Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick coffee.
Speaker 2: All right, five o'clock on a Friday. Let's get it started.
Speaker 2: Let's finish strong. One hour left before we get out
Speaker 2: of here. And I do want to remind you tomorrow
Speaker 2: it feels like I should be promoting a football pre
Speaker 2: and postgame show. But no football tomorrow because well for
Speaker 2: Louisville because they're off bye week, and it times out
Speaker 2: perfectly because we've got a big time early season, a
Speaker 2: marquee matchup for Pat Kelcey and the Cards as they
Speaker 2: take on Tennessee. The game is at noon, so we'll
Speaker 2: have our pregame show hosted by myself starting at eleven,
Speaker 2: and then we will get it started for the postgame
Speaker 2: show as soon as it ends whenever that is probably
Speaker 2: around two o'clock. And I'm confident that we're going to
Speaker 2: be reacting to a Louisville victory. And you know, I
Speaker 2: feel stupid, and you know a lot of times I
Speaker 2: feel stupid, but I feel stupid because I just didn't
Speaker 2: expect there to be much confidence and belief that Louisville
Speaker 2: would actually win and I don't feel stupid to see
Speaker 2: like that I was wrong about that, but like I
Speaker 2: feel stupid because it should have made sense to me
Speaker 2: from the jump that just looking at everything involved in
Speaker 2: this matchup, the home atmosphere, Louisville. Yes, they're coming off
Speaker 2: of a terrible stretch of basketball, with three four seasons
Speaker 2: of just you know, Louisville hoops and looking unrecognizable to
Speaker 2: a lot of us. But it's a new world. Now
Speaker 2: you can go build a brand new team, and you
Speaker 2: can go hire a new coach, and it won't take
Speaker 2: long for you to get back to where you want
Speaker 2: to be. Now, win tomorrow wouldn't mean that Louisville's destined to,
Speaker 2: you know, go on a run to the Final four
Speaker 2: or anything like that. But you know, it certainly seems
Speaker 2: as if my prediction that I thought was going to
Speaker 2: be bold, it's really not bold at all. Hey. Look,
Speaker 2: some could say, well, hey, it's Louisville fans. Of course
Speaker 2: they think their teams can win. They're Louisville fans, they're homers,
Speaker 2: and maybe there is some of that, But objectively speaking,
Speaker 2: I mean, if you just look at these two teams
Speaker 2: from a personnel standpoint, I mean, I think Louisville's roster
Speaker 2: is better now. Again, what it comes down to tomorrow
Speaker 2: is just how ahead of schedule maybe are these two
Speaker 2: teams now. Tennessee they've got an identity. They've got a
Speaker 2: point guard that's back, that has been there as a
Speaker 2: starting point guard for them for I don't know if
Speaker 2: he started all four years, but he has played really
Speaker 2: the same role his entire career, and now he's in
Speaker 2: his fourth year as a senior, and you know, he's
Speaker 2: a really good player. So Kyle Zigler is as you
Speaker 2: heard earlier in our conversation with our guests from the
Speaker 2: other side, Ben McKee, who covers Tennessee, I mean, he's
Speaker 2: the heart and soul of their team. So you know,
Speaker 2: they have an identity. They've got a coach that's been
Speaker 2: there a long time. Rick Barnes a very successful coach,
Speaker 2: as we discussed, doesn't have many deep tournament runs. In fact,
Speaker 2: some of his best teams have oftentimes ended up not
Speaker 2: only falling short, but getting upset by a team that
Speaker 2: you know, it's a big upset. But he has won
Speaker 2: more games in the last seven years than any SEC
Speaker 2: program in basketball, which speaks to how successful they've been
Speaker 2: and the SEC is a hoops league. Let's be real.
Speaker 2: It used to be a joke. Now it's I mean,
Speaker 2: I think you can make the case that maybe they
Speaker 2: don't have the ceiling like they you know, like like
Speaker 2: like they did when Caliperi had it roll into Kentucky.
Speaker 2: But they're they're deep, and they're really good as a league.
Speaker 2: And Rick Barnes has been more successful as far as
Speaker 2: regular season wins than anybody in the last seven years,
Speaker 2: so you know, they have an identity. So maybe it's
Speaker 2: not necessarily them being ahead of schedule. It's just Okay,
Speaker 2: how quickly have they gotten acclimated with the new pieces
Speaker 2: they've implemented with Louisville. It's all brand new, and so far,
Speaker 2: I don't think there's been any sign, any piece of
Speaker 2: evidence that makes you think these guys haven't you know,
Speaker 2: adjusted nicely to what Pat Kelsey wants to do. Right,
Speaker 2: A lot of these guys coming from different programs from
Speaker 2: a stylistic standpoint, played a different played a different style.
Speaker 2: But you know, I hadn't really thought about it much.
Speaker 2: But if you'd have just watched every little detail about
Speaker 2: the game against Morehead State, where Louisville came out there
Speaker 2: and they were just you know, they were awesome. I mean,
Speaker 2: I know, more at State it's not gonna be very good,
Speaker 2: and you know, beating Morehead State by fifty is still
Speaker 2: something to feel good about. But like what it means
Speaker 2: as far as your team big picture, it's tough to know.
Speaker 2: Like we know that, but if you just paid attention
Speaker 2: to every little detail and you didn't know anything about
Speaker 2: the situation, meaning a brand new coach, all new players,
Speaker 2: and you were just watching ball, you would never know
Speaker 2: that all these guys came from different schools and they
Speaker 2: are playing in a system that is clearly fun and
Speaker 2: they fit it well, but you know, it's new to them.
Speaker 2: And when it comes to what they've done for the
Speaker 2: majority of their careers, I mean, keep in mind, Louisville
Speaker 2: didn't just go get a bunch of transfers. They got
Speaker 2: transfers that have played college basketball for many years. I
Speaker 2: mean a good chunk of these guys are twenty three,
Speaker 2: twenty four years old. So that's a credit to them
Speaker 2: with you know, and it doesn't mean they're gonna win tomorrow,
Speaker 2: didn't mean they're gonna have a super success, but I
Speaker 2: just mean, there's no signs that like there's a big
Speaker 2: adjustment to playing at this level, meaning the way Pat
Speaker 2: Kelsey wants to play. Now, maybe you see sometimes this
Speaker 2: year where you've got you've got, you know, a game
Speaker 2: against a really good team and they're going to play
Speaker 2: a lot of them, and you think, Okay, yeah, I
Speaker 2: love that guy, But now I can kind of see
Speaker 2: why maybe he started his career at a lower level,
Speaker 2: Like maybe that ends up happening. But what I'm what
Speaker 2: I'm speaking to is just the fact that like it's
Speaker 2: it's now routine for these guys to do exactly what
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey needs of them to get the pace where
Speaker 2: you want it to get, you know, rhythm threes, that
Speaker 2: kind of stuff. Again, I'm talking about little details. It
Speaker 2: just because it's second nature to these guys. And I
Speaker 2: mentioned this example earlier and I'll mention it again. I
Speaker 2: mentioned it earlier in the weekend. I'll mention it again
Speaker 2: now as we get closer to tomorrow's game. If you
Speaker 2: see a guy miss a few three pointers in a
Speaker 2: row in really any other style of play, as far
Speaker 2: as you know an identity of a team, they may
Speaker 2: not hang their head. They may not you know, show
Speaker 2: a clear sign of frustration. But like usually, if you
Speaker 2: are getting some good looks and you can't buy them,
Speaker 2: they tell you to keep shooting. But you may be
Speaker 2: a little bashful, you may be a little trigger shy
Speaker 2: because you've missed a few in a row and you're
Speaker 2: not feeling it well. Pat Kelcey, whatever he's doing, he's
Speaker 2: got these guys programmed to have a very short memory.
Speaker 2: Because they had that stretch against more In State where
Speaker 2: they missed I think like nine of ten threes, but
Speaker 2: they were all the type of looks that Pat Kelcey
Speaker 2: wants this team to get. He built the team to
Speaker 2: take advantage of a three point shot that is in rhythm,
Speaker 2: that's not super contested, and you know, you live with
Speaker 2: whatever happens. And they'll have games where they do get
Speaker 2: those looks and they shoot it worse than they did
Speaker 2: against Morehead State and it might cost him the game.
Speaker 2: And that's just you know, that's part of this. But
Speaker 2: you know these guys, you know I mentioned who's more
Speaker 2: ahead of schedule, who's been able to kind of put
Speaker 2: it all together. I mean, Lola could still lose tomorrow,
Speaker 2: but I don't think it's going to be because you know,
Speaker 2: it's still such a work in progress to kind of
Speaker 2: you know, get the season started, which again tells, you know,
Speaker 2: is another reason why I feel, you know, pretty confident
Speaker 2: in this game as of right now, depending on where
Speaker 2: you're looking Louisville as a small underdog. At FanDuel Sportsbook,
Speaker 2: it's now Louisville plus two and a half. At DraftKings
Speaker 2: it's Louisville plus one and a half. So that along
Speaker 2: with the kin Palm projection being a one point win
Speaker 2: for Tennessee. I mean, all the metrics, all the analytics
Speaker 2: tell you that this is expected to be a close game.
Speaker 2: And I kind of went in, you know, earlier this
Speaker 2: week thinking, well, they play a top twelve Tennessee team
Speaker 2: really close, then I'll be pleased, and I'll view that
Speaker 2: as a sign of, you know, encouragement that this team
Speaker 2: can be pretty good because they competed at home against
Speaker 2: the top twelve team. But the more I've looked at
Speaker 2: everything about Tennessee, the more I've you know, considered what
Speaker 2: I've seen from Louisville, I'm kind of now where I
Speaker 2: expect to win.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna lose my mind and act like you've
Speaker 2: got to be worried about the future of Louisville basketball
Speaker 2: if they don't win tomorrow. But I kind of, I
Speaker 2: kind of. I mean, I expect him to win. And
Speaker 2: when you expect something to happen and it doesn't, there's
Speaker 2: just that natural level of disappointment. But again, it won't it.
Speaker 2: Pat Kelsey has done so much to get fans excited.
Speaker 2: You know, he's worked his tail off, I mean, and
Speaker 2: it's been played out. It's played out right in front
Speaker 2: of a lot of our eyes with social media and whatnot.
Speaker 2: So he can lose this game and it won't have
Speaker 2: people panicking by any means. But another thing that I'm like,
Speaker 2: you know, experiencing for the first time in a long time.
Speaker 2: And that is not just the excitement. I said it
Speaker 2: yesterday and I said it a few times today. I'm
Speaker 2: excited to be excited. It's exciting to be excited because
Speaker 2: we haven't even been excited about basketball in a long time. Right, Well, now,
Speaker 2: this is a new feeling, you know that I shouldn't
Speaker 2: say new, it's it's it's something I've experienced before, but
Speaker 2: it's been a while, so it feels new, right, And
Speaker 2: that is like the not only am I excited because
Speaker 2: Louisll's got a chance to play a Marquee and a
Speaker 2: Marquee matchup and potentially get to win with value when
Speaker 2: it comes to selection Sunday. I'm now realizing I expect
Speaker 2: to win, and maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. We'll
Speaker 2: find out tomorrow when this thing tips off. But man,
Speaker 2: louis of Basketball means so much to so many people
Speaker 2: around here, and it's been so you know, depressing in
Speaker 2: recent years. And you know, we'll see what happens tomorrow.
Speaker 2: But everything that comes with this experience as a diehard
Speaker 2: Louisville fan has been amazing since Pat Kelsey got here.
Speaker 2: So hopefully they can keep the good vibes rolling. All right,
Speaker 2: We'll talk a little more coming up in the second
Speaker 2: segment about the whole ticket thing, and I don't want
Speaker 2: to give it more life than it needs, but I'll
Speaker 2: kind of reset what I said at the beginning of
Speaker 2: the show as far as how this whole back and
Speaker 2: forth between fans about the tickets and attendance and all that,
Speaker 2: and the support that U of L is getting from
Speaker 2: some of their great corporate partners. You know, it's being
Speaker 2: weaponized against them and being made they're being made fun of,
Speaker 2: like wow, look how far Louisville's fall, and they got
Speaker 2: to have somebody buy tickets and donate them. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's like the perfect example of like how petty we
Speaker 2: are and how awesome the rivalry is, and that we
Speaker 2: are programmed in most instances to just, no matter what,
Speaker 2: defend our side and then, no matter what, make fun
Speaker 2: of any little thing you can of your rival. And this,
Speaker 2: this whole ticket thing is is the best example of that.
Speaker 2: Although I will say in Louisville fans defense, and I'm
Speaker 2: glad somebody mentioned this earlier on the text line because
Speaker 2: I totally agree. There's a lot of things that we would,
Speaker 2: you know, we would make fun of Kentucky for being
Speaker 2: obsessed for that. We would probably do the same thing
Speaker 2: because again, like I think it's healthy to be not obsessed.
Speaker 2: But like clearly, like when you have a rival, your
Speaker 2: your best weekend is when you win and they lose.
Speaker 2: There's no way around that. But them and the attendance thing,
Speaker 2: like that's a little weird. That's a little different, Like
Speaker 2: it's one thing to like slightly make fun of. Oh wow,
Speaker 2: nobody came to the games. Geez. But they've got like
Speaker 2: half their fan base working as unpaid auditors of the
Speaker 2: Young Center to know exactly I want you to go.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna they've got like some kind of foundation that
Speaker 2: funds tickets for them to go to games and have
Speaker 2: eyes out on the scene, boots on the ground, everybody
Speaker 2: getting pictures from all different angles to truly see how
Speaker 2: many people showed up at a Louisville games. It's very
Speaker 2: weird behavior. And I will say there are certain things
Speaker 2: where I would say, yeah, you know, we're calling them obsessed,
Speaker 2: but we would probably do something similar. I don't know
Speaker 2: if Louisville fans care as much about who goes to
Speaker 2: Rupp Arena or Commonwealth Stadium, So maybe that's one thing
Speaker 2: the Kentucky fans just do differently, and they do a
Speaker 2: lot of things differently than other fan basis. But like, man,
Speaker 2: if there's an empty seat at your stadium, they're gonna
Speaker 2: let you ask no about it. That's for damn sure.
Speaker 2: They're very, very very consistent with that. All right. So
Speaker 2: last night's NFL Thursday Night football game was phenomenal, Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2: I mean it sounds like a rerun, right, like any
Speaker 2: time Lamar Jackson plays, for the most part, we come
Speaker 2: on here and say, Wow, this guy's insane, he's special.
Speaker 2: He got even better. But it's not a rerun. It's true.
Speaker 2: I mean last night, I mean, it kind of seemed
Speaker 2: like just another day for him. But he's so electrifying
Speaker 2: as far as his ability to make plays that nobody
Speaker 2: else can and do things that nobody else can. That
Speaker 2: that makes it to where even though you're not really surprised,
Speaker 2: you know he can he can do these kind of things,
Speaker 2: but because he's so rare as a player, it's still
Speaker 2: is something that you know, I was gonna say takes
Speaker 2: your breath away, but that would have been a little dramatic,
Speaker 2: a little you know, a little over the top, but
Speaker 2: like it amazes you, like last night, if you're watching
Speaker 2: that game and you're you know, I'm not even just
Speaker 2: talking about Louisville fans or Ravens fans, just people who
Speaker 2: cover the NFL nationally or I mean just celebrities, even
Speaker 2: like they watch Lamar Jackson play football and they go
Speaker 2: out of their way to post on social media like
Speaker 2: this guy is insane, Like he's so talented, and he
Speaker 2: is and it's scary for the NFL that he got
Speaker 2: better in the offseason after he already had two MVP trophies.
Speaker 2: I mean, because if you're watching, maybe not even closely,
Speaker 2: but watching you know a little bit, you can tell
Speaker 2: this guy he has gotten better. His arm is a
Speaker 2: little more accurate, and he still makes mistakes, right, I mean,
Speaker 2: that's always going to happen, but he's playing with like
Speaker 2: a different level of confidence that clearly is working. Because
Speaker 2: right now, I mean, I think they look like a
Speaker 2: team that their defense can clean some things up, like
Speaker 2: they have as good of a chance as anybody to
Speaker 2: win the Super Bowl. Now, you got to get past
Speaker 2: the Chiefs, and yes, they've looked pretty beatable this year,
Speaker 2: but you know they're also undefeated for the first time
Speaker 2: in this dynasty that they've had for for quite some time.
Speaker 2: So easier said than done. But man, what a win
Speaker 2: last night for the Ravens to be down twenty one
Speaker 2: to seven in the third quarter, come back and get
Speaker 2: it done. Heck of a night for Joe Burrow and
Speaker 2: Jamar Chase. But the decision to go for two I
Speaker 2: think was the right one. But the Ravens were able
Speaker 2: to survive, and yes, I think it probably was a
Speaker 2: hold on the defense that wasn't called, and it clearly
Speaker 2: was a helmet to helmet hit with Joe Burrow and
Speaker 2: they didn't call it. And you know, I am happy
Speaker 2: they didn't call it, but I can also acknowledge that, yeah,
Speaker 2: if they would have called it, it would have been no
Speaker 2: surprise and it really would have been just consistency from
Speaker 2: the Baltimore defense because, I mean, they were in that
Speaker 2: position to score the game tying I guess the potential
Speaker 2: game tying touchdown because of you know, three consecutive penalties
Speaker 2: that you just can't do in that situation. But they did.
Speaker 2: So happy the Bengals are not the Bengals, but the
Speaker 2: Ravens survived. But I am a little worried about their
Speaker 2: defense potentially holding back a Ravens team that everywhere else
Speaker 2: is in the best position they've ever been in since
Speaker 2: Lamar's been there to actually break through and make it
Speaker 2: to a Super Bowl. I mean, Lamar's gotten better, He's
Speaker 2: got good weapons around him. I mean, Bateman played really
Speaker 2: well last night. Did have a big drop that he
Speaker 2: made up for it with the game winning touchdown. Obviously,
Speaker 2: Zay Flowers has been special. Mark Andrews is now really
Speaker 2: emerging as a reliable weapon for Lamar Jackson. He's been
Speaker 2: that his whole career, but he got up to a
Speaker 2: slow start. He's playing much better, but the defense man
Speaker 2: I mean, I said at the beginning of the show,
Speaker 2: Lamar was able to win a Heisman Trophy in twenty sixteen,
Speaker 2: which was, of course, spectacular season that we're all gonna
Speaker 2: remember forever. But unless you're a Louisville fan, and look,
Speaker 2: maybe Louisville fans have forgotten, Lamar won a Heisman with
Speaker 2: an offensive line that was awful, I mean, not reliable.
Speaker 2: I mean he put up crazy numbers, but on any
Speaker 2: given moment, it mean looked like he was he was
Speaker 2: going to get killed out there, and he might have
Speaker 2: if it wouldn't have been for his ability to to,
Speaker 2: you know, do some things in the pocket and and
Speaker 2: you know, avoid a sack or avoid a big hit,
Speaker 2: because you know he's that's the kind of player that
Speaker 2: he is. But I'm curious, I wonder what he trusts
Speaker 2: more the secondary that he currently has in Baltimore. That
Speaker 2: offensive line in his twenty sixteen season both were pretty unreliable,
Speaker 2: and I really wish the Ravens would have done something
Speaker 2: before the trade deadline to improve their secondary because it's
Speaker 2: a known weakness. Teams exploit it and weaken and week
Speaker 2: out there's really no change. Now. Jamar Chase is also
Speaker 2: a pretty tough cover, so maybe they looked a little
Speaker 2: worse than they typically look because of him, But it's
Speaker 2: a little it's a little worrisome. So again, last year,
Speaker 2: Lamar Jackson was the NFL MVP. And let me give
Speaker 2: you some comparisons to his numbers this year after ten
Speaker 2: games and his numbers last year after ten games, records
Speaker 2: the same seven and three passing touchdowns. Last year he
Speaker 2: had ten. This year, he's got twenty four interceptions. Last
Speaker 2: year at this time he had five. This year, he's
Speaker 2: got two rushing yards. Last year he had four hundred
Speaker 2: and eighty one. This year he's got five hundred and
Speaker 2: thirty nine. I mean, to say that he's in the
Speaker 2: driver's seat to be the MVP this year would be
Speaker 2: a massive understatement, because maybe I'm just getting caught up
Speaker 2: in Lamar having such a special year. But who would
Speaker 2: even be considered the next best option in the NFL
Speaker 2: MVP race. I mean, there's clearly some good players that
Speaker 2: are that are being mentioned, But I don't know how
Speaker 2: you could make the case that any buddy would be
Speaker 2: deserving of this more than Lamar. Now, you you don't
Speaker 2: give it to somebody after ten games, but I mean Lamar,
Speaker 2: I think right now, not only has he taken a
Speaker 2: big step up from what he was doing a year
Speaker 2: ago at this time, as I just mentioned with those numbers,
Speaker 2: but I feel like this year he has less competition
Speaker 2: ten games in than he did a year ago. I mean, obviously,
Speaker 2: Josh Allen is having a really good year and he's
Speaker 2: proving that he can be successful and maybe more successful.
Speaker 2: He doesn't have to worry about Stefan Diggs complaining about
Speaker 2: how much how many looks he's getting. But how could
Speaker 2: you give it to Josh Allen when Lamar Jackson has
Speaker 2: clearly just been better and he beat him. I mean,
Speaker 2: we'll see, maybe the season plays out and Lamar takes
Speaker 2: a dip and Josh Allen really emerges. But like right now,
Speaker 2: if Josh Allen is your best competition, I'd say you
Speaker 2: feel pretty comfortable about where you are, meaning it's yours
Speaker 2: to lose if you're Lamar Jackson. Now, Patrick Mahomes obviously
Speaker 2: he's Patrick Mahomes and his team's undefeated, but I mean,
Speaker 2: anybody mentioning him, I get it, Like it's not crazy. Again,
Speaker 2: he's the quarterback for the undefeated team in the NFL
Speaker 2: who's coming off of a super Bowl, Like, I get it,
Speaker 2: But his numbers are extremely blaw not only for him
Speaker 2: meaning Mahomes, for really anybody that's the starting quarterback in
Speaker 2: the NFL. So Lamar, I don't know why, but recently,
Speaker 2: in like the last couple of years, Like I always
Speaker 2: supported Lamar and really loved seeing what he was doing
Speaker 2: in the NFL, and it's awesome, and it has been
Speaker 2: since he got to the league, But for some reason
Speaker 2: the last couple of years, it's kind of hit me
Speaker 2: more than it ever has to. Like, not take for
Speaker 2: granted that in the NFL and the most popular sport
Speaker 2: in our country that people consume differently and may consume
Speaker 2: any other sport, the best player in that league is
Speaker 2: a Louisville Cardinal, Like that's something that is always going
Speaker 2: to have value. And I'm sure you'll find plenty of
Speaker 2: people if you go looking for him that are haters
Speaker 2: of Lamar Jackson, but he's also he's pretty popular, Like
Speaker 2: he's unanimously I shouldn't say unanimously because I don't know
Speaker 2: if that's possible, But Lamar has a vibe to him
Speaker 2: that like he's really likable. He's himself. He doesn't do
Speaker 2: a lot of stuff for attention. He's a competitor like
Speaker 2: his peers respect the hell out of him. That was
Speaker 2: clear after he won. I mean, I think one of
Speaker 2: the most impressive things Lamar has accomplished in the NFL
Speaker 2: is something you'll never hear many people reference, because there's
Speaker 2: other things you would assume are more impressive. But the
Speaker 2: fact that after his first MVP season, the peers in
Speaker 2: his league, when he was still a young guy and
Speaker 2: hadn't made any kind of playoff run, which I guess
Speaker 2: technically some people say he still hasn't, but regardless, they
Speaker 2: voted him the best player. That's your peers, that is,
Speaker 2: that's your coworkers. Like again, that's not something that's going
Speaker 2: to be on his resume on his Wikipedia page quite
Speaker 2: like NFL MVP awards or super Bowl appearances or Super
Speaker 2: Bowl wins, like that's what really is going to be
Speaker 2: where you make your legacy, no doubt about that. But
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's me. I realize the value
Speaker 2: and what it means to have everybody in the NFL
Speaker 2: at one point say that you are the best player
Speaker 2: in the league. Now again, they vote on that every
Speaker 2: year and he hasn't come in first place since then.
Speaker 2: But I mean, right now, you ask anybody in the
Speaker 2: league who they think is the best player. I wouldn't
Speaker 2: be shocked if the majority of them said Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2: And the fact that he went to u of L
Speaker 2: and you know, was a beloved Louisville Cardinal. Like Louisville
Speaker 2: fans are able to experience something right now that many
Speaker 2: people can't. A run where for you know, hopefully for
Speaker 2: the foreseeable future. You know, one of your own is
Speaker 2: one of the most talked about, most popular, and most
Speaker 2: successful players in the NFL. Now again, I know, you
Speaker 2: got to win in the playoffs, and hopefully this year
Speaker 2: it happens. We'll worry about that when we get there.
Speaker 2: Quick break, we'll come back on the other side. Keep
Speaker 2: it rolling along. It's coffee and company. Feel about Thornton's
Speaker 2: right here on Sports Talk seven ninety we got about
Speaker 2: thirty minutes left before we get out of here. For
Speaker 2: the weekend. Good vibes here on a Friday, and this
Speaker 2: song only helps enhance the vibes. Good stuff. I don't
Speaker 2: know if anybody else on the planet degrees, but thank
Speaker 2: you John for always delivering this for me. And uh,
Speaker 2: I mean my weekend starts when I hear this song.
Speaker 2: Good stuff, good stuff. All right, let's go to the
Speaker 2: text line five two six five three zero set of ninety.
Speaker 2: I've neglected you guys on the Ellenn Federal Credit Union
Speaker 2: text line today and I apologize. Ellenn Federal Credit Union
Speaker 2: members get more at Ellen NFCU. You can learn more
Speaker 2: and open your account today at lenfcu dot com. This
Speaker 2: Texas Nick. My first game ever as a Louis of
Speaker 2: a Cardinal fan was at Freedom Hall when they had
Speaker 2: the epic comeback against Tennessee. Can't wait to go back tomorrow.
Speaker 2: I feel like it's a sign that we get back
Speaker 2: on track. Yeah, you may. I mean that was a
Speaker 2: hell of a first game to be at. I don't
Speaker 2: know how old you are or how old you were then,
Speaker 2: but yes, that was I mean, I remember, you know,
Speaker 2: there are there are only a handful of games where
Speaker 2: I remember. I remember a lot of games, but there's
Speaker 2: only a handful that I can remember where the result
Speaker 2: was so crazy, I just like ran around, like losing
Speaker 2: my mind. That game took place in December. All I
Speaker 2: know is our Christmas tree was up in the house, which,
Speaker 2: knowing me and my family's loved for Christmas, heck, it
Speaker 2: could have been July. We might have had the Christmas
Speaker 2: tree up. I'm not sure, but I know it was not.
Speaker 2: It was early season, Rick Patino, and of course it
Speaker 2: was Bryant Northern Rees Gaines, and they pulled off just
Speaker 2: an unbelievable comeback that I still, you know, I can't
Speaker 2: believe happened. But I remember watching it in the basement
Speaker 2: and running upstairs and just for some reason, I ran
Speaker 2: outside the front door for my I don't know, maybe
Speaker 2: five seconds, and then I realized, oh yeah, it's December,
Speaker 2: it's really cold, and then I ran back inside, and
Speaker 2: then I just remember being in our living room and
Speaker 2: I was in front of the Christmas tree, jumping up
Speaker 2: and down. Couldn't believe that had happened. And yes, that's
Speaker 2: an old timer to pull off that miracle. Three threes
Speaker 2: and thirty seconds to beat Tennessee, and Reese gets a
Speaker 2: lot of love for that, and he deserves it. He's
Speaker 2: the one who hit big shots to give you. I
Speaker 2: mean Reese's big shot against Marquette. I mean that's memorable too.
Speaker 2: Reeskanes hits me hell of a career, one of the
Speaker 2: best players they ever played here. But Bride Northern was
Speaker 2: a part of that too, and I feel like people
Speaker 2: rarely remember that he had a role in that epic,
Speaker 2: epic come back when against Tennessee. Another just just thinking
Speaker 2: about it here. I don't know about you guys, but
Speaker 2: when I think of Tennessee Louisville, because they have played
Speaker 2: each other. In fact, the recent the most recent game
Speaker 2: between these two was actually when Chris Mack was in
Speaker 2: his first year. They played in the preseason n I
Speaker 2: t up there in the Barclay Center in Brooklyn and
Speaker 2: played a good Tennessee team and came up short. But
Speaker 2: the one that comes to mind for me was in
Speaker 2: the NUAA Tournament. And I don't know, like I'm sure
Speaker 2: there are people listening right now that know exactly what
Speaker 2: I'm what I'm talking about, but I rarely ever hear
Speaker 2: people mention this game. But in the in the Sweet sixteen,
Speaker 2: when Bruce Pearl was that was at Tennessee. It was
Speaker 2: the Nce DOUAA Tournament in two thousand and eight. Louisville
Speaker 2: won by nineteen points, and I remember thinking, Okay, this
Speaker 2: Louisville team loaded. This is gonna be a tough game.
Speaker 2: I mean, you've made it this far. You're the three seed,
Speaker 2: they're the two seed in the region, and you know
Speaker 2: they're really good. Thirty one and five. Tennessee's got Chris Lofton.
Speaker 2: I mean, I remember thinking, Okay, I'm just gonna go
Speaker 2: into this game thinking Louisville can win, but if they
Speaker 2: come up short, like I can't be surprised because Tennessee's
Speaker 2: that good. I mean, Tennessee was loaded, by the way.
Speaker 2: I mean, JP, Prince, Chris Lofton, Wayne Chisholm, you remember
Speaker 2: that Tyler Smith, that Bruce Pearl Tennessee team was really good.
Speaker 2: There's a reason they were thirty one and five and
Speaker 2: got the number two seed in Louisville. Of course, that
Speaker 2: was that was back to back years where you had
Speaker 2: kind of the same team and you were really really
Speaker 2: good and both seasons fell short in the Elite eight
Speaker 2: t will. Of course, as a junior, David Paget was
Speaker 2: a senior Jerry Smith, Jan Pelasios I believe that was
Speaker 2: his senior season. You brought Derek character off the bench.
Speaker 2: Earl Clark was, I mean, he was a leading scorer
Speaker 2: in that game. Actually, now that I look at the numbers,
Speaker 2: Edgar Sosa, Preston Knowles was an impactful I believe freshman
Speaker 2: at that time. So they beat him bad seventy nine
Speaker 2: to sixty. Rick Portino at that point that I think
Speaker 2: that made him maybe eight and oh all time in
Speaker 2: sweet sixteen game games. And then he went nine and
Speaker 2: oh I believe when he played Michigan State and tom
Speaker 2: Izzo when they were a one seed. So that was
Speaker 2: one of those victories where Rick Patino still had the
Speaker 2: reputation of like, all right, if this guy gets to
Speaker 2: the tournament, good luck who ever plays him, because he's
Speaker 2: gonna have his guys ready. So that's the one that
Speaker 2: comes to mind for me because I remember really thinking
Speaker 2: that they were going to have their season come to
Speaker 2: an end to an all time Tennessee team, but Patino
Speaker 2: got it done and then they ended up falling to
Speaker 2: Hansboro and in North Carolina that next game. And I
Speaker 2: remember that year in two thousand and eight, it was
Speaker 2: an Elite eight. It was just three years after you
Speaker 2: made a final four in two thousand and five, and
Speaker 2: clearly that was a disappointment, but you lost to Carolina,
Speaker 2: who ended up winning the national championship. The next year.
Speaker 2: That was the year where you again lost in the
Speaker 2: Elite eight, and that one is still one of the
Speaker 2: toughest losses I can remember as a Louisville fan, because
Speaker 2: you were so good. I mean Tee will Or Clark again,
Speaker 2: a lot of the same team, except you added I
Speaker 2: mean you got rid of I mean, you'd get rid
Speaker 2: of him. You probably could have utilized him. David Patgett graduated,
Speaker 2: was gone, but she brought in Tomato Samuel's and Preston
Speaker 2: Knowles had a bigger role the next year, and Louisville
Speaker 2: dominated that tournament, only to then just completely lay an
Speaker 2: egg against Michigan State Gorn Suton. I mean, that was
Speaker 2: that was a heartbreaker. So gosh, it's been so long
Speaker 2: since that happened. I'm reliving these tournament runs in detail
Speaker 2: and yet not realizing that, like, it's been so long
Speaker 2: since that happened.
Speaker 1: That was.
Speaker 2: Gosh, that was what sixteen years ago something like that.
Speaker 2: Crazy to think about fifteen, fourteen years ago, whatever it is.
Speaker 2: And again I said this earlier not to like make
Speaker 2: people feel bad, but like just being honest with you,
Speaker 2: Like this will be the ten year anniversary from Louisville's
Speaker 2: last tournament appearance where they made it past the first weekend.
Speaker 2: I mean to say we are due as a program
Speaker 2: to have some relevance and have some involvement in the
Speaker 2: needs to be late tournament is a massive, massive understatement.
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Speaker 2: all right, So let's talk about this week's college football slate.
Speaker 2: We've been in basketball mode this week on the Louisville side.
Speaker 2: Kentucky as well. They're on a bye week and they
Speaker 2: shifted a basketball season long ago, and now I think
Speaker 2: they got buck Nell tomorrow, which I'm curious, not that
Speaker 2: anybody else cares, and I'm curious to see what the
Speaker 2: line is in that game because buck Nal is actually
Speaker 2: a pretty decent team. They did need over time to
Speaker 2: beat Southern Indiana, but I think that's a big step
Speaker 2: up from them what they just played right State. But
Speaker 2: not to say that they're on upset alert, but Anyhow, John,
Speaker 2: dare I say your most confident pick might in fact
Speaker 2: be your Hoosiers, not because of bias, but because they're
Speaker 2: just like they're rolling. It's up there.
Speaker 3: And I do have one that's probably on the same
Speaker 3: level east in my confidence, and that's Iowa State months
Speaker 3: two and a half at Kansas.
Speaker 2: And I know it is a road game for him, but.
Speaker 3: Iowa State needs to bounce back after their disappointing performance
Speaker 3: last week against Texas Tech, and.
Speaker 2: That I really liked that pick. Kansas is not good.
Speaker 2: They're one two and six now, yep. And look, Kansas
Speaker 2: was decent last year to good under Lan Slee poll.
Speaker 2: They ended up being ranked preseason this year, which is
Speaker 2: crazy to think about. But man like they're having such
Speaker 2: a down year, it didn't take long for their football
Speaker 2: fans to probably just abandon their football program and go
Speaker 2: right back to basketball. So it is at Kansas, but
Speaker 2: I don't think it'll be much of an atmosphere that
Speaker 2: it's a good pick by you, John, I like.
Speaker 3: That on regular stadium at this point, aren't they the program?
Speaker 2: Oh that's right, Yeah, yep, you're right. They're doing that
Speaker 2: weird hybrid thing because they're getting renovations done in your state. Yeah, good, Yeah,
Speaker 2: And Matt Campbell again, you mentioned that loss coming off
Speaker 2: of which is which is a tough one. Form They
Speaker 2: were undefeated at that time, but you know, it kind
Speaker 2: of felt like he overstayed there and didn't take advantage
Speaker 2: of what he had done at Iowa state of all places,
Speaker 2: to leverage that into a bigger job. I mean, I
Speaker 2: kind of felt like he was going to be like
Speaker 2: a hot seat guy, which was crazy to say, because
Speaker 2: they really fell off the last couple of years. But
Speaker 2: this year they have certainly bounced back in uh in
Speaker 2: a major way. All right for me? One that that
Speaker 2: really that really stands out that I uh, I feel
Speaker 2: good about. It's one of those that I feel so
Speaker 2: good about it that I'm overthinking it, like, hey, what
Speaker 2: should I be as confident as I actually am? And
Speaker 2: that is Vandy plus five and a half against South Carolina.
Speaker 2: Like South Carolina, really inconsistent team. They've had some big moments,
Speaker 2: big performances, but they've also had some letdowns, and I'm
Speaker 2: not really sure how good they actually are. Their defensive
Speaker 2: line is good, special teams play is always solid with Beamer,
Speaker 2: but Vandy's proven to be worthy of a better line
Speaker 2: than this. Now, you know. That's where I'm starting to
Speaker 2: second yess it like, because again, although Vandy's proven to
Speaker 2: be no longer, they're not the Vandy you're used to
Speaker 2: and they're not great, but they're pretty good and they're
Speaker 2: at home. They have a fan base now that shows up,
Speaker 2: probably more than they ever have because of the momentum
Speaker 2: they have this year, And this to me just screams,
Speaker 2: I mean, this is a game like if South Carolina
Speaker 2: loses outright, I can't say that I'm shocked because Bandy's
Speaker 2: proven in these moments to be able to take advantage
Speaker 2: of being an underdog, and they probably don't feel like
Speaker 2: they should be as big of an underdog here. So
Speaker 2: my confidence is kind of dropping a little bit in
Speaker 2: this one over you know, the last couple of days.
Speaker 2: But I still like it because it hasn't had a
Speaker 2: whole lot of movement. Give me Vandy plus five and
Speaker 2: a half, it's not bad.
Speaker 3: I was considering taking that one, So I'm kind of
Speaker 3: along the same lines of thinking with that.
Speaker 2: My next one.
Speaker 3: I've got Tennessee minus twenty four and a half, and
Speaker 3: I know that's a lot of points, but They're playing
Speaker 3: against Mississippi State at home for homecoming, as your guest
Speaker 3: mentioned earlier, and I think this is a game where
Speaker 3: Tennessee kind of gets back on track when it comes
Speaker 3: to just showing that they are the dominant team. You're
Speaker 3: playing against one of the worst teams in your conference,
Speaker 3: and I think it's time for the volunteers to kind
Speaker 3: of really show their muscle, if you will. And it
Speaker 3: wouldn't surprise me if they exceed this spread by several points.
Speaker 2: If I'm being honest. They are in contention for the playoff.
Speaker 2: They are playing the worst team in their conference, and
Speaker 2: it's not even close. There's never been a clear cut
Speaker 2: worst team in the SEC, like Mississippi State is this year,
Speaker 2: and then after that it's Kentucky. But which is crazy
Speaker 2: to say, but it's true. I'm not even making a
Speaker 2: joke about the rock. I'm just being honest with you.
Speaker 2: That's that's quite literally how it shakes out. But back
Speaker 2: to my point, they need to embarrass Mississippi State because
Speaker 2: they don't want to leave it. You know, the committee
Speaker 2: can tell us that, you know, eye test and I
Speaker 2: mean actually they did tell us eye test matters, But
Speaker 2: like you know, if you have a close game, that
Speaker 2: just gives somebody the opportunity to doubt that you're really
Speaker 2: as good as the committee said you were, or maybe
Speaker 2: the committee themselves no longer feels that strongly about you.
Speaker 2: So at times that can cause you to press a
Speaker 2: little bit to where maybe you're trying to you're over
Speaker 2: you're overthinking it. But Mississippi State's that bad. I'm with you.
Speaker 2: I think that's a lot of points, But I'm with you.
Speaker 2: Homecoming Saturday night at Kneelan. Their their football team is
Speaker 2: going to be playing so hard because they're going to
Speaker 2: try to make it up to their fans because their
Speaker 2: basketball team lost earlier in the day to Louisville. So
Speaker 2: I like where your heads at. That's what you were
Speaker 2: thinking too, right, John, Absolutely, I hope that's the outcome.
Speaker 2: But we shall see. All right, one more for me
Speaker 2: before we get to our last break here. I mean, oh,
Speaker 2: miss how are they? I mean, I know the tame way,
Speaker 2: I don't know how bad. I know how bad they
Speaker 2: beat the hell out of uh was it Arkansas last week?
Speaker 2: But Georgia, George's Georgia like Kirby smart, I mean, until
Speaker 2: Lane Kiffin wins one of these games against an elite
Speaker 2: team with a proven coach that's clearly one of the
Speaker 2: best in the country, I can't expect him to do it.
Speaker 2: And the fact that if Old Miss was getting if
Speaker 2: it was Old Miss plus six and a half, I'd
Speaker 2: still feel pretty confident about Georgia covering. But it's only
Speaker 2: two and a half. What am I missing? I know
Speaker 2: they're hot, they lit it up last week. But in
Speaker 2: these games, there's one coach who delivers at a really
Speaker 2: good rate, and there's a one and there's another coach
Speaker 2: who has never done it, and that's Lane Kiffin. I
Speaker 2: like Lane. I think he's a good coach, but like
Speaker 2: he's proven in these spots, they don't come through. I
Speaker 2: like Georgia, and I can't believe they're only favored by
Speaker 2: two year.
Speaker 3: What it is is a Georgia struggle with Florida last week,
Speaker 3: and I think that's why you're seeing to be And
Speaker 3: plus also Ole Miss coming off of the type of
Speaker 3: win they had against Arkansas. And by the way, that's
Speaker 3: not what I thought you were gonna say when I
Speaker 3: said I was tailing you. I'm taking Ole Miss.
Speaker 2: Money line, Okay, money line, okay? Wow?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 3: And again, I don't if you don't want to tail
Speaker 3: me on that, totally get it because I think got
Speaker 3: over too in my money line predictions the last two weeks.
Speaker 2: Well, you're a smart guy, and I don't mean that
Speaker 2: to just gash you up, but when you do your
Speaker 2: money line, you're doing it because you know that it
Speaker 2: you know there'd be a lot more juice there, right, Yes,
Speaker 2: So I just think again, I've been all over Lane
Speaker 2: Kiff in the last two years, and I went against
Speaker 2: him last week and it didn't work. Maybe this is
Speaker 2: me being stubborn, thinking Okay, this time I'll be right
Speaker 2: about because I thought they would win against Arkansas, but
Speaker 2: I thought they were too many points and they killed them.
Speaker 2: But you know, with Lane again, these kind he's had
Speaker 2: now three seasons where they've been good and then they've
Speaker 2: had these opportunities to really show, okay, have they taken
Speaker 2: that big of a step up and they've never delivered.
Speaker 2: Now they are at home, so maybe that'll be the
Speaker 2: the maybe that'll make the difference here. But yeah, we're
Speaker 2: opposite on that one. We'll see what happens. And then
Speaker 2: of course we both have Indian AI minus fourteen and
Speaker 2: a half yes, we don't even need to discuss that
Speaker 2: signetti covers. That's just that's just his religion. That's what
Speaker 2: he does. Quick break will come back on the other
Speaker 2: side of rap this thing. I'll get at her for
Speaker 2: the weekend. All right, just a few minutes left here
Speaker 2: before we get out of here for the weekend. But
Speaker 2: don't forget. We will be back tomorrow because we've got
Speaker 2: Louisville basketball pre and postgame coverage for you right here
Speaker 2: on Sports Talk seven ninety Louisville and Tennessee. I am
Speaker 2: expecting a win. I've mentioned that throughout the week, and
Speaker 2: I am expecting a good crowd there. When I say
Speaker 2: good crowd, I mean it'll be full enough to where
Speaker 2: it's going to be an atmosphere, which that's what you want.
Speaker 2: That's what your team needs to be able to utilize
Speaker 2: leverage by playing in front of their loud crowd. So
Speaker 2: thank you to you know, I say thank you like
Speaker 2: I'm Pat Kelsey, but like it's awesome to see what
Speaker 2: Rick Keeber did by buying up a lot of tickets
Speaker 2: and giving him out to people who couldn't afford it.
Speaker 2: Same thing with ups giving tickets to some of their employees.
Speaker 2: So you know, I think we'll see a good crowd
Speaker 2: and hopefully it results in a win. All right, I
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Speaker 2: themselves a great weekend. Hopefully I see you guys at
Speaker 2: the Kfcum Center tomorrow or I'm sorry, John at the
Speaker 2: Yum's right, the Yum. The moose Man's gonna be there.
Speaker 2: He's excited. Can I tell you something adorable? Of course,
Speaker 2: he thought it was a football game until he just
Speaker 2: knew we were gonna beat Tennessee. Because that's what he's
Speaker 2: what I've been telling them. Cards are playing, Yeah, go,
Speaker 2: cards are gonna beat Tennessee. And I kept saying Pat
Speaker 2: Kelsey and he was like, well, is he gonna sit
Speaker 2: with us? And I'm like, son, he's gonna coach, and
Speaker 2: he was like wait what So now he's in basketball
Speaker 2: mode and UH should be awesome. All right, have a
Speaker 2: good when everybody talk to you tomorrow