Welcome to the Big bluin Sider. Dick Gabriel with you on a Wednesday edition of our program, and of course the midweek brings us each and every week if we're not preempted. Sean Woods, the all the Unforgettable guard whose jersey hangs in the rafters of Rupp, and West End Bureau chief Gary Moore. They will both be with us in hour number two. Coming up a little bit later at the bottom of this hour. Bernie Scruggs, former Kentucky quarterback.
He played under John Ray in what was it sixty nine, seventy seventy one were his varsity seasons, and those were high school years for me, and I remember listening to Kaywood Lefford on the radio. Those were not good Kentucky teams. And I remember as I delivered my newspapers on Saturday afternoons, listening to Kaywood described the exploits of those UK teams.
It just came so agonizingly close, but in true UK football fashion back then, just couldn't quite over the hump on most days, but on one magical day, Bernie Scruggs in nineteen sixty nine, a sophomore who was filling in for the injured Stan Forston, who was the starting quarterback in the season opener against Indiana, a wild game that
saw IU beat Kentucky fifty eight to thirty. I distinctly remember listening to that game thinking, man, Kentucky scoring a lot of points, but every time they scored, Indiana would score even more. So anyhow, Bernie came in and subbed for Forston in the Indiana game and then started the Old miss game and they pull off the upset of ninth rank Mississippi, which featured all everything and now legend.
He was a legend back then as a high schooler Archie Manning and of course better known now as the father of Peyton and Eli and the grandfather of arch Manning. But seriously, he's probably better. He was probably better than all three of those guys, plus Cooper, who was a tremendous wide receiver at Ole Miss Or had a great career ahead of him, but then he was diagnosed with a medical condition that made it too dangerous for him
to play keep playing football. So anyhow, and he is Arch's dad, So anyhow, Bernie Scruggs will open our broadcast on Saturday. We've been calling upon former Wildcats to deliver a little monologue, little speech to open our broadcast. Bill Ransdell, Jojo Kemp Dermoni Dawson, and this week it be Bernie Scruggs taking us back to that day when the Wildcats upset the Rebels and didn't do much else that season, but man, what an upset. Ten to nine was the
final score. Kentucky blocked an extra point, Bernie Scruggs scored Kentucky's only touchdown. Arch Manning scored for Ole Miss on a sixty four yard run. In the first half. Kentucky forced atting four turnovers, including two or three in the fourth quarter alone, including a fumble at the three yard line by all Miss taking it into score. Wildcats forced a fumble and then picked off an arch Manning pass that basically assaulted the game away or not an arch
man em an Archie Manning pass. So Bernie will open the broadcast, and I had a conversation with him, which I will share coming up at the bottom of the hour. But as I said, as long as I've covered Kentucky football, and I've been to functions and events, and of course he played before I got here. He played what three or four years before I got to UK, I hadn't never had a chance to meet him or talk to him.
So he had a chance to zoom with him. And we'll hear from Bernie Scruggs at the bottom of the hour. He'll share the story of that game and other stories from back in the day. Those were some dark days for UK football. But the John Ray era gave way to two different things, and they were intertwined. Frank Kersey, the man they hired to replace John Ray, and Commonwealth Stadium because John Ray lobbied like mad for upgraded facilities, including a new stadium. He said, I got to have
a stadium that I can recruit to. John Ray had been to the mountaintop. He had worked for Ara Parsigen at Notre Dame as his defensive coordinator. John Ray was known as the guy who finally came up with a way, at least one way to beat the wishbone. Texas and Oklahoma Nebraska. They were killing everybody with a wishbone, and John Ray came up with what he called the mirror defense and basically had his linebackers mirror the movements of
the offensive backfields and it worked. So he was the hottest defensive coordinator in America when Kentucky hired him away, and of course things didn't quite work out. But not only did he lobby for Commonwealth Stadium, but he signed Sonny Collins, and Sonny was one of the greatest running backs and still is one of the greatest running backs in the history of UK football. But Bernie scro Rugs was the man who led the Wildcats quarterback. The Wildcats
today went over all missed so well. Here from Bernie at the bottom of this hour, and as I said, we'll hear from Sean and Gary coming up in our number two. We need to start off, though, with this bizarre story involving of all things UNLV football. That's right, Nevada, Las Vegas. There's a quarterback out there who has announced that he will no longer play. He will not finish
the season with the Rebels. Matthew Sluka released via x via social media a statement saying I've decided to utilize my red shirt year and will not be playing in any additional games this year. He said, I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me which were not upheld after I enrolled, meaning he didn't get his money. He didn't get his nil money. Goes on to say, despite discussion, it became clear these commitments
would not be fulfilled in the future. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season, hopeful to continued success of the program. By the way, UNLV is three and oh and has beaten, among other teams, Houston and Kansas, so it appears that he was promised X amount of dollars and did not get them. However, subsequent to that, a man named Carl Reid Carl Reid Junior, who goes by coach Reid Live on Twitter, is an analyst for two four seven Sports, was a successful high school coach
in the Saint Louis area. He has tweeted, did not quote any sources, didn't at attribute it to anything, but he wrote all financial commitments for UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluca were completely met, but after wins against Kansas and Houston, Sluca's family hired an agent and they collectively feel that his market value has increased. Per a source, And however you feel about unnamed sources, this is eminently believable. It really is. Sluca came over to UNLV because they needed
a transfer portal QB. Their QB from last year pretty good. Jaden Malava or Mayava came on and had a great season and then left for Georgia but then decommitted and now he's at USC. He's the number two behind Miller Moss. Sluca played at Holy Cross. He's a fifth year senior and had a pretty good career there. Won twenty two for one, ninety seven passing for seventeen hundred yards, twenty touchdowns, five picks in twenty twenty three. Not bad, So clearly
he's got skills. I mean Vegas is three and oh right now, they had two quarterbacks left. One guy is thrown one pass, another guy played but didn't throw any passes. In another game, they beat Utah Tech to open the season, so what a mess at UNLV. We'll talk about this with Sean Woods, who of course himself a coach and has had several D one basketball jobs, And we've talked a lot about the nil with Sean. So this is a new twist, isn't it. While we're talking college football.
The top ten most watched games a week four, they might surprise you the top game was not Tennessee Oklahoma, even though it wasn't quote prime time. Like I've said before, to me, Saturday from noon on is prime time. They like to say it's from six o'clock on, but is it really On a college football Saturday, that's when the TVs go on. Come on USC at Michigan. I guess it's understandable. Was the top rated game, and that was a three thirty game on CBS, which forever had been
the SEC time slot. Now it's the Big ten time slot and it's still CBS. So they got six point three two million viewers. However, they measure it for Southern calim Michigan, big win for the Wolverines. Tennessee Oklahoma was second. That was, of course the SEC game on ABC at seven thirty pm. Six point twenty seven million, so not too far behind. The third game kind of surprised me.
Illinois Nebraska on Fox, which was a Friday night game, so maybe it shouldn't surprise me since it was Friday night, but the folks who did not go off to high school games watched that one to the two in a four point two to one million. Illinois won that one by a touchdown in overtime, and Nebraska had a touchdown taken away by review. About halfway through that one quarterback throws it up in the end zone. Receiver and defensive
back come down with it. Defensive back ends up with a football, but generally that kind of position goes to the offense. I did not see the play. I don't know how or why it was called an interception, but it ended up costing Nebraska the game at Nebraska. About that. The fourth game among the highest rated games, Marshall at Ohio State. That was the big noon game on Fox. Three point nine to six million. That's the power of
the Buck guys drawing eyeballs. Number five, coach Prime in prime time Saturday night, Baile They're in Colorado, three point six million. Six game Ucla at LSU on ABC. That was the three thirty game on ABC. Seventh Florida and Mississippi State. Again the power of the SEC. These are two mediocre teams in the Southeastern Conference. That was the ESPN noon game, the eighth most watched game, Utah at Oklahoma State Fox at four o'clock. Now you're starting to
get in just the other games. Ninth with Arkansas at Auburn. That's the ESPN Another ESPN three thirty game and number ten ABC's ACC game NC State at Clemson noon drew fewer than two million viewers. So it's amazing to me. I guess it should be because those are two of the highest profile programs, USC and Michigan at three thirty
timeslod on CBS still golden. And I got to think if Tennessee, Oklahoma had been moved to three thirty or sliding for three through that might have outdrawn Southern Calm Michigan. So we'll keep an eye on that kind of thing for you. But with everybody changing conferences and conferences changing networks, it's interesting to see where viewers are going up next way here from the football Wildcats. More to come, all on the Big Blue and Sider six thirty WLAP. Welcome
back to the Big Blue Insider. Coming up Saturday, Kentucky and Old Miss a game you'll hear right here on six thirty WLAP. Bush Hampden talked to the media yesterday. One of the questions was about crowd noise. They're expecting a big one down there. Although it's not a huge stadium. It is loud, there's no question about that, but it's not nearly as big as say Nayland Stadium in Knoxville or an M Stadium, But they do need to deal
with communications. You got the helmet comms right now, but also they can turn the hand signals if need be. So Hampden answered a question about comm's and how they're going to handle things on Saturday.
Again, we have practiced as if our quarterback Colm has not worked at times as well. You know, so quarterbacks know that from the standpoint of our signal operation, you know, we don't think it's going to be a huge effect, but again, you know, get those environments. You know, we just got to do a great job communicating playing fast one in the pre snap things we've been talking about since we've won.
No word yet on Chip training him. He had been cleared to practice this week, but Mark Stoops stopped short Monday of saying training them would play. Also talked about it on his Coaches show. They've got to make sure that that injured hand, that left hand is strong enough to grip the football. You know, if running backs have to use both hands to grip the football. And this is a strong guy, a big guy, a power runner, so you know, no matter what hand he's going to
carry the football. They're going to be grabbing at it. Defenders will be ripping at it. And this is a really good Miss defense with all kinds of transfers. I think ten of their eleven starters are portal guys. It's a portal program and most of them came from SEC programs, so they know what they're doing. Maybe they weren't playing a lot where they used to be, or maybe they were offered more nil bucks at Ole Miss, but they're good players, so train them is going to have to
deal with that if he plays. Hamden talked about what they are hoping he'll bring whenever he gets into a ballgame.
I think there's just the two things.
One will be leadership.
We've talked about the guy that's played in big games, knowing what it's supposed to be like.
And I think the.
Second thing is just from the side standpoint of big back, you know, big physical back. So we're anxious to get them back, obviously and to take them one day at a time.
It's Bush ham Dan. Of course we'll be calling the offense for the first time as the UK coordinator when the Wildcats play at Ole Miss, and you'll hear it right here on six thirty, wlap UFL released it's basketball schedule, and you already know that the Cardinals take on those
Kentucky Wildcats Saturday, December fourteenth. Time and TV to be determined, But the Cards have a couple of exhibition games starting October twenty first under Pat Kelsey, first game, first real game is against Moorhead State on November fourth, Then they played Tennessee. These are all at home, Bellerman and Winthrop, and watching looking at that Bellerman game on the schedule reminds that that was not the first red flag under
Kenny Payne, but it was one of them. Because you might recall the Cardinals in that first disastrous year under Kennedy, and neither one of them was wants to write home about. They lose to leonor Ryan in an exhibition game. And then the Cardinals lost to Bellerman on a Wednesday, November the ninth, back in twenty twenty two, and it was
a one point loss, all right. If you might recall all that Kenny Payne's first three games as the head coach, they beat Shamanad after they beat Lamar, Lenoir Ryan, and that was an exhibition as well. But then they lose by a point to Bellermant, then a point to Wright State, and another one point game the app State. So we're thinking, well, he's he's got him close. You know, they're they're they're
doing good things, but just can't quite. Then they got blown out by Arkansas by twenty six points, destroyed by Texas Tech. These were games in the Maui Invitational, and blown out again by Cincinnati, and it just kept getting worse. Maryland, Miami, Florida. Say these were all by twenty points or more. He finally got a win over Western Kentucky and then Florida A and M back to back wins, but went right
back to the losing. But when they lose to Leonore Ryan in an exhibition and lose to Bellerman in the season opener, and no disrespect to Bellerman, but come on, it's Louisville. You got to win that one. That was an absolute red flare under Kenney Payn And I was one of many who thought it would get better, but it got worse. Speaking of getting worse, terrible news or an announcement by Brett Farr of the Hall of Fame
quarterback for the Packers. He disclosed during a congressional hearing yesterday. He was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and he was talking to the House Ways and Means Committee on welfare reform. You know, his company had received two million bucks that it shouldn't have. But long story short, far making headlines today for a different reason. And of course you gotta
wonder did all those and he believes it did. All those hits that he took as the tough rugged I'm not coming out of a game quarterback for the Green Bay Packers had something to do with this diagnosis of this deteriorating disease. I hate that for anybody. All right, Coming up next, speaking to quarterbacks, Bernie Scruggs led the Wildcats to the upset of Ole Miss, ninth rank rebels, back in nineteen sixty nine. That's all I had here on the Big Blue and Sider six thirty WLAP Welcome
back to the Big Blue Insider. Coming up Saturday, Kentucky at ole Miss, and our celebrity monologue will be delivered by none other than Bernie Scruggs. He quarterbacked the Wildcats back in the early seventies, and he led Kentucky to the upset win over then ninth ranked ole Miss in
nineteen sixty nine ten to nine. Kentucky had lost or Indiana fifty eight to thirty on opening day, but a week later held the ole Miss to nine points, and thanks to a missed extra point or blocked extra point, the Wildcats with one touchdown for Bernie Scruggs beat ole Miss here in Lexion in ten to nine. And I caught up with Bernie when we recorded for the opener and for the opening of the broadcast. So here's my
conversation with UK quarterback Bernie Scruggs. Tell me what it was like going into that game, Bernie, because you guys had had that wild game with Indiana, so I think you probably knew you could score points, but here you are playing against one of the best teams in the country.
Yeah. Well, to tell you the truth, Stan Jones, excuse me. Stand Forston was the starting quarterback at that particular time, and he got hurt early early in the game against Indiana, and I can remember still walking over the field and at that time, I think I had two touchdown passes against Indiana, and we were throwing the ball well, and I was feeling my own red shirt freshman rich shirt sophomore at that particular time, and I thought we had an opportunity to beat Ole Miss. I really did so.
I think a lot of our players felt the same way. We scored the points, uh, and you know that's usually enough to win. But they they were underrated. I think Indiana. They they had a good quarterback named Harry Gotzo and a couple of wide receivers. I think one of his name was Jade Butcher. I still remember that because it was such an odd name. And uh, they were a good team. So we felt like we were in the game even though the score really didn't indicate it.
Yeah. So because of that, that's why you were competent against Ole Miss.
Yeah. Yeah, I felt like we were going to put some points up and it was that Old Miss game was a really hard hitting ball game. It was Ah. I don't know how many people realize, but that defense that we had, we had Dick Palmer at one end, Dave Hard at the other. We had Dave Rohler, Bill bush All had Joe Fetish built linebacker with Wilbur Hackett, and I mean five out of six of those guys
played pro and played for a while. Yeah, I mean they were they were a good defensive unit, So I felt like we had a good chance to beat these guys.
You had to get excited every time they turned them over. Because it wasn't just those turnovers in the fourth quarter either, was it.
No, it really wasn't. We played them tough the whole game.
Yeah. Uh, John Ray was confident going into the game, wasn't. He was quoting the newspaper beforehand is saying he thought you all would win.
Well. I think I think he was confident up until we went down to Halbard. I think that that's uh, that was a telling moment for us. I think he kind of got shook at that point.
Remember he came in right away and was talking about going to the Sugar Bowl. And he later told me many years later, he said, I had to pump some excitement into the Kentucky fans. He said I couldn't come in and say, folks, it was going to be another four years and we need a new stadium. Yeah, and he said he'd do it again the same way. So he kind of put it on you guys, didn't.
He Yeah, he he was. He was an interesting character, he really was. He had he had a really good assistant coaching staff, at least on the offensive side. I loved George Sepsick. I thought he was exceptional. He was a he was a teacher, and he didn't get overly excited, and he didn't he didn't jump down your throat if you made a mistake. And he he taught footwork as as well as anybody I've ever been involved with. And uh, I enjoyed playing for him.
So he was a quarterbacks coach.
He was the offensive coordinator, all right, and he yes, he was a quarterback coach.
Basically talking to former Kentucky quarterback Bernie Scruggs. He led the Wildcats, he and his teammates to an upset win over Ole miss Back in nineteen sixty nine. And the great Archie Manning, hey, by the way, quarterback to quarterback, How good was Archie Manning?
To me? He was the best in the four years that I played.
He was.
He was quick, he was agile, he was never got shook. I enjoyed watching him play. I like Pat Sullivan a lot too, but it was he was. I thought Archie was athletically the best.
You were from Atlanta originally? Is that correct? Yeah? What brought you to Kentucky?
Well, coach Brashaw. He was the coach of the All American Game, I think in sixty four sixty five and my high schol coach was at the Atlanta UH Stadium. He did concessions and it was it was involved in all that and he got us uh uh to be ball boys for the for the All American Game. And I met Coach Bradshaw, and uh he was he was
a He was a really good man. Uh. I know there's a lot of negative press about him, but he was He was never ever untruthful, uh in any way to me or any of the people that I know that were recruited by. He was just he was just a hard nose marine. That's what he went. I mean, he was a good man.
Some people think he just tried to be the second coming of Bear Bryant. Did you feel that way?
Uh? I did? I didn't.
Uh, well, you would know, uh I thought he.
I thought he had mellowed a little bit by the time. By the time I got there. There people that told me stories that I you know, I had a hard time believing, but I'm sure they because I've seen some of the times that he would come down off of the tower and come out onto the field and grab a guy by the face masses.
Yeah, and then you ended up playing for John Ray, who was one of the hottest names in the country. He was a decoordinator for Notre Dame and had figured out a way to beat the wishbone in Texas and all that. It had to be exciting. When Kentucky signed him.
We were extremely excited. I thought he would do us a good job. We were a good team through the first eleven on both sides. Yeah, we lacked depth, not a shot at Kentucky high school football, but it just wasn't as as strong as as the Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida kids that you really had to have to build a good back then.
Well, and they had gone through a stretch of time and not a lot of people knew about they had ended it by the time you got there where they recruited very few kids from out of state. Bar Bryant put that in place, and nobody really knew about that because he up and left and Bland Caryer was stuck with it. Charlie Bradshaw was stuck with it. And by the time you know you came around, they had finally gotten around to recruiting out of state kids. That's set Kentucky football back quite a bit.
Didn't it it? Did you know? You've got you've got your major metropolitan areas in Kentucky and have great football. The Lexington's, the Louisville's, Bowling Green places like that. There's good football all those bigger cities. But you can't find
that outside of that. It's just not there. And if you look at a state like Georgia, where I'm from, we never took a fiddle thestall or basketball was just another good sport for us, but it was the thing that drove attendants attendants and things that were paid for were paid for by the football.
Well, you had spring football too, didn't you.
Yes.
Jerry Clayburne fought for that from the day he got to Kentucky, got back to Kentucky.
Yeah.
Yeah, we're talking to Bernie Scruggs, former Kentucky quarterback led the Wildcats to the win over Old miss Back in nineteen sixty nine. And it's more to come on the Big Blue and Sider here on six thirty coming up Saturday, Kentucky, Mississippi and former UK quarterback Bernie Scruggs has been tapped to open our broadcast. He led the Wildcats to an upset of Mississippi back in nineteen sixty nine. Not a great Kentucky team. Ole miss went to the Sugar Bowl.
That you beat Arkansas on the Sugar Bowl, but the ninth rank Rebels came in and Kentucky pulled off the upset, had a chance. After we recorded the opening monologue for the broadcast, to chat with Bernie. Here's the rest of my conversation with former Kentucky quarterback Bernie Scruggs. Have you been keeping up with the Wilcats and Mark Soops what he's been doing, because suddenly Kentucky now is competitive in the SEC. Well, not suddenly, it's taken a while.
Well, I just I'm extremely impressed with the fact that he realizes that it's not the quarterbacks, it's not the running backs. It is the offensive and defensive line that he has built in his assistant coaches that have stayed with him, that are the people that they coach these guys. They do a heck of a job and you can you can win with an offensive and defensive line, but you can lose with just a quarterback.
That's right. You would know.
Well.
And of course you played at soul Field and I when I got to Kentucky, I stayed in Boyd Hall right across the street, and we used to jump the fence and go play touch football over there. But of course they had just opened Commonwealth Stadium, and John Ray lobbied, as A said earlier, so hard for a new stadium and anymore of the facilities, both the practice and game facilities weren't he as you know in the SEC are unbelievable.
Of course, so the salaries. But isn't it amazing where SEC football is now?
Yes, it really is, and it's it's just to me, it's the way it ought to be. I'm a football guy, uh, and I'm glad that I'm glad that Stoops is there, and I'm glad that he's built the program that he has, and I'm glad that that the people of Kentucky, who probably have as good as fans as anybody in the country. They're awesome. Uh. You can see that every home game. They don't they don't walk out. They were walking out of Oklahoma. They don't walk out of Kentucky. They will
they wait till the game is over. They have a big time, and they cheer them on, and they're loud, and they're they're wonderful people.
Do you think much back to that that went? Over? All?
Men?
I mean sad to say, you guys didn't win a lot of games, but you had your moments and that one was just phenomenal. How much do you do you think back on that one?
Occasionally I'll go back and look at at the schedule and wonder how we actually were three and eight or whatever we ended up being front year, and I would I would look at that and we would I'd see
where we lost a seven to six game. We never scored enough points and that that that to me was something that that was the result of the kind of football that was played back then, and everything was kind of defensive oriented, and I wish if we were playing an offense like they have now, I think it would have been a lot of fun.
Well, you played more of an option attack, did you not? You ran it as much as you threw it.
Yeah, we had. Like I said in sixty nine, that was my sophomore year. Coach sets put in the Notre Dame offense that they ran, and it was to me, I really liked it, and it was it was a lot of an option, but you do play action passes and and things that were the things that successful teams around the country were using. And it was our first year to run that, and we all got used to it, and then we in seventy I felt like it was my best year playing because we'd had a year of experience.
And then in nineteen seventy one, they they got all excited about the Wishbone for some reason. I was I was a senior, going, oh my gosh, So we had to learn another offense and it was not what I wanted to do. I think we don't. I think we'd have been a three or four game better team in seventy one if it stuck with the with the program.
What did you what?
What?
How would you describe the offense you had been running that Notre Dame offense? Was that the veer or run past option stuff?
It was? It was play action, It was an I formation, split back, Uh, it was it was it was various formations. Uh, and they were, uh, you'd have twins on one side with a splitting end.
Uh.
We just spread the field out and and me it was it would have been easier for the backs that we had to find openings then running the wishbone.
Well, it takes a different kind of alignment to run the wishbone.
Yeah, and we didn't have them.
Yeah, and it takes all.
Said we had, we had a good start to eleven, but you can't run the wishbone with a good start to eleven. Yeah, you got to have a good twenty two or more.
Speaking of the offense you were running against, ole Miss, I read two or three newspaper accounts before I rang you up, and a couple of them said that the last minute or so, you just basically you the quarterback just kind of played keep away from all miss. Do you remember that where you just had to hang on to the football and then ye, stay away from their defense.
Yeah, that was something that didn't didn't go over well, but that's what they told me to do.
Uh why didn't it go over well?
Well, I mean we were we were dropping back and instead of just going ahead and taking a knee, they wanted me to run around a little bit back then. Oh, I see, and that's what I guess, that's what they were talking about.
Yeah.
Yeah, And that wasn't something that would sit real well with the opposing team's coaches.
I can understand that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Were there any other games in your career that really stood out? I think that probably had to be the biggest upset, especially given the fact that they had the marquee quarterback and that that Ole Miss team lost a couple of conference games. It went on and and uh one to beat Arkansas on the Sugar Bowl. That's a great team. But any other big games stand out in your mind?
Uh as far as wins, Uh, I enjoyed the the North Carolina State game. We beat them pretty solidly. Uh.
Uh.
I felt really comfortable with that one. And there were there were there were several. The older you get, the more uh the more you think back on I wish I had this playback or I wish I had that play back. Yeah, there were there were. There were a couple of them that I wish I had back at Tennessee game one for one, Ah, that was that was a disaster in my mind. It took me years to get get over it. Really.
Is that the one where the guy intercepted the lateral?
Yeah, the uh we were when you when you were running them the veer you're reading reading the tackle and I was reading the tackle, getting getting ready to pitch in the the guard on the defense broke through and tip the ball and the guy that I was reading boom. He was gone with it and we were about to score. Yeah,
made it fourteen, and he was. I mean, the pitch was so wide open, it was It was something that I wish I had it back, But you know how, that's the kind of stuff you just can't worry about for your.
Whole fourteen point swing. One thing I've noticed, though, Bernie, and I'll let you go with this, I do appreciate your time, is that when I've been around guys who are having reunions ball clubs, it doesn't matter what the sport is. They never talk about games, scores, stats. They just talk about stuff that happened in the locker room and the dorm, on the buses, on the practice field, and that's where the laughter comes. Is that the case with you? You when you get together with your guys.
Absolutely, I mean, uh, I always liked the the older guys. I felt like I was a little more comfortable with them, but uh, I didn't feel like I was competing with them as much. The Jeff Enno uh Uh, Dick Palmer, uh uh, Dave Roverer. Uh they were Jack Matthews. I don't know if you remember Jack Jack back. And and He's he's a he's a doctor. He's he's helping my daughter Emma that you met earlier. He's helping her to try to get into med school down and uh uh
he's uh, he's a good person. And Bobby Fanel Uh he went through he's he's a lawyer, big time lawyer down in Rome, Georgia. And he's been a teammate and a friend for my whole life.
So yeah, I recognize all these names. Of course, Jeff became a great friend when he worked with us on the radio, never for eight years, and you know, watch my kids grow up. So but no, I I do enjoy hearing hearing guys get together and just tell stories that have nothing to do with the ball games, but everything to do with what made you guys brothers. So yeah, I sure appreciate it, and I'm looking forward to putting
together the broadcast open. We'll send you a copy of it, Bernie and uh and uh it, I'm sure it'll turn out well.
Well, good to meet you. I've heard only good things about you, so thank you. Good good to hear you.
Ever get up here this way again, holler at me, Well.
I'll be up here with the sixth. I mean you can't get away from Cainland that long.
You got that right. Thank you, sir, and great to meet you, and I hope to see you it soon.
All right, good one.
That's former Kentucky quarterback Bernie Scrudge. You'll hear open our broadcast on Saturday as the Wildcats visited Ole Miss. Coming up next our number two unforgettable guard Sean Woods and West m Bureau chief Gearnymore. And he're on the Big Blue Insider six point thirty WLAB. Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. Joining us down in our celebrity hotline as he does each and every Wednesday, is the Unforgettable
guard Shawn Woods. His jersey hangs in the rafters of RUPP and we have been talking for weeks and weeks about UK basketball, basketball in general, but also to sports in general. Sean, the NIL, the portal, all of that which is radically changed college athletics. And this isn't new. This one's sort of new, and I talked about it earlier.
Matthew Sluka UNLV quarterback says he will no longer play this season, and in fact, he has led the Rebels to a three and old record, including wins over Houston and Kansas, but he said I'm in the red shirt my year and not play in any additional games. He said he committed to UNLV on certain representations that were made to me which were not upheld. After I enrolled. He didn't get his money. And I guess we should
have seen this coming, should we not? Because for one thing, remember this happened with a kid who committed to Arizona State, but before he even played a game, he transferred to Georgia because the deal fell apart. And this happened to Florida as well. So, man, they need some guardrails, don't they.
Without a doubt, you know, if there's a signed contract, then you should be able to sue the school that promised you all these things, because that's a breach of contract. Now we're doing nil just on shake of handshake and just about you know, taking somebody's word. Then shame on the student athlete for taking that type of situation and shame on the school for having bad representation of hying the kids.
You know, it's twofol, it really is. And uh, of course they sign they signed with these collectors. You bring up an interesting point. They signed with a collector or they make the agreements with collectives. You know, but I would love to know, Yeah, legally, is the school libel you know, is that a part of the school or is the school got any hand in this? Because you know,
like I said, this is this is new ground. And by the way, the kid who committed to Georgia de committed that quarterback ended up a USC very second string. So but anyhow, I would really love to know the legal ramifications. You got to wonder what a case like this really helped create guardrails, you know what I mean.
It would have to if it's you know, I just that lets you know how loose this situation is. You know, how to the n C double A, uh say it's okay to do this and get in I LS and then they don't have any guidelines to govern it. They have guidelines to govern everything else. But now there's no governing situation. There's no rules and regulations when it comes to nil.
Things.
I mean, that's you know, when you talk about money, when you sign a contract to go to school. You know, you sign a one year national, one year financial degree. That's a contract that you signed with at school. It should be the same with the nil deal, you know. You just you talk about you know, thousands of dollars in there, and there's no contract stating that someone is
at calls. If somebody's that uh, it's held to the fire to pay that that that young man or young woman to come play at that school, because that's really what they're doing this for for the most part. And shame on the young man or the kid or whoever is representing them in this type of situation that there's no paper trail, you know, so nobody's liable and all of this is bad publicity or another bad situation and gives that school particularly a black eye when it goes to recruiting someone else.
That's right, that's right, because the next kid is going to say, well, how do I know I'm going to get my money? Right?
Right?
Yeah? And you bring up an interesting point too about the NCAA, because, as we've said before many times, that is the member institutions. The schools have got to get together and agree on this. And you've been a college basketball coach for so long, mentally at schools that are known as mid majors as opposed to the power conferences, and trying to get those two factions to agree on
things is almost impossible. There are more than three hundred schools playing basketball, more than one hundred playing D one football, and to put guidelines together that are best for everybody, that sounds like an impossible task. Do you think that can really happen? Because they got to get together on this.
Well, what it's gonna do, it's it's gonna get worse before it gets better. You know, it's gonna get a lot worse before you better. I think so, because there we're talking about no guidelines. Yeah, so whenever you have a situation where no guide, no rules and regulations, now it's.
You know, that's with anything, you know.
So so there are is gonna be some lion sheeting, scheming and and not not you know coming forth, you know, I mean, you know, you say, okay, all right, I'm gonna go to Georgia, and Georgia tells you, okay, we're gonna give you ninety thousand dollars. We're gonna give you one point two million dollars okay, and then you don't receive any of it, yeah, or you start getting short changed because they can't come up with it. And that's
going to happen a lot. Because what's scary is when you have schools out there trying to set up organizations to raise money, that means that they don't have the money.
Sure, yeah, this was this wasn't.
So, but you but you're throwing out things that you're throwing out numbers that are that are false. You know, let's let's take let's take for instance, and I don't want to be harp on this, but okay, the Johnson kid, for the most part, knows where his money is coming from.
Jasper Johnson.
Okay, he knows where his money is coming from. A lot of kids don't know where their money's coming from.
Don't they need better guidance? I would think that's pretty obvious.
It's guidance, it's everything. But how many schools have a legit either legit in I l a bag or set up in hand? How many? Yeah, you're talking three extra three four five million dollars ten you know, sooner later it's going to be ten million. There's a budget, yeah, because it's only gonna get worse. It's not gonna get It's just like the NFL, NBA and everything else. Saturdays are going up, back, going down, right, and college afflents
is gonna be the same thing. They're not going they're not going down, they're going up.
And to be clear, the one rule that the schools agreed upon was that the school itself cannot hand the bag of money to the kid. Now, this is this is all just you know, smoking mirrors. They basically set up the nil I shouldn't say smoking mirrors because these these collectives are legit, but it's hand in glove with the school. It's like a recruiting arm for the school. So even though the school will be and as you point out, you know, the school doesn't have that money budgeted.
Hey we need help, you know, So we're turning to boosters, were turning to fans, you know, and then now they're passing the half basically to raise this money.
And you know, it's it's it's like I said, it's gonna get worse before it gets better, because you're you're offering somebody something that you don't even have, right, Yeah, and then you're hoping to get it and then every kid wants in io money, especially at the power of fives. They may not get the big bag of one point three million dollars, but they got to get something. They're
gonna there's a base. And you know, my thing is is this, when are the boosters gonna get pissed off because there's only gonna be one national champion, There's only gonna be one conference champion. There's only gonna be one conference tournament champion. You know. So at the end of the day, you're giving all the money for you're chasing. You see what I'm saying, You're paying for national championships that you're not going to get.
And how many boosters will say, well, that's fine, this was fine, and I'll do it again next year. You got to wonder about that.
Yeah, you know, like you go. You know, I got a friend of mine that's coaching in major school right now, and I asked him, I said, you know, you guys, you know doing an else. You said, I have to raise my own money, you know. And I got this kid blah blah blah blah blah. I can only give her so and so on and so okay, and I'm saying to myself. If that kid's pretty good, you know, you and I raise his money to keep her for
or hear him for one year. Yeah, exactly, because you're your your your letter intent or or whatever is only last for one year. Your financial lady greer only last for one year. So you can't even hold them accountable even for a semester. They can leave you now for a semester at the end of the year. In the semester. So you know, we all say, okay, should have been getting paid. Yeah, kids should have been getting paid for having more living expenses, not to buy extra like a
brand new car, their house, their mom will house. Not by getting your education paid for and being an amateur athlete. Now everybody's looking for the bag to take care of their mom before they even get to the pros.
And you know, I find it rather amazing that people like, well, these coaches are making so much money, which some coaches.
Are, but you know what, the coaches are professionals. Professionals.
They went to college, they got a degree, they worked their way to that job.
And now it's like an engineer. You know what I'm saying. The engineer is a professional. You know, there's no capital he went to school, he got certified to be this. He paid His kids aren't getting anything coming straight out high school and they're asking for a million dollars.
Yeah, some of them are paid more than the coaches.
And.
Coaches are even scared to even taking you as a freshman because they rather have what a men major transfer that has experienced playing college athletics more so than a top matched kid that doesn't have any experience. And you've given him more money than you've given a kid that's been in college for two three years.
That's right, It's crazy. It is crazy. Sean Woods is our guest. We'll come back and actually talk some basketball with Sean on the other side of the break here on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blue Sider with chatting with Sean Woods. We do that each and every Wednesday with the unforgettable guard. Before I ask you about the Wildcats, we've talked about Caitlin Clark, who's
playing up in Indiana where you're from. She is finding that playoff basketball is a little different, isn't she.
I mean, that's any rookie, you know, ask the kids from Minnesota. You know, he had a great run against he had to go up against the juggernaut and they weren't playing. And he even said it, I didn't train to play for in the finals. I trained to just
be good during the season. Now, you know, with the experience now, hopefully him and the rest of that young team which with with with our guy, they fella would train now because they got a little taste of it to get to the end, you know, And that's what experience teaches us, you know, to you know, with any athlete to you know what I'm saying, each year you get better. And now you know, and now he knows that, hey, I got to do a little bit more of my offseats.
The good thing is he played on the Olympic team with guys that know how to do that. So that was a great experience for him. And I look forward to him, you know, pray, you know, bar any injuries that excuse me, Minnesota can get there, you know, to go a little further, you know, get to the finals with that experience, knowing what they know now.
Yeah, talk about it. The Edwards that raises the question I've always been meaning to ask you. Uh, we talk a lot, probably too much about the way your senior year ended up and you all had just a hell of a run that year and the year prior. Yeah, you had a great team, won the SEC unofficially. But your last season, Sean as you all as you guys worked out, trained, practiced under Patino, and I know how
intense that way. I don't know firsthand, did you realize and you're again coming off an SEC best season, did you feel like you guys had it in you to make the final four because you had a kid named Mashburn who was pretty good.
Yes, we did. We that was a goal. And then that's why we were so hurt, not because it was a great duke game, the Kentucky game. We were hurt because our goal was to get to the final four and have a chance to win the national championship. Yeah, and that's all we thought about. That's all we talked about. Uh, that's all we worked for that off season. I don't think nobody even went home that season that that that off season, wow, you know, and and uh it was
that that was it, you know, we had. And the good thing is we had Rex and Kenny around us all the time they were in the NBA, and there were times that they couldn't keep up because we were so driven in the weight room dealing with rock our workouts. You know, they would come every year every two three days. They didn't come every day because they didn't have to, and and uh, we would be mad at them. But
you know, we we worked, man. It was it was you know, we we did some crazy things mentally and physically, uh, to just prepare us for the long haul. And we thought we were ready. We thought we had had advanced because that year before when we couldn't go to the NCLA tournament, I think we beat two out of the three teams that were that were in the final four that year.
Amazing. And you know what it comes down to, You guys weren't afraid to dream about being great. And I've read about coaches who have to urge their players. Don't be afraid to dream about being great, you know, don't be afraid to think about getting there, because yeah, you might be disappointed. There's only one team that's going to raise the trophy at the end of the year. But from what I understand, you know a lot of kids just don't want to mentally go there because they're afraid
they're going to be disappointed. I guess was that part of Patino's genius.
We were so hungry and we were so much of being underdog that that's all we had was a dream, you know what I mean. You know, we weren't pampered. We were pampered because of the appreciation, and we were so humble by being and being able to wear the uniform.
But we were dreamers, man. We wanted to make our own mark and be considered one of the greats, even though going in nobody gave us a shot of being a great, and all four of us, you know, ended up being in the rafts and really doing some things that Kentucky has never had an appreciation for, except for that team because of you know, us being an underdog, right, you know we were. You know, we're top five in
the country and we're still underdogs. Yeah, you know, every time we come out on the court, you know, that other team looked more athletic than we did. You know, they looked better than we did. You know, they looked more athletic everything. And once that ball went up, it was a different ballgame. And our fans really appreciated that because we were them. Yeah, you know, we were Kentucky. We were Eastern Kentucky. We were Western Kentucky. We were
the coal miners. We were you know, the racetrack you know owners and things like that, were the tobacco owners, we were everything. Yeah, and we represented all that and that's what, you know, made us so significant, I think as far as you know, being a Kentucky basketball player at that time.
There's the story that Patino liked to tell later about in the locker room after the game, and he says he pulled out the Sports Illustrated that had the Kentucky Shame cover and asked you guys not to let the one game defind you. Did that really happen? And how long before you were able to really take I don't want to say comfort, but to go back with pride and look at what that team accomplished. I know it still stings, but did you allow yourself to feel anything positive about that game?
Well?
You can remember, you know, I thought I was just as good as any guard in America. John thought he was just as good as anybody there. Richie, we all did so that when he brought that out, Yeah that you know it, It made sense after the fact, But doing that talk, there was nothing he could say to us to really make us feel any better. I mean, you know, it was the end for us, especially US four, and what we had put in. We only had one shot at it, right and yeah, you know, as you
get older, you know, you say the same things. I became a coach, so you know, I had to use the same type of tactics and him to really make my team feel good and appreciate the work that they put in, because you don't appreciate it why you're going through it a season, you know, you don't never look
back into the seasons over with. And at that time, we just weren't ready to look back yet because we really thought that we were just as good or better than do that we showed it and you know, as you saw, you know, the two best teams in the country at that time, whoever got the last shot won.
But that you know, now he's looking back on it what we went through because of the probation, you know, but you got to remember before probation and Eddie Summons said that was Rex and yeah and that that taste. They were pretty good. They made it to the Swiss team the final eight. You know, then here comes the bombshell from now we're taking two three steps back because a couple of guys left. It wasn't the probation that made us not as good of a team. It was
that some key guys left. You know, Eric manuel Man, you know, people forget how good he was and how good he could have been. You know La ron Ellis, who still played in the NBA. You know Chris Mills, you know who's the only player in Kentucky history basketball history. People forget they got a triple double and he was six seven playing the wings, I mean, playing to swing for three spot. So we were destined to be a great team. Unfortunately, because of probation and n T DOAA
sanction and things like that, coaches left, players left. So, yeah, you do start over. But guess what, though, Dick, A lot of schools start over, Arkansas starting over, Kentucky's starting over again, you know. So what makes us so significant, what makes us different? It was because we were left, so to speak, with four Kentucky guys, including Regie Hansson at the time, you know, And that's what the Pride came in and started, and people thought, well, these guys
weren't good. Well, Reggie Hanson was pretty Dargo good you know, we're all were good, so we couldn't think of ourselves as underdogs. We had to think of ourselves and had the compasses like anybody else. We're just as good as we belong, or we never would have won any game. So that mentality didn't hit us. It hit the fans and the massive, but in our own camp, in our own locker room, there was no doubt that we could. We could be highly successful.
Shawn Woods is an unforgettable His jersey hangs in the Raptors are rouugh. We talked to him each and every week. Coach, Thank you so much. We'll talk to you next week.
Okay, gick, no prouble.
Buddy.
Western Bureau Chief Gary Moore is up next here on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. Joining us as he does each and every Wednesday, schedules permitting, is our West End BUA Chief Gary Moore on the other end of I sixty four, longtime West Coast Bureau Chief back in LA the Louisville area, and joins us every Wednesday with a little bit of this and that.
Two guys in a six pack, us two guys, six things to talk about forget about Bama and Georgia, forget about your pack and the Vikings, Trinity, and x about Friday night Cardinals Stadium. Now you're in alum of Trinity. My cousin, Skeeter Duggans was a quarterback for the Rocks. We got the Rocks in this one, right, Oh yeah, yeah, we just be man.
Oh and I didn't realize we had to snap a four game losing streak to Mail How about that.
Yeah, they're gonna come out. I think they're gonna win this one going away too good.
It was Friday Night. So we'll get to some of those other games in just a little bit.
But first, our first swig on the six pack here. As we know, the NFL has never been more popular, Dick, in my humble, anything but humble opinion, NFL officiating has never been more fed up. Sunday, Philly Starr wide receiver Davonte Smith took a vicious, cheap shot to the head, which I don't know if you saw that or not from a Saints defensive tackle, Christian there's irony in a name, Christian boyd Yes.
While Smith was being.
Pushed back, his forward progress had been stopped and then Boyd came up and just knocked him sense of away. He got concussed on his hit today, God his helmet off. No penalty flag either. Two years ago, owner Jeffrey Lourie of the Eagles wondered an NFL meetings if there could be automatic ejections future suspensions for those hits like the
one that Boyd inflicted on defenseless Smith. I'm telling you, somebody is gonna get Darryl stingleyed or worse one of these nights, Dick with some of these hits that are coming in and there's no flags or repercussions or anything. And how the NFL replayed geniuses in New York didn't catch it as beyond me. They're supposed to.
Watch all of these plays.
It's just like, why the not so eagle eyed officials missed or just ignored two crystal clear examples of pass interference we've seen in two primetime nights in a row that was a cost team's potential points. Sunday night, we saw it right there the Falcons driving in the end zone. Receiver Kyle Pitts got a bear hug from the Chiefs defender well before the ball arrived wasn't a problem for the Chiefs. The week before they got a great pass
interference call on the Bengals. Then the next night, Monday Night, Bengals receiver T Higgins interfered with on that two point conversion. I ask you, is it time to bring back reviewing non calls of pass interference like they did for a year in twenty nineteen.
Yeah, but that was such a mess. Maybe if they can and figure out a way to tweak that. I don't know what the answer is on that, but if ever there were a time that calls for it, right, You're absolutely right, now is the time. But you might recall two three years ago and now I think this is what prompted that rule. That ill fated rule was the playoff game, and course, siddenly enough, it was the Saints.
They got hosed. One of their receivers got cross body blocked out of bounds by a hopelessly beaten defensive back. Had no choice but then and you knew he had to interfere or else. Game over and all the officials looked at each other and that was that. So I don't know if they can figure out a way to clean it up.
Maybe, yes, second swig and a six pack. NFL officiating it so consistently inconsistent. I think the teams who win close games probably think afterwards, well, at least the refs didn't screw us over today, which may come in a handy on Sunday when your Packers play one of two ginormous early season games on a screen near us. Packers two and one season the three and zero Vikings in Minnie Haha. Packers number one rushing team in the NFL, as you know, against the number two rushing defense.
Something's got to give.
Packer a two and a half point favorite. And Sunday night, Buffalo at Baltimore, that's gonna be wild. The Ravens are at a two and a half point favorite in that game at home. The Bills are the number one scoring team in the NFL, but the Ravens have the number one overall offense. Former coach Jim Herrick once said about great games, gonna be another ball burner there, Dick two Monday games, opening clunker seven point thirty Titans in the Dolphins,
then eight point fifteen. My Seahawks at Detroit Lions are a four point favorite. Of course, before all that, we have to mention that the Cowboys are playing at the Giants tomorrow night. Go Jents, and we're also gonna be on the lookout between now and Sunday for the next stupid syntax who emerged from the big mouth of Bengals corner Cam Taylor britt or the zero to three Bungals visit Carolina, which apparently is no longer a gimme on their schedule, even though the Cincinnati is a four and
a half favorite. I've seen people that are actually picking Carolina in this game. One prediction for you for your pack on Sunday that I can run with.
I actually like my Packers because they played a really good run defense this past week against the Titans. Now we all know what the Packers defense did to will Levis, almost broke him in half, but as expected, they weren't able to run the ball super effectively until later in the game on the Titans run defense. So that meant Malik Willis had to do more back there, and he came through. He has thrived under Matte Lafleur. So I
like my Packers in this one. Ironically enough, it's the former Bengals QB the Red Rifle Andy Dalton who might lead the Panthers to victory there. But I also like Buffalo until Baltimore realizes what it has with Derrick Henry. You can't be surprised if they keep stumbling the Packers get down early. Just vomit on the ball.
If you're on the defensive side, and see what happens with men and they say Minnesota they can't pass it, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, are a third swig and a six pack. Let's move on to college football, where they still call targeting and pass interference in games. High noon Saturday, Oxford. You know this, UK plays at tops another's top six team, second time in three weeks. Number six Old miss It'll be on national television.
ABC.
Rebels now a seventeen and a half point favorite. Rebels have the nation's number one offense, number one passing offense, and not to be overlooked, the Rebels also have the number one defense against the run. UK has the nation's number sixth overall defense, and we both know they're gonna need an even better performance than two weeks ago against Georgia. Also high noon Saturday, my three and one Hilltoppers at three and one Boston College acc Network for that one.
BC's a thirteen point favorite, and then you've got number fifteen U of L at number sixteen Notre Dame three thirty Saturday. It's gonna be all but unwatchable, Dick, you know why it's.
On Peacock only Peacock. Pe freaking tok. We got to know.
I'm not subscribing. If you put the Super Bowl on it, I'm still not buying Peacock. Irish a six point favorite, not only looking for revenge for losing here last year, but also for postseason legitimacy. As get this, the Cards are going to be the only ranked team coming to South Bend this season so far, and if the Cards play like they did on this past Saturday, they will
lose that game. All three Kentucky teams on the road, all three are tough games, I would say, even though U of L has got the best shot for a W this weekend. What do you think?
Yeah? I agree with you. I'm not quite a believer in Notre Dame, but I don't know what I'm seeing yet in U of L. I watched the Toppers last week Man, that was it was a nail by. Yeah, it was fun. What's odd? About the Kentucky Old Miss game is the scheduling obviously, Uh, you know, Bole Miss really hadn't played anybody, so you're going to rack up numbers like that. But they racked up the numbers. You know,
they did what good teams do. They're a very good team, and they are chocked full of transfers, especially well on both sides of the ball. But I think ten of eleven starters on defense are transfers. So yeah, it'll be a challenge. But remember two years ago Kentucky went down there. It was a top ten matchup. Last time they went down there and the Wildcats had the game winning touchdown erased on a penalty, So it could be that kind of game.
Fort swagten the six pack course, the game of the weekend. We talked about it a minute ago. A minute ago. Georgia at number four, number two, Georgia at number four, Alabama Crimson Tide Kirby Smart returning to Tuscaloosa Ware of course, he was by sab inside from.
Two thousand and eight, twenty fifteen.
Dogs currently a two point favorite Saturday Night, Saturday Night seven thirty on ABC. And I think the worst of what is it is? It Hurricane Helen. Now that should pass through the area by Friday, so the game shouldn't be affected by the weather. Getting to Bama might be a little bit tricky before that, but it should be okay for the game time on the only other ranked versus rank game on Saturday night you got on NBC at seven thirty, number nineteen Illinois, number nineteen, Penn State.
I'll take the Lions of Mountain Nitney Net one, and I'm going to take the Tide to defeat the Dogs.
At kidding Saturday night. Yeah wow, I don't know why I don't like either team? Can they can both teams lose? Can they tell?
Yeah?
You know, Kentucky made Georgia look mortal, didn't they? You know? But both teams are chock full of talent. I think Alabama maybe just a little more on the explosive side, but I could see that.
Happening Fitswig on the six pack. One last chance maybe tonight to watch Caitlin Clark this season as Indiana fight to stay alive and their best of two out of three with Connecticut and the WNBA playoffs. That's going to be at seven thirty ESPN tonight if necessary, deciding game three would be Friday night in Indy. Of course, Clark was voted unanimous unanimous Rookie of the Year over the weekend. What was her reward for that well lousey shooting night?
In Game one, she was guarded by quite the wingspan of Dewana Bonner six foot four is four inches taller than Clark. She also got a black eye Caitlyn did as de Journey Harrington accidentally poked her in the eye, further proof. In the off season Dick that the Fever had better get some sort of an enforcer. There'd be more accidents or quote unquote unintentional injuries. Of course, it doesn't help that Carrington is actually dating one of the
members of the Fever, people who didn't know them. Because you got to keep Caitlyn out there, and she kind of had a little comeback, a little swat in the
third quarter of that game. If you want to go back and look at that, the NBA saw a two hundred and thirty six percent increase in merged sales this year holding Clark's owned her own Wilson basketball You see this sold out in forty minutes, plus you had six six different TV partners that set viewership records for the the highest rated games they've ever had, all of those
games that I were with the fever. So the league cannot afford to have Caitlyn out due to one too many cheap shots in the coming years.
I don't think Debbie Antonelli, who is now in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor great broadcaster, got her start with Yes truly on the streaming channel and really on WKYT way back in the day when she worked at UK. She has become quite the expert because she does so many of Kaitlyn Clark's games. She calls it clarkonomics, and why not because when you look at those numbers, and we've talked about it before, you know,
players who resent her are pushing back against her. But we have to ask, but all due respect, and you're all great players, or many of you are, where were these crowds? Where were the merch sales? Thank you before she got there again, the rising tide and all that stuff. Be a good smart business woman and accept what it brings except clarkonomics and everybody eats.
Is there a lot of jealousy in the w NBA. I think maybe some reverse racism of some sort. Some people have been raising questions our sixth and final swig. Let's talk major League Baseball. I don't want to talk about the Dodgers and the pres Potters are gonna catch them and probably get into the playoffs.
Hey, triple play to put them in the playoffs.
Yeah, that was pathetic, unbelievable if the Dodgers had chances to get runs in that. But let's say, let's don't talk about the good teams. Okay, let's talk about Game two between two historically awful Major League Baseball teams again tonight Angels at sixty three and ninety four and of course those Chicago White Sox now sitting at thirty seven
and one twenty. Last night, the sorry Socks defied their own nature rally to beat what maybe the worst la Anaheim, California Angels team in their sixty four year history, three to two. But make no mistake to Gabriel, the Socks will lose Game number one twenty one before Sunday and officially be the worst team ever. But they already are the worst team ever. Why well, of course they're chasing the sixty two Mets, they already tied with them in losses.
But the sixty two Mets were an expansion team, as we know, and they were not only the losingest team in the majors the Mets were, they were also last in batting average er fielding percentage. White Sox are only last in batting average so far. White Sox are not only not a hapless expansion team, but they've won three World Series, the last one within our lifetime nineteen years ago.
And with today's talent levels available and all the technologies you got at your hand, advanced minor league levels, more money than ever to go get good players, there's no excuse, no excuse for what's transpired in the South Sides, a failure from everybody, from the ownership down to the players. As they say, a fish rots from the head down. The White Sox have a dead flounder of an owner, while the Angels reek of a beached trout.
Yeah, and years from now, speaking of trout, fans will look back on the Angels and say, wait a minute, they had the trout guy, they had the Otani guy, and they didn't win anything. At least when the Mariners had Randy Johnson and Ken Griffy Junior and a lot of other talented players. They won a bunch again, didn't win a World series, but they won a bunch of games.
Gary Moore is our west End bureau chief. Will come back with hot reads for Gary in just a minute here on the Big Moon Sider six thirty WLAP Welcome back. We're talking with our west End bureau chief, Gary Moore. We've heard two guys in a six back. Time to throw a couple of hot reds at Gary. You mentioned Giants Cowboys coming up tomorrow night. How about them Giants beating the Browns this past Thursday. The team with a
really good defense, There's no question about that. And this was part of what was supposed to be an oh to eight run to open the season for the Giants. But Daniel Jones against honestly a good Cleveland defense, twenty four of thirty four for two thirty six, two touchdowns, no pick. They grinded out twenty one to fifteen. Gary, if he beats the Cowboys, if the Giants beat the Cowboys, is Daniel Jones off the hook at least a period of time, at least for a week. You know That's the way New York is.
Yeah, It's like what, especially given he doesn't have a lot of capital to work with as we know so and neither does his coach, uh dabble it does not have a whole lot of capital going So if they can do that, if they can beat Dallas, and if they can kind of get some kind of semblance of a competitive team together, unlike the last couple of years, especially when they got rid of Barkley, who was such
a great personality and a force for them. I know he had some injury problems, but look what he's doing already with the Eagles. Yeah, it'll buy him a little bit of time, but it's because how hated the Cowboys are. That's got to be their main rival, you know, And so I think that would definitely buy him some time, maybe more than a week, as I'm kidding around with, but at some point you're gonna have to win more than one of those games.
I really like Sequon Barkley in college. I thought he was going to lead to Giants or help lead the Giants to great things. But yeah, but you know, he couldn't stay healthy and then he was playing for the Giants, so uh yeah, So I'm not an Eagles fan, but uh, you know, I do like what I see from him.
Our second hot read still in the NFL. Travis Kelsey had a crucial drop the other night and and the camera caught him just glumly sitting on the bench with a goofy haircut, and he is he is not put up great numbers this year, and now he's catching flak people saying that he quote was partying too much in the off season, another was now working hard enough to get ready for this year. Is this merited the criticism of mister Taylor Swift.
No, not at all, not in the least. You know, guys, I saw some of this. Todd McShay, f you wherever you are, because there's nothing, no correlation between that. Some guys will start out slow. Let me ask Todd and anybody else, what's the.
Chiefs record right now? What are they are They did they get a bunch of defeats, Yeah, but they're looking at his performance and his numbers.
Yeah, he'll be fine. Plus well, he's getting some more coverage too. That's the other thing they're they're finally by other teams are figuring out how to get this guy covered because he's been opened so many times before and Mahomes knows he's got an open shot with them. So if you look at some of these games where he's gonna have some drops, he's human. But I don't know
if that's correlated with being around the summer. I mean, I don't know if if every day the time that they ended the Super Bowl run last year, he was supposed to be working out.
So yeah, well, keep in mind that their best receiver from a couple of years ago is now a Miami dolphin. Pacheco is hurt. So yeah, more defensive attention on a guy like Kelsey and if even if he's not performing the way he did two, three or four years ago, he's thirty four. Yeah, that's getting up there in the NFL. That happens, guys. Good. Look at what happened to Gronk Rocks last year. He didn't have great numbers, but he made a huge catch in the Super Bowl when accounted
the most. Gary Moore is our West End Bureau chief. Find him on X.
Or Twitter at nine to five to five, Gary, where you're at.
Blue Insider one. Thank you sir, every great week. See you next week and I'll do it for now. Thanks to Gary, Thanks to Sean Woods. Thanks to Bernie Scruggs listen for him opening our broadcast on Saturday. That's a good night from the garage in Lexington.
Mister Speacoley, that's name again. You're ripping the car, yeah, Bud? What's your problems