Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven ninety. Now here's Nick coffee.
Speaker 2: All right, let's get it started at the four o'clock
Speaker 2: hour here on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon. Coffee and company
Speaker 2: fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Keep
Speaker 2: Thorton's in mind for a variety of reasons. I mean,
Speaker 2: you're gonna need to put gas in your car unless
Speaker 2: you've got an electric vehicle. And even if you don't
Speaker 2: put fuel in your car, like you wouldn't you want to,
Speaker 2: you know, take advantage of some good deals like four
Speaker 2: Monster Energy drinks for seven bucks. I stopped in today thinking,
Speaker 2: surely by now they've they've got it. They've had to
Speaker 2: have seen that was a mistake because everybody's cleaning them out.
Speaker 2: They haven't figured out yet because they're still letting you
Speaker 2: buy four Monster Energy drinks for seven bucks. And I know,
Speaker 2: I've really gone above and beyond to emphasize how big
Speaker 2: of a deal that is. But it's because, like I'm
Speaker 2: not gay keeping from you guys. I'm letting you know
Speaker 2: this is a steal, not a deal. Retail average price
Speaker 2: for one of the standard size Monster Energy Drinks is
Speaker 2: just under four dollars. They're going to give you four
Speaker 2: of them for seven. Do the math, crunch the numbers.
Speaker 2: You can maybe not even know how to count, and
Speaker 2: just hear that number and know, hey, that seems like
Speaker 2: a deal. That's too good to be true. But it's not.
Speaker 2: They're letting you do it, so take advantage. Also the
Speaker 2: Frequency Club, meaning if you purchase certain items a certain
Speaker 2: amount of time every now and then, you're gonna be
Speaker 2: surprised when you check out. Once you put that phone
Speaker 2: number in, or you scan that Refreshing Awards card boom,
Speaker 2: it's free because get it, hence the name frequency Club.
Speaker 2: So my kids get these fizz free slushies every so often,
Speaker 2: and we get a enough of them that it's not
Speaker 2: not that uncommon for me to scan one of them
Speaker 2: at the You scan and see, okay, that one's free,
Speaker 2: and look, even though I'm saving eighty nine cents, it's
Speaker 2: not a big deal. We love free stuff, don't we
Speaker 2: like it? You know, I'm walking out of there like
Speaker 2: I got up on them. It's you know, simple, uh,
Speaker 2: you know business right, it's negotiating when you and I've
Speaker 2: learned this just in what we do here in radio,
Speaker 2: because we give away a lot of prizes. And I
Speaker 2: know Austin knows this very well because he's the guy
Speaker 2: on a lot of the f M stations, especially AMZ
Speaker 2: that like, people want free stuff and they got to
Speaker 2: call in at this time. They're calling him people. It
Speaker 2: could be anything. People love free stuff if they if
Speaker 2: they got it and they don't even know what it is,
Speaker 2: but they know they didn't have to pay for it,
Speaker 2: and they know that there's a value on it. They
Speaker 2: feel like they hit the lottery sometimes No, I mean
Speaker 2: it's it's it's a special thing. So I uh, I can't.
Speaker 2: I can't recommend him enough. Thornton's get the Refreshing Awards
Speaker 2: membership and they can't guarantee this, and neither can I.
Speaker 2: But I need you to trust me. You can't trust me?
Speaker 2: Who can you trust? Your life will be better if
Speaker 2: you are a Freshman Awards member. Just trust me. I mean,
Speaker 2: why wouldn't you trust me? All Right? If you guys
Speaker 2: want to join us on the show, you can FABO
Speaker 2: two five seven one seventy nine hundred is the number
Speaker 2: if you want to give us a call. You can
Speaker 2: also text in on the LLNN Federal Credit Union text
Speaker 2: line five O two four three eight ninety seventy three.
Speaker 2: We'll get to the text line in just a moment,
Speaker 2: but at LLENN Federal Credit Union members get more. You
Speaker 2: can learn more and open your account today at lnfcu
Speaker 2: dot com. So this text that comes in is it's
Speaker 2: good timing because it's sort of in the same arena
Speaker 2: that I wanted to start here in the four o'clock hour,
Speaker 2: and that is these updated rankings from ESPN as far
Speaker 2: as college basketball next season. But the text says Nick,
Speaker 2: I'm with you, and trust me. There's many people who
Speaker 2: text in that don't agree with me, and I'm happy
Speaker 2: to read those two. But this one says, Nick, I'm
Speaker 2: with you. I think the loss of James Scott was
Speaker 2: a bigger deal than people realized at the time, and
Speaker 2: I don't see anybody currently in the mix to take
Speaker 2: that spot. Should we be concerned, I mean, I'll be
Speaker 2: a straight shooter. I don't know if we should be concerned.
Speaker 2: I think if we need because here's the thing with James.
Speaker 2: His production, meaning the pure numbers is not something that
Speaker 2: you should mean honestly. Case in Pryor alone could be
Speaker 2: able to give you what James gave you as far
Speaker 2: as just statistics. He could give you that in a
Speaker 2: half as compared to what James gave you in a game. Now,
Speaker 2: I don't say that to be little James Scott. I
Speaker 2: say that because, like James Scott is somebody where the
Speaker 2: statistics didn't always really tell you how valuable he was.
Speaker 2: So I think the real I guess, the real concern
Speaker 2: as far as like are we really going to be
Speaker 2: missing him? It just comes down to how good Sonny
Speaker 2: Frew is, because he's the mystery, he's the wild card.
Speaker 2: And what I mean by that is, I think you
Speaker 2: have every right to be excited to have him and
Speaker 2: expect him to contribute, but like the level of what
Speaker 2: he's bringing, none of us no right. Like it comes
Speaker 2: down to how does it translate. Maybe it translates really well,
Speaker 2: and like he goes from being the best young big
Speaker 2: in the top level of the German professional basketball world
Speaker 2: to being like an All American player, or you know,
Speaker 2: it's an adjustment and he's a contributor, but it's at
Speaker 2: a mild level. Now, one thing you got to keep
Speaker 2: in mind is that he's he's he's twenty one, twenty
Speaker 2: two years old. I believe he's played professional basketball for
Speaker 2: a while, so like he's not somebody that you know,
Speaker 2: Like he's not somebody that is, you know, gonna be
Speaker 2: fresh out of high school that's gonna need you know,
Speaker 2: a real uh you know, he doesn't have to mean
Speaker 2: in fact, he's older than James Scott, Like that's it's
Speaker 2: weird to say because he's a newcomer, that'smverer played college basketball,
Speaker 2: but like he's he might be a couple of years
Speaker 2: older than James. So I still think they're gonna add
Speaker 2: at least two more players. I could be wrong, and
Speaker 2: I don't and I would be willing to guess not bad,
Speaker 2: but guess I'm gonna guess that there won't be big
Speaker 2: names that people are like, oh wow, this guy's gonna
Speaker 2: be a game changer for us. I think it's just
Speaker 2: gonna be filling out spots that are available because you
Speaker 2: need depth, you need balance, and honestly, you need you
Speaker 2: need as many solid players as you can to put
Speaker 2: together the most competitive practices that you could have. So
Speaker 2: I think the loss of James Scott, there's a lot
Speaker 2: of factors, right, Like what exactly fresh off the injury.
Speaker 2: Can Ali Khalifa give you by the way sawm at Derby,
Speaker 2: he's lost half of himself, Austin, I didn't show you
Speaker 2: this picture. I didn't show you yet. I got a
Speaker 2: picture of him in the I guess what used to
Speaker 2: be the paddock area. He I mean, remember you told
Speaker 2: me when we went to a game, like, look how
Speaker 2: much way he's lost. He's lost a ton since then.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and he's put on some muscle toop.
Speaker 2: Oh dude, he's I mean, so you know, there's a
Speaker 2: real question mark as far as what he's going to be, like,
Speaker 2: what he's gonna bring Cason. Is he shaking off rust?
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 3: Is he is?
Speaker 2: He gonna be maybe a little different than what we
Speaker 2: saw last year when he was healthy because of the
Speaker 2: different pieces that he's going to be playing alongside. So
Speaker 2: it is a big mystery. But to me, the biggest
Speaker 2: one is just what truly comes with Sonny Frew Because
Speaker 2: take it for what it's worth, but the folks who
Speaker 2: evaluate players entering college basketball technically, you know, freshman in
Speaker 2: the twenty twenty five class, he's a top twenty five guy.
Speaker 2: But he's also not just your random top twenty five
Speaker 2: guy that hasn't played legitimate grown man competition. He's a
Speaker 2: grown man himself at twenty one years old, and he's
Speaker 2: played against professional athletes for the last however many years.
Speaker 2: So like, I don't want to get anybody's hopes up
Speaker 2: and exceed, you know, and have expectations set too high.
Speaker 2: But the more I see about both him and mckil
Speaker 2: brown is that, like, we should expect these guys to
Speaker 2: like like I shouldn't say expect, but like, it wouldn't
Speaker 2: be some big, huge shock if they come in right
Speaker 2: away and they're two of our most consistent and like
Speaker 2: best players, which I think is saying something considering who
Speaker 2: you're bringing back with Javon Hadley in case inm Pryor
Speaker 2: and oh, by the way, the three of the best
Speaker 2: shooters that hit the portal that you brought in. But
Speaker 2: Sonny Frew, he was named the best German young player
Speaker 2: in the BBL League, which is again German's top professional league,
Speaker 2: So you got to keep that in mind. I mean,
Speaker 2: he's this isn't a This was announced yesterday and it's
Speaker 2: presented annually to the league's most valuable player that is
Speaker 2: under the age of twenty two. He's twenty one, and
Speaker 2: he also has he's a German national. He's from Germany.
Speaker 2: So the previous winners of this are Dennis Schroeder last
Speaker 2: tight check. He's pretty good, an't he? Franz Wagner last
Speaker 2: I checked. He's about to get a big payday because
Speaker 2: the magic simply fell off when he got hurt and
Speaker 2: then I don't know if you guys remember this name.
Speaker 2: Maybe you don't know this name, but Daniel Thiss thest
Speaker 2: I don't really know how you say it, but I reckon.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's been in the NBA, or it was
Speaker 2: in the NBA for a long time, and actually just
Speaker 2: recently he was on he was on those Celtics teams
Speaker 2: I think it was that made the Eastern Conference finals.
Speaker 2: So again, this is a league that he's playing in,
Speaker 2: meaning Frew that isn't you know, over time elite with
Speaker 2: a bunch of eighteen year old, seventeen year old, sixteen
Speaker 2: year olds. This is a guy who's been playing again.
Speaker 2: He's twenty one years old himself, meaning fru. So I'm
Speaker 2: not here to overhype it, but I really think what
Speaker 2: he brings will will make us remember if it'll make
Speaker 2: us think back to James Scott as somebody, man, I
Speaker 2: wish we had that guy, or maybe we kind of
Speaker 2: just don't think about him, which isn't because we don't.
Speaker 2: We didn't, you know, like him and didn't appreciate him.
Speaker 2: But like the same thing that happened this past year,
Speaker 2: and I know I'm not the only one who did it.
Speaker 2: How often during the month of January specifically, did you
Speaker 2: forget that Louisville was missing Korn Johnson in case and
Speaker 2: Bryor And it wasn't because they weren't any good, but
Speaker 2: like you were playing really well without him, so or
Speaker 2: it didn't even come to mind that you're dealing with
Speaker 2: two guys that were probably your two of your biggest
Speaker 2: editions in the portal that simply never really played for you.
Speaker 2: All right, let's go. So the updated rankings here from
Speaker 2: Jeff Borzello. He's Louisville at number seven, which to me
Speaker 2: still sounds like are you kidding me?
Speaker 3: Like is this real?
Speaker 2: And I know it's not act I mean, it is real,
Speaker 2: but it's not. What I mean by that is like
Speaker 2: these rankings mean nothing. We quickly forget about them once
Speaker 2: we actually get into a season. And you see teams
Speaker 2: for who they are, you get results. So you know,
Speaker 2: I'm aware that these are just talking points for those
Speaker 2: that cover college basketball in the months where the sport's
Speaker 2: not going on, but it does give you a reference
Speaker 2: point of how objective people who you know do this
Speaker 2: cover college basketball, how they view your team. So Louisville
Speaker 2: did fall five spots from the last ranking they fell from.
Speaker 2: I guess were they up to number three? I guess
Speaker 2: they were, So they fell and they're now at number
Speaker 2: seven in which again, like I if they're somewhere, I mean, like,
Speaker 2: here's what's crazy to me, Austin, there's a good chance that, like,
Speaker 2: no matter what happens elsewhere in the portal, Louisville's going
Speaker 2: to be a preseason top ten team next year. Isn't
Speaker 2: that insane to say?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 2: And I know that what you do in the preseason
Speaker 2: does not, like preseason expectations mean nothing. You gotta go
Speaker 2: out there and do it, like we all know that,
Speaker 2: but just to know that there's that much life within
Speaker 2: our program now and expectation like it still doesn't seem real.
Speaker 2: So yeah, they, yes, they did fall, And I think
Speaker 2: it's a mixture of mostly what other teams did to
Speaker 2: get better, but also maybe the fact that they lost.
Speaker 2: They lost James Scott, so louis was at number seven.
Speaker 2: I'll read you the quick write up here that Burzilo
Speaker 2: has about this Louisville team. Here's where it starts. Pack
Speaker 2: Kelsey had as strong an offseason as any coach in
Speaker 2: the country so far, landing impact transfers Ryan Conwell of Xavier,
Speaker 2: Isaac McNeely of Virginia, and Adrian Wooley of Kennesaw State
Speaker 2: to go up or to go with top ten recruit
Speaker 2: mckael Brown Junior in the back court. Case In Prior
Speaker 2: and Javon Hadley where question marks entering the offseason, but
Speaker 2: both have since announced their returns, and despite the late
Speaker 2: departurel I'm sorry portal departure of James Scott, there's still
Speaker 2: depth up front behind me Prior and Hadley. The arrival
Speaker 2: of Germany Uman Germany native Sonny Frew also had some intrigue.
Speaker 2: Kelsey's first NCAA tournament win Isn't far away gets me excited?
Speaker 2: Man gets me excited. I mean, Jeff Borzello, thank you
Speaker 2: for you know, giving me that moment, and it was
Speaker 2: storing the feeling. Yeah, and he's not alone. Others are
Speaker 2: doing it too. But like I mean again, I know
Speaker 2: I'm gonna probably embarrass myself. But we went through like
Speaker 2: three to four years of off seasons like I didn't
Speaker 2: have I mean, like I had interest because I love
Speaker 2: college basketball, but like it would have been a pleasant
Speaker 2: surprise if like somebody said we weren't going to be
Speaker 2: complete ass you know what I mean. And now they're
Speaker 2: saying we're like preseason top ten.
Speaker 3: I want to turn around.
Speaker 2: So, uh, Kentucky, they have fallen. I don't really know
Speaker 2: where they were. I'm sorry. Yeah, so let's let me
Speaker 2: reacheck here Louisville's previous ranking, I'm sorry, I had it wrong.
Speaker 2: Louisll's previous ranking was five, Now there's seven. Kentucky's previous
Speaker 2: ranking was ten, Now it's eleven. So here's what they
Speaker 2: say about UK. Kentucky is absolutely loaded on the perimeter
Speaker 2: next season, with the rival of transfers Jayalen Low of
Speaker 2: pitt Cam Williams of Tulane and Denzel Aberdeen of Florida
Speaker 2: and five star prospect Jasper Johnson and Go, along with
Speaker 2: the potential return of leading score O Tega Oway and
Speaker 2: reserve Colin Chandler. Mark Pope also revamped the front court
Speaker 2: with the defense in mind, with the additions of Diabate
Speaker 2: of Alabama, Jaden Quains of Arizona State, and then he
Speaker 2: goes on to mention that Quaintans could miss time after
Speaker 2: suffering as acl Taar and then a big step forward
Speaker 2: for Brandon Garrison is going to be needed. So I mean,
Speaker 2: I don't want to be heavy handed, because again none
Speaker 2: of us know, and I've said it more than I
Speaker 2: probably am comfortable saying it. I think Mark Pope's is
Speaker 2: good enough coach that he's got enough to work with
Speaker 2: the word. They'll figure it out and they're not gonna
Speaker 2: like the seal. I'm sorry the flour is not that low.
Speaker 2: But like I could see Kentucky being pretty solid, or
Speaker 2: I could see him being like insanely average. I'm not
Speaker 2: doing it from like a hater perspective like Jalen Lowe.
Speaker 2: I mean, he was at Pitt and they weren't he good.
Speaker 2: Jasper Johnson might be elite because you know he's he's
Speaker 2: a really good point guard, but he's a freshman, like
Speaker 2: the best bet on their team. As far as guys
Speaker 2: returning is O takeaway like he's I mean, he's somebody
Speaker 2: that it's weird to celebrate him like a big get
Speaker 2: because you know you already have him. But what I
Speaker 2: always say is put it in perspective. If you get
Speaker 2: a guy back that you know that if he hits
Speaker 2: the portal, he's a top ten player. Like and he
Speaker 2: comes back to your school instead of hitting the portal,
Speaker 2: that's humongous. But like Diabate, he left Alabama because he
Speaker 2: couldn't crack the rotation. He averaged seven points a game.
Speaker 2: Now he's going to be your starter. Jaden Quayton's who
Speaker 2: knows when he's even gonna be able to play. Garrison
Speaker 2: clearly has a lot of athleticism, but like he couldn't
Speaker 2: get on the floor at times in big games last year.
Speaker 2: So I don't know. I just I'm trying not to
Speaker 2: view it from like the rivalry stamp, But like, I
Speaker 2: just don't know where they got a lot. They got
Speaker 2: better athletically, they got better probably defensively, but like things
Speaker 2: that I would assume are really important for Mark Pope's
Speaker 2: system to thrive the way he wants shooting, versatile bigs
Speaker 2: who can pass it and shoot. They don't check those
Speaker 2: boxes at all, like Jake and Quaintin's. I mean, he
Speaker 2: can't make a free throw. He ain't taking jump shots.
Speaker 2: Same with Diabate, he didn't shoot many. So maybe it's
Speaker 2: tough to know. And let's be real, both they're bigs
Speaker 2: that played a lot last year, Amari Williams and Andrew Carr.
Speaker 2: They were facilitators at times to where like you could
Speaker 2: throw the to them in the high post your guards
Speaker 2: go back door, Like that's how you were able to
Speaker 2: make up for the big gap and athleticism against the SEC.
Speaker 2: You knew they were going to guard you hard. Get
Speaker 2: it to one of your bigs in the high post,
Speaker 2: free throw line area, extended boom, always going back door.
Speaker 2: Lamar Butler's going back door like running and running and
Speaker 2: also shooting. Jalen Lowe not a good shooter, Denzel Aberdeen
Speaker 2: not a good shooter. Jasper Johnson. I have no clue
Speaker 2: who's good shooter. Otago Away He's somebody that I wouldn't
Speaker 2: classify as like a great shooter as far as percentages,
Speaker 2: but like he makes big shots and like I wouldn't,
Speaker 2: you can't just leave him open. So I mean again,
Speaker 2: I know I sound like a hater, but I just
Speaker 2: I don't like put it this way. If Otaga Away
Speaker 2: like decided to stay in the draft, which I find
Speaker 2: highly unlikely, Like what would they be viewed at as then,
Speaker 2: I mean, which again I don't think that's gonna happen.
Speaker 2: But I just think they're very much dependent upon him
Speaker 2: more than anything, and that mostly speaks to the fact
Speaker 2: that he's like really really, really good, but he nobody
Speaker 2: wants to say it. He was your best player last year,
Speaker 2: and maybe they will say it, but like everybody acted
Speaker 2: like Butler and Robinson, No, we're there were really good
Speaker 2: pieces and they did certain things that you needed, like
Speaker 2: Robinson could go off for thirty on any night, although
Speaker 2: soaked away and he was actually more consistent than Robinson.
Speaker 2: And Butler was a really good veteran heady guard who
Speaker 2: was a really good defender, a smart, savvy player, made
Speaker 2: big shots at times like a good player. But like
Speaker 2: a Takeaway was your most consistent and best player. So
Speaker 2: last year he was your most consistent and best player.
Speaker 2: Others around him got hurt, Like do they think Ken
Speaker 2: Williams is better than Jackson Robinson that they think Jalen
Speaker 2: Lowe is better than Lamont Butler or Kobe Brea, And look,
Speaker 2: they might be, it's just you know, and Aberdeen absolutely
Speaker 2: was a good role player for Florida. But he's a
Speaker 2: role player. And by the way, now he's going to
Speaker 2: come off the bench, were you which I guess more
Speaker 2: than anything, that speaks to the amount of money Kentucky
Speaker 2: was able to pay him. But again, if uck if
Speaker 2: Florida won a national championship with him as a bench guy,
Speaker 2: and you're bringing him in as a bench guy, like
Speaker 2: I don't know if you could position him as like
Speaker 2: the big piece. But again, I hate to say say
Speaker 2: this because you know, I enjoy talking college basketball three
Speaker 2: hundred and sixty five days a year, and I like
Speaker 2: to convince myself that you all enjoy listening to college
Speaker 2: basketball talk around the you know, around the whole year,
Speaker 2: like we're doing right now. But at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, once we get to November and games are played,
Speaker 2: like we all kind of forget about this. So I'm
Speaker 2: not here to say, hey, Kentucky's in for a root awakening.
Speaker 2: They're going to be terrible. I just I just think
Speaker 2: their roster, to me, the pieces are more of a
Speaker 2: question mark than others. But again, I've been wrong a lot,
Speaker 2: and you know, I'll probably be wrong a lot more
Speaker 2: moving forward. Maybe I'm wrong about this. Our quick break
Speaker 2: will come back on the other side, believe it or not.
Speaker 2: There's even more to the Belichick and his twenty four
Speaker 2: year old girlfriend that it's not anything like some new revelation,
Speaker 2: but just more proof that like this chick, she got
Speaker 2: with Belichick and she's milking him for every bit she
Speaker 2: can real estate properties, funding her mom's sex toy store.
Speaker 2: Not making it up, by the way, freak out about
Speaker 2: that's a real thing. And also, like nobody even knew
Speaker 2: who she was at the time. People thought she was
Speaker 2: just an extra. She forced her way into that Dunk
Speaker 2: and Donut Super Bowl commercial from last year, twenty twenty four,
Speaker 2: that's how long she's been just you know, trying to
Speaker 2: capitalize on allegedly.
Speaker 3: Talked about the Dunk Kings commercial.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh wow, remember that was two years ago. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and she was in it and nobody knew, Like you mean,
Speaker 2: there's a like you can see her in it, but
Speaker 2: nobody knew she was at the time. But now we
Speaker 2: know it was Belichick's girl, And now we know that
Speaker 2: she wasn't supposed to be in it. She worked her
Speaker 2: way in it. If they wanted Belichick, she had to
Speaker 2: be in, which again just confirms that like she's running
Speaker 2: the show for Bill Belichick entirely, which is kind of
Speaker 2: sad and scary, but it's his choice. Quick break, keep
Speaker 2: a lock right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: That's right, coffee and Company. We got about an hour left.
Speaker 2: We're out early today because the Louisville Bats are back
Speaker 2: in action, and double hand this thing off to the
Speaker 2: voice of the Bats, Nick Curran in about an hour,
Speaker 2: but with derby now complete. I do this every now
Speaker 2: and then just because I'm a nerd for it, and
Speaker 2: sometimes I can bring some of the findings, some of
Speaker 2: the results to the airwaves and share it with you
Speaker 2: and hope that you find it interesting like I do.
Speaker 2: But every now and then, if we've got like a
Speaker 2: big event like there's like we give you an example
Speaker 2: whenever Louisville hosted the Sweet sixteen and Elite eight some
Speaker 2: years back, it might have been the year Kenny was hired,
Speaker 2: meaning like that that Spring. All I know is that
Speaker 2: the final in that regional ended up being Craighton and
Speaker 2: somebody else who did Creighton San Diego State beat Creighton
Speaker 2: here in Louisville to advance to the final four. And
Speaker 2: you know, there was a lot of people in Louisville
Speaker 2: because of the regional rounds being here. So I'll go
Speaker 2: on Instagram or TikTok, mostly those two social media platforms,
Speaker 2: and I'll look and see at the trending posts or
Speaker 2: videos that come from people who checked in in Louisville.
Speaker 2: And you know, sometimes they'll post about like just being
Speaker 2: there to watch their team at the Young Center and
Speaker 2: the Elite eight, or just being here at Churchill Downs
Speaker 2: and everything that comes with the derby. Then you see
Speaker 2: people who do both and they highlight their like they're
Speaker 2: showing off that they're here in our city and they're
Speaker 2: taking in the night life in you know, a four
Speaker 2: Street or downtown or anywhere in the Highlands, Nulu, whatever.
Speaker 2: And I just like to get a feel for what
Speaker 2: people think of our city when they come here, because
Speaker 2: you know, it's best for everybody if we become a
Speaker 2: place that people want to come and spend. Tourism dollars
Speaker 2: and you know, it's good for our economy, it's good
Speaker 2: for every So I ended up doing that on Sunday
Speaker 2: a little bit yesterday, just looking at people who had
Speaker 2: checked in and had a lot of viewership on their
Speaker 2: posts from Instagram and TikTok that they were in Louisville.
Speaker 2: And again they weren't just posting about the derby, but like,
Speaker 2: you know, just being here and you know it gives me,
Speaker 2: I guess, hope and optimism that you know, we one
Speaker 2: day will not have this. And I don't even know
Speaker 2: what to call it, because I was going to say
Speaker 2: this this stigma or this fear, but like I get it.
Speaker 2: Like if you were somebody that lives in Louisville and
Speaker 2: you don't want to go experience certain things in certain
Speaker 2: areas because of fear of safety, Like who am I
Speaker 2: to tell you that you're wrong for doing that. I mean,
Speaker 2: I'm not in a position to tell you how to
Speaker 2: live your life. But I just think we have a
Speaker 2: lot more to offer as a city than even some
Speaker 2: of the people that live here realize. And to see
Speaker 2: others that come here and enjoy themselves and you know,
Speaker 2: really like what we have to offer like, I just
Speaker 2: wish more people that live here would do that, you know.
Speaker 2: Wk why that's our partners, and they put this out
Speaker 2: earlier today, and it's about a downtown Louisville downtown like
Speaker 2: a hotel. I think it's a bunch of different hotels
Speaker 2: in downtown Louisville that are hosting a hiring event, you know,
Speaker 2: to accommodate people that come to Louisville. And we're not
Speaker 2: just talking about the Derby. We're talking about like you know,
Speaker 2: and I only know of this because of working here
Speaker 2: downtown every day, Austin, you can attest to this. We
Speaker 2: there could be an event that the majority of the
Speaker 2: city doesn't even know is going on, like a trade
Speaker 2: show or a convention, and we I don't know where
Speaker 2: we rank, but like we seem to be a pretty
Speaker 2: decent spot to where we get enough of those to
Speaker 2: where sometimes we'll leave downtown and it's not a concert
Speaker 2: at the Yum. It's just that there's a lot of
Speaker 2: people staying downtown because they're here for a work trip
Speaker 2: or something like that, again, like a convention or a
Speaker 2: trade show, and you know, like if we can accommodate
Speaker 2: those people, while like why not why not.
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 2: Just when you see that there is a hiring event
Speaker 2: because a lot of these hotels need employees, it's because
Speaker 2: people are coming to travel here and enjoy our city.
Speaker 2: And I bring that up to tell you that that's
Speaker 2: a good thing. And I hope I'm sharing some good
Speaker 2: and positive news. But if anything, I hope that it
Speaker 2: makes you realize that you know, you live here every day,
Speaker 2: why not like once a month or once every couple
Speaker 2: of months, like try to get out and take in
Speaker 2: what might be viewed as a place that a tourist
Speaker 2: would go to if in fact they were visiting here.
Speaker 2: And like people are, like downtown restaurants are popping up,
Speaker 2: Like it's not like it's not like people are scared
Speaker 2: to open up a new nice steakhouse in downtown Louisville.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, and in a lot of places
Speaker 2: I'm sure are well aware that there's gonna be certain
Speaker 2: times of the year where the majority of their patrons
Speaker 2: are going to be people that are visiting. But also
Speaker 2: like it didn't used to be that way, Like maybe
Speaker 2: this is just how I remember it, and I could
Speaker 2: be incorrect, but like right before the pandemic, I feel
Speaker 2: like downtown Louisville was in a better place than it's
Speaker 2: ever been in my lifetime, to where it was vibrant,
Speaker 2: it was busy, and it just kind of felt like
Speaker 2: one of the places to be in Louisville, not thee
Speaker 2: because again there's a lot of options. There's some great place,
Speaker 2: great areas, but I just from a local perspective, I
Speaker 2: just don't feel that really at all anymore. And maybe
Speaker 2: it's because I'm getting older and I don't connect with
Speaker 2: people that would ever go out and enjoy the night life.
Speaker 2: But you know, when you see that they're hiring like
Speaker 2: a hiring fair, not just one, but like all these
Speaker 2: hotels downtown are essentially saying we need help. It's not
Speaker 2: because they're just you know, it's not a charity. They
Speaker 2: need help because they got people coming to stay and
Speaker 2: people that want to experience Louisville. And again I'm not
Speaker 2: lecturing anyone. I just I would be I wouldn't be
Speaker 2: shocked if as I share that news with some of
Speaker 2: you that it surprises you, because I think in your mind, oh,
Speaker 2: nobody goes downtown Louisville. It's a boarded up war zone.
Speaker 2: Now it's just too dangerous, and yeah, we don't really
Speaker 2: help ourselves at times when it comes to, you know,
Speaker 2: curbing the fear of people being scared to go anywhere
Speaker 2: downtown Louisville. But it's you know, this is where it
Speaker 2: gets tricky. This isn't a good thing. But it's just
Speaker 2: the truth. And you can take it however you want.
Speaker 2: And ain't just downtown Louiville. You gotta be worried about.
Speaker 2: There's other areas that you you know, at any moment
Speaker 2: could get robbed. I mean, I hope that doesn't happen,
Speaker 2: and you know ninety nine percent of the time it
Speaker 2: doesn't happen to people. But you know, live your life,
Speaker 2: be mindful, you know, don don't be super you know,
Speaker 2: unaware of your situation. But like my wife and I
Speaker 2: next week are going to be celebrating our fourteen year anniversary.
Speaker 3: Congratulations.
Speaker 2: Thank you can't believe it's been fourteen years. Here's too
Speaker 2: many more, honey, And we're gonna we're gonna stay a
Speaker 2: little staycation. We're gonna stay at the Moxie Hotel downtown
Speaker 2: right near the YOUM Center. And I was asking Austin
Speaker 2: because you know, he's marrying in to somebody that's going
Speaker 2: to be able to tell anybody where they can get
Speaker 2: a nice bite to eat Louisville. That's what Sydney and
Speaker 2: Kentucky does, is that.
Speaker 3: Our tech on Sydney and Kentuck here you go. Got it?
Speaker 2: So you know, get you. I've paid attention. So you know,
Speaker 2: like I'm looking forward to a nice night and it's
Speaker 2: like we're traveling. I mean, honestly, I'm looking forward to
Speaker 2: just a lovely evening with my wife without our children.
Speaker 2: But you know, I'm not thinking about I wish we
Speaker 2: could get away, Like I know we're going to have
Speaker 2: a good time right here in the city that we
Speaker 2: live in and we reside in, and I don't know,
Speaker 2: I just wish there was more like this. Had this
Speaker 2: this fell through last time around because of some changes.
Speaker 2: Actually it was the pandemic. We had a deal. I
Speaker 2: don't think I've told you this often. We had a
Speaker 2: deal with a hotel downtown. And I won't mention who
Speaker 2: this because who knows, maybe it'll maybe, maybe it'll maybe
Speaker 2: it'll come back and we can make it happen. But
Speaker 2: we had a deal to where we were going to
Speaker 2: have like a partnership. They were going to be a client,
Speaker 2: and my messaging within the promotion was going to be
Speaker 2: encouraged people to like do a staycation, like plan a
Speaker 2: night one Saturday, one Friday, whenever, and you and your wife,
Speaker 2: you and your significant other plan a night to where
Speaker 2: you go get a room at this nice, very nice hotel,
Speaker 2: and then you, you know, enjoy some of the night life,
Speaker 2: maybe get a nice dinner somewhere there's plenty of options,
Speaker 2: and then maybe hit up a couple of the bars
Speaker 2: and just you know, feel like you're on a little goodaway.
Speaker 2: But it's not. It's just right here in your hometown
Speaker 2: because they they you know again, if you just drive
Speaker 2: down like New Lou up, like New Lou is amazing,
Speaker 2: and I know i'd fun. I consider New lou downtown.
Speaker 2: I don't know why people don't. I get that New
Speaker 2: lou is like its own section of downtown and it
Speaker 2: should be like it is its own area.
Speaker 3: I mean it, but it's downtown. It's on main Street
Speaker 3: like downtown.
Speaker 2: I'm driving like if I am at, this is the
Speaker 2: way I and I got. I've been in arguments about
Speaker 2: this before, Like if I am at in the in
Speaker 2: the heart of New lou and I just keep going
Speaker 2: seven eight blocks up. Where am I? I'm at the bridge,
Speaker 2: I'm in front of the Young Center. I'm if I'm
Speaker 2: that close to downtown. You can call it New lou
Speaker 2: boohoo whatever, it's downtown, Like it's not like it, you know,
Speaker 2: but I but I.
Speaker 4: Market Street is just literally one street away from I
Speaker 4: mean you going down the next block, there's Louisville Slugger Field,
Speaker 4: and then it's everything that you would say, there's Whiskey Row.
Speaker 3: It's downtown.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Whiskey Row is like it it is. It should
Speaker 2: be a bigger deal to us here locally, and I
Speaker 2: think it is to people who travel. I think it's
Speaker 2: cool as hell just because of the bourbon and you know,
Speaker 2: the whole like whiskey kind of you know the concept
Speaker 2: of all that. But that you know that I can't
Speaker 2: I think it can't think what the streets called. But
Speaker 2: it's it's the street that's right between you know where
Speaker 2: the Troll pub is, Yes, that street that back that's
Speaker 2: right there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and this.
Speaker 2: Is right where that hotel. That's where the Moxie Hotel is.
Speaker 2: But like that area, like if you had a couple
Speaker 2: more restaurants on both sides, and I'm sure I think
Speaker 2: the other sides, like businesses, but like that could be
Speaker 2: like a block party that is cool as hell, like
Speaker 2: and I don't mean like it's got to be some
Speaker 2: special event, but like it's just a given that in
Speaker 2: the spring and in the summer, you know, all four
Speaker 2: or five, however, many bars are going to be there, bars, restaurants,
Speaker 2: Like it's just outdoor dining and it's downtown, but you're
Speaker 2: not in the hustle bustle of like getting hit by
Speaker 2: a car because it's closed off. You know, like I
Speaker 2: don't know here. I am acting like I've got these
Speaker 2: grand ideas to improve downtown Louisville, but like I just
Speaker 2: I don't know. Like I say this knowing that it
Speaker 2: sounds corny, but it's true. Like I do enjoy coming
Speaker 2: to work every day in in you know, in a
Speaker 2: in a in a city that you know, one is
Speaker 2: where I'm from. But also like Louisville isn't Boston, Louisville
Speaker 2: isn't you know, La, But we got a you know,
Speaker 2: we got a beautiful skyline, We got a lot of
Speaker 2: cool stuff. And whenever I see like nothing makes me
Speaker 2: happier to know that other people come here and they
Speaker 2: enjoy it too, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, no, I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2: You have a favorite city to travel to, just like
Speaker 2: to visit your Vegas guy, Did you like La?
Speaker 3: New York City's my favorite. I love New York. Yeah,
Speaker 3: you La is cool, But nothing tops New York.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you can't. Really Like New York can be a
Speaker 2: lot of different things to where you can kind of
Speaker 2: like I feel like, no matter what your personality or
Speaker 2: really what your interest is, you can find that in
Speaker 2: New York and it just elevates it because it's freaking
Speaker 2: the big Apple. You know, it's New York City.
Speaker 3: I do like Chicago.
Speaker 4: I've only been there once, but it's Chicago's kind of loky.
Speaker 2: It's like love Chicago, not really New York.
Speaker 3: But I would say it's a little bit nicer.
Speaker 2: It's it's to me, it's people are nicer. Oh yeah,
Speaker 2: to me, it's it's And it's also this is crazy
Speaker 2: because it's way different than like, Chicago is seemingly a
Speaker 2: billion times faster and bigger than Louisville, because you know
Speaker 2: it is, but Chicago and New York of the bigger
Speaker 2: cities really in the world I think New York is
Speaker 2: like a billion times Like Chicago doesn't scare me with
Speaker 2: size and pace, New York can be a little overwhelming. Yes,
Speaker 2: I don't. I've never driven in New York, and god knows,
Speaker 2: I would never want to know because it would just
Speaker 2: be like me yeah. Yeah, But like everything you see
Speaker 2: in like movies and TV shows that like take place
Speaker 2: in New York. When I've visited New York, like the
Speaker 2: four or five times i've been there, like it, I
Speaker 2: feel like it's exactly what I see, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, Like like I feel like I'm living in
Speaker 2: a TV show or like a movie. Like I'm walking
Speaker 2: down the I'm walking down you know, near Times Square.
Speaker 2: Who knows, maybe Elliott Stable is about to pop out
Speaker 2: because he's investigating a new a new crime, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean? Like, Yeah, New York is is.
Speaker 4: All soking down the Brooklyn Bridge and expect to see
Speaker 4: like I don't know, Batman.
Speaker 3: Shoot through or so.
Speaker 2: Have you been to Boston.
Speaker 3: I've never been to Boston. No, but it does seem
Speaker 3: like a cool.
Speaker 2: Do you know my Boston story? It's not a good one.
Speaker 3: No, I went think it's like not a good experience.
Speaker 2: So I went to Boston for two things stand out
Speaker 2: to me about Boston. I went once knowing at the
Speaker 2: time when I left, there's a good chance that, like
Speaker 2: I may never go back, just because it's not a
Speaker 2: convenient place to go. It's really far away. And I
Speaker 2: went up for the Louisville Boston College basketball game. And
Speaker 2: this was in January of twenty twenty, so this there
Speaker 2: were already like people really paranoid at airports about COVID,
Speaker 2: and I remember like seeing people with masks on, thinking
Speaker 2: like this is weird as hell, Like these people are
Speaker 2: conspiracy lunatics, like nothing's going to come of this, not
Speaker 2: knowing that the world would shut down in like two
Speaker 2: months after that happened. So anyways, I remember just kind
Speaker 2: of being a little freaked out about the travel, just knowing,
Speaker 2: like you know, like I guess this is a bigger
Speaker 2: deal than I realized. Also, I got there on a
Speaker 2: Monday night, and the game was on a Tuesday night,
Speaker 2: so I did my show that Monday morning. I was
Speaker 2: on morning, So I landed, got to the hotel, got
Speaker 2: checked in, walked across the street from the hotel to
Speaker 2: get a bite to eat, came back, went to bed,
Speaker 2: got up to the show. It's like ten thirty, and
Speaker 2: I showered, like getting ready to start the day because
Speaker 2: I got a day in Boston. The games not until
Speaker 2: even o'clock. My flight doesn't leave until Wednesday morning. Well,
Speaker 2: I ended up taking a phone call from my wife
Speaker 2: after I got of the shower, just kind of letting
Speaker 2: her know what my plans were. And I guess because
Speaker 2: of travel, jetlight, whatever it may be. I just laid
Speaker 2: down on the phone with my wife and like hung
Speaker 2: up the phone not thinking. I mean, I fell asleep
Speaker 2: and I slept all day, woke up at four thirty
Speaker 2: in the afternoon to where I had no time to
Speaker 2: go do anything and experience Boston. So I got up,
Speaker 2: got ready. I did end up like making my way
Speaker 2: to a place nearby, but like I was pressed for time,
Speaker 2: so like I got a beer and went back to
Speaker 2: the room and got my stuff for the game, and
Speaker 2: caught an uber to Chestnut Hills, which is a little
Speaker 2: bit away from Boston's downtown. And I went to the game,
Speaker 2: great experience, and then caught an uber back and by
Speaker 2: the time I got back to my room, it's like
Speaker 2: ten thirty. My flight leaves at like seven am. Like
Speaker 2: I went to Boston technically for work, but I had
Speaker 2: like all day to have a day and I slept
Speaker 2: it away in a Boston hotel by myself. Like it wow,
Speaker 2: But it's also given me like all right, I gotta
Speaker 2: find a way to get back because like that was
Speaker 2: because I mean, I imagine Boston would be really really cool,
Speaker 2: you know, just to see an experience, and I didn't
Speaker 2: get to do much of anything.
Speaker 3: So I'd imagine Boston's cool like in like the fall time.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, guarantee it like spooky season. Oh yeah, Halloween
Speaker 2: season up there, but it's beautiful football season two. It's
Speaker 2: cold early, I'm sure.
Speaker 4: But I think when Sydney and Kentucky went there, probably
Speaker 4: like a couple of years ago. I think she stopped
Speaker 4: in for like two days, and I think if I
Speaker 4: remember right, I think she liked it. But she did
Speaker 4: kind of say it was a little bit overrated for
Speaker 4: because she went in the fall time during spooky season.
Speaker 4: Not overrated, but she said I thought it would be
Speaker 4: a little bit better.
Speaker 2: Like I don't really know what, like, you know, again,
Speaker 2: maybe it's just because it's much further away than Chicago
Speaker 2: and it's not nearly as like viewed as a tourist
Speaker 2: place quite like New York. But like I wouldn't have
Speaker 2: even begun to know what to do. Maybe that's why
Speaker 2: I just laid down and like didn't have a plan.
Speaker 4: Yeah, if you're like an American history type of person
Speaker 4: and you can learn it's like one of the first
Speaker 4: colonies and stuff like, that's where everything happened. You know,
Speaker 4: Boston tea party. I'm pretty sure there's a lot of
Speaker 4: fun monuments you could go check there.
Speaker 2: My biggest memory of that trip, at least far as
Speaker 2: something that stands out other than what I just shared,
Speaker 2: was that when I told people, rather it be the
Speaker 2: uber driver or the bartender or anybody I talked to,
Speaker 2: that I was there for the Louisville Boston College basketball game,
Speaker 2: Like none of them believe me, Like you came here
Speaker 2: for that? And then I realized, So, yeah, Boston College
Speaker 2: does not move the needle in the little marketing anyway. Yeah,
Speaker 2: Jordan Warre put up thirty eight. It was like the
Speaker 2: most uh oh, I remember that. I think he tied
Speaker 2: a record for most points scored in their arena.
Speaker 3: So but yeah, were visibly on the TV.
Speaker 2: That's right. Remember that, Me and Baldwin the Eagle. He's
Speaker 2: just sitting there depressed that I'm behind him.
Speaker 3: Yeh, the gears are turning now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was a can you believe it was?
Speaker 3: That was five years ago?
Speaker 2: It's crazy. Are we got to get to a break? Actually,
Speaker 2: let's just double them up here because I was bad
Speaker 2: with clock management. We'll come back management and clock nothing. Yeah,
Speaker 2: the l's in there, brother, trust me, and then we'll
Speaker 2: uh we'll finish strong here with uh what we have
Speaker 2: left in the five because again the bats are taking
Speaker 2: over around five thirty ish, so we'll hand it off
Speaker 2: to Nick current around them. But until then, you got
Speaker 2: us myself, Nick Coffee. Austin Montgomery, the tribal chief, keep
Speaker 2: it locked right here on Sports Talk seven ninety