KSR - 2025-05-13- KSR - Hour 1

Episode Date: May 13, 2025

KSR is LIve at KSBar & Grille talking the latest UK sports news and a Kentucky man bites the ears off a cat.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 IHeart 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. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward.

At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. 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 IHeart Women's Sports. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way 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 have 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 iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast comedy off broadway in lexington welcomes ginger billy may 9 through the 11th then from white famous catch j fairo may 16th and 17th and don't miss rocky dale davis may 23rd and 24th

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. Call 859-271 joke or visit Comedyoff-Broadway.com. Comedy off-Broadway. This is Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now, here's Matt Jones. Welcome, everyone. It is Kentucky Sports Radio Tuesday, May the 13th.

I'm Matt Jones here at the KS Bar and Grill on what looks like it will be a nice day in Lexington, Kentucky. You can come and see us. have lunch. Give us a shout on the Clark's Pump and Shop phone line. I'm Shannon still doing the, you know,

not going to interrupt on the phone calls. We're one day in. So far, so good. The one thing about it is a lot of people, yes, last time called in

and talked about their age gaps. That was a big topic. We'll see if that ends up happening today as well. AVision auto glass text machine is 772-745254 in this edition is sponsored by the T.J. Smith

Law, you call T. T.J. Make them pay. It's a big day today, Ryan. We are debuting at KS Bar a new catfish. A new catfish. A new catfish. We have upgraded our catfish.

We've found a higher-quality fish. Like, it's swimming in better waters. And it is going to debut. We're going to eat it in the second hour. So a higher-quality catfish debuts today. And if you come, you can eat it, but we will be the first ones to taste it. You know, I said this a lot on the show. I'm a little bit of a catfish snobused.

But our catfish here is like really, really good. Well, it's about to be better. Now it's going to be better. So you think of what lake you got it from, you're about to get it from a bigger one. I'm excited. Is that where catfish are there in lakes, right? Yeah, ponds, lakes. Yes.

Monique's out on the boat right now, getting it. That's right. We're out getting it. A few things here. First of all, we've got some folks here from Augusta, Kentucky. These guys are seniors and juniors Grayson, Hayden, Will, and Nolan. They are here as part of a school project. The project is how to be.

be a part of the best radio show in America, and they decided to come, and Drew, we welcome them here from Augusta. Yeah, I got to say, I'm a little jealous. This just seems like a boy's trip. I feel trips, I mean, they were fun going to nerdy museums and stuff, but these are these guys. Where did you go on field trips? We went to a cold camp. That sounds about like something, I don't remember going to a cold camp. I know my big one was Chicago to the shed aquarium. Oh, my. Do you know what a cold camp? I know what a cold camp is. Mario, you have no idea with a cold camp. Back in the day, when people worked in Col. mines they all lived in the same place and it was like it was like a town yeah and everyone in the town

worked for the coal mine including like you got paid in in script which you then had to spend at the store there so it was like it wasn't a good thing to have happened like yeah but but the whole town would be closed off part of the coal mine and we went to one of those places by the time we went it didn't it wasn't functioning anymore but uh it was it was fast and even as a kid it was It was fascinating. Now, I would have rather come here and watched a good sports show, but we did do that. Did you have a good field trip when you were in? No.

We went to the William and Clark Memorial and Vincennes, Indiana, and a museum in Evansville, Indiana. What's the William and Clark Vincennes? Aren't they the explorers that explored the Midwest? Didn't they explore like New Orleans? Well, they discovered Vincennes, Indiana. Apparently, there's a big monument there. I think they were much happier about New Orleans. Lewis and Clark.

Lewis and Clark. That's who was. Yeah. You thought it was William and Clark? Yeah. Okay. I feel like... I thought those were different people.

I thought you would have known Lewis and Clark. I thought William and Clark was the second era. Lewis and Clark, yeah. I feel like once a year we would just go look at the Jefferson Davis Monument. I feel like I've been there 30 times. That seems a little problematic to me. Well, it was just in Western Kentucky. I think there were maybe some mounds in Henderson.

Oh, yeah. Angel mounds. Yeah, we would just rotate those two. What are angel mounds? Indian burial grounds. I thought, I didn't know there. I've been to the wands. Wycliffe mounds.

Was that in Kentucky? That was part of my trip for the book. Yeah, Wickliff Mounds. It is a massive Native American burial site. I think it's a federal historical site. Where is it in Kentucky? In Wicliff. That's why they call it the Wichliff Mounds.

It's out there next to the Mississippi River. I've got one of those four river counties down there, Ballard County, man. Yes. Well, the one in Indiana is on the river, on the Ohio River right there in Newburgh, Indiana. See, you're learning everything. And we also have a man. What's your first name? Daniel, who brought me the Joe Creason book.

You know, he talked about Joe Creason, and he wrote a book of stories about Kentucky. Joe Creason's Kentucky. He brought it to me. And I'm going to read this. This will be, I am now 16 books towards my 52 in 2000. Nice. 25, and I will put this one on the list. Booker for it.

Sounds crazy. I want to read it after you read it. You know how long it would take you to get through that. But I like reading about Kentucky in the background stories. He says I'll like it. You'll like it? Yeah, I want to read that when you're done. I have it, too.

We could all do a review. You got one too? Yeah, this must have been a very popular book. When we knew nothing about it until last week. Yeah. Well, so anyway, I'm looking for, thank you very much for that. So today, you know, I've got like a lot of little things. Trivia is tonight.

I hope you get your team together. It's the next to last qualifier. You said your team's coming, but you're not. Correct. Yes, we'll be here. But Mario and I will be. be here for trivia. Yesterday when the show was over, there were two things that when I was out, people wanted

to talk to me about. First, everyone has an opinion on the zipper merge. Of course. Everyone has strong opinions on whether or not you can zipper merge, people for it, people against it. There were people who were, one guy came up to me at Chipotle, and he said the science of zipper merges. He said, the problem is that we don't do true zipper merges.

Think about when you pull up a zipper, how each row cannot. necks, right? And he said the problem is you should be zipper merging the whole way and we go to the front. And he was like, that's not how a zipper works, which I thought was kind of interesting. Only the selfish people go to the front. I didn't. Only people in a hurry go to the front. And then the second thing was everybody was agreeing with us, Drew, that Ryan is going to get married within the next few minutes.

And so I saw two people that knew Ryan and said Ryan will be married by Christmas. And so I was glad to see that his friends agreed with us. I don't know if Ryan loved it, but I like that discussion. I hate that it came at the end of the show because I felt like we had at least another segment out of that, especially when this text started coming in from Yoga Gal. Because she didn't say no wedding. She said no destination wedding. Yeah, I feel like this.

Since she didn't want to go to Aruba, which I think is fair since they've never been. And that would be weird. I just liked how the original question was, Matt, will you ever get married or you have kids? Somehow got deflected on me and my relationship status. Because I don't talk about it and you do. And that's why it happens. Now, would you rather, Ryan, talk about interesting good basketball things or troubling football things to start? You tell me which one you want.

I think you've got to start with good news, so I'm going to go with basketball. Okay. Well, I don't know, but it's not really news. But Mark Pope is going to hold his first press conference with the media today at noon. That just got announced. He is going to come on this show next. Well, we're going to tape it Tuesday afternoon next week, and it will be airing next. Wednesday. It's going to be a long sit-down which we're going to then turn into a like an hour

show. It would be like one of the two hours will be my conversation with Pope. But he's doing a press conference today. It starts right after this show as every piece of UK news breaks right at 12. That says to me, Drew, that Pope's roster is finished, right? That he feels like he said they weren't going to talk until the roster's finished. That tells me the roster is finished. What do you think we're going to hear today? This will be his first time talking in mass to the media. Yeah, I was going to try to make it over there. I don't think I'll have time. He actually shows up.

When he says noon, it means noon. Past regime's noon at 1230. I can get there. But I will tune into the live stream. I really, even though he puts out statements about each player, I just want to see what went into getting all these pieces, how he plans on putting him together. You know, I doubt he's going to reveal how the rotation will look this early. But I really just want to hear him go player by player and get an understanding of why I went after him and how he sees them fitting in here.

You got to know he's going to be excited about the roster So you know a lot of it's going to be really positive coming from him today You know you're right He said he would talk to you and talk to the meeting when his roster was completed I felt like they were really going to go out and get one more guy I still thought there was a chance they would They must feel good about Ottega coming back I think if he's gonna talk I think they must feel pretty good about that

The draft lottery was last night Not that that probably would have affected him But so I that's how I look at it A couple questions I would like someone, since none of us are going to be there, let's give the questions we would like them to ask. I have one, like, kind of juicy question. I want to hear him say something about Travis Perry.

Because they didn't release a statement when he left. They got to ask him. And I found that weird. I mean, I just did. I found that weird because Mark Pope seems like the kind of guy who would always release a statement. And that was his first player. Called him out in the press conference last year in April. So it does, I do, I don't, I wouldn't want to ask him, why didn't you say anything?

But I would just kind of be interested in what he says about Travis Lee. I'm sure he'll take the high road. But I admit, Drew, I do wonder there was no from Travis Love You, BBN, and there was no from Pope, you know. I mean, we didn't even get it with that said from Travis Perry, right? I do wonder about that. Do you? Yeah, someone will ask. I think that'll come up pretty quickly,

but I don't think we'll get a great answer. It'll be the beautiful time here. We wish him luck. But don't you think that's weird that they didn't say that. No, well, but I just don't think it's weird, but I don't think we'll ever get a real answer, especially in a press conference setting like that. Someone will ask him. I'd be shocked if someone doesn't ask him, but I don't know that there will be a lot of meat

on that bone in his answer. I think he'll be pretty vague and just wish him well. It should have happened like as soon as he announced he was leaving, released a statement thing. You can't do it now after he's picked Ole Miss, a conference rival. But when Travis left, I was surprised that there wasn't something from just a statement, just a graphic. I was surprised from both.

Yeah. I'm much more surprised Travis didn't put something out. I mean, coaches usually do, but players, not out of 100 do. They always say with that being said. Like always. Thank you, BBM. Thank you, BN. It's been a wonderful time.

With that being said, you know, God's plan. Like, they always do that, and they didn't do it. So I do think that that's interesting. I guess the other thing I would like somebody to ask is, I want him to reassure me that these guys can shoot. Yeah. Right? Because it seems like so much of what Mark Pope's offense is,

is shooting the three. And on paper, this looks to be, while a significant step up athletically, maybe a step back from a shooting perspective. I heard Jalen Lowe's dad was on the Sunday morning sports talk this weekend, and he said that, I didn't know this, that he had a dislocated elbow, like right before the season started. He thinks that affected his shot all year last year, that he's a better shooter than the numbers will let you tell you he is.

That was kind of encouraging to hear. That's interesting. Although it is his dad. What's his dad going to say? Is his dad going to be like he can't shoot? I mean, like his dad is going to. I am on a little bit of a, hey, family member. Like, Bob the Pope's brother's got to shut up.

I was, like, he was on, he was on, what is it? What's the dude Shannon that did the British guy? Pears Morgan, is that a person? Yeah, that's him. He was on his show, and he was like, I mean, my brother's not really woke. I mean, might be a little woke. And you're like, dude, like, what are you doing? And he was just sitting back and he, like, he was sitting, like, with his crotch up.

And he, like, he was not even sitting up straight. I'm like, your brother's the Pope, at least sit up straight. I do wonder sometimes about family members. I don't trust entirely what they say. One good thing I heard from Jalen Lowe's dad this morning on Tom Leach's show is, did you know he was Jeff Brasso's point guard in high school? Jalen Lowe's dad was? Yeah, that's kind of neat.

We shout Brasso at him when he gets here. Also, the Harrison twins gave a big compliment. They did. They said they thought he was going to be great because I don't know how they know him. Was he from Texas? He's from Texas. He's from Texas. And Deerrin Fox knows him, too.

Yeah. He actually, we mentioned his shooting low this weekend, was one of the standouts at the G-League camp. And even though it was only two scrimmages, he's playing against good competition and shot 43% from three. I think he's going to be great. Of all the players coming in, I think he's going to be great. I think there's a decent chance.

I'm going to go on record. Write it down. All right, let's go. He's going to be our leading score next year. Even over Otega. That's our leading score next year. Well, if he can show him. a lot better than his numbers are. He's got the chance

he can get to the basket. I don't think that's a crazy play a lot of minutes, no? Like if you were setting Vegas odds, Otega would probably be first, but Jalen Role would probably be second. I don't think that's a crazy outlandish pick to say he'll be the leading score. Yeah, I mean he can absolutely get buckets. He'll have to

dial back as much as he was used at Pitt. He's known as a driving kick guy too, so if guys are shooting, he's going to have a high assist rate getting inside and throwing it back out. He was the dude we didn't have. I mean, he is a guy that at the end of the game can go get a shot. I mean, we made a couple with Otega, especially against Oklahoma, but in general, you know,

I kept worrying we needed someone like that. I think he'll be that guy. Now you may have three with Aberdeen, Otega, and Lowe. Got three guys that can go get that shot. Yeah. So I'm excited about it. So we'll see what happens with the press conference. 859-280-2287.

Text machine is 772-7525-4. We're going to take a break. Shannon, conspiracy theory. Shannon's got to come out next segment. Okay. Was the NBA draft lottery rig? I think you have to, you at least have to discuss it because it's a little odd. We'll take a break.

Be right back. This is KZ. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies,

and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast. podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we

don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth,

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, iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now. 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 feel on. Don't let that be the reason you don't do it. An Olympic champs Gabby Thomas and Katie Ladecki. 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 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 IHeart Women's Sports. 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 does. He doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levin this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after? me. Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio. 859-2-8027. Text machine, 772-7-7-4. Again, we're going to let you sort of finish what you have to say today. Worked pretty well yesterday. You did pretty well yesterday. Although I had some people write me, Shannon, and say, don't let people finish what they say. Yeah. Because they don't have anything to say. But I thought yesterday was a pretty decent balance.

I went back and listened, and so I thought it was pretty good. Good calls. Yeah, we'll do it. You learn a lot about them when you let them. You do learn. Some people you don't need to know as much about it. Very true. Some people, you don't need to know everything.

One person writes, Matt, the whole Travis Perry thing ticks me off. He's a Kentucky legend, and he should never have left here. I mean, I don't agree with that he should have never left. It was the best decision for him. I mean, we talked about this during the year a little bit. I think when you bring these Kentucky players to the campus, they better be really good or else you set up for fans going, why isn't so-and-so play?

And that is distracting for a team. It just is. It is distracting for a team to, it's distracting for the player ahead of Travis Perry, who people go, well, why isn't Travis Perry? And then when Perry's not playing, I think it is fair to say, Ryan, you tell me if this is fair to say, that Travis Perry's dad was a coach,

and he has a very strong presence. Fair to say? Yes. You look nervous. I don't know where you're going with this. Well, he has a very strong presence. Yeah. And he makes that presence felt.

Is that fair? The coach, I guess. What? No. You know what I'm saying. The father of Travis Perry, who was the coach, also makes his presence felt.

And yes? Yes. Okay. And as a Kentucky coach, that can be, could that be a distraction? Definitely. Why are you sounding so nervous

if you're agreeing with me? Because I don't think Ryan Perry is that kind of guy. I think he's a coach, but he's beloved. Everybody likes him. That doesn't mean he's not beloved. Everyone in this situation can be beloved. Mark Pope can be beloved. Travis Perry can be beloved.

Coach Perry can be beloved. But it can lead to their being some distraction. Is that not fair? I'm definitely fair. Okay. Then I don't know if that's the case here. I think it's fair, but I don't know if that's the case. Oh.

Well, then why are you agreeing with me? You were asking questions that I agree with. Is he a big personality? Yes. Okay. You're leading the witness here. I was leading to witness. And he just, this is why you can't lead a witness because I ended up, he ended up saying exactly what I thought and then saying he didn't think it.

Point being, I think it was best for Travis to go somewhere else. And he got the money that he wanted and he'll get the playing time. So, Drew, I don't, because he was a Kentucky legend, to me, the day your high school time ends, it's a meritocracy. If you can play, you play. If you can't play, you don't play. Period. Where you went to school and all that shouldn't matter, in my opinion. I mean, I still think he's a Kentucky legend.

He's the all-time leading score, a broken record that should be broken. But at the end of the day, if someone's going to give you more money and more playing, Tom, that's a win for Travis Perry, and it could be a win for Pope. They don't have to have the pressure of feeling like they have to play him. I mean, it's certainly not a loss because I don't think he's going to play that much this upcoming season anyway. I think this is the case where you look at each of the time. other than you shake hands and say it was a fun year, I've got to go do what's best for me. You know, he got recruited over this year.

He's going to get recruited over every year, and he knows that. It's just unfortunate I think he got forced into a position this year he wasn't ready for. They had to play him because of injuries. He didn't shoot the ball as well as he usually does. And I think those two things combined, I wish you could have a do-over, you know? Yeah. But Trent Noah got forced to play, and you saw moments where you could have said that can work. Yep.

You didn't see it with Travis. At least I didn't. Now that doesn't mean it's not going to work. But he was going to be third. Like, would you have not recruited Aberdeen? You have to. You had to. So he's now third string.

And do Kentucky fans lose their minds about losing the third string point guard? No. It's just the Coussey's from here. But I'm sorry. I love having kids from Kentucky. It makes me feel good. But you know what's most important? We win.

Right? It's like, to use a political analogy, I like James Carville. I see James Carval on TV, and I always see he's fighting with people on the far left. And the people on the far left go, we need politicians who believe with us on this, this, and this. And then James Carville sounds like me. He goes, I want to win. And he's like, y'all can argue about that. I want to win.

I'm the same way. I want to win. Would I rather win with kids from Kentucky? Yes, but first, Drew, we got to win. And who's to say this couldn't happen again? I don't want to put anything on the exact names, but let's say one of the Kentucky kids on the current roster doesn't play it all next year in a school calls and says,

I'll triple your money and give you X amount of playing time. I would think that player should do it. You have to look out for yourself in this NIO world. Totally agree. Where you're going to make more money in this four-year window than you will probably ever in your life. The reports are that Travis Perry maybe made $6,000 to $700,000 at Old Miss. He was probably going to make $200,250 here.

he'd be foolish not to go there. Triple your money and you get more playing time. It'd be foolish. It'd be foolish not to go. All right, who's up first, Shannon? Johnny. Johnny, go ahead, Johnny. Hey, Matt.

I was just wondering, I know you talked about it some last week with the athletics program going to, like, a private business. Yes. Do you think that are other sports that aren't maybe as popular, don't bring in as much money, there will be like a concerted marketing strategy to get those sports more exposure and more money and maybe even see something like a UK sports network.

Yeah, well, you can't have a UK sports network. Yeah, we can't have a UK sports network because all of our media rights are held with the SEC. So our media rights outside of our, and I appreciate the call, our basketball and football, well, all of our broadcast rights on radio are, held by JMI. But all of our TV rights and all the other University of Kentucky rights are held by ESPN. So we're never going to be able to package those as one thing. They will always be part of ESPN.

Yeah, I mean, I'm sure they'd love to market the other sports. It's hard, though. You know, people only have so much time, Ryan, right? Like, you know, I'm sure there's a lot of people that would love to watch soccer. But, you know, that's during football season, and they got other things to watch. and I think it's hard to market these other sports. People care about what they care about. And in Kentucky, they care about basketball, football, women's basketball,

and they've started to care a little bit about baseball. And that's just kind of how it is. And that TV contract is the biggest revenue maker for the program. It is the revenue maker for the program. I mean, that and football tickets are the revenue makers true. And you're right about it's hard to keep up with everything. I do it for a living and I can barely keep up with everything. I mean, there are people who love UK, went to UK and support UK baseball,

but can struggle to tell you what's going on with them just because people have lives and, you know, you're into basketball and football for so long. It's hard to just stay engaged with every little thing that happens in UK athletics every day. I mean, we talked about this a lot yesterday. There are benefits to business and capitalism, and then there are negatives. And what we're going to see in UK sports is the negative is going to start being hurting some of these other sports. It just is. I mean, it's just life.

That's the way it's going to be. We'll take a break. Be right back. KSR. T.J. Smith, personal injury attorney. Call T.J. He'll make them pay. Now, more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage.

Here's Matt Jones. Welcome back, Kentucky Sports Radio, 859, 280, 2287. I'm going to go to the phone here in just a second. One person writes, Matt, my favorite part of the show is when you make Ryan uncomfortable. It's clear he doesn't like to talk about things, and that's when I know it's a real scoop. That's exactly right. That's a great read. Anytime you hear Ryan get quiet, that means it's real.

That means because that means he doesn't want to say it because he knows it's true. The weather's awesome today. We've got great weather outside. It's what I'm talking about. It's supposed to read today. That's what I'm talking about. All right, would you like, we didn't do the football thing, we'll do it the second hour. Drew, would you like good news or bad news about the state of Kentucky outside of sports?

Which one would you like first? Let's get the bad news out of the way and get back to a good show. Russell Springs, Kentucky man. Yes. Was arrested for biting the ear off a cat. He bit the ear off a cat. When the police asked him why, his answer was the cat bit me first. I'm not kidding.

His answer was the cat bit me first, and I got angry, and then I bit the ear off a cat. Russell Springs, I don't know what's happening there. We've done many shows there. But you've got to keep your guys from biting the ears off cats. I read the story on KYT this morning. I believe he bit both ears off. So, I mean, he did it once and then went back for more. He can't say.

I'll double check that. But Shannon, Utah talked about it too. Wasn't it both ears? I didn't hear both, but I think one ear is enough. I feel like one ear's plenty. I feel like, and if you do it a second time, that's psychopath behavior. Yeah. Like, you know, one ear, maybe you just got angry.

but the second ear I mean even Mike Tyson stopped at one yeah Mike Tyson did stop at one he didn't go to the second year and this isn't a nibble like he the ear was removed right off yeah that's

I don't want to live among people why are these stories happening in Kentucky why can't it be in Tennessee I think we know the answer to that all right but how about some good news all right to have some good news in 2020 they ranked the list of most

obese states in America and Kentucky was the third most obese state in America. But in 2024, they updated it. We are now only the eighth most obese state in America. We have risen five states in the last four years. I don't know why. Be interesting.

But everybody else has access to OZimic too. But remember, Bowling Green is the number one city in America for OZMPIC. Again, why we still don't know. but how about that? We've gone from, we have passed not only Mississippi, Louisiana, but we've passed Iowa, Nebraska. I was fatter than us now. So that's really good news.

I'm proud of us. A lot of us just walk around with our shirts off, showing off this new bod. A lot of us do, whether or not we should is a different question. Good job, Kentucky. Everyone out there that slimmed down a little bit, I'm proud of you. That's right. So even if it's, yes, we may occasionally bite the ear off a cat, but we don't swallow it as much.

Because we're staying thin. To go back to that real quick, I looked up the story. It says ears, so I take that as two. But one thing I didn't know is deputies found him hiding under the blankets on his bed. Yeah, that's right. He just ran in the bedroom like they would find him. And he got under the blankets. He decided to hide and he went under his blankets.

Like, I think the police are not going to look under my blankets. I hope that guy gets help. But on the weight loss thing, I do think OZIPA probably plays a big role with the Bowling Green hot bed for it. That cat thing's a really hairy situation. You know, you sat there for like three or four minutes trying to come up with that, and that was the best you did.

I almost went with. No, no, it's good. Who's up next? I kind of want to hear what other joke was going to be. What was your second? It's going to be worse, because this is the one you didn't choose. Well, when Drew said he hit under the cover, I thought, that man probably thought he had a perfect hiding place.

Oh, good Lord. I don't know why. It's on you, Shane. You wanted to hear that one. My bad. My bad. Cody. Cody, go ahead, Cody.

Cody. Hey, Cody. You're Cody. I'm mad. Go ahead. Yeah, this is Cody here. Okay. I'm calling in.

Me and Mark Bowers here. But anyway, I'm the head coach of the Mulemberg County High School fishing team. We wanted to call in this morning. So you're the head coach of the fishing team? Yep. Okay. And you all are pretty good, right? I think I remember over the years that you all are one of the better fishing teams.

Matt, this is Mark Bowers, Mulemberg County also. They just won their seventh state championship and third in a row. Third in a row. So, first of all, congratulations. What makes Mullenberg County High School fishing so successful? It's the hard work and dedication we put in, just like practice, anything else that, you know, you do, the more practice you put in. effort we put the time of effort in that's awesome well uh well congratulations um that sounds like a

dynasty and you just had the state championship or it's about to come no it just happened last friday and saturday on lake cumberland oh on lake cumberland so you all had to go on the road right yes sir well congratulations it had been at kentucky lake matt but they moved it uh after we won our second and then they moved it to Lake Cumberland and we won our third executive. Well, congratulations. I think we had talked on this show about. I appreciate the call that you got that there would seem to be a home lake advantage, Drew, because you would know where the fish are.

And Mulemberg County showed they can go on the road and still fish with the best of them. Got a big dynasty going on. Also, they're the new catfish at KS. Bar. But people don't know this, but the Mulemberg County High School provides our catfish here. We just took their winning. Maybe we should actually consider that. Maybe an NIL opportunity. Go out and find us some fish.

We'll fry it up. So whichever team wins, we take their fish, and then that's what we cook. Everybody wins. That would be kind of nice. I'm sorry. I have a hundred questions about this. Like, are they only catching bass, or do they catch croppy? We had them on the phone.

We should ask. I was a little thrown off by the two people there. Were they passing a phone back and forth? Well, first of all, they said it was. They patched the other one in. Didn't he say it was the catfish. title that would presume that it was or is it just fishing?

I didn't hear catfish but maybe he said that. Yeah, okay. Well, either way, we'll congrats to Meel inburg County. Who's next? Dustin. Dustin, go ahead, Dustin. Mark Stoops, big fan of him

his entire career that he's been here. Yes. I understand the schedule is terrible, but if he goes five and seven with 18 points a game, a back of the end offense in the SEC, it's time to move on. But if you can somehow let Bush Handen do a little bit of something,

have a middle of the road offense, I get it. But this stuff is a stall ball and let defense take the field. I just can't do it anymore. Yeah. Well, let's talk about that for just a minute. That was going to be my football conversation. So somebody sent me this morning, Ryan, a email they had about the applications for season ticket renewal for UK

football. And for those of you that are season ticket holders, you know when your turn comes up in the line, they will show you all the seats that are available and you can upgrade to better seats. And obviously some of them cost more and some of them don't. This person had gotten their email last week and they showed me and Ryan

the amount of seats that were open was staggering. The person said they've been doing this a long time and they're always some open but never anywhere close to this, and including lots of seats that to me look expensive have come open. And you sit there and you look at the sheet,

and it was a lot of seats in really good sections. Are you worried about attendance slash? Because, I mean, that has a major effect on revenue at a time that we are adding $22 million to our budget. are you worried about that? I honestly am. I mean, I'm worried about attendance. I'm worried about our team next year.

I mean, they haven't won a home football game, what, two years? They all for their last eight in SEC home games. I think people were just kind of put off by the things they've seen the last couple of years that are not going to spend that kind of money to go watch another product that may not be as good even this year. But I mean, is there anything you think they can do? Or is it just like that's what it's going to be next year? because I looked at it, and I'm telling you, I looked at it and I was shocked at how many seats were available.

Like, shocked. I think that's what it's going to be. I'm normally overly optimistic with Kentucky football. I mean, I've booked hotels in Atlanta in the last few years thinking that could happen, and I think it's going to be ugly. And it doesn't help that, you know, you want to drum up interest is getting excitement, and they're like our guy that just bit the cats here. They're under the blankets over there being quiet and not putting out anything.

there's very little marketing to get anyone excited because, you know, Stoops has said he don't want to create headlines or set a high bar. I think that's shooting themselves in the foot. Then you add, you know, we've seen people complain about parking and ticket prices had gone up. That was a big issue when that first came out. I just think it's going to be a pretty low turnout.

Do you think it's going to be, like let's say game one? You know, over the years, even when we've stunk, game one is close to full because people are excited. Is game one going to be full? close to full i think a lot of people will still just buy ticket you'll be able to i hate to say there's not really a point in getting season tickets in a year when there's not much interest you can get them day of for nothing i think people will still go and make days out of it early on but as the year goes on nobody wants to make that commitment for a whole year

because they i think everyone sees the writing on the wall of what the record could be this year i mean you could see a scenario ryan where that third game gives you your real indication right everybody shows up for the first game because it's the first game then they play Old Miss in the second game, people will be, but then that third game where they play Eastern Michigan after they've just been there for two straight weeks, if the product against Old Miss is poor, you could see a scenario where in that third game it's not a great situation. Yeah, I think Drew's right. I think that first game will be a good crowd.

You know, we'll talk ourselves into it this summer. We're going to be good and be better. But Toledo's tough, man. You can't lose that game. And then Ole Miss, that second game, you're right. If you start the season rough like that, the crowd's going to check out. They're kind of hanging by a thread right now. I think they're going to check out if they don't play well.

If you want a positive, though, Shannon, good seats are still available. There you go. If you want to be a first-time season ticket holder, now's your chance. Silver lining right there, baby. You could probably get the best season tickets you ever thought you could get this year. Beating Ole Miss is a tough assignment, but they cannot have what they did. With South Carolina Week 2 last year, we just got smoke. You cannot get destroyed in that game.

No, you can't. It's going to be very, very important. Hey, you wouldn't skip halftime adjustments, right? No. So don't skip your skin check. We were at the Kentucky Skin Cancer Center, and they have your back, your arms, your face, your neck, all of it. We all got facials, and that was great. But I also saw people who came to the show getting checked for skin cancer, and that's a great thing for them.

And hopefully you could do that as well. Go to the Kentucky Skin Cancer Center. They have it in Bowling Green, Owensboro Powderly, which I didn't know as a town, but I do now. Franklin, it's the way to make sure if you have any skin cancer issue, you could get them taken care of early. Or just get yourself pampered a little bit with the facial, et cetera. Go to the Kentucky Skin Cancer Center today all around Western Kentucky. I really enjoyed that. Did you?

Did you like when they did all the stuff to your face? I can't wait to get another one. That was awesome. I'd never had one before. Did you? Not like that. That was awesome. I hadn't had one with the little micros and all that.

Did you feel like you were glowing? Did you look in the mirror and see a difference? I got home. People were like, you're glowing. And I said, well, thank you very much. We'll take a break. Be right back. It's KS.

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,

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Welcome back, Tughey Sports Radio. Text Machine 772-774-5254. One person tells me, Powderly, Kentucky is where Roscoe P. Coltrane is from. Really? From the Dukes of Hazas. James Best. James Best? Way to know the name, Shannon.

I'm impressed. How in the world did you know that? I was a big fan of that show. and then, you know, he was on the Andy Griffiths show a couple of different times. Yeah, he was on the Andy Griffith show. You're right. One person writes, Matt, let's say all of your co-hosts and KSR people were, had been drinking. Which one would you trust most to put on the air?

Oh, that's a good question. All right, so I'm going to assume you three, Mario, and Billy have all been drinking. Let's include Billy. Who would I put on the air? I think I would trust Mario the most because he's. He would just giggle and point, which wouldn't necessarily be good radio, but I don't think he would say something offensive. Like, you don't really curse very much either.

Very rarely, you don't really say anything offensive. So I would trust you the most. He gets really curious and ask questions more than he's. Yeah, you just don't stop talking. You just don't shut up. That's exactly right. You just talk nonstop. But that's not bad for radio.

You can do a two-hour show. I would say second would be Drew because he's used to it. I would just talk about Gilly and how nice he is the whole time. And then I would say Shannon is probably third. I would not trust Billy, and I definitely would not trust Ryan. Ryan goes from person I probably trust the most with the show to person I trust the least with the show. I agree.

When drinking. I put myself last also. I'm putting two Momosa Billy and Chatty Patty Mario down there with me, though. I don't want those guys on the radio. Jenny Paddy, Mario. But Mario doesn't say anything bad. He just doesn't shut up. Yeah.

Which is so weird because he's the quietest of us in real life. He would talk to the commercial breaks. Oh, he's all over. The amount of people that have written in during the break and told me that they didn't renew their season tickets. Wow. I don't get nearly as many texts as you, and I've gotten bought. Now, have the prices gone up also?

I think just barely, if at all. Well, there's one less game. They have. Yeah. That's right. That's right. It's there's one last game. Same price, one less game.

Same price, one less game. And it seems there's a lot of complaining about RV parking. I don't know if it's price or if they've changed, but a lot of people that would bus in and do the whole big setup and make a weekend out of it. I've heard from a lot of them, too. You know, at the end of the day, Joker, I mean, I think it was 50-50, him going either way. And then the Vandy game, the attendance ended it. Is that fair?

And the performance. We lost 40 to nothing. you know, you do wonder if the wheels fall off this year if you get a similar result in terms of, you know, I mean, I hate to say this because I want to be optimistic. I still think, I do think the football team is going to be better. Is the record going to be significantly better? I don't know. But I do think the team's going to be better. But I do think the program is entering that phase.

my example would be imagine cows last year if we didn't have Reed Shepard and Rob Dillingham coming into the year imagine that level because they brought energy right like they brought like oh there's a kid and then the first game or two when Reed was like oh Reed's for real

then the team kind of got some energy that's kind of what I let's imagine that team was DJ Wagner Justin Edwards Aaron Bradshaw Antonio Reeves is the center pieces. That's kind of what I feel like is happening here. I think it's a great comparison, actually. I mean, I keep saying it. They lost 16 starters from last year's team that didn't win a home SEC game. And this year your home SEC games are

Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and Ole Miss. Easy. And it hurts them. There's so many new pieces and they needed new pieces, but it's hard to get excited about them when no one has a clue what they'll actually look like until they get on the field. Well, objectively, and I'm fine saying this. Look, I support Mark Stoops. I want it to work. I like Mark Stoops, but I'm going to call it as I see it. But I do like him, and I do think, you know, I do like it. With that said, objectively speaking, they do a terrible job of marketing this.

The fact that we didn't know how cool Maxwell Harrison was until the draft is that's a U.K. should look in the mirror and go, Amongst all these stars at the NFL draft, including Shadour Sanders and all these guys, Maxwell Hirsten, who was picked at the bottom of the first round, objectively won the night. He was on the Good Morning America. He was on the Today Show. He was in this city, and none of us knew that about him. That's a failure in marketing. He should have been the face of the program, right?

He should have been the guy that had everybody excited because he had such a great personality, and it didn't happen. And, Ryan, that to me is a failure in connecting with your fans. And they knew come in the season, he was going to be, you know, all SEC Coulbill player because he had a great year last year. But if the nation connected with him and we didn't in the state. Yeah. Yeah, we were learning with everyone else.

That's a problem. I mean, it is. That's a problem. I mean, like, the idea that this dude, I mean, literally there were TikToks from, like, all these people who don't even care about football being like, what is, what an amazing, you know, The fact that we didn't know, that is a failure in marketing your product. It just is.

And this year, the whole roster is unknown. I mean, there's some guys that are back. But the last few years, Yelis had a Dane and a baryon and some returning pieces to get excited about. Like the brand-new quarterback from Incarnate Word, Dante Dowdell, who should be a good running back, but we don't know. The receiving room is hardly Gilmore's back. There's really not a lot of guys where you're like, well, I'm excited to go out there and watch him because I know he's this. There's just so many unknowns on the roster. There's never been a team.

certainly since the Joker era, but maybe even before, that our fans will know less about. Agreed. I mean, and they're not going to know, right? So I'm not surprised, unfortunately, that that's what it is with the season tickets. All right, we're going to take a break. We are here at KS. Bar and Grill. New catfish coming. Can't wait.

I'm hungry. And come on out and see us. We'll take a break. Be right back. Kentucky Sports Radio. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored me with Robert Mygall and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L'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 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Life is full of hurdles, so how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward.

At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. 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 IHart Women's Sports. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway

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