Speaker 1: Welcome to the Big Bluin Sider. Dick Gabriel with you
Speaker 1: on a Wednesday edition of our program. Much to discuss
Speaker 1: tonight both basketball and football, a little baseball as well,
Speaker 1: but coming up tonight at the bottom of the hour,
Speaker 1: Chris Fisher of the Cat's Pause part of the two
Speaker 1: four seven Network. We'll talk about UK schedule basketball that
Speaker 1: is basketball recruiting, and we'll talk some football recruiting with Chris.
Speaker 1: And in our number two, Sean Woods, the unforgettable guard,
Speaker 1: joined us every Wednesday, so naturally we'll talk basketball with Sean,
Speaker 1: but we'll also talk football with the former UK point
Speaker 1: guard and Western Burea chief Gary Moore with us. So
Speaker 1: we'll preview the college football and pro football season with
Speaker 1: Gary coming up in our number two. Ten days until
Speaker 1: Kentucky plays football against Southern Miss. Now there is college
Speaker 1: football this week, some low profile games leading up to
Speaker 1: Saturdays season opener. Officially seems like this is the one
Speaker 1: everybody talks about, with Florida State playing in Dublin, Ireland
Speaker 1: against Georgia Tech. Florida State expected to be a real contender,
Speaker 1: Georgia Tech is not. I heard some talking heads going
Speaker 1: over this game and one of them said, it's going
Speaker 1: to be a great game. It probably won't, but it's
Speaker 1: going to be great because it's going to be the
Speaker 1: beginning of officially the college football season ten days away.
Speaker 1: And on Corey Price's countdown on Twitter. Corey Course is
Speaker 1: our statistician on the UK Sports Network for football. A
Speaker 1: picture of Moe Williams number ten and he is playing
Speaker 1: against South Carolina and it looks to be because it's
Speaker 1: a road game, perhaps the game where he set the
Speaker 1: single game record for rushing yards forty carries, two hundred
Speaker 1: and ninety nine yards, four touchdowns, but it was a
Speaker 1: close game. Now Kentucky wonted thirty five to thirty. The picture,
Speaker 1: it looks like is being played in decent weather. But
Speaker 1: if it is the same game, the heavens opened I
Speaker 1: think in the second quarter, if memory serves yeah. I
Speaker 1: was there on the sideline and it absolutely poured down.
Speaker 1: Rain manager or equipment manager, Tom Kalanowski came to my
Speaker 1: rescue and handed me a rain suit, and later on
Speaker 1: I went to give it back. He goes, keep it.
Speaker 1: We're getting new ones next year, which they did. I
Speaker 1: still got it, but he saved me. But because it
Speaker 1: was an official UK rain suit. I was able to
Speaker 1: stand at the fifty yard line among the coaches in
Speaker 1: the coaches box, and nobody challenged me. Well, the security
Speaker 1: guys had fled. They you know, they didn't care, and
Speaker 1: nobody on the UK sideline had any interest because it
Speaker 1: was raining so hard. But it was a big game,
Speaker 1: which Kentucky, as I said, ended up winning thanks to Moe.
Speaker 1: But four hundred and twenty nine all purpose yards two
Speaker 1: hundred and ninety nine on the ground alone. It broke
Speaker 1: her show records mark at the time of two hundred
Speaker 1: and nineteen yards set in nineteen eighty two hundred nineteen
Speaker 1: rushing yards. And the reason Moe's number was where it
Speaker 1: was because one of his biggest plays was would look
Speaker 1: like a swing pass, and I saw this when it happened.
Speaker 1: He was behind the quarterback when he caught the ball,
Speaker 1: which immediately makes it a run play. So they changed
Speaker 1: it from a reception to a run play, and the
Speaker 1: officials called it immediately. There's a signal they put up
Speaker 1: that signifies it to run, notw of pass. So they
Speaker 1: added that to Moe's rushing total and he had a
Speaker 1: phenomenal game. Wildcats put up a total of four hundred
Speaker 1: and forty seven yards that day. I'm not sure who
Speaker 1: got him, but there were eleven other rushing yards and
Speaker 1: Mo had two hundred ninety nine of them. So that's
Speaker 1: why I took special notice of Corey's photo that he
Speaker 1: included today. Ten days away, Moe Williams number ten. Before
Speaker 1: we get back to football, real quickly, just looking at
Speaker 1: Kentucky's basketball schedule, you guys have been discussing it on
Speaker 1: social media talking note. Not about the Duke game on
Speaker 1: November twelfth, not about the Louisville game on December fourteenth,
Speaker 1: no subject of discussion. February one, Arkansas comes to Rapperena.
Speaker 1: You know who they had coached now, and it reminds
Speaker 1: me of when Patino came back. And much will be
Speaker 1: written prior to this game about that game. And remember,
Speaker 1: now Caliperry's not going to do this, but Patino crossed
Speaker 1: up the Kentucky fans. They kept their eyes trained on
Speaker 1: the little tunnel area where the opposing team was coming out,
Speaker 1: and all the players came out that way. They kept
Speaker 1: waiting for Patino so they can unleash their torrent of booze.
Speaker 1: Betino came out at the other end. He came out
Speaker 1: at the Kentucky end, and later on he tried to
Speaker 1: cover it by saying, I got confused. I was just
Speaker 1: so used to coming out that way. No, and he
Speaker 1: kind of had a twinkle in his eye when he
Speaker 1: said it. I gave him full credit for somewhat diffusing.
Speaker 1: He still got booed, but not nearly as bad because
Speaker 1: people didn't notice at first. Then it's all of a sudden, Oh, oh,
Speaker 1: there he is, and so it wasn't that torrential downpour
Speaker 1: of booze. I think we'll hear some of that when
Speaker 1: Caliperi comes out. But I also think people will applaud
Speaker 1: him because, look, he did great things here. It just
Speaker 1: kind of fizzled out at the end. But when he
Speaker 1: got here. Do you remember what it was like when
Speaker 1: he got here and what he did right away? You
Speaker 1: need to remember that. So I think that's the way
Speaker 1: things will play out all right. Back to football, USA
Speaker 1: Today has ranked every team in D one football from
Speaker 1: top two one thirty four. Kent State, by the way,
Speaker 1: is rated at the very bottom. Talk about low expectations,
Speaker 1: and naturally, Georgia ranked number one, just ahead of Ohio State,
Speaker 1: Texas Oregon and Alabama. Look for the Wildcats. You will
Speaker 1: find them at number thirty nine. I think Kentucky underappreciated
Speaker 1: right now because of the mystery with a new starting
Speaker 1: quarterback and a new offensive coordinator. So that's okay, play
Speaker 1: with a chip on your shoulder, sneak up on people.
Speaker 1: That's fine. But it's weird to see Kansas rated ahead
Speaker 1: of Kentucky, and really oddly right now, Nebraska, which has
Speaker 1: been really mediocre of late, ranked ahead of Kentucky. They're
Speaker 1: twenty four to twenty five Kansas Nebraska. But Louisville getting
Speaker 1: a lot of preseason love. Jeff Brom's team is ranked
Speaker 1: number eighteen. They got a mystery quarterback, they got a
Speaker 1: guy coming into his seventh year starting a quarterback. So
Speaker 1: none of it means anything right now, but it'll fire
Speaker 1: up the players. But you think about this. Georgia on
Speaker 1: the UK schedule, Texas number three on the UK schedule,
Speaker 1: ole Miss number ten on the Kentucky schedule, Tennessee fourteen,
Speaker 1: Louisville eighteen. Man, it's tough, but welcome to the SEC.
Speaker 1: Speaking of rankings, Tom Brady has ranked his top qbs
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes naturally number one, multiple Super Bowls,
Speaker 1: Josh Allen of the Bills, number two, Lamar Jackson number three,
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow number four, and you know those fifth Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: which tells me two things. Number one, Brady's got respect
Speaker 1: for Rogers and high expectations. But number two, other than
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, who do you rank there? There's a bit
Speaker 1: of a drop off I think from those top five
Speaker 1: QB spots to the rest of the NFL quarterbacks. Before
Speaker 1: we hit the break, a little bit of baseball for you.
Speaker 1: But this is kind of funny. This came from the
Speaker 1: Giants broadcast last night of the San Francisco VERSUS Chicago
Speaker 1: White Sox game, and the White Sox catcher Cory Lee
Speaker 1: took a foul ball off a spot where you just
Speaker 1: don't want to take a foul ball, even though he's
Speaker 1: got protection there. Ouch, we're talking about a major league
Speaker 1: fastball that's fouled off. And Kruco took exception as a
Speaker 1: former catcher of some things that you hear from the
Speaker 1: fans in a situation like.
Speaker 2: This, Oh, Cory Lee, the catcher vidys of time.
Speaker 1: You know one thing, I was a catcher.
Speaker 2: And there are certain times you get hit and you
Speaker 2: know somebody in the stands will yell out walk it off,
Speaker 2: and you just want to go up there and bunch
Speaker 2: it right in the forehead. Yeah, certain things you can't
Speaker 2: walk off, and that was one of them. Mike Dolinsky's
Speaker 2: not helping him out either by telling him they'll jump
Speaker 2: up and down.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I don't who came up with that.
Speaker 2: That didn't work either.
Speaker 3: So it's oh and two.
Speaker 1: He is deed time talk about six days. Six days
Speaker 1: is right. We'll talk more UK football next six thirty
Speaker 1: wlap Welcome back to the Big Blue and Sider. Coming
Speaker 1: up in a few minutes Chris Fisher of the Cat's
Speaker 1: Pause part of the two four seven Network. He'll talk
Speaker 1: Kentucky basketball recruiting, but we'll also talk football with Chris.
Speaker 1: Same deal with Sean Woods, our unforgettable guard joins us
Speaker 1: every Wednesday. He'll be with us in hour number two.
Speaker 1: He'll talk basketball and football. Haven't had a chance to
Speaker 1: talk much football as Sean, but he was a three
Speaker 1: sport guy in high school, so we will have a
Speaker 1: chance to find out what he thinks. And of course
Speaker 1: now we're number two as well. Our West end Bureau
Speaker 1: chief Gary Moore, but Kentucky football the matter at hand
Speaker 1: as they prepare to the Wildcats for their upcoming season
Speaker 1: opener with a new offensive coordinator, Bush ham Dan, who
Speaker 1: spoke with us recently and told the media about just
Speaker 1: right about now is when the Wildcats are basically cleaning
Speaker 1: up their act, taking care of details, getting ready for
Speaker 1: situations in ball games, and cutting down on every mistake
Speaker 1: they can head off.
Speaker 4: It's never easy right to take the anxiety of week
Speaker 4: one when the situations actually occur. But for us, it
Speaker 4: always is going to come down to two minute, end
Speaker 4: of half, end of game, four minute scenarios, last plays.
Speaker 4: You know, certain things with the clocks, so there's just
Speaker 4: so many things. It's almost like a hidden hidden plays
Speaker 4: that it's could come up at any point about fifteen
Speaker 4: to twenty of them, and we got to do them
Speaker 4: as much as possible so the guys can go execute them.
Speaker 1: Now, you can't work on those things every day, but
Speaker 1: you have to put in some work obviously and just
Speaker 1: be ready, as he said, or whatever comes up in
Speaker 1: whatever game you're playing, whether it's a conference game or
Speaker 1: your non conference season opener, which is of course Sutthern
Speaker 1: miss a good team. We asked him a little bit
Speaker 1: about players who might be flying a little bit under
Speaker 1: the radar, and he went immediately to Fred Ferrier, a
Speaker 1: wide receiver, and also Anthony Brown Stevens who went by
Speaker 1: AB but now goes by ABS. But evidently those are
Speaker 1: two guys, despite the fact that they're behind Barrion Brown
Speaker 1: and Dante Key, those are guys we need to look for.
Speaker 4: He said, Yeah, both those guys have done a tremendous job.
Speaker 4: They really have. Fred's probably been one of our most
Speaker 4: consistent wide receivers throughout camp. You know, runs precise routes,
Speaker 4: makes plays on the ball. It's tough on the perimeter.
Speaker 4: We're surely fortunate to have him. You know, Anthony Brown's
Speaker 4: one of the best ball in hand guys we have.
Speaker 4: I mean, he's got electricity on the outside carrying the football.
Speaker 4: So again, we just we're gonna use a lot of
Speaker 4: those guys in and out, and we're excited to use
Speaker 4: them all.
Speaker 1: Barrian Brown made it a point when he was talking
Speaker 1: about Fred Ferrier, and Abs said the same thing. He's
Speaker 1: a very quiet guy, doesn't brag much, doesn't talk much,
Speaker 1: but lets his action speak, and yet he is talented
Speaker 1: enough to do that on a consistent basis. So watch
Speaker 1: for Ferrier, watch for Abs making plays this year from
Speaker 1: the wide receiver room. We all know that Chip Train
Speaker 1: hims out with a broken hand. He won't play in
Speaker 1: at least the first couple of games. Hampden talked about
Speaker 1: the fact that's sure when there's an injury like that
Speaker 1: to a guy who figured to be a key performer,
Speaker 1: your power running back going into the season, and that's
Speaker 1: going to change the way you call plays as an
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator.
Speaker 4: If it was possible to be the video game and
Speaker 4: everybody take off injuries, that would be awesome.
Speaker 1: But that's not our world.
Speaker 4: So there's contingency plans. Obviously, when guys go down. It's
Speaker 4: the next man up philosophy with every team and who
Speaker 4: we need to get those next guys up ready to
Speaker 4: go because we got a serious schedule ahead of us.
Speaker 1: So you I talked about this a little bit yesterday
Speaker 1: about the young guys who are behind Demi, Seymour, Karnbay,
Speaker 1: and they're talented, obviously, unproven, untested, but there's nobody else
Speaker 1: on the roster who will remind you, at least not
Speaker 1: right now of Chris Rodriguez or Benny Snell or Ray Davis.
Speaker 1: But all that does is make you appreciate even more
Speaker 1: how good those guys were, how effective they were to
Speaker 1: step into the sec as all three of them did
Speaker 1: and produce immediately. I mean, Benny didn't start every game
Speaker 1: right away, It's part of a rotation, but you could
Speaker 1: see it in him, and he was the power guy
Speaker 1: as a freshman. You know, they had Jojo, they had
Speaker 1: Boom Boom Williams, but Benny was a power guy from
Speaker 1: the day he got here and got even better. And
Speaker 1: Rodriguez played behind Benny and then took step right in,
Speaker 1: took over for him. We weren't sure about Ray Davis,
Speaker 1: but for all of his versatility, he got power yards
Speaker 1: when they needed him. So the question is, without train them,
Speaker 1: can Kentucky get the first down when it's a tough
Speaker 1: third and one, third and two, or in the red
Speaker 1: zone get into the end zone. So that's going to
Speaker 1: be a big question right now. One of the bigger
Speaker 1: questions right now for Kentucky is can you play clean?
Speaker 1: Every coach wants that. Mark Souops was talking about that
Speaker 1: after the scrimmage on Saturday and that's why he scrimmaged
Speaker 1: to clean up any possibility of a pre snap penalty
Speaker 1: and hamed and talked about how vital it is to
Speaker 1: take that step as they close down camp.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's a great question. I think the
Speaker 4: operational part is the number one thing. You know, we
Speaker 4: always tell our guys all the time. Before you can,
Speaker 4: you know, go win games, you got to figure out
Speaker 4: how not to lose them. And I think in those
Speaker 4: Week one opportunities again with the anxiety up, they haven't
Speaker 4: been in front of you know, seventy thousand people. It's
Speaker 4: the operational stuff. Making sure the signals from the snap
Speaker 4: count to the communication is the most critical thing.
Speaker 1: And and that's it.
Speaker 4: It's it's the uh, you know, win the pre snap
Speaker 4: for us. Everything we're trying to get done in the
Speaker 4: pre snap to get a line, we like to do
Speaker 4: a lot of different things. And then certainly making the
Speaker 4: routine plays routine.
Speaker 1: You know, when we talk about baseball, it seems like
Speaker 1: we always talk about dominating the routine play. You know,
Speaker 1: the basic ground ball it's hit to the middle indfielder
Speaker 1: or you know, just the routine throw across the diamond,
Speaker 1: things like that. But Honestly, you could make that case
Speaker 1: in any sport. Now with football, there are few, if
Speaker 1: any routine plays, But there is a routine, as Hamden
Speaker 1: was just saying, and that's what you have to nail down.
Speaker 1: The way plays are brought in, formations, snap count, everything
Speaker 1: up to the moment that the ball is snapped is
Speaker 1: a routine. So you could call it routine with the
Speaker 1: way you have to get things done. And there are
Speaker 1: reps for that reason over and over, and we've talked
Speaker 1: here during camp and you've heard about it and read
Speaker 1: about it. The helmet coms, you know, the radio and
Speaker 1: the helmet for the quarterback, for the lead player on defense.
Speaker 1: You got to get that down now. Stoops said they
Speaker 1: went over to the stadium the other night simulated a
Speaker 1: real game just with how they sent plays in, how
Speaker 1: they sent substitutes in, getting special teams on and off
Speaker 1: the field. I will never forget when Rich Brooks was here,
Speaker 1: Kentucky actually came down that they lost a game because
Speaker 1: of a penalty on a special teams play because alignment
Speaker 1: went in for the first team or the guy got hurt.
Speaker 1: The first team guy got hurt, second team guy goes
Speaker 1: in and then the next thing, you know, in fact,
Speaker 1: this guy was on defense. So there they held Kentucky
Speaker 1: held the other team. The other team lines up to
Speaker 1: kick a field goal and Kentucky gets caught for too
Speaker 1: many men on the field because the guy who had
Speaker 1: subbed in on second or third down. He knew that
Speaker 1: the guy he replaced was also on the special team,
Speaker 1: but he was not. He had never played a down
Speaker 1: of special teams in his life, so he decided, well,
Speaker 1: I just need to be out here, and Kentucky get
Speaker 1: called for twelve minute on the field. The opposing team,
Speaker 1: instead of a field goal, took it in for a
Speaker 1: touchdown and cast Kentucky the game. That's the kind of
Speaker 1: mistake that causes coaches to pull their hair out. And
Speaker 1: I remember Brooks saying that this kid had never played
Speaker 1: a down of special teams in his life, but thought
Speaker 1: he was obviously doing the right thing by staying out
Speaker 1: on the field. That's why you go through pre snap routine,
Speaker 1: all right. When we come back, Chris Fisher the Catspaws
Speaker 1: joined us here on the Big Moon Sider six thirty wlap.
Speaker 1: Welcome back. We're chatting with Chris Fisher of the Cat's Pause.
Speaker 1: He is a veteran to covering UK sports and sports
Speaker 1: in general two for seven Sports, but basketball recruiting is
Speaker 1: one of his specialties. Chris, how are you.
Speaker 5: Well?
Speaker 2: Thanks?
Speaker 1: Hey, I got to ask you. First off, Kentucky lands
Speaker 1: Malachi Moreno, and I I know what, it's an important signing.
Speaker 1: He's local, he's a big but given the fact that
Speaker 1: you know, Mark Pope just landed his first UK recruit,
Speaker 1: and I think, Chris, this was a had to have
Speaker 1: him kind of signing, wasn't it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think so. I think it was a big
Speaker 5: first addition. It was a natural addition, you know, adding
Speaker 5: an in state guy as the first commitment for twenty
Speaker 5: twenty five, and with you know, things not looking too
Speaker 5: bright for Jasper Johnson, I think all of that kind
Speaker 5: of adds up to a must have for Mark Pope.
Speaker 5: I mean, he's a you know, a six foot eleven center,
Speaker 5: really really talented, high upside that's from the state of Kentucky,
Speaker 5: that plays the position that Mark Pope played, and so
Speaker 5: I think there's kind of a natural synergy there. And
Speaker 5: Mark Pope has made no about the importance of keeping
Speaker 5: Kentucky guys at home. You know, obviously, Travis Perry signed
Speaker 5: with Kentucky before Mark Pope came on. But Mark Pope
Speaker 5: played a big part in, you know, keeping his commitment
Speaker 5: and keeping him on board. And then he adds Trent
Speaker 5: Noah in the spring as well, and so it was
Speaker 5: a big commitment I think for to get Kentucky on
Speaker 5: the board for twenty twenty five. It's still early. It's
Speaker 5: only August. The early signing period is still months away.
Speaker 5: But to get that first one out of the way
Speaker 5: and to have it be a Kentucky guy, to have
Speaker 5: it be a top twenty five prospect nationally, I think
Speaker 5: it's a big deal for Mark Pope in Kentucky.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm glad you brought up Trentoah because Travis was
Speaker 1: going to come here, you know, with Calip Perry here,
Speaker 1: I think whoever they had hired, Travis would have still come.
Speaker 1: But Trentollah flipped on his commitment to South Carolina, which
Speaker 1: is nothing to be scoffed at. But I also I
Speaker 1: think christ and we'll get back to Malick in a minute,
Speaker 1: I really believe Trendonoah maybe as much as Travis Perry
Speaker 1: is going to play a vital role in Kentucky basketball,
Speaker 1: maybe not this coming season. But I don't know how
Speaker 1: much of a chance you got to see either in person,
Speaker 1: are on video trendoah play in the Sweet sixteen. But
Speaker 1: this kid can play. And I think he's going to
Speaker 1: be important, don't you.
Speaker 5: Yeah? I think again, as fans and as media, we
Speaker 5: need to rewire our brains when it comes to recruiting
Speaker 5: and what success on the recruiting trail means at Kentucky.
Speaker 5: The days of having four and five five star guys
Speaker 5: and a single recruiting class are over. That's not going
Speaker 5: to happen here. And that's not how Mark Pope wants
Speaker 5: it to happen. He wants the third of his guys
Speaker 5: coming from the high school ranks. He wants the third
Speaker 5: returning players. He wants a third coming from the portal.
Speaker 5: That's going to give Kentucky balance that it hasn't had
Speaker 5: in fifteen years. And so you know, when you look
Speaker 5: at these guys, you can no longer look at them
Speaker 5: in terms of what they can offer you strictly as
Speaker 5: a freshman, right, You have to look at them in
Speaker 5: terms of what they're going to be able to contribute
Speaker 5: over the course of three or four years. And I
Speaker 5: think when you look at guys like Trent Noah, Travis Perry,
Speaker 5: and even Malachai Morano, because we all know that big
Speaker 5: guys develop a little bit more slowly than the smaller guys.
Speaker 6: Do.
Speaker 5: You have to look at them what in terms of
Speaker 5: what they're going to bring to the table in three
Speaker 5: or four years, and I think all three of those
Speaker 5: guys are going to be very, very good college basketball
Speaker 5: players before their careers at Kentucky are over and there
Speaker 5: for so long I was I was jealous of schools
Speaker 5: like North Carolina, Villanova, Kansas that you know, they may get,
Speaker 5: you know, a top fifteen, top twenty guy sprinkled in
Speaker 5: here and there, but for the most part, their recruiting
Speaker 5: classes were made up of top thirty five to top
Speaker 5: seventy five guys that probably weren't going to leave for
Speaker 5: the NBA after one year, and they were going to
Speaker 5: stick around for two and three years. And then by
Speaker 5: the time they're done, you have a very nice, little
Speaker 5: composite mixture of talent and experience, and those are the
Speaker 5: guys that go on to be really, really good college players.
Speaker 5: I mean, you think you know Hunter Dickinson, RJ. Davis,
Speaker 5: Armando Baycott, all the guys that Villanova had on and
Speaker 5: on and on, and you look at the teams that
Speaker 5: you look at the success that those teams have had
Speaker 5: in recent years, and they were always it felt like
Speaker 5: contending for a national championship.
Speaker 1: Talking to Chris Fisher the Catch Bass two four to
Speaker 1: seven Network about Kentucky recruiting and what we're going to
Speaker 1: touch on football a little bit later on. But Chris
Speaker 1: specializes in basketball and basketball recruiting. I'm glad you mentioned
Speaker 1: with Malachia Moreno, the fact that the bigs do develop
Speaker 1: a little more deliberately, don't they. But if you got
Speaker 1: a chance to see him play last year and you're
Speaker 1: gonna get a chance to see him this year, you
Speaker 1: can see the skills are there, not just the size.
Speaker 1: But he's one of today's big man, isn't he. I
Speaker 1: don't know that he's gonna well in Pope's offense. He
Speaker 1: might in high school. You don't see him step out
Speaker 1: and shoot threes very often. But he's a guy who
Speaker 1: can run the floor and he's got good feet. So
Speaker 1: you got to like what you see, right.
Speaker 5: Yeah, there's a lot to like about Malachim a Reno.
Speaker 5: The building blocks are there, I think physically, he has
Speaker 5: a lot of what you can't teach. I mean, he
Speaker 5: has versatility and mobility at six foot eleven, he runs
Speaker 5: the floor really well. He has soft touch around the rim.
Speaker 5: He pursues rebound with two hands. He's a very dependable rebounder.
Speaker 5: I thought I thought he needed a big spring in
Speaker 5: summer on the travel circuit, on the Showcase circuit, going
Speaker 5: against some of the best of the best. You know,
Speaker 5: being from Kentucky, you have that reputation, well, well who
Speaker 5: is he played again? But he went against the best
Speaker 5: for the best of the spring and summer and absolutely
Speaker 5: lived up to his reputation. Led his travel team to
Speaker 5: the championship of the Adidas three SSB Travel Circuit, had
Speaker 5: a really big playoff series there, and so I think
Speaker 5: really proved that he's a top twenty five prospect and
Speaker 5: one of the best big men in the twenty twenty
Speaker 5: five class. And when you're talking about Mark Pope's offense,
Speaker 5: especially the big guys, you have to be able to
Speaker 5: be able to handle the ball out on the floor.
Speaker 5: And that's not just put it on the deck. That
Speaker 5: being able to facilitate the offense, being able to shoot
Speaker 5: reliably from the perimeter, and then when you add to
Speaker 5: that his soft hands around the basket, his size, his
Speaker 5: mobility reminds me a little bit. I mean, Willie Caley
Speaker 5: Sign was a freak. I think people forget that. They
Speaker 5: know he played a wide receiver in high school, but
Speaker 5: athletically he was really really gifted. I don't think Malachaim
Speaker 5: Moran is quite on that level, but he moves really
Speaker 5: really well for a big guy and can do a
Speaker 5: lot of different things. So there's a lot for Mark
Speaker 5: Pope to work with there over the next two or
Speaker 5: three years.
Speaker 1: You know what it's like when when a kid commits
Speaker 1: to Kentucky, much less a Kentucky kid. So now this
Speaker 1: coming high school season and probably through that period of
Speaker 1: time you just described people I'm sure were going at
Speaker 1: Malachi and are gonna go at him. They're gonna go
Speaker 1: at him anyway, But now that he's, you know, a
Speaker 1: Mark Pope guy, he's gonna have to learn to deal
Speaker 1: with that. And I got to think that can only
Speaker 1: help you.
Speaker 5: Agree, Yeah, I think when you wear Kentucky across your
Speaker 5: chest at any level before and after, you're gonna have
Speaker 5: a target there. And so I think Malachi Mareno is
Speaker 5: certainly going to have that in the state of Kentucky
Speaker 5: this year. And I heard them talking about the Revenge
Speaker 5: Tour coming up this season to try and finish what
Speaker 5: they started, you know, making it to the Sweet sixty,
Speaker 5: but you know, falling to Harlan and not quite making
Speaker 5: it to the championship. And so I think he's going
Speaker 5: to have his chip on the shoulder. I think that
Speaker 5: team is going to have a chip on their shoulder
Speaker 5: to finish what they started and and prove that they're
Speaker 5: the best in the city.
Speaker 1: Did you get to see him in the Sweet sixteen
Speaker 1: or just a video?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I saw the I saw the highlights yet.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and what did you think when you saw him?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean he I think he's exactly what I described.
Speaker 5: I think he runs before really really well. You're not
Speaker 5: gonna see him at the high school level step out
Speaker 5: on the perimeter as much as maybe you'll see him
Speaker 5: at the college level, because you know, when you're six
Speaker 5: to eleven and you're playing against other high school kids,
Speaker 5: it probably is in your best interest to stay close
Speaker 5: to the basket where you can dominate. But I think
Speaker 5: his high school coach said that he's turned in something
Speaker 5: like sixty seven double doubles in a little over one
Speaker 5: hundred high school games, and so, like I said, he's
Speaker 5: a very reliable rebounder. He goes after every rebound, whether
Speaker 5: it's in his area or outside of the area, and
Speaker 5: can obviously dominate at high school level. But it was good,
Speaker 5: I think, to see him prove it at the highest
Speaker 5: level in the spring and summer and the travel circuit
Speaker 5: in the different showcase camps. Was one of the absolute
Speaker 5: best players on the floor at the NBA Top one
Speaker 5: hundred camp in Orlando, and Mark Pope made him a
Speaker 5: priority from day one. I mean, he flew around the
Speaker 5: country to see him called in the first day, took
Speaker 5: the job back in April, and now those two are
Speaker 5: are coming together.
Speaker 1: We're talking to Chris Fisher of the Cat's Pause part
Speaker 1: of the two four to seven Network. We'll come back
Speaker 1: and talk about Kentucky's basketball schedule, among other things on
Speaker 1: the other side of the break here on a Big
Speaker 1: Move Sider six thirty WLAP Welcome back. We're talking with
Speaker 1: Chris Fisher, who specializes in basketball basketball recruiting for the
Speaker 1: Cat's Pause part of the two four to seven network.
Speaker 1: And the schedule is that We've already known most of
Speaker 1: the opponents, Chris, I guess they just find the dates.
Speaker 1: But it's a challenge, as every Kentucky schedule is. But
Speaker 1: I kind of like the way it lays out for
Speaker 1: this team. Couple of the exhibitions, including the defending D
Speaker 1: two national champion Minnesota State man Cato, a couple of
Speaker 1: regular season games before they head for Atlanta and Duke.
Speaker 1: We're gonna find out a lot about this team very quickly,
Speaker 1: aren't we.
Speaker 5: Yeah. I really like the decision by Mark Pope to
Speaker 5: schedule two very highly competitive Division two teams in the
Speaker 5: exhibition season. You know, these aren't going to be teams
Speaker 5: that Kentucky beats by fifty and sixty points, right you
Speaker 5: mentioned Minnesota Mikato, the bigining Division two national champions, Kentucky
Speaker 5: Wesleyan is always competitive at the Division two level, and
Speaker 5: so I think Kentucky will get an early test as
Speaker 5: far as the exhibition games are concerned. And they need
Speaker 5: that because they open the season with Duke and the
Speaker 5: Champions Classic. And you know, Cooper Flag has been receiving
Speaker 5: a ton of offseason hype, played really really well against
Speaker 5: the Olympic team in Las Vegas. And I'm sure that's
Speaker 5: going to build up his confidence more and more. Some
Speaker 5: people are thinking he's going to be the premier player
Speaker 5: in college basketball as a freshman this season. So Kentucky's
Speaker 5: going to be tested early and often. But you know,
Speaker 5: I like some of the fresh matchups. I like Clemson
Speaker 5: going to Clemson in the inaugural ac C SEC Challenge.
Speaker 5: You have Kansas in Ohio State kind of looming there
Speaker 5: as well, so it'll be a fun non conference And
Speaker 5: that's even before we get into the SEC schedule, you know,
Speaker 5: with obviously John Caliperry returning with the Reporena with Arkansas,
Speaker 5: and then you have you know, Kentucky playing at Texas
Speaker 5: at Oklahoma for the first time as members of the SEC.
Speaker 5: So it's shaping up to be a really fun regular
Speaker 5: season schedule.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and almost immediately after they get back from Clemson,
Speaker 1: they get on a plane go to Seattle for again Zaga,
Speaker 1: So that's going to be a heck of a trip.
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting you mentioned Arkansas back in the day,
Speaker 1: well just last year. When schedules come out, UK fans
Speaker 1: immediately look to find the Louisville game, which is December fourteenth.
Speaker 1: This year in Lexing, and but you're right, everybody instantly
Speaker 1: went to February one, and that's when Arkansas comes to
Speaker 1: rupp Arena and the debate is already underway. You've probably
Speaker 1: seen it on social media. Do you boo or do
Speaker 1: you not boo? I think we all know the answer
Speaker 1: to that question, don't we.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know it's too soon not to boost, right.
Speaker 5: I mean, if this was if this was four or
Speaker 5: five years down the road, or he was at a
Speaker 5: school that wasn't in the SEC, I could you know,
Speaker 5: I could maybe see that. But just the way things ended,
Speaker 5: and you know John cal Perry kind of leaving of
Speaker 5: his own polition for another league team, I just think,
Speaker 5: you know, you might hear a smattering of cheers or
Speaker 5: you know, silence or whatever, but I think for the
Speaker 5: most part, he's gonna hear booze when he walks into
Speaker 5: the refereena on February first.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll tell you another game I think could be
Speaker 1: vital if not in the SEC standings when you're jocking
Speaker 1: for a bracket space. Is the Auburn game, which is
Speaker 1: March one. I mean it's toward the end of the
Speaker 1: regular season. Chris and Auburn by all accounts, is going
Speaker 1: to be pretty strong.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 5: I think I think the SEC will be as strong
Speaker 5: as it's ever been this season. I mean, when you
Speaker 5: talk about Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, A and
Speaker 5: M at the top of the conference, that's that's that's
Speaker 5: really really high Cotton, I think right there. And I
Speaker 5: think that's why you're seeing the varying preseason rankings and
Speaker 5: kind of where they have Kentucky. Some have them, you know,
Speaker 5: or the top around two or three. I saw John
Speaker 5: Rothstein had them as low as nine. And you know
Speaker 5: we saw last season with Arkansas, when you bring in
Speaker 5: a ton of transfers, the talent may be there on paper,
Speaker 5: but it may not end up coming together. Right. The
Speaker 5: cake doesn't always rise when you put it in the
Speaker 5: oven for one reason or another. And I think you know,
Speaker 5: Arkansas was a preseason top fifteen last season and just
Speaker 5: never quite came together for them for a number of reasons.
Speaker 5: And so there's so many more X factors, I think,
Speaker 5: especially when you're bringing in twelve new scholarship players and
Speaker 5: how those guys are going to fit together and mesh
Speaker 5: together and compliment each other, But I do think this
Speaker 5: is a roster that compliments each other really, really well.
Speaker 5: In the first season under.
Speaker 1: Markfolk got a few minutes left with Chris Fisher of
Speaker 1: the Cash Pause, you mentioned Jasper Johnson, and you didn't
Speaker 1: sound too optimistic. Everything I'm Hering's Alabama, I'm marrying Nil
Speaker 1: is deeply in play. Obviously, they offer all these recruits,
Speaker 1: but Malachi Moreno made his pitch to Jasper, didn't he.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm not sure how much sway Malachi Moreno's decision
Speaker 5: will have over Jasper Johnson. It certainly couldn't hurt having,
Speaker 5: you know, another elite talent there with you in that
Speaker 5: recruiting class. But to me, I think Kentucky's always been
Speaker 5: kind of playing catch up with Jasper Johnson, even under
Speaker 5: the previous administration. I'm not sure how hard they were
Speaker 5: really recruiting him, even him, you know, being a UK legacy,
Speaker 5: with all the Kentucky connections that he has. I think
Speaker 5: in the beginning it was more North Carolina. I think
Speaker 5: he grew up a North Carolina fan, and then at
Speaker 5: you had Alabama come on late. I think I think
Speaker 5: he likes what he's seen at Alabama under NATO's in
Speaker 5: terms of the success and going to its first ever
Speaker 5: Final four last season, in developing some of the guards
Speaker 5: that they've had into lottery picks draft picks. And also
Speaker 5: I just think Jazz kind of strikes me as a
Speaker 5: kid that wants to do his own thing, you know.
Speaker 5: I think it goes both ways. Sometimes you want to
Speaker 5: follow in your family's footsteps, and sometimes you want to
Speaker 5: do something completely different. And I think that's, you know,
Speaker 5: somewhat of the case that's going on here. I think
Speaker 5: Kentucky has put its best foot forward. I think now
Speaker 5: that all three schools kind of have the lay of
Speaker 5: the land in his recruitment, they're kind of putting their
Speaker 5: best foot forward and making their best and final offers,
Speaker 5: if you will, coming here down the stretch. But in
Speaker 5: my mind, I still think Alabama is the favorite. I
Speaker 5: think Kentucky's maybe put themselves into contention, but it's still
Speaker 5: just hard to see with the way his recruitment is gone,
Speaker 5: Kentucky being able to kind of flip this in the
Speaker 5: twenty fifth hours.
Speaker 1: A couple of minutes after Chris Fisher of the Cats Paws,
Speaker 1: and as I mentioned, Chris specializes in basketball basketball recruiting.
Speaker 1: But you posted a story recently on the website about
Speaker 1: the fact that UK landed two players, not just one,
Speaker 1: but two on the ESPN list of Top one hundred
Speaker 1: in college football. Of course, Dean Walker is one of
Speaker 1: the tops, but Maxwell Harston makes the list. I think
Speaker 1: people might have expected Barry and Brown, and maybe he
Speaker 1: belongs on there as a return man, but Harston really
Speaker 1: rising at everybody's polls. But again, you're a recruiting specialist.
Speaker 1: That says a heck of a lot about the recruiting
Speaker 1: that Mark Stoops has done through the years. I mean,
Speaker 1: you go back to a time, Chris as do I
Speaker 1: when Kentucky putting one player on a top one hundred
Speaker 1: list would have been cast for celebration, much less two.
Speaker 5: Right, Yeah, I mean, it really is remarkable what Mark Stoops,
Speaker 5: and you have to mention Vince Marrow in that conversation
Speaker 5: as well, has been able to do it Kentucky. I
Speaker 5: think it's something like fourteen straight top forty recruiting classes
Speaker 5: at Kentucky, which is almost on I mean, it's unheard
Speaker 5: of when you consider the position the program was in
Speaker 5: when Mark Stoops took over, and I think especially when
Speaker 5: you look at the last two years. You know, they
Speaker 5: were flirting with or were inside the top twenty five
Speaker 5: last year. I think they'll be flirting with another top
Speaker 5: twenty five class this year. The top end talent is there,
Speaker 5: especially you know, for a program like Kentucky whose home
Speaker 5: state doesn't produce the kind of talent that other SEC
Speaker 5: schools rely on in their home base. It really is remarkable.
Speaker 5: And you look at you know, Dean Walker and Maxwell Harrison.
Speaker 5: I definitely think Barrian Brown for his ability every time
Speaker 5: he touches the ball, whether it's as a returner or
Speaker 5: a receiver on an end around or a jet sweep
Speaker 5: or whatever. His explosive playmaking ability certainly deserves to be
Speaker 5: in that top one hundred. But it doesn't get much
Speaker 5: better than Dion Walker. I think you could have placed
Speaker 5: him even higher on the list than he was. And
Speaker 5: then the turnover machine that Well Harston turned into last
Speaker 5: season and what he projects this year. I think we
Speaker 5: could see another situation like Drew Phillips where you know,
Speaker 5: played himself into into a high draft pick. I think
Speaker 5: we could see the same thing with Maxwell Heerson.
Speaker 1: And to me, the most amazing thing about this is
Speaker 1: both of these kids. Walker and Harson are from the
Speaker 1: Detroit area. You know, you could see Ohio, you could
Speaker 1: see obviously Kentucky. But getting into Detroit and getting kids
Speaker 1: away from Michigan right now is pretty amazing. Chris Fisher
Speaker 1: of The Cats Pause is part of the two four
Speaker 1: seven network. In fact, follow him on Twitter or ex
Speaker 1: at Chris Fisher two four seven. If you haven't subscribed
Speaker 1: to The Cat's Pause, you need to do so right away. Chris,
Speaker 1: thank you so much, and we'll see you down the road,
Speaker 1: all right, you bet coming up and I'm a number two.
Speaker 1: More basketball talk with the unforgettable guard Sean Woods. We're
Speaker 1: also going to talk football with Sean as well, and
Speaker 1: our Weston EUROA chief Gary Moore here on the Big
Speaker 1: Blooming Sider six point thirty lap. Welcome back to the
Speaker 1: Big Blue and Sider are joining us now as he
Speaker 1: does every Wednesday when our schedules align. On our celebrity hotline.
Speaker 1: Is Sean Woods, the unforgettable guard and a veteran of
Speaker 1: the college coaching Wars, taking a bit of a sabbatical
Speaker 1: this year. But I do want to talk some football
Speaker 1: with you first, though, I need to talk a little
Speaker 1: bit about a couple things involving your beloved Wildcats. They
Speaker 1: released their schedule, they finally got dates nailed down, and
Speaker 1: it's interesting, Sean, were usually people right away look for
Speaker 1: the SEC opener, They look for the Louisville game, But
Speaker 1: the first thing everybody looked at is when does Arkansas
Speaker 1: come to town? Which is February first. What do you
Speaker 1: think is gonna happen when John Caliperi arrives.
Speaker 6: Well, I hope to think that, you know, people don't
Speaker 6: get nasty and belligerent, because the man did come here
Speaker 6: and he did a heck of a job, and he
Speaker 6: won a national championship, and he made history and he
Speaker 6: kept Kentucky relevant no matter you know, the outcome in
Speaker 6: the last few years as far as getting to the
Speaker 6: final fours and getting knocked off. You know, but the
Speaker 6: guy was a heck of a coach here, and I
Speaker 6: just hope that they treat him like they did coach Patino.
Speaker 6: You know, he's from he's coaching Arkansas, so you know,
Speaker 6: he's a nemesis now, but you know, still appreciate what
Speaker 6: the guy did for the University of Kentucky, and you know,
Speaker 6: let's be professional about it. But it is gonna be
Speaker 6: an anticipated game, no doubt about it. Not only is
Speaker 6: Kentucky fans anticipating it to Arkansas fans anticipated pretty much
Speaker 6: because John Pelfrey, I mean, John Telfrey, John Cali Perry's
Speaker 6: known all over the country. It's gonna be a national anticipated.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And he's gonna have a good team, isn't he.
Speaker 6: Oh my goodness, This team he has an Arkansas may
Speaker 6: be better than the team he had at Kentucky this
Speaker 6: past year.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh no, I think there's no question about that.
Speaker 1: But obviously the obvious question is use him?
Speaker 6: How does he use them?
Speaker 5: I mean, you know.
Speaker 6: This transfer reporter has has has has has made it
Speaker 6: to the point where everybody has to play. You know,
Speaker 6: we're going back to the Little league now. That's the
Speaker 6: reason why most of these kids are leaving, and also
Speaker 6: for money and so on and so forth. But you know,
Speaker 6: he's gonna find a way, and you know, he's competitive
Speaker 6: and and I think because of what happened here, just
Speaker 6: coming from an experience standpoint, he's going to be ripped up.
Speaker 6: And I think his juices are flowing again. And I think,
Speaker 6: you know, leaving Kentucky was a wake up call for him.
Speaker 6: From a professional standpoint, you know, sometimes you get kind
Speaker 6: of complacent. You know, you're still coaching at Kentucky. You're
Speaker 6: at the number one place in America, so you at
Speaker 6: the Mecca college basketball as a coach too. You get
Speaker 6: inducted to the to the Natesmith Hall of Fame and
Speaker 6: you're still coaching three you get a lifetime contract, so
Speaker 6: where else is there to go?
Speaker 1: That's true.
Speaker 6: And I tell people all the time, John Calipari is human,
Speaker 6: and I think he got complacent a little bit, which
Speaker 6: some people do, and that's what happened. But I still
Speaker 6: think that he has a lot of coaching left and
Speaker 6: I think he's gonna become a better coach just because
Speaker 6: of this situation.
Speaker 1: Well, and you got to wonder. You and I have
Speaker 1: talked the last several months about the fact that his
Speaker 1: final UK team was not indicative of the way he
Speaker 1: coaches defense. You were a player, you were a point guard,
Speaker 1: but you were known as a good defender, and your
Speaker 1: teams you've coached were good defensively. And I know how
Speaker 1: surprised you were that this pass Kentucky team was easily
Speaker 1: Cali Perry's worst defensive team and might have been his
Speaker 1: best offensive team. That was so confusing and frustrating.
Speaker 6: It was and you know, to the fact that I
Speaker 6: went to practice and he never really worked on defense,
Speaker 6: that was surprising me. You know that he never really
Speaker 6: paid much attention to it, knowing that that was the
Speaker 6: weakest part of his team. That was that was really
Speaker 6: what was kind of you know, surprising.
Speaker 1: Eye open.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know what I'm saying. But I know he
Speaker 6: can coach defense because his teams are always known as
Speaker 6: one of the best defensive teams in the country. But
Speaker 6: he's always had shot blockers back there. He's always had
Speaker 6: had the Willly College the people like that, and big guards.
Speaker 6: I don't think he had that first se this year.
Speaker 6: But still, when you got a bunch of young guys
Speaker 6: every year, the main thing you got to focus on,
Speaker 6: especially in the summertime, is defense.
Speaker 1: Well, now, Mark Pope has a veteran lineup for the
Speaker 1: most part, a veteran roster really with this challenging schedule,
Speaker 1: but he went out and got guys known for their defense.
Speaker 1: When when you're trying to pull a team together and
Speaker 1: you never had to really do that as a head coach,
Speaker 1: you were able to do it in a more conventional way,
Speaker 1: But to go out and build through transfers.
Speaker 6: At least your own dick got most of my time.
Speaker 6: I had to get transferred, is that right, Yeah, because
Speaker 6: at the level I was that a really good high
Speaker 6: school player. So you maybe get one, yeah, maybe two,
Speaker 6: But other than that, I was getting transferred. That that's
Speaker 6: I had to build my bill to.
Speaker 1: Well even better. What's it like trying to build a
Speaker 1: team with the continuity and the communication challenges of playing
Speaker 1: good defense.
Speaker 6: Well, I always got guys, you know, I recruited strategically.
Speaker 6: I got guys that played my style of play. I
Speaker 6: got guys that were tough, you know, that were rugged,
Speaker 6: defensive players that rebounds the ball. You know, my teams
Speaker 6: were top ten every year defensively field goal percentage. Also,
Speaker 6: we've crashed the glass, so I always was top five
Speaker 6: in offensive rebounding. So I always got those type of
Speaker 6: guys with big stroll guards that can sit down guard
Speaker 6: and the way we played defense. But you know, you
Speaker 6: got to get that. And if you're going to do
Speaker 6: transfer porter you got to get well if they were
Speaker 6: good at that place where they're leaving. You know, if
Speaker 6: you need a score, then you're trying to get a
Speaker 6: transfer that can score. If you need a shot blocker,
Speaker 6: you try to get a transfer that can shop, that
Speaker 6: can block shots. If you're trying to get an a
Speaker 6: ball defender, lockdown defend, and that's if you're going to
Speaker 6: go in the transfer reporter, then that's what you're getting.
Speaker 6: That's what you're looking for. So when you do get that,
Speaker 6: you already getting an experienced guy who already is pretty
Speaker 6: good at what you need him to do when he
Speaker 6: comes to your team.
Speaker 1: You had teams that played a lot of tough road
Speaker 1: games at the level at which you were coaching. Kentucky
Speaker 1: doesn't have to do that obviously quite as much. But
Speaker 1: early in the season, regular season, a trip to Atlanta
Speaker 1: to play Duke. That's going to give Mark Pope and
Speaker 1: a big Blue nation a chance to really see what
Speaker 1: they've got. What do you think it's going to be like?
Speaker 1: And what is it like Sean as a coach to
Speaker 1: take on an opponent that good that early in the year.
Speaker 6: Well, this is Kentucky, So you know they should be
Speaker 6: saying the same thing about us. Yeah, so you know
Speaker 6: we can't, you know, just because Mark's taking over the
Speaker 6: job and you know this thing is new We're still Kentucky.
Speaker 6: So from that stamp point, you know, we're used to
Speaker 6: play out, you know, we're used to playing a tougher
Speaker 6: schedule than this. To be honest with you, you really only
Speaker 6: got two top twenty five teams on the schedule preseason,
Speaker 6: and that's Duke and Gonzaga. I don't see anybody else.
Speaker 6: You know what I'm saying. That's, you know, a typical
Speaker 6: Kentucky schedule.
Speaker 1: Right now, non conference, you know, yeah.
Speaker 6: Yeah, non conference. I think this is you know, a
Speaker 6: first year for a first year coach that you don't
Speaker 6: know how good he's going to be, type of schedule,
Speaker 6: just so he can get some wins and some confidence
Speaker 6: under his belt going into the SEC Conference.
Speaker 1: Well, and in the SEC you got Alabama twice, and
Speaker 1: that's the popular pick by some to go back to
Speaker 1: the final four and even win it. You got Tennessee twice.
Speaker 1: I think people sometimes oftentimes underestimate how tough the SEC is.
Speaker 1: I think they were doing that shown back when you played.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
Speaker 6: I'll tell you what I mean, tell me a conference
Speaker 6: from top to bottom, this is as good as the SEC.
Speaker 6: Yeah know, old mention is not an easy out. You
Speaker 6: know Vanderbilt, especially going to Vanderbilt is not an easy out.
Speaker 6: You know, you know how good Missippi State can be
Speaker 6: at times. You know, George has been the one that's
Speaker 6: at the.
Speaker 1: Bottom right now.
Speaker 6: But I foresee them being a little bit better this year,
Speaker 6: just from a standpoint of getting some better transfers, some
Speaker 6: older guys to help them. So, you know, LSU is
Speaker 6: going to be a lot better. They say, some really
Speaker 6: good kids. This league is tenacious and it's unforgiving, and
Speaker 6: you have probably some top to bottom, you know, the
Speaker 6: best coaching conference in America.
Speaker 1: Do you think fans take the SEC for granted? Though
Speaker 1: everything you just mentioned lines up with what I think.
Speaker 1: But I think Kentucky fans have seen these teams for
Speaker 1: so long, for so many years, and you guys dominated
Speaker 1: while you were playing. There have been stretches where Caliperi's
Speaker 1: teams dominated the league. But I sometimes think Kentucky fans
Speaker 1: just kind of look past the SEC for some reason.
Speaker 6: Well, because we've been so successful, as you know that
Speaker 6: that's that's why we're the epitome of college basketball. Because
Speaker 6: of what you just said. You know, there's not too
Speaker 6: many teams in America that can come in and win
Speaker 6: as many games consistently, especially SEC championships, whether the tournament
Speaker 6: or regular season. The Kentucky you know, that was one
Speaker 6: of the downfalls of cal you know, his last few years,
Speaker 6: you know, not making it to Sunday at the SEC tournament,
Speaker 6: you know, ending up fourth or fifth place in the
Speaker 6: regular season. That's not what Kentucky fans are used to.
Speaker 6: And you know, not only you know, not even considering
Speaker 6: the national deal when you get to the NCAA tournament
Speaker 6: and not you know, and not being at least a
Speaker 6: two seed going into the tournament. And the reason why
Speaker 6: we haven't been is because our league has gotten much
Speaker 6: better and it's getting even better with the teams that
Speaker 6: are coming in. So it's not gonna be an easy
Speaker 6: out for football or basketball as far as the SEC
Speaker 6: is concerned. And uh, you know that's why we got
Speaker 6: to really rally behind Mark and and uh Mark Pope
Speaker 6: and and and and rally the truths because this thing
Speaker 6: is not gonna be easy. You know, you got some
Speaker 6: teams already there. You know, they're not rebuilding, they just reloading.
Speaker 6: We're rebuilding, and we're starting from scratch, new coach, new system,
Speaker 6: new type of players, new everything, and this is new
Speaker 6: to even Mark being in the SEC, being at this
Speaker 6: level of competition. So you know, we we got to
Speaker 6: stand strong and be his backbone and give him some
Speaker 6: encouragement because it's not gonna be an easy role starting off,
Speaker 6: because there's not one easy out in the SEC. And
Speaker 6: hopefully this, this this schedule, pre conference schedule, can give
Speaker 6: him some confidence and find out some things that he
Speaker 6: needs to find out about his team quickly before January starts,
Speaker 6: when the SEC begins.
Speaker 1: Before I shift you over to football. One final basketball question.
Speaker 1: Kind of an obvious question, but as a veteran of
Speaker 1: the recruiting trail, tell me about the importance of Kentucky
Speaker 1: landing Malachai Marino, a local guy and a big guy
Speaker 1: at that kind of a must get for Mark Pope obviously,
Speaker 1: wasn't he, Oh.
Speaker 5: No doubt about it.
Speaker 6: You can't let guys like that out of the state
Speaker 6: of Kentucky because they come, they're very rare to get
Speaker 6: out to get out of the state. And that was
Speaker 6: a great get for him, no doubt about it. You know,
Speaker 6: his brother was a really good player that Easton had
Speaker 6: a couple of injuries, but he was a really good
Speaker 6: high school player too, and for the young fellow to
Speaker 6: come up and grow and be a seven footer and
Speaker 6: he's real skilled. I saw him play probably four or
Speaker 6: five times this year, and the one thing I liked
Speaker 6: about him was most big guys when they're playing against
Speaker 6: smaller guys, they kind of they're out of their element
Speaker 6: a little bit. But he's so skilled, especially with the ball,
Speaker 6: that he was able to do what a seven foot
Speaker 6: is supposed to do in high school. He's got great hands.
Speaker 6: He blocked every shot but he was supposed to block.
Speaker 6: He finished every bucket underneath that he was supposed to finish.
Speaker 6: He ran the floor. He can make moves against young,
Speaker 6: smaller guys that are much quicker. That really impressed me.
Speaker 6: And uh, I think he's a competitor. I think he's
Speaker 6: a winner, and and he comes from great jeans. I mean,
Speaker 6: his brother, you know, laid the foundation. I really think
Speaker 6: a lot about his his brother, and for him to
Speaker 6: come right behind that's a young one and be seven
Speaker 6: foot and to have that type of ability and also
Speaker 6: toughness because he's top five big in the country, not
Speaker 6: only just one of the big, probably the best big
Speaker 6: in the state of Kentucky. But he's top five in
Speaker 6: the country as far as Biggs are concerned, and that's
Speaker 6: what you want. You can't let that get away.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 6: The question is are we going to get Dennis johnson
Speaker 6: Son Yeah, Jeffs No, that's the number. That's one of
Speaker 6: the top five players in the country. Can we solidify
Speaker 6: him as an n State kid? You know that's the
Speaker 6: question right now.
Speaker 1: Sean Wood's my guess, the unforgettable guard. We'll come back
Speaker 1: and actually talk football with a coach in just a minute.
Speaker 1: You're on a big Moonsider six thirty WLAP Welcome back.
Speaker 1: We're talking to Sean Woods, the unforgettable guard and veteran
Speaker 1: of the college basketball coaching wars, but a football fan
Speaker 1: as well. You're excited for this upcoming UK football season.
Speaker 6: I'm always exciting. Reason why I'm excited, man, because I've
Speaker 6: been going twenty five years, Dick and I've never had
Speaker 6: a tailgated or been to a tailgate since I left here.
Speaker 6: So I got a chance that Dwayne Casey came intown
Speaker 6: one that one day and we went to the Tennessee
Speaker 6: Kentucky football game, which was a great game.
Speaker 5: We won.
Speaker 6: So that's the only game I've been to it, So
Speaker 6: I'm looking forward to being around more often tailgating and
Speaker 6: taking in being a former UK not just student, but
Speaker 6: I mean UK athlete, but also a former student and alumni.
Speaker 6: So I'm looking forward to it. Mark Students has done
Speaker 6: a great job and I think he's going to continue to.
Speaker 6: You know, the road is tougher because the teams that
Speaker 6: are in the league now, but uh, you know, as
Speaker 6: far as I'm concerned, you know, there's no better guy
Speaker 6: for the job and what he's done on a consistent basis.
Speaker 1: Did you play football growing up or are you strictly bad?
Speaker 1: Did you know?
Speaker 6: I played football and baseball, and I was just as
Speaker 6: good at both both of them. I was just as fast.
Speaker 6: You know, I was a receiver. You know my high
Speaker 6: school won state championships. I played with guys that are
Speaker 6: in the pros. You know the Blame Bishops of the
Speaker 6: world that played defensive back for the Tennessee Titans. You
Speaker 6: know the Derrick Brownlows who just got inducted to the
Speaker 6: high school Hall of Fame that you know, it was
Speaker 6: a second run up to the Buckets Award at Illinois.
Speaker 6: More Gardener, who was nose guard at Illinois and played
Speaker 6: those guard for the Atlanta Falcons for ten twelve years.
Speaker 6: I've back football has been in my blood, Baseball has
Speaker 6: been in my blood, and that's so happened. Basketball was
Speaker 6: more excited. You know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I knew, I knew you played baseball, but were
Speaker 1: you a guy who went over the middle as a receiver.
Speaker 6: I did what I had to do. I played defensive
Speaker 6: back too, so you know I gave more hits than
Speaker 6: I got, which was good for me.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh that's excellent. Yeah. Why do you think Stoops
Speaker 1: has been so successful here at Kentucky when other guys
Speaker 1: failed Because he's.
Speaker 6: Relentless, you know, and hats off to Vince too, you
Speaker 6: know what tomorrow because he's they they've gone out and
Speaker 6: really gotten some guys. They found their niche, you know,
Speaker 6: and over in the Ohio area and places like that
Speaker 6: where and also now that the transfer portal has been
Speaker 6: so you know, they're they're able to get quality quarterbacks. Yeah,
Speaker 6: you know, and if you've got a great quarterback, defense
Speaker 6: has been a key. You know, he's putting pros left,
Speaker 6: just as many pros in the NFL on the defensive
Speaker 6: side than anybody else in the SEC conference. So you know,
Speaker 6: they found their niche. I think their coaching philosophy is great.
Speaker 6: I think he's hard nosed. I think he's just as
Speaker 6: smart as any coach in America. You know, Kentucky has
Speaker 6: their facilities of second to none to anybody, and now
Speaker 6: they're starting to race. You know, playing in SEC is
Speaker 6: playing in the SEC. And you know, I think he's
Speaker 6: now being able to get some continued to get some skills.
Speaker 6: You know that a second tier guy at Alabama is
Speaker 6: just as good as the first tier guy at Kentucky,
Speaker 6: which can compete against the first tier guy at Alabama. Yeah,
Speaker 6: so it's so much parody now, especially when it comes
Speaker 6: to football. You know, it comes down to speed, agility,
Speaker 6: and you know when you line them up shoot. Now
Speaker 6: it just comes down to coaching schemes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you mentioned stealing guys. I mean Rock Vandergriff
Speaker 1: couldn't quite couldn't quite be out Carson Beck, who's everybody's
Speaker 1: favorite quarterback now and now he gets a chance to
Speaker 1: show what he can do a Kentucky. I think that's
Speaker 1: really intriguing.
Speaker 6: And you're getting guys with chips on the show. Oh y,
Speaker 6: what better recruit and better transfer to get than a
Speaker 6: guy that's coming in that's hungry and ready to prove
Speaker 6: himself to the from the to the place to where
Speaker 6: he left. So I think they're very they're very strategic
Speaker 6: on that and that's why they're continued to be successful. Plus,
Speaker 6: you come to Kentucky, you know, even though it's football,
Speaker 6: it's still hard to say no, you know, because there's
Speaker 6: not too many places that is nice as Lexington, Kentucky.
Speaker 6: And you're gonna get treated just as good here as
Speaker 6: you will at any other university in America.
Speaker 1: Sean Woods, the Unforgettable Guard, we travel him each and
Speaker 1: every Wednesday. Coach, thank you so much, and maybe we'll
Speaker 1: see you in the parking lot on football game.
Speaker 6: Day, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: Man, Sean Woods, the Unforgettable Guard. His jersey hangs in
Speaker 1: the rafters rup and we talk with him each and
Speaker 1: every Wednesday. As I said, when our schedules aligned. Coming
Speaker 1: up next, it's our West End Bureau chief, Gary Moore.
Speaker 1: We'll have a chance to talk some baseball, football and
Speaker 1: basketball with Gary on the other side of the break
Speaker 1: here on the Big Blue Sider six thirty WLAP Welcome
Speaker 1: back to the Big Blue Sider. Joining us down our
Speaker 1: celebrity hotline guy Guy, He's a celebrity, whether he likes
Speaker 1: it or not. The longest time covered sports at KALOS
Speaker 1: Radio in La was our West Coast bureau chief. Now
Speaker 1: at the other end of I sixty four as our
Speaker 1: West End bureau chief, Gary Moore, enjoying this nice, cool weather.
Speaker 3: I know, I love it. That's absolutely great. How about yourself?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's wonderful.
Speaker 3: Here in the garage, it's two guys in a six pack,
Speaker 3: two guys six topics. Here we go our first sip.
Speaker 3: As we say, Dick, I bring you good news right
Speaker 3: off the bat. Our long national nightmare is over. The
Speaker 3: drought has ended. Last weekend, the last one without college
Speaker 3: football or basketball until April twelve, twenty twenty five. We
Speaker 3: have a two guys in six pack. Hope that you've
Speaker 3: enjoyed the time with your families wherever you may be
Speaker 3: listening to this now that they're going to be once
Speaker 3: again on the social back burner until Sacrify five absolutely
Speaker 3: idios because Saturday, This Saturday, ESPN high noon, Eastern live
Speaker 3: from a Viva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Number ten, Florida State,
Speaker 3: I guess number nothing, Georgia Tech kicking off the twenty
Speaker 3: twenty four college football season. Bigora, It's back sort of.
Speaker 3: It's like the one big game of the days. Now.
Speaker 3: Some may wonder how come Dublin gets the opening honors again, Well, duh, because,
Speaker 3: like the rest of the free world, when I think
Speaker 3: of Ireland, I automatically think, oh, yeah, Seminoles and let's
Speaker 3: see that acclaimed engineering school which has a nineteen thirty
Speaker 3: Ramlin rec model, a Coop mascot, who doesn't think that
Speaker 3: there's actually, unfortunately, no fighting Irish this year in the
Speaker 3: Dublin unless they're gonna in the stands when the Guinness
Speaker 3: runs out. By the way, I asked, will you be
Speaker 3: watching with or without a case of Guinness and maybe
Speaker 3: some Jamison? And are you, Dick Gabriel so desperate for
Speaker 3: college football? You'll accidentally tune into some of those other
Speaker 3: games on Saturday, like Montana State a New Mexico or
Speaker 3: SMU at Nevada.
Speaker 1: I may watch some of the games on Thursday, you know,
Speaker 1: Southern Utah and Utah, that kind of thing. But yeah,
Speaker 1: the highlight game, the highest profile, is the game in Dublin.
Speaker 1: But before I knock it, remember you're talking to a
Speaker 1: guy who once worked a game in Tokyo. So this
Speaker 1: was back in the eighties. So there is a market
Speaker 1: for college football overseas. And then, trust me, and this
Speaker 1: is not a knock on the Japanese. Find people in Japan.
Speaker 1: They didn't even understand what they were seeing. They had
Speaker 1: to explain it on the big board, and they still
Speaker 1: loved it. So yeah, as long as there's an audience,
Speaker 1: why not. And I would love to cover a game
Speaker 1: in Dublin.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I bet you would, so would I for that matter.
Speaker 3: By the way, speaking of games, I've completely forgot about
Speaker 3: those games on Thursday for a good reason. Our second sip,
Speaker 3: speaking of football with paid athletes, Two more NFL practice
Speaker 3: games exhibition games? What do you want to call them?
Speaker 3: That you can try and endure on a screen near
Speaker 3: you tomorrow night. First at eight eastern on Amazon up
Speaker 3: I seventy five. You got the Colts at the Bengals.
Speaker 3: Then at a twenty the rumored next coming of Patrick Mahomes,
Speaker 3: Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears versus the actual Patrick
Speaker 3: Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on the NFL Network. Dick,
Speaker 3: I've already watched enough NFL practice games this year. That's
Speaker 3: time I'll never get back in my life. And I
Speaker 3: can safely say that the quality of football that I
Speaker 3: have witnessed these past couple of weeks, to quote Chevy
Speaker 3: Chase from Caddy Shack, it's really really awful. Actually, race
Speaker 3: is the question, why even play some of these games?
Speaker 3: Why not use the untelevised team versus team scrimmages that
Speaker 3: they have all the time to decide the rosters, then
Speaker 3: hit the season running with games you can actually count
Speaker 3: in the standings, like gee, I don't know college and
Speaker 3: high school teams do every year?
Speaker 1: Or is it?
Speaker 3: And this may be the answer in the question, is
Speaker 3: it just all an NFL owner money grab for the
Speaker 3: TV though associated with those practice games?
Speaker 1: So I think you know the answer to that one.
Speaker 1: Although the TV though isn't quite what it is regular season,
Speaker 1: because these are games that are broadcast by the local
Speaker 1: affiliates and then picked up by the likes, of course,
Speaker 1: of the NFL network or whatever. But the worldwide leader
Speaker 1: jumps in there every now and then. To your point,
Speaker 1: I think it'll come to that what you said with
Speaker 1: the practice games or the controlled practices with two teams,
Speaker 1: despite the fact that they often lead to fights, but
Speaker 1: I think the players prefer that, and the players are
Speaker 1: going to have to agree, as we often say, to
Speaker 1: whatever happens. But yeah, and you're cheating your viewers. And
Speaker 1: here's how bad it is. Gary. I tune in for
Speaker 1: my beloved Packers, part of which I own, as you
Speaker 1: well know, I turned it off because, for one thing,
Speaker 1: our backups, the Packers' backups, weren't playing very well. But
Speaker 1: for another reason, I don't even know most of these guys,
Speaker 1: So why bother? You're wasting my time? And I got
Speaker 1: to think now, what it does is it helps backups
Speaker 1: make the team. But I gotta think they could do
Speaker 1: that in practice as well.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, And I think also because the owners now require
Speaker 3: if you're gonna get season tickets, you have to get
Speaker 3: the tickets to pay for these games as well. And
Speaker 3: I don't think there used to be a trend. I
Speaker 3: don't think it was back in the sixties and seventies.
Speaker 3: I think maybe some of those might have been optional.
Speaker 3: I don't really know for sure, but now it's definitely
Speaker 3: if you get season tickets for any NFL team, you
Speaker 3: have to go to these practice games as well. In
Speaker 3: your whole budget. Our third swig in the six backs.
Speaker 3: Speaking of crummy practice football, there are many reasons, Dick,
Speaker 3: why I'm glad I'm not a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but
Speaker 3: two main reasons come to mind. The reasons being Russell
Speaker 3: Wilson and Justin Fields, two supposedly veteran quarterbacks, and one
Speaker 3: Wilson even won a Super Bowl, but neither one seems
Speaker 3: worthy to even start. So we have so many mediocre quarterbacks,
Speaker 3: obviously again in the NFL, trying to become number two
Speaker 3: or whatever in these practice games. So that means, right on,
Speaker 3: cue the name Colin Kaepernick pops up again, especially when
Speaker 3: you've got stiffs like I don't know, proven stiffs like
Speaker 3: Tim Boyle and Zach Wilson still in the mix to
Speaker 3: get on the rosters. Some say, hey, Tennessee signed Shane Ray.
Speaker 3: That's a linebacker, hadn't played in six years in the NFL,
Speaker 3: so why not get cap as a backup somewhere. Somebody's
Speaker 3: got to use him, right, Well, it's a good question,
Speaker 3: But then again Ray went up to the Great White North,
Speaker 3: humbled himself and played on the Gray Cup champion Toronto
Speaker 3: Argonauts of the CFL for two years. Yeah, Kaepernick has
Speaker 3: refused to do that or even anything like that. So
Speaker 3: after not playing since the twenty sixteen season and now
Speaker 3: he's thirty six, here's another question. Do you think Kaepernick's
Speaker 3: own worst enemy these days?
Speaker 1: Yeah? I do, and I think you know, how do
Speaker 1: you feel about what he did initially? It's what happened
Speaker 1: after that that disappointed me. He had multiple opportunities to
Speaker 1: come back and be a part of a team and
Speaker 1: for whatever reason turned it down. Maybe it's because Nike
Speaker 1: went ahead and put some money in his pocket and
Speaker 1: he didn't need to do it to survive. But with
Speaker 1: every year, you got to hope that the discussion about
Speaker 1: him is over. And he even turned out a coaching opportunity.
Speaker 1: So I'm ready to put that topic to bed. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Same here. By the way, the two names you chose
Speaker 1: Tim Boyle, former EKU colonel for a year and Zach Wilson,
Speaker 1: a guy I thought was going to be a home
Speaker 1: run higher to mix my metaphors. So it's interesting that
Speaker 1: you go there because Wilson may be the biggest disappointment
Speaker 1: at quarterback in the last five years.
Speaker 3: He may not be a third behind of bo Nix
Speaker 3: and uh the stead of the other guy.
Speaker 1: Oh No, I firmly believe that.
Speaker 3: Our forts Wig and the six pack. An update on
Speaker 3: Lexington's Walker Buler, a good guy who we both like
Speaker 3: a lot. He made his tenth start of the season
Speaker 3: last night against Seattle. I stayed up way way late
Speaker 3: watching the Dodgers, as I do most nights anyway, But
Speaker 3: it was his tenth start of the season last night
Speaker 3: against Seattle, and his second start since Walker returned from
Speaker 3: a hip injury, and that was after missing almost two
Speaker 3: years with his second Tommy John surgery that happened two
Speaker 3: years ago this very month, as a matter of fact,
Speaker 3: and Dick, I wish I had better news. It was
Speaker 3: not a great outing for Walker. Only four innings, eighty
Speaker 3: two pitches, three runs, seven hits, all earned runs, three walks,
Speaker 3: and a really telling stat only one strikeout, which for
Speaker 3: Walker is strange anyway, but against the worst strikeout team
Speaker 3: in the majors, Seattle that averages over ten strikeouts a game,
Speaker 3: is really telling. Walker could get guys to two strikes,
Speaker 3: couldn't put him away. His confidence seemed really off. Even
Speaker 3: the announcers, the play by play guys were talking about that.
Speaker 3: I don't know how many more starts the Dodgers will
Speaker 3: give him, but they got to have him right if
Speaker 3: they're going to go deep into October, because there's not
Speaker 3: a whole lot of choices left. Walker's health issues are
Speaker 3: endemic to the Dodgers' entire team. If you haven't been
Speaker 3: paying attention, They've lost both pitchers and position players all season.
Speaker 3: Third baseman Max Munsey just returned after an oblique injury
Speaker 3: that kept him out for three months.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 3: He's had two home runs in his two games back.
Speaker 3: Mookie Wilson, former MVP, just got back after a broken
Speaker 3: hand sidelined him for a couple of months. As for pitching,
Speaker 3: may have heard about this. The Dodgers have eleven starting
Speaker 3: pitchers on the il. Three have undergone Tommy John surgery,
Speaker 3: to add to the two others still recovering from those
Speaker 3: surgeries in the last two years. The cruel joke around
Speaker 3: Major League Baseball is, hey, join the Dodgers, get a
Speaker 3: free Tommy John surgery. Baseball Prospectus says no other team
Speaker 3: has lost more days in production to the injured list
Speaker 3: than the Dodgers. And yet, and yet they have the
Speaker 3: second best record in the National League, second overall in
Speaker 3: the majors. What does that say to you about their
Speaker 3: chanceers and their chances in the postseason if they end
Speaker 3: up staying all healthy.
Speaker 1: Well, literally as good as anybody's because practically everybody has
Speaker 1: a shot right now. I saw a listing where there
Speaker 1: are twelve or thirteen teams when you look at their
Speaker 1: one loss records separated by only seven games. You know,
Speaker 1: seven games in the one loss records. So I guess
Speaker 1: parody is caught up with baseball, except in the case
Speaker 1: of the Dodgers, which looked like a machine preseason thanks
Speaker 1: to the money they spent. But to your point, you
Speaker 1: got to stay healthy and poor Walker, I mean, Henry
Speaker 1: Clay Blue Devil went to high school with my kids.
Speaker 1: His wife grew up next door to my children. So yeah,
Speaker 1: as far as you and I are concerned, he's the
Speaker 1: home team here in Lexington, or at least one of them.
Speaker 1: So just get a few of those pictures healthy and
Speaker 1: maybe the Dodgers can disrupt all that parody.
Speaker 3: By the way, the unicorn Shoheyo Tani that has been
Speaker 3: leading off is his average four months of August. Hopefully
Speaker 3: that will change for them. If not, they can have
Speaker 3: some big problems. Our fifth swig in the six pack, Dick.
Speaker 3: We can't talk about baseball this time year without reminding
Speaker 3: everyone the Little League World Series in Williamsport is into
Speaker 3: its home stretch. I hope you caught that great MLB game,
Speaker 3: some wonderful moments with the kids Sunday on ESPN with
Speaker 3: the Yankees and Tigers. This is becoming one of my
Speaker 3: favorite games to watch every year, where they sit in
Speaker 3: the stands and they do a lot of fun stuff,
Speaker 3: go down the hill in the cardboard with the kids.
Speaker 3: Little League Baseball, and it is really baseball for me
Speaker 3: in its purest forum. You and I played it. It's
Speaker 3: the launching pad for some great memories, if not for
Speaker 3: some famous MLB careers. But it's also been the starting
Speaker 3: point for many pitchers in the pros who eventually end
Speaker 3: up with these arm problems we're just talking about once
Speaker 3: they begin throwing as hard as they can for too
Speaker 3: many innings. Over use in teenage years is now cited
Speaker 3: as a huge problem, with pioneering orthopedic surgeon doctor James
Speaker 3: Andrews saying more Tommy John surgeries are now happening not
Speaker 3: in the majors or minor leagues, but in youth baseball.
Speaker 3: He says, quote, these kids are throwing ninety miles an
Speaker 3: hour their junior year of high school. The ligament can't
Speaker 3: withstand that kind of force. The Tommy John ligament matures
Speaker 3: at about age twenty six in high school. The red
Speaker 3: line where the forces go beyond the tensail properties of
Speaker 3: the ligament is eighty miles an hour, unquote doctor James Andrew.
Speaker 3: So now you probably saw this. Major League Baseball is
Speaker 3: floating the idea of making starting pitchers go at least
Speaker 3: six innings, with a couple of exceptions to that rule,
Speaker 3: forsing teams and players to kind of rethink throwing as
Speaker 3: hard as they can for as long as they can.
Speaker 3: I like the idea of it, but you think this
Speaker 3: would ever happen?
Speaker 1: Help not. But to your original point, and I've talked
Speaker 1: to college coaches about this, you're exactly right. They were saying,
Speaker 1: kids feel like they have to throw as hard as
Speaker 1: they can on every pitch, and something's got to give. Literally,
Speaker 1: that's going to be that ligament. But I think right
Speaker 1: now parents are looking at college and the expense and
Speaker 1: thinking if we can just get our kid, and kids
Speaker 1: are thinking it too. Get myself a scholarship, and now
Speaker 1: they're going to be more scholarships available. Just get me
Speaker 1: a scholarship and I'll be on my way. So yeah,
Speaker 1: if I can throw high eighties low nineties in high school,
Speaker 1: someone's gonna sign me. But no, it's a bad idea, Gary,
Speaker 1: I think simply because you're going to force managers and
Speaker 1: pitchers to go deeper into games. They shouldn't be throwing.
Speaker 1: I mean, if a guy's not right, he shouldn't be
Speaker 1: forced to stay out there for six innings. And I
Speaker 1: don't know what the answer is, but that ain't one
Speaker 1: of them.
Speaker 3: Sixth and final swig on the six pack. USA Men's
Speaker 3: basketball in Minnesota TEMPERBWLS outstanding guard Anthony Edwards gave an
Speaker 3: interesting interview to The Wall Street Journal the other day,
Speaker 3: and he also proved why some people aren't at JPL
Speaker 3: in Pasadena building rockets and comparing today's players to those
Speaker 3: who had the temerity to live and play in the
Speaker 3: association before him. Edwards said, and I quote, I didn't
Speaker 3: watch it back in the day, so I can't speak
Speaker 3: on it. They say it was tougher back then than
Speaker 3: it is now, but I don't think anybody had skill
Speaker 3: back then, unquote, Edwards goes on to say, Michael was
Speaker 3: the only one who had skill. Now everybody has skilled. Yeah,
Speaker 3: that's why Detroit and Washington Portland were so great this year,
Speaker 3: isn't it, Dick. They had so much skill on those teams.
Speaker 3: I wonder if he ever saw any film of guys
Speaker 3: like I don't know, Bill Russell, Will Chamberlain, Jerry West,
Speaker 3: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdil Jabbar, Larry Byrd, etcetera, etcetera.
Speaker 1: No, the answer is no, and there's no excuse because
Speaker 1: if he really wants to be a student literally of
Speaker 1: the game, that thing in his hand, that phone, it's
Speaker 1: the gate to all kinds of stuff on YouTube. Now
Speaker 1: you could sit here Gary all night and mention the
Speaker 1: players we have quote unquote skill. But what he would
Speaker 1: see if he bothered to look, is it was skilled
Speaker 1: match with physicality. The game today is not nearly as
Speaker 1: brutally tough as it was back in the day when
Speaker 1: Larry Bird and Doctor j got into a fistfight and
Speaker 1: neither was ejected from the game. The Bad Boy Pistons.
Speaker 1: You've seen the video Leam Beer Jabbar clocking Kent Benson.
Speaker 1: I mean no, this young man has got skills, but
Speaker 1: oration is not one of them.
Speaker 3: Well, I think, and that's endemic for a lot of
Speaker 3: younger Yeah, general back in the day to him as
Speaker 3: the nineties. Well, and plus I used to get it
Speaker 3: at the radio station. You know, it's like the Beatles.
Speaker 3: What was that great about the Beatles? Okay, there's the
Speaker 3: door right there. Let it hit you where the good
Speaker 3: Lord split you? Okay, see you.
Speaker 1: I agree. We'll come back and talk more sports. But Geary,
Speaker 1: our Western Bureau chief here in just a minute. Hot
Speaker 1: Reed's on the way on six thirty WLAP.
Speaker 3: Welcome back.
Speaker 1: We're with our West End bureau chief, Gary Moore. We've
Speaker 1: gone through two guys in a six back, couple of
Speaker 1: hot reds to throw at Gary. We were reminiscing about
Speaker 1: the good old days before the break. How about this
Speaker 1: ESPN is bringing back the granddaddy of them all, the
Speaker 1: sports reporters. That's the show that got all these talking
Speaker 1: head fests going sports writers sitting around in a semi
Speaker 1: circle basically talking about topics of the week and not
Speaker 1: necessarily shouting at each other. Gary so great. I remember
Speaker 1: when they dropped it. I'm like, what, Yeah, Well, now
Speaker 1: they're talking about bringing it back, but streaming only. Sometimes
Speaker 1: a worldwide leader can't get out of its own way,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: Well, they're so obsessed with these shows where you've got
Speaker 3: ex athletes yelling at each other, yeah, over nothing that matters.
Speaker 3: And we've talked about this before. It's like the dog
Speaker 3: chasing his tail, going around and around, not accomplishing anything,
Speaker 3: not making any points. It's all just conjecture and opinion
Speaker 3: and all that. But I enjoyed that show. I enjoyed
Speaker 3: like hearing somebody like a Mike Lupica from New York
Speaker 3: talk about certain things and get the load down, and God,
Speaker 3: you got to do it while we still have some
Speaker 3: sports reporters at some of these papers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I agree, But like I said, it was
Speaker 1: the one that got things started, and for whatever reason,
Speaker 1: they dropped it. Our second high raid about the WNBA,
Speaker 1: which took a break during the Paris Olympics and then
Speaker 1: came right back with a fever. If you will, Kaitlin
Speaker 1: Clark in the Indiana Fever. They beat Seattle on ABC Sunday,
Speaker 1: and Gary averaged two point two to three million viewers.
Speaker 1: That's the fifth largest audience for the league over the
Speaker 1: past twenty years plus, and all four events ahead of
Speaker 1: it took place this season. Gee, I guess Caitlyn Clark
Speaker 1: does have something to do with it. And I renew
Speaker 1: my objections over the way she's being treated, like her
Speaker 1: or not. If you're ANWNBA player, you need to embrace
Speaker 1: her because she's putting money in your pocket. Does that
Speaker 1: surprise you those numbers?
Speaker 3: No, it doesn't. And a lot of people who are
Speaker 3: going against her need to wake the f up. She
Speaker 3: is and I've said this before, the Taylor Swift of basketball,
Speaker 3: not just men's but of all basketball. She's bringing in
Speaker 3: people who normally wouldn't give a rats rump to watch
Speaker 3: women's basketball. Well, they want to see her. There's something
Speaker 3: about her. She is this social zeitgeist, if you want
Speaker 3: to put it that way, that's bringing people in there.
Speaker 3: They haven't had this kind of excitement ever in the NBA.
Speaker 3: They've had some great players, obviously, and they've had some
Speaker 3: good teams that have gotten some ratings, but nothing to
Speaker 3: this level. And it's great. I think she's a great
Speaker 3: ambassador for not just women's basketball, but basketball period and sports.
Speaker 3: And she's really great with young women and young girls.
Speaker 3: They all love her. It doesn't matter what color you
Speaker 3: are either.
Speaker 1: By the way, yeah you know, And a lot of
Speaker 1: the WNBA veterans are saying, we were playing here long
Speaker 1: before she got here. Yeah yeah, yeah, what were you
Speaker 1: drawing numbers? Some of the African American players are saying
Speaker 1: this is only because she's white. Well maybe that's so,
Speaker 1: but money's green. And again it's going into your account.
Speaker 1: So be a good business woman. And I'm not saying
Speaker 1: keep your mouth shut, say whatever you want, but be
Speaker 1: sure you cash that check because it's a rising tide
Speaker 1: lifting everybody.
Speaker 3: Right, She's not just another player. She's the greatest scorer
Speaker 3: ever in college basketball.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 3: You can't leave that out men or women. So there
Speaker 3: is a market for this person to come to your
Speaker 3: town and see what we got to go see Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 1: And that's the key word. That's the key word marketing,
Speaker 1: no question about it. Gary Moore is our West End bureauchie.
Speaker 1: We visit with him each and every week and you
Speaker 1: can find him on X.
Speaker 3: At at nine five five. Gary, you're also on that thing.
Speaker 1: Where are you again? That's a big booing cider one.
Speaker 1: Thank you, So enjoy enjoy your college football I will
Speaker 1: see it. That'll do it. Thanks to my guest Gary Moore,
Speaker 1: Sean Woods, Chris Fisher, that's it. Good night from the
Speaker 1: garage and lexingon.
Speaker 4: What you've just said is one of the most insanely
Speaker 4: idiotic things I have ever heard.
Speaker 3: At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you
Speaker 3: even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought.
Speaker 3: Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened
Speaker 3: to it.
Speaker 4: I award you no points, and may God have mercy
Speaker 4: on your soul.