KSR - 2024-12-09 - KSR - Hour 1

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

Myron Medcalf and Billy Rutledge co-host today's edition of Kentucky Sports Radio.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 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 Clivert 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. Hey, ref, 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. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva,

and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sacks. Wait, what sex? Is it just me? or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try.

So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was fine. You just understood.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Markeep coming to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Comedy of Broadway and Lexington welcomes John Rudnicki, November 22nd and 23rd. Then catch Jan Marcos Seraci, November 29th and 30th. And don't miss John Reep. December 5th through the 7th. Comedy Off 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 Comedy off Myron Metcalfe back in the mix here on KSR on another

Merry Monday Yeah, wow, what a weekend. It's been a weekend, man, for all you Kentucky fans after everything that went down on Saturday. What a wild game. Billy, I know you were, did you do the post game show after that? What's up, Myron? I'm glad to be with you today.

I did. We didn't end until 3 a.m. on Saturday night. My goodness, man. I was thinking about that. like, what is that like for players too? You know, when you go, everyone talks about going west coast to east coast. But like, you know, if you're Kentucky, you probably feel like it's, you know, almost midnight or whatever it is your body does in a game like that.

And I wondered, Billy, honestly, if that contributed to the start, right? Like I wondered if like you being in a situation with this three-hour time difference and, you know, your body saying it's 10 o'clock, really. And, you know, you don't play games that start at 10 o'clock normally. So I did wonder if that had contributed to, you know, what happened at the start of the game. But then, you know, they're down 18. They come back in one of the craziest comebacks I've seen.

But wow. Lots to talk about today. Another Merry Monday. You all know how I do it, Meyer Metcalf. I want to hear about something that made you smile. What's the number, Billy? what number do they call? Yeah, let me get through kind of the start of the show here.

You can call the Clark's Pump and Shop phone line. That's 859-280-2287. Normally you can text the A-Vision Auto Glass text machine, but we don't have access to that. But we do want to remind you that the show is brought to you by the T.J. Smith Law Office. You call T.J., he'll make them pay. And you're right, Myron. We've got a lot to react to after that big historic comeback win for the cats on Saturday. And, you know, it was an eventful week playing Clemson and then Gizaga.

Did I mess up your start of the show? Like, did you have a script you were supposed to read? And I just, I walked all over. No, no, no. We got through it. No, we got through it. Yeah, we just had to mention a couple sponsors off the top. And I'm here, really, to make sure we get the other ads in.

So we're glad to have you back, Myron. Yeah, you got to keep me in line. You know, Matt will tell you that. Like, you got to keep me, like, let me know when we got to do certain things because I'll just keep going. You know what I mean? So I appreciate that. Merry Monday, call, and I want to hear about things that made you smile over the weekend. I'm sure there would be a lot of Kentucky people excited about the game.

Here was my thought, right? Can I be honest about that Kentucky game? Yeah, be honest. Let's do it. What I thought, right? Because I think that game is going to be the game you look at on Selection Sunday. Not because of what Gonzaga means for a resume, right? Not because of that.

But because I think you may look back at that game. and go, that's when it became Mark Pope's team. Right? And I'm not saying it wasn't before, right? Mark Pope gets the job. Obviously, there were some people, there were some doubters. He quickly won a lot of people over with how he approached the job. Then he comes out in week one of the season and he beats Duke in the Champions Classic.

There are a whole lot of people who were going in that moment. Wow. Forget if we doubted him. We certainly believe now. But I felt like Saturday's game really put Mark Pope's. stamp on the program. Because when you're down 18 points and you're on the road. And yeah, it wasn't a quote, true road game.

But in Seattle, that is Gonzaga country, even though I was shocked by how many Kentucky fans had gone out there. But, you know, that was one of those moments where if Kentucky doesn't respond in the second. Win or lose. Like if they just get smacked in the face by Gonzaggart and they lose by 15, 25 points, there are teams, Billy, who haven't recovered from those moments. There are teams that you can look at in any season and go, oh, they got punched in the mouth and they never recovered.

And then you just see them kind of limping through the season and you realize that they never found a way to kind of put that behind them. That could have been that for Kentucky. Like that could have been the moment where you look back on Selection Sunday and you go, they faced real adversity. They didn't respond. And now that becomes a shadow over the program the rest of the way. I've seen it happen. It certainly can't happen. Instead, and I don't know what Mark Pope said to this team in the locker room.

I'd be curious. What do you think he said, Billy? What do you think he told the team in the locker room? Like if you were Mark Pope and you were given a speech at halftime, what would you have said to a team down at one point by 18 points against Gonzaga? I think Mark Pope probably said we got him right where we want him, Myron. This is a coat. Maybe.

You know, he talks about like, collecting data. Collecting data in the first half to adjust in the second. But they did it without a point guard. I mean, their starting point guards not in the game. Their backup point guard goes down. They have to put Jackson Robinson at the point. I mean, I think you're exactly right.

A seed line game when it comes to when you're putting the tournament together in March, I think a lot of people will look back at this game against a top 10 Gonzaga team that was up 16 at the half. It's incredible looking back. Yeah, and the bracket is the bracket, right? Like for me, like that'll be the tangible element of this, right? Does this make them a one seed or whatever it is? There's a very tangible component of this. But just in terms of like who you are, like that's one of those.

We blame coaches for everything. And I sometimes can't stand it if I'm being honest, right? Because we want coaches to do it all in moments like that. And certainly coaches deserve blame, you know, if teams lose to a certain degree. But I also think there are moments where like, Players got to look at themselves in the mirror and say, who are we? And I really thought it was that moment for Kentucky. I mean, I tweeted that.

I felt like no matter what Mark Pope said, the Kentucky Wildcats had to sit in that locker room and they had to say, who are we? Like, what are we going to be? We're down 16 at half, right? Down by as much as 18. You have, your starting point guard is out. And defensively, you could see what happened without Lamont

and the challenges that they had in that first time. half with Ryan Nemhart and how good he was. Then Kirk Creesa goes out and now he's scheduled for surgery and out indefinitely. You are short-handed and you have been punched in the face by a Gonzaga team that scored 50 points in the first half. And I don't care what Mark Pope said. I mean, meaning I don't think that was the most important element. Mark Pope could have given a Rocky Balboa speech.

He could have given a Vince Lombardish speech. He could have given the greatest speech in the history of speeches, right? That to me was secondary to what Kentucky and the players in that locker room and the decision they were going to make in that moment. How will we respond right now? And I think that changes the team to go from down that big at halftime on the road, away from home, and then you claw back into that game. And you could just see not only the momentum changing. You could see Gonzaga. Like, you know what I mean?

It was like, you know, I watch a lot of boxing. ability, right? And you can see how like sometimes early, you'll have a fighter who's getting the best of the other guy for four or five, six rounds. And then like in round seven, all of a sudden, the guy who's losing comes back and starts throwing haymakers. And you can see the fight change. That happened against Gonzaga. All of a sudden, you could see how rattled Gonzaga was. You could see how much pressure they suddenly felt because they went from a team that had scored 50 points in the first time. was up by 16 to wait a minute guys we can't lose this lead and anytime you're going to make an opponent feel like the goal is to preserve a lead and not win the game you got them and i think kentucky did that because they're short-handed and i think gonzagga's looking at them and going why are you all still fighting why are you still throwing punches in the ninth and tenth round i thought we had you this should be over you should quit and i think that's why that half and whatever happened in that locker room

will be impactful for the rest of the year for this team, Billy, because Mark Pope could only do so much. But those guys made a decision that they weren't going to go out like that. And that says a lot about who they are. Like to me, on the court, people will say

this is a national championship caliber team. I agree. When you can beat Gonzaga in that situation, when you can beat Duke, you are on that level. Beyond that, clearly a team that has a level of fight and heart that Mark Pope can't do anything about. That's not about Mark Pope. That's about those guys.

And those guys decided, you know, Jackson and Andrew Carn, all those dudes said, you know what? We're better than this. And I think that is the strongest message that that team has said. That's bigger than Duke. I mean, symbolically, that's a big win over Duke, obviously. In the brackatology, that's a big win over Duke. But in terms of like what's going to happen the rest of the way, you just lost the Clemson. And now here you are down 16 points, 18 is the largest deficit you have and you come back?

That's some real stuff, man, that can change a team's outlook. And I think that second half was that important for Kentucky, Billy. Yeah, there's no doubt. I mean, belief in yourself can be one of the strongest things out there. That's why I find myself on the biggest sports talk radio show in the Commonwealth with Meyer Medcalf and ESPN radio host. Because I believed in myself, Myron, to get to this point. And you saw that really take shape in the eyes of these Kentucky players, but they did it a different way. You know, they shoot only 28% from 3-7 of 25.

They bust out the one-three-one zone in the second half that just confused Gonzaga just enough to allow the cats to kind of find that belief and momentum. So it's really encouraging because you looked at this week, you hoped that they could go one-in-one. It's actually a loss to Clemson and a big win versus Gonzaga. but, you know, I like what you're preaching about these guys will be able to carry this comeback win on for the rest of the season to say, hey, we can come back in any scenario, despite when the odds are against us. If you can pick anybody to give a halftime speech in that situation, like if Mark Pope could, like, call somebody, who would you want to give the halftime speeches? That's a great question. Who would give the greatest halftime speech? I'm going to put that out to the callers, too.

Who would be, I want to know about your Merry Mondays, but also if you could pick. anybody ever who's your halftime speech for me i think billy it'd have to be like morgan freeman you know i mean oh you want morgan the voice of god to come in and motivate you for the second man if morgan freeman walked in and my team is down like 16 and half and he gives one of those like shawshank redemption speeches like we're winning by 30 i feel like so i think that would be my pick i am curious what other people think yeah i'm i might go like yeah i was thinking i don't know why this is the first person i thought about but like Matthew McConaughey could come in and like really fire me up.

That'd be a lot though. That'd be a lot, though. I mean, he wants to do. Yeah. He'd do too much, I think. I want to buy a Buick every time I watch his commercial. I figure he can get me fired up for the game. But I like Morgan for him a little better than that one.

I mean, Matthew McConae, like the problem with Matthew McConae doing a halftime speech is he's going to stay on the bench the whole game. And at one point he's going to try to check in. Like, it's going to get weird with Matthew McConae. I mean, you know what I mean? That's the check. Like when I see him at these Texas football games, I'm like, Brad, you don't play. Yeah. But you don't play.

Like, why are you so close to the sideline in the action, man? Like, take a deep breath. But Morgan Freeman for me, yeah, Matthew McCona. I get that. Whoever, whatever they said, though, it was clearly changed the vibe, man, in that locker room. We got, how many minutes we got left, man? We can do whatever you want. This is a soft break.

So you can break now. We can go another five minutes. It's the next one. We'll have a heart out. So I got another thing to say here. And we got callers. We'll get to callers here throughout the show. I did a big piece on Mark Pope, flew around the country to get and talk to people and talk to him.

And literally had to like chase him down. By the way, I went to like, I was on my way to Kentucky. And they were like, no, he's at Peach Jam. I changed my flight, Billy. I go to Peach Jam in Georgia or South Carolina. Then I come back to Lexington. It was a lot. But I had a chance to sit down with Mark Pope.

this summer. And, you know, we were talking about the job and everything. And, you know, one of the conversations I had with him, I said, you know, Mark, this team has obviously the veterans, the talent, you got that. But I said, do you have any dogs? You know what I mean? Like, do you have any dudes? And I think that was the real question for Mark Pope coming into the season.

It was the thing that I think he admitted he didn't know yet. You know what I mean? Like, he didn't know. And I think if there's one thing that Kentucky certainly had under Cal, it's like you always had one, two, three guys where you said, I don't know what the situation's going to be, but those guys are going to be as good, if not better than anybody on the opposing team,

just from a raw talent perspective, right? We know that didn't always lead to wins. But I think that was the one question mark Pope face. When you're down in a moment like this, who is it? Like who's the guy you're going to turn to? Who are the players you going to say, All right, Superman, you know, going to the phone booth. Right.

And by the way, Billy, on a side note, nobody saw Superman changing in that dog on phone booth. Are you kidding me? Billy, are you serious? This man has on glasses and slacks and a trench coat, whatever he's wearing, and a briefcase. And there's nobody near that phone booth that sees him changing Billy. Yeah, I'm calling BS. Yeah. You want me to believe that.

Come on, man. That's not that. A phone booth would be the worst way to try to conceal you being a superhero. But anyways, I digress. I don't know. I think that was the question. I don't think Mark Pope knew if he had any dogs. And I'll say this.

I mean, Andrew Carr obviously played great. I don't know that this team has those kinds of dudes, right? Those takeover guys. But what I think they have and what I think they showed against Gonzaga is they can play team ball better than any team in the country. And what I think happened in the first half, and you saw this, Billy, when they got down,

Kentucky started taking some bad shots. Shots where you're going, okay, these aren't shots that are coming out of what you do philosophically. These are shots coming out of desperation. I got to climb back into the game. What you saw in the second half was how good this team is when they're moving the ball. when they're making the extra pass,

when they're playing selfless basketball. That's what you saw. I don't know if this team has, outside of maybe Andrew Carr, maybe some others who you go, okay, this guy is going to be first team all SEC. I don't know what that'll look like when the awards are announced.

But when they come together, I think what you saw in the second half is they can beat any team in America. I think that's the difference between the first half against Gonzaga and the second half. You're down your point guard. You're down a second point guard.

you're down by 18 points, 16 at the half, you're on the road, you're not at home. You just got punched in the mouth. And you just gave up 50 points to Gonzaga in the first half. There's no way one dude's going to pull you out of that. But I think Kentucky learned, and I'm talking about the players. And maybe Mark Pope did too, how good they can be when they're playing together. But I think you saw it Clemson. I think you saw in the first half against Gonzaga.

when that's not the flow of the game, it gets really challenging. And now without your point guards and now injuries to those key positions, you're going to have to continue to play that way to move forward in the schedule. We're going to take a break here, hopefully get some calls, got a whole lot to talk about. I want to hear your perspective on the game. I want to hear about who you would give the halftime speech opportunity to. If you were Mark Pope at halftime of that game,

we will be back after this. 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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice 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, fam, this Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ 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 every. 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 Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after 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. What's up, guys? this is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, the Clivert 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, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clivert show. on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practice. practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming.

The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet.

Help! Somebody, please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives,

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on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back on another Merry Monday with Myron Metcalf. No Matt Jones and company. I don't know if they're flying. How are they getting back here? Oh, they're flying back. Yeah, they're flying. They're not driving the five, six-day trip it would take to come back.

That's wild, man. Long way out there. Like, 2020, 24. Like, we got planes, man. It was cool. Mark Pope shouted them out in the post-game press conference. They were like, see those guys over there? They drove all the way from Lexington for this game. But he was probably a little bit like, they didn't have to, but they did.

You know what I love a good road trip, and I'm glad they enjoyed it. We got some calls here on this Merry Monday. Who's our first caller? Yeah, let's start with Ed on the line. Ed, how you doing? What's something that made you happy? Hey, Ed, what's something that made you happy? something that made your smile.

Hey, let me tell you. This team now is playing like the team that I grew up with. I mean, the winning games are supposed to win, and games were as iffy, they find a way to win. I couldn't be more thrilled, more happy.

What about that one-three-one zone, which Coach Cow would have never had done? I mean, it's just a great time to be a wildcat. And as we get ready for the next victim, to come up, another one will fight the dust, go cats, and that's all I got to say. I appreciate the call, Ed. Yeah, Billy, I'm sure like that sort of the vibe, right?

And, you know, that changed from first half to second half, right? How were you feeling at halftime, Billy? I thought the game was over, Myron. I mean, and after a loss versus Clemson, you're out Lamont Butler. I mean, you think that this team, you know, is when they face it. adversity, they hit a wall. But, you know, the really surprising thing is how different guys have responded. Jackson Robinson had one point against Duke. He was one for eight shooting in the first half versus Gonzaga, and yet he comes in and plays that second half. You know, Andrew Carr scores,

what, three points total versus Clemson? And then he's able to score 19 in the following game. Like these guys, it doesn't have to be their night each night, but they can respond when needed. So that was really encouraging. And just imagine, too, if you go from that, first, from that Clemson loss. And imagine if you play that way in the first half and lose that game to Gonzaga. If you lose to Clemson and Gonzaga in that fashion and Gonzaga wins by 20 points or 15 points, that's a whole different conversation. Yeah.

Right? That's not even just about the next game. That's a conversation about, okay, who are these guys in the national picture? But instead you bounce back. And now you've got the whole country saying, I think that team can win a national championship. Who's the next caller? Tyler is on the line. What's up, Tyler?

How you doing, man, on this Merry Monday? What's something that made you happy, something that made you smile? I would be honest with you. I smiled as soon as I realized that my MECFAC is going to be hosted today. Okay. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Okay.

And as far as the game, really and truly, seeing how this team has made up the makeup of this team, they're older, more experienced and mature. I mean, really, it's not surprising what happened against Gonzaga. But, yeah, I think this team has some grit and some heart to it that we haven't had in a long time. And I'm definitely happy. Appreciate the call, Tyler. I think Tyler brings up a good point, Billy.

I don't know that the same thing happens if you have 18 and 19-year-olds in that locker room and you're down 16 and a half against Gonzaga. You know what I mean? I just don't know that you have the ability to regain your command. composure in that moment. But to have a bunch of veteran guys, I can see how these guys could believe and all the games they've been in

throughout their careers, it's not over. It's hard to communicate that to young guys. Like, it's hard to tell a 17 or 18 year old it's not over. Because the thing about freshmen coming into this level is so many of those dudes,

Billy, went 30 and 1, 30 and 2, 30 and three. Like some of those dudes come in, and they've lost less than 10 games in their high school careers. You know what I mean? They don't even know what loss is.

So to put them in a situation against Gonzaga and you're down 16 at halftime, and you haven't really ever lost many games, and you certainly haven't been down like that. Hard to get guys that young to respond. And I think you also saw the value of having experience across that team and how that helps.

helped when it came to bouncing back big time against Gonzaga. Experience was a significant factor. And I think what happened in that game. We'll be back for more. Merry Monday with Myron Metcad. Black Jones is back, baby. We'll talk to you soon. I'm here, Meyer, and I'm right here.

Aren't you loving the Al Green here? Yeah, I was saying, have you become a fan of that? Oh, I didn't hear that. I'm sorry. I absolutely. I took your advice and played it with the, with the lady friend at our dinner. It was great.

It was great ambiance. Did it change things? I mean, it set the mood. There's no doubt about it. Let me tell you something, though, about what you just did. You can't go back to anybody else. You can't introduce Al to the relationship and then just take it away. You know what I mean?

So I would say two, three times a year, surprise it with some Al. Because you just, you know, you can't just bring it in and then all of a sudden it's it's gone. That's not how Al Green works. Okay? So keep a consistent Al Green theme. It'll help everything. Trust me. Because Al never misses, man. Never misses. Yeah, I kind of told on myself

and you're right. Now I can't go back. Before we get to some of these calls, let me tell you about Don Franklin though, Myron. Choose from thousands of new and pre-owned vehicles right now from Don Franklin Auto, no matter your situation. Don Franklin has tools and the experience to help you find your perfect vehicle to fit

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Don Franklinato.com. Don Franklin Auto driven by family. Back to you, Myron. Don Franklin is a car salesman name. Ain't it? Like, hey, man, where you go? I'm going to get this car from Don Franklin. Like, that's a car salesman. I like simple car salesman names. You know what I mean? No, I do. I agree with you. Like multiple syllable. I'm not, you know, like some of these dealerships have, you know, it's like three different names. I don't like all that. I'll go see Don't think my car. I'll go see Don't Franklin to get my car. I like that. It's simple. So, yeah, all you listeners go see Don Franklin. We got some more calls

on this Mary Monday. A lot of people reacting to Kentucky and what they were able to do. I'll just say this before we go to calls. This feels, and I know we say this in college basketball every year, because we're always talking about parity and all these different things. It's never real, by the way. If you look at who's won national championships

over the last 25 years, there hasn't been as much parity as think when it comes to who can actually cut down the nets. But I do feel like this is a year that feels somewhat wide open. I do, however, believe that of the, I don't know, 8 to 15 teams, is that too much, Billy? In terms of who can win a national championship, maybe 15 is too high. But I do feel like Kentucky is sort of in that group of teams where you go, okay, Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Duke, I think, is there.

Teams that it feels like are putting themselves into a position where you can say maybe they'll end up separating themselves from the pack here in the next couple of months based on what we've seen so far. I mean, you know, Kentucky with wins over Duke. Now that's that come from behind win over Gonzaga. I don't think there's anyone with that resume so far this season. And just the SEC overall has been incredible.

But I think we're going to have an amazing tournament. And I think the best of the best, once we get to sort of that elite eight, I think it will be fascinating to kind of see who's there and to see who comes out on top. But if Kentucky can beat Gonzaga and can beat Duke at neutral sites, then that means they can play with anybody. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, we saw Missouri beat Kansas over the weekend. I mean, we could have eight, nine teams in the SEC that you could put into that conversation.

You know, you're kind of touching on a point I did want to ask. Rescue Meyer. And that's, you know, how does this Kentucky team compare to these other top national teams? I'm guessing you're looking at it and seeing that it's wide open. You know, it is still early in December, but you've traveled around a little bit. You're the college basketball reporter for ESPN. So, I mean, does this team have that type of talent? Let me tell you how much I've traveled, man. I had a stretch last week where I was at 10 airports.

I'm sorry, I was at seven airports in 10 days. It's a lot, man. So I've seen a lot. seen a lot of teams. But I mean, I think Kentucky can play with any of them. You know, I thought Auburn was maybe the best team in America. They go and play Duke. And it's like, all right, well, Kentucky beat that Duke team.

You know what I mean? So Kansas, there are a lot of questions about Kansas that were going into that game. I think Bill Self is still trying to figure out his rotation. But that's a good team. I don't think they've come close to peaking yet. I think Iowa State is a very good team. Tennessee will be number one today, I believe, when the associated press rankings are announced.

I'm not ready to completely dismiss Yukon, but I have a hard time putting them in that category after what they said, after what happened in Maui. And then, yeah, I think Gonzaga's probably the team I would have said coming into that game is going to be the team that maybe is right there at number one, number two, if they beat Kentucky, and then Kentucky does that.

So, I mean, you can legitimately say that Kentucky can play with any team in America and, you know, can, I think if you told me the NCAA tournament was today, there wouldn't be a team in the field where you said, all right, that team can overwhelm them. Because again, I think they have a lot of depth. They have a lot of experience. They have resilience.

And then clearly the talent showed as well. I don't want to make it seem like I don't think they're very talented. I do. I just think their strength is actually in their ability to come together. And they showed that. during that run in the second half. Who's our first, our next caller? Yeah, let's go to Sean on the Clark Spumpin-Shap phone line.

What's up, Sean? Hey, guys. How are y'all doing? I'm doing good, Myron. Thanks for being on this morning. Yeah, man, what made you happy? What made you smile? What made me happy is I got to eat dinner last night with all four of my children.

Yeah, that's beautiful, man. Kentucky, Big Gonzaga always makes me smile. Billy, if Matthew McConaughey is your motivational speaker and it makes you want to buy a Buick, that's not good because he sells Lincoln. And I believe my motivational halftime speaker would be, it would be Martin Pope because I don't know what he has said at halftime, but man, it must be good because it's working for these cats. And I love this team.

And I'm just looking forward to the rest of the season. Who would be your halftime guy? Who would you bring in? who are half time it would be mark it would be mark pope mark pope because he's doing a great job so that's who I won't yeah that's true I might bring in Rocky Balboa

appreciate you guys yeah thank you Sean appreciate the call I might bring in Rocky Balboa maybe Rocky like Rocky that's a high talent fee to get Sylvester yeah but that would be I mean I'll be Sylvester as Rocky he's got to be in character too

yes isn't he always in character though yeah yeah that's kind of who he is Just alone. You know, our guy, Ryan Lemon, is known to give a good pep talk every now and then. Do you think he could rally the troops or you think that would fall flat? In that situation? Yeah.

Nah, I don't know. I don't know, Ryan, like, you're down 16 at half. Like, you got to be like Rudy levels in that moment. You know what I mean? That's not just a pep talk. That's like you got to be epic. And I don't know if there are that many people who could have pulled that off. But I would love to know exactly what Mark Pope said to that team.

What's the next caller? All right. Let's go to Clint. Clint, you're on. Hey, Mary Monday. Hey, what's something that made you happy? Something that made you smile. I woke up this morning.

That's always a blessing. Ain't that beautiful? Isn't that enough, Clint? Like, we take that for granted. So many people did not get a chance to wake up. I think that's a great answer. My point today was, I think someone almost hit to it. This team is really player-driven.

I think that's one of the biggest differences from past teams is this team has really taken on leadership roles where we didn't see those in the past teams. You know, with these young guys, they're really dependent on the coach more on, more or less than on each other. So I think that's the biggest point that I've seen so far in this year. Yeah, no, I appreciate the call.

I mean, you see it in a moment like that, right? I mean, Jackson Robinson is point guard. You're playing a really good Gonzaga team. that I don't know if people remember, but they destroyed Baylor. Like, I mean, not like they lopsided. Like, when they get out in front like that, Billy, Gonzaga destroys teams

and how they shut the water off on that team. And there were a lot of people saying, oh, Gonzaga just missed threes. What are you talking about? Could you imagine, Billy, what the national conversation would have been like if Kentucky had been up by 16 and it lost that game? Like, if Kentucky had a halftime lead of 16 points,

and had found a way to lose. Do you think anybody in America would have said, well, Kentucky just missed shots? Absolutely not. People would have said that was a collapse. They would have given Gonzaga full credit as they should. And if you didn't watch that game, then say so. But if you watched it, you saw the,

it wasn't just the one-three-one zone. I know people are saying that. That was big. It was that Mark Pope was switching from that one-three-one to man on the same possession. So you had guys who were coming down to, court for Gonzaga, ready to adjust to a one-three-one, and then just as they got comfortable, Mark Pope would switch to man.

And because he has so much length on the floor, there were never a lot of mismatches. I mean, there were multiple possessions if you watched that game, where Andrew Carr, Jackson Robinson, these big long guys are on Ryan Nimhart. And that's how they shut the faucet off. I mean, they shut the faucet off on Gonzaga, and it changed the entire game. How much more time we got in this segment? We got time for one more call if you wanted to take one more and then we can hit the break here.

All right. Let's go. Let's go the next call. All right. So let's go to Todd on the line. Todd. How you doing on this Merry Monday, man? What's something that made you happy?

Something that made your smile? What makes I still have both of my parents alive and I got to spend yesterday with my 84-year-old mother? That's a beautiful thing, man. That's a beautiful thing. I love that answer. What else? What did you think of the game?

The game I like to take that for the time. individual ball. They did the exact opposite against the Gonzaga, and they came together as a team to overcome the deficit. Yeah. I appreciate the call. I think everyone kind of saw that, Bidde, that this was a team that didn't do it with one person saying, I got it. That it was the whole team that said, we got it. And I think that's how they have to play. That's how they beat Duke at the end. That was team defense. And that's how they won against Gisgisg. Zagga, too. And another guy that struggled versus Clemson, but played well versus Gonzaga, was Brandon Garrison. There were

times when Amari Williams really disappeared and he was a guy that I thought that played better defense. You know, Myron, I want to ask you, if you fracture your foot in game, would you still be able to contest the layup as Kirk Creeza did in the second half of that game? Because I tell you what, I'd be on the ground. I wouldn't be contested any

layup. I don't know what that man is made up, man, to be able to do what he did. And that hard, that's an unfortunate thing. You know, it's, They're saying, I think, three to six weeks, but you know, you hope it's shorter. But, man, to be able to come together like that after losing another point guard is just remarkable, man. Just remarkable. We'll take a break here and we'll be back with more of your calls on this Merry Monday with Myron Metcalf.

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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining 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 gather. 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 Nasree. 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 Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball like. After 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. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Come on. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What?

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Please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions.

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Hypocrat as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told

myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself.

We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized. but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more.

Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Ah, oh, come on, Al. I'm so in love with you. You know about this, Billy? Oh, yeah.

Now I do, thanks to Myron Mary Mondays. Here we go. That's all right with me. Al just talks to you. That's what I love about Al, Billy. Like, Al is just talking to her. Like, he's not, these aren't even songs. Like, he's just sitting across from her and he's talking to her.

Because, like, that was a time, Billy, when we had real love songs in music. And maybe I sound old. That's okay. But, like, real love songs. songs and that's what I appreciate about the old school and Al Green and just everything that he did. But I was an old soul building. I was like nine years old and I had Al Green's greatest hits. I don't know if that's normal or not, but I did. Like a lot of kids listening like sort of the newer music, I was all old school R&B, man. So love to hear some Al Green on a merry Monday, man.

You got into the catalog early. You got in there early. It's change your life. But it's change your life too, right? It has. And I'm looking forward to the podcast. You know, we don't get the music on the podcast anymore. So you'll just get a little acapella, Myron Medcaf right there. I would do an Acapella album if they want me to. I mean, if somebody's listening, you want me to just sing old school R&B.

I do it. I do it free. You know what I mean? I don't like doing things for free, but I would. I would do it free. Somebody set that up. We need to make that happen if Myron's willing to do it free. I will say something that should be free is cornbread hemp.

Give the Good Life for Cornbread Hemp this holiday. season. Yeah, there you go. For myself over here. Whether it's aches or pains, restless nights, or a carefree moment without the hangover, cornbread hemp has something for everyone, even the favorite family dog. From now on until Christmas day, visit cornbreadhep.com for 20 days of cornbread bread cheer. New offers roll out every other day and sellouts are going to happen.

So don't wait to grab gifts raised with care and rooted in Kentucky tradition. Comfort and joy are just a click away. Visit cornbreadhemp.com. Today, cornbread hemp. This is the good luck. That was like Pippin the Jordan right there, man. That was pretty good. That was good.

I mean, they got to put that on your year-end review. Do y'all do year-in reviews over there? No, no. I haven't had a review in seven years as he'd be in here. So maybe that will change. Just save that, though, for it. Like, you know, put that on your year-in review because that was special. We'll take a few more calls here, and I got a story on the other side of this.

next break. But who's our next call? All right. Let's go to Tracy on the line. Tracy, how you doing? Hey, guys. Tracy on this, hey, I'm doing this Mary Monday. What's something that made you happy? Something that made your smile. Well, I'll be glad to tell you two things that made me happy, and I'll give you a

half-time speaker as well. But Mary Monday is so much better when you got M-squared being the host. Hey, man. You all have been so supportive of it. I appreciate it. it. Well, you're on it and come back any and every time you can. I appreciate that.

Happy thing this weekend. It was nice to see us make free throws and call timeout so we had them instead of just letting them roll. Yeah. That's new, huh? Is that new? Well, you know, I don't want to keep burying Cal. I mean, I think we should move on.

We ought to spend more energy talking about the new and the good. good and not whining about some things that bothered us in the past because that's not productive. So I don't want to do that, but whenever you've got a pocket full of timeouts and you don't use one, that's just frustrating. I mean, let's let's be the, you know, let's be the adult in the room. Just saying. Yeah. I respect it.

I respect it. The thing that made me smile. Um, I don't want to say it's because Duke won, but Louisville lost. So how about that? that. Okay. Okay. And you had a halftime speech guy too. Who's your half-time speech? Oh, yeah, half-time speech. I don't know how you can get past William Wallace. I mean, Mel Gibson, the William Wallace speech, when you got a bunch of guys and kills running out to fight guys in armor. Yeah. I mean, that's, go ahead. Braveheart. No, yeah, Braver. My high school coach showed that to us.

My high school coach showed us that before a game. We lost by three touchdowns, though. So it didn't work out for us, but I do think it would work out for other people. I appreciate that call. Yeah, Billy, like, he showed us the Braveheart opening scene and we were so hype and then we lost big. We lost big. Well,

you know, motivational speeches can't do it all for you out there, but it can certainly help. It worked for us. So here's how I see the Mark Pope win on Saturday. Like, Duke was you introduce Mark Pope to the

family, right? You bring Mark Pope home for the holidays. You're like, hey, there's somebody I'm seeing. You know, things have been going well, right? Yeah, first meeting. And then your auntie, I don't know about your family. My family, auntie and I go like, okay, who is this? Okay. Kind of grilling, you know, the person a little bit. Feel them out. Yeah. Yeah. But it's good. It's a good time. You know, everyone's like, hey, you know, she was nice. He was nice. Cool. I think the Gonzaga game, Kentucky went Facebook official with Mark Pope

Instagram official you know what I mean until you post that first photo on social media it's not official in this generation right I think that's what it was like hey everybody

this is my new person we've been together for X number of months and then you want because once you put it on the ground Billy it's official it is Facebook official she's here to stay

yeah Yeah, so Duke was you brought Mark Pope home for the holidays, and I think Saturday's winner for Gonzaga was, okay, we don't post this on Instagram, it let the whole world know that we are together. We'll be back after this break. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored 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 IHeart 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. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports

and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Cliverts Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast,

The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being in internet, that 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.

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Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Reeves. and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter.

Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the I-Heart Radio. Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis keep coming to him. He's like, you know I love you, dog.

You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.