It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine
day. Now, here's nit coffee. All right, let's get it started.
The five o'clock hour here on a winter that's Thursday, isn't it?
Is it Thursday? I'm not kidding you haven't given much thought about what day
it is, but in my mind, I've just been I guess on Wednesday
mode. But it's Thursday, which is good. We're closer to Friday,
and we're closer to the to the TBT, which is just two days away.
All right, so I'm good. I don't know what happened in that
last segment, but it was just it was just odd. I tried.
I was in the middle of saying something and then words stopped coming out of
my mouth and I couldn't breathe for a second, and then I was just
spazing. So I think I'm good. I don't know what happened, but
we're good to go. And thank you for those who seemed really concerned on
the text line and my phone. I mean, I don't I don't think
it sounded like I was having some kind of medical episode, but I couldn't
speak, which isn't that like a son of a stroke. I don't think
I had a stroke, but I don't know. My first thought was maybe
it could be a panic attack that was, you know, unprovoked, and
I mean, I don't know. I did some push ups during that break
because I'm trying to do a certain amount of push ups every day. So
occasionally we go to break and I'll knock out fifteen push ups just to you
know, there's a certain number I try to get in each day. And
I did it a lot closer to the back end of the break, so
like, I stood up quickly, got a little lightheaded, and I don't
know, like that seems like a reasonable explanation, especially if you're not doing
that all the time. I don't know if you are, but I mean
I am, but that was just I was weird. But hey, I'm
good, you know, and we're ready to finish strong here in the five
o'clock hour, all right. So back to what we were discussing about the
TBT as far as how they decide how they go about seating it, so
they factor in just your personnel, your team, but also I think they
factor in what you've done in previous tvt So Louisville did not get the one
seed in their in their pod because that went to a team that, honestly
I'd never heard of them. Actually, I mean it's Team Diesel and that's
because Shaquill O'Neil is there is their booster, like their their sponsor. I
think it's just Shack himself, Like you know, it's just their low Each
team, if you go to their their page on the TVT website, it'll
show you their sponsor and it just has Shacks logo, which of course is
you know, pretty a pretty known logo. So for Louisville it's you know,
they've got Planet Fitness and I'm not sure who the Kentucky or Liwill or
Indiana sponsor is, but either way, uh, I just thought, well,
hey, Shack's got a team, so they gave him the one seed
and and there is you know, there are some guys on this team that
I recognized for for you guys, remember John Jenkins, who played at Vanderbilt
for a while, was a first round draft pick, a really good shooter.
Believe it or not. Vanda used to be kind of good in basketball
whenever whenever Kevin Stallings was there, and he played most recently for the G
League ignite John Jenkins did, but prior to that he played a bunch of
years in the NBA. But I think the reason they got the number one
seed is because Shack absorbed a team that had already been in this event for
many years. It's led by a guy named Kyle Hines, who was a
six to eight big played at UNCG. He's been out of in fact,
it looks like he's actually coaching this year and not playing because he's getting a
little bit older. But he's been in this thing forever. I think he
might have been in the first ever one, and he's They're usually really good.
I don't remember what their team was called previously, but I would imagine
they got the one seed based off the fact that they've they've had a team
in this for a while. They just now have a different name, and
for you know, for the most part, they've been pretty good. So
Shaquille O'Neil's son is playing in this. Sharif O'Neil, who if you remember,
played at LSU and u c LA, didn't do a whole lot,
and I think he also most recently played in in the G League. One
thing I did not realize until I just just clicked on this team's web this
team's page at TBT. There's a team called Sideline Cancer and they are I
believe, the three seed, and they happen to have a pretty I mean
again, there's guys that I've heard of just because I you know, I
follow professional basketball other than the NBA a little bit more than the average person.
And there's some of these guys that just remember from college. But everybody
listening is going to know this name, Jack Golkie, really Jack Gold Sideline.
Jack Golkie has agreed he was a late addition to Sideline Cancer. So
is Maurice Creek on that team. By the way, he's a former Indiana
guy who's always played on Sideline No, and he's not on this team,
and they do rotate a lot. I believe Sideline Cancer is the team that
Remy Abel played on. Louisville native played at Eastern High School, played both
at IU and at Xavier, and he actually played on the team a few
years ago that I think made it all the way to the championship game.
I think they came up short. They might have won it, but either
way, that team that the team called sideline cancer. They've been around since
day one, but I think they oftentimes have you know, sometimes completely new
rosters. But there's a couple of Louisville guys kids from I say kids.
They're grown men now, but I remember when they played high school basketball here
in the area. But these two guys are from Louisville and they are really
good pros. And I'd be willing to bet that they're two of the better
players to come out of Louisville that a lot of people just aren't familiar with
because they didn't play at the local schools and they didn't play like high level
D one. But there's a guy named Chris Coffee, no relation, but
he does spell his name the way that I do, and he played at
Georgetown College. He's one of the best athletic bigs to come out of Louisville
in a long long time, and he's a high level pro. He played
in Greece last year. He was I think he might have been nai National
Player of the Year at Georgetown College. He was somewhat known when he played
here in high school. I think he might have played at Seneca. But
you know, Late Bloomer, a guy who really became a great player during
his time at Georgetown College, and know he's gonna be somebody that I feel
like will make plays and people will say, who the hell's that guy?
Well, he's from Louisville and he's really good. I mean, he's one
of those guys that if louis would added him, I would have loved it
because he's still young and again he's six' eight, can jump out of
the gym great length, and he'll be a problem. The other Louisville native,
Devon Cooper, who played at George Mason. I think he transferred there
maybe after starting his career at Morehead, but he played most recently in Denmark.
Six or four guard played at Wagner High School. I believe was a
really good player. So you know, if you're a GM and you don't
attach yourself to a specific school, it would be fun to kind of got
because I would be willing to bet that these two guys, Coffee and Cooper,
maybe there are maybe there's a connection to this team that I don't know
about. But it wouldn't shock me if it's like, Hey, here are
two dudes who I know live in Louisville. I don't have to pay them
and put them up in a hotel. And I know they're really good and
they can help us. So yeah, I get I nerd out on a
lot of this stuff. But I'm sure you know, do you only care
about the Louisville component. But some other former college players, Alonso Verge,
they could say, you say that he played at Nebraska, he's a point
guard, he's he's gonna be playing for Sideline cancer. Who else do we
have here? Uh? And again I feel like it's relevant to bring up
who's who else is in is in this this region with Louisville. Uh,
there's the four seed is run DFW. I would imagine that's got to be
some kind of a connection to h to Dallas, the Dallas Fort Worth area.
But yeah, it doesn't look like they've got a from their roster.
It doesn't look like they have a lot of guys at least I'm familiar with
as far as guys that play. Actually, this guy's an announcer now,
King McClure. He is a ESPN college basketball analyst. Uh, and he's
playing for this team. I guess he's from the Dallas area. Yeah,
I mean, and I don't want to mention, Hey, these guys don't
have anybody we recognize. Trust me, that does not mean that they can't
beat you. Because there are plenty of teams that have made deep runs in
this event that even a even like a diehard college basketball fan would have very
little familiarity with with you know, who's on their team. And I think
a lot of people saw the team that has the five seed team for Deet
as like some affiliation to Jimmer for det. No. I don't think there's
any affiliation to Jimmer for Deet there. I could be wrong, but the
GM is TJ. Furdett, and I don't even think he spells his last
name the same way that Jimmerferreett does. When you see an event like this
and you know that Jimmer Fordett, you know, has played in this before,
and you know that he's not in the NBA, like I think a
lot it's and it's a pretty unique last name, I'd say, but it's
not. There's no affiliation to Jimmer from what I can tell. But this
team has a bunch of former pros. Trevor Booker played at Clemson a while
ago. He spent some time in the NBA. He's a good player.
Also, this is a name if you remember Louisville's Big East era, This
guy was a problem. Darius Johnson Odam DJO played played quite a while in
the league, played at Marquette and College of course, and played for the
Lakers, and he was a good player. Uh. And then David Sloan,
a Louisville native. Another Louislle native here he's He played at Kansas State
and ETCU before going pro. He played most recently, I believe in Mexico.
So yeah, look, I if you just enjoy watching basketball at a
high level, competitive like this event is for you, I know there's most
folks out there that really aren't going to get into a game unless they have
an interest in it. Rather it be either a fan or they hate the
team, or maybe they made a bet. But you know, I know
I'm not alone as somebody who just enjoys watching high level basketball, and you're
gonna get it in this event. Former Indiana Hoosiers on this team as well.
Team for that Jeremy Hollowell. He played at Indiana and then transferred out.
After a year or two, he transferred to Georgia State. So yeah,
I uh, this bellerin team really quickly here. I don't think we've
talked much about their their personnel, but I'm sure there's many guys on this
roster that you familiar with, her you've heard of, because again, Bellerman's
been pretty damn good for quite some time under Scotty Davenport, and a lot
of these guys had a big factor in that. Let's see here, Alex
Cook, I didn't realize he was playing. I he was a late addition
to the roster. He played at Bellarman not that long ago. But Braydon
Hobbs, New Albany native, was one of Scotty's best players ever and he's
still playing at a high level overseas in Germany. You also have Antonio Ballard,
who is not from Bellarman but played at Jeffersonville High School and then at
Miami of Ohio. Had a great career. Dylan Penn a really really good
guard for Scotty. I believe that was the year they won the tournament,
but could not go to the NCAA tournament because of the stupid rule. But
he ended up transferring after that year and went to believe George where did he
go? Robert Morris maybe, but he was a really good player for him
and then Jeremy Kendall. This makes me feel old because well maybe it makes
him. Maybe it should make him feel little, not me. He played
he's a little bit old. He might be a year younger than me.
But he went to Jeff High School, has a really cool story, was
not recruited much by anybody at Jeff and ended up going to JUCO somewhere,
and I think coach Davenport remembered him from his time in Jeff and followed followed
him and knew he had some potential and he turned into a really good player.
And when Jeremy got there, he was I mean, he was a
real I think he played two maybe three years there for Scotty, but he's
been playing pro for over a decade now, and you know, he He's
somebody that I remember whenever they would have those open gems where Louisville and Bellerman
would play each other and in summer pickup games, I would always hear that
like he would he would hold his own against some of Louisville's best cards ever,
like Peyton, Steven Russ Smiths. So I'm not sure how much he's
got left in the tank, but he's still been playing professionally, and uh,
he was a hell of a player, all right. So I kind
of feel like we just picked up the segment from that. You know,
I seemingly blocked out in but I guess now is the time where I will
get you guys caught up if you are just now joining us. Been a
busy show so far today, continuing to discuss what's happening the SEC media days.
We did talk to David Hale, who covers the SACC. I'm in
SEC, but we talked to David Hale of ESPN, who covers the ACC,
and I thought it was a really good conversation. So if you are
interested in the realignment stuff, I thought he provided a fresh perspective on that,
you know, the fact that right now the SEC is not looking to
expand because they don't need to. They just added two schools and those schools
haven't played a game yet. And I really thought he was brutally honest,
and it is kind of a punch to the gut if you're somebody just hoping
that down the line everybody makes up in the ACC. Is great, but
I kind of put him on the spot asking is there a scenario where you
can see that years down the line, everybody's getting along and the future looks
good and you're not making as much as the big ten of the SEC,
but you feel as if there's some stability and this thing is sustainable. And
you know, I think he's you know, from what we know. I
guess on the outside looking in, and he's more on the inside than most.
But like, I just don't see a scenario where that happens to where
everybody's just content because quite I mean, it's clear you've got some schools like
Florida State and Clemson that feel if they're bringing way more value than anybody else
in this league and they need to be compensated for that, and because they
agreed to it many years ago, they're stuck and that's why they're fighting to
get out. You've got those in the middle that certainly have value, but
you know, not to the level of those two. And he mentioned that
could be some schools in denial and just kind of, you know, oblivious
to what's going on because they don't want to think about what would happen to
them if, in fact, the league explodes. Because when it comes to
there being two huge super leagues, there's some that would get a sniff from
the SEC or the Big Ten, and there's some that wouldn't. And I
think that middle ground is where Louisville is. I will say that I think
they have more value than the majority of the league, right, I mean,
if viewership matters. I mean, we pulled up that graphic. I
think it might have been last year whenever Florid Yeah, Florida State was.
Florida State was presenting their case as to why they deserve way more money than
anybody else, and they put up these graphs our viewership of college football games
like over the last i don't know, six seven years, and Louisville came
in as one of the you know, as one of the most watched teams
in the league. Which I mean, I don't want to act like that's
the only thing that matters, but viewership certainly matters. That speaks to are
you a brand name to where people are going to tune in and watch you
play regardless, if you know. And some of it was some of it
a little bit I should say, was influenced by Lamar Jackson's impact. But
Lamar's been gone for going on what seven years now, No way right,
twenty seventeen was his last year. This will be seven years, yes,
So I mean that, you know, maybe in fact, maybe that graph
didn't reference any of the time that he was here. So next week.
I think there's clearly an expectation for Jim Phillips to address it and provide something,
but he can hide behind the lawsuit. Hey, we're letting our legal
team handle that. I mean, and given what we've heard from Jim Phillips
since he took the job, I think you're you're getting your hopes up for
nothing if you expect that he's going to provide some type of statement, some
type of you know, information that makes you feel better about the sustainability of
the league, because I think you know he's not going to do that.
I mean, he's going to be He's going to give you pretty can probably
a lot of canned answers. They don't provide any further context or update on
the ongoing legal battle. And that could last for years, couldn't it.
I mean, some of these things drag out forever. Those attorneys I know,
with billible hours are going to be making a lot of money, all
right, real quick. This is something I hadn't got to yet, but
I'm glad at least some coaches are putting a number out there. But Ross
Dellinger did a write up on the price tag that SEC football coaches are expecting
the schools to have to pay because, as we've discussed, it hasn't been
made final just yet, but it's going to be final before too long.
And that is where the schools are going to be because of this settlement,
the NAA House Bill settlement. You're the schools are going to be on the
hook for paying student athletes. So this is from Yahoo sports dot com.
Again in the write up is from Rostell interest says many many of the schools
expect to continue to utilize their booster led nil collective as a sweetener, one
coach said for their players. There's more to coaches believe. The new football
roster will new football roster limit will settle at around one hundred and five players,
a figure that will permit schools to offer twenty more scholarships for the sport
than the current maximum of eighty five. Let's see here, let's go up
to yes. So this says all right, here we go. This says
while the catchphrase is it's also on me back up a second. Sorry,
it says, it just means more. That was how he started this thing.
It says. While the catchphrase is mostly rooted in the conference's passionate fan
base and in the impending era of athlete revenue sharing, it holds a most
fitting significance. It means more money, a lot more so. The estimates
for many of these head coaches, as far as the se schools being expected
to spend as much as one quarter of a billion dollars annually as a league
on their football players, or about fifteen million per school, so billion.
Napier says, this, do the math. We're talking twenty million. In
most athletic departments. Football is seventy to seventy five percent of the revenue.
That's twelve and a half to fifteen million. That's the number we anticipate.
Brian Kelly, he says, I'd say between fourteen and seventeen million. And
when it comes to can every school afford that price tag? Brian Kelly responds
with everybody in the SEC can, which which is true. So you know,
if you're allowed to give twenty two and a half or twenty two million,
because that's the cap that is believed to be Yeah, it says here
in the House bill settlement the cap was twenty two million. But you don't
have to pay him if you don't want, and you can pay less than
that. But again, if you want to be competitive and you want to
be successful in college sports, you're gonna have to pay. And if you
don't, it's it's going to impact your ability to have success. And look,
here's what's crazy. There will be schools that find a way to make
that work, but it nothing changes, you know what I mean. Like,
let's say, let's say Mississippi State they start paying twenty two million a
year because everybody else is, well, now that's an added expense that wasn't
there ever, Right, there was never any bill to pay for the school
in regards to paying players, Well now there is. So I just think
when it comes down to presidents and chancellors and board members and all that,
When there's now a twenty two million dollar annual bill to pay the players and
yet you still remain middle of the pack at best, does it make you
reevaluate how much you care about sports? So it makes sense, John,
like you're having to pay for it now. Like again, clearly you got
to fund your athletic department from top to bottom. That's been that way forever.
These coaches make a lot of money. They've already been spending money.
But when they spend all this money and then you add in the twenty two
million a year, you gotta wonder if some schools say, look, no,
look we could pay twenty two million, or we could pay ten million,
we're gonna still be the same school, so we're not gonna pay that.
Like, there's so many layers to what this could turn into. Yeah,
it's an added investment. And I don't really know exactly what each school,
especially the ones outside of the SEC, are going to do when it
comes to this, but it'll be interesting to see which ones do and if
they benefit from it and the ones that don't. Yeah, I mean,
I think like it's one thing if you are gonna like for like the nil
component. There still hasn't been many examples of those who were able to take
their program to a new level because it was legal to pay players and they
didn't have the tradition, they didn't have, you know, they didn't have
any you know, any background in being super successful. But man, they
got money and now they can use it and they're gonna be great. I
mean A and M has paid more than anybody, it sounds like for football
and nil and they they've been terrible, I mean comparatively speaking in regards to
like, you know, what they're investing. I mean, I still think
Miami basketball is the loan example of like a big move that happened only because
they had a rich guy that paid for it. And that was when they
went out and added nor Chattolemere. And who's the guard who by the Vigel
Pack? Is he still at Miami? I think he might have graduated anyways,
Like those were two guys that would have not been there, but you
had the money to go buy them and you did and you were good enough
that year and you made a final four. Other than that, man,
like, it's really been the rich getting richer, right that the status quo
has kind of you know, it's been status quo as far as the top
of of all sports. I feel like, but maybe you know this this
topic. I just feel as if you can at least live in a world
where hey, we're going to break through here and it'll all be worth it.
But I just think when you see that amount of money you're having to
pay now that you didn't used to have to pay, and you know that
it really isn't it's just because of it's because the game has changed, not
because you're not going to make that investment because you feel as if down the
line and it'll pay off and you'll be super successful making the college football playoff
annually. You're now making this investment and it's really not even an investment.
It's just what you have to do, you know what I mean. Like
now, it's basically just part of the game, and everybody's gonna do it
for the most part. But I'm curious, in five six years down the
line from this, what like if universities just reevaluate, like, hey,
we're not going to lie to ourselves and say that, hey, if we
pay twenty two million like George's paying in Alabama's paying, we're eventually going to
be as good as them. No, you're not. And we're talking about
a lot of money here too, Like it's be different if it was a
small amount. It's not. All right, don't go anywhere speaking of money.
I did not know this. It's a lot of things I don't know.
At times. I really exposed myself as a dumbass. I didn't realize
that each country pays a certain amount for those who win a gold medal representing
their country. It's a good breakdown from Yahoo Sports as far as which countries
pay the most for a gold medal. So we'll get to that in a
lot more. Keep the party going along. I'm trying not to have a
stroke again. That was kind of weird, but hey, if I do,
at least it'll be a memorable moment in my radio career, right,
Like, maybe it'll bring more attention to the show. Anything to get ahead,
right. I know I mentioned it once maybe twice throughout the week,
but we haven't spent much time actually talking about it, and we don't need
to, just because I don't think it would be beneficial for the show in
any way. But ESPN is giving us their list of the top one hundred
athletes in the twenty first century, and I think earlier in the week they
gave us seventy six through one hundred, and they're going to probably weekly unveil
twenty five at a time. And all I've heard is people talking about how
terrible it is. But I feel like ESPN probably knew that and that's okay
because it's got everybody talking about it and everybody's sharing it. They've got their
own opinions, so there's really no I mean, I think when you rank
the greatest athletes from different sports, like, I just don't know how you
can really Again, it's all a matter of opinion, but like I when
I see guys and girls of that match for that who played different sports,
it's just hard for me to think, Okay, well he's greater than this
athlete who you know, it's just different. But hey, everybody's got a
strong opinion on it, and that's got people sharing that link, and I'm
sure that's good for ESPN. But some athletes have taken issue with where they
are on it because they did get featured. Maybe they thought they were going
to be higher. But one person I did not expect to see complaining about
it and it going viral is Rick Flair, legendary professional wrestler who you know,
what's crazy is maybe I'm just falling for it, but like Rick Flair,
like, there won't be any professional wrestlers on this list, and it's
not to say that they don't have athletic ability, but like what they're doing
is not a sport. I mean, again, it takes athleticism and it
takes a lot of talent, but you know, it's not a competitive thing.
It's it's it's written. So maybe I'm just falling into, you know,
thinking that maybe maybe Rick Flair is joking. But again, the thirty
for thirty on Rick Flair was so well done, because most thirty fifth thirties
are so great. But Rick Flair really is the guy who became the character
that wrestling that he wasn't wrestling in real life, and he no longer knew
how to balance the two, and he just became in real life the guy
that he was, you know, scripted to be in professional wrestling. And
he's clearly really talented, or he wouldn't have the run that he had.
And you know, he he could go wrestle right now at what eighty years
old or something, and he'd probably still be a big event. But he
said, how in the hell on God's Green Earth is Rick Flair not considered
to be one of the top nunded athletes in the world. I should actually
be in the top ten. Sixteen world titles, actually twenty two twelve hundred
hour matches. I guess he means hours of matches, fifteen years without a
day off, a cultural icon, and a worldwide sensation. He said,
good lord, good lord, so many people have lost sight of what greatness
truly is. I never pulled out with a calf muscle strain. Oh how
the times have changed. What a bunch of be I get Tom Brady and
all that, but come on, let's get serious. And what's crazy is
that? Like I think some people who don't know wrestling or at all or
anything about Rick Flair would just assume that's a guy making a joke. But
I think he's being serious. And it reminds me of whenever LeVar Ball was
in the news a lot more than he is now. Right, whenever he
was just saying nonsensical things and yelling at stephen A. Smith and yelling at
Colin cow hurt and just doing LaVar Ball things, the clown antics that got
him a lot of attention. Rick Flair, you know, stepped in and
was like, I would I'd like to see him talk to me like that,
Like and he's I think, maybe I'm just falling for the bit,
But like, I think he's being serious, and I think that's really funny.
So if you haven't seen the Rick Flair thirty for thirty, it came
out a few years ago. It was really well done and it's kind of
sad to see like that that played out that way for him, because you
know, he had a family and kids and you know, a different life,
and then he became a wrestler and then it just consumed him. And
to this day he now lives as if that other life never really happened.
Shout out Ric Flair. All right, it's coffee and company. We are
feeled by Thornton's here on Sports Talks of a ninety appreciate you guys hanging out
with us. And the Olympics is coming up, and you know, I
won't lie to myself order you and said that I'm going to really get into
the Olympics, because you know, I've said that the last two or three
times you've had the Olympics and it's just never really, it doesn't it doesn't
do much for me. However, Uh, this is something I found to
be interesting, and that is the amount of money that each country pays their
athletes who win a gold medal. And again, this will be one of
the many dumb things I mean, I've already said plenty of dumb things today,
maybe that you know, just add this one of the list. I
suppose. But I was not aware that the United States paid money to athletes
who win a gold medal. I didn't know that, So I mean,
I'm glad they do. I mean, because these people sacrifice a lot,
but they you know, they don't make as much money as other countries as
far as who gets a gold medal, and they also, you know,
I'm sure they don't really get out what they put in, but hey,
I would imagine that they just love having the chance to represent their country.
And there are people like, for example, like these guys that are playing
for Team USA. I mean, they don't they don't need the money,
right Like they are in the NBA making a lot of money, so they're
not doing it for the money. I think that's pretty clear. But there
are some that really sacrifice everything to train and get ready for something that takes
place every four years, and they will get it. They'll get money if
they win gold, and they'll get money when it comes to like you know,
sponsorships that kind of stuff. But I'm sure, i mean, like
you know, without those huge endorsement deals because you've you know, become a
worldwide star because of your successful running the Olympics, like you're probably barely making
ends meet, and you know to do that because you want to represent your
country. That's that's pretty awesome. So the let's say a team USA athletes
get I'll start at the top here, those who represent Malaysia, Morocco or
Serbia and when an individual gold at the Paris Games will get over two hundred
thousand dollars from their country's government or national Olympic committee. So this was a
survey that they did. They reached out to I believe every country and got
back information from all but let me see. It did mention how many,
Yeah, there was. I'm not sure which countries didn't respond with information,
but I would assume if they didn't respond it maybe because they're not paying much
of anything. But the top earner is going to be somebody from Serbia who
will make two hundred and fourteen thousand dollars. Two hundred and fourteen thousand dollars,
which is a lot of money. I don't know if that's a lot
of money in Serbia, but it's a lot of money to me. Malaysia
pays just under that at two hundred and twelve thousand dollars, Morocco is two
hundred thousand dollars, Italy pays one hundred and ninety three thousand dollars, Lithuania
a hundred and eighty thousand dollars, Hungary play pays one hundred and fifty five
thousand, Ukraine one hundred and twenty five thousand, Kosovo pays a hundred and
seven thousand, Spain pays one hundred and one thousand, and then Grease pays
ninety six thousand dollars. For those who win a gold medal, if you're
in, if you're an athlete from the United States, you get quite a
bit less. So it says they their payouts offer through what the United States
Olympic and they call it Operation Gold, and it's thirty seven thousand, five
hundred dollars for every gold medal at the Paris Games, twenty two thousand,
five hundred for each silver medal, and fifteen thousand for every bronze. So
you will get compensated if you bring home a medal and you're representing the United
States, which you know, I kind of liked it. The Olympics clearly
didn't have enough appeal for me to be like a diehard fan. I don't
watch a lot of it, but I did like it a little bit.
It was more appealing to me even though I didn't watch it thinking that a
lot of these people didn't make any money, which not that I want people
to be broke, but you know, I always just assumed that in some
of these athletes that there's not a professional league you can be a millionaire in,
like the NBA or something like that, that if you're out there playing
I don't know, what are the obscure sports that a lot of people don't
even know anything about. That you're just doing it because you love it and
you want to win, win the goal for your country. I mean,
I think even if they weren't paying, people would still probably want to do
it, at least I would hope. But I had no clue that country
is paid for people to win gold medals. I mean, it does incentivize
people to do it, right, I mean, you got to train,
you probably got to quit your job, you got to take time off,
like it's it's not something you can just go do as a hobby when you
get off work. If you really want to win and you want to represent
your country and you want them to be successful, it's going to consume like
every bit of you Did you know the athletes were paid on I didn't,
And I was sitting there thinking like, why is the US paid less than
some of these other countries And my logical reasoning, and this may be completely
wrong. Do you think it's because the countries that pay more they have less
athletes who are likely to win that goal? Oh yeah, okay. And
I also would say that it's probably a bigger like it's a bigger deal for
them to have somebody, Yeah, and they want to you know. And
in some of these countries that have no probably had great success in the Olympics
overall, probably have a lot of money, you know what I mean,
like not you know, some countries probably don't, but some do to where
they're like, hey, we could we really want to make it to where
we have the best that are able to even like you know, we're gonna
incentivize you to Hey, if you were gonna maybe not do it this time
around, because you know, you didn't want to take a bunch of time
away from your family and your other career whatever that may be. You know,
if you if you really put your put the work in and you go
bring home a medal, we're gonna pay you. Yeah. The all time
Olympic medal count here, let's see, uh in the Summer Olympics. Let's
see they're doing this is alphabetical. Here we go. So when it comes
to all time gold medal that's not the way to break it down. Now,
I'm curious that that this this thread that I'm looking at here from from
let's see from here we go. Yeah, so the United States is in
the lead with the I mean humongous lead when it comes to the all time
gold medals, and behind them is Russia. I don't know if i'm these
numbers. I mean, I'm not surprised that we've dominated, but did we
dominate this much? So it says all time, the all time Olympic medal
count here, you've got in the Summer Olympic Games for just gold medal specifically,
the United States is in the lead. And that doesn't surprise me at
all. I knew that, but I didn't know there was such a big
gap. But one thousand and sixty one and then in second place is Soviet
and Russia, which is three hundred and ninety five, so there's a big
gap there, and behind that is Great Britain and in China, France,
Italy, Germany. So yeah, if you look at those that pay the
most money, like Serbia, see where they end up here. So Serbia
they let's see, I gotta scroll pretty far, so they must not be
they must not be too successful. Yeah, So Serbia has only ever had
six gold medals, so that makes sense as to why they would really want
to pay for somebody to get it before extra Yeah, yeah, they because
they And this is broken down through Wikipedia, which you know, is a
good resourceful tool on the Internet. But regardless of what people say. But
I think I'm in a way, I don't know if I'm filtering it correctly.
But how about you want to see the the Winter Olympic golden medal count.
I bet you got Russia near the top. Maybe Canada, I'm sure,
Norway Okay, that makes sense too, And then the United States is
make sure I'm looking in the right column here, Yeah, the United States
is at number two, and then you have after that Germany, Russia,
Canada, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland. So is Norway one of those countries
where it's like eternally winter. I don't know, that's a good question,
because it's kind of surprising that they are the number one. The US is
that much more dominant for the summer Olympics and Norway was nowhere to be found
for for the summerland. Yeah, Norway is known for its cold, wintery
weather, especially in the northern area of the country. Oh yeah, it's
also Vikings. It says the climate varies by region, with coastal areas having
milder, wetter winters, while inland areas are colder and snowier in cities.
In the bigger cities, winter temperatures can drop to negative four fairly often.
So yeah, they don't have a whole lot going on in the winter other
than just being snowed in and cold. So they trained for the Winter Olympics
and they've been pretty good at It says that winter activities in Norway snowmobiling,
ice cave tours, Arctic Arctic wildlife viewing, snowmobile camping trips, winter sports
and ski touring, snow sculptings. So yeah, that's just a part of
the regardless if you like snow or not. Snow is very much a part
of Norway, and you're and the culture there, so you can't really escape
it if you live there. I feel like every activity you're going to do
is something based around cold stuff, and I actually kind of, you know,
I think that would be awesome for like a few days. Like I
don't know, if I want to live there, that would be that'd be
pretty brutal. All right, quick break, We'll come back on the other
side and wrap up the wrap up the show. A Thursday edition of Coffee
and Company right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Not something I expected to
see in the news today, but we've got a trademark lawsuit going on between
two NFL quarterbacks, one from many years ago, one currently still playing at
a high level. Lamar Jackson has blocked Troy Aikman's attempt to register a trademark
for eight eight not the number, but just spelled out. This thread is
from Josh Gerbin, who's a trademark attorney. He says the Jackson's legal team
recently filed a notice of opposition against Aikman's eight trademark, claiming that see he
Lamar Jackson believes that he will be damaged by the registration of the mark eight
and says that he opposes it. Jackson has filed multiple trademarks for the number
eight as it relates to clothing and athletic bags, giving him superior rights in
the mark. If registered, Aikman's eight trademark will cause consumer confusion with Jackson
Jackson's eight trademark. So one is eight, the number one is E I
G H T. So as far as what happens next, Gerbin says that
it's highly unusual for two famous quarterbacks who both wore the same number to end
up in a trademark battle. But the Jackson's credit, he was filing trademarks
long before Akman. This is a good example of what I'm reading again from
Gerbon And says this is a good example of why it's critical for athletes to
file trademark applications as soon as possible. Filing early will ensure that athletes that
the athlete has a priority date, which gives them leverage in any negotiations such
as this. The likely outcome is that Jackson and Akman will find a way
to co exist in the marketplace. But in the meantime, you know he's
going to keep an eye on it, he says, I mean, I
don't know if I buy that, Jackson will be damaged, but then again,
it will call it could cause confusion. I mean, what is Aikman.
No offense to Aikman. I think Aikman's great, legendary quarterback and a
hell of a broadcaster, But what is he trademarking right now? Like Lamar
Jackson's just coming off his second MVP trophy, Like you can understand why he's
going to try to trademark stuff make the most money he can when he's in
the peak of his career. What's Aikman doing. I mean, I'm clearly
biased here. I hope Lamar wins and has success, but yeah, not
something that that you typically see is quarterbacks, you know, legally fighting each
other over over a trademark. What it cost to get a trademark. You
think I would know that, but I don't because I'm sure there are plenty
of people who trademark something. And man, I'm glad I did that.
I turned it into you know, a million dollars or something like that,
but I'm sure there's a lot of trademarks that are really just for safety.
In the end, it probably didn't make you any money, but you did
it really just to be safe. But I wonder what all Lamar has trademarked,
because I remember right after Heck it might have been while he's still at
Louisville he started to trademark some things. And you know, in this situation,
he getting it getting ahead early. It it worked out, they should
have like some kind of a contest, right like a see who can see
who can you know battle it out? Yeah? I mean Akman's old,
Like, yeah, he's not gonna race Lamar Jackson, that's for sure,
but you know, something to where they could like competitively, you know,
do something to see who. Uh. And really it wouldn't be about who
gets to use it. It would be more so like does Akman get to
use it? So all right, Uh, that'll do it for us,
John, you got to be planning tonight. No, I'm looking forward to
it not being super hot outside like it has the past few days. Yeah.
I don't want to make you jealous, but I'm heading to a flag
football practice tonight for four and five year olds. So coach them up.
I know you're not coaching, but they need extra coaches and they've they've they've
let everybody know. And my wife looks at me like, I'm like,
I don't know, man, I would want you to. Oh, she
would love me to. I just you know, first of all, I
can't be there. They start practice at six o'clock every day, so I'm
already like I can't do it. But yeah, maybe maybe they need,
you know, the team. Give me a headset, give me a visor
and a headset and we don't have to turn it on. Just let me
wear that on the sideline and that'll that'll, that'll make it worth it for
me. All Right, everybody have a good night. We're back at it
tomorrow and I hope you guys will be with us right here on Sports Talk seven ninety