Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: I've mentioned here and there that I've learned in recent years,
Speaker 2: with us broadcasting every day live in a cave here
Speaker 2: with no windows, that I shouldn't just assume that the
Speaker 2: weather outside is anywhere close to what it was when
Speaker 2: I arrived, which today is, you know, about two and
Speaker 2: a half hours ago, because it can change, and I've
Speaker 2: been yapping about, oh man, it's nasty, outsider, it's great,
Speaker 2: And then you know, that was two thirty. Now it's
Speaker 2: five o'clock, and I'm you know, they sound like if
Speaker 2: they probably feel like they're listening to a show that
Speaker 2: was from a different day. But it is August the twentieth,
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four, and when I arrived, it had been
Speaker 2: beautiful all day, and it was so beautiful that I'm
Speaker 2: willing to guess. I'm not gonna bet, I'm willing to
Speaker 2: I believe that it is still nice outside because it
Speaker 2: was too beautiful, I mean nice cool temperatures. In fact,
Speaker 2: I think it might be near a record low for August.
Speaker 2: So give me that. Yeah, beautiful, beautiful day here as
Speaker 2: we roll along on a Tuesday. It's hour number three,
Speaker 2: the five o'clock hour. Here Coffee and Company. Feel about
Speaker 2: Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety Nick Coffee, that's me
Speaker 2: the company man, mister John all on alongside today, taking
Speaker 2: you up until six o'clock. Take us with you wherever
Speaker 2: you go. Listen live on the iHeart Radio app Listen Live.
Speaker 2: It's seven ninety Louisville dot com. And the first pitch
Speaker 2: is still on for Thursday. And I say still on
Speaker 2: because if you were listening earlier in the show. I
Speaker 2: had a little bit of a panic yesterday because this
Speaker 2: is one of those things that I've known about for
Speaker 2: roughly two weeks and there was never really any specific
Speaker 2: thing that had me worried that like it wouldn't happen.
Speaker 2: But it was one of those things that I didn't
Speaker 2: want to put out there until I knew for sure
Speaker 2: that it was happening, because you know, just would be
Speaker 2: it would be a bad look and you never know, right,
Speaker 2: sometimes things fall apart, and who knows, we're two days away,
Speaker 2: maybe it falls apart. But I even hesitated last week
Speaker 2: to talk about it because I just felt like, you
Speaker 2: know what, like are they really going to have me
Speaker 2: come out and throw out the first pitch at the
Speaker 2: Bats game? Like, come on, now, I'm very honored and
Speaker 2: can't wait, and I'm excited for the opportunity, very grateful obviously,
Speaker 2: but you know, like there's a part of me that's
Speaker 2: like me, but that should make me an even more,
Speaker 2: you know, not worthy candidate necessarily, but like, you know,
Speaker 2: at least it's somebody who is really appreciative of it.
Speaker 2: So yesterday during the show, I don't remember when it was,
Speaker 2: and it might have been in the four o'clock hour,
Speaker 2: I had a little bit of a panic because for
Speaker 2: some reason, I just happened to open up Facebook on
Speaker 2: the computer here in the studio, which I never do,
Speaker 2: and I don't really know. I don't I still don't
Speaker 2: know why I did. But I got in Facebook and
Speaker 2: I saw the Bats promoting a first pitch on Thursday.
Speaker 2: And it wasn't me, and my pride wasn't hurt. It
Speaker 2: wasn't like I was angry at the Bats. I just
Speaker 2: assumed that, you know, there was some kind of a
Speaker 2: miscommunication or maybe you know, maybe I didn't read every
Speaker 2: detail in the email exchanges that we had. Maybe they
Speaker 2: were sending me, you know, to go to go for
Speaker 2: the double A team in Chattanooga. That's where they wanted
Speaker 2: me to throw out the first pitch. I'm not triple
Speaker 2: A Louisville bats Worthy. I'm more of a double A
Speaker 2: single A guy, which, hey, if that was the case,
Speaker 2: I wouldn't I wouldn't be able to make the trip.
Speaker 2: I wouldn't be able to do it, but that would
Speaker 2: be understandable. So yesterday I was a little worried and
Speaker 2: I ended up reaching out to my contact at the
Speaker 2: Louisville Bats, Brandon, who's been great throughout this process with
Speaker 2: me and I look forward to be in there Thursday.
Speaker 2: But I was like, hey, I just saw someone on
Speaker 2: Facebook like, were we still good for Thursday? And he
Speaker 2: was like yeah, And I said, well, I see Pat
Speaker 2: Kelsey's throwing out the first pitch too, like and he's like, yeah,
Speaker 2: it's it's fine. We've got you know, both of you
Speaker 2: guys are going to do it, and he's gonna throw
Speaker 2: the first pitch. You're gonna throw the first pitch, and
Speaker 2: you know we're looking forward to it. And I'm like,
Speaker 2: all right, well, I don't know how you know again,
Speaker 2: we're good to go. But there was a part of
Speaker 2: me that was like, yeah, we can't have we can't
Speaker 2: have that guy. Do we got to go get We
Speaker 2: got to go get Pat Kelsey, which, of course he
Speaker 2: would be way more worthy. He is way more worthy.
Speaker 2: And you know, I'm a little you know, my pride
Speaker 2: won't get hurt, like if it was some Randow would
Speaker 2: be a little different. But like it's very understandable for
Speaker 2: you know, when he gets put out there, when however
Speaker 2: they do it, like he's going to probably get a
Speaker 2: big round of applause. He's probably gonna be a hype man, right, Like,
Speaker 2: he's probably gonna get the crowd into it, and everybody's
Speaker 2: gonna be cheering or booing if you're like a Kentucky
Speaker 2: fan or something. And then like they'll they'll probably introduce me,
Speaker 2: and everybody'd be like, who the hell is this guy?
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm sure there'll be some people there that
Speaker 2: might know me, they may not like me. I'll have
Speaker 2: family there. They'll probably you know, cheer or maybe they'll boo.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I have some friends that are coming
Speaker 2: to So it's still on first pitch six point twenty
Speaker 2: at the Bats game, Slugger Field on Thursday. They're actually
Speaker 2: their home stand actually started today, so they'll be at
Speaker 2: home the rest of the week taking on the Gwinett Strippers.
Speaker 2: And uh yeah, I U. I'm not looking to compete
Speaker 2: with Pat Kelsey because you know I that wouldn't be
Speaker 2: smart on my part. I don't know about as background
Speaker 2: as a baseball player, but I know about mine and
Speaker 2: I don't have one. I'm not experienced in any way
Speaker 2: when it comes to the sport of baseball. But my
Speaker 2: goal here, get it across the plate. Doesn't have to
Speaker 2: be a strike, doesn't have to look good. And what
Speaker 2: I mean look good, I don't mean like it looks
Speaker 2: as if like it might be you know that could
Speaker 2: have passed for a real pitch in a real game. No,
Speaker 2: I just want to get it to the mound. Not
Speaker 2: to the mound again. That's this is what I know
Speaker 2: about baseball. I'm going to be on the mound. I
Speaker 2: need to get it across the plate or really near
Speaker 2: the plate to where the catcher doesn't have to do
Speaker 2: a whole lot of moving around. And I feel like
Speaker 2: I can do at least that. I may be wrong,
Speaker 2: I may realize as much as I make fun of
Speaker 2: myself for being unqualified to throw a baseball. I'm even
Speaker 2: worse than I thought. We'll see, we'll find that out
Speaker 2: on Thursday. But I'm I'm not like bothered by it
Speaker 2: in any way, but like I'm I'm a little surprised
Speaker 2: by how many people are worried for me. Like they
Speaker 2: think that I'm going to like grass myself in epic fashion,
Speaker 2: and that all is like real, Like i know what
Speaker 2: I'm doing here, meaning like who I am, what I'm
Speaker 2: capable of, And that's not to say that I'm gonna
Speaker 2: look good doing it, but like just getting it to
Speaker 2: the plate. I feel like it's something I'm able to do.
Speaker 2: But if you're if you're asking, like, oh, you're gonna
Speaker 2: be embarrassed, Like if you look like you've never thrown
Speaker 2: a baseball before, well maybe I should be. But like
Speaker 2: i know, like I know that's who I am. I'm
Speaker 2: not a baseball guy. So some people are accusing me of,
Speaker 2: you know, underplaying my ability. Trust me, that's not it
Speaker 2: at all. I'm sure I'll look like somebody if you're
Speaker 2: just somebody, you know, walking to get yourself one of
Speaker 2: those one of those uh two dollars beers they're gonna
Speaker 2: have or is it three dollars? Let me make sure
Speaker 2: I get it right, because two dollars sounds really cheap.
Speaker 2: It sounds like a deal too good to be true.
Speaker 2: But I can tell you this, it's not too good
Speaker 2: to be true, because it will be two dollars. Miller
Speaker 2: lighting cors light from five thirty to eight thirty. So
Speaker 2: if you're one of those that you know, you're just
Speaker 2: walking to take advantage of beer, waiting for the game
Speaker 2: to start, and you happen to look up and there's
Speaker 2: this guy throwing out the first pitch you've never heard of. Like,
Speaker 2: my guess is you'll be like, yeah, that guy looks
Speaker 2: like he has never played baseball organized or competitively before,
Speaker 2: But you know what, at least he got it to
Speaker 2: the plate. Like that's kind of where I'm at with
Speaker 2: this whole thing.
Speaker 3: I like that attitude, by the way, I mean, it's
Speaker 3: a good way to look at it.
Speaker 2: If this was, if this was well, put it this way,
Speaker 2: like whenever I participated in the Chris Mack Fantasy basketball
Speaker 2: camp and one cut down nets kind of a big
Speaker 2: deal act like you don't remember, I know you do.
Speaker 2: It's a big deal cut down the nets Chris Mac
Speaker 2: Fantasy Camp. We won it all. Didn't win a game
Speaker 2: in league play, pool play, as they say, rallied back
Speaker 2: one four straight, all hung over as hell on a
Speaker 2: Sunday morning over at the Keeber Center. They're still talking
Speaker 2: about it in the streets of Louisville about, man, can
Speaker 2: you believe what that team did? Just nobody gave him
Speaker 2: a shot. Looked like they might not even show up
Speaker 2: for the tournament. Yeah we were, oh yeah we were.
Speaker 2: We were big time dogs. But like at that point,
Speaker 2: like I I have expectations for myself because I did
Speaker 2: play basketball competitively briefly in college, and I knew I
Speaker 2: was gonna be a lot younger than the majority of
Speaker 2: the guys there, so I was sort of like worried
Speaker 2: about how I would how I would do for myself.
Speaker 2: Like we didn't play in front of fans. It was
Speaker 2: just I mean, when they call it a fantasy camp,
Speaker 2: but it's quite literally exactly what it is. Like it's
Speaker 2: embarrassing now looking back, Like again, it was a cool experience,
Speaker 2: but like they played one shining moment when we won
Speaker 2: the game, like what are we doing here? Like we're
Speaker 2: grown men? We're not like it's but if you're gonna,
Speaker 2: you know, if you're gonna be a part of it,
Speaker 2: they are truly going to treat it as if like
Speaker 2: you are in the fantasy world of where you play
Speaker 2: basketball at a place like u of L. They have announcers,
Speaker 2: you know, they have the starting lineup. You know. I
Speaker 2: went to the sideline like cramping up, you know, because
Speaker 2: I'm in my mid thirties at that point, not in
Speaker 2: great shape and hungover, and like a legitimate team trainer
Speaker 2: is like rubbing my leg down, like you know, like
Speaker 2: I'm Lebron coming out cramping or something. It was wild.
Speaker 2: I remember, h I airballed my first shot, and you know,
Speaker 2: the coaches were the actual coaches, like Luke Murray and
Speaker 2: kill and Ell were two of the coaches. Dino Gattio
Speaker 2: was a coach too, and then like Pegeese didn't coach
Speaker 2: because he was actually hosting some recruits at that time.
Speaker 2: But like I remember, a lot of the assistant coaches
Speaker 2: were current players and Sam Williamson who played at Louisville.
Speaker 2: I remember I airballed a shot and I was like
Speaker 2: really hard on myself, like damn, and he looked you know,
Speaker 2: I looked over the bench and here this kid is
Speaker 2: an incoming freshman. He was like, hey, keep shooting, you
Speaker 2: got this, And I'm like, what world is this? This
Speaker 2: is not real life? And then I'm like, oh yeah,
Speaker 2: this is the reason why they call it a fantasy camp.
Speaker 2: So anyways, I'm looking forward to it. I don't have
Speaker 2: high expectations at all for myself. I'm just you know,
Speaker 2: and I think with my expectations being low and where
Speaker 2: they are as I just laid out, I feel comfortable
Speaker 2: that I could at least do that. It'd be different
Speaker 2: if I was like, man, I gotta look I gotta
Speaker 2: look really good doing it. I got to look like
Speaker 2: I belong, you know, and I know I don't belong.
Speaker 2: So therefro, I'm just gonna have fun with it. So anyways,
Speaker 2: hopefully you'll be there Thursday. If so, say hello. We
Speaker 2: can enjoy beer together. Should be fun. So where do
Speaker 2: we want to start?
Speaker 3: Here?
Speaker 2: In the five o'clock Howard, because I like to give
Speaker 2: you guys who are just joining us. Maybe you just
Speaker 2: cut off work always a new audience when the hour
Speaker 2: turns over. We've been pretty busy. I don't really feel
Speaker 2: like there's one specific thing that has dominated the show today.
Speaker 2: But I will tell you, if you're a Kentucky fan,
Speaker 2: you now can circle the date on the calendar when
Speaker 2: you're gonna get a chance to see John Caliperry make
Speaker 2: his return to Lexington. So the Kentucky basketball schedule was
Speaker 2: released earlier today and Kentucky in Arkansas will play on Saturday,
Speaker 2: February the first in Raperina. Some of the things we've
Speaker 2: discussed in regards to this is there's no question about
Speaker 2: who has more pressure to win this game. It'll be
Speaker 2: Cali Perry with more pressure. There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: I guess things can change depending on how each team
Speaker 2: looks at that time. For example, if Cal is struggling
Speaker 2: and Pope is crushing it, and Cal comes in there
Speaker 2: and mops him, that's a bad look on Pope. Doesn't
Speaker 2: mean he'd be like a fireable offense or anything like that.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, it's but that can change things.
Speaker 2: If Cal looks like he's got it rolling and Pope
Speaker 2: is kind of, you know, chugging a long look like
Speaker 2: a tournament team but probably not going to get a
Speaker 2: great seat, and they want to make sure they don't
Speaker 2: fall apart in March like that kind of stuff that
Speaker 2: could make it to where you know, the pressure would
Speaker 2: would be you know, on you know, if Cal was
Speaker 2: to I'm sorry, if if Kentucky's just chugging along not
Speaker 2: looking great, there the big dog at home potentially and
Speaker 2: Pope wins, that would be a bad look on Cow.
Speaker 2: So the pressure's on Cow, there's no doubt. And one
Speaker 2: of the other things we discussed as far as the
Speaker 2: demand for this ticket, like it's going to be a
Speaker 2: tough ticket to get and I feel like if you
Speaker 2: were a Kentucky fan, and again I'm not a Kentucky fan,
Speaker 2: I can't relate. I'm not one of you, but I
Speaker 2: feel like it's not crazy to say that if you
Speaker 2: are a Kentucky fan that doesn't have season tickets, that
Speaker 2: goes to a few games a year, and this is
Speaker 2: one that you are willing to make sure you can,
Speaker 2: you know, you'll you'll pay top dollar, knowing it's going
Speaker 2: to be above you know, the typical ticket price because
Speaker 2: of this game. If you are one of those fans
Speaker 2: that's going to make sure you can do whatever you
Speaker 2: can to get there, it's because you want to boo
Speaker 2: his ass right, Like, he'll be booed, he'll be cheered.
Speaker 2: There'll be a mixture. I choose believe that they'll be
Speaker 2: more booze than cheers. But what do I know. Again,
Speaker 2: I can't relate. I'm not a Kentucky fan because cal
Speaker 2: he won't be hated by Kentucky fans forever, I don't
Speaker 2: think or ever. Really, I'm sure there's some that don't
Speaker 2: hate him at all right now, and you know are saying,
Speaker 2: you know, what I think is laying, well, hope he
Speaker 2: wins every game, but the Kentucky game, you know, because
Speaker 2: that's you know, like he's on the other side now. Like,
Speaker 2: and when he retires, and let's say you went to
Speaker 2: Arkansas and it was an underwhelming experience there at that point,
Speaker 2: you know, you probably you know, he'd probably be wise
Speaker 2: to really attach his wagon to his legacy being the
Speaker 2: Kentucky coach and nowhere else, which he probably I mean,
Speaker 2: he'll remember. He'll be remembered for Kentucky more than anything
Speaker 2: because that's where he was the longest. Like, there is
Speaker 2: no way he coaches at Arkansas as long as he
Speaker 2: was in Kentucky. No matter how good he is, he'll
Speaker 2: be you know, ancient. So I still think there's some
Speaker 2: awkwardness to this whole thing. And it's more than anything
Speaker 2: because they're direct competitors. They play in the same league,
Speaker 2: and Caliperry is still going to go after some of
Speaker 2: the best players in the country, the best players because
Speaker 2: that's what he does. He's not switching up his recruiting strategy.
Speaker 2: He's going to go after the best players in the
Speaker 2: country every year. Kentucky will have a different recruiting approach
Speaker 2: to where they're going to be a little bit more open,
Speaker 2: I think with Mark Pope to look at guys that
Speaker 2: cow would never look at. But also they're Kentucky, so
Speaker 2: therefore they're going to also continue to you know, reach
Speaker 2: out and try to get the best players in the country.
Speaker 2: And I feel like that's just made it to where
Speaker 2: until his run ends at Arkansas, and I guess what
Speaker 2: happens during that run at Arkansas, That to me, I
Speaker 2: think is a big factor in how his legacy will
Speaker 2: be when he retires. If he went and coached and
Speaker 2: I don't know, somewhere in the Big East that's a
Speaker 2: lower level, it's different, but you know, he's at Arkansas.
Speaker 2: They are believe it or not a big time basketball program.
Speaker 2: They're not Kentucky by any means, but they have a
Speaker 2: big fan base and they paid a lot of money
Speaker 2: to bring him in there, and they've got high expectations.
Speaker 2: So I think the awkwardness is because he's now you know,
Speaker 2: he's an enemy, meaning he's somebody trying to win the
Speaker 2: SEC every year, just like you. And also he's cal
Speaker 2: he's spiteful. There's no doubt in my mind he is
Speaker 2: going to be energized to an extent. Maybe the majority
Speaker 2: of his energy in his motivation to win, is going
Speaker 2: to be to let Kentucky fans know they should have
Speaker 2: appreciated what they had when they had it, and that's
Speaker 2: that's not something that makes him a bad guy, in
Speaker 2: my opinion. I think that's actually a pretty normal human
Speaker 2: emotion in that regard. Like clearly he still felt like
Speaker 2: he was at the top of his game despite flameouts
Speaker 2: in the tournament. He could sense that fans were not
Speaker 2: worshiping him the way that they used to, and he
Speaker 2: felt underappreciated. And you know, I'm sure at Arkansas he'll
Speaker 2: be you know, anybody would be motivated I think, to
Speaker 2: like you, if you're ex and you split, and you
Speaker 2: know it's for the best, but you kind of feel like,
Speaker 2: you know, even though it was a mutual split, that
Speaker 2: split that was better for everybody, was best for everybody involved,
Speaker 2: but really they started to not love you as much
Speaker 2: and they just weren't as into you. That's kind of
Speaker 2: what the way the Kentucky fan base was with Cal.
Speaker 1: So.
Speaker 2: Now Cow's got him a new boo and that's Arkansas.
Speaker 2: He's hog Nation baby, and they're loving him because he's
Speaker 2: the new flavor. He's the guy with the championship. He's
Speaker 2: the guy that you know, is a larger than life
Speaker 2: figure within sports. He's a guy that's gonna get Arkansas
Speaker 2: basketball talked about nationally in a way that Musselmen didn't.
Speaker 2: Even if KL doesn't win the way Musselman did, that's
Speaker 2: a fact because it's Caliperry. That's what he does. So
Speaker 2: he's feeling good about himself, and he's like, you know,
Speaker 2: he might go out to you know, the bar, or
Speaker 2: to get dinner, and let's just say when he when
Speaker 2: he let's say you know, they got it. Let's say
Speaker 2: they get an uber because they might be drinking. Cal's
Speaker 2: feeling good. He's gonna you know, he's gonna get an
Speaker 2: uber him in the Hogs and they're going to you
Speaker 2: know wherever. They're gonna go to John the company Man's
Speaker 2: Bar and Grill for dinner. And Cal's got his best
Speaker 2: suit on, he's got he's got you know, he's got
Speaker 2: his arm around the hogs and he's wishing on that
Speaker 2: uber ride to the company Man's Bar and Grill. The
Speaker 2: Kentucky fans are there, and they're gonna see him walking in.
Speaker 2: He's gonna be smiling like that's That's the best I
Speaker 2: can do as far as like how he's probably feeling
Speaker 2: about this whole Arkansas thing. But February first, that's the date,
Speaker 2: and it'll be a tough ticket to get, I'm sure.
Speaker 2: But again, from what happens from the start of the
Speaker 2: season until then, I think that will be a little
Speaker 2: bit more. That'll be a little bit more, I guess
Speaker 2: telling as far as what you know, what the temperature
Speaker 2: is at that time, all right, something else we discussed.
Speaker 2: I don't want to act as if this is like, hey,
Speaker 2: you know, this is something that we've talked a ton
Speaker 2: about on the show. And I also don't want to
Speaker 2: act as if this is something that like is really
Speaker 2: worthy of getting into. But Louisville losing Colin Lacey to
Speaker 2: injury six to eight weeks. He's going to be out
Speaker 2: with the broken collar bone. He's had surgery. That was
Speaker 2: a big topic yesterday. Right, a guy that could be
Speaker 2: their explosive playmaker on offense, he's now going to be
Speaker 2: sidelined for a while. Where as a little will go
Speaker 2: from here. I still maintain that they have enough pieces
Speaker 2: and Jeff Brahm, I think is creative enough as a
Speaker 2: play caller to where they can get by without Colin
Speaker 2: Lacy and they may actually still have a high powered offense.
Speaker 2: In fact, they like I don't want to downplay it
Speaker 2: as if Colin Lacy's absence is going to be no
Speaker 2: big deal, because I do love the upside he has.
Speaker 2: He's a proven playmaker, maybe not at this level, but
Speaker 2: still his production at South Alabama was hard to ignore.
Speaker 2: And with his size and just being that slot guy,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of people myself included that it thought
Speaker 2: like maybe Jeff could get real creative here and utilize
Speaker 2: him in a way that he did Rondell Moore. That's
Speaker 2: a big ass because Rondel Moore was explosive. But Colin Lacy,
Speaker 2: he didn't do it in the Big ten like Rondelle did.
Speaker 2: But he's really really proven and good. So I'm not
Speaker 2: acting as if they got to go do something, but
Speaker 2: there's at least some smoke out there that they may
Speaker 2: make a late addition here to the roster. And it's
Speaker 2: somebody that you should be familiar with. Amuriy Huggins Bruce,
Speaker 2: who transferred to South Carolina did not win the starting
Speaker 2: job there at the slot receiver spot. He is somebody
Speaker 2: that I believe is the best example of sort of
Speaker 2: what life's going to be like moving forward now that
Speaker 2: the portal exists. This is a guy that nobody wanted
Speaker 2: to leave. He was good for you. He was an elite.
Speaker 2: You would understand if the staff is going to recruit
Speaker 2: over him, but nobody would say, yeah, this guy stinks.
Speaker 2: I hope he leaves we can get somebody else. I mean,
Speaker 2: you shouldn't say that about anybody, but like, he's a
Speaker 2: guy that when you saw he was transferring, you remembered, oh, yeah,
Speaker 2: that guy. In three years he had he had a
Speaker 2: handful of touchdowns, he made some plays. So like, I'm
Speaker 2: bummed that he's leaving. But again, when you kind of
Speaker 2: look around and realize this is a new world of
Speaker 2: college athletics, you understand this is how it's going to be.
Speaker 2: He loved Louisville. He said that on his way out,
Speaker 2: and I think he meant it. I know people that
Speaker 2: got to know him a little bit during his time
Speaker 2: here at Louisville. But he's looking out for himself, right
Speaker 2: he wasn't. I mean, he put his name in the portal.
Speaker 2: I think it was ten days after calling Lacey committed
Speaker 2: to Louisville because he realized, uh oh, I just got
Speaker 2: recruited over So he did not win the job at
Speaker 2: South Carolina. There's no reports that I've seen that he's
Speaker 2: entering the portal, but there are some, you know, there's
Speaker 2: some message board chatter, some smoke. I would say that
Speaker 2: like he might try to come back to Louisville and
Speaker 2: join the program, rejoin the program. I should say, I
Speaker 2: have no clue if that's true or not. But all
Speaker 2: I will say is that if there is any truth
Speaker 2: to that and that happens, I'd say that's a good
Speaker 2: insurance policy here without Colin Lacey. I mean, it just
Speaker 2: gives you another receiver. It's a guy who has proven
Speaker 2: to at least be solid. But by the way, with
Speaker 2: Huggins Bruce, there's also a part of me that's like, well,
Speaker 2: maybe he would really thrive now with Shuck, maybe they
Speaker 2: would just have some kind of chemistry or something. The
Speaker 2: only reason I say that is because at times Huggins
Speaker 2: Bruce did in fact look like he was going to
Speaker 2: be a pretty good receiver, and he was technically. I mean,
Speaker 2: his numbers aren't bad last year three hundred and twelve
Speaker 2: yards at four touchdowns, twenty receptions. His best season actually
Speaker 2: came as a true freshman when he got twenty nine passes,
Speaker 2: four hundred and forty four yards, four touchdowns. So he's
Speaker 2: been productive, you know, here and there, but he's never
Speaker 2: really he's not been consistent and he's never really merged
Speaker 2: as a guy where you feel like, Okay, he's going
Speaker 2: to be a fixture within this offense moving forward. He's
Speaker 2: had plays where you're like, oh wow, that was pretty
Speaker 2: that was pretty impressive, and then you think, okay, well,
Speaker 2: let's hope that he gets it rolling. Then you realize, okay,
Speaker 2: two games later he catches a pass, so you forgot
Speaker 2: about that guy. Haven't haven't thought about him since the
Speaker 2: last time I saw him made it catch, which was
Speaker 2: two weeks ago. So again, I don't want to talk already.
Speaker 2: I probably already talked about it too much to where
Speaker 2: it does seem as if like it's it's legitimately in
Speaker 2: the works. It's more so a rumor, and I hate
Speaker 2: getting into rumors like this, but it's coming from a
Speaker 2: place to where like if it does end up becoming,
Speaker 2: if it does end up proving to be true, and
Speaker 2: they do make this work, I wouldn't be shocked. That's
Speaker 2: and that's I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't
Speaker 2: think that there was, you know, some legitimacy to maybe
Speaker 2: this actually being able to happen.
Speaker 3: All right, quick break, we'll keep.
Speaker 2: It rolling along here. What I want to get you
Speaker 2: on the other side, Tom Jurich. He's being pushed for
Speaker 2: an athletic director job by one of his former employees.
Speaker 2: And I have no problem saying this. I want it badly.
Speaker 2: I just want to see what would happen if Tom
Speaker 2: Jurge did re enter college athletics now that it's so
Speaker 2: different than what it was when he was here in
Speaker 2: twenty seventeen, Also, we'll get back into this week zero
Speaker 2: at travel issue. Yeah, not a huge shocker if you
Speaker 2: think about it. Delaware State a program that's in the MIAC. Yeah,
Speaker 2: they may not have the same resources that other programs
Speaker 2: have for travel. And they're ten and a half hour
Speaker 2: flight to Honolulu. They missed the flight, and now they're
Speaker 2: scrambling Delaware State in Hawaii play on Saturday, and I'm
Speaker 2: not sure Delaware State's gonna be able to get there.
Speaker 2: Stick around coffee and company. Feel about Thordt's right here
Speaker 2: on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1: So.
Speaker 2: I've seen the college football national guys covering this story
Speaker 2: of Delaware State's football program having some travel issues. Is
Speaker 2: they're trying to get to Hawaii for their game on
Speaker 2: Saturday in week zero. And one thing I did miss
Speaker 2: and just now saw for the first time that a
Speaker 2: Delaware State spokesman has confirmed that the travel issue in
Speaker 2: THISI was that they missed their flight. Like somebody's got
Speaker 2: to get in trouble for that, right. How do you
Speaker 2: how does a team I mean again, they can't fly
Speaker 2: like they're obviously not in a position to fly, you know, privately,
Speaker 2: like a lot of the big time programs do with
Speaker 2: a charter flight. But I mean, my guess that's like
Speaker 2: the one thing you got to do is make sure
Speaker 2: you get there. If your flight's book you got this
Speaker 2: many people going in, it's a ten and a half
Speaker 2: hour flight. Like the real like the day of goal
Speaker 2: is get there and don't miss the flight.
Speaker 4: Yeah, whoever's in charge of their travel plans probably didn't
Speaker 4: think about how much time it would take for them
Speaker 4: to get to where they needed to go and maybe
Speaker 4: what potential traffic issues they could have encountered.
Speaker 2: Okay, so it looks like there was a bus snaff
Speaker 2: foo at the JFK airport that kept them from I mean,
Speaker 2: I don't know if that's a bus they were relying on,
Speaker 2: because again, you wouldn't believe if you've not seen it
Speaker 2: up close, you wouldn't believe the amount of people that
Speaker 2: travel with teams now, they probably don't have as big
Speaker 2: of a contingent just because of the type of you know,
Speaker 2: they're not a first of all, if you're somebody that
Speaker 2: is connected but you're not needed on this flip on
Speaker 2: this trip to save money, they're not going to let
Speaker 2: you know, like this is probably the type of flight
Speaker 2: that like they will send only people that they know
Speaker 2: need to be there because it's going to help them
Speaker 2: cut costs. And they're only going to essentially pick up
Speaker 2: a check after getting their rear end kicked in and
Speaker 2: coming back to Delaware State for another probably awful season.
Speaker 2: They went one to ten last year, and now they're
Speaker 2: you know, they're to keep the lights on, to keep
Speaker 2: the bills paid, to make budget. They've got to travel
Speaker 2: and play teams like Hawaii from the Mountain West and
Speaker 2: again probably get drilled. It's just I mean, these are
Speaker 2: by games, and these these games that these FCS teams play,
Speaker 2: and obviously the G five teams play them as well.
Speaker 2: These are important for them as far as just funding
Speaker 2: the program. And what I mean by that not paying players.
Speaker 2: It's just, you know, it's expensive to run a college
Speaker 2: football program, and those two three games you play a
Speaker 2: year against those kind of teams are a huge part
Speaker 2: of how you're able to pay for that expensive cost.
Speaker 2: So this is from a let's see, I don't know
Speaker 2: if this is a This says we're working on a plan,
Speaker 2: says Delaware State spokesman says that they rebooked its travel
Speaker 2: and is still scheduled to arrive on time in Hawaii
Speaker 2: Tomorrow says that they they added an extra they built
Speaker 2: an extra day into their travel plans just in case
Speaker 2: of an issue, so they missed their flight. Not a
Speaker 2: good look. But that extra day that you added just
Speaker 2: because of you know, a potential issue, which you did have.
Speaker 2: That that's a good move on your part because now
Speaker 2: you've I guess you know, been able to rebook and
Speaker 2: you know it sounds like you're gonna be there just
Speaker 2: in time.
Speaker 4: Hornets Rainbow Warriors midnight on Saturday. Be there, be square right,
Speaker 4: I'm going to be not on Sunday at that point.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Oh, I'm going to be if I'm up.
Speaker 3: That's the Sickos Committee game of the week for sure.
Speaker 2: Oh dude, I'm I'm in. And I mean think about
Speaker 2: when that'll be? What four o'clock when the morning when
Speaker 2: it ends, no joke like, it'll be four o'clockies because
Speaker 2: that's how long these games last. So yeah, this whole
Speaker 2: travel thing is has made me a little bit more
Speaker 2: interested in this game. I can't lie and say I'm
Speaker 2: all in, but I will probably tune in and pass
Speaker 2: out after too many bush lights and you know, wake
Speaker 2: up and not remember that that game was ever played,
Speaker 2: because that's just how it's such a non starter. And
Speaker 2: the story itself kind of has me wanting to sprinkle
Speaker 2: something light on the Delaware State Hornets to cover a
Speaker 2: humongous spread that is now up to thirty nine and
Speaker 2: a half points. But I would just be wasting money.
Speaker 2: But hey, I waste money every time I bet. I
Speaker 2: don't win that often.
Speaker 4: You may wake up on the brink of a Delaware
Speaker 4: State upset at like three point thirty in the morning,
Speaker 4: after passing out with some beers.
Speaker 2: That would be awesome, kind of restart the night at
Speaker 2: that point, right, there's nothing better than waking up and
Speaker 2: realizing that you know, one of your bets came through,
Speaker 2: that you passed out or fell asleep just because you
Speaker 2: couldn't stay up, or you know, this is never like this.
Speaker 2: This is good, But it also tells me at times like,
Speaker 2: all right, man, like you're doing a little too much.
Speaker 2: Not to say like I'm spending too much money because
Speaker 2: I don't bet a lot of money, but like to
Speaker 2: unexpectedly see that you want to bet because you didn't
Speaker 2: you weren't able to really remember fully how many active
Speaker 2: things you had going what that bothers me about is
Speaker 2: It tells me, look, you're not even really looking at
Speaker 2: what you're betting, like you're not even like you know.
Speaker 2: But when I see, okay, well had a three leg
Speaker 2: parlay here for the noon slate, that's dead. Now we
Speaker 2: got to look at the other games, and I start
Speaker 2: building from there. And then then you know, pretty early
Speaker 2: on in that slate of games, you know you lost again,
Speaker 2: like you just all right, well, let's just let's try again.
Speaker 2: And that's where it kind of gets hard to keep
Speaker 2: up with. But there is nothing better than really tracking
Speaker 2: a bet that you feel good about, meaning like you're
Speaker 2: out in front of it and it comes through it
Speaker 2: just you know, and again it's all luck. I think
Speaker 2: at least that's the way. I mean, it's not all luck. Clearly.
Speaker 2: If you've never bet and you just know nothing about
Speaker 2: college football and you just start picking things, I mean,
Speaker 2: you're probably not gonna be very good. But I just
Speaker 2: choose to believe that it's luck based that way. I
Speaker 2: don't get too into it and don't get too competitive
Speaker 2: with it. But I'm telling you, I like the dogs.
Speaker 2: Georgia Tech plus eleven now I think it was eleven
Speaker 2: and a half. I think they're gonna keep it, keep
Speaker 2: it competitive against Florida State, I really do. I'm not
Speaker 2: a believer in Georgia Tech. Is this team that's about
Speaker 2: to be, you know, a rising program in the ACC.
Speaker 2: But they're clearly better than they have been in recent years.
Speaker 2: They're coming off a pretty good season last year, and
Speaker 2: Florida State a lot of new pieces. And I don't
Speaker 2: believe in dj Yugla Leiley. I just don't. I don't
Speaker 2: know why people do. So I'm taking Florida State. I'm sorry,
Speaker 2: george Tech plus eleven and obviously the other one is
Speaker 2: Nevada plus twenty five and a half. Too many points,
Speaker 2: too many points, SMU. I could be wrong here, I'm
Speaker 2: wrong a lot. I just don't know, Like what has
Speaker 2: people thinking that they're gonna be like the team right
Speaker 2: behind Clemson Florida State in no particular like everybody acts
Speaker 2: us if they're going to just walk in and be
Speaker 2: right outside the top tier of this league. And there's
Speaker 2: really nothing to base that off of other than they
Speaker 2: were pretty good in the American I mean that, and
Speaker 2: I know the ACC is not great, but like, I
Speaker 2: just don't get this, SMU. Megan of the other schools
Speaker 2: joining cal and Stanford. Yeah, they're better than them, but
Speaker 2: that doesn't mean a whole lot. All right, let's talk
Speaker 2: about Tom Jersey, shall We been a while since we
Speaker 2: talked about mister Jurch, former Louisville athletic director who has
Speaker 2: been seemingly comfortably retired since Louisville kind of forced him
Speaker 2: out back in twenty seventeen. I have no clue if
Speaker 2: Tom Jersey has tried to get another athletic director job
Speaker 2: and the interest wasn't there from the universities, I have
Speaker 2: no clue if the universities have courted him for a
Speaker 2: job and he's told him no, I have no clue.
Speaker 2: I don't have any connection to Tom on a personal level.
Speaker 2: I mean I know him. I mean I've had conversations
Speaker 2: with him, but it's been you I have not talked
Speaker 2: to Tom they since he left, and I know others
Speaker 2: that you know are in local media here have But
Speaker 2: I don't have that kind of relationship. So I want
Speaker 2: to be clear about that. But Rick Patino earlier today
Speaker 2: tweeting out would love to see New Mexico hire the
Speaker 2: best ad in America, Tom Jurich. I've worked with the
Speaker 2: best and none are better than this man had Louisville
Speaker 2: top ten women's and men's hoops, top ten football, top
Speaker 2: ten soccer, top ten baseball, and best facilities in college
Speaker 2: sports superstar. So this is not a surprise to see
Speaker 2: Rick continuing to prop up his guy. And honestly, he
Speaker 2: didn't say anything that wasn't true. You know he didn't.
Speaker 2: I mean, Tom Jerch was a phenomenal athletic director here
Speaker 2: and is so important to the legacy of Louisville athletics
Speaker 2: top to bottom. I mean, I think we've always been
Speaker 2: able to say that, but because you know, you know,
Speaker 2: you were going to be a Louisville fan after him,
Speaker 2: like when he was fighting with the school and suing,
Speaker 2: like it just it was like you were the parents
Speaker 2: and your kids are getting divorced. It was weird, it
Speaker 2: was awkward. Well, now the time has passed and Louisvill's
Speaker 2: had a bunch of different athlete directors and really nowhere
Speaker 2: near the same success they had during Tom's time here.
Speaker 2: Like anybody claiming he wasn't great, not to say he
Speaker 2: didn't make mistakes and make a bad hire here or there.
Speaker 2: Clearly he did. Everybody does. He's not perfect, he hired
Speaker 2: Crackthrope that didn't work out, he gave Bobby a crazy,
Speaker 2: stupid contract when he wasn't needed when Bobby came back.
Speaker 2: But overall, like he is, he was phenomenal at his job.
Speaker 2: So I have no clue if they'll be interested from
Speaker 2: New Mexico because they have an opening right now. And yes,
Speaker 2: obviously another connection here, like Rick feels more comfortable saying
Speaker 2: this about New Mexico because his son works there. So again,
Speaker 2: no clue if this ends up happening. But I so
Speaker 2: badly want to see this happen. Not because I'm sad
Speaker 2: for Tom because he didn't need this. I mean, I'm
Speaker 2: sure he's financially in a great place. If he really
Speaker 2: wanted to be back in the game that badly, he
Speaker 2: could have gotten a job somewhere. But he's obviously well
Speaker 2: aware of his resume and isn't just going to go
Speaker 2: work somewhere randomly, and he doesn't really need to prove anything.
Speaker 2: And to be fair to Tom, one of the reasons
Speaker 2: I think that the times he was difficult to deal with,
Speaker 2: and I had difficulties at time. I'm myself nothing crazy
Speaker 2: like some other stories I've heard, but you know, he
Speaker 2: didn't like anybody talking in any way negatively about Louisville.
Speaker 2: He didn't like I mean, if you weren't all in
Speaker 2: with Tom and U of L, you were an enemy.
Speaker 2: And that's not really any way to go about it.
Speaker 2: But I will say this, the reason he did that
Speaker 2: is because it was his baby. He loved it so much.
Speaker 2: He I mean, he helped build U of L Athletics
Speaker 2: to really what it is now outside of basketball because
Speaker 2: it was already established right with Denny Crumb. So like,
Speaker 2: he took it personal because it was personal to him.
Speaker 2: You if you're not pumping up U of L the
Speaker 2: way he wants you to, and you are, you know,
Speaker 2: friends with him or just cordial in a business manner
Speaker 2: or whatever, or in media, like, he takes that personal. Again,
Speaker 2: I'm not saying that's right, but I think he did
Speaker 2: it because of that. So the reason I want to
Speaker 2: see it is because I actually happen to think that
Speaker 2: what made Tom Jurich so great as the athletic director
Speaker 2: at the University of Louisville, Like the things he did
Speaker 2: really well fundraising I mean raising money really you know,
Speaker 2: making good hires, being the ultimate competitor, doing whatever he
Speaker 2: could to make sure his athletic department had resources to
Speaker 2: win and compete at a high level. And maybe he,
Speaker 2: you know, maybe him and James Ramsey, maybe James Ramsey specifically,
Speaker 2: you know, did some shady stuff that Tom benefited from.
Speaker 2: I don't know, that's not really relevant now, but nonetheless,
Speaker 2: like Tom, like it's all about money. Tom was a
Speaker 2: guy that basically ran you of athletics as if it
Speaker 2: was a professional sports franchise, and he did it really well.
Speaker 2: And yes, the game has changed so much since he
Speaker 2: last was an athletic director. When I say the game,
Speaker 2: I mean college athletics. It's changing a major way. But
Speaker 2: I feel like the things that he was really good
Speaker 2: at that helped you of l athletics become what it
Speaker 2: is today is now more important than it ever was
Speaker 2: because it's all of it. This is pro sports, people,
Speaker 2: it is this is professional sports. There's so much money
Speaker 2: involved in this, and there was a lot of money
Speaker 2: involved in it with Tom was around. So you know,
Speaker 2: like the difference now is though, like it's you know,
Speaker 2: being able to really drive fundraising, getting people to believe
Speaker 2: in your vision and invest and really open up the
Speaker 2: checkbook like that is super important. Now if you want
Speaker 2: to compete at the high level in college athletics, and
Speaker 2: I wouldn't. I mean, I don't think it's a stretch
Speaker 2: to say that's what Tom did best. So again, who knows,
Speaker 2: But I want it to happen just because I would,
Speaker 2: you know, And look if it did happen and Tom
Speaker 2: went to New Mexico and their athletic department really benefited
Speaker 2: from him and it was a story within college sports,
Speaker 2: I would love that for Tom. I don't have any
Speaker 2: ill will at all in regards to that. So we'll see. Again.
Speaker 2: I no clue if it will actually happen, but New
Speaker 2: Mexico's the kind of school that could do it, like
Speaker 2: if there was like and I don't know if there are,
Speaker 2: but like if there were specific reasons why other schools
Speaker 2: passed on Tom, if that ever happened, New Mexico's the
Speaker 2: kind of school that would be like, hell, yeah, we'd
Speaker 2: be lucky to have this guy. We're New Mexico. We
Speaker 2: were just talking yesterday about how bad they are in football?
Speaker 2: What are they? I gotta look at this now.
Speaker 3: They're ten point underdogs to Montana State.
Speaker 2: In Week zero, right, Yes, yeah, that's crazy. Higher, Tom, George,
Speaker 2: do it. I want to see how it works out,
Speaker 2: and I think it would work, I really do. All right,
Speaker 2: don't go anywhere. We'll come back for a final segment
Speaker 2: right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Since we've talked
Speaker 2: a lot about New Mexico in the last twenty minutes
Speaker 2: or so, I totally forgot this. Bronco Mendenhall is their
Speaker 2: new football coach.
Speaker 3: I didn't know that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, he's an easily forgettable guy, but he's
Speaker 2: known for a good run, a really good run, I
Speaker 2: should say at Byu, I mean they were good, you know,
Speaker 2: in the independent status they were good. During their time
Speaker 2: in the Mountain West, they were good. And then in
Speaker 2: Virginia he wasn't great, but he you know they're Virginia,
Speaker 2: you know, I mean getting to Bowl games. And he
Speaker 2: did win eight games in twenty eighteen, nine games in
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen, so you know, six and six in his
Speaker 2: last year. So you know, he took three years off.
Speaker 2: It looks like two years off, I should say, now
Speaker 2: has re emerged in New Mexico. So that's just wild
Speaker 2: to say. Bronco menden Hall, in his debut is a
Speaker 2: double digit dog to an FCS team. Crazy, all right,
Speaker 2: you're crazy if you guys don't check out the podcast
Speaker 2: on the show because of the show, because it's up
Speaker 2: usually once the show ends, and I'm sure a lot
Speaker 2: of you, I mean, it's not really, it's not excused.
Speaker 2: I don't get it. I don't know how you could
Speaker 2: if you don't lock in from three to six every day,
Speaker 2: live every second of the show. I think you need
Speaker 2: to reevaluate some of your priorities. But you know, you
Speaker 2: got you got jobs and stuff. I get it, you
Speaker 2: got prior you got kids. So if you ever miss
Speaker 2: anything and you want to experience the full Coffee and
Speaker 2: Company experience, you can find the podcast on of course
Speaker 2: iHeartRadio the app, and also find it on the Apple podcast.
Speaker 2: I mean, we're actually another are we? And other ones
Speaker 2: other than other than just those two.
Speaker 3: It's a good question.
Speaker 2: You published, so doesn't it show you where it's going?
Speaker 2: Or no, it doesn't tell me. I think there might
Speaker 2: be a way I can find it if I wanted
Speaker 2: to dig in, Like when you when you publish, it
Speaker 2: sends it to you know, platforms, and I'm pretty sure
Speaker 2: those are the only two that we really prioritize but
Speaker 2: I don't know. There's a lot of a lot of
Speaker 2: different ways people can consume a podcast. I mean, at
Speaker 2: least that's you know, that was the case. I'm not
Speaker 2: sure if that's changed since then. If I'm listening to
Speaker 2: a podcast, I'm listening to it on those two iHeart
Speaker 2: or on the Apple podcast app. What happened? So people
Speaker 2: used to call it iTunes?
Speaker 3: That's right.
Speaker 2: Why doesn't it called that anymore?
Speaker 1: So?
Speaker 4: I don't know if iTunes doesn't exist anymore, but I
Speaker 4: do know once streaming music kind of became the way
Speaker 4: of you know, not even the future, but the way
Speaker 4: of now, Apple created Apple Music to compet. Yeah, okay stuff, Yeah,
Speaker 4: so iTunes kind of became obsolete at that point.
Speaker 2: That makes total sense, makes total sense. Yeah, because they
Speaker 2: didn't they probably never thought they'd be shifting, but they
Speaker 2: had to, you know, in order to compete. Which one
Speaker 2: do you have?
Speaker 3: Or Spotify is what I used primarily?
Speaker 2: Is that? Is that still like the top? I would imagine,
Speaker 2: like that's probably the most popular.
Speaker 3: One, right, I would assume.
Speaker 4: So I think it was kind of the first to
Speaker 4: really get started with it, so they kind of got
Speaker 4: a leg.
Speaker 3: Up on everyone.
Speaker 2: Well, actually, no, they weren't. You remember the original what
Speaker 2: was the original Pandora even know what that is?
Speaker 3: Oh that's the that was the radio streaming.
Speaker 2: You're right, no one Pandora was is the was the
Speaker 2: first to wear Pandora. And then I think Amazon before
Speaker 2: Spotify blew up because Pandora, like it was you could
Speaker 2: stream any music. I mean I had a Pandora subscription
Speaker 2: for a long time and then I realized, oh yeah, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, this one isn't as good as the others
Speaker 2: that are out there. I've heard good things about Apple Music,
Speaker 2: but I've never you know, you and you wouldn't be
Speaker 2: able to get it right because you don't have Apple.
Speaker 3: That's true.
Speaker 2: Just does does Android have its own No?
Speaker 3: I think most people just use Spotify.
Speaker 2: Yeah, vantage makes sense. All Right, we're out of time.
Speaker 2: Have a good night, everybody. Talk to you tomorrow right
Speaker 2: here on Sports Talk seven ninety