KSR - 2024-06-17- KSR - Hour 2

Episode Date: June 18, 2024

Myron Medcalf hosts the show with Ryan and Shannon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me.

He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep. My mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's he at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to The Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice. known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays

on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Why are we all so obsessed with romance? On the Radio 831 podcast, join us, Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall, as we unpack all the trending tropes, fuzzy adaptations, book talk drama, and celebrity love stories with hot takes and sharp guests.

Each episode digs into what these stories reveal about desire, fantasy, identity, and how we love now. Listen to the Radio 831 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Looking for a mortgage bank to help you make your next major mortgage move, whether it's a refi or a home purchase, regardless of whether it's your first one or one of many. Consider our friends at Stockton Mortgage, but don't just take our word for it. Stockton Mortgage has over 70,000 five-star reviews. and counting, just like this review from Joshua, who says this about his experience with Stockton. They were super professional.

Always answered my questions I had and streamlined the process. I could not ask for better people to help me and my family get our first house. I feel blessed to be able to go through them. Be like Joshua, or the 69,999 others just like him, and get started with Stockton Mortgage Today by going to Stockton.com and get started. I've even used Stockton Mortgage myself on my own home. loan. For your home loan needs,

Stockton.com and click, get started. Stockton Mortgage, NMLS 8259 Equal Housing Lender, NMLS Consumer Access.org. Welcome to Hour 2 of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now, here's Matt Jones.

Myron Metcalfe in for Hour 2 here on KSR on this Merry Monday. Obviously, a lot of buildup for the 7 p.m. Eastern College World Series matchup, Texas A&M and Kentucky. Apparently this Texas A&M pitcher is, what is he, young Greg Maddox or something like that? What are they called? Yeah, yeah.

It's going to be Johnny Fullstaff maybe tonight. They're going to hit him out so hard. Yeah, I mean, listen, when you got the juice, you got the juice. It doesn't matter who they put up there, right? So I'm looking forward to seeing that game, seeing the outcome there. that will certainly be fun to watch. It's been cool to kind of watch that ride, you know, and just to watch the momentum that the team is built up.

Before we were talking about Kentucky and being in the South, someone asked an interesting question, fellows. They said, who would be the state that would most likely try to crash that reunion? You know, if all those states were together, what state would try to crash the party and say there, the South. Like who would try to get in? I think I have an answer, but I want to know what you think. You got one, Shannon? Well, I mean, if we're talking ones that aren't in the South, that's a little bit of a tough. But like want to be or think they are. You know,

yeah. I don't know that one really. I think it's Missouri. I think it's Missouri. Missouri. Yeah. Okay. I can see that. Because Missouri kind of, you know, wants to be. I mean, obviously, they got the SEC connection. Missouri's Midwest. very Midwest. But I think because they're close to Arkansas, Tennessee, that maybe they would try to, you know, be a plus one for somebody. Maybe they try to squeeze in there.

That's possible, right? I could definitely see that. We're talking about ones, though, that are already in the South and are just going to come in and cause a disruptance. It's no doubt Florida. No. Yeah, Florida's the crazy uncle. You got to leave Florida at the hotel.

Yeah. You got to leave Florida to the hotel. No, you can't bring Florida. You know what I mean? And then Florida's going to bring up old stuff. Oh, yeah. You know, they're going to start fights with people. It's just not, you know, you're better off if Florida doesn't show up.

But Texas is just going to not, they're not going to come. Texas will hold its own party, right, separate from everybody else. So we'll see. Yeah, they're pounding their chest. We're better than everybody else. We're going to have our own party. Yeah. Yeah.

That's how I view Texas. Yeah, but Florida's not even going to, Florida is not awake. Let's be honest. You know, it's 1 o'clock in the afternoon. You know, the food is being served. Florida is not even up yet. So you don't have to worry about them showing up at all. I feel like on this show, I haven't talked a lot.

I think people are surprised much about basketball. I think maybe I've had some tweets from people saying, hey, what are you going to talk about Mark Pope and basketball? And kind of what you think. So, like, my thought on Kentucky basketball, I don't think I can start with the Mark Pope era. because I think I have to go back and digest my perspective on Cal, right? I know everyone else has had their two cents on what happened with Cal

and obviously working with Matt. I know, you know, a lot of things that sort of unfolded, even behind the scenes. But Cal changed as a media guy, I'm talking, right? Cal became less accessible. And I think that really hurt him. Like, whenever people reach out to me in the sports world and they ask me, you know, advice on public relations

or just image and things like that. I always tell them the same thing. Like, there's a lot of anti-media culture, fine, whatever. But the challenge is when things aren't going well, that's when you're going to want someone to tell a good story about you or to remind people that you're more than a coach, more than an athlete, right? That there's more to your persona than what you do on the field, what you do on the sidelines.

and a lot of these guys who just shut everybody off, they lose that benefit of the doubt. And I think Cal did. Cal was once the most accessible coach at that level. Like, it is amazing. I probably, outside of the national reporters who live in the area, I bet I've been to Kentucky more times than any national report in the last decade, outside of the ones who live like driving distance, right?

And you would go to like a game or you go to, something in the off season and it was like such an hospitable experience. You know what I mean? It was like, hey, come on in. Cal wants to tell you about the program, kind of like the Pied Piper a little bit. And then like in the years ahead, certainly around the pandemic, that pandemic season, he kind of closed everything off. And I think that was a mistake because when things went south,

nobody really knew who Cal was. Like you could only measure him according to the X's and O's. You could only measure him according to the wins and losses because it felt like he had just become so disconnected. And it's interesting because what I see at Arkansas so far is him trying to do the opposite of that. Although it's just like Kentucky West basically, right? His whole staff is Kentucky players.

But I don't know how you all saw it, but it felt like to me there was this, gradual disconnection. And in the long run, that always hurt you. Because I tell you what, I don't care who you are. If you think you're bigger than family and community,

and I'm not saying that's Cal, but if you disconnecting that way, it's when you need those people the most that you'll miss out if you don't have that connection. And I just felt like Cal went from being this guy who was so good at relationships and managing relationships to a guy who had, who had sort of just stepped away from that part of what made him,

I think, this gigantic figure in sports. It wasn't just the winning. It was the personality and the relationships attached to that. And then somewhere down the line, it felt like he kind of abandoned that part of his personality. Does that make sense? Well, how did you all see it? Yeah, you hit a lot of things we've talked about on this show.

I mean, I think Cal, when he first got here, he was at the point where he was doing so many great things. he could, and he could almost like walk on water. You know, he was adored and loved and everybody, you know, thought the guy was the greatest thing ever. And I think he, I don't know this, but I think in his mind, I thought he built up so much goodwill that we should forgive him and look past maybe some things that would happen when in the down years or the down times a little bit.

You know what I mean? So, and so when he'd say this smart stuff to us, when we're winning, they're like, oh, ha, ha, that's just cow being cow. Well, then you try to say that smart stuff to us when you're losing the first round to Oakland and St. Peter's, it ain't funny anymore, you know? And I think you hit it. There was a great disconnect between Cal and the fans these last five years, and he did nothing to try to help it. You know, man, he stopped doing these pregame press conferences. He stopped doing a lot of the post-game press conferences, you know.

When we lose a game, we want to hear our coach be mad and be hurt. And he's like, help, I'm going to go home and play with my dogs. I get to go see my dogs now. You know, we don't want to hear that. Yeah, I remember being at the Champions Classic this year. You know, he spent the post game talking a lot about Kenny Payne, you know, which is fine. I mean, he was trying to save Kenny's job, right, and no one was going to save Kenny's job. Everyone could see that.

But it was also like, man, here is this gigantic stage, this huge stage. You're in the middle of people are. being critical. They're wondering what this year is going to look like. You've got this incredible recruiting class. And instead he spent a lot of that press conference talking about something else. And I just, it's just interesting. 2014, I think, I believe I covered 14 to 16 Kentucky games between regular season,

SEC tournament, NCAA tournament. I was with them that whole ride in 2014, 15. and I came the summer before that and Cal had like a celebrity softball game I don't know if you remember that what's that ballpark? It was Appleby's ballpark. I hit a home run off Matt Jones, by the way,

that they called foul. So make sure you bring that up. The home run was fair. It was, we have video. I'll bring it up for sure. I was there for that celebrity softball game. It was packed. Yeah, it was.

It was packed. And the cool thing about it was as a reporter is they just let me kind of trail Cal. So I was just kind of following Cal wherever he went. And it was like following a politician on a re-election campaign. You know, like everywhere he went, there was just these crowds of people.

Let me tell you something about Cal that I've always respected because I don't want to come off like I'm critical of everything that happened. Cal legitimately supported diversity in ways, and I told Matt this, in ways that no other coach I've ever been been around and college basketball did. Cal had, you know, African Americans on his training staff, obviously in the administration,

everyone knows, you know, Duane before he went to DePaul, in his office. You know, you go into his office. Like, I always thought like, wow, it's one thing to talk about it, but this guy has really created openings for people, you know, he's been more than lip service. So I always respected that element of things. But like you walked around with him and it was like he could do no wrong. There was a campaign there at that celebrity softball game where I think there was a company that was fitting people for hearing aids.

I want to say like pediatric hearing aids or something like that. You know, some of these kids were hearing for the first time. It was an incredible thing. And Cal is just in there shaking hands and everyone's loving him and you walk with him across campus. And it was like, wow, this is the peak. Like this is what it is to be a national championship coach. to have these relationships and this bond with your community

and to be in this position where you have that full support. And it was just amazing to watch a decade later how he had lost that. And I think that's the only thing that could have saved him, honestly. Like that's the thing that I think sometimes these athletes, these coaches miss out on. It's like if you go too far away from what helped you get to a certain place

when you come back and need that support and it's not there, that's when it's too late. And I felt like with Cal, it was too late to get some of that support back that he really needed, I think in the most difficult moment maybe of his entire career. It's really cool to hear you talk about it from a other perspective. You know, we all live it and we all thought those same things, but to see somebody from the outside kind of feel the same way

that what we felt like are like, well, then we're not too far off base. I think he had a lot of things, great things about him. He's a great man. His philanthropy work has been awesome. But yeah, just that disconnect he had with the fans and then when things start going south, man, we're not there to support you anymore. Yeah.

And I don't know if it was like maybe he didn't acknowledge it. Maybe he thought, I don't know what it was. But from a media perspective, you couldn't get to Cal at the end. Like me, I mean, I'm fortunate. I work for ESPN with. the big boys, right? Like, if I want to go to a game, if I want to go to a place, they put me on a play and I go, right? So there were numerous times over the years. Hey, I want to talk to Cal. I want to write about Cal and so to this moment. I want to have a sit down with Cal and you couldn't do it.

You know what I mean? It was hard to get to him. Yep. And that's why they needed it the most and he needed it. Well, and here's the thing with me. And I don't know if anyone will ever say this. I don't know if my relationship changed with him after I started working with Matt. You know, I don't know. Like, I don't know if maybe he saw that relationship and whatever he may have thought. But it was just interested because I'm going, man, here's the time to do what you do best. There's not a better talker in college basketball than Cal. Like in terms of if you want to see someone who say, go to the press conference and dazzle the people who are there, there's no one better than Cal.

Like Cal is number one. And that was one of his gifts. that was one of his strength is when you saw that combined with the winning pedigree and the talent and then the fan base and everything attached to it

that charisma helped him a lot. It affected how he was perceived. And it felt like towards the end he still had some of the charisma but he wasn't acknowledging that the circumstances that really changed

and that all of a sudden like this isn't 2012 or 2015. Like this is a doubt decade later almost, man. You know? And there's a bunch of coaches who've won national championships

since you last won one. And it's fair, I think, for your fans to go, hold on a second, man. You said this was the standard. Not everyone else, you took the job and said, this is what we do. So then to suddenly go, well, hold on, they want this, they want that.

Well, people want what you told them they would get. You know? And I think there was a little bit of, there was an element there of like, okay, where's the disconnect in trying to understand that? And maybe Cal will reveal that down the line. But for someone who is so good at connecting,

better than anyone I've ever been around in terms of connecting to everyday folks, diehard fans, boosters, donors. I mean, I remember going to his office and I can't think of, you know, the woman's name who was his assistant. I hope I'm not messing up her title, but how far.

friendly he was with just everybody. Literally he, he encountered. He had this giant, uh, candy stash in his office. So Cal has this like, uh, it's literally like eight rows of candy in this closet. Like he was like, he was like, hey man, you want some candy? And I'm thinking like, you know, somebody hand you a jelly bean or something or like, hold out your hand. And I'm like, yeah, I'll take some candy. So he's like, hey, hey, take him to the room. So like you open this door in his office and there's like eight rows of candy. Literally any, any kind of candy. You know, any kind of candy. you would want. It was like eight rows of it. And I'm not talking like little

Halloween jokers. I'm talking like full size candy bars, packages of Mike and all kinds of stuff. But I just remember how fun he was in those moments. How laid back he was. And how much he was

the greatest marketing agent that I'd ever seen. Like it's not just the talent. A lot of teams are talented. It's not just the fan base and the spotlight on the program. It was his ability to take all of that and to make that light even larger. And then on top of it, to be able to handle everything that comes with that, that is not an easy thing to do. Like that is not an easy thing to do. And Cal had mastered that. But then it felt like again, as the losses piled up, as things went south,

he didn't know how to tell that story about Kentucky. You know how to tell the story in good times, but when things were challenging, the greatest storyteller as a coach I've ever seen suddenly didn't have any answers. And it's like, you know what? You have to have answers right now. Like you absolutely have to have the answers.

Like this is the moment when you of all people have to have the answers and either he had him and didn't want to tell anybody or maybe he decided he didn't have him. I'm not sure. But it was just, and I know I'm rambling here. I haven't really talked about this. It was just fascinating to watch that all unfold. I'll talk more about Cal and Mark Pope after this break.

Is that from the, is that from the Cal Candy? It's a real story. I'm not making it out. I mean, it was literally like a candy store. And it's like you open this, I don't know, door, and then these like shelves come out. and there was like a giant, a giant candy stash. So which one did you go with?

Did you go with like the Snickers or you a payday guy? Like, which one did you pick? I think I got like a baby Ruth. I'm not a big Snickers guy. I'm not a big, you know, I like licorice. I like, I think I got a baby Ruth maybe. We'll get back to this in a second. We have a live read here, I think.

Yeah, yeah. This segment is sponsored by a cornbread hemp. So here's what's going on. There's prohibition groups that are trying to reverse this 2018 farm bill that made hemp legal, which means it would recriminalize a plant that we all depend on for a better quality of life. But the good news is we can all help by going to cornbreadhemp.com slash KSR. It's cornbreadhemp.com slash KSR. You can click on the link and you can contact your members of Congress to tell them very politely to keep cornbread hemp legal. That is cornbreadhemp.com slash

KSR paid for by cornbread hemp. All right, back to you, Myron. I appreciate it. I always have to be careful. I talk about these things, right? Because, you know, the thing with someone like me is, I have to have relationships with everybody, right? And especially now that I do, you know, TV, whatever. So I never want to say something that sounds so critical of anyone. And I'm not being overly critical of cow, I'm just stating what I've seen by perspective. Does any of this resonate with you all, like the things I'm saying, is this what you all felt or saw being on that side of it as it was all going down? Well, that's why it's kind of,

like I said, interesting to hear you talk about it from another perspective. You know, since we were here, a lot of the things you've said. We've, Matt has talked about a lot about that disconnect he had, not just with the fan base, but it seemed like with his assistant coaches. He seemed like these players. It just did the disconnect was the word he used a lot. And so when things start going south, that's when we need you as our leader to, you know, step up and say something and help us.

And he didn't. And that's what, one of my biggest fault was in. When things started to go south, he just kind of, turn these back to us almost. Yeah, what you've been saying, Myron, is exactly the way we've felt as fans and what we've been dealing with firsthand. When everything was great, you know,

national title, final fours, 31 seasons, you know, he was loved and he could do no wrong. But then all of a sudden, you know, for the first time he gets some serious criticism from fans. You know, the 9 and 16 season kind of started this snowball. Then it was the loss of St. Peter's in the first round. That's never happened in our lifetime, a lot of our lifetime.

And then that, you know, kind of just snowballed into what happened this past season. That was kind of the final nil when you lose to Oakland again in the first round. So, yeah, and then as, like, the negativity started to come from the fan base, he just went into hiding kind of, you know, it was like you became a recluse at that point. And you're right. His access just went from a guy who was fully accessible to a guy you couldn't talk to. I was at, I appreciate you all saying that because, you know, I haven't talked this extensively about Cal since it all went down.

I was at Big Blue Madness, right? That's what it's called. Yeah, yeah. In October, was it October? It was October, I believe, right? Yeah. I have been to multiple big blue madness events in my career. Many times.

I had never been the one that quiet. So like when people were asking me around the country, they were like, hey, you went to Big Blue Madness. You know what I mean? Kentucky. It's always chaotic. It's always wild. You know, came back and I said, what did you think?

I said, I've never been to a Big Blue Madness that sounded like that. It was an odd sound. You know what I mean? It was an odd vibe, you know? You know, I know there's reports of whether or not it was filled up and all that. But for me, as someone who had been there for some of these gigantic, explosive, big blue madness, events. Yeah.

That just felt weird to me. Being there on press row, it just felt odd. I don't know if you all since that, but it was just an odd vibe compared to past years. Yeah, I think it's something it had been building for several years, you know, that things weren't going well. My lasting image of Cal is walking off the court at the SEC tournament after losing to Texas A&M, and this lady was leaning over the railing, screaming at Cal, is this

the gold standard cow? Is this what you mean by the gold standard losing in the first route? Is this what you, you know? And I thought at that time, I thought at that time, I'm like, he's lost us. He has lost us, man. Here's the SEC tournament where we own it and we love it and we spend our vacations down there. And another, couldn't even make the weekend of the SEC tournament for like the, what, the fifth year in a row? Yeah. I feel like I'm going against the Merry Monday concept. I didn't try to. I didn't try to. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be, you know, end on like a pessimistic note, obviously, college world series, everyone's happy, but I just, people have been asking me, why aren't you talking about basketball? And it's hard for

me. I think I've got to talk about what's happened before I can talk about what I think is coming, if that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Because I do think it's important. Now you're going to pick us back up. You're going to pick us back up. Now I'm going to head to the Mark Pope era. Okay. After this, I'll tell you my thoughts on Mark Pope and what I think he's going to end up doing at Kentucky on the other side of this break. T.J. Smith, personal injury attorney. Call T.J. He'll make them pay. Now, more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage.

Here's Matt Jones. Now, this is a song right here. Let this ride a little bit. Let's Steve talk to him a little bit. Yeah, come on, Stevie. Man, what a musical, a musical genius, man. I love Stevie. Festive Stevie. Here we go Here we go Here we go

I just called To say I love you I love Stevie Man Y'all like Stevie Wonder Love him Yeah

I hear this song though And I hear Eddie Murphy impersonating Buckwheat Singing Stevie Wonder on Sunday Night Live That's classic That's classic You know it's wild

About Eddie Murphy And those skits man He was like 19 On SNL Like, it's, Eddie Murphy, that run from S&L to, I think Delirious came first before Raw, Beverly Hills Cop. Yeah. Like that run that Eddie Murphy had is literally one of the greatest runs in show business.

And he was like 20 or something like that. It was pretty remarkable. Let me apologize. I'm getting tweets from people who are like, why are we talking about old stuff with Cal? All I was doing was unpacking my perspective. as a national college basketball reporter on how I saw. That's all.

I wasn't trying to bring everybody down. I know we got College World Series action tonight, obviously Texas A&M, big huge moment. We've been talking about that. Excited to see what happens there. Real quick, before we hit the phone lines, I haven't talked much about Mark Pope, who I'm hoping to come down there.

I think in July I'll be down there to hang out with Mark Pope and the crew. I mean, I think he's done a tremendous job of assembling this team. I think you got a lot of maturity, you know. I think you have a lot of guys who won't be intimidated by the spotlight. Obviously, a dude like Lamont Butler. He's played on the highest levels.

I think that's an incredible pickup. Andrew Carr, I think it's going to be a really, really great player. Obviously, Brandon Garrison, we know what he was. McDonald's All-American out of high school. The guy I'm probably most intrigued by is Otega Owe. So I did a TV game for Oklahoma. a couple of them. And I got a chance to get to know him.

You know, his brother plays, I believe, for the Ravens. I'm not sure if you sign with someone else. But really, really athletic family. But just a good dude, you know what I mean? Just a guy who's got a good head on his shoulders and just sort of the right temperament and focus. I think to be in a spotlight like that, I think he'll, I think Otega will quickly emerge

as sort of one of the leaders within that veteran group. And then you got the, guy to stud, Jackson Robinson, who, you know, I covered a couple of BYU games, and I mean, he's just a different kind of dude, you know. I mean, if he becomes a more consistent shooter, I mean, that's a pro. That's a first round pick, you know, and I'm sure when he went to these NBA workouts, that's what they told him. Because when you see the way he moves, the way he carries himself, you're like, okay, yeah, that's a pro. You know, that's a dude who's ready to compete at the next level. and obviously having that familiarity with Mark Pope,

I think he's going to help him out a lot. I think Mark Pope's, you know, his strength will be, I don't think he'll ever take himself too seriously, but he'll also acknowledge the stakes, if that makes sense. Like, I think he'll know how to have fun, but also keeping his eye on the prize and acknowledging that, you know,

you're not here to be liked, you're here to win, if that makes sense. Like, I think he has that right, perspective. We went back and forth that this BYU, Kansas game, when they went to Kansas and won, I was there, he picked up a technical down the stretch. And I'm like, hey, Mark, you know, what your players tell you about picking up that technical file, you know, at the end of the game? He's like, oh, you had to bring that up, huh? You know, you just joking with you about, you know, so we had a cool, cool exchange. But I just think he's got the right mindset. And I think this team is

full of hungry dudes who won't be intimidated by everything attached to this opportunity. So that's just my perspective on, you know, the team they've assembled so far and looking forward to getting to know Mark better. Alvin Brooks, credible family's father was an incredible coach. Obviously, he won a national championship at Bailey. Just a good dude. I've been in a lot of meetings with Alvin. Definitely a future head coach, you know, a guy who's going to get an opportunity. Mark Fox, I've known probably, I don't know, 20 years. or something like that. Obviously, you know, his experience. Don't know as much about Cody, but Jason Hart, been around him a lot.

I mean, that's a guy who I think can relate to the changing climate in college basketball. He's been at all these different levels. And I think you'll find that players probably go, yeah, that's our favorite guy maybe on the staff, you know, players coach for sure. So just my two cents on what's ahead. I think this can be a team competitive in the SEC. The SEC is stacked. I mean, that's not new. but I think if they get the chemistry right,

figure out the rotation, which won't be easy, they got a chance. They definitely have a chance, I think, to be competitive and will be competitive in the SEC. Is that more positive, fellas? Because I got tweets that people were like, hey, man, why are you talking about old stuff? I was just telling you what I thought,

but I told you I had to talk about the past before I could talk about the future. We got some phone calls, though, unless I think we got a live read first. Do a library yet? Yes. Hey, Big Blue Nation, get back to making memories and enjoying your favorite activities with family and friends. Don't let aches and pains or an injury slow you down.

The physical therapists at court are here for you. With more than 70 convenient locations now throughout Kentucky, and court's clinical experts will help you heal. Go to court.com to schedule an appointment. Trust court physical therapy to be your rehabilitation provider. Experience the power of physical therapy with court today. Check out court.com. That's k-o-r-t.com.

That's it. All right. We have some calls now to get to, I believe. Yes. Let's go to Tyler. Tyler, how are you doing on this Merry Monday? I'm doing good. How are you all?

Good, good. You don't sound like it's a Merry Monday. What's going on, man? We can talk about it. No, no, I'm good. I'm calling because to talk about the South thing. Okay. So I've lived in South Asian.

Kentucky lived here most of my life and lived in many different states actually. And I feel like Kentucky's, you know how Florida and Texas are both their own kind of thing? I feel like Kentucky's kind of like that. Because if you look at the west side of Kentucky and compare it to the east side, it's kind of two different. They're very different. You know what I mean? So I just thought they're their own little thing.

but also about basketball. Yeah. I want to. I'm like baffled by people that are kind of, you know, hopeful and, you know, they're excited, but they're still kind of, I have no doubt that this is going to be a success. Like I feel like we've got a big blue tsunami coming. I appreciate the call. Okay. So he feels like Kentucky is split between West.

Is that like Bowling Green? is that western that is western Kentucky Paducah you know far west Kentucky the lakes it's beautiful but it is completely different

than eastern part which is more of the mountain area you know and then like Lexington and Lawville are in the middle right what city was that what did you say? Lawville

I never heard of that one is that in this state LaVille I think that's where I'm at right now huh Lawville are you down in Lawville? Yeah

How does Scotty Schaffler, what do you call it, Lewisville? Yes. See, I was better than him. Yeah. I mean, that wasn't that. I mean, that was just, he wasn't even trying. Ah, he knew what he was doing. He was trying to get one last little dig in.

He knew exactly what he was doing. I hope you pay for that officer's pants. Who's our next call? Freebird. Freebird is back. He's back. Freebird, you put some more minutes on your phone? What was happening there earlier, man?

Hey, sorry about that. Guys, hey, Myron, pleasure to talk to you, man. And I got a end to the fourth power. Em to the fourth power, dude. I appreciate it. But now, about the last since my son has been, I don't know, seven, eight years old, my father's day, it's been spent at the ballpark. Wouldn't trade it for anything, but he had a setback yesterday, or yesterday morning,

fractured his wrist, but thank God it was just a hairline. And it could have been much worse than that one. And it happened in Louisville, from all places. How long is the recovery there with the hairline fracture? How long is that is you out? I'd say four to six weeks, man. And I do have a request, Mike, if it's okay. What do you have?

Yes, sir. You're going to be back next Monday after your vacation? I'll be back. Oh, yeah. I'll be here. Well, after Kentucky wins in the game, can I request a cool-in-the-game theme? Oh, yeah. No, we can do some cool in the game.

You read my mind because I was headed there. I was headed there. I was on my way. I was going to get there. Yeah, no, you read my mind. We can definitely do some cool in the game. Great, man. Really good bad.

Guys, you all have a good day and hope all the dads had a great weekend. But appreciate it, Myron. Thanks, man. Thanks a lot. Yeah, happy Files did all the dads, man, you know, who are out there, able to spend time with their kids, reach out to them if you couldn't get to them. So hope everyone enjoyed that. Who's our next caller?

Let's go to Nancy. Nancy, how are you doing? I'm good. How are you doing? I'm good on this Merry Monday. Okay, Mary Monday. Okay, so Saturday I was in the car for 18 hours driving from Maine. Back to...

How did you say Louisville? Lava. Okay, all right. Yeah. How do you say it? How do you say it? Louisville. Yeah.

You roll your time. Lava. Okay. Lulibu. Lulibol. Like that? Yes. Lovil.

You're getting there. Lullival. You're getting there. Lola. Okay. So I was not driving at the time. My friend was driving. So I was watching the UK baseball game.

And then I had to drive. And he is not a sports fan. So I probably drove him crazy every time they score. And then that last home run. Oh my gosh. Amazing. It's a good thing I didn't wreck the car. Yeah.

What a moment, right? I know. It's been great. So one thing I have to bring up, that St. Peter's game, my son who lives in Indy, got me tickets. I went to the game. It was really bad, really bad. Yeah. And then he said to me after the game, sorry, Mom, do you want to go tomorrow night?

I said, no, I'm not going. No, I'm done. I'm done. Yeah. But it is what it is. And I'm all excited about Pope. I think it was going to be a great year. So, and I, and you're doing a great job.

I really like listening to you. I missed you last Monday because I was in Maine. But anyway, yeah, so keep up the good work. Okay. I really, I really appreciate that. No, thank you. Thank you for that call. You all have been so welcoming and friendly.

And I really, I really appreciate that. And yeah, I mean, you know, I'm sure going from some of the lows to what this baseball team has been able to do must be a pretty cool feeling, right, fellas? I mean, it, do you think that's? added to the energy around what's happening in baseball right now, that this is a fan base that has been to the valleys. I sound like a preacher right now, but been to the valleys and now you're at the mountain top. Does it feel a little bit like that? Oh, I think that definitely plays into it.

This fan base is long overdue to celebrate, you know, with a couple disappointing basketball years and even our football season, and we still went seven and five, but I think a lot of fans thought they had higher hopes than that. So, yeah, I think that plays into the enjoyment of watching what this baseball team's been able to do this year. Yeah. We'll talk more about baseball and what's ahead and some of your phone calls before the end of the show after this break.

Some more Stevie, baby. I love it. Love some Stevie on this fine. Merry Monday, Texas A&M versus Kentucky at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN College World Series. We'll talk about that. But first, we got a live read. Yes, this segment is sponsored by Draft Kings,

an official sports betting partner of the NBA. guys, I don't know what happened to the Celtics. My Celtics did not show up on Friday night. They got blown out. I think they just wanted to win in Boston. Ryan, did our Draft King's Parlay come close to hitting it all? Any of the legs? We did not win.

I think he hit three of the four legs. I didn't figure it would win just based on the Celtics performance. But anyway, you can download it if you're a new customer. You use the promo code KSR. That's going to get you 150 instantly in bonus beds after you place your first $5 bet. Of course, you can do same game parlayes, live betting, odds boost, and so much more. Only with Draft Kings promo code, KSR, get 150 in bonus bets after you place your first $5 bet.

If you have a gambling problem, call 1,800 gambler, 18 plus physically present in Kentucky. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. Eligibility deposit restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.draftings.com slash basketball terms. Back to you, Myron. Appreciate it. I'm not going to, you know, I'm not going to make a score prediction or something like that. for the night because then, you know, you can jinx things.

I believe in that stuff. I'm a superstitious person. But all I'll say is that Kentucky has it lost since I started filling in for Matt Jones on Monday. That's all I'm going to say. That's true. That's facts. Yeah. That's so, you know what I mean?

That's not me taking credit. That's not me even giving Al Green full credit. Although, let's be honest, Al Green always deserves credit, okay, no matter what the situation is. But we haven't, the team hasn't lost yet. That's all I'm saying. So it's just something to consider. We'll get a few more calls in here before the end of the show. What's our next caller?

Let's go to Peggy. Hey, how are you doing on this Mary Monday? I'm great. How are you guys? I'm good, good. You're talking about being from the south? I went to New York at the time. The guy looked down to see if I had on shoes.

He said, I thought you know Billy didn't wear shoes. In New York City, he said that? Yeah. And I said, well, when your rats are bigger than our possums, I wanted to make sure I came home with my toes. That's a good comeback. Okay, you had already thought about that because that's a really good comeback. Because I've lived in New York. It came out of my mouth.

You know what? Good for you because that's a great, I mean, that would have left me speechless. The rats up there, I've lived in New York. Like the rats are gigantic. It's a real thing. You know what I mean? Yeah. And they're just everywhere.

and New Yorkers act like it's just normal and it's not normal. So I'm with you. Possums are out and about doing their thing. Maybe they come out at night. The rats are just with you every day. And that's just a weird thing to me. Exactly.

And my last comment is go bat cats. Go bat cats? Is that what people are calling them? Well, they used to be called the bat cats forever. Then they wanted us to stop and everybody's a wild cat. But back cats have kind of come back. Yeah, it's kind of cool again now. They wanted you to stop.

What do you mean? I don't understand. They wanted every UK team to be wildcats. There's no lady cats. There's no bat cats. There's no mat cats. It's all wildcats. But bad cats is cool, though, right?

I agree. That's a cool name. I agree. So it's kind of been coming back. Yeah. But it's like a branding thing or something like that, basically. They want no bat cats. Correct.

But like I said, it's come back. It's making it come back. I mean, if you get to the world, too, you kind of get to call yourself what you want. Call your own shot now. That's right. Yeah, you can change your name if you want, I think, if you win the World Series. So, so we're going to have a big watch party at KS Bar tonight for the baseball game. Obviously, at 7 o'clock. If you

can't make it to KS Bar, we'll have it on the radio, 630 WLAP and 790KRD will carry the game. So there's a lot of ways you can keep up with it tonight. Yeah, I think it'll be another good game. I don't know. Who's this ace? Who's the A. Is it? Nolan Ryan. Is it Roger Clements? Who is it? Yeah, that's who it is.

What is C.C. Sabathe or something? like that? Is it Dennis Eckersley? Who is it? Rowley Fingers? Who is this guy? Shane and the dude Griggsby throwing some cheese up there? What is he? I mean, is he that? It sounds like he's pretty good, but I mean, everybody's got a good picture too. We got Mason Moore going tonight. He's a Kentucky kid, so we got a good pitcher going the night also. Yeah, you got, I mean, you got a relief pitcher from my area, a Minnesota guy. I can't think of his name. There's a relief guy on your roster who grew up about 50s. 15 minutes from me from where I'm at now.

There you go, brother. There you go. But, yeah, I mean, this guy isn't, you know, you're not, you're not, it's not smoltz up there, Glavin. I mean, you know, I'm sure he's good. But I feel like if you got the juice, you just have the juice. You know what I mean? And that's the beauty of the playoffs is it really doesn't matter who else is rolling.

If you got the juice, you got the juice. And I think Kentucky has the juice, right? right now, you know what I mean? You win in that situation or to walk off at the bottom of the tent. Doesn't that just feel like maybe it's your year? Right? Like, when those fortuitous moments happen, that's when I started to go, okay, maybe this is beyond skill and talent and hard work.

Like maybe, you know, maybe this is kind of destined, right? I'm not saying that that's the case, but, I mean, the way that they've won in sort of these dramatic moments is, I don't know. You know, like maybe this is their time. Maybe this is their year. But I don't know. If you tell me, is it Nolan Ryan is pitching against them or something like that? Whatever, whatever his name is.

I just don't want to see the weird Texas A&M chance, man. Like, I don't, I got friends who went to A&M and I mess with them about that. Like, that's a lot. That's a lot. You know what I mean? Ryan, go put on a blue shirt too. Yeah, Ryan, I don't know what you were doing today, man. wearing my EKU shirt, getting roasted today about it.

Yeah, man, I don't know. I don't know what you thought. The color coordinating committee didn't talk to you, apparently. Thank you all for having me. Next Monday, by you. Enjoy your Monday. Enjoy it. See y'all soon. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter, Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports. and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear.

Listen to SportsSlic. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes,

hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Why are we all so obsessed? with romance. On the Radio 831 podcast, join us. Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall as we unpack all the trending tropes, fuzzy adaptations, book talk drama, and celebrity love stories with hot takes and sharp guests. Each episode digs into what these stories reveal about desire, fantasy, identity,

and how we love now. Listen to the Radio 831 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joey Dardano. And on my new podcast, Hope From a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know.

Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.