2025-10-23 BBI

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Big blon Sider. Dick Gabrielle with you
on a Thursday edition of our program, heading into a big,
big UK sports weekend. As you know, Kentucky basketball that
you came in tomorrow night take on top ranked Perdue.
Kentucky is ranked ninth in both preseason polls, the Big Ones,
the AP and the coaches, and of course football Kentucky
Tennessee Saturday night. You will hear both of those games

(00:23):
right here. But here in the first segment, we're going
to talk about college basketball and where it is right now. Andre,
where it is right now. It's just messed up, There's
no question about that. And coaches are speaking out because
you know, you've got media days, different conferences all over
the country, and a lot of coaches are speaking out now.
And it seems like things have been triggered by U

(00:47):
of L. And I'm not just I'm not blaming Louisville.
Just happened to be Louisville recruiting and signing a kid
who is in the G League, and that is just
exacerbated whatever problems there have arisen in college sports, specifically basketball.
You know, the transfer portal nil and all that and

(01:08):
college basketball is so different than when most of us
started following it when we were growing up. If you
were following it ten years ago, it's different now and
it is a much greater challenge for coaches now for
a number of reasons. But before we get into what
some of these other coaches are saying, I want to
talk about the fact that Mark Pope is trying to

(01:32):
restore the glory to Kentucky basketball. And look, I know
everybody was unhappy with John Caliperry by the time he left,
but when you consider what he did when he got here,
the first part of his run was phenomenal, Absolutely sensational,
wasn't it. You grew to expect Kentucky going back to

(01:53):
the Final four. It made people uncomfortable how he did
it by talking about and highlighting and recruiting the one
and done kids. And UK released the information earlier this
week that Kentucky has twenty seven people on NBA Opening

(02:14):
Day rosters, leading the nation for the fourteenth consecutive season.
That's because of John Caliperi. And again, you might find
it distasteful that cali Perry was concentrating too much, my
word on getting kids to the league, getting these kids
to the league. Okay, I get that, and he absolutely

(02:37):
stepped in it when he said on that night that
Kentucky had five going the first round. It's the biggest
night in UK history. He tried to walk that back indirectly, succinctly,
subtly through his years, but that was a mistake. However,
I will say this, you can link what he did

(02:57):
and what Kentucky has going for in the NBA now
to what Mark Pope is trying to do here in
lexingon and here's why. Minus Kentucky's presence, the UK presidence,
the UK brand, the Kentucky effect, if you will. In
the NBA, Mark Pope is looking at the same uphill

(03:22):
battle that a lot of college coaches are, and that
is you know, the nil the transfer portal, and what
does he have to sell that other coaches don't The
UK brand And of late, the UK brand has been
kids popping up in the NBA. And I'm talking about

(03:44):
it out on the recruiting trail. If you've been following
UK basketball for a while, yeah, you know about a championships.
You know about Jobie Hall and Adolph Rupp and Jack
Gibbons and James Lee and Kyle Macy and those folks.
But these kids today, as we say they don't I
can't say they don't care, but they don't know. The

(04:05):
guys on the UK team now when they talk about
Kentucky basketball, who do they talk about? John Wall? So
many of them have said, when I think about UK basketball,
when I was growing up, I wanted to be John Wall. Well,
John Wall was the first high profile recruit of John Caliperry.
That's how far back he goes. And these kids they're eighteen,

(04:27):
they're nineteen. That's what they're going to remember. And not
only did they see John Wall in Kentucky, but they
saw him go on to the NBA, and then the
parade of players who did the same thing, staying for
one or two or even three years at Kentucky. But
they're ever present omni president in the NBA. So when

(04:48):
you talk about the Kentucky brand and a weapon, a tool,
an advantage for Mark Pope, that's big. That's huge. And
back in the day when it was Kentucky and the
other blue bloods against everybody else, you had that huge
advantage in that if you were a kid who wanted

(05:10):
to play college basketball, you desperately wanted to go to
one of the blue bloods, which meant Kentucky or other schools.
Now you know you're going to go where you can
get the most bang for your nil buck, right, because
the league will find you. If you're good, the league
will find you, and if your team is good enough,
you'll get to the final four. We saw that with

(05:32):
Florida Atlantic, didn't we and other schools. It wasn't just
the blue bloods getting to the Final four. So now
that creates parody in the college game, and programs that
need advantages will get it wherever they can. And a
huge advantage for Mark Pope and his recruiters is the

(05:54):
Kentucky effect in the NBA, which was built by John
caliper So say what you will about him, like him
or not, finding his link to the NBA distasteful or not.
And look, cali Perry was heading for the NBA until
the Harrison Twins came back. He was going to take
that Cavalier's job, but then he decided to stay. And

(06:16):
what do you know, Kentucky nearly ran the table that
next year and then things really began to crumble. But
it's a huge plus for Mark Pope to have these
impressive numbers of x Wildcats in the NBA, and it
will be for quite some time. And now Pope has

(06:37):
put a couple of kids on NBA rosters. So just
food for thought there. When you think of John Caliperry
and you want to grind your teeth, remember, as long
as his former players are in the league, he is
helping Mark. Pope also helping himself. There's no question wherever
he goes at Arkansas, now he can say, hey, look

(06:58):
at all these kids in the league. I helped him
get there. Come play for me. Yeah, that's true, but
I think puts Kentucky more front center than anywhere he
might be. That said, other coaches now have picked up
the standard, and I do believe it's been triggered by
London Johnson announcing he'll go to Louisville. Call it a

(07:22):
rules loophole if you will, but the rule was there.
We played to Tom Izzo signed by it yesterday. He
didn't know the rule, and every other coach that I've
seen quoted admitted they didn't know the rule. And a
big twelve media days, they talked to Kelvin Sampson, they
talked to Bill's self and Neither one of those guys

(07:43):
is happy where things are right now now. Kelvin Samson
was a lot more outspoken against it and about it
than Bill self. Kelvin of course the head coach at Houston.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
But at some point somebody's got to stop clip and
say this is wrong. You know, it's not.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
What we signed up for. It's not what they signed
up for. It's not fair of them either. It's I'm
fraid of their parents. You know, we're still at an
educational institution, but there's nothing educational.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
About college basketball right now. It's all transactional.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
And then we go put our head in the sin
in that like, well it'll change eventually.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
If you how many ads five years ago said ah,
this will play out. This won't last. Okay, same guys
are saying it today. This won't last.

Speaker 3 (08:26):
It's gonna outlast all of us because that toothpaste is
out of the two and you ain't putting it back.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
End positively impact in lives.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
If we tell a kid that he has to set
out for a year transfer, you get one transfer anywhere
you want.

Speaker 2 (08:43):
With no penalty, transfer and co play right away.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
But you can't do that every year, you know, I
mean it's we've made a mockery of college basketball to
some degree.

Speaker 1 (08:54):
At Houston coach Kelvin Sampson at Big twelve Media did
That's where Bill self wighed in the Kansas coach and
he admitted that maybe he'll take advantage of this rule
that he doesn't completely understand.

Speaker 4 (09:07):
Don't want to knock it from a standpoint that who knows.
We may be recruiting one before it's all said and done.
But I got to know the rule better because I
didn't know it was just limited to G League. I
thought a guy could get cut in the NBA and
the eligible for college. My personal opinion is I have

(09:29):
no idea what we're doing. What are we doing? So
we're going to go recruit. We're going to call NBA
teams and G League teams to find out who potentially
be available. And that's who we're going to recruit now,
as opposed to high school kids or even portal kids.

Speaker 1 (09:47):
And you know, these are the coaches, as we mentioned yesterday,
who really don't have a say in any of this.
And John Caliperry has been banging the drum since back
in the middle of summer about changing the transport rule.
Here's what he said to John Rothstein back then.

Speaker 5 (10:00):
Very simple, you should have a free year after you
stay in school for one years. You got to stay
there one year and be play. You can't just sit out.
So you play one year where and then if you
choose to transfer, you get it one time. So either
you made a mistake, the coach wasn't honest with you,

(10:22):
there was a guy on the team that was better
than you thought, and you're going to be behind him
and Bubba I get it.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
But after that you sit out.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Same old Caliperry. But he's right, he's right. Make that
change if you can. But they're not listening to the
coaches right now, are they speaking of coaches? Tony Vittello,
the Tennessee baseball coach, has left for the San Francisco Giants.
First time a college coach with no pro experience has
ever taken a big league job. Up next, Darren Hedrick
going to talk about that the radio voice of the

(10:51):
baseball Cats, and we'll hear from Jack Gibbings about the
upcoming Blue White game that's next on six thirty WLAP.
Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider and join us
now to talk about this Tony Vittello to the Giants situation.
Is our man Darren Hedrick from the UK Sports Network,
the radio voice of the baseball Wildcats. Derek is Derek.

(11:11):
Darren is uniquely qualified because of course covering SEC baseball
and has been the voice of the Cats for a
while now, but went to Tennessee. Is from Tennessee and
knows a lot of the folks down there. Darren, you
first alerted me you heard the rumblings about this, gosh
two or three weeks ago. How did this happen?

Speaker 6 (11:32):
Yeah, you know, I think it's the relationship that Tony
Botello had with Buster Posey. He and some of the
members of that San Francisco front office know each other.
I guess, obviously knowing now, they're a lot closer than
we thought they were. But yeah, it just came together
and supposedly, depending on what rumors you want to believe,

(11:54):
they had been talking for two or three weeks now,
And I guess when you look at the landscape of
college athletics and who's getting what slides to the pie,
there's all sorts of rumors about, you know, was Tony
happy with his slides of the pie or whatever? But
I really think it just boils down to here's a

(12:15):
guy who, as much as he loved the program he
had built and wanted to stay. If you're a college
sitting college head coach of just about any sport, and
one of the franchises in your sport from the pro
rights comes and says, we want you to be the
head coach. You have to go right.

Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yeah, yeah, one of thirty. You're going to be one
of thirty in the world. Yeah, that's understandable. I get
it from his end, especially if there was any kind
of rift. What are the giants thinking you talk about?
And look, give them credit. It's outside the box, buddy.
They're not recycling. And there's something to be said when
you talk about recycling managers. You're talking about hiring a

(12:57):
guy with managerial experience at the big league left. But
this is as far away from that as you can get.

Speaker 6 (13:03):
Yeah, you're exactly right. And I listened to an interview
with the Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who coached in the
college ranks I think it was Arizona State and Notre
Dame where he was the head coach, and he brought
up the fact he said, remember, folks, the giants didn't
just do this. They're a very intelligent front office buster.

(13:24):
Posey knows the game. I think what they liked about
Tony Vaytello was the way he managed people, the way
he motivated. And I don't think the Giants are necessarily
set up to win big this coming season. You're in
a division with the Padres and the Dodgers. But I
think what they're hoping to get out of this is

(13:45):
Tony is able to manage that roster and the personalities
and maximize its potential and motivate them. And I think
that's kind of what they see in him. But you're right,
it's an interesting hire. It's a gamble on both ends.
But hey, for Tony, if it doesn't work out, he's
going to have his pick of college programs.

Speaker 1 (14:02):
Yeah, yeah, no question about that. So speaking of Tennessee,
what does that do for the Balls? Now you know
Kentucky's head. It's probably everybody said their problem with Tennessee,
which of course won the World Series title when Kentucky
went to them all.

Speaker 6 (14:18):
So now, yeah, I think the next step for them.
They named Frank Anderson their interim head coach, and Anderson
the current pitching coach down there, he's got head coaching experience.
I've heard he's expressed a desire that he does not
want to be a head coach again, that he's happy
coaching as pitchers. You could look towards maybe an assistant

(14:40):
coach like Josh Islander. He's one of their best assistant
or best recruiting coaches down there, so he might get
a shot. And then outside of that, I think they
look at sitting power for coaches. They've already mentioned the
guy at Oregon. There's a couple of other names that
have been thrown out there that are sitting head coaches.

(15:02):
So this will be an interesting search, and I think
it's going to draw a lot of attention, obviously because
of that brand new facility and with where that program
and the roster currently are.

Speaker 1 (15:12):
Yeah. Yeah, And you know, whoever takes that job and
the players from here on, at least for a while,
they're going to be standing on the shoulders of Tony Vittello.
I'll let you go with this. What's brought me Darren
was Max Scherzer, who pitched for Vitello at Miszoo, believes
he will absolutely be a success at the major league level.

(15:34):
When Max Scherzer talks people listen, right.

Speaker 6 (15:37):
That's exactly right. And again it just goes back to
I think it's a fascinating higher and I'm curious to
see if it works, because if it does, I think
you're changing the landscape. And you might not. By Tello
might not be the last guy you see pulled from
the college ranks to go manage a big league team.

Speaker 1 (15:55):
And by the way, Vittello took some not so subtle
shots at Kentucky when they play up here, and you know,
teasing Kentucky basically about dugout behavior and cheerleading and stuff like,
even though Tennessee does similar things with crops and posing
and stuff. But I will say this, Doug and I
go and talk to just about every coach prior to

(16:16):
every series, and that guy can work the media. Now.
He's smooth, isn't he?

Speaker 7 (16:21):
Yes?

Speaker 6 (16:22):
Yes, And that's another aspect I think of why the
Giants were so interested in him, as he's going to
deal with that San Francisco media about as well as
anybody's going.

Speaker 1 (16:31):
Absolutely, he is Darren Headrick in You can hear him
on our broadcast of Kentucky football games. He holds down
the scoreboard and also this week he'll be sitting in
for Tom Leach on the Wildcat Whips that we'll talk
some football with Darren ahead of Kentucky Tennessee Football. Thank you, Sarah.
We'll talk to you soon.

Speaker 6 (16:47):
Yeah, no problem, thanks DG.

Speaker 1 (16:49):
All right, I promise you Jack Gibbons, we're going to
hold him till our number two. But coming up next,
Chris Doring of the SEC Network talks UK football on
six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Lewin Sider
now is a long time friends of the show. We
love talking football with Chris Doring of the SEC Network.
You've been on the road a lot, I know, back
and forth in and out of the studio, but I

(17:10):
got to start before we talk in Tucky, Tennessee. What
a year in the SEC, I mean every I love
watching YOURLS wrap up shows because half the time you
can't believe what you just saw, right.

Speaker 8 (17:22):
I mean, it's been another fantastic season.

Speaker 6 (17:26):
You know.

Speaker 8 (17:26):
I talked about two summers ago all the talk about
college football falling apart and the transfer portal and nil
and everything up in the air with the future of
the sport, and we had a tremendous season last year
filled with drama and competitiveness in the conference, and I
think it's even gotten more dramatic and more competitive in
the league this year. So it's so much fun to

(17:49):
get a chance to do what we do. It's a
challenge sometimes to put it into words, given what we see,
but it certainly is a lot of fun to be
able to cover the league what we did.

Speaker 1 (17:57):
How do you explain Vanderbilt? And let me start by saying,
I really like their defense. Pavi is special, man. Their
defense is good.

Speaker 8 (18:06):
Yeah, I'm glad you said that, because I think everybody
thinks of Vanderbilt as Diego Pavia, and he's a large
part of it. He's a hard toll of that team,
a great leader of that that that locker room. But
I honestly believe that this team is good because they
put the right pieces around. If there's a ton of
of great skill players, probably better than we've seen Vanderbilt
have in a long time, certainly way better, way more physical,

(18:29):
way more developed. Lines of scrimmage on both sides of
the ball, and you hit to the defense, they're attacking,
their disruptive, they fly around, they're deep with talent. So
I just you know, you asked me, how have they
done this? It's it's Clark Lee. It's getting the right
guy that has a vision that the administration has gotten behind,

(18:49):
given the funds necessary to support that vision and the
patients in time to let it come to life. And
you know, I can't say enough about Clark Lee. Have
always thought that he's one of the most intelligent, one
of the most He kind of like the old es
heighten commercials when when he talks to people listening, you know,
because he just has such command and really impressed with

(19:12):
what they've been able to do. I said it for
weeks now that I believe they're the most one of
the most complete teams in the SEC. And and I
said on Friday Night show, I told Benjamin said, the
reason they're going to win this game is they're a
better team than LSU. And they were on the line
of scrimmage especially.

Speaker 1 (19:27):
I heard you say that, and then on Saturday you
followed it up. I think it was you when you said,
and they're playing LSU for crying out loud, both lines
of scrimmage, Vanderbilt was better and that's where everybody.

Speaker 8 (19:39):
Starts, right, no doubt, and one of the one of
the things that I brought to light in that ball game.
Everybody's talking about Diego Pavia. He's not an NFL player.
I watched him run away from Harold Perkins Junior to
get a first down. I mean, this is not a
guy that's doing it with smoking mirrors. He's athletic, makes
guys miss. He's perfectly in full command of this offense,
as he should be. Having run it back. You know,

(20:01):
the stays in New Mexico State. So I love everything
about this Vanderbilt story, and let.

Speaker 1 (20:05):
It be known.

Speaker 8 (20:06):
I think people are starting to figure it out by now.
But this is not a fluke and this is not
some feel good story.

Speaker 1 (20:11):
Nope, And Kentucky plays Vandy coming up on November twenty second.
Let us get to the Wildcats. I was talking at
halftime on the radio about the fact that it's interesting
to me when you see scores like we had in
that game. I always wonder what people around the country
are thinking when they see that score. Now, you guys
have a bank of monitors. I know you can watch everything,

(20:33):
but what did you notice in that game? How did
you see that game unfold?

Speaker 8 (20:37):
What I noticed was exactly what I predicted on Friday
and that Tennessee was going to be in a dogfight.
You know, I know what it's like to go to Lexington.
I know the types of teams that Marks Tukes put together.
I know what they pride themselves on in terms of
toughness on the line of Exermians themselves, and that you know,
I just looked back to two weeks ago when Florida
came here to Gainesville, went Texas Candy Gainsville to play

(20:59):
Florida Water ravaged them on both lines of skirmish, and
I thought it would be a similar situation with Kentucky
doing the same thing. I think even more so, what
I noticed was a tremendous game plan that was executed
to perfection, keeping the ball away from Texas, you know,
ball control, passing almost over forty minutes of possession in

(21:20):
that ball game. A defensive performance that you know, held
Texas to under two hundred yards a toole law offense.
They did everything they needed to do except call more
creative plays on third and fourth down at the goal line.
I mean, I didn't like I liked the decision to
be aggressive there, but I didn't like the decision to
two times in a row run the same play, trying
to condense the set, just punch everybody up. I didn't

(21:42):
like it.

Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, could begetting They had no luck doing that all night.
They'd run the ball fairly well in different ways, but
not in those gaps. And it didn't work again, did it?

Speaker 8 (21:52):
Yep? I think sometimes you get you get two set
on trying to prove a point, you know, when maybe
spread it out. I always liked kind of and out.
Maybe that goes back to my days playing for coach Berrier.
But we you know, we get down around the two
or three yard line, you know, spread it out and
twoer guys in the box to deal to defend those runs.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
Right, that's right.

Speaker 9 (22:11):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
And going back to the Georgia game, then there was
a bye weekend in Texas and they took full advantage obviously,
but bush ham Dan and Mark Stews both pledged the job.
One offensively would be get the ball out of cutter
Bowling's hands, quicker. Their old line is not adept enough,
you know, with all due respect at the five and

(22:32):
seven step drop stuff. They got to get it, and
it's worked. It worked against Georgia to a point. It worked.
It was terrific against Texas as a guy who played
for Spurrior and likes that up tempo stuff. What have
you seen.

Speaker 8 (22:44):
Yeah, I think they've done a good job of scheming
around some of the deficiencies as you talked about. You know,
this is an offensive still I think struggles with explosive
plays and when you play the style of offense, the
Kentucky kind of playing, now you have to play it perfectly.

Speaker 6 (23:00):
You don't have the.

Speaker 8 (23:01):
Ability to get behind the chains. You don't have you know,
the third and long you're tough to convert. You know,
it's tough to you go on twelve and thirteen play
drives every time you have the ball, and certainly you
know Kentucky wasn't able to do that, but when they
needed to, they put some drives together, including late to
die It. But I do think they're doing a good
job of playing to what is somewhat of a limited

(23:23):
roster in a lot of ways. And so you know,
I give them a lot of credit for finding a way.
You know, you can't go out and make trades like
in the NFL, you kind of got to go to
go to go to war with what you got.

Speaker 1 (23:35):
But Bowley has adapted really well up for a red
shirt freshmen. He threw the ball to twelve different receivers
last week. I mean, yeah, you know, and.

Speaker 8 (23:44):
You usually usually see that dick in a game where
you know it's a blowout, you're playing a lot of guys.
I noticed that I think they had like eleven receivers,
eleven different guys called balls in the first half alone.
So it really was just you know, distribution by design.

Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, yeah, talking to Chris Doring of the SEC no
or of course, the Wildcats take on Tennessee coming up
Saturday night. Tennessee so different offensively then a lot of teams,
but specifically Texas, which runs I don't know if it's
more of a pro style, but it's not the up tempo,
uh spread the field out. They don't have the receivers

(24:17):
Tennessee has. I think this is going to be a
tough one for the Wildcats.

Speaker 2 (24:20):
What do you think it'll be.

Speaker 8 (24:22):
A tough one? I think, but I I you know
the thing that that everybody I think has wrong about
Tennessee's offense under Josh Haipel, you know, think about spreading out,
going all over the field. They want to run the
football first and foremost, So you know, if you can
find a way to stop the run. You know, you're
you're you're accomplishing, you have to battle. So it's it's
important that their physical uh on the line of scrimmage

(24:45):
at the point of attack and and if you can
take away that that run and makes them a little
bit more of one dimensional. So I will get it
going that the key is getting stops early in the
down sequence because if they do get that that first
big gainer, they're getting to the line and you the
tempo against Just so you know, this is this is
a contrast of two very different styles, and uh, you know,

(25:06):
I think it's kind of refreshing to see this is
not the same Tennessee defense as last year. You know,
Tim Bank had a rolling last season. This is a
team that you know, shorthanded in the secondary and certainly
not as stout upfront as they were last year.

Speaker 6 (25:22):
So I don't I don't.

Speaker 8 (25:23):
Think this is by any means a game that I
expected to be a blowout. We've had so many competitive
games even with teams that we think are you know,
near the top, playing teams that are lower in the standings.
I just I love the contrast in styles.

Speaker 1 (25:36):
As I talked about, you know, it's funny. Brad White
talked to the media Wednesday afternoon. Chris, the first thing
out of his mouth was exactly what you just said
about Tennessee. Yeah, we talk about the passing attack, but
it's a run game that makes them so dangerous. And
starting with a guy Deshaun Bishop almost eight yards per

(25:57):
carry for crying out loud. I mean, what do you
do that?

Speaker 8 (26:01):
Yeah, I mean, you know, last year it was Dylan
Sampson that was kind of the catalyst that obviously the
SEC offensive MVP last year, and this year we're trying
to figure out how they were going to place his production.
It started out with kind of like a trio of
running back to now it looks like the Sean Bishop
is coming becoming more of the bell cow back in
that offense. He's healthier and running really hard. So yeah,

(26:24):
that's every defensive coordinator will tell you our goal first
and foremost is to stop the run. But I think
specifically with this Tennessee offense, you got to find a
way to stop the run and not give up those
explosive runs that we see every time we turn on
the highlights on Saturday.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
One of the favorite guests we have and make the rounds.
Former Kentucky player who does cut up video cutups on
the internet is a former d back named Van Hiles,
and I had him on the other night and his
answer to solving the Tennessee offense was just keep them
off the field. You know, can Kentucky do it again?
Twenty six first downs to eight for Texas. I know

(27:00):
that that's possible against Tennessee, but that's the best way
to do it, right.

Speaker 8 (27:05):
Yeah, it is. I mean, that's that's really what you
saw from Georgia in the second half of the Old
miss game. They can stop all Missus offense to what
they do. They they ran the ball over and over again,
and they had the ball for like twenty one minutes
to the final thirty minutes of that game. So I
think sometimes the best defense is a good offense. And
with Kentucky, I think having an opportunity to go back

(27:26):
to that Arkansas game, Arkansas ran the ball really well
against Tennessee's defense, particularly in the first half of that game.
So there's some some yards to be had there. And
if you can run the ball be productive, you've got
to finish in the red zone with touchdowns. Field goals
aren't good enough. But if you can do those things
and limit the time if time of possession doesn't mean
as much when you're playing at Tennessee because they go fast.

(27:49):
But at the same time, if you can keep the ball,
possess the ball and keep them on the sideline, like
you said, you know, it does make a very difficult
You limit the number of the number of possessions that
Tennessee has and you finished with red zone touchdowns yourself.
It makes it very difficult for them because they got
to play dearly perfect to match.

Speaker 1 (28:07):
Chris Doring of the SEC Network, my guest, and we'll
talk more Kentucky football and SEC football on the other
side of the break here on six thirty WLAP. Welcome
back to the Big Blue Sider, my guess, Chris Doring
from the SEC Network. You mentioned Arkansas and Tennessee. Arkansas
played Tennessee to a three point game. Tennessee loses to

(28:27):
Georgia by three Alabama turn things around on Tennessee. I
go back and look at Kentucky schedule and yeah, they
gifted South Carolina touchdowns which turned you know that game
was over at that point. But you know, Kentucky ole
miss a tie game in the third quarter. We know
what happened with Texas. Do you think Kentucky is good

(28:50):
enough to break through against a team like Tennessee.

Speaker 8 (28:55):
I think they're gonna get a couple of sec this
wins this year. I don't know if it'll this week,
but I do think that they are. They're good enough.
They've been close. You know, sometimes the hardest thing, and
we've talked a lot in the offseason about how many
new faces that were on this Kentucky roster. Sometimes you know,
you can think you can do something, but until you
do it, you're not actually sure. So if you get

(29:17):
one of these close ball games, That's why that Texas
game would have been such Obviously beating Texas would have
been massive, but the amount of confidence you get. I
still think they got a lot of confidence from just
I don't believe in moral victories, but I think they
got a lot of confidence from the way they played
in that game. So I'm hoping that they can find
that as a way to catapult them into continuing to
play that way and getting a couple set wins before

(29:39):
the end of the year.

Speaker 1 (29:39):
You played on Florida game teams that were just so
damn good. I don't know if you can even relate
to this, but I was wondering what it might be
like this week in practice with both the offensive and
defensive guys for Kentucky and the coaches who aren't going
to flat out saying, now, look, you did what you're
supposed to do, and look how well we played against Texas.

(30:00):
I guess that's kind of a given, isn't it kind
of assumed? Do players lean on that sort of thing?

Speaker 8 (30:06):
Yeah, I mean I love you think about the love
love languages, right, the five love languages my mind's words
of affirmation. So I love going into the meeting room
and sitting down, having the coach and tell me what
a good job I did on this player that play.
So it's reinforcing when you go in and you see
what you're doing, you see the way that you've been

(30:29):
coached throughout the weeks of practice, and you see it
executed properly on the tape and you see the outcome.
It does reinforce all right, we're close, we're doing the
right things. And you know, again, there's no such thing
as moral victories and sec football, but I do think
there's a lot that can be built upon and the
resiliency of this Kentucky team, the way that they played

(30:51):
down you know, needing to drive late to tie the
thing up and getting it and moving it and over time,
Like golly, if you just finished down there in that
possession where you got them on the two yard line
before getting stuffed like it, just you know, you're so close.
And I think seeing that on tape and understanding how
close you are can give you that taste for one

(31:12):
to get over the hump and get that win.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
A few minutes off with Chris during and the SEC Network.
You hear him on the radio on the Serious XM
channel three seventy four. He and Peter Burns. In the mornings.
You see him with Benjamin Watson and Darry Noka on
the wrap up show SEC Football Final. I don't care
how late I've worked a Kentucky game, Chris, and it's
going to be till one am this Saturday. I can't

(31:35):
go to bed till I watch that show on Saturday.

Speaker 8 (31:37):
Guys, I love that you say that. I just did
an interview with a student that's in the college journalism
at UF and she asked me what it is that
I enjoyed the most about game day, and I think
what I told her is I have the honor of
putting a bow on SEC football Saturdays in the fall,
and so many people tell me about INDI their day

(32:00):
watching our show. It just means a lot to be
able to have that be part of people's habits of
consuming SET football the time of the year.

Speaker 1 (32:08):
Yeah, it is so much fun. And then you know,
you can see the highlights again on the SEC and
sixties show in the morning. So yeah, my wife walked
in there and I was watching in the kitchen. She said, well,
that's a good idea. I said, damn right, it is. Yeah.
But before I let you go, I do need to
ask you, because you and mister Burns and Paul Feinenbaum
tooll point, you know, pick up the standard for the

(32:31):
SEC versus the Big Ten things like that. But what
do you make of Indiana this year?

Speaker 8 (32:37):
I love it, man, I love the story. You know,
to me, Indiana and Vanderbilt are two very similar stories
where you get the right coach. You know, he has
a vision. You help bring that vision to life, to
light to life, and then you know, I think so
much of it has to do with quarterback, right. Quarterback
is the most important position in any sports there is,

(33:00):
and so you know, both Indiana and Vanderbilt got the
right quarterback and you build around there. So this is again,
they're not a team that's smoking mirrors either. They're tough.
Signetti preaches physicality. They It kind of reminds me a
little bit. There's a lot of people around Gainesville that
have been talking about, you know, we need to get
Lane Kiffin because he's, you know, the most like Spurrier.

(33:20):
You need to get this guy. That guy Signetti actually
reminds me a lot of Coach Furrier in some of
the ways that he takes some of the jabs and
everything else. But it really the biggest thing is the
confidence that is infused into his team. Like we we
knew we were going to be good because we had
coach Furyer on the sideline, Like we we took on
some of that confidence, you know, bordering on arrogance because

(33:41):
he was our coach.

Speaker 1 (33:43):
When Signetti said, google me, you know I win or whatever,
it's not man, this guy. He's a different kind of guy.
But you know what I meant to me when when
Kentucky hired Eddie Sudden all those years ago from Arkansas,
I remember when he was hired. At one point he
lived on me and goes, I'm a pretty good basketball coach,
and I thought, oh, okay, all right.

Speaker 8 (34:03):
It's refreshing when you have a coach that will speak
his mind and not give you a coach speak and
and especially this is not like some young, brash guy.
This the guy who's been around the box, pet his
dues and believes in himself as he should. Man, I
love I love the guy talk about how they feel,
you know.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
And then Patino talked about how much Kentucky tickets are
going to be worth again someday. So yeah, I love it. Uh.
I can't let you go without asking you about your
beloved Gators and a former Kentucky assistant Ad Scott strictly
now the head man down there made what had to
be I know, it's a personal standpoint, a difficult decision
to cut Billy Napier loose because he was lauded as

(34:40):
the answer for Florida football. But I was amazed to
read Christ and his winning percentage was of the last
four coaches, was the lowest. The timing I thought was
really interesting. What was your take on that?

Speaker 8 (34:53):
You know, what's funny, Dick like there was a time
when we had it rolling at Florida, right. I never
I remember thinking, wow, that we're never going to not
make it to a bowl game. You know, you just
got to win six games to get the a bowl game.
Florida's had far too many instances in the last fifteen
years of not having a winning record, which is not acceptable.
And when you look at Billy Naper's total win loss record,

(35:17):
it's twenty two and twenty three, like that shouldn't ever
be a reality. And I think if you take away
some of the FtF games and the Group of Five games,
like the record is just not where Florida expects it
to be. And you know, it makes me sad. I
think it's just like any other relationship. You go into
it with such high hopes and when it doesn't work out,

(35:38):
obviously there's a change that needs to be made, but
you don't feel good about it. With Billy Naper. He's
such a good guy and did so much for his
players and for this university and every guy I've ever
talked to and it talks with him about him with
such great respect. So it's it's sad that it didn't
work out. But I think it was pretty clear with
the same things happening in over and over again. The inconsistencies,

(35:59):
the penalty, this organization, the game management, all of these
things were happening far too frequently here in year four
to feel like you know, anything was ever going to
be different.

Speaker 1 (36:09):
Yeah, but now the challenge is, you well know, thanks
to the portal and nil. We used to say, man
Florida because of that recruiting backyard, He's got such a
great advantage. Now it's who's got the biggest nil pot
of money. But Florida, I think still has an advantage.
You're still gonna have kids grow up wanting to be
Gators like you. But the challenge is different now, isn't it.

Speaker 9 (36:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (36:31):
I don't know that that matters quite as much anymore. Unfortunately,
there's not many guys that go to schools that they
grew up loving and you know, have a vested interest
in cut of Ole. He's probably you know, an exception
to the rule now too, being elect kid. But I
would say, you know, I've heard a lot of talk
my university here about how Florida's so much better than

(36:52):
this school of that school, and look at this school
hasn't won a championship in so many years, I don't
think that matters anymore. This is the whole new era
of college football. It doesn't matter what you did twenty
years ago, it doesn't matter what you did five years ago.
You know, it's about commitment financially to being successful now.
I do think Florida having a Gatorade deal and a
Jumpman deal, those things are helpful and can give opportunities

(37:15):
for additional nil and may be attractive to players. But
at the end of the day, like I think, you
can go the fact that Indiana's in the mix with
where they are Vanderbilt, like, you can go win a
championship anywhere if you get alignment the right guy and
support him financially. So I don't look at it. You
can't look at it through the same traditional prism that
we used to look through with and quite.

Speaker 1 (37:37):
Frankly, that's a challenge. Mark Pope is looking at Eric Kentucky.
But that's a discussion for another night. Before I let
you go out. This is just a personal thing. But
you were a walk on, You're a hometown kid. You
became an all star player in college, you won a
national tity, you make it to the NFL. How many times,
Chris Dorn did you look up and pinch yourself say,
how in the world does this happen?

Speaker 8 (38:00):
Lee?

Speaker 1 (38:00):
I still do.

Speaker 8 (38:00):
I mean the fact that I get to do what
I do, you know, I like, wow, I am the
luckiest guy in the world. Like twelve year old Chris
Doring would be so head over heels getting to do
what I get to do. And it is sometimes, you know,
you get caught up in the work that goes into
it and the grind and the travel, and it's easy
to say, man, I need to take a break, But
like Ali, I get to do this for well fourteen

(38:22):
fifteen saturdays in the fall. Man, It's such a blessing.
And I'm so grateful to be aligned with the Southeastern
Conference the way that I am.

Speaker 1 (38:28):
Yeah, well, you do a great job, you and mister Burns,
and I do appreciate it. Alyssa Lang and Katie George
and everybody down there. I appreciate your time as always,
looking forward to the next show. Thank you so much,
Thank you man.

Speaker 8 (38:41):
Great being with you. I appreciate you having.

Speaker 1 (38:42):
Me up next more Kentucky football and basketball chatter. We'll
also talk volleyball and Readers' Cup Weekend. All ahead on
the Big Newing Siders six thirty w LAP.

Speaker 10 (39:04):
SAT Such tact, tact anything, don't dou.

Speaker 1 (40:48):
Welcome back to the Big Blue and Saturday. It's a
big weekend, as you know, our number two of our program,
and we're going to look ahead to not the only football,
but basketball because tomorrow night it's the Wildcats and those
Purdue boiler Makers in an exhibition matchup. Purdue was ranked
number one in the country by both the AP and
the coaches poul Kentucky is ranked number nine in the country,

(41:09):
although it's interesting in some of the way too soon
top twenty fives. Early in the summer, Kentucky didn't show
up very well, but of late the Wildcats have been
climbing in terms of the estimation by the voters. So
Kentucky in the top ten going up against a Purdue
team that a lot of people think will win the
national championship, or at least should be favored to win

(41:31):
the national title. And as we all know, Kentucky is
going into the game probably minus Jalen Lowe, and he
is a guy who is expecting a lot is expected.
Of of course, had that injury in the Blue White Game,
and earlier today on the Leech Report, I was talking
to Jack Gibbons, who worked alongside me on the streaming

(41:53):
telecast of UK Pro Day, and we talked then about
what I perceived to be a lack of depth at
the point guard spot. Jack told me then that if
Jalen Lowe, god forbid, guy injured or let's just say,
got into foul trouble, that Kentucky had some options at
the point guard spot, better more so than they had

(42:15):
last year when Lamont Butler was struggling with injuries. And
he stands by that. This morning he talked about the
point guard spot.

Speaker 7 (42:24):
You know, Gonzelle Aberdeen will be able to step in
and run the point guard spot with the first unit.
I think that is almost for sure, Gabe, I'm sure
that will happen. I think after that, there's a number

(42:45):
of different things I think Mark can do. I mean, obviously,
Colin Chandler ran a lot of point guard last year.
He's played a lot of points, a lot of point
guard in up and down so far in practice, so
I don't know that.

Speaker 2 (43:03):
You will lose a whole lot there.

Speaker 7 (43:06):
Obviously, he's not quite as quick as low or as
Aberdeen for that matter, So I think there are plenty
of options. I think I like we saw last year,
unexpected guys would rush the point guard. I remember Otega
ran the point guard at times and looked good doing it.

(43:29):
With Mark's offense, I think it's a lot easier because
a lot of times the point guard just starts to
play and then the movement of the players and of
the ball kind of takes care of where it ends up.
So I think Kentucky will be all right. I don't
want to have to do it without Jayalen low very long,

(43:52):
just because he's that good, But I think they'll be fine.

Speaker 1 (43:56):
And it is early early, It's not like it was
last year when down the stretch they were trying to
keep the team pulled together, and Butler wasn't the only
guy dealing with an injury, so it should be a
manageable situation for Mark Pope. And of course Lowe was
injured in that Blue White game, which was a ragged game,

(44:17):
a physical game. Wasn't like some games we've seen in
the past where there's not a lot of defense and
guys are allowed to hit open shots or at least
take open shots. Things like that Jack agreed that it
was not a great game to watch. He got hung
up in Keenland traffic had to watch it on TV.
But he said that it's a typical intersquad situation where

(44:40):
you're tired of playing against one another. And he remembers
when he was in school and at least one of
the big pluses was they could take the intersquad games
around the state of Kentucky and there was a different
kind of energy for those games.

Speaker 7 (44:53):
That Blue White Game has ugly written all over it
before it even starts.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
Gas.

Speaker 7 (45:00):
I mean, I like it because the fans get to
see the players. But as a player, man, you're so
tired of seeing that the same old guys man, and
you know you don't want to get anybody hurt, as
was the case with Jalen, you kind of want to

(45:22):
get over it because it's on the schedule and you
have to do it. The only thing really that makes
that Blue White Game fun for me is if we
take that game out into the state somewhere. I still
remember going to Pikeville, man, and that game in Pipeville

(45:42):
a few years ago was with such a good game,
such a great atmosphere, and you have the fans there.
I know, we had fans there and that's all good,
But you have fans at those games when they're out
in the state that don't get to see the Cats play.
So it's a different kind of atmosphere. That really is

(46:06):
the only thing. And we used to travel and do
that often back when I played. But that's the thing
for me that makes that game interesting. Just going again
at Memorial or brought up against the same old guys
and I mean, just you ready for some new faces.

Speaker 1 (46:25):
Hell yeah.

Speaker 7 (46:26):
So they'll see that, Gabe, they'll see that tomorrow night, and.

Speaker 1 (46:31):
We'll have it for you right here. Pregame at four thirty,
tip off at six o'clock. Kentucky and Purdue Saturday. It's
Kentucky Tennessee football. As we all know, the Wildcats let
one get away with Texas. Now here comes the high
octane Tennessee offense. Brad White, the defensive coordinator, talked about it.
Just marveled at the Tennessee wide receivers, three of them

(46:53):
in the top ten in the SEC. So the Wildcats
have to match or even better the defensive end effort
they gave against Texas. But they can't dwell on that success.
They got to look ahead to the volunteers.

Speaker 11 (47:06):
The guys have to wipe last week, you know in
terms of you know, knowledge, you know, which you'd like
them to feel, is that energy that they played with.
I was really proud of the effort that they displayed.
And you know, we're gonna need to carry that over.
We're gonna have to play a really clean game. Guys
are gonna have to win one on ones. They do

(47:27):
an unbelievable job pushing the ball down field, you know,
in in one one on one situations, especially jump jump balls.
I think what people don't realize is just how well
they run the football. I mean they are physical upfront, and.

Speaker 1 (47:42):
They have a running back who averages seven point eight
yards per carry. So yeah, they will try to keep
you as honest as possible by running the football and
then torching you with wide receivers who as a core
three receivers in the top ten in the SEC. When
it comes to catching the football, how do you guard

(48:02):
against that?

Speaker 11 (48:03):
Pull the fire alarm the night before, maybe they come
down with the flu, like they're they're as good of
a trio. I would put them up with anybody in
the country, like, like, I don't know, they must train
for marathons because they play the entire game, those three
and they play full speed, NonStop, you know, and it's

(48:26):
it's really one of the most impressive things that I've
seen on film, just how long they play at such
a high level, like it really is impressive.

Speaker 1 (48:36):
And that means they'll try to wear down the Kentucky
defensive backs. And Kentucky Tennessee has been a bad matchup
through the years, and the Wildcats have got to shorten
the game by hanging on to the football the way
they did against Texas, and Josh Heipel, the Tennessee coach,
noticed how well the Cats play keep away from the Longhorns.

Speaker 12 (48:58):
I think they're offensive line there, experience, physicality is a
big part of their identity. Defensively, again, big and strong
up front, multiple and you know, front structure, coverage, rotation.
You know, they're they're a good football team. Played a
tough schedule. You always do inside of this league, but

(49:18):
they played a tough one.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
And we'll have it for you right here starting in
five thirty pre game with Christy and Logan and Ricky
and then mister Leech, mccorl and yours. Truly well the
action Kentucky Tennessee Wildcats through the scare into the Longhorns.
Maybe they can complete the deal against the Volunteers. We'll
have it right here on your number one spot for sports.
Up next, we're going to talk Kentucky volleyball, big weekend

(49:42):
for the Wildcats. Molly tuzzle will join us here on
six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Moon Sider
joining us down in a celebrity hotline as someone who's
been a real key for Kentucky volleyball for the last
couple of years. That's Molly Tuzzo, the junior Libro from
the Woodlands, Texas. Molly Tank, thanks for joining us.

Speaker 13 (50:01):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (50:03):
Before we go any further, I've had many people ask
me since I've covered volleyball, what is a liboro and
why do you wear the different jersey. I've tried to
explain it the best I can. What's the best way
to explain it.

Speaker 13 (50:19):
I've personally tried to explain this many times and I'm
still not even good at it. But I guess it's
essentially just one of the best defenders plus pastors on
the team and they wear a different color jersey because
they don't count as a sub So technically they're on
the for five and a half if you want to

(50:40):
say rotations, and so I guess they wear the different
color jersey, so it's easier for them to see you
subbing in and out. But yeah, that's kind of how
I could discombe.

Speaker 1 (50:51):
It's that's what I say. It's a free substitution in
a game where there's X amount of substitutions, not unlimited substitutions.
But yeah, the liberal comes and goes as she pleases.
And to your point, yeah, generally, it's got to be
an excellent defender, which you are. You're throwing yourself all

(51:11):
over the floor. I'll get to the specifics, but you've
got to want to do it. You've got to enjoy it.
What do you get at it? And tell me about
being a libro and laying out during rally after rally.

Speaker 13 (51:25):
I personally love it so much. It's so much fun
to be honest. Does hurt sometimes, but that's okay. I
think it just kind of the mindset of like, I
want to get everything up, I want to make all
the crazy plays. Those are the most funds me. So
I think just having that mindset of keeping everything off
the floor and if it hurts, it hurts, But I'm

(51:47):
used to it.

Speaker 1 (51:48):
Players diving to the floor, sliding their hand so the
ball hits the back of their hand instead of the floor.
That's called a pancake. Is that the badge of honor
for a defensive player.

Speaker 8 (52:04):
Them?

Speaker 13 (52:06):
Yeah, I would say so.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
Yeah, And I know running one down with your back
to the court and keeping it in play as well.
There's a lot of different ways to get the job.

Speaker 13 (52:15):
Done right, Yes, many different ways.

Speaker 1 (52:17):
Yeah. And meanwhile, opposing servers will come at you. They
might they might come at Brooklyn Delay to try to
tax her physically, or even Hudson, but they'll also come
directly at you. And I got to think that you
take a lot of pride in your server receive and
you're passing.

Speaker 8 (52:37):
Yes, yes, I do.

Speaker 1 (52:40):
What's it been like working on that?

Speaker 13 (52:43):
The service is tough. There's so many amazing servers, so
I think that's kind of the most important part of
the game. And Craig always says, if you can pass,
you're going to be on the court. So I think
just really taking my time with the little details in passing.
There's so many things that you have to think about,
but just wrapping that out as much as I can,

(53:04):
especially since Craig likes to put me in the middle
of the court most of the time, so I can
take more scenes from the hitters and stuff, especially being
a bro. So I think it's taking pride in passing.

Speaker 6 (53:14):
For sure.

Speaker 13 (53:15):
Has been really huge, and.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
It's so clutch because anybody who watches volleyball knows that
in terms of outside hitting tandems, Kentucky might have the
best combo in America right now with Brooklyn Delay and
Eva Hudson.

Speaker 8 (53:29):
Right, Yes, I would say it to that.

Speaker 1 (53:32):
Yeah, yeah, Plus you've got a young Cedric freshman and
Cassie O'Brien who's dominating the Freshman of the of the
Week award, and Ava her backup who started the season
and played incredibly well against Nebraska. So you just the past,
the set, the hitting. It's all coming together for you guys,

(53:53):
isn't it?

Speaker 6 (53:55):
For sure?

Speaker 9 (53:55):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (53:56):
Tell me about going into this weekend. This is a
tough road. You've got Mississippi State followed up on Friday,
followed up by Alabama on Sunday. Is it just you
guys kind of pull together everybody us against the world
kind of thing when you're on the road. What's that like.

Speaker 13 (54:16):
Road games are definitely tough, especially whenever they have some
crazy environments like A and M was an insane environment's plan,
And I'm sure there's going to be a bunch in
the future. But I think it's not underestimating any team,
no matter if they're at the top of the SEC
or at the bottom of the SEC. We like to
look at everyone the same and scout them the same.
So it's going to be tough. We're on the road

(54:38):
for a while this weekend, but I think road winds
still even better than home wins. So we're excited.

Speaker 1 (54:44):
And and M took the first set, you guys won
the next three. Then you sweep LSU. You come home
and Auburn takes a set, and Auburn is so good defensively,
you had to make some adjustments and how you played them.
And then you turn around and Florida makes it tough
on you and an entirely different style of play. Tell

(55:05):
me a little bit about how that has helped you
grow as a team, winning those matches on the road,
then coming home and beating two different types of teams
that really came at you hard.

Speaker 13 (55:18):
Yeah, I think it just really tests how adaptable we
can be, and different teams are going to throw on
us different things each time. So I think it's really
good to go through that adversity, especially early on in
the season, to help us in the NCAA tournament and
towards the end. So I think we just really take
pride in trying to adapt and change to their style

(55:40):
of play, and that'll help us in the end.

Speaker 1 (55:43):
You're in your third year with the program. Everybody knows
about the streak of SEC championships and just the standard
of standard of excellence that Craig Skinner has built at Kentucky.
Kentucky has supplanted Florida as the team to beat in
the SEC. Like having that big target on your back,
especially on the road.

Speaker 8 (56:04):
We like it.

Speaker 14 (56:05):
We like having a target.

Speaker 13 (56:07):
I think it just motivates us even more to keep
getting better and not get complacent. So I think we're
just striving to get better every single time since we
know we have that massive target on our back.

Speaker 1 (56:19):
Somebody was telling me after the Florida match that they
were kind of interested in some of the new faces.
They're not exactly new, but you know players who might
not play for a while then suddenly they're inserted in
the match, and that's something Craig Skinner is known for.
If it's either situational, a situational need, or so and
so has played so well in practice that week. You're

(56:41):
a veteran, tell me about how first of all that
keeps your team on its toes, but also learning to
communicate with everybody. I mean, it's not just the set
rotation of players coming and going. What kind of challenge
is that.

Speaker 13 (56:57):
Yeah, Craig always says that you never know when it's
going to be your moment, so you have to stay
ready to be ready, and I think that just shows
how deep this team is. And we have trust in
Craig and if he puts anyone in from the bench,
we know that they're going to come in and do
their jobs. So I think that's just really exciting and
powerful for our team to just have so much depth

(57:18):
in each position. And in practice he likes to switch
things around too, so that just shows that we need
to practice communicating with every single person, no matter if
it's a starter or someone who's being thrown in the match.

Speaker 1 (57:31):
A couple of minutes left with Molly Tuzzo, the veteran
Liboro for the University of Kentucky, which is on the
road this weekend playing Mississippi State Friday Alabama. On a
Sunday I mentioned Eva Hudson, a transfer who came in
and just makes you guys so formidable on the pin's
been in the middle, Lizzie Carr so much size there,

(57:52):
and then Molly Brezowitz has come in the transfer from Marquette.
All of these transfers have really assimilated, well, haven't they
with your team? What if they brought to Kentucky.

Speaker 13 (58:04):
I think that each kind of brings something different. Mollie
Brotherwis is a competitor, for sure. I think all of
them are. She's more bubbly, just super loud, has a
very strong presence and voice. And then I mean everyone
knows that Ea just has so much fire, and so
does Lizzy honestly, so I think they all just been
in so well and just have completely adapted to Kentucky's

(58:26):
culture and style and everything, and they just bring so
much to this team that we never thought they could.

Speaker 1 (58:32):
Molly, of course, her sister Maddie was part of that
championship team. They're they're kind of similar. I don't know
if you knew Mattie very well. But yes, she kind
of reminds me of her sister, And of course everybody
knows Lizzie's brother Andrew played basketball at Kentucky, so it's
a tall family. But that size in the middle is

(58:54):
something you guys haven't really had a lot of over
the last few years. That's such an.

Speaker 8 (58:59):
Advantage, isn't it one hundred percent yet?

Speaker 1 (59:02):
Yeah, and she came in from a great program and
knows her way around big time SEC volleyball. How much
has volleyball in the league grown since you started following
it as a youngster down in Texas.

Speaker 8 (59:19):
I mean, it's crazy.

Speaker 13 (59:20):
There is so many amazing teams in the SEC, especially
this year. It's anyone at anytime could be a team.
So I think it's just amazing how volleyball is growing
so much, and especially in the SEC. It's a very
competitive conference, but I think that's how we like it,
and we're just excited to prove that we're the best.

Speaker 1 (59:40):
And you'll get another chance to prove it tomorrow night
in Stark, Vegas against Mississippi State, then again on Sunday
against Alabama. Molly Besta looked great talking to you, and
we'll see you soon.

Speaker 13 (59:51):
Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1 (59:53):
And up next, Billy Rutledge makes his NFL picks here
in the Big Blue Insiders six thirty WLAP. Welcome back
to the Big bloom and Sider. Yes it's Thursday, but
we are preempted tomorrow by Kentucky basketball, so we can't
leave you hanging on the NFL. So we bring in
Billy Rutledge, our NFL expert, to make some predictions. Billy,
last week I was not good two and four. You

(01:00:16):
were better. You were three and three, so you outthought
me on at least one game. So we'll we'll stack
up some games and try to do better this week.
Let us start with the game. It's not going to
be a very good game, might be interesting, but the
Jets are in Cincinnati. These are the teams that are
ranked twenty ninth and thirty first, respectively in overall offense

(01:00:38):
in the NFL, and the Bengals are a six and
a half point favorite over Gang Green. Again. Won't be
a great game, but could be some money to be
made here.

Speaker 9 (01:00:49):
Yeah, what a great game to start with. Jick Oh
with seven, You're welcome three and four Cincinnati. You know
I really like what Joe Flago did versus the Steelers
put up thirty three points on the team that's leading
the division. So I mean, could Cincinnati find a little
magic here with Joe and him throwing it to Jamar
Chase sixteen to twenty times a game.

Speaker 6 (01:01:11):
Sut, I just.

Speaker 9 (01:01:12):
Don't know what the optimism is if you're a Jets fan.
I mean Woody Johnson, the owner, comes out and says
he gives Aaron Glenn a hug every day in words
of encouragement, I mean waiting to give him a hug
until he wins the game. You know you're paying the
millions of dollars already. Why does the guy need a
hug and encouragement?

Speaker 1 (01:01:29):
Maybe he needs a hug more. Now, if you're winless,
you don't need hugs when you're winning.

Speaker 9 (01:01:35):
Well, maybe you're right there, but you know, Tyrod Taylor
questionable with the knee injury, Justin Field benched. I really
don't like anything that's going on with New York. So
this is a lot of points. But give me Cincinnati
minus six and a half.

Speaker 1 (01:01:47):
Okay, you know I'm gonna go with you on that.
Just because of the injuries for the Jets defense, I
would think that Jess could keep it close. But Flacco
look good and yeah, throw into those guys. And when
he first joined the Bengals, Billy, you and I talked
about that. What's not the love about that core of
receivers if you're an experienced veteran NFL quarterback. So I'll

(01:02:07):
go with you, and I'll lay the six and a
half Giants at Eagles. This is a revenge game for Philly,
but the Eagles are laying seven and a half. New
York has lost twelve straight in Philly to the Eagles.
Eagles look pretty good. This past weekend. Giants blew a
big game. What do you think? Is that too many points?

Speaker 7 (01:02:28):
It is?

Speaker 9 (01:02:28):
I'm going with the Giants. Wow, you know, I think
that Jackson, Dart and Gataboo, there's a lot of excitement
with this team. Wandel Robinson as somebody that's playing really well.
But that Giants defense was terrible. At the end of
that game, Denver had zero points going into the fourth
quarter before they scored thirty three. I think it was
going that game. Yes, was simply incredible, but I'm going

(01:02:52):
to take the first three quarters as more of an
indictment than the final quarter. For New York against the
Philadelphia team. It's a divisional it these games are normally close.
Philadelphia has shown as much as anybody that they can
wet the bed as wet the bed and then. But
despite Devontae Smith and aj Brown actually looking confident versus
the Vikings last week, I think New York just holds

(01:03:13):
themselves to make this a one score game and hopefully
it's under seven and a half. Soyall the give me
the Giants in this one.

Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
I'm with you. I think the hook the seven and
a half might be the difference. Although the Eagles, I
could see the Eagles blowing them out. But if the
Giants playback to that first three quarters for him, yeah,
it'll be a good one. Cowboys in Denver, the team
that has come from behind so many times. Broncos are
laying three and a half against the Cowboys team that

(01:03:40):
has a good defense and Dak Prescott's playing well but
other holes and the Broncos of Billy have covered only
once at home this year. This is weird.

Speaker 9 (01:03:51):
Yeah, this is a strange one. You know, Dak Prescott
is playing at MVP levels this year with Ceedee lamback.
George Pickens is still a prom force in that offense,
and Javonte Williams a little bit of a revenge game
for him as he was a former Denver Bronco before
taking his talents to Dallas. I'm not exactly sure where
to land on this game because I think this would.

Speaker 8 (01:04:11):
Be a mismatch.

Speaker 6 (01:04:12):
Denver is the better teams as.

Speaker 9 (01:04:15):
Bad as the Dallas Cowboys defense is. Go back to
that Giants game in Denver sworn zero points to three quarters.
You know, can bo Nicks do that again? I think
it's I mean it's possible, but against such a bad
defense in Dallas. I mean I wouldn't say so so well.
I like Dallas's ability to score. I think the really
it's going to be what Denver's offense does against Dallas's defense,

(01:04:37):
And for that reason, I'm going to take Denver minus
three and a half here. I don't think that's not
too many points for me. You mentioned they've only covered
once in their home games. I didn't know that. But
at the same time, I think that they're still riding
a little bit of a high off of that comeback
win and are going to want to prove that they
can play four quarters of good football and not just one.

Speaker 1 (01:04:56):
Well, you know how much I hate the Cowboys, but
I am going to take the three and a half.
I think it could be a field goal game. We
don't know what we're gonna get from either team, There's
no question about that. But yeah, you're right, Dak, former
Mississippi State Bulldog is playing extremely well. So I will
differ with you on this one. I'll take the Cowboys
plus three and a half forty.

Speaker 9 (01:05:18):
Nine one and a half.

Speaker 1 (01:05:20):
Yeah, it really is. But Dallas scored forty four last
time out, so who knows. Niners in Houston against the Texans,
who are favored by just a point and a half.
This is the closest game in terms of spread in
the NFL this week. Niners all kinds of injuries, as
you know, averaging they're eighteenth in the league and yards

(01:05:42):
per play, but the Texans up and down. This is
a tough one. What do you see?

Speaker 9 (01:05:49):
Yeah, I'm a little surprised by this line. Not only that,
but the forty one and a half total That is low,
not high expectations for the forty nine ers offense. I mean,
I get George Kiddle didn't have a catch last week
when his return I get that mac Jones is still
behind the helm, but Christian McCaffery has been insane this year. Yea,
he has four hundred and sixty plus yards and three

(01:06:09):
touchdowns on the ground, but fifty three receptions for five
hundred and sixteen yards and three touchdowns through the air.
He is the offense for San Francisco. And I've been
really disappointed by the Texans this year. I mean, they
are a team that you know, d J. Stroud was
acting like an NFL zet early on. They you know,
wishing luck to other riopy quarterbacks and now they're in

(01:06:32):
some trouble on their own. Their offensive line is really bad.
They're running game with Nick Chubb has just been non existed.

Speaker 8 (01:06:38):
I'm not sure why Houston's favored in this one.

Speaker 9 (01:06:40):
I think this is a no brainer. Give me the
forty nine.

Speaker 1 (01:06:43):
I'm with you. Christian McCaffery, everybody's favorite fantasy player, guy
who should have won the Heisman in my opinion when
he was at Stanford. And yeah, the Texans are hard
to figure out. But again that's why this game was
the toughest one, just a point and a half, but
we'll take it. Niners getting a point and a half
in Houston. All right, my beloved Packers on the road

(01:07:03):
at the Steelers Sunday night. Packers are still a three
and a half point favorite, although they are zero and
three on the road against the spread, taking on the
fighting Aaron Rodgers of Pittsburgh and the Steelers are two
and one at home against the spread. People are trying
to call it a revenge game. I don't really think
it is. I think Rogers is dangerous. Packers have a

(01:07:25):
lot going for them, but again, not great against the
spread on the road. What do you think?

Speaker 9 (01:07:31):
Yeah, we've seen Green Bay struggle at times this year.
They lose to the Cleveland Browns in an odd game.
You know, they were able to beat the Cardinals last week,
but it wasn't really pretty. They had to come back
in that game. I really like the chances of Micah
Parsons just being a mess to Aaron Rodgers in this game.
At least at.

Speaker 6 (01:07:50):
Least I hope that happened.

Speaker 9 (01:07:51):
Yeah, Parsons has been kind of hit or miss good
in the fourth quarter in some games.

Speaker 6 (01:07:56):
Hopefully that's all four quarters.

Speaker 9 (01:07:57):
I'd like to see Aaron running for his life. Give
me Green Bay in this one. I know their favorites
on the road, and you may be go in a
different direction here as since you're a green Bay fan,
but the Steelers are our team. I think that are
a little.

Speaker 6 (01:08:10):
Bit of fraud.

Speaker 9 (01:08:10):
They're four and two right now. I think they've benefited
from a really easy schedule early on. I think this
is a team that could actually lose the division with
a team like Cincinnati Surgeon with Joe Flacco if they
were to get on the run, or even Baltimore Dick.
I mean, I just throw this out there. I mean
Baltimore could.

Speaker 8 (01:08:28):
Go on a run.

Speaker 9 (01:08:29):
I think this is one of the become one of
the worst divisions in football, believe it or not, even
though we looked at it maybe from a far and
said it could be one of the best before the
season started. So, you know, defying expectations. Give me a
Green Bay to win this one on Sunday night.

Speaker 1 (01:08:43):
I'll tell you what, You're gonna maybe be surprised by this.
I'm going to take the Steelers. Well, what I'm doing
is taking the points, dog it home in a high
profile game like that. And again I'm just going with
the record against the spread, green Bay owing three this
year against the spread on the road. Lucky to be
Arizona last week and Jacoby Brissett made him look bad

(01:09:03):
at times, and the Steelers two and one against the spread.
So I like the Packers to win by a field goal,
but it's three and a half, so I'll take the
hook and try to win it both ways. Now your
beloved Bucks on the road. They are favored in New
Orleans by three and a half. There's a hook again.
And all of the Bucks wins this year, as you

(01:09:26):
well know, have been by three points or fewer. But
now they're favored by three and a half in New Orleans.
The team you love to hate.

Speaker 9 (01:09:35):
What do you say, Well, you said it right there, Dick.
It's the team that I love to hate. And I
will never pick the New Orleans Saints to win a game,
especially with Spencer Rattler as the quarterback. But at the
same time, this is the trap game of all trap games,
as I've never seen one. I mean, Tampa Bay coming
off emotionally draining law from Monday Night Football to Detroit.
They are just drained in general with the injuries that

(01:09:56):
they have. Mike Evans with the broken clappical is going
to be out for a while. I guess that's nothing new.
But at the same time, these injuries are piling up
and it's starting to affect Baker Mayfield, who probably had
his worst game, no probably about it. Had his worst
game of the season, no doubt. But you know this
is a You know, when the Bucks won the Super
Bowl in two thousand and three, I went to two
games that year and they were both against the Saints,

(01:10:18):
and the Saints beat them. Oh, when the Bucks and
Tom Brady won the Super Bowl, they lost to the
Saints twice in the regular season before beating New Orleans
in the playoffs. This is just a team that Tampa
does not play well. And for that reason, I'm taking
New Orleans.

Speaker 1 (01:10:35):
Wow, so you're going to take the three and a half.

Speaker 9 (01:10:38):
Yeah, I hate it.

Speaker 1 (01:10:40):
I know, all right, Well I will push back. I
will take your beloved Bucks. So maybe one of us
will be celebrating next week. But I'm with you. The
Saints have more holes than I know what to do with,
and I do think the Bucks will learn from last
week and bounce back back. Man, it's going to be close.

(01:11:01):
We know this about the Bucks, but they know how
to win close games.

Speaker 9 (01:11:05):
So you can hear it to my voice, though I'm
a hey. Every year it's the same thing.

Speaker 1 (01:11:12):
You took the Saints, I took the Steelers. It's going
to be a weird week. We've differed on three different games,
so it'll be fun to tally it up next week. Billy,
have a great weekend and we'll talk to you soon.
And there's more of the Big Blooe Sider next on
six thirty WLAP. Welcome back to the Big Blue Sider.
Joining us now in our celebrity Hotline from Nairo Racing

(01:11:34):
New York Racing Association is Kaylee Shapiro and Kaylee this
is World Championship time. You got the Breeders Cup coming
up next week in del Mar where the surf meets
the turf. It's on my bucket list. I've driven by
del Mar, but I've actually never been to the races there.
I know it's a great place. But Breeders Cup coming up,
I just love it and it's hard to believe it's

(01:11:55):
started way back in nineteen eighty four. And as much
as I love covering the Classics, the Derby, the Preakness,
the Triple Crown, you know generally go into those and
you're gonna spotlight maybe three or four horses that week. Man,
the Breeders Cup. Everywhere you turn, there's a champion. It's
like the All Star Game and the World Championship rolled

(01:12:15):
into one, isn't it.

Speaker 14 (01:12:17):
Absolutely. I'm so excited to get out there. I've never
been to Delmar either on my bucket list, so I'm
really excited to go out there. And Briers Cup is
just my absolute favorite weekend of the year. I obviously
love the Derby and you know, all the Triple Crown races,
as you were saying, but this weekend, I mean, it's

(01:12:37):
top notch racing all day long, World champions and great
betting races. Oh well, because you just got so many
good horses. So I love it every year. I'm very excited.

Speaker 1 (01:12:48):
Great betting races. But how tough to handicap man? Before
we talk about a couple of horses who will be there,
Torpedo Anna will not. She's been retired. You've retweeted and
reposted some video and photos of her. Tell me a
little bit from your perspective about what it means to
the sport to have a horse like the Repita. Anna

(01:13:09):
was so great, so dominant and kind of the people's horse.
You know what I mean.

Speaker 14 (01:13:15):
She was absolutely the people's horse. I mean I was
there for her last race at Keenland and I although
obviously not the effort, everyone was anticipating full circle moment.
She started her career at Keenland and ended it there,
so pretty special and I mean she just means us
a lot to the sport. I think back to the

(01:13:37):
travers last year at Saratoga and seeing all the little
kids wearing pink t shirts for Thorpedo Anna. She created
a lot of new fans. She gave it her role
all the time. She's one of my favorite horses of
her And from a racing perspective, it's pretty rare that
you see a Philly that had the three year old
campaign that she did even come back and win a

(01:13:59):
graded space next year. So she won four as a
four year old as well, and pretty impressive when you
think about it like that.

Speaker 1 (01:14:08):
Yeah, and Kenny McPeak is a great trainer when it
comes to the public and getting the message out and
things like that, so we do appreciate that here's a
horse that went in a sale for forty thousand dollars
you went on to become a superstar. Well, speaking of
horses that might be superstar sovereignty pointing, of course, with
a Classic Derby winner, Belmont winner has shipped already, what

(01:14:30):
do you think about his chances?

Speaker 14 (01:14:33):
I mean, I don't want to. You know, a's horse racing,
and nothing is ever a sure thing. But I've been
talking to a lot of people here. You know that
I work with colleagues that are way smarter than myself,
and they've made comments such as you know, Andy Sterling
saying that it could be a fool's errant and trying
to beat this force sovereignty. So when you have people

(01:14:53):
that are true handicappers and betters saying that, you know
you're dealing with a pretty special horse. And I mean
I've I've been following him all summer. Definitely. His travers
was just about the perfect setup that you'd want coming
into the Classic, got the best speed figure of the year,

(01:15:14):
and I think that he'll stack up against the older
horses pretty nicely.

Speaker 1 (01:15:18):
Yeah, and what a year. I mean, six stars, five
wins in a second, you know not he can't get
much better than that. Bill Mont has done such a
great job of this horse, and he is a conservative guy,
isn't he mm hmm?

Speaker 14 (01:15:30):
He is, and honestly, you know, when he made the
decision to skip the Preakness, he had said, travers the
Classic and maybe even Dubai, we're on the radar for
this horse. And you can see that it really paid off.
The horses hasn't really missed a beat whatsoever. Bill Mott,
you know, has been saying he hasn't missed a beat
training leading up to this, and you know, he showed

(01:15:53):
us another dimension as well over the summer, just being
able to lay closer to the pace, showing that he's
a bit more tactical than anyone had thought. And I
think that that's going to really help him out in
the Classic, having those two different running files that he
excels at.

Speaker 1 (01:16:10):
Yeah, now, if you like to follow works, his last
four one was sub all five furlongs. One was a
sub one minute, which I really like. The other ones
not so much. But I've got to think that they
just obviously didn't want to get into him too deeply.

Speaker 14 (01:16:26):
Yeah, definitely. I mean, Belmont never is one to work
his horses aggressively, and if you look at the videos
of this horse working, I mean, if the times are
a little slower, you'll be able to see that he's
just not even trying as he's doing it. And when
you see this horse actually actually start working, it doesn't
even look like he's trying either. And he worked pretty fast.

(01:16:49):
I mean, he's just such an impressive horse. And I
would be pretty surprised if we didn't end up seeing
Sovereignty as the horse of the Year this year either.

Speaker 1 (01:16:57):
Wow, no kidding, you've also journalism hitting that way. It
was a horse and a lot of us liked early
and he's a quality horse. What kind of shot do
you give him?

Speaker 14 (01:17:08):
Oh, the rider change is a bit interesting. I mean
switching the jose Or sees and jose Or sees. When
he fits with the horse, he can really move them up.
We saw the same thing he was riding that quiet
Side Philly that was on the Oaks Trail last year.
He did the same thing. He fit really well with
her and moved her up. And you'd imagine that if
he fits with the horse, it's gonna work out. I

(01:17:30):
just don't the way I'm doing it is I don't
believe that Sovereignty would have lost any of those races
if anyone would have been riding him, and Journalism I
don't think could have beat Sovereignty if anyone was riding
him either. So for me, I mean, I hope that
you know, he can at least be given his best shot.

(01:17:50):
But I think that he's going to have to improve
a little bit stepping up against older horses as well.

Speaker 1 (01:17:58):
So you don't think it was Zumbert Overspoli's fault.

Speaker 14 (01:18:03):
I think that he could have had him positioned better
and given the horse a better shot, but I don't
think that it would have been the difference maker.

Speaker 1 (01:18:12):
How much can we expect horses at this stage of
this year and their careers for a lot of them
to move up, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 14 (01:18:20):
I think the ones that we've seen, you know beforet
their fullest efforts. It's pretty rare to see improved. But
a horse like Sovereignty that hasn't really been asked for
his best or truly we've seen all out yet in
a race, he's kind of one under wraps and you know,

(01:18:40):
disclose of his competition under wraps each time. I think
it's very likely that you see a horse like him improved.

Speaker 1 (01:18:47):
For folks who have never been to del Mar, what
kind of track is it?

Speaker 14 (01:18:52):
Yeah, this one plays for speed. I mean California tracts
definitely play for speed, and that's why I, you know, sovereign.
The way that he showed that he can sit closer
to the pace and that he's a bit more toctical
than we all thought, I think should help him out
a lot at the track in California. But fierceness loves
the tracks in California, so that's a little bit of

(01:19:14):
a concern as well.

Speaker 1 (01:19:16):
She is Kaylee Shapiro of New York Racing Association. Kaylee
will visit next week and get a little more specific
with the Breeders' Cup. Safe travels and enjoy del Mar.

Speaker 14 (01:19:25):
Looking forward to it. Thank you so much, and that'll
do it for now.

Speaker 1 (01:19:28):
Thanks so much to all of my guests. Chris Doring
of the SEC Network, Darren Hedrick, Billy Rutledge, Kaylee Shapiro,
Jack Gibbons, UK basketball tomorrow night. That's it. Good night
from the garage and Lexington.

Speaker 9 (01:19:40):
Bad guy and a little coat, bad guy and a
little go.

Speaker 10 (01:20:01):
Bat such statuta anything, don't do anything, can only sat

(01:20:54):
out such season and the fact to back them from

(01:21:19):
type into

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