12-16-25 - Mo Egger with Rich Neumann

Rich Neumann joins Mo to talk about the 4th annual Holiday Hardwood Classic, which is happening the the Cintas Center December 27th and 28th.

Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.

Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.

Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen

Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger

Follow on X: @MoEgger

Instagram too: @MoEgger

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
One of the best high school basketball events in the

(00:03):
country is going to be happening again shortly after Christmas,
the twenty seventh and twenty eighth of December. It's going
to be at the Centa Center on Xavier's campus. Twenty
two elite teams taking part in the fourth annual Beacon
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Holiday Hardwood Classic. This is a
great event. We talk about it every single year, and

(00:26):
Rich Newman helps put on this event. He joins us
as he does every year. It's like a rite of passage.
It's like an annual tradition. Rich, that's the verbage. I'm
looking for. Good afternoon, Rich, awesome to have you as always.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
How are you good afternoon. I'm doing great, and thanks
again for having me on. It seems like these years
keep rowing more quickly into each other. And I guess
that's when you're running at a runway like I am.
I guess that's what it seems like.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Well, I guess. So it's a great event, happens every
year two days twenty two teams at the Centa Center.
Tell folks what will be happening December twenty seven to
twenty eight.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, really, excited about the field This year. I talied
up this year. We're going to go over now for
the four years, we will have over fifty schools having
participated in this event since its inception, and the lineup
is strong, and we've got Mount under Dame versus Belbrook

(01:28):
from Dayton on Saturday to kick things off or tip
things off, and then by Sycamore versus Sun Newport versus Lebanon,
Princeton versus Cathedral coming over from Indianapolis. That's going to
be a huge game, and we'll circle back to why
it's become even huger if that's a word. Anderson versus

(01:49):
now Healthy Taylor versus Holy Cross from coming to two
really good small school programs. And then on Sunday we
start with another girls game, Milford versus will Cooda. We
have Milford Boys versus Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. Probably the
best game in the field is next Princeton versus Wittenwood's girls.

(02:14):
So we've got the returning undefeated D two state champs
playing the D one runner up last year in a
state tournament. So that's going to be a real, a
real great game for people to see. Best two matchups
Wyoming Small School of versus Centerville, always a perennial power

(02:37):
in the Dayton area and across the state. And then
Mason versus McNicholas is the night cap on Sunday. As
I said, we're really pleased with the caliber of a
play we're gonna have again this year.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
So it's two days. It's at the Centa Center. Daily
tickets are thirteen dollars in advance. Got a Holiday Hardwood
class you can get day of event. Daily passes at
the Centas Center box office. Those are sixteen dollars you
also have for this year. First time this year, the
participating schools are engaged in a friendly sales competition Ticket

(03:15):
sales competition. Tell us about that well.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Decited that we want to do what we can to
give back to the community as part of this event,
and we are having what is a friendly competition, and
all the schools are going to participate and the school
each day that sells the most advanced tickets minium of

(03:39):
one hundred and fifty will have a five hundred dollars
donation made on behalf of a holiday Hardwood class at
either their booster club or the charity of their choice.
And another wrinkle in that is also Jaeger season ticket
holders if they purchase through the specific ticket link on

(04:00):
our website for Xavier season ticket holders, fifty percent of
the revenue generated from those ticket sales is going to
the All for One fund. So we're trying those two
things not only to gin up ticket sales, but also
to be able to get back to the community.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
All right, tons of games all weekend long, all day
and night on Saturday, all day and night on Sunday,
The Beacon Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Holiday Hardwood Classic at
the Centa Center the weekend after Christmas. This is an
awesome event. Is there anything else we need to know? Well?

Speaker 2 (04:36):
I obviously have to give a shout out to our
presenting sponsors, the Ross Skyline, Hilli Holme City Ice back
again for year four, and our immediate partner is Fox nineteen,
the Cincinnati Enquirer, and you guys, ESPN fifteen thirty and
everybody at iHeart the only other thing I always wind
up our interview with, or at least inserted somewhere Bruce

(05:00):
three times. I just saw I saw Bruce three times
in twenty twenty five. How about you?

Speaker 1 (05:05):
I saw him zero times in twenty twenty five because
I did not go overseas need him to play Stateside.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
I saw him in May and Phil it it's Citizens
Bank Park and a rescheduled show. And again I could
be I could be wrong, but I think I smiled
probably last year I saw him at Pittsburgh front the
rescheduled show. Anyway, right, Bruce is the Boss, and you
and I share.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
That love we share, We share an affinity for the Boss.
I saw the movie, I've watched the doc. I need
to see a show in person in twenty twenty six.
He's got to make that happen. And if so, Rich,
I'm sure we'll touch base and be there together.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
Sounds great, MO, you know this, and you have a
great holiday season, and thanks again for having me on.
Really appreciated you.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
You got it. The Beacon Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Holiday
Hardwood Classic December twenty seventh and twenty eighth at the
Centas Center. You can get tickets now daily passes thirteen
dollars in advance, and Holiday Hardwood Classic dot com you
can get them a day of game sixteen bucks at
the Cintas Center Box Office twenty two Elite teams playing
across two days, twenty seventh and twenty eighth at the

(06:11):
Cintas Center. It's eleven away from five o'clock, One more
guest between now and six, and you and I in
between on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station out here.
Every holiday gift should be one those