Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven to nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: So forty eight hours from this exact moment, we will
Speaker 2: be joined. I'll be joined by Pat Kelsey in Charlotte
Speaker 2: for the ACC basketball Media Day tip off. I'll leave
Speaker 2: tomorrow morning, and Thursday is really the full day of
Speaker 2: coaches doing their press conference. I'm not sure if players
Speaker 2: are going to have a press conference. Each team is
Speaker 2: bringing two players along with of course they're head coach.
Speaker 2: For Louisville, that's going to be Javon Hadley and Chucky Hepburn,
Speaker 2: So we'll have all three on at some point, I believe, Well,
Speaker 2: I know Pat Kelsey's gonna be on with us at
Speaker 2: four and then the players I think have some downtime
Speaker 2: in that window as well, in the three to six,
Speaker 2: So at some point we'll bring those guys on and uh,
Speaker 2: just another sign that we're getting closer and closer to
Speaker 2: to basketball season. You know, Louisvilive was was was awesome.
Speaker 2: You know, it wasn't an event that I was looking to,
Speaker 2: you know, learn anything about the team and adjust expectations
Speaker 2: in any way, just because you know it's not what
Speaker 2: that is, but having it at the Young Center, I mean,
Speaker 2: I thought they did a really good job. You know,
Speaker 2: it's clearly an experimental kind of thing as far as
Speaker 2: how they're going to structure it. They did the three
Speaker 2: on three, which was kind of awkward, just because you know,
Speaker 2: like you don't really want them to compete against each other.
Speaker 2: And you know, if I was Pat Kelsey or Jeff Walls,
Speaker 2: you know, I would not want my players to be
Speaker 2: out there playing in something so meaningless that like, if
Speaker 2: somebody gets hurt, that's bad news. So, you know, the
Speaker 2: the state the arena itself, they didn't have any expectation
Speaker 2: for any any you know, crowd that would come close
Speaker 2: to full capacity, so the upper level was blocked off.
Speaker 2: And then the way they had like the entrance and whatnot.
Speaker 2: You know, I thought it. I thought it looked like
Speaker 2: a great I mean, it felt like a great environment
Speaker 2: being there. I thought it looked like a great environment.
Speaker 2: But of course, you know, anything that any event, I
Speaker 2: mean could be a I don't know, a field hockey game.
Speaker 2: No offense to the field hockey team at u of L.
Speaker 2: But like, you know, somebody takes a picture and there's
Speaker 2: an empty seat, like the big Blue bozos on Twitter,
Speaker 2: just the trolls just you know, make it out to
Speaker 2: where nobody goes to Louisville games and all that, and
Speaker 2: I just that's a conversation I really don't have the
Speaker 2: energy for right now. But I just I have no
Speaker 2: In fact, I don't know if I'm ever going to
Speaker 2: have the energy to have the conversation about fans that
Speaker 2: show up. And because it's just nobody wants to say it,
Speaker 2: but Louisville, especially in football and basketball, I think it's different,
Speaker 2: especially whenever things are going better. But in football, our
Speaker 2: stadium's do big.
Speaker 3: It doesn't need to be that big.
Speaker 2: It should be lots of moller. Keep that between us.
Speaker 2: Nobody wants to say it. And it's not just Louisville.
Speaker 2: There are other pro Like society evolves over time. People
Speaker 2: just don't go to those games that aren't big games
Speaker 2: like they once did. Like it's never been more convenient
Speaker 2: to watch something from home, and from a financial standpoint,
Speaker 2: like if you invest in season tickets, your investment is
Speaker 2: why you should go. You don't want to waste your money, right,
Speaker 2: But like nowadays, people that are you know, on the
Speaker 2: younger side, you know, my generation, maybe people even older.
Speaker 2: They realize I don't need to pay for season tickets.
Speaker 2: I can go to any game at want, and I
Speaker 2: don't want to go to every game because I can't
Speaker 2: give up every Saturday in the fall that we have
Speaker 2: home games. So like, it's just I mean, you could
Speaker 2: go back to what Louisville was whenever they knocked off
Speaker 2: West Virginia in that blackout game, when they had no expansion,
Speaker 2: obviously no upper deck and it wasn't closed off yet,
Speaker 2: and you know, if that was full capacity, you'd have
Speaker 2: a rowdy ass atmosphere and your stadium would look a
Speaker 2: lot more full. I know why Jurich wanted to expand
Speaker 2: it at times. But anyways, that's a conversation for you know,
Speaker 2: down the line. But I'm just I no longer care
Speaker 2: even pay much attention to empty seats that I see
Speaker 2: when I go to a game or when I watch it,
Speaker 2: and it's never really impact. Like I just don't. I
Speaker 2: can't relate to people who go to a game or
Speaker 2: even an event like Louisville Live and see empty seats
Speaker 2: and let it impact. I mean, you can't control that, right,
Speaker 2: Like you can't go. You don't have a bus with
Speaker 2: unlimited seats where you can drive around the city and
Speaker 2: pick up everybody and make sure they show up on Like,
Speaker 2: you can't control that, So why would you let it
Speaker 2: bother you about? I mean, you paid to go there,
Speaker 2: you're there, enjoy yourself right now. You don't want it
Speaker 2: to be empty. You want the atmosphere to be good.
Speaker 2: But like I'm of the belief that if if things
Speaker 2: are going well on the floor or the field, those
Speaker 2: that are there, there's always gonna be a core there,
Speaker 2: they're gonna get routy and it's it's gonna be an
Speaker 2: atmosphere that is that is a good one. But if
Speaker 2: they would have not done the upper deck and they
Speaker 2: just closed off the stadium instead, like if that was
Speaker 2: the first expansion part and they just you know, they
Speaker 2: only did one because they did two over what about
Speaker 2: a ten year window actually a little bit less than that,
Speaker 2: I think, And I think a beya just closed off
Speaker 2: the stadium and not you know, added those seats that
Speaker 2: are the very top. You know, I think you'd have
Speaker 2: you know, and again, but but not like it doesn't matter,
Speaker 2: Like I don't think U of l even is that
Speaker 2: bothered when they see it because they understand like, hey,
Speaker 2: if we've got fifty plus thousand tickets out, you know,
Speaker 2: that's comparatively speaking, they're doing pretty good compared to you know,
Speaker 2: and they're not comparing themselves to you know, Penn State
Speaker 2: or Michigan or Georgia Alabama, because like, we like Louisville's
Speaker 2: fan base. Again, this is something that like, I don't
Speaker 2: think it's a sensitive thing to say. I don't think
Speaker 2: that like it's it means anything negative. It's just the truth.
Speaker 2: Louisville's fan base is not that big. I mean, it
Speaker 2: just isn't doesn't mean it's not a great fan base
Speaker 2: that is passion I think, in fact, it's almostly a
Speaker 2: compliment because when things are you know, when you've got momentum,
Speaker 2: you know, you can see just how many passionate fans
Speaker 2: there are. But like showing up no matter who you
Speaker 2: play every single Saturday, no matter how bad you might be,
Speaker 2: like Nebraska, like that's not us and it never will be.
Speaker 2: And that's okay. But I think some people are just
Speaker 2: obsessed with like are you kidding me? You see like
Speaker 2: that they're taking attendance at games and wanting to hold
Speaker 2: people accountable as fans like get a life. Sorry back
Speaker 2: to Louisville Live. I thought the crowd was great and
Speaker 2: it was a lot of fun. I will say this though,
Speaker 2: Jeff Walls's team they put the men's team to shame
Speaker 2: with as far as the introductions and the energy and
Speaker 2: the dancing. I mean, they were into it. They were
Speaker 2: having a good time. You know, I don't know if
Speaker 2: Coach Kelsey's guys are more about you know, not Dan
Speaker 2: and I'm fine with not dancing, but like you know,
Speaker 2: they weren't willing to go out there and you know,
Speaker 2: cut up. Some of them were, but not not. You know,
Speaker 2: the girls team was, I mean they were. They were
Speaker 2: impressive with their you know, they put on a show
Speaker 2: and you know the men's team did too. But like
Speaker 2: I was expecting, you know, when you go, women's team
Speaker 2: gets introduced in the men's team like a big drop off.
Speaker 2: And you know, it wasn't just dancing. I'm trying to
Speaker 2: think of another you know, just energy. You know, those
Speaker 2: guys were appreciative of the fans. You know, they were
Speaker 2: throwing T shirts and they were into it. But man,
Speaker 2: the women's team, they were having a ball out there.
Speaker 2: All right, it's coffee and company. We are feel about
Speaker 2: Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven to ninety. Appreciate you
Speaker 2: hanging out with us. I'm gonna tell you something that
Speaker 2: you already know, and I'm probably going to be a
Speaker 2: little dramatic here, but I'm just gonna tell you how
Speaker 2: I feel. This game on Saturday against Virginia is massive.
Speaker 2: It's monumental. It's it's the biggest game of Jeff Brohm's career.
Speaker 2: I mean not really that really was an exact But
Speaker 2: to say it's a big game and that there's a
Speaker 2: lot on the line here, I think is the truth.
Speaker 2: And when you say, you know, must win game, it
Speaker 2: really isn't because like if you don't, what happens, I mean,
Speaker 2: they're not going to fire him. You still have a
Speaker 2: lot of season left. Like technically, it's not a must
Speaker 2: win game, because again, when you say must win, that
Speaker 2: indicates there's going to be some type of a huge
Speaker 2: consequence if you don't win, and I don't really think
Speaker 2: there's going to be as far as like action take.
Speaker 2: You know, it's not that. But I think there are
Speaker 2: a lot of fans that have been frustrated. They've been
Speaker 2: vocal about it, and they really just want to see
Speaker 2: this team stop making foolish mistakes and playing sloppy and
Speaker 2: just go out and get a win, especially against a
Speaker 2: team that you know you're better than, at least you
Speaker 2: should be better than. And you know, the sloppy play,
Speaker 2: the fourth down decisions, the disorganization, it's been frustrating. But
Speaker 2: as I said earlier, and this really is. I mean,
Speaker 2: I don't say this to cheer you up, because I
Speaker 2: find it more frustrating that you are three and two
Speaker 2: when you could have been five and oh if you
Speaker 2: just you know, tightened some things up, came out sharp.
Speaker 2: So that's frustrating. But again, the two teams that have
Speaker 2: beat you are teams that you know, we're good enough
Speaker 2: to take advantage of your mistakes. Notre Dame and SEU
Speaker 2: are both top twenty five teams now. But if you
Speaker 2: lose to Virginia, it's a different story. Like there's no
Speaker 2: way to maneuver out of that one. There's no way
Speaker 2: to say, well, you know, well, hey, we'll hey Virginia,
Speaker 2: you know they're good. No they're not. You know they're not.
Speaker 2: Don't lie to yourself. And right now, I mean, you
Speaker 2: just need a win. I feel like it's dramatic to
Speaker 2: say to stop the bleeding, but you're one in five
Speaker 2: in your last six games against Power four teams, and yes,
Speaker 2: not all of those situations are the exact same, but
Speaker 2: facts are facts, and I think a loss here would
Speaker 2: would would have set a level of concern, frustration, anger, sadness, whatever,
Speaker 2: you know, a lot of different ways you could describe it,
Speaker 2: but I think all those things are turned up five
Speaker 2: levels higher than what they're at right now if you
Speaker 2: don't beat Virginia on Saturday. And that doesn't mean that
Speaker 2: you know, people are going to be saying Jeff needs
Speaker 2: to go or anything like that, and I hainte even
Speaker 2: bringing that up, but I think we are, like we
Speaker 2: went through a very toxic period as a fan base
Speaker 2: where when we would criticize coaches, I think the root
Speaker 2: of our frustration was that we did, in fact want
Speaker 2: them to be fired. I mean, certainly with Kenny. I
Speaker 2: mean I didn't with Mac, but some people did. And
Speaker 2: with Sadderfield. You know, I felt like Louisville needed to
Speaker 2: go in a different direction, but I also never felt
Speaker 2: as if they were going to do that because he
Speaker 2: never gave him a fireable offense, and he wasn't bad
Speaker 2: enough to where you just can him. But it all
Speaker 2: worked out, you know, it all worked out well in
Speaker 2: the end, So like we can be critical of Brahm
Speaker 2: and and hold him accountable and understand that his job
Speaker 2: is to not have a football team that makes these
Speaker 2: kind of mistakes and he's responsible for his defensive coordinator too.
Speaker 2: I mean, like that that's how it works. So you know,
Speaker 2: I wouldn't call it healthy, but maybe that is that
Speaker 2: maybe maybe it is healthy as a fan base to
Speaker 2: know that we can be upset, be critical, and maybe
Speaker 2: lose our minds because we care so much. But it
Speaker 2: doesn't mean that like we want the guy gone. So
Speaker 2: there's my disclaimer. I'm going to stop including it because
Speaker 2: it's probably giving it life potentially, you know what I mean. John,
Speaker 2: Like you're a little younger than me, so maybe this
Speaker 2: is just like what it used to be able to
Speaker 2: be upset with your coach and it didn't mean that
Speaker 2: you think that they shouldn't be your coach. And I
Speaker 2: feel like now it's not just loisvill fans. I think
Speaker 2: it's just society. Like we got to be so yeah,
Speaker 2: we got to be so extreme with the other right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and there's so many people that are you know,
Speaker 3: the loud portions of the fan base that you see
Speaker 3: on Twitter specifically, I think that's kind of enhanced that
Speaker 3: level of people assuming that all the angry people want
Speaker 3: the coaches fired.
Speaker 2: And you know, it can be over dated, that doesn't
Speaker 2: real That does not reflect even a decent percentage of
Speaker 2: like the actual people that have opinions on these things.
Speaker 2: It's just it just doesn't And it's hard to remember
Speaker 2: that whenever it's such a constant thing, meaning social media.
Speaker 2: If you're on there, you're probably on there pretty frequently.
Speaker 2: But like I can see it now, I don't think
Speaker 2: I've put anything out there that will come back to
Speaker 2: get me. I mean, I've been critical of the team
Speaker 2: and you know whatnot. But there'll be people who and
Speaker 2: I'm trying to give you an example of it, like
Speaker 2: last year when Louisville beat Miami in basketball. You remember
Speaker 2: that that was Kenny's only road win here, and that
Speaker 2: was that was before we knew Miami had really you know,
Speaker 2: they were gonna be that bad. But like that night,
Speaker 2: there were there were people like pulling tweets and whatnot
Speaker 2: and trying to dunk it dunk on people and rub
Speaker 2: it in their face that like, hah, well, you got
Speaker 2: to say about Kenny now, And I'm like what so
Speaker 2: like if Louisville gets it rolling and they went out
Speaker 2: unrealistic and I don't even I'm not even processing that
Speaker 2: as a possibility in any way until I see him
Speaker 2: win a game. But like if they do finish strong,
Speaker 2: there'll be people huh, well, y'all got to say about
Speaker 2: Jeff's sports down call now, I'm like, I'm saying the
Speaker 2: same thing it was. It was. It was a poor
Speaker 2: decision at Notre d Aim to go on the outside
Speaker 2: twice with with Donald Cheney. I mean like you know,
Speaker 2: like what do you mean, what do I what do
Speaker 2: you mean? What do I have to say now? Like
Speaker 2: that doesn't change anything because you know, we call it
Speaker 2: like it is. When there's criticism, that's that's you know,
Speaker 2: that's that's warranted. Then fans are going to criticize. Whenever
Speaker 2: things go well, people are going to celebrate. It doesn't
Speaker 2: mean like people who were critical initially were wrong that
Speaker 2: in fact, that actually is what's changed. That's the biggest
Speaker 2: difference I feel like in you know, the last five
Speaker 2: six years or so as to what it used to
Speaker 2: be like when you would just you know, bitch as
Speaker 2: a fan, I mean, just complain about things like, you know,
Speaker 2: not to be so blunt, but just because you know,
Speaker 2: you know, it's it's the fan on fan Crime. It's like,
Speaker 2: just because you know you were upset and you were
Speaker 2: you know, negative and pessimistic because the results were bad,
Speaker 2: doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to enjoy it whenever
Speaker 2: the results are, you know, the other way around. All right,
Speaker 2: it's coffee and company. Feel about Thornton's here on Sports
Speaker 2: Talk seven ninety. Appreciate you hanging out with us. Uh
Speaker 2: so a big day here. When it comes to the
Speaker 2: n C Double A, the house bill has been officially settled.
Speaker 2: I guess, and I'm probably not using the right terminology here,
Speaker 2: but the NC double A house versus n C Double
Speaker 2: A settlement has discussed across various platforms and reports. Let's
Speaker 2: see this. I'm reading here directly from this feature on
Speaker 2: Twitter called Grock. Have you heard of it? It's like
Speaker 2: a it's Twitter's AI. Yeah, here's what it tells me
Speaker 2: because it on on the on the desktop version of
Speaker 2: Twitter to the it's got this like grock tab and
Speaker 2: you can click on like the big stories and groc
Speaker 2: will give you an AI breakdown of what this means.
Speaker 2: So the settlement was approved. A federal judge, Claudia Wilkin,
Speaker 2: has granted a preliminary approval to the House VERSUONSAA settlement.
Speaker 2: The settlement aims to establish a framework where colleges can
Speaker 2: directly pay their athletes. The final approval hearing for this
Speaker 2: settlement was scheduled for is scheduled for April seventh, coinciding
Speaker 2: with the morning of the men's basketball championship game. So
Speaker 2: the settlement includes a provision to pay two point eight
Speaker 2: billion dollars in back pay to former athletes for their
Speaker 2: past use of their name, image, and likeness. Moving forward,
Speaker 2: there's a plan for revenue sharing where over twenty billion
Speaker 2: would be distributed to future athletes. Each school within the
Speaker 2: Power five conferences can distribute up to around twenty one
Speaker 2: million annually to athletes for nil starting as soon as
Speaker 2: next season if finally approved. Thought it was approved, So
Speaker 2: this is really what's been discussed for the last I
Speaker 2: don't know six to eight weeks that this was what
Speaker 2: was going to happen. That moving forward, there would be
Speaker 2: a you know, it's not even really a rule. It's
Speaker 2: just they're allowing you to pay up to twenty one
Speaker 2: million roughly annually to your student athletes. And as we've discussed,
Speaker 2: they're not making you do it. But if you don't
Speaker 2: do it, how can you say that you're trying to compete,
Speaker 2: Like if you if you don't do it, like if
Speaker 2: you just say, oh, we don't have to pay them,
Speaker 2: we're not going to, then we'll just continue with what
Speaker 2: we're doing and see if we can get some you know,
Speaker 2: nil money in At that point, athletics would just be
Speaker 2: an expense for you that you that you wouldn't mean like,
Speaker 2: it would just be an expense like you wouldn't be good.
Speaker 2: So it's another reminder that like, even though this is
Speaker 2: a big step, it's a massive day by the way
Speaker 2: for college athletics. With that said, like it's still backwards,
Speaker 2: like calling it in IL, it's not in IL. It's
Speaker 2: paying for players. Ninety nine point nine percent of college
Speaker 2: athletes who make money because they play college sports. They're
Speaker 2: not getting the money because of their brand, right, It's
Speaker 2: not because of a tweet they sent out or a
Speaker 2: commercial they did. It's paying to get somebody to come
Speaker 2: play for your team, that's what it is, and saying
Speaker 2: that schools they can pay up to twenty one million
Speaker 2: dollars a year, like you know, I guess technically they're
Speaker 2: not making them do it, but like everybody knows that, like,
Speaker 2: you have to do that if you want to, if
Speaker 2: you want to at least have a chance to be
Speaker 2: competitive in the grand scheme of things when it comes
Speaker 2: to college athletics, and it's all it all goes falls
Speaker 2: back on the n S DOUAA because this is how
Speaker 2: it had to play out, because if they refuse to
Speaker 2: adapt and acknowledge that, like their amateurism model was archaic,
Speaker 2: and you know, they were so stubborn and just wouldn't budge.
Speaker 2: And then finally Congress got involved here and has said, no,
Speaker 2: you can't, like you're not allowed to say that these
Speaker 2: ud and athletes can't make money based off who they are.
Speaker 2: So never having a plan in place and never even
Speaker 2: trying to put a plan in place led it to
Speaker 2: this mess that we have here where it's still not
Speaker 2: you know, I mean, it's still far from you know, uncomplicated,
Speaker 2: at least you know from from you know, from what
Speaker 2: I can tell all right, quick break, we'll come back here.
Speaker 2: On the other side, Rick Patino is gonna be in
Speaker 2: Lexington this weekend for the Kentucky Vandy game. I get
Speaker 2: the sense that Kentucky fans don't really know how to
Speaker 2: feel about it, or they don't really care, or I
Speaker 2: don't know, maybe they're excited. I think a lot of
Speaker 2: Louisville fans are are disappointed in Rick, and like, I
Speaker 2: get it, but I have an unpopular opinion on the
Speaker 2: whole thing that I'll share with you. Guys on the
Speaker 2: other side, don't go anywhere it's coffee and Company or
Speaker 2: feel about Thorntons right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 2: I've not been able to read the entire article from
Speaker 2: Ross Ellinger of Yahoo Sports, but it's I mean, this
Speaker 2: has got to be because the SEC and the Big
Speaker 2: Ten are putting fear into everybody else because they're going
Speaker 2: to meet. They're going to you know, just flex their
Speaker 2: muscles and who knows what they're going to talk about.
Speaker 2: But they want everybody to know that, like, hey, we
Speaker 2: know we're better than all of you collectively as a
Speaker 2: duo here, we know we're superior. And look, we all
Speaker 2: know that they are as far as their value and
Speaker 2: you know, their reach and their TV contracts and all that,
Speaker 2: And I don't really know why they would benefit from
Speaker 2: moving on and doing their own thing those two together,
Speaker 2: other than maybe they could get more money, and clearly
Speaker 2: money matters in a major way, So I guess that's
Speaker 2: what it's all about. But apparently a group of investors
Speaker 2: and ex Disney executives have met with eights at thirty
Speaker 2: different power schools with a pitch, and the pitch is
Speaker 2: a none billion dollar infusion as part of a seventy
Speaker 2: school football league. And I guess, I mean, what I
Speaker 2: can't figure out is this seventy team that don't include
Speaker 2: the SEC and the Big ten. I mean, are we
Speaker 2: really that close as far as you know it being
Speaker 2: completely separated where it's Big ten SEC and then everybody else.
Speaker 2: I mean we know now that like there is a gap,
Speaker 2: like as we speak, there's a gap. But if you
Speaker 2: made it to where they are like truly different, like
Speaker 2: they're under a different umbrella, I mean that would be
Speaker 2: I mean that would I mean that'd be the first
Speaker 2: ever like legitimate split within high level college athletics, and
Speaker 2: it would all be about money. Right. I mean if
Speaker 2: you are I don't know Indiana or even Kentucky for
Speaker 2: that matter, and you only played teams from those leagues,
Speaker 2: not to say you would lose a bunch, but like
Speaker 2: it would. I mean, those are schools that need not
Speaker 2: just to play G five teams or FCS teams, but
Speaker 2: like you know, I think what you'd see there would
Speaker 2: be a drastic, a drastic falloff. I think between like
Speaker 2: there'd be the top of each of those leagues, a
Speaker 2: small group that's kind of mid and then you'd be
Speaker 2: I mean, there'd be a lot of bottom feeders. And
Speaker 2: you know, if you're making a whole lot of money,
Speaker 2: then I guess your school is feeling good, but like,
Speaker 2: good luck competing, Like what's the ceiling for those teams
Speaker 2: that aren't the elite of the elite. And by the way,
Speaker 2: the majority of each of those leagues, it's not the
Speaker 2: elite of the elite, but the big dogs just get
Speaker 2: more powerful. And I think now with the playoff and
Speaker 2: how it's set up as far as who gets in, heck,
Speaker 2: you could know that you're not a top three team
Speaker 2: in your league potentially, but if you have a really
Speaker 2: good year, you could find you could find a way
Speaker 2: in and that still has value, I think, But I
Speaker 2: don't know. I mean, I haven't seen any I mean,
Speaker 2: there's been some bullet points put out there by those
Speaker 2: that cover college football Pat forty, Ross Dellings or Bred
Speaker 2: McMurphy as far as what the Big Ten and the
Speaker 2: SEC are going to discuss. But I get the sense
Speaker 2: that this is more than anything, just like it's a
Speaker 2: flex and it really isn't necessary because everybody knows that
Speaker 2: you have you know, everybody knows you can be the
Speaker 2: bullies if you want to be the bullies, and you
Speaker 2: already have kind of been the bullies wanting to just
Speaker 2: get automatically four spots for each league in the twelve
Speaker 2: team playoff, Like it's kind of a bully move, right,
Speaker 2: because here's what it comes down to. If you fight
Speaker 2: against that, now they can say, well, okay, then we don't.
Speaker 2: We'll go do ourn thing because we don't need you.
Speaker 2: We can have our own league essentially, where it's the
Speaker 2: two power leagues joining together to basically make the NFL light.
Speaker 2: And any deal that doesn't include the SEC and the
Speaker 2: Big Ten would clearly not be as lucrative as one
Speaker 2: that did. So there wouldn't be as much money to
Speaker 2: go around for everybody. So I don't know, Man, this
Speaker 2: musical chairs when it comes to realignment, you know, playoff, expansion,
Speaker 2: all this stuff, I mean, we're not I mean, when
Speaker 2: did it really start rolling to where everything changed in
Speaker 2: college athletics? Because I kind of feel like I just
Speaker 2: blinked and it was an entirely different world, Like, I know,
Speaker 2: the same summer when we found out that the transfer
Speaker 2: portal was going to be a thing and you could
Speaker 2: make money through nil And now I kind of don't
Speaker 2: remember what college sports was like before all this, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Like, the one thing I keep asking myself is when
Speaker 3: will the Big ten in the SEC be satisfied? Because
Speaker 3: at this point, the current state that it's at right now,
Speaker 3: you already have all of the power and maybe your
Speaker 3: ultimate goal is to be you know, too big, you know,
Speaker 3: really just one big league with two conferences? Would that
Speaker 3: be it? Or would the SEC try to consume the
Speaker 3: Big ten eventually and just be one thing or point?
Speaker 1: So?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, are they are they rivals?
Speaker 3: I feel like they kind of treat each other like that.
Speaker 2: I mean they I mean, it's they are direct competitors,
Speaker 2: to be honest with you, I mean, really the North
Speaker 2: and the South honest. Yeah, I mean, so I don't know,
Speaker 2: like it certainly seems like the SEC. And mostly when
Speaker 2: I say the SEC, I mean Greg Sankey, it seems
Speaker 2: like he's the one who is really you know, like this.
Speaker 2: He likes this power. He likes reminding people very subtly
Speaker 2: that the SEC is the top dog and really will
Speaker 2: call the shots and it's going to be their way
Speaker 2: and if you don't like it, then you know, better
Speaker 2: be careful because we could just leave and do our
Speaker 2: own thing and you'd be worse off without us. Like,
Speaker 2: but I don't really understand the Big Ten side of it,
Speaker 2: you know, because to be fair, the Big Ten they
Speaker 2: have I mean, just as lucrative of a TV deal,
Speaker 2: don't they, you know with Fox? Yeah, I mean, and
Speaker 2: they've got a lot of value.
Speaker 3: But they feel like they need to flex their muscle
Speaker 3: back because if not, maybe they're worried the big guns
Speaker 3: like Michigan and Ohio State will eventually maybe be poached
Speaker 3: by the SEC if they're not satisfied with the way
Speaker 3: the Big Ten fights for them.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And by the way, that's a really good point
Speaker 2: because you know, I'm sitting here thinking the SEC really
Speaker 2: doesn't need to exp but like if they wanted to,
Speaker 2: I mean, they probably could still. I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I guess it'll depend on what happens in the next
Speaker 2: couple of years. But if you are in, if you're
Speaker 2: if you're Michigan, if you're Ohio State, if you're Penn State,
Speaker 2: if you're I mean, who else do you'd even throw.
Speaker 3: In the New West Coast? Yeah, like USC and Washington.
Speaker 2: If you went to the SEC, it would have to
Speaker 2: be because of a scenario where they got a new
Speaker 2: deal and it's worth way more than what the Big
Speaker 2: ten is getting currently and what the Big ten is
Speaker 2: expected to get on their next reup, because you already
Speaker 2: I mean, it would have to be just a money
Speaker 2: move because you don't need the Like if you're really
Speaker 2: good in the Big Ten, you can win a national championship, like,
Speaker 2: you're not at any disadvantage at all at all. I mean, again,
Speaker 2: the I think the SEC has clearly proven with accomplishments
Speaker 2: and championships that they're the superior league, but they don't
Speaker 2: have any they don't have they don't have any advantage
Speaker 2: over the Big Ten, you know what I mean, Like
Speaker 2: they the Big Ten has a stupid TV deal as well,
Speaker 2: and they've got you know, I mean, they've got resources.
Speaker 2: You're you're not going to be held back because of
Speaker 2: your conference in the Big Ten at any point, you're
Speaker 2: going to get the benefit of doubt. So I don't
Speaker 2: know why you would want to join, because, to be
Speaker 2: honest with you'd be tougher for you. So it would
Speaker 2: have to just be okay, Well, it's an opportunity we
Speaker 2: couldn't we couldn't walk away from because it's just so
Speaker 2: much money. And I think we've learned and we've I
Speaker 2: mean maybe we didn't, maybe we didn't learn it recently,
Speaker 2: maybe we've known it for a long time, but there
Speaker 2: have been some reminders along the way that really, at
Speaker 2: the end of the day, all this is about money.
Speaker 3: I just worry that it's eventually going to crumble in
Speaker 3: on itself. Maybe it won't, but again, what's the what's
Speaker 3: the end game? The end game, the the end result
Speaker 3: of all of this.
Speaker 2: They're calling it Project Rudy.
Speaker 3: Did you see that it's so stupid? Well, I mean,
Speaker 3: how much means Notre Dames involved though?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean if it's not. I just to me,
Speaker 2: you're you're you're acknowledging that like we're the little brother
Speaker 2: like right, I mean like calling it Project Rudy. Like
Speaker 2: to me, is is some some lack of self awareness
Speaker 2: or maybe you have self awareness and you're leaning into it.
Speaker 2: I don't know, but yeah, And I'm gonna try to
Speaker 2: my best to read through the write up here from
Speaker 2: Ross Ellinger because you know, it sounds like it could
Speaker 2: bring back, you know, where regions matter. You would no
Speaker 2: longer have any FCS games, which I'm all for. You
Speaker 2: could have a lot of you know, kind of one off, Wow,
Speaker 2: we randomly play Oklahoma State at home this year, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean? Like that could be interesting. But yeah,
Speaker 2: Project Rudy, I don't know about that.
Speaker 3: I'll say this, if it ended up being to where
Speaker 3: the two big conferences were just trying to be their
Speaker 3: own thing, I don't know if this would happen, but
Speaker 3: I would love for Indiana to drop down and play
Speaker 3: in a league, the lower league that would be more
Speaker 3: competitive for them. Maybe that's a.
Speaker 2: Well I appreciate you saying that because I think most
Speaker 2: people are too insecure to say something like that as
Speaker 2: a fan.
Speaker 3: You know what I mean, because I mean, yeah, Indiana
Speaker 3: is having a great year this year, and we don't
Speaker 3: know how it's going to end up being, but there's
Speaker 3: no way that it's.
Speaker 2: Something yeah, exactly, And I think there'd be a big
Speaker 2: because right now, you can takes. You can take advantage
Speaker 2: of the league you're in and use it against schools
Speaker 2: in the ACC or the Big twelve, right because yeah,
Speaker 2: you're you know, you're not a top three four team
Speaker 2: in your league, but you know what you are in
Speaker 2: a superior league. Therefore, you know you can flex those
Speaker 2: muscles a little bit if you're only competing against your
Speaker 2: league itself. I think that gap between the big dogs
Speaker 2: and the have nots gets bigger. Does that make sense?
Speaker 3: Because then the have nots in the big league will
Speaker 3: eventually realize, well, this isn't fun. We're just getting our
Speaker 3: ass feat every week.
Speaker 2: And you know, if you're recruiting at Indiana or you know,
Speaker 2: maybe Kentucky or Northwestern or Vandy, you know, from a
Speaker 2: money standpoint, like if you're paying players way more than
Speaker 2: it's different. But you know, let's be real, there's other
Speaker 2: schools that aren't in the Big that aren't in the
Speaker 2: SEC or the Big Ten, they could still find a
Speaker 2: way to use in il and you know Oklahoma State
Speaker 2: with Tibun pickens, they got more money than if they
Speaker 2: need it, they can more money than anybody. So you know,
Speaker 2: if you're a college player rather a transfer or a recruit,
Speaker 2: you know, would you want to go to a place
Speaker 2: that you know, no matter what your best case scenarios,
Speaker 2: win in four games or something. Because even if you
Speaker 2: you know, you might be an eight non win type
Speaker 2: team if you're in the you know, Project Rudy world,
Speaker 2: but in the Big Dogs, your ceiling is just not
Speaker 2: that high. So we'll see. I mean, I've really nothing's
Speaker 2: off the table right now when it comes to all
Speaker 2: this shake up with college athletics. Man, it's it's crazy,
Speaker 2: all right. You're crazy if you don't trust my friends
Speaker 2: over at the Jefferson Animal Hospital when it comes to
Speaker 2: taking care of your pets, they've been around since nineteen
Speaker 2: eighty that's forty four years, folks. They're open every day,
Speaker 2: day and night, even on holidays, that's right, even on Christmas.
Speaker 2: They're going to have a doctor on staff that is
Speaker 2: there in case of an emergency because they care about
Speaker 2: your pets. I mean, you care about your pets too,
Speaker 2: but you'll see how much they care and they do
Speaker 2: great work. And this is one of the really, really
Speaker 2: awesome partnerships that I've been a part of, to where
Speaker 2: the more I talk about it, the more I hear
Speaker 2: from people who have an experience with JEFFERSONNIM Hospital. And
Speaker 2: some of those experiences are, you know, because of something
Speaker 2: tragic happening, but the experience given the circumstance is actually
Speaker 2: great because they were appreciative of everybody at the Jefferson
Speaker 2: Animal Hospital for helping them when something bad happened with
Speaker 2: their pet or whenever it was, you know, it was
Speaker 2: that time. So they're great. They do it. They do
Speaker 2: an awesome job, and we certainly appreciate them partnering with us.
Speaker 2: Give them a call if ivo to nine hundred pets.
Speaker 2: You can visit them online at Jefferson Vets dot com.
Speaker 2: And don't forget coming up here before too long. October nineteenth,
Speaker 2: that's not that far away. They'll have their their big event,
Speaker 2: Pints for paws and people going to be from ten
Speaker 2: am to two pm at their location. You can give
Speaker 2: blood yourself to the American Red Cross. Your pets of
Speaker 2: course can potentially qualify to donate blood and be pet
Speaker 2: blood donors. And if you're unfamiliar with that, they've got
Speaker 2: demonstrations they can show you as far as how it
Speaker 2: works to kind of put you at ease. That way
Speaker 2: you know sort of how the problem sets works. But
Speaker 2: every time your pet donates blood, they could potentially save
Speaker 2: four to six lives, so obviously for a really good cause.
Speaker 2: And if you want more information on the event, go
Speaker 2: to pet bloodbank dot com. All right, we didn't get
Speaker 2: to it there. I'll save it for for a little
Speaker 2: later on the Rick Patino stuff, because you know, there's
Speaker 2: some good, some good feedback that I'm getting from the
Speaker 2: from the text line as far as a side that
Speaker 2: I hadn't really considered because I like, I I mean
Speaker 2: that when I say it, and I don't. I'm not
Speaker 2: trying to sound like you know, I'm more so in
Speaker 2: control of my emotions than you. I mean, I had
Speaker 2: a nervous breakdown when the show started today because of
Speaker 2: my vehicle. So like it's not that, but like I
Speaker 2: don't care what Rick Patino does at all, Like doesn't
Speaker 2: impact me at all. He could he could get his
Speaker 2: U of L tattoo removed from his body that he has,
Speaker 2: and get a picture of him and Mark Pope smooching.
Speaker 2: Throw Mark Stoops in there too, because their buddies, Mark Stoops,
Speaker 2: Eddie gran Mark Pope, Rick Patino just all you know,
Speaker 2: making out.
Speaker 3: What if he ran out of the tunnel with them this.
Speaker 2: Week, that'd be I mean, that'd be hilarious. I'm being
Speaker 2: honest with you, but again that I don't have any
Speaker 2: emotional connection to Rick anymore. And I don't mean, like
Speaker 2: you know, I was in love with him. I mean,
Speaker 2: whatdn't like that? Not my type. He kind of looks
Speaker 2: like a corpse. But you know, he was our guy
Speaker 2: and we had some good times and we defended him
Speaker 2: whenever he was, you know, having sex on tables and
Speaker 2: restaurants in Louisville, and the Robble was never letting us
Speaker 2: hear the end of it.
Speaker 3: We had his back.
Speaker 2: And now he's going to party with them. He's gonna
Speaker 2: be tail game with him, playing cornhole with those big
Speaker 2: blue bozos. Like I get it. It makes you feel
Speaker 2: some way, but don't let it get to you. Life
Speaker 2: goes on. But he feel about Thortons right here on
Speaker 2: Sports Talk seven ninety all right, let's go to the
Speaker 2: text line. Five two six five three zero seven ninety
Speaker 2: is the L and N Federal Credit Union text line.
Speaker 2: If you guys would like to h to contribute to
Speaker 2: the show in any way, Questions, complaints, compliments, insults, whatever
Speaker 2: you've got, feel free to send him in. This one
Speaker 2: came in just a moment ago. It says, Nick, maybe
Speaker 2: you should have a middle breakdown every day to start
Speaker 2: the show. I'm thinking it's one of your better shows lately,
Speaker 2: thank you. Maybe that is the plan that really opens
Speaker 2: it up, right.
Speaker 3: I think a lot of people just love honesty, and
Speaker 3: when people choose to be honest over the year, maybe
Speaker 3: that just you know, hits a certain note with them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'm glad you said that because that gives
Speaker 2: me a chance to bring up something. And for those
Speaker 2: John doesn't have access to the text line, so this
Speaker 2: is not you know, he hadn't thrown me a lob here,
Speaker 2: but he kind of is without knowing it. A couple
Speaker 2: of people have kind of said that, like that's why
Speaker 2: they like the show is because they kind of feel
Speaker 2: like they know me because I'm not afraid to you know,
Speaker 2: make my you know, self deprecation works like I make
Speaker 2: fun of myself. I at times feel like I'm living
Speaker 2: an episode of Seinfeld. And it's not because I think,
Speaker 2: like I'm just you know, this gut busting, entertaining laughter,
Speaker 2: you know, producing kind of person. But you know, I've
Speaker 2: had many things that have happened in life that I've
Speaker 2: brought to the show that have probably you know, given
Speaker 2: you a laugh at my expense. But that's okay, that's
Speaker 2: part of it. But yeah, I mean there's not a
Speaker 2: whole lot that is off the table for me when
Speaker 2: it comes to my life. And you know, I know
Speaker 2: some people you should talk about sports and not not
Speaker 2: make it about you. Well, no, how about I don't.
Speaker 3: My first experience with that on my new show a
Speaker 3: few weeks ago, it's felt like that I was talking about.
Speaker 3: And it'll seasons changing in fall and then time.
Speaker 2: It will always happen. It will always happen. And with
Speaker 2: your show, you know, it's really important in my opinion,
Speaker 2: not to you know, give you advice, but like, I
Speaker 2: think it's really important for that type of show to have,
Speaker 2: you know, more of a personal connection with listeners and
Speaker 2: talk about you know, like you know, don't be afraid
Speaker 2: to briefly veer off into something that is not about
Speaker 2: who's your football or who's your basketball, because that is
Speaker 2: what're gonna that's what's gonna give you a chance to
Speaker 2: to kind of stand out and make an impression, because
Speaker 2: you know, the Internet makes it to where if you
Speaker 2: are listening to somebody, rather it be their podcast, their
Speaker 2: live YouTube, their radio show, this day and age, you
Speaker 2: know why you're listening to them because you like listening
Speaker 2: to them, because you got endless options and you could have,
Speaker 2: you know, the most informative person ever hosting a show.
Speaker 2: Most people don't rely on them talking on a show
Speaker 2: to get their info anymore. Now, if you want to
Speaker 2: share an interesting point, you know, have a hot take,
Speaker 2: go against the grain, surprise people. I mean, that's what
Speaker 2: you're supposed to do, right, Like, if people knew every
Speaker 2: day what you were going to say for three hours,
Speaker 2: they wouldn't listen. But you know, you got to be
Speaker 2: able to have some kind of a connection that's not
Speaker 2: just about Hey, he talks for an hour about the team,
Speaker 2: I like, I mean, maybe that's enough for some people,
Speaker 2: but that won't last. So you know, at times I
Speaker 2: feel like I do it a little too much, and
Speaker 2: maybe I do. But it is nice to know that
Speaker 2: some people. I mean, this sounds weird, but it's true.
Speaker 2: And I know the guys on KSR say this a lot,
Speaker 2: but it's huge in what we do. If you have
Speaker 2: people who don't really love sports that much but they
Speaker 2: still listen, like that's probably the biggest compliment you can get,
Speaker 2: because you know, the people who love this stuff that
Speaker 2: like you know, are angry about seventy percent full Cardinal
Speaker 2: Stadium at a football game, that want to, you know,
Speaker 2: give Rick Patina a piece of their mind because he's
Speaker 2: going to a Kentucky football game. Like those are people.
Speaker 2: We're good. We're gonna get those guys, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, like no offense. Like maybe they don't. Maybe
Speaker 2: maybe there's some of them that hate this show and
Speaker 2: they listen to another show. If that's the case, and
Speaker 2: that's that's a that's a them problem. But like you know,
Speaker 2: the people who really just enjoy the banter and whatnot,
Speaker 2: and you know, the entertainment they get from it, the laughs,
Speaker 2: the stupidity, the nonsense like that, that's if you're getting
Speaker 2: you know, listeners of all different walks of life. That's
Speaker 2: I mean, that's that's a good thing. All right, So
Speaker 2: let's see here. I this okay, we got enough time.
Speaker 2: I thought it was like fifty eight. So this person
Speaker 2: wrote an earlier asking one question. They actually they got
Speaker 2: two questions. One question in a common essentially that I
Speaker 2: want to that I want to share really quickly here
Speaker 2: because I think it's a good point. One was just
Speaker 2: why is that anybody would give Donald Cheney more carries
Speaker 2: than Isaac Brown given the results? And I know people
Speaker 2: are sharing that screenshot where they each got ten carries
Speaker 2: on Saturday and one was way more productive than the other.
Speaker 2: Obviously it's Isaac Brown. And you know, Jeff has said
Speaker 2: it pretty directly that they understand he needs to get
Speaker 2: more carries, and he may have actually said it directly.
Speaker 2: You know, I don't get a chance to listen to
Speaker 2: what he says on the radio after the games because
Speaker 2: we're live on the air. And I'm sorry Jeff that
Speaker 2: you've got to compete with us, but you know that's
Speaker 2: how it is. I'm kidding, although you know as much
Speaker 2: as hearing Jeff after the game is what we want
Speaker 2: to do. You know, if you listen to Learfield, you'll
Speaker 2: get ninety percent of just ads and then they'll come
Speaker 2: back for fifteen seconds and then go to another break.
Speaker 2: But anyways, he might have said it directly, but like
Speaker 2: I think when it comes to Jeff saying, hey, the
Speaker 2: coach has got to do a better job, it's on
Speaker 2: us Isaac Brown having less carries than Donald Cheney, I
Speaker 2: think Jeff would add that to the list of things
Speaker 2: that he agrees is you know, something they got to
Speaker 2: fix and it's it's been proven. And I don't I
Speaker 2: don't mean you get rid of Donald Cheney altogether, but
Speaker 2: like I just don't think you've got an offensive line
Speaker 2: that is built or I guess maybe not built, but
Speaker 2: they're just not good enough to where Donald Cheney's gonna
Speaker 2: be like a big part of your run game because
Speaker 2: he's a guy that you know will use his size
Speaker 2: and just kind of get behind the line, maybe see
Speaker 2: a maybe see a hole and turn what could potentially
Speaker 2: be a two yard gain into four or five. But
Speaker 2: the line doesn't have that kind of push and he's
Speaker 2: not a guy that's just gonna use burst or you know,
Speaker 2: ability to just create something. I think Kewan Brown and
Speaker 2: Isaac Brown both are guys that like your best chance
Speaker 2: of getting the run to break through for a big
Speaker 2: gain would be those two guys more so than Cheney.
Speaker 2: So I don't I don't think you you know, I
Speaker 2: don't know. I was gonna say, I don't think you
Speaker 2: bench Donald Cheney. Maybe you get him out there for
Speaker 2: a short yarded situation, but man, if he's out there
Speaker 2: in the short yarded situation, our fans are gonna lose
Speaker 2: their mind because that's what's been done many times, at
Speaker 2: least the attempts, and it's just not worked. And Jeff
Speaker 2: directly said after the game Saturday, they now know they
Speaker 2: cannot just line up on fourth down and go get
Speaker 2: a yard, and you know, you learn the hard way now.
Speaker 2: The other comment that they had was about officiating and
Speaker 2: all the questionable calls. I'm not gonna tell anybody that
Speaker 2: they are incorrect and what they say about calls that
Speaker 2: went u of L's way and I have, you know,
Speaker 2: and those are actually big talking points when it comes
Speaker 2: to what has happened in the last two weeks. There
Speaker 2: were a variety of questionable calls in the Notre Dame game,
Speaker 2: but really the turnover that was then called not a turnover,
Speaker 2: that fumble that was huge and I don't I think
Speaker 2: if you call that a fumble on the ground, I
Speaker 2: go watch it, don't. I don't think it was clear
Speaker 2: that he was, that he was already down. I mean,
Speaker 2: you might be able to see that the shin was,
Speaker 2: but like I think it to me, and again, I'm
Speaker 2: clearly looking at it, maybe with a little bit of
Speaker 2: a red tinted view, because they would have been a
Speaker 2: huge play for Louisville. But I feel like that's one
Speaker 2: of those things that if you go to the rape replay,
Speaker 2: don't you don't get enough evidence visually to say that
Speaker 2: you got it wrong, so you stick with what it is,
Speaker 2: So you're right. I just for me. And again, as
Speaker 2: far as somebody who you know does a talk show
Speaker 2: about Louisville football, I probably should have mentioned the officiating
Speaker 2: more than I have. I just I know that if
Speaker 2: you tighten some things up even a little bit, then
Speaker 2: you don't then you don't have to worry about those calls.
Speaker 2: So it's not to say that, like I disagree with
Speaker 2: people who claim that officiating has been poor and it
Speaker 2: hasn't been in Louisville's favor in the last few weeks.
Speaker 2: I mean I'm with you. I mean, in fact, I'm
Speaker 2: still mad that they gave Brent Key that time out
Speaker 2: against Georgia Tech. I mean that pissed me off like crazy. So, yeah,
Speaker 2: you have had three straight games where you know you
Speaker 2: had big play, you know, you know, bad calls that
Speaker 2: did not go your way. And look, that's part of it.
Speaker 2: But you know why nobody's talking about the Brent Key
Speaker 2: timeout that could have potentially gave them a touchdown and
Speaker 2: change the game. Because Louisvevil won. They made place to
Speaker 2: where you're not thinking about that. You lose close games
Speaker 2: where you don't make big plays, then you remind it
Speaker 2: of a call that made a big impact. It's not
Speaker 2: to defend the officials. It's just you know, you're going
Speaker 2: to always, every single time out have a call that
Speaker 2: you feel like was wrong, and you're going to think
Speaker 2: it hopefull You're going to hope it doesn't come back
Speaker 2: to bite you, and you hope it doesn't end up
Speaker 2: being a big factor in the game. Well, then don't
Speaker 2: let it. Play clean football, don't make mistakes that are avoidable,
Speaker 2: and you probably don't end up thinking about the officiating
Speaker 2: all that much. All right, quick break our number five,
Speaker 2: Actually no, it's our number three, but it's the five
Speaker 2: o'clock hour, it's next, so don't go anywhere. It's Coffee
Speaker 2: and Company. Felbuth Thorton's right here on Sports Talk seven
Speaker 2: ninety