Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Examining why Chiefs’ move to Kansas can’t be a model for the Bears (Hour 4)

Episode Date: February 12, 2026

In the final hour, Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris were joined by Portage, Ind. mayor Austin Bonta to discuss his city's pitch to lure the Bears to build a new stadium there. After that, Rahimi and Harris explained why the Chiefs’ move from Missouri to Kansas can’t be a model for the Bears to follow as they explore where to build a new stadium.

This hour is sponsored by Riverfront Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram. Welcome to Hollis Harbor. Right here on the Chicago Land Shoreline, a fully privately financed site, zero taxpayer burden, zero debt on the team, zero compromise. Our offer to the Bears is to use this rent-free. Set minutes from major highways, a dedicated rail stop, and the shoreline itself, designed for arrival, access and safety. The capital is ready.

The land is available now. Shovels can be in the ground as soon as June, 2026. The only variable left is the decision to move forward. That was the Portage Park sizzle reel is what I would like to call it. The Portage Indiana sizzle reel that we saw and that they sent to us here at 104.3,

the score. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie. And the Portage Indiana Mayor Austin Bonta is kind enough to join us now live. via the Circus Sports Illinois hotline, download the circus sports app today, and you heard the pitch to be able to have a stadium funded where the bears and the public don't have to deal with the cost. And he's on Twitch.

Mayor Bonta, thank you for joining us on Twitch.Twitch.tv slash The Score, Chicago. Thanks for coming on. Thanks for having me. Really excited to be here. Great to be able to talk about the city. And more importantly right now, I think talking about the bears and what I hope is the best offer for them.

Well, and you know what? You guys sent us mail. And so when you send an email and you send a pitch, we are reading and we are listening. So thank you for sending us the video. Thank you for sending us the information. Number one, how do you feel that your pitch was received when you had the press conference yesterday announcing this plan?

I think it's been received tremendously and with great interest. It was already making some news as of Monday. And then, of course, the Tuesday morning. And it was as that attention was growing, We felt it was very important to get the facts out, give the opportunity to get questions answered. And that's where we, you know, called a press conference. And it was exciting to see so much interest from the media to be able to come out and learn about what the city has to offer to the bears, to fans, and to the whole Chicago land region. I'm really curious as to how this came about.

Can you tell us the initial steps? I mean, was this you being approached by someone? Was this you understanding that the Bears didn't have a home to see if you guys? to see if you can get in the mix. How did this start? So it really started back in January of 2024 when my team came in. I'm on my third year as mayor now, and we came in. Our city had owned this piece of land, which used to be a lot smaller of a piece of land since 1995. And there's been different attempts over the years. Different companies have come and gone. Different ideas have been proposed of what they want

to do with this land, in particular, how to create connectivity between 249 and Route 12. When we came in, what we looked at is that to the east of the land, there was all of this really great property, also undeveloped land, but it had multiple different owners and it had multiple different shapes. And so in addition to not being very accessible undeveloped land, the ownership situation made it amazed to be able to get somebody to come in and develop it. So we knew from the start what we had to do over the last two years was start working with other owners to be able to buy the different pieces of land.

and that's how we've now ended up with over 300 acres at this site. It's an incredible site where the highways, the train, and the waterway all come together to create this really great destination. And from the beginning, when we looked at this site back in January of 2024, we said, now keep in mind, that was two years ago. I think the Arlington deal or the original Arlington deal, as announced was maybe only a year old by then. We said, man, this would have actually been a great spot to pitch the bears.

But, you know, timing doesn't all. always work out. So flash forward to December 17th, 2025, when the Bears announced the search has expanded to the entire Chicago land area, we said, man, this was on our minds from the beginning. We owe it to the Bears, the fans, our city, and the Chicago land region to be able to offer what we think is the best site. Now, by the time that we got to the point that they announced, we already had acquired the land needed to make the land actually workable without the Bears being on the search. The big question that we were facing as a city was step two, how to make this land accessible.

I've been working with my city council to figure out how to responsibly budget things like building a bridge over the waterway to make the site more accessible. We'd been talking about how to go from the north side to connect the train better to the land. At the end of the day, the bears searching for a site gave us the ability to do step two, which is the connectivity. And step three, which is the development simultaneously. And that's why when people ask, well, what does your city get out of it with the Bears deal? Simply put, I think a question was even asked yesterday, if I remember it correctly, it was, what happens if the Bears don't pick the site? And what I said, we know that this is a high quality, incredible destination site,

where all the different modes of transportation come together. And we have a plan to turn it into something incredible. The Bears picking the site for our city just allows that to happen a little faster. and with two steps happening closer together, if that makes sense. No, it does. Oh, but you were asking about how we reach the bears or how we go about it from there. Portage actually is the third largest city in the region, and we are a really amazing city when you actually kind of look, you know,

under the hood and see what we've got. We have an international port. We've got a steel mill. We are one of the major areas of travel through the Chicago land region. 44 million people drive through our city every year. Not everybody stops. Many people do. We want to increase that. But all that said and done, we're already situated in a great spot. And we have a lot of contact. So when the bear's search started, we started reaching out. No, it makes sense. Mayor Austin Bonta of Portage, Indiana is joining us to talk about the plan for Hallis Harbor that they announced yesterday. And that's another part of it for me. So it sounds like logistics demanded something be done with this land first. Then it sounds like there's a mixed use development concept.

Here. When we say that, we mean, for example, stadium plus residence plus retail. You know, that's typically it's a mixed use property because you have the various uses of the retail and combination of residency or something along those lines. So what was the original vision? Was it going to be to pitch it to developers or something along those lines if it wasn't the bears? Yeah, so we always had a vision for this site once we were able to get the land together and create the connectivity to it to be able to master develop it, working with, maybe one big developer, maybe working with a team of developers to map out a community that is a little bit higher dense and very much based on its connectivity to the train, the South Shore line, and being the first base of real public transportation in our city, and then also its connectivity to the water. Because it's got a navigable waterway, what we call the Burns Waterway. Maybe we'll call it the Bears Waterway one day, but connects right to Lake Michigan.

So it brings those two different features together. And one of the big things I know that when people talk about, how is Northwest Indiana responding to the news about the bears considering coming to our side of Chicagoland, two big things come to mind. One is what is the cost on residents in terms of taxes? And of course, we have a plan to address that that's getting a lot of attention. But then the second aspect is what does this do to traffic, right? You know, we've got all these cities in northwest Indiana.

How much traffic is this going to bring in on game days, concert days? what's particularly neat about what we now call the Hallis Harbor site is 99% of our city residents live south of the highway and definitely south of the waterway that we're talking about building it. So really what we have the opportunity at Hallis Harbor is essentially to build an entire city crafted around this more dense, this more transit-oriented development. And we've always talked about what would be the best anchor. And I mean, I can just say certainly the bears coming to the site would be the absolute best anchor to really build. that community and that development around it. And I'm curious as we talk with Portage, Indiana Mayor, Austin Bonta, as they make this pitch for Hallis Harbor and a stadium project in their city,

it's tax-free allegedly. The bears aren't going to be in debt. The taxpayers aren't going to be in debt. Does that mean private equity steps in? Tell us how these gaps are being filled because that's a lot of money someone has to come up with to build a stadium. Absolutely. And that was actually one of the things that was the biggest challenges for me is that we definitely see the benefit of a stadium coming into any city as far as what that can do for economic development.

But we also know that whether it's a city, whether it's a state, when taxpayers are funding a stadium and they're on the hook for that much, it can create trouble down the road. Portage being a city of, again, we're the third largest city in the region, but we're not a million-person city. That's a lot of responsibility to take on or potentially to be in some issue with down the road. So I told my team it was very important that our pitch included some way to be able to minimize or eliminate taxpayer cost. At the time, too, we had no idea on January 18th what the state of Indiana was going to do with the Bears search. We wanted to start as quick as we could. And we ended up finding a partner who's offering an equity deal where a private company would build the stadium. We would be able to give it to the Bears.

rent-free, and then the stadium revenue that's generated from non-football-related events, such as concerts, trade shows, different events happening in the stadium, over a long period of time, would pay back the cost of building the stadium to the private entity. And we understand the private entity, Mayor Bonta is Lou Weisbach, and his group is correlated or as subsidiary or part of J.P. Morgan. Is that correct? Lou has the financial resources to bring that together, and he's been a very good friend to us and a great partner with us as we put this deal together. And we understand that as we bring it to the Bears and as the state of Indiana takes a look at it and what they want to add to it, we certainly understand that we need to be flexible starting from our current offer,

but it was very important for us that we had a viable, responsible deal on the table to be able to adequately finance a stadium of this size. what's the timeline then? Because some of the concepts that we've seen are the numbers being thrown around. And tell me if you have different numbers, it's in the neighborhood of somewhere around combining infrastructure cost and development cost. It would be somewhere like $7 billion. You know, that's a number that's been discussed. So five famously, $5 billion. That's a recent stadium that was built. So what's the number and then what's the timeline to get that repaid to a private equity entity? So I would direct you to Lou or if you'd like to, you know, kind of speak to him about all the financial details of it. But to put it simply, what we're talking about is $5 billion for the stadium

plus infrastructure and then a $2 billion sinking fund to cover issues that could come up once it's constructed and once the deal is set up. And there are certainly elements of the deal as far as how much revenue is going to be paid over how much time to be able to pay back the cost of the stadium. That would be something that we would negotiate with the bears as we get to that stage. So like I say, we're very excited about that element of it. And at the same time, we're, time we're also super excited about the site being what we think is the best site for the bears that we can imagine. Austin Bonta, the mayor of Portage, Indiana, joining us here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie here

on 104-3, the score. Austin, I'm curious, what do you think separates your deal from other deals, specifically where the bears, if they build the stadium, obviously they get all of the money that comes in from the revenue in other places? So I think that simply put what separates our deal from the other areas have been discussed about, I think that we have to consider certainly the uniqueness of the site, the Hellas Harbor site. It is undeveloped land. There is no need to take out existing roads.

There's no need to take out existing buildings to build. So that's one piece of it. The other piece of it is the ability for it to be a true, what do you call it, ecosystem of entertainment designed specifically for the bears, not over something that was existing, but undeveloped land in one of the most strategic spots in the Chicago land region, certainly the northwest Indiana part of the Chicago land region, where you've got the train, you've got the water, and you've got the highways all coming together right in this particular well-traveled area that so many people actually don't even realize it's there.

Well, maybe they realize it's there now, given the attention that the site is getting. Yeah, I definitely think you've raised awareness. That's for sure, Mayor Bonta. What has been the reception from the Bears? What have the talks been like? I can't go into all details as far as communication with the bears. I can tell you that they're definitely aware of the offer, both on the land side and on the financial side.

We know that they are doing their study to see if it works for them. Certainly, they want to make sure that it's good enough to be true. They want to make sure that it's something that they can plan based on. And I'm hopeful to be able to say more about that, communication piece as time goes on. What's the timeline here? We understand there's a lot of moving parts here, whether it's the Illinois legislature, whether it's the Indiana legislature, what are you looking at as a timeline to see if this is going to be viable or not? What I've told residents, and I've been asked by many, like, how soon are we going to know something? I say, you know, it could be weeks from now,

it could be tomorrow, it could be later this afternoon, not specifically about the portage site, but ultimately this is the bear's decision, and ultimately the bears are going to determine what is the best site for the team, the best site for the fans. I'm hopeful that they're going to agree that the Portage site is the best and that our deal is the best offer on the table. But there are also political and economic things going on that are definitely beyond our control and maybe outside of any one person's control

that's going to ultimately influence where the bears go. Yeah, Mayor Bonta, that was one of the things that I was wondering about was representing a city into Indiana. You know, there's always the concern from saying, the Indiana teams, you know, whether it's the Indianapolis Colts who are adjacent, you know, they have a publicly funded stadium in Indianapolis, whether there's been any sort of, I don't know if communication is the right word, but have you heard anything from any of the other teams regarding your plan to put this together for the Bears, just out of curiosity?

We've not been reached out to the Colts, and my understanding of it is there are certainly Colts fans in Portage. There are certainly Colts fans, you know, in Northwest Indiana, but ultimately northwest Indiana is bears country. I have to remind everybody every time the bears play the Packers, it's a violation of our city ordinance to wear Packers hats, which always is kind of a big stir, but we got to make sure that people are aware. Ultimately, the Bears coming to what we consider to be, well, the Bears coming to Northwest Indiana is still the Bears coming to Bears country, and it's still the Bears come into Chicago land. We're proud to have that part of our identity here. Austin, be honest with this.

Does this feel like a long shot to you? I mean, you're late to the game, but the game is still a foot, if you will, but does this seem like a long shot to you when you talk to the people in your city? It really doesn't. And to start, it doesn't feel like it was late to the game for us because we started working on this on December 18th. I guess you could say December 17th, because I was on the phone as soon as the statement from the Bears came out. And we had people ready to go.

it took us some time to put together a proposal that we believed was realistic and a proposal that we thought was workable. And we did send it out to the Bears sooner than it made the news. It recently made the news this week in a really big way. And we definitely felt it was important to take the opportunity to get it out to the media and explain the details of our proposal. But at the end of the day, I can tell you that from the calls we've been getting and from the attention it's received, I think this is very real. I'm definitely more real than Iowa, but I think about as real as the other Northwest Indiana sites. I think that that's fair. Simply by geography alone, but for other reasons, no, that makes a lot of sense. So I do find it interesting, though, that you found out via the Bear's statement that Northwest Indiana was a possibility.

I was wondering if they had reached out to any specific entities, so not to you in advance is what you're saying. Oh, that's a great question. And certainly, to put it simply, one day I'm sure there'll be books written or maybe one great book about the story of the Bears and how they ended up in the stadium that ultimately comes their home that we all know and love. But no, we found out from the announcement from the Bears. I couldn't tell you because I don't know how many people knew ahead of time the announcement was coming. I just knew that when the announcement came out, we got to work. And then is there anything else you want people to know about the pitch that you made and what this project could be? One of the big things that I've talked about a lot, and I certainly talked about it in the press conference yesterday,

is the importance of realizing that there is already muscle memory for fans who live in Chicago, fans who live in Illinois when it comes to coming to Northwest Indiana, especially in the summer and especially in the fall. And in Portage, we know that because we've got beaches, we see the Illinois plates, we meet people who come into the city because it's a great destination in the summer. The travel time feels farther away when you look on it in a map, but if you're somebody who lives in Portage and you drive to Chicago pretty often like I do, you get used to that travel time. And I know people who live in Chicago, but they commute to work in Portage. And it's a time frame that they get used to with the travel. And then you throw in the real opportunity for public transportation, the utilization of the South Shore line to have a site where you can walk off the train and then walk down to the stadium.

I think it's something pretty incredible. And I think it's something that when more people think about it and I've seen it happen, they realize that this is something very workable for fans. And I think it's something that is very special for the Bears. Lou Weissbach and Austin Bonta with this presentation and the pitch. Mayor Bonta, we thank you so much for joining us here on Rahimi Harrison Grady to talk about Hallis Harbor. Thanks so much. Thank you, guys.

That's Mayor Austin Bonta, kind enough to join us not only, on the score, but on our Twitch channel as well. So at least we got some more answers. I feel like that's a very good thing. I felt like I have a much better understanding of how this came about and now what the move is next for them and maybe the rest of Indiana. Yeah. And the reason I bring up the Colts is not necessarily because of the fact that they're simply in Indiana. There's a public money aspect to this as well. In fact, Illinois rep Cam Buckner talked about it with the afternoon show, Spiegel and Holmes. So we're going to examine that part of it next. Rahimi Harrison Grody, midday's 10 to 2 on 1043 The Score.

This is Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043 The Score. And we just heard from the Portage Indiana Mayor, Austin Vanta, about his pitch for Hallis Harbor and how we were all trying to figure out if the bears aren't paying, the taxpayers aren't paying, then who's paying? private equity. Yeah, it's, it makes me uncomfortable. Private equity, at this point, they're two bad words when you put them together, for me, personally.

It doesn't have a good connotation in, uh, in public right now. That's for sure when it comes to how, how it, uh, if it's buying red lobster chains, for example, or if it's getting involved in places, it, the results speak for themselves. I'll say that at times. This is different because I think

Louis Bezbach, this is not, I think, the first stadium project where he's been discussed. There are other reports. But then also, do the bears want to get involved with a private equity type of investor like this? That's the other question too. Better the private equity firms spend their money on stadiums than on, you know, single family houses.

That's my purpose. personal opinion. There's also that. Yeah, the private equitization of America continues. But he answered the question. You know, we wanted to know who was paying and how, and we got our answers. In the meantime, we're still trying to figure out what it is on the Illinois side. And state representative Cam Buckner was on with the afternoon show Spiegel and Holmes, not yesterday, but the day before. We didn't get to get to all of it because we had to talk to Modis Buzellis. So there were a couple of latent effects that Cam Buckner talked about when it came to

stadium projects outside of Illinois and what we've seen. The biggest argument a lot of people make for if you really want a publicly funded stadium, then you let the public vote on it. Put it to an election. Kansas City Chiefs did that. It got voted down swiftly

in Missouri. That was not a ballot measure that passed by any means. It's poison basically at this point with where our country is because it's not just the people who say they'll give up a steak dinner for a new stadium. No offense, Tony and Juliet. Yeah, everyone is like that money, taxpayer money, could be used differently and more effectively

and address more immediate needs for a large group of people. And I think that's why they're like, why are we out here providing money for billionaires? Well, and that's it. It's the concept of make the profit private, but then make the cost public. and that's met with a lot of resistance. But a ballot is the best way to get the actual sample of how the public feels about it. That's putting the power in their hands

to let them decide for themselves. Now, Cam Buckner was asked about how reps downstate because there is a state funding element of this about how they feel about the Bears project. I've talked to my colleagues from around the state, many of whom live south of I 80, and they have questions about what's this mean for me. What does this mean for my capital projects, right?

The infrastructure and the roads and bridges that are, I'm trying to build it in my district. What does this mean for places like Eastern Illinois University and the University of Illinois folks who are looking at the state budget to be helpful for them as well? And so this is a point that is well taken because we've got to figure this piece out. You know, we talk a lot about Chicago versus our Arlington Heights.

versus, you know, Gary and Hammond. But one piece of the puzzles that I often think about it and chuckle sometimes is that, you know, my colleagues from Decatur, Illinois, where the Bears started off, you know, if we are in the forefront bill that does not help them and their needs when it comes to mega projects and infrastructure and moving things forward, then maybe we've missed the ball on that as well. And so to me, this is a, while let's say Bears conversation, is a broader conversation about development in the state and how we move things forward. I think he has a point when he talks about what this is.

It's kind of a microcosm of where we are in this process. And this process, the idea of it in applying it to many things, not just specifically the Bear Stadium. Arlington Heights, for example, is not in Peoria's backyard. So they have every right to ask how they are paying for something that doesn't intersect with them. And I think that that's fair. That's the job of a representative is to listen to those of the state when you're a state rep,

not just your constituency. He also discussed, and we talked about this just a little bit ago, Kansas City Chiefs didn't end up playing in Missouri. Their new stadium will not be in the state of Missouri. It will be in Kansas. It did not go to a ballot in Kansas. That was a deal they struck outside of a vote with the state. And this is where he also brings up. what the ramifications are for the bears if they were to go to the state of Indiana.

So this is multi-tenticals here, but listen to how many different effects there are and the example used with Kansas City. I'm still in shock. I'm still in awe. I'm still waiting for one to date myself. I'm still waiting for Ashton Coucher to come out and tell everybody they were pumped because I don't know how any legislature or any state government, especially one that claims to be physically responsible can give a deal like that. And what I think is going to turn out to be one of the biggest bulldox sports stadium financing history. And the crazy thing about it is that the state of Missouri is going to still get much of the benefit without any of the costs, which is close to them for standard strong. Wow. It's quite something.

And is what Indiana is offering at all akin to what the state of Kansas is offering from your, perspective. I think they've made some overtures, right? They've said that they'll pay, you know, basically give the Bears a club being in our stadium for free. But here's some things that we should think about it and talk about and try to figure out. Number

one, the bill that the Indiana Senate passed and it bill 27, which is now making its way to the Indiana house, there's no actual bonding in there, there's no actual dollars in there. What it does is it gives the state of Indiana the ability to create an Indiana sports facility authority. By the way, we've had one

for 40 years, right? So they're playing catch up on that. But the piece that I think is worth noting that none of this stuff happens in a volume, right? If you are the Ursa family, for instance, and who owns the coach, and you see what the bears are being offered in Indiana, you know, you say, where's my? Because you're not just going to be applauding this, you're going to be also negotiating behind the scenes that you could believe they're doing it.

If you're the Simon family who owns the Indiana Pacers, you're asking if a state is willing to invest to attract a new franchise, what does this mean for us in Game Bridge Stadium? And furthermore, if you are the athletic director, Scott Dolson at Indiana University or Meg Bobinsky at Purdue University who are looking at this deal, and especially if you're I. Who just won the football national championship.

And wondering why your funding has been cut in a lot of different programs. It's been cut. You've got pretty bad facilities. I played both in Rawlsade and at a Morgan Stadium in Bloomington as a suburb of the college athlete in the U of I. Both of them suck, right? They're not great stadiums and not great facilities. And so if you're down there, you're saying, okay,

if you're going to do this up in Lake County, what are you going to do down here for us? And so, you know, none of this happens in the bubble. Folks are looking in the mirror now to see where their part of this is. And all of this is layer. Once one door opens, you know, five other teams will not. Ro teams, NBA teams, flagship university. Everybody wants to know where they stand.

And I think that's a part that we're missing. I think Indiana's legislature is probably talking about that now behind the same. Listening to Camp Buckner really break it down and understanding that we talk about things in a very simplistic way compared to the multiple layers that all of the people involved in the conversations, the talks, the negotiations, the way they think about things, it's so much more layered. And he's certainly right about other people in Indiana, other organizations in Indiana being like, a.o, I see all this free cheese you're giving out. Where's ours?

It happened here. It happened here when you consider that public dollars were brought up with the tax incremental funds, for example, the TIF funds, that were part of the 78 project. Now, Joe Mansueto and the Chicago Fire decided to build with their own money, you know, a stadium on that site. We're trying to figure out if it was going to be big enough to hold a potential New Sox Park, for example. But that's what happened. When there was public money to be available, other teams, rightfully so, like the Chicago Stars, said, we deserve some of this money. And why not us?

And they're allowed to do that. Whenever, if there's public money to give out to sports entities, no, it's, no, not everybody's going to fall in line and be like, oh, this is the bear's money. No, that doesn't work that way, especially when your entity is supposed to be competitive. Well, we're making actual progress here. Just compare this to the same time finding out the White Sox won a new ballpark. And the governor issuing, hey, you guys need to work this out between each other because we don't have money to just be throwing out here.

So I thought that was interesting. And to learn just that the bears now are probably going to build in Arlington Heights, that's the way it looks anyway, from my vantage point. They bought the land. They haven't sold the land. They haven't given it up. They bought the land with the intention of building a stadium there. I think there's a world in which they can sell the land.

But to your point, it's already kind of predestined that way. That's not predestined. chosen. They chose to buy that land. They chose their destination. I assume it is the final destination. But, you know, it's interesting to hear

everybody else kind of getting a voice out there and trying to chime in and trying to get something going their way. I said it before, and I'll say it again, this process, talking to other municipalities about what they can bring and how, that was supposed to happen before. Before. before you buy the land.

It's become quite laborious, tedious, which are all things that can happen before you buy the land. Because if you have everything worked out, now bought land, built land, shovels in the ground. Well, also, it's just part and parcel as to how you do this.

You strike the deal with the municipality first because that's when you have the leverage. Are you saying that's when you get the tax certainty in most cases? Certainty is a loose term. It's when you pre-negotiate some sort of tax rate. Yes. And that's why this has been such a sticking point and one that we continue to discuss.

And unfortunately, reverse engineer as a public. But I'll maintain the most accurate way to get the public opinion is to let them vote on it themselves. Man, put this on the ballot. History doesn't, it's not kind, but if you're really confident, then you might be surprised as to what could happen. I think the bears understand and therefore they are not confident. That's why there is no way this is ever going on about. Yeah, I mean, in the past, like, I'd say 20 years ago, you know, there would be times where the public would want that. You know, I've mentioned, you know, in my home market, for example, the ballpark in Arlington, which was built in the early 90s, was paid off early.

But that was when supply cost and labor cost and all those things were much lower. And there was a much more aggressive and well-used tourism tax at the time. Money's weren't as tight as they are now for everyone involved. Right. but the population is bigger, so you have to factor that in as well. But the easiest way, if you want everybody to have power outside of just like people talking about it, you vote on it. But then you've got to ask, why hasn't it been a vote? Why did Kansas City want to make sure, why did the chiefs make sure that they wanted to bypass the voting concept after doing it in Missouri when they talk to Kansas?

Always ask that question. Clearly, they knew it was not going to pass, much like it did in Kansas. That's when you start talking about corruption and everything else because, oh, why are they so apt to bend the will? They call it lobbying now. Well, lobbying is one form of the, yes, you're right. I say that tongue in cheek. Coming up next year on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, the score. I want to say exciting, but then I want to say the rest and I'm not going to do it.

Ray, how would you pitch this? 49 is running back. Christian McCaffrey has defied the odds in more. ways than one. And we will explain that next. Fair enough. Rahimi Harrison Grody. Could you imagine Lovie Smith doing the whole good, better, best thing? And

saying bleep the Packers. Come on, guys. Good better best. Never let rest. Never let be on Tuesday. Midday's 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. The exciting whites meme,

which is my favorite meme on the internet. So that's what I was going to say, but then I was like, I don't know. But Danny said it for us. That was Danny Parkins talking about the podcast. Exciting mics. And Christian McCaffery, an exciting guy, was on the Bussing with the Boys podcast. Exciting guy. That's what we're doing. How old are you now? 29. When these injuries happen, how frustrating is it for you? Because when they were kind of piling up and popping up last year, it's almost like universally, like,

okay, he's getting a little bit older, white running back is, are we seeing? That's what that kind of do with age? You know what it has to do with. Come on. Like, you're not supposed to be here, man. I'm not supposed to be here. Yeah.

You're not supposed to be here. But I mean, nine years later, it's like, it can't be, I'm not, yeah, no, you're right though. People won't save father time. I'm just saying incandage. I'm just saying, in context, it's not like, hey, you're getting older,

you've had some injuries. You're white I'm like Wait what That doesn't It just contextually That part Didn't make sense

Especially I think it was number two On my list I mean think of all the Stuff you had to go through last year That's the exact mindset A white running back needs to have too He doesn't realize how big of a deal it is Oh my god

All right so Endangered species Never know they're endangered man Like the snow leopard. What were you asking? Christian knows how I was feeling legend. I'm like, oh, the whiteness is catching up to him. But the mortality of a Christian.

It catches up to us. That's hilarious. The best line is the most accurate one in that. Endangered species never know they're endangered. When he was laughing about going through all this stuff because I'm white, that was also funny and appreciated. It's almost like universally like, okay, he's getting a little bit older, white running back. What's that kind of two in age?

He just said running back. When you put white running back in it, that put a little stank on it. There was no way to get into that other than just getting into the sound. That's what that was. But that was hilarious. Like they both had a good laugh about it. That's what makes it good. Christian McAfrey knows the deal.

He knows the drill. He knows everything. that's being said about him at every step and turn. Well, he's self-aware. Yeah, he's able to play along. He gets it. Not only is he self-aware, he's prone to get a ton of yards

at the half against the bears or something, you know? I will never not think of Christian McCaffrey as the snow leopard. That's a great name. They threw snow leopard out there. They just come up with that on the fly. Endangered species never know they're endangered, man.

The chuckling in it for me is also what makes me laugh. Endangered species never know they're endangered. Oh, that's savage. And a bar at the same time. It really is. I know CMC is his nickname, but the Snow Leopard. They could add that. The Snow Leopard.

They could add that. CMC, run CMC, because, you know, Bay Area, but. Is that really the only, you know, some players have multiple nicknames? Is that really his only? I'm on his pro football reference page. CMAC or run CMC. None of those are better than Snow Leopard. Snow leopard is great because snow leopard it hits it really does it hits I think that's what I'm going to be calling him from now on

that man is rare and fast at least we're not saying he's a good route runner or he's sneaky fast you know all the all the coded language there that one typically says what's some of the other coded language gem rat jim i oh country strong that's a little too obvious grinder no Such a straw can be applied to everybody. He's a grinder. He's a grinder. A grinder. That's one.

Heady player. It's really heady, yeah. Ray, did I hear you laugh through the soundproof glass? He's a very heady player. Okay, okay. We get what you're saying. That's like if I said, like, you know who would be really good friends with Christian McConnell?

Or excuse me, it's Christian McAfrey. Yeah. T.J. McConnell. I can see them hanging out. Oh, I just, that was all pretty funny. I'm glad they were able to have a good laugh about it. And the host with the bus and with the boys podcast are both white guys. They were joking along with them.

Clearly, the introduction itself of the, yeah, white running back. It's almost like universally, like, okay, he's getting a little bit older, white running back. Yes, perfectly used there, Tyler, perfectly used there. also can i share some news for people who got excited about jeremy sohan yeah he's not coming to chicago shams reporting that he's uh actually going to join the nix after his release now there were 10 teams according to shams that were interested

but it did not mention whether or not the bulls were one of those teams also hey speaking of people on the move this is a story that i've tracked just because it's weird the Phillies are just outright releasing Nick Castellanos. They're like, hey, yeah, don't. It's like office space or something the way they're handling this. He's like, yeah, okay, I'll come into work tomorrow. No, we don't need you tomorrow. But just don't worry about it.

Don't worry about it. It was quite the breakup as to how that went. Well, they knew he wasn't coming back. He knew he wasn't coming back. But the thought was maybe you can trade and get a prospect or something for him with a one year and $20 million left on his deal. But let me tell you something. When I say pedestrian for $20 million,

he had a negative 0.8 war last season, hitting $250 with a $294 on base and a $400 slug and nowhere to play. $20 million, nowhere to play. And you have that kind of stats. Have I got the place for you? Where are you sending him? I heard Ray laugh again.

I know where you're thinking. Back to Chicago. not the team he played for. No. Wait, really? No, they don't have room for him in their lineup. They have a bunch of young prospects who showed they can do stuff last year. They're already having position problems right now trying to figure out where they're

going to put people. Does he go back to Detroit or something? That could be the obvious, like, little homecoming for him, right? Honestly, guys. The way he talked about hitting in that ballpark, he made it sound like it was the biggest cavern of all time. Like... What ballpark?

Detroit. Oh, okay. That, okay. Not socks. No, I thought you were talking about Citizens Bank Park. I was like, no, that is a hitter's park. No, Citizen's Bank Park. You and I could have a home run to right field.

Well, that's not get crazy. But like Nick Castellanos, he wouldn't play for the socks because he was a, I don't know how to use this. I don't know that Sox killer is the right word, but I saw some pretty bleak games where Nick Castellanos, like, it was like something like there was one hit in the game. And like, it was by Nick Castellanos and it was a single. And I was like, this is our play of the game. It was one nothing ball game.

It's just Nick Castellano. Sox bully. Maybe not kill him, but a bully. Yeah, harasser, you know, a lawyer. I want to remind you guys, Nick Castellanos played all 162 games two years ago. And despite playing that many games and getting 659 played appearances, 0.8 on the war.

Do you understand how bad that is? I do. Also, we've gotten a lot of euphemisms here. Coach's son, Jim Rat. Yeah, the Jim Rat. Crafty. Coach's son. Shout out to all the people that said.

Crafties. Crafties a good one. Crafties a good one. Heady for me. It's still heady. High motor. High motor. Thank you.

Just, yeah. I'm glad we can laugh together. Where does the Kevin Harlan White come from? That was from a literal, like that was obviously a call, but I cannot remember the play. That's what I was trying to think of when it was. This has been in our library for years. And I cannot remember the play, but I remember when it happened. I was working here.

And we all, you know, had great fun listening to the highlight and playing the drop millions of times. Also, 772 on the text line. But is he a switch hitter? Talking about Nick Castellanos. No, he bats right-handed. I see what you did. I see what you did there. Was it Kevin White, but probably not, right?

No. It never was Kevin White. Sorry, Kevin White, but it never was. I didn't mean for that to be savage as it came off. I'm a very savage. It was like Claywood, he was like, Camp girl, but he can cover. And I was like, oh, dang. Just, just drop the body.

Damn. That was savage. Okay. So now that all that has been figured out, the only other people I know who might care about where Nick Castellanos is going are next. I know one of them is going to have an opinion. Let's do this. Castiano watch next.

What?