Yes, it is hump Day. Welcome to the Big Moon. Sider Dick Gabriel with you on a Wednesday edition of our program. We are one day closer to Kentucky football, in fact, thirty one days away. And that's according to Corey Price on ex Twitter. If you will, he is doing something that I used to do on WKYT's website, and that's every day leading up he would post a photo from a UK game or practice with the player
and their jersey number corresponding. Only fitting that he used Maxwell Harriston's number thirty one today because Maxwell, a junior, has been named to the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list, given by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the Jim Thorpe Association forty two of the nation's top defensive backs. So keep an eye on that for Maxwell, and if he jumps up and improves over the season he had
last year, he'll be in the running. Because this is a guy who was burned in a game a couple of years ago, didn't get a chance to play much at all, but last year pressed into service five interceptions four in the SEC, including two in the Vandy game that went for six two pick sixes against Vanderbilt. His five picks tied for fifth most in a single season in program history. The most Sinse Sam Maxwell picked off
six in twenty oh nine. Sam was a linebacker, but Maxwell at corner had one hundred and thirty one interception return yards. That's the most since my man Greg Long had one hundred and seventy six back in nineteen eighty one. So Maxwell Harrison he had a solid season, not just that Vandy game, but had a solid season. But those two pick sixes allowed him to lead the SEC with a total of those five in eight SEC games and passed eleven passes defended in twenty twenty three. So he
is on the Thorpe Award preseason watch list. In Meanwhile, two of his teammates are on the Outland Trophy watch list. Eli Cox and Dion Walker names you know well. Eli is a veteran, a super senior from Nicholasville. He is six four to three eleven and he helped the course block for Ray Davis last year. Another thousand yard rusher for the Wildcats. Preseason second team All Conference pick by SEC coaches, and of course Dion Walker is a superstar
in the making. Six six three forty eight d lineman from detroited junior, probably playing in his last season as a Kentucky Wildcat, but led Kentucky and tackles for loss with twelve and a half, quarterback sacks seven and a half, quarterback hurries with eight, and of course the hurries are what can lead to interceptions. He had those two pass breakups.
Remember the one he had against Florida. He drilled a receiver Bob Pops in the air, it was picked off and returned to the fifteen yard line led to a uk A touchdown. So Dion Walker is on the list as well as Eli Cox. The Atland Trophy going to the best lineman offense or defense in the country. So we'll keep an eye on that for you, but also keep an eye on Kentucky football. The pace of the game,
the tempo. We've talked really over the last few days when we talk about Kentucky's offense about the changes under Bush Hamden and the pace of play, something that Mark Stoops talked about at the kickoff luncheon on Monday. Hamden talked a lot about that, but one of the things Stoops mentioned was the fact that they were really looking
and making a change. Before Liam Cone even left, he wanted more pace in the offense, and after the spring he said they were getting it, and he's excited about what he thinks they're going to be seeing this season.
You know, the bottom line is winning games, right Tom, I mean, and everybody can relate to that. I mean, we have to win games by any means necessary. And heck, you could go back, you know, to the job and he's on my staff and does a wonderful job with Eddie Grant, And we were just talking, Tom, you and I were just talking about the year that well.
Yeah, the nineteen when you had to change in put a wide receiver in a quarterback.
Yeah, just the creativity that Eddie Grant had and we did the things necessary to play defense. Ran the ball, quarterback, run the ball, and just by any means necessary. As we progressed, as we start recruiting impact players, you know, guys like that that that need touches. You know, one of the conversations Bush and I talk about now is number one. Yeah, the urgent to get plays off faster. I mean, there's no secret. Heck, before Liam, you know,
we made a change or anything like that. We were talking about that because I didn't like it last year. I didn't like the fact that we're always getting down to one, two, three, four seconds left on the place and play clock to get plays off. We have playmakers that we have to get ball.
I mentioned this to Tom Leach when he was on the show with me yesterday or Monday. It all runs together, anyhow. I remember when Rich Brooks responded to criticism and complaints about the offense and about how they don't do enough of this or that they don't get the ball to this guy or that guy. Why don't you throw to the tight ends more, Why don't you throw down the
field more? Why don't you do more on offense? And at the time, they were struggling to get off more than fifty to fifty five plays, and Brooks kept reminding people, Look, if you don't have a lot of plays, you're not going to get a chance to involve a lot of play makers. And obviously that's what Stoops was talking about when he mentioned this in front of the crowd at the kickoff luncheon on Monday. So if they can improve
the pace of play, not grind the clock down. And I'm not sure why that was happening if Devin Leary was having trouble with the offense, if the offense was too complicated, too much verbiage in the huddle, you know, if it took forever to call the play. Jeff Picorro has talked a lot about that, how long it call takes to call a play again, all the verbage. They
tried to cut that down. That's one thing they really tried to cut down with rich Gangarello, And apparently one of the reasons he's not here anymore was he didn't want to cooperate with that notion. If they call it dumbing down but simplifying for college players, play calls that maybe you can get in the NFL, but you're not going to fully get right away in the college game. So if that happens for the Wildcats this year, then yeah, you'll see the ball go more the tight ends. You'll
see the ball swung out the running backs. And I think you're going to see that regardless in Hampden's offense. But you're going to see more of the up tempo play, not no huddle, but short huddle, quick huddle, maybe some no huddle, and maybe we'll be talking about pace of play football season the way apparently we're going to talk about throughout basketball season as well. Speaking of you're gonna hear from more of the Wildcats tonight, both the men
and the women. That comes up in our number two as we get a chance to talk to all these new faces on campus, so you'll get to know even more of the players on both ends of the building. Coming up in our number two at the bottom of the hour, Sean Woods is going to join us. He is on his way to Philadelphia. He is driving. They got him driving along with another assistant coach, John Hood,
to the TBT tournament up there. But there is a new lead on that story, the one that happened the other night as La Familia beat the Louisville team the Ville and of course, after that game was over, in Nate Sestina throwing the l's down in mid court, Shinanu Onuaku spit on him and that caused a ruckus after the game, not a brawl, but you know, a near fight in the end zone. It took him a while to separate those teams, and Sean Woods was right in the middle of it, trying to pull people apart. But
Onawako has apologized. He issued an apologize an apology on Tuesday afternoon. We didn't have it when we went on the air last night, but he did post to his ex account he said, I want to apologize for my actions following last night's game. He said, I let my emotions in pride for my university overcome me in the moment. I love my U of L and I love this town. L's up. So I guess that's the end of it.
But he did after the game. Immediately after the game tweets that he had told Cistina to stop and not disrespect their court. Tyler Eulis responded with a tweet they said, how many did you call him throughout the game? You knew what he was doing. Pick the guy who causes no problems. It's just basketball. Tough guys don't spit on people and then play victim. So Onawaku has apologized and for all intent and purposes, that's the end of it,
at least as far as that incident is concerned. But La Familia will play in Philadelphia against the team primarily of Ohio State of Lums and we'll hear from Seawan Woods coming up. At the bottom of the hour Also an hour number two, Gary Moore, our West End bureau chief. So the Olympics have been going on all day, as you know, we pre record, so I'm not totally up to the minute, but a lot of great and weird
things have been happening in Paris. We'll talk about that on the other side of the break here on a Big Blue Sider six point thirty WLAP. Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. Coming up in just a few minutes, Sean Woods, the assistant coach for the TBT team, to Tyler Eulis. He and John Hood are driving up to Philadelphia. By the time you hear this, they're probably going to be there at least pretty close. Also an hour number two, the basketball Wildcats men and women, and our West End
bureau chief, Gary Moore, back with us. I've been off for a couple of weeks on the West Coast doing some business, and then I was on vacation, so it's been a little while since we checked in with Gary, but we'll be doing that in just a minute. Just some incredible stories, some weird stories, funny ones going on with the Olympics. I think the biggest story today was earlier today and a lot's happened since since we recorded this, since you listened, and they started earlier today in Paris time.
They're six hours ahead of us. But the triathlon got underway. How about that in the Sane River. It was postponed today because it was polluted, well polluted to the point where they were afraid to get it started. But when they tested it this morning early today in USA time, apparently the water was clean enough to where they would compete. Now they had and they have had a lot of
rain there, so clearly that helped. And that's I don't use that word ironically, but French officials have called it an historic day for the Olympic triathlon competitions held in that river that had just twenty four hours prior been
deemed unsafe, he said. One of the former French rugby international now Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of sport for the Olympic Games, Pierre Rabadon, said this is an historic day for Paris and the Olympics and for ecology and the environment, and he talked about skepticism they had been facing for the last ten years when they bid on the Games, saying we can have the triathlon in the Seine, and people back then said, no, you cannot
because it's a garbage dump. It's terrible, and they said we'll clean it up, and they spent basically one and a half billion dollars American to clean up the river and still didn't get it done well enough to avoid a delay. But they finally got into the water today it was deemed safe enough, they had the race and Alex Yee of Great Britain came charging from behind to
win the gold medal. So in the triathlon now the last leg is the bicycle, so it's not like he was charging through the water to win it, but he did have to deal with the water, and evidently it was close enough. So Alex Ye beats Hayden Wild of the Netherlands to come up with the wind. And I'm sure if you tune in tonight you'll see the finish at some point. But they got it done. They got it done in that nasty water, and they don't have
to do it again. The American women who play rugby, they're the ones I think who have made the greatest headlines. And this happened I think yesterday, and I couldn't get it on the air in time, but it was what they call the rugby sevens. That's where they play. Instead of fifteen people on each side, there are seven and they played two seven minute halves and it's an exciting brand of rugby. I covered rugby when I was a freshman in UK for the UK newspaper, so you may
have seen this already. But what happened. It was twelve to seven. Australia scored a try which is worth five points, and missed the conversion, which is worth two points, so they kind of left the door open. But in the closing seconds it looked like they were going to be able to run out of the clock, but somehow on what essentially was the other team's five yard line, Australia after it missed the conversion, and these conversions are I mean right in front of the goalposts and there's nobody
trying to block it. They just missed it. But they kicked off and buried the Americans. It looked like back on their own essentially five yard line, but USA somehow worked the clock out and got the ball to Alex Cedric running essentially around right end. She burst past a couple of defenders and went ninety five yards eighty five meters ninety five yards for the try that tied it up. And if you're watching, they have to touch it down. It is truly a touchdown, and rugby you have to
touch the ball down in the end zone. She did that, dives across and then she kicked the conversion that gave the Americans a medal for the first time. The last American team to win a medal came in nineteen twenty four by the men's fifteen. It's the first women's rugby medal for USA rugby and Olympics history. And this is what it sounded like on NBC.
Sedric Spiff, Cedric's so why Cedric up out of the fifteenth the photing She's gonna take it all the way, Cedric for their US.
And I am all the time myself.
Right now it is level at twelve a piece.
The conversion will win the bronze medal for Team USA.
Yes, Sammy, we got you.
Calm down.
It's all down to the kick.
Wow, just wow, this is.
Going to be the easier kick right down the max.
There it is.
Oh there it is Cedric with the conversion and Team USA make history in Paris.
Oh my god, that is a lazy.
Alone of mother hands in the air. They've done what no other American rugby team in sevens have ever done before. One hundred years after the men's fifteen a side team won the gold medal in this city against France.
Absolutely amazing. It was so entertaining and what a moment for USA rugby. But imagine that busting off of play at the very end of the game to win it. American men ended a twenty four year wait to reach the quarterfinals of Olympics soccer. They beat Ginea three to nothing, so now they will play in the knockout phase against Morocco on Friday. But that's a huge step forward for the USA men's team. And they were playing for the first time in the Olympics since Beijing of twenty oh eight.
They actually qualified, so that's a big win for USA soccer. Like I said, all kinds of big moments happening right now in the Olympics in Paris for not just the USA but other countries as well, naturally, but none of One of the headline making events was gymnastics by the women's team by Team USA, as you know, led by Simone Biles who posted on social media after the win, took a stab at one of her former teammates, at MICHAELA. Skinner, who won the silver medal on vault. Back in twenty twenty.
Skinner had posted a video on YouTube after the Olympic trials criticizing the team's talent, depth and work ethic. Everybody beyond Simone Bios. She said, beyond simone, I feel like the talent and depth just isn't what it used to be. Obviously, a lot of girls just don't work as hard, they don't have the work ethic. And she later issued an apology, said she was misinterpreted, misunderstood and issued a formal apology.
But Simone Biles, she wasn't having it. She posted on social media a photo of herself and her teammates hoisting the gold medals with the these six words quote lack of talent, comma lazy, comma Olympic champion. So yeah, that's a dig at Skinner, even though she had apologized, But can you blame her? I really can't. While we're talking Olympics, so mentioned yesterday the men's bronze medal that the team won first time in forever and the guy who clinched it was the one man who did one event, the
pommel horse Stephen Netterasik. And now he has become famous quite frankly because of memes and video and all that. And his girlfriend is too. Her name is Tess McCracken. You couldn't write a better story. This guy looks like a nerd, admits he's a nerd, and has a girlfriend named Tess. She is a retired gymnast. They lived together
in Sarasota, Florida. That's where he competes and trains. She also went to Penn State and works remotely as a project manager in cell and gene therapy for a biopharmaceutical contract research organization based in Pennsylvania. So she's a nerd too. They met on their first day at Penn State, both gymnasts, and they were an athlete orientation together. They hit it off, they started dating. Now they're together and she is basically
as much now of a celebrity as he is. People look at those horn room glasses and they refer to him now as Clark Kent and when he takes them off. Superman, she said, used to be Tom Holland, the actor and Spider Man, but now Superman and she says, I firmly agree. So that's one of the great sidebar stories to come up out of the Olympics in Paris. John Woods is next here on six to thir welcome back to the
Big Blue Insider joining us. Now, really it could be a tag team event because each week we talk with Sean Woods, the unforgettable guard. He is as we speak, having the Philadelphia for TBT action. They're in the final four for me and alongside of him. I don't know if it's a Batman and Robin thing or Duke's of hazard, but John Hood assistant coach, how you guys doing? Are you hanging in there?
We hang it? We hang it good.
Sean, let me ask you what both of you because you were both out there playing peacemaker and the guy who spat on Nathans seeing in his sense, apologized for whatever that's worth. But uh uh, just I had to shake my head. You know, this is supposed to be a fun thing, but a competitive thing. Did well. I don't want to say it was inevitable, but did it feel like a situation coach, where something could happen at the end of that game the other night.
Well, they get pretty cheapy. I mean, it was, it was, it was. It was you know, that type of game, that type of atmosphere. It was a typical U of L situation. But you know, like people say, miners don't change their stripes, and some of those guys that you know, acting kind of out of character, that has been their character, you know, even when they were at the University Nobles.
So you know, it's unfortunate and the ultimate saying, you know, from a personal person who has been in somebody's face, and that was just so disrespectful. But the good thing is, you know, it could have gotten worse, the situation, the outcome, because it wasn't that many security people there, So thank God for that.
What was it like for you guys to have to dive in there and pull these grown men away from each other?
Well, so that was part of it until big Daluel Orton came and it was you guy, the giant showed up. Everybody kind of backed off a little bit.
John Hood. Did you expect to have to get in there and show some muscle.
Well, I was never I wasn't in it.
Oh okay, I.
Grabbed I grabbed Nate and kind of pulled him away and tried to tried to de escalate the situation that way, and then I had no idea until I saw all the footage yesterday kind of what had going on behind me.
So it was uh.
And there were a couple of times where where it got really really chippy, and like Coach would said, there tigers don't change their strikes. You kind of expect something to happen. You didn't expect it to be that way, and that severe one after the game.
Yeah, well, Sean, let me ask you a little bit. You and I spoke before the tournament began about the coaching, and John will asked you as well, But sewn at what point? And I love the fact that both head coaches are miked up and you were right in the middle of one and John I heard you as well. But Sewna heard you helping Tyler. You listen, you talked about how you are You're there to help Tyler and he turned to you late in the game and when you guys just needed that big shot and you were
advising him on what to run. How much fun was that?
What's been fun the whole week? You know, there's only two guys with experienced and coach that's me and and Hood and Thalas never coached before. But he's done a great job of just really navigating and taking information from John and I and trying to you know, implement it,
you know, his own way. But you know he's a humble young man, and you know he knew you know, he has guys around him that that you know, are ventures at the situation and you know, he just asked me to deal that he's never been involved with, never been in that situation before, and you know I helped him out. We gave him something. That's that's what we're here for.
Last night on the show, I said that it looked to me down the stretch, you guys had a lot of those empty possessions when all you needed were six more points with the helm rule. I just saw it. Both teams were really tired because both teams I thought, played pretty hard. Did I read that right, No doubt about it.
You know it's the team set in.
Uh.
And then also it kind of gets tight when you get in that when when you get to that point, and uh, you know, I thought we saidled a little bit just to come to fatigue because we always had success when we're attacking the basket, but then we settled down after after we caught a time out and rest.
Of district, John, were you surprised it was Andrew and that Aaron Harrison who hit that shot at the end.
That, uh, that was a little a little strange because I was a part of that run where Aaron couldn't miss late in the game. But what what I loved about it was the i Q that was shown all games by Airplap.
Though.
Yeah, and he didn't have his best game statistic wise, he I know, he got the biggest sifts to Tony and put him in the right spot for for that driple drive kind of pitch back. He got the switch on the on the game winner, attacked Peril and Drew I think for guys, so whoever was out there, I mean, it was all going to them, but it was it was interesting that it was Andrew not Aaron.
We're talking to Sean Woods and John Hood former Wildcat, well once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat, but assistant coaches for lat of me. They are actually driving to Philadelphia. I will leave that alone while you're not on a plane. That's not my business. But I appreciate the effort and appreciate you being with us as always. We talked to Sean every week here on the Big Blue Insider and they're assisting Tyler Ewlis and guys. Has it been what you hoped it would be in terms of your interaction
with the veteran players. These guys are every one of them professionals except for maybe Brnan Canada. But they're all professionals and they know how to be coached. Is that right?
Yeah, it's been joyful for me, you know, and these guys have been very receptive. The good thing is, you know, after the first two, three, four days in and they realize that, you know, it's bigger than just the tvt and you know, they they the Kentucky switch kind of turned on a little bit. And I'm telling you that's what's been caring is because these guys are really bought in,
you know, especially defensively. You know, more sold and more teams in this tournament, and you know, we've been pretty disciplined. We've been you know, preparing just like we normally doing, you know, in a normal school situation. So you know, it's been it's been an interesting but really gratifying experience to coach pros and the good thing about it is these guys really know you know when to turn it on and and that's been, you know, so gratifying to us.
John, you are coaching at the small college level now. Sean, of course taking a year off, he's a veteran of the college coaching wars. Uh, And I'm wondering what it's been like for you guys, because the players have all talked about the joy they have found in coming back, and you've been back on campus, I know. But and Sean, you've gone to practice quite a bit just to to observe last season, but uh, just to be a part
once again of University Kentucky basketball. Essentially, what that's been like for you, John, I'll start with you, just the fact that you know, you got your coaching and dealing with wildcats again.
Well, it's it's dealing with wildcats, but it's also dealing with pros. And it's a lot easier, a lot easier, and a lot different when you're dealing with pros rather than just kids, because it's basketball all the time, and that's all they want to they understand, like coach said, they're coachable. They want to hear different voices and different perspectives, but being back on campus has has been has been
everything that I had wanted. I mean, I'm grateful that I'm able to have spent a month out here, away from away from my office and away from our team. But it's it's been. It's been fantastic, getting to work with them, getting to be around UK practice as well and learn along the way.
What about you, Sean, Okay.
You always free what type of people they are, you know, and unfortunately, you know, that's how it guys. Because of their short stay as far as their career serve the UK, no one has really gotten to know them, you know
what I mean. And I've had an opportunity for two weeks to get to know them, you know, as people, and share stories, you know, on what their experience was like in UK and mine and you know, and also I've had an opportunity to really teach them and make them understand how significant they are as a UK basketball player,
even though they only spend eight months there. You know, I told them that, you know, you could play in the NBA and this and that, but you won't as significant as you are as being a UK basketball player. So relish this. Take advantage of this and maybe now the bridge you know, we can bridge the gap a little bit more with you guys knowing what it's like to really be a konentuctive basketball player, how you really appreciate it. And then also they're getting to know each other.
Because they were so competitive when they were playing, they didn't get to know each other. So now they're getting to slow down and getting to know you know, Tyler's getting to know the twins, and you know, Willie's getting to know you know, Nate and so on and so forth. So that's been really good too. You know, it's like a reunion within a competitive situation of bringing these guys together, and tell you what, it's worked because they're all playing
for each other as you can see. You know, you don't get those guys to play and hold everyone that we play under sixty points in this deal. So you know, these guys are really bought in the really enjoyed playing with each other. Hasn't been any to mix this happ whatsoever. And shoot, it's been a blast. It's been pretty smooth, to be honest with you.
We're talking with Sean Woods and John Hood, Wildcat players from the past who are now assistant coaches with Tyler Ewlis as part of TBT, and they're on their way in the car to Philadelphia for the final four this weekend. We're back in a minute on six thirty WLA Welcome back. We're chatting with Sean Woods and John Hood, assistant coaches
under Tyler Ewis. Of course, all three of them played for the Wildcats, all of them Kentucky guards, and they are coaching in TBT, the Basketball Tournament, playing for a million bucks, and they play in the final four in Philadelphia this weekend. John and Sean are driving to Philly, so we were happy to have them on the phone with us, hoping that they remain safe as they talk
to me while they're driving. And before the break sewn, you were talking about players getting to know each other, and I thought about Willie cauley Stein, because here's a guy who could have been of course back in the day, going probably right out of high school, most people thought he'd be a one and done. He stayed three years at Kentucky, so he was like you guys, he stayed
quite a while. But I really think that that you know, I know, Cistina went nuts in the third quarter, but will he seems like he was a secret sauce the other night. What do you think of the way he's been playing.
I mean, he's been the savior. You know, he covers so much ground and he's one of the reasons why our defense has been so so good and so solid because what we're doing is we're pushing everybody to him to be the racer and he's you know, he can guard a point guard. He can you know, slaught a big and come from the weak side to swatter it. And as you saw the other night, which I've been seeing all week, the guy can really shoot the dag on basketball. You know, those those three that he made
in the first half. He does that every day in practice really, which is very surprising. Yet, I mean he's shooting like he's been doing it his whole life.
But isn't the NBA now and he's not that far removed from the lee you can make it back. That's a league that he's a guy like Boogie Cousins shooting threes and clearly Carl Anthony Towns that's isn't that where we are right now? In the league?
Here we are, you know, it's very hybrid and uh, you know, today's game. If you really can't shoot the basketball, it's hard to play you and unless you do something that was very special. And I just think that surprising to me. This is what you know, he showed me some things that I never saw. You know, we know as a Kentucky fan, even though I was coaching, and if we'd have beaten Western Kentucky and that in the playing game, we would have played those guys when they
were thirty one to zero. That was one thing that never would have crossed my mind. And I'm telling you, in practice, he shoots as good as anybody on our team. So I wasn't surprised when he was making those the other day. I was just happy that he was making a game type situation.
Speaking of big men shooting, John Hood, you're a guy who's never saw a shot he didn't like. What was your reaction when you saw Nate Cistina drain in those threes? And he's another big guy. I know. I watched you guys in drills the other day before the tournament began, and you were running the ball to Sustina for outside shots. But man, he was on fire. He was.
I met Nate, I mean the first actually two days before our first practice, three days before our first practice. And he is a he's a guy that he has that type of personality.
And I mean when.
I am when I'm back in Missouri Western, you see me on the sidelines and I'm very stoic onto the next play. But this has allowed me a space to kind of celebrate on the sidelines a little more. And he's one that that really, really you want to cheer for. And when he starts making those pump fake snide step threes, that's that stuff that we've worked on in crack, that stuff that he and I have worked on it and work out and it's good to see it.
It happened.
And I mean he's he's a big he's a big time shooter and a big time player.
Well, John, you grew up in Kentucky. It's shown you spent a lot of your childhood in Kentucky visiting relatives, and of course both played several years at Kentucky. What amazes me. Nate Cistina is from Pennsylvania. He began his career a college career at Bucknell and then transferred in He was here for the COVID year and yet man, he has has died in the wool blue as any of those guys.
Uh.
I guess we shouldn't be surprised by that, should we. John?
Now, some some people, some people understand the rivalry more than others, and some people definitely embraced it more than others. And and Nate is one of those one of those guys that you know, it's it was explained to him, he experienced it, and he's never let it go.
Well, Sean, let me ask you about the game coming up, because this is a group of guys who played at Ohio State for the most part, and they won easily in their quarterfinal game. What do you know about them? What do you expect?
Well, their physical you know they're going to attack the glass, and they shoot the ball very very well. They play within each other and everything from Hood said, it starts from the inside. So we just got to continue the way we play of taking away threes because they're making twelve of games shooting almost thirty nine percent on three, So we got to make sure we take that away and make them take tough shots at the rim like
we've been doing. But the main thing is keeping them off the glass and not getting us in bout trouble.
Well, we just talked about two of your bigs who can hit three pointers. I gotta think when they your upcoming team, what is it Carmen's Group or something like that, whatever they are, when you start looking at the video of your game, they gotta be scratching her heads. Like, man, we got to cover Willie, Carley Stein and Natestina on the outside. That's a huge plus for you, isn't it.
Well? Yeah, I mean, shoot, I'll tell you what. It's a couple other guys we got they can shoot the basketball. Yeah, shoot in particular well that night, So you know, that's not too many guys on our team that can't make the three. They can't shoot, which makes us that much voting it uh and that much difficult to scout for. And you know he's been uh, pretty successful then. And I'll tell you what. And we got to go to
guy in cancer. You know, he didn't play well the other night like he has been, but man, he he's a force to be reckoned with. And he may be one of the best big especially score wise, in this tournament.
I felt like the referees let you guys play quote unquote, which is a pro thing. I know I thought at times it was kind of ridiculously too physical. But does that help you guys as much as anybody or does it pretty much balance out?
Well, it bounces out, but you know we're getting you know, if they call it right from every guard, were probably in foul trouble fouled out just kind of guard Eric Bledsoe and one of the twins. So you know, it's been We're not as physical. I think we're just a better defensive team. And I think we're defending without balence more so than these other teams. But I'll tell you what Friday night is gonna be a very sensible basketball game.
Well, I'll let you guys go with this. John, the last question for you watching you mentioned you were part of that run and part of that championship team back in twenty twelve. But watching the Twins play, uh, are you're flashing back much to those days because you that was that was the heyday of the John Caliperi era.
It's very fun to watch. Aaron didn't have a.
Night the other night. I don't.
I don't think it's forward. Uh usually, I mean when.
They were here and during that run, if Aaron had a bad night and the next one he was he was due. So I'm hoping that that kind of repeats itself for this for this upcoming game against uh how alumni and crew. So but it's uh, it's been good. I just hope he makes a couple of big shots like he did.
In the back.
John Hood assistant coach, Sean Woods assistant coach to Tyler Ulis. For the TBT event, they are driving to Philadelphia. We'll we'll get into that some other time, but making the sacrifice for the team there their team coaches, fellas, be careful on the road, keep each other awake, and best of luck to you.
Thanks Jack, thank you.
Stay with us. Number two is next year on six thirty w l a P. Welcome back to the Big Blue and Cider Hour, number two of our show coming up at the bottom of the hour. He's back, Gary Moore or West End Bureau Cheap. Between his vacation and my vacation, we haven't really well. We have communicated, but we haven't heard from him on the air. So he has a number of things to get off his chest. So we'll be hearing from him coming up. As I said,
in less than thirty minutes. But I as promised, we're going to talk more and hear more from the basketball Wildcats. They're making them available right now to us because there are summer workouts going on rule changes, and boy, they couldn't come at a better time for the Kentucky Wildcats, a team that basically, you hate to say put together from scratch because that just sounds like they're just snagging anything they can and throwing it into the pot and
stirring it up. But basically, when it came to the roster, new coach, new staff, and they had to start over, everybody left, as we all know. So it's a good time for additional practices or early practices, which means we get a chance to talk and you guys get a chance to hear and see and read about these new ballplayers. We got a chance to talk to three more this week.
One of them I've already talked to it length, that Trent Noah on the show not too long ago, but you know, I've got a chance that we're owing a few more questions to him. But I really got a chance to talk, as did everybody else with Jackson Robinson and Kobe Bray. I had not yet talked to them, or met them, had read about them, obviously. But Jackson Robinson was a guy that people spotted early when Pope first started putting a roster together, and he had himself
in contingent for the NBA draft. He was in the portal, could have gone back to Brigham Young, but said no to the NBA, and then you know, he might have gone or he might have stayed in the draft. But as you'll hear, he had to make a decision after a workout as to whether or not he'd roll those dice. So he decided obviously to come to Kentucky, which is his third stop, sorry, his fourth stop in college basketball. He began his career at Texas A and m didn't
play a whole lot there. Played at Arkansas the next year, transferred within the league, played fourteen games there, then moved on to Brigham Young, where he was really really good. Played a couple of seasons there, sixty eight games, thirty six starts, averaged twenty seven minutes per game over his career at BYU. Last year he was the Big Twelve sixth Man of the Year and of course picking up
honorable mention all Big twelve accolades. So he blossomed at BYU, he had a chance to play and became one of the league's best shooters. Forty three times. He was in double figures for BYU, five times twenty points or more, and over his two years, the third most three point field goals per game. He averaged more than two triples per game and had a three point streak three pointer streak of twenty one straight games with a three pointer.
So here's here's a guy who fits exactly what Mark Pope was looking for at Brigham Young and looking for this season at Kentucky. So we had a chance to talk to Robinson. He talked to us about how his game has progressed through his career.
To be honest with you, I think it has more so to do with this experience getting out there and playing, and I think going into year five for me, I think it'll be good just to go out there and be a vet for this team, be a leader. That's what I came here to doing, to win ball games.
When everybody's ran new to a team, who who steps up and provides that voice, you know, to league.
I don't think it's one specific person Coach Pope causes a player lead team so everybody on the team has a voice. There's not one specific person, but you know, just making sure that we are leading the team as players and not just the coaches I think is huge, especially coming from YU in my second year. That was something that coach Pope made a big emphasis on. So I think these guys have done a good job at it, and I think it's paying off for the huge and we're joll super fast.
How easy your tough was the decision to stay in the draft versus versus coming back to school?
What did you struggle it all or was it pretty?
Oh?
Yeah, I mean I was the deadline was it was crazy. I'd worked out in Milwaukee the day of the deadline, and on my way to the airport, I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do for twelve o'clock head So.
Where were you?
Where were you heading back to from Milwaukee back to going back home to Oklahoma.
So I spent a lot of time in the airport talking to my family trying to figure out what the next best move was, which was what's it was a tough choice.
When did you come to the decision in the air while you were flying?
When did when did.
It Probably like an hour before I had gotten the air. I had talked it all over my parents, my age and figured it all out.
So what's sensitive for you? Why did you make that choice.
I just felt like it was the best one for my growth and my career overall, so, you know, just trying to make the right decisions. One of the things I love about Coach Pope is he he knews or he knew that I was going through a lot, so he gave me the space and the time that I needed. But he was also, you know, whis from behind my ear to come to Kentucky. So I mean, he's a great guy, and I love Coach Pope and we have
a great relationship. So it was a good experience just being able to communicate with him, and not only him trying and recruit me back to Kentucky, but to have regal conversation even after like some of the Combine games, he gave me a little advice stuff like that. So but it was good.
So coming back, what's the biggest thing you wanted to add to your game?
Is it something specific with your game or is it more like leadership called what's the biggest thing you're wanting to me.
I think this summer has been about leadership, you know, just trying to get the guys in the right state of mind with a new program, new group of guys, and I think we're all doing a pretty good job at that. It's not only me, but it's everybody else on this team. There's a lot of vets. So a guy like Lamar Butler is always talking trying to figure out what the next best move is as a floor general, and everybody respects him.
They want and practice. Everyone was kind of surprised that the green light that Pope has given everybody. All the shooters, right, you obviously know that, so you know that wasn't an adjustment for you. But what are some things that everyone is trying to adjust with as they're you know, learning about him.
Like you said, just shooting open shots. I think that's something that a lot of people don't really think about, but when you play for a coach like coach Pope, that's something he emphasizes every day. If you don't shoot an open shot and you're probably gonna come out. So, I mean, you can't ask for a better coach than that, to be honest with you, and it's been a great experience.
What what what does he have because some of the players that he just has it.
What is it that he has that makes you guys follow him?
Or I don't know?
Or is the only answer I got. Coach Pope is a great guy.
All of you guys who have played a lot of basketball around the country, a lot of different teams, different teammates, but this roster basically starting from scratch with a new coaching chaff What is that? What has that been like? What's that that process been like for you guys.
I think it's been super cool. Like you said, it's a lot of different people from different areas, different experiences, so just learning all of them and just getting to know your teammates on a deeper level has been huge. I think it's been really fun. I just brought up but Kurk Crisa. I love hearing stories about his time in Estonia and what he's been been through. So, you know, like I said, just hearing unique stories and learning the gel and play as a team, it's been fun.
Obviously, building an entire team is a tough task. I mean, it could have gone pretty sold, But do you guys almost kind of look around and be like, oh, this is actually kind of impressive building an entire team and it actually has this much talent.
I mean yeah, like I said, we're just trying to chase number nine, and we know we have the talent to do it. So it's just a matter of us putting in the work and trusting each other.
That's it.
And that's Jackson Robinson. Kobe Bray had transferred in from Dayton, where he was a three point specialist. Made one hundred triples last year. You may know this by now, hit nearly fifty percent from long range, average twenty nine minutes per game last season for Dayton, which finished one game out of first in the eight ten, advanced to the second round of the nca Tournament. And he got off to a slow start because he was on crutches, really
in a wheelchair at first with an injury. But he's ready to go now.
You know.
I wasn't able to be on the court unfortunately, you know, due to some recent injuries and stuff. But you know, just seeing it from the outside, I was able to learn a lot, you know, try to coast the guys up as much as I can, you know, try to be a leader off the court. Because you know that's only going to help me once I get back and showing now coming back into practices. But you know, definitely just been learning a lot, learning from you know, Jackson.
He's been in the program with Coach Hope for a while, so you know, learning from him. He's probably the most experience with Coach Pope, and so yeah, just learned from him and the other guys in the staff as well.
So what's the best way to describe this offense?
Mm hmm.
Best way to the Scott his offense? I probably say fun and fast. You know, I feel like we play really really fast, but it's so enjoyable, you know, watching it on the outside, you know, I got to see like how fun it actually looks, you know, and I feel like when we were finally able to do it in rep Arena in front of you know, BBN and everybody, I think they're gonna love, love, love like the our offense and just the way that we play.
This team shoot it as well as we're here.
Oh yeah, definitely definitely. But you know I'm gonna leave that for you guys to see, you know, when the season starts.
Intriguing comments from Kobe Bray about how much Big Blue Nation will love the way this team plays and shoots the basketball. Speaking of shooting, Trent Noah, you saw him in the sweet sixteen. You may have seen him take his team to the championship game where Harlan County lost to Travis Perry and Lyon County. And now he's a Wildcat, very nearly a South Carolina game Cock where he committed, but with the coaching change, Mark Pope stepped in and now Trentonoah's in Lexington.
Our chemistry is super hot and through the roof. And I feel like that's compliment to our coaches about who we brought in. We're all kind of similar guys. And then and then getting to hang out off the court is a big deal as well. I mean, we do a lot of stuff off the basketball court, and then that just translates on the court.
I feel like, how much has it helped too that? I mean, you've gotched so many experienced guys who've been through a lot of things before they even got here. How much does that help from a chemistry standpoint?
Yeah, definitely. I mean they know what works and what doesn't work. I mean they've been through it and they've seen they've seen what's good and what's bad, and they get to they get to do the good. So yeah, it definitely makes it easier with an experienced group.
You're a true rookie playing with guys who are in there fifteen six years. What's that like?
Yeah, I mean it's awesome. There's such good players, and you get to learn so much from them. I mean they've been through it, They've been in my shoes. So just getting to talk with them, pick their brain and and and just just hearing what they have to say just means a lot to me.
Are helpful with you?
Absolutely?
Yeah?
Absolutely?
What's the best aply super sieved from the more veteran player or something.
I would say?
Uh, they we always talk about. I mean you'll have your good days, you'll have your bad Uh, just level head, Uh, remain humble and and everything will work out.
You're not starting over, but you know you're there's a pecking order. Obviously, you got to earn your way after playing so well on high school. What's that going to be like all over again?
Yeah, I mean it's super fun. It's awesome. I mean it's time to compete again and and and and earn your strips. So yeah, I'm super excited for it, and uh, just every day in practice, just just competing and getting better. Les Travis ever talk about the championship game with you. We've talked about it a few times. I mean, uh, they had an exceptional team. I mean they obviously had a great player and us, and they had a few
guys around him that were really good as well. But yeah, I mean I think we'll talk about that for for a long long time. I mean that was a that was an awesome game for both of us.
You kind of had to take over at times with your team in the state tournament. It's not quite gonna be that way though in college ball, is it. How do you see your role? What's this team? Yeah?
Just doing whatever I can to help the team win, no matter what that is. I mean, just trying to be the best team and it can be, and putting our team in the best position to win, no matter no matter if it's cheering the guys on or hitting a big shot. I mean, just just doing whatever I can to help us in the best position to win.
How come you off?
Yeah, I mean I feel like this is set up, is set up for me. I mean I think it's set up for everybody. I think that's kind of why that he he hand picked these guys and brought them in to play his style of basketball. So yeah, it's awesome. I'm I'm loving it. What are your first impressions of Pope's coaching styles so far and kind of how do you think you all will play this year? Do you have an idea but yet? Yeah, I mean it's awesome.
I mean, super fast, shoot a lot of threes. I mean that's the modern game of basketball.
Uh.
He's super brilliant, great basketball mine. So it should be a fun year, especially offensively.
Here as a player, he's here now forst year as a coach. Do you guys feel in a little bit of pressure anything from BBN or all these fans? How how big basketball meet is this community?
Yeah?
I mean, I mean, growing up Kentucky fan, I obviously know how big of a deal it is to to wear the Kentucky jersey, and I mean we're at the University Kentucky and pressures are privileged, like it's it's amazing to be here, super grateful to be here. So yeah, I mean that's why we don't take it for granted. We come in every day and work and and it really is an honor to put on the jersey. So just just trying to leave it all and and do it for do it for the state. What does that
pressure like? I mean, it's just I mean, everybody expects to win at Kentucky. I mean it's the mecca college basketball. So anything short of a national championship is is a failure. So that's that's our goal, uh, to to hang banners and and that's what we're gonna.
Do, trying to know and from what we hear about this offense, he will fit right in. Up next, once again, we'll hear from some of the brand new UK women's players, as well as one holdover one who came back from last year's team. Next on the Big Blue Insider Bottom of the hour, Gary Moore on six thirty WLAP. It is the Big Blue Insider coming up in just a few minutes. West End Bureau Chief Gary Moore will be back with us after a break, my vacation, his vacation,
but we're back together again. We talked to some of the UK women yesterday, including Sanaiah Tyler, who, as we said, was one of two players to come back from last year's team. She played in thirty two games, average a little more than ten points per game, and talk to us about the decision to come back with a brand new coach and a brand new roster.
It it was a very hard decision. I know, I put my trust in God and I just found signs to keep me here. So it was sad to see everybody go, But I know, like my story is different from everybody else's, so I'm just embracing what the God Lord has for me.
So why did you stick?
I just wanted to see the culture. I'm I'm loyal, so, uh, Kentucky's close to home. I'm from Saint Louis. It's only five hours, so I didn't want to move. I want to take my family for somewhere else and travel around. So I just felt like staying.
What do you think of the roster Coach Brooks is put together, especially the size and the potential physicality in such a tough league.
Yeah, I think the roster you put together is gonna be really really good, just to be able to compete in the sec You like, got tall, A lot of tall people here, so it's gonna be a lot different than last year's team, But I'm excited to see the work.
You're an old head. What's that like for you?
That is it's tough to say, Like I remember my freshman year. Now I'm a junior, so I'm an upperclassman. It's just it's tough. But time shrew does fly by for real.
You know the style of play that's ahead of you be already. That's gotta be exciting.
Yes, yes, it is still trying to I do notice out of play, but it's still a few things like we can all work on stuff.
So yeah, this time of the summer is so limited, right you only can practice all the court so much.
It can only be in the weight room so much. You know, there's so many rules.
How are you making the most out of the limited time that you all do have together as a team right now?
Yeah, we're just going hard each day because like you said, it's only a limited amount of time and a few things we can work on in the summer. But like the summer is just trying to, like I said, get everybody figured out, figure out what everybody can do well, and just try to implement some new things going into the fall.
So Tyler is back and now joined by a lot of new faces, including Dajah Lawrence, who spent her career prior to Kentucky four seasons at what they used to call you UNC Charlotte now just Charlotte, where she was an All Conference performer, scored eleven hundred plus points, grabbed nearly three hundred rebounds, but decided to sign off with Kenny Brooks and the Wildcats.
Everybody was just so welcoming as soon as I came off the plane, the coaches, they welcomed me with open arms. Coach Brooks was amazing, he laid it out for me. And just the skilled development here. I think it will help me get to the next level in the next part of my career. And just the fan base here
at Kentucky. I've always watched Kentucky's wins basketball, even when I wasn't playing here, So just being able to play in the fan base, and I think it's a great opportunity right now, just pretty much everything's new, you know, just a new era of women's basketball right now Kentucky.
Not to sound like a cynic, but aren't all recruiters welcome in with open arms? I mean, what was it about Coach Brooks there had to be something kind of special about him.
I just think the way he approached it, he just he felt he seemed very genuine, and you don't get that from a lot of coaches these days. A lot of coaches are all about, I just want you here to help us win. But he was like, I want, I want you to come, so of course you can help us win, but I'm going to help you improve, like as a woman and whatever you want to do post basketball.
This is so brand new. I mean, new staff, new roster, almost new facilities. I mean, that's got to be exciting. What's that like for you?
It's very exciting. I'm just grateful to be a part of the first team that gets to play in the new Memorial Coliseum. I think it's going to be very exciting, but it's it's also just it grounds me and I'm just grateful to have this opportunity.
Dodger Lawrence is from Greenville, North Carolina, but this Kentucky team has a real international flare to it. Players from Portugal, the Czech Republic, and two players from Australia, including Amelia Hassett.
It is difficult being like such a long way from family and obviously coming to a new place, it's obviously hard, but just having like the support system around and obviously all the girls kind of to keep you busy and get your mind off things, so it gets easier once you sort of get to know everyone.
So how did you find your way to election?
So?
I went to a duco first, so obviously I was there for two years, and then obviously getting recruited by coach Brooks and then just loved his culture and everything about him and obviously all the coaching staff, and then when he said that he was coming to Kentucky, he was kind of a no brainer, and it was mainly about him and the coaching stuff and obviously the girls that he had also coming.
So yeah, I've heard so much about him and his culture. How would you describe that? How would you explain it?
I guess I would say he's very like caring and obviously cares about all of us and loves all of us, but he's very like tough, loving, so like obviously on the court he wants us to perform and like be at our best, so obviously he pushes us a lot, but then obviously off the court he loves us, like obviously he's a girl dad, as he said, so yeah, he just loves all of us.
You know what you're getting into with the SEC. It is the best and it's a tough physical league, especially for bigs. Yeah, how do you feel about that? Yeah?
Obviously it is a big conference, so it's obviously going to be a step up from where I previously was. But I think just everyone here and obviously all the girls will be going up against each other and practice and stuff, so I think will be prepared.
As it is six three, they also have big so you go six four, six ' five and six seven. This is I got to think the biggest team in the history of UK women's basketball. Up next, West End Bureau Chief Gary Moore, you're on the Big Blue Insider six thirty w early Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. Take the other again for the first time in a long time. We surely along with our West End Bureau chief Gary Moore. He's been on the West Coast though, and I was out down in a big d for
a while, so we haven't shared much lately. How are you sir? Very good? You're right.
I was moving to a new West Coast Bureau office out there whenever we need to do some West Coast stuff and you know what moving, you know what moving is like. You know, for our West Coast office, the main thing is making sure that you unhooked the kegs in proper fashion and then get them hooked up through the new taps.
That's right.
You got to get the right movers for that. I was gonna call you actually, because I know you're a pro at that stuff.
So oh yeah.
Anyway, with the new office out there in Long Beach is where four twenty twenty eight Olympic Games are going to be, and well, let's just get right into this. Two guys in a six pack. This is our first
sip here. We're talking about the Olympics now, although I will tell you out there people in Los Angeles have been talking about the opening ceremony that we saw in Paris, which is by far, nobody's going to top that, Okay, La, with all the stars and all the cool things that are out there, they ain't going to top Paris in four years to compete with the Louver and the Eiffel Tower and the Sin and all of that. And I know a lot of people are still talking about what happened.
You know that whole silly controversy about the last supper painting, a painting that people got outraged by. Had no problem with the Mona Lisa floating in the sin, by the way, That other Da Vinci wasn't the real one, by the way, right exactly. So we talked about stuff that happened on there, and maybe the worst thing that happened was that it least a flagholder guy lost his wedding ring in the sin. Maybe it was the worst thing that happened during the
whole thing. But you know what didn't happen during the opening ceremony. Let to go down the list. There were no terrorist attacks during the ceremonies, were no boat crashes. Nobody jumped the torch bears running with that, and speaking of running, nobody slipped and fell that I saw carrying the torches or doing any of the stunts on the whole thing. Of course, there was no dry weather either, But there are also no extra notes for Mike Arriko to tell us who some of the performers were or
where some of the countries were located. I mean, I'd say they're going through all this going like where's Togo again? Not the sandwich shop either. But you know what, Dick, I think, aside from all of that, it was the best opening Olympic ceremony by far I've ever seen.
I heard complaints about the boats and then it wasn't a traditional march in not many either. I loved it. I thought it was you know how I am anything that's just different, and the sane rivers, as polluted as it is, is such an important part of the history of that city. But I just thought it was a great idea. I tipped my cap in the pouring rain to any of the texts who had anything to do, Oh man, getting that on television. People have no idea how tough it is in the rain to make that happen,
and communicating things like that. I loved it, And yeah, I felt to the guy with a wedding rising, but I think his wife understood second swig on the six packs. So let's talk USA Olympic basketball. USA women coming into the Paris Olympics looking for their eighth straight gold medal. They're off to a great start, of course, blowing out Japan one oh seven seventy six on Monday. How if you saw this before the game, A Japan fan held up a sign that said, you need Caitlin Clark to
beat US. Yeah, if they wanted to beat Japan by more than twenty six yeah, maybe then. The men's USA teams won seven out of the last eight gold May I bring up when they settled for the bronze in the two thousand and four Athens Games, when Argentina beat Italy in the finals. Hopefully that won't happen again this year. Clearly though, the European competition has gotten a lot better for the men and Dick after the WNBA Stars beat up on Team USA, I ask you who's under more
pressure to get the gold? The women or those men who looked pretty mortal in that exhibition with South Sudan. I think that's a great that's a great question, I would say of the men, just because the spotlight burns a lot brighter and hotter on the men's team. But you make a great point about the women's team. I'm a little surprised, Gary that the world hasn't made greater strides in women's basketball, because we taught the world how
to play basketball. And I thought one of the most telling stats about people love to compare and it's ridiculous. You should never do this. Whatever Olympic year we're in that basketball team to the true dream team, the Michael Jordan Dree never ever ever do that. You should never do that. But that team Gary in Olympic competition faced a total of nine NBA players. On other teams, this team will face a total of sixty one at least NBA players, which is one of the reasons South Sedan
gave him as scared in a preliminary game. So but Charles Barkley was talking on his podcast about what made the Dream Team, among many things, so special, and he said it was the unselfishness. Everybody knew Michael was the star, but he said Chuck Daily did such a great job of handling the egos and everybody played for one another, for each other. He said, the next Dream Dream Team, the next Olympic team he was on, was totally selfish,
and he said was miserable. So that is I think the key to getting things done.
Agree one hundred third swig in the six pack. One of my favorite questions to ever ask you, are you ready for some pro football?
Now?
Do we care it's meaningless practice pro football? No, we don't. The annual Hall of Fame Game Dick tomorrow night already eight pm ABC at ESPN. That's been a good summer for two players in particular. I want to point out one. Your boy, quarterback Jordan Love, took the Packers for a four year, two hundred and twenty million extension, seventy five million dollars signing bonus one hundred and sixty million guaranteed.
It's the richest quarterback, right, so, the richest content for quarterback in NFL history, and uh it he deserves it. I mean, look at his super Bowl record. I mean it's like a uh wait a minute, that's checking notes. It doesn't seem to be one here. Well, well, then if he doesn't have a super Bowl, how about the playoff record? Look how long this? Oh well that's nothing. Let's see one and one and okay, two hundred and
twenty million for all that. Okay, Well, he's gonna be really good and get him down the line, we hope. Then there's Tua and the Dolphins checkbook. He just dinged the Fish front office for two hundred and twelve point four million, an extension over four years with even more guaranteed dough than Love. One hundred and sixty seven million. And how about his playoff record. Huh, that's something to really be impressed. Zhe to one in the playoffs against
that in that sub zero game. It's Kansas City quarterback rating sixty three point nine. Okay, well, uh, let me ask you this, did your pack and the Fins fork over way too much dough for two little so far?
Maybe so I know that's not the answer you're looking for. But one of the first things I always remind myself when I read about these contracts, and there's a lot of guaranteed money, but NFL contracts, as you know, because you've you've covered a lot of Major League Baseball not the same as Baseball and NBA contracts. You can get if you get a signing bonus, that's great, but not all of it is guaranteed, and it's easier for teams to get out from under that money than it is
to have to pay up. You make a great point about what are these guys accomplished. Clearly, the franchisers are saying we believe in you, were committing to you for the future, and that sends a message to the rest of the franchise. But you're going to make sure you put people around them who aren't going to, you know, grumble and put their heads down. And why are you getting that by kind of money?
Uh?
You know, Well, we'll go back to the conversation you and I had this time last year about Love, when we talked about Aaron Rodgers trundling off to New York and how the Packers players and some of the front office people could not stop praising Jordan Love, who'd yet to take a snap that season. But they loved him. They loved his work ethic, and I think they love being out from under the Aaron Rodgers umbrella. And so I think his teammates are going to be rooting for him.
I gotta think they're happy that he got the money. Now, you're right, his Super Bowl experience is a watch again on television. He might have gotten to go. A Cano players get tickets, so maybe he goes, but he also gets Gary to go buy the images and the trophies in Green Bay every day, and his way to work. He knows what's expected, and so does Tua for that matter.
It's probably more than a couple of Packer fans. Well, he's worth all that just for beating the damn Cowboys last year.
You and by the way, being an owner, I passed on the opportunity to go. They always have a shareholders meeting in the summer. I can never work it into my schedule. So I might have been able to get up there and question this and jump into the middle of this, but I just didn't get the opportunity. So I blame myself.
I understand that fourth swig and the six pack. One more from the NFL that I think hits home with you being the best sideline guy ever in the business.
Thank you.
New policy in the NFL has each team in every game providing a coach available for a live interview during the game, not just going into or coming out of the locker room at halftime. Now, initially they specified a head coach, but you could hear the swear words emanating from practice fields clear over here over that. So it's going to be the option of head coaches or defensive or offensive coordinators at the end of quarters or at halftime.
I think you and I both know who's going to be doing the talking and exactly when that's going to be happening. And let me ask you this, what is this nonsense? Of interviewing WNBA coaches and emil BE players major League Baseball players during their games while they're trying to do stuff. Coaches in the WNBA clearly hate it. And in baseball, besides inane questions from the booth, we've already seen players commit erris while they've been miked up. Dick,
I ask you, what's next? Should we be chatting with Simone Biles during her double layout with a half twist and triple double? Hey, how's the width on that balance being going for you?
There?
Huh oh, looks like it kind of slipped a little bit.
There.
You're gonna rectify that? How's it going, Simone?
How's your ankle feel right now?
Right?
Yeah? As someone who's remember the honorable order of sideline reporters, you know, first of all, let's let's let's go last first. In game interviews are great in All Star games, in exhibition game, they're great, they're fun, they're agreed. Agree. I'm not a fan of end game. They make me nervous, and I feel bad for the players who have to do them, especially to WNBA coaches who have to do them. But I I think what happens is these clowns who make these decisions men and women see the success of
them in the exhibition games. Ooh, we need that energy in our games. No, that's a bad idea. I don't like it. I'm okay with coordinators, you know why, because of a head coach doesn't clearly they're not gonna want to do it, and they're gonna be ticked off about it. You ain't gonna get much. But oftentimes assistant coaches give you more, they give you better stuff, and let's face it, they might be auditioning to be a head coach and trying to impress somebody. So, ah, you know why not.
I will miss Nick Saban being interviewed at halftime after they got like a thirty four to nothing lead, and he's sandbagging. Well, you know, we're doing all these things wrong. Here I can go and yell at them. You go do that, coach Fitswig and the six Backs. I mentioned being out in LA with the new West Coast Bureau office, and I checked on our three Dodgers with Kentucky connections,
Walker Bueller, Will Smith and Bobby Miller. Walker Lexington native trying to bounce back after his second Timmy John surgery, Dicky wasn't the same before he went on the IL with a hip problem and a five point eighty four eer. I can tell you his confidence has really taken a hit hit. He wasn't getting his fourth seamer where he wanted it, and his velocity was down a little bit, and I quite frankly, I don't know if he's going to come back this season as a starter at all,
if at all. Louisville native Will Smith made it the All Star Game, but the summer heat I think is catching up to him. Will started June with a two ninety four average, went down to two seventy one by the first of July is now two fifty six. They will definitely need his bat if they're going to do anything in the postseason. And former U of L star pitcher Bobby Miller suffered a shoulder injury two weeks into
the season. He's tried to come back. He had a disastrous ERA over eight, was sent to the miners to work it out. That's still in progress kind of a thing, although getting former Cardinal we know very well LA native Jack Flaherty yesterday should help. Even though the Dodgers are still three to one favorites now to win the World Series. I'm telling you, Dick, they're in trouble. They've played under
five hundred ball in July. Last night the bullpen blew another game in the ninth and tenth innings, and other than the White Sox, no bullpen has blown more games than the Dodgers' bullpen so far this season.
I would just city, I just wish Walker until he's one hundred percent. Just shut it down. Get healthy. Yeah, even if he has to miss the residence season, shut it down and get healthy. We got about two minutes here, go ahead.
Finally, Dick, we were over in Paris last October. Greatest destination for foodies on planet Earth on the other end of the gormandizing gauge. Two worse places for food for me on this or any other planet airports and ballparks. I know I'm on the minority in the ballpark thing, but I bring this up because ESPN and my Summer Weekly reader had a story about the Kansas City Royals new Taste of k tacoping a new MLB ballpark food list.
Hot dog wrapped in a cheeseburger case of deal with barbecue, brisket, fries, lettuce, onion, Shratchy Siracha, Crackerjacks and eight sixteen sauce. Whatever has Matt liquid that is. The Arizona Diamondbacks have apple pie chimney changas. The Red Sox have Irish nachos. I ask you, would you try any of those?
Negative? Negative? But one thing I did learn when I was running around the country with Doug Flynn about ten years ago for two seasons during the minor league game of the week. These franchises, these companies, they're serious, man. There are full fledged chefs working at these ballparks. Some of them, though, are I think just getting bored and a little too creative. So yeah, but I'll say this, my go to is still I hope they still have it. I haven't been up in a while at reds games.
Belgian waffles with the chicken chicken and waffles. Oh my god. Oh they great? Yeah, Oh pricey, but worth it. Gary Moore is our West Coast Bureau Chief slash West End Bureau Chief. He's been bouncing back and forth between LA and Louisville area. We're back in just a minute on the Big Moon Sider six thirty. Welcome back. We are
chatting with our West End Bureau chief Gary Moore. We went through two guys in a six pack now for a couple of hot reads and Gary, the Canadian women's soccer team lost its appeal, So it's being heavily penalized for spying on the New Zealand team with drones. Now, nice, I mean, how in the world is there? Yeah, how can you expect this day and age not to be caught?
Number one? Number two? Is there just not enough video out there of the New Zealand team playing soccer to where you have to use drones to scout in this day and age. You know somebody with a shotgun is going to take your drone down right.
Plus, there's a history of this. ESPN's reporter that this is not the first time that the Canadian women and men have tried to cheat and spy. This goes back two or three four years ago. Apparently they did this with the Tokyo women's soccer team in twenty one. So ESPN's got quite the whole history about this sort of thing. So this isn't just an isolated, isolated incident here. This
goes back a little bit. They're lucky they're still even playing as far as I'm concerned they're lucky because they could have really come down and shut out the whole thing, which is bad for the players. Players aren't cheaters that it's the people around them, the coaches, administrators, that kind of thing.
I'm sure they said, well sorry, but aren't they supposed to be the nice people that can.
Right, Yeah, so out of character.
I'm so just seems like it or maybe they've duped us all along. Right. My other hot read is just your take on what happened at the end of TBT the quarterfinal game. I call it I'm finding out for my younger friends. This is an antiquated term. But the dust up whatever, it wasn't a brawl. It was described as a brawl, but what it was was silly and
El's down and all that stuff. I guess that's forever going to be a part of the rivalry, just like the picture of now head coach Tyler Elis with blood streaming down his face.
As pat Riley once said to chick Hern when he was on the Lakers broadcast, I've seen more pushing in the men's room at the end of that gaze. But you know what, some of these guys, you know, do all the trash talking you want to do when the buzzer sounds at the end of it. That's it enough already,
even if it's how personal it is. Some of these guys need to go play in the Dirt Bowl, which by the way, is going on right now still over in Cherokee Park and learn how to do the trash talking and then end up shaking hands at the end of it. Some of these guys still need to learn that well.
And you know, Nate Cistina with the l's down in mid court, you know that that does sparks something. Yep, But yeah, I could, I could understand being upset, but spitting on somebody and that's sense apologized. Yeah. In fact, Sean Woods said that earlier on the show. That's the worst thing you can do so.
Much is yeah, I agree. You know, you can start talking about their mom, you can jaw back, yeah, but don't be spitting or you know, popping off or cold cocking somebody.
Yeah.
You know, that was really a bad look, you know, and it's too bad because that was a great crowd thirteen thousand.
Oh yeah. The other night, speaking of bad looks, you're looking good. Good to see you again on the zoom call and if you want to look for mister Gary Moore Weston Bureau Chief, you can find him at.
At nine to five to five Gary on X, same joint you're located at at Big.
Boo Insider one and I assume we'll see you next week.
It's right, go us yay.
And that'll do it. Thanks to my guest tonight, Gary Moore, of course, Sean Woods and our guest voice a bonus voice, John Hood on that interview as they drive to Philadelphia. Well it's been safe travelers all the way. That's it. Good night from the garage and Lexington number two.
Chicken sau sand all the butter, the.
Letters, the man and a cup of coffee.
Anything else.
Yeah, Now, all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich. And you haven't broken any rules.
You want me to hole the chicken, huh?
I want you to hold it between your knees.
Han han mhm