Speaker 1: I'll start Toyota Presents Off the Bench with Jacob Hester
and Matt Flynn.
Speaker 2: Say Hester and Hester.
Speaker 1: From carrying each other to and Natty to carrying each
other on the air live from the Mercedes Benz Baton
Rouge Studio.
Speaker 3: It's off the bench, all right, welcome back in our
number three O t V one, O four five, ESPN
Baton Rouge. Gonna catch up here with Ryan McGhee ESPN
SEC Network here in hopefully a couple of minutes, and
gonna you know, continue to break down the matchups there
in omahall. But one of the things Ryan does such
a fantastic job of is really painting the picture and
doing a deep dive into the details of like wherever
he's going, whatever he's covering there. So looking forward to
that and let's go ahead and get into it now.
Ryan McGee, my guy, joins the show. What's up, sir,
how we doing.
Speaker 2: We're good, We're busy, you know, Benzy's good and it's
time to get on with it. Man. It's I spend
you know, I'm really fortunate I got this ridiculous work calendar,
and you know everybody else does Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or
whatever I do, National Championship, Daytona five and five Omaha,
So it's time time to get on with it.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, man, And you just dropped another great article road
to Omaha, how the Men's College World Series became a
town's pride and joy.
Speaker 4: It's on ESPN dot com. Now go check that out.
Speaker 3: And one of the reasons, man, Ryan, I want to
have you on because you do such a great job
of just detailing and explaining like what this event means
to Omaha. And you just laid out like what you
get to do, and and look, you and I are
very unfortunate and we get to do very very cool
stuff like that. But like Omaha, when you go there,
like it does feel different, Like it feels like a
place that is special. It feels like everybody there is
just so happy to be there. Where would you put
Omaha in all the experiences that you get to have
throughout the sports calendar. Where would you place Omaha kind
of in the pecking order there?
Speaker 2: Man, It's tough, but just personally, like emotionally, it's my
favorite event. Yeah, And there's a lot of reasons for that.
I mean, I grew up you know this. I grew
up in the Triangle in North Carolina, Raleigh, and you
know that's a college area. And so I grew up
and my dad played college baseball East Carolina. Ye, And
so I grew up going to college baseball games at
NC State and UNC and you know East Carolina wake
Forest Duke, and there'd be fifteen people there. It'd be me,
my dad, my brother, like some girlfriends and the players
and a couple of scouts. That's it.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And you know, I'm sitting watching Duke in North Carolina
Super Regionals, and so I would just I would hear
about alex Box Stadium and I would see you know, uh,
you know obviously Rosenblat Stadium on ESPN, and just it
all just felt so giant. And so my dad and
I first got to go to the Caberal Series together
twenty five years ago. It was Father's Ay weekend. It
was perfect, and so I wasn't there working. I was
there as a fan. My dad and I went several
years in a row, and I've been almost every year
since and getting paid for it, and I just it
just feels different. I mean, LSU fans know that because
they're a huge part of it, and you know which
is just it's like homecoming. It really is. You go
there and if you've been once or if you've been
twenty times, you know, like like lsu Has you know
the guy at the hotel, right, and you know the
bus driver, and you know the people at the drover
of the steakhouse, and you just it's people at the stadium.
It's just it's homecoming. And that's why I love us
so much.
Speaker 3: And not a lot of times like can you survive
you know, changing things up when you have an event
like go but there was a new stadium and I
remember being worried, like, oh Man Rosenblat is like so
iconic and like all my childhood memories of watching and
Warren Morris in the home run against Miami, like are
you gonna lose that? They've done a really nice job
ran of still being able to keep that same magic
even though they're in you know, a newer kind of
state of the art facility there, which is not always
easy to do.
Speaker 2: No, and in the first couple of years was tough. Yeah,
you know the you know, they turned the stadium for
this beautiful view of the city, but the problem is
wind blows in that way, right, So there's no home runs,
and you know in the ballpark's very you know, Rosenblat
was quirky, but but you know this too, man, Rosenblat
was the best. I missed it. I have a seat
in my house, you know, I go up to the
site and if folks don't know, you can go to
the Rosenblat site and there's home plates there, Warren Morris's,
you know, right field Falpole still there. It's all still
there in the parking lot. And it's great. But I
was worried about the new ballpark, and the first couple
of years were great. But now all the neighborhood has
grown in around the ballpark, and you know, downtown Omaha
has become really what Thirteenth Street the area around Rose
Black used to be. And so we've grown into the place.
And now it's got its moment, right I mean now,
I mean the lsu Ight Forest game in some of
my finals was three years. That's the best game ever
been to in my life, maybe the best sport of
it ever been to. And so now it has these moments,
and it has its champions, and it has all these things,
and so it's grown up. I was worried about it too,
and quite frankly, so were the people of Omaha. You know,
to Aha, they want to build that stadium. NCAA was like,
you to build a new stadium or we're out right,
And so to the mayor's credit at the time, even
though he just got crushed by the public, it was
the right thing to do. And now, yeah, I still
we all still call it the new Ballpark. And that
thing opened in twenty eleven, right, I mean it's got
it's got almost almost a decade and a half end.
So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: You know, and I love the fact that it's in
the same spot every year, and we we you know,
we cover events like the National Championship, and I'm not
going to call names, but there's some places that it
feels more of, Hey, I am here.
Speaker 4: For the National Championship.
Speaker 3: There's some places we go to and it's like, does
anybody in this town know that the National Championship is
being played in this stadium coming up in a couple
of days, right, But I think when you have it
in this you know, I don't wanst say it's not
small town. It's not a small town, but you know
what I'm saying, it's like this town that cares so
deeply about having this event and they cater everything to
this event. Right, Oklahoma City does it for the Women's
College World Series. I understand moving things around, the dollars
and cents of it, but Ryan, when something is constant
and it's there and the people care so much about it,
even if you don't have a dog in the fight,
you can go to that event and you can appreciate
everything is put into the event seventy five.
Speaker 2: Years that it's been at Almah, which is crazy. And
so listen to the greatest sporting events in my mind,
and are the ones where you can't separate the city
or the town from the event and vice versa. So
you know, it's you can't imagine the Rose Bowl anywhere
other than passing it. You can't imagine the Masters anywhere
of it. Augusta, you can't imagine. I mean, it's the
Indianapolis five hundred, It's the Daytona five hundred, right, I mean,
so you just when you can't separate it, you know
it's important. And that's why I think that that it
won't ever move. And part of the reason for that
is the end the people of the Ncuba they love
it as much as the people in Omaha. I remember,
I wrote my New York Times worst selling book, you know,
back in two thousand and nine. I wrote Omaha, and
one of the whole chapters was the insurance Man in
the Pope. And it was Denny Pope, who was the
baseball administrator for the n Cuba forever, a great football
player at Missouri. And then it was you know, Jack Deeson,
whose father founded you know, the hometown corporation that runs
the Omaha side of the caulderwal series. And now he
runs it and one day his daughter will run it. Yeah,
and they're like brothers, you know, their kids, babies at
each other, you know, and so you just it's just family.
It's just just the best way to describe it. And
I don't think that even though it's definitely more corporate
and it's definitely downtown versus being in the meat packer
neighborhood where it used to be Rosenblat, it still has
that feeling. And you can't again, you can't separate them.
You can't imagine one without the other. And I mean, listen,
we're living in this kind this wacko time where money
runs everything. I get it, But I think that's part
of why, even if you don't have a team in
the series, you go because it kind of taps into
what we all love about college sports. It's one of
the last places left, like Oklahoma City and the Women's
College wal Series, one of the last lite stuff where
you go and you're like, all right, this is what
college sports is supposed to fill at right.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I agree wholeheardly with you.
Speaker 3: And it's one of the many things that makes it special,
Like another part of the College World Series that I
always enjoy. And look if las who's in it, come on, Like,
I'm not gonna act like I'm not rooting for my Tigers,
but like also when a team like Murray State makes it,
and you know, we've seen teams make runs before me
and Fresno State finished the deal in two thousand and
eight Coastal Carolina.
Speaker 4: The run that they go on.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's one of the best parts about college
baseball is because like we get these Cinderella teams that
just get hot and they find a way and they're
throwing eighty eight on the mound in not ninety six,
but it's working for them, and they got the ultimate belief.
Speaker 4: Like this Murray State team.
Speaker 3: I know that you have to, you know, kind of
enjoy kind of getting ready to cover them. I mean,
the coach is still mowing his own grass. He was
only making two years ago sixty eight thousand dollars to
be the head baseball coach there, and even with the
bump and pay he got, it is not even a
fraction of what some of these other coaches are making.
Like what a great story Murray State is. And Murray
State's had moments in other sports, but for the first
time their baseball program gets to the College World Series.
Speaker 2: And it's perfect that in this seventy fifth anniversary of
the series in Omaha, that there that Murray State then,
because if you know your history of the series, there's
almost always one team, I mean almost everything. That last
year was the all where it was all SEC versus
all ACC And that's fine, and it's certainly great for
business if you're the co host of Martin McGee, right,
I mean, but but I kind of was sad because
you want but almost every single year, right Stonybrook, just
a couple of years ago, Fans to this day talk
about when the Citadel made it and upset the number
one team in the nation in the College World Series,
and that was thirty forty years ago. And so I
mean you go back to the history of it and
its main in Hawaii and Harvard, and you know, even
Southern Myss who's always had a great baseball program and
had never made to Omaha. There's always there's always one
almost every single year. And so I was glad Murray
State made it, and I hope they make a little noise,
And yeah, I don't. I don't root against teams, you know,
I stay neutral, But there was and I got a
lot of friends who work at Duke, but there was
definitely a part of me that wanted Murray State to
win that game oney night, just because I wanted an
underdog at the Caudal too.
Speaker 4: And yeah, no, I mean, I'm right there with you.
It's like, I got nothing against do it.
Speaker 3: I'm the same way, like I know people that worked
there and and different athletic departments, was like, how do
you not root for what Murray State's trying to do
right now? In the path right and that they went through,
I mean not just old missing Oxford, I mean Georgia
Tech had a real case to be a regional host
as well, and they go through them. I mean they
were not given anything too, which makes it even you know,
that much better. I think in the fact that who
they had to go through, they earned the right to
be there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a good question about it. And and they
you can't take the road they're taking. It's funny talking
to my friends down at All Miss they were all
rooting for Murray State because the team that you lose to,
you want them to at least make it to Omaha. Right,
you don't want you don't want to lose to them.
And then they go to Duke and get swept. Right,
that's the beauty of it. And man, let's say something. Yeah,
I understand there are people that have kind of got
their nose been out of shape because it's LSU in
Arkansas in the first round and the only two SEC
teams that dude, Saturday night in Omaha, and you've given
all those art to me. The two most fun ballparks
in the nation to go see a game are Bob
Walker and Fable and the Box. And now you take
those fans and you put them all in a bunch
of pickup trucks and drop them to Omaha, and you
give them all day to get lubricated, and now we're
gonna play a game, baseball game. It's gonna be I'm
so mad because I don't. I don't go till next
week I go. I'd always go in for the second half.
Speaker 4: Yea, right, Yeah, it's a long trip.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah. But and so the one year I convinced
them to let me go for the for the opening
weekend a few years ago, the morning I left was
the morning the North Chrona state popped every COVID test
and stayed in Nebraska. And so I was like, soose,
So you know, I'm stuck in North Carolina. So they
were like no, no, no, no, You're going for the championship.
But yeah, but it's but the atmosphere on Saturday night
is going to be off chart, and this will not
be the last time that these two teams play in
this tournament.
Speaker 4: I'm right there with you.
Speaker 3: I mean, I actually just got chills thinking about it,
like I would be in that number. That number is
going to be loud. It is going to be two.
I think I agree with you. I think like you
throw Mississippi State in there, like whatever rotation you want.
Three best fan bases in college football. Two of them
playing against each other. Yeah, rivals, I mean opening you
know night for them in the College World Series prime time.
Oh my gosh, that's going to be an electric, electric
atmosphere there. Any other like another, any other games, any
other teams kind of catching your interest there because I
can't get away from Coastal Carolina, even though like they
have already won a national championship. They're on the scene,
they're you know, they've turned themselves into a blue blood
of college baseball. For as much as you possibly can
you win a national championship, you're consistent.
Speaker 4: I'm going to give you that title.
Speaker 3: But something still feels like little disrespect whenever Coastal's brought
up because they play in the Sun Belt, people don't
understand it's a really good baseball conference. And so Coastal
is a team too that you went over fifty games.
I think that's a team in bracket number one to
I hustle a little bit.
Speaker 2: They had a loss of a month, a last state
baseball game in a month, and so coach Shnall, who
was a catcher there and played for so folks that
don't know I wrote a huge story about him a
year ago. But Gary Gilmore was the head coach at Coastal.
He's the one that led them to the national championship
at twenty sixteen, and coach Gilmour retired at the end
of last season. At the end of during the NCLA Tournament,
battling two different forms of cancer simultaneously, one of the
all time great guys I've ever known in college sports,
and he called coach Schnall and said, I need you
to come home and take over of this program. And
all he did is getting into the College World Series
in his first year. And he was so so chippy
last weekend after they clinched their spots, saying, this team
is not a Cinderella. Everybody needs to get over that
because the reality was I thought this should have been
a top eight theeyeh, I really did believe that. Kyle
Peterston and I said that on our pre tournament special
in ESPN. We said, I don't understand why they're not
a top top eight seed, a national seed, and so
for them to be there, it is not a surprise
if you actually follow college baseball. But it's a great
story and I am I'm not gonna lie and tell
you that I've watched a lot of Oregon State baseball
this year, but this is the team that's won three
national championships, you know, in this century. And they have
four or five guys with double digit home runs like
and they have you know that their their shortstop is
probably going to be the highest pick college baseball player
in the draft next one. So it's it is, there
is so much talent in this thing. And all right
to that point too, you Oregon State, you have Arizona,
and you have UCLA all in the College Rule Series.
They were all in the Pac twelve what a year
and a half ago. Yeah, And it's just it just
adds to the frustration to the entire West coast of
what are we doing? You know? And you've got one
team in Oregon State that's in the pack too, you know,
that's about to become a bigger conference. It's so weird
seeing them play with a big PAC twelve logo in
their backstop. And then you've got UCLA, who's in the
has a chance to win the Big Tens, first Cultural
Series since nineteen sixty six. And then you got Arizona,
who is a who's an Omaha blue blood and they're
playing out of Big twelve. It's just I just don't
see how the Pack twelve people sleep at night because
they have just burned this thing to the ground and
they could be dominating the Couderal Series this year.
Speaker 4: You're right, you're exactly.
Speaker 3: I mean, they would have three teams and it yeah,
it is man Oregon State story. And then you know
they have been left lonely on the dance floor because
at least those other teams did find like a major
conference to go to. I mean, Oregon State playing an
independent schedule, like that's like in football that it's kind
it's difficult, but you can find a way to find
some games. Obviously they're Dame's in it for a long time.
Yukon's going through it right now. But like once conference
play starts in baseball, like those teams are playing, but
they had to find somebody that might happen to be
off and they had to go to them. They played
like seventy eight percent of their games like on the
road as a national blue blood college baseball program. Like
that's just wild to me.
Speaker 2: Now, and it made it work, and I give them
a lot of credit. I really Then in Washington State
both in every sport of putting this thing together. While
they are managed that they're also overseeing this, you know,
this reconstruction of the Pack twelve. But it's just for
folks that don't know. Forever the College Would Series was
dominated by the Pack back then the Pack eighth, even
West Coast Conference originally, and it was you know, USC
still holds the record for the most titles. Everyone won
a long time, but they still hold a record. You know, Arizona,
Arizona State, cal State Fullarton, you know, all these California schools, Pepperdine, Stanford, California,
and Arizona dominated the College World Series no matter what
conference they were from for decades. And so it always
makes me a little sad when there's this. There's a
big map that's in the the what the call of
baseball village next to the ballparks, all the souvenir stands
and be a beer garden off, but there's this big
map that shows where every one of the eight schools
of that year series is from. And again, it's great
for me, it's great for Marty McGee when when the
SEC dominates the lineup, but I don't think it's great
for college baseball. And when I look at that map
and it's got three or four teams from west of the Mississippi,
that's great for the sport. And this year, this year,
that map is the most evenly distributed that it has
been in a really, really long time. And again it's
not great for the SEC co host of the show
me but but it's but it's pretty good for college
baseball as a whole a.
Speaker 3: Case, right right, I am right there with you. I
totally agree. This year it feels right all right. He
is Ryan McGee good enough to join us ESPN SEC Network,
Marty and McGee does it all. Also ESPN dot Com
Road to omahall how the men's College World Series became
a town's pride and joy is on there now. It
is a must read. Go check it out, Ryan Man.
We always appreciate the time. Look forward to our next conversation.
Speaker 2: All right, appreciate you, buddy, see letter.
Speaker 4: All right, there is Ryan McGee good enough to join
us here.
Speaker 3: And Ryan is so good at going somewhere like Omaha
and just really telling the story of where he's at
and what it means and the people that make something
like this happen. Every single year, So go check his
article out again. It just dropped earlier this morning on
ESPN dot com. All right, we will take a break.
We do have country music superstar Justin Morris set to
join us in ten minutes from now. Going to go
ahead and let you know. He is a razorback, he
is an Arkansas fan. He has promised not to call
the Hogs on the interview. We'll see if he gets
that done. More OTB when we come back, your way
off the bench, right good?
Speaker 4: All star not store and heard that in a couple
of days. I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 3: Toyota, batiruge dot com buying, new leasing, renting. Every single
thing is available and it's not just lip service.
Speaker 4: I mean this is factual.
Speaker 3: Right now is the best time to check out those
rentals because you got a lot of different options, a
lot of different ways that you can go, a lot
of different trips that you can plan. It is summer vacation,
if you're going to the beach, if you're going to
that big tournament, softball, baseball seven on seven. Trying to
think any of what sports are in season right now,
whatever it is, right you got the end of the
year tournaments, so maybe need something a little bit bigger.
Speaker 4: If you're going to Omaha, I mean, go get a tundra.
Speaker 3: Go do that's a coma right because you got all
the tail getting stuff in the back. I mean it
is a perfect time to call Miss Lisa Sessions today
in that rental department.
Speaker 4: All star Toto Bendery.
Speaker 3: Second, it's great people like us.
Speaker 1: From players to legends, Hester and Flynn breakdown L s
U football like only champions can.
Speaker 3: Okay, wait all right, welcome back in OTB one oh
four five ESPN baton rouge, keep that going in background line.
If you want inside the boy, you four chat. Let
us know what the the bet should be. Justin Moore
hopping on with us obviously big country music star.
Speaker 4: Uh good friend of mine hosted radio with him.
Speaker 3: I mean the guy is locked in like no sports
and certainly the SEC as well as anybody. Uh So
he gets the game, is my point, Like he gets
what it means to root for your team.
Speaker 4: I mean, I'm thinking the one y'all laid out earlier.
Speaker 3: I think it was a Landra nice job him wearing
an L s U shirt to one of his concerts. Yeah,
me and me our jersey Hey, we can send him
an eighteen or fifteen. You can wear either one of
us or gosh, all right, are like who broke Arkansas's
heart like one time or somebody like you know what
I'm saying, Like, what would be like a deep cut
of somebody Jarvis Landry that catch he had.
Speaker 5: I mean Flynn kind of well, I don't know about heartburn.
Speaker 3: Flynn lost because he was in the locker room getting
shut up thirty yard hill mayor Actually that wasn't Flynn's fault.
We couldn't stop a notice bleed that game. Not better
about it. I think Jarvishry might be a good one.
Remember Tyrone had to catches. We'll come up with it. Uh,
but if I lose the bat, I've got to at
SEC media days.
Speaker 4: Sit there an Arkansas shirt on and called the Hawks.
Speaker 6: Anthony Jennings, Right, Matt gets hurt, he goes in there,
he hits Trayvan Drell to win it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I was twenty fourteen, twenty thirteen, that was Matt.
Speaker 6: That was Mets last year. It was last game, yeah,
twenty thirteen, Yeah, acl yeah, tour it right there.
Speaker 4: It was actually Anthony.
Speaker 6: Okay, remember the catch the Jarvis had over that dB.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was that play.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Justin did just reach out to me. He's gonna
have to do phone instead of video, he said, I
just wanted to grab my computer and it's on my
tour bus, not at the house. Dang. All good though,
all good looking forward to our conversation with him.
Speaker 5: You know, our guy gold chain cowboy, Parker mccollory. Yeah,
he didn't even need a bet to wear in LSU
jersey on stage.
Speaker 4: He just wore one, did it? Yeah? And I love it?
What jersey you go?
Speaker 5: Well, I don't remember what number it was, but it
was a baseball jersey. It was a couple of years
ago when he was here in Baton Rouge and we
went to go see him and he was wearing an
LSU jersey on stage. It was great because he's a
Texas fan, right, Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3: All right, I'm gonna see if I can find this picture,
park McCollum LSU baseball jersey.
Speaker 4: It's a purple one.
Speaker 3: I don't really see the number there, but we're gonna
come up with some bet here during the break, we
are going to reach out to our guy.
Speaker 4: Justin Moore was gonna do video.
Speaker 3: It's all right, still gonna have him on the phone,
and look, we can make a bet be at audio
or video, that doesn't matter, So looking forward to that conversation.
We'll have that for you when we jump back here.
It is O TB one O four five ESPN bat
roote off the bench.
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Speaker 7: Com Comfu how gotta get shut.
Speaker 1: From players to legends, Hester and Flynn breaks down LSU
football like only champions can.
Speaker 3: Timmy with y'all, all right, welcome back in. It is
otb here on one O four five ESPN bet Ruge.
Very excited for our next conversation. Good friend of mine,
somebody I've co hosted a show with over on Serious XM.
It is country music superstar Justin Moore good enough to
join us here down in Louisiana.
Speaker 4: Justin? What's going on?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 4: How you doing?
Speaker 2: Hi?
Speaker 6: Good morning?
Speaker 8: How are you, buddy?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 4: Doing fantastic? I'm getting excited about Oma Hall. I know
you are as well.
Speaker 3: Of course, you know our teams you're gonna meet up
Saturday night Primetime. I mean, how we feeling like we
got to get a perspective from the other side of
the table. How we feeling for the Hogs heading into Omaha?
Speaker 2: Heah?
Speaker 8: Well, first of all, it's a travesty. I think baseball
is my favorite sport. I don't know if you and
I have discussed that or not, but and I love
the formats great, I'm fine with that, But I think
we need to recede after the Supers because what I'm
saying is a travesty. In my opinion, I think LSU
and Arkansas are the best two teams in the field.
That's my opinion at least, So for them to have
to face each other game one be on the same
side of the bracket, I think is it's tough drawl
for both of us. Really, you know, it's just it's
just kind of unlucky. Plus, man, we played an SEC
team for the Supers soonious, I'm like, good night, can
we please? Can we please get out of But no, man,
I think it's gonna be a great game. I mean,
both teams I think are playing a really good ball
right now. I think you guys would probably have the
edge in my opinion, and pitching, especially starting pitching and
probably closing pitching. We've got a lengthy.
Speaker 2: Bulk in but you never know.
Speaker 8: You know, Zach Rut, who will start against you guys,
is our ace, and man, when he's good, he's really
really good. But he's been somewhat inconsistent, you know, over
over the course of the year. But but I would
probably give the edge to our lineup just but not
by much. I mean, I just think we may be
a little a little longer in our line maybe seventh
through nine. But but man, it'll it'll be a great
game and and I hope it's a great game at least.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm expecting it to be that. And you're right,
justin I didnt even think about that. Like, you go
through another SEC team in super Regionals and you will
talk about, like Zach Row's somebody that's, you know, an
incredible guy on the mound. It doesn't always have like
the most emotion, but he had all the emotion against
Tennessee like that.
Speaker 4: That series, Like obviously.
Speaker 3: Tony V and David Horne the history there and Tony
V's at Arkansas for a long time. It's been chirpy
over the last couple of years. I mean, that was
a series where Arkansas wanted to like show their dominance
in a big way.
Speaker 8: Yeah, you know, the first game was a really good game.
I think it's four to three, and it really could
have gone either way, and they their catcher. They were
starting a backup catcher due to an ejection the game before,
and uh, I think we scored on a pass ball
that uh maybe the starter don't uh don't have that
pass ball, which he had a pretty tough game in
game two. But but then yeah, in game game two, man,
we just we we had a couple of balls fly
out of the park. Maybe one of them shouldn't have
kind of backspun out the left and and the win
was blowing out a little bit. And so yeah, it
was good. But like you said, that's been a chirpy series.
I don't know if you guys remember a few years ago, Uh,
coach Bytello and and D d H got into it
pretty pretty hardcore on the field and and then you know,
they're totally fine, I'm sure, but the fans never forgot it.
In other words, and and you know, the way Tennessee
plays ball, they're there. They've been great under Tony obviously
and and supremely talented, but they can be a little bush.
Speaker 3: League, you know, you know, with the we're here only
in baton rouge. You're not gonna lose about Tennessee.
Speaker 8: Yeah, they're uh, you know, I just don't personally like
the way they play the game. I just I just
personally don't. But so that that that's kind of I
think what happened as far as route going off on.
They call Fish is Fisher I think is his name,
who's a great player but a little a little bit
of a smart ass, you know. And I think he
gave it to Root, and then Root gave it back
to it, and so or vice versa. I don't know
who started it, but it was it was well finished it.
Speaker 4: Whoever started it.
Speaker 8: He finished exactly exactly after eybody feeling down there. I mean,
I think we're going into it as a whole.
Speaker 2: We're like, yeah, we.
Speaker 8: Got as good a chance as anybody, but you know,
we've been so heartbroken over the years when we thought
we had really good well we did have really good teams.
It's just hard to win out there. Yeah, and so
we're like, yeah, I think we can do it, you.
Speaker 3: Know, Yeah, I guess, yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 1: That's the thing.
Speaker 8: But anyway, I asked you a question and I started talking.
Speaker 3: Again, how do you guys feeling That's what I was
going to say, Like, until you've actually until you like
finally do it, there's probably always going to be that feeling,
and certainly Arkansas, I mean, they've been a pop.
Speaker 4: Up away from winning a national championship.
Speaker 3: But I think LSU fans probably feel like Arkansas fans
like it is a very tough matchup. It's two teams
that know each other incredibly well. And I don't know
that there's ever been like you always want to win
in Omaha, obvious, but I don't think there's ever been
a more point of emphasis got to win this game,
because a lot of us, just like you, think that
this is a matchup between the two best teams, and
if you win this one, man, it really sets you
up for a nice path and then the other team's
got to come out of the losers bracket. Now it's
been done before. The last time LSU won a national championship,
justin it was out.
Speaker 4: Of the losers bracket.
Speaker 3: But I don't remember like such a point of emphasis,
My goodness, you win this one, Like what that feeling
would feel like and how good of a spot you
would feel like you're in, because this just feels like
the two best teams. It's not just us saying It's
not you saying it, it's Vegas saying it. I mean
it is no doubt Arkansas LSU the two clear favorites
here in Omaha, because after that is a big drop
off before you get to Coastal Carolina.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I would agree with that, and I've said it.
You know. I don't even know if I've talked to
you about it, but I do a radio show in
Little Rock with David Basil. Oh yeah, I know, you know. Yeah,
And as matter of fact, I jumped off our show
to jump on with you guys. I told Bath, I said,
I'm going to talk to hester.
Speaker 2: He goes, you turn the back off.
Speaker 8: So maybe we can get you on our show. Absolutely
after the game, maybe next week or something. But I
think you're right. But I've said this on our show.
I think this is the first of two games that
l shoot all play regardless of who wins and who
loses this game.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I'm right there with you. I think the
same thing.
Speaker 3: I think these teams have to go through the other
one another time, and that's going to be maybe even
more of an intriguing matchup because who knows what the
pitching is going to be like. And that's why, like
winning that first one just feels so important. But I
do have to say and so throughout the show. So
we're also like on YouTube, we're on TV, and so
we have interaction with like a little chat during this
show and they're always great in you know interactions have
been through the roof today trying to come up with
a bet for us, for you and I to come
up with a bet.
Speaker 4: Now, well, well we got some time to work it out.
Speaker 3: But the best one that I've seen so far today,
And I know you've got a couple of shows coming up.
I know you're going to be in Minnesota here coming up,
So maybe it's not right now. Maybe we see who
ends up going, you know, the farthest down the road
in the College World Series. But the best one I've
seen is if LSU wins and moves on, you got
to wear an LSU shirt jersey at one of your
shows for at least like a song.
Speaker 4: And then if Arkansas wins, I've.
Speaker 3: Got to wear an Arkansas shirt at SEC media days
and also call the Hogs.
Speaker 7: Wow.
Speaker 8: Yeah, that's that's it's gonna be brutal for everyone.
Speaker 3: Look, I mean, I know your wife's family has you know,
some l s U gear they can send. Look, we'll
send you the gear if we have to. I mean,
I know it's later around the house there at your
in law, like somebody's got to know you.
Speaker 8: Sure they can send you Yeah, yeah. Likewise, yeah, yeah,
you know my my I think I talked about it
last time I was on with you, But yeah, my
wife's from home, and so over the years there's been
a lot of trash talk. But between us now, at
the time we started dating, which was twenty three years ago,
our football program was winning a few more games and
and so we haven't had a whole lot of stuff
to talk trash about over the past few years, except
for a couple of seasons. But but yeah, man, it's
it's always fun to give it to each other. I
think that's what to me college sports or uh it
kind of makes them so fun. And I mean you
and I are on opposing side and and good friends
at the same time, So to me, that's kind of
what makes the sports so fun and why everybody invests
so much into it and uh emotion wise, and uh so, yeah,
it's it's a good time and uh so you got
are you going to omall?
Speaker 3: So if they make it to the championship series is
when we're thinking we're going to try to get up there,
uh you know with the other with the afternoon series
x SIM show, Like trying to figure out how to
get there, how to do both shows is a little tricky,
but we said, if they make it to the final series,
then we are going to drop whatever we've got going
on and find a way up there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 8: That's exactly my my deal. I've got to play shows
unfortunately this weekend and and then let's see, I would
miss game one if we happened to Mad made the championship,
but I could catch Game two, and if there's a
Game three, but you know, there's a there's a lot
of a lot of ball at the play before that,
I can make those plan you know.
Speaker 4: I know.
Speaker 3: I'm sitting here and I'm like looking, I'm like, all right,
it is June the twelfth.
Speaker 4: I'm sitting here looking at Justin's tour dates.
Speaker 3: Oh man, I mean right like in the middle of
the Championship series like you would.
Speaker 4: You're not far away though.
Speaker 3: It looks like you're going to be in Cedar Rapids
in the twenty first and so you can maybe play
that show and then pop down to Omaha, like at
least you're somewhat close.
Speaker 8: Yeah, that's the plan.
Speaker 2: I think.
Speaker 8: I looked and it was four or five hours or
something like that, So I could I could just pop
over in the bus and and uh catch catch the
next game or two or whatever. Uh, So we'll see.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 8: But last time we went to Omahall, it was actually
Father's Day weekend again, and I came home on the
bus from the show and exhausted and just ready to
hang out with the kids and my wife. As soon
as I walk in the door, she goes, happy Father's Day,
I got your backpack. Go get back on the bus.
We're going to Home Hall. And I'm I mean, I
was thrilled, but I was like, I want to kind
of hang out with the kids, and she goes, well,
you can't. We're going there. Man, what a great experience.
I'm sure you've been, but.
Speaker 2: I could.
Speaker 8: I couldn't believe the magnitude of what they do. I've
never been to the super Bowl, but that's what it
seemed like to me. I mean, just how how great
a job that city does. And the atmosphere was awesome. Now,
we went to and out, which was not a whole
lot of fun, but we had a really good time.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, and this one, like you want to whatever the
peak attendance is and whatever, like the peak crowd noise is, whatever,
like the standard is. I think it's going to be
broken by Saturday night. L s U and Arkansas two
of for my money, two of the best fan bases
in college baseball. I think it is going to be incredible.
It is going to be packed to the gills, It's
going to be loud. It's at night, justin those fans
are going to be well hydrated. They're gonna have all
day to get their mind right ready for the game.
And so man, whatever like the best atmosphere in that
stadium is, it's going to be passed up, I think
by what we see on Saturday night.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I totally agree. And I think both of our coaches,
Coach Johnson and coach Van Horned both mentioned that you know,
it's it's gonna be great, and I agree with you,
so that I don't see how there's two better, more passionate,
well traveled college baseball fan bases in the country. And
so it's it's going to be a leade as far
as atmosphere goes. And uh, you know, for for a
few years man, you know, until the last few years,
and we've had some really good basketball runs. But you know,
we've we've had baseball for the past twenty years with
coach Van Horn or whatever it's been. So that's what
Razorback fans have had and they go, Okay, take a
sigh relief. At least this baseball season. We know we're
gonna be good in baseball at least, and we can
compete with anybody, and we get you know, high level
recruits and all that, and uh so, uh, I think
that that's part of it for us at least, And
obviously you guys with the legendary coach coach skip Bertman
started that. It may have been somebody before that that
I'm unaware of.
Speaker 2: And we had a.
Speaker 8: Coach, Norman O'Brien who did that for us before Dave
got there. And and so it's it's you know, we've
had a lot of tradition, you guys more because y'all
have gotten over the hump. Uh what is it seven
times seven?
Speaker 4: Yes, seven times?
Speaker 8: Yeah, so you know that obviously is part of it
as well, a huge part of it.
Speaker 4: All right there.
Speaker 3: He is good friend country music superstar Justin Moore rooting
on his hogs there in Omahall, Justin, let's talk some
trash to the text thread. Let's come up with a
bet the man looking forward to it.
Speaker 8: Get this bet lined out. And uh and I'm sure
you and I will be texting during the Yeah.
Speaker 4: No question about it. Man.
Speaker 8: Well, hey, good luck to you guys. Not too much,
but good luck to you guys. And and uh, it'll
be It'll be fun regardless. Like I said, I'm just
hope it's a great game and a great tournament and
and uh and uh, well we'll roll it out there
see what happens.
Speaker 3: Man, Yep, no question about it. Man, truly, do appreciate
your time, justin, Man, I know how busy it is.
I mean, you've got tour d eights coming up, so
we appreciate a couple of minutes here.
Speaker 8: Hey, thanks brother, Always good to talk to you.
Speaker 4: All the best, all right, you as well again.
Speaker 3: Justin Moore country music superstar massive Massive Arkansas fan. I
was looking at his Twitter bio father Husband Hawk fan
before he mentions country Music Albums Awards that he's won
Father Husband Hawk Fan. So, I mean, I don't think
that a lot of people like with the following that
he has would have known lshu's current head coach, their
former head coach, like information, like he would have known
maybe his team. But when I say this man is
a true fan, he truly is.
Speaker 4: And so we'll see what that bet ends up being.
Speaker 3: I think Elandra came up with the best one yet,
we'll see if we can get him to agree to it.
All right, we will wrap up today's show when we
come back a little ask the bench here on otat
dopter bench. All right, go to get Gordon dot com,
Gordon McKernon injury Attorneys and when you go to the
website a lot of different things. You can check out
past client results, cases they can handle for you in
the courtroom. You can find a list of their locations.
That's like one thing you know we always talk about
is them being throughout the state of Louisiana.
Speaker 4: But let's listen out real quick.
Speaker 3: Alexandria Baton, Rouge, Denim Springs, hamm and Gonzales, Homer, Lafayette, Lake,
Charles Monroe, New Orleans, Apelusa's Shreveport, Zachary. I mean, they
are everywhere in the state of Louisiana, and they've always
got something going on as well throughout your local community, right,
I mean they are big, big supporters of every community
that they're in. You can find all of that on
social media at GID. Gordon's going to be the handle
there and then look, if you want to get in
contact with them, it is your area code in Louisiana,
followed by eight eight eight eighty eight eighty eight, Get
Gordon and get it done.
Speaker 1: Tiger's turn Talkers. This is off the bench.
Speaker 6: Te Ben.
Speaker 4: You look, I have your hoping all night like I.
Speaker 3: Take baby let all right, welcome again, OTB closing out
with a little ass the bench.
Speaker 4: Hashtag ask the Bench.
Speaker 3: Do you loathe Eduardo Perez calling the WHOA calling the
College Role Series?
Speaker 4: I don't.
Speaker 3: I don't know the guy personally, but if you haven't
been there all season long, why would you be there
in the biggest moment.
Speaker 4: It's kind of my deal and I don't love him
on any call.
Speaker 3: ESPN's college baseball coverage during the year is better than
any other coverage that they do, as far as the
talent that they have in the booth. Chris Burt, Ben McDonald,
Todd Walker, H I mean we I mean JP calpri
like wek Ago. I could go through the list of
the guys that are just doing an incredible job, and
so like why would you go away from those guys?
Or somebody that covers major League baseball that he just
doesn't know, doesn't know the ins and outs. And that's
not even like a knock against him, it's just it is.
Speaker 4: What it is. Yeah, I can't say that.
Speaker 3: If I'm watching a baseball game my guy's on the
call there, like a major league baseball game, my wife
will walk in and go nope, nope, nope, turn it down,
not listening to that. So if you run something, ask
a bench, why did t Bob really leave Baton Rouge
took a new jobs out there doing some stuff yesterday.
Speaker 4: The truth is he's on the run.
Speaker 5: He's he's trying to run the cops.
Speaker 4: Like he's running for the cops.
Speaker 3: T Bob wouldn't run. He would just say you got me,
we'll see you tomorrow, otb.
Speaker 4: Off the bench, all right, all right, you got me,
and like he would do that by the time he
got to port Allen.
Speaker 5: I think that's fair because he did say Kate and
cheated on him.
Speaker 3: He'd just be like, like, hey, can react like that
did not happen, and just say like let's reset, ye,
like and I truly believe that, just like I believe
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