KSR - 2025-11-24- KSR - Hour 2

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

Matt, Ryan, Drew, and Shannon talk all the latest news from the weekend, the future of the head coach job for Kentucky Football and take more of your calls.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Welcome to Hour 2 of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones. Welcome back. Hour number two, Kentucky Sports Radio, 859-280, 2287. Text machine is 772-745254. A lot of texts coming in. A lot of people with strong opinions. A lot of people want Ryan to talk more about Diego Pavi's mom. Those people don't get a, those people don't get a, to get a voice.

Okay, I try to see it. It never stops with him. I'm trying, guys. Mario, this is what you're supposed to be doing. I'm not there. I'm not going to be there tomorrow either, by the way, Mario. You're going to have to step up on this. Tomorrow night, by the way, if Kentucky wins tonight in volleyball, tomorrow night we'll have a watch party at KS Bar. I'm coming. Drew's coming.

Maybe we could talk riding into coming, but we will, for the SEC tournament finals tomorrow night. So put that on, you know, it's Thanksgiving. It would be a good fun Tuesday night. They got to win tonight. One person writes, Matt, I love this conversation, but I have a question for Drew. I think it's hypocritical to say he should be gone, but he wouldn't contribute. How does that make sense? All right, I'm going to take it for Drew and then I'll let him do.

I would say, I think most people. who want him gone, wouldn't pay for the buyout. And I can understand it's Drew's, like, it's not, Drew can say it's not my responsibility, but, and I get it. But I think most people would say that, which is why it's hard for Mitch to raise this money, Drew. Yeah, I mean, if this were like a private business, that's just him asking for another bailout because he's messing up the books.

Like, why do I have to help you out? You know, I mean, we recently talked about how he might step away. he gets $800,000 a year in retirement for a couple years. Why would I have to give my money? I didn't put us in that situation. And that's not just Drew Franklin. I think that most people should have that feeling. But then you can't get mad, Shannon, if the boosters don't want to do it,

because I think most of us wouldn't do it either. Totally agree. And I'm in the same camp as people that maybe think that there should be a change if the buyout weren't a thing. But I'm not going to contribute my money. You know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of the 2008 financial crisis. Right? The banks all screw up, give people loans that can't get them.

Then they need bailed out by the government. The government is like, if we don't bail these banks out, our economy crashes. But Shannon, taxpayers are like, why are we giving the same people that screwed up the money? Right. And I get it. And Mitch is now like the government trying to figure out, what do we do? Yeah, I'm not going to give my money. Drew's not going to do it.

Ryan, would you? I don't think any of us won on this show. I wouldn't. Leave me aside. I'm getting pretty tired of them asking another blue collar co-miner for $50 when all this is going on. Totally agree with you. So that's how I think that's why people say to me, how can they bring him back? I think that

is ultimately how it would end up happening. Let's do a couple things different here before I go back to phones. Can we talk about, do we love the guy on TV in the Blue Legion of Doom Gear with his blue wedding ring? Shout out to that guy. He's the MVP of Big Blue Nation sticking around to the end.

face paint and all, shoulder spikes, shoulder pad spikes. I think he was, to me, he's king of the BBN for the week. He is. In part because he's what he's wearing. But more importantly, because he's still there at the end of the game. Right. Still there hanging in. And like, I put his picture up and I was kind of worried, oh, well, people mock him.

They actually rhyme kind of embrace the guy. And so I don't know who he is. one's told me yet who he is. Does anybody know? Has anybody heard who he is? No, I've seen people saying he was so nice and they have a selfie with him and several people met him in Nashville, but no idea yet or no one really knew him. So if you have a text machine and you know him, 772-745254, I'd like to know who it is. I salute that guy, Ryan. I hope it ends up being a player's dad because, you know, Boom Williams' dad kind of did that when Boom was here. And I think he just summarized what we all felt at that moment. That one shot.

A lot of players, dad. I hope it's a regular person. Because one would argue that he deserved more camera time wearing that than Diego. Well, he should have. Wait, if he was wearing thigh-high boots, though. Yeah, it's true. I think that would have been. What did you think about the blue wedding ring, though? I've never seen that before.

Have you? I didn't either. No, I'd never seen that before. I bet this guy's got an unbelievable man came in on. The fact that his wedding ring is UK blue, he has UK emblems on those shoulder pad. The whole bit. He's wearing that to an away game. I got to see this guy's house.

It's probably UK everything too. I bet it's awesome. I bet he's got like a lot of memorabilia. I've got to think he's listening to this show. Call in, dude. Well, he's going to have a hard time getting in. The lines are full. But I bet you, Shannon, don't you think he's probably listening to this show?

Yeah. Either now or on podcast. We could track this guy down. Someone's going to know him. So let me know. I want to, I'd like to have this guy on. So like somebody, one of y'all people know him if he's not listening. Let me know because I think he deserves.

I'd like to know more about him. Second, I thought of you when I saw this, Shannon. Did you see the nerd off at the Cal Stanford game? No. No, I didn't. What happened? This might be next to Diego Pavia's mom and this guy, my favorite video of the weekend. So Cal and Stanford play each other.

It's the nerd bowl, okay? Two nerdy academic schools. They play for an axe. Okay. Okay. Yeah. It's like, you know, it's like their equivalent of the whatever, Commonwealth Cup or, you know, whatever.

They play for an axe. Cal and Stanford are just a few miles from each other. When the game is over, though, I've never seen this before. The losing team hands the axe to the winning team. All right. But here's what's weird. They don't have the players do it. They have random student nerds do it to each other.

Sounds dangerous. So they face each other. got to look at this video online. All right, Drew, maybe you can find it and tweet it out or something. The two groups of nerds are eyeing each other. And one set of nerds

hands the axe to the other nerds. And it is like, you look at the kids. I'm sure they're wonderful people, but it is the cast of revenge of the nerds. And they are all trying to look hard while they're doing it.

They hand it over. I think Stanford wins. They hand it over and Stanford students start celebrating. And one of the football players for Stanford, Shannon, just starts yelling at the Cal nerds. These poor students who didn't play in the game and are just standing there with their pocket squares. This like six, five huge linemen gets in their face and is like, and they are scared to death. Yeah. If you're a player, the nerds are off limit.

They didn't. They didn't play. You know. Yeah, that's not fair. You've got to see the video. The Cal student nerds are so scared. And this Stanford player is yelling at them in their face. Bad look for the California team not to have one player to come out and defend their nerds. No, no one was there to defend their nerds.

Their nerds were on the front line with no backup. I can see why they're scared. There's a 6-5 guy yelling at you and you just gave them an axe. That's a fair point. I'm telling you, if you watch it doesn't... We talk about an actual axe. I've never seen this axe. I think it's a mounted axe.

I don't think it's like a usable axe. You can't like rip it off the thing it's mounted onto and just start swinging. I love the idea that when the game is over, the students who didn't play have to confront each other. I would refuse to give them the axe. Can you imagine if at the end of the Kentucky Louisville game, a group of Kentucky students had to stand with a group of Louisville students and hand them the trophy? I'm seeing it right now. Okay. Yeah, it's like a standoff between dorks. It's a dork standoff. It takes two dorks to hand over one axe. They can't, like they're not strong enough to just have one person to do it. And now watch the Stanford guy come in and yell at him. Yeah, he is. Number 74.

Seventy-four needs to calm down. Why is he even in there? Well, he has a helmet on. Yeah. Anyway. I like the right, though, if Louisville fans and Kentucky fans had to do it, there'd be a fight. There would definitely be a fight. Only out there at the academic school. on the West Coast do they know there won't be a fight? You did that here? There would be a fight. Big fight. Mike, go ahead, Mike.

Yeah, I'm a 73-year-old Lifetime Kentucky fan, and my thoughts on, I'm flip-flopping back and forth weekly, you know, about stoops. But I'm going to say this. I'm going to make a prediction. UK's going to beat U.S. next week.

And Stoop's going to keep his job. And I think even if they lose next week, this part of hunt won't get rid of Stubbs. That's what I think. Appreciate the call. I think that's very reasonable. By the way, Louisville's close to quitting. Yes, they are.

I mean, they are close to quit. They might show up, and if we scored two touchdowns early, they might roll over. That's why I think if Kentucky's defense can get healthy, just a few guys, especially Alex Safari. I think Kentucky can win that game. Because even though Vandy was so bad,

I still think Stoops has that locker room going into the Governor's Cup and their one win from a bowl game, I think they can pull it off as long as that injury report looks a little better. I'm mad at Alex Safari's girlfriend, Ryan. She gave us bad info. She gave us some bad info the other day. That's a pretty good source to have. I mean, I feel like she's one of our hosts. I feel like we'd know.

Oh, she was the one? Because I didn't know. You said you had a really good source. I didn't know. Yeah. I mean, his girlfriend works at the bar. Oh. And he was in uniform.

He was warming. I think he was on trying to play. He tried to go. It didn't work. Maybe he thought Governor's Cups more important. Pavia's mom, this is going to be all about Pavia. I'm going to rest up and be ready for one last. I love it. Joe, go ahead, Joe.

Hey, guys, you know, the biggest thing that, two things that hurt Kentucky football right now is one, obviously the contract with Stoops. Obviously, he's probably going to stay just because of the money. But the other big thing is that the success of Indiana, Vanderbilt, even Louisville's perception, and it's better than us. I mean,

their success, they're not, you know, when that guy I've called an earlier city, he's been season to go to us since 98. In 98,

we'd be thrilled to death. One went away from a bowl game. Like, bowls are great, but now it's, when you see Indiana and Vanderbilt,

even Tulane, maybe making the playoff, and Kentucky football feels light years from those schools. Corr, I agree with you. And by the way,

that's where it really hurts. That's why I think the job is more attractive now, by the way, though. Because you can do that at those schools. In 98, I don't think we would have thought you could do that here. You now can. And I appreciate the call.

You can do that now. The new era of the way players are paid makes it to where you can now do this. You just have to do it. And the fact that Indiana and Vandy have done it without question makes this more difficult for Mark. Mike, go ahead, Mike. gentlemen good morning good morning uh really ultimately i think what this boils down to if you keep stooped you're looking at maybe two to three year window of just a downward maybe four year downward spiral if you get rid of them cut bait you're looking at it maybe a two year into a three year window

of a downward spiral but getting out of it sooner you realize your financial loss quicker and speaking of the oh eight crisis i had a very smart financial guy that i worked with professionally commercially who said first loss is best loss. You go ahead and you get rid of it. You go ahead and realize your loss. We're going to take a loss regardless of when this happens. And that's, by the way, what, in 08, that's what they did, and it kind of saved the economy. I mean, it went.

Correct. It took a while, but it did. I mean, for better or worse, Bush and Pelosi and McCain and Obama, they all sat there, they agreed to do it, and everyone hated it, but they kind of had to. And there are some people who would argue that you kind of have to. to do that. Go ahead. Last thought on this, though, is do we want our current AD involved in a new search for a new football coach? Period. I don't want that. I'd rather see his ass retire. I appreciate the call. I think there's a lot of people that feel that way, and I think he's going

to be retired at the end of the year. So let's assume, Ryan, he's going to be retired at the end of the year. Should he hire the next coach? Well, that's where I think Mark Hill becomes a viable candidate to replace Mitch because he's already in place he'd be involved with the search from the get-go regardless if Mitch leaves him. I mean, do you think if they make a change at AD, do you want someone internal? Well, I think that's what I'm saying. I think he would be involved with the search from December 1 whenever this move happens. But you would only have him do it if he was going to be the new AD. Absolutely. That's why I think if something happens, he's, Mark Hill's going to be our AD because of that reason right there. Oh, you think it's just because they have to,

because they have to hire a coach. Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, that's actually not a bad thought. Yeah. I mean, it's not easy. None of this is easy. Let's do one more. Wilson, go ahead, Wilson. Hey, Matt.

I want to look at this through the lens of a business and the athletic department as a business, which is what it is, where the fans are the shareholders, Mitch is the CEO, and the university represents the board of directors. Okay. You just said the athletic department is in the worst shape physically that it's been in in 20 years. It is, but let me just say one thing before you say that.

Yes, but relative to other universities, we're actually in pretty good shape. Honestly, most universities are in a crisis. Kentucky, this is just the first year they lost money, but it is probably in the worst shape. It's been, but relative to other schools are actually okay, but go ahead. Okay, fair enough. So when you look at that, I believe we're into shape for a large part, due to Mitch as our leader putting personal beliefs over what is best for the business. I'm responsible for people in multiple states and multiple leaders,

and every one of those leaders gets asked a question, and that's how would you execute something or a directive from the company that you were personally in disagreement with? They asked that reason, for example, what we're seeing with Mitch Barthard. He chose not to embrace NIL. He chose not to make the other changes that he's needed to do, and he's also felt to connect with the majority of this business. business, which is the BBN, and he's not responded to the things that matter to them the most

instead of to some of these larger donors, which I get he has to. I think those are fair points. I'm going to have to go to break, but I think those are completely fair points. That is a completely fair point. I do think too often Mitch has done what Mitch personally would do because Mitch's belief is in an old school system that does not exist anymore. 859-28027. We'll take a break.

Be right back. KSA. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls,

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Welcome back, Techie Sports Radio. 85928027. text machine is 772-774-5-254 I don't have a ton of messages here I don't seem Shannon to have the guy yet is he mysterious I mean somebody has to know this guy with the reach that we have through this show somebody knows right yeah he goes all the home games I've seen him before I've seen him before too maybe he's a podcast listener and we'll get you know tomorrow or something I'm just surprised there's not someone listening even if he's not listening who knows him all right so this reason I'm

playing this. I remember Ryan, I talked to you about how Scotland made the World Cup. Yes, you did. There is an amazing video on the internet that I've watched conservatively 50 times of in the moments after Scotland won, this song

playing. I had a bar and the whole bar is singing it. All right? And they're going crazy. Celebrating. And you can see on the TV, Scotland's celebrating the background. And there are grown men crying. Okay. Okay. And they're hugging each other and strangers are like going nuts. And this is playing in the background and they're all singing it. And I watch that video and it's like exactly why I love sports. Yeah. It's a bar full of people that don't know each other. It's music. It's happiness. It's camaraderie. Some people are filming it, but some people Shannon are just living in the moment. Right? Yeah. And I sat there.

watched it and I said, this is what I, this is why I'm a sports fan in some ways, are like this situation. And I want it again with Kentucky so bad, because we've had those moments. I think of Ryan taking his shirt off when we beat Florida in football, right?

I think about the various celebrations I've been in in 2014 and 2012 and etc. And I want that again. But I there's so much negativity understandably right now. But if you want to be cheered out, up, Find that video of this because there's an, and I want you to look for,

there's an old man in the center of the bar, and he's by himself. You have to look for him. Okay. And he's holding his fingers up in the air and just pointing and dancing crying. And he, next to this guy at the Vandy game, maybe my favorite person. This old Scottish guy celebrating Scotland going the World Cup with this song playing. Ryan, it's why I like sports And I've literally watched it 50 times

I posted it on my Instagram story And I'll probably watch it again after this show's over You're right, sports is that one thing No matter what your race, no matter what your generation No matter what your political affiliation is You're all drawn together for one cause And you're seeing it right there in that video And I think Shannon this is the

Perfect song for it too Oh yeah I mean who listens to this song and doesn't happy Right First does anyone not like this song? No Everybody loves the song. Do you like this song?

Oh, I love the song. I remember singing it in school when I was in like elementary school. Best song. And we just played all of it. And on podcast, none of you heard any of it during the case. One last feel good thing. Have you heard Ryan the story about Bob and his cigarette? Who is Bob?

And what do we have the story about his cigarette. I don't know why I love this, but I think I do. And I don't even like cigarettes. I actually hate cigarettes. An old man named Bob, like 73 years old. He posts flyers around New York a week ago that said, I'm going to smoke a cigarette at Washington Square Park at 2 o'clock on Friday. If you would like to come have a conversation, come join me. Okay?

Okay. Post them all over New York. It's just an old man standing there saying come to Washington Square Park, 2 o'clock on Friday. and smoke a cigarette with me. Shannon, he went and bought two packs of cigarettes. Mm-hmm. All right. Again, I'm anti-cigarette,

but I do like these moments. 2,000 people showed up at the time. Wow. Wow. I was going to say he might be a little optimistic buying two packs of cigarettes. He should have bought a few cartons. 2,000 people showed up at the park. Wow.

And there's this great video of somebody brings him a, you know, what do you call it, a megaphone or whatever? where you can, and he talks and he's crying, and all these people just hang out and smoke a cigarette with Bob and have this like communal moment. Drew, I don't know why I think that's so cool, but Bob and his cigarette, I think, is a neat thing. Yeah, I feel like we should maybe not be encouraging the cigarette smoking.

Forget about the cigarette. No, no. Just the hanging out. I know, but I'm about to say he yells, everybody fire them up. It's like he's all leading them to their cigarette. I saw the video too. I think at one point he's like, all right, let's have another one. So everyone is just in unison firing up their sigs in the park.

And he looks exactly as I thought he would look. He said a 73 old man from New York. He's just standing there. That's kind of a cool thing that also happened. So two really feel goody things. I love that story. Go ahead, Sean. I heard your cigarette thing.

I just got to think they could give 2,000 people cigarettes in New York. that would be almost the same amount as the buyout. Yeah, probably so. It'd be close. So I was thinking about this because I like to try to think of, you know, how would I solve this problem with stoops? And I personally, I think you almost have to bring me back just because of the money for one more year.

And you can tell me, how much does the change of the buyout if we do this next year? I mean, not a ton. I think it goes down to like 28 or 29. still better. So I'm an owner-operator truck driver, and I had a truck go down. I have a backup truck. So I have to make a decision in my business, my livelihood, is what do I do? Do I go out and buy a new truck or do I go buy a used truck?

Well, a new truck is beyond my budget. So I go out and I'll buy me a used truck. 20 seconds, real quick. If that used truck lasts me for five or six years, it's okay. But what if I get the Joker Phillips model and it gets worse? Now I'm so upside down in that truck that I don't know how I go forward. And that's what I'm afraid Kentucky could do. That's fair point. We all assume the new coach will do well. You're right. There's a chance

they wouldn't. I appreciate it. By the way, really good calls today. Really good calls. We've had in a long time. We'll be right back. 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. Is this your group? Stone-tipple products. That's what I thought. Sounded like that guy.

Yep. Yep. If you're a bourbon lover and a UK fan, grab a bottle of Club Blue Bourbon. Their white label and blue label won gold medals at the Ascot Awards and are supporting athletes through JMI's NL services. Ryan and Drew helped select the Club Blue Bourbon recipe. You know Bourbon makes a great Christmas present. Bespoken Spirits is maker of the Club Blue Bourbon. They're on the Bourbon Trail.

We've done shows out there. Schedule your Lexington Distillery Tour today. it's bespoken spirits, be espoken spirits.com. They also make private labels as well at bespoken spirits. One person writes, Matt, I think this has been a really good discussion of all this, and I've now left more confused than I was before. Another person then says, Matt, this is an easy decision. You can't bring back a football coach that's lost the fan base.

You're never going to convince me that the fan base supports it. Yeah, I mean, well, if I can't convince me, didn't you? I mean, I'm not even going to try. But I don't think, I think a lot of the fan base is fickle. But I also think that it's hard to know what the fan base thinks. I think most of the fans want to see a change. But I do think there's a difference between Drew wanting to see a change and saying firing. Those are, I think, are not necessarily the same position. Yeah, I get it. And to me, it just all boils down to how we're stuck in this situation because the decision makers above Stoops.

Stoops has actually shown that he fixed the culture of what people wanted. I'm going to be careful to not defend this season as a whole because I'm still disappointed. But some of the things he said he would fix in March, he did fix. And they could go to a bowl game on Saturday. I'm starting to get into Sunshine Pumping a little bit here.

When you say disappointed, I went back and looked at our season predictions. And I picked five and seven. And I believe all of the rest of you pick six and six. So if we lose, we'll finish with mine. If we win, we'll finish what you all have. If they finish six and six, and that's kind of what you thought would happen, are you still disappointed?

Yeah, because some of the blowouts, like we just live in a world where Tennessee is going to score 50 points on us with the current setup of Kentucky football. And then the Vandy thing, I know the defense was so beat up, but the offensive line didn't look good, the offense didn't look good. But we all did say the one thing he needed to do. to do was make a bowl game. Well, that's my point. If he wins Saturday, I think it makes it very hard to fire him. Yeah. That does not give me any optimism moving forward. I don't have, I don't have

optimism moving forward. I agree with you. One thing where I think I'm definitely in unison with you is I don't have optimism moving forward. Also, I don't know if you've seen Louisville's injury report, but it's coming out. They're going to have no one on offense. Their top receivers now out. Their top three running backs are out. So now we better win. They got a quarterback problem. Yeah. I mean, I might They might have a team when we get to that game. Yeah. Drew brought up a good point. It's not just the losses they had this year.

It's how they played in those losses. It's kind of a lingering hangover. I agree with that. By the way, today starts Feast Week. The Players' Era Festival. I don't know if you've seen, have you seen the schedule for this Players' Era Festival today? Tonight's, or today's TV slate starts at one is incredible.

There's like nine top 25 games. This is the Players' Era. Festival. Here are the games. Rutgers, Tennessee, Creighton, Baylor, Kansas, Notre Dame, St. John's, Iowa State, Houston, Syracuse, Auburn, Oregon, Alabama, Gonzaga, Michigan, San Diego State. Wow. And you can see all of those in the same building ship. Well, next year, Kentucky needs to be a part of that. Kentucky, Matt Norlander did a story that said Kentucky will not be a part of it. Wow, man. Kentucky apparently told Matt Norlander, that we make $5 million from the BBN United Tip-Off Classic sponsored by Kentucky Tourism.

No, I'm not kidding. Wow. And they say they can't give it up to play in the Players ARA Festival. Next year, this year the Players ARA Festival has 16 teams. Next year it's going to have 32, possibly 48. And it's going to be, and the winning teams get a million dollars in NIL for their players. and Kentucky has gone on record, Ryan, and said they're not going to play in it. It sounds like nearly every other higher profile program is going to be there.

Well, Duke, North Carolina and Yukon, I've also not agreed to playing it. Although they are leaving open the possibility they might play in it next year. Kentucky was the one program that said we are not playing. When you say Kentucky says they're not going to, that sounds like a Mitch Barnhart thing, right? There's no doubt in my mind that's a Mitch Barnhart. It doesn't feel like a Mark Pope thing. It's a money thing. It's a money thing.

And it's tough because at the same time that we're asking them to consider getting rid of a coach with a $37 million buyout, we're saying they care too much about money. But it's a money thing. These other schools are playing. And next year, folks, this tournament is going to have every good team in the country except maybe us and Duke. We'll be home playing Valpo. And we're going to be playing Eastern Illinois Valpo. And I don't know how that's better.

And Nichols. Don't forget about Nichols. There's going to be no reason to play in it except money. hate that. I hate that for our fans. Imagine you could go to Vegas this week and with a ticket watch all these games. Our fan base would pack it. And then imagine that you could win a million dollars. Actually, I think you get a million for playing.

I think everyone that's in it gets a million dollars to their NIO. Is that right? Yeah, sponsors. A million dollars? Yeah. Last year, I think it was to win a million. I think this year, if you're in it, you get a million. But the UK says we make $5 million from this.

The team we play Wednesday night is ranked 321st in Kinpom Well hopefully we'll win Imagine you're the last guy on the bench though And you get a million for being on the team that plays in that tournament I don't think they all get a million I don't think every player To their NIL fund

The team gets a million Oh I thought you meant per player Oh a million per player My goodness I didn't know how much money they had to throw around ESPN story this day says each team is guaranteed At least a $1 million payout A significant sum for the new climate of college sports

Even then though you divide that up. Oh, yeah. 12, 13, 14 different ways. You know what? The top recruits are watching this tournament. They're going to watch these teams playing in it. I mean, TNT and True TV today are going to have these games.

I mean, it's just banger after banger. Now, what's weird, though, what's interesting when you're watching it today and tomorrow, each team only plays two games. But how do they decide who goes to the finals? You want to know the answer? Yeah, let's hear it. It's the two teams that win both games by the largest margins. So they encourage you to pour it on.

So you're not even going to just have an incentive to win. Shannon, you have an incentive to beat the crap out of the other team. I actually love this. I love it. Don't put in the bench. No, the bench ain't playing. You keep your starters into the very end. The bench is not playing.

So they'll have a, the top two teams will play. Then third and fourth, fifth and six. That's how they'll decide who plays is. But in order to make the finals, you're going to have to go two and oh, but you're going to have to win by a lot. I love it. Just keep shooting three. So when you're watching these games, it's going to be fascinating

because teams are not going to stop at any point during the game. Yeah, the theory where you've got to rest your starters getting ready for the next game. Nope. Leave them out there the whole time. So that'll be great to see who really runs up the score to try to win. Junior, go ahead, Jr. Hey, fellas. Let me tell them this Stoops debacle up for you.

I've been a supporter for a good long time. I've been a fan since Claibor, and I've seen a lot of bad UK football. I'm glad these young folks haven't lived through what I've lived through. But let me describe it to you like this. Let's say you're in a loveless marriage. You got a bloated mortgage. You got a couple kids still in school.

You can't afford to get divorced. You go to the mailbox and you find out you want all expenses paid weekend and Gatlinburg and dollars. Are we losing? No. No, keep going. Keep going. Well, it's just that that's what it is. You're trapped. You can't get out.

And you're just like, how could my day get any worse? Just a trip to the mailbox. At least you're going to Gatlinburg. I'm kind of with you on Gatlinburg, sir. I know I see, okay, what you said was funny. But there is a sense, though, I think what you're saying, Jr., sometimes you do get in a situation where you are trapped and you cannot get out. And there's no good solution. That's kind of what you're saying.

You can't afford the divorce. You can't afford the divorce. Yeah. I got to stay. It sucks. I appreciate the call, Jr. That sounded like something. I think he's dealing with that.

It sounded like it came from the heart. It didn't sound like that was a theoretical. I mean, he's not, but he's not wrong. There is a sense that there, I don't really think there is any good solution, which goes to Drew's point of about, well, how did we get here? Corey, go ahead, Corey. Hey guys, how's it going? Good.

I just catch here and there on the show because I'm working, so I apologize if I ask a question that's already been asked before, but a couple of perspectives that I would like y'all's opinion on is there's a lot of components to a successful football team or any team, to that matter. And the head coach is arguably not one of the top, components. Like one of the top components is probably your recruiters, which we lost one of our great

recruiters, below this past year. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall. I don't know. But instead of paying stoops to get out of the position, why don't we kind of double down? Yeah. Why don't you spend money, that money on better recruits to get more talent. The head coach is like a CEO. and if the recruiters aren't good, that's on you.

If the O.C. is not good, that's on you. If the defensive coordinator's good, not good, that's on you. You're the CEO. So now, sometimes you might say, my offensive coordinator's not doing a good job, I'm going to bring another one. He's done that a number of times. But ultimately, at the end of the day,

the buck does stop at the head coach. I definitely agree. Of course, when it gets down the wire, I mean, look at Texas, I mean, we had, you know, right there where we could have scored, and, you know, that's on the head coach to make that decision on what plays the call and how to store in that position. I mean, for sure. But there's other components that you could add to the team, like instead of spending a bunch of money to get the coach out,

like, could we spend money elsewhere in the program? We spend a lot of money. We spend a lot of money, and I appreciate the call. we have a huge assistant coach budget, and we spent a lot of money on players this year. And it didn't work. Well, it worked, but it didn't work the way we wanted it to. Blue Tag Savings are here all month long at Don Franklin. Over 6,000 new and certified pre-owned vehicles.

John Franklin's got quality installed, peace of mind, mile after mile. It's Don Franklin Auto. We're going to be at one Wednesday in Columbia, Kentucky for the pre- Thanksgiving show. Don Franklin Auto.com, blue collar dollars meet off-road grit at the Franklin Truck League, only at Don Franklin Auto, driven by family. We'll take a break. Be right back. Final segment.

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

We go straight to the source. the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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

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

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back.

Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levan this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the Aihar Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, Techiesports Radio. 859-280-2-807. All right, so let's go from Draft Kings here.

I go to Draft Kings. Use my promo code. Ryan, you killed the parlay again. And that was the one time I made a pick. I thought this is going to be the best pick of the parlay. And he killed. Shannon got West. Shannon got his.

Shannon got Duke. Drew got Western Kentucky. I got Florida. And not only did we win those, they weren't close. like we could like sit back and chill right western could have won that game western could have won that game but who shannon was not close the other way i hate to point people out but uh Ryan so Ryan is banned uh for at least a few weeks because he has cost us

I'd won three in a row though I think we would have hit like five of these during the year if not for Ryan I've lost one one this season on the KSR poll way it's really and And it's mostly been Ryan, to be honest. It's mostly been right. All right. So for Draft Kings, let's do our pick today. Gonzaga is a four and a half point favorite against Alabama. We will play both of these teams in the next six weeks.

Who you got? I love this game because I think Gonzaga is really, really good. I saw a little bit of Alabama lose to Purdue. So I'm taking Gonzaga to cover. You give me Bama getting four and a half against anybody in the country. I'm probably going to take Bama if you're giving me those points. I got Bama. What about you, Drew?

I'm also taking Bama at four and a half, even though I think Gonzaga is a little better. But of all the games today, I'm most excited about this one. This is going to be a fun one. And neither of these teams is going to end up making the finals of the tournament because they won't be able to beat the other one by enough points. But it's still a good game for them. What do you got? I'm taking Alabama money line to win. Yeah, I like that. I think Alabama, give them credit, man. They're playing a heck of a schedule. They've played St. John's, Purdue.

Did they play Illinois? Illinois, yeah. And now they're playing Gonzag. I mean, that's a heck of a schedule to stay. start the season. They've played three top 15 teams in their first four games. They got the best player in the conference, too. Yeah. Will, go ahead, Will.

Yes, I'm neither confused nor fickle. I mean, if Stoops wins the U of L game, it's going to be hard, but there's absolutely no optimism, momentum going into next year. Recruiting is in the tank right

now, and if I'm Cutter Bowley's dad, I'm pulling a Tim Couch Dad, and I'm calling a Barnhart and said, we will not be back next year. Unless you make a change. Is that your name? Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, because you're not going to get any players. Recruiting's in the tank. I mean, I realize where we're at. We beat some awful teams, even though it was Auburn in Florida. I don't want to take away from that. But getting our brains beat out by mid-level SEC teams, who we were above, you know, a few years ago is just maddening. I appreciate it. Caldwell, that's, you know, glad you stated that opinion.

There was a report that came out. I think it was Justin Rowland said that their goal in recruiting is to get Jucco players that are a little less expensive, which wasn't the most optimistic thing in the world. Jason, go ahead, Jason. First time, long time. I've listened to you since back in the days of the closet. Oh, wow.

Anyway, there's a point that there's a point to all this that hasn't been. been made and I don't want to be the voice of reason. I've listened to you for years and I know you're a very reasonable guy. But Mark Stoops has not forgot how to coach football. And if you look back at why they were successful, there's one glaring reason and it was recruit and develop. Yep. But when did that stop? That stopped in the NIL era. And me and Larry Vaugh had a long, candid discussion and ended up agreeing with each other extremely strongly. And he posted it out on your sports edge here a couple weeks ago what we talked about.

And that's the fact that if you'll go back in 21, Mitch Barnhart, who I really like, he's a good guy, but he made a terrible mistake. He was the committee chair for the selection committee. He took a wait-and-see approach on this NIL, and Mark Stoops bit his tongue, held his breath, did not throw him under the bus, and nobody's talking about this, and it's so frustrating. I was at Vandy, and I walked away, dejected for the performance on the field. But when you look at the money, in 2023, Matt, we were the 12th ranked SEC school in NIL funding. The NCAA gave University of Kentucky in 2023, $53 $53 million.

We spent $10 million on our football team. We beat this year two schools ahead of us in NIL, and we lost to one behind us in Vanity. Andy's private they didn't report. This is baloney that Stoops does not know how to coach. Why don't we get to the crux of it? It takes money. And to the last caller, I know Cutter's family personally. School coach.

Scott loves U.K., Cutter loves U.K., and I hate to bust your all's bubble. But Cutter is here because of Coach Stoops. If Coach Stoops is sent packing, I think you all are going to be very surprised at the decision that Cutter makes. It's not he's staying if he goes. It's he leaving if he goes. They love him. I got to cut you off. That was a good call. That's a good call. I've got to cut you off because the show's going to end. But, you know, those are two good back-to-back calls. And I would say Mitch screwed up by being two to three years behind on Nile. And that's on him. And so part of my thing is, let me read you this. This was a comment that came in a few minutes. ago. On the post-game show, you said NIL is the second most important change to college sports besides integration. I do believe that. So is it cost effective to keep Stoops and Mitch? Are they the group to lead us into the next 25 years? That's the question, though. And my answer is, I don't think so,

especially on the Mitch part and maybe on the Stoops as well. This is a new generation. What worked last time ain't going to work going forward. It's the people who did radio when TV became important. It's the people who did newspapers when the blogs came important. You have to decide, are you going to embrace the new or are you going to be stuck in the past? And we got stuck in the past two or three years behind and we got behind. And that caller is right about that. Now, does that mean Stoops doesn't deserve criticism?

I might disagree with him on that. but it is the case that some of what's happening right now were because we were slow on the Nile. I don't think there's any doubt that that's true. Great conversation, by the way, Ryan, from these folks today. Callers brought it today. Great calls. Tomorrow, I have to go to a funeral,

so I will be here in Louisville. We'll be in Columbia on Wednesday. We'll see you later. It's KSR. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, 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 the 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 SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 in the stuff. the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor?

It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud.

But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the Aihar Radio app, Apple Podcast. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.