...And We're Back

Yes, you read that correctly. Brady nearly had to postpone his wedding because of a softball injury to his fiancee Ann. Good news though, as everyone is OK and the festivities can commence uninterrupted! The NFL Regular Season kicks off this week! Bears and Packers on the Lakefront to get things started for the Monsters of the Midway. Is there more pressure on Justin Fields or Jordan Love? The Cubs and White Sox are definitely headed in different directions. The Cubs look like they're going to be playing October baseball, while the White Sox might not have hit rock bottom quite yet.

It had been awhile since we've recorded an episode...Brady is really busy with softball this summer and hasn't been able to find time to record. Since the weather is finally cooperating, we thought it would be a good time for a porch podcast and Kelsey agreed! Canadian Wildfires and lingering smoke had different ideas, but we made the most of it. The Cubs and Sox are at the halfway point, the Blackhawks made a franchise-changing draft pick this week, and the Bears are a month away from training camp!

The First Saturday in May means one thing: The Kentucky Derby. About 20,000 thoroughbreds are born every spring, 20 of them make the Derby starting gate three years later, meaning there's a less than 1% chance of Running for the Roses. Churchill Downs Lead Racing Analyst Joe Kristufek joins Brady to talk about his top ten contenders, including 2 year old champ Forte, his top ranked horse Kingsbarns, and many others that could factor in by the end of it. Will we have another longshot like Rich Strike last year, or will the morning line favorite Forte rule the day? Tune in on Saturday for the most exciting two minutes in sports!

Chicago Bears fans haven't had much to look forward to on the field in recent years, which leaves NFL Draft season as the most exciting thing on the football calendar. While the Bears traded away the #1 overall pick awhile back, they have plenty of draft capital this weekend. Will Ryan Poles select an OL to help protect Justin Fields or will he take an edge rusher to help the defense get after the quarterback? Mark Carman of CHGO joins the show to talk about their Top 100 list and what he thinks Ryan Poles will do holding the #9 overall selection.

Jon Rahm won The Masters last weekend on a gorgeous Sunday at Augusta. The rest of the weekend wasn't totally gorgeous, but it was a Spring golf tournament after all. What can we make of LIV vs the PGA Tour?

Baseball season has finally arrived! There are lots of questions about what the Cubs and White Sox will do this season, plus how will the new rules affect the game? If anyone tells you they had predicted the Final Four correctly, they're lying to you. It's going to be an interesting Saturday evening in Houston as America will get to know some new players and teams on the game's biggest stage.

The Chicago Bears sat atop the NFL Draft, a pick they didn't necessarily need to hold on to with so many QB-hungry teams out there. On Friday they did what many thought they would, trading that pick to the Carolina Panthers for a haul of draft assets and WR DJ Moore. They also reportedly made several free agent signings on Monday, to be made official later in the week. It's also NCAA Tournament time, which means brackets are out and pools are won! What upsets are lurking, who's the Cinderella, and who's cutting down the nets in Houston? Joining Brady to talk about all of the above this week is Jordan Bernfield of ESPN and WGN Radio. He's had a chance to see a lot of the mid-major teams who could wreak havoc on the blue-bloods projected to go far.

We've reached one of those points on the sports calendar where it seems like there's everything going on. I'll just bullet point it... College Basketball Conference Tournaments and NCAA Tournament Spring Training and World Baseball Classic Kentucky Derby Trail NFL Free Agency and Draft Golf--Player's Championship and The Masters Stretch run of NBA and NHL We talk about all this and more this week! Was there really more than this? I don't know, it just felt like a lot.

Anytime we've talked Blackhawks this season, it hasn't been so much what's happening on the ice, but more what they will do with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews ahead of this week's trade deadline. We know now that Toews won't be moved because of illness, but what will GM Kyle Davidson do with Patrick Kane. Perhaps the better question is, what will Kane allow the Blackhawks to do? They've certainly not neglected other parts of their roster, making a big trade on Monday and acquiring future draft picks in return.  Our guest for this episode is Joe Brand, pre and postgame host for Blackhawks broadcasts on WGN Radio and he talks about what the already-completed trades mean for the club, as well as what could potentially come back from a Patrick Kane trade. We also shift gears and talk baseball, specifically the new rules that have been on display early on in Spring Training. Are they good for baseball or does it ruin the game for you?

The Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl 57 over the Eagles, in a classic game and an incredibly lucky Sunday for Brady and his family. Now that the season is over, the spotlight turns to the Chicago Bears and the NFL Draft. We continue the debate about what they'll do, while Brady takes one option off the table. We also talk Aaron Rodgers, Tiger's return, strange Olympic events, and a quick look ahead to the World Baseball Classic.