Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Full Show — February 27, 2026

Episode Date: February 27, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris reacted to the latest developments in the Bears' stadium pursuit and discussed the news and notes coming out of the NFL Combine.

What's up, Little Psychos? I'm Investigator Slater, host of the Psychopedia podcast. Psychopedia is a true crime podcast delivering raw, real, and absolutely gripping episodes every single week. I dig deep to uncover fascinating details of heinous true crime cases while exploring criminology and psychology theories. I take you into the absolute darkest corners of the human psyche, my favorite territory, and present cases like you've never heard them before. Follow and listen to Psychopedia everywhere you get your podcasts. This hour is brought to you by the Chicago Golf Show. The views and opinions of Lela Rahimi, Marshall Harris, and Mark Grody should not be taken

too seriously. Especially when they give advice. Do not take Marshall's analogies, literally. Especially when it comes to Russell Dorsey. The sports thoughts of Rahimi Harrison Grody may change at any time. It's just sports. Gay, thanks. Bye. Rahimi Harrison Grody, 10 to 2 on 1043, The Score. Now, because we're lunatics and we have one thing on the mind at all times,

that is not money, that is not time. It's not some resources essential to us all. It's Max Crosby. We're like, oh, is Ben Johnson talking about Max Crosby when he said this to Cassie Carlson? Some of the former offense alignment that are now coaches having those conversations. Hey, who gave you the most probably? It wasn't necessarily the biggest names. It was sometimes the guys that just went for longer and for harder than their opponent.

And I think there's something to be said for that, you know, guys that, that, you know you're going to get 100% from them every single snap. He just said what he wanted in a defensive lineman candidate. And then he describes someone who just never stopped going. Basically an energizer bunny whose battery never runs down or runs out. I would say someone with a high motor. People that know me know I'm about the work and football. Someone who plays 97% of the snaps or so.

I give my whole life to this sport every single day. Somebody who may not love football but is obsessed. with football. I don't love football. I am obsessed. I've given it since I've been playing tackle football since I could walk. Somebody who wants to win. It maybe hasn't had as much winning as he is accustomed to. I don't give a f*** besides playing football and winning football games. Max Crosby is on the forefront of my mind. Do we have to? I don't want to. How does this work? I can't I? I can smell your dreams, Tom. I think it's affecting us. Nah. What are you talking about? Everything is related back to Max Crosby. See, nah, his two H's at the

I am now officially a Maxen Eastern. I don't know that I wasn't. One of us. One of us. One of us. The reply is just the word Max. Max. Laila Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody, Midday's 10 a.m. to 2 on Chicago Sports Radio

1043, the score. Hello and good morning on this Friday. This is Rahimi Harris and Grotie on 1043, the score. And yeah, there are times where we just randomly in the middle of silence will say, Max. Max Crosby. I don't know, Ray. I don't know that we're speaking it into existence enough.

We're going to try. We're going to ramp it up. Max! I haven't heard Marshall do it lately. Max. Not HBO, Max. Max. Listen to that pace.

Have you done your run yet? You know how you were thinking about taking an outside run? Have you done it? I will be doing that later on today. I don't know if you know, but we're getting up to 60 today. We're going outside. But when you're running, you're a distance guy. So like somewhere during your multi-mile run, how many miles are you running today?

I would say five miles max. See, somewhere during that five-mile run, do you find yourself likely to say just the word by yourself in silence? Max. Yeah, that'll probably happen. Yeah. I'm thinking about running today without music. Oh, no. You're just going to raw dog the workout?

Yeah, raw dog the workout. We have gotten some really unstable phrases between the last time we left you with Anthony Heron and Lawrence Holmes saying the phrase, curtain jerker. Technically, I get it. It's a real term that the wrestlers and the wrestling fan bases use. And then also now raw docking the workout. But yeah, I feel, okay, 630, I don't know that Max is the new bears, but I think it's getting up there.

I think it's getting up there. Like, if you just find yourself silent and the first word that comes to you is Max, okay, Max Crosby? I don't think you have a problem. I think you have a solution. Hopefully one day they'll be synonymous. I don't know, guys. I don't know.

I think we need a capologist, a cap wizard, a cap guru, and some sort of other magical being. We can find one of those. We can find one of those. Perhaps. I'll work on that. Well, and in the meantime, we found the Bears front office, which I think we can all say this time this year, compared to this time last year,

is in a much more trustworthy place. I wouldn't call it night and day, but I would call it night and sunrise. How about that? Yeah, they did their part to earn back some capital with Bears fans winning a playoff game, of course, the first in 15 years. making the right decision in hiring Ben Johnson, although I do think that was a team thing.

I very much credit George McCasky and Kevin Warren in that. And then also being able to put together a resume and a body of work last year that puts them in a better spot. It puts them in a better spot, but unfortunately that means you get a lower draft pick. Unfortunately, that means you don't have as much money to spend under the cap. And at this time last year, I want you guys to remember, we were hemming and hawing on the midday show, myself included, about the interview that Ryan Poles did with Sirius XM Radio where he talked about steps being skipped in training camp. And I think that they addressed it in a good way when they decided to say stuff like strip it down to the foundation, strip it down to the studs, build this

backup, do all the basic stuff so we can build on this in the right way. Try to forget everything you learn in the first year for Caleb Williams so that way he can build this up in Ben Johnson's build up his best practices while he's still young and put together what he did this past season. It was also a warning, though, that when you hear the GM say this, the head of the front office, the head of the football operations of the team,

I was asking, well, why didn't you stop it? Like the buck stops with you. You're the guy who's supposed to be able to put a stop to that or change the course if you see it's veering off. You shouldn't have to wait an entire. your season to adjust, right? I'll give credit that for the first time in organization history, they were able to fire a coach mid-season. They didn't wait till the end. Right. And that to me was

part of the evolution of Ryan Poles. And I am very much hopeful that he continues to evolve. Yes. And a winning season helps. But I don't want him to get this false sense of security that, okay, we've won. This, it's just now starting now for Ryan Poles. And we welcome you to join our conversation, 312, 64, 67, 1045 is when we will take your calls, but your texts are always welcome as well. And the question just becomes, how much more do you trust Ryan Poles now than you did last year? How much do you trust him to give the bears a draft that is comparable to the last year's draft rather than the prior ones that he had had?

And even take into consideration our discussion about Jervon Dexter in transition with Zach Zainman and David Haw. So all of that said, I didn't expect to hear another serious XM type of interview with Ryan Poles this time around at the Combine. But I credit Ryan Poles for being transparent enough to actually have the conversation with us when I think a lot of general managers wouldn't do so. And by with us, I don't mean necessarily Marshall and Lela. I mean with the media and with people who he appears with. And that happened. Ryan Poles was on with Todd McShay, on his podcast and talked about the role that I don't think it's us. I think it's more the screen he sees.

Social media and how it affected his job. I think it's learning through that chaos. I separate myself. I really did get off of kind of looking at everything. I was listening to a podcast. I think your name is Brunay Brown. And she said the algorithm in social media is to validate what you already believe. or to show you what you fear the most.

And as it hit me, and no one's like described that way, I was like, I got to get, if I'm going to leave this organization, I have to get off of that because if I'm acting out of fear or acting out of closed-mindedness, then we're not going to be in a good spot. And that's giving me a lot of freedom to kind of weather the storm, but to see things the way they are. There's a couple situations, even with Caleb, where for some reason when things just feel like they're ebbing away from you,

like it almost validates, like, especially the noise part of it, like you're close. Like you talked about like a young, talented kid. Like they get a lot of crap from the outside world to me. Like so something that's what they see the talent. They see what this could be. So let's just keep pushing forward and get through this and get to the other side. And that's what this year felt like a little bit of a breakthrough. And I know you can't take success from last year and bring it into this year.

We start over. And there's a lot of work to be. done, but it felt like a breakthrough in terms of like, all right, we can settle that part. Now we can start mastering our craft a little bit. Okay. Number one, Brunay Brown always, especially for everybody listening to this show, because I think you'd appreciate what she has to say. He's right, and she's right about that.

That's not my concern, though. My concern is how much did this dictate how you did your job the past several years here? The biggest question is, when did you? listened to this podcast and when did you stop paying attention to social media? Like was it yesterday? No, I mean, I mean, you're getting a sense that it definitely was, it sounds like from what he's describing. It was after he drafted Caleb Williams. But maybe it was before he hired Ben Johnson. I'm trying to see how aligned his change in thought process and the way he stopped consuming social media affected the way maybe he did his job or

just his insight into how to do his job. To be clear, I am not a believer. I am not a believer. in Ryan Poles football man, as much as I am a believer in Ryan Poles, I can evaluate something admit I was wrong and learn from it. So the evolution of Ryan Poles, I believe in. Do I believe Ryan Poles is going to deliver a second straight draft along the lines of what he did last year? Not necessarily. I believe he'll do whatever Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen guide him to do. And listening to these comments, Layla, and to get kind of an insight to how he looks at things was eye-opening to me because I'm like, why were you ever on social media like that in the first place as a general manager of a professional football team? Well, and then you and I started talking at our pre-show meeting, Marshall, about the tree that Ryan Poles came from.

So when Ryan Poles is talking and we hear him say this, and the first thing I think is, you know, that doesn't convey confidence to me. That does not convey confidence because if you're steady, as a leader of a football team where there are only 32 jobs, then, and you're, and you've talked to us about your process, and you talk to us about how smart you think your team process is and how you guys evaluate talent and how you believe in, in certain rubrics like the relative athletics score, and how confident you are when you say,

best player available at 25, best player available last year. After the draft last year, you say you stick to your board, even though it can be tough at times and you want to deviate, but you stick to your board. And we've all said at times, we don't trust your board. But even then, you talked about it in a way that says, I'm confident in my process.

And this retrospectively does not convey that you were confident. It does not convey that you knew your process or that you had picked up your best. practices and we're confident in those from your team. And when I say your team, I mean Kansas City, where you were adjacent to the people who drafted Patrick Mahomes. But who was the head coach of Kansas City, Marshall? That would be Andy Reed.

Long time experienced head coach. Some would argue he's a Hall of Famer. I would say he's definitely a Hall of Famer. I would agree. He's a guy who has the thickest of thick skin. He really doesn't care. He's going to do what he does because it has worked time and time again for him. I know he's coming off a disappointing season.

because they didn't make the playoffs after making the Super Bowl for the, I don't know how many times and how many years. But his process works, and there are receipts that prove that. Here's why Ryan Poles does not get that same vote of confidence for me. I've seen it now for one year. And I've seen it in accordance to Ben Johnson, who I do, by the way, fully trust. And I am a full believer in. And as long as Ben Johnson has a hand in what Ryan Poles is doing,

that's good enough for me right now. I just wonder, now that we're going from offense to defense in terms of where the need lies with your team if you can replicate the same type of turnaround that you did a year ago. I have doubts about that defensively, but I think the offense is good enough to carry this team for a moment.

And the benefit of being a general manager walking into a new situation, or what you guys want to call is cap hell, but you're in a cap situation now that is completely a Ryan Poles production. He's the one who extended Montes-Swatt. He's the one who signed Dio O'Don. He's the one who gave DJ Moore another contract.

I don't criticize all of those decisions to that extent, but the big money deals, which is what I'm trying to illustrate, including extending Jalen Johnson, who wasn't his player, these are Ryan Poles' front office decisions. You know, when you consider all of that together and knowing how important this draft is, you don't have the same kind of capital and the room for error that you did previously to make these big swings and make big mistakes. You don't have the room for error to trade a second round pick that was higher than the pick where he was drafted in Chase Claypool and be able to make that big of a mistake.

You don't have the capital to spend a lot of money on a guy who you hope can change it to something you want who already had one tour in Achilles and Dio O'Dangbo and expect him to turn out. And whatever rubric you are measuring or whatever process do you think you have or you think that you have uncovered all these diamonds that are sometimes just themselves. It makes me wonder about all of it when I hear something like this.

Because who's telling you who to draft? And I think, Ray, you brought it up. We don't give it, we don't give the Tyler Dunn piece a lot of discussion when it comes to various factors in the piece. But one of the parts of the story that was pretty critical

was the discussion about Ryan Polaro. and reportedly, according to the Tyler Dunnpiece, take with it what you will. The part where the sources said, the media will kill me if I don't draft Caleb Williams. Can't live life like that. Because they say what? When you start listening and going by what people in the stands say,

you end up with the people in the stands, aka out of a job. So you can't do that. And when that story came out, I was like, if this Ryan Pohl's stuff is accurate, then the Bears might be cooked. But then Ben Johnson became the head coach, and things changed because of that. But Ryan Pohl's is still operating the levers.

He's still the guy in charge at the end of the day of the scouting process and deciding what direction they're going with their offseason in terms of, you talked about salary cap hell, what are we doing with free agency, what are we doing with our own players, what are we doing and accounting for when the draft actually happens? that's a very difficult puzzle to piece together. Do I think he has a better group around him now? Yes.

But at the same time, Ben Johnson was in Detroit's building for a lot of who they were probably scouting for the NFL draft just based on the timing. You don't have the Brad Holmes knowledge for this next draft class. So how is that going to affect things? And it's funny that you bring up Marshall, the decisions regarding free agency, for example. let's listen to Ryan Poles talking to Cassie Carlson from Fox 32 at the Combine

about discussing Darnell Wright. We talked about the offensive line. Darnell Wright was a huge piece of that as well, knowing that he's up for an extension. Is that a priority for you this offseason? Yes, it's definitely a priority. There's a lot going on right now. We'll eventually start having those conversations.

It's been cool because anytime you have a new coaching staff come in, you're hoping that they saw the same vision as you did. And in terms of Ben, Dan Rochard, Kyle, the van, they share that vision. Not only, you know, we're excited about where he's at, but we're really excited what Darnell can be. If he continues to put in the work that he has been, we think he can be, you know, a really talented tackle in this league and help us win championships. Now, one of the things that I do like is Darnel Wright was the guy you drafted on tape

was the guy you put in the position to play the position he had on tape. everybody saw what they got there. Makes it easier, doesn't it? You didn't mix it up. You didn't try to change anybody. You didn't fall in love with relative athletic score. Or maybe you did, but all of it reflected the same individual. So I got no beef with that pick.

But how many picks do you really have beef with when they're that high in the draft? That's why this year's- I mean, we're debating Rome with Dunezay at nine and Darnell Wright was 10. No, that's fair. That's fair. And I think Rome has the ability to come back and look like a, number nine overall pick if he works on, you know, the thing Ben Johnson said, work on catching the football. That's his primary job is to catch the football. It's catch the football and get

open. And usually when you get open, you get more opportunities to catch the football. But I just want to see this draft play out the same way as last year's draft before I start giving Ryan Poles an overabundance of credit. Well, and that's why this is split. Like as confidently as a lot of people feel about Ryan Poles. There are people who don't feel as confident. So just know that if we disagree with you, we're not the only ones that you disagree

with, and you're not the only one who disagrees with us. So that's why I was asking the question, 312, 644, 67, how much do you trust Ryan Poles going into what is a very important draft if your desire is to advance even farther

in the NFL playoffs, and it should be? How much learning on the job? do you get to do? And for all of our ballyhooing about Andy Reid, Marshall, you and I both know that in Philly he did some learning on the job as well. Had to, because you have to adjust to your environment. Ryan Poles has adjusted, but I'm curious to see what that collaboration looks like this draft, this offseason

as he tries to fix the defense in the same way that the offense was rehabbed and repaired and ended up being pretty good. There we go. have more on this Ryan Poles and Todd McShade discussion because of one of the tools that I think is going to be really important for everybody

to know about when it comes to this next NFL draft. So this, I think, will help us understand how the bears run their process as well. That's coming up next. Ray Diaz and Tyler Butabar are our producers. Brandon Fryer helps us out too as we broadcast live from the scores Hyundai Studios

brought to you by your local Hyundai dealers. This is Rahimi me, Harrison Grotie on 104. The Score. You can call us in Texas. 312, 644, 67, 67. We were also on YouTube and Twitch at, we had an address change,

The Score, Chicago. So you can find us at Twitch.tv slash the Score Chicago. Our Twitch mob is up and chatting with you on this Friday morning. And like we said, we'll take your calls as well. How much do you trust Ryan Poles? After a good season, how much more do you trust him in the draft coming? up 312644-67 is our number more talk next rahimi harrison grody midday's tindle two on chicago sports radio

1043 the score we got a vision uh Ryan does a great job of stacking that board him and his crew and was able to sit in with some of the the scouts earlier and uh I think they do a great job bringing the information at the table and and we'll proceed business as usual That's Ben Johnson at the Combine, which is still ongoing in Indianapolis. This is 104.3, The score. We are Rahimi, Harrison Grody, and happy to be joining you on this beautiful Friday. It is beautiful. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. Outside, I'm going for a run later. No music. Raw Dog. Also, we have a contribution from that from fellow runner at the score.

One, Adam Studsonski. And he said, no music runs are when you really get to know yourself. love me a good no headphones run. To which I said, for you two who love running, I need the music or else I'm not going anywhere fast. A little inner reflection never heard anybody. I think I can do both. Depends on the music you want. I do want people to join us for this next segment when we take calls.

312, 4, 4, 6767. How much do you trust Ryan Poles? And you know what? I think we've got a lot of conversation. And even the conversation that's like frustrated is also like fair, though. because, for example, 815 asked, why are we back to doing this? And I'm like, well, he had this stuff, he said,

on Todd McShay's podcast. And then they said, I get that, but the man deserves some flowers for Caleb, Burden, Colson, Monongai, Darnel, etc. I only question is defensive evals at that point. And I said, and that's fair. But your questioning is defensive evaluations. What do the bears need the most help on this year?

Defense. So, like, yes, it's okay that there's been progress made. that's good. We can all agree that that's good. But the fact that you're still questioning the defensive e-val is still a valid question. So how much is that? And I think that's what we're trying to get to. And when you hear a GM say,

and I think it was a human moment for him, talking about Brunee Brown's quote about social media, either reaffirming what you already believe or showing you your greatest fear, that there's a lot of truth to that. And I appreciate the fact that he absorbed it because I think it's, a great, she's a great resource, period, for anybody. But you just don't want the social media

to creep into the leader of the football team like that from the football standpoint. Like, that's where there's a concern of mine. 309 on the text line. We need to remember that GMs need to grow and develop just like players. He was a rookie GM when they hired him. So yes, we may want to criticize him about past trades and picks, but every great GM has plenty of mistakes early in their career. That's from Rich from Peoria. I'm not, arguing that most though, don't get a second chance. He's been given a second chance. And you know what?

He's made the most so far of this second chance. I think there's just a lot of questions about Ben Johnson, offensive specialists, play caller deluxe, and his influence on the picks that turned around the offense. And now can the same thing be replicated on the other side of the ball? I understand that there's a big discussion when it comes to how much should a guy be allowed to learn on the job? But I think there are times where here,

the guy has been allowed to learn on the job more than what is the normal amount of grace. Do I think that is the case with Ryan Poles? Not necessarily. Do I think there was way too long of a leash given to Ryan Pace? Yes. Are the two things separate? Yes.

And every GM has swings and misses. You know, that's the point too. Every GM falls in love with somebody and there's some risk. and because they've done better in other areas, they're allowed to take that risk and absorb it differently. I think the best example for me is the 49ers and Trey Lance. That is a huge swing and miss by John Lynch. But at the same time, they were allowed to absorb it with more grace

because they had a better team around him. And they win games. And they picked Mr. Irrelevant, who's now getting more than $50 million a year and led them to a Super Bowl. Most people don't hit on seventh round picks like that. But that's also the point is, you know, how much does the draft matter to you?

Are you the guy who says that after the second round, it's a crapshoot? Because that's a good example of why good process, sound practices can withstand. But that first round swing and miss in 2021, a trail lands is pretty bad. So, you know, I will cite other teams. It's just no matter of how much risk did you buy yourself

and being sound in all these other. positions and the defense has some massive holes. So Ryan Poles says that he wants to stick to the best player available. Let's go back a couple of days and listen to him at 25, that 25 pick in the draft. Talk about that again. Philosophically, I feel the same. It's going to be the best player available. I know that may not be the most popular thing because people see kind of like on my board have yellow tags where we need to fill in. But at the same time, I do believe, especially in early rounds like one, you really got to stick the best player available. We saw that last year.

I know there's a lot of questions. Like, you got Cole, why would you take Colston? I think we found out that it helped us along the way. So we'll continue to lean in that philosophy. So that's that's Ryan Paul saying yet again, he wants to take the best player available. And he's talked about that many times, like sticking to his board and maintaining the discipline of sticking to that draft board. But then he's also got the other side where social.

media is somehow dictating part of his job, which he admitted to. So there's a tool in the middle here that may get them from point A to B. This was to Todd McShay. He talked about what of the tools that they have on the bears data-wise to help predict the draft. Something new is, you know, we created a draft simulator that has some analytics built in based on team needs. You're a part of that. You don't even know. Just in terms of the, we dump in thousands of mock drafts into this. It is scary on how accurate it gets as you get into April. I can rep the draft 150 times in April before we get to it. And it's just like preparing for a game. It's slow motion. Nothing surprises you because you've worked some of those crazy, you know, someone picked

someone right before you or a trade happened. And your ability to adapt and adjust along the way gets really, really high. I thought this was fascinating because he's looking Todd Mishay right in the face and be like, by the way, you're my draft. That helps me do my job because we take basically a compilation of all these mock drafts, which as you know, they start out very vague or as vague as they can be, knowing teams have certain needs and how, you know, because there's so much tape out there now, how evaluators are looking at the talent. And then as you get closer and closer to the draft,

because of the way free agency works and everything else, you now have even more specific needs. and I'm so curious to see how that actually affects them. What I like about this is he's saying not, hey, we use like necessarily AI or these mock drafts to see what we're going to do, but it helps us navigate what we think other teams are going to do, and that better prepares us to be able to move on the fly and have certain expectations in certain rounds with, let's say, the 25th pick. You're, you know, it's like for people at home who play fantasy football, right? if you have the 12th pick in the draft,

there's a lot more research done on making your first and second round picks as opposed to if you have the fifth pick because there's only four guys that are going before you. You just pick out who are your favorite five guys. Well, and the thing is, Ryan Poles can say best player available and they stick to their board.

There's no better example than last year when they clearly wanted Ashton Genti and they end up not drafting until the seventh round in Kyle Menongai. Like that's fairly obvious that they stuck to their board. But their board also had Ruben Hippolyte, who was largely considered an undrafted free agent in the fourth round. I disagree.

You know, the defensive evils for everybody just isolating on that. I think there's a lot to be said about that there. But then at the same time, Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker were good draft picks. You know, take that draft. But then Valas Jones is your other dude. And, you know, frankly, Ozzie Tripillo, I'm thrilled at how he turned out. I think Dan Rochard is a hell of a coach. I know that this Patelor Tendon may change the course of his career.

But it was also a big gamble, a big gamble to decide you're taking a 6.8 right tackle and think that you want to move him to left. And that goes back to what we were talking about with the what the traits are, what the tape is, what the performance is on tape, and then what you think you can make him into. And that's the part. It's that last part where I'm asking myself, well, how much does that fact? into how you put this board together. Because we all think we can change people.

I feel like you came from a very specific place when you said, we all believe that we can change people. Talking about Ryan Poles and whether or not we trust him or not, I do not. But that's okay because he's got Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104. The score. Declared his statement on 1043 the score.

Listen, 312, 644. 677-67, Texas, call us. Let us. I just want to know if other people trust Ryan Poles to a degree which I do not. How much? How much? Yeah, how much trust do you have in this man? Because here's how much I trust him. I trust that he will defer to Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen when they talk about what they need. But that's the point. Like, that's the point of a team. You know, just like if you really actually have people who will check you.

And from what it sounds like in the past, according to one report that may not have been the case, where if you checked him, you probably saw a pink slip and you were out the door. But at the same time, you know, if you have respect for Ben Johnson's resume, for example, respect for Dennis Allen's resume. And to be fair, I think that Ryan Poles was also reflective of what Matt Eberfluse wanted when he was the head coach. You know, there's a confidence statement when Roquan Smith was traded out of the building. And Eberflux says, well, we wouldn't have drafted an offball linebacker in nine,

the All-Pro, the multi-time All-Pro. Could be a future Hall of Fame, by the way. It was a good call by the whoever this coordinator was, and that would be me. He did have some good calls as a coordinator, okay? I'm not going to take away all of it. That's funny and I liked it. But point being, Ryan Poles was reflective of what Maddie Eberflus wanted to. That's what a good executive does.

Like, you have to have a conversation with your coach. Can you coach this guy? But it's when we say, it's when we say, oh, despite playing at a different position, despite showing different tape, despite showing X, Y, and Z, I still like these traits about this player, even though his tape may not show it. We'll coach him up because we've got the best guys. You did not have the best guys. Some of these people are who they are. So how many of those swings and misses can you take? And just like us talking about the 49ers and John Lynch, when you have a good group around you, you can take a little more risk and you withstand it.

and it's not going to cost you as much. That's the point here. I want to point something out here because 309 with a text that's been shared by others in its sentiment. Polls is in a lose-lose situation with this station. If it's a great draft, it's Ben's. Fair draft, it's on polls. You're picking a side without picking a side. Let me explain why that's not true.

I would say they're not listening. And if you want to half-listened and you can do that. But I also want to clarify, because this isn't the first time I've heard this argument. With Ryan Poles, he's done enough things that you can call into question or just straight out bad decisions that he is operating at a deficit going into last season. The Bears had a better season. He had a better draft. We know Ben Johnson had his fingerprints, if not control, of that draft and what the priorities were. If he can replicate that on defense, yes, my stance will change on Ryan Poles.

I'll give him more credit. And I did give him credit for some of the picks that he made. in this past draft. I gave him credit for the offseason moves that brought about a completely reconstructed offensive line. Some people are just triggered when they hear something negative. Well, I don't even know that we're being negative

because we're saying, we're not saying, do you trust him? I trust him a little bit. I trust him to do what Ben Johnson and I guess Dennis Allen are guiding him to do. I want to know without Ian Cunningham now as the assistant GM, what happens this draft with a completely different set of needs. He's had, what did you say lately? He needs to have as many good seasons as he's had bad seasons,

and we know he's still, even after winning the division title, operating at a deficit? Yeah, I was going to say, I need to see as many of last year's performances as the ones he had before to feel differently about him. So I feel like that was an excellent step last year. But as we've mentioned, you took some big swings in free agency

on the defensive side of the ball too. that we're still all questioning. So I need to see as much of progress made in the next year as you had last year for me to change wholeheartedly and give more trust. Now, do I think he earned his extension last year? Yes. I would not have it. I said this before.

I said this initially when he got it. I didn't think that he deserved the extension at the time. But already you've evolved that opinion because of the success that this team had and what the players that he brought in did, honestly. matters. Yeah. And then two, two, four says, so you are picking and choosing. It's a case-by-case basis. Then you add up your case and you see how you feel.

If you want to do things differently, that's on you. And then the next text says, people forget about Chase Claypool. Whereas somebody else said, why did you bring up Chase Claypool? And when we say that the split is the split, that's what we mean. So you heard our trust. 312, 644,

67, 67 is our number. How much do you trust him? And I feel like this is a conversation that we're going to have until the actual draft in April. So you have some time to listen and think about it and reevaluate it. Just like a menu at a restaurant. You may not like one thing on the menu,

but you like the other. So how much? That's Rahimi Harrison Grotie on the score. And if we have time for a dangerous nugget, I found one. I'll leave it at that. Rahimi Harris and Grody, Midday's 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, the score.

And we asked the question, how much do you trust Ryan Poles after last season going into this draft? 312-644-67-67 is our number. What do you giggling about Marshall Harris? I think this might be closely aligned to how I feel. This is from 6-30. My trust in polls has stabilized based on the rookie production in 2025. I was ready for him to be fired after 2024 when he let that coaching staff nearly kill Caleb. If he keeps drafting best player available,

I trust he will prove to be an above average DM with a high quality head coach resulting in plenty of wins. Isn't that like as a baseline? Isn't that kind of how you would feel this has gone? Nailed it. Yeah. Nailed it. Yeah, I was very mad after 2024.

I feel better after 2025. You feel better, but you don't feel like... You put yourself in some creative situations defensively spending in 2020. And so now it's just, can you take the next step? We know the NFL is all about parity, so a team can be a flash in the pan. I'm not saying this team is. I believe in Caleb and Ben,

but defense has the defense. You can't spend the 10th most money in the NFL on defense and get the fourth worst production. A lot takeaways, though. Can't. John and Glenn Ellen, 312, 64, 64, 67, is our number. You're on Rahimi-Harrison-Grady. Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly with the mixed analysis, except for I fall on the side of I don't really trust them because they've got a rookie quarterback and they've got all kinds of people on rookie contracts.

This is when they should be in really cap heaven and they're in a tough cap spot. That's on Ryan Poles. And they shouldn't be there right now. And if you look at a comparative, it would be like the New England Patriots. They're fat with cash and they're kind of on to come up with the Bears rookie quarterback. the bear's going to be a better shape there. I think, John, you make a great point because, like, for example,

spending a fourth round pick on a punter instead of perhaps an office of lineman who could have been part of the guard center guard combination. You know, could one have been there or the third round pick on Karana Magaji who hasn't seen enough time for maybe to fetch a third round pick.

You know, that's where you save a lot of money. And instead, the bears have had to spend a lot, you know, on the lines, both defensively and offensively. Where's Karana, my gosh? on the whole depth chart. Like how are you looking at him right now? And like you said, a third round pick.

That's a fair thing. Well, and if you look at the lions, for example, just to also add to that point, the lions drafted on the lines. You know, they drafted Hutchinson. They drafted Pinae Sewell. And then because of that, they were able to have to spend differently and maybe not get themselves into as much of a cap situation. Now they had to extend Aiden Hutchinson.

But I don't know who would think that wasn't the right thing to do. what's hilarious is we have a text where people talk about 516 to me the bottom line is the coaching staff never gets enough credit blame for drafts fair it's fair here's why it's fair because we know it is a collaboration we just don't know the percentage of the blame pie if you will or the credit pie if you want to flip it the other way yeah and if they were to have a bad draft this offseason or bad free agent signing would we blame ben jonson the same way way we credit Ben Johnson for what happened last year. But the beauty of Ben Johnson is he just had a bigger resume than anybody else who's come

into the job, front office, or head coach in a long time. John Fox was a former head coach. But Ben Johnson has a resume and a body of work that people trusted and that people had seen him produced. So he gets more credit because he earned it. There's people on this text line who still want Ryan Poles fired. That just tells you the range that we're talking about. And that's the point.

Here's somebody who I don't think you should trust. And it kind of makes it all makes sense. I can't believe I'm reading this headline out loud. Read it slow, though, so people can absorb it. This is by our friend Scott Docterman who does tremendous work at the athletic. So it's real. I know because Scott's byline is on it. Diego Pavia says mentor Johnny Mansell.

Mentor Johnny Mansell is giving me some good advice ahead of NFL draft. How do you feel about that, Lila? Might I remind you where Diego Pavia ended up after the Heisman Trophy ceremony at a table at the club with signs that said what? What did those signs say, Lila? Blank who? Was it Fernando Mendoza? Who Fernando Mendoza, for example, has open to work on his LinkedIn profile? He is open to work until, you know, the draft happens.

I just, yeah, yeah, based on where you went the night after, it was Blank Indiana, to be fair. And yeah, yeah, going to the club and having a sign this is Blake Indiana, if I had to, if I had to say that does that fall in light with the brand of Johnny Mansell? Yeah, it sure does. Can I read a quote from this story? Please. One thing about me is I don't care what people think about me. God has a plan for me regardless, but the way the media is, they're supposed to put out clickbait and things like that. That's how people get views, and that's how people make money.

I understand that. And so people will twist a story and try to put out bad media to get clicks, good media to get clicks. That's just today's world that we live in, so I'm just adjusting to the new world. Can I point out, this has nothing to do with quote-unquote the media, unless you're talking about the social media. If there's one place I know where I'm going to not get attention after being nominated for the Heisman Trophy, it's to a club where the sign lights up and is a little or marquee with sparklers and girls carrying them and a sign that says blank Indiana. Like that's crazy. If there's one place I'm going to be low key, it's definitely the club

in New York after the Heisman Trophy with a light up sign. It sounds like he's blaming the media for his actions. Do you mean to tell me that the man who considers Johnny Man Manzella Mentor is blaming other people for the results of his actions. Between that quote. This is worse than the actual, like, the fact that the story is out there is going to do more, like, it's going to affect his draft stock more than anything else may have. I would like to be a fly on the wall of a team meeting with him and interviewing him. Bro, what are you doing?

Did you watch the quote documentary end quote? And that is that is putting it real, real loosely, where the overall arc of that story was, we had some good times. And frankly, poor Johnny Mansell at one point contemplated suicide. And that's not a good thing by any means. But that the path itself was dangerous. He's just a friend of me. This is a quote. He's just a friend to me. So he's giving me some mentorship. He's been around me. He's been around my family. he's just a great person for those that really don't know. And I'm not knocking Johnny Manzil in his adult form in his post-football form, in his post-Johnny football form.

I used to work with his ex-girlfriend sister and her other sister used to do my hair in Houston. And I'll leave it at that. That was not a documentary. That was a one-sided account. We should be talking about Diego Pavia as the guy who miraculously lifted Vanderbilt University. sister's on monitor, by the way. Vanderbilt University. Your sister and Jay Kotler. Vanderbilt University to football greatness.

Instead, we're talking about Johnny Mansell is his go-to guy when he has a question about how to handle things. Mentor! It's crazy. This is a gray line from Doctor Man. Like Mansell, immaturity seemed to follow Pavia. He had multiple social media posts to writing Heisman voters in Indiana following his second play seismic finish behind Hoosier's

quarterback for Nana Mendoza. Pavia apologized later for the posts, but he has yet to shake the impression that he's another Mansell. How did you write this with such restraint, Scott? When asked if any NFL teams asked about his social media posts, Pavia said,

nope, they haven't. I just think, not that they don't care or whatever, but they kind of know the situation already. We all know the situation, sir. Ryan Poles just told you about how social media affected his job. Bro.

This deserves the biggest bro of all time. It is what it is. Yeah, he's just... Shador went to the fifth round. I'm going to remind everybody of that. Oh, that's a great question. Will he be drafted lower than Shador Sanders? Diego Pavia.

That's a great question. The answer is no, but it's still a great question. What's the equivalent of like having... naming somebody as your mentor in like a real job. And like that's the riskiest mentor you could name. I'd have to think of a job and a, I'd have to think about that one. I'll, I'll think about that and we'll ask, maybe we'll ask Tina. We should ask Tina Wynn.

Tina Wynn from Fox 32 is joining us in studio. She was at spring training, got to talk one-on-one with a lot of people, both at Sox and at Cubs Camp. So we will talk to her next. What you heard right there was the. Power of audio. And audio is what we do at Odyssey. That true crime podcast you spent hours listening to, we produced that.

That radio station where you discovered your favorite artists. That's our station. That weird playlist of bongo music? We ain't judging. One of our curators made that. Advertise with Odyssey. We can get your message in front of a broad or targeted audience. Visit ads.odicy.com.

Next. This hour is brought to you by Cars for Kids. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043 The Score, and we're expecting Tina Wynn from Fox 32, reporter at Anchor, who went out to spring training in Arizona, talked about the Cubs and the White Sox while she was there. And we've got a, we're a week into spring training already, just like that. It's a nice thing. Well, not a weekend, but like a week into the games in spring training. You say a week into spring training.

I say a week closer to opening day. That's right. A week closer to opening day. and the socks flexing all people. That dollar is going to be. Tyler, you're going to owe me a dollar. Marshall thinks that the White Sox are going to hit more home runs than the Cubs this season. And I bet him a crisp dollar.

Then I have a feeling is going to fall into my lap from the gods because of such an outlandish prediction. You think the, wait, so you think the prediction itself was outlandish? Yes. Wow. Okay. Marshall, I have a $2 bill in my wallet. So I'll even double down and I'll do a $2 bill on the bet for you. I can't only ask this guy for so much money.

Like I found a dollar on the street to fund my bets with Marshall. I don't know that I can just find $2.00 randomly. But he's just got $2 bill, two for one, special. One piece of paper. Dangerous, too. Worth twice as much as a dollar. Dangerous with the $2 bill. Comes by the way, not that you care necessarily lost to the Angels yesterday by a final of

five to four. I care. But do you care? A little bit. Matthew Boyd, who I care about, was the starting pitcher of record, and he had three innings and three strikeouts. So nothing to be alarmed by. We saw James and Tyone and his start give up two home runs.

I'm not necessarily concerned about that either, because James and Tyone has given up home runs before. And traditionally in spring training, he's also working on like seven different pitches. And he's like, which one do I want to use this year? Ope, maybe not that one as it gets sent out of the park or whatever. Isn't it like him narrowing down. basically 10 pitches to like five or six.

Isn't that how that goes in spring training for him? James and Tyone is a mystery to me because he's the guy who at the same time he's, one year he's decided to not use a sweeper because it messes up the rest of his stuff. Next year he'll bring it back and then somehow it's key to his fastball command. I've never seen anything like it. I just like the fact that there's more optimism, follow me on this, about both baseball teams heading into this season

then I feel like has been in a long time. Cubs coming, of course, off of a playoff series. The socks two years now removed from setting the record for most losses in a season. And it feels like both teams are trending in the right direction, one clearly ahead of the other.

But still, if you are a baseball fan, there are reasons to be optimistic about this year. Oh, yeah. I mean, I don't think there's any doubt that the White Sox actually made efforts to get better. You're going to see a whole year of Colson Montgomery, Muno Takamurikami. We're trying to figure out who he's going to be as an American Major League hitter

coming from Japan, how he adjust to that hitting. Now, in the pitching, he's going to the World Baseball Classic, so he doesn't get the same type of spring training length that a lot of other guys get. But definitely optimistic. And I did get a bit of a laugh, by the way. Speaking of the Jamison Tyone game, because you know who countered as a starting pitcher for one inning for the Colorado Rockies in that game two days ago. Jose Quintana.

How do you feel about that? I think he was a good pickup by the Brewers last year, and I think he's still serviceable for depth. But unfortunately, in Quintana and Colorado, that might mean you allow a lot of runs come the regular season of baseball just because of how that goes. But overall, just as we check in on the Cubs and the White Sox during spring training as we await Tina win. You know, also the Cubs got Michael Conforto signing him to a deal where he might make the team. And Conforto seems to have an open mind about it, by the way. Jordan Bastian talked to him, and he says he feels like a prospect all over again. I want to know if there's a player that you are looking at specifically that maybe,

You didn't think about maybe as much about in the off season, but now that the spring training is here that you have like your eye really finally tuned on. I have a guy. I'll start and I'll give you a moment to think about this. But for me, it's Miguel Amaya. And here's why it's Miguel Amaya. He was supposed to be a prevalent part of the Cubs plan in 2025, suffers injuries. That makes him not even a part of what happens in the playoffs.

And if he can have a great year, it can do one of two things. propel him forward. But also, I don't know that I expect Carson Kelly to bounce back and do the same things he did last year. And if he doesn't, you kind of need Miguel Amaya to play at a certain level, both defensively and I would argue offensively as well, especially if the Cubs are going to hit those home runs that you're talking about. Well, and that's it. You need more home runs from the entire Cubs lineup now that Kyle Tucker isn't in it. That includes Alex Bregman. And I think you're on to something, Marshall, because having that unexpected offense, out of the catcher position was something that was a pleasant surprise.

Cubs catchers hit 29 home runs in 2025. That was the fourth most in baseball from that position. So to have the catchers actually produce offensively, not only was it great that we saw Carson Kelly do that, but I think there is more of an expectation from Miguel Amaya. Hi, Tina. Tina win from Fox 32's coming in. We've got headphones for you to your left.

This is my first rodeo here. Welcome to the rodeo. I'm really excited. Hey, speaking of that, did you see the news that Diego Pavia has decided Johnny Mansell is his mentor? Aggie. Tina with the Texas A&M, so I'm very curious to hear her. That is an interesting choice. Choice.

I'm sure he's got a lot of wisdom through all of his experiences that we all know about. How are you guys? Happy Friday. We're good. I think it's got to be, please don't do what I did. totally but then he goes to the club and has the the bottle service and the sign that says fndia i don't necessarily know that that's happening last time i was in college station actually it was for the notre dame and a and m game uh and i think mansell had just opened up a bar on

north gate north gate's it kind of where all the college kids go out and have a little fun and i think it shut down last time i heard so but so not business advice is what you're saying Business advice, not business advice. Again, as what Leila said, you know, don't do lie. Kind of buried the career there, didn't it? We all have ups and downs in our careers that we can relate to, so I understand that. Tina, I'm just really curious because I know you were at spring training and you were doing a whole lot of work in a whole little time. We were out there on the grind. It was so fun. You were, you had your feet on the beat, if you will. Let me ask you this.

What was your single biggest takeaway from spending time with the Cubs specifically when you were out there? Ooh, okay. I got the chance to talk with Jed Hoyer, Craig Counsel, and Matthew Boyd. I think the biggest thing, because I was with the team when they lost in Milwaukee in the NLDS. And, I mean, that locker room was so, it was emotional. It was the whole, like, Kyle Tucker, like, and even with what the answers he gave us after that game, you could tell, all right, like, he's out. But it was really an abrupt ending because I really think they thought they had a chance. I think advancing after the NLDS was really their biggest issue, especially when it came to pitching.

And obviously in the offseason, Jed Hoyer has really addressed that. So I think at spring training, that loss still lingered with the team. I mean, you talked to like a Carson Kelly, Kate Horton, too, like they obviously didn't forget about it. And I think the big thing I took away was them using that disappointment and really turning it into motivation going into this season. And like Craig Counsel, I talked to him one-on-one, and he just said how. this is a really tough team to get on. Obviously, you've got a veteran group, them bringing in Alex Bregman. I think them having that postseason experience as well.

One, they got a taste as to what that's like. And for a young player like PCA, right? I think, obviously, for him going into this year, consistency, how can he be the player that he was before the All-Star break? But they got a taste of it. So they're hungry for more. And I think from counsel's perspective, too, he saw how this group really bonded together.

when they obviously went on that run and we're winning, but at the same time, like they really want to make it back there. And as you said on our show on CST Sunday a few weeks ago, like it's NLCS or bus here. And I feel like when you look at the like the NL Central, this is the year for them to do it, right, to really dethrone the brewers here.

So yeah, it really, it was great. It was obviously you also have like Alex Bregman coming in, three-time All-Star, like two-time World Series champ, someone who brings in a ton of postseason experience, which is huge, but at the same time, like, Craig said something to me that really stuck out to me. He was like, this team's very, like, baseball-y. Like, they love, like, the nitty-gritty. And obviously, Alex Bregman, everything that I've heard about him, he's such a student of the game.

And so he's someone that wants to pass down, like, all this experience and wisdom onto, like, a player like PCA. I mean, we were with the Cubs. I, we spent two days with the socks, two days with the Cubs. two days with the Cubs. I mean, day one there, like, Bregman was already in the clubhouse. And obviously, hearing PCA talk about how much he's helped him even just through their conversations about when he steps into the box, his mindset, his swing, getting his on-based percentage back up. Like, Alex Bregman, that's the type of player also. Not only can he perform well on the field, offensively, defensively, too, but you're getting someone that all these younger players, like even a Matt Shaw, right? You should pick his brain because he's going to bring in a ton of great knowledge and experience.

We're talking to Tina Wynn, Fox 32 reporter and anchor in studio with us on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, The Score. Tina, you mentioned talking to Matt Boyd. He got the star yesterday. He went three innings, had three strikeouts, looked very consistent. We know he's coming off of a massive amount of innings for him. So what was your takeaways from just talking to him, knowing that so much responsibility landed on him. He's a little bit older. He's got to manage his body and his workload this year to kind of be able to replicate those results.

from last year. Yeah, I mean, obviously, like Matthew Boyd, an all-star year last year as well. Again, somewhat, I asked him how was like the off-season? Because I'm always curious to know how guys kind of decompress after this season. And what he said, he was like, he's got a lot of kiddos. So he just was really full on parent mode. I think some of his kids played basketball too. So he was like full on dad mode there. But I think the biggest thing for him was, again, just how hungry this group is. And you look at their rotation too for the clubs right now. Obviously, it's a spring. So once we get into the regular season, games actually matter. We'll see how this pans out, but there's a ton of depth here. I think adding like an Edward Cabrera to is really huge for them.

When I asked Jed about it, he said, Cabrera has been someone that they've been trying to get. They had conversations with the Marlins last season two, but he's 27, got a ton of upside. The pitching staff, this is how he described him to me. He's kind of like their darling. They've always been enamored by him. So they're really, I'm really intrigued to see how this goes. But yeah, I think Matthew Boyd and just overall, again, going back to the run that they had in the postseason, like they want more of that. And again, like, I just want, like, Craig Counsel, which is like, this is a team that's really hard, hard to get on. And when you've got a group of guys like this, like, you know, I take that as like, this is like your year to really go out there

and compete and make a run. It did give that darling kind of feel when they signed them in the way they talked about Cabrera because it's like that girl that you've been feeling for a long time, but you didn't have the nerve to go and talk to her. They're talking now. Now they're in a full-fledged relationship. Well, I laugh because, Tina, I don't know if you know this, but our texters are the ones who came up with the phrase. Matthew Boyd is not, he's not a stepdad.

He's the dad who stepped up. And then that became, that gave us a lot of great sayings, like Matthew Boyd taught me how to tie a tie. Matthew Boyd told me to shut the door. We're not air-conditioning the world. You know, Matthew Boyd said you better turn the light off when you leave a room. it became a very dadism conversation. But what you said actually kind of replicates that idea.

You know, what you said kind of reflects that that energy very much was happening in the Cubs Clubhouse last year. I mean, it's like unfinished business. Also, because I was there so early at spring training, obviously they've overhauled the bullpen. So it was so like interesting for me to see like Hobie Milner, by the way, Texas kid. Hobie Milner and like Ever Cabrera coming up, like meeting one another. Like there were so many new faces where they're all really trying to get to know each other. So that was really interesting too. But yeah, just a very unfinished business feel for the Cubs going into this year.

And I mean, you also like look at I'm so intrigued by PCA and to see what kind of season he's going to have. But I think especially how he starts to because obviously we saw two different PCAs before and after the all-star break. And I think for someone who's such like a young superstar, one, I think, I think his friendship with Caleb Williams and like the bond that we've seen the two I think is really good because obviously PCA like for a moment we were like superstar level that kind of conversation. And then I think when you have a young player obviously the second half we saw how it goes, his numbers dropped. There's like from a human element there's got to be some kind of like in a sense like fear of the unknown like how is this going to go. But again, I mean you were on the magazine of like whatever the Chicago magazine kind of making fun of the Dodgers a little bit like

If you're going to talk that kind of talk, you've got 100% bring it on the field. So I'm really curious to see how his season really starts too. But again, I think the friendship with Caleb Williams is really interesting to me because you have two guys, right, that can really relate with one another when it comes to the pressure of being a young superstar. And of course, like playing in a city like Chicago too. I love it because it's a contrast within that clubhouse when you talk about the younger players of Pete Kroh, Armstrong, Matt Shaw, who are learning from these veterans.

Meanwhile, over a camelback ranch, it's like, who are the, adults in this realm. It seems like you have a bunch of teenagers. I mean, I know they are young adults, but comparatively, these guys are certainly trying to find their way, even though a lot of them had really good first steps in Major League Baseball last year. What did you think of the White Sox? So many fun storylines. And I know the socks, obviously spring training does not matter. But like the fact that they're off to a strong star, I'm like, I'm all for it. Like, I am 100% all for it. I think some of these younger players, like Colson Montgomery, obviously we know with him getting sent back down to Arizona. I talked with Ryan Fuller 101, too, about that.

I mean, he just said at one point, it was kind of like, like, how is my career going to really pan out? And the fact that he, I think it also, too, for that to have worked, Colson himself had to really buy into it and really trust the White Sox organization and really trust Chris Gatz and trust Ryan Fuller, too. I'm so excited to see what kind of step forward, like Colson Montgomery takes. but I think when you look overall at year one, the 60 wins, they got a taste as to what it's like to win. And I think for Will Venable and his coaching staff, like you have to definitely credit him for the just year one foundation that he laid down. Like, yeah, they lost 102 games, but like I really don't think that happens this year. Like I think they're definitely going in the right direction. But also to, yeah, that's right.

Muda Takamorakami. It is, was so fascinating to like be there and to really really. observe it. At one point, it was Jesse Rogers and I, we were watching him take ground balls around first base and working with Phil Nevin. And they were kind of working on with him with his hips and stuff, but like the mechanics of all that.

But just seeing like, because his translator was there and seeing in real time in a sense how that is how they are communicating, kind of figuring it out. One of the players described him as a freakish athlete. So when he was like taking live VP it was so, it was like for me cool to see

all the players just like, it's like a unicorn. He's like, like, what kind of player did we just get? Obviously, having him on the team brings a different level of buzz and excitement. Because back home in Japan, when I talk to some of the Japan media members, like, he is like a superstar, such a prolific hitter. One of the best to come out of Japan holds the record for a single season and home runs. I think 56 home runs in one year. So for them to get a player like this, because you typically, like, from Japan,

you see like more so, I think, pictures that come out of there. And for the socks to get like a slugger. like this, really interested to see how his season, how he translates here to the MLB. But when I talked to Ryan Fuller, he was saying, like, back in Japan, they see a ton of, like, splitters. So here in the MLB, you're going to be seeing multiple different pitches, velocity plays a role into that, too. So I asked him, like, what are you guys doing to prepare him for that?

Because obviously, like, whatever you do right now when you're facing your same pitchers, right? And it's also, it's spring. Guys are still trying to, like, figure it out. But when it comes to real time, like, what are you trying to do to help him adjust? And so obviously here in America, there's a ton of different technology. He's getting used to using different bats, balls, and everything. But exposure therapy is something they're trying to do, which essentially, like, they could put like Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound and kind of have it, like, reflect the real time,

like the spin rate, the ball and everything. So whenever it really comes to the real deal, hopefully that can help him adjust a little bit, a little bit quicker. I know, exposure therapy. I'm like, am I in therapy now? Therapy's good. Everybody should do therapy. If you haven't done therapy, I'm going to tell you, go ahead, nudge you that way. That's just me now.

Well, and the World Baseball Classic, he'll see different, he'll see different pitchers. And yeah, to your point, you know, show to Imanaga throws which two pitches best, fastball and splitter. I understand you could stay with us for another segment. Yeah, you want me to? Yeah, because is doing me around. We're going to do

a game called, name that bear's individual, not bear, because it's not a player, but we're trying to figure out a comment that Ryan Poles made on the Todd McShay podcast. Oh, okay. And we're doing an informal survey, and you, the listener, are also involved in this. Because I want to play it, and let's all figure out who he might be talking about. Next. Hey, y'all.

I'm Maddie, and I'm Poodle. And together, we host the podcast Reality Gays. We are two ridiculous homosexuals who love nothing more than talking about reality television and tearing in a new one. So whether it's 90-day fiance, love is blind, love after lockup, or any other trash TV show about lonely hearts looking for love, your gay besties got you cover, Joe. New shows every week.

Follow and listen to reality gays wherever you get your podcast. Let's love. Harrison Grooty, Midday's TV on Chicago Sports Radio. This is Rahimi Harrison Grody at 1043 The Score. Are we really going to play the Who's Your Guy on this? I like it. I like it. For whatever reason, our computer system just decided to log me out of a bunch of stuff. So Ray is being kind enough to log me back in if you're watching on Twitch.

Twitch.tv slash the score Chicago. And in the meantime, so I'm going to have to move the mic on the air. Noise. In the meantime, Tina Wynn is here from Fox 32. Tina is kind enough to stay for another segment. Ryan Poles was on the Todd McShay podcast. And we spent a lot of time in our first hour talking about that. Okay. But then there's also something that Ryan Poles said that, man, in the spirit of transparency, he will tell you some things.

But then this led us to all ask a lot of questions. I don't want to get like two like names involved. Well, you don't have to. I will say this. Staffing-wise, I would say, you know, like the theory of like the talented ass. Yeah. Yeah. Just there's been, you know, a situation where I really smart person that was, was, was, doing some really good work, but maybe not the best teammate.

And I probably held on too long, and it created some harm in terms of just stress on other people. So just the learning point there is, you know, if it goes against being a good teammate, which is one of our things, it's okay to move on maybe even quicker than you think because of the effect that it can have on others. So that was Ryan Poles saying like that there was somebody on the bear's staff. Staff. Well, right. See, you're already like, well, what is staff?

Who on the Bears staff? And I don't know if he means coaching or front office. I tend to think coaching. Yeah. What was the question? What was Todd's question to him? It was sharing a time in your career where you feel like you failed. And he's basically saying I had a jerk on my staff who.

was really, really talented. And because he was so talented, it took me longer than it probably should, well, definitely should have, because if you get rid of somebody, the earlier the better, then it definitely should have to get rid of said person. And we're like, well, who is he talking about? And not the best teammate. Not the best teammate. And so I would guess maybe an in-season firing of an offensive coordinator.

you, oh, so you think it's OC because I know you were thinking of the office. Yeah, initially when you said coaching, I said maybe OC, but yeah. So that's, that's, well, when you say offense coordinator, you're implying in Shane Waldron. Exactly. So what made you think it was on the coaching staff more so than it was in the front office? Because I'm just identifying real problems that I saw in real time get solved. And Shane Waldron clearly had a problem with. how he was communicating

with whether it be the head coach, the front office, because Matt Iberflus ultimately is responsible for Caleb Williams development, but he's the one working closest with Caleb Williams in his rookie season and his development. And he didn't make it through the year. And they may have thought before then to get rid of him. And the same could be true for the head coach

if we're being honest. Yeah, I thought maybe it might have been Matt Eberfluse, but I don't know that bad teammate has ever been used to describe him. Although, Zaire Franklin had a lot to say when it came to how he was treated as a rookie on the Colts. I'm leaning with Marshall on this one. I think especially since you said mid-season, someone on the coaching staff,

I initially thought, it said, Shane Walter, that he's talking about? Because you, and then I don't have any insight info, so I'm just speaking from, yeah. But you obviously saw the offense in 2024, year one with Caleb, like it just looked like, there were so many times you're watching, like, what are they doing?

And then Ryan Poles, what do you say, how it affected other people too. So I don't know, I'm kind of leaning with you more on this one. I'm thinking maybe, Walter? And maybe, maybe it is just a front office member that we don't know about, that was doing great work in scouting and everything else and to just be like, but also, Ryan Poles, if you look at certain reporting, he likes yes men if you look at certain reporting.

Well, I will say this. You know, we mentioned the Tyler Dunn piece just from the, just from the aspect of polls talking about the, media and the influence that might have on a pick of his. I'm like, well, was that the, was that Tyler Dunn's source that Poles is talking about? Someone angry and clowning him for the way he was talking about players and meetings. Maybe so. I don't know.

Fast forwarding through certain quarterbacks and focusing like Caleb is our guy, Caleb is our guy. When I consider the sources of that piece that might indicate one of them might have been in that article. Who do you think it is? Well, at first I thought Iber flus, but I don't know that there's enough. I don't know that, first of all, I don't know that I don't know that Iber flus would have been a source on the article. So those two things are separate. I don't see that. Secondly, I think that I don't know that teammate is the right word.

But then again, the evidence of how many times Iber flus basically said it was on the players as to why they didn't win. Like they had the right plan. And, and, you know, it was basically a lack of execution or this play was. supposed to go like this or like, oh, we were supposed to have intercepted Joe Flacko a fourth time, despite your defense also drawing up a play in the same game where Justin Jones was in past coverage. Okay, cool. So, you know, maybe it was him. The lack of accountability from Ibrough Fluse, that might be the bad teammate thing if we're, yeah, for being honest. But it's not like Shane Waldron ever came up with some accountability in any of his press conferences ever. Right. I don't

recall, you know, that's the thing. At least with Fluss, I recall. That's just how the nature. of the job is, though, where the head coach is going to get that kind of, that kind of criticism. And the other thing with Shane Waldron, too, is he just wasn't very good, and he wasn't good at explaining things either. And so you got to either be a good communicator or a good tactician or at least a good explainer of what went wrong. And I felt like he didn't take any of the accountability. And so that's why that bad teammate thing strikes me. Yeah, that was pointed. Now, Tina, you're doing something really cool at Fox tonight that I wanted to make sure we got to because there is a huge game tonight in college basketball.

Huge. How big? Yeah, Illinois taking on Michigan. This is a battle royale, third ranked Michigan, 10th ranked Illini. And it's on Fox tonight. It is. And we've got a post game show right after the game with Kendall Gill. So super excited for it.

Yeah, this is going to be such a good game when it comes to, obviously, big time seeding in the NCAA tournament too. both teams are coming off losses i think for michigan right if they could get this wind huge because they just lost to duke but for illinois as well um their last three losses have been overtime losses and they've been by single digits um i talked to andre star yakovitch yesterday love saying that last name paja i think of his dad yes um yeah i mean obviously like execution late down in the game especially in those close games is going to be huge for them but michigan's good they've got loaded with talent This game in general, a lot of lottery picks here.

So you know from like an NBA standpoint, you're going to have a ton of scouts watching this one. But Michigan, like top five, I believe, in offensive and defensively. They're so physical. And Illinois, like, they can shoot the ball and they can score in so many different ways. Their bigs can really stretch teams out. So it's going to be really, I feel like it's a bit of like a chess game here between these two teams. So, yeah, super excited. And then obviously Kendall Gill is going to be on with us.

two to break it all down. So yeah, really pumped. What's the favorite? What's your favorite thing to cover? I'm just curious. I favorite thing to cover. People ask me this often and I'm like, because there's so much to cover. I know. I honestly love like kind of being everywhere, like love everything. So I was in Vegas for two and a half years before this. Dipped my toes a little bit and some betting. So that's kind of fun to, uh, to understand it involved in when you're winning. Just so I, people understand. I text, she's one of my consultants. I will text. Am I really? Do Tina posts some, some, some, gems about about a game she'll be watching like you you do not shy away from a good bet and a good wager many times i've texted on a sunday morning hey what you think about this game what do you like for the individual

parlay yes oh my god during the NFL season i'm like yes yes and marshall was hitting which means i think you were too on some bets you guys might be on a massive losing streak for a while so i like took a break so it's time to step away from it but two nights ago i believe when was it when the spurs played the Pistons. I won like back-to-back parlates. And I was like, I think she's kind of back. But here's the thing with betting, though, once you feel good, it humbles you real quick and you're like, all right, off my high horse. So yeah, I like to cover. So when I was in Vegas, the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup and I was there for Bruce Cassidy. And if you're a big hockey fan, Bruce Cassidy, listening to him just talk about hockey, oh my goodness gracious. You learn so much

about the game. So definitely have an appreciation for hockey. Obviously, like, I'm from Texas, is like same as Layla like you grow up learning to throw a football like you don't learn how to skate you learn to throw football so obviously like high school football obviously going to a and m too is huge and then like here in chicago i've always been a baseball fan but having two teams like just learning like true ends and out of baseball here i i honestly love all that which is probably kind of a bad answer just want to let you know i was in Vegas for the parade for the stanley i was on the bus with it i was on the bus with um oh my gosh nick hayg Chandler stevenson and Aiden Hill and they brought on the car.

Oh, I probably saw you somewhere. Well, I wasn't there for the parade. It just happened to be going on as I'm trying to get to the Usher concert. My girlfriend got his tickets at the time and went to Vegas and saw Usher and it just happened to me the night the parade was going on. Did you attend the parade in person? You can't miss it because if you're down, you know the route of the parade. I got videos.

You just like, they went down the strip. Like they stopped at T. The end point was T-Mobile Arena. I just beat on the bus, which I can only imagine what it was like. like here in Chicago when the Hawks are on the run. Like I've, I've just seen photos and videos and I'm just so. Grant Park and the millions. Yeah.

Like so mesmerized by it. But there was just bodies, people like little ants. It was so cool. So wait, did you go to the concert? Yeah. We made it.

Where was it? It was, I think, MGM. MGM. Yeah. Yeah. Vegas never sleeps.

I know. We got to do. There's a bet that Marshall and Tina have made. And I think we, we can't, we don't have time to follow. We don't have time to follow. up on the day. It involves food.

It involves food. But I think we've got to, you may have to come collect on our show in a couple weeks. Let me know. Yeah. I'm not winning the bet. I'm not winning the bed. That's all you need to know. I'm not winning the bed. I don't think he's winning the bed. He made with me either. So I get the steak dinner at some point.

Yeah. So Tina, you're going to have to collect on the show. I think that, I think those are the rules. I don't make the rules. Yeah, she does. You make the rules. I follow Layla's rules. We all chip in on the rules. And then we just sigh. the end. But you don't squelch on a bet. So there's that too. You're a man of your word. I pay up. All right. So next time you're on, we'll have to do the ceremony where Tina wins the bet.

Oh my gosh. Thanks for having me on. I have to tell you guys, I was so pumped about this all week. I was telling Ray. I was like, I have to contain my excitement and be professional and not getting into it. I adore you both. How professional do you think we are? Yeah, we're not doing. Look how we're dressed. You're dressed nicely. I'm just kind of like to go do the TV later on today. I'm typically not dressed this nice. Like Tina mentioned, huge game tonight on Fox 32. Michigan, Illinois, basically a March Madness preview, very exciting game. And you've got a Linae post game with Kendall Gill, who I think is going to love being able to talk about his alignite tonight. So this should be fun. For sure, for sure.

Excited for it. That's Tina Wynn. Thanks for joining us here in Rahimi Harrison Grotie. Coming up next, it is halftime. And there was a lunch mistake made that is terrifying for one child. We will get into it next. Homes show. Afternoons 2 to 6 on the score. The mega project bill, it made its way out of the House Revenue and Finance Committee. That's a step in the right direction. And I will say to anyone that's like, well, Illinois should have voted on it. Guess what they could have done this week had the Bears not canceled the meeting with them last week, which they then could have voted on today had the Bears not canceled so they could do the dog and pony show with Indiana last week.

The Spiegel and Holmes Show. Afternoons 2 to 6 on Chicago Sports Radio, 1043, the score. and always live on the free Odyssey app. I'm Pat Boyle here to help you beat the books with Westwood on sports. The Pistons host the Cavs, and I think Detroit rolls them in this one. Donovan Mitchell has already been ruled out, and at the time of recording, multiple other starters for the calves are credible, including James Hardin, who has that fractured right thumb. The Pistons are the second best net-rated team in the NBA over the last 15 games,

and Cleveland won't be able to make up for spite of his absence, even if Hardin plays. I'll lay the points with Detroit. I'm Pat Boyle, Bet Smarter and Beat the Books. Download the BetMGM app today. My name is Whitney Allen and I'm a widow. My husband, Ryan died. We never thought we'd ever have to use life insurance, but the unexpected happened. With Ethos, signing up was fast and 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same day coverage. No medical exams and you can get up to $3 million worth of coverage. I'm grateful we were prepared. Get your free quote at ethos.com slash game. That's ethos.com slash game.

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It's a halftime. It is halftime. Marshall Harris, Layla Rahimi, and you and we thank Tina Wynn for coming in from Fox 32 to chat with us about her trip to spring training, me chiding her for going to Texas A&M. All she does is win, win, win, no matter what.

Don't be afraid to look at her Twitter, too, because she shares those wagers that she will make and she has been hitting. I like how she said, is she back? Talking about herself. Hey, man, I like a little third person, lift up, hype up. Tina's part of the crew. She's part of Team Midday show.

Like, when there's a hangout, we all welcome you to hang out with us. Tina's one of those people. We got more hangout coming up with Clay Harbor at the top of the hour. We do because that's how we do. We also spent the first hour talking about Ryan Poles on the Todd McShay podcast. And if there's one piece of advice, Auntie Lele can give to you, I don't think your mentor should be Johnny Mansell. That's all. It's laptop.

You and I both found the story at the same time. And there are many layers to how this ended up getting to be a. story that I think we need to talk about. So here's the gist of it. Have you guys, number one, do you guys know about the online trend of cut water awareness? Cut water being the drink, the canned, mixed beverage, if you will, if you don't know about the effects of cut water on society, you might want to check out TikTok because there are all these testimonials of people and what happens when they drink cut water. And one of our mutual friends, also had the same effect happen when she and I went outside one night back in December.

So Cutwater is a serious business. I've had it. I enjoy it, but I also understand that it can sneak up on you. Not only can it sneak up on you. It can sneak up an old child lunchbox. This is an insane story. It adds to it that it's Cutwater. Here's the story.

Martini and Students Lunchbox prompts Georgia Police to warn parents. that is not apple juice. And then the sub-headlines says, that as a whole parent had a long night starter pack read the tongue-in-cheek warning from the local PD along with a picture of the canned martini that was packed at a child's lunch next to Doritos, I might add. So solid pull if you're an adult like me,

but maybe not for a child's lunch. My favorite part about this is the quote that went with the Facebook post from the city of South Fulton Police Department. Before you send them back, baby's off to school. This is in all caps. Check the lunchbox.

That was the caption on Facebook. Because you know what happened. Parents probably busy. You know, like trying to get everybody out the door on time, which I do not envy your your struggle every day. It grabs the can, thinks it's like probably obviously a can of something else. And lo and behold, it was a cut water lemon drop martini. No, but Lela.

Made with vodka triple second lemon juice. Is that what that particular cut water was? Yes. Lemon drop martini. Let me tell you something. The espresso martini kicks especially hard. Not that I would know. South Fulton Police Department is here for the jokes, by the way.

Here's a quote from the police. Now little Johnny Dunn pulled up to third period talking about who want fruit snacks. No one good and well. He got a lemon drop martini in the zipper pocket. Tighten up, twin. That is a police quote. I'm glad that everybody can have a sense of humor about this. Like, at least it was, at least it was everybody laughing.

But the picture is worth a million words here. It really is. It really is. This story, I'm telling you, when I saw this story, I was like, this isn't real, isn't it? Hey, what does the text line say? Because the text line kicked me off. I was scrolling and then it was like, you were no longer loud on our text line. I'm like, I was scrolling.

I wasn't texting anybody. Well, just to make sure people understand Cutwater. 312 says cut water is no joke first time I had it I pre-gamed on two of them before going out to the bar I never made it to the bar I never made it out of the house

that's one text 217 says reminds me of the story of the parent who brought their kid a Mike's hard lemonade at a baseball game oopsies lemonade

Mike's hard lemonade the headline from best love or best life says everyone says these can cocktails are getting them super drunk. What's the deal? Play the Seinfeld rip. I do like cut water, though.

I've had it and I enjoyed it. Okay, so here's what we're looking at here by a comparison of blood, of alcohol content with the cut water. So, spike can drinks are typically 12 fluid ounces. You can pick up tall boys of beer, which are 16. Here are examples of boozy drinks

and their corresponding alcoholic beverage value. So that's a percent. Mike's Hard Lemon has an ABV of 5%. Truly has an ABB of 5%. White Claw is 5%. Cut water's 12.5. What?

So if you're just picking this up thinking it's just like a random canned alcoholic beverage, you just don't know how strong it actually is is what you're saying. The fact that, number one, alcoholic beverage in the child lunchbox, bad. Cut water? Yo. Maybe something happened the night before where you had a cut one.

This reminds me of French class where we all had to bring like French product. And one of my classmates brought like what he said was near beer because of La Bierre. Right. And it wasn't near beer. It actually had alcohol in it. And we were in fourth grade. Do you see the problem there, Layla? I mean a little bit of a problem.

Yes. Yeah. So the teacher was like looking at it and then she read the ingredients. I'm sorry, but this actually has alcohol on it. We can't drink this because we're eating all the. food that people brought. Oh yeah. No, that would be bad.

Yeah. Yeah, we were nine. Just go with Bree. The Twitch mob is asking, have I talked about this before? No, you're getting it confused with my, my obsession with original four logo. Oh, four loco. Oh, oh, no. But not just any kind of four loco, original four loco.

We're not doing that. If you drink original four loco, I would like to know how you've survived on the planet. Four loco is like a one-time experience from what I remember. Yeah, because they changed the recipe. They had to literally change what was in the product because it was too dangerous. See, this is why I like to say with my friend who also had a cut water, this is why we like to say that we're worried that we're going to be the old woman in the club telling the kids they don't go hard enough at like 60.

We're going to be there at 60 years old being like, you guys didn't go hard enough. We drink original four loco. We drink cut water. We're outside. We listen to baby. singers hip-hop music. It was trap music every day. There was a restaurant.

I mean, I'm already kind of that way now. And I'm worried that it's just going to get worse. Layla, there was a restaurant when Four Loco was at its peak, which we know was a very quick up and down. When it was at his peak, they had a restaurant. Appropriate for the brand, really. With a Four Locke tasting menu in which food was, you know, made with Four Locke. Oh, God.

Yes. That sums it up. That sums it up. That sounds terrifying. So, yeah. Also, 317, maybe the most accurate of the text from the text line. I got kicked off. Nap time for the kiddo.

Man. The TikTok videos about the cut water stories are hilarious. I have had a cut water. I have a bad alcohol tolerance as it is. So I can't tell you if it was the cut water or if it was just me drinking that led to the inevitable same result. Layla 708 says, drank three OG four locals one night in college and woke up on the grass in my backyard. At least you're in your backyard. I had an intern who ended up waking up in a park.

You know that intern. We all said, okay, we'll wait till the break to get the intern's name. And he woke up in a park unscathed and was mad about it. I was like, you have no right to be mad about waking up in this park. Be happy that you are in one piece. There's no bodily damage to you. Exactly. I was like, okay, yeah, I get that you're mad about waking up in the park.

But you also need to be relieved. I need you somewhere to show some atonement. there's blackouts and then there's four local outs. It's a different level, different. Original four loco. I just am all,

I'm really intrigued as to how it can. I need the origin story of original four loco. Like somebody's got to be able to fill in the gaps for me. Did you see the graphic that came up a couple years ago? It was like emerging brands. And the brands were very interesting. Number one, it was like great value stuff. And I'm like, who doesn't know about Walmart?

But okay, interesting. Another one was like Google She. And then like number 24 was for loco. And in all caps, I was like, number 24 is coming for all you other brands. You know what that is? And Forloco liked it because they get my intensity. That's like Miami of Ohio getting into the ranking. It's like, yeah, you're undefeated, but wait until they figure out what it is.

And yeah, you might have a lot of Miami of Ohio friends who are very proud of the undefeitedness in the ranking. They are very proud. 847 on the text line. My wife just leaned over and asked me, whatever happened to Bartles and James and Zima. That's a good question. They tried to bring Zima back for a little bit. I don't know what happened after that because I stopped. I had to stop when, you know, the first time.

Bartles and James, weren't those wine coolers? Yeah, those are all wine coolers. Is that something you drink? Is that something you drink at a pool or something like that? I think that's how they were advertised. Like, you know, it's a crisp, refreshing drink on a warm day. Zima is malt liquor. Aren't some of these seltzer's malt liquor too?

I don't know, Lela. I've been off the stuff for a while. I just, I need, I can't, I can't delineate. So, yeah, I think, I think the Twitchmob has it correct here. Zima was a gateway drink, college freshman year 1999. That's, uh, that's a fair assessment. 630 first tried the Mai Tai Cut Water in Vegas before they started popping up all over the Chicagoland area.

And three of those things, unfortunately set my wife off on the plane and we almost got kicked off. No. I can see that too, because you think you're doing well, and then you realize, wait a minute, I'm not so well, and I'm not really in a, I'm in a confined environment. You're on an airplane, you're on an airplane. Like, you're stuck. You are. For whatever length of the time of the flight.

That messes with a lot of people. So the moral of the story is check the can before you send the kiddo on the way. You think Clay Harbor's ever had cut water? Good question. We should ask him. Yeah. Next. Hi, I'm Dr. Mary Claire Haver, a board certified OBGYN and menopause specialist.

My new podcast, Unpaused, is the place for bold, unfiltered conversations about what it really takes for women to thrive in the second half of life. Every week, I sit down with medical experts, cultural icons, and powerhouse women to talk about what really matters. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Listen to and follow Unpaused with me, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, available now wherever you get your podcasts. I got five. It's time for five on it. Rahini Harrison Rooney. Bring you five topics on their minds today.

On 104-3, the score. I got five on it. Number one. We're going to have more on the NFLPA report card coming up at one. But for our first question, before I get to my first question here for you guys, we have to introduce our man, Clay Harbor from CHSN. He's the co-host of the big pro football show on CHSN alongside David, and Ruthie Pullensky, and he's in the house with Layla and Marshall.

So here is question number one. What stood out to you about the Bears' grades on the NFLPA report card? Okay, first of all, shout out to friend of the score, Kaling Kaler, because the NFL filed a whole injunction. That's a court hearing. That is a court proceeding to try to make sure that these player grades were not released to us, the menacing public. They got released anyway.

You know why? Because transparency is good. The thing that surprised me the most about the bear's grades, it was the treatment of families. How did they get a C plus in that? I thought that the bears were pretty good when it came to all that stuff. Like daycare for the kids and things like that. Or somebody who watched kids whenever there's a game

or, you know, if they're able to, if wives and kids and stuff like that are happy during the games. And maybe I got swayed by the TikToks because there are some bears, wives, and girlfriends, if you will, wags who have posted like go with me to a bear's game and they're getting their makeup done and they look great and they're having a good time. Simone Biles is out here taking pictures, you know. So I was kind of surprised to see that it was a C.

Marshall, what did you think? So that did jump out at me, but I think more so the home game field of C, like that being the low score. The Bears got relatively good grades. 13th overall, a lot of A's, a lot of Bs. And then it's like the C plus for treatment of families, the C for a home. home game field and then the C plus for defensive coordinator. And the defensive coordinator thing stood out, but I got it because you got a lot of guys

playing in a new system and maybe they don't fit and maybe they're not getting the playing time they want because of that. But the home game field, the reason that stood out is because I started looking at other teams home game field and you see like the Carolina Panthers F, Buffalo Bills, F. There were a lot of bad scores for home game field and it made me ask myself, do these players like any fields at all? Like, do any of the players like the field that they actually play at? And do they prefer

the turf, field turf, I'm saying, or do they prefer actual grass? And maybe I just don't know. You prefer grass, but you prefer nice grass, soft grass. So Soldier Field doesn't have nice grass? Soldier Fields changed a lot since I played there. I played there three times in my career. And I remember the first time I went out there. I went out there in warmups, and I just had the normal cleats on.

And I go out there and run around. And my feet were literally above my head at the end of said route. It hit the ground. I had to go back in. I had to put those studs on Marshall. I know you played some back in the day when you're in high school. That was a long time ago. Had to go play through some weeds.

And that's what it felt like a soldier field. But I know it's changed since then. We know that Bermuda, all this stuff that that's changed. So that is something that's concerning. For me, I have to say training room or training staff be with all these guys, they got to be with all these guys that come back and then they're out for three more weeks, the same injury. You got Jalen Johnson. You got T.J. Edwards. You got Kyler Gordon. You're getting a B. I wish I could not turn in some assignments and get a B

or get an assignment return and I still get a B. That's something. For me and then the defensive coordinator, C plus. Usually you like your defensive coordinator. This guy running your meeting. You'll go to bat for this guy. For me, this scale like a C plus, the minimum grade for a coordinator should be a B. Like if that means something. And if I got some season college, I know you guys were overachievers, you probably didn't. But what that means is, you probably got some A's. I had some assignments I was really good on. But you probably got some Ds and Fs, too.

So there's probably a number of players on that defense that were like, Dennis Allen, I don't like this fit. He's not putting this in the best situations. He's not doing things that really accentuate our abilities. And I think that's something that when you come into a new system, a lot of these guys are maybe Fluse guys trying to play D.A. scheme could happen. Wasn't it Joaquin Brusker who was basically like wanted to

get turned loose by DA? He tweeted because somebody goes they should use Jaquan Briskermore and he's like, yeah, use me. Yeah, that's what comes to mind. It was that direct. Number two. Question number two is multiple choice.

What do you think is the most likely scenario for quarterback Aaron Rogers next season? A, a return to the Steelers. B, he signs with the Vikings. C, Aaron Rogers signs with a different NFL team. Option D. he'll just retire or E, all of the above.

Chaos. Now listen, I made you put all of the above on here. Did I not? Oh, yeah. You know why? Because then he's all things to all people, but most importantly himself. Oh, my goodness. So I still have the theory, the conspiracy theory, the rando theory, whatever you want to call it,

that Brett Favreve and his retirement saga. Do you remember the simpler times, guys, when the Brett Fav will he or won't he retirement story. We led all of Sports Center and ESPN. And thusly our lives because that was the only news outlet we watched for sports at the time. For days. For weeks on it. Days, weeks, weeks.

And I'm pretty sure it was somewhere coinciding with the Tiger Woods. Was that when the cheating scandal began with Tiger Woods? So those were like the two stories of the time. And you know who was sitting, taking a backseat to the saga that dominated our lives? of Brett Farr, Aaron Rogers. And lookie here. Look where he goes after he's in Green Bay. Is this monkey see monkey do?

Well, if it isn't to the Jets. If it isn't to the Jets. And then what happened? There was the saga surrounding his Achilles. Will he or won't he play? Took up some dude's space on the roster. Somebody else could have been playing. And Aaron's like, well, I got cleared to go back to practice.

Oh, I don't know how I got in this mess. He's going to the Vikings. It was either going to be all of the above for me because I think he wants all of the attention or he's going to the Vikings. And the Vikings have many different choices that they could have as their backup quarterback as we know. But I think if Aaron Rogers had it his way,

he would complete the Brett Farv arc, minus the picks to the reporter. Good job I knew Aaron Rogers for restraint. Wow. So you know what? Complete the Brett Farv arc, but do it G-rated and go to the Vikings. Is it bad that when you said Tiger Woods cheating scandal?

I was like, what did he use the wrong? Do you take a stroke on something? Or like, and I was like, oh, no, you meant the cheating scandal. I thought you meant cheating on the golf course. Yeah, on his wife. Yes, I got that. It took me a minute to process that.

And I sarcastically, when I was anchoring in Austin, Texas, and reporting at the time was like, guys, that's not really a ton of news. Do you know? Like. You were unsurprised is what you're saying? Yeah. I had to try to explain to them that the story of athletes cheating on wives. It's not as salacious as they may think.

On this question, the multiple choice, give me A. That's a return to the Steelers. Coach he's worked with before, although you could argue the relationship got rocky towards the end. But coach he's had success with before. And I think for Aaron Rogers, that's just what makes sense. Does he really want to start over? Does he really want to start over and have to be in camp and learn new guys and do that eye-roll sigh when someone does, doesn't run the route the right way.

He doesn't want, at least with the Steelers, there is a degree of familiarity. So I think it's going to be able. I, for one, would love to see J.J. McCarthy tell Aaron Rogers how to run the offense. Yeah. I would say the Vikings, but I don't think Aaron Rogers, if you're signing him to the Vikings, is going to compete. He wants to know that he's the number one quarterback. And the Steelers of the team to do that. I think he wants to go for one more.

They made the playoffs. Mike McCarthy, you mentioned it. I do think the Vikings bring in a veteran quarterback. quarterback. Do you know who I'm thinking here? Marshall? The guy that used to play for the Vikings. You like that idea? Kurt Cousins? Yes, Kirk Cousins. I like that idea. Bring him into compete. Veteran guy. If JJ raises his level, give it to JJ your first round pick. If he doesn't, guess what? We got Kurt Cousins who we won 13 games with and made the playoffs. Obviously, the playoffs and go well. But you know, Kevin O'Connell likes him some Kurt Cousins. They tried to bring him back. They couldn't.

Now they get them back for nothing, just a free agent signing. Y'all got to stop calling him Kirkobangs, though. That is insulting to the actual Kirkgo bangs. I can't be handling this. Like, stop. Please. It's disrespectful. Number three.

It's five on it on 104. Three, the score with Laylorahee, Marshall Harris, and CHSN analyst Clay Harbor in the house. Here's question number three. What do you think of Cubs pitching after the first week of spring training exhibition games? Apparently, I'm more optimistic about it than one Marshall Harris. What you mean? Come on, Mars. Your bet.

What does my bet have to do with pitching? Hey, hey, hey. This said, what was your impression of Cubs pitching after the first week of spring training exhibition games? Well, you know who they played in the first game of spring training exhibition? They played the White Sox. That's not the regular season. This is just spring training. All right.

As long as you don't get hurt, cool. Is that a fair way to look at the beginning of spring training? just don't get hurt. So I wanted to ask this question too because Jamison Tyone let loose a couple home runs, but at least we saw Matt Boyd go three innings and not give up a run. So those two I'm evaluating a little bit more.

When you add in the fact that Chota Imanaga has supposedly increased his velocity, and that's both on his basketball and his splitter, that would be a huge help in, I think, regaining the trust that got him, you know, the start for the first. the home opener here and the start in Japan is that opening day. So when you consider those two things, I think overall,

James and Tyone probably working on a 12th pitch I don't know about because he's that guy who works on his arsenal in spring training. Matthew Boyd, that was nice to see after, I think he may have run out of gas after pitching 179.2 in two-thirds innings, you know, last year. So I was encouraged by what I saw out of coming. pitching this last week. I'm going to be really to the point on this. No one got hurt after a week.

I am happy with that. We can slow clap, we can slow knock on the wood, do all the things because the goal right now, the first couple of weeks of spring training where you're not necessarily fine-tuning anything, but just getting into the flow and stretching yourself out,

it's just to stay healthy. How many times have we seen a player's entire season be derailed because of something that happened in spring training. Can't have that. Maybe you had Zach Gallen, you can afford to do something like that, but they don't.

So just stay healthy for now. Here's my take. I look at spring training is a little bit like maybe OTAs or preseason in football. There's always going to be some guy that makes a big play, wide receiver, scores a touchdown,

quarterback throws a big pass. What matters more? Your fundamentals, your route running, all that, right? I think in baseball, spring ERA doesn't matter. walks, velocity, repeatable mechanics matter. And that's what you see the Cubs pitchers working on.

Yes, Tyone got shelled a little bit. There's been some issues. A little bit. Yeah, he's gotten shelled. But I think if you look back to where they were last year, in a much better position, just because of all the injuries they had. I mean, you had, let's look, Justin Steele out from most of the season due to the elbow injuries, showed him missed a month.

James and Tyone, two stretches on the injured list. Seraca was acquired. injured in his first appearance. I think with Tyone, Cabrera, Boyd, Horton, Ray, Assad, you've got a good group of guys here, so they're in a good spot. Number four.

The Bulls lost 121 to 112 at home to the Trailblazers last night. They now have lost 11 straight and just went 0 for February. When will the Bulls win again? And how many more wins will they have this season? Let me just start

this by saying, this is the model. If you are on board with the tank, this is exactly what you want to see. You want to see Modis taking all the shots and making plays and playing through mistakes and you want to see a game that is close at times.

Hey, I like being down three with, what, under four minutes to play? Isn't that what it was last night? And then lose the game. Just lose the game. 11 straight losses. Just lose the game. And I know people,

We'll think I'm being over the top when I say just lose the game. But let's be honest. If you've been complaining about the Bulls being in the middle, you either want them to be really, really good. They're not going to be really, really good. Let me just stop you right there. Or you want them to be really, really bad. They've got 24 wins this season.

And before this, they were 24 and 25. They were a 500-ish team. Now, they're 12 games below 500. They have the ninth worst record in the NBA. And within their sights are the Memphis Grizzlies who have 21 wins and the Dallas Mavericks who have 21 wins. So there is a chance they could get to the seven spot in the tankathon standings. And if they get to the seven spot, they have a 32% at a top four pick and a growing 7.5% chance at the number one overall pick. That's how I wanted to start.

Now back to the actual question of when will they win again? Let me tell you what's upcoming. Milwaukee, a team fighting for a playoff spot. Oklahoma City, don't need to say anything about them. Phoenix, a team fighting for playoff position. And then, Sunday, March 8th, on a West Coast trip that will take them through five cities. In nine days, they will go to Sacramento, California. And in Sacramento, California, they will face a team that right now has 14 wins.

the fewest in the NBA, the team at the bottom of the NBA standings. Bulls West? Bulls West, although half those players have been shut down. Zach Levine won't be playing in that one. In true Bulls West fashion. That is their best opportunity to win another game. I think that is where the losing streak stops at 14 games. Because let me tell you something.

If they don't do it then, the next best chance comes March 16th at home after that five-game road trip. against the Memphis Grizzlies. But I think we could circle Sacramento on the calendar as the next time the Bulls get a win. Because they just lost 14 in a row, although the Kings have won two of the last three. I thought about the Kings. I thought that that would be the time.

But then what's the fun in that plot? Wow. Lakers. Whoa. They lost three in a row. I mean, they're a close game last night. In the last three games between the Bulls, of the Lakers, the Bulls won the two out of three.

They didn't win the last one because that was a whoopin. I think the Lakers were mad that they lost to the bulls the other two times. But I think in true NBA conspiracy theory plot fashion, I think it would be hilarious. If they went into Staples, now crypto, I hate calling it that, just like to me, it's still the Sears Tower. I think it would be a true NBA plot fashion to go in. to lose to the games, but beat the Lakers. So that would be a 16 game losing streak at that point. And you think they could just roll in.

It's March 12th. Think about the load management. You know, think about like LeBron's older. You know, like you're over here. No, was it, who said Luca was never going to win a title? Was it Spiegel? That was Matt Spiegel. We made a $100 bet on that.

I got a lot of that's outstanding. I think you're going to win that handily. Yeah, he said you would never get back to the finals. They're sixth place in the West. It's not like they're, they've just lost three. No, no, no, no. But that's it. He said they would never, he said Luca, the player, will never ever go back to the NBA finals.

We'll never go back. Yes. Oh. It was a bold prediction. But you know what? One good bold prediction deserves another. I can't say this with a straight face. You know, you know, Ray, I'm simply saying this for the plot.

What do you think, Clay? I think the stopgap here, if they don't beat the Kings and just to be different, the wizards, we're talking April, April 7th and 8th. You got a back-to-back, back-to-back games against the Wizards. We've only won 16 games this year. They look worse than the Bulls do. So right there is the end, the guaranteed end of this losing streak. And yeah, I'm being a little, you know, facetious here.

But I think that is the very bottom of the cave. They will not go any further than that. Do you understand if that happens? That's the third to last game of the year. That would be the 29 game losing streak, which would break the all-time losing streak of 20. eight games. Held by the Pistons, right? Pistons and shared

with the Philadelphia 76ers. I remember that because guess what? I covered that. You're covering them. You were there. You were there. That's the bottom of the cave. I'm saying that's the very back end.

That's when it happens for sure. You got back-to-back games against a wizard. One of those games. One of those games. We're all just for the plot right now. I said the Lakers just because it's ridiculous. I kind of like it, though. It's very Lakers to lose to the.

the bowl. I like the Clay Harbor tank streak. We need to monitor this. I like it. I like it. The drive for 29. Or maybe 30 if they win the first game of those two games. Could be a 30 game losing streak and then they win the back in. That's right. There's two. Number five. Five on out of 104. Three the score. Here's our final question on Thursday. Tampa International Airport posted the following message on its social media accounts. Quote, we've seen enough we've had enough, it's time to ban pajamas at Tampa International Airport after successfully banning crocs and giving everyone the amazing opportunity to experience the world's first crock-free airport. It's time to take on an even larger crisis. Pajamas at the airport in

the middle of the day. So that's the end of the message there from Tampa International Airport. Turns out it was a joke. And Tampa International Airport isn't banning pajamas and Crox, but would you support an airport pajama band at O'Hare and Midway? Okay, so first I was fooled by this, because I'm like, wait a second. Tampa, like, where Nike jogging shorts and flip-flops are considered fashion. You know, like, Florida flip-flops are just a way of life. That's really the greater point here. Like, I've seen people roll up to the Palm Beach flight in a fur coat and flip-flops.

And I like the contrast. You know, if you're going to put it out there, put it out there. So at the same time, I just don't care. care what other people wear in public. As long as it's like not Kanye's girlfriend level of nudity. Oh, wow. You know, and frankly, like, good for her.

You know, she thinks she looks good. Like, I can't really, I don't make the laws and I don't enforce them. But if you, it's up to you how silly you want to look in public. And you know what? I thought I was in style at the time sometimes and I found out later I wasn't and I was on television.

So I can't criticize. I think it was the current administration that wanted to bring back like they did like PSAs about dressing up for the airport like you're going somewhere like a night out on the town or a play or Broadway musical like that's what people used to do because yes they are definitely trying to bring back the 60s well that's that's another story for another day but what I'm saying is I think this is foolhardy and that yeah you should let people wear whatever they want because like you you can't flights are tough because you want to be comfortable like people always

ask me, why am I not better dressed? Because I wear what I wear in here. Sweets and a t-shirt and a hoodie and a jacket if it's cold. I'm Sarah Turney. And I'm Courtney Nicole. We're the host of the Crime House original podcast, The Final Hours. Crime has impacted both of our families, teaching us how the last conversations, the missed red flags can change everything. On the final hours, we examined the moments before a disappearance and the questions that never got answered. The podcast that puts the moments before it disappears under a microscope. Listen to and follow the final hours, available now wherever you get your podcast. I ain't getting dressed up for the freaking airport.

I want to be comfortable and be able to fall asleep. Now, the trick is maybe if you want to get noticed, if you're trying to meet somebody, dress up at the airport. There's a problem, though. What do you define pajamas as? You know, like there's many definitions of pajamas. You know pajamas. Like, what's pajamas?

Pajama pants. Like, what's the cutoff? Pajama pants? Yeah, pajama pants. and fly. Like, you know, Clay, stop. You know when someone looks like they're about to go to sleep. Draw string.

Old t-shirt. Like a t-shirt that's like soft. Stuff you wear at your house when you're about to take a nap. How about that? I'll wear this. I'll wear this. Hoodie and some sweatpants. Like, to me, this is, I'll take a nap in this.

Okay. I'll fly in this too. The matching sweatsuit has now become the outfit duju for the airport. And this is why I'll give my answer on this and say. But that's not a. pajamas. Have some decorum about yourself, not just at the airport, but anywhere you go. At least change your damn clothes. At leisure is so prominent now as Clay has just brought up and it's so affordable. It's the bare minimum, man. Don't wear some damn pajamas at the airport or the store.

Gas station, come on. I'm wearing my heaviest fabrics at the airport because then they're not in my suitcase and I can put more stuff in my suitcase so I can go somewhere. And I'm always cold. That's it. So like I wear my jeans and like something like this, like a sweatshirt. or something like that. Like, whatever takes up the most space in my suitcase. And yes, I look stupid in public and I don't care because I'll wear like my mom sneakers that aren't ironic. Just don't wear pajamas tomorrow, Marshall. Oh, yeah, Clay and I are doing a thing.

We'll talk about that later, though. Let's do that next. Also with more from not only the NFL player survey, but Clay's actually been checking out football at the Combine. Isn't that an idea? So we'll talk to Clay about some of his observation from the Combine for the Bears' wish list next. Clay Harbor, former NFL player.

Play Harbor, slot to the left. Here's Vicks pass, and it's caught touchdown by Harbor. That's a touchdown. Clay Harbor makes that catch. And they've got Harbor for the touchdown. Football analysts for Chicago Sports Network. If you saw how far you took the Rams in the NFC division round, if you have a chance to add a couple more players there,

this guy didn't play. And your quarterback doesn't miss games. If you have a quarterback that's missing games, and you say, hey, we probably need this guy, Caleb's still young. Caleb takes care of his body and he never misses a game. You can get players that are playing that are going to help you win and you never know if Tyson might not even see the field once.

Clay Harbor with Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043 the score. It is our day to have custody of Clay Harbor. He was with the morning show and that David Hawer earlier in the week. It is an ongoing custody battle because I am here to tell you we deserve first dibs on Clay. Yeah, you're basically his dad. Before David even knew. who Clay Harbor was. I had Clay Harbor on television. True or false clay? That's true.

You can't make the child pick between parents, Marshall. That's the number one rule. He's more like a David's more like an uncle. We are the parents. We are the, we are the ones. Is David the fun uncle? Is that what it is? He's definitely the fun uncle. They do funny stuff. Yeah, you're the cousins. David's the fun uncle for sure, man. Are we the cousins you make up the dances with his kids though? Because those are the best cousins. Oh yeah, we're the cousins that we get into trouble and the parents, you know, and we all get together. That's fair. all like running outside. The oldest one thinks they're in charge. Not that that was my life. That's me. I'm in charge. It was my cousin Omead. He was the one like, oh,

Omead says we should all go to like 2020 video and Glendale to rent a video. This is how long ago this was. Who let you guys outside? I like that though. Somebody's got to be the leader. And, you know, usually it does when something goes wrong, the responsibility falls on the oldest. It really does. Let's be honest. Well, in my family, it was the oldest girl. I expected more out of you. Exactly. Like these little kids, okay, but you, you're the oldest, you know better. So that's kind of where we are. Prepare for a lifetime of disappointment to my parents. Ha ha, showed them.

Okay, so we can't be saying this in the custody hearing. The point is, Clay is dallyed with the morning show for the last few days, and he was away from us. So now Clay is back with the big pro football show. He works with David Haw every day. Don't worry about that part. The multi-year NFL vet is here. And I think we have to start first with just your observations from the combine. Anybody stood out to you?

Because you already had a shopping list of what you thought the bear should do at 25. There's more practice going on today, but still just initial thoughts. First off, let me preface this by saying, you can call me Mr. Combine, Marshall. Do I need to take you through real quick before I get started? Tell us. In the 2009 NFL Combine, Laila, 40-inch vertical first. 30 reps of 225 in the bench press first. 46040 right there.

down to 4-5 at my pro day, 10-foot broad jump. Okay, I know what the combine's about. I've been through all the interviews. I did all the on-field drills, caught all the balls, did all that. Same draft class as Rob Gruncowski, Aaron Hernandez. And yet they were both chosen higher than you. They were. We had a record tight-ins taken that year.

But the first guy I want to start out here, and I think Chicago might not like this, because there's a lot of people out there that don't like Gervon Dexter, and they might say this guy reminds him of him, but he is not Jervon Dexter. Okay, his name is Caleb Banks. We already know, Chicago and Caleb seemed to get along. Caleb Williams, our quarterback. This guy is 6'5.6,

230 pounds. He ran a 50540. That's better than Marshall could have done at 180 in his prime. Okay. Okay, 32-inch vertical and 9-6 broad jump at 330 pounds. Freak athlete, here's the problem. He only played in three games last year,

had a solid junior season, goes to the senior bowl, dominates. This guy's quick. I turn on this film. He takes up space. He can rush the passer. He moves around like a 250-pound man at 330. This guy's a problem. The reason he could fall to 25. And after this, I don't know if he will, but the reason he could fall is because of that injury history with his foot and he didn't have a ton of production. But I think this guy is exactly what the bears need. A huge space heater. You can put him at one tech. You can put him at three. You can put him at five. I haven't turned on the tape and I saw a 335 pound man at 9 technique.

That's versatility. That sounds very relative athletic scory. The way he said, no production. No production. He's like, he's got all the tools, the traits. Why do you think this is going to translate at the NFL level to actual production on the field? Watching the Senior Bowl and just seeing what he's doing and some of the best guards and tackles lining up everywhere and just a man of his size.

The only way, the only way I don't see this guy working out, he's not taking two business days to get off the ball like Jervon Dexter after it snapped. Okay, this guy actually has that suddenness, and he's going to get off the ball. And I'm not slandering Jervon Dexter. I think he's a solid pass rusher who's got to work on his run fits. But the only reason he won't work out is if he's not healthy, because he is taking on blocks in the run game. He can rush the passer.

He is massive. He is just going to eat up space just by being that large human. Also in the combine, I got to mention this. He didn't finish because he said his cleats were bothering his feet. He had a foot injury last year. So that's something to be aware of, but apparently it was no big deal, and he will be fine to come on to his pro day and everything after that. He didn't use the V word, which you know I like when they talk about players of his...

Violence? Yeah, you didn't use the V. Is he not violent? He's very violent. Okay, that's what I need to hear. He's very violent. Okay, you're ready for a small school sleeper? Oh, yeah. Well, this is your specialty, being a small school sleeper.

FCS Kid, All-American, first team. His name is Caleb Proctor. No, not Caden Proctor, the offensive tackle. Peyton Proctor defensive tackle. His senior season, he was first team, All-FCS, All-American, like I said. He had nine sacks, 13 TFLs, led his team to playoffs,

and here's why I think he can play. I turn on the tape against LSU. You know, FCS schools have one game a year against a big-time opponent. Gotta get paid. He had two sacks when the starters were playing. This guy played his best against LSU,

SEC, big-time football. He looked better than a lot of those guys. And then I look at some of that stuff he did in the East West Shrine game. All-Sword games matter. My East West Shrine game, probably the reason I got drafted in the fourth round, have success against these bigger schools when you're an FCS guy. He dominated the East West Shrine game.

This guy is going to slip maybe the fourth, fifth round, because he's a little bit smaller. Combine was so good, he might fourth, but he's only 6-2-281. It's funny saying a guy small at 6-2-281. But for a defensive tackle, a guy that can move to five technique he is, but he's quick, he's strong, he's physical, he's violent. He is all of that. He's explosive. I really liked what I saw from him in the combine.

And from defensive tackles, he reached a speed of 20.95 miles per hour. That is the top four in the last five years of the NFL Combine. That's in the top four. Okay, I like that. I do think that you're on to something, though, with the relative athletic score, Marshall. Like, how much does that factor into what you're calculating clay? because I feel like you also know that Bears love some relative athletic score. There was a player last year out of Texas A&M, Shemar Stewart,

that I thought the Bears were going to go after simply because he had an almost perfect relative athletic score. It was number one out of the draft class last year. Here's my take on the draft. Offensively, I'm going to trust every draft pick the Bears make. Why? Because Ben Johnson is going to vet him and say if this guy is right for the team. He's not looking at relative athletic. scores. Why did they take Colson Loveland? This guy's intelligent. He's tough. He's physical. He's an all-around

football player that can line up anywhere. A rookie tight end to come in and to pick up all these motions and shifts in the lineup where he did? Uncommon. Trust me, I tried it. It's not easy. Okay. And then you got Luther Burden, the guy that falls. He sees guys and he pictures him in his offense, Ozzie Tripillo. Defensively, there's a disconnect. Because I feel like Dennis Allen is a guy that likes these traits. And when you put him together with the trait master himself, Ryan Poles, now you're just going after traits. Trade master! The trait master.

So defensively is what concerns me. You've seen the miss with Shamar Turner. You see him miss with Di Oh, Dang. I'm not going to say he missed with Shemar Turner. He came in his defensive tackle, didn't play. They moved him to the end. Didn't look great. Look like he could at least stop throwing out there before he tore his ACL.

So for me, when I look at defensively, I think there's a little bit of disconnect. I trust everything Ben Johnson's going to do offensively. Defensively gets a little bit risky. Okay. So that brings us back. to how we let off this show. And if you want to go back and listen to what was said by Ryan Poles on the Todd Mischay podcast and how we discussed it, go back. Rewind feature in the Odyssey app. But Clay, here's the ultimate question.

It was at 10. Yes, sorry, 10 o'clock. Clay, how much do you trust Ryan Poles? That's really the question here. I trust that Ryan Poles hearing him, I was listening to these interviews over the weekend, and he's talking about how he goes about his draft board. He's saying when they're looking at defensive players, he's going to bring the offensive staff in here and say, okay which of these guys is going to keep you up at night if we're playing them tomorrow which these guys are going to be the toughest of block he said defensively or offensively we're going to bring the defensive staff in and say okay which of these guys are going to be the most difficult to defend so I like what he's doing there I think he does like the traits

too much but the thing he showed last year which I absolutely love is he is willing to draft best available I remember the last big pro football show I said the bear should go Colston Loveland in the first round the NFL draft I never got more hate on anything in my life Tyler Warren, Tyler Warren, Tyler Warren. He fit the system. Right? So I think he was the best player available. Fit the system, same thing with Luther Burton. So I like that about polls.

And that brings me to another player I want to mention to you guys. And that is my safety. Okay, I know safety ain't a position in need. It is a position of need. It is a position of need. It's not a position of value. But you've seen the value increase with what you saw from the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. How they're able to move around Nicky Menwry.

Another guy I was pounding the table for last. Go back and check, Marshall. I see you giving me that side eye. No side eye. Emmanuel McNeil Warren is a guy I think could be available in the first round of 25. Measure it in, 6-4-201, 32-5-inch arms, 78 wing. He hasn't ran yet, but when I watch this guy's film, he reminds me a little bit of Nick Eman Worry. He's a guy you can line up in the box.

You can line them deep. He can play the run. He can play the pass. You have how many safes on the roster? How many? I don't believe there are any. Zero. There are none.

And he would be a guy that would be a game changer. If your tackles are gone, if your edge is gone, if your defensive tackle is gone, don't reach. How do you raise the floor of your team by drafting best player available and getting the best players on your roster? You look at what the Detroit Lions did a few years ago when they were in the basement, not even the basement, the dungeon of the NFC North. Everybody's laughing at them. Oh, they drafted Jemir Gibbs. They don't need a running back. They drafted Sam Laporta.

They don't even need a tight end. Jack Campbell linebacker that high, they don't need Brian Branch's safety. Guess what? Next year, they've won the division for two straight years at that point. Obviously, they had a little slip because our main man, Ben Johnson left. But when you draft the best player available, I don't care where they're at. You can find a veteran to slide over here and here and here. Don't reach if this guy on your board is definitely ahead of the position of need. I also want to ask you this.

And you touched on this with David Hall earlier this week. And I thought you made a really good point about what's going on. with the league when it comes to the position of wide receiver and how often they can change teams. Brad Biggs was asked and wrote his 10 thoughts regarding the NFL Combine. And Biggs said, regarding DJ Moore, Moore is well regarded around the league for the reasons the bears like him. He's durable. He's a solid locker room presence tough on the field. He's owed $24.5 million this season. And on the third day of the league year, 15 and a half million of his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed.

That led some personnel men to conclude it would be challenging to trade him if the bears want to go in that direction. One source was relatively confident the bears could find a taker for more and might get a day two pick in return. What do you think about that possibility? A day two pick? I'm doing it. You got to realize this. I understand he's one of your best receivers, but when you have a position like past catcher on the Chicago Bears, if DJ comes back, I'm not so sure next year he's not their first. fourth pass catcher. Marshall called me crazy.

I think you've got Colson Loveland who's showing, in my opinion, I think he might be the best tied in the league. I'm not getting carried away. I've seen a lot of tight ends in my day. Played with Granc, played with Zach Earch, played with Brent Selick, played with Kobe Fleener. I don't know why they threw Fleener in there. But I played with a lot of guys, what I'm trying to tell you.

Martellis Bennett, former bear. Colson Loveland is a guy that is uncommon. He has traits that not all of those guys have. I'm not saying he's better than Gronk right now. You have Luther Burden, who it could have been more impressed with his route running. He's just a dog, his clutch factor. Great. Rome, I'm projecting a little bit because I think, I still believe that Rome can improve. He is a guy that will continue to get better. So I like Rome. Then you got DJ. Make a 28 million. You have

all these holes on your roster. Would you not trade one player, get a draft pick compensation in return, and then allocate to three starters on positions of need? You can get an endrusher, a defensive tackle, maybe a lower end offensive tackle with that. 28 million? That's a lot of money. That's a lot of cheddar. That's 9 million per player we're talking about here. That is why I am pro trade DJ Moore if that makes sense from a allocation of resources. And I think you summed it up pretty well there, Clay. And it's going to be interesting to see because they're on the clock. They're running out of time to make this decision because of what you just said about the contract becoming guaranteed for

2027. Well, and Brad Biggs legitimizes it. You know, when you hear Brad Biggs talk about it, you realize how it has actually permeated throughout the NFL. More with Clay Harbor coming up next. We will also get his thoughts on something that Bears' offensive line coach, Dan Rochard said on a podcast recently. So we'll do that and more next. Lela Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody, Rahimi, Harrison Grody on 1043, The Score. We've got some opportunities there, whether it's for agency or the draft,

and certainly some of our own in the building as well, that we're looking to continue to develop. And so we look at all the, all the opportunities out there. And we've got a lot of conversations going on for what that's going to look like. Oh, we're playing Grody's favorite song, and he doesn't even know. He's not in today. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, the score. Marshall's shaking his head.

Clay Harbor is here. Clay, multi-year NFL veteran. He hosts the big pro football show on CHSN with Ruthie Pallinsky and David Haw. These two are getting ready for a vaudeville act tomorrow is what I see it at Snowball. Is this when we promo this? Why not? Why not? So tomorrow Clay Harbor and I will be co-imcing Junior Council's 37th annual Snowball Gala.

And Clay's done this before. He wrote me into doing it with him this year. Can't wait to see this. All proceeds directly benefit the pediatric and adolescence. HIV AIDS clinic at Anne and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago funds that junior council raise help to provide scholarships for past and present patients of the clinic, a junior council van for transportation to and from the clinic, and much needed testing, medication, and services for uninsured patients and patients coming from low-income families.

So this is a 21 and older event. There is open bar. There's all the things. We've got Wendy City dueling pianos. They've got a DJ. It's going to be a good time. Clay and I will be ushering you into this evening. You can still get tickets, by the way.

If you just Google Snowball Gala and Junior Council to come right up and buy some tickets, and Clay and I will be in full effect. It's Saturday night and where is it? That's a great question. Is it the Renaissance Chicago downtown hotel. It's from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. midnight, I turn into a pumpkin. I will be headed to the house. So if you want more of Clay and Mark,

then there you go. It's for a good cause. Lurie Children's Hospital, as Marshall mentioned, and it will be a lot of fun. But if you hear more barbs between them than usual, now you know why. It should be entertaining tomorrow. I want to play some audio for the both of you. This is Dan Rochard, who we don't get to hear from very often, the Bears Offensive Line Coach, on the set with Toron Armstead podcast talking about how they're addressing left tackle. Listen, I'm transparent. I met with all three guys that, played left tackle for us this past year to include Theo Benedette, an undrafted young man from Canada. And I told all three of them this. I know what the left tackle position looks like in

this league. You are the standard. That's a rare player that comes along. But somebody has to play that position similar to that. And so it's a faceless, nameless guy right now. It has to to become the way we play the game at left tackle similar to what's being done at right tackle is that player in the building i think there's guys that have traits but not consistent enough not the way we want it done uh consistently so that's to be determined now you can address that in free agency you can address that in in the draft but to find you your play or Darnel's play, that requires, in my opinion, you took a couple of years, but it takes probably draft capital or asset we currently don't have.

So it's probably most likely either through free agency or it's here in the building. And my opinion is it's anywhere outside of here, it's here. So that's how we're going to approach it. We're going to work with the guys we got and we're going to make it better. If you're one of the three left tackles and you hear him, how does that make you feel? Well, not going to lie, in the first half, they had me because I was like, ain't nobody in the building that's filling up what he's talking about. But at the end, he softens the blow by saying, here are realistic avenues because it does

take time to develop once you draft someone is free agency or someone in the building takes a hold of this job. And Ozzy Tripillo's not taking a hold of the job because the Patela is the thing. He physically can't. Yeah, he can't do that right now. My problem with this is if you're out, listen to this, driving, don't do this because you're on the road. But just go take a look at just Google free agent left tackles. It is a barren desert.

It's a wasteland out there. Braxton Jones might be your best option. Brad Biggs pointed that out. I've been saying, hey, maybe bring Braxton back. People will say this. He couldn't even play for the Bears last year. Yes, he was coming off of a serious ankle injury. Give him an off season to get his confidence back.

to maybe gain some weight, get some strength up there, have a year in this system, and maybe you'll see a better version of Braxton Jones that can compete with Theo Benedict. And when you compete, you know, the old iron versus iron, you know, cliche, I think you'll make both these guys better, and you'll have two guys that can start at left tackle, and I think that left tackle,

you're not as concerned about it because of Ben Johnson. Here's my question, ultimately, Clay. We heard Caleb Williams talk on the Max Crosby podcast about wanting to be the new. number one offense in football? Can they be the number one offense in football if they don't go out of what they already have and maybe bringing back Braxton Jones? Can they do that with that group that he's talking about? It makes it more difficult because you're going to have to a lot more guys when I say because of Ben Johnson because he's smart. He sees a matchup. He's going, okay, I'm chipping

that guy all day long. He goes, we're sliding left all day long. We're running play action boots. We're making sure we're getting out, getting this guy in the move all game long when you saw what he did against Michael Parsons when he was healthy. Max Crosby. Some of these guys can still wreck games and wreak havoc, but Ben will have a plan for all of that. And the Bears look like they're bringing Colquette back. I don't think why they wouldn't.

I'm the leader of the Colcomet fan club in Chicago, and they got some tight ends that can block, help him with Colcomet. But I was very interested when he said we don't have the draft capital to do that. So that, to me, that's saying they're investing in defense. And that might have been a Freudian slip right there, to her and like, hey, it's Chicago. And some of my mocks that I'm doing, I'm starting, I'm putting left

tackle up there as their first pick number 25. Caden Proctor, Monroe Freeling, two guys I'm looking forward to see at the Combine, but two guys that could play left tackle, maybe you could find a guy in the second round, Caleb Tiernan from Northwestern to be like an Ozzie Tripillow type guy. But it seems to me that they are going to be leaning defensively this draft, especially after hearing Dan Rochar say that a guy will have that information. No, I mean, it's telling. You know, and you could tell he was kind of explaining the process out loud, which I appreciate. It's always nice to hear from him.

He did a wonderful job last year. Great coach. So when he talks about it, it's a good thing, I think, that he says the standard is not where we're at right now. I think it would be counterproductive to Ben Johnson's agenda and what the goal of the team is if he said, like, this is okay. but they are in a very tough spot. And you're right, there's no such thing as a left tackle store.

I joke about Trent Williams because Trent Williams was available at the left tackle store and it cost the 40-nighters a lot of their salary cap. That's why they had to cut a lot of people. It wasn't just the contract to Brock Purdy, for example. Yeah, Trent Williams pipe dream. I know I saw a lot of the aggregate accounts on X saying, hey, sign Trent Williams. Oh, yeah, why don't we just trade from X Crosby while we're at it? You know, bring them all together.

signed Trey Henderson too. Unfortunately, I know Marshall back in high school used to play Madden, and he used to turn the salary cap off. So he could just sign and trade for all the big name players. No, no, no, no. Never turned. Two things I never turn off. Salary cap, and then in NHL 94,

we don't turn off sides off either. Clay, I don't think salary cap was available to turn off when we were in high school. That's a whoa, whoa, slow down. Marshall is definitely graduated from college. But there are a lot of constraints, and you heard, Ryan Paul said that. I was listening to his interview with Rich Eisen and he goes, hey, are you going to make a big splash in free agency? He goes, we will do something in free agency, but it will not be the same like we did last year. He goes, we have a lot more constraints. And that's him basically saying, we don't have the money. We don't have the cheddar to do that right now.

And we actually have a cap number today. Oh, what's got? Brian McCarthy, NFL PR guy posted NFL clubs were informed today that the salary cap for the 2026 season will jump $22 million, which is great. per club to 301.2 million. Added another $77.6 million in benefits, which benefits are good. And that's $378.8 million per club in player spending. Here's a list of the salary cap numbers. 2026, 301.2, 2025, 279.2. 2024, 255.4. 2023 was 224. 2028. 2028. 2021 was 182 and a half. It's gone from 2021 to 26.

Respective to inflation, actually. Even outpacing it. 182.5 to 301.2. NFL is doing good from a business standpoint. I play in the wrong era. You definitely played in the wrong era with your old. Never mind. If you want more of this,

then check out Snowball on Saturday night at the Renaissance Artel benefiting Lori Children's Hospital. Really happy for you guys. That should be a lot of fun. Yeah, you should come, Leila. I've got to get a dress. I've got to go outside. Tell me you have dresses. Don't worry about that right now.

Oh, okay. Funny how that works. Let's come. Let's get the gang together. I asked Ray, he turned me down flat. He said, sorry. I'm busy. I'm going to. Ray has a social life. Ray's family is always doing something fun.

Occasionally I get the joy of running into Ray's family, and that's a good time. Absolutely. But this is some radio colleague stuff I'm doing Saturday night. from former colleagues of mine. Okay, fair enough. Ray and I both also. Kudos to wearing a matching yellow sweatshirt today.

Ray, you end up dressing like your colleagues and Ray and I are now on the same, on the same flow. Not as bad as the day Dan and I both wore salmon on the same day. How about the time you and Dan both wore turtlenex?

Dan and I matched a lot. And it kind of worried the both of us. Like unintentionally would wear certain colors on the same day. I know, isn't that disturbing? It was funny. When I saw it, it was funny. Do you remember the salmon day?

We were both like, what the hell is this? Salmon is a color. I wore salmon yesterday. I love salmon and turtlenex. Do you find that you and Worthy occasionally color coordinate or you and David occasionally color coordinate? Me and David will find each other color coordinator. And we're like, all right, which one of us is changing, David?

But we just do it. We just go and say, hey, whatever. I need David to guest star at Snowball and just like come in for that part of the discussion on the MC. Maybe I'll invite David. What do you think, Marshall? I think David will come? I'm only going if David goes.

I think if David comes, we're going to have a great time. I'm only going if Vegas Haw goes. Yeah. Vegas Ha! Vegas Ha! Vegas Ha! Vegas Ha! David, I know you're listening. Clay, this has been a lot of fun. As usual. Yeah, Clay.

I appreciate it. Guys, looking forward to tomorrow, Marshall. Make sure your suit's pressed. We don't want the embarrassing creases in it. So make sure you're ready. Throw some cologne. You two should both be in Texas, but that's my own. I do this. Don't worry about me. You're going to be doing most of the work tomorrow, so that's what I'm saying. Make sure you read that script. Thanks, Clay. I'll be happy to carry you for four hours.

Won't be the first time. By the end of the night, they will be punching each other in the arm at the podium for you to enjoy. A good cause for sure snowball on Saturday night. Clay, thanks for filling in all week with us. Fine. We'll share you with David for now. My pleasure, guys. Anytime. That's Clay Harbor. Multi-year NFL veteran. Do you have a pro football show tonight? We have no pro football show. Friday night. We're off. You're off. You're not to be outside. No pro football show. We got a big day tomorrow. So I'm going to be inside. He's getting ready to run of show. Yeah. I'm just picturing tap dancing practice. I'm going for a 15 mile bike ride after this. I rode my bike here on the lakefront. It's like 50 something up, 50 some degrees.

It's supposed to get to 60. Really? Yeah. That's nice. See, that's a team. We're sharing our cardio today. We're all on the same page. Coming up next, the NFL Players Association report cards have been released. And our friend, Kail and Kail and Kailer, is reporting for you and us. So we'll go over them next. And one of the stats that blows my mind is one that I should share with you because you'll want to hear it next.

Do you have a dark curiosity? Follow and listen to Heart Starts Pounding on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Rahimi and Harris on 104-3, The Score. I was about to start singing the song. Then I get kicked out of my job because I'm swearing. Our swear words bad?

we're going to make it, guys. We're going to make it. I have a big red button right here. I would just push that if you did that. Jada had a lot of points in that song. I will say that. So the NFL Players Association supposed to be anonymous player survey.

I mean, it is anonymous. That's why the NFL hates it. Right. So the results of the player votes are anonymous. The aggregate ends up being a referendum on teams, which is why the NFL probably didn't want it to come out. They filed an injunction trying to make sure it didn't.

But somebody, somebody let Kaling Kaler know, friend of the show, friend of the station, ESPN reporter, and she, like any good reporter, got to reporting. So this is the survey results obtained by ESPN. This year's report guards are based on responses from 1759 players. All players who were on a 2025 roster at the time of the survey were eligible to participate and it was conducted from November 2nd to December 11th. So of course, who do we go to first in the 2026 player survey? The Bears!

Here are the greats. Somebody had to. Number one, treatment of families. C plus. And that was the one that surprised me the most. as I mentioned with Clay Harbor and Marshall Harris on five on it an hour ago. Home game field, and this is after Matt Eberflores's good decision, good, and I'm not being sarcastic, to convert the field to Bermuda grass at Soldier Field.

C. And I think when you consider like the winter and having the playoff games at home, which is a great thing, seeing how guys were slipping, I could see why that's a thing. Food dining area B, nutritionist, dietitian, A. Locker room. B plus. Training room B, training staff, B. Weight room A. We know Ryan Pace put a lot of effort into modernizing the Bears facilities when it came to things like the wait room.

Strength coaches A plus. Position coaches. B minus. Offensive coordinator A minus. Well, he's gone now. You guys ran deck Lidoyal off. He's going to Baltimore to coordinate Lamar Jackson. Defense coordinator Dennis Allen, C plus. Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower B-minus. You have Cairo to thank, Richard Hightower. You have January Cairo Santos to thank.

Team travel B-plus, head coach A, general manager A-minus, which says a lot about how they feel about Ryan Pohl's. Team ownership, A-minus. Overall rank is 13th. When you see that, what sticks out to you? I think anything that was below a B, it just sticks out because there's so few things that were below a B in this survey. So defensive coordinator C's plus along with the treatment of families with

that same score. And then of course the home game field. See, you know what's interesting about this? And like, because I'm comparing it immediately to other teams. I was like, well, who's the number one team and who's the number? So for instance, just as a comparison sake, when you talk about the home game field, the Seattle Seahawks, the Super Bowl champions, were number four in this survey overall, right? They had an A and B and everything except for home game field. Home game field was an F. And I feel like they could have graded the home game field on a curve because that's the area where I saw consistently teams not getting an A or a B.

So that kind of takes the sting off of the home game field when you see how many other teams had lower scores and finished higher than the Bears overall. And then the defensive coordinator bit, I really do put it on the fact that the defense was take away or bust. And clearly there were members of the team that felt like they didn't get enough playing time or the scheme didn't fit them. And you know what?

Dennis Allen and Ryan Poles may feel the same way after watching a season of those players on defense on tape. Remember, 1,759 players, that's how many were surveyed for this. So it's not everyone, but they've got players from every team. And I'd really be interested in how many bears filled out the survey versus how many bears there actually are. Well, and I think that's a good point, too. Now, this is notable.

This was whoever told the NFL players to be quiet. Oh, is it the memo? Love this. Sorry, it took me a second to pull it up on my phone. They also published the memo. This is an internal memo. I'm not trying to purposefully laugh here. I'll get you to do this.

I'm really not. But we know about the injunction. And of course, in response to this being leaked, the NFLPA, because they can still do it. They're just not allowed to publish it, but you leak it to a media member such as Kaelin Kailer. She publishes it, no harm, no foul. But the NFL feels very differently about this information being available to anyone at all. In labor law, when an injunction is filed and two parties in the labor agreement are supposed to agree to it, that means that the entities cannot publicly discuss the results of that agreed upon term in labor law.

except that's not what happened. Just the open defiance of it really makes me laugh. All it takes is one, though. Amen. And frankly, like, you should be able to talk about your work conditions in public, actually. So this is the memo from February 26th. Re, NFLPA team report cards. Because here's the thing, if you're an NFL team,

you don't want people to know that they think C plus of Dennis Allen. You don't want them to know that the bears treat their families to a C plus grade. And before I think we get to, the memo, I would just like to point this out since we're here talking about it. Think about the reputation the Pittsburgh Steelers have. And the reputation of the Pittsburgh Steelers is that they do things right. The standard is the standard. They treat their players well.

Except they have not graded well in the past few surveys. Treatment of Families F. And then we hear that there's only five bathroom stalls for the entire team. Seems like a bit of an outdated condition. This is why back a few weeks ago, when we talked about the White Sox installing the bidet, and we questioned, well, how many could there be? I wouldn't put it past any team, any professional team,

that might be a little cheap to only do one. I mean, like, get a Wrigleyfield troth in there at least. Like, what's happening? I mean, this isn't my area of expertise, obviously, but something needs to be done there, especially when, like, isn't part of being a good teammate per the Tom Herman water chart? to drink a ton of water, the P-chart? You need more stalls.

Yes. Well, in urinals. Yes. You just need more. You just need more. You need more for your... That was the stat that alarmed me the most, was that there was only five bathroom stalls.

Folks got business to do. They need a place to do their business. Everything should be as regular as possible in an NFL team. You would hope? That's health. And if you think that way, then you should be able to also... supply your team with a better bathroom, period.

Kevin Warren was not wrong when he wanted to proclaim there will be bathrooms. That's actually a good selling point of any arena. Stadium. Fans feel that. Fans who actually go to games, they feel that. They do. And that's why I think it was good to bring up. But that's just one example.

That was the stat that alarmed me the most. In the meantime, here's the leaked memo. We understand that the NFL Players Association posted its team report cards on its players-only website today. And we are aware that the media is reporting some of the purported results. As we previously advised, the admissions made by the union and its counsel during the grievance hearing. That means a court hearing, including that I, the report cards are union speech. Double I, the union cherry grievance hearing, including that the report cards.

The topics are in responses to include and exclude three, because these are. These are tiny, tiny eyes. Players have no role in drafting the picks, which topics responses include and exclude. The report cards commentary as well. Four, the union chooses which anonymous player quotations to include in which ones to leave out. And five, the union determines how much weight to allocate

to each topic before assigning the grades. Confirm that the report cards are neither reliable nor scientifically valid. In fact, these ambitions explain the union's ongoing and steadfast refusal to share any data or information about the process that it inaccurately tries to characterize as scientifically valid. Scientifically valid was in quotes. Given these significant admitted limitations, we continue to recommend that clubs prioritize feedback and information provided directly by their own players rather than relying on the NFLPA's agenda-driven exercise. We further recommend that clubs refrain from commentating or engaging publicly on the alleged survey and report card results.

Doing so only provides credibility to the union's media campaign. We will review the developments in light of the arbitrator's decision. If you have any questions, please contact and they gave three people's names. Your thoughts, my lover, Mehmi. Because I'll look. It's just

We're a player's union. We want to know how our union members feel about their employers, of which we are binded to by the

union agreements. We are the weakest union among our professional sports because we have the fewest games and the careers are the shortest,

relatively speaking. And we just want to know how everybody's doing because that time matters. NFL. Not only does it not some

Not only does this is not something that we want to show the results of, but we want to make sure that the public doesn't know how teams treat their players and how teams treat their players' families. Hilarious. Why would you care unless you have something to hide? They're trying to control everything. And that's not anything new with the NFL or really any organization or business. You know what I like to say, the phrase acting guilty?

this is this qualifies under acting guilty it's just that they want to keep it private they feel like they did the legal thing and they got the injunction but they knew they knew that the injunction wasn't really going to mean anything because the the information was going to get out here's the issue it does mean something it means something because if they find out who this is they're subject to i think some sort of result here like some sort of legal financial punishment I don't know necessarily what the punishment is agreed to that's upon this. But there might actually be some sort of consequences. How would they find out?

Well, that's a good question. I'm not sure. But the idea of only talk about it amongst yourselves privately. That's far-fetched. It's ridiculous. It's a ridiculous expectation. Also, what's the point of this? It's to shed light on how people are treated.

Is it not? Is it not also when you're a free agent trying to figure out where to go. I think these things matter. That's probably the original thing that the players were trying to do with this survey is to get an understanding of how things work from team to team. Well, and also it just goes to show. Like, for example, we talked about Pittsburgh being a franchise.

Many of us think has the reputation of being exemplary, right? Like, the Rooney family has got a wonderful reputation in the league. You know, Mike Tomlin is a good, example of how little turnover there is from a coaching side, the winning season history. And then look at the, look at how the players feel about it. Inversely, where would you think Miami, who's being openly sued, for example, by Brian Flores, where would you think that would be? Not high is number one, which is where they are on this survey.

I think that's fair. I think what you have to remember, though, is Brian Flores was a coach. and these are players talking about their experience through the player's lens. And that's the difference there. And the fact that that is still ongoing with Brian Flores and the coaches who sued, and he hasn't been blackballed. He's still out here working as defensive coordinator for Vikings. The NFL just wants all the control.

And sometimes you can't have all the control. Now, you know me. I'm pro labor. So anytime you can get more information and more data about what's going on, in hopes of improving conditions for labor, I'm with that. I'm with the proverbial ish. You know what I'm saying?

Miami Dolphins, by the way, listen to these. Treatment of families B plus, home game field A minus, food dining area A, nutritious dietitian A minus, locker room A minus, training room staff A, A, training staff A, weight room A plus. Strength coach is A plus, position coach is A minus, Offensive coordinator A minus, defensive coordinator A, Special Teams Coordinator B,

Team Travel A, Head Coach B, general manager A minus. Head coach is now no longer with the team, by the way. Team ownership A. General manager, was that done before or after their GM was let go? That's a good question. And overall rank number one. Reading some stuff from Mike Floreo on this, right?

So technically, this situation could result in another grievance from the NFL. Right, that's it. Like, there is some sort of labor law is different. There is some sort of punishment for this process. And so Mike says, it's important to remember what the existing ruling does and does not say. The arbitrator found that Article 39 of the collective bargaining agreement does not prevent the creation of the report cards. The arbitrator found that Article 51 prohibits the NFLPA from publishing the results. The arbitrator made no findings regarding whether the report cards are unreliable or not scientifically valid.

But the legal side of this dispute is one matter. There's a PR angle, both external and internal. that the NFL is pursuing. Beyond the effort to persuade the arbitrator to end the NFLPA report cards, the league wants the teams and the public to regard them as flawed, the NFLPA believes otherwise,

as evidence by the simple fact that the report cards continue to exist. There it is. It bothers them that they're being held accountable. That's usually how power works. The people in power get upset when people, they're over, And because of that, the reason why Brian Flores' case is taken so long is because they're trying to figure out how much is for public consumption.

Because a lot of these labor hearings are closed. So that's why that doesn't make them any less credible. They're under the same standards in a court of law, depending on what it is. Like an arbitration hearing is hearings under oath. So that's why this has been discussed to this end. It's not the most exciting conversation. but when you consider the grades and the fact that the news got out regardless. As we knew it would.

Let's be honest. It's just priceless to me. Priceless. It's like, hey, we're going to send this memo. Cool. We're sending that to. It's going to be great. And that's why reporting matters.

Reporting does matter. I think it's one of the most underrated things and undervalued things in 2026 compared to say, I don't know, a quarter century ago. And 847 has a good point here on our text line. Yes, and Miami on the field sucks. Miami hasn't been good. And nobody's saying that their football product isn't what you're seeing in real time. It is interesting, though, to see who likes to play and where and why.

So I think that's what makes this a bigger part of the greater discussion. And then it makes you also wonder for other teams who didn't grade as high. What if those other things were higher? Would that result in more wins than losses? Would that result, even if it resulted in an extra win in a 17-game season? It's tough to say and quantify and qualify what you're talking about. But yeah, you're probably right. Look good, feel good, feel good, play good.

The feeling good part is the part that this survey is reminding me of that not everybody feels good about where they work in certain aspects of their job. But that's every job everywhere. Let's be very clear. Yeah, 6-3, I was a good point. Flores' lawsuit was against the league, not the dolphins specifically. It names dolphin's ownership, though, as part of the language. So there's more to it. Yeah, there's more tentacles.

But the point is, the dolphins didn't come away looking good in all of that. No, because of the allegations of what he was asked to do while he was there. So yes. 312 is on my same page. I always say if you're not guilty, don't act like it. And those who do, well, you know. Coming up next here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie, let's get a live report from Indiana.

Indianapolis is where Chris Emma is, not just for the Combine, but for the latest on Senate Bill 27 in the state of Indiana that Governor Mike Braun has already sent into work. So he approved that yesterday. We will hear from Chris Emma regarding the Bears Stadium and the latest there along with some Combine News next. It's Draymond Green.

kicking off my 14th NBA season and the new season of my podcast. Trust me, I'm not holding back. Listen to the Draymond Green Show wherever you get your podcast. Rahimi Harris and Grody. Bears tight end. Cole Kamet. Cole, welcome to the party, pal. Well, thanks for having me. I heard it was a big day.

So naturally, I dropped everything I had going on today. You've complained a lot through the years about not being able to hear the score on the 670 a.m. dial when you're inevitably cruising around downtown and now that we have an FM signal call you can now hear the score all day all the time all you want you can hear all the bears hot takes you want well that's perfect i'll make sure i blast that in the locker room beautiful black rahimi harrison grody midday's tindle two on 104 three the score some people like chrisarba that's uh that's mark grody doing the ben johnson cough no about tyson vagrant talking about

Chris Emma, who joins us on our hotline. Chris is our Bears reporter. He is in Indianapolis, not just for the combine, but he also went to the State House. So I believe we're calling him Chris Statehouse Emma now. That's what I heard the nickname was for Lawrence Holmes. Chris, thanks for joining us. How we doing? Happy Friday.

Yes, a busy day at the State House yesterday for that Senate vote. And it was interesting. I've never done that as a sports reporter before. but look, it was a gleeful, almost just a celebration for the state of Indiana, the fact that they were able to get this over the goal line. And now we wait to see what happens next for the Bears. Yeah, so that was, you know, was a big point of emphasis yesterday. I felt like there was no concern as to whether or not the vote was going to pass. There was a bit of a question as to whether or not it was going to get any language in it changed.

And this is the bill that would fund a potential Bears Stadium in northwest Indiana. but that didn't end up happening. So what were your takeaways from just how the bill passed, how people felt about it? Was there any extra talk about it once it was ratified? Well, I was under the understanding yesterday through talking with people at the State House that the governor once signed it until today at the earliest. And maybe next week or the week after that, he signed it an hour after that vote was done in the Indiana State Senate. So they are clearly trying to push the point across that they want the bears.

And there were senators saying go bears in their speaking engagements. One senator who said he's a Colt fan talked about his love of Dick Butkus. There was plenty of talk about the taxpayers, too. I can promise you that. But look, they were really excited about this. But you saw the bear statement on the end too. And it wasn't one with any kind of commitment. And then I spoke with Senator Ryan Mishler of Northwest Indiana.

And we kind of asked what's the timeline next for this? And he pointed out that there's still a lot of work to do on that property. in Hammond. And he mentioned 2007 is a potential groundbreaking time for the stadium, which means, yeah, the clock is ticking and it also buys the state of Illinois more time to potentially

push its own legislation forward. So this is far from a done deal, obviously on the Indiana state side. And Illinois now has time to get its act together and figure out if that's what they want to do. Wait a minute, Chris. Wait a minute. Are you saying shovels in the ground

at the earliest in 2020, seven as in next year? That's my understanding. Senator Mishler pointed to the fact that there's a lot of work to be done on that property. We heard it from the governor last week on the Spiegel and Home Show as well. And so, yeah, there's a lot to do in terms of that land at Wolf Lake. And they're only just beginning on that, too. So they've got the legislation side done and everything except for the bears in terms of that bill.

But on the state of Illinois side, you've got the legislation side is still very much in the works. and you've got a property at Arlington Park that's ready to break ground. So I kind of came away from this believing what I've thought all along, which is that it still is going to be Arlington Heights. Yeah, not only does that tell me it's going to be Arlington Heights, but it just tells me that Illinois is maybe when we thought of them as being behind Indiana. They're actually, if not even, maybe even ahead of Indiana because they're so far down the road in terms of the details of the site itself.

Yeah, and so let's outline the two steps from Springfield, which one took a positive step forward. That was the Mega Projects bill, which is not just for the Bears, but it's a Bears-back bill, which allows a major corporation, such as the Bears, a private entity,

to negotiate property taxes with local governments, in this case Arlington Heights and the government there. And that was what was pushed through the revenue hearing. Now it has to go to the House floor. That didn't happen yesterday. My understanding is March 18th is the day to follow with that. And that allows the city of Chicago

and Kent Buckner, who we've heard from on the station before, sponsoring that bill, the Mega Project's bill, he can start looking back and saying, what do we need in the city of Chicago to get this from the bears, to get the bears to take care of the city that they're leaving. So that's one end of it. And then, of course, the issue of infrastructure, and $855 million is the number we've heard in terms of what they need at Arlington Park to build around those 326 acres. and the state of Illinois has expressed willingness to do so, but that legislation has not even really gotten off the ground yet. So if Indiana has plenty of work to do on that side of Wolf Lake,

then the state of Illinois has time to answer back as well. Well, and that's the thing is I think what needs to be noted here, Chris, is Indiana did go through their processes very quickly. You know, there was a possibility for sites. There was a pitch process that happened. I know that the exact location is not set, in Wolf Lake, but there is an understanding as to where it would be. That is important.

There's no doubt about that. What is actually land that they're going to use for this? But the idea that the construction side of this is going to be quick, I think, is still a very far way away. And from what I understand, Chris, and you may know this as well, I'm pretty sure that was part of what enticed

the Bears about Arlington Heights to begin with. Was that the construction site would be pretty quick if they already knew where they wanted to go. I remember George McCasky when he introduced Kevin Warren saying that what do you want to this project? And he said under budget and ahead of schedule and has gone way over budget and way beyond schedule. So yeah, there's absolutely some urgency to get this thing done and get it done right.

But here they are in this spot. And Senator Mishler yesterday talking about the fact that there is a lot of work to be done. But it is a great offer for the Bears. And he pointed to the fact that he looked at me like Illinois is working on details to negotiate property taxes. He goes in Indiana, the Bears won't have to pay. pay any property tax. It is a sweetheart deal. It is something that local senators here away from northwest Indiana, for example, a few in Indianapolis here. We're talking about the idea, why should we be supporting this? And it was a 45 to four vote. So it was near unanimous.

Like I said, it was more of a celebration than a hearing. And each senator is speaking about the significance of what this means more so than what the significance is for the state of Indiana. but they were very happy getting that across the finish line yesterday. And certainly Governor Braun as well, as he signed that an hour afterwards. Do you feel like this is just going to be a thing now for the next year, as opposed to the next couple of months? The feeling I have now is this is going to take another year?

Marshall's face when you said 2027, Marshall realized what is ahead of him as a commentator? And I think I just saw his life flash before his eyes. The fatigue is real, I mean, and I say that because I think I speak for a lot of, y'all let me know in the text line. I think I speak for a lot of people when we just want to know when and where are you building the stadium. Like get to the finish line. Somebody, anybody.

I'm talking to you, Chicago Bears. I came into this week saying about 7525, Arlington to Indie or to Hammond, I should say. And I think it's probably about the same. I still feel confident that it's going to be Arlington Heights. and I don't think it's going to last that long, Marshall. I think there's a scenario in which this gets done in the coming months. I spoke with a source in Springfield yesterday who expressed a lot of optimism that even despite the fact they didn't get that house hearing yesterday, that this is just all part of it, that this is the business.

And somebody stressed the fact that Camp Bunkard being in charge is significant because he has been very strict about representing the best interests of Chicago in this. But he's also willing to work with the Bears and he's been working with them all along. So sources in Springfield feel really confident that they're going to be able to get what the Bears need out of this and negotiate a deal that's fair for everybody for the state of Illinois and taxpayers there for the City of Chicago being ready to lose the Bears. And honestly, a deal that the Bears have been desiring all along. So I think there's a scenario in which this is troubles in the ground here midsummer, late summer this year. Chris, let's talk about some actual football. Oh. Because you're at the Combine and all.

So there's a discussion surrounding Darnel Wright, and we've heard a couple of reports regarding possibly an extension on the table. It would make sense. What have you heard regarding Wright's future and what could be immediately next for him on the Bears? So let's take the timetable here. March 11th is when the lead New Year hits at 3 p.m. central time, and that is the time at which the Bears must get their salary cap in order and get their books set. And they've got decisions to make. we know shopping just about anybody they can. They want to move, DJ Moore, Tyson, Vasion, Sharon Dexter,

whatever they may do in Tremont, which I don't think they're going to get a suitor on that. They are trying to move contracts off the book and get value back, which is a great problem to be in because that means you've got a roster coming off in 11 and 6 season that you feel really good about. But you've got to start thinking about the future, too. And Darno Wright is going to be a priority with this. This is somebody, I believe, is going to get a lucrative long-term contract extension that I think might reset the market.

It's notable, Darnell Wright is represented by Octagon. Tristan Worf's also represented by Octagon. He's the highest paid tackle in the NFL right now. That is a bold and a standard that Octagon can come to the Bears and say, we want to reset the market. Here's what Tristan Wirth is making. Let's top this. So the precedent is in place.

We know the Bears are certainly interested in resigning Darnell Wright. They see him as a staple for their team for many years to come, a franchise tackle. They are so pleased with the way that he's developed over the, last three years. And now he goes into this season looking at a potential long-term extension. I think this is something that could happen sooner rather than later. All right, Chris, we've been talking about it all day. The level of trust we have in general manager Ryan Poles, who obviously had a better 20-25 than he did 2024 or 2023. Where are you and your level of trust in this general manager?

It all changed with Ben Johnson. I think Ben Johnson and his ability, not only him, but his coaching staff, to develop players change the way I look at Ryan Poles. And you understood kind of Poles' vision with some of these players that were just not properly developed his first three years on the job. And you saw the combination of drafting and development come to fruition. And how many individual success stories were we seeing the praises of last season? The guy like in Deshaun Wright, for example, who was picked up in mid-April, let go by the Vikings and has an all-pro season.

And Ozzie Tripillo, obviously, before the injury, that was a guy who was unplayable in August, bowed out of that tackle competition. And he was pushed back into that over two other guys that they really believed in because that's how strongly they felt. And that's how ready he was to play. All down the line of different players that Ryan Poles is identified as talents for this team and building blocks, you see them develop now. And you see the way that that potential is being realized.

And that's incredibly exciting. When Ben Johnson talks about, he says, I've got a five-star coaching staff. Like the resume is right there. It's not just the collective breakthrough of this past season. but it's so many individual players who had terrific seasons. DeAndre Swift and what he was able to do with Eric B. Enemy, after looking like somebody wanted to part ways with a year ago this time in February, he had a terrific season.

That's somebody who carried the backfield for this team. Calmedong guy, seventh round pick. He stepped in as a key part of this office. You can go all down the line to different players who had terrific seasons because of the coaching staff in the way. They were developed and you see what Ryan Paul's vision is. So because of that, I feel totally differently about Ryan Pull. than I did a year ago before you started seeing the fruits of the labor from this coaching staff.

And you see the way that this plan can work now with a general manager and his brass identifying the talent and this coaching staff building these players up. Chris Emma, we thank you for your work during the Combine all week. When is your next report? Are you on with the afternoon show? I think this is my swan song here for Indianapolis, one more night in town. And yeah, it's been a heck of a week. I love Combine Week.

You saved the best for last. Yeah, have fun, Chris. Emma, you deserve some sort of, you know, sparkly beverage to celebrate your work. Absolutely. Thank you. Take care. That's Chris Emma with his final report from the NFL Combine scene. I love it.

The swan song from Chris Emma. And yet now I feel like we're further away from, you know, a stadium. That was tough. That was a tough process for me to process that. You're watching your face just go to like, oh, no, no. Yeah, we're only just beginning. This is a good example of why you don't want to spend eternity in some sort of hell or damnation

if you believe in hell or damnation. Well, that's eternity, so yeah. So this feels like what exactly? Just too long. Not eternity, but too long. It's been 84 years. It's been 84 years. And yet we've only just begun.

I don't know how to tease this story. This work week's coming to an end though. So there's that. I'm not going to say the term. I'm not going to say it. A San Diego pitcher had a hemorrhoid-related infection, which is better than what you had on their reign. That's the actual headline from the... From TMZ.

Yeah. Also, we discovered that our friend Mike Florio made a Lego buddy at the NFL Combine, so we can also share that because he's a Chicago guy. Well, I just didn't want to say... But... Maybe I'll say it later. Rahimi Harrison Grody, midday's 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. I'm not going to be butt-haired.

All right, I guess I have to read this. The headline says MLB's Matt Waldron was offered free dude wipes after his butt infection surgery. What's wrong with reading that? You're welcome, Tanny. Because it's something that you can definitely take and use for audio later. also I'm pretty sure it's just a hemorrhoid but stepping in is the hero dude wipes this

this story is pretty funny though San Diego knuckleballer Matt Waldron is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery which is pretty serious for hemorrhoid related infection and he's been stuck in the hospital the past few days because of it Craig Stamond said he had to have surgery to drain it and make it better

to help with his recovery a rep from dude wipes tells TMZ Sports. They would be happy to send Waldron some of their fragrance-free, flushable hemorrhoid wipes medicated with witch hazel for soothing relief. Oh, that's nice to them. Hemorrhoids are no laughing matter. We want to help, the company told us.

The issue was initially described as, I can't do this. Yes, you can. I believe in you. Initially described as an infection in here's rear end. Before it was clarified that the procedure was tied to hemorrhoids. There's no good answer here, is there? Well, hemorrhoes, I think, are relatable because we've all either had hemorrhoys or know someone who hasn't explained what it's like.

And you're like, oh, oh, yeah, knock on, can you knock once more for me? Thank you. But yeah, I feel bad for Matt Waldron in this. Maybe if you didn't have five bathrooms in your, you know, five stalls. He doesn't play for the Steelers. Stealers, you know. They could use a bidet. That might be the answer to the whole problem here.

You know, that's not a bad point. American comedy's changing the league. Yeah, a bidet would be soothing, right? First of all, I didn't know dude wipes made medicated wipes. I didn't either. Look at that. That's an interesting nugget. Almost as though dude wipes wanted to raise awareness and use somebody's malady to do so.

We have discussed in this very slot at round 145 this week, many great marketing strokes of genius. Have we? I've forgotten them all. because I just been focused on whatever we're doing. I trust our process. Yeah, it was the Atlanta Hawks, Magic City Monday. That was earlier this week. That was yesterday.

It was yesterday. My friends, by the way, from Atlanta, like, people will be fighting over those hoodies. As well they should. Look up if you have not seen this story. The Magic City Monday hoodie, it's going to be a hot commodity in the ATL. It is. And also the wings sound fantastic. Of course.

Just saying. they're serving the Magic City wings at the Hawks Arena, which I think is a good idea. That's why everybody goes, right, for the wings? That's why everyone goes to Magic City for the wings. That's what I'm told, yes. I'm told that that's why they go there. For going to a public establishment during COVID, but he was like, I just wanted some wings. Didn't he escape the bubble to go?

He had to go. Yes, I'm saying. He went home. I think it was for a funeral. And then he was like, all right, I'm in land. Let me get these wings. Listen, if we're going to be snitching on the NFLPA survey, you guys also need to come with it with the stories from the bubble.

How did that become the thing that nobody's snitching on? Or like, the stories are all just staying there. Didn't the bubble last for months? The bubble did last for three months, I want to say? A long time. They picked up the season. And as much as the NBA talks, nobody's talking about the bubble. Come on.

It's been long enough. People have definitely talked about the bubble. We have speculated as a society about things that happen in the bubble. No, I'm saying people, we know someone who's been to the bubble. He didn't speak publicly enough. He spoke publicly to me. Happy birthday, Carl. Happy birthday, Carl.

He was in the bubble. He's told me stories. Yeah, but Carl's not, that's just you. That's like you two being friends. Like, I need, the public needs to know. Next time you hang out with Carl, ask him for more bubble stories. He's got plenty. I like, I forgot.

I was like, Carl, the bubble was a, that long, was it? He was like, it was several months? And I'm like, no, was it? And he's like, oh, yeah. Because he was there. He knows. He remembers. There just need to be more stories about the bubble. Because I know they happened. You know the number one story from the bubble? Oh, yes.

Jimmy Butler's coffee? That is a story, but the number one story is that it's only a bubble championship. It doesn't count. That's the number one story from the bubble. That's what people will tell you about the Lakers championship. What I heard was regarding Jimmy Butler. It's just all speculation. There's no proof. out of coffee. Well, there shouldn't be proof of something.

Some things just need to stay. No, I'm not here to blow up people's spots. Yeah. But there should be other bubble stories. Lou Williams should not be the one catching all the flack. There just should be. I'm sorry. Maybe it's because the bubble encompassed all of Disney World.

Like there was enough space to roam free. I just know everybody had like the little monitors on. I think a wristband that basically said if you were out of Europe where you were supposed to be. And several players got in trouble. for ordering delivery and leaving the parameter to get the delivery food. And that's just, you know, that's table stakes. That's going to happen. This is a wholesome story that has nothing to do with the bubble or snitching or any other

stories or infections. Local man, Carnell Tate, he went to Marist, Ohio State receiver, joined a PFT live. And for everybody on the Twitch mob who's always asking about Mike Florio's Lego projects, well, guess who might help? What do we do when we get away from football? What do you do in your spare time? I play video games. I got a Lego set going. What Lego set are you doing? So right now, currently in Titanic still. So I've been in it since like the beginning of the season. Okay. Are we working out? Yes, we are. I want to keep talking Legos. Isn't it a great way to just kind of get away from everything?

Oh, yeah, definitely. You forget, like the whole world just disappears and you're just focusing on getting these damn blocks connected. Yes, sir, definitely. What's the best one you've done other than the Titanic? The Iiff Tower. It's about five feet tall, long. Long days, long hours putting into it. First thing we're going to buy with this NFL money. Definitely got spoiled with Granny. I hired a nice little house in Chicago so that I can have, go back home

and call Chicago my home. Yeah, cool, man. I like that. I thought he was going to say another Lego set. What's the next Lego set? What's the Titanic? I don't know. Probably one of the Star Wars collecting. There you go. Wow.

Get the Ghostbusters, Firehouse. You guys. I got to check that one out. You guys are nerds. Yeah, we are. I've never heard Mike Florio perk so much as I want to keep talking Legos. That was amazing. We got to make that

part of his intro, right? Like, that's got to be a thing. It has to be because do you know how many times everybody in the Twitch mob has asked Mike Floreo about the Lego Ghostbusters Firehouse that's in his background? Is that a frequent ask? Yes. Yes, the Twitchmob cares.

Okay, then we'll ask him about it. We should. He built a five foot Eiffel Tower out of Legos. It's a commitment right there. Also, I love that his answer was still to get his grandmother a house. And he shouted out Chicago. Way to go, Carnell Tate. You nailed that interview.

I'll say this. Oh, it's not the firehouse. It's a typewriter, according to Connor O'Donnell and Murph Tour. Guys, I thought he had the firehouse at some point. That's what I thought, too. Well, he has a big, extensive collection. Could be both. Both things can be true.

That makes me want to draft Carnal Tate because someone who can focus on Legos as opposed to being distracted by the screens that we live in in society. I like the idea of breaking away and just doing something that's just not not the screens. Off your screens. Off social media.

I like it. I'm with it. Congratulations to you, Carnell Tate, for finding your peace in the Legos. Also, we are getting some stories about these hemorrhoidectomies. My God. Oh, oh. You guys are warriors. Also, apparently the bidet is the worst.

idea. Really? Oh, our friend Sean Price, the referee from Refmasters. Apparently Ref Masters was created in the bubble. It was a good idea. I knew that.

I knew that. That's a good idea. Refmasters is really cool. It's the idea of teaching referees using like tools and lessons and connecting through technology. Feedback. Yes. Which we need more referees.

So I think that's a great idea. Man, wholesome bubble story. Wholesome Ghostbusters Firehouse Lego story. Yeah, see, everybody's right. The Firehouse at Florio's house is behind him in the Twitch shots. The typewriter was a project. He was working on a while ago.

Okay. We need the next time we talk to him on Wednesday. We'll have to get the update on that typewriter. I'm glad we're here with all of this. And apparently what if Carnell take out the typewriter? What if his signing bonus is part of it as part of it? Like a miniscule part was like a fun Lego set by whatever team signs him. Wouldn't that be cute?

They should have something Lego at his introductory press conference. when he's drafted. Like, here's millions of dollars and a Lego set. Lego podium would be amazing. Is that? Can we do that?

I don't know. I just threw it out there. I don't think we can do that because, you know. Can we as engineers do that? Oh, yes. Is that possible? Yes. It can be done.

Anything's possible. Anything is possible. I mean, theoretically, a podium is just a larger block. So it would make sense. Now, if you made the microphone working, but also made of Legos, then you'd be cooking with fish grease.

Teams listen to us. Only about that. Everything else up for discussion. Let's ask our friends Lawrence Holmes and Anthony hearing about it. Let's not ask them about that curtain jerking, though, because geez, guys, geez. I want to keep talking Legos. With the new year upon us, there's no better time to take control of your finances. Follow and listen to Jill on Money wherever you get your podcasts.