It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine
day. Now here's Nick Coffee. You guys, remember whenever there were folks
out there that would tell us that there was not an appetite for sports gambling
here in Kentucky and that you know, it really wouldn't do that much for,
you know, helping out the state of Kentucky when it comes to,
you know, money, It's crazy to think that, you know, that
was really a thing, but it was, and those people were wrong Earlier
to Andy, Basheer says that the state has collected thirty seven million dollars in
taxes and licensing fees since sports wagering became legal just ten months ago. So
again, I'm I mean, that's exceeded expectations. I never felt as if
anybody who claimed it wouldn't be worth it, and you'd learn that people really
aren't that interested in gambling. I knew that was nonsense, But I guess
the amount of money, I don't really know what to compare it to,
but I will say that, you know, I don't think anybody thought they
would be this big of a boom. But it's been good and I'm sure
you can find some stories out there from folks who maybe it was something that
they learned about, experienced, and maybe they got carried away. But that
doesn't mean that it still shouldn't be something that we can do here legally,
because again, it's one of those things that a lot of people. I
mean, maybe it's just what I choose, but I think a lot of
people who do partake in sports wagering they do it for entertainment. They're not
trying to quit their job and be a professional gambler. I mean, if
you can and you can pull it off, good for you. But it
really is entertainment for a lot of people. And yeah, so that number
came out today, thirty seven million dollars in just taxes and licensing fees here
in the state of Kentucky since sports wagering became legal ten months ago. Why
do I feel like it's been legal for like years, I guess because I've
been doing it for a long time. Yeah, even before it was legal
here in Kentucky because we were the island. I mean, before it was
legal in Kentucky, every state that bordered us had legalized sports family So I
guess that's why it feels like it's been, you know, forever. All
right, it is Coffee and Company. We are feel about Thornton's here on
Sports Talk seven ninety. Appreciate you guys hanging out with us, and we
now welcome in our man, mister Zach Barnett of Football Scoop. He's our
official college football insider. Zach. I'll start with a direct question, what
gives you more? What has the potential to give you more fatigue? Maybe
it's already something you have fatigue over, maybe it hasn't happened yet. Colorado
still presenting themselves as a program that just won a national championship despite winning four
games last year, or people acting as if the Big Twelve adding Clemson in
Florida State is like a real thing. What do you think could well in
your line of work? What is a more annoying story out there that people
are talking about. Oh, this is an easy question. It's definitely the
Clemson and Florida State to the Big Twelve. I mean as just as pure
content as the story to both cover and and follow. There was a time
when when Realignment was was the hottest show on TV, and now it's it's
Gray's anatomy where none of the original cast members are still on and you're like,
they're still doing that. It's like, yeah, they get they're one
point five million a week, so they're gonna keep doing it as long as
they can. Like the realignment story, just as as entertainment has played out,
and the Dion thing at Colorado is novel, even though it's not as
hot as it was last year because there's no time like the first time.
But either in season two, either they're going to rise up and hit the
magical six wins and play in a bowl game and all that, or they're
going to crash and burn again, and either way it'll be entertaining. Yeah,
well, I want to get your thoughts. I got a couple questions
on both of those things, but I'll start with the realignment stuff. I
mean, I I used to really get into realignment stuff knowing that it was
mostly nonsense. I think as much as there has been a lot of movement
and a lot of musical chairs being played in commentsary alignment in the last fifteen
years or so, I think eighty five percent of what you saw on the
internet and that time was all nonsense. And even I knew that but it
was still just something to get you know, lost in the weeds on Maybe
it's me getting older, Maybe it's just the fact that like this one is
just it's so nonsensical to believe that like that would actually happen Florida and Clemson
Florida State and Clemson would have to pay five hundred and seventy million dollars to
get out of this grant of rights, which I feel like if they were
making really good progress on getting out of it, we would know by now.
But yet again people share, Like I guess I'll ask you this not
to play psychologists of the collegege football world, but I went to like three
different stories on Twitter from you know, legitimate sites to an extent, right,
it's not like your leaders of college football coverage. It's no football scoop
dot com. But the majority of the engagement is people acting like it's real,
and I just I cannot believe that, Like I mean, not that
people are nerding out on grain of rights terms and whatnot, but like,
I don't think it takes anybody to be an insider or even close to it
to realize like that's just such a non story that somebody is just engagement.
They're doing engagement farming. Yeah, I think so much of this in college
football is different in than pro sports because so much of college football we already
accept happens behind the scenes and off camera and behind closed doors through recruiting that
we since because program you know, head coaches don't go out and give press
conferences and gms don't give press conferences after they miss on a recruit. So
we are all conditioned to go to our veryious insiders who who tell us,
you know, whatever story they've gleaned, and a lot of times that they're
telling us what we want to hear, because you know that that's what pays
more often than not. And so realignment is just a souped up version of
recruiting in that way that all this stuff is happening behind closed doors and everything's
going to get done and the heroes are going to win in the end.
I think that's I think that's what's driving a lot of this. Zach Bardetta
Football Scoop is our guest joining us here on Sports Talk seven ninety back to
to Dion Sanders in Colorado. You know, last year, it, I
mean, numbers showed that it was a it was a. It was a
big It was popular following Dion seeing how he would, you know, how
he would potentially take his success at Jackson State to Colorado and the Big Twelve.
And anytime Deon Sanders says something, it usually moves the needle. I
mean, he has that impact and there's not that many people to do so,
I mean I can't really fight that. But as someone who covers college
football that reaches a wide audience across the country that loves the sport, how
interesting is Colorado in year two? Like? Where does it? I mean,
I'm not going to ask you to rank storylines, but I just feel
as if, you know, they were so bad last year, and yet
they still keep saying the same kind of things that they've typically said. I
mean, Shador Sanders saying that they're everybody's super Bowl, Deon Sanders during the
College Football Playoff last year, basically guaranteeing that his team would be in the
playoff this upcoming season. Like they're going to always say those things, I
think, regardless of results. But do you feel as if college football fans
are still going to gravitate towards it? Because last year, I mean,
the numbers showed that they did. Regardless of how bad they were, they
were continuously a talking point. Oh yeah, I mean in September they were
the number one story in all of sports and the most impressive thing that anyone
accomplished last year, you can argue, even more difficult than Michigan winning the
national championship was Colorado. We're ten million people to watch them play Colorado State
on a late Friday night game. I mean that that is, That's the
novelty that will never see It's something if you would have said it a year
prior, not a soul on the planet would have believed you. No,
absolutely not. And I think there's still easily a top ten story in the
sport. And it depends on how things go. But it'll either be a
top five, but it'll either be a story we can all point and laugh
at if if they suck again, or if they win and compelling, then
it'll be a comeback story at all that And you know Dion made the point
at Big twelve many days and he's not exactly wrong that. I mean,
he's not wrong at all. They got a lot better from where they were.
I mean, Colorado in twenty twenty two is absolutely atrocious. Not even
a Division I football team, and they went four eight, but that's massively
from where they were, and if they improve as much from twenty four to
twenty three, then there'll be a both team for sure. So I think
I think he's going to be a story for as long as he's coaching,
because next year you'll have all I'm doing Kerr, assuming he stays there.
If he leaves, then it'll be something I imagine if Lebron was fifteen years
from now as the head coach at the Northwestern and basketball or pictures fill Iowa.
I mean, that would be a massive story no matter what happens.
And I mean we've covered the prime story from before he even got the Texas
State job. We have been on his on this story for his entire college
football coaching career, and you know, our numbers show that there's interest well
beyond college football diehards here and that's not going to change, all right,
So I'm not really surprised that this seemingly has kind of went away. But
the Mike Gundy comment about him doing it a thousand times and being lucky meaning
what Ali Gordon did getting behind the wheel and being a with a legal limit
I mean that that that became sort of a viral club while we were on
the air a couple of days ago, and I mean I'm thinking, like
did he really just say that? Like is that? Did that mean what?
And then I think within twenty four hours, you know, because nobody's
really surprised that Mike Gundy said it. That it's kind of just nothing because
it's i mean, again, I don't think anybody would have predicted that he
would say that, and and it's certainly not something I think any other coach
would have said. But like that's kind of just Gundy being Gundy. He's
done it before, and he's still a made man and still water to where
you know, it's it's almost i mean, it's already gone because again,
like it's Gundhy. Yeah, he's he has tenure at Oklahoma State, more
than even you know, Nick Saban had in his peak at Alabama due to
his contract and his the equity that's he's built up there. I mean,
he's been a cowboy for all but five years of his adult life, and
until he became the head coach, he was basically the only good quarterback hat
and I'm sure there's actions of the Oklahoma state fan base that would love to
see him move on and was tired of his antics. But as long as
he keeps pumping out consistent winning teams, he's going to be able to stay
there for as long as you want. So he can rather a CONTROVERSI like
that, And certainly no one would sit here and admire or advise Mike Gunny
of a major state university to go out and admit to drunk driving a thousand
plus times. But I mean, he's not wrong. I can admit two
times in my life where I got behind a wheel of a car when I
shouldn't have, and luckily nothing happened to me. But I'm sure every single
person listening has had times like that as well if not. If not,
they're probably lying to themselves. And there's also a level of it to where,
like I mean, there's still a lot of value in just being honest,
and even though it's something most wouldn't have said, they would have been
a little more politically correct. I think everybody knows he was just being honest,
and there's still some you know, even if people can react to it
and say, hey, that's insane for a coach to say. I think
everybody knows he was literally just being brutally and directly honest. And again,
I think I hope there's always at least some value there in that. All
Right, one more question I wanted to get to you before we run out
of time. Here is your I guess, how have you Have you been
surprised to see the reaction online about the return of the EA Sports NCAA football
game, because, I mean, I knew it was going to be a
big deal, But I gotta be honest with you, I am taken aback
by how much it is really kind of led in again. And maybe it's
this time of the year where we're just waiting for football to start. Talking
season is a here, But man, I can't think of any game that
has ever gotten this kind of attention from the sports world. Yeah, I
think, yes, And no. I obviously we all knew it was going
to be a huge story. I didn't anticipate the interest in I guess kind
of the minutia that I didn't really care about, Like there's I'm certainly going
to buy the game and play it as often as my schedule OUs and and
played it, I'm sure, just like you, way too much in my
younger days. But people have hard sports opinions about some of the stuff.
Yeah, I've never even with in the game, like the ultimate team.
I have to raise my hand in a I don't even know what the ultimate
team is, and at this point I'm afraid to ask. But there's people
really fired up about it, and everybody's got their own opinion. Everybody's got
their own preferences. Like some people are gamers. I played sports games when
I was a kid, but I never have become like a gamer to where
I got into like you know, Call of Duty that kind of stuff.
But at times I see I see people on Twitter and even some people that
I know that I talk to, I want to just interject and say,
you realize this is a video game. Like people are fired up that,
you know, the Louisville defense may not be getting enough credit for me a
sports and I'm thinking like that that's not It's one thing to be upset about
preseason predictions from those who cover the sport, but this is a video game.
Yeah. Uh, I guess we just got to talk up to this
is the We're lucky that there's this much passion around college football, because the
alternative would be way worse but having I mean, we would evolve been if
it fired up to just have a generic college football game. It wasn't even
attached to current teams and players. But the fact that we can really play
with our favorite players with their own names is incredible. In any sort of
flaws or disagreement, we just got to take with agreed assault. All Right,
one more, I lied there's gonna be a player that announces his decision
to lead to leave his school and transfer via the portal. There's gonna be
some kind of a video that surfaces where he does it through the game,
right, Like the people are gonna players are going to use this to like
be creative and get views on social media because like there's going to be a
portal within the game, Like I'm I'm sure one of the big transfers that
happens, maybe it's actually a guy leaving the team midseason, or maybe it's
after next year, like I think, EA sports this game, it is
going to be intertwined within the actual sport of college football in a way like
we've never seen with MADD we've never seen with two K and in a way
that could be kind of fun. But again, I hope people realize this
is this is a video game. Yeah. I saw today Perdew announced new
uniforms through through the video game kind of sort of, but this is Yeah,
it's going to be a character within college football for all time moving forward.
You're right, it's I think it is going to be more intertwined to
college football than two k is to the NBA or Madden is to the NFL.
What was your favorite video game as a kid that was not a sports
game? I guess, uh, oh, Mario Kart, Yeah that was
sports game. I guess. No. I mean there's there's a competitiveness to
it as far as like racing, which I guess is you know, with
within the sports world. But no, I think, you know, I
think that checks out for not sports. Did you ever play tomb Raider?
I'm sure I did once or twice. I'm like you, I never played
any video game really that wasn't sports. I guess GoldenEye would be the game.
That's a good one the most time that wasn't sports. Yeah, I
played tomb Raider for a little while and I got into it because I thought
Laura Croft was hot, and then you know, kind of checked out and
then I played crash Bandicoot you know what that is. Yeah, that was
fun. But well, you know, the rumor, the rumor going around
my school, I'm sure, was that if you beat tomb Raider, Laura
Cross wouldet naked. Yeah. Yeah, I believe that and I was proven
wrong. Yeah. And that was also the rumor with the NFL Blitz game
as well, that Laura Croft would be naked if you beat NFL Blitz.
There was always that cheerleader. Okay, gotcha, that would be something.
Yeah, I mean, I'm not kidding you. That lower Croft thing was
like I think I stayed up like all night when night on a school night,
because I'm like, you know, I got this far now, and
you know, I was very, very disappointed to see that it was all
not real. So if you're still out there trying to beat the game,
you're not going to get the result you want. Smart viral marketing, no
doubt about it. Zach, you are the man I appreciate you's always making
time for his brother. We will talk to you soon. Stay well good,
all right? That Zach Barnett FootballScoop dot Com. Good stuff. Yeah,
I uh, I was a big tomb Raider guy. I would have
never guessed that most. I mean again, it was it was. I
mean, it wasn't that like, honestly, I don't need tomb Raider was
like a known game, but like it wasn't like it didn't come close to
being like one of the most popular games that came out whenever I was young,
when video game you know, when my era of video games. But
yeah, NBA, I never played two K because two K I don't even
know if it existed. Whenever I was into games brief out, we played
a little bit. In high school. There was NBA Live, which was
EA Sports's version of of NBA. It was basically like they're Madden, but
it was for basketball, and it was, I mean, it was fine.
I didn't mind the game at all. I mean, I didn't really
know what to compare it to. I went from NBA Jam to EA Sports
NBA Live, and then two K came out and kind of just killed it.
Like two K ended the NBA Live because they just couldn't compete. And
then, of course, you know, Madden never really had a true competitor.
I don't think. All right, stick with us. We got another
hour and forty minutes roughly here a lot more to get into, so again,
hang out with us right here. It's Coffee and Company Field Buth Thornton's
on Sports Talk seven ninety. Coffee and Company Field by Thornton's here on Sports
Talk seven ninety. That's us Nick Coffee, the company Man, mister John
All on alongside today. So one of the things you heard there during the
break if you were listening to the Fox Sports National update there that does give
us, you know, some local stories if they're there. They talked about
the Kentucky basketball non conference schedule, which I'm not sure if it's just this
time of the year or what it is, but there seems to be a
lot of reaction to this if it's like a surprise, and it's some Kentucky
fans, even Nickow, you know, acting as if they're you know,
underwhelmed with the schedule. Of course, a lot of you know, Louisville
fans mocking the schedule and you know, like that's just what we do right
as rivals. But I think that I don't understand the reaction on either side.
Maybe it's people not realizing that a coach who just got hired has very
little to do with the schedule. That that that is in place in year
one because a lot of that stuff is done ahead of time before they would
be hired. Like, for example, Kenny Payne, you think he would
have taken that first team to MAUI. Not a chance in hell. That
was Chris Mack. And speaking of Chris Mac, Chris Mack played some teams
that were scheduled during the holdover when David Page was here that Louisville would never
want a schedule because again, by playing some of these teams like South Carolina
State and Nickel State, like you just are going to drop your your your
metric by playing them. So this past year Kenny had a schedule that you
know was fit for him where they played some of the worst teams in the
country and they did not play in the acc SEC challenged, something that I
still believe was their own doing. So, you know, Mark Pope,
I don't know what his schedule, his scheduling is going to look like moving
forward. And honestly, I can say the same thing for Pat Kelsey.
You know, I hope Pat Kelsey continues to schedule or hope ault Will continues
to schedule the same way. When Kelsey's the guy who's really leading the charge
as far as you know what the schedule looks like. Because I mean,
I think if you consider yourself to be a top tier program, which both
schools around here do, Indiana is in the same conversation, I mean,
I don't think you should shy away from playing a competitive non conference schedule.
You're not going to fill every non conference opening with you know, top fifteen
teams, but you know, mix in a handful of non conference tests because
that's what they are. It's a test to see where you are, and
it can help you on selection Sunday, and it really helps you when it
comes to avoiding the benefit of the doubt question. What don't mean by that
is if you are blah, mediocre, you were just average in the non
conference when you played good teams, and then you get into conference play in
your average again, maybe it's just that, you know, man, what
are you gonna do? You're in a tough league night in the night out,
you're playing great teams. Or maybe it's just the fact that you're mediocre.
That's what the Big Twelve does. I mean, the Big Twelve and
even the Big Ten at times they get into conference play and it's really competitive
and that is not always a sign of like, wow, everybody's great.
It could be a sign that everybody's kind of whatever. So you know Louisville
this year, I mean, they play a really competitive non conference schedule.
When you consider Kentucky and maybe they're not as good as they were under Cow,
but still Kentucky at rop Arena, that's always gonna be a tough game.
We don't know who they're gonna end up facing in the Bahamas, but
a good chance they're going to play at least two top ten teams. I
mean, just the way that that that that's likely to break out that or
to break down that way, just because of how loaded that event is.
In Indiana, Arizona and Zaga, those three teams right there in it,
and they're all probably going to be preseason top fifteen. I mean, heck,
Gonzaga could be top five, Arizona top ten. Indiana I guess it
really depends on where you're looking. But they're gonna have a good team with
a lot of talent. Even Providence too, Yeah, Creighton's place, that's
right. Tournament, that's right. So you've got that. You throw in
the SEC Big Ten Challenge with who they get in that Why am I?
Why am I blanking on who they Who they have in the A in the
ACC SEC Challenge, not Big ten. I know they play Tennessee, which
is a good non conference game to just throw on the schedule. Why is
it escaping me who they're going to play? Like we talked about it,
it was a whole it was a big deal, and now I can't think
of it's gonna drive me crazy. It's one of the good SEC teams,
is it not. It's Ole Miss Ole miss Yeah, Chris Beard. Yeah,
they'll be preseason top twenty five, I would assume because of the Chris
Beard factor. And they did really well in the portal. So I love
non conference basketball more than most because a lot of times when those games are
being played, college basketball really hadn't taken the forefront yet, because college football
still in full swing. The NFL's going on, and you get some really
good matchups and sometimes people say, oh, who cares, it's the beginning
of the year. These teams aren't a finished product yet, And maybe that's
true, but like that's that can be said about the Champions Classic, which
is usually like a third game of the year for everybody. When you get
to December and you get around Christmas time, like you can still clearly either
get better or get worse. Like it's still relatively early in the season,
but it's not that far from halfway being done, and you know there's value
there, right, So you know Kentucky's non conference schedule, this is what
it breaks down as. And again I'm gonna I'm gonna reference just to see
if I'm just completely wrong here, but I feel like it's like the same
kind of Kentucky schedule that you see every year because Cal would would play some
neutral site games against you know, legitimate competition like he does, like he
always did, and they'd always have Louisville which was a home and away and
then they got into the SEC Big twelve Challenges is what it used to be,
and then of course he became the SEC ACC Challenge and those are always
are always home and away. But then like the nobody games would always be
against teams that usually really really suck, Like rarely did Kentucky play a team
in the non conference from a mid major or a low major and that team
like be good in their league, Like I remember when they lost to h
who was it last year? They lost to you and wilmky y. Yeah,
got it, and everybody said, oh, they've got way way to
say, Oh wait a second, they're gonna win their league. No they
didn't. They didn't. They didn't make tournament, so you know, and
look that's I have no problem with him picking those games. But like to
me again, I bring this up to say, like, I don't I
think this schedule is is pretty whatever, especially comparatively speaking from previous years.
But here's who the here's who they play. They got Right State to open
up the season, which, to be honest with your Right State's actually pretty
good for their league. I mean, they usually are one of the better
teams in the Horizon. I think it is Bucknell. Buck Nell's in the
Patriot League. They usually hear pretty good in their league too. And then
they played Duke in the Champions Classic. I totally figot they play Duke this
year, Cooper Flag, that's gonna be that'd be a big game. That'll
be young verse old, which is weird because usually keat Kentucky's young and now
they're not. They're old. If they somehow find a way to get killed
in that game, that'll be the first Oh yeah, shop. Yeah for
Mark Pope. But they could win. I mean, yeah, they could.
Not saying they won't win, but like if it's embarrassing because they're used
to being competitive in those games, that'll be something they're not used to.
I mean, have they played Duke sent Zion in the Champions Classic? I
feel like they have. Maybe I'm just they rotate. It's every third year
they play. Yeah whoever that team would have been so in nineteen or no,
it was eighteen they played Duke and Zion the guy, so they've played
him since then. I don't remember if they won, but you know,
that'll be a big test. And they have Lipscomb, who is is is
you know, not very good Jackson State. That's a team from the I
think it's the the swack that that's not gonna be much of a challenge.
They do play WKU, which that I believe is a Mark Pope thing,
Like he put that game on the schedule and that's Look, if you're going
to play teams of that caliber from you know, Conference USA, then might
as well play WKU. I don't think they've played. In fact, they
had not played each other in a long time, and then they randomly played
each other. When Louisville did not get to play because of COVID in the
twenty twenty one season. I think it was so Georgia State, which I
think is usually a pretty competitive team for their level. Then they play at
Clemson in the sec ACC Challenge. They will go to Seattle to play Gonzaga.
Then they'll play Colgate. You can make fun of the name Colgate all
you want. Colgate's really good for who they are, right, Like,
they're not a I mean, Colgate's not a you know, they're not a
known program. In fact, a lot of people probably have never heard of
them, you know, because you think of Colgate, you think of toothpaste.
Right, But they are also I think they're also in I could be
wrong, but I think they are also in the Patriot League. But yeah,
let's see here, not now, I'm just curious because, yeah,
the Patriot League has Yeah, Colgate and Bucknell were the two best teams in
that league last year, so hey, they've got some Patriot League competition.
And then they finish up the non conference with Louisville, of course, which
will be a home game for them on December fourteenth. Then they'll play Ohio
State at MSG, which will be the chance the CBS Sports Classic, and
then they play Brown of the Ivy League. So again this is to me,
this schedule is like what you typically would see with Cal like it's a
and in fact, I'll be honest with you, I think it's actually tougher.
Like let me look at last year's schedule for them, because I think
again it's the you have the same opponents that you've always had when it comes
to Yeah, so you have last year they played New Mexico State in Texas
A and M Commerce. I guess those teams were worse than the other teams.
Like the first two games last year New Mexico State and Texas A and
M Commerce. Quite literally, those are two of the worst teams in college
basketball last year. Whereas now you have Wright stating Bucknell, who, again
for who they are, are a lot better than the those two teams.
I'm not acting like they've got a jugger not type of schedule, but like
I actually think they're They mean, they played stone Hill, which I don't
believe is a real team. Did that game happen? Who held stone Hill?
They were a brand new team to Division one last year, so they
also played Saint Joe's and nearly lost. That's a team, you know,
Saint jose Is, you know, a team that's known. They played Marshall
and Marshall is probably mediocre for a Conference USA team. Or they sunned up
I think their sun Belt now and then Miami ACC Challenge game and then un
C Wong Teman they lost. They played Penn also a team from the IVY
League. They played Carolina, that was the CBS Sports Classic. They played
Louisville. Of course every year they played Illinois State, which was I guess
a gift to Illinois State letting Antonio Reeves come back to Kentucky and you know,
not keep not having transfer back there because they didn't want to play for
Cali Perry. So you know, people can mock it, and that's fine,
but this is a if. I think this is a tougher schedule than
what Cali Perry had last year. And I don't know if it's Pope's doing
or whatnot, but you know, I think one thing the Kentucky fans are
always upset about. They never really get marquee home matchups in the non conference.
Yeah, no, there's they're You're absolutely right, like I'm sorry,
I don't. I don't think college basketball needs neutral site games. I just
don't because who does it benefit? Like why why do that? Like you
could have like a like you could have the like for example, the CBS
Sports Classic could be the CBS Sports Classic and you just rotate home and away,
Like the same four teams play in that event every year. Don't do
it in New Orleans in front of fifty people or in you know, an
NBA arena when nobody cares about college basketball in that major city. I just
don't, like, what's the benefit of that. Like, I know Cal
likes to to do that because he liked to. I mean, I think
he's doing it in Arkansas too. He wants to have like he wants these
guys to be playing in big cities and be an NBA arenas and you know,
just look like you're the attraction. But that's another example of Caliperry just
being a guy who really wanted to have his own brand of things, not
really considering college basketball and his humongous fan base that you know, you play
those kind of teams, Like if you would if you played those teams every
year, one of those four that you get in the CBS Sports Classic at
the Champions Classic, and they was a rote think you know how awesome those
atmospheres would be. I mean to be insane. Now. I do like
the the tournaments though, like obviously the Bahamas. Yeah, yeah, that's
but that's that's different. But those are tournaments. Yeah, those are those
are three days like those like you can win those tournaments. Like those are
tournaments. These are just random. Hey, we're gonna go to a major
city and play a game, and we're gonna put it on a network like
it just the same thing could be done with out you traveling to Chicago,
New York, Atlanta. You could do it in your home arenas and still
put it on CBS. It could still be an ESPN event, which the
Champions Classic is like, I just you know, I don't I don't get
it, but whatever. All right, let's get to a quick break.
We'll come back on the other side, wrap up the four o'clock hour,
keep this thing rolling along. We got a lot more to get into,
including this new U NBA media deal which is just insane money. But also
I like how they structured it as far as the schedule, which we'll talk
about that on the other side and uh well, I'll save that for later.
Stick around, It's coffee and company. Feel abut Thornon's right here on
Sports Talk seven ninety Who is this one Republic? Okay? They still like?
Are they still popular? I don't know that they have as many hits
as they used to. They had a good run, didn't They had a
very good run? Yeah, like multiple albums of runs. And what what
genre is this? This is like a top ra hop ra. Yeah,
kind of fit the same vibe as Maroon five and imagine dragons that type of
stuff. You know what, I think I may have just learned that,
Like that's not my preference, but I kind of dig that music. It's
very feel good music. Yeah, yeah, in white people music some people
call yeah, And it makes sense as to why like it's it makes sense
to why it ends up being like play like it fits in a lot of
scenarios to where it's not. I mean, yeah, I guess it is
most like a white people thing. Cold plays kind of the leader of this
type of music. I feel like too, but I feel like like the
biggest Yeah, but they're a little more and they're good, but like they're
I don't know, maybe just because they said they're such a bigger like there's
they're way more famous, right, biggest brand, That's what I'm getting.
Yeah, their brands bigger, But no, I guess that. Yeah,
as far as just music alone, I think they certainly fallen fallen into that
same tier. All right. So I thought this was fake the first time
I saw it, But it's real and it's awesome. Was it two weeks
ago? We were talking realignment stuff and I and I mentioned like, hey,
like, I don't know people realize this PAC twelve actually still exists.
You remember that, like we were always Yeah, it was the first of
July whenever the official it became official that SMU and Call and Stanford in the
ACC in Oklahoma and Texas were officially in the SEC. And you know,
somebody did like a breakdown of where the conferences stood and they included the PAC
twelve And I'm like, why are they doing that? And it's because the
league still exist, it just has two people. So that's not what I
thought was fake. What I thought was fake was that they actually had a
media day. Did you see this? John? I did not. That's
super weird. PAC twelve held their media event in Vegas, with an open
bar, and Ross Dellinger there was covering it, and of course it's a
scaled down media event, but it does have an open bar. And there's
a commissioner named Teresa Gould, who I believe just kind of stepped into that
role as somebody who already worked for the PAC twelve because the guy who you
know, was in charge when the conference died, you know, he either
ran away or they got rid of him. But says here that the commission
Teresa Gould, opens the event by gesturing to the are we are drinking tonight?
If anyone has earned the right to drink, it's the PAC twelve.
So it looks like a ballroom and the lights are dim, it's like theater
lighting. And they have the mascot of Oregon State in the mascot of Washington
State just sitting on stage in chairs looking just absolutely exhausted. So shout out
to the PAC twelve for I guess having a sense of humor. And I
love it. You know it actually mad. Why does it make him look
cool? You know what I mean? Like, I don't know why I'm
bracing the struggle right now? Yeah, I mean, they technically still have
a conference but yet they also are technically you know in the Mountain West because
that's there, that's the schedule like that they're playing, that's the scheduling arrangement.
But yeah, the the the sign here it says after Hours with the
Beaves and Coogs presented by the PAC twelve. So I guess there are still
some funds, you know, in place in the lee to where they're like,
you know what everybody left. In fact, these the schools had to
pay to get out, right, So I mean, like where's that money
go? You know what I mean? Like the schools that left the PAC
twelve Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, USC, Oregon or like all of
them, they had to pay an exit fee. I don't know what it
was. So like, hey, because nobody wanted them, they're still in
the PAC twelve, Oregon State, Washington States. Hey, we're gonna go
to Vegas and take some of that money you guys left, the money you
guys left when you killed the league, and we're gonna go get hammered.
Like they're like they're not calling it big PAC twelve Media Day or you know
operation football like the U or no, I think they called the football kickoff
in the ACC and they called the Basketball Media Days Operation Basketball, which is
so stupid. But the sign here when you're entering says after Hours with the
Beeves and Koogs presented by the PAC twelve. And it's got the logo of
those two schools in the PAC twelve logo, which you know they should put
in X through the one in the twelve and just the PAC two. Yeah,
yeah, the PAC two now, So yeah, I mean it is
kind of sad, but like, I don't know, I think it's it's
actually kind of it's funny if if it's if it's just to you know,
have some you know, just kind of laugh at yourself and be self deprecating
that you're kind of just left here alone. But when I see now pictures
that that are, you know, you search PAC twelve on Twitter. There's
a ton of stuff that comes up from this event, and like it's there's
truly like an MC hosting like on stage, asking the head coach of Oregon
State and the head coach of Washington State questions, and like, I don't
know, like I guess that's not sad because I'm thinking, like who cares?
But then again, like you know, they don't get to go to
an actual media day. And as much as it is talking season and it's
and it's nonsense because coaches don't really give a lot of information, they give
you the ultimate cliches. It is still a part of the process, and
like they had to do something right, and we're gonna go to the Mountain
West. So yeah, I kind of feel bad for them, I do,
but they'll probably be the Mountain West. Like that's wouldn't you say,
we're guessing here, but wouldn't you say that's the most likely scenario is that
they just end up with those Mountain West schools and they can call themselves the
PAC twelve if they want. But we'll all just kind of know that it's
not that. So you're saying that they join the Mountain West or the Mountain
West becomes the PAC twelve and they bring those schools over. I mean,
you can't pack twelve brand. It would it would be the same thing,
But they would want to hold on to the brand of the PAC twelve because
well, I don't know, like, actually, you know what they should
do. I would just think of a new name, because you don't want
to call yourself the Mountain West and you can call yourself the PAC twelve,
but everybody would know that's not your name. I honestly wish all the conferences
would just rename themselves. And I know that won't happen. Well it might,
it might with the sponsorship thing, if that happens, Yeah, because
they're gonna need everbody's gonna need more money, right, Like I mean,
twenty two million a year is not gonna be not gonna be easy for a
lot of schools, even those that do appear to be, you know,
in the in the right side of the food chain when it comes to the
financial or I guess I should say the revenue for for college you know,
for for college college athletics. Sorry, I got distracted. I was looking
here, So somebody sent this in and we'll we'll take a look at it
on the other side because we don't have any time left. But I was
talking about Kentucky's non conference schedule, and I wasn't telling everybody that the Kentucky's
non conference schedule is a jug or not, because I don't really believe that
it is. But for those acting underwhelmed in like taking digs at Mark Pope,
I think he actually has a tougher schedule than Calipari had last year.
But somebody sent in Kansas's non conference schedule, and you know, I think,
to be honest, like it's you know, I don't know if somebody
sent this in on the text line to like say that Kansas is way tougher
or it's way I guess provide some context just to what you mean. But
like, I think it's relatively similar. Like you can play really good teams
in the non conference, maybe two or three of them, and then play
some mediocre mid majors your rival thrown in there, and then play you know,
the bums. And I think that's what most teams do. All right,
don't go anywhere at the five o'clock hours. Coming up next, we'll
try to finish strong like we always do right here on Sports Talk seven ninety