Texas-Kentucky Preview, Sean Miller's Media Day, and a SportsCenter 'Top 10' Moment!

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Wednesday has arrived, and we know what Wednesday means trying
to get you over the home. If Wednesday is the
traditional Wednesday for you trying to give a home, we
hope that we can facilitate that for you, or at
least help you guide you through it. If Wednesday's the
end of your work, we good on you, good for you.
I hope you enjoy next couple of days. And for

(00:30):
those of you for whom Wednesday means the start of war,
Creek Well will try to help you navigate that as well.
Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the program here on Sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred the Zone. My name is Craig Way.
Glad to have you with us on this Wednesday, a
yacht Rock Wednesday, where we honor the masters of the
yacht rock world and era with some return cuts on

(00:53):
that we of course includes the producer Jay Herman. And
I gotta tell folks this so obviously people will know
me know that I am a really big fan of
the Los Angeles Dodgers. I have been since I was
nine years old, and so I follow them very very
closely and all this kind of stuff, and so I

(01:15):
watched this incredible pitching performance by Yoshinobu Yamamoto last night,
and we'll get to that in a moment.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
So I watched that.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
I watched all the highlights, news, conferences, all that kind
of stuff like I do. And I do that not
just for when my team's played, but I watched like
after Super Bowls and Final fours. I want to see
what the coaches and players have to say. So I
did that, and then I went to bed late last night.
So then I get up this morning and I turn
on Sports Center and I'm watching ESPN Sports Center, and

(01:46):
I watched them go through all the stories of baseball,
the football, everything. Then they get to their top ten,
which I always enjoy seeing because one thing that ESPN
does is I guess there's two ways to look at this.
You can either say they don't discriminate and rely completely
on the major pro sports or even the major college sports.

(02:09):
They'll involve the smaller levels of collegiate athletics and not
just the major sports. Major fan attended and viewed sports
of football and basketball and baseball. No, no, they'll get
in other sports. Now, there's two ways to look at that.
There's either that and or on a Tuesday night. Are

(02:29):
the pickings kind of slim in terms of pulling out
top ten highlight plays, So however you want to slice it,
it was really cool. I'm just making notes. I'm having
a cup of coffee, sitting there, making some notes, writing
some things down, and the top ten comes up. Is

(02:49):
there's the top ten number ten. I think it was
a hockey go They really love to show hockey saves
and things like that too, so that I looked up
and I looked down I'm writing, and they said number
nine is Division three women's soccer. And I start to
look up and they said Texas Lutheran at Southwestern and
there's this amazing goal scored by a striker from the

(03:14):
Texas Lutheran and they say it's the only goal of
the game.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
So I'll look up that.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
But the first thing that comes into my mind is
not that it's this amazing goal. It's not even that
it's Texas Lutheran playing at Southwestern in Georgetown last night. No,
what was in my mind was the producer of this program,
Jake Herman, was calling that game. Now you could only
barely hear him in the background. So I've asked Jake

(03:41):
to pull up his actual call of the goal that
registered in ESPN's Top ten at number.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
Eight, Noblett, it's one and it's in a beautiful strike
by Lily Knablitt breaks the deadlock with nine to twenty
two to go. Buds from almost thirty five yards out.

(04:13):
It's a rainbow into the back of the net and
it's one nil to the visitors from Sageen.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, and the visitors from Sageine ended up winning last
score one to that ten.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
All right.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
So, Jay Carman, you had the call, was the goal
at the time, you called it as amazing to you
at the time you saw it, as it was to
those watching ESPN's Top ten.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
I think it was. It kind of came out of
nowhere and.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
As it's way out, way out and the thing just
kind of leafs in, it blows in as a great
bent in goal.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
As you can kind of tell on the call. I
was a little surprised it went.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
In, Yeah, I think a lot of people were.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
It looked like it was going high.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
And that goalie of tremendous freshman goalie for Southwestern had
been stopping everything and thirteen saves in that game. So
for that one to go in from that distance was
a little surprising for me in retrospect, Craig, I kind
of wish I went crazier.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, yeah, it might have been, but I guess the
incredulity of the moment might have kind of knocked your
little off strike.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
What was your name?

Speaker 3 (05:18):
Lily is Lily k Noblet, sophomore out of Warren in
San Antonio.

Speaker 1 (05:23):
Okay, okay, yeah, all right, Lily Knoblet. Congratulations Lily. You
made ESPN's Top ten. And if Jake had been a
little crazy with this call, they might have they might
have played that up a little bit.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
Yeah, I could have gotten you up to number three,
maybe number four.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Yeah, all right. Is that your first time being involved
in an ESPN Top ten highlight?

Speaker 3 (05:42):
It is? And I found out from you this morning
as I was putting my spotty boards together for the
men's game tonight, just like you having a cup of coffees.
So that's pretty neat to knock something off the broadcast bucket.

Speaker 1 (05:51):
Lest Absolutely, absolutely, I've been fortune. Obviously, there have been
some Texas some Texas play that have made the top ten,
and I've had a number one, and that way. It
was not the University of Texas, it was the hail
Mary in the UIL six A state championship game between
Delena Park North Shore and Duncanville back in twenty eighteen

(06:11):
that ended on the hail Mary in the corner that
was number one.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
On ESPN's top and it should have been.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
It was an amazing play at the end of the thing,
not to do with anything with my call. You could
definitely tell it was me on the call. And then
I think I had a not top ten the one
with the runaway golf cart in twenty eleven that knocked
over Mike Ammidola, the head coach from Decaaney, right after
they had beaten Sybil o' steel to win the state championship.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
You know what, we ought to splice that into inconceivable
like that should lead off our segment.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah, they got the runaway golf cart where I say,
there's been a disturbance of it. And again for folks
who don't know, we didn't see it at the time
it happened. We were in a studio segment and we
were looking down the notes and all of a sudden
I hear the producer in my ear going, hey, we've
got something here. I don't know if we should show
and I said, what are you talking about, and they said, well,
it happened on the field a couple of minutes ago.

(07:04):
I'm like, game's been over. What are you talking about. Yeah,
there was a golf cart that got loose, and I said,
well that sounds entertaining. Yeah, we should show it. So
we had no idea when we were seeing it for
the first time. And it happened because a maintenance guy
was throwing pylons into the back of the golf cart.
He was just tossing them and one of them went

(07:25):
too far and landed on the gas pedal, the throttle,
and it took off and then it made like a
ninety degree right turn like somebody was guiding it. And
then you just see it go right into a crowd
of people and there's like bowling pins being scattered.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Did you call it like he's at the twenty?

Speaker 1 (07:42):
No, I mean I didn't know what was going to
go on. I said, there's been a disturbance on the field.
I saw stuff going on, and I said, let's see, Oh,
we have a replay. Here it is and I was
shocked to see it. Meanwhile, everybody in the booth, everybody
in the truck, my broadcast partner Shay Walker. They all
hit the floor laughing. They're dying laugh and it's everything
I can do to keep from laughing.

Speaker 2 (08:03):
Oh that's Siria.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
People are okay, So obviously that and and then that
made Jim Rome show X my knee and said, there's
been a disturbance on the field. Disturbance you mean like
a golf cart running over people something like that. So yeah,
it's it's a little bit weird. But anyway, congratulations on
getting your first espn uh top ten play, your call

(08:30):
of a top ten play on Well.

Speaker 3 (08:31):
Thank you, Craig. You know, you just never you just
never know when when things are going to happen. It's
it's why I love doing this.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah, yeah, all right, so note to you if you
have a crazy goal tonight on the men's game.

Speaker 3 (08:42):
Just live it up. Yeah, gotta let it go. Yeah,
gotta let it go. I mean, part of it is
too it.

Speaker 4 (08:47):
You know.

Speaker 3 (08:48):
I try to be pretty unbiased as this broadcaster. It
is a Southwestern stream.

Speaker 1 (08:53):
Right right, right, so you didn't want to get too
crazy about it.

Speaker 3 (08:56):
I'm practically in a sea of Southwestern fans as I'm
calling this man.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
Actually, well, are you in a press box.

Speaker 3 (09:01):
I'm in a press box that's elevated, but right, kind
of foot height are I got? And then you've got
even more Texas Lutheran fans sitting on the kind of
ledges off to the left.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
So do you hear them applauding as well?

Speaker 5 (09:15):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (09:15):
And it's and that's just coming from my mic.

Speaker 5 (09:17):
Right.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
It's almost like a movie where like the PA guy's
doing play by play. That's the kind of situation it
is over there.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
Is it an open air space or just windows that
open open air completely?

Speaker 2 (09:27):
Okay?

Speaker 3 (09:27):
And I'm just kind of up on a not a forklift,
but of a platform, a platform with it with the.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Landing staff so to speak.

Speaker 3 (09:34):
So so it really is you know, if I'm if
I'm saying somebody's name wrong, Yeah, they let me know
about it. That doesn't happen too often because I do
my prep. But yeah, it's it's an interesting, uh interesting
kind of setup there. So that might have kind of
tapered my call a little bit, but yeah, I gotta
let it go.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
Okay, all right, Uh coming up in a few minutes, Uh,
we're going to uh hear the conversation, sit down conversation
that our sideline reporter and man Will Matthews had with
Michael taffa long worn senior, Will do that. We have
inconceivable coming up this hour as well. In the three

(10:11):
o'clock hour, you're going to hear from Sean Miller, the
Texas men's basketball coach, from their SEC media days. So
you'll hear from coach Miller this afternoon. That'll be in
the three o'clock hour, and then in the four o'clock
how we're going to visit with Tom Leach, play by
play voice of the Kentucky Wildcats, and we hear from

(10:33):
Longhorn's head coach, Steve Sarkisian from his weekly SEC teleconference
they call it, I mean, they're always on zoom these days,
but it's still called the old school way a teleconference,
and we'll hear his comments from that. As always, we
certainly invite your questions, your thoughts, your comments if you

(10:54):
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(11:15):
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Well, here's some creative use of yesterday's keyword got. Yeah,
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Speaker 4 (12:51):
I just want to say that me and my dad
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Man, that'd be awesome.

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Speaker 2 (13:10):
So all right, so.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
That's how you can reach us. Coming up, we got
to talk about the Major League Baseball playoffs too. We're
gonna do that in addition to hearing Will Matthews visits
with Michael Taff We'll do all that and more coming
up here on a Yacht Rock Wednesday on Sports Radio
AM thirteen. Under the Zone where you always listen to
us for free on the ir radio app.

Speaker 2 (13:31):
Another Field two month.

Speaker 7 (13:32):
See in the center field, Freelick turns and runs at
balls deep, Treelick chucks and.

Speaker 5 (13:37):
It is un out of here.

Speaker 2 (13:40):
Max Monsey.

Speaker 7 (13:44):
The center field with two outs and two strikes, and
it's three Tom Dodgers. It's the O two and a
swing at a mess and Yoshi Yama Lodo with his
crown jewel.

Speaker 2 (14:00):
As a Dodger.

Speaker 6 (14:02):
It is a complete game.

Speaker 7 (14:05):
He goes the distance and the Dodgers win Game two
by a score of five to one.

Speaker 5 (14:14):
It's the craig Way Show with the voice of the
Texas Longhorns and Hall of Fame.

Speaker 3 (14:19):
Broadcaster Craig Way.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
Well on the IRAQ Wednesday, you can salute Yoshinobo Yamamoto.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
Because he did rock the Brewers world on them.

Speaker 1 (14:32):
So did Max months he with that big home run,
he hears the great irony. One of the great things
about baseball is just weird. Stuff can happen almost in sequence.
Remember on Monday Night, it was Monsey's flyball to dead
center with the bases loaded and went out that south
Freelick had pop in and out of his glove off
the ball back to him. Which turns it into a

(14:54):
force play, and they got a double play out of it.
Months he hit a ball almost to the exact that
same spot, but just a little bit higher, and it
was higher than Friedlich's glove was and went out for
a home run. Gave the Dodgers an insurance run. They
attacked on a couple more runs. They end up winning
it five to one. But the big story was Yoshinobo

(15:15):
yamamoto first complete playoff game in the major leagues in
eight years, and the first time the Dodgers got a
complete game in a postseason game since the late Jose
Lima did it twenty one years ago in two thousand
and four. But it was the first one by anyone
in a Major League Baseball game playoff game, and the

(15:39):
last time somebody did that was Justin Verlander for the Astros.
It was twenty seventeen. So you can say trash can
banging Astros if you want to. When they beat the
Yankees in the ALCS before they beat the Dodgers, we forgive,
we don't necessarily forget.

Speaker 4 (16:00):
The Houston Astros. Astros, yeah, yeah, they're good. But anyway,
Verlander pitched really, really well that day for the Asteroids
against the Yankees, and so did Yama Moto And you
think about it, back to back performances, blake'snell eight shutout innings,
Dodgers had to hold on for dear life of the bullpen,

(16:20):
but did to win Game one, two one last night,
far less drama other than Jackson Churio's home run on
the first pitch thrown by Yamamoto on the bottom of
the first the Brewers failed to get anybody beyond first base.

Speaker 3 (16:34):
Deja vu, just like the Blue Jays with George Springer. Yeah,
that series opener against Seattle.

Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, it's a good point. And Yama Motors sat through
an interpreter. They asked him about that home run in
the first pitching game. Regrettable that home run, but I
reset my mind and then I just focused on executing
my own pitches.

Speaker 3 (16:52):
How about that? I mean, if for a guy who
I mean really really was awesome during the year, I
had him on my much publicized on this program, Fantasy
Baseball Team, and I said, can they ever get this
guy run support? They did tonight and buy did he
turn in? Just an absolute gem. I'm really happy for him,
and I think last year, right, he started really well
kind of tailed off. I only had some issues there

(17:14):
and then he was good.

Speaker 1 (17:14):
In the postseason against the Yankees, he was really good,
so he did he did a job there. And remember
the Dodgers have only lost one postseason game so far.
That was when Yamamoto pitched against the Phillies Game three
at Dodger Stadium. That's the only LA hadn't lost a
road game. They're four and oh on the road in
the postseason. They swept the two home games against the
Reds in the Wildcard round. Won the first two games

(17:37):
in Philadelphia, and those two games were with Choe Otani
starting Game one and getting the win, and Blake Snell
starting and getting the winning Game two.

Speaker 2 (17:49):
They went home.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
Yamamoto got kind of ruffed up by the Phillies in
Game three. He also got ruffed up by the Brewers
back on July seventh. The Brewers won all six regular
season meetings with LA. Now, to be fair, Blake Snell
was on the injured list at the time. Max Muntz
he was on the injured list at the time. There's

(18:11):
two guys that have had major contributions to these two
Los Angeles victories. Dave Roberts, the manager of the Dodger says,
if you look at the construction of a roster currently,
the strength is starting pitching. When you can have your
most talented pitchers get the most outs, then you're in
a good spot. The Dodgers rotation has a one point

(18:34):
five four ERA over eight postseason games, with Los Angeles
starters recording six wins in the team's seven playoff victories,
that ERA zero point five to three against the Brewers,
who really have struggled, And you wouldn't expect that because
the Brewers are such a good sound ball club and
make so many things happen. Now things can change, obviously

(18:56):
when they go to Los Angeles for Game three. Now
all the others is going to be on Tyler Glass
now because he's going to start Game three for LA,
and we'll see what the Brewers do. Just so, but
it was just it was an amazing performance. I've told
people that people know that Lynna and I have been

(19:17):
together since twenty eighteen and we've been married since twenty
twenty two. She became a real big baseball fan when
we started dating back in twenty eighteen. She'd never seen
a complete game until last night, never seen regular season obviously,
they hadn't been won in postseason since seventeen. She had
never seen a complete game until last night.

Speaker 3 (19:35):
And that's not even just a Dodger baseball thing, because
I know Dodgers have had that velosophy of kind of
limiting innings for their starting pitching as well. But it's
not just them, it's not unique. This is going to
be another long wait, I think, until we see another
complete game performance like that in the postseason.

Speaker 1 (19:49):
But the way the Dodgers are still there's a glass now,
maybe do it so. I don't know that he can
go the distance on one, but it was it's.

Speaker 3 (19:56):
Those starters combined with the fact that Dave Roberts doesn't
trust that bullpit and as far as they could pick
up the phone and throw it.

Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, this is only the second time in baseball history
that the road teams in both the NLCS and the
ALCS started off winning both road games. Same thing for
the Mariners. They play Game three tonight against Toronto. Toronto
had the best record in the American League, Milwaukee the

(20:22):
best record in the National League, and here are the
Mariners up two games to none. In fact, the Mariners
and that Dodgers both won their respective West divisions. Now
Seattle was able to get a first round by and
then they took on the Tigers after the Tigers knocked

(20:42):
out the Guardians, but the Dodgers had to play the
wildcard round. They won the two games against Cincinnati. Then
as the lower seed, they won three out of four
against Philadelphia to win that best of five series by
winning the two games in Philly. They dropped game three
at home and then one game four, that crazy game
that ended with the throwing era there on the Ryan
Kirkering and the Mariners had to go to a decisive

(21:06):
fifth game in the Alds and won that in fifteen
innings on Friday night, turn around next morning, fly to Toronto,
and then on Sunday they went a close came in Toronto,
and then blew them out in Game two. And now
they have a chance tonight. Do the Mariners to grab
a commanding three nothing, almost insurmountable lead on the Blue

(21:31):
Jays And say almost because you always point to the
two thousand and four Red Sox.

Speaker 2 (21:34):
I'm down three ozer to the Yankees and gave back
in one.

Speaker 3 (21:37):
I'm not going to count the Blue Jays out because
of that lineup, right, way they can, you know, exploit
the tired Mariner bullpen if they're able to hit like
they did in that Yankee series and throughout the season.
But man, I'm sad. I'm very excited to call soccer tonight,
But I wish I could be in front of the
screen when they take that first wide shot of Seattle
and see that crowd give a big, warm embrace to

(21:59):
that team. They look like an absolute buzzsaw right now.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
Shane Bieber for Toronto, George Kirby for Seattle tonight, and
that one's on FS one tonight, and then today is
a travel day for the Dodgers and Brewers.

Speaker 2 (22:14):
They go out to Los Angeles.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
Still play at five o'clock our time tomorrow with Game
four Toronto Seattle at seven thirty tomorrow night.

Speaker 3 (22:24):
So twenty eighteen, you said that was when when Linda
started becoming a big baseball fan of the two of
you met, yep, got back together, got together. I should
say that's also the last year Christian Yellich at a
playoff home run.

Speaker 1 (22:36):
He's in a bad way right now, kind of like Otani.
Otani did get an RBI single last night, but that
was his first hit of the NLCS, and he's swinging
and missing and lunging at a lot of pitches, and
so is he Yellwich. Of course, Snell and Yamamoto can
make you look bad too, but he has been made
to look even more feeble at the plate than some
of the other guys.

Speaker 3 (22:57):
Some of these young guys, look, you expect a few
postseason fits and starts. A guy like Caleb Durban who's
had just a terrific year, very productive out of that
six to seven spot. A guy like Freelick who really
broke out kind of late last year. You're expecting some
playoff fits and starts from those two. And Christian Yellige
was awesome last year or last time the Brewers were well,

(23:20):
he was out last year twenty twenty three. He was
awesome in that short playoff series that they ultimately lost.
But they need Christian Yelich yep.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
They need him to get going and some other guys
as well.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Let's hear from a guy who really did get it
going in the defense for the Long Warns. It was
Michael Taff the sit down conversation with our Man on
the Sidelines on the Long WRN football broadcast, Will Matthews
we've got here a.

Speaker 8 (23:44):
Very special treat for you, Michael taff Austin's own and Bro.
I'm just excited to talk about walking forward, finding.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
Ways to get better.

Speaker 6 (23:57):
You guys have been doing that, and.

Speaker 8 (23:58):
In fact, you've been here for a while, You've had
a long road and every step has just been better
and better.

Speaker 6 (24:04):
So talk about your team and definitely your road.

Speaker 9 (24:07):
Yeah, I think, like you know, as the season goes on,
you're never as good as you want to be, right,
You're always chasing perfection, and so our best is still
yet to come.

Speaker 10 (24:19):
Our best is out there. We're play a good game,
but I think there's still missed opportunities.

Speaker 6 (24:24):
So you always are just trying to.

Speaker 10 (24:27):
Continue to grow and trying to trying to continue to
be better. And I think it's really cool what we got.
We know that we're not a finished.

Speaker 6 (24:35):
Product, and we just keep getting better.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
We Bowie, you've.

Speaker 6 (24:38):
Found a way to stay hungry in all the times
that we've talked. I mean it's been a consistent message.

Speaker 2 (24:44):
How do you.

Speaker 8 (24:45):
Find that and how is how you've seen that across
the team?

Speaker 10 (24:50):
I think for me individually, just competitor, but I think
as a team we got a ton of competitors where
it's like, it's not about what.

Speaker 6 (24:57):
People say, it's not about what you do.

Speaker 10 (25:00):
It's more about what you see on tape, and you
want to either change that outcome or you want to
mimic that when a really good rut right, and so
as a competitor, you're never satisfied. You're always trying to
get get better.

Speaker 6 (25:14):
And it's real.

Speaker 8 (25:14):
Of course, after the OU game, I got to meet
a couple of people from your family, and in fact,
there may actually be a picture of us together when
you're really small, and I remember that day. I could
see that that young man definitely had a fight in him.
Is this something that you've carried the whole time?

Speaker 10 (25:35):
I wish I could say that, but my parents dragged
me along in the Rose Bowl. I think I don't
think I remember that one. It's probably maybe a year old,
so pretty funny, but yeah, I think it goes to
show why why I put you on out there, and
when I got that burn orange on, I feel like

(25:56):
I have no hesitation of my game.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
It's just it's what I is.

Speaker 10 (26:00):
The university that I love to protect, and I've been
called to stand up as a leader for the university.

Speaker 6 (26:06):
Of Texas second half of the season coming up. What
should we expect from you, Jo?

Speaker 10 (26:13):
I think just continue growth. Obviously, I'm a fifth year guy,
and so you think there's not a lot. I think
you'd reach your ceiling. But i'd call bs on that.
I think there's so much more for me to get
better at. And I look at it each week and
I go back with a new drill with my with
my assistant coach, and like, all right, how can.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
We do this better?

Speaker 6 (26:33):
And this better? So consistent growth, new drills, what's going on? Yeah?

Speaker 11 (26:39):
So like if I miss a play, well I have
a play that I want to get, or I have
a play that I see on tape that I think
I could get, I'm like, all right, how can we
drill this? Because I don't see any teach tape on
Instagram or anything from you know, Coach Steven that they've
already drilled this before.

Speaker 10 (26:53):
How can we do it this way? So it's just
constant game play on trying to get better.

Speaker 6 (26:59):
Well, I think so much to lug this week, constantly
get better, appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (27:04):
Yeah, that's the thing, constantly trying to get better. And
Michael taff is one of those guys, Mookie taff as
he was doing all the way back into his high school.

Speaker 3 (27:11):
How about that looking for new drills on Instagram.

Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (27:14):
Yeah, everyone can be an influencer nowadays. Maybe there's maybe
there's a lane for that.

Speaker 1 (27:18):
He has a very creative and industrious mind to him.

Speaker 2 (27:22):
All right.

Speaker 1 (27:36):
Second hour of the program here on Sports Radio AM
thirteen hundred The Zone, Craig Way, alongside the producer and.

Speaker 2 (27:45):
ESPN Top ten announcing.

Speaker 3 (27:47):
Star Oh stop it.

Speaker 2 (27:49):
Jay Carman. His call of the goal by.

Speaker 1 (27:53):
What was her name again, Lily Noblett, the Lily Noblet
of Texas Lutheran with a big time bendit like Beckham
arc on it from what thirty five yards out?

Speaker 3 (28:05):
That's said, that was what I estimated. I went from
the went from the edge of the box and kind
of moved back from there.

Speaker 1 (28:11):
Thirty five yards out for the game's only goal last night.
And that was what was about nine and a half
minutes to go.

Speaker 3 (28:18):
Yeah, and there were some crazy near misses for both
teams before that. That's soccer for you.

Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, So that that happened last night, a one nil win.

Speaker 3 (28:29):
At a shot from six feet away get saved off
the line by the last defender. That's probably a ninety
nine percent goal probability, and then that shot maybe a five.

Speaker 6 (28:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah, So anyway, Jay Kerman is the producer in his.

Speaker 3 (28:44):
Call and apparently into analytics.

Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yeah, it was there, but it was the goal that
young Lilly had that was certainly the uh, the big
exciting moment in that game last night for the Toll
one thirty rivals of did they talk much about that?

Speaker 5 (29:05):
Well?

Speaker 3 (29:05):
They Well, I talked about it on the broadcast because
those two teams met in the SKAK semifinals.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
Three of those who don't know what SKAK is, that's
the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Speaker 3 (29:16):
Yeah, there you go, and I think it's three the
last four years they've met in those conference semifinals, and
in that season series, it was kind of a nasty
pattern for Texas Lutheran. They would win the vast majority
of the regular season meetings but then lose the one
that mattered.

Speaker 1 (29:32):
H Well, I remember when Joe Austin was coaching the
Southwestern football team. We talked about, you know, we used
to have him on pretty regularly, and he was talking
about the big matchup with TLU and how it was
a big rivalry game because it was toll the Toll
one thirty, because it is kind of funny the the
alpha and Omega points of Toll one thirty, whether you're

(29:53):
coming from the south of the north, it empties out
there in Georgetown on the north side on the and
then on the south side and empties out in Sageen
where Texas Lutheran is at I thirty. So they talked
about the bragging rights always sid there should be a
trophy for that. They should play, you know, or maybe
a cup like the you know, like or the Lone

(30:15):
Star Showdown, the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown rivalry series
between Texas and Texas A and M. Maybe maybe Southwestern
and Texas Lutheran should do that.

Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yeah, you know in soccer they call that a derby.

Speaker 2 (30:27):
Yeah, it's true.

Speaker 3 (30:28):
I've only been to Sageen once, pretty random one off
college high school basketball excuse me, high school playoff basketball
game that I called that was at sage in high school.

Speaker 1 (30:37):
Yeah, yeah, I did a football game there once West
Lake in a playoff game against San Antonio East Central
and it was there in the in in in Sageen
on the campus of TLU. Did a game there, but anyway,
So so anyway he was calling that last night.

Speaker 2 (30:55):
When that happened there.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
The playing surface both at Southwestern and in the game
was probably better than the playing surface in Pittsburgh at
Akuscher Stadium.

Speaker 2 (31:08):
Have you heard about this?

Speaker 3 (31:09):
I saw it. I thought on on x.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
Steelers and Browns. Not just the visiting team upset, because
I remember plenty of times when you hear.

Speaker 2 (31:20):
That a visiting team is not happy with the playing surface.

Speaker 1 (31:22):
The most celebrated or most Texas fans might say, most
infamous of those happened in twenty ten. And this happened
when the long worns, you know, when it finally unraveled.
There after the ten consecutive seasons of nine or more

(31:42):
wins through the two thousand and nine season, when when
they got all the way to the BCS National Championship
Game and lost it to Alabama. They came back the
next year started three and oh, but then things unraveled
from then. They ended up going five and seven that season,
and one of those losses was at Missouri and they

(32:04):
played on a thread bear. It was a really bad
field turf surface. You could tell by going down and
looking at it was.

Speaker 2 (32:10):
It was not.

Speaker 1 (32:11):
Good and it's certainly weird that it's ugly. Had when
Fozzi Whitaker blew out his knee on it, and there
was a lot of conversation about it, and Gary.

Speaker 2 (32:21):
Pinkle ed coach, So there's nothing wrong with that turf.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
Or another like two weeks later, his fine running back
Henry Josie blew out his knee.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
On that surface. They replaced the turf the next year.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
So now they got all sorts of construction going on there.

Speaker 1 (32:34):
Yeah, yeah, they are. They're they're building up and doing
all kinds of things. But anyway, players from the Steelers
and Browns both expressed what was called outrage and concerns
to the NFL Players Association about what they called embarrassing
playing surface at a sure stadium. The NFLPA has conveyed

(32:54):
its concerns to the NFL, and we work to ensure
that players are not put in that position going forward.
Some players in the field, which already was scheduled to
be resided after the game, was dry. Steeler's offensive lineman
Roderick Jones was one of multiple players who said they
kicked up chunks of grass when they made explosive movements.
Spokesman for the League Brian McCarthy. He's usually the guy

(33:16):
that speaks for Roger Goodell and usually comes out and
says nothing to see hear, nothing wrong here, nothing to
see here, he said. The NFL has been in touch
with both the union and the club, which has taken
steps to replace the grass surface. Mike Tomlin asked about
his news company. I thought it was poor. I'm not
concerned going forward. It was my understanding that the turf's

(33:38):
going to be swapped out, but I certainly acknowledge it
was a concern. Chris Boswell trying to field goal slipped
on it, missed a fourth quarter field goal. Also, their
special teams captain Miles Killerbrew suffered a significant non contact
knee injury as he planted. The Steelers defensive captain and
their team rep. Cam Hayward said, honestly, it was for

(34:02):
letter words starting with the letter S. I lost one
of my teammates and it kind of makes me sad
about it. Target about Kilibrew, you know, and.

Speaker 3 (34:12):
Be a good week for Stealer. Social media. Get in
there with the drone post the time lapse like some
teams do. The turf getting wheeled out, and the new
grass that's been growing, and you know, presumably the same
place where Bevo spends most of his time. Just wheel
that in.

Speaker 2 (34:28):
Yeah, why not?

Speaker 1 (34:30):
Hayward City still prefers a grass playing surface to turf.
That's drawn scrutiny at places like MetLife in New York
for high profile injuries, but Hayward added that Sunday's field was,
as he called it, below standard.

Speaker 3 (34:44):
Well, you might have an opportunity with this World Cup. Hey,
keep the grass there. It doesn't sound like it's gonna
happen a lot of these places, he said.

Speaker 1 (34:50):
I like grass, but that wasn't grass for playing. The
league has stated there's been no difference in injury rates
between synthetic turf and grass playing surfaces last season. There
were also fewer ACL injuries last season on synthetic than
grass surfaces, and there's been no difference so far this year.
I've heard that for the past several years because field

(35:12):
surf surfaces whether you have the rubber pellets or sand
based whatever, and the players seem to prefer the ones
that have the rubber pellets because even though you kick
them up and it kind of flies like dust, there's
more give to it, whereas the sandfield can be real, Lumpy.
I remember seeing that in Houston at NRG back in

(35:32):
the I guess it was the I was trying to
think of what the former name was. It wasn't Enron
because that was the baseball field. But anyway, it was
that sort of thing, reliant when it was reliant.

Speaker 3 (35:45):
Matt shab Days.

Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah, and I'll tell you where I really saw it
surprised me as lumpy as it was the day before
Texas played Ohio State in the January two, one thousand
and nine Fiesta Bowl. This was after the two thousand
and eight season when quite frankly, a lot of folks

(36:07):
and you can include being this group, thought the two
thousand and eight Texas team was better than the two
thousand and nine that ended up playing Alabama for the
National Championship. Two thousand and eight was incredible. Of course,
lost the game to Texas Tech and Ubbock on the
Michael Crabtree catch. They were unbeaten at the time and
number one at a time and lost that game and
then that weird tiebreaker. Texas had beaten OU that year,

(36:32):
OU had beaten Tech, Tech had beaten Texas, and the
Big twelve at the time was the only major conference
in the country that no championship game. Well, well, no, no, no,
they hadn't gone to that yet because what they were
the only major conference that year who did not use

(36:55):
the formula that the SEC the Big Ten used, the
formula being if one of the three teams in the
tie was more than five spots lower in the BCS standings,
they were automatically eliminated and you went to head to head. Well,
Texas Tech was like fourteenth, and Texas and Oklahoma were

(37:17):
that like, you know, Texas was slightly ahead of them
or whatever, was very very close, but Texas would have
had they had to head.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
And when you mix Tech into there, the.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
Factor I think was four to one thousands of a
point that put Oklahoma in to the Big Twelve championship game,
which they beat Missouri and then they lost to Tim
Tebow in Florida in the National Championship. Whereas most folksfield
Texas would have had a better than even shot to
beat te Bow and Florida.

Speaker 2 (37:44):
We'll never know.

Speaker 3 (37:44):
Did did the Big Twelve have divisions back then? Is
that why it was North and South? It didn't go
to the overall one.

Speaker 1 (37:50):
Texas had already blasted Missouri, during the year would have
been a rematch with Missouri, but it didn't happen, so
Texas had to quote unquote settle for the Fiesta Bowl,
the New Year six Bowl, and fortunately went in there
and they were they were motivated to play well. And
then it was Kwan Cosby's last game, our colleague and friend,

(38:10):
and he caught the game winning touchdown passed from Colt
McCoy for twenty six seconds.

Speaker 2 (38:13):
I was a great game and went back and forth.

Speaker 1 (38:15):
But the day before that game, I went down the
field that Long Wrnes had a walk through and I
was there for the walk through and I went there
to walk them do it through it and Mac Brown
had the former Long Worn great Tommy Nobis speak to
the team. It was really cool. But as I walked
out there, that field was so bumpy, and you know,

(38:38):
because it had a sand base and it was just
ripples all in it, and I thought.

Speaker 2 (38:42):
This is what they're going to play this Bowl game on.
So uh that one.

Speaker 1 (38:46):
I thought the sand base ones don't resonate as well
as the rubber pellet ones. Those seem to be more even.
And it seems even though you kick up the little
black clouds of dust so to speak. The Pellets, an
NFLPA source echo ode hayward sentiments about preferring grass to
turf playing, but he stressed that the quality of the
grass matters. See, that's the difference. If the quality of

(39:09):
the grass isn't that good, then you get chunks and
holes and things like that. He said, players prefer grass fields,
but all grass surfaces aren't equal.

Speaker 3 (39:17):
Cough cough against Snyder Washington.

Speaker 2 (39:19):
Yeah, yeah, there you go.

Speaker 1 (39:21):
Absolutely, the conditions at Akusher Stadium underscore why players have
pushed for high quality grass fields and why the NFLPA
continues to push for improved shared maintenance practice or practices
of grass fields across the league. And of course, the
Steelers share that stadium in that surface with the University

(39:44):
of Pittsburgh, but neither team had played at Accusher the
week before the game. Pitt host of Boston College on
October fourth. The Steelers only home game before the Browns
game was against Seattle back September fourteenth. Now, pitt did
host four of its first five games at Akuscher, and

(40:06):
so juggling the wear and tear of the field between
the two teams is nothing new, but typically the conditions
have worsened much later in the season before residing, but
it was in bad shape, so they were complaining about that.
So and yeah, the Steelers won the game, and uh andy,
who you said? They play the Bengals this week right

(40:27):
in Cincinnati. In the last three weeks, the Steelers are
the only team in the the AFC North to win
a game. They're two and oh. They had an open
date two and oh. Everybody else went oh to three
Ravens Brown's Bengals all oh and three during that stretch.

(40:47):
So by the fall of nothing else, the Steelers are
in great shape to win that division. And they will
be so again if they continue tomorrow night against Cincinnati.
All Right, coming up next, we'll shift to bass. We're
gonna hear from Longhorn's new head men's basketball coach, Sean
Miller from the SEC media days. That's next when we
continue here on this yacht Rock Wednesday on Sports Radio

(41:10):
AM thirteen under the zone of the iHeartRadio app. Yeah,
I hope here Wednesday or yacht Rock Wednesday is a
lovely day. Certainly whenever your hair from the the late
great Bill withers, it adds to it. Glad to have
you with us. On this yacht Rock Wednesday afternoon. All right,

(41:34):
we've been talking football baseball, but it's some basketball.

Speaker 2 (41:37):
And here. Have you watched any NBA preseason by the way.

Speaker 3 (41:41):
Just some highlights, you know, when I'm not busy on
the top ten?

Speaker 1 (41:44):
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're a little busy for that. Yeah,
I understand. I did watch some of the Lakers preseason
game last night. Luka Doncic, with his first preseason action
the season, stretched his legs, went out, put up twenty
five points and grab seven rebounds.

Speaker 3 (42:02):
I'm a free agent, right everyone wants to be a
free agent as soon as possible.

Speaker 10 (42:06):
Now.

Speaker 3 (42:06):
Like I shared on this program last month, i quit
the Wizards. I'm putting them in the deep freeze. I
might come back leaving the door, but I'm not burning bridges.
But I'm looking for I'm looking for a team to
latch onto.

Speaker 1 (42:19):
Okay, all right, I watched some of the Rockets and
Pelicans last night. Zion Williamson made the top ten. He
had an incredible dunk in the game, So watch some
of that. I'm a Mavericks fan. Watch when they play
when I can as well. But it's good to see
basketball getting close to returning, and that holds true for

(42:39):
long worn men's basketball as well.

Speaker 2 (42:41):
The Sean Miller Miller Era.

Speaker 1 (42:45):
Begins on Tuesday, November fourth, and that will be in Charlotte,
North Carolina, and they'll be taking on the preseason number
one by most by most polls, if not number one,
certainly in the top five, Duke and they'll be taking

(43:06):
on the Duke Blue Devils in Charlotte at the Spectrum Center,
which is home to the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA.

Speaker 2 (43:15):
So anyway, looking forward to that.

Speaker 1 (43:19):
And their home opener will be Saturday, November eight, that's
an open date for the football team, and they'll be
at home against Lafayette.

Speaker 2 (43:26):
On that Saturday.

Speaker 1 (43:28):
Lafayette is a school in Easton, Pennsylvania. Lafayette is where
the University of Louisiana is, and the Cajuns are very
very particular about how you say it's we're in Lafayette,
We're not in Lafayette.

Speaker 2 (43:40):
Lafayette is a school in Easton, Pennsylvania. And that's the
team the Longhorne will play.

Speaker 3 (43:45):
My cousin swims for them, oh for Lafayette Leopards.

Speaker 1 (43:48):
Yes, indeed, Okay, let's hear from Sean Miller yesterday at
SEC Media Days.

Speaker 2 (43:55):
First of all, his opening statement.

Speaker 12 (43:57):
I'll start my comments off with just from me, very
grateful to be the head basketball coach here at the
University of Texas. Being a part of the SEC wasn't
really in my plans, but you know, life changes and
circumstances happen, and when given this opportunity, it was in

(44:18):
my mind, once in a lifetime one and super super
excited to be in Austin and a part of the
SEC and look forward to the twenty five twenty six season,
which will.

Speaker 6 (44:30):
Be our first here at the University of Texas.

Speaker 1 (44:33):
Yew and his thoughts in specific on you know, going
from where he was coaching in the Big East was Xavier.
He's coached in what was then the Pac twelve at Arizona,
back to Xavier now in the SEC. I about coaching
in the Southeastern Conference.

Speaker 12 (44:49):
Well, I think the first thing is just the historic
season that just happened here. You know, fourteen of sixteen
teams in the tournament. If you just stopped there, it's
just I don't know if that's happened before, but if
it has, arguably that's the greatest accomplishment ever. When you
consider that many fourteen of sixteen and then watching the

(45:11):
tournament unfold like I did as a part of the tournament,
and you watch seven advance to the sweet sixteen, and
you know, two more get to the final four, Florida
obviously winning the national championship. You know, then when you
have the opportunity or you're going to join that group,
you know you're against the best players, teams, programs, investment,

(45:33):
the coaches obviously, and you know, I think that you
have to certainly be excited about the challenge. To me,
that's what I think of when I think about becoming
the coach here and participating in the SEC. And I
also say this coming from the Big East, like, I'm
very unapologetic from that perspective because you know, that's a conference,

(45:55):
like Greg Sanki had mentioned that I participated in. I
played there. There's nothing like Madison Square Garden. That conference
into college basketball means everything. So you know, when I
had the opportunity to be back at Xavier in that league,
that too, was just an amazing time in my life
and great respect for for example, Yukon. In three years

(46:16):
that I was in the Big East, they won the
national championship twice, So I think that's a league.

Speaker 6 (46:22):
And I think some of the experiences.

Speaker 12 (46:24):
That I've had both in the Big East and also
the Pac twelve, you know, you need experiences before you
take on a challenge like the one that is in
front of us.

Speaker 2 (46:33):
Now, I have no question about it.

Speaker 1 (46:35):
Okay, So this is a question that basketball coaches get
at every school that has a prominent football program.

Speaker 2 (46:49):
Is asked of Nate Oates at Alabama, I have.

Speaker 3 (46:52):
To say that, yeah, yeah, he's done all right for himself.

Speaker 1 (46:54):
Yeah, he's done pretty well. Certainly was at of Bruce
Pearl at Auburn, now Steven Pearl, Yeah, that's right. His
head coach at t who's our Todd Golden at Florida. Right,
And the question is how does basketball fit succeed and

(47:19):
thrive at an institution that has primarily thought of as
being a quote unquote football school. Remember, coach Miller was
at Xavier where they had no football, So basketball big
deal obviously at Xavier.

Speaker 2 (47:33):
So how about his thoughts about how can the.

Speaker 1 (47:36):
Schools love for football help his basketball program?

Speaker 2 (47:40):
Yeah?

Speaker 12 (47:40):
The way I would answer that is, you know, look,
I watched the Red River rivalry against Oklahoma. Like everybody
else in Texas and in Austin, Texas and watched every
play and was just thrilled that they played the way
they did and won that victory. And I've attended every
home football game. I've got to know Steve's archysian in
a quick way, is a wonderful guy and has gone

(48:03):
well out of his way to welcome me. But the
one thing, Myron, that you learned very quickly at the
University of Texas is you name the sport they're trying
to win the national championship.

Speaker 6 (48:14):
I go to watch a women's.

Speaker 12 (48:15):
Volleyball game, Jared Elliott's and the coach and they're right there.
You know, they have an amazing team. It's packed, by
the way, like the pageantry in that gym. Watching our
women's volleyball team is like something that I've never seen before.
In the spring, you know, I watched coach loss and
a baseball team number one seed in the NCAA tournament
places packed. I watched our women's softball team win the

(48:38):
national championship and just what that felt like in the
city of Austin.

Speaker 6 (48:43):
So you know, what I would tell you.

Speaker 12 (48:45):
Is we're surrounded by excellence as a basketball program and
to me, that's what we're here to establish, right to grow,
to build something that's been good, and can we get
to a final four?

Speaker 6 (48:56):
Can we win a national championship?

Speaker 12 (48:58):
But that's the quest, something that I think you have
to embrace when you're at a place like the University
of Texas. But look, I would rather be surrounded by
excellence than anything other than that, and that's what we
have as part of Texas.

Speaker 1 (49:14):
Next, he was asked about the change in style of
play under Rodney Terry. Longworns try to be physical, certainly,
but they were a little slower paced, and was asked
about this, you know, are you a more athletic program
and the style philosophy he has for this Texas program.

Speaker 3 (49:33):
Not just that Craig, but the changes he's had in
style since he started Arizona, took a break and then
got back into coaching.

Speaker 5 (49:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 12 (49:40):
I mean that's a very good observation in an equally
great question. You know, I think, first philosophically, when I
was the coach at Arizona for those twelve years, you know,
we wanted to play with pace, we wanted to build
an identity through our defense, and we wanted to play
together and some teams played faster than others, But I

(50:03):
think the constant was, you know, trying to be a
team that was difficult to score against. Had the opportunity
to have a year where I wasn't in charge of
any team, and it was the best gift that I've
received in my in my career in so many ways,
one of which is it really gave me an opportunity
to reflect on what are the styles that I hated

(50:24):
to coach against. Who are the coaches that you learned
to admire the most because they were the toughest to
go against and prepare for. And you know, for me
being in the West, you know, a guy in a
program that I admired because of competing for the top
prize against them, the number of times is Gonzaga. And

(50:45):
I think that not that I just tried to take
the playbook of Gonzaga and bring it to me. That
wouldn't have worked, but really just try to look and study,
you know, playing in a faster tempo, trying to learn
from it. And you know, ironically, Tommy Lloyd, who took
over for me at Arizona, was helpful. There's a lot
of things that I really doubled down on in the
year that I was away from the game to try

(51:06):
to learn more about But to your point, the three
years that I coached at Xavier, we played at an
entirely different pace on offense.

Speaker 6 (51:14):
It's one that I've learned to enjoy.

Speaker 12 (51:16):
I think it's the future, and I think that just
because in fact you're playing at a faster pace doesn't
necessarily mean you're going to turn the ball over more
or shoot quick every time. It just allows your players
to learn and grow through concepts and to play with
pace and force. And I enjoy coaching it. I think

(51:37):
fans enjoy watching it. And look, most importantly, I think
young people that want to choose programs, I think they
want to play in a style that allows them to
get up and down. So that's something that we certainly
are bringing with us to Texas. In a league, by
the way, that has that philosophy, there's quite a few
coaches that like to push the ball, which I recognize,

(51:59):
so I'm excited about competing against them and also bringing
that style here to this conference.

Speaker 2 (52:06):
Next.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
Coach Milllis was at SEC media Days was asked about
the ongoing issue of revenue sharing with the House settlement
and nil and how all that kind of played into
his decision to go to Texas.

Speaker 12 (52:24):
Yeah, I tried not to really think about that, Myron,
because the one thing that we've all learned over the
last twenty four thirty six months is that you know,
what was a year ago is no longer in place,
like it's flipped upside down two or three times when
you start talking about nil and some of the rule changes.
I tried to really focus more on big picture and

(52:45):
just talking and thinking in terms of you know, where
i am in life and all the experiences that I've
gone through. When you have an opportunity, you want to
be able to say, I really want to win a
national champion. I want to have everything that I can get,
and that's impossible, by the way, but to be surrounded

(53:07):
by an environment.

Speaker 6 (53:08):
That will allow you to grow and really go for it.

Speaker 12 (53:12):
And I have no doubt the University of Texas is
a place like that. I think that sentiment shared by
a lot of people in a lot of different sports.

Speaker 6 (53:20):
We just touched on it.

Speaker 12 (53:21):
You know, there's a reason no matter what sport you
talk about on our campus, they're trying to get to
the top prize.

Speaker 6 (53:28):
And part of that also is to be this.

Speaker 12 (53:31):
Landmark state institution of the state of Texas. It's a
pretty powerful thing by itself. You know, when you look
at the players, the talent over the last twenty years
that grew up in the cities like Austin, in Dallas
and Houston and where they've gone, it's astonishing. And I
think to have that ability to be the state university

(53:53):
of our state is also something that I think I
looked at.

Speaker 1 (53:58):
Finally, one other questions, this Texas roster will feature more
international players than a Texas basketball roster has ever featured.
Declan Duru coming in from Munich, Germany as a freshman
six to eight freshman is one of those. Mantes Titus

(54:18):
from Lithuania coming in sophomore. Also from London, England is
Louis Obriora and Lasina Triori from the Ivory Coast. Those
are all international guys coming in.

Speaker 3 (54:37):
I mean, I mean, who's the last real notable is it?
Is it Marcus Carr right.

Speaker 2 (54:42):
In Canada. Yeah, that sort of thing.

Speaker 1 (54:45):
So he was asked what led him to recruit international players?

Speaker 6 (54:51):
A great question.

Speaker 12 (54:52):
You know, I think the game of basketball, all you
have to do is look at the MVPs of the
NBA and start rattling them off in order, and you
to three four years in a row where an international
player in the greatest league in the world has won
the Most Valuable Player award, and it's.

Speaker 6 (55:09):
A global game.

Speaker 12 (55:11):
Over my time as the head coach at Arizona, we
had great success with Lowry Market for example, and a
number of other players towards the end of my time there,
and they came to the University of Arizona and they
became terrific players, had great experiences.

Speaker 6 (55:30):
It was fun to coach them.

Speaker 12 (55:32):
And I think, you know, at the University of Texas
again some of the things we've talked about, the city
of Austin is a great opportunity for international students and
players that they want to reach their goals and dreams.
So I think that, you know, recruiting nationally is no
longer it's recruiting the world recruiting internationally, and we want
to do that.

Speaker 1 (55:53):
As Sean Miller from the SEC Basketball Media Day, So
we are inside of a month, about three weeks at
the start of that college basketball season, about two and
a half weeks to be exactly all right. Up next
we will have a couple of football notes to it,
and a question or two from the text line coming

(56:13):
up here on thirteen under the zone on the I
Rock Wednesday afternoon, some hall of oates who fit right
into the yacht rock genre with this particular offering nanny there,
but several of their of their offerings did manage to

(56:34):
make it into the yacht rock here, which is usually
divine designed or designated as late seventies and the early eighties.
And that was early eighties there, okay. On the text
line we were talking earlier. In fact, it was an
hour ago in the Inconceivable segment about taosk or Hernandez

(57:00):
and his wife staying not with the team at the
Fister Hotel in Milwaukee, but a different hotel because the
Fister supposedly is haunted, and his wife wanted no part
of that, so they did that. We were talking about
other haunted hotels. You mentioned the Driscoll in Austin, Jake,
and I mentioned also the one in Oklahoma City as well,

(57:23):
and somebody else mentioned the Minger in San Antonio is
supposedly haunted.

Speaker 2 (57:29):
I stayed for.

Speaker 1 (57:33):
I think is about four or five hours at the
Minger and the reason it was only that is because
that is where Texas was assigned to stay when they
were hosting the Sweet sixteen and the Elite Eight in
two thousand and three at the Alamodome, and that was
the hear they went to the Final four. They beat
Yukon in the Sweet sixteen, they beat Michigan State in
the Elite Eight, and that was the assigned team hotel.

Speaker 2 (57:57):
However, so the team checks in, the checked in with.

Speaker 1 (58:01):
Them, and the whole place smelled like smoke. They had
had a fire there recently, so it smelled smoky and stuff,
and Rick bartnesaid, we're not having this.

Speaker 2 (58:14):
We ended up going to, you know, some.

Speaker 1 (58:16):
Of the good San Antonio has plenty of downtown hotels,
So everybody ended up going to a different hotel that
did not ended up not staying at the Minger as
a result of that. But that's supposed he's haunted. I
mentioned the Skurven in Oklahoma City. That's one where veteran
NBA players have a lot of fun at the expense
of rookies. About that, Bill Schoning was telling me a

(58:38):
story about when the Spurs were going up there were
staying up there because it's a great hotel and old
Grand Hotel and it's got this great piano bar called
the Red Pian because there's a red piano in there.
That's where I met Charles Barkley in there, and it
was very very nice. Bill Shoning introduced him to me,
and they were up there obviously doing the TNT show,

(58:59):
but they Bill told me about there's a couple of
I don't know if the Spurs told the story from
the Knicks perspective or I want to say the Knicks
voll Anyway, there was a there was a rookie who
they knew that he was going to be assigned on
the tenth floor, and and the and the way the

(59:21):
legend goes is is that this rich oil baron was
having an affair with the young cleaning lady and left
her or whatever, and she threw herself out of the
window from the tenth floor. And supposedly the story goes
that she haunts the tenth floor kind of floats open

(59:43):
then calling print of you hear doors opening and closing
and weird ethereal sounds and.

Speaker 2 (59:47):
Stuff like that.

Speaker 3 (59:48):
So they say, hey, rook you're in ten.

Speaker 1 (59:50):
Twelve, Yeah, yeah, right, and then but don't worry about
to go what are you talking about?

Speaker 3 (59:53):
You know, so there's oh nothing, No, man. Maybe wait,
maybe I'm wrong. I don't know, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Speaking of rookies, Travis Hunter has been playing predominantly on
defense for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Of course, the Heisman Trophy
winner a two way player at Colorado, but Liam Cohen
said today that they are making it that priority to
design and call more plays in which Hunters the number

(01:00:23):
one option to take advantage of his speed in athleticism.
As a result, he's going to have a bigger role
in offense this Sunday at Wembley Stadium when they play
the Rams.

Speaker 3 (01:00:31):
Well, Craig, he's looked really good when they have thrown
in the football.

Speaker 5 (01:00:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:00:34):
And it's funny. I was listening to another analyst kind
of break down his tape. Sometimes it doesn't look like
he really knows the playbook. He's just out there kind
of playing football. Yeah, yeah, and go kind of handle
a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:00:48):
Cohen said from the Grove Resort, where the team is
staying and practicing this week in London, said today, scheming
him open as part of it.

Speaker 2 (01:00:56):
Number one.

Speaker 1 (01:00:58):
Our job as an offensive staff is to make sure
we're putting him in the progression and putting him in
the position to be number one option a little more
often in some ways. And then when he is the
primary option, we've got to throw and catch, we've got
to make sure we identify it, find him, and be
able to be in the right spot at the right time.
So I think it's a combination a lot of those
things that ultimately can all be controlled. To this point,

(01:01:21):
he has four catches for fifteen yards, including a fourteen
yard catch and run on seven targets in the loss
of the Seahawks on Sunday. That was his lowest yardage
total of the season. Previously it was twenty one yards
in Week three against the Texans. So that's where it is,
and we're going to roll him out against the Rams
and try to get some more things doing that. Somebody said,

(01:01:44):
since Rush announced a new tour, how about a progressive
rock day. Well, I'd like to do that if I
didn't hate Rush so much.

Speaker 2 (01:01:51):
No, I don't hate Rush, oh I do.

Speaker 3 (01:01:53):
This wasn't as big of a reaction as when I
off air joke with Craig Hey, when's grunge day? He goes,
Not as long as it's my shown, ye, I.

Speaker 1 (01:02:02):
Don't mind every now and then, but every Wednesday is
a yacht rock day. But yacht Rock Wednesday. But Rush
does have that new tour coming out. And I did
work in my concert ending days.

Speaker 2 (01:02:14):
I did work.

Speaker 1 (01:02:15):
Rush concerts did pretty well, help put me through college
and bought me a new car, selling merch for the
band or the arena. All Right, we'll be back to
wrap up hour number two here on thirteen under the Zone,
third and final hour of the program here on a

(01:02:35):
yacht Rock Wednesday on sports Radio AM thirteen hundred of
the Zone.

Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
Glad to have you with us. Coming up in a
few minutes, we'll visit with Tom.

Speaker 1 (01:02:44):
Leach's play by play voice of the Kentucky Wildcats and
get his thoughts on this Kentucky football team that's coming
off an open day to bye week on the schedules,
I get ready to host the Longhorns on Saturday. Also
this hour, we'll hear from Steve Sarkisian from the See
Weekly teleconference. So we'll hear from coach sark update on that,

(01:03:04):
including the two players who've left the program. So that
and more coming up here in this four o'clock hour. Now,
in talking about college football, we do this periodically about
every other week, and then we'll start doing it every
week once the college football playoff rankings come out, and
that is to update what the bowl projections in college

(01:03:27):
football playoff projections are, especially when things happen like Indiana's
win at Oregon and obviously Texas win over Oklahoma. So
we have those to pass along the bowl projections, the
college football playoff projections here, and so I'll jump right
into it.

Speaker 3 (01:03:46):
I hope you have your shredder nearby, though, Craig my
shredder to take these bull projections and throw them out
in three weeks.

Speaker 1 (01:03:53):
Well, I'll tell you what Texas fans may be hoping
that's exactly the case, because both Kyle Bonegura and Mark
Layball from ESPN dot Com do not have Texas in
the playoffs still despite the win of Oklahoma. I think
that's the the overriding projection of most is that because
Texas still has a hill to climb, a pretty steep

(01:04:15):
hill to climb. A Vanderbilt at home is no picnic,
and obviously they have to go to Georgia. They have
the other two road games Kentucky and Mississippi State, and
they have Texas A and M at the end of
the year. So and then there's always a game with
Arkansas that can spell trouble. So that's it's a pretty
safe route. I get it. It's a pretty safe route
for those who are doing the projections not to have

(01:04:38):
Texas in the playoffs. And what damaged all that was
the loss of Florida. Now doesn't mean they can't or
won't get back into the picture on that, but right
now mid October, it's a safe projection by those who
do these things not to.

Speaker 2 (01:04:56):
Have Texas in the field.

Speaker 1 (01:04:57):
Nevertheless, we pass along the projections both the playoff and
for the balls, so you'll know what they do think
of Texas. So here they are started off with either
Friday night, December nineteenth or Saturday, December twentieth, the first
round games that will happen at campus siites. Remember last
year Texas hosted Clemson in that Saturday playoff game. Well,

(01:05:19):
Bonagura has the twelve to five matchup, being Memphis is
the highest ranked G six team. He has Memphis projected
to win the American Athletic Conference and he has them
in Lubbock to play Texas Tech.

Speaker 2 (01:05:34):
The five seed.

Speaker 1 (01:05:36):
Mark slay Ball has South Florida projected to win the
American and to be in Oxford to take on ole
Miss the number five seed. The eleven to six matchup,
both Bonagora and slay Ball have LSU is the eleven seed.
Now Bonagura has LSU at Ole Miss as the sixth
seed and slay Ball has LSU at Texas Tech as

(01:05:57):
the sixth So that's all the really flip flopping.

Speaker 2 (01:05:59):
There is almost Texas Tech.

Speaker 3 (01:06:00):
So we would get a regular season rematch.

Speaker 1 (01:06:03):
Yes, you can definitely have that. According to Kyle Bondagura,
you're going to get one. In the ten to seven
matchup is Georgia at Alabama. Slay Ball, interestingly enough, does
not have Georgia at Alabama. He has Georgia Tech at Alabama.
That's a seven matchup.

Speaker 3 (01:06:18):
That's an awesome game looming at the end of the
season if both of those teams do what a lot
of people think they will, right And.

Speaker 1 (01:06:25):
Then in the nine to eight matchups, Bontagura has Georgia
Tech at Oregon, Georgia Tech the nine, Oregon the eight.
Shlay Ball has Oregon the nine and Georgia the eight,
so that's what they have there. And then the team's
advancing from that. In the quarterfinals, Montagura has Alabama the
seventh seed at number two seed Indiana. Shlay Ball has

(01:06:46):
six seed Texas Tech at three seed Indiana, and that's
the Cotton Bowl. In the Orange Bowl, Bontegura has the
six seed Ole miss at the three seed Miami. Shlay
Ball has the seven seed Alabama at the two seed Miami.

Speaker 3 (01:07:02):
Not to get us too far off track, can we
change this format so that if Indiana gets a top
four seed they get to host a playoff game.

Speaker 1 (01:07:11):
Well, if they can get in there, you know, they
if they can win the Big Ten.

Speaker 3 (01:07:15):
Yeah, it's not specific happen, it's not specific to Indiana.
Just an example.

Speaker 1 (01:07:19):
Hosted last year, right, and Notre Dame pretty much handled them.

Speaker 3 (01:07:23):
That's true. That's true.

Speaker 1 (01:07:25):
So they're answer to Indiana might be do better. So
we'll see. We'll see how it happens. Both have Ohio
State as the number one playing in the Rose Bowl
in the quarterfinals. Bontagora has them against Oregon the eight seed.
Slay Ball has them against Georgia the eighth hit, and
then then the four to five matchup in the Sugar Bowl.
Bonagora has Texas Tech against A and M in the

(01:07:47):
Sugar Bowl, and shlay Ball has Ole Miss against A
and M in the Sugar Bowl. In the semifinals, Bontagora
has A and M advancing in the final four to
play one seed Ohio State. Slay Ball has three Indiana
playing at the two seed Miami that's at the Fiesta
Bowl in the semi final. The other semifinal the Peach Bowl.
Montaguara has three seed Miami at number two in the

(01:08:09):
two seed Indiana and slay Ball has four seed A
and M against one seed Ohio State. And for the
national championship, how about Bonagura has Indiana Ohio State. That
would be a rematch probably of the SEC championship, I
mean the Big Ten Championship and shlay Ball has Miami
against Ohio State.

Speaker 3 (01:08:28):
You know, it doesn't necessarily mean that's a ringing endorsement
of you know, Big Ten teams being that class above
when it comes to being championship contenders. But like you said,
the same reasoning for leaving out Texas with the uphill climb,
they have who's left on Indiana's schedule they can beat.

Speaker 1 (01:08:45):
Them, doubtful anyone in the regular See, they do have
to go to Penn State. But we've seen Penn State
fall off, you know, the wagon.

Speaker 3 (01:08:54):
So I get it. I get the reasoning for a
prediction like that. I highly doubt it it plays out
that way, but it's just the way the Big ten
is right now. That middle class not as strong as
the SEC. But boy if they got some great teams
at the top.

Speaker 2 (01:09:08):
Yeah they do, all right. Here's the rest of the
bowls schedule.

Speaker 1 (01:09:11):
Both have Jackson State against North Carolina Central and the
Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, The LA Bowl. Bonagora has Washington
stayed against UNLV. Slayball is Washington against Boise State, the
Salute to Veterans Bowl of Montgomery on December sixteenth. Bonagara
has Yukon and Troy Slayball and Jacksonville State Coastal Carolina
Staff DNA. That sounds like an infection Staff DNA Cure Bowl. Okay,

(01:09:37):
that's in Orlando. Bonagara has Hensea stayed against East Carolina.
Slay Ball has Western Michigan against Troy, the sixty eight
Ventures Bowl and Mobile Bonnagara says it'll be Marshall against
Louisiana Tech. Slayball likes it to be Old Dominion against
Buffalo Myrtle Beach Bowl on Friday, December nineteenth. Bonigara's projection
is Southern michiganst Jacksonville State. Slay Ball says he's Carolina

(01:09:58):
against James Madison. The Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl in
Tampa that day is Bonnagura, saying it's South Florida against
Wake Forest. Shley Ball says it's Kansas State against Florida State. Monday,
December twenty second, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise Boy.
The weather'll be just lovely there for that. Bonnegara believes

(01:10:19):
it'll be Toledo in Fresno.

Speaker 2 (01:10:21):
State.

Speaker 1 (01:10:21):
Shley Ball says Ohio and Utah State Boca Ratone Bowl
on Tuesday, December twenty third. Bonagara is Texas State going
to Boca not a bad bowl destination and play New Mexico.
Shley Ball believes it'll be Temple against Toledo. New Orleans
Bowl that day in New Orleans. Bannagara says it's Western
Kentucky and it's Old Dominius. Slayball believes it's Western Kentucky

(01:10:42):
against Southern Myss. The Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl. Bannagara says,
it's UTSA against Arizona. Shlay Ball believes will be North
Texas against Kennesta Kennesas State.

Speaker 2 (01:10:52):
On Christmas Eve the Sharon and Hawaii Bowl.

Speaker 1 (01:10:56):
Bonnegura matches up San Diego State against cow slay Ball
leaves it'll be Hawaiian Tulane. Day after Christmas the game
above the Sports Bowl that's the Old Quick Lane Bowl
in Detroit. Bonagora says it's Northwestern against Bowling Green. Slay
Ball has it as Maryland against Central Michigan The Rate
Bowl Chasefield and Phoenix. That day, Bonagora has TCU matching

(01:11:18):
up against Minnesota. Shley Ball says it's Baylor against Minnesota.
The Serve Pro First Responder Bowl that night that's in
SMU's stadium, Gerald J. Ford Stadium and Dallas. Montagra has
it as Army in Penn State. Has Penn State in
the First Responder Bowl.

Speaker 3 (01:11:35):
Well, got to call a first responder on their season
right now?

Speaker 2 (01:11:38):
Yeah, right.

Speaker 1 (01:11:39):
Slay Ball has TCU against UNLV the Military Bowl. These
bowl games are on Saturday, December twenty seventh, Military Bowl
in Annapolis. Both have Navy as a home team hosting
this bowl game. Bonna Goura says it's Clemson against Navy.
That's a big drop off for Clemson as.

Speaker 3 (01:11:55):
Well, not an easy one to win.

Speaker 2 (01:11:57):
No, And ask.

Speaker 1 (01:11:58):
Oklahoma and they lost to Navy last year in the
In the Bowling Fort Worth, shlay Ball has it as
pit Navy the bad Boy Mower's Pin Strike Bowling Yankee Stadium.
Bonnagara has Louisville against Maryland. Slay Ball has Duke against
Penn State the Sabi Finway Bowl that day. Bonnagara says,
pit Tu Lane in Sea State versus MEMPHISI is the

(01:12:20):
slave Ball because he doesn't believe Memphis is gonna get
into the playoffs. Therefore they fall all the way to
the Finway Bowl comes down probably to Memphis against South
Florida at some point.

Speaker 2 (01:12:30):
Pop Tart's Bowl.

Speaker 1 (01:12:32):
We had that pop Tarts note in the Inconceivable in
our Junk Food Fast Food Up David Pop Tarts Bowl
at Camping World Stadium. Bunnagara says it'll be Virginia against Cincinnati.
Shlay Ball likes Virginia against BYU the Snoop Dog Arizona Bawl.
If you're going to go to a third tier bowl,
why not make it the Snoop Dog Arizona Bowl. Bonnagara
says it's Ohio against Hawaii. Shlay Ball says it's Bowling

(01:12:53):
Green against Presno State. Is Let's a New Mexico Bowl
in Albuquerque. Bannagera says it's Boise State against James Madison.
Slay Ball has it in San Diego State against Appalachian State.
Tax Layer Gator Bowl. The matchup that Bonnegura has his
Duke and Auburn. Slay Ball has Louisville and Oklahoma in
the tax Slayer Gator Bowl.

Speaker 2 (01:13:14):
The Texas Bowl.

Speaker 1 (01:13:15):
Monnagera says it's Iowa State against ou shlay Ball says
it's Cincinnati against Missouri Birmingham Bowl. Bonnagura has Mississippi State
matched up against UCF. Schlay Ball likes it to be
Auburn against Syracuse the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on Tuesday,
December thirtieth. Bonnagura in Shreeport has Baylor against Kannesas State.

(01:13:39):
Slay Ball has Kansas against Louisiana Tech Music City Bowl
in Nashville. Bannagora says it's Iwa against Texas as the
Long Corns going to Nashville to play in Nissan Stadium.
Slay Ball has Michigan Michigan against Mississippi State Valero Alamo Bowl.
Montagura has it byu USC. Slay Ball says it's Utah
USC on New Year's Eve the rel Iaquest Bowl that's

(01:14:02):
in Tampa. Bonnagara has Illinois against Missouri. Slay Ball has
the long orange ringing in the New Year playing on
New Year's Eve against Iowa. The Tony the Tiger. By
the way, both of them have the matchup is Texas
against Iowa. It's just that Kyle Bonagerra believes that'll happen
in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, and Mark slay

(01:14:23):
Ball believes it'll happen at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa
in the Reliaquest Bowl.

Speaker 3 (01:14:27):
I know it's not the point of this bowl projection exercise,
but I think Texas if they end up in a
bowl like that, I don't think you'd see too too
many opt outs unless the guys were going to the
draft to be a lot of interesting kind of positional opportunities,
but obviously not the situation Texas wants their season to end.

Speaker 1 (01:14:44):
In no doubt, the remaining ones Tony the Tiger, Sun Bowl,
all New year's Eve, Bonagara has Florida State, Arizona State.
Slay Ball has SMU Arizona the Cheese at Citrus Bowl.
Both Kyle Bonagera Mark Slayball have Nebraska against Tennessee the
s Distribute. In the Las Vegas Bowl, Bonnagara has Michigan Utah.

(01:15:05):
Slave Ball has Illinois col On January tewod Lockey Martin
Armed Forces Bowl. That's the one where oh you lost
the Navy last year. It's in Fort Worth. Bonna Girl
says it's Kansas against North Texas. Shlay Ball says it's
Iowa State against Northwestern. Both have Houston against South Carolina
and the autos own Liberty Bowl. In the Duke's Mayo Bowl,

(01:15:25):
Bunna Gerl says it's SMU and Vanderbilt. Slave Ball says
it's Clemson in Vanderbilt. Somebody gets mayo poured all over him. Finally,
the Holiday Bowl. Both have Notre Dame in that they
have Notre Dame not in the playoffs. Slave Ball has
it Notre Dame against Arizona State. Bnnagursa's Notre Dame against Washington.

Speaker 3 (01:15:42):
Yeah, there'll be an interesting interesting bubble case if they
If they went out because they'd have that win over
USC this week if that's a scenario.

Speaker 1 (01:15:51):
So there is your college football playoff and bowl update.
Up next, we will visit with the play by play
voice of the Kentucky wild caf It's Tom Leach coming
up when we continue on sports Radio AM thirteen hundred,
the zone of the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 2 (01:16:09):
Here on the yacht Rock Wednesday.

Speaker 1 (01:16:12):
The Longhorns are not going to Mexico this week, and
James Taylor might be down there, but the long Worns
aren't going there. No, They'll be in Lexington, Kentucky, going
to the Bluegrass State, headed for the Commonwealth to take
on the Kentucky Wildcats. Always great to visit with our
good friend, Tom Leech's play by play voice of the
Kentucky Wildcats. I appreciate you taking the time, Tom. And

(01:16:34):
you didn't go to Mexico in the open date week
last week?

Speaker 2 (01:16:36):
Did you?

Speaker 5 (01:16:37):
I did not, But I could listen to James Taylor
all day.

Speaker 1 (01:16:40):
Me too, well, I said, coaches like to talk about
and I know Coachtops was asked about it in his
press conference about the value of the open date and
what gets done. And I remember when Greg Davis was
a longtime offensive coordinator un her mac Brown at Texas.
He used to say there is such a thing as

(01:17:01):
a good bye week and a bad bye week, or
a good open date and a bad open date, depending
on how the guys work and all that sort of stuff.
But it sounds like from what Coachtops had to say
that the guys really did put their heads down and
went back to work, coming off fighting Georgia pretty hard
the prior week.

Speaker 5 (01:17:21):
It should be a good setup for Kitsucky, but mainly
because they have a red shirt freshman quarterback who has
just made his first two starts against the SEC competition,
So the chance to do extra work with him and
get him more familiar with the receivers that he's working

(01:17:41):
with with the ones is a good thing. Now. Kentucky's
record off by weeks in recent years has not been good,
but there was also a stretch where it was quite good.
I think they won three out of four one four
year stretch, So it, you know, usually depends probably as
much on who you're playing and how you're playing as

(01:18:02):
anything else.

Speaker 1 (01:18:03):
Well, you brought up Cutter Bowling, and I wanted to
give you a chance to talk about him a little bit,
I mean the guy who's behind him at Longbarn. Fans
are well acquainted with Zach cal Zaida and they remember
him add incarnate word down in San Antonio. Then he
went to Auburn, then he was at Texas A and M.
But Cutter Bowley's the guy, yitn't he right now? And
can you discuss you know what a red shirt freshman

(01:18:25):
kind of has the ups and downs and that sort
of thing. But how about what he's gone through as
he continues to progress well.

Speaker 5 (01:18:32):
He had made his first start against Louisville in the
rivalry game at the end of last season, and Kentucky
had probably thrown into towel somewhat by that point. It
didn't go well for there were several turnovers. A similar
scenario in his first SEC road start down at South Carolina.
They're really sitting in a good spot first and ten

(01:18:53):
in South Carolina territory, up ten seven early in the
second quarter. Then they get a strip sack for a touchdown,
a pick six, and it all fell apart. In the
span of two or three series for Kentucky. Now against Georgia,
they did some different things with a game plan, gave
him some different types of throws, some shorter throws helping

(01:19:13):
gets confidence early. And I thought he played much much
better and that was good to see coming off what
could have been a performance in South Carolina where you
might worry about the mental fragility of a young quarterback.
He bounced back. And all the reports to us were
very positive in the lead up to Georgia that he

(01:19:34):
did not dwell on what happened at Columbia, and then
he went out and played maybe his best game given
the setting in the competition. So we will see if
he can build on that. I would tell you that
the last time in this stadium in Lexington where you
had a manning on one side and a quarterback from

(01:19:55):
Kentucky on the other side, it was Peyton and Tim
Couch and they threw for about to come by thousand
yards that day, Tennessee won convincingly. So Kentucky fans would
like to change that result. But it was one heck
of a shootout that day.

Speaker 1 (01:20:09):
Well, and I would imagine those long worn fans, the
ones who really follow everything very very closely, and that
sort of thing remember, and do happen to remember Bully
from last year he went ten of eighteen for one
hundred and sixty yards I know brought.

Speaker 2 (01:20:25):
Vandergriff was in there as well.

Speaker 1 (01:20:27):
But so the the work that he got in the
limited amount of game action that he had last year,
I would imagine had to have helped him a little
bit prepare for this season.

Speaker 5 (01:20:39):
It does, and it also basically earned him to start
against Louisville in the finale because Vandergriff was struggling by
that point, and so that was, you know, a chance
for Cutter to get his first chance to get the
keys to the car. Is that kind of skid it
off the road there that day. But he is a

(01:21:00):
you know, second year guy that seems to be very poised,
seems to be really laid back. Someboddies of mine on
a text chain during the game, they call him like
a surfer dude. Uh So he's got just a long
kind of uh uh red hair and uh lanky build

(01:21:22):
and you know, speaks and carries himself a lot of confidence. So,
uh he's kind of got that quarterback mojo.

Speaker 2 (01:21:29):
Well you kind of you know who you just described.

Speaker 1 (01:21:31):
At least what flashed in my mind was Hunter Lawrence
the way the way he described it. A guy like
that who carries a little bit of swagger with him
in some confidence and and kind of like back in, fun,
loving kind of guy.

Speaker 5 (01:21:43):
Yeah, and I think that's that's cutter. But you saw
the Georgia game. There were a couple of instances. One
they had a fumble that they wasn't recognized as a
fumble instantly, and he was trying to get his guys
up to the line to get the ball snap before
they could stop the game for a review. And his
guys did respond, and he you know, let them know

(01:22:03):
that he was not happy with that. And then there
was a miscommunication on a play in their two minute
drive at the end of the first half, and again
he was kind of bargaining at his guys a little bit.
And it was not the kind of situation where it
looked like a young quarterback panicking. It looked like a
young quarterback kind of growing up a little bit as
a leader. So if that was the case, then hopefully
he can build on that.

Speaker 1 (01:22:24):
Visiting with Tom Leachs played by play Voice of the
Kentucky Wildcats here on thirteen hundred of the Zone, Tom,
I look around the offense and I see what I see,
not only with Kentucky but I see it with Texas.
I see it with a lot of teams across the country,
in the world in which we're living now, the portal existence,
the portal environment. And I see it with the running

(01:22:45):
backs with Dante Daldell and Seth McGowan. I see also
Gilmore and Macklin and law as guys who all have
started at other places. And we see it all over
college football. How about what has coach stup said about
the the.

Speaker 2 (01:23:02):
Challenge and the opportunity.

Speaker 1 (01:23:04):
I guess that going into the portal and bringing guys
into the system does to try to help, you know,
have a quick turn and get a team into contention.

Speaker 5 (01:23:14):
It's been kind of hitting this, to be honest, that
they really focused on the portal to help their offensive line,
which really struggled last year. And they had an identity
when when Mark had his had it really going well here.
They their identity was the big blue wall for their
offensive line and they're trying to get back to that.

(01:23:38):
And so they had three portal starters in their old
line and they join's not back to the good old days,
but better than last year so far. And then the
wide receiver they brought some guys in this year and
last so far, Uh nobody's really stepped up and uh
claimed the role of go to guy or big play guy.

(01:24:01):
The last there or two weeks ago down to Georgia,
freshman got into the game in the fourth quarter and
he made three catches for like forty plus yards, one
on a fourth and ten, and he showed the most
spark of really any receiver they've had so far. Cam
Miller is his name, and so I would imagine he'll
get a chance to see if he can build on

(01:24:21):
that performance, because the opportunity is there for somebody to
step up and be a playmaker. They have really struggled
to come up with explosive plays in the run game
and particularly in the past game. And that would make
Cutter Buwlli's life a lot easier. They could get a
few bigger chunks of the yard at at times, no
doubt about it.

Speaker 1 (01:24:40):
And you mentioned also with the running back team Myle
pal Ja Bullwaar, former Texas coach there handles running backs
and specialties. What a great guy and really trying to
get guys too, yes, and the specially and he was
always a special team you know, guru, a guy who
could do that as well, how about on the defensive

(01:25:01):
side and what the rest of the defense and what
Brad White's trying to get there in terms of a
getting those guys to step up and make some big plays.

Speaker 5 (01:25:14):
Yeah, they haven't quite been to the level of what
we have come to expect from a Brad White defense
so far this year. A lot of issues with mis
tackles and giving up yards after the catch. So that's
what I think the hope is with the open date,
they could have made some improvement there and cut down
on some of the big plays they're giving up. You

(01:25:36):
go back look at the Old Miss game, which was
a tie game in the fourth quarter. The big disparity
there was the big plays that the Rebels had and
the big plays Kentucky couldn't come up with, and that
was a defining characteristic of that Kentucky lost. So they've
got to find a way to get more of them
on offense, but maybe even more importantly, to limit them

(01:25:57):
when the other team has the ball. And you know,
you would think, given Brad White's track record with his
defenses here, that they will figure it out and get better,
and uh, thank you. Fans obviously are hoping that happens.
Saturday night.

Speaker 1 (01:26:12):
Well, tell folks a little bit since and I was
amazed to see this that it's the first time ever
the Long Orange will have played a football game.

Speaker 2 (01:26:20):
Uh there in Lexington, So I so.

Speaker 1 (01:26:22):
I know there's there's gonna be a lot of Texas
fans there. We've heard rumors of what they've done and
in reserving spots at Keenland. Tell folks a little bit
about that whole dynamic in the in a night game dynamic.
Uh there at Crogerfield and Lexington coming up Saturday.

Speaker 5 (01:26:39):
Yeah, it's it's been called the Bluegrass Doubleheader Bluegrass I
think it's in the Bluegrass region and it's Keenland Racing
and in the afternoon it's some of the best racing
in the world year in and year out. So on
a Saturday at Keenland, they'll have some really top notch
racing and then uh, people make their way over to

(01:26:59):
to Tail eight and be there for the start of
the football game at night. And it's a tradition here.
And you know sometimes games get scheduled in the afternoon
during October and it's always an issue for Kentucky fans
that want that opportunity to do both and maybe even
more shope for the opposing team. They want that Keeland experience.
I expect we'll see a lot of Texas fans. I'm out,

(01:27:21):
actually out of Keeland now. They're racing today, and I
expect we'll see a lot of Longhorn fans here on Friday.
And so I think the trade Kentucky fans would make
is that the Longhorn fans can cash all the long
shots on Friday and then the Cats they let the
Cats cash one on Saturday night.

Speaker 1 (01:27:38):
There you go, hey, Tom, It's always great to visit
with you. Looking forward to CENIM basketball season. Longhorns obviously
will be up Atroupp Arena this coming season, looking forward
to that because I know obviously there's great things expected
a big Blue on the basketball court this year as well.
So as always, I appreciate the time and look forward
to seeing you this weekend.

Speaker 5 (01:27:58):
Absolutely safe travels, and we will see you.

Speaker 1 (01:28:01):
In the press line that is Tom Leaks play by
play voice of the Kentucky Wildcats. We'll hear some sound
from Longhorn's head coach, Steve Sarkisian coming up.

Speaker 2 (01:28:09):
I'm thirteen hundred the zone.

Speaker 1 (01:28:12):
Here on the yacht Rock Wednesday, thanks again to Tom Leech,
voice of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Speaker 2 (01:28:17):
Join us littlely written hour with.

Speaker 5 (01:28:20):
Is it you?

Speaker 2 (01:28:23):
Is it Sark? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:28:24):
We have Sark sound from the SEC teleconference from today.
Let's hear from the long Horn's head coach. First of all,
is opening thoughts.

Speaker 13 (01:28:34):
Well, obviously another SEC ball game and for us, you know,
on the road again, you know, So that's kind of
been a little bit of the theme here in the
month of October, just being away from DKR, and so
I think it's important for us to understanding the magnitude
of this game being on the road at night in
the SEC. I guess a very dangerous Kentucky team. A

(01:28:57):
ton of respect for Coach Stoops, his staff, his team,
but this is this is a very important game in
the in the grand scheme of things for our season,
and it's going to take an effort in all three
phases to to try to get the job done.

Speaker 1 (01:29:10):
First thing he was asked was about the announcement came
down yesterday that Jared Gibson, Longhorn's sophomore running back, and
Will Stone, Longhorns kickoff specialists, are both leaving the program.
So Sark was asked who will take the carries with
Gibson departing and who will be doing the kickoffs for

(01:29:32):
the Longhorns.

Speaker 13 (01:29:33):
They wanted a red shirt and transfer and so who
will take that carry those carries is everybody? And so
you know, whether that's Trey, whether that's Christian, whether that's James,
whether that's you know, Cedric when he gets back. So
we've got ample bodies. So what we should be okay
in that in that aspect of it all?

Speaker 3 (01:29:53):
And real quick, who who do you anticipate handling kickoffs?
I know it's been Mason when Will's not available.

Speaker 2 (01:30:00):
Is that going to continue?

Speaker 6 (01:30:01):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (01:30:02):
All right, so there it is, Yeah, Mason Chipley will continue.

Speaker 1 (01:30:05):
To kick off Sarcus and asked what does he consider
to be Kentucky's most dangerous aspects, the things that present
the biggest problems for his team.

Speaker 13 (01:30:16):
Well, I think a couple of things. I think, well
a few. I think the one is their ability to
run the football.

Speaker 6 (01:30:20):
And possess the ball.

Speaker 13 (01:30:22):
And they're big, physical front, got two good runners and
you've got to really fight to to, you know, let
them control the game that way and shrink the game.
And then two they have speed on the perimeter so
if you commit too much of the run game, they
can take their shots on you. I think the second
part of it all is defensively. They're very good defensive

(01:30:43):
front and they do a really good job in the
back end to keep the ball in front of them.
So they're gonna make you earn it, and they force
you to play a clean football game. And so those
two aspects alone can make it dangerous, especially on the road,
if you don't play well early and and handle your business,
and they can start shrinking the game on you.

Speaker 1 (01:31:02):
All right, So now a couple of questions, kind of
mid season evaluative questions. One, what has he learned and
liked most about his team through six ball games?

Speaker 13 (01:31:13):
Well, I think the biggest thing I learned about our
team Saturday, I thought we grew up. I thought we
showed a sense of maturity, you know, coming off of
you know, difficult loss. Our ability to regroup, stay connected,
play as one, play complimentary football, to not play great
in the first half offensively, but show some resolve and
play really well in the second half. But what I

(01:31:35):
like most about our team, as I said, I think
the resolve, the ability to stay connected, because I think
culture wins and you know, I know we have talented
people in our building, but it's our culture that's gonna
allow us to persevere throughout this season.

Speaker 6 (01:31:49):
I thought that showed up Saturday.

Speaker 1 (01:31:51):
Another evaluation question gets into a couple of questions about
the offensive front. He was asked about Cole Hudson's progress
both at center and when he swung over the guard,
and the offensive lines progress through six games.

Speaker 13 (01:32:04):
Yeah, I think the key component here is having the
now six games with that unit, right, because it's never
really about one player, uh, you know, on the offensive line.
And you know, I know we've shuffled a few people around,
and Connor got to start against Sam Houston State, and
now Nick's essentially played two games for us at guard,

(01:32:25):
and and so I think that that that aspect of
it is important. Of we're learning more about the unit
and the continuity and and and the things that they
do well and that those things we can major in
and maybe some things that we know we need them
to improve upon for us to be as complete as
of an offense as we can be. But to have
you know, DJ and Cole of being kind of the

(01:32:47):
maybe the little bit more experienced players. But but I
feel like I'm watching Brandon Baker grow up before our eyes,
you know, from where he was at the beginning of
the season and where he is now. Obviously, Trevor, I
think he's playing better football, and we've seen the growth
and Nick and so it's a fun process, you know.
I think we all would want to, you know, just
play perfect football at the line of scrimmage from the
very beginning.

Speaker 6 (01:33:07):
But but I'm seeing growth.

Speaker 13 (01:33:08):
And again we're not a finished product, but I'm seeing
growth in individual players and the unit as a whole.

Speaker 1 (01:33:15):
Sark mentioned Nick Brooks, who recently has been starting. He
mentioned Trevor Gooseby out at left tackle. He mentioned Brandon
Baker at right tackle.

Speaker 2 (01:33:24):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:33:24):
But of course, the guys who have really been the
leaders of this offensive front, I mean Cole Wadson at
center and DJ Campbell at right guard.

Speaker 13 (01:33:32):
Well, I think just that, you know, it's the experience
they have where you can lean on those guys early
in the season. But I'm seeing now, you know, more
leadership out of Trevor Gooseby. I'm seeing a much more
confident version of Brandon Baker. And like I said Saturday
after the game and on Monday, I think Nick Brooks
is providing us a spark of energy and nastiness and attitude,

(01:33:55):
which which.

Speaker 6 (01:33:55):
Is helpful as well.

Speaker 13 (01:33:56):
So it's all those components together, I think, is what
makes that that unit to kind of what they are
right now.

Speaker 1 (01:34:01):
Onto the defensive side, Anthony Hill just playing lights out
a lot from that linebacker spot and also dropping back
into some pass coverage. He's he's done some of both
of that, and Sarcus has to assess his versatility that
of Hill on the linebacking corps.

Speaker 13 (01:34:16):
I think Anthony's playing really good football for us right now.
You know, we've got a very versatile group of players
and people and what we're trying to get done. You know, again,
we had a little different package going Saturday with Brad
Spence on the field as well, and I think PK
is doing a great job changing things up and giving
people different looks where they can't hone in on us.

Speaker 6 (01:34:37):
I think Anthony's playing really well force right now.

Speaker 1 (01:34:39):
And finally, a couple of things that are away from
the day to day things. First of all, that five
for five issue, it continues to pop up, the proposal
to allow college student athletes to allow them five five
full years. You could play five full seasons instead of

(01:35:00):
the well do you red shirt here? How many games
do you get are you allowed before red shirting? And
Sark was asked about that red shirting process, how it
might make things easier with.

Speaker 2 (01:35:12):
The five for five.

Speaker 13 (01:35:14):
I've been an advocate for five for five.

Speaker 6 (01:35:17):
I've said it all along.

Speaker 13 (01:35:19):
I think it's a terrible position to put these players
in to make these decisions right now. But there's money involved,
there's revenue sharing, there's nil there's different factors, and I
think it's putting agents and family members and student athletes
in a difficult position to make business decisions in the
middle of a season. But that's that's where we're at,

(01:35:41):
and so I'm not really here to complain about it.

Speaker 6 (01:35:43):
That's just the reality of the situation we're in.

Speaker 13 (01:35:45):
And so when a player asked to do that, I
thank him for their for their time, and I wish
them the best of luck. I mean, what else, what
else are we supposed to do it at that juncture?
These are the rules that we've put in place, and
so we've got to operate within the parameters of the rules.

Speaker 1 (01:35:58):
And finally, he was asked for his thoughts on the
potential increase in scholarships. You know, they're at eighty five
and might they go above it after this house settlement.

Speaker 6 (01:36:09):
I think we've discussed it, you know, I don't. I
don't know if we've gotten to a.

Speaker 13 (01:36:12):
Final decision on that, but but I think over time
it could be it could become an issue to where,
you know, as as teams are stacking one hundred and
five scholarship players and we only have eighty five. And
so far, I've had two players essentially opt out that
that that had roles on our team and significant roles
that played. And again I can't I don't know how

(01:36:34):
everybody else is going and how they're doing, but they're
preserving another season. And one happened to be a senior
who hadn't red shirted, so he's trying to preserve a
red shirt year. One is a true sophomore that played
as a true freshman. That's time to preserve three years
of eligibility. And understanding again, I understand all that, but
over time, especially with the length of the season, we're

(01:36:55):
adding a ninth SEC game, which is which is you know,
a brutal on everybody. Not to mention the extension of
the playoffs you sure, we'd like to have more and
more capable bodies to compete at the highest level.

Speaker 1 (01:37:08):
All right, there it is long, warns head coach Steve
Sarkisian his comments from the SEC teleconference. Tomorrow will be
his final visit with the media, final media availability of
the week. That will be tomorrow on the Zoom media
availability that he does largely for the local media, all

(01:37:28):
though some regional national media hop on it as well.
And we'll bring you those comments tomorrow. We'll be back
to wrap up today's edition of the program right here
on sports Radio AM thirteen under the zone of the
iHeartRadio app.

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