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Speaker 2: three eight ninety seventy three. All right, So, uh, this
Speaker 2: is uh, this is something that just kind of distracted
Speaker 2: me a little bit during the break because I just
Speaker 2: assume by now, in twenty twenty five, everybody who you know,
Speaker 2: college football stadiums across the country, like everybody can can
Speaker 2: buy beer. Like, how are you not selling booze in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five, I guess Kentucky? Are they? What three
Speaker 2: seasons are so into it? Maybe it's actually less than that,
Speaker 2: I'm not sure, but like we can't relate like I saw.
Speaker 2: And the reason I'm bringing this up is because Notre
Speaker 2: Dame will be selling beer for the first time this
Speaker 2: fall at basketball, football, and hockey games. And you know,
Speaker 2: they they're they're different, right, Like they are really in
Speaker 2: their own on their own, in their own planet when
Speaker 2: you think about it. And that doesn't mean like they're
Speaker 2: so much better than everybody else, but like they're the
Speaker 2: only legitimate program that has they're a national team, like
Speaker 2: they are, they're a national team. They have an NBC
Speaker 2: deal that is lucrative. They don't need television revenue from
Speaker 2: a conference grant of rights because they're a national brand
Speaker 2: and NBC pays them big bucks. So you know, they
Speaker 2: could do their own thing and not really conformed up.
Speaker 2: So maybe it's not a big shot that they're one
Speaker 2: of the last ones, seemingly to uh to allow fans
Speaker 2: to enjoy beer at games. But then again, like I'm
Speaker 2: Catholic myself. Catholics love to get hammered on some beer
Speaker 2: and just put them away. You've ever been at church picnic,
Speaker 2: I mean, come on now, So I'm like part of
Speaker 2: me says Notre Dame would have been doing it before anybody,
Speaker 2: because you know the Catholic stuff. And I don't mean
Speaker 2: you have to be a you know, big drinker to
Speaker 2: be a Catholic. I love the Catholic I mean, I know,
Speaker 2: you know, I just as I got older and learned
Speaker 2: like different religions, I.
Speaker 3: Was, I was.
Speaker 2: I'm born and raised Catholics, So it's all I knew
Speaker 2: when I thought of church, and then I went to
Speaker 2: church with some friends and then realized, of course there
Speaker 2: are different religions. I mean, I even at a young age,
Speaker 2: I thought, you know, I think a lot of these
Speaker 2: other places they would be probably pretty pretty ant high drinking.
Speaker 2: But man, I've never seen more beer being drank than
Speaker 2: when I go to my Saint Rita picnic as a kid,
Speaker 2: like you just you pick up on those things. But
Speaker 2: a little cake walk, but another thing for little like
Speaker 2: we've been doing it. I mean, this is child's play.
Speaker 2: I mean we've been getting We've been getting hammered at
Speaker 2: games at old Cardinals Stadium, at Freedom Hall, you know,
Speaker 2: before anybody else, I mean, before it was cool, we
Speaker 2: were you know, I shouldn't say we're all getting hammered,
Speaker 2: but you all know what I mean. The best atmospheres
Speaker 2: ever for Louisville Athletics that I know of are for football.
Speaker 2: It's whenever it's it's a little bit late at night
Speaker 2: and there's a lot of people there, and the drinks
Speaker 2: have been flowing. You know, there's a reason why atmospheres.
Speaker 2: It's not just because of you know, nighttime and daylight difference.
Speaker 2: If you got to kick off at seven thirty and
Speaker 2: a kick off at noon, by the time we get
Speaker 2: to kick off at seven thirty, a lot of alcoholic
Speaker 2: beverages have been thrown down the neck among many in
Speaker 2: the in the green lot purple lot.
Speaker 3: Beer at the spring game. Were they selling alcohol then?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think I mean, I mean, well, they
Speaker 2: sold beer at like Chris Max's introductory press conference, at
Speaker 2: the at the you know, at Freedom or at the
Speaker 2: Center in like the ballroom area, like much like that.
Speaker 2: That's just what we do, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: And we've never been ashamed of it, and I love it.
Speaker 2: But it was like it became sort of a thing
Speaker 2: where conferences, that's what it was. It was kind of
Speaker 2: like the SEC I guess not that long ago. They
Speaker 2: are the ones who said you can now sell booze
Speaker 2: if you want, like it'll be a school by school decision.
Speaker 2: The conference is now no longer going to restrict you
Speaker 2: for being able to do it. So anyways, Notre Dame
Speaker 2: you can now you can now buy booze there. And
Speaker 2: I hate to sound like I'm some you know, drunk
Speaker 2: that is so dependent upon alcohol because I don't wake
Speaker 2: up and hit the bottle every day, but I'm not
Speaker 2: afraid to say that if I was going to be
Speaker 2: going to a game and I was like kind of
Speaker 2: on the fence about going, if I knew that I
Speaker 2: could not buy a beer, that would make my decision
Speaker 2: a little bit easier to not go. And again, I
Speaker 2: know it sounds like I got to be hammered to
Speaker 2: watch football or basketball. That's not what I mean, but
Speaker 2: like it's a part of the experience. It's and you know,
Speaker 2: it's it's awesome. But now people probably think I'm some
Speaker 2: raging alcoholic.
Speaker 3: Have you ever been up to Notre Dame proper?
Speaker 2: So I've been to Notre Dame, but not for football,
Speaker 2: only for basketball, which is kind of weird. Most people
Speaker 2: make it a bucket list kind of trip for football.
Speaker 3: And is it the same thing. Do they not sell
Speaker 3: beer at the basketball game either? Or alcohol at the
Speaker 3: basketball games.
Speaker 2: Or until you just asked me if I've ever been.
Speaker 2: I now remember being at the Joy Center with my dad.
Speaker 2: We went to the game, and I remember we left
Speaker 2: one of those campus pubs, really cool place that was
Speaker 2: just a quick walk from from from there to the
Speaker 2: to the arena the Joy Center, and it was like,
Speaker 2: talk about a buzzkill. I mean, we were, you know,
Speaker 2: a few beers deep walking over get in there, and
Speaker 2: like we walked around the whole place and it's not
Speaker 2: it's not a huge arena, although it's very nice, but
Speaker 2: we walked. We just did the lap twice, like surely
Speaker 2: there's got to be a beer man around here somewhere,
Speaker 2: and then we realized, oh, yeah, you they don't. They
Speaker 2: don't sell it here, and I you know, and then
Speaker 2: I that down and watched Mike Pogessee get, you know,
Speaker 2: in Louisville, get killed by Notre Dame. So you know,
Speaker 2: it was, uh, it was. I mean, I feel like
Speaker 2: it should have been a requirement. Like Doctor's word would
Speaker 2: advise you, if you're gonna watch the mess that is
Speaker 2: the Pogee season and the Kenny Payne seasons, then you
Speaker 2: need then you know, you need to make sure you're
Speaker 2: medicated on some booze, because it's gonna be tough to
Speaker 2: take without. You're gonna need to be, you know, putting
Speaker 2: some sauce away. All Right, So some of you strongly
Speaker 2: disagree with me about the case and prior stuff, and
Speaker 2: that's fine. We can disagree. And it's not about should
Speaker 2: he come back, do we need him back, do we
Speaker 2: want him or nate a mint. It's just that I
Speaker 2: I'm not saying again, maybe you miss maybe you misinterpreted
Speaker 2: what I said, But I don't think that Cason Pryor
Speaker 2: owes us anything as far as like a statement. I
Speaker 2: just think there is a difference in him and James
Speaker 2: him along. To me, he and Jamon are different than
Speaker 2: James Scott and ken I Rus. I'm not even talking
Speaker 2: about different as far as one player's good, one player's great.
Speaker 2: I just mean that their situations are vastly different. And
Speaker 2: if Casen doesn't say a word but he comes back
Speaker 2: to play, great, he didn't do anything wrong. I just
Speaker 2: think that for me, until he says something, I'm not
Speaker 2: assuming he's gone. I'm assuming he's back. But I just
Speaker 2: think it would be a surprise to me if if
Speaker 2: there's nothing said, and he's just he's just on the team.
Speaker 2: And if that's the case, cool and he does again.
Speaker 2: So again, maybe maybe I did not put it out
Speaker 2: there quite like I wanted to. He doesn't have to
Speaker 2: do anything. I just think that fans that are kind
Speaker 2: of like waiting to see him post something on Instagram
Speaker 2: or Twitter, like, I understand why they're doing that. I'm
Speaker 2: kind of doing the same thing. But it's not because
Speaker 2: you know, the more days that pass, the more I'm
Speaker 2: thinking that he's going to leave. It's just you know,
Speaker 2: you now in this new world. Not the players aren't
Speaker 2: required to do it, but I think even they know.
Speaker 2: In fact, coaches probably tell them like, hey, you know,
Speaker 2: I know you're coming back. We had a good talk
Speaker 2: about it. We're on the same page. But go ahead
Speaker 2: and let go ahead and work with our creative team,
Speaker 2: our creative department, because they're going to put together a
Speaker 2: really cool cinematic video that announces that you're back, and
Speaker 2: it's gonna be a big It's gonna be a big
Speaker 2: celebration because you know, we love to have you back,
Speaker 2: all right, Babo, two five seventy nine hundred is the number.
Speaker 2: If you guys want to jump in and give us
Speaker 2: a call. Text line FIBO two four three eight ninety
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Speaker 2: We'll get back to the text line just a moment,
Speaker 2: but let's bring in a caller. Let's welcome in Steve. Steve,
Speaker 2: you're on Sports Talk seven ninety How are.
Speaker 4: You, hey?
Speaker 5: How you doing?
Speaker 1: Nick?
Speaker 2: Good to hear from you, Hey.
Speaker 5: I got to go to Notre Dame Navy game one year.
Speaker 5: My wife, when she was working and still alive, she
Speaker 5: did a huge compensation or pay package for Notre Dame
Speaker 5: and they invited us up there.
Speaker 2: Nice.
Speaker 5: The drinking that took place in the parking lot was
Speaker 5: was pretty substantial. I had to be on my best behavior.
Speaker 5: I could only have one or two beers, but I
Speaker 5: think having the Jets roll over. It was Charlie Weiss's
Speaker 5: last year, by the way, that's that's the year that
Speaker 5: took place. But then the you know, the Thunderbirds came
Speaker 5: over and it was it was pretty cool experience. Middle
Speaker 5: of November, about seventy degrees. It was a it was
Speaker 5: a great day.
Speaker 2: Let me ask you this. Steve does the tailgating where
Speaker 2: there is a lot of alcohol being consumed like most
Speaker 2: college stadiums across the country. I just envisioned tailgating at
Speaker 2: Notre Dame seeming like I am at a church picnic,
Speaker 2: but it's in the fall, right, yes.
Speaker 5: Yes, yeah, exactly, yeah, exactly that. That's the way it was.
Speaker 5: And it's funny when you enter the stadium you keep
Speaker 5: hearing these announcements please refrain from cursing and you know,
Speaker 5: making vulgar remarks or something like that. It was, it
Speaker 5: was sort of, it was sort of funny so that
Speaker 5: you know, the crowd was pretty well behaved. And that's
Speaker 5: the year there was a for Navy. They had this
Speaker 5: little running back from Western Kentucky who absolutely ran decimated
Speaker 5: Notre Dame. He gained over two hundred yards that day.
Speaker 5: And I don't remember his name, but it was, it was.
Speaker 5: It was kind of and I think that was the
Speaker 5: beginning of the end for Charlie Weiss.
Speaker 2: I always forget Charlie Weiss was even there. And yeah,
Speaker 2: it was not a successful stint.
Speaker 5: Like I remember, some of the fans sitting around us
Speaker 5: were grumbling and grousing. He wasn't well liked up there.
Speaker 5: I think they thought he was a little bit too
Speaker 5: arrogant or something. Maybe I'm not sure, but he he
Speaker 5: didn't fit in very well there, especially when it was losing.
Speaker 2: Yep, didn't work out, Steve. I appreciate the call man.
Speaker 2: Always great to hear from you. All right, So one
Speaker 2: thing that we did discuss the in the three o'clock
Speaker 2: hour that I want to reset here really quickly, is
Speaker 2: that losing players when you are an elite program, maybe
Speaker 2: there's always going to be some level of surprise. And look,
Speaker 2: I'm a Louisville fan. I think you all know that.
Speaker 2: But if Louisville is going to be maybe not now
Speaker 2: because things are so much different. But just let's just
Speaker 2: back up to the recruiting era where that's how everybody
Speaker 2: built the roster. You didn't you didn't have transfers unless
Speaker 2: it was an exception with like a grad guy or
Speaker 2: somebody sitting out. You know, Louisville recruited well. But I
Speaker 2: remember in two thousand and twenty, I think it was
Speaker 2: you know, Chris Mack had already put together his twenty
Speaker 2: nineteen class, which that class was, believe it or not,
Speaker 2: ranked really high, and gosh, who was the best player
Speaker 2: of that group had to be David Johnson who did
Speaker 2: end up getting drafted. But other than that, you know,
Speaker 2: Jalen Withers, Sam Williamson, who else, who else was in
Speaker 2: that group, Quinn Slaznski who actually brought the Irish Hulk, Yes,
Speaker 2: Aidan a gayheart, Quince Sleaznski actually brought the ranking down.
Speaker 2: He was a late addition and he was a three star.
Speaker 2: But I feel like, oh, Josh Nickleberry, Yes, So that
Speaker 2: class was a top ten class, and you know, that
Speaker 2: was a great start for Chris Mack. And he did that,
Speaker 2: by the way, you know, with nobody know what was
Speaker 2: gonna happen with the NCAA. Can you believe that's been
Speaker 2: that long six seven years? I mean, those guys came
Speaker 2: here in nineteen, but like they were recruited in seventeen,
Speaker 2: I guess eighteen, and that was eight years ago. It's
Speaker 2: crazy to think about it. Anyways, the next year, Mack
Speaker 2: was in on a handful of guys, one of them
Speaker 2: being Caleb Love actually, and there were four guys that
Speaker 2: they appeared to be in really good shape for And
Speaker 2: they lost Devin ask You to Kentucky, They lost Caleb
Speaker 2: Love to North Carolina, They lost Jamin Braakfield who's now
Speaker 2: at Old Miss to Duke. And then there was a
Speaker 2: guy at a Spire academy here in town. I already
Speaker 2: forgot the young man's name. He ended up going to Kansas.
Speaker 2: So they were in great shape, but they lost recruits
Speaker 2: to Kentucky, Duke, Carolina, and Kansas. And I remember having
Speaker 2: to tell people if you are in those waters and
Speaker 2: you were competing with those schools for recruits, you lose
Speaker 2: more than you're gonna win. You'll get some, but like
Speaker 2: you just are so, I guess because you know, Louisville
Speaker 2: has for the most part been a great program historically,
Speaker 2: and even when they don't have the number one or
Speaker 2: two class, they usually bring in good players. They're a
Speaker 2: good program. We have I guess a better uh, we've
Speaker 2: had better repetition as far as just understanding that we
Speaker 2: can lose players to other schools because there's other great options.
Speaker 2: I guess if you're the Dukes, the Kentucky's, the Carolinas,
Speaker 2: the Kansas, it's a little bit more difficult because it
Speaker 2: doesn't happen as much. And maybe because you know your
Speaker 2: program's so great, you're just going to assume that if
Speaker 2: somebody picked a different school, other than yours. Then there's
Speaker 2: just got to be some explanation that would make it
Speaker 2: make sense. Because the player just picking that school and
Speaker 2: not yours, that just doesn't make sense. That's what I
Speaker 2: think is happening here with with Wilkerson and Indiana, and
Speaker 2: look to be fair, like if it is like he
Speaker 2: didn't want to just be another guy and he wanted
Speaker 2: to be the man. He's telling you what it is
Speaker 2: and that doesn't mean he's scared. I mean so even
Speaker 2: in this new world where money is going to be
Speaker 2: a big factor, the biggest factor for most players, Kentucky
Speaker 2: can spend I would assume a lot, but they may
Speaker 2: choose not to. And I'm curious, is that arrogance is
Speaker 2: that you're thinking, Okay, you should be willing to take
Speaker 2: our offer that is fifteen percent lower than this schools
Speaker 2: because we're Kentucky. And I think if you have the
Speaker 2: expectation that a player is just going to okay, you're right.
Speaker 2: What am I thinking? You're going to lose a lot?
Speaker 2: Like you got to be able to you know. And
Speaker 2: I don't mean I just have a hard time believe
Speaker 2: in the Kentucky would ever lose a player because they
Speaker 2: don't have money. I think it comes down to not
Speaker 2: wanting to spend and if you're gonna be, you know,
Speaker 2: stingy with your money because of your arrogance. And I'm
Speaker 2: not saying that's what's happening here with Pope. I mean
Speaker 2: I just feel like that's that's not the way to
Speaker 2: go about it in this new world because regardless of
Speaker 2: how great you are, you need money and you need
Speaker 2: to spend because others are going to because they know
Speaker 2: they've got to do that because they don't have the
Speaker 2: cell that you do about being an elite program and
Speaker 2: being you know, just one of the biggest fan bases,
Speaker 2: bunch of national championships like that stuff still matters, but
Speaker 2: it doesn't at all matter the way it used to, right.
Speaker 2: I mean, if you had let's say John Wooden was
Speaker 2: you know, in his prime right now in twenty twenty five,
Speaker 2: and he had however many titles he had, but he's
Speaker 2: not paying players, and everybody else is. John Wood's not
Speaker 2: getting good players. So like that's that's just what it is.
Speaker 2: So again, I I go back to what I said
Speaker 2: yesterday Mark Pope. I don't know if it was public
Speaker 2: or what, but he is he still is of the
Speaker 2: belief that Kentucky has an edge to where if they're
Speaker 2: competitive with money, they'll still get players even if it's
Speaker 2: lower than the other school because they have a lot
Speaker 2: more to all or that is not of monetary value,
Speaker 2: and you may get player Like I'm sure there are
Speaker 2: players that have decided to go to schools that are
Speaker 2: paying them less money, but I'm sure it's rare, and
Speaker 2: I'll tell you which guys aren't doing that very often.
Speaker 2: If you're coming out of high school and you know
Speaker 2: you're an NBA player at some point, you are going
Speaker 2: to try to get money right out of the gate,
Speaker 2: because why would you not be foolish? But you know
Speaker 2: your big paid is your biggest payday's coming on Draft night.
Speaker 2: Wilkerson just played at sam Houston State. He's twenty three,
Speaker 2: He's not going to the NBA. Those are the guys
Speaker 2: that you have to know when you get in bed
Speaker 2: with them, or I guess you know you doing whatever
Speaker 2: you do to try to get in bed with them.
Speaker 2: Money's going to matter more than anything. So if Sam
Speaker 2: Houston State had a rich booster with a bunch of
Speaker 2: oil money and they found a way to pay more
Speaker 2: than Indiana or Kentucky was willing to pay this guy
Speaker 2: probably and that's not realistic, but that he probably would
Speaker 2: have stayed at Sam Houston State because those are the
Speaker 2: guys that this is about money and good for him.
Speaker 2: I'm not saying that's a knock, but like you know,
Speaker 2: like that that you you're recruiting a variety of different
Speaker 2: types of players, and I don't mean big men in
Speaker 2: guards or you know, athletes and not athletes, I mean
Speaker 2: like different life situations. So I don't I mean, I
Speaker 2: don't even know if Kentucky did anything wrong. I just
Speaker 2: think he picked Indiana and he kind of said as
Speaker 2: much that he didn't want to be He just he
Speaker 2: didn't want to be just another guy. He wanted to
Speaker 2: really be impactful and have a bigger role in Indiana
Speaker 2: has that in Kentucky doesn't have it to offer like that.
Speaker 2: That doesn't mean he's scared of Kentucky. He might be.
Speaker 2: I don't know, but it just yesterday was a real
Speaker 2: reminder that Kentucky's one of those programs that if somebody
Speaker 2: doesn't pick them, it can't just be because they wanted
Speaker 2: to play there and not for you. But I'm telling
Speaker 2: you that it can and and you know, Cal, I
Speaker 2: think really changed the way a lot of their fans
Speaker 2: viewed because Cal looked at it that way. Right. The
Speaker 2: example that that I think is is worth bringing up.
Speaker 2: Whenever Kentucky would lose players out of high school, it
Speaker 2: was usually to one guy, Mike Sussky and Duke one guy,
Speaker 2: and I think KSR documented it, like the last fifteen
Speaker 2: guys that Coach K and Cole went head to head for,
Speaker 2: the vast majority of them picked Duke and not Kentucky.
Speaker 2: And I think the two that did pick Kentucky over
Speaker 2: Duke one was E. J. Montgomery, who was a bust,
Speaker 2: and then the other one might have been Kevin Knox.
Speaker 2: But a lot of the other guys they went head
Speaker 2: to head for Kentucky didn't get Duke got and instead
Speaker 2: of just realizing that Duke is a great program, probably
Speaker 2: better than yours overall, especially in the modern era, they just,
Speaker 2: like Cal put it out there that what's in it.
Speaker 2: I mean, they all wanted to come to Kentucky, they'd
Speaker 2: have been here, but Coach K coaching tm USA and
Speaker 2: he's got Lebron on his side now, and I mean
Speaker 2: that's just what it is. We're not losing these guys
Speaker 2: because they don't want to come play for me. It's
Speaker 2: just that, you know, they're being bullied that if they
Speaker 2: don't go play for coach k then maybe when they
Speaker 2: become NBA players, they won't be uh, they won't they
Speaker 2: won't be able to be They're gonna be picked to
Speaker 2: play for Tmusay like or or maybe they just wanted
Speaker 2: to go to Duke because it's Duke. You know what
Speaker 2: I'm saying, Like I just have never you know, it
Speaker 2: almost made me appreciate the fact that we've taken enough L's.
Speaker 2: In fact, we've gone through enough around here with Louisville
Speaker 2: that like, there's not much that's gonna surprise me, if
Speaker 2: I'm being honest about it.
Speaker 3: But favor one is also most recently with the coaching selection.
Speaker 3: And so Scott Drew really wanted to come here, but
Speaker 3: his wife was comfortable in Texas. Yeah, but he really
Speaker 3: did want UK was his first option. There's anywhere he's
Speaker 3: gonna go, it's gonna be UK. But his wife was
Speaker 3: more in Texas.
Speaker 2: The wife leveraged the kids and they want to stay
Speaker 2: in Waco, And you know, what are you gonna do
Speaker 2: it's also the guy that Pope met at the airport
Speaker 2: last year, Richie Saunders, and they made such a big
Speaker 2: deal about it, and then he didn't. Oh, well, Mormon wife,
Speaker 2: you know, she didn't want to leave, didn't want to
Speaker 2: leave Utah.
Speaker 3: And I want to leave her three other husbands.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't know. Wouldn't it be that she's one
Speaker 2: of like eight wives up the other way around? Right?
Speaker 3: Wives? I should know that.
Speaker 2: All right, Quick break will come back for a quick
Speaker 2: segment and then we will bring in a special guest
Speaker 2: that I haven't told you guys about yet coming up
Speaker 2: later on in the hours. So stick around right here
Speaker 2: on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 1: Ninety Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's
Speaker 1: on Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: So we've got some breaking news on Nico.
Speaker 3: Yama Leava.
Speaker 2: That's right, he's decided where he's going to go to
Speaker 2: school and it's going to be UCLA. So I love
Speaker 2: that Colin Cowherd is the one who broke this news, right,
Speaker 2: he is very connected to UCLA. But yeah, he's headed
Speaker 2: to UCLA. And I don't know if their money was
Speaker 2: more than the others were willing to pay, but be
Speaker 2: highly highly shocked if he's not making less than he was,
Speaker 2: maybe substantial less than he was at Tennessee, which if
Speaker 2: you remember, he was one of the first players in
Speaker 2: this new world to be in the news because he
Speaker 2: was coming to play for Tennessee, and it was because
Speaker 2: they were going to be throwing millions of dollars at him.
Speaker 2: And then you know, in a couple of years he
Speaker 2: was fine. And I'm not gonna act like he wasn't good,
Speaker 2: but when it comes to court, and by the way,
Speaker 2: it's a mess that you try to hold out like
Speaker 2: that like this. This is what happens when you when
Speaker 2: you really force the hand of a program. They can't
Speaker 2: let you, you know, hold him hostage like that. So
Speaker 2: Tennessee's got to do what they got to do, and they,
Speaker 2: I think made the right decision. And really, if this
Speaker 2: would have played out to where he held out week
Speaker 2: two weeks, comes back gets the money he wants, wouldn't
Speaker 2: be shocked if that ruins your locker room, because that's
Speaker 2: I mean, that's that's just that'd be tough to keep
Speaker 2: your locker room all on the same page and everybody
Speaker 2: buying in together. Whenever you got a guy that's holding out.
Speaker 2: It's public what he wants money wise, and there's no
Speaker 2: chance that anybody's making close to what he's making. And
Speaker 2: I know the quarterback's always going to get priority and
Speaker 2: probably more money than most positions, but I just think
Speaker 2: that could have I think they made the right decision.
Speaker 2: But I mean, what I find hilarious is his dad,
Speaker 2: if you remember his dad, and I don't even know
Speaker 2: if we brought this detail up, but his dad was
Speaker 2: fighting on the internet with Pete Nako said on three
Speaker 2: because he's the guy who put it out there and says, look,
Speaker 2: I think he said directly, this is a source I
Speaker 2: trust of my life at Tennessee that says Nico's camp
Speaker 2: is absolutely holding out, wanting more money, claiming they're not
Speaker 2: going to show back up to spring ball until they
Speaker 2: get what they want. And sure enough, he did not
Speaker 2: show up for I think two days, and then over
Speaker 2: the weekend we found out that Tennessee moved on from him,
Speaker 2: and the dad was saying that the reports were wrong,
Speaker 2: and he was like cursing out, using, I mean, just
Speaker 2: really looking like an absolute clown. And what's crazy is
Speaker 2: that the kid was right like here, he is acting
Speaker 2: like a fool on the internet over a report about
Speaker 2: his kid, when really you stand to benefit in no
Speaker 2: way that if you're going back and forth with fans
Speaker 2: on the internet. But it's one thing to do it
Speaker 2: when you are in fact having to correct somebody for
Speaker 2: putting misinformation out there. The kid was right and you lied,
Speaker 2: That's what it was. So, I mean, I don't know
Speaker 2: his father. Maybe he's a nice man, but I find
Speaker 2: him to be to blame here for a lot of this.
Speaker 2: And maybe Nico's just as much involved and he is
Speaker 2: his own man, But would anybody be shocked if like
Speaker 2: this whole thing was led by his dad, and his
Speaker 2: dad now is coming out and just like making an
Speaker 2: even bigger fool of himself because this is a report
Speaker 2: from Yahoo Sports. They're the ones who I'm referencing right now.
Speaker 2: He just says report Nico Lama lave La is heading
Speaker 2: to UCLA per colin Cowherd. And then it says the
Speaker 2: family claims it was not about the money with Tennessee,
Speaker 2: but it was the ball's offense. Like, don't insult everyone's
Speaker 2: intelligence like that, Like you're an idiot. Nobody believes that
Speaker 2: for a second, because if it was about the offense
Speaker 2: you would have left after last year? Were you holding
Speaker 2: out of practice last week so they could fire the
Speaker 2: OC and get a new one. I mean that's his
Speaker 2: balls of a request, which isn't real, but if that
Speaker 2: was the case, hypothetically, that's his balls as what in
Speaker 2: four million dollars as spring Ball is concluding, Like, it's
Speaker 2: just I kind of feel bad for him, but then
Speaker 2: again I don't. And the only reason I have a
Speaker 2: little bit of, like, you know, feeling bad for him,
Speaker 2: is because I wouldn't be shocked at all if he
Speaker 2: was content and it was all put in. This whole
Speaker 2: thing was put in motion by his His family is entourage,
Speaker 2: his dad, and they're just out here being greedy, and
Speaker 2: it's really impacted in his future. I mean, he is
Speaker 2: his own man. He can do what he wants. Nobody
Speaker 2: can force him to do. Did you do anything? But
Speaker 2: like if it was you and you're eighteen, nineteen twenty,
Speaker 2: whatever it is, he's probably what nineteen twenty, Yeah, you're
Speaker 2: an adult. But even like to this day, I'm thirty six,
Speaker 2: if I had like a big decision about my life
Speaker 2: in about like my family overall, and my dad was
Speaker 2: influencing what I did. I would just assume, well, he's
Speaker 2: my father, he knows what's best for me. Whatever he's
Speaker 2: telling me to do is going to be what what
Speaker 2: I is going to be what's best for him, because
Speaker 2: nobody looks out for you like your own right. But
Speaker 2: that's when parent, you know, parents get greedy, and I'm
Speaker 2: sure Nico just assumes that, you know, yeah, it's my dad.
Speaker 2: So whatever whatever he says I should do is what
Speaker 2: I should do because he looks out for me. And
Speaker 2: maybe that's what his dad thinks, but that's not how
Speaker 2: this played out. So anyways, Nico heading to UCLA gonna
Speaker 2: be in the Big ten, and I don't think Ucla
Speaker 2: is gonna be good because he's fine. He's a good quarterback,
Speaker 2: but like, is he going to be enough to boost
Speaker 2: them to where they're competing in the top tier of
Speaker 2: the Big Ten? I would say no, but he's from California,
Speaker 2: so he is, you know, getting back to his hometown area.
Speaker 2: All right, real quick, somebody on the text line brought
Speaker 2: this up. I did not talk about this last week.
Speaker 2: Is one of the things that came out while I
Speaker 2: was on vacation, and I just never really brought it up.
Speaker 2: It didn't come up in conversation, but Rick Pittino. I
Speaker 2: don't know where he did an interview or where he
Speaker 2: was talking, but he had said that they're working on
Speaker 2: a series Saint John's and Louisville in basketball, and it
Speaker 2: would start next season with Louisville playing Saint John's in
Speaker 2: the Garden. To my understanding, that is not that is
Speaker 2: not finalized yet and what I want to do. We'll
Speaker 2: save this for a little bit later on, but if
Speaker 2: you're a Louisville fan, like do you want that game?
Speaker 2: And I'm not necessarily talking about like the series, but
Speaker 2: like do you want that non conference Like do you
Speaker 2: want like just think next year alone? Like do you
Speaker 2: want Louisville to play Patino in the garden? Because I do.
Speaker 2: But we're doing Rick a favor, you know that, right?
Speaker 3: Like sure, and and does me a favor too by
Speaker 3: just getting that Louisville and Rick thing kind of but
Speaker 3: it closely more bonded.
Speaker 2: But it wouldn't not so now he would have to
Speaker 2: come here, and you know a lot of people are saying, well,
Speaker 2: Rick's gonna put this in motion, and he knows deep down.
Speaker 2: By the time they do play a game in the
Speaker 2: young he won't be at Saint John's anymore, which I
Speaker 2: don't know. I don't see Rick retiring anytime soon, but
Speaker 2: that that would be the way it would, you know,
Speaker 2: Rick going up there, I mean it would be his turf,
Speaker 2: and yeah, clearly it be a big storyline nationally, But
Speaker 2: like I think Rick would be kind of like sour.
Speaker 2: In fact, we'll talk about this in the five o'clock
Speaker 2: our because I have a prediction as far as if
Speaker 2: that game happens, like what Rick will do, and I
Speaker 2: don't know, maybe I would do the same thing, so
Speaker 2: I don't It's not like I'm gonna be super critical,
Speaker 2: but I think Rick's doesn't have There's no individual Rick
Speaker 2: can point to right now that is still involved in
Speaker 2: any way with anything with U of L Athletics that
Speaker 2: he can be mad at. Not a single one. But
Speaker 2: he still feels wrong by the university right and I
Speaker 2: don't know if that's ever going to go away, But
Speaker 2: like he hates Papa John and David Grissom, but like
Speaker 2: they're long gone and anybody here now didn't even work
Speaker 2: with u of L seemingly or work around u of
Speaker 2: L when they were here anyway, So or Postal too
Speaker 2: great Postal Postal, Papa John, and David Grissom. Those are
Speaker 2: the three people that Rick Patino is still very much
Speaker 2: bitter about, and I probably would be too, to be
Speaker 2: honest with you. But anyways, quick Break will come back
Speaker 2: on the other side, and joining us when we return
Speaker 2: is mister Joe christ Effect, who will join us to
Speaker 2: talk about a big event we've got coming up on
Speaker 2: eight forty whas as we get set for Derby, So
Speaker 2: stick around right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: Now back to Coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: That's right, Coffee and Company rolling along here on a
Speaker 2: Wednesday afternoon, and appreciate you hanging out with us. We
Speaker 2: also appreciate Joe Crestaffect, who joins us here on Sports
Speaker 2: Talk seven ninety to talk about our big event coming
Speaker 2: up here. How we doing, Joe.
Speaker 4: Hey, doing good, gearing up, getting ready?
Speaker 2: It'll be here soon, man, And I just realized, man,
Speaker 2: we've been This event's been going on for some years now.
Speaker 2: For those who aren't familiar with it, it's our Derby betting
Speaker 2: preview night that we have at Mike Lennings every year.
Speaker 2: On news radio eight forty WHS. It's coming up on
Speaker 2: April twenty second. I don't know how many years it's
Speaker 2: been going on, but I know it's certainly not a
Speaker 2: new event anymore. So I would assume with us being
Speaker 2: able to keep putting it on, and that means it's
Speaker 2: pretty successful. What could you tell the those who maybe
Speaker 2: aren't familiar, What could they learn, What could they take
Speaker 2: away from this experience that could make them a little
Speaker 2: bit more prepared to make some wagers on Derby Day.
Speaker 4: Well, my job is to scout these horses over the
Speaker 4: course of a seven month period. I mean the first
Speaker 4: Kentucky Derby prep way back in September at Churchill Downs,
Speaker 4: the Iroquois Stakes, and they go all the way through
Speaker 4: the Bluegrass and the Lexington and Keenland. And now we've
Speaker 4: got the list of twenty four horses. Twenty of them
Speaker 4: are going to get in the starting gig for the
Speaker 4: Kentucky Derby. There's still a few that want to run,
Speaker 4: that are on the outside looking in, that don't have
Speaker 4: quite enough points at this moment in time. But Jody
Speaker 4: Demmling is going to be hosting it as always. James
Speaker 4: Scully from Twin Spires, who has a world of knowledge,
Speaker 4: and myself will be the three panelists, and we're going
Speaker 4: to take a look at, you know, some of the
Speaker 4: big prep races, the videos, share our thoughts and basically,
Speaker 4: you know, the cliff notes version of this is to
Speaker 4: just get everybody up to speed on all the horses
Speaker 4: in Kentucky Derby. Our opinions. Horses we think have the
Speaker 4: best chance to win, long shots we think have the
Speaker 4: best chance to win, or at least hit the board
Speaker 4: and put you in a position to make some money
Speaker 4: on Kentucky Derby.
Speaker 2: Day, and last but not least, some delicious fish at
Speaker 2: Mike Lennox, right. I mean, that's that's a big factor.
Speaker 4: That's what I like to say. Come for the fish
Speaker 4: and stick around for the seminar.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4: It's a great venue for this thing too. It's just
Speaker 4: very comfortable. It's intimate, but there's still a lot of space,
Speaker 4: and you know, if the weather's not great, it's kind
Speaker 4: of an indoor outdoor event, so you don't have to
Speaker 4: worry about, oh it's raining. There's plenty of parking, it's
Speaker 4: reasonably priced, and there's some other perks. A courtesy it's
Speaker 4: Winspires too.
Speaker 2: So again it'll be on April twenty second at Mike
Speaker 2: Lennox seven to nine pm. Doors are going to open
Speaker 2: up at six o'clock and if you want to get
Speaker 2: more information and see the link for tickets, you can
Speaker 2: go to whas dot com. Joe, what do you make
Speaker 2: of the field in this year's Kentucky Derby? I know
Speaker 2: that's a broad question, but obviously when you when you
Speaker 2: get you get a look at at which horses are
Speaker 2: going to be actually competing, and you mentioned some that
Speaker 2: are on the outside hoping to maybe get an opportunity.
Speaker 2: Would just say it's a competitive field? Is it? Is
Speaker 2: it once again a field? It seems like in recent
Speaker 2: years there's been some real big favorites to get a
Speaker 2: whole lot of buzz. What do we you know, we're
Speaker 2: still still a couple weeks away from it, but how
Speaker 2: would you assess the you know, the twenty horse field
Speaker 2: right now as it stands?
Speaker 4: It's fun. I mean there's a lot of different horses
Speaker 4: that I think have a chance to win. And then,
Speaker 4: as you've seen in recent years, sometimes you never know.
Speaker 4: We think back to Rich Strike a couple of years ago,
Speaker 4: nobody gave him a chance lucky number twenty one, drawing
Speaker 4: in at the very last minute, winning at eighty to one.
Speaker 4: I don't think you want to race after that. I
Speaker 4: mean so sometimes strange things happen in the Derby. Then
Speaker 4: last year Brian Ornandez Junior with the perfect ride, local
Speaker 4: guy Ken McPeak the winning trainer. They win the Oaks
Speaker 4: the day before with Torpedo, Anda win the Kentucky Derby
Speaker 4: with just a great trip and a great ride with
Speaker 4: Mystic Dan. And you know then we've had, you know,
Speaker 4: a lot of favorites, American Pharaoh, Justify, et cetera. There's
Speaker 4: a little bit of everything in this race. The favorite
Speaker 4: likely is going to be journalism or that's one four
Speaker 4: in a row coming from southern California. But there are
Speaker 4: a lot of long shots too that I'm sure Jody
Speaker 4: and James and I know myself have our eyes on
Speaker 4: that could that could pull off the upset.
Speaker 2: You've been doing this a long time, Joe, give me
Speaker 2: an up, Give me a you know, an underdog that
Speaker 2: you were able to kind of, you know, predict before
Speaker 2: a lot of others did and it actually played out.
Speaker 2: Is there one that you felt like you were you
Speaker 2: were in early, like before it became a cool thing
Speaker 2: to say that this horse maybe maybe maybe have a
Speaker 2: better shot at winning than others. Think.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say, since the point system has been instituted,
Speaker 4: a lot of the favorites have won the race, and
Speaker 4: I've been on a lot of them, but there have
Speaker 4: been some long shots too. I wasn't on Mystic Dan
Speaker 4: last year. I wasn't, you know, on the horse that
Speaker 4: I alluded to earlier that scored the huge upset. I
Speaker 4: would say from an Oaks perspective, but we'll have a
Speaker 4: little bit of Oaks as well. Sarrenghetti Empress was the
Speaker 4: one that I was on. I watched her train and
Speaker 4: run all winter long at fairgrounds. They do spend my
Speaker 4: winters in New Orleans, and she was a big price
Speaker 4: in the Kentucky Oaks. I think she was fifteen eighteen
Speaker 4: to one. She went wired to wire. That was a
Speaker 4: great scenario. I was doubled up to maximum security in
Speaker 4: the derby. He won, but unfortunately he got disqualified and
Speaker 4: Country House was the adjudicated winner over a very sloppy
Speaker 4: track that particular day. So you know, there's the Oaks,
Speaker 4: there's a derby, and then There's so many other races
Speaker 4: between opening night and the actual Kentucky Derby on the
Speaker 4: first Saturday in May that I'll be diving into and
Speaker 4: making predictions on. But the Derby's going to be the
Speaker 4: main focus at the seminar.
Speaker 2: Again, we're talking about the horse racing. We've got the
Speaker 2: Derby betting preview night coming up here on April twenty second,
Speaker 2: Mike Lennings seven to nine pm. Doors are gonna open
Speaker 2: up at six o'clock and again you can get tickets
Speaker 2: and get information at WHAS dot com. And Joe christ
Speaker 2: Effect joins us here talking about this big of it.
Speaker 2: He'll be one of the panelists as we bring this
Speaker 2: event back one more time. I know that you're gonna
Speaker 2: you know, your job is to follow along, regardless of
Speaker 2: who's training the horses, and and you know, it's what
Speaker 2: you do, You've done in a long time. As we've mentioned,
Speaker 2: what do you make of the Bob Baffort return here.
Speaker 2: I'm sure it's not something that you're hyper focused on,
Speaker 2: but obviously gonna be a really big storyline as he's
Speaker 2: making his return here to Churchill Downs. I mean, I mean,
Speaker 2: would anybody be shocked if you know if one of
Speaker 2: the many horses he's got involved here. I mean, I
Speaker 2: don't know where they stand as far as favorites, as
Speaker 2: far as odds right now, but I mean kind of
Speaker 2: feels like from my perspective, this will be a dominating
Speaker 2: talking point. Maybe not from with what you guys do
Speaker 2: deep into it, but from you know, the casuals out there,
Speaker 2: the casual horse racing fans.
Speaker 4: Any attention is good attention, so it's good to happen.
Speaker 2: Well said, yeah.
Speaker 4: I mean, he's got Rodriguez, who is the easy winner
Speaker 4: of the Wood Memorial. He's got Citizen Bull who won
Speaker 4: the Breeders Cup. Juvenile did not run that well in
Speaker 4: his most recent start when he got beat by almost
Speaker 4: ten lengths by journalism, but he's capable. He's got Madict
Speaker 4: Road on the fringe of making it into the Derby.
Speaker 4: He had a horse named Barnes that was all the rage,
Speaker 4: and another horse named Cornicope and who was all the rage,
Speaker 4: who didn't quite do enough to get into the Kentucky
Speaker 4: Derby field. Maybe horses that don't want to run a
Speaker 4: mile in a quarter anyways, But you know, we know
Speaker 4: about his personality, we know about his success. Sixth Kentucky
Speaker 4: Derby wins tied with Ben Jones. He had the seventh one.
Speaker 4: We all know about the disqualification and his eventual suspension.
Speaker 4: But you know, Bob is he's a character in horse racing.
Speaker 4: He's had a lot of success. He's paid his dues
Speaker 4: and his back for the Kentucky Derby this year, and
Speaker 4: like you said, it's gonna be a major storyline. I
Speaker 4: think it's important for the general sports public that we
Speaker 4: draw some attention to horse racing, even if it is
Speaker 4: in this.
Speaker 2: Regard when it comes to Badford. I know you wouldn't
Speaker 2: speak for anybody but yourself, but do you believe that
Speaker 2: among his peers, is he is he? Is he a
Speaker 2: liked guy? Is he respect Obviously he's respected as being
Speaker 2: great at what he does. But I just feel like
Speaker 2: he's been sort of portrayed and maybe it maybe it's
Speaker 2: because for good reason that he's some kind of villain.
Speaker 2: And again, I'm not asking you to give your personal
Speaker 2: opinion on him, but I just feel like it's good
Speaker 2: that to have him back. You mentioned the attention will
Speaker 2: be good for the sport overall, but I think some
Speaker 2: of the coverage of it, I just you know, I'm
Speaker 2: not connected like you are by any means, but I
Speaker 2: just I've never once felt like, prior to this stuff,
Speaker 2: he was viewed as somebody that was, you know, a
Speaker 2: bad guy for the sport. I think he's good for
Speaker 2: the sport.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean he had that you know, that positive
Speaker 4: when he won the Derby a few years ago. It's
Speaker 4: just not good in the Kentucky Derby. Now how it happened,
Speaker 4: if it was something he was trying to hide or
Speaker 4: it was contamination. I'm not a vet. I you know,
Speaker 4: I promote the sport. I handicap the races. I try
Speaker 4: to be someone that you know, tries to develop the
Speaker 4: fan base and educate people, because sure, I love all
Speaker 4: aspects of it. But he, you know, in an overall
Speaker 4: perspective of his entire career, he's always been good for
Speaker 4: the game. He's got a good, great personality. He's easily identifiable,
Speaker 4: he's well spoken, he's somebody that people can relate to,
Speaker 4: and he's had a lot of really, really good horses
Speaker 4: over the years. So, you know, we've seen it in
Speaker 4: baseball Nick many times. You've seen people that have been
Speaker 4: suspended or you know, on the outs for you know,
Speaker 4: suspected ped use and then they wind up, you know,
Speaker 4: being embraced by the public once again. It's the journey
Speaker 4: in gay comparison, it's the closest one I can think of, though, Yeah, I'm.
Speaker 2: With you know, I get it. It's I think it
Speaker 2: fits to be honest with the right. Last question, I
Speaker 2: just want to pick your brain real quick on this
Speaker 2: of in your time covering the sport, do you have
Speaker 2: a favorite story as far as a Derby winner. Maybe
Speaker 2: not a favorite horse, but maybe just one one that
Speaker 2: came through that you just feel like from start to
Speaker 2: finish like it was, you know, something you'd see in
Speaker 2: a movie or something like that. Maybe that's a little dramatic,
Speaker 2: but I think you know what I mean.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean the ones that you're always going to
Speaker 4: gravitate to are the ones that you had success on.
Speaker 4: I mean, I had a really good score a few
Speaker 4: years ago when when Pletcher won the Derby wire a wire.
Speaker 4: I think the one I remember most of all though,
Speaker 4: will be American Pharaoh because that was my first year
Speaker 4: as the paddock Hoach Churchill twenty fifteen. He won not
Speaker 4: only the Derby that year, but the Triple Crown, and
Speaker 4: you know, you talk about Bafford, that was the first
Speaker 4: triple crown winner since nineteen seventy eight, and I remember,
Speaker 4: you know, it was a couple months later they brought
Speaker 4: American Pharaoh back to Churchill and they paraded him at
Speaker 4: the track, and it was such a big deal that
Speaker 4: somebody won the triple crown. Justifi has done it since.
Speaker 4: But I remember standing in the paddock back then, and
Speaker 4: you know, introducing American Pharaoh who was parading in the paddock,
Speaker 4: and you know, people were ten deep in the paddock.
Speaker 4: We're cheering, we're emotional, and I get chills just thinking
Speaker 4: about it because it was just one of those moments
Speaker 4: you'll never forget. For all the reasons that I mentioned
Speaker 4: it my first year at Churchill, first triple crown winner
Speaker 4: in a long time, and just you know how the
Speaker 4: public responded to that moment.
Speaker 2: Good stuff as always, Joe, great to catch up. We do.
Speaker 2: We look forward to seeing you next Tuesday at Mike Lennox.
Speaker 2: Thanks for your time, man.
Speaker 4: Yeah, looking forward to it as we do every year,
Speaker 4: Looking really forward to this event. It's very well put on.
Speaker 4: We always get a great crowd and yeah, it's interactive.
Speaker 4: We'll give good information and Jody and James are the best,
Speaker 4: so looking forward to being a part of the panel
Speaker 4: with them.
Speaker 2: Yes, sir, good stuff Again. That is Joe christ Effect
Speaker 2: who joins us yearly to promote this big event that
Speaker 2: has become more and more popular over the years. Again,
Speaker 2: it's the Derby Betting preview night April twenty second, of course,
Speaker 2: coming up Tuesday, Mike Lennox seven and nine pm. Doors
Speaker 2: will open up at six o'clock and you can get
Speaker 2: information and the for to purchase those tickets is at
Speaker 2: whas dot com. I remember the triple Crown winner. I
Speaker 2: mean I remember thinking, okay, we'll have that's gonna be
Speaker 2: something I'm gonna remember forever, which I do because it
Speaker 2: was something when it happened we thought we'd never see
Speaker 2: it ever, Like it was just there's no scenario this
Speaker 2: could ever happen again, because it's just not realistic anymore
Speaker 2: this day and age. And sure enough we got one
Speaker 2: and then oh was it two three years later we
Speaker 2: got another one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you had American Pharaoh and justifies right.
Speaker 2: Good stuff. All right, speaking of good stuff, we'll try
Speaker 2: to give you some good stuff here in the five
Speaker 2: o'clock ir No promises, but we're gonna try our best,
Speaker 2: so stick around right here on sport Stock seven ninety