2025-09-12 BBI

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Big Bloon Cider. Dick abro with you
on a Friday edition of our program, as we are
one day closer to Kentucky football Wildcats taking on Eastern Michigan,
a team that has been struggling this year. It's just
not a very good football team. But they'll come in
here playing like they got nothing to lose, right, Wildcats
trying to clean up some things, and we'll talk about

(00:21):
it quite a bit tonight on the show. A little
bit later on, we'll hear from Tom Leach and Jeff
Bacorol as part of the Wildcat Whip. You can find
that on social media via the UK Sports Network or
my Facebook account as well as Tom's and Jeff's. But
we're gonna hear from the Wildcats themselves as they talked
about preparing for the Eagles and putting that old miss
loss behind them, but dealing with it and learning from

(00:45):
the loss, the mistakes they made. And we talked earlier
in the week about the fact that Mark Stoops talked
about the indecisiveness of Zach Calzada, which may be a
moot point this week because all accounts are that he's
still nursing that injury and may or may not play tomorrow,
but Cutter Bowley definitely will and likely will start, so

(01:08):
it's gonna be a little bit of a new look.
A bully got into the game late after Calzada got
hurt against Ole Miss, and as Bush Hampden basically said,
cut it loose, So we'll find out if that's the case.
Here's the problem though, if you succeed against Eastern Michigan,
what does that mean in relation to the SEC. Because

(01:31):
again it's not a real good team, it's done anywhere
close to being an SEC team, but it's a good
way to work on what you have going on on
both sides of the football. So no matter who plays quarterback,
you gotta think the Wildcats will improve it. Again, likely
it will be Cutter Bowley. Kentucky put the ole Miss
game into the lost column as well, but it ought

(01:54):
to be characterized as they could have won. If not
a should have won ball game. That's a good team
miss and Mark Steops talked about the fact it's not
a moral victory at all. He said it was our game,
it was right there for the taking. Kentucky should have
taken it, according to Stoops, But when you sift through

(02:15):
the wreckage of that game, you realize Kentucky did do
good things and because it played Ole Miss close and
basically Kentucky was a victim of its own mistakes. With
all due respect Ole Miss, you can take some good
things away from how the Wildcats played against the Rebels.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
I think Old Miss has a real good chance to
make the playoffs. And you know, the way we played
on Saturday, I understand the frustration, like plays left on
the field and things we could do better. But you know, again,
the other side of that is is there's a lot
of things we did well, and you know, we know
we could compete with anybody. We just got to continue
to work extremely hard, do the things we're doing well,

(02:54):
continue to exploit that and do the best we can
and improve in the areas where we're falling short. There's
many areas where we're gonna work hard to improve as well.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
They should and they are close. I mean, this is
a team that's more talented than last year's team. The
O line's better, there's depth on defense, there's experience in
the secondary, defensive secondary, good running backs who have played well.
The only question right now, the biggest question is the
passing game, and we've seen it work with the tight ends,
haven't we. It's just the receivers who need to get

(03:28):
involved and better involved. And is that them? Is that
the quarterback? Well, we're gonna find out a little bit
against Eastern Michigan. We talk with Kendrick Law to transfer
from Alabama and he said he believes this offense is
really close to being where it needs to be.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
Yeah, I think what he said was very true. You
know what I'm saying each and every week that we
go in and we watch film and then we analyze,
and just he's just basically saying that it's coming to life.
You know what I'm saying that that what we're seeing
on film, the things that we're preparing for, the way
that we're prepping is coming to life on Saturday. And
that's just all he's saying. With two Saturdays.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
A catch you made against Tilda in the back of
the end zone that they ultimately overturned. I mean that
was close to a catch for the Agers, and I
see you smiling there. I mean, I know you've been
in this game for a while or you know that happens,
But what if that doesn't happen? I mean, that could
have been a real boost that kind of play. Does
that get frustrating?

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Once again?

Speaker 3 (04:19):
You know what I'm saying. You don't want to leave
it up to the rest at the end of the day,
But I mean, I do want to tell you that
I did catch the ball. Like you said at the
fact of the end zone. I mean, I feel like
it should have went to review. But like I say,
I'm not a ref. I don't want to leave it
in the ref's hands. But I'll put that on me.
You know what I'm saying. I should have kept my
feet in and position my body a better way to
show the ref. You know what I'm saying that I'm
one percent in bounds and one hundre percent I caught

(04:41):
the ball, So I want to put that on me.
You know what I'm saying. We should have had that
touchdown and get that boost that you're talking about.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
But the way you made to catch it look like,
all right, this is why they brought him here, you know.

Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, I mean, look, hey, they throw the ball to me.
Like I said, I'm gonna do my best to come
down with it. So no matter how it's thrown, no
matter how I catch, you know, what I'm saying, I'm
trying to catch it.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
The receiver room. To me, he was one of the
more intriguing simply because you had Dane Key moving on,
Barrion Brown moving on. So now who does what? You
got new faces? You got guys coming back, Jamari Macklin
coming back, Kendrick Low transferring in? Are they Gilmour coming
back in a manner of speaking, So I really want
to see what happens, if and when they can get

(05:19):
these guys more fully involved in the offense, find a
rhythm with the receivers. And a bunch of us got
a chance to talk to Ladamian Washington, who is the
receivers coach. Are really popular with the players because he
busts their collective butts, and we asked him, you know,
what's it like in the receiver's room. What do you

(05:39):
what kinds of things are you saying to your group?

Speaker 4 (05:41):
Go and do their job. I think I got to
do my job. Everybody got to do their job. They
got to do their job. Start worrying about things that
don't matter. At the end of the day, whatever you
assignment is, that's what you gotta do. Like everybody, you know,
I said it when I got here, Like, no matter what,
my job is to get the best out of my group,
like as the receivers coach, get the best out of
your group. And that's what I'm going to continue to
do every day. Those guys have done a tremendous job listening, taking, coaching,

(06:04):
taking accountability, and like I told them each week, we
just got to continue to get better and better and
better and hopefully you know, operate and do what we
gotta do. But you guys are here for a reason.
You all are brought in to do something, and we
got to do our job.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
That and your kids. Everyone we've talked here said they
like you because you drive them so hard to be better.

Speaker 4 (06:21):
I think that's your jobs. No difference as a parent,
No difference as coach, Stoops as the head coach. No
different that's Bush as the offensive coordinator. Like they job
are to make me better. So when Stoops is on
my butt, a Bush is on my butt.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Like, I don't take it.

Speaker 4 (06:32):
Personal, Like it's too much life to be lived to
take accountability or somebody holding me accountable personal.

Speaker 1 (06:39):
I got a job to do at the end of
the day.

Speaker 4 (06:41):
No different than the receivers, No different than every other
position group. We have to do our job and we
have to do it at a high level. And my
job is to get the most out of them, and
if it ain't going right, my jobs is to give
them answers, our finances for them and instill in them confidence,
point blank period.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
And like I told.

Speaker 4 (06:54):
Them, no matter what happens during the game, stay calm,
stay cool. Our job is to finish that, you know,
sixty minutes and go play football. And my job is
to stay on them as much as I can so
they can get the best out of themselves.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
I see it. So we'll see if that pays off.
Starting tomorrow, possibly and very likely with a new starting
quarterback and cutter. Bowie and Kendrick Love did tell us
didn't matter who's throwing the ball. Receivers usually say that
for the most part, they don't even notice who's throwing
the ball. I had a receiver once tell me he
didn't even notice they change quarterbacks, and this was a

(07:24):
while back. But Bowlie should be a little more aggressive,
but we'll find out. Talking defense, we chatted with defensive
back ty Brian had the two picks against Ole Miss
one of them. The second one came in part because
of a great rush by the front line, and he
talked to us about the conversations between the D backs

(07:45):
and the D line and how they compliment each other.

Speaker 5 (07:48):
Definitely. It's funny though, because on Monday we were talking
about how like, you know, we feel like both of
each other, like both of us help each other in
a way, And David Gusta came up to me when
I told him thank you again. He came up to me.
He was like, he's like, now we thank you. You don't understand,
like y'all covering really well right now and it's given
us a lot of time just to get back there.
So I mean, I feel like both of you, like
we both compliment each other, and I love the rush.

Speaker 1 (08:09):
Obviously, Brian wasn't happy with the outcome, but he did
like the way they played on the defensive side of
the ball.

Speaker 5 (08:16):
Our intensity, our hustle, you know, running too the ball
and stuff like that. There was definitely some place that
we left out out there on the field and we
got to get better at that. But I mean, like
I liked everybody's intensity throughout the day, and I mean
we just continue just to build on that, you know,
we want to be a fast, physical team that's always
flying around to the ball and just having fun. You
know when you turn on the film and look at
Kentucky defense. So I feel like that's what we bring

(08:37):
to the table, and that's what we need to continue
just to build on going into these other games.

Speaker 1 (08:42):
They need a good crowd once again. They got a
good crowd last week with a whole miss. This one's
a night game. Some people prefer the night games. Mark
Stoops took notice of the great crowd last week. He
was really appreciative and somebody asked him if there was
anything he would like to say to the fans, a
message to the BBN.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
The environment was great Saturday. I loved the atmosphere and
appreciate the fans and the support. It was really fun
for a vast majority of that game. I wish we
could finish it off. But we're a better football team.
This team's working hard and playing very tough and you know,
working to improve.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
Seven thirty kickoff. Our coverage with Christy and Logan and
Ricky Lumpkin begins at five thirty. Right here on six
thirty WLAP. One other note college athletics that I mentioned
this yesterday there's more to it now about the gambling
going on investigations now, thirteen men's college basketball players from

(09:44):
six different schools have been involved in gambling schemes, including
betting against their own team, game manipulation that's a reference
to prop bets, and sharing information with third parties for
gambling purposes. There's formerly associated with Eastern Michigan Temple, Arizona State,

(10:05):
New Orleans, North Carolina, AT and T, and Mississippi Valley
State under investigation for gambling violations. According to the NCAA,
of course, did not name athletes and will not until
the infractions process has concluded. Let me be clear about
this as well, because people love to rip the NCAAA,
the NCAA does not do the investigating itself. This has

(10:29):
turned over to law enforcement, the FBI, and whoever else.
The NCAA oversees it, of course, and has to deal
with it as it relates to their member institutions and
the kids who had signed scholarships and all that stuff.
But people love to say, well, the nca is investigating
this and this. I remember point shaving rumors that never happened.

(10:49):
Of point shaving people. Why aren't you talking about the
point shaving that's going on. The nca is investigating. No,
it doesn't. NCAA is a bunch of as we know
it AKA Missions Committee members who are either professors or
chancellors or presidents or whatever. They're not law enforcement people.
That's who investigates point shaving, game manipulation and all that.

(11:14):
And oftentimes it begins with the investigative arms of the
respective casinos or sports betting services where it all ties in.
So if you want to talk about it, that's all
well and good, but it's not the investigation by the NCAA.
I mean, they are looking into it, their umbrella over it,
but they sit back and wait for actual law enforcement

(11:37):
agencies to do their respective things. So and by the way,
we should have seen this coming a lot of us did.
I mean, when you hear about prop bets, first thing
that went through my mind is how many kids are
going to try to make money on themselves or on
their teammates by saying, Hey, you're supposed to score twelve

(11:58):
or more points tonight. How about keeping under ten and
we'll make some money. No one will ever know well
you know, yes they do. They find out. So it's
bad and it's gonna get worse, but that's where we are.
I want to come with a big bluin Sider. A
little bit later on, we'll talk Kentucky volleyball. Big weekend
coming up for the Cats. On six thirty WLAP Welcome

(12:20):
back to the Big Blue Insider. Coming up, we'll talk
more Kentucky football. We'll hear from Tom Leach and Jeff mccorol.
A little bit later on. Doug Flynn on going into
the UK Sports Hall of Fame. I do need to
talk about my beloved Packers. They beat the Washington Commanders
last night. But during the broadcast it was on Prime.
By the way, Al Michaels made a John Madden reference.

(12:42):
It was kind of funny actually, and it was triggered
by not one, but two missed field goals, the first
one by Green Bays Ryan McManus. This came at the
very end of the first half, forty eight yard.

Speaker 6 (12:56):
Of Tampee's both the upright, no good, oh, the John
Madden point. That is the sample past.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
And it does make a very distinctive sound, one that
if you're a fan and your kicker just missed, uh,
it kind of makes you sick. So in the second half,
Washington's kicker, Matt Gay. And this is a Washington team
that was trailing and needed points. Same deal.

Speaker 6 (13:28):
So Matt Gay, he's already banged in one from fifty
one on this one another doint, no good, d I
kay there it is cool them tonight.

Speaker 1 (13:45):
That's how Michael's via Amazon Prime. And again that is
a tribute to John Madden, because that's the way John
Madden used to describe kicks that hit the uprights doint
and al Michaels was kind enough to spell it out
for US College Game Day tomorrow. Get ready for all
this orange. You've got a Kentucky game of night, so

(14:06):
you can tune in at nine am and watch the
whole thing if you like. But it's going to be
at Tennessee. That's where Tennessee plays Georgia. And the guest
picker they've announced will be Kandas Parker, who of course
might be the best player in the history of Tennessee
women's basketball. She won two national titles under Pat's summit.

(14:28):
One of the greatest players ever in women's basketball, so
why not, and it's going to be It should be
a decent game. Tennessee ranked fifteenth if you care about
the polls. Georgia number six. It's a three point thirty
kickoff on ABC sec opener for both and Tennessee has
lost eight straight to the rival Bulldogs, and naturally at

(14:52):
the university dropped a video with Kandas Parker.

Speaker 7 (14:55):
What's up?

Speaker 8 (14:56):
It's your girl. Candas Parker, proud alum of the University
of Tennessee.

Speaker 1 (15:00):
If you cut me, I bleed orange. And that's why I'm.

Speaker 8 (15:03):
So excited that College Game Day is coming to Knoxville
as the University of Tennessee volunteers take on to Georgia,
the Georgia the Georgia Dogs.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
And guess what you're.

Speaker 8 (15:17):
Looking at your College Game Day celebrity guest picker. I'm
so excited to let the world in on a little
secret that one hundred thousand screaming fans in Kneeland will
know on Saturday that the Tennessee Volunteers are going to
shock the world and end the tenure drought. Joshua Dobbs
twenty sixteen through that Hail Mary, and there's a new

(15:38):
josh that's gonna take down the Dogs, and that's coach Hypel.
High octane offense, solid defense. We're ready and I'm calling
it right now, so I look forward to seeing you
all on Saturday.

Speaker 1 (15:53):
That is Kandas Parker. Actually it was College Game Day
that dropped that video on its Twitter account or social
media feed, and she referenced Josh Dobbs, we played that
for you yesterday. She's talking about the game n O
nine where Georgia throws a bomb in the last nineteen
seconds or what they thought was the last nineteen seconds

(16:13):
to take the lead, and it looked like a race
a Tennessee advantage and win the game. But Tennessee gets
a really good kickoff return and then on the very
next play, instead of trying to go for a short
gainer that would set up a field goal, try tie
the game, get it to overtime, Tennessee goes for the win.
And Josh Dobbs, he's the kid who was literally a

(16:34):
rocket scientist. He was trying to become an aeronautical engineer
of some sort. He's in the NFL now he may
end up being a rocket scientist before it's all over.
But Josh Dobbs chuck de Hail Mary into the end zone.
A Tennessee receiver surrounded by bulldogs went up higher than
anybody made the catch and Tennessee got the win, but

(16:57):
hasn't won since over the bull. A couple of baseball
notes for you. One from the minor leagues, but it
is important. The Bowling Green Hot Rods have announced that they,
in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Rays. That's the of course,
the major league team with which the Hot Rods are affiliated,
have announced the twenty twenty five Hot Rods Awards, and

(17:18):
the team MVP is none other than infielder A Million Petrie.
That's right, the former Kentucky Wildcat Pete, as they call him,
the team MVP in Bowling Green. He was an All
Conference player at Kentucky, the guy who started off playing
baseball in Canada. When he got the UK, weighed about

(17:40):
one hundred and fifty pounds, but hit the weight room,
hit the practice field. He wanted to be a shortstop,
but Grant Smith was over there, so he learned to
play second base and man did that workout well. So
Amelian Petrie is the MVP for the Bowling Green Hot Rods.
They are the High A minor league baseball team team
affiliated with the Rays. They play in the South Atlantic

(18:03):
Team that's the league where the Lexion Legends used to play.
The Legends are not affiliated now, but the Bowling Green
Hot Rods are still in affiliated baseball. They're a high
a team and a million Petrie has had a big season.
And in case you didn't see this last night, speaking
of the Bigs, Aaron Judge hits number three sixty one

(18:26):
and has tied Joe DiMaggio for fourth place in Yankees' history.
That's pretty incredible. But think about this, He's got three
hundred and sixty one career home runs. He's less than
halfway to catching up with the all time leaders. He
never will, but he's still quite the home run hitter.
And to be even mentioned along with Joe DiMaggio as

(18:50):
a New York Yankee, that's got to be huge for
Aaron Judge. He went deep twice though, in the first
three innings of last night's ninety three win over the
Tiger on the twenty fourth anniversary of the nine to
eleven attacks. So tip of the Captain, Aaron Judge for
getting it done. Our man Aaron gershawan formerly with A

(19:11):
Cat's Boss, formerly part of our show on a regular basis,
a big Aaron Judge fan, and so as Darren Heddrick
who knew Aaron Judge when Aaron was a minor leaguer
and Darren was called a minor league baseball game. So
that's all kind of cool up. Next, we'll talk more
Kentucky football here on the Big blomen Sider six thirty
WLAP Welcome back to the Big bluemen Sider. Tonight is

(19:34):
a special night on the UK campus. There are two
major events going on, many people being honored and being
recognized for their work as UK students or alums athletes,
and we'll tell you more about that coming up in
hour number two. Among them is my man Doug Flynn,
who's being inducted into the UK Sports Hall of Fame,

(19:56):
and of course my broadcast partner for going on three
day decades now. We don't know how long we've been
broadcast partners, but that's coming up in our number two.
I wanted to mention the fact that the Wildcat Whip
has been posted once again. You can listen to it
via the UK Sports Network Twitter account, the x account,

(20:16):
or through the uksn app or on the Facebook pages
of yours truly, Tom Leach, Jeff Picorrel. We get together
every week at South of Wrigley, which is a restaurant
on Southland Drive that serves basically the kind of ballpark
food you would find at Wrigleyfield in Chicago, headed up
by the Italian beef sandwiches, but hot dogs, sausage sandwiches,

(20:41):
I mean, all kinds of really good eating, and they
do cater shameless plug. They if you go to Southowrigley
dot com, the menu, the phone number, it's all there.
But Tom and Jeff and I set up and have
a conversation about Kentucky football. We call it the Wildcat
Whip because on the ballgame broadcast, the pregame show, we

(21:04):
generally come on the air about and half an hour
before the game begins. Christy and Logan and Ricky Lumpkin,
they wrap things up, send it to us, and we
chitchat for anywhere from four to seven minutes. We said, well,
we like to talk a little more, so we decided
to come up with a longer version of what we
do on Saturdays. And of course we call it the

(21:27):
Wildcat Whip, and why not. So here is a segment
from this week's conversation we had at South of Wrigley.
As we go into the Kentucky Eastern Michigan game, and
of course it appears Cutter Bowlie will not only play,
but probably start. So I posed a question to Jeff Bacoor,

(21:50):
the former UK wide receiver, about what happens when a
backup quarterback moves up. Jeff, I remember our Palfreddy Maggert
talking about when you're a quarterback, which you were in
high school, but when you're a quarterback at the college level,
probably at the pros as well, and you become the starter.

(22:10):
It's markedly different now because you get up. Of course,
all the reps were the ones, but you're in the
front of the room, you know, and the conversations with
the position coaches, the oc are primarily directed at you.
And everybody knows this. It's just a different, for lack
of a better term, a different vibe. Yep. And I

(22:32):
guess that can either prey on the mind of a
young person or get him excited.

Speaker 7 (22:36):
Yeah, you know, it's totally do because now you're the leader.
And you know, I go back to Dusty Baker, learned
so much from him when he was the manager of
the Cincinnati Reds. But he was talking about Jason Worth,
who now we all know that the horse racing were
But when Worth was with the Phillies, he played second fiddle.
They had an all star first baseman, all star second baseman.

(22:57):
Who's the Hall of Favor you know, he didn't have
to be the guy. And when Jason went to Washington,
he was the guy. Didn't fare as well because all
the spotlight was on him. It's much easier being the
backup than it is being the number one guy. You know,
you're a hit, you know, a hit away and college
or pro football to being in but all that pressure

(23:19):
is not on you. Now the pressure's on him. How
does Cutter respond to being the guy with all eyes
on him, all questions on him, every answer he has
during the game when the play is called, he looks
at mine, does he audible? Does he go with it?
And now it's all on him. So those are the
questions you want to see answered. And it couldn't happen

(23:39):
at a better time than it just happens to be
a team that just this year is not real good.

Speaker 1 (23:44):
And what I always wonder about Tom is when a
guy like Hudter Bowley enters the huddle. And I've talked
to a lot of players to here, tell me what
he's like in the huddle, does he own it? You
know my cartline tried to a little too hard when
he became the starter, lost the job, and when he
got it back, he had matured a little bit and
was was better with the guys. You know, he CA's

(24:06):
on the staff now he helps. But it can't be
a follow me boys, you know, I mean, you got
to earn your way. But he's done that cutter boy yet.

Speaker 9 (24:12):
Yes, And I liked what I heard from Macklin this
week where he said the thing that he had noticed
and this is the the he said, his.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
Decision making is quicker.

Speaker 9 (24:23):
Uh, that's what's been missing in the first game is
just decisiveness, just you know, command. And for whatever reason,
Zach looked really good actually in that first drive of
the season. And for whatever reason because and it's not
you know, the line like it was an issue last year.
I mean, he's getting good pockets. But you've talked Jeff

(24:47):
about it. He instead of stepping up and climbing the pocket,
he tries, he tries to escape. He also has missed
guys that are opened that. Granted he doesn't have guys
who are at the moment ready for the NFL as receivers.
Maybe they'll get there, but they still there have been
open guys that he's missed.

Speaker 1 (25:06):
So you know, and if you're.

Speaker 9 (25:10):
Used this analogie this week for the play caller, it's
a little bit like if you can't get the ball
over the plate and you're struggling with your control, you
don't feel like you you know, you're not sure what
what you've got, what you can throw a strike? And
I'm sure that's that way for Bush is a play caller,
because you know, you draw it up and it's open
and you don't execute the play.

Speaker 1 (25:31):
You can hear him on our broadcast going through it,
and the guys in the booths are doing that too well.

Speaker 7 (25:35):
I think the other thing too, is it and this
has got a little Bush on it. And what I
mean is Bush Hamden and the fact that a lot
of times he calls to play and then he he
tries to sub out and he wants the perfect you know,
the perfect play call. Well, there aren't many perfect play calls.
And I think that with the perfect person now correct,
And I think what Zach was doing is waiting for

(25:58):
the perfect time to throw a lot of times the
great quarterbacks throw it before you even make your cut.
They see what's happening, saying, oh, he's gonna run a corner.
He throws it before you make the cut.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
You make the cut. Also, the ball's there.

Speaker 7 (26:12):
Let these guys, most of the guys he's stow it
to have been around for a while. You know, even
hardly is now in is what second year of actually
playing ball. So trust those guys. They get to trust
them a little more and get it out. Don't wait
for the perfect time.

Speaker 1 (26:28):
Tom Leech, Jeff precory 'ors truly on the Wildcat Whip.
And again you can find it through the UK Sports
Network app or the ex account or on my Facebook page,
Jeff Pericoro's page, Tom Leech's page. And again we can't
recommend South of Brigley enough. They take really good care
of us, and just try it. You will really like it.
They close it two o'clock, so don't darld. If you're

(26:50):
going for lunch, try to get there. It gets a
little crowded, but they work very quickly and they'll take
care of you and you will not leave hungry. I
promise you that. Up next we will preview a big
weekend for Kentucky Volleyball. That's next on the Big Blon
Sider six thirty WLAP. Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider.
As we wrap up our number one. Coming up in

(27:11):
our next hour, we're gonna hear the reactions of some
of the UK Hall of Famers as they learned of
their honor is happening tonight the UK Sports Hall of Fame,
including my man Doug Flynn. Will hear some of his
comments after he was notified that he's going into the
UK Hall of Fame. Also Billy Rutledge making his NFL

(27:33):
picks for the upcoming weekend. That's all coming up in
our number two. It is a big weekend once again
for the volleyball Wildcats. An they're coming off a loss
in Fort Worth to number seven Pittsburgh. This was a
sweep the Wildcats losing three zip and they were right
on the verge. It seemed a bouncing back. In set

(27:54):
number two and evening the match, I think it was
twenty one to twenty and Kentucky on three straight possessions
came up with service airs. They served the ball into
the net and of course Pittsburgh took full advantage and
closed out the match as the Wildcats dropped their second
of the year. Of course, the first loss was to Nebraska.

(28:17):
That was a reverse sweep. Kentucky jumped out to nothing
on the corn Huskers in Nashville, of course, it was
full of Nebraska fans, and then the Huskers took the
next three sets. Kentucky blew out Penn State, blew out
New Hampshire, and by the way, let's double back blew
out Penn State in State College, PA and swept the
defending champs, then beating New Hampshire. Maybe they were a

(28:40):
little overconfident going into that pit match, who knows. But
this weekend they've got another tough couple of games. They
played tenth ranked SMU at Historic Memorial Colise in one
of two matches. Tomorrow, Houston plays Perdue at noon, and
at at around three pm, the Wildcatch take on the Mustangs.
That's number three versus number ten. There will be video

(29:05):
available on SEC plus. Won't be a full telecast, We
will do that tomorrow or Sunday. Rather the day after
Purdue plays SMU at eleven am. Then the Wildcats take
on the Cougars and we'll have that one for you
on SEC plus. Yours truly and Leah Edman, the former
UKL American. We'll have the action as the Wildcats try

(29:26):
to get back on track and they need to figure
things out because they got the Louisville Cardinals coming up
at the Young Center on Thursday now anto six o'clock
if you want to try to make it. Then next weekend,
Washington comes to town and the Huskies. I don't know
anything about them yet, but the Huskies have been good

(29:46):
in days gone by, so we'll see if that's another one.
And on Wednesday to twenty fourth, Kentucky opens up conference
play with South Carolina. So we had a chance to
talk to Craig Skinner, the Kentucky coach, earlier today and
he talked about the fact that Kentucky lost at Pittsburgh,

(30:08):
lost to Nebraska in a really partisan arena in Nashville,
and beat Penn State and a tough place to play.
So his team is learning how to handle tough crowds
and it should pay off down the road.

Speaker 10 (30:23):
You know, the more we're in those types of situations,
the more comfortable we're going to be as the season
goes on. And it is critical that we get in
these moments and situations now, especially for someone in the
cetter position, because you know, when you get a dig
like we did two or three times in that match
against Pittsburgh and we don't make the best decision, it's

(30:44):
always such a good learning experience because there's there's systems
and offensive game plans, and then there's winning time, and
you know there's a difference, and so sometimes the system
and plan goes out the windows. It's like you're looking
for players and those it's not plays.

Speaker 1 (31:01):
That is his way of saying, it's not the exes
and o's, it's the jimmies and Joe's. I don't know
what the equivalent is for women's volleyball, but that's exactly
what that is. Oftentimes, it just comes down to athletes
making plays. And just to be certain, Kentucky's got a
lot of athletes and they're learning how to make the plays.
So we'll find out more about that this weekend as

(31:24):
the Wildcats take on first SMU and then Houston and
all Texas weekend. For the Wildcats, Houston has had to
do some rebuilding with people transferring out, transferring in. Craig
Skinner same thing he has always preferred, of course, like
every coach to recruit, develop, and coach. But in this

(31:48):
day and age, kids come and go, so you just
got to deal with transfers. You just don't want to
have to rebuild your team every year.

Speaker 10 (31:55):
I don't want to have to. I don't think anyone
wants to have to overhaul, you know, roster, and you know,
I just I think for these athletes and kids and
coaches and programs that you have to learn how to
go through the ups and downs to prepare you for life.
And there's going to be ups and downs in college
sports and college itself. And so if you're just seeking

(32:20):
the next cool thing that benefits you, you don't get
to go through some of those.

Speaker 1 (32:25):
Challenges, challenges that players experience together and learn each other,
learn how to win, learn how to deal with tough situations.
But everybody's going through that now, no matter what the sport. Although,
as I understand it, a friend of mine's daughter plays
collegiate golf and said that golf teams have been trimmed

(32:47):
back to nine roster members, so now, at least in
women's golf, So now the portal is full of kids
looking for an opportunity to play because they had spots
on women's golf teams and now they don't, so there's
a ripple effect throughout all of NCAA sports. So the

(33:09):
Wildcats with two big matches this weekend SMU and Houston,
and the Houston match will be on SEC plus at
two o'clock. While we're talking about UK sports, the UK
women closing its season opening nine match home stand tonight
at the Bell Kentucky six to two to zero Wildcats
hosting unbeaten Oklahoma. The Sooners are seven to one to

(33:33):
one in their rank number twenty. It's a seven thirty kickoff.
Admission is free to all fans. It's also a salute
to Service night and you can see it live on
SEC Plus. These are the two top scoring teams in
the SEC when it comes to non conference play, Oklahoma
leading the league with twenty six goals, Kentucky one behind

(33:56):
at twenty five. Top two individual goals scorers in the
league will appear tonight Oklahoma's Naomi Clark she has seven.
Kentucky's Alexis Ta Linda is second in the league with six.
This will be the second straight Rogue A ranked opponent
for the Wildcats. They lost to nothing to number twenty
Ohio State last Sunday, so seven thirty kickoff at the

(34:19):
bell and again admission is free. Football Wildcats do not
play LSU this year, which maybe a good thing because
LSU has the guy who might be the best quarterback
in the Southeastern Conference, if not the country, and of
course is Garrett Nussmeyer quarterback to his team to a
big win over Clemson and earlier today, Nike announced that

(34:42):
it has signed Nussmeyer to a name, image and likeness contract.
It posted an image of Nussmeyer on its website or
on its Instagram site with simply the words by you
built and at the bottom it said born in the Bayou,
built the the big stage, Welcome to the family. On

(35:03):
three dot com checked with the nil valuations table and
that showed that Nessmeyer has the fourth highest valuation in
all of college football at four million dollars. The only
guys ahead of him Arch Manning of Texas, Carson Beck
of Miami, Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State. According to a

(35:27):
Bleacher Report mock draft their NFL scouting report, their scouting department,
I should say, has Nussmeyer going number five overall to
the Indianapolis Colts, but the third quarterback taken selected in
the mock. They've got South Carolina's Leonora Seller's going number one,
arch Manning going number three. Although Manning could come back

(35:50):
to school in twenty twenty six, Manning has said not necessarily,
but either way he'll make his money. He's already making
a ton of money. And by the way, after wins
over Clemson and Louisiana Tech, Nussmyer may be the leader
in the clubhouse or the Heisman Trophy. It was arch Manning,
which I never understood with all due respect, but it

(36:14):
just might be Nussmeyer. Either way, he just got paid
four million bucks by Nike. And while we're talking college football,
there's a commentary out there by somebody on Bleacher Report
saying that maybe it's time to do away with the
ape pole. And maybe it is. I mean, if they
need a poll for some reason to back up the

(36:36):
college football Playoff, they can create their own. But what
got this conversation started was the fact that a voter
for the eight People moved Florida up after the Gators
lost to South Florida at home. Now USF jumps into
the rankings at number eighteen and Florida dropped out entirely.

(36:57):
But on this person's ballot Florida moved up, and the
voter would not talk about why she did that. She
just thought it was something fun to discuss. So I
don't want to go too much into my process or logic,
but I will say I appreciate everybody's interaction on social
media and all of your feedback. That's worthless. I'm sorry,

(37:23):
that's inexcusable and unacceptable. The voter's Hailey Sawyer from the
Orange County Register, and I do not understand that voting,
and nobody else does either except maybe her. Also a
story out there that has a Kentucky tie. It's about
Rob Ryan, who is the brother of Rex and one

(37:43):
of the sons of Buddy. He is an assistant coach
for the US Trojans now. He is basically the decoordinator
and he has worked for many many NFL teams, nine
different teams, and in fact, he was the linebackers coach
for the Patriot It's when they won Super Bowl thirty
six and thirty eight. And it's unusual, like I said,

(38:07):
because he's in college coaching now when he had spent
so much of his career of late in the pros.
But his career began, and I remember this. His career
began as a gas coaching career at Western Kentucky in
nineteen eighty seven. Rex Ryan, at the time was a
GA at Eastern Kentucky working for Roy Kidd, and the

(38:30):
two teams played that year, so he had brothers coaching
against brothers, and of course they're the son of the
late great Buddy Ryan, who after he retired from pro football,
he set up shop. He had a farm, a horse
farm in Lawrenceburg, and every now and then one of
the networks would call us the WKY team said could
you go interview Buddy Ryan forrest. But now Rex wants

(38:52):
back in as a head coach, and brother Rob is
a USC trojan. I remember two his next six thirty WLAP.

Speaker 11 (39:02):
Any set such such.

Speaker 1 (39:20):
Tact that.

Speaker 11 (39:38):
Tap showing then.

Speaker 1 (39:54):
Anything Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider coming up

(40:54):
in just a few minutes. Actually, it's actually essentially happening
as we speak. There are two different events uh in
and around the UK campus. The university is recognizing distinguished
alumni and among them is I like to say, one
of our own, Michael Eves, who now works as an
anchor reporter for ESPN. Michael is from Kentucky. Michael's from

(41:18):
a town out in western Kentucky of about eight hundred people.
Went to UK, started off at WKYT as a part
time morning newscast producer. Quickly became full time and the
first time we had a sports opening, he moved upstairs.
We were upstairs in the building at the time. I

(41:38):
think they still are, and became part of my sports department.
From there, Michael went to Memphis for a couple three years.
Then he landed a gig in Los Angeles, part of
the Clippers Network and doing some other things for Fox Sports,
and he said he was perfectly happy doing that, and
he had always had a dream of working for ESPN,

(41:59):
but he said I would have left that off just
to stay in LA. It was having a great time.
But he got the call from Bristol and now Michael
is a key proponent. There's a key element in their
coverage of a lot of major sporting events, including the Masters.
And Michael played for the UK golf team, so he

(42:21):
is a golf nut and obviously he was talking with
us last night. We had a little party with Michael
and he couldn't even believe that he got to walk
the grounds at Augusta much less be a part of
ESPN's coverage. So we're very happy for Michael and we
congratulate all the people going into that group. But also

(42:41):
tonight is the UK Sports Hall of Fame, and yeah,
there's two things going on at once. But the reason
is they had the alumni function scheduled then they said
about trying to work the schedule so all the Hall
of famers from the Sports Hall of Fame could be there. Well,
you got Karl Anthony Towns still active playing with the Knicks,

(43:01):
they're about to get started. Josh Heinz Allen, who of
course plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He's pretty busy, so
this is the one weekend they could get everybody together,
the one night Friday night, So you've got two events
going on at the same time. I will be at
the Sports Hall of Fame, and of course Doug Flynn
going in, my longtime broadcast partner, my broadcast brother. And

(43:26):
when he first heard the news that he was going in,
I got him on the phone, I got him on
our celebrity hotline and we talked about it. And the
way it all happens is Mitch Barnhardt calls each person
to tell them they're going in, but somebody doesn't set
it up and saying, hey, you're going into the Hall
of Fame, Mitch Barnhart's gonna call you. Somebody else calls

(43:49):
them with some kind of gently bogus reason that Mitch
wants to talk to them, and then Mitch springs this
happy surprise on them. So I had a chance to
talk to Doug about that. Tony Neely, a long time
sports information director at Kentucky, was the guy who set
things up with Doug and Mitch.

Speaker 12 (44:06):
Yeah, Tony Neely used to be my friend and heat
me up really nice. You know, there's a lot of
things that you get on your radar and you hope
and you wish and you think, you know, that would
be nice, Dick. There's nothing further from my mind that
ever having anything an honor bestowed upon me like this
in the UK Hall of Fame.

Speaker 13 (44:27):
You know, I was there one year.

Speaker 12 (44:30):
Maybe I was one of the I didn't realize that,
being a one and done, I was going to set
such a trend for the future. But you know, my
time there is probably the best growing up year I've
ever had as an athlete because I got an opportunity
every day to go out and scrimmage against the number
one team in the nation.

Speaker 13 (44:50):
And it taught me how to compete at a higher level.

Speaker 12 (44:53):
And obviously playing with some tremendous people like Manruse and
Darryl Bishop, and you.

Speaker 13 (44:59):
Know, having to guard Perry Mills.

Speaker 12 (45:00):
And Jim Dinwiddie and you know Bill Busy and Bob McCowan,
all those guys that were so much bigger.

Speaker 13 (45:05):
But my time here was, it was so special, and
I just it's.

Speaker 12 (45:11):
An incredible honor and I'm still blown away in his
shock box.

Speaker 1 (45:14):
Yeah, you know, and the picture they released is you
in a baseball uniform. But you didn't get to play
much baseball here, did you, No?

Speaker 12 (45:22):
And for good reason, there were guys better than me.
I was a freshman in five eight and one hundred
and fifty pounds. That's when I played basketball ashes. I
didn't really start to mature or grow until after my
freshman year. So yeah, there was some really good players here.
But you know, Dick, I look at it like this,
God had a way of some really wild things in

(45:47):
my life that got me to where, you know, like
leaving school, going to Somerset, having friends and take me
to a tryout camp. There's just so many things that
have happened. I'm eternally grateful, my friend, and I'm very
humbled by it.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
I promise you, well, you're a humble period. You're a
humble guy. Uh, for someone who's really done so much
with their life, with their career, which is one of
the many, many things that I appreciate about you. But uh,
five eight one fifty. Let's go back to basketball. Here
you are guarding and when we look at these kids
coming in now, and of course we've talked for years

(46:20):
about bigger, faster, stronger. Now they're growing, nutrition, weights and
all that stuff. But here you are a scrawny five
eight one fifty trying to guard these guys. And you
were there when when Rupp was there and he put
a high priority on defense. That had to be quite
a learning experience.

Speaker 13 (46:39):
Yeah, it was.

Speaker 12 (46:40):
Fortunately I had a little quickness, but I didn't have
any strengths and didn't have any size, so it was
important I got to know the plays. And one thing
about UK back in those days, they really had about
five or six plays on offense, so varsity know him,
We knew them, and if you ran them, correctly. You
couldn't stop it because there's a lot of picking screen
and moving and all that stuff. But when you guarding

(47:01):
people like Terry Mills who's six y two and McCowan
was sixty one and then what he was six five,
and you know, but.

Speaker 13 (47:08):
You learn to compete.

Speaker 12 (47:10):
And I think one thing that I've always been proud
of is even though my ability in certain areas wasn't great,
I wasn't afraid to try to learn and compete at
a higher level to try to get better.

Speaker 13 (47:21):
And they made you better.

Speaker 12 (47:23):
I mean you watched Dan Issel and Mike Pratton, Larry Steele,
you know those guys that would go out there and
you say, men, you know, Dansel sixth eight didn't jump
as well as everybody. He's getting thirty A games because
he knew how to play the game. Mike Pratt four forward,
I mean six four forwards, think of that right now,
who could use his body to get shots off. So

(47:45):
I would watch him and listen to them, and uh,
and just learned you don't mind gett knocked down. And
always said that basketball helped me for other sports, especially
in high school, because when you start getting that contact.

Speaker 13 (47:58):
When you didn't mind it. You didn't mind getting busting up.

Speaker 12 (48:00):
On a double play or taking a charge because you
know it was just part of the game, and that's
part of the arsenal that you had to use as
a little guy, Yeah, to survive.

Speaker 1 (48:10):
Talking to Doug Flinny is one of the newest inductees
into the UK Hall of Fame. Played baseball and basketball
back in nineteen seventy and has been a broadcaster for
more than twenty years of UK basketball. Also a ruther baseball.
That'd be something they put you on basketball games, you'd
be all right. I also worked on the Reds Network
for a while there, and k E. T is an

(48:32):
Emmy Award winner for the old TV show Kentucky Life.
And you have spent a lot of time, Doug, representing
UK people. They look at you as you know you Yeah,
you played for the Reds, you're a Gold Glove winner,
but they also connect you to the UK as much
as for your athletic career as your work with nonprofits
and charities and things like that. That's I know, that's

(48:54):
a huge part of your life, isn't it.

Speaker 13 (48:56):
Yeah, it really is, you know.

Speaker 12 (48:58):
I mean when I was doing the games up Sinnatti
a lot, Marty and those guys we are here to
call me bluegrass or big Blues and h and they'd say,
you know, they would always get on me because they
roll High State people or Cincinnati people. And I've always
taken a lot of pride in where I was from.
People say, where all have you lived? Well, Lexingon, that's

(49:18):
my home. Season was over. I come back home because
I enjoyed going to the ball games in the off
season and you know, running out the keenland where you'd
run into all your friends.

Speaker 13 (49:28):
But I've always been.

Speaker 12 (49:29):
Very proud of my heritage, and so I remember when
I married old at the first place I took her
was through like the Upstart Crow or the Lost Armadilla.

Speaker 13 (49:39):
She went, is this work? We're going to be hanging out?

Speaker 12 (49:41):
And I went, well, this is me, this is who
we are. But now after forty three years, he's one
of us. But I tell you she's She and I
both looked at each other when I came home, and
NI didn't show you all of that footage frum right.

Speaker 13 (49:57):
When they told me, I actually teared up on it
because I was just in such disbelief.

Speaker 12 (50:01):
And you know, my buddies, Jim Andrews in there and
say Keith Madison, who's our buddy. Just you know, it's
very humbling, and I have such respect for the folks
that have come through this system and who are in
that Hall of Fame, and uh, you know, I'm just
eternally grateful.

Speaker 13 (50:19):
And I really don't have the proper words right now.
I'm still sitting here kind of in shock.

Speaker 1 (50:25):
Well, And we've always talked on and off there about
how Jim it was overdue with Jim, but there are
so many deserving people who should be in and eventually
are going. And you're going in with a pretty good
class too, aren't you.

Speaker 12 (50:37):
Yeah, man, you look at you look at the talent
from a lot of different sports, from tennis and basketball
and softball and all the things these folks have done.

Speaker 13 (50:47):
Football. Man, just a great class. And you know, I,
uh yeah, I'm I'm really looking forward to it. It's
going to be exciting for me.

Speaker 12 (50:56):
I think about when I watched this all my life
growing up here, and watch at the football games, in
the basketball games, when they present the people who have
played here and who are.

Speaker 13 (51:05):
Proud to have been here and who go into the
Hall of Fame and you're thinking, man, that is just
such a cool tradition. Now to kind of be there too,
Who I'm nervous.

Speaker 1 (51:18):
Yeah, but you've you've you've made a few speeches in
your dad and I was fortunate enough to be there
when you went into the state wide Athletic Hall of Fame.
So unfortunately your mom and dad have left us, but
I know how proud they would be, and they they
were such not just you. Do you talk about your dad.
We all know your dad, but your mom. I mean
you've told me about how you got your athletic jeans

(51:41):
honestly from both of them, right.

Speaker 12 (51:43):
Oh?

Speaker 13 (51:44):
Absolutely.

Speaker 12 (51:44):
Mom was a really good player. You know, she never
missed the game either. She was a huge UK fan.
But you know, I was just thinking, Dick, if you
thought my dad did a lot of trips around rupp
Arena showing off that World Series ring, can you imagine
what he'd be doing, and now with me going into
the UK Hall of Fame.

Speaker 13 (52:03):
The Lord, he'd have put that World Series ring in
the drawer and he put on something blue just to
walk around town. Will somebody ask you are you a
Kentucky fan? Well, let me tell you about my boy and.

Speaker 12 (52:16):
So it's yeah, they would be so so just you know,
I've been getting calls all morning, and it's just it's
so cool knowing that you got so many people in
this town who supported you for seventy four years and
continue to do so.

Speaker 13 (52:30):
I'm very pleased.

Speaker 1 (52:32):
Well, I tell you what, and you've heard me tell
the story. But one of my favorites about your dad
was the night you went into the Kentucky Hall of Fame,
and I was a chairman of the nominating committee. That's
not why you got in. You got in on a
Democratic vote. But one of the little gifts that we
would put out at the table along with the yearbook
the program as a glass, a drinking glass and tyler

(52:53):
with the names of that year's class, and there are
generally eight names per year, at least there used to be.
And after the dinner was over, your dad went to
every table that he could find. Everybody was gone, and
he's picking up glasses and he's stacking them up, and
I mean it was like it was like the red panda,
you know, the woman that stacks the plates. I didn't

(53:14):
know how he was going to make it out of
there when all those glasses stacked up. What's he going
to do with those? You know, like a dinner party,
were Hey, look at this, my kid's name is on here.
But he was proud. He was proud of you.

Speaker 13 (53:24):
And I'll tell you what he did with them.

Speaker 12 (53:26):
What It's just like when he came up to Cincinnati
and I say, Dad, how many hats and autographed balls
do you need?

Speaker 13 (53:34):
So I would come home and I'd say, what are
you doing with all this stuff? Well, none of it
was for him.

Speaker 12 (53:39):
Yeah, he was always getting it for other people and
so but yeah, he was very proud. He spoke that
lot more to other folks than he did to me
and Brad, but we knew how much he loved this
and how proud he was of.

Speaker 1 (53:53):
UK produced a video with a compilation of some of
the reactions of the people going into the Hall of Fame.
You can hear Doug Flynn sputtering, but hear him talking
to Karl Anthony Towns and Abby Cheek and MICHAELA. Abs
and Doug Flynn. It's kind of fun, big cat. How
you doing, sir?

Speaker 13 (54:12):
How are you?

Speaker 14 (54:13):
What's tell miss Abby?

Speaker 13 (54:15):
You find me?

Speaker 14 (54:17):
There's a couple of things that happen in our world
that we do every summer we try and invite people
into the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame, and we
started it in two thousand and two, and it's to
get into.

Speaker 13 (54:31):
It is difficult.

Speaker 14 (54:33):
Did I get to call people that have been elected
to that he can Giveversity of Kentucky Sports Hall of
Fame and so.

Speaker 13 (54:41):
Yeah, So.

Speaker 1 (54:44):
I don't have any words.

Speaker 13 (54:45):
That's awesome.

Speaker 14 (54:47):
Wow, Oh yeah, yeah, I don't know what to say.

Speaker 15 (54:52):
About that.

Speaker 8 (54:55):
That's nine, that's no, that's crazy, got great, Yeah to say,
I'm speechless and a little.

Speaker 1 (55:02):
Bit more with Carl Anthony Towns and Josh Heinz Allen
and the Towns said he had broken into a sweat
talking to Mitch Barnard. He said, I'm literally sweating. He
was so excited when he got the news.

Speaker 13 (55:14):
I'm just I'm glad that God gave me the chance
to make You know, a.

Speaker 3 (55:19):
Lot of kids don't make the right decisions when it
comes to school, and to be able to have.

Speaker 1 (55:22):
Made the right decision for me and my family was
I you know, you.

Speaker 14 (55:26):
Never know if you got it right, and I wanted
to be really clear, the reason you get into the
Hall of Fame is because of all the beautiful things
you did at Kentucky. All Right, we're super proud of
the NBA career.

Speaker 2 (55:37):
The super thankfully people are are colors.

Speaker 15 (55:39):
Okay, I mean I he's a lot tougher.

Speaker 13 (55:42):
I'm super thankful. I guess I literally was just talking.

Speaker 3 (55:46):
To here about hopefully one day I'm able to my
kids could see that their dad was something special in
college in Kentucky.

Speaker 1 (55:54):
That's Karl Anthony Towns. Mitch Barnard when he was talking
to Josh Heines z Allen, he pointed it was a
zoom and he pointed over his shoulder at a big
picture of Josh on his wall in his office and
Mitch's office. He said, that's been hanging up there for
a long time, and you could tell just how moved
Josh heinz Allen is.

Speaker 4 (56:14):
I love it, man.

Speaker 14 (56:15):
I appreciate you guys. Man. You know I love Kentucky.

Speaker 16 (56:18):
His family, you know, his family up there ran and
don't care who pieces move in and out, and I'm
always going to be connect. That's where I started my family,
and you know I've created my life there, man.

Speaker 13 (56:29):
So I really I really appreciate everybody, you.

Speaker 14 (56:31):
Know, organization, and I appreciate you, Mitch for holding it down.

Speaker 16 (56:34):
For so long then and saying true to your word,
and this this is aweso.

Speaker 13 (56:38):
Then I'll tell you how good.

Speaker 1 (56:40):
I'm especially happy for Josh because he needed some good
news in his life, and right now the news is
good about his son. But his seven year old boy
has been battling leukemi and right now he's been giving
a clean bill of health. But that's obviously something he's
gonna have to deal with all his life. So the
family and Josh mentioned the fact that he started his

(57:01):
family while he was at UK and it was great
to see him smile like that. But as I said,
the latest news about his son was good, so we'll
keep an eye on that as well. But again, my
man Doug Flynn going in. Coming up in a few minutes,
Billy Rutledge picks against the spread some NFL games. You
don't want to miss that on six thirty WLAP Welcome

(57:23):
back to the Big Blue Insider. Dick Gabriel with you
on a Friday. Coming up in just a couple of minutes,
Billy Rutledge makes NFL picks against the spread. Had a
pretty good week last week, as did I. My beloved
Packers last night beat the Washington Commanders, although there were
two significant injuries in that game. If you're a fantasy
player just a fan of one of the two teams,

(57:44):
with Jayden Reed of the Packers broke a collarbone a receiver,
he's out six to eight weeks. Austin Eckler had to
be carried off the field with what appeared to be
a torn achilles and if that's the case, he's done
for the year. He'll be lucky to make it back
at the beginning of next year. To pen on the
severity of the injuries, so we'll try to keep you
posted on that. While we're talking injuries, the San Francisco

(58:08):
forty nine Ers are dealing with injuries to George Kittle,
their star tight end. He's uninjured reserve. He'll be back
by week number six, it says here, but also brock
Purty and I've seen two different reports. One said he's
going on the ir another said he will not, but
he likely will be gone for at least four weeks.
That's their starting QB. Former mister irrelevant, last guy chosen

(58:32):
in the draft, but now he is a really relevant
quarterback in the NFL. But the Niners will be without him,
so that means mac Jones will move up. San Francisco
has announced that with Purdy down, mac Jones is up.
And if that name sounds familiar, well it should. For

(58:54):
a while there, at least in theory, he was a
Kentucky Wildcat. Mac Jones played his high school ball in Jacksonville, Florida,
for a small school. UK spotted him, recruited him, and
mac Jones committed. And you might remember this. This was gosh,
it had to be seven years ago or more. I'm

(59:15):
one hundred percent committed to Kentucky. But he wanted to
take a visit to Alabama, which I guess is understandable.
I mean, when Nick Saban calls, you listen, But oh,
I'm one hundred percent I'm going to go to Kentucky.
And at the time, I remember Curtis and I were
doing this show, Curtis Birch, and we agreed he may

(59:38):
not come to Kentucky. In fact, if you're one hundred
percent committed, you're not going anywhere else. You're not making
any other visits. But he did, and of course the
machine down there, led by Nick Saban, turned his head,
which is understandable. It's Alabama, Come on, he signs and
he has a great college career. In fact, as a junior,

(59:59):
he he said, NCAA season records for passer rating and
completion percentage, and all Alabama did that year twenty twenty
one was win a national championship. A couple of years later,
he goes to the Patriots in the first round of
the twenty twenty one NFL Draft, and it worked out
well at the beginning. He made the Pro Bowl as

(01:00:20):
a rookie, but then struggled the next two years, lost
his starting job. They traded him to the Jaguars the
following year, and then here in the offseason, he signed
with the forty nine ers. So now he'll be starting
for San Francisco and he will not beat at Rock
Party unless Party just never can come back, but he will.

(01:00:42):
But Mac Jones will have a chance to show their
teams hey I can still play. But I will always
remember him saying I'm one hundred percent committed to Kentucky.
And again I don't hold it against the kid. Got
to do what's right for you. But our lesson there.
Curtis and I talked about it. If you're still taking visits.
You're not a hundred percent committed Billy Rutledge next than

(01:01:02):
six thirty WLAP. Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider,
and tonight we are please add with us on our
celebrity hotline just ahead of his vacation. Mister Billy Rutledge
one of our faves, who, of course you hear him
every morning with Channon the Dude at nine am on
this very radio station. But here Billy every week picking
NFL games here on the Big Blueing Sider.

Speaker 12 (01:01:24):
Sir.

Speaker 1 (01:01:24):
Last year respectable. Last week I should say you were
fourn two against the spread. I was five and one.
We disagreed on Packers' Lions. But you're off to a
good start.

Speaker 17 (01:01:35):
Yeah, much better start than I thought we would, Dick.
So that's respectable. And your Packers looked really good week one.
I'm able to take that on the chin for that game.

Speaker 1 (01:01:44):
Well, let's pick a half a dozen here we've got.
Let's start with the Bengals at home. They barely get
by the Browns now they host Liam Cohen's Jaguars. Bengals
are a three and a half point favorite. That hook
could come in handy if you like the or if
you like the Jaguars, I should say, but what do
you see?

Speaker 13 (01:02:04):
Well?

Speaker 17 (01:02:04):
I really like what the Jags are doing this year.
They traded Tank Big City this week because ETN has
just been really good. But you know, Liam Cohen looks
to be to have a creative and exciting offense for
Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Junior. I really like jack
people to win that division. But I think Cincinnati is
going to be pretty angry about how they played versus Cleveland.
I mean, this is an offense with Joe Burrow and

(01:02:27):
Jamar Chase that had seventeen points and burrowing through for
one hundred and thirteen yards. I think there is going
to be a game plan to get that offense going
this week. So I'm I'm here to take Cincinnati in
the points here, Dick. I think that they're going to
win by probably more than one touchdown.

Speaker 1 (01:02:42):
Yeah, I'm going to go with you on that for
the same reasons. And I wouldn't been doing surprise me
if Jacksonville, you know, took him late third quarter or beyond.
So we agree on our first game. We like the
Bengals and we are laying the points. Next up Giants Cowboys.
That traditional NFL E rivalry geography be damned Cowboys at

(01:03:05):
Home five and a half point favorites. Giants did not
look good, but then again needed to the Cowboys. What
do you see?

Speaker 17 (01:03:12):
Yeah, I think this is a possible survivor play this week.
If you're getting a little cute, you want to save
some teams for later. I think I would take Dallas
in this one. Until the Giants move off of Russell Wilson,
I think it's really gonna limit them. I mean, Malik
Nighbors already looks like he was done with the franchise
in Week one with Russell Wilson, So just wait until
Jamis gets in there or Jackson Dart what there's a

(01:03:33):
lot of excitement with. I think the Giants offensive attack
can come back, but if it's gonna be Russell Wilson,
then I think they're going to continue to struggle. I
like the Cowboys defense and fantasy football players this week,
and I'm just not going to overthink and I'm going
to take the Cowboys at home here.

Speaker 1 (01:03:47):
Yeah, I'm with you. And again, I know there's no
Micah Parsons, but there is a Kenny Clark who could
make life miserable for the whoever plays quarterback for the Giants,
Wilson or Jackson Dart and of course not unlike Kentucky,
the fan base in New York already clamoring for a
quarterback change, so we agreed. Dallas laying five and a

(01:04:09):
half against the New York Football Giants. Another intradivisional game
in the NFC North. We had Packers Lions last week,
Lions now hosting the Bears and laying five and a
half Bears. So so this past week Lions didn't look
good at all. Can they bounce back and lay five

(01:04:31):
and a half.

Speaker 13 (01:04:33):
Yeah?

Speaker 17 (01:04:33):
I don't know what to expect in this game. The
Bears looked so good for that first half and when
all the players were scripted for Kayleb Williams with Ben Johnson,
and then things fell apart late in that game versus Minnesota.
And then conversely, you know, I thought the Lions would
play well versus Green Bay. They looked lost without their
offensive and defensive coordinator from a year ago. I have
to think talent's gonna win out here. And you know

(01:04:55):
the Lions offense with Gibbs with Jamison, Williams w AM
and Ross Saint Brown with Sam Laporta. I think it
may just be too much of a talent this match here,
But I do. I do think Ben Johnson can get
the Bears on the right track. I just you know,
it's going to be all about the development of Caleb
Williams and is he going to be able to go
on the road and win games in the National Football League.

(01:05:17):
This one in Detroit goes a long way to that.
Ben Johnson's gonna want his revenge. But I do I
have a tough time picking the Bears here, Dick. I
like what they're doing, but I don't know if I'm
ready for them to cover five and a half or
or really just be a five and a half point
dog against the law A divisional opponents.

Speaker 1 (01:05:33):
Yeah, I agree, Well, I agree, And you're right about
Caleb Williams. What we've got to remember, as well, as
you pointed out a lot of weapons for the Lions,
can that Chicago defense slow them down? And what gets
me more than anything, Billy is I've got in my
mind's eye Dan Campbell standing in front of his team
after my Packers took him apart and talking about how

(01:05:55):
unacceptable it is. And I got to think that the
tone he set this week going into this game, I
think the Bears will pay the price and I think
the Lions five and a half's a lot. But I
do like the Lions. ELM with you, so we agree
on that one.

Speaker 13 (01:06:09):
Well.

Speaker 17 (01:06:09):
Yeah, and you know Jared Goff has a lot to
prove too. Oh yeah, that's been benefited by Sean McVay
and Ben Johnson. You know, how does he look post
an offensive genius being beside him? That'll be a big
question mark this year.

Speaker 1 (01:06:22):
Let's go to the team you love to hate, the
New Orleans Saints. They are hosting the San Francisco forty
nine ers and at home getting four and a half.
You got a dog at home again a team billy,
he's a Buccaneers fan. So the Saints are arrival the Niners.
There are questions about Rock Purty, but the Niners are
laying four and a half on the road.

Speaker 13 (01:06:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 17 (01:06:45):
I I'd be crazy for saying this, but I think
I'm picking New Orleans.

Speaker 8 (01:06:47):
Wow.

Speaker 17 (01:06:48):
One, it's tough to be to have a home underdog.
I mean that's always a thing that you're looking for
and gambling, especially in the NFL with the league with
a lot of pairs, even the worst teams in the
NFL for effected at home like that can play some
competitive games. Brought Purdy the long shot to play. He's
got a toe and a shoulder injury. George Kittle goes

(01:07:09):
on the injured reserve with a hamstring injury. I mean
me and you could go out there and play receiver
for this team right now. It's incredible the amount or
the few amount of pass catchers they have. Mac Jones
is going to be starting for the forty nine ers.
Saints took the Cardinals to the edge last week. Alvin
Kamara is still somebody that's fantasy relevant, and Chris Olave

(01:07:29):
is a talented receiver. Spencer Rattlers never tickled my fancy dick.
But at the same time, as a Buccaneers fan, I
hate to say this. I'm taking the Saints at home here.

Speaker 1 (01:07:38):
You know, I thought I would have to disagree with
you on this one when we picked the games, but
I never saw you picking the Saints. I'm going the
same way. I'm going the same way, and again, they
might not win the game, but four and a half's
a lot. You can see a late field goal winning
this game for the Niners, but missing not just purty perhaps,
but Kittle as well, who is a bit of a

(01:07:59):
security blanket as well. He must be. Yeah, I could see.
I could see the Saints rewarding betters, if not rewarding
their fans with a win. The Seahawks, who are interesting,
are playing the Steelers, who are also interesting. Maybe next
to the Packers, that might have been the most interesting game.
With Aaron Rodgers throwing four touchdown passes last week in Pittsburgh,

(01:08:24):
Billy Seattle is getting two and a half. Steelers are
favored by two and a half.

Speaker 17 (01:08:30):
Yeah, how full of a game was that last week
between the Jets and the Steelers team Aaron Rodgers, who
was splinging it. I know that's it's close to your heart, Dick,
him being an old Packer, but you know, just a
lot of people have written him off and that was
definitely a revenge game for him.

Speaker 9 (01:08:44):
That was.

Speaker 17 (01:08:45):
But you know, this Steelers team is interesting. Mike Collins
had this streak of non consecutive losing seasons. There's a
lot of high expectations, you know, trading for a guy
like Jalen Ramsey and bringing in DK Metcalf. There's a
lot of personalities there, and so the expectations are hot.
I really liked what I saw out of Pittsburgh in
Week one, and the Seahawks are just kind of tough
to figure out. Whether it be who they're starting running

(01:09:07):
back is because Chabernet was playing a lot more than
Kenneth Walker. And do you believe in Sam Donald? Which
Sam Donald? Are you going to get the one that
was in Minnesota? Was Kevin O'Connell or is it going
to be more of the one that was in Carolina
or Many or San Francisco, many of the other stops
that Sam Donald pay Yeah, he earned it. He played
well with Minnesota, but it was Seattle that gave him

(01:09:28):
the payday. And you could say if that was the
right or the wrong decision. Nevertheless, this is in Pittsburgh.
I think that goes a long way. If it was
in Seattle, I think they'd have a much better shot
a covering. I don't hate Seattle this year at all,
especially in a down NFC West, But I'm taking Pittsburgh.

Speaker 1 (01:09:44):
I am too. And the thing you have to tell
yourself about Donald, in my opinion, one thing you gotta
tell yourself there's got to be a reason Minnesota let
him go and it is not just because they thought
they had a super talent in JJ McCarthy, and maybe
they do. He looked great last week in the second
half for Minnesota. But in terms of a business sense,

(01:10:05):
the Minnesota brass got together and said Darnold is not
our future. Good luck in your future ventures, son, And
then you're right. He got paid in Seattle. But the
Steelers picking up number twelve is by Packer fans or buddies,
and I still call Rogers. Apparently it worked out and
we'll see. So I'm gonna go with you over and

(01:10:25):
under thirty nine and a half. So it could be
a real slog of a game. But the Steelers at
home giving up two and a half finally yet yeah
they too. Finally the games we're picking Eagles in Kansas City,
defending champs. This is a rematch of sorts, Philly laying

(01:10:47):
one and a half. Chiefs are believe it or not,
a dog at home. It's a four to twenty five
game on Fox on Sunday, and the Chiefs needle they
can't go into can they?

Speaker 17 (01:11:01):
No, they can't. And these are two teams. I was
pretty disappointed with Week one. Philadelphia should have beaten Dallas
by way more than four points. I don't know if
the weather Dela had anything to do with them coming
back out and nobody's scoring a point after that, and
then Kansas City, maybe that was more about the Chargers
and Justin Herbert throwing it forty fifty times a game.
But you know, Travis Kelcey injuring Xavier Worthy, they're running

(01:11:24):
out of bodies for pass catchers over there? Are you
telling me Juju Smith Schuster is gonna have to be
the guy? I mean, if anybody can do it, it's
Patrick Mahomes with a depleted cast. But you know, I
really don't like either of these teams honestly, even though
it is a Super Bowl matchup. Yeah, I'm leaning towards
Philadelphia here. I know it's tough to play in Arrowhead

(01:11:44):
as always, and you know all the Swifties that are
screaming at those games now, But Jalen Hurst is still
very talented. If AJ Brown can get more involved in
the offense, and Saquon can can continue to be confident
like he has been more than confident last year when
he broke the record for Rooshie yards in a season,
I think it's Philadelphia's game. I think Kansas City will

(01:12:04):
really struggle until they get Rashi Rice back in Week six,
but Patrick Mahons has proven me wrong before and can
do it again. It's tough to pick against the Chiefs,
especially as a home underdog like we just talked about.
But Philly is the Super Bowl defending champion, and I
also think that while they're were some struggles against Dallas,

(01:12:25):
they've had some a little bit more time since they
played early on Thursday to get ready for this one.

Speaker 1 (01:12:29):
I will go with you on this, and I think
you mentioned the name I think will be the difference
at Saquon Barkley. You know, it'll be a tight take game,
a tough game, and when they need a yard or two,
I think they'll hand the ball to Barkley. But they've
also got a quarterback who can make things happen, not
unlike Kansas City. But yeah, Kansas City, you're right, is
banged up. But I don't think Philly will be intimidated

(01:12:51):
at all going into Kansas City, which can be a
tough place to play, but again, there's not many places
tougher than Philly. Believe it, now, we agree on everything
this week. You and I both go with the Bengals
laying three and a half on the Jags. We like
the Cowboys laying five and a half against the Giants.
We like the Lions laying five and a half against

(01:13:12):
the Bears. We're laying a lot of points, Billy. We
like the Saints getting four and a half at home
against the Niners, primarily for me because Brock Perdy is
questionable at best. We like the Steelers at home given
two and a half to the Seahawks and the biggest one,
I think, the toughest one. We like the Eagles laying
one and a half to Kansas City. I'll give you

(01:13:34):
one more chance. You want to change anything, No, No,
I'm good.

Speaker 17 (01:13:37):
But I've just realized that now you have the overall
record lead, you can just agree with me every week
from now.

Speaker 1 (01:13:43):
You'll take the Yeah, but what's the fun in that?
What's the fun in that?

Speaker 13 (01:13:47):
Right?

Speaker 12 (01:13:48):
Yeah?

Speaker 17 (01:13:49):
Well, we'll make it back, but I am glad with
that week one record and hopefully we can keep it rolling.

Speaker 1 (01:13:54):
There you go, he is Billy Rothers. Listen to him
every morning Monday through Friday at nine am five following
the Leads Report with Shannon the Dude right here, and
enjoy your time off, sir, Thank you Dick, and we're
back in just a minute here on six thirty wlap
Welcome back to the Big Blue in cider time now
for heroes, fools and flakes, and we begin with a

(01:14:16):
football coach. He's a d one coach who believes, believe
it or not, less is more. Matt Drinkall, who is
the new hit football coach at Central Michigan University, has said,
I love football, but I am never going to let
it consume my life. I make everybody leave the office
at five thirty every day. The story I read points

(01:14:38):
out that too many football coaches work more than one
hundred hours per week. They miss family dinners, they miss
their kids' ballgames, even bedtime stories, and according to the author,
the industry wears exhaustion like a badge of honor. And
according to the story, when drink All guy out of school,
he was a walk on player, hurt his leg. That

(01:15:01):
was the end of football for him, but he stayed
with it after college. He could have taken a GA
job at a big school hoping somebody will take notice
of him, or go to a small school where he
could have assist Here actually coach, and that's what he did.
He said, I wanted to go down in the level
so I could go up entitle. So he went to

(01:15:22):
Saint Ambrose University where he painted field lines, washed uniform,
designed graphics, and by the way, coordinated the offense coaching
tight ends in the O line, and that's how he
began to move up. He was there for six years,
went to Kansas Wesleyan after that as the head coach.
He was forty two and seventeen, second youngest head coach

(01:15:44):
in college football at the time. Army hired him in
twenty nineteen as the O line coach. He helped build
that line into the Joe Moore Award winning offensive line,
beat out Kentucky among other teams. So this passed off season,
Central Michigan hired him. He had three jobs in seventeen

(01:16:06):
years that he really enjoyed the building process and that's
what appeals to him. So now he's the head coach
at CMU and on his first day, instituted the five
thirty rule mandatory go home time, no exceptions. As assistants
thought he was crazy, but then one of the assistant
coach's daughter walked up to drink call at a team

(01:16:27):
event and said thanks for having him home every day
and drink. Hall said, that's probably the happiest I've been
in coaching our full tonight. There's more than one, but
we're not sure they're names. They are reporters who cover
Oklahoma University football. Audio captured because while they were waiting
at a news conference, the microphone on the podium was

(01:16:50):
hot and they were overheard talking about Oklahoma's upcoming trip
to Temple in Philly and basically saying some really condescending
things about the Al's football program. It was not a
good look for the Oklahoma media contingent number one.

Speaker 4 (01:17:09):
So you don't know what I know.

Speaker 2 (01:17:11):
You can's are gonna a trip.

Speaker 1 (01:17:13):
How mays are sitting at corffee? I'd bet it's like
twenty five gag. Yeah, it'll be Yeah, it'll be interesting
because you're like you can become in high school.

Speaker 9 (01:17:24):
It's gonna be like a weird bowl game.

Speaker 1 (01:17:27):
Night. You know years out there's like sections that they
just don't even sad.

Speaker 8 (01:17:33):
Yeah, I don't know if we'll take like a tarp
off the upper deck.

Speaker 1 (01:17:37):
Yeah, I would have had to say. It's a weird
and weird go around. It'll be like a high school
game or a weird bowl game. Look, not every program
is like the one you cover. That would be like
people who cover Kentucky basketball scoffing and sniffing at programs
that don't jam a twenty thousand seed arena every night
and don't have that kind of tradition. Not every school

(01:18:00):
is like that. So just accept that and move on.
That's going to do it. Thanks so much to Mike
get By the way, whoever released that audio. Never identify
the reporters, which is fine, but people need to realize,
just like we broadcasters do. You never see anything in
front of a microphone that could be live. If you
wouldn't say it in front of a live mic, don't

(01:18:20):
say it in front of a dead mic. And in
this day and age, if there's a microphone in the room,
you got to assume that it's hot. Our flake tonight
is Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers. Now he's played
for several teams, but he's under investigation by the NBA,
so are the Clippers. The league is looking into the
possibility that the Clippers violated league rules by paying Leonard

(01:18:43):
through a side company, so it wouldn't count against their
overall salary cap. But what has come out of this
is a story by the Toronto Star. They dug this
up that Leonard had a long and quote absurd list
of demands when he was looking at a trade to
the Toronto Raptors back in twenty nineteen, and among his

(01:19:03):
demands a stake in ownership of the Maple Leafs, the
NHL hockey team in Toronto, and ten million dollars annually
in extra sponsorship income that he would not have to
do anything for. One of his agents talked to the
team and they said, you know, we want sponsorship, we
want endorsements and this, this and this, and they said, yeah, okay,

(01:19:24):
well the companies are going gonna want him to do this,
this and that. And the agent said, no, he doesn't
want to do anything, but he wants the money. It's
going to be cool to see how this one plays out. Right,
that's going to do it. Thanks to all my guests,
have a great weekend. That said, good night from the
garage in Lexington. I'm dead, look at my sexy GORDI.

Speaker 15 (01:19:47):
Oh yeah, sect out such shot, such.

Speaker 11 (01:20:12):
Tact that staging such sat out, such stat.

Speaker 17 (01:21:12):
To back

Speaker 3 (01:21:22):
Type don

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