KSR - 2024-07-03- KSR - Hour 1

Episode Date: July 3, 2024

Drew, Billy, Adam Luckett, and Tyler Thompson talk UK football and welcome in Wesley Woodyard.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 And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Comedy of Broadway and Lexington welcomes Greg Morton, July 11th through the 13th, then catch Josh Sneed, July 19th and 20th. And don't miss Jeff Allen, July 25th through the 27th. Comedy Up, Broadway opened in downtown Lexington in 1987, and they're still bringing the best and stand-up comedy to the area 37 years later. Call 859-271 joke or visit Comedyoff Broadway.com. This is Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now, here's Matt Jones.

Welcome in to Kentucky Sports Radio. I am Drew Franklin, back for a second day as Matt Jones, Ryan Limman, and Shannon the dude take vacation this week. Not in the same place. A little different. We got Ryan in Hilton Head. Matt is Switzerland, Portugal. He's somewhere over there.

Billy, do you know where he is? Has he appeared anywhere? Portugal, I thought. Actually, I just saw it. He's at the Harry Potter Library, wherever that is. I think I just saw that. Hogwarts. Sure, he's at Hogwarts, and Shannon is somewhere.

But filling in for them today, we have Billy Rutledge back again. He just finished the pre-show. He's going to stick around with us. Next to me, I have Adam Luckett, the man who knows more about UK football than anyone, including Mark Stoops. So we'll have a football-heavy show today. Take that, Mark. Thanks to Adam for making the drive from Louisville.

But he didn't do half the driving that our other guests did. Ms. Tyler Thompson was up very early in Nashville and drove all the way to join us at KS. Bar and Grill. She makes KSR the website run, but we're excited to have her on the air today with KSR the radio show. So Tyler, it's good to have you joining the crew in person. Thank you. It's good to see you all in person.

By now we normally have the group chat rolling, so it's good to see some faces. And, you know, it's been like a month since I was on the Bluegrass Parkway, so it was good to see that too. Yeah, I guess the website, someone's watching it. It's not one of us. Roush and Jack, I'm sure you're doing well. As always, we're going to get to the Whiskey Thief Song of the Day,

the Don Franklin Auto Call of the Day, the Kentucky-branded tweet of the day. We're also sponsored by T.J. Smith, personal injury lawyer, Billy, what will T.J. Do? Make them pay. We love T.J. I hope T.J.'s listen out there. He had a big week with a part of my take when he got to call in and be on these airwaves. You can call in and be on these airwaves with the Clark's Pump and Shop phone line, 859-280-2-8-7, and I am still in possession of the A-Vision Glass text machine. Having lots of fun with this one. Write it down.

502-735-3680. You get a little lost in that thing. Have you been responding to some people? You've been checking it last night? I have, and then last night I was doing a little work on the couch, and I look over, and Abby just has the text machine, and she's going through it. I don't know if she was replying to people, who knows. But yes, it has been a fun little thing to have around the house.

It does not stop going. And when you asked for the Aaron Harrison High School text yesterday. Did you get some? I mean, I just had to scroll and scroll and scroll to find anything that wasn't that. But it was fun. We're going to give that ticket away. And we have another set of tickets to give away today. Also, Warren County Day.

My goodness. Lots of boxes to check here. Drew through Warren County already today. I'm ready. There's our expert. I didn't do as much homework. Billy went to Western. I did.

Tyler drives through it. Yeah, I think we got it. It's a big place. But we'll get to that. But we do want to hear from Warren County callers. Yes, please. We had a lot of fun with Union County yesterday. I thought we did a good job.

I don't want to do a disservice to these counties because they've been waiting years for us to talk about them. I don't want to rush anything, so we want to make sure we get a collar on and we get the facts right. So I think we did good yesterday with Union County. We did, but I still feel bad about Fred Cowan. I mean, it lived with me all night. Get this, I went to lunch immediately after the show,

met my buddy Mani downtown, a big blue deli. They got UK stuff everywhere. I already have a little anxiety that I forgot Fred Cowan. and had to do it after the break. I get to the register to pay for my sandwich. He has a huge frame picture of Fred Cowan there, and I just thought this is going to live me for a long time, forgetting him yesterday.

So that's one part we missed on Union County. You did have the voice of the Wildcats chirpy on it. I understand. Many other people. That one sticks with me. But the thing that stuck the most from Union County, what's up with his long John Silver's having breakfast? I got blown up with that.

Yeah. Have you heard of it? No. Who wants fish for breakfast? They tell me it's not actually fish. They make, you know, bacon, sausage, all that. But most of the feedback from yesterday outside of the Aaron Harrison contest was people talking about the Long John Silver, I guess,

whatever, normal breakfast, but at a fish restaurant. Look, I love fish. I'm a seafood guy, originally from Tampa. Charlie Seafood in Lexington, I think that's what it's called, with the best fish sandwich in Lexington. I was there yesterday. So obviously I'm a fan. But breakfast is a little early for me.

It's kind of like when Taco Bell came out with their breakfast. I know, Drew, you may be in the different camp here at the Toxie. about guy, but I couldn't do it. You know, I'm not with the breakfast tacos there. So it was a little strange. I feel like we should ask our Long John Silver's expert, Freddie Maggard, if he's had their breakfast. I'm sure Freddie has.

He keeps Long John in business. We're going to get to a lot of football today, especially with Luckett here, but I want to start just because we mentioned having Tyler here, haven't heard her in a while. I know people read your stuff. I'm sure they're following you at Ms. Tyler, KSR and Twitter. Do it if you're not following her. But why don't you just kind of explain to the Big Blue Nation? exactly your role within this KSR sphere.

It's very confusing. We got a radio division, a website division. Why don't you just present the Tyler Thompson job description? And what all you do covering the cats? Well, it changes by the minute. I feel like everything that's not KSR radio I kind of oversee. I'm kind of the mom slash boss to seven people now, seven full-timers, which is insane. Basically, I'm just in charge of making sure everything that needs to go on KSR goes on KSR.

Everything that needs to go on KSR social media gets on the social media. Everything that needs to go on the YouTube channel gets on the YouTube channel. It's a lot of plates in the air. I'm definitely not doing as much writing as I used to, which is weird, but there are occasions that, you know, I have time, and you guys are really great about giving me that time to focus on special projects. but it's basically just being a manager and, you know, thinking like a fan. Like, I'm a Kentucky fan. I wake up.

What do I need to know about this team that I love? And obviously, that's like the news and stuff. But it's also the really fun, interesting stories that make, you know, Big Blue Nation in Kentucky so special. Like, I'm sure we'll talk about it, but Brandon Garrison buying his mom a car with NIL money. That's really cool. You know, it was kind of silly, but Kentucky football put out a video about a cookout. they had and Barquess Cox was the MC and it's it was fun and silly and we're basically just making sure there's a one-stop shop where if you're a Kentucky fan log on KSR check our socials and it's

all there and now we've added KS board to the fold you know shout out KS board heck yeah I was just reading KS board is popping we kind of had you know a renaissance a resurgence during the coaching search shout up our Pope yeah shout out to Pope part of my morning routine is getting questions on the board every day. So kind of just like four icebreaker questions to get the conversation rolling, not just about sports. So I had to hand that duty over to you while I was on vacation. And then this morning, Nick Rauch was doing it. And I just filled out mine. So maybe a little later, we can look at the case. Everybody gets to it. Luckett kills it with the football and football recruiting beat for us, including yesterday, we had quite a big commitment. You were on the scene.

We tried to cover it. We were doing our best billion hour in the middle of talking about Copeland America. We didn't have sound. We just saw him put on a hat. So since you were there, why don't you walk us through a little bit of what went down in Frankfurt yesterday? First things first. Stockton mortgage really went all out for this thing. I mean, we had an ice cream truck, free ice cream, great ice cream. They had little footballs, like the little stuff footballs. They had a big banner, made it look really professional when he went live, had a nice shaded area so we weren't out there baking in the son. So Stockton really kind of pimp this thing out. And then we got to see Jamie Campbell really

kind of, you know, he was, it was kind of interesting because I think he was just kind of, the process just seemed unexpected for him. And I think the commitment was kind of unexpected. This is a guy who at this time last year wasn't really, I mean, he was getting ready to play his first season of football. A fast forward a year later, he's picking between Auburn, Alabama, Miami, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Ohio State. We're also recruiting him. Oregon was recruiting him. So you're talking about in like a 10-month time period, he became a guy who wasn't on his high school football team to one of the most highly decorated defensive line recruits in this college football recruiting cycle. And so there was definitely there was like an innocence almost with him that, you know, he hadn't been through the process that long. So he's kind of fresh and new.

And it was just a big, I think, recruiting win for Kentucky. And you can tell he's a guy who's excited about this opportunity. And he's a significant win for Kentucky because we all. here about, you know, SEC, line of scrimmage league, got to be big, tough, physical, have a depth, all of this. In the defensive line, Kentucky's got a strong defensive line this year. I think one of the things where probably people aren't talking about are realized is Kentucky might have a top 10 defensive line this season. Not top 10 in the SEC, top 10 in the country. Like they have that potential on paper. Games aren't playing on paper, but they have that potential. And to make sure that doesn't go away,

you have to stack some recruiting wins. Kentucky's now starting to do that with Brian Robinson. last year, Gerard Smith last year. Now you get J.V.L. Campbell to back that up. There's a lot to like there moving forward. And again, Fitzmairel's having a huge, huge, huge recruiting year. And this was another big win for him. And it keeps the top two players in the state home when you look at him and then Martell Carter. You go to Frankfurt, get him. You go to Western Kentucky to get Martell Carter. It's another feather in his cap. And it's just they've got some momentum moving forward on the recruiting trail. Now this class, like it has potential to maybe be their highest ranked.

one ever now. So those are kind of the big picture points from Janavian Campbell commitment. We were hoping to get Campbell on the air kind of ran out of time. Obviously he was very busy with 1130 commitment. We had to be done at noon. But did he give, is there any explanation as to why he picked up the football or football helmet as being a prolific basketball player? I mean we talked about how he's the leading scorer in school history in basketball. What made him? Did he just look in the mirror and realize all right I should probably be playing football? Yeah, Western Hills got a new football coach last year, so kind of went out and recruited him.

to play. And then Western Hills basketball coach was kind of like, you should really think about this Javion. Like, it might be a good idea, especially for your future. So that was really kind of the push there. I mean, he was a basketball first guy until that point. He's still going to play basketball. Like he played this past year, and he's going to play next year for Western Hills. But that was kind of the push to get him into football. And then once he did that, it was just an explosion, pretty much. You know, like we just pointed out, he went from new guy, hey, here's a helmet and some shoulder pads and some cleats. let's teach you how to line up to Alabama's like trying to get him in their number whether it's the number one recruiting class right now or the most momentum I think or

most attention on the recruiting trails out what Alabama's doing like they wanted him and Ohio State wanted him and it's now he's going to Kentucky it's a big time player and a big time prospect at a very important position and so very that's a nice that's a nice development especially if your Kentucky when those kind of players arise you've got you've got to be able to land and close on those guys and I think it's a credit to Kentucky's an operation that they were able to get him in the fold. Yeah, I think something that was really cool. Jacob Polichick interviewed his high school coach.

And, you know, the whole story is, obviously, he picked up football last year. And his first varsity play, his first varsity snap was a sack. Like, can you imagine just the first time you ever play football in a varsity game coming in and getting a sack? I think that's pretty incredible. What's I got to do for your confidence? I'll try this sport out. Okay, I'm great at it.

Yeah, Alabama's calling. I'm going to the Army Bowl. Right, and he joined us on 11 personnel after the event. He mentioned that moment. I asked him, when was the, I can believe me or Rouse asked him, but when was the first moment you were like, oh, I can do this. Like, this is, I might like go to college or whatever and play football. He was like, that first time I got a sack, it was like, whoa.

Like, that was the light bulb moment, I think, for him. I think a cool question that, or a comment that he had was, or maybe it was you or Roush, was like, there are no fouls in football. It's like, you know, what's different about basketball versus football? And they're no fouls. I mean, they're flags. But it's a little different, a little more physical. One more piece of news from yesterday happened on this show.

Tyler, we got Aaron Harrison to rank his Aaron Harrison shots. Still can't believe we're saying that out loud. It was just great to hear from Aaron Harrison, an all-time legend from some of our fondest memories of the Caliperi era. What did you think about him hopping on these airwaves and just sharing some memories from those times? It was really cool. I mean, I think we all hoped when Andrew joined TBT, Wap Amelia, that Aaron would follow. but they kind of drew it out and there was some suspense and obviously I think Aaron was just recently playing overseas in Portugal. But yeah, I was really good to hear from him.

I was proud of all three of you for not asking him a bunch of twin questions because during his time at Kentucky, I feel like there was always one or two in a press conference and it's like how many times has that these have these poor kids been asked what it's like to be a twin. It was really cool to hear him rank the shots and kind of sad to hear him talk about how the things. he'll remember most is that is the loss to Wisconsin. Yeah, thanks, Jack. Thanks for bringing that up. But, you know, that's kind of depressing, but it gives you perspective about, you know, these guys, we remember their great moments, but for them, probably the one that stands

out is the status and the most upsetting. And, you know, it took me back to being in that press conference room in Indianapolis in 2015 right after they had lost. And, oh, it was terrible. So I'm really glad for him and all of those guys that they'll have. have a chance to come back to Rupp and come together and do something special. Yeah, that's coming up July 19th. Go to the tournament.com slash tickets to go support LaFamilia.

Watch the Harrisons. They have that eel ending. Maybe Aaron's got another game winner left in him. We're going to take a break here in this first segment of KSR. Got a lot more coming, a lot of football, including a conversation with Wesley Woodyard, who I have been calling Wesley Woodyard for the last 17 years until Corey Price just correct to me. Am I crazy? Does anyone else call him Woodyard or was I just did I make that up somewhere along the way?

I mean when you asked me how to pronounce his name I said Woodyard Okay well I'm glad Corey corrected me but we will be talking to Wesley coming up a little bit Like I said a lot more football talk from Luckett I'm sure we'll get into some fourth of July A lot more things to come this is KSR Last night a blown call changed a game this morning the internet lost its mind Highlights are trending opinions are flying and nobody's telling you exactly what happened That's where sports slice comes in I'm Timbo every episode we're cut

through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so rapidly. up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different

intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness.

So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets. meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds,

just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Welcome back, Kentucky Sports Radio, Drew Franklin, with Adam Luckett, Ms. Tyler Thompson up from Nashville, and Billy are sports who just cannot stop overpaying for sunglasses. Billy, why do you keep overpaying for sunglasses? I don't know. You'd think it'd seep in how many years we've been here on KSR where we should go. If you're out there and you're tired of buying expensive sunglasses, only to lose them, break them or worse. you never even wear them because you don't want them to get dirty like Billy.

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That's Shady Raise, a sponsor here of KSR. Moving forward, let's address a little more news. Kentucky baseball took a hit to the roster yesterday. Look at Nolan McCarthy, one of the absolute stars of Kentucky's run to Omaha. I mean, he's most famous for the Pete Rose Slide for the end-of-the-game-winning run that won the Super Regional against Oregon State. He also hit a home run in the first game in Omaha. I remember a web gym against Arkansas

and the SEC tournament where he robbed a home run. He was on these airwaves. It was just a big personality and great contribute to that team. Thought he'd be back for a senior year, but he's hitting the portal. Got to talk to Pete Rose, too. Yeah, got to talk to Pete Rose. That was a cool little story leading into the college world series. I have this portal philosophy.

It's, you know, when you evaluate the portal, don't get caught up in the raw numbers. get caught up in the impact of the player. Like, don't lose your good players or your starting players. And then try to replace, you know, guys that maybe not that you lost starting with transfers. You never want to lose guys that made a big impact to go somewhere else. And that is a, that's a big loss. Like, it's not something you want to see from what year you just had. And for a player like that, like that picture is going to be smacked on every wall,

I would imagine, in the facility in the stadium. Like, that's something you're going to want to. want to put everywhere. If you're going to have billboards to promote, hey, buy season tickets, you would put that picture on the billboard. And so that that moment, that that player is transferring, not, I don't think long term, it's a huge deal, but in the short term, it's like, hey, what's going on here? Like, that's not someone you should, on the surface, you should be losing. And you have to wonder some of the staff turnover they had. Georgia plus to Georgia. Georgia, a couple assistants, hey, what's going on here? And so that is definitely a big story. Like to me, that's one probably the

biggest story since them probably making the college world series is that he's leaving a player a player like that and that's a high school recruit they had it wasn't a transfer like that's a guy that got out of high school and they've developed for three years and now he's leaving that's not something in any sport you want to see whether basketball football or baseball or any Olympic sport you don't want to see a guy that you've developed for three years bounce and he's probably going to go to somewhat to another team in your conference it's not it's not a good deal but he can come back right like there's there's still that option he could he's in the portal I kind of look at it like like NBA prospects going and getting tested before they make their decision,

whether they wanted to go to the draft or stay in college. I mean, it would be foolish at times to not get that feedback from evaluators. I almost think in the transport area, it's foolish to not see what people would be willing to pay you. I mean, there may be a smaller school that would be willing to pay him much more money than Kentucky. And if that's what motivates him, then I can't blame him for that. But if the option is still open to go back to Kentucky, you know, there is always that chance. And like Adam said, he's going to be on posters forever here in Lexington with that Pete Rose slide. So maybe that would appeal to him a little bit more.

My only rebuttal to that would be that goes on even with when they're there. When they're entering the portal, that's more of, hey, I'm going. I'm going from school. I'm going from Tech U to State You. I know where I'm going if I'm going on the portal. Those conversations are had when they're still on the roster at other places. So, yes, they can withdraw. Like at Texas A&M, they had a bunch of baseball players come back because they promoted

of the pitching coach, or the hitting coach, whoever it was. But for the most part, when those players enter the portal, they know where they're leaving. It's rare to have like a Jordan Dingle who went into the portal and then came back. That doesn't happen very often. More times than not, heavy majority. If they're entering the portal, they already know where they're going, especially a player like McCarthy, who's a multi-year starter, who's a proven starting center failure in the SEC. A guy like that has a lot of worth as a free agent.

Yeah, and I think we just have to kind of reconcile this team, this baseball team's to look a lot different next year regardless. You know, Ryan Waldschmidt is going to get drafted. They say he could be obviously a first round pick, but potentially top 10, that's huge. And I think that if Nick Mingeone has proved anything, it's that he's very, very good in the transfer portal. So I think he's built himself some goodwill to, yes, he's losing some impact pieces potentially, but he can bring some in. And they got some good news late yesterday.

It's not a transfer, but they're adding a former Texas commit, Ryan Schwartz, catcher who decommitted from the Longhorns. So he's coming in. He could have a big impact next year. So I'm willing to give Nick Mingeone some grace here considering what he just did. They didn't get some good news, as you said, hours after losing McCarthy. And the freshman

class is good, but man, a senior leader, somebody, everybody knew. That was a big hit to them yesterday. Also, it was almost a big hit to the Manning family yesterday when the Clarion Ledger did, I don't know, did everyone out here see the headline to now? Arch Manning's birthday.

I want to make sure I get this right. It read like an obituary. In fact, as soon as I saw it, I even said out loud, I was like, oh, Arch and Arch Manning God. It says, Old Miss Football Legend, dad of Eli Payton, grandfather of Arch, is 75. And his birthday, I think, was five weeks ago or a couple months ago. Yeah. I didn't even put that together.

I mean, they have a picture of him, and you're like, oh, okay, this looks bad. Father through the years, father of Eli? I mean, credit the newspaper, man. Like, you know, you've got to find a way to create some revenue streams. We need to get some of our clicks up. Let's just find, let's put our heads together and put together the biggest clickbait we can find in the world. Who's a big figure in our state? Oh, Arch Manning.

Archie Manning. Let's figure out some way to do that. So, I mean, that was unbelievable. I mean, truly unbelievable. In a world that we all live in, that. where you're trying to generate clicks. That is, I don't know if I would do that all the time, but that is one way to spike the numbers, for sure.

Is this one you can blame on AI somehow? Like, you know. Maybe. I mean, that's the newspaper. That's Clarion. There's surely they haven't gone to AI. What if you're his family members? And you just, like, see that on Twitter or someone sends it to you like,

hey, I saw this. And you're like, what? What? KSR is happy to report that Archie Manning is alive, even though they threw us off. I had to read that three different times to make sure that he wasn't, I did. I have no idea why they'd word it like that. And who knows who writes the headlines, because a lot of times it's not the writer of the story.

And as we've seen in the Lexington Herald Leader the last couple months, where they had, what was it, KU when talking about U.K., or misspelling John Caliperi's name. So, you know, sometimes it's outsourced to people that don't even know what's going on. That's why you've got to go to Kentucky Sports Radio.com, some good homegrown content with authors that never have typos, never misspell anything. Never? And big click Nick Roush would never have a headline trying to get people to click on that website. We're going to take a break. Coming back after the break, Wesley Woodyard, a Kentucky football legend. We'll chat to him about some things he has going on and his thoughts on the current state of

UK football. This is Drew with Adam, Billy, and Tyler. We'll be right back. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so rapidly.

up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about All healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets. meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee,

and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. Here's not Matt Jones. This is Drew Franklin with Tyler Thompson, Adam Luckett, and Billy Rutledge. And we are now happy to be joined by our special guest, a two-time all-SECP. performer, a former Bronco, and the best part, a former Tennessee Titan. Wesley Woodyard is on the line. What's going on, Wesley? What's up, fellas?

What's good with y'all? How y'all doing today? What's a big blue nation? We're doing well. We're glad to have you on. We're going to talk a little bit about a fun thing you have coming up in Lexington with your 16 Ways Foundation Golf Scramble. But first, we want to talk a little football with you.

And I want to start right now around Kentucky. The big news is there was a commitment yesterday. And it made me think, what was Wesley? Woodyard's commitment ceremony like back in the day when he chose to become a wildcat. Did you do the table with the hats to have a big ceremony? Hey, Drew, I did not have the glorious, glammed up commitment ceremony, man. It was, to me, we did it a little bit traditional. We just did the, hey, stand by the table, put the hat on with your coaches.

That was a vision that we've all had in little kids and LaGrains growing up. Like, all right, I want to be at that table with my coaches in the newspaper. So you got a big newspaper article for your signing. That was a big thing for us. But, man, I'm here for the new glow-ups for basically celebrating you making it to college. I love it. Hey, Wesley. It's Tyler Thompson.

So you were named SEC legend last year for Kentucky. I wanted to ask you what that experience was like. And also what it's like to look at Kentucky's program now, one that you helped rebuild under Rich Brooks and see how it's going under Mark Stoops. Yeah, I mean, it was a huge honor. Let's just be honest, man. I went to Kentucky to become a legend. I went to Kentucky to help change the program around.

I went to Kentucky to inspire people to come behind me to be better than me. You know, I look now at our program, and I think we're in a good position. I think moving forward, Coach Stoops has some great things. Obviously, he wants to get an SEC title in there, and we would love. at the Big Blue Nation to see Kentucky a powerhouse in the SEC, especially with two new additions to the conference. So I'm excited for our program, looking forward to seeing what new leaders are going to step up

and hopefully take us over that wall of greatness and become a great powerhouse in the SEC. Hey, Wesley, Adam Luckett here. We know players and coaches, like you're all playing. You're too busy. But now in retirement, you've gotten to maybe do a little tailgating. some of that, some of the stuff we've gotten to enjoy. So what is the Wesley Woodyard, what is the tailgating experience?

What do you have to have if you're going to a football game? What's on the grill? What are you doing? What kind of music you listening to? What is your tailgate experience been like since stepping away from the game? I'll tell you what, man. My boy Lamontrose love, man. He works with the K-Fund in Kentucky.

He's brought me back several years ago tailgating, and I tell you what, as a player, we never get to experience the greatness outside of a copy. football stadium and I can say the big blue nation has one of the best tailgate in atmospheres but if I'm pulling up and I'm at your tailgate I'm gonna bust it down for everybody I'm gonna have I'm gonna have some steaks on there for you I'm gonna have some chicken some some sausages but for me I'm a huge chicken guy I'm a seafood guy so if I'm a little bougie I'm gonna throw some lobsters on there too so I got to have that I got to have hey, it might just be enough for me, but hey, who's complaining?

I ran into it to you at a tailgate last year. You had a great catch chant. For someone who spent years on the field, not in the stands, you had a perfect CATS out there. Now that you're a little bit removed from your playing days, are you able to keep up with Kentucky a lot? And I got to ask. I know it was your last team you played for the NFL.

Are you still keeping up with the Titans and your thoughts on that team, too? Absolutely. I still get a chance to focus in on both of those teams. Kentucky and Tennessee as well. Of course, it helps to have a wildcat on the tie and that keeps me a little bit there. But for most people who don't, for most people who don't know, I'm a player director with the NFLPA.

I cover five different teams, the three Florida teams, Cincinnati and Tennessee. So it keeps me in the locker room a lot during the season. My responsibility is basically being, being there for the guys union-wise and talking. So I spend a lot of time with Will. out there on the practice field and inside the locker room too. So I get to see his interactions with the club,

and I can say, man, he's taking that leadership role and running with it. And I think after the season that he had last year, him coming in, stepping there for Tannenhill and just showing that locker room, like, hey, I'm going to challenge you guys to become a better player, a better team. And as you see, they brought in a new coach to basically cater around Will being a better quarterback. They beat up the old linemen.

So I think the future is bright in Tennessee for Will, especially for the Titans also. I've been a fan of that franchise since Jeff Fisher was there when they first started, and I've never known them to throw the ball. I don't know how I'm going to adjust in my brain that they're going to be a passing team moving forward. That's great for Will. And you're a great guy to have in the locker room as a role model for them as a longtime captain. Thanks. Thanks.

Go ahead. Yeah, I was going to say you're also doing a lot of things with 16 ways, which we want to talk about here because you're coming to lay. Jacksoned soon for your charity golf scramble coming up on Friday, July 12th. You're at Thoroughbred Golf Club in Lexington. I've played that quite a bit. Good course. If any of our listeners are interested in signing up, go to 16ways.org slash K.Y.

Golf Scramble, but you've done this many years, Wesley. Why don't you just tell our listeners what all goes on and a little bit what you do with 16 ways? Yeah, we've been doing this for years now. We love the state of Kentucky. As you all know, this is my second home, getting a chance to come back. there. But more importantly, this is our chance to be on the forefront to raising funds to help our community and help our state of Kentucky. We've helped over with your help, the community helped through our golf fundraiser, we've helped over 20,000 families in non-states last year.

And to me, that's what I love to do, man. I love to tackle all of the obstacles that life have to bring up for everybody. And just pretty much, man, let people know that we're here to help help families, help everybody. We've done several different things. We're still working on the literacy program in Kentucky, donate literature, electronics, and advanced technology to loosen and to tighten up that literacy gap in the state of Kentucky. So our Junior Olympics are getting ready to start up,

our 16-wage track club that's in Michigan. They just took off. So we're doing a lot of great things. In the state of Georgia, we have our Do the Right Thing program, where we challenge our high school kids to take over and be the leaders in the high school, a high school athlete, I should say. But, man, we just love the state of Kentucky, man. And anytime I get a chance to give back and help, that's what I'm here for, man.

I know as a Ricky, as a freshman, I should stay coming in Kentucky, everybody welcomed me with open arms. So I'm just a guy that's never going to lose sight of that. And I love the challenge of making our community a better place. And Wesley, a lot of people going out to the 16 way. Scramble will be building groups. If you were to build your special group for Scramble, a dream for some. Who would be the other three persons in your group if you could pick anybody in the world?

Oh, man, okay. For swag, I'm going to go with my old, I'm going to bring some teammates there. I'm going to go with, I'm going to go with J.D. Craigman. He was a D-Lyman at Kentucky. He's now the owner of Seven Iron Golf, Golf Attire. He does great. So for swag, JD, for leadership, I'm bringing in Jacob Tammy.

For power and control, I got to bring in my boy, Keenan Burton. And then just for overall, just making sure that we're having fun, I'm going to bring, I'm going to bring in Marcus McClinton. He's a great guy, man. He just got into golf. And I tell you what, we had some last out there on the golf course last year, seeing my boy out there. And then, of course, I can't leave my mom.

boy, Brachson Kelly out for being a security guard. He's going to keep everybody in line. Those are great picks. We know those names well, but it sounds like you left me Rich Brooks in free agency, so I might have to pick up Coach Brooks and get in this scramble. Hey, they say in order to be the best, you got to beat the best. So that's my opponent, Coach Brooks is the ultimate opponent. I love it.

Well, thank you for joining us today. Again, it's a 16ways.org, K-Y Golf Scramble, 16 Ways Foundation with Wesley Woodyard. Thanks for joining us. The BB and love hearing from you. All right, thanks, guys. I'm still looking for about 4-5 whole sponsors and 4-5 teams. So hopefully see you guys out there at the Thurberra Golf Course. There we go. Love it. Good luck with everything.

At 16ways.org slash KY Golf Scramble, if you want to support Wesley's organization, go out and have a fun day golf. I've played that a couple times. He rides around, joins groups. It's a few balls with you. Always a lot of fun and always fun hearing from a UK football legend there, Luckin. That's an undrafted. Wesley Woodyard who played over a decade in the NFL.

Undrafted straight into captain. That's pretty hard to do. We got a few more minutes here. Let's get a little more into the football. We mentioned the Campbell announcement yesterday, but that's not the only announcements coming up that people we need to be paying attention to this week. Yeah, wide receiver Samari Reed from South Florida

is committing today July 3rd, Wednesday to July 3rd. We're not sure on the time. yet that seems like probably a Kentucky Penn State battle. The recruitment, there's not a lot of stuff being leaked out there, so we're not really sure where he's going. I kind of lean Penn State, so I'm not sure Kentucky will add one there. But then on July 4th, Jeremy O'Kinns had offensive tackle from Trotwood, Madison, and Ohio. Kentucky's a heavy, heavy favorite.

It looks like Kentucky's going to add their third tackle in the class on July 4th, and then on July 5th, another top 200 player, Dwayne Gallagall. way a cornerback out of Columbus. Looks like Vince Merrill's going to record another big recruiting win. So a busy week here for Kentucky. And again, they had a hot June. They got rolling, started getting some commitments that got a lot of people at KS Board happy. They're wondering about another slow start.

And now the 4th of July has kind of become the unofficial big commitment window. This is what everybody kind of announces where they're going to go. And it looks like Kentucky's going to add three guys this week. When you look at Campbell, you look at Atkins and Galloway. And then Reed will see. but I kind of lean somewhere else there. But, yeah, Kentucky's, again, Vince Merrill's got things rolling here a little bit, and he looks like he's going to record three recruiting wins this week

with Campbell, Atkins, and Galloway. Fourth of July commitments. The media loves covering those. Who wants to be on the boat? Why swim when we can be in a computer? It makes me think of Cash Daniel. He's the most famous. He's the O-G-I remember waiting for that.

And, yeah, he just blazed a trail for everyone to come. Well, we're going to take a break here. I owe the caller as an apology from yesterday. I left people on the line. We had too much forced into one show. I felt terrible leaving the caller. So please call us today, especially with football questions for Adam or any questions for Tyler on the Clark's Pump and Shop phone line at 859-2-80-2-2-2-8-7. 8-1.

We still have the A-Vision Glass text machine with me. That's 502-735-3680, and we'll be right back. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the Internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

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Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen, kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering our meaning, businessman, catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world. He doesn't look back.

Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in America. in history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

get your podcasts. Kentucky Sports Radio, Drew Franklin with Billy Rutledge, Tyler Thompson, Adam Luckett. This segment is brought to us by our friends at Commonwealth Causes, where they have released a new app to make staying up to date on their upcoming raffles easier than ever. You can search for them in the app store on Apple or Android devices. Simply search for Commonwealth Causes and download the app today. With football season around the corner, you'll want to be on the lookout for some of their amazing raffle opportunities and other events that are upcoming. Get ready now by downloading that app. You can also get a link to the app by visiting them online atcomawealthcauses.org.

They do great stuff in supporting UK's programs and getting fans involved. Play, support, and win with Commonwealth Causes. Let's go to the phone lines. Does I understand? We got a Dan on the line? Hey, guys. How are you doing, Dan? You have the floor.

Yeah, doing. Oh, this Dan from Rocky Mount. Yeah, Dan from Rocky Mount. Who lives in Lexington. I got a question for Adam. Okay. Look, you know, our quarterback is going to have Georgia. I'm just going to tell you the teams, I think it's going to be really tough.

Georgia, O.M. Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas. What, Adam, what's one of those teams are we going to upset this year? Yeah, that's a good question. I think you look at Auburn and Florida, I think there's a good chance Kentucky could be favored in those games. But the big thing you look at is there's four big games where Kentucky's probably going to be more than a touchdown dog. You look at Ole Miss, you look at Texas, you look at Georgia, and that's the three big ones.

So, like, where can they pick one off there? That's hard That's hard to say Like Georgia and Texas might be two of the best They might be the two best teams College football this year outside of Ohio State maybe But at least top five They project to be top five

So you look at Old Miss Maybe that's a team that Kentucky I think has played Really really close Think you can argue Last time they went down there They should have won But then again can Will they be able to get enough stops

Can they score can they win a game Where they have to score 31 points I kind of point to Old Miss is kind of Maybe the best one and Tennessee, I think it's the other one. But again, Tennessee might be the most likely if you just stack the rosters, but Kentucky hasn't figured out that Josh Hypo puzzle yet.

So for me, I kind of would, if I had to give an answer, I would lean on miss is probably the best chance to get one of those. But it's hard to say because, again, three of those are on the road. So those are kind of four games that you think, well, it's going to be kind of tough to win,

and that kind of lowers the ceiling. So that really is one of the bigger storylines of the season. is like how many for sure losses does Kentucky have this year? And if it's four, that makes it tough. And then it doesn't give you much wiggle room the rest of the schedule. Appreciate the call, Dan. Thanks for reaching out. We also got some times on these games, not just the opponents.

What are some of your takeaways from that schedule? I'll start by saying absolutely robbery that Old Miss. It has now been 15 years. We've been three times, and all three games are at 11 a.m. Local time. Just completely ruining the Old Miss experience. but there are a lot of other things to note. Well, if you think about it from an upset standpoint, maybe that makes it easier.

You know, the Ole Miss fans don't have all day to get rowdy and get crazy. But yes, I'm bitter about that too. I was thinking more selfishly at the Grove experience. For the players on the field in Kentucky's chances, absolutely that's what we want, but I'm selfish. I will say from someone that went to the Grove for the noon game, don't let that be the reason you don't go. Oh, I saw you the night before. I ran into Adam Luck at that evening.

We still had a good, there was still good times had. And I saw people having plenty of good times at 9.30 a.m. out there at the Grove. And then even after, I think, because you can still experience the Grove after the game when it's set up like that. So don't let that be the reason you do not go. I think from home ticket, season ticket holder, you're a big winner in this. Not only do you have a lot of good games this year, but you get a lot of good games outside of the noon window. You get South Carolina at 3.30. You get Georgia at night.

You get Louisville out of the noon window. You get Auburn, which should be a night game. I think you should be very happy with how the home schedule sets up here. And then you've got, if you want to do the Keenland thing, you've got two home games that are probably not going to be at noon. Vanderbilt, I don't believe that time has been announced, but those are probably going to be night games. So you've got night games, and then I think week one, to me,

you never want the week one game to be at nooner because you want to, like, test out the kinks. Let's see what we need to have for when the big games arrive. So you get that little test date, week one against Southern Miss with a night kickoff. and I think overall just the home schedule you get a lot of advantageous opponents coming in in a lot of games you want to see but you get them at good time so you get the full

tailgate experience. So I think the season ticket holders for Krogerfield were the big winners and the schedule time release. Adam, let me ask you something quickly. Sorry Drew. Do you look at that second game versus South Carolina as the biggest game of the year? Yes, no doubt. No doubt. No doubt. Yeah. I mean it sets the tone, right? I mean, if you go in

and beat Shane Beamer, I mean, I think you look at a season that's maybe what, eight-win season, nine-win? But if you don't, then you're going to be grasping for six or seven again. Right, again, because you have those games or you're a clear dog and you play maybe two top four teams

at home, and a big part of the season, I think, to me is turning the table at home. Kentucky stunk at home in SEC games these last couple years. Two and six, I think. Missouri last year still hurts. Two and seven since Josh Heppel got that win here in 21. When Tennessee prevented Kentucky from going 10 and 2 in 2021.

That started a 2 and 7 stretch at home against power conference teams. And if you want to throw Louisville in that, they are 3 and 7 against power conference teams in their last 10 games at home. It's got to change. It should be 7 and 3. You got to flip that. That has to flip around. And we all know how tough Georgia is going to be.

So South Carolina, that's a huge game for Kentucky. You've got to start winning that series. You felt like you let two get away here in that series. The last two seasons, you felt like you probably had the better team, both games. and you lost both of those. So that's one, I think, for Kentucky, where they got, that's a huge game. I don't think there's a way you can look back at Kentucky having a successful season with a loss of that South Carolina team.

And you look at how Kentucky has started. That typically, that's one of the better games they play all years, that first big SEC home game, look at the Florida game last year. And the list goes on and on. And South Carolina has struggled out the gates against Beamer. Their best games have typically come in November. So you're getting them at a great spot, and you're getting historically where Mark Stoop's teams have performed.

better in. So you just got to win that game. You cannot, you cannot have a good season, I don't think, without a win there. Can't lose to Beamer. No losing to Beamer. I like that extra 45 minutes we get the Ohio game too. 1245. We're not going to go a long way for towgators. But we'll be right back. This is KSR. Lots more football talk ahead and catching up with Miss Tyler Thompson. We'll be right back. 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

happen. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. In 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 Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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