KSR - 2025-10-02- KSR - Hour 2

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

More KSR Live from KSBar & Grille talking EKU Football with Head Coach Walt Wells and Richie Farmer calls to give a Kentucky Basketball practice update.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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For your home loan needs, Stockton.com and click Get Started. Stockton Mortgage, NMLS 8259 Equal Housing Lender, NMLS Consumer Access.org. Welcome to Hour 2 of Kentucky Sports Radio, presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now, here's Matt Jones. All right, welcome back. Hour number two. Ryan, Drew and Shannon here of Kentucky Sports Radio. We mentioned Matt makes his return tomorrow of our live show at Shady Raids at Oxmore Mall in Louisville. But Drew, every year, during the EKU football's by week, we usually get to visit with their head coach Walt Wells. guess what?

Buy week this weekend. Walt Will's making a return trip. It's always good to kind of, this has worked out, it's been several years in a row. You've come in and said with us on your bye week. No, we really appreciate you having us up

because it's great for us to get, you know, EKU out there and across the state, nothing else goes across the state like this. I'll have, you know, I spent 10 years in Bowling Green and I've spent, I don't know, 17 years up around this area,

so I'll get people calling all the times, hey, I just heard you on KSR, you know, And I appreciate the reach for our program and our university because it's big time for us. Well, tell us about the EKU season. How you guys been doing so far? We are doing okay. We're two and oh at home.

So we beat Houston Christian, who used to be Houston Baptist, famous for Bailey Zappy. And so we played them, and then we beat Nichols State last week, who is a team that has done a great job in the Southland Conference. and then we played Louisville, obviously, and didn't win that game. Lost one game that we lost that we are disappointed in is against West Georgia, who's a ranked team in FCS, and in our conference. And so we were playing well, had a touchdown call back, and we're a young team right now growing up, and we lost 27 seniors, which is rare in the world.

And so, you know, we kind of grew up on the road down in Carrollton, Georgia, and then we played Marshall. You opened the year at Louisville, as you mentioned. What's the importance of a game like that, kind of punching up, going to a Power 4 school for a team of your level, and have you ever had any success in one of those games over the years? Well, over the years, definitely as a player, I was at Austin Pee when we beat Kansas State.

Okay. 1987. I don't know who was worse, them or us, but we won the game, which was incredible. Then as a coach at Western Kentucky, obviously we came in here. I think it was 2012 Willie Taggers last year and upset

Kentucky. Yeah, we don't talk about that one. And then, you know, we actually at EKU beat Bowling Green State and so it was a year that I actually had my cardiac arrest. It was my first game. Gary McPee was the acting coach but I was back on the sidelines

that game. So you know, every now and then you can sneak in and get one, but you know, it's obviously financially it's big for our program. and you know that goes to all athletics not just football and then and then it gives our guys an opportunity to step up and see where they're at guys that think you know and then guys that are on the radars of the NFL scouts I mean we'll have every NFL team into our practices this year just like in the last that you know they get a chance to watch them against those type

players and see how they fit you know basically they know that those are one and two game test for them right you know they're still going to watch every game you know at our level but But they want to see how they play against, you know, Isaac Brown and all those dudes, and they get in a hole with them one-on-one, and can they make the play? And different things like that, depending on who they have. So, you know, two years ago we came in here and played Kentucky, and it was a good game for a while. Yeah, I was. It was a scary game for a while you guys came in here.

I remember that. And so, you know, our guys get up for big time. Sure. They love it, and our coaches love it because they want to prove who they can, you know, coach against sometimes. You mentioned the NFL. going to go this direction, but I'm a long-suffering Titans fans. We've had some Eastern Kentucky Colonels recently. I believe they played for you. I mean, Tim Boyle's still on a roster out there. I think he was before you were a coach, but what's the sense of pride when you have a guy

go from Eastern and get to the league? Well, I'm born and raised Nashville too, so I'm a Titan fan. And so when Matt and T.K. were down there, they both stayed for a year, year and a half, or two years. And, you know, that's match from Nashville, too. Matt Jackson was. So that was really prideful for me. And, you know, my best friend's one of the media guys down in Nashville, does radio show, does all this. And so he would get them on and talk to him and do everything. So it's really prideful. But, you know, I hate to see. I mean, I'm a Steve McNair fan. Have been for a long time. I think he's one of the best quarterbacks ever play in NFL. Of course, everybody thinks I'm an idiot when I say that. But he was tough.

He carried that town. It's kind of funny, me and my brother, my dad bought us PSLs, so when they brought the Titans. And that means you had preferred seat license for two seats in the end zone. And the year they came is the year I got into college coaching. And so my brother was a long-time high school coach down there, so I never got to sit in those PSLs. And so eventually I just said, hey, man, you got them. You've been paying for them the whole time. you take them.

And he passed a couple years ago, but his family still has them, I think. And so, you know, we've been that long in Nashville, and we love it. And I'm for them. They were just asking me, these young guys with me, they were like, who'd you grow up like in the Titans? I was like, well, no, because the Titans didn't come until I was in, you know, probably in my 30s. You know, I said I was a Raiders fan because the Raiders was my high school nickname,

so I went to Raiders. So you mentioned that game you came in over here to Kroger Field a couple years ago, kind of put a little scare in Kentucky, bit. You guys are on the schedule again in the next coming years, aren't you? I think it's 28 or 29. I think they had the future schedules and I saw you KU on there. I mean, it's a big deal for a program like you guys and you're going to go into a big SEC program and play them. It's so, I mean, we're so thankful that Kentucky does it because here's the deal for us. We don't have to spend a lot of money to come over here and do the game day atmosphere.

I mean, we're 20 minutes down the road, so are we going to, you know, we're going to stay at home. We're going to, you know, all we have to do is rent the buses and the postgame meals. So it's almost like being at home for us and financially. And then we get the financial windfall and we get to keep it. And then we get to come in. You know, we've got, we recruit the state pretty hard. We've got a lot of local guys from Lexington. Yeah.

You know, Brady Hensley just had a big game last week against us from LCA. Did he? Good for him. Yeah, he rushed for 142 or 48 yards. Wow. He scored a touchdown. He's doing real well for us. and then Joe Slarman, John's son is our second team center.

And, you know, we've got other guys that are from, you know, Caden Smith's from Taylor County. And I can go on and on. I'm going to leave a bunch of guys out. But we have a lot of guys from the state of Kentucky that play for us. That dream of one-time playing at Coverfield. Everybody does. I mean, I grew up in Nashville.

My dad was the biggest Kentucky fan ever. But I grew up wanting to go to Tennessee, you know. And because if you grow up in Nashville, that's, especially in the 80s, you know, when you came out. the 80s, that's what you did. You wanted to go play Tennessee. And so I understand that, and it's a great atmosphere. It's hopefully a great game for us and for them, and everybody's satisfied at the end of the day. You ended up at Austin P., as you said, former Austin P. ballboy here, go-Govs. Let's go P.

Oh, really? But I saw their next on your schedule after this by-week coming into Richmond's play. What can fans just expect to see in that game and the rest of your home games? Well, I think, you know, right now currently we're on a nine-game win streak going all the way back at home, going back to 2020. And, you know, I think you'll see a really good game. Austin P's ranked. They upset Middle Tennessee earlier in the year, played Georgia well. So, I mean, they're going to come in here.

They've got a transfer quarterback that's really good from Mississippi State. So they're going to come in here ready to go, obviously. We won last year in overtime on a walk-off touchdown. They're going to be mad coming at you. So they're going to be mad coming in here. Jeff Ferris, the head coach there, has done a great job. I know him and his dad for my time at Tennessee. And so, you know, they've got a really good football team.

Now, they play West Georgia, who's ranked also, ranked ahead of them, in our conference this weekend. So, you know, maybe we'll find out a little more about who both of them are as we move forward. We played West Georgia, and that's the one team that beat us in FCS. So, you know, I'm looking forward to it. It's been good to have a week off. Like I said, we have a young team, so five games into it. It's been a hard run.

Three of the games have been on the road and things like that. So to give them a break, we got practice. We had three days of practice. Today is the third day. And then give them a break for the weekend. They need it, and it'll be good for them. Some of them will be going home, and the rest of them will be sticking around. Now, you mentioned that game coming up on the 11th.

You know, that's Kentucky's by week. And it's worked out a lot over the past couple years when you come in here. A lot of Kentucky fans go watch your. your home game, Kentucky's off that weekend. Let's go watch EKU play. You usually get a lot of UK fans go down to Richmond to watch you guys play, and it's going to be a big game against Austin P. So how can people get tickets, and what's the best way to try to maybe get tickets to come to that game?

Well, right now we've got a $5 special. Oh, goodness. They can come get a single game ticket for $5. I mean, you can bring your whole family, and the food's cheap, and the beverage is cheap, and they've got all the types of beverage that you want. They've got adult to small children beverage. We've got a fun zone for them. So all they have to do is go to EKUsports.com, go to the ticket window or drop down,

and you can get your tickets right there, and it'll come straight to your phone, they'll buzz you in when you come here and all that. We're going to leave, I think Ray's here. Ray White, our ticket manager's here. He's going to leave some free tickets here for y'all to give out throughout the next week if you want to do. That's very cool. Yeah, we love to. And then we'll continue to go through it.

But it's easy. EKUsports.com is where they have to go and go to the tickets. And then they can. It works out perfect when Kentucky's off that by week. People go travel down and watch a football game. No. It's a neat environment, too, you guys have. I mean, it really is.

They do a great job. Our administration, you know, you've got the big Colonel lot. Yeah. Right. Where the arena is. It's got all kinds. They'll have concerts. They'll have all different types of things going on.

They let you, you know, enjoy yourself in cornhole. And, you know, they have a kid zone there. They have a kid zone inside the stadium. So if you want to go turn your kids loose on the bouncy house for the whole game and you sit over there. You've got the hill at the end zone. Right. I mean, last game we had, we had an unbelievable crowd,

and the end zone was packed. It was parents weekend. The end zone was packed. Everybody had their, you know, blankets out sitting on the end zone, kind of like the old days. Yeah. And so I felt really great about that. And then we actually, you know, played well and got the wins.

So it was a fun day. And then, you know, we have guys, if you won game tickets for RVs, if you used to tailgating over here, and you want to bring your camper down and tailgate, I mean, we usually have. about 20 campers sitting out there. I know a lot of former players had a barbecue rib cook off the other day.

Oh, nice. And, you know, I've got one with a bunch of other guys there in town that we, we, you know, I don't ever get there until after the game, but my wife and all their friends, they sit there and party and have a good time. Then we do our Colonel Walk right there. Colonel Walk, yeah. All right, well, take our break.

Come back. If you've got questions for Coach Walt Wells, go ahead and give us a call. 859-2-802-287. Tell you what we'll do. We're going to take those tickets. and give them away tonight at Thursday night football. Usually we have a good crowd here for Thursday night football. That'd be one of the prizes we give away tonight.

That'd be awesome. Is it all right? We'll do that. Oh, that'd be great. All right. Ryan Drew and Shane with the EKU football coach Walt Wills. We'll be right back. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.

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Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back, Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan Drew and Shannon here with EKU football coach Walt Wells. You're off this weekend, but then you host Austin P on Saturday, October 11th, which coincides with Kentucky's off week. So we encourage everybody if you're looking for a football game to go to, go down and check out the kernels. Big game to you guys.

You said Austin P is pretty good this year. Yeah, Austin P's having a great year. We've got to continue to build this week and get ready for them for next week. But it should be a great game. There's not been a game since I've been there against them that hadn't been decided probably in either overtime or in the last possession. So, you know, I think that's, you're going to watch a lot of good football players. You'll see some potential NFL players.

You know, if you want to come tailgate, you can tailgate. There's plenty of things to do down in Richmond to have fun and watch games and plenty of TVs around into parking lots to watch the other games that are going on, too, because I'm sure there will be some good games before our start. But we start at 6 o'clock, and so you've got all day to get your little kids football in and everything. We try to make it as fan-friendly as we can and then get rolling at 6, and it should be a great game. I'm throwing off here, Ryan. During the break, we were talking a little Steve McNair, and he said, where are you from?

And I said, Madisonville turns out like his whole family's from Madisonville. We were talking about the schools as dad went to, all these connections. I didn't hear that conversation. I'm like, I'm here to ask him about the colonels, but I did not expect so many Madisonville connections. During the break, we talked all the way through it. We were late getting back to join you. Drew's pounding his chest. The Maroons are, what, they're 6 and 0 now?

Best start since 1993. We're hot. Oh, I mean, the Madisonville Maroons. I used to go to Pirates Cove. Oh, you know Pirates Cove? We could do a whole show at the mall there. Oh, yeah. My parents would drive me up.

I would think it would be the worst week of my life. I always thought that when I first started because I'm coming from National. So I'm sitting here thinking, all right, we got this, we got that, we got Opry land, we've got the wave pool, we've got the river behind us, we can go fit, we can do all this stuff. We're going to Hanson. What the heck am I going to do, you know? Hanson's out of Walmart now. They all right.

Let's call them. Right there by the convenience center, which they called it a convenience center down there. And I was like, what is a convenience center? It's basically where you take your trash. But it's a great town. I loved it. Every week I'd go up here and spend with my aunt and uncle and my cousin that was my age. We'd always end up at the Pirates Cove, and I'd have to take a wide full of quarters and go over there and we'd play games.

And then we'd eat it. I think there was a pizza hut or something in there. Godfathers? Godfathers? I got to pick my jaw off the floor with him name-dropping Pirates Cove. I know that everyone's not here to just hear our Madisonville references. But what's the Mexican restaurant? You say it's the best restaurant in town,

the Mexican restaurant? Well, El Bracero, but we're going way back before all that. Pirates Cove is a deep cut for Madisonville. I mean, Pirates Cove was, that's where all, I mean, when I went back, when I went back when I was in high school, that's where you went, you cruised them all there, and you stopped off into Pirates Cove and played some games. Scott knows Madisonville.

Now, you know, we've seen how the transfer portal has affected, you know, the Power 4 schools in Kentucky. They pluck guys from, like, EKU. How do you guys at EKU combat that? Well, we just continue to, I mean, the thing about the transfer portal is it makes recruiting. Recruiting is always 24-7, 365, always. But now it's even more so because you have to be critical in your decision-making. We lost – we've got a line – our starting all-conference linebacker last year is planning at Virginia right now.

He starts on special teams, and he plays a lot at linebacker. Our freshman, All-American offensive guard, went to Purdue, and they plucked him out of here, you know. And so you just got to, I mean, it hurts you. It hurts your depth. It hurts what you do because you put the two years of development or one year of development into them. But you can get mad about it or you can just, I tell our coaches, and this is our philosophy. I don't know. Right now it seems to be working decently is like, hey, man, you're the head coach of your position.

Okay. And you have to understand that what we want and the link, the size, all the different things that we want, but you have to be ready to go. and we can't replace a starting sophomore or starting junior or, you know, with a true freshman. Yeah. You know, we're still going to recruit high schools. That's what we do. That's who we think we can develop. And that's who's been our best players.

But we're going to have to go in the portal and find guys that can come in and help us win. Like our outside linebacker is playing really good for us is a Cam Jr. Cam originally signed and played for Cincinnati. And then he came down. had success with us. He got a lot of scouts looking at him. Jaheim Ward, I recruited both his brothers. One of them was Jay Ward, who was committing, walking to commit to Kentucky when I was there. Matt House was recruiting him and somehow put a LSU hat on that day. And between the parking lot in the table, he put an LSU hat off.

I know what happened there, but I'm not going to say. That was NIL before NIA. Before NIL. That's exactly right. And so Jehim came from Austin P and came to play for us when they had a coach and change. And then, you know, we've got Vito Tisdale who's playing extremely high level right now. Every scout that comes in, the first person they talk about is Vito. Vito's got a pick six. He's got three or four picks already. He is really, really matured and really, really come around.

and he's been nothing but great for us. And then we got Tommy Zizmer, you know, who used to play here, who's starting noseguard for us and really making a name for himself. And so, you know, there's a lot of Kentucky connections there, obviously because of my relationships up here and I can call and check on people. But I've known Vito since he was a ninth grader. So when he was leaving – when he left here, we tried to get him, but he wanted to go to Colorado.

And when he left Colorado, I had been the first one to offer him. when I was at Tennessee in the ninth grade. And then my chief of staff, Jeff Griffith, who's a longtime high school coach in the state of Kentucky and down in Bowling Green High, coach Vito's dad. Oh, really? So Vito's dad called him and here we go, you know,

and Vito didn't look anywhere else. And, you know, for all the things that have gone wrong for Vito, he's been nothing but great for us for two years. and he's a high-level player. And I think he'll get, I'll be shocked if he didn't finish the way he's playing right now that he won't get an opportunity to play in the NFL. His pick six was against Louisville, right? Yeah, it was.

A little extra to him on that one. Right before halftime. And so he had two right before, I mean, back-to-back series, he had two picks. He had the one-pick-six that scored, and then Jeheme broke up a ball, and he was covering the guy, and they kind of broke it up, and the ball just popped up, and he was right there and took it and went. He had one last week for us that kept them out of the end zone. And, you know, like I said, I mean, he's very, very intelligent football player.

And he's got three hours. I'm going to put it out here that he's going to be an EKU graduate just to keep him, keep his nose to the grind on. But he was on our 3.0 board, too. So, I mean, he's doing great. He's doing really good. I'm proud of him. You're talking about losing guys to other schools, other opportunities,

and kind of tying in with Vito here. How often do you get the balance where you're able where a kid was stuck at a big school and didn't get as much of an opportunity there? Do you get to see a lot of times you're able to, even though you don't love losing a player to those schools, that you're able to get something in return? Well, the thing, the most – the attitude you have to take is if you keep the old attitude that we all had as coaches, then you're going to be miserable. And, I mean, because you're going to sit here and you develop this kid, you do everything you can for him. I mean, Jaden Higgins is a prime example.

I don't know if y'all know who jaden higgins is he was the first overall he wasn't he was in the second round but he was the first pick for the houston texons last year in the NFL draft okay jaden higgins is from down around miami he he had one offer coming out and that was us wow one one committable offer and uh he came and played for us for two years with parker mckinney and did a great job all right comes in coach i'm going in the portal, all right? And of course, that was right when the portal was kind of new, so I'm sitting there like, golly, man, this kid is, you know, he just, I think he had like

900 yards receiving for us and 10 touchdowns, and I'm like, he's 6, 3, you know, 200 pounds, he can run like a gazelle. I'm like, I get it, but, you know, I'm a little upset, you know, and and so he goes, and

he goes to Iowa, you know, he had all these other offers, he goes to Iowa state, and, which was smart on his part. He needed to go somewhere where he could develop. He developed there. Like I said, he's the first pick for the Houston, Texas this year. He's starting for him.

And so, you know, that crushes you, right? Because you're sitting there like, we put two hard years of development into that young man. And you can't just replace that. You know, I don't care if the kid's dropping down from Alabama. I don't mean this to sound as bad as this sounds. But if he's dropping all the way down to us, he's probably not as good as Jaden Higgins. There's issues, whether it's talent or whether it's off the field.

Academically, he can't learn. Something is wrong, and you've got to figure out what's wrong and try to fix it and grow him up. And, you know, that's what you do, is when you get guys from bigger schools to drop down and give him opportunity, like Tommy Zizmer, Tommy's phenomenal young man. I mean, one of the best kids you'll ever be around. And he needed some opportunities.

He came and played in the spring. and, you know, he's done a, you know, he's been nothing but great for us. And he was a boundary end for us, but we had to move him to, we needed a nose guard, so we moved him to a nose guard. And he's playing well. So, yes, you just got to give up the attitude of what you're losing these guys. And everything's a yearly deal now. That's the negative of it all.

Listen, we appreciate you coming in, coach. Go check them out. EKU Sports.com. Get tickets. Go see him play Austin P on the 11th. We'll take our break. come back. 859-2-802-187.

Richie Farmer is going to give us a basketball report. We come back. Thanks, coach. It was awesome. Thank you. Appreciate you. 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. Right, welcome back. Ryan Lemon, Drew Franklin, and Shannon the dude. Fun visiting with EKU football coach Walt Wells there for a couple segments, getting these kernels ready. So there'll be a lot of people going to watch them play Austin P.

P. on the 11th, I bet. Definitely. Got a good season going. Had some tough competition. early so the record doesn't reflect it, but they're getting into their conference and should do well. On the side note, I got a real estate deal right now when my buyers are using the UK Federal Credit Union. Anything you want to say about the UK Federal Credit Union, Drew? It's funny you ask, Ryan. I was just sitting here wondering when I could have the opportunity

to brag about UK Federal Credit Union. Did you know there's some wild myths floating around about it? Let's go on and bust them. Bust them. One, you've got to be part of UK to join. That's false, man. I'm a member. I don't work for UK. Busted. Bless your heart. That's such a myth. Myth, too. joining as a whole ordeal. Come on now, that's just plain wrong. Myth busted. Truth is a lot of Kentuckians are missing out on great rates and real benefits, and you can join at one of our seven local branches.

They're online in under three minutes, whether you wear blue and white or not. Because at UK Credit Union, there's a hard and hard stop there. We're not just for some. We're for all y'all. Membership eligibility required, federally insured by NCUA. Back to you, Ryan.

On the phone, we have Celebrity Hotline phone call or Richie Farmer who was on the show the other day with Buck Stivers. Great show, Richie, by the way. Great feedback. Everybody loves hearing you and Buck, kind of go back and forth and tell stories. But after you left the show, you guys went to practice and watched Mark Pope's squad practice a little bit. Do you got a little inside intel for us now? Well, again, thanks for having me. And Buck and I really had a good time.

We always enjoyed that. And I think that I really think that he gets a lot of feedback on his social media from all of that. So anyway, we had a good time. But, you know, really at practice, what I saw was encouraging because it didn't change my mind any. That's for sure. You know, I don't know that there was anything crazy that I can tell you that a lot of folks may or may not be. know, but, you know, getting to see some of those guys for the first time was good. But I think Drew may like to hear this.

And, you know, I've been a fan of this guy all along. But I really like the way Colin Chandler looks. You know, he was shooting the ball. And that was the other thing that I took away. I was a little bit worried about, you know, are we going to have enough shooters with the guys that we lost? But I was very encouraged by what I saw because there were several guys that made a lot of shots. But Chandler, you know, he looked really good.

They didn't do any real scrimmaging or anything. It was more of a teaching day, and they were working on, you know, different drills and different things. But beforehand, before practice started, I got a chance to watch. Jaden Quentin's worked out for a little while, and my goodness, if he gets, when he gets healthy, he's, he's a beast and can do a lot of things. But down low, he's, he's unbelievable, and he's just, he's a monster down there. But I liked what I saw there, but the other guy that I was really impressed with was a yellow of it. He's a really good shooter.

And he's every bit of 6-10. I don't know what they list him, 6-10 or 6-11 maybe, but he's every bit of that, and he can step out and shoot the ball. And he's powerful down on the block as well. So Aberdeen looked really, really good. My buddy Trent Noah from Eastern Kentucky, I mean, you know, everything they were saying about his shooting. He's

shooting the ball great and he looked great. So you know, and one guy that nobody ever talks about that I thought looked really good yesterday was let's see here. Cam Williams. Cam Williams.

You know, Cam Williams we've got a lot of link this year. We're going to be long and you know, that's where I was a little bit concerned about the shooting but you know cam williams colin chanler uh trent noa denzil aberdeen uh every jalen low everybody that i watched yesterday moody abate can shoot it a little bit uh he you know he looked good but uh and jillow uh you know that's what that's going to be the key

to our team that's how good is he going to be you know when the chips are down because uh he's he's he's quick as a cat he's crafty you know he's a lexie you know he's a lexie you know he's a lex and he does a lot of things well. And, you know, my point in all saying that I wasn't disappointed is, you know, I kind of felt like when I saw all the pieces that I felt like we had a chance to make a run at the final four and maybe a championship. So you want to hear. You know, I didn't see anything that discouraged me.

But, of course, all that is going to be based upon the fact that, you know, how he put all the pieces together and, you know, how everybody gelled together. And, you know, all of that is based on, you know, a lot of things going well. And then obviously us getting better as the year progresses. You know, that's – and I think we will because when you have that many players to play against, you know, every day in practice, you're going against somebody that, you know, is as good as you are and can play the same spot you can. So, you know, that brings out the competitiveness in you, and it makes everybody better. Dude, we appreciate that.

That's exactly what we wanted to hear. Yeah. Yeah, I'm really excited about it. I mean, I saw what I was hoping to see, and that's a good thing. And they kind of answered my questions about, you know, shooting. We've got a lot of guys that can shoot the ball really well. So, you know, hopefully that'll carry over to games this year. But I'm really excited.

Was O'Way a full participant? He's working his way back from – he's been in a boot all summer with a toe, and I know that he's almost back to full, if not full speed. But was he out there with everyone? Yeah. Well, he was out there. He didn't take part in the future drills if there was any contact or anything. But he did do a lot of things.

You know, he's, he looked really good. Always going to be, he's going to be fine. I think they're just being cautious right now, not trying to push anything and let him get completely back. Well, we appreciate it, Richie. A little inside intel from you guys went to practice after you were here the other day. So we appreciate you calling in and let's get your thoughts a little bit on what you saw in the castle. We appreciate it, buddy.

Yeah. All right, ma'am. Thank you guys. And we look forward to maybe doing that again sometimes. We'll have you back. Trust me. Richie Farmer, and KSR co-host. Yeah.

Now. I had lunch with those two after the show. I've been blessed with a lot of Richie and Buck. Who I called Rich and Bucky at the end of the show. I did want to get that insight because, you know, dude, Midnight Madness is a week from Saturday. That's crazy. A week from Saturday is Midnight Madden. We're in October.

They have exhibition games in a couple weeks against Purdue coming up. I mean, we're right here on it. Yeah, the Purdue, what is that? Three weeks from tomorrow? Three weeks from tomorrow? The number one team in college basketball will come to Rupp Arena. In three weeks? To play Kentucky three weeks from tomorrow.

That is just a crazy thing to say out loud. Well, we got the, hopefully they got it figured out, but, you know, the blue-white stuff's ramping up. Yeah. It's on sale. But the fact that madness is eight days away, and then blue-white, then Purdue, all within the next few weeks, saying that it's right up here on us, but cannot wait to get it started. and he didn't say anything negative at all. Everything was positive about.

Every player, everything he saw was positive enough to where he feels like he could support his thought. They could go to the final four, maybe make a run in a national championship. Now I'd like to get the Buck version. Richie, you know, Buck knows ball too. Richie, the former player, that's an opinion. We trust more than others. But I'd like to get Buck's thoughts on Trent Noah looking good and how Buck was acting in there. I'm sure he was fired up.

And out of Richie's top three guys, you've been. been on the Chandler, Colin Chandler bandwagon. I've been on the Andres Yulevich bandwagon. Yep. He said both those guys look good. Well, some people that listen to this show for a long time. We know ball. Well, that, but they know I don't just start making crazy predictions.

But Nick Richards, I kind of went out, stuck my neck out there a little bit for Nick Richard said, y'all need to calm down. This guy's going to be fine. Sophomore Nick Richards. He almost won SEC player of the year, if not for Emmanuel quickly. They finish one, two. Now, Chandler, I don't think that there's people that have worked. is negative towards him as Richards, but similar circumstances.

He's a little late getting going, getting in the groove of college basketball. He's my next breakout star. Well, he's going to come off the bench. The thing is good about that, he could play the point or the two or the three. And whenever you need him, he can back up, Otega, Lowe, or Aberdeen, whoever those three guys are out there. And, you know, Richie said he looked good. We've heard he's been a vocal leader. Yeah.

I mean, you want that out of him. We saw a couple dunk highlights that they put in these short clips. He's going to dunk on someone's face this year. I thought we'd get one last year after he did it in the blue-white game when he dunked on Brandon Garrison, I think. But Colin Chandler has a poster in the making sooner than later. Got one from the techs. I want to shout out before we get out of here on the Aviation Glass Tech Machine. I was at the EKU game last Saturday.

Great game, great environment, and they play Grove Street as well at the EKU game. So why not? Why not head down there on the 11th? All right, I got something to tell you, Drew. Tell me. Your dream home awaits, and where can it await at Bluegrass Home Center? bluegrass home center.com. You can now choose the siding, the shutters, kitchen colors, and more, and see your kitchen come to live with Bluegrass Home Center's new online home design center.

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All right, we'll take our final break. Come back our final segment. Ryan, Drew and Shannon, this is Kentucky Sports Radio. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action.

with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the 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. suit 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.

Kier Gains 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. 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 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 IHeart 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back. Final segment, Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan Drew and Shannon is our last segment without Matt, who returns tomorrow to the live remote at Shady Ray's in Louisville at Oxmoor Mall. So come on out and see us there.

Who's this segment sponsored by Shannon T-Doo? Drafking Sportsbook. NFL fans, what's your favorite touchdown? For me, it's the next one, because with draft. King Sportsbook and official sports betting partner of the NFL. Every touchdown can bring you closer to cashing in from your first touchdown score to any time TD props or the thrill of live in-game betting. Every snap is loaded with opportunity. And if you're a new customer, you sign it with the promo code KSR, you bet $5.

And if that first bet hits, you will get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Again, that's only with promo code KSR only on draft Kings. The crown is yours. If you have a gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler, 18 plus Kentucky only, eligibility, applies, bet must win to receive reward, minimum minus 500 odds required. Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance for additional terms or responsible gaming resources. See dkngng.c.O. slash audio. Well, what we're talking about, Draft King, let's go ahead and make our picks for the baseball games.

There's three wildcard game three deciding games today. The Tigers, the Guardians, and the Cubs, and the Red Sox and the Yankees. Of course, the Dodgers eliminated the Reds last night. Summer of L.A. has come to a close. So who you got? Tigers, Guardians. The Tigers had a 15-game lead over the Guardians going into September,

and they collapsed, Guardians got hot, and you hear they play each other in the first round of the Wildcar playoffs. So who you got? I have already placed a bet on the Guardians. Turns out I'm probably going to jinx myself right now. I've done really well on Draft Kings with baseball.

Is baseball this easier? Am I'm just a brilliant baseball mind? I didn't lock in until this week. I'm a playoff guy, but so far, so good, and I'm on the Guardians in the early game today. Shannon? The Tigers collapsed at the regular season. They're going to collapse again today.

With Drew, I'm taking the Guardians to win. Same way. They've been playing horrible baseball the whole month. They're not all of a sudden going to get good. Go Guardians. We're all on the Guardians' bandwagon. Although I hate calling them Guardians. I'm still not used to that one.

They're the Cleveland Indians. Commanders I got used to, I say it, but I still Guardians. I have to, pause and think of what I'm talking. Washington should have just gone with the football team. That year they went to the Washington football team. That's what they should have stuck with. Guardians I'm not used to, but carry on. Padres Cubs, I'll go first.

I hate the Cubs. I'll never pick the Cubs to win anything, so I'm going to Padres. The Cubs could play anybody, and I'm picking against the Cubs. So I'm going to all Padres today. I'm not a Cubs hater. I'll side with the Cubs. Big Cat. Finally won his 50-50 raffle after 10 years of trying.

Oh, did he? Earlier this week. So there's magic in Wrigley. I am going to go, I think, with the Padres. It's going to be tough being on the road, but I think San Diego is the better team. I think they win today. The winner of this Padre Cubs series gets the Brewers, I believe.

That is correct. Because the Dodgers are going to play the Phillies. That's going to be a great series, Dodgers Phillies. So then the last game, the big one, Red Sox Yankees. Not a lot of love lost when these two teams get together. Drew, they can play Tiddly Winks, and they can play whatever. They hate each other. So Red Sox Yankees, who you got?

I'm torn. I've watched every pitch of the first two games. I love this rivalry, even though I really don't care about either side. I don't like either one. I just love how nasty it is. I kind of the same. Uh, I'll say the Red Sox get the upset, just to add some spice to the rivalry. To Shannon?

It is the greatest robbery in all of Major League Baseball. I hope the Red Sox win, but I think the Yankees win at home tonight. Yeah, it's at home. That's the thing that Yankee Magic there. I'm a big Aaron Judge fan because he's an adopted kid, so he's not a kid anymore. He's a man, but I'm going to pick the Yankees as well. Of course, all these can be found on draft kings. Go to draft kings.

com and make your bets. There is one football game tonight, the 49. and the Rams on Thursday night football. We'll have a big watch party here tonight at KS Bar and Grill. I just got some EKU football tickets to give away tonight. I got some other goodies to give away. So the people that have been coming on Thursday night football, they know we've got some goodies to give away.

So come on out and check it. So who you got tonight? Rams and 49ers. Rams are going to win. It's a huge spread, though. It's like eight and a half. I'm not going to touch that one. The 49ers injury report is ruthless.

The other day or last Sunday, they couldn't even get into the medical tent because there were too many people already. in the medical tent. They're beating up pretty bad. I'll say the Rams win, but I have no idea about the 8.5 point spread. That's a big spread.

That's a lot of numbers in the NFL. Promptime game. Yeah. But Rams win this one. Shannon? Yeah, I agree. Give me the Rams on this one. I'll even take the points on it.

I have too. Rams and they cover, yeah, because the 49ers are just got too much going on right now. You know, there's a whole breakdown of that game on the new episode of NFL Cover Zero. What could they get that? Apple Podcast, IHeart podcast. It's wherever you get your podcast.

And who's on this cover Zee? This one is NFL cover zero with Drew Franklin and Billy Rutledge. Matt was on his flight yesterday. Couldn't do the show. So we were like, whatever, we're fine. And Billy and I just did it. We don't do it like an hour and a half. We had too many topics.

I've had a topic on my list to get since the day Matt left. We've got like a couple minutes, but it involves you. You've told me this story. You've never told it on the air. It involves Adolf Rup, a cat, and the Lexington, cemetery. Do we have time for you to tell it? I can tell it. It's so outrageous, no one believes it, but I'll tell it. It's 100% true. I used to live over near Lexington Cemetery.

Yes. And occasionally, like on a, we're not occasionally we did it once, but on a Sunday, Abby and I went and got coffee, and we were just driving around Lexington Cemetery because it's really pretty in there. It's a nice day. Very beautiful in there. You know, there's some famous, famous headstones in there. We were looking for Rupp's grave, and we couldn't find it. We were in there, what felt like forever.

And finally, I'm like, let's just, let's head back. I can't commit a whole Sunday to just drive around looking for Rupp's Headstone. This is a big place. You get lost in there. We're heading to the main gate. We've given up where I am looking anymore. And a cat runs across the road right in front of us. Is it a black cat?

I think so. This is where it's a little foggy because it was a holy crap moment in the day. I do think it was black, though. And I jokingly said, well, we should follow the cat at Stegas for Rep's Grave. And I make a hard right on the road that I was about to pass to go back towards where we were in the cemetery. And I swear on everything, this cat ran right up and set on Adolf's grave. Set on the grave. Yes.

And we had like a moment where neither one of us spoke for like five minutes. Like, did we really just see that? Because, I mean, I couldn't begin to guess how many graves are in there. It's huge. I mean, we spent forever a lot for it. And I was just kidding about following this cat. But everyone, I know you're rolling your eyes saying this is made up, ran right up and set on his headstone. I got chili bumps right now.

I know. It was very, very, very freaky. That was the ghost of Adolf Rupp, leading you to his grave. I don't know what it was, but that's exactly how it happened. We were on our way out, and I jokingly did a hard right to follow this cat. Like, maybe he'll take us, you know, just being silly, and then a few steps playing. And of all the graves in the cemetery, it's set on Adolf Rupp's grave. But that's the one you wanted me to get out in the final moments before Matt returns tomorrow.

I thought we'd get to it on day one. There you go. It made it all the way till day 21. I thought we'd get to this big comet slash spaceship heading towards Earth, and we're not sure if it's a comet or a ship full of aliens, but maybe Matt's next three-week vacation. Well, is that with the International Space Station that I missed last night with it flying around

on the sky up there? Who knows? Tomorrow, we're back to the normal routine. We'll never find out. The normal routine tomorrow. So listen, we've got a good crowd here for lunch here at KS. Bar and Grill come out on here for lunch. We've got our watch party tonight for the Rams and the 49ers. I already mentioned. We're going to get away some tickets and some other freebies to give away. And tomorrow we're at Shady

Rays at Oxmoor Mall in Louisville. Match return to the show. Yay! Hey, Matt's back. You're excited. I'm excited. So for Ryan, for Drew, for Shannon. Thanks for everybody for putting up with us the past couple weeks.

Matt returns tomorrow. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella 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. In 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 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 IHeart Radio 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

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're 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.