Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - If Kevin Warren's goal was to light a fire in Illinois officials, mission accomplished (Hour 4)

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

In the final hour, Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris were joined by WBBM political editor Geoff Buchholz to discuss the latest developments in the Bears’ stadium saga. After that, Rahimi and Harris examined the Bears’ defensive line outlook in the wake of trade buzz surrounding defensive lineman Gervon Dexter Jr.

The score. I told somebody recently, I said I've spoken with the bears more this week than my wife as I've been down here in Springfield, which I think is an indicator that we're going in the right direction. They have been involved. We still have things that we have to sort out and things that we don't necessarily agree on, but this is part of the process. It's part of the negotiation. And once again, I choose to believe that we'll find a way to get there.

That is state representative, Cam Buckner, who apparently is now part of what may be holding the bill up. according to Justin Lawrence, this is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, the score. Cam Buckner appeared on the morning show with Clay Harbor and David Hawth this morning. Justin Lawrence, who is the politics and government reporter at Crane Chicago Business, reports that, yes, the mega project bill that was started at 10 o'clock this morning in Springfield has made it to the floor. However, however, he reports this. The bill moved out of committee in a partisan vote, but afterwards the sponsor of the amendment. Cam Buckner said he himself would not vote for it without a separate agreement on concessions to Chicago, including a financial commitment from the Bears to the city.

And what is also cited is the $100 million that the city of Cleveland was paid by the Browns when they left and became the Ravens. That's been a long time ago. But that that is now, as we understand, a part of this that may be, I don't know if holdup is the right word. Oh, no, it's a holdup. Hold up better than stick up because basically they're saying, oh, you want to move to Arlington Heights?

That's cool. We're going to need you guys to pay extra money to help us with this debt that still lingers. It also makes the appearance by the city of Chicago in this hearing make a little more sense because that happened earlier. Here's the quote from Brendan Moore. Buckner said they have not gotten that commitment yet

from the Bears on concessions for sure. Chicago. He didn't get specific, but again brought up the $100 million. The Brown's ownership is playing Cleveland for leaving their publicly owned Lakefront Stadium as a reference point. So I knew this was something that mattered to Cam Buckner. I thought this was more commonly understood in the agreement overall. Now, let's go back to this morning because Cam Buckner was on with David Haw and Clay Harbor, and here what he had to say referencing this possible payment. We don't have it yet. Okay. So we're looking for it right now. now because he didn't mention that.

He did mention that that was something that he wanted some sort of restitution for. Is this greasing the wheels of change? Is that how you see this? I see it in a couple of different ways. I see it as

number one. The city agreed to renovate Soldier Field and that it would help the bears remain there through their 2033 lease. So I understand that that was the concept. But it's not the bear's fault the city hasn't paid down enough of the principal. It got refinanced and they're basically just paying down the interest rate.

Is it a lesson for public money for stadiums in the future? Yes. Should it be the sticking point for something like this? I'm not sure. Ultimately, the taxpayers need a better deal this time around wherever the stadium ends up in Arlington Heights or in Indiana. And if nothing else, this should serve as a cautionary tale. And yeah, I guess, you know, 312,

ask the question here on our text line. 312-644-67 is our number as we wait for Jeff Bukholds, who's also discussing this right now on our sister station WBBM, asking, what happens if they moved to Indiana? Chicago doesn't get blank. That would be my understanding. That would be my understanding as we still continue to pay down the interest rate on that note from 20 years ago.

Also, 847. So Cam Buckner is extorting the Bears for his own gain. Classic Chicago politics. I disagree. I think this is not extorting the Bears for his own gain. I think it's definitely trying to get something for the city of Chicago. Yeah, I don't know how it would be his own personal. Right.

So here's the comment that Cam Buckner made to David Hawley and Clay Harbor, where he references that debt. But you know, I'm a Chicago one. I live in the city. I represent the city. it's important for me to make sure that Chicago is not loath holding the bag in this conversation. And so that is not actually part of this bill. Once again, this is blanket pilot legislation that will work for companies throughout the state.

But as you can imagine, I have been on the grindstone making sure that we are doing the things that are important for Chicago. The Social Bureau renovation of 2001 is one where, once again, we're still left holding the bag and that's not okay. And so we got to find a way to deal with the sins of the past, but also to create some framework for the future. I also, if I can jump real quick and say, you know, I think when we look at this whole thing, I know people are frustrated at how long it's taking, how long it has taken. You know, I just want to remind folks that buying the land in Arlington Heights for probably $100 million more than it was worth without having a plan is not really the right way that that should have happened, right? We kind of get here because of that. in football terms, that's like spending a first round pick on a defensive tackle without watching his film or knowing the scheme fit.

You don't draft Cam Buckner without doing your due diligence, and then you get mad that he's not explosive enough to be a three technique, and he bites on misdirections and traps. That's not bad luck. That's a bad process. And so we should call that what it is and then figure out of move forward. I don't disagree with the back half of what Cam Buckner is talking about there. Well, he was talking about his skills defensively.

No, I get that. but as far as the stadium itself, there's some accountability here that goes back to the politicians who made that deal and the Bears doing their part, but the city of Chicago has not done theirs. It's not on the Bears necessarily that they decided to refinance that debt. The mismanagement of funds, if you will. Yeah.

So there's that part. part of it. But at the same time, I understand why he thinks that that's important to get some sort of restitution. And now walking into our newsroom, fresh off of his hit with our sister station, WBBM, it is political editor, Jeff Buckholtz. Jeff, what's the latest? Welcome. Thank you. I'm making my tour of the cluster today. Getting some cardio, are we? Maybe I'll wind up on US 99 next hour. We'll see. Why not? You request a song. A lot. A lot is been happening already today. I'll fill you in on the latest and I'll apologize to the audience if I'm repeating anything you guys have just said in the last few minutes.

You stay a better now. The Illinois House Revenue Committee by a 13 to 7 vote about an hour ago approved the megaprojects bill. This is the bill that would let any mega project developer, including a sports stadium developer. For instance, negotiate long-term property tax. with local school districts and communities and make those property tax obligations good through like one-time payments. That's why we call it the pilot bill, the payment in lieu of taxes, right? The bill also, in the text that I read last night that was introduced by Chicago State House Democrat Kam Buckner, friend of the score, would also provide a sales tax break for building

materials for those mega projects. I haven't priced sheetrock recently, but I imagine that's a pretty significant break. We know that it's 10 and a quarter in the city, so that's good to understand. I mean, yeah, exactly. So it was approved, apparently on a party vote, it's now headed to the full House. It could get a vote this afternoon. And of course, if it doesn't get a vote this afternoon, the House is off for two weeks. So we get a break is what you're telling us. If they don't vote on this, we get a break. Well, if they don't vote on it, we get a break. But if they do vote on it, and I suspect they will, then it'll go to the Senate. And the Senate is still in session next week.

The House has taken a couple of weeks off. So that's happening in Illinois. And we are waiting for the Indiana Senate to gavel in. They were supposed to gavel in about 40 minutes ago. They pushed back their start time. And we are expecting them to give final approval to the stadium authority bill in Indiana. That's the bill that sets up the ability for the state of Indiana to build a stadium for the Bears, which the team would then rent with an option to buy.

Okay. The understanding we have is that Cam Buckner's saying that there's got to be some kind of, I don't call it a kickback, but Chicago's got to get something out of this. Chicago has to be made whole. The representative has been super clear about that. He said that again after the hearing to reporters in Springfield. That's not part of this bill. This is the mega-projects bill.

This covers the entire state of Illinois. It is his expectation that an equity package or something like that will be worked out in time. He said to reporters this afternoon, and I have not heard this number before, the Bears initially had within the last couple of weeks, had offered $25 million to the city of Chicago. He described that as being asinine, I believe, was the term he used, and offered as a counter the amount of money that the Haslam family is. giving the city of Cleveland so that it can leave its stadium in the city to go out to the suburbs, which I think is more like $100 million. It was $100 million. Yeah.

So I suspect that's where they are in those negotiations. And that doesn't even count the half a billion dollars that still owed on the 2003 renovations of Soldier Field. Yeah, that's the one that he also mentioned this morning on Clay Harbor and David Haw's show. That was Mully and Hall this morning. And I think what you're also describing is a major change in Illinois business relations with that pilot bill. Yes, exactly. That's a major legislative change that would incentivize businesses as a whole. That doesn't just include the bears.

Yes, that's exactly correct. And Representative Buckner made the point that a lot of local communities are trying to attract businesses to come to their area, not just with sporting facilities, but data centers. you know, whole kinds of other things you can imagine. And this would give them a way to work out whatever property tax arrangement these developers would need in order to bring development and jobs to the state of Illinois. It's important to point out that before the vote on the bill, a representative from Americans for Prosperity, which is a conservative leaning organization founded by the Koch brothers, testified against this bill suggesting that this particular legislation would force property tax burden onto private homeowners living around such a mega project, which is sort of an interesting take.

I don't, I did wonder where the rest of the money and the financial burden would go. I mean, that is, that is certainly an argument. One of the other people we heard, one of the other people we heard from before the vote was Stephen Marr, the acting chief financial officer for the city of Chicago, who, went down there and said, we, you know, the bears leaving Chicago was going to put a big hole in our economy. We want to be part of any conversations. We think there's time, you know, we think there should be a more fair approach, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Curtis Tarver, who's the head of the committee, began his questioning of Mr. Marbae saying, how long have you been the

CFO? And the answer is 26 days. He's just stepped in for Jill Jaworski, the former she financial officer who now works for the Navy Peer Foundation, I believe. So and a lot of it, a lot of the response from the chairman of the committee was I'm not, I don't want to make this into Chicago versus Arlington Heights. That's not what this bill is about. And also, my understanding was that the bears in the city of Chicago were talking three years ago. Why are you now here today, three years later, saying we need more time? Yeah, time is something that the bears certainly don't want to take any more of. So I could understand that. The question becomes then, if you're Chicago, what can you reasonably

expect to get that you want to make sure that this, even though it's out of committee, actually passes on the floor? I think the city, I think the city wants what Representative Buckner has said that he wants for the city, which is he wants the city to be made whole in some way, whether that's an upfront payment from the McCaskey family to the city, whether that's, you know, a couple of cents off concessions at whatever the new stadium is. I'm sure that's being worked out and those conversations are still going on. In terms of acting CFO-Mar's appearance at the committee today, it felt a lot like too little too late.

Clearly, the sort of the energy in this is either, they're either going to Arlington Heights to the property they own or to the state of Indiana. it sounds as though from what we've heard about the NFL's view about a lakefront stadium that the city is not an option here, but the city

still wants to be part of whatever that conversation is and usually, as you know, Marshall, that involves money. Yeah, I mean, it's always followed the money. I think the other point is that, you know, there's always, especially in sports, you know, the listenership is always going to pick aside or they think

there's a villain here or whatever is going on. And to the comments, I think, you know, some of our text line right now, it's corrupt Chicago trying to shake down the Bears for city-owned property. You know, how do you clarify something like that for our listeners? I think the, it's important to remember, of course, the Bears aren't going anywhere in the short term. They're at Soldier Field until 2033 in a facility that is owned by the Chicago Park District. and the bears are paying rent there.

And I imagine that what the bears may look to do if indeed they can get somewhere this year on wherever their stadium is going to be is they may negotiate, and they have that right under the lease, negotiate an early out. And that would involve paying some money. And I imagine that that's how they would do. That's how anybody would do that if I wanted to break my lease on my apartment,

I would have to give my landlord something. that's probably what that's probably how that's going to wind up looking would be my guess essentially it's it's a lease penalty like if you or are breaking an apartment lease or something along those lines yeah exactly slightly larger penalty is what i'm guessing than yeah any of us breaking our leases not as concerned about the hole in the wall right yes we're talking we're talking to wbm political editor jeff buckholz who's been keeping a watch on both bills anything different about the senate bill 27 in indiana that might change based because it did have to go back for review before it did and that was and that was streamlined basically the sponsor of the original legislation looked at the amendments in the house and said

now we're good and sent it right to the floor so that the vote when that vote happens in indiana then that's going to be it and it'll be headed to governor bronze test so that's something we're expecting to happen today we believe it will happen today it is the first thing on the docket do we expect to vote on the floor for what the mega projects bill in Illinois today? That's a good question. It has been read in for a second reading on the floor. Typically, the vote would come after a third reading. It kind of depends on how things go in Springfield today. And again, as we said, the house is adjourning at the end of session today and will not be back for two or three weeks. So I think there's some urgency to get this thing done. And a word

or two here about the Bears strategy here and Kevin Warren's strategy. Certainly, I'm not going to suggest that Kevin Warren has not been operating in good faith with both of these states. But if his goal was to light a fire under the state of Illinois, mission accomplished, I think. Okay, yeah, because that's something we've also been trying to figure out. Like Buckner this morning maintained that the timing was coincidental. Yeah. Yeah. And he again said today that the bill that has now passed the committee is a sort of a synthesis of a number of bills and proposals that have been kicking around Springfield for a while. And were informed by conversations with the bears and other people. I'm wondering, because we have a good question on the text line from

708, did Indiana change their bill to have union workers involved? I know that was taken out at one point. I don't believe that was put back in. I'd have to go back and look at the language on it, but I don't recall seeing any reference to any of that put in. And yeah, that's a big controversy, especially for a blue-collar team like the Bears. I mean, with such a strong, you know, sort of working person ethos, you know? Throughout this process, I feel like we're getting,

and this might sound a little dark and crappy, but I mean, this is how I feel. I feel like George McCasky's soul is being buried in a lot of different ways by what is taking place and how. how it's transpiring. Yeah. And you'll know that, and the reason,

it's interesting because Kevin Warren is positioning himself as being, he's the guy who's doing this. And in a way, that keeps Mr. McCaskey out of the conversation. But, you know, he's going to sit down at the city club

over here at Maggianos, and if they wind up in Indiana, he's going to get a lot of weird looks from people. And, you know, the Bears fan fest, whatever it is, is going to, that's going to be kind of a dark moment if they move. I, I know you've been saying this and I agree with you. I think they're going to wind up in Arlington Heights. It's just, you know, we're just trying to figure out how many zeros are on

the check right now. Okay. I think that's important to note, though. Anything else that you want people to know? Because there's a lot of our listeners who think that Indiana is now becoming the move here. So I don't, it sure seems that way. And a lot of the reason it seems that way is because all of the Illinois conversations have been happening behind closed doors, right? Like we haven't seen the debate on the floor of the Illinois House and Senate to the extent that we have in Indiana. So it looks like, based on just what's out there and what we've been covering, because all we can cover is what we can see, that it feels like Indiana is sort of where the momentum is. But I believe if the Illinois House can approve this legislation and Chris Welch,

the Speaker would not bring this to the floor if he didn't think he had 60 votes, which would pass it. If they pass this thing, then I think Arlington Heights starts to look a lot better and would conceivably shift the momentum, especially if Senate President Don Harmon, who's also from Chicago, is able to bring this thing up quickly in the Senate without a lot of amendments or debate next week when they come back to session. I also think it's just an easier process to follow in Indiana because that's how it was, that's how it's traditionally done. Like, no land has been bought yet. You don't have a location. They're going to tell you how they're paying for it first. Then they're going to figure out which municipality has the best deal.

And they've been telling you the whole process the entire time. Yes. That's just not what happened. The bears bought land first. So that's why this is difficult. And, and, and, uh, Cam Buckner made that point in springfield. He may have made that on that point, uh, on the morning show today. Yes.

as well where it's like, look, this isn't the way I would have done it. I wouldn't have bought the land and then figured out what to do after it. But again, this is, you know, this was the, this was the Ted Phillips strategy of, you know, buying a piece of property that they owned and they controlled. And then, you know, Mr. Phillips left. Mr. Warren came in, having secured a stadium for the Minnesota Vikings before. leading the Big Ten conference and now it's his deal. Well, Jeff, this has been wonderfully informative as it always is.

Thank you for helping us out with all the information. And we do have news just now that the House has adjourned without taking the Bears bill today. And I guess that shouldn't be surprising, but it's news. Okay. All right. Are they in recess or are they adjourned? And we can't, I can't watch it here in the studio. Yeah.

This is from a State House reporter Ben Silenski for Capitol News. He says the Illinois House adjourns without taking up the Bears Bill today, which really isn't a surprise. It passed out of committee, but it was very clear it has a ways to go before it has enough support from lawmakers. The six of those votes you talked about. There's a lot of outstanding questions now. It's going to be a long two weeks. And a lot of them and a lot of those questions are about the things that we've been talking about here in this room. What happens?

How do we make Chicago whole? What are the protections available? And one of the questions that came up in the hearing was, you know, you have these sort of small community. who may be facing down very highly paid attorneys for these big mega developers, and how do they make sure that their interests are protected, that they're not getting steamrolled by a big money legal team. That's all stuff that indeed has to be worked out. Well, yeah, I mean, because that's a big deal for the state, you know,

to have these incentives for businesses. So I see why that would be part of it. Nothing is simple. Nothing is simple. Nothing is quick until it has to be. And I keep thinking back to, and I think Representative Buckner, he said it in Springfield after the hearing. He said it to us a few weeks ago down in South Shore. It's Springfield.

Anything can happen. Well, especially when they make it. So Jeff Buckholtz, thank you so much for joining us and shedding this important light on what happened today. That's your thing. I'm going to go back over to the newsroom. If you want to hear more, you can tune in to our sister station, WBBM. That is where you find Jeff's work. Thank you for joining us.

We're going to take a break from this. because I'm tired of it myself. So in doing so, because we're the sports station, we're going to get back to football. There's been a lot of discussions surrounding the Bears' defensive line, and it may get even trickier now that we've got reports about Jervon Dexter, possibly being dealt based on what Jordan Schultz had to say. So let's examine the latest and also hear from Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles on the D-line next. Rahimi Harris and Grody.

I don't want to break time. I want to yell about you. Can we handle more Anthony Heron? Midday's 10 to 2 on 104 3, the score. We said we're going to see a lot of forked down tries. Now each team will have run one. We see Dart use his legs here. He's been the best running quarterback in the NFL since his debut.

Short roll, tries to run. He got nowhere to go. He got swattered up. Jervon Dexter, there to finish him off. Both teams turn it over on downs on their first drive. Why do I feel like when Joe Davis and Greg Olson are doing commentary, that it sounds like they just believe in everyone? This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104 through the score. They're like, yeah, Dart could do this.

Like, here's some numbers. Jervon Dexter's like, no. Such a mouth, Joe Davis and Greg Olson, until the next play you commentate, where you believe in somebody else. This idea that Javon Dexter wouldn't be on the Bears next year, I would have never thought of that. This was not the plot twist I expected from the combine. defensively on the line. So when Jordan Schultz is out here tweeting, and thanks for Jordan to stop by the show,

when he's tweeting from the combine that teams are looking at possibly adding Jervon Dexter, I had to really sit with it and understand the explanation. I was like, actually, that makes sense. Jordan Schultz's report, this was about four hours ago. He said teams have inquired with the bears about trading for Javon Dexter as the free agent defensive tackle market and draft class are not deep. The 24-year-old started all 17 games last season. He has 13 and a half career sacks and 42 quarterback hits.

And his numbers, I thought, were for what we expect of him, good. 20-25 season, he had six sacks. He had 44 total tackles, 21 solo, 23 assists. He also had some passes batted down that I thought were very good. He played in all 17 games. He only missed two the year before, and those are the only two he's missed. The guy has been consistently available on the line. And because of what Jordan Schult said, Marshall,

the fact that the free agent defensive tackle market in the draft class are not deep. I assume that means the bears will replace it with somebody in-house, right? Because that's the only way it would make sense to give up the last year of what's been a deal relative to the rest of the NFL on that position. If it's not deep, it's not deep. And that means it's not deep enough for the bears to go out and get somebody to help them in Jervon Dexter's absence. and you can make the argument they need to upgrade at that position, but it might be along the lines of or akin to what's going on with left tackle right now. It's not there.

Also, I would like to take you back to that Giants game for a moment because that was when it all fell apart for New York. That's when they fired their head coach and had to make a severe pivot. Next thing you know, Matt Neg is their offensive coordinator, and John Harbaugh is the head coach. Jackson Dart getting concussed. It changed a lot of things about that season for the New York. or giants. Man, how the things changed. And it was at the hands of the Bears, partially in

Trayvon Dexter. So there was discussion surrounding the defensive line, which I think the bears and the rest of us know, needs to be reevaluated at the very least. And Ryan Poles explained the possibility on flipping the defensive line like they did with the offensive line last year. Yeah, I think it's always possible. Things got to come together. That mindset was there from the day I walked in, but those opportunities, the clarity that we needed wasn't all there. So we were able to capitalize on some cool situations there through trade and for agency. I'm not sure how that's all going to line up now. I know from a cap perspective, we probably don't have enough to make all of that work on the

defensive line. I do think on our D-line, I think there are some situations, mostly injury, that didn't allow that to really come together the way it was supposed to. So I look forward to that happening, but we're also going to have to continue to bring talent in to create competition. so that our defense can take the next step. Okay, I think Ryan Poles is like, what about all that money you spent last year

also on the defensive line though, Ryan Bulls? See, you say that and that's kind of the worry, the concern. Let me back up. That's not kind of the worry. That is the worry and concern is that the players who were hurt this past season will not be healthy enough this season

to justify his expectations of them improving and also just them being healthy next season. Do you think that we're acting too, casual about Shemar Turner's availability given the timeline that polls issued yesterday about it? I am not acting casually at all. I'm saying I'll believe it when I see it. He's coming off a torn ACL. That's how I'm acting. In late October. That was like October 27th. And when you understand that back-to-back weeks, he goes down, Di-Odingbo goes down, and what has to happen for an ACL, which is better than a torn Achilles when you're talking about Di-O-Dingbo.

it gives you pause to try to figure out how they're going to be better, given the cap circumstance of this team right now. Now, things could change in the next two weeks, because obviously the league year is going to start, and we're going to see, okay, this is what concession you made to free up the cap space that was necessary. Some are assumed. Tremaine Edmund's no longer on the team.

And then you're just wondering, who's getting restructured, is someone getting traded, or are multiple people getting traded? Yeah, and that's not happened yet, Edmonds. just so in case you heard that and thought something might have changed. That's not the case. Now, Ben Johnson also talked in a side session at the NFL Combine about trying to find defensive linemen reinforcements. And this is pre-the-Jurvon Dexter news.

We're still going through that process right now. Just free agency, there's some guys out there that we feel like could help us out. We certainly feel good about some of the guys that we currently have in the building that they'll continue to ascend and take the coaching that, you know, DA and the defensive staff are providing for them. But for us to take the next step as a defense, we do need to pressure the quarterback and a more consistent clip. And so that is a point of emphasis for us.

I do think this draft does have some guys that could possibly help us out in that regard. But that will be something that we've got to look at. And it will be a point of emphasis when we come back in the springtime. Just how do we increase our get-off to where we can put more pressure on the queue? Well, at least you didn't say they need to win more one-on-one battles, which if I were playing defensive line, I would be insulted by it because it basically says you're getting blown up. That's what was said about certain members of this team during the middle of last season. Now, Montez Sweat came around after that comment and played a much better second half than

you did, let's say first four or five games for the Bears. But really, that's the whole team if you're thinking about it. They started off slow, post-by week, everyone picked it up, and that's why the Bears won the division title. Now, because we're lunatics, and we have one thing on the mind at all times, and that is not money, that is not time, it's not some resources that's 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? I think a relentless nature, I think that's some that always comes to mind. Not always the most talented, but a guy that you know, you have no breather plays against,

something that I look back at 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 you know you're going to get 100% from them every single snap. He just said what he wanted in a defensive lineman candidate.

That was the question. 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. Someone who plays 97% of the snaps or so. That would seem to fit the description of what Ben Johnson was describing. Somebody who may not love football but is obsessed with football. Yeah, it goes beyond love.

Did it for free, you'd say? somebody who wants to win. It maybe hasn't had as much winning as he is accustomed to. We have one thing on the mind. Is it triple X minus one? It is. So I think we should bring this to the floor in the spirit of pulling back the curtain. So Ray, we've been so fixated on this that Ray's spelling has now gotten, it's off kilter.

I'm hitting like double. Every name. Ben and N. Johnson. Yes. It's just my typos are now. Ben NN. Everything in the vein of Max with two X's. What you did, it was a baseball name.

And didn't you also put like two, everything that is in like two consonants? Max Crosby is on the forefront of my mind. And I know I'm not the only one. Where my Maxinez does it? Do we cut ourselves off? Like, do we have to? I don't want to. How does this work?

I can dream, can't I? I think it's affecting us. Nah. What are you talking about? Everything is related back to Max Crosby. See, nah, has two ages at the end. I've been playing tackle football since I could walk. Hell yeah.

Max. You want that. Max. Yes. Max. Max. Max. The reply is just the word Max.

Max. Max. Max. Do you want the Max Crosby? For those of people who don't know, the Max Crosby, why are there two X's in his name origin story? Do you want that? Would you like that? We'd like to get to know Max Crosby more. The extra X in Crosby's name essentially stands for extra large. Crosby's mom already decided

on the name. So she threw in the extra letter for comical effect and to make him stand out even more. He was born at 11 pounds and 9 ounces. Jeez! Big enough as a newborn that the doctor had to break his clavicle to get him out. Crosby revealed the info on Twitter back in 2020 after his rookie season with The Raiders. Did you get that? The man was so big as a newborn, the doctor had to break his clavicle to get him out, to get him delivered. Previously on the Lawrence Holmes show.

I mean, almost 12 pounds at birth. So his mom just said, for comical effect, let's throw an episode. extra X because you know what X going to give it to you Amazing amazing see and Lawrence because he heard his music His old intro music He came running to the studio My God that's Lawrence Holmes music

It is, it is but we have one more segment And boy do we have one more segment for you Speaking to X We didn't get to address halftime in I think a proper manner We did ghost maxing Or what is it ghost lighting It's your term

Ghost lighting. It isn't USA Today's term. It's just something I used to experience. I was thinking of the term looks maxing, and that's a whole other ball wax I don't want to get into right now. Wax X, X. Damn it, Ray. Wax.

Max. I said maxing instead of ghost lighting. Ray, this is why we have to cut ourselves off. It's like, it's going to end in being John Malkovich. We're the only word we say is Max instead, or instead of like other words.

Like when he said Malkovich, Malcovich, Malcovich the whole time. Max. I hate us, but I love us. How do we describe what's next? It's a stroke of marketing genius. The Atlanta Hawks have dubbed the night the Orlando Magic are coming to town as Magic City Monday. We'll talk about it next.

Stroke, you just had to say stroke of marketing genius. I had to see. Rahimi Harrison Grody. That sounds so crazy. 104.3, the score. Wow, I like that. Middays 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. Okay.

We must admit, this was sent to us by one diligent listener. But then also is something that we jokingly allude to quite a bit in Atlanta, thanks to one Lou Williams. I didn't think I'd see this day, Marshall Harris. I did not think I'd see the day. Why did you not think you would see? I thought this day was, it was years in the making. but like as we got to where we are in society now, this just makes sense if we're being honest.

This just makes all the sense in the world. I'm mad I didn't think of it first. You know what I call this? Leaming in. The Atlanta Hawks are partnering with the iconic strip club Magic City for Magic City Monday. And can I even say that term on the air? What term would that be?

I'm just going to say club from now on. Adult dancing establishment. Sure. there commercials for that stuff on the score back in the day? Oh, yeah. Heavenly bodies. Shout out to all my ladies at heavenly bodies. But did they call it that club?

Or did they call it like something else? It's something else. It's a gentleman's club. It's a gentleman's club. That's correct. Okay. Gentlemen's club. So the Hawks in Magic City are partnering for Magic City Monday.

What they call a celebration of cultural institution during the game against the magic on March 16th. And it's well known across not just the city, USA Today. It's well known known across the country for their performances as well as their kitchen. The club is regularly featured in lists identifying the best chicken wings in the city. I can't believe this is happening. So you know who's performing at halftime, right? On Magic City Monday, that would be legendary rapper in Atlanta's own Ti.

TIP, for those who know. To perform some of his well-known tracks at halftime, listen, He gives a quote in this release, this news release from the Hawks. Here's the quote. We doing this one for the city. Dot, dot, dot. Magic City. And away we go.

And away we go. And then the horns from Bring Em Out just start randomly playing in your head when you read it, which is what I'm thinking. So Magic City will bring their famous lemon pepper wings into State Farm Arena, serving the Lou Will Lemon Pepper Barbecue wings. traditional lemon pepper. And we have the sections, 114, 120, and 211.

But wait, there's more. They decided to have exclusive merchandise. I want one of these hoodies. What is on the hoodie? So the hoodie says Magic City on the front and kind of a peach-colored theme with a hawk's logo on one sleeve and a basketball in a peach form on the other sleeve.

And it just says Magic City with the tag at the bottom. I mean, it's, it looks like one of those things that people are going to be, it's going to sell out. It's going to sell out. The peach is on the sleeve. If they'd have really wanted to lean into this, they'd have put a peach, a peach emoji on the bottom center of the hoodie. Oh, I see what you're saying. I see what you're saying. That new retail item only available at the hawk shop in State Farm Arena.

And then it'll be online starting Monday, March 16th is what. It's going to sell out in hours. If not an hour. How much money do you think on the secondhand market that hoodie's going to go for? At least 200 bucks. At least, at minimum. Right? Oh, yeah, without a doubt.

Apparently, T.I. first performed a halftime at a Hawks game in 2012. So he's been doing this for a minute? By the way, quick note on T.I. His forthcoming album, Kill the King is set to be released this year, and it's supposed to be his final album. So he released a single, Let Them Know in January. It's last month. And he's supposed to be releasing his final album this year.

Do you believe it will be his final album? No, because T.I. stepped away from music for a while. He tried stand-up comedy. He stepped away from that. And now he's coming out with the new album, Farrell, heavily involved in this, apparently. But no, I don't believe it'll be his, truly be his final album. I don't think it's going to be either. knowing his career, that just doesn't seem right.

Like, he can say that, but I just don't know that man to stop working. In the meantime, this all seems way too perfect. This all seems like it just came together magically. Well, it had to be on a Monday, right, to get that all iteration come on? But it's all, like, to have it all come together, like, how many times did this try to get, like, perhaps pitched in the past and just didn't work? Okay, I could see that. And if they're smart, they're like it an annual event.

Like the magic come to Atlanta. Only on a Monday. Every season. What, 3-1-2 says, don't hate, Leila. I am not hating. Who's hating? Nobody's hating. I just didn't know if I could say the term on the air.

Great question from 708, by the way. Will the dancers be at the game asking for our friend in Atlanta? By the way, to bring it back locally, we mentioned Heavenly Bodies, former, former establishment that advertised on these airways. Score sponsor. Yeah, permanently closed. Permanently closed. So RIP Heavenly Bodies, when you Google search Heavenly Bodies, among the comments

are, the pizza here is free and the rest of the food is dinner, diner quality. The other ones said absolutely beautiful girls and great prices. Laid back atmosphere. And 815 appropriately texts in, too short, called every album, his final album, starting in 1995. See there? So Magic City Monday in a couple weeks in Atlanta. That makes all the sense in the world. I just, you know what?

It's the little things that give me joy. And I think for a certain segment of the population, this is a beautiful day. And I celebrate an honor of them. I'm not part of that population, but I got it. Ray, Ray put this in our digital rundown that we click on, you know, or just like referred to during the show with a lot of peach emojis. I love the peaches down in Georgia.

Love a double entendre is what I love. I have no comments because I make them every day. Peach. Max. Lawrence Holmes and them boys. Really, Anthony Herron, are next.