Fire Drill 059: A Discursive 2023 Season Preview

ask me. I always forget it's by Griffin House and then in the name of the thing, the name of the song is trying not to think. And Jake has just told me that he's a huge golfer and if he comes into town, shoot him a d M or shoot him a UH message on Instagram. He might play golf with you. UH. But everybody loves the song. I get tons of messages about it. So thanks to him for being our opening song. UM first one of two

thousand twenty three. Our plan was to do a preview of the major's and we did, but we also, as all fire Drills do, got totally off the rails. There's a Natalie Goldbis story forgot Natalie goldbas what was the thing I didn't know that it was that she dated Dustin Johnson. Didn't know that allan ship Nick may or may not have had something to do with them breaking up. Uh great story. Why I love this podcast, so stay

tuned for that. We talked about Tiger possibly not being at some of the places that did the Masters and how important it is we think for live guys to play well early and kind of legitimize everything that they're doing over there, um if they don't play well. We talked about Capeloo, talked about the elevated events, what we're excited about leading into this ear up until the Masters, when Corey Connors wins the Masters. Just my take on that. Uh So that's it. This is the Fire Drill, first

one of the year. Uh I haven't had sleep in like two days. Pretty tired, but it was a great podcast. There's a like Michael just tells a little anecdotal story joke at the end. I mean, it's just what the fire Drill is. Uh So, everybody, thanks for the support. In twenty two, we hope to have more and all of you back from the people who listen in twenty two and twenty three. Before we get into it, I want to thank uh our two sponsors, part points Go

make Park great scoring app. Go check it out. Download it a new way to score e golf. It is really awesome. I know that's a hard concept to grasp, but I promise you will love it when you do it. And then U Dormy Workshop Artisanal. Now people, a guy from Ireland sent me an ad about cheese over the New Year. And the guy used artisanal in his cheese and he sent it to me via d M and

they said, hey, you have some influence. So the words artisanal, UH club covers putter covers awesome support of us, Dormy Workshop, go check them out. Uh, go subscribe to our YouTube channel. Like comment, I'm so sick of saying that, please do it. Can we just get to like one million subscribers? So if we get to one million subscribers, I promise I'll stop saying that. Okay, so please go do that. Thank you for all the support and all seriousness. We love

you guys and girls. UH and UH thanks for everything. Without further ado, here's the three of us talking golf. I got got in my head, can't get jan nothing what I'm thinking about. Can't get them out nothing, think what I'm thinking about. Well, guys, it's two thousand and twenty three, but looking at your faces, it feels like two thousand and twenty two. Deja vu. We've thought a lot of podcasting it. Um, it's a new year, it's a new US. Let's uh, let's talk about the two

thousand and twenty three golf season. How excited are we? Anyone didn't the season? Just has? It? Was there an off season? It's like twenty minutes. I mean, the bigger conversation is this golf needed a off season? The answer is obviously yes. Uh, but it's hard to be excited. I mean, yes, I love golf, so I'm as excited as I would be for normal But golf season has been going the entire year. So uh no, is anyone really excited about the Tournament of Champions ever? Uh I'm not? Uh?

Well I am. Why are you excited? Michael? Yeah? I mean I I do think it starts the year. I for myself, I feel like I did have a break from golf this year. I don't know particularly why. Um, I didn't play a lot in December and Uh, we had some really cold, uh nasty weather here and think it played once. I did play yesterday in January one, and uh, I love that start of the season thing. Um. I love watching Capelo I always have. I just think

it's a great event. Actually, well yeah, I mean it's to me, it's one of the most fun courses of the year. It's just it's all about geometry and and angles and um obviously the scenic backdrops. But it's a live event with less players. Well lived by about thirty or forty years, I understand, but now it's now it's

twenty million for thirty nine guys. So basically everyone's getting you know, I don't know what last places and uh and you know, I mean, no one's really into the season because a lot of the guys aren't playing Sony. They're like kind of ramping up for Tory, you know. But I don't. You know, Ron, you are old enough to remember when the All Star Game was meaningful in baseball, especially since you are in proximity of both Detroit and Chicago. You had both, you had teams on both sides of that.

That's Capelu, It's it's it's our our. If I may use the phrase, it's it's our all star game. Alan has been going for a long time. I've gone a number of times. Um. Is that the course Alan that put Crenshaw on the Crenshaun core on the map. Yeah, that was their first design? Wow? Not first Yeah, And they built such an interesting golf course on the side of a mountain and it's not easy to do. But I mean, more to your point, Ryan, this is the start of the new world order for the PGA Tour.

I mean, in recent years, the term and champions that had been pretty sleepy because, as as you note, a lot of guys had skipped it. They just didn't want to make the trip in Florida or they they just they just weren't that motivated. They wanted to have a longer offseason. They wanted to, you know, get crunk on a New Year's at home, whatever it was. But now

all the top PGA Tour guys are going to be there. Now, clearly we're missing some of the lived players, but you know, you're gonna have what's that and Rory he's a game Well yeah, I know, but you're still gonna have You're still gonna have a tremendous field. Um, that's a lot of guys who hadn't hadn't played Caplu in a long time. So I think it's going to be a m I think it's gonna be a good show. You know. I'll be curious what the tour does as far as hoop la.

You know, I know Monahans are gonna be there. He's gonna meet the press. Um at some point, I'll be I've been trying to get a one on one with Monahan for a very long time for my my live book, and he keeps dodging me, even though he looked me in the eyes and shook my hand and said, yes, you know, we'll sit down and talk now, you know, citing the lawyer's concerns like wanking motion. But I'm so my only chance talked to me at these press conferences, So I'm you know, I'm that's I got to hit

him with the questions there. It'll be interesting. But um, I think it's a big deal for the tour. I expect that they will they will do some things to blow it out and maybe some more announcements. You know, that's kind of a tricktional time they did the torch action. This year, but often they've they've made some sort of structural announcements At Kapalua, I won't be surprised if Live, just because they love to be the skunk in the

garden party will announce the signing. You know, that would be so typical on the Thursday morning of the Tournament Champions, they're gonna announce the side player x So not Xander Shoffley. I didn't mean that. I know he's got an ext in his name, but no, just a player we don't know. And so do you do you feel like you've been there a lot? Do you feel like there's any like I'd never pay attention to the Tournament of Champions, so I don't really feel any difference. But do you think

that there's any more like build up? Do you feel anything social media wise or anything that you normally don't because of like it's an elevated event. Obviously more of the stars, you know, all of the PGA Tour stars

besides Rory will be there. Do you feel like it's different or maybe back to what it was, you know, back in the nineties, Not yet, I think today's and it will start obviously it's um it's the start of the work week for some people on today, on on Monday, and I'm gonna I'll be I'm clear if you know the backdrops. I'm here at home in Carmel. I'll be in Maui by tonight and um, you know, once I'm on the ground really tomorrow on Tuesday, I'll have a

better feel for if the energy is different. But I mean, it's always been a very sleepy feeling when you're at the event. Michael knows that. I mean, it's it's very intimate. Everyone stays at that same hotel. It's kind of That's another why it's a fun week. The observational reporting is fantastic because you bump into the players and their significant others all over in the gym and the elevator, at the restaurants, and so it's fun to be there. For reporters. You get to see a lot and you get to

have a lot of quiet conversations in the hallway. I think I've told this story. I was staying next to yes for Parnavic one year. That tells me how long ago this was. And every night that they would leave a gift for the for the players in the field and outside the door and needless to say, the reporters were treated very well, but there were no gifts. And um, so one time there was this incredible array of like cookies and sweets, and it was there when I went

to dinner and I'm walking back to my room. Is still there? I figured, yes, there is probably already asleep. And we know at that point he was a real health food financial volcanic sand at that point. Yeah, yeah, yeah, thats exactly. So to help, yes, for out, I liberated this this goody basket and it caught me through the entire week and I have no regrets. It was delicious. So, um, have you ever told yesper of that part of that story.

I don't think I have. I think you just I told me his wife, so he probably heard about it. This is years later my guilty conscience statue of limitations, and rightly I researched with the Hawaii statue limitations was for grand theft, but it was probably the same about the hotel right on the Honolulu course, uh the Hi Hilt And I think, yeah, yeah, right yeah, right there where they play the Sony open Um. I think that's right. I can picture. I don't know the name anymore. But

it has it has an old time me name. And I once saw I was dating breakfast next Yes, for there, I'm wearing, you know, just regular reporter clothes. He came to breakfast in a robe. That would be so great if it was just his his biker hat and his rope, it would be amazing. Well, I mean Cafalua is particularly intimate because I would say, there at the Ritz Carlton,

and they usually give us a decent media rate. So I've stayed there too, and um, the things you see, I mean I've had a run there in like the the mid two thousands where I broke the Adam Scott Um Kate Hudson um story. They were frolicking on the beach that and then the next year it was Um Dustin and Natalie Gulbis, and the year after that it was Dustin and Paulina. Like I was like TMZ because you just you can't hide people there. It's um, it's really funny, like you just you just you're down at

the pool like it's it's a eight. It's a great Michael and I especially the kind of reporting me like to do, or you're just kind of hanging out and observing in the shadows. It's fantastic. And that was in the aftermath of your Chad Campbell Mrs Chad Campbell reporting, Oh yeah, that's that's that was a classic golfs story. I mean, I've told this before. Do you want to hear my the full Dustin Nalie Goulds story, because it is quite funny, I know bits of course. Yeah, here here,

here's the whole thing. I don't think I do think, with fair warning, we should probably tell the current Mrs Dustin Johnson ump had about three minutes. I think maybe four. Um, well, we'll try and keep it tidy. But so whatever this there's like probably two thousand and twelve ish. You know, Dustin was clearly one of the best players in the world but had not reached his potential yet and and so I went out to hang out with him in

South Carolina. This was like probably October, and he had to live in girlfriend and we went to some meals and we played with the dog, and he seemed very settled and very happy, and you know, that was part of the story, like, oh, hey, Dustin's growing up and uh, little did we know? And so um. Now the story was conceived as as like a master's preview. But that was that was when Dustin I could get some time with Dustin was in the the off season, as it were.

And so so now fast forward to Cappelua and I'm just standing out there in front of Clouds and Nalie Goulds walks by. And I've known Natalie for years and I'm like, hey, what are you doing? Um, because it's a long way to be on you know, Thursday or Friday of of the tournament week. And she's like, well, I'm kind of hanging out with Dustin and she was all giggly about It's like, oh really, um and she said yeah, yeah, you know, we're kind of I don't

know what to call it. And um, I said, oh, you know, obviously this is like this is this is this is peak Nalie Gouldvis right, this is like this is a big deal. And I said, well can can I you want to? I would like to write about this. She's like, well, all that dust and handle our PR, which tells you how little she knew about Dustin because Dustin doesn't do PR right, So any I. Um, So then she goes out and she walks, she she walks the eighteen holes watching and play golf, and Golf Channel

had her on camera, but they didn't show it. That that was like the sensibilities of the Golf Channel, like they didn't want they didn't know what. Oh this is too this is too sexy. So no Natalie appeared, so it's still a secret. So I go down to catch Dustin as he comes off of eighteen and you've never seen anyone signed their scorecard and bolt up a hundred yard hill like Dustin did because they hadn't seen each other.

So now he's back at the hotel room. Dustin is like in a hurry to go see her, right like ship. That was my chance to confirm it with Dustin, and he's literally like ran up the hill like Carl Lewis in his prime. It's like damn. So but of course everyone's staying at the hotel. I know where Dustin is staying and kind of figured Dustin might not have an assumed name. You know a lot of people, a lot of the players check it under different names protect their privacy.

So I called the operator how they were Dustin Johnson Lee after waiting like, you know, half an hour, and so they oh, yeah, sure, let me connect you. So it's ringing and ringing and like, god damn it. And then Dustin answers the phone. He's like hello. I'm like, oh hey, Dustin, it's Alan Schifnuk. I want to ask you a couple of questions. I can't talk right now. Coming back in our click, I'm like, oh God damn it.

So so now I'm I've got this this problem because you can't hide as discussed, you can't hide n Allie Golds at this hotel where all the reporters are, the whole golf world like it's all going to get out. And so um I call him back in an hour, no answer. Uh, I'm like, well, someone's gonna break this story. So you know, I sort of had Natalie's confirmation. I

did some more snooping around talk to other people. So anyway, this story goes up on golf dot com, and of course it goes crazy across the golf world, you know, because this is like a very you know, appealing power couple in golf. Yea, Natalie was a big I mean like you know he was painting, yeah, yeah, I mean she was for better for worse. She was the biggest star on the LPGA back then along with Attica, even

though On had about seventy more victories. And um so, now fast forward, Dustin is defending champ at Pebble Beach and they fly him in for this media day in like February, and I haven't seen him since all this stuff happened. And meanwhile, Natalie has called me. Her agents called me because things ended with Dustin abruptly. I don't I don't know I had to do with my story

or not. But and like Natalie's people wanted me to to send out a a tweet saying, well, Natalie's shown so much, you know, class to all of this, unlike Dustin, Like I'm not gonna get the middle of this. This lover's quarrel. Like she has her own Twitter, she can do it, like I'm not no, and so so I know there's some energy around there. So I get Dustin after the press conference. I'm like, hey man, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to blow up your spot. You know, it was just I ran in Natalie like it's it's CAPITALUA. Everyone saw her, like someone had to write it. And he's like, oh man, that's cool. Whatever, I don't care. And um so then if you recall, after Dustin was blowing major championships at a furious pace, everyone's like he hasn't he nothing bothers him? Like I was like, well, that's the proof, Like I may have cost him his romance with Natalie Gulbez, the old girlfriend back in South Carolina.

And he was like, whatever, man, it's no big deal. So that's always been some important insight to me into the Dustin Johnson Psyche. I'll tell a really quick follow up on on the Natalie go upside of things. Alan has heard the serve before. Ryan probably has not playing golf with Trump. We're walking down a ferraway. He's always got his phone out and Trump calls Natalie Gulbson says, uh a wroten page six that h that Ben Roethelsberger.

Is that pronunciation correct? Run? Yeah? Sure for Trump, Yeah, that Ben roethels That's funny that Ben Roethlisberger broke up with you. I want you to call page six and to him, that's wrong. You broke up with Ben Roethelisberger. No one breaks up with you, You break up with them. Yeah, it's all been well, that's another thing. So then I was doing a story on Natalie. And we were in an elevator, um from the hotel or whatever, and I this there's been some some buzz about her and Ben Rothsberger,

So I asked her. She's like, no, no, no, there's nothing there. And we're in the elevator and I see her phone. She pulls out her phone and she's like right in front of me, like not snooping, she just did it, and there's like miscall, misscall, miss all from Ben and then she like seven texts of like oka, yeah, yeah, nothing's going on there now, Lizer Alan, have you ever done a psychological comparison and biographical comparison between Natalie's father

and Dustin Johnson's father? Um? Yeah, Now, he's father was a trip. I mean he looked like like a heartly maybe like a member of the Hell's Angels, right, and he followed every hole, which I don't blame him. He was sort of like low key security and he was very watchful and very stand officers reporters, but a smart guy and certainly helped create this this brand that, Um, where is Natalie Gulbins? Does she do TV? A little bit?

Didn't he do one of the matches? Or something. She um yeah, I mean she had a lot, she had back injuries and she just was just to hanging on and she stopped playing. But she yeah, g graphic. I think she's in Las Vegas. I see her on the social every now and then. But she kind of paved the way for Alexi Thompson with that very tall, very athletic slug. I don't mean that in the pejorative way. It sounds like it, but I mean that's kind of

what they both did. They just slugged it well. We both had i mean really funky moves like yeah, but somehow you know, hit the ball pretty well. Um yeah. And you know, Dustin Johnson's dad has always been out of the spotlight, right, you know, he's never he's never in the galleries. As the story goes, after the parents split up, it was it was, it was not a pleasant divorce, and Dustin and and Austin kind of became

distant from their dad. So he has not I mean, he's super tall and he comes from a family of of of athletes. I believe Dustin's dad is in the South Carolina Hall of Fame as a basketball player. He was like six seven and so clear the dad gave him a lot of athletic tools, but I don't know how much of a factor he is in in his life anymore. So it's interesting though, I mean the um, you know, the dads are often the key to to these golfers and what on the PGA Tour or the

LPG Tour. But um, yeah, Dustin's dad is a little a little bit of an enigma. All right. Well, so yes, the Terman champions is gonna be interesting. I'm gonna be there. I'll be writing a lot for fire Pick Collectors dot com, doing social stuff. Um, maybe some podcasts. Who knows. So that that's gonna be Interesting's gonna be different that you have a media credential. Can we talk about that on this podcast or not? We're gonna I mean, this is

a full disclosure podcast. Um. This is also funny when people have accused, you know, us at there are times of being shields for the PGA Tour. What they don't realize is they weren't credential in US all year last year because we were at loggerheads with the tour for a few differ things we don't have to get into, but we had maybe just battling the tour off and on that some of their some of their media regulations

are onerous in the extreme. And for example, just as an example, hypothetically, you cannot live tweet about the eight hundred, eight hundred and thirty seven ranked player in the world as he is t thirty nine at the A T and T Pebble Beach program hypothetically, the field of which was totally ravaged by the Saudi event. That was that weak and before it was desperate for attention and we

were trying to promote their product hypothetically. Hypothetically, Alan, I am sitting on the edge of my see here are you telling me you don't have a national press credential from the PGA tour? I do as of a few weeks ago. So I'm I'm back in the good graces with the tour theoretically, but it took some time. On what basis did you struggle to get it well? So there was there was two things. I mean, it goes back to um whatever thirteen months ago, the Wishbone brawl

when we decided to live stream it. That was in Freddie and Xander were in the field and the tour was of the position that we needed they needed to get releases, and as we know that the getting a release is a big deal, that's what's keeping guys from playing the live tour, and the tour takes it seriously. They didn't tell us that until the morning of the Wishbone Brawl, Like we felt like it's a charity event,

it's all the money is going to junior golf. UM. But that was the week of UM the RSM tournament in Sea Island, and so you know, Xander's gold medalist,

he's obviously a star. Freddie's Freddie and so um at like the minutes before we were gonna go with this live stream, which took an incredible amount of work, and if you've been promoting for weeks, the tour had said nothing, and they finally like and there was already a thousand people on the grounds, and so we're on Literally Zander and fred are talking to top guys on the tour while they're hitting ball, like Fred is holding his phone

and warming up with one arm. Is actually really cool, and the tour people are calling us and making all these threats and it was like, well, we're it's too late, We're too far down this road. And so we live stream that they were very upset about that, and uh, and then you know, a couple of months later was the Crosby clam Bake where Ryan was catting from Mark Baldwin and we didn't I had COVID, I was even on the grounds, but the rest of our crew did

not have credentials. They came in as fans, and you know, fans are allowed to post videos and do all kinds of fun stuff that reporters are not. And so it's kind of a gray area. If you work for me to company, but you don't have a media credential, what can you do? It was it was not it was not settled law, as um Brett Kavanaugh would say, and so, um, we wanted posting some fun content about Mark Baldwin. The tour took exception to that. UM and so, yeah, they

weren't credentialing us. It wasn't that big a deal because you know, then we got into the major seasons and obviously they don't control the major championships, so we were

on site for all of those. UM and then after a lot of backchannel communication, I wounded up at the Tour Championship and that was really the first tour event I covered in two thousand and twenty to UM, but I got shut down Michael from taking pictures inside the ropes as a caddy, which it does say you sign a thing when you take a catty, but it is

very much a rule that is overlooked. If you go and follow two or catties on social media, there is never not a week where there is a video of a practice round or shots from the range or something from the above. I was not taking pictures obviously during rounds. It was on the range prior to the round, or on the putting green, or pictures of stars as they walked by, like Mark was warming up next to Ray

Romano and you know, things like that. And they said I couldn't and I emailed them back with seven pictures of catty caddy's taking pictures, but they didn't look too kindly in my response. So yeah, so you know, we here at the fact that collective we're it's a rock and we're a punk rock operation. We you know, we kind of like to do things our way, but that will get you in running a foul of various PGA

to regulations. So um, but I think we're we're they've seen the kind of coverage you want to do and they want us to be there, so we're I do have a season credential as of you know, for it for this season, which is I'm it's it's helpful from bureaucratic standpoint, but the big deal is that if you can still apply on a weekly basis, like this is what I did for the Tour Championship. But those people don't get into the clubhouse and I don't think they

have they don't don't have practice facility. Um access and as as you guys know, and probably a lot of listeners, most of the best interviews you get either the locker room or on the driving range or on the putting green, and so it made the hotel or the hotel or on the phone or on the phone occasional weeks like that. Um, but I do have another I do have another rich Carlton CAPITALU story. We can we can side by that

for next week. But um so, yeah, it's helpful to have the season long badge because they just lets me do my job more effectively and I'm grateful for I'll try and follow the rules, I really will. We'll see how it goes. Um. So let's look ahead a little bit into the twenty three season. Um, there's I mean, there's a lot of great events. Obviously, the Phoenix Open elevated the same week as the super Bowl. That's going

to be an absolute melee and that should be fun. Um. I think the l A Open might be the best tournament golf personally. Um. Of course, I'm always looking forward to Pebble Beach. But um, between now and the Masters, let's say, what are you guys excited about? Can I quick questions? You both now have used the word elevated. Are you telling me that this is now in the lingua franca of PGA tour conversation, because unfortunately I'm not using it. I love it. I mean the question, except

for in this instance, is Pebble Beach elevated? I assume not no. But this this is a sad information. It's going to be next year. Um, not more. But what the tour is realized is by what's the sitting room for elevator what should we call it special? We'll call them these creating these special tournaments. Um. You know, for whatever a dozen of them, they're leaving behind two thirds or three quarters of the schedule. It's kind of like you know, in elementary school they used to have that

gifted and talented education. They pull a few kids out. Hey, they're the smart kids, and all your kids have got left behind. You're the dumb ones. Like they just banned the whole program because it was bad for the self

esteve with the other students. It's exactly like that on the PGA tour, Like, um, so they have to they have to sprinkle around the gifted and talented tag to the other tournaments in the coming years, or what's the incentive, Like why pay eight million dollars to not get any stars, not get any love, get no media. So I think it's pretty clear that they're gonna have to They're gonna have to rotate that that tag, which if if everyone's elevated, then no one is elevated. I don't know, it gets

it gets really funky. Minor hand's gonna start sending out stickers that reads, every tour player is a what has that middle school thing? You know? Is it honorable? Is an honorable picture tour? On this PGA tour. It's kind of useful for us because it's, uh, it shows how naked this whole thing is, you know, We've all discussed this all last year, you know, since they came up with this, uh, this scheme. It's their way of being

live light. Really is these elevated tours. So I guess you know, when you think about it that way, it is a legitimate thing. It's killing their own word. I cannot stand to use product because, uh, instead of having a series of events, which is the PGA Tour, it's now like watch us this week, don't bother for a couple of weeks, watches this week. And that's not really that, that's not really tour. But everything is changing, like even this start of the season, Cappe Louis, this was the

way golf. Here's your mellow start to the mellow new year. Will work always slowly to the floridast wing and then the Masters will come and then kind of ramp ramp up to the U s Open. Then after the US Open, really the golf season was over. That's all over. Now everything is special all the time, because that's how life is special or special. Every child that this middle school is special. I love. Yeah, I don't know, like I

can't top that. What are you looking forward to? You were starting to say, Okay, seriously, and I'm not joking, the Waste Management Monday Qualifier will be the greatest Monday qualifier in the history of the PGA Tour, not joking. That's not an exaggeration, not hyperbole, nothing. Hundred thirty hundred player field, so it's a field that's short. It's elevated events, so all the top players outside of the players that use their one they don't have to play, but most everyone,

so that the field is always good anyway. Now it's gonna be even better. It's a twenty million dollar purse. Everybody's gonna come to the Monday that is not eligible because they want to get in on a twenty million dollar tournament. Make some for some great stories. It's always a great Monday qualifier anyway. Legitimately, there might be two d players in the Monday Qualifier. How can you get two and your guys on on one course. Well, you're gonna have to do it in two waves over two days.

Oh really, Monday always few days. That always Michael, that Monday always goes into Tuesday. Anyway, there's usually you know, six or seven groups left on the on the course for Tuesday morning. That it's always a huge Monday anyway, Um, everybody lives there, proximity blah blah blah blah. Um. But you know a lot of like former PGA Tour winners that are like, I don't know if I want to go to a Monday. Are gonna go to this one?

I would think, because it's a twenty million dollar purse. Jonathan, Yeah, I will. Jonathan plays a lot of them, but yes, yeah, I mean Ben Crane, He's not gonna travel all the way across the country. Probably will because it's a twenty million dollar perse. Uh. I just got a text yesterday from the Southwest PGA Section director and there's already four players signed up for the pre qualifier. There's nine pre qualifiers,

so it'll be seven hundred players in the pre qualifier. Uh. Basically, if you're in the pre qualifier, you have to shoot back to back sixty threes to get into the waste management open. Um, Ryan, are you gonna cover that live in in the flash? Yes, percent, I'm going to be there. Uh. I have a great story about the waste management vera Scott Berliner who is a like kind of legendary UH grinder, but he's a pro in uh New York I believe. So the waste management uh used to have Monday qualified.

There's no pre qualifiers. Back in the day, they had uh three sites for Monday Qualifier with one spot at each, okay, and they always used to fill up. And Scott Berliner has a so you can imagine a one spotter. You're playing in a hundred person field for one spot. Scott burn Leiner has like a two o'clock t off time. He shows up and a guy has shot fifty eight.

He's knowing that he has to shoot a fifty eight to get into a playoff, to get into the Monday qualifier, and he spent like, you know, three hundred dollars or a thousand dollars to get there. Uh. So that's the waste management. That's what I'm looking forward to. Pre Corey Connor is winning the Masters. I I I hear your reservations, Michael, but definitely the West Coast wing is is going to be juiced this year because um because of of this

new energy around around these these events. So, uh, that's gonna be a fun one. The Masters, of course is always a big deal, but it's gonna have extra um significance this year. Really bringing together all these players. Um. You know, Fred really put that statement out a few weeks ago saying what we were the only position the Masters could take is if you're if you're qualified, you can come play. It would have been a travesty if if they start banning players. I mean, they don't need

to get involved in this turf war. The Masters, they get one week a year there. The mandate of August National Golf Club is to put on it its best possible tournament. So so you're you're bringing together these live guys and the tour. You know, it will have been the first time since since St. Andrew's when things were still unsettled. Me at that point Camp Smith and not officially jumped to live um, even though we felt like it was coming um and the battle lines of Harden.

So um, it's gonna be interesting. A place that that strives for this artificial gentility and this very controlled environment like the friction there is going to be delicious. How much you're looking forward to this Masters, Michael, You know, I think I don't know how they're gonna do it, but I think Fred Ridley and company will rise to the occasion and we'll use the Masters to create some

kind of olive branch between these warring factions. Because you know this is a cliche, but it's born in truth. You know, there always as themselves. What would Bobby Jones do? Bob Jones would do whatsever best for golf, and this whole situation is not best for a golf um, And I don't know what the answer would be, but I think this Master is gonna be very significant in trying to bring together the warring parties. I mean, it's not like these guys haven't mixed. You know, they were at

the Jpmick Mass pro Am. They were they were at at the Open Championship. There's been some of these European Tour events where some of the some of the lived players have been able to play because of this this temporary restraining order. So I don't expect any catfights. But um, the Master's dinner on Tuesday night for the past champions is going to be quite interesting. When you put in a small room and you know Phil about out of the festivities at St. Andrew's um, but he's not gonna

miss that. So you're gonna have Tiger and Phil in the same room with with Jordan's and and you know these tour loyalists, and you have Gary player, who's who's on Phil side, and you know he's not wanted to bite his tongue. And and then you have you have Dustin, you have Bubba, Patrick Reid, have Patrick Reed, you have all these these. You know they're probably gonna put him on in the corner sitting together. But it's just that

is going to be great theater. And oh man, maybe I could parents parings will be interesting a lot, I mean, parents will be super interesting. Yeah. So I wonder about Sergio and a lat football. I wonder, you know a lot of balls such traditionalists, and uh, I wonder how that relationship has evolved. You know what's interesting, though, Michael is, as I've been tunneling deep into the the Greg Norman World Tour debacle, the one player who really supported Norman

from start to finish was Jose Maria. And you know that that was the first real attempt at disruption of the PGA tour. Moddele and he facts, he facts Norman his support and Norman held up, waived this paper around and read from it it at critical times. So I can see Sevy's fingerprints all over that one. Well, that's true because there was this kinship between Sevy and Norman because they were both raging against the machine in the eighties of trying to be international players, trying to get

get status on the PGA tour. And you know, back then Dean Beeman wanted Sevy to play fifteen events in America, like in addition to playing Europe and the may it was, and so you know, Sevy got suspended from the tour for a year, and so there's you're right about that. I mean, the Sevy Sevy had no love for the tour, and I'm sure that was an influence on Jose Mario. But um, so yeah, he's he's an interesting person in

all of this. And I've been trying to get an audience with him too, and he's very elusive, as you know. But um, that's the one week so uh it's it's gonna be in a hotel lobby. Yeah, well yeah, we've seen. That's how we knew. So Michael and I are sort of gormand it's like we like a good meal and the major championships, Um, you wind up in these random places.

No one really knows the city that well, and and so especially like the pre yelf days, like in the nineties, it was all word of mouth, so we'd often wind up at these restaurants where there was a lot of tour players. That's how we knew we were in the right one. If Jose Maria was there pouring red wines, like Okay, we're definitely in the right place because yeah, or or my only butter comment or future players. But if but if at the Ball was there, you knew

you were in the right place. That's like I love Thai food and so um like three three tournaments in a row, I wound up at at the same Thai restaurant as Um Thong Hai j D And that's like, Okay, then I know I'm in the I'm in the spot, like I mean, like finally I started nodding at him. He's like, okay, I see you, like you know, you know what's up. There was a real, a real moment there. But uh, anyway, really real quick about the masters. Why

we're on it? Uh, Jake are producer, wonderful producer. What shout out? Jake asked me to bring this up because it's very good just happening on social media right now. Scott Stallings hasn't played in the Masters, uh since two thousand fourteen. Had to look that up just now run it. But uh, I mean, guys, as you guys know and everybody listening probably knows, gets super excited, especially when they haven't been to the Masters in a long time, waiting

for the official infight. And so Scott Stallings tweeted today that he has been running out to the mail the last four or five days waiting for his infight that never came, and got a d M today from a guy named Scott Stallings who has the same name as his wife, who got Scott Stallings Master invite. So I have an man, I'm going, yeah, that's what I said. I said, why did he Why did he message him?

Just like, hey, I gotta dude. But second of all, uh, I have met a guy messaged me at a Monday qualifier and said, hey, man, I'd love to meet you. I'm a big fan. In his name Ryan French and Jake put in a picture right here we look kind of the same, and uh it's kind of crazy and um so yeah, so Scott Stallings, some guy in some town got Scott Stallings Masters in fight in the mail.

That's spectacular. Well, you know, there's there's a golfriender named Adam shue Pac which sounds a little bit like Alan Schipnuk, and so we often get confused, probably to the detriment of poor poor Adam. And but I got like, I didn't write about Phil okay exactly know, he gets a lot of blowback. It's so great. But sometimes every now and then tweets thank you so much for this kinds You know, Adam is a great guy and he's a tender soul, so it's like, thank you for this very

kind story you wrote about. Be like, hey, no problem, happy to help you out. But the other day I got a call from notable gay and um, I mean I know, notice casually I haven't talked to him a long time. I was like, hey, no, no, what's up. He's like, man, you know, I can't thank you enough for everything you did. And it was like so heartfelt. I almost I was almost gonna go along with it. But because Adam had just done a story about notice foundation all that I had, so I had to tell him.

And but I have to say no to man, like what a professional? He said, Oh yeah, you're right, I'll call him but I gotta tell you, and he like went in this whole like a long discourse about how much he appreciates me and the work I'm doing. I was like, wow, that was like that's the TV gen right there. He got a producer in his year, you got new information, you got Shipnick, you got shipnick on.

He just went with it. That's so funny. Um, that was a drimic piece that Adam did on a notabile a. There's a lot there, you know there there's I mean, that's an underrepresented community in golf. If ever there was one, uh Native Americans, and he's had a rough life. I mean he said, yeah, very good story. And reading Adam's book about Dean Beamon in the Formation of the PGA Tour,

it's really good. I mean, I've learned a lot that a lot of it is just super esoteric and it's a small audience it would care, but like some of the inner workings of how it all happened is really well done. So shout out to Adam Shue Punc who's

not part of this podcast but maybe should be. Um all I got he's got the same hair as Michael, Like we could probably we could probably sneak him in once in a while and people, you know, especially with Michael's normal poor lighting, you know, we could sneak him in and no one would know. Yeah, I'll talk to shop. Can you send um, can you, said Adam, a pair of Christine's glasses, and so you can. Yeah, if we back back, No, don't have any idea silhouette most likely

to be a successful rapper among the Gulf media. Ada, that's a great name. Um, all right, So the PJ Championship as we press ahead with what's supposed to be semi preview of the year, even though our heart Yeah, second, we said we were going to keep this to forty five minutes. We're at forty one already. No, we're not. Yeah, we are. Look in the top right corner one minutes. PJ Championship is at oh Kill. It's gonna be cold. Um, the US opens at l A country Club, it's gonna

be warm. And the British opens said at Hoylake. She's gonna be windy. That's gonna be Thanks for listening. No, uh uh, but I mean honestly, the PG Championship in early May and Rochester's a roll of dice. It could be cold like this May May two thousand twenty two, on the same date the pg is supposed to start, it was like thirty nine degrees or something. It was chili. So that's gonna be fun. I can't wait for the complaining.

You know who was really pissed when they changed the dates on the p JH Championship for for just this reason? Who herb Color? Yeah, yeah, you're knocking out definitely Northern venues. I mean, this is this is really an experiment. It's going to be fun. I mean, um, I always root for chaos, so obviously I want to live guy to win the Masters, and I wanted to snow during the PGA Championship, Like that's the best possible scenario for this

this golf season. Alan some of these lived stars from yesterdear cam Smith is an exception, but a brooks Kepta or Patrick Read I mean, in a normal year, had they not jumped to live, they'd be in the conversation. We are hearing almost nothing about them. How do you think I don't know if you're reporting would have gone this far yet, but how do you think they viewed their lives? Now they've taken the money, they're going to keep making the money. But they're really not in the mainstream,

not of our golf conversation anyway. UM, I don't know of anybody's I think it probably hurts Brooks's pride a little bit because he liked to be the man and he was puffed up about it and um at the same time, you know, like Pat Perez, for instance, has said this to me. He's like, I don't have to care about anything anymore. He's like, I'm good, I'm rolling with live. I don't have to do the interviews. I don't have to get sucked into the drama like I'm

He's like, it's such a relief. You can just opt out of everything. You can just say no to everything, like you and sucked into the drama. He was an aging player who had you know, long, long run and made a lot of money. What does he even mean? Well, yeah, but he was also a go to guy because he was such a good talker. So when there'll be some little flare up on tour like um, and you know he was close to Tiger, he was emphas on was and so there was just that's a just one example.

But you know, I mean brook because he's out on a yacht in the Italian rivieria um and he flies straight into a live event, probably no practice round, Like, I don't think. I don't think he has any regrets. Um, and I still think they're in the honeymoon period. Whether you think it's going to be a success or not. I would assume the guys that are on the live

tour are like, hey, this is part of the growing pains. Yeah, we're not part of the golf conscience on top of mind right now, but we will be in X amount of years or next year or whatever. I mean, I assume there's part of that. And again for those that are saying that we hate live, we don't. We well, I don't know if we do. I do, I kind of do. But they're definitely part of the golf conscious. I'm just saying they're not top of mind, as Alan and Michael just said, Like, you're not going to Brooks

and hearing from them week after week. You're not hearing from Bryson as much outside of like social media stuff. You know, you're not just not prominent. Well, they're just the press, isn't at the live events? I mean, Um, Doug Ferguson hasn't been a single one. You know, he's basically the voice of of of golf for for many outlets, you know, like Doug Ferguson's copy shows up in the Monterey Herald sometimes as the associated press writer. You know,

all these newspapers that don't cover golf. Really they will, they will, they will plug in Doug stuff when when they feel like it, and he's just he's just opted out of Live entirely. And you know, actually I stopped going to the events last season because they were shutting down players from doing interviews. And that's really why I didn't go to Thailand and Saudi Rabe more than anything is it's a long way to go to not be

able to get people to talk to you. But they just they were they kind of put a corporate chill on doing interviews and so there there, I know, they have to be rethinking that strategy because they need they need the oxygen that the media provides. And everyone kind of buzzed in for the one what's happening with Live Golf story or the big picture you know, think piece. But that's done now for in season two, you're not gonna get the New Yorker they're not gonna show up.

You're not going to get some of these other people who who helped stoke the conversation, like, you really need the golf press and if you can't attract if you can't attract any of the writers to go to the to the events and the podcasters, and um, they're they're gonna have to be a little more inclusive and and play ball more. I mean they were obviously was like the siege mentality, um, and I know they felt under attack.

And obviously me getting tossed out of the first event at London like that the things that get off to a great start. So I will be curious how Live as an institution handles the press, because they're gonna have to actually build some bridges. For instance, I I've sent multiple texts to the head of their communications, this guy named Jonathan, and I've sent multiple emails to Ari Fleischer, who's kind of their de facto vetter of things that

haven't even responded to me. It's like, that's not the best way to um to deal with a reporter who wants to write about you. I think back to the majors, guys, I think it's so important. Obviously Cam is probably the best player in the world, one of the two best

players in the world for sure. But I think it's it's important if you're live from a live perspective, that guys win or play well in the majors because it's I mean, it's just like if everyone if Brookes and Bryson and and Dustin I'll come to you, Um, I'll come to Augusta and missed the cut, that is a huge hit. I mean they have to be relevant in order to say like, hey, we're relevant, you know, because they're so top heavy on the Live Tour that their

top guys just have to perform. I mean, it's just there is a lot of pressure. Like Camp again, probably the best player in the world will probably perform, uh, but the other guys have to perform too, and those guys are kind of the outside of Cam. The guys are starting to be out of the conscious, like Brooks has had a lot of injuries. Dustin's you know, not a top like Bryson's had a lot of injuries, but it wasn't that long ago he was the best player in the world. And uh, and I just think Augusta

is huge for the Live tour. I just really really think to be a part of the conscious the rest of the year, they need to play well. Completely agree with that, uh and camp Smith, especially because Dustin Johnson you kind of never know with him, but of course to you know, historically speaking, separate Tiger and Big Jack guys don't follow up your career years with career years, so expecting too much from cam Smith is is unrealistic.

But I I completely agree with you Ryan, for them to for to the mainstream golf fan, for live golf to look relevant on this few chances when those guys all do get to play in the same field, which is basically the four majors, they've got to perform. And I also think they can gain a huge amountment, you know, momentum. If it's cam Brooks and Bryson at Augusta, everybody's gonna go like, whoa, Nillie. The PGA Tour isn't deep ship, you know, like on some levels ridiculous. That's such a

small sample size, we know, and Greed agreed. I'm just thinking just fan doesn't think that way, uh, you know, but along those same lines, so this hasn't really come up, So tell tell me if I have this right, I guess I do the Uh, this will be the first Players Championship where you're really missing all the name players. The defending champion for instance, Yeah, uh, they took this parking doesn't even they took camp Smith's parking lot parking

spot down. So I mean that event takes a very big hit without its defending champion, without Dustin Johnson, without Brooks Keptico, even without Patrick Reed fills fills the past champion of the players. I mean, you know, um, yeah, no,

I agree. The majors are huge, and I will say I'm really excited about US Open at l A Country Club because that is such a cool course and um, we don't get new venues that often, and when we do, they you know they it was Chambers Bay and it was Aaron Hills and um, you know I was rewatching the Chambers Bay Open and that was such an unbelievable finish. I mean, so much great stuff happened there. It was to me, that's one of the best opens in a long time. But it was wonky because of the greens

and um, but the court from Ta Green. That course looks so good on TV and and and l A Country Clubs super visual and it has a long pedigree, even though it's at has this renovation now, so um to get to go to to go to that course. I think it's gonna be really fun. The architecture nerds are gonna love it. It's gonna look incredible on TV. The players are gonna love it. I think it's gonna

be at fantastic open. And you know l A, they don't really support the l A Open that much like I think it's the It's just it's never been a part of the sports culture in that town. But l A does love a big event, and the US Open is a big brand. And I think I think the crowds will be great. I think there'll be a lot of flashy people in the gallery, and I think it's gonna be a fun tournament. So that's that's I'm more excited about this US Open than than you know, some

of the other recent venues. I just think I think it's gonna be It's gonna be cool. If someone has who has spent as you have a lot of nights in Los Angeles and been around l A Golf a lot, how do you think the COGNIZENTI compare the idea of having uh a lot the US open in the Los Angeles at l A country Club versus Riviera. Yeah, it's interesting. You know. L A Country Club is such a proud institution and it's really it's kind of the it's the blue bloods of l A. They forever they've they've been

prideful that they have no actors among the members. Like it's really it's um it's it's it's lawyers and it's politicians, and it's it's people who run the city outside of the entertainment industry. And excuse me. So whereas Rivera has has got celebrity members and but l A Country Club is a place where where there's there is there's so much pride in their courses and the um. Whereas riv you know, it's very corporate like um, it's it does

it doesn't. Revere is the best course with kind of the worst membership in l A. I think it's how people look at it. And whereas l A Country Club is is just it's it feels. It feels like an East Coast joint in a lot of ways, and um for better and for worse. So uh, I think the golfing community, I think thinks this is really cool. It's become kind of the crown jewel of l A Golf in some ways, and it's gonna get it's gonna get the recognition it deserves. And I mean, let's face it,

revere that. I mean, they can't get people to turn out even to that event. We you know, year after year when they had the PGA Championship. There was kind of famously a disaster when el Kington one and so um, you know, l A Golf has not been on the map as far as the big time tournaments, um for a very long time. So I think, I think, I think this will become one of the one of the

anchor courses. Do you really yeah, I mean, in other words, in other words, uh, well, I mean you've got pebble and are you saying in Sedatry Pines you would see you'd expect to see a lot more of this. And it's it's such a better golf course than Tori And it's the big time energy of of Los Angeles. If if you know they've they've sold out all the corporate stuff.

I think they've sold out the tickets, Like I think it's gonna be It's gonna be a home run, and I think that you'll definitely bump aside Tory Pines, and um so, I think it's gonna be impactful in the US Open for sure. Um Well, can I give you a quick my quick shorthand on is it Eli? Is it North or South? Here's my quick shorthand in ell A North. If you like Augustin National and you like Pine Valley, you're gonna love this l A North because

it's really got elements of both. But and this is a very significant but it doesn't look like the US Open course at all. I mean when I was last there, there were basically no trees whatsoever. I don't know what they're gonna do for rough. When I was there, it was like Augustin National used to be. It was just a wide open playing field with very little rough. Uh So, it's a different kind of US Open. And it doesn't have that super traditional that that Riviera definitely could. It

doesn't have that superdertional US Open values. But as you say, is as its acculate place, it's definitely spectacular place to me. Tory Pines on the Pacific Ocean was spectacular on TV and its spectacular to be there. Maybe not a great, great golf course, but certainly a very good golf course. Well, Tori is enigmatic because, um, a lot of people hate it as as a championship venue because it's such a basic design, Like the whole most of the holes are linear,

there's bunkers on both sides. It's very prescribed golf. Whereas as you're saying, l A. North, there's different ways to play every hole and there's more decisions to make, and um, I think it will appeal to that that kind of golf viewer. But um, yeah, there's no doubt it's gonna, I think surpass Tori. And the odd thing about Tory Pines, it's had t u s opens and both have been epics or decide on the last hole by you know, when rom One he was the best player in the world.

So it's produced the leaderboard you want. It's just it's not the most artful canvas if you're if you're into that sort of thing, but if you want to an exciting finish with the top players like Tori's delivered. So I don't know, we'll see, but I I do think that Ellen North is gonna This is not gonna Its only US Open and let me. Let me correct myself here, because I could see that in your knowing nod. I'm sure you knew this, God willing will all be covering it.

The nine US Open is scheduled for l A Country Club on its north course. Yeah yeah, and those are those U S and g A things are interesting, Like I would like to know what the wiggle room is on you know, the schedule these tournaments, you know, twenty five years out, Like what is the outclause? If? Um, there's like who knows what? Like if valleys underwater? What

does exactly what do you do? Yeah? The San Andreas fault runs right below the third fairway of and I'm just I just made that up, but like you just you never know. So um But anyway, Um, all right, let's let's go to hoy Lake, which of course is the scene of one of tigers great performances. Will even show up there, we haven't. We're deep into a preview about the two thousands ray three seasons. We haven't even mentioned the words Tiger Woods. Unbelievable. But I guess that's

the sign of the times. Um. I mean, it's it's gonna be be melancholy if he's not there because that that really I know you're you're on site for that for that tournament, Michael so was. I there was something sort of magical about burnt out moonscape of the golf course and Tiger's hitting four irons close to the most guys a hidden wedges, and um, you know that was that was that was a transcendent performance. But what'll what'll it be like to you know, if there's no Tiger

when we go back there. Well, we we've had a lot of that over the years, you know, Patrick Carrington one uh to open, so that Tiger in the field and open is an open uh And as we found out last year, you can spend a lot of time building up some I did crazy expectation of about what Tiger Woods can do at an open because the course is flat relatively he said of walk. Uh. And then you know St Andrews was St Andrew's. So I'm expecting

absolutely nothing from from Tiger at Why Lake. Um, just the name Hoy Lake, Liverpool, the history of Jones, history of Tiger there. Um. Uh, it's neat that it's neat to be going back there. Uh, No one does the rote Asian of course, aren't that many but how the r n A organized its rotation is really like nothing

else in golf. It's known with such confidence, and even when it goes to these sort of tried and true courses like Hoylake, they somehow have this magic formula of allowing just enough time that you're like, oh, I'm happy to be back here. It's an exciting golf course, but it's just really neat to be there, you know. I mean you and I were both there. We both saw it. You know, Tiger just hit links. Golf has been said a million times. It's not really about putting. It's about

hitting irons on the face and play in the wind. Uh. There's a majesty and that just like seeing Tiger play that second shot into fifteen the year that he won at Augusta uh um one most recently two. Uh, it's majesty. Really is golf. So I'm already I hadn't been part of this conversation, but just having this conversation does make me excited about going back to Hoylake. We better book our rooms for that downtown Marriott. Now it's probably too late, No,

did Yeah, that's yeah, that's a good call. This is what we care about fire pit is not not the best at booking outside like we're we're not the timeliest people, and we know the dates. In fact, we could book our hotel for the U S Open today. I think, Um, that's a good reminder, yes, uh uh. And I will say I'm planning to go to the first If you want an offseason, how about Live Golf. I mean they've just shut down for months and months, But um, I'm

gonna go to the first event and at mycoba. That's my that's my intention because I think that's gonna be interesting. I think there'll be a lot of news coming out of that week. And let's say Live wants to be disruptive. Is that a true or not true statement? Yes? What could be more disruptive for these Lived people than to have an event opposite the Masters for mega mega mega bucks.

And this would be my caveat and invite to this one off tournament not part of the lip series anybody who has ever won the Masters or finished or finished second, by which you would get Johnny Miller and all the you know, various other lend matiss. I think all the uh Lees Louis use tis in uh all the various people who have either one or not one. They're going to get a massive paycheck just just to show up. Uh and uh, I don't know how closely you follow

Indie car racing. But it never worked out for the Michigan five h The Michigan five hundred was opposite of the Indie five and uh, that's what they did. They put on a high priced five opposite of the indie and uh, it didn't work and it and it basically has ruined IndyCar racing. And it is a great uh look into the scary future of golf. It at the breakup of I r L and CART. This is super deep. For people that don't know Indy car racing, this is super nerdy. But I r L and CART were the

two warring factions, and it ruined Indy car racing. It has never regained the popularity of one. Well, that's right, I did not know any of that. That's that's very telling, Ryan, and that's why that's why fred Ridling Company have have such a big mandate here to try to figure out how to get golf on one page. If it can be done, if you know, based on the example you decited, I've been reading about the USFL. You reading about the A B A like, it's there's rarely enough stars in

any sport to support two leagues. There's just there just isn't. And um, golf, especially where you're rooting for the individual and not not the you know, the team or the franchise like it's, um, there's there's not much precedent. I mean, cricket did go from this this very long, onerous four or five day matt and they introduced kind of a one day, um, sort of sort of fast and furious kind of version of cricket, which had become hugely popular, and that would be the one the one sport that

reinvented itself successfully. But anyway, yeah, okay, we we should probably end this this preview before it's two thousand and twenty four, but um uh it's always fun to talk off with you guys, and uh, we'll see what we'll see what happens. Luckily, we'll we'll offer weekly updates on how the twenty three season is going here on the Fire Drill podcast. So any any parting thoughts where we

we release the listeners. Yeah, um, my sleeper for the PGA Championship, olaf Leftson the highest ranked Icelandic golfer in the world. Since it's possibly snow, that's the kind of report. He's probably not eligible. He's probably not eligible, but it's fine. He might. It's got four months of plays away, and yeah, it's good. It's fine. Michael. Uh. The actor Victor Mature, if I'm pronouncing that correctly, tried to get into the Country Cup. They told him that they didn't take actors.

He said, I have twenty eight films to prove that's not the case. I'm not sure how to talk that. Yeah, you can't, that's Michael. I mean, that's why it's just unreal to be on this play. I love it, all right, all right, Well for Michael Bamberger and Ryan friends, this is allan allan, thank you, yes, aloha and uh we'll do this again next week. Thanks for listening. That's the end. By I'm Ben Big play to win made a fortune within my ship game. I ran the table and thought

I could fall. Then the win hit me like a cannon ball, and now I can't shape is losing the street. Every road I take isn't dead and stream I got thoughts in my head. Can't get him out, trying not to think what I'm thinking about. I got thoughts in my head, can't get him out. Trying not to think what I'm thinking about