouse known for dry aged steaks and. And dinner for two also at Anticoposto, the cozy Italian restaurant and wine bar that's in Oakbrook Center. You want concert tickets? We've got Weezer the Gathering tour with special guests, the Shins and Silver Sun Pickups. Pretty good slate right there. September 22nd at the United Center. Weezer, the Shins and Silver sun pickups. Again, the promo code. Matt put that in last month. Here's our winners. Anthony Pasaye from Chicago. One dinner for two at RPM Steak. John Calias from Oak Park. That's a familiar name. I think back when I did park.

[C]

Yeah, it's a really well known.

[B]

Oh, no, no, I. I recognize that name. He was a frequent competitor when I used to do the New York Times crossword puzzle. Recluse. So he's a. I know it's got to be the same guy. He. He's going for dinner for two at Il Portulino. And David Culanda from Chicago has dinner for two at RJ Grunts. We have five people who won tickets to see Wu Tang Clan.

[C]

Nice.

[B]

Those five are Lonnie Smith from Lombard, Brian Allen from Mount Prospect, John O. Boykovitz from lagrange, Tyrus Minds from Oak Lawn, and Nick Guido from Naperville. Congratulations, guys. Lonnie, Brian, John, Tyrus, Nick, I don't know. We got to put you all in the same car and send you over there together. But you 312 sports will be representing at Wu Tang Clan. Good.

[C]

Love it. Let's go.

[B]

Yes, absolutely.

[C]

Go.

[B]

Enjoy that. I've also decided I think I'm gonna see Devil Wears Prada, too. I had. I had two friends weigh in over the weekend, both who heard me say I probably wasn't going to see it.

[C]

Yeah, I thought you were dumb for saying that you wouldn't see it.

[B]

Well, you said that. I'm not counting you, but I bet you I'll make it three then, because you said that immediately. Yeah, but I've heard people who have seen it who now say, you know what? It's worth it. Go see it. Let me get. I Gotta find the specific. The way this was put here. Here's. Here's what it was. Go. This is. Go see Devil wears Prada 2. It's empty calories. Fun. If you need a cleanser for Stanley Tucci, watch Big Night afterward. He said that Devil Wears Prada is still better than hundreds of the terrible games that you've watched in the last five years alone.

[C]

That's good.

[B]

Well, I've been watching a lot of Bulls basketball.

[C]

Yes, you have. Yeah, I'll definitely see it. We talked about this, and I'm glad that you've come around to maybe going to see it.

[B]

Yeah, I want to see with Beth. We'll enjoy it together.

[C]

It only made 233 million this opening weekend on a budget of $100 million to make the film. So they're already doing okay after the opening weekend.

[B]

If you had thought a movie about the fashion industry, and I know obviously the star power is there.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But to think that it would have, over 20 years, have gotten this deeply into the American sort of public consciousness here. I had no idea that the movie resonated like that, but I guess it does. And, yeah, look, it's never bad money spent to watch Meryl Streep act. Right?

[C]

Agreed. Agreed.

[B]

That's the way I look at it. It's never bad money spent. And I didn't know this. Did you know Stanley Tucci married Emily Blunt's sister?

[C]

I do know this because I mentioned it to you on Friday show.

[B]

But. But you didn't mention that they met on the set of the first movie.

[C]

That I did not mention.

[B]

Right. So apparently that's like the whole thing. So there's. Maybe they're more invested in it because they. Of the. I don't know, the big family connection. They're all getting back together. I don't. I don't know.

[C]

And you did. You saw the video I sent you over the weekend of Adrian Grenier and his Starbucks commercial.

[B]

It's cute.

[C]

It was cute.

[B]

It's good. It's. It's good. And he's making fun of himself because

[C]

he wasn't invited into the sequel and.

[B]

Right.

[C]

But it's about. It's about their new. It's about their new Starbucks energy drinks. And he wants to keep good energy up and trying to be positive. It was funny.

[B]

I thought it was.

[C]

It was really good. And he's probably happy to get to

[B]

work, so I. I imagine so. And he's. He's aged well. I think.

[C]

He has aged well. He looks good.

[B]

Yeah. Look, you Could. There's. There are worse jobs than just being handsome for a living.

[C]

Yeah, I know. I mean, when. Yeah, it's something that we struggle with at times, but.

[B]

You and Mike Vrabel.

[C]

In our monthly meetings. Yes.

[B]

Different meetings for Mike. Brave.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. So, hey, did you.

[B]

Did you.

[C]

Did you read anything about what he did? So they went to like. It was a 24 hour hour emergency marriage session thing. I can't remember. I'd have to look it up to see what they call it exactly.

[B]

Emergency wiener counseling.

[C]

Yeah, but no, it was. It was. It was he and his. And his wife and it's a 24 hour. Like how many. Let me get the exact. Exact drive through. What? Emergency.

[B]

Come on. Marriage. No.

[C]

Yes. Let me see what they. No, hang on a second. Emergency marriage counseling. What is emergency? Oh, come on.

[B]

What is emergency? Put your pants back on, dumbass. Is that what it is?

[C]

It might have been. Let's see.

[B]

I could do that. I could sit there at a drive through. You roll down your window. It's like, quick, give me emergency wiener counseling.

[C]

Okay, so here's what it is. It's an emergency 24 hour marriage summit. Apparently this is a thing.

[B]

Dude. Okay. And people charge money for this. To come over and say, stop. Stop running around with waving your wiener at people.

[C]

Wait, what? Oh no.

[B]

What?

[C]

According to reports, the meeting lasted about an hour and a half.

[B]

Where are you getting this?

[C]

Regular Google.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Sources describe the couple as cordial and talkative, but not overly flirty. They seemed fine. Was a friendly regular. So he went and had dinner with his wife.

[B]

I don't know. I don't even. I. I don't know if I can.

[C]

That was the wandering wiener syndrome counseling he had.

[B]

It was. It was an emergency. He had to go. He had to go eat dinner. This. This is my favorite one yet. And I was going to save this, but I wanted to read this. This was sent in by a listener named Jarrett. I've been laughing about this all weekend. He said, I've been spending time trying to make a Four Seasons total landscaping style mix up for the variable thing where instead of going to wiener counseling, he ends up at wiener circle counseling. Mistake. And he said, I think it would go something like this. Vrabel. My name's Mike. And I did an awful job of hiding a decade long affair. And did an even worse job when it finally came to light. Wiener circle employee. Fuck you, you dumb bitch. Vrabel. That's just what I needed. Thank you.

[C]

He's better now.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

On the football.

[B]

Perfect.

[C]

Cured.

[B]

All set. Everything's fine. And Drake May is like, he's the coach and coaches coach and I like the coach and everything is great and he's. I'm so happy he's our coach.

[C]

So I thought his 24 hour emergency marriage summit was like something legitimate, but it just. He went and had dinner in Park City, Utah with his wife because they have a house there.

[B]

Yes. Emergency. And the baseball police came right behind them.

[C]

Oh, speaking of baseball police, let me tell you this story that happened over the weekend.

[B]

What did you do?

[C]

I didn't do anything. So we're in a Crystal Lake for Jackson's tournament, 12U and then wheeling for, for Hank at 13U. So I'm out there in Crystal Lake Saturday morning. Our 8am game got pushed to 9am which was great.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

They, they did a solid to all the people involved instead of 8, 9am so we get out there and you know, normally the coaches and the umpires meet at home plate around, you know, five minutes before game time. You get everyone squared away. You forgot who's home, who's away.

[B]

Say you do the coin flip.

[C]

That I do everything. Yeah.

[B]

Jason's coach lost every time.

[C]

Okay. So they go over the rules. They do all that. So 8:45, the umpire starts calling the coaches and we're still in the middle of our warm ups. And our coach says, hey, do you think we could get a few more minutes? We're still in the middle of. It's about, you know, we're still 15 minutes away. Umpire says, that sounds like a you problem, coach, not a me problem. So that's how it starts. So I'm standing by the fence and

[B]

our coach, not just, I'm sorry, we're not able to do that. We have very strict tournament rules.

[C]

No, he says, that sounds like a you problem, coach, not a me problem. So I said to the coach, I'm like, well, I go, be careful. I go, this is off to an interesting start. He goes, you just smiled. And they go, do the thing. So he makes a terrible call at first. He says that our first baseman like pulled his foot off the bag reaching, which he didn't. And, and so the coach is like standing in the opening of the, of the dugout, kind of like one foot on the turf, one foot in the cement block. And he says, oh, come on. His foot was on. That's, that's a, that's, that's not a, that's not a good call. Whatever his name was. It's not a good call. Lloyd or whatever it was. And umpire says, screams at him, you, coach, get back in the dugout right now. I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth.

[B]

Somebody's got a case of the Monday.

[C]

Yeah. So he walks back in the dugout, and as he's walking through the dugout, head down, he just goes, man, you've got to be me, okay? And the umpire kicked him out.

[B]

He didn't say it to the umpire. No, he just said it.

[C]

Just said it. Kicked him out.

[B]

All right, that's some thin skin stuff.

[C]

So.

[B]

Okay, that's rabbit ears. No, no, no.

[C]

Now, one of our dads, my buddy Ryan, he does game changer. So he, he steps up and he's in a coach. So I, you know, I come in the dugout, I asked our coach, I go, you want me to, want me to, you know, give Ryan a hand? He said, yeah, if you don't mind.

[B]

Who does game changer.

[C]

So then our coach, who was kicked out, did game changer. He sat behind the dugout on a picnic table and he was doing game changer. Ryan did third, I did first base. We're in the dugout with the kids, and this guy was, he was, he was terrible. I mean, one point we had a kid called out on the strikes. The. The catcher slid into the left handed batter's box to catch the ball and he called it a strike, like literally on his shin. Guards.

[B]

Yikes.

[C]

Slid over, caught it. So whatever. So our coach, again, on one of those calls, he's head down into the phone, doing game changer. He's like, he's like, you've got to be fucking kidding me. Umpire turns, he goes, one more word out of you, I'll have you gone for the whole weekend. Again, not saying it to the umpire.

[B]

Right. He's just muttering to himself. Okay, but was he muttering in a way that he knew the umpire could hear?

[C]

No, no, he wasn't. He.

[B]

He's.

[C]

He's not that kind of guy. He's a younger guy. He's really good with the kids. He was not looking to be antagonistic or fight with the guy.

[B]

Okay?

[C]

So anyway, that all happens. So I'm in Wheeling for Hank's first game on Sunday. And then I go out to Crystal Lake for Jackie's second game. They won their first one. And there's a fire truck there and an ambulance, and I walk up to one of the dads. I'm like, what? What's going on? What's happening here? And they're like, oh. He goes, you have no Idea what you've missed here today. I'm like, okay. Because apparently there was a woman found unresponsive in the ladies washroom. So that's why the ambulance and fire truck were there. But she was okay. He said our umpire from yesterday got escorted off the field by police. I was like, okay, what happened?

[B]

The umpire did.

[C]

The guy that kicked out our man, our, our head coach, our manager, he was, he was doing a different game. So it wasn't, this wasn't our game, he's doing a different game. And started arguing with both coaches and parents. And it escalated to a point where one of the parents apparently said, you know what, I got to tell you, you just, you really suck at this. And he turns the. To the parent and goes, well, that's not what your wife said to me last night.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

So then apparently there was something else that he said. I don't know what it was, but he said something else that then required the tournament like the site director. So every, you know, this term, this is a night a known, well known, you know, tournament, league.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

And they each, each site has its own tournament director. So the tournament director had to get involved, get the umpire off the field.

[B]

How old was this guy?

[C]

71.

[B]

The umpire was 71. I'm picturing a 16 year old, 71 year old man.

[C]

Okay, so the police come. So he wouldn't leave the field. He kept, he kept, he left the gated area and kept trying to come back in. So they had to call the police. So the police had to escort this guy off the grounds because he's being antagonistic and fighting with.

[B]

Yeah, okay. He should never umpire another game again.

[C]

So listen, listen.

[B]

That's the kind of thing you should lose your certification.

[C]

So listen to what he did during our first game. This is the game now. Going back to our first game when the manager got kicked out.

[B]

I wonder if I've seen this guy. I bet I have. I bet I've seen this guy before.

[C]

So I'm walking back from first base, I go to the dugout and he, he stops our catcher and he's having a conversation with our catcher. I'm like, what, what is he doing? The umpire takes a bat out of the other kid's hand on their team and the, he hits himself in the balls to show that he's wearing a cup and he like, wants to instant like start. He wants, he wants our, he's doing a cup check on our catcher for some reason. So he wants the catcher to hit himself in the balls to show that he's wearing a cup.

[B]

What?

[C]

Yeah. So apparently this guy. Mentally unstable. I mean, something. Something not at all correct with it. So while the police are there and they're talking to the tournament director, they're like, you know, were there any other complaints about this guy? And he was like. He was like, no, I haven't heard any. Any complaints. So one of our, one of our parents had actually complained to the tournament director after he kicked out our coach and was like, something's not right with this guy. And then his response was, man, you know how hard it is to find umpires to do this job.

[B]

It is. He's right. Yeah. That's really. If, if you.

[C]

Well, no, he's not actually wrong. You know, he's not wrong because parents are psychos, so. And coaches are psychos, which, by the

[B]

way, you can't have an umpire psycho.

[C]

Right?

[B]

You can't.

[C]

So then. And you have to be very, very, very thick skin. And you've got to be able to ignore that, not get involved.

[B]

But.

[C]

So Jackie's second game is going on and then another loud eruption happens and at a different field. And I'm watching and I'm looking. This all transpire the same tournament director is now escorting another coach off the field and out of the, like, the facility into the parking lot because he was screaming at an umpire. Like screaming at top his lungs.

[B]

Yeah, you. Yeah.

[C]

Youth sports, man, it's ruined by adults. I mean, just absolutely ruined by adults.

[B]

Kind of glad I'm done. Yeah, kind of glad about that. Wow. Okay.

[C]

Yeah. That's not what your wife said last night.

[B]

Boy, I am. I'm. I'm. I bet I've seen that guy. I bet if I saw him, I would. I don't know that there's a specific memory, but there, there aren't that many people his age who are. Who are still doing it. So, you know, chances are I've seen him at a tournament somewhere. Wow, that's an unbelievable.

[C]

That great.

[B]

Well, I don't know if it's great, but it's horrific. Yeah, it was always something. It is time for DBU picks presented by my bookie. And here are my picks. I am looking at tonight's games and I think I'm going to go as follows. I like Brunson 28+ I'm going to take that. I think that, that Jalen Brunson is kind of unstoppable with the ball right now. However, Nas Reed, you're going to need a little extra scoring from somewhere. And if the number for me is 13 or more. I'm going to grab that. I just missed. I had my Cade Cunningham Anthony black one and I hit only half of that. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna go back to that. If you want to parlay it, you can. I have Brunson 28 plus Reed 13 plus points.

[C]

I'm going to put these two games together for tonight. Playing as a parlay, I'm going to take the 76ers and the 7 1/2 points at new York. So I'm going to take the seven and a half. Keep it close and then I'm going to lay all 13 points. Spurs hosting the Timberwolves. So spurs minus 13, 76ers plus seven and a half.

[B]

There it is. Those are DBU picks. Lock in your picks now with my bookie and bet on anything, anywhere, anytime. That is today's DBU that has been brought to you by Chicago Window guys and our friend Russ Armstrong. You can always reach him at 847-302-9171. And we've been brought to you in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered Unfiltered on 312Sports.