Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Allen Robinson talks Bears' potential move to Indiana, Ben Johnson's work (Hour 4)

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

In the final hour, Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris were joined by former Bears receiver Allen Robinson to discuss the organization potentially moving to Indiana and head coach Ben Johnson's impact in his first season in Chicago. After that, Rahimi and Harris listened to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's latest comments about the Bears' stadium saga.

The score. Did the scouts expect you to be what you become? I don't think so. I don't think a lot of people did. For me, I definitely expected myself to play at this level. But when did you know that you were good? I've known since I was five years old. He's got a fresh set of downs at the 32-yard line.

Play action down the middle of the field. It is Robinson and to the end zone. Touchdown, Chicago. Anderson twice keeping this thing alive. Big plays. Stafford Robinson Jumpball touchdown

Then now funny Lockerone stories I don't know about any funny man Ben is a pretty serious locked in dude you know he's like that constantly you know Ben

every blue moon you know Ben a crack one of those kind of evil smiles if you will With Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043 the score That is the voice

of Alan Robinson The former Bears receiver From 2018 to 2021 he now is one of us, co-hosting the press release podcast. He is at Alan Robinson on X, and he is kind enough to join us on Twitch. Twitch.tv slash the score Chicago. Alan, just know that here in Chicago today,

most of our show has been centered around whether or not the bears are leaving Soldier Field, which is a conversation that I think started percolating around the time you were still here. It's still going. It's still going. I saw that. I saw, I didn't know if it was, spoof. I saw Indiana.

I don't really know what's going on. But yeah, it did kind of start a little bit when I was there. Not so much so. Just a tiny bit. There were rumblings that it was going to be where the old horse racing area was at. But I saw Indiana today and that absolutely blew my mind. The fact that you said it came off as a spoof to you, does that tell you how outraged you think Chicago fans would be at a move like taking the Bears? not only out of Soldier Field, but out of the state of Illinois and putting them in Indiana.

Yeah. Listen, I don't know if that's a negotiation tactic. I don't know what it is. It just sounds so foreign to me that the state of Indiana would even have two football teams and the state of Illinois would have zero. I can't even fathom the Chicago Bears not being in Chicago, let alone being not even in the state of Illinois. Well, Alan, you bring a different perspective to it too,

because we've talked to a lot of fans who discuss whether or not they want to make a drive somewhere. As a player, how much does it actually factor in in your game day process, your day-to-day, that type of thing, where you're playing? You know, I think guys think about that. A lot of times, though, you have the practice facility that may be out in the suburb areas

or in an area that has more space. It was like that when I was in L.A. It was like that in Chicago. So it's like that a lot of places. But it's the feel of going into Soldier Field in the city of Chicago. I remember with my family sometimes the night before the game or the day before the game would grab dinner or even stay in the city after the game and grab dinner.

So it was a very nice experience to be able to come into the city and just the overall feel and the energy of the city. You could feel it in Soldier Field in Chicago. And it's interesting that you said because you've played in different places, whether it was Jacksonville, Chicago, you mentioned L.A., and then, of course, Detroit, Pittsburgh. Like Pittsburgh, it's all close by. You know, the south side facility, and then you go to the stadiums, you could almost see the stadium from the practice facility. Do you think that that would be a problem?

I mean, football is a game where you don't play that many games. So home games, you know, it's really only talking about like nine, ten dates. If you get to the playoffs, maybe a couple more. But to go all the way from north of the city, all the way to Indiana. And I'm guessing they would spend the night either downtown or. or somewhere around Hammond, if they built hotels by then. Casino. There's a casino there.

True. How would that make you feel as a player, or does it matter? I think that's tough. I think that's really tough on the families. I think that's really tough on the people who are coming in town and coming to the game. I mean, Chicago traffic alone is already something that you have to account for. And now with the facility being in the suburbs, now you account for the travel getting through the city. So it will make the commute very difficult for the family and friends

and for the people who are close to the players who want to have easy commutes and travel going to the games. I think it will make it more difficult. Alan Robinson is who we are talking to. And we wanted to ask him a lot of football questions, but when you have an actual NFL football player with you, talking to him about the stadium he would play in is also pretty valid. So, Alan, we appreciate the inside info.

I'm going to ask you this excluding Soldier Field to make, to make it easy on you, but also we know how you feel about Soldier Field. Outside of Soldier Field, because I know you like playing there, what was your favorite stadium to play at either home or road? I got to go with Fort Field. And Fort Field, because I'm from Detroit, I'm a Detroit native. So I grew up in the dog days and years of the Detroit Lions. Owen 16.

I saw a lot of bad football growing up with the Lions. So the year that I was there, we won the division. We went 15 and 2. It was a phenomenal season to be able to see that stadium in downtown Detroit sold out all the lights flickering in the pregame festivities and player announcements. It was a phenomenal experience. Okay, that's a great answer. And it obviously is understandable. My question is this.

Judging on what you thought Ben Johnson would do after seeing what he did in Detroit, and now what you've seen him actually do as the head coach of Chicago Bears. Did he exceed expectations? Did he meet expectations? How would you describe that season now that it's over and done with it in the books? I think he slightly exceeded expectation. I say that to get to the playoffs. I think that would be Ben Johnson's expectation as well.

So it's tough to say exceed. I think if he had to made it to the championship game or to the Super Bowl, then I could have said exceed. But I would say he met my expectation. Ben Johnson is a phenomenal coach with the team that he inherited with some of the players and Caleb Williams and DJ Moore, D'Andre Swift, Cole Komet, with the guys they drafted. He had a phenomenal roster with just him being able to use the tools that he had on that roster. So I thought Ben Johnson would come in, set the foundation and build from there.

And that's what he did. And you could tell each and every week, those guys played hard. they won close games. I said this very early in the season. Ben Johnson's, he coaches his best in close games. And I think there were a lot of close game victories that the Chicago Bears won. Even one that comes to my mind is in Cincinnati winning that in the last moments of the game. So I think the Chicago Bears turned a lot around this year as far as their overall culture with the years prior with Iber Fluse losing some of those close games. We're talking to Alan Robinson. And I know you had a keen eye on the playoffs. I really appreciate even you telling us about just physically the

process of going about your job as a receiver in the cold weather. I thought that that was such good advice and information. Just watching having that knowledge in these last two games, especially. I also want to know your advice and your impression of what you saw. You know, we talked a lot about that last play. DJ Moore got a lot of focus, you know, as a receiver yourself and a former Bears number one receiver. You know, what did you think of that? And then just also the receiving performance in that final game against the Rams? Yeah, you know, when you look at a game, there's always times and moments where things can be better,

miscommunication and things like that. But I think the Bears, what they did was they gave themselves a shot to win the game. I mean, when you look at a game like that, there are many plays that you can look at throughout the course of the game that maybe could have changed the overall trajectory of how it played out. But I thought the weapons that Caleb had, I thought they made plays down the stretch. they were able to give themselves a shot,

getting into overtime, drive the ball down and we're about 20 yards or so from kicking a game winning field going. I also thought Caleb Williams, he turned into Superman when he had to and made some extremely big plays. Obviously, he had the late game turnover that then led the Rams to go down and score.

But I thought overall he played very well, and I think for a second year player, he had a lot of growth, and I think he should be proud of himself. And when I say proud, meaning being able to come in, have a new head coach, learn that offense, learn that system,

get to the game that they got and now going to the offseason to say, okay, now we have a great foundation to build upon. And just as a follow-up, you know, you know what it's like to install a new play or a new route tree and there had been a lot of discussion

about that happening. Makes sense, you know, from a coaching standpoint to be able to build on the systems that you talked about, build on plays that you drew up before, have something to be different. How hard can it be sometimes

in those type of pressure situations as a receiver to install something differently, knowing you're going to do it for the playoffs and knowing that everything's on the line. Yeah, it's difficult. But what I always said is you would much rather a cheesecake factory menu of plays and options and routes than you would like a kitty menu. You know, you want to be able to say, okay, we have something for each and every situation. If we're being played like this, to be able to take advantage. of the defense and what they're giving us.

So for me, going into weeks like that, even though it may take a little bit more studying, watching a little bit more film to be able to make sure that I'm honed in on the game plan, I always like to be able to have the versatility and the options and the bullets on hand to keep firing. If you get into a shootout and you get into overtime, that everything doesn't become repetitive for the defense. Alan Robinson, the Pro Bowl wide receiver, and a Chicago bear from 2018, to 2021, joining us here on Rahimi, Harris, and Grotie. Be sure to catch his podcast, the press release pod that he is a co-host of. Alan, I got to ask you, now the season is over and the dust is settled, what should be

the bear's biggest priority from your standpoint as far as what they need to shore up, what they need to improve on and get better at position-wise? I think two things. I think when you look at, when you have a quarterback like Caleb Williams, he makes everybody around him better or just with his overall mobility and being able to get the ball in different places. I think when you look at them offensively, skill position-wise, I think they're extremely deep. I think with the guys that they drafted, with the guys that they currently have in a roster, but you can always evaluate the D-line as far as how are we getting into the passer. In some

these situations, when we're planning against Matthew Stafford, we can only run so many coverages that he won't be able to take advantage of the thing that you can do to mitigate a player like that and a quarterback like that is being able to get pressure and not having to blitz. So I think being able to sure up the defensive line and try to get a piece here or there, I mean, Max Crosby, there's rumors of him wanting out of Las Vegas. There's some big names on the market that you could come in that would really bolster the pass rush right away. We're talking to Alan Robinson here on the score, the former Bears receiver.

He's also joining us on Twitch if you missed it, Twitch.tv slash the score Chicago. I think the last time we talked to you was either right before the last playoff game or it was right before the two playoff games. Is there anything that any other extra opinion you have of the Bears after seeing those last two playoff games that maybe you didn't have once the regular season ended? Just to have that extra when everything's on the line, the pressure type of judgment on the offense.

I know you already felt like they made a lot of progress the last time we spoke to you. Yeah, you know, I think they were, listen, I think they were right where they needed to be at. you know, again, and I say that because it's a play that if you were to run that same play again, it wasn't anything to me that the Rams necessarily did. It just seemed like something was a little bit off on the offense. And if you can take that play back, then the Bears might win and then go to the championship game. So I don't think there's that much more that you could have asked or could have done differently in a game like that.

Obviously, it's going to be highly competitive. They're playing against the Rams. It's the playoffs. I thought they did everything in their power and played extremely well. I think the main thing for them is just correcting some of the things that they did to beat themselves rather than what they need to improve upon as far as physically, schematically. I think they're right there. Listen, Alan, I've made this proclamation.

Not everybody agrees with me. I want to know your thoughts on this. I say the Bears have found their franchise quarterback in Caleb Williams, and he's going to be the guy for the next decade plus. Where do you stand on Caleb's viability going forward? I would agree with that. I would agree with that. I mean, he's a guy who doesn't turn the ball over a lot.

Obviously, he did late in the game, but that's very correctable. He's a second year player who switched coaches, but still didn't take a step back in their learning ability. It wasn't that Ben Johnson came in and we're having conversations of, was it too much on Caleb Williams' plate? How did he adjust to things down the stretch? we saw him play and make big plays and big time games and playoff games down the stretch. And like I said before, they were about 15 yards away from being in the NFC championship game.

So I think we have a second year quarterback that's at that level with a coach like Ben Johnson. Ben is only going to push him to be better. And I think the sky is the limit for him. And the number one thing that I think for young players for a person like Caleb that he got accomplished this year is just the overall sheer confidence in himself and the confidence and his teammates around him that they have now in Caleb Williams, seeing how he performed in those playoff games and down the stretch. And you're right, like when he said, I can make any throw.

And when we saw the throws, I don't know how you disagree. I also want to ask you this, Alan, after watching all of the games, finishing up with the Super Bowl, who do you think was the best receiver in the league this year? I would have to go with Jackson Smith & Jingle. I think he played lights out. I think we saw him shine the brightest in very big moments. Obviously, he didn't have a prolific Super Bowl, but I mean, Kenneth Walker kind of stole the show.

But overall, I think consistency, game in, game out, he made plays down the stretch. He was available. He was consistent, and he showed up when they needed the most. What made him so good? Because not in general, it made him so good. That showed. But what made him so good at not only the route efficiency he had,

but just how many times he would. be absolutely open in a game where I'm going, how did he get that open? Like, where's the nearest defender here? Honestly, I think you got to give credit to Kubiak. And also, I think you got to give credit to the run game. I think with them having a two-headed monster for majority of season, being able to get the run game established and going, I think in some of those play action concepts, he's kind of not easily gets lost, but if you can dial up some concepts, you know, you can take advantage of those defense who are really stepping up in the. run game. So I would have to give a credit to the coaching staff and also the run game because

as all receivers know, when you can establish the run, those play action passes sometimes just become gimmies. I'm curious as to who you think has the brightest future from this past year's rookies. When you look at the success of Calmanungai, Colston Loveland, and of course Luther Burden III, who do you think is poised to have the most success next season? I think Leveland or Luther Bernden, and every time I saw Luther Burden get the ball this season, he made plays. Rather if that was him making a guy miss, rather if that was him getting the first down, it always seemed to be something explosive and not just an ordinary play when the ball touched his hands.

It was like I said before, it was going to take more than one tackler to bring him down. He was moving the chains. He made some contested catches. He did a lot of different things that I was just surprised to see the overall how broad his game was and how much he was able to do, not just being a catch and run guy, not just being a route guy, but being able to do a little bit of everything. Alan Robinson, always great to talk to you. You can check out his press release podcast, anywhere you get your podcasts. What's the latest episode that you guys discussed?

We've talked about going into the combine and what the prep before the combine is like. We'll actually be at the combine next year. So we'll have a guest on our show. We'll be talking a little bit more in depth to what the combine is like and once you get to testing day and what those jitters can be like and just the overall differences in the combine from when us old guys were at the combine to now when you have fans,

they're cheering and it's a little bit different atmosphere when the guys are running and performing. So you and Prince and Mukamara are giving like me and Marshall some workout tips and getting ready for the combine. I'm here for it all. A little bit. Zero inches.

I'll say this. I think the biggest thing going to the combine for everybody is you just are kind of thrown into different parts of the country to train that you've never really been a part of so it's you getting accustomed to that city very quickly to the workout regiments the new diets and everything there's a lot of little things that that take place but the thing that is universal with everybody is whenever you get on the field and in between those lines when it comes to training you're in your zen spot and you're able to just do what you love to do love it Alan thanks

so much for joining us, man. You always got great insight, especially because of your unique perspective, someone who's played all around the NFL, but of course, a special place in your heart for the Bears. Most definitely. I appreciate you guys having me. Thank you. That sounds like a great episode. Alan, thanks for letting us in on it. Thanks for joining us today. Alan Robinson, the co-host of the press release podcast with Prince of Mukamura. Sounds like a really good episode coming up on the Combine, too. So you've got a zero inch vertical. I can clear a phone book. That's That's where we're at. I feel like you and I had better ops back in the day.

Well, I know I did, but those things do not exist anymore. I was hoping maybe he'd give us a vertical tip or a 40-yard dash tip or something. He doesn't want us to hurt ourselves, Leila. Somebody inevitably hurts themselves the week of the combine doing some radio bit about a 40-yard dash. I wonder. Is Rich Eisen still running the 40, right? Is he? Every year, he runs the 40 at the combine.

But he does it every year. Yeah. See, even that is more than most people running 40. fair. That every year. At least he's got that going for him. Craig Wall had to had to cancel because he's chasing down a massive amount of news today. Wouldn't you say, Ray? She said he's working on two stories. So you can check that out on Channel 7 tonight. How do you like that? Double your information. In the meantime, J.B. Pritzker spoke. So let's let's give everybody their time. We have J.B. Pritzker speaking about the meeting that wasn't in Springfield this morning.

We can repeat to you what the bear statement was. And apparently all of this happened without a very important figure in the process. So we'll do that next. Rahimi Harrison Grody. The great Kevin Harlan. I just pulled through the Taco Bell drive-through, and I've got a couple of big, nasty, Supreme burritos right here waiting to beat. You know, the first thing they ask you now, I'm using the app.

The app, no, I just want my burrito. I don't want to use an app. Bring a lot of mild sauce because I'm going to squirt it all over the place. Put some hot sauce on my burrito, baby. Rahimi Harris and Grody. Midday's 10 a.m. to 2 on the score. I did speak to one Northwest Suburban official afterwards, and I said, give me the brass tacks.

Is there any way that the bears would actually move to Indiana? And this person said, and I'm reading it off my page, so I get it right, there is no way George McCasky could stomach the heat. the Bears would take if the Bears were to move to Indiana. As this person put it to me, they could not handle losing that press conference. That was Mark Grady talking about the rally he went to last week in Arlington Heights to raise awareness for the Arlington Heights Project.

Today, we found out that, according to J.B. Pritzker's office, the Bears asked to postpone the meeting that was on the agenda to pass the mega bill that would have given the Bears $880 million for their Arlington Heights Stadium project. Then we get a statement from the Bears. And it said in part the passage of Senate Bill 27, that is Indiana's Senate Bill 27, would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date. We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence

to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. that phrase is important. Finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area. So they are communicating to you that they want to build in Hammond, Indiana. We then also find out news that Kevin Warren

was not attending the meeting. And then that was the one with the Bears and Illinois officials yesterday that was reportedly three hours, Kevin Warren, not in attendance. and then also we're getting some updates here from Indianapolis. This is from Hannah Adamson, the Fox 59 and CBS 4 Indies State House reporter. The cults have weighed in.

The cults on the Chicago Bears tentative plan to relocate to him in Indiana. Quote, we wish the Bears all the best on their stadium initiative, end quote. Is that like wishing somebody well in their future endeavors? You know what? there's so much back and forth here. There's so much, you're like, are you trying to spam me? Is this a real comment? Are you just trying to say something to say something?

Well, I think if they had protested, that would have been in, that would have given some pause to the situation. That would have stopped the freight train. Because they also have a publicly funded by the state of Indiana stadium in Lucas Oil. Layla, where is the freight train now? Well, apparently the freight train, according to Hannah Adamson, has a stop in Hammond, because she says the city of Hammond, Indiana, will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. local time. So that's in 30 minutes because that's Eastern time. No, Hammond is central.

Okay, so 3 p.m. local time regarding a tentative plan to bring the Chicago Bears to the area. That's that old sneaky split state time zone deal. All I know is this 3 p.m. press conference, Central, we're assuming. What is it that you hope to glean from it? Do you think they're going to have numbers for you and explain exactly how the numbers are coming? Because I don't think this is going to have pep rally feel, if I'm being honest. That's my fear here.

And as a reset, we know that part of the new taxes in Indiana State Bill 27, Senate Bill 27, that would support a Bear Stadium in Indiana. A 12% stadium ticket tax, a 5% Lake County Inkeepers tax, so that. that's hotel tax, a potential 1% food and beverage tax in Lake and Porter counties. And that there's also been other discussions surrounding the toll roads and perhaps them helping fund this project. So there does sound like there would be new charges to residents for this project. I just want to know if the shovels are not going into the ground, like right now, when is the date? What is the target? What is the schedule?

What is what's the next step? Well, and frankly, as I mentioned before, what's the real intent here? Because Capital Fax, who is a fabulous account on Twitter, who covers all of the news out of Springfield, said at 1159 this morning, Pritzker talks about the bears. They asked us to not move forward with the bill yesterday. Now they're saying to us that the statement is not some confirmation that they're moving to Indiana, but rather that Indiana had asked them to say that. And that's what also gave us some pause, because that didn't sound that way. So that's part of a J.B. Pritzker interview he gave. And as I understand, Ray, we do have this from WBBM. So let's listen to the first part, which is some of the details here regarding that very statement I read. Well, let me start with the fact that it was a surprise to us. The Bears actually, yesterday, we completed more than three hours. My team did of discussions with the Bears. Very positive discussions. And indeed, mostly agreed on a bill that would move full.

forward this morning. But they asked us not to move forward with it this morning because they said they wanted to tweak a little, a couple of items in the bill, which were things that we were working with them on. And so to have a statement put out by the Bears, now they're saying to us that that statement is not some confirmation that they're moving to Indiana, but rather that Indiana had asked them to say that they're going to move forward with the negotiations in Indiana. But I have to say it's very disappointing to hear that they would put that statement out, but not say anything about the advancement that's been made in the state of Illinois. But, you know, we're waiting to hear from the bears what they'd like to do next.

Well, Kevin Warren didn't attend the meeting yesterday. That's odd that Kevin Warren wasn't the meeting. Well, I know who was there representing the Bears at the meeting. Now, we know that Kevin Warren's family, his great niece, is Breezy Johnson, the world famous Olympic skier. So perhaps that had something to do with it because we know at last report he was in Italy supporting her, which frankly makes sense, but the timing of all of this is unfortunate when you consider this is largely why we know he was brought in. He's got lieutenants who can who can execute orders, I'm sure, but at the same time, it's just not a good look. It's odd.

to say the least, unless something of a flight, I don't know what could have kept him from the meeting. So let's also, that is acknowledged in this interview, right? So yeah, this is a, like a little Q&A forum with some reporters, which included

Jeff Dankert from WBBM, and one of the cuts that you don't have in front of you there is Governor Pritzker discussing the absence of a key bear's figure in a meeting yesterday in which the team and state officials mostly agreed on a bill. Warren, chose not to be in that meeting. And indeed they had instead one of their other leads who's been in every

conversation with us as well. She's terrific representative for them. And, you know, we trust her. And we had eight people in that discussion involving the legislators, involving the governor's office, involving the bears and their representatives. And so, again, lots of progress, but a surprise this morning to wake up and see that statement. I'm guessing that's Karen Murphy, the Executive Vice President of Stadium Development and Chief Operating Officer. I'm guessing that's who that was because he said she. That would make it make sense. Yeah.

And she's been in that role for a long time, so I'm not questioning capability here, but it's more about the optics. Yeah. Well, it's the optics as a puzzle piece when you look at the bigger puzzle, right, with the Indiana and the Bears announcement. And then Governor Pritzker's telling you that the Bears told them. that, oh, no, it's not what you think it is. But as he mentioned, they didn't announce any kind of advancement with the state of Illinois on anything

because they haven't gotten it done. In fact, they canceled the meeting where that was supposed to get done. Postponed is what we understand. Cancelled would mean it's not happening altogether. The state said hold and postponed. And I think that's important too because the initial reports we saw said canceled.

So it's not necessarily stricken from the record entirely. the bill is still out there. But then what's this discussion here about this phrase? We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. When you hear that, does that not indicate that they're going to build a stadium there? No, no.

I think that indicates that they're checking all the nooks and crannies, crossing T's, dotting eyes to make sure that it can hold up as the actual site. because the due diligence is the key there. Well, but my point is the implication of that statement and the overall idea is that they want to build a stadium there. You don't do due diligence on a site to not intend to build a stadium there. You're not just walking around to hang out. I think you do diligence to make sure that the site is absolutely 100% viable.

That's how I read that statement. Because, again, it says we are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision. Like, we can see it. I don't even know if we can make it happen, though, until we do our due diligence to make sure that this site has everything that we need to build the world-class stadium. So let's listen to more from J.B. Pritzker as to the meeting that should have happened. Let's go with this second soundbite here that's on our list about progress that was made.

I want to protect the taxpayers of Illinois. I've said from the start, we are not going to build a stadium for them. We do infrastructure. There's a lot of infrastructure needs that they would need. need, both in Indiana, they would need it, but here in Illinois. And also that we need to make sure that we're building into this affordability for people so that they can maybe afford to go to a game or afford to pay for things at the game. We want to make sure that we're protecting the consumers and taxpayers of the state. So those are just some of the principles that I've laid out. We have made

a lot of advancement in that conversation with them. So again, I'm surprised, dismayed, very disappointed at what I saw in a statement. Again, the bears post that have said, well, we didn't really mean that they're moving to Indiana, which is kind of the implication of it. But it's apparently not true. I swear to you, I did not hear that before I spoke. I have watched, it's always sunny in Philadelphia. And that is where I use the implication word.

but I Okay, so I I didn't mean to quote him I just felt the same way about reading this. Lela, the most important part of that sound that we just heard from Governor Pritzker is this. The implication? Well, no, no. It's this.

We are not going to build a stadium for the Bears. You know who is willing to build a stadium for the Bears? The state of Indiana. Door number two. I'm telling you. Like, I can't I can't ignore or avoid that fact. The governor is telling you right there, we're here for the infrastructure.

We're not going to build a stadium for you. Meanwhile, in Indiana, we're willing to build the stadium for you. Now, we don't have it sorted out how much of the profit from, let's say, non-game day revenue would go to the Bears. A Taylor Swift concert, if you will. Yeah. If it's built in Indiana, if they have to share any of that profit, whereas we know if they do it in our Huntington Heights. It's all bears all the time. And so I want to know what the bears have calculated the number that they're not willing to do in terms of how much extra it costs to build in

Arlington Heights versus Indiana and what that threshold is that they're willing to accept to stay in Illinois. I think a lot of this is the bears working with nuance and winks and in the gray. I think there's a reason the statement was written the way it was written. Yeah. I think just like dating, they want to keep both options open. I told you, there's a mean timer factor here. There's also like very much elevator music playing right now in the face of Illinois while they wait. Which all of that is fine.

But as I mentioned before, the order of operations is what makes this so baffling. And that's why this is so hard to interpret. Process does help dictate intent on a lot of this stuff typically, which is why we are confused as to the process and we're not the only ones. This isn't the only stadium that the state of Illinois is built. We just illustrated it's not the only way that the state of Indiana has built a stadium. However, the bear's process in Indiana is going in order. You know, it was, hey, Portage, we'll listen to you. Hey, Gary, we will listen to you. Hammond, we will listen to you. We haven't bought any land yet. How much can you help us out? Oh, are you going to put together a bill that

says that you're going to tax based on this intent? Yes, you are. Okay, well, what taxes are you going to have happen? That is going in order. That is the right way to go about it from what we've seen previous teams do with stadiums. I will say that part, for sure. I'll say this again. Kevin Warren wasn't here when they went out of order. So my question really is, if you have a problem with the fact they went out of order, which is perfectly fine because, yes, they went out of order. What would you do then to reconcile that? It seems like Kevin Warren with this leverage play or just finding another option has gone through those steps, even though he wasn't at the meeting yesterday. And I also want to reiterate the reporting that we have done.

According to a source familiar with the Bears Stadium situation, the tweet from Governor Pritzker's office this morning was accurate. The Bears asked to hold the meeting. When we say hold, we mean put it on hold for now, postpone it. There is an agreement that things are moving in the right direction. Minor language tweaks still have to be finalized in the House. And clearly the Illinois government is waiting to hear back from Bears leadership. Part of Bears leadership is out of town. I added the last part. Well, do we know he's out of town or we know he just wasn't?

He was. Okay, that's what I'm saying. Is he still as well? As last reported. Yeah. Okay. You want to do something different? Something fun?

Is it fun? When misogyny goes bad. Next. Amy Harrison Grooty. Could you imagine a love he's? doing the whole good, better, best thing and saying bleep the Packers. Come on, guys. Good better best. Never let it rest. I'll see you on Tuesday. Middays 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. Are you mansplaining to me right now? Okay, okay. What you got? What you got? What you got?

So, I have Olympics content, by the way. I enjoy the Olympics. I'm going to the Olympics. I'm a an Olympics enthusiast? I am too. I just want to make one quick note. It was Sarah Warren, his great niece. I'm sorry, I accidentally said Breezy Johnson. I had skiing on the mind and here's why. So Kevin Warren was at the Olympics to support his great

niece, Sarah Warren, a speed skater. And she looks badass. She finished 28th, right? I don't have it off the top of my head, but I accidentally said Breezy Johnson and I'm sorry, that was not true. I was thinking about Breezy Johnson because I was thinking about skiing. And the reason I was thinking about skiing was

because of Eileen goo getting asked a question that was just out of pocket. It was it was it was absolutely kind of ridiculous and you can hear it for yourself. Also do you see these as two silvers gained or two goals lost? I'm the most decorated free skier female free skier in history. I think that's a answer in and of itself. How do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else's expectations rise, right? And so the two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think is kind of a ridiculous perspective to take.

I'm showcasing my best skiing. I'm doing things that quite literally have never been done before. And so I think that is more than good enough. But thank you. I can't believe I don't believe she answered it so diplomatically. I would not have. I will not. Would not, could not. She answered that. It was water off a duck's back,

which makes me wonder how many times has she been asked ridiculous questions. And I get, I get the concept of why it was asked, like, oh, because you're the favorite, you know, did you feel like you lost two gold medals? And maybe it's the spirit of Ricky Bobby, if you're not first or last. But at the same time, it just came off so condescending.

And that's also, I just felt like it was out of pocket. It sounded misogynistic, the way it was delivered. And I think Eileen Gou did the absolute right thing into how she tried to explain that why winning a medal is not only hard, winning multiple medals is even more difficult outside of a vacuum. And I'll say this, Eileen Gou has had an interesting path. Is that a fair way to say it to the Olympics?

As someone that some have said should be representing the United States of America because she was born here. You mean her existence was weaponized? So here's the thing. Eileen Gou is a famous, famous, as someone who's born in San Francisco, California, but has competed in the Olympics. for China. And it's interesting because people are really upset that she is representing China in the Olympics. She makes, I think it's over $20 million a year. And I wonder if because of that, that's why she's so used to questions going off the rails.

So she can handle anything. You know, what's funny is we actually have a score connection to another competitor for China at one point. Jake Chelyos, Chris Chelyos, his son, played for the Koonloon Red Star in China, and in 2022, he represented China's host nation hockey team at the Winter Olympics. Okay. That's real. It happens more often than you'd think. And the fact that she's won five medals, like, I'm not saying that gold isn't more valuable than silver and silver isn't more valuable than bronze, but. It's really hard to win a medal at the Olympics.

The best in the world. 847 has it right. The laugh said it all. She made the reporter sound ridiculous. Also, 847 on our text lane suggested we try to read more of the texts. It was physically impossible today. They were coming up fast. They also get put out of order if you have a long text.

So like your last sentence sometimes pops up before you're first and it's very hard to follow. So bear with us. There was a lot of multitask. thing that was done today is we tried to bob and weave with all of the breaking news. Bear. Bear. Lawrence is in the building. Matt Spiegel's in Arizona.

Matt's in a. Oh, there you are, Lawrence. Lawrence. Lawrence, is that you? I see Lawrence Holmes. I got out. That's Lawrence Holmes music. I just see a shadow because he's kind of far back away from the window.

Okay, now I see him. There he is. Yes. I see Lawrence. I see Alex Coon. We'll check in also with Matt Spiegel. And also, by the way, Thanks to everybody who was a part of our show.

Ray Diaz, Tyler, Beuter, Baugh, Connor O'Donnell, Jacob Stutz, Max, Curtis, Brandon Friar. We didn't get to thank you guys at the top of the show, so you're getting a thank you now and you're getting it next. Sorry.