MNST: A Case of The Mondays

Summary

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Garage Logic – "MNST: A Case of The Mondays"

Podcast: Garage Logic
Host: Joe Soucheray ("The Mayor")
Guests: Eric (regular co-host)
Date: March 30, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this quintessential Garage Logic episode, Joe Soucheray and Eric blend local sports nostalgia, classic Minnesota skepticism, and cranky common sense as they recap a weekend packed with Minnesota sports happenings and reflect on recent passings in the local sports world. The show’s signature banter ranges from personal memories of athletes to passionate rants about baseball’s evolving rules, the problems with modern fandom, and the intersection of sports with deeper societal change. There’s warmth, wry resignation, deep admiration for old-school athletes, and plenty of sharp, witty commentary.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Reminiscing About Vikings Greats and Notable Sports Figures

• Passings of Jeff Siemon, Joey Browner, & Jay Robinson
  • Start: [02:02]
  • The episode opens with reflections on the deaths of Minnesota sports icons Jeff Siemon (linebacker, Vikings), Joey Browner (safety, Vikings), and legendary Gopher wrestling coach Jay Robinson.
  • Quote:
    • Joe: "You know how you're getting old when the deaths of these notable sports figures happen? And you think 'I just wrote about the guy.'" [02:02]
  • Eric highlights each athlete’s legacy, Browner’s unique family story (with multiple NFL siblings), and anecdotes about coaching styles and controversies, particularly with Jay Robinson.
  • Notably, Joe and Eric recall the grueling nature of Robinson’s wrestling camps and his outspoken views on Title IX.

Gary Woodland’s Triumph After Brain Surgery

• Start: [09:42]
• Joe shares the remarkable and gut-wrenching story of golfer Gary Woodland’s recent victory following brain surgery to remove a tumor affecting the fear and anxiety center of his brain. Woodland’s post-surgery PTSD and ongoing emotional struggles add context to the significance of his win.
  • Notable Detail:
    • Joe: "He would be playing golf and he would suddenly become terrified... They discover a softball sized tumor in his head pressing against the part of the brain that controls fear and anxiety." [10:17]
    • Eric: "It's just an amazing... I didn't know there was such a thing." [12:16]
• The duo contrasts Woodland’s comeback with Tiger Woods’ struggles, suggesting the mental hurdles Woodland faces are even more dramatic than Tiger’s physical injuries.

Tiger Woods: Reflections on a Complicated Champion

• Start: [12:20]
• Extended reflections on Tiger Woods' life, injuries, tabloid scandals, and his current state.
  • Memorable Moments:
    • Joe: "I've never been more fooled by a person than I was by him...turns out he's chasing pancake house waitresses." [19:12]
    • Discussion of infamous off-course incidents, his violent swing leading to lifelong injuries, and speculation about his ability to return.
    • Joe’s take: "I hope he doesn’t even try to play again. I think the poor guy needs to... get off the painkillers." [15:02]

The Minnesota Twins & Baseball’s Rule Changes

• Start: [21:22]
• Recap of the Twins’ weekend, the challenge of April baseball in Minnesota, and schedule oddities.
• The pair lower the boom on the new MLB challenge/review system for balls and strikes, deriding it as intrusive and counterproductive.
  • Quote:
    • Joe: "I just don't like it." [25:31]
    • Eric: "The biggest problem with baseball right now is not having the ball in play... This is just going to increase that." [27:06]
• Memorable Baseball Digression: Eric gleefully remembers infamous umpiring calls, including the 1997 NLCS “widening strike zone” for Liván Hernández.

Generational Change & “Modernizing” Sports Fandom

• Start: [28:35]
• Bittersweet commentary on changing sports audiences and MLB/NFL attempts to modernize, introduce AI, and chase younger viewers. Joe and Eric are skeptical.
  • Quote:
    • Joe: "It is not a game for the current 20..." [29:06]
    • Eric: "They want to get the modern fan...stick to making your fan base 65-year-olds." [28:42]

Football & Hockey Banter: Health, Decline, and Coaching Changes

• Start: [31:00]
• Observations about the lasting toll of football on ex-Vikings, with references to recent and past injuries/deaths, and the financial realities for retired athletes.
• Hockey: The Wild’s playoff hopes, odd schedule quirks, and rumors about coaching changes across the NHL.

Gopher Basketball & NCAA Tournament Chatter

• Start: [36:13]
• Brief coverage of college basketball, with a humorous aside about trying to educate grandkids on Minnesota sports history.
  • Joe: “I was trying to give the grandkids a little history lesson... they were giving me blank looks and said, 'what’s for dessert?'" [36:13]
• Celebratory banter about UConn’s buzzer-beater knocking out Duke, Joe’s delight as a "top 10 Duke hater," and March Madness bracket stories.
  • Eric: "I'm one of the world's top 10 Duke haters. And I missed it completely..." [36:45]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Joe Browner’s special teams role:

  • Eric: “Nobody else in the NFL had one of their most valuable players covering kicks even then. And Burnsy always had him out there...so I can sleep at night.” [04:48]

• On Jay Robinson’s wrestling intensity:

  • Eric: "He had the 26-day intensive camp...work their asses off for four weeks, just turn them into monsters." [08:25]

• On modern MLB rule changes:

  • Joe: “You’re supposed to be a bad umpire once in a while...that’s what we can all be mad at, something to talk about.” [29:49]

• On adapting to changing audiences:

  • Eric: "Stick to making your fan base 65-year-olds people. That's who watches baseball." [28:42]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Reminiscing about Jeff Siemon, Joey Browner, and Jay Robinson: [02:02] – [09:41]
• Gary Woodland’s comeback and mental health battle: [09:42] – [12:20]
• Tiger Woods, car crashes, career reflections: [12:20] – [21:20]
• Twins update, MLB schedule gripes, and rule changes: [21:22] – [28:35]
• Baseball's "modernization" debate & generational disconnect: [28:35] – [31:00]
• Football, player health, and financial struggles for retired pros: [31:00] – [34:26]
• Hockey–Wild, schedule quirks, and coaching legends: [34:26] – [36:13]
• College basketball, NCAA upsets, and March Madness pool talk: [36:13] – [39:21]
• Closing reflections, Woodland story wrap-up: [39:54] – [40:28]

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

True to Garage Logic’s spirit, the conversation is steeped in sharp personal observations, nostalgia for “the old days,” humorous irreverence, and unapologetic opinions about changes permeating sports and society. Joe and Eric lament the loss of common-sense athleticism and camaraderie, insisting that not all progress is good—especially when it tampers with the heart of the game.

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This episode is a perfect snapshot of Gumption County: stories of loss and grit, modern problems analyzed with Midwestern skepticism, and, above all, the comfort of knowing there’s still a place where the two-car garage, and a good cigar, are respected.

Transcript

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[Joe]

Preble and Murphy.

[Eric]

You just brought up something great, though. Preble at Murphy. Would that be fun in this political environment?

[Joe]

Oh, yeah.

[Eric]

Who would. Would somebody have to take one side?

[Joe]

Well, today I'll be Trump and you'll be okay.

[Eric]

Do they switch, though? Do they switch?

[Joe]

I don't know. They had fun doing it.

[Eric]

Oh, they did. They did.

[Joe]

You know how you're getting old when the deaths of these notable sports figures happen? And you think I just wrote about the guy.

[Eric]

Yeah. Yeah. While back. Yeah, it was quite a Thursday. I mean, a Saturday. We found out in the morning that Jeff Seaman had died, a great linebacker who came in 71 or two from Stanford, and he was the the first guy to start breaking up the old crew because he took over for Lonnie Warwick as the, remember, the middle linebacker. And then pretty soon Wally was gone. And Hilgenberg. I mean, Wally was gone and Roy Winston was gone, Replaced by Freddie McNeil and Matt Blair and that old defensive line and that. That took till later in the 70s for them to start breaking up. But I've always looked at Seaman as the. The. Okay, we're making the change now. That was Bud's fifth year. And I think. I think this first year they still started Lonnie Warwick, but they started playing.

[Joe]

Do we know how Seaman died?

[Eric]

I did not see it.

[Joe]

I do. Only, what, 65, 75. 75.

[Eric]

Joy Browner.

[Joe]

Browner was 65.

[Eric]

And nobody knows why Joey died. Joey came from a family, the Browners in Warren, Ohio.

[Joe]

Four of them.

[Eric]

Joey played a long time in the NFL. Ross played a long time in the NFL, and the two other kid. The two other younger brothers played some in the NFL. Warren, Ohio, which is one of those old industrial towns that's fallen on hard times, but they came out of one family and I think two of them went to Notre Dame. Ross. Ross went to Notre Dame. Joey went to Southern Cal, and then one of their brothers went to Notre Dame and the other one went to Southern Cal. So none of them went to Ohio State, even though they were from Warren. But Joy was, I think, one of the greatest athletes they've ever had on that team. I mean, he was Burns. He was. Burnsy loved him. You know, Burnsy would have him out there covering punts.

[Joe]

Is he the one where Burns. He says that the missus.

[Eric]

No, no, no, I don't think so. Who was. That Was the Missus.

[Joe]

That was Blair.

[Eric]

No, I can't remember. It was McNeil, one of those fellas. Maybe. Maybe it was Joey. I can't remember. Is that the missus?

[Joe]

We showed Burnsy a picture of the wife. Bernsey said, that's the Mrs.

[Eric]

But Burnsy would have. You know, nobody else in the NFL had one of their most valuable players covering kicks even then. And Burnsy always had him out there covering kickoffs and punts, even though he was greatest safety probably in Viking history. And when you'd ask Bernse, he says, why do you want to get him out there and kicks? He says, so I can sleep at night. He wanted that fantastic athlete, remember him? They could run by him and he'd reach out with one hand, throw him on the ground and he would have gotten called for that. Grabbing the back of the shoulder pad, which is now a penalty, more than once. But he was a great player. Not long, though. I think he's only in the year here. Nine years. He was only great for about seven. And then he played one year after that. He played. I think he played 10 years total. But he was fantastic. And Seaman, of course, was a rock. And he stayed in town. He lived here his whole life. I think after he got here. Right. I think he lived out, probably part of the Lakeville Crowd out there, where they all ended up out there. I did not. I mean, I covered him some, but he's not the kind of guy that would, you know, use a couple of quotes maybe once in a while, what he said. But you can go back in time and you don't see that many stories.

[Joe]

I have no memories of him being a bad guy. I have no memories.

[Eric]

Oh, no, he was a good guy

[Joe]

pretty much at all.

[Eric]

He was really a good guy, but he wasn't. For some reason, he wasn't the go to quote guy. Right. And we also lost a wrestling coach. Yeah. Jay Robinson. Jay, just the J. Gotta remember, it wasn't capitalized, was it? No, I think it was, but no period.

[Joe]

Okay?

[Eric]

No period. Just Jay Robinson.

[Joe]

And he made it to what, 82?

[Eric]

Is that what I saw? 82. He's the guy that gave me pause for a long time about having knee replacement surgery because he had it back 15 years ago, probably, and he got it infected. And for six months he had a rod in there, nothing out. He was still. He was still coaching, so maybe 20, maybe. It must have been early in the knee replacement industry, but it had just had a rod in there to hurt.

[Joe]

He himself was a collegiate wrestler.

[Eric]

Oh, yeah, Champion. Very good. And then he was at Iowa with Dan. He was the assistant at Iowa when I would beat everybody they wanted to in wrestling. And, you know, there weren't that many. There weren't that many places taking it terribly seriously. And Iowa took it extremely seriously. And he was Dan Gable's assistant for nine years when I think they won the championship every year. And then he came up here and he. He could. He could start a riot with his opinions on Title IX and things like that. He did not. He and Ms. Voles did not get along too well. And he. He always thought that he had no trouble with women athletics, but he certainly thought that you should be paid by your success, perhaps. I. I can't. I gotta go back and look at the major controversies. But remember him. And I think. Did that cost him his job or got him suspended or something? Some comments about.

[Joe]

He was always controversial.

[Eric]

Oh, yeah, he was. Yeah.

[Joe]

I got.

[Eric]

I had. Later on I had some nice long talks with him and he was. I think he'd mellowed some. He had a family and he was. He was, you know, he would never be accused of being mellow, but he was. But he had the. I think chip from our paper is writing something on it. He had the 26 day intensive summer camp at U. And it would, you know, probably in July after everything was empty. And he'd get these wrestlers, devoted young wrestlers in there and I don't know how far down, probably down to the sixth grade or something, and work their asses off for four weeks, just turn them into monsters. And they either, they either. I'm sure a few of them called mom and dad and said, get me the hell out of here. After a couple of weeks. But it was, it was like early in the morning workout, do all this stuff. And I'm not sure exactly, he. I can't remember, but he described it to me a couple of times. And you know, you didn't get any basketball players in that one. I'll tell you that. He was something.

[Joe]

Did you watch any of Gary Woodland winning the Houston Open?

[Eric]

I did see the end of it, but I did not. I saw the emotion of it. I did not stay for the post game interview. I wish I had.

[Joe]

I never really knew about his brain surgery until he won yesterday. I decided to do some homework. First of all, at about 23 or 24. 20. 23. 2024. He was. The symptoms he had were he was suddenly fearful of everything.

[Eric]

Really?

[Joe]

Yes.

[Eric]

So it wasn't physical?

[Joe]

Well, he would be playing golf. He would be playing golf and he would suddenly become terrified. And he had to have people around him. If they got too close, he had to get the people away from him. And they, they thought, what is this? What is he acting like this for? He was always completely terrified of just being whatever he was doing. He was frightened.

[Eric]

Well, okay, that's not good for golf.

[Joe]

They discover a softball sized tumor in his head pressing against the part of the brain that controls fear and anxiety.

[Eric]

I didn't know there was a part of the brain. I thought that just came from your nerves.

[Joe]

No. So he has to have that out and they take that out, but they couldn't get it all. They had to leave the part that's still touching. Fear and anxiety is there, but the neurosurgeons did something to mitigate it, to deaden it, to deprive it of blood or whatever they do. But as a result of that, he developed ptsd. Unlike, you know, someone afraid of a cat or something. He's got a legitimate reason for post traumatic stress disorder and it even. It still happens. So where people get too close to him, he still has to.

[Eric]

So that. So what was basically had a reason.

[Joe]

Yes, but the PTSD is an aftermath of this. Aftermath.

[Eric]

Aftermath of that.

[Joe]

Okay, so his emotional outpouring yesterday was more than understandable now that I See what. What he went through and what he. It's still happening.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Only. Only now they know why they've done what they can do. Now he has to train himself to not be fearful. And. And it's just.

[Eric]

It's just an amazing. I didn't know there was such a thing.

[Joe]

Yeah, well, it makes, you know, it puts the Tiger comeback in context. Tiger came back from a. Obvious raw physical injuries where he almost lost his leg in a car accident. And we now know that he can't drive because he just had another one. But this was complete brain mishaps and activities in the head.

[Eric]

He was playing great, too, right?

[Joe]

Yeah. And now he said he's playing better than ever.

[Eric]

Really? But, yeah, I was. What was the tournament that he had a chance to win not long ago, and they. They really started making something about it. Was he contender at the Players or something? I can't remember. I don't know. Earlier this year he had a. Yeah, he had a good run at it. And man alive. What? That's unbelievable. I had no idea.

[Joe]

Neither did I till yesterday.

[Eric]

I just knew he had a brain.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Eric]

I didn't know what it caused. And so did they when they took that thing out. Then how long did he have to.

[Joe]

Two days after he got out of the hospital. He was putting.

[Eric]

Really? Because. So it was a pretty easy.

[Joe]

I don't know if it was easy.

[Eric]

Pretty easy removal or what.

[Joe]

Well, he's in intensive care for days.

[Eric]

Okay.

[Joe]

Then he gets out and they let him go. And two days later he was putting. But it took a while before he was swinging again. But this is all within the past three years.

[Eric]

Yeah. Right. I mean, he was great. He was a.

[Joe]

He won the Open at Pebble beach in 2019.

[Eric]

Okay. That long ago.

[Joe]

And he hasn't won since then. So between 2019, when he won the Open and the discovery of this tumor, he was experiencing this. This progressive fear of life.

[Eric]

He thought it was his nerve, that the game was getting to him.

[Joe]

Something.

[Eric]

Yeah. How they finally did he.

[Joe]

Well, it must have got so bad that they. We got to get this checked. I mean, what the hell's going on here?

[Eric]

Unbelievable. Yeah. Does he have family? Must.

[Joe]

Oh, he's got kids. And the wife who was there yesterday, Gabby.

[Eric]

He. Was she weeping?

[Joe]

Yeah. But I mean, you know, when you learn what she went through with this

[Eric]

and it's a hell of a story, I would think. I would think when he's home, he's not playing good and he's fearful of everything. He might have got a little Grumpy around the house, huh?

[Joe]

Well, they, they hung in there. I mean, this, this tiger thing, I. I hope he doesn't even try to play again. I think the poor guy needs to.

[Eric]

Well, he's got to get off the. Gotta get off the drum killer. Yeah. The painkillers. You know, I.

[Joe]

Everybody wants to know, why doesn't he have a driver? I think he's got places he goes.

[Eric]

Yeah, right. He does. He doesn't. Now, this time he was somebody in the car with him, right?

[Joe]

No. Oh, really?

[Eric]

I thought there was another.

[Joe]

Well, he was two blocks from his house. I know exactly where that took place on that road.

[Eric]

And instead of waiting for this truck to get out of the way, he had to pass him because he was

[Joe]

in a big hurry to want to add an appointment.

[Eric]

Yeah. Unbelievable. He's a bad driver. There's no doubt. It is a miracle that the one in la. When you see the.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Where he went with that vehicle and how fast he had to be going that he didn't get killed in this one. He won't have to worry about playing at the Open now, though.

[Joe]

This one, he crawled out of the car.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Joe]

And waited for the cops.

[Eric]

Yeah. And it kind of. Kind of rolled. It was one of those flip overs. It wasn't.

[Joe]

I think you can rub it out. I mean, it's one of those ones, you look at it, you say, I think that'll rub out.

[Eric]

Didn't get the propelled. What was he driving this time?

[Joe]

A Land Rover.

[Eric]

Okay. And last time it was more of a sports car.

[Joe]

It was a Lexus suv because remember, he was doing the Lexus, the Lexus tournament sponsors at la.

[Eric]

Well, he probably got a free one, then he didn't have to buy. It was good for him. I'm sure that it was. I'm sure that he.

[Joe]

You know where. He's lucky that the two guys that happen to be on staff in the ER at the hospital in LA were really good at what they do.

[Eric]

Yeah. Otherwise the leg wouldn't have been there.

[Joe]

Yeah, he's.

[Eric]

He's got. He's getting old fast.

[Joe]

Facial pat. He's got demons that we don't pretend to understand.

[Eric]

Yeah, that's. I would guess the demon is you're the best in the world at a sport where you can't be the best in the world for a long period of time. And when it finally occurred that he wasn't, you know, I don't think that he could have that. You know, my amateur philosophy would be he couldn't handle not Being the best in the world, so. Because he was so good. But when you see Rory, who's a great player still, But Tiger for 15 years, except when he had a little physical blip in the middle of it for a couple of years, he never showed up. If he played bad, he finished fourth, you know, three shots behind. It was unbelievable how. I mean, 10 wins in one year.

[Joe]

But aside from all the surgeries he's had to have, the swing was always violent.

[Eric]

Yes.

[Joe]

The torquing was just violent. And then imagine all the Advil this guy's taken in his life. I mean, I hope he makes 60. Yeah, he won't if he keeps driving.

[Eric]

No, no, he definitely. Well, they gotta take his license away for five years, don't they? I don't know.

[Joe]

I mean, the Trump Secret Service won't let any of the Trump grandkids ride with them.

[Eric]

Oh, really?

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Now, what is the girlfriend. Who is she related to?

[Joe]

I think the girlfriend is the ex wife of one of Trump's goofy kids.

[Eric]

Eric.

[Joe]

Eric, maybe. And she a babe, of course.

[Eric]

I haven't seen her.

[Joe]

Yeah, she's. She's in the Tiger babe realm, but I.

[Eric]

But she hasn't been. You haven't seen her in the public eye too much?

[Joe]

Not much. But you do occasionally.

[Eric]

He's been staying low key too. Right.

[Joe]

Now, was he or was he not going to play in the Masters?

[Eric]

Think he had that?

[Joe]

He won't know.

[Eric]

He won't show up for the dinner. I wouldn't think now. Right. Well, he's got to be embarrassed, right?

[Joe]

This is terrible. This. He looks terrible. He. He's acting terrible as a shame. It's just a shame. But we got to saw him. We got to see him during his entire career.

[Eric]

Yes, yes, we did. We did.

[Joe]

I've never been more fooled by a person than I was by him. Because I told you, I've always wanted to do this story, but, you know, 20 years ago, I would love to have done a story on what's Tiger's life like at a major. And I imagined strict discipline. I imagine, you know, his videographer would have said, here's your wedge shot of number eight. You know, clipped it wrong. And then he'd go out in the yard and practice that for half hour. And then. Then he'd have grapes, and then he'd go to bed at nine o'. Clock. Well, it turns out he's chasing pancake house waitresses. Yeah, well, I had no. I was fooled completely.

[Eric]

Yeah, the. The one that did him in was the high school Girl walking through the. Coming through the window. I think that's the one mom found out about. Right?

[Joe]

That's when she hit him with a

[Eric]

wedge or something, chased him down.

[Joe]

That was his first car accident when he backed the ESC into the mailbox or something trying to get out of there.

[Eric]

She was chasing him down the thing. I wonder how she's doing.

[Joe]

She's the original Mrs.

[Eric]

The original Mrs. She had a rich, rich boyfriend or husband.

[Joe]

I think she landed on her feet.

[Eric]

I don't know if she got. Got remarried or not. I did follow her around out here at the, the last time he played here with Tiger's mama. Oh, yeah, Tiger's little mama. And they were out there walking together and they, they. There was a security person 10ft behind him. What was that? The, Was that when he got beat?

[Joe]

That was the PGA when the Asian

[Eric]

kid, Asian beat him. And that was. He didn't win another. He was stuck on 14 majors for.

[Joe]

I think that was 2009.

[Eric]

Yeah, yeah. He was stuck on there for a long time. I remember 36 holes, he's like, what, three or four ahead and you just, everything you're writing is, it's all right, he's going to win this one by 12 strokes. And then something happened on Sunday.

[Joe]

It was Yi Yang, something like that.

[Eric]

I don't believe he has won one in this country since.

[Joe]

No.

[Eric]

If I'm not mistaken, did you follow

[Joe]

any of your twins over the weekend?

[Eric]

Yeah, I watched quite a bit of it. They, you know, they. I didn't see a lot of the opener, but I saw the. They won. And then yesterday I watched quite a bit of it. They had a chance to win again, but sadly for them, we had a gorgeous weekend here. Next weekend they go into Kansas City. They play tonight at 3 o'.

[Joe]

Clock.

[Eric]

And then they got. And then they come here and what did I see? Friday in 40, if we're lucky, it might rain. And then the weekend, it's in the 30s. Saturday and Sunday, it ain't good.

[Joe]

Are they off Thursday?

[Eric]

No, they're off. They already had their day off. Right, in Kansas City? No, they play. Yeah, they played. They're off tomorrow. They have one of those, you know, protect the home date, day off.

[Joe]

Yeah, but don't all teams get that on the home opener Tuesday?

[Eric]

The twins don't get it because they're here on a weekend, so they can't. The twins don't get it, but they're off tomorrow.

[Joe]

No, they don't get it. They're here Friday.

[Eric]

Yes.

[Joe]

Tampa Bay and then Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

[Eric]

Yeah. They played three straight days, 19 home games between Friday and May 2nd or 3rd.

[Joe]

That's a lot.

[Eric]

It's a lot and it's stupid. April. April in Minnesota. Somebody tell the Blizzards. Somebody tell the major league office that we don't have a dome here anymore.

[Joe]

Right.

[Eric]

That they changed that a while back, so I don't know.

[Joe]

And they lucked out in Baltimore with gorgeous, gorgeous weather.

[Eric]

Yes. And they. They played okay.

[Joe]

But what did Joe Ryan say to his mates, I wonder, on Thursday when he threw? He threw about as well as you can. They couldn't deliver a hit.

[Eric]

I guess Joe and I missed it, but I guess he had a. In the dugout interview. Yeah. On the what, the second day, which was two days later or something, but wasn't terribly positive about the situation and his future here. I guess I didn't see it.

[Joe]

I didn't see it either. But he's. These guys are not the club that's going to deliver crucial hits with runners on base. No.

[Eric]

No, they're not. What do you think of this? What do you think of the.

[Joe]

I can't take it.

[Eric]

Not when they have as many as they have.

[Joe]

Well, Kev's going to ask you, how many do you get?

[Eric]

You can have two wrong ones, I think.

[Joe]

But does each player get to do it?

[Eric]

No, no, no. Yeah, anybody can do it. But they now know the pitcher, the catcher and the hitter are the only three that can do it.

[Joe]

Okay. And you get two per team.

[Eric]

Two per team, but that's it.

[Joe]

You only get twice.

[Eric]

If you're right, you keep getting.

[Joe]

Okay, so you could end up with five.

[Eric]

I don't know what the limit is. I think if you're right and poor CB Buckner, who's the worst umpire there is, and crew chief and stuff. And I think he had. Somebody said he had 17 wrong ones or something the other day or so what he was behind the plate. It was not good, I guess.

[Joe]

Where is the box they're looking at?

[Eric]

The box is.

[Joe]

I see the box when I'm watching a game on tv.

[Eric]

The box is individual based on. They got every player in the league dimensions in there and it sweats it from 23 at the lowest, it's 23 inches of your height and at the highest it's 55 or something.

[Joe]

But where is the box physically on the field that the umpire looks at? What happens just in the computer and then who. Who tells the umpire if he was right or wrong? The computer is that up in the press box?

[Eric]

The Computer shows it on the scoreboard screen in the ballpark. That's why you're hearing the crowd go,

[Joe]

I don't like it.

[Eric]

I don't either.

[Joe]

I just don't like it.

[Eric]

I thought I liked it for a while. The first day I watched the Twins play with it, it was very unobtrusive, and I thought, okay. And then yesterday, it was like every pitch was down the stretch. Every pitch was being.

[Joe]

You know, so the game that's going to start getting played is some crummy batter will want to do it, and the manager will say, no, no, no. So we got to save this for somebody who might actually need it.

[Eric]

Somebody who's good.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Eric]

You know, like Miguel Snow. If he was there and wanted to do it, they'd say, nah, you're going to swing at the next one anyway.

[Joe]

Right.

[Eric]

So what the hell? Are we going to have you do it? Yeah, it's. I'm sure there's instructions, but Shelton. You see what happened yesterday with Shelton,

[Joe]

he got kicked out.

[Eric]

He got kicked out because the picture went like this, but the plate umpire didn't recognize it.

[Joe]

Okay.

[Eric]

And it's gotta be within 10 seconds or something, maybe eight seconds.

[Joe]

Wasn't the runner already down to first? Halfway to first?

[Eric]

I don't know what it was, but he said they didn't make it in time. And he was out. And then Laz Diaz, the second base umpire, came in and said, yeah, he did it. But it's supposed to be strictly the plate umpire that recognizes it. So Shelton was right. Probably.

[Joe]

I think it's B.S. i do, too, because the ones I saw where the ump missed, he didn't miss by.

[Eric]

No, they missed by an inch. You know, that's my problem with it, is not having the. The biggest problem with baseball right now is not having the ball in play that they don't put it. Get it in play often enough. Too many strikeouts, too many walks, too many long counts with swing, and this is just going to increase that to me, so.

[Joe]

But they're at least conscious of the time it takes, so they're making it as quick as possible.

[Eric]

But I kind of like bad umpire.

[Joe]

It's a little while.

[Eric]

God, he missed that one. Holy God. You know, I mean, one of the great thrills of my life was Levon Hernandez in the. In the World Series game again. No. In the National League playoff game against Bobby Cox's Atlanta Braves. Never. He kept the Erie. Greg was the umpire, and he called a ball out this far, a strike. So then he threw it out Here. And he called it a strike. Pretty, pretty soon the guy was ducking and he was following. Pretty soon it was like a foot. And he had like two 16 strikeouts or something. And we all asked him to bring Eric in after the game so we could talk to him. And Eric thought he was going to, we were going to bring him in and ask him about this great Levon performance. Everybody says, eric, what were you doing calling those strikes? And he got all upset.

[Joe]

What, what, what motivated baseball to take. Why, why are they caving into this bs?

[Eric]

I don't know. I don't know. They, they think they're modernizing. They want to read. They want to get the modern fan. The modern fan, you know, stick to, stick to making your, your fan base 65 year olds people. That's, that's who watches baseball. Just give what they want because there's going to be a new generation.

[Joe]

It is not a game for the current 20.

[Eric]

They don't. Who sits down and they watch videos of baseball. Any video. If somebody makes a great catch, they'll see it, but they're not sitting down.

[Joe]

The whole country has an attention span problem.

[Eric]

Yes. They're not sitting down and watching a three hour baseball game. Sorry.

[Joe]

You know who pioneered some of this more than anything? The Los Angeles Kings. Hockey team.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Joe]

If you get a certain seat in the, the arena, you have devices made available to TV and buttons and stuff and you can do your own replays and. Okay, that's hockey. It's fast.

[Eric]

Yes.

[Joe]

Baseball's not supposed to do this.

[Eric]

No, no.

[Joe]

You're supposed to be a bad umpire once.

[Eric]

Oh, yes, right. You missed the call at second.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Well, now we can all be mad at something to talk about.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah, Well, I can't. I don't know if I can take it.

[Eric]

NFL. The NFL is in a big feud with.

[Joe]

See, I don't care what they do.

[Eric]

I know, but they're in a big feud with their refs. The refs want their salary double. Right.

[Joe]

They want more money and the NFL

[Eric]

wants them to get better. So they're going to have. The NFL is going to go more electronic. It's going to be. They're going to have, they're going to have AI involved in decisions now.

[Joe]

Yeah. That means baseball will too then. Yeah, probably, because baseball's showing me no courage to say our sport is beyond this.

[Eric]

I don't think I'll live for it because I probably, probably have to be 92 or something. But my prediction is the NFL, within a few years, each team's Going to have an AI figure on the. On the delegate. There's going to be 10 players and an AI figure.

[Joe]

I don't doubt that for a moment.

[Eric]

It's going to be part of the broadcast.

[Joe]

I don't doubt it.

[Eric]

No, I don't either. I'm not.

[Joe]

You know, I don't care what football does. No, it's. Football.

[Eric]

Yes.

[Joe]

It's dreadful. It's horrible. It's dangerous. It's. Baseball is supposed to be pastoral.

[Eric]

Yes. And. And Joey Browner. And then football. Joey Browner dies at 65. And we don't know why, but we don't know how his life, quality of life has been the last few years.

[Joe]

Or semens.

[Eric]

Semen. Yeah. Seaman was, I think, was pretty good until 4 or 5. I don't know how he's been lately.

[Joe]

But they suffered a lot of concussions.

[Eric]

Oh, God, yes. You know, I was at the Jim Marshall thing. They had. The Vikings had. Down at the new stadium and downstairs and a lot of old timers there that are not moving very sprightly, I'll tell you that.

[Joe]

Was Bill Brown there?

[Eric]

Brown. He's dead. Long time.

[Joe]

Is Brown dead?

[Eric]

Long time.

[Joe]

I missed that one.

[Eric]

Long time. Yeah. Browning's dead.

[Joe]

How about Foreman, Was he there?

[Eric]

Yeah, I think he was. Yeah.

[Joe]

I think he's still okay.

[Eric]

He's doing better than most of them. Yeah, he's. But the old time guys are all out hustling. Not Paige and not Paige, but some of the others are out hustling autographs and stuff like that. I mean, they didn't make any money. They ruined themselves and they didn't make any money back in the day.

[Joe]

Right.

[Eric]

So anyway, it's. Hey, by the way, I think I might have brought this up Friday, but the St. Paul Saints, who played three games in Indianapolis and won them, are opening at home tomorrow. The St. Paul, the American association team, or whatever the hell we call it now, International League opening in March. They're supposed to open 10, 12 days in April. What the hell's going on? What's the hurry? I don't get it.

[Joe]

Money.

[Eric]

Yeah, well, it's. It's something about wanting to have, you know, the Triple A players available if you, you know, when they start changing rosters.

[Joe]

They're still the Twins club, aren't they?

[Eric]

Yes, they are. Yeah. And last year I gave you this figure, though, Joe. Separate pitchers. Now. Now, if you pitch for both, I'm not counting you twice. The two teams last year had 57 pitchers. Calvin would have had a heart attack. He's not paying 57 pitchers, for God's sakes.

[Joe]

You know, hell, he couldn't pay nine.

[Eric]

The best ever was when Steve Bry broke his hand and Calvin kept him on the roster. He said he could be a pinch runner.

[Joe]

Didn't even go on the DL.

[Eric]

No, no. With a broken hand. He was out for like three weeks. Well, the one year. 67. 67. I think the great race that won the thing. They had nine. They had nine pitchers pitch all the innings. But eight. But five or something like that. Nine pitchers pitch. You know that. Four starters, five relievers. That's it.

[Joe]

You know, I can't believe in this post Olympic compressed schedule the Wild have four days off.

[Eric]

Yeah. That's weird, isn't it? Yeah, I saw that.

[Joe]

They play. They don't play again till Thursday.

[Eric]

Why are we giving up goals like this? What's going on here?

[Joe]

I still don't have a. I'm not worried. They're making a deep run.

[Eric]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I think so. But. But it's. You know, it hurts a little that you got to. It's your first two playoff series are going to be against the two best teams in the league. But how about Las Vegas firing their coach with eight games left and naming. Tortorelli is their new. Tort is back.

[Joe]

He's back.

[Eric]

This is his sixth team, but I think they gave him a contract for the final eight games of the season and the playoffs. If they make it. That's it then. Torts is going back into retirement. He's 67, but he's.

[Joe]

He's been with every team.

[Eric]

Yeah, he's been with everybody. The. The great Torts. And man, can he use F bombs.

[Joe]

Yep.

[Eric]

Because they had that HBO thing 10 years ago.

[Joe]

How did Florida go from the cup winner to last place?

[Eric]

I don't know what's going on? I don't know. It's weird.

[Joe]

I think when you win a couple, you just can't help but feel the hell with it. I can't do this again.

[Eric]

This already? Yeah. I don't want Florida to win another cup. No. I think. I think them having five is a little excessive. But we don't have many.

[Joe]

I think Minnesota needs a cup.

[Eric]

Yes, I do too. I do. It'd be fun if they could go all summer, but it'd be good for. Good for West 7th too.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Although I was downtown St. Paul yesterday and there was a nice decent crowd at the St. Paul Hotel. I was trying to give the.

[Joe]

You were dining.

[Eric]

I was. I was trying to give the grandkids A little history lesson. Oh, this is where the Dodgers stayed in 65. This is where Bob Hope stayed when he came to town. Gene Autry. And they were not impressed with this guy. They were giving me blank looks and said, you know, what's for dessert? So you're.

[Joe]

You're in the grill when UConn does a favor for the country and wins it at the buzzer.

[Eric]

And I'm one of the world's top 10 Duke haters. And I missed it completely because I saw they were 19 ahead.

[Joe]

So I'm freshman for UConn, who looks like he's about nine years old.

[Eric]

Tossed her.

[Joe]

Hit the three pointer.

[Eric]

You know, that coach in Yukon's is insane.

[Joe]

That's Danny Hurley. Hurley.

[Eric]

Bobby Hurley's brother.

[Joe]

And. And Bobby and Danny and I think the old man were all in the other.

[Eric]

They were all there. Bobby was there.

[Joe]

I don't know if Bobby was there.

[Eric]

Bobby might have showed up because he got fired at Arizona last week, so.

[Joe]

But their dad was a coach, too.

[Eric]

Oh, their dad was a legendary New York high school coach. And can you imagine if this. If the attitude of these crazed sons reflects him? I was saying, how would you like to back. You know, he coached when sportsmanship wasn't a thing. You know, you didn't need it. You could scream and holler and everything. I would imagine the referees from Hemps, his high school basketball games could tell you some stories about the names they were called by the old man. Hurley. I think the old man is Bobby Robert Senior.

[Joe]

He looked fine. He looked great.

[Eric]

Yeah, he's. He must be nuts, though, because they're both crazy. My friend Eric Curry, official here, he gave. He gave Bobby his last technical at Arizona.

[Joe]

He told me that.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Joe]

See, I was just glad to see Duke go.

[Eric]

Oh, yeah.

[Joe]

I fulfilled the national obligation.

[Eric]

Yes. It's. It's. It's good to see him go. All not as good as it was when Chefski lost, but. But, yeah, that's.

[Joe]

Now, who do you like to win it? Arizona.

[Eric]

No, no. Yeah. Not Illinois. Not Michigan. Maybe Michigan. Not Illinois. We got a. I would guess. I don't know. UConn pulls that one out. That guy can coach. There's no doubt about it.

[Joe]

In the family pool, we got a big one. I'm long gone, but we got a kid named Ingrid Hussein Obama who is leading the family pool. She copied Obama's pics.

[Eric]

Oh, really?

[Joe]

He has a good bracket.

[Eric]

Okay.

[Joe]

And so this kid is leading the whole thing.

[Eric]

So the women's one, they have. They have a Little balance problem. I saw the in the Sweet 16, UConn was playing Syracuse, old rival from the Big east, although they're in different conferences now, late in the first half or early in the second, UConn led 67 to 12.

[Joe]

That's not good.

[Eric]

No. Then everybody they beat, they beat by 30. And the other teams, they are about two close games and everything else is just a ass kick. So yeah, they got a little balance problem, to say the least. They. They could have a nice little 32 team bracket and not have to worry anything.

[Joe]

What else we got?

[Eric]

Not a dang thing. But the most interesting thing is what Valley. We got Valley. Okay, well, I got that. Yes, but I thought we were talking about content here.

[Joe]

I'm done.

[Eric]

Gary Woodland. That's a. I gotta go read some more.

[Joe]

You'll be amazed.

[Eric]

Boy, it would be great if Hollis probably can't get him here this year, but that'd be great if he got him here, man, that'd be something to ride. You could get a big crowd out there to root for him, man.

[Joe]

Well, the other thing he was, he never told anybody about this stuff. He finally told was it Brandell Chamblee or maybe somebody on the Golf Channel had a long sit down. He confessed it all and he was.

[Eric]

Everybody knew that he had something.

[Joe]

Everybody knew he had brain surgery, but

[Eric]

they didn't know why.

[Joe]

They didn't know that it was causing these other problems.

[Eric]

Wow. Unbelievable. Fantastic. Valley group of GM dealers. Lots of Buick SUVs out there of various varieties. Low interest rates, high factory rebates out there on 147th and Cedar just takes right out to Apple Valley. I was out there the other day for talk to their basketball team doing column. But 147th, take a right. Drove around the property just to see how the supply of vehicles was and it was fantastic. Some great used cars out there, too. The Valley group of GM dealers. Buicks, a lot of GMC trucks, a lot of great vehicles and I can't recommend them highly enough. I've been driving their cars for 15 years or more now. The Valley Group of GM dealers. Check them out.

[Podcast Host]

Hey, garage logicians, stick around for a preview of this week's American Experiment podcast. We're covering the DFL's proposal to create a new tax on ICE agents, the continuing debate over earmarks for nonprofits, or as I like to call it, corruption, and then a firestorm of top hits from the Capitol that you won't want to miss. On the back half. We're talking to Bill Walsh about our Brand new polling on Minnesotans views towards immigration since Operation Metro Surge. We got everything you need to know in here, starting with the DFL proposing to tax ICE agents. They have a whole bunch of bills that they've proposed aiming at ICE agents. In particular, things that have to do with trying to rein in the federal government. Things that are clearly not legal or irrelevant now that this is kind of over.

[Golf Passport Promoter]

Yeah, but really good pr.

[Podcast Host]

Yes, but really good pr. So on Wednesday, a bill in the House Taxes Committee would require those agents who weren't Minnesota residents but made more than $15,000 in wages while working here to file a Minnesota tax return. They think they could bring in $600,000 this way. Democrats argue that the whole operation costs a lot in state and local resources, so these agents should pay their fair share. Minnesotans will effectively subsidize a federal enforcement operation that they did not request and that they do not support, said Representative Athena Holland. Moreover, enforcing this requirement sends an important message. Minnesota will not allow its tax base to be eroded by temporary federal deployments that shift costs on our communities. Well, Minnesota taxes non resident income already and that applies to federal government employees. Currently a person needs to earn about 15,000 from Minnesota Sources to be required to file and remit as a non resident. That would apply to any ICE officer who's here long enough to meet that threshold too. However, the bill creates separate treatment for the ICE officers, subjecting them to tax on the first dollar of their income. So while Minnesotans tax authorities can make federal law enforcement abide by the same rules they impose on everyone else, obviously legally they cannot discriminate against them. And yet they propose this bill anyway.

[Golf Passport Promoter]

They have to treat ICE officers the same as professional athletes basically is what this is. Because we talk about this a lot, I think. Actually our economist John Phelan does a lot of work on professional sports and incomes. And when a professional athlete comes to town and works in our town, plays a basketball game or a hockey game or a football game or whatever, they certainly make more than 15,000. Many of them do, even if you split their income, millions of dollars over the course of a game. So they. All these guys, these guys that play professional sports have accountants that have to split up their state income tax around the country.

[Podcast Host]

So it just impacts all kinds of people. Lawyers, pilots. Pilots don't like flying to California because they have to separate that out at a higher level.

[Golf Passport Promoter]

So of course we're going to single out ice ice activity because it's worse than all those other things. I just disagree with the premise of course, her premise is that ICE came and came and then all these costs were borne by state and local governments because ICE came to town. If ICE comes to town and does their job and there are no protests, no one knows ICE is here, they'd make their arrests. There's no strain on state and local government. All I would say 90% of the strain on state and local government is from the protests that occurred trying to stop and impede and protest what ICE was doing.

[Podcast Host]

That was a preview of the American Experiment podcast. Tune in every Tuesday afternoon wherever you get your podcasts.

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