That being said, I'll always take my talents to the University of Executive.
That was the announcement earlier today at Great Crossing High School as Malachim Moreno decides he will be a Kentucky Wildcat, and soon the fight song followed. His teammates came up to the stage as he made the announcements to everybody sat or stood and clapped a wrong cheer along with the fight song. This is not a huge surprise, but he could have gone anywhere. Really, when you're six ten and a half that's what he is officially listed at,
with a wingspan of seven foot one. Everybody wants you, but chose to stay home, and unlike most kids these days, instead of hats, Moreno chose to use jerseys. So the table was all spread out with all kinds of jerseys. But when he made the announced, he unzipped his jacket and he was wearing a UK jersey or T shirt rather so, Malachi Moreno next year's get another year of high school basketball, will play for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats. Look, he is a work in progress. Like
most big guys, he is slow to develop. Most big guys have to kind of grow into their body, learn what they can do. Put on the way because they're going to get beat up. But he does have the athletic ability I think to get it done. I watched him in the Sweet sixteen last year. He did not dominate. You know who dominated last year in the sweet sixteen literally Trent Noah and Travis Perry because they can handle the ball, shoot it and go get it, especially Trentoah.
But Malachai Moreno is a very good player and has a chance to become a very good college player at Kentucky. Averaged eight rebounds plus per game on the high school level and a couple of blocks per game. So as I said that everybody wanted him. His finalists were UK, Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio State, And for a while there it looked like he was heading for Indiana. But now he's a Wildcat. I don't know if it was Darryl Bird or Aaron Gershan or whoever posted on the Cat's
pause Twitter site. The recruiting timeline going back to October the twenty eighth, that's when UK offered Moreno. He made unofficial visits, made like four of them between January seventeenth, and August tewond just a couple of weeks ago. Within that time, back in June, late June, he named his top eight, his final eight, and of course UK was on the list. And now he is a Kentucky Wildcat.
So that's basketball news for today and football. With football season coming out as fast, I will say that there is a little more news in that UK has announced October eleventh for Madness. So can't get in line now, but make your plans for Mark Pope and Kenny Brooks their first night, their first appearance officially with their teams in front of them. Now you know who's on their teams. They've been the head coaches for quite a while, but
we didn't know who was on their team. Now we do and October eleventh will be the night for Big Blue Madness. More basketball information, and this one slipped by me the other day. I didn't have time to talk about it, but Frank Selvy passed away the All American guard from at Furman. He's the guy who scored the nca Division I record one hundred points in one game back in nineteen fifty four. Later went on to play nine years in the NBA. He was ninety one when
he passed away. The word came out of Greenville, South Carolina, that's where Furman University is, but his family announced that
he died it his home in Simpsonville. He was originally from Corman, six foot three and obviously went to Furman and not Kentucky, but was a scoring machine down there twice led the NCA in scoring in his senior year, averaged forty one points seven points per game, and of course that's the year he scored to one hundred minus a three pointer, forty one field goals, eighteen free throws that came in a win over Newbury one forty five
to ninety five. This guy scored forty points or more twenty two times in seventy eight collegiate games and was the number one pick in the draft in fifty four by the Baltimore Bullets. It was a two time All star in the NBA, played for five different teams, came back and coached at Furman for four years. And if you've never been to Greenville, South Carolina and the Furman campus, I urge you, if you're in the area, to stop
buy and take a look. Gorgeous. The town is great, the campus is won full and Frank Selvy Proud, son of Corbin, is dead at the age of ninety one. Before we shift you over to football, I do need to mention that the athletic season has begun, the collegiate
sports season, at least in UK with soccer. Women's soccer kicked it off last night against Central Michigan with a two to nothing victory at the Bell, third straight year for head coach Troy Fabiano with an opening win, season opening win since he took over in twenty twenty two. Sidney Fink and Alexis Telenda two of his four new
players scoring for Kentucky last night. And you always forget about the fact we think about football as the sport that kicks things off literally for college athletes, but truly a lot of times volleyball begins before football, and soccer begins before anybody. So the Wildcats now want to zero going into their match coming up at the Bell Sunday this Sunday at seven point thirty with Morehead State. And if you've never been to a soccer match at the Bell,
men's or women's, I recommend it. It's a lot of fun. They have great atmosphere there at the Bell. For men's and women's soccer. So Kentucky off to a good start now one to zero after the win over Central Michigan. One other basketball note before football, the Blue White Game this year. You may have seen this already. It's going to be in the coliseum. Proceeds going to the Nil Fund, which is kind of weird, but it's a chance for you, the basketball fan to get in and see the Cats
in action if you haven't already been in there. Remember now, the volleyball team opens up August thirtieth in Memorial Coliseum, new and improved with air conditioning. So there's a heck of a lot going on on campus and it's coming up at as fast. Shifting over to Kentucky football and coming up after the break, we'll have even more comments from some of the Cats from practice earlier today, but it's an other day. So it's another preseason award watch
list once again. This one's for Dion Walker. No surprise, he is on the watch list for the Lombardi Award, announced Thursday afternoon by the Lombardi Award Committee. This award goes back to nineteen seventy. Of course, it's named after legendary packers coach Vince Lombardi to the outstanding lignman who best epitomizes values of leadership, courage, performance, discipline on and off the field. Here's what's interesting about to me this award.
If you look it up, go to Wikipedia. It talks about how it goes, as I just said, to a college football player, primarily alignment, because that's what Vince Lombardi was. He was one of the seven blocks of Granted they called him at the Fordham. But for four years the committee expanded the criteria. The rules basically say you've either got to be alignment or a linebacker who lines up
no more than five yards off the football. But for whatever reason, maybe they weren't getting enough pub or whatever, they expanded it to anybody. So for four seasons you saw Bryce Love or running back get it. In twenty seventeen. Then in eighteen, not Josh Allen, but Ugo Amadi of Oregon, a safety Joe Burrow. In twenty nineteen, that's right, the quarterback for LSU, now with the Bengals, won the Lombardi Trophy, best known for going to lineman. Then in twenty twenty,
Zevan Collins, a linebacker from Tulsa. Then after that they switched it back and said, now now this has got to be either linebackers or lineman. So it's when I went to look it up to see if Josh Allen had won it, I'm like, wait a minute, twenty eighteen. That guy's a safety. So anyhow, I think Dian Walker's got a big chance because he's a big guy and
he'll make a big impact. And in fact, he talked recently about some of the things he believes he needs to improve on to get even better this year, to be.
A better pass rusher. I feel like just working on my full work, working on my handout coordination, just getting reps in, you know, working on my pad level, just working on my get off. I really watch I mikeser Khalais Campbell, Myles Garrett, Max Crosby, so I'd just like to study them guys.
Those are the comments down at the SEC media day in Dallas, and somebody was making the rounds asking each player what it was like to play for Mark Stoops, and uh Walker had a heartfield answer.
Mike Stills, he liked the uncle that you always wish for. You know, he's a great coach and a great person. You know, he's a big loyalty guy. I'm a big loyalty guy. He's not going to lie to you. He's going to tell you the truth, no matter if it's happy sad. You're gonna make you mad if it's me because you know, like everybody knows that he's saying it from a point and I want you to be the best version of yourself.
Somebody else asked Walker, how'd you get out of Detroit? How'd you get away from Michigan and get to Kentucky, And once again, he fell back on his relationship with Mark Stoops.
He's big on loyal to how I am. You know, That's one thing that I was looking for because out of anywhere in my top five, top ten scores, you could go and get developed. You know, you can go get bigger, faster, stronger. Everybody's going to get your technique right. Everybody's going to get you enough reps so you could be ready in game. But I didn't just want to
be a number. I wanted to be somebody who I know the head coach cares for you know, and he cares for everyone, no matter if you're a walk on scholarship guy. He if you need something. His door's always open and that's one thing that I was looking for in the score.
So that's Dion Walker coming up. Hear from some of the players on the offensive side of the football and coming up tonight. As we said Chris Doring at the SEC Network. That's at the bottom of the hour. Jack Gibbons and hour number two, along with Mark's story of the Herald Leader, stay with us here on the Big Bloon Sider six thirty WLAP. Welcome back to the Big
Bloon Sider. Dick Gabriel with you on Friday tomorrow the football Wildcat scrimmage for the last time, and at that point there'll be two weeks away from their season opener with Southern Missic game. You will hear right here on six thirty WLAP. And a week from this Monday is the first Mark Stoops Radio show, so it's coming at you fast. Yesterday we talked to and talked about the
Kentucky defense. Well today we'll talk a little bit of offense, including some words from Rock Vandergriff who has spoken since he arrived about his decision not just to come to Kentucky, but to leave Georgia. He gave it everything he had down there, or so he says, and was beaten out for the starting job by Carson Beck. I think he was there too when Stetson Bennett was at the Helm, and so now he was looking for a place for Rock Vandergriff. He was the company man. He was a
good teammate. He was a good backup quarterback, at least, he says, as good as he could be. But when the upcoming season his last began to appear on the horizon, he believed he had to get out of there and go someplace where he could actually play football. And as a quarterback, you as well as I know that there's only one who's going to start for the most part. So he wanted to go someplace where he was wanted and needed, and that place is Lexington.
Sir Koach Smart's hand told him I was going to come play for him. I played for him. I did what I said I was going to do, come there and got my degree, and obviously came to get my degree and play football, and didn't play any football. So I just decided it was time to get play football. But just the culture that they have said at Georgia's was good. I mean I never tried to come into the facility of being able to just hey, hey, yeah,
I'm a bad up this year. All right, awesome, I'm gonna learn everything I can to be the best quarterback I can be if at the backup quarterback position. Your year one ankle away. So I was all right, I got to prepare every game like I'm the guy. If something happens, I got to make sure my team knows I'm ready to go. So that was kind of my
mindset going into last year. But just being able to stick around and stuff like that, and just being uh, being true to your word with something that was pretty pretty important to me and just valued those relationships there, and I was thankful for my time there, But this is time time for a new chapter.
Was there ever a moment where you questioned that even yourself in those three years ago.
Oh yeah, I mean there's definitely times when the question that, but uh, basically just said a lot of prayers and stuff. I felt like I was right where I needed to be. I was growing my faithful lot, was able to go to the same church I went to all through high school, being able to go see my parents on Sunday, stuff like that. Uh, but you know, basically, I guess the Lord was just preparing me for my next journey, which
has obviously led me here. So just being stronger in that and just being able to hang out a couple of extra years with with Bowers, Cash Jones, guys like that. So maybe I mean, I think everything happens for a reason and wouldn't change for anything.
I like that off the top, he said, I shook Coach Smart's hand and said I would come play for him, and he did. But yeah, Rod Vandergriff now has to play, and he's playing for his Wildcat teammates as well. But this is his chance to play college football. He's got the one year now, assuming he'll be the start. They haven't made it official yet. I'm wondering will they make that official after tomorrow's scrimmage. So we'll be there and
we shall see. You got to wonder now about the Kentucky offense and how the Wildcats intend to run the football. Are there going to be any changes in terms of the designs of the game plan With Chip train him out injured with that hand. He walked by me on campus the other day. It's all bandaged up, and they think he'll miss at least two games. But he was
the power guy that they're used to having. And maybe there is a power guy on that roster who can run, maybe the next Benny Snell or Chris Rodriguez or even Ray Davis. But they got to have somebody who can move the change. Demi Sumour Karanbay is a veteran. He believes he can be one of those guys. He has shown flashes of moving the ball of big plays. He's
got speed. Don't know if he has the power it takes to consistently move the change, but I chatted with him the other day about what he hopes to bring to the offense. You have shown some flashes. You're you're a playmaker. It looks like you'll get a better shot this year. I'll see that grin on your face. You're thinking the same thing, aren't you.
Yes, sir, Yes, sir, I can't wait. I can't wait.
Tell me about the offense and where you fit. Man.
The offense is so it's so talented and you know, versatile. We got many different ways we can attack. You know what I'm saying. So that's where I fit. You know what I'm saying. That's like the perfect offense for me, I would say, because, like you say, I'm so versatile, and you know what I'm saying. I can run, I can catch, I can go catch plants or you know what I'm saying, kick returns or whatever. You get to do all that kick returns. Yeah, I was there back
last year. You know what I'm saying, I'm gonna continue to do that special team. I was all over the field on special team. You know what I'm saying, Just trying to get my team that winning is he just.
Might be a part of that winning edge. Demi Simour carn Bay, you just got to figure out where the Wildcats gonna put the football without a power back, and they will probably maybe throw it a little bit more. A reminder that one of the names you're probably going to be hearing a little bit or a lot is
Jamari Macklin. He'll be the slot receiver. You already know about Barrion Brown and Dane Key, but Macklin could be a real key because keep in mind, he'll be playing I'm not saying he's as good, but he'll be playing the same position as Wandel Robinson, playing in the slot there with a chance to get off the line of
scrimmage cleaner than the whiteout. You know, they get chucked at the line, and same position that Dicky Lions played, that Derek Abney played, So maybe he can wreak havoc while the guys on the outside are doing their thing as well. He's on the Bolitnikoff preseason watch list, as you might expect after a couple of really good seasons at North Texas and he transferred there from Missouri, so
a lot of football. He's played twenty nine career games, thirteen starts, and a chance to be part of that winning edge, as Demi Sumour Carnbay has said he would like to be. So we'll find out more coming up very shortly as a Wildcat season opener comes up two weeks from tomorrow. The scrimmage tomorrow. Will have comments after the scrimmage from Mark Stoops, we assume and some of the players. But it's coming up on us fast, Isn't
it all right? Coming up next fast? Chris Doring of the SEC Network and Nour number two, Jack Gibbons and Mark's story on six thirty Wlap joining us down our celebrity hotline is one of our favorite guests, and we love seeing Chris Doring on the the SEC Network, hearing him on SEC Radio, and Chris got a chance just to say hi down in Dallas and SEC Media Days. But you did a little globe trotting in the summertime your time off, didn't you, I did?
You know, it's a fun time. Like by the time the season's over, And I think I've talked to you about this before, but my schedule during the season, I leave games till every Thursday night to fly up to Charlotte for our studio shows Friday morning, Friday night, Saturday all day, Saturday night, and then Monday morning before flying back on the road four nights a week. And by the time the season's over, I'm ready to just be home and chill out. And then when I'm home, I'm restless,
ready to go somewhere. So I start traveling for vacation and other things, and at the end of the day, you know, here we are again, the seasons ready to go, and I don't feel like I've been home at all. So it's it's kind of an interesting dynamic that I live.
Yeah, but all that traveling for fun, doesn't that help, you know? Burn the time in between the end of the season and the started the next one, because it's times that seems interminable.
You know, it definitely does. And then you know, the the ultimate old guy thing to say is how fast time flies? But it certainly seems to be that way as we get older and kind of hard to believe we're already, you know, here, ready to go and about to have some football on our plates.
Again.
Well, I mentioned that we bumped into each other in Dallas, which was not unexpected, But what did you think of the setup? And we have media people from Texas already from A and M, but you know, the people from Boston, the people from Oklahoma. There was a lot of sizzle down there.
Jick. I thought it was awesome, you know, getting to go to a new market. I think that's one of the great things that Commissioners thank you, has done and
rotating media days, you know. I know, the tradition of being in Hoover was great, but having been in Atlanta, Nashville and now Dallas, you know, I think it's kind of cool to take that on the show, take that show on the road, and it makes it have a much bigger feel, you know, it relates to going to that part of the country really cool to to, you know,
get a chance to be in that state. With all the anticipation of Texas entering into the conference, watching OU in Texas contingents walking around, I mean, you know the things that it kind of resonated with me, Dick. The statement multiple times from Commissioner Thanking about how important the contiguous footprint is of the Southeastern Conference, the regionality of this conference being important. I look at the the the
the logos, the Texas Longhorn logo, the OEU logo. Those are iconic blue bloods in college football, and uh, you look at the head coaches that lead to those programs and talking with them, they fit into a group of of of alphas in this league. So everything about it
seems to fit. And I think my biggest takeaway, Dick, was in the off season, we were dealing with so much heavy stuff, whether we're talking about the congressional ruling, when the settlements, the future of the football nil transfer portal, all of this negativity that has you know, has fans
talking about turning them off on football college football. But at the end of the day, my feeling there was like this is the most anticipated season that I can remember in a long time, whether it be because of OU in Texas, whether it's the twelve team playoffs, whether it's just the general excitement of football. Like, I don't think it's been dampered at all, And it seems to me like this is one that fans are looking for forward to, even despite all the negativity of the off season.
I agree. And in terms of the newness of it, I kind of go back, Chris to nineteen ninety two, when you know, we had a structured national champion. Of course, Alabama won the r SEC champion and Alabama wins it, and you know, it was just changes in college football that people maybe thought never would happen, never would come. And I agree with you. I think it's it's uh And it's also a year that I think is going
to be pivotal for Kentucky. With the last couple of seasons that by Mark Stoop's standards, I don't say they're a mediocre, but a little bit disappointing. And you know, now, well the spotlight's pretty hot on him, now, yeah, you know.
It's it's the things that I noticed from from media days. There were multiple teams that I didn't feel like we're being talked about very much. You know, I felt like my alma mater was not being talked about very much, particularly on the day that they came in. You know,
not a lot of expected from Florida. Typically in the last couple of years, there's been a lot of Kentucky talk, and I've been leading the way on that in a lot of ways, and I think what we experienced this year was maybe a little backlash to you know, the disappointment of not living up to the expectations in recent years. I think coupled with what we've seen in terms of teams like Tenness two years ago, Missouri last year, you know, making these unexpected jumps to double digit wins. And I'm
sure Kentucky fans feel like this a little bit. It's like, why not us? Why haven't we been able to really take that next step. I think one of the great parts about this season, though, Dick, is that success is going to be redefined. What does the successful season look like?
You know, I know Kentucky has had you know, two ten win seasons in the last six years, but now they're finally gonna have an opportunity you win ten games in this conference, you could be playing in the college football playoffs, and so you know, you may not have been able to get to Atlanta before, you may not have an official SEC championship in the last couple decades, but if you can win ten games, you got to chip in a chair and a chance to play in
some really meaningful postseason games. And so I do think Kentucky, you know, has an opportunity to reassert themselves. The pattern of those ten win seasons every three years would tell you it's time for another one of them, and this would be a great year to be able to accomplish that.
See, well, you mentioned expectations and the Florida teams you played for. I remember, Chris. Of course, you know we didn't know each other, but I was watching your teams take Kentucky apart back then. But uh, you know what's interesting to me is watching this Kentucky program involved. And you have been one of the voices telling people throughout the years you and your partner Peter Burns, watch out
for the Wildcats. But now with so many expectations. Back in the day, any Kentucky win was celebrated for four days before people even looked at the next game, and now it's expected and if they lose a game, most people expected them to win. It's a little bit of a different dynamic. And you got to carry that, don't you. And I know you felt that as a player at Florida, and it's it's kind of new for Kentucky fans, you know what I mean.
Yeah, I mean I think success. With success comes higher expectation, and I think I think that's a good thing. You know. I think Coach Stukes welcomes that. He's the longest tenure coach in the conference now. Have to talk to him on Wednesday night on our ten year anniversary show on the SEC Network. He's been here for the entirety of of our seni year run. And you know, it's it's kind of crazy to think about because for a while there,
you know, I think Kentucky was a nice story. You know, everybody you know patted him on the head, Oh good job. But they become a legitimate game on the schedule. In fact, my alma mater, we've lost three in the row to to Kentucky here and and that that balance of power has significantly changed. So I think I think Kentucky in general should be very proud of what their team has done.
I know the Kentucky fan even back when I was at Florida and we were kind of dominating that series, they would still show up, they would still be loud, they still support their team. But now they're they're at a point where, hey, we've had a taste of some some some really big wins. We've been really close. When can we take that next step? And I think that's that hunger and that that drive to experience that that apparachelant of winning in this conference is something that is a positive.
Talking to Chris Doring of the SEC Network, we'll come back and talk with more. Talk with it Chris, a little bit more about the Wildcats. Here on the Big blon Sider six thirty WLAP. Welcome back. We're chatting with Chris Doring of the SEC Network. We love talking football with Chris. He is one of the national guys who pays close attention, obviously to the SEC, but pays more than just lip service to Kentucky. If you have followed
his work through the years. I know, Chris, there are so many questions about every team in the league, but and you were an offensive guy. You played with some pretty good quarterbacks. You got to start at QB with Kentucky, don't you In terms of what to try to figure out for this season. I mean your thoughts on assuming Brock Vandergriff wins the starting job.
Yeah, I'm hearing that not only is it going to be Vandergrivet, Bush Hamdon is a tent on using two quarterbacks this year. So I'm actually you probably know better than I do, but I'm anxious to see what, uh, the the rotation may look like and utilization of two quarterbacks that test position. But I go back to the acquisition of Rock vander Griff. You know, it is in line with what we've seen in coach Stukes's ability to
attract really top talent in the transfer portal. I mean you go back and look one Dale Robins even before that, the the LSU cornerback, I'm going blank on his. Yeah, Calvin Joseph looking at Tavon Robinson, like they've been able to get a bunch of really high quality talent that typically I don't think Kentucky would have, you know, been
considered as a legitimate landing spot. Getting Doumas Johnson in with vander Griff as well, two former Georgia guys like I just think it speaks to how the program is perceived these days, how how the support of of the the the alumni and boosters and putting together and I packages that make sense for these guys, and so you know, I think this is an important season for Vandergriff because a couple of years ago Kentucky struck gold with Will Levitt.
Transfer last year was I think part of the big disappointment was that Devin Leary didn't live up to kind of what we expected in the preseason, a high level of expectation again this year for Rock Vandergriff. So I think this is an important year to show that they have more hits in the portal when it comes to acquiring quarterbacks than they do missus.
No, I couldn't agree more. And I don't know about you, but in your research into the Georgia Bulldogs over the last two or three years, we had heard that vander Griff was really pushing for that starting job. It's not like a guy who was just buried on the bench because he couldn't cut it. He was just playing behind Carson Beck. If that indeed is the case, he has a real opportunity here with this new offense, doesn't.
He Yeah, I don't. I'm not a huge hand me down guy, but if I'm getting hand me downs from Georgia, I'm okay with that, you know. I think, Uh, it's like that that rich cousin that outgrows the the new golf club because it's even better you set it out there. You know that that's some good stuff to get. So I feel like, you know, taking taking them with chouts and taking Vandergriff. Those guys are are good players. I've heard the same things that you have about Brocket at
Georgia and how competitive he was. You see it all the time. I mean, I go back to to Florida when when when my champ was there, it was you remember Jacoby Brisset, I beat out. He ends up transferred to in C State as a great career there and then it's still in the NFL now. So you know, there are a lot of quarterbacks unlike every other position, there's only one of them on the field, and there are some really good players that for whatever reason don't
get the opportunity. And I think, you know, those are the stories about guys in the transfer portal that that makes you feel good about what that does. I look at Graham Merts. Graham Mert didn't live up to the hype. Wisconsin comes to Florida and had a great season last year. It's an opportunity to get to play at the opportunity to be in a different system. And I think that vander Grif's gonna thrive in what bush ham is trying to do.
Well. You mentioned Levis. Of course he couldn't beat out Sean Clifford, but now Letis is starting QB and Tennessee and Clifford's a backup for my beloved Green Bay Packers, sitting by a pretty good quarterback. But that's just the way things work. Uh. Speaking of bush Hampton, I don't recall who was the OC when you were at Florida, but everybody knew that what you guys ran on offense
was precisely what Steve Spurrier wanted to run. But here Kentucky now is and I know Cohen had two terms of duty, but I think four straight changes at OC new verbiage that kind of thing. Do you foresee that as as maybe being a problem, because so far everything we hear is you know, it's going.
Okay, that's a big concern to me, I think, but this is the fifth straight year that they've had a different offensive coordinator, right, So I mean I know that there's, like you said, two cents for Liam Cohen. You'd like to have some continuity. You'd like to have, you know, some as a as a receiver. You know, sometimes when I was in a new offense, it was translating what does this mean? You know, you're out there trying to instead of speaking it fluently, it takes you a second.
You'd like to be able to have your players be able to just read and react on their keys. I do think that's a bit of a concern, but I've heard the same thing as you have again, that everybody's acclimated really well. I do think that there's going to be some unique recals, But I also think that that one thing that coach Stops does really well is understands who he is, who he is, who his team is.
And that was one of the things that going back to, you know, when they got rid of Eddie Grand they brought in Liam Cohen because they wanted to retain the physical run while still being able to push the ball down the field. Become a little bit more current in the posting game. And I don't think Kentucky will ever lose under coach Stoops the desire to run the football and to be physical. But I do think they'll beat
some more modern type wrinkles that Bush Hamden brings. That should be fun to kind of watch.
A few minutes off with Chris Doring of the SEC Network looking at the other side of the ball, one of the people that you had a chance to talk with down in Dallas. I assume he talked to everybody. It's hard to miss Dion Walker, yeah, and which and you know I asked him about this and he kind of agreed. I'm sure you remember there was a huge hit that he made a couple of years ago on
the Florida game. It was kind of him introducing himself to the SEC and this guy, and I guess people around here Chris are a little surprised he's still at Kentucky and that people didn't make a teams didn't make a run at him with nil dollars and let's not get ourselves. I'm sure he's doing okay here in Lexingon, but boy, when you can build around a guy like that. How huge is that?
Yeah, I think that's another one of those statements kind of things that shows that a we're legitimate landing spot for all top tier talent. And let's be honest, like, one of the things that has been great for Kentucky is like how many times I've seen coach stops at the NFL Draft the first round guys being selected in a lot of the drafts of the last five six years. That's a great statement as well. But Dean Walker does not look like what we would have traditionally thought Kentucky
defensive players would look like. This is a guy that you know you typically see at Georgia or Alabama, and you're right, Getting him is one thing, Retaining him as another. And you know they've been able to, for whatever reason, hold off anybody. I'm sure there's roster tampering going on, as there is everywhere else. But I think him coming back having an opportunity to play in the defense that will return nine starters this year, I think was big
for him. After having a chance to to speak to him in Dallas, And I don't think people are talking enough about what this Kentucky defense can look like this season with so much experience and so much talent and so much size that typically has not necessarily been what we've expected from a Kentucky tea.
Yeah, we talked with a defensive guys Thursday, primarily d lineman. We talked with the D line coach Anowar Stewart and an Octavius Oxen. Dine talked to Brad White about the D line. Uh, they've built depth there, Chris, And you know how tough that is to build in any league, much less the SEC.
It's the most important thing, you know, building building depth, depth of talent on the defensive line. I think just really it defines the amount of success you're able to have. One. I've already seen a bunch of injuries in the preseason now, so sustaining you know, the inevitable injuries is important. But two, defensive line wise, especially in early early portions of the season, you've got to be able to roll in two and freeze in there and not have significant drop offs. You know.
I was with coach Napriert practice a couple of weeks ago in Gainesville and they were talking about the amount of plays that they were asking their starters to go up front. You just can't get the significant push that you need up front. You know, with the guys that are that size, you're asking them to play. You know, fifty to sixty seventy plays a game that they're gonna wear out, and you're gonna lose games in the fourth quarter.
So I don't care how conditioned you are, you do have to have a number of guys that you can roll in there in Kentucky. You mentioned you know a couple of those names. I mean these are household names in the conference, between Walker and auxen Dyne and J. J. Weaver. I mean, these are guys that Again I don't want to keep being repetitive, but you don't typically see that sort of player at Kentucky and your Stave.
Oh and that's how Stoops has turned things around with great help from Vince Marrow and all the recruiters. Well, I'll let you go with this. We talked about your Gators who may be looking, especially the back end, at the toughest schedule in the league. Kentucky's is no picnic. It never really is if you're in the SEC. But Chris, what I've said all along, it's not the teams they have to play, and granted they have traded you know, Mississippi State for Texas and now Auburn's on the schedule.
But it's the calendar. You know, facing South Carolina so early that's a huge game, and then facing Georgia so early, you know, you can't play a couple of non conference games and kind of not that this is the right word, but ease into it. It's going to be a hell of a challenge. But then again, everybody in the league can say that.
Yeah, I think you're right. I think we're splitting hairs when we talk about how difficult schedules are of teams in the SEC. I think a couple of things come to mind. Obviously, the at of conference games are important. So I look at Florida schedule, having to play Miami, having to play Florida State and THEBF is really challenging. I do like the outa conference schedule for Kentucky, chance to play Southern miss playing Ohio, you got Murray State,
and finish up with the Governor's Cup against Louisville. You know, I think that's a more favorable out of conference schedule than some have. But you're right about it's not about who you play, but when you play the order in which you played. I think it used to be a three game stretch on every SEC team schedule that was
going to define the success of the season. I think it's actually becoming a lot of cases a four game stretch now with the way that that Oklahoma and Texas have come in the way that they've eliminated the divisions,
and it is it is a grind. And so you look at I'm with you, man, having to play that early portion of schedule with South Carolina in Week two in Georgia, the week after you get Ohio and then have to play against whole MYSS September is going to be somewhere in that August thirty first game, those first five games, if you can, if you can get to if you get to three to three two, I feel that's probably a pretty good win given the fact you
gotta play Georgia and you gotta go to Oxford. But I do I do think it's important to remember this is a two by season and what that can do to break up some of that that grind the teams find themselves having to play in. But I look at, uh, you know, in musition to that other run they Kentucky has Florida, Auburn and Tennessee in succession too, which will be a bit of a stress there in the middle of the year.
Get used to it, SEC fans, because that's where we are now. Chris Doring of the SEC Network. Watch for him on TV, listen for him on the radio, follow him on Twitter or x at just at Chris Doring d E R I n G. Thank you brother, talking to you soon and have a great season.
Yeah all great to do with you big, thank you and I'll talk to you later down the road.
Our number two with Jack Gibbons and Mark's story next here on The Big Blue Siders six thirty w L A. B. Welcome back to the Big Blues Sider, joining us now as a longtime friend, a former classmate and teammate on the UK Sports Network. Mister Jack Gibbons. You hear him each week talking to Tom Leash. But Jack, we haven't talked in a little while. How has your summer been.
Summer has been great, Gab. I mean, just trying to keep up with the kids and especially trying to keep up with the grandkids. It's not all that easy. I mean it's fun, but man, they always have something going on. That they want Papa could be yet, So I'd try to try to be at every one of their functions, certainly as many as I can. But it's been a great summer, been really really good.
That's you, Papa, Yes, yeah, Papa. Yeah, it's just anybody who has grandkids. We grandparents talk to each other about what we're called, and it's it's as often as not just something unusual. But Papa's pretty good. I like that. Well, you've talked a lot. I've heard you all with Tom, but I know you're happy with what direction Mark Pope
has taken. And I know as well that you appreciate the challenge man of putting a roster together basically from scratch, and a lot of coaches have to scramble almost every year, Jack, but just completely start over is a chapter of Kentucky basketball that none of us thought we would ever see. You know.
Yeah, it's it's been interesting, no question about it. And yeah, I think Mark's done a great job of kind of riding the ship, getting it going in the proper direction. I think he's done a uh, he did a great job. I know, he did a great job putting together his coaching staff. He's got some folks on there who are are good recruiters and can bring in players. He has some good basketball knowledge, guys, so he has some input from people who have kind of been there and done that,
which is good. And and of course he's He's put together a group of guys who I think are going to be fun to watch. We're all going to be pleasantly surprised, I think with what what this team is capable of doing. I like the fact that we're uh for the first time in a long time, flying below the radar at this past year, and everybody's not talking about, you know, first five in the country and or maybe number one or all of that kind of stuff at this time of the year, which obviously has proven to
mean nothing at the end of the year. So I like where we are, Gabe. I'm really really pleased with the way things are going.
When you guys, when all the ex players got off the bus, when Mark was introduced, it was it was a real signal. Not that John Caller Perry ignored you guys, but this was a true commitment to Kentucky tradition. And I'm wondering Jack in this day and age, with crazy money out there and the lure of the NBA and all the player movement and everything. Mark one of his goals is to try to see to it that we're in that jersey means as much to the kids he brings in as it did to him and as it
did to you. And I don't know that anybody can match it, you know, for guys like you and Jane teams in the Kentucky guys that are from Kentucky. But you think that's possible in this day and age to find kids who will really buy into that. You cannot, you know, ignore the fact that that they're playing for generational wealth or at least a shot at it. But can kids appreciate the name on the front of that jersey?
I think they can, and I think they do. I think what Mark is trying to do and gave I'm on the I'm on this uh UH text chain with I'm telling you we get this. I get pinged on my phone every two minutes from UH a new guy who chimes in and says, hey, I'm here, guys, it's good to be connected. I mean, you would be shocked at some of the names UH young and old, which
is really neat because us older guys. We haven't had a direct chain, a direct link to a lot of the younger players, A lot of the guys, even from Mark's era, we and and younger, we haven't had a direct link to those guys. Now we're I'm getting on this email chain. I'm getting shout outs from man. I mean, just unbelievable number of guys, and that all is generated by Mark and he wants. I think guys played for that name on the front if they understand what that
name on the front means. And I think having all of us, all of us former players involved being seen around them, I think, I think it's going to be huge and it's going to prove to them that man, it have something special. We're in Kentucky. They have all these guys around, different age groups, different backgrounds, different professions now and it tells them we can beat just like these guys for a long long time, and that is
going to be special. Kentucky on the Front still means a lot, and these guys know.
It, you know what, I think as well as they hear it's an abstract before they get here. And then once they do get here and they start hearing from the fans, experience the BBN, see the illustrations on the walls of the Nutter Center, things like that, it becomes even.
Bigger, you know what I mean, Yeah, you can't. You can't know what that's like until you see it. And you hear all kinds of stuff about how special Kentucky basketball is. But some of these young guys who you know, they they hear it, but they have no idea. Man, they have no clue of what all that means. But to see it up close and personal once they get here, it drives it home. And and that is one of the I mean, you can't get that everywhere. I mean,
you just don't get that everywhere. So that's going to be huge.
Have you had a chance to talk to many of them.
The current guys, just the guys that, yeah, I've talked to. I've talked to most of them. I was in practice one day and Mark had me come up and and uh and talk to him as a group, and and boy, they were respectful. They you know, they each one of them individually after I finished shook hands with me. I've I've talked to guys like Trent and Noah and Trent is is wanting to be a golfer, so trying to get a date where we can go out and played golf.
He's taken. He's already had lessons from my uh from my good ballet buddy, uh, Wally Langley, and Wally and I coached golf together. Whalley coaches. I'm uh, you know, I kind of hang out and make sure that you know, but uh, you know, I talked to him, I've talked to a bunch of the guys. Uh Kerr. He's a fisherman. He wants to go fishing, and we've tried to set it up a couple of times. And it's only a matter of time before he and I get out there on the on the water together. So yeah, it's been
fun getting to know him. And as we get more and more into practice and I'm in practice more often and traveling. Uh, We've we've gotten going, gotten everything going on in a really good way. That's far on such a short period of time.
I've only seen the video clips, but I think it's interesting that, you know, mar is right there in the middle of the drills, teaching his way like like all coaches do. But boy, what an advantage Jack in that he's got so many veterans on this team, the guys who've transferred in, almost just about all of them. I've got to think that they're soaking things up a little quicker than a younger team would. Did you notice that? Is that a parent?
Oh it's very obvious, Gabe, very obvious. I mean the first thing I noticed when well, a couple of the first things. I know this number one, I noticed we had a bunch of men out there.
Yeah, I mean.
Physically physically, you know, you didn't. You didn't have a big z out there who is seven whatever he is, and but he weighs about one thirty, dripping wet. You know, there were no guys like that out there. I mean, that was That was one thing that I noticed right off the bat. But then the second thing I noticed, and more importantly, is that I know that talk that chattered going on at practice really and one of the things coach Calipari complained about us a lot is that
he didn't have guys who talk to each other. You know, we got to communicate better on the court. Well, that's not a problem with these guys. Mad They are in each other's ear, they're vocal, they don't mind. They've learned, so they don't mind taking a chance of saying something that is going to be a mistake because they know the game. So we're a young guy, you know, they don't want to talk because they don't know what the
heck's going on, what they're trying to learn. So it was very obvious man to talk and patting each other on the back and and that kind of stuff. That's going to go a long way with making sure these guys turn into more from just a group of guys, talented guys, and it turns into a team. And that's what was fun as the practices I saw over the summer. That was some of the fun and stuff I noticed as I got to know and to learn more and more about these guys.
Well, that goes back to what Marcus said when I and others have asked him, just how in the world are you going to do this? Figure out who to play and when and you know, the different rotations, and he said, I'm going to need the players to help me figure that out, you know, And that makes a lot of sense, doesn't it.
Yeah? Yeah, And they will, I mean they will. That will make marks jobs so much easier, just simply because he doesn't have to go through that process like he would with a young team. I mean, these guys know how to play. They know how to play. They just want to make sure number one, they got to learn each other. But it makes the whole process go a
whole lot quicker, whole lot smoother. Yeah, because they are what they are a bunch of experienced men who have been in about every situation you can go through and they've survived it. So that's going to mean a lot to them.
Jack Gibbons is my guest, the UK All American color analyst on the UK Radio Network. We'll have more questions for the Goose when we come back here on the Big Boon Sider six thirty WLAP Welcome back. We're talking with Jack Gibbons. See of course, the UK All American Tom Leach's running mate on the UK Basketball Radio Network. Hear him each week with Tom. But Jack and I haven't had a chance to chop it up in a while, so I wanted to get his thoughts on what he
has seen with Mark Pope's newball club. And I know, Jack, without even asking you, you love the style of play. We haven't even seen a game yet, but from everything we've heard he wants to see that ball go up from the outside, and to a young man like you, that's music, isn't it.
Yeah, I mean it should be to all of these guys because the one thing they want, I think when it comes to the way the game is being played now, is a realization that they can shoot at anytime they think they have a good shot.
Yeah.
You know a lot of offenses you have to run. You have to make four or five, six, seven passes. Well, with this offense, if you make four or five six passes, you're running it wrong. You're just you're just not doing it right.
Man.
You should be able to either get a shot as soon as the ball pass gets past half court. I mean I'm not talking about just from the logo, but that pass that might come from the back court into the front court around the three point line. If that shot is there, you take it. If you don't take it, then you make a dribble to the basket, and then you pass it to the other guy spotting up on the wing and that guy takes. So the quick offense
is going to be a fun style. You can It's amazing you can run that and still shoot a lot of bad shots, which which is hard to kind of compute for me, but they are doing that and the shot look like good shots. And you know, there are full of guys that you don't necessarily want taking me the extended jump shot if you will, but you know at sixteen fifteen sixteen foot jump shot is a good shot. I mean, I've made a living doing that, and you know,
everything worked out firme. So it's going to be a fun style to lot.
So what you're telling me is we won't necessarily see every shot from outside the paint, from beyond the arc. We're going to see some mid range.
You're going to I'm hoping we see a lot of mid range shots, because, yeah, the three pointer is good, and I know analytics and all of that make it such that, you know, thirty three percent of a three point shot a whole lot better than forty five percent of a two point shot, and you know I get that, But there's still a place in this game, I think for a two point shot. I'm not talking about a step inside a three point line. I mean, if you're that far out, you might as well be behind the
three point line. But I'm talking about some of those when you're following up for offensive rebound, and you catch it at the long shots lead the long rebounds, and you catch it at the free throw line or just beyond, go ahead and shoot that thing right there. Sometimes it will be reversed or one more pass to the three point line. But there'd be some of those shots surely that you should be able to get.
See. In my mind's eye, I'm thinking tempo and pace. They want to they want an up tempo offense. So if the other team give them credit, if they're playing pretty good defense, and you got to work at work and work it, you don't want to settle it point for a mid range shot. Is is that what I'm hearing?
Yeah, yeah, you know, I mean I think you're gonna have to figure that out shoot. I mean, look, they're gonna be times when you know you've been defended well and you have teams out challenging you, which makes making that seventeen foot shot even more important because I remember Kentucky used to play Alabama, a team like Alabama who
lived by the three point shot. I mean, their philosophy was to chase them off the three point line, right, So, yeah, they're gonna be some times when you fake and take two or three dribbles to clear some space, you still have to make that seventeen foot jump shot. So yeah, they're gonna be times for that.
Yeah, Okay, well I thought that's what I was hearing. A couple more basketball questions and then you're gonna shamelessly plug your book. But I do find it interesting that Kentucky is not an n any of the way too early top twenty five. I'm with you. I think it's going to be fun when the Wildcats crashed the top twenty five, assuming they have success, and see how quickly do the voters start to believe in Mark Pope's team, you know what I mean?
Yeah, And look, I'm hoping. I mean, we're going to win games, that's not a problem. I'm hoping by the time the SEC schedule starts run the first of the year, I'm hoping we're about number fifteen something like that. And I'm thinking after the first three weeks of the SEC schedule and we upset some teams and we beat some teams that we weren't supposed, we now cracked the top ten,
and see what happens the rest of the year. I'm looking for that kind of season and that kind of progress from this team.
You know.
I mean, hey, we may never get to number one, but there's a lot of success for a team that we have, the veterans that we have from the number ten to number thirteen spot, which is where we should be by the end of the year, and then let's just see what happens from there.
That sounds good to me. Well, before we go shamelessly plug your book, how are things going.
Man, I am I'm just so surprised. I went out to San Diego last week for the San Diego Alumni Associate Southern Alumni Associate UK Alumni Association. They asked me to come out there bed and I'm thinking, man, I'm going all the way out here to sign books for two or three people. Well, we had our listin you know, we had our book signing at a couple of places, one with Warwards Bookstore, which was voted last year the
number one privately owned bookstore in the country. I mean, from what I understand gave they have book signings for some of the best authors writers ever. I mean they have had there at that store. Quaint store beautiful located in La Joya, which is in itself worth seeing and
spend in a few days. But it was right there, gave and Man, I walked out there, walked into the place and there were people sitting and waiting, and then as I stood around twenty minutes before and talked to the Kentucky fans who were out there, Man, they are passionate fans. And we ended up with a nice crowd out there to night event. Ended up with nice crowds that both of them, and was really really neat to
see that happen. But I've gotten that kind of response everywhere, places like Henderson and you know, I did signing in Louisville and Frankfort and man, it's just been been so much fun to do that and to get out and to see people. Got a number of other ones coming up. I'll be in Embracells here on the twenty third for the a function there. They have a I like to call them festivals but community thing going on. I'm going up to Ashland. I'm gonna fit of September and we'll
be there. But got a lot of other signings coming up. Man, But it's been fun. It's been I've been pleasantly.
Surprised, excellent, well keep us posted and we will help you seamlessly. Plug. I really enjoyed it. I need to read it again because you guys were kind enough to send it to me, gosh, almost two years before it came out, so I need to take another look at it. But it was very enjoyable read and I'm not surprise you getting the crowds man. I'm glad for you. Thank you so much for your time. Hope to see us soon.
Always good to be on with you, Gabe, Thanks for keeping me in mind.
Up next, Mark Story of the Herold Leader. He helped Tom Hammond write his book, and we'll talk with that and the Wildcats with Mark when we come back here on the Big Bloon. Siders six thirty is don Our celebrity Hotline is a long time colleague friend of the show, Mark's story, who of course is a calumnist and a terrific writer for The Herald Leader and now a co author. Mark. First of all, welcome.
Back, Well thanks for having me Deck.
You have helped Tom Hammond write his book, Races, Games and Olympic Dreams, A Sportscaster's Life. Is it correct to call you the co author? How do you describe your role.
Well, we wrote it, so co author, I guess is appropriate.
Tell me how this came about, because you know, I've always told you much I enjoy your work when you kind of look back and provide perspective on things that have happened throughout the years. So when I heard you were working with Tom on this, I thought that's a perfect fit. How did this come about?
Well? Tom approached me and just said he had been thought across the years about writing a book and wanted somebody wanted a writer to work with him, and asked me if I'd be interested. And when I went out to Tom and Sheila's house and we talked about it, and we decided to do it. And when I told the first thing I told Tom is you know, one of the reasons that I was interested was from having written about him and the Herald Leader across the years. Those stories always tended to be well read, so I
thought there would be an audience for this project. So that's sort of how we got going.
So how did you help him? Because you know I had him on the other night and he was talking about how things came to his mind he had thought of and you tell me about that process.
Well, what we actually did. We the way we started, we agreed to do an oral history project for the Louie B. Nun Center of Oral History right at the University of Kentucky. So I would go out to their house, and because of the way my schedule was set up the time, we usually did these on Tuesday afternoon and we just do interviews on various topics from Tom's life
and Tom's career for the oral History project. And the benefit of from that beyond just sort of getting us rolling in terms of the interviewing, was that they would they had a transcription app and would transcribe provide us within transcripts of the interview, so I didn't have to do that myself. And I had I had to transcribe all the interviews that went into this, we would we would still be transcribing, there would not be a book at this point. So that that that's kind of how
we got going. And then when we got to the point where we did the writing, it was basically a lot of times in the morning I would write as me for the Herald Leader, and then in the afternoon I would work on the book and sort of write it, write it from Tom's perspective, and I would send them the chapters and he'd go He and Chila would go through them and you know, this isn't this is you know, this is right, or this isn't exactly how this happened,
and we would just collaborate and get until we had a chapter done.
As a guy who grew up in Kentucky and of course your career writing about sports in the state of Kentucky and many events that Tom Hammond broadcast. Uh, what was that like for you? That that level of familiarity.
Well, I think it obviously helped. There was a lot about Tom's life and Tom's career I didn't know, but I was. I was broadly familiar with the arc of the story. And I do think that helped. And I do think about, you know, the fact that I am a Kentucky writer, how that, you know, sort of impacted the way I told the story. Now, there's really two
parts to this book. The first eleven chapters are Tom's childhood and sort of the lawn of his career here in Lexington, a Lexington media figure, you know, sort of culminating with you know, he goes to college, you know, planning to be a hoping to become a horse farm manager or work in the you know, the thoroughbred horse racing industry or breeding industry in some level, but never a thought of being in the media, being on radio
or television. And then you know, just I'm sort of by accident almost he gets in the media game, and you know, has a great voice and a lot of talent and a natural affinity for it, and it sort
of goes from there. Now, the second part of the book then is you know Tom's life is an NBC national high level sportscaster with his observations on you know, relationships with Dick Enberg and O. J. Simpson and Bob Costas and covering Hussein Bolt and Alison Felix and Sarah Hughes in that great Olympic ice skating upset in Salt Lake City and just know all the things he got to cover and all the people you know, he worked
with and covered. And you know, one of the really cool stories in the book, you know, Tom showed up early.
He's doing an NBA game in Chicago and showed up early and Michael Jordan's who had just returned from his baseball hiatus and had been struggling with his shot was out real early getting shots up, and Tom loosens his time and walks down and rebounds for Michael Jordan's And you know how you know, as I said, as I told said to Tom when he first told me that, So you know, that's the equivalent of the shagging fly
balls for Babe Ruth. I mean, that's how many people are going to be able to truthfully say they've rebounded for Michael Jordans.
That's awesome. I know there are so many great stories like that. But to your point about how he was heading in a different direction with his career and suddenly got an opportunity. He has such a great voice, you know, I mean, really blessed and knows how to use it. Obviously, Well, it's hard to imagine him not doing this kind of work, isn't it.
Yeah, it is. I mean it's a case where you know, somebody, you know, somebody you know fade or whatever you know, sort of guides us through life and sort of guided him into what he was meant to be. Because you're right, his voice is, you know, really memorable. And you know, I've often said if we we need to try, if we could set up someway where people could open the book cover and just hear one of Tom's called you know what? You know, Tom obviously is very well known
in Kentucky. I think nationally a lot of people would recognize that voice. To me, they say, oh yeah.
Any idea of it would be an audiobook?
You know that? That's that.
I'm not sure. I need to check with the publisher that that. That's been asked a couple of times, and I don't know the answer.
Talking to Mark's story of the hero leader, columnist, feature writer and now co author of Tom Hammond's book Races, Games and Olympic Dream Teams, A Sportscaster's Life. And if you would like to meet, I assume will you be with Tom at the book signings? I will, all right, well. August thirtieth is the first one in Ashland at the
Broadway Books here in Lexing in September eighth at Joe Beth. Uh. You know, fate I think played a hand here, But this I think for Tom Hammond was the typical, if there is such a thing, instance of luck meeting up
with hard work and leading to success. Because he never mailed anything in you could tell how much he prepared and how much he had to prepare Mark for events he did in the Olympics, where somebody at NBC, Dick Ebersol, whoever, said I think you'll do well, and Tom heads straight to the library to study, didn't he.
Yeah, you know, Tom and Bob Costas wrote the forward for our book, and it is really good. I mean, Bob really did a good job. This forward. He's you know, he basically says, Tom is the you know, televised Olympic track and field you know what Den Scully is to baseball or Mark Albert is to you know, the NBA.
In other words, the best to ever do it. Yeah, and and and and Tom started in that he had worked an NBA game on a Sunday and gets a call on Monday, you know, from Dick ever Saw, who was in the running NBC Sports and basically says, what do you know about track and field? And Tom said, well, not not much. I've gone to a couple track meets. And you know, you ever saw had made that call
for a purpose. They wanted Tom to call a track and field and you know, if he was going to do the nineteen ninety one US and then the World Championships and if it did went well, then he would do the Olympics in Barcelona. And you know, that's sort of how Tom started and and and I think Costas is right. I think Tom is the best track and field announcer of of our you know generation. And that is a hard, hard job, especially the hundred meters dash.
And I think we saw in the just concluded included Olympics where the call went awry, just how difficult that is. You know, you've got a ten second event, and if you know you don't have time to look up, you know you don't know who's who. There's no time to look it up because if you look down or you try to think of something, the meets over. And I believe you know, I've watched most of Tom's calls from the Olympics, and I don't think he had any any
mistakes in one hundred meters call. And the degree of difficulty on that is off the charts.
Oh, you couldn't have said it better. I've had the privilege of doing a lot of different sports. I've never done horse racing. I've tried it once on my own. It's it's brutally hard, but I cannot imagine, like you said, trying to accurately depict and when you're obviously complimenting the video right in front. But that also means you can't screw that up. And Tom and I talked about that he was well prepared and fortunate enough to never have
screwed it up. And he also Mark called some of the greatest performances in the hundred, didn't he?
Well he he not only in the hundred, he called some of the greatest performances in sports history. Yeah, and you know Michael Johnson the two hundred and four hundred double in Atlanta. Yep, you Tom got the call. You know, all three of Usain Bolt's Olympics, you know Alison Felix, you know just you know, some of the giants of our athletic era, and you know Tom was the narrator of for their exploits.
Did you enjoy uh kind of You had to have enjoyed that kind of that walk down memory lane because things that popped into Tom said, I'm sure start to pop it into your head as well.
Well. The thing that was really fun for me and I think will be fun for people reading the book was, you know, Tom worked with a lot of you know, the kind of the famous athletic figures of of of the era. You know, Joe Namath was his first full
time NFL analyst on NFL games. You know, he worked with Bill Walton and Steve Snapper Jones three three man NBA booth that I think other than the famous you know, Dick Enberg, you know, Al McGuire, Billy Packer, the famous three man booth, I think this was the second best one of those ever. And you know, a lot of times three men, you know, three announcers, it doesn't work,
the dynamic doesn't work, but this one did. And actually Bill Walton submitted a blurb for us for the book, and being Bill Walton, it's it did not conform to the what the strictures of a blurb. It was, you know, very long and very stream of consciousness, and it's just a who It was perfect Bill Walton and Bill loved Tom. And this may be the last thing Bill wrote for Consumption.
Yeah.
And to be honest, I wouldn't I didn't realize he was as sick as he was. I wouldn't even have asked, you know, but he was glad to do it. And like I said, Bill and Tom had a great relationship, and Tom says Bill would call him just every so often out of the blue and say, hello, Tom, this is Bill Walton. I used to work for you.
Love it. I wondered about that as well when I heard that that Bill Walton had contributed a blurb, so I can't wait to read it. It's called Races, Games and Olympic Dreams of Sportscaster's Life Tom Hammond, along with Mark's story and again August thirtieth, Ashland's Broadway Books at seven o'clock, Cincinnati's Joe Beth at seven pm on September the second, then here in Lexington. Actually two opportunities September the eighth at two pm and then at the Keenland
Library September twenty fourth at six pm. That is a ticketed event. Do you know anything about getting tickets to that?
I do not.
I think that's something I should be on top of.
Well, when you find out, let me know and I'll share it with people as well. I know we will as well, social media being what it is. Mark, thanks so much for your time. I know it's a busy time, but congratulations on the project and getting it done well.
Thanks Dick, Thanks for having me and thanks for the interest in races, games and Olympic drink.
Definitely putting that one on the summer reading list. Right now, I'm juggling two books, both by media people, the late Dick Enburg. I'm reading his book. I've had it for a while. I don't know why I never started it, but I did and I'm really enjoying it. Also, and this came after the D Day anniversary Indy Rooney. I'd forgotten that the great commentator from CBS and a great writer had written a book about his experiences in World War Two. It is just called My War and it
is fascinating. So juggling those two, and when I finish one of them, I will fold in Tom's book. And I haven't got my hands yet on John Walk's murder mystery with the background of college athletics. So it's been a good summer for books. I also just got Charlie Hussell, the new book about Pete Rose. The author was on the show a while back, so lots to catch up on, but it is enjoyable. When we come back, we will
wrap up this edition. But Heroes, fools and flakes here on the Big Blue Insider six point thirty eight WLAP Welcome Back. We thank our guest tonight, Chris Doring of the SEC Network, Jack Gibbons from the UK Sports Network, of course, and Mark's story from The Hero Leader. We will close things out as we often do it Heroes,
fools and flakes. My hero tonight, and I'm sure there's more than one person anybody who had anything to do with the Big Ten Conference and the Chicago Cubs getting together to plan a pair of college hockey doubleheaders at Wrigley Field. This is going to happen in January of twenty twenty five. It's coming January, and of course Wrigglely is known as the Friendly Confines, so they're calling this
the Confines Big Ten Hockey Series. I'm not a huge hockey fan, but I really like playoff hockey A lot of you do. But I also like it when they play outdoors, especially if it's snowing. I just think that's really impealing and engaging. And what they're going to do, is we said, is play a couple of doubleheaders, three Big Ten men's hockey games plus a Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's game. It's the first weekend of January the third and the fourth at Wrigley Field. The Big Ten
Network will carry all four games. So I don't get the Big Ten Network, but I'm hoping I can see highlights somewhere. So anyhow, Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin involved as well as is Michigan State. So as I said, whoever put their heads together made this happen. They are our heroes this week are full tonight and once again we'll have to give it out to more than one person, anybody who had anything to do with Rachel Gun appearing in the Olympics. She is ray Gun,
the breakdancer. This is a story that won't go away. Sadly, she says, she is being harassed. She has been the topic of countless viral internet memes. You know, look, this is the chance you take when you put yourself center stage literally in a situation like this. She knew that she would be judged harshly. She had to know. But I also don't blame her as much as whoever it
was with the Australian Olympic contingent. Somebody I'm reading decided not to send whatever breakdancer was best qualified and instead played special favorites with ray Gun and sent her instead. I have no idea what they were thinking. Clearly they weren't thinking ahead and now she is suffering for it. But she had a hand in this as well. So why do this and subject yourself to the kind of ridicule that your country, as well as this woman are feeling.
Right now, our flake tonight back to the Olympics. This is just a weird situation with Jordan Shiles having to forfeit, or at least order to forfeit, her bronze medal because of some sort of mix up in the appeal process, and now the Court of Arbitration for Sports standing by it's ruling that the medals should go to the Romanian gymnast. There is controversy over whether the US appeal was turned in in time. The CIS says everybody agrees that it came four seconds too late. I have not read the
US saying that that's the case. But now the US officials are saying that critical information about the process was emailed to the wrong address. And we've all been there, haven't we. They say the CIS sent them information that they desperately needed, but sent it to the wrong address or up against the gun to put together the appeal. It's just a big mess and it should never have come to this, so uh yeah, there's a fool in there somewhere, but that's our flake for tonight. That's going
to do it. Thanks so much. We'll talk more Kentucky football next week. Have a great weekend. That's a good night from the garage in Lexington, fighting with.
The album No Garlic.
Clarkson E. S.