The "Opening Day 2025" Edition

Clemson baseball kicks off the 2025 season in Texas.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Each time or Clipson Sports Talk with Lawton Swan.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Finally, Clemson Sports Talk has come back to drive time.
Hell everybody, Lawton Swine back in the saddle once again.
It is the show that shakes the south Land. Clipson
Sports off for you each and every afternoon as you
make your way around the great state of South Carolina

(01:03):
and beyond, listening to us on incredible radio stations like
Fox Sports Radio fourteen under the Midlands, heard around the
world on the iHeart Radio application. Downloaded today, It's free
the website. Put the dot com on it, dog Onet
that's Clemson Sports tal dot com. Opening Day Tiger Baseball
Clemson with a six to five come from behind victory

(01:24):
over Oklahoma State. The Tigers. Nathan Dvorski gets the win,
moves to one to zero on the season. Lucas Masstead
gets the save as the Tigers come back. What a game.
Eric Backache was on the call from back end Clemson

(01:44):
because he was suspended for getting tossed from the Florida
matchup during the NCAA tournament during the Super Regional. Eclempson,
Eric Backage and Jack Leggott couldn't be at the game.
They were back home William qualkin Bush was on the
call along with Bob Mahoney with Backach on the line.

(02:06):
Backicch was watching the game on the stream, and so
he was behind, and so it was really cool because
he was keeping up with the game in real time,
listening to Mahoney and qualkin Bush talk about it while
watching it just a little bit behind the actual play.
And the Tigers come back and win six to five

(02:28):
in a battle of two top twenty teams in college baseball.
Clemson got things going in the bottom of the first
inning excuse me, bottom of the second inning as Dominic
Listi was hit by a pitch Josh Payno Walt pushing
Listy the second the Tigers had two men on. There

(02:49):
was a BaseT of flyout and then Andrew Chuffo singled
to third base, Payno advanced to second, Listy advanced the
third and then Jaron Purify came to the plate and
Purify ended up driving in a run, scoring Listy as

(03:10):
the Tigers took a one to zero lead in the
bottom half of the second inning. But then in the
top of the third it was the Oklahoma State Cowboys
lighting up the scoreboard as they had three runs on
three hits and an era in the inning to put

(03:31):
three runs on the board against Aiden Connock Early. They
would come back in the fourth inning and also score
another run as Lasal for them homered down the left
field line to make it four to one. Clemson would respond, however,
in the bottom half of the fifth inning as second

(03:53):
baseman Jaron Purified doubled to left field. Cam Canerella would
line out for the first out of the inning, and
then Luke Gaffney, the transfer, would walk that left runners
on first and second. Mcclatdy singled in the left field,
gaffney advanced to second base, Purify went to third to

(04:15):
load up the bases. Jarrell came to the plate. Jacob
Jarrel came to the plate and struck out, and with
two outs in the inning, Listy, with the bases loaded, walked,
forcing Purify in to score one run for the Tigers
to make it four to two. And then Pino would
come up to bat next and he was walked and

(04:38):
that walked in another run for Clemson as Gaffney would
score to make it four to three, but set It
would struck out would strikeout to end the inning. But
the Tigers had narrowed it to four to three heading
to the top half of the six Then in the
sixth inning, after feeling Clemson's heat a little bit, the

(04:59):
Cowboys were bonded as Oklahoma State would score to add
on to their lead to then make it five to three.
But Clemson would answer in the bottom half of the
sixth inning as Andrew Chuffo and Purify went down swinging,
and then cam Canerella was hit by a pitch with

(05:20):
two outs. Luke Gaffney comes to the plate, has a
huge hit doubles down the line to left field that
scores a run in cam Canerella, drawing Clemson back within one.
Mcclatdy would ground out to end the inning, but the
Tigers were back in the mix at five to four.

(05:42):
Then in the bottom half of the seventh inning, Clemson's
bats went back to work. Jerrold grounded out to open
the inning. Listy singled the left field and advanced a
second on a fielding error and eventually he made it
the third base then walk, putting runners on the corners.

(06:02):
Payno aggressively steals second, so then Clipson had guys on second, third,
and then Baseeta comes to the plate. Tristan Bassetta grounds
out the short stop. Payno, however, advanced to third on
the play. Liszty scored to then tie the game, and
then with Payno on third base, it was a wild

(06:23):
pitch that allowed Clemson to take the lead six to five,
as Payno scored on an under and run. Trufo would
fly out the in the inning two runs, one hit
in an era and the Tigers take a six '
five lead and they would hold that the remaining two
frames and come away with a come from behind victory

(06:48):
out in the state of Texas. So what a game
without Eric backach? Clemson gets it done. And I during
the during the broadcast, I was listening to it William
Qualkin Bush on the call, as I mentioned, and one
of the things that when Clemson was down for one,

(07:10):
Eric Beckett said, you know what I think. Quarke said, well,
you know, what would you be saying to these guys
right now or what would be the message to the
players right now if you were coaching, And he said,
essentially it would be we got them right where we
want them. We've got them right where we want them.

(07:30):
And so one of the things that I think has
been so good about this baseball team under aeric backache
is the belief that they can come from behind in
these ball games. Clemson finishes with six runs on six

(07:52):
hits in an error, Oklahoma State five runs, seven hits
in one era. T left eight runners on base, Oklahoma
State left four on base. I feel like somewhere in
there I missed an Oklahoma State run. Let me go
back to the scoring chart. I thought there was an

(08:16):
absolute moonshot Orties in the top of the third. I
think it was Ortiz in the top of the third.
But anyway, let me see if Ortiz for them had
a home run. Yeah, yeah, Orties and he was the

(08:40):
last batter that got struck out to end the game.
Because I remember thinking, boy, I hope he doesn't. Hope
he didn't catch a hold of one, because he absolutely
destroyed a pitch earlier. But he didn't, and Clemson did
get a win to open things up. Tomorrow at noon,

(09:01):
they will take on Arizona as the Tigers rally from
a four to one deficit to defeat Oklahoma State. It
was Clemson's first game in an MLB stadium and the
tigers first game ever played in a dome. Again. To

(09:22):
break it down, Clemson score it on Jaron Purify's ground
out in the second inning. Then Aiden nor Tis tied
the game with a two out solo homer in the third.
That's the bomb I was talking about a moment ago.
The Cowboys added two more runs in the third inning
as Donovan Lesal belt to a solo homer. In the
fourth and then the fifth inning, Dominic Listi and Josh

(09:45):
Peno drew bases loaded walks with two outs to pull
Clemson within a four to three lead. In the top
of the sixth inning, it was back to back two
out doubles that scored a run for Oklahoma State. Then
Luke Gaffney laced at time two out run scoring double
in the bottom of the sixth thing to cut the
Cowboys lead to five to four, and in the seventh,

(10:05):
Tristan Besetta's ground out scored the tying run. Then Josh
Pino delivered the go ahead run later on a wild pitch.
The Tigers, who Clemson lists as being ranked number eight,
will play number twelve Arizona tomorrow at noon. You can
watch it on Flow College a little subscription, however, to

(10:27):
be a part of that. As for the Tigers productivity wise,
at the plate. They were led by a bevy of
players with one hit, including Gaffney, mcclatdy, Jerald Listy, Purify,

(10:47):
and Choufo. Two runs were scored in the game by
Listy in two at bats. As for the pitching, Aiden
cannot went four innings, gave up five runs excuse me five,
five hits in four runs, all of those were earned
with seven strikeouts. McGovern pitched two innings, gave up two
hits in one earned run. Davorski comes into the game

(11:11):
and faces three batters and comes away with the victory
after picking up three groundouts. I think I heard during
the broadcast that the first seventeen batters in the ballgame
for Oklahoma State during that frame there were no groundouts,
and then the final six of the final nine batters

(11:33):
in the ballgame grounded out. So Clemson managed to get
the ball on the ground in playable scenarios for that
Tiger defense in the latter stages of the game when
the slowing, when the scoring really slowed down for Oklahoma State.
And then Malstead came in and pitched two innings of action,
had two strikeouts, facing six batters and ends up getting

(11:57):
the save and Clemson wins their zero without Eric Backich,
as it was pretty cool to have him on the call.
That was another funny moment during that broadcast as well,
where William qualkin Bush and Eric Backitch debated or discussed
the possibility of getting thrown out of a game while

(12:17):
being on the radio. Here are Eric Backitch's thoughts after
the game when he was discussing it with William Qualkinbush
about what he saw remotely.

Speaker 3 (12:29):
Very proud of our guys coming out in such a tight,
nail biting type of game. I mean, that's a postseason
game right there against a definite postseason team. But to
play from a deficit, especially a three run deficit, and
chip away and battle back, and then the relievers coming in,
and I thought, there, you know McGovern and Divorski and

(12:52):
obviously Malstat six up, six down. Just the relief pitching
was excellent. And then just the quality at bats when
we needed him, two out RBI walks, you know, Luke
Gafney not only doing it with the RBI double, but
all the picks at first base if any one of
those get by. But just a just a a really
just a well played game.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
Great job to the.

Speaker 3 (13:15):
Coaches coach their butts off and just the players executing
in a nail bier and that's much easier said than done.

Speaker 2 (13:23):
On day one. Again, that was airing back just comments
following the game when talking with William qualkin Bush, he
was also asking about the lineup. I mentioned the fact
that you know, when you kind of look through it,
you saw sporadic numbers in terms of guys with hits,
but guys who maybe didn't have a hit score to run.

(13:44):
And so just throughout the lineup, every player, every player
either had a run, a hit, or an RBI. So
just consistent, consistent offense across the board. No no dominant
player per se. Here's coach Backach on the postgame talking

(14:05):
about that.

Speaker 3 (14:07):
It's a good lineup, and there's you know, there'd be
more guys coming into that lineup as over these next
few weeks too, So finding some stability won't happen anytime soon.
We're gonna keep running different lineups out there. But that
opening day lineup did just enough and was one run
better than a very good Oklaho on the state team.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
So the Tigers win the opener six to five, rallying
and they'll be back at it tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow,
it'll be Clemson Tiger basketball tomorrow at noon as well
as Clemson will travel to Tallahassee, Florida to take on
the Florida State Seminals. We'll talk at length about that

(14:46):
matchup coming up here on the program in a little bit.
But I know everybody around the country excited about college
baseball coming to the forefront, stepping into the spotlight, if
you will, as college baseball is here, and for Clempson

(15:10):
Tiger fans, I think maybe as much as any fan
base in the country the way the season ended a
year ago at home to Florida, facing off against Kevin
O'Sullivan squad, a former assistant coach at Clempson new coach
alongside Eery Backage Clemson, trying to get back to Omaha,
and having this step forward into hosting a super regional

(15:35):
last year after being denied super regionals throughout the tenure
of Monty Lee and Tigertown. You know, I think there
was this excitement about getting back out there, kind of,
like I would say, eerily similar to maybe how the
Clympson Tiger basketball fans felt about the season coming up

(15:56):
after playing in an Elite eight. There's buzz and excitement
and interest, and I kind of talked about this. I
kind of talked about this earlier in the week. You know,
I think Eric Backitch including this moment today where because
he can't coach, and William Qualkinbush sort of alluded to

(16:18):
it here on the program several weeks ago that this
could be happening, that they would work out a way
for those guys to be able to have him on
the broadcast call of the game. So it gave us
a very unique look at the program and Backage's insights
into the game as it's unfolded. And I don't recall

(16:43):
ever really having that opportunity. And quite frankly, I think
for the people that had a chance to listen and
tune into that broadcast, Like I get it, one hundred
percent of the coach has got to be at the
game games. But man, it's not a bad idea unless

(17:06):
it's illegal, right, unless you just can't do it, like
if you're playing just a midweek game. And I'm not
saying it's not a significant game. I'm not saying that
that it's not important, but I would be in favor
of one of those games a year, one game a year,

(17:27):
having the coach sort of take a seat in the
press box instead, let one of the assistants run the
game and really dig in and and give some elite
insight into what's going on in the broadcast. I'm not
suggesting that he does it from the press box or

(17:47):
excuse me, the dugout. I'm suggesting that he does it
from the press box. But I think that would be
a pretty unique opportunity, kind of like what we had today.
And I think anybody that got a chance to listen
to that probably felt somewhat like I did when it

(18:12):
was it was kind of amazing. Although he was behind,
and there was one point in the game I can't remember,
you know, what was what was happening, but there was
a moment in the game where Clemson was kind of
rallying or whatever, and again, backaches behind what he's watching
on that flow college channel. He's trailing behind the broadcasts

(18:37):
in his ear and he can hear that Clympson is
making a rally and qualking them say something along the
line qualking Bob Mahoney say something along the lines of, hey,
let's go down the area, backache and get his thoughts
on it, and back Itch, I think kind of in
his you know baseball guys kind of believing in like
the rally caps and all the kind of superstition stuff.
It's like, no, no, no, you guys are doing great.
Just keep you guys are doing one wonderful Just basically

(19:01):
say hey, let's not let's not come to me. Let's
let this rally continue. And so then they went right
back to Qualk and Bob Mahoney as the Tigers were
in the midst of that come from behind victory, so
down four one to come away with a six or
five victory. I was talking to my dad earlier, and

(19:22):
I was telling him that that Flow College site was
pay and that the best way to listen was to
stream it. And so he jumped on to one through
five to five of the roar and was able to
stream it as well. So I'm glad he got to
listen to that game today. All right, quick break. When
we come back, the Clemson Tiger basketball team prepares to
head to Tallahassee for a noon tip off tomorrow. On

(19:45):
the CW, we'll talk about Brad Brownell's squad, who are
currently sitting in a tie for second place in the
Atlantic Coast Conference with Louisville. When we get back right
here on the show that the shakesa south Land, It's
Clemson Sports talcle Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred Back at
it on a Friday afternoon, the Show that Shakespeare south
LANDE clympses Sports Talk again. Coming up tomorrow, your Clyps

(20:07):
of Tigers on the CW on the road in Tallahassee
taking on the seminoles for Brad brown l It'll be
a matchup against the longest tenured head coach in the league,
Leonard Hamilton, who is leaving at the end of this season. Hamilton,

(20:29):
I think when we look back at his time at
Florida State, and I brought this up earlier in the week,
I think kind of given the tenor of that university
and the expectations of that fan base as a football
program when the majority of us were growing up, you

(20:50):
have to tip your cap and give a lot of
respect to Hamilton for being able to create a program
that became now nationally respected, not to the levels of
the elite blue blood programs in the country, but I
think at one point when they had the Bacon kid,

(21:11):
you know, back in the you know, late twenty eighteens,
early twenty twenties, seven years or so ago, really kind
of got them in that conversation of being like a
top sixteen, consistent type team and to do it at
a university that has had some I mean, you know,

(21:34):
you go back to when they had Charlie Ward and
Bobby Surah. I mean, there were some good years for
sure for Florida State basketball, but there was kind of
a time where the Seminoles and the Tigers would have
been one two in the basement every time you turn around.

(21:54):
And now Clemson obviously with what they've done in the
Brad Brown now the past few years, both of these
traditional bottom feeding in the Atlantic Coast Conference programs certainly
took some strides forward. Now. I think we can all
agree when you evaluate where Florida State is today, whether

(22:18):
or not it's a byproduct of the college you know,
college landscape shifting with nil and the portal, I mean,
it's pretty easy to recognize that they are not a
very good basketball team. And I was talking with a
buddy of mine sort of shifting gears away a little

(22:38):
bit from the Seminoles, but really more towards the masterful
job that Brad brown Ell has managed to do with
the transfer portal at Clemson. Now, this guy is not
a Tiger by any means. He's actually a Kentucky fan
in basketball. And of course he got to see the
Tigers up close and personal with their match up with

(23:00):
the Wildcast this year, and he said to me, you know,
Clempson at twenty five, excuse me, at twenty and five
right now, with three of their losses coming in in
overtime matchups, one of those a triple overtime game. You know,
he said, Look, I'm more than impressed with what we've

(23:21):
seen from Clemson this year. And certainly the worst loss
on the schedule, in my opinion, is still that lost
to South Carolina, even though they play in the SEC.
You know, getting beat ninety one eighty eight and overtime
to the game Cocks is sort of the thing in

(23:42):
the backdrop of the year that you just look at
and go, man, what happened? Yeah, getting beat on the
road at Boise State eighty four seventy one in the
early goings of the season where it was unexpected, but
I think kind of given just the early season, the

(24:04):
early season aspect of it, is a part of that.
And I think the other thing too. I mean this
Boise State team. I think they're like seventeen and seven
right now. It's not like they're awful, they're not seven
and seventeen, But that South Carolina blemish is the one
that sort of lingers. But yeah, they're really close to

(24:27):
having just two losses this year. They're really close to
having just one loss in conference play. And so Clemson
will venture down to Tallahassee for a big matchup against
the Seminoles. Noon tip off on the CW. I told
you yesterday how you could get it if you need it.

(24:48):
If you don't have the CW on your cable provider
or YouTube TV or whatever, you can still go old
school over the air rabbit ears like you did at
your grandparents when you were growing up. That still exists.
It's digital now. It's not gonna come in where it's
fuzzy and staticky. It's either gonna be clear or it's not.

(25:09):
It'll be pixelated if it's not, but it's not gonna
be like the old days. We could barely see through it.
You're either gonna get it or you're not. So that's
how you can watch tomorrow. Now, Florida State does enter
this game riding back to back wins sixty seven sixty
over a Notre Dame, and then they went on the
road to Instant Salem, which is not an easy place
to win, and came away with a seventy two seventy

(25:30):
victory earlier this week. As for you know what, they've
done four consecutive losses prior to that, falling at Stanford,
at Cal against Virginia Tech, and at Boston College. And
then they've got a couple of other losses, lost by
ten to LSU, lost to NC State. I think they're
fifteen to nine maybe right now, let me just double

(25:54):
check that. Fifteen to nine, six and seven in the ACC.
Florida State trying to get to five hundred in league play.
So that's how it all sets up as the Tigers
and the Seminoles prepared to face off tomorrow down in Tallahassee.
You know, the other thing I remember about that venue

(26:15):
down in Tallahassee was years ago, way before I guess
kind of this new era where there's beer being served
at venues all across different conferences. I believe that was
one of the few venues it was an off camp
if I remember that, you correct me, eight three four

(26:36):
five h zero zero eighty six. But it was an
off campus facility that they utilized for Florida State basketball,
and because it was off campus, uh, they were allowed they.
I can remember watching games a long time ago and
there were fans in the stands with a you know,
with a bud light or whatever down in Tallahassee for

(26:58):
those matchups. So that is one of the stranger I
guess things that I recall from mid to late nineties
watching Florida State basketball games because I think they were
one of the only teams maybe in the Atlantic Coast
Conference at that point that had an off campus arena.

(27:20):
Maybe if maybe if Georgia Tech, if they ever played
in the OMNI, you know, maybe they could or something
like that. But yeah, I definitely feel like I remember
Florida State was one. If I'm wrong on that, you
hit me up all right, quick break Stick around for
more of the show. The shakespare South Lay Clemson Sports
Talk opening day for ACC baseball. We talked earlier about
the Clemson Tigers as they opened play today. We can

(27:43):
jump back into that in just a little bit. As
Clemson open play out in Dallas, Texas. And how cool
was it for our good buddy or Arlington, Texas? How
cool was it for our good buddy who comes on
the program on Monday, William Qualkinbush. He's here every to
get an opportunity to call baseball games this entire weekend

(28:07):
from a major league baseball stadium. As a matter of fact,
William kwalkin Bush tweeted out earlier today before first pitch
of Clemson's matchup with Oklahoma State. He tweeted out, call
a big game in a big league ballpark at age
thirty five, wasn't even a dream I thought I was

(28:29):
allowed to have to all the kids with baseball dreams.
Happy Opening Day, but around the country again. Clemson open
with Oklahoma State today, one of the top fifteen teams
in America. But around the ACC today and around the country,

(28:50):
it was opening day in baseball, with all sixteen Atlantic
Coast Conference baseball programs beginning their season with non conference games.
Throughout the conference, seven teams begin the season ranked in
D one Baseball's top twenty five. Virginia, who was projected
to win the ACC by the league's sixteen head coaches,

(29:11):
leads the Conference at number two. The Cavaliers are followed
in the polls by number six North Carolina, number nine,
Florida State number eleven, Duke number thirteen, n C State
number fourteen, Wight Forest in number fifteen Clemson. The ACC
seven teams in the top fifteen are the most of
any conference. ACC newcomers cal and Stamford will each play

(29:35):
four game series to begin the season. Cow host Nevada
for a four game set, while Stamford opens the season
on the road for a four game series against cal
State Fullerton. Louisville and Clemson highlight the league's non conference
action this weekend, as the Cardinals and Tigers will combine
to play five ranked opponents in that Shriners College Shriners

(29:58):
Children's College Showdown, being played at Global Life Park in Arlington,
home of the Texas Rangers. Both Louisville and Clemson will
face off with Oklahoma State and Arizona. Both teams are
ranked in the top twenty five, and Louisville will also
battle number nineteen Texas out there in Arlington, Virginia. They

(30:19):
are in Ponce, Puerto Rico for the opening or to
compete in the Puerto Rico Challenge the Cavaliers will square
off with Michigan, Villanova, and Rice in the opening weekend
down from the Islands. Nine ACC baseball programs cal Duke,
Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State,

(30:40):
Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest will begin their seasons at home,
while Boston College, Notre Dame, and Stanford are on the
road to open things up. And one final little news item.
In addition to Clemson, Louisville and Virginia, pitt will play
neutral site matchups this weekend against against Eastern Michigan in

(31:04):
Port Royal, Florida. So that's a quick look at what
we're looking at from the standpoint of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
And obviously Clemson's matchups this weekend are going to be broadcast.
I mentioned it on the show yesterday with Tim Moray
on flowcollege dot com. But looking more into that today.
To try to watch the game, as probably most of

(31:27):
you did, you were hit with the the monthly and
annual billing plans. The annual plan costs you about nine
dollars a month. And if that were the case, if
you were just gonna be watching, you know, if you
could get it at eight ninety nine to watch the
whole weekend. I think most of you would do it,
but for the monthly plan. It's nineteen ninety nine, so

(31:50):
I'm not sure how many of you decided that it
was worth it you rather listen to Bob Mahoney and
William Qualkinbush perhaps on the call this weekend. I was
honestly a little bit surprised that it was pay But
you know, in this day and age, everybody's trying to
get their content on TV and streamed and it's not

(32:14):
free to do, right. I mean, I talk to you
guys a lot about like running the website and running
the radio show. There's a lot that goes into it,
which is part of the reason that certainly we have
advertisers on the radio, but with the website that we
have some subscription based setup so that if you want
to support us directly, you can do that as well.

(32:37):
But yeah, so a lot of baseball going on, not
just in the ACC we kind of focused on that
out of the gate, but really around the entire country
as college baseball gets going. And yeah, it's Valentine's Day
and it's hard to believe that it's already time to

(32:57):
turn up for college baseball. We talked a little bit
about the encroachment that football now has on the college
basketball season, and with baseball kicking it up today, I mean,
what did that really give college football? Excuse me, college

(33:19):
basketball a three week window, essentially three weeks flying solo
without another what you would label a major sport taking
place on campus. I mean, hey, what do I know?
And I really don't have any reason to believe that

(33:40):
college baseball would start this early. Quite frankly, I think
college baseball, just like we talked about college basketball. I
don't think it would hurt anybody's feelings that both of
those shifted back one month, shift college baseball back to
mid March, shift college basketball back to mid December. Quite frankly,

(34:05):
I think we might all be better for it. But
either way, Yes, a very busy day or a very
busy weekend in the world of college baseball. And it'll
be fun to talk with William qwalkin Bush on Monday
about the experience that he had out in Arlington and

(34:27):
the opportunity to call matchups between Clemson and Oklahoma State,
Clemson and Arizona, and Clemson and Old Miss in the
Shriners' Children's College showdown again, tomorrow's game Saturday at noon,
and Sunday's match up at three thirty between Clemson and
Old Miss. So that's what it all looks like. And

(34:48):
then Clemson will officially open their home slate with a
matchup on Wednesday next week as they will host the
Blue Hose of Presbyterian, who will come into town for
a four four o'clock first pitch there at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
All right, quick break, we'll come back. A bow will
be placed upon our number one when we return. Stick around,

(35:10):
rolling along on a Friday, the show that Chase the
south Land.

Speaker 4 (35:14):
All right.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
So I saw an article that talked about the fact
that the Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly giving Travis Kelcey
a deadline of March fourteenth to announce if he's retiring. Now, look,
we went through the numbers the other day and the

(35:35):
significant drop off that he's had. And then I saw
a video that somebody posted of some of the plays
or lack thereof in the Super Bowl that he made
or didn't make. I guess I should say with Travis Kelcey.

(35:57):
But what I don't understand about it and Travis Kelsey
said after the game that he after the Super Bowl
that he was going to think about it. Takes some
time to figure it out what he was.

Speaker 5 (36:08):
Going to do.

Speaker 2 (36:10):
And I think at some point as a as a player,
you earned that right, You earned that opportunity to make
a decision. And when, in my estimation, you've played your
entire career with one team and you've had the success

(36:38):
that Travis Kelsey's had, I don't understand why there would
be any reason to put any pressure on him to
have some sort of deadline of when he needs to
make his decision. By if he were some journeyman that

(36:58):
had bounced around the league and you felt like he
wasn't fully invested, YadA, YadA, YadA, then yeah, maybe as
a as a franchise, you say, hey, we need to
know what are you doing. Are you moving on, are
you retiring or what? He's been arguably the best tight
end in the NFL for seven eight years maybe more. He,

(37:22):
as I said, absolutely had a drop off. But does
that mean that he can't still be a guy that
contributes even if he's not even if he's not the starter,
and he may not want to be the backup right, Like,
he might not desire to be the backup or the

(37:43):
number two guy tied in, But if you are as
good as he's been and you have a drop off,
it doesn't mean it's over for that matter. Go and
think about like the number of players that we've seen
who maybe Lee I'm not saying he's leaving in his prime,
but he's certainly not leaving on the back end either.

(38:05):
You've seen these guys that leave and then come back
a year or two later after their bodies got a
chance to sort of rejuvenate and refresh itself from being
away from the game for a while. Now, it doesn't
always happen that way. Some guys never come back. Digging
a little deeper, it looks like this might be a
financial move by the Kansas City Chiefs, and that even

(38:27):
still because of how good he's been, feels kind of
lucky to me. Travis Kelce's contract, which runs through next season,
includes an eleven point five million dollars roster bonus that
is due on March fifteenth, so if he were to
retire before then, they can obviously save themselves eleven point
five million dollars and the NFL's free agency period begins

(38:49):
on March tenth, which means they would have more money. Now,
the idea about that where I can kind of see
from their standpoint, And if you are a team player
like Travis kelce then I would think that you would say, hey,
I want to get this decision made for you so

(39:10):
that you've got this extra money that you would have available.
So that might be kind of the I think maybe
the wording on it. Multiple people, however, within the Chiefs organization,
according to Sports Illustrated, believe that Travis Kelcey will choose

(39:30):
to retire, and if he is choosing to retire, they
just want him to do it before they pay him
eleven point seven million dollars. And I would imagine if
you are the team player, like I said that he
believed that you know that you would believe that he is,
then that's what he would do. He would not just

(39:51):
stick around to make the eleven point seven million and
then hang it up the next day, although hypothetically he could.
You're kind of aget to look like the guy in
a situation where you've always been really a fan favorite
and a guy that's been all in with the Chiefs. Now,
what would I do? I would play another year again.

(40:14):
I don't know what his body feels like. But if
you've got a kicker of eleven point seven million coming
to you, if you're still part of the team, then
I play. And even if I'm a backup, you know,
I benefit from that eleven point seven million that's coming
in and see if we can put together an incredible run.

(40:37):
It's gonna take a lot to get back. Obviously you
saw defensively, Philadelphia just dominated the line of scrimmage, and
the Kansas City Chiefs have to get better up front
on offense. I think they're more than creative. I think
obviously they weren't able to do a whole lot in

(40:59):
that game. Becall, they got down and almost had to
abandon any semblance of a run game. But I think
that for Travis Kelcey, you don't have to work. You
don't need the eleven point seven I think we all
recognize that fact. But if that's the dangling carrot that's

(41:23):
out in front of you, I don't think you just
wait past March fourteenth, one month from today, to get
the money and then leave. If you want the money,
if you think it's worth it, then you stick it
out and you play the season and you get that

(41:43):
eleven point seven million, that extra cash. But no matter
how much I personally, and again I've never been in
that situation. But no matter how much I've given to
a program or a franchise, I don't believe that I
could just step away with eleven point seven million dollars

(42:08):
if I didn't finish up my contract. And you know
what I mean, like, if I didn't play that next year,
I would feel wrong about that. That's me personally. Maybe
that's not Travis Kelcey. I guess we'll find out, all right,
Our number two right around the bin. Stay with us.

Speaker 1 (42:26):
It's time for Clipson Sports Talk with Luwton Swan.

Speaker 2 (43:07):
It is our number two. That's Drivetime Rider on the show.
The Shakespare south Land Clemson Sports Talton swanning out with
you on a Friday again. The Clypson Tiger baseball team
opening play today where they come from behind six '
five victory. If you are just joining us, the Tigers

(43:28):
were down four to one early in their first ever
match played in a dome, playing out at the stadium
where the Texas Rangers play Clemson, where they come from
behind victory rallying to win six to five in the
Shriners Children's College showdown at Globe Life Field. Not only

(43:52):
was a Clemson's first game in a dome, it was
also Clemson Baseball's first game in a Major League Baseball stadium.
Eric Backage not in attendance because of his suspension. Also
former Clemson Tiger head coach Jack Leggott not in attendance
because he too was suspended. But Eric Backitch, because he

(44:15):
was at home, got a chance to be on the
call with William Qualkinbush and Bob Mahoney. He was a
little bit behind. He couldn't see the game live. He's
watching it at home. I mentioned that now were number one,
and so there were some really cool exchanges between those
guys where they were talking about whatever the situation was,

(44:36):
or you know, kind of asking matter of fact. When
it was down for one. I mentioned this earlier. Backache
was asked about what's the message to the team at
that point, and he said something along the lines of
we got him right where we want him. You know,
that's got to be the attitude. We got him right
where we want him. The Tigers did score first on
Jaron Purify's ground out in the second inning. Then Avery

(44:58):
Ortiz tied the game with a two out solo homer
in the third, and it was a moonshot after the
Cowboys added two more runs in the third inning. Donathan
Lesal belted a solo homer in the fourth inning, and
in the fifth, Dominic Listy and Josh pna drew bases,
loaded walks with two outs to take a four to

(45:21):
one deficit and narrow it down to four to three.
Then in the top of the sixth inning, Oklahoma State
answered Clemson's response with back to back two out doubles
that scored a run to expand their lead to five
to four. It'scun be five to three. Then Luke Gaffney

(45:44):
had a two out run scoring double in the bottom
of the sixth inning that trim the Cowboy lead to
five to four, and in the seventh inning, Tristan Bassetta's
ground out scored the tying run and Josh Pyno scored
the go ahead run later in the inning on a
wild pitch to give Clemson a six to five lead.

(46:05):
Nathan Devorski pitched a perfect seventh inning to earn the win,
garnering three groundouts, and then Lucas Malstead came in and
pitched two innings to get the save. The Tigers will
face Arizona tomorrow at noon. That game again will be
on Flow College, and I'm not sure if there will

(46:27):
be audio of that game available because the Clemson basketball
game will be taking place at the same time.

Speaker 4 (46:36):
Now.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
Eric Backatch, as I mentioned, was not at the game.
Here are his comments following the contest earlier today.

Speaker 3 (46:45):
Very proud of our guys coming out in such a tight,
nail biting type of game. I mean, that's a postseason
game right there, against a definite postseason team. But to
play from a deficit, especially a three run deficit, and
chip away and battle back, and then the relievers coming
in and I thought, there, you know McGovern and Dvorski

(47:07):
and obviously malstat six up, six down. Uh, just the
relief pitching was excellent. And then just the quality at
bats when we needed them to out RBI walks, you know,
Luke Gaffney not only doing it with the RBI double,
but all the picks at first base if any one
of those get by. But just a just a a
really just a well played game. Great job to the coaches,

(47:31):
coach their butts off and just the players executing in
a in a nail bier, and that's much easier said
than done.

Speaker 2 (47:38):
On day one, Eric Backage was also asked about by
William Walkin Bush about the balance of the lineup. There
was no real dominant player. Uh, the entire lineup was
sort of peppered with one hit. You know, here's a
run scored, et cetera. Here's Backach talking about the balance
of his roster.

Speaker 3 (47:57):
It's a it's a good lineup, and there's you know,
there'd be more guys coming into that lineup as over
these next few weeks too, So finding some stability won't
happen anytime soon. We're gonna keep running different lineups out there.
But that opening day lineup did just enough and was
one run better than a very good Oklahoma State team.

Speaker 2 (48:16):
So the Tigers win the opener six to five, and
when they're down four to one, I think there was
probably some angst amongst the Tiger faithful that this Clemson
Tiger baseball team was not going to have a good
start to the year kind of take a step in
the right direction. But they've got moxie. That was clear

(48:40):
a year ago. That obviously showed up today and Clemson
gets the job. Say it with me now, Dne the
job done with a six to five victory and not settled.
They have not settled yet. They got more base ball
to come this weekend, more top tier baseball to come

(49:03):
this weekend, and we'll have it covered for you over
on the website Clemson Sports talk dot com. But a
good afternoon for the Tigers.

Speaker 5 (49:14):
Now.

Speaker 2 (49:14):
We talked earlier this week about Tiger Chuck's roster Tiger
Chuck's deep dive into Clemson baseball. If you did not
see it or read it, it is on the website
clemsonsports tal dot com. So how did Tiger Chuck do

(49:36):
with the starting lineup? What he projected it would look
like compared to what it actually looked like. Well, we'll start.
He did mention Aiden Cannock he felt like would be
the starter and connot was. It was the first name
on the list, and Cannock checked in as the starting

(49:58):
pitcher in Game one, although he he had some ify moments,
I would say in that respect. At ketcher projected according
to Tiger Chuck, Jacob Jarrell at ketcher for Clemson to day.
Jacob Jarrell at first base projected Luke Gaffney playing first base,

(50:20):
wearing number sixteen for your Tigers, Luke Gaffney. Tiger Chuck
also projected Jared Purify to play second base, starting at
second base for your Tigers, wearing number twenty three, Jaron
Purify at third base. The projection from Tiger Chuck would
be Andrew Chuffo. Third base ended up going to Josh Pino.

(50:45):
Now note this in his notes, he said, Tiger Chuck
said Andrew Chuffo or Josh Pino because he felt the
other guy would play shortstop. And that's what happened. That
got the flip flop action on third base and shortstop

(51:08):
with Chufo and Paino from what Tiger Chuck, our loyal
listener and baseball expert projected. But in both of those notes,
the ore was the other guy, and so that was
the only thing that he missed. Through the infield, we
moved to the outfield, where he projected that the left

(51:31):
fielder would be Dominic Listi, and playing in left field
for your Tigers was indeed number six Donovan Listy. Then
in center field he projected, you know it, cam Canerella,
and of course cam can and so can Tiger Chuck
nailed cam Canerella and then in right field, Tiger Chuck

(51:55):
projected that it would be Tristan Bassetta playing right field
for Clemson today was number four, Tristan mcclatty almost almost
Tristan mcclatty in right field. Bassetta ended up being the DH.
Tiger Chuck had projected Colin Priest to be the DH

(52:16):
for Clemson's opening lineup. So if you don't buy in
to Tiger Chuck's projections that I talk about, and you'd
never read them before, how about nailing all but three
of the spots in Clemson's lineup? And truthfully, if we're
gonna give Tiger Chuck the credit, and I am for

(52:37):
the or statements there, how about him nailing every spot
on the roster except for the d H spot and
the right fielder. So I guess technically four technically technically
for Tiger Chuck, But I mean what we talked about,
man a little flip flop on the or action, and

(53:00):
you nailed it, and you had Bassetta in there anyway,
So the Tigers win six ' five and those of
you that red Tiger Chuck's incredible Clemson baseball preseason breakdown
you knew a lot about this team heading into today's game.

(53:22):
That's for sure. You knew a lot about this team
heading into the matchup. As Clemson comes away with the victory,
and we'll see if they can continue that hot start
to the season tomorrow as they get going at noon. Now,
switching gears to college football for a minute here, Pro

(53:44):
Football Focus put out a list of their top ten
returning quarterbacks entering the twenty twenty five college football season.
Kevin Jennings from SMU out of the Atlantic Coast Conference
checked in at number ten on that list. And what's

(54:06):
interesting about Kevin Jennings, you might recall, is that Preston
Stone was the projected starter and was the starting quarterback
at the beginning of the season for the Mustangs. We
interviewed Preston Stone as a matter of fact at the
ACC kickoff. Well, Kevin Jennings has now positioned himself to
be considered Pro Football Focus or one of Pro football

(54:29):
focuses top ten quarterbacks heading into the season. At number nine,
Nico Amaliviava from Tennessee checks in on the list. I'll
be honest, based off of the expectations for Nico a
year ago to see him at number nine this year
to me says he didn't progress the way people thought

(54:52):
he would have progressed. And even though Tennessee was in
the College Football Playoff and we know that were obliterated
by Ohio State, one would project that if Nico had
played to the standard that people thought elite quarterbacks played
at throughout the season a year ago as a former

(55:14):
five star recruit, then he would have been higher on
this list today. Now, can he grow into that top
five quarterback next season? He certainly could, and I don't
mean heading into next season, but at the end, right anyway,
I was a little bit surprised to see him down there.
Diego Pavia now since at number eight according to Pro

(55:37):
Football Focus, the quarterback at Vanderbilt who was incredibly gritty
and gutty, a playmaker throughout the season, a guy who
kept hope alive in games where maybe in the past
teams would have teams, you know, Vanderbilt teams might have faltered. Instead,

(56:03):
with Pavia, they flourished in those moments where they would
have faltered in the past. And he's earned himself into
the number eight spot according to Pro Football Focus. At
number seven, kind of like the Nico conversation DJ Lagway,
I think played himself up. DJ Lagway at number seven

(56:25):
down at Florida, the true freshman a year ago, show
why he was considered the top quarterback in the twenty
twenty four cycle, leading the power for within eight point
eight percent in what they label as big time throw rates.
He had a ninety five point six Pro Football Focus

(56:45):
passing grade on deep throws, placing him third best in
college football. I think you also saw his elite playmaking ability,
good footwork, just you know, command, I think was the
other thing he feels. He feels a lot like Deshaun
Watson to me when Deshaun Watson was in college, watching

(57:08):
him at number six, Arch Manning again, minuscule, minuscule numbers, right,
but big potential in front of him, and Manning at
number six by Pro Football Focus could very easily elevate

(57:31):
his game and move into like one of the top
three spots. Or maybe he doesn't perform as well as
expected in his first year as a starting quarterback. And
you know, I think if we talk about name, image
and likeness, and we talk about who he is in
that sense, not financially but just being a Manning, then certainly,

(57:56):
there are high expectations that he will achieve a great
deal of success this year at Texas, But will he
be better than number six or worse? At this point,
I would be hesitant outside of the skill position players
that they will surround him with and Steve Sarkejan to

(58:16):
just jump all in and say, Yep, no doubt he's
going to finish higher than sixth, no doubt. I don't
know that for certain. I gotta see it play out
on the field. At number five, he'll be in Death
Valley to open the season, not Kate Clubneck Garrett Nussmeyer.

(58:36):
Kate Clubnit will be in Death Valley, but Nussmeyer from
LSU checks in at number five. He had some really good,
really good games this past season for LSU. I would
imagine this year though, going into Game one, one of
the hot topics will be the future on the Bayou
for Brian Kelly. When you make a move from a

(58:58):
school like notre where you've had some success and you've
kind of entrenched yourself, and then you jump down to
LSU and you don't rack up substantial numbers and you're
not winning the SEC, you quickly walk into a Hornets
Nesta fans that aren't going to be very patient, and

(59:20):
I think that's probably where LSU faithful are right now
with Brian Kelly, and rightfully so. At number four, Drew
Aller from Penn State checks in on the list. Of course,
the Penn State and Nitney Lyons in the final four
of the College Football Playoff. They certainly had an incredible year.

(59:42):
He's a veteran, he's a heady player, but unlike Texas
and Ohio State and other programs, I question the skill
position talent around him, and I also have concerns in
some respects about a player who a player who has

(01:00:06):
the weather type conditions that Penn State will deal with
being another part of his story when it comes down
to how his season plays out, because not everybody you know,
if you're playing in Auburn, Alabama or Austin, Texas, you're

(01:00:27):
probably not dealing with some of the conditions that you're
going to deal with at Penn State. At number three,
Carson Beck, the former Georgia quarterback now going to be
at Miami. He entered twenty twenty four as Pro Football
Focuss top quarterback in college football. Pro Football Focus says
Beck disappointed in Georgia before transferring to replace cam Ward

(01:00:51):
at number two on that list, Sam Levitt at Arizona State,
they said. After spending a season at Michigan State, Levitt
transferred to Arizon the State and helped the Sun Devils
go from back to back three to nine seasons to
winning the Big Twelve and making the College Football Playoff.
We'll see if he can do the job with Skataboo

(01:01:12):
cam Skataboo going to the NFL. If Sam Levitt can
keep up the hot play for Arizona State and then
the number one quarterback according to Pro Football Focus in
college football Clemson's k Clubnick, they said, quote, there may
not have been a more improved quarterback in college football
this past season than club Nick. After placing one hundred

(01:01:32):
and second among FBS signal callers in twenty twenty three
with a sixty three point nine Pro Football Focus passing grade,
he ranked fifth in twenty twenty four with an eighty
seven point seven mark. Only cam Ward and Shador Sanders
threw more touchdowns than Klubnick, who threw thirty six, and
those who are projected as top five picks in the
twenty twenty five NFL Draft they say. Clubnick also ranked

(01:01:55):
fifth in Big Time throws with twenty eight the top
quarterback recruiting in the twenty twenty two class, is finally
starting to live up to the hype and has the
potential to take a low to Clemson roster to the
promised Land as a senior. So Ki clubbed it, according
to Pro Football Focus, the number one quarterback prospect in

(01:02:18):
the twenty twenty five class. There you go, quick break.
We'll come back with more on a Friday. Rolling along
on a Friday again, Clemson six to five comfort behind
victory to open the season. In baseball. Earlier in the week, though,
we caught up with Brett Friedlander. We're gonna jump into
just a little bit of that conversation because brett'spin spectacular.

(01:02:39):
He's covered the acc for so many years. But you know,
if you are headed up to Tiger Town in any
anytime soon, make sure you do stop. Buy our good
friends over to Alumni Hall on the corner of campus
on College Avenue and downtown Clemson. Bring your best on
game day. Hop over to Alumni Hall for the best
tail getting accessories, hats, apparel, jerseys, items by Yetti and more.

(01:03:03):
Shop for the best and newest collection of officially licensed
Clemson gear to cheer your Tigers on in style. Go
check them out Alumni Hall, the best Clemson Tiger shopping
experience around. All Right, we'll step into a portion of
our interview that we did the other day. It's been
a goodlin Head. A couple of people text me that
they really like the new segment with Brett Friedlander. I

(01:03:24):
can't call it a new segment with Brett Friedlander because
we're not happening on every week, but it has been
good catching up with a guy who gives us a
little different perspective as he lives up in the research
triangle up in Carrie, North Carolina, covering the acc Brett
my Man, welcome in Hope. You're having a great week.

Speaker 6 (01:03:42):
I am.

Speaker 4 (01:03:42):
I was actually down on the upstate this weekend for
the Clemson Duke game and enjoyed myself a lot.

Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
Well, I tell you, probably not as much as some
of those Clemson fans enjoyed it, because it's so rare
for Clemson, whether they're at home, whether they're in the
Research triangle, to get a victory over Duke, let alone,
to pull off the feet to knock off North Carolina
just a couple of days later. But for that game
between Clemson and the number two team in the country.
You know, I think this time of year, teams want

(01:04:10):
to know how do we stack up?

Speaker 4 (01:04:12):
Right?

Speaker 2 (01:04:12):
And Clempson had a big game earlier this season against Kentucky,
they felt good about it. You look at the Wildcats,
I think they're five and five in the SEC, but
they're still a top fifteen team in the country. I
thought this was a huge game for Clemson because you're
closing in on March and you just kind of measured
yourself against one of the best teams in the country
and you came out on top.

Speaker 4 (01:04:29):
Yeah, and think about this. The five losses that Clemson
has this season, three of them are in overtime, So
they could conceivably be what twenty three and two right now,
and if that were the case, they'd be up there
in the top five as well. This team is for real.
They've got every element that you want to have in March.

(01:04:50):
They've got experience, they've got a quality point guard in
Chase Hunter. And my goodness, Victor Lockin is is to
me the surprise of the of the ACC I mean,
I knew he was a decent player at Cincinnati, but
he's a game changer at Clemson, and he has really
upped his game over the last couple of weeks, and

(01:05:12):
the threat that he gives them, not only inside but
with his three point shooting is something that is going
to be a matchup nightmare for just about everybody they
play come March.

Speaker 2 (01:05:22):
Yeah. I think the other thing too, Right, like they
lost in triple overtime to Georgia Tech and Lock and
got in foul trouble and played fifteen minutes. It almost
feels like looking back at the back to back twenty
two point performances against Duke and North Carolina and really
the way he played that a wake up call might
have been in order to some degree, and I'm not
saying that he got a little lase fair, but he

(01:05:46):
is sort of a unique bird in a sense where
you know, I know he's invested. I know he wants
to win. The coaches talk about how he you know,
will make suggestions about plays and things they should run.
But I think sometimes players just need kind of a reset,
and I think that performance or lack there up against
Georgia Tech was probably just what the doctor ordered.

Speaker 4 (01:06:07):
I think it was a reset and an eye opener
for the entire team because I think that they got
caught in the classic trap game situation. And I think
it was a real lesson on Monday against North Carolina
because you know, you beat Duke, they stormed the floor.
Dicky v is there. I mean, it was a recipe
for a hangover. But I think that they learned that

(01:06:29):
lesson that if you don't show up from bring your
a game every night, and it doesn't matter who you play,
you can get beat. And I think that the way
they came out just steamrolled the targeles I thought was
was was a product of the lesson that they learned
against Georgia Tech. And again that's something that you see,
you can't teach and you hate losses, but in the big,

(01:06:50):
you know, the big picture, maybe that loss to Georgia
Tech is the springboard that really, you know, catapults them
to something special.

Speaker 2 (01:06:58):
He is on Twitter at b fried acc Brett Friedlander.
Saturday down South dot com is the website Brett. I
looked at Duke's schedule, I looked at Clemson's schedule. I
honestly think both teams have a legitimate chance to maybe
run the table. Which would mean Clemson would be on
the outside, possibly even if Louisville runs the table as well,

(01:07:18):
a situation where Clemson could finish third in the ACC.
But when you look at it, I mean, is there
a chance in your mind that Duke could stumble, thus
setting up Clemson for a chance to maybe be in
the top spot in the ACC.

Speaker 4 (01:07:32):
Yeah, if you look at their schedule, I think that
it is extremely unlikely. The toughest game that they have
left is a Chapel Hill, and you just saw the
Tar Hills and they you know, and Duke was up
thirty two on the Tar Hills with nine minutes to go.
They ended up taking their foot off the gas and
only won by seventeen. But I think Duke is The

(01:07:53):
last chance Duke has of losing a game in the
regular season is on the twenty second when they go
to Madison Square Garden and play Illinois. But listen, finishing second,
finishing third in the ACC, it doesn't matter. As long
as you're in the top four and get that double
by in the ACC tournament, you're golden. And actually second
and third makes no difference other than the color of

(01:08:14):
the uniform. You're gonna be wearing when you play in
the semi final, because being second and third means you
don't have to play duke again until the championship.

Speaker 2 (01:08:24):
That's a good point. So talking about the conference right now,
you know, in football, one of the big storylines Brett
was certainly SMU and they're run to the ACC championship game.
I don't know that people are talking enough about them,
you know, just kind of regionally, but here they are
sitting tied for what fourth place in the league with

(01:08:45):
Wake Forest. They're ten and three. I mean, what a
remarkable job SMU's done to come into the conference, I
feel like, and really compete in the top two men's
sports very early.

Speaker 4 (01:08:56):
Yeah, and they're nineteen and five. Overall, this is a
team that I think isn't even on the bubble. I
think they're an NCAA team and they're really flying under
the radar. It's crazy. The key to this, there are
two keys to this. First of all, Andy Enfield their
new coach first year, It came from Southern cal Uh.

(01:09:16):
He is really injected that that team with a with
an excitement and really they play a very fast paced style.
They leave the ACC and scoring and you know he's
the guy. Remember Dunk City with Florida Gulf Coast, the
team that got to the to the Sweet sixteen they
beat Georgetown. Well, he was the coach of that team,
and I think he's kind of brought some of that

(01:09:37):
that that juice two s MU. The other thing is
Boopy Miller. Their point guard was point guard for wake
Forest last year and and he has really up his game,
and I just it's a fun team to watch.

Speaker 2 (01:09:51):
A fun team to watch. Indeed, that was some of
our time with Brett Friedlander earlier this week, Quick Braat,
We'll come back with more on a Friday. Stay with
us Lowton Swan Clemson Sports Talk rolling along with you
on a Friday, Tiger fans, don't forget about our friends.
Over to Alumni Hall on the corner of Campus on
College Avenue of downtown Clemson this year ultimate Clemson Tiger

(01:10:14):
Shopping Experience. Upgrade your tailgate gear, shop for officially licensed
Clemson clothing for the family, or load up on hats, gifts,
and accessories. When you spend one hundred and fifty dollars
in store, remember you'll get ten dollars in Alumni Hall rewards.
Use them, then roll them over Clemson students faculty in
all military received tempersent off when shopping in store at

(01:10:36):
Alumni Hall. Go shop at Alumni Hall on the corner
of campus on College Avenue of downtown Clympson or online
at Alumni Hall dot com. It's Alumni Hall where Tiger
fans shopping. With the Tiger baseball season getting going today,
Hey check out some of their great Clemson baseball hats
and Alumni Hall. All right, So I mentioned about the

(01:10:58):
Clemson softball team yesterday that I really felt like, I
really felt like the the zest and the zeal and
the success and everything that you saw during the first
few seasons of the program's history with Valerie Kagele being

(01:11:20):
a part of it, were gonna be tough to duplicate.
And yesterday, down in clear Order, Florida, the Tiger softball
team fell to three and four after losing to two
sets of Tigers from the SEC, following the number sixteen
Missouri ten to six in game one and then falling

(01:11:42):
to Auburn six to three in game two. The Tigers
were facing off with Kentucky earlier that game was two
to two. The last time I checked in on it,
I didn't see the final result yet. I'll see if
I can give that to you before the end of
the show. But anyway, you know, I do. I just
feel like you look at this team right now and

(01:12:04):
you've kind of lost some of the continuity that you had.
I loved the coaching staff, for sure. I know that
John Ripman's one of the best coaches in college softball.
But you know, I think over the next few weeks
it's really gonna be kind of a determining factor of

(01:12:25):
whether or not this softball team is gonna look anything
like what we've become a little bit accustomed to seeing
from these squads. So I know there are a lot
of Tiger fans out there that absolutely love the sport.
It's been a fast growing sport. I love the pace

(01:12:45):
of the sport. I mean two hours basically to knock
out a game, the fact that you could play a
couple of double headers pretty easily by comparison to baseball.
I mean, it's a really fun sport, and it's a
sport where I think, because everybody got a taste, you
want to see this team do really well. But safe
to say it's been a slower start than expected. I

(01:13:11):
think for the Clemson Tiger softball team. You knew there
would be an adjustment without Valerie Cagele, but at this point,
and it's early yet, it does seem like it's been
quite a drop off. Speaking of a drop off, think
about the trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the
Dallas Mavericks and the fact that Anthony Davis played basically

(01:13:34):
three quarters of one game before being injured and out
for a couple of weeks with an abductor strain non
contact injury with the Mavericks. I saw some guys talking
about this on social media and one of the questions
that they brought up was what would a college football equivalent?

(01:13:56):
What would be the college football equivalent of a Luca trade?
B Like, what would that look like? And here's what
they said, what is.

Speaker 7 (01:14:06):
A college football equivalent of the Luca trade?

Speaker 6 (01:14:09):
The best example that I have would pretty much be
like if Texas traded Arch Manning for Cam Rising. When
he's on, when he's healthy, he can play absolutely lights out,
he can spend the football, he can get it around,
just like Anthony Davis. But with both of those guys,
they just have been riddled with injuries throughout their career.

Speaker 7 (01:14:27):
My thought was similar. It's if Ohio State traded Jeremiah
Smith for Carson Beck, and I went with Carson Beck
because Anthony Davis is still a pretty good player when
he's healthy. Carson Beck stepped back this past season and
then he got hurt. We'll see how he is at Miami.

Speaker 2 (01:14:41):
So I thought the first take was almost perfect. It's
like and it also involved the State of Texas. It's
like taking Arch Manning who has all this, and I
would make I will say this Arch has done less
at this point in his career than Luca. But it's like,
I like taking a player of that magnitude and trading

(01:15:03):
him for a guy that is a known health issue.
I liked Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers. I
liked him being paired with Lebron James. But I would
be lying to you if I said that it wasn't
frequently that I was looking at at almost say Clemson,
looking at the Lakers roster and going, man, why is

(01:15:25):
Anthony Davis not playing today?

Speaker 5 (01:15:29):
And so.

Speaker 2 (01:15:32):
I think that comparison is good. And I think that
anytime you take a flyer on an often injured player
and he gets hurt in the first game that you
traded for him. You didn't read the tea leaves. And
for Maverick fans who are already incredibly frustrated with losing Luca,

(01:15:58):
it only got magnet by the fact that all of
a sudden the guy you brought in was out. In
his numbers in that game were incredible, Like it really
looked like what I'll be honest, here's the way it
kind of shaped up. It was shaping up to be

(01:16:21):
a story where you said, well, Anthony Davis, his rear
ends caught on fire because of the fact that he
got traded and now he's gonna be this unstoppable force
in Dallas. And I'm sure fans through that first half

(01:16:42):
of play were just stunned at how good he looked.
Even without playing in the fourth quarter, he still had
twenty six point sixteen rebounds, seven assistant, three blocks, a
huge pickup for the Mavericks. But now he's out, and

(01:17:03):
that confirms and signifies the worst fears that Maverick fans
had about making this trade to deal a young guy
for an aging guy that is hurt quite a bit.
And Stephen A. Smith even went as far as to

(01:17:24):
say he believes that Anthony Davis's quote, probably done for
the year after three quarters of action with Dallas. That's
insanity if that holds true. Final segment next, what have.

Speaker 5 (01:17:37):
You done for me lately? It's a fair question. Just
don't lose sight of the bigger picture, don't forget history.
Lucky for us at Clemson, the answer to the questions
what have you done for me lately?

Speaker 3 (01:17:55):
And what have you done?

Speaker 5 (01:17:56):
Always are the same. We win.

Speaker 2 (01:18:49):
Final segment on a Friday, college baseball Opening day, College
baseball tomorrow for Clemson you'll get going at noon against
Arizona and then on Sunday at three thirty against Old Miss.
I think the best way to check that out right
now is to listen to one oh five to five
the Roar on my Amazon Echo. Because I didn't want

(01:19:10):
to pay to watch those games. Like I said, if
it had been nine bucks for a month, maybe twenty
bucks for the month. Yeah, I'm good, I'm good. Anyhow,
we talked about the kind of the difference. I guess
you'd say that the different type program might be the

(01:19:31):
better word. That Dabosweeney likes to run well Clemson. The
academic All acc academic selections were announced earlier today and
the Clempson Tiger football team set a record. With the
All acc Academic team being announced, Clemson football had thirty

(01:19:57):
one players on the All ac See Academic team, trailing
only Wake Forest who had thirty five in Stanford who
had thirty eight. But again for the Tigers and Dabo Sweeney,
as good as they've been over the years, a program record.
Keith Adams Junior, Khalil Barnes, Jake Brenningstool, Nathan Brooks, Sammy Brown,

(01:20:22):
demonte K Part Barrett, Carter, Holding Casperson, d Crayton, kay Denhoff, Hampton, Earl,
Philip Lorenzo. Excuse me, Philip, that's a tough that's a
tough name to say. That's a that's a tongue twister.
Philip Florenzo, Stepiland Green, Ashton, Hampton Roadan Hannafin, Trent Howard,

(01:20:45):
Ricardo Jones, Ka Klubnick, phil MafA, TJ. Moore, Walker, Parks, Olsen,
pat Henry Banks, Pope, Austin Randall, Harris Sewell, Aiden Swanson,
Clay Sweeney, Christopher Azina, Bryant Westcoat Junior, Antonio Williams, and
Wade Wood ass And what I think is notable is

(01:21:08):
those are players. Those are players. That's just not a
bunch of names that you you don't know. For the
All ACC Academic Teams selection from Clemson, a couple of
those guys are A couple of those guys are our
multi time selections Jake Brenningstool, Demonte K part Barrett Carter,

(01:21:35):
Holden Casperson, Hampton, Earl, Ronan, Hannefin Phillip Flrenzo, k Clebnickfield,
Matha Walker, Parks Banks, Pope, Aiden Swanson, Clay Swingey and
Antonio Williams and Wade wood Ass have all been on
the All ACC Academic team before. But thirty one players

(01:21:56):
from Dablos Sweeney's program select as All ACC academic performers
in the classroom, and that is one of the things.
And look, I do have to say behind Clemson was
Florida State at thirty and so we're happily critical of

(01:22:19):
the seminoles when it comes down to some of the
situations that they've dealt with. But if you're also going
to champion academics at one school, then you have to
also put the banner up when somebody else does a
good job. And Florida State had thirty guys on that list,
and I must pump my brakes a little bit because
I missed this. Duke had forty. The way it was

(01:22:40):
set up, the way the email was set up, Duke
did not have their forty in parentheses like Stanford, Wait Forest,
Clemson in Florida State. So I apologize to the Duke
fans who are wondering how in the world you guys
fell behind lowly academic institutions like Clemson in Florida State.
I apologize. Nope, You're on top. You had forty players

(01:23:00):
selected as All acc academic players. That's my bad, everybody. Again,
don't forget tomorrow the Clemson Tiger basketball team. At noon,
they are on the road in Tallahassee to face the
Florida State Seminoles as Clemson continues to try to maintain

(01:23:22):
their standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is currently
sitting there tied for number two. Clempson would currently be
the number three seed in the AEC Tournament because of
a head to head loss to Louisville, but either way,
a big weekend of college of basketball coming up, and
for Clemson, the twenty third ranked team of the country,

(01:23:44):
they get it going down at the Tucker Center in Tallahassee.
Clemson favored by four and a half over the Seminoles.
That is a noon tip off on the Seed w
and then also at noon tomorrow, if you're keeping up
with the Clemson Tiger baseball team, they will face Arizona
in Arlington, Texas to continue their play at the Shriners

(01:24:05):
Children's College Showdown. That is also a noon start. So
what a weekend it was last week It started with
Clemson beating Duke on Saturday, and then earlier this week
on Monday, the Tigers stop in North Carolina to go
back to back against the Atlantic Coast Conference blue bloods
in college basketball and put themselves in position in position

(01:24:29):
if they get a little luck, they hold that tiebreaker
over the Blue Devils, and it would certainly be a
monumental opportunity for Clemson to find a way to win
the Atlantic Coas Conference in the regular season. But they
need some help, all right. Anyway, We'll see how it
goes this weekend. We'll be back on Monday. Until then,
As always, y'all take care now and go Tigers.