Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Interviews of the Week on 104.3 The Score: April 6-10

Episode Date: April 12, 2026

In Interviews of the Week on 104.3 The Score, NBA.com writer Steve Aschburner joined the Mully & Haugh Show to discuss the state of the Bulls as they embark on a search for a new lead executive; Chicago Sports Network analyst Jake Butt joined the Spiegel & Holmes Show to discuss Bears tight end Colston Loveland's talents and to share insight on a handful of NFL Draft prospects; and FS1 host Danny Parkins joined the Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show to announce that the Cubs For A Cure Radiothon will be held on May 21-22.

Steve, good morning. How you doing? I'm doing fine, gentlemen. Thanks for having me on. Well, we appreciate you jumping on. What did you think when you heard Michael talking about the fact that he had fired both A.K. and Mark Eversley and the Bulls were moving forward. Was there anything about it that jumped out to you? Well, I mean, what you guys played coming in from the break. that really was the money quote, wasn't it?

That, you know, whoever they hire better be okay with Billy Donovan as the coach. And, you know, on its surface, you'd say, well, you know, Billy Donovan's a good coach. I actually think that, you know, he was down the list for, you know, any of the failings that the Bulls have put their fans through in recent seasons. I think Billy's a good coach. I understand Michael's desire that Billy kept around, but there's a pecking order to this stuff, not just in the NBA, but in professional sports. And if you're going to tie a boss's hands on his coaching selection,

which can be one of the most important things that a general manager or a VP or whatever title they assign ever does in that job, then at the very least you're going to shrink the pool of candidates interested in that job. Now, you may still get a great guy, or a great performer. You might have a wonderful dynamic between the executive and the coach, but the odds start to go against you. Do I think Billy should have been fired in one fell swoop with Acme? No, I don't, just because of what I had said.

I didn't think that he was, you know, as culpable. I thought those guys should have been fired sooner, frankly. But, you know, this is just, it's a tough way to go. And there probably are potential candidates. Look, are you going to tell Bob Myers, who put together, or was instrumental in putting together that Golden State Dynasty that still, you know, has some fumes left here, we'd love to hire you, bring you to Chicago, have you transform our franchise, you know, on and off the court, and then say, oh, by the way, we've already decided who your coach is going to be.

It's just not proper form. It's not the best way to enhance, you know, your potential for success. And Steve, nobody's even sure yet if Billy Donovan wants to return, the meeting will be Monday, Michael Reinsdorf, Billy Donovan, when Billy Donovan, who already feels and understands how he appreciated he is in this organization, when he asks for things that he wants to hear to assure him that Bulls are committed to winning, what's he looking to hear? What do you think he needs to hear to make him feel like it's worth staying? Well, I would think just, you know, having more input, although, you know, we've come to understand that he is able to vocalize and has been his thoughts on things,

has been a part of a lot of the decisions made there. But never quite sure if he has a voting interest or not, you know, whether they listen or whether they just let him speak or express his views. Yeah, it almost seems like the Bulls have one foot in a Brad Stevens situation with Boston, where they let the coach become the executive and then he hires the next coach. You know, Brad Stevens stepped up from the sidelines and hired Joe Missoula, and that's worked out great in Boston. But, you know, it's a little unusual, and maybe Billy has no desires to do that at all. Maybe he sees himself as a coach first and foremost and doesn't want the additional work and headaches that would come.

Or the different type. You know, having hands on with players, you know, might be what he really enjoyed. So until we hear from Billy, until they hear from Billy, until, you know, whatever is decided here, it is kind of a limbo. And it unfortunately makes me and probably some fans hesitant that things are going to change as dramatically as they need to. Yeah, Steve, you're absolutely right about that quote being the key one. That's the one everyone kind of jumped on Bulls fans in particular. The other thing he said that people reacted fairly negatively to was that they want to win, that they're against tanking.

And I don't know what an NBA owner is supposed to say because, you know, there was investigations going on with Milwaukee. The commissioner presented, you know, three. anti-tanking options to the board of governors on Wednesday. I mean, I don't think you're supposed to go up there and say, God, we just got to lose some games. But one of the issues they're having is they just won two games against a terrible Washington Wizards team that now leaves them with the 10th pick, not the 9th, although they have a game left with Milwaukee,

maybe that change is, what's your take on the whole anti-tanking thing? And why is that considered so horrific for fans? Well, you know, it's a real problem right now for the NBA because the NBA is acknowledging it. And it is a little more widespread. I mean, you've got, you know, nine teams that have been trying not to win games very hard, at least, you know, for a number of weeks here. and really months. And it's an embarrassment for the NBA. And it's a difficult problem to solve because, you know, even back in the day, I mean,

the whole idea of the NBA draft is to deliver the best help as soon as possible to the worst teams. And when that was a coin flip, you know, that was bad enough because you had teams trying to compete to be the worst in their conference. And then when you added the lottery, presumably to take away incentive for that, well, the incentive just sort of crept up to teams that weren't quite as bad. And, hey, we can still snag, you know, that top pick or a high pick. And they've tinkered with the lottery odds and the formats. And it just, it still, the bottom line is if we don't see ourselves as having a shot to make noise in the playoffs, we might as well try to improve our lottery odds.

And, you know, some of the suggestions for improving this or fixing this, to me, are crazy. Because they say, well, let's just make every team have an equal chance of getting the best player in the college draft. So Oklahoma City is going to get that same chance. What happens if they pop up first? I mean, you can't do that. That's ridiculous. And then saying, well, there's not going to be a draft. It's just going to be free agency for these guys coming in from college.

Well, first of all, now you've got to outbid the NIL money that they're already getting. And then you, you know, you're going to turn it over to, you know, places that can change your salary structure and are willing to go up as high as they possibly can in the NBA system to, you know, grab Victor Wembeyanama or whomever the next franchise type guy is presumed to be. I think that's silly, too. I would rather see them work backwards, go back to two teams in a coin flip. and then fiddle with, you know, how you, how you line up the other teams behind that. But, yeah, it's embarrassing. Now, that doesn't preclude a team from saying, well, we're going to take this down to the studs,

but we really need a makeover, or we're going to reboot. You know, I mean, the bowls have sort of been stuck in the middle because playoff games, even playing games can be lucrative for ownership when they're played in your building. so getting at least two of those in a Best of Seven series, you know, is financially rewarding to management to the franchise. But, you know, Milwaukee provided a pretty good example when Herb Cole was the owner there because he wanted competitive games night in, night out, and he was happy for the Bucks to be about a 500 team. And they really got nowhere, and only after they realized we've got. Janice Ante Ducco, who has the opportunity to become an elite player in the NBA and wants to win.

Only then did they really, you know, get away from that. And then Cole, you know, sold the team to people that wanted to chase a championship. And so that whole let's try, let's strive to B-500 thing, it feels like that's sort of where the Bulls have been. And, you know, it doesn't get it done. Look, from 30,000 feet, I don't buy into the whole championship or bust approach to sports every year. You know, I mean, you have to be able to enjoy a regular season for some reason. And a night at United Center can be very enjoyable. The NBA has mastered a way to do that, whether your team wins or loses,

with all the entertainment and the hoopla going on. But, you know, you can't just settle either and have your fans know, know that you've settled. And to me, that's the really, you know, sad thing about the Bulls is that they've kicked the can down the road now for so long, really since Tom Thibito was fired, what, 11 years ago? And nothing has really stuck. Therefore, even a, even a rebuild now, you know, in which you tank, you know, don't say the word, but you do it, you're kicking a can farther down the road. And, and, and, you're, you know, you're kicking a can farther down the road. And, and, you know, you know this franchise the fans in that city they deserve better than that and you know this has gone

on a long long time and you know Michael Jordan um wonder what percent of Bulls fans today you know if they're if they're even in their 30s you know ever saw or can remember Michael Jordan play I mean it's just you know and so that's great for history and for those of us you know old enough lucky enough to have been around it, but it's, yeah, anyway, I don't know that there's an easy out. I do think that you do have to stock up on draft picks until the Bulls prove otherwise. They have not been a free agent destination for the elite players. That to me is the most glaring deficiency for a franchise that is, you know, one of the NBA's best brands.

Well, that'll be a challenge for the next lead executive or whatever you call them, the head of basketball operation of the general manager. So you know the Bulls are going to be needing one of those. They might need a head coach, depending on how it goes Monday with Billy Donovan. From your experience, knowing what you know about the league, who's the most sought after executive right now? And who's the most sought after head coach if the Bulls are in the market? Wow.

You know, as I mentioned Bob Myers earlier, and he's got his hands in a lot of things across sports. You know, he's involved with an NFL team. And, you know, so I'm trying to lure him and, I mean, you would have to give him the keys to the kingdom pretty much. I think he is the most, you know, known, appealing name. I think, I think based on how they got burned by sort of going to a hot team's second in command when they hired Arturus.

And by the way, that was another odd statement where, Michael said they hired Arturis without really meeting him. It was a search firm, and it was his resume that got him in there for what turned out to be six years. I don't think you want to do that. I think you want to feel a little bit of chemistry and look somebody in the eye before you give them that sort of control. But they did that with Denver. Denver, you know, coming off the, you know, they've been a good solid team. And with Tim Connolly went to Minnesota.

That's worked out fairly well. but our tourists, yeah, from within that front office to the Bulls, not so well. So I don't know, you're catching me cold on that in terms of names after Bob Myers. But I think he could come up with a list, you know, it wouldn't take too long. But again, the first question you have to ask is, would you take this job if you can't hire your own coach? You know, that's asking a manager in baseball. You don't get to hire any of your staff. or any sport, football, you name it.

It's just not a common way to go, and it puts you in a box. The other thing in terms of the coaches available, you're going to laugh, but I would say Tom Vivido is the best available coach. We mentioned that. It's not working right now. So good luck with that,

because the ownership hasn't changed. And beyond that, I mean, I think, you know, you can probably identify some guys. There's going to be probably a handful of coaches available after this season because of changes that get made. I mean, the team that's playing United Center, I think this weekend, Jamal Mosley with Orlando, you know, if things haven't gone very well for the magic and coaches usually a scapegoated, I think highly of him as a coach, you know, hey, maybe Doc Rivers will be.

available for the Chicago Bulls and really, really go full circle. He'll be a Hall of Famer just like Billy at that point. I'm curious. So like they're, Michael said they're hiring a search firm. And I have no problem with that. And I think it's wise to do so. And they will probably get more names, more interviews out of that. How long does a process like this, take, especially if we're looking to Monday where there could be nine or ten coaches out of work. Yeah. Well, if they're looking for a general manager of, you know, vice president of basketball operations, the draft is late June.

Yeah, I mean, you better have something done, I would think, you know, by early June, if you're going to go off existing scouts reports. And, you know, you can't dawdle on that. I mean, if they're also going to be looking for a coach, well, you still want to do that. You maybe have to do it sooner because you want that executive to hire the coach. You don't, you know, at that point, I mean, it's one thing to be locked into Billy Donovan because you like him and respect his work. That's fine.

You've seen it. But if you can't hire the next coach before you hire your executive. so everything has to get accelerated at that point. Look, they didn't wait until the absolute end of the regular season, so they got a bit of a jump, but yeah, there's no time to waste you. That is definite. I'm just curious. You've been writing a lot about the rookie class of late.

Obviously, the Bulls got Noah S.N. Gay. Who knows? they could have probably done better. Yep, yep. Who do I think? I mean, Derek Queen, he might have been available. He's going to be on a lot of people's first team, all-rooky. He does things that are pretty intriguing as a player.

New Orleans moved up and took a lot of heat for trading away next year's, or this year's now, number one pick to move up to snag Derek Queen. But, you know, the Bulls have taken a redshirt approach to their first round draft picks, first with Modus Bezellis and then Noah. And, you know, for a team that needs as much help as possible, now I know he got hurt eventually, but he wasn't playing much prior to that.

They have to find some guys who are ready to come in and help. And, you know, maybe they have to draft somebody who's, you know, older than 20 or 21 to get that done. Yeah, so we'll... That's another thing that, you know, even in a deep draft like people talk about for this year, there are steps to it. And, you know, depending on where the Bulls draft, you know, you hope they're not right after there's a step in talent in the draft. That's a good point.

Great stuff, Steve. Thanks a ton. Take care. Always great to talk to you guys. Call any time. I'll be on the whole playoff road. Oh, great stuff. Thank you, buddy.

I'd like your guys. Yeah. No need for that. No, in Odyssey Sports Station. This hour is being brought to you by Cars for Kids. While you were winning, when you're winning, that's all that matter. I kind of black out and, uh, a lot of things happened in the world while the bears were winning. Full moss thieves pulled off a $102 million jewelry hoist at the Louvre.

Now to a stunning deep sea expedition where scientists have found what they believe to be a slew of new species, including Big But Starfish. Breaking news, Holt Hogan has died. The Department of Justice releasing its remaining documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Sudan Civil War now in its third year has become a humanitarian catastrophe of staggering scale. Well, she said yes. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey are officially engaged. Breaking down the top college football talent ahead of the NFL draft.

We're going to identify the guys that fit what we want in our football team, and you just keep trying to acquire those players. We know what they look like. We know the act, they know the talk. While you were winning... If you haven't seen it, you would not believe it. Baird out, Chicago Bears. I think I have seen it all.

With Spiegel and Holmes on 104, the score. I think now the only reason that Speed says yes to do in the second. is so that he can hear the open because we started the segment while you were on vacation. So every time you hear the open, it's like the first time again. Oh my God, it's incredible.

And it's so much fun. All the things that, well, it's actually not a lot of fun. No, there's terrible things in there. But the fact that Tandy decided to use those as a way for us to jump off football conversation is kind of hilarious. It's the British news person delivering the news.

that Hulk Hogan has died. Yeah. It's just the thoughtful and classy report of Hulk Hogan's passing. It shouldn't make me laugh, but it does because we're radio weirdos. Neil Brennan jokes about that being a thing, and that the way that they say stuff on the news just sounds sad. Yes. Everything is in Afghanistan.

It's just an extra level of sense. sad. Yeah. But I know I'm being manipulated. So part of me is like, you know what, F you, I'm not going to be sad. How about that? And then you are. Then you are.

And you are. Jake Bud does an amazing job on Big Ten Network covering college football. He loves to talk a little NFL too. You know, he was technically a bear. So, you know, that's something that we can discuss. And look, we all know that Michigan tight ends. Like, that's a thing. That's a thing for this bear's to.

team. So we're happy to have Jake join us here on the show. Jake, thanks so much for picking up the phone for us. We appreciate it. Let's start with Colston Loveland. With a whole season, a body of work of Colston Loveland, what stood out to you as he made his progress from the beginning of the season to the end? Yeah, I appreciate you guys having me on and I appreciate the TF to my fellow Michigan tight-hand, Colston Loveland. I'll go back to this time last year. That wasn't a consensus home run pick. A lot of people wanted to see the Bears

trade up for Gentie. A lot of people thought Tyler Warren was the best tight end of that class. And I was at the opinion. I felt Loveland was exactly who Sam Leporta was with the Lions for Ben Johnson as what we saw last fall. And I think what stood out to me

is you could just copy and paste his film as a receiving tight end at Michigan to what he did at the NFL level. I guess guy's going to play at an all pro level for the next decade. But what surprised me was he was a pretty damn good blocker. I mean, at times a really damn good blocker and reliable. And that just makes it so hard for opponents to defend when you get into 12 personnel

with him and commit. And defenses have to stay in nickel. They have to respect the ability for Colston to make plays downfield. And I think what we all saw is his hands are as good as you'll find, not just for tight ends, but for any receiving threat in the league just consistently at safety blanket and at times much more for Caleb Williams. With the system that Ben Johnson runs, like the fit does seem perfect. Like you're right. Like looking at the stuff that was going on in Detroit with Leporta, but why did it work? Like, well, what were the things that you go, man, they really maximize

matchups for Colston Loveland? Well, I just, I knew this from watching Colston. Austin, it was going to work for him wherever. He's just a rare athlete at the tight end position. He's really more of a weapon than he is just a tight end. Like he runs routes better than a lot of wide receivers, his ability to drop weight and change direction. He's a hands catcher. He knows the art of separation.

I just thought the marriage of Ben Johnson's creativity, again, using the template of how he used Sam Leporta in Detroit, I thought the marriage of Colson's capabilities with Ben Johnson's creativity was always going to be a home run. But again, Colston's ability, what he did in the run game, his ability to be a serviceable and a threat as a blocker, that only helped his ability to separate. It probably got up another 10 to 15 catches on the season. Just from the standpoint defenses couldn't, when they saw love on the field, they couldn't just guarantee it was going to be a pass play.

They had to respect either option. Jake, while the Bulls were not winning, I personally watched a lot of college basketball. Congrats to you in Michigan for winning everything. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. That's awesome. While the Bears were winning,

I didn't watch as much college football, you know, and that's part of the genesis of the segment here. So you've got to help us with some Big Ten players who the bears might use, especially at those top three draft spots, number 25, number 57, and number 60. And I want to ask you about the safety from Oregon, Dylan Thineman, who is versatile and might fit what the bears need in a, I guess it's free safety, but Kobe Bryant can play sort of both. So your thoughts on him and any other safeties, if you want, in the Big Tenement, specifically. specifically. Yeah, Dylan Deeneman, I mean, I covered him back as a true freshman at Purdue, and it was very clear.

I mean, he just, no offense to Purdue, he just didn't belong there. Like, this guy is, if Ohio State didn't have Caleb Downs, who's just a generational prospect, I think we'd be talking about Dylan Thiener, and even more than we already are, and then he goes out and has an unbelievable combine. Of course, the 40-time, the vert, all that stood out. but I liked watching him in the gauntlet, how smooth his hands are, the hip swivel drill. I mean, this guy is just a pure athlete where the bears are going to be able to move him all over the field. At Purdue, he played at times, you know, 30 yards deep in that Ryan Walter system. At times they moved him in the box, especially last year with Oregon.

He's just really, really capable. I know you guys have been talking about McNeil Warren a ton out of Toledo, another guy that's going to go in the first round, but I'll throw out an option on day two if we're just sticking with the safety position in particular, the key Wheatley out of Penn State is a guy that's probably going to go on day two

somewhere in that third round, a real instinctual player and I think what we saw last year is teams want to be able to defend the run out of a too high shell. Well, how do you do that? That puts a lot of stress on your safeties. You need intelligent safeties that can read cues

and then instinctual safeties that can trigger downhill when it's a run and then get to their position when it ends up being a pass. And Zaki Wheatley has that makeup, just doesn't have the consistency of some of the other guys or maybe the ceiling of some of the other guys to be a first-round pick. But that's an option if the Bears decide to go maybe on the D-line there in round one. The way that you just described his skills and instincts as a safety is exactly what Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen want in their safeties.

Lawrence, the way that we saw the green. Green Bay Packers' safeties play and Ben coveted so much during the year. Yeah, Jake, I want to get into that because we're used to as a football public, the concept of free safety and strong safety. The free safety usually has a little bit more speed and maybe better ball skills. And the strong safety is the guy that comes down in the box and he helps support the run. I want to know, like, how do you feel about the versatility of a safety group? do you think that we are now like postmodern football where you do want the safeties to be able to be both?

Or is there any strategy to having a thumper safety and a guy that's a little bit more of a defensive back in the passing game? Yeah, it's a really great question. And to answer it, I would say, you know, everything evolves. And we've seen the game of football evolve a little bit. sorry, I got a plane flying over me or helicopter flying over me. But what we've seen in particular and why we need to see safeties be multiple is coordinators, play callers, offenses, they've become so creative. If a quarterback and especially in elite offensive play caller knows what the defense is in,

they are going to expose you quite simply. But if you have an ability to disguise things pre-snap, And I think that's why we're seeing a lot of young quarterback struggle. The passing numbers across the league are down because we're seeing teams be able, especially the best defense, be able to defend out of a too high pre-snapshell. You cannot do that if you don't have versatility at the safety position. And I'd say the next most important trait is intelligence and instincts. Again, it's not just the athletic ability to make those plays,

but you have to have the football intelligence to read your pre-snap cues, read route patterns and the instincts to go trigger on that. So I think this is the next evolution of football as offenses have become so creative. Now defenses are starting to adjust where they can play any defensive coverage or blitz scheme that they want out of a vanilla pre-snap look too high shell. You're so right. And this is what Seattle did in the Super Bowl, where they set up and you're like, oh, I recognize that.

That's totally covered too, like right before the snap. then those guys would move and the picture would change for Drake May. So all of this stuff and the way that you would set up the protections and the way that the routes were supposed to go, you're thinking it's going one way. And then boom, they like move and make it difficult. How hard is that on an offense when you see that happening time and time again? And how does it make an offense maybe see ghost a bit when it comes to the coverage game? Yeah, well, it's hard for a few reasons.

And of course it's hard for a quarterback when you're talking about reeds in the past game. But it's also hard on an offense because a lot of times in the NFL is you're going to call two plays in the huddle. It'll be a run, pass check. And back when I was playing, those reads were very simple. If it was split safety defense, meaning there was going to be two safeties out of the picture playing deep coverage, we were going to check to a run. If it was single high defense, meaning it's safety is down in the box. That means they're vulnerable in the back end.

okay, now we'll check to a pass. So now your checks are much harder because you can't get that pre-snap cue. You don't know what the post-snap picture is going to look like. But then from a tight end standpoint or a wide receiver standpoint, we have route adjustments. There might be one pass play that can look three different ways based on whether it's middle field open or middle field closed. So it puts a ton of stress not just on the quarterback in his reads. It puts stress on the offense as a whole.

Jake Butt is a color analyst from the Big Ten Network and doing a great job with us right here on Spiegel and Holmes. We're enjoying this doing while you were winning. All right, edge rusher. Got to ask you about a couple different edge rushers. One from Michigan, and that's Derek Moore, but the other out of Penn State denied Dennis Sutton, who kind of has the frame that Dennis Allen would like, and he's a guy who's played all over the defensive line in his career. Do you have any thoughts on those guys? Yeah, I think they're different players.

I think Derek Moore is more of a sturdy, bold. rush guy. He's got a strong, long arm. I don't see him as a guy that's going to win with a ton of twitch and exotic pass rush moves, but I think he'll be outstanding in terms of run support, whereas Deni Dennis Sutton has some freaky capabilities to him. He's a much more fluid athlete, blocked a ton of punts at Penn State, which I think just speaks to his football playmaking ability. He's got a nice, nice, deep, pass rush bag. So I think it would depend on the fit, but guys, I know everybody's talking about Edge as a need for the Chicago Bears. I thought Booker really started to hit his stride down the stretch of the season.

I almost look at the interior of this defensive line. I think that's a bigger need, in my opinion. And there's a couple names that you could consider. Caden McDonald out of Ohio State. Matt Patricia, obviously, a brilliant defensive mind. Love this guy. I mean, he was the anchor of that defensive front. Chance he's there available late in the first round.

and then Peter Woods out of Clemson, he's more of your downhill attacking defensive tackle. I mean, we saw Seattle has that, the Rams have that, the Patriots have that, guys that can get upfield, push the pocket, and force running backs to make that first cut in the backfield. That interior of the defensive line, it's starting to have values similar to defensive ends.

So to me, I think the bears are looking at an interior defensive line. And depending on how the, draft board. Maybe Mesodore out of Miami's a guy. If he's available, I'd take him. But I certainly think the interior needs to be addressed, potentially there in the first round. Since you paid attention to what was going on with the Bears, which is great, because this is exactly what we wanted this segment to be. How big a deal is it that they kind of don't have a left tackle and they're adding a new center? Yeah, I mean, it's a big deal. Just period. Look at the past Super Bowl champion.

we saw it at the college level too. Trench play just, it wins championships. And clearly Caleb Williams is talented, and he has the ability to take that next step. The bears are loaded with playmakers. But I think the ability to be able to consistently run the ball, the ability for Caleb to become a more consistent pocket passer, of course we know he's a playmaker,

but man, I think his completion percentage would go up if he can develop into a true pocket passer. well, you need a left tackle. Caleb needs to know his blind side is protected. I'd be curious to see if Caden Proctor there out of Alabama, if he drops. He reminds me of a guy I played with Garrett Bowles in Denver. He was our first round pick of my draft class.

Hyper, hyper athletic, similar to Caden Proctor, but he wasn't an elite NFL player yet. It took him a few years. There's a lot of similarities with Proctor where, boy, if you just look at his size, his, I mean, they threw him screens at Alabama. You're like, man, this guy can be a freak, but he needs some more time to develop. He might be an interesting choice there in the first round for the Bears.

Boy, great stuff from Jake Butt. All right, last thing, since you paid so much attention to the Bears, just thinking about the wide receiver profile. They've got Luther Burden, who can do so much after the catch. Maybe he gets some of those designer touches that went to DJ Moore last year. They've got Roma Dunzee who can be like a capable X wide receiver. but in this Ben Johnson offense with so much Colston Loveland and Colquette, what kind of wide receiver fits in the mix,

perhaps among the ones that you saw in the Big Ten? You know, maybe a Denzel Boston out of Washington. I mean, there's plenty of options, but to be honest with you, I think you're looking, that just wouldn't be my priority. I would not even consider, and I know Ryan Poles, they like the best player available philosophy. I would not be looking at drafting a wide receiver day one or day two. Starting into day three is when I'd start to consider it.

But, man, I think the playmakers on the outside, you're in a really good spot. Because Colston Loveland, he's the bridge between both those groups. He is a big wide receiver. He can run those routes. So maybe take a shot. If there's a guy you really like there on day three, maybe start to consider that. but to me, I'm really just focusing on that defensive side of the ball and the line of scrimmage for the Bears.

That would be my priority in this draft. Here, here. Jake, this was awesome, man. This was exactly what we were hoping this segment would be. We really appreciate your dedication to craft, and people see it on Big Ten Network. I got to experience it when we worked a little bit together at Stadium. Thank you so much for this.

Yeah, of course, guys. Anytime I had a great time. I appreciate you having me on. It's Jake Butt, man. Yeah, man. Goodness, gracious. is you if you wanted some sexy football. He's the best. Damn it's you got it.

He was the best Big Ten tight end since Jim Mandich. Folks, if you get that reference, please have your affairs in order. Earlier, we got a text from somebody who's a P1 as a listener. That means it's position one in his car. Preset one. Yeah, preset number one. And he said he was hanging out with somebody else. And he said, folks, if you understand the reference that I just made, please get your affairs in order.

And he got absolutely no laugh. have no reaction at all from the person he was with. I'd like to apologize to that person, but also thank him for his listenership. Yeah. We want to live in people's brains like Hawk Harrison lives in ours. Where you're just saying hawkism. That's a hang with him.

Exactly. How about Booghambi saying that about St. Louis for getting the river reversed and all of Chicago's sewage handed down. That's hang with him right there. How about Jim Deshae's silent? Lansing booed yesterday. Hilarious. Yeah, man.

Let's talk White Sox, because I've figured out something that you don't want to be if you're a White Sox. Okay. Opening day starter. You do not want to be opening day starter for the White Sox. I hope Noah Schultz is listening for next year. Because you're going to go away at some point in the season when you were the opening day starter. Maybe even early.

And I can tell you, I was not expecting within the full. first two weeks for the opening day starter to go to the minors. There are reasons. Let's discuss next here on the score. Get the score anytime, anywhere. I'm listening on my commute to work on 104-3 FM. Here in Molle and Hawn, FM quality, it's amazing. Yeah, I listen to Rahimi Harrison Grotie on my smart speaker at work.

I have to watch Spiegel and Holmes on YouTube and Twitch every afternoon. I catch Pat and Ron calling every Cubs game wherever I go on the Odyssey app. There's no one way to get the score. So listen and watch the score your way today. I could do Stephen A's job, guys. It's not that hard. Denny Parkins. QB1 party.

All are invited. Host of Fox Sports Wands, first thing first. Coming in number six, though, the team that should be the favorites in the NFC North, though, the odds makers say they're the third best team. My Chicago Bears. Why can't the Chicago Bears be the best offense in football? The Bears, plenty of reason to doubt them. Caleb Williams, no.

Former host of 670 The Score before he abandoned us. It's a Caleb Williams custom, baby. Jersey number one is going to the Raptors. You guys made it seem like a Chicago Bears fans. We had our guy, Danny Parkins, all these guys. Danny Parkins on 1043 The Score. We go to our hotline. That is where Danny Parkins joins us.

You know Danny. He's on the newly expanded First Things First OT from 4 to 5 on Fox Sports One. He's also a friend of our show. He also used to work with us. at Danny Parkins on Twitter and he joins us on Twitch.tv.tv.tv.tv slash the score Chicago. Hi, Danny. What can you share with us today? I can share whatever you guys want. Hi, Leila. Hi, Marshall. What up? Hi. Hi. But no, this is very exciting. I think we can finally, officially announce that the third annual Cubs for a Cure Radiothon is back, and it is happening

very soon, May 21st to the 22nd. We are like six weeks away, 10 a.m. to 10 a.m. May 21st to the 22nd, kicking off Cubs for Acure weekend. Last year, we raised $750,540 on this very Radiothon with 100% of the proceeds going to cancer research raised about $1.5 million over the whole weekend with 100% going to Cancer Research charities, the Radiothon proceeds going to Brain Up, of which I am on the board of directors. And as you guys know and the score audience knows, got really involved in this after my brother Brad passed away. And somewhat serendipously, Brad passed away three years ago today. So it's kind of interesting timing that this announcement was able to come out today.

I've been thinking about him a little bit extra this morning. And he really loved, you know, he was on the score and he was, he really loved the first Radiothon that we did for Austin Harvest. And I know he would be very proud of how this thing has grown. Just listen, I mean, already on board for this upcoming Radiothon, We've got Cubs Charities. We have Mr. Ducks Cleaning, Carl Allegretti and Arbor Investments, Doug and Stacey Meyer, Jeffrey Lamort Salons, Russ Armstrong, the Chicago Window Guy, Etna, Joe and Josh Stefani, John Gavin, Midwest Refrigeration, Four Corners, the Brain Tumor Network,

and my new employer here, Fox Sports. All on for our or multi-hour sponsorships of the Radiothon, great organizations. If you or your company want to get involved, you can reach out. And, you know, this is, I've obviously done a lot of cool things in my career. And, you know, in my personal life, I'm most proud of my two young sons. But in terms of my professional career, this is the thing that I am most proud of. It is, it is number one. It is the singular accomplishment of my career. So I can't wait to come back in about six weeks and raise some more money for cancer research. honor of Lynn Bramer, in honor of Ryan Sandberg, in honor of Terry Boers, in honor of my brother

Brad, and in honor of everybody who's facing cancer still to this day. Danny, I would say you've, I've seen how this has grown over the years and you've been the change that you wish to see in the world. And while it doesn't, it doesn't replace what we've lost, I feel like you've done so much for so many people in this. And to have so many people already contributing, like for example, our mom on Twitch is only three people away from their $2,000 donation already. I think it makes a lot of people feel better about knowing they're doing something to help. Yeah, I love, I know MX Hawker and Mario and Hyde Park, we're trying to organize the Twitch

Mob, so I really appreciate that. And, you know, it's great. If people, if you can donate 50 grand or 10 grand or 5 grand and you want to sponsor a portion of this thing, like, amazing. We set up a new email address to reflect the new call letters of the score. so it's 1043, 1043, 3043 Radiothon at gmail.com, or you could get at me, you know, call Ray, call the hotline,

people get, you guys can get in touch with me, or just DM me on Twitter or Instagram, whatever it is. But yeah, what I say is like, you know, maybe you want to tell your kids to do a lemonade stand and the proceeds can come to this, or, you know, get a bunch of friends together and put something together. I know the great White Sox fans in the 108,

did something last year. Even though it was Cubs for a cure, they wanted to be a part of it and support it. So I think they raised a little over a thousand, 80 bucks, if I remember correctly. I apologize if I'm shortening you guys there. But yeah, big $23 donations for Rhino, $83 donations for Terry,

whatever it is, every little bit helps. And I know I've told it to you guys in the past, but I've been involved in a lot of different charities and they're all great, but sometimes you do a, you do a gala or something, and it's like, man, we raised a ton of money, but then you look around and it's like everyone's eating filet mignon and drinking like top shelf booze, and then there's a band. And you're like, well, you know, a couple hundred grand went to this event, which is, which is fine. I understand. Like, you spend money to make money. But I think that

what is really cool about this and the Cubs are just such amazing partners is, you know, if we do next 10 people who donate 250 bucks get an autographed PCA baseball, the Cubs. The Cubs, Cubs cover the cost of like shipping out the baseballs. They cover the website, the infrastructure. And so since everything is donated to this, you know, last year we raised $750,540. And at the end of all of the accounting, you know, $750,540 was wired to brain up. And we can put that towards clinical trials for research at Chicago area hospitals. So, you know, it's, I'm really proud that there's no over.

overhead so that every dollar spends gets to go to the cause. Danny Parkins, of course, former score host and host on First Things First on FS1, joining us here on Rahimi Harrison Grotio, 104 through the score to talk about the Cups for a cure Radiothon for a third straight year, Danny, you're doing this. I know it doesn't get necessarily any easier doing it year after year. I'm just so curious. Does the conditioning start now? Because I know you got to be on the air for 24 straight hours.

And you might think that's the easy part of it, but I saw what you look like at the end of the Radiathon last year. Hey man, this is what I look like on the good days. So, yeah, at the end of it, it's kind of ugly, man. And yeah, you guys got such nice HD cameras there at the score, but I don't have my wardrobe stylist and my makeup team here from Fox for it. So, yeah, I look pretty haggard at the end of it. No, you know, the 24-hour part is, you know, it's.

It's a little bit of a stunt, and you know, you guys have known me long enough and know my radio history. I like a good stunt, but it draws attention to it. But it also really allows for, I mean, we take dozens and dozens and dozens of calls. Just people tell them their story. Who are they remembering? Who are they honoring? Who are they donating for? You know, and so people crying on the air, people making us cry.

So the, it's very emotional. It's very draining. Part of me wishes it could start at 7 a.m., but I don't want to disrupt Molly and all. We want to do it at the start of a show instead of in the middle of one, because I always wake up at like 6 a.m. before it because I have so much nervous energy going into it. So I remember last year by the time I got back to my mom's house to crash in the middle of I'd been up for like 31 hours by the time I got to her house. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm just like spinning.

But yeah, the adrenaline really carries me through that part of it. So it's not so bad. And, you know, it's certainly not anything in comparison to what has happened. And, you know, you mentioned three straight, you know, and again, four overall, but three straight for cancer research. One of the things that I'm really, like, looking forward to for this one and really proud of is that, like, we're going to, there's a lot of people that are returning and who will be able to update us with their stories.

But then also, like, sadly, there are obviously people who have passed since the last Radiothon, and we are going to be able to do a, kind of like how the Oscars does the in-memorium. Like, you know what I mean? We're going to, Tannie and I are working together on putting some things together to kind of honor the people who have been a part of these past radiathons who are no longer with us. So it's like a way to kind of keep them a lot. You know, Diane Pathieu, her husband, Nick was on the first Radiothon. They were on together. He had passed away

before the second Radiothon. Her first public appearance was last year's Radiothon. She's pledged to be back on this year. So we'll be on, you know, we'll honor him. We'll honor Rhino. We'll honor Terry. We'll honor Bramer, obviously. We'll honor Brad. You know, so many great, you know, Eddie O's coming back on. Anthony Rizzo. is going to be on for the first time this year. So we just, Troy Murray will be doing a tribute to him, obviously. You know, hoping he'll have Liam Hendricks back on. Another tribute to Bobby Jenks.

And so many people in and out of the sports world that we will be featuring, you know, you get tired after the fact. During it, you know, you're just talking about something that is so much bigger than any of us that you don't even really think about it. Well, Danny, for one, if you need makeup, I will help you. I've learned a few tricks of the trade if you need. That's great. Can you do anything about these bags under my eyes?

I got concealer for that. Yes, absolutely. And in the meantime, I think for wardrobe, you've got to bring the Bears Road back. Okay, interesting. That's a good idea. That's a good idea. It was good luck.

I don't know. No, listen, that's a good idea. We can maybe, maybe we auction it off or something like that. Oh, Danny's Lucky Bears Road. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, maybe that could raise a few hundred bucks. Yeah, listen, I'm open to all stunts, all ideas, all fundraising things.

You know, if we raise a certain amount in this hour, Danny has to do this. You know, I'm not above any of that. We try to think about, so our good friends, Carl Elgrady and Arbor Investments, I know that they're making shirts for us. We've had shirts every year, so we'll have new logos there. The cool, the thing I wore for, last year I wore, last year I wore. a rhino jersey. But is that last year?

The favorite thing I've worn probably is the first year we did this, they had the Cubs for a Cure logo on the patches that the players all wore during the games. And then we auctioned them off after the fact, or we, the Cubs did. And a very generous supporter of the Radiothon, who was anonymous, because he knew that Brad, my brother and Craig Counsel, grew up together in Whitefish Bay. He bought counsel's game-worn Cubs for a Cure jersey and sent it to me. Oh, wow. And so, like, I've worn that.

I wore that when I threw out the first pitch with Brad's son two radiathons ago, and I wore that two radiathons ago. So that's a special one. So, yeah, I don't know what I'm going to wear yet, but it's the robes, the robe's not a bad idea. Also, this from Windy City Burns on our Twitch mob, the Caleb Williams jersey with the wrong number. Try to get them to sign it and auction it. That's been another suggestion.

We're just going to buy your closet. That's what's happening now. You know, these are the first people who have ever wanted to dress like me. I got to say, you know, I'm not exactly a fashion. You're a national star now, Danny. This is what comes with that. Hey, whatever is. Hey, your words not my input.

You know, I'm not going to sue you for slander. So yeah, it's a very cool thing. And again, like people email us, reach out because you're like, hey, you know, I can't do 10 grand, but I have sick bears tickets. Or like, you know what I mean? I don't know. Like, we've got some really cool. We need items. You know, we need memorabilia.

We need trips. We need restaurants to get on board. You know, we need Chicago experiential things. Organizations around town. We're doing it on a very condensed timeline this year because of just a bunch of scheduling things. How much to free Robbie Triano? To free him? Yeah.

Well, Robbie says he's in a seller right now. How much to free Robbie Triano? This guy, I honestly don't know what he does. What do you mean? You helped him get the job. What are you talking about? I know, but he's always available to be commenting on Twitch during these segments.

Like, isn't he supposed to be? like cutting video or making bars or graphics? You're looking at this all wrong, Danny. He's actually just taking a quick break because he knew you were going to be on. And he's got his phone. You can comment on your phone on the Twitch. Listen, I'm sure he's working hard. You know, it's funny, actually, given that it's Robbie, this guy.

I love working with him. I was thrilled to, you know, do my small part to bring him out here and, you know, put him in the right position to get the job. But he helps run the teleprompter for those over the shoulder, like, John Stewart-style monologues that I do once a week. I did one yesterday on the Bear Stadium fiasco. And I'm normally, I'm like, you know, one, maybe two takes. The guy, the guy kept messing up the prompt.

It would be like four takes yesterday. And I would love to say it was my fault. But honestly, it was all his fault. See, that was my first job. Like my first actual paying job was filling in information for the ticker because it wasn't automated. And then running teleprompter. I ran Laura Oakman's teleprompter at CNN Sports Illustrated back in the day.

So I know what that takes. Laura Oakman was on the radiothon last year. There you go. She's wonderful. I'm sure she would probably do it again. My A1, Day 1. We also have another request from Scott on our Twitch mob who says they will donate money if you change your name for an hour to Max Rastifer.

You know what? Listen, I can say I will. I don't know how I would do it, but sure. Call me whatever you want, man. I'm happy to do it. It's going to be great. I'm very thankful to the score and the Cubs. Like, I don't work there anymore.

You know, that is not lost on me, that I do not work there anymore, but I get to still come back and do this because of the trust that, you know, Mitch and Ryan have and that, you know, Crane Kenny and his whole team over at the Cubs have. So it's very, very cool. And so I'm really, really, really honored and excited about it. And it should be a great day.

Thank you, Danny. Get in touch at 1043 Radiothon at gmail.com. Danny, thanks for coming on. Thanks, guys. And yeah, be ready to donate. May 21st, 10 a.m. May 21st at 10 a.m., third annual Cubs for a cure radiothon. Talk to you guys soon.

Thanks, Danny. That is Danny Parkins. And I know we're a little late, but I need you guys to hear the right opinion about what happened between Gino Oriama and Don Staley. Candice Parker sounded off and she told no lies. That's next.