KSR - 2024-07-26- KSR - Hour 2

Episode Date: July 26, 2024

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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 headlines. 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep. My mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Looking for a mortgage bank to help you make your next major mortgage move, whether it's a refi or a home purchase, regardless of whether it's your first one or one of many.

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Be like Joshua or the 69,999 others just like him and get started with Stockton Mortgage Today by going to Stockton.com and get started. I've even used Stockton Mortgage myself on my own home loan. your home loan needs stockton dot com and click get started stockton mortgage nmLS 8259 equal housing lender nmLS consumer access dot org welcome to hour two of kentucky sports radio presented by stockton mortgage now here's matt jones this is not matt jones but it is john fanta and rob dalstan with you to start up hour two here on a friday morning we start hour two in a big big way. We had Willie Cully Stein earlier. Now we get the Louisville perspective. A first team

All-American in 2014, third team in 2013, national champion in 2013. His number two, retired by the Louisville Cardinals. He is Russ Smith, Rusticulous with 15 points in the Ville's win over team DRC. earlier this week to advance to Monday night's quarterfinals at Freedom Hall, nine Eastern time, when the Ville meets Laugh-Familia Russ. Good morning. What's the vibes like right now, knowing that you are three days away from the biggest game in the history of the basketball tournament? Good morning, Rob.

Good morning. Uh, Fana. It's, it's fun. It's great, right? And not only as a player, but I'm a major partner with the TBT and a sponsor of the basketball tournament. So this as a whole is just really great for the basketball atmosphere. Russ, it's good to connect, man. I've been a fan of yours since back when you were playing with the gauchos.

It's been fun to watch your growth. But I got a very important question to ask you here. This show that we're on right now is Kentucky Sports Radio. I'm giving you the floor. Now is your chance. Why is Louisville better than Kentucky? Why is life as a card better than life as a cat? You got to let the people know right now.

Why is life as a car? I mean, I would have to say I guess the city of Louisville has a million or so people and maybe Lexington has a small amount. That's the best answer I could come up with. I'm a New York guy. So the city life, the city life is pretty cool. It ain't quite like New York, but it's good. Russ, the rivalry, I mean, you're going to have potentially 15,000 people at Freedom Hall here, which is just amazing and speaks to the basketball tournament and speaks to how big this rivalry is.

how would you sum up the rival? Because I know that you were in Lexington last Friday. You were there with Mr. and Mrs. Bourbon, which we'll get to in a moment, because I know you've got something special going on with special TBT bottles. But playing in the rivalry, the days that led up to it when you were playing these games under Coach Petino, and it was Patino and Cal getting aft to it, any epic. story or anything that comes to your mind going down memory lane when you think about Louisville, Kentucky, and kind of what makes it different in college basketball?

Man, I would say the rivalry is definitely one of the bigger rivalries. I've ever seen a bigger part of growing up in New York. We've had the Subway Series. That's amazing. I've played basketball in Istanbul, so you have the Fenabachi and Galantian. Tassi or Bessitosh with soccer. You obviously have Olympiocos and Panthe Nacos. But Louisville, Kentucky, I would like to think, is really up there.

The people get up in the morning for it. But as players, I remember when I was like a freshman, you know, you'll get those like those not horror stories, but they try to scare you. They'll go, hey, you know, don't go out, you know, as far as to some restaurants, because you might have a, if you're a Louisville guy or if you're a Kentucky guy, you might have a fan of one or the other cooking your food and we don't want you to get sick.

So we would have to, we'd stay in. We'd stay in and we'd eat what our chef would make. And, you know, that's, he would more than likely be a Louisville guy. So we were safe. So I'm pretty sure maybe they got some stories up the road. But we definitely stayed in when it was time to play Kentucky. Give me the wildest thing that happened when you were playing for Galatasar.

I know that I've heard about the Istanbul Derby. I've seen the flares get set off in those buildings. Give me the wildest story you got from playing over there. Wow, man. So unfortunately, my time in Galatasar, I wasn't too bright. But we had a – there was a game. And I guess the fans got into it with one of the – the other fans. And, you know, they separate the each, all the fans by, by net. So the

Galatasar guys sit with the Galah guys and the other team fans sit with the other team fans. So it's, it's like a, it's like a checker board in there. And fans got into a fight. It was bad. And then they suspended all the fans from the game. So like for three, for like three or four games, I think Galatasarai had no fans. So that, that was pretty, that was pretty harsh. It was pretty crazy. Russ Smith is our guest right now on Kentucky Sports Radio.

Russ, have you talked with Coach Petino? Yes. Patino and I talk frequent. Definitely a big friend of mine and an amazing figure in my life. Is there any chance that he comes out on Monday?

Any chance he comes out? I'm not sure. I'm not sure. If he does, it'll it'll be a surprise to me. But that would be, that would be dope. I'll send him a, I'll send him a text and see, and see where he got cooking. But I don't know, I'm not much of a gambling man, and I wouldn't bet on it. What are you up to right now? Tell everybody what you're up to because what you're doing with your company is fantastic.

I mean, for those who don't know, you walk into Freedom Hall, this is going to do some business Monday night, Rob. I know, Rob, you would be at the bar. There's a bourbon bar. There's a bourbon bar at Freedom Hall during TBT, and people are heading over to it, and it's because of your Mr. and Mrs. Bourbon. I know you got some special things going on, even a special bottle, right? Yes, absolutely. We've done a single barrel for the basketball tournament as a, you know, as a sponsor. It's kind of dope playing both sides as a player and sponsor. but we did their single barrels and we also done the bill labels the bill labels that have done really well here we sold out and upon upon release so it was it was a really good a really good release a really special one

and we definitely would like to expand to the other tpt teams and that'll be in the works but like you said it phana we got we had the we were sold in rupp arena we got really good reception there and we're in freedom We have the bourbon club on the on the court side level and it's just it's it's been a party in there. People have been loving it. We have a nice ride match for those interested and it's amazing. That's how you know the people in the great state of Kentucky love their bourbon is that in Rupp Arena they will sell a bourbon that is owned by a company by a car. I want to ask you this. I want you to rewind back when you were in high school, back to you were in the gauchos, back to when you were getting coached by Chad Babel instead of Rick

Patino. If I would have told you back then that you would own a bourbon company, would you have even known what bourbon was back then? No, no. I honestly found out what bourbon really was, I would say, my senior year in college. And then I still didn't know what it was until a year or two after. And I'm hanging around all these guys that's done amazing things in the bourbon industry. And they were really cool. They were coaching me up on the spirits industry, on the process, on distilling, the history, the pastime, and then one thing led to another. I just went down a rabbit hole and just stuck with it. But I truly enjoy this space.

I truly enjoy this industry. I'm very blessed to have the partners. I do have. They do a great job of taking care of me. But also, I put in this time. And I think that's the most important. Rob, this goes back to what I experienced last weekend when I arrived to Freedom Hall and the bourbons being set up.

and multiple people are telling me around the Ville team that Coach Petino reached out to Russ and said, Russ, please stop drinking the bourbon. Just sell it. Last year was tough, and here's what happened. I had events for 70 to 80 days in a row,

starting from June, ending August, mid-August. And some of those days, we had multiple events in the day. but then also we had TBT. So I'm burnt out. Like I'm doing all these tastings.

I'm doing all these events. And it was hard last year. And Petino knew that. So that's kind of why he said that. This year, the bourbon is down. I might have a little Ryebatch or so after the game. But other than that, it's been nice to have a break and just focus on TBT. That's probably why we got over the hump last game because we kind of

laid an egg the third game last year. You hit 12-3. You just have to go around all day and all week and drink bourbon and hang out all day, huh? You've got to go to parties and say, I'm not a bourbon and have a sip to be. Man, I would hate to have to do that. Man, sometimes when you're drinking, it's your own product, so I don't mind it, but it's like, damn, sometimes like, damn, I just want to chill, but not last year. What are your thoughts on facing Eric Bletsow Monday night?

He's coming off a 25-point game. You guys hit 12-3s as a team. It's you, Siva, Chris Jones, really dictating the way Monday night's game went. What are your thoughts here heading into this matchup on Monday? Man, I think it's great, man. I really think it's a blessing to get guys to play against guys. have been very successful in their professional career. I was blessed to play against the likes of Marbury,

Nate Robinson, Brandon Jennings, just great guards who have great careers. And, you know, Bledsoe definitely fits the bill. Kimball Walker's of the world. And what he's done at, when he's done for his family's inspirational to be able to make that money at an early age and have a long pro career. I'm just very excited.

You know, as a savant of the game and a follower of the basketball game, this would be really good. And I'm excited. I'm up for it. And I can't wait for everyone to watch. You know, I didn't get a chance to play against Bloodson when he was at Kentucky. So this is going to be dope. And it's also good to be in pooping like this late in his career.

Is it going to be more blue or red in the building on Monday? I'm going to guess. I'm going to guess. red. You know, people have been dying to get to Freedom Hall. And maybe the Yom Center to, you know, some, you know, some Cardinal fans might take the Yom for granted. But I don't think a lot of Cardinal friends are going to take Freedom Hall for granted. I think it's going to be 80%, 90% red in there. Russ, let's go back to 2013 for a moment, because it still amazes me what your team did in Roots for

national title. I will never forget, and I know you won't, you won't either, but a five-overtime game against Notre Dame. And the way that Rick Petino tells the story is, after that game, he says he sort of brought you guys together and said, we lost tonight. You know, our full plan here is to not lose again. Is that what you remember? And what do you remember about that? Because then you never did. Yeah, it was tough because I was probably the single, the sole reason we probably lost that game. I think I missed like five game winners, so that was pretty awful. And then when Rick kind of sat us down, because that was the breaking moment, it was like, all right, this is the game where, you know, it can go bad for us or, you know, we can kind of stay on track for what we were doing because we played a good game versus Notre Dame, you know. But for some reason, the magic always happens in South Bend.

And we kind of just stayed together and kind of played the same game we did versus Notre Dame for the first 39 minutes of it. And we got lucky towards the end of the season. We had a tough break with Kevin. But to be able to close out the season the way we did was, I've never been a part of anything like that. One of the best moments of my life. well ross i i can tell that you've uh just reading through box scores that you've been taking part in the uh in this bourbon project because for a guy that has the g league single game

scoring record and that what's average what like 65 points playing in china you're only taking 10 shots a game man what's going on are you are we are you are you lost you get old is that we getting close to the end of the westman no i'm getting older man and i'm maturing um and then also the for this team this year for me was to be a 3-&D guy. I've never been that guy ever in my career. So I've kind of embraced that role, a lot of moving without the ball, and just trying to be the first guy down the court to the corner

to space the flow out for the likes of Chris, David Johnson, and Payton. And then also for Trez, right? We have Trez. So I'm just trying to be a good, the best 3-D guy that I can. and try to do the best job I can in that role. But that role is kind of fun.

It's not a lot of pressure. I'm open most of the time, so it's pretty cool. Have you ever not been open in your own mind, Russ? Do you ever not been open? You know what? Not like that. Not like the last three games. The last three games, I can kind of set my feet.

But most of the time I always think I'm open. But now I'm just, now I'm really open. It's a good feeling. It's a good, great feeling. Russ, you've gotten some time around Pat Kelsey. How do you think he'll do at Louisville? You know, Pat, Pat's an amazing person and amazing human. I truly believe with this team, the transfers they've got in, the players buying in, adding Payton to the staff.

I think he's going to do a tremendous job. Obviously, you know, the last two seasons. the bar isn't isn't super super high so I think we can get over you know eight to ten games but I but I do think this is a at minimum 15 to 21 team and I'm excited to see what the guys are going to do this year they all look locked in and hungry but they might overachieve I would not be surprised if surprised at this team overachieve they have size they play together and they're very well coach pat has been a winner everywhere he's he's been so

We'll see, right? We'll see. I'm just really excited to watch the play. Ross Smith, we appreciate you taking the time. Best of luck Monday night. It's going to be a scene there, my friend, looking forward to it. Yo, thank you so much. I appreciate you, Rob.

Thank you, Fanda, for having me on. I know it was pretty tough being that this is KSaw, but I tried to, you know, I tried to be as straightforward as I possibly could. You're a business man now, and we can see it. Yes, yes, I'm on here as a sponsor, not a player. Yeah, one more promotion, Russ. One more promotion. Go ahead.

Tell us where we can get your stuff. Get your Mr. and Mrs. Bourbon. I actually have our blue label, the traditional Kentucky, and you guys would enjoy that. We're in liquor bars, total wines. We're sold statewide. We're actually in Rupp Arena. So we'll be in Freedom Hall.

Just get your Mr. and Mrs. Bourbon. Give someone. We're here, man. we're here. Thank you so much for having me, guys. Thank you, Russ Smith. Have a great weekend. We will talk to you on Monday night. Thanks. Got you. See you soon. That's Russ Smith. Great stuff. We got a break.

After this, an interesting comment from a fan reacting to a previous caller. Give us a call. How will you react when John Caliperi walks back into Rupp Arena? And what are your expectations for Mark Pope in year one? 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 SportsSlice 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. 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, Fam, this is Isaiah. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.

He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers

why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the, iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to Willie Colley Stein and Russ Smith for joining us on today's Kentucky Sports

Radio show. We're in for Matt Jones, John Fanta, Rob Doster. With you, the Ville and Laughamilians could be plenty of fun Monday night and on Eastern time. They've already sold over 10,000 tickets. You could check out at the tournament, the social media accounts. You're still trying to get into Freedom Hall Monday night. That is going to be one hot ticket. 859-2802-287. Rob, I heard the callerboard is alive and well. We got three callers in the queue. We want to keep them rolling.

We're asking you how you'll receive John Calipari returning to Rob. What you think Mark Pope's going to do here in year one, what you like about this team, what you're concerned about with this team, we want to hear it all from you. So, Shannon, who we got? Let's go to Joseph. Hello, Joseph. Yes, sir.

How are you doing? We're doing well on a Friday morning. What's going on? Man, so my thing is I was 11 when Coach Cal signed with Kentucky. So kind of like a caller earlier, when I think back on Kentucky basketball, I think of Coach Cal. I will always respect him for everything he did for the program because in 2008, this wasn't what it is today. You know, it's always going to be Kentucky basketball. So my expectation is that when he comes back, he is going to get food.

But I won't be one of those people, you know. I'll be, I'll probably cheer for him, you know. You will cheer for him. Yeah. Well, that brings up, that, well, I'm going to cut you off for just a second. That brings up what I was going to talk about out of the break. Because Marissa says to Robin myself, Marissa I, X, Ritz, 18,19. That Rob caller does not speak for all of BBN.

We can be sad he left, but you have to appreciate what he did for us. You don't hang on to old relationships because you can't move on. We broke up, we move on, and we wish each other the best. I will applaud. Do you agree with Marissa? I agree 100%. I told my friends whenever I found out the news that it felt like a breakup. Rob?

I think that's probably the way to handle it. I think there are going to be a lot of booze. But he also did a lot of great things for Kentucky. Sometimes the N-clouds, you know, happened during the process, right? There's still the national championship. There's still the final fours. It's still the 38 and all run, right? There's still all of those memories. There's still Kentucky being that dominant program. So I understand why people are going to boo him when he comes in as the Arkansas head coach, but I do think there's room for appreciation. That's kind of the

way I feel about it. I agree. 100%. And then my- Yeah, go ahead. My expectations for Pope this year, I think finishing top four or five in the SEC and making the tournament wouldn't be a bad, bad first start. And then what do you all think he can do recruiting-wise? Do you all think he can ever get like a top five, top-10 recruiting class? Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's Kentucky. He'll be able to get players, man.

I'm not worried about that. It may not happen immediately. But if you go through and you look at it, me and a fan did the math the other day, there's one player in the top 20 at 24-7 that is committed to a program right now, and that is the 20th recruit. The top 19 guys, uncommitted, and I think half of them at this point have Kentucky offers. Okay, okay. Just seeing what you all thought about that.

Yeah, he'll get him. He will. And he's already got a deep team here this year. I mean, he couldn't get into the same degree, but when you're in the portal, you've got to find gems. Jackson Robinson following him, huge. Kobe Braille was one of the best, well, it's, most efficient scores in college basketball.

Kirk Crease is a veteran guard. Lamont Butler hit one of the biggest shots in the history of the NCAA tournament, right? Andrew Carr is legit, stretch man. Amari Williams was defensive player of the year in the CAA and it's stout. That guy's a house. If you look at me, he's a unit. They got talent. They've already got talent.

And now it's how all the pieces are going to come together. But Pope took BYU and made them a winner in the Big 12 in year one. We cannot underestimate that. More of your calls next. This is 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. What's up guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th.

And on my podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts. show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a

perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45.

How high can it be, getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard now. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network,

available on the IHeart 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. It's not Matt Jones. It's John Fanson, Rob, Domster. Rob, I did like the attorney drop in there as we had a song about breaking up here. Oh, man, that was good. So, Rob, can you tell that even in July that Kentucky fans are juiced about the Cal Top? Because the call board, we have three more callers here.

So I would say that this is, that's why, like, Rob, I know you deal with this all the time. And then we'll get back to the phones. We did the Providence Georgetown game last year when Ed Cooley returned to Providence. And I remember getting texts the night before from other guys that we covered college basketball with, you know, Jeff Borsellos, Matt and Orlando, Kevin Sweeney's, our other teammates. And a couple of the texts that we got were like, yep, you're covering a game between an average team and a team that is having a downright awful year. What a great move by you guys. It wasn't for the game. it was it was for the scene and like in other words it's this stuff matters to the people who

sometimes are like ah you know you guys are blowing it out of proportion you're no we open up the phone lines i asked you earlier what your expectations were for kentucky yeah you're some of you're going to weigh in on that but rob the phone lines instantly blinked up when we said how should cal get received so when people get sometimes are like you guys are blowing it out of proportion overdoing it. No, because there's interest. There's interest on this very topic. I think it's as compelling a topic heading into this year as any. Well, it's also what matters to people, right? Like, you don't root for a team. You don't support a team. You don't become invested in a team without becoming invested in the people in it, right? Like one of the criticisms of college basketball

in recent years is that it's been so difficult to be able to really develop that investment in these players and find that way to that. to kind of watch them grow and watch them develop and want to root for them over the course of four years. So it turns into the coaches. It turns into, okay, I am a John Caliperi fan and a Kentucky fan, right? It turns into you rooting for the people that are running the pro. They are the face of the program in this day and age in college athletics. And when they leave, especially for another program in the conference, you know, the Ed Cooley one was a little bit different because with Kentucky fans, I think there was an indifferent about whether or not Cal was going to

come back and some are probably happy that he is gone. Whereas I don't think at the time a single Providence fan wanted Ed Cooley leaving that program to go to another league or another team in the league. So you see there's a level of vitriol there where I don't know if he's ever going to come back from that. I don't know if there's ever going to be a situation where he can come back to Providence on like a, I don't know, an alumni in 20 years and have people cheer for. Whereas once you get past the initial shock of cows at Arkansas, once you kind of get past the first couple of years of him being there and people kind of get used to it, I have no doubt that there will be a warm reception for him in the future, especially when he is not

the enemy walking into Rupp Arena. But that matters to people, and it should matter to people. And if it doesn't matter you as a sports fan, then you don't care about it enough to be able to have an entire daily show dedicate two hours to talking about Kentucky basketball. So, yeah, it matters. It shouldn't matter. it will matter. And anyone that doesn't think it matters, like you're just jaded in this business.

I'm not surprised that Matt Norlander and Jeff Borsetler are jaded in this business. They're old these days, Fanta. They're not young and sprightly like us. Back to the phone. Shannon, who do we got? Let's go to Fred. Oh, Fred. Oh, how are you guys doing?

I'm great, Fred. How are you? I'm fine. You know, I'm a season ticket holder for 45 years, and I pay thousands. of dollars a year for the diggers. I'm close to the floor. I want to tell you, I'm glad he left.

I think he'll get a good reception came back. I mean, he didn't like leave for another school. He was kind of driven away. And the feeling around the big donors, it was time for him to go. And when he left, he saved us $40 million on a buyout. So I think he'll get a good reception when we come back. That is a great point, Fred.

I mean, he saved just a ton of money. And he's a great recruiter, but he can't coach during games. It's obvious he's got out-coach for everybody. And look at his record for the past five years in the tournament. And last time we went to that lead eight, Auburn out coached us, and they went to the final four. And Arkansas people are going to find that out first couple of years. I mean, but I'm glad he left.

I'm excited for Mark Pope. I don't care if we get a top-10 recruiting class. Look at the past five champs. They win on veterans, experience Trump's talent. any day, and we've got a bunch of experiences in here. I'm expecting great things, but I could care less if he gets the top five recruiting class. Show me the record. You can't win.

Right. Show me the record. Fred, you are what your record says you are. That's right. That's a great call. Great call, Fred. I will care from Cal. I will care from him.

I mean, he's a great guy, good personality. He laughed because he wouldn't love to her anymore, and that means so much to him. And the biggest donor supposedly hadn't talked to him in a couple years. You know, he did some stupid stuff like saying we're a football school right in the middle of recruiting season, or a basketball school right in middle of recruiting season, hurt the football program. I mean, that was stupid to do that, but he did it. You still there? Fred, thank you very much for the call.

You spoke no lies. Thank you. That's a, I couldn't agree with him more. Let's keep it rolling here, Shannon, who we got? Let's go to Joe. Hello, Joe. Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my call. I've just got a couple things, and I'll hang up and listen.

Can we talk and not skip over about the fact that the only thing that Russ Smith could say that being a cardinal was better than a cat was the population size of Louisville? It's not going to be 80 or 90% red in Freedom Hall. The only reason they had good attendance for the first few games was because they haven't gone and seen their own basketball team in two years. and Russ, your bourbon sucks. It looks and tastes like Ohio River water. Elved down, baby. Thanks. Oh, man, Joe.

Russ tried his best to be able to, you know, be the businessman that he is, and Joe just comes on to torches, and I love it. A great call. Thank you so much. Joe stepped out of his office to take a break outside to literally spend 60 seconds and do that, and then he's going to head back into work. And anything that he does, anything he does the rest of the day at work

will pale in comparison to what he just did there. But, hey, Fanta, he is not wrong. I try to give Russ Smith an opportunity to say whatever he wanted to say about Kentucky. And he said, yeah, you know, Louisville's a bigger city than Lexington is. And that's all he had. I respect it, Russ. I respect him trying to avoid pissing everyone off.

But, oh, man, great call, Joe. Shout out to Joe. That was fun. God, that was good. All right, next caller. Lee. Yeah, good morning, KSR. Good morning, Lee.

Hey, listen, Cal will get booed in Kentucky. Yes, he will because of the last few years. Hey, I supported him when he was there, and I was at the National Championship Gaming in 211, and I've been the one at 78, the one in 96 and 98, and he just forgot that he, He kind of like Petino did it last year or two. He thought he got bigger than University of Kentucky,

and he set his go on just getting kickbacks for getting people into the NBA, and he wasn't real nice to a lot of UK people. But he's done a great job supporting the state of Kentucky, and I always appreciate that now, I'm telling you. So will you boo him? Will I boo him? Oh, yeah, I'll boo him. I got season tickets, and I'll boo him.

booing and and now I might not boo him if I was in a neutral setting somewhere but in Ruppereen I'm going to boo him just like I booed Rick Petino when he came back and flipped his office. But Lee, Lee, let me ask you this. How long is it going to be before you can, you can appreciate what he did? Is it just going to be something where when he comes back in wearing that the, that Arkansas read that it's going to be a problem or if he comes. back to like an alumni in five years. Are you going to be cheering for him then?

Oh, yeah, I appreciate what he did. Believe me, I did. He brought us back into dominance and a major player. And, you know, it got to where we can see him on ESPN on the road call there, Kentucky would be up in the top five on everything. So I appreciate that. I really do. I don't appreciate him hanging on the last five years.

And, and, I mean, Lord, he gave us a break. He gave us a $30 million break, you know, so good for him. He's smart, but he ain't smart. So anyway, and Mark Polk would do a great job. He will do a great job. He loves Kentucky. He's kind of put Kentucky fans back in the ownership of UK basketball program,

which Cal seems to kind of think he has the ownership of the University of Kentucky. But I go way back listening to Cotton. and everything else. And I've been, like I said, four of the eight national championships. And I'm always going to be Kentucky Wildcats first and not any coach, no matter who it is. And Louisville, if the only thing he can come up with, more people, that's pretty sad. And you know it and I know it.

You can go never, Kentucky takes care of their ex-players better than any program in America. ever has and ever will. And if you don't, even if you sit on a bench and you're loyal and you've been there four years, you're going to have a nice job and make a nice living because UK's going to make sure you they take care of you. And other than that, I say some, the L's down to Louisville and go catch. There you go, Lee. Appreciate you calling me.

Thank you. God, these fans are epic. I mean, it's so good. I'm just going to tell you this here. The way that you guys, you Kentucky fans, stand by your brand, I'm not saying I'm surprised, but it is late July. And Monday night's game obviously helps with the buzz and the momentum and all of that. But to me, this is why we do what we love, Rob. This is why we do what we love because of the amount of passion and the amount of

energy that's surrounding these programs. And it has not gone well for you in recent years, Kentucky fans, in March, which is when it matters most. And I'm sure that you look at Kansas and you look at Yukon and to a certain extent, Duke and Carolina, look, you want to take back what is yours. You want that. You think Mark Pope gets that? On the gets us meter, Mark Pope's an 11 out of 10.

And you're seeing all of that energy, I think, pretty. produce what's going to be the rise is the best part rob and we're about to see the rise start to occur i'm not saying that they're going the elite a here in year one but i i'll say it's going to be fun to see how this thing grows because i don't think mar pope's going to fail i really don't i think he's going to succeed yeah and you know i i do love that it is july 26th it is a friday it is 1145 a m and we've now had back-to-back callers come in calling and uh just roast a player that graduated from Louisville 11 years ago about the bourbon that he is making now. I think that that tells you everything you need to know about Big Blue and this fan base.

And it's why we love what we do, man. It's only college sports. You don't get this anywhere else. It's awesome. Great, great callers. Let's take another break. We'll be back with one final segment after this. You're listening to 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 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 to. answer. 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. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, A. Ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Come on out. Quarterback on office, blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney.

My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen to Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. All right, final segment of KSR. We'll get back to John and Robin just a minute. Let me

quickly pay some bills here and tell you that this segment is sponsored by Shady Ray's. If you're tired of paying for expensive sunglasses only to lose or break them, you need to check out Shady Rays. An independent American-owned company started right here in Kentucky. They have and polarized shades for every activity. And if you lose or break your shades, you can just go to Shady Rays and let them know. They'll replace those shades for you, no questions asked. And right now, if you use the promo code KSR,

you're going to save 50% off two or more pairs in store at their flagship location or at the summit at Fritz Farm. You can also go online to shady raise.com. All right. John and Rob, I've enjoyed these phone calls. These have been maybe the best phone calls of the year. Right. And I don't want them to stop now, Rob.

So this is for you, callers. This is rapid fire here. Okay? We got four callers. I want to try to make everybody happy. So we're going to give each of you about 45 seconds. We're not going to react much off of them. We got like five minutes.

Let's go the phones. Go ahead. Evan, go. Hey, guys. You guys are doing a great job today. bouncing back to your first segment, talking about players being specialized. One thing you guys missed on was Amari Williams. Coach Pope has talked about he's an elite passer.

his over under this year on assist will be three and a half. And then a quick shout out to my son Walker Beck and his lovely and talented girlfriend, Claire Knoth for Princeton, Kentucky, for winning the prestigious two-man golf tournament at Lakewood National, Russell Springs, Kentucky. Go Cats. Hells

down. Hey, congratulations. Congratulations. Next caller. David. Go ahead, David. Hey, I'm a cards fan. Go cards. I wanted to say Rush Smith is going to be right. It's going to be 80% red in there. And the one thing about Louisville is better than Lexington is our future. We're going to win the next eight out of ten.

Go cards. Wow. That's her delusional call of the day. Oh, boy. Now, if the next caller is a Kentucky fan, I want their reaction from that call just now. Sherry, go ahead. Sherry. That caller's full of it.

The reason that I think that Louisville had a great attention. attendance last week was the first game. They played Bellarmann. And Bellarmine has a great fan that brought all the attendance. So there is no way that there's going to be more red than blue. Thank you, guys. Thank you, John. Rob, hold, before the, before the, how many calls do we have in the queue right now?

We've got one right now. One more left. All right, hold on. We'll wait on the one. Rob. This is for a, this is for a, a, a, a, a, a, semi-pro basketball game on Monday. Now, basketball tournament is incredible.

The TBT is, it really is fun. The Elam ending is second to none. But this is for a TBT game Monday night. In July. Rob, will you watch? It's awesome, man. Will you be watching, Rob? Will you be watching?

Yeah, of course I will. What else are going to be doing? You know, because I'm going to be in the Bahamas, Fanta. So I'll be watching the Bahamas. and I'm going to be enjoying it with maybe a nice Mr. and Mrs. Smith-Burban. Well, I like Mr. and Mrs. Smith-Burban, but the caller who called earlier did not. But we love Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and we thank Russ Smith for joining us. We thank Willie Colley-Stine for joining us.

Tyler Ullis, by the way, he was getting his phone fixed. He apologizes. He'll surely come on another time. Back to the phones. Let's go to Bill. I had something I wanted to say, but the Louisville caller just threw me off. I mean, I know it's noon and he's probably already drunk, knowing his fandom.

But if he thinks that they're going to win eight of anything, it's going to take him probably three years, judging by their previous seasons. I'm not going to boo cow because I like what he did for the state. Don't get me wrong, I've been pissed off last five seasons for what he's put us through as fans. And again, I know Louisville can't relate, because they would have begged to be, you know,

in any type of tournament the last two seasons. but, you know, maybe next year. Maybe if that guy, whoever they got over there, the Flatbill guy, maybe he can do it. And then lastly, I think Pope's got a pretty good leash. I think he's got two or three years to get us something cooking. I mean, I'm willing to sit by because I think this guy loves the state, loves the program. So he's got my vote. Guys, have a good one.

Thank you. Thank you. Eight wins in the next three years is what he said, Fanta. Eight wins in the next three years. No, no. That caller previously has eight Louisville wins. out of the next 10 Kentucky games. By the way, Kentucky's gone 13 and 3

in the last 16 meetings with Louisville. That's pretty good. That is pretty good. We got any other call with Shannon? No, right now we're empty. But I think that we had enough epic calls for the show to last the entire summer. Holy smokes.

Rob, final thoughts here because we'll have plenty of content at the field of 68 as our summer continues and then into the early fall on your expectations for Kentucky. My expectations for them is to be in and around the top 25 for most of the year. I think that they should absolutely be a tournament team. I think that they should win at least a game in the tournament with the roster that they put together and how old this group is. They have guys that have won at a high level. We've seen Lamont Butler make a game winning shot.

in the final four. You know, we've seen the success that some of these other guys have had, Anzley Almanor is a guy we haven't talked about much, but he has been part of a team that upset a number one seed in the NCAA tournament before. And they got rolled guys. I really do believe that this is a tournament team that should be winning 20 to 24 games that should be in the top 25 in the top five in the SEC.

For Rob Doster, our producer, Shannon. I'm John Fanta. Enjoy your weekend, Big Blue Nation. Thanks for tuning in with us. Thank you to callers. Thanks to Willie Colley Stein and Russ Smith. 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 Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker. You know these kids. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.