Welcome to the Big Blue Insider. Dick Gabriel with you on a Wednesday edition of our program, and we are live on tape back in the saddle here in the garage after the vacation, So our Wednesday lineup returns intact with unforgettable guard Sean Woods. Looking forward to talking with Sean about Olympic basketball as well as TBT the basketball
tournament which ended while I was on vacation. I got to watch a little bit of the game that saw the Kentucky team knocked out, but overall I wanted to get Sean's impressions on his return to the sideline as he was part of the coaching staff under Tyler Ulis, and just what the experience was like, because that Kentucky team made a serious run and if they remained serious about it, assuming there's a tournament next year, wouldn't be
surprised if someday the team comprised of former Wildcats jumps up and win us. So Sean will join us at the bottom of the hour. Also coming up in hour number two is our west Ham Bureau chief Carry Moore. Between his vacation in mind, I think we've only spoken on the air. We text all the time, once or twice I think in the last month and a half.
Also tonight, we're gonna chat with Corey Price. Corey is our UK network statistician, but more than anything, has made a name for himself as the pre eminent numbers cruncher on social media. He not only comes up with interesting and amazing tidbits, fact based or status based tidbits, but he comes up with him in a hurry. So we'll talk with him a little bit about what he might expect this year and just how he manages to come
up with stuff like that. Plus he comes up with pictures and I mean obscure pictures of people on media, on the air and print. When it's their birthday. He'll come up with something from somebody's birthday party when they're eight years old. I don't know how he does that, but it is kind of fun to follow him. So he'll be with us as well in our number two much to talk about this morning UK football plug in
the getting ready of course for another season. But before we get to that, we need a tip to BBI cap to the UK Athletics Hall of Theme class of twenty twenty four, and I couldn't be happier really for all of them. I mean, I've interviewed most of them, but the person that I think I'm happy is the most for is John Crop, the former Kentucky administrator. John was part of Bill Curry's staff and then Sam Newton's staff when CM took over here at Kentucky. And I
just really enjoyed getting to know John. And you will probably already know that the softball stadium is named after John. Softball was one of the sports that fell under his level of responsibility as an assistant AD wasn't the only one, but he really bonded with that program. The players loved him, and I'll never forget when they named the stadium after him. And I couldn't beat here. I was doing a baseball game,
but I heard about when they aim the stadium. John was asked to stand at home play with a microphone and read off the names of the people who needed to be thanked within the process of building the stadium, and the last index card that they had given him said, and the new stadium will be named John Crop Stadium. And I'm told he choked up and he couldn't read it. He said, I can't read this and handed it off
to somebody else, which was perfect for coach Crop. But one of the other things I thoroughly enjoyed about John is when he was still working of course and on campus, he would come to the Monday news conference, whether it be Rich Brooks or how Mummy or whoever, and just sit back and listen, literally in the back of the room.
But he would grab the UK game notes, which came along with game notes from the other team if they were available, and notes that Tony Neely had printed off from the SEC from that prior weekend, the numbers from all the Foo football games, and John would study them intensely, all three sets of notes, and then almost with that fail as soon as the press conference was over, and some of us I did it every now and then, would fire up the laptop and write something for the websites.
But John, inevitably he would say, well, you know what you guys missed, don't you, and three or four of us would gather around and he would give us a lesson on. It is usually football one oh one of some simple stuff that we should have noticed from the stats or the notes, or a follow up question or
something like that. It was so much fun and I really like and I always called John the Forrest Gump of football because through his years of working at Van Dey, Texas Tech, Kentucky all over the place, he has met and knows everybody and just just a great human being. So I'm so happy for John Cropp to go in along with Jasmine Camacho Quinn who just finished the Olympic Games bronze medalist from Puerto Rico and a Wildcat Henrik Larson of the rifle team. How about another Olympian, Sidney
McLaughlin Livon Man. This is the timing couldn't be better. I knew this was planned, of course, Cory Peters, who just retired from the NFL, had an outstanding career Kentucky in a great career in the NFL. And Jody Meeks how about Kentucky's all time leading single game scorer. What a great class class of twenty twenty four that'll be inducted during Hall of Fame weekend September twentieth and twenty first.
And one other note about Corey Peters, I'll never forget when he committed and I think it was the same
recruiting class. I could be wrong about this, as Aaron Boyd because I know I was over at Henry Clay and if it wasn't Aaron, I apologize, But I know I was at Henry Clay High School with Steve Moss he and I recovering someone's announcement for WKYT, you know, with the hats and all that, and I heard they had signed Corey Peters, which was a great yet Central High School in Louisville, great player, probably the best at least defensive player in the state of Kentucky that year.
Highly highly recruited, and they got him, and that was such a huge step for the Kentucky recruiting process to get a kid like that at a Louisville which U of L for the time being had owned. So when they started getting kids out of Louisville, UK football fortunes really really began to climb. So I do recall that speaking of football, Jamon Dumas Johnson and Eric Jackson both named the Buckets Award Watch List fortieth annual Wow that
of course goes to the nation's top linebacker. UK is one of only seven schools to have multiple players on the list. Players, of course, because well Buckus Ward number fifty one and in all fairness, Dumus Johnson likely would have been on the list had he remained at Georgia. But he's a Wildcat now, So think is Kentucky twice the opportunities to see somebody a Wildcat get that award?
That would be very cool. Maxwell Harriston no surprise, Dean Walker, no surprise, named to the Chuck Bedenerrick Award watch List, given out by the Maxwell Football Club that goes to the college defensive player of the Year since nineteen ninety four. Named after Chuck bed and Nerrick. He was an All American at Penn and a multiple year All Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is believed to be the last NFL player to be a full time
player on both offense and defense. Other guys have done it, but Baden Eerick was the last guy to do it full time in the NFL. Would not come off the field. You're wondering, Yes, a Wildcat has won this award. You know this. Josh Heines Allen won it back in twenty eighteen. If you're ever wondering about an award given to defensive players, as a Kentucky player ever won it, just tell yourself, probably Josh Allen now Josh Heinz Allen, former Wildcat Will
levis making some headlines, making some waves. I thought this was great, and you know what, it's real. Evidently you may have heard or seeing it by now. There is a new perfume. Some are calling it a cologne, but they're calling it a perfume that is a mayonnaise fragrance. You know about Will and his love for mayonnase, putting it in his coffee and all that. Well, Hellman's released a commercial that is touting this perfume. It's they're calling
it that smells like Mayo, among other things. Here's the audio.
They try to define you, but you are the ingredient to your own success.
Luscious backing, smell.
Like greatness.
They'll let us number eight apart from the mayonnaise. Okay, I thought this is brilliant, This is funny, This is a great joke, a hoax, whatever you want to call it. And they're going to sell some mayonnaise because of this. Since then, I guess that was the overall reaction. Hellman's released a tweet saying it's no joke. They released information describing the aroma. Whatever you want to call it the fragrance.
It says, at the heart of the fragrance lies a creamy during mayonnaise mayonnaise accord offering a smooth and complex heart, partially adds a fresh herbal element, reminiscent of a well prepared dish, and said, there are subtle coffee undertones, of course, because that's what Will uses. How Will uses it in his coffee. A sensual musk based weaves through the composition. I mean, this is hilarious and there's a comforting, creamy vanilla finish, equal parts inviting and intriguing. You know what
this means, don't you. Every reporter who covers the Titans and then some will be in at locker room trying to find out if he actually uses this stuff and believe it or not. And I firmly believe it. Of course, this is why they did it. It immediately sold out on the Hellman's website. Sold out. It was only eight dollars. You gotta wonder where the price go up. But mannaise based perfume, cologne, whatever you want to call it, is now the thing in Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm sure well
beyond up. Next the sacrifice made by Charles Barkley, who has become one of my all time favorites, and he was your favorite as well if you're a UK fan of a certain age. When it came to opposing players, UK fans loved it when Sir Charles came to town. He was an entertaining figure and a tremendous Hall of Fame basketball player. But he has become a pivotal point in broadcasting, not just because he's great at it, but
because he's such a great human being. We'll talk about that on the other side of the break, Sewn Woods at the bottom of the hour here on six thirty WLAP Welcome back. Coming up at the bottom of the hour, Sean Woods, the unforgettable Guard. We'll talk about the basketball tournament, which of course has been over now for more than a week. But I was gone. Haven't had a chance to talk to Sean about his return to the coaching side.
He assisted Tyler Ewis in that venture. And then a little bit later on UK Stats King Corey Price and Weston Bureau chief Gary Moore. Still getting caught up from vacation and sifting through the interweb a little closely, a little closer than I have been. I try to remain Twitter free while I was gone. I recommend that. But there's a lot going on, as we know, and one of the things I've kept an eye on, and if you listen to me semi regularly, I do appreciate that.
You know how much I like Charles Barkley as a broadcaster. He was a great player both in college and the pros. But I so enjoy his podcast with Ernie Johnson and Inside the NBA, which is one of the greatest, maybe the greatest studio show in the history of television, either over the year or on cable. And of course, as we know it now, it's going away in a little more than a year because the NBA rights have shifted
and TNT no longer will have it. Barkley has been incredibly outspoken about the fact that his bosses could have made he thought a better play to keep the rights, but did not. And you know, he's not privy to all the numbers crunching, but he does know this. He makes a lot of money. He turned down a lot of money because with the NBA rights shifting to a number of different places, Barkley was wooed by several networks and turned down big money offers to come with the
NBA rights. He is staying at TNT and they're gonna have some kind of show. And Barkley was on Dan Lebatard's podcast the other day. Lebtard sports writer from Miami who had a show on ESPN, Very outspoken, very entertaining. I really like him a lot. I don't always agree with him, but he is a bit of a sports anarchist. He is good about things that and likes things that
sometimes other people don't. I've kind of liked that. You know, he doesn't follow the herd and I know, no pun intended, not a reference to Colin Coward, but you know, there's a herd mentality often in sports, and LeBatard often pushes back against it, and I kind of do the same. So anyhow, Barkley was on his show the other day and LeBatard was talking to Barkley, Sir Charles about the fact that Chuck Wagon turned down a wagon full of money to stay at TNT.
Charles, how much money do you think that you left on the table in making that decision, concerned about others?
A minimum of one hundred million?
Jeez, A minimum?
Yeah, because I imagine it was a lot of fun to be you recently, right in free agency. That had to feel good even as you're thinking to yourself in these meetings, because I talked to you a little bit, at least you're like, I'm not.
It was a great feeling, and I want to thank all those networks for reaching out to me. It was really humbling and cool. It was humbling and cool, and so I really it was really humbling and cool to be honest with you. But I wasn't even think, like I said, Dan, even though they were throwing crazy numbers, I was like, damn, But as long as I got my people safe at TNT, man, I feel really good. Like I say, they're gonna pay me to go and talk about nothing, so I can't.
Look at give horse in the mouth. Before we lay.
Dan, I probably would have had to do an honest day's work if I went to one or old other network.
Not here though, Charles not a metal Ark Media, you would not have to do an honest day's work.
Metal Lark Media is the production company. I think he's Lebtar's production company that produces Levatar's podcasts. So there you have it. Charles Barkley estimates that he turned down about one hundred million dollars and look, he's gonna make a ton of money to stay with TNT, but imagine turning that down. And I can tell you that his concern for the people at TNT. You know, he's talking about not Ernie Johnson and Kenny the Jett Smith and Shack
They're all going to be okay. He's talking about the other people around the set, the people behind the scenes. And I know this simply because I do listen to his podcast and he talks about those people all the time. And those of us who have worked in television have great appreciation for those people. And some of the people I enjoyed the most at WKYT were the people behind the scenes because they're your friend, and not just because they're the people who prop you up. It's because they're
the ones you know. It's the old cliche. You're in the trenches with them, and you know that you might get the recognition. And I was not a full time on air guy. I was both on the air in front of the camera and behind it, probably more behind
it than I was in front of it. But the people, the videographers, the guy who's guys who haul the cameras and the tripods, you know, and the production people, the people in the studios and the directors and people like that are the ones, and they're fun to work with because they take as much pride in what they do as what you do. They don't get as much money and they don't get as much credit. So that not that I was making tons of money compared to my
co workers, but Barkley is. But the fact that he was able to take care of them and talking about people's families, that's heartfelt because he talks about it on the podcast with Ernie Johnson. So I do appreciate the fact that Sir Charles looking out for as coworkers. Now, speaking of coworkers, there's a little ESPN on ESPN crime happening really more specifically with the ACC network owned by ESPN. But evidently Heather Dinich, and if you don't know the name,
you know her face. You've seen her working on studio shows and on the sideline. Evidently, on one of the studio shows, she questioned the fact that Clemson was ranked fourteenth pre season by the Associated Press. And Eric McLain is an analyst for the ACC Network. He is a big guy and played offensive line at Clemson and on the set he took issue with Header Dinich and her comments, and he wrote and tweeted, here we go with this
trash again. And apparently she made her comments on Get Up on ESPN, and he has said he was willing to come on and defend his comments. So it's not very often that you see two different people when it's not staged, like Steven A. Smith and Skip Bayless or whoever. But here was Header Dinni's giving her opinion and a guy with deep, deep Clemson ties clapping back at her, entertaining, to say the least. Also entertaining was a shot on the Tampa Ray Tampa Bay Rays broadcasts the othernight, Billy
Rutledge's Tampa Bay Rays. They found a guy in the crowd who was dressed as a clown, had the fright wig multicolored, had a baseball hat on it backwards, had the full clown makeup, and was talking to a very attractive woman. But he also had a T shirt that
said I Suck at fantasy sports. So clearly this guy had lost a bet either his fantasy football league or baseball league or something, and the penalty was to dress up as a clown with that T shirt and go to a Tampa Bay Rays game because you know that either the TV cameras or the end house cameras or both are going to find you. Some of those penalties have included twenty four hours eating at a waffle house, things like that, doing standp comedy on open mic Night.
But this I think just might be the best. Sean Woods is next year on The Big Loon Sider six thirty WLAP. Welcome back to the Big blew Insider, and I haven't had a chance to talk to our next guest, Unforgettable Guard Sean Woods. In a couple of weeks. I was out of town and of course Sean was out of town with the basketball tournament team and Shawn, I know it was a disappointing ending, but in terms of you being able to work the sidelines and help Tyler
Eulis the way you did, was it ultimately fun? I know it was a disappointed ending, but did you enjoy getting back on the sideline?
Ohio was great, Dick. It was. It was a lot of fun, just me being on the side, but not only that, me getting acquainted with the young guys that are really twenty some years younger than me. And for me to be able to relate and motivate and get those guys to play at a high level was a big time. You know. They all were very responsive and respective, respective, and and we had a chance to win it. You know,
it's just unfortunate situations. You know, we missed a big time piece, and you know it kind of killed them around a little bit when we got out there. But uh, you know, I say all the time, twenty Beckham did a great job of putting this together in such a short time. You know, for the first year, we crashed records. I think we saved the tvt from a TV standpoint. Uh, you know, people come to the games. We broke all the records from from from from that type of standpoint.
So it was an exciting time. And also Big Blue Nation got to come together again for some guys, some former players, and and I tell you what that Louisville game was was magical. You know, you have thought that we were playing in December, a real game, and you know it was just so competitive, two traditions going at it, and and the and the unique part about it was
most of the players. All the players that are on our team play play at John Caliperi and most of the players they played for Louisville team played for coach Patino. It was a rich Patino John Caliperi clash again just with some other some older guys. But it was fun though it was. It was a great time, great camaraderie.
Uh.
And I got a chance to be an ambassador to these guys as far as teaching them and and and showing them how important and significant they are, as far as being a Kentucky basketball as far as being a Kentucky basketball players concern.
Yeah, well, let me touch on a couple of points. You brought up, first of all, the BBN getting together, which is no surprise, and delivering crowds and TV ratings and all that. Uh. Were you flashing back a little bit to your playing days. And you've been around the program really of late, since you've taken a sabbatical from coaching, but you know about the bb and how you grew up around it.
Uh.
I guess no one's surprised that UK fans turned out for this.
I wasn't surprised. The guys were really you know what I mean, and you know, because you would think TVT is just a little summer league. Did you said on television, you know you may get five hundred to one thousand people in the stands. Sure we were getting four or five thousand that rough and Louisville did a good job promoting their dial because they beat us in ticket sales.
But man, when we've matched up, it was like it was unlike anything else except for right around Christmas, in between Christmas and New Year's when the Cats and Cars go at it. Yeah, and it was magical. It was it was competitive. You know, it kind of got it was shippy, you know, kind of got out of hand a little bit pat of the game. But that just
shows you how much ply the two schools have. I mean, we could be seventy years old and playing in the seventy and underleague and it's still gonna be that same type of competitiveness. So that was good man, That was that was big time.
You mentioned coaching these players, and I'm wondering did you have to how much did you have to shift gears? Because I was a practice and I saw you instructing people basically on drills and where you wanted the ball to go. But these guys are all pros, and of course coaching pros is different from coaching college kids. I'm sure you spent a lot of time in your college career teaching basketball one oh one. You didn't have to do that with these guys. So how did you have to change as a coach.
Well, you know, when you're dealing with pros, they've they've seen it all. And the good thing about this team was I ran John Caliperry's offense for the most part with the dribble drive, and then too, they liked switching, so you just got to talk to them. They pick up things so easily, you know, you tell them once or twice and then that's it. You know, you don't
have to go back. You know. Their tention span was on point, which was very very surprising, and they were all in tune them and we had film sessions, we had walkers like we do normally in a normal situation, and these guys were all in tune and that and
that's what made it fun. I was worried going into this deal to see how I can even relate to these guys, you know what I mean, And it was great, you know, it kind of changed my perspective and gave me a little juice going into this thing, saying, hey, you know, this isn't as bad as all at all,
because I see what Billy donov was talking about. He rather coaching the coaching the NBA than he does in college for that particular reason, because you know, guys are for pros, you know, so when you are pro, you trying to and you want to get better. You want to be put in situations where you could be successful, and they soak you up like a sponge. So it was it was very gratifying for me.
Kyle Perry was heading for Cleveland until the Twins decided to come back for another year. So I can understand that we're talking to Sean Woods, the unforgettable guard as Jersey hangs in the rafters of rupp and of course he was a part of a special Kentucky team and was part of the coaching staff for the basketball tournament. You said something interesting right off the top, Sean's that
always catches my attention. You mentioned being an ambassador. You're basically one of the links between this group of players and the past, and of course so many of them, you know, Blitz through UK one and done or even
two and done. But I always come back to a couple of anecdotes when I remember I was in a media day and I've told the story before, but Sam Bowie walked out onto the observation deck up top, and I think it was Karl Anthony Towns was being interviewed, and I kind of motioned up at Sam and I said, do you know who that is? And he kind of looked quizzical and he said, he played here. I said, yeah,
he played here. And I remember interviewing Oscar Robertson, who was selling a book, so he was doing a media tour and he Sean was very frustrated by the fact that NBA players have little appreciation for the guys who came before them, and he said, NBA players, when they come in to the league should be given an exam, should be given a test on the names from the past.
What can you do if you were, if you took over as the head coach at Kentucky tomorrow, what would you do to at least encourage guys to learn about the people who came before them.
Well, you know.
That's a tough one.
I know it's a tough one simply because we're dealing with a different type of society, Dick. So you know, first of all, you got to make sure you establish a relationship with him. Second of all, you know, kids nowadays don't know. You know, you could. When I was growing up, I knew every I knew who Jim Brown was, and I could tell you what type of runner he was. And I never and I wasn't around even watching. But I've watched enough film with my dad and things like that.
You know, uh, you know baseball players, you know basketball players. You know what I'm saying. You want to know these kids don't care anymore. You know, they have so much other things to do, you know, and they're all caught up in their own deal. You know, it's not played before you You know what I'm saying. It's sad because that's the you know, our society has changed so much that these younger kids don't even understand how they even got here. You know what I'm saying, Who laid the way?
How did it even get to this point? You know, they're just here, you know. And coach Patino always used to say, especially when he got after way after he coached us, was we live in a micro waves society. Now you know that there's there's not a freshman, sophomore, senior, sophomore, junior, senior anymore. People. Kids want instant gratification. And that's why you see the transfer port of the way it is. You know, that's why you see you know n I
L You know, it's about them. It's not about tradition, it's not about It's about where can I go to magnify and and get the most out of who I am as a person, not who else is involved or who came before me. You know, it makes no sense. So when you nowadays, when you're recruiting, especially big time athletes, they won't know how much money they can get and how can you get into the NBA those two things. It's not tradition. You know. They can care less to
what's on their chest anymore. Most of them, I'll say ninety percent of them.
It's going to be tough for for Mark Pope. He has pledged that he will he will bring guys in who care about that front.
There's not too many people. There's not too many kids they even know about Kentucky. Yeah, yeah, that you can't name me. Twenty kids out there the top out of the top fifty kids in America. They can't tell you about Kentucky. The only thing they can tell you is if they watch the NBA, he went to Kentucky. But they can't tell you nothing about the tradition of Kentucky basketball. Just like the guys out coaching in the TBT, they think that they think they basketball started at Kentucky once John.
CALIPERI you got there, that's right?
Hey, you know, I said, hey, you know this is not you know, my coach doesn't coach anymore. Right, you know, there's there's not one player right now, former player that has that that coach is still coaching at Kentucky.
's right, all right, here's my matter for the for the kids. If I were the coach, all right, here's what I would do. I would give them a record book, a media guide, and I would I would give them a couple of days to study it, and then I give them a quiz, all right, and I'd say, whoever scores the best doesn't have to run or or do whatever like pull up. I wouldn't say skip practice, but is rewarded somehow, you know. And I'm sure some would blow it off. But I guarantee you there would be
some because you guys are all competitive. I don't care when you played or what you played, all of you big time. At leat you're competitive. They'd want to beat each other. But at least that would I think that would be a step towards almost forcing these guys to understand who came before you and what the names up on the wall mean. What do you think of that idea?
I think will but you would lose them, not lose them as far as they want to transfer. I don't think they would put much of it because they couldn't answer it, you know what I'm saying. And then you want them to take one of Then you want them to take two or three days to study the history of Kentucky basketball. Shoot, it'll take you more than a couple of days to study the history of Kentucky basketball.
I had more than one.
When I walked in the doors, I knew who I knew who Dan Issel was. And I walked in the doors, I heard the stories of the Fab five and Wawa Jones and all those guys, you know, Ralph Beard. We knew that these guys don't even know who John wall is for the most part, these guys don't even know who. Like you said, DeMarcus Cousins had no idea who Sam Buie was. You know, Dirk Minifeld played in the NBA
for eight nine years. Those guys have no clue who Dirk Minnifeld is, you know, especially Kenny Walker, who's the second all time or all time lead score in the history of Kentucky basketball. They don't know who Kenny Walker is, which they should, which they should right here in town. Yeah. But here's the deal, though, Dick, this is the deal. Though. They're not coming here to study the history of Kentucky
basket you see what I'm saying. They're coming here to because it was the best situation for them at that particular at this particular time, not the history. So it's more about relationship. It's more about how can you help them and his money and how much money they can get you going into a home and talking about the tradition. The only tradition we got is kle did a good job of getting guys to the NBA.
Sean Woods is my guest see of course the unforgettable Garb. We'll come back and talk about Olympic baschtsket Ball. On the other side of the break here on six thirty WLAP Welcome back, we're talking with Sean Woods, the unforgettable guard, the former Kentucky back court whiz point guard, and he helped Tyler Elewis coaching the TBT team that got to the to the Final four. But Kentucky also well represented in the Olympics, both in track and field and on
the basketball team. Sean, that was fun watching three former Wildcats win gold medals, but that did not come without some controversy, as Steve Kerr, the coach, criticized for not playing some guys, really good players. What did you make of that? The way he just I could not make heads and tails of that? Could you No?
I could you know? It had to be suffered deeper than what we see on the surface to not play Jason Tatum, Yeah, you know at all? Sometimes you know that's yeah, I know, you got you know, thirteen guys or whatever, and everybody needs to play. I mean, you know, it's hard to play thirteen guys. I just think that Steve wanted to make sure that he won first and at the beginning he played everyone, you know, in those preliminary games, and then when you're doing that, you're establishing
a rotation. And I just think that Jason Tatum was the lowman of the totem pole throughout those few first few games. And you know, are you going to continue to take Lebron out every now and then because they're all playing the same position, so you got to, you know, not He even didn't play the young fella a time or two that played for the Minnesota Timberwolves a man. So you know, that's a tough situation, you know, And when you make the Olympic team, it should be an
honor to just wear that jersey. But all these guys are big time pros and the best players on their team and first team all NBAS and Jason Tatum just won an NBA championship. And you go from being the top man on a totem pole, just signed a big time deal to not playing with the best players in
the league. That's tough, you know what I'm saying. So I'm glad I'm not at Steve kerr shoes, you know, in that situation, because I would have played them all unless something drastic happens where you just don't play a guy no minutes you know, I don't know you know what I'm saying. I can't I can't put my finger on it. Jason Tatum has made one statement but really hasn't made a big deal. I think everybody else has. So we want to go medal. You know you were
selected to be on the Olympic team. You know that's not or in itself. Let's tick with that. You know, maybe next next time the Olympics come around, you would be a main guy because Lebron didn't won't be playing anymore than Lebron curve those Durant they won't be there. I hopefully, hopefully you won't have such a bad face of your mouth from your experience this year that four years from now when you are one of the main guys that you that you boycotted. So let's get through this.
Hopefully four years, you know, the dust will settled and Jason Taeddan would be a main stay on the lipotine.
Your thoughts on Steph Curry And I'm wondering, as a guy who was a pretty good defender, what are your thoughts on on how this guy just was? It seemed always open and at least in that last game, never missed he's unfair.
Steph carry is unfair. There's no defense that can stop Steph Curry because when he steps on the court, his range is oceanless. And what I mean by oceanless is he has no range, you know, and that's hard to guard.
You know.
He shoots so many untraditional shots that they are all trick shots. You know, he shoots shots that you're shoot in your backyard with your dad, and there's no defense for that. You know, it's unfair. And when he gets when he gets it going, sure, he's the most dominant player in the NBA because you can't guard it. It's not like okay, you know, he's gonna get to a spot here too, dribble, pull up here, or he's gonna spend here that I mean. Shoot, you saw those untraditional
shots that he made the Olympic. That just solidifies his legacy of being probably the best shooter of all time.
Yeah, and some people pointed out that him coming down on the break or with a floor all spread out, uh, step back three with two guys other guys wide open, perfectly acceptable, isn't it for him? Yeah?
Everybody can't do that. Everybody doesn't have that leads he's the only even on that team. Lebron can't come down and shoot those make those type of shots. Durant don't can't come down and make those type of shots. Only pressure on that team can make those type of shots. Was the guy who you saw make them, and that was Steph Curry.
Yeah, yeah, And I I love hearing Rex Chapman talk about you know, his Steph's dad was his teammate down in Charlotte when Rex was a rookie and Steph was a baby, and they were driving around, you know, with Steph strapped into the car seat in the back and Rex said, here we are two NBA players thinking we were the bomb, and he goes, the best player in the car was strapped in the car seat in the back seat. So how about that playing? How about growing
up playing with dad and dad's friends. Just like just like Booker paid off, didn't it exactly?
I mean Booker, I mean he's one of the top two or three two guys in the league, and I just I'm amazed and really impressed with his career. Yeah, I think he's a one guy. I think he works at it so hard, and you know, I just hope he ever he gets on a team where he has a chance to win a championship because he's a really good player and from out looking in he's a really good young man too.
Shawn Woods, the Unforgettable Guard joined us every Wednesday, Sean next week, get ready because we're gonna talk football. You can talk about it all. I know you're a fan of everything, so we'll we'll get caught up on UK football. How'd that sound?
Looking forward to a dck and re.
Number two is up next here on the Big Blue Sider six thirty eight w lap Welcome back to the Big Blue in Cider and has promised. Corey Price joined us now. He is the king of numbers. He's our statistician in the UK Network. But you need to follow him on Twitter because he always comes up with kind of interesting obscure stats. But if you're a sports fan, Corey, no statistic is too obscure? Am I right about that?
That's right?
If you if you love numbers, you'll find joy in almost anything. Really, So have you.
Been a lover of numbers all your adult life or since a kid? Or what? How did this start with you?
Since I was a kid, I've always a math like in school in class. I got my degree in math from from UK in two thousand and eight. It's always would have been best at It's always when I've heard the most about so and when had I also love sports, so sports and numbers, you know, great staffs.
But I Boways loved marriage Made in Heaven really has been forever. And as I said earlier, and I mentioned this earlier on the show, you come up with stuff so quickly, and obviously the inn that helps, but you gotta know where to look on the internet. Do you have favorite spots? You're there, yellow? Are you there?
Sorry?
My AirPods were still in Sorry.
Oh that's all right. Let me ask a question again. Finding stuff quickly is one thing, but you have to know where to look. Do you have some favorite places that you go to your what are your go to spots on the internet.
There's a few things, of course. Uk FLEs dot com has their own like factbook, which is a great great tool. Is a website, College Football Reference as a website that has a lot of it's about two thousand. They have a lot of great data and a list at and box scores. And then I have a prescription to newspapers dot com where I have access to all kinds of
current and old papers from around the country. So if I want to look at maybe a box score from you know, the seventies, I can usually get it pretty pretty quickly.
Is newspapers dot Com. It's got to be where you find the old, old, old photos of people like me.
Well, I would say old.
Yeah, it's a great resource, so I know that. Well, let's let's get down to some numbers with regard to Kentucky football. Starting with big picture, the schedule is particularly difficult. We know that, but with Texas now joining the SEC, that makes it even tougher. In terms of the teams, Kentucky is going to be facing in the top six according to the AP preseason pole am I right.
Yeah, we're facing the three teams in the top six. Of course we were lucky. I'm also joking that the first year to Texas is in the SEC, we could go to Austin, so that's going to be quite quite the challenge for sure. And we play in Oxford as well, so those would be two pretty tough games yep.
And then Georgia comes to Lexington and I had forgotten about this Cory, but back in twenty thirteen stoops his first season, as if he didn't have it rough enough. Yeah, Alabama Georgia on the schedule, and South Carolina was ranked six preseason. Didn't work out that way for the game Cocks. But that was a tough season all the way around, wasn't it.
Yeah, the Bama game and Georgia game were not too kind to us. But I remember and down in Columbia we played I think to like the to last minute. Yes, I mean, or almost I said so as a close game.
You also point out uk is returning only two hundred and eighty six yards of total offense from last year Russia yards from Barry and Brown and Demi Schuymour carn Bay. Of course, when Ray Davis went out the door, most of the offense went with him. But this is one of the smallest amounts of total offense returning, isn't it.
Yeah, of Courtunate didn't have a lot of time to do a lot of research last night on this. But I have a hard time believing we've had a team with let's come back. I mean, I thought the guests maybe two thousand and eight, because they lost Woodson and little at qping running back. That might be a good guess,
but pretty thin. Obviously with Larry you know his when you hear and I'll see Davis with his when you hear the fortune or fortunately, guess, however you look at it, this might be a theme from now on.
You might look for.
Some some some grad transfers or people that were only here for one years. So fortunately, this type of stuff will probably happen from here on out.
We're talking to Corey Price, UK statistician, who who is a guy who loves to crunch numbers and has taken a deep dive looking at the upcoming Kentucky season which shows that UK. This one kind of surprised me, Corey. I know the offenses have changed, qbs have changed, but the last time Kentucky had a three thousand yard passer, I think this would stump practically anybody was Mike Hartline
in twenty ten, thirteen straight years without one. So now the question is can the Brock vander Riff get there? And of course that's got to be tied. I would think that the number of plays in the new offense and all that sort of stuff, right.
Yeah, Bush definitely wants to play. I mean it's I mean two ounce. It's hard to play slower than what he did last year, but Bush definite wants to play faster. And you know, there's still a lot of question marks with Rock obviously didn't get a whole lot of playing time last year at Georgia, obviously with chips injury, with injury, there's question more to death at running back. So maybe it might be time sort of practice, and we have
a choice but to throw. We have great weapons to both receiver and tight end, so he's got a lot offense to throw. So honestly, I think he probably he probably will be the first one to reach three thousand yards and we.
Know that train him is a power back and we will see him eventually. But it also made me wonder Corey what they throw to the backs a little bit more, you know what I mean?
I think they will.
Uh.
The backup is Demi and he showed some great promise catching balls out out of the backs of the last year, so I don't catching him.
Kentucky is striving for more temp on offense. We all know this, but you crunched the numbers, tell everybody how bad Kentucky was last year, and I don't you know that's probably not the word how deliberate Kentucky was because some coaches like the deliberate pace Mark Stoops did not, but Kentucky kind of pushed it, didn't it.
Yeah, they averaged thirty point two seconds per play on offense last year, which was the worst in all of the FBS, and they've actually averaged at least twenty and a half seconds per play each of the last five seasons. So, like I said, they're definitely taken their their their time on offense.
Like I said, Bush.
If he wants to push, push the pace with this no huddle, so I definitely see the number to drop down pretty drastically.
How fast was the fastest Kentucky team? From what you could.
Find out, this is the twenty seven team. They averaged just twenty two seconds per play. To be fair, that the number is a little skewed because they played a total of seven over times between two games, and obviously and over time there's snaps with no time being taken off the clock, so it's excuse slightly. But I think even if you took up those place, I think they still averaged like twenty two point seven seconds, so I think it'd still be.
The fastest what about the air raid era.
Actually mummy's first year at the school nine ninety seven. They were pretty good too. They was twenty three point four seconds per per play, so they were per pretty fast as well.
Yeah, that you would you would immediately think that that it was the air raid. But yeah, I find it interesting. The O seven team was Rich Brooks's best team and that team set records for offense as you know, you're.
Right, point scoring. Oh yeah, the twenty seventeen I think he said the score record for most point scoring in season. I believe, MinID. I mean that that team was loaded with seniors that were just lots of talent, Tammy and Little and Woodson and Burton Johnson.
So yeah, we'll talk more UK football by the numbers with Corey Price when we come back here on the Big Moon Sider six thirty w We're talking with Corey Price. He is a statistician for the UK Football Network and as a guy who has a lot of fun to follow on Twitter because he always comes up with some kind of perspective in terms of the stats when it comes to Kentucky football and has been looking ahead to the season and with records that might be broken and
Barry and Brown. Corey is in a position to have a big season when it comes to SEC records and UK records, is he not?
He's He's broken the school record and he's currently tied the SEC records for most career kickoff return touchdowns. So with next one he'll be all all by himself in SEC history. And then with one more kickoff return touchdown to receiving touchdowns, maybe just the fifth player in the fbsint seventy six to have at least saying career receiving touchdowns in his fifth career kickoff her touchdown. So he joined the pretty select group there.
When we think about records and returns for touchdowns, naturally we think of Derek Abney, but you have to fold in his punt returns for touchdowns. Plus uh, Derek, being a slide receiver, didn't make a lot of touchdown catches. He made some. But I think it's interesting that that Barrion is a marked man and still getting it done right.
Yeah.
I mean, if I was the opposing team, I wouldn't kick anywhere near him. But I remember vividly in the pull the game last year he took a ball that was frailer deep in the end zone, and I questioned whether he he he should return it, and of course he took it to the end zone. So from that point on, I'm never a question Barrion and whether.
He should I think clearly that was the turning point in the game. Dame. He is looking at some important numbers, isn't he.
Well, I mean, I say, both Brown Key are They're both approaching the ones in your career catches, fitting in your career yards and actually, uh, well day sorry passes, but Brown's close to tak career receiving touchdowns and if they, if hel them get there, this year will be the first time in school history that we've had two teammates with those same with those career numbers on the same team at the same time.
So, man, yeah, that's an embarrassment of riches of wealth. You know, it's the best combo of receivers since that seventeam I think that ad as you mentioned Tammy and Burton, Dicky Lyons.
Uh.
You know, Andre Woodson had so many great the Mario Ford, so many great choices, and you talk about guys stretching the field, you got to think that the younger receivers are going to benefit from these guys being out there. A few minutes left with Corey Price see as a statistician for the UK radio network and comes up with a lot of interesting info for Kentucky football, including Maxwell Harriston. Another pick six would give him an impressive mark in a record book, wouldn't it.
Yes, he would Dabas Owens for the most career sess f turn touchdowns to the UK with three hard is. I don't think a lot of teams are going to throw throw his away, but if he is his hands on one night, I definitely see him taking it back.
Camer I think you made that Vandy road trip last year, did you not?
Yes?
Okay, when when something like that happens in a game that you're working, And what I'm talking about is Maxwell not just picking off a pass, but picking off that second one, You almost instantly have information out there on the web. So now you're juggling two jobs, aren't you up in the press box looking for that and keeping track of numbers for Tom Leech?
Yeah? It to me times, but there's no other job I'd rather have it. This is I'm going into my my third year now working with uh you all and it's been a pleasure you and Tom and Jeff and Brad Tucker and the whole crew. Nothing but but true, true prose, and it's just it's just a joy.
I really enjoyed the It wasn't obscure, but it was little known bit of information. You weren't with us yet, I don't think. But when Kentucky beat Florida down in Gainesville and uh gosh, who was to have score? Scoop scooped and scored on what turned out to be the last play of the game.
I think there was Dante I think it was.
Remember he picked it up and people on the sideline were pointing, run, run, And it was the first time that a UK player had scored on the last play of the game since I think the late sixties. You remember that, early seventies. I think Darryl Bishop believed on it.
Yeah, right, Daryl Bishop against Bennerbilt. I want to say it was nineteen seventy two, I think, yeah, on the final play of the game, venue through a pass, he picked it off and reaching it for a touchdown and that was the.
Game winning playoff. Believe the score in that game was fourteen to seven, wasn't it.
It was Yeah, So I'm not really sure why if any was going to throw because back then they retire, So I mean, it's not really sure why they wanted to pass there. But I didn't end in the favor.
Trying to win the game, you know, But that clearly was a dangerous route. I'm sure it was an out route or something because Bishop picked it off. And it wasn't a quick touchdown either. He had to negotiate some yardage. Robinson's somebody tried to tackle him at the goal line, remember that.
Yeah, I couldn't bring him down. Yeah, he had stretch for Yeah, but that was quite quite a game yet.
Well, Corey, I do appreciate you joining us, And have you made a prediction yet? Have you crunched numbers on how many wins for the Wildcats this year?
It's uh, it's tough because this schedule was pretty brutal. And I said, there's still some question marks with Brock at QB. Obviously depth that running back. I think we're pretty We're pretty good on defense. I like as coming back, a lot of depth, a lot of talent on that that's had the ball and brocked up and has weapons to throw at with the Recius and Titians.
It's tough.
I would love eight and four better, but with a question on offensive schedule, I will probably lean more seven and five.
Corey Price, statistician, UK Radio Network. Thank you, sir. We'll see you at the ballpark, Yes, sir, Dick up next. West End Bureau Chief Gary Moore here on the Big Blueing Siders six thirty w l A P. Welcome back to the Big Blue are joining us now this being Wednesday as our well okay, yeah, how about that your vacation in my vacation I was mentioning earlier, Gary, I think we've done this maybe once in the last month and a half. So you got all kinds of stuff built up, don't you.
We've been galivanting around and I hear, I hear you went to Saratoga where your horse. Naturally, that did go through my mind while I was up there. Carlie Simon was following you around years ago when you were doing this.
Yes, hey, I didn't see him, but one of the guys in my group saw a certain rick Patino in the paddock.
So really okay, yeah, yeah, makes sense, Yeah, sure does. Ricky's got a little game, little horse game going on the horse game. Yeah, well it's two guys in a six pack, mister Gabriel and a two guys in six pack salute. We'll start things off with our first sip here to the USA Olympic teams. Get that out of the way first of all, number one overall yet again, and I was noticing that the French, the home country, was number four. We were over there in Paris October.
And I will tell you this, if the French could have a metal event that involves cigarettes smoking, they would gold, silver, and bronze every year.
Exactly.
It would be a sweep. They'd go up in the well. If they could do break dancing, it seems like that would be possible. Anyway, we'll get to that later. But anyway, as we mentioned before, I think we did talk after the opening, which we loved. Have not talked since the closing ceremony of the Olympics on Sunday, which was a par fay French mess until Tom Cruise jumped in to
save that whole show. And by the way, could we ever get Mike Tarico some notes if he's going to do the next one to figure out, you know who some of these people are that we're performing and some of where some of these countries are that would be a great help for some of us. And then of course we had Snoop Dogg, America's pothead. I didn't know his fifteen minutes of fame have gone on this far. I think they just kind of keep getting extra time segments like in soccer. We'll see him, I guess even
more in twenty twenty eight. But Dick, I'll tell you in all seriousness, there are way too many Olympic events for me. I love watching the Olympics, but there's so many other side events they've added now, for example, three on three basketball. When I saw that, I thought, oh, great, shrink flation has come to the Olympics. Now we're not only getting three guys on three. You know, if they want to do something interesting in the basketball for a metal round, why not horse, Let's get some guys in
there to do h O rsse. I'd watch that rather than three on three. And apparently three on three is going to be there for twenty eight. The speed sport climbing thing and if you saw this, they were in harnesses. Yes, take the harnesses off. Let's see how fast. Let's see how fast they spider man up that wall. Okay, marathon swimming, and if you saw that in that nasty river they swim for for six point two miles over two hours. The only reason you would watch that would be to
probably see who throws up at the end it. I guess I can't imagine sitting there for that long. And then, of course, speaking of swimming, artistic swimming aka synchronized swimming, it was more fun in the Caddyshack scene. Okay, so if you're not going to top that Saturday Night Live right exactly, and you being a horse guy horse dancing, I don't know if you saw this under the equestrian you know you have to beat and abuse horses for them to perform like that. For a lot of people
don't know that. For the most part, that should be the treatment for certain IOC gymnast executives trying to take metals away in my opinion. And finally we mentioned break dancing in a metal event. I guess in LA we're gonna go for the gold and the macarena or something that's not going to be part of the whole thing in there.
Yeah, there are too many and I think three on three and the break dancing. I think they were trying to get people revved up and waiting for the LA Games. Those seem like very LA centric sports. You know, it's funny you mentioned synchronized swimming, because I've always got to
my eyes. But I started watching more of the video clips, and when they included the underwater cameras that switch back and forth, it really gave me a better appreciation of just how athletic these these swimmers are and what they have to go through to make it all look so good. And you can roll your eyes at any sport that needs a judge, and I think we're okay if they did away with those those sports, except for then you'd have to do away with gymnastics. You'd have to which
I love. You have to do away with diving, which is gymnastics when you get wet, uh, and boxing things like that. So but yeah, some of the other ones you wrapped off, especially break dancy, come on, man, and how did the woman from Australia even get there?
That was ridiculous And thankfully that will not be part of the LA Olympic Games.
So your point, We're going a little long on this part. But yeah, you know, the people doing this and that I'm okay if I don't know who they are, I would love to know where a lot of these countries are. I'm always reaching for Google when I've saved. I've never heard of this this place, you know, I think that's fascinating. And in one final note on snoop, somebody pointed out on Twitter that in the last Olympics one of the athletes was banned because marijuana showed up in her system.
And now we've got, you know, father Pothead front and center on NBC so.
Spokesman for cannabis around the world.
Exactly. It's funny how that works, you know.
And here's the other thing too, if they give you a country, at least maybe flash up a little map on the corner of the show where that is on the map, right and having to you know, do that anyway, our second swig in the six pack, Okay, we quoted Carly Simon to quote ll cool J going back to Cali, to Cali and it's only one four hundred and thirty one days until the LA Olympics. And I was out there,
Dick in eighty four. I was just visiting. But the city leaders and Peter Uperah who was the Olympic chairman. You may remember it had this terrific traffic plan worked wonders and I know they're working on that for twenty eight, right. But in terms of events, there's going to be at least six events in LA and twenty eight that were not in Paris. And as we mentioned, mercifully there will be no break dancing. But here are the six that are going to show up in LA that weren't in Paris.
Number one flag football. It's not just for the lame Pro Bowl weekend anymore. Number two baseball for obvious red white and blue reasons. Number three softball for the same obvious red white and blue reasons. The fourth event that wasn't in Paris squash, a sport still struggling to be as popular as its vegetable counterpart, But that's going to be in there. You have number five lacrosse. Yeah, it's going to be there.
That should be.
And by the way, the late great Jim Brown, I don't know if you people know this broke the color barrier in that sport. Jim Brown called it probably the best sport I ever played. Yeah, and he was considered one of the all time greats absolutely, He's in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame for that. And last, and certainly least for me, the LA Games will have cricket, which has only made one previous appearance at the Olympics, and that was over a century ago, a century ago in
nineteen hundred in the first Paris Games. And for good reason, cricket stinks. Regular cricket test matches can take up the five days I have seemingly endless days to finish. And if you thought marathon swimming ten kilometers was brain numbing, try scoring during a cricket How did that happen? Now they say they'll have shorter and three hour cricket matches for LA, to which I say, what was wrong with the idea of frisbee golf was that there any events you, Dick Gabriel would add.
Well, no, I couldn't say yes on frisbee golf. But you know what, I'm a mazed cricket hasn't been added before because it's such an international game, we just don't know it or like it here in the States. I like the fact that they're bringing in lacrosse because that is the one sport that we are certain apparently was invented here in the US of A, so that makes sense. I wish they would put screwing around with the list of events. I know that it's going to be more fun.
I think having baseball and softball back in the games. But I can do without a lot of these.
Our city councilman over here in Louisville, Scott Reid has got a big deal with the local cricket players over here. Yeah, no, Scott, I'm not going to be out there for that third swig and the six pack. One last Olympic look back, USA men's basketball. They were fabulous, their favorites to win. I guess again the gold in twenty eight I would say, yeah, but the world does seem to be catching up. It took the greatest outside shooter in pro basketball history, Steph Curry,
to put the French away last Saturday. And by the way, Michael Jordan, anybody else who knows Michael Seth Curry. Steph Curry is a first ballot? What are you gonna call it? Hall of Famer? Okay, I think I've seen something about Michael saying he's not a Hall of Fame. He is, definitely. I think it goes without saying Victor Wimberiniana said, the boys are going to be on a gold mining mission in La the French when they get there. Of course the French, remember the French beat the US in their
first game in twenty twenty one in Tokyo. We forget about that sometimes, that's true. Came back to win him, to beat him in the finals, eighty seven, eighty two. There, let's go back a couple more. In twenty sixteen in Rio, USA beat Serbia by thirty and of course they've gotten a lot better since then. And then in twenty twelve and London we beat Spain by seven. So here's the big question that's been going around obviously for US basketball types.
Who's going to be around in twenty twenty eight. For US twenty eight, Lebron will be forty three, Steph will be forty, Kevin Durant will be thirty nine. But then you go down the list. Joel Embiid will be thirty four, Jason Tatum will be thirty. Are UK guys Booker and Bam both thirty one, Ad will be thirty five, Anthony
Edwards twenty seven, Haliburton twenty eight. So I ask you, who do you see besides those last seven, perhaps joining on the team, maybe Jalen Brunson, maybe some more UK guys like Dary Fox, or maybe Tyree's Maxi or even Reed Shepherd might be a possibility.
Absolutely. Yeah. The turning point came I think gary way back in nineteen eighty seven when Brazil jumped up thanks to Oscar Schmid's forty six points and beat the US of A for the gold medal. And I believe Denny Crome was the coach of that team, and he came back saying, folks, they are catching up. We've taught him to play, so this shouldn't really surprise us that much.
I do wonder who's going to be the coach next time because Steve Kerr, I talked to Sean Woods about this earlier on the show, took a lot of flak. And it's gonna be fun. I think it's more fun when the games are competitive. Certainly it was this year.
I have no problem with what Steve Kerr did, You got the gold number four or our fourth swig in the six pack?
So, Dick.
When your boy Packers head coach Matt Lafleur was asking an ocuous question about the Packers having a number one receiver, Laflora said, quote, I want to vomit every time I hear number one receiver. To be honest with you, drives me crazy. You think that's something you guys talk about. I feel like we've got a bunch of them. Unquote, Okay, lighting up Francis. When I heard he said it makes him want to throw up, I thought, well, good, now he knows how the rest of the world feels about
the Packers this season. Using an alternate white helmet, am I right, Dick Gabriel, absolutely Packer's shareholders down. The Packers' uniform is perfect like your Yankee pin stripes, and the Cardinals birds on the bat don't f with it. But you know that wasn't the worst exchange between a coach and the press in the last week. Coach Prime of the not so Primo Colorado Buffaloes refused questions from CBS and the Denver Post because I guess Dion's no longer
an NFL tough guy. He's a softy with an ego that's gone haywire, that apparently can't handle critical verbiage. I would ask you how would you have handled his not taking your questions on a media day if you were one of the locals there, And have you ever had that happen with a coach at a presser in your career?
Not at a presser, but at a media gathering. We were grouped around Joe b Hall of Practice, and he told me he was never going to talk to me again. He was upset with something I had said and at a radio station where you and I used to work, I had simply misspoken. It wasn't simple, though, and misinterpreted or mis represented something he had said and made it seem like he had said something he never did. I
was confused and went back. Our boss, Ralph Hacker, explained it to me because I think he had talked to Joe, and I immediately rectified it on the air. The problem here is the reporter from the CBS affiliate in Denver had done no wrong. They called themselves CEB Colorado, and Dion has issues with either the station or CBS itself. He wouldn't say what, but he took it out on this reporter, So obviously I don't care much for that, but I think they need to be grown ups and work it out.
Agreed, Fitswig and a six pack. So at the conclusion of the Summer Olympics, some other sports besides baseball, some great penna races going on. Some other sports can pick up the slack this week. Tomorrow night, the w NBA resumes, and on Friday, a well rested we think Caitlin Clark and the Fever hosts the Phoenix Mercury up I sixty five and INDI check your local TV listings. Also on TV on Friday afternoon. For US English soccer fans, the
Premier League is back. There you go, Manchester United hosting Fulham in the lone match before a full set of fixtures. They don't have games, they have fixtures through the weekend and of course more practice NFL football, Dick, I was so desperate for football last weekend for two plays. I even watched the Cowboys.
I am about that.
Oh my, I'm embarrassed, admitted. Tomorrow night there's one game. It's on the NFL network, the Eagles at the Patriots seven pm. Now New England coach Jared Mayo's first year. Obviously, he's got an interesting punishment for any of his players who get into a fight during practice, which of course seems to happen every hot summer camp to every team. Sure, Mayo says, if you're a starter and you get in a fight, you're gonna play the next entire preseason game.
Oh my, which those guys hate. Now, if you're not a starter and you get in a fight, you're not gonna play at all.
You like that, well, yeah, it's a great way to get get at them where they live, you know, and make them play those games. I find it interesting because this bucks the long standing tradition of coaches kind of hanging back during a fight, right, and to find out who's the toughest. But I think what we're talking about now,
Gary is protecting investments. You know, when they see a wide receiver run in there with his helmet off, throwing punches, they're looking at a guy that they paid twenty million dollars a year, yep, and you can't have him on the sidelines. You never see the qbs, of course, they're always shielded. But yeah, I want to I'm curious see if this works, because the starters hate to play that the entiret these games, and if you're trying to get
a starting role, you want to play. That's right, That's right.
Our sixth and final swig. Speaking of the NFL, those three letters could also stand for the Noxious Food League or Nasty Food League. In making my argument that stadiums and arenas have some of the worst and most dangerous quote unquote food on the planet, I can now rest my case with the Arizona Cardinals, who have finally created a new concession stand catastrophe to match their on field failures.
The cotton candy burrito picture, if you will, a large blue Briton casing made entirely of cotton candy rather than
a flower tortilla. Then, upon a surgical incision revealing the internal contents, we find the said burrito filled with cotton candy flavored ice cream and fruity pepples and fruit loops and marshmallows, Skittles, many m and ms, gummy bears, and for garnishment, sprinkles apparent the apparently the head chef at State Farm Stadium is now an eight year old, or the daily one hundred and fifteen degree plus heat is finally mutating the brains of adults in Phoenix, Dick. It
will cost fifteen bucks at the games this season. That's, however, insulin for the rest of your life not included. That would be a hard pass for me as.
Oh yeah, yeah, I think that's the promote diabetes night. You know, if you don't have type two yet, come on to the ballpark. It's funny as last week on our way to Saratoga, we stopped in Cleveland. Will try to stop and see a ball game all the way we got rained out, but we spent two years, two years, seemed like it. Two hours in the ballpark and I bought a back of peanuts or whatever. But my buddy bought one of the dressed up hot dogs. You know, it put a lot of stuff on it, which is great.
But one of the hot dogs they offered had fruit loops in it. Oh God told me somebody was just bored, you know exactly.
Yeah, they're not even trying anymore when they do that.
Yeah, when they were putting recipes together. But uh, my brother threatened on the way in to buy the helmet full o nachos. I would have helped him pay for that, just to see bell had to help him dig in and eat it even better though, and I've seen these is. They had a full size helmet full of hot fudge. Sunday now that.
Yeah, that's okay. I'm fine with that.
Yeah. Gary mar is our West n bureau chief. We'll come back with some hot regions just a minute here on the Big Blue Insider six thirty WLAP Welcome back. We are talking with our West End bureau chief, Gary Moore. We have heard two guys in a six pack a little long in the Olympics, but there was a lot to talk about. So let's do some hot reads, shall we. Gary.
Off the top of the show, I mentioned and I played the audio from the new commercial toouting the will Levis mayonnaise based perfume cologne whatever they're calling it perfume, and I thought it was brilliantly stage, brilliantly shot, funny, and I was laughing along with it. Turns out, according to Hellman's it's not a joke, and they sold out off their website in a couple of hours. There's only eight bucks a bottle, which says something about it. But
I really thought it was brilliant marketing. But I thought it was a joke all along. My question to you is would you ever let that near your body?
No?
And they are going to have to have a sign on the Kentucky press box for football season. No fragrances resembling mayonnaise allowed inside this box because I can smell some guys, you know, some guys somewhere in this state as a yeah, exactly are going to be wearing that just to kind of have it. Yeah, I've never thought about having a condiments as some sort of fragrance that
would attract other people. Will probably repel them too, But that is a joke and maybe he's making Hey, look he's getting some dough out of all this.
Oh yeah, riding this mayonnaise things. We'll signed a lifetime contract with Helms last year. It's great.
Yeah, good mayonnaise. I wouldn't wear it, but it's a good mayonnaise.
I wouldn't wear it just because I would believe it would give me an insatiable craving for a BLT. Yeah. Our second hot read. Jared Duran of the Red Sox has been fined and suspended two games for a homophobic slur that he hurled at a fan. The fans are rarely penalized or what they yell, but that that's sneather here and or there. And now he shows up on camera wearing a T shirt that has an F bomb on it. He's been fine for that, but it's already decided.
I'm gonna pay every time they show this T shirt and I'm fine, I'm gonna go ahead and eat the fine. Where are we on all this? I understand, and it shouldn't have happened, But in the heat of the moment, players yell stuff at fans, and fans, like I said, should be held accountable, but they're not. But this is just really ugly.
Did you hear the heckle? It wasn't even I don't think it was any profanity with it.
No, I didn't hear it.
The guys was just saying like, you're gonna need a tennis racket to hit that ball, basically saying that he's been whiffing or whatever. And I mean not bad being heckled, but in his home park. Who would sit there in Finway Park heckle one of your own Red Sox exactly?
Well, you know what, in Boston, the angriest city in America.
So there was that end of it, and it's almost like you'd have to laugh. But what I've heard before, if it's in your heart, eventually it's going to come out of your mouth, right, Tom Brenneman. Yeah, So if you're really sincere about the apology, I think, and you could right after it happened, they you know, you could tell the PR staff put together this fairly articulate kind of apology, right, which you know didn't come from him.
And then when he comes on and wears the shirt that sort of doubles down on the fact that didn't come from him, and the shirt said fam Yeah, really that's what you're gonna wear when you're trying to be sincere and apologizing wrong on many levels.
We talked before about it. These guys are independent contractors and they are each responsible for their own brand, and his right now is suffering. On that happy note, we say thank you sir, good to see you and hear from you again.
Same here, and we'll see you on Twitter at nine to five five Gary, where you're also at.
Big Blue Insider one. See you next week, see it and that'll do for now. Thanks so much to my guest Gary Moore, our West End Bureau chief, Corey Price from the UK Sports Network, and of course Sean Woods, the Unforgettable Guard. It joins us each and every Wednesday, coming up tomorrow night more Kentucky football chatter. In fact, that's going to pick up some steam as the week goes on. The one more scrimmage coming up this Saturday, and then well you know everybody's gonna have to get
ready for college football. You will hear the games right here, of course, on the flagship station six thirty WLAP with Tom Leachs, Jeff percoryl and your truly. If you missed the show last night, of course it's online. You can pull it off. Will you find your favorite Apple podcasts? But mister Jeff Picaurrol shot a little TV feature here in the garage along with Aaron Gershawn, so you can see how the sausage is made. That's a good night from the garage in Lexidon.
Don't you have some kind of a line that you keep open for emergencies or for celebrities. I'm both, I'm a celebrity in an emergency. Can you patch me through on that line please?
Has been