Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, Fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day, Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: I've now realized that I have. I've lied to myself
Speaker 2: once again. I told myself, Nick, you're gonna get born
Speaker 2: into the Olympics. You're gonna be excited, you're gonna be ready,
Speaker 2: and you know, I hadn't started yet. But I mean
Speaker 2: I haven't done any you know, haven't taken any research
Speaker 2: or I don't know, do they do hype videos stuff
Speaker 2: like that? Like it just I don't know. I feel
Speaker 2: like a bad American knowing that I can say this
Speaker 2: and mean it. The Olympics just doesn't do much for me.
Speaker 2: I hope that the United States does well, But like
Speaker 2: I don't know, Like if you feel like you need
Speaker 2: to remind yourself to get into something, like it's a chore,
Speaker 2: like that tells you you're not interested, right, That's that's
Speaker 2: what that is. I mean, you have you followed it all?
Speaker 3: I don't know if I've ever really followed the Olympics.
Speaker 3: My wife loves watching the gymnastics, like I feel like
Speaker 3: most people do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's something about watching a sport that you question,
Speaker 2: is this a sport or or watching a sport that
Speaker 2: you know you can tell that it takes ability, talent,
Speaker 2: a lot of hard work, but you didn't know it existed.
Speaker 2: Uh and just to see how like that is intriguing
Speaker 2: to me. But once I've watched a little bit of it,
Speaker 2: it's not gonna hook me, you know to where Oh
Speaker 2: I'm all in, like and I'm not alone in that,
Speaker 2: because I know there are people who end up watching
Speaker 2: competitive beach volleyball or I don't know, curling or what.
Speaker 2: It just there's all kinds of different stuff in the Olympic,
Speaker 2: whether it be some Olympics Winter Olympics that you were like, Okay,
Speaker 2: this is actually pretty cool, and you tell yourself, I'm
Speaker 2: going to be a fan now, Like, well, you could
Speaker 2: find out where you can watch it, like it's not
Speaker 2: that difficult to do, but you don't because it's just
Speaker 2: you know, out of side, out of mind. So you
Speaker 2: know the Olympic, I isn't tonight when they do the ceremony.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but it's weird, like and maybe this is normal,
Speaker 3: but I feel like the game the games have already started,
Speaker 3: but they're having the opening ceremony tonight. Isn't is that normal.
Speaker 2: When did the game start? Uh, this week.
Speaker 3: At some point, but I remember reading something that said
Speaker 3: that the opening ceremony will take place even though there
Speaker 3: have already been a few games from CBS.
Speaker 2: It says, with umbrellas deployed, thousands of athletes and spectators
Speaker 2: who lined the streets of Paris officially kicked off the
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four Olympics on Friday. The ambitious ceremony kicked
Speaker 2: off with a giant plume of blue, white and red
Speaker 2: smoke in the colors of the French national flag with
Speaker 2: the Parade of Nations. Yeah. So, I don't mean when
Speaker 2: we watch it, like when it's on tonight, is it live?
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm looking at a picture of lebron Jay
Speaker 2: like maybe it already happened and I don't even realize,
Speaker 2: which again confirms what I started this hour with is
Speaker 2: like I told myself I was going to get into
Speaker 2: it and tried to remind myself to, you know, get ready,
Speaker 2: and I just I mean, he the Olympics could have
Speaker 2: come and gone and ended it. I don't think I
Speaker 2: would have known about it, cause it's clearly a talking point.
Speaker 2: It's clearly something that you know is going to be
Speaker 2: covered in a major way, but I tend to you know,
Speaker 2: I don't know if I got blinders on or what
Speaker 2: it is, but if there's a lot of coverage for
Speaker 2: something that I have no interest in, it's not like
Speaker 2: I don't know that there's coverage, but I can easily
Speaker 2: ignore it, you know what I mean. It's not it
Speaker 2: doesn't bother me. It's just like I, you know, there's
Speaker 2: a lot of other things in the world that will
Speaker 2: distract me from, you know, just consuming things that just
Speaker 2: don't really interest me. But I will tell you this,
Speaker 2: if you are a fan of the Olympics and you
Speaker 2: really get into it, iHeartRadio is the exclusive audio home
Speaker 2: for the Olympics. So the only place you can hear
Speaker 2: live Olympic coverage is on the Art Radio app. So
Speaker 2: there you go. All right, it's coffee and company. Feel
Speaker 2: about Thornton's here on Sports seven ninety getting your set
Speaker 2: for the weekend. Two hours left here, so stick around.
Speaker 2: We will be joined coming up at four thirty by
Speaker 2: Brian Edwards, a Vegas insider. We'll get his thoughts on
Speaker 2: some college football future bets. I know he also has
Speaker 2: some UFC bets that he's eager to discuss with you guys,
Speaker 2: So stick around. He'll join us at four thirty. All right.
Speaker 2: So when it comes to the UH, when it comes
Speaker 2: to the game on Monday between the Ville and La Familia,
Speaker 2: I don't know if they're going to sell it out.
Speaker 2: I think the capacity is going to be fifteen thousand.
Speaker 2: I think I saw that that's what they're aiming for.
Speaker 2: So you know, if they we've got a few days
Speaker 2: until we get to the actual game, and yes or no,
Speaker 2: John take a guest, do you think they sell out?
Speaker 1: Yes?
Speaker 2: I lean towards yes, But I also kind of feel
Speaker 2: like it's one of those things that if you were really,
Speaker 2: if you were into it, you would have already bought
Speaker 2: a ticket. But again, I don't know. People I procrastinate,
Speaker 2: like there are probably people that know, hey, there's four
Speaker 2: thousand tickets left roughly, so I'll wait until the day
Speaker 2: of So you know, if they say it out, great
Speaker 2: either even if they don't. The amount of people that
Speaker 2: have already purchased tickets I suppose are are good. I mean,
Speaker 2: with it being as rowdy as it was, with what
Speaker 2: thirty five hundred and four thousand people in some of
Speaker 2: the games, earlier this week. I mean, it's going to
Speaker 2: be insane in there, and I think at least right now,
Speaker 2: fans of both sides are kind of like cautiously lightheartedly
Speaker 2: into it, if that makes sense, Like, are we really
Speaker 2: going to be at each other's next about former players
Speaker 2: playing each other that really has nothing to do with,
Speaker 2: you know, the current program and the future of the program.
Speaker 2: I kind of tell myself, no, we won't do that,
Speaker 2: will we, But you know what, we probably will because
Speaker 2: we're lunatics about this kind of stuff, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, Like anytime it's Louisville Verus Kentucky and anything,
Speaker 2: there's a level of angst and tension between the two hatred.
Speaker 2: I think you can use the word hate in sports
Speaker 2: and know that it's not the same thing as you know,
Speaker 2: hate in the real world, because let's be honest. I
Speaker 2: hate to say this, but sports isn't really important. I
Speaker 2: mean it is, it's very important to like, you know,
Speaker 2: it's it's such a great distraction from people. Heck, it's
Speaker 2: it's it's it's some people's career. So maybe I shouldn't
Speaker 2: say that it's not important, but like it's not, it's
Speaker 2: it's it doesn't really impact, you know, the greater good
Speaker 2: of of Well again, I always find it out there
Speaker 2: because I'm thinking, well, actually, you know what, people would
Speaker 2: be really sad if they didn't have sports. So anyways,
Speaker 2: it's you could hate the other side like I have.
Speaker 2: I hate Kentucky in the sports rivalry way, and I
Speaker 2: know Kentucky fans hate Louisville in the rivalry way, and
Speaker 2: I wouldn't have it any other way, and I'm sure they're
Speaker 2: the same way, you know, But with this, I just
Speaker 2: feel like it's I don't know, we'll see what happens
Speaker 2: on Monday, because I feel like whoever ends up on
Speaker 2: the losing side will like for like, I can probably
Speaker 2: tell you how it's gonna happen with both sides. If
Speaker 2: Louisville wins, they're gonna be as you know, cocky and
Speaker 2: and just you know, they're gonna rub it in because
Speaker 2: let's be real, I'm a Louisville fan. We haven't had
Speaker 2: many chances to do that when it comes to basketball,
Speaker 2: And yes, this is not a real U of l
Speaker 2: UK game, but it's close enough. And if we can
Speaker 2: knock off Kentucky's Lot Familia team, you know, I think
Speaker 2: fans will be justified in you know, letting big Blue
Speaker 2: Nation know that we got the best of you when
Speaker 2: it comes to your former players and our former players.
Speaker 2: And I think Kentucky, if they win, they'll do the
Speaker 2: arrogant like, I mean, can you believe they thought they'd win.
Speaker 2: I mean, come on, little brother, they'll do that. And
Speaker 2: if Louisville loses, I really don't know what the reaction
Speaker 2: is going to be. I mean, I'm sure people will
Speaker 2: be upset, but like, I don't know what fans are
Speaker 2: going to do to like, you know, actually I got it.
Speaker 2: I think I figured it out. Here's what I believe
Speaker 2: Kentucky fans or Louisville fans will do if Louisville loses
Speaker 2: in this game lot familiar. They'll find a way to
Speaker 2: like remind Kentucky how many great players they had with
Speaker 2: very little to show for it. That's got to be
Speaker 2: in the playbook, right, yes, And remind you how happy
Speaker 2: we are that meeting, Reminding Kentucky fans how happy we
Speaker 2: are that Col's gone, because even though he couldn't, you know,
Speaker 2: make deep tournament runs anymore, and he would lose to bums.
Speaker 2: You know, we always knew he was going to bring
Speaker 2: an elite talent when that elite talent got you in
Speaker 2: very little in the grand scheme of things. And now
Speaker 2: you're not even gonna have that elite talent because you
Speaker 2: got Mark Poop as your coach. That's probably in the
Speaker 2: back pocket for some Louisville fans if that if that's
Speaker 2: you know, if that's the outcome that happens on the
Speaker 2: Kentucky side, if they lose, they'll just claim that like
Speaker 2: it's hilarious that Louisville fans think this matters. This wasn't
Speaker 2: even a real game. This was a pickup game. These
Speaker 2: are these guys don't care, you know that. That's so
Speaker 2: we'll see. But I feel like everything I laid out
Speaker 2: is on the table as far as whatever ends up
Speaker 2: being the outcome. All right, let's talk football, shall we so?
Speaker 2: And I want to get to this ACC stuff on
Speaker 2: the other probably do that at five o'clock, because again,
Speaker 2: I want to give credit to cel Brown. I think
Speaker 2: he through something out there that wouldn't be that hard
Speaker 2: to do and it would really change how people view
Speaker 2: the future of the ACC. But I want to make
Speaker 2: sure I manage the clock better here, so Let's let
Speaker 2: you hear what Matt Ruhle had to say about the
Speaker 2: Big Ten. And we've talked a lot about that throughout
Speaker 2: the day as far as coach is just being able
Speaker 2: to say things that everybody knows is not true, including themselves.
Speaker 2: And it's just coaches, you know, coaches being coaches. Here
Speaker 2: is a let me see if I can find it here?
Speaker 2: Where is it?
Speaker 1: So?
Speaker 2: I've got the clip of fine Baum reacting, but I
Speaker 2: can't find the actual emit. M me see here, because well,
Speaker 2: they probably play Let's just do this.
Speaker 4: I think four teams from this league should get in
Speaker 4: and get in every year because this is the best league.
Speaker 4: This is the NFL of college football on my mining
Speaker 4: stretches from coast to coast, different time zones, different weather.
Speaker 4: That's not to diminish any other league. The SEC is amazing,
Speaker 4: These other leagues are great, but the challenge in the
Speaker 4: Big Ten is going to be is going to be
Speaker 4: really difficult.
Speaker 2: So he says the Big Ten should just to automatically
Speaker 2: get four teams in the playoff.
Speaker 5: Paul, what do you think of that? Matt?
Speaker 6: Stay in your lane, Okay, job one, win enough games
Speaker 6: to get to some stupid bowl.
Speaker 1: Game.
Speaker 2: Don't worry about the big boys because you're not one
Speaker 2: of them.
Speaker 5: We saw what he did in the NFL.
Speaker 6: You were a complete disaster in Carolina. You somehow gott
Speaker 6: this shop in Nebraska, and you're talking like you belong
Speaker 6: at the table with Ohio.
Speaker 5: State and Georgia.
Speaker 1: You don't just try to win maybe six games, Quit
Speaker 1: choking big games on the final play, and leave the
Speaker 1: punditry to the professionals.
Speaker 5: Thank you.
Speaker 2: So to your point, John, and I'm glad you did
Speaker 2: mention this beforehand to me off air, of course, is
Speaker 2: that his claim that the it's the NFL is not
Speaker 2: because it's it. You know, he didn't act as if
Speaker 2: they have these non existent accomplishments that would that would
Speaker 2: make it the best league. But you know, he mentioned
Speaker 2: the that there's different time zones and coast to coast,
Speaker 2: different weather like cool, that has nothing. I mean, like,
Speaker 2: are you saying that it's I mean, if you want
Speaker 2: to throw out that it's the most diverse league because
Speaker 2: of how many schools you have across the country coast
Speaker 2: to coast, like that's fine, But to say that it
Speaker 2: makes it the best league because that's what he said.
Speaker 2: Let's go to the beginning of it.
Speaker 4: I think four teams from this league should get in
Speaker 4: and get in every year because.
Speaker 2: So again, four teams getting in every year because you
Speaker 2: travel a lot, like that's nonsense.
Speaker 3: No league should be able to claim they should all
Speaker 3: get any number of h absolutely.
Speaker 2: And really that's where like he started with that. Therefore,
Speaker 2: that's that's going to get attention anyway, because even even
Speaker 2: though there will probably be many years where the SEC
Speaker 2: and the Big Ten potentially gets four teams in, like
Speaker 2: that's not crazy. You know, it could happen, and I
Speaker 2: can't tell you that on a year in a year
Speaker 2: out basis that it wouldn't be justified because, let's be honest,
Speaker 2: there's some you know, like for example, Texas, Georgia, Ole,
Speaker 2: miss In Alabama, like it could shake out this year
Speaker 2: where all those teams make it it's a twelve team playoff.
Speaker 2: Now again, there's going to be scenarios where that would
Speaker 2: be really really difficult, but like it's not impossible, and
Speaker 2: they're all look just like the well, I don't know,
Speaker 2: maybe the four team playoff. There are teams that can
Speaker 2: claim that they were just as worthy of getting in
Speaker 2: but didn't, but those are usually teams that you know
Speaker 2: aren't gonna actually win the national championship. But there'll be
Speaker 2: teams in the twelve team format. There'll be teams when
Speaker 2: it goes to sixteen that you know they don't have
Speaker 2: the record or the resume, but you know by watching
Speaker 2: them that they are absolutely good enough to be there
Speaker 2: because they have the ability. But what the expansion is
Speaker 2: going to do here is make it to where you've
Speaker 2: got to go prove it, right, Like that's one of
Speaker 2: those things in the NAA tournament resume that always annoys me.
Speaker 2: It's like, yeah, there's all kinds of teams that when
Speaker 2: people say, you can't tell me that's not one of
Speaker 2: the sixty eight best teams. That's not what it's about, dumbass.
Speaker 2: It's about resume. It's about winning. It's about what you did,
Speaker 2: not what people think you can do based off of,
Speaker 2: you know, having potential. Like it's the stupidest thing people
Speaker 2: say about the tournament. You cannot tell me that's not
Speaker 2: what I could tell you whatever you want, but they
Speaker 2: didn't win enough games, Like that's what it comes down to.
Speaker 2: So you know, that's actually something that I think will
Speaker 2: will will hold true. Here is then when you get
Speaker 2: to twelve, you know, teams that were that were left
Speaker 2: out at five, six, and seven, they're in now for
Speaker 2: the most part, and then from there, you know it's
Speaker 2: gonna be about resume. So I really do like Matt Rule.
Speaker 2: I didn't know anything about him. I remember thinking he
Speaker 2: was a little bit. When I say I like him,
Speaker 2: I'm not saying he's gonna be a great coach because
Speaker 2: I don't know. But he he was a Baylor and
Speaker 2: then before that Temple, and he never really had a
Speaker 2: great resume. That's one of those things about Matt Rule
Speaker 2: that like, because the NFL randomly wanted to hire him,
Speaker 2: that just made everybody think that he's God's gift to coaching.
Speaker 2: Like when he was coming back from a failed, a
Speaker 2: miserable thingailure of an experience in the NFL, it was like, well,
Speaker 2: he'll get any job he wants. But you know, and
Speaker 2: I know Temple's not great, but you know, he only
Speaker 2: had he had two winning seasons at Temple and hard
Speaker 2: to win at Temple, but he also played in the
Speaker 2: American and then at Baylor he only had one winning season.
Speaker 2: So as a career head coach, he's fifty two and fifty.
Speaker 2: You went five and seven in Nebraska and he lost
Speaker 2: to Colorado. So you know, like I'm not saying he's
Speaker 2: a terrible coach or he's a great coach, but like
Speaker 2: when I say I like him, I'm just basing it
Speaker 2: off of like when he's given he's had some clips
Speaker 2: from the locker room when he's talking to his team
Speaker 2: go viral. I think he presents himself pretty well. Like
Speaker 2: you know, he's pretty pretty sharp, pretty impressive as far
Speaker 2: as just the way he carries himself. Like I could
Speaker 2: see him being a really good recruiter. I can see
Speaker 2: I can see him really commanding his team and being
Speaker 2: a good leader. But he just hasn't really turned into
Speaker 2: wins just yet. But you know, like saying things like that,
Speaker 2: it's just it's silly because because you travel a lot
Speaker 2: and you have different time zones, like that makes you
Speaker 2: the best league, It makes you in it. Like now,
Speaker 2: there was a quote that I saw that I guess
Speaker 2: was not included in this in this, in this part
Speaker 2: of it, But let me see if I can pull
Speaker 2: it up here, because there may be more to it
Speaker 2: that provides some context because fine Baum, you know, fine
Speaker 2: Baum reacting the way he did is not so surprising
Speaker 2: because finn Baum is always going to come after the
Speaker 2: Big ten like he's so he is. He's humans still
Speaker 2: that Michigan won the national championship last year, like you
Speaker 2: know he is, but he he fine Baum has has
Speaker 2: taken shots at Matt Ruhle, Deon Sanders, Ryan Day and
Speaker 2: one of those guys have in common the conference they're in,
Speaker 2: and I think honestly every one of them is worthy
Speaker 2: of criticism for what they've said. But like fonn Baum's
Speaker 2: gonna do sec hank things because that's what he's that
Speaker 2: that's his job. But yeah, I mean if you say
Speaker 2: things like that as when you're Matt Rule without a
Speaker 2: whole lot to really show for, I mean again, like
Speaker 2: I'm not saying he's a bad coach, but nobody can
Speaker 2: point anything, to point anything out on his resume that
Speaker 2: makes it to make that makes it justifiable for him
Speaker 2: to be this guy that people assume could have gotten
Speaker 2: any NFL job fresh out of a failed experience in
Speaker 2: the NFL. But if you say things like that, it's
Speaker 2: going to bring attention to where Paul Fainenbaum can throw
Speaker 2: out a real fact and bodybag you, which is why
Speaker 2: don't you worry about getting to a meaningless bowl game,
Speaker 2: in getting to six wins before you start advocating that
Speaker 2: your league gets four teams in the playoff, Like it's
Speaker 2: one thing if if Ryan Day says that right, or
Speaker 2: even or even Franklin at Penn State, like, it's still
Speaker 2: gonna get attention. But Matt Rule's a guy that they
Speaker 2: can say, Look, why are you worried about how many
Speaker 2: teams get and you ain't getting in? You loser? I
Speaker 2: mean that's essentially I guess what what faonen Baum said
Speaker 2: in so many ways, and look that that there are
Speaker 2: guys that have left college to go be NFL head
Speaker 2: coaches and they're really and he just didn't make sense.
Speaker 2: Doug Marone at Syracuse, he was a fine coach at Syracuse.
Speaker 2: You know, he went four and eight, eight and five,
Speaker 2: five and seven and eight and five, and yet for
Speaker 2: some reason that led to him getting the Buffalo Bills
Speaker 2: job and he you know, didn't win there, He had
Speaker 2: a losing record. Goes to then he turned that into
Speaker 2: the Jaguars job and he was their coach when they
Speaker 2: actually made it to the playoffs and won the AFC South.
Speaker 2: And you know, After that season, he went five and eleven,
Speaker 2: six and ten, and one and fifteen. So as a
Speaker 2: career NFL coach, he's thirty eight and sixty. As a
Speaker 2: career college coach at QS, he was twenty five and
Speaker 2: twenty five. Like, again, when does winning actually matter? All right,
Speaker 2: let's see here, We've got Brian Edwards coming up here
Speaker 2: in just a few minutes. He'll join us at four
Speaker 2: point thirty. Looking forward to that conversation. But before we
Speaker 2: get to break, I want to mention this so I
Speaker 2: don't forget, and it's not like breaking news, but it's
Speaker 2: just something to follow if you, you know, if you're
Speaker 2: a fan of the Ravens, or you just like to
Speaker 2: see former Louisville Cardinals have success in the NFL. So obviously,
Speaker 2: Lamar Jackson he's had some success. He's coming off his
Speaker 2: second MVP season. But Malie Cunningham, they and I do.
Speaker 2: I givem Alik a lot of credit. He is not
Speaker 2: somebody that was resistant to moving to a different position.
Speaker 2: I think he said even during the draft process that
Speaker 2: he will play wherever he's needed to play if he,
Speaker 2: you know, if he's a part of an NFL team.
Speaker 2: So I think they gave him a shot at quarterback
Speaker 2: with the Patriots, and you know, he ended up he
Speaker 2: ended up being able to walk and go join the
Speaker 2: Ravens for the playoffs, which was you know, was a
Speaker 2: good thing for him. And he's still with him now.
Speaker 2: But they did convert him at OTAs to receiver. He
Speaker 2: is now a receiver, and it sounds like he's he's
Speaker 2: performing well despite you know, playing a new position now.
Speaker 2: This was to Todd Monkin, the OC for the Ravens, said,
Speaker 2: this says he's done a great job, further along than
Speaker 2: what I would have thought when we moved him there.
Speaker 2: We're like, okay, he's a really good athlete, really smart,
Speaker 2: gets football, smile on his face every day, Gonna get
Speaker 2: better in the meeting, but really had some natural route
Speaker 2: running instincts, balance and body control that I really didn't
Speaker 2: think he had. He's really done a great job in quote,
Speaker 2: So look, Malik, the thought of him being a receiver
Speaker 2: and becoming like a valuable weapon with the Ravens and
Speaker 2: Lamar finding Malik Cunningham in the end zone, like, that's
Speaker 2: cool as hell. If that ends up happening, I'm not
Speaker 2: saying it will, but it sounds like you know, he's
Speaker 2: impressive so far and might keep. Mean, we'll see. I mean,
Speaker 2: him getting praise for adapting to the position doesn't mean
Speaker 2: they're going to keep him and have plans for him
Speaker 2: to be a part of their offense. But that would
Speaker 2: be awesome if that's the case. And look, Malik, man,
Speaker 2: he gets a tough rat because he was good man.
Speaker 2: His arm wasn't the best, and Malik really struggles struggled
Speaker 2: with what I think makes guys either pretty good quarterbacks
Speaker 2: or really good quarterbacks, and it's consistency. He was just
Speaker 2: not consistent with his arm. Some of the easier plays
Speaker 2: he struggled with with his arm. And he was not
Speaker 2: Lamar Jackson, because nobody is. He was pretty damn good
Speaker 2: at running the ball as well, elusive, quick as can be, good,
Speaker 2: instincts good. You know, he's a good he's a great
Speaker 2: athlete and he's got great speed too. So I mean,
Speaker 2: it wouldn't be the first time that a guy has
Speaker 2: just accepted, Hey, I'm not going to be a quarterback
Speaker 2: in the league, but man, I got all the tools
Speaker 2: to play receiver, and I'm going to have a long
Speaker 2: and lengthy career and I hope that's what happens with Malik.
Speaker 2: We'll see all right, quick break Brian Edwards, Vegas Insider.
Speaker 2: On the other side, he'll talk some college football future
Speaker 2: bets that he likes, as well as some UFC action
Speaker 2: from this upcoming weekend. So keep it locked right here.
Speaker 2: Coffee and Company. Philbou Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 2: It's right Coffee and Company rolling along here on a
Speaker 2: Friday afternoon, getting you set for the weekend. Here on
Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety. We now bring him in. He's
Speaker 2: Brian Edwards from Vegas Insider. Brian, how we doing, brother,
Speaker 2: How is Sonny Florida treating you?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 6: All is well, Nick, Thanks for having me and thanks
Speaker 6: for bringing me in.
Speaker 5: With a little Black Crow. He's one of my favorite band.
Speaker 2: Good stuff there, good stuff, Yeah, Black Crows. They're the best.
Speaker 2: And you know what else is the best college football
Speaker 2: and it's right around the corner. I am. I'm super
Speaker 2: excited once we get to the end of July. We
Speaker 2: still have a month roughly, but man, it's close enough
Speaker 2: to where I kind of feel like we're already here
Speaker 2: and football season h is upon us and I just
Speaker 2: actually myself started looking over those last couple of weeks
Speaker 2: at these win totals, looking at some teams that I
Speaker 2: feel like, you know, may may be worth making a
Speaker 2: wager as far as going over or under. And I'm curious,
Speaker 2: are there are there some teams for you that you've
Speaker 2: already you know, locked in. Hey, I know what I'm
Speaker 2: doing here as far as these totals.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so I'm on ole Miss to go over nine
Speaker 5: and a half.
Speaker 6: Now I've had them to go over their win total
Speaker 6: and back to back seasons successfully. But it's a buch
Speaker 6: bigger number here. But for me, it's all about the schedule.
Speaker 6: And I'll get to the schedule in a minute. But
Speaker 6: just first, personnel wise, I mean ten starters back on offense,
Speaker 6: ten on defense from a team that win eleven and two.
Speaker 6: I mean, you lose Quinchawn Judkins, but you know you
Speaker 6: still have your list as Bentley at running back, you
Speaker 6: bring in three transfer including Logan Digs, a four star
Speaker 6: transfer at LSU last year. Rashot Amos, a guy that
Speaker 6: you know ran for over a thousand yards in the
Speaker 6: MAC last year. You get Juice Wells, the wide receiver
Speaker 6: who was first Team All SEC in twenty twenty two
Speaker 6: but was injured all of last year. You get him
Speaker 6: at wide receiver, where you already have Trey Harris, one
Speaker 6: of the best in the nation veteran, and Jordan Watkins,
Speaker 6: and I think Cayden pre Scorn is one of the
Speaker 6: best tight ends in the country. And then you beef
Speaker 6: up the O lines and D lines with you know,
Speaker 6: veteran guys with good size. I mean, you get a
Speaker 6: five star transfer at defensive tackle and Walter Nolan from
Speaker 6: A and M. You add he's an all SEC guy,
Speaker 6: so as princely, youman Milion from Florida who you're gonna
Speaker 6: plug in at one of the d N spots.
Speaker 5: And then you look at the schedule and you know they'll.
Speaker 6: Be favored in the first six and favored pretty healthy
Speaker 6: in those and at LSU I'm.
Speaker 5: Not conceding defeat.
Speaker 6: They are two and a half to three point dog
Speaker 6: in the Games of the Year, and the only other
Speaker 6: game they're going to be an underdog in is at
Speaker 6: home to Georgia, where they're a five and a half
Speaker 6: point to seven point dog in most books Games of
Speaker 6: the Year.
Speaker 5: And then you get two weeks to prepare to go to.
Speaker 6: The Swamp while Florida is in the middle of a
Speaker 6: murderer's row, having played Georgia, Texas and LSU the three
Speaker 6: previous weeks. So I think it looks great for all
Speaker 6: Miss to go at least ten and two.
Speaker 5: But again, I'm not conceding to feed in Baton Rouge
Speaker 5: or at.
Speaker 6: Home to Georgia and uh yeah, ten roles as a favorite.
Speaker 6: And you know, right now in Games of the Year,
Speaker 6: the smallest one is Oklahoma at home and ole Miss
Speaker 6: gets two weeks to prepare.
Speaker 5: For that one.
Speaker 2: Yeah, with Lane Kiff and I kind of feel like
Speaker 2: they're the trendy team that people say, Okay, now that
Speaker 2: the playoffs expanded, momentum is on Lane Kiff inside to
Speaker 2: where they could they could break through and get in.
Speaker 2: But you mentioned the schedule. I think, you know, it's
Speaker 2: one of those things that with the SEC expanding, not
Speaker 2: everybody's gonna have a schedule that is as challenging to
Speaker 2: where if you end up with a nine to three
Speaker 2: ten and two, you know that you're gonna get the
Speaker 2: same level of respect as some other teams. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I think, I mean, I think Ole Miss is, I
Speaker 2: think that's a good play as well. I think they're
Speaker 2: they're good lank Kiffn's got a lot of momentum. But
Speaker 2: you mentioned the murderers row for Florida as a Florida fan, Brian,
Speaker 2: are you happy that they've got a very very challenging
Speaker 2: schedule once again, knowing that you know things don't seem
Speaker 2: to be going great with old Billy Naps.
Speaker 6: I'm thrilled by it, and I hope it results in
Speaker 6: the athletic director Scott Strickland better late than never belatedly fired,
Speaker 6: and uh.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm ready for a new regime.
Speaker 6: In fact, I'll mention this on ole Miss and Missouri's schedules,
Speaker 6: both of those teams who both have a chance to
Speaker 6: have big seasons. I think either of those teams are
Speaker 6: I think they're the only SEC teams, Missouri and ole
Speaker 6: Miss that can go ten and two and not potentially
Speaker 6: not get into the CFP because you know, if they
Speaker 6: lose their two toughest games, both of their best wins
Speaker 6: will be at home to Oklahoma.
Speaker 5: And I don't know, it'll depend.
Speaker 6: On what everybody else does, but yeah, so I want
Speaker 6: to thread the needle perfectly. I want to ole Miss
Speaker 6: to go ten and two, win my over nine and
Speaker 6: a half. But they don't go to the CFP and
Speaker 6: my Gators hire Lane Kiffen to be.
Speaker 5: The next head coach.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think Florida is a job that he would
Speaker 2: certainly accept and he man he you know obviously that
Speaker 2: fan base better than I do. But everybody knows the
Speaker 2: program and how important that it is to Florida fans
Speaker 2: in the history and all that stuff. But I kind
Speaker 2: of feel like it'd be a match made in heaven
Speaker 2: with him in Gainesville.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Yeah, he wears the visor. He loves furrier. That's why
Speaker 6: he wears the visor, because he loves.
Speaker 5: Spurger growing up.
Speaker 6: You know, Monty Kiffin did his best work as an
Speaker 6: NFL coach right down the road in Tampa.
Speaker 5: That's who I want.
Speaker 2: So when it comes to Texas and Oklahoma joining the ACC,
Speaker 2: I'm not sure if you've given much thought as far
Speaker 2: as any wager with those two teams when it comes
Speaker 2: to totals. But you know, how do you expect them
Speaker 2: to transition? I think Texas, Timmy could not be better
Speaker 2: for them to make this jump because they're in a
Speaker 2: great spot with Sark. With Oklahoma, I think it's a
Speaker 2: bigger question mark. But you know, I get the sense
Speaker 2: that Texas will probably be competitive and Oklahoma will probably
Speaker 2: end up being in that middle tier with a lot
Speaker 2: of other teams.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think Oklahoma probably got the worst of it
Speaker 5: schedule wise.
Speaker 6: I mean, they've got to go at Auburn obviously, they
Speaker 6: got to play Texas in Dallas. They've got to go
Speaker 6: at Ole Miss when Ole miss has two weeks to prepare,
Speaker 6: and also Missouri when they go at Missouri. Missouri has
Speaker 6: two weeks to prepare, and Oklahoma does not have an
Speaker 6: open date before they go to Oxford and Columbia Missouri.
Speaker 6: Then they get Alabama at home. Now that's a favorable
Speaker 6: spot for them. They do get two weeks to prepare
Speaker 6: for that one in Alabama does not. But then they
Speaker 6: also got to go at LSU. So Texas got the
Speaker 6: better end of the schedule in year one. But you know,
Speaker 6: I'm not really sold on Vinables.
Speaker 2: We'll see how they're same here this year.
Speaker 5: I think Okahoma's got plenty of talent, but uh, that's goot.
Speaker 5: I mean, I think if they go eight.
Speaker 6: And four, it would be hard to say that's not
Speaker 6: a quality season.
Speaker 2: Brian Edwards, Vegas Insiders our guests joining us here on
Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety. Talking some college football wagering, let's
Speaker 2: talk about Iowa. I saw that they have and one
Speaker 2: one of the many formulas you can find out there
Speaker 2: that that two different folks who have their own metrics,
Speaker 2: their own way of crunching it. They have Iowa favored
Speaker 2: right now in eleven of their twelve games.
Speaker 5: Is that?
Speaker 2: Is that an intriguing over for you? When it comes
Speaker 2: to win totals, I think they're sitting at eight.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 6: And so if we skipped the COVID year where they
Speaker 6: did go six and two, and I don't know what
Speaker 6: their win total was, they probably went over it. But
Speaker 6: if we skip that year, six of the last eight
Speaker 6: seasons for Iowa they've won at least eight during the
Speaker 6: regular season, and the win totals either seven and a
Speaker 6: half heavily juiced on the over over or eight flat
Speaker 6: minus one ten. Either way, I think I prefer it
Speaker 6: at eight.
Speaker 5: So this team, you know, they only lost eighteen letterman.
Speaker 6: They they went ten to two in the regular season
Speaker 6: last year despite one of the worst offenses ever. And
Speaker 6: but they got Kate McNamara back, you know who was
Speaker 6: giving him better quarterback plays than what they got when
Speaker 6: he went out.
Speaker 5: There in late September early October.
Speaker 6: They've got a new OC they've got all their running
Speaker 6: backs returning, but most important eight starters back. From a defense,
Speaker 6: they gave up only fourteen point eight points per game
Speaker 6: and somehow, with the help of special teams, won a
Speaker 6: bunch of ball games despite that just atrocious offense.
Speaker 5: But you nailed it at the start.
Speaker 6: Of this mentioning them they're gonna be favorite and at
Speaker 6: least ten, maybe eleven the only definitive underdog.
Speaker 5: Spots at Ohio State. And you know, Farnce just wins
Speaker 5: eight or nine.
Speaker 2: He does. He wins. Man, Yeah, he.
Speaker 5: Wins ball games. It's ugly, but I don't this is money, man,
Speaker 5: I don't care. I don't even style point. So I
Speaker 5: just want to cash an over eight ticket.
Speaker 2: So I like, IWA, I'm with you. And they're an
Speaker 2: interesting case study because they get talked about a lot,
Speaker 2: but it didn't because they win. I mean you mentioned
Speaker 2: it for ends. I mean he since twenty fifteen. I
Speaker 2: mean he's won eight or more games in every season.
Speaker 2: In fact, he's only had a couple of seasons since
Speaker 2: then that that they won eight. You mentioned the six
Speaker 2: and two. That's only because of the light schedule because
Speaker 2: of COVID. I mean, he wins, but yet anytime they're
Speaker 2: talked about, it's people making fun of their offense, right.
Speaker 6: And I only said six of eight because on a
Speaker 6: win total only regular season get shirts out two of
Speaker 6: those eight win seasons.
Speaker 5: They got the eighth in a bowl game. That's why
Speaker 5: I said it a little differently.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think this one is is intriguing as well.
Speaker 2: I think that the more I look at it, the
Speaker 2: more I feel confident in taking the over of eight there.
Speaker 2: All right, So when it comes to the lines that
Speaker 2: we're seeing for games that are early in the season
Speaker 2: summer a little bit later, I mean, is there anything
Speaker 2: that really caught your eye as far as these early
Speaker 2: lines once we actually get to some live action.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Two, the two big ones for me in Week one
Speaker 6: or Georgia minus thirteen and a half against Clemson. I
Speaker 6: think they're gonna mash Clempson sort of like they did
Speaker 6: Bo Nicks and Oregon and the opener two years ago
Speaker 6: at the same venue in Atlanta. And I think the
Speaker 6: national narrative coming out of Week one, or the main
Speaker 6: national narrative will be what a knucklehead Dabo is.
Speaker 5: For not using the portal. I think Georgia thumps them.
Speaker 6: I think at minus fourteen or fewer, that's a gift
Speaker 6: on the Bulldogs. And I also think the exact same
Speaker 6: thoughts about Virginia Tech at Vandy. Vandy saw like you know,
Speaker 6: I don't know, maybe eight of its top ten players
Speaker 6: hit the portal and leave. Now we'll give them credit
Speaker 6: getting Diego Pavia underrated, unsung transferred quarterbacks from New Mexico States.
Speaker 2: Hell, yeah, I'm a big fan. There were a lot
Speaker 2: of standalone games last year, and that guy could ball out.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Hugh Freeze, Nemesis and the fans of Jordan here
Speaker 6: are not big fans of Diego Pavia.
Speaker 5: But with that said, Bandy's gonna be horrible.
Speaker 6: I think Clark Lee is gonna get fired, and I
Speaker 6: think Votech is a potential sleeper.
Speaker 5: In the a c C. I love their quarterback kyon Drones.
Speaker 5: They finished the year really strong.
Speaker 6: They've got a strong pass rush, a lot of guys
Speaker 6: coming back on defense. So I think vo Tech and
Speaker 6: Georgia are the best Week one picks and Week zero
Speaker 6: not nearly as strong of an opinion, but I lean
Speaker 6: to Georgia Tech at plus thirteen right.
Speaker 5: Now, maybe maybe wait around.
Speaker 6: See if you can get thirteen and a half and
Speaker 6: by the half point to the key number of fourteen,
Speaker 6: because that is, you know, another month away just about.
Speaker 5: But I like Georgia Tech a little bit in that game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, george Tech's got some momentum. They had a good,
Speaker 2: a good year last year, you know, for for where
Speaker 2: they had been prior to that. So I like that
Speaker 2: one as well. I know we want to talk to
Speaker 2: UFC and we're gonna do that, but I don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you ever get in on any
Speaker 2: of these kind of wagers, but there are some odds
Speaker 2: out there available for the first head coach to be fired.
Speaker 2: Not sure if you if you've seen any of these
Speaker 2: and find value or maybe you just maybe you just
Speaker 2: have an opinion who you know will be the first
Speaker 2: guys at your guy?
Speaker 6: Well, you know that eiiier part of Florida schedule is early,
Speaker 6: and I think they've got a good chance to beat
Speaker 6: A and M.
Speaker 5: And Miami at home.
Speaker 6: Now if they were to lose both of those, uh,
Speaker 6: it could be a mid to late October thing, but
Speaker 6: somebody usually gets fired before then. Sam Pittman has so
Speaker 6: Napier is the favorite at plus four hundred at least
Speaker 6: the odds.
Speaker 5: I saw it bet online yesterday.
Speaker 6: Sam Pittman at Arkansas plus five hundred, and then you
Speaker 6: got Crystal Ball plus six hundred, Rand at Baylor plus
Speaker 6: seven hundred, clark Lee plus eight hundred, Kalonie Sataki at
Speaker 6: by US ten to one.
Speaker 5: You know, clark Lee might be might be worth a flyer. Yeah,
Speaker 5: at plus eight hundred. And I know they have a
Speaker 5: ball State at home.
Speaker 6: And alcorn State at home pretty early in the season,
Speaker 6: and they should get two w's there.
Speaker 5: But when they lose, I think they're gonna lose pig.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm this could happen. I mean, I'm not predicting it,
Speaker 2: but they can Sam Pittman early for whatever, you know,
Speaker 2: maybe because they lose to somebody they're just not supposed
Speaker 2: to lose to. And Bobby Patrino gets the nod to
Speaker 2: finish the rest of the season. You know, they they
Speaker 2: get to a bowl and they consider keeping him around.
Speaker 2: I mean, crazier things have happened in college football. I
Speaker 2: wouldn't expect that Bobby would have a lot of success.
Speaker 2: I think he's his best coaching days or in the
Speaker 2: rear view. But man, just him being there is is
Speaker 2: really odd. But you know, college footballs given us a
Speaker 2: lot of unexpected things that have happened. All right, let's
Speaker 2: talk UFC three oh four. Which way you leaning on
Speaker 2: some of these some of these fights? Which ones you
Speaker 2: feel good about?
Speaker 1: Well?
Speaker 6: I feel good about everything Tom aspinall other than John Jones, if, if,
Speaker 6: and when he ever gets back in the on again,
Speaker 6: I think John Jones the only guy that can really
Speaker 6: give aspinall a challenge.
Speaker 5: He's only loss in the UFC came to Curtis Blaze.
Speaker 5: This is a.
Speaker 6: Remap, but the only reason he lost is he drew
Speaker 6: a leg kick and blew his knee out and went
Speaker 6: to the canvas and the fight got called fifteen seconds in.
Speaker 6: Aspinal has got the shortest average fight time in UFC
Speaker 6: history in any weight.
Speaker 5: Class, two minutes and ten seconds thirteen is.
Speaker 6: Fourteen career wins have come in the first round, and
Speaker 6: eleven have come in ninety five seconds or fewer.
Speaker 5: So I like the prop bet for Asminau.
Speaker 6: To win in round one, which is anywhere from like
Speaker 6: plus one oh five to minus one ten. And then
Speaker 6: I also like him to win by ko, which is
Speaker 6: around minus one forty to minus one sixty. I would
Speaker 6: risk less on that just because of the juice, you know,
Speaker 6: the chalky price.
Speaker 5: Those are my two favorite. You know. I want balal.
Speaker 6: Mohammad to you know, or I'm sorry, I want Leon
Speaker 6: Abwards to champ in the main event, to get some
Speaker 6: more action and be able to get a better price
Speaker 6: than balal Mohammed tomorrow. If that thing gets to plus
Speaker 6: two to fifty, I'll put a little bit on Mohammed
Speaker 6: Jika Chikatse is a plus two hundred dog.
Speaker 5: It's sort of interesting.
Speaker 6: I'm considering that, but I still need to study some
Speaker 6: over unders.
Speaker 5: But the Asthminal is really the only one.
Speaker 6: Those two bets on Aspenall to win in round one
Speaker 6: and buy Ko or Tko, those are the ones that
Speaker 6: I would that I feel great about telling your listeners
Speaker 6: get on these great stuff.
Speaker 2: As always, Brian, appreciate the time. We'll continue to stay
Speaker 2: in touch obviously as we get closer to college football season,
Speaker 2: and I'll hit you up next week when I'm in
Speaker 2: your area.
Speaker 5: Right, let's do it, Dick. Thanks for having me and
Speaker 5: I'll talk to you in.
Speaker 2: The next week, all right, take care. That's Brian Edwards
Speaker 2: from Vegas Insider, always really good stuff and man, the
Speaker 2: first summer convo with our man b Edwards, it lets
Speaker 2: you know we're getting closer, folks. Football season is going
Speaker 2: to be here before you know it. All Right, we
Speaker 2: gotta get to a quick break. We'll come back on
Speaker 2: the other side, wrap up the four o'clock hour as
Speaker 2: we take you up till six o'clock and you set
Speaker 2: for the weekend right here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
Speaker 2: I've not been plugged in much at all to what's
Speaker 2: going on with UK stuff, and you know, I usually
Speaker 2: am not, you know, on the edge of my seat
Speaker 2: trying to keep up with, you know, off season stuff
Speaker 2: with Mark Pope and Mark Stoops, but I feel like
Speaker 2: it's been a relatively quiet summer for them. And the
Speaker 2: comments from Mark from Mark Stoops earlier this week that
Speaker 2: I guess took place last I don't know. I assume
Speaker 2: those were articles written by Adam Luckett and Darryl Byrd.
Speaker 2: I assume those were from conversations that Stoops had with
Speaker 2: media members at the SEC Media Days, or I don't know,
Speaker 2: maybe it was a recent sit down that he did
Speaker 2: with those two. I'm not quite sure, but I really
Speaker 2: feel as if those those comments would have generated more reaction,
Speaker 2: not because you know, everybody's got to either be pissed
Speaker 2: off or defend Stoops, but it's just that that's not
Speaker 2: that's not a normal thing that you you hear a
Speaker 2: coach a coach say in that position as far as
Speaker 2: just like hey, and it really, in my opinion, it
Speaker 2: really speaks to just how he's a made man there
Speaker 2: and he can say that kind of stuff and it's
Speaker 2: it's whatever to him, and it's whatever to most of
Speaker 2: their fans. And I'm not same fan should be demanding
Speaker 2: that he gets fired. But it's just an unusual thing
Speaker 2: that I feel like would have been a bigger conversation.
Speaker 2: And for those who who don't know what I'm referencing
Speaker 2: when talking about the nil and the portal and all
Speaker 2: the work that Stoop specifically claims he's doing himself alone,
Speaker 2: it's clearly taking a toll on him. It's stressing him out.
Speaker 2: And a lot of times coaches say stuff in the
Speaker 2: media for a reason because they think that by saying
Speaker 2: certain things it could it could cause action from others
Speaker 2: to potentially help them or take notice or really put
Speaker 2: it out there the way you feel. Right, you can
Speaker 2: have a conversation with your boss in private, but if
Speaker 2: it's out there for everybody to know how you feel,
Speaker 2: then maybe there'll be more pressure on your boss from
Speaker 2: everybody around to do what's needed. But you know, here
Speaker 2: are the quotes. I have one hundred free agents every
Speaker 2: six months. You don't think there's pressure of raising money
Speaker 2: to keep them and to pay them what they deserve
Speaker 2: and to help them. And I've done this two to
Speaker 2: three years now completely alone. I get no help none.
Speaker 2: I feel very isolated, very alone. I'll be honest, I
Speaker 2: don't know how long I can take dealing with that,
Speaker 2: what I've dealt with myself personally, I can only do
Speaker 2: so much. I've never felt this kind of stress and pressure.
Speaker 2: I can't coach the way I want to coach, because
Speaker 2: all I do is raise money or try to raise
Speaker 2: or try to raise money. You go through all the
Speaker 2: frustration and even panic. How do I raise the money?
Speaker 2: I feel very isolated on how to do it. But
Speaker 2: if I don't raise it, it won't get done. So
Speaker 2: I don't want to act like this is something you
Speaker 2: know bigger than what it is is. If there should
Speaker 2: be like a discipline for Mark Stoops because I don't
Speaker 2: believe that. But we on the same page, like that's
Speaker 2: not normal for a coach to go to that length
Speaker 2: as far as frustration with the new world that is
Speaker 2: college football, with the portal and withinnile Like to me,
Speaker 2: I think that's him saying somebody needs to help me,
Speaker 2: like I need somebody. I need I need more resources
Speaker 2: to raise this money and have somebody else do it
Speaker 2: there so I can actually, you know, so I can coach.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's essentially saying, hey, I want everybody to
Speaker 2: know I can't do my job anymore the way I
Speaker 2: want to. I'm going to give it my best, but
Speaker 2: you know I can't. I can't coach the way I
Speaker 2: want to coach because I'm spending too much time raising money.
Speaker 3: I think that's why you saw people commenting on that
Speaker 3: post that he's gonna end up being like a decordinator
Speaker 3: in the NFL next year.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, here's what I think, and I could be wrong.
Speaker 2: Stoops has apparently been a very very good businessman with
Speaker 2: investments and you know, he makes a lot of money,
Speaker 2: and he also has other sources of income from a
Speaker 2: bourbon line that he has, and you know, he's been
Speaker 2: pretty wise with his money, and he rolls around with
Speaker 2: some other people that have probably invested in stuff with him.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think that's how him and Rick Tito
Speaker 2: got to know each other investing. I think it's in
Speaker 2: horse racing. But either way, like I think, if Stoops
Speaker 2: walks away, I think he retires. I just think he
Speaker 2: didn't coach because why would he want to go be
Speaker 2: a coordinator and make less money than he's making, I
Speaker 2: mean significantly less money than he's making in Kentucky. And
Speaker 2: he's younger, you know. But I kind of feel like,
Speaker 2: you know, he's either going to coach at Kentucky forever
Speaker 2: or he'll be out before too long because he wants
Speaker 2: to do something. He just wants to move on. Maybe
Speaker 2: I'm wrong. All right, we got the five o'clock hour
Speaker 2: coming your way. So five o'clock on a Friday, you
Speaker 2: know what that means, good vibes as we get you
Speaker 2: set for the weekend. So stick with us right here.
Speaker 2: It's coffee and company fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk
Speaker 2: seven ninety