JR Afternoon with Chris Renwick
JR Afternoon with Chris Renwick ~ November 12, 2024 ~ Full Show
Oh, thank you, mr. Big voice and I'll tell you I when I told my wife that I was coming up to to birch run today For what will be this weekend the 28th annual deal hunters weekend goes from the 15th to the 17th The good folks at Columbia make this possible zenders of frankin move make this possible and I said to hey I'm I got to go up to to to birch run And thinking I'm gonna get off the hook here. I get to come up do the nice broadcast talk to the good folks At the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and visitors bureau and what do I get I get the honey-dew list I get Well, you got to stop off here you got to go to the Nike outlet to get some shoes and and and look it This is what kicks off the holiday season and as the hunters go up and and and do their business Everybody else will certainly be gathering here at birch run. And we're gonna talk a lot about not not just What's going on here at the outlets, but but this whole region is is a hotbed And and whether it's going back to the memorial cup or or just things that are unfolding in frankin move that this whole region is exploding and And certainly for for me my family this this kind of kicks off our our holiday season when when We make trips up here for for the chicken dinners or we make trips up for for Broners for the Michigan Heroes Museum Whatever it is and and and we'll talk about all the great things that are going on throughout the show today just want to get you caught up on a couple of of interesting stories because we are watching election results in it when it comes to the House of Representatives now the Republicans are just Three seats away of gaining control once again of the House They've already got control of the Senate with 52 Republicans and and of course Donald Trump won the election And so now it's control of the house And it's something that we're watching very closely again Republicans need three more seats to keep control of the house and and and then of course Donald Trump transitioning from campaign mode to to this transition and and building his cabinet up a couple of notable names have popped to the forefront of Of some really important positions particularly governor Kristi gnome And this is somebody who has been a vocal Trump supporter. This is somebody who spent many hours many days weeks on end Campaigning for now president elect Donald Trump There are rumors and sources citing that Kristi gnome has been tapped to be Donald Trump's homeland security secretary Also somebody else who started out as as an adversary of Donald Trump going all the way back to 2016 but but has very much been on the side of of now president elect Trump is Marco Rubio the senator out of Florida and The the the relationship that they have built over the years is now culminating in in His appointment to be being secretary of state And look look quite frankly I don't know if that's a surprise to anybody there was a lot of talk about Marco Rubio potentially being Donald Trump's running Made of course he ended up taking JD Vance along for the ride But but there was no doubt that Marco Rubio was going to be involved one way or the other and now that we know That that these appointments are starting to come out that these these these discussions are being had It's one other phase to Donald Trump lining up and and having his cabinet set up as this transition takes place that the other part in news today that All of these legal challenges all of these these cases that have been mounting against Donald Trump The election are now certainly coming to a head because you look at what's happening in the Manhattan case Judge Juan Marchon Agreed today to give Manhattan prosecutors and Donald Trump's legal team a week to hash out how to proceed in this case And you look at what happened in the Jack Smith case in the federal case where they're punting down the road What to do with that case it does seem to indicate that that case is going to go away because the DOJ has a long standing tradition Of not going after sitting presidents, which Donald Trump will be on January 20th Uh, and so now it's the the jockeying of these legal cases to see how these things play out And it's something that we're watching very closely Uh meanwhile a group of demonstrators carrying nazi flags appeared saturday night outside a community theater performance Of the diary of an frank and an american legion post in livingston county W jr. Cina news analyst mary asborn has the latest on that incident. Good afternoon to you mary Hi, there christ bobby bright is the past commander of the american legion post 141 He's the one who recorded the demonstrators who he said were present outside the howl town ship venue for about 30 minutes While the play was underway and we all know the diary of an frank documents the experience Of a young jewish girl and her family during the holocaust About 10 people were part of this pro nazi group that showed up on the legion's parking lot this happened About 730. It eventually moved across the street. There were people in their 20s. They were all wearing masks according to witnesses Uh bright as a us army vet. He said the demonstrators actions were absolutely disgusting A statement from the livingston county sheriff's office of the pro nazi group had been asked to leave the legion parking lot They did the demonstrators then went across the street according to police. They waved their flags The statement from the sheriff's also office went on to say a subject then approached them in an argument ensued But nothing physical transpired and ultimately the parties involved separated Chris, this is on the heels of in july another demonstration taking place in howl during which the participants reportedly chanted chanted hyal hitler Mm. Just a disgusting Disgusting array And uh, and thankfully you've got people pushing out against that in livingston county marie. Thank you for that story. Appreciate it Thank you Meanwhile, you've got governor Gretchen whittmer Saying that she is looking forward to shared priorities with donald trump, obviously governor Gretchen whittmer had been um at the forefront particularly for the harris campaign here in michigan to try to get the vice president elected and and and Not to even sidestep the fact that governor Gretchen whittmer was at one point Being talked about as as a potential replacement if and when joe biden ever did decide to step down following his debate with donald trump And so there there is this now uh, effort particularly by the democratic party both at the federal level and at the state levels Now that donald trump has been reelected to to find some sort of commonality find some sort of Middle ground and that is certainly something that governor Gretchen whittmer is is preaching Uh in the wake of the election results last week Uh in the meantime, we are very excited to be up at birch run for the 28th annual deal hunters weekend We've got a lot to talk about this region Is uh, it is one if you don't visit it very often you got to because there are things to do left right and center And we're going to talk all about it today here at birch run. We'll take a break come back on the other side more here on jr After well, you may not have uh have known it But there were uh seven count them seven former loons former Uh former great lakes loons, uh, of course the the high affiliate of the Uh, la dodgers on the world series roster and it it you know here locally. It's it's very exciting that That uh that the dodgers have have that type of system Where there is a tremendous amount of development. Yeah, the shohayotani's of the world uh, it helps But but you can't have A productive Successful season without the development of a lot of those Younger players and and they have matured into uh, uh, now's uh world series champions Uh, and it's really cool to say see eric ramsayer is the chief operating officer with the great lake loons and joins me here This afternoon. It's good. Uh, good to have you. Thanks for coming down. Yeah, thanks for having me excited to be here And always excited to talk baseball even uh even in november No doubt. What was that like for the organization seeing that level of success Seeing that that stage that the dodgers Aren't now, you know, it's it's become kind of commonplace for them to to get to that level But but seeing some of the development of those guys that played here Uh, on that roster. What was that like for the organization? Yeah, it's always so much fun like winning Winning's hard. It doesn't matter at what level winning's hard like so when we get to see that development and then ultimately get that Ultimate prize in baseball winning a world series like it's always fun for us Uh, we celebrate as much as I think anyone else because we get to to meet these guys see them when they're young watch them grow Uh, but it's always it's always great to see that ultimate prize being won So it was a lot of fun And some loons involved in that last out in the world series very last out. Yeah, so walker bueller He actually won a championship with us in 2016. Uh striking out Alex verdugo who uh, was with us in 2015 So a little loons versus loons to finish finish out the world series this year, which is pretty cool. Yeah, it's great It's very cool. What's the off season look like for you now? Yeah, so we're we're already in planning mode for next season So, you know, everyone thinks oh baseball. It's the the winner. What do you guys do? Yeah? What aren't you supposed to be in bokeh? What are you doing here? Yeah, right? So planning is already underway. So for us, it's it's looking at our marketing our entertainment You know, what do fans get to experience and expect from us? You know, your every year We try really hard to make sure when fans leave the stadium the score is not the important thing It's did I have fun and was I entertained and and so we're working out what are all those entertainment things? You know looking like for next season Uh, it'll be a great season. We're always excited to to have fans come out and you know opening day this year already friday april fourth So we're not that far away on the baseball side of your you know, exactly unbelievable to think that but yeah We're coming up fast. Yeah, and and look, um When you're dealing in any type of athletics, um It's the tangibles in between the game, right? That make a huge difference. It makes a huge difference for For for the vibe. It makes a huge difference for families that are there bringing their kids or or you know Having a work outing whatever it is and and it's a really important part of the atmosphere that you create Yeah, again, uh, you know, we can't control the product on the field and it's great We had seven former lunes that played in the world series this year That's an awesome thing for us to say and we've had over a hundred players make it to the major leagues Like that's great, but we don't get to control that sure but we do get to control, you know, what you see smell taste you know The entertainment that you get the celebrities that come out to a game if it's you know princess night and we have you know moana or You know, the the snow queen or some of the other princesses that that may get we get to control those fun aspects of it and and the the best, you know, really Compliment we can get at the end of a game is oh, I forgot what the score was but I had so much fun Right and because we we don't get to control the score very often sure we can control that fun Um, you got a new field in place. Yep. Just and all that off-season stuff full field replacements So I have a new playing surface for next year final touches going on with that right now. Yeah, um, you know excited To meet a major league baseball compliance. That was something, you know That changed for us that we have to have certain compliance standards through major league baseball Uh, so we'll be fully compliant field next year and and exciting Uh, you've also got this great event coming in field of frames um, you know, e sports and the gaming world has absolutely exploded it to To be coming, you know, as a kid playing games I never would have thought that that it has evolved into the world It is to talk to me a little bit about field of frames and what this is and and how people can uh can experience it Yeah, so field of frames is is going to be uh, first of its kind I think for our region and possibly even the state where it's going to be a three-day Uh, really festival around, you know, e sports gaming Uh, in, you know, technology in, you know, in video games. So, you know, we're looking at four different competitive e sports tournaments to go along with industry panels Tech workshops, uh, free-to-play areas, a game jam, uh, a variety of different things that are really going to be Uh, technology-based and tech-based, you know, for people to participate in Um, you know, and and we're really excited about what that can bring to the region what that means for us Um, and and I think it's going to hit a demographic that isn't always, you know, heard, seen You know, around the state and around our region Um, by the mainstream sports organizations, um, and so, you know, we're excited to bring something new and different Um, and really excited about what it can mean for, you know, for really an underserved or under Visible, you know population in our, in our area Is this something that that people have been clamoring for, uh, an event like this That, uh, that you're able to bring to people I mean, I have been personally, I think this is something that, like, I've seen the the explosion of this Across, you know, digital platforms, like twitch and youtube live and a variety of other places College is now with e-sports team Correct, like northwood university in midland is is a top Two or three e-sports program worldwide, like they're their teams have won world championships over the prior three seasons consistently National championships and that's right here, you know, right here in the great lake spay region right here at home Um, you know, to the point where they've also added In e-sports minor To one of their business programs of how to run and operate e-sports events like how to build a team Like how to coach teams and how to grow that that industry so it is a growing industry Um in an industry that that we feel like we can help expand and grow that within the state Thanks a lot mom for telling me to get off those games Uh, I could have had a a wonderful career playing game But you know, you know, here's the thing is I was reading something the other day that that said, um um, you know surgeons people who are doctors that that it's um this this This when you are so immersed in something when you're tunnel vision when you have to be focused on something That that some of the best gamers are like surgeons people that are that are that have these really high pressure jobs where they have to focus On something really really carefully. It's it's it's it's it's I think it's However, people used to think about gaming is completely different how it's perceived today It's a completely different mindset and and and I think that we're seeing Uh, like you mentioned whether it's northward or or any of these universities. It's uh, it's a really cool Atmosphere to be in right now because of of the environment that it's in and you get so many of like the team-based That's sure that maybe if you're an athlete you get because you have to work together You have to work as a team and there's competition and there you get all of those You know all of those things that you get from sports. You can also get from e-sports, which is great Um, you know and and for us the educational component the community component really mattered So adding in tech workshops, you know Different panel discussions around the tech industry how like if you want to start an e-sports team at your high school Right like that's one of the panel discussions. How do you do that? Yeah, and so, you know, we really we really wanted to tie in competition and e-sports competition with You know learning opportunities for for both parents You know potential kids and students and players potential coaches. Um, so so really it's in entertainment Like and I didn't even really get into like the plan is you know live music and sure, you know DJs and evening activities for networking and so it really should be an all immersive weekend For people in this industry to come together celebrate the industry learn and then have competitive e-sports At the college level and then a semi pro tournament open tournament and you know really I guess I'll go through it's it's going to be a $10,000 valorant College invitational there's going to be a $10,000 rocket league semi pro tournament Which there'll be qualifying rounds for people interested. Um, they need to to reach out Form fill through the field of frames fest.com website There will be an open tournament that anyone can come play for super smash brothers So if you love super smash you want to play all you need is a ticket to the tournament or ticket to the event Come in sign up. You want to play you're in and then there'll be a youth tournament for fortnight where it's free to enter Same thing. You just need a ticket to get in 17 you Uh, and and that'll have a thousand dollar prize pool for you know for the youth and then the the Rocket league is 10,000 and then the super smash brother open. It's going to be a $5,000 tournament So we'll have a $26,000 prize pool Uh for the e-sports side of it with a lot of that educational other entertainment vip events Uh again a full weekend of of celebration of this industry and if people want to get tickets They are on sale starting when monday january 20th. So tickets go on sale monday january 20th There'll be a vip ticket and then general admission tickets Um vip tickets would include friday night events kick off friday night and then a vip event saturday as well And then the actual event is when so it is september 26th through 28th 2025. So it's a friday through sunday Uh friday again just kind of vip event. Yep, you know live music friday of other things Uh, and then we're still working out which day of each tournament the rocket league will probably take place on sunday Valorant probably with the college invitational on saturday and then super smash is probably going to be big enough It'll be over both days with the finals Uh on sunday the you know, I think the the big thing why it's field of frames We are baseball stadium. So I think the coolest thing about this is the main stage the main competition stage is actually going to be on a stage Right at the pitchers mound. Wow facing the rest of the infield and so Uh, you know, it's going to be unique setup with uh, you know with the event and the main stage on on the baseball field It's kind of be a spectacle. So yeah, there's no doubt about it. It should be really cool very cool Uh, eric ramsay are the chief operating officer with the great lake lunes. Thanks so much really appreciate the the time Yeah, thanks for coming down. Thank you so much for having me and looking forward to to talking about it. Go lunes. Yeah, it's good lunes Oh, it is uh good to have you Here at birch run premium outlets for the what will be this weekend the 28th deal hunters weekend And um and and I talked a lot about the this area And and how much it's grown and and all the great things that you can do here Well, you can add, uh, a zoo to the list because the wilderness trail zoo Uh, been here for for a long time, but if you want to see some exotic animals, you don't have to go far You don't have to go to detroit or you don't have to go to tallido Uh, you you can go, uh right here as a matter of fact And jeremy teats is the president and director of the wilderness trail zoo and he joins me. It's good to have you Thank you. Thank you for having me So we were talking a little bit about some of the animals that you you have there You've got different monkeys different primates. You've got zebras Uh, you've got uh parrots and reptiles all kinds of stuff But you also have lions you have tigers and you have a couple of tiger cubs that uh are new additions Yeah, we have a couple of new tiger cubs that were donated to us and uh, um, very excited dad those this year A lot of new species this year too. Um, main wolves spotted hyenas and um, yeah a lot a lot of new exciting things When you say donated to you tell tell me a little bit about what that What that process is like working with different zoos around the country to make sure all these animals have good homes So tigers are critically endangered in the wild. So we are part of an endeavor to Uh conserve the species and work with species conservation These tiger cubs came from a facility in New York and we're donated to us to be part of a continued process to uh keep the genetics pure and keep the species around for generations to come Well, it's it's a it's a valiant effort and and and how did you get into this? What what drove you into this world? Oh, well, it started when I was about four or five years old and going to the phoenix zoo and from that moment on seeing the The wildlife and the natural atmosphere of them that just it got me hooked and uh, um, you know from then on I've spent pretty much every minute in my life. Uh devoted to different animals. 5 years old. You knew right away Right away. That's that's all I've uh, I've had a passion for it right from a little kid and uh kept on going Now do you have uh, maybe I shouldn't ask you this but I'm gonna Is there? Is there an animal that you don't really care for? Is there one that you just go? Uh, I don't know Not really an animal. I don't like bees. That's about it bees The guy who's holding the tiger is like you get this bee away from it. I'll go in with the hyenas and the tigers But bees that nope. That's really that's cool. That's well for me. It's snakes. I just it's uh, it's a thing It's it's an irrational fear. That's what it is. It is irrational. So you didn't bring one with you today though. No, okay good. All right, very good Um, so you're you're new to the leadership at the zoo. Tell me a little bit about About what this kind of next iteration is gonna be here. Yeah, so the zoo has been around for 32 years Uh previous owners the founders of the zoo they've been wanting to retire for the last decade or so and uh, I've been friends and theirs for about 20 years. So it's been a progression of things where uh, you know when they decided to retire this year, uh, I was able to step in and takeover management, um, we have a new board of directors and uh, really pushing on a New initiative to reach out more to the community to make some improvements to the zoo and add more Outreach programs and just a lot a lot new events and things to reach the community Well, and that that outreach is critically important Um, and for somebody who who's a conservationist somebody who really deeply cares for Our our animal population. That's it. It's got to be a huge thing for you and to teach, you know Dummies like me that these irrational fears are totally irrational and these are are all wonderful creatures that we should we should really respect and love Absolutely. Yeah education is a huge part of what our drive is that we want to be able to not just have people experience Being close and seeing these animals but to teach them something when they leave they've learned more about the the natural history of the animal and uh, what we can do You know as humans on this earth to uh, make sure that these animals live and keep living and take and take care of them as they should be Um, and and so what what new projects do you have going on there? Oh, we have so many new projects going on This summer we started on working on a new outdoor event area at the zoo For birthday parties wedding venue that kind of stuff But um part of that is a rainforest building where we have a new rainforest building that'll be open. Hopefully in december um, where people be able to come into a micro ecosystem of the rainforest where they can see sloths and fresh water stingrays and toucans and Um, be able to learn about those animals Um, that's one that we're really excited about we'll be starting on a penguin exhibit this winter as well Um, how difficult is it to create that type of ecosystem? It's to replicate it. It is a challenge. Obviously here. We're in michigan We're dealing with cold weather and so everything has to be built accordingly to replicate the temperatures the humidity levels the lighting Everything just to keep the plant life growing the animal life growing and um, so it is it is a challenge, but it's something that It's exciting. It's exciting. Yeah, and it's something that uh, you know, I've spent a lot of years working with tropical animals in specific and Um, definitely i'm excited to share that with the public around here. Sure. No doubt. Um, and then of course You've got almost 70 acres here that these animals live a wonderful life Um, but then Opening it up you mentioned in michigan the realities are we deal with all the elements here We do and and and you know in this area in particular. This is this is the this is christmas ground zero Um, and so you're you're able to use your facilities in a way that that furthers that along here, too Yeah, we're really excited this year to open up uh christmas lights show to the public And it's an opportunity not to just go through a drive-through light show But to also see some of our animals, um in a different light so to speak So at night a lot of our animals are more active We have a lot of nocturnal animals that if you walk through the zoo during the day They might be sleeping not very active Um, this gives you an opportunity to see them at night when they're more active And at the same time, uh witness, uh some christmas cheer and see our light show too pretty cool. So what's your favorite animal? Oh, probably my dog. That's fair That is a fair answer. Yeah, but no one of my favorite animals are our spotted hygienas Okay, um, spotted hygienas are my favorite animals and so our, uh, bentarongs, uh, also known as a bear cat Okay, um, so that's another new species that we have at the zoo. Also. We have a baby bear cat that Um, it's gonna be part of our educational outreach program. So we got to be so darn cute a baby bear cat. Oh, she's a door So That's really cool. It's really cool. Well best of luck to you. Um, and and I think that uh, again Another jewel here in the crown of of this area Uh, and I'm I'm so excited that, uh, that you're taking over the reins and and continuing to bring Uh, awareness to these animals to to make sure that they've got a good place to be. Yeah, thank you I really appreciate it. Uh, that's germana teach the president and director of the wilderness trails zoop Thank you. Appreciate it. Thanks for your time. All right. We'll take a break. Uh, come back for more here live from birch run as we continue Uh here on wj Welcome back live from birch run for deal hunters weekend and uh, it's wonderful to uh to be up here and and I am joined by a couple of, uh Very special very special guests Hi santa Here throw those on for me. I don't I want to make sure that we hear every word And I'm sure he'll have a lot to say. Oh, yeah, I'm sure he does Now you were speechless for a while. Well, I am. I I mean It's not every day. I get to talk to christmas royalty Santa and mrs. Claus joins me here. We're very happy to be here. It isn't on. Yep. Yep to have you here Now, well, I guess my my first question isn't this kind of a busy time for you guys. What are you doing here? Well, it's ramping up. It's ramping up. Yep. Do you are is it you leave the workshop to the elves? They're you come up to their own devices. Mm-hmm. We have a good form in there. I think. Yeah, you're confident that things are getting done. Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah, that's very good. Yeah Troyes are stockpiled. They're still making more. So we're doing good. Mm-hmm. That's very good. That's very good. Um, so uh, so so tell me a little bit about uh Well, what has marriage been like all these years with you two? Well, if we could get her to quit drinking and might work really well Here comes the bottle of water. That's what we asked for. Okay. All right. Yeah, drinking hot chocolate. Yep. Yep. All right. Lots of marshmallows. Lots of marshmallows. Mm-hmm. Oh, you're your your pro marshmallows in your hot chocolate. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, and I bet you could find a lot of good hot chocolate here in the Great Lakes Bay region. Oh, there's no doubt about it. Yeah, there's no doubt about that. Mm-hmm. Um, what what else could you find around here? Better than anywhere else? So many good events that we have going on here. Yeah, everybody needs to come up. Book a hotel room. Book a hotel room. Because you can stay day after day after day and you take any events and all over the Great Lakes Bay region. Yeah, you can go you can now until after New Year's you could just live here. You could you really good. Mm-hmm. You're really good. There's enough stuff going on. There's enough chicken here, I think. Oh, yeah. Little bit. There's enough. Yeah, enough butter noodles. Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. A couple of water parks. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Oh, yes. Bavarian inns. Now it's so cool. It's so big. Yeah. Cenders is big, but a lot of fun. It's all very good. Very good. It's all very good. It's really centrally located in the state and the lower peninsula. Yes. So it's just, you know, an hour and a half north from Detroit or whatever, but throw the kids in the car taking for a mystery trip and bring them up here. Yeah. They could go to GoGreat.com and find all kinds of hotels that they could stay at. Plus, all of our events are listed, which we'd like to cover some of them. Yes, and I want to talk about a lot of them. Um, so, so tell me about these events. And, and some of the places that we might find you at. Well, I know I'm going to be making a lot of appearances. There's actually like this Friday. There's an event going on here in Bertrand that I'll be at. And then the following week, I'm in Bay City for an event and then I'm in Midland for an event, but honestly kind of toward the end of November through December. I'm pretty much here every day. You're here every day. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. But the one to start off here in Bertrand on Friday night with the tree lighting ceremony. We also have the deer widows weekend going on with all of the shopping bargains. This place is going to be a blast. It's going to be, it's going to be a lot of fun. There's going to be a lot of people here. A lot of people. Mm-hmm. Santa, let me ask you this. When you're out and about with the, with the people, do you, can you enjoy yourself or, or are you constantly looking for those on, that are on the nice and naughty list? Oh yeah, you're, you're kind of on the cusp, right? Me? Well, I believe that. Yeah, okay. That's not news to me. Okay, all right. That's not news. Now, Ava over there, she's always been on the good list. Oh, that's news to me as well. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Mm-hmm. That's good. That's good. What about him? What about our engineer, Ray Tamplin? He could be honest. I think he's on the good list too. At least for this year. You have to look at the ask. How much did you have to pay Santa to say that? How much did he give you? Well, not enough. Not enough. Okay. Fair enough. So, so you guys are going to be in Bay City. You're going to be at the deal Hunter's weekend. You're going to be in Chesening. You're going to be in Frankenmuth and Midland. Yeah. What, what, what do we do? How are we making toys? What are we doing here? We're promoting all of these events because when they come to those events, they will see Santa and that way they can give him his list. So, like next week in Saginaw really starts our big thing there with Friday night. We have holidays in the heart of the city. It starts in front of the waterworks, which is a fabulous old Gothic building. So, we have Carolers. We have lots of food vendors. The zoo is open. The Japanese Tea House and Cultural Center, the Mexican American Council. We have free horse drawn wagon rides. We have a cookie house exhibition. There is so much going on that a lot of people don't get to go to everywhere. Everything is free except for the food vendors, but if you go to the zoo, it's free to get in, but you just pay for your train ride or your carousel ride. It's pretty good. And then the next day we have our parade downtown Saginaw. Wow. So, that starts at 11 a.m. And it's going to be a blast. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a lot of fun. We'll be in the parade. Something new though is Frankenmuth a few years ago bought an ice rink and that is now set up permanently in Zender Park downtown Frankenmuth. Cool. And you can go ice skating anytime. You cut it up out there? No. Okay. Santa's a little too old for that. He might break a hip or something. And we need you rarer to go. Yeah. We need you rarer to go. Yep, you bet. That's pretty good. Yep. What's been like married to him all these years? I pray a lot. You can't pray too much. You pray for his safety. I pray for everybody. His safe travels. Exactly. I got to pay for pray for the reindeer that they stay healthy to guide him through the sky. Yep. Do you have a favorite reindeer? Well, you know, a couple of years ago, a couple of years ago, I talked with Paul from WJR about all this or whatever. And then he made the comment about it must be interesting to sit behind the reindeer as you're flying. And I said, all matters what they ate for dinner that night, you know. So do I have a favorite one? Not necessarily. Okay. Just as they get you from point eight, a point B. Yeah. That's pretty good. You take good care of them. Yeah. Yeah. And trying to get them going up and going sometimes in the morning, that's a bit much. They're just dying from the night before, you know, yeah. It's a big day for them too. Yeah. Just gotta watch through the sky and see when he's coming in to some of these events. You can come and meet them at Dow Gardens up in middle and the reindeer will be there for night. That's very good. Yeah. That's very good. You might want to come meet the reindeer. That's a very cool thing because you don't always get to see them in person. No. No. No. Very few people get to see them in person. But if you're up here, you will. But also, Midland has their Santa house there because you know, Santa needs so many helpers down here. We have a lot of gentlemen that go to school there to really learn how to be the best helper for Santa. Yes. Yes. And they're all very studious. Yep. You said a good example of course. Yep. And they come down in July to learn all of this stuff. So kind of interesting to see all of these merry men walking around Midland in the middle of summer. Yeah. Pretty good. And they all have beards. And they all have beards. Of course. Well, of course they do. Yeah. You know, they're not in they're not dressed like you are though. Not completely. What is your every day attire? That's a secret Hawaiian shirt. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Sure. That you get around in Bertrand. Yeah. Well, do you stock up around deal hunters weekend? No, I actually I took a cruise a couple years ago and I bought some really cool shirts on board. Were you by yourself? Were you? Did you guys take a nice note? No, I was by myself. She decided not to go. She wanted to go with all the ladies and somewhere else. Too much of the hot chocolate. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yeah. Fair enough. Yeah. So we can go to visit go great.com for all the list of events that you guys will be on. Exactly. There's always more things that are being added to the website. All of the hotels are listed there. Well, it handles your schedules. Uh, depends. Usually our partners across the region will submit an event or whatever. And then it gets posted, but it has to be okayed by our staff. Yeah, fair enough. So one of our staff members just reviews everything to make sure it's perfect of smaller stature. Pointeers. No. Well, she might be a little shorter than me. Okay. Okay. Fair enough. Santa, Mrs. Claus. Thank you for your time. You're welcome. Thanks for having us. Yep. And, uh, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. You too. Am I in the good list now? Well, just behave. Okay. Fair enough. Between now and then. Just behave and you might get surprised. All right. Fair enough. Yeah. I think he'll be good. Yeah. Probably. I think so. Yeah. It's the optics that matter. That's it. Yeah. All right. We'll take a break. Come back for more here on WTR. Thank you. Well, come in. It is a pleasure to be with you this afternoon here in Burch Run as we get ready for the 28th annual deal hunters weekend here at at the outlets of Burch Run. And look, the realities are this really gets things kicked off for the holiday season. I spend a lot more time up here starting right around this time. You know, we hit a lot of the the big hallmark trademark things, but look, I'm going to add more things to the list. We've got the zoo. We've got a whole bunch of other great opportunities, great events for you to check out. And if you want to go, you see the whole list at go great dot com that all courtesy of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. And there's just it's unlimited. It's unlimited things to do. And this is the place to be certainly around the holidays. Also, by the way, speaking the holidays, the Transabarian Orchestra is out on the Lost Christmas Eve Winter Tour. And you can see them at the tour stop of your choice. Score two premium tickets to the Transabarian Orchestra concert of your choice with flights, a three night hotel stay, and a thousand dollar gift card for holiday shopping prizes provided by wild child touring to enter for your chance to win Texas Hours National Keyword bright bright to 95819 for full details and official contest rules. Visit w jr.com couple of things to keep in mind this hour as we are watching the the transition team now for president elect Donald Trump, tapping a couple of well known names to some high level positions. The governor of South Carolina, Christine Gnome is being brought forward as the secretary of homeland security. Senator Marco Rubio out of the state of Florida has been tapped as Donald Trump secretary of state. And former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is being tapped as the new ambassador, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. So just a couple of names to watch as more of them certainly come forward. Also watching battle for control of the House of Representatives, Republicans sitting at 215 seats. You only need 218 for the majority. So Republicans are certainly on track to win the House, although those all of those numbers, all of those votes still being tabulated in a number of different states. So nothing set in stone yet. They have one control of the Senate and obviously Donald Trump winning the presidency. So just a couple of things to keep watch. Also, you've got Governor Gretchen Whitmer holding a press conference for the first time since Donald Trump was reelected. And she is talking about finding some sort of common alley, some sort of common ground with Donald Trump saying, I know that some of my colleagues have staked out some pretty aggressive strategies as I'm thinking about what a Trump administration will mean for our work, I'm trying to focus on where we can find some shared priorities. And she is going to have to find shared priorities, not just with the federal government, but with the state government as well, because Republicans have won control back in the House in Lansing. So there will need to be some bipartisan work done if bills are to be passed here in the state of Michigan. Also, all of the court cases that have been piling up for Donald Trump pre-election seem to be on their way out. When it comes to the Jack Smith case, they are pushing that down the road, certainly an indication according to legal experts that that case could be going away. Then you've got the Manhattan case and this decision by Judge Juan Marchan today to give prosecutors in Manhattan and Donald Trump's legal team a week. They've got seven days, they'll come back on the 19th to find out a way forward and what that means. And of course, all of this comes as the the Department of Justice has a longstanding tradition of not going after presidents, not going after sitting presidents, of which Donald Trump will be on January 20th. Also, three years ago, and there was a lot of fanfare around it, Amazon announced plans to build an Amazon fresh outlets in several areas around the state of Michigan. So far though, none of them have come to fruition. WJ, our senior news analyst, Marie Osborne, tells us what the hold up might be. Good afternoon, Marie. And Chris with grocery prices said to have swung the presidential election. There's a lot of eyes on this story. Amazon fresh grocery stores continue to grow across the country with locations in Baltimore, New Jersey and California. But there has been little if any movement on plans to build out stores here in Michigan. At one point, there had been as many as 10 Amazon fresh store locations consumed or presumed for Metro Detroit and surrounding areas. They included Shelby Township, Troy, Rochester Hills, Roseville, St. Clair Show, Shores, Lavonia and Plymouth Township. One of these locations in Plymouth Township has slowed considerably the construction there. But Plymouth Township supervisor, Hert Heisey, telling the Detroit News, he's optimistic that Amazon will eventually open there. Now, Crane's is reporting an Asian grocery store is taking over the Madison Heights space. Amazon fresh is based in Seattle that would be competing with Walmart and Aldi's in a very, very competitive retail space. Now, while the locations in Madison Heights and Dearborn officially were scrapped, when the space was put up for Subway's last year, the remaining eight, they remain in limbo. And Chris Amazon fresh declined to comment on these stories to any reporters. So we don't know what they're up to just yet. Well, we don't know what they're up to yet, but so far nothing. Yeah. And I mean, Marie, if you go back and remember, I mean, there was a lot of excitement around that. Oh my gosh, yes, because they people always looking, of course, for cheaper, better grocery stores, more options to to shop in. This this would have been a big build out for Amazon. And it's not clear what they plan to do. So two are off the table. The other eight, it is not clear what's going to happen. Something to continue to watch. Marie, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you. All right. We'll talk about the 28th annual deal hunters weekend here at Bertrand coming up next here on W. Chair. All right. Welcome back. The 28th annual deal hunters weekend coming up this weekend here at Bertrand. And I am joined by Michelle shook. She's the general manager here. It's great to have you. Thanks for coming by. Oh, thanks for coming back. I know you're busy. You're running around all over the place. Yeah, we are. But you know what? It's, uh, this is our Super Bowl. So we prepare for it every year. And it's so much fun. I mean, we're just running around, but it's so worth it just to see the excitement on the ladies and the gentlemen that come for this weekend. We just have a lot to offer. And it's been our 28th year. And so it's we have people that have been coming back for 28 years. We have a group of ladies from Canada that come back and really we do. Yeah, and they've been here for every year, except for the COVID year. They were the same pink camel sweatshirts. Stop it. And hats every year. Yeah. So we have, we put together some VIP bags for them from when they come back this year and they posted on our Facebook page. And so I sent them pictures that we have of them over the years. So just like the Super Bowl, people come, right? There they are repeat guests. And that's that's pretty great. Kelsey Rudy, also the director of marketing here with us. It's good to have you too. Thank you. I'm happy to have you on property. So what what is what goes into this process? When you talk about a year's worth of planning for this weekend, what goes into it? Absolutely. So much from each of our tenants and we're constantly gathering special coupons for them to think about for this weekend extra discounts for all of our guests. We have over a thousand dollars of gift cards to give away throughout the course of the weekend that have been donated by that by our stores here at Bertrand Premium. Yeah. And so we just got the bargain guide that you have right there in your hand. It's ready to go. So this is going to include all of our extra deals. You know, in addition to the regular up to 65% off that our stores are running all the time, we're going to have power hours that are above and beyond. We're going to have a lot of fun, exciting stuff to give away. I mean, I can't I can't even name everything here. It's just it's it's it's it's a real community effort, right? To make sure that that this weekend is is what it's supposed to be. Absolutely. Yep. From the Bertrand community to Saginaw County to the Great Lakes Bay CBB. I mean, everybody helps promote this weekend for us. So it's been a really it's it's a tradition. I mean, it's a tradition and we're just really excited. How has it evolved over the years? So it started out. This was before all the digital things we're going on and stuff. So we used to actually I was here during the fifth annual deer. It was previously called deer widows weekend and we had we would literally stop hunting those little hunting things that they they have to put on to put their tags in and stuff. I don't know the name of them, but we would hunt stuff those hunting packets with like over 500 coupons physically because we would get all these from the stores and the first 500 people that would go through we put random gift cards in them. So it was just we were taking pictures with puller and cameras of the ladies and the the shoppers. So it's really evolved. I mean, we've done so many things. We have a winery option that we have on Friday night. We did away with that for a few years and it came back from popular demand. So we have a bunch of people staying here in hotels and they want something to do. Sure. So we have that with the shopping. So it's we've just added just different things year after year after year. About four years ago, we added the power hour actually five years ago, we added the power hours. And so we'll have like a special hour of like deals and discounts and a specific tenant retailer during that time. Yeah. And I mean, people can go to go great.com and check out all the things that you give himself a little respite from shopping, which of course is the main attraction. But you talk about the the all of these companies, all of these stores that participate. It just it's part of the DNA right of of this weekend. It's like, if you're here, you've got to participate. You got it. You got it. You got to come right. Absolutely. Pressure's on and the customer's here to have a good time. You know, we always want our tenants to think about if you're on vacation and this is your weekend away to do your Christmas shopping, how do you want to feel when you step into the stores? You want it to be fun. You want it to be exciting. And so we're really here to create that party type atmosphere for the clients all weekend long. We're going to have DJs. Columbia is going to have a DJ from 92 on Friday. We're going to have the DJ move over to the wine reception from five to seven. So a little wine and dancing at our welcome reception. I believe Puma also has a DJ on for the weekend. We're going to do face painting and balloon animals for the kids from 12 to three on Saturday. So we're just trying to make it a great time for everybody all around and get them as many free goodies as we can. Well, and I mean, I was telling my wife, I said, oh, I'm going up to Bertrand to do this show. And she's like, oh, good. Make sure you stop off at Nike. Make sure you stop by, blah, blah, blah, blah. So when I'm done here, I'm going shopping myself. I got a bunch of stuff to get to. But again, it's like when you bring all of these these companies in, these are what people want, right? This is that this is these are the companies that that people want to go to or shop for anyway. So when you when you come everybody's here. Absolutely. Yes. And so they really come for the brands. I mean, we've been here since 1986, the mall has, and it's really all about the brands and the deals with the economy of the way that it is. I mean, we've our deals are people things that people rely on and coming here and getting maybe a little lemon, you know, at a discounted rate or a Nike pair of Nike shoes that maybe they couldn't afford a full price, but they can come here and get it on a great deal or Columbia. I mean, Columbia's got great deals. I got a big tent sale this weekend. They've got their Black Friday deals right now. They're up to 60% off. So getting a coat, you know, can be very, very inexpensive. And then if you buy something and the 10 on clearance, it's another 10% off. I mean, you can't get that anywhere else. So what are these power hour deals? You guys have mentioned it a couple times. What is that exactly? So power hours are going to be deals that they have. I'll tell you a power hour to me, you know, in college, meant something totally different. Totally different. So what is it here at deal hunters? So what it is is a deal that's above and beyond what they already have. So as Michelle had mentioned, Columbia's already started their Black Friday sale, which is amazing. There are going to be hours, for example, from a 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday, where you can get items at Columbia as low as $19.99. So it's going to be something above and beyond even their usual amazing discount. Some retailers maybe offer a gift with purchase for their hour. Lint, for example, they're a wonderful sponsor to the center. We're actually, Lint was so generous to sponsor our hot chocolate. We're hosting the big guy, you guys just had Santa Claus on Thursday night. And Mrs. Clospe. Yeah. Hitting the cha-chok a little hard. So Lint is a is a great sponsor for us, but they're sponsoring not only the hot chocolate for us to get our Christmas tree lip this week, but also during their power hour, you can stop in and it's like a dozen free truffles that you get with a $30 purchase. So a lot of things, you know, just based on maybe deals that start around $9.99 or even $14.99. Maybe it's an extra 10 or 20% off your purchase for that entire hour. So definitely we want to encourage the shoppers to stop at the information booth, grab their bargain guide, and really see, you know, who's got who's got the best deals every hour and also competition amongst our stores. I don't want to say that. There was a competition over Halloween. So I definitely want to shout out our hey dude store who had the most creative pumpkin this Halloween. So they're getting a free pizza party courtesy of us this weekend. So there's actually not a deal hunter's competition, but that's a good idea. But I mean, amongst the like, right, everybody's competing for business. It's the reality, right? This is the market, the free market that we live in. So everybody wants to bring people in truffles extra money off or that free gift that you get. I mean, this is this is the way that businesses have to operate now because of the economy, like you mentioned, and the money being so tight across the board. I think it's great that these that these that these that these stores under yours, your direction here really understand that that this is a huge time for people to get here and find these deals. Absolutely. Yes. I mean, we with some of our retailers and stuff too, I mean, there, you know, you can hit the clearance racks as well. And so you're getting things that like that you wouldn't even be able to think about getting, you know, other otherwise. So you got to be ready to hunt the deals this weekend. Absolutely. And during those power hours too, we will find you and we have special giveaways in store. So those thousand dollars gift cards that I had that I had suggested early, we're going to be giving those away throughout the day. And we also have some really great deal hunters weekend swag to stop into these power hours and just surprise you. No, no deer blinds for me. We have shirts and hats and just everything, you know, that commemorate the experience. We have a selfie station. We have some holiday photo apps for people to really, you know, because we have people that have been coming for for years, like I said, and we have they have like, it's like maybe the mom, the, the daughter, the granddaughter, and then they bring the aunt and they bring the cousin. Well, you've created an expectation. Absolutely. And that's why people continue to come back. Really good stuff. Michelle shook. Kelsey Rudy, thank you guys so much. Hopefully, you get some sort of rest this weekend. Oh, on Sunday. Yeah. Very good. All right. It's deal hunters weekend. It's coming up this weekend right here at Birch Run. We'll take a break. More coming up next. Yeah, and go great.com is the place to, it's the catch all. It's where you can find everything to do in the Great Lakes Bay region. And believe me, there is just a ton to do. Caleb Pyeonk is the director of PR and leisure tourism here at Go Great Lakes Bay and joins me here this afternoon. First of all, thank you for having us. Likewise. Thanks for coming out. So great to be here. And I was telling you earlier, it's like, for me, I'm not that far from here. I'm a little over an hour. So for us to get out here, it's really easy. And really, I mean, anybody from Metro Detroit, it's not a far drop. It's not a haul. And when you consider where your bread is buttered and everything that you offer year round, but certainly around this time of year, I mean, there is just, it's endless of things to do around here. Well, and that's why I loved you on air this afternoon because you've experienced it. You've brought your family here to experience it. And our best way to get the word out is through word of mouth. And hearing somebody that's been here, been through the process and the events, like, bring more people up here. We want people to see what we're all about. And like you said, this time of year is truly magical to be immigrated. You don't slow down. It is full steam ahead. Now we have great partners that are so innovative. And regardless, whether you're indoors, outdoors, your sports, your recreation, shopping, you can find it and have a memorable experience. Yeah, you can find a memorial cup winner here around this area. Of course you can. Yeah. Yeah. Our winners just received their rings yesterday. And you received your ring yesterday. I did. How about that? I did. It was pretty, pretty remarkable. What do events like that mean to this area? It definitely means a huge amount of things, economic impact. First of all, I mean, we have a lot of vendors, a lot of business partners, a lot of attraction partners that reap the benefits of individuals coming up and experiencing large events like that. Sure, they're in the area for this large event, but they've got to sleep somewhere. They've got to eat somewhere. They're looking to buy their time when they're not at a large event. And that's where all of our other partners take place. Not to mention it takes so many different facets and puzzle pieces to make an event like that successful. And we try to keep those as local as possible. Yeah. And we have such a friendly resident base too that people make the experience. And when you can walk away, regardless if your team has won or lost, and you can speak about the people and the welcoming you had, we've done our job. Yeah, no, and you feel that. I mean, you feel it in the air, no matter where you are, mission accomplished, mission accomplished. I'm really excited to see the ice rink in Zender Park. I know that that's now in place, which is very exciting because for us, like our family traditions now are usually it's like the day after Thanksgiving, we go get our tree, right? We take the kids out, we bundle them up and we go out and get the tree, put it in the truck and get it home. So it's thawing out. And then the next day, we're coming up here and we're going to Tony's to eat seven pounds of bacon or whatever it is. And we're going to to to Bronner's we go to do the chicken dinner or whatever. And then and then, of course, for us, it's a little different with the kids. I mean, now the water parks with Bavarian in now going to be the largest water park into our water park in Michigan, Zender's a stalwart. I mean, it's nonstop. It's nonstop. We can keep you busy. Literally. Every hour of the day. If we find ourselves going like, what are we going to do? That is a question I can't stand. There's nothing to do. Or what are we going to do? There's so much more as my kids will say. I'm bored. Yeah. Yes. Absolutely. I will tell you, firsthand, I skated with my kids. I have a 10 year old and 11 year old, Zender's Park ice rink last year. We did it twice. And from the moment you walk into the warming tent to rent your skates or bring your own, you are greeted with warm smiles. It's affordable for the family. You walk out into the ice rink in daylight. It's beautiful, but night it's lit up in such a unique magical, festive way. But even for the novice skater, the beginning skater, they've got the little walkers that you can learn with. And everybody on the ice is so respectful of the skill level of the others that are on there. It's just a great experience. I literally can't go middle and speed skating. You know what I mean? It's great. And it's not just, it's not just Frankenmuth or downtown here or in Bergeron. I mean, this event that you've got coming to the Midland Center for the Arts at the beginning of the year is something really, really special. And it's unique enough to where, I mean, is it fair to say that you're not going to experience something like this outside of Midland? As of right now, no. I mean, so the event is called the Infinite Space Exploration. And it is the exhibit we're going to see and have will be the only one in the Midwest United States at that time frame. So going to Chicago, going to Detroit, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, they're not going to have that. And what I can tell you about the experience, it's an immersive theatrical hands-on experience. And no two people's experience will be the same. You walk in, first of all, tickets are on sale now. You can go get those at Midland Center for the Arts, which is m f c t a dot com. And you will be with a small group of individuals up to 30 people. Each of you will have a headset. And it will be like you're on the International Space Station. Right? Really cool. They have had astronauts, previous astronauts put these headsets on and be so overwhelmed with emotion, taking them right off, because it takes them right back to where they were professionally. Well, and for them, they really need to gear up for that, right? There's a there's a process that this space that they need to be in to carry out that type of mission. And for just throw it on, it's got to be wild experience. Absolutely. And you know, parents, you and I, we all talk about the gift of experience, right? Our kids have a lot of things. Our kids have a lot of tangibles, and it takes up a lot of space. Yeah. If you can walk away with a gift of experience and have that memory, like this is to me, it's ideal for the the child that is 12 years of age to 17. Yeah. To really give that wow factor. How about a 36-year-old? Absolutely. Okay. Very good. I'm right in that age range. Yeah. I'll be I'll be joining in February. I cannot wait. I cannot wait. And I think it just goes to show where this region is in terms of bringing this type of experience, you know, bringing the Memorial Cup or bringing the the e-gaming event that the loons are going to host. This is a this is a an out and out destination. Thank you for saying that. And I challenge anybody on the radio station listening or tuning in to, you know, maybe they're listening to it later and streaming it. Yeah. To give it a go. We are a drive market. Take the hour and a half. Two hours drive up, spend the day, visit gogreat.com. See what you can find to do. I challenge you to see that this area has a large welcome to it with memorable experiences regardless of your interest. And, you know, what's to say, we're not going to make that list for your next vacation spot. Yeah. Michelle Payak. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much for your time. And I really like the hardware, by the way, really cool. Thank you. Yeah, it is. For the very fortunate. Yeah, no doubt. All right, we'll take a break. Come back for more here on J. All right. Thank you. All right. Welcome back. Annie Rummel, who runs the show out here. I serve all the wonderful people you had on the broadcast today. Yeah. My job is to make sure they have everything they need all the time. Well, look, the realities are we're very appreciative of of our partnership, but this region is very, it's very easy to love. It's very easy to get behind. Thank you. Because of everything that that the hard work that you do and your team does, but I mean, it's just it's just a great place. It's just there's just so much to do, so much to see, so much to experience. And it's impossible to do it in a day or a weekend or you really need to keep come back to get the full picture. Well, what's really nice now, too, is with the cost of everything going up so high. Families are starting to question, are we going to be able to take a vacation? And our destination is close enough where we're within a one tank trip in both directions. So if you want a quick getaway for the day, there are so many activities that children can participate. Families can participate that don't cost anything to those higher-end experiences, where you do have to buy a ticket, but even the prices are still about maybe half or a third, less than what they are in some of the major metropolitan areas. So we're close, we're very nicely priced, and we love visitors. And you've got universities in the area, you've got, you know, college towns, you've got, I mean, it's just it's endless. And the experiences that are being brought here for the people that live here, right? People that even are in this area that get to experience new things, I think is spectacular. I do, too. And I love being part of it. I feel like I grew up with WJR. When I started, I was my very first radio interview was with JP McCarthy. And I've had the opportunity to be interviewed by some great people, of course, you, Paul W. Smith, I mean, just the talent that's on WJR and the partnership that you have had with us throughout the years, fabulous. And now I feel like the next generation is here to keep us and take us even further. Well, we wouldn't be able to do that without you. So we appreciate you very much. Well, thank you. Ditto. And I just say, go Lions. Go Lions. We're up here. We're a little bit away from Metro Detroit, but we're still one state united. Believe in those lions, believe in our local teams, love each other. And let's make Michigan great together. Wasn't that fun? Yeah, other night. Oh, I couldn't go to sleep. Couldn't go. No, couldn't do it too much. There's just something about that team. There's an aura around them. There's something happening. They care about one another. And they care about their coach. The coach cares about those guys. You can see it on the field. Yeah, any rumble. Thank you. Appreciate your time as always. It's good to talk with you. Good to see you. Thanks. Come on up, everybody. Enjoy Christmas. Yeah, no doubt. Thanksgiving, of course. Thanksgiving is a shopping the whole deal. That's right. No doubt. All right. Thank you, Annie. Appreciate you. All right, Steve Courtney. Hello. Nice to talk with you this afternoon. Nice to chat with you, Chris. Always a pleasure to hear from any rumble as well. What a great lady. This chat, Mr. Brought to you by the hardworking men and women at Bill Brown Ford. You know, my good friend, Matt Garco. And of course, his team, they are doing wonderful things for you each and every day. Drive with the champions at Bill Brown Ford. Shop their TrueView inventory at billbrownford.com today. You know, Chris, as we've been discussing the Pistons playing an improved brand of ball. Let's go under first year head coach, JB Bickerstaff. There are four and seven. As a matter of fact, they'll be hosting the four and five Miami Heat tonight. That gets underway at seven o'clock. Yesterday, they got some much anticipated news. Asar Thompson, officially has been cleared to resume full five on five basketball activity after his rookie season was unfortunately shut down due to blood clots. He has missed 11 games so far this season for the Pistons eight months since his last game appearance that on March 9th. He set out the final 19 games last season as we're having this chat, Chris, not really known how long the period of time will be before Asar is able to hit the floor and make his 2024 25 day view. He's only 21 years of age. He had to go through it a little bit. He had to clear the NBA's fitness to play panel, which consists of three physicians, one appointed by the NBA, one appointed by the NBA and one approved by both parties who determine if it's safe for a player dealing with a life-threatening medical situation to return to basketball. And it's very serious, obviously, but the news good for Asar Thompson. He averaged 8.8 points in 63 games. Last season, that included 38 starts, 6.4 boards and 1.9 assists in 25.1 minutes per game. So can't wait to see his triumphant return. And I mentioned, Chris, the Pistons right now, four and seven, their last two losses have been by a combined three points. So let's keep her going. I'm playing good hoops, they're playing good hoops. That's what you can ask for from a young team. And I do have a I do have a quick question for you as we just take a quick look at what we've got going on the blowtorch a little bit later on. Tom Isil and the Michigan State Spartans, they are in Atlanta participating in the state farm champions classic. Who did they draw tonight? That would be number one overall Kansas. And here's a question for you, sir. How was Hunter Dickinson still playing college basketball? I have he's got to be 56 years old, right? Idea. I have not a clue. Not a clue. Dude, look, look, you're barking up the wrong tree. You know how I feel about all this stuff. It's wild man. You know, I know everybody got an extra year because of COVID, but all right, we're a few years removed from that right now. And this dude just keeps playing. It's unbelievable. Hey, you got thoughts on that? You're well, he's a year young for the professional shuffleboard team. So he has to do something issue, right? Yeah. Well, he's too old to be drafted into the NBA. So he's gonna have to find a profession somewhere else. What years is from seven or eight? It's not seven. It's got to be six. Got to be seven. It's got to be high six for crying out loud. Yeah, it's got to be sick, which is ridiculous. It's too much. He might have played a couple of years prior under an assumed name. I mean, yeah, we don't know. He had the he had the glasses with the attached mustache underneath the floor. Yeah. Let me ask you this. We were talking a little bit about the lions. And yesterday, obviously, a big win against the Texans. But one of the underrated parts of that game that we hadn't hit on is Sederius Smith and the sidelines. Lions came to week off. He but he didn't take the week off. I mean, he was on the sidelines coaching that defensive line. That's a mentality that you just that you just love to see on a guy who's never even played a snap for this team yet. He was fit right in. There's no, right? He's a great guy, but I think we're making a little too much of the game two days off. They told him to come back Friday. He came back Friday. What's he going to do for the weekend? Of course, he got to go with the team because there was a chance he might have played. So let's not give him the the Medal of Honor yet. Okay? I'm not talking about a lot. I'll say he's a game. He's like, supposed to be there. He gets paid. He's their Friday. He was their Saturday. He was a chance. He was going to play Sunday. They stopped it at the last minute, but it wasn't like they told him, you're not playing at all, but come with us and coach. So let's let's not give him the silver medal already. Okay? Hey, Kenny. Hey, Kenny, correct me if I'm wrong, but James Houston had a sack and a QB hit, didn't he? Well, the only sack was on his uniform. Good God. I don't think the sack was the way he wanted. We're okay. All right. The statue fellas will see tomorrow. Have a good one. That's going to do it for us. Thank you to the good folks at the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. So go great.com, have a good one.
November 12, 2024 ~ JR Afternoon with Chris Renwick On this episode: Chris is at Birch Run Premium Outlets for the beginning of Deal Hunters Weekend!