Brennen Roberts pulls up a stool for another round at Bub’s Pub—starting with shout-outs (including a loving tribute to sticky-bar floors). The guys break down the Bears’ draft with equal parts optimism and exasperation, detour into the strange gray area of prediction markets (investing… or just gambling with a spreadsheet?), and then crank the dial up with some politics chatter designed to get the group chat humming. From there it’s a fast, fun zig-zag through baseball vibes—especially a Cubs run that feels borderline magical despite the injury list—plus a Route 66 centennial road-trip daydream, and a couple “you can’t make this up” headlines to close out the tab.

• Bears Draft Therapy Session: who they picked, what they didn’t, and why “the board made me do it” is not a valid excuse.
• Prediction markets, explained: when “I’m investing” starts sounding a lot like “I’m sweating.”
• Sorsby saga update: the college-football story that keeps getting wilder.
• Cubs corner: hot bats, elite defense, and the bullpen juggling act—plus a nod to the legendary Lee Elia rant.
• Route 66 turns 100: Chicago-to–Santa Monica nostalgia with some fun trivia sprinkled in.
• Draft segment: classic cars you’d actually bid on (and ones you’d only admire from a safe distance).
• Crazy Politics Talk: Chicago mayoral race, bad policies in New York and Seattle, and California craziness
• Odd news to-go: Delta drama and a “WKRP is real?” moment to send you out smiling.

We welcome back Scott Presley and Troy Hillman for an episode that covered the NFL Draft, Illini hoops, sports gambling weirdness, and two heavy true-crime cases—then somehow ended with a baby born on a plane, which is exactly the conversational arc you’d expect after “just one drink” at a neighborhood bar. Scott arrived with BBQ-draft-level convictions, and the guys played armchair coordinator on Illinois’ roster before turning to the Bears’ picks and league-wide draft chaos; from there they dove into how betting and prediction markets keep evolving, then handled the Gilgo Beach and Allison Feldman discussions with the seriousness they deserve, including the long timelines and investigative/legal twists. And the feel-good flight birth story that made the safety briefing sound like it needed an extra line: tray tables up, seat belts fastened, and congratulations, it’s a girl.

• Troy Hillman & Scott catch up
• Illinois Basketball returning their core
• NFL Draft recap and review
• NCAA gambling issues
• DOJ scandal with the Polymarket
• Is the Polymarket investing or betting?
• DRAFT: Best University of Illinois bars/restaurants
• The Gilgo Beach Murders
• The Scottsdale Allison Feldman case
• Baby on Board!

Dan Drews welcomes back Brennen Roberts for a one-year anniversary episode of Bub’s Pub—which means it’s time to get sentimental, revisit the 2025 NFL Draft preview, and remind everyone (again) that one of them “nailed several picks”… just sayin’. The guys tackle a modern tragedy: the affordability of live sports. It’s back to business in Champaign as they size up Illinois basketball’s huge returning core and newcomers, before going full draft-nerd with the Bears’ picks, why safety is screaming “need,” and a seven-round mock that will definitely age perfectly. Plus: Brennen’s quick-hit reactions to the week’s sports headlines, “term of the week” so you can casually drop pied-à-terre at your next function, and a truly absurd weird story that proves the only thing more unpredictable than the draft is a guy in a bear suit trying to commit insurance fraud.

• Affordability of live sporting events
• Illini Basketball getting the band back together
• 2026 NFL Draft Preview
• WNBA relationship drama
• Bulls and White Sox updates
• DRAFT: Best live sporting events bucket list
• New York creates ANOTHER bad policy
• SpaceX deal to buy AI startup Cursor
• Gilgo Beach killer teaser for next week
• Giga-Chad? (and other crazy trends)
• Bear suit luxury car scam for insurance fraud

Episode summary: Dan Drews brings on first-time guest Gavin Drews (aka the guy you text when the Blackhawks make you sad again) and they kick things off with a quick life check-in and some wedding-planning updates. From there it’s golf talk: why Gavin finally caved and got lessons, what’s clicking so far, and which part of the game is currently bullying him the most. Dan then does a Masters recap featuring Rory McIlroy going back-to-back at Augusta (green jacket: still undefeated). The main course is a full Blackhawks season autopsy—where the rebuild’s at, how injuries and thin depth turned things into a grind, and what the team’s got to nail this offseason. They wrap with some agri-business + real-world AI-for-farmers talk, a first-time homebuyer “what is even happening” moment, and finish on a weird-story cherry on top: Busch Light Apple (“Bapple”) is back, baby.

• Wedding planning process
• Golf Lessons for a beginner
• The Masters wrap up
• Chicago Blackhawks autopsy and outlook
• BBQ Tips from a student of the game
• DRAFT: Best foods on the grill or smoker
• Anthropic holds back new "too powerful" AI model
• Agri-business hot topics and news
• First time home buyer blues
• Bapple Is Back Baby!

Welcome back to Bub’s Pub! Brennen Roberts is bellied up to the bar discussing some of these hot topics…

• The Masters is underway & Rory is hot
• Autopsy of the Illini basketball season
• POTUS steps in to manage the NCAA
• The Chicago Bulls are a mess
• Department of Justice VS. the NFL
• The "Home Team Act" proposal for pro sports teams
• A baseball record breaking story from Scott Presley
• DRAFT: Best Easter Candy!
• New York Governor changes her tune
• Elon Musk's plans are out of this world!
• Some pets are not OK

Brennen Roberts is back in the co-pilot seat as we break down everything from the historic run by Illini basketball in the NCAA tournament to outer space!

• Florida vacation adventures
• Illini basketball in the Final Four!
• Chicago Cubs season preview
• White Sox season preview
• MLB Lockout is looming
• "Can we agree...?"
• DRAFT: Best space movies
• "Hail Mary" movie review
• Artemis II mission back to the moon
• SpaceX reportedly plans for an IPO
• Weird story of the week

Super sister Stephanie joins the Bub’s Pub Podcast to discuss Sanibel, Soldier Field, Soccer, and being a Super Teacher in today’s environment!

• Getting to Sanibel and travel tips
• A toast to Chuck Norris who passed away at 86
• Illini basketball makes the sweet 16
• A Hail Mary for Soldier Field?
• Soccer fandom at the Premier League
• DRAFT: Best beach adjacent movies
• Being a teacher today
• 2 crazy headlines of the week

50th Episode celebration!!! Josh Bartzen, Tim Orfritz, and Brennen Roberts all join in for our first 4-person episode! We look back on the first 49 shows while still covering the news of today. Thanks to everyone who has listened and laughed with us along the way!

• Brennen's AI deep dive research of Bub's Pub
• Patrick’s Day insights
• NFL free agency and updates
• World Baseball Classic
• NCAA Basketball Tournament
• DRAFT of the best DRAFTS!
• Texas couple convicted of $5M home remodeling scam
• Punch the Monkey
• Anthropic vs. The Dept. of War - counter point
• Tim and Jodi need to enter this competition!