KSR - 2025-03-24- KSR - Hour 1

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Matt and the crew discuss the NCAA Tournament. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Comedy Up Broadway and Lexington welcomes Mike Armstrong, March 27 through the 29th. Then it's the Lexington debut of Lori Kilmartin, April 3rd through the 5th, and catch rising comedy star Sam Talent, April 11th and 12th. Comedy Off Broadway opened in downtown Lexington in 1987, and they're still bringing the best and stand-up comedy to the area 38 years later. 271 joke or visit comedy off-Broadway.com. Comedy off-Broad. Welcome, everyone. This is Kentucky Sports Radio Monday, March the 24th, a Sweet 16 edition of KSR live from Merrillville, Indiana, wherever that is, on the road to the Sweet 16 with Clark's Puppet Shop phone line 859-2-80-2287. A vision auto glass text machine, 772-7-7-7-4-5-25-25.

for in this edition, sponsored by the T.J. Smith Law Office. If you call T.J. He'll make them pay. We are in Merylville, Indiana, just south of Chicago and Gary, Indiana, where we stopped last night after a celebratory drive from Milwaukee as Kentucky mates the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. Matt Jones, Ryan Lemon, Drew Franklin, Shannon, the dude. Mario is here as well. We are a sleepy group as we rolled in here about 1 a.m. Eastern time. But very excited as the cats get a big win yesterday against Illinois. Now get ready to face Tennessee at 7.30 in Indianapolis on Friday night. I got a text message this morning, Ryan, that my mom has already booked a hotel room in Indianapolis.

Wow. Karen's excited about this trip to Indy. So now I've got to find tickets. You're looking at those. Prices aren't cheap. That's okay. But, you know, we have a loving son. Yeah, hopefully, maybe somebody listening there is like,

I'd like Madden his mom to get a couple tickets, but we've got a few days to get it ready. And it's there because for the first time since 2019, we go to the Sweet 16. Thanks to Pope and this group of, I don't want to say rag-taggabonds, but there is a little bit of vagabond nature. First team in the history of the NCAA tournament to go to the Sweet 16, who returned zero points from the season before, Ryan Limon.

That's all it makes I think this team so endearing to all of us. We know what we were getting into. When Mark Pope got hired and he put together this roster in two weeks, we kind of knew this rag-tag bunch is kind of what they are from Drexel Fairley Dickinson, Dayton, and look where they got us. They got us in the Sweet 16. You know, when Cal came, I remember saying this when he came, you do a, you do a, it's a bet. You're betting on you're going to be good immediately, which happened. And the trade-off for that is when you leave, you're starting over. And that's even more true in the transfer portal.

That even becomes, and that's exactly what happened. And most people would assume, okay, starting over is going to be a two or three year process that's going to be difficult. And instead, Mark Pope has us in the Sweet 16. Yeah, and I think it's fair to call them what you all said because they said it themselves at the podium yesterday. I don't remember if it was Butler or Mari, but they're like, we were overlooked. We didn't have a bunch of stars, didn't get a lot of offers.

We had to work our way to get to this point. That's what made it so much special for the guys themselves. So it's just not a fan opinion. They feel that way themselves that they kind of were an underdog role in still getting here. Yeah, and then, you know, I thought, to be honest with you, when the season started, just make the tournament. I felt like that they had done a good job in the portal, but that they were probably one player short, and then their best player gets hurt and is out for the year. And so now in some ways you're two players short, and yet you're still in the

sweet 16, Shannon. I mean, I don't know how you can't be anything but thrilled about that. As soon as they got that win against Troy, I felt like there was a weight lifted off with all of us, right? Yeah, you've moved on to the second round. Then you've win. You have a lot. You've won. You I think that was the most impressive defensive performance of the entire season yesterday. Did you realize on that point that in the last 13 games, Kentucky is 11th in the country defensively? That's crazy. After being 115th before that? Yeah.

Who saw that coming? Not me. Not me. But, you know, I don't think this team's finished yet. And if you beat Tennessee and go on to the elite eight. Well, then you're legendary. It's a legendary run, especially in the first year for Mark Pope. Yeah.

Markable. Stop. You know, you don't have to do the remarkable. We tried early in the year. They're working their way into it. It was, you know, it was, what are you laughing at? It was exciting. You know, Milwaukee was weird in some ways because it, Ryan, wasn't as many UK fans as usual.

Right. The ones that were there were very excited. I think, you know, it's a broader conversation about the way we do the SEC tournament. I think hurts us in the first and second round with attendance was where we treat it as, you know, Comic-Con, really. I mean, that's kind of how our fans treat the SEC tournament now. And then they take the first and second round off, and I think we'll treat it as Comic-Con again in Indianapolis,

but it made it sort of weird. It made it weird to be in an environment that was pro-Illinois. But yesterday, they never let those fans ever really get into the game. I mean, that arena was bustling with Alinai, and they just couldn't get into it. It was almost a home game for Illinois. But every time Illinois would make a run, we had guys that'd come down and hit a big shot.

Every single time we would stop their run. Somebody would hit a big shot. Think about some of those. Colin Chandler hit one. Brea hit one. Butler got the steel and the pass to Garrison for an AN1. I mean, those moments just kept happening. Andrew, I'd probably make the biggest one

is they'd forgotten until I saw the highlights. They cut it to six. And then Carr got the N-1 that kind of put away the game. To Kentucky's credit, though, they came out. They set the tone early, and they never allowed those Illinois fans to get into it. If it had been, you know, you flip that script and Illinois comes out and, you know, goes on a big run, I think that that maybe could have changed the tone for the entire. Oh, yeah.

I mean, they started the first and second halves, Drew. Great. I mean, Brad Underwood said we lost the game in the first five minutes, the first half, and the first five minutes of the second half. And I think that's right. I think, you know, coaching, I think it showcases itself to me, coaching at the start of games. start of halves, and then the last two minutes. And when it comes to the start of the game, the start of the half, our guys aced it.

Yeah, like you said, they had an answer anytime Illinois got close. Maybe I'm crazy, but I feel like Gonzaga, Duke, all the big wins, Andrew Carr had like a late and one. Like he just, numbers could prove me wrong, but I feel like I've seen him do that over and over this year. That and just defensively, I thought they were amazing. Once they got that lead, they were just able to protect it. Sure, they had an answer on the other end when Illinois would get hot,

But for Illinois to have 14 turnovers and there were 14 steals, that is a pretty crazy statistic. Well, first of all, you know, Mark Pope, he shortened the rotation. Yeah. Right? I think if Oway doesn't get in foul trouble, you would have had five guys playing 30 minutes, you know, which is what we've been calling for all year. But you know what? May, you know, there was maybe a plan to get these guys minutes. Because Colin Chandler played 18 minutes.

I mean, again, think about, think about a month. If I told you, Colin Chandler was playing 18 minutes of the second round of the NCAA tournament, you'd think I was nuts. It was the 11th or 12th man a month ago. Back then he was afraid to shoot a three. If you told me he'd shoot from the logo, I'd be like, well, what kind of start from the same? That logo shot. That was, I have to admit, the logo shot was when I'd got nervous and walked away for a minute. I hadn't seen the logo shot until the highlights.

That was a logo shot early in the shot clock. He didn't have to shoot that. But how about him having to get it up that wouldn't shoot a three? How about him having the confidence to take that? I know. And he does it so calm and cool. Yes, he's going to be good, man. He is going to be, there's just something about his nature and his athleticism.

Colin Chandler's going to be good. We've seen him develop as a year's gone on. I don't know if it's because he was two years off from basketball, but now he's like he's getting as many minutes as anybody coming off the bench as the six men. As we're sitting there, and I expect him to come back, but as we're sitting there kind of waiting official words, OA will be the one we wait for the most. Probably. Meaning like it's the biggest. But I think Chandler might be second for me. No offense to everybody else.

But I think when I'm sitting there going, all right, who's coming back? Chandler's maybe going to be the one that, you know, I mean, I'm out there looking at his fiance's Instagram post saying we're going to move our home to Lexington. I'm like, good for you, girl. Yeah, you go, girl. You go, girl. There's good opportunity in Lexington for you. It's a great time to buy. Stock the mortgage.

You help you with your financing. So we get the win. And, you know, for Mark Pope, we, we. You can see there's a video we put Mario put online in my speech last night about kind of the community of BBN. But there was, you know, it was such a cool feeling on the court. And I intentionally walked back. So for people who didn't hear the postgame show, I watched the game at the St. Kate Arts Hotel. Do you not understand you.

More specifically in the bank lobby attached to the St. Kate Arts Hotel. Because that's where the TV was? Well, that was where a TV was without sound. I wanted no sound. Or people. Or people, except the man telling people they couldn't go to the restroom in there. And, you know, there were a couple times, though, I got nervous. What are you laughing at?

You're just, you're incredible. Well, I am I, well, I am. Well, I am I, I, are my incredible. Again, I said this on the postgame show. But we drove from Kentucky to Milwaukee. Yes. You have the ability to go in and get really good seats, by the way. I understand.

And you decide, I don't want to go into the arena and watch the game. No, I was in there before the game. I want to go to a bank, watch it on a TV. And most people would say I would like to get some audio so I can hear the game. You go, no, I want no audio. I gave my own audio. Yeah. I had my own commentary.

So what is it about that? Are you just being in there? It's just too many nerves. And like I, you know, and I thought I'd be able to watch this one, but I didn't. Look at he watched the Troy game. Yeah. Well, that one was more nerve wrecking in some ways. But I, but I decided to walk back because I wanted to be in the post-game atmosphere.

I was running. pouring rain. Oh, my God. I mean, not just rain. It was pouring rain. And I was running back, and I'm too old to be running. These are not running shoes.

These Jordan 11 lows. I don't know. When they made these, they didn't make them for Milwaukee Street environment. Through the puddles. So I'm running back. I get there. I get there like right as the game ends.

I mean, the game has just ended. And I run on the court. I'm dripping like a wet dog. And I go in there and just seeing the post game Ryan environment was so cool. I mean, people, you know, giving me five and then you see, you know, you take these players and one player is with Pope on CBS, then one player is with Jack on the local radio, then another players with Noah Eagle and Tom Crean on the national radio. It's Butler O'Way and Brea. And then the other players are up in the crowd celebrating.

It's just, it was just an awesome environment, and it was just such a great feeling, and I've had that feeling a few times over the years, right? The 2012 national title game. You know, I remember when they, in 2015, when they just pounded teams, the environment after the game. But nothing seemed to me to be that shared where the fans and the players and the coaches were sharing it together. Usually they run in the locker room and to see that moment, you have to go in the locker

room. Yeah. This was shared in front of everybody. And, Ryan, that was really cool. I don't know that I've ever seen that before and I really enjoyed it. Well, like we talked about on the post-game show the other night. Not only did we need this as a fan base, that locker room needed that. You know, Mark Pope needed that.

You know, he looks over and he sees Arkansas and BYU in the Sweet 16th. And that shouldn't have mattered, but it probably would have. I mean, the fact that BYU made it, which is where he was. Yeah. John Caliperi made it, which is where, who was here before. Sure. They both had won the day before, and he matched it, right? So almost anything that happens next, you know, you got to the second weekend and he matched it.

And I think, which is more than both of those schools had done before. Right. I think that's a big deal. Yeah, everybody likes to get online and bicker about who won or who's doing this. But I think we can all just look at each other and go, look, all three of those teams improved and got an upgrade, however you want to look at it. So I think it's big that all three. We all won. It was the very, I always say when people break up, somebody, it's one part of the,

have wanted it more than everybody else but maybe that's not always true because in this case everybody want you know look at these three schools b yu ended up getting the coach that their biggest donor had wanted and had kind of groomed so that when he got there they got the n l nile money to go get whoever they want if you listen to myr metcalf he says they'll have the most n iL in the country and that dude was only going to give it if that guy was the coach they already have the number one player locked in so it worked for the Then you look at Cal. He was done here.

He was done. It was over. There was going to be no NIL. They wouldn't have the money to go get John L. Davis. They wouldn't have the money to get Jonas A. do. There was no money here for him because people were done with it. They just were. And he was done.

He was grumpy and he was angry and it was over. He goes, gets this big pot of money, takes him a little while, but gets reinvigorated, and now uses the underdog role to get a couple wins. And then Mark Pope, the thing this fan base needed was to come together as one, feel the energy of BBN, and you couldn't pick a better person to make that happen. Everybody won. And in our case, we won, and we won, Ryan, like we won a win. Yes.

Which is as like a group feeling like we're a part of it. That's what we want. We want that more than anything. We like winning more than any. We like winning, but when we can win the way we enjoy to feel it, it's even better. It's hard to explain, but you're exactly right. We want those guys. They're a different kind of one and done, but we want them to appreciate what that means

to put that Kentucky jersey on and love for this program and love the fan base, and they've got that with this group. If you think about when Cal was here, the players that we beloved the most were the ones who seemed like they wanted to be here the most, even going to like DeMarcus cousins, right? Michael Kid Gilchrist, Tyler Ullis, the guy. guys that people felt like they're playing with this. Yeah, I know they're going to leave, but they love this. And the ones that it felt like it was a pass-through, people didn't feel the connection. This was the kind of group, though, that we really want. No, they're not like Richie, Pelfrey, Feldhouse, Woods, you know, from Kentucky or right here. But they appreciate

this opportunity. I had somebody close to Otega-Owe say to me, I'm almost certain he'll come back because he knows this place changed his life. That's what we want. That's pretty powerful. That's exactly what we want. And this is the group that has done that. 859-2-80-2287. We're just going to be talking about this all day.

We are here in Merrillville, Indiana. Marville. Like we say Barville, it's Marville. How do you know? You said you didn't know where this was. You've been here for eight hours. You think you're a local now. Yeah, I literally said, where are we going to stay?

And you said, I don't know anything about that place. I didn't. I looked at it, but I know what they pronounce it. How do you know that? I grew up in Indiana. But when I asked you last night, you said you'd never heard of it. Oh, I knew. I didn't know where it was.

And so it's Marival. Marival. Marival. They could pronounce it. All right. I don't know if I believe that. Meryble. Take a break and be right back.

This is KSR. Last night, a blown call changed the 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. 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 Slico Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets.

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

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase. that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them

and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WNBA standout, Kate Martin, and Rising Hockey, star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't belong.

Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladeke. The ability to show a gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire, entire world. Like, I can do anything.

I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio. We already had one listener figure out where we are.

It's like wearing a world. It is amazing. Well, well done. A merival. Is it Marville? Marlville, I was right. Marville. You act like the phone. You said Mariville. He did. Check the tape.

Marville. Marival. I said Marlville. Oh, I was right. Thank you. I grew up in Indiana and wanted to play for Bobby. He was wrong. I was right.

No. 859-2802287. Text machine 772-745254. Hillard, Huge Head. What a name. No, it says as a daily listener since 2012, I think I need to acknowledge that not watching the game in the arena, then rushing back to get a photo op with Pope was lame.

Oh, huge head. Or foul. First of all, Harold, huge head. I never watched the game in the arena. You know that. Why do we go? To be there. But you're not there.

I am there in spirit. He likes the local banks. No, I mean, I like to be there before and after the game. I did not try to get a photo off, but he just was there. And then I was except. See, you can't even have a nice moment without somebody trying to ruin it. That's all right. And I didn't even know there was going to be a picture.

Like Dylan and Mario took it. I didn't even know anybody was going to be there. Look, look, look. Don't worry about what Harold. Well, I just, Harold huge head trying to spoil my vibe. Kind of like Ryan trying to spoil my pronunciation of this beautiful town. Yeah, he did tell you it was Marville. Marville.

Marville. It's like Barvel. One person writes, Matt, do you think Travis? Travis Perry will end up not staying because he didn't play. I mean, no, I don't think it's going to be whatever happens. It's not going to be because of that. You know, I think Colin Chandler developing will have an impact on what Travis decides to do. I have not heard that he would do something else.

But Colin Chandler's good and he's athletic. And I don't know if he ever considered playing point guard, but now he's had to do it the way it worked. And I actually think he's pretty good at it, Drew, you know? Yeah. Just with his athleticism, I don't want to get too far ahead, but if he continues to develop, he could see a chance at an NBA career because for a guard, the way he plays in the athleticism. And he's big. And he's big. He's got size and he's athletic and he can shoot.

You know, I mean, he was playing defense, Ryan, well, before he started playing offense, he just looks scared to be shoot. Well, now he's not scared to shoot. That's how he earned his minutes with good defense. I tell you, I never envisioned him as a solid point guard, but he's proved me wrong. And the fact that he can hit the shot from outside, that does make him a little more dangerous. What was your favorite moment of the game yesterday?

What was there a play or something that was specific that you liked? Anybody can speak up here. I don't remember. Yeah. The Brandon Garrison at the Ann one, because he walked right in front of us. I mean, he was like two feet from us, and he's flexing, and he's saying things we can't say on the radio. And that was my favorite part.

But that wasn't Garrison. That was Lamont. I think that was Lamont. Remember, we had turned it over, and we stole it right back from him. And a visage had a. a blocked three-point shot. By Mari, yeah. I think that was, and then on the other end, went to you.

Last night when I was watching the highlights, I think it's Stan Van Gundy goes, why did he shoot that? Like, Marry was right there. Did he think he was going to be able to shoot it over? Mari could have blocked it with his armpit. He had that so well defended. Amari also had another coast-to-coast dunk.

I know we were all a little frustrated with Mari early. He couldn't make a lay-up, but the coast-to-coast in both games in Milwaukee were fun to watch for him. Looks like Janus. Still a couple of times where he's dribbling the ball, way too much. But you know what? I'll take that trade off for what you get on the other end. And, you know,

I thought a bad first half that he turned into a great second half, which is exactly what you want to see. I mean, you're not going to always be good, so bad first half, turn it into a great second half. Jack Givens walked in front of us at halftime. We're like, why didn't he just dunk it? Why didn't Amari just dunk it? He's right there in the basket. He's seven foot tall.

Just dunk the basketball. I watched games on and off with Larry as a child, and he only had one analysis ever of games. Why didn't he just dunk it he's been he's been doing that like every time a big man would miss a layup going back to jared prickett i like you jared but you were the worst offender uh my larry would just go why won't he dunk it and i think of that with amari why won't you dunk it like i can tell you

about everyone i know we're sending me texts people in the arena why won't he don't i mean it was just layup lay up and they're all misses i tried to excuse it with the over inflated ball but when it was like four or five in the first half i was like oh what about what about that run by Kobe. I mean, those, Kobe Brea. I mean, he had the announcers. Remember, Kevin Harlan and Stan Van Gundy are NBA announcers. Dan Bonner is it, but Harlan and they both were like, this dude is a flamethrower. You know, I was saying yesterday, I don't think any of these guys will get about playing the NBA. I should alter that conversation to say, I don't think any of them will be draft picks. But I could see a team trying to talk themselves into Brayas shooting

because he is just a rifleman when it comes to shoot. When he gets hot, I don't think there's anybody better in college basketball than Kobe. Not shooting. There's nobody better shooting to ball. And he's shooting. When he created yesterday, he turned that one guy around. He had him spinning, completely lost defender. I think he's more of a mid-range than a three, but he's been showing off some good ball handling and driving here lately, too.

I do think the story of the game, though, to me is Butler. Yeah. I mean, if you're just talking overall story. I mean, he's playing with one arm, right? They keep trying new slings. He's on like his fourth sling, and I guess this one worked. I guess it did work. He had zero points against Troy, right?

Yeah. And 14 points, but controlled the game. He twice did that thing where he drives by a guy, then Waitsley's behind him and kind of sticks his butt into him to push him back, and then goes forward. He did it twice in that game last night, and it worked perfectly both times. We see how valuable he is of the team just doing that, just running the offense, keeping everybody in control, making the right decisions. And playing D? Playing great defense.

Chutas had 13 points and six turnovers. Casparis, Yaka Chunis. See, I got it. Never good. You nailed that. He nailed it. He, I'm going to say he was a non-factor, but he was completely harassed the whole game.

He was rattled. You add Will Riley and Casperis up. They had 18 points. You take that any day. Those are two first-round picks that you held to 8. 18 points. Will Riley didn't even play in the second half because he was because they shut him down so much. Yeah, Casparis was definitely rattled most of the game you could tell, especially early on, missed some shots because I think Butler deserves all the credit.

Butler played a lot on him. Chandler played him a little bit. I mean, they, they really did an amazing job. 8.59-280 2287. Who'd you say is from here, Greg Popovich? And then your friend Dan Dockich. Okay, but I wish you'd tell me that for our book the hotel. Dan's not walking through that door. He may be. We'll be. We'll Let's call him. See if he wants to come join us today. We'll be right back to KSR. Welcome back, Techie Sports Radio, 859, 2807.

I got sent some pictures of the KS Bar last night. It looked like it was a lot of fun. There was a guy dressed as like robocop, but a Kentucky robocop, which I have two, first of all, it looked awesome. It was very awesome. You can see it on Ryan Lemon's Twitter account, but I have two questions. One, where does one get one of those? Like, where do you find?

that costume and number two like it's really cool to walk into KS bar with that costume we can get your get your picture but then do you just sit there the whole night in that like how do you eat probably gets a little hot probably gets a little hot little uncomfortable what do you think who's helping you yeah who's going to the bathroom it looks homemade it looks more like a stormtrooper to me I'm not a Star Wars guy that sounds like you are excuse excuse me sir it is not a robocop it is a Star Purper. It's Chewbacca there next to him.

But yeah, I mean, I think you can't sit in that the entire night. That's got to be hot, too. I would think it was like, and he was sitting on one of those high seats with his little feet dangling off of it? So is this what we're going to do now? Just encourage people to dress up like mascot? Yes. I mean, I'll say Friday night at the bar will be exciting. We're going to play Tennessee.

I want to focus on Tennessee starting tomorrow. I do want to enjoy this moment because I think this is an exciting moment. What did you? You know, Illinois just, they never really. material. We got that early lead. And I think we led, they said 38 of the 40 minutes of the game. They went up 5 to 4, and then Kentucky led for 37 minutes and 40 seconds, I think. It helped.

Illinois was pretty cold early. And then the second they started hitting a couple threes, but the cushion was already too big for them to really be a threat. They only ended up shooting 25% from 3. And I think that's just because they hit a couple late. It's worse than that. If it wasn't for Little Z. Little Z, yeah. Little Z had five threes.

I just kept waiting for the run to come. it really never did. It never did. They cut it to six right there at the end. And that was, but that was, there's still a minute and a half left when they cut it to six. Well, on the, on the pregame, I said, they're very inconsistent and they went 40% the night before.

And even those Illinois fans we talked to were like, we can never put two games together. And that proved to be true. They went from 40% to 20-something percent. That's just kind of what their team's been this year. Yeah, 859-280-2287. For people who watched it home, I think having Kevin Harlan on the game had to be exciting.

Like, even last night when I was listening to, to the highlights. It was very cool listening to him call. I mean, like, he's got that voice. He's got that, and we're used to see him on big NBA games. I mean, Mario, you don't talk about geek at how. Yeah, he was, he was stars for it. I was trying to think, like, we've

talked about before. In my lifetime, I don't really freak out about many celebrities. Like, if you go through my life of people, I've been like, oh, I can't wait to meet. So I met Obama, though, before he was Obama. Like, he was a senator. Yeah.

So you didn't. So really, I wasn't, like, I would freak out if I met. Oh, I did meet David Letterman, and I kind of freaked out at a Reds game. I don't think I would freak out if I met Tony Cornheiser, but I'd be very excited. If I felt like he'd be nice to me, I think I would freak out with Howard Stern, but I feel like he'd be mean. He'd be a jerk. I feel like he'd be a jerk, so I'd rather not meet him. So the point being, I don't think there's many people.

I'd be like, Mario has a list that starts with Kevin Harrell. That's right. I mean, my man was like... He had a broadcast to go get a selfie. No, I mean, he was like, I got to meet Kevin Harley. Got to meet Kevin Harley. And he broke away from me at one point and grabbed Kevin Harlan like a stalker and was like, I need you to take a picture. I've never seen...

Kevin Harlan has never had a bigger fan than he had with Mario last night. As soon as I got to the arena, Mario, I'm sorry, Rio, rushed up to me and to show me his picture with Kevin Harley. He was so excited about it. Dude, he was so excited. Look at you. get you a girl that looks at you like Mario looks at Kevin Hart. I shared a room with Mario last night, and I looked over and he was just in bed looking at the photo of him to Kevin Island. I don't know what he'd be doing if I wasn't in there, but he was very excited.

Who's up first, Rick? Got T.O. up first. T.O. How are you, T.O. Doing good, boys. God bless you. Good to hear from him today. God bless the cats as well. I agree. from the job site, putting a footer down, and hiding in the porta-potty as usual to make this call, risking my job because it's that important today.

A port-a-potty call, I like it. Yes, sir. There are three men in America right now that are working to make things great again. No, no. Obviously. Just give me, just get, I don't want to know one of them, but give me the other two. Okay, I'll give you two of them. One of them is young Mario.

I'm telling you what, injecting fresh blood into this crud. You guys, I love y'all, but every now and then we get a little stale. He needs a little young blood to get in there. And even though he tanked Sonic Stock for a couple days that time, he's a pretty good feller. Yes, he is. And also, Mark Pope is making the NCAA tournament great again. I haven't been that excited watching the game since the boys Julius Randall and then were making that run. Well, you know, thank you for calling from the Port-a-Pottie.

appreciate it. I actually, I totally agree with him. There is, you know, there was just an excitement about that victory. I was trying, I mean, I was trying to think the last time I was that excited about a tournament win. It was probably when we beat UCLA in 2017, because Deeran Fox had that crazy good game against Lonzo Ball. You saw he got him earlier that year. You see, I was really into that win and, you know, but this to me, I mean, when we beat Houston on the last second shot, that was exciting, but I don't know, I don't know that I felt the same. There's just probably go back to that one. And the Julia, I think the Julius Randall team is a good analogy because we didn't expect any of those wins. So each win got more and more exciting.

I kind of thought we were going to lose yesterday, to be honest with you. And so I think it was kind of exciting. exciting when we won. It's been a while since we've had anything to get excited about. So that's refreshing, first of all. And now you got your biggest, well, one of your biggest rivals coming up this weekend in Tennessee. That's going to be a crazy atmosphere, I think, in Indianapolis on Friday night. I think really this kind of started with the last second shot over Oklahoma, just to win that first game in the SEC tournament and the way they won it with that last second shot, I think just that relief, just lifted off your shoulders. And then you win your first game against Troy.

More relief. Now you're beat Illinois going to 316. I think it's just kind of building up. I think it started with that Oklahoma win. And you mentioned how fun the celebration was. You know, a lot of coaches, they're almost too cool to celebrate. I agree. Like when Jay Wright hit that buzzer beater, he just keeps his straight face and goes to shake hands.

Mark Pope was jumping up and down. If you watch that video, UK put out, he's like, Jacks, get over here. Brandon, get over here. I don't want to hurt you. But he's jumping up and chest bumping every player on the team. I mean, it's fun to see a coach get that into it like he was. I love that he does that.

I love that he does that. I never like when coaches do that, well, we ain't won anything yet. No, take a moment and enjoy it. I mean, I talked about last night that I really love they're doing this thing now where they put the sticker on the brackets for those guys. Take a moment to enjoy it.

I mean, Pope said something last night where he goes, and this is true. Like, you only have so many moments in your life where you have, like, elated joy about something. take a minute to like soak that in before you immediately go okay what's next enjoy that and i think that mark pope is really good ryan about making his team take that moment and just celebrate and enjoy it we can talk about tennessee tomorrow let's just enjoy this and live in this moment that they'll remember for the rest of their lives and to be fair none of these guys probably would have

experienced it if it hadn't been from mark pope and can be bringing them here you know a Well, Lamont. Lamon experienced it, but nobody else has, right? Right, right. So, yeah, I really like that. I love how much fun they have. I mean, you should see his wife, how excited she gets. I mean, his wife is just running around.

Like, I feels like she wants to be a cheerleader in those moments. She kind of is, yeah. And I feel like I've met his daughters, and I think I've met 75 different people. He's got that many daughters. I just keep meeting his daughters. And I don't think they're the same people. I think he's got, I think he has an unending supply of daughters. I couldn't tell them apart.

Layla, one of them is Layla. What's the other ones? I don't know. I don't know. I keep me. Can we name their four names? I'm sure I've met some of them like five times. Avery.

Okay. She's one on a mission. Layla. And then there are others. There are two others. There's 73 others. It is very neat how he's made it so, like they're at every press conference. I mean, the family is with him at all times.

going to everything. Yeah. His wife claps at the end of the press conferences, which I think is kind of cute. Does she really? Yeah. Spring has sprung and that means you're getting outside more, whether that's doing yard work or just staying active by biking or running. Increased physical activity when the weather gets warmer can also lead to aches pains and injuries. That's where court physical therapy can help. Court therapists can help you heal and get back to where you were before. It's easy to find a center near you. 70 locations statewide. That's court.com. K-O-R-T-R-T. We'll take a break and be right back here in Merrillville, Indiana. This is KSR. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights

are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're 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 Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, learn. the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive?

The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life throws hurdles big and small. The question is, how do you conquer them? On hurdle with Emily Abadi, we sit down with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness,

professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions to talk about the challenges that shaped them and the mindset that keeps them going. From the WMBA standout Kate Martin and rising hockey star Layla Edwards. If a boy can do it, I don't see why a girl can't. Like, I've never understood that. Like, it didn't make sense in my brain. It's hard to be in spaces that no one looks like you, but don't ever feel like you don't. Don't belong. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it.

An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. The ability to show gold medal to someone and have their face light up and smile, that means the world to me. And that's what motivates me to win more gold medals. At our level, at this scale, like being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Because resilience isn't just about winning. It's about showing up, even when it's hard. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports.

Welcome back, Kentucky Sports Radio. We've got some folks on the phone. I want to go to it. But first, we've got to talk about pipe bombs, Derek Piper. Ooh, I saw that. So Derek Piper, I didn't even know who this dude was. Got nothing against him. He's got 28,000 followers.

So he says he gives hot takes, which he calls hashtag. tag pipe bombs. I have a nerdy media number to me. Hashtag. Pipe bomb. I will say if I worked in Illinois media, it would be hard for me not to look at that dude all the time and go, ooh, pipe bomb. Yeah, every time you see him.

Because he says, like, you can't be, he can't be real putting that in his bio. Hashtag pipe bomb. Anyway, he works for 24-7 sports, which I guess is a right, is a 24-7 site. It's not a rival side. He's a 24-7 side. And he made some off-handed comment about how. he thought, oh, Kentucky Media wears Kentucky gear. Oh, is that how it's going to be?

Like, you know, he's Mike Wallace or something from 60 minutes working at the Illinois insider or whatever. Now, I don't think that comment was made at me, although it could have been, but I had, normally, just as a side note, I don't wear UK gear. I do think it's kind of like you, I mean, I don't think it's a rule, but I just don't do it, because like when I start was coming up, people weren't doing it. Now it's becoming much more common. I don't care. Normally I don't do it.

I did have on a KSR shirt, which is like my halfway ground, right? Because it says Kentucky Sports right now. I had a UK hat on, which I actually didn't mean to do. I kind of didn't rise I had it on. But whatever. Point being it's not that big a deal. It's certainly not worth a pipe bomb. Okay.

But I saw that and then I like it, apparently maybe he saw Jack Pilgrim or something. And so I felt like I had to, you know, you got to take up for your people. Yeah. So I just, so first I responded, Piper Down, which I liked. But then I remember the voice from White Lotus, Piper, no. Oh, it's perfect. So I sent the gift of Piper No from White Lotus.

And then it just became, I mean, I'm not going to say poor guy. he put it out there, but I looked up. He had 500 responses. Oh, my goodness. All people sending their own pipe pods. And it just, I don't think it went well for him for the rest of the day. No, I think I was looking at his other tweets. They have like 10,000, 20,000 views.

That one had like 700,000 views. He was probably talking about Jack because Jack had a sweatshirt on, but I was near him and I had the brightest blue shirt I own and a UK hat on. And I'm sorry when I got dressed in the morning. I forgot to consider Derek's feelings before I put on my eyes. outfit, but I think it's crazy. If he only knew how much money I had on the game, he'd be really upset a journalist. Yeah, I mean, look, here, I've always had this belief going back to when I started. Everybody has their own personal views, right? I'm a fan of just say it, right? I could sit there

and act like I don't like Kentucky, but that's stupid because I do, and it's going to come across. I feel this way about everything. Like, just be honest about who you are. And then people can make the determination whether they want to believe you or not, right? Like, I'm not going to believe a word Sean Hannity says because I know what he is. But at least he says it. I think it'd be worse to act like you didn't and then do the same thing, right? So I have no problem with Kentucky media wanting Kentucky to win. If Piper now is honest, he's going to get more subscriptions if Illinois win, so he wants them to win too.

I have to admit, I saw that tweet, and I immediately looked at my left, and Gusi was wearing Kentucky gear. Who? Ryan Lemon. Well, Ryan, so it could have been to you, Ryan Lemon. I've always wondered, where is this rule written? We said media can't wear their school colors. Why? Where is it written?

Because there was this belief for a long time that you had to act like you didn't care who won. But that's always been nonsense. Yes. Right, that's always been nonsense. And so I'm just, so when I'm just. So a big reason for KSR's success was I was open Kentucky. I wanted Kentucky to win. But the thing is, I don't know if Jerry Tipton wanted Kentucky to win,

but the Harold leader wanted Kentucky to win. They sell more papers of Kentucky wins. Tom Leach didn't want Kentucky wins? Tom Leach, of course, wants Kentucky win. Let's just be honest. Bill Simmons is, in my opinion, the one who changed this. Bill Simmons came around and said, I want the Boston teams to win. And then all the sudden it became, well,

I kind of want my team to win. And as long as you know who that person's team is, then you can judge whether they're fair or not. So Piper Bomb, like it was not much of a bomb to me, except poor guy. He got a lot. And then I kept thinking I was going to run into him. And he was going to be, and I was just going to go.

Did any of the media run into him? Do you say anything? I don't know what he looks like. I mean, I know he had a picture there, but I wasn't sure. But I just wanted to go, Piper, name. I had an Illinois fan tweet me. there like typical UK journalism school. You could drop me in UK's campus right now.

I wouldn't know what direction to walk to find the journalism school. I don't know where it is. Here's a little secret. Probably four of the six most followed people in UK broadcasting are sitting on this couch and none of us went to journalism school. It's true. It's true. You may have taken a journalism class.

I was a mass communications major at Kentucky Wesleyan College. That put me on the path where I am today. That's the closest. You're the closest. I was in dinosaurs and disasters, not journalism classes. Disasters. I took friendship romance love. There you go.

It took what? Is it a written rule that you can't cheer for? You're not supposed to cheer on press row. They do say that. They do say that. I have a written, unwritten rule. Don't worry about what another grown man's wearing. What's wrong with friendship romance love is a...

That was the name of the class, friendship, romance, love. That's right. Is that a three... It was all three. It was all three. So I learned... We the only dude in the class. I learned about friendship.

Yes. It worked well. Learned about romance and love. Yeah, that didn't stick. But I still got an A. And it worked out. Who's next? Michael is up next.

Michael, Rick's laughing at that way. Go ahead, Michael. Hey, Matt. I just got two quick things. First, I really hope we don't have to play any more of Vsages. Those two brothers come down. There are a lot of Visages. There are a lot of Visages.

against us. And the second thing is, I just want to say I kind of teared up when I saw that video of you and Pope hugging. I know these last couple years with the previous staff has been a bit rough on you guys, and I've been listening to you all for years. I love this show. It's a part of my daily routine. And like I said, I know you've been through a lot, and I'm sure there's even more you

haven't gone into detail with. So just seeing the coach embrace you, it was great. great to see. So I'm really glad you got to have that moment last night. Well, thank you, man. I mean, I, I, it was a great moment for me. It's, you know, it was more symbolic to me. I mean, I know my relationship with Pope was positive, but it was, you know, what made the last couple years hard was the, the way that the tension between the staff and us affected the way the fans looked at us. And it was the way, it was really the reaction we got from the fans because of it. And, you know, that, that,

moment last night to me is the culmination of a year that really began at the press conference when you started to see, you know, the haters are a minority. But yeah, that was really neat. And I think Mark appreciates, I told this story. You know, when I met Mark the first time, I said to him, you know, Mark, I really thought about not doing this anymore. And I don't, I guess he didn't understand me because he thought I was saying I still was thinking about not doing it. And he was like, you got to keep doing it. He was like, You're important to this. You are my connection to the fans.

You've got to keep doing it. It's going to be worth it. And he was like trying to top me in to keep going. And I wanted to be like, at this point, I've already decided to stay. We're good. But it was like he really thought there was an important role for the media in this, that it was a connection to fans. I mean, he took a picture with all the media. Yeah.

I mean, we didn't get invited. But he took a picture with everyone else. We had on Kentucky. Yeah. But seriously, like, I said this towards the end of Cal, When everything is connected, this place rolls the best. When the staff, the boosters, the administration, the media are all on the same side, you get nights like you got last night.

Amen. And that's good to see. We'll take a break. Come back. Hour number two. It's KSR. 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 headwriter, Reader Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest. conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you

get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.