Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome into the Winkler-verse.
Long time, no time. Paul Imig's here. Hello. Grant Bills is on assignment from this podcast. He's on assignment from this show. Did he get fired? From the show?
No, no, no, no, no, no. I always remember you always saying, if you or Chuck missed a day, the other person would get calls of like- Oh, yeah. Well, you can't take a day off or it's like, oh, yeah. Clearly, it's because of the thing that he said yesterday.
He's been- But on the national show, no one gives a shit. I'm telling you, dude, it's- It's nice. I think it seems nice. I struggle with that. Is it nice that I can have the best job I've ever had, but like the least, I don't want to say accountability. Well, you have a stronger sense of anonymity, of being anonymous. But I want the things that I say that are... I should be being celebrated for my Aaron Rogers thoughts about how everyone was freaking out. Yet, Adam Schefter is out there running around complaining that he didn't sign right away. I want it and I don't at the same time.
Yeah. There's a good Ron Swanson quote about that from Parks and Rec that I would butcher, but it's something to the effect of... No, it's actually, don't go chasing a claim that way lies madness. That's exactly the quote. How does that apply? Who cares what people think or hear or know about you?
Just like, fuck it, who cares? Well, that's the thing I was talking about the other week about this business is we're chasing respect and admiration from people we don't respect or admire. It's a great point and you should take it to heart. It's very good advice.
I want to be given recognition from people that I don't want them to know who I am. Yeah. Embrace the first half of that. I get it. I get it.
The National Show, it'd be nice if a few more people were like, wow, Bart's crushing it, but also who gives a shit? Yeah. I mean, end of the day, I'm still going to take five shits a day and drink too much on the weekends. Why can't when I gamble, why can't I leave up?
I don't know. I went to the Bucks game and then me and another guy went to the casino after. We were both up at a late hour of the night and we continued to play and loss. That's why I'm going to win it all back with my brackets. You strike me as someone who doesn't fill one out. I don't even like a free one. No. Well, so that's kind of my thing is like, I'm either all into something or I'm just not into it at all. And so I, I'm not like, Oh, I guess it's March Madness.
I have, I haven't watched anything all year. I'm going to pretend that I have an informed opinion on this. So I just even, by the way, even like back in the day with doing media, I would do Dennis Krause show. And I've never done that.
What the fuck, Dennis? He knows who I am. I remember that whole thing you did about Krause.
And then I think the news men do a bit. There was a thing at one point where I did the huddle with Krause. That's right. And he, did he, he meant like he was aware of it.
Like he was part of the canon. Right. But anyway, I did that.
And I would always, he'd like, so we're talking about this. We're talking about that. I said, Hey, on that topic, the, the, the college sports, probably just talk. I don't, I have nothing to say. Okay. Good to know.
So I would even tell him that probably I have no, I have no idea. Now again, this is coming from someone I did cover in NCAA tournament. And it was buzz Williams coaching, Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson Odom with Marquette. And that was very fun. I was very into it, but I've kind of fallen out a little bit. I'm in, so there's been a bracket I've been in for 15 years and I don't know how I got in it. This is kind of like your fantasy football leagues.
You don't even know what those I at least have some like a, an entry point. Okay. I don't know how I got in this, but I've been in it all the time. And this year it auto renewed the bracket, but I didn't get an email from the guy. Okay.
So I think he might be dead. So I'm not going to enter that bracket. Cause I didn't get the email. Normally it's one of these guys that this is his thing and he doesn't just be like, Hey, I've got a bracket, you know, send it to who you can.
It's like a 15 minute read of the history and jokes and inside jokes. And you know, it's just long, but I didn't get the email. So I'm not doing it. So I'm only in, I'm in one fondy one and I'm in one, uh, Dan Cheney, who is my insurance agent and he can be yours too. Check out Dan shaney.com. He runs a free bracket and you can do up to three entries if you're one of his clients. And if you win, like he's paying out top five prizes, like it's no entry fee.
Um, and if you win, you get a $200 gift card to anywhere you want. So Dan, if I win draft Kings, um, but so I filled out and I think I'm in another one. So basically I have three brackets that I have filled out in different spots. One I've taken Florida to win the championship.
Okay. The other I have taken Duke and then they're mostly the same. And then the, and then the other, I had my kid fill out and he was filling out them yesterday, but I thought he'd fill out like teams. He recognizes teams that mascots are funnier. No, he just wanted me to show the prediction that predict who was picking who and he took the higher. So I basically have a chalk bracket. There's some five, four upsets because people are taking the five team over the 14, but whoever the consensus was, he has taken them to win except for Wisconsin.
So Wisconsin's winning his bracket and then the rest of it's chalk. Hmm. So I expect to lose on that one as well for a million dollars.
And I'm not proud to say this, this is an embarrassing thing to share for a million dollars. I could not tell you the Florida Gators basketball head coach. Ooh, not good. I don't think I can either. Oh, nevermind. So I'm less embarrassed. I don't know much about college basketball.
I didn't start watching it until last Tuesday. See, I know you're also not a college. I know that about you. I think it's some guy whose last name is like Mullen. Chris Mullen just without the S Gators coach basketball. I thought golden. Who is that?
I mean, that's close enough, right? But who, who is it though? Uh, he used to coach at San Francisco. Oh my God.
He's 39 years old. I think one thing I hate about, uh, college, and this always bothered me. And when I would do the show with wicked and Chuck, they were way more into it. Yeah. And so things were bigger deals or bigger stories, but it's always like the mid major coach who has a run always gets Florida or Indiana or UCLA.
And it's just always that progression. Uh, Indiana just hired the guy from West Virginia, West Virginia's all pissed because they didn't get in. Yeah. Now that guy after a year deuced out to Indiana and it's just this, this constant, I don't know. There's something about it that just seems like they're using their school. But then again, I mean, I know we're in that era, but the coaches use their schools to just go to a more name brand school. It's just always bothered me that, Oh, would you see who got hired for, for a fucking, uh, you sit UNC.
I don't give a shit. Yeah. Yup.
But I'll watch it. Badgers played Thursday afternoon. Marquette I think plays at night and that can be around. I think I saw no, they, they, they, that was maybe, but not they're separate. Yeah. Other than that, a big news this week, Nicole Hardman signing with the Packers. Is it Nicole or Nicole?
Genuinely asking. I'm just going to call him Hardman. Both things can be true.
I think it's a Nicole. I swear I've heard an announcer. You have to have like Kevin Harlan on and have asked him for his opinion on Hardman and then let him say it and see where he goes with it. Well, I've also called him Kevin Harland, so I'm the wrong guy to, you have, and I proved that to you. That was an accident. You did it like seven times. No, I swear to God. I would never, I would never do that to you. It was not a one-time occurrence.
Um, I think it's me call either way. He didn't return that many kicks last year. Everyone's like, you'll be a kick returner. He didn't really return that many kicks.
I think it's not nothing, but I don't know. Like he's going to be super cheap on draft Kings and fan duo. I'm going to captain him every week and I'm going to never win because we're going to wait for the one day is five catches for 34 yards, two touchdowns and a return.
He's never going to have any of that. Did you know he was a second round pick? He was second round pick in 2019. I didn't really see was selected so high. Yeah, it's pretty bonkers. Um, I didn't either, by the way, whether it's me, Cole or Nicole, it's actually Carrie, Carrie, Nicole Hardman Jr. Oh, interesting.
Interesting trivia. Um, draft coming up. Are you excited? I just need to get my bearings of where I'm going to be. Where are you going to be? What are the options?
What are the choices? Well, apparently I'm going, oh, you are now. I think like in a infinity sports net capacity. That's the plan.
Live on the air. That's the plan. I mean, to be honest, like you are the only Wisconsin sports national host, not named Doug Gottlieb, at least if you count him, um, like to be, why, why would you not, you obviously should. Oh yeah. I expect to be there.
Um, should be fun. Uh, what's on your mind, friend? By the way, Chris Haynes literally just posted sources with bucks struggling.
And after dispirited and lost to warriors, doc rivers called a meeting with his two superstars, Giannis and Damian Lillard details inside. And it's a video, so I can't watch it cause it literally just popped up. Well, we're either going to play it or you're, we're going to pause this, watch it and react to it.
What do you want to do? Can you play it? Can I play it one minute long? I hear it. Chris Haynes with another Haynes briefly today with the bucks struggling recently and a dispirited loss to the warriors last night, sources relayed to me that head coach doc rivers after the game called a meeting with his two superstars and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Now in this meeting I'm told was an open forum for both stars to provide input on ways to improve the team. It was a constructive session with each individual being allowed to share their perspectives. Now this meeting occurred on the heels of the Bucks offense sputtering as of late and they've dropped five of their last seven games. There are 14 games remaining in the season for the Bucks. This is definitely a dire time. This is Chris Haynes and you've been briefed.
There are 14. What do I think? I think that two employees and a manager had a meeting about work. Did, was there anything in that like this?
So here's, here's the thing with stuff like that. The story is like the headline is bucks hold meeting after loss. Sure. But the headline is also the entirety of the story.
What like what people hold meetings all the time. Yeah. I mean, it's just a very visible business. Yeah.
I don't, I don't think that it's anything now. I don't like that they lost last night without Steph. Um, they're also on a bit of a road trip. Like I said, I was at the game Sunday. They are not anywhere in the same league as the thunder. The box art.
I mean, it was clear the Warriors aren't to the bucks or not. The box. Yeah.
The box. They're just like, what is, what is this meeting going to accomplish that all of a sudden they're going to be able to win a title? I don't think it's, I don't think it's great that I'm middle late March with 14 games to go that this was required, that this was necessary. That's not a good sign.
I promise you. I feel like is, I promise you the thunder did not have a meeting like this. The cabs did not have a meeting like this.
Well, cabs should they've lost two in a row, dude. I just feel like, I feel like this, this is an instance of them. On one hand, having a meeting is normal in work. On the other hand, in the NBA, it is rare to have these kinds of like, anytime you hear there's a meeting or a clearing of the air, that means there's a problem. But I think the bucks could have just like not had the meeting and then been fine. I think having the meeting makes it a bigger problem. I don't know.
I don't, I don't feel like, I just feel like they're stubbing their toe when they do stuff like that. Just continue on play. You're without Bobby Portis, whether you like it or not. He's a part of this. Yep. You know, a lot of it's going to depend on how Yannis and Dame play together and they're going to have to like, if they're going to win a title, Yannis is going to have to have triple doubles three out of seven games in a series.
Yeah. And Dame's going to have to put up 30 points in at least two of those games. And it depends on those guys, you know, get what you can from Kuzma gets what you can somehow Tory and Prince is having like respectable games. Get what you can from these other guys.
But I think the formula, I don't, I don't, the formula is very clear to me. Run everything through Yannis and Dame. Other guys pick it up where they can. What are you going to fix now? Coaching could be an issue. Are we not, are we not like, are we not running anything offensively or defensively? Are you just going out there and balling?
How invested is doc into this? Yeah. So that, that could be something, maybe it's like a meeting that me and a radio guy had with our boss once, um, me and another guy were under a person and we thought that that person was doing an incredibly poor job as our manager. And we had said, we need to do something about this.
So we called a meeting, we sat our manager down and we basically said, here's all the reasons you are failing us. Whoa, nice. And, uh, it was just like, it was something else. Yeah.
We ended up like getting an apology. Really? Oh yeah. And then was it really change after that? But I was gonna say, did any behaviors actually change? No, things didn't really change after that. Um, but maybe it was that maybe it was Yannis and Dame telling doc like, Hey, we're doing what we need to do.
Yeah. You gotta have some input here. Cause who's gonna like, what's the order of what's going to cost the bucks in the playoffs. Lack of like losing to an inferior opponent. That could happen. There's plenty of those injuries.
That's number one. But if they lose the, like the Pacers who's fault is that going to be? They're not an inferior opponent.
Is that going to be Yannis' fault? You're saying the Pacers are not an inferior opponent on paper? Remind me on what inferior means. Less than, oh, I meant the other one. Pro-ferior.
Outferior. No, if the Pacers beat the Bucks again, healthy, right. Then they should be in for a major change. That, I mean, this is a topic that I don't want to do with you and Grant in the future. Like if the Bucks drop in the first round of the playoffs, everyone's got to go.
I don't want to go there yet, yet, but. Well, not everyone, not Yannis. Everyone, but. Yeah, everyone. Does that include John Horst? Does that include. Everyone.
Yes, it includes everyone. Sounds like reportedly if John Horst had his way, Kenny Atkinson would be the coach instead of the Cavs coach. I don't know. Well, maybe we screwed up.
I think that's probably fair. So I was going to ask you, I'll use your whole thing. You get a million dollars if you're right and nothing if you're wrong.
So playing with that million dollars of house money. The Bucks playoff outcome is what? First round exit, second round exit, Eastern Conference Finals exit NBA Finals, lost NBA Finals win. What are they right now? The five I was looking at. So they are the five, but they're a half game out of the four Indiana and a half game up on the six Detroit.
So like four or five, six is really fluid. I guess I don't have any confidence. I don't think I don't. When Halliburton hit that shot the other day and was fouled and won the game on one hand, I think that gives him a false sense of confidence in the team, a false sense of confidence against Milwaukee. But with everything that's gone on between those two teams, I mean, all the way back to Giannis stealing a basketball, I think the Pacers might own more space in our head than any other team. Yeah. I mean, the Bucks, they play the Celtics. The Celtics are better than them, but you can get up for that. Sure. You know, it's maybe it's easier to get up for teams that you know, you're the underdog when you're the favorite. Yeah. But you're feeling like you're getting little brother. One hundred percent. And maybe that's where the Bucks are kind of at with the Pacers.
I I think a lot of people nationally would take the Pacers over the Bucks in six or seven. And I feel like I might do that as well. Really? I my only. I'm just I'm trying not to look at it as a Bucks fan or as a Bucks homer. Yeah. And I do believe still I do believe that there is an outcome.
I don't know how many like if it's one in 50 or one in 100. But there's there is a path for Milwaukee to win the championship this year. There is a path. But I think a lot of the paths have us getting punked by the Pacers. Yeah. All I would say is if a healthy, honest, healthy game led Bucks lose to the Pacers, I'm not putting the Bucks head on and trying to do it like as you said, just guy who watches the NBA and enjoys the NBA. That Bucks team cannot lose to a Halliburton, Miles Turner can't see him. Can't happen. That would that would be I don't care how similar the records are.
But if you take if you take a bigger step back, I am. If you go, would you rather have Giannis Dame Kuzma or Turner Siakam Halliburton? Oh, well, for this season only, what are NBA fans saying? If your answer isn't Giannis and Damon, whoever the third player is, you're you're wrong. I wonder what the NBA fan would say. No, I know. I'm saying I'm saying to that NBA fan or fans that if your answer is not Giannis Dame. I think the Pacers trio gets at least 35% of the vote outside of Wisconsin and Indiana. Yeah.
If not more good topic for your national show. I don't know I get antsy when I talk about the Bucks you but you under you overcompensate your Yeah, you do. I know.
You know, like you talk more Giants and Cubs and Bulls and New York Rangers because of Carlos than you do about your team. Dude, it's we changed our phone number. So like, I heard it.
Nobody knows it. That's I've noticed like the couple days that it's happened. You have like new callers, different callers that like the regulars are gone. Yeah, Monday was pretty good night where people got it.
Tuesday, I said the number more but less people called. I think there are some people who I will never hear from again. They just have it saved. Yeah, and they can't figure it out. And changing a number. That's a big thing. It is. That's a big, big thing.
It's never spelled disaster in the past either. It's just a big thing ball. It's just a big, big thing. Yeah. But would say I mean, you could look it up. It's on the internet. People can get it if they want it.
It's just how much trouble they want to go through. Yeah. So no, I don't know. What about you? Are you?
What's your million dollars? Because I usually think I'm a little more optimistic on the bucks than any of you guys. Sometimes. If they're in the four or five spot, they're losing the Cleveland in the second round. Yeah. The strange thing is I would rather than be the six have Detroit pass the box. Be the six base the Knicks, which is a 5050 series, I think. But then let's see 63 and then you play two on them and then you play Boston. So you're probably not escaping a second round.
Well, you got it. You got to beat those two teams either way, right? Would you rather play Boston or I mean, who's a more windable series Boston or Cleveland in the second round? I don't want to disrespect Cleveland, but it might be them for us.
Cleveland. Yeah. But I think you're cutting hairs there. Yeah. Probably. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not putting out chairs ball.
That was organic. I'm not doing that. You don't have to tell me. It's just a shame cause when you win an NBA cup and I got to see that beautiful banner and now it is glorious and you beat the thunder to do it. That's right. You beat the thunder. Where were those vibes from like only three, two weeks ago. And you and the kiddo got to see them beat the nuggets.
And where'd it happen to that team? They had a meeting last night, everything off. Do you think the meeting was like, do you think we should bring back that team that we had two weeks ago? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
All right, ready? Break. I feel like the reporting needs to be a little more on this. How long was the meeting? Who initiated the meeting? Who initiated it? He said it was constructive.
So then why even report it? It feels like it's being reported just to be like guys bucks. Well, and because he's BFFs with, you know, Dame's crew, you're going to have the narratives run so wild in terms of like reporters and what they want to happen. I've, I'm losing a lot of trust in what I'm seeing.
Like everybody, everybody wants doc rivers to lose. What? Yes. Believe it. Yeah. No media reporters.
Yeah. Everyone wants doc rivers to lose. Everybody wants the cat that nobody wants to see calves and thunder. Nobody wants to see it.
I'm glad that you've been hammering that point because that one's for sure. Just because they haven't seen it before. They don't want to see it now.
They want familiarity. Yeah. Diana Rossini is trying to convince the Vikings to hire Aaron Rogers as their core is one of the stranger subplots for sure. I thought he didn't like her, but he constantly, they have a love hate. They got to, he feeds her information and then trash it.
Then she reports it wrong. He's a part of that cycle, man. Do you think so? Oh yeah. Okay.
He's a part of that cycle. Okay. Anything else to top your mind these days? No. I'm looking forward to the NFL draft.
This was like the month leading in that I get super in depth of like excited. Would you draft should do her? What team am I? Cause I think that's, I think that's a relevant question. The Brown Brown's at one, two.
Oh, sorry. Right. Titans at one.
No, I wouldn't have giants at three. I would. You got to take your shot. Yeah.
If it doesn't work out, you're back at the top of the lottery. Well, they, again, this is my point that they should fire Joe Shane and Brian Dabel are playing for their jobs. We did. Did we just talk about this? Right?
Like if, like, if you have, if you have a coach that's playing for his job, fire and a GM that's playing for his job because you're going to make short term decisions. Yeah. I'm so smart.
See, I want the recognition ball. This has been a polemic take for a long time in line. Just like he still builds bill Simmons takes. I do.
I constantly steal it two weeks before he has them. Ah, true. That's a good, that's a good thing to point out. I did hear you play a bill Simmons clip, by the way.
It was a good clip. It was about a, haven't you said that already though? Probably you've talked about pushing the NBA season back. You don't even remember the takes that you've, that bill has stolen from you now. You're like, that's a good idea.
By bill. The reason you think that is because it was yours. It ain't that deep.
Maybe it is. We'll talk. I'm so unhappy. All right. Good to see you. I appreciate you.
Thanks again to Paul for jumping into the Winkler verse. Want to remind you, we are brought to you by happy place hemp, happy place hemp. The promo code is Bart 25% off each and every order. It doesn't matter how many times you have already ordered from them. You get 25% off each and every time. Put the promo code Bart in at checkout, whether it's the seltzers, which are just huge in popularity, uh, growing seltzers and like NA products are just booming and happy place help can help you with the seltzers. Also some gummies, uh, the Delta eights, the Delta nines, the, uh, the THC, the CBD CBN to help you sleep. They've got all that. They make it right here in Musko. You can actually stop in, say what's up, or they can send it to you very quick turnaround in the mail and with the code free shipping on pretty much everything that you get, uh, to get the seltzers, get a couple of them and then that'll get kicked in. But, uh, for the most part, yeah, they'll ship it to you as well. Happy place hemp. The promo code is Bart 25% off each and every order. Thanks as always for stopping into the Winkliverse.
