WEBVTT

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It's Stick Gabriel taking a little bit
of time off, so we thought we

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would replace some of the best interviews
from over the last several months. Please

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enjoy the best of the Big Blue
Insider, joined now by Kenny Brooks,

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Kentucky's new women's basketball coach. And
I say new coach, but you've been

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on the job for a little while, but welcome to my show. Well,

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I appreciate it. You know,
it's been a it's been a wonderful

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month. It's been a whirlwind,
learning a whole lot about UK and just

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really trying to put a rock together. But I've enjoyed every minute of it.

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What have you learned about UK?
Very passionate fan base, and I

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tell you they're everywhere. You know
when I talked to When I talked to

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Mitch, at one point he talked
about the state of Kentucky being University of

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Kentucky fans, and he wasn't joking. You know, it doesn't matter where

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I go, I can get recognized
a lot of different places and a very

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passionate fan base. So at good
food, a lot of good food.

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So I'm looking forward to just really
learning even more about the whole whole state

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the whole big Blue Nation. And
uh, it's been a lot of fun

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so far. Though, anything in
particular that's that's tickled your palette in terms

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of the food, Well, I
did. I went to a restaurant and

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uh and and I like ribs,
but I like them a certain type of

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way. And uh, as soon
as I ate them, you know,

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it was like, these might be
the best ribs I've ever had in my

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life. And so I'm a kind
of ear I I I eat to live,

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I don't live to eat, and
so usually if I get onto something,

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I might go back to it like
three or four or five times and

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uh, until I have to go
to something different. But those ribs really

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stuck out to me and they were
fantastic. That's awesome, that's great to

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hear. Well, there's a lot
more to learn. Uh, But let

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let us get over to basketball.
And before I talk to you about your

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team, I've got to ask you. You played under Lefty Drissel at James

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Madison. What was that like?
Oh, it was the craziest experience of

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my life. It was the best
periods of my life. When I played

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for him, I thought he was
a little crazy. Uh, and I

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thought I thought he I thought he
was doing things to us. And what

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I what I later learned in life, uh and as a coach, is

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that he was doing things for us. You know, he taught me.

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He taught me how to be a
better basketball player. He taught me how

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to be a better uh, a
better husband, a better father. Uh.

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And he also taught me how to
incorporate family into your basketball team.

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And uh, you know, he
always had his wife around, He always

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had his family around, and when
they were around, he was always very

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affectionate. I loved on them.
And uh. Then he then he would

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go to practice and yell at us. So I found out that you could

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merge the two. But you know, I actually worked for him for a

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year. He actually was the one
who gave me my first coaching job.

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And uh then being around him in
that aspect, just coaching, not just

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the player coach was really eye opening
for me. And it taught me a

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lot. And uh and so until
the day that he passed, Uh,

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it was it was really you know, he was very inspirational to me.

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The conversations that we would have even
up into his passing, they were they

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were just meant so much to me
because he meant so much to me,

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and I owe him, you know, pretty much everything that I've gotten so

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far. He doesn't get the credit
for starting midnight man this, but really

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he did. I mean just the
midnight practice. And of course everybody knows

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what he said about making Maryland the
UCLA the East, so kind of a

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self promoter. But lost in all
of that coach, the fact he was

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a pretty good basketball coach, wasn't
it. Yeah he was. He was

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excellent basketball coach, great motivator,
He was an innovator, as you just

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talked about. You know, he
was always thinking outside the box. You

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know, if NCLA says you couldn't
practice until October to fifteenth, when most

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people were doing it at nine o'clock
or ten o'clock the next day, he

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did it at twelve o'clock. As
you mentioned, starting the midnight madness and

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just pushing the envelope. But you
know, he he came up in an

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era as a coach where you know, the NCAA tournament wasn't as accessible as

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it is now. You know,
one team out of every conference went I

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think it was a champion and uh
and so it just wasn't what it is

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today. And if it was,
who knows, who knows how he could

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have, you know, gotten his
teams to play and go out and compete

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for national championships. But uh,
just to be around him. You know,

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he always motivated you, you know, to get the best out of

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his players. Uh. And and
I find myself doing a lot of things

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that he did with my own twist
on it. But you know, very

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influential man in my life, frevant
influential man. And uh in basketball.

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And uh one of my claims of
Thames was he got inducted to the Basketball

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Hall of Fame finally. And uh. He went on in his speech he

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talked about two of his former players
being head coaches, and I'm thinking to

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myself, he's about to say my
name, and then all of a sudden,

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he paused and he went in a
different direction, and I talked to

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him. I talked to him about
a week later, and he said,

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Kenny, I've meant to say something
about you in my speech, but I

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forgot your name at the moment.
And I said, coach, that that

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is fired with me. Long as
you were thinking about me during your moment,

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that that was special for me.
That's great. And then quickly I

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just wanted to know about you coached
at v m I, which I think

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is interesting. What's it like at
a at an institute, like that's kind

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of different from your basic four year
school. Yeah, it's almost like full

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circle Lexington to Lexington, where I
started, where I came, and where

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I am down and uh, you
know, so now it was it was

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it was an eye opening experience.
Uh. It taught me a lot about

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the recruiting and uh and it kind
of it kind of helps in today's world

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even though it's much different. But
when we were recruit young men to v

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m I, we we were able
to lurel them in because of the education

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and know what the DMO degree would
do for them. Uh. But probably

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the harder part was keeping them there. And we would get them there,

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they would go through the first year
of the of the military and uh and

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it was really hard to keep them
there because they wanted, you know,

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some of them wanted a pavilion life. They wanted a civilian college like and

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uh so I had to learn how
to, you know, make sure the

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guys were taken care of, they
were good. Uh, and you had

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to recruit them, but you also
had to rerecruit them while they were there,

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and uh, and this and it
kind of it kind of bodes well

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for this day and age with the
with the transfer portal and you're you're constantly

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now and you know, you're getting
kids in and and you have to make

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sure that you're recruit them, but
you also to make sure you re recruit

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them to make sure that they continue
to want to stay at the universe that

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you are now. So so it
taught me a lot. It taught me

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that you know, you don't you
don't take no for you don't. You

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don't let the nose balk you down. You have to continue to fight and

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continue to you know, just try
to continue to recruit. And uh,

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that was a hard place to recruit
for it. It was also a hard

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place to maintain and keep kids.
But it taught me a lot and I

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think it really helped my helped shape
my recruiting, uh mentality, And uh,

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here I am today. You know, it's interesting you say that because

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having spent my career on TV and
radio and getting to know a lot of

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sales people, and they've told me, you know, you you can't let

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the know you just have to keep
going. And obviously that's what you've done

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with recruiting and now here you take
this job and I got to think,

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for the first time in your career, you've had to build a roster almost

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from the ground up, and there
are a lot of coaches having to do

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that right now. How daunting a
task was that when you first took this

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job, Very daunting and I wouldn't
recommend it. It's exhausting to the point

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where you know, not only do
you need bodies that you need the right

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type of body, you need the
right type of mentality. And so you

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know, I think you put yourself
in bad shape if you're just trying to

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just go grab somebody. Because in
the portal that says they average twelve points

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and twelve rebounds, you know,
you still have to vet it, make

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sure that it's it's a good situation, not only for you, but for

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both parties, you know, because
like like I mentioned before, you're constantly

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re recruiting and you want you want
to be a good situation for both parties.

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So it was tough. It's been
very very tough act on myself,

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on on my staff who I'm I'm
extremely proud of, and uh, they've

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done a wonderful job, not only
trying to get accimated to lexings and people

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don't people don't understand how hard it
is to transition and you bring a whole

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new staff and everyone's trying to get
to learn the new procedures, uh the

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new surroundings, trying to build a
roster at the same time, and uh

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so, so many people say are
you settled yet? And I just kind

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of think I get tickled, and
I'm like, I'm the furthest thing for

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being settled. But my but my
assistants has done a tremendous job and we

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kind of piece it all together.
We're taking kids around on campus to you

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know, to tour campus, and
I feel like I'm wanted the student appings

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to myself because I'm learning, you
know, a lot about the university.

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So but it's it's been it's been
challenging. I think we've done a really

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good job to date. We're still
not finished, but I like the direction

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that we're going in and uh so, we're not just trying to put together

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a team. We're trying to put
together culture. And I think we've got

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some kids coming in that are going
to really help help set it off.

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Because when I went to Virginia Tech. Eight years ago, there was no

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transfer portal, right, so pretty
much what you had was what you inherited

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and that's what you have to go
with. And now with the freedom of

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movement with the transfer portal, you
know, it allows kids to be able

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to move, but it allows coaches
to be able to put together, you

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know, a whole new roster,
you know, really quickly. So it's

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been challenging, exhausting, taxing,
you know, whatever as you you want

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to use, but it's been exciting
as well. UK women's basketball coach Kenny

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Brooks my guest. We'll have more
with a coach after the break. We're

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listening to the Best of the Big
Blue Insider. More to come here on

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six point thirty w LAB. It's
Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best

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of the Big Blue Insider. We're
talking with Kentucky women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks,

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who, of course has been on
the job for about a month,

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coming over from Virginia Tech, building
a new roster and as coach said,

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a new culture at Kentucky And in
terms of that roster, coach, having

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covered this program for quite a while
myself, I can't remember the last time

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I saw this much size on the
UK roster, which is obviously, as

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you well know, something you need
in general in women's basketball today and especially

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in the SEC. Right, Yeah, exactly, And it's something that it's

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been a recipe for our teams for
the last five years. You know,

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we had Elizabeth Kitley, who was
a three time for All Americans ACC Player

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of the Year and it allowed us
to do so many different things. And

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so that was the blueprint that we
were continuing on. And you know,

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we want to be able to play
through our post players. And I'll tell

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you one thing, when we walked
through an airport, no one will mistake

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us with a soccer team, So
they're definitely going to know that we're a

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basketball team. But I think you
need that height. You need that height

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to be able to rebound. And
rebounding is probably one of the big keys

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in the SEC. Every time we
would go up against an SEC opponent when

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I was at Virginia Tech, uh, the key to the game was always

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rebounding and uh. And obviously if
you want to rebound the basketball, you

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gotta have some athletes. You got
to have some size and that and that's

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something that you know, it was
just a recipe for us. And we've

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got a couple of young ladies coming
in. Albeit they're they're young players,

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but I think they're going to mature
into players that can be uh a force

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in the SEC because of their height. You know, the six seven six

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five sixty four. Uh, got
a couple of six three kids, So

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so that that's that's something that we
look for. Our defense is predicated on

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protecting the rim, so you've got
to have some some shot blockers back there,

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but you also got to have some
long players on the wing. So

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that's been our recipe. We're going
to stick to it. That's like,

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that's how we like to play,
and I think it's going to be I

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think it's gonna go well for us. What is your defensive style, your

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philosophy. You know, you got
to dumb it down for for the the

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masses, but but what do we
expect. Well, it's not very complicated.

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It's uh, it's uh. If
you want pressing and trapping and causing

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havoc all over the place, it's
probably not the place you're going to come

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to and see that. We don't
do it that. I think someone I

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was doing a podcast not too long
ago, someone brought it up to me

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that we were out of three hundred
and sixty three teams, I think we

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were like three hundred and sixtieth in
forcing turnovers. And it's because we like

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to rely on accountability. You know, we want to make sure that we're

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guarding the paint and we're going to
make sure that we're going to contest shots,

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and then we want to be in
great rebounding position to rebound the basketball.

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And although we were we were three
hundred and sixtieth out of three sixty

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three and forcing turnovers, we were
in the top ten percentile of defensive efficiency.

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So we really we really guard the
paint, we really contest shots,

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and we like to rebound the basketball
at a high cliff and those are all

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those are all things that we led
the ACC in or the top of the

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ACC is the defensive efficiency and rebounding, and then I think that leads to

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us getting out on the break and
then we've had a really good offensive efficiency.

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So I'm not one of those helter
skelter coaches where we're going to press

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for forty minutes and you know,
all that kind of stuff. We'll we'll

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put some pressure on you in surprise
areas, but mainly we're going to protect

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the thing. Are you a zone
man a man? A mix which you

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know what if you had asked me
two or three years ago out of scoff

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at the zone. But by necessity
we've had to do a little bit of

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it. And and uh we went
to zone a little bit last year,

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more than probably ever in my career, just because we were tall and we

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were long. We just weren't the
most athletic, and so we had to

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mix our defenses up to keep people
off balance a little bit. But primarily

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man a man. That's what I
love, because I love the accountability of

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it. You know, against the
zone, you can always say, well,

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I didn't know whose coverage it was, well, and a man of

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man, we know whose coverage it
was, and so so that's part of

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the accountability part of it. But
but I'd like to be primarily man a

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man, but we will sprinkle some
zone in there by necessity. You have

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nine players on your roster officially,
do you anticipate going to thirteen or fifteen

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with walk ons or have you decided
that yet? Now we haven't decided yet.

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I mean obviously, like I mentioned
earlier, I think it's a bigger

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key to get the right right type
of players, right type of people.

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Sure, a great working number for
us would be about twelve, twelve or

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thirteen, and so you just want
to be able to maximize and be very

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efficient, you know, with your
with your players. One time I went

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to fifteen and I just felt like
it was it was it was it was

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crowded. Yeah, So we've all
working number for us has always been good

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twelve or thirteen players, and if
we can get that, that's what we'll

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be happy with. We still were
still waiting on a couple recruits, you

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know, making decisions. We've got
the recruiting shutdown coming up next week and

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then we'll get back at it again
the week after. You have an international

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flavor to this roster, a couple
of kids from Australia, from Canada,

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Portugal. You have an assistant from
Lithuania. Is that unusual for you or

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is that always something you've looked at
the international side of things, you know,

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I think it's kind of just kind
of goes. You have to evolve.

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And I do have an assistant coach
who is from Lithuania, who is

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you know, heavily involved with the
international scene, and you know she's you

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know, very knowledgeable and you know, so she's being able to bring a

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few players to light. But some
of it too, it just happens to

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you know, we recruited George A. Moore to Virginia Tech and she just

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happened to be from Australia. And
then a lot of times when you get

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a player like that who has as
much success as a player like Georgia does,

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it really makes your program more attractive
to even more international players. Sure,

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because these players are coming over and
you know, they want a mirror

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of success, and Georgia was a
blueprint. So it's kind of opened up

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a couple of doors for us.
But also a lot of it has to

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do with with coach rad and and
her connections, you know, with with

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the players over there because she goes
over and uh she coached on the junior

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national team I think summer ago,
and you know she's able to see a

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lot of these players and what they
can do and how how their abilities could

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translate, you know, to the
to the American college game. And uh

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so it's been very very successful for
us being at Virginia Tech, where you

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know, we weren't the household name. We had to build it up.

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We had to build it up.
And and you know, because you know

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the kids over there, they don't
dream about coming to sup Virginia Tech.

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So we had to make Virginia Tech
very attractive and uh and so now and

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being at the University of Kentucky a
little bit more name recognition, you know,

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hopefully that it would open up some
even more doors for us. And

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with the success that we've had with
for the international players, you know,

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those two couple together, it could
open up a lot of doors for us.

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You have one player right now in
your roster from Kentucky, Cassidy Road

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from Virgie. Uh do you know
much yet about Kentucky girls high school basketball?

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Did you get into Kentucky much recruiting
from Virginia Tech? We we did.

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We we we recruited a couple young
ladies from Kentucky. Always aware of

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players in Kentucky and uh so,
Uh, I know, I know that

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it's very important. You know,
there's a player of our caliber that we

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make sure we go after her with
due diligence. It's also got to be

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a good fit. It really does. And I think Big Blue Nation,

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you know, they they want to
win. You know, they would love

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to win with Kentucky players, but
I think they still want to win.

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And so so we're we're diving in
hard. We're diving in hard and trying

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to get to know the state even
more and uh and trying to cover the

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state and make sure that you know, any young lady that is good enough

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player to help us win basketball games
that we're on it. And but you

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know, you get into a situation
where when I was at Virginia Tech,

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we had one young lady on our
roster from Virginia and that was my daughter.

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So you know, so but you
know, Hokey Nation loved us because

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we were winning. And so,
you know, it's just it's a different

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it's a different era. It's a
different age where sometimes you get a kid,

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you know, and they want to
get away, and so you have

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to respect that too, but you
also have to just go out and you

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do your due diligence, but also
try to keep you know, all the

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Kentucky kids at home. So what
we're looking forward to it you know,

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we're getting settled right now and pretty
much our main focus right now is to

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get a roster together, a good
roster together. And as soon as we're

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able to put that to bed,
we're able to dive into the younger players

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in the state of Kentucky to make
sure we get them on campus and introduce

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them to our new staff and our
new philosophies and new culture and what we're

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going to try to do at KAY. You introduce them to an upgraded facility

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as well. What were your thoughts
on Memorial Coliseum when you saw it?

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How close are they to being done? Well, it's still in the scale

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to the stages, so you have
to when you come over, you have

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to use your vision goggles. That's
the way selling recruit, you know.

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So I'm I'm a big HGTV fan, and I like the thirty minute episodes

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where you see the beginning of it
and then you get to see, you

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know, a couple of commercials later, you get to see the finished product.

301
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Right. Well, that's not that's
not the case here. You know,

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it's taken a little while, and
uh everything I've been told that it's

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on schedule to be done in uh
in August sometimes, and uh, but

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it's gonna be It's gonna be a
huge selling point because I think the intimacy

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of the building is going to be
fantastic for women's college basketball. And uh,

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you're going to get sixty five hundred
people in there. It's allowed.

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It's going to give you a home
court advantage. Uh, brand news,

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beautiful new locker room. Those are
all things that you have to have in

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this day and age. You have
to have, you know, a great

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program, you have to have in
il you have to have facilities because you

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know, these kids are going from
campuses to campuses and a lot of times

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in the early stages are there,
they're comparing and you want to put yourself

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in position and give yourself a chance
to recruit these kids. And I think

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the renovations to Memorial would definitely help. And then you know, obviously the

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ever ever changing landscape of nil and
things of that matter, just they're really

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really important, and it's just just
the whole the whole thing is shifted in

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00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:22.519
the last two, three, four
or five years, you know, from

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year to year of the importance of
little things like that, and so this

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is no this is no different,
and you know Memorial is definitely going to

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help them. Coach, thank you
so much for joining us. I'm looking

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forward to meeting you you as well. Thank you for your time. You're

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listening to the best of the Big
Blue Insider. More to come here on

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six thirty w l a P.
It's Dick Gabriel, Welcome back to the

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00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:48.920
best of the Big Blue Insider,
joining us down on a celebrity hotline as

325
00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:52.079
a longtime friends of the show and
a pretty successful college volleyball coach, and

326
00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:56.319
that is Craig Skinner, coach.
Welcome back from Japan. I don't remember.

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I've been there a couple of times. I don't remember if I ever

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00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:03.559
knew how to say welcome them back. But how did that go? I

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00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:08.319
don't think I can tell you that. Either I can say thank you Orgato

330
00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:11.319
and then hello can eat you up. That's about it. It sounds good.

331
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It was a phenomenal trip and what
a life experience for all of us

332
00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:21.720
that had the chance to go,
and and our players just had a really

333
00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:25.720
new, cool experience the way to
play the game of volleyball, and and

334
00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:32.480
also had some challenging bonding times together
and overall huge success. Well, let's

335
00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.000
talk about a couple of those things. First of all, the bonding.

336
00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:38.480
This isn't the first overseas trip that
that your team one of your teams has

337
00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:45.279
made Have you always seen the results
you hoped in terms of pulling kids together?

338
00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:52.039
Yeah, yes, because you know
all our you know, we're all

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Americans typically, and you know we
have you know, people coming from all

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over the place, you know,
on different background of different families, different

341
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socio economic backgrounds and all of the
above. And the one of the coolest

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things they get a shared experience together
that none of them, none of them

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have ever seen, done or felt
before. And so having that to pull

344
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from during the season and challenging times, I think it's it's crucial. And

345
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all of these kids have traveled as
athletes, but as you said, generally

346
00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:27.000
within the confines of the United States, but anybody who's gone overseas, especially

347
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to Asia, I found, uh, that is that is so different,

348
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isn't it. It brings some challenges, but it's kind of fun, isn't

349
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it. Yeah. I mean the
sleep deprivation, the way of life,

350
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the you know, the long hours
and the plane and you know, trucking

351
00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:52.119
your bag through airports and trains and
buses and you know all that stuff.

352
00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:56.160
It's it's you know, we're very
fortunate and privileged to be able to travel

353
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the way we do here in the
United States, and that's a whole different

354
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experience. And so absolutely, and
the players there in Japan, I mean

355
00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:10.079
they say take such pride and passion
for all of their possessions, and that

356
00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:12.799
was a really neat experience. And
it was leadership from the top down,

357
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from the seniors to the freshmen.
In those colleges, the seniors were the

358
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one doing the work showing the freshmen
how to get it done. When you

359
00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:23.519
were coming back, could you tell
or did you talk to them about the

360
00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:29.319
trip? I mean, I got
to think they really enjoyed it. Oh,

361
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for sure. We had the last
day, we had a kind of

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a debriefing meeting with everybody and they
shared some amazing different thoughts and experiences about

363
00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:41.119
what they saw, felt and witnessed
and and you know, so that this

364
00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:45.319
our team, I think, really
did a good job of having great perspective

365
00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.559
on what it was all about.
You mentioned at the very beginning that they

366
00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:52.960
found a different way to play volleybody
you mean that literally? I mean,

367
00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:57.279
is there a different style you all
played over there, or what? Oh?

368
00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:00.440
Absolutely, I mean you know that
the one thing that the Japanese are

369
00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:04.839
very aware of who they are and
what their strengths are and they do everything

370
00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:08.920
to maximize them, and so we're
more physical, taller, higher above the

371
00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:15.839
net, but very execute the skills
and defensive possessions as well as any teams

372
00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:18.839
that we've played since I've been in
Kentucky. And so it was very difficult

373
00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:23.400
to terminate the ball. And you
know, you just see just typically balls

374
00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:27.480
that were kills by us were being
played right back and and so you had

375
00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:30.799
to earn it and it was really
cool to see your team kind of have

376
00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:33.880
to figure that out. That's great. How many matches did you play?

377
00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:40.319
We ended up playing five matches,
and they're all against college teams there who

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00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:44.799
are all every maetative, and we
ended up winning four of them. Two

379
00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:48.279
of them went to distance. The
five sets, and but you know,

380
00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:52.200
there, I think there was only
two blowout sets. We got blown out

381
00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:55.440
in a set and we we blew
a team out and a set, and

382
00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:59.119
other other than that, it was
it was pretty close. That's that's perfect

383
00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:03.480
for what you need on And one
last question about this trip. It's not

384
00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:06.279
the same, I know as moving
a football team, but that's a lot

385
00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:10.920
of people to take a long way, and there's lots to do with visas

386
00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:18.240
and passports. Who gets the gold
star for organizational skills? Oh, I

387
00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:22.000
mean christ and Sanford, our director
of operations, was amazing with all of

388
00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:26.359
that. And Katie Eiserman, you
know, our administrator. You know,

389
00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:29.720
it's huge in that. And then
we have a company called Bring It Promotions,

390
00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:32.519
a guy named Tim Kelly has been
taking us on tours ever since and

391
00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:37.759
they do an outstanding job of keeping
us dialed in and organized and itineraries planned

392
00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:42.000
and just just you know, amazing
behind the scenes work from everybody. Excellent.

393
00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:47.160
Well, let's get back to one
of the original reasons I called you

394
00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:52.799
was because of the American Volleyball Coaches
Association First Served Showcase. It'll be here

395
00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:56.680
before you know it, right August
twenty seventh over in Louisville, and that

396
00:25:56.839 --> 00:26:03.079
gives you a head start on your
what does it mean to your program to

397
00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:08.000
begin the year with an event like
this so close to home. Well,

398
00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:11.440
first of all, this showcase used
to happen about ten or fifteen years ago,

399
00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:15.359
and we were part of it in
twenty ten. But to be able

400
00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:18.200
to do this and play three or
four days before everybody else in the country

401
00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:22.440
at the final four venue an hour
up the road and our fans have a

402
00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:26.400
chance that our fans need to buy
tickets soon because the teams that are there,

403
00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:30.240
Louisville, Wisconsin, and Nebraska all
all have a great following. And

404
00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:33.640
so we need to, you know, show up in blue with all those

405
00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:40.240
red schools that are could be in
this event and show what we're about,

406
00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:42.279
so a big blue nation. We
need you to start buying tickets on I

407
00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:48.160
believe it's June thirteenth or fourteenth,
but at an unbelievable event that we have

408
00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:51.000
the privilege of being invited to.
And man, are you biting off a

409
00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:56.119
big chunk You just read it off
three programs that are among the best in

410
00:26:56.519 --> 00:27:00.519
the country. You know, I
could see those fourteens being ranked one through

411
00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:06.680
four pre season. They will be
very highly ranked, and they will travel

412
00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:10.039
and they will be eating up tickets. And I don't have any doubt that

413
00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:14.480
this is going to be a sold
out event so at the young and it's

414
00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:18.440
going to be hyped all over the
place, and of course I know we'll

415
00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:21.240
do our part and can't wait to
see some Blue in the crowd for sure.

416
00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:23.640
Yeah, and it's going to be
somewhere on one of the ESPN flavors,

417
00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:29.440
but yeah, we urge you to
get there. You face Nebraska and

418
00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:34.279
U of L plays Wisconsin. People
who follow the Kentucky program might know that

419
00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:40.599
you your first year job prior to
Kentucky was at Nebraska. Craig, what's

420
00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:42.319
it like for you? And it's
been quite a while since you were there,

421
00:27:44.119 --> 00:27:47.480
but still I know what it meant
to you to work there and learn

422
00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:49.400
there. What's it mean to you
when your team faces off because you've played

423
00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:56.359
Nebraska a few times during your head
coaching career. Yeah, I mean it's

424
00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:59.599
it's, you know, one of
the most respected, you know, sports

425
00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:02.400
program and all of college sports,
you know, with the following they have

426
00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:07.039
the commitment they've had to volleyball itself. And I was fortunate enough to work

427
00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:08.839
in that program, And if I
didn't work in that program, I wouldn't

428
00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:11.960
be in the in the seed I
am today. So you know, certainly

429
00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:18.359
have a lot of respect for them, and and you know, obviously enormous

430
00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:22.119
amount of you know success with national
championships and you know, we were able

431
00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:26.640
to win one here a few years
ago and still haven't beaten Nebraska yet,

432
00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:30.319
So that's on the on the bucket
list. And then what not a better

433
00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:33.079
time to do it in August twenty
seventh, So you know, great chance

434
00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:37.440
for our program and certainly to be
mentioned in the same breath as them now

435
00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:41.359
as an honor for me personally,
but also for everyone of all the Kentucky

436
00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:45.200
I know you gave him a run
during the nca Tournament one year, but

437
00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:48.920
yeah, you need you need to
check that off the list. Every basketball

438
00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:55.519
fan in Kentucky knows how Kentucky basketball
became what it is the grassroots with the

439
00:28:55.519 --> 00:28:59.920
Adolf Rupp and then through the years, how did Nebraska become such a power

440
00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:06.359
in women's volleyball? Man they you
know, it started back in the eighties.

441
00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:10.400
A guy named Terry Pettitt was the
coach there and he always tells the

442
00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:14.400
story is he was peddling tickets door
to door and he would he would bring

443
00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:18.440
out he would bring out folding chairs
when they first started matches and what their

444
00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:22.839
their coliseum was in Nebraska campus,
and they started with you know, a

445
00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:25.640
couple of hundred, then in a
thousand, and then you know, by

446
00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:27.640
the time it got to the mid
nineties and they were selling out four thousand

447
00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:32.480
in their coliseum, and then they
had to you know, start over and

448
00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:34.519
go to the demanding center and now
they're getting eight or nine thousand people every

449
00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:40.880
game, and then had ninety two
thousand people in the football stadium last August

450
00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:44.240
for a preseason match. I mean, it's it started from the ground up

451
00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:48.000
and they did the leg work,
and you know it's it's uh. You

452
00:29:48.039 --> 00:29:52.359
know that Terry Pettitt John Cook has
done an unbelievable amount of that program in

453
00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:55.720
the sport of volleyball so well.
And that said, you referenced this past

454
00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:59.240
year during the postseason when you got
some some great crowds and during a regular

455
00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:03.920
season what it was like when you
first got here to Kentucky And obviously it

456
00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:06.880
was a great opportunity for you as
you as a head coach for the first

457
00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:11.400
time. But why did you think
that you could get You haven't quite gotten

458
00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:15.519
to where Nebraska is with crowds,
but you're getting there. Why did you

459
00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:22.279
think that was possible at UK?
To be honest, I had several chances,

460
00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:26.960
you know, to be a head
coach prior, and I wanted to

461
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:30.079
be the head coach at a program
that was the flagship institution of the state

462
00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:36.440
and had no pro sports in the
state. Because the fans live and die

463
00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:40.480
by their wildcats, and that's certainly
proven true to this point. We still

464
00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:44.000
got, you know, some steps
to go, but from where we started

465
00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:47.480
with about seventy five people in the
stands our first match to where we are

466
00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:51.559
now is the marathon away. But
we got another marathon to go, and

467
00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:53.319
you know, wouldn't want to do
it in any other place. Yeah,

468
00:30:53.400 --> 00:30:57.359
man, I remember covering in the
eighties. Lexion had hosted the Final Four

469
00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:00.359
and it was so great. That's
where I kind of got the bug,

470
00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:04.000
which, as you know, I've
had for quite a while. But it's

471
00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:08.599
been so much fun watching watching the
program grow. But I don't know if

472
00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:11.839
I ever heard that from you that
you had other opportunities to be a head

473
00:31:11.880 --> 00:31:15.839
coach. How tempting was it to
do the knee jerk thing and say yes?

474
00:31:15.960 --> 00:31:22.680
Or maybe it wasn't a knee jerk
thing. I mean it was.

475
00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:26.960
It was a good feel I you
know, I was offered the Iowa State

476
00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:30.880
job around the same time and interviewed
there, then came to Lexington and had

477
00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:33.319
lunch with Mitch and and to it
around. It just felt like a place

478
00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:37.519
that my wife, Megan and I
belonged, and you know, you just

479
00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:40.920
have a feeling sometimes, and the
same thing with recruiting. I mean,

480
00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:44.279
recruits have a feel and that's where
they belong. And you know, so

481
00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:47.000
I got that feeling when I was
here, and I'm like, this is

482
00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:48.720
this is where we're going. And
we thought we'd be here five years and

483
00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:52.079
here we are almost twenty years later, and then doing the same thing.

484
00:31:52.200 --> 00:31:57.920
So raising your kids and hoisting a
national championship trophy. And I've talked to

485
00:31:57.960 --> 00:32:02.680
Mitch occasionally when you he's gotten really
passionate about something and I can't imagine what

486
00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:09.359
the hard cell's like when he's trying
to hire somebody. Well, it's you

487
00:32:09.400 --> 00:32:15.519
know, he's a pretty pretty authentic
natural guy and he wants people that you

488
00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:19.559
know, kind of you know,
see the blue collar, down to Earth's

489
00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:22.559
mentality that that he does. And
you know, so, I mean,

490
00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:25.319
you're not you don't have to sell
a tank and to come to Kentucky.

491
00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:30.880
It's just a pretty pretty special place. We're talking with Kentucky volleyball coach Craig

492
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.440
Skinner. We're listening to the best
of the Big Blue Insider want to come

493
00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:38.160
here on six thirty w lap.
Hey, it's Dick Gabriel and you're listening

494
00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:43.720
to the best of the Big Blue
insider talk about Craig Skinner, Kentucky head

495
00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:49.680
volleyball coach, about the Wildcats opening
games or game in the ABCA First Serve

496
00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:52.319
Showcase coming up August twenty seven.
Keep an eye out for tickets. This

497
00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:58.200
is going to be a big deal
with the Wildcats taking on Nebraska, Louisville

498
00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:02.039
taking on Wisconsin. These are power
house programs and it would be great volleyball

499
00:33:02.359 --> 00:33:06.519
coming up August twenty seventh. Let
me ask you a little bit before I

500
00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:09.119
turn you loose about your roster.
You've got new faces, as always,

501
00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:13.839
that's all part of college sports.
Kids come and go. But Emma Groham

502
00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:17.519
is back, eleanor Bevan Molly tells
you you've got in Brooklyn and Aaron Lamb.

503
00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:21.880
You've got the core of what could
be a pretty special team, don't

504
00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:29.240
you really really good group of upper
classmen returning. We have a couple,

505
00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:32.200
you know, red shirt freshmen that
didn't play last year. They're super athletic

506
00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:37.480
and have a chance to be special
for us. And then a freshman class

507
00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:43.279
for well three freshmen and a transfer
d Laney Hogan from Xavier. But the

508
00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:46.799
freshman class is super athletic. You
know, got a chance to impact our

509
00:33:46.839 --> 00:33:51.880
program. And you know, so
the blend of upper class and a freshmen

510
00:33:51.960 --> 00:33:55.799
is exciting and you know, but
the margins are thin against teams like Nebraska

511
00:33:55.839 --> 00:33:59.480
with cottin Louisville, and you know, so we got to do over part

512
00:33:59.559 --> 00:34:02.759
you know this in August and training
to to's see how we can separate ourselves.

513
00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:07.599
The freshman couldn't go to Japan,
right, We actually were able to

514
00:34:07.639 --> 00:34:10.000
take our freshman this year. Change
that rule a couple of years ago,

515
00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:14.679
so we took three of them.
Unfortunately, one of them got hurt our

516
00:34:14.679 --> 00:34:17.400
first day of practice that you couldn't
make the trip, but you know,

517
00:34:17.440 --> 00:34:21.559
they they were able to come and
it was yeah, you're having that,

518
00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:24.840
you know, a couple of week
bump and time with us is huge for

519
00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:30.079
pre seasons. Yeah, just not
just the bonding, but learning the way

520
00:34:30.119 --> 00:34:31.840
that you want things done, I
mean live, live action, right,

521
00:34:34.280 --> 00:34:37.840
absolutely, No, it's huge.
For sure. What are we going to

522
00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:39.480
see from your team in terms of
the way you plays are going to be

523
00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:43.400
more of the same. You're gonna
have to tweak things. I mean every

524
00:34:43.480 --> 00:34:49.480
year is different. I know.
Yeah, our balance probably distribution might be

525
00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:52.360
a little different, but we want
to spread the net from antenna to antenna,

526
00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:57.400
go with speed. And you know, I think are blocking and serving

527
00:34:57.480 --> 00:35:00.320
has taken another step up this spring, which was a point of emphasis.

528
00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:04.159
So we were I think we were
the number one first of all side out

529
00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:07.639
team in the country last year,
and we needed to score some more easy

530
00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:09.599
points of the blocking defense. We
spent a lot of time this spring working

531
00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:14.039
on that and I think it's paying
off and you know, hopefully we see

532
00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:16.880
some of that in August and September. Emmac grom is a three time All

533
00:35:16.920 --> 00:35:21.599
American. Not a bad focal point, right, I mean, when you

534
00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:25.159
can build around somebody like that coach
on the floor, that's pretty obvious question,

535
00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:30.119
Craig. But how big is that
for you? Well, you always

536
00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:34.679
say that, you know, you
don't realize how good a quarterback or setter

537
00:35:34.760 --> 00:35:37.480
you have until they're gone. And
you know, I mean, Emma is

538
00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:40.760
a special talent. She's led the
country and assists a couple of times,

539
00:35:40.800 --> 00:35:45.159
and just a superior athlete. And
with her experience, you know, coming

540
00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:49.400
back, it allows us to put
our energy and focus on some other things

541
00:35:49.480 --> 00:35:52.280
that we need to shore up.
So Yeah, it's a great luxury to

542
00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:57.480
have a player like her with us
again. And Brooklyn Delay got a chance

543
00:35:57.559 --> 00:36:02.519
last year to blossom because you were
juggling some injuries and when the kids got

544
00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:06.559
healthy and came back, she made
you play her, didn't she. I

545
00:36:06.559 --> 00:36:10.039
mean she she picked up a lot
of early experience. That a real bonus

546
00:36:10.079 --> 00:36:15.480
for you. I think, Yeah, we knew what the talent she was

547
00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:17.320
coming in, but you never know
how quickly the freshmen are going to adjust.

548
00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:21.159
And you know, when she got
the opportunity to play in the back

549
00:36:21.239 --> 00:36:25.639
row midway through the season, she
became one of the best attackers out of

550
00:36:25.639 --> 00:36:30.400
the back row in the country.
And her attack percent is out of the

551
00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:35.280
back row is unlike any attack percents
we've ever had there. And so she

552
00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:38.920
grabbed that opportunity, ran with an
elite competitor, and she's getting a chance

553
00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:44.119
this summer with the USAU nineteen team
and oh wow, to try and qualify

554
00:36:44.119 --> 00:36:46.880
for the World Championships. So she
leaves to compete with usas you and fourteenth

555
00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:52.519
And yeah, special player. One
other question about a player that's Eleanor Bevin.

556
00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:57.800
It was only the libre of the
year as a true freshman. You

557
00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:01.559
have had I don't want to say
luck, but you've had success with Libro's

558
00:37:01.559 --> 00:37:05.840
defensive players, setters. You know, you've had some some of the big

559
00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:09.679
kids as well do incredibly well.
But what is it about your program?

560
00:37:09.719 --> 00:37:14.639
I guess it is I know a
lot of its talent evaluation and development.

561
00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:22.159
But it's been such a mainstay in
your program. You know that that started

562
00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:25.480
in the first year we came to
Kentucky. I've always felt like that you

563
00:37:27.920 --> 00:37:31.079
if you had good liberros, you
had good setters, you had a chance.

564
00:37:31.320 --> 00:37:34.599
And you know, I've always felt
like that. I think that if

565
00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:37.400
you have those two positions, I
think in any sport you know where you're

566
00:37:37.079 --> 00:37:40.320
have the numbers we do. If
you have two or three positions anchored down

567
00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:43.880
every year, you have a chance
to compete, and then you fill that

568
00:37:43.960 --> 00:37:46.679
around with people that gets a job
done. At crunch time, you're always

569
00:37:46.679 --> 00:37:50.679
in the conversation when you have players, good players in those two positions.

570
00:37:50.679 --> 00:37:52.880
And I think that, you know, you can say that for every top

571
00:37:52.920 --> 00:37:54.920
ten team, they have a good
setter and they have a good liberro,

572
00:37:55.199 --> 00:37:59.800
and we certainly don't ever want that
to change. Well, I'll let you

573
00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:02.880
go so this. This is a
really challenging time in college athletics for you

574
00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:08.199
coaches, really for everybody with a
portal with NIL, but particularly in the

575
00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:13.760
SEC. Now you've got two teams
coming in one in particular, it's going

576
00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:16.920
to make your life a lot more
difficult with Texas and Oklahoma joining the league?

577
00:38:17.320 --> 00:38:21.039
Are you looking forward to that?
Did you cringe when you heard it?

578
00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:24.400
How do you feel about that?
You know, I don't. I

579
00:38:24.400 --> 00:38:28.880
don't want to say we've ever gotten
comfortable, but winning seven SEC championships in

580
00:38:28.880 --> 00:38:30.000
a row, you know you kind
of like, oh, what else do

581
00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:34.440
when you do? But it certainly
doesn't get let you have any comfort at

582
00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:37.360
all. And you know, Texas
has won the last two national championships,

583
00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:40.480
so they have the target on their
back and you know, we got to

584
00:38:40.519 --> 00:38:46.039
figure out a way to challenge them
for our our conference championship and then compete

585
00:38:46.039 --> 00:38:51.280
for national champs So I love the
opportunity with situations like this, and that's

586
00:38:51.280 --> 00:38:53.840
why it came to the SEC because
Florida was dominating our league, and you

587
00:38:53.880 --> 00:38:57.760
know, it was a great chance
to kind of go after a program like

588
00:38:57.800 --> 00:39:00.039
that and this will be no different. Thank you so much. I appreciate

589
00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:04.159
it. Take care you're listening to
the best of the Big Blue Insider.

590
00:39:04.199 --> 00:39:37.000
Our number two is next here on
six point thirty w lap. Hey,

591
00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:39.400
it's Stick Gabriel. Welcome back to
the Big Blue Insider. Our number two

592
00:39:39.559 --> 00:39:44.760
taking a little time off, so
please enjoy the best of the Big Blue

593
00:39:44.760 --> 00:39:47.480
Insider. Joining us now as a
guy who's been with us many times here

594
00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:52.599
on the Celebrity Hotline. That's Tim
Sullivan, veteran sports writer. He is

595
00:39:52.639 --> 00:39:58.400
a freelancer over and Louisville, contributes
to Louisville's Leo Weekly. And Tim,

596
00:39:58.440 --> 00:40:01.000
welcome back. Haven't talked with you
in a while. Since then, so

597
00:40:01.119 --> 00:40:05.800
much has happened. But and I
don't want to sound like I'm dragging you

598
00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:07.840
in to talk about, you know, the rest in Peace segment of the

599
00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:13.760
show. But we've lost some important
people over the last couple three weeks,

600
00:40:13.800 --> 00:40:16.960
including Willie Mays. And you tweeted
that you got to see him play once

601
00:40:17.719 --> 00:40:22.239
in the All Star Game in nineteen
sixty nine. What were your memories of

602
00:40:22.280 --> 00:40:25.199
that and of just Willie Mays in
general, because you worked on the West

603
00:40:25.199 --> 00:40:30.360
Coast for a while. Yeah,
well, you know, I was fourteen

604
00:40:30.440 --> 00:40:36.000
years old when the All Star Game
came to Washington, and you know,

605
00:40:36.039 --> 00:40:40.159
we were the two closest cities were
both American leagues, so I never really

606
00:40:40.159 --> 00:40:45.039
got to see all the great stars
of the National League, which was really

607
00:40:45.079 --> 00:40:51.119
dominant at that time, except in
that nineteen sixty nine All Star Game.

608
00:40:51.159 --> 00:40:55.840
And I looked up the box score
last night and I saw that Willie Mays

609
00:40:55.880 --> 00:41:00.760
didn't even start the game. He
pinch hit and hit a fly ball to

610
00:41:00.760 --> 00:41:04.440
the right field, and that was
the extent of it. I don't think

611
00:41:04.440 --> 00:41:07.199
he played the field. He probably
was on a plane by the time the

612
00:41:07.239 --> 00:41:12.239
game ended. But that was the
only time I saw Hank Aaron play,

613
00:41:12.320 --> 00:41:22.000
and Roberto Clemente and William Covey,
a lot of really great stars who unfortunately

614
00:41:22.599 --> 00:41:28.760
that was before interleague play, so
there was no opportunity and I wasn't going

615
00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:35.920
to drive to Philadelphia as a fourteen
year old. Yeah, and we've talked

616
00:41:35.960 --> 00:41:38.079
so much about Willie Mage over the
last couple of days, and I never

617
00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:43.559
got to see him play in person, obviously on television, but from everything

618
00:41:43.679 --> 00:41:49.039
I've read and seen, I believe
he was the greatest all around player in

619
00:41:49.119 --> 00:41:52.559
the history of the game. Do
you share that or who else do you

620
00:41:52.599 --> 00:41:55.920
put up there. Well, I
think he kind of stands alone in that

621
00:41:57.079 --> 00:42:01.800
regard. Mean, Bob Costas was
analyzed that an interview I guess he did

622
00:42:02.480 --> 00:42:07.280
yesterday, and you know he said
that Ted Williams or Hank Aaron might have

623
00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:14.960
been better hitters. You know,
it's hard to compare him to the stars

624
00:42:15.239 --> 00:42:20.880
of the segregated era, Babe Ruth
and Na Cob. But you know,

625
00:42:21.400 --> 00:42:25.119
in my experience, you know,
I never saw anybody who could do everything

626
00:42:25.159 --> 00:42:30.000
that he did. I think he
let the league in stolen bases four times

627
00:42:30.079 --> 00:42:36.559
and home runs four times, and
you know it just was such a dynamic

628
00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:43.480
player in center field. I remember
growing up, the kid across the street

629
00:42:43.519 --> 00:42:46.440
was a big Willie May's fan,
and I was. I was a Mickey

630
00:42:46.440 --> 00:42:52.480
Mantle fan at that time, and
we had some vigorous debates. But as

631
00:42:52.559 --> 00:43:01.000
time went on and Mantles injuries accumulated, his run kind of the two in

632
00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:06.880
the mid sixties, I mean,
it was pretty clear that that May's had

633
00:43:06.920 --> 00:43:14.800
surpassed him. And you know,
you know, for most of my life,

634
00:43:14.840 --> 00:43:17.480
he's been the greatest living ball player, and he may have been the

635
00:43:17.480 --> 00:43:22.559
greatest ballplayer of them all. That's
very subjective. But you know, Ruth

636
00:43:22.639 --> 00:43:30.800
pitched, which gives him an extra
dimension. But I don't. I don't

637
00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:35.159
think he could run like likely May. You know what's fascinating to me is

638
00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:39.559
having read so much about him over
the last few days. The catch of

639
00:43:39.599 --> 00:43:44.320
the Vic Wurtz fly ball in the
Polo Grounds, the massive polo grounds.

640
00:43:44.800 --> 00:43:47.719
Willie May said that wasn't his best
catch, and he talked about a couple

641
00:43:47.800 --> 00:43:52.920
of others, including one where he
knocked himself out running into the wall against

642
00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:58.440
the Dodgers. When he woke up, there was Jackie Robinson standing next to

643
00:43:58.480 --> 00:44:00.400
him, just to make sure that
Willie had caught the ball. So when

644
00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:05.360
even Willie May says that wasn't his
best catch, that to me is staggering.

645
00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:08.159
Well when you when you think about
it, I mean this is this

646
00:44:08.280 --> 00:44:14.840
was a catch in the World Series, so it has a special cachet.

647
00:44:15.199 --> 00:44:20.840
Uh to me. One of the
most remarkable things about that catch is how

648
00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:23.320
quickly he got the ball back to
the infield and held a runner. Yes,

649
00:44:24.559 --> 00:44:37.079
but I've seen you over the head
catches. I think Jim Edvans may

650
00:44:37.079 --> 00:44:43.320
have done that a few times.
But I remember watching the game of the

651
00:44:43.320 --> 00:44:50.000
week, probably the mid sixties from
San Francisco, and he went up and

652
00:44:50.880 --> 00:44:55.159
his memory serves his foot was like
in the in the in the stomach of

653
00:44:57.920 --> 00:45:01.960
the left fielder went up and went
up catch the ball. I mean,

654
00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:06.800
I'd like to see a replay of
that. I don't I don't know that

655
00:45:06.840 --> 00:45:15.039
I have for probably fifty years.
But he he was indelible, and uh,

656
00:45:15.760 --> 00:45:19.719
you know, I think if you
look at at the numbers, you

657
00:45:19.840 --> 00:45:24.639
might conclude that that the Hank Aaron
was was was the better hitter. But

658
00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:31.400
boy Uhmed and everything. Yeah,
there's a there was a great line.

659
00:45:31.760 --> 00:45:37.519
He had a hit a triple once
and then somebody wrote the only man who

660
00:45:37.519 --> 00:45:42.280
could have caught it hit it.
Yeah, and then you know, we're

661
00:45:42.280 --> 00:45:45.440
all reminded that he lost a couple
of seasons to service. And I always

662
00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:50.199
think about that howling wind in San
Francisco that robbed him of home run.

663
00:45:50.320 --> 00:45:53.000
So, uh, we have also
lost Jerry West And you tweeted about him,

664
00:45:53.000 --> 00:45:57.519
and I talked on the show right
after tim that with my dad going

665
00:45:57.559 --> 00:46:01.840
to West Virginia, U he was
from Fairmont. I grew up a Jerry

666
00:46:01.840 --> 00:46:06.199
West fan. I knew who he
was, and I didn't realize until I

667
00:46:06.239 --> 00:46:09.760
read it no, but that Wes
was not a fan of the nickname Zeke

668
00:46:09.800 --> 00:46:15.079
from Cabin Creek because he really wasn't
from Cabin Creek. But the bottom line

669
00:46:15.159 --> 00:46:20.559
is a tremendous player who has denied
so many opportunities to win a title.

670
00:46:20.599 --> 00:46:25.000
He did win the one, but
also was the architect of championship teams.

671
00:46:25.039 --> 00:46:30.559
So when you put those two facets
together, he was absolutely one of the

672
00:46:30.559 --> 00:46:32.639
all time greats, wasn't he.
Yeah, well, I think he's in

673
00:46:32.679 --> 00:46:37.320
the Hall of Fame for three different
achievements. You know, one is an

674
00:46:38.400 --> 00:46:43.800
executive, one as a player,
and then I think he was in there

675
00:46:43.800 --> 00:46:51.239
also as a member of the Olympic
team in nineteen And you know, I

676
00:46:51.280 --> 00:46:54.119
was talking to somebody. I guess
it was a few days ago, and

677
00:46:54.199 --> 00:47:00.119
I so, here's a great trivia
question for you. And you named the

678
00:47:00.159 --> 00:47:06.639
only player in baseball, football,
and basketball to be named the MVP of

679
00:47:06.719 --> 00:47:10.199
the championship from a losing team,
and he was one of them. Yeah,

680
00:47:10.400 --> 00:47:15.239
you can get the other two.
I'm gonna be really impressed. Uh,

681
00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:21.639
Chuck Howley for good, I do
not know baseball. Bobby Richardson,

682
00:47:22.960 --> 00:47:31.519
no kid, when the Pirates won
on Masarowski silm Run. Oh yeah,

683
00:47:31.679 --> 00:47:37.719
I remember reading about that series,
Tim where the Yankees scored one thousand runs

684
00:47:37.159 --> 00:47:40.119
and the and the Pirates scored a
handful of runs, but they scored just

685
00:47:40.280 --> 00:47:44.800
enough four times. So But anyway, getting back to West, I don't

686
00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:47.039
know if you watched any of these
made for TV series, but I I

687
00:47:47.320 --> 00:47:51.320
don't have HBO, so I didn't
see the one. But uh, in

688
00:47:51.440 --> 00:47:55.519
reading about him, I didn't realize
that he was such a tortured soul because

689
00:47:55.920 --> 00:48:00.440
you could understand it because they could
not get past the Celtics. Did you

690
00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:06.639
know much about that? You know, I I remember reading about that,

691
00:48:06.760 --> 00:48:10.840
and you know I watched some of
those games as a very young boy.

692
00:48:10.880 --> 00:48:17.320
But you know, he was such
a dynamic player, and he and Baylor,

693
00:48:17.920 --> 00:48:22.599
Algian Baylor were you know, tremendous
combo. But you know, the

694
00:48:22.679 --> 00:48:27.719
Celtics were so stacked in those days, and you know, if you could

695
00:48:27.760 --> 00:48:31.440
get past Pablo Cik and Sam Jones, you had to deal with Bill Russell.

696
00:48:34.079 --> 00:48:38.280
So you know, I think he
was kind of a filtering of the

697
00:48:38.320 --> 00:48:43.840
Windmill in a way. I mean, just they were a little bit out

698
00:48:43.920 --> 00:48:47.519
manned, although you know, they
they took him to the wire several times

699
00:48:47.559 --> 00:48:54.039
and before they finally got wilt and
broke through. But you know, he

700
00:48:54.159 --> 00:49:04.320
was tremendous fun to watch. And
I was talking to Bob Galvano about the

701
00:49:04.559 --> 00:49:09.519
nineteen seventy shot that he made the
force overtime against end up losing the game.

702
00:49:09.599 --> 00:49:14.840
But I mean, what everybody remembers
is that shot. Yeah. I

703
00:49:14.840 --> 00:49:22.119
mean, sometimes the guy from the
losing team is more compelling than the winner,

704
00:49:22.280 --> 00:49:25.039
just because of, you know,
the burden he as the bear and

705
00:49:25.079 --> 00:49:31.239
the performance that he has to do
to keep his team in it. And

706
00:49:31.880 --> 00:49:37.079
I always think of Jerry West as
this noble warrior who is just a little

707
00:49:37.079 --> 00:49:43.840
bit out of his depth when it
came to the overall talent on his team

708
00:49:43.920 --> 00:49:49.239
versus the Celtics. Yeah, and
he played three times with West Virginia and

709
00:49:49.320 --> 00:49:53.400
the UK Invitational tournament has three double
doubles, so obviously one of the best

710
00:49:53.400 --> 00:49:57.639
players ever to come through lexing.
And we're talking with Tim Sullivan, freelance

711
00:49:57.639 --> 00:50:04.880
sports writer over in Louisville. You're
listening to the best inside talking to Tim

712
00:50:04.960 --> 00:50:08.719
Sullivan, foreland sports writer based in
Louisville. And Tim, before we talk

713
00:50:08.960 --> 00:50:13.960
more sports, I did want to
ask about a tweet of yours that came

714
00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:17.920
a couple of weeks ago, when
you said you were fortunate enough to accompany

715
00:50:17.960 --> 00:50:22.880
a D Day veteran back to Normandy
when you were with the Cincinnati Inquirer.

716
00:50:22.920 --> 00:50:27.119
I didn't know that you had done
that. Tell me about that. That

717
00:50:27.199 --> 00:50:31.320
must have been an incredible experience.
It was. It was really one of

718
00:50:31.320 --> 00:50:37.960
the most memorable things I've done in
my career. And you know, as

719
00:50:37.000 --> 00:50:43.559
the fiftieth anniversary of D Day was
coming up, I had the idea that

720
00:50:43.800 --> 00:50:47.960
maybe there was a D Day veteran
in town who would be willing to retrace

721
00:50:49.000 --> 00:50:52.400
his steps, and I talked to
maybe half a dozen of them, and

722
00:50:52.440 --> 00:50:58.920
they're probably all gone now, but
you know, I found a gentleman named

723
00:50:58.960 --> 00:51:06.920
Erry Wecter. It was a medic
and hit Utah Beach on that morning and

724
00:51:07.480 --> 00:51:14.800
you managed to survive. And we
went to England and France and you know

725
00:51:15.480 --> 00:51:22.119
other places that he had stopped during
his his time, and it was just

726
00:51:22.840 --> 00:51:28.519
it was an honor really to be
a part of that. And we went

727
00:51:28.840 --> 00:51:36.719
before the fiftieth anniversary, so all
of our stories could be prepared before that

728
00:51:37.119 --> 00:51:44.599
exact date. But I remember we
were walking through a museum somewhere in France,

729
00:51:44.639 --> 00:51:51.000
and I I didn't sense that I
was getting the reaction that that that

730
00:51:51.039 --> 00:51:52.360
I had hoped for. And I
said, Harry, would you mind wearing

731
00:51:52.400 --> 00:51:58.480
your VFW hat? And he did, and this this gentleman comes over to

732
00:51:58.559 --> 00:52:05.000
him and says, thank you for
saving me country. That was. That

733
00:52:05.159 --> 00:52:12.159
was pretty emotional for I think for
all of us. And I think back

734
00:52:12.199 --> 00:52:16.079
to that trip and pat Ready was
a photographer from the Inquiry. He was.

735
00:52:16.519 --> 00:52:22.480
He came along and documented it,
and I remember spending about an hour

736
00:52:22.519 --> 00:52:27.920
and a half on Utah Beach waiting
for him to get the light just right

737
00:52:28.000 --> 00:52:31.800
for the main photo. And it
was worth it, I think. And

738
00:52:34.119 --> 00:52:39.199
and I miss Harry, and he's
been gone now probably twenty years. But

739
00:52:40.760 --> 00:52:46.000
that was. That was a tremendous
assignment. One of my next door neighbors

740
00:52:46.039 --> 00:52:50.440
several years ago was a veteran.
In fact, he played a key role

741
00:52:50.519 --> 00:52:53.719
in getting the World War Two memorial
erected in Washington, d c. And

742
00:52:53.760 --> 00:52:57.920
in fact, they sent an honor
flight to get him when they unveiled it.

743
00:52:59.119 --> 00:53:04.199
Archie Deadman. But he told me
one story about World War Two.

744
00:53:04.199 --> 00:53:07.039
But as you probably know, veterans
don't like to talk, especially D Day

745
00:53:07.119 --> 00:53:10.760
veterans about what happened there. Did
you get Harry to open up a little

746
00:53:10.800 --> 00:53:15.639
bit about his experience, Not as
much as I would have hoped, And

747
00:53:15.920 --> 00:53:23.639
you know, he was kind of
reticence and did not go into great detail

748
00:53:24.599 --> 00:53:30.360
about V Day itself. You know, there were some interesting stories about,

749
00:53:30.440 --> 00:53:35.239
you know, when he was stationed
in England waiting for the invasion, and

750
00:53:36.559 --> 00:53:39.360
some of the things that happened to
him, you know, along the way,

751
00:53:39.480 --> 00:53:49.199
but very terse when it came to
the battle itself. But there were

752
00:53:49.239 --> 00:53:55.719
you know, there were some veterans
who were much more animated and detailed,

753
00:53:55.840 --> 00:54:01.840
But Harry was a wonderful guy and
I wouldn't have traded him for any of

754
00:54:01.880 --> 00:54:05.719
them. Yeah. Well, let
me shift you back to sports. You

755
00:54:05.760 --> 00:54:09.599
have tweeted and written as well about
the Kentucky Speedway and that was such a

756
00:54:09.639 --> 00:54:15.440
great place to be on racing weekends, and then the races go away,

757
00:54:15.440 --> 00:54:17.519
and now that's a big parking lot. Do you have any hope that we're

758
00:54:17.519 --> 00:54:23.239
going to see significant races there again
in the near future. I would say

759
00:54:23.280 --> 00:54:34.159
the near future is pretty unlikely.
The NASCAR schedule is packed and in order

760
00:54:34.199 --> 00:54:37.920
to get a race, you basically
have to take one from somebody else,

761
00:54:37.159 --> 00:54:42.920
right, you know that's here.
I mean the owners of the track.

762
00:54:43.679 --> 00:54:47.960
They on eleven tracks, and they
decided to move the Quaker State four hundred

763
00:54:49.639 --> 00:54:53.039
to Atlanta, which is another track
they own, and you know, that's

764
00:54:53.119 --> 00:55:00.280
kind of the heart of NASCAR country. So I don't know what kind of

765
00:55:00.280 --> 00:55:05.760
attendance they've had there. NASCAR doesn't
announce attendants. Sometimes you can find it

766
00:55:05.800 --> 00:55:12.639
in documents, you know, when
they apply for refunds or or subsidies from

767
00:55:12.639 --> 00:55:20.199
the state. But I think it's
pretty unlikely that that you'll see racing there

768
00:55:20.239 --> 00:55:27.480
anytime soon. Although h Denny Handlin, the driver, was talking about the

769
00:55:28.440 --> 00:55:32.679
shift to more mile and a half
tracks, and he mentioned Kentucky Speedway on

770
00:55:32.800 --> 00:55:38.000
his podcast last month. Uh,
you know, his possibility. But you

771
00:55:38.039 --> 00:55:42.280
know, he added that there'd be
a lot of work that had to be

772
00:55:42.320 --> 00:55:47.599
done. You know, it's been
almost four years now since the last race,

773
00:55:47.639 --> 00:55:53.320
and I don't know that they've done
a lot to maintain the track,

774
00:55:53.440 --> 00:55:58.639
and it probably needs a lot more
than a pay job at this point.

775
00:55:58.760 --> 00:56:06.079
But you know, the big problem
I think is that the culture of our

776
00:56:06.280 --> 00:56:14.920
racing now is such that states are
throwing millions and millions of dollars at operators

777
00:56:14.960 --> 00:56:22.400
and NASCAR to attract and maintain races. And state of North Carolina I think

778
00:56:22.800 --> 00:56:31.400
divided forty five point eight million dollars
among seventeen tracks. Now that's and including

779
00:56:31.599 --> 00:56:37.440
eighteen million at North Wilkesboro, which
is a very small track and had not

780
00:56:37.599 --> 00:56:45.920
had a race in decades. But
they managed to spend enough money to attract

781
00:56:45.960 --> 00:56:49.400
the NASCAR All Star Race, and
they've had that a couple of years now.

782
00:56:51.119 --> 00:56:57.639
You know, I don't quite understand
how attract that size can command races

783
00:56:58.239 --> 00:57:06.320
when Kentucky's feed ways much bigger.
Yeah, and presumably could could draw a

784
00:57:06.840 --> 00:57:15.039
significantly bigger crowd. But if you
look at the statistics and the the refunds

785
00:57:15.079 --> 00:57:17.639
that they've gotten on sales tax,
tell me where you want to know.

786
00:57:17.679 --> 00:57:27.480
But from the first NASCAR race and
twenty eleven, the first Quaker Stay four

787
00:57:27.519 --> 00:57:34.760
hundred to the last one, the
decline in sales tax refunds that they received,

788
00:57:35.119 --> 00:57:38.400
which was a reflection of attendance pretty
dramatic. I mean, I think

789
00:57:38.440 --> 00:57:45.400
the last year was three hundred and
fifty three thousand as opposed to a peak

790
00:57:45.480 --> 00:57:50.440
of you know, one point one
four million. Wow. You know,

791
00:57:50.519 --> 00:57:57.519
so we don't know what the actual
attendance was, but that includes concessions and

792
00:57:57.719 --> 00:58:02.079
food and you know, anything that
charge sales tax on, so you get

793
00:58:02.119 --> 00:58:08.119
a pretty good glimpse of it.
I don't see the political will to subsidize

794
00:58:08.199 --> 00:58:15.320
the track to any greater extent that
it's already been, and it doesn't appear

795
00:58:15.360 --> 00:58:21.079
that the owners are in any great
rush to do anything. They're making money

796
00:58:21.119 --> 00:58:27.440
off of the parking of forwards XS
inventory, and I don't know if that

797
00:58:27.960 --> 00:58:32.679
covers all their costs. But they
do have ten other tracks that all have

798
00:58:32.840 --> 00:58:37.559
NASCAR races, so I don't think
they're hurting too much. Tim Sullivan is

799
00:58:37.599 --> 00:58:43.639
a freelance sports writer who has worked
on the West coast, Cincinnati, Louisville.

800
00:58:43.840 --> 00:58:45.639
Works out of Louisville now and you
can see some of his work in

801
00:58:46.400 --> 00:58:51.239
Leo Weekly, among other places.
Tim, thanks so much. Good talking

802
00:58:51.280 --> 00:58:54.840
to you, Chick. My pleasure
any time they're listening to the Best of

803
00:58:54.920 --> 00:58:59.519
the Big Blue Insider. More to
come here on six point thirty w LAP.

804
00:59:00.119 --> 00:59:02.800
It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to
the Best of the Big Blue Insider.

805
00:59:04.159 --> 00:59:06.920
Joining us now the Road Warrior Brian
Milo, He, like a lot

806
00:59:06.960 --> 00:59:10.840
of us, was out in Omaha
to cover those Kentucky Baseball Wildcats. And

807
00:59:12.119 --> 00:59:15.960
Brian, I like to call you, mister Baseball. Having played as you

808
00:59:15.000 --> 00:59:21.719
did at the college level, what
was it like for you going to Omah.

809
00:59:21.760 --> 00:59:22.880
I don't know if you've ever been
there for the Cosworld Series, but

810
00:59:22.920 --> 00:59:27.639
to go and cover a team you
have covered for so long, it had

811
00:59:27.679 --> 00:59:30.960
to be like, you know,
making a pilgrimage in the Holy Land.

812
00:59:30.960 --> 00:59:37.559
For you, it was. And
I think of another Louisavillion ned Baty,

813
00:59:37.960 --> 00:59:40.199
who passed a couple of years ago, in the movie Rudy, when he

814
00:59:40.280 --> 00:59:45.119
said, this is the most beautiful
sight these eyes have ever seen. You

815
00:59:45.159 --> 00:59:49.840
know, it was a big deal
for me. I had never been to

816
00:59:49.880 --> 00:59:52.519
Omaha to cover the College World Series, order to be at the College World

817
00:59:52.559 --> 00:59:58.119
Series, but I was there in
March to cover more heads eight that's right.

818
00:59:58.800 --> 01:00:05.559
And my hotel room was right behind
home late and I remember telling my

819
01:00:05.679 --> 01:00:07.519
dad, I mean, you opened
the curtains and there's the statue, And

820
01:00:07.519 --> 01:00:12.679
I told my dad, maybe this
is foreshadowing for the baseball Wildcats, And

821
01:00:12.760 --> 01:00:19.079
sure enough it was. Yeah,
Hotter and blazes. But still, you

822
01:00:19.119 --> 01:00:23.000
know, some broad enough breeze so
we could survive it. But still the

823
01:00:23.159 --> 01:00:29.079
entire town was full of baseball fans
literally, wasn't it. Yeah? It

824
01:00:29.199 --> 01:00:34.639
was. And when I checked out
yesterday morning, there was a gentleman at

825
01:00:34.639 --> 01:00:38.079
the hotel. He said, people
just don't understand. This is a ten

826
01:00:38.239 --> 01:00:44.639
day Christmas celebration for the city of
And I didn't think about that. But

827
01:00:45.159 --> 01:00:50.639
when you also factor in how many
Little League teams and I say little League,

828
01:00:50.639 --> 01:00:53.719
they're baby Bruce cal Ripken whatever they're
calling them in these days, perfect

829
01:00:53.760 --> 01:01:00.639
game, what have you. There
were more than six hundred teams in the

830
01:01:00.679 --> 01:01:07.800
Omaha area from age eight to eighteen, I guess that were participating in tournaments.

831
01:01:07.840 --> 01:01:12.159
And they purposely do that so the
kids can also come to the College

832
01:01:12.199 --> 01:01:16.639
World Series. And I thought,
what a genius marketing move to hold those

833
01:01:16.679 --> 01:01:22.400
tournaments in the same city at the
same time, so to speak, so

834
01:01:22.440 --> 01:01:29.559
you can go and enjoy it.
And you see the city just open up

835
01:01:29.559 --> 01:01:37.159
its arms in a way that maybe
only Oklahoma City does for softball. That

836
01:01:37.239 --> 01:01:40.840
it's unique because football, they're all
over the country. Basketball you're all over

837
01:01:40.880 --> 01:01:46.440
the country. And then you only
get four teams to the final four.

838
01:01:46.519 --> 01:01:53.199
Well, baseball, you get eight
and you bring in ages from five to

839
01:01:53.360 --> 01:01:59.480
ninety five. I've been to Oklahoma
City for the College World Series when Kentucky

840
01:01:59.519 --> 01:02:02.119
went, but our hotel wasn't right
in the middle of downtown, nor was

841
01:02:02.159 --> 01:02:08.599
the stadium, So I can't draw
that parallel. But yeah, I think

842
01:02:08.639 --> 01:02:15.199
you'll agree that Omaha has a bit
of a reputation just it's Omaha. It's

843
01:02:15.239 --> 01:02:20.000
Nebraska's in the Midwest. But you
talk about vibrant, I mean the architecture,

844
01:02:20.039 --> 01:02:24.239
the buildings are fascinating, They're gorgeous, and downtown is lit up.

845
01:02:24.239 --> 01:02:28.519
And I don't mean just the office
lights in the buildings. I mean all

846
01:02:28.559 --> 01:02:34.159
these art projects are lit up.
And it's just fascinating, isn't it.

847
01:02:34.159 --> 01:02:39.119
It is, it's and I think
it's just the aura. Omaha knows who

848
01:02:39.159 --> 01:02:45.519
it is, if that's such praise, and they know for these ten days

849
01:02:45.159 --> 01:02:50.599
they must be perfect. Yeah,
if the picture ever throws a perfect game

850
01:02:50.679 --> 01:02:52.639
or a no hitter, the city
of Omaha, if it was a picture,

851
01:02:52.760 --> 01:02:57.760
they know for ten days they have
to be flawless. And you don't

852
01:02:57.920 --> 01:03:02.440
see you don't see problems. Outside
of the stadium. People are friendly,

853
01:03:02.519 --> 01:03:06.840
they're getting along for the most part. Yeah, you may have a discussion,

854
01:03:06.880 --> 01:03:09.480
a heated discussion about which team is
better or who's going to win,

855
01:03:10.039 --> 01:03:14.800
but you see people all of the
time, Hi, her, are you

856
01:03:14.840 --> 01:03:17.679
good morning? Good morning? Hey, go Cat, go Aggie's go Gators,

857
01:03:17.760 --> 01:03:27.440
whatever, And it is just a
fraternity of baseball people that it was

858
01:03:27.519 --> 01:03:35.320
so enlightening and refreshing to see people
genuinely happy just to be at a location.

859
01:03:37.039 --> 01:03:40.440
And then afterwards you go out and
you see these same people and they're

860
01:03:40.480 --> 01:03:46.599
rehashing the game from earlier and for
the games and just a it is.

861
01:03:46.679 --> 01:03:52.360
As I mentioned on social media,
it's the highlight of my career. I've

862
01:03:52.400 --> 01:03:55.480
been to like you, been to
final fours, Bowl games, Kentucky derby,

863
01:03:55.519 --> 01:04:00.280
PGA championships, on and on and
on. Nothing in my professional life

864
01:04:00.280 --> 01:04:05.360
will ever equippse what took place this
past week because it was the first time.

865
01:04:06.000 --> 01:04:12.159
As I mentioned in the postgame interview
to Nick minzion, I said,

866
01:04:12.199 --> 01:04:15.320
you know, for decades it was
the question was when will Kentucky get here?

867
01:04:15.360 --> 01:04:18.639
And now the question is when will
Kentucky get back? That's right,

868
01:04:19.039 --> 01:04:21.760
because we've all had a taste of
it. Although as you know, I

869
01:04:21.840 --> 01:04:27.239
was there forty years ago, but
not covering Kentucky. That's a different animal.

870
01:04:27.760 --> 01:04:30.280
And to see I still talk about
I don't remember who it was.

871
01:04:30.320 --> 01:04:34.840
It might have been a Tennessee fan
who predicted on Twitter the UK fans would

872
01:04:34.880 --> 01:04:41.079
not show up in Omaha. Could
not have been more wrong. And Tom

873
01:04:41.119 --> 01:04:44.679
Hart took up for the Big Blue
Nation from the SEC network. And you

874
01:04:44.679 --> 01:04:47.119
know I gauged it. I mentioned
this on the show last night, Brian.

875
01:04:47.159 --> 01:04:51.679
But I'm sure you saw the omavalls
Oma pack, you know, with

876
01:04:51.800 --> 01:04:56.719
different T shirts. I tried to
find an Oma Cats T shirt for a

877
01:04:56.760 --> 01:05:00.480
friend of mine and I found one
store that had three shirts remaining. They

878
01:05:00.480 --> 01:05:04.079
were all like two X and three
X. I couldn't buy one. That

879
01:05:04.159 --> 01:05:08.400
to me was as good a barometer
as any. You couldn't find an Oma

880
01:05:08.440 --> 01:05:16.599
Cats shirt? Do you need a
large shirt Oma Cats? Yes? Well

881
01:05:16.639 --> 01:05:24.159
I bought something else. But let
me find out. I know a guy.

882
01:05:24.280 --> 01:05:29.079
Oh, you know a guy.
Okay, you know a guy you

883
01:05:29.159 --> 01:05:34.000
mentioned the postgame news conference with Nick, and I really think he was a

884
01:05:34.079 --> 01:05:38.280
hit. I think UK was a
hit. The dugout, the style,

885
01:05:38.800 --> 01:05:43.800
the way they won the game.
The town was talking about him. They

886
01:05:44.000 --> 01:05:53.599
absolutely and Nick Minze he captured the
variable fan the X factor. Well who

887
01:05:53.599 --> 01:05:57.480
do we root for? You know, that day before and I said this

888
01:05:57.559 --> 01:06:01.079
on social media again, he just
and I don't know if he meant to

889
01:06:01.119 --> 01:06:06.519
do it. Nick is very calculated
now true, but I don't know if

890
01:06:06.519 --> 01:06:11.199
he understood it at the moment.
Maybe he did, and to his credit,

891
01:06:11.280 --> 01:06:16.199
he probably did. But I think
he just coined the baseball phrase for

892
01:06:16.400 --> 01:06:20.559
the Wildcats, let it be the
Cats. And when he said, if

893
01:06:20.599 --> 01:06:24.599
you're looking for a team to root
for, if you let it be the

894
01:06:24.679 --> 01:06:28.519
Cats, and I just thought,
that's gold, Jerry, that's gold.

895
01:06:28.840 --> 01:06:33.480
You know, he just hit it. And sure enough people from Florida were

896
01:06:33.519 --> 01:06:39.559
wanting the Cats to win. For
Florida State fans, they were wanting the

897
01:06:39.599 --> 01:06:42.719
Cats to win. Other teams that
don't like Texas, A and M were

898
01:06:42.840 --> 01:06:46.519
wanting Kentucky to win because they are
there for the first time, and they

899
01:06:46.559 --> 01:06:51.119
did. And when you win the
way they did the first time, North

900
01:06:51.159 --> 01:06:56.280
Carolina fans were rooting for Kentucky to
be in C state because of all the

901
01:06:56.400 --> 01:07:02.800
rivalry elsewhere of the other seventeen means, Carolina adopted UK to beat in the

902
01:07:03.000 --> 01:07:06.679
states, and then Florida State fans
were cheering for uk to beat Florida.

903
01:07:06.760 --> 01:07:11.960
I mean it was Bucky was the
X factor in that tournament in terms of

904
01:07:12.000 --> 01:07:15.880
the fans, and they nailed it. Bryan Mile and my guest from WKYT

905
01:07:15.159 --> 01:07:18.280
were listening to the Best of the
Big Blue Insider. More to come here

906
01:07:18.320 --> 01:07:24.280
on six thirty WLAP. It's Dick
Gabriel, Welcome back to the Best of

907
01:07:24.360 --> 01:07:29.440
the Big Blue Insider for talking with
Brian Mylin, sports director WKYTE back from

908
01:07:29.440 --> 01:07:32.800
Omaha after the weather delay in the
tournament and then the weather delay with his

909
01:07:32.880 --> 01:07:36.760
flight, But it's all worth it. In that moment, Brian, I

910
01:07:36.840 --> 01:07:43.079
told somebody, I said, I
had to blink and reprocess Mitch Day's home

911
01:07:43.159 --> 01:07:45.159
run and I had to shake my
head like did I just see an instant

912
01:07:45.199 --> 01:07:50.440
replay of something else? This is
an incredible moment that anybody was there will

913
01:07:50.480 --> 01:07:55.960
never forget. You talked about it
earlier, but and you having seen a

914
01:07:55.960 --> 01:08:00.360
million baseball games, that's got a
rank right up there with you. It

915
01:08:00.400 --> 01:08:05.039
does. And the thing about it
that I don't think you think about at

916
01:08:05.039 --> 01:08:12.400
the moment, because there's a great
quote that says baseball is wonderful in its

917
01:08:12.480 --> 01:08:16.439
rehash. It's endless because we lived
that moment. But if you think about

918
01:08:16.439 --> 01:08:20.159
it, the pits takes less than
a half a second to get the home

919
01:08:20.199 --> 01:08:25.199
plate, the ball is hit and
it goes out of the park in less

920
01:08:25.199 --> 01:08:30.479
than three seconds. And all of
that takes place in a matter of four

921
01:08:30.479 --> 01:08:35.399
to five seconds. The swing,
the ball landing, and then the celebration

922
01:08:35.640 --> 01:08:43.199
takes a long time, but in
our imagination we see it in slow motion.

923
01:08:43.760 --> 01:08:46.720
And it dawned on me the next
day or two days later watching batting

924
01:08:46.760 --> 01:08:51.039
practice. The ball flies out the
fast, but in the moment you're so

925
01:08:51.199 --> 01:08:56.439
caught up in everything. But for
those who watched it, for the rest

926
01:08:56.479 --> 01:09:00.920
of their lives, that will be
in slow motion. And the video of

927
01:09:00.960 --> 01:09:05.720
from the first from the third day
dugout, they got nick in Gill going

928
01:09:05.760 --> 01:09:12.319
down to one knee in that emotional
moment. I mean, it was the

929
01:09:12.439 --> 01:09:17.640
perfect ending to Kentucky's first game in
the College World Series. It really was,

930
01:09:17.720 --> 01:09:23.279
and it's it's a timeless moment that
for those who were there, they

931
01:09:23.319 --> 01:09:27.319
will be able to cherish that for
the rest of their lives because the sound

932
01:09:28.159 --> 01:09:32.319
of the unexpected is what's so beautiful
in baseball. You wind up the toy

933
01:09:32.680 --> 01:09:36.000
over and over again, and nothing
happens, nothing happens, nothing happens,

934
01:09:36.000 --> 01:09:41.560
and all of a sudden, you
know, it's just like, oh my

935
01:09:41.640 --> 01:09:45.800
gosh, it's the unexpected, and
Mitchell Daily has the moment of a lifetime.

936
01:09:46.640 --> 01:09:51.159
And for Kentucky's first win at the
College World Series, there is a

937
01:09:51.279 --> 01:09:56.399
walk off. I mean, my
gosh, you know, and it's almost

938
01:09:56.640 --> 01:10:00.680
perfect that you can debate this all
you want, but for Mitch Daily to

939
01:10:00.720 --> 01:10:03.600
do it a guy who had played
not just I've been to Omaha, but

940
01:10:03.640 --> 01:10:09.039
had played in a couple of College
World Series with a Texas team that is

941
01:10:09.199 --> 01:10:15.520
synonymous with success in the World Series. But his career had just kind of

942
01:10:15.560 --> 01:10:18.640
gone sour. With all due respect, you know, freshman All American,

943
01:10:18.720 --> 01:10:24.600
but his numbers dwindled. They recruited
over him. You know. Somebody I

944
01:10:24.640 --> 01:10:28.760
could not get more details, but
somebody said to me when I was down

945
01:10:28.800 --> 01:10:31.399
in Texas. Yeah, it's a
shame the way his career ended up at

946
01:10:31.439 --> 01:10:34.760
Texas with him and the coach.
And he hasn't said much about it,

947
01:10:34.800 --> 01:10:41.479
but he just moved on. And
for him to make that statement I thought

948
01:10:41.600 --> 01:10:47.640
was perfect. Yeah, you know
that that is the one thing about sports

949
01:10:47.680 --> 01:10:51.800
and certainly baseball, since I'm a
baseball guy and you are too in many

950
01:10:51.840 --> 01:11:00.800
ways, and that it just hits
harder when there's a story in baseball,

951
01:11:01.520 --> 01:11:09.119
and yeah, the guy all American. This people put expectations on others that

952
01:11:09.239 --> 01:11:15.720
are justified, maybe not justified,
but in his career maybe. Yeah,

953
01:11:15.760 --> 01:11:20.000
it didn't take off the way it
was supposed to buy people's prognostications. But

954
01:11:20.119 --> 01:11:25.800
I think if you ask Mitchell Daily
at the end of the day, yet

955
01:11:26.079 --> 01:11:30.479
it worked out perfect. I mean, it's just that there is a redemption

956
01:11:31.439 --> 01:11:38.119
in sports, and especially baseball that
just hits home. And for people who

957
01:11:38.159 --> 01:11:43.359
say, well, sports isn't important
for this you go. You don't see

958
01:11:44.039 --> 01:11:50.119
two hundred thousand people showing up to
Omaha if it's not important. And for

959
01:11:50.239 --> 01:11:56.880
Mitchell Daily and for Ryan Nicholson to
have the tournament he had, golly,

960
01:11:57.359 --> 01:12:03.640
just wonderful and I'm so happy.
I was so happy for the baseball Wildcats

961
01:12:03.680 --> 01:12:11.920
and the fans because baseball was the
only SEC Kentucky was the only SEC baseball

962
01:12:11.960 --> 01:12:15.560
team that had never gone to Omaha. They'd never been and now they go

963
01:12:15.720 --> 01:12:23.920
and it's just okay, the sporting
the sports is complete. You've had softball

964
01:12:23.960 --> 01:12:28.640
go to the World Series. You've
had Obviously, basketball and football do their

965
01:12:28.680 --> 01:12:31.600
things, and other sports have won
championships and gone to national tournaments, made

966
01:12:31.760 --> 01:12:36.159
runs, what have you. But
baseball complete the picture. I think my

967
01:12:36.239 --> 01:12:41.479
greatest fear was that they lose to
and go home. You know, I

968
01:12:41.560 --> 01:12:46.079
told you for years the only box
score that I ever kept of a game

969
01:12:46.119 --> 01:12:50.840
I did not play in was that
twenty one inning UK kent State game from

970
01:12:50.920 --> 01:12:56.319
twenty twelve. Well have another box
score to put with it, and it's

971
01:12:56.399 --> 01:13:00.960
the box score of NC State of
the NC State game. And when you

972
01:13:00.039 --> 01:13:04.960
watch UK and you watch the other
teams, the other teams at the end

973
01:13:05.000 --> 01:13:10.199
of the day, because UK gets
eliminated, they were more talented because they

974
01:13:10.279 --> 01:13:16.079
moved on and they won. But
the infectious attitude of Kentucky when you look

975
01:13:16.079 --> 01:13:20.479
at INC State, they looked tight
the three or four days they were there.

976
01:13:20.920 --> 01:13:25.800
You look at some of the other
teams, they looked tight. Yeah,

977
01:13:26.000 --> 01:13:30.000
UK ran out of gas, but
they were with the exception of that

978
01:13:30.199 --> 01:13:36.119
seven run inning and the way the
Florida game played out, UK was having

979
01:13:36.159 --> 01:13:40.279
fun. Even the Texas A and
M game, You're like, hey,

980
01:13:40.279 --> 01:13:43.399
we lost, but we've got another
day when you saw some of the other

981
01:13:43.439 --> 01:13:45.039
teams, they were like, yeah, we lost, and we probably know

982
01:13:45.119 --> 01:13:49.239
we're done. And maybe UK had
that in the back of their head a

983
01:13:49.279 --> 01:13:55.560
little bit after that seven inning game
or that seven run inning where things just

984
01:13:55.760 --> 01:14:00.079
fell apart in a hurry. But
by gosh, they captivated the fans over

985
01:14:00.119 --> 01:14:04.159
there, and I think Nick Minzione
has a huge hand to play in that

986
01:14:04.319 --> 01:14:09.800
because of his attitude. I'm not
sure when's the last time the College World

987
01:14:09.840 --> 01:14:14.640
Series had a coach like Nick Minngione
who is like, hey, we are

988
01:14:14.760 --> 01:14:19.720
here, baby. Most of the
coaches, and most in any sport,

989
01:14:20.399 --> 01:14:24.840
you know, they're stern, They're
straightforward. They get to the point they

990
01:14:24.880 --> 01:14:29.479
don't have a lot of personality.
What coach Menzone was able to provide.

991
01:14:30.039 --> 01:14:35.279
Omaha, you know they want them
back again just because the kids reflect the

992
01:14:35.359 --> 01:14:41.840
attitude of their coaching staff. And
you see NC State Elliot event, he

993
01:14:42.000 --> 01:14:47.640
is just he rarely smiles. Tony
Botello rarely smiles, Kevin O'Sullivan rarely smiles.

994
01:14:47.720 --> 01:14:51.840
But it was just a breath of
fresh air to see a first timer

995
01:14:53.039 --> 01:14:57.039
with the attitude they had. He's
a charmer, no question about it.

996
01:14:57.079 --> 01:15:00.600
So is Brian milein from WKYT and
and to watch for his work, although

997
01:15:00.600 --> 01:15:03.520
not today because he's resting from the
trip back to Omar. Thank you,

998
01:15:03.560 --> 01:15:08.359
Sarah, we'll talk again soon.
You got it. Thank you Dick that

999
01:15:08.399 --> 01:15:11.359
I'll do it for now. Time
only for heroes, fools and flakes,

1000
01:15:11.840 --> 01:15:15.079
and our hero tonight, of course, is Willie Mays, the say Hey

1001
01:15:15.199 --> 01:15:19.680
Kid, passing at ninety three years
old. And as his son said,

1002
01:15:19.760 --> 01:15:26.239
he was somewhere in that celebration of
the Negro leagues and Willie May's life.

1003
01:15:26.880 --> 01:15:30.960
And again a tip of the cap
to Fox for the production job they did

1004
01:15:30.000 --> 01:15:35.279
on the telecast on the opening the
musical number with Jean Batiste, it was

1005
01:15:35.319 --> 01:15:41.359
just fantastic. But all the history
there unfolding right before our very eyes was

1006
01:15:41.439 --> 01:15:46.720
really entertaining and very informative. And
another tip to Fox I mentioned it earlier

1007
01:15:46.800 --> 01:15:51.840
for allowing Reggie Jackson the time it
took to tell his story, which was

1008
01:15:51.920 --> 01:15:56.960
quite frank and quite frightening. And
every time, you know, you've read

1009
01:15:57.079 --> 01:16:02.680
dozens and countless of a counts of
things like what Reggie went through, you

1010
01:16:02.720 --> 01:16:08.279
know, when it comes to athletes
just trying to play ball, and it's

1011
01:16:08.359 --> 01:16:14.039
just amazing that these guys made it
through and don't harbor more bitterness than they

1012
01:16:14.119 --> 01:16:19.560
do. But just just an eroic
situation altogether. Last night down in Alabama.

1013
01:16:19.680 --> 01:16:24.399
Are fool tonight. Well, it's
the media, not in general,

1014
01:16:24.479 --> 01:16:30.199
but anybody who takes part and has
a hand in the coverage of Bill Belichick

1015
01:16:30.880 --> 01:16:35.039
and his social life. Evidently he's
dating a twenty four year old. Yes,

1016
01:16:35.680 --> 01:16:41.119
it's weird. I know, he's
seventy two and he's twenty four.

1017
01:16:41.640 --> 01:16:45.760
There's ring camera video out there of
him leaving her place with his shirt off

1018
01:16:45.840 --> 01:16:50.680
or something like that. But it's
just And this is the New York Post

1019
01:16:50.760 --> 01:16:58.840
and other supposedly reputable media outlets,
but come on, do we really care

1020
01:16:58.920 --> 01:17:02.840
about this? I mean, it's
a waste of time. I've seen so

1021
01:17:02.920 --> 01:17:06.800
many stories about it. I finally
broke down the red one and it's just

1022
01:17:08.119 --> 01:17:11.760
odd. And of course the Daily
Mail in London having a big time with

1023
01:17:11.840 --> 01:17:15.960
it TMZ having a big time with
it. But folks, it's not worth

1024
01:17:15.960 --> 01:17:20.359
your energy, it's not worth your
time. But anyhow, that's the fool

1025
01:17:20.960 --> 01:17:27.279
for this week, our flake.
Kind of a flaky situation up in Canada

1026
01:17:28.119 --> 01:17:33.319
when the Florida Panthers were flying into
the Edmonton International Airport. One of the

1027
01:17:33.359 --> 01:17:38.039
air traffic controllers had a little bit
of fun. This is, of course,

1028
01:17:38.479 --> 01:17:44.680
ahead of tonight's championship game. The
air traffic controller made an announcement,

1029
01:17:44.720 --> 01:17:46.720
I got about a two hour hold
for you, or whatever it would take

1030
01:17:46.720 --> 01:17:50.800
for you to be low enough on
fuel that you have to divert from Edmonton.

1031
01:17:51.960 --> 01:17:57.039
I just hope the team had a
sense of humor and got the joke.

1032
01:17:57.880 --> 01:18:01.680
The Oilers are still trying to become
you're talking about flaky situation, the

1033
01:18:01.760 --> 01:18:09.840
first Canadian team to win the Stanley
Cup in thirty one years. Panthers took

1034
01:18:09.880 --> 01:18:14.239
the first three games and Edmonton came
back, took the next two, and

1035
01:18:14.279 --> 01:18:17.600
they host to night at eight o'clock
when ABC just a few minutes coming up.

1036
01:18:18.479 --> 01:18:21.399
So maybe they can push it to
a game seven. And there's nothing

1037
01:18:21.479 --> 01:18:28.359
better in playoff hockey, especially a
game seven. That'll do it for now.

1038
01:18:28.359 --> 01:18:30.760
Thanks for joining us for this special
edition the best of the Big Blue

1039
01:18:30.800 --> 01:18:34.680
Insider. That's it. Good night
from the garage in Lexington. Have you

1040
01:18:34.720 --> 01:18:40.439
ever been convicted of a felony or
at misdemeanor? That's the robbery Karthiff,

1041
01:18:40.439 --> 01:19:10.800
that's earthing convicted Yeah no, never
convicted. A name