Speaker 1: All right, let's get ready to get set for the weekend.
Speaker 1: Happy Friday, everybody, you made it. I feel like this
Speaker 1: week was the first week where it felt like a
Speaker 1: normal week as far as routine for me. I'm sure
Speaker 1: everybody's routine schedule is different, but really, since the holidays,
Speaker 1: we had Christmas Week, which of course was you know,
Speaker 1: not the normal work week because of the holiday. Same
Speaker 1: thing the next week for New Years, and then after
Speaker 1: that we just got hit with a bunch of snow,
Speaker 1: and I guess we did technically have I had a
Speaker 1: day where I had to make some arrangements with childcare
Speaker 1: because there was an NTI day. But for some reason,
Speaker 1: this feels like the first normal week in quite some time.
Speaker 1: And I always, like, you know, when we get interrupted
Speaker 1: and we get a day off or a snow day
Speaker 1: something like that, but it always it's always nice to
Speaker 1: be in routine, and we made it. It's Friday, feels
Speaker 1: like a Friday, which means it feels good. So we're
Speaker 1: taking you up till six o'clock. Hang out, take us
Speaker 1: with you wherever you go. Listen live on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1: Also listen live at seven ninety Louisville Dot com and
Speaker 1: if you want to text end of the show, you
Speaker 1: can do it Bibo two six five three zero seven ninety.
Speaker 1: It's the ln N Federal Credit Union text line. And
Speaker 1: if you want to give us a call, we will
Speaker 1: open up the phone lines here shortly once we get
Speaker 1: to our first break. The number to call in is
Speaker 1: fib OO two five to seven to one seventy nine hundred.
Speaker 1: It's just me today, So the more the merrier. If
Speaker 1: you want to give us a call again, we'll give
Speaker 1: you the chance to do that. And I would imagine, well,
Speaker 1: I shouldn't. I should not indicate that you know, the
Speaker 1: caller I'm looking for is wanting to talk about this
Speaker 1: or that, because you guys can bring whatever you want.
Speaker 1: We'll see where it goes. But clearly some real good
Speaker 1: momentum for Louisville basketball right now and them not playing
Speaker 1: this weekend. I mean, I was kind of joking yesterday
Speaker 1: and saying that, like I'm complaining that my only complaint
Speaker 1: is in fact that I don't get to watch this
Speaker 1: team play for a full week because they don't have
Speaker 1: a game this weekend. And yeah, I'm bummed, but I mean,
Speaker 1: it's not a real complaint. I'm not bothered by it,
Speaker 1: but man, just to see the energy that has been
Speaker 1: injected into the program, into the city. And I know
Speaker 1: there's many many of you in this city that don't
Speaker 1: root for Louisville because you're Kentucky fans. I get it,
Speaker 1: And as I always say, that's what makes this the
Speaker 1: best city in my opinion when it comes to a
Speaker 1: rivalry in college sports. Yes I'm biased, but still I
Speaker 1: think I could make a case that would make sense
Speaker 1: to a lot of folks that may doubt that. But anyways,
Speaker 1: I cannot get over just really the lad it's been building,
Speaker 1: and it's been there for a couple of weeks now
Speaker 1: really since Pat Kelsey got here, but now that they're actually,
Speaker 1: you know, playing really well, and you don't have to
Speaker 1: go out of your way to find somebody talking good
Speaker 1: about the way Louisville's playing and talk specifically about how
Speaker 1: great of a job Pat Kelsey's doing in his first
Speaker 1: year with a brand new team that he built from scratch,
Speaker 1: and with injuries that we forget about, they're playing so
Speaker 1: well that all you've not I mean, I love case
Speaker 1: in Pryor hope he's back for a couple of years
Speaker 1: he's got actually the ability to play two more years
Speaker 1: in college. It seems Corain Johnson, you know, we never
Speaker 1: really got to see what we were gonna miss. But man,
Speaker 1: I know he's got talent. Six Man of the Year
Speaker 1: last year in the Pac twelve. So I forget those
Speaker 1: guys are even around because you've been able to succeed
Speaker 1: without them, And again that speaks to how good of
Speaker 1: a job he's done as a head coach. So I
Speaker 1: think here and there you've seen fans really, you know,
Speaker 1: just showing that there's energy back, there's life within the
Speaker 1: program once again. And this really the last ten days
Speaker 1: or so is when it's really like, I mean, it's
Speaker 1: just at all points I'm finding myself either just thinking, man,
Speaker 1: is this real? Are we back? And I don't mean
Speaker 1: that we're back to the point where they're going to
Speaker 1: go on a run and win a title, but I
Speaker 1: mean just relevant again, meaning that you know, we're a
Speaker 1: team that is in the top twenty five. We're a
Speaker 1: team that's gonna make the tournament. We're a team that
Speaker 1: you know, I think would be a tough out for
Speaker 1: somebody if they're not ready because the way Louisville's playing
Speaker 1: and I say we because I'm so caught up in,
Speaker 1: you know, the fan element. I mean, I've always been
Speaker 1: a fan of my whole life. But I've been pretty
Speaker 1: spoiled right Louisville basketball really since I've been in this position.
Speaker 1: But the most part has been in a good spot
Speaker 1: where we could not be arrogant necessarily. But you know,
Speaker 1: nowhere we stand, and I think we've always had that
Speaker 1: mindset that even though the down years were bad, Louisville
Speaker 1: basketball overall is still one of the better programs out there.
Speaker 1: So we know that. But when you are in a
Speaker 1: a stretch of three really bad seasons, you know, just
Speaker 1: just being recognized again for this and not it be
Speaker 1: the other things we were recognized for in previous years,
Speaker 1: it's just awesome. You know. I was at the gym
Speaker 1: earlier today and I was heading out and I ended
Speaker 1: up chatting for about fifteen minutes with the Louisville fan
Speaker 1: that and you're just getting kind of lost in conversation
Speaker 1: because we're just that excited and we love this team
Speaker 1: so much. And I know it sounds over the top,
Speaker 1: it sounds corny if you don't. I mean, like I
Speaker 1: get all that, but I'm just happy to more than
Speaker 1: anything this experience, meeting Louisville, being in a spot that
Speaker 1: I never thought they'd be in on the negative side
Speaker 1: with the last few years, and then now it's made
Speaker 1: me feel a love. It's almost like maybe feel alive again.
Speaker 1: And I kind of like this part of it meaning
Speaker 1: enjoying things that really do, in fact bring me big happiness.
Speaker 1: That for a good chunk of my life as a
Speaker 1: Louisville fan, it was just the expectation, and that's where
Speaker 1: you want to be. You want to be able to say, look,
Speaker 1: we're Louisville. We're going twenty four games a year, and
Speaker 1: hopefully we can make a run in the tournament. I mean,
Speaker 1: that hasn't happened every year, but you know that used
Speaker 1: to be something you throw out there and people would
Speaker 1: be like, well, yeah, we're Louisville, that's what we're gonna do. Well,
Speaker 1: we haven't been Louisville in a few years, and we're
Speaker 1: taking big steps to get back there in real time.
Speaker 1: And it's just been such a fun ride, and I
Speaker 1: think that's why it's it's really kind of been something
Speaker 1: I got to remind myself to do not as much
Speaker 1: in the last few days. But for a while, like
Speaker 1: I wasn't thinking about seating or bracketology because I'm just
Speaker 1: happy that we're alive again and we're winning, and it's
Speaker 1: been it's been great. And there's no game this weekend,
Speaker 1: which is a real bummer. But earlier today U of
Speaker 1: L Health on their social media platforms, social media pages,
Speaker 1: I should say I saw it on Facebook, they shared
Speaker 1: a little photoshoot where looks like at least six or
Speaker 1: seven of the players on the team Corn Johnson case
Speaker 1: in prior. In fact, it looks as if maybe guys
Speaker 1: that weren't able to practice because of injury. They went
Speaker 1: alongside with Peyton Siva to U of L Health, and
Speaker 1: you know it like it's just a reminder that this
Speaker 1: program is, it means a lot to the city, not
Speaker 1: just people that are fans. And I would imagine, you know,
Speaker 1: if you are a Louisville native and you're not a
Speaker 1: UK fan, you probably you know, you probably root for Louisville,
Speaker 1: of course, but to see these eyes and Peyton Siva,
Speaker 1: they stopped by to see patients and staff. It was
Speaker 1: at the Brown Cancer Center and it was right before
Speaker 1: Tuesday's Coaches Versus Cancer Suits and Sneakers game, so you know,
Speaker 1: this is this is getting ahead of the game that's
Speaker 1: coming up this Tuesday. But just seeing things like that,
Speaker 1: I mean again, I'm sure teams that weren't successful still
Speaker 1: did those kind of things and it was great, but
Speaker 1: it's going to get more attention, unfortunately when things are
Speaker 1: are going better for the basketball program, and these guys
Speaker 1: just really represent I think the fan base and really
Speaker 1: Louisville in a great way. And oh by the way
Speaker 1: they win, and it's just it's just been a fun ride.
Speaker 1: And I know I've said that a lot in many
Speaker 1: different ways over the last few weeks, but I kind
Speaker 1: of don't mind being repetitive. I kind of don't mind,
Speaker 1: and I should be more mindful of that because I'm
Speaker 1: sure you guys don't want to hear the same thing
Speaker 1: every day for three straight hours. And it hasn't been that,
Speaker 1: but it really was NonStop for the last couple of
Speaker 1: years because it was what we're supposed to do. It
Speaker 1: may not have been entertaining, it may not have been fun,
Speaker 1: but when louis of Basketball was in the previous situation,
Speaker 1: it's all hands on deck. It's panic mode. So for
Speaker 1: us to drive listenership believe it or not, even though
Speaker 1: it seems just it seems like something that you're tired
Speaker 1: of hearing about. I mean, we have people calling in
Speaker 1: like will you ever talk about something else? And I
Speaker 1: tried at the time to be understanding, but also, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm sure I came off defensive, like when Louis of
Speaker 1: basketball is this bad? We're not going to ignore it.
Speaker 1: And although it, you know, might have seemed like I
Speaker 1: was piling on at times, and I'm sure I was.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, my opinion is because I care
Speaker 1: so much, and that's why when you are in a
Speaker 1: much different situation just a year later, that's why I'm
Speaker 1: giddy like a little kid. And I sound like, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm falling in love with a team for the first time.
Speaker 1: And again it's all corny, it's all dramatic. I get it,
Speaker 1: but I think both things make the same sense, right
Speaker 1: the reason and we were so beside ourselves and just
Speaker 1: it was such a toxic situation with the program and
Speaker 1: it seemed just like, man, will you guys are like,
Speaker 1: can we talk about something else? Well, and we did,
Speaker 1: but there was no other way to talk about it
Speaker 1: than the same way we talked about it for really
Speaker 1: a whole year, meaning like where we were as a
Speaker 1: basketball program, so to now be in a situation where
Speaker 1: again it's entirely different. A year later, it's kind of
Speaker 1: the same thing, but just an entirely different conversation. Right, Like,
Speaker 1: they didn't even play this weekend, there's no game to
Speaker 1: to In fact, they've actually been kind of boring to
Speaker 1: talk about as far as you know, interesting new. I mean,
Speaker 1: they broke some records the other night, which was great,
Speaker 1: and this isn't it. This isn't a complaint by any means,
Speaker 1: but the same way that I felt, I guess the
Speaker 1: same way I felt on Wednesday after they beat SMU,
Speaker 1: broke records and just dominated that game in a game
Speaker 1: that at the time, on paper, was your most challenging
Speaker 1: game left on the schedule. The way I came in
Speaker 1: and reacted to that on Wednesday. I've been doing that
Speaker 1: after every game for the last you know, month, and
Speaker 1: it's been fun. But you know, it's not really been
Speaker 1: anything new, and they just keep riding momentum and it's
Speaker 1: been it's been a lot of fun. So they don't
Speaker 1: play this weekend, and unbummed, but still a lot that
Speaker 1: we can get set up for the weekend because we'll
Speaker 1: find out on Sunday. By Sunday evening, we're going to
Speaker 1: know who is in fact going to be playing for
Speaker 1: the super Bowl. And I mean anybody but the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: I wish I could, you know, tell you that I
Speaker 1: had real, real genuine emotion as far as being a
Speaker 1: fan and rooting for one of the other teams that's left,
Speaker 1: But I don't have any I think that the Jade
Speaker 1: Daniels story with the Commanders is awesome, and I guess
Speaker 1: I think I've already witnessed history. I think I've already
Speaker 1: decided that for me really, no matter how it works
Speaker 1: out the rest of the way, I guess if he
Speaker 1: falls off a cliff and isn't great moving forward, then
Speaker 1: maybe it won't be something that stands out. But he
Speaker 1: he has been the best rookie quarterback that I have
Speaker 1: ever watched in the NFL. Now, just because I haven't
Speaker 1: watched others doesn't mean they haven't existed, But I mean,
Speaker 1: he's He's not only somebody that is good for a rookie,
Speaker 1: he's the he's the difference. They drafted him in the
Speaker 1: top five. You know why because they sucked last year.
Speaker 1: That's why they got a top five or whatever it
Speaker 1: was pick. And he has given them some real life,
Speaker 1: like there's veterans, and it's a good story. Terry McLaurin
Speaker 1: is a good story. He's been there and been productive
Speaker 1: for the for the Commanders for a long time with
Speaker 1: some really bad teams, some bad coaches, just some bad
Speaker 1: stretches of play. So it is a good story for
Speaker 1: him to be able to have this success. But I'm
Speaker 1: just gonna be honest, he was there doing the same
Speaker 1: thing and they weren't good. Now they've got some new life,
Speaker 1: and Jane Daniels has been sensational. So even if he
Speaker 1: doesn't beat the Eagles, I mean, I'm still gonna say
Speaker 1: that was one of the best, if not the best performances.
Speaker 1: Not really, I mean the best, the best season I've
Speaker 1: ever seen from a rookie starting quarterback. Some guys have
Speaker 1: gotten opportunities as a rookie and they've they've been impactful
Speaker 1: in a way, they've been able to get the job done.
Speaker 1: But those guys usually one aren't making the kind of
Speaker 1: impact that Daniels is making, and two they joined teams
Speaker 1: that are already well established, the Commanders were not, so
Speaker 1: I wanted to say, if he gets it done and
Speaker 1: he upsets Philadelphia, then man, he's really changing his legacy,
Speaker 1: which that is true, but it's legacy even as of
Speaker 1: right now. When it comes to his rookie season, I
Speaker 1: think it's pretty pretty impressive and I don't know if
Speaker 1: they'll be able to get it done, but they are
Speaker 1: really good and we'll go some we will go over
Speaker 1: some numbers later because there's actually some interesting numbers when
Speaker 1: it comes to these teams that are left still in
Speaker 1: the playoffs. But the Commanders, and I'm sure you don't
Speaker 1: even need a number or a stat to tell you this,
Speaker 1: they've been good this year in these moments when they're underdogs.
Speaker 1: I mean, you saw that when they did what they did,
Speaker 1: when they did what they did to Detroit. So it
Speaker 1: doesn't mean it's gonna be easy for them to do
Speaker 1: it against the Eagles, who are really, really good. And
Speaker 1: I mean I wouldn't be shocked if the Eagles end
Speaker 1: up winning the super Bowl. But I also can't say
Speaker 1: that if Jayden Daniels continues to do what he's doing
Speaker 1: and he wins a game or he's the star and
Speaker 1: it's an upset, like can we be that surprised because
Speaker 1: those are the those are the moments when when he
Speaker 1: seems to have and not just him, but like the
Speaker 1: Commanders overall, like they seem to really thrive this year
Speaker 1: in the underdog role because games they've lost at times
Speaker 1: and even time even games they barely won, they weren't
Speaker 1: that impressive, like it was kind of a close game
Speaker 1: against a bum team, but they really seem to be
Speaker 1: riding momentum. And I'm pulling for him, but obviously beating
Speaker 1: Philadelphia in Philadelphia is gonna be tough. And then the
Speaker 1: Bills and the Chiefs. I mean, that's that's the that's
Speaker 1: the game as far as the two teams that I
Speaker 1: feel like I could be wrong, but I feel like, well,
Speaker 1: maybe I'll go look it up to confirm it, but
Speaker 1: it seems to me that the favorites to win the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl will be whoever wins this game. And maybe
Speaker 1: favorites is not the right work because I'm not even
Speaker 1: really talking about like from a from a sports betting perspective.
Speaker 1: I just mean, I kind of feel like the Eagles
Speaker 1: have kind of been a quiet, really good team. The
Speaker 1: Commanders aren't supposed to be here. The Bills, it's been
Speaker 1: their year for a while and finally they got to
Speaker 1: this point. And the Chiefs they're just doing what they
Speaker 1: do winning. But what's different this year for them, for
Speaker 1: the Chiefs is they just there's really no number. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's nothing about them other than the win column that
Speaker 1: makes them seem special. And I mean just this season.
Speaker 1: Obviously you're well aware they've been I mean, they are
Speaker 1: a dynasty. This is the seventh straight time they've been
Speaker 1: in this position to play to get to a super Bowl.
Speaker 1: And I don't know, I don't think you hang banners
Speaker 1: for that. I don't really know how you would, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't know how you would really dress
Speaker 1: that up as some I mean, seven straight appearances in
Speaker 1: the conference championship game. I mean that sounds impressive, but
Speaker 1: like I think it's more impressive than just the way
Speaker 1: it sounded. And they are they are in a position
Speaker 1: to where them like the Chiefs, getting here, which a
Speaker 1: lot of franchises would dream for, they would dream to
Speaker 1: be there. Think how long it's been sent I mean,
Speaker 1: think how long it's been since the Commanders, that franchise
Speaker 1: has been in this position. I mean, just being here
Speaker 1: for them is awesome. They feel back. This is just
Speaker 1: waking up for Kansas City. This is just what they do,
Speaker 1: This is who they are. They're fighting for a spot
Speaker 1: to get to the to the super Bowl, and anything
Speaker 1: short of a super Bowl for the Chiefs at this
Speaker 1: point is a big disappointment, and that speaks to just
Speaker 1: how great they've been. So I'm a hater. I hope
Speaker 1: they lose, but I also can't lie to myself or
Speaker 1: to you and act like they're not still worthy of
Speaker 1: the benefit of the doubt to where I hope Buffalo
Speaker 1: gets it done, but I don't expect it to happen,
Speaker 1: although it does seem as if. And this is this
Speaker 1: is where actually the Chiefs become more dangerous to me.
Speaker 1: The noise is out there. Hey, we shouldn't doubt Kansas City.
Speaker 1: I mean, here they are. It's not been pretty, but
Speaker 1: they keep winning. However, I think this could be the time,
Speaker 1: This could be where Buffalo breaks through and Kansas City
Speaker 1: takes a step back. I've heard that at least three
Speaker 1: times from the national pundits in a variety of platforms,
Speaker 1: and they may be right because I kind of feel
Speaker 1: the same way. But you know what. That's kind of
Speaker 1: when the Chiefs remind you, no, we may not have
Speaker 1: impressed you with how it looked, but we still win.
Speaker 1: This is what we do, this is who we are.
Speaker 1: So exciting weekend when it comes to the NFL. Again,
Speaker 1: no Louisville basketball, but obviously some big time games over
Speaker 1: the weekend. Kentucky against Bandy. I mean, I don't want
Speaker 1: to sound like a broken record, but this is a
Speaker 1: weird big game for Kentucky because like any team in
Speaker 1: the SEC, these are actually the most important games. Because
Speaker 1: you can lose to the Kentucky's, to the Alabama's, to
Speaker 1: the Tennessees, to the Floridas. I feel like that's probably
Speaker 1: the elite tier. And look, even losing to a middle
Speaker 1: of a pack SEC team on the road is not
Speaker 1: going to really kill your resume. But my point is
Speaker 1: when you start losing games to teams like Vandy, teams
Speaker 1: like South Carolina. They have one against Georgia, which I
Speaker 1: didn't think at the time was a bad loss, and
Speaker 1: technically in all aspects it's really not a bad loss,
Speaker 1: but it's just a loss that you know you could
Speaker 1: have avoided. And there may be games like you had
Speaker 1: just this past Saturday against Alabama that you lost, and like,
Speaker 1: you played great, but you played another great team and
Speaker 1: they just outlasted you. So it's a weird year for
Speaker 1: the SEC that I think you can go into certain
Speaker 1: games knowing, hey, we may win, but if we lose
Speaker 1: and we compete, we won't like it. We're not going
Speaker 1: to be satisfied. But that's not something we need to
Speaker 1: really worry about when it comes to how good we
Speaker 1: can be. I know that's a weird way to process that.
Speaker 1: I'm sure that's not how they would do it internally,
Speaker 1: you know, with the coaching staff and all that. But
Speaker 1: when you start to lose games like this, and I
Speaker 1: don't think they will, I think in fact they play
Speaker 1: is this one's at Vandy right which I mean, doesn't
Speaker 1: that mean it's essentially going to be a home game
Speaker 1: for Kentucky. I know Vandy is not as bad as
Speaker 1: they usually are. They've got a new coach, and I
Speaker 1: think they're mean if Vandy is Vandy this year and
Speaker 1: the SEC is what it was in previous years, then
Speaker 1: maybe they're a bigger story, because I think they are.
Speaker 1: I mean, look Fandy right now, I mean they're fifteen
Speaker 1: and four. That's for Vandy, roughly twenty games in how
Speaker 1: many times as they've been fifteen. I mean that to me,
Speaker 1: that seems impressive, but you know, they're clearly one of
Speaker 1: the worst teams in the SEC, which again says more
Speaker 1: about the league than anything else. So maybe Bandy does
Speaker 1: have some excitement and they have some fans there, But
Speaker 1: I feel like if there's ever a big crowd at
Speaker 1: a game at Vandy when Kentucky's playing in it, the
Speaker 1: big crowd is usually there because of Kentucky fans. So
Speaker 1: currently and this surprises me, and it's just a formula,
Speaker 1: I'm sure the spread will be much different. I am
Speaker 1: sure the spread will be wow. So right now, the
Speaker 1: score here at Kin Palm, the projected score for Kentucky
Speaker 1: Vandy is eighty five to eighty three, a two point
Speaker 1: win for Kentucky. I just checked on DraftKings and I
Speaker 1: don't see an opening line yet, but we'll get one
Speaker 1: before the show ends today. I'm gonna guess this will
Speaker 1: be one of the bigger differences in spread and projection
Speaker 1: here because I think the formula makes sense for it
Speaker 1: to play out the way that it does. Because honestly,
Speaker 1: Ken Palm is great, but not perfect by any means.
Speaker 1: And I think one team that the kN Palm is
Speaker 1: just wrong about is in fact Kentucky. This is where
Speaker 1: I almost block out and you know, lose mom. I mean,
Speaker 1: I got to defend Kentucky here. The fact that they're
Speaker 1: nineteenth in the Kin Palm, I think says the Ken
Speaker 1: Palm might have an issue. Now again, there's certain teams
Speaker 1: that just because of certain numbers and schedule that kind
Speaker 1: of stuff like it can really it can make it
Speaker 1: look as if it's not. It just seems off. So
Speaker 1: Kentucky being nineteenth when really I think they're may is
Speaker 1: top ten in the eyes of most. I mean, I
Speaker 1: would imagine that they'll probably be favored by at least
Speaker 1: six and a half. I could be wrong, but I
Speaker 1: feel like, you know Vandy clearly better than they usually are.
Speaker 1: But I mean, I don't bet on Kentucky really ever
Speaker 1: I have before. But if they are in fact two
Speaker 1: point favorites in this game, similar to what the kN
Speaker 1: Palm spread says, I have no choice but to bet
Speaker 1: them because that would be free money at least I
Speaker 1: think it would be. All right, let's get to our
Speaker 1: first break. If you guys want to join us on
Speaker 1: the show, you can do it. Five oh two five
Speaker 1: seven one seventy nine hundred is the number. If you
Speaker 1: want to give us a call, you can text in
Speaker 1: on the L and N Federal Credit Union text line
Speaker 1: of five O two six five three zero seven ninety.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be joined coming up at four h five
Speaker 1: by Kent Spencer of WHAS eleven. As always, we look
Speaker 1: forward to our conversation with Kent and uh a lot
Speaker 1: to get to when it comes to the NFL hires
Speaker 1: that have been made man the uh Liam Cohen situation,
Speaker 1: I couldn't disagree more with what I What I see
Speaker 1: is real criticism of him and how he's handled some things.
Speaker 1: And I mean, we'll get to it later because we
Speaker 1: need to get to a break. But this guy did
Speaker 1: what everybody, like anybody he literally has done in the
Speaker 1: last four years, what every single person criticizing him would
Speaker 1: do if they were in his shoes, Like that's just
Speaker 1: the fact. So therefore, to see that he's being labeled
Speaker 1: as a guy who you know is unloyal, like that's
Speaker 1: just to me, that's insane hypocrisy. So we'll get to
Speaker 1: that and believe it or not. I rounded up a
Speaker 1: bunch of different clips that are not that hard to find,
Speaker 1: to be honest with the Louis basketball is playing that
Speaker 1: well to where you got all these guys out there
Speaker 1: that cover the sport nationally that just are making it
Speaker 1: a point on their platforms, whether it be TV, radio, podcast, whatever,
Speaker 1: They're gassing up our man, Pat Kelsey and the fanboy
Speaker 1: and me is eating it up. So I got some
Speaker 1: of that I'll share with you, so stick with us.
Speaker 1: It's Coffee and Company, Pilbuth Thornton's right here on Sports
Speaker 1: Talk seven ninety. That's right, three twenty eight here on
Speaker 1: a Friday afternoon, Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 1: That's may. We've got my man car all running the operation.
Speaker 1: He's the man really controlling this. If he wasn't for
Speaker 1: him doing what he's doing, we wouldn't even be You
Speaker 1: wouldn't hear us right now, we wouldn't be on the airwaves.
Speaker 1: So certainly appreciate him hanging out. We're taking you up
Speaker 1: till six o'clock and the NFL has I could be
Speaker 1: wrong here. It's one of those things where I just
Speaker 1: put myself in this position where I just assume kind
Speaker 1: of in the moment that this is one of the
Speaker 1: more active coaching searches in the NFL than we've had
Speaker 1: in a long time. And I have no clue if
Speaker 1: that's remotely true. It just feels like it. So there
Speaker 1: have been some hires, many hires made already, and then
Speaker 1: today you've got Pete Carroll taken over for the Las
Speaker 1: Vegas Raiders. Still feels weird to call them that, and
Speaker 1: not the Oakland Raiders, but Pete Carroll back in the game.
Speaker 1: And I'm not kidding. I think Pete Carroll has looked
Speaker 1: the exact same for forty years. He's seventy four years old,
Speaker 1: and my first memory as a football fan of Pete
Speaker 1: Carroll was whenever he was the head coach at USC
Speaker 1: in the early days there. And I don't even remember
Speaker 1: him being the head coach with the Patriots for a
Speaker 1: couple of years. Honestly, I didn't know that until I
Speaker 1: just looked at it. So I think he's looked the
Speaker 1: same since the first time ever saw him. And he's
Speaker 1: always been a good coach, he's always had success, and
Speaker 1: it was clear sort of after it played out that
Speaker 1: he was not necessarily retiring from the Seahawks. It was
Speaker 1: just they wanted to go in a different direction, and
Speaker 1: he understood, I'll I'm going. You know, he understood there's
Speaker 1: no real benefit for him or anybody if he goes
Speaker 1: out fighting. And he took off the year and now
Speaker 1: here he is and he's going to be leading the Raiders.
Speaker 1: Not sure how great it works out, but he's a
Speaker 1: good coach. He's one of those guys that last year,
Speaker 1: if you remember, would it have been that, I think
Speaker 1: it might have all been the same day. Sounds crazy,
Speaker 1: but I think it was the same day last year
Speaker 1: in January you had Nick Sabin retire, Harball leave to
Speaker 1: go to the NFL, and Pete Carroll retired and because
Speaker 1: of recency, Pete Carroll retire or Pete Carroll leaving whatever,
Speaker 1: how are they worded? And I'm not even really sure.
Speaker 1: It might have been that they said he was retiring,
Speaker 1: but it later came out that they weren't. They were
Speaker 1: gonna either he did that or he get fired, but
Speaker 1: either way, it led to a very phenomenal football coach,
Speaker 1: a guy who honestly, there's not many. In fact, I
Speaker 1: think he's one of three that have won a Super
Speaker 1: Bowl and has won a national championship in college football.
Speaker 1: He walked away or whatever it was at the time,
Speaker 1: I think we thought he was just leaving the game,
Speaker 1: and yet it was such a distant third when it
Speaker 1: comes to those two things, when it comes to like,
Speaker 1: you know, newsworthy stuff, because Sabin retiring is an all timer,
Speaker 1: because he's the best football coach college football coach of
Speaker 1: my lifetime and it's not even close, maybe the best
Speaker 1: of all time. And Harball, it was just the storyline
Speaker 1: a guy who finally broke through. Yet he was in
Speaker 1: the midst of a very obvious cheating scandal where he
Speaker 1: had some guy out there recording games and how you know,
Speaker 1: we all know the you know, the Connor Stallion situation.
Speaker 1: So I remember thinking, like, hey, guys, like do we
Speaker 1: realize Pete Carroll leaving coaching is also a really big deal,
Speaker 1: But now he's not because he's back. And I wouldn't
Speaker 1: be shocked at all if it works out to where
Speaker 1: they have some success, more so than the Raiders have
Speaker 1: had in a while, because he's a really good coach
Speaker 1: and he to me is somebody that his style and
Speaker 1: really everything about him. It clearly worked in previous eras
Speaker 1: of football. Right, he went from being successful at USC
Speaker 1: at a high level to a great run in Seattle
Speaker 1: and now here we are. The game has changed, but
Speaker 1: his personality, his style I think fits currently too. Meaning
Speaker 1: I think he's not a he's not a drill sergeant,
Speaker 1: he's not an a hole coach. He's a guy that
Speaker 1: he's gonna he's gonna be a leader, and he's going
Speaker 1: to coach you up, and he's gonna trust his resources,
Speaker 1: and you know, he knows a thing or two about
Speaker 1: the ex's and o's as well. So I've always just
Speaker 1: really respected Pete Carroll as a coach, and I just
Speaker 1: felt as if maybe others don't realize that he's that
Speaker 1: he's been as good as he has been. Now, speaking
Speaker 1: of that, we'll get to this later, because Dan Hurley
Speaker 1: has become well, I was gonna say he's become one
Speaker 1: of the most talked about coaches in sports. He kind
Speaker 1: of already was that, right because of what Yukon did
Speaker 1: the last couple of years. I mean, he's went back
Speaker 1: to back national championships. I may die before that happens again.
Speaker 1: I'm serious, Like, that's not something that happens easily. So
Speaker 1: he's on top. Turned down the Lakers, turned down Kentucky,
Speaker 1: although I don't know if he did, because remember they
Speaker 1: still feel like he never told him no, so like
Speaker 1: maybe they still think there's a chance he takes the job.
Speaker 1: I'm kidding, it's not a good joke, but like you remember,
Speaker 1: like how many times did it have to come out
Speaker 1: that he wasn't interested in your job? Anyways, he's now
Speaker 1: being talked about more so I feel like it, you know,
Speaker 1: right now, than he maybe ever has been, just because
Speaker 1: of his how he's acting. And to me, I respect
Speaker 1: an old school coach. You can be an old school
Speaker 1: coach and not have the component that he has. He's
Speaker 1: got the old school coach as far as being tough,
Speaker 1: work ethic, fiery, prickly maybe, but he's he's got the
Speaker 1: he's got the a whole vibe about him. And that's
Speaker 1: not I shouldn't say that. I don't know him as
Speaker 1: a person. I'm sure he's not a bad guy, but
Speaker 1: he doesn't remotely seem likable and remotely seem like, you know,
Speaker 1: like he's a he's got some good energy, some positive
Speaker 1: I mean, he's just he's different and that again, that's
Speaker 1: not a personal thing, but he's now being labeled as
Speaker 1: like the most miserable man in sports in a jerk.
Speaker 1: And I think for me, the learning experience has been this,
Speaker 1: that's you can't do that anymore. Like you can, but
Speaker 1: you're I mean, maybe you don't care about being likable,
Speaker 1: and that's fine. If you win, nobody cares. They win
Speaker 1: at a high level again this year, it won't matter.
Speaker 1: But like your perception, I mean, it's reality. You may
Speaker 1: get in front of a recruit and sell that recruit
Speaker 1: on what you can do for them and the success,
Speaker 1: and I bet it would work. I bet if you
Speaker 1: came and recruited my kid, and I really would hope
Speaker 1: that you would do that one day. Maybe my son's
Speaker 1: only four, but he's been. He's been. He's been hooping
Speaker 1: twenty seven points in his game on Saturday. Coach Early,
Speaker 1: if you're listening, I'm sure you're not. But my point
Speaker 1: is this, like I actually like that, Like I like
Speaker 1: an old school coach. I like somebody that's going to
Speaker 1: motivate me, somebody that's going to you know, be old
Speaker 1: school in that way. But the the public, the pr
Speaker 1: component now of just being like you're gonna make news.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be all over social media. You know, social
Speaker 1: media didn't exist not that long ago to where if
Speaker 1: you if you fire off a clip in a press conference,
Speaker 1: or you say something, you mouth something to a referee
Speaker 1: in a game, and you're a two time defending champion,
Speaker 1: it's going to be a big story. And I think
Speaker 1: you got to think to yourself, is that worth it?
Speaker 1: I mean, maybe you can live internally with like, I
Speaker 1: know my character. I know that's just somebody because he's
Speaker 1: already played victim to it. Like it or not. Man,
Speaker 1: you are on top, You're gonna have a spotlight on you.
Speaker 1: In fact, the spotlight would be bigger on you if
Speaker 1: you didn't coach at Yukon. And that's not a slighter
Speaker 1: Yukon at all because look at their program. Yukon. Quite
Speaker 1: literally in my lifetime, I'm thirty seven, thirty six years
Speaker 1: old to be thirty seven this year, there's not a
Speaker 1: more successful college basketball program in my lifetime than Yukon.
Speaker 1: But again, things that matter now didn't matter as much
Speaker 1: back then. You know what matters now where your games
Speaker 1: are televised, The Big East is not in bed with
Speaker 1: ESPN Therefore Yukon. That was one of the complaints that
Speaker 1: Hurley had. If you remember, they're great, they're the defending
Speaker 1: champs last year, they weren't getting enough attention, they weren't
Speaker 1: getting enough love, and he used that and it worked.
Speaker 1: I mean, they played with the chip on their shoulder. Well,
Speaker 1: now you went too in a row. Nobody's dogging you
Speaker 1: like you're not winning and people are surprised by that.
Speaker 1: But who's out there saying Dan Hurley can't coach nobody.
Speaker 1: If anybody's going to get a pass for maybe taking
Speaker 1: a slight step back, wouldn't it be Yukon. They just
Speaker 1: won two consecutive national championships. But he's defensive and he's
Speaker 1: now you know he didn't have there's not a whole
Speaker 1: lot of that out there, right, Like he can still
Speaker 1: claim the whole we don't get as much attention. Well,
Speaker 1: now you are getting the attention and you're not winning
Speaker 1: as much, but you're still good. But you what's become
Speaker 1: the big story is you acting like a lunatic, Which
Speaker 1: again I don't really have a problem with that because
Speaker 1: I think he's a great coach who does right by
Speaker 1: his players. I'd love to play for him to be
Speaker 1: honest with you. But the story you you can control
Speaker 1: how much of that becomes the story for your program.
Speaker 1: But everybody's got an edge man. The best competitors I've
Speaker 1: ever witnessed and been fans of, like, they're gonna always
Speaker 1: find a way to be motivated, even when they don't
Speaker 1: really have to. They're always going to have something that
Speaker 1: may be manufactured to an extent when it comes to motivation.
Speaker 1: And maybe that's what Maybe that's what he's doing. I
Speaker 1: just did there what I try not to do, which
Speaker 1: is mention this specific thing I wanted to talk about
Speaker 1: later in the show and then just rolling through and
Speaker 1: kind of doing it on doing it on the fly.
Speaker 1: But the other big move in the NFL today was
Speaker 1: Liam Cohen, who has decided to take the head coaching
Speaker 1: job with the Jacksonville Jaguars after earlier this week letting
Speaker 1: them know that he was not going to be the
Speaker 1: coach there and that he was going to stay in Tampa.
Speaker 1: So it looks like the optics aren't aren't great. I
Speaker 1: get it, But even saying that, I kind of feel
Speaker 1: like I'm I'm falling into the trap here because Liam Cohen,
Speaker 1: maybe his communication wasn't great with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaker 1: I feel like from from what's out there, and I'm
Speaker 1: sure there's more two of them, what's out there, but
Speaker 1: from what's out there right now, the one thing that
Speaker 1: I think is absolutely understandable when it comes to criticism
Speaker 1: is that he told them but Tampa he was not
Speaker 1: going to be there, the he was not going to
Speaker 1: take the Jaguars job, and that he was going to
Speaker 1: come back and you know, work for them as the
Speaker 1: OC and Tampa and I guess, work towards a long
Speaker 1: term deal, that kind of thing. And then he went
Speaker 1: a wall that that you know that I don't care
Speaker 1: what you do. That's not really the way to go
Speaker 1: about it. I feel like in your profession. Now, he's
Speaker 1: also somebody that knew he didn't need to do He
Speaker 1: didn't need to do anything with Tampa. He knew he
Speaker 1: had Jacksonville Bob that, you know what. So outside of that,
Speaker 1: I'm not quite sure what anybody can be critical of
Speaker 1: Liam Cohen for if, in fact, he's just taking different
Speaker 1: jobs every year because he's trying to better himself. So
Speaker 1: Jacksonville really wanted him so much so that their interest
Speaker 1: in him initially was met with him telling telling the
Speaker 1: Jaguars organization, I don't want to work for your GM.
Speaker 1: You know what they did, they fired that GM and
Speaker 1: then they came back to Liam Cohen and they made
Speaker 1: it work. They now hired him. So that's how that
Speaker 1: whole thing worked out as far as just you know,
Speaker 1: they wanted him, he didn't want to go there. Well,
Speaker 1: then things change right like that. You know again, I
Speaker 1: think you can still let Tampa know that that that
Speaker 1: things have changed, because now you are going to pursue
Speaker 1: Jacksonville's opportunity because they've they've they you know, they came
Speaker 1: correct essentially. But I keep hearing and it's mostly Kentucky fans,
Speaker 1: and to be fair, like I listened to a little
Speaker 1: bit this morning the KSR crew talking about it, and
Speaker 1: I thought Matt and and I feel like Matt specifically
Speaker 1: is when I heard talking about it, and I mean
Speaker 1: he wasn't I mean, he wasn't railing on Liam as
Speaker 1: far as being wishy washy. But a lot of other
Speaker 1: Kentucky fans act like, oh, yeah, this is what you
Speaker 1: get this guy. He's yeah, I mean, oh not surprised
Speaker 1: he's doing this because he left us after just a year,
Speaker 1: and then he came back and then he left again.
Speaker 1: And I mean every one of you saying that would
Speaker 1: do the same thing you would. So Liam Cohen was
Speaker 1: the assistant wide receivers coach with the Rams from twenty
Speaker 1: eighteen to twenty nineteen, two years. Then he became the
Speaker 1: assistant quarterbacks coach in twenty twenty. Well in twenty twenty
Speaker 1: one was whenever he became the offensive coordinator in the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks coach at Kentucky. That was when Will Levis got there,
Speaker 1: and that was really excuse me, really, do I have sneeze
Speaker 1: during a show? But it just hit me. Sorry, but
Speaker 1: that was whenever Liam Cohen really kind of made a
Speaker 1: name for himself because Kentucky was good, at least better
Speaker 1: than they've really been for my lifetime, and it was
Speaker 1: because of quarterback play. And Liam Cohen was the guy
Speaker 1: that was credited for finding Will Levis, a guy who
Speaker 1: couldn't sniff the field at Penn State, didn't have any
Speaker 1: real great stats, and he really did any great stats
Speaker 1: in Kentucky. For being honest, but I'm just saying, like
Speaker 1: Liam Cohen was given a lot of of praise for
Speaker 1: Kentucky having a quarterback that he wanted to come in
Speaker 1: and run his offense. And again, Kentucky, I still think
Speaker 1: they should have been better with with with what they
Speaker 1: had as far as offense. But I don't blame Cohen
Speaker 1: for that. I blame I blame Stoops And you know what,
Speaker 1: So to all you Kentucky fans, all I've heard is
Speaker 1: the complaints about all these coordinators that run through Stoops.
Speaker 1: And it's more so. I mean Shannon Dawson look at
Speaker 1: him at Miami, best offense in the country, and he
Speaker 1: couldn't he couldn't work for Stoops to was fired him
Speaker 1: after one year. You know what he did. He went
Speaker 1: to Southern miss as the OC and beat Stoops in
Speaker 1: Lexington the year later. So that's one of those things
Speaker 1: that like which one is it? Like are you? Are you?
Speaker 1: You sound like a bitter X when it comes to
Speaker 1: Liam Cohen, you sound like a bitter person who got
Speaker 1: dumped and you're having a tough time realizing there's a
Speaker 1: reason he left you. Yeah, he came back to you
Speaker 1: and you were lucky to have him when he did
Speaker 1: because he was you know, it was him. Like, so
Speaker 1: you're critical of your coach not letting an offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: run the show. But when a guy who's there and
Speaker 1: clearly viewed as a big time offensive coach, when he
Speaker 1: reads that and he leaves, then it's his fault. Like
Speaker 1: which one is? It is? Is Liam Cohen a great
Speaker 1: offensive mind that might have been held back by a
Speaker 1: coach who is aroused by winning game six to three?
Speaker 1: Like which one is? Or you know? Or or is
Speaker 1: it that Liam Cohen is just he's wishy washy. Like again,
Speaker 1: when he left to be the Rams coordinator after one
Speaker 1: year at Kentucky, who wouldn't have done that? I mean,
Speaker 1: think about it. The Rams were on top of the world.
Speaker 1: Well obviously they took a step back and they didn't
Speaker 1: work out. And Liam didn't even get to call plays
Speaker 1: with the Rams because you know who does that, Sean
Speaker 1: McVay when you know his his mentor so one year
Speaker 1: there they weren't good. It wasn't Liam's fault he didn't
Speaker 1: call the plays. So then he needs to find a
Speaker 1: new job. He goes to Kentucky and I'm sure he
Speaker 1: did say this is where he wants to be long term,
Speaker 1: because anybody would do that. But then you know what,
Speaker 1: You're back at Kentucky. In your offense stinks again, and
Speaker 1: you don't believe it's because of you. Like the outlier
Speaker 1: for Liam Cohen's rye in coaching is Kentucky. And what
Speaker 1: I mean the outlier is that's that that's where it
Speaker 1: wasn't That's where it wasn't good. Elsewhere he he's been
Speaker 1: able to really make a name for himself. So like
Speaker 1: all this talk about like oh he's he's a he's
Speaker 1: a fraud, He's just you know, all he's done is
Speaker 1: improve his situation every single time. When he left to
Speaker 1: go be the coordinator with the Buccaneers, what that did
Speaker 1: is that that that confirmed what I think. Kentucky fans
Speaker 1: were bothered by. This guy's great, but we can't get all,
Speaker 1: we can't get close to his maximum value because of
Speaker 1: something else. Maybe our head coach Devin Leary played in
Speaker 1: the NFL last year. Guys, I mean practice squad guy
Speaker 1: started or a dress some games. He's stunck at Kentucky.
Speaker 1: You think it's Leam Cohen's fault. I don't. So. Then
Speaker 1: he's with Tampa for a year, phenomenal year for the
Speaker 1: Buccaneers offense, where he's calling plays, doing his thing with
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield. They had injuries too, by the way, that
Speaker 1: kind of just got forgotten about because they kept winning.
Speaker 1: So Jacksonville wants him. He says, look, I'm gonna stay
Speaker 1: in Tampa because I don't like that. I mean, most
Speaker 1: guys decide head coaching jobs based off of who owns
Speaker 1: the team and who's the GM. He told Jacksonville, I
Speaker 1: don't like your GM. I'm gonna stay put. Well then
Speaker 1: they said, well, look we like you so much. He's
Speaker 1: out of here gone. What did Liam Cohen do that
Speaker 1: anybody else wouldn't do. I'm not sure anything, and I
Speaker 1: just think it's one of the other. It's another sign
Speaker 1: to me by some of the Kentucky fans that they
Speaker 1: know and look, they'll tell you this, but what's crazy,
Speaker 1: Like they'll tell you that they're worried and they don't
Speaker 1: think their football program's in good shape, like Stoops's best
Speaker 1: days are behind him, all that stuff, which I understand
Speaker 1: why they're saying that. So if you believe that, then
Speaker 1: why are you being critical Liam Cohen? That's what I
Speaker 1: don't get. A quick break, will come back and wrap
Speaker 1: up the three o'clock hour. Keep this thing rolling along.
Speaker 1: It's coffee and company feel about Thorn's right here on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven ninety just a few minutes here in
Speaker 1: the three o'clock hour, and then we will hit the
Speaker 1: four o'clock hour. We're going to be joined to get
Speaker 1: that thing started with Ken Spencer from WHAS eleven talk
Speaker 1: some college hoops with him both Louisville and Kentucky, and
Speaker 1: also get set for conference championship weekend. When we come
Speaker 1: back on Monday, we'll know who's in the super Bowl.
Speaker 1: And I really feel like I know who it's gonna be,
Speaker 1: but I kind of hope I'm wrong. I think it's
Speaker 1: going to be the Eagles and the Chiefs, which would
Speaker 1: give us a matchup that I'm sure outsiders wouldn't be
Speaker 1: super happy with meeting. If you don't like the Eagles
Speaker 1: or the Chiefs, it's probably whatever because the Eagles really
Speaker 1: can't be propped up as like some underdog story, right, Like,
Speaker 1: if you want the Chiefs to go down and that's
Speaker 1: the ultimate goal kind of like myself, then hell, yeah,
Speaker 1: go Eagles. But I don't know. I would love to
Speaker 1: see the Commanders move on just because they would give
Speaker 1: you that underdog story and they would have that regardless
Speaker 1: if it's Buffalo, or if it's Kansas City and Buffalo
Speaker 1: beating CA, the city would of course be a big story.
Speaker 1: I'm sure it would be. Here's what I think would happen.
Speaker 1: If Buffalo wins, they'll be a real push to say
Speaker 1: that the Chiefs windows closing and that maybe that's the
Speaker 1: last time we've seen the Chiefs be maybe their dynasties
Speaker 1: coming to an end. And then the next year they'll
Speaker 1: win the super Bowl, like I could see that happening.
Speaker 1: So but honestly, Buffalo breaking through and getting back to
Speaker 1: the super Bowl for the first time really since they
Speaker 1: made it, what was it two or three straight years?
Speaker 1: They made it long ago and lost every time. I mean,
Speaker 1: I said this the other day and it doesn't even
Speaker 1: it felt kind of weird saying it, because they've been
Speaker 1: They've been good and sometimes really good for I guess
Speaker 1: what the last you know, consistently for the last what
Speaker 1: five six years, maybe more than that. I mean, even
Speaker 1: when they had Tyrod Taylor, they were decent. Like but
Speaker 1: that's the thing, the Bills being decent used to be
Speaker 1: a storyline because they were so bad. Like historically, they're not,
Speaker 1: and certainly they're not recently, but for a good window
Speaker 1: of my lifetime as an NFL fan, the Bills were
Speaker 1: one of the biggest jokes in the NFL. And now
Speaker 1: they're not, and they're rolling on Sunday night. I thought
Speaker 1: there's no scenario cheering for these guys because I was
Speaker 1: just so bitter. I was such a sore loser seeing
Speaker 1: the Ravens lose the way they did. But here we
Speaker 1: are days later. In fact, it took maybe maybe twenty
Speaker 1: four hours for me to realize, Okay, when it comes
Speaker 1: to Kansas City, I'm all in on Buffalo, all right.
Speaker 1: So not a whole lot of time left here. And
Speaker 1: this is where I get stuck, right, There's certain things
Speaker 1: I want to get to, but I don't have a
Speaker 1: whole lot of time to get into it. So let's
Speaker 1: do this. Let's go to Let's go to the text
Speaker 1: line five two six five three zero seven ninety. It's
Speaker 1: the LNN Federal Credit Union text line members get more
Speaker 1: at LLENN Federal Credit Union. You can learn more and
Speaker 1: open your account today at lnfcu dot com. This text says, Nick,
Speaker 1: you said something last week that really stuck with me.
Speaker 1: I didn't realize it until you mentioned how old this
Speaker 1: team is do you think Pat Kelsey built this team
Speaker 1: with older guys just because he had to build from
Speaker 1: scre Do you think it'll be a focus moving forward?
Speaker 1: That's the million dollar question. I mean, I think I've
Speaker 1: kind of mentioned since I brought that up that that's
Speaker 1: something I'm eager to see, is will that be proven?
Speaker 1: Because here's what I believe. I believe, regardless if it
Speaker 1: was by design or if it was just how it
Speaker 1: worked out, as far as which guys fit what he
Speaker 1: wanted to do and wanted to come here, I think
Speaker 1: it's been proven to be a very successful situation. Now
Speaker 1: you can go get guys that have played four years elsewhere,
Speaker 1: three years elsewhere. Veterans mature and they may still not
Speaker 1: have like what these guys have. And I don't just
Speaker 1: mean their ability to play, but they are an extension
Speaker 1: of Pat Kelsey with everything for the most part. And
Speaker 1: that's more of a credit to Path than anything. But
Speaker 1: in a way, even if he did target guys that
Speaker 1: play the style he wanted to play, that were versatile
Speaker 1: that we're you know, willing to appreciate what Louisville has
Speaker 1: to offer, I still believe there's still a level of
Speaker 1: luck involved in regards to the character, because the recruitment
Speaker 1: of these guys is quick. Man, it's really quick. You
Speaker 1: hit the portal. It's a fast moving process because of
Speaker 1: spots that are going to be accounted for if you
Speaker 1: don't take it, and coaches knowing, hey, I know there
Speaker 1: may be a guy that might hit the portal in
Speaker 1: a couple of days that I could really really use,
Speaker 1: but maybe I don't get him. I think I could
Speaker 1: get this kid. He's maybe not as talented or as proven,
Speaker 1: but I got to pull the trigger. So the I
Speaker 1: now have very little interest in high school recruiting. And
Speaker 1: I hate saying that because it's still going to be important,
Speaker 1: and I shouldn't say don't have interest in it, but
Speaker 1: it's not as important as it once was. And that's
Speaker 1: very evident. It's been proven in recent years. So and
Speaker 1: I think Louisvill's this year for us right now. It's
Speaker 1: I mean, we'd still be cheering this team on, and
Speaker 1: if they had this type of run going and it
Speaker 1: wasn't a bunch of grown men who are mature and
Speaker 1: understanding of what it means to play here and understanding
Speaker 1: that as selfless as we be, as we can be
Speaker 1: and if we buy in, and it's gonna be good
Speaker 1: for everybody. Like again, I think there's some luck involved
Speaker 1: in that, But even if it was, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think you should. You should really balance your rostert in
Speaker 1: the grand scheme of things, no matter who you are.
Speaker 1: Here's the best case scenario. You're bringing in really good
Speaker 1: young freshmen and you're retaining the players that you really
Speaker 1: want to retain, and you're not losing players to the
Speaker 1: portal that you know could go elsewhere and probably play
Speaker 1: for programs of your caliber or even better. So you
Speaker 1: want to retain guys that you know others are going
Speaker 1: to want. You still want to bring in young talent
Speaker 1: you think that you can develop, but you also want
Speaker 1: to bring in players from the portal that are kind
Speaker 1: of built as is and they can help you. So
Speaker 1: balancing those three components is how I think everybody's going
Speaker 1: to be the most successful. But you know, for Louisville,
Speaker 1: I would imagine that Pat Kelsey will I mean again,
Speaker 1: like right now, it's a brand new team all together
Speaker 1: and they're trying to add some pieces. But I think
Speaker 1: Pat will be a guy that understands I can probably
Speaker 1: go get a couple of really good freshmen that can
Speaker 1: help us in a major way because it's Louisville. But
Speaker 1: I can also go get guys in the portal that
Speaker 1: maybe didn't play at this caliber. Man, they fit what
Speaker 1: I want to do, and they'll appreciate and embrace being
Speaker 1: here because it's a special place. So I haven't even
Speaker 1: thought about how next year like it's gonna be a
Speaker 1: whole different team, because I'm just so caught up in
Speaker 1: how fun this has been. All Right, quick break will
Speaker 1: come back, two hours left. We'll get things started here
Speaker 1: in about seven minutes or so with Kid Spencer from
Speaker 1: WHS eleven. It's coffee and company. Feel about Thornton's on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven to ninety