2025-11-26- KSR - Hour 1

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Comedy Off Broadway and Lexington Welcome Cincinnati native and club favorite Josh Sneed November fourteenth and fifteenth. Then catch the return of the GT finalist Preacher Laws in November twenty first through the twenty third, and November twenty eighth and twenty ninth. Don't miss the Queen of Comedy and Lexington's own Adell given sport tickets to all Comedy Off Broadway shows call E five nine two seven to one joke or visit Comedy Off Broadway dot com.

00:00:27
Speaker 2: Comedy Off Conay. Welcome everyone. It is Kentucky Sports Radio Wednesday. It is November the twenty sixth day, packed house. Great crowd here in Columbia, Kentucky, Adare County at the Don Franklin Ford on a beautiful day, the day before Thanksgiving and uh what for? What a great crowd here in Adare County. How about this Ryan Livin?

00:00:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, new building and they've packed it. I think they were really excited to see all the blue come in here today. So a nice crowd, that's right.

00:00:59
Speaker 2: Don Franklin Ford, you can give Shannon the Clark's Pumping Shop phone line eight five to nine eight twenty two eighty seven Avis and Auto Glass text machine is seven seven two seven seven four five two five four. In this diition sponsored by the TJ. Smith Office. If you call TJ, he'll make them pay. We are here at Don Franklin where this is a brand new building, part of their growing empire across the state where they have all the best deals. And I'm sure for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, et cetera, a ton of deals, guys. Columbia, Kentucky. So, Shannon, you and I hold, you know, fond memories of here. First of all, I drove through this town, or rode through this town many many times on the way as a kid to Campbellsville to visit my grandmother. There was a taco bell here, yeah, which was the one place I could get taco bell because we didn't have it. And then you spent one fine year at Lindsey Wilson playing baseball. Your old coach is there. He seemed to fondly not remember you being on the team. I know he wouldn't, but uh, you spent a whole year living here.

00:01:58
Speaker 4: I did, yeah, coach tally to Lindsay Wilson for years and years and years, hundreds of baseball you know, players throughout the year, so I'm sure he doesn't remember me.

00:02:05
Speaker 5: I was just you know, a freshman, Kevin.

00:02:07
Speaker 2: I feel like I feel like I would have remembered you. Yeah, I wouldn't remembered your name, but I would have remembered you were on the team.

00:02:12
Speaker 4: But I always have a lot of nostalgia coming back here. A lot of things really haven't changed, you know. I went through the campus today and a lot of it still looks the same as it. The town, the town.

00:02:20
Speaker 2: Squares there with the one Mexican restaurant that I feel like has been there. We've eaten there many times, Acapolco, uh in our various points here. So it's nice. Been a few years since we've been back to Columbia. We used to do I think we did Ryan a few years the show with a pizza place uh.

00:02:35
Speaker 6: Here, Burger Key, yes, yeah, the Columbia Burk, the burger case.

00:02:40
Speaker 7: Yeah.

00:02:41
Speaker 2: We've actually done a number of shows over the years here, but it's been a while. Nice to be back.

00:02:45
Speaker 7: Yeah, we were.

00:02:45
Speaker 3: Here like every summer when we start our summer touriste. A guy got a shirt on right there, twenty four.

00:02:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, twenty fourteen. That was the best that's a that's a collector's it item right there. That was where we sold a lot of those, and sometimes they show up. That's always a good old school fan there.

00:02:59
Speaker 3: Well, and told a good story the about coach Tally, Hell, you will you tell the story?

00:03:03
Speaker 4: Well, we had to do we had to do like a campus mile, right, that's something we would do. We'd have to run a mile and pictures of course always had to run more because they want their legs to be in shape.

00:03:11
Speaker 5: And this one particular day, I didn't feel like running.

00:03:13
Speaker 4: So there was somebody riding around on a golf cart and I said, Hey, can I get a ride on that golf cart?

00:03:18
Speaker 5: I just don't run right now.

00:03:21
Speaker 4: So this person took me around, you know. And then when we got closer back to where the baseball field is, to where you know, Coach could could maybe see us, I jump off of it and I.

00:03:29
Speaker 5: Wait for everybody else to catch up.

00:03:31
Speaker 4: And then when we finally get back around there, he calls me out and knew that I was on the back of that golf cart and cheated on the campus mile and had to stay after practice and clean up the field.

00:03:40
Speaker 2: Say I'm shocked. We'll play here. One year. That makes makes I have more sense now, Drew after hearing the story.

00:03:47
Speaker 6: Yeah, with all THEU respect, Shannon, that story does not surprise me. Yeah, you would pull that it was only a mile too. I mean, how lazy of me?

00:03:52
Speaker 2: It is pretty lazy. Well, listen, it's a big, big weekend basketball game and football game. Last time you'll have both on this weekend. But also, how about a big round of applause for the UK women's volleyball team that came back last night and won the SEC tournament to finish SEC play completely undefeated. So, Ryan, you and I are gonna have this conversation because someone on this group left early because they thought they were gonna lose, and it actually this time was not me. It was not me, Ryan Lemon and I. We went to the bar. First of all, was that not fun?

00:04:26
Speaker 7: It was packed A lot of fun, a lot of fun. They were into it.

00:04:29
Speaker 2: A lot of fun. Kentucky plays. We had a great crowd at the bar watching Cats go down, lose the first set, second set, should have won. They kind of blow it at the end, third set, fall behind and it's like, well looks bad. Lots of people got up and left. Yeah, including one of the hosts on this show.

00:04:50
Speaker 6: Wait a minute, why is this about me? I could only stay for two sets?

00:04:53
Speaker 2: Did he not leave?

00:04:55
Speaker 7: Well, it's a good thing he did, because.

00:04:56
Speaker 2: The moment he left it turned around.

00:04:59
Speaker 6: For the last two sets, the moment was turkey to cook.

00:05:01
Speaker 2: The moment he left, it turned around, and probably half the crowd stayed. But then it was really exciting, great comeback. I had Craig Skinner's gonna join us at ten thirty to talk about the wins. But it was an awesome victory and Ryan actually a lot of fun being around when the game was over. The guy there's a guy that plays the fight song on his harmonica. He played it in the in the bar and it was excellent. So what a win for that team? Well, two things.

00:05:30
Speaker 3: One, I was really lucky. I got to sit by a volleyball expert during the game. The would tell me when they had some bad sets.

00:05:36
Speaker 2: I was very I was good. Announced What did I say was Kentucky's problem early bad sets? Bad sets? Yeah? They when they would say it, they wouldn't. They wouldn't say it. I'm gonna ask Craig Skinner and see if he agrees with my analysis on the game.

00:05:48
Speaker 3: But we do drew a jetic gratitude because the minute he walked out the door, that's when they.

00:05:53
Speaker 2: Didn't turn around the moment he left. The moment he left, it got a lot better. Shannon, So he is he is the bad luck that was occurring. I'm like, oh, for fifty a ks bar. I told Ryan, I was like, I'm leaving and watch this. And I texted you before I was home. I said, helda yep.

00:06:07
Speaker 4: Even in that third set down twenty three nineteen, you feel like it's over. You feel like they're gonna do.

00:06:11
Speaker 2: Marcus Spears was our first of all. He got Diego Pavia level mom level of TV time. They showed him a lot and he I mean, he had a look like he was already doing the horns like a match you know, had a number of match points and they fought them all off. I'm really enjoyed it. I you know, I don't ever watch volleyball until we get to kind of the end of the year, but I really enjoyed that game. And you you can't help but be tense throughout the whole thing.

00:06:39
Speaker 7: And those were two really really good teams.

00:06:41
Speaker 3: Kentucky is like really good and Man, when they were got went down oh two, they like elevated their play, they got better.

00:06:47
Speaker 7: And once they got that momentum, man, they couldn't be stopped.

00:06:50
Speaker 6: It's kind of when I went to Tennessee to watch them a few weeks ago, they went down a set. A couple other times I've watched them go down a set, and even last night now second s I got a little dicey about. Told Ron It's like, this is kind of what they do. They're about to turn on the comeback. But I didn't expect it to get to three championship points for Texas. I mean, Dexas Texas had them absolutely against the wall and then they flipped that switch and they looked like a completely different team.

00:07:10
Speaker 2: So Kentucky's almost certain to host the first four games of the NCAA tournament. They'll host two different rounds. The bracket comes out I think Sunday, and then if they win both of those rounds, they'll go to the to the final four. So it's gonna be exciting. And in Lexington, I think the bracket comes out Sunday and the tickets go on sale Monday, So just keep that in mind. Now we've got a basketball game tonight. We've got a football game Saturday. We've spent a lot of time on this show this week talking about football. We will talk about in a minute, but let's talk for a second about basketball, all right. We didn't get to this yesterday, Ryan, but Mark Pope's Mark Pope's Show on Monday. He said Jalen Lowe is now playing two on two non contact. Not exactly sure how that works, but he is playing, and that Jaden Quaints is now playing three on three contact. So there may be a chance that both of those guys are playing by conference play. Would you agree with that? Yeah?

00:08:05
Speaker 3: He Temmy talks about Jayden Clayton's it's a big improvement. First it was he's doing non contact drills. Now he's doing two and two says last night he's doing three on three.

00:08:13
Speaker 7: So, I mean, if the early.

00:08:14
Speaker 3: Projections were him to give him back in early December, he seems to be on that track, and boy, they could use him inside me.

00:08:20
Speaker 2: You get both those guys back, it's a different team. I mean, it's it's hopefully it's a lot better than what we've seen in these in these first couple of really good games, but it's certainly a different team now. They won't have either of those guys tonight. I don't know that there's much that you can say about whatever's gonna happen tonight. I'm taking my parents, so I'm looking forward to that. But beyond that, is there anything you think you can get from this evening's game.

00:08:42
Speaker 5: Don't get hurt, That's the main thing for me.

00:08:44
Speaker 4: Let's try to keep everybody healthy as much as possible throughout this game.

00:08:48
Speaker 6: I want to see Cam Williams take another step That was big of him in the last game, first starting role, probably the MVP of that game, almost had a double double. Even joke with that, Brandon Garrison stole two of his rebounds. Need to see him take another step up because I think this team needs him. That four spots still a little shaky, especially with Diabat not being a shooter. Cam Williams needs to be a part of the rotation.

00:09:07
Speaker 2: You know, when I make a drive like this, I always listen to usually podcast, and there was a podcast with Bill Simmons and this basketball guy and they were talking about the NBA and the NBA has is more points have been scored in the NBA this year than any year since like the sixties, and it's significantly higher than last year. And they were talking about the two reasons, and one is that they're calling more fouls. But the second is that now in the NBA, with the exception of a handful of people, everyone that can shoot from the outside, including the Sinners, like this, even the Sinners are now acceptable three point shooters. I was watching the Suns the other night. They got Nick Richards out there shooting three pointers. I mean Nick Richards, did I mean? And he's actually playing and been pretty good, and he's shooting threes. I thought about our team when I heard that, which is this gets back to can we play these guys together? Because you put Modiabatte and Brandon Garrison on the floor together, you got two guys that can't shoot threes. I do agree with Drew cam Williams is huge because you can put him at the four and he can make threes.

00:10:11
Speaker 3: You know, he's done so well, you know, halftime in the Louisville game, he came in and he played so well the other night. But yet he's not doing the one thing that he's known for, and I shoot the basketball. He's earning minutes by doing everything.

00:10:20
Speaker 2: He's like one for five the other night, dude.

00:10:22
Speaker 7: Yeah, he had nine rebounds.

00:10:24
Speaker 3: So I think just inserting him in the certing line of him and Malachi both kind of give him a little breath of fresh air and a lot of it seemed to be more energized, more energy it seemed like they had against Lola.

00:10:33
Speaker 2: I think Trentoneau is not playing and like when he's I mean, I know he's not playing in part because he's not playing well. But what do you think is I expect? I mean, he started the game against Purdue, started and like didn't get in. It was a healthy scratch against Louisville and really has not been good all year. What do you make of that? I don't know.

00:10:52
Speaker 6: For a little bit, you think of the turned ankle, but that's been a while, and he was, like you said, he warmed up in Louisville and they said he was ready to go and just didn't play. I'm starting to worry. You know, we bragged about how he slimmed down, but I'm worried he might not be ready for the physicality too.

00:11:04
Speaker 2: Skinny.

00:11:05
Speaker 6: Yeah, and you know he was not the most physical guy to begin with, and I think at least so far, that turn him a little bit in a physicality's only going to ramp up. But against Michigan State and Louisville specifically, the whole team kind of struggled with that.

00:11:16
Speaker 4: He doesn't look comfortable out there to me like he did last year. You know, I think last year he got a lot more minutes than he expected to probably going into the season. But for some reason, something just looks different this year with it.

00:11:25
Speaker 2: We talked a lot about after the Michigan State game. Team chemistry. I don't know how much. We didn't talk about this on the show Monday, but they did like signing the event in Southern Indiana right on Sunday, so it was like it was Diabatee and O Way and I want to say, Jalen Lowe. I think those were the three guys, and they clearly it's almost as if they on purpose made a big show of we like each other. Like they're all joking around and laughing, and like somebody posted a picture of them kind of cutting up, and then all three of those guys retweeted, all three of them like, hey, we get along, leave us alone. Do you do you think the chemistry thing was overblown.

00:12:07
Speaker 7: I think it was way overblown.

00:12:08
Speaker 3: I mean, I still think something happened before that Louisville game, and it may have been Pope, not have been the players at all, But the chemistry was good from the minute.

00:12:16
Speaker 7: Get we were there in practice.

00:12:18
Speaker 3: Jack Gibbons, these guys have all seen practices after practice, they've never said anything about We said that was chemistry on the court.

00:12:25
Speaker 7: He kind often.

00:12:26
Speaker 2: Was he making that clear? Yeah? So he did. He means like the basketball pieces, But in the first interview he didn't say that. Did he do another one?

00:12:32
Speaker 7: He did? Okay, Yeah, okay, yeah, Yeah.

00:12:34
Speaker 3: He came in and he was on Coutler Show, and he said, I was talking about the chemistry on the floor. They just seem to be out of sync. And I think that goes through Jalen Loan not being out there as your point guard.

00:12:43
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well we I mean, obviously we're gonna need him. Now. We play North Carolina in six days and I'm gonna talk about this later. But I've watched a lot of college basketball last two days, Shannon, and I'm a little I'm a little bit worse. Yeah, I am here a little bit worse. I mean, I I now see what Rick Patino is talking about when he said this may be the best year, but let's put that side. We'll talk about it later. Do you think I mean that North Carolina game to me is huge because it's at home, Like we I okay, I thought we were gonna beat Michigan State.

00:13:12
Speaker 7: We did Louisville game.

00:13:13
Speaker 2: I want to beat Louisville, but it doesn't really concern me. It was a true road game. Michigan State game concerns me. You gotta beat North Carolina at home because I tell you, Gonzaga looks like they're gonna crush everybody.

00:13:24
Speaker 4: Kentucky's look great against these lesser opponents, but at some point you gotta beat somebody. And you got North Carolina, you got Gonzaga, you got Saint John's on the non goverment, you got Indiana.

00:13:33
Speaker 5: You gotta win some of those games.

00:13:34
Speaker 2: And we have an SEC that's not very good. We have an SEC that right now, I want to say, is like four and eighteen against the top sixty teams in kim POM. Literally like last year we were like fifteen and three, right and now we're like four and eighteen, Like we can't that's bad.

00:13:55
Speaker 5: So It is concerning, without a doubt.

00:13:56
Speaker 4: I looked at Alabama last night though, talking about SEC's teams that put up on hun fifteen, and I'm going, like, can we do that if we played them?

00:14:03
Speaker 2: But I do worry about right, we gotta beat some of these teams Drew because the SEC is not gonna give us the same amount of sketch. You know, last year we went like five hundred in the SEC and we're a three seed this year. It ain't gonna be like that. These teams aren't nearly as good. The hoping lost by like forty.

00:14:22
Speaker 6: Yeah, the whole league's down, but I've watched two full Tennessee games. They're a lot better than I expect.

00:14:27
Speaker 7: Yeah, they are.

00:14:28
Speaker 6: Just look at what's in front of us. Though, I'm pretty worried about Gonzaga like everyone else. So I think you don't have a must win game in December. But if you drop North Carolina and you drop Gonzaga, you can't be zero to four in major games. I mean that'll be a horrible.

00:14:40
Speaker 2: Look. That's got to be a huge great It's is it late? Is it nine o'clock? Gonzaga or North North Carolina? Is Tuesday? On a Tuesday. I mean, is gonna have to be probably drunk in loud. But that's a I can't remember last time RUPs had thirty game. I mean, that's a that's a late game.

00:15:03
Speaker 4: If you were to lose all these big games and have five losses in the non conference, that would be bad, and then going into the conference.

00:15:08
Speaker 5: I mean, I mean, you get six losses.

00:15:10
Speaker 2: I don't know that any of these wins are certain. Yeah, so, I mean, but we'll beat the bad teams because they're bad team. And the other thing is these bad teams were playing are really bad. They're not like kind of bad. They're at the bottom of the schedule bad, which also doesn't help us a lot.

00:15:25
Speaker 6: Sure, we're playing a lot of teams outside the top three hundred.

00:15:28
Speaker 2: We're playing the worst teams in the country. A five nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. Text machine is seven seven two seven four five two five four. We'll take a break. We're here in Columbia, Don Franklin Ford. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio here live at Don Franklin and Columbia. If it's the fourth quarter and you need options twenty seven stores, over six thousand vehicles around the Bluegrass trucks, SUVs and sedans only at Don Franklin Otto, there's food back there in the back if you all want it. I want to give a shout out to a couple of including Keith who's on his way home, whose father's very sick from Ecuador. They say he's listening on a plane. We're praying for you and your dad. Ron a couple other just quick prayer notes. Drew Diner, who many of you know for many years did UK Sports now does U of L Sports. His father passed away and the funeral was yesterday. He's been around UK and U of L Sports for thirty years. Father lived in Louisville for sixty years. Prayers to him. Saw all those folks at the funeral home yesterday, and then just another thing, some sad news my mom. You all know this person, one of my mom's very good friends, Kope, passed away that she worked with for many many years down in Bell County. And I know her family's listening. So prayers to you all as well. In the holiday season eight nine two eight zero twenty two eighty seven, when person writes Matt I coach volleyball. And I know Ryan was making fun of you, but actually, Craig Skinner said after the game they changed the primary center because they were not playing well and that made a difference in the game. Bam man.

00:17:10
Speaker 7: I am just so thankful and blessed.

00:17:12
Speaker 3: I was sitting by an expert last night that pointed that out to me the whole game.

00:17:15
Speaker 2: Early. You know, she would make the sets and they'd be behind the person I don't know what the spiker, and then she just had to tap it over and she wouldn't be able to spike ball. No were over, don't say ball, don't lie shand and I understood.

00:17:29
Speaker 5: So the spikers and the bumpers were good, but not the.

00:17:32
Speaker 4: Sun the center got the centers were not setting well.

00:17:37
Speaker 2: But then they changed the center and things were being set better.

00:17:40
Speaker 5: They should make you the color commentator.

00:17:42
Speaker 6: So it was in match adjustments, my Skinner.

00:17:44
Speaker 2: That's exactly right. We could use some of those on the other right. Let's switch for a second. We'll go the phones in a minute. I'm gonna have Craig Skinner at ten thirty and then I'll go to the phones. Let's talk football. Kentucky Louisville Saturday. Louisville is the favorite, but who knows what you're gonna get from Louisville. I'm hearing sources are telling me the quarterback's gonna play, all right. I don't know if that's in the news or not. This is just this was on this morning. I got a message. So I think there's a good chance the quarterback plays the starter. But they're gonna be out with their top three running backs, out with their their top wide receiver. I wanted to ask you, though, the Vince Marrow piece of this, like, how much do you think the fan base and specifically that coaching staff wants to beat him?

00:18:29
Speaker 6: Well, fan base a lot, Yes, the coaching staff probably a lot, and they won't admit it.

00:18:33
Speaker 2: But I really think I would say the coaching staff probably wants to even more than the fan.

00:18:37
Speaker 6: Well, I'll put the players above that, because you got to remember, Vince went through spring, Vince recruited these guys, Vince looked at them. He left in July, like even the new transfers new Vince. I mean, he brought them here, helped build that team, and then left in the middle of the summer. So Mark, he said things, you know, nice things. I guess there's been some personal things that he and Vince dealt with together back home, maybe some tragedy or something he didn't really allude to. He was playing it off. But I bet those players are gonna look over there seeing a guy that left him in the middle of the summer.

00:19:06
Speaker 2: You can love somebody, Ryan, they can be like a brother to you and all that, but you still want to beat him. I mean, I I told the story about how I grew up hating the Washington then called Redskins because my friend Trevor liked him. That is the reason I didn't like him, and I love Trevor. But it didn't matter the fact that Trevor liked him make me want to dislike him even more. You know, Mark Stoops, you know it. He it has to annoy how much credit his friend got for all the recruiting, Even if Vince deserved it all, it had to annoy, right. He probably wants that Saturday in part for that as much as anything.

00:19:45
Speaker 3: You're right, man, Sure it's for boy eligibility. Sure it's on their home field, sure where they're underdogs. But you want to beat Vince maryl who's over there in red on that sideline on Saturday. Like Drew said, he recruited most of these guys on the Kentucky team. They want to prove to him, you made a mistake. We're the better team. You should have stayed here. I forgot he stayed till July.

00:20:03
Speaker 2: I mean right, some of these guys got trapped in here essentially, even well, I mean trapped. Maybe they liked it, but either way, they were here, and then he deserved.

00:20:13
Speaker 5: It's still hard to believe that Vince is over at Louisville.

00:20:15
Speaker 4: You know, there was nobody who's more anti Louisville ELL's Down than Vince Merrow.

00:20:19
Speaker 5: And then he joins the Louisville team.

00:20:21
Speaker 2: It's just no. I mean, listen, I love Vince Marrow. Oh yeah. With that said, dude was doing ELL's Down, mocking Louisville for years, and I probably said to him fifty times on the phone. You go anywhere else, I'm wearing the paraphernalia and cheering for you, but if you go to Louisville, I hope you lose every game and I will boo you every single time you walk on the field. And then he went, so I owe it to him to when he walks out boo right in his face, Drew. I mean, I know I have to he's my friend, but I don't care. He knows the deal. He was.

00:21:01
Speaker 6: He was on the good side of this rivalry for more than a decade. Didn't he one year tweet mid game like from the Louisville sideline talking trash about.

00:21:09
Speaker 2: Yes, he talked trash before the He was tweeting before the game was over. One of those years we beat him by So he knows what he did.

00:21:17
Speaker 6: It's not like he's gonna be surprised by the reception the Kentucky fans there given me.

00:21:21
Speaker 2: He knows exactly.

00:21:22
Speaker 5: He has to understand.

00:21:22
Speaker 8: You know.

00:21:23
Speaker 4: The one thing that surprised me about the interview you did with Rick Patino is Rick Patino seemed like he didn't understand why Kentucky fans didn't like him when he went to LITWA.

00:21:31
Speaker 5: But thence he knows this. He absolutely knows.

00:21:34
Speaker 2: Do you uh? How do you feel about it? By the way, I have no idea what's gonna happen, Like none. You could give me any results Saturday and I would not be shocked.

00:21:43
Speaker 3: You know, going to the game last year, our team kind of quit and they just strolled us. It seems like it's reversed a little bit. It seems like they're kind of checking out. They got guys who all of a sudden are sitting out. They don't want to get hurt for the draft coming up and things like that. They got their quarterback, Miller Miller Miss. He's not Miller Moss.

00:21:58
Speaker 7: It's Miller.

00:22:01
Speaker 2: Oh Man. He is on fire. Is he gonna get past that?

00:22:04
Speaker 7: Here's my fun fact.

00:22:06
Speaker 2: Right about Miller loss, Miller loss.

00:22:08
Speaker 7: Here's my fun fact.

00:22:09
Speaker 3: When the games in Lexington, Louisville has won more games, When the games in Louisville, Kentucky has won the most matchups, So it's like the visiting team was winning. So that just adds to our expectations to win tomorrow.

00:22:22
Speaker 7: That's a really fun, great fun fact.

00:22:25
Speaker 2: I mean when I hear that fact, I'm like, that is so much fun.

00:22:28
Speaker 4: Yeah, we have their number there while we playing the game. It's a guaranteed win, guaranteed win.

00:22:34
Speaker 2: But are you with me, Drew, Like I have no. You could give me any result us by twenty, them by twenty, and I wouldn't be shocked.

00:22:41
Speaker 6: I've already hammered the bats. The Governor's Cup has been good to be financially for several years. I don't know why they keep making us the underdog when we won so many a row, but I'm counting on that one more time. Do need the injury report to look good though, that's sir.

00:22:53
Speaker 2: There's a lot on the line. We'll talk more about it as the show goes on. Craig Skinner's gonna join us. Then we will take your calls. We'll be right back. We're here Don Ekland in Columbia, water back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio here at Don Franklin Ford in Columbia. But I would back up every qualifying part back by five years. Part warranty at Don Franklin Quality installed, peace of mind included mile after mile. We are now joined, and I hope everybody will give a big round of applause to now the SEC tournament champion, first one in twenty years. Craig Skinner, the coach of UK Volleyball. Craig, I love that stat. They hadn't had the tournament forever and so you all just went out and won the first one. What was that like last night? Oh?

00:23:35
Speaker 9: Just an incredible match and environment, and you know, the SEC did a phenomenal job putting that on for the first time ever and really investing in volleyball and recognizing, you know, the momentum that has and for us to pull that out after basically being dead in the water after set to it was an even in set three. It was just an amazing accomplishment for our team.

00:23:57
Speaker 2: You say dead in the water, I mean it was twenty three nineteen in the third set, you call time out. They went to the sideline reporter. You probably don't even know this because you're coaching the game, and they said, and the sideline reporter said something like, UK's volleyball has come out with more energy out of this huddle than I've seen all night. I'm interested interested to see what they'll do about it. And I was sitting with Ryan at the bar and I was like, that's kind of a weird thing to say the game, the match is almost over. And then you did what happened in that time out? What did she see that made her say that.

00:24:35
Speaker 9: You know, I don't you know, we've earned the opportunity to be in this moment and don't let this slip away. And you know, our team is they run the enthusiasm, the fire of the intensity. I mean, I don't have to do anything to motivate them to compete. I mean, their internal competitive drive is unmatched, you know, so far, and they just they never flinched whatsoever, you know, and every point in the match. And the sign of great teams is they have no recollection of what just happened. They're just totally consumed of what's going to happen in the next whistle. And this is the way this team has been all year and they continue to do it.

00:25:10
Speaker 2: Last night, all right, I'm not we're not official commentators, but I set with Ryan Lemon at the bar last night. Ryan, did you think we've had good analysis?

00:25:20
Speaker 7: Listen? Coach.

00:25:21
Speaker 3: I was blessed to be able to sit by a volleyball expert last night watching him because he pointed out early on our sets are off.

00:25:28
Speaker 2: Here's what I said. I said, don't let him, don't let him read it wrong. I said that it felt like to me that the sets, which I guess is this, you know, when you lob it up in the air for the spike, that they were off in the first and second sets. And he was making fun of me and I kept saying it, but then it felt like it got better now, am I was I wrong in reading that?

00:25:52
Speaker 9: No, the connection was not where it needed to be in it and it actually started with the first contact. The server was a little bit rough, was off, which creates issues for the setter to get her feet there and create the same rhythm, and you know, it's it's a combination of all of it that Yes, the last you know, Spike kill show whatever you want to do was not we're not getting full gas and that's a combination of the tempo and rhythm of execution, and for sure that was off, and then it got better as the match went on. So I mean, I think you guys, should you know, call ESPN and see if you can get on and call a match.

00:26:26
Speaker 2: I told you, let coach. We were at the bar last night and it was you know, I just thought, well, it's the SEC Final, it's a random Tuesday night. Let's have a watch party and see what happens. And the place was absolutely full, and a lot of those people are people who come to your regular games at home and obviously weren't able to go to Savannah. But it was loud, it was exciting, I said, it was like an atmosphere for a good basketball game. How does that make you feel that this is happening for your program and the fan support from the Big Blue Nation?

00:27:00
Speaker 9: Yeah, you know, I had several opportunities to be a head coach when I was looking back, you know, I was twenty four to twenty five years or thirty four or thirty five years old. And the reason I wanted to come to Kentucky was because it's the flagship institution in the state where there's no pro sports. And I guarantee if you build something special, they will get behind and be all in. And it's proven true. And you know, you know, thankfully we made the right choice as a family, and and you know, you just can't build a special program without a fan base like this. And can't thank everybody enough. I mean, I don't. I had over three hundred text messages last night, a half hour after the match, and it's just an incredible feeling to be part of it.

00:27:42
Speaker 2: All right, Well, sorry about that. Tell me about your uh, tell me about what happens now. I mean, the bracket comes out Sunday. Are you all expecting to be able to host through the final four? Yeah?

00:27:55
Speaker 9: I mean, first of all, our team, we'd send them home for three days to just get away and only physically they are gassed, and so, uh, but we'll we'll practice Saturday night and Sunday and then selection shows is Sunday evening. And yes we should. We should get a top four seed and host the first and second round starting a week from tomorrow, and then you know, and then if we advance and then host the Reasonal.

00:28:18
Speaker 2: Okay, So when I had a lot of people asking me last night for that first and second round, is it like the NCAA tournament you could either get Thursday Friday. I mean, what, what what's the schedule?

00:28:28
Speaker 7: Like?

00:28:29
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:28:29
Speaker 9: You the first thing around, you bid, it's it's we'll play Thursday Friday, and uh, you know other host sites will do yes Friday Saturday. So it just depends on then use ESPN and and the hosts hosts site, you know what they did, and and then the following week the regional is is typically Thursday Saturday, but because of the demand on ESPN, it's either Thursday Saturday or Friday Sunday, depending on the TV schedule.

00:28:56
Speaker 2: Okay, gotcha, Well, I'm expecting that you're going to have a massive crowd of those games. I know we're gonna we're gonna show them for all of them. It's very exciting. And I have to tell you I want to thank you. I was never a volleyball person ever in my life. I guess two on two in the Olympics would be the only thing I would ever see. And I starting a few years ago, but really, like like that was a really ran exciting sporting event, uh last night, and uh, I appreciate you for just kind of bringing it into my sporting worldview you and your team, So congratulations.

00:29:30
Speaker 9: Thank you so much, and appreciate all your support no matter when it comes. Man, we just always love the fact that people are jumping on board and appreciate you.

00:29:38
Speaker 2: Guys.

00:29:38
Speaker 9: Let me call in occasionally when you're ready.

00:29:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, and Drew over there by the way has been a regular attendee, so I don't want to take it.

00:29:44
Speaker 7: You've been.

00:29:46
Speaker 6: Women's Yeah's shirts. I couldn't find of men's. I was rocking it last night.

00:29:55
Speaker 2: So I hope. So again, thank you very much. Congrats on the SEC tournament win. We'll see in the NCAA.

00:30:02
Speaker 9: Appreciate you guys. Have a great day and happy thank you.

00:30:04
Speaker 2: All right, Happy Thanksgiving to you A five twenty two eighty seven.

00:30:08
Speaker 7: Best co junk campus right there, Craig Skinner.

00:30:11
Speaker 6: And you're right about the fans. I have been to Memorial a few times for regular season games. It is crazy in there. I went two hours early for that Tennessee match to go to El Mariouchi next door, and they were already lined up the Memorial. I thought I was going to be one of the first people there, and there was a line on the sidewalk.

00:30:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been great. That'll be an awesome environment over the next over the next couple of weeks at the tournament.

00:30:29
Speaker 7: Who's up first?

00:30:30
Speaker 2: Rick, Mike is up first? Mike, go ahead, Mike.

00:30:34
Speaker 8: Hey, how you doing man? How's there about doing?

00:30:38
Speaker 2: There? Doing good?

00:30:39
Speaker 8: Thanksgiving? First of all, hey listen. First of all, that was come back last I was incredible. But I'm not I've colled in. Is Billy there?

00:30:51
Speaker 2: Billy is not on this show. You may not know that he's on the other show.

00:30:57
Speaker 8: Okay, Well, I'm really told to support him. Our job was kind of kid around, but he's plenty pleaded last week and I just wanted to tell him I wear nothing but pleaded pants.

00:31:11
Speaker 2: And there you go, Billy. Right here, this is one of you right here only wears pleated pants. You and this guy and.

00:31:19
Speaker 8: I and I have I have.

00:31:22
Speaker 10: I'm retired down but I've had to facial jobs, shirt and tie all that thing. And I was like, I bet I have not gone a handful of times to work without pleated pants.

00:31:32
Speaker 2: There Billy has found his brother in the pant brotherhood. Thank you very much, Mike. I appreciate that. There you go, Billy.

00:31:40
Speaker 5: It's important to have the right kind of pants on radio.

00:31:46
Speaker 2: Maybe the most important place to wear pants is on the radio. Who's next? Trevor is next? Trevor?

00:31:51
Speaker 11: Go ahead, Trevor, Hey Matt, Happy Thanksgiving? Heed to everybody, go ahead, Happy Thanksgiving. It's about football this week. So all this talk about going bowling with stoops to kind of determine how it's side of the fans are. Does the result of the bowl game, you know, come in to play when it talks about our coach next season. If we go in there and we get blown out by a non SCC team, does that change anybody's mind.

00:32:16
Speaker 2: No, not at all, because you've already made the decision. You've already made the decision. I appreciate the call because of recruiting and because of the portal. The decision has to be made before the bowl game. So practically speaking, the bowl game is going to have no impact because you're not gonna make the change after the bowl game. So you you have to decide. And plus the bowl games, I'm not gonna say they're meaningless meaningless, but they're kind of meaningless because you don't even know who's gonna play in these games anymore. So to me, the final determination, and I think we all believe Stoops is going to be back, but to the extent that it could not happen Ryan, the final determination is the Louisville game. The decision has to be made before the bowl game. If you're gonna have a if you're gonna have a team next.

00:32:58
Speaker 3: Year, Yeah, the bowl get into a bowl game is so import because you get that extra month of practice. You're gonna make this decision already ahead in advance, till you got your continuity going into the spring football season. You take him out of that equation and somebody's come in and gotta start all over, not till next spring.

00:33:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're not gonna do that, so we'll know. I mean, honestly, we'll know pretty much. Drew in the postgame press conference on Saturday, Mark Stoops will be asked, are you going to be back next year? And he'll have If he's not gonna be here, he'd have to at least go, well, I'm gonna determine now. I guess Mitch and Mitch Barnhart will be there and somebody will ask him to So by the time my postgame shut show starts at four thirty Saturday, we're gonna know.

00:33:44
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's about to get chaotic if whether change or not, there's a lot going on. Signing Day is next Wednesday, so I mean, as soon as Louisville's over, your high school class is signing a few days later. Uh, the transfer portal it's beginning of January. But it's the same week as some bowl games. There are gonna be some teams that are in a tough spot. It's the worst NCAA calendar they could do because there's gonna be coaches in another city at a bowl game when they need to be having transfers on campus.

00:34:08
Speaker 2: Well, I mean even yesterday Oklahoma State Shannon announced their new coach and he's the coach of North Texas and they're gonna be playing for the American champ Conference championship, and if they beat Tulane in that game, they have a chance to go to the playoffs. I mean it's an outside chance, but it's a chance. And so the North Texas coach said, I'm going to coach my team through the end of the season, but then go to Oklahoma State. That's gotta be awkward.

00:34:36
Speaker 4: It's so bizarre the coaching carousel on the timeline with the playoffs and everything.

00:34:41
Speaker 5: I don't know why they can't adjust something.

00:34:45
Speaker 2: Semesters though, I mean, like there is school.

00:34:52
Speaker 5: No, I mean, we're athlete students, not sing athletes.

00:34:55
Speaker 2: You're right, but part of the problem is they have to have the portal in time for people to go to school. But then that also makes it during the playoff and Ryan, so I really don't know what the NCAA is supposed to do. You could move the portal to after the playoff, but then you're essentially acknowledging these kids are not going to school because school have already started at that point.

00:35:16
Speaker 3: That's what this lame Kiffen thing is so interesting to me. They play Friday night in the Egg Bowl Saturday, he's got to announce his decision.

00:35:22
Speaker 2: What was my prediction? Where's he announcing the decision? College game day?

00:35:27
Speaker 7: College game Write that down.

00:35:29
Speaker 2: He will say he will make it to where he is on college game day making that decision. Does anybody want that prediction? Anybody want to take that bet? I think that's what's gonna happen. If you have pain, stiffness, or a numbing sensation preventing you from enjoying watching your favorite teams. Court is the Kentucky's go to physical therapy. They help athletes, fans and average joes get rid of aches and pains. And if you've met your insurance deductibles, you may not even know anything through the end of the year. It's court dot Com. That is ko RT dot com. We'll take a break of your back. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. Word back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio. So for all the folks here at Don Franklin, if you were to buy gasoline powered vehicle today, here at Don Franklin in Columbia, Ford. This is including folks in town. If you were gonna think about buying a vehicle, two years of free maintenance. If you buy a vehicle today here at Don Franklin in Columbia, So those of you in the surrounding areas, if you've thought about it, today is the day to go Black Friday. I always think of people buying cars. I remember my parents bought a car a couple of times on Black Friday. What else do people buying Black Friday TVs?

00:36:35
Speaker 6: I used to go to Walmart just to watch the chaos.

00:36:37
Speaker 2: I didn't need you. Is that still like, is it still a thing? Not the same because it's online and all that.

00:36:45
Speaker 4: People would literally camp outside of stores, you know, overnight just to get in.

00:36:49
Speaker 2: I love one of my mom's friends, it was like our favorite day of the year. Like she loved it. I think she enjoyed the chaos and just like fighting people for things. So did you did you enjoy it? You seem like you have that look like you enjoyed it. Yeah. Yeah, So people just they don't do dud. Does anyone line up anymore? Yeah?

00:37:08
Speaker 6: And now the online deals start, like lat of places have had Black Friday sales for a month.

00:37:12
Speaker 2: Just me. That's a shame. That's another thing that we collectively did that. The internet is ruined for us.

00:37:17
Speaker 5: I love the fights. Now we don't get the fights anymore, that's.

00:37:20
Speaker 2: Right, all right, So let's I wanna talk just a second about uh, the two of these two guys next to me here, uh Drew Franklin, or as he's been called this week, Frank Franklin and Ryan Limit. So you too have kind of been polar opposites on opinions this week, Shannon and I have kind of been in between you guys, but you two have been at various ends. Uh. Drew has taken the kind of extreme anti I don't want to say anti Stoops, but kind of anti state of the program. And Ryan kind of surprised a lot of people by Monday saying that no matter what, he would bring Stoops back even if there was not a buyo, which I thought was kind of an amazing thing. So here's what I wanted to do, Shannon. You know, I'm almost I'm a lawyer, or was I like debate? So do you have you pull up a clock? All right, I'm gonna let freight they they are not prepared for this. This is this is completely this is completely cod I'm very prepared, completely Cope, I'm gonna get both of these guys to give the one minute case without interruption, which is rare on this show, without interruption of why they feel the way they feel. Drew, change needs to be made, Ryan, No change needs to be made. Uh to the jury. Now, I want you to pick a number one through ten, and whoever's closer we'll get to go. We'll get to choose where they go first or last. What do you have?

00:38:53
Speaker 6: I will go with lucky number four.

00:38:55
Speaker 2: What's yours?

00:38:55
Speaker 7: I'll go five? Then I guess it was two.

00:38:58
Speaker 2: So would you like to go first or last? Year?

00:39:00
Speaker 6: I'll go first. I'll let him collect his stay right.

00:39:03
Speaker 2: So, Drew Franklin, Shannon, you have one minute off the clock or I was I would say, Frank Franklin give the case as to why change needs to be made with UK football.

00:39:12
Speaker 6: Oh, I'm gonna need more than a minute. My problem is with the entire big picture that includes Mark Stoops. But we have the longest tenured ad, the longest tenured coach. What are we the best at? What are we even halfway up the sec at? We're almost dead last in recruiting. I think we're currently fifteenth Vandy's twenty spots ahead game day atmosphere. I think we fall into sixteenth. The people raving about Nashville are acting like Vandy has turn a corner. We've been passed by Vandy. We've been passed by Missouri, We've been passed by South Carolina, Mississippi State. We can debate, but they're having a pretty good year now. I don't know their atmosphere. Not a big fan of Startfield myself. Stoops has been here a long time. We pretty much know the gripes with him. First half stuff, run of the ball. We all know that. I don't know that a new code coach bringing him back whatever. I don't think anything will work until UK Athletics wakes up and tries to invest in football and making an experienced people want to be a part of. They've won one home game in a couple of years. The record against the SEC is not good.

00:40:13
Speaker 2: When time time time No one minute time, that's time.

00:40:18
Speaker 6: I was just getting started, okay, but that's that's.

00:40:20
Speaker 2: Why we have a minute. That's why we have a minute. All right, So that is the case. Uh sort of change needs to be made now, Ryan Lemon, you have one minute to give the No matter what you would bring Mark Stoops back case go.

00:40:34
Speaker 3: Mark Steups is the best football coach at UK in my lifetime and most of our lifetimes. He's done things here most of us thought never could be done. Working in the media, I've been with six different coaches now and he's by far did things that we were one in ten. One year we were two and nine. One year we had the nation's longest losing streak in the nineties. He's turned it around. He's turned the culture around now. Granted the last couple of years haven't gone the way we wanted, but we're set up very well for the future. We got a hot young core back, we got a hot young tight end, we got a hot young receiver, we got a hot young running back. We are set up to maybe make a move and improve ourselves where we've not lose those games last couple of years. So my other thing is I'm always just, you know, afraid what you wish for. You know, you can want a new coach. Who's to say that guy can't do what stoops are has been able to do here. I think Stoops does things here that nobody else could maybe other coaches could achieve. He got ten wins twice in recent years. When when that ever happened to UK football? So be careful what you wish wish for. The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. It's green right now and it's in bluegrass time.

00:41:36
Speaker 2: All right. Well you you timed it well to tell me, okay, so quickly we got twenty seconds. How many of you side with Frank? How many of you side with Ryan? So Frank is up a lot of you didn't vote, I will note. But Frank's going.

00:41:54
Speaker 6: Around too about how we have to get a loan for Wi Fi.

00:41:57
Speaker 2: We will take a break, come back our number two. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.