Palms and Playoffs

Bishop Wall, Fr. Burke, and Mike Sweeney make early baseball predictions, compare March Madness brackets, and examine the importance of Palm Sunday.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

No cafe, we begin again. Welcome everyone to episode 25 of Ertol Alto, our faith in on the field of podcast combining faith in sports. My name is Father Burke Masters, Catholic Chaplain for the Chicago Cubs and pastor of St. Isaac Jokes Church in Hinsdale, Illinois.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

I'm Bishop James Wall and the Bishop of the Diocese of Gallup, located in the states of Arizona and New Mexico.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

And Mike Sweeney, husband, father of six, and Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame baseball player.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Good to be with you, brothers, again. And uh let's begin in prayer and then we'll dig into some sports. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the joyful example of your servant, St. Pierre Giorgio Frasati. Pierre Giorgio never tired of striving boldly to go higher and deeper in faith, prayer, and love. He cherish your presence in his family, friends, the mountains he loved to climb, the poor he visited, and especially in the Holy Eucharist. May we too go toward the heights of our Catholic faith and by example bring others to your church through Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen. So uh we are recording on Sunday, March 22nd, a little earlier than we normally do, just because of our schedule. So we're uh not quite to the suite 16. Well, there's a few more teams that'll be uh joining in. So we want to cover the our brackets, and uh we've had some people write in who they're they're picking in their brackets. We have uh opening day for baseball coming up uh this week, and then we're gonna dig into the readings for Palm Sunday, so the holiest of weeks. So it's an amazing time of year. So uh as as we stand right now, um uh at the time of recording, Bishop Wall and I are just we're tied for first, and we're one point ahead of Mike. So it's uh we're neck and neck. As I look at the three brackets, they're pretty close. Uh so Mike and I picked Duke to win it all, and Bishop Wall picked Arizona.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

I think what is I was gonna pick Arizona knowing Bishop you would pick them. What's your max points? What's your max points?

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Uh that's the truth. Say it on here.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

You mean the type of usually it's a no, it tells you you know how many you have, and then your max, the max that you can get. That's always a good little thing to look at.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Yeah, as I as I look at it, uh Mike has all of his uh Elite Eight are still live. Um I have one that's out already. I picked Vanderbilt to go to the Elite Eight, and Bishop Wall, you picked BYU. So I would imagine Mike's probably ahead of us. If he gets if all of his Elite Eight win uh this coming week, he might move ahead of us.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

But Father Burke, we gotta take into account that doesn't happen.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

We have to take into account a couple months ago, Bishop Wall was 16-0 back earlier in the season. So even if we take a little bit of a lead, we're we're still way behind. He's still beating us.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

Yeah, we're like, all right, running a mile and I'm a lap ahead of you guys.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

I uh I was getting my heart's with Arizona, but I knew Bishop Wall would pick Arizona, so I picked somebody different, and then Mike and I, we both picked Duke. So yeah, same. Um maybe I should have picked uh Michigan to have three different ones, but we had uh we had some.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

So you and I, Father Burke, you and I can max out at 176, and Mike can uh his max points is um 179. Yep. So he's so he's got three more. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

So uh what do you guys think so far? Any any surprises, uh uh great games that you saw?

SPEAKER_02 4:08

You know that um high point was yeah, I was hoping High Point would win last night. I I couldn't wait, I couldn't wait that long, but they were they were hanging in there all the way to the fourth, second half. Um uh they that was a close that was a close game. I was hoping um I saw I heard somebody talking about that school, and it's supposed to be a really good school in North Carolina, and it has the highest job placement like within six months of any university in the United States.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

So I'm sure after their I'm sure after their run in the uh NCAA March Madness, they're gonna their enrollment's gonna go up. That was that was quite a run. I'm sure they're pretty low on the NIL money too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Big time.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

That's what's it was fun to watch them knock off these these these teams that probably had, you know, they committed a lot of NIL money. It was fun to fun to watch those guys do that.

SPEAKER_03 5:08

I was uh as as we're inner as we're doing this um episode, just down the street, about 20 miles from here, um at San Diego State University, they're hosting um some games, and uh Kansas is playing, so uh we're all rooting for Kansas, and I'm hoping that they could kind of start butting heads with the big boys getting into the uh Suite 16 then Elite Eight.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Yeah, it's a big game with uh St.

SPEAKER_03 5:34

John's.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Yeah, they they uh we've got some of our buddies, Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Conley. They're they're both KU grads. Can somebody explain to me why it's a University of Kansas, but they call it KU? I don't know. I asked them all that. Archbishop Coakley and have walked you know 11, 1,150 miles on the Camino together. He can't answer that question for me. I think I have to go there and they let you they let you in on the secret.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

I think Kentucky beat him the UK, right?

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Maybe people across the pond beat him there, the UK. I like it. Being an Illinois uh resident, uh, I've been surprised that you know I don't watch a lot of college basketball during the season. Um, you know, it's so I'm so into football and and then spring training, but uh Illinois is they're they're pretty darn good. They've got a few Eastern European guys that they've recruited and they can really play. Um so they've got Houston, I guess, and Houston kind of embarrassed him a few years ago in the tournament. So uh that should be a really good matchup.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

Yeah, they've got that that their point guard played at U of A first couple years. He's a transfer there. Boswell, he's really good. Yeah, very good. He's a he built like a tank, too.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

Yeah, it's good. Yeah, something I've observed in in baseball, truly over the last maybe 10 years, maybe 15 years, Major League Baseball has become a world sport. You know, it was known as uh America's pastime. And it's really neat to see, you know, football is still an American sport, but basketball, you're getting a ton of Eastern European uh players coming in. Now they're doing they're dominating at the collegiate level and then in the NBA, but also Africa. There's a lot of kids from like the Conga coming over and playing here, and it's really neat to see basketball becoming a world sport as well as well, and and we're seeing it on display here at March Madness.

unknown 7:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

Well, you know, uh Tommy Lloyd, who's Arizona's coach, he used to be the assistant coach at Gonzaga, and he was the guy that was the big recruiter uh for the the foreign-born players, and now he's he's brought that down to Arizona, and he yeah, they've got a got a lot of foreign-born players playing doing really well. But he was he was one of the first guys, not the I'm sure he wasn't the only one doing, but he was he was kind of famous for that at Gonzaga.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

It's also been fun to see Nebraska not only win their first NCAA tournament basketball game, but two to make it to the Sweet 16. And Fred Hoyberg, I learned just recently, used to live here in Hinsdale when he was coaching the Bulls. And uh, so some of our parishioners know him well to say he's a great man. Um, and to see his son, who you know is probably smaller than you know most guys at that level, but boy, just shortest guy. He was the shortest guy on the court, plays his heart out and had a big part in their win against uh Vanderbilt, which is an amazing, it was a great game last night. Yeah, it was a great game.

SPEAKER_02 8:42

They call him the mayor. That's his nickname, the mayor. Who's that? He's uh uh Hoyberg, he's a great coach. Did you guys see how loud the gym was?

SPEAKER_03 8:51

That place how many decibels it was like a hundred and 117 decibels when Nebraska made the run at the end to go ahead of Vanderbilt, and that place is rocking.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Yeah. Bishop Wall and I were FaceTiming watching the game, and uh you know, he said we were talking about the world coming to an end. So we have uh Indiana Basketball School winning the football championship, and now we have Nebraska, a football school on their way, you know, to maybe a great run in the NCAA basketball tournament. So the world is upside down. Yeah. I have some family members with roots in uh Nebraska, so they're over the moon watching them play. Um, so it's fun to see some of these new teams make it to get there with the some of the blue blood blue bloods as we talk about Kansas and Arizona and Duke and Michigan, some of the favorites.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

Yeah, I think I I don't I don't know how much, I don't know if he's out for the whole tournament. I hope he's not. But the forward uh for Iowa State, it's really good. I think Jefferson. Yeah, and uh I think he his ankle or something, he went down at the beginning of the first game. But he's he's a phenomenal player. He's like one of these guys that leads his team in every statistic, you know, every category. And uh I know that they won today, so I'm I'm hoping that he makes it back. He's a fun player to watch, one of these guys that just does everything.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

It's it's for me, it's kind of a fun time of the year because the kids usually have like their own pool. We have a pool within our family, and the Sweeney family rule is uh whatever kid picks the winningest bracket, whoever gets the most points, they get they get to pick any restaurant within our drive, and we go have a family dinner and they get a pick out whatever we get. So the kids are pumped. And I think last year your godson, little Ryan Burke, made it and won it. So it's it's quite a fun thing. The kids were hooting and hollering last night. Donovan and little Ryan, they were both cheering away, and it was just so much fun. It's really lively.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

I'm sure, I'm sure Donovan is dialed in with all the statistics.

SPEAKER_03 11:04

Yeah, he knows all the I should have had Donovan fill in for me here the first 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Yeah. Yeah, we have one that for my staff, and uh right now Janine, my assistant, uh, is leading, and and she would be the first to say, you know, she doesn't know a lot about basketball, but uh she'll pick by the the mascot or the the colors. So sometimes it's uh that's that's the best way to go about these uh these these brackets. So makes it fun. Yeah, we ask our our listeners to to chime in. We we had a few um Alice Gerainville uh throughout Illinois, so uh my home state here. Uh D Ulsta picked Michigan, Abby McLeod, uh the Jayhawks who are playing right now as we're uh recording, and then Kelly Hallbuck uh wrote in the Badgers loss. So uh that was that was probably the biggest uh they they lost uh um high point, right? First round. Yeah. I talked to somebody yesterday. They had Wisconsin go into the final four. I thought, oh, that hurts. Uh big time. Yeah. So our final four, uh Mike has Duke, Arizona, Florida, and Michigan with Duke winning. Uh Bishop Wall has Duke, Arizona, Iowa State, and Houston with Arizona winning. And I have Duke, Arizona, Michigan, and Houston with Duke winning. So we all have a little bit different final four. So uh it's gonna be fun. I'm sure there's probably a majority of brackets out there that have Duke and Arizona in the championship game. I'm guessing that's the highest picked combo.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Yeah, I saw last night somebody it flashed on the screen. They said that there were only four perfect brackets left. Still, huh? Only four. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 13:04

And three of those three of those four students go to high point, or they went to high point. Yeah, probably before they lost.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

I I picked them in a couple of my brackets only because a 12 seed always beats a five seed, and I just randomly picked them. It wasn't any skill or anything. Uh, but then I picked other upsets that didn't didn't pan out.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

So um Hey, what do you what do you think, Bishop Wall and Father Burke? We uh we add a little spice to the um brackets, and next time we're together, whoever gets the highest points, they get a they get a pickout dinner. The best place to go. Sounds like a pound. Sounds good. All right. And then and then the the one that finishes third uh takes the bill.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

There you go.

SPEAKER_03 13:48

Deal sounds good.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Deal.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Deal. It should be fun. We're not sure when the next time will be. I don't know if uh yeah. Hopefully get together sometime during the year before our retreat in the in November. That'd be awesome. So yeah, keep keep putting out your uh comments in the comment section. Uh we're gonna be watching this closely. So yeah, by the time we record the next one, we'll be down to the final four, probably. So uh and we'll have a pretty good view on where we stand, see if there's been any any upsets by then. So hopefully you're you're winning your brackets out there, and it's it should be a uh a lot of fun and your families and and offices. Let's switch over to baseball a little bit. We've got uh opening day. I know the Cubs uh are home Thursday. We looked it up. There's one game on Wednesday, right? The Yankees and San Francisco Giants. San Francisco. That's so that's the first game of the season on Wednesday, March, would that be the 27th? Um they're they're in San Francisco for that.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

Uh in yeah, they're in San Francisco, March 25th.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

March 25th, okay. Yeah, that's right. That's uh that's like Chicago. Who knows what the weather is gonna be like in San Francisco, right?

SPEAKER_02 15:21

Yeah. And and uh what what time what time is it? Anybody know what time that game is?

SPEAKER_01 15:26

7 o'clock.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

Oh my goodness. Well, you think about all the poor people on the East Coast, you know, this is that's Pacific time. Boy, that's late. There are gonna be a lot of people calling in the next day.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

So oh, central. So it'll be eight Eastern. So it'll be five o'clock uh Pacific time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

That's late still.

SPEAKER_01 15:53

The Diamondbacks are on the road against the Dodgers on Thursday. Yeah. Tough tough way to start. How about the cubbies, father? How about the cubbies? Where they okay. The Cubs are hosting the National. So I just texted uh our buddy Trevor Williams right before we record. I said, Are you are you making the trip to Chicago? And he said yes. So love it. Um, I may go down and and celebrate mass, maybe opening day that Thursday. It's my day off, so that'd be a a good day to I I haven't been to an opening day actually in a long time. Uh I think the weather is supposed to be about 70 here in Chicago, which is fun. Cubs are gonna be good this year. Cubs are gonna be very good.

SPEAKER_03 16:35

Yeah, it's gonna be a good year for them. Yeah, the Rails are opening up in Atlanta, so that's that should be pretty cool. And I know a few weeks ago, we had uh maybe about a month ago, we had discussed the uh the amazing life of Terrence Gore, uh baseball you know, base dealer, galore. Um there's a new batting glove company called Bruce Bolt, and they were in spring training about a week and a half ago, two weeks ago, and they have the lightning bolt. It's this really cool kid from Texas. He's only about 26 years old, and he's manufactured and producing the hottest baseball gloves in the world right now. And he calls him Bruce Bolt with a lightning bolt because he said he said he always loved the movie The Natural, and you know, he loved the lightning bolt. And he said his grandpa, whose name was Bruce, uh, had gotten struck by lightning in Texas twice growing up. He always told him about this story about getting struck by lightning. And shortly after his grandpa died, this young kid was playing high school baseball and was spending 20 bucks a pair on batting gloves, and he'd hit two or three times in the cage, he'd have a hole in his gloves. So he said, you know what? I'm gonna take some thicker grade leather, I'm gonna make up brand new batting gloves, put some spice in them, some hot colors, and name them after my grandfather who had just passed away. So he has this really cool bolt, uh lightning bolt as his logo. Well, he told me a couple weeks ago in spring training that Terrence Gore was the first ever Major League player to wear his batting gloves. And um, it's really beautiful on opening day. The um Atlanta Braves and Royals, both teams that Terrence Gore won World Series with, um, they're gonna honor his wife and three children um in Atlanta. And I know Bruce Bolt, they're gonna send the kids a bunch of batting gloves because they're bringing their little league team out there, and Terrence was coaching the little league team. So really, really cool stuff. I had it for a second and then they tried to sell me something. Yeah, so it's it's it's gonna be a beautiful opening day in Atlanta, and then uh a few days later, let's see those guys. Oh, those are Bishop Wall. Aren't those hot? It keeps yeah, and they it keeps trying to sell me. I remember in that World Series back in 2014-15 with the Royals when this Bruce Bolt batting glove company was just getting going, they zoomed in on Terrence and they said, Look, he's got seven stolen bases or six stolen bases, something crazy, uh up and throughout the playoffs up until that point. And he'd never been caught and he hadn't had that bat. And they go, Why is he wearing batting gloves? And what kind of batting gloves are those are those lightning bolts on there? So it was just really cool. And then a few days later, after our opening day in Atlanta, uh back in Kansas City, uh, we are gonna honor Terrence Gore. His kids are gonna come out and throw out the first pitch, and I'll be the recipient of uh little Zane Patrick throwing out the first pitch. So spring trainings in the rearview mirror. Now we're looking forward to opening day, and it's gonna be an emotional week of baseball for me, uh, Father Burke and Bishop Wall, getting to be with the family of someone that passed away at the age of 34.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

Yeah, I know when you shared his story, uh I had several people here at the parish say that really touched them. They had no idea, you know. Um, it really moves them because they see these guys on TV, and a lot of us, you know, we don't think about the lives that these guys have off the field, you know, and the families that are with them. And so uh we love when you are able to bring a little um, you know, you know, bring those stories to life of these guys that are there's so many really good, good men out there playing the game of baseball.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

Yeah, there are, but but we are not immune to um to spiritual warfare and not immune to storms in life. And you talked about the permissive will of God this morning at Mass at your church at St. Isaac Jokes, and man, there's a lot of storms and a lot of temptations that come into the lives of ball players, and it shows why we especially need the gift of faith. And the world, the world offers you all these great comforts, but none of them fill us the way that Christ can. So it was beautiful in spring training. We were getting anywhere between maybe 17 to 25 guys every Sunday for mass, and it's really neat to see some of the guys on the team stepping up as spiritual leaders, and uh yeah, it's just it's been probably the most impactful spring training of my life. So probably I'll finish with this Father Burke and Bishop Wall. Uh, maybe about a week ago, uh, this kid comes over in camp. He was in the Major League camp last year. This year he's been in minor league camp and he's done really well. He came over to throw a game. And last year, about this time, he told me that you know he and his girlfriend were pregnant. And um, that's I think I'd shared that with you. That I told him, I said, well, you know, number one, that baby was created in love and it's that's a gift from God. And I said, number two, you know, if if you're thinking about terminating this uh life, my wife and I would love to help out and help adopt that child because that's a gift from God. Well, praise God. I I saw him a week ago and he lit up like a Christmas tree. I said, Hey, how's your little baby boy doing? He popped open, showed me his phone, and he said, He's the greatest gift that ever came into my life. I I can't believe that I thought my dad was gonna maybe disown me because I was having a baby. Um, it was gonna thwart, you know, maybe my big league dreams. And he goes, Man, it's actually made my major league dreams more possible. He said, on my glove, I wrote my baby boy's name. My mom and dad are grandparents for the first time. And he's like, Man, thanks for thanks for praying with me and being with me during that crazy time last year. Now is his little baby's like four or five months old, and praise God, they're doing great. So it is Father Burke. Um, there's a lot more than just showing up at the field at, you know, noon for a one o'clock game. These guys are getting there at seven in the morning. They're going through life, they're going through death. They have tough stuff going on in their families. And uh, when they go out and sign autographs for the kids 20 minutes before the game, the the fans see smiles on their faces. They see these big strong guys performing like supermen, like superheroes, and yet inside they're dealing with the same storms that you know us in the pews back at church and in our homes are dealing with.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

Yeah, yeah. Just because they make a lot of money doesn't take away the ups and downs of life, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Would you guys be up for making uh predictions here? Maybe uh the week of opening day, we we pick uh each of the division winners and then uh and then uh American League and National League champ and then World Series. And we'll we'll come back at the end of the season and see see how we did. I know we none of us have prepared for this. I haven't either, so I just thought, let's you up for it? We'll just do it. You you lead us off, Father Burke. Okay, so and we'll rotate who who goes first. So I'll start. So the American League League East. We have the Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays. Um, I'm gonna go with the Blue Jays. I know uh World Series uh uh runner-ups yes last year, and I don't know it's a tough division with the Yankees and Red Sox, Orioles. How about Bishop? You go second on this one. Yankees.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

Going with the Yankees. My grandpa was a Yankee fan, and uh we know a lot of people involved with the Yankees, and so I'm I'm I'm going with my heart and loyalty there, going with the Yankees.

SPEAKER_03 24:12

Yeah, and actually, I'm following the good Bishop. Um you got Garrett Cole coming back, he's healthy. They've uh Yankees have reloaded, and um, I think they're gonna be the team to beat in the East. Aaron Boone, great friend of mine, managing, leading those Yankees. Uh, I got the Yankees, the pinch tribes.

SPEAKER_01 24:29

Nice. Wish Chip Wall, you're up first. American League Central, White Sox, Guardians. I still say the uh the uh Indians, uh Tigers, Royals, and Twins. White Sox are getting better.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

Yeah, I'm gonna have to leave the post out of this one. Yeah, and I um I'm I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go with the Royals. I'm going with the Royals this year. I think the Royals are gonna be good. They had a boatload of players on the World Baseball Classic. I think they're gonna get off to uh hey Ryan, how are you?

SPEAKER_03 25:00

Hi, Bishop. Who's that?

SPEAKER_00 25:03

Bishop.

SPEAKER_03 25:04

And who's that? Hey Ryan. Ryan, Ryan, who's gonna win the World Series this year? What baseball team's gonna win the World Series?

SPEAKER_00 25:14

Um the Padres.

SPEAKER_03 25:16

Okay, the Padres.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Your God's fun town, the San Diego Padres. I'm marking it down. We'll we'll check that out at the end of the season.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

Um, I've always been known to follow a good leader, and uh Bishop Walls led me well. So uh he's not the only one. I just saw an article in MLB.com. The Royals are the picked by him to win the central. And yeah, the I was there firsthand. It's it's a team that's so talented. Uh, when they were gone and we had these young studs playing with us, even kids that have been in the big leagues for seven, eight years, it was evident that man, the guys that we have playing in place of them are some of the best on the planet at doing what they do. So yeah, I think the Royals are gonna have a special year. I got the Kansas City Royals in the central.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

I gotta go with you guys. Uh I love the uh atmosphere they built there.

SPEAKER_03 26:08

And uh, you know, Ryan, close the door. Sorry. I tried to mute it, but I don't know if it worked. It didn't. Ma, get some meatloaf.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

That was so for people who are watching, it's hard for you to get an idea of how big Ryan is at at six. He's like uh he's like Buddy the elf, right? With the uh he looks like a fifth grader in his uh in his with his class. He's in uh is it first grade or second grade? He he's in kindergarten, but he does look like a fourth or fifth grader. He's in kindergarten.

SPEAKER_03 26:49

He does look like buddy the elf, but it's it's so cute. He loves he loves going to mass and couldn't be more proud of him. I think he hopefully if if God wills it, he'll be a six foot eight Catholic priest someday. And a major league ball player, and a major league ball player.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

Yeah, all right. So now over to the uh AL West. AL West. So uh Mike, you're first. We have uh the the Athletics, the Astros, the Angels, the Mariners, and the Rangers.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

Oh the Rangers, I think the Rangers are gonna be really good, but man, uh the Mariners, after what they did, they they've really stacked some young pitching in in their stable. And what the big dumper did last year, hitting over 60 home runs a catcher. Um, I'm I'm going with the Mariners again.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

I would agree. I was uh I I did, you know how you get those pop-ups from Major League Baseball or uh and they have the top 10 pitching yesterday and top 10 lineups today. And the Mariners, I think, were in the top three in both categories. So I think they're uh I'm going with the Mariners as well. The athletics keep getting better, don't they?

SPEAKER_02 27:59

The Sacramento Athletics. Are they there this year? That's where they are. I think they're there for another year or two. Um I think I'm gonna go with the Mariners too. Yeah, yeah. I I think they're they didn't they didn't resign uh Suarez, who's I'm always a big Eugenio Suarez fan, but um I I think they're I think they're gonna be good again.

SPEAKER_01 28:24

Uh National League East, you you know who I'm picking. So we have the Braves, Marlins, Mets, Phillies, and Nationals. I I gotta go with my heart with the Phillies. Uh to be, I think it might be it wasn't the last two years after Atlanta dominated for about 15 years. So um Phillies for me. Bishop.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

If the arms can stay healthy, I'll go with the Phillies. They let did they let Suarez walk or did they sign him?

SPEAKER_01 28:52

Uh he he's with um did he sign with the Red Sox? He got he got a big contract. So yeah. So they've got Andrew Painter, the rookie, uh replacing him. So he's you know, big prospect. Hopefully he, you know, it's tough to be dominant your first year, though.

SPEAKER_03 29:13

And and I'm gonna go in the East Atlanta. Spring training doesn't mean much. In fact, I'll give you guys a funny story. There's kind of this uh rumor going around every year that the team that wins the Cactus League or the Grapefruit League title, everybody in the team wins big screen TVs. And back 20, 15 years ago it was 40 inch. Now every year it's oh, now they're gonna give out 85-inch big screen TVs to the team that wins it. The Atlanta Braves, there's something to be said, it doesn't mean anything during the season, but the Braves went 19-7 during spring training. And um they're they're a really team that prides themselves on on pitching defense, kind of like the Royals have. So um, after their hot start in Florida spring training, I'm gonna go with the uh big screen TVs and the Atlanta Braves.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

I like it. All right, Bishop. We move to the central. We've got the Cubs, Reds, Brewers, Pirates, and Cardinals.

SPEAKER_02 30:14

I'm going, I'm going Cubs. I uh I'm probably gonna be walking around a lot this year in my Cubby's hat. Cubby's hat last year at the spring training, so I'm wearing that a lot this year.

SPEAKER_03 30:25

Yeah. I'm gonna go. Um, Terry Francona's done a real good job turning the Cincinnati Reds culture around in one year time. And um this summer, my my best friend, you know, Reggie Sanders, as you guys know Reggie really well. We listen to Father Burke's devotion every morning on the way to spring training. Reggie's going into their Hall of Fame. Um, I'm gonna bet on Reggie going in the Hall of Fame, just kind of being that burst of energy to that clubhouse and team, but also Terry Francona leading the team back to their the promised land. So I got the sense of one Reggie.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

Yeah, Arizona Wildcat. Yeah, they won the they won it in 80 when he was there. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

It's gonna be a really competitive division, I think. Uh um the Brewers, even though they lose some of their top players every year, they win every year. But I think the Cubs are poised. Uh, you know, their their pitching is healthy, and they made a run in the playoffs last year, even with some guys hurt. So um, and I love Bregman added to that lineup. Uh, so I'm picking the Cubs to win the central.

SPEAKER_02 31:31

It's fun to watch Cubby fans when they're when they're winning because I they're not used to that. And so, you know, they're kind of the lovable losers, or when they're they're so it's fun to watch them when they're when they're stacked. You know, it's they're just an inner, they're an entertaining group of people to watch. They don't know what to do. They're like, wait, we we're supposed to not be very good, or we're supposed to be really good and not play well. So it'll be fun to hopefully hopefully they they uh they're able to put it all together.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

Yeah, I think they will. And uh Mike, NL West, D Backs, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, and Giants. We heard from your C the Padres.

SPEAKER_03 32:12

I've been following my leader all day, and then yeah, my son wants to cheer for the team down the road. But I watched the Dodgers all spring, and man, uh with Kyle Tucker in that lineup, it that lineup is just crazy. Uh, it's gonna be hard to for the anyone to upend the Dodgers in the West, even though you know, rooting for the team down the street and the team in the desert. Um, but I got the Dodgers in the West.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

I have to agree. If I if I had to go with my head, I would pick the Dodgers, but and I and I will. Um, but I'm gonna root for anybody, anybody playing them this year, every game. So uh so Bishop, yeah, you got your go to your height.

SPEAKER_02 32:56

Everybody's playing for second place. I think it's gonna be the Dodgers. I really do. They're just they're just loaded, absolutely loaded.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

We won't do wild card, we'll just uh pick your two World Series teams and then the champion. Um I think it's back to me. So I'm I'm gonna say um I'm gonna say the Mariners and the Phillies. I'm going with my heart instead of my head. Of course, with the Phillies winning it. I would say go with your head, but I didn't. How about Bishop?

SPEAKER_02 33:37

It was an all b all blue World Series. The Dodgers and the Royals.

SPEAKER_03 33:43

That's you know what? I who's gonna win.

SPEAKER_02 33:46

I was thinking Glen Bishop. I think the Royals are gonna upset him.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 33:53

I think so. I I I can't see them. I mean, they're they're stacked, but it's hard to go three in a row. It's hard to do two in a row, it's hard to win, but I think I think this is the year of the royals.

SPEAKER_03 34:07

And and I I had written down on my paper here Royals, Dodgers, and the Royals are gonna win it. I really feel there's something special going on in Kansas City. Uh the front office has done a really good job building with a limited budget. They don't have the same payroll as the Dodgers, but man, when you're in there day in and day out, you there's a palpable feeling of a team that's gonna play 500 ball versus a team like I saw 10 years ago go out and win the World Series. And there's uh, you know, you got Bobby Witt Jr. Uh, they just moved the fences in 10 feet, so you figure he's gonna add the, I think analytics were saying he's gonna add maybe eight to nine home runs um a year that he was jobbed of last year because the fences were so back, so far back. Vinny Pasquantino's coming off a 30 home run, 100 RBI year. Salvi at 35 years old had 36 home runs last year. Michael Garcia just signed a big deal. We we brought in some free agents. Um, and uh man, I think the Royals are gonna be playing some really good ball. You know, I think Bobby Wood Jr. will be the uh AL MVP. And and the pitching staff, I mean, we got our pitching staff is so deep that we're gonna have probably three bona fide major league baseball starters uh down in Omaha pitching, just waiting for someone to go down or someone in the blow. So the Cuerto Rican, right? Yeah, Cuerto Rican, Seth Lugo.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

Seth Lugo. He's a fun pitcher. I like watching him pitch. He's a fun pitcher to watch. Yeah, great.

SPEAKER_01 35:38

So these are made on March 22nd, 26. So we'll we'll come back uh at the end of the season and look back on these and see uh see how we did. I love them.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

Remember, I'm still 16 and oh from uh the basketball season. It's gonna carry over.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

We'll let Bishop Wall start every season 16 and oh. Well, that'll be fun, guys. We'll be we'll keep an eye on that. Let's uh let's switch gears to uh Palm Sunday coming up this week, beginning the holiest of of weeks. And uh Bishop, you want to set the stage?

SPEAKER_02 36:20

Sure. So we'll hear um there are two gospels always for Palm Sunday. The one is the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and the other one is the Passion. So some places, depending on what you have, uh you might start in the back of the church. That's a little option. I know one of my places, I'll be at San Mateo, uh, which is a tiny little parish. And um it was an old, yeah, you've been there, old, um, is it a Mexican or Spanish land grant, and tiny, tiny little place. And so we start in the back of the church, but we we do the proclamation of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where they they cried, you know, the Hosanna to the Son of David. And um, you know, they they lay the palm branches and they wave the palm branches. And one of the reasons what they attritionally do that, they do that for king, do that for priests, priest who is preparing to go to offer sacrifice. And we know that the sacrifice that Jesus is going to offer is going to be the sacrifice of his very own life. It's the perfect perfect sacrifice. And so uh some places you'll have more of an extended um uh procession. I know we'll begin in our school and we'll process over at the cathedral. So we'll have a couple different uh little flavors of that. Sometimes with the uh the early morning masses, so maybe if you don't have any music or it's a little on the quiet masses, some people call it, and um they they might they might choose the the third option or the first option, a Kemmerich one. But um having said all of that, this is where we have the the palms, and this is where we have the blessing of the palms, and so you want to make sure you get there early so you can get your palms, but you can also hear the the um procession uh into Jerusalem. You know, Jesus says, for this is a reason why he came here. So they would go up to Jerusalem, be treated cruelly, suffered to die, and rise on the third day. And so we're entering to the holiest of weeks, and um, so it's a very, very special time. And then what we'll do is within that mass, we'll have the passion. And um any frills that we normally have for the gospel at Mass are all taken away. Uh, we're gonna do that on on uh Sunday, and we're gonna hear from Matthew's gospel, and then on Passion Sunday, or on I'm sorry, Good Friday, I believe we're gonna hear from John's gospel, and um, and so um yeah, so it's a those are those are very somber uh moments, you know, where we really just kind of reflect upon this perfect act of love and which which Jesus has done for us. So that's I guess maybe that's a nice little lead-off to talk about what we're gonna do and what we're gonna go into with the scriptures.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

Yeah. And isn't it interesting in the church when we give away something, uh, you know, ashes, palms, uh people show up, you know. Um and uh, you know, I my my dream as a pastor is to help people appreciate the Eucharist, you know. Yeah, I had people come for ashes and then they would leave after getting ashes before receiving communion. Now they may not be in a state of grace to receive communion, but um gosh, we're it's a beautiful thing that they're there for ashes and poems, but to think about wow, if if I really knew this was Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, gosh, I'd be there every day. Um, and so I I've always talked about gosh, we should be giving away something every every week, like at a ballpark, we'd have Mike Sweeney Bobblehead Day and uh Bishop Wall Bobblehead Day at uh at the cathedral in Gallup, you know. Um but it's a beautiful day, and there'll be crowds coming for for the poems, but also hopefully to be. I'm gonna encourage people to take part at Holy Week. It's such uh it's a highlight of of the church uh calendar liturgically, and um holy, you know, we'll talk about it next week holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and and Easter. Um, one of the things with the readings that strikes me is the psalm. You know, we we normally sing it, uh we sing it on Palm Sunday. It's Psalm 22. My God, my God, why have you forsaken abandoned me is the uh the response. And I remember in seminary to this day, you know, that they were teaching us that at that time, you know, people, many people knew all the psalms by heart. Like they would, these were songs, just like we remember songs that we could just sing. Bishop Bishop Wall is always singing, you know, he's remembering songs from uh from the past. And uh, you know, there's something about songs that make you remember them. And so people would sing these psalms out in in the fields when they were working, and Psalm 22, you know, begins by you know this this feeling of, gosh, God, you've you've abandoned me. But is if you keep reading the psalm, it ends with, but I trust in you. And so people say, Did Jesus really feel abandoned? Probably in his humanity, he felt, you know, the the horror of the crucifixion. But at the same time, we see all along the journey, he's got his eyes on the Father and He's trusting the Father. And so I think it's a it's a beautiful thing for us to think about when we might might be thinking, gosh, God, have you abandoned me in my need? And God is he's so with us uh every step of the way. And and then as we read the the passion from the Gospel of Matthew, that sense of, you know, Jesus was so in union with the Father. You know, he set his eyes like flint on Jerusalem. I'm sure all the way to Calvary, you know, Father, this is tough, but I'm I'm trusting your will. I'm here to do your will.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

Yeah, not my will, but your will be done.

SPEAKER_01 42:41

Yeah. And I think that's so important for us as we encounter difficulties in life. You know, I hear a lot about, you know, whether people get talking about things in the church or politically, and it can really get us in a tizzy over, you know, news cycles and things. And I would say turn off the TV and the social media and go to adoration. Let's keep our, and I've got my crucifix by me, let's keep our eyes on Christ. And he leads us to the Father, and He is the God of unity. He's always bringing us together. You know, whenever we're divided, we hear families divided over politics and the church and things like that. You know, the enemy loves to divide and conquer. And Jesus says, I came so that they might be one. And that's one of the many reasons why He went to the cross was to uh unite us all and bring us to back to the Father with Him.

SPEAKER_02 43:38

When I'm lifted up, right? I'll draw Him and all men.

SPEAKER_01 43:41

Yeah, in H in His priestly prayer in John, is that John 17? You know, Father, uh, I pray that just as you and I are one, that they may be one. And you know, and and I'm gonna my my goal is to bring them all back to you. And uh yeah, so I this is such a powerful. Week for us to reflect on the love that God has for us and his desire to unite us and draw us back to uh his father and our father. Mike?

SPEAKER_03 44:12

Yeah, and and my just a few thoughts. So, you know, in spring training, you get there to the first couple weeks, you know, there's maybe no games going on. You you start getting into inter squad games and live at bats, and then you start playing other teams, and it's still the players are going out 15 minutes before the game, they're signing autographs, they're joking with the fans. But man, over the last few days of spring training, I just got home yesterday. You can just you can feel the intensity. They're they they know that the playtime is over and now it's real. And I think so much of the intensity of um starting off Lent with our ashes, and then remembering that as Christ comes into Jerusalem on the donkey for the triumphal entry, those palms, we're gonna get the palms uh given to us. Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, bishop and father, but the leftover palm branches, those are burned and then saved for almost a whole year, and then they're distributed for the ashes, correct? For Ash Wednesday. So it's a it's a beautiful cycle. But Ash Wednesday, we began a 40-day journey, kind of like spring training, where okay, yeah, we're we're trying to um instill new practices, we're prayer, you know, almsgiving, fasting. But man, when Christ comes in and we get the palm branches on Palm Sunday, this is go time. And there should be a palpable difference in our worship of Christ and and how we're living, like uh Father Burke said, turning off things and turning on Christ. Like Colossians St. Paul says that we're called to empty out and fill up, like fill up with these things of Christ, but yet we're we're called to shed the other things. And uh um the day before I left spring training, um, I went to mass at your good friend's uh church, Father Klein at St. Bernadette's in Scottsdale. And I went with Walter Pennington, former Major League player with the Royals and um Rockies, I believe. And uh and Austin Nola, who's you know, great, wonderful catcher in the big leagues. We went to Mass, we had a beautiful mass. Um, and afterwards we went to a restaurant, and in a public restaurant, there's no uh Christian affiliation. I see this sign. So I don't know if you guys can see that. There's a flag hanging right above the bathroom, and it says the words, if you want to change the world, go home and love your family. And it's by Mother Teresa, and it hit me like a ton of bricks because that was my last day in spring training, and I'm like, yeah, I am going home. And how do I love my family? It's it's unplugging on the noise and leading them to Jesus. I can't love them perfectly. I can love them pretty doggone well, but only Christ can love them perfectly. And uh, so we're doing things. We're gonna be going to adoration tonight. We're going to this thing called XLT with adoration, worship, and uh going to the sacrament of reconciliation. That's just right after we get done here. And then really we're as a family, just kind of raising the intensity. Um, I read a long time ago, and I don't know if this is accurate, but I read that at the time of Christ, when people would come back from war, they'd they would hold up palm branches as a symbol of victory. And I don't know if that's accurate, but I do know that Christ has won the victory for us. And as much as we try to do things on our own out of love for Christ, it we know that we can always, we always fall short. But man, if we really acknowledge that Christ won the victory for us, his blood shed for us entirely saves us, then our response should be a radical life in love with Jesus. And our actions, our words should follow this inner conviction, this inner love, this this um intuition or this mindset that we have, acknowledging that Christ did come to uh be victorious over death to save us. And we're called to respond to that life and live the life of a saint. So that's kind of my heart as I prepare when I think about the palm branches that we're gonna get on Sunday. It's it's it's go time. It's opening day is right around the corner, man. This is a time to really take our spiritual lives to the next um level, not just for the week ahead, but for the rest of our lives.

SPEAKER_02 48:32

Yeah, it's the it's the holiest of all weeks, and then it's going to find its culmination at uh at the Easter vigil. That's the high liturgical point of the year. Everything leads up to that. Destroy this temple, three days I will raise it up. The empty tomb is proof, and then his appearance uh for 40 days uh to his disciples. And uh yeah, I was thinking about the palm branches. I was thinking about the things we hold up, and Ignatius of Loyola talks about the two standards, right? And uh there's the standard of Christ and everything that Christ stands for, and then there's the standard of of uh of the world and the devil and everything all that stands for. And we've we've gotta we have to side with Jesus because he's the one that's victorious, he's the one that's gonna lead to eternal life. By no other name do we come to know salvation, but under that name, and uh we've we gotta we have to be all in with him. I I think I think maybe this this year to I was given a parish mission recently, and the last day it just kind of challenged everybody, said let's make this the best holy week ever. And um better than all the other ones, as great as they were, let's make this the best one one ever. And that means, you know, like you said, we're all in. We're all in with Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 49:52

Yeah. Mike, what you said uh was true with the that when a king used to win a victory, uh like a battle victory, he would come in on the biggest, strongest horse, and they would wave palm branches uh and sing to his glory. And so that's why when Jesus comes in on a donkey, you know, which is a sign of humility, uh, they have no idea that he's coming to achieve the greatest victory in the history of the world, you know, through this humble self-offering. The second reading is, you know, that he humbled himself, accepting even death, death on a cross. And so that's the uh that's the humility that he's calling us to to you know not be this this great king and look at me, but just quietly he comes into Jerusalem to subvert the enemy, you know. Yeah. Beautiful. Thank you, Father.

unknown 50:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:52

And uh the last thing I I would say is, yeah, I love that idea of you can feel the intensity going up in spring training. And uh you feel it in the church too as we go into Holy Week, you know, people are wow, this is this is real, and uh, you know, what Jesus did, you can just feel the solemnity of of everything that's going on, leading, you know, to the glory of, as Bishop said, the the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Messes, this um the glory of what God has done for us to defeat death itself.

SPEAKER_02 51:27

And these are these are the two, we're gonna have obviously the Passion on Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday, and on Good Friday. And these are the two gospels where we we have the permission of the church to be read in parts. And so if you're able to do that, really, really pour yourself into it, take part of it, because there's parts where where we're able to join into it, you know, uh crucify him, release Barabbas. It rem reminds us that why why did Jesus die? He died because of our sins, right? And so these are you know you might hear it uh proclaimed straight through, maybe by a deacon or a priest. Um I know that at the cathedral on Good Friday, um, one of our priests chants the entire gospel. It's beautiful. And um, but I know on Passion Sunday, Palm Sunday, we're gonna we'll do it in parts.

SPEAKER_01 52:22

Awesome. Yeah, they wouldn't want to hear me chanting uh for that long. Let's do Johnny OneNote. That's what you do. Johnny OneNote. Exactly. All right. Any anything else, guys, to wrap it up? I think that's a uh it should get us excited about yeah, we're getting excited about baseball and the final four, but nothing like uh Holy Week, you know. It's the Final Four, it's the World Series, it's the Super Bowl, it's the World Cup, all wrapped up times a million, you know. Yeah I I love uh one of our buddies, Jim Burke, we've talked about uh he sent us a video yesterday of this wrestler, Bishop Dino, did he win the national title?

SPEAKER_02 53:15

Oh, he did, and he was he was dominant, undefeated. Yeah, he was he was absolutely dominant. He was uh wrestler for Penn State, and uh he's got like a it gets over his eye, you can see where he got cut, and um and he usually went, he has a major decision. I don't know if he got met wrestler of the year. He probably did, but I don't know if he did or not. But yeah, that was that was something else, that interview that that interview where he was just talking about all these other things, and essentially have all these things of the world just kind of fade away, these things just kind of pass away. But he talked about the most important thing is that that relationship with God, yeah. John and we all kind of joked at the the end of it. The second he said that, then the guy didn't want to interview him anymore. I'm like, really? Yeah come on. Yeah, yeah, it was a it was a Fernando Mendoza moment, was it was what it was.

SPEAKER_01 54:13

That's right. Yeah, he kept saying, Are you gonna win the whatever the title is for the best wrestler of the, you know, that it's like the Heisman in wrestling. He's like, Yeah, that doesn't matter. That's wrestling. He said, I want to, I'm gonna give glory to God and everything I do. I'm like, wow, this this kid, he's got the honor, power, pleasure, wealth down. You know, he knows that wrestling is just a means to an end. Yeah, it was beautiful. Great witness. Josh Boy.

SPEAKER_03 54:41

Yeah, Josh Boy. And Father, I'll just say this before we go. I I know we're talking about sports, and some people will tell me, man, I really love, I really love it when you guys joke around about the sports, but man, you guys really inspire me when you talk about our your faith, our our faith. And I just want to tell our listeners, yeah, we joke around, we talk sports, but the true, the true passion of our life, um, obviously we got a bishop and a priest and an old broken down ball player, but the one thing we have in common is our love for Christ, our Catholic faith, the love of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, the sacraments, the depth and beauty of our faith. It's it's all we live for, and everything we live for is an extension of that. And um, I just want to say that we're not just cramming in the last 15 minutes of our podcast for the fun of it. It's it is the most important thing, and it really hopefully it shows to our audience.

SPEAKER_01 55:34

Amen. Yeah, the sports is just like Josh Barr was saying, is a means to an end of helping people fall in love with Jesus, right? Yeah, that's that's our goal with this. It's made may attract people who hey, I want to listen to sports, and and then wow, these guys are talking about Jesus and you know, Holy Week. And I I've already had a parishioner tell me he's he's back to church because of this podcast. And I'm like, if you're the only one that ever happens to it's it's worth it, you know. It's worth it. Yeah. Bishop, will you close us?

SPEAKER_02 56:14

Sure, be happy to. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Well, St. John Paul from the window of heaven, grant us your blessing. Bless the church you loved and served and guided, courageously leading her along the paths of the world in order to bring Jesus to everyone and everyone to Jesus. Bless the young, who your great passion help them dream again, help them look up to the heavens again, to find the light that illuminates the paths of life here on earth. May you bless each and every family. You warned of Satan's assault against this precious and indispensable divine spark that God lit on earth. Saint John Paul, with your prayer, may you protect the family and live every life that blossoms from the family. Pray for the whole world, which is still marked by tensions, wars, and injustice. You oppose war by invoking dialogue and planting the seeds of love. Pray for us so that we may be tireless sowers of peace. O Saint John Paul, from heaven's window, where we see you beside Mary, send God's blessing down upon us all. Amen. Amen. The Lord be with you, and with your spirit. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_01 57:37

Amen. Thanks, Bishop and Mike, and good to see you again, Ryan. Everyone, please continue to put your comments in there and we'll respond to those. And uh please like, subscribe, and share this podcast with anyone that you think may be helpful for them. And as St. Pierre Giorgio Frasati reminds us, the higher we go, the better we shall hear the voice of Christ. Keep striving Verso Alto with your faith and pursuits. And until next time, God bless you. And Ryan Burke, love to mom. This is Sweeney. Ryan, any last words? What do you want to say to Father Burke and Bishop Wall?

SPEAKER_00 58:14

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 58:15

Thank you. See ya, buddy. Have a good, good, good night.