Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - What will the Bears do with the No. 25 overall pick in the NFL Draft? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

In the second hour, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote discussed how the Bears will use the No. 25 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Could they trade back and out of the first round? Harris believes there would be wisdom in doing so. After that, Cubs left fielder Ian Happ joined the show to discuss the team’s 13-7 loss to the Phillies on Monday and its slow 7-9 start to the season. Later, Harris and Grote held the Halftime segment.

Philosophically, I feel the same. It's going to be the best player available. I know that may not be the most popular thing. Because people see, like on my board have yellow tags where we need to fill in. But at the same time, I do believe, especially in early rounds, like one, you really got to stick to best player available. We saw that last year.

I know there's a lot of questions. You got Cole, why would you take Colston? I think we found out that it helped us along the way. So we'll continue to lean in that philosophy. That is the Bears boss, Bears general manager, Ryan Poles, as we welcome you back into Rahimi Harris and Grody here on 104.3, the score. Coming soon, the NFL draft. It is next week, next week, not this Thursday, but the following Thursday, the 23rd from Pittsburgh. The Bears right now have the 25th overall pick in the draft.

That is their first round pick. They've got a couple of second rounders. They have a three, they have a four, and they have a couple of seventh round picks as well. And there are all sorts of different potential directions that the Chicago Bears could go in. We've heard safety. You could justify the Bears going after a tackle with what's going on at left tackle currently because Ozzie Tripillo will be nowhere to be seen for the majority or maybe all of the upcoming season. And then, of course, Marshall, the seemingly obvious area for most people would be defensive line, right?

We've been waiting so long for a defensive lineman that Ryan Poles has drafted to develop into a stud, or I don't know, just a really good starter. Has not happened yet. Hasn't happen yet. Now you're going to make me go through the resume a little bit here. Yes. And this is Ryan Poles, like just looking at the. the defensive lineman and or edges that he has chosen through the years. And we know last year, 2025, he did take Shamar Turner.

Jury's still out. We'll see. He's still got a lot of room with me, Shamar Turner, to get better and maybe be something we shall see, the second rounder from last year. 2024, he did take Austin Booker? That's my guy. That's your guy. That's the best pick he's made up front on defense, period.

is Austin Booker. Do you think he'll be a double-digit-sac guy this year? How much of a guy is he of yours? When you say your guy, what does that mean? I think a lot of that depends on how healthy and how good the players around him are, not just potentially Montes-swet opposite of him, but what are those guys in the middle doing, the defensive tackles, a three technique? What are those guys in the middle doing?

If they're good, he can be great. Right. Is Grady Jarrett going to be something this year? Anything this year? Well, I think Grady Jared has a better chance of being something, anything, than, I don't know, Dio Dingbo coming off an Achilles tear. Right. Jervon Dexter, desperation, final year of his rookie contract.

Got to get paid. Right. That's not a bad player, but he's not as good as you want him to be. That's for sure. And that brings me to 2023, where he did draft, Drivon Dexter, Zach Pickens as well. Where's Zach Pickens again? I don't know, actually. Like, is Zach Pickens still playing football?

Oh, where are you, Zach Pickens? He's on the Kansas City Chiefs that last check. Is he really? That's where he spent 20, 25 playing three games. Good for him. And coming up with all of five tackles. Man, he was a preseason hero. I thought he was going to be good.

I liked the way he played in training camp. I like what I was seeing from him, man. Good God, was I wrong. I don't know. But you can admit you were wrong. Yeah, well, I mean, it's not like I was loudly. Like, this guy's going to beat something. I just thought because we were all sort of glued to Zach Pickens or

Drivon Dexter, right? And I was like, oh, man, I think. I think Pickens got the edge over Dexter, and that was obviously wrong. I think he fell into the whole, well, year three's got to be the year, right? Yeah. And then it was not the year. It was not the year. No, it wasn't.

And then in 2022, he took Dominique Robinson. So, and that obviously did not work either. Did not take. Did not take. It was something of a project. But here's the deal. Here's the headline from me. I'll just give it to you right away.

The position that I am most comfortable with the Chicago Bears taking in the draft is the safety position. And I get where people are coming from when they're saying, man, like, do you really want to draft a, what is considered to be in the NFL, a non-premium position, the safety position? Do you want to use that at number 25 overall in a draft? And, you know, obviously you are adding that to the guy that you just paid in Kobe Bryant. So that's a lot of resources in the position. But there is a need for that position. And we know that Dennis Allen works well with his safety. So I am comfortable. very comfortable and that's not sexy to say comfortable with either Dylan

Thineman the or Tieneman the safety out of Oregon or Emanuel McNeil Warren the safety out of Toledo so I feel like it's a little bit conservative on my part but here is the here's the why on why I am less comfortable with defensive line or edges maybe some of it is polls past and his history and all of that. But in the first round, in particular, I am not comfortable with Edge or Defensive Lineman just because of the last seven or eight years or going back to, I went back to 2017 from 2025 all the way back to 2017. And looking at guys, edges, I'll start with, that were taken between 20 and into the 30s. So the Bears are picking 25th, Just to see what the hit rate was in general.

Let me give you a few names through the years of these particular players. In last year, there was a hit, but it's also a miss. It was James Pierce, who's got problems. Now, James Pierce, we're just talking about, he was a number 26 pick. He did have 10 and a half sacks for the Atlanta Falcons. So you could break that down however you want, considering his off-the-field problems. In 2024, remember when we were all excited about,

Chop Robinson? I was excited about Chop Robinson. He was the 21st pick in 2024. He had 10 sacks in two years for Miami. Probably not good enough. Probably not what they were looking for. Arizona took in 2024, Darius Robinson at number 27. He has two career sacks in two years with Arizona. In the year 2023, Cincinnati took a guy by the name of Miles Murphy. at number 28.

Another guy that his name was flashy, man. I see what you're doing here. You see what I'm doing here? You're laying out the receipts and like, is this really what you want as far as production from players who have been taken in this range of players?

That's exactly right. And I went back. I went through every one of these drafts. So that's 2023. Eight sacks and three years from Miles Murphy. Felix NU. Dike with the Chiefs. Pick number 31 overall.

Three sacks in two years. 2022, the Jets took Jermaine Johnson at number 26, 13 sacks over four years. The Chiefs, George Carl Loftus, the number 30 pick in 2022, one double-digit sack season in four years, but I guess a steady player. In 2021, the Saints took Peyton Turner at number 28, five sacks in four years. The bills, your bills, took Gregory Russo at number 30. He has had 32 sacks in five years, so we'll give him that. The Ravens took, and here's a guy who still has life for sure. Odafe Owey at number 31, he just signed another contract.

Here's the name people will know. And number 32 in 2021, Joe Tryon-Soyinka. You know what? Let me stop you right there on the Try-O-Eyanka. I only got a few more. No, no, just quick interjection here, because I want to tell you, when I saw the eagle sign him, I was like, oh, did the bears? Oh, what do they see in that the bears didn't see?

With top level front offices, and I think Howard Roseman is a top level executive across any major sport, when he takes a guy that you used to have, you wonder what's going to happen next to that guy. Yeah, yeah, no, that's a good point. I guess I didn't even realize that old Joe trying, nice guy Joe, now with the Phillies. And what a nice guy he is. In 20, just a few more here for you, Marshall. In 2020, the Jaguars took K. Levan Chasin and number 20, 17 and a half sacks in six years. Here's one everybody will know, ladies and gentlemen.

I guess you could call this a hit. In 2019, the commanders with the number 26 pick in the draft took a guy by the name of Montez Sweat. In 2018, there were no edges taken in the 20s. and then in 2017, Miami's Charles Harris, five teams he's been on. Atlanta's Ticaris McKinley, number 26 overall, did not play last year. And then a former bear, Dallas's Taco Charlton, number 28, five teams, including the bears in 2022. And then I don't want to take up a whole bunch of time, but it's the same thing with the tackles with like Mazzie Smith out of Michigan and Brian Brisee to the Saints at number 29,

like on and on and on. There's just not a lot. There are hits in the 20s with defensive tackles and edge rushers, but historically going back to 2017, in my work, there is not a lot of hit and impact players defensively on that line, whether edge or interior. It's a crapshoot, man. It is a crapshoot. and I think that's fair to say about all of the draft after you get outside, let's say the top 10, maybe top 15, any given year, right?

And so I understand what you're saying. But also what you're saying is leading me to my conclusion that I already drawn before you gave me all that information. It just adds to it. The bears should trade back. The bears, unless someone is there at 25 where the bears say, I can't believe this guy fell to us, take that player, regardless of position again. otherwise trade back try to have an extra second rounder so you could have whether it's four second rounders

an even later first rounder and a second rounder however that adds up i like the bears going into this draft with four second round picks or one first rounder and three second round picks than i do with the late first rounder and then the two seconds that they have yeah i liked i mean you talked about that in the pre-show meeting backstage. And I was like, yeah, because, I mean, the Bears did pretty well with their second round picks last year. You know, the jury's still out on Shamar Turner, but you could call Ozzie Tripillo success, even though the injury, Luther Burden, everybody loves Luther Burden seemed to be a success. And just with that sort of just like very underwhelming,

as a texture put it, the edge position in the 20s, underwhelming. Yeah, that's the way it looks. So if you want to, like, do you want to put that sort of value on one of these guys, whether it's Akeem Messador out of Miami, T.J. Parker, out of Clemson, Malachi Lawrence, out of UCF, Zion Young, getting all sorts of love out of Missouri. And then, of course, the defensive tackle, there are a couple guys that have been mocked to the bears. Well, Peter Woods, I've seen that happen out of Clemson and Caden McDonald, the big defensive tackle out of Ohio State. but the thing that you hear, even if you go through what the draft experts are saying about these guys, some of them are like, oh yeah, I can easily see him being drafted in the first round,

but could also see him going in the second round or dropping even further than that. Way too much of that with these guys in the 20s. And that's why I have adopted my stance on if you can trade back, trade back, unless one of these other guys, not the guys you're talking about, first round, second round grade, just as straight up, this guy should be a first round. Right. There's not a lot of that. And it's deep, and I know I always say deep, it's deep, but what does that mean exactly?

Does that mean that you're going to have a starter in two years? Does that mean? Like, what does deep mean in a draft when it comes to the defensive lineman? I don't know. Do you remember the old dollar value menu? Like when you could get stuff for a dollar and it was a whole bunch of choices. That doesn't exist still? I feel like I hear that sometimes.

I don't think that exists. No, no more dollar menu. Do you understand how inflation works? No. But the thing about the dollar value menu is, let's say you've got, got a $5 bill, right? And you're hungry and you're like, I could get this, this, this. Like, you get anything from an apple pie to double cheeseburger fries.

They're McChicken. Like, there's all kinds of different things that you could get with that, right? Yeah, yeah. But the thing is, you've got to figure out that day, just like these GMs, these front offices have to figure out, what do I need now in this moment? And can I pick the right thing? and if you're going to the store and you've got a $10 bill and it's you

and you've got to take some food to your boys and you don't, this is before cell phones obviously you've got to make choices and with the depth of this class there could be a bunch of defensive tackles defensive edges that go in that first to second round range.

You better pick the right one because the last thing you want us and the city of Chicago fan base at large saying is ah the bears picked the wrong guy. Right. And you pick the right. wrong guy, you'll still have that same

get to the quarterback problem that you've had for the last, how far back are we saying that problem goes? You talk about with the list of guys that I just gave you? I went all the way back to 2017. Random year, but I decided to do it like that, yeah. And the Bears have not done a great job of getting to the quarterback. I mean, they haven't done a great job of stopping the run either, but getting to the quarterback is when we talk about edges and

defensive tackles, got to create pressure not just from the edge, but from the inside as well. And so that's why you get more lottery tickets if you move back and get four picks in the second round. Yeah, I am believing in that and thinking about that more and more because it just gets fuzzy and ambiguous with these guys. I'll tell you one guy. I'll tell you one guy, and Bears fans don't want to hear this. But in 2022, the Green Bay Packers at number 28 did get Devante Wyatt,

who is a really good defensive lineman for the Packers. I don't think the Bears had to deal with him last. year because he was hurt, if I remember correctly. But he stands as a example of a guy who did hit, but it's just rare. It's very rare. The way you're talking about this makes me think that you're not nearly as confident, perhaps, in this Bears front office slash coaching staff making the right selections on defense where they're drafting compared to a year ago when on offense, you had kind of a blind faith because

of Ben Johnson's pedigree and his resume and his ability to know what he needed as far as the groceries to make the meal. I think that's fair, for sure, but I think it's almost a separate issue. I just think in general, that's a gray area, the 20s and even into the 30s. Okay, that's fair.

For all GMs. But you're not wrong in saying that, of course, going through the examples of Ryan Poles' picks at edge and defensive line, going back to 2022, have not hit. Now, the trade that he made, obviously, for Montess, what? You could say that that's been a success, I think? A moderate success.

Yeah, right. You have to carefully say that. But I would put that down as a success, but it has been difficult for him to get difference makers in those spots, but I think the gray area is real for everybody. He better not be wrong. That's all I'm telling you about Ryan Bowles. He better not be wrong. Oh, man.

Draft coming up next Thursday. We'll have much more draft talk coming up. But coming up next, let's get back to the Cubs game and a tough loss in Philly last night. Our guy, Ian Hap, will join Rahimi Harris and Grotie next here on 1043 the score. The talent that's here and the talent is continuing to develop here. You obviously have some mainstay guys like Ian Hap. Ian Hap. Cubs All-Star Outfielder.

And the pitch to Walls line toward left. Hap coming in. Backhand diving catch. Great play. Ian Hap out number one. Excellent play by half. Angling toward the left field line with a backhanded diving catch. Caught the ball less than a foot off the ground.

A wonderful effort by Ian. Gold Glove Award winner. One of the most fulfilling parts of this job is to get to see young players come up and succeed. To get to see Pete and Bushie and Shaw and Cade and these guys come up and turn into the players that you hope or expect them to be and watch them develop. host of the compound podcast. See a little clip of me finishing with two hands, maybe hitting a home or 500 feet. I want to freak you out, but I've been doing it a little bit in practice. Connect Roasters, coffee enthusiast.

Here's a man that probably has five fresh pots a day. On 1043 The Score. We toast you, Ian Hap. Yes, sir. It is Rahimi Harrison Grotie here on 1043, The Score. We are awaiting the man, Ian Hap. And, yes, he is the host of the compound podcast. as I was telling Ray Diaz, our executive producer on the plane ride home from Las Vegas, I

randomly brought this up to him. I told them, I said, the compound podcast is a vibe. It is. How would you describe that? I can't, I can't even put my finger on it. It's just, it's a very natural flow. And Ian, his expression never changes. He's just Ian Hap. He is just, he is himself. You call him Ian Hap. I call him Even Kill Hap. Oh, that's what he is. Maybe we could ask Ian Hap, because he's listening right now. Oh, my bad. Let's have him on the program. Let's do it.

Ian Hap, why is the compound? Why is it such a vibe? Why is it then I watch it? I can't stop watching the compound podcast. I think it's genuine. I think, you know, we get on there and we get to chop it up the three of us. We get to talk baseball. I get to talk what's going on.

And I think it sounds like it resonates, so I appreciate it. Yeah, it does. You're right. It is very real. There's ball busting. There's realness, whether good or bad. And that's what we try to do here on the score as well. And unfortunately, last night, Ian Hap was not one of those great games for the Cubs last night

in a 13-7 loss to the Phillies. What were you thinking watching your old teammate, your old buddy, Kyle Schwabber, hitting those very costly home runs last night? Yeah, he got to a couple pitches. It's what he does. He's one of the best in the game at hitting balls out of the ballpark. So, you know, he at first, the one he hit in the first inning, the down to a knee on a change up. Center field was pretty impressive.

But, you know, he's done that in his entire career. That's why he's a great player. Good to see Schwab's always, and I wish he would hit the home runs against somebody else. Okay. You know, I'm glad you brought that up, the first home run where he goes, where he was off balance, goes down to a knee. He's a strong man. He's just like, right? Like, is he like, that's just it, right?

Like, he's just like, we talk about strong hit. I mean, he might be the strongest of the strong. When we talk about just pure strength from a hitter. And I know there's other examples. I know you're looking at me funny right now, Marks, because Aaron Judge. But the strength that that guy has, it's just silly. I mean, yeah, just from his frame to do it. You know, there's guys that hit the ball, 120 miles an hour.

A lot of them are avatars. like Judge and O'Neill Cruz. Schwab does it from his frame. Just Middletown, Ohio, something in the water there. But his ability to stay through baseballs and that was such a great example of the length and his swing

and the ability to get into his legs and by himself time. It's what's made him great. And it's what's made him a feared hitter around the league. And, you know, that's in that lineup, you know, he is, him and Harper back to back

and it's dangerous and that's why they've been good for a long time. You got a guy, a young guy who's not been in the major leagues long and Ralee Martin who's going to make the start tonight as that opener. Has the opener become kind of a universally accepted thing when you're talking about putting your bulk guy or your normal starter

in a position to maybe have more success not having to deal with the top of the line? How do you see it? Yeah, I mean, it's something that when you can create a matchup in the first inning, you're not sure when you go through the game if you're going to be able to

find that perfect matchup where your starters out of the game or your starters at a pitch count where you can go to the bullpen in the perfect spot. So basically, you know, you get that matchup in the first. He's going to face

Schwerburn Harper in the first. And then it gives Colin a chance to get through the lineup three times without maybe he only has to face the top of the lineup twice instead of having to face the top of lineup three times. So it kind of sets him up in a better spot and makes a lot of sense to do it. And we've seen it from other teams

and we've done it in the past. And I think from a manager standpoint, when you can set that match up exactly how you want it early, it makes sense. For people who aren't maybe as familiar with Citizens and Bank park and the way it's been very pro hitter. How do you rank that one amongst other ballparks in the major leagues? Because it just seems like balls are always flying there, whether they're out of the yard

or just base hits. I mean, we saw 26 combined hits last night. Yeah, it's a good place to hit. And I think they can have days where maybe the wind's not perfect. But, you know, last night, it's just, it's one of those parks where when the conditions are right, you know, 100, I hit a ball, 100 and a half or 101. yesterday that hit off the kind of center field left center wall you know balls that are 103 go out to center field and then you kind of have the ability for some of those you know maybe right-handed

mishits to hit the wall or go out down the right field line and left field line similar for lefties so it's a good place to hit the ball the ball flies well there and yeah it's uh it's a it's a good one and there's the dimensions of the park you know make it so that um center field can get big at but right and left field are always going to be pretty open. Talking to Ian Hap here on Rahimi Harris and Grody and the Cubs 13-7 lost to the Phil's last night. Yeah, you had the double to start what was a five-run rally that eventually the lead was just too big for you guys to overcome.

Where do you think the offense is right now? Because I've been lamenting the another four for 16 with runners in scoring position. There was, you know, the bases loaded with one out in the second. You did hit into a double play later. on in the Gabeluz in the fifth inning with runners at first and second inning. How frustrating is that part early in the season with the numbers with runners in scoring position? Yeah, it can be frustrating. I think, you know, we faced an ace last night.

You face a guy like that. You get him on the ropes and, yeah, pushing runs across in that situation. You know, obviously changes the game a little bit. But when you face guys like that, there's a reason why he's an ace in this league. there's a reason why he was paid the way he was because he's really good. And his sinker change-up combination, it's a really high ground ball rate. It's really tough to get him in the air. He doesn't miss his spots very much.

He doesn't give up a lot of slug because of his pitch mix. It's why he's been as good as he's been for the last, what, three, four years. And so, yeah, finding a way to push runs and get a chance in that situation. But even a guy like that who's, you watch his last. couple starts he's giving up some hits he doesn't give up a lot of runs because that's what he does really well and so yeah in a game like that um you know find it away is you know that's what you got to do as a team um but you also have to understand that there's a reason why he is who he is and um giving yourself chances is important you got to keep doing that i also think just when you look at this team

what are we two weeks in 16 games or something like that like when we've had good run scoring environments we've put up runs, maybe not quite as many as we need to, but in Tampa put up some runs in a couple games. The days where Wrigley's cooperated, we've put up runs, and there's games where we have, and that's part of the baseball season. It's part of playing in April and doing a better job of converting some of those low-scoring games

into wins with little things, base running is important, but it's going to come. This offense is too good, top to bottom, for it to not come and you know part of that early season where all the stats are looking a little bit you know maybe not as good as

what some guys want you know that that evens itself out over the course of year there's going to be a two week stretch where we put up a ton of runs and it all evens out so that that's that's on its way yep yep that's good to hear I like the way you're talking and I'm glad you brought up Christopher Sanchez you're right he's an ace who has gotten better

his control has gotten better which wasn't always the case with him which brings me to kind of minutia question. I want to ask you about that at bat in the fifth inning with the runners on first and second. The pitch prior to you rolling it over, you know what I'm talking about, that it could have been challenged. Did it

go through your head in the moment or did you have to get back to the dugout and then look at it and see what you might have could have been, which would have been, I think it would have been a two and one count, if I'm not mistaken, Ian, if you would challenge that. Yeah. Yeah, I knew I knew it was close.

and I think we had already burned one challenge the inning prior and so we only had one left I think when I looked back at it maybe it was 0.2 inches off if it's less if it's less than half an inch or you know those and he has a sinker that runs back at like somewhere between 15 and 20 inches so it's a hard one to challenge on the inner line like that because sometimes you think that it's way in, but it ran a ton and clipped the inside corner.

So in that situation, just understanding that we only have one left, if we burn that one on pitch, it's super close. It almost had to be egregious in that situation. And I think it went from 1-0 to 1-1 there. So super early in the at-bat, you know, if that's a two-strike pitch or if there's a 3-2 pitch where the difference is, you know, two outs first and second versus basis loaded one out. It's probably a better situation to challenge.

And I was still, you know, it was one-one count and still in the bat and hit that ball 108 just didn't get it in the air. So there's, you know, there's part of, you know, situation that dictates if the challenge makes sense or not. Ian Hap, joining us, the gold Glover for the Cubs as they take on the Phillies. They've got one game down, which they lost yesterday. They've got seven games out of ten. against the Phillies there in Philadelphia right now.

I got to ask you because I know you're meticulous, you are detail-oriented. What's your approach against a guy like Aaron Nola, who I know you know, 18 at bats, no hits going into this game tonight? Yeah, face Nolan quite a bit over the years. And, you know, he's been really good for a long time. He's been available and logged a lot of innings.

He's a tough matchup because he has that kind of running fastball that he can start what feels like at you and clip the inside edge and then the curve ball that is moving a bunch in the other direction. So it's kind of where you set your eyes and, you know, what pitch you're looking for. And Real Muto's really good with him back there. They've worked together for a long time. They have really good understanding of how they're setting up hitters. It almost feels like you're, you know, there's not a count or a situation where you know what he's going to throw and the way that he's able to command the headers. fastball moving around as is what's made him so successful over the course of his career.

Ian, we were just talking about, oh, it's on the air. Sometimes I forget if it's on the air or off the air. We were talking about Shota Imanaga and the kind of the reemergence, looking almost like 2024 form. How good do you think he has been? And could we continue to see that out of Shota Imanaga? because man, would that be huge for your team this year? Yeah, I think that a lot played into, you know, the second half of last year, you know,

coming off the hamstring and just, you know, he came back and pitched for us, you know, and maybe wasn't as healthy as he possibly could have been. And so, you know, for him to be healthy from him a great offseason and understand, you know, the way he's, the way his pitches line up with each other, the splitters look great, the command of the fastball has been really. good and you know adding um some early count breaking balls to righties to get ahead um that it's been awesome to see um he works really hard and he knows what he's trying to do and i think that the pitching staff um and him have done a great job throughout the course of the off season just communicating how

to best use his mix um and and you know i think he's been a professional for a long time but he had the amazing first year and a really good first couple months last year and when the league adjusts and the adjusting back we talk about it a lot with young players but we don't talk about it as much because showed has been a pro for so long but there is something to being in the big leagues and having that second year and having an understanding for

what teams are trying to do and how they're trying to attack him and then being able for him to say have an offseason to sit down and say okay this is what teams we're trying to do this is kind of what the plan or approach was and what guys were hitting and looking for and then for him to be able to have an offseason to adjust and understand what pitches and what execution needed to be better to kind of counteract that and he's done a great job with him. Dean Hap, he's your gold glove left fielder for the Chicago Cubs. He's the host of the compound podcast, which is an absolute vibe.

What is the latest, sir, with Connect Roasters? Yeah, we're back. The home run club is in full swing. people are getting their monthly. Dingerdellers will have the first you know kind of April drop for people when the month is over and you know, balls keep flying

onto Riggily and people will be in a good place. So we're excited. You can go to Canningcoasters.com and check out the home run club. Ian, thank you. Good luck tonight. I got you down for three hits against Aaron Nola tonight. So good luck. Yeah, me too, Ian. Thanks.

Appreciate it, Phil. See, buddy. That is Ian Hap right there. Being real, talking about the offense and saying that, I guess the right, It is the right answer that the offense will, it's going to come along, right? It's going to be okay, right? It's going to be good, right?

I think it'll be better, but I just don't know if it'll be good enough to, on a nightly basis, outscore the opposition, especially when there's premium pitching for the opposition. We shall see. Coming up next, we have halftime. And I have some relatives from Germany in town, some of many of whom I had never met before. So overseas grodies meeting American grodies. And I was somewhat stunned to hear what they were most fascinated by in their first trip to America. It's always interesting to get that look into America from an outside vantage point.

It really is their first trip to the States, obviously making it their first trip to Chicago. So I will share with you some of my observations of the Germans who are in town. Be careful out there, folks. The Germans are here. Pretzels for everyone. Yeah, pretzels for everyone. TSA Ray, I'd like to discuss that as well. Okay, we can get into it.

And I don't know. No, no, those two things will suffice. I think they probably will. Yeah, TSA Ray is a real story that needs to be told. So we'll do it all next. Half-time on Rahimi Harris and Grotie on the score. What time is it? It's half-time.

That's what it is. On Rehemi Harris and Grotie, we began the show today talking about the Cubs and their 13-7 loss to the Phillies and Craig Counsel and the moves that he didn't make in the game because he had pretty much conceded that game. And Kyle Swarber hitting two home runs, which made it just a very emotional Cubs loss. We just talked to Ian Hap about it,

and he was pretty up front with us. The offense is going to come. We had to bring up the problems with runners in scoring position. Slowly. It's going to come slowly. You know how I know that? Because it is coming. slowly. It is coming slowly, including Hap himself. We talked about it. He hit into

a double play. Now, a hundred-eight miles per hour but he did hit into a double play or the runners on first and second. Did we ask him about it? Yes, we did. So if you miss Hap, Hap was very good today. Good stuff with him. We talked about the Bears draft and the position that I am most comfortable with conservatively is safety because the hit rate for

defensive line and edge rushers in the 20s is just not good over the last 10 years or so. There are some hits. but it's a gray hair area and a tough spot for most GMs, not necessarily just picking on Ryan Poles in this particular case. It's halftime. It is halftime.

Really cool day for me yesterday. We have some relatives from Germany in town, many of whom, most of whom I had never met. So let me just stop you right there because is Grotia German name? Yeah. Okay, I didn't know. that. It is. I'm being educated here on Rahimi Harris and Gras. It's quite all right.

No, it's, the pronunciation in Germany is Grota. Grota is the way it's actually pronounced. You know I'm going to call you Grota. That's, that's, it's, sounds strong. I mean, Grota. Yes, and my mom's maiden name is McClarnie. So you, I'm Irish,

I'm all sorts, I got all sorts of problems, you know. I don't think those problems. It's just this is an acknowledgement to your heritage and heritage came to visit. I'm very proud of my heritage. But anyway, so We were meeting a lot of them for the first time. And they were, we went to my favorite place, Club Lago, here in town. And my Italian cousins happened to own.

And so we're sitting at the big table playing Get to Know You. The three, at least three of them that were there, they're in their 20s. How big is the group? This group altogether, their traveling party, I think, was seven people altogether. Okay. Yeah, a couple of different families. families. But there's, I've got a Sven in my life now. I got a, I got a Sven. He's a Sven. I've got a Michael, which is Mikel, actually, in Germany. There's a, there's a Sarah, which is

Zada, Zara, and there's a Felix. But just talk, first time that they have been in the States. And I was asking them, I said, what do you guys talking to the, to the 20-year-olds? I was like, all right, kids, what are we doing today? Like, what's our, what's the plan of attack? What are you most excited about doing today. And they told me they're looking forward to going on a fast food tour. That they, because, because while, and I didn't know this, that they have McDonald's and like maybe Burger King, but they don't have all the extra fast food places. So they want to go to like.

Do they have a list? They didn't have a list for me. Oh, they should help them with the list. But I did. I was a little. I was like, you got to go to Chick-fil-A. You got to give that a try. I don't know that you would endorse that.

You got to go to Culver's was another one. Perfect. I guess they don't, I don't know if they had Wendy's out there. Oh, that's, yeah. Gotta get a frosty from Wendy's. Right, and I mentioned.

Fries in the frosty for them. Oh, absolutely. The outside of American Germans. Yeah. I even said Arby's. You should have hit me up. Oh, sorry. You may have been able to take them on the tour.

They were hilarious. And then the thing that, two other things that they were most fascinated by on their, their trip to a super, Walmart? They don't have the big box stores there. They don't have those in Germany, apparently. So they were... That's good for them, actually. It's what I told him. I said, well, how much did you spend while you're in there? I mean,

did you pay the minimum $40 fee that everybody pays for walking into a Target or a Walmart? But they just thought that was the Bees Knees, being in a wall where you could buy anything. You can get your groceries or you could buy a greeting card. I'm so curious as to where they learned about the Americanized things. So the fast food specifically and then the Walmart, like they just know it exists? I think they, yeah, I don't know if they had done the research or if they just needed stuff. I guess social media could teach you about these things too. Probably, yeah.

Like Americans on social media are always at these places. The world is wide open. And yeah, they probably were like, oh, we've got to try out this super Walmart. And other little things that are like, we love Chicago with your wide streets and your American flags all over the place and all the stuff. What's crazy is back in the day, you could have just. literally taking them to a mall, sat them in a food court and say, go to work. You know what I'm saying?

You can take out three or four of those places just one trip to the mall. Yeah. Yeah, so I was fascinated. Great getting. Unfortunately, they are heading back today, but I was very interested to hear about Chicago. Fast food tour, man. I'll try to get the Dietz and see how it went,

but I have not heard from them. I'm going to go on a fast food crawl in honor of this story. You do every morning, man. No, no, no, no. Oh, somebody put it at the top portilloes. That was how my parents greeted them. I was in Vegas when they came to the house. The first night, my mom didn't know what to get.

She got portillo's and they were big on the beef sandwiches. My mom, you know, got the Italian beef sandwiches and fries and onion rings and shakes and they loved it. They get it baptized. It's a good question. I did not ask that. I'm sure my mom not knowing probably did. not have them baptized, have them completely dunked. So those are the Germans. I have another aside on more Germans. Yeah, okay. Yeah. We're never got enough Germany here on the show. We're at

Circa Resort and Casino and I was at the bar, ran to the bathroom and there was a group of Germans in there speaking Deutsch. Oh yeah. And then as they, you know, I'm washing my hands. We're at, all at the sink kind of side by side. I hear them amongst themselves, this group of like four or five guys kind of standing around together. Are you from Germany? Are you from Germany? Are you from Germany? So you know that's all they heard when they were in Las Vegas was Americans asking them,

are you from Germany? Because that's all they kept saying. That is hilarious, man. That is so funny. I'm just the fast food crawl. Oh yeah. You're so into it, man. I got you.

Why have I never thought of this before? The fast food crawl? Because it might hurt you. That's why, you know? The one thing I will say, All those places in Germany versus here, they will actually gain weight from eating American food as opposed to there where everything's no preservatives and the regulations are strict over there. You don't have to worry about that here. You're just going to gain 10 pounds on your trip.

Go to Europe. You lose 10 pounds on your trip. Unfortunately, we're not going to have time for TSA Ray. So maybe we'll find, we'll eventually. We'll talk about this again tomorrow. We'll talk about. Oh, yeah, we're back here tomorrow. Yeah, halftime is going to be a thing tomorrow as well.

Yeah, I haven't really given my full Las Vegas Circa experience yet either, so we'll share with that as the week goes on here on Rahimi Harris and Grotie. But coming up next. Oh, you already know what it is. Coming at you. Five on it, man. Our five hottest topics,

our five hottest questions of the day that Marshall Harris and I will kick around here. We are looking forward to doing that next on Rahimi Harris and Grotie on the score. Grota!