Catching up with Ramie Makhlouf, talking Caleb Williams, Brewers/Cubs, Timberwolves

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You need Indeed. Good morning, everybody. Welcome into the Winklerverse. I just wanted to do a quick little catch up with Rami Makhloff, if everybody's cool with that.

What's going on, Bart? I'm cool with that. I don't know if everybody else is, but I'm cool with it. I see that when you go on with Sparky, he bills you as from 670 the score now.

Yeah, which technically I guess is true. I was part of their draft night coverage, which is kind of a big deal. You know, they had the number one pick in the draft. They called up your boy to go out there and talk about it. So I thought that was pretty cool and kind of a big deal.

So technically, yeah, I am from 670 the score, technically. Well, that was a big draft for the Chicago Bears, if I may. Yeah, it was.

Yeah, it really was. I think they're going to be good. But then I thought that Justin Fields would be good. I still think Justin Fields can be good. I think the Bears messed him up.

So do I. Yeah. And I think Caleb Williams could be good if the Bears don't mess him up. But they've been messing up quarterbacks my whole life, Bart. I'm not going to get carried away with the excitement or the optimism. I can't anymore.

I can't. I think Justin Fields was the last one that I could like legitimate. And that's that's no fault of Caleb Williams. He's a generational prospect and talent from what they're telling me. I should be excited about him and what he's done and how he's gotten here and that he was the number one pick.

But it's because of the Bears and a lifetime of trauma that I there's only a limit. There's like a level, a limit to which to which I can get excited about the Bears and a quarterback. I will say that one thing that was weird leading up to it was all these people talking about his fingernail phone case or his, you know, whatever. Ever since he's been drafted, I think that those are just a little like the combination of all that. He's like he's kind of cool. And it's like he's like a cool guy. Being the Bears quarterback seems like it's cool.

So that's different at least. Yeah, I don't I don't care about any of that, honestly. I don't I don't give a shit about any of that part. Throw touchdowns, man. Win games. That's that's all I care about. Wear wear a dress. Paint your fingernails.

Pink phone case. I don't care. I don't care what you do.

Just don't do anything so stupid during the week that you can't be on the field. And then when you're on the field, throw touchdowns and win games, which is how I told you all you should handle Aaron Rodgers. When he started getting annoying, just ignore all the like if you don't like it. It's not that I don't I have no problem with any of it. But even if you don't like it or it rubs you the wrong way, who gives a shit? Like if you're a Bears fan, all that should matter is that he goes out there and he wins football games.

I mean, the color of your phone case is a little different than. Listening to and subscribing to like Aubrey Marcus and all these weird shit guys that I never knew of until Rogers goes on their show and Rogers. Rogers never does like this is going to be like a 20 minute little catch up between boys. Rogers never does 20 minutes. It's like, hey, the new Rogers podcast dropped.

It's a day and a half. You're like you have to listen to the chapters. That's the trend in podcasting now, though, which is weird to me, though, Bart, because I remember when podcasting first started and it was like the thing was like, oh, it's only 25 to 35 minutes. You don't have to invest in a four hour show, not as a listener, not as a content creator. You know what I mean? And now, like Cat Williams is on with Shannon Sharp for 16 hours. Joe Rogan is interviewing Elon Musk for 46 hours. Like, I don't know why are we going back in that direction where like this this short form content platform that we had is going to this incredibly long, long, long form platform.

I'm not I'm not here for it. The Robbie and Drew show like our max and more nice than not, I'm telling Drew to shut the fuck up and let's keep this thing to 35, 45 minutes and let me go on with my life. So you guys had a nice run of bucks coverage, but now now now you can't do that. Yeah, I think we're going to get back at it tonight. Drew was sick for a few days and he he texted me earlier saying you want to do some podcasting tonight, so I'll get back to him after I get off with you and say, yeah, let's do that. Let's talk some bullshit for a few for a little bit, not for four hours. No, God, no. Hey, you come over and then spend the night and we'll wake up and finish.

Ridiculous. Why I did want to talk to you was about our wolves, which we'll get to in a second. Yes, sir.

And just like you jumped onto the box, I'm jumping onto the wolves. Although there's no rules against that. Yeah. What was your takeaway from the Brewers and Cubs first series of the season I they both lose on Wednesday afternoon so I still think they're in like a tie for first place. Obviously, Craig Council goes there and that's a whole thing and I think it is like a, like, we should be able to bitch about it, whatever. I don't think Cubs fans should kind of control our feelings on that. I will say why I'm disappointed in Cubs fans is that they care about the Brewers more than they pretend to know they don't have your big aggregator blue checkmark accounts, man. It's a lot of Brewers talk on there. I mean, obvious shirts gets into it with you guys a lot who you're friendly, you know, we were friends now.

So, but that's not media that's, I don't know if that I have to explain this to people that clothes aren't media clothes are closed. I don't see like, I don't see guys from the score or ESPN 1000 or ch geo sports, like putting a lot of time and energy into the Brewers, and man that's not. I think Brewers fans are offended by that, like they, they, they want the hate, they want the vitriol they want this to be like a two way back and forth thing, but for most of us, it's, it's really not man, we we hate the Cardinals, and we don't have. We don't have much hate left to give after all that we pour into the Cardinals bucket, but you know where I stand I'm, I'm a Cubs fan first and foremost they're my favorite team in sports, not just in baseball. They're my favorite team in all of sports, but if the Cubs aren't going to win the division, and they're not going to win the division every year. Shit I hope it's the Brewers, you know what I mean, I got nothing, I got nothing against the Brewers, and I think most of the Cubs fans are the same way they're indifferent, if anything, about the Brewers, or at least as indifferent as you can be about a team in your division, you know what I mean, I kind of like, I mean they care more about the Brewers and they do the reds.

For the pirates. The Brewers watching the standings, right now. A lot of Cubs fans are saying, we hate the Cardinals.

You're not spending two minutes of oxygen on the Cardinals. I'm going to the Brewers Cardinals game this Friday just to root against the Cardinals. I'm going Saturday.

Oh, you son of a bitch. I got a word Saturday. It's going to be fun just because I hate the Cardinals, and I want to have a few beers and hope they lose a baseball game, you know what I mean. So, like it, the Brewers are the number one competition in the standings, right now, I think it's going to be the Brewers down throughout the season and down the stretch, but that doesn't, they don't dethrone the Cardinals as the team that I hate the most. The Brewers are, they're fine. I got nothing against the Brewers. I think most Cubs fans have very little against the Brewers. I think the thing that bothers me most is right now, like sure we don't like the Cubs, they would be any Brewers fans number one rival I think, but we don't like the Cubs, we hate Council. And so when we're on little Brewers Twitter talking shit about Council and then Cubs fans jump into it. This doesn't concern you. We were betrayed. This isn't about the Cubs, it's about our feelings. Leave us alone. You know, you know, if it's messy between your significant other and their ex, you don't have to get involved in that like that, that can just be between them and and let him or her resolve that and figure it out and get whatever closure that they need.

You don't need, you don't need to stick your nose in that. So I agree with you. I feel no need to, all I've said is A, I don't blame him.

I think most people would do what he's done. And B, like the scorned ex is not a good look for you. It's not a good look for you. And C, the person you should really be mad at is Marc Antanasio for even letting this dude sniff open waters and find the Cubs and let the Cubs find him. That's where I stand.

But if y'all want to be better, go ahead and be better. I'm not going to get in your way. Rami Mclaughlin to the Winkler verse. We are brought to you by Happy Place hemp. Happy Place hemp. The promo code is Bart for 25% off each and every order. The tinctures, the bombs, the gummies.

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Oh boy. And I was like talking to strangers and I even recognize it. Like I was saying things that I was like, it was like I was a new person. I was a new character. People were like, who are you? I go, I don't know. But it felt right. Anyway, 25% off all their products.

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Ditch the busy work. Use Indeed for scheduling, screening and messaging so you can connect with candidates faster. Leveraging over 140 million qualifications and preferences every day. Indeed's matching engine is constantly learning from your preferences.

So the more you use Indeed, the better it gets. Join more than 3.5 million businesses worldwide that use Indeed to hire great talent fast. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com slash blue wire. Just go to indeed.com slash blue wire right now and support our show by saying that you heard about Indeed on this podcast.

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Learn more at Marines.com. The other thing I want to talk to you about, I mean, it's not like the biggest bet in the world, but in watching the Timberwolves and the Suns, and I should have done it earlier, but I thought, oh, the Timberwolves will win the series because them and the Nuggets and the Thunder, like they've been battling. I know the regular season doesn't matter, doesn't matter, but for those three teams, they've been battling for a number one seed. And I think the Timberwolves have kind of found themselves through that. They crushed the Suns. They have not lost yet in these playoffs.

They go into Denver, the toughest home environment in sports. And they win two games, put 40 bucks down. I put 20 bucks down to win 200. But the guy next to me, which you should not do, this is like urinal etiquette. You don't look over the guy.

Yeah. He looks at what I'm betting. And he's like, he's like, oh shit, that's a good bet. I'm like, wait, excuse me, sir. I'm like, yeah, okay.

And then he was all hyped about Anthony Edwards. I'm like, ah, fuck it. I put in another 20.

So I need them to win the title and win 400 bucks. Why not let the guy like glom onto your bet or, you know, like take a little something from you? Why is that a faux pas? I don't understand.

I think that's a situation you're supposed to look ahead. Oh, okay. All right. Yeah.

Like you said, like a urinal. All right. I didn't know it was a personal private. I thought you were saying it out loud. No, I made a bet.

And the font's very small. So he had to like beeline that thing. I only placed a bet on sports one time. It was in Vegas and I did it on like a machine. I did it on like a punch, like a touchscreen. I always thought that if you went up to the window and placed a bet that you were just like, because this is how it's done in the movies.

You're like 400, only Anthony Edwards in the world. It's like to the person, the clerk. You can do that. You can do that there, yeah. So I thought it was like a public, a public declaration.

I didn't know that they were, that there was. I was on a kiosk. He was looking at my kiosk. Oh, oh, okay. Yeah. No, that's not cool. That's like walking up behind you at the ATM and looking at your pen.

I think exactly. But because he did that, I might win 200 more dollars if they win the finals. Because I won 20.

Then you should thank them. And I think that they might win the finals, man. That is a, that's a really good team. And like you said, they were, they were jockeying for that one seed all season long. And they lost Anthony or Carl, I almost said Anthony Edwards. They lost Carl Anthony Towns for a stretch there with an injury.

And that's, that's when they kind of fell out of that race. Having him back in the lineup is an absolute game changer. And that's, that might be the best team in the West. They look like one of, if not the best team in the West for much of the season, Bart.

They're stacked. People talk about like Anthony Edwards and Kat and Gobert, but Nas Reed and Mike Conley. And you look down their bench, like that's, that's a really, really good roster that they've put together up there. And the coach, I mean, we don't like the average person doesn't know Chris Finch until he blew out his knee. But then the first guy that they get up there and talk about is how he changed their defense and because you spent time there. Like, I saw Judd do a video where he's like, guys, I know you think this is like fake, but this is a good team.

I know like in Minnesota we can't ever. But he's, he's comparing it back to like the 87 and 91 twins just because, you know, and it's kind of similar to the Bucks. I think, you know, you can't believe it's actually happening. Right. So if you are a Timberwolves fan, embrace it.

But the Timberwolves, they also, they, they've been in the playoffs last couple of years. They, they've learned they know. Okay, so quick jump on the Dan Cheney YouTube I had to move right next to the modem upstairs by my kids stuffies. Oh, is that what that is? I couldn't tell.

We cross dreams here. Oh, you can't do that. Did you see the, did you see the poster for the new, the new Superman movie, by the way, since you just held up a Superman plushie. Why everybody mad about it.

I don't know. People are going to be mad art and anything like there's nothing you can take away from that, that tells you anything about the movie and whether or not it'll be good, but people are going to be mad, no matter what you put out. All right, well, I tried to ask you about the wolves fans if you have any shitty answer. Oh no, I do, I, I caught the part where you're talking about the wolves fans then you froze up there, there. I was talking about myself as a bears fan earlier Bart and how I can only let myself get to a certain level of excitement and optimism. They have it far worse, and not just as as wolves fans as Minnesota sports fans, they haven't won anything since those games that you mentioned in the late 80s and early 90s in any sport, the Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.

The Timberwolves literally had the worst win percentage in all of American professional sports, since their inception 27 or 28 years ago, whatever, it was so I understand them being reluctant to jump all in or put their full heart into this thing only to have it broken again. But man, it, that that's a team, that's a team worth believing in that's that's a stacked team over there, starting with Anthony Edwards and Bart, I don't know if I've ever said it to you, but I've said it in multiple places, and I got cross looks when I've said it and raised eyebrows for at least two years now. I've been saying don't be surprised if Anthony Edwards ends up being the best player in this league. And if anything, he might get there faster than, than I thought he would that he was an absolute killer, and maybe the most explosive athlete in the NBA right now.

So, that's, that's a squad that I think can can go deep and maybe win the whole thing. Well, we were talking about, like in five years is gonna be the face of the league but we did that three weeks ago and in those three weeks I he's almost become right now the face of these playoffs. Yeah, yeah, I mean he's, he's been the brightest shining star in the playoffs, the most consistent guy, as far as throwing up huge stat lines on on the biggest stage and against good competition. Man, he's, he's, he's taking the torch and absolutely running with it and I love it. I love it man I've liked that dude. Ever since he came into the league I was I was leaving Minnesota just as he was coming in but I was there long enough to see you know all the hype and the interviews when when a guy's the number one pick in the draft. And I love the dude immediately before I even knew what kind of ballplayer he was because Bart you know I'm not the biggest college basketball guy, but just on personality alone, and I posted a retweeted a tweet on on is it Twitter anymore, x, whatever the fuck it is of an interview. Like it's equally bad to call it x, as it is to try to figure out what it's called. I'm sorry, we're just gonna call it Twitter.

But I've been saying that and I broke my own rule as I've reposted a clip on Twitter from right after he got drafted, and he was like anything, he was like baseball football cooking, whatever, whatever it is, I'm going to win, and I'm going to be the best at it, and I just, I love that competitive edge, and that that killer instinct that that dude has man, and I think that that is what he has over a lot of young stars in the game right now. Well, I wish he would have had a different path in life and been a fiber internet installer so that I could get the internet I'm fucking paying for. You too. Didn't you aren't you hardwired.

No. Oh, you told me to hardwire I had you on the first Rami and Drew and I was like what advice do you have for me. We're having similar issues that day, and you said, hardwired, so that we don't have issues like this, take your own advice part. I just need a new modem or fucking whatever and I asked them about it and they somehow made it worse.

Like oh no that's an easy problem just click a button for you and then like, I didn't have internet for a month. Do you have problems does your computer get worse every time it updates, because mine gets worse every time updates are supposed to make it better are they mine gets worse. Yeah, they send you updates because they're trying to make you update your equipment. They want you to get a new phone so they send you an update with more viruses.

My battery does die faster every time a new iPhone comes out my battery gets a little bit worse and. Well, that's all I can talk to you I have to. Already. We're done.

Yeah, I have to, I have to go. All right. Well, I enjoyed it.

It feels short. Don't. But we'll talk again. Was it nice to catch up at least. Love you buddy, let's go to a, we're going to miss each other this weekend but let's get let's catch a ballgame soon sometime. Okay. All right. We're both not doing anything during the day, next day game. Let's get together, catch a ballgame. Okay, we can. All right, let's do that. Bye Rami.