Marty Griffin Show Hour 1: The importance of teachers! Downtown: the mayhem continues!

Las Vegas was built for stars. And on August 22nd, two of boxing's biggest take center stage. Raleigh Romero never follows the script. This is my game. Tio Fimo Lopez has never needed one. This guy's got a big mouth. For years, they've had plenty to say. All your do is tall. But with world championship gold on the line, can they back it? Tio, I'm here. I'm going all in. It's time to put up or shut up. Raleigh Romero versus Tiofimo Lopez. August 22nd. I'll shut you up. Watch on Dazone, and Dazone on Prime. Video. Nerds! Today's episode is sponsored by NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast. Personal finance can feel like a pop quiz you didn't study for. This podcast is your study guide. On NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast, you'll hear from trusted journalists who explain the why behind major financial decisions. You'll get research-backed insights and clear pros and cons, whether you're planning a big purchase or just want to grow your wealth. Make your next financial move with confidence. Follow NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast on your favorite podcast app. Did you know that there are over 200 legends like Andrew Jay Jones, Albert Pooholz, Felix Hernandez, and Ken Griffey Jr. in MLB the Show 26. Collect them all and current All-Stars to build your perfect lineup. MLB, the Show 26, is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS, and Nintendo Switch. Rated E for everyone. Officially licensed by MLB Players, Inc.

Friday. I'm with one of my boys. Well, it used to be one of my boys. He's too rich and famous now and too skinny, so he doesn't return my text. But he was one of my boys. But you look good, sir. Mr. Bassey. Hello, Marty. Mr. Icon. That's pretty funny. I do return your text. No, you don't. You want to go through them? No, I actually return. one and then 500 more come. Oh, wow. So it's pretty hard to respond to everyone. Here's why I love Basie. If he needs you, he's in your, you know what. If he doesn't, he's a ghost. Well, one of my, we go weigh the blank back. Do we not, sir? We do, Marty. And together, because I love him, because he can't say no. We have helped so many people. It's just in your DNA, isn't it? You know, people ask that question all the time. I don't know. I do. I imagine. Because you had. I mean, you just asked me a question. Am I satisfied? I'm never satisfied. But you were, you were poor growing up. I wasn't poor. You weren't rich. We weren't rich. We weren't poor. But you like. Up in Monho. Right, Don Monho. And so you like having the ability to make the difference in people's lives. that you couldn't then, right? You know, and yes, and there's a lot of different roads to this end result, I think. One of them is, and I might have said this, you know, sometimes my answer is even different. It depends on what I remember. Yeah, yeah. What I remember when I was a long time ago, and I was the Director of Entertainment and Special Events for Caesars. Yep, yep. Right? You know that story? Of course. And I would sit next to, at the Baccarat table, an ex-NFL owner. Yeah. And would watch. millions of dollars of chips in front of him. And my first thought was, I mean, do you realize what you could do with that? Do you realize how many communities you could help? You could build a city with that 10 million in front of you. And that really opened up my eyes and thought, you know, if I ever have the opportunity to do that, it's what I'm going to do. Heavy is the head, brother, where's the crown? I don't know about the crown, but it really, it just opened my eyes, and that was one of the things that took me down this road. And, you know, we also say, if you have the ability, then you have the responsibility. And that's a pillow, you know, that's on a couch pillow. It's actually fascinating, something as rudimentary as a backpack. A lot of kids can't afford them. They end up torn, beat up. dirty, nasty backpacks. And so once again, you're filling a void. Is that why you particularly chose the backpack to make this event so important, sir? I mean, we chose backpacks. Bubba, I was looking for Bubba and Melanie, we chose them because we and our kids, first of all, the first thing I'll say is you realize 33%.

of the students in our area, 33% are not equipped. They do not have the tools. I believe. I'm believing, brother. 33%. And there's a probability of success for those children. Josh, help me. What is the percentage of kids that succeed? because of that they have the proper tools. Josh, introduce yourself, Bass. I just took over. Josh? Hey, thanks for having me. Thank you. So my name is Josh Whiteside. I'm the executive director over at the Education Partnership. And what I said earlier was... It goes from a zero number chance of success to a non-zero number chance of success. If you can get a child who's not showing up at school because they didn't have the clothes or the food or the snacks. Now you get them into school, let alone get them the supplies that they need to then actually advance in school. Dare I say enjoy school, that child's chance of success is exponentially higher than what it would have been without. Yeah, it's crayons and markers, but it's anything that that kid needs. And it's the 33% of our students do not. Las Vegas was built for stars. And on August 22nd, two of boxing's biggest take center stage. Ralei Romero never follows the script. This is my game. Tio Fimo Lopez has never needed one. This guy's got a big mouth. For years, they've had plenty to say. All you do is tall. But with world championship gold on the line, can they back it? Tio, I'm here. I'm going all in. It's time to put up or shut up. Raleigh Romero versus Tiofimo Lopez. August 22nd. I'll shut you up. Watch on DeZone, and DeZone on Prime. Video. Nerds! Today's episode is sponsored by NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast. Ever Google a money question and end up 12 tabs deep with 12 different answers? This podcast is your shortcut back to clarity. NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast breaks down financial decisions with a team of trusted journalists. They explain the why behind decisions like investing, home buying, and choosing credit cards with clear research-backed insights. No jargon, no misinformation. Make your next financial move with confidence. Follow NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast on your favorite podcast app. Did you know that there are over 200 legends like Andrew Jay Jones, Albert Pooholz, Felix Hernandez, and Ken Griffey Jr. in MLB the Show 26. Collect them all and current All-Stars to build your perfect lineup. MLB, the Show 26, is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS, and Nintendo Switch. Rated E for everyone. Officially licensed by MLB Players, Inc.

Hey, it's Marty. We're live in Westford. I apologize, folks. We're having some issues. It happens. We're live at Schultz Ford. I'm here with Richard Basie, who's actually one of my favorite people on Earth we've been friends for. We're getting old brother. It's been almost 20 years. We've been hanging out, right? We've done some great things together, Marty. Can't hear him. We've done some great things, Marty, together. Basie has never said no. It's sometimes, and I'm not disparaging the fact that people need help, but sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming because so many people see that you're so kind, so they want more. It's tough sometimes to kind of sort of say no, right? Because it's endless. It's, I got to tell you, I get a lot of emails every day. Yep. And you and I talked about this a long time ago. We have many times, yeah. And because you get a great number, I get a great number. And a lot of times I'll just park that email. because i'm not really sure how to respond to it yeah and then i think well i can't do everything and then i parked that email and at the end of the week i come back and look at all the emails i've gotten and think okay there's an extra 10 people here i have to do something i might not do what they want i might not give them a free car yeah yeah but i'm going to do something um i wanted to grab josh again whiteside josh whiteside education partnership yeah my man um This is a portion of the need, but we have to look at it a bigger picture. There is much more attention has to be paid to attention in the kids that are suffering, right? To education. Absolutely. And you know, a lot of the work that we do at the education partnership actually focuses on and hinges on... the success of the educators, the teachers in those classrooms, are the linchpin for that student being successful. So whether that classroom has the best rugs and light fixtures and paper and chrome books, doesn't matter if you don't have a great teacher. That's the difference maker. And if that teacher has relationships with their students and they understand the things that they need in the classroom or otherwise, Or they believe in that kid or they at least can talk to that kid because they show up and they can figure out that they are into journaling or art. Like that is what makes the difference. And teachers are a dying profession. Oh, I love them. They are a profession in danger. As society, we devalued them over the last 20 years. And if we can get great teachers back in the classroom, teaching with all of the resources they need, and not saying you have to go buy your own desk chair, you have to buy your own Lysol wipes, you've got to buy your own this. No, no, you give them those things and let them teach. Not be crisis mitigators, not be social service workers. We ask them to do that. Let them teach. Hey, Basie, what are the rules that you use to pick something like this? Like what makes you decide on backpacks, sir? I don't have rules. Come on, man. What are we doing?

No? I don't have rules, Marty. The backpacks, I think, we talked about that, I think, right? Yeah. And the evolution of the backpacks and how it was born in the fact that we, our own children, get new backpacks every year. And it's like a new model. The next year they want the new model. And so some of those backpacks were not being fully used. took them and said, let's take these backpacks and let's collect them and donate them. We met Josh from the Education Partnership and it just continued to grow. But the one thing I want to talk about to your teachers, yeah, I mean giving them and having the kids have all the right tools. But I'll tell you, I think that kid's success, and it's not social services, I get it, but is someone taking an interest in that kid. Whether it's... So true. And whether it's a pencil, a book bag, a backpack, no matter what it is, that kid's life can change because somebody cares. Now, you can't find that. very often to somebody really deeply cares. Right on. If you do, that child's probability of success and define success any way you want, whether it's growing up and happily married and 3.2 kids in a white picket fence or president of a company. Whatever success is looks like to them, they have a better chance of achieving that if they've peppered themselves along the way with people who care. And it's back to the relationships. Richard, you hit the nail on the head. This is somebody that I admire a lot in the education space who has given me a lot of good advice and who has provided a lot of support through their role. I said, what is the thing? What's the thing that you could fix? You see funding and philanthropy from a different vantage point. They said, one caring adult. There you go. If every kid has one caring adult, their chance of success. It is unbelievable. It really is. And just take it the way we live our lives. I mean, if we connect with somebody. And no matter what it is, we connect with somebody. That relationship flourishes. And we connect with somebody because we have the ability to communicate. We care. And when you care, and people don't care what you know until they know that you care. Right? And it just changes the world. Then add on the backpacks, then add on the pencils and all that. But if I care about you and I say, Marty. I know you're, I know, I think you're having a hard time. Tell me about it. What's that look like? How can I help? Well, you can help. Okay, well, tell me about your life, right? And then you continue to develop and get into that relationship with that kid or that adult. And that's the people you end up listening to trusting and respecting.

At the end of the day, it takes a lot more than a backpack, but this is a hell of a place to start, brother. It does. It does, but boy, this is fun, and it's unbelievable to watch. I'm watching cars go in and out of here, and it's just unbelievable. We set the goal of 10,000 because I wanted 10,000 to be that number that was like an oh my God number. Like people say, well, my goodness, how did you come up with the number 10,000? Right. Was better than 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000? Right. And I wanted to really wake everybody up to say, wow, we thought we were doing a great job when we got 1,000. Then we thought we were doing a great job when we got 2,000. And I went in and blew that up. I just said, no, we aren't doing a great job. I'm going to tell you, I made a lot of people mad at this radio station because I said, You're failing. We're not doing a good job. Well, that hurt people's feelings. And you know what? They're the same people today. They go, boy, I'm so glad we set that 10,000 backpack. Oh, it's wonderful, ma'am. Yeah. I mean, it's a fact. Basie has never said no. buying trucks for a cancer-ridden state trooper. Marty, that's how, that's one of the things we did. That's how we met. Yeah, that's how we met. And that was pretty cool, but we did that. Then we did the car that was in pieces down here. Remember that? Yep. You helped this little girl who has since passed, and her mother. I can't even talk about that. And then your turkeys. Richard Bassey, you're my man, brother. I love this event. Josh, we're going to be friends, man. I love. Oh, he's. He's brilliant. He's brilliant. And he cares. He gives a damn. Thanks, guys. Thanks, Mark. We're live. We're right back. We're live at Joe Ford. A hell of an event. Basie and Bubba. Unbelievable commitment to education and children. dispersing 10,000 backpacks. It's a movement. It's a moment. It's a beautiful thing. And I admire and respect to hell out of the commitment and the compassion and the willingness to do it. Something I've spent a lot of time on is downtown Pittsburgh. And the men and women that own businesses in downtown Pittsburgh that have had enough with downtown Pittsburgh. And until you try to thrive, and or survive in downtown Pittsburgh right now as a business owner. You have no frigging idea. Really cool jazz club that I went through several times with my wife. So desperate to stay open, insanely good food, insanely good music, vagrants, homelessness, drug addicts, criminals ruining their business. They've had to go to... Facebook to try and keep the doors open. It is that difficult to thrive and survive in the arts district. For a man who works his tail off, man, all he wants to do is survive in the arts district. My friend, sit on. How are you, sir? How are you? How are you?

This is a ridiculous scenario for you, isn't it? Just trying to get by in downtown Pittsburgh right now. Are you there, sir? Yes, I'm here. Tell me about this video. Tell me what happened and how frustrating it is to try and manage a business in downtown Pittsburgh. Hey, Marty. So that happened is Tuesday. The guy came and still took charge and left. We called 911, what we have to do. He didn't run after him. So nothing happened. Next day, he came and checked out the place again. I see the guy and then I call 911. I tell him, hey, the guy who already stole my teacher, he's checking in again, and you're going to come again, do the same thing again. And then finally they send a cup over. He'll low walk rates, like, forthcoming, but already I pointed it. The cop went, and five minutes later, the guy show up again, they're looking at my window to do the same action. So I called them again, and they say, oh, he has a right to walk around. He has a right to walk around, but who's going to give you? the protection of my business. So he's still my money. I need my money. I have the right to ask my money back. And I don't want him to do it again. And since that, I haven't heard anything. And guys still are walking around, looking at my window. And I can now leave my cash register to go to the preps through my own works. It's unbelievable. Tell folks the name of your business. Sultan, Donald Bakhtawa. And it's fantastic food. It's fantastic service. And he does it with commitment, dedication, and love. But the situation downtown has made it exceedingly difficult for you to survive, hasn't it, sir? I don't know what to do. I don't know what is the next step. And I don't, I have a hope why we had a new mayor, things are going to change. But it's not going farther. The population of homeless in our area keep increasing. And I understand if they need a mental help, that's not going to get that help in the street. And we're not going to keep up with it. So you have on video, folks, and it's on our social. This guy walks in, steals your tip jar, and walks out. You have him on tape. You call the cops, say he's right here. Do they come and arrest him, sir? No, nobody came. No one came. Nope. It has to be very difficult for you to think, why am I here, right? Why am I here? You know, the question is, who's supposed to be protect us? Who's going to protect my door? Who's going to protect my employee? I have a dining people that time in my shop. They don't have to see those kinds of crimes happening in front of them. They come to enjoy their dinner or lunch. And I want to be just...

Cook them, serve them, leave them happy with great food, great experience. In his restaurants on 6th Street, right in the heart of the arts district, you had to take your chairs inside because folks are trying to eat lunch outside and they were being harassed by the homeless and the mentally ill and the drug addicts, right? Exactly. I don't set my tables out there anymore because either I have to keep the all day homeless out to my tables or they're just going to keep out to my customers money or bother them. Do you feel as if the new mayor has made any difference? It sounds like no. I, that's what I was hoping. But nothing. Nothing changed. On that area. And did they come by and ask for your video and then go and arrest this guy that you have on tape stealing money from your store? Do they ask for the video and go arrest him? So what I did, I had a phone call report from a police officer. I upload the images there to the police officers. I haven't heard anything yet and the guy still around. Nothing. Nothing. And this was Tuesday. Now we are on Friday. So five days, four days past, nothing going on. Nothing happened. And the guy is still around wandering in front of your business? Definitely. At some point, sir, do you say about it? Nothing. And if you confront him, he could hurt you. The guy, he's walking front of my shop, looking at my place. Go. bother the other people. And I know he's still my money and I can't do nothing. It's unbelievable. How long can you hang in there before you say enough is enough? I'm out. So my goal is keep serving my food because my client, my customers love our products. And I'm going to try my best to stay here as much I can. And I have still hope. And I know there's a lot of good people there. And I'm sure if the mayor hears us, he's going to do action. I know it. Hopefully he hears us. I'm going to send these video clips to the mayor himself and your address to the mayor himself. And let me tell you this, he does care. And we're going to make a difference. And I'm going to stop by there and interview on video. Is that okay as well? Absolutely. That's what I, if he knows, I'm sure he's going to do action. Give the address to your business again. So if they're listening, they can stop by and arrest this guy. Please give us the address. 133, 6th Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 1522 downtown. In the name of the business? In the name of the business? Tom. Sultan Donnell and Baklava. By the way, the food is amazing. The service is amazing. My friend, thank you. We're going to help you. We're all in, all right? Thank you, Marty. I appreciate it. All right, my man. We'll be right back, folks. We're live at Schultz Ford. With half of the...

Bubba and Basie combo. Hi, Bubba. How are you, Marty? You've been wrestling? Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be wrestling at Pittsburgh Brewing and Creighton, just big comedy festival and wrestling show, Bulk Nasty, Bubba the Bulldog, taking on the presidents for the IWC Tag Team Championship. Sure, I knew all that. We're getting our belts back from those dastardly presidents. Yeah, I've been worried about your belt. Yeah, my belts. What's your wife? Tag team belts. What's your poor wife and your wonderful kids? What do they think about daddy's like 105 years old and he's wrestling? Proud of me. No, they're not. They are so proud of me. They're so proud of me that you have no idea. Just they are, they're overwhelmed. They're proud that you're a wrestler. They're proud of, getting your ass kicked. They're proud to see me get superplex off the top of a cage. I love that you do it. It's so frigging cool. I, because I've interviewed wrestlers that are jacked up forever. Yes. Do you worry about that? My body's a wreck. Oh, is it? Oh, my God, my body's a wreck. I've got, I'm trying to find a video to share with you. Just so you can get a ball. This is just a, this is me getting my, watch this. That's me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was two months ago. And, and what, he literally kicks the, he kicks the. Oh. But no, watch what he does. He kicks my face off right now. He will literally kick my face off right there. Oh, he sure did. And then, but watch what he does mean. So this is the abuse that my body takes. Now, I'm still in that corner. Boom. Wow. Look, and one more, watch them drop me right on my head. Watch them drop me on my head right there. The people listening can't see any of that. I know, but you can see it do play by play. Will you send that to me so that I can send it? Yeah. Yeah, I need the audience to see that you've lost your mind. I have lost my mind, Marty. But, but. Yes. I love this what you're doing here, ma'am. Yeah, this is really unbelievable. This is our 12th year, Bazzie and Bubba's Backpack Brigade. Richard laid down the gauntlet this year. Yeah, I heard he got. He's at 10,000 backpacks or bust. Someone said he got ornery. Richard? Richard got ornery? He got angry. I'm just happy he showed up. He was supposed to be here at 7.30. He showed up at 8 o'clock. Sure. I was like, wow, thanks for gracing us with your presence. And how many of this year? 10,000 is the goal. And you know what? Here's what I'm finding interesting this year. So in prior years, we get people to show up with two and three backpacks, which by the way is great. Yeah, yeah, of course. But this year, we've had people showing up. I got 400. I got 600. I've got 700. That's just unbelievable. I mean, the level of commitment to, we had one boy, 19 years old, Nathan. He's been doing this since he was 11 years old. dropped over 700 backpacks today. Took him over an hour to unload his van. It's unbelievable, man. Yep, a 19-year-old young man. To get a young boy and that motivated brother. Unbelievable. This is a blessing. You know, with the education partnership, the one thing that we do talk about with them all the time in Josh Whiteside is literally the fact that one backpack would change a person's life.

I mean, if you get to give a young person a backpack and school supplies and they're prepared for school, their GPA will go up. And for every point in GPA, Their ability to get a job goes up as well. And that's what we're doing. I mean, because the times are tough, man. The world's a rough place right now. Well, especially in the areas you're discussing in terms of cost and being able to provide. Have you seen the price of backpacks recently? Let's say you take three of your kids to dicks to buy them tennis shoes. You leave there with $600 bill. It's crazy. It's crazy. It really is. And backpacks are $11. It's crazy. And then we have people that are showing up a 700 of them. That's beautiful, brother. Right? And I just love everything about this. This is one of my favorite days of the year. Bobby, you're my ma'am. I appreciate you. He's one of my favorite people. I love you, Marty. Of all time. My wife really loves him. And Melanie. Yeah. She's great. She's doing a show next to us. I'm going to go back to her. We'll be right back. Girl, let's get real. Some pads are just diapers with a good PR team. but not the new Kotex BioCare. That's because Kotex BioCare helps defend against odor and irritants. And it's the first and only pad with this pH-proactive system that helps optimize the pad's pH. Just think of it as self-care for down there. Check out Kotex.com for more details on the all-new Kotex completely redesigned to meet your needs. You asked, we heard. Las Vegas was built for stars. And on August 22nd, two of boxing's biggest take center stage. Raleigh Romero never follows the script. This is my game. Tio Fimo Lopez has never needed one. This guy's got a big mouth. For years, they've had plenty to say. All you do is tall. But with world championship gold on the line, can they back it? Tio, I'm here. I'm going all in. It's time to put up or shut up. Raleighamero versus Tiofimo Lopez. August 22nd. I'll shut you up. Watch on DeZone and DeZone on Prime. Video. Nerds! Today's episode is sponsored by NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast. Ever Google a money question and end up 12 tabs deep with 12 different answers? This podcast is your shortcut back to clarity. NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast breaks down financial decisions with a team of trusted journalists. They explain the why behind decisions like investing, home buying, and choosing credit cards with clear research-backed insights. No jargon, no misinformation. Make your next financial move with confidence. Follow NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast on your favorite podcast app. Did you know that there are over 200 legends like Andrew Jay Jones, Albert Pooholz, Felix Hernandez, and Ken Griffey Jr. in MLB the Show 26. Collect them all and current All-Stars to build your perfect lineup. MLB, the Show 26, is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS, and Nintendo Switch. Rated E for everyone. Officially licensed by MLB Players, Inc.

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