Welcome to the Big Booinsider Dick Abriel with you on a Friday, as we wrap up the week, of course talking football, baseball, basketball, as generally we usually do this time here, there's a lot of overlap. Of course, it's the football off season, basketball wrapping up with the NBA baseball you know is happening. The College World Series will wrap up this weekend. But there is Kentucky News UK news on both the basketball and the football fronts. Good
news this, this is such a great coincidence. We had DJ Moberley on the show last night. I did such a great job talking about Jasper Johnson, who will it now is a wildcat, of course, but before he starts playing as a wildcat, he's got a little more work to do. Perhaps he's trying to make the USA Under nineteen World Cup team. He has made the penultimate cut. He made it all the way to the list of
fifteen finalists. They only keep twelve, so his dream is still alive of playing for the USA Under nineteen World Cup team. That's the team that will play in the FOEBA Tournament in Lusanne, Switzerland, at the end of June through July sixth. Malachi Moreno trying out and apparently did very well, but suffered a minor injury, so he kind of shut things down. Mark Pope's out there as well, working with the national team, at least he was for
a while. He's back now, but Malachi Moreno a minor injury. They're not saying what it was, but he's done so he'll have a chance to heal and rest up and get ready for the upcoming season. But apparently Moreno was showing up extremely well in these tryouts, So that's something for Kentucky fans to be excited about, as if they don't already have a lot to be excited about, including comes news that UK will host a multi team event
at rupp Aerna. Chris Fisher writing about it on two four to seven sports dot com, the Cats Pulse site. He is quoting college basketball analyst Roco Miller, who said the multi team Event or MTE, of course you've got to have an acronym, will feature feature Valparaizo and Eastern Illinois. The dates are to be determined, but that should, according to Chris, wrap up UK's non conference schedule. Of course,
you've got the exhibitions against Purdue and Georgetown. You got Louisville, Michigan State and a Champions Classic, North Carolina in the acc SEC Challenge, Gonzaga and Nashville, Indiana back on the schedule, and Saint John's in the CBS Classic. Mark Pope wanted a tough schedule. Mark Pope gets what he wanted. This will severely test his team, but wild can't stay healthy. They should win most of those games, right, which would put them in a great position or a good seed
in the nca Tournament. Well, that's the good news for Wildcat fans. Of course, Kentucky football fans have to be concerned right now with the de commitment of Jarvis Strickland. This happened after we had posted the show yesterday, but he was the only signee, the only commit rather from the state of Kentucky. So far, not a huge class right now for UK recruiters, but he was the first. He's from Paduca Tillman, He's an Alignman, He's a four star.
This is not good obviously, and he has been recruited in the past, yes by Louisville as well as Tennessee, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, South Carolina, oh Miss Vandy, but he was chiefly recruited by Vince Merriw, so don't be surprised if he ends up wearing red right now. As we said, it is a modest recruiting class for twenty oh six without a single player now from Kentucky or Ohio,
so we'll see how that plays. Out of the top ten players per two four seven in the Commonwealth, five are committed to Louisville, one to Indiana, and one to Western Kentucky. Still a little early, and of course teams are moving much more deliberately these days because of the portal in Kentucky of late, as you know, has gone heavily into the portal. But they can't lose too many more of those battles, especially when it comes to recruiting
kids in their own backyard. NBA Playoffs last night, we're gonna have a game seven. Nothing better than a game seven. Indiana destroyed Oklahoma City. A lot of people thought the thunder would put him away last night, that Aliburton just couldn't go, couldn't be himself. Well he wasn't totally himself. He had fourteen points in twenty three minutes. But the Pacers, led by thirty at the end of the third quarter thirty points. They outscored OKC thirty six to eighteen. In
the second quarter, they clamped down shake Gilgess Alexander. He played thirty one minutes at twenty one points, only two assists, eight turnovers. That's a career high for him in the postseason. So they cut off the head last night and they reaped the benefits. And now this goes Game seven in OKC. Caseon Wallace, former Wildcat, played fourteen minutes, had two points, and again he's more about defense, but couldn't get it done last night. Jalen Williams had forty the other night,
sixteen last night in twenty seven minutes. It was a disaster for Oklahoma City. Couldn't have worked that better for Indiana. So now winner take oh. Could another former ABA team win an NBA championship? San Antonio did it? Can Indiana do it? And added trophy to those three tree ABA championship trophies, one of which I know came at the expense of our Kentucky colonels. That's why I'm rooting for
ok SEE, not as much well SJSG. I want Shay Gilders Alexander to get himself a trophy, to get himself a championship. He's the league MVP. But of course if Halliburton leads the Pacers to a championship, then people are gonna say, oh, this should have been Halliburton, not along. And if you follow the NBA, you know that at one point there was a survey. I saw this and just briefly paid attention to it that Halliburton was rated
the most overrated player in the NBA. Well, I heard an interview I think it was with Brian Windhorst on twenty Corneizer's show where only a fraction of the players surveyed in the league. There, I think only like two hundred and thirty something players in the NBA in less than half responded and only twenty something listed Halliburton and the rest was divided among many other players. So you're talking about less than ten percent of the players in
the league at least per that survey. Really believe that anybody who watches him will tell you it's bogus. I'm not saying he deserve the honor the MVP on her over Shay Gilders Alexander. I do believe SGA bias Aside should have won it, and he did. But if he is able to rally the Pacers to a win over Okac in Game seven on the road, then the debate will go on forever. But he's good enough to play right now. We can tell you that. One other note in the NBA, you saw this that the Lakers were
sold for ten billion dollars. You know, these owners say, oh, we can't pay dec I salaries. Well they can in LA and nobody disputed that. But some of the reaction and response around the league has been interesting in that they're saying, well, now with another gazillionaire buying the team, it can be run more. The Lakers as a team can be run more like a business. What does that mean, Well, apparently the Lakers in terms of the bus family, that's it.
That's their sole source of income. What they make on the Lakers goes back into the team. It's not part of a portfolio as it is for virtually every other team, primarily in pro sports. And that means that if they make money, they can plow it back into facilities and contracts and things like that, Whereas if the team is part of a huge profile, then revenue from other elements of the portfolio can help support the team. I had no idea this was going on. The advantage, how does
it work? Well, they make zillions of dollars off their TV revenue their contract with Spectrum. That package pays the Lakers three billion with a b over twenty years, a deal that began in twenty twelve. That's my far the biggest deal in the NBA. But now with a group that has deeper pockets behind the Lakers, you may see a real change in the way that outfit's run. And there are a lot of Laker fans around here. Up next, we'll talk football UK and Eku on the other side
of the break here on six thirty WLP. Welcome back to the Big Moon Sider. Coming up in just a few minutes, Nick MinJe on, the head UK baseball coach, we'll join us a little bit later on. Well, here from a young man who is putting together a documentary on my broadcast brother, Doug Flynn. So that's coming up. Also, Heroes, Fools and Flakes. I wanted to direct your attention to YouTube.
There is a documentary. It's basically a thirty minute piece produced by the Buffalo Bills on Ray Davis, former Wildcat, played just the one year two years back, but since then and during that point, and I think it really here started with Daryl Bird's great piece in the cast Balls that kind of got the nation looking at Ray Davis. If you ask me, I give Daryl all kinds of credit on that, the fact that Ray was essentially he wasn't, you know, technically homeless, but was just in trouble and
was taken in by a couple. And the next thing you know, he's playing prep school football, he's playing college football. He's a Kentucky he's now in the pros, had a great first year with the Buffalo Bills, and he was honored recently in San Francisco by the Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco, which has been a big part of his life. And there's a thirty minute special on YouTube. Just type in Ray Davis and it'll pop up. But it's called Buffalo Bills Beyond Blue and Red, and it's
really well done. As this person who's thrown together some documentaries and I mean that liter eight times working on local TV, when you know, with one hand you're putting the newscast together with another you're working on a documentary. I really envy these outfits that can you hire multiple people, and I've had a chance to do that a couple of times. It spoils you and take a lot of time and put a really nice piece together, and they
did this. It's really really well done, and it makes it even more special the fact that he played here for a year and we got to know him, didn't we He talked a lot to the media, and he wants to do that when he's done. I do believe he wants a career in media when he's done. He majored in communications and he'll be good at it. And I know that he kind of wanted to slow things down on talking about himself, but you know, he was, like I said, honored out there in his home base
of San Francisco. And the piece was really well done. So just type in go to YouTube, type in Ray Davis and it will pop up. While we're on the NFL, I was reading Big Blue review, not the UK Big Blue, but the New York Football Giants, and the writer was looking at following Mini came going into camp, that kind of stuff, who's gonna make it, who's not? And as you would expect. He's got would Dale Robinson safely on the team as a slot back and Drew Phillips, the
former Wildcat, as a defensive back. So I try to keep an eye on the ex Wildcats. One other NFL note, Shador Sanders, we told you yesterday cited for driving one on one in a sixty That's a pretty hipty speeding ticket. That was actually the second ticket of the month. That was on a Monday. The next day he got stopped again doing ninety one and a sixty five, and he
was respectful and polite to the police. But please, please, guys, how many more accidents do we have to have where, like Terrence Clark, you might lose your life and like in other instances, somebody else loses their life. Nothing I say is going to make these eighteen nineteen twenty year old multimillionaires in big vehicles shout or Sanders driving a pickup truck. He's doing a one on one in a pickup truck. With anything I say, he's not going to get him to slow down. I don't know what will.
No amount of money will, no amunt of fines, maybe jail time, I don't know, but it has to happen. Please slow it down, guys, please well while we're tucking football. Will must Champ was over in Richmond the other night. He was helping his buddy Walt Wells. They are both guys who have in their past assistant coaching jobs under Roy Kidd at Ekau. Walt Wells once again this year. He did it last year and Mark Stoops was his
guest speaker. This year it was Will must Champ, former SEC head coach now on staff at Georgia, and a guy who came to town to help raise nil funds for e KU And he talked about the fact and when is buddy Walt Wells calls, he listens.
Don't forget about the people that helped you on the way up. And I have so many people here and Walt and but all through the college landscape that have helped you. But Eastern Kentucky. I spent a year, my wife and I was first year of marriage.
Was here, you know.
We spent it here and we had a blast. And to be able to give back to number one to Walt, but number two to Richmond in Eastern Kentucky, I don't do anything I can.
Do to help, and so much of that, as I said, is because much Champ has fond memories of the time he and his wife spending Richmond working with Roy Kidd.
Well number one being hired by Roy Kidd. I came on the interview Jim Tanaro was transitioning from defensive line coach to coordinator. Don Lanholm was our linebackers coach, and to be able to come up and interview in that setting, Jim and I were just talking about that his first year as coordinator and having to mix the front and the back end together, but to interview for coach Kid was special, I mean, and to be able to work him for a year a legend in our game.
God rest his soul is a wonderful man. I will echo that I do not try to hide my bias towards Roy Kidd and his and his great wife Sue and his family. You know, I worked with his son Mark, I did radio with with one of his other sons, Keith, and yeah, great great people. Well, Will is obviously appreciative of the fact that Mark Stoops, he worked for Mark Stoops for a year and now Kirby Smart coming back to help Well.
I think they understand. You know, you talk about Mark he understands, you know, the constraints we have with raising money sometimes. Will obviously knows that, you know, left here to go to Valdosta. So you know, he cut his teeth in small schools, our smaller schools, and and so he knows what we have to do to get people to come out. And I mean, I'm telling you that when I called and asked him, he said, let me look at my calendar. I thought he'd call me back
in a couple of weeks. He looked at his calendar and told me, right then, I'm in. And you know, it speaks volume the same thing Mark did to you know, last year, and that just helps us so much. It helps our players. We're not the school that's going to pay them one hundred grand or two hundred grand or three hundred and.
Four hundred five whatever.
You know, they know that, and so that they really enjoy helping us because they know these kids is helping them pay their rent, helping them, you know, maybe get food for the summer or whatever they need to do.
And it really is.
It just speaks volumes for how much they care about football and what kind of people they are.
My thanks to my old employer, WKYT for helping me with that audio, Brian Mile and Steve Moss helping to send it over here to the garage so I could share it with you. Coming up next, UK baseball coach Nick Menngione never a dull moment. He's still got kids coming through the portal, he's got camps coming up, he's working ahead to next year, obviously never ending on the upcoming season. Plus we'll learn more about a documentary upcoming about our broadcast brother Doug Flynn, part of the Big
Red Machine. He was the glue. Well always called him the glue because when he left, you know, it kind of fell apart. That's next on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blue Starter. Joining us down our celebrity Odeline is UK baseball coach Nick Menngione coach. This time last year, everybody was celebrating a trip to the College World Series for the Wildcats, and it's really interesting.
So many people Nick have talked to me about that really for the last year or so about how much they enjoyed that run, and now with the College World Series happening now there's more awareness for it. I know you wanted to be there this year. Obviously you want to be there every year. But you got the big Blue nation thinking about Omaha more and more. That's got to put a smile on your face.
Big one, A big one.
Good.
You know that it hasn't stopped.
Yeah, I mean literally this week heard from the More folks about the opportunity that that team provided them and their family. And you've heard me say that a lot. But you know, that's one cool thing about college athletics is not only do you have the opportunity to give your student athletes experiences that they'll never forget, you get to do it. They're awesome fan base. So yeah, that's good.
And you know what, I think some of them were probably thankful that we didn't go two years in a row because their banking accounts where I made some of those hotels and all that.
I know.
So they need to be planning for next year.
I want them to be thinking and hoping that the Cats are there, you know, every year. But obviously the summer is up and rolling and feels like it never stops. But people talking about Omahon Lessington good thing.
Definitely good thing.
Oh yeah. And that's the thing is, you know, for so many years it seemed like just an impossibility like that, that's for the other the elite schools in college baseball, and now people know that it can happen for Kentucky, right.
Absolutely, And you know it's you know, I told our team this, you know, when the original started, and we were fortunate enough to make our third straight, as you know, and you know, at that point, I told him, your five wins from the college will series for five wins away, and that's how close it is. And for us, you know, to make another regional final and be right there. And but once you get to that postseason, your five wins,
and it's closer than you think. And for some people, to your point, they just feel like that's a lot further than it really is.
No, because now we witnessed it, and I got to tell you, I asked you, I kind of led you into this, this this answer during one of your pre tournament press conferences. But I had seen you on actually during the SEC tournament with Paul Fenbaum, and he told him how you would crunch the numbers and talked about all the decisions, all the pitches, all the moments in
these games. And it's funny I had a similar conversation many years ago with Gary Henderson just about you know, games come down to a pitch or a swing or one play and it all kind of adds up. And I was fascinated by that. And then you you really did a deep dive on the numbers and you know, margins for error and things like that. You're people need to understand you're a lot closer than you'd think you are.
Yeah, you're right, and you know, to go over those exact numbers probably one more time. For the thing listening is, you know, the average college team in the SEC he throws one hundred and fifty four pitches. So if each team averages one hundred fifty four pitches on each side, that's about three hundred and eight moments in one baseball game, right, And it takes us sometimes three hours to get through those three hundred and eight moments, right. But so for us,
we threw a little bit more than that. But there was five thousand, six hundred and sixty eight moments in our college baseball season. That was how many like in our SEC I'm sorry, thirty SEC schedule, Yeah, thirty game STC schedule, So it's five thousand, six hundred and sixty eight moments. So kind of like in football, there's snaps. Those are plays, right, those are there are plays we
had an opportunity for in our league. Well, when you boil it down, we are nine plays away from being back to back SEC champions nine.
It's amazing, it's amazing, and I.
Can tell you all of them, but I'm sure don't let me relive those, Okay, Dick, all right, but uh yeah I could. But I say all that because if we do that, we're back to back STEC champions for.
The first time in school history.
But we're also five plays away for winning four more fifty series and only Texas won eight SEC series.
What does that mean?
That means we would have been hosting another regional YEP for the third straight year, and we would have been a national seed for the second straight year. And as you know, that's the past. The Omaha the easiest pass YEP. But it's nine plays from back to back SEC champions, and it's five plays away from being having four more SEC wins. Theories win, theories win, not just win series win,
and we're a national seat. So it's that close. And you know, to try to teach your student athletes that every year and to get them to understand like, no, literally it could be this pitch like this one right here, you know, to where it's like you're not putting pressure on them. But when you're competing at the high and you're trying to do special things, you can literally puil
it down to that many plays. If you have a really good team, which I felt like we had last year, Yes, but the margin of victory is super small.
Oh yeah, yeah, no question. And now a team like Murray State and which which we saw come to election in and win, jumps up and makes the College World Series. I got to think that that's that's had a positive effect I think probably on kids all over the country. Hey, if Murray staken it, who where are they? You know they're not LSU. You know, can they get there? And answers yes, they can. But you just got to get get out there and execute.
Right you're do and you got to be old. I mean, I think they had three five fifty year seniors in their line up. In their starting lineup. They had three guys with fifteen years of college baseball experience. So you definitely got to have some things go your way and you gotta obviously he's a great coach, is super happy for him. And but yeah, I mean this year alone. So two years ago, two years ago when we went, there were four SEC teams and four ACC teams, right,
that was the that was the eighth in Omaha. Well, this year the SEC, once again we had two teams, which is twice as many as everybody else because every other conference, every other team that was there were just from individual conferences.
There was no true you know, like last year it was the a.
SEC VERSUT SEC Challenge in Omaha. Right, So but now that's so these two teams that made it from our conference, Dick, that's just there's been six teams in the SEC to make it to the Collegewal Series the last two year, six different teams. Yeah, different teams, no repeat trip. But that's yeah, that's the power of our league.
You know that. It was fun watching Murray State and Omaha kind of adopted the Racers and it reminded me of you guys last year. And you made the pitch when you first got there to the fans if you want to root for somebody, because people love the way your team played that scrapped and fought, Uh so that I kind of got a kick out of that, didn't you.
We got some great people in the state of Kentucky and people that love, love to root for, you know, first timers, and so this was obviously two programs that had made it for the first time, which was exciting.
Yeah, well it's a busy time. Well every day is busy for you. But the story right now is the upcoming team. A lot of people have asked me again, you know, the interest in your program, and they've they've kept an eye on the portal. You've added a lot of pitching, mostly right handed. You signed left handers. First of all, are you done with the portal?
Or?
I guess does the door ever close?
Oh?
Good question, Yeah it does close, you know, Dick, You know that what makes our jobs so hard is the Major League Draft. And the Major League Draft is until July. So it's like if you told me I knew who was coming back and who was getting drafted and who wasn't getting drafted, then it'd be a lot easier for me to be like, yes, you know, coach vinjil will be able to sleep with both eyes closed instead of one eye opened. Like, but just because we don't know
what's gonna happen with the draft. I mean I just off the phone with an agent here just a couple of minutes ago, just talking to him about his client, one of our players, and just figuring out, like what's going to happen there. So it just it's never ending, it doesn't stop. I would tell you that once the draft finishes and the dust settles and we figure out who's coming and who's not, we'll have a lot idea, which is kind of scary, but we won't know that until August.
Yeah, UK head baseball coach Nick Minjeon is my guest. We'll come back and talk more baseball with the coach on the other side of the break here on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Boon Sider Dick Gabriel with you on a Friday talking to UK head baseball coach Nick Minione, whose team have played in a regional and was just a few moments away from getting back to a Super regional, but has to kind of rebuild a team, just like virtually every coach in America
right now. And Nick, I think back to when we you and I joke around about this every now and then about how when you were a young assistant coach here it was an exciting time in your life. But man, college baseball in terms of the duties and responsibilities of a head coach have changed so much since then. The
rules have changed, the landscape has changed. I know you do your job with great passion, but did you ever foresee, for instance, when you were a head coach having to speak to agents, uh, you know, for players and stuff like that. I mean, uh, that's something that the guys who coached you never had to deal with, or deal with on a minimal level.
You know, the agents they were around then, So I figured that, But I didn't know we would be talking to agents about nil deals and rev share dollars. And I mean I had no idea. I would have never, in my wildest dreams ever thought of that. Right, Typically, you were talking to the agents back then, or you know, advisors. They were called advisors, right, and I guess that's still what they.
Might be called.
But you're talking to advisors about you know, the draft and what they're considering, you know, things like that. But never in my wildest dreams about having to talk to what we talked to them about.
Now, yeah, you also have to worry about obviously, kids that you might lose to other teams. I don't know poaching is the right word, but you know, transferring, I know, but I was talking to a friend of mine who was worried that somebody's gonna sweep in and and and pluck Tyler Bell off your team. How much do you worry about your current roster, maybe not going pro but getting a better offer from somewhere else.
Yeah, Unfortunately that that that's happening is against the rules and that shouldn't be done. But unfortunately in some areas of college baseball, you know that that does take place. Yeah, we just we just try to do the best we can at developing relationships with our players and treating them like man and doing what's in the best interest of the baseball program and of course them.
And so you know, after you do that, you can do relationship all you can do. Man, it's built on trust and so I uh, yeah, Unfortunately that's a part of college athletic Yep. We know that also.
Will looking back at your your roster, at your season and I'm sure you've thought about this, but a lot of Kentucky fans as well. When you take the field this coming season behind the plate, you're going to be missing a guy who's spent a lot of time back there in Devin burks Uh. And I know you guys will be friends forever, but what are your thoughts on on fielding a team for the first time in forever without number seven back there?
Man, I'll tell you what I told our team this. I was scared to death thinking about that.
I mean, that guy.
I mean, what a winner. Yeah, what a winner?
You know.
And I told a team at the end of the year because you know, you know, Ryan Schwartz had come in here as a catcher and you know, did so good in the outfield. So we're counting on him to be in the outfield for us, and he can obviously catch as well if we need it. But at the time, like we didn't have We weren't returning a primary catcher on our roskeet right right. Since then, we've got come in from a gentleman out of the transfer portal. But you know, at that time I told it to him.
I was like, man, I'm scared it down. I don't know who's gonna catch, because you know, obviously he was gone and obviously with rath kelty A. You know, he was gone, but for Devon, I mean, we just had three of the greatest years in school history, and Devin was the guy that squatted back behind that plan.
Yeah.
Yeah, he gave us everything he had.
His fingerprints are all over these these seasons and oh, you know, he has come through at times with big bass hits, but you never failed to mention the way he handles pitchers, and pitchers have told us that as well. Do you. I've got to think you look for that when you're when you're recruiting, But it's it's kind of an intangible, isn't it.
Yeah, it's really difficult, really really difficult to find somebody with that leader. Yeah, and you know, John Maxwell's best defined leadership as influenced. Leadership is influenced, and that's what Devin Burks had a tremendous amount of influence on so many people and so many things. So obviously we're not going to try to replace him and try to find
the next Devin Berks. I think one of the things we do really well at Kentucky is we find the right guys that are the right people, and we allow them to be the best versions of themselves. So our next patcher doesn't need to be like Devin Burks. He needs to be the best version of himself. There are characteristics and attributes that Devin possesses that, boy, it would be nice if this person does whoever that is, we feel like, you know, we're going to have to try
to magnify those gifts that they've given. But at the same time, it's like we were not replacing Devin Burks. We're going to have the next guy be the best version of himself. If he could have, you know, those leadership qualities, who boy, we'd be we'd be in a really good place. And we feel good about the guys that we do have that can potentially do that so well.
Everybody who follows baseball knows that you've got to be strong up the middle. And right now it looks as though you've got Luke Lawrence coming back at second base right along with Tyler, and if that works out that that's just another year Nick where you've had one of the best infield middle infield combos in the conference, if not the country. So that's got to make you sleep a little bit better at night, am I right?
Yeah, you're right? I mean being strung up the middle is super important, and we have two guys coming back with a lot of starts, I mean underneath the belt, a lot of starts. And I think anytime you can, anytime you can return a team that has that many starts, whether it's positionally or on the mound, you as a coach, you feel better about your chances of maybe being able to perform at a really high level. And you have to be good up the middle. And Kark Frank Lapff
never won a championship without a championship catcher. But also I think you could also say that about the shortstop position. Yeah, it is just absolutely crucial. And obviously we got a great one coming back that we're super excited about.
He was so much fun to watch man. He was worth the price of admission on many occasions. But to that end, I also felt like with some big spikes to fill that, Luke Lawrence defensively did an incredible job stepping in for Petre, who became a real fan favorite for obvious reasons. But you know, once Luke's bat came around and his defense never did Wayne. I mean, you know, he made great plays at second base.
Sure dead and you know Luke would tell you that same thing. At the event of your fall meeting, we asked them, Luke, what are some things you've gotten better at walked us through this year? And that was the first thing he mentioned was his defense, Really not how much better he got defensively, And you know you know this, but playing next you look over to your right and you got that guy standing over there and watching him, and yeah, you know, you're only forced to, you know,
step up your game. And he certainly did that, and I thought they sharpened each other. I think he would tell you that Luke made him better too. So they were great for each other and the closest of friends.
So that was kind of neat and that works.
And all I know is my broadcast partner, mister Doug Flynn, liked a lot what he saw from those guys, and he and he chatted with him through the year, as you know, and gave him a couple of tips here and there. So when he's excited about middle infielders, everybody should be excited, right.
Oh, I see him all the time. You see that. Let me know, like, well, Nick, I just feel bad, don't uh huh. You're the goal glover.
Mister Doug you help us, Like, what a special guy.
Yeah, he's fun. He's fun to work with. A couple of minutes slept with Nick Minsi and UK's head baseball coach. You know, it's funny because when we come to the ballpark, you know, it's it's we look at the wind and you know, you're mister weather. Every coach knows about weather and things like that. But what's what's been great about Kentucky baseball the last several years is you know, you
know you're going to see a good game. You know you're going to see quality baseball, and Central Kentucky is really caught on. I think, uh and you you never failed to mention the fans, the crowd. And I love the fact that, well, god, I watched Arkansas kids after that heartbreaking loss Wednesday night signing autographs for the kids in Omaha. So I think it's great the way your kids never miss an autograph opportunity, you know, after a ball game, win or lose. And that's not something you
guys coach them up on. They just love doing it. Right.
You know, you win with people, Yeah, you absolutely win with people. That's why we're still thorough and the recruiting process and really the evaluation process of our guys, because it all matters. And I think we just wrapped up
one of our youth summer camps. We do first through seventh grade, and we had over one hundred kids here this week, and guy's got a chance that the amount of positive feedback that I've gotten for the parents about just the way our players conducted themselves, the way they stuck around.
Literally so the very.
Last kid had left camp, they signed every autograph, they signed every shirt. Some guys even had them signing their bats. Now you're like autographing their metal bats and you know, don't want to sign the barrel because you wanted to hit the barrel and the autograph gets washed away. But yeah, I mean just the way our guys conduct themselves.
I mean that team last year, we have three point four to nine team.
GPA last bring Wow, like these guys. I mean we had twelve guys get a four point zero in the spring. We had seven with a three eight or higher. So they just continue to and you know, we talk about the student of person the player all the time, but you win with people, and we've done a great job bringing in great people and you know, just to hear you even recognize that. I mean, you get a chance to be around them, you get a.
Chance to see him.
You've been on the road with us, like you see how these guys interact. And it's not just when the cameras on them, it's right really when the camera's off of them. And I'm proud of our guys from that standpoint, just really proud. And it's why when we have our end of year team meeting, there's so many tearshits and it's such an emotional time because as a coach, you just do sad that you don't get to be around them,
especially the twelve seniors that we had graduated. It's just that, you know, just to be around these guys because they're just such quality people. And to be around those guys for ten months, yeah, and then not to be around them again.
It's hard.
Yeah, it is amazing. And you mentioned going on the road, and that's that's where the the that's the proofson the pudding right there is when they you travel and you hang out the downtime, you know, that's where the chemistry happens, not on the field as much. And uh, I was talking to Luke Mayley one day about that about just the downtime, you know, and how that's that helps the bonding and all that, and he said, you know what
else he said, the losing. I said what he said, When you play baseball, there's more games, so you're going to lose more games, and you'd lose playing basketball or football. How do you deal with that? How do you come through that? And if you can do that? You know, now you've got a team full of brothers and I've never forgotten that. So, uh, it is fun to watch coach. I can talk baseball with you all night. I do appreciate your time and uh can't wait for the season begin.
Yeah, same here. Thanks for having me, Cat.
I remember two is up next and we'll hear about a new project you're going to see on TV this coming well actually next week on my broadcast partner, the Great Doug Flynn. That's all ahead the Big Bulling Cider six thirty w LPE.
Anything can anything to do, Anything taken?
I think.
Thinking don't then don't.
Don't Joining me now on our Celebrity hotline is a guy, a former co worker, Golly. Fifteen years ago is when he left WKYT he'd worked there for thirteen years as a videographer, worked with US in Sports for a while there. David Patrick now at Morehead State with athletics video special projects producer. A huge UK fan and a huge Cincinnati Reds fan, Dave, how's it going.
Good, Dick? Thanks? Thanks for having me on today.
Thanks for joining us. I had heard from our mutual friend and former colleague Steve Moss, and you had actually texted me about this sometime back. You're working on a project about my broadcasting brother Doug Flynn, which has got to be obviously a passion project for you, being a huge Reds fan. But you know, Doug is out in front of the public quite a bit charity work, UK Baseball and all, but when it comes to and he loves talking about his time with the Cincinnati Reds, but
he doesn't talk a lot about himself. And you have got him to open up a little bit. You've got a project coming up. Tell everybody about it.
I do. It's Dick. It's a project that I've that we've been working on for some time, and I just felt like it was laid up on my heart. I felt like that God laid up on my heart to reach out to Doug. And I called him one day and I said, I've got a very random question and he said, sure, what is it? And I said, I know you've done countless interviews over the years, you know, whether it be about Pete Rose or Johnny banch or the Big Red Machine, Tom seaver, you name it. I mean,
Doug has talked about it. But I said, have you ever done an interview where you've just talked about yourself your amazing career? I mean, Dick as you. I mean, you know you know Doug probably better than anyone. I mean,
you've you've worked around him countless hours. But his his story is amazing, dating back from you know, when he was at Brian and stationed making the Reds through a tryout camp, being a part of the Big Red Machine, arguably the greatest team of all time, and you know he played in the Majors eleven years in both of his professional story in his personal story is just amazing. And the fact that he's a Lexington guy. And I said,
has anyone ever talked to you about that? And he laughed and he said, well, actually no, And I said, would you be willing to do that? And so he accepted that, and it took us a while to coordinate
everything because of his schedule and my schedule. But we actually met over in Nicholasville and we did a sit down interview and Tanner Hesterberg went with me and we set up a three camera shoot with lights and Tanner was a huge Of course, Tanner formula WKYT and now in a steamed attorney in Prestonsburg, So give a shout out to Tanner. But it was just it was It's
an amazing thing to work on. And it took me a long time to put it together because my schedule here at Moorhead State has just been so crazy because not only do I know do I cover basketball, but I cover all sports. I never could find the time to just sit down and put this project together. And over the summer, Dick I just decided, listen, I've got to make time. I've got to set aside time. I've just got to make myself sit down because this is going to be a great project when I get it done.
And so Doug and I had lunch. I let him watch the first draft of the project. He's loved it, and so we've got it fifty eight minutes and thirty seconds. It's commercial free and it is just Doug telling his story. It's all about Doug plan and I'm super proud of it.
And tell everybody before we go any further when it's going to be on, how they can watch it.
Okay, it will be on wk white T on June the twenty eighth at one o'clock, and then the following day on the CW Lexington. It will also air at one o'clock, So back to back days, the first on WKYT and the second on the CW.
All right, and we will we will publicize the heck out of that in the oncoming week. Yeah, that's that's an awful lot to unpack, as you kids like to say, because Doug a three three sports star at Brian's station, and of course, and you know, and he's done the occasional interview when he talked about the tryout process and things like that, and you know what's crazy, and I know you guys get into this, but you know, he and I have had, as you said, just countless conversations
on and off the air. We did the minor league baseball games for a couple of summers ten years ago, gosh, ten years ago, so we traveled together. Uh, only three years in the minors, David, you know, and you're a baseball nut, you know that oftentimes it takes seven or eight years for somebody to make it from the miners to the majors. Doug went single, a double, a triple, a right place, right time, and that only makes it, but makes it with the greatest team of all time.
That's that alone is just an incredible chapter, isn't.
It It is It's it's amazing. And I love his story about, you know, going to Reds tryout camp and somebody's picked him up and he heads to his first tryout camp. He had to borrow a glove. Yes, he had arl shoes because he didn't even have them with him.
He was in a mix Somerset at the time. And so the process of making the Reds and then he makes the team and and and part of back to back World Series championships, and it's it's just it's just a remarkable feat of of you know, he told me, Dick that he never went to spring training with a job right every spring training that he went to, he never had a job secured, whether he was with the Reds, Mets,
you know, with with the Rangers, it didn't matter. He never had a job, and he ends up having an eleven year major league career.
Yeah yeah, and it could have been longer if not for the collusion by the owners. Uh yeah, and that's that's another part of it. And sadly the guy who cut him for the last time was Sparky Anderson, you know in Detroit. Did he tell you the story, David? And I know there's you leave so much in the cutting room floor. But when he went from double A to triple A? Why he was able to move up quickly there? When he went up to play third base? Yes he did, all right, let's not spoil that, but
it was it was some chicanery on Doug's part. Let's put it to you that way. So yeah, yeah, but you need to watch it. It's a great, great story, but it's a guy who was hungry to move up in baseball. Uh. And the other thing too, that I didn't realize until I went back and thought about it, was it wasn't just the tryat camp in Somerset. He needed to perform one or two more times, didn't he before the Reds finally gave him a contract.
He after the try out camp in Somerset, the Red scout at the time asked him, he said, are you even serious about this? And he said do you even own a baseball uniform? And Doug and yes. And so Doug gets invited to Frankfurt to a tryout camp. And then after about two weeks after the Frankfort camp, the Reds call him back and inviting the Cincinnati to Riverfront Stadium, and Doug was like, Oh, this is going to be
cool to go to Riverfront. And then after that he was you know, he didn't hear anything, and he's thinking, all right, at least I tried, and then all of a sudden he gets invited to spring training and it's just a remarkable story. And Dick, one of my favorite things that he talked about is when he went to spring training in seventy five. The way that he found out that he had made the team was not by anybody with the Reds organization but Steve Hamilton. Yes, the
form Morehead state athletic legend and athletic director. Steve was a coach with the Detroit Tigers at the time, and I think they were in Plant City and Steve comes up to Doug. Course, the two had known each other for years, and Steve was actually the one to tell him, Hey, I just talked to Sparky and he says, you're going to make the club. And Doug's mouth drops up and he says, Sparky didn't tell me that, and Steve said, well,
you're going to make the club. I think that is so cool that Steve Hamilton was the one that broke the news to Doug in private that he was going to be a Cincinnati Red and make the major league club on opening Day. It's amazing.
I love talking to Steve Hamilton. I had him on the first sports talk show I ever did way back in the eighties. Loved interviewing him over there in Morehead. I could have sat there and listened to stories all day. That's one of my favorite anecdotes from the Doug Flynn story. I just heard that part of it David earlier this year when Doug and I were just sitting around talking.
Because when opposing teams come to KPP and we go in and talk to the visiting broadcasters, and oftentimes the color analyst has played some Major League ball or some Pro ball, and they recognize Doug and buddy. When they start telling stories, I just melt into the wall and listened, and that's one of the ones that came up. We're
talking to David Patrick. He is a sports videographer, works for Morehead State Athletics, works on special projects, and did a freelance project that airs a week from tomorrow on WKYT and then a week from Sunday, once again, both times at one o'clock on Doug Flynn. What's the name of it? Have you named it?
Yes, it's entitled Faith, Family and Baseball. A conversation with Doug Flynn.
That's an excellent time. I am so bad. You might remember this from our days at KYT. I'm terrible at naming projects. I like putting them together on I am terrible at naming him. That's a good one. We'll come back and talk more with David after the after the break here on six thirty WLAP. Welcome back. We're talking with David Patrick from the Morehead State Athletics Department. He
is a videographer, producer, UH special projects editor and documentarian. Now, hey, little taste of a long form that I got at KYD. How'd you like it?
I know, I tell you Dick, it's a lot of work. And yes, sir Moss and I were talking, and of course from working with you all those years, I know you know, your project with Coach Rupp is an absolute masterpiece that you and Steve worked on. You work so hard and probably the greatest, uh the greatest documentary that
I've ever seen. It was just amazing. So you know, when I when I embarked on this, not only are are you and Doug really really close and you guys are great friends, but when when I decided to do this, I actually thought about you because I thought, you know, Dick has really set the bar on how to how to do these things. And this is my first, this is my first you know, long form and it's not really a documentary. It's just to sit down interview and
I just let Doug tell a story. But I tell you, Dick, I have a real appreciation for what you've done over all these years and all that the projects that you've worked on, because this was a ton of work now with the labor of love, and I'm so glad that I did it, but it was a ton of work.
It is and you know, with me and I can procrastinate a bit, and when I worked on documentaries, I would procrastinate a little bit because I knew and you can relate now. When you walk into that edit bay for the first time with all your material or most of your material, you know you're jumping in the deep end and you're going to swim like hell till you
till you crawl out with a finished project. But it's going to be something you're really proud of and that you can't wait to see and you want to hear what people have to say about it. So I'm really proud of you that you did this, And when I heard that you were doing it, I kind of kicked myself, like, man,
why didn't I think of that? But part of the reason, David, which brings me to my next question, is it Doug has has again shied away from certain parts of his life story, which sadly includes, you know, the terrible chapter on his sister's disappearance and what that did to his family and his folks, you know, and he had to deal with it while he was playing in New York of all places. But but he has come through it with his head held high, hasn't he?
He is that Doug is just a remarkable person. And Dick, you know, this such a high character guy, a man of integrity, and you know, always say, if you don't like Doug Flynn, the problems not with him, it's with you. And I truly believe that because he's He's absolutely one
of my favorite people. And you know, when I was at w W KYT and would go out to shoot video of the children's charity and and and any time I would run into Doug, he always treated me just just so well, and he was so kind and welcoming and Dick, I always had just such a respect for him, and I looked up to Doug because he's just a first class guy. And when you when you're dealing with people like that and you're around people like that, you want to do something good for him. You want to
do something nice for him. And again, I just felt like that God laid this on my heart. I don't I don't know why that I was the one, and you know that he picked to do this, but I don't know. I just have such a respect for Doug and a love for Doug, and he's just one of
the best people that I know in the world. And it was a true blessing and an honor for me to do this with him, because I got to see the joy on his face and the and the laughter and the smiles, and when he watched the first draft of it, he's like, David, I really I really like this. Thank you so And it meant the world to me just that I had done something for him, someone who has given so much to so many people. It was nice to give something to him.
We're talking to David Patrick from Morehead State University Athletics. He is a videographer, producer, editor and is working, has worked, and has prepared a one hour special on Doug Flynn that airs tomorrow a week on June twenty eighth, one o'clock on WKYT, the next Sunday, the twenty ninth, on the cwulection, and again at one o'clock. And yeah, it's a great topic and that subject matter of Doug giving back. You know, obviously you and I were both working on
the Children's Charity Tournament for many, many years. That was an absolute passion project for Doug. When we were traveling with the minor leagues, we spent a lot of time in airports, a lot of time downtime in hotels. He was always on his phone always, and I don't mean
scrolling through Twitter, which he didn't even do. It was either work for Central Bank, where he has a real job and it is a real job, or working on the Children's charity tournament, contacting people organizing things hotels, reservations and I and you and I probably did some interviews together, talking to some of the celebrities, you know, the former athletes and the musicians from Nashville and people like that.
And I would always ask, you know, well, what brings you to our tournament here in Lexingham, because there are tournaments everywhere, and David eighty five percent of them would say first singing in the mouth. Doug Flynn asked me, I mean without fail, which tells you so much. And he was very proud of that tournament. So that tells you a lot about him, doesn't it.
Yes, it does. And one of the you know, one of the really cool memories I have from that was on you know, was was headed into work and I was working by myself that Saturday at WKYT and I ran down the road to get some video and do a quick interview with Doug at Children's Charity, and he looked at me. He said, David, how much time he got? I said that, well, really not much, because when I was working by myself on a Saturday, I would get so stressed out because yeah, I felt like I was
on it. And it happened to all of it, you know, we all had to do it by yourself from time to time. And I was anchoring that night and.
I was a sports. Yeah that's back when you anchored sports, uh.
And I was it was during the summer. And he said how much time you got? And I said, really not much? And he said, well you have time to ride over to the other side of the course. And I said, Doug, I really don't. I said, I've you know, I've got a lot to do today. And he said, I promise it'll be worth your time. And I said, well, who's on the other side And he said, would you like to go meet Ozzie Smith? And I said, oh
my god, just said deak. And so we hoped in the golf cart and he takes me over and introduces me to the Wizard of Oz, you know, and and that was just such a pleasure. And we get back in the cart and Doug looked at it and he said, I told you it would be worth your time, and did an interview with Ozzy and shook his hand and and I don't know, it's just that, but the folks vic your right, the folks that came to town just because of their love and respect for Doug. I mean,
it was a who's whose list? As you said, that tells you all you need to know about the man Doug Flam because everybody loved him. Everybody appreciates who he is and what he stands for, and he's just he's a blessing to so many people.
You know. It's great about him too. And we jokingly called him the Glue because well he came up with that. I don't know if you've got a T shirt, but I've got a Doug Flynn the Glue T shirt. Yeah, okay, well yeah, because and that's the way he introduces himself. He sees all the Reds functions up there, you know,
the Hall of Fame stuff and everything. But it's joking, but it's, you know, tongue in cheek because when he was traded away, you know, in nineteen seventy seven, that's when the Reds were making foolish moves that broke up the Big Red Machine. It wasn't just because Doug was traded, because they got Tom sever out of it. But Doug always talks about ol the reds all knew what was what they knew the eight starters or that were the
great players. Sparky would put these same eight guys, I know, you can name the lineup for the Big Red Machine, and then everybody else I won't use the word but everybody else was the rest of the guys. But they knew their part and they were proud to be that. And I think that that kind of underscored the humility
that Doug ay. And then even he's a goal glove winner, and of course the Mets being knuckleheads back then, the first thing they did with their goal glove second baseman the next year was moving to shortstop so they could bring up a young kid from the miners for second base, and that guy was a washout and they were never quite the same. So, but he's always remained humble and yet extremely proud of his team, his teammates, the work they did. He takes the game so seriously, still takes
his broadcasting seriously, but doesn't take himself too seriously. Tom Leech is like that too. I think the great ones are what I mean.
Yes, absolutely, I think that's a great comparison because Tom is the same way. I mean, such a such a nice guy, a humble guy that doesn't let his ego get out of hand at all. I mean, he's just he is so kind and it just like Doug. And you know, Doug, you were talking about the Big Red Machine team in nineteen seventy six. Doug played a ninety
three games, yes, which is just crazy. Yes, And you know he told me during the interview about you know, Joe Morgan was hurt for a month and so he got to play second base for a month and turn double plays with Davy Concepcion and then Lad in games, Sparky would often put him in at third as a defensive replacement for Pete and just I mean, it's just it's just phenomenal that a what a five foot eight, one hundred and fifty pounds Brian station baseball player can
be a not only a part, but a very important part, a critical part of arguably the greatest team ever assemble. It's amazing.
Yeah, you're right, Marrow with David Patrick, who has produced a documentary on Doug Flynn is coming up a week from tomorrow on WKYT. Back in just a minute, A Big Blooon Sider six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blue and Sider. We're talking with David Patrick from Morehead State University Athletics. He is a video projects producer, but he has stepped outside to do a passion project, a freelance project. It's a one hour documentary on my
broadcast brother, Doug Flynn. It airs on WKYT a week from tomorrow at one o'clock on June twenty eighth, and then the next day Sunday on the c W Lexington at one o'clock again. And David, of course a huge UK fan, but a huge Reds fan. And you know what's amazing to me, the most amazing part of this was, and he always jokes about this on our broadcast whenever we talk about hitting. You know, I'd ask him something. I don't know why asking me because this, you know,
his career average was the greatest. But as I like to remind him, and he does too, any I think he had like what twelve home runs? I said, yeah, but you did it in the major leagues, but he made and you know this, he made the Reds going into that seventy five year because of his hitting. I mean, everybody knew that this kid from Lexingy could pick it. But he had an incredibly h He was the second best hitter in camp to Pete Rose that year. That's
why he made the team amazingly. And if you go back and look at his wiki page, which you may have already done, there are parts of his career when he was playing regularly, when his numbers were really really good. But as he's pointed out on more than one occasion, you know, there had the hitting coaches basically ignored guys like Doug Flynn. He got zero help with his hitting in Major League baseball.
Yeah, and he talked about in spring training, you know when he made the club that he got I think it was ninety at bat in spring training, and they kept on sending him to the plate, I guess, waiting on him to fail. And he tore the cover off the ball in spring training and it really gave him no choice but to, you know, but to take him,
take him to the Cincinnati. So it's I think he he never gets enough credit for his hitting and one of the highlights of my interview with him was his story about his first and only inside the park home run. And I'm sure you've heard the story. He hit it against the Reds on National TV and he's rounding third,
he's being waved home. The ball goes in the gap at left center and George Foster and says our jeron, look, you know, goes in between him, goes all the way to the wall and he's rounding third and he looks up and his good friend Johnny Bench is waiting on him at the plate and he's like, okay, do I do I try to run over him. No, I don't, and he ends up sliding in. There was not even a play at plate, and Johnny looks at him, looks
down at him on the ground. The crowd's going crazy, and Johnny says, what justly for Dougie, and doug looks at him and says, let's get on national TV. John so uh that it's I mean the fact that he said, I think I think my former teammates in the Reds dug Aut were as excited to sit and see me hit that inside the park home run, and of course hit three triples in a game it is. I mean, the heck does that?
Yeah? I think one other person's done it in a major league game. Yeah. I remind him of that every once in a while. So he said he was so exhausted by that third one he could even think straight. So well, David, I'm proud of you for doing this. I'm happy you got a chance to spend somebody with uh. Your your beloved Cincinnati red You're such a Reds fan. But I can't wait to see the finished project. Congratulations on getting.
It done well, Dick. And I want to say this, I had the absolute honor of working for you. You you were the sports director at w k YT when when I went after the sports department, and I was I was so green, and I was such a such
a rookie and made so many mistakes. And I've told this story numerous times that you were always you were tough on me, and when I look back at the time, it wasn't fun because I remember you and I would set in a chair there in the middle office and I would be going over scripts or talking to you about stories, and you would constantly correct me. And I looked at you one day and I said, Dick, why
are you always doing that to me? And you said, because I want to make you better, Because if you're going to work up here upstairs with us, I want you to be the best that you can be. And you were always tough on me, But Dick, it made me so much better. And to this day here at Moorhead State, I work around some amazing people and the lessons that I learned from you, and I'm I'm this is one hundred percent heartfelt, and I mean this with
all my heart. But the lessons that I learned from you and Rob and Steve and the guys that I work with, you guys were seasoned veterans. They were priceless because at the time I felt, you know, I was, I was intimidated to work with you guys because you guys have been doing this for so long. But because you were tough and because you you you, you were
willing to correct me and make me better. As you know, my career is almost thirty years now, and you know in in TV or you know in media, and that the reason that I'm where I am today is because of you and Rob and Steve and guys that I worked with. Because you you push me, and you refuse to let me, uh, to to settle for mediocrity. You made sure that I was to be the best that I could possibly be. And I really appreciate that. And I have so much admiration and respect for you, Dick.
You're just man. You're you're you're you're a pro, and you're one of a kind. And thank you for mentoring me all those years.
Oh thanks, David's humbling and I appreciate that. And uh, we did have a lot of fun though, didn't.
We We did. We had a we had a blat. It was. It was such a it was such a blessing to come to work every day because it was just you knew you were going to get to do something special and be around special people. So it was great. But thank you, thank you again, great David.
Those are kind words. I appreciate it, and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. Man, have a good one. I appreciate it.
Thanks Dick, appreciate your time.
I'm so happy David got to do this project. And as I said earlier, after I heard he was doing this, I thought, Man, why didn't I ever think of that? But David is the perfect guy, and I did grow up a Reds fan. Yes, I'm a Cardinals fan, but I loved Pete Rose and when I wasn't rooting for the Cardinals, I rooted for the Reds and was so great first of all getting to know Doug Flynn, and then he and I worked on baseball games together. We think at least thirty years. I can't even remember the
first time I worked together with him. It was back when w KYT was producing the local base broadcast and now of course for SEC plus. But we've gotten to be such good friends, travel together all that stuff, and people talk to us about in our chemistry on the air and how much fun we have, and we just
try to make it fun for the people. But I never really thought about and I have done interviews with Doug, but a documentary on Doug Flinn, And as some of you may know, I've done a lot of documentaries in my day. So I can't wait to see the show that David has put together, and again a week from tomorrow, and then again a week from Sunday on the CW, And of course it's on KYT on Saturday and the
CW on Sunday. It's going to be essentially one hour commercial free, which I surely appreciate Kyt giving up a block of time like that. And it does take me back to the Rugh documentary that I did in twenty five, when what you do is you put everything in it and then you start trimming it. You start cutting things way. And I went to the sales manager and I said, how many minutes can I have? How many minutes do
you need for commercials? I was at a little more than one hundred and twenty minutes two hours, and I remember he said, don't cut anything, hang on a minute, hang on, you just wait. I'm like all right. And then they sold it to a title sponsor, which meant commercial basically at the beginning, a commercial at the end. And it was basically sponsored by friends and family of the Rough family. Friends of the Rough family and family members.
They kind of passed the hat. You know, there weren't any big corporations that would even sign on because it was too delicate. You know, there was going to be the topic of racism and things like that, and race relations had made people nervous. So the Rough family basically passed the hat. And again I will say this University Kentucky had nothing to do with this documentary. It was published in a story in the local paper. The UK paid us to do that, and then I solicited funds.
That was a lie. No, the Rough family passed the hat, and that's why the Rough documentary was commercial free, two hours long. And I was happy that David got that kind of time, and I was proud the KYT allowed him to do that kind of project. So I can't wait to see it, and I'm happy for him, and I'm happy that Doug likes it, and I was pleased at the Rough family like my show as well. But again,
I've heard so many stories from Doug. Now I get to hear some new ones and I get to see them all kind of melded together in one piece thanks to David Patrick. So congrats to David. Why we're talking baseball, and I'll get into this a little bit more on heroes, fools and flakes. But you know, if you saw the end of that Arkansas l issue game, your heart just goes out to the young man who made the air
and left field that allowed two runs to score. But you know, and this doesn't help Arkansas fans at all, and I don't think it'll help the young man at all. But it bears mentioning that the game should have ended on a ground ball to the shortstop who was the sec player of the year, and he throws ahead of the runner man on first and second and he gets
the leader runner a third. Okay, that's fine, but it was a routine ground ball, and every replay indicated they should have gone for two and likely would have made it. And there was somebody on the innerweb who went back, he said, and looked at every ground ball that year to that guy, and it was a play he could have and should have made. So what that means is that never should have come down, and that's often the case.
To that twisting line drive in left field that allowed two runs to score, and of course the tough break with the ball hit up the middle that had had gone cleanly into center field, the runner might not have scored, or he might have been thrown out at the plate, but the defender nearly caught the ball, ticked it with his glove that slowed things down and allowed the run
to score. But unfortunately, the highest profile play was the error in left field, and your heartbreaks for Arkansas, for that kid, for Dave van Horn, who had a national championship the head coach in his grasp two or three years ago when one of his players dropped the pop fly and blew the championship game. After the game, Dave van Horn talked about the interaction he had with his heartbroken left.
Fielder and he's he's pretty distraught, but.
I just told him straight.
I mean, I started telling him that how much I appreciated him and we would never have made it here without him. And he said that he was sorry, and I said, don't tell me you're sorry. That you don't have to tell me you're sorry, and.
He said it again, and I mean, it's tough, and that kid didn't have to be sorry for anything.
He was our glue man. He held it together. That was posted as part of a long tweet from a former Arkansas player. He was a pitcher named Ryan Vanessio. I think that's how you pronounce his name. I guess he was a two way player because he talked about a game against Baylor in twenty oh two when Van Horn flashed him a hit and run sign and he
missed it. And of course, when you missed the hit and run and the runner breaks, he's hung out to dry and the guy was thrown out by a mile and Van Horn, he said, glared at him in the dugout and said, I suggest you find someone to review the signs for you, or you won't be on the field much longer. And he said, I'm sorry, And Van Horden said, he went straight to me and said, basically, don't ever apologize. I think you did it on purpose.
You play the game with everything you got, and when you mess up, you learn, you grow and you come back better. And you know, you can talk about coaches who scream and yell and throw their arms in the air and run up and down the sidelines and bark at umpires. You know, that's great coach, you know, not always, not necessarily, sometimes it is, but no, that's coaching when you say things like that to your players. And I don't know Dave Van Horne. I've met him, I've talked
to him. I liked him. He was kind to me, he was polite. I don't know him, quote unquote, but I know what I've heard, I know what i've read, and I know what I've seen in him, and that's classy. And this guy went on to say, you want a coach who's consistent. You may not like what he has to say, but it's consistent. That is the mark, in my opinion, of a great coach. That's one of the
things I really liked about Rich Brooks. Heroes, Fools and Flakes are next on six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider time now for Heroes, fools and Flakes and our hero Tonight we have to go back to that difficulty la Hugh Arkansas game on Wednesday night when the Razorbacks blew a three run lead in the bottom of the ninth and it wasn't the last play of the game, but it was crucial when an LSU player line went into left field and Charles Davilon, the
Arkansas left fielder, got caught in the middle. It was right at him, a hooking line drive. He kind of lost his balance or stumbled or something and couldn't make the play. Two runs scored that tied the game. Next man up knocks in the game when he won, and after the game, cameras caught Davlon, of course, sobbing on the bench in the dugout, being consoled by his teammates, and according to one report, he recorded one hundred and one putouts this year. That was his only eer of
the year. But what brings me to the heroic part is that, yeah, you know, they had to stay in the dugout for a while and it was so tough on this kid. But his teammates one by one came up, tried to console him. But a teammate named Rocco Peppi would not leave his side through it all. There's a lot of video of Peppy just sitting next to him, were just sitting there with his arm around his neck. Would not leave his teammate in his time of trouble,
in his time of need. That's a real teammate and in fact, as a man who posted on Twitter, Josh Burrion wrote, that's not a teammate, that's a brother. Our full tonight is any of those NBA analysts, commentators whoever who believe the tyres Halliburton should have sat out Game five with the injured leg. He tried to play through it. Of course, the Thunder thump the Pacers, only to come back and see the Pacers last night beat the Thunder
and forced a Game seven. And now Aliburton wasn't one hundred percent last night but he was a vital part of that blowout win last night. And I'm telling you, I think if Halliburton sits out game five, I don't know if that happens last night, you can't criticize the team's best player. Were trying to play and trying to be a great teammate as best he can. And it reminded me of the Marquette Kentucky game back in twenty oh three in the regional championship. Cats were one step
away from a return trip to the Final four. With Tebe Smith, that was his best team, but Keith Bogans two nights prior had suffered a high ankle sprain and tried to go against Dwayne Wade and Marquette and it didn't work. He played on one leg, he couldn't play defense very well, and Marquette got to win the triple double for Dwayne Wade, and in the Final four, Marquette was blown out, but at a great night that night. Warriors want to play. And that's what I asked Tubbe
Smith about sometime later. How often do you think about that decision you had to make? Do you play Bogans or not? He said, every night, every day. I think about it, he said, But how do you not play him? He's our warrior and that's what Halliburton is, and that's what he was last night and he will be again in Game seven. Our flake. Tonight. We're going to Dallas, Texas. Talk about not the Cowboys, but the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. I am not a Cowboys fan. I did live in Dallas.
I went to Cowboy games. Yes they're gorgeous women, Yes they perform well, they're not cheerleaders, they're dancers. When I was down there, they were paid less than one hundred dollars a game, and they trained in terms of time, spent more than the team did. Now they were to make money on the side on calendars and appearances and
things like that, but the team paid them peanuts. They had since been paid more and more, and in fact, in twenty nineteen they settled a lawsuit with a former cheerleader that led to the squad doubling the per game pay from two hundred bucks to four hundred bucks. And evidently the latest rais is four times that. But it's just weird that it has taken this long and multiple trips to court to make a four hundred percent increase happen.
It should have been happening in small increments through the years, not boom all at once, four hundred percent. Not all as well in Jerry world, and not just because they haven't been to the super Bowl since well I don't know who was president last time they were. That's going to do it for now. Thanks so much to my guest David Patrick nickmnjeon that said good night in the garage and Lexington, Aron, where are you? Where is a Ron right now?
No?
Aaron?
Huh?
Well you better be sick, dead or mute? Aron here?
Oh man?
Why didn't you ask me the first time?
I said Aaron?
Huh?
I'm you know, I'm just asking you.
I said it like four times. So why didn't you say it the first time? I said Aron?
Because it's pronounced Aaron.
You don't messed up. I wont take anything.
Then.
The tact.
To last innings