Tiger Woods DUI, TMZ vs Congress, Alan Ritchson fight, UConn's epic buzzer beater & moon launch | Ep. 63

Conner Jones: [00:00:06] Hi, I’m Conner Jones.

Micah Tomasella: [00:00:08] I’m Micah Tomasella.

Conner Jones: [00:00:09] And this is Culture Brief, a Denison Forum podcast where we navigate the constant stream of top stories and news, politics, sports, pop culture, technology, and we do it all from a Christian perspective. And Micah, I just got a breaking news alert that the Dallas Cowboys have traded Dak Prescott to the Arizona Cardinals.

Micah Tomasella: [00:00:24] It’s a good thing I remembered it’s April Fool’s Day. Dude, I did it out.

Conner Jones: [00:00:27] The silence.

Micah Tomasella: [00:00:28] He just like looked at me like…

Conner Jones: [00:00:30] For who?

Micah Tomasella: [00:00:31] For who? Yeah, it’s that’s good. I mean, did you just come up with that in the moment?

Conner Jones: [00:00:35] Yeah, well, like right before I hit the record button, I was like, I got to think of something to throw you off here on April Fool’s Day.

Micah Tomasella: [00:00:42] Well, what’s interesting about that is you didn’t say what we were getting back, but also you picked the Arizona Cardinals and I was like, I don’t think there’s anybody on that team I’d want like over Dak. And I’m not even, I’m not even like the biggest Dak Prescott fan. Like I do, I do love Dak, but he hasn’t been successful in the playoffs and so that’s how he should be judged. But anyway, go Cowboys.

Conner Jones: [00:01:03] I thought of the Cardinals because they they need a quarterback. So I was like, they they could make a trade, you know.

Micah Tomasella: [00:01:08] But I don’t know what we would get. So we are we are recording on Wednesday, April 1st, April Fools. This episode will be released on Thursday, April 2nd. So April Fools will be old news at that point. That would actually be a fun thing is please send us in to our email and to our DMs, maybe one of your greatest April Fools jokes recently or a long time ago, a prank you played or something that was played on you and let us know about that.

Conner Jones: [01:35] Yeah, I would love that. Micah, what else? I think we got a loaded week, right? There’s so much that’s happening, so we’re going to cover a lot. What are we talking about today?

Micah Tomasella: [01:41] Yeah, we’re talking about Alan Ritchson. We’re talking about March Madness. We’re talking about the Artemis Moon launch. We’re talking about TMZ Congress picks. We’re talking about Gary Woodland and Tiger Woods and so much more. So let’s jump into the brief.

Conner Jones: [01:54] The brief.

Micah Tomasella: [01:57] Again, we apologize for that short-sighted joke that Connor made there that delayed us a little bit. So here’s the first thing that we’re going to talk about, all right? We’re going to talk about Alan Ritchson. Connor, do you know who Alan Ritchson is?

Conner Jones: [02:11] Of course. You can’t miss him. Just a walking giant of a human.

Micah Tomasella: [02:14] Starring in Reacher. Absolute unit. So Alan Ritchson’s best known for playing Jack Reacher in the hit series, Reacher. So, so he went viral this week after a video surfaced of him riding through his neighborhood on motorcycles. So he’s on a normal sized motorcycle and his kids, I think it’s his two sons, are behind him on smaller motorbikes. And the video shows him throwing punches at his neighbor. It blew up. It was everywhere. So the first video that came out was from a neighbor filming from a second story. And then, look, it it seemed like Alan Ritchson had some sort of recording device on his helmet. And so then that recording released a couple days later, which gave even more clarity. And part of why people cared is because they weren’t just reacting to an actor in a neighborhood fight, although that is not everyday news. They were reacting to the idea of Reacher in a neighborhood fight. Right? Like this guy, I mean, just look him up. Just I mean, truly, it’s about as big as a human being can get. And he plays Jack Reacher who is just the most skilled, like take you out in 10 seconds. And so because of who this guy on screen is, is basically unstoppable. He’s calm, he’s controlled, he’s highly skilled in the show, right? And so the kind of character who ends up in a fight, um, and then, you know, as I said, it ends in three seconds. And so here’s what actually happened, right? So Ritchson was riding his motorbike with his kids in the neighborhood when the neighbor confronted him about speed and noise. The neighbor stepped into the street, blocked him and looked like kind of shoved him and Alan Ritchson, Reacher, fell off his bike. That’s when things escalated and turned physical, all right? Police reviewed the video and witness accounts and ruled it self-defense and no charges were filed, right? But basically, the neighbor steps in front, kind of shoves him, he falls off the bike in front of his kids. Reacher then, Alan Ritchson then kind of throws a few punches at him, tells him to stay down. And so Alan Ritchson a couple days later, he posted on social media and he said, um, he didn’t say anything publicly other than this, never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake. Which was interesting because it’s like, is he is he admitting that he was making a mistake by by being loud in his neighborhood and like riding motorcycles? But either way, you know, the context is him and his neighbor, I guess were enemies in that situation and he was interrupted while he was or was not making a mistake and then it ended up in that guy getting beat up, but maybe not as bad as people would have expected. Connor, what what were your initial reactions to all this when it came out and who’s in the right here?

Conner Jones: [04:55] I don’t know who’s in the right. I mean, well, I I I do know this. The neighbor who came out and stopped him on his bike, it was kind of dangerous how he stopped him as he was moving. Could have easily caused a bigger accident involving his kids. I think that’s why Ritchson was so mad, but it’s just the irony of like, man, you’re going to pick a fight with the one guy who the the whole nation knows is this massive human being and a fighter. And do you remember in the 2000s, there was the Jack Reacher movies that came out with Tom Cruise?

Micah Tomasella: [05:20] Of course.

Conner Jones: [05:21] And they were good movies, but the idea of Tom Cruise being like, you know, he’s known for being short and that was kind of always the the the dig at him being the Reacher character. So when Amazon started the show Reacher, they were like, we got to find the exact opposite of Tom Cruise. And they found this dude. And they found the perfect guy. They found this dude who’s just a He’s the giant. Perfect for the role. He could play Goliath in like a David and Goliath thing. Yeah. You know, that kind of that kind of guy. And this neighbor’s like, let me let me choose that guy to pick a fight with. And they’re like tussling, man. They’re like punching and tussling on the ground. It’s crazy. And his kids are just sitting on their bikes watching like, yeah, dad, take him out.

Micah Tomasella: [05:56] I know. And like, so like even though, even though like Alan Ritchson looks the part and plays it well, this it was just it struck me like this wasn’t a choreographed scene like we’re used to see him in, seeing him in. It was a it was like a very real moment where he was with his kids, where he felt threatened in some way, whatever it might be. I think cooler heads could have prevailed in that situation, but I mean, I kind of go back and forth there on exactly how that should have been handled. Okay, so that’s that’s the first thing that kind of happened. I just wanted to cover that. The second thing I want to talk about is March Madness. All right, so March Madness has been going on and we’re down to the final four now, Connor Jones. We’re through the Elite 8. The final four tips this weekend and the national championship is early next week. One of the biggest reasons people are still talking about this tournament and talking about it even more is what Yukon just did to Duke, my brother. So Yukon was down 19 in this game, looked finished for long stretches and then freshman, a freshman, guy by the name of Braylon Mullins hit a 35 foot buzzer beater to win it 73 to 72. Duke had the ball, Yukon stole it with about 10 seconds left, dribbled, dribbled, 0.3 seconds on the clock is left after he nails that shot. Duke doesn’t have time to get another shot off and Yukon wins. It was like a one of the greatest moments in March Madness history, honestly.

Conner Jones: [07:22] Definitely.

Micah Tomasella: [07:23] And a 35 foot buzzer beater is like close to half court, by the way. Well, well beyond the three-point line, just for reference. But what made it even harder for Yukon fans is the is the history behind it, but also I think it made it more beautiful for the Yukon fans because it felt like, I don’t know, like justice. So a lot of people immediately thought back to 1992 when, uh, because there’s a lot of history behind this, when Duke’s Christian Laettner hit that famous game winner against Yukon, a shot that became one of the most defining moments, like the greatest buzzer beater in March Madness history. Well, that was in 1992. Duke did it to Yukon and then now in 2026, the second greatest or maybe even the greatest buzzer beater in March Madness history, Yukon then did it to Duke. How poetic is that? So it wasn’t it wasn’t just like a dramatic win. For a lot of people, it felt like a full circle moment of like justice. And that’s what makes March Madness different, right? Is like, I know that players are getting paid these days, but there is a a special passion that people have for colleges and for their schools that they attended. And just the you’re talking about generations because I mean like Duke and Yukon are very storied universities, very prestigious. Think about the generations of people that are being raised to be Yukon and Duke fans and like how much this means to them. And that moment, it just kind of all crescendoed. So it’s not just a game itself, it’s the way one shot, that one shot carries years of history with it and it turns this sour thing into something sweet.

Conner Jones: [09:01] Yeah, that’s pretty cool. March Madness, man, it just continues to prove every year that it is actually madness and there’s always some unique moment like this or a Cinderella story that the whole country can be like, holy cow, what just happened type of situations. And it’s so fun to watch. Mind blowing. Mind blowing stuff and Braylon Mullins, freshman, I don’t know if he’s got an NBA career ahead of him. Chances are, that’s the other thing about this is a lot of these guys like this is their moment. This is the pinnacle of where they will go in their basketball career. He might be selling insurance in 10 years, but he will always remember this moment, right?

Micah Tomasella: [09:31] And he will have no issue selling insurance, especially if he stays in the state of Connecticut. You hear me? He’ll never have to pay for a drink or food again as long as he stays in Connecticut. Like this guy is a hero.

Conner Jones: [09:42] Yeah, his company can be buzzer beater insurance or something like that. You know, like everyone will know. Everyone will know in the state of Connecticut or they’ll know his name, Braylon Mullins.

Micah Tomasella: [09:52] Well, I mean, he would have to be an insurance broker, right? Because unless he’s going to start his own insurance company itself, he’d have to be a broker that then sells multiple insurances, but maybe I’m getting into the weeds.

Conner Jones: [10:02] Yeah, maybe. I mean, you and I right before we hopped on here, we’re talking about setting up S-corps. So, you know, we can get all into the into the weeds here if we really need to.

Micah Tomasella: [10:10] That’s true. That’s funny. Okay. All right. So I want to talk about the Artemis moon launch here for a second. So they’re supposed to take off at some point today. So NASA is sending a crew of four astronauts to travel farther than any astronauts have ever traveled before towards the moon. It’s a 10-day mission. So that should be happening. Something really hasn’t happened like this in like 50 years. So it’s kind of surprising because you know, we think about the moon landing and honestly, I think about whenever I think about the moon landing, I think about the conspiracy theories of all the people who believe that the moon landing didn’t happen. I was just it’s just like you get around a group of people that maybe you don’t get around very much, like this past weekend. And I’m telling you, that’s like a top three thing that’s going to come up. There’s going to be a debate about the moon landing or somebody’s going to say the earth is flat. Like, I don’t know. Anyway, I digress on that. There’s this very cool mission that astronauts could potentially be traveling farther than they ever have. And so we’ll see how that turns out. Any thoughts on that, Connor?

Conner Jones: [11:07] Yeah, I mean, by the time y’all are listening to this, we’ll know if they’re up in space, assuming the weather goes well tonight after we record and everything, they should be launched and hopefully they are safe and God speed to them, man. It takes bravery and courage to get on a spaceship and just go up to space, but then to go that far away from Earth. Totally. It’s not for me, but I’m glad somebody else is doing it. And I think what’s going to be unique is to see the images that they take from the spaceship and the the the seeing the back side of the moon will be so cool. Uh and it’s been seen before and Apollo 13, they went around the moon as well and did the slingshot in order to rescue their ship. If you’ve ever seen that movie, you’ll get an idea of what happened there. But yeah, man, these astronauts, they’re going to be on in for like just a trip of a lifetime, but ultimately, yeah, this paves the way I think for moon landings here in the next few years. That’s going to be what’s really cool is when we get more astronauts on the surface of the moon.

Micah Tomasella: [11:53] I think some people are going to say it’s fake, no matter what, but definitely. We’ll see what happens. Okay, the last thing I want to talk about and really I’m just going to set Connor up to talk more about this because he’s been all over this and it’s actually been really funny to see. But I’m going to talk about TMZ and Congress, all right? So TMZ, they’re kind of the premier celebrity news organization, right? Like if there’s ever a breaking video of like a domestic dispute, we talked about um, what was that girl’s name? Taylor Frankie Paul from the Bachelorette. TMZ was the one that got the video and released it. They have a knack for finding the hidden secret videos, all right? And they have a show every day and a newsroom every day just reporting on celebrity news. So TMZ has turned this Department of Homeland Security funding fight into a straight-up optics story. So the biggest example so far, I mean, there’s been multiple examples, but like I’m thinking about Senator Lindsey Graham was spotted at Disney World during the shutdown. So he was able to travel when everybody else was having a hard time traveling during spring break because Congress is refusing to fund DHS. Side note, Trump signed an executive order, TSA is getting paid, but there are still parts under the Department of Homeland Security that are still not getting paid. And then on the Democratic side, Rep. Robert Garcia also got pulled into it. He was on a trip. So basically TMZ is saying this, if go and find these congressmen, congresswomen, out in the wild. If they’re traveling, if they’re somewhere internationally, if they’re on some sort of a vacation, snap a photo and send it to us. And so this is why the story is landing, right? Is it’s not really about somebody going to Scotland or Disney World or or wherever or one member of Congress being seen in public, it’s about perception. When it seems like they’re kind of sitting on their hands and not doing anything, Congress congressional approval by the American public is at an all-time low. They’re taking these trips, enjoying themselves when a lot of other people are suffering because they’re refusing to fund the government fully. And so all these federal workers are caught in the middle, people are having a hard time traveling. So that’s what TMZ understands. They’re not just posting photos, they’re they’re feeding into this public frustration that says if regular people are dealing with the consequences of this mess, lawmakers should not get to move around like nothing’s happening. And in this environment, right, it’s like everything Congress is doing is under a microscope. And to be completely honest, in the way I feel about it, good. What about you?

Conner Jones: [14:23] Yeah, I feel the same way. What’s funny is TMZ is like always been known as the, and they still are known as the like slimy tabloid that will pay for leaks, will pay for sources to send them stuff. That’s how they are able to find out deaths of celebrities before even family members know. That’s why they, you know, they announced Kobe’s death to the world before Kobe’s wife was even aware that he died in a helicopter crash, which is slimy. It’s icky. But they’re on a little bit of a redemption tour this year. They’ve been at the, you know, the pinnacle of the Nancy Guthrie case. They’ve been at the pinnacle of the Taylor Frankie Paul situation with the Bachelorette. And then this week, yeah, they announced this whole effort and they basically said we’re going to also open up a DC office. We’re coming for Congress now. We’re going to start trying to like cover all the gossip that’s going on in DC. And I saw a tweet this morning, I think I sent it to you, Micah, that said some Hill staffers, people that are on staffs of Congress members are trying to prep their senators and their congressmen for this situation, say, hey, you got to be on the lookout. TMZ’s here now. Like Hollywood people know how to deal with this and how to hide from TMZ. We’re going to have to learn this too because they are trying to expose the the hypocrisy of Congress here. Yeah, these people are all on vacation. They caught Robert Garcia at a poker table in Vegas. Meanwhile, the government is still partially shut down. And then the Lindsey Graham one is the one that really has irked a lot of people because not only is he at Disney World while people are, you know, while TSA was not getting fully funded and still isn’t. Yeah, Trump signed the executive order to pay them, but travel is going to get worse if there’s not another paycheck that follows up. But beyond that, Lindsey Graham has been the foremost spokesperson in Congress for the war in Iran. And so he’s all about sending troops overseas and everything, but he’s going to Disney World. And the pictures, dude, he’s dressed like a senator at Disney World. Like who goes to Disney World in loafers and slacks and a button down shirt?

Micah Tomasella: [16:04] I’m pretty sure that’s like, I’m pretty sure he sleeps in that too, right?

Conner Jones: [16:08] He probably does. And then the best part is the picture like he’s holding this like Disney Princess cup. So the next day his staff posted on his Twitter a picture of him like out at a shooting range trying to make him look a little more like, you know, masculine and tough because the day before he was, he’s at the, he’s got this princess cup, he’s at Disney World. Yeah, it just doesn’t look great. And I I don’t love TMZ. I think they do, like I said, a lot of really dirty things, but this is them stepping out and saying, hey, Americans, we’re going to try to help. We’re going to recruit you to help us and then we’re going to try to help you call out Congress who is being hypocritical and traveling and going to Scotland. Yeah, there’s a whole group of congressmen together in Scotland that somebody took a picture of. They’re all over there on a trip together. It’s like, come home, solve the problems here and open the government back up. Please fund DHS. We are in war. We need a Department of Homeland Security. Like this is ridiculous.

Micah Tomasella: [16:58] Yeah, I mean, I think like all like all jokes aside, I I agree with you that this probably isn’t the highest form of accountability, but it is a form of accountability and that’s why I’m for it. Yeah. Right? Like it’s this, you know, it’s it’s just this concept of like, we elect these members to represent our best interests. And we’ve talked about this a lot. At a certain point, you spend enough time in DC, you spend enough time in Hollywood, you know, all the examples, right? You just kind of become, you just start to stay there, you kind of become indoctrinated by it and you forget that the district in Iowa you represent even exists, that the struggles that they’re dealing with even exist, right? And so I’m for this because it’s a level of accountability that I think could potentially light a fire under people, especially as we’re heading into midterms here in the fall. I think that this is actually pretty good timing and hopefully it helps with getting things done. But anyway, that’s it for me, Connor.

Conner Jones: [17:55] Yeah, cool. Um, something else that’s happened this week. We’ve obviously all seen that Tiger Woods was in another car accident. Yeah. He was arrested. I’m going to hit on that here in a minute, but before I get to that, I want to mention a guy named Gary Woodland. Micah, you know who Gary Woodland is, but I’m sure a lot of people don’t. If you’re in the, if you’re a golf fan, you’re in the golf world, you know that name. Nonetheless, it’s worth hearing his story real fast and I’m going to juxtapose it to Tiger Woods’ story because they’re on completely different paths here. Um, but Gary Woodland is a professional golfer. He’s won the US Open. He won it in 2019. He’s won a few other tournaments as well. He’s never been world number one or anything. He’s not Scotty Sheffler or Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson level, but he’s good. Um, and he in 2023 had his life flipped upside down when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was pressing on the part of his brain that is in control of fear and anxiety. And it was causing him appetite loss. It was starting to cause him memory loss when he started taking medications for it. And so him and his wife decided the best course of action was to actually go under the knife and have it removed. And he did that. He had a procedure before he did that, understanding the riskiness of the procedure, he actually wrote letters to his family, his children and his wife, in case he did pass away during the surgery. He talked about that on the Netflix show, Full Swing, a show Micah and I both love. And he just, you know, he described the emotional elements of writing a letter to your family believing you may pass away. Thankfully, he survived. And four months, he recovered and was back on the golf course, but it has been a journey. 2024, 2025, really hard seasons for him and he’s talked about that and he has opened up about how much of a mental struggle he still has. And then this past month at the Players Championship, he sat down for an interview and explained he’s still suffering from PTSD from parts of the tumor that could not be removed that are still pressing on that piece of his brain that caused the fear and anxiety. Uh, he is, he’s got, he’s got issues being out on the course with crowds. He’s constantly at fear. He used to live in complete fear that he was going to die because of this tumor pressing on that part of his brain. But now he’s moving forward and he’s starting to open up and he’s realized being vulnerable has opened up the opportunity for him to discuss and start talking to veterans who have PTSD, find ways forward, talk to the PGA about extra security, extra space and all of that. And he’s just explained basically going public has lifted this thousand pound weight off of his chest. All that to say, that led up to this past weekend. He goes to the Houston Open, a pretty big golf tournament in the PGA world, and he wins. And it’s just this beautiful moment of redemption. His wife comes and rushes out to him after he gets that last ball in the hole on 18 on Sunday afternoon. It’s just this moment of like, here’s a guy who has gone through a journey, a journey of healing and trying to get better and now he’s trying to be vulnerable and open up. And I just kind of want to read this statement that he said afterwards to ESPN. He said, I appreciate that the love and support, but inside I feel like I’m dying and I feel like I’m living a lie. I want to live my dreams and be successful out here, but I want to help people too. I realize now I’ve got to help myself first. All that to say, I think that is a sentiment that Tiger Woods should take into consideration. As you know, um, golf fans, if you are a golf fan, you’ve been waiting for Tiger to come back. This man has been through tons of surgeries, has been through multiple car accidents. His body is basically half metal at this point. It is broken and he consistently goes through rehab. He tore his ACL again, or not ACL, his Achilles last year just playing golf. I mean, he’s been always in the, yeah, probably last decade or so working towards coming back to the golf course. He did win the Masters in 2019, but since then, he has been trying to get his body back in shape so he can play. And he’s played it here and there, handful of times over the last five years. But everybody’s waiting to see if he’s going to come back and play at the Masters next week. Uh, and a lot of people are excited to see him try to make that, uh, recovery and make it to the course. He went and played on an indoor simulator last week that was televised on ESPN. A nearly a million people tuned in for that just to see Tiger Woods swing the ball at a screen. That tells you how important it is to see him back on the golf course. That was on Tuesday. By Friday,

Micah Tomasella: [21:57] Widely known, just to clarify for people who aren’t big sports fans. I mean, there’s there’s a debate, but widely known as the greatest golfer ever. You know, like this, I mean, the most championships, the most wins. I mean, just a like a like an unbelievable run, you know, and he’s just captivated golf fans for for years and years. And we all as golf fans, like want him to come back, want him to be healthy. You know, it’s it’s sad to see him like this right now.

Conner Jones: [22:22] Yeah, it’s I’ve compared him before and I actually I wrote an article on this and we’ll link it in the show notes diving more into this Tiger Wood saga and things he needs to do and uh ways we can take this spiritually and I’ll get into a little bit of that here in a minute. But you can liken Tiger Woods to like a Michael Jordan or a Tom Brady. But really more so like Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan’s popularity and stardom took the NBA to new heights in the 90s. Tiger did that for golf in the 2000s and just introduced the sport to a a much wider audience and so many people are into golf now, play golf, watch golf because of Tiger’s influence on the game because he was so great. And so it’s really sad to see him not be so great anymore. And a lot of that is because of his own moral failures, including driving recklessly. Uh he was arrested this past Saturday after or sorry, Friday after he rolled his vehicle when he clipped another truck and he was arrested for driving under the influence. Um police found him to be impaired. They found two hydrocodone pills in his pocket. They said his eyes were glassy, glazed over. He was lethargic, stumbling around. And he did take a breathalyzer test, blew a 0.000. So he was not, it was not alcohol impairment. This was drug impairment. Um and it’s been widely known for a while that he may have an addiction to painkillers. And so there’s a lot to take with that. This is not his first accident. He’s had four accidents in the last uh four single vehicle accidents in the last 16 years, which is insane. In 2009, he crashed his car in his neighbor’s yard into a fire hydrant. And that was after his then wife was kind of like chasing him out of the house because she just found out he was cheating on her with multiple women in that. That accident then led into the big moral public scandal of his cheating scandal with so many women around the world. And that was a big fall for grace, fall from grace for Tiger in the world. And then in 2017, he was found behind the wheel of another vehicle, asleep and impaired. Uh the vehicle was parked. He was arrested for DUI at that time as well. He played he pleaded guilty and he did a short stint in a clinic for help after that. And then in 2021, Micah, you’ll remember this one pretty well is when he was in a really bad accident out in LA, uh single vehicle car crash where he lost control because he was going 87 in a 45 mile per hour zone, rolled the car, went airborne. He was nearly killed in the accident. Um and they had to they had to use the jaws of life to extract him, nearly lost his leg. Doctors were considering amputating. They opted not to at the last second. So he did keep his leg, but it was practically destroyed. So a lot of what’s been going on the last four years is him trying to revive his right leg to come back so he can just swing a club normal, right? So much there. His his body has been taken a toll, but so has his heart. And that’s kind of where I want to go with this is you know, there’s a lot of people talking about Tiger’s not okay. And that’s a physical thing, that’s a mental thing. It’s emotional for sure. I would say he’s spiritually not okay and needs spiritual healing first and foremost. That’s going to be the right path towards a journey to physical healing if we ever want to see him back on a golf course. The good news is, he did say on Tuesday, he’s taking a step back and he’s going to go seek treatment, which is the first step forward. The problem is he he still needs to admit that he has an issue. He has not publicly confessed that. He has not said, I have an addiction, I have a problem. I I’m seeking relief in all the wrong places. I shouldn’t be driving when I’m like, everyone has pointed out, dude, you you’re a billionaire. You can have a full-time driver take you around anywhere you want to go.

Micah Tomasella: [25:45] He said no.

Conner Jones: [25:46] Yeah, he he refuses to do it. He he continues to get behind the wheels of these cars and that is dangerous, man. He’s a danger to himself. He’s a danger to the people around him, his neighbors, he’s a danger to anyone on the street. I I mean, he’s been very fortunate not to have killed or injured somebody all along besides himself in all of these accidents. Um, but yeah, man, Micah, I would just say his decisions in life, they they’ve impacted a lot of people. He’s blown up his family. He drags them into messes. He’s obviously damaging the legacy of his name as the greatest golfer of all time. Like you just mentioned, he is known as the greatest. And ultimately, it damages the sport. Uh he sits on the PGA committee, competition committee. His name is tied to tons of events and sponsorships. He’s the star who took this sport to another level. And uh golf journalist Alan Shipnuck, he had a really good statement this week. He said it makes you worry about Tiger’s future. It makes you worry about his kids and that too much of Tiger’s inner circle is quote on his payroll and has enabled his addictions for years. Just what are your initial thoughts here, Micah?

Micah Tomasella: [26:45] Just a bunch of yes men, right? Yeah. Well, you know, I think it’s it’s hard to even compare him to like, I definitely get the comparison with Michael Jordan and Tom Brady because I think that they all had this like similar obsession of like, I will forsake all to be the best. I mean, and that was, you know, like, for example, like we talked about Scotty Sheffler and the way that he views life of like, life golf is not my identity. My identity is in Christ and being a good husband and a good dad. And then Tom Brady comes out and, you know, kind of writes up this whole thing of like, what are you talking about? Right? Like winning is everything, right? And this is like goat talk, right? This is Tom Brady, like the greatest quarterback of all time, all the championships, all the MVPs. And then so for Tiger, it’s also interesting because he’s widely known as the greatest golfer of all time, but but also has had all of these moral failures and things that have sidetracked him. I think, I think my thoughts are, uh, these moments remind us that we put these celebrities and these champions, I mean, people who are just the best at their craft on this pedestal and and can sometimes forget that they are human, sinful, fallen, struggling. And without community, without accountability, without a relationship with Jesus where you’ve actually surrendered your life to something greater than yourself and you acknowledge my life is not my own. I’m not living for myself anymore. Without that acknowledgement, without those pieces around you, we’re all susceptible to falling, to struggle. And so if you surround yourself with people who are going to enable whatever it is that you want to do, at some point it’s going to come back to bite you. So no matter how great Tiger is, he’s also still human.

Conner Jones: [28:33] Yep. You’re exactly right. And that’s why I’m saying, I think he could take a page out of Gary Woodland’s playbook. Be vulnerable, be open, find people you can trust and tell them what you’re struggling with and admit that you have a problem. That’s the first step is you got to just say, hey man, I I’m battling something here. I need help. You have to be willing to do that. But you’re right, a lot of people, I mean, Tiger is so unique. He’s he’s been on this pedestal. He is seen as a god by so many people. I this Christian golf writer that I I like to to read his stuff. His name is Kyle Porter. He writes the normal sport, the newsletter. He noted this week that Tiger’s been doing foolish things for a long time because when everyone treats you like you’re a god, why wouldn’t you act as if you’re invincible, right? Why why wouldn’t you reject any accountability? You’re considered a god to the world. But this particular incident though, Kyle points out is that it’s it’s a good reminder that he is very much so not a god and that he’s just like the rest of us. We’re all in need of help. And that’s why everything you’re saying, Micah, about accountability, about finding those people in your life and being real and raw and honest with them, but also real and raw and honest with God and saying, God, I need you. I can’t do this on my own. Right? And that’s I was going to mention Scotty Sheffler as well, the the now the number one golfer in the world and just at the prime of his career and yet he said last year going into the British Open, uh golf is great, but it’s not my end all be all. I want to be known as a man of God. I want to be known as a family man. I enjoy golf. I love golf. I will continue to try to be the best and compete at my highest level, but it’s not it’s not my purpose. Like God has given me this platform. That is a purpose, but when it becomes your everything, and then in Tiger’s instance, golf probably is his everything, right? He’s got family and stuff and I’m sure he cares and loves his family, but when you’ve been told that golf is your purpose and it starts to not be something you can even do because your body is beat up by it, your heart is sore from all the public failures that you’ve had to or that you’ve brought upon yourself and now endured the public reaction to it. Man, that that really puts things into perspective for you. And so my hope, uh, is that we can take this lesson from Tiger and apply it to our own lives, right? Say, Lord, I need you. And we can look at at scripture and and see that God has given us all the wisdom that we need to recognize he is the one who heals. Exodus 15:26 says that God is Jehovah Rapha, which in English means the Lord who heals you. I think it’s a very powerful statement. It’s actually the only time it’s said in the Bible, Jehovah Rapha, but it’s a very powerful word and name for the Lord. And so I would encourage anybody who is looking for healing today in emotional healing, spiritual healing, mental healing, physical healing, call out to Jehovah Rapha, our God, who is our healer. He’s the one who can do that. My prayer would be that we would all take that and do that. I would also ask us all to pray for Tiger. Can you imagine if Tiger Woods would surrender himself to God, humble himself and kneel down before the Lord?

Micah Tomasella: [31:32] What a difference that would make.

Conner Jones: [31:33] Yeah. And the platform that Tiger Woods has, and this is true of everybody, and there’s people with massive platforms and they’re still not, you know, they’re Christians and they’re still not going to go and and blast about it all the time. But man, what a what a difference it would make in his life and then the impact he could have on the world with that. So I I would encourage us all to pray for Tiger and his heart that as he steps aside from golf and from the public eye for a little bit, he would seek help and treatment, uh, here and medical treatment and all that, but also spiritual treatment for his heart with the Lord of lords. Remember that Psalm 23:1 says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. So, let’s all take that to truth. I mean, thank God that he leads us to still pastures, right? Green pastures. What a beautiful thing that is.

Micah Tomasella: [32:24] Love it, Connor. I love the way that you took that and I think it was a good wrap up for all of these things that we discussed. Some of them were fun, some of them were difficult. We have to remember where our identity truly is. Okay, so cool. So let’s jump into the mailbag. And really, just want to remind you to send us some stuff. We’d love to continue to hear from you. We try to include everything that we get. Ultimately, sometimes it needs to be relevant and stuff like that. So, but we’re grateful for all the correspondence that we get. So we want to hear from you. Send us your questions, your thoughts, your topic ideas to [email protected] and follow us on Instagram at Culture Brief Podcast and you can send us a DM there. Specifically what we’re asking for is, of course, send us any reactions to the topics of this show, but would love to hear some fun April Fools stories, pranks that you’ve played or pranks that have been played on you, maybe this year or in the past. All right, let’s jump into check-in.

Conner Jones: [33:20] Yeah, obviously the big thing still going on here is Iran. We’re still, you know, there’s still a pretty big hold on the straight of Hormuz. Some ships are getting through. It’s starting to really put a crunch on oil. We officially hit four, four dollars a gallon in the US this week as the average gas price. No bueno. That’s not great. That never looks good. That always damages presidents, that affects elections, and it affects our economy. So we would like to see that gas price come down. I think a lot of people would. But at the same time, Trump and the Pentagon have ordered tons of people overseas still. There are hundreds of Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, other special operations forces that have arrived in the Middle East over the last week or two. They’ve joined the Marines that have been sent over there already. It’s giving Trump basically a menu of military options to have all those people over there. Paratroopers are there. Does he want to take Karga Island? Does he want to go further inland and try to secure the uranium that Iran has enriched? There’s apparently a an idea that that may happen. Trump has been presented the plans for retrieving essentially a thousand pounds of uranium from Iran that would be an extremely dangerous mission to go deep into Iran into the mountains, into the caves where they have stored these basically massive scuba-like tanks of uranium that require a very particular way of extracting and pulling out so that you don’t accidentally crack it open and release the radiation. Like there’s so much danger to that. How do you even get these troops in and out and then with that uranium? I don’t know. I’m sure they’ve drawn up great plans for it. I’m not sure it’s the best use of the military, but we’ll we’ll have to just see what Trump does. I mean, it’s it’s basically in his hands now to decide what he wants to do. That said, by the time you’re listening to this, we will have heard Trump’s address to the nation. Wednesday night, as we’re recording now, we’ll we’ll see what he says tonight. Uh he’s apparently making an address. It’s going to be about 20 minutes long. Yes, it will interrupt Survivor and they’ll have to just get over the I think Survivor is going to do like a part one of the episode cliffhanger and then come back. But Trump could announce anything. He could announce a de-escalation that they’re going to pull back. We’re approaching the end of this conflict and that it’s been a success. Now, we can all judge if it’s been a success or not, but he wants to declare it a success. He could also announce doubling down, sending in ground troops. He could announce a retrieval or like a a retreat from NATO. Like are we going to pull out of NATO? There’s a lot of things being tossed out there that he could announce. By the time you listen to this, like we said, you’ll already know and we’ll know and maybe we’ll come back and address that next week. But yeah, Micah, what are you going to say?

Micah Tomasella: [36:03] I think there’s a reason that Trump posted this morning on April 1st. Okay, now that that’s that’s interesting because it’s April Fool’s Day. Maybe he shouldn’t post anything today because people would it’s the opposite. But this morning, like an hour before we’re recording, he posted that the Iran regime leaders in charge, he keeps saying they’re much less radical, they’re much more, you know, understanding, whatever. They have officially asked for a ceasefire. Now, that hasn’t been backed up by any other sources. However, he has never said something like this, so like there’s something going on there. I just wonder what he’s setting the stage for tonight. Like he knows his speech is tonight and he’s saying that this morning. So I feel like he’s setting the table for it, but again, the whole the whole April 1st, April Fool’s thing. Anyway, that probably has nothing to do with it. I just think that’s interesting that he posted that this morning of any of any day in the year that he posted that this morning.

Conner Jones: [36:53] Well, even last night when they announced that the White House is going to be doing this and that he’s going to be doing this address to the nation, people were like, you guys really waited till April 1st? Like what, do you understand what this means? Like people aren’t going to be able to fully take you seriously, but I don’t know, man. We’ll see what he decides and we’ll just keep y’all posted on Iran. Continue to pray for our our uh troops over there. They are in they are still in harm’s way. Something else, Project Hail Mary. I mentioned this last week, it was really doing good at the box office. Dude, this movie has really just taken off and it’s great. And I just want to point it out because I did go see it over this past weekend. I thought it was amazing. And I just want to say this is the kind of movie Hollywood that we want more of. It was clean, it was fun, it was creative and original, and visually very impressive and it had a great movie star, Ryan Gosling at the center of it. And he’s quirky and funny and does his thing very well. He I mean, he very much so just plays Ryan Gosling, which is not a bad thing. This movie is sitting at 8.4 stars on IMDB and 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. The people love it. It has brought in over $300 million to the box office. That is unheard of for an original film that that rarely happens. It’s typically it’s doing better than Marvel movies do and it didn’t really have a big second week and drop off the way that most movies do. It’s it’s got legs, man, because the word of mouth is great.

Micah Tomasella: [38:15] Okay, well then I have to go see it. If it’s anything like Top Gun Maverick, then I’m going to go see it because Top Gun Maverick is like one of the greatest, it’s probably the greatest movie of our generation in my opinion, but anyway, I digress.

Conner Jones: [38:25] I mean, I I I honestly, Micah, I think you’d like this movie. It’s very fun. They didn’t even use that much CGI. It is a space epic. It is Ryan Gosling on a spaceship millions of miles away from Earth and they didn’t even use that much CGI. They built a spaceship for real. It’s all practical effects. There’s a an interesting, I won’t, you can tell. You can tell, can’t you? I don’t want to, you can tell, man, you can totally tell. It’s kind of like Top Gun Maverick, man. There’s not that much CGI. They’re using real planes.

Micah Tomasella: [38:48] It’s cool.

Conner Jones: [38:49] Yeah, man. Go read uh we’ve got an article on Densonform.org. We’ll link it in the show notes by Parker Jones. It’s a spoiler-free review if you kind of want to learn more about this movie and why you should go see it. But I would encourage everybody, if you’ve got time, go see it. It is two and a half hours long. Otherwise, wait for it to come on streaming and definitely check it out.

Micah Tomasella: [39:04] And fun fact, Parker Jones is Connor Jones’s little brother. Good job, little bro. Good article.

Conner Jones: [39:09] Wow.

Micah Tomasella: [39:10] All right. So let’s jump into tune in. All right, so the men’s final four. So we talked about that, but it’s set for Saturday, April 4th and in the semifinals, you’ve got Illinois versus Yukon. That’s the first game. And the second game is Arizona versus Michigan. Both games will air on TBS. And then we’ve got the national championship game coming up on Monday, April 6th. Tune in for that. It’s always fun. The most fun part of March Madness is over, you know what I mean? Because the Cinderella teams are all out now. But you never know what you’re going to get from game to game. You get a buzzer beater. Yeah. And then finally, listen, Easter’s coming up. So Friday is Good Friday. Sunday is Easter. As followers of Jesus, I think the best way I can describe Easter is the verse Romans 6:23, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. That kind of sums it all up right there. You will never hear better news than what you were told when you were young or maybe what you’ve been told recently or maybe you’re being told it right now, that Jesus died for you. His death, his burial, his resurrection, taking on the sins of humanity, taking on what we couldn’t take on, changes absolutely everything. And so for Christians, this is not Easter egg hunts and Easter bunnies. All those things are fun. Nothing wrong with doing those things. I’m looking forward to doing those things with family and with my kids. But this is a special time to be able to reflect on the most amazing moment in human history when God stepped down and sacrificed himself for each and every one of us so that we could have an opportunity for salvation, have an opportunity for eternal life in heaven with Jesus, but even more than that, when you have a relationship with him, it changes everything about your every day. Every circumstance in your life can be off track and wrong. People can despise you, not like you, you can be struggling with work, you can be struggling in family, you could be feeling like you’re getting every single thing wrong. But Jesus changes everything. The best thing about us is what Jesus did for us, whether if we acknowledge it as true or not. So, for me, I came to faith when I was young, and I’ve never heard better news in my entire life than Jesus died for me, than Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection. And that’s what this weekend symbolizes. So we encourage you to get to church. We encourage you to find a Bible believing Christian church that preaches the truth and that you go on Easter and that you invite people to come with you and you invite your neighbors and you just use it as an opportunity to share the hope that you have within you as we’re seeking to share every single week, every single day, the hope that’s with that within us.

Conner Jones: [41:59] Amen to that, brother. The tomb is empty and what a blessing that is. The best news that you just detailed for us, man. The gospel is so cool. Love the gospel. All right guys, enjoy your Easter and thanks for joining us on this week’s episode of the Culture Brief, a Denison Forum podcast. All the articles and videos that we mentioned will be linked in the show notes. If you want to help us reach more believers with truth in today’s chaotic culture, please share this podcast around and leave a five-star rating and review. See you next Thursday.

Micah Tomasella: [42:26] Bye-bye.