Matt Abeticola (1:41)

Come on.

Dan Bernstein (1:43)

219.

Matt Abeticola (1:44)

219. Forward progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.

Dan Bernstein (2:00)

So I have a new idea on what Mike Vrabel and Diana Rossini could do. Actually flip the script. I think this is the last chance and the last possibility. After laying low, after not saying anything, after mishandling this over and over and over again, the latest bit of information has me thinking. Maddie, I think we've got a solution here. And I want you to tell me if this makes sense. Okay? Are we cool? All right. The latest news that we have. TMZ reported yesterday evening that Mike Vrabel and Diana Rossini booked a private boat trip in June of 2021. So that's when he was still head coach of the Titans. She would have been pregnant with their first child.

Matt Abeticola (2:56)

Not their first child. Her first Child.

Dan Bernstein (2:59)

Excuse me? Her first child. I got to be careful. Her first child, which she did name Michael. They were the only two people on board during the two to three hour trip. And they were reportedly cautious about photos. So we add this to a list of the various drops of evidence. It started with them at a. An adults only couples resort in Sedona. And expensive.

Matt Abeticola (3:27)

Working. Working backwards. Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (3:29)

Resort. Right. Not temporarily bad as far as we found out about stuff. Then it was photos that surfaced of them kissing in a bar in 2020 and together gambling at a casino in 2024. So with every bit of data we get, with every data point, this is looking like a deeper and longer existing relationship than just a little dalliance.

Matt Abeticola (4:08)

Yeah, that was pretty clear from. I mean, the initial photos we saw in Arizona. This was more than just a.

Dan Bernstein (4:16)

You don't interlace your fingers with a casual acquaintance.

Matt Abeticola (4:20)

Yeah. Then you have the bar, you have the casino. Now we add this boat trip to it while she's pregnant and. Okay, this is, this is a. This is a multi year long term romantic relationship.

Dan Bernstein (4:34)

All right, you are. We are at nuclear option stage for public relations. In my opinion, this has been so brutally mishandled from jump that they, they just made the wrong call. The first it was get Robert Kraft to try to call in favors and try to squash the story. And that. This is laughable. How dare anybody begin to think that we could possibly do this. And even the. You had organization attempting to. To lie on the behalf of these people.

Matt Abeticola (5:01)

Executive editor of the Athletic.

Dan Bernstein (5:04)

Yeah. Stephen Ginsburg. They made everybody look stupid. They've clowned everybody involved. And then they went dark until he said, I'm going to wiener counseling. But he didn't really. We don't really know what he did. And then don't forget being at the airport and buying the gift in the gift shop and being seen there. The entire thing has been a disaster. Here's how you save it. The only thing left for them to do is say, you know what? We've been in love. We are in love. You can't tell the heart what the heart wants. And yeah, this has been ongoing. We've been living impossible double lives. We love each other and we're going to be together here. And after we're both leaving our spouses and committing to each other because we love each other.

Matt Abeticola (6:04)

Yeah. Now, I said that a couple weeks ago in one of the initial times, talking about this story that if they are in love, just be honest and move on. I mean, it's an unfortunate and horrible situation. That would have happened to their spouses. But if, if that's the truth, then just move on and move forward with it. Now, they, they haven't done that. They haven't said that. Here's the question I have for you. Because you said to salvage this, to

Dan Bernstein (6:27)

save this, she'd have to quit her job. She'd have to be done in this business.

Matt Abeticola (6:31)

Well, okay, but. Well, she already is. She already is. But you said to salvage this, to save this. What is he trying to save? Because what is it that he's losing? He's apparently not losing his wife or his family. And he's either job. He's either very remorseful and very, and being very sincere and honest when he says that the most important things to me are this football team and my family. You know, he does that one day emergency 24 hour marriage counseling session which just sounds like a big, big bucket of speed counseling. And he's not, he's not losing his job. Like Robert Kraft is not going to say, hey, I'm gonna fire you. He already said I'm. The only way he, the only way he's no longer the coach of the Patriots is if he resigns.

Dan Bernstein (7:15)

If. Or if they lose a bunch of games because his players don't trust him anymore and he's not.

Matt Abeticola (7:20)

Well, Drake may said that he's a great human being. Well, Drake and the players are all thinking, hey, you know, we support the coach. This is personal stuff. It's personal stuff. Listen, the NFL doesn't care, right? Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots, he doesn't care. The players don't care. The fans don't care. He doesn't need to salvage anything, Dan. He's not, he's not at risk of losing anything. She's already lost her job. We don't know what's happening with her marriage. The only. The. Listen, there's nothing to save here for Mike Vrabel. He's not losing anything. And listen, I don't care. I've said this before. He could bang a different girl every day of the week for the rest of his life and still be the coach of the Patriots. I don't care. The issue is how did their relationship impact the business of the NFL? And if the NFL doesn't care, why the fuck should I keep caring? They're not going to do anything about it. They don't care. He's got nothing to lose here, Dan. Nothing. Yeah, maybe, maybe for his own mental health and his own physical well being, they can both come out and be honest. And say, listen, I don't want to be married to X. And yeah, I want to be with her. She wants to be with me. That's what.

Dan Bernstein (8:39)

We've made this very complicated and we don't need to make this complicated. So I'm, I'm just, I'm going to worry about football right now. I got a lot to do. But one thing I'm going to do is I'm going to stop living a lie and Diana and I are going to be together and carry on.

Matt Abeticola (8:54)

God bless you. Great. Have a great life together.

Dan Bernstein (8:57)

Great.

Matt Abeticola (8:58)

And he should do that for his own personal well being. Now if he truly isn't in love with her and it was just some kind of, who knows what the fuck it was and he really does want to fix things with his wife. I've said this before too. I don't know how he does that while being the head coach of an NFL team, but if that's really what he wants and that's what he's going to do, then fine, commit to it, stick to it and do it. Or he's lying still when he says the most important thing to me is my family and this football team. Maybe that's a lie too. Because how do you know what's truthful coming out of this guy's mouth now?

Dan Bernstein (9:31)

You don't really know what to trust because he said that would be laughable to think that I was involved with this woman for eight years when we're taking boat trips and going to these

Matt Abeticola (9:41)

resorts together, you know, and he talks about how, you know, his, he's committed to being the best version of himself, moving forward for the football team, for his family. Those are his words, not mine. And if he truly believes that and wants that, then hey, I support that dude.

Dan Bernstein (9:54)

Sure.

Matt Abeticola (9:55)

Like, you know what? You, you want to, you want to recover from being a piece of. I support that. You can do that. You can make strides in your life, you. To become a better person, to be the best version of yourself. I get that. I understand it. I support that for you. Mike Vrabel. If that's not true, then don't fucking say it and just go hang out with Diana Rossini.

Dan Bernstein (10:14)

And it also, it's almost because this only gets worse.

Matt Abeticola (10:17)

Dan is only like, let's just hypothetical situations. That's not his kid. I mean her husband, maybe it comes out that it really isn't her husband's kid. Then what? Then is week four, the NFL season, and all of a sudden here's the breaking news.

Dan Bernstein (10:33)

Come on. You know that when the first birth chart comes out, don't you?

Matt Abeticola (10:37)

Well, I mean, with the kids, four or five, you're not gonna. You're not gonna know that right now.

Dan Bernstein (10:41)

Yeah, you are. Yeah, you're probably gonna know when they. When they look at where the epiphyseal lines are in. In the bones, and they're like, oh, geez.

Matt Abeticola (10:50)

Yeah, I know.

Dan Bernstein (10:50)

But, you know, your kid's gonna be 6, 4, and 2. 30.

Matt Abeticola (10:54)

Right. And that's not always 100. Indicative of the parents either. There's a lot more genetics beyond the mom and dad. I mean, my daughter's five foot, okay, so. And she's 30 years old, so it's like. Okay, you would think she'd be taller. Well, she's not going to be taller. Listen, if he. If that's really what he wants to do, then. Then go ahead and do it. Be the best version of yourself. Change your life, change the habits and your behaviors to become the best version of yourself, commit to your wife and fix all that. I just don't see how he does that. Being the head coach of an NFL team, I can't. I can't see that happening. I really can't.

Dan Bernstein (11:30)

It's also the fact that with everything we find out, it's getting like. And more like romantic almost.

Matt Abeticola (11:38)

Right? You like them as a couple.

Dan Bernstein (11:42)

That's what I'm saying. That it's almost kind of cute now.

Matt Abeticola (11:45)

It's really sweet.

Dan Bernstein (11:46)

Well, they have been spotted. What were they doing? Well, they were in the tunnel of love. They're on a giant swan, and they've been spotted. It's little things, like, he was spotted laying his silken cape across a mud puddle and helping her by hand, leave a carriage.

Matt Abeticola (12:07)

We discovered another date night. What was their date night? Oh, they went and they packed food for sending off to starving children in Africa. That was their date night.

Dan Bernstein (12:15)

It keeps getting cute. Wait a sec. TMZ breaking news. What do you have? Well, Harvey, we have. She lost. They were at this fancy ball, and she seems to have lost what appears to be a glass slipper. And yes, we. This is grainy video, but that is indeed Mike Rabel, who went from town to town with this glass slipper, trying to fit it on just the right foot.

Matt Abeticola (12:44)

Or. No, it's like. It's like. All right, this special report from tmz. Mike Vrabel, Diana Rossini in the hospital. He's donating a kidney because she's in need of a kidney. And. And he happens to. He could feed a donor. So it's like, yes. Oh, that's so sweet. Like, because, because this could only get worse.

Dan Bernstein (13:02)

Like, imagine Diana Rossini have just adopted another special needs child, right?

Matt Abeticola (13:09)

No, it's like, it's like week three and all of a sudden there's a breaking news story that it's like, all right, it's really, it's. It's his kid. You know what I mean? Like, that's the next big step in this story and still no one's gonna care.

Dan Bernstein (13:21)

I know.

Matt Abeticola (13:21)

And they shouldn't care about that. I, I don't. If they want to fuck up their personal lives, go ahead and fuck it up all you want. The fact that the NFL doesn't care at some point their relationship impacted the business of the NFL needs to be an issue in a story. I don't care that he had an affair and he's cheating and it's for eight years or eight minutes or eight decades. I don't care. That's his personal life to ruin. The fact the NFL doesn't care about the relationship between an NFL insider and a head coach is the story. They don't care.

Dan Bernstein (13:56)

I just think we are at steer into the skid time. That's where we are. We're into a part where it's, it's, we're not going to beat this. And by being quiet and knowing. Because you got to sit down with them. If you have been hired as the boutique crisis PR agency, the first thing you do is like, okay, Mike, Dan, what else? Where else? Where might you be on somebody's phone? Where might you have been seen? And just start going through. It's like, well, we took a gondola ride in Venice that one time and there was the other time where he serenaded me with the guitar. So it's like, just figure it all out. And if the narrative of all of these things, if the story that is told by all the information is one of, of impossible love against all odds, tell that story, right?

Matt Abeticola (14:55)

Tell that story. And if that's really what you want, be honest about it because you know people, as far as the court of public opinion, people will support that. If you truly are in love and if that's your person you're going to be with, then go be with that person.

Dan Bernstein (15:09)

Right?

Matt Abeticola (15:10)

But he's, he's already fucked that up though too, because he said the most important thing to him is his family. And I'm going to go to 24 hour emergency counseling session and we're going to fix this and we're going to move Forward together. And then if something else comes out or that's not the case, that's going to be known, too.

Dan Bernstein (15:26)

I was thinking this too. I was thinking, let's say they do that. Let's say they go with this like, hey, I've got it.

Matt Abeticola (15:32)

That they.

Dan Bernstein (15:33)

Nobody can say anything if you're actually in love and you start the divorce process, then you're together, and then they find out that he's like one of six coaches and executives that have been part of whatever plan she's had to get all these.

Matt Abeticola (15:47)

One of six reporters. I mean, yeah, right.

Dan Bernstein (15:49)

Like, like what, what don't they know? Right. How do you even begin to advise until you can find out that it's like, all right, Diana, we need to know everything, Mike. We need to know everything from you also. If we're going to try to spin this somehow. And maybe, maybe it's. They're past that point, even of the nuclear option. And it's just they're not going to say anything and, and eventually they're going to live with the rest of their lives always somehow having this hangover them.

Matt Abeticola (16:18)

And I'll just say this too. And I, I hope, I really, really, really hope because the only, the, I mean, outside of their, their spouses here, obviously, but I just, I hope that that kid is hers and her husband's kid. That's all, that's all I hope for,

Dan Bernstein (16:36)

for the kid's sake.

Matt Abeticola (16:37)

For the kid's sake. Yes. Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (16:39)

That it's, I mean, as much as we have fun with it, that there, there obviously are real people involved in there didn't do anything wrong at all. Right. Didn't, didn't have. Didn't. And are just collateral damage in this whole thing. Yes.

Matt Abeticola (16:51)

Right. And I just, I just don't know how I could, I could believe the guy for saying, oh, the most important thing for me is my family and this football team and a one day, 24 hour emergency marriage counseling session in Utah is going to fix everything. And like you, you can't go about the business of being an NFL head coach and, and, and have the priority and the time to fix that relationship. He just, he just, that's impossible. So, like, the skepticism in me, it's just like, I just don't believe a word coming from his mouth saying that, that, that's important. That's what he wants. For me, I feel like it's quite the opposite. And he's just saying what people think he, he's saying what he thinks people want him to say and he's doing what people. What he thinks people want him to do.

Dan Bernstein (17:38)

Well, obviously there's. There's clearly going to be more. And you know that we're. We will keep.

Matt Abeticola (17:45)

How much worse is it gonna get? I mean, that's better.

Dan Bernstein (17:48)

I keep saying, like, maybe it gets more adorable.

Matt Abeticola (17:53)

And listen, I wanna. I want to make sure it's very clear because I want to make sure people understand this. And I'm gonna speak for you, too, because I think.

Dan Bernstein (17:59)

Go ahead.

Matt Abeticola (18:00)

Please do.

Dan Bernstein (18:00)

You're better at this than I am.

Matt Abeticola (18:02)

We don't care what he does in his personal life. We really don't. And we've never once said that he should lose his job as an NFL head coach because he banged a reporter or had a love affair with a reporter for the last decade. We don't feel that way. The concern is the business of the NFL and the relationship he had with an NFL insider and how that impacted the business of the NFL. That's why it needs to be looked at and investigated by the NFL. And if there's an outcome that says he needs to lose his job, that's what we believe should happen. We are never, ever. We've never said. Haven't said it one time. Don't believe it. That he should lose his job because he had an affair. We don't think that.

Dan Bernstein (18:47)

No, there were reasons why you said it specifically.

Matt Abeticola (18:50)

Right.

Dan Bernstein (18:51)

There were very good reasons to think about what else was happening. Having an important NFL insider in your pocket over all this time and what that might be affecting and how it was affecting the flow of information to other teams, etc. But the NFL doesn't even really seem interested in finding that out.

Matt Abeticola (19:07)

They don't care. And we talked about that, too. They don't care. Because if you. If you go down that road, what else are you opening up? Who else are you exposing? And the NFL doesn't want to do that. That's why we're saying it's all but. And we've also said this, too, and I'll reiterate it one more time. It's a big pool of hypocrisy. And we're part of it because we love the NFL, too.

Dan Bernstein (19:29)

Oh, I love the. I love this story. I'm not gonna lie. I love this story. It's great. And you know what? You know who else loves this story? You. Yes. Even though you say, I don't care. I want football, football, football. All I want to know is about blocking. That's all I care about. I don't care about anything. Else. Huh. But what are you clicking on it? Because I'll tell you this. You know, you know what else loves this story? The algorithm.

Matt Abeticola (19:57)

Yeah, I know, I know. I just, you know, there's. There's a. You know, Drake May says he's a great human being. I mean, Drake, I would.

Dan Bernstein (20:05)

Drake, shut up.

Matt Abeticola (20:06)

Re. Evaluate what you consider a great human being.

Dan Bernstein (20:09)

Just stop talking.

Matt Abeticola (20:10)

Could he potentially one day become a great person? Sure. He certainly can. It's going to take a lot of work, though. Like.

Dan Bernstein (20:15)

Well, she tried, remember? How about her faking the whole car crash thing?

Matt Abeticola (20:20)

Yes. She apparently pulled an old man out of a burning car.

Dan Bernstein (20:23)

You remember? They, she. They lied about her. It's like, it sounds like they staged. Really does. Like, you think it was just coincidence that she happened to be driving in her neighborhood and there was an elderly man stuck in a burning car that apparently she was supposedly broke into the car and saved his life, even though everyone. And then it took, as always happens,

Matt Abeticola (20:47)

it took a little while to get

Dan Bernstein (20:49)

the actual story and it was. Yeah, no, she looked after a dog while something happened and, well, it was the guy's dog.

Matt Abeticola (20:55)

He must have been in the car and she was probably holding or she maybe someone who was actually there physically helping and she was holding that guy's dog. But.

Dan Bernstein (21:01)

Yeah, I mean, but even the whole thing, like, come on, stop, stop. Drake May, stop talking. Diana Rossini. Stop trying to. To get ahead of this by becoming some sort of phony baloney hero.

Matt Abeticola (21:17)

Yeah, I think, I think, you know, if I'm. If I'm an agent of any of the guys on the Patriots, I just say, if anybody asks you to say no comment.

Dan Bernstein (21:24)

Well, don't say no comment. I would never advise to actually say no comment. Just say, I'd really rather not talk about that.

Matt Abeticola (21:30)

Okay, yeah, I'd rather not talk about it. Or. That's really not for me to discuss and to have an opinion on, because to say that, oh, he's a great human being. That's. That's a real big you to Mrs. Rabel, too. Like, really? You really, like, you think this guy's a great. A great human being?

Dan Bernstein (21:46)

Drake, why. Why do you think that?

Matt Abeticola (21:49)

And Robert Kraft, you know, with the phony bullshit. Given her flowers when Vrabel was hired as the head coach. It's the first thing he does is calls her on stage and gives her flowers and then he tries to get the story buried. Like, fuck you too, Robert Kraft. Anyway, yeah, I'm trying to, like, what other scenarios could there be? Yeah, I mean, help help deliver like, a pregnant woman's baby while having it, like, Italian. Like a romantic Italian dinner and. Right.

Dan Bernstein (22:18)

She fell on a grenade that was intended for the president. I mean, come on. What are we trying to do here?

Matt Abeticola (22:25)

Talk about staged.

Dan Bernstein (22:28)

Who knows? Everybody's trying to kill him all the time. I mean, just follow him around. It takes two seconds. And meanwhile, I, I just. What?

Matt Abeticola (22:39)

What aren't you gonna do?

Dan Bernstein (22:40)

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Dan Bernstein (24:21)

I did see a Bears note here that was a little curious.

Matt Abeticola (24:25)

Yeah, I'm glad you pulled this up because I have. This was actually my number two on my list. So.

Dan Bernstein (24:31)

So because we're, we are in that period before the NFL content starts churning with OTAs. This article on ESPN said the biggest roster hole for all 32 NFL teams following the draft roster hole. It doesn't necessarily mean it's a position with no clear starters. It's most teams having a weakness on their roster even after the draft.

Matt Abeticola (25:00)

Oh wait, I clicked on it thinking I laid. I. I was, I was like, all right, I know what it's going to say. I'll look anyway.

Dan Bernstein (25:07)

And this is Aaron Schatz, who put this together.

Matt Abeticola (25:12)

What?

Dan Bernstein (25:14)

And I thought, here's another way of saying the Bears didn't address their pass rush, Right?

Matt Abeticola (25:19)

Correct. That's exactly what I thought.

Dan Bernstein (25:21)

So you scroll and you scroll and you scroll and it says, I'll give you a second here to picture in your mind what you think, where you think the Bears have a roster hole. And the answer, slot receiver. Yes.

Matt Abeticola (25:36)

I was like, what? I had to make sure I was looking at the Bears. Had to make sure it was the Bear section.

Dan Bernstein (25:43)

It says the Bears use a lot of two tight end sets. However, they were still in 11 personnel 52% of the time last season. So they need to have a third starting receiver to go with Roma, Dunes A and Luther Burden. Right now, that's veteran Khalif Raymond. But Raymond is 31 and has had less than 300 yards in each of the past two seasons. The other alternative is third round rookie Xavion Thomas. Debo Samuel would be a really interesting free agent signing here.

Matt Abeticola (26:16)

Yeah, good, good on that. What?

Dan Bernstein (26:20)

So isn't Jade Walker also still on the team?

Matt Abeticola (26:23)

John A. Walker still on the team? Yes, that is correct. Your best receiver isn't even a wide receiver in Colson Loveland. Yeah, but Khalif Raymond, he's. Correct me if I'm, if I'm wrong, Dan. He's not like, we're not expecting him to get, you know, 800 or a thousand yards, are we?

Dan Bernstein (26:40)

No.

Matt Abeticola (26:40)

Are we expecting him to be a special teams guy and a third wide receiver?

Dan Bernstein (26:45)

Yes.

Matt Abeticola (26:45)

Veteran presence there? A little bit.

Dan Bernstein (26:47)

Yes.

Matt Abeticola (26:48)

Okay, so great. That's a, he's a, that's a great spot for, for him to fill in then.

Dan Bernstein (26:54)

Right. And to not even mention John A. Walker, who was catching playoff touchdowns for them.

Matt Abeticola (27:00)

Correct.

Dan Bernstein (27:00)

Okay.

Matt Abeticola (27:01)

And only expect him to take a couple steps forward this year. So, yeah, I was really surprised when I saw that. I, again, I clicked into it thinking, all right, defensive end, edge, rush, defensive tackle, pressure, the quarterback. There's, that's whatever. I'll look at it anyway. I mean, like, what, you know, it's another day. I can read another story about it, about how the Bears failed to address pressuring the quarterback and then slot receiver. Well, after my initial shock, I was like, well, this is refreshing, something different to talk about or look at or think about. But I, I, if I'm looking at holes on this team, I'm not looking at the wide receiver room. You could Question. Maybe the lack of veteran talent. Sure. You want to go that route? Cleave Raymond. Yeah. Is he a guy that's gonna knock your socks off with his. No, I, I get that. But that's what he's going into his third year. Luther Burton proved himself last year. Today, Walker, like you mentioned, is getting playoff catches and playoff touchdowns. Your best receiver is your. One of your tight ends and who

Dan Bernstein (27:59)

plays kind of a wide receiver position. Anyway, that's the thing about Loveland, is that a lot. Right. A lot of the routes he runs are not typical tight end kinds of things here.

Matt Abeticola (28:10)

Correct. And you have two running backs that can catch the ball out of the backfield as well, too. That was not an area of concern. If I'm, If I'm looking at my list of concerns, catching the football. Well, I mean, that. That was a concern last year, being able to hold on to and catch it, but targeting people to catch the football was not a concern for me this year.

Dan Bernstein (28:27)

No. So I guess I would say that is a. I disagree with what they're saying there. We have an update to the Aaron Rodgers story, too, that we were. You made the mistake. Was it yesterday that you read the. The.

Matt Abeticola (28:39)

Yesterday?

Dan Bernstein (28:40)

Yes. You actually gave the names of the quarterbacks in the room for the Pittsburgh

Matt Abeticola (28:45)

Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. Because that was the rumor that he was going there and then. And Schefter was like, that's not happening. That's fake. As I read both quarterback rooms. And then you felt ill.

Dan Bernstein (28:57)

Right. Because you said Mason Rudolph, Drew Allar, and who was the third guy? It wasn't Keaton Slovis.

Matt Abeticola (29:08)

No, he's on the other. Other.

Dan Bernstein (29:10)

No, he was on the Cardinals and apparently.

Matt Abeticola (29:13)

Oh, I got it right here. I got my notes right here.

Dan Bernstein (29:14)

Yeah.

Matt Abeticola (29:16)

Will Howard.

Dan Bernstein (29:18)

So apparently Aaron Rodgers is going to visit Pittsburgh today. And according to 93.7the fan, he is expected to sign with the Steelers this weekend. But Ian Rapaport confirms the visit, but says no deal is in place. Okay, but maybe something happened immediately after we read the names in their room of Will Howard, Mason Rudolph and Drew Aller.

Matt Abeticola (29:48)

Yeah, I think. I think someone from the Steelers listens. And then they were like, wait, wait a second.

Dan Bernstein (29:52)

Wait, what?

Matt Abeticola (29:54)

Get Aaron Rodgers on the phone.

Dan Bernstein (29:56)

That's not good. We can't start a football season with those guys. Yeah. Okay. So we'll see. And all I can do is hope that his career ends in misery and ignominy.

Matt Abeticola (30:08)

Johnny Manziel.

Dan Bernstein (30:09)

What about him?

Matt Abeticola (30:11)

I don't know if you saw this story. The former. Heisman trophy winner. He's 33 now, by the way. I know he apparently is fighting some guy named Bob Menery.

Dan Bernstein (30:23)

I mean, fighting him.

Matt Abeticola (30:25)

UFC, Apex in Las Vegas on May 23. He is set to face off social media influencer Bob Menary. Meanary Menary. The fight promoted by Kick streamer. Aiden Ross's brand Risk Promotions, which is known for pitting celebrities against content creators in boxing matches.

Dan Bernstein (30:47)

Isn't. Is. Isn't Aiden Ross the idiot that got Puka Nakua to do the money grubbing Jew dance?

Matt Abeticola (30:56)

Oh, is it really? I don't know.

Dan Bernstein (30:57)

Check it.

Matt Abeticola (30:58)

I've heard of his name.

Dan Bernstein (30:59)

I think that's the same guy. Okay. You know, I'm old and my memory's weird, but I'm pretty sure that that was the guy.

Matt Abeticola (31:09)

Yep, yep.

Dan Bernstein (31:10)

Aiden Ross. It was a D I n. Yes.

Matt Abeticola (31:17)

So that's him.

Dan Bernstein (31:18)

Appeared on a live stream with Internet personality Aiden Ross to perform widely criticized anti Semitic gesture. So anything affiliated with Aiden Ross is already kind of a little questionable at the very least.

Matt Abeticola (31:35)

Yeah. So I. I don't know if. If you'll be watching. I. I'll. I will not. Yes.

Dan Bernstein (31:41)

He doesn't need to do that. They've got family money. Who? Menzel. The Menzel family.

Matt Abeticola (31:46)

Oh, yeah. And I. I kind of. I watched some documentaries about Johnny Football and I thought he'd kind of moved past poor decisions.

Dan Bernstein (31:56)

Maybe he's dating Diana Rossini.

Matt Abeticola (31:58)

Yeah, maybe. But here's what I thought of, and this is what I wanted to link it to. So nine years from now, when he turns 33, who will Diego Pavia be fighting in a UFC match? Well, who.

Dan Bernstein (32:20)

Who's a burgeoning Internet personality?

Matt Abeticola (32:23)

Well, I think the only. The only correct answer here, the acceptable answer, will be his brothers.

Dan Bernstein (32:29)

Oh, I don't know. You don't want Javier and Roel coming after you. They fight in the style of the drunken punch. And why. Why is the drunken punch guy always like an old dude on the video games? It's always like the guy with the old.

Matt Abeticola (32:44)

With like the.

Dan Bernstein (32:45)

He looks like Pai May.

Matt Abeticola (32:46)

Well, because I think you have to be drunk to do it, don't you?

Dan Bernstein (32:49)

No, you're supposed to look. You're not actually drunk in the style of the drunken punch. That's the idea.

Matt Abeticola (32:53)

That's why I think it worked for me.

Dan Bernstein (32:55)

You think, oh, there's this old drunk guy. I can kick his ass. And then he's like, oh, you thought I was drunk?

Matt Abeticola (33:02)

Yeah, maybe you have to be a sort of a certain age to pull

Dan Bernstein (33:04)

that Off, I guess.

Matt Abeticola (33:05)

I guess you have to look a certain way to appear fully intoxicated and unable to defend yourself.

Dan Bernstein (33:13)

Yeah, I wouldn't want to fight Roel and Javier.

Matt Abeticola (33:16)

All right, so maybe, maybe nine years from now. Diego Pavia is the promoter and he has his brothers fight each other.

Dan Bernstein (33:23)

I think he does that anyway. They just don't do it for an audience. That's just called Thursday Afternoon.

Matt Abeticola (33:29)

Have you ever heard of hey, Roel,

Dan Bernstein (33:31)

Javier said you suck?

Matt Abeticola (33:33)

What? Have you heard of Bob Menary? Bob Minery? Okay. No, I had neither. So I looked him up. Apparently what he does, he takes play by play.

Dan Bernstein (33:48)

Huh.

Matt Abeticola (33:49)

And he does like, voiceover and play by play, but makes it like it's supposed to be funny.

Dan Bernstein (33:54)

Oh. Like John Boy.

Matt Abeticola (33:55)

But he's very vulgar, I guess.

Dan Bernstein (33:57)

Oh, he works blue.

Matt Abeticola (34:00)

Yeah.

Dan Bernstein (34:01)

Okay. No, I don't know.

Matt Abeticola (34:02)

Yeah. So. And then when looking it up, there was one clip of. Of his that I'd actually come across on social media, but not knowing that it was him or his.

Dan Bernstein (34:10)

So, I mean, it was when the

Matt Abeticola (34:12)

Phillies pitcher threw, like, threw the ball home and like, like 15ft over the catcher's head. So he like redid that and then dubbed it and he swore a lot in it and. Yeah, but now he's gonna fight Johnny Manziel.

Dan Bernstein (34:25)

All right, well, I hope nobody gets hurt. Speaking of fighting and speaking.

Matt Abeticola (34:30)

UFC disagrees.

Dan Bernstein (34:32)

And speaking of the Chicago Bears. Yeah. I wasn't going to bring this up, but I saw this. And did you know, first of all that Tom Zibakowski was the football coach here at St. Patrick High School?

Matt Abeticola (34:51)

I was not aware of that.

Dan Bernstein (34:53)

So he's the former Bear. Yes. Boxer and boxer. I remember we used to joke about the fact that he was doing absolutely everything possible to give himself cte.

Matt Abeticola (35:07)

Yes. Football wasn't enough.

Dan Bernstein (35:10)

Right. So I got an email from somebody who went to St. Patrick High School. Okay. Who is a frequent listener of the all of the pods that we have here on 312 sports. And all this says is, I still get alumni emails from my high school. And not only have they hired Tom Zibakowski to be head varsity football coach, they recently announced he was going to reintroduce intramural boxing. At least 30 years after deciding it was a bad idea, 14 year old boys will once again be punching each other in the head. Okay. I don't think that's legal for a high school, for even for a private high school. I think there are laws that have made high school age boxing. You can do it at a private club and maybe it's okay at a private Catholic high school, but why would you want that? Who wants no answer for that? Punching each other in the face. Who. Where was the demand for this?

Matt Abeticola (36:25)

Well, Dan, it could be a good thing for some struggling young 14 year olds that are need some discipline and guidance in their life. Well, here, go punch that young boy in the head.

Dan Bernstein (36:37)

Okay. I just, I thought it was weird and I thought that it's like, you know how they say that when the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. I think that Tom Zabakowski only knows to a way to approach human existence if everything somehow causes brain damage or

Matt Abeticola (36:58)

just to punch it.

Dan Bernstein (36:59)

Right.

Matt Abeticola (37:00)

You solve any, any, any conflict or issue with, with a punch with run

Dan Bernstein (37:04)

into it or punch it and that's how you. Well, the Jim Boylan punch clock.

Matt Abeticola (37:08)

Well, I would hope not. Like, like he's at a restaurant and he orders something and the waiter's like, well, unfortunately we're, we're out of that item right now. And he punches right up from the table. Yeah, he just doesn't even look. Just punches.

Dan Bernstein (37:22)

I mean he could like punch the menu or he could punch like, I don't know. What, dude? What? Sir, I'm sorry, we're out of the Bronzino maybe.

Matt Abeticola (37:32)

I don't know.

Dan Bernstein (37:33)

Well, he sure, he sure got out of the NFL fast, if you noticed that he worked in the NFL and then he worked in where he worked in college and then very, very quickly he was back in high school. So I don't know if he didn't.

Matt Abeticola (37:47)

Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, not sure. I, I don't know either.

Dan Bernstein (37:51)

I don't know if he didn't. He just didn't.

Matt Abeticola (37:52)

Well, good luck to him though. That's all I can say.

Dan Bernstein (37:55)

Yes. Again, good luck and I hope nobody gets hurt. And same go. Same goes for Mike Vrabel and Diana Rossini.

Matt Abeticola (38:02)

Good luck to you.

Dan Bernstein (38:02)

Good luck to everybody involved. And that's the official stance today of Forward progress, a Chicago Bears Putt podcast on 312 Sports progress is stopped.

Matt Abeticola (38:20)

Forward Progress Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 3one2 Sports.

Dan Bernstein (38:31)

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Matt Abeticola (38:34)

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Dan Bernstein (38:36)

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Matt Abeticola (38:44)

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Dan Bernstein (38:50)

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Matt Abeticola (38:54)

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Dan Bernstein (38:56)

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