Spittin' Chiclets Episode 666: Featuring Big Cat & Ernie Clement

Hey, Spittin' Chicklets listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. The course is calling, and your Chevy Equinox can take on whatever the day throws at you. Stylish and ready for anything, Equinox handles your commute, weekend trips, and even those last-minute tea times. Easily load up your clubs and gear with plenty of cargo space, plus hidden storage under the rear floor to keep things neat. And with a big standout touchscreen, the Equinox puts all your tech right where you need it. Bold and confident, Equinox looks just as good on the road as it does down the back roads. From the first drive to the final putt, Equinox is built to do more so you can focus on the game. Football season's here, and whether you're grinding your way through the week or gearing up for kickoff, there's one ride that's always game-ready. The Chevy Silverado. There's a reason Chevy is called the heartbeat of America, and Silverado keeps that heartbeat strong. Whether you're towing, hauling, or tailgating, Silverado lets you do it. Silverado lets you show up strong and tackle any task. With best-in-class standard torque, the most functional bed, and the advanced tech that's football guy approved. Check out offers on the 2026 Silverado at Chevy.com. Me and Ryan have been officially welcomed to the jungle that is Bosco Sports. I brought it towards the Coyotes, and I asked them if it was okay if I joined the Spit Chicklets podcast full-time. Ryan Whitney's got a pink Whitney out there now. Ryan Whitney's a sandbagger. Get that on camera. And he can't. The SONC man. He's a full-time member. Marley just got an assist from Chris Bates. Whoa, we're buzzing right now. SONC. Welcome to episode 666 of the Spit and Chicklets podcast. I had a lot of people request Miroslav Shatan for this episode with the 666. I actually got to play with him. Very interesting guy. So skilled. I don't have his number. I don't know what Miroslav Shatan's up to. But maybe for another episode, we can throw him in the mix, guys. So, Tarion hated him, didn't he? Hated his guts. Yeah, that's true. Shout out Pink Whitney, by the way. Pinky's up for Miroslav Shatan and his skill level. And Pinky's up for Tarion just being disgusted by the way he played the game. But then Bilesma took over, and he was big in that. He helped them big time in that playoff run. So, shout out to Miroslav Shatan, 666. I mean, that is a guy who, like many others, you just get a new coach. And all of a sudden, like, let's look. That year, he had 36 points in 65 regular season games. Six points in 17 playoff games. Won the Stanley Cup. His only Stanley Cup. He was down in Wilkes-Barre that season at one point. Yeah. So, Tarion, not only did he not want to win, he's like, you're out of here. He cleared waivers. And then he comes back up, and he wins the Stanley Cup. So, shout out Miroslav Shatan. I thought he was a hell of a player, especially back in the Buffalo days. I mean, having the—it wasn't Satan. It was Shatan. I know enough about him to say his name correctly. But, yeah, no, we didn't get him for episode 666. We did get Dan Katz, Big Kat, and Ernie Clement. Pardon My Take just came out with a book. So, we've been on Pardon My Take, all of us, several times. And so, we had Dan on to just kind of pump the book. And talk about, I guess, their whole story on how they became such juggernauts in the sports podcast world. And Ernie Clement, our guy from the Sandbagger, we thought we ruined the Jays. We did ruin the Jays after we dummied them in February or March. And they're on a little heater. I think they've won like 9 or 10 series in a row. So, we wanted to catch up with him quick, see what's going on there. And this is the last episode before we really get hockey-centric again. Next week's episode will begin our division previews. Which division are we going to start with? I don't know. It's hard. I was thinking about it because we're going to be starting even before camp. Camp is so late this year. And you're not getting any storylines yet. So, I think we have to save the Central until later. The Central, they're the beast still. They are the powerhouse in the NHL. Maybe we start Metro. I was going to say Metro. It's probably the most vanilla division, especially with Posh's doubles. Also, we will be featuring, well, one of them got traded, but a few players from a team in the Metro in the next sandbagger. Yeah, so when does that come out? Wednesday. Okay, boys and girls listening. I'm not trying to be the guy of like, wait until you see this. This is the most out-of-pocket, misbehaved, on a golf course sandbagger I'll ever be a part of. Yeah. So, I've watched part of this, and I'm like, I'm shutting it off at some times because I'm like, I can't believe it. I think you guys are going to love it. We cannot give the names out. This thing's just dropping. There's no trailer. There's no nothing. It's just coming out, and I think you're going to be amazed. I think you're going to love it. It's an all-time sandbagger, let's say that. Another hockey thing I did forget. I didn't even see this. Chris Drury, who was president and GM of the Rangers, is no longer president. I didn't see that. What's the owner's name? Dolan. Dolan named his son president. Okay. I wasn't aware of this. All right. Move over, Dundon. We got a new netball baby in town. I did not know that. So, that's an interesting development within the world of the New York Rangers, who now, after Dolan's basketball team wins it all, is he even more furious if the Rangers struggle? Can they bounce back? That'll all be part of. Next week's Metro. I heard that he's putting his kid's name on the banner when they're raising it at the start of the year. That's kind of like a little bit of a shot at Dundon. What banner are they raising? No, the Knicks. The Knicks. World champs. What title would you rather lose, president or GM? You'd rather be the president, right? I'd rather lose the GM. Yeah. Because the president is hiring the next GM. All right, you're no longer GM, but you're still running everything. And you can hire who you want. And I'm assuming the money for president, I mean, remember Shani's salary for president of the Maple Leafs? That's big time. That's big time. So we got some crazy times. Also, it's like it's a bad look where it's like if Dolan's like, hey, well, one, you can't handle both. Now we're going to hire someone to oversee you. And now you're on the clock. And it's my son, who at some point will own this entire landscape of basketball, NHL, and the sphere out in Vegas. Amongst other things. I mean, what else do those guys own? I can't even imagine it. How old is the kid? Do we know? No clue. He might be like 16. So I just want to prepare. He's 32 years old. His name's 32. Oh, my God. What a life. What a life. You know what? Like nepotism can be bad. And there's some things that nepotism that really disgust people. But I also see how, you know, it can really exist out there. Like if at some point I can help out one of my kids, I want them to earn everything. But they're going to hopefully be in positions where I can really help them out. So I get the disgust towards nepotism. But as a dad who maybe someday could help out his kids, I also understand a little bit. Now, if I own the Rangers, the Knicks, and the Sphere, and Ryder White or Cal 32, I'm like, here you go. I don't know if, like, that one's going to go over well in the household with my wife saying they have to earn everything they get. But I could hopefully maybe, like, get them an internship at, like, WEI. I don't know what to say. Thanks for the spear, Dad. Why it's into golf now, boys. We can kind of catch up what's going on. First, I want to tell you, went to the Red Sox game. Now, it was my first game of the year. Ryder went to a game with a buddy. They won. This was my first game. I didn't say beforehand I was going because if they lost, I knew I'd just take so much heat. Smart. Unreal win. Got to go with Kenny, my guy Kenny, and Brendan Byrne. He got us our ticket. His ticket's through work. He had a bunch of clients there. Foles was there. And we had a great old time. But the Sox were dead. They were dead for seven innings. They're down 2-0. Okay, bottom of the eighth, they get the bases loaded. No outs. No runs. Just the Fenway was deflated. Like, oh, my God. Didn't even get one there on a sack fly or something. But what happens? They get out of the ninth. Still down 2-0. Bomb nine. Walk-off victory. 3-2. Place went bananas. We were going nuts. Foles had a jersey on that is so tight now that he can't button it. Oh, no. So he had a white, a blue shirt underneath his Manny Ramirez jersey. So that he stole from O'Connor years ago. Couldn't even button the jersey. He's waving it around. We're going bananas. But I bring all this up because it was great. An awesome night with friends. But saw one of the most athletic things I've ever seen happen. So three rows beneath us in the box just next door. But this. This guy's on the left side of the box. Front row. I'm, you know, three rows back. He's right near our box. He's basically right beneath me. I'm going to say he was 75. And he could have been 80. Could have been 70. He's in his 70s for sure. A line drive foul ball from a lefty. We're along the third baseline. Gets rocketed up towards us. And I'm like, oh, my God. I get up. This old guy stands up, reaches out, and snags this thing one-handed. Left hand had his beautiful watch on. He's awesome. Old boys. There's old. you guys the picture got old and it was a line drive yeah bro like humming and he grabs out full extension left arm and just snags it left hand enough to the point where like the whole like area is going bananas standing ovation like incredible we're going nuts for this guy he'd been taking he'd been keeping the book of the game that's old school come on that's old school he was now here's what happens there's about four or five kids in that box that kind of come flying down and i'm like oh he's gonna give it to one of the kids like buddy this guy wouldn't even let one of the kids see it he wouldn't even let him hold it let alone and i'm like whoa whoa and falls false starts give him the ball give one of the kids the ball and the guy's kind of just like nope nope and he's right back to taking the book you like it was just i was like and everyone around is kind of like dude like there's a six-year-old kid right here like give him the ball them kids listen this guy your opinion on this and by the way they're leaving after the game and the guy walks up more like unreal catch and he's with his buddy and the first guy's like oh i didn't make the catch i'm like yeah buddy i know i'm talking to the guy behind you uh but the guy was carrying his handler was carrying the ball there was some disgust around he didn't give it to it i'm on your side yans i know where you're going with it like the guy's 75 years old he grew up in a time where there was no handouts there was no oh give it to the kid he deserved it mind you this guy it could be his 7 000th game he's ever been to and he's never gotten a ball as a guy i've gotten two of them so maybe my third i'd give away probably not but you you didn't give away either no he's got two daughters i wouldn't even let my i was at the red sox game with my brother and his kids and my kids i wouldn't even let them hold it by themselves so you were like this guy i would hold it with the guy had like doing the book and the way he was acting after i was like he might have like a touch of tism but he was so like in love with this ball i actually said at some point like maybe he's got a grandson doesn't matter it's going to him but okay so you guys disagree with me i thought he should give it to a kid if you're going through the trouble of keeping the book on a game it's clear that the boss and red socks and going to the live experience means a lot to you yeah by the way how many people in the crowd you think are keeping that the book i remember back in the day that used to be a tons of people i bet there's maybe 10 i bet 10 a game all 75 a buddy i think 38 000 people that were at 35 000 i think you're looking at at least 100 people are doing the book during games all 75 and above yeah oh yeah yeah a minimum age of 60 i believe you know you're not seeing a 23 year old keeping the book oh and so do you think there would be a video of this guy snagging this ball like would it have made television it was a national broadcast game i think if it was nesson it might have because we had the tv right above us so we looked up to see if they'd show it but they didn't i don't know if nesson would have been like the local carrier of the games and because it was fox they didn't i don't know i was wondering that but dude oh my a rocket just boom grabbed it it was it was incredible that was probably the like if you're taking the book on that and you love baseball so much i would probably say that that was probably a top five highlight of that guy's life and i don't think he should be giving away that baseball and he's got six kids but it's also too like if it got hit and it like just ended up by his feet and then he grabbed it if you make a one-handed snag at 70 years old like you keep that thing no glove too it was impressive i guess maybe you guys have was it more impressive than ernie's grab that we end up talking about yes okay wait ernie had a glove on bro okay fair and he's 27 and it was kind of softly hit like this guy's 75 probably broke his hand but he he was not letting go of that ball i mean the poor kid next to him couldn't even he couldn't even hold it did ernie give the ball to a kid i don't know speaking of old guys i had my new neighbor pop by yesterday guy named that trash bag what's that bring you that trash bag behind you no he's in it after the i chopped him up and he's in it after this fucking scene that went down so he comes he comes strolling down my driveway did i lose you guys he's still there oh no no no you're back i i zoned out for a second there but he came strolling down the driveway i opened the door and right away i knew that he wanted to come chat so offered him a drink so we sat down had a drink interesting guy he like uh he he created these like um these bat bat monitors where like you put them to bats and they monitor the the flight patterns and where they hang out and stuff like that's what this guy does for wait wait like animals like the animals and i'm like and ra then drops that video buddy don't don't even get me started on how many weird things like came about in correlation to to ra's videos which in pictures which we'll get to later but i was i was because i'm like i'm like oh this is kind of weird it seems like just like a weird hobby i'm like why is like tracking bats so important and he like looked at me like i had three heads i didn't realize that that bats are probably the biggest the biggest proponent into pollinizing plants and flowers even more so than bees no buddy i know when he told me this i'm like this guy's a lunatic and google it right now i think they're bats were useless i thought they were useless they pollinate over 500 uh plants and flowers like in in whatever you call it like the on the planet like i need 500 it's not that many for the whole planet no different different types of plants he is not wrong at all bats are vital night shift pollinators that sustain tropical subtropical and desert ecosystems they fertilize over 500 species of plants including economically important crops like agave tequila banana hey okay so here's what's even crazier night shift there's i only i didn't have any booze in the house other than a bottle of tequila so i poured him a glass of tequila and oj that we each drank and this is before he fucking started getting into the bat so when we talk we learned about the pollination i was like oh agave tequila i'm like oh this is why all this started coming together with like the ra posting up videos of bats flying around so and then on top of that as he keeps going he has a hat on and it's like oh my god i'm like oh my god i'm like oh my god i'm like oh my god it's got a bat on there and i'm like oh is that why you have a bat on your hat and he took off his hat he's like no he goes i my friend gave me this i kind of so he didn't even realize he had a bat on his hat i don't believe him i think he was embarrassed once you didn't know what bats meant i can't be like i can read body language buddy he was just kind of like looking at like oh like that is weird that i have a bat on my hat and i'm a i study bats and their flight patterns and i have tracking devices that go on these things so he was he was giving me the lowdown on this so long that my girl brought out yeah we'll get into this never but girl brought out some some food for the both of us while we're chatting at the front of the house and he starts guzzling this food down and he ends up getting the hiccups oh bro this guy had the hiccups for like 20 minutes the first time i've met him i'm gonna show you you gotta be like dude nice meet you like 20 minutes of hiccups with a stranger he was defeated by the end this is i gotta show you this picture i gotta show you this picture i feel like we could go and visit biz and be like hey let's go meet your neighbor and we knock on the door and they're like nobody has ever lived here by the name of that like what are you talking it was like imagine this is this is 20 minutes in we we give him this unbelievable meal and he look at it oh he's crippled by it he is just devastated full plate of food he can't eat it he's just devastated by these hiccups look at look at the bat on the hat oh he's an older man buddy he's he's like 70 he was the same guy who caught the baseball dude it looks like he's like crying almost like i just met this guy for 20 minutes i went to college with a girl who had the hiccups for 11 years how fucking crazy i've heard of those stories and like yeah it's not even funny yeah she was hiccuping at the beginning of class the professor's like do you need a glass of water she's like no i've had actually had hiccups for 11 straight years what the fuck it's a nightmare that okay first of all that's crazy she needs better friends you gotta like scare her out of the hiccups somebody should have handled that before the 11 year mark so another thing too is is is there's a bald eagle that lives around here so the bald eagle went by us yesterday and then there was a beautiful i'll bring it in here a feather there was a feather on the ground so we were talking we were like oh wow a beautiful feather so i ended up walking him back to his place and then he completely feather mogged me look at these feathers that this guy busted out he's got all these feathers look at feather whoa whoa oh so he so the feather thing was random and he's like little do you know i i'm i'm a legit serial killer with four thousand and feathers in my place is you got to move man this ain't good why did you walk him home his hiccups were that bad oh buddy i i just was like i gotta walk i gotta walk fred home and like one of those people you get in conversation with and they just go and you're just i was perplexed by everything that was coming out of his mouth because like when we found the feather when we were walking around he never said he never feather mogged me until we got to his place for the fact that when we got there i was like hey you mind if i grab like a little water for the walk home and he was like no problem so when i walked in i was like oh you got some feathers and he's like oh i never even brought it up he never because when i went in i noticed them and then he goes oh and then he walked me around where he had all these bald eagle feathers uh saved up and including uh like there was like these peacock feathers and i'm like there's peacocks over here and he's like yeah so just a crazy night with this guy named fred um and learning a lot about bats and what this guy does so that when you brought up the old guy it just sparked me to think to talk about this my neighbor is were you now chopped up in this plastic bag beside me hey freddy hey fred a feather pops out is were you not on the bus after the winter classic in boston when one of my kids had the hiccups and wayne was like oh here's a trick and did the trick and her hiccups were gone in a second no remember you remember you did it to rider yeah and they were i have it saved in my phone as 99 hiccups trick it's what's the trick you gotta read it right now it's fucking no you have to you have to share that dude biz it's undefeated like oh oh he's like rider come here like i i have the one way to get rid of him and i'm like no you gotta my opinion has always been whether you're scaring someone whatever you just have to not think about them and they go away however that happens that's what happens you know you don't think about it goes away but keith's like no no this thing's undefeated it's wayne gretzky's trick and he did it to rider and they were immediately gone and i was and i've used it since it's so he explained to you the trick that he that that wayne used on yans's daughter and he texted it to you and then you use this no no i was with a rider on his own we were all together at the world baseball classic okay so yans used used wayne's trick okay can you start from scratch and i give him a shout out every time i use it so you take five sips of water with your finger in your left hand all right your finger in your left ear your finger in your ear yeah your finger in your left ear five sips and then you switch and then do five sips with your finger in your right ear of water just sip boom boom boom gone every time it's bizarre dude it's how spaced out of the sips no just like like you would take a sip so it'd just be like this like that buddy trust me five and five left index finger and left ear right index finger and right ear and all of a sudden that girl is not on suicide watch at plymouth state anymore she she could have saved 11 years and nine months of hiccups if she knew wayne i'm shocked that he didn't rebrand it with nine sips on each side he doesn't cheat the game man like somebody told him that trick or whoever however he figured it out he's not gonna cheat the game it's a great call biz if he did nine and then it was the 99 and all of a sudden like world's problems are being fixed because wayne gretzky created the game and he's not gonna cheat the way to get rid of the hiccups i'm gonna try nine sips next time and see if it works you're never gonna go over to fred's house and be like oh i forgot he's in my trash bag you cure the world from uh from hiccups if you do nine each side like no one ever just one guy i gotta get these uh these flowers or not these flowers these feathers i want to show you the feather feather collection i've got in the last like week give me one sec in the last week this guy the people around like he could be like you could be like you could be like you could be like just a bird guy in like the next two three years yeah wearing those him wearing those pants fred you know those pants that you can zip off into shorts i could see him wearing those soon him and fred start a pod the biz and fred show but how like how i wonder how that conversation even started when fred came over to the house how would you like to be fred like you come over you introduce yourself and then like 20 minutes later the guy's in his kitchen and he's like in his kitchen taking pictures of you just struggling out on his porch he might have faked the hiccups just to leave biz had him hostage yeah there was a point where i could tell that he wanted to go home and i'm like no i need to learn more about the bats so this one's a very unique one that looks like that looks like a a feather from a pillow like a doctor a dr seuss bird i agree i agree it's that looks like you could tickle somebody really good with it is it's a fetish feather okay yeah that's a weird one g said it's the worst one he's ever seen and i'm gonna disagree with you g because no it's different yeah it's different it looks like he got ripped apart by like a bear though like i don't know if that's how you gotta ask fred what bird that is i'll get fred back over here for next pod yeah yeah please he could talk about the rangers this one's really cute like it's a very small one yeah this one is very unique it's got the fluffy bottom but then it's got the color can you see the color oh yeah a little green green blue action so you don't know where these are coming from these are just in your yard just in the yard and then this one's the bald eagle feather that's sick yeah you should put that on like a cowboy hat or like attach it to a pen or something i don't think you ever write anything yeah yeah that's actually a legit one that one's cool nothing compared to but um i'm gonna learn doing it longer what fred's been doing it way longer than you you got time um the fucking shooting bald eagles to like hey i'm gonna see his obituary in the newspaper died from hiccups hey imagine meeting my neighbor for the first time and he fucking croaks over from getting the hiccups and i'm like ah i'm getting blamed for that like he's allergic to agave you go over you steal his feather collection before you that's how he has all these uh oh my god oh my god gee this is your wedding gift oh that's nice i'll take it speaking of g and his wedding g drove four hours back to new jersey to get his haircut no i haven't yet i got a flight tomorrow morning to go for a flight tomorrow morning to go for a flight tomorrow morning isn't your wedding in september so my wedding is in two and a half weeks and i got a big way i'm a best man this weekend making a big speech so i'm flying to new jersey because there's one lady on planet earth i trust to cut my hair bro i i knew it was gonna happen a day with this where's this wedding wedding is in boston it's not so you're going to jersey then back to boston i don't got money like that i i bro this is the gayest thing you've ever done in your life she's unbelievable though that's the thing she gives the best haircut of all time i've gotten a few haircuts in boston and they've just been miserable this is the most important haircut of my life this is my wedding haircut i don't got like i don't got an afro like you went i got i got intense long curly hair that i gotta make look nice bro have you guys ever had a haircut ever been like wow and this is no disrespect have you ever been like wow cornelli's haircut looks incredible it's always just looks good like he's told me you got good you got good hair after i got this haircut biz said to me i think it was that chicklet's cup wow i really like your new haircut you're doing it a little longer in the back tighter on the sides ever since then i said hey if i can get you know a compliment from biz like that i'm gonna ride but i also think that you have great hair and that right you can't find a good barber or hairdresser in the boston area that's it's not like you're you're in like a town of 50 000 where you're like well i gotta i'll be able to i gotta go get my haircut from fred i won't do this forever there's no other reason you're going to jersey honest to god well here's the thing alana's in jersey right now so i'm gonna fly there she's gonna pick me up in hoboken and i'll drive home so it's just a one-way flight i got the delta points i'm flying there for free so it's really not a problem i'm not going to fly there i'm going to fly there if you guys think about it well here's the problem it's a four-hour drive here's the possible problem your hair better look fucking unbelievable i'm not going to be able to like not bring this up like every show hundred percent i think that if this haircut doesn't look great i think you're one of the biggest losers i've ever met i would do anything if we could just find this lady pay her however much to just jack his shit up just a racing stripe right just a bald eagle feather on top of his head i'll get you guys be the judge at the wedding you guys be the judge at the wedding if the haircut looks bad tell me after the wedding so two and a half weeks before legit how many adult males in the united states and canada have done this in 2026 i don't know what he said it to me i was like i gotta bring this up because this has to be a discussion yeah i think that we should pose to our fans and to send us to our fans and to send us to our fans and to send us to our fans and to send us to our fans yeah i think that we should pose to our fans and to send us to our fans and to send us to our fans tweets, Instagram DMs, the most like bridezilla. type things that the men have done like whether in your friend group or your mother-in-law like what what have you nothing what have nothing close to this really how about how about the one video that's going viral I think it was a Russian guy he was getting married and he was walking down the aisle and they got the beats going and he had two bottles of champagne and he like cling them together and then shatter them on the ground and then like change his blazer at the altar reading the comments just carving this guy did you see what video I'm talking about yeah car run to your face you'll be dead that guy looked like a killer I think he thought it was gonna be sick oh yeah the internet would go nuts for it and the internet that did its internet thing it was buried the guy I think he thought he was gonna be like MJ taking off the tearaways coming out for the finals with the dude like the tune pumping at the United Center I am also my dentist is still going to Japan to get a bite of sushi next month yeah no my dentist is still in Hoboken so I'm getting my teeth whitened while I'm there too so it's kind of a two-for-one thing that's right they do everywhere as well yeah true he's going to Turkey to get his asshole waxed I think we got to send memes with G on this excursion and have him follow him around like he's a bride two and a half weeks before his fucking wedding man I got a hotel room for G's wedding it is an important ready to go what where are you staying the Marriott yeah same okay cuz I got I think they're armies there well Merle's used his points to book a room there and I think he set the tone so everybody followed suit so I was at another hotel and then I'm like screw that I'm going to the Marriott with where everybody else is that that's a great move I love the boys to arm dogs there I believe shut out the arm dog by the way cruiser little arm dog cruise arm dog by the way cruiser little arm dog strong off to camp today to the Swift current Broncos all the way shell and if you told army like I think if army could have had one wish when he had a son born he's got three daughters he's got one son he would have said like I want him to play in the WHL not the NHL the WHL so I don't know in Sask why do all those dub guys want their kids to fucking ride buses and because look at me I'm not looking at army turn out look at arm dog now I don't I think he's no matter what he's going to be playing in Saskatchewan and maybe like I think it's like CSSI or some some sort of u18 but he could possibly make Swift current apparently and I think he's like 170 pounds now six one once Jesus he was 135 140 pounds and then Cruz went off to I think it was in Lehigh Valley and or Philly it was Philly with his brother Ryan and he was like I think it was Philly and he's just transformed him and I've seen clips of Cruz just killing people like a couple seconds late oh yeah he's an arm that's an Armstrong staple you don't even need a paternity test you just need it as fuck see it take a few shifts weak side forward dipping down just going elbow up on the guy coming around the net blind side off as D man every division one school I go to now is asking about Cruz Armstrong before I really it was a funny joke I'd make I just think hey you got to check out Cruz now every coach is like hey what's the deal with this Armstrong kid is he legit it's crazy yeah he's kind of the first son of chicklets to make it to a high level yep yep so we're gonna we're gonna be rooting for him and in Swift current is the sixth largest city in Saskatchewan with a town of 17,000 people whole six largest six largest and sass 17,000 wonder how many barbers I don't know or feathers another story that that crossed uh the internet or the tv i saw and i guess it relates you're talking college hockey for for cruz armstrong at some point have you seen the story of this guy who's leaving the nfl or was put on waivers in the nfl and he's going to lsu i think his name is right here daquan right uh he's being waived by the browns has an agreement to return to lsu he played at old miss at this point at this point boys everyone's like it's broken it's broken i i don't really know what else you could say besides like this is just it now like and what's funny is hockey is so small compared to football that we had kids that played in the ahl go back to college and play i think you this past season guys yeah happened a couple times we're playing so i don't know where they where they go from here but i don't understand the hate towards the kid like buddy i'd go right back to college he's probably making more money than he would have made he's playing he's playing in college going to lsu he's got the time of his life i don't blame him at all i just don't know when this ends up getting figured out because at this point he didn't play in any games right it's just preseason i don't know he might have played yeah preseason games but it's like when junior hockey players go to nhl training camps like you know you might play one or two games then you go back to junior i i look at it kind of that way i mean i think it's crazy that you can turn pro and then go back i think guys in the like nba have played in like the d league and then gone back to the uh college so i yeah the landscape is crazy right now but if he didn't play any games in the regular season hadn't signed a contract all that stuff i don't see what's wrong with it like you know if he's still got another year of eligibility let him do it and enjoy his time and play football for another year i don't really like the way that the nfl and how they handle the whole pro like moving out of college like i like the way that hockey does it where when you're drafted you could still go back and play college you can still go back and play junior yeah like to me to me the like even like from a developmental standpoint like oh you don't make the nfl or the practice roster like you're you're going to be in the nfl you're going to be in the nfl you're going to be in the nfl you're going to be in the nfl you're going to be in the nfl you're going to be in the nfl you get cut see you later there's no hl like the fact that they haven't teamed up with like the cfl and or another league where it's like an hl league where these guys can like play and and and you know be in the swing of things where let's say there are five six injuries on our nfl roster you should be able to go call guys up from another league where they're already i think they just sign them off the street some of these guys are just trying to they're staying in shape on their own at home and they're just waiting for a phone call so i don't think they're going to be able to you'd think with the product and where the nfl is at they would have a better situation and system for for how it's all set up and being able to pay guys in that quote-unquote ahl of football couple hundred grand what's 200 250 300 grand for a starting quarterback in the ahl football league you know it's not i think the ncaa is just so cooked at this point i mean even bu hockey this year i think it's the first year and this will change after the nfl league this season for the next but this year will be the first year in the history of bu hockey there isn't an american player on the team andy patrillo texted me and said ask wit what he thinks of this one yeah i mean i you know what like next year they have america kids coming in that'll be freshmen in the fall of 2027 um you know freddie meyer his son um he'll be he'll be there now yeah it's kind of rattling but it goes back to it's all cooked and funny enough when i originally brought up and biz we argued like how chl players coming to ncaa it makes college hockey better it makes it more competitive it is completely burying american hockey players like it's it's ripping scholarships out of american kids hands and that that does suck for american players somebody reached out to me right after we had the conversation when all this news broke last year like this is not good for american players and now i'm like how many more division one hockey programs will there be in the next five years there needs to be yeah there'll be a and i don't know if this is possible i don't know when you could get it there needs to be 20 more 20 that's a lot how many are there currently i want to say gee what is there 58 55 to 60 d1 ncaa hockey program oh wow that's it i would have thought more yeah there's not a how many compared to football 64 men's programs 45 women's program what they need to do is they need to attack the sec and they need to attack the ncaa and they need to attack the ncaa and they need to attack the ncaa and all the pac-12 schools the uscs the oregons the university of washington's and then you got to head down south you got to get the alabamas the floridas the clemsons all these big schools they all love hockey georgia georgia just put a brand new rink on campus that could fit a d1 team tomorrow so they got to get this moving well i have said this i don't know if i've said it on the show me playing d1 when i did is now playing d3 and playing d3 is now playing when i was when i was 18 is now playing club hockey exactly that's legit what it is because of how you're not saying you're not saying you you're saying somebody no no i'm saying like i was different like i would i'd be going d1 now but for a lot of guys who maybe got partial scholarships or walk-ons or even full rides some people and your nephew would now be playing d3 and the guys who played d3 when i was 18 19 a lot of them not everyone would be club hockey players now it's that difficult didn't call and just go down to to land after like lighting up cushing like that's brian no Brian Yandel started at Lynn. Keith moved him in. He'll be playing club there. And Colin actually is playing in the USHL. So we have another chicklets offspring here. Colin Yandel playing for Madison Capitals in the USHL this year, which is great because my former teammate and big-time underrated player, Tom Gilbert, who was nasty in Edmonton. He is the D coach of Madison. So Colin's learning from a guy. We're talking about a great guy to learn from. And he wasn't overly physical. He was smart, great stick, good puck mover, could produce points. That's a great guy, Colin. Yeah, he's a year younger than Cruz. So we got Cruz Armstrong, Colin Yandel. We're following these guys. It's just, yeah, the whole landscape of NCAA sports is just, I don't even really like, and now I watch, it's not like I'm getting upset or rattled. It seems so many people are disgusted about this kid going back. To LSU. It's like, buddy, there's no rules. There's zero rules anymore. How many jobs would you say that have been taken by, how many Canadians have taken American kids jobs and scholarships away over the last, like this season and last season? Would you say like 20, 30% of them? More. How many, how many kids are, how many kids are playing NCAA D1 that played major junior last year? I think it's like 200 kids. Following the NCAA rule change, allowing major junior players to maintain college eligibility, nearly 325 players from the Canadian Hockey League have committed or signed to play Division I hockey. That's nuts. So that's 325 American kids. Done. Now, once again, college hockey, college hockey is now better. It is an incredible product because of this. It's no slight on like how good these Canadian kids are. It's just a real bummer for American kids who, you know, I swear to God, playing D1 college hockey now, especially in like the Big Ten and Hockey East is like making the NHL before. It's fucking impossible. I would say if you put an all-star team together, they could probably beat an AHL team. Yeah. Did we discuss that last year when they sent that team to Davos? And that was only like non-world junior age kids. I think that was like older kids. If you took the best six defensemen, 12 forwards, and two goalies in college hockey next year, I don't want to be disrespectful. I think they would be unbelievable in the AHL. I agree. Because it's such a younger league now. Now, Jans, you said your nephew is going off to the USHL? Yeah, USHL. Madison, Wisconsin, the Capitals. They're building a new rink. I think the rink that they play in now is the, not Daryl Sutter. What's, um. Bob Sutter. Bob Sutter. Suter. Suter. Yeah. Named after him. So, uh. He played two games there last year at the end of the year after his high school season. They were great. Like, the crowds were awesome. I was able to watch them on TV. The crowds were great. And I think one of the biggest things, like Witt said, for him was having a coach like Tom Gilbert going there and learning from him. And, um, you know, not to say that Cushing, where he was at, where I played high school, wasn't a good fit. But I think for him making that next step, learning from a guy like Tom Gilbert is going to be a great thing. And he's moving into his, I think he moved in today or yesterday. So, he's going to get the full effect of junior hockey, riding buses, uh, you know, playing a grown man's game. How many games did they play in the USHL? 50? 60-ish? Oh, wow. So, that's a lot. It's going to change, too. It's going to change, too, because of, uh, the Western expansion happening next season. I don't know if you guys saw that, but guys like Luke Robitaille, Joe Sackick, Team Mussolini have all owned teams. They just got teams for the USHL's Western expansion. Talk about learning from some legends. Those are some good guys to go play for. Jeremy Roenick messaged me about how, he's got a junior team as well, or maybe a pro team. We're going to be getting them on pretty soon, but just the amount of expansion, especially out West in the non-traditional markets, is crazy on what's going on right now. Now, Jens, is this the same nephew that was also drafted to the Moncton Wildcats? Yeah, same one, Colin, yep. So, so, is he not ready to make that jump to the queue yet? Or is he kind of weighing his options on what? This is how confusing it is. You have to figure out. I got to say, the landscape in hockey now, it makes me like. Yeah, I don't get it. It gives me like anxiety for parents, dude. And I'm talking parents who played at a high level, like Brian, two-time All-American at UNH, and he's going into like this past summer, I'm like, what's Colin going to do? Is he going to stay at Cushing, or could he go to Madison, or could he go to Wisconsin? He's like, dude, I'm trying to figure this out too. And it leads me to just say, like, the landscape and what you have to do now is so fucking brutal that I swear, it's like, obviously my kids are playing hockey, Wyatt's starting this year, and it's like, do you even want them to be really good players? And maybe I'm totally not making sense right now, but you just. There's so much moving and shaking. There's never any. Like, I'm on this team. I have a goal for the next, I don't know, two, three years. Like, that would be normal when I was coming up. Hey, I went to fair. I'm going to be there for, you know, I was there for three years. Most people there for four. Now, every single year, you're just moving, and then you have to leave home, and they have the academies, and I don't know, dude, like, I played in the NHL, and I'm like talking to parents now whose kids are very good, and everyone's just like, I got no clue what's going on. And it's just, it's a bummer. It's like, it's the only sport too. Like, football, yeah, kids may go to, like, super elite football schools when they're maybe a sophomore or something. Baseball may be the same, but there's nothing like hockey, dude. You're moving all over North America in all these different leagues, and I'm talking kids are, like, eight and nine are switching teams every year. The whole thing has made me so kind of disgusted with, like, the landscape of how to make it in hockey now. It disgusts me. I hate it. What would Colin's dream be to play in Moncton? Like, you did for a year and then maybe go off to college to keep developing? Yeah, I think his main goal is, you know, obviously play college hockey. And like Witt's saying, like, that path is so different now. Like, he did a year of prep school, then he's going to go to the USHL for whatever, I don't know, two years or a year, and then go major, junior, and then college. It's so, it's so strange because, like, like Witt was saying, we grew up, I played on the same team from the time I was, what, seven? When did the Kings start? Yes. Yeah, seven. Seven to 14. 14, and then you go to high school. So, you're playing on two teams, basically, your entire life until you finish high school. So, it's so crazy to me now. But I also asked, like, our friends that are scouts, I'm like, do you guys look at, like, oh, this guy's jumping ships, going to a different team every year? He's like, no, honestly, it doesn't even affect it because that's the way that the game is right now. So, it's such a weird, I don't, I don't like it, I don't agree with it, but I think it's just so weird how, the whole landscape when, you know, we're not that far removed from all of it. I think it's just so different right now. And does anyone really know what the right play is? Not to mention that, so, Ryder's at, like, the, he's not, like, the top level of kids. He's at 2017, right? So, in Massachusetts, the league we're in, there's, hey, when we were growing up, I was on the Kings as well. There was, say, there was 10 teams. It was Metro. There was one team every age group is. There was an 83, Kings team, an 84 Kings team, and every team had one team. Now, every team has four. So, you go Elite, Platinum, that's Ryder, Upper Gold, Gold. So, like, everyone can play club hockey, whereas, unless you're on an Elite team, you're not, you weren't a club player when, you know, as you were when I was 7, 8, 9. And I didn't even do that till I was 10, I think. But, now you have, January comes, dude. And you have all the kids are committing to other teams. So, by the time you're in, like, playoffs for these 9, 10-year-olds, 11, they're already on another team the next year. And it's like, oh, my God. And granted, like, we're at the second level, like I said. So, it's not as crazy. But it's still, like, I just, it's just so different than what I had growing up that it just, it makes me. It reminds me of the cost. It reminds me of the Costco documentary. I never saw that. I never saw that either. Did they just get too crazy and big? I mean, they're still crushing it, no? No, it's like the theory between going to a regular grocery store or Costco. Oh. Where a regular grocery store has, like, 40,000 to 50,000 items. Where you go to Costco and it has, like, 4,000 to 5,000. So, it's like, you go to a normal grocery store, there's seven different types of ketchups. So, you sit, you're there, you're looking organic. And you're like, which ketchup do I get? You have too many options. So, you almost, like, overthink it. Maybe you don't, like, you make the wrong decision or don't even end up making a decision. Where the Costco, they simplify and make your decision for you. And therefore, that's why they make as much money as they do. And it simplifies the consumer experience. Where, yeah, like you just said, it just becomes overwhelming because you're, like, you have one parent on the team who you're friends with being, like, like, oh, we're going to this team this year because this is really good they do extra training uh they do video session so that and then the other parent who you're friends with is telling you they're doing this so you're just like uh uh yeah it's the keeping up with the joneses and i want to say this too where riders at as a hockey player right like i don't really have to make any of these decisions and in the summer like he played baseball summer and he skated i'd say once a week uh he probably skated in the last three months i'd say that's 12 weeks maybe 15 times whereas a lot of the kids okay that are really good his age they're skating a lot more and they're playing four or five tournaments all summer so stupid now now here's the thing though if rider was that level i can't say i wouldn't be doing that oh so i don't i don't really blame the parents either because you're there is an aspect of like i said i played but you're still like uh everyone else is doing it and so it's just this like situation where you don't i don't really like you can't really like blame anyone or say what anyone's doing is wrong because they're living their own life and i can't even say if he was a top level fucking eight-year-old nine-year-old that sounds insane that i wouldn't be like all right bud like and then the other aspect is if a kid is asking you which i do have friends whose kids are good players and they love it and like dad can i go skate can i go play that's another situation where i'd be like i'd feel like a kind of a dickhead dad if i was like no you know where i get i get parents that are like yeah we're doing this we're doing but but it's it's more about i'm just saying like to not have a clue what's going on having played in the nhl i can't imagine some of these parents who never played hockey and they're just like uh i don't know what to do and what does it do for like you know sports in your hometown like the youth sports in your hometown that must cripple that because all these kids buried there's so many different because i'd say there was maybe three kids in milton that played on the kings my age or like another travel team and then everybody else who were decent players they played in high school whatever they just played house league because yeah whether it was their parents didn't want to commit to that much or whatever the case is but like the town sports must be taking a beating right now yeah and the old thought and the way it was which is just it doesn't matter anymore times have changed but like the thought of just playing for your town and everything and like that was it besides a few special kids baseball around here our buddy brendan burn was telling me i think growing up he played baseball at harvard he played baseball and hockey at harvard i think there was like four aau baseball teams in massachusetts and there's like 70 now so it's not just hockey it's just the landscape of hockey and how to get to the highest level and i'm talking d1 is so fucking bizarre that it really turns me off from like being like crazy hockey dad which i guess i still am but i don't know it's just it's just a wild wild what i actually saw i think the new york times or an article a big article came out today about club sports and and it's a pay-to-play it's a pay-to-play article to play it's a 40 billion dollar industry like companies are buying them it's crazy all private equity is stepping in and yeah that's that's kind of rubbish yeah well you know what kind of a a long-winded bizarre combo but a good combo and like we said hockey nuts season preview i do think though next week for all the negatives there are there's always pros on the on the like the one side well how good kids are now well it's how good these kids are how good they are and also at a young age like for instance like colin like he's put being put in a new environment he has to move moving with billet parents and let's say he goes on to have a very very good year and he's ready next year for the queue you know there's there's times in it in a kid's career when he signs with nhl team before he's even stepped foot on the ice where maybe he gets traded or he maybe he plays a year in the ahl has a great year and then boom he's a he's a bargaining chip to get another asset and he's involved let's say in like the quinn hughes trade type thing so to to at a younger age have already had to adapt and go meet new teammates and and you know meet new coaches and work in different environments and and see and and being used to a type of transition like that it could be beneficial i think stability is probably the answer more when you're at a younger age to to you know you know just make them a little bit more comfortable but definitely think that uh it can teach you a lot of life lessons at a young age if for the new the new path that it's all taking and he he's like a homebody type kid too so i think even no matter what he does in life like you said this will help him out of getting out of his comfort zone getting to meet new people so yeah i think it's a good thing that he's been able to do that and i think i do agree with that that's a good call biz i do have another working theory before we throw it to big cat and ernie clement is that the old saying of like the best 10 year old is not always the best 18 19 year old 100 that that is still remains true but i'll say this the true greats in hockey you know at fucking 9 10 years old really boys boys i'm talking the true great i'm talking guys who are legitimately like and this isn't everyone but crosby mcdavid like people be like oh he's unbelievable at 10 like yeah there are a million kids who are unbelievable at 10 and then don't pan out but there are some that you do know right away yeah and and that that is something that i think people maybe might disagree with but there are some people at a young age you're like holy fuck something's different i'd be curious to know of of of like the elites and the greats who was the latest bloomer i know like it wasn't sid it wasn't mcdade wasn't mario remember his numbers and like yeah it wasn't wayne wayne was remember the stories about i was in goals so there are like i that's a good question biz like a true great in the game of hockey like a top 50 great how late did he become great i think ray bork has told me that he was like a much better baseball player but like he he still could have been like the best in his town at 10 years old at hockey and and like i would guess that it would be an older like a guy who played in the 70s 80s right where there was no i'm talking like the kids coming now celebrinis and yeah like i wonder in the next 10 years if you'll find a superstar in the nhl at 2021 that at 12 wasn't a superstar and i i don't really think you will personally personally i'm talking and i'm not talking the normal nhl player i'm talking the game breakers the ones we're spending time talking about that are gonna that in the coolest part of all this there are going to be guys and look at celebrating they're going to make two 300 million dollars playing hockey over the course of their career so that's the good part about all this but two guys who weren't great when they were 10 is uh big cat and ernie clement and they are great now yeah that's true let's let's throw it over to those guys let's take a moment here everyone and talk about lucy lucy is the greatest nicotine pouch in the game and i'm a nicotine pouch connoisseur it's all lucy and it's the lucy breakers they're intense long-lasting flavor that actually satisfies bite down before use to pop the flavor capsule this flavor capsule boom crushes you and unlock the full breakers experience a satisfying click a rush of new flavor and the flavor doesn't go away and a pouch that feels unlike anything else in the category breakers flavors are built to stay vivid from start to finish apple turns icy berry gets a blast of citrus and mint gets even more minty creating a refreshing flavor experience that lasts longer and stays more interesting than ordinary pouches lucy is the only pouch that delivers long-lasting on-demand flavor get 20 off your first order when you buy online at lucy.co slash chiclets with code chiclets and here comes the fine print warning this product contains nicotine nicotine is an addictive chemical shout out lucy.co slash chiclets what a pleasure i stole this man's clap a long time ago when i bring a guest in but it's out of a respect and honor to a man who's really changed the podcasting game with pft and the book is now out the pardon my take book dan hats what's going on buddy hey boys and uh the best part about this book so i don't what are we running this so you guys running this today tomorrow tomorrow all right so today yeah today if you're listening part yeah today if you're listening yesterday's if it's if it's wednesday yesterday uh so actually yeah on wednesday if you're listening to this wednesday a day late new york times bestseller list comes out i think we'll make it um so wit you will be a contributor to a new york that's right like you wrote a chapter in this book you didn't want me to write a chapter dad can i say something i didn't want to listen we asked the editor and they're like we can't do a chapter in like crazy and shit so do we we but maybe the next one yeah yeah i need to mention though that like i don't know if is this kosher that i i didn't write i mean i talked to a guy for 35 minutes correct correct people are writing me people are like you you uh whitney you can't even write it's like buddy i don't know you're kind of chirping the guy i talked to because i didn't write it dude listen i can't write either i i don't know if you guys saw but uh very funny like the editing process of the whole thing we told the editor and the editor and the editor and the editor and the told him like don't touch like hank and zach's chapter and then they stopped like editing some of my stuff i opened a parentheses in uh on the ninth page and i never closed it so it's just it's it's like the entire the first eight pages the everything after the first eight pages is just a clarification of the first eight pages because for those listening who are wondering what's a parentheses see this is why why i didn't get a chapter right there this is why uh yeah this is why you didn't i'm just asking for people who might open up the half the half circle you know what i'm saying oh yeah yeah that would you clarify yeah the pac-man mouth i have to explain parentheses like like they're shapes and shit oh it's not the pac-man mouth this it's not the v oh it's the semicircle oh the semi the semicircle we actually put it in the chat good question good question because we should have you write a chapter this is like when you do a quote when you do a quote no not the two little lines not the pac-man did you have the same ghost writer sit down with you that that big cat and uh and pfd i don't know so matthew's name awesome dude uh we we knew going into this is like we can't write this like we're not writers we we're bloggers like i can write two paragraphs and and then i'm tapped out uh so we hired this guy he took a stab at the whole book he also uh i hooked him up with like all of our our our like longtime guests and had him interview him so like wit jj watt uh svp all these guys then pft and i similar to what happened with dave's book we read it and we're like this doesn't sound like us at all so pft and i had to uh rewrite the like majority of the book with like two and a half weeks before it was due that sucked that sucked balls oh yeah yeah i feel like i was back in school probably a question you get asked a lot now that you have a book out is there one particular story that you wanted to put in that didn't make it and that you would like maybe it was like too although the the interesting story of how you and pft met and then you ended up doing a line of coke together like that that was i didn't see you as a coke guy oh yeah i mean i'm not anymore but yeah it was for sure you know like when you get to like the late like 20s early 30s when you can't really hang anymore do you need peds to try to hang yeah that was yeah that was it so it was yeah it was at my 30th birthday party i think uh and pft worked for a rival blog he was a rival blog he worked for espy nation who hated us hated barstool thought dave was the devil hated us hate our guts so i just i took out a bag and i was like here take a bump and then he did and i was like i turned to hank and i was just like hey we got him like he can't he can't say shit about us now like he's down so it was kind of like trying to find out if like like he was an undercover cop or something it was some impressive it was impressive like entrapment almost yes yes exactly we got you were you trying to get him to do a pod with you at that point or it was just like kind of a meetup thanks for reading the book yans uh we discussed all of that uh it's in the mail it's in the mail i haven't even gotten a copy where's all the copies i'll send you a copy yeah uh no we we always so we we met uh like the year before and uh so it's like 2014 2015 and um we basically were like hey if it ever worked out if the timing ever works out we'd love to do something together it was kind of like he was trying to figure out his way with espy nation i was already a barstool and then pen buying us was the timing working out where it was like and we go through all of it there's there's some like various things where espy nation kind of screwed him over and i also had the epiphany like back in the day early barstool like dave would just piss everyone off and i would i i didn't i wasn't trying to make enemies online and i would be like oh it's okay like you can you can hate barstool like we could still be friends and then it slowly realized i went to this one like conference uh and i write about it in the book and i was like oh it's okay where they invited me on a panel and i thought it was going to be just like a regular panel it's like you know sports it was like some people who were in like radio and all like right for espn and they just eviscerated me in front of like the entire come on yeah oh yeah what the guy it was no it wasn't a ringleader they all just ganged up on me like it was it was just it was it was women men i care it was like dave caplan who's actually a friend of mine who's radio here sarah spain jen lotta uh who i like jen as well but they and a couple other people and they just went into me about like misogyny and sports and how barstool is the worst like in front of everyone i was just like i don't know what you want me to say like you're just making me defend the fact that like yeah we do guess that ass like yeah we think girls are hot what do you want me like i thought we were going to talk about grit week yeah right it was crazy so like that happened and then pft had like espnation kind of jerk him around where they should have like all-time fumble by them was pft at that event he was so he was anonymous still he was anonymous he watched the whole thing and we go through i go through the whole thing in the book it was called blogs with balls and uh so which audits like just just in general like a conference about sports blogging it's got to be the lamest thing of all like looking back at it there cannot be a first conference ever when or no one cheats on their wife yeah hi the all i would say is that it's in my defense the only reason i was there is it was maybe like one mile from my house in chicago so i would not have traveled for it everyone else i don't know what their excuse is that was a walk of shame back to back to the apartment it's still between his legs he got tied like nate yeah oh so brutal but yeah espnation kind of screwed him around like they should have signed him to a long-term deal he's super talented guy they kept him on this like they didn't really know how to use him so the door just stayed open and then when pen came on i was like hey like we have money now we're all moving to new york let's let's try to do this and it was also people online who just based on your personality and the way that you talked about sports a lot of people were like i think you guys need to link up right there was a lot of people online kind of kind of like trying to link you guys to begin with and that's maybe what put the idea in your head yeah no it was actually uh it would it would be people uh like tweeting us and hitting us up being like oh you stole that joke from pfd or hitting up pfd and be like oh you stole that joke from pfd and be like oh you stole that joke from big cat because we had we do have like a lot of parallel mind i think for sure show works where a lot of our jokes are uh we we think in the same way and then from that we started dming and uh i'm like i'm just right this is literally the first page of the book you guys are such shitheads no what do you know i haven't got a copy sent to me i'm wrote it i wrote the book i think that i think that probably i'm not reading it i wrote the book i would assume i haven't got a copy of the book i haven't got a copy of the book i haven't got a copy of the book what are we talking about that's insane say that i gotta send you a copy no yeah no so that was how we how we first met we slid into each other's dms which another another lame thing to say out loud we're gonna hook in like the 50 of our audience who like only want hockey talked about all the time it's cool for them to like understand the story of how the biggest sports podcast on the planet got started like i i think it's crazy that you offered him a line of blow at a party and he was working with a rival in order to potentially dox him so that's pretty yeah that's a that's a that's a pretty fascinating story uh before it goes i was just gonna ask was was there one particular moment that you remember that like propelled the pod to where it just created so much uh momentum where all of a sudden it was a freight train that couldn't be stopped like do you remember any particular story or moments well that's that's i think like because i i think like in general writing a book is kind of a lame thing to do in terms of like i'm so important that i'm going to write a book and like people are going to take my advice and that's why i'm not reading it yeah there we go yeah it's appreciate that i gotta i gotta think for yans later um the yandle house just doesn't have google but that's neither here nor there or they're looking for free handouts we can talk about that in a second uh a book but yeah but biz uh to answer your question it's like in this book i hope people really get from it is like the amount of luck that we had is just so off the charts we don't fuck like if you if we started a podcast today we would not be that successful we started at a time when there weren't a lot of podcasts when there weren't a lot of people talking like we were talking and stupid shit like i write in the i write a chapter being like four tips to starting a podcast i think my first tip was have kyle wilcher on and have him claim that adam morrison has an apocalypse bunker and then have all of the the mainstream media i remember that because that happened that was such a stupid lucky thing it was literally hank was so kyle wilcher played for gonzaga he played he had transferred from kentucky hank knows is it sam malone is he from situate i don't know i'm not a hoops guy don't know okay the the there's a guy who played there's a kid who played he was like the the human victory cigar for coach cow his dad was a big shot in massachusetts and so hank knew this kid the kid played with kyle wilcher hank was literally going through his phone it's like i could probably get us a kyle wilcher we had never met the guy he comes on great dude and then he just happens to say that that adam morrison is getting ready for the apocalypse and he has like a bunker with guns and bombs and shit and all of the media picked it up and we were like it became this big story it's like yeah this is our podcast and then adam morrison became a friend but like stupid shit like that or espn suing us like espn doing a cease and desist has to be the dumbest move in the history of like media because what was that in relation to well we we the name part of my take obviously is a of pardon the interruption and first take the logo the first logo was literally just a rip-off we just took i we just we just made their logo we i i had uh i think it was millmore just like recreate their logo so they sent us a cease and desist on like day four and we and we get more more attention yeah more attention pft sent him a cease and desist for them to stop a cease and desist sending a cease and desist we had mr portnoy on like it just became a whole shit show and it's like you idiots like you gave this to us so it's a lot of luck like that where it's like yeah there it is look at that that's just that that orange orange line is that's just the first take logo like we ripped it off so yeah like lucky so kind of like pft you baited them yeah right right we baited them and but very lucky that was like a line of coke but it was orange yeah exactly yeah exactly exactly i want to get into where the show is at now but before that because i love you have so many guys now it's just like a cast of characters but before like i remember listening to the first episode i actually it's crazy i remember where i was i was hitting golf balls at mcgolf in dead of massachusetts and when was your first episode like march it was uh march 1st 2016 yeah okay so it's like a warmer day in march i was like all right and this you guys drop the worst audio of all time like i was so bad but it was entertaining but i just remember to know where it's at now it's just wild but i'm wondering at that point it was you two and hank how did hank become your guy like when did that all start it started kind of naturally because in old barstool days hank for people who don't know hank got hired uh like weirdly he when dave was trying to run for mayor for a month this is it's so funny i don't know i don't know i don't like all that when i start telling any barstool story it's like wait what you got to go all the way back when dave was trying to run for mayor for a month i think hank got hired through his mayor team who was run by a guy named weird haircut seth hank was hank lied on his resume i don't i it's hilarious the resume is in the book uh he said he could do all these things he could do like a couple of them he his very first day he had to shoot us doing the first ever like show show rundown where we had mcshay judge us doing the combine so hank started when he was 19 i've known hank for since he was a teenager and what ended up happening is like through the next couple of years we would i would go and travel like remember when i did uh i went to the black hawks kings game i went to black hawks lightning in the stanley cup final hank would come with me so he would be my camera guy and slowly uh that's how he like became my guy and then he almost quit barstool he almost quit barstool right before part of my take started we get into it in the book but he was on this thing called the dixie tour where it was just hank and caleb just getting fucked up every single weekend in the south literally no like real like plan or anything and dave didn't really know caleb but he obviously knew hank so every time they fucked up dave would just ream into hank and hank was like i'm so sick of just being the guy who's just getting crushed all the time so he thought he was going to go back to college and in stead i was like dude these guys in la are about to buy us we're going to start a podcast like i want you to be the producer and then the rest is history but yeah hank it's kind of weird to know like to think like i've known hank since he was 19 years old yeah and hank is just you guys just go at hank like i feel like biz and i argue enough on the pod where i feel like your part is you and pft you just go at the fucking poor guy and it's non-stop giving it to hank it drives me crazy wow i mean max gets mad a lot of it too um but hank is the best at that like i love i think hank is always reluctant to say that he is uh like a big part of the show like i always say like it's me pft and hank not that the other guys aren't important they're very important and he's always like well it's not my show what are you guys talking it's like dude yes it is like you you are so important to the show and everything we do and he's like a perfect uh i think it actually helps the longevity of me and pft's relationship where if we ever like are in a fight we can just take it out on hank you know what i mean he's the youngest brother like a crash chest dummy yeah right it's like instead of us fighting with each other we'll just fight hank and he just he knows that's his role i was gonna ask you that because you know you work long enough with someone like you're bound to get into battles and you guys are very close but are there times you and pft have gone kind of head to head or no it's crazy like we've never had like real like a real fight we've had obviously you have disagreements we've had you know communication issues where you just call like i think that the thing that has saved us a lot is like we've been very good about like if there's an issue just fucking call it you know i mean like talk to the person so we're very open with each other like that like we had we had a communication error a month ago and i was just like i called him i was like hey dude let's just figure this out it was like no problem uh but we talk about in the book in 2019 pft's contract was up didn't know if he was gonna get paid he wasn't gonna get paid like market value from us also pen was about to buy us and i couldn't tell a soul so that was probably the only time that it was there was like legitimate tension and it wasn't it wasn't tension between us that it was anything to do with like us it was the fact that he was talking he was taking meetings with people outside of barstool and i was also like learning this thing like we're about to get bought and i can't tell him so that wouldn't even tell him i i wait i didn't tell the only person i didn't i told was my wife that's it i didn't tell anyone in my family i didn't tell like because the way they explained it to me was that if i if anyone found out and it became public and anyone did any trading on it or any because it's a public company the whole deal would blow up and dave is sitting there being like you're about to make like you know millions and millions of dollars i ain't fucking this up all you gotta do is just not say anything and i'm like i'm not gonna say anything i'm not gonna say anything i'm not gonna say anything it's like that's no problem how long did you have to not say anything three months oh and then your guys taking meetings and you're like no no no no dude wait just wait but you can't slip him a note he's taking meetings being like oh i don't think he ever was like really that close to leaving but it's also like i want to be like dude don't leave i know i actually have a funny side story that has nothing to do with the book do you guys remember dave blatman you remember him he's a producer so 2019 he was a producer at barstool it was a producer barstool uh rough and rowdy 2019 in rhode island um it was like right around thanksgiving it might have been after thanksgiving i went to that one yeah it was right when rico was about to leave i think um so we had a meeting with that morning of the rough and rowdy in the hotel with the pen executive me dave erica pen executive secret meeting in the hotel in the hotel in the hotel in the hotel in the hotel we're having like we're going through the slides everything in walks david blatman he just walked like through the meeting and grabbed like a croissant off the buffet and looked up it was like what's up and we're just like what are you doing dude and he's just like oh shit am i not supposed to be here and we're like in the back of my head i'm like is this what's gonna fucking cost me this is gonna end it this fucking guy grabbing a croissant in the middle of this meeting but you know shit like that it was like secret like lunches and shit uh so that was probably the toughest year for us is 2019. i've also told people before i remember i don't know when you said this but it was something along the lines of like i want to be done before i'm like the loser and the show is no longer popular i'd rather go out early than go out late and you're you're you're you work so much like it's pretty impressive buddy like you're fucking grinding all year at any point are you have you thought about like when this all would be over or when you'd be done yeah it's tough because we we at the end of the book we we did uh our endings for part of my take like what everyone sees as the ending and um it i like i don't ever want it to end because it is the best the the weird thing that like writing this book and and hitting 10 years and i'm sure you guys actually probably like not struggled with it but realized it like with hockey it's weird to be able to like step back and be like hey guess what this this podcast is gonna be the biggest thing i ever do in my life there's not gonna be anything bigger do you know what i mean like when you guys like retire from playing hockey you're like okay that was it like i'll do other things you do chicklets you'll have success otherwhere but like when you say what defined me as like what was the seminal moment of my professional career it was playing hockey and so it's like a weird mind fuck where you spend all this time working for something and then you get there and you're like okay this is it like this is and when it ends yeah it's kind of yeah yeah so i don't want it to end um i think there'll be there'll definitely be a world in like the next like five years where i slow down but it probably wouldn't be like i i i like maybe be other stuff like we're about to go to barstool camp i was thinking about it like my kids first day of school was today it was fun dropping off but like i think in like two years i could be like hey you know what i'm not going to camp yeah i think that's fair you're you're snuggling with oldie yeah i just saw him in the car and i'm like oh my god i'm not going to camp the hallway yeah that kind of stuff where it's like you know i i could i could not do this or that or like there there's some other things that i could take off my plate that would probably help with like management of time uh versus taking off part of my like part of my take i want to keep doing forever because and i actually i want to amend it with i i now look forward to just being the guy that gets mocked for being the old guy because i think i think it can come back around i think there'll probably be a couple years like in the next five years or so where i'll i'll struggle with like everyone being like you guys are washed you're lame and then everyone's like yeah fuck it they're washed but we still love like limp biscuit yeah yeah kind of yeah yeah yes you're fred durst what year are you on right now i think it started in in 2016 he's doing this he's doing this as a fucking bit no no 20 so we're we're around the same time i was obviously a year later because i retired and then did a full season with the coyotes so they started like basically uh probably about like 14 to 16 months before i actually hopped on i think it was super bowl 2016 was our like first he's making fun of us because we asked we asked this one time on the podcast and we all had hats on that said spitting chiclets established 2016 wait so chiclets is older than that bmt no yeah do now yeah we have the same thing when it wait super bowl though would be older well october of 2016 is when chiclets uh went to barstool it was it was started on soundcloud cloud first in wits with wit and ra and they kind of put out in ra's uh in living room when was that that was february of 2016 what the fuck you guys haven't i could have sworn when i listened to your first episode we weren't doing anything yet hitting balls at mcgulf march 1st that's crazy but it's about the same time but that would also be me and ra and like i think we'd like not see each other two weeks and then he'd sleep till noon and not answer the doorbell and like that that happened for a little bit that was the that was the the the sandpaper of the podcast right there we were gonna get him on on the pod but he i think he's got a funeral today so we're not gonna get ra's world after the last week he spent in maine where he's posting some of the most bizarre weirdo shit that we want to actually grill him about so sure as shit he's not gonna get a funeral today so we're not gonna get on today's pod but what i wanted to ask you about is given that we're talking with ra uh we have chicklets memes like uh yans coming on board it's kind of like reinventing yourself but also like adding in a more of a whack pack because it's fun to do it with a big group of guys like like i remember the billy the billy footballs the the you know and and the different people like obviously hasn't been around jake marsh was around so what was it like just kind of adding these cast of characters and how much is like billy football mentioned in it and jake marsh in the book and where is billy football right now he's off the grid uh apparently uh living on a farm i believe in new york and uh billy and jake both wrote a chapter which we we thought that they should um but i you guys know me like i like i like having like a big group of people you know what i mean like look at the yak look at pmt like i i think i i think if it was just me and pft talking the entire time it would be pretty damn boring because that's where the funny shit happens but yeah billy and jake were huge for the podcast growth adding like different characters and then the funny thing is like max everyone's like oh max is like there'll be max haters who will say like billy is uh we like we miss billy you know i can't believe max replaced billy it's like max is an actual producer you know like he actually he run and not only that he kind of runs the production is he editing every pod he doesn't i don't know i don't think he edits every pod but he runs he used he used to edit pods now we have enough guys where but max is kind of like their de facto boss you know i mean yeah memes shane colton and jacob so he's he's got like things that he has to do that are not just sitting and uh and like bullshit in the mic yeah hey and he's a contestant monster like when he's watching philly's games or anything philadelphia he's the fucking best right hank's just a golfer hank literally is a golfer now yes hank is hank is kind of similar to gaz in that like um if you if you say if you were from the outside world you'd be like wait what does he do but then when you actually like talk to dave or talk to me you'd be like actually they're like probably the most important person because he is the one person who can he gives it to me straight he tells me what you know i should shouldn't do like i don't know i don't know i don't he tells me hey like we should do this he's really good at organizing when i when people want to talk to me like about uh content ideas hank will talk to them so he does a lot of shit outside of the podcast that's very important and yes he golfs a lot i got one for you the last one maybe um how do you keep like and you mentioned earlier that you know if you started now you might not be as big but i disagree with that i think it's like sports when the greats are great they'd now that you're married with kids like how do you keep uh and i know you had a sentimental uh chapter about your family in the book i was told obviously i didn't read it yet but um like how do you how do you keep that like you know you sent me a video yesterday of you with your kids at the at the playground and shit like how do you how do you how do you keep such a steady homestead and you know work as much as you do i i i uh i don't put my kids on the internet but i should i'll send you biz and and wit uh and i'll send you a video of you and i'll send you a video of you uh yans texted me yesterday asking for this is where google doesn't work in the yandel house he's like hey my brother's coming to chicago uh what hotel should he stay at i think he was asking me oh that's a normal question no no no i i i know that he wanted the food but i think he wanted but then he also was like can lisa can can live event lisa like hook him hook me up with like a deal or something it's your house i respect it i will let your your brother is absolutely welcome if he hears this and he will he will stay at your house and you'll be picking him up at the airport he just wants one of the cots from a surviving barstool in the office i'm i'm 100 opening the door to any yandel uh but i'd sent yans a video back i was like i'm a little busy right now i was on the carousel with my kids at the zoo my five-year-old had gotten off mid carousel and was like like had fallen off one of the animals and was trying to climb back on and my three-year-old had skinned his knee and you would have thought he was never gonna walk again the way he was like he was just screaming at oh they get a high pitch hey when they when they're crying so i was like i'm busy right now but yeah it's it's uh it's not easy juggling everything i'm probably not like i'm not the the best dad in the world like there's probably times where i probably should you know be like hey i can't work i have to be at home but i do my best and i think i'm i think a lot of times people are hard on themselves i don't know about you guys but like i think about it like when you were growing up like how often your dad was around my my dad was around a lot but it's like i'm around a lot like even more than what my dad was around do you know what i mean and but i'm hard on myself because i think we all put pressure on ourselves to be like oh shit you're not doing enough um so i thought my dad was around quite a bit for having another family but it's it's not easy and it's the answer is not easy and anyone who says it's easy is a fucking liar i think i hate the people who are like oh yeah like i crush it and so much money and also i'm i'm there you know every single day my kid like dude you don't have the perfect life it's i just find it crazy that it's when things are going really well at work you know you're like yes and then like at home it's like oh my god i haven't been around or the kids are upset and then the kids are upset but work is like oh my god dude i'm kind of struggling there and then you get a couple days or weeks a year that they're both buzzing yes and yes and you're like oh my god like but you know it ain't gonna work and you're like oh my god so it is it is a fine line yeah i came off that this past week was that like i had uh the book came out and then we took a last vacation before school starting like four day vacation all the kids were awesome like you have the best mood the moments where you're just like this fucking rocks this is so cool and yeah i just i i i try to be around as much as possible i hope my kids look back and they're like that was pretty cool what my dad did and i did write a chapter about them and hope that they're proud and uh but yeah it's that i don't think anyone like everyone struggles with it anyone who works and has kids it's like it's not easy anyone says he's he's a fucking liar so yeah i mean what were you guys how did you guys think when you had you had kids when you were in the league right like yeah was there a lot of times you're just like yeah this kind of sucks but i just i'm doing my best i think it was a little different because it's all i knew and like hockey you know obviously playing before you had kids and it was like i gotta do this i only have a certain amount of time to do this and you know kristen was really good with kind of taking care of everything at home because i did nothing and you see oh so it's kind of one of those things where at the time when i was playing i didn't really think of it too much it's more so now doing stuff and not being there missing things that's kind of that's kind of the thing that gets me nowadays but when i was playing i honestly didn't even think about it maybe it was just being selfish and yeah you know i think you have to be a little bit selfish to have the careers that we did and i think i was very selfish um you know not proud of it but like it was one of those things where i was just so focused on you know trying to make as much money trying to change my family's you know and and you know luckily i was able to do it but yeah it's definitely a tough balance and you know trying to make up for it now obviously yeah and i i think that's i i have gotten better i think i probably like now that i have three kids and my oldest is seven it's like i've got i've found ways to get better like this past year uh we did spring break down in in arizona and i was like you know what we'll just bring the whole show and everyone gets spring break so like everyone was cool with it because they they just played golf all week we did two pods because i was like i don't want to miss the the podcast when we're in the middle of march madness had an awesome week with my family so like shit like that just trying to figure out little ways to to get more time and do stuff like that that's unbelievable um i was going to ask you outside of of obviously wit um because that would be an obvious answer who are your top five reoccurring guests because i you look like a guy like jerry o'connell who's been on constantly did he read my chapter in the audiobook or something i think so yeah yeah i kept getting tweets like jerry o'connell probably did a funny accent too i know joe buck i did a forward on the book which he's a guy who's on regularly so like who are like your top five guys that you guys like to lean on and always have on that almost feel like a like an extension of the podcast uh wit absolutely is on the mount rushmore like i'm not just saying that i think he leads i think he leads all time in appearances wow i think i think every time i go on i might get it back like it's always kind of like it's like you and rossillo go back and forth um we gotta get him on our pod he's you do he's i got his number and i called him i i legit thought he was fucking with me for 30 minutes just the way he is that he was talking he is a silly bastard really oh you you also like if you call him it's i'll with rossillo i'll wait until i have like a long car ride and then i'll call him to catch up so my god i got three hours right now like no problem he does applaud like alone like the ability to just sit there and talk is crazy to me correct correct all right so wit's definitely on there because like and i think that what whitney's given to our show too is just like some of the the funniest moments and just being able to like not just talk hockey but like wit's a perfect example of like he's not like an you're not like an analyst coming on to be like break down hot you talk hockey in a fun way and then also other stuff so like that's what the show is um i'll throw rossillo on there it's gonna hurt someone's feelings but you gotta get what's it who's the football player the the construction guy blake portals yeah he's funny i'll just say blake i'll say blake and it will cover blake portals blake griffin and brooks kepka because that is i need those guys homer homer's always on i feel like homer's a big one um so wit rossillo blake no uh fuck who's the one that comes on that i who's the insider for baseball jeff passon though he would yeah i like him a lot yeah i like him but he wouldn't be my i like him he's a great dude svp geez asking i think it's either joe buck or jerry o'connell and i love svp but joe buck like one of the biggest interview one of the biggest like holy shit they got joe buck like that guy you know i can't believe he went on this stupid podcast like that was a big moment for us is getting him on that first year first like six months and he i'm gonna go jerry o'connell because i have to fucking sleep in a cabin with him for the next three days he's going to camp yeah he's going to camp dude he just he's a nut huh he when we're at camp we stay in legit cabin like sleeping in bunk bed and this guy he just doesn't put on like he'll just wear the tightest tighty whities and just have like a full conversation with you standing over your like bunk bed we're so right in your face right in my face does he have a nice unit he's got a big shlong he's got he's got a shlong on him and all he does is he just goes hey this is not for air this is not for air like he'll just say that like a thousand times because then he'll say the wildest shit i'm like yeah jerry i know that's not for air how often is oldie at camp doing the the like the stand like the reverse splits and like you just see his like his coin pouches yeah so gross the mud the mud flaps on the side like it is fun i will say the camp is fun i mean we just it is very fun but it's jerry o'connell and oldie yeah it's a lot of flesh that i have to look at man flesh we might need a chicklets cabin i do at some point it would be a disaster i know we could probably move it around a little bit but i don't know i don't know i don't know i don't know a little but it would be so fun if you guys came just and we could make it like we could probably condense it into two days is it in wisconsin and do it at the four seasons yeah you'd have to rough it with us i know that's a problem but it's fun that that part's actually kind of fun because you like wake up and there's no uh there's no heat in the cabins do you wake up it's like 40 degrees you get that little chill yeah it's fun come on hey uh before you go quick bears record this year i think 10 and 7 playoffs okay and like just the ability for me for the rest of my life when the bears lose a big game to just immediately text you and say and you started it with the david slander it's so awesome i have a team i despise now because of you what about the commanders too oh both of them what are you worried though that caleb might be legit good um no i don't uh i think he could be pretty good but it's i don't like necessarily see him as like a super bowl winning quarterback and then the fact that hank and i have this like through like it's really good you would take our guy over your guy if you could and you know you had to be true really no and and like knowing that and just knowing that forever like i could be 85 god willing i'm around and you're around and the bears lose a heartbreaker and i just get to call you so what what what happens though if caleb williams wins a super bowl and you lose a heartbreaker and you lose a super bowl before connor well i was gonna ask i was gonna ask i'm in one i'm in one there should be a bet there should be a bet for that from from a guy who's as hardcore about a sports team as you does it concern you a tad bit that he like paints his nails like has there ever has there ever i'm just asking has there ever been a quarterback who's won a super bowl that has done that no no because it's it's a new it's a new era he's like a gen z guy i get that but i think john elway was painting his nails exactly took him a long time to win a super bowl imagine if caleb williams won a super bowl before connor mcdavid won a cup oh i say there's no way but you i mean you're saying 10 and 7 is such a cop out too like i know you want to say 15 and 2 no no yeah i know not seven not it no because i think the the nfc north is going to be really good this year like the lions are going to have a bounce back here i think it's gonna be a war and absolutely war this and i'll i will say they have to make the playoff if they don't make the playoffs i'll be very disappointed so i'm not doing a cop out like that where like oh we got we're we were pretty good but we didn't make no they have to make the playoffs you have to keep building on there has to be a friendly bet with like some form of of uh uh what's the punishment for if connor mcdavid or caleb williams wins a championship first like this has to be a big tattoo guy now he might have to get a chicklets tattoo or what's the punishment for if connor mcdavid or caleb williams wins a i know whit would never get one or he's do a suicide bet it's just yeah well if caleb williams and the bears won the super bowl and mcdavid did you know i yeah it could be like oh shit how high is my roof like will this work where's mcdavid gonna win this cup edmonton's gonna be buzzing this year we got it all we got one of the best coaches in the history of the game coaching the team now who'd you get mike babcock crank oh my god you're gonna go through connor mcdavid's phone you're gonna go through connor mcdavid's phone you're gonna go through connor mcdavid's phone you guys on your podcast need to talk about how like six of the last seven coaches the administrators have uh hired have like some form of cock in their last name yeah i didn't know that are they gonna be actually good are they gonna be good this year they're gonna be a top five team they're nasty they're very nasty blackhawks are gonna make the playoffs no no i don't think so that won't happen yeah well it's very funny to me like mcday i i came on your show first time right when he was coming into the league and even non-hockey people were like what is this like this guy's an alien and i just was like yeah i've never really seen anyone like him and that turned into like you guys hating him i'm like yeah that's the worst part that's the worst part we've worked ourselves into such a bit that like yeah yes if you if you can't if you sat down on my couch you know uh in the playoffs i'd be like yeah i'm watching with david i'm wowed by him but i can't rooting against him yeah like he's incredible he's i told you this story when i took i took my wife to the blackhawks oilers game and she was like who the fuck is that because like he just moved so fast and i was just like yeah he's awesome but we can't we can't like him because wit loves him like that's how you know you're good if like somebody's wife is just like yeah who the fuck is that skating faster than everybody yeah and i was like but guess what forget forget he exists we hate him it loves him so by law by the letters of our friendship i have to hate him pca i want to ask you about the cubs they're having a great year you just had him on the podcast he's probably going to win MVP of the league or one of the leagues, however it works. We have Ernie Clement from the Blue Jays who's coming on the pod. I think he's in the back right now. If we can bring him on and even just maybe talk about this guy and the season he's having for the Cubs. There he is. What's up, Ernie? What's up, Ernie? How we doing? PCA's the man. He's the fucking man. PCA's great, dude. He's great. Thank you, Ernie. I appreciate that. Teammate of yours at the World Baseball Classic, right? He was. He was. He's such a good kid and Jesus, he's having an unbelievable season. Ernie, when we did the Sandbagger, you were telling us how you were kind of like a late bloomer. Was PCA like 13, 14-year-old superstar? Did he come kind of out of nowhere? I think he's always been good and better than everybody else. He's a young kid and he's making a ridiculous amount of money and he's underpaid somehow. So pretty amazing guy. We locked him up to a long-term deal this past spring training and it's like, it's going to be a great deal for the Cubs. You got to be pretty excited about Chicago sports right now. Dude, I mean, the fact that they just went from Caleb Williams right to PCA is pretty nice. He's making, I'm looking it up right now, he's making 115 for how many years was the contract? Five? Is that what it said, G? That's a deal. That's a steal. He's a steal. Over 20 million a year and that's a deal? That's how good he is? Yeah, dude. He's, I mean, he's Oh no, six years. So yeah, okay. It's under 20. His defense, like watching him every night, he, the best way I would describe it, like, you know when a pitcher is like, I always go back to like Jake Arrieta in 2015 when he won the Cy Young where the last like two months of his season, every single time you tuned into him, you're like, he might throw a no-hitter. That was how good he was. PCA is that level where it's like every single night, you're like, whether it be a home run, a stolen base, a play in the field, he's going to do something that you're going to be like, holy fuck. I was there on Monday when he hit the lead off and then the walk-off and it was just And then he hit a lead off the next game. Yes. Yes. Holy shit. And the best part about him is his mom is the mom in Little Big League who always, you know How is she? That's his mom. I couldn't believe it when I saw that. Wait, wait, wait. Actually his mom? Yeah. He's from LA. He's from Hollywood. Is that Ephus? No, no, no. That's Rookie of the Year. Yeah. Little Big League is when the kid's grandfather dies and owns the Twins. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And that kid becomes like the coach and owner of the Twins and his mom is PCA's real mom. Yeah. Come on. Yeah. Yeah. This is crazy. So I have a 15-1 to win the NL MVP. So root for me. I've just been slandering Shohei left and right. I have Shohei being like the worst player in the league by my stats. Bad for the game. Yeah. I think everybody wants to see somebody else win the MVP, I think. And PCA's the man. Yes, he is. I actually. Ernie, tell me if. I'm going to go because you guys got Ernie on, but would it be crazy knowing baseball? I think Craig Council, like the Cubs won 19-2 against the Mariners yesterday. Put PCA in for an inning just so he can have a lower ERA than Shohei. Is that not crazy? Just a batter. Just a batter. I love it. Hey, he hurts his arm. Yeah. Just so Big Cat can say he's got a better ERA. Yes. Yes. Well, as long as he's not painting his fingernails. Shut up, Biz. You a daisy. Thank you, buddy. You're crazy. All right. See you, boys. Love you. Bye. Congrats. Ernie. What a segue over there. Where are you going to play, Ernie? That was a nice little transition. Nicely done. I know. He brought you in. He knew that. Biz brought you in. He knew a little baseball talk was coming. So you're on the way to the course right now for sure. You look dialed in. We got an off day. I'm heading over to see Davis right now. So we're going to duke it out on the course. Where are you guys? That's one-on-one. Nobody else? No. We got two other guys going. We'll throw a little cash out there. We'll see. The reason we wanted to get you on is obviously to catch up and rub your nose and shit and the fact that we beat you in the sandbagger. But you guys had a tough start to the year with the Blue Jays. Or the Jays, I should say. You guys changed the name. But you guys have been rolling. I think you guys have won like 12 straight series or something like that. And you guys are clawing your way back into a wild card. So how have things turned around for your group? And what's it been like in the second half of the year? Yeah, we're right back in this thing. You know, at the end of the year, you just want to play meaningful baseball. And we've earned that right. So we got a good month of ball left pretty much. And we've played ourselves right back into it. So all that stuff, all the. you know, injuries and BS that you get through in the beginning of the year, none of it matters now because it's kind of a clean slate. We kind of control our own destiny here. If we take care of business, we'll set ourselves up nicely for a little playoff run. Okay, a couple things. They are still the Toronto Blue Jays. I thought they changed it to the Toronto Jays for a hot minute. No, you're thinking of the Tampa Bay Rays or not the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This was a guy at Game 7 of the World Series, by the way. I know. And second would be, so baseball is so crazy. You play so many games. At the beginning of the year, what was it almost? Was it everything? Pitching? Batting? And then how does it just switch? Is it just because there's 162 games and at some point water kind of finds its level with your talent? Yeah, I think we're just a really good team. We made some moves at the deadline where we kind of traded away some guys who were a big part of the team last year and we brought on some younger guys and some guys that can help some guys that can help moving forward. Just some reinforcements and I think we got better and we're just kind of finally playing like we did at the end of last year where like you know, we're playing as a team. We're playing, you know, just good solid baseball and it's coming at the right time, but it's such a long year. Like you said, dude, it's such a long year. Like you said, it's it's a hundred and we're 135 games in and somehow we're still, you know, scratching and clawing here and you know, we've given ourselves a chance, but it's we still have, you know, 25-30 games left, which is just seems insane because it's such a long year, but you know, you find a way to win and you know, now at this point in the year, all the stats and all the other stuff just goes out the window and you just play to win. Jans was asking a great question. He's talked about your longevity. He's talking about longevity this season. The fact that you've played the most games on the roster, I think 128 out of 132. Was that something that you went into the season saying, I want to be available like most nights and even with due to all the injuries that the Blue Jays have faced this year, you've actually played different positions. Yeah, I I take a lot of pride in just being available and, you know, fighting through injuries and just, you know, finding my way on the field. Plenty of plenty of stuff to grind through when you play. You know, 160 games or whatever, you're always going to have some aches and pains or whatever, but, you know, just got to find a way to grind through it for the boys. Could the contract year be a part of it as well? Every year is a contract year for me, so that doesn't really matter, but I mean, it's, I'm a year at a time guy, so it's, it is what it is, but I take a lot of pride in fighting through for the boys. So you, you got a hundred, where is it here? 107 games at second base, 14 at third base, 31 at shortstop, and three in left field. I'm guessing second base is your favorite. What you're best at, like, or would you actually like say maybe shortstop is what you love more? Yeah, I mean, I second's new for me this year. I played a lot of third and short the last few years, so second's been like, it's kind of just a whatever the team needs me to do. It's, I'm able to go out and play wherever, so I've had to go out and left field this year, which is definitely a little different, but it's just whatever the team needs, I'm willing to go do it, and you know, I take a lot of pride in just being able to move around and help the boys out. How many different variations of plays would you say there are if you're switching positions? Like, so if you, let's say you're at third base, like, if there's a guy on first, if there's guys at first and second, how many different types of, like, patterns do you have to remember in your brain for each position? Yeah, it can be tough. The angles are different. It's all, like, it's a different perspective on the field. Like, when I'm at third base, I have the whole field kind of in front of me when I field the ball, and when you're at second and you go to your backhand, you don't really have the whole play in front of you, so you don't really get to see how the runner's moving down the line. You don't really get to see, you know, where the first baseman is off the bag. Stuff like, like, little things like that can be a little bit different, but at the end of the day, you catch the ball and throw it to first base and try to make it as simple as possible, and you know, we get plenty of work in at all those positions, so I'm pretty well prepared when I'm moving around, but it can definitely be, uh, a little different. The other night, I was at the Sox' amazing comeback in the ninth against the Giants, and in that game, Willier Abreu, he was 0 for 4 with four strikeouts when he came up to bat for his fifth at bat, and my buddy said it's called the golden sombrero. I don't know if I'm getting the term right, but have you ever had, like, an 0 for 4 night with four Ks, and when you come back to the bench after the fourth K, are you like, what, like. I would be such a mental midget if I struck out the first. Do you get mad, or is it like you can't get mad in baseball, you know what I mean? Oh, you can definitely get mad, but I'm actually. knock on wood and if if I have one in the next you know a couple weeks we'll know the biz curse is real um but I've never had a golden sombrero I've never in my career it's a real thing yeah and I've witnessed quite a few and nobody's ever smiling when that happens it's it's a horrible feeling striking out twice in a game is is terrible striking out three times is terrible but when you go for four and you strike out every at bat uh it is I don't think it gets worse than that and then in the middle of a slump like what are things you've done before like you know what i mean like are you i don't know do guys have different ways to go about like in in a four or five game slump of trying to switch things up i think i've definitely been there i've definitely been there who was wearing like a wasn't there like a gold speedo or something in the mix yeah that's the i think that might be the old donaldson story uh from those days but yeah we'll do anything you just gotta switch stuff up you just gotta try to find uh a little switch up and since we play every day like you get into such a groove that like you go three or four games without a hit you have to just you know wear a different pair of underwear or use a different bat little things like that i use a different bat like every i bat so like if i don't get a hit i'm i'm i'm on to the next like different dimensions and weight and stuff or just like a same dimensions just a different bat whatever whatever i'll pick up anybody's bat on the off the bench and just use it even a lefty or in a righty it's a cricket bat the lefty bats and ready to build hockey stick i don't know if he was kidding at first when he first started that i don't think he was is were you kidding at all yeah i was fucking kidding not no um what have been like the silliest things going on in the clubhouse uh this year like what are the inside jokes is anything like wild or funny happened that's kind of rallied the team into the second half oh god i mean i don't know you gotta keep it light in those those baseball rooms man it's such a long year like i some of this stuff is in we got to keep in house um yeah but i mean dude we that was a diabolical laugh something's going on in the i know there is and it's there is and it's dangerous we're gonna be we're a dangerous team right now because of it but holy shit it's totally flipped us around but we'll see i mean you but you cannot say you cannot say i'm not gonna say no that's smart you get you get it you get you know you make the playoffs will you tell us if we win the world series i'll tell you all right okay game and a half out of the wild card this did right there nowhere right there how exciting is it though to be finishing the year in the in the hunt like now every game matters so it must be it must be so special like because at the end of the year if you're 20 games out it's gotta be like holy fuck oh yeah we've been there too it's that is the worst the worst kind of baseball where you're just like dreading the the end of this you just can't wait for the season then you're dreading getting to the field but this is this is as good as it gets man we got meaningful baseball in toronto again and and the boys are playing uh as good as they've played all year so we're uh we've set ourselves up to to make a little run it's it's gonna be cool give me uh your best play of the year defensively so i can look it up after after you get off here i had one in uh chicago the other day it was like okay it was uh i think it was bottom nine or bottom 10 guy on second or guy on third and uh little line drive up the middle snagged it um to keep diving driving catch the game a lot yeah a little like jumping tumbler in the center so it was a good one it was a good one yeah checking that out right now what is the possibility that you end up playing the red socks in the in the first round is that is that a possibility maybe the first yeah maybe the first or the second round so you know we might be making a little trip up the fenway that'd be great oh man i would love for you to bury the red socks i could dunk on all these fucking clowns would you guys go if we if we did that i would might have to oh bro what a catch this was oh you should see there's a little seven year old with his cub stuff on i broke his heart on the ground terrible big cat's kid fuck him and then my last one is so i know vladi hasn't had the best year he hadn't homered at home has he finally homered at home and like how do you get the big man going because once he gets that barrel going it's fucking game over give him a lefty bat well that's the thing like if he if we're in this spot and he's i mean this is the worst year he's had in his professional career um statistics wise but we i mean he's like a tiny adjustment away from just absolutely going off and doing what he does and if that happens he's gonna be like oh my god i'm gonna be like oh my god i'm gonna be like oh my god and if that happens then i mean we're gonna be we're gonna be a wrecking ball uh you know coming through this last month and and into the playoff so he's he's right there he he swung the bat well this this past weekend in new york but uh yeah i mean we're we're in a good spot should we say a little prayer for vladi jr on this pod should we all hold hands no dear baseball gods you jay's guys can do it let vladi and that big barrel of his start hitting homers at home let's get the people cranking beers in the outfield that new beautiful rogers set up in the back bar and let's go on a run this year let's bring it back to the world series game seven i will be in attendance and uh i'll bring you guys the luck you need i don't think they need let's go blue jays let's go blue jays let's go baby i love it all right ernie i got one more one more uh i know you're a hockey guy and baseball's in such a good place with the pitch clock and all that shit but can you guys please bring back where you can run the catcher like that's got to come back i agree i agree there's no like there's no physicality there needs to be like some sort of way to to you know let out some some of that you know angst i agree i think if they're blocking it you can you can go right over them like even as a middle infielder like you wouldn't mind a guy come and cleats up every i miss it i miss it i i want them to come in there i'm i'm ready to go i love it and and finally like where baseball's at and we told you this at the sand bagger just start telling guys boys the owners don't lose they don't lose their offer by the end of this thing will be worse than the one at the beginning take the cap don't miss a season next year and don't force us to just not have any baseball in our lives for a full summer don't do it ernie don't do it and this is coming from guys who went through this yeah and get your get your contract where it's signing bonus all next year because you guys ain't playing yeah i'm gonna let the smarter guys handle that yeah i'll be ready to play if we play and you know hopefully we can get a full season but it's gonna be it's gonna be a grind obviously all right buddy good luck the rest of the year good luck in your round today and we'll talk to you soon all right i'm gonna go hone up on the golf game so we can be ready for uh our rematch bring it okay all right bring it ernie clement everyone i wonder if he's gonna play with shoes very grounded he's very grounded without the wheels on hey something's going on in that room i need to know something very very like obvious in particular like he was just like yeah we're doing something now we can't talk about that's flipped everything like i need to know what that is and it's funny i was i was i was mentioning like you think they're having a few cocktails before the game i don't know but i was mentioning what do you do like in the middle of a slump and like i thought maybe he'd be like yeah slump buster but i didn't necessarily want him to have to go there so he just said switch everything up but um biz what do you think they're doing i mean you're going me i always resort back to like somebody's whipping their cock out and doing like the man gina the tim hortons man from tim horton the timbits man when they do that show the backside maybe they're doing like pre-game showers it could have started like they could have all gone out and got completely wrecked old school style and started but it's like that can't continue can it i don't know baseball you could just sleep all day they go to the field at like 2 30 i i don't know but um i don't have an answer guys we love roback i'm wearing roback right now and roback and chilis just dropped the ultimate club yes you heard that right roback and chilis and we're bringing it into the room roback just launched a limited edition custom designed roback and chilis and we're bringing it into the room and collection built around everything that makes chilis chilis the best polos you own now repping el presidente margaritas skillet queso and more comfortable enough to wear all day every day and chilis isn't messing around either they're turning a real golf clubhouse into a fully functioning chilis who doesn't love chilis i love chilis head to roback.com r-h-o-b-a-c-k.com use code spittin s-p-i-t-t-i-n for 20 off your first order best fit best feel roback guys take a minute here and talk about the big day that's coming september 2nd draft kings game day arrives with massive deals exclusive deals and an all-day celebration built for sports fans the countdown has begun all roads lead to game day the draft king sports app is now live in all 50 states that means from texas to california to florida every fan is in on the excitement one app every sport 50 states draft king game day is yours remember the date september 2nd DraftKings Game Day is the kickoff of a new season, a new era, and the biggest day in sports history. Get pumped. I have something to do with this. Very minor. That's all I can say. Get ready to celebrate. New DraftKings customers, sign up with code CHICKLITS, spend $5 to get $200 in rewards within 21 days. Includes all markets. That's code CHICKLITS, C-H-I-C-L-E-T-S. In partnership with DraftKings, the crown is yours. Connecticut, call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org. On behalf of Boothill Casino in Kansas, that tax pass-through may apply in Illinois. 21 and over. Void in Canada. Event contract trading with DraftKings Predictions involves risk of loss. Availability varies. Predictions offer void in New York. Bet to get bonus bets that expire in seven days. Trade to get predictions dollars that expire in one year. $50 in rewards issued every seven days via click-to-claim for 21 days. One non-withdrawable reward redeemable. Terms at dkng.co slash offer. Limited time offer. Nationwide based on sportsbook predictions. And free-to-play sports contest availability. Varies by state. Thank you very much to Big Cat, shout out the book, and Ernie Clement. And Biz, I got to get you on the horn with Ernie right after this because something happened with the Blue Jays. He's not willing to tell us. I get that, but they're doing something, and I want to know what it is. I mean, you guys know me. The only thing that could come to my mind is something in the showers. You know, maybe like the nicest manginas. You've ever seen. You've ever seen. Pregame. Yans, were you a big. I think sometimes we would start the pregame showers, right? You would shower before you got your getcha on? No, I never did. Nope. Never. Was that a donor thing? Would he do that? Yeah, I think donor used to, yeah. There would be some guys, but no, I never did that. I think the guys who would like hot tub and cold tub would shower. Wait, are you talking get to the rink? I showered at home. Get to the rink, get undressed, shower, and then get your stuff on, get ready to go? Yeah, like the shower before. I only did that when I was exhausted. I was exhausted. If I was exhausted, I jumped in a cold shower, tried to wake up. Yeah, I showered at home. Yeah, but I don't know what the Blue Jays are doing. And I'm happy they kept the Blue Jay name. I thought they changed to just the Jays. God, I felt like an idiot. You need a Blue Jay feather. I looked up right away when you said it. I'm like, they're not the Blue Jays? Me and you looked at each other like. I'm like, wait, what? How did I miss that? I think they do have a jersey that just says Jays. And Rays. And Blue. But yeah, I would imagine it's some form of helicopter cock that got them back in this thing. So shout out to Vladdy. What if it's Fred? I know Vladdy's not swinging the bat at home hitting dingers, but maybe he is in the locker room to get the boys going with that huge wrench. What if Fred's in the shower tickling guys with feathers? Oh, that's what they got going? Just the little one? That apparently, like, Crosby's expected to discuss an extension. Because he's got one year left. Let's get him paid, man. No, I was going to say, I don't think he can do it again. 18.8.7? He can't do 8.7 again. No, he can't. I think the PA will be like, please, please, please don't. Like, don't do this. And he might be like, no, I'm doing it again. Trying to think of, like, a way around the numbers. Maybe a total two years, 87 million? Yeah, if it's three years. No, three years, 87. Oh, hey, he deserves it. But that's over, you know, that's like, what is that? That'd be like 28 a year. I don't think he's going to do that. You think he'll take a dollar more than 8.7? I don't. So you're saying if he signs an extension, there's zero chance it's not 8.7? Yeah, and I don't think it's right. He should be making way more money, and he should have been making way more money his whole career. But I think he's so, like, crazy in a good way. Here's a way around it. I figured it out. Yes. He gets 8.7 in signing bonus and then 8.7 in salary. Or he gets 8.7% of the team. Biz, I like that. Yeah, that's a good one, Biz. 8.7% of the cap at what it's going to be would be another one. Oh, okay. Watch, that'll be exactly 8.7. Right. Right. I just think that if he does it again. I like the signing bonus one. That's a good one. Because then he'd be making, like, just over $17 million, which he should be making for what he's done for that organization. I mean. It'd be in Kansas City if it wasn't for him. Yeah. Should I call Pat Brisson? Did you see the Islanders? They had, like, a popular jersey design contest, and they released it. So I guess fans. Now, have you seen it? Because I'm looking at it right. Now, I like it, except for the light from the lighthouse coming out. It looks like a bomb went off at the top of the lighthouse. I like the jersey. It's just, it's literally an explosion of the top. Like, the guy up top is dead, but everything else looks good. The Navy lighthouse design. We're going to have to get a freaking early opinion. Oh, yeah. I see what you mean. Like, that's a bomb going off. Yeah, yeah. That doesn't look like light given out of it. Yeah. I think it's a sharp-looking jersey. I like how they. Yeah, I like it. I like the colors. Little oilers. I think without the explosion, the Oppenheimer bomb test out of the lighthouse glass, I think it's money. Yeah. I think it's money. How much of that do you think the fans actually, or they would just, like. You think they, like. Did somebody design them? Like, a fan design them? Yeah, I believe so. It was the popular jersey design contest, and there was a winner. Yeah, they announced the winner. That's sick. I think they had a winner. They had over, what did it say? A thousand entries? Did you already mention that? No, I didn't. I was wondering how many they had. Here, I got it in my phone. They had 80,000, 80,000 submissions. 80,000? 80,000. Yeah, I thought maybe. 80,000. Boys, if they got that many, and that's all they came up with, I think that's crazy. Yeah. Honestly. That's why I think it was just like, hey, we'll get the people involved, but this is actually the jersey. But we're making it. Yeah. And it's also infuriating. Is there some type of legality reason why they're not just doing the. The fisherman guy? I know. Yeah, I don't know. But just, why are we overthinking? Yeah. I know. Everybody wants the fisherman jersey back. Every jersey that was ridiculed when they came out are now cool. And that, that would be like, because people hated the fisherman. Really? And now I think. Yeah, but it's retro now. Now it's retro. Yeah. But fanatics in the NHL, they announced they're going to unveil the hometown remix uniforms for all 32 teams. Coming up this season. So the collection will feature special edition jerseys designed to uniquely and authentically celebrate the fan city and local culture of each team. I think we're going to see some of the worst jerseys of all time out of this. It's going to be hilarious. NBA does that, doesn't it? What? Doesn't the NBA do that with like the city remix? I think MLB does it because I think that's the Red Sox like yellow jersey that started after the marathon bombing. But I believe each team might now have like a city remix. But I think there's going to be a couple from this NHL one that are just dog shit. Yeah, but in 20 years, they'll be sick. Call me old fashioned. I think the NHL should adopt the policy where you have a home, you have an away, and that's it. No thirds. No, I like the, I like the switch ups, especially when you're playing, like wearing a different jersey. It's always fun. You get new equipment. That was the best part of Wilkes-Barre. I think we had 10 different jerseys. We had a St. Paddy's day. Same socks. I loved it. We would do the Christmas. We would do those special jerseys. We'd be having the candy cane Christmas jersey, and it would be like a 58. I felt like I had a fucking goalie jersey on my arms. Yeah, that's the minors. They're going to get you a jersey that fits in the NHL. Wilkes-Barre, we had Christmas, St. Paddy's day. I'm blanking. There were at least three more. Military, always a military way. Military. Cancer month. I think there might have been a Thanksgiving one. Big turkey feather on the middle. Halloween. Oh, yeah. Halloween. What was the other one? I can't remember. We need myrrh. Myrrh invented the whole thing. I don't mind the extra jerseys. I like how you're old school and would like just a, but I also would like white at home. I'd rather white at home than. Same here. Yeah. That's what we had growing up. Yes. Now, back in the day, dark was home because I remember seeing Bruins highlights of them at home with the blacks, and I'm like, what the hell is going on? My dad's like, that's what it used to be, but I grew up on the whites at home, and I like that better. Yeah. I'm a fan of that. Same. So to end this thing, we would be throwing it to R.A.'s world right now. Biz mentioned he's had a funeral, couldn't make it this week. A tough week to not have him because the content coming out of Vermont, I'm talking, if you think Fred the bird guy's odd with the hiccups, R.A. came on our show last week, his show as well, and he hadn't done anything. He hadn't been on the phone. He hadn't been posting, and we didn't. He didn't care or say anything. He was just kind of detoxing from the internet for a minute. Coming on our show sent him out of a cannon for content from Vermont, and we're talking some of the most bizarre videos. There was a five-minute live stream video where bats are flying around, and he's kind of narrating. Not quite dark out. Look at two of them right here. Look at that boat. Who do you think was Paul and Nate and R.A.'s honey? Oh, they're going to come close again, and I'm going to get scared. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. so all right so we can so that that's one um he then the picture you just posted i think that i mean that looks like yeah that's some bat honey that car has a cd player in it too that's fucking old he was tweeting about it he said he's got 126 000 miles on that thing and the cd player still works to perfection i think there's a piece of bat in that honey oh yeah that's shit and then this one was blown away by first experience eating corn right from a honey right from the comb still had bees buzzing about it's like eating those old-fashioned wax candles except it's hours old honey instead of artificially colored high fructose corn syrup shout out to the bees nature fucking rules and finally i'm gonna need the picture of the corn and before you put this picture of the corn out i believe this was posted sunday at like seven o'clock and i'm gonna need to get it out of the picture of the corn and i'm gonna need to get it out of the picture of the corn and i'm gonna need to get it out of the picture of the corn and i'm gonna need to get it out of the picture of the corn and i'm gonna need to get it out of the picture of the picture of the corn and i'm gonna need to get it out of the picture of the corn and i'm gonna need to get it out of the picture of the corn