Fire Drill 044: Tom Kim Versus the Universe

It is wild. I got thoughts in my head. Can't get jan nothing thing what I'm thinking about, can't get them out, nothing think what I'm thinking about. Hello, this is Alan Schipknuck back for another Fire Drill podcast. As always, we need to give a shout out to our sponsors. Par Points the best golf scoring app ever invented by man or god. It really makes a game more fun and interesting. If you're tired of just you know, old man par I would I would definitely recommend you check

it out. It's at the app store, go download it today and then Dormy Workshop another great support of everything we do here at the at the fire Pit Collective. They makes super cool um handmade artisanal leather goodies for your golf bag and your life in general. Um, if you go to the Firepit site on our on our website, we have some we have some special things that are unique to the fire Pit Collective. But Dormy does all kinds of cool stuff. I would implore you to check

it out. So let's get to the podcasts at hand. Joined by by two aces, not four aces like on Live Golf, we have two aces in Michael Bamberger and Ryan Friends. Um, so it was quite an eventful week in oflf Jen's I think, well you should start with um, Tom Kim, who is just going off. I mean, a few months ago, even the most restless Golf channel viewer never heard this guy's name. He's won now, He's won

twice on the PGA Tour. He dusted Patrick Cantley in a great shootout in Vegas, and of course he had quite a starring role the President's Cup. I was struggling to think of the last basic unknown who was burst on the scene like this. I mean, you can't say Tiger because he had an incredible amateur career. Maybe Sergio, but you know he was making cameos in the big time. Um, I mean for both, I'll just put out to both of you guys, who does it this this uh? Who

does this kid remind you of? It's just this incredible debut on the on the global golf stage. And let's just note for any listener who doesn't know what you just said when you say kid, he's a kid. He's twenty yeah, and so everyone knows, no one since Tiger

has won twice before before turning twenty one. And that is a really good question because everyone no Now I've trotted this out a million times, but when Ernie Els turned pro at about nineteen and he's catting, he was playing in his first tournament in Europe and I happen to be catting in his group, and my guy Peter Terravan and said, I don't know who the funk this kid is, but he can golf his ball and that's

started that started this. Tom Kim is, how does somebody come up and now you look at him, he looks like he's thirty four. You know, he's got an old man. You know, he's you know, he's not ready for the gym. He doesn't look like he cares and he doesn't look like he's trying to hit her hard. You know, he's just like he's out of nowhere everything about him, and he's laid off like a lot of modern guys are.

That's a great question, Alan. I can't think of anyone read all except for maybe you know Ernie way back when before the internet, Ryan, you follow all these young golfers coming up that did you know about him yourself? Yeah, So there's a guy named Jude uh Deloye who's uh is a follower and become friends of mine, and he's a big he's a gambler, you know, one of these. And he was on another guy named skyler Um who

has been on Tom Kim for a long time. He's won, you know, he won over in Asia a couple of times. And so um, I'll tell a quick Tom Kim story. I posted the video Jake as the producer. You gotta put it in right here, right here. Uh. We're at the Waste Management Monday Qualifier in two thousand, nineteen or twenty. Tom Kim has hit his ball onto a bridge. Okay, and like at that time, I think he had won two or three times and he was eighteen years old.

I think this was his first trip to the United States. So welcome to the Monday que life. McCormick ranch, where the waste Management Monday has played. Is not a good golf course. You hit Matt's, you know it's not great. Uh, it's just a factory. Uh. So Thomas hit his ball

onto a bridge and his waiting for a ruling. In the meantime, me and Neil are watching the Monday qualifier and watching Tim Tom and we see a woman with two dogs walking on the golf course and she is coming directly for Tom and this bridge and we're like, no way this is going to happen. And sure enough she comes across the bridge. She's Canadian. She goes and Tom Kim is over his ball. This can be the

social clip. He's over his ball, like guarding it as she comes across the bridge, and she goes, uh, yeah, that's a good job. I'll know he'll eat it. He'll he'll grab that ball. You better protect it. And she and then she walks by and goes, I know this is important, but I gotta walk my dogs and leaves and I was just like, what just happened. And this poor eighteen year old South Korean kid who's just come

to the United States for the first one. I was like, oh my god, the PGA tour must be so great. I can't wait for all these dreams. And here he is on a bridge and this woman is walking hit and dog over the bridge. It was wild. And I posted that video tonight just now to say, like, wow, one of two two and a half years it's been for time kid who's now like a rising star. How

how old was when he was already playing pro at eighteen? Then? Yeah, he was seventeen or I think no, I think he turned pro and he was fifteen because his his his family, they moved to the Philippines at one point because they thought it'd be better for golf and better for the dad's professional life. And he kind of dominated golf in the Philippines. He wasn't getting recruited by American colleges. He was fifteen years old, and he knew he wanted to be a pro golfer. He said, screw it, I'm just

gonna turn pro. And you know, it's kind of the Thai trion or um, you know. So there's there's been a few others we've turned pro around that age. You know, back in the day that you and wose numbs of the world. You know, it wasn't unheard of to turned pro in your in your mid teens, but um, somehow he made it work. I mean, I think any any modern golf observer would have said that that's nuts, that's crazy, but he did. He did as Ryan said he I mean,

he's had success throughout Asia. I guess maybe in the beginning we kind of oversold it a little bit. I mean, if you're a serious student of the game, you you've heard this kid's name. But the casual fan, it's just certainly he's come out of nowhere. And to your point, Michael, I mean, in the ear of the Internet, it's almost

impossible to sneak up on anyone. But it just feels like he went from being Oh, this this, there's this kid who's playing pretty well in Malaysia, to all of a sudden he's one of the biggest stars in the game. I mean, I think any tournament in the world would kill to have Tom Kim in their field right now because of his charisma and the way that people have responded to him. So that brings up the question, guys,

I mean, if you live, if you're Greg Norman. Right, you have to have a target on Tom Kim, right, Like, he's twenty years old. He's like everything that you need on that tour, right, Like you have a bunch of old guys, you have some names, like you need a young, vibrant, rising star. Not that they don't have a little bit of that camp Smith a little bit older, but they don't have like, you know, the kid if I mean,

they have to be just absolutely hammering that guy with offers. Well, yeah, anecdotally, I mean I was I was told already earlier this year that he he had an offer that he turned down. Um, but of course they can just add another zero to it and it becomes a lot more interesting. I mean, certainly the price tag has gone way up. But you know, I wrote this, I think one of my mail bags.

I mean, the President's Cup is the greatest recruiting tool the PGA tour has right now, because um, that experience that Tom Kim had being embraced by all these world class players, including the Americans. And I think he said that Sunday night party was like the first party ever went to. You know, he's like a very serious, determined, focused kid, like Um, you know, I think that that will make a loyalist of him. On the other hand, if you follow you know the social media of the

live players are they're doing their own partyings. But and they've they've tried to foster this atmosphere as well, but it's a little more organic from I think, what what Tom Kim enjoyed it the President's Cup, But um, he does seem like you know, I I go back in Michael uth side of this Max this Max home line a few times you can't buy my dreams, right, And I think this kid, this this very winding path he took the beginning in the Philippines as an early teenager.

He was a laser focused on the PGA tour, and I think it has a lot of meaning to him. You know, it was it was the shining, you know, city on a hill kind of thing. And so for guys like that, maybe you know, the tour stuff runs deeper. But no doubt, I'm sure you're right Ryan that that that that another offers forthcoming. I may be very that's

very well set out. And I think that the biggest thing to come out of this President's Cup will probably be Tom Kim's affection for anything related to the PGA Tour and and I was on the phone with Davis, you know, right after that. Davis loved the captain of the of the U S t and he said, you know, Tom Kim was wandering around, uh the U S team room where everyone celebrating, of course, with with adult beverages. And he literally at age twenty. It's got hard to imagine,

but I think Davis is just something straight. He was walking around with the water bottle because he was under age, and uh, I don't really know. I don't know the kid at all, but uh uh, that kind of experience will last a lifetime. And we all know what it's like to be twenty. The things that happened to when you're twenty stay with you for the rest of your life. And uh now, of course, you know Live has had a lot of success recruiting people that I would have

guessed would have been unrecruitable. I would have put pat Reid Patrick Read in that category. I would have been completely wrong about that. But just looking at his comments after the the the the the tournament today, you know, he's citing the PGA Tour by name, and he's too young and naive to be like playing one, I would think. I think he's really proud to be winning on the PGA too. Were beating Patrick Cantley and you know other Jason Day and other name brand players down the stretch

and it's it's neat. Yeah, I mean, it's obviously just I mean, of what perfect timing for the PGA Tour. I mean, the Fall Series is obviously, even in a normal year, it's pretty boring for most fans, uh And obviously this year just the PGA Tour needs as much good stuff happening as as it can. So um, you know, the President's Cup in general, it is pretty boring, but if it produces stars like this every once in a while,

then it's worth it. And the fact that he's came and capitalized after that, it's just a huge, a huge win for the PGA Tour, assuming that he stays. And I agree with all that you guys have said that it seems you know what he said. Obviously. The other side of being twenty years old is you put a big enough blank check in front of you, you can just kind of forget about all the dreams and think about all the cars you can buy. You know, just a up right on that point real quick, and I know,

and you've got something. I'll make this real quick. The uh but Nicholas said this right right from the start. Uh, the PGA Tour will lose players and it will develop new stars, and the Live Tour will develop its own stars. And you know, here's a man who his early eighties saying that. But it sounds so obvious. But it's until someone says it. It's not obvious. But it's true. I mean, that's the way of the world, and especially the way

of the PGA Tour. But the PGA Tour has something that live golf doesn't have, which is a system to earn your keep. You're not invited, you have to earn your way there. And uh so for me, that would that would always be uh something extra special. And I don't want to cut you off. I saw you were right about to say something. Oh no, I was just I feel like, in a in a weird way, live golf is elevated the Fall series on the PGA Tour

because these scrappy tournaments with not really brand name players. Um, the palpable hunger and the chance that change the whole trajectory of your career. Welcome to my world, everybody, This is what I've been preaching for five years now, I know, well, but it's it's hard. You couldn't feel that during the FedEx Cup when you know Rory of all people are gonna win another eighteen million dollars, Who cares? That's that

feels like live golf. That's the rich getting richer. But now you come to come to Vegas and and all these other events that are are lacking depth and stars for the most part, and there's a chance for a young guy to become go to a whole different level. You know, we've seen it throughout this fall series with with with players like really there's there's a desire there that you can feel. It's been neat right because when you talk about you know, and we're going to get

to it, I know. But just to jump the gun here for for a quick second, when you talk about Kara might pronounce anthing correctly. Yeah, when Chakar wins that event. Of course, he's a super talented player and he'd beat you know, a lot of good players to win this thing. But if it weren't Chick, but Norman decided or the committee whomever decided, oh we want this kid and not this kid. It's just a little bit more not a little bit, it's a lot more random and not really

what tournament golf has always been. That doesn't mean it always will be. Which is survival if it is to get there, it's an invitation, you know, as Norman says, we're a closed shot by invitation only. That's just very different. So, I mean, here you got to your car is probably right about the same age. I don't know his exact age, but think i'd be their total contemporaries. Okay, but they're total contemporaries. Uh, which of these two guys is better?

We don't really know, but you kind of guess Tom Kim because he's proven against has proven himself against a deeper, bigger field. Yeah, of course we're talking about Eugenio Lopez Jakara, who won the live events in Bangkok Um recently of Oklahoma State. And he wasn't important signing for live because as you were saying before, Ryan, I mean, a lot of guys that went over there have significan amount of uh wear and tear. There's not much tread left on

some of those tires. But this this is a young ascendant player obviously, um not not of us origin, which makes it probably more attractive from a loose standpoint. And um, you know for him to throw in we Live instead of what could have been a very long and healthy career on the PGA Tour, and that those are the kind of signings that were important for Live. And but this kid did to breakthrough and win was a big deal. And of course his his team also, UM had a

terrific showing. They won that, so you know, he in he took home four point seven five million dollars today, which more than Tom Kim's two victories combined easily on the PGA Tour. So it is interesting because I was talking to a college coach recently and I you know, it was actually was someone whom coach Taylor Gooch, and of course Taylor Gooch went to Oklahoma State. And I said, how much of the college kids talking about Live And he said a lot. It's you know, they recognize it

as you're saying, Michael, it's invitation only. But how they play in college and these amateur events of the summer, that's how they get invited, and that becomes an avenue to win five million dollars in one day in Bangkok, Thailand. So um, you know, it's it's interesting there. It's invitation only, but you have to earn that invitation with good play and having some other things that make you marketable. So um,

I thought that was that was an interesting comment. But it's like getting into Cyprus Point Club, you know, for you Northern California is like, we want this guy, and we're not going to take this guy. But then other guys a quality guy too, but he just didn't get invited for whatever reason. So yeah, this this kid got in, but some other kid didn't. And if this kid had

said no, even some other kid. But I think this is very important for live this win from the standpoint of I think it makes other people, other young guys look and makes like makes that trip more real, Like going over there and seeing them in that really doesn't make sense. But to see a guy that they've played with, that they've you know, just we're in college tournaments with, you know, win five million dollars and win an event and have his name you know, all over the internet

on this podcast, on podcasts all over. I think it's important from the recruiting standpoint of when you do go to that time amateur you can go, hey, this guy just want five million dollars. Look at what's happened to his life. He's changed his life in Ryan, I don't know Ryan if I agree with that, because if there's no path to the Master's Golf Tournament and the U S Open, British Open, the PGA Championship, it's that's that's

a that's a serious for that kid from college. For Dustin Johnson, Patrick Greed, they've got a path because you know of what they've done for a while. They do anyway, and of course, in Patrick Greed and Dustin Johnson's case, they'll play the Masters forever. But for the kid out of college, are making a really really big calculation about Max Holmas. You know, you can't buy my dream because

he may never play in the Masters. But but Michael, I mean that the pitch that they're giving him is that they will have o w g R points and that if he plays well enough. You know that we're talking about a hypothetical top amateur obviously, that they get o w g R points and he comes over and plays well, he will be at the Masters, assuming the

Masters doesn't turn their back on lived players. I go back to a conversation I had at a bar in at the U S Open with someone who knows James Piatt very well, right, and James finished six his best finished ghost parties. Uh. But you know, he said, Ryan, you never know what's going to happen in your golf career. Obviously, James is a little bit of exception. He struggled, uh, you know, a senior year after winning the US Amateur, and he got seven figures to go over there, like

he set for life, he hopes. I would assume that maybe he's able to come back and play the b J Tour, but he also can go be a club pro and work twenty hours a week and live in his nice house because he just got a bunch of millions. You know what's interesting. Also, the one thing that's that hasn't been talked about enough, the path to the majors like US Open and British Open Open qualifying are going to be lit. I mean, look, you could have some

big names rolling up for these these qualifiers. I mean, if that's if that's what it comes down to. But this is the perfect segue to Ryan's story about the Mina Tour. Um. I would implore everyone to check out

fire pick Collective dot com. Um as as everyone knows Live Golf, I give them credit, like there's such like they're they're so shady and there's such pot stirs like instead of just patiently waiting for the World Ranking m and meeting all its criteria and maybe possibly tweaking their format so they could they could check the various x is that that have been laid out for every other tour in the world. They're always looking for a back door.

They're always looking to like cut a corner, and so they lashed onto the Mina Tour, which has been dormant for years. That um and they have seventy five persons and they think this might be their avenue to the world. I mean the hubris and as as Bambers, taking the hutzpah is unbelievable. Whether it works or not, I mean, I love it. It's ridiculous and it's funny and maybe it's clever. But um so, all of a sudden, the golf will discover the menu tour, which no one really

has been paying attention to. You, um, but our our dogged detective here, Ryan french Uh has learned a bit about the Mena Tour. Ryan and tell the listeners what what you know that very few people do. Yeah, I mean the opening paragraph that I just changed my story is like it's a kind of a tale of old as old as time and many tour golf that happened

way before the Internet. That many tours would come and go and not play players and disappear, and owners would disappear with money or bounce checked his checks would bounce or whatever. And I get so many d m s about tours either being delayed and pay or not paying that I had totally forgot that. At the beginning of COVID, I had got multiple d ms at the Mina Tour h had not paid players. So a d M about from a follower that kind of reminded me, said, didn't

it the Mina Tour not pay? So I went back and did a lot of research, and I mean, the story is is pretty wild. I mean, there's players that still haven't been paid. They've been given some sort of credit voucher that is worthless basically, and uh, it took

fifteen months to play to pay players. There was multiple emails with what most people would describe as lies or stretches of the truth, with yet another excuse and all of this is in the failed Many Tour handbook that someone has has put out, because this happens every time. It's like, oh, we're gonna I mean, it happened in the Big Money Classic. We're gonna pay players. We're suing state kings, this happened. That happened, this is why we can't pay you. And the Minutae Tour, the Menta Tour

is the same exact. So, I mean, all the guys that I've talked to, you know, took thirteen to fifteen months to get paid. And this was for five events. They put on five events prior to COVID, and no one got paid a dime until they finally got paid for the first two events. But then the three events. I'm disappared. I mean it got to the point one player said it perfectly is like there's so many excuses. I stopped opening emails and I just deleted them. I

assumed I would never get paid. I mean, we talked about this offline. It's just unbelievable how often this happens in Many to our golf and the someday Ryan French is gonna write ten thousand words about who these people are who decide that starting a mini tour is a good way to make a living. I mean, it's it seems like any crow bonn of work to make a very small amount of money and then you get then things go sideways and you left hold in the bag.

Sometimes it's to see. Sometimes it's incompetence. But it's just like it's a crazy part of the golf world. But the interesting question in this and as Ryan points out in a story, he reached out to the commissioner of the Mena tour who's a buddy of Greg Norman's, and the guy didn't get back to us, so we don't He didn't answer the tough questions like did you know about um? You know? Does does Live Golf know about this checkered history like to Live Golf do its due diligence?

Did they know what's in your d m s? I mean, I think they lashed onto this crazy idea and they probably don't. They may not even be aware of this until they read your story. And again it's just again, you know, lives attitude is let's just move fast and break things, and it's gotten them this far. They you know, but there's some untidiness involved, and this is just yet another example. Ryan. I'm really glad you did the reporting

you did. I think it's I think it's great. But I think where we're gonna find here is that all Greg Norman and the libsters who are looking for it's obvious to all of us. I'm sure is some existing paperwork that they could latch onto and uh so whatever problems there are, you know, if they have to write a check for a couple of million dollars to make things straight with a bunch of pistolf people, they'll they'll do exactly that. They'll do whatever they I mean, look

how they've elevated the Asian Tour in no time. Look, as Alan pointed out, just on a trickle down effect. Look how much they're already going to elevate US Open British Open qualifiers come this summer, which used to be a thing that was really fun to pay attention to and it and that's sort of diminished over time. Um so, yes, it has it sounds like I'm sure Ryan has it. You know, dead to rights. They've got a lousy history.

Uh they've got a really bad acronym. I I mean, if you can't come up with something better than Mina. I don't know what it would be, but Mina just does not trip off the tongue. And of course you flip the Ruther sign and at the mean tour. But in any event, Uh, they'll make it straight and they'll do with that Meaning Tour what they've already done with the Asian Tour, and they will you. I think they'll

be effective with this Alan. Uh. I know why you're mocking, and I understand that, but I think they'll say, you know, we are them and they are us, and if they've got points, then we get points. Uh. How you're gonna actually allocate points for you know? Uh? No cut four holes short field? I don't know. Uh, you know that's really that's always going to remain remain The actual facts are the actual effects. Uh. Is that it's very hard to compare even the kid who went today super talent.

I'm sure I know he is, you know, with with a with a pedigree, um, but we don't know what he would have done in the seventy seconds in the holes in the in the fourth round. Uh. Everybody who's ever won on tour in fifty four holes, it's always like yeah, L maybe and I think I'm not sure I have this correct. I think it used to be that if you want to reign shorten event they didn't

give you the invites to the Masters. I don't know if that's changed over the years, and it very seldom happens, but it would be kind of interesting to know that. But I think it was a clever you know. Yeah, it looks tacking and is tacking, and it's a you know, it looks like a disreputable organization or poorly run one at best. But I think it's gonna work. I think I think they're going to get what they want out

of it. Yeah, I mean, I think from the live perspective, it's very much like I mean, I put out a tweet this like it feels kind of like both are both the PJ Tour and the Lift Tour. Obviously more on the Lift Tours, like they're kind of flying like by the seat of their pants this Mina Tour. I am with you, Alan, I am almost positive they know nothing about what is going to come out in the story.

They were just like to plan whether it was two weeks or twenty four hours or whatever, like, hey, we'll sign on this Mena Tours you know, hasn't hasn't played in two years, will say, where the MINA tour and we'll get World ranking points. Let's do it. And if they really thought that, or they just wanted to put more pr you know, pressure on the O w g R to to give them points, I don't know, um, but it just seems like they're flying by the seat

of their pants. I'm almost positive they know nothing about this. And and I think to Michael's point, obviously, I hope that and the players that are that spoke to me are hoping that that's what happens. Is they they get some of the you know, they pay off these players, and it looks good on them, right, It's like good pr that, oh we didn't know about this, we'll happily take care of it. You know, it's like forty dollars or whatever. So that's you know, pocket change for for them.

And and I mean, that's what I hope happens. But it just seems like all of it is kind of like I mean, I think it could go like that, Michael, or they could go, oh, I'm sorry, we didn't know that, let's hook onto the I mean, the Indian Pro Tour has world ranking points. Okay, so of uh and it's short fields all the time, all right, So they're just gonna go over to the Indian Pro Tour and latch

onto them. I mean, what's amazing about the menatour schedule is they've got ten events that are seventy person They have ten events or twenty million dollar perst. Like the history of Western civilization, has there ever been a bigger gulf between the halves and the have nots. This is unbelievable. My favorite part of the of the release is, I mean, you can read in this story, but the fact is they sent out members. They send on an email to

members to send more money. These are people that have been ripped off by this this tour to send more money to become a member again because they need members to be ow g R. And it says in the email, we can skip Q school this year because we were

shut down for COVID blah blah blah. To send more money, but your category and the schedule won't be released until after you send your more money that we already And then they released the schedule, and if you look at it from a MINA players perspective, they promised in the email there would be twenty four events. There's only twenty, but twelve of them are mina are lived tour events that these players will obviously never get into. I think

ten of them are actual events. The seventy dollars that you speak of, uh Allen, and only one of them has a venue, so they don't have a schedule. They have an idea. They have like countries listed with dates, no venues, no nothing. They're just like, yeah, that looks great, let's just send that out and will look like a very reputable I mean, all of it is to to t b A. It's like it it is just MANI tour perfection. I mean it is the hand of like

how do we run a shady mini tour? Is a bunch of promises, not pay players and big you know, like we're gonna have a twenty four events schedule, just we don't have golf courses yet. Besides that, we are ready to roll. And yet the media tour could hold the key to the future of professional golf because as Michael was seeing earlier, I mean it's the biggest issue

right now with live golfs. Are they gonna get what ranking points are these guys can be able to play in the majors and it will be hysterical if the MENA Tour becomes important. I mean, it's been dormant since two thousand and twenty. I mean it's just two thousand and eighteen. I mean again part of the checker passes. It's in the last four years, it's played one and of one full season and five events, and it is somehow a key cog in the wheel of one of

the biggest golf stories in our lifetime. It is wild wild. Are there any new developments in jurisprudence as it relates to uh, well, the various lawsuits that are in the works and and the liking points and all the rest. Really nothing in the latter half of this week. I mean, I think most people by now know that Phil dropped off the lawsuit with some other players, and um, that becomes an interesting act of Phil came back on Twitter. Two. What's that? Phil came back on Twitter too? That was

the development this week. Yeah. No, Phil is slowly emerging, like liv is starting to use him a little bit more and their promotional stuff and in their social media, and he's talking a little bit more after his rounds and you know, he just went underground, but he's still an important asset for Live. I mean, he's kind of the guy in a lot of ways. He's he's the face of the tour even more than Camp Smith or Dustin Johnson, and um, you know, but you can you

can talk those two other guys can't well exactly. And I mean if you remember what a sensation Phil was on social media for a while, like he's incredibly funny and he's got a sharp needle and he could be a great asset. And I think he's like kind of slowly starting to find his footing and he's playing a little better, you know. He Um, he just looks so woe be gone this summer as he was kind of adapting to these changes in his life and his his

his professional image. But he's starting to shoot better scores. And again it's it's live golfing on how much stock to put in in you know, a type for fifteenth or whatever, but it's clearly it's better shot sixty six and seventy four. We all know that. So um, you know it feels feeling a little frisky or that can only help live golf, and it's just it becomes more

interesting heading into next season. But there's been so much, Like we all know, the phrase grow, grow the game has become such a pejorative and such an i roll. But how is this week for professional golf? You know PJ Tours in Japan and lives in Saudi Arabia. I mean talking about growing the game, it's sort of happening unwittingly, like um, pretty far flung events. You can be some some strange nocturnal habits if you want to watch any of this stuff live. But you know, I think it'll

be interesting to see what Live does this week. If they have any more announcements up their sleeve. You know, they'd like to drop something the week they're in aut Arabia and um, you know, I thought they might try and announce their women's schedule. That would be quite a coup um. But talking to folks that live, they're not ready for that. I mean one of their staffers or one of their senior staffers said, we'd have to double

a number of people. And you know, we're we're still building the plane as we're trying to fly like they's just they're not ready for that. That's probably a year away. But um, whether they can, they can announce another signing or whatever that may be finalizer schedule. You know, the next year schedule has been leaked tentatively, but we don't have some venues and we don't have some some of that stuff. So it'll be interesting. And how much are

they gonna try and win hearts and minds? You know, take Patrick Read to an elementary school classroom again and whatever whatever goofiness like you know, when the European Tour goes over to one of these countries, they always do some funds any things, like what is the vibe going to be um at this tournament? I think we're all waiting to see the lift. The lift uh social media team is like going a little more out, but they

aren't getting players, big name players to join in. I don't know if you guys saw the video of taking players to go eat crazy uh Thailand street food and the two players they took were James Piatt and like you know, someone else and they're like, I mean they must have been down the line before they finally got to James, and he's like, yeah, I guess, oh man, I got I mean, they didn't ask James, they just

got to James. And we're like, hey, James, guess what you're in this bit that you gotta go eat four year olds. You're probably gonna, you know, gonna miss tomorrow's round with food poisoning. But you know your spot on this tourist precarious at best, so best get out there. Along those same lines. I don't know what they're gonna do to start selling interest or starting gate what to whatever degree, there is a public following for Live at this point. I'm not saying it can't grow, because it

certainly can. But that team concept, you know, I'm looking at the internet right here. Uh, the Crushers finished at thirty eight under uh to lose by seven to the fire Malls in the team in the team competition. The new names so bad. Oh man, there's a zero point zero chance that anybody anywhere in the world other than the three of us is talking about the results. Uh, the Fireballs, the Crushers, the Clicks and the iron Heads. Oh,

the Majestics finished seven finished, That's true. But you know, of course I'm in too deep on all this stuff. But like the team that won UM this week, I mean it's like it's they're basically the hot blooded Latin players, right, Like, that's how they're gonna have to sell them, and they are going to rebrand, rename all that's up for grabs next year. You know, this was abit a year they were adding players as they went and the whole team

thing will be much more baked out next year. And because I think they're cleverly grouping them by by country or by region, I do think that creates more interest. Like if if I'm if I'm a fan in in Latin America, UM, and I see all the players on one team kind of look like me, and they're speaking Spanish to each other and they're waving their national flags,

Like I do think that has a chance. And if they get the richest guy in UM, you know, Peru to buy the team and promote it and it's it's on some regional cable network throughout Latin America, Like there is a possibility that this this could work, just like you'll have an Australian team, you'll have a South African team, you'll have an all English team, You'll have you know whatever.

Like I think that if they rebrand and they get away from these hokeey names and it's a little more organic to the identity of the players and the teams. They could have some fun with it. So Alan, you your point is well taken, Michael, right now, it's it's a nonstarter with respect. College college football in the United States is one of the most popular sporting entertainments in the world. As Ryan will tell us, and he knows

better than you or Ryan, nobody watches college golf. So if they can't make college golf work, how are they going to make the fireballs in the aces in the Majestics watchable? Yeah? I not watchable, but care that you care about it. I mean, if you had a South African team and you call them the Springboks, you know, which is like one of their their big um is it rugby or is it I think it's rugby? Whatever?

You know these sports, you get an Indian a team of all Indian players, and you you've somehow grafted onto the cricket fan base by by aligning it with a big team, like you know, I'm just I'm just thinking out loud here, Like underneath this podcast, someone is saying that Alan is paid by Live right, I mean, like that one of them. I'm not saying it's gonna work I'm just saying that's the vision. I'm not saying you're saying that. I'm just saying, yeah, well, I mean I

get it. I get it both ways. I'm a studge for me. Yeah, that's what. That's the tour. Yeah, tomorrow I'm gonna get like, well, the PGA Tour must have put you know, put you up to this. I mean, if someone did the math on the on all the bitchiness we get on Twitter, we'd be zillionaires. Ryan, because everyone's paying us to do every story. I'm only getting

one check for the fire pit that sucked me. I should the PGA Tour by timpionship j Monahan, Greg Norman Like, I'm where's the money, show me the money back to the team thing. I'm with you, Alan, I honestly think it could be a thing. The fact that everyone switched teams and they have stupid names and all that kind of stuff is really kind of ruined it. And I called and here's the deal. Is the championship, the year end Championship is fifty million and it's all team related.

So it's like they're going to force it down our throats kind of in a way of like, hey, this is important. This is what it does. I'm not saying it's gonna work. I'm just saying it's coming. And the biggest thing that I've agreed with that that Live has changed is shotgun starts are good. I like them. I'm all in a shotgun starts. Obviously, it can't work because the fields are too big. In the PJ Tour, I love a two or three, you know, a four hour

everybody's on the course at the same time. It's really good. Do you think, Ryan, do you think these massive pay days for team events that you think that becomes more appealing to the public at large, Because I think if I think the opposite for sure, and I think the FedEx quote playoffs end quote is almost proof of that. It. I mean, I agree, I'm not even talking about I agree Michael totally on the money. I mean that obviously, as you know, like funny money and no cut events

just zero interest to me to start. But I'm just saying they're forcing the team to it, so they're going to really push for that too, you know, be a huge part of who they are. I mean, it just is so it's either going to work or it's not. It's not like they're having it in the background, is

all I'm saying. Is they're making it a prominent part of who they are well, and it's a it's an important part of their business model because everyone's like, these guys are not trying to make money, they're just pooring, they're just pissing it away. I mean, they do want to make money. They at least want to break even, like you don't. You don't have the biggest fund in the world by making bad business decisions. And uh, you know, the vision is they can sell these franchises for tens

and tens of millions, maybe a hundred million. You know, some of the numbers sound fantastical, but when you think about it, there's a very limited number of English Premier League football tea teams are available, or NFL teams or NBA teams, and there's a lot of really rich dudes who want to own something in the in the sports space. Probably most of them play golf, and so they may

have more interest in buying these franchises. And we could imagine because we're not board rich guys and so, and especially as you talk alan in other countries, you know, I mean the guy in Spain who knows Sergio, and you know, wants to hang out with Sergio. And there's a billionaire, it's like, yeah, sure, I'll buy this team for a hundred and fifty million or whatever that's going to be. You know, you buy Dustin's team, you could hang out on the the yacht with him and Paulina. It

looks it looks fun right like. Um, so anyway, we don't have to go totally down the live rabbit hole. But it's um. I just think that this week when they're in in Saudi Arabia is going to be fascinating on any number of levels. And um, but um, anything else we need to talk about before we end this Fire Drill podcasts. I think Jim Furick won the senior event. No, he didn't. It was his event, Dude, wasn't that he didn't win it? I don't know, but I don't think

Jim did because it's his event. Hope. Please Steve Stricker won the Furk the Constellation furc in friends. No, I would like to see Steve Stricker and Tom Kim compare swing notes because it's Tom Kim. He's just got a short backswing without much of them. If it doesn't look like he's trying to kill it at all. Has any has anybody thank you for that update, Bryan. I appreciate that. Has anybody heard Tom Kim talked about what he's trying to achieve with that golf swing or why he swings

the way he swings. It's beautiful, it's different. I mean, it's not wrong, it's so just Oh John wrong by the way, shot sixty two twin in Spain, which I think is so cool because and then congratulated the guy from Live for winning very controversial. Yeah yeah, um well, and John Robinson out there saying he wants he wants to Live guys on on the Ryder Cup team. Um, you know there's all these little subtle exactly well, Rory

said the opposite. You know, Roy's flat out said I don't want these guys are I'm paraphrasing, they are a cancer. We don't want him in our team room. I think Rom's more more pragmatic, like we're seriously outgunned. We need some depth and let's bring some of those boys over. But um, you know, I think about John ram he's probably the best golfer on planet Earth, but he just doesn't win enough, Like shoot sixty two to win on his home soil, Like maybe that will be some rocket

fuel for him. Um, you know, it's it's kind of a B list European Tour event, but he goes other he goes there and supports it, which is cool. And anytimes shot sixty two on Sunday to win a term that has meaning to you, Um, that's massive momentum. So I love John Wrong. I think he's a great stage and it's really fun to watch play, and I do think he's the most proficient golfer we have. But I just would like to see more victories. So it would

be awesome if this, if this ignites something. Okay, this, I know people are gonna start clicking off. I can feel the clicks right now. But Frank lick Lighter okay, otherwise known as the Blade, and I'll get to that in a moment. But Frank lick Lighter in the Constellation Fark and Friends finished dead fucking last by ten strokes, which is hard to do in a professional golf tournament. He fired eight two, eight, two seventy five to shoot

plus twenty three. And for the people listening that haven't been to a champions event, this is not the most difficult setups in the world. Okay, these are not You're not meant to shoot plus twenty three. So is nickname the Blade is because he allegedly pulled the knife on somebody and was arrested. That that part is not allegedly but allegedly was my my Frank lake Lighter story. At

the John Deere Monday Qualifier. Uh, he comes in. Frank lack Lighter for those that don't know, smokes very very grumpy, very cross, smokes like a chimney, plays in every Monday qualifier for reasons no one knows, because he hasn't been sniffed one in fifteen years. Uh. Is that the John Deere. He's forty nine and he's eligible to play in the

corn Ferry event in Utah. And I'm standing outside and his caddy puts down the bag and Frank goes into scoring and his Caddy's like, I'm not fucking going to Utah. I don't care what Frank says. He's an old, grumpy asshole. I'm not going. I'm whatever happens, I'm not going to Utah. And Frank comes out and goes, let's go to Utah, and the caddy goes okay, puts his bag and they

had to Chicago. Well, so there was a period of franklick Ladder was shooting good scores in the PGA, and that was like the beginning of my That was like mid nineties. I was new to the beads um. He was the most frightening guy to interview because he just d g a f. I mean, he did not pretend to care and had no social graces. But I did catch him one time during a rain delay at Pebble Beach and he spoke about ten segrets. He told me all kinds of great stuff and it made my whole story.

So I've always had some affection. I love them. I love him. There's no that, none of that that is all in Allegedly he carries a gun in his you know bag. I just he's just it goes back to everyone always says Alan that I like, I'm happy with, you know, people who smoke. It's not it's that smokers are the golf's best character's end of story. Like, I don't have to agree with anything that Frank does, but

he's just a great character. Yeah, I Mean, the great thing about someone smoking is they're just gonna kind of stand there. You can hit him about twenty questions per sugarette. I mean, they're they're not going anywhere like you can't literally, they literally cannot go inside. Michael. Have you talked to Frank look Lighter and you're prolific career? Yeah? I have. Uh, there was the thing I remember, but I'm not remembering

the details. Allen will probably remember, Yeah, what what happened there? Um it was I think it was. It was like maybe the Shark shootout was a team of it, I think, and lick Lighter was taking a drop and Facts and kind of wandered over to check it out, like what the are you doing here? Yeah, exactly, he dropped him. He dropped an F bomb and it got really spicy, and I think the cameras caught it, and it was

it became a whole thing. Of course, Brad Facts and you know, it's the nicest guy in the world, and so the public opinions on Brad's side put it that way. I don't know said about his opinion of Fred Facts. This is who when we sent out the text message of what we were going to talk about, the Blade was not anywhere on this and that was that was very subtle. Well, I thought it was. You know, I served you up easy one with the reference to the senior event. They'll let you go a D two eighty

two seventy eight for twenty three over. I think the way Ryan, if I may use this phrase twice with respect, one doesn't say one fires in eighty two. Now if Alan and I are playing together and he's going to report my score of eighty two back to let's say Matt Janella, because yeah, Barmberger was, he was amazing. He fired in eighty two. That would be appropriate because that's as good as I can shoot. What he he slogged his weight to heed he returned eighty two. He's signed for,

he signed for. I mean, honestly, that would have been the most compelling golf of the whole season if he was miked up and they showed, oh my god, I mean, if you would have a month on Frank Lick, letter and and Candy when he's fired, firing, when he slogging through break the Internet, Break the Internet type stuff. But before I knew live golf was ever going to exist, I believe I watched Phil win this Furic event Furk and Friends at Tim mcquanin and and I don't know

if that's where they still play it. And I felt just watching it off TV, I could Phil was winning the thing or I think went on to win the thing, and um, I felt like I could feel palpably Phil's boredom. I think the handwriting was already on the wall and people want to blame. People want to blame Schipnuk for the whole live thing, but I think it might have been It might have been Jim fearing we might have

to do it, but I think Phils. I think when Phil won that tournament realized that it meant nothing to him. It's like, I gotta find something else to do with my next twenty years Now Why he didn't why he didn't go into business with Larry David and start doing their thing, Because Larry David likes golf and feel to try to be funny. That had promise, but anyway he went another way. So a side note about that, this would be the same question for the corn Ferry event.

You go up to a hundred players, a hundred fans casual, you know that watches golf knows something about golf. How many would be able to answer that Steve Stricker one the Champions Tour this week because the four people, the three people on this podcast no way too much about golf, and I know way way too much about meaningless golf.

And I didn't know that Steve Stricker one. So like like if you went to like a local UNI and you asked a hundred golf right like tomorrow morning on the range you went to, you know, you went to a municipal course range and you said, hey, who won the champions event? Would one be able to? I did know, and I've forgotten that Steve Stricker wanted. And I'll tell you why. I know because I looked at the scores and I think Bernhard Langer finished about four shots back

and he's about eighty. Yeah. Well, I mean he's one like every event. That's just that's a bad sign for the the bad sign for the champions Ship. It's a huge statement about Bernhard liner Ryan. He's about sixty three and he's an absolute, complete, total stud. He's the closest thing we have to a Hogan in our Eric go Ahead run. This thing has gone off the rails. And I on my fault with with Frank Lick later and the John dear story, and from there it has been

a fucking ship show. But great. I think it's great. I love this part of it. I love it. I love the mess of all of this, and I love that Jake is sitting silently for those listening. There's three windows across that we can see each other, but Jake goes incognito, and I know he's got his do reg on this morning tonight and like he is going, like

what the fund has happened to my podcast? And he hates when I do this ship And I loved the Frank Lick letter stuff, and I love that I know that you cornered him for a thing, and I just love everything about it. I think, I mean, I think the answer is the lunatic fringe of golf fan that's who listens to our podcast. Probably the people out there might be enjoying this because this is what they signed up for. This, they signed up for what not making

them listen? I think they're doing it by choice and the hopefully slightly entertained or at least they're finishing their work out whatever it is. So, but you could be right, right, we might have lost eighty percent of our audience at this point it's fine. I mean one of the biggest questions I always get when I tweet about uh, Frank, look, Layer's wise he called the blade, and that answer is

in this podcast. To answer your hypothetical, I would say, if you asked a hundred players at the sliest Fairways range tomorrow we won the champions Event, I'm gonna say six because there are some people who are just bored at home and they just fill on or they're in the grill room after their round and they just happened the end. I mean, that's not three. Yeah, yeah, I would say one. Yeah, maybe the guy from Wisconsin, you know Alan, you know John rom sixty two? It's great.

Tom Kim, it's great. And when when people see Tom Kim's name, they shouldn't think it's like a type over. Tom Kite is actually Tom Kim. But I would say Bernhard Langer. Is he sixty three shooting ten under when the winnership fourteen under is actually astounding? And I have a little bit of a theory on that. I think this guy has played so much tournament golf, like who Alan, Oh, well, who are we talking? Well, must have been Jeff Ogilby.

We're saying you know, guys play fast at home, they shoot sixty eight, and then they go to a tournament they shot you know, you know, they shot seventy three. But Bernhard Langer has played so much tournament golf at this point that I would think it's just like a continuation of his everyday golf life. I mean probably that's probably the only golf he plays, this tournament golf. So

there's no nervous disorder or anything else. He just knows how to play golf and get the Justin Thomas's whoop reading is I'd actually on Bernie longer because I bet he goes on Sunday afternoon his heartbeat is the exact same as a Tuesday practice round. Like you're saying, Michael, I think he's completely immune to the nerves and the mojo and all of it, and he just playing golf, just skill. Yeah, sup, you know, doesn't care what the

swing looks like. Would't that be delightful. It's like I know that my own game when I got off to a crappy starting around and I'm like, oh my god, this sucks. I'm gonna I have to struggle to break ninety, and then all of a sudden you start playing great because you've given up and you know, to quote sic Irons, you've let the nothingness into your shots and you're just you get out of your own way and you just swing.

And I mean, I think that's probably the blessed state that a very small number of humans on the planet can summon in tournament golf. And we know, yeah, I think Ryan knows something about this because and we're not going to get into another time, but he won the club championship at a at Alpina, his his home club, once when he was I believe eighteen years old in the UH in the late summer of let's see, because he's born in seventy seven, and we won't get into

it now, Ryan, So don't get into it now. We'll save it for another time. But his general attitude through the round was I don't give a fuck. And it went to a third playoff hall and Ryan wanted hit six on this par three and the Dad's like, no, it's a five, and Ryan's like, I don't give a fuck. So he took the five and he stiffed in and won the won the event. But I think, I mean, Ryan, Ryan, No, No, I don't know this is about the d G A

F Mark Baldwin. It, I mean, pro golf is exactly if you could bottle d G A F right like Mike Baldwin or any other pro can go out on a casual round of golf and shoot sixty five relatively easy. Uh. But when it's when the chips are down. Mirk always says, if I could just bottle, not giving a fuck, I would already be on the p G A Tour. You know, wow? Okay, last, Jake, I know you're struggling right now, and this has Gonne really Michael and Alan? How many Champions Tour wins? Does

burn Hard longer currently on? Oh my god? Do you know the hardest tributa question in golf? And the only guy who can answer is the guy who used to run titlist? Peter your line while you while you line, Peter lins father. The hardest tribute question in golf is can you name all the lp J commissioners? Oh, but this is the second hardest question golf. I'm gonna go with But in thirteen years he had many six and five wins seasons. I'm gonna say it's um wow. Michael Bamberger,

winner of the day forty three. Michael, you missed it by one. Honestly, God, I pulled out of nowhere. I have no idea why I got that. He had he passed his European Tour totally at forty two European Tour wins and now has forty three champions Stewart wins and somehow that second all time, which is wild. Who would be first? He's got to play enough to pass Hail. Yeah, Travino has gotta be up here. Hale broke Peter Thompson's record. I think in Hale won like eleven and I think

Thompson had ten. And I was in Hawaii when Erwin broke the record writing for a Golf Plus story and I reached Peter Thompson somehow in Australia and we had just such a gent and just this incredible golfing mine and had the delightful conversation and um, this was This would have been the mid to late nineties, basically before the Internet. I don't think I had a cell phone, I didn't have an email. The Internet existed, but it was still rare, and Peter Thompson and I got him.

It would have been like basically I think it was Sunday morning in Hawaii would have been like Monday afternoon, right, I don't know something like that in Australia. And he said to me, well, let me know if if Hale does it, because I won't get the results for three or four days. And and so Irwin wins. He breaks the record. And I called Peter Thompson a couple of times in the phone rang and rang, and he never answered. That was like the kicker to my story. He was

very poignant, like he just he didn't even know. And as a member of parliament he might have been doing some other more important word, did he not have an elected position and in parliament at some point? But maybe way off on that, I'm not sure. But it's interesting, you know, as I'm I'm writing about you know, I'm writing this live book, and I'm Norman is obviously a

central character. I've been talking to a lot of Aussee's and of course it has come through in some of our conversations with Jeff Ogilvie, the esteem that people have for Peter Thompson. It's made me to appreciate him in a different way because and I've gone back and read some of his writings like he rivals Bobby Jones for the elegance of his prose um as far as professional golfers go. And he was just a great thinker and such a gent and that, you know, I think about

that conversation a lot. Is the only time I ever talked to him. But um, and when sometimes you know, you see on the internet these old golfers in their swings, and some of them don't hold up. It's like an old black and white movie like that. You can just tell their their club head speeds about eighty four and it just doesn't look like a real golf swing anymore. But Peter Thompson's action is so elegant and so timeless, Like I would encourage any golf fan to search it

up because it's just a beautiful move. And it's a shame he didn't play more in the US and didn't have a um, you know, his heyday was was kind of I was never aware that he won, that he won so much on the senior Tour until you just said that, yeah, yeah, he came over and he did it. I mean, he did the damn thing. Like he was just so gifted. Man, I could listen you guys talk about a little ship like that phone called that Peter Thompson.

I mean that is so cool. When when Peter was writing a book, Oh you've written y when Peter was really old. Let's see, well he died about three years ago, two thousand and fifteen. I think there was an open St Andrew's. But in two thousand and fifteen he was not in great shape and he came to St Andrews and he played in that little outing where you know, the old champs go out and they play one and

two and seventeen and eighteen, you know. And just to see Peter Thompson on the old course and what he went five opens? Uh, that was something to see. Uh. And even then he had a beautifully fluid swing, you know in his in his mid eighties there. Um, yeah, he was a told Jon I think, uh, I think Bob Charles, whom I don't know at all, but I think he has held in in similar well, I know he's held in similar steam. You know, he didn't have it, he'd have nearly the record that Peter Thompson had, but

he was he was a great golfer in his home right. Um. I remember when we started this podcast we'll just we'll just I mean every time we do it, we say it'll just be a half an hour. We'll just knock it out right real quick. And frank Licklider blew it up, blew it up. I mean, as as with many conversations the girl from Franklin Glader to Peter Thompson. It's a natural progressional taverns in st Andrew like his dog is

gonna edit this whole thing out. So let's all right, I'm gonna if I may, I'm gonna read a quote, and you tell me the sport. Tell me the sport and the writer if you care to. Okay, it breaks your It breaks your heart. My brother just sent me this. It breaks your heart. It's designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it

stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. Roger Angel baseball, Ryan, I mean, it's gotta be baseball. Uh. I don't know any good based Ken Burns. That's good. If I told you that it was herb and golf, Alan, would you be shocked? Why would not? It's Bart Jim Madi in baseball part Yeah. Do you know what, uh Roger said of Bart he's a career far hundred talker,

but he was also a career four hundred writer. But the beauty of that quote, I think is it kind of would hold up for golf except for that they play golf. What professional golf fifty weeks a year. I like the fact that we, the three of us, have an offseason. Uh, I think it's good. But anyway, do we though? Do we? Do? You know? Do you know that Michael wrote a play about Yes, I just spent twelve hours in a fucking car with my with Michael Bamberg. We've covered it all the thing. I mean, it's a

different discipline, thank you, than journalism. So Guscott, he's a five tool player to use a baseball I mean, I mean he took a shot like you have to both. Alan. Mark is very subtle to when he caddies, he's like, yeah, you know, he'll say things like maybe we could grab a bar next time we go buy one, Like oh, you should have grabbed on the last time, you fucking idiot.

But Michael. Michael said the other day, I said, man, I really just tried to shut up and listen, and he goes, Ryan, you do about the talking, and I was like, okay, like noted, noted, shut the funk up around Michael Bamberg or sometimes I guess that's probably a good ending point. We should all shut up and this podcast because it's it's uh, it's a little discursive, but you know that's that's the fun of the medium. Like, uh, I mean, uh, maybe maybe listeners should play it back

at one point five speed. I guess a little faster. But hey, Jake, Andy your new rag, do not edit one second to this out. It was all expression. Jake mollowney will not touch this. He knows better than that. All right, well, this was this was a long and winding fire drill podcast, honest to god, honest to god. This was not not messing around. This was my favorite fire drill we've ever done. All right, well, I haven't even have have an Australia based story. It's gonna melt

your face off for next time. I can't wait. It's it's like a ten minute story. We can't start it now, but remind me of the next time we do this, and I will I will say the listeners, Um, we're beta testing an idea. We're just gonna have a Sunday night podcast, Rainer Shine with a variety. We're not actually sending this out to people, are we? Yes? We are? Michael. It was like a warm up BacT for something like that. Was No, this was amazing. No, this is going out.

I mean, so we're gonna call that around the fire. It's kind of a play on around the horn, and we're gonna have maybe a half dozens talk about what they're doing and what's going on in the world of golf. But we haven't done a fire drill in a while, and we gotta we gotta feed the beast. Michael. So yeah, this is going Jake, Jake, that's the social clip. That is the social clip. Michael Bamberger saying we're not gonna send this actually out to people? Are we we are?

I would have shaved, but yeah, because I think the more the more we do these things, the more fun it is for all of us. Oh my god, I loved every second of that last forty minutes. I really did. Serious, not Matt, Matt, no, no jokes. I could listen to you guys tell little an aldotical stories about people like Peter Thompson and Bargia money and whatever. Wonderful God, that was awesome. Alright, I'm ending this. This is Michael's look.

Look at Michael's look. He's like, no way, we're really releasing this could be the end of my career at night in Philly, poor guy. I mean, I gotta load my story. By the way, just a very quick aside. When people speak of teams like the Niblicks, like what Ryan, what are some of these other teams? The High Flyers? Okay, fireball Philadelphia. Our baseball team is called the Phillies. Our

football team is called the Eagles. And nobody's got to do any social media anything to propone interests in those teams. In other words, because team well anyway, yeah, alright, both of you be silent so I can this this podcast. We have to release our listeners. Um, are you gonna make a pitch for our commercial sponsors again or you're done with that. I did that at the start, like an hour and a half ago. It's been so long you forgot I did here. But I had a question

about the scoring system. This is Alan SCHIEFNAC. That was Ryan Frends and Michael Bamager. This was a fire drill podcast. Um our apologies to the listeners. Um, we'll tighten things up next time. We promise it's gonna be a solid thirty two minutes and next time. But this was good fun as always. Thank you for for coming along on our our our chats and we will be back into here soon. Um this is the end, but only for a week or so. I've been big and I played

to win. I made a fortune, win my ship game and I ran the table. Never thought I could fall down. The winter time hit me like a cannon ball, and now I can't shake this loosing the street. Every road I take is a dead end street. I got thoughts in my head. Can't get him trying not to think what I'm thinking about about going though in my head. I can't get him out, trying not to think what I'm thinking about tw