Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
It's the Craig Way Show with the voice of the
Texas Longhorns and Hall of Fame broadcaster Craig.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
A couple of things. If you if you're one of
those people who wonders about the entertainment value of some
of those third and some would even say fourth tier bowls,
I give you this this game above Sports Bowl as
an example to the contrary. It's truly above sports Well.
(00:44):
Put this way, it will not be lost forgotten for
entertainment purposes. I can tell you that Toledo had a
point lead over Pittsburgh. Turnovers helped pitt turn that back
around and go up ten at thirty to twenty. They're
midway through the fourth quarter now and Toledo's come back
(01:04):
with its second pick six return to the ball game,
so they were back within three. So it's back and forth.
Pittsburgh is leading Toledo thirty twenty seven, about seven and
a half minutes to go on, and it's just it's
it's been kind of a turnover fest, but they've been
really acrobatic plays and great returns and stuff like that.
(01:25):
It's not just laying the ball on the ground. There's
been some of that, but not a lot of that
college basketball. Note Announced a little while ago, Jim Laernega
is stepping down as head coach in Miami. He'd been
there fourteen years, turned seventy five back in October. Led
the Hurricanes six ncaaight tournaments, four Sweet sixteen appearance. Of course,
(01:47):
they beat Texas there barely in the Elite eight game,
going on two years ago there in Kansas City to
go to the final four. They went eleven and six
and nc A Tournament games. During his tenure, they won
two aces the regular season championships. They are only four
and eight this year, though they've been struggling. They entered
(02:07):
last season ranked number thirteen in the preseason ap Pole,
missed the postseason entirely, went fifteen and seventeen, lost the
last ten games of the season. Larenega had eight players,
all of whom said they were happy at Miami entered
the portal. After they went to the final four. They
entered the portal, I mean, I mean, what more can
(02:29):
you You go to the final four and then somebody
else Wan was go on. He had all these guys
that they were happy there. They left. They're just four
and eight this year. They've lost eight of their last nines,
including home losses to Charleston Southern and Mount Saint Mary's.
So anyway, Larenega says he's exhausted. He said, I've tried
(02:50):
every which way to keep this going. Remember he had
been the coach of George Mason for fourteen years. He
got the Patriots to the Final four in two thousand
and six. Is an eleven seed on that it's one
of the greatest Final four runs ever made by Uh, certainly,
I think it's the greatest Final four run ever made
by a double digit seed, and maybe one of the greatest,
(03:13):
if not the greatest Final four run ever made by
a team regardless of seed. The teams they beat as
an element seed, they beat Michigan State, North Carolina and
Yukon on the way to that in winning that, so
that was amazing. It was an amazing run. Fernlunquist with
the iconic called by George they've done it or something
(03:33):
when they when they beat Yukon to win in the
Elite eight to go to the Final four. But anyway,
Jim Lairnega has decided to step down. Also, uh, there
was a college but oh well, I know the college
football and I was going to mention, uh, congratulations to
Colin Simmons, Texas freshman Uh named uh a winner, uh
(03:58):
and and a and and after the year that he had,
it would have reasoned that he would kind of not
only the year that he had, but the fact that
he did it by winning the National Freshman of the
Year award. He won the Shawn Alexander Freshman of the
(04:21):
Year Award. So Colin Simmons, Yeah, congratulations to him. Shawn
Alexander himself said, quote, We're excited to welcome Colin as
our seventh Shawn Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Award.
This was the closest race in the award's history, and
we know that we have picked a great winner. Colin's
a perfect representative for the Shawn Alexander Freshman Player of
(04:44):
the Year Award. Great talent, great character, great ambassador of
the University of Texas, and we believe he is a legend,
a future superstar in the NFL. Simmons quote, I love
this quote. I was very excited when I found out.
I was so excited I couldn't even let mister Alexander
get his words out, and I had to hurry up
and show my mother who was calling. He said, it's
such an amazing honor. I appreciate it so much. I
(05:05):
want to thank my teammates and my coaches for helping
me get to the position that I'm in right now,
allowing me to play to the best of my ability
to grow as a person on and off the field.
This really goes to them too. I want to say
thank you to Sean Alexander for giving me the opportunity
to be a finalist for this award, knowing the other
finalists are great players from around the country. Most importantly,
I want to give thanks to my family and the God.
(05:27):
I just pulled into my Auntie's house for Christmas Day
and he called me and said, quote, you know what
it means when I call you on Christmas Day. I
was wondering what he was talking about, and then he
told me I won. We talked before, because he talks
to all the finalists, and it means a lot that
he takes his time and gets to know us outside
of the uniform, and he cares so much and is
so involved. For him to relate to me and gain
(05:49):
a relationship through thirty minutes of his time was incredible.
I appreciate it so much, and something like this just
motivates you that much more. Regardless of the fact that
I'm receiving this award, I still love things to work on,
things to improve on, and still have to get better
each and every day. He was also named to the
SEC All Freshman Team this year as well.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
So.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Congratulations to Colin Simmons. I am not about to sit
here and say I told you so about that, because
it wouldn't be correct. But what I would have told you,
having called his last two state championship games and seeing
the kind of young man and the character is and
the way he could the way he could rip your
(06:31):
head off to the way you play, the way he
could hunt down quarterbacks, that he would be as deserving
and as logical a candidate for that award. So I'm
happy for him. Good dude, Colin Simmons. Glad glad that
he won the Shawn Alexander National Freshman of the Year Award. Okay,
(06:55):
on the text line, and this is a valid, legitimate
question here, and somebody said, Craig, do you think that
once the SEC contract with Mercedes Benz Stadium is concluded
that the SEC will look at other locations wait for it.
(07:19):
So all mascots are welcome to the SEC Championship game. Clearly,
this is about the Big Fellow about Bevo not not
only not being in the SEC Championship, you have to
remember also to the texture that that applies. It's not
(07:39):
it wasn't an SEC. We all said it was an
SEC thing. Clearly it's not just an SEC thing because
this is the college football playoff now in the Peach Bowl.
And if you look at it from an upper shot,
you can see the narrow angle of it that that
that stadium full stadium, by the way, but it is
(08:04):
you can see where it was going to be crowded.
When the guy who was running the news conference the
other day and we we carried the media zoom or
we replayed it for you, and somebody asked, I think
it was Matt Harvey, I'm trying to remember from the
from the Peach Bowl about it, and said it was
Kirk Bowles who asked him, is Bevo going to be
(08:26):
able to be there or something like that, and at
first he said, we're still working through that, but then
he ended up in his answer saying no, he's not
going to be able to and then later in the
day they said they don't have room for him. It's
not that they don't have room for the Beast himself,
but we know he's big. It's it's not that they
don't have room for him, it's the enclosure. They don't
(08:49):
have room for his corral with everything else they've got.
So that's what it is now. I think it's safe
to say that if Texas went ends and advances to
the Cotton Bowl in the Summi finals, then you'll see
him there because he was there for the Bevig twelve
championship game there last year. There's more room at Jerry World.
(09:12):
It's more expansive in its boundaries and its sidelines. So
is super dumb clearly, as he has been there for that,
But I think you know, Bevo not going to be
there for that. He wouldn't be there for the national Championship.
I do think this. I do think it is only
fair that if you're going to say we don't have
(09:34):
room for Bevo, then I think it is fair for
them to say, even though ug is a little dude
and has a little enclosure, to say Georgia can't bring
him either. If they were, say playing Georgia not because
there isn't room for him. There would be for the bulldog.
But it's just kind of like if the headsets go
out on one sideline, then neither side can use them
(09:57):
until they get them repaired. You're not allowed to. So
it's got to be equitable for both sides. Even if
your mascot is two thousand pounds and the other one
is twenty, you know, what's got to be fair for
one has got to be fair for the other. Now
to your question about them looking at no, I don't know.
(10:17):
I'm never going to say never, But I feel as
probably as confident in saying this as I am saying
about the UIL State Championships in Arlington. I think they're
there to stay in Atlanta. I doubt the UIL State
Championships move out of Arlington because it pretty much has
everything they need and teams love playing there in the
(10:40):
spectacle of it. And even though attendance was down this year,
it was still ahead of where it was when it
was in Houston at NRG in fifteen, when it was
down by more than one hundred thousand by comparison with
AT and T, so that the folks from the Panhandle
just don't travel down there unless there are fans of
one specific team playing in it Panhandle in West Texas,
(11:01):
whereas they'll go to Arlington. And with this deal, I
think it's a thing also where they love having the
SEC Championship there in Atlanta because it's for most for
most of the teams, not all, for most of the teams,
it's pretty centrally located to where teams can get there.
(11:23):
Atlanta has a major airport, as we know. In fact,
it's been called the busiest airport in the United States.
They have that, they have all of those other things
it is. It's a wonderful facility. Clearly it's going to
be the side of the National Championship. But I understand
your sentiment. I think it would make sense if they
played it in Arlington one year, where if they played
(11:44):
it in New Orleans one year, they're gonna want climate control.
And I don't think they would want to play it
in Miami because that's the home stadium of an ACC team,
So I don't think they would do that. So I
think it's probably I think their deal runs through twenty thirty. Anyway,
I believe it's through twenty twenty seven, twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
That's what I saw through Google. This mean it's correct,
But what I saw was through twenty twenty seven. Maybe
there was an option to go. I'm not sure, but
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Unless they can get a deal dumb with Jerry World,
that might be the only way I could see them
doing it. But of course the Big twelve has its
agreement with Jerry World, so it might not It might
not matter anyway. All Right, we have more coming up.
Steve with us here on sports Radio AM thirteen under
the zone of the iHeartRadio app.
It's the Craig Way Show with the voice of the
Texas Longhorns and Hall of Fame broadcaster Craig.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
A couple of things. If you if you're one of
those people who wonders about the entertainment value of some
of those third and some would even say fourth tier bowls,
I give you this this game above Sports Bowl as
an example to the contrary. It's truly above sports Well.
(00:44):
Put this way, it will not be lost forgotten for
entertainment purposes. I can tell you that Toledo had a
point lead over Pittsburgh. Turnovers helped pitt turn that back
around and go up ten at thirty to twenty. They're
midway through the fourth quarter now and Toledo's come back
(01:04):
with its second pick six return to the ball game,
so they were back within three. So it's back and forth.
Pittsburgh is leading Toledo thirty twenty seven, about seven and
a half minutes to go on, and it's just it's
it's been kind of a turnover fest, but they've been
really acrobatic plays and great returns and stuff like that.
(01:25):
It's not just laying the ball on the ground. There's
been some of that, but not a lot of that
college basketball. Note Announced a little while ago, Jim Laernega
is stepping down as head coach in Miami. He'd been
there fourteen years, turned seventy five back in October. Led
the Hurricanes six ncaaight tournaments, four Sweet sixteen appearance. Of course,
(01:47):
they beat Texas there barely in the Elite eight game,
going on two years ago there in Kansas City to
go to the final four. They went eleven and six
and nc A Tournament games. During his tenure, they won
two aces the regular season championships. They are only four
and eight this year, though they've been struggling. They entered
(02:07):
last season ranked number thirteen in the preseason ap Pole,
missed the postseason entirely, went fifteen and seventeen, lost the
last ten games of the season. Larenega had eight players,
all of whom said they were happy at Miami entered
the portal. After they went to the final four. They
entered the portal, I mean, I mean, what more can
(02:29):
you You go to the final four and then somebody
else Wan was go on. He had all these guys
that they were happy there. They left. They're just four
and eight this year. They've lost eight of their last nines,
including home losses to Charleston Southern and Mount Saint Mary's.
So anyway, Larenega says he's exhausted. He said, I've tried
(02:50):
every which way to keep this going. Remember he had
been the coach of George Mason for fourteen years. He
got the Patriots to the Final four in two thousand
and six. Is an eleven seed on that it's one
of the greatest Final four runs ever made by Uh, certainly,
I think it's the greatest Final four run ever made
by a double digit seed, and maybe one of the greatest,
(03:13):
if not the greatest Final four run ever made by
a team regardless of seed. The teams they beat as
an element seed, they beat Michigan State, North Carolina and
Yukon on the way to that in winning that, so
that was amazing. It was an amazing run. Fernlunquist with
the iconic called by George they've done it or something
(03:33):
when they when they beat Yukon to win in the
Elite eight to go to the Final four. But anyway,
Jim Lairnega has decided to step down. Also, uh, there
was a college but oh well, I know the college
football and I was going to mention, uh, congratulations to
Colin Simmons, Texas freshman Uh named uh a winner, uh
(03:58):
and and a and and after the year that he had,
it would have reasoned that he would kind of not
only the year that he had, but the fact that
he did it by winning the National Freshman of the
Year award. He won the Shawn Alexander Freshman of the
(04:21):
Year Award. So Colin Simmons, Yeah, congratulations to him. Shawn
Alexander himself said, quote, We're excited to welcome Colin as
our seventh Shawn Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Award.
This was the closest race in the award's history, and
we know that we have picked a great winner. Colin's
a perfect representative for the Shawn Alexander Freshman Player of
(04:44):
the Year Award. Great talent, great character, great ambassador of
the University of Texas, and we believe he is a legend,
a future superstar in the NFL. Simmons quote, I love
this quote. I was very excited when I found out.
I was so excited I couldn't even let mister Alexander
get his words out, and I had to hurry up
and show my mother who was calling. He said, it's
such an amazing honor. I appreciate it so much. I
(05:05):
want to thank my teammates and my coaches for helping
me get to the position that I'm in right now,
allowing me to play to the best of my ability
to grow as a person on and off the field.
This really goes to them too. I want to say
thank you to Sean Alexander for giving me the opportunity
to be a finalist for this award, knowing the other
finalists are great players from around the country. Most importantly,
I want to give thanks to my family and the God.
(05:27):
I just pulled into my Auntie's house for Christmas Day
and he called me and said, quote, you know what
it means when I call you on Christmas Day. I
was wondering what he was talking about, and then he
told me I won. We talked before, because he talks
to all the finalists, and it means a lot that
he takes his time and gets to know us outside
of the uniform, and he cares so much and is
so involved. For him to relate to me and gain
(05:49):
a relationship through thirty minutes of his time was incredible.
I appreciate it so much, and something like this just
motivates you that much more. Regardless of the fact that
I'm receiving this award, I still love things to work on,
things to improve on, and still have to get better
each and every day. He was also named to the
SEC All Freshman Team this year as well.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
So.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Congratulations to Colin Simmons. I am not about to sit
here and say I told you so about that, because
it wouldn't be correct. But what I would have told you,
having called his last two state championship games and seeing
the kind of young man and the character is and
the way he could the way he could rip your
(06:31):
head off to the way you play, the way he
could hunt down quarterbacks, that he would be as deserving
and as logical a candidate for that award. So I'm
happy for him. Good dude, Colin Simmons. Glad glad that
he won the Shawn Alexander National Freshman of the Year Award. Okay,
(06:55):
on the text line, and this is a valid, legitimate
question here, and somebody said, Craig, do you think that
once the SEC contract with Mercedes Benz Stadium is concluded
that the SEC will look at other locations wait for it.
(07:19):
So all mascots are welcome to the SEC Championship game. Clearly,
this is about the Big Fellow about Bevo not not
only not being in the SEC Championship, you have to
remember also to the texture that that applies. It's not
(07:39):
it wasn't an SEC. We all said it was an
SEC thing. Clearly it's not just an SEC thing because
this is the college football playoff now in the Peach Bowl.
And if you look at it from an upper shot,
you can see the narrow angle of it that that
that stadium full stadium, by the way, but it is
(08:04):
you can see where it was going to be crowded.
When the guy who was running the news conference the
other day and we we carried the media zoom or
we replayed it for you, and somebody asked, I think
it was Matt Harvey, I'm trying to remember from the
from the Peach Bowl about it, and said it was
Kirk Bowles who asked him, is Bevo going to be
(08:26):
able to be there or something like that, and at
first he said, we're still working through that, but then
he ended up in his answer saying no, he's not
going to be able to and then later in the
day they said they don't have room for him. It's
not that they don't have room for the Beast himself,
but we know he's big. It's it's not that they
don't have room for him, it's the enclosure. They don't
(08:49):
have room for his corral with everything else they've got.
So that's what it is now. I think it's safe
to say that if Texas went ends and advances to
the Cotton Bowl in the Summi finals, then you'll see
him there because he was there for the Bevig twelve
championship game there last year. There's more room at Jerry World.
(09:12):
It's more expansive in its boundaries and its sidelines. So
is super dumb clearly, as he has been there for that,
But I think you know, Bevo not going to be
there for that. He wouldn't be there for the national Championship.
I do think this. I do think it is only
fair that if you're going to say we don't have
(09:34):
room for Bevo, then I think it is fair for
them to say, even though ug is a little dude
and has a little enclosure, to say Georgia can't bring
him either. If they were, say playing Georgia not because
there isn't room for him. There would be for the bulldog.
But it's just kind of like if the headsets go
out on one sideline, then neither side can use them
(09:57):
until they get them repaired. You're not allowed to. So
it's got to be equitable for both sides. Even if
your mascot is two thousand pounds and the other one
is twenty, you know, what's got to be fair for
one has got to be fair for the other. Now
to your question about them looking at no, I don't know.
(10:17):
I'm never going to say never, But I feel as
probably as confident in saying this as I am saying
about the UIL State Championships in Arlington. I think they're
there to stay in Atlanta. I doubt the UIL State
Championships move out of Arlington because it pretty much has
everything they need and teams love playing there in the
(10:40):
spectacle of it. And even though attendance was down this year,
it was still ahead of where it was when it
was in Houston at NRG in fifteen, when it was
down by more than one hundred thousand by comparison with
AT and T, so that the folks from the Panhandle
just don't travel down there unless there are fans of
one specific team playing in it Panhandle in West Texas,
(11:01):
whereas they'll go to Arlington. And with this deal, I
think it's a thing also where they love having the
SEC Championship there in Atlanta because it's for most for
most of the teams, not all, for most of the teams,
it's pretty centrally located to where teams can get there.
(11:23):
Atlanta has a major airport, as we know. In fact,
it's been called the busiest airport in the United States.
They have that, they have all of those other things
it is. It's a wonderful facility. Clearly it's going to
be the side of the National Championship. But I understand
your sentiment. I think it would make sense if they
played it in Arlington one year, where if they played
(11:44):
it in New Orleans one year, they're gonna want climate control.
And I don't think they would want to play it
in Miami because that's the home stadium of an ACC team,
So I don't think they would do that. So I
think it's probably I think their deal runs through twenty thirty. Anyway,
I believe it's through twenty twenty seven, twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
That's what I saw through Google. This mean it's correct,
But what I saw was through twenty twenty seven. Maybe
there was an option to go. I'm not sure, but
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Unless they can get a deal dumb with Jerry World,
that might be the only way I could see them
doing it. But of course the Big twelve has its
agreement with Jerry World, so it might not It might
not matter anyway. All Right, we have more coming up.
Steve with us here on sports Radio AM thirteen under
the zone of the iHeartRadio app.
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