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: All right, let's get it start at five o'clock here
Speaker 2: on a Thursday. It's Thursday, right, yeh, it's Thursday. Thursdays
Speaker 2: start to feel like Fridays, which is a good thing.
Speaker 2: But Friday's tomorrow, and Friday will be my last day
Speaker 2: here on Sports Talk seven ninety. I've mentioned that many
Speaker 2: times over the last few weeks, while not once more.
Speaker 2: As far as the plans for tomorrow, we'll have a
Speaker 2: guest heavy show, and I don't know where these conversations
Speaker 2: are going to go, but these conversations are going to
Speaker 2: be with people that I feel like have been a
Speaker 2: big part of my nine plus years here on this station,
Speaker 2: meaning that they've been pretty regular for a good chunk
Speaker 2: of those nine years. And you know, if you've been
Speaker 2: a listener for a while, and you you know you've
Speaker 2: been with me for a long time or maybe even
Speaker 2: just you know, nine plus years is a long time.
Speaker 2: So regardless if you're relatively new or you've been here
Speaker 2: since day one, I would imagine if you do like
Speaker 2: the show and you listen, then you like these people
Speaker 2: because they've been a.
Speaker 3: Part of it.
Speaker 2: So and I've already had two people text me that
Speaker 2: they weren't included. Well, I was hoping. I guess I
Speaker 2: kind of told myself because I mentioned that there were
Speaker 2: six people. I have those six people in mind, and
Speaker 2: two of those people haven't been contacted yet. And it's
Speaker 2: just because I assumed you wouldn't let me down on
Speaker 2: my last day. I just assumed that there's no way
Speaker 2: you would say, yeah, Nick, I'm not going to come
Speaker 2: on with you one more time before you move on
Speaker 2: from talking sports on seven ninety to being a morning
Speaker 2: man hosting Kentucky in his morning news. So really excited,
Speaker 2: but also a little bittersweet obviously, And I keep anytime
Speaker 2: I mentioned bittersweet and the thought of it being like
Speaker 2: a sad thing. I just need to remind myself. I
Speaker 2: need to slap myself like I'm not. I mean, I'm
Speaker 2: still gonna have a platform here. I'm still gonna be
Speaker 2: doing what I love, and I'm still gonna be talking sports.
Speaker 2: It'll just be different. And I mean, whatever ends up
Speaker 2: happening here on this station in this time slot, which
Speaker 2: I don't think I'm gonna get in trouble for saying it,
Speaker 2: but they they they intend to do something. They're not
Speaker 2: just gonna do replays of stuff long term, at least
Speaker 2: they don't want to. We shall see. I don't know
Speaker 2: for certain, I have no say so, but I did
Speaker 2: have a good conversation yesterday that made me feel a
Speaker 2: little more confident that if they can make something work
Speaker 2: to where they can keep some local presence, some Louisville presence,
Speaker 2: certainly here, then they'll then they'll do that. So if
Speaker 2: that happens, then like I may just barge in here.
Speaker 2: Not that I'm entitled to anybody's time on the air,
Speaker 2: but you know, I'm gonna have an itch to talk
Speaker 2: some sports more so than I probably will be doing
Speaker 2: on the morning. So and I get some other things
Speaker 2: in the works to where I may be able to
Speaker 2: to satisfy set itch an urge to talk sports differently
Speaker 2: than you know what this is. But and that's a
Speaker 2: really vague, weird thing to say, but I got some
Speaker 2: things I want to do that I'm gonna ask them
Speaker 2: if I'm able to do, and I hope they'll let me.
Speaker 2: So you'll you'll find out one way or the other.
Speaker 2: But again, We've now got less than four hours left here,
Speaker 2: and Austin's got less than an hour left because he's
Speaker 2: out tomorrow, so we'll we'll finish strong here for you, brother,
Speaker 2: I I've always enjoyed working with you on this show.
Speaker 2: But as I said earlier, we're still gonna be working
Speaker 2: together in general, and you know, I just I need
Speaker 2: to keep reminding myself of that because if I don't,
Speaker 2: then I'll start to overthinking and then I'll just you know,
Speaker 2: I'll be a real spaz and maybe get emotional, and
Speaker 2: I don't want to do that. You know, I talked
Speaker 2: about it earlier. But tomorrow, if there is a moment
Speaker 2: where I kind of get a little I don't know,
Speaker 2: I have a moment which I don't. I don't expect
Speaker 2: that to happen, but I do know that if it does,
Speaker 2: it'll probably be It'll probably be a lot, just because
Speaker 2: I haven't really had that yet and that's just kind
Speaker 2: of how I'm wired. So if it does happen, then
Speaker 2: then you know, I'm just gonna take a quick break.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say, hey, Carl Blendin, throwed a break, brother,
Speaker 2: I need a minute, because I don't I don't want
Speaker 2: to be that guy that's and this is actually a
Speaker 2: this is actually a benefit on my end as far
Speaker 2: as how this played out, where my last day will
Speaker 2: be me and a great guy and Carl who just
Speaker 2: and again, we have a lot of guests, a lot
Speaker 2: of people, and maybe it happens with one of the
Speaker 2: conversations I'm having with one of these guests, I don't know,
Speaker 2: but we'll see. But when I think of the farewell
Speaker 2: that Adam Neff did, which Adam Neft and Tony Venetti
Speaker 2: the original afternoon underdogs on this station at least eighteen seventeen,
Speaker 2: maybe years ago, like that's what introduced me to sports
Speaker 2: talk radio, to where it was not only listening to
Speaker 2: people talk about the local teams, but hearing callers call
Speaker 2: in and you know, take a run at the other
Speaker 2: side of the rivalry, and you know, it was entertaining
Speaker 2: as well, and it was just something I hadn't really
Speaker 2: experienced on the local level, and I loved that. I
Speaker 2: was hooked and never thought a million years I would
Speaker 2: ever be in a position to do it for a
Speaker 2: or do it at all, And I've been doing it
Speaker 2: nine plus years here at this same station. That introduced
Speaker 2: me to it, and it's just a it's a dream
Speaker 2: come true. I know I've said that many times, but
Speaker 2: it's the truth. I think that's why it's hard for
Speaker 2: me to envision that it was nine plus years doing it,
Speaker 2: because I knew at any moment it could be gone,
Speaker 2: and I was just privileged and lucky to be able
Speaker 2: to be in the position. But it's the longest I've
Speaker 2: ever done anything other than be married to my wife,
Speaker 2: and it kind of seemed like it went by in
Speaker 2: a blink of an eye. But I choose to believe
Speaker 2: that it's because that I was in the moment and
Speaker 2: I wasn't you know, I was. I was just enjoying
Speaker 2: it and not, you know, not taking it for granted. So,
Speaker 2: you know, Tom Flaisman, when you're having fun. I suppose
Speaker 2: that's a very cliche, a very cheesy cliche, but it's
Speaker 2: but it's also true. A lot of cliches have some
Speaker 2: truth to hi. Anyways, back to Adam Neft, I mean,
Speaker 2: I could be remembering it wrong that any and I
Speaker 2: were texting earlier, maybe still listening, and he can text me.
Speaker 2: He cried at Adam Neft cried like a like a
Speaker 2: little schoolboy. I mean, and it was a moment, but
Speaker 2: you know, at the time, I'm thinking, get it together, man,
Speaker 2: And then I'm pretty sure my memory is correct. Bennetti
Speaker 2: was nice, but also like Vannetti, he was kind of like,
Speaker 2: come on, yeah, like all right, buddy, doesn't cry. I
Speaker 2: I don't know for certain, but I've had sources tell
Speaker 2: me that the man has shed a tear once or
Speaker 2: twice in life, but it's a rare thing. Yeah, and
Speaker 2: I and I'm not just saying this for effect. He
Speaker 2: has he has emotion, like he has a heart. He's
Speaker 2: not a robot, and you can clearly you know he's
Speaker 2: a person.
Speaker 3: He has a new heart. Actually, yeah, it's true.
Speaker 2: But also he is like there's no change in emotion
Speaker 2: when you're talking about something with him, Like he's very
Speaker 2: animated on the air.
Speaker 3: He's an entertainer.
Speaker 2: He can change his boys and say a little bit.
Speaker 2: You know, he's he's Bennetti.
Speaker 3: It's a pasta.
Speaker 2: But but also you know, like we could be talking
Speaker 2: about something insane that is like hard to talk about,
Speaker 2: and it would it would be like we're talking about
Speaker 2: what he had for breakfast, Like it's just it's it's different.
Speaker 2: So yeah, so Anyways, I think Bennetti was kind of
Speaker 2: making fun of him, but in a playful way. But like,
Speaker 2: you know, I remember if it was a memory that
Speaker 2: I'm like not even thinking at that time. I hope
Speaker 2: I never do that, because I never thought in a
Speaker 2: million years I'd be in the position. But I was like, gosh, man,
Speaker 2: this guy's really emotional. I felt bad for Nef because
Speaker 2: he couldn't control it, but I kind of get it now,
Speaker 2: like he and by the way, he moved on and
Speaker 2: no longer did radio once he left Columbus. He left
Speaker 2: Louisville to go to Columbus and work for a monster
Speaker 2: station out there, and I don't remember what led to
Speaker 2: him no longer being at that station, but he ended
Speaker 2: up getting into a different business. But when I think
Speaker 2: of goodbyes on the radio, I think of that because again,
Speaker 2: that was still new as a sports radio listener at
Speaker 2: that time. That was so long ago. That was in
Speaker 2: like two thousand and seven or two thousand and eight, maybe,
Speaker 2: like that was a long time ago. So we're talking about,
Speaker 2: you know again, that long ago. So with that, I mean,
Speaker 2: I'm I'm I'm gonna make sure that if I do
Speaker 2: get close to that I'm just gonna I'm just gonna
Speaker 2: you know, I'm just gonna punt. I'm gonna punt, and
Speaker 2: then you know, get back on the feet the bring
Speaker 2: the defense back on the field.
Speaker 3: Maybe I just maybe just shoot over to a Brian
Speaker 3: Brahm interview.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. No, here's what I'll do all.
Speaker 3: Kelsey's press conference.
Speaker 2: That's the case, what I'll probably do. It'll be the
Speaker 2: worst list show ever because I would then be in
Speaker 2: fear of it happening again. So I would then just
Speaker 2: do the show as if it's not my last, and
Speaker 2: I would like, just if I just start just rambling
Speaker 2: about you know, old old Rick Patino takes or something,
Speaker 2: just because you know, go back to the bag, play
Speaker 2: a rerun until you can until you can get out
Speaker 2: of here before you before you cry like a baby.
Speaker 2: But and I don't anticipate that will happen.
Speaker 3: I have a banner conversation.
Speaker 2: Yeah, put the banner back up, damn it. I'm gonna
Speaker 2: use my last hour here to make sure we fight
Speaker 2: to get that banner.
Speaker 3: But you already saw that they put h they put
Speaker 3: up in the practice facility like murals now or like
Speaker 3: the things that are reference in twenty thirteen, now that
Speaker 3: I'm pretty sure that they had to take down. Is
Speaker 3: that correct?
Speaker 2: Yes, they're they're acknowledging the title, I guess without doing
Speaker 2: what the NCAA said that they couldn't do. But I'm
Speaker 2: still to the point like do it and see what
Speaker 2: I mean what the NBA's got a lot more things
Speaker 2: to worry about than Louisville acknowledging a title that did
Speaker 2: actually happen. Considering with the way this house then c Douable,
Speaker 2: a situation is playing out and it looks like it's
Speaker 2: gonna get taken care of. But I mean, there's never
Speaker 2: been as much uncertaint about the instaba's existence that I
Speaker 2: can't imagine they're sitting around thinking about Louisville. However, they
Speaker 2: did deny Ali Khalifa a uh An his fourth year
Speaker 2: of eligibility, which is insane. But yeah, anyways, here's here's
Speaker 2: what's gotten. I think my wife is gonna have my
Speaker 2: kids call and that that will probably get me uh
Speaker 2: And they don't mean like my my kids know what
Speaker 2: I do, and you know, I hope I don't know
Speaker 2: what they think of it at all. They just know
Speaker 2: that's what dad does. And that's what he's always done
Speaker 2: since they've been alive. But uh, I mean, I'm not
Speaker 2: even sure what they would say, but just I don't know,
Speaker 2: me probably already being emotional and just feeling, you know,
Speaker 2: grateful for the amount of time that I've that I've
Speaker 2: been able to do this. Just hearing the little the
Speaker 2: little voices of the little ones you know, that I created,
Speaker 2: that'll probably get me. I mean sometimes I'm just like,
Speaker 2: you know, just watching my kid play sports and you know,
Speaker 2: talking to like you know, you're a parent. You just
Speaker 2: there's there's things that you know, there's times where the
Speaker 2: emotion and really again not to not to preach to
Speaker 2: people like you can't have emotions if you've never been
Speaker 2: a parent, but everything is different emotionally really, and everything
Speaker 2: is different in life when you become a parent because
Speaker 2: you know you're responsible for a human and you without
Speaker 2: even having any real mindset of it. You didn't you
Speaker 2: didn't think, okay, I need to change now. It just
Speaker 2: happens to where you become a level of selfless that
Speaker 2: you didn't know you could ever be. Because again, like
Speaker 2: you you got kids, now you got to your parent.
Speaker 2: You are a provider. So anyways, I'm I'm excited for
Speaker 2: the rest of this hour, of course, but also tomorrow
Speaker 2: we'll have some fun. And then again, I'm not I'm
Speaker 2: not abandoning anybody. I'm just moving down the moving down
Speaker 2: the hall to the big stick, and I'm super excited
Speaker 2: about that. Woke up really early today, right, and it
Speaker 2: wasn't that difficult.
Speaker 3: And then didn't didn't do didn't do too much. Yeah,
Speaker 3: just I mean it.
Speaker 2: It's not you know, maybe it's just the the the
Speaker 2: energy that we have here on the show. But I'm
Speaker 2: sure I'll probably be really tired tonight around like nine.
Speaker 2: But that's okay, Like that's what that's what my life
Speaker 2: is now. However, I did I mentioned this earlier this week.
Speaker 2: I was listening to you guys out there at the
Speaker 2: remote for Tony and Dwight and and Terry stopped in
Speaker 2: and those those guys wishing crews well and then being
Speaker 2: happy for him that he's retiring, and also that he
Speaker 2: doesn't have to get up any morning. Like they just
Speaker 2: couldn't end the segment there they had to acknowledge oh mornings. God,
Speaker 2: that's awful, and you know they're right beneath them. Well,
Speaker 2: I don't think they've looked at it that way, but
Speaker 2: they acted as own, They acted as if like, yeah,
Speaker 2: have fun doing that. I mean, not not because it
Speaker 2: was beneath them, but just like you know, you know
Speaker 2: they're yeah, I know what you mean. But like they've
Speaker 2: they've they've been super supportive in me in this entire situation.
Speaker 2: And I can't tell you how much I've appreciated that,
Speaker 2: cause it's been It's been huge. It's made me feel
Speaker 2: better about my ability to go over there and hopefully
Speaker 2: make that thing work and keep it successful. I mean,
Speaker 2: I I guess Tom will tell, but I have more
Speaker 2: confidence in myself to do that because of the support
Speaker 2: I've gotten from those guys. But it was also just
Speaker 2: a reminder, yeah, like, if you don't have to be
Speaker 2: on the mornings in has like you probably would prefer
Speaker 2: to be elsewhere. And I get it, but hey, I'm
Speaker 2: looking at it as a guy that's not been doing
Speaker 2: this for thirty plus years like those legends. I'm looking
Speaker 2: at as somebody who, Hey, are you kidding me? Don't
Speaker 2: wake me up. I've got an opportunity to go to
Speaker 2: eight forty whas and it's still changing, the game doesn't
Speaker 2: seem real so.
Speaker 3: I tell you what. You might not like it because
Speaker 3: I know that you're not a big coffee fan, but
Speaker 3: you got it. You got to get into oh yeah,
Speaker 3: have to get into the habit and make yourself a
Speaker 3: habit of it. Because that trip, you know how we
Speaker 3: talked about, like the trip to the grocery store. Yeah,
Speaker 3: like that trip just walking from just doing one little
Speaker 3: routine from your studio just to go get like a
Speaker 3: coffee and fill it up. It's it just might put
Speaker 3: some because I know you said you like some structure
Speaker 3: in your day. Yeah, that will add to it.
Speaker 2: Well, So coffee is I mean, I haven't acquired the
Speaker 2: taste of it just yet, and I don't know if
Speaker 2: some people ever really do. But it's also I can
Speaker 2: drink it and understand there's a real benefit from it,
Speaker 2: not only because it can give you that jolt in
Speaker 2: the morning and get your day started. Can also keep
Speaker 2: your regular if you know what I mean. But I
Speaker 2: hope he's not listening, and he might be. But like
Speaker 2: I've got an I've got a I got an idea
Speaker 2: for a well, I don't know. I shouldn't have said anything.
Speaker 2: I'll just say it.
Speaker 3: Why not because I.
Speaker 2: Don't think I would have the heart to do it
Speaker 2: because I care about this person and would never would
Speaker 2: never want them to not know that I was just
Speaker 2: joking with him. But the only cup of coffee that
Speaker 2: I've ever had that I drank and thought, okay, maybe
Speaker 2: I can drink that in doses and it's not so
Speaker 2: bad and I see the benefit of it. It was
Speaker 2: made by the company man John Alden, who who is
Speaker 2: a coffee drinker, and you know we did it just
Speaker 2: we weren't even trying to make it content. But he
Speaker 2: made me a cup of coffee in the afternoon one
Speaker 2: time because I was dragging ass, and you know, it
Speaker 2: gave me a nice boost. It was it was super plain.
Speaker 2: It was just you know, regular dark coffee, black coffee.
Speaker 2: There's nothing in it, no sugar, nothing, And you know,
Speaker 2: it wasn't it didn't taste great by any means, but
Speaker 2: it but you know, it got the job done and
Speaker 2: it wasn't like a big cup of coffee. So the
Speaker 2: only time I've ever had coffee like finished, an actual
Speaker 2: cup of it is that John has made it. So
Speaker 2: if I ask him, if if I ask him next week,
Speaker 2: would you mind making me a cup of coffee? He
Speaker 2: would do it without question because he's a good friend
Speaker 2: and you know, he's my guy. But I wonder like
Speaker 2: if I just like I would, I wouldn't be able
Speaker 2: to do it. But I love the thought of just
Speaker 2: waiting for him to be like, listen, I'm not your bitch,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna you know what I mean, Like I could
Speaker 2: totally because he's I.
Speaker 3: Mean, taking this company, and I wouldn't.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I would not. I wouldn't be able to
Speaker 2: do it because I would feel awful. He's you know,
Speaker 2: but but he's at least done it a few times
Speaker 2: and it's been appreciated, and it's.
Speaker 3: A pretty new slick coffee maker massa.
Speaker 2: I mean, like, let's be honest, it's not It's not
Speaker 2: something I wouldn't be able to figure out on myself, right,
Speaker 2: I mean, he's not putting anything in it. What's he doing?
Speaker 3: He's just you know, page here.
Speaker 2: Here's the thing. This goes to show you what I
Speaker 2: don't know about coffee. I don't he Maybe he does
Speaker 2: put something in it, but if so, I don't notice.
Speaker 2: And h it's certainly not creamer and there may be sugar,
Speaker 2: but I don't even like, I don't I think he
Speaker 2: puts something in his and he asked me, and I'm like, no,
Speaker 2: just give it to me straight, doc. And and you know,
Speaker 2: it's not a taste that I that I enjoyed, but
Speaker 2: it's also I mean, I've had worse hipster craft beers
Speaker 2: that I've that I've that I've finished.
Speaker 3: So love the smell of coffee. I like the I
Speaker 3: like the taste. That's I mean, I don't love the dark,
Speaker 3: just the straight black coffee taste, but I do love
Speaker 3: like the after taste of all that is. That's you know,
Speaker 3: that's some brew right there.
Speaker 2: Well, so when do you get cold coffee ever? Like
Speaker 2: cold brew?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm getting done like a cold brew or like
Speaker 3: a la te.
Speaker 2: Well, that's clearly a booming business. There's that new. I
Speaker 2: don't think they're new overall, but their new ish to
Speaker 2: the Louisville area, the Kentuckian area, the Seven Brew Place. Yes,
Speaker 2: I mean like I've never driven by one where the
Speaker 2: line wasn't to the interstate. I mean, they're they're clearly
Speaker 2: very very popular, and I'm just thinking, I'm just thinking,
Speaker 2: like there's no way it's that good. And also it's
Speaker 2: probably not cheap. But also uh, clearly they got a
Speaker 2: market and they're doing well because people love it. But
Speaker 2: I feel like if you're doing like the like the
Speaker 2: sweetest thing I can drink is what I drink for energy,
Speaker 2: which is a monster energy drink. Yeah, that's that's got
Speaker 2: that's got a real bite of carbonation to where it's
Speaker 2: more like a soda.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But like if I'm drinking soda, I'm drinking diet and
Speaker 2: I really don't drink at all.
Speaker 3: It doesn't have a lot of sugar. Yeah, So I just.
Speaker 2: Feel like if I was gonna drink one of those
Speaker 2: fou fou coffees that I see a lot of people get,
Speaker 2: I'm like, man, that's so rich and sugary, Like you
Speaker 2: might as well just you know, might as well be
Speaker 2: drinking a donut. And I just feel like that it
Speaker 2: may give you that boost because again there's caffeine and
Speaker 2: it's the kick, and it may taste delicious. But like,
Speaker 2: I'm to the point now where if I eat if
Speaker 2: I eat a whole glazed donut and stop there, I'm
Speaker 2: probably okay. But sometimes if I eat one, I get
Speaker 2: really full, as if Like man, I just like it's
Speaker 2: just so rich and just it's a little much, so.
Speaker 3: You still love all the gimmicky donuts, like the sprinkles
Speaker 3: and the choc I still love a chocolate glaze, but
Speaker 3: you know, like the ones that they have that it's
Speaker 3: not crumble. Let's see other one where they just like
Speaker 3: they just put There's just so much that goes on
Speaker 3: the doughnuts, like you could put like the crackers or
Speaker 3: like cereal, like the piece of the cereal on it.
Speaker 3: That's too much. I'm I'm fine just glazed in a cinnamon.
Speaker 2: But I start that if I start my day with
Speaker 2: that kind of food, I I would just want to
Speaker 2: go take a nap and hibernate because I would just
Speaker 2: feel like so full. And breakfast. I get why people
Speaker 2: say it's like super important to start your day, but
Speaker 2: if I eat a big breakfast that's anywhere close to
Speaker 2: as big as like my dinner would be, I just
Speaker 2: feel full and tired.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I'm interesting.
Speaker 2: I'm well, breakfast food is great, and I like a
Speaker 2: good breakfast, but just you know, I don't want to.
Speaker 2: I don't want to start the day feeling like I've
Speaker 2: already you know, eaten enough to And I don't know why.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's I don't know if it's everybody's metabolism is
Speaker 2: different or whatnot. But if I tried to eat a
Speaker 2: huge breakfast, I would I would probably fail. Sometimes though
Speaker 2: I get a few mimosas in me eat a big
Speaker 2: breadth and then it's like, you know, man, I've had
Speaker 2: I've had a hell of a day. I'm kind of tipsy.
Speaker 2: It's ten am, and exactly, demon Tom, I like that.
Speaker 2: All right, let's let's do this quick break. We'll come
Speaker 2: back and I'll kind of reset some things we discussed
Speaker 2: today because there's it's been a busy show, including Pat Kelsey.
Speaker 2: Thank you for thinking of me getting a new commitment
Speaker 2: when I'm doing my second to life show. I'm sure
Speaker 2: that timing was specifically for me. And again, I hope
Speaker 2: over the years you've been able to since my poor
Speaker 2: attempted humor, my bad sarcasm, because I know that's not
Speaker 2: the case. But they did get a commitment today. We'll
Speaker 2: talk about that a lot more and we'll finish up this,
Speaker 2: uh this all time list for you of l I've
Speaker 2: been working on when it comes to football, So stick around,
Speaker 2: coffee and company. Feel about Thorntes right here on Sports
Speaker 2: Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports
Speaker 1: Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: It's certainly not something that we're used to just yet.
Speaker 2: But I do think and I believe I predicted this
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks ago, and again, the time will
Speaker 2: tell if this ends up being an accurate inaccurate predicta
Speaker 2: an accurate prediction or not. And that is that we
Speaker 2: will probably more often than not, at least I believe
Speaker 2: when you get to the last few scholarships, the last
Speaker 2: few spots on your basketball roster, it'll probably be guys
Speaker 2: kind of coming out of nowhere, guys that you don't
Speaker 2: know a lot about, because when you're in the portal
Speaker 2: and you only have a couple of spots left, and
Speaker 2: you know you no longer can sell a big payday
Speaker 2: because a lot of your money's been spent. You can
Speaker 2: no longer sell a big role because others have decided
Speaker 2: to take that role. You're just going to have to
Speaker 2: be less selective and find a guy that is willing
Speaker 2: to embrace the role that you're offering. And you're going
Speaker 2: to tell these guys that you can compete, and you
Speaker 2: know there's no guarantee what happens. But clearly you can
Speaker 2: read the room, you know, if you're a guard or
Speaker 2: if you're a guard and you look at the three
Speaker 2: transfers they've already brought in in McNeely, Whirley, uh, And
Speaker 2: I always forget the guy from Xavier. Don't know why
Speaker 2: I always forget his name. He's probably gonna be the
Speaker 2: league scorer for this team, to be honest with you,
Speaker 2: at least I think he will be. But it'd be
Speaker 2: nice if I can get his name Ryan Conwell, Sorry.
Speaker 3: I forgot it too. Who I'm not gonna let with.
Speaker 2: So with Ryan Conwell and Woolley and McNeely as well
Speaker 2: as Mark Michael Brown, the number one point guard in
Speaker 2: the country coming in. Like, if you're a guard, you
Speaker 2: end up in the portal at Louisville, you know you're
Speaker 2: gonna have to compete with some of the best, some
Speaker 2: really good players to where you know you seem to
Speaker 2: at least be open to the idea of being a
Speaker 2: guy that's rarely called upon and finding guys who are
Speaker 2: cool with that is hard to do. So I think
Speaker 2: it's going to be pretty routine to get to this
Speaker 2: late in the process, and the last few guys taking
Speaker 2: up roster spots be pretty unknown. Well that's certainly been
Speaker 2: the case for Louisville in the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 2: because we've now had two guys join Louisvill's roster that
Speaker 2: I I mean part of it's because they play overseas
Speaker 2: and one of them is from NBA Africa, that they
Speaker 2: committed a couple of weeks ago, and then today I'd
Speaker 2: seen on social media just that this guy had been
Speaker 2: linked to Louisville. But I will be I have no
Speaker 2: clue if he was actually gonna. I mean, the recruitment's
Speaker 2: not exactly covered like those who are in the portal
Speaker 2: or those who are high school kids, just because I mean,
Speaker 2: these guys are in another country. But Louisville did land
Speaker 2: a big man. This certainly gives him some more depth
Speaker 2: that's needed, not only with James Scott transferring. But you
Speaker 2: now wait to see what the NAA is going to
Speaker 2: do with Ali Khalifa when it comes to his eligibility.
Speaker 2: So Vangeli's zu grease. He is a six to eight,
Speaker 2: two hundred and fifty pound big man from Greece, and
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey sent out his social media video. I guess
Speaker 2: is like the I guess that's his sign this year.
Speaker 2: As far as announcing or celebrating, I should say, more
Speaker 2: than anything, a commitment. So I would imagine by now
Speaker 2: you're probably done with your roster, but I guess you
Speaker 2: never know. Nothing would surprise me anymore when it comes
Speaker 2: to college to college basketball, when it comes to the portal.
Speaker 2: All right, something else we've discussed today, because it's going
Speaker 2: to be a discussion I think for a while until
Speaker 2: it gets all figured out. And that is what happens
Speaker 2: with the expanded college football Playoff. They're certainly going to
Speaker 2: be moving from twin the sixteen after this upcoming season,
Speaker 2: and there's been a lot of back and forth about
Speaker 2: what makes the most sense as far as determining how
Speaker 2: those sixteen spots get slotted. The thing that makes the
Speaker 2: most sense is to do five automatic qualifiers, meeting the
Speaker 2: conference champions from the Power four and then a champion
Speaker 2: from one of the other conferences, and then you do
Speaker 2: at large bids for everybody else, and you seed it
Speaker 2: one through sixteen based off the best teams, not based
Speaker 2: off those who win the conference championship. That's the best
Speaker 2: way to do it. That makes too much sense for
Speaker 2: them to do, because you know, they don't just think practical.
Speaker 2: It's the SEC that just wants to just well, you know,
Speaker 2: we need to we need four automatic spots, and the
Speaker 2: Big ten needs four automatic spots, and then everybody else.
Speaker 2: And that's just the way it is because because we
Speaker 2: say so, And I mean, who would like agree Again,
Speaker 2: I don't know what power anybody truly has here, but
Speaker 2: who would agree to that? I mean, why not say
Speaker 2: it once more? Upset up a billion times, guaranteeing half
Speaker 2: the tournament, the playoff go to two conferences, regardless of
Speaker 2: any games being played, but just because they've always been good,
Speaker 2: it's quite literally the closest we've ever been in primetime sports.
Speaker 2: It's not pro sports, but college football is a pretty
Speaker 2: powerful thing. It's not close to the NFL, but nothing is.
Speaker 2: But that would be the first real sign that we're
Speaker 2: no longer really caring about competition as much. We're literally
Speaker 2: making it based off of popularity from previous seasons and
Speaker 2: previous generations. Really, and it's not to say that the
Speaker 2: Big ten in the SEC won't end up getting more
Speaker 2: than half the field, because they probably will, they're that good.
Speaker 2: But just to say we should just have it because
Speaker 2: it is insane and I don't believe that that they're
Speaker 2: going to get what they want, but I don't know,
Speaker 2: maybe it's wishful thinking on my end. I also don't
Speaker 2: think this will ever happen, but just to know that
Speaker 2: this is being discussed and this is being thrown out
Speaker 2: there by people who I guess have some influence in
Speaker 2: what happens with the playoff, that TV viewership could potentially
Speaker 2: be a factor in how they determine who qualifies. I
Speaker 2: mean that alone is in a mission that it's popularity contest.
Speaker 2: It's not about winning games, which sometimes your popularity your
Speaker 2: brand is going to give you a bump because with
Speaker 2: a twelve game regular season, it's just not any real
Speaker 2: there's no great way to determine who, in fact is
Speaker 2: more deserving, right, I mean, you can have a twelve
Speaker 2: game season pretty routinely and not and you can just
Speaker 2: you can decide were you were you good or not?
Speaker 2: Like for example, when when Saturfille was here, I mean Louisville,
Speaker 2: they went seven and five at least a couple of times,
Speaker 2: and you know, you didn't really lose to any bad
Speaker 2: teams in a lot of those years. But you also
Speaker 2: never beat anybody we're talking about, so you could end
Speaker 2: the season not knowing that, like almost felt like a
Speaker 2: waste of time. I hate saying that, but you know,
Speaker 2: there was no no climax one way or the other, seemingly,
Speaker 2: and the lost to Kentucky and then we were reminded
Speaker 2: that our coach at that time wasn't built for this rivalry,
Speaker 2: which is sad thing to say, but it was the truth.
Speaker 2: So I don't know what's going to happen, but anybody
Speaker 2: arguing that it shouldn't be one through sixteen stop. The
Speaker 2: best teams and the automatic qualifiers are those that win
Speaker 2: the conference championship four from the Power four and then
Speaker 2: of course whoever is the best conference champion from the
Speaker 2: G five. That's that's what makes too much sense. Now,
Speaker 2: if you think that no conference championshould be in I
Speaker 2: don't think you're wrong there, because you know, I get it.
Speaker 2: But doing that, you've basically made the conference championships not
Speaker 2: only useless and really other than just claiming that you
Speaker 2: did it, I mean, that's what and again there's fans
Speaker 2: would love that to be able to say you won
Speaker 2: your conference championship, but in the moment. If you're coaching
Speaker 2: one of these teams, you're not thinking about that. You're
Speaker 2: thinking about, I mean, thinking about winning a national championship.
Speaker 2: Because if you are in play for the SEC, the
Speaker 2: Big Ten, or the or the the Big ten of
Speaker 2: the the Big ten, ACC or SEC championship, it may
Speaker 2: not be super realistic every year, but at that time,
Speaker 2: you're still thinking you've got a chance to win the
Speaker 2: whole thing. Again. It may not be true, but that's
Speaker 2: where your mind is. You're not thinking about, I hope
Speaker 2: we can go to Charlotte and win the ACC. I
Speaker 2: hope you go to Atlanta and win the SEC. You're
Speaker 2: thinking about winning the whole thing, and you could also
Speaker 2: end up, you know, if you just if you just
Speaker 2: see to one through sixteen and you still have it again.
Speaker 2: Here's the examples I gave earlier that I think that
Speaker 2: I think are are a good reason as to why
Speaker 2: you would. You still have to find some way to
Speaker 2: incentivize winning your conference championship. If you're Alabama and your
Speaker 2: Georgia and you're number one and your number two, therefore
Speaker 2: you're playing in the conference championship, you don't want to
Speaker 2: play because you're fighting for a championship, that game is
Speaker 2: just another opportunity for you to potentially hurt yourself slightly
Speaker 2: or maybe maybe jump from number two to number one,
Speaker 2: And there's value there, but how much you could also,
Speaker 2: I mean, you also become way more winded you played
Speaker 2: an extra game, you could get somebody hurt. And then
Speaker 2: if you're Louisville and the hypothetical, the hypoth the hypothetical
Speaker 2: that I threw out there was that let's say Clemson
Speaker 2: went back to Dabbo when he was in his prime,
Speaker 2: where they looked like they were the top program in
Speaker 2: the sport overall. There was a brief stretch there where
Speaker 2: but like they passed Alabama a little bit, didn't last long,
Speaker 2: but there was that moment right after they beat Bama
Speaker 2: in that last championship. They when they got their second
Speaker 2: it felt like they were the top program. So with that,
Speaker 2: let's say they're there again, and Clemson's being talked about
Speaker 2: as one of the best teams of all time and
Speaker 2: Louisville is twelve and one and they are currently projected
Speaker 2: to be one of the last two teams in Well,
Speaker 2: let's say they end up playing in the ACC championship
Speaker 2: game and they get beat by thirty because Clemson's just
Speaker 2: that good. That could just put them I mean that
Speaker 2: could one. They could probably get beat up if that happened. Also,
Speaker 2: it would potentially put them in a spot to where
Speaker 2: they got blown out and lost their chance to get in.
Speaker 2: Like you would want to avoid it if you could.
Speaker 2: You would hope that then this sounds crazy to say,
Speaker 2: but you would hope that if you're Jeff Brahm in
Speaker 2: that situation, that the tiebreaker didn't go your way and
Speaker 2: you were able to avoid a thirteenth game for a
Speaker 2: variety of reasons, because you want to still get in
Speaker 2: the playoff, and also you don't want to get your
Speaker 2: ass kicked right before you get to the postseason, so
Speaker 2: you have to find a way to incentivize that. And
Speaker 2: I think just guaranteeing that you get in the field
Speaker 2: is enough now them not getting the top four seeds
Speaker 2: and getting the buy that makes sense, and that played
Speaker 2: out pretty clearly in the first year that it just
Speaker 2: didn't make a whole lot of sense to do that.
Speaker 2: So anyways, real quick, this is something we did yesterday.
Speaker 2: I'll reset this quickly and then and finish up here.
Speaker 2: And I had fun doing this, so thank you to
Speaker 2: whoever it was that that requested it. I'm not sure
Speaker 2: anybody else wanted it or cared about how I ranked
Speaker 2: these players.
Speaker 3: But I've been waiting for it.
Speaker 2: You've been all You've been thinking about it, huh.
Speaker 3: I've been looking at records. I like to hear that,
Speaker 3: let's go.
Speaker 2: I like to hear that. So the top four quarterbacks
Speaker 2: for me, and again, this is my lifetime what I remember.
Speaker 2: So guys who played, you know, before me, like Jeff Brom, Browning, Nagel,
Speaker 2: obviously Johnny united Is, I don't remember those guys playing quarterbacks,
Speaker 2: so I didn't include them. I'm just going based off
Speaker 2: guys I watched play in my time as a fan.
Speaker 2: I went Lamar Jackson number one, Seddy Bridgewater number two.
Speaker 2: I went Brian Brohm three, but I was so close
Speaker 2: to putting stuff on the fours at number four, but
Speaker 2: I was pretty content with that. I did leave Redmond off,
Speaker 2: and it was it because I don't think he's great.
Speaker 2: It's just that was a little bit little, not as
Speaker 2: fresh in my mind, but he certainly had a hell
Speaker 2: of a career.
Speaker 3: And then.
Speaker 2: At running back, I ended up going with Michael Bush
Speaker 2: number one, and it was easy for me. I went
Speaker 2: blal Pal number two, and then at number three, I
Speaker 2: went a guy who is so easy to forget. We
Speaker 2: talked about this yesterday. I think this is the best
Speaker 2: running back that's played here that you won't remember in
Speaker 2: four or five years unless you just have a good memory,
Speaker 2: and that's Javian Hawkins. He was here for SAT's first
Speaker 2: season and was the ACC Freshman of the year. He
Speaker 2: had twenty three hundred yards and I believe it was
Speaker 2: like nineteen total games because he opted out the second
Speaker 2: year with the COVID stuff going on and went pro,
Speaker 2: didn't get drafted, and honestly no clue whatever happened to him,
Speaker 2: but he was good. And then I went number four,
Speaker 2: Brandon Radcliffe, and I just think his consistency over a
Speaker 2: long stretch of time put him there. And then did
Speaker 2: I just do those two? Yeah, okay, doing receivers in
Speaker 2: defense got just so receivers and defense. I have that
Speaker 2: for some reason. I think it was another one I
Speaker 2: did yesterday. But receivers, I mean, I think I think
Speaker 2: I probably would have a little bit of a different
Speaker 2: list than others, But I don't think my list here
Speaker 2: will be one that people question as if like this
Speaker 2: is this guy no way to think about Louisville football.
Speaker 2: But Devonte Parker, I mean, he was just he was
Speaker 2: not only really good the entire time he was here,
Speaker 2: he was he was a top twenty draft pick for
Speaker 2: good reason, played in the league for quite a while,
Speaker 2: and he was a part of some good teams. And
Speaker 2: to me, he was just a weapon that we haven't
Speaker 2: had very often at receiver. To wear there was a
Speaker 2: good chance that whoever you're playing, if he's not being
Speaker 2: if it's single coverage, he's just gonna go up and
Speaker 2: get it. I mean he was. He was really really special.
Speaker 2: So I put him at at number one. After that,
Speaker 2: how can you not go, Dion Branch. I mean, I'd
Speaker 2: forgotten that he was only here two years, but in
Speaker 2: those two years he was really really special. For John L.
Speaker 2: Smith one hundred and forty three catches, twenty two hundred yards,
Speaker 2: eighteen touchdowns in just two seasons. I mean he was good. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I oh, by the way, he went on to be
Speaker 2: a Super Bowl MVP. Now he's on the staff. So
Speaker 2: he was at number two. Some people would probably have
Speaker 2: him number one, and I wouldn't fight you on it.
Speaker 2: I just think with Devonte a little bit more of
Speaker 2: a longevity and Louisville football was in a little bit
Speaker 2: of a different spot when DeVante was here, including you know,
Speaker 2: beating Florida in the Sugar Bowl, and then after that
Speaker 2: it gets a little tricky. I think three is Harry Douglas.
Speaker 2: Another guy who had a great run, and he played
Speaker 2: alongside some other good receivers like Mario Rudia. But I
Speaker 2: think Harry had a great career over a long stretch
Speaker 2: of time, and he did it when Louisville was really
Speaker 2: starting to become relevant.
Speaker 3: Nationally here it was a threat.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then what I don't know is number is
Speaker 2: number four.
Speaker 3: I mean.
Speaker 2: This guy, I feel like I'm I'm just I'm you Like,
Speaker 2: who is it you mentioned the other day Brock Bowlin.
Speaker 2: Loved Brock Bowland, by the way, but like that was
Speaker 2: you as a kid, just knowing that guy was good
Speaker 2: at what he did and people liked him and he
Speaker 2: was a weapon. Right, this is me. This guy was
Speaker 2: clearly good. His numbers are insane, but like I think
Speaker 2: this is more so me just because again, I'd be
Speaker 2: a liar if I told you I remember a bunch
Speaker 2: of specific plays by this guy. But I remember when
Speaker 2: Louisville had Arnold and he was I mean, he was
Speaker 2: just a he was so damned almost four thou, Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean he was. I mean, he's one of the
Speaker 2: most productive receivers in the history of the n C
Speaker 2: DOUBLEA when he got finished with his college career undersized,
Speaker 2: but man, he was unstoppable. So I'm going with him.
Speaker 2: And so tw TO is another guy that really which
Speaker 2: is wild because to Tow was great. And yet what
Speaker 2: people will forget is that when things started to really
Speaker 2: get loud about is Bobby Petrino really gonna be able
Speaker 2: to keep this thing going in his second stint? Or
Speaker 2: is he gonna be Bobby and it fall apart? And
Speaker 2: we know what happened. But the reason I feel like
Speaker 2: it got so loud about wait a second, is everything
Speaker 2: gonna be okay? Is because two two app was the
Speaker 2: guy that they took over Rondell Moore. Now, they still
Speaker 2: recruited Rondelle and they wanted him, they liked him, but
Speaker 2: I think they they probably made it clear that they'll
Speaker 2: take Rondel Moore, but they actually like to do better.
Speaker 2: Both were great college players. Yeah, Rondelle was way more
Speaker 2: It was way more successful in college than to too,
Speaker 2: but both were good and both were still in the NFL.
Speaker 2: I hope with the with Rondelle he can get healthy
Speaker 2: and really have a strong season. I know he's coming
Speaker 2: off a pretty big injury, but with two two he's
Speaker 2: still productive still in the in the league with the Rams,
Speaker 2: and he was really really good when he was here.
Speaker 2: Another guy that'll probably be forgotten a little bit just
Speaker 2: because of the era, right it was it was it
Speaker 2: was I keep one to call Sadderfield crack Thorpe, but
Speaker 2: it was the Saturfeld era and then one of those seasons,
Speaker 2: one of those seasons was uh was you know a
Speaker 2: COVID year where it's just easy to forget. So anyways,
Speaker 2: there you have it. We'll do defense here on the
Speaker 2: other side and call it a day right here on
Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 2: Nine day, Jody Messina or Martine McBride, one of the Yeah,
Speaker 2: good stuff, good stuff, what a finished strong there? Hit
Speaker 2: me with that nineties sassy lady contrast. It was an era, man,
Speaker 2: It was an era that I that I was a
Speaker 2: big fan of and your cowgirl boots and go be
Speaker 2: independent somewhere baby. Yeah, and it's it's it's it's kind
Speaker 2: of maybe this is just me, but like it's actually
Speaker 2: a really like that You Go, You Go nineties female
Speaker 2: country hits. It's actually a decent, surprising workout mix. Like
Speaker 2: there's good energy, it's uplifting, that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3: So, yeah, you used to listen to that song at
Speaker 3: ups Load in seven forty seven.
Speaker 2: And I guarantee you did a better job with those
Speaker 2: tunes playing, all right. So lastly, we'll do the defensive
Speaker 2: side here. And this was tough at the bottom half
Speaker 2: here because I think, honestly, Elvis Dumerville is number one
Speaker 2: just because he's I mean, Elvis Duomerville is one of
Speaker 2: the best defensive players we've ever seen in college football,
Speaker 2: certainly at Louisville forty two and a half sacks, twenty
Speaker 2: sacks and ten force fumbles alone in two thousand and
Speaker 2: five unanimous Al American five time Pro Bowler. I mean,
Speaker 2: Elvis is a legend. Outside of that, I mean, Amobia
Speaker 2: Koye was really really good, and obviously I think him
Speaker 2: being drafted tenth overall and him being so young when
Speaker 2: he was in college, so I don't have a problem
Speaker 2: having him at number two. And it's more so just
Speaker 2: because after that there were so many really good like
Speaker 2: Louisville football on defense during even the Bobby era the
Speaker 2: first time around, obviously with Charlie Strung. There's so many
Speaker 2: great defensive players. Uh but you've got a lot of
Speaker 2: guys that are that are really good. But how do
Speaker 2: you differentiate who would be at number three or number four?
Speaker 2: Because I mean a guy that people would forget who
Speaker 2: was a who was a bully here defensively was Calvin Pryor.
Speaker 2: I mean that dude was was tough.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2: He and he he should have been good in the NFL.
Speaker 2: I don't really know what happened there, but he was
Speaker 2: actually successful until the rec until Re's uh Rex Ryan
Speaker 2: got fired by the Jets, and then it kind of
Speaker 2: all went downhill from there. But he was great. Gerrod Holloman,
Speaker 2: I mean it was it was random with one season,
Speaker 2: but they got fourteen interceptions in the Jim Thorpe Award,
Speaker 2: and I mean it was just insane how he was
Speaker 2: right place, right time, go make a play like it
Speaker 2: was not if he dropped four of those interceptions. It
Speaker 2: would have been looked at as a special season and
Speaker 2: you just to say, well, that's why that guy's on defense.
Speaker 2: I mean, he just it was crazy how he was
Speaker 2: picking people off. A guy who was consistent from won
Speaker 2: always a problem. Lorenzo Maldon Preston Brown. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: this guy was a tackling machine for many, many years.
Speaker 2: In fact, I think every year he was here, he
Speaker 2: was a monster defensively, and you know, longevity. I think
Speaker 2: he and then obviously JayR Alexander he became an elite
Speaker 2: level player, probably even more so than we realized at
Speaker 2: the time because you know, he was overshadowed by his
Speaker 2: teammate Lamar Jackson and then Sheldon Rankins, James Bargess, I mean,
Speaker 2: Brandon Johnson back during those two thousands teams. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: I just I don't really, I think I'm gonna go
Speaker 2: so I'm going Dumerville a Koya, I'm gonna go Gay
Speaker 2: year and then not bad. I'm down now to either
Speaker 2: Preston Brown or Lorenzo Maulden. I think I'm gonna go
Speaker 2: Preston Brown, just because I mean he was kind of
Speaker 2: like your leader of the defense at that linebacker spot
Speaker 2: and was good every year he was here and was
Speaker 2: really instrumental in the in the Charlotte mean, when you
Speaker 2: think of the Charlie Strong era, he's probably the most
Speaker 2: important guy that isn't talked about really at all. I
Speaker 2: mean you think of Davonte and obviously Teddy and whatnot,
Speaker 2: but Preston Brown was good. So there you have it.
Speaker 2: All right, we're out of time. Back at it tomorrow
Speaker 2: for one more farewell, and Austin appreciates your brother. It's
Speaker 2: been a fun ride. I'll see you tomorrow. I just
Speaker 2: I'll be with you on air here. So all right,
Speaker 2: heavy goo on, everybody, talk to you tomorrow.