Bub’s Pub Podcast

In this episode of Bub’s Pub, Dan and Brennen basically do what every great neighborhood hangout promises: bounce from fish tales to football chaos to Illinois politics without ever spilling the drink. They swap stories from a Sheboygan fishing trip, then dive headfirst into the Bears’ never-ending stadium soap opera, where everyone seems to have a plan except maybe the Bears. From there, it’s a full sports-bar sampler platter—blockbuster NFL trades, college sports curveballs, softball flamethrowers, and a Chris Weinke-style career plot twist that somehow got even weirder. Toss in a sponsor read, a draft of fish-themed movies, a budget debate with plenty of side-eye, and a wedding scheduling decision that deserves its own trophy for terrible timing, and you’ve got an episode that feels like equal parts sports talk, local gossip, and “how did we get here?” energy.

In this episode, Dan and Brennen do what any respectable barstool philosophers would do: check in on reunion recovery, wonder if the Cubs have misplaced their bats (and possibly their souls), and take a lap through the latest Bears stadium soap opera. Along the way, they mix in college baseball chatter, Illini updates, a wild look at the "Enhanced Games," a history-making racing adventure, Elon-sized ambition, and just enough politics and budget talk to keep everybody pretending this is still a serious operation. In other words, it’s the usual Bub’s Pub blend of sports, headlines, opinions, and friendly chaos—best enjoyed with a drink in hand and zero expectation of staying on one topic for too long.

Rob Phillips is our guest this week! This episode of Bub’s Pub is a little bit sports bar, a little bit travel show, and a whole lot of good-natured chaos. Dan and Brennen bounce from the emotional roller coaster of Cubs and White Sox baseball to some bold crystal-ball predictions for Indiana football, with the usual mix of hometown optimism, mild disbelief, and friendly ribbing. The real world tour begins when Rob Phillips stops by to talk about his life in Colombia, sharing stories and observations that make the conversation feel like a front-row seat to life abroad—just with more laughs and fewer airport delays. Toss in a few oddball headlines and the crew does what they do best: make every topic sound like something worth discussing over a cold drink.

We welcome Carl Franco, Aurora's 5th Ward Alderman to Bub's Pub this week!  This episode is a little bit of everything in the best possible way: Bulls lottery luck, Bears contract mysteries, draft dreams, road trip debates, local politics, cybercrime chaos, and even a free-pizza oddball story for dessert. Dan and Brennen bounce from sports takes to city issues to wonderfully weird headlines, with plenty of friendly banter mixed in. In short, it’s the kind of show that feels like hanging out at the neighborhood bar with two guys who came prepared with stats, opinions, and at least one tangent you never saw coming.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!