Stay Tranquilo - From Major League Baseball to Working in Sports with Nick Silva of AROD Corp - Stay Tranquilo

Episode Date: October 15, 2024

In the newest episode of the Stay Tranquilo podcast, powered by Stay Tranquilo Network, were joined by former MLB Player and Sports & Media Associate at AROD Corp. We touch on the: - path to the MLB - making a decision to leave baseball - working at AROD Corp - Current MLB Playoffs - best golf courses and more! Check out the full video and let us know your thoughts! #staytranquilo Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So played four years of ball at Maine, and then, like you said, you got drafted by the White Sox. Where when you were at Maine did you realize? Like, holy shit, I might have a chance to actually go to the pro level. Yeah. I would say at the end of my freshman year, when I hit that 95 for the first time, that was in the conference tournament. And then, you know, I ended up doing three innings against Stony Brook, and they ended up hitting a walk-off home run against me. Oh, God. But I didn't care because I hit 95 that.

day. That's it. I show know something. But after that game, I received a few calls and I was like, damn. I was like, wow, this can be a reality. And, you know, I knew it was going to be a long journey and it was. But yeah, that was the first time I really thought that I can make a career out of it. All right. What is going on, everybody? Welcome back to another Stay Tranquilo podcast. We're here with Sir Silki, Nick Silva. Appreciate you for coming on, bro. Long overdue. Long overdue. Yes. I know we been reaching out to each other to do this. And I know you're a traveling man. So I'm glad we got to get you while you're here in Miami. Three years in the making. Yes, sir. Finally made it happen. Yeah, so I want to give the floor to you before we get into anything. Give him a little rundown

about yourself. You played baseball at Maine. Definitely want to talk a little bit about that. You currently work for Arod Corp. So give him a little spiel about yourself and we'll get into it. Nick Silva, you know, Columbus alumni went school. Yes, sir. I'm on here, Andre. Graduated in 2015. From there, went to the University of Maine, spent four years, played with Division I baseball. Lucky enough to get drafted by the White Sox, played for the White Sox for two years. And now, you know, when you can't play sports, the next best thing is to work in sports. Yep. So I'm lucky enough to, you know, work in baseball and basketball, my two favorite sports, my two passions.

You know, working on basketball, on the business, basketball operation side, which has been a lot of a lot of learning and I've been you know super excited about that and on baseball on the media side so media side we're just like we were talking about earlier off camera and just um going to fox for the playoff baseball and covering the covering the games and excited for uh how yeah come yeah it's a full circle moment where you got to play obviously how long were you playing baseball from like t-ball right yeah like three years old yeah actually before that when i was born because it's in my family yeah exactly so you've been playing baseball since you were three and now you're working at, you know, one of the coolest stages of the sport outside of

playing, obviously. So let's rewind, right? So we played baseball a little bit together at Columbus. Columbus, obviously, for people that don't know, is a very well-respected program down here in South Florida. Coach Weber obviously has done an amazing job with that program. McKeon, obviously a great job with the athletics overall and seeing how that world has blossomed even from when we were there. I mean, now it's like a completely different. situation, Fullterfield, you know,

two-story clubhouse. I don't even recognize the facilities. I was on campus today and I'm like, wasn't the tennis court like right here? Yeah, is now a huge building. It's a college campus basically. My brother's there now.

I'm like, bro, you got to take advantage of this because this is like state-of-the-art shit. But you put, so you played baseball, pitched all four years at Columbus, and your evolution as a player

got you to play D1 baseball. Can you talk about that process of when you were going like through the recruiting and what that kind of world looked like at that time. Yeah. So, I mean, I mean, you remember those days. I was a little smaller, chubbier kid. I was a late bloomer.

I was, you know, no facial hair. I didn't grow my first, like, beard until, like, my freshman year of college. So the process was a little slow for me. You know, we'd go to all these Georgia tournaments. And, you know, I would always throw well, but I was always maybe like in the middle of the pack in terms of velocity and stuff. Right. That's what really mattered.

kind of was late to the recruiting process and then around my senior year in high school in the fall Danny Casals was my best friend and ends up being my roommate in college he got a big offer to the University of Maine and one day they were down there recruiting same same year yeah same year you know we're same year one day they were down there recruiting to go check up on them and he told them like hey look at Nick Silva you know I think you might like him. You know, he's got a lot of potential. And then, lucky enough, you know, I threw well that day.

They, you know, they offered me a walk-on. And, you know, the rest was history. I walked on my freshman year and then earned a scholarship for the next three years. And it was the best four years of my life. That's awesome. And when you got into Maine, would you say that you really weren't even at your peak, you know, getting into your freshman year? you probably were what throwing mid mid 80s probably going into your freshman year so going into my freshman year and that's when i i got my um that's when i hit my growth spur right you stretched out

matured like physically i uh came in throwing by like 87 80s 8 by that fall i was like 91 that's great and then by the end of the spring i hit 95 for the first time so i was like i was like dang this is whatever throw program they got here is nice so uh you know that was was the first time I saw that jump. And then so I think after my freshman years when I finally reached into my full potential and then from there it was just building on that. Like it was all this newfound speed and this newfound, you know, talent that I didn't know I had yet. So it's like now fine-tuning it, throwing a breaking ball, all of that. So, yeah, it was a freshman year. What was the, what was the combo? Were you throwing fastball slider, two-seem

slider? It all depended what was going on. I was working that day. I was a big split change guy. Okay. That was a big split change guy. You remember Renee Gera? Of course, yeah, yeah. He's the one who taught me that. You're watching that. Shout out to you, Pund.

But he taught me one day at Columbus, the split change. And I always threw it. Always threw it in practice. And then, like, as I got older and I started doing harder, it became a weapon for me. So that was my go-to pitch. And then I would just throw a little slider off of that as well. Nice. So played four years of ball at Maine.

And then, like you said, you got drafted by the White Sox. Where when you were at Maine did you realize? like, holy shit, I might have a chance to actually go to the pro level. Yeah. I would say at the end of my freshman year, when I hit that 95 for the first time, that was in the conference tournament. And then, you know, I ended up doing three innings against Stony Brook, and they ended up hitting a walk-off home run against me.

Oh, God. But I didn't care because I hit 95 that day. That's it. I show it on something. But after that game, I received a few calls, and I was like, oh, I was like, wow, this This can be a reality. And, you know, I knew it was going to be a long journey and it was. But yeah, that was the first time I really thought that I can make the career out of this.

That's sick. And then once you get to the White Sox, what did that world look like? I mean, that's a whole new world, right? I mean, the training that goes into, you know, a pro ball team, kind of the, I guess, all the media and everything that also comes around with it. Like, it's, they're making an investment into you, right? So what, what did, once you got into it? To that level, what did that world look like? It was a reality check, to be honest.

It was, you know, a rude awakening. I mean, I ended up doing well, thankfully. But, you know, I went in there thinking, you know, it's going to be, I'm going to be the same Nick that was conference player. Not conference player, but like one of the top pitchers in the conference, you know, the hardest thrower on my team. Like that's what my mindset is going in there. And I get there and I'm the slowest thrower. Like everybody there is 96 plus. I'm like, whoa, okay, I really, like, I'm at the bottom of the totem pole.

I was a 40th round draft pick. I really got to grind. I got to do things to step up. Like, I'm no longer, like, you know, the ace. I'm a middle reliever. Yeah. So, you know, it was definitely a wake-up call. I got accustomed to that early.

I learned it early. And thankfully, like, I had an uncle and a brother who played pro ball before me. So they prep me through that, and I've lived through that my whole life. So I had a good understanding of what I was going to be. going into, but it was definitely like, you don't expect it until you see it. And when I saw it, I was like, okay, wow, all right, I'm, I got to really stand out. Yeah. And what was, what were you doing? Were you long tossing more? Was it, get in the weight room more, right? Because there's like a physical cop to people as well, right? I mean, not everyone could touch 100 miles an hour.

That's just the reality of the fact. I mean, the fact, you're throwing 95. You're already in, like, upper, upper echelon in terms of the percentage of people that can do that. But you're throwing 95, seeing all these guys throwing 96 plus. What in your head was like, all right, what do I do? Yeah. So for me, once I was there, like, 95 was almost like 88 BP fastball these days. So I had to like, you know, change my mindset. In college, maybe I could throw a pitch 93 down the middle as hard as I could.

Right. And I could get it by them. Yeah. That's not going to happen in pro ball. So I had to, you know, fine-tune my game, be a little more scrappier, be a little more, you know, smarter, outsmart. So, like, really focus on sequencing. what location of pitches, things like that, and fine-tuning like the mental aspect.

Yeah. To, because I wasn't going to overpower anybody. And what, you said both your cousin, right, your cousin also played in the pros and your uncle played in the pros. What was something that they taught you when getting to that point? Like, what was it more like the mental side of things? Was it more the physical side of things? Was it relationships? Like, what were they kind of like telling you, hey, if you really want to make it to the pro level, you're already kind of in a program

I'm in the White Sox, but if you really want to get to that point, what were some of the advice that they were giving you? Yeah, my uncle was the first round draft pick. My brother was a second round draft pick. So for me, I was a 40th. So their simple message was get in the best shape of your life. Let it, let leave everything out on the field. Don't let anything, don't regret anything you do. So just play, have fun so that one day when, you know, that time comes where you have to hang them up, you don't live life with regrets. So that's how I took it into every day. I tried to be the first one there every day. I stayed as long as I could until they turned the lights off in the locker room and in the stadium. So I tried to make the most out of it.

And, you know, I found that I was having the most fun in playing baseball my whole life. So that was their key message. And, you know, I really appreciate it. Yeah. I think that's a good kind of like segue into the next question that I want to ask you, right? because you played baseball your whole life. And it's not just a baseball thing, but it's anyone that's played sports thing.

The common denominator is like, when do you choose to leave the game, right? Even if you played 20 years in a pro league or you're playing high school ball and you're trying to make it to play college, right? I mean, we've seen it with a bunch of guys that we grew up playing with, right? They play high school ball.

They don't really get an offer, right? And then they're like, you know what? I'm going to go play Juko or I'm going to try to get a showcase or I'm going to just not play in a league and try to get stronger and better. And you see guys do that for five years, right? And they're not really reaping any.

Not that they're not reaping the benefits. They might be getting better and all that. But they're still not maybe getting the college offer. Or they're still stuck in the minors for 10, 15 years, right? Like, you see that all over the place. For you, and I guess for anyone that might be in that same situation, one doesn't make sense to be like, okay, hey, this isn't it anymore. Yeah.

I mean, at the end of the day, the most important thing is to surround yourself with people who are not going to bullshit you. I know if I can say that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let it eat. Yeah, yeah. Don't people, you know, who are going to speak to you truthfully and, you know, just going to cut it straight, you know. And at the end of the day, you have to be a little bit of a realist as well.

So you can't be living in the clouds, right? Yeah. So when that time came and I finally, you know, it was that time for, that I got released and that was a phone call that I'll never forget, you know, it was, I had to make that decision. Like, I had a few indie ball offers, you know, you know, it was, you know, it was, I had to make offers, you know, or get to work and finish my degree. Like, I was stuck right there. So that realization, like, Nick, your 40th round draft pick, you're doing well.

Right. But it's going to be a long process to get to where you eventually want to go. Or you can jumpstart your career. That was something I was juggling at the time. You know, thankfully, I made the right decision. Yeah. And I'm super happy and I have no regrets. Yeah.

I mean, it is very easy to drag out those type of decisions, right? We know many people like that. So many people, man. And you can't, you can't bash anyone for trying to live out their dreams, right? Because it is the dream, right? So you played sports your whole life. That's the ultimate goal, right? Go play pro ball.

Go play in the NFL. Go play in the NBA, whatever that is. Like that's why you do it, right? If not, like, what are you there for? Obviously, you have fun and the relationships that you come along the way. But for me, I stopped playing after high school. Like that was my cap. But I did, I was like you.

I was a late bloomer, bro. You remember me. I was for sure. Tiny, bro. tiny. I graduated high school, weighing 140 pounds. You know, I was tiny. It wasn't until college, like sophomore year of college where I actually got to like 170, started actually work, like working out and my body started filling in. And I remember, like, I was still throwing the ball. And I was throwing like 88, 90. And I'm like, bro, I never got even close to that in high school.

So how was I ever going to have a chance, right? And in my head, I'm like, do I go and make a run at this? Because I loved it, right? But I had to have a real conversation. It was like, do I? I know how hard it is, bro. Like, you're not going to, you can be the hardest worker in the room. And still, that might not be enough because that's just the reality of the fact is that guy's just that much more talented and a hard worker. You know? So you do have to have those honest dialogues with yourself and with the people around you because they're going to be the ones to kind of like level set you because you think you can do everything and anything. Yeah.

So you make, you get that call, you get released and then you have that honest conversation. with yourself that you know what this is not it for me so what what was next this was the biggest i think phone car moment of my life was this next portion like where i made the biggest decision and that was you know so now i'm contemplating not playing baseball anymore or you know working in business or figuring out what i want to i have no idea you know you're you're still a little depressed about what's going on and and um i remember I remember one day my uncle calls me, this was around July 2020. So COVID is still lingering, but it's not the biggest thing anymore.

And he's just like, hey, come hang out. And in that time frame, he was in the process of trying to acquire the Mets. And that was a big thing in his life and it was what he was working on a lot. So we ended up, you know, obviously not buying the Mets, we came in second place on that bid. It was during that time I go, Theo, like, would you mind if I just sit in on one of these calls and just learn? I would love to learn. He said, absolutely, I got two rules.

Take notes and never be late. So I had to show up every call with my paper and pen ready, and then I was there 20, 15 minutes early before that Zoom car or the meeting. And from that point on, I never missed the meeting. I was always invited back, and I learned so much of that process. It was six months of doing due diligence, research on the Mets, all this stuff. We visited the site, and it was the biggest learning experience in my life. And then I was there for, I earned an internship with him, and I was an intern for a while,

and then it led to this opportunity. And that's with A-RodCorp, right? Correct. Okay. So when you first started, you were in the process of the due diligence with the Like that was like kind of your first learning curve in this world. Yeah, my first call was a pitch call to potential investors on, you know, investing into the Mets with them. And, you know, little by little, I started getting little assignments.

Like, tell me what the contract of this player is. What's this player? And like, you know, doing like little things like that. Or even as simple as like he's been on a call for two hours, like, you know, kind of like the bus boy work. You know, can you refill my quarter like real quick and I'll... Yeah, you know, like, you know, just being like the... What interns do? Whatever needed.

Yeah. The Swiss Army Knife. So, you know, that was a fun time and it was a great process. Nice. And then you do your internship with A-Rod Corp, right? And now you're still with A-RodCorp, right? And what's your title now there? Sports and Media Associate.

Okay. So before I get into it. Before I get into your rule, can you tell the people like what A-RodCorp does, just kind of high-level, I guess? Yeah, I would say A-R-R-Corp is our company that does three things. Sports, media, and real estate. Keep it that very simple. It does the three things. And in those buckets, you know, in the real estate, there's, you know, apartments, single-family homes.

On the media side, we do, we have a production company. We do working on documentaries. We're working with Fox and ESPN. On the sports side, we own the Timberwolves and Links and hopefully eventually grow that business as well. But very simply, sports, media, and real estate. Gotcha. So that's one of the other things I wanted to get into,

the whole Timberwolves thing, right? So A-Rod obviously tries to buy the Mets. We all know that that doesn't end up panning out. So I guess the next thing was A-Rod wanted to get into sports ownership, right? Like that was the ultimate goal at that point. How many years between the Mets and the Timberwolves was that? Two months. Oh, it's two months. Two months. It was that quick. I remember being quick, but I didn't remember being it that quick. Yeah, so, you know, the Mets came, happened and we lost. We were the second winners, as my uncle likes to say. You know, Steve Cohen

beat us out, who's one of the top 20 richest people in the world. Yeah. Very easy for him to write that check. And, you know, a couple months later, you know, a couple months later, you know, We're kind of a little down because we did so much work. And a couple months later, this opportunity comes knocking at our door and we're like, okay, let's take a look at it. And during our research and our due diligence, we noticed a few things that, you know, the NBA is a great business. You know, it's a sport that's going up.

Where baseball is kind of like, you know, staying here, maybe going down a bit. But this is a business that's taken off. Minnesota, we love the city, you know, love the state. We've had a lot of great memories there with the Yankees and stuff, unfortunately, beating the twins a bit. And then, you know, we just looked at the landscape of the team, Anthony Edwards, and a few other players out of Eric Carl, Anthony Towns. And then we saw the purchase price, and it was about a billion dollars cheaper. And we're like, wait, we like this business way better. And it's a billion dollars cheaper.

It's like, okay. And then Alex and Mark Lorry, his partner. they put in an offer and the rest was history. Yeah. And at the time, I mean, I think, like you said, the Timberwolves were on the come up, but obviously you look at the last couple years and it's been a very successful run with the Timberwolves.

But there was some recent news that Towns getting traded to the Knicks. How was that whole situation? I mean, we love Carl. Carl is awesome. He's been with us for 90 years. But, you know, it's a move that management, move management decided to make, which we fully support. Right. You know, we have the greatest team president in the world.

We think Pat Riley and Tim Connolly are the two best in the league. So anything he does, we completely trust. But Julius Randall, Dante de Vincenzo, and the first round pick are very appealing. Extremely. And we feel like we're going to be the deepest team in the league. And we feel like we can repeat our Western Conference appearance or even go even for. further. So we're really happy with the team. How was that run last year? Because I know you were, you were obviously there, I think you were there pretty much for every home game at that point

and away game. So I'm sure, too. How was that wrong? Because it was fun to watch. It was probably one of the best like three, four weeks spans of my life. Like going to these games crazy. I mean, my anxiety was through the room. I can't even imagine. Blood pressure through the room. I can't even imagine. That game, that game seven versus Denver might have been. I lost my voice. That game. was in Minnesota? The game was in Denver. We're down 20 at halftime. Oh my God, that's right. We make this comeback against the defending champs and the reigning MVP, Nicola Yolkinson. You know, it was, it was a fun game. And my sister was there, my brother-in-law, obviously my uncles, we had a great crew there at that game. And, you know, we definitely enjoyed it after.

What's a celebration when you make it to the finals look like? That's got to be... If we make it to the finals? Or, I mean, that was what, to go to the Western Conference Finals? That's right. Okay. So, well, going to the Western Conference Finals,

what is... Well, we felt like, you know, we were the top of the world. Exactly, you just beat the reigning champs. Yeah. So we were feeling great. Like, that was an amazing moment. But, you know, then we go play Denver. I mean, not Denver, Dallas in the Western Conference Finals.

And, you know, we probably a little bit, a little bit, you know, beat up a little bit. going in a seven-game series against the defending champs that took a lot of us out, a lot out of us. So, you know, it was a tough, hard-fought series, but, you know, the better team won, and, you know, hats off to Dallas. Yeah. And before that, were you into basketball like that at all? Yeah, I've always been to die-hard. Okay.

But I was kind of like, I didn't really have an alliance. Like, I, yeah, growing up in Miami, I'm a heat fan. Of course. But I only really love the LeBron era because I'm a LeBron guy. Okay. So, you know, I kind of didn't really have a team. Like, I messed with the Celtics a little bit. I was like a free agent.

So when this opportunity came, I was like, perfect. Minnesota, done for the rest of my life. That's sick. And now, so you got playoff baseball coming up. And then you have now the season start. So it's kind of like a big transition, right? Because you're really ramping it up because it's playoff ball. Like everybody's attentions on that.

But you have the basketball season looming. So how does your uncle? How does Arod Corb? How does yourself kind of like work through all this at the same time? Because baseball in itself is a monster. And you guys are doing all the stuff with Fox. You're going to be at the games. You're going to be at the studio.

But you're also thinking about NBA season. How does that whole situation look? Yeah. During basketball season, it's kind of just like, you know, you do it all your work in the off season. So now it's kind of just enjoy the fruits of your labor. And so like you mentioned, October, we're in baseball. So it's pretty easy for us. We're fully focused on baseball.

But we're watching it. We don't miss a dribble. We got the iPad going. We got the NBA League pass ready to go. So we're watching everything. And then as soon as baseball is over, then now we start going. We start integrating into games. And, you know, we have a house there now.

In Minnesota. Yeah, my uncle has a house. So we all stay there. And so when there's like a long homestine, like five or six games, we'll just, you know, camp out there and have like Arod Corp headquarters 2.0. Cool. And, you know, just go to all the games and work from the house, and it's nice and easy and chill. So what's your, like, day-to-day look like?

It depends the time of the year. If it's basketball season, I'm, you know, doing a lot of reports on the players and games, you know, recapping the games with the crew, with our sports crew, and talking about it and, you know, seeing which ways we can get better. Okay. So you're looking at the internal kind of statistics and analytics of the players. on the wolf side. Yeah, and then on the business side, you know,

who are working on any special projects. I'll, you know, help oversee, you know, see that and, you know, translate what, you know, the findings over to Alex and Mark. Nice. I mean, it's got to, did you ever see yourself, like doing something like this? No, not at all.

Right? Not at all, but it's a dream, right? Yeah. I mean, and you've been able to travel kind of all over the place, right? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's perfect. I get to go. around the world, go everywhere watching sports games and going in and out of stadium,

close to being at every stadium in baseball and hopefully do that in basketball. And I've been enjoying it. What's been your, I guess, favorite, probably, I mean, I think I might know the answer, but your favorite memory so far on the business side of sports? On the business side of sports. I mean, yeah, we're just talking about that game seven. I figured that would be it. That was a great moment.

It's hard to beat that. He can't beat it. He can't beat it. Especially on the road. Yeah. There's been so many lessons, though, learned in between that. That felt so good. You know, the first year we lost to Memphis in the playoffs,

and that was a series we should have won, but, you know, the better team won. Year two, we lost in the first round again. You know, so finally year three when we're in the Western Conference, finally eventually make it to the Western Conference final. It felt so good. After, you know, two years of losing in the first round, it felt nice to finally, you know, see that the hard work had paid off. And, you know, the boys were playing well, and it was awesome.

Yeah, that's sick, man. I live vicariously through your stories. I'm always saying, I'm like, damn, bro, this guy's having fun. Try it. So we talk a ton of golf stuff on the additional pods that we have. I love it. And I know you're a big golf guy. You just came from, you were telling me, Pebble Beach.

Pebble Beach. How was that? Pebble Beach is insane. Yeah. I loved it. We played from the tips to... Oh, how's about that said? Did you play from the tips?

From the tips. And the senior tour just finished playing on Sunday. Oh, my God. So it was in prime condition. It was senior... It was tour conditions. It was like the hardest thing I've ever played. And we got like the classic Pebble Beach fog.

So like, there was some holes that they're like, just hit it that way. I promise you the green is there. And the cat... I'm like, you're sure? It's like, yeah, just hit it there. And I'm like, all right, you can't see anything. That's crazy. And windy as shit, I'm assuming.

We thankfully not that much. Oh, it wasn't that bad? Yeah. Okay. So we played seven, which is the legendary short part three. Isn't that the one, uh, wait hit the hole in one? A hole in one. Yeah.

But that, that hole is either, could be a pitching wedge one day or a three iron next day. Yeah. Luckily, it was like a, it was like a 54 degree for me. Oh, okay. That's all I wanted. I just wanted a part of that hole. The whole seven has, it's cliffside, right? It's got all the water.

on the right side. All clip. Yeah. And you're hitting straight into the... It depends where it goes. It's on like a little peninsula. So it could go whatever direction. Yeah, you have no idea where the wind's going.

No idea. That's great. Is it down? Is it downhill, right? It's 100... It was playing 110 yards. Damn. All right.

And have you ever had a hole in one? No. No? No. I wish. The day I get a hole in one, everybody's going to do it. Yeah. Everybody's getting to know.

I'm going to post it on every website. I can see that. He's going to pick it up. Zaire Golf is going to pick that shit up just because of your reaction. Yeah. Yeah, no, I've never had a whole on one. I mean, Pebble Beach, obviously, is bucket list. I mean, that whole west coast of the U.S.

has got some badass courses. The one I've been dying to play is Band and Dunes, which is like, I think it's Oregon. Yeah. I've never seen the picture of Ben, bro. You've got to see, like, that is unreal. Bad ass? Yeah, it's in the middle of nowhere. But it's the same thing, like very clipside.

I think there's water. as well down the cliffs, but it's like that kind of like eerie, like all the trees are kind of dead, you know, but bunkers everywhere, super hilly. But it's one of those courses that, I mean, it's like probably $700 to play there or something like that. It's worth it. You have the time of your life, you go with a great crew. Bucketless. You stay on site at the course. It doesn't get any better than that. And yeah, you have a, have a field day out there. There's that one. There's stream song, which is here in Florida, which is like, uh, sent. Central Florida. They just got, they have like, I think five courses on site. And I think two or three

of them just got rated like in the top 20 courses in the U.S. right now. Yeah, it's a link style course. Miami is the only place with terrible court for golf. Miami golf sucks, dude. And it's the most expensive thing in the world. I went to Mekosukee the other day and charged me 125 bucks. So I thought I was at. It's ridiculous, bro. I thought it was at Trump or something. It's ridiculous. Yeah. And then you want to go play Trump. You want to go play the Blue Monster. You're going to pay 400 bucks. stupid. I go now where I go, I just go up like an hour north, like plantation Boca area, all that.

You're playing courses that are all better than anything here. I mean, not to take anything like, you know, Biltmore's nice, Trump is nice, but like Trump, you're in the middle of freaking DeRal, bro. Like you're not like in this beautiful, even though the course is very beautiful and you got the palm trees and all this stuff, it's not like playing

a Pebble Beach or anything like that. We got hit Briar Bay now, bro. It's the only place you could play for like... Briar Bay is where I was born as a golfer, I guess you could say. Yeah, same. That was my first time ever playing. That's where I pulled out everything, like whatever clubs I had in my garage that were probably 30 years old at that point. Only drive on two holes.

Exactly. And I'm like, this is where I'm going to learn. So Briar Bay will always be a special place. Special place in my heart, bro. Yeah, because that's where golf was made. But, dude, I'm addicted as hell to it. I mean, I try to get out at least now. I try to get out at least once a week, even if it's nine holes.

Because if you want to be good at golf, you've got to stay consistent with it. If not, it's pretty much impossible. We've got to get out there one day, bro. Yeah, absolutely. It would be great. So is Pebble Beach favorite course you've ever played? Yes, by far. Yeah.

That was awesome. Outside of Pebble, what other courses have you played? I played one Gaza Ranch in Idaho. Okay. That place was insane. Like, I'm a big nature like forest guy, and that one's like you feel like you're in the middle of a forest. That's cool. And like you have to like put them in between trees like this, pine trees like they're skinny.

So terrible for me. But it's the most beautiful course. Yeah, you can shoot a million on that course. There's a beautiful lake there. Nice. I played Shinnecock Hills, which is a top five course. Where's that? New York in the Hamptons.

Oh, that course, yes. Yeah, it's like a top five, 10 course in the country. You know, I played there, I shot by a 190. It was terrible. We walked it. Oh, my God. And Shencock Hills. So it's like, yeah, it's hilly as shit.

Exhausted after. And I love me a little Palmetto Bay, bro. Hell yeah. Palmetto Bay can never go wrong. Bro, there was a point, though. That course was rough, though. Yeah. They renovated.

I haven't played since the renovations. I haven't played it. I heard it's decent now. But obviously you guys play a lot in the DR too, right? Like Teeth of the Dog and in Casa Campo. What's your thoughts on that course? Tough. Tough as all right.

It's very windy, but it's beautiful course. Anytime I'm in Dominican Republic, my home country, I'm so happy. You get a couple of tragitos there. You're chilling. You don't even worry about golf. It's a different vibe out there, bro. It's the best, bro. My God.

A little president, a little brugale, a little rum and coke, bro. You don't even worry about golf ever if you shot a boogie or not. We were there earlier this year, not in Casa Campo in Punta Kana for the Punta Carta Classic, the PGA tournament that's out there. and they have what they is the last three-hole stretch it's right along the cliff side the wind is just blowing straight in your face on the last three holes it's called the devil's elbow bro and and these are pGA tour guys i mean they're you know they're driving the ball 300 yards but you're hitting straight into the wind and it's just a straight like it's a dog leg right but you have to go straight over the cliff side which is all water and you see guys that they're just they're laying up and they're leaving themselves 200 because that wind is just a little bit of you're just

just straight howling and it's coming in so hot that the salt waters cliffside is just oh you're getting hit with the miss you're getting hit with the mist right off the tee box yeah but bad ass fucking course bro badass course but i i i am a big uh like you're like nature golf i love like that caribbean golf for exactly that reason you get a little beer in you you got a it's a different vibe it's hot a shit it is you got to stay hydrated out there but it's uh it's a good vibe i just Too much water gets me nervous. I always end up hitting it into it. Every time.

Every time. Every time. So you're like, all right, I'm not going to shank it left. So I don't hit in the water. So it's either a nasty slice right or just a straight pull into the water. Like, it's super breezy. I'm going to play this one a little bit to the right. And then, of course, the wind doesn't happen to go on that time you hit it.

And it just goes into like the beach. Golf is fucking brutal? And is your uncle good? I know he's played a couple pro-ams, right? Yeah, he's not bad. He played the, what's the one out there? Tahoe. Tahoe.

How was that? It was great. Finish second and last. Second to last? Yeah. Did you play in it, too? I played the practice round. Okay.

I played the practice round. Nice. And who was he paired up with when he played at that program? First day, we were paired up with Gary Sheffield and Pujols. Oh, nice. Yeah. Second day, we had Miles Teller, Blake Griffin. Oh, shit.

I forgot who the other one was. And then the third day was like, Miles Schell. Teller again, Jerry Rice, and then another person. I forgot. So they didn't partner you guys with any pros, like PGA guys? No, not on that. That one's all celebrity. That's all celebrities. Okay, got you.

Yeah, wasn't Calid at that one, too? Yeah, he did. With Jimmy Fallon, right? They recorded that and everything, I think, right? I never watched it, but I was at the, you weren't there. No, you weren't there. I ran, that's where I met Elena. Elena, yeah, yeah.

She, uh, at the Caled. like a pre- charity yeah charity event like at the pre-party um which that was cool like O'Dell beckon was there a bunch of like two chains i think was there yeah just a bunch of guys but golf bro golf is he leave bro everybody everybody plays that so good and it's the best place to go four hours chilling exactly no you don't got to worry about anything but hitting the ball straight hopefully at least exactly but that's awesome man so any what's next for for you what's next for a rod corp anything exciting outside of whatever you outside of whatever you got outside of whatever you guys are working on now. Right now, our immediate future is just getting ready for the playoffs,

baseball. Super excited about that. It's going to be a fun postseason. Hoping for Dodgers, Yankees, you know, the two MVPs play against each other. And, you know, now it's the start of the basketball season. So, geared up for that. Yeah, ideally for baseball viewing purposes, LA Yankees World Series would be iconic. Oh, man, that'll be the best. You're getting, you're getting the two MVP's of each league. Two biggest markets. Two biggest franchises, most iconic. You know, after a tough World Series last year with Rangers and the Diamondbacks, that

was, you know, didn't draw as well. This one will, you know, put the baseball back on the map and do massive numbers. Is that your World Series prediction, the Yankees Dodgers? That's my hopeful prediction. Yeah. We'll see what happens. We'll see how the teams play out. But that's what I'm hoping for.

Fingers crossed. I mean, as a baseball fan, I'm not a Yankee fan, but I am a baseball fan, and I think a Dodgers Yankee series would just be iconic. Just watching Judge versus Otani for what I would assume would go setting in games would be pretty fucking epic, bro. Yeah, two best teams of baseball. Yeah. Number two one seeds, be great to watch two Giants Collide.

Absolutely. But all right, bro. Well, I appreciate you coming on. It's a good time. Thanks for having me. I'm sure we'll do this again at some capacity tune. and maybe the wolves get a finals this year. We'll do it after the finals run.

Yeah, I like it. Appreciate it, bro. Thank you for having you. Yes, sir.