KSR - 2024-07-09- KSR - Hour 1

Episode Date: July 9, 2024

Ryan, Drew, and Shannon talk UK Football and are joined by Jerry Tipton.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. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart 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. All right, welcome. Good morning. Ladies and boys and girls. Matt Jones is running with the Bulls in Pompano, Spain. I saw. He's over there with Hubby and Sarah in Spain as we keep up with Matt's trip. So you're stuck here with Ryan, Drew, and Shannon. And guys, it's like putting on your old baseball glove.

feels right, you know, or your favorite pair of jeans when you put them on. I was just enjoying listening to your Waffle House order before we went on the air. Yeah, we'll get into that, but there's nothing better than the Georgetown Road Waffle House next to KS Bar and Grill. Those are top two restaurants. It's not Jeff Rubies. It's not Tonys. It's KS Bar, Georgetown Road Waffle House. End of argument, right there.

We got a lot to talk about today on a day where there's no sports going on whatsoever. Of course, every episode of Kentucky Sports Radio sponsored by the T.J. Smith Law Office, call T.J. and Shannon, he'll make them pay. He will make them pay. We'll have our Whiskey Thief Song of the Day. We'll have our Don Franklin call the day. We'll have our Kentucky branded tweet of the day. And did you bring the A-Vision Glass Tex-O-I-Dick. Oh, I did. It's like a changing in the guard. I have to present it back to you. Thank you. Here we go. I had a lot of fun with that. It's fun, isn't it? Do you reply to people? Because I tried to reply to everyone, which was a chore. But I really enjoyed just chom it in a little bit. bit. Answer them some questions. Have a little back and forth. Well, good for you. I don't answer

everybody. Somebody asks a specific question. I try to answer it. So did it come in handy then? Oh, it did. We used it on the show. Had lots of fun. We had lots of fun when you were gone, but I'll admit, I missed you a little bit. Well, dude, you guys had some great shows. I mean, let's just start with that. The show on Tuesday with Maggie Davis and Jack Pilgrim, you had Little Mario doing a field reporting at Jvion Campbell's commitment in Western Hills. Had Aaron Harrison. I mean, That was a really good show on last Tuesday. We could go today. Yeah, it had been over a year since I'd hosted, and we were a little short-handed,

so I tried to pack it full. We were almost a little too full. It got a little chaotic. We were talking to Mario while doing a soccer parlay after just talking to Aaron Harrison. I wish I'd even had more time with Maggie and Jack, but that was a fun. That was fun. And then the next day, you have Adam Luckett, and the Queen drove up from Nashville, Tyler Thompson for a good show on last Wednesday.

That was the biggest guest of the summer so far. It's going to be tough to beat the miles traveled to be on the show. Most people were gracious. They volunteer their time, but we find them a studio wherever they are. We set them up in their town. Tyler was a little over seven hours in one day. How about that? We did have fun on the short week.

They were really good shows. I kind of skipped over Monday with Myron. He drops a bomb. He's going to be here and do the show with us in a couple weeks. Yeah, Myron had just gotten back from one family reunion. So he was telling us about that. It was an eventful one, but then the big one that he's been talking about for a few weeks. He's working on a side item, which is this past weekend.

So we were previewing that while you were gone. And then he texted me yesterday morning. He's driving back from Mississippi to Minnesota, and his overnight was in Paduca. So he asked for a breakfast recommendation, and I said there are three waffle homes there. There we go. Just go pick a Waffle House. And then the Rup to No Good Guys hosted yesterday, really appreciate them stepping in. That was fun.

Listen to those guys doing the show, did a really good job. and they hit on a topic that I want to start with. Okay. I was really kind of took me by surprise that I really thought, you know what? I hadn't really thought about that. But the topic that came up with was what UK football record this year will make you happy? You know, what would you be happy with?

Knowing that the schedule is a lot tougher, knowing they have like some really tough road games, what record would make you happy? I'm going to get more specific here. How happy are we talking? Are we, like, fired up, or we're just content? We'll say that wasn't a failure. Or is it like we're partying?

I think it's safe. You and I both last year when they finished seven and five were a little disappointed. They were a better team than seven and five. So we weren't happy. Yeah. Schedule's so tough. I know. So that's why it's a good question, I think.

Georgia and Texas will be two of the best teams in football. I mean, they could be one and two. There you are. So I'm not, I'm already, 10 and two is kind of a. ceiling for me. Okay. You're going to Tennessee. Yes.

Which you won't have, you know, you've beat them, what, twice in the last 40 years or whatever it is? Yeah, you're going to Ole Miss. They're very good this year. Very good. They're in the playoff talk. So I think, I mean, those are, that's a big ass to win those games. So just with, I mean, you could win those two, but let's just say they lose those

four. You have to win everything else just to be eight and four. That's right. And that's not easy. South Carolina at home, Auburn and home. At Florida? At Florida? It's crazy we now live in a.

world we're at Florida. We're like, okay, we might be able get that one. I mean, that used to be just one. You check off. That's a lot. They've come down so far. It's given us a little more optimism in that game every year, but it's still in Gainesville. Auburn's not the Auburn they've always been, and you're getting them in Lexington, but it's still Auburn.

I mean, you can't just count that as a win. Missouri's not on the schedule this year, right? Yeah, we finally get to avoid them because they're strong. You know, South Carolina, I've gotten the last couple years. So I guess to answer your question, I think 8 and 4 would be a good year, even though that number traditionally doesn't stick out.

But that's just what we're going to have to get used to in our heads as Texas and Oklahoma are now part of the mix. That's the crazy thing about it, is that this team, I think, will be Melanar, Mark Stoop's best teams he's ever had. But you just laid out the schedule. I'm with you. I think eight and four would make me happy.

But seven and five this year, I'm not as upset as I was probably the last two years. They've been seven and five the last two years, right? Something like that, yeah. I mean, you could be seven and five winning. like all your home games, you just lose at Florida, at Tennessee, at Ole Miss, at Texas, well, Georgia's home. That's nothing to hang your head about. You could be a really good team and lose those games. So, yeah, it's a very difficult schedule, but I do think Stoops, assuming

the new pieces pan out, if Vandergriff is what they want them to be, and, you know, the running back room is doing well. I think the defense is lining up to be special. So if they can just get all the other pieces to pan out, I think, I won't say I'm expecting a run, and I'm not going to say, I'm expecting a run, it eight and four, nine and three, but I'm confident in all those other games that Kentucky should be in it and win most of them. Shannon, what are your thoughts about it? Well, I mean, there's definitely a path to seven if you look at the schedule. So Southern Miss, South Carolina, that's not been a gimmie last few years.

So you got to win that game. And then you get Ohio, you get Vanderbilt, there's four, Florida. You know, again, that's going to be a tough game, but you can get that one. That's five, Murray State, six, and then you beat Louisville. There's seven. you can get to eight, but you've got to pull off an upset somewhere. I don't know if that's Auburn. I don't want to say that they're going to beat Tennessee at Tennessee until they do it.

But there's definitely a path to get there. But I think Drew's right. And the fact that since we've seen the success this football team has had, and we know that they can get to eight, nine wins, I feel like seven and five is no longer a number that gets fans excited. Now you start talking eight wins, I think that's where you get fans that are like, okay, we had a good season. We went eight and four.

That's a good run, especially with this schedule that you have coming up this year. I think you've got to get to eight for fans to be truly happy, eight or more. Yeah, I think. I don't know if the draft king's odds have come out yet, but at the-six and a half, I think is what I saw. I'll double check because I thought about, you know, dabbling a little bit. I think I would go over on that. I thought they would probably put it at seven and a half because that's where I think most people are like, you guys were all the same boat.

The thing is, too, though, I mean, if you slip up and you lose to like a South Carolina. You could easily be looking at six wins. You know, it can go one way or another very easily. We're not even mentioning the Governor's Cup, which is usually the biggest game on the schedule. In this conversation, we're just counting that as a win. It's true. I mean, Louisville, I think, still has a way to go before they're really competitive again. I know they like to beat all the ACC teams and act like they're going to make the playoff. But Kentucky should win that win this year. But we shouldn't be counted like the center square end bingo here. like it's an automatic win.

You know, and we're just taking them granted that you should win all the home games. Well, the last two years, Kentucky has lost two home games each of the last two years. And you can't do that. When you're trying to make a move in the SEC, you've got to lock up your home games. The Hulet mentioned this when we had them on Wednesday. The home record against Power 5 teams has not been good the last couple years. Teams like Missouri have been a little better back game last year. You're up on them big.

You've got to win that. You've got to win that. And then South Carolina, that's a rivalry you own for many years. They've stolen a couple. You need to get back on top of that. So, yeah, just as we're saying what will be a great year, it could go very wrong if you don't win some of the ones we're naming now, this kind of coin flip games.

Because this time last year when we were talking about UK football, it was not out of the question for them to go 10 and 2, 9 and 3, most people thought. So for them kind of limp in and finish 7 and 5 was, I think, a disappointment. This year, I think we've got to go into the season a lot different. This is just a harder schedule that they're facing, and it's something even the good teams would have a hard time trying to get eight or nine wins out of that. But unless you're scared, that's exciting.

You're going to go to Texas and be a huge underdog, but that's why you play the game. Maybe you win it, and that's the memory we have for a long time. So, Shannon, every year, Kentucky maybe pulls off an upset, beat somebody they shouldn't, or they're an underdog too. Yeah. Both you guys, who is that? What's that game this year?

I've already got Ole Miss, we owe them one. Last year, they stole it from Kentucky. I was in the crowd with Aaron Fleener. Dane Key catches a touchdown pass. Game over. Aaron Fleer took his shirt off. We are celebrating. He is half nude in public thinking we have won the game.

And we all have to live with that flag being on the field. And we have to end our celebration, realize, no, we did not win the game. And then, of course, next play happens, and it's over. So we have not forgotten what happened in Oxford. They stole that moment from Dane, and I will forever be upset about that because they could have been, you know, all the highlights and the ESPN top 10 play of the day and they took it away from it. Took it away. Aaron Fleeter took his shirt off in public from nothing.

So that's the one. You're picking Ole Miss. Tennessee, I want to go every year. That's a kind of equal with my Ole Miss pick here, but we really owe Ole Miss for the last trip. Shannon, what about you? All right, so I'm looking through. You know, we played Georgia tough, you know, several different games, but I don't know that that's the one.

Even though it is at home, that would be the one to get. Could you imagine starting off the season three and O? Four and no, four and oh, because you get Ohio after that. Yeah, I'm sure it's coming off. Yeah. And then you got at Texas, at Tennessee. You know what? I think this is the year we finally knocked down that door

and finally get the Valls in Knoxville. So I'm going to take at Tennessee as the surprise game that Kentucky wins this year. See, you kind of stole my thunder. That's what I was going to pick. You know, they've been close down there. If they're going to get one, maybe they're not supposed to. I like both your picks, Ole Miss and Tennessee, but I was going to go with Tennessee,

even when we do our picks, I can't make myself pick Kentucky to beat Tennessee. I just can't do it. But if I had to pick a maybe surprise upset, that might be it. Well, a long-time listeners have now figured me out. Monday through Friday, I'm very rational. Tennessee is going to beat us. They're the better team.

Saturday morning, it's something while I wake up and that Grove Street hits. I'll pick us to beat anybody. You're all in. I beat the Chiefs. That's how excited I get on game day mornings. Okay, let's do the other side. usually Kentucky stubs their toe, lays an egg, and loses the game that they shouldn't lose.

What do you think that one might be? I'm not going to speak one into existence, but I will say if they don't win that South Carolina game, it can get pretty. And that's week two. That's right out of the gate. You're going into Georgia and you're one-in-one, and you've already kind of lost a lot of your preseason excitement and momentum going into hosting the likely number one team if you drop that one to South Carolina. As I just said, you've had that rivalry for so long, and Beamer's got.

gotten some from you. Got to get that one back. And I know that's one Stoops he wants. Yeah. They can act like they're all buddies. There's bad blood in the South Carolina-Kentucky rivalry in the Stoops era. Shannon, what do you think? I'm looking right at South Carolina thinking the same thing.

That's probably the game that you feel like you should beat them. But we've lost to them several times. We lost last year to South Carolina, right? Yeah, Ryan took a punch in the face. That's right, yeah. My jaw broken after the game. Yeah. That was at South Carolina.

But still, I feel like, yeah. if you don't get that win right there, it can go south very quickly, very quickly. So I think that game could be the difference in going eight and four, maybe six and six, depending on which way the pendulum kind of swings for this team this year. You stole the one here two years ago too. It did. Injuries. Was that the game they had to play Guy Sharon?

Yeah, yeah. Sharon was a quarterback the whole game. Yeah. So South Carolina, that's two years in a row. Kentucky let them and out let circumstances kind of helped him out a little bit. Our focus has so been on basketball with Caliperi leaving and hiring Pope and putting together his roster. We've kind of not given as much attention to football as we should have because like

even like do you Shannon's word on the pregame show to the pre show today. He said they're on a recruiting heater. They're they're putting together another great class and it's almost like we're like used to it. We're not as excited we should be, but we should be because they're They've got a 6-5-330-pound juco guy yesterday that normally would be lead story. I saw it like, oh, good for them. It's like it doesn't register anymore.

Well, they had three commitments in three days last week with Campbell and Frankfurt being a big one that Mario was there for. And then you had the juco guy yesterday. They're doing a little earlier in recruiting locking in commitments this summer. In the past, if you compared recruiting classes to this date and this date in past years, they're farther along than they have been. So that's even more exciting. And they've got a lot of star power, more four stars than they usually have. I think they're the 20th class right now and on three's rankings.

So it has been a good. Yeah, it has. Especially in the last two weeks. We've been distracted, I think, with all the basketball news. So we need to keep that in mind what they're doing over there, though they're recruiting heater. Also, today's Mark Stoop's birthday. Oh, happy birthday.

Well, he's my age. So he's probably 57 or 58 then. Well, if he's your age, then it's not probably. Well, like, see, I'm going to turn 58 next month. Okay. So he's either just now turning 58 or he just turned 57. Gotcha. One of the other, yeah.

We'll be hearing from him next week at Media Days. So this is, he kind of flew under the radar this offseason for good reason. Got a little awkward with Texas A&M. It did. But he will have to pop back out of the cave next week and start talking season and then camps right around the corner. So we want to hear from you, 859-2802-2287. That's our Clark's Pumpin-Shop phone number or the A-Vision-Glax text machine. See if I still remember the number.

5-0-2-735-36. 680. We already got a good one. It says, if UK goes 8 and 4, we should have a parade. That's a good year. That's a good year. So that's my answer to your question. We got Jerry Tipton coming in at 1030. Talk about his book that you just finished. And also some UK stories we didn't get to last time he was here. And Washington County is on deck. You guys did Union County when I was going, right? And Warren County. We're keeping the two a week going. And if we stay on that pace, we'll end the week before our last week of the summer. and county is up.

And we'll be right back. Take your calls. 859-2-2-287. Ryan Drew and Shannon here on Kentucky Sports Radio. 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 beaders 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 Slicelife Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the Heart Hardaway 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 wrapped 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, or 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 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.

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Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back, Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan Drew and Shannon here on this Tuesday edition of the show. Matt, we said he was running with the bulls. Well, I think he was witnessing the bulls. Witnessing the running of the bulls? Yes.

I think I misspoke. I don't necessarily think he ran with the bulls, but he had the red scarf on. I saw a photo of him on his Instagram. Is that the running on the bulls, or are there other versions of this? That's a good question. They do it like once a week, or is it just once a year?

I don't know. Once a week would be wild. Yeah, I always thought the running of the Bulls was in like South America. No, I guess not. No, it's in Spain. I think it's just this week. I think it's just this week. I think you got one shot to run with the Bulls.

A couple texts from the Aviation Glass Text Machine. It's more about how they play. The blowout losses to Alabama, Missou, and Georgia hurt more than just losing. And there's something to that. You know, and they get blown out by Alabama, Georgia, and they lost that game to Missouri. That's when I think about last year, that's the game that's going to stick out that they let go. Yeah, and football, it can definitely be how they win or lose. You know, there's been times like last season where you think Kentucky's made it jump up to another tier,

and then Alabama comes to town, and it's like, oh, they play a different sport than us. So, yeah, you don't do moral victories, but you can look at it differently if you're in the fight in a football game or if it's over right away or if, like the Missouri one you're up big and stupid things let you give it up. This also from the aviation glass tech machine. Texas will be the surprise upset. Auburn is the gimmy. Tennessee will be the stub-toe, and we will have that game, and then Lucy will take the damn ball again.

What does that mean? That's the Charlie Brown reference. You're the one that's supposed to get that one. Yeah. Are we going to Austin? Have we heard I'm going, but have we made it a – Basically, do I need to buy a flight, or am I getting in a car? He mentioned it, but the game in Seattle is like two weeks later,

so I wonder what he's going to want to do. Seattle's really far away. He's going to want to go to Austin. You already know. I'm not great at geography, but I have a map and know that Seattle's not an easy drive. This will be Mario's first road trip with us, by the way. That's true. You know, wherever we decide to go, it's his first time with us.

We can't make Mario's first one be Seattle. And you know we'll go see Niagara Falls first. Vegas. We'll hit all the things that aren't on the way. Now, guys, I was going to lead the show with today with the tweet yesterday about Arkansas, from Arkansas basketball. We had Bamadabio in a Jersey. Devin Booker in the Jersey, USA, Team USA jersey,

and Anthony Davis in a team USA jersey, three Kentucky guys from an Arkansas basketball account that said something like, go for the goal. But then now I'm hearing that was a fake tweet. It was a fake tweet. But Arkansas is not, the person who runs that account acted like, we would never do this. They're not above that behavior.

We've seen them tweet the contracts. They already have. Yeah, that's why it was very believable. It did turn out that it was fake. I mean, the Reddit account that has lots of followers shared it. And can you believe they did this? And the social media manager actually replied like, hey, I run this account and didn't do it. But that's part of the reason why everyone believed it is because that's kind of what Arkansas has been doing to this point.

That's when I saw it. I didn't even twice think it was fake. And I knew that that's our lead story tomorrow, how they did that. So, Shannon, did you see it? Yeah, I did. Are they going to take credit for like the 2012 title and say they won that too? I mean, that's kind of what they're doing, right? It's a little crazy.

I made a fake tweet that I didn't share. I put it on Bonnet Bridge, but it's just Arkansas claiming like Dinosaur World and the Florence Shaw thing. We'll just keep a theme of all the things we have in Kentucky, Arkansas, trying to take them. That's very clever, Drew. But then I realized because I bid on it too. I thought it was real at first as well.

I wasted time photoshopping to make fun of it until it was confirmed fake. I can't have Washington County because we're taking that one today. And, you know, we'll talk about this when it's time, But, you know, there are some counties you have a hard time finding stuff about. Of all things, Washington County, there is a ton of stuff to talk about Washington County. So it will be easy for us to talk about it. We need to hear from a Washington County caller. Yes, we did well.

Last week we had Union County and Warren. We learned in Union County, Ryan. I don't know if you heard the show. Long John Silver's breakfast is the most popular thing. I didn't even know Long John Silver's had breakfast. Exactly. We had the judge executive call in after we were kind of mocking it. And he was basically like shut up about our Long John's breakfast.

It's awesome. The text machine blew up with people talking about Long John's breakfast. I have a good friend who lived there for nine months. He texts me and said he would always get the Long John Silver Breakfast. So that was the big takeaway from Union County. Well, did you know also that Freddie Cowan's from Union County? Yeah, I do. I'm aware.

859-2-2-287. That's our phone number. Jerry Tipton's here. He's going to join us at the next segment. I brought my book. Fanboying out. I know. He wants Jerry to sign his book, Deja Blue.

Got my own Sharpie and everything. And you finished it. You read it. Oh, of course I finished it. Enjoyed it. I got to check with you, though, before we get Jerry on. Little rumblings over on UK baseball. One of Nick Mign Jones' top assistants is leaving.

And starting center fielder, Noah McCarthy, is also leaving. Are we reading too much into it? Yeah, you missed that. That was not great. In fact, I remembered the last show you did before vacation, you were wearing a Nolan McCarthy T-shirt jersey. Yes, I was. The slide. We had him on this show. He was on the show. Made some of the biggest plays in that run to Omaha, including the Pete Rose slide to punch the ticket to Nebraska. And then he was going to be one of the faces of the team next season. But he's on the move. And a lot of it seems to be they lost. Nick Amaretti was one assistant. And then just a couple staff members, you know, we didn't realize how important those guys were to. of the players, but it's looking like that's a reason why some of them have gone portaling, including McCarthy.

So he's following the coach or the staff members. He went to Georgia. Yeah. That was a big hit. It was a big hit. McCarthy was going to be on the tickets, on the signs. He's the poster child almost for next year's team coming back. Great personality that kind of fit in with how UK, their overall culture, but that was a big hit

while you were gone. Well, you know, coaches, I only sign one-year contracts every year anyway. They're kind of renewable after one year. They didn't renew his contract, so he left. It's looking like they maybe should have figured that one out. All right. When we take a break, we come back. Jerry Tipton will join us.

Deja Blue is his book. We're going to talk to me about that and some good stories. We come back on Kentucky Sports Radio. 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 Slic Life 12 in 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 wrapped 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 healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast.

Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way 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, the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan 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.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. All right, welcome back. Ryan Drew and Shannon here on Kentucky Sports Radio,

joined here at KS Bar and Grill by Jerry Tipton. Just wrote a book, Deja Blue. Drew, you read the book. I read the book. Cover to cover. Cover to cover. Jerry, you were on with Matt and us about a month ago but when you hear that don't got to turn you up my bad I mean I don't think I

turned you up full out enough try that again vacation mode there Ron produce it try that one there we go try that one he'll say hello hello there we is there we go turned up the wrong Ron's been off for several days a little rusty but when you finish your segment with us about a month ago I remember I told you said man there's still a lot of stuff I want to talk to you about someone we want to get to so I appreciate you coming in here and visiting with us a little bit are they still getting good reception from the book I think so for the most part that's from what I hear, which I, you know, I like feedback, positive or negative. You know, try to learn from it.

Well, Drew, what's the feedback? Well, I love the book. I was just telling him that off the air. I bought it for the Kentucky basketball stories. I'm just trying to take in as much Kentucky knowledge as I can. I was there for most of the Calipari things. But before that, you know, it's all still kind of new to me other things. But I ended up, I like to learn a lot about young Jerry.

There's a lot of young Jerry Tipton in there growing up in Michigan and going to Marshall. I didn't know you had a little basketball in your game. There's some pictures to you showing off a little floater. I think the key word there is little. But I went in that you know, wanting to hear more about Joby Hall's era in the 90s. But I found myself really getting hooked on the, uh, just learning more about you too, Jerry. Well, I appreciate that. I, uh, yeah, I think I told you off the air. I'm not comfortable being in the spotlight. So I wanted to get it beyond me. And so I talked to over 40 people. to give it a historical feel of some sort, getting their memories to former players and so on.

We are a little different than that. At KSR, the eye on my keyboard broke. I hit I so many times writing my stories, but you write in the book how you have a little trouble putting yourself in there because you've just always, it's always been about the other people or the sport. Right, yeah, I think that's my natural personality is to try to blend in and not be out there. And then taking journalism at Marshall, the professors were saying, I remember one saying, if the story is about the reporter, that's not good.

So that fit. Yeah. You know, I could work with that. Now, you mentioned Marshall. That's one thing I want to talk to you about. I know you have a chapter in the book about Marshall. You were actually a student when the plane crash happened. Right.

The football team coming back from a road game, they normally went on buses. But this was like a rare thing, and they took boosters for. from the area to make the trip. The play-by-play guy was on the flight. Yes, the S-I-D. The athletic director. I mean, it was a big thing because they didn't fly, hardly ever. And so I'm, you know, it's one of those things.

I tried to make this clear, I hope I did, that I was just a sophomore. I was just in my second semester as a journalism student. And fortunately, I was too unready to be part of the reporting team because something like that, I mean, even now, I can't imagine. I wouldn't want to have to do something like that.

And back then I was totally ill-equipped to do it or try to do it to be part of the reporting team. And I set off the air. It's one of those things you never forget. Well, most people have seen the movie. We are Marshall. A lot of Marshall alumni. I listen to this show, live here in the area.

But you said that scene in the movie where everybody, when they got hurt of, just kind of walked outside and just walked into the streets. He said, that was kind of really how it happened. Yeah, I mean, you know, you just, I don't know if you just want to do something. And maybe you can imagine it's helping in some way. Maybe it's just helping you. But there was a friend of my, a guy that I knew at the dorm. I lived in the dorm, one of the dorms.

And so we just went for a walk downtown. It was a drizzly night and we're just talking about it. And, you know, maybe the weather had something to do with it. I think I heard afterwards that that was the first time the pilot had landed there. And it wasn't a big metropolitan airport, you know, served Huntington and West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, where the three states meet. And so that's what we did. And the odd thing to me was it was a. like I say, misty, rainy night.

And then the next day was very bright and sunny. And it almost like you, you know, if you look out the window, you want to avert your eyes because the sun is so bright. And it gave the previous night a surreal feeling. Like maybe that really didn't happen. I mean, you knew it did. But you were just wishing and hoping that it didn't happen. Well, your time and Marshall wasn't just the tragedy.

That's when you got your start sports riding. And then not long after that. you end up in Lexington where I think you quickly learned fan base is a little bit different here and the Kentucky basketball beat is unique. What was just your first getting to Lexington, taking that job with the Harold, and then you're in it? Yeah, I mean, it was a city of strangers. I didn't know anybody. And so I came and if you remember D.G. Fitzmorestmore. Oh, yeah. One of the columnist. He was like my big brother. He kind of, you know, was a buddy and took me around like, you ought to go to this restaurant and, you know, that sort of thing.

or this bar and stuff like that. And he taught me about Long Island tea, actually. We can get you one right now. No, no, it's a little early in the day for me. But, you know, I've heard coaches say that, that, you know, when a new coach comes in, you know, they'll say, well, you know, you know Kentucky basketball is a big thing, but until you experience it, you know, you don't really have the full meaning.

And that was true for me, too. You know, it was, and I did a chapter on fans, and I chuckled several times while doing that because it was just fun to live and think about and then fun to put it in a book. Now, this has been debated by many people, and I'll tell you, after you give your answer, I'll get what Tom Leet says his answer is. Okay. What's the loudest game ever at Rupp Arena, the loudest environment? Oh, man. I'm going to have to think about that. I tell you, to me, the most boisterous, happy crowd, the most enthused crowd, was in Rick Petino's first season.

Yeah, yeah. Because they just, you know, that pregame environment was the best ever. And they didn't like Eddie Sutton's playing style, the seven-pass rule, too slow. And then Petino comes in, and they're shooting threes and pressing and trapping, and it's constant action. and I don't know if that was the loudest, but to me it was definitely the most enthusiastic. And I always had a soft spot for, now this doesn't apply to Rupp.

But Rupp had something of that feeling. The smaller, more cozy arenas where the crowd is right there. I always liked that atmosphere better. And I thought about that when John Caliperi went to Arkansas. They're no longer playing in Barn Hill Arena, which was on campus. But that had that feel, about 9,000. fans right on top of you. And they're really into it.

You just missed a coaching change in retirement. We're having fun. There was cookies at a press conference recently. I don't know if you heard about that. I think I heard reference to that. Oh, yeah, I should have brought you one. But you mentioned the change from into Rick. I mean, you saw several coaching changes.

What was another example of a drastic change, whether it be in personality or a style of play? Well, I always, you know, I tell people that, you know, I did it 41 years, which was never my intention, just so people know. I was just enjoying it, and it's challenging. But every time there's a new coach, it's like a new beat. You've got a new prominent voice and new ways of addressing the media and the whole thing. And it changed over time.

It was much more personal in the Jobie and Eddie Sutton days. The media could go to practice, and I went to as many of them as I could, just to see, maybe I could learn something. but then with Rick Petino it changed and practices were mostly closed to the media. But anyway, it was, you know, a challenging thing each time. The Patino one was so dramatic because they were going on probation from Eddie Sutton's last year. And so it was a lot more of a what's this going to be like kind of thing. And it was great.

One thing that stood out to me about that is you write about how when you needed something, and you would just walk into Jobi Hall's office and ask him, if I tried to do that to John Caliperi, I would be arrested. Well, it was just, you know, it was just such a different time. Yeah, you would just go in, and usually it's secretary first. You wouldn't just go right on in, but the office was right there. And you could ask, you know, is there a chance? You know, coach could talk to me, and they'd check and yes or no, whatever the answer was.

But it was just much more informal. And after practice, you know, you got the coach, almost every time if you wanted to. And you mentioned the recruiting scandal with Eddie Sutton. You're with the Harold Leader. You guys were the forefront that basically broke that story. Los Angeles Daily News, I think it was, broke that the package supposedly broke open and $1,000 was found in it.

Going to the father of a recruit, Chris Mills. Okay, just between us. Did that really happen? Did it really pop open? What do you think? Do you think that? Well, I don't know. I don't know no.

Dwayne Casey, and he was one of the more than 40 people I talked to, he continued to say no. And he was not in Lexington when the package was sent, although his name was on the return address. He was in Pittsburgh. But he still insisted that he did not put, there was not money in the package. And it did magically pop open.

But I don't, I wonder. You do wonder, and I believe from what he said, and I think this is right, that he sued Emery Air Freight and won the suit. Yeah, he did. Yeah, and they settled. I don't know if you won. The suit is the right terminology. Yeah. But they settled, and he got a cash payment.

In 41 years, you hear lots of stories, maybe not that magnitude of mailing money, but just little things here and there. And you kind of get conflicted, do I report this or do I sit this one out? Are there any stories like that that come to mind where you had to make a decision on whether to... The first one that comes to mind was the talk of Eddie Sutton having a drinking problem because that was out there. And, you know, I felt like right or wrong that there should be some documentation of something that happened would be better than just somebody saying, yeah, I saw him drinking at some bar. So I waited, and that never came up that I was aware of.

And interestingly, I don't think it's in the book. I know the guy that covers Arkansas well and the columnist, and I asked them about that. And they pretty much did the same thing. They were waiting for documentation of a drunk driving arrest or something like that. And I think he had that when he was the Oklahoma State coach, and it furthered the story. He is Jerry Tipton, and when we come back, we're going to tell you about that.

There's a book signing coming up. His book is Deja Blue. It's still available. Get that and meet him at the book signing. Ryan, Drew and Shannon. We'll take our break. Come back, 859-280-287. That's the Clark's Publishop phone number.

Here we'll be back on Kentucky Sports Radio. 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 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. 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 wrapped. 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 on 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. All right, welcome back. Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan, Drew and Shannon. Justin Timberlake is here in Lexington tonight. Concerted down at Rupp Arena tonight.

My son Gavin is actually working. He's setting up. They're setting up right now. And, of course, then they break it down when it's over. But yeah, JT. So if you're coming to KS Bar and Grill, just be prepared. We also have bingo tonight. 7 o'clock, so you can come play bingo and then get your JT on down at Rupp Arena.

It lines up perfectly. The JT. Pre-Party will wrap up right as bingo starts. Yeah. So double-booked a little bit. We'll be jamming out to JT right before we get into our B-2. And you got J-T on the show right now. The real J-T.

The real J-T. There we go. Jerry Tippeden joins us. His book is called Deja Blue. I got another story I have to ask if we get out of here. Because the Randolph Fax has just, that's one of the, of my greatest stories ever. What is your take on the Randolph-Morris facts, the fact that Tubby magically found a month

after they've been looking for it and all that? I wish I had some big response for you, but I really don't. Do you think he really found it, like in the bottom of a desk drawer? You know, if you ask my cynical side, I would wonder about it. But otherwise, I just... move on. What was your... You needed the proof.

What was your best Tubby Smith moment or memory? Well, I wrote about it in the Herald Eater more than once. It was a when he came to Kentucky from Georgia and Georgia

to replace him, hired his number one assistant, who I'm forgetting is named. Ron. Jersey. Jersey, yeah. And so anyway, they go down there the second year. I think Georgia played here the first. They went there the second. And already Jersey's on the hot seat. Fans are unhappy. So they are their play. It's a good game. Gigi was still playing for Georgia. I believe he was. Yeah. The game goes into overtime.

And Jersey changes defenses. It doesn't work. Kentucky seizes on it, pulls away and wins. So in the postgame press conference, a reporter for the Georgia student paper asked Tubby, boy, and you could hear nervousness in his voice. He said, did Jersey really screw up when he changed defenses? Well, Tubby didn't want to hear that from his number one guy who's on the hot seat. So he chastises the student and says, what team have you ever coached? And then we go to the next question, and he answers it, it responds. But you can tell something's on his mind.

He seems distracted. When he finishes, he turns back to the student and says, I didn't answer your question properly. Ask me again. And that student does. And then he, you know, he gives a coach answer. But, you know, the typical coach. And I just thought at the time and then many times afterwards,

how many coaches would do that? Yeah. Would acknowledge the other person has feelings too and responsibilities and so on. So I thought for me that was like an example of Tubby's distinct, being distinctive. I liked getting to know in the book, a little bit of your mindset. You know, a lot of people have accused you of being negative or, you know, trying to write the, but you make it very clear you're just trying to write the best story or ask the

best question to bring out the story. But has there been any moment in any game where you caught yourself being a little bit of a fan in 41 years? I know you would root for a guy to maybe it would be a better story if he hit another shot. It would tie this together. There's things like that. But is there one where you were maybe just being a little bit of a fan on the inside where you caught yourself caught up in the moment? Well, if you want to talk about caught up in the moment, it would be the Christian Leitner game.

There you go. Just because it was so overwhelming the majesty of it, never mind who wins or loses. And it had two game winning shots inside the last three seconds. Yeah. And I was just floored. It was too much. I don't know about rooting. I wasn't necessarily a rooting.

But I was enthralled by the majesty of this thing, this game. What people say is the best collegiate basketball game ever played, you had a front row seat for it. Yeah. And at the time, my philosophy, if you want to call it, that was don't overreact to anything, positive or negative, you know. But that was, and I tried to do that, and I second-guess myself ever since, because I think I should have overreacted because that was just, you know,

And the next day, I think I saw in one of the Philadelphia papers. They were saying, this could have been the greatest game ever. And I was thinking, oh, man, I should have went down that road. Well, the name of the book is Deja Blue. You have a book signing coming up. What's the details on that? It's at Kenwick Table. It's a coffee shop on Owsley Avenue.

It's a good place. I was there this weekend. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah, a friendly place. It's on July 21st from 2 to 4 p.m. That's a Sunday. and I'm hoping to line up some speakers.

I don't have that set yet. And where can people get the book? Well, it'll be available there. But also, I think Joseph Beth has it. And I think it, well, it's available online, Amazon, and also acclaim press. But I Google my name and the word book, and this comes up. I got mine of Joseph Beth. I don't know if they're still in stock, but that's where I picked.

I think the plan is underway to have a book signing at Joseph Beth in August. And also one at Marshall, the Marshall University campus bookstore in August, I think August. But neither one is set with a date and everything yet. We got the seal of approval from Drew Franklin, so it's got to be a good one. Yeah, and Kenwick, that's a good place to have a signing. Hope you get a good turn out there. Thank you, Drew. I appreciate that.

So Sunday, the 21st, from 2 to 4. Right. The book signing at the Kenwick Coffee Shop Book Store. Kenwick Table. Right. It's a coffee shop. near a church on the corner of Kramer and Owsley. Pretty big space.

Well, thank you, Jerry. Appreciate you coming in and sitting with us and tell us a few stories and good luck with it and come back and join us again sometime. Yeah, anytime. Be happy to. Jerry Tipton, go get his book, Deja Blue. All right, well, take our break. We come back.

Washington County on the clock. We're ready. Are you boys ready? Absolutely. We need some callers from Washington County, 859, 280, 2287. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. 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 Smygle 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 Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host,

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