4.18: Friday Vibes Are High - Hour 1

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Sports Talk seven nine day.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Holy crap, I don't know who the hell we think
when we.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Are get off our show, idiot.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
The kids are crying or turning off, crying. The countries
are screwing it up.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Gold Play Inner Murals, Brother, gold Play Inner Murals.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
They're supposed to be mature adults, but they're really not.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Who's the kid here? Who's the kid here?

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Are you kidding me?

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Now? Here's Nick Coffee?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
All right, let's get the good Friday started here. What
a beautiful, beautiful day. It is Coffee and Company. That's
the name of the show. We are fueled by Thornton's
here on Sports Talk seven ninety Nick Coffee. That's me
Austin Montgomery alongside. He's also known as the Tribal Chief.
And I'm happy to be here. I say that every
day and I mean it pretty much every day, So

(01:02):
I'm happy to be here. This is always fun. But man,
I want to be outside right now. I mean, I
wish we could just like pick up all this stuff
and just take it outside and do the show there.
I mean, that's not realistic, and we probably have some
you know, some noise issues, because you know, downtown Louisville's
a pretty noisy place, just with you know, the hustle
and bustle. But what a beautiful day. I'm not going
to complain. It's warm, like it's it's kind of humid.

(01:24):
I think the high's like seventy nine or eighty. But
it's beautiful, and we're going to get the weekend started.
I mean, I feel like once the show starts at
three o'clock on a Friday, that's kind of I mean,
like that that's the weekend we're here. I mean not really,
but just you know, imagine that the weekend started, get
the vibes going early. At least it is Friday.

Speaker 4 (01:43):
Didn't have to get confused by it, It's right, I mean,
in fact, oh, how did that feel?

Speaker 2 (01:46):
I'm looking I'm looking at it. It's like, you know,
I got the natural joy that comes with a Friday
today and then yesterday, like it wasn't real. But you
know I didn't know that, you know, for about five hours,
I'm like, here we go Fridays. So it was a
punch to the gut, a real letdown. But all in all,
I mean, if you really just you know, if you
live in your own world, convince yourself of things and

(02:07):
just live life and believe you know whatever you want.
And by the way, there's a lot of people to
do that, a lot of delusional people that live in
their own world that are not with us in reality.
That was me yesterday thinking that it was in fact Friday,
but it was not. But today it is Good Friday.
We've got Easter Sunday coming up. And do you when
you were in school and you grew up in Arizona, right,

(02:28):
like all of your schooling was Arizona. Rists So do
you remember or do you know if you ever got
a day off school because of Good Friday? No? I didn't, Okay,
So this is I think this speaks to guess our age.
But my group text that I've referenced from time to time,
it's about thirteen guys that I've known for some of

(02:50):
them more than thirty years, some not quite as much.
But we all kind of grew up together. And it
started with a group chat that we created for our
fantasy football and then it became like a con instant thing.
Whenever we were all in quarantine because the pandemic happened,
and you know every day there's some good back and
forth and it's it's you know, it's it's it's uh.
I turned the notifications off for because if if you know,

(03:12):
there's times where if I don't if I have, and
I think they all do to be honest with you.
But anyways, last night we were going back and forth
because one of my buddies, Dave, he's of the belief
that we used to get out of school for Good Friday,
and I don't think we did. And I don't really
know if that's ever been a thing. And I'm you know,
I'm I'm I'm a big Easter guy. You know, I
just uh, Good Friday. I don't think it's ever been

(03:33):
a holiday to the to the I mean, honestly, I
know what it is, like I hear people talk about it,
but I don't mean is it a holiday like it is,
but it's not right like when you when you like
it's one of those holidays like where would you rank
it as far as like because it's not Halloween, even
like it's certainly not like Halloween. You don't get out
of school right like holidays that don't require school closure,

(03:55):
or like businesses maybe business like that's a broad thing business,
but I mean like office work, right, Like there's certain
places like on President's Day or Martin Luther King Junior Day,
those kind of holidays to where a lot of companies
will close down. But if you're in like retail business, restaurant, like,
you know, you'd be foolish not to be open. So anyways,

(04:17):
happy Good Friday everybody, the Holy Day as we get
the weekend started. Can you believe Derby is like almost here?
I know, I mean crazy two weeks away, I know,
and I know I'm not the only one that has
said that. In fact, that's what's led me to realize,
you guys are right, like, it is crazy that Derby's
almost here because it's sneaking up on us. But a

(04:37):
lot of folks that I've talked to, they claim that
the reason it's just it's it's hitting us out of
nowhere here we go, is because we didn't have thunder
over Louisville. Yes, that's exactly yeah, And I guess that.
I mean, that makes sense for a lot of people.
But I'm you know, thunder to me is like if
we just didn't we randomly didn't have thunder, which we
did this year, and it wasn't random. It's because of
the flooding and whatnot. But I mean, I it's not

(04:59):
my but I understand how big of a deal it is,
and it was an awful situation to where we couldn't
have it here locally because that impacts businesses and there's
so many people that come to Louisville for that that
aren't from here, which is great obviously for the economy.
But you know, for me, I feel like it's sneaking up.
But I don't know if it's because for me, my
my perspective only, I don't feel like it's because of
not having thunder. But anyway, speaking of thunder, we didn't

(05:21):
have it because obviously at that point that it stopped raining.
But man, it was a mess down there on the waterfront.
And obviously the waters is is, you know, not what
it was a week ago, which is good. But for
like the chow wagon and stuff like the Great Lawn,
is that not a mud pit? I mean, because are
that this year? They haven't said anything about making any

(05:41):
change yet, Okay, but there are some events that I
know that that are that are supposed to be a
part of uh. The is it called the chow wagon. Yes,
it's a chow Yeah. Well I know I know what
the chowan is when you call it, because there's like
a certain amount of days where it's there, and I've
always just called it the chow wagon. But for some reason,
I feel like it's it's there's a Herby festival branding

(06:01):
name that I'm just blanking on. But anyways, Uh, there's
there's a couple of like you know, yeah, I couldn't
couldn't figure out what it is. But like OVW Wrestling,
they're doing a show at the waterfront, which they did
last year during during during the chow Wagon. Uh, and
and the plan is to still do it. But I
think it's I mean, it kind of seems like it's
in limbo as far as like I don't think they're

(06:22):
going to cancel it by any means, but they may
have to make some adjustments to where like not everybody
is just near what I imagine, it's just a bunch
of mud. I mean that that's one of the things
about flooding that I never really thought about until the
recent flooding that's happened where and it's not just when
the water goes down, I mean it's once it goes down.
I mean, all that gunk and just nastiness, just lingers,

(06:43):
and you know it doesn't just go away. You have
to you have to clean it up. Which I know
that's been a big, a big thing here in Louisville
the last week or so with Mayor Greenberg and and
all the resources he's trying to get together to try
to get this place cleaned up. I mean, obviously you
need to do that in general, but you also kind
of need to do it because you know, you want
Louisville to be looking as good as possible because it's
our time to shine. Derby Week is here, Derby Season

(07:05):
is here, so you know, I hope it's not something
that where they have to make a bunch of big
changes to uh to the chow wagon and whatnot, because
that's actually I can't really tell you why, but like
that's one of my favorite things about Derby season. You know,
I don't go to any of the big fancy Derby
parties or anything like that, although I would love to
go if I get an invite to one. I'm just
you know, I'm not that important, not that special, and

(07:27):
I'm poor. So like ones where you got to buy
big tickets, like I can't afford that. But anyways, for me,
there's two events that kind of you know, I think
I think of Derby Festival season and know that here
we go, we're about to have the you know, the
run for the Roses, and one of them no longer exist,
which I'll get to that in a second. But one
of the other one is the chow Wagon just being there,

(07:49):
you know, getting getting you drinking some beer. They usually
got concerts going on. They got all like the fair
the fair type food, right, I mean, that's that's the
good stuff. So I would hope that it goes off
without a hitch. But ok action, yeah, A foot long
corn dog funnel cake, yes, baby, a lot. I felt
like a lot of like the State Fair type of
food that is pretty exotic, if you will, Like you

(08:12):
see that at the show wagon, and and it just
I mean, I was, you know, I love Louisville, you
guys know that. But a lot of times downtown Louisville
by the water, especially like if we've gone in a
drought where we haven't had rain, doesn't smell great. But
when you've got all those food options there, all within
feet of each other it smells like one of the

(08:32):
best things I've ever smelled in my life. And well,
I want to make this more of a bigger conversation
later on in the show. But my favorite Derby event
ever just it no longer exists and it makes me really,
really sad. And that was the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic
and I assume most people listening know what that is.
But it was like our version of the McDonald's All

(08:52):
American Game, and at one time it was the event.
Oh they don't do that anymore. Yeah, so it just disappeared.
You didn't realize it, did you. I did not realize it.
I think the last year might have been like twenty seventeen,
and I don't I really don't know why it. Well,
it became much harder to bring in the bigger name

(09:13):
type of players to where like if you want, you
got to sell tickets, right, I mean, that's part of it,
and if you've got and there used to be a
stupid rule like where you could only play in two
of those kinds of things. So you had the Jordan
brand game and you had the McDonald American Game obviously,
which has been around forever. And that's the cream of
the crop. But now you've got like you've got other

(09:35):
I feel like there's one I'm blanking on that's actually
it's probably third in line outside of McDonald's and then
the Jordan Brand Classic. So when you could only pick
two as a big time recruit, if you got offered
to go to jordan Brand or McDonald's, you weren't coming
to the Derby Classics. So that put him in a
tough spot to an extent. So therefore they just didn't

(09:56):
have the highest caliber players they used to get, and
that of course was a factor, and it not selling
tickets the way that they used to sell it, So
you know, I think it was a budgetary thing when
they decided to get rid of it. But I mean
I remember thinking, like, they're just going to get rid
of it and like not like I mean, it just
kind of went away. Like I don't think there was
a formal like announcement. Maybe they don't need that. But

(10:16):
I went to that thing from the time I was
like five or six years old until the time it
didn't exist anymore. I never missed one from like five
years old to whenever the last one was, So I
went from going to it as a kid getting autographs
and just being you know, super excited to just you know,
I when I was really young, I didn't know who
some of the players were, but you know, obviously it

(10:36):
looked like NBA players to me whenever I'm a little kid. Goodness, gracious,
we had somebody working on that damn bathroom again. Good God.
I don't know if that came across the air. I'm
sure it did to an extent. It sounded like somebody
just let out like a five minute long fart. But
somebody's drilling next to us. They've been working on this
bathroom for way too long. I mean, I'm not a contractor.
I don't I wouldn't be able to assist them in

(10:58):
any way to speed up the process.

Speaker 1 (11:00):
Us.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
You guys, hear that like you have.

Speaker 4 (11:03):
It's vibrating my brain. It's still going out. How long
had they been doing You just.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
Missed the whole conversation because you're on the phone. Yes,
but but yes, I just I said, I don't know,
I would not be able to assist them to speed
up the process. But I have a feeling they're not
moving at a pace that you know, most contractors would like.
It's just been a never ending like I mean, no,
it's been a month at least, maybe even maybe in

(11:29):
the bathroom. And by the way, the bathroom's tiny.

Speaker 4 (11:31):
And remember I think it's probably like two weeks ago
where I came in and I got a glimpse in
the bathroom when I was walking in, and everything looks
brand new, And I had thought that they were close
to done, because I'm like, you could tell new tile,
you could tell a new floor, like from the from
the little sliver that like from when you're walking in
through our garage and you could see right there on
a way to our office. You can without directly walking

(11:52):
in there, you could tell everything's new. So like, as
I'm looking in there, I'm like, are they shouldn't be
that much far off? But now now it sounds like
they're just like like how it.

Speaker 2 (12:02):
Was day one.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
For those are the initial day that you weren't here
and you heard the banging and the drilling.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
It's been like that all day. Oh today, so today's
been a big day. Okay, first time I've heard it,
so today, meaning so for those who don't know what
we're talking about, we are here at four Street Live,
and the bathroom that is like the public bathroom for
the facility. Here we have our own restrooms here in
our iHeart office, but there's bathrooms on each level, the
ground level and then the level that we're on, which
is upstairs, and the bathrooms are tiny and they've been

(12:30):
renovating them forever and then out of note like where
I am in this studio, quite literally, it has to
be like a paper thin wall because I mean I
can hear. It doesn't come across the air, and if
I'm yapping, I don't hear. But like if it's quiet
during the break and they're in there working, I can
hear their conversations. Not I mean I can't pick up
on what they're saying, but like it just seems like
it's taking here chatter. Yeah, it's taking them a really
long time, and it's directly next to me and I

(12:54):
it's not the end of the world, but it whenever
the banging is annoying, but whenever there's like a drill
like whatever that was, that just makes me completely lose
my train of thought because I'm like, you know, it's
just not normal. So anyways, we'll get through, it'll be okay.
But back to the Derby classic when they got rid
of it. It was you know, it was real sad, and

(13:15):
I wish it would come back. I don't think they
they're going to bring it back. In fact, I wouldn't
be shocked if moving forward, you see maybe some other
of the not as popular, not as known Derby events
just kind of just kind of go away. But I
feel like that was, like, that was an awesome event
and it was for a long time. But I guess
the cost of putting it on and relying on volunteers

(13:36):
to not be paid to do it, but you know,
just utilize Kentucky Derby Festival funding to travel and recruit
players to play in it. I mean, it was it
was special to me. But I will say now that
i'm reflecting on it, when I got old enough and
you know, I started a career in doing this and
I was able to actually cover it from a media
perspective one that was awesome. But also the tendance did

(14:00):
kind of like imer, the attendance was nowhere near what
it was when I went when I was a kid.
So yeah, I bet there's others just like you, Austin
that kind of because it did fade in relevance as
it was as it was dying, I guess, and I
bet it went away, and like I brought it up,
and I bet there's others out there right now they're like, oh, yeah,
they haven't had that in a while. Have they been
a long time? So if they bring it back, I

(14:22):
would do anything to help them in any way. I
don't know what I could do specifically, but you know,
promoting it and you know it was and we are
the market to where like that that event Kentucky, every
festival classic basketball event that you know is now dead
because we are in Louisville, of course, a college basketball
market that is like no other. We have three programs. Really,

(14:43):
I mean they were. It was at its best when
they were able to get recruits that had committed to Louisville,
Kentucky and Indiana. And there were years where they had
a good mix of that and it was I mean,
it was. It was very very well attended. They would
do the the Night of the Future Stars event, which
was the Friday event where they have like the initial

(15:05):
stages of the three point shootout and the dunk contest,
and then they do like a two on two tournament
and the next day they actually have the game and
then they do the finals of three point shootout in
the dunk contest at halftime, and it went from being
at the game itself, was at Freedom Hall for a
little while, then it went to the Center, and then

(15:25):
there was a rule change in the NCAA where you
couldn't host those kind of events in your own arena,
and then it went back to I believe it went
back to Freedom Hall, and yeah, just went away, and
it makes me sad. All Right, the rest of the
way here today, we're gonna we're gonna have some fun.
It's a Friday. Friday gives me the feeling to where
I can just go in directions that maybe you know
I wouldn't go on a Monday or Tuesday. And you

(15:46):
know that's exciting to me. So we need to talk
a little more about Tyler Shuck because the love fest
for one Tyler Shuck is awesome to see. I believe
it's legit. But sometimes when guys end up getting is
completely gassed up like this this close to the draft,
you know you wonder like, is it a smoke screen?
I don't believe that it is. But there's some sound

(16:09):
I want you guys to hear from a former Louisville
quarterback Jay Gruden, who now does the media stuff. He
was talking about Shuck and he believes that it's gonna
be cam Ward Shadoor Sanders and then Tyler Shuck. He
thinks he's gonna be the third quarterback taken. He's gonna
be taking head of Jackson Dart and there's a chance
he could be a first round quarterback because it'd be
a shocker to me if there's not three quarterbacks taken

(16:32):
in the first round. And yes, I know this quarterback
class is not believed to be great. That's one of
the reasons why Shuck's been able to emerge as such
a you know, intriguing prospect in the eyes of a
lot of these you know, NFL executives. But the NFL
is desperate to find the next big quarterback, right, And
sometimes there's a guy that's got all the hype, all
the praise, and they're like, man, if he's there at eight,

(16:53):
we're taking him. And then sometimes they overthinking and like, man,
we're so desperate to find a guy, they're gonna start
convincing themselves that they have found that di'mond in the
rough that like not everybody realizes just how good they are.
So but look, Louisville is already believed to be and
they are I say believe to be. I mean, it's
if you go out there and look up. I think
ESPN has done one, twenty four seven Sports has done one.

(17:13):
But like the quarterback, you wide receiver, you schools that
have had the best success at putting certain positions in
the NFL for good careers. Louisville's not one or two,
but they're in the conversation, and they really have been
for a long time, like even before Lamar. But if
if our man Shuck ends up getting drafted pretty early,
and even if he doesn't, but he ends up having
a pretty good career, like that are really I mean,

(17:35):
it's just another one of the good quarterbacks we've had.
And Chuck certainly isn't going to be Lamar Jackson. Nobody's
going to be. And I'm not even sure where he
would rank among louisvill quarterbacks because he only played here
one year. But we've been pretty lucky with quarterbacks, even
in years where Louisville is not great and like they've
got some issues, it usually isn't quarterback play. I mean,

(17:58):
when I think, actually, well, let's this, let's make this
a conversation. But I'm gonna have to dress it up
to not make it sound so negative. But you know,
in the last twenty years, like who are the worst
starting quarterbacks that Louisville's ever had? Because I asked the
question because I feel like even the guys that you
would say would probably be in that bottom tier, Like
I don't think they were terrible by any means. And

(18:19):
there's all I mean. I watched a lot of college football.
There's a lot of teams that have terrible quarterbacks. So anyways,
if you've got some thoughts on at Austin, I think
you kind of do save it for later because I
want to make that a segment. So anyways, we'll mix
it up today. I hope you guys will stick around,
and I hope you guys will join us on the show.
A lot of ways for you to contribute your best
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(18:41):
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free to give us a call and uh, hang out.
It's beautiful outside. It's Friday. If you're out, if you're
enjoying this weather while listening, maybe you know, with the

(19:01):
old fashioned radio dial. I mean, I feel like people
are listening to the show live that aren't in their car.
They're listening on the Iheard app which is the way
you should. So if you're outside enjoying yourself, I'm jealous.
Crack a beer for me or two or ten. It's
coffee and Company. We're fuel about Thorton's right here on
Sports Talks seven to ninety.

Speaker 1 (19:21):
Now back to coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on
Sports Talk seven nine day.

Speaker 2 (19:29):
I should have known better. I don't know why. I
just assumed that a lot of a big movement in
the portal had already happened. But in the last couple
of days, really yesterday, I mean, it was a wild
day as far as players deciding they were I mean,
it's almost like there's players that had decided to come
back and then they decided well, actually no, I'm not

(19:49):
going to. I mean, that's exactly what happened with Chad
Baker Mazara. But we now have a player that hit
the portl yesterday that is the number two player in
in the portal overall, just behind the Lindenborg big man
from UAB that committed to Michigan, which I happen to
think he'll probably not end up there. I think he's
gonna get good reviews in the I think we'll go pro.

(20:11):
But it's wild that we're here now that if you
are viewed as somebody that's going to be taken late
in the first or early in the second, you're gonna
make more money if you come back to school, if
you play for one of these schools that's throwing big
money around. I mean, that's how quickly this has exploded.
They're finding money to pay these players to where it

(20:34):
would be financially not irresponsible. But I mean, there's no
reason for you to go ahead and jump to the
NBA whenever you will literally make less money on your
initial You can be a rookie in the NBA with
a first round contract and make less money than you
will at certain schools. If you're getting like the JT.

(20:56):
Topping I think is his name, the kid who came back, Kidy,
he's grown ass man, came back from Texas Tech, had
a really good year. I think it was a first
team All American. He decided to come back, and his
deal is apparently worth a little bit over three million.
Texas Tech of course has that oil money and his
great like his he graded out in the I think
it was Jonathan Jevoni's NBA draft evaluation said that he's

(21:20):
a late first rounder and quite literally in his first
season he would make less money than in the NBA
somehow than he would make as I mean, that's just again,
you got. The NBA rookie contract is absolutely a I
mean it's a multi year thing, and overall the contract
itself is paying more. But in just the one year,
like your base pay for the nil that you're getting

(21:42):
is going to be more than what you would make
in your first year playing NBA basketball, which is a
crazy thing to think about. And I mean I don't
have any complaints. I mean, you know, I still believe
that this is all good news. This is all I
mean this. I think college basketball, more than any sport,
has benefit from this new world. I say that knowing

(22:02):
maybe it's just me loving college basketball and you just
being super positive about the sport as best I can
because I love it. Maybe there's part of that as
to why I'm saying this, But again, you just have
better like the products. Better players now play college basketball
a lot longer than they used to because they can
make money, and teams can be really down and then

(22:24):
quickly flip it around because you can go, if you've
got resources, you can go build a team. And in football, yes,
it's the same, but there's so many more pieces to
a football program to where I mean if you're having
to really start off, and you also need way more
depth than football too. I mean, if you get seven
eight really good players and they stay healthy, you might

(22:46):
run into an issue like Louisville did. I think this
year at times where they were just man, they were gassed,
like they became really you could just tell they were winded.
And I don't think it's because they were in terrible shape.
I mean, these a lot of these guys that Louisville
relied on this year, most of them actually were playing
nearly the whole game at times. Not everybody, but a
lot of them that were in the rotation. So but
if you have seven eight guys, I mean that's all

(23:06):
you really need. I mean you don't even need eight.
You've got like six that are playing a good chunk
and you've got a seventh and eighth man that they're
getting twelve to fifteen and sometimes they may play more
because of foul trouble or whatever, and they're not like
a huge liability, Like you can still have a lot
of success. I Depth is valuable whenever it's needed, but
depth is not needed if things are going great and

(23:28):
you have a good team. Like I hesitate to say
that depth is overrated in basketball, because again it's a
good thing to have, especially if you know something goes
wrong with an injury or foul trouble, that kind of stuff.
But if you have six to seven and you know
they're in great shape and they stay healthy, which is

(23:49):
hard to do now for you to have a whole
season where nobody gets hurt. But yeah, college basketball I
think is much better for in this new world. But
I'm sure there's other to disagree, and that's okay. We
can have a difference of opinion. Now, this is a
good text that comes in and I don't have the
answer for you. And I'm not even really like I
can't even I mean, I don't even. I think there

(24:10):
are players out here that are gonna try whatever they
can to get extra years. So the text comes in says,
how the hell are all of these guys that have
played five years still entering the portal ineligible? Well, they're not.
There are guys that aren't eligible that are entering the
portal that obviously you know, they're just hoping that they
get a waiver. And the nce double A does not

(24:31):
give you any answers in any way consistently. As far
as the timing of it, I mean, they'll do it whenever.
Could take a year to get an answer on something.
I mean, Louisville waited different situation, It wasn't about eligibility,
but like they'll looking back the amount of time it
took to conclude Louisville's n CUAA situation, it's criminal. I
mean that's an exaggeration, but I mean there is no

(24:54):
scenario anyone could give me where it took that long.
And really the waiting that was the punishment, the amount
of time, like Lilia didn't get an added postseason ban.
They didn't. I mean when it played out, little didn't
get anything, but they did because they just set for years.
And the reason you were even in a situation where

(25:15):
you had to hire a Kenny Payne is because of
just how long it took. So if you are recruiting
players in the portal that are waiting to get a waiver,
you gotta be careful because why you can't put resources
and time into somebody that you know it's a fifty
to fifty shot if they're even going to be able
to play. I mean the big fellow from Charleston who's

(25:41):
suing the NC douablea. I haven't heard any update on that,
but he, you know, he claimed that he's able to
make a million dollars if he gets eligible, and the
NCAA is restricting him and his Division two season couldn't count. Well,
he's a good player. He make any team better, and
he has apparently a lot of options as far as
schools that are interested in him, and I think it's
Clemson that's reportedly the school that is willing to he can.
You know he can, he's able to play. They're gonna

(26:01):
give a million dollars and good for him, but like,
if you're Clemson, you know, sit around and just hope
and if he doesn't get eligible, you wasted time and
there may not be that many guys available, So it's uh,
it's it's wild. And the person who sent that text
and sending a screenshot from a Rain Smith tweet where
he he let me see what Rain said here, because

(26:26):
why don't I mean, just force the NC double A
to like say no, you can't do that, Like just
bring Rain Smith back and wait until they tell us
like you can't do it, and then when they tell
you that you can't, maybe do it anyway and just
see what they do. I mean, I'm joking, but like
instab a has never had less power, it seems. But yeah,
Rain tweeted this earlier today. Is there an extra year
of eligibility I'm missing out on? How are these dudes
in the portal? And then Trulli Donovan, I'm sure he

(26:49):
was just you know, playing the character that is, you know,
this synonymous guy who breaks all these big stories in
college basketball. But you know he, I guess was cracking
jokes on some of these guys that are entering the
portal quite literally knowing that like there's what what like
Dane Danger I think is the guy's name. He's been
in a lot. I mean, he's he's played five years,

(27:11):
I think it is, and he just finished up like
he has not to my knowledge, he has no like
legitimate reason. And it's not like I followed it closely,
but I did read as Memphis commercial appeal article about
how he's he's he's entered the portal and yet like
nobody knows what claim he's gonna try to make that

(27:32):
he could still be eligible. He's like, there's no like,
there's no medical red shirt. There's no I mean there's nothing.
Like he's played every he's played five years, and yet
he's like yeah, it's almost like he wanted to do
it to see if anybody noticed, which they're gonna clearly
they're gonna notice, because they're gonna maybe want you on
their team, but like if you were, like if you're Louisville,
like Dane Danger is the kind of guy that I
think actually could be the beefy physical presence in the

(27:54):
post that I think that they're gonna you know that
I that I think they could add. I don't know
if they need it desperately because actually thinks Sonny is
going to be a bigger physical presence than people realize.
But either way, like if you could get Dann danger
and he's eligible and like you could make it work,
Like to me, he'd be a really good piece just
because of what he brings that you don't have, which
is just a big physical presence. And he's also pretty good.
He averaged fourteen and a half seven and a half

(28:15):
rebounds last year at Memphis, all a AC first team.
But you can't like put resources and time into recruiting
this guy until you know he can play, right, I mean,
I wouldn't so for Kentucky. I mean I'm not making
the jokes that other people are making because I know
if I really thought Kentucky was in trouble because of
these misses they've had in the portal, then you know,

(28:37):
I would say that. But I think Mark Pope's a
good enough coach to or he'll have enough pieces to
work with. And I don't know if they're going to
be as good as they were this past year, but
like they've missed on guys, and they've also got guys
that I think can probably have success. I mean, like
Lowe isn't a type of guard that I think would
be great for Mark Pope offense. But he's a talented player,
and Hoope's a good enough coach I think to realize

(28:58):
how to make it work with that guy, it's by
him being a little bit different. I mean, oh take away,
he's not in the portal right now, and he's not
going to be. I think his his announcement recently was
he's going to test the waters and then you know,
keep his eligibility if he doesn't get great feedback from
the NBA. So, like, here's something I can't believe. I'm
doing this to like make Kentucky fans feel more optimistic

(29:18):
about their team. Here's what you could you should consider.
He's a guy that if he comes back to college,
he's coming back to Kentucky. It certainly seems oh take
away that is, but if he did hit the portal,
he would probably be a top five player and you
already have it. So sometimes the biggest gets are the
guys you already have because they're coming back and they're
not going to the portal or they're not going to

(29:39):
the NBA. So anyways, with Kentucky, they like they have
missed out on guys, and that's I talked about it
last week, and you know, I still stand by this.
I think some of the some of the additions that
Pope has made, it would be a stretch to say
that it reeks of desperation. But when he went after
Dent from New Mexico didn't get him, went after Yax

(30:03):
Lindenborg from UAB, didn't get him, And then the guys
to take those spots are Jalen Low and Jaden Quaintans,
who by the way, are good pickups, but they're different players,
really on different planets as far as their styles. So
that kind of tell I mean, I shouldn't say it
reeks of desperation, But like your plan seems to have shifted,

(30:24):
right because you wanted a veteran, you wanted two veterans
that are elite, grown ass men that have proven to
be really good at this level of college basketball, and
then you got Jalen Low, who is nowhere near the
kind of guard you typically bring in, and obviously Quaintance
to me is still a raw prospect that like you know,
he's probably a ten and eight guy, which isn't bad.

(30:46):
That's a good I mean, that's a lot of teams
would like to have a guy like that, but he
he is still ranked as a top fifteen prospect in
the portal based off of what he did in high
school as far as a prospect, and because there's a
lot of upside and oh, by the way, he just
had surgery on his ACL to where like you don't
even really know when he's gonna be able to play.
So anyways, but back to the Kentucky situation, they missed
on those guys that I just reference, But then you've

(31:07):
got guys in the portal like PJ. Haggerty at Memphis
who is the number two player in the portal now
was a first team All American and I don't know
where he's gonna end up. I haven't even seen a
list of schools, But like, if Kentucky gets in the
mix for him and they get him, that'll play out
to where they actually benefited from whiffing as people are saying,
because you can't go wrong with Donovan Dent, but technically

(31:30):
Haggarty is just as good, if not better, right, So
for Louisville, you know, a couple of people have sent
this question in on the text line this week, different wording,
but I think essentially some question is that, you know,
because there's not been any new players out there as
far as at least that I've seen, as far as
names that you know, Louisville is really pursuing and wants

(31:52):
to add. And it's because in the back court, I
feel like they've pretty much I think they pretty much
you know, got that squared away. I still think the
two pieces for me are I would love to see
them add another physical presence. I mentioned Dane Danger, like
you know, I doubt he'd be eligible to play, but
if there's a world where Louisville gets involved and they
get him, I think it'd be huge. And then another

(32:15):
another point guard. Now I'm starting to kind of shift
on that a little bit because the reviews and everything
you we're hearing about mkil Brown right now is that
he's he might. You know, again, it's really rare this
day and age that a true freshman can come in
and really impact your program and be one of the
better players in the sport. That's really rare now. But

(32:38):
it's got to be one of the elite of the
elites if they're going to do it well. Last I checked,
this guy keeps getting more and more praise to where
he I mean, he's viewed to be one of the
best guards entering college basketball next year. Therefore, if that
plays out, not to say he's gonna be like an
All American, but like you know, he's gonna run the show.
It's gonna be his. He's gonna be driving driving the boat,
if you know what I mean. Now, with that said,

(32:58):
you still need to backup point guard. And maybe Kobe
Rodgers could be that. We don't know because we haven't
seen him play. But I still think like finding a
veteran point guard, like even if it's somebody that doesn't
have gaudy numbers or anything like that, but they've been
like maybe they've been a backup point guard elsewhere. I mean,
if that's the case, then they're in the port. I
would imagine they're probably going to try to find a
role where they're not a backup and they can actually
be a starter and kind of have a more significant role.

(33:21):
But maybe a starter that's been productive and successful, but
it's been at the mid major even lower than that.
I mean, hell, go get a D two guy, because again,
this is where it get it gets tricky. You have
a need but and it's an important need, but the
role's not substantial. That makes sense, right, Like the best
example I can give you was when Louisville was adding

(33:41):
their last piece a year ago. It was Frank ancelom
Ib and he was kind of exactly who I think
realistically would take that spot, right. He's been a kind
of a journeyman, backup guy. It didn't get a lot
of minutes, and Louisville had to sell him like, look,
we probably want you to have the same kind of
role here, but we can give you this in a

(34:02):
all money and you know, take it or leave it?
Do you want to come here? We value you and
you you'll earn what you get. But obviously you know
we can't sell you that you're going to be the
focal point of our front court. And you know, those
those are tough guys to get because yes, you need
those kind of depth, those kind of pieces, guys that
know their role and and really embrace it. But a

(34:23):
lot of guys in the portal are leaving because they
don't want that kind of role, you know what I mean.
So those are you know, That's where I think it
gets a little harder in the portal, and it's not
as big as getting you know, your core foundation that's
going to be a huge part of your team. But
in any like, for example, when it comes to I
guess the timing of it wouldn't. I was going to

(34:44):
give an example because you know you had Case and
Pryor get hurt. Well, thank god you had Jevon Hadley
right now. Javon Hadley actually committed before Case and prior.
But still, you know, like and those guys could have
played together. So maybe last year with Louis's injuries, there's
not a great example because you know, with Cora and
getting hurt. Terrence Edwards was always going to be a
part of the team and be a factor because he was,

(35:05):
I mean, one of your big gets in the portal.
But you just were lucky that he was able to
actually play back up point guard for you when he
had to, and he was pretty successful at it when
he had to towards the end of the season. All Right,
some other names in the portal that that you know
just entered. We talked about Baker Mazara from Auburn. He's available,
and uh, I haven't seen any I mean again, I

(35:26):
probably should have gone looking considering him such a big
talking point yesterday on the show. But I haven't seen
anything as far as what schools he's going after. But
he'll have options, he will, And again, to my knowledge,
the Louisvill stuff is still just purely speculation. But I
think case In Pryor posted something yesterday after Baker Mazar
entered the Portal, which again just had more and more
folks saying, Hey, this, this could happen. Now. I'm glad

(35:46):
somebody in the text line dis mentioned this, which, by
the way, it's the Ellen and Federal credit. You need
text Len five oh two four three eight ninety seventy
three and you can give us a call if you
want five oh two five to seven one seventy nine hundred.
But yeah, I don't think it's come up on the show,
but I have seen it. I just don't think it's
you know, I'd be shocked if this guy ends up
at Louisville. But Jamiir Watkins is a Florida State transfer
coming off of a really really good year. I mean,

(36:08):
Florida State obviously wasn't great, and that's why they made
the move that they did. But he hit the Portal
after a successful season. Statistically, he I think he was
first team All ACC average eighteen points, five rebounds. He's
a six to seven wing, and Louisville has been listed
by Louisville is listed as one of the schools that
is that is uh, that's in the mix for him.
And look, if you could get him, great, he's a

(36:29):
good player. And if they sell him on a role
that he's willing to embrace and you know the money's right,
hell yeah, that would just give you more talent. But
I don't really know, Like as far as a wing,
I feel like you kind of have that already with
both Hadley and Prior. Given that, I expect him to
come back and then you can play I mean, if

(36:51):
you look at like, I guess he's more of just
a shooter than anything else. Clearly he's a perimeter a
perimeter player. But I mean, I don't know when people
talk about positionless basketball, I think most people think of like, yeah,
well he can play the four or the two, But
really positionless basketball can also just be the fact that

(37:13):
you've got three guys that played the perimeter and you
know who the one is, but like two, three, and
sometimes even four, Like it's just it's a mixed bag.
But I don't know, I'm maybe I'm thinking that Prior
and and Hadley or more wings than they actually are,
because you know, technically, I guess those guys are stretched fours,
whereas Watkins is a true three. But yeah, I mean

(37:35):
Isaac McNeely is is six four, one seventy like that
can be your three man and maybe you wouldn't say
he's a wing, but he's just a bigger guard like
you can have. I mean, did Louiville ever have like all, Yeah,
I guess they did because Russ and Payton obviously were
pretty pretty on the smaller side, and honestly it worked
out perfect because both those guys could play point for
you and both were really good at it. Like though
they you basically had two point guards on the four
at times, and then obviously Luke and Wayne were more

(37:58):
of the wings. But conwell, he's I mean, he's a
combo guard at six four. So but yeah, if you
ended up maybe again, he's listing many schools, louisvill being
one of them. Like if louisll ended up adding him,
he would be the highest rank guy they have and
that would give them as far as the twenty four
to seven Sports portal rankings. They would be uh, you know,

(38:19):
they'd have one of the best classes out there. All right,
quick break, We'll come back on the other side and
bring in the one and only mister Jeff Milby from
a racing Louislle to talk a little footy, little soccer.
So stick around right here on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (38:29):
Ninety Now back to Coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's
on Sports Talk seven nine day.

Speaker 2 (38:37):
That's right, Coffee and Company are rolling along here on
a beautiful, good Friday, and it is now time to
bring in our friend the Uh. Actually, you're gonna have
to bring him in because somebody messed with this I
didn't I didn't do it this time. Somebody messed with
this boy. Okay, so that's no problem. That's a producer's job.
There we go. It's Jeff Milby from Louisville City and
also racing Louisville. You know, kind of the same thing. Jeff,

(38:58):
How we doing, brother, I got a start with this man.
Take me back to when you found out the sad
news that, of course, you know, Thunder got canceled. Had
to be you know, I know you guys weren't alone.
A lot of a lot of folks. That's a big
day for a lot of people around here, and you know,
mother nature got in the way.

Speaker 3 (39:14):
Yeah, you know, it was devastating. It was really truly devastating.
We've been hyping this thing up for months, Racing Louisville
Sun Girl over Louisville. Two things, two Louisville's.

Speaker 5 (39:24):
Favorite things married together. But then thunder had to go away.
It was not a great crowd last week, seven thousand plus.
Obviously they were all disappointed not to be able to
stick around for fireworks, and also disappointed by the result
of the game. I'll say that too to nothing lost
for Racing Louisville. But we appreciate the support from everybody
in the community. We know it was a hard week for.

Speaker 3 (39:42):
Folks around the city of Louisville with the floods, homes,
businesses affected, and yet people still found time to come
out for Racing Louisville FC, and we really appreciate.

Speaker 2 (39:52):
Well, they can't keep you guys down long because here
we've got tomorrow a big match up with the San
Diego Wave FC, and we've got a big Easter egg
hunt going on. Right.

Speaker 3 (40:02):
Yeah, well, let me let me tell you this Nick,
I'm glad you introduced me as your friend, because I'm
coming on here so often. I'm starting to feel like
your friend, and as your.

Speaker 2 (40:09):
Friend, your fish within the show, I.

Speaker 3 (40:12):
Know, I know, but as your friend, I feel like
I can talk about a couple of your favorite things
on Earth, right because I'm getting to know you so well.
Number one and I an ice cold beer.

Speaker 2 (40:23):
Absolutely, oh, absolutely right right, You're talking about language beer
for the.

Speaker 3 (40:28):
Low low price of two dollars at One Family Stadium
not only tomorrow, but before every Racing Louisville and Loose
Citting game. Hates open at one point thirty tomorrow up
until kickoff. What's the catch, There's no catch. We want
you to come and vibe in a few beers and

(40:49):
then be loud and rowdy for the game. That's the
whole gimmick.

Speaker 2 (40:52):
That's right there.

Speaker 3 (40:54):
Knock a few back, knock a few down, and then
boo the heck out of San Diego and sheer the
heck out of Racing Louisville when they score a couple
of goals tomorrow. That's your first favorite thing, I was,
you know, one of your favorite things. The other favorite
things that I want to talk to you about I'm
gonna ask you the question, all right, what is the
best sporting event of the year. What is the best
sporting event of the year.

Speaker 2 (41:13):
For me personally?

Speaker 3 (41:15):
NCAA twen For you personally, of course, it's the NCAA Tournament.
Right You're you're from here, you know what this is
my religion reads for I agree. The NCAA Tournament is
pure magic. That first Thursday when there's three upsets all
brewing at the same time you're flipping channels or you
got the multiview on. It is absolutely magic. Well, soccer
has its own version of the NCAA Tournament. Let me

(41:36):
tell you about it. It's called the US Open Cup.
It's one hundred and ten years old. It has got
history of plenty, and lou City is in it right
now and they have an opportunity to play Cinderella. We
love Cinderella. In March, I got a Cinderella for you here.
In the month of April and maybe further into the season,
lou City drew Minnesota United. They're a Major League Soccer team,

(41:57):
They're an MLS, they're the big boys. This US Open
Cup tournament, it is open to everybody all the way
down from MLS to the USL, the second divisions, the
USL League One, which is the third division, all the
way down to amateur teams. There's a restaurant in San
Francisco that is a Mexican restaurant, and they submitted a
team into this and they actually beat a pro team
last week, Honterey Bay, which is in Low City's league.

(42:19):
I'm dead serious. It's wonderful, it is amazing.

Speaker 1 (42:23):
It is.

Speaker 3 (42:24):
It is the most slept on sporting event in all
of sports, because nobody knows what the hell it is.
But I'm here to tell you, Nick, it is got
the magic and the flavor of that NCAA tournament. It's
spread out a little bit more over the course of
the season, so it's not just a couple of great weekends.
It's a few great weeks. But lou City's got the
chance to pull off an upset against an MLS team,
Minnesota United. They're coming on May seventh. That's a Tuesday.

(42:46):
I know everybody wants to say Tuesdays, nobody wants to
get out and do anything.

Speaker 2 (42:49):
I know better, man, Tay Saturday.

Speaker 3 (42:53):
As last I heard, Man, I've been calling it Tuesday
turn up for years and on the Tuesday turn up
is on May seventh, Minnesota's coming to town, big money team.
They got a coach who's a hot name in the game,
thirty three years old. He's probably gonna be coaching like
Manchester United one day. Right, he's a big deal at
this stage in his career. And they're coming here and

(43:14):
you know what, They're gonna get their ass kick. That's
what's gonna happen on May seventh. I love it. You
want to be a part. If you want to be
a part of Soccer's in Cuba tournament, show up when
gates open for that game. Knock back a couple of
those two dollars beers. You should do it tomorrow as
well when Racing host San Diego and then cheer on
LU City as they try and knock off an MLS
team and pull off some some magic like in the

(43:34):
NCO Double A tournament. And I'm telling you, it is
so much fun. We're hoping to have that kind of
night and I know you're gonna be there. Man. I
offered beer, offered the nc DOUBLEA tournament kind of atmosphere
that a recipe for coffee or.

Speaker 2 (43:44):
Right, you sold me, my man, And look I'll tell
you this. I mean, when you're when you're speaking it
into existence about what's gonna happen when they show up here.
I mean, I can see just I'm visualizing Cinderella putting
on the slipper, you know what I mean. It's it's
it's gonna happen. They're gonna take They're gonna take out Glyde.
And it does build up for this because there's all
kinds of reckless stuff being said about Louisville as it

(44:05):
is in their own league, and nothing better than to
humble a team from the MLS.

Speaker 3 (44:10):
That's right, man, I've told you about racing Louisville in
the NAUSL. Nobody likes Louisville in that league. Everybody thinks
Louisvill's this little old town that nobody needs to pay
attention to San Diego most of all. I mean, they
got beaches in Sunshine. He thinks they're it out there.
But they don't know nothing about what we got going
on in Louisville. So we're gonna prove them wrong tomorrow
with racing Louisville. But yeah, to your point about lou City,

(44:30):
these are the big boys. This is MLS. They think
they're Major League. It's in the name of the damn league, right,
major League, Socter, We're gonna prove them wrong. We're gonna
show them that we have something major going on here
in Louisville, Kentucky with Louisville City. On Tuesday, May seventh,
it's the US Open Cup. It's gonna be a seven
o'clock kickoff. Minnesota United comes to town. Got that two
dollars halfy hour before the game. I'm telling you it

(44:51):
is the Tuesday turn up of all Tuesday turnups. You
do not want to miss this Tuesday turn up coming
up on May seventh.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
I'm stealing that, guar get out. I'm gon I'm gonna
have to say that every day that we have a
show on a Tuesday, it's Coffee and Company and it's
the Tuesday turn Up. I'm gonna have to just I mean,
I'll lease it from you. I'll give proper credit. I
know we don't need the least. We're friends, Okay, we work,
we work together, partners, Yes, I get you know. I
like the way I like the way you're talking. All right,
So with with with tomorrow's Easter Easter egg hunt that's

(45:21):
going to be going on with the San Diego Wave
FC coming in. What what what is your expectation for
this this match up here. I know obviously you mentioned
last week's result not being a great one against the
Washington Spirit and the two oh loss. But is this
a game where where where the club could bounce back?
What type of challenge are you expecting to see from
San Diego?

Speaker 3 (45:41):
It is a It is a game where the club
could bounce back. I'll tell you what. You're right to
bring it back to the Easter egg hunt, of course,
bring out the family on Eastern weekend. Maybe have a
couple of cold ones yourself if you want, but the
kids can enjoy themselves with an Easter egg on tomorrow.
The Easter Bunny, I'm told is going to make an appearance.
I know he's got a busy schedule this weekend, but
he's going to be there, so it's worth your time.

Speaker 2 (45:59):
But to years before the game, even Easter Buddies, I
could pass that up.

Speaker 3 (46:02):
I mean, come on, oh man, I mean I'm trying
to slide him a couple when he shows up. I
mean that's for sure. I mean he works so hard.
I mean, this is his time to shine, right, now,
no doubt, but on the on the field, on the field,
this is the game. I'll be honest, I may sound
critical of Racing. This game they got to win. This
is a game they gotta win if they want to
be a team that's gonna be in the playoff come

(46:22):
the end of the year. Last week, Washington's really good, man,
They're gonna They're gonna be a contender for the title.
They're got their legit championship level team in this league.
The losing to nothing to them, Look, would you have
wanted a better result, absolutely, but you'll you know, you
understand it when the team is the quality of Washington
comes in. San Diego is one of those teams that's
either gonna take Racing Louisville spot in the playoffs or
Racing is gonna take their spot in the playoffs. This

(46:43):
is a game that they have to win, especially at home.
It is a game that they can win because San
Diego blew up their team in the offseason. They had
big stars on their team. They had Alex Morgan on
their team. How much of a bigger star in women's
socer and you get to that, get that, and they
blew their team up in the offseason started from scratch,
started over. So it's one of these games where we're
gonna find out what this Racing Louisville team is made

(47:03):
of on Saturday at three o'clock at Lynn Family Stadium.
I wouldn't go so far as to call it a
must win, but it feels it's it's quacking like a duck,
it's walking like a duck. It kind of feels like
a duck in terms of the must win. So's see
what happens tomorrow with Racing louisll. But you know what,
regardless of the result, come out, bring the kids, Easter
egg hunt, two dollar beers. It's a good time. Hopefully
the weather's nice. It's it's always a good time in

(47:24):
Lyn Family Statium.

Speaker 2 (47:24):
I'll tell you what. I don't know what Soccer Holdings
is paying you, but it's not enough, Jeff, because I mean,
if there's somebody that, I mean, you're you're the first
person I've heard that can execute like this when it
comes to telling people. I mean, I feel like everybody
listening is like, damn, I've been missing out about having
been going to Lynn Family Stadium and taking in on
all the great soccer action and everything else that comes
with it, with the Easter egg hunt of two dollars

(47:46):
beers before the game, so good stuff. We certainly appreciate
you and looking forward to it.

Speaker 3 (47:51):
And also but let me throw this out for the
designated drivers among us, it is two dollars Pepsi products
as well, So you have to be just knocking back
to beers, but taking care of that's right, That's right.
But I appreciate you Nick as always.

Speaker 2 (48:03):
As your take care. That's Jeff Milby from Racing Louisville
as well as lu CITYFC.

Speaker 3 (48:09):
Man.

Speaker 2 (48:09):
I love the passion, love the energy. Good stuff. So
if you've not if you've not made arrangements yet, made plans,
get out there tomorrow, take the kids. They're gonna have
the Easter egg hunt. And obviously you know, great soccer
action and as he said, it's a it's a big
game for the club. You know, I hesitate to always
say must win as well. I'm not saying that Jeff does.

(48:30):
But you know, very rarely do you find yourself in
a situation like where it's a must win. But I
know exactly what he means. This is a good bounce back.
Like you know, you can accept the loss last week
because of who you played. Clearly, as Jeff said, that's
a that's a club that a lot of teams in
the league are probably gonna have a tough time taken down.
But San Diego is it's kind of like a chin check,
if you know what I'm saying, Like, Hey, let's see

(48:50):
where you are. You know, this is gonna be maybe
not a season defining, but potentially it could be. Right
a win here could maybe shift them in the right
direction as far as some positive momentums. So good stuff.
I'm I'm not kidding you. Jeff Milby has got people
thinking like they've missed out on soccer if they've not
been taken it in. I love the energy, love the passion.
Miss him around here of course with us at iHeart.
But he's worried belongs my man? You heard it is

(49:13):
he does? He not sound like a guy who's made
to be out here. Oh, he's home calling the action
for the soccer games, and of course you know, letting
everybody know about how great the atmosphere is and all
the action over there at Lynn Family Stadium. So big,
big thanks Jeff for the time, and look forward to
seeing you soon out there. At the stadium. Quick Break,
we got two more hours left. Stick around right here
on Sports Talk seven ninety