It's stick Gabriel taking a little bit of time off, so we thought we would replace some of the best interviews from over the last several months. Please enjoy the best of the Big Blue Insider. Joining us down the Celebrity hotline is assistant coach Cody Fieger, Mark Pope's staff. Uh, and I got to warn you, folks, he is I was conson native. He is a Packers fan, as am I. And we will talk Packers football before this interview is over.
But Coach, let's let's start with the Wildcats. Just tell me what was your first year like for you when you came to Kentucky. You knew the brand, you knew the history, but you didn't really know it til you lived it, did you.
No? No, you know, it was kind of like a you know, Coach Pope called and you know, asked if I was interested and wanted to come, and he has like a dream, you know, and you know, it's like everything I kind of thought of at this level, just the people that care and how much they love it and the passion for it. The only thing that I experienced it like this is growing up as a Packers fan, you know, so that that's kind of very similar how it is growing up in Wisconsin, where all it is
Green Bay Packers all day long. That's the only thing you care about. And that's what Kentucky basketball is is to this state and to most people in the country.
You worked with Mark Pope at Utah Valley, then it'd be y you when he called you. Was there any hesitation or was it?
Did he?
Did he finish his sentence before you said? Yes?
Absolutely not. I mean I was, I was all in. I was so excited and you know, like I said, it's it's it's everything. You want to be a part of this place, he joked, go ahead, Yeah, it's it's grateful for this opportunity and great people here to work with. And you know, I've been lucky to work you know, alongside him for for you know, twelve years now.
When he was introduced, he sort of joked about how quickly his daughters said yes, because a move like that was especially with teenagers, you know, they're gonna have to leave their friends and all that stuff. Uh, but they grew up Kentucky fans because of him, but they had never been here.
Uh.
What was was was was there a Kentucky presence at all. When it came to Mark Pope working at Utah Valley, working at Brigham Young. I mean, I'm sure there were some framed photos or something, but how much did you know about Kentucky and him?
Yeah, so, uh, you know, growing up, I would go to the YMCA, and I had a good friend and we would He was actually a big Kentucky fan, so you know, we would we would play at the YMCA and we'd end up pressing. Would be the only you know, fifth, sixth, seventh graders pressing at the WYMCA, just normal pickup ball, and we'd be like, so Kentucky d fence time and just like what coach Tino did it, you know, Kentucky
a long time ago. So like I knew Travis Ford, Jamal Mashburn, like all those guys were guys that I watched and I grew up, you know, really enjoying. And then you know, I grew up in Milwaukee. I'm a huge Bucks fan and and Coach Pope was on you know, some of the best Bucks teams ever. So he'd be starting in the Eastern Conference finals, and you know, I was just kind of grew up like watching Coach Pope and and you know, it's it's it's kind of crazy how it all all ended up. But yeah, he talked
about coach Patino. He talked about how special Kentucky was and the people there, and you know, when we're at Utah Valley, we played at Kentucky UH for a by game, and you know, you know, one guy gave him a sword when we were out here. We're like, well, he's the real deal. Out of here, man, this place is awesome.
We're talking to Cody Figure, assistant coach under Mark Pope at University of Kentucky. And again, you grow up, as you said, a Packers fan in Wisconsin, but you're a basketball guy. How did that happen?
Yeah?
Yeah, So I just I honestly, I loved playing football growing up, but I just I spent so much time just loving basketball. I would go to YMTA every single day when I was younger. I get to play basketball, you know, after school. My parents just dropped me off there and I hang out and play basketball for a couple of hours, and I just kept on getting better and I just enjoyed it, you know, and love watching
the NBA. At any time you could you could play, I mean obviously I had to shovel my you know, driveway a ton of times in Wisconsin just to play. But I always really enjoyed it, and you know, I love to talk basketball and watch it, and you know, I grew up around you know, Rick and Jerris, going to his camps, and you know, he was he was so great to me when I was younger. He taught me a ton of the game, and yeah, it was just there's just so many great things that made me enjoy basketball.
How did you end up at the University of Utah and not at Marquette or Wisconsin or somewhere up there.
Yeah, so Rick majeris, you know, former coach at Utah. He's from Milwaukee. Originally he would do camps in Wisconsin. So I went to those camps. My parents signed me up and I was I went there when I was eight, nine, ten, eleven every year for and Coach Majaris would always remember me every year. But like because I was, you know, the hardest worker at camp. I'd dive on loose balls and you know, take charges in camp, do all those sorts of things, and he kind of remembered me every year.
And then you know, when when I turned fifteen, I'd go in the morning session or sorry, when I was fifteen, there was you know, the younger grade and then the other group in the afternoon, and he asked me to coach the younger grade, the younger group. So I was fifteen years old and I was coaching you know, eight, nine, ten, eleven, okay, twelve year olds, and then i'd be a camper in the second session, and you know, we just kind of
formed a great relationship. He asked me to walk on at Utah, but I'm too cheap, and I knew I wanted to coach because I really enjoyed those camps. And you know, then he said, all right, come work for me and I'll give you scholarship. And that's kind of how I wound up there.
And began as a video coordinator as a student and folks, you need to know this.
Yeah go ahead, Oh sorry, Yeah, so I was. I was a student manager. I was with him twenty four steven every single day, gotcha for a couple of years and yeah, around them all day long. But I did every single type of job.
Starting as a video coordinator, among other things. People need to understand. I'm sure you know this. Frank Vogel, who coached the LA Lakers to an NBA championship, began as a video coordinator, or at least that was early in his career at the University of Kentucky. So you know, video coordinators going to great things. People need to know this. And yeah, and Cody Figures now an assistant at Kentucky
and is on our celebrity hotline talking basketball. And again another warning, we're going to talk Packers football a little bit later. But with this first year under your belt, tell me what it's like now on a recruiting trail working with coach Polk to put together the portal class. I don't want to use the word easier, but is it smoother now with the better lay of the land?
Yeah, I would, I would say, I mean this college basketball is changing every thirty seconds here to tell you the truth. But it is definitely a better feel of what we're looking for in the twenty five class, twenty six, twenty seventh class compared to last summer, when you know, I had to bringing a whole new roster in a month, and uh, you know, it's it's ever changing navigating waters
right now. So because they have as fluid as possible, but it's definitely, you know, definitely able to see everything. The hardest part, honestly was we were still playing and then we were you know, the two biggest parts of our jobs were at the same time, and it was recruiting and we're still playing. That part was was complicated, and we missed out on a couple of guys because we're more worried about our team, Like these kids are like I want to come on visits this and that.
We're like, we can't do that, Like we've we've got to do everything we can with these teams and and uh yeah, but that's that's that's kind of how it went. But we're really grateful with the team and the roster we have, and yeah, it's uh it. We had a better feel for this year.
For sure.
It was a tough season. In some ways it was rewarding and others. You had a nice NCAA tournament run, not as deep as you like, of course, but won some big games and Jackson Robinson goes down hurt that that was a huge wrench in your plans, I know. But then you had other guys begin to blossom like Otega Away and and Amari Williams. You know the thing, you knew he could play defense, but the things he
did with your all's offense. I mean, what was it like watching this team develop and kind of grow and blossom.
It was it was it was you know, you like you saw Mariy Williams have a triple double. Yeah, like you said, you just saw guys just developed, developed, develop all year long. And you know, Brandon Garrison, Colin Chandler, Trenton No. I mean, we can go down the line with every single one of these guys get better. Like you said, Otega Away, who just you know, we knew
was going to be a great player. We recruit him at BUYU and then you know, it's a great, great transition here to Kentucky and we knew he was going to be really good and talented, and he just stepped up to the play eight and he was a second team All League and you know, if you got a chance come back, he's got a chance to be, you know, SEC Player of the Year.
Or Chatting with Cody Fieger, Kentucky assistant basketball coach, we'll talk more UK basketball on the other side of the break here on six point thirty, Wlap It's Dick Gabriel, Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. Well, you're chatting with Cody Fieger, assistant coach under Mark Pope and a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native and Green Bay Packers fan, and he is a guy who has been out on the recruiting trail helping put together the transfer portal class.
How pleased are you? It's kind of an obvious question with the group you come in he got coming in for next season. You carry over some some really nice players you're waiting to hear from. Will take a away, but strong freshman class, some talented kids coming through the portal. You got to be really excited.
Yeah, I'm really excited. And you know, we talk to these kids every day, every other day right now, and they're really excited to represent Kentucky. And that's that's the part that's really exciting that they want to come here and just be a part of this program and you know, our goals within the National Championship. But yeah, we're really excited about these kids. They're hard workers, they want to get to the league and they want to win a
championship here. So really fun group of kids. We had them all come on a visit kind of together at least four of them, and spend a lot of time with their friends, their family and and yeah, it's a great group of kids.
We mentioned earlier how long you've been with Mark Pope, and he has a really interesting style of offense. And I know it took a little while for the guys this past season to adjust. Do you think this group will better suit not that your last group didn't, but will better suit the way you guys play offense and defense.
I think we're gonna you know, every year offensively and defensively. You know, we've kind of changed things, like we keep it pretty fluid offensively and defensively and what we're doing and what we're looking for just depending on personnel. And we'll do the same thing this year. Like we'll be in practices and we'll see you guys do certain things. We're like, oh, we got to add that, we got to add this, we got to take this way. This
could be better. So every year we've kind of been pretty fluid, and this team will this team will you know, they're athletic, good pastors, good decision makers, so well, we'll do a lot of things similar to last year. I'm sure, but like I said, we'll keep it fluid and make sure it fits exactly what we're looking for. Like I said,
we didn't know. We didn't know Mariy Williams was going to be triple doubles and different things that he could do, and just got to, you know, do our jobs and put him in the best position possible at the end of the day.
Coach you on more than one occasion the decision making, you know. But that's true really in any sport, isn't it If you don't have to think about it, If you just inherently know, then you're two steps ahead of your opponent, aren't you?
For sure?
For sure? And you know, we spend a ton of time with our guys, We sent them a ton of film, and they want to be great decision makers. They want to be efficient. We think we're pretty good teachers with that also, So it's you know, it's very important for us, is decision making.
We don't want to call a ton of plays.
We want to we want to let these guys read and make decisions out there. And because that's the best offense, that that's the best players making decisions and making plays for each other.
Talking to Cody Fieger, assistant coach at the University of Kentucky. He is a Milwaukee native. Fair warning now begins the Green Bay Packer portion of our conversation. But you mentioned earlier just growing up in Wisconsin and Milwaukee and everything is all Packers all the time, just as it's for the most part in most of the state of Kentucky uk LT. I grew up in Louisville back back in the day when they didn't play each other, believe it or not, so you could actually root for both teams.
But it's a pretty even split in Jefferson County. But but tell me what it's like on Packers Sundays in Milwaukee. In Wisconsin, I mean, and I lived in Dallas for two years. It's got to be like when the Cowboys are playing, everything shuts down. It's got to be that way in Wisconsin, true.
Oh for sure. So you know, like I said, when I was born, my parents put me on the season ticket list. Of course, so I'm that was the first thing that happened.
Where are you now?
And I was.
I was eighty thousand away when I was born, and now I'm not Now I'm at forty two thousand, I want to say, so, you know, hopefully my great great grandkids could get season tickets. My dad's got season tickets though, so excellent, you know, so I have a chance there. But yeah, so that was the first thing that was done when I was born. And then my parents also bought me a stock in the.
Packers, just like me.
Okay, yeah, come on, there's not many owners walking around the city of Lexington. Say I want a football team.
We are NFL owners, You are correct, So we are NFL. That's right. We're important. By the way, I also own a share, a micro share of a horse that won the Kentucky Derby, So I'm not just an NFL owner, but a Kentucky Derby owner. So winner.
Oh my gosh, graduating a.
Pretty important guy coach sitting in here in my in my garage, recording this conversation. Uh, favorite player, favorite Packers player or players? Growing up?
I mean, Brett Farb was my hero, right And you know, there's this new documentary that just came out yesterday and I'm about fifteen minutes into it and I don't know if I want to finish it because talking about his good stuff right now, right, But I love him, you know, Robert Brookes, you know, you know Sterling Sharp, you know.
Defense, Reggie White, there you girls.
Yeah, Clay Matthews. I mean, there's so many, so many greats that you know that I enjoyed for years.
I have a Clay Matthews Jersey believe it or not.
Yeah, oh yeah.
No, he was, you know, and and Reggie. You know, I've been to Green Bay once and I remember I flew in with my buddies. We're all Packer fans, and we flew directly into Green Bay. We didn't fly and then drive, and I purposely looked out the window and thought about Reggie White, because, as you know, when Reggie White signed, people followed because he couldn't signed anywhere, but he signs with a little bitty Green Bay, And I thought, what must it be have been like for Reggie White?
But then he was a boy from Tennessee, so it wasn't that big a deal, you know. So but I'm thinking when he flew into Green Bay and was looking around, and as you know, when you find a Green Bay man, it's farmland surrounding this tiny little city. But excellence followed, and the Super Bowl followed as well a few minutes left of Cody figure. We are talking about our beloved Green Bay Packers. By the way, my favorite player I got some years on you, Mine was Bart Starr And
so my dog's name is bark Starr. She's laying right here. But it's just it's such a generational thing, just like Kentucky basketball, isn't it. I mean, you talk to any Kentucky fan, whatever the age, and from their generation, they've got favorites. And now you've got kids who wanted to be John Wall and it wasn't that long ago John Wall was at Kentucky. But it doesn't make it's got to make you feel like it's all one and the same. Am I right?
Oh for sure?
Yeah, I mean I got you know, Trent Now showed me a picture of him with John Walla. I'm like, wow, it looks like six seven years old. I'm like, this is this is insane? You know, it's crazy.
It's crazy.
Uh, next time, Well, if you do go up to Packer game. My dad's got season tickets, like I said, and the tailgates. He's missed like four home games in like forty years or something like that. So wow, you got to you gotta go up there and uh and start tailgating with him at seven am if the games at noon, and then you know, the games at three. He starts tailgating five hours before, so of course right across the street from Lambeau. It's it's a it's a great.
Setup, you know, tailgating and the NFL is a real art. I mean it's pretty good at Kentucky and the SEC, but it's it's nothing like the NFL, I don't think, and I think the Packer tailgate and you know what, you may have seen this. I've seen the Packers once in Green Bay, but I've seen him in Nashville, Cincinnati, Dallas, a couple other cities, and Packer fans, as you know, are everywhere. We're everywhere. And and so it's the tailgating, isn't it yep?
Yep? Yeah, oh for sure. Yeah.
Like I went to UH. I took my son to his first Packer game a couple of years ago into Edinburgh and good retailgated and had a great time and you know it was perfect Patch and some other friends out there. So yeah, well it's so similar to Kentucky basketball man, it's so similar.
Yeah, Well, speaking of sons and Brett Farv. My son's team is the Denver Broncos because when we played them in the Super Bowl, I spent that week on the radio ragging about how we were gonna win. I was very obnoxious. So my son, being being a contrarian, he decided he was going to root for whoever the Packers were playing. It happened to be the Broncos, and of course they beat us, so I have to and I've
actually purchased Broncos gear for him for Christmas. I hate to admit, but you know, you got you gotta be an honorable know.
Yeah you're good, dad, Yeah you're good.
But when my first granddaughter was born, you know, she got a Green Bay Packers doll and that did not sit well with with her parents. So anyway, it's you can. I got to be the subjective journalist, but when it comes to the Packers, that can be a real jerk. It's a lot of fun, That's what I say about owning stock. Yeah, it gives you license to be obnoxious, which is so great, so great. Uh does your dad still live in Milwaukee or where does he live?
Yeah, my my parents still live in in Milwaukee, and you know they're Uh, you know, my brother lives up there and they still go to Packer games. And then you know, I'm hoping going to get up to Lambeau this year. Just gotta check kick at our schedule. But yeah, they're still living up there and they you know, when the Packers lose, I try to give my dad.
A couple of days.
The smart does.
That's the way it's always been.
Smart smart. And by the way, I was overjoyed when Randall Cobb ended up with the Green Bay Packers. It was so great. And of course, yeah, the the year prior, our punter for the Packers who won a Super Bowl, Tim Mastay was a Kentucky guy.
Oh I didn't know that.
Yeah, yeah, And I think he team maybe living back here in Lexingon. So I find out, I'll send him your way. We're listening to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. My business partner and I Tim francis basically the exec producer of The Big Blue Insider and a guy who was quite active with the group that stages the Mark Stoops event in the summertime Coaches for
Kids event. We took a trip over to Churchill Downs to watch Torpedo Anna and Mystic Dan training and also to get the trainer, Kenny McPeek, who signed some items for the Silent Auction, And it was obviously a terrible day to do that. We knew that rain was in the forecast, just not this kind of rain. We drove through them monsoon, which, well, it was still there when we got to Churchill. And I spent a lot of early mornings at Churchill Downs covering the Kentucky Derby and
Breeders Cup and things like that. Never have I encountered rain like this. And then when Kenny McPeak showed up, it is born. We actually get those barn a few minutes before he did. Well, he showed up and of course he is driven back and forth between Lexington and Louisville for decades. Literally, he says, I've never seen rain like this coming to the racetrack. And I told my partner, I said, I bet they don't send these horses out. Well they did. They sent them out to gallop. We
watched Anna gallop. They didn't gallop Dan until later on in the morning. But in the driving pouring rain, a lot of trainers had our horses out and Thorpina Anna was one of them, and of course she's a pro. She's a pros pro. Robbie Alberato, who works now for Kenny McPeak three, he's retired as a jockey. He galloped and this morning we're gonna hear from Robbie coming up a little bit later on. But I had a chance
to chat with Kenny after the champion Philly galloped. And remember now, Thorpeda Anda won the Kentucky Oaks last year for Kenny McPeak and the next day Mystic Dan won the Kentucky Derby. Such a rarity for a trainer to win the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday. But Kenny McPeak, a UK product, a Tates Creek High School alum, did that and we had a chance to chat about it. I talked to him a couple of days after the race. He was on the show the
Monday after Kentucky Derby. Well we caught up this morning between the rain drops. How bad was that rain this morning?
Yes, all the years, all the years that I've been training at Churchill, I've never seen rain like that coming in.
Or while I was there, so it's pretty it's.
Sunny in the background there. But yeah, it kind of puts a gamer on our day.
But it's okay.
See, how does it affect.
Your work, Well, everywhere you get frozen race tracks, you get sloppy race tracks, you get different different setups. But and sometimes it's too hot too. You try to get done early. So it's a typical. We have to just what.
Has life been like for you. I mean, you haven't been a low profile but since you won the Oaks and Derby back to back.
Well, I've signed a lot of things I've got I think the memborabilia people have actually learned how to forge my signature, which is interesting. But but that's you know, that's an honor to do all that, and you know a lot of people want to have selfies and things like that.
So yeah, it's been kind of unique.
It's a long way from you know, Tates Creek High School or growing up in Lexington.
I hear you on with Tony Kornheiser and you're lobbying, lobbying to do the Five Good Minutes on PTI. But just the fact that you've got a little more notoriety now, which is great for the sport, isn't it. And I know you're not looking to promote yourself as much as you are the sport.
Well, you know me a long time when I had that good Horse to Hana Run years ago, my mother would say, speaking full sentences, make sure you take your sunglasses off, and you do interviews.
All that.
She always critiqued all that. So I've learned to be relatively well spoken. So they then you all tend to gravitate to me, which is fine. I don't know if that's well, it's obviously it's always good. But I think this sport needs more openness, more information out there, and the more people understand it, I think the more they can appreciate what we do.
Yeah, it's interesting because you know, kind of growing up professionally covering races, ran into so many trains. You just didn't trust the media, which I can I can get if they're not used to that. But I mean, you guys, you're independent contractors and you're promoting.
The game right well, I think anytime, like for example, you're you're you're helping talk about the sport right now, and and and anytime people can learn about it.
I think it's just better. I mean, I've always.
Been open and you and I've known each other a long time and I'm not going to change that. Whether I won the Derby or the Oaks or not, this conversation wouldn't be any different. But it's it's real, you know, an honor for somebody to seek out your opinion or certainly care about what you're up to. And and I think horse racing really does need to be much more open, and I wish more guys did.
That helps to have a superstar like Anna, doesn't it. She was galloping today in the weather and Robbie the first thing he said when he got off is she's the smartest horse he's ever been on. That's got to be a huge plus. As a trainer, I would.
Think, Well, I've said to my whole time, it's for a long time, Sonny, get over here, come here. I've said to my team for a long time. You know, we were always one good horse away from from uh really getting the lights shine shining on us a little bit more. And and it really is all about stock. I mean, I've got some great clientele, and you know, we worked those sales really hard. And if you could come up with a horse like Mystic Dan or Anna.
And actually, you know, Mystic Dan's probably my proudest moment. I don't know if you know all the backstory on that, and I don't know people out there do. But so I bought his mother. Actually the ownership wasn't going to keep her as a mayor, and I convinced him to and then I did the mating and then we fold her at Magdalena and Lexington. Wow, and he's subsequently born. We raised him, Yeah, we raised him at Magdalena, we broke him to saddle. We obviously raced him and win
the Derby. And then I mean all that that most people are happy to have their fingerprints on just one stage. We had her fingerprints on every stage. That's probably my proudest moment is as a horseman. I mean there are.
People that are very proud to fold.
A mayor or, made it a mayor and raised a Derby winner. And I mean, look, I probably should have quit on Sunday after that weekend.
Anyway, it's all good.
How's he doing.
He's doing great, He's in tomorrow and he's a horse that I think we made some mistakes with him coming out of his Derby win, we maybe shouldn't run in the Belmont in hindsight, His two races late in the year, late three year old, early four were in hindsight, I wish I could kind of have a do over there.
But then we backed up and.
We regrouped, and his last race was superb and so we'd like to think we're getting back in the winter circle tomorrow.
We won't have a triple crown winner this year, obviously, And I know you've been interviewed about Bill Mott's decision, and it's hard to second guess a Bill Mott. I know where are you on the calendar and in tradition and should things change in thoroughbred racing?
Well, I think this should change it, and I think it should be the first Saturday in May, the first Saturday in June, the first Saturday in July.
You know, there will be people who would argue with that, but every sport.
Changes, you know, I can remember, you know, the NBA Finals are over much earlier than June.
You know.
Now now March Madness goes into April. NFL you know they've gone from I don't how many games fourteen games now they play eighteen. You know, so those things do change, and I don't think it's a big deal, but I think pattern wise, for trainers to come back in two weeks three weeks, it's not the best thing for the horse. In hindsight, I wouldn't have run Mystic Dan in the Preakness. I would have skipped it and maybe just gone straight
to the Belmont. That's would have been similar to Bill, and I respect Bill for his decision.
Why did you run? I mean you did? Do you feel like that was part of the racing lore?
Well, he was doing good and he ran well, he ran second, he didn't he didn't embarrass us at all. But after that race, you know, look he was over the top, and of course we didn't know that untill he ran really flat in the Beaumont. But it's not the first time that's happened to any horse. I guess
that makes the Triple Crown that much more difficult. But you know, look, in this day and age, I think I think it'd be better for the horse, and we're all worried about the health and welfare of the horses and to adjust that, but you've got to get into He's like like Pimlico to agree and Belmont to agree, and how does that happen? And that's somebody with a higher pace scale than me.
Well, I'll let you go with this. People may or may not know you're a huge UK fan. Keeping an eye on Mark Pope's stable. I mean, he's got some some pretty nice stock over there.
Yes, So so Pat Kelsey comes around. We've got a horse named after coach, Yeah, Louisville coach. And my wife's a u of L graduate, and so that's a little bone of contention around our family at home. But I threw L's down with Kelsey here derby week and Pope called me the next day and actually reached out to somebody get me his phone number.
So he reached out to me.
So I've gotten to know each other a little bit, actually facetiming over another deal about a week ago, and we were chatting and Gino's formal affairs got some suits, some formal suits for the basketball team over there, and I reached out to Mark and let him know that. But yeah, I'm gonna My goal is and how you know this, this is to do the widet mid court gotta happen. I wanted to do it this year's U of L game. I gotta wait next year. I suppose
Pope says I need to win another Derby. Man, be all right, I'm here working right now, right.
Thanks, Kenny, You're welcome. Kenny's a great trainer. He's got more than two thousand career wins. He's won virtually every stakes race you can win in America, breeders Cup races, He's won the Belmont, He's won the Preakness and the Kentucky Derby, and has his own racing app called horse Racing Now. And through that app you can listen to his podcast. And on that podcast, he picked this year's Kentucky Derby winner and he believes that horse will win
the Bellmont. He's picking Sovereignty. He's picking Sovereignty to win the third leg of racing's Triple Crown. There'll be no Triple Crown winner this year, of course, But yeah, he knows his stuff, and in fact, I got to know him fairly well in nineteen ninety five when he trained a horse call it the Hanno Run. He picked the horse out of a sale for six thousand dollars, purchased the horse for the Monroe's Roy and Joyce Monroe and trained him up to the Kentucky Derby. And you might
recall this if you're a racing fan. He trained at Keenland all week long, didn't bring him over to Churchill Downs and people were throwing their hands up and scratching you can't do that. Well he did it, and now the horse ran second in the Kentucky Derby. Nine. That was as close as Kenny got until he won it with Mystic Dan this past year, and Donald Run by the way, went on to be a successful stallion up
in Canada. So despite the whether, we had a good time talking to Kenny and coming up next week from Robbie Albarrado, and by the way, we enjoyed being around sunny. The Big Yellow Lab was excited about something this morning and let us know about it. You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty wlap. Hey, it's Dick Gabriel and you're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. Before we were at Churchill Downs this morning in the monsoon
to watch Thorpedo Anna. I had a chance to talk to Robbie Albarado. He is one of the winningest jockeys of all time. Of course, he retired back in twenty twenty one. He is third all time as a jockey at Churchill Downs in Victory, behind only Pat Day and Calvin Burrell. He's won more than five thousand races. But now, as we said, working for Kenny galloping horses in the morning, we talked to him right after he got off Torpedo Anna, because before and after he galloped that horse, he told
us she is the smartest horse he has ever ridden. Robbie, this rain is something else. What is it like when you're out there galloping in weather like this?
It's a little fun man, but it's always nice to be on a battle horse, a really talented horse, which I was on this morning. I was on the infamous Torpedo Anna. She's special. She's the smartest horse I've ever been on. I've ridden thirty thousand race thirty four thousand races and maybe another fifty thousand more in the mornings, and she's about for all, the smartest horse I've been on.
What is the smart horse to do? How do you know? She's smart?
But like the conditions is normally on a fast track. She will try to get rank and run off and try to she can't, but she tried to run off, get really strong. And today she got out there.
It was raining really hard. She's seen the track condition, I guess, and she felt it.
She was very calm and easy, whichy'all wanted that this morning from her.
You've ridden great horses. I mean a lot of the great ones are pretty smart. They're not all that smart, though.
Are they. They?
You know, they're not all smart. Some of them are.
Are. We get a lot of coach that get honoy and stubborn some time, and then some bunch of phillies have got there, you know. Some of them more sensitive and you can't do much much on them. But uh, the smart as they're different.
They're they're the good ones. They're different.
They breed different, their they move different, they act different.
They sleep all day long in the stall. And that's a good telltale sign of a really good horseman. Why. I don't know. I don't know why.
I guess sleeps to their advantage. They train hard. They train hard, so they sleep well.
I don't know what it is.
Curling horses right, curling course of the year, so lay down all the time. Mindshaft another horse of the year, So lay down all the time?
Swis skydiver.
I mean I can name read off some gulls I've been on that they slate, they sleep all day long.
Well, we've seen Thorpedia and a wind. She's she's the greatest female out there right now. How does being smart do you think help for when she's actually racing?
Well, I feel like and uh, she can overcome quite a bit of in a race, and she adjust to if you have to call anaudible, she's there for you if you need to give her back a little more, get a ford a little more. She's pretty manageable in a race. The morning time she gets ranged. But in the racetime she's managed, but looks like Brian says, she'd just about doing anything with her and uh, they execute off other horse's mistakes. It's like the humans. They see
what happens. They're like athletes ball players, right, they see, they see a play about to happen.
They adjust. Then it's a great feeling to be on them.
Kind though, what she like around the barn, because not all great horses are great citizens.
Well, right now she's walking around.
She's got a bath this morning, she gets pampered pretty good around here. Obviously, she's walking around the barn now. And when they put her install, she'll probably he's a little hate and she'll lay down, take a nap. She'll get back out for a while, leaning against the right side of the stall or a but to the to the gate, and she don'tt be bothered. I mean, she don't want to be bothered, so she does that, and she wants to be bothered.
She'll be facing the gate here this morning.
With all this weather. We're hearing about all the scratches for the race car today, which is not unusual. But a lot of you guys were out there galloping horses in weather like this. I mean, that's all part of it, though, isn't it.
I rode for thirty one years and I'm from Louisiana.
We're called mudbugs from Louisiana, and I hate it right in the mud. I just absolutely hated it. I mean, I didn't like nothing about it. It's hard to focus, especially when it's raining hard like it was morning. It's hard to focus, it's hard to get up. You know, some horses don't like it.
Some horses love it. You gotta call it make changes you got. There's so much involved in the mud and I want to other things.
If you come from way back in their mud race, I mean you get drenched with water and mud, and so you're about ten pounds heavier than the horse that up front. So that's when people handicap if they take that in consideration. Come from behind horse and his muddy. By the time they get to the stretch, you can have ten pounds more mud and water drenched posts of the guy that's in front clean.
And some horses would just stop. They hate that.
You can tell. You can tell right away.
Yeah, you can tell in the post ray when you're warming them up, you feel and you can feel they're you know, they're not like they're normally or uncharacteristic themselves, and so you can tell right away the ones that do, like you know what, I goes to their breedings, man, that the breedings of the mud runners are like if you ride of curling in the mud, you can almost.
Go to the window because they're gonna be right there. One, two, three, Well.
I'll let you go with this. Anna is gonna be, you know, forever known as one of the greats. But just tell me about what it's like to get on a nice day just to get on her as often as you do. I mean, is it still a thrill for you?
Absolutely? Man, We have a good communication me and her. I could tell every move she makes. I know how she's feeling. I know how she's felt every time. I can tell you when she's ad a tip top shape, when she feels the best. But I heard telling me what I heard talking to him and telling me I can feel her. She does little things that makes her like only she's got.
Her ears for it. Her r's far it bounding forward, she's doing well.
She's doing ok.
He's professional.
Trobby Alvarado. You're listening to the best of the Big New Insider. Our number two is next here on six thirty w lap.
Then anything any such, stating the show anything can anything to anything.
He's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider, our number two taking a little time off, so please enjoy with the best of the Big Blue Insider joining us now. And there are only seventy eight days to football season, so what a better time to speak to
mister Van Hiles, the former Kentucky offensive back. We talk a lot of football with Van He talks a lot of football with everybody because of the great work he does on the interweb as the coast of driving with styles and a guy who you know you hear himoned with Tom leach Man. Everybody wants your knowledge. How about that?
I actually thought we was gonna talk track and fields. We can we can understand.
Because that's going on right now and UK's got some all Americans. But before we get there, I got to get your response and a reaction to the move by the big dog. I mean, everybody's weighing in on it. Is this something that will shake the foundation of the uk U of L rivalry? What do you think?
Yeah?
It's his football with me is like as a FA and form a player and as someone who can understand what happens with sports and how people move on, it's it's it's a bad move from a fan and a former player because how dare you go to that team up more? But as a outside of that, people move all the time like this is not the first time it happened and it won't be the last.
Uh.
This This industry and profession is so cut throat that either you're hired to get fired or either you move before something bad happened. So I'm not shocked it happened. I am frustrated with how some things that have gone has transpired in the past couple of years. And I don't like what I've heard from some comments that on the way out and and those are things that I highly dislike with how well those students are taken care of.
Them, be a little more specific comments by whom bye By vents with with.
Some some statements about our situation with the Dolphins and good sales, like that's your job, if that's your job, and that means to me, you're backtracking on how significant your your your fingerprints were on this program if you're going to have excuses that didn't need to be said. So there are some things that I don't like that. I mean, when you're getting paid probably one of the highest salaries of a position coach because let's let's not
forget he's a position coach with some additional titles. But the the recruiting aspect of in my opinion, I could be wrong because I don't know how their their their process was. That that is a that is a coaching staff, entire coaching staff thing is recruiting. It's not just a one guy thing, right. So those are some things that that really brought me the wrong way this morning. But you know, once set, when you leave, and that that to me means that he didn't totally leave on his own the court.
Interesting. Yeah, and it sounds like and the only thing I had heard, uh is that with Kentucky looking more and more at the portal, you know, maybe the work he was doing as and you're right, he's in a position coach but also a recruiting coordinator also associate head coach, which I think you can't forget that this is your number two guy going out the door, and not only that going to the arts rival and they, as you well know, uh, they recruit many of the same kids, man,
And and that that to me is no pun intended a big big red flag.
Yeah, it's well, and here's here's here, here's my thing. This is where we're going to figure out some things, right Because I like Vince because, like I said on the locker last Wednesday, this was our press secretary. He was the person who got out in front of everything and it smoothed the faithful out with with his charismatic aura I would say, so that was what he was really great at. Now let's see what happened after this.
Let's see how the recruiting goes after this. Let's see if we take a backstep since he's now have moved on, is recruiting going to stay the same or is it going to go the other way. If it stays the same, then that means that it was the type of process that I think it should be and potentially was. If it isn't, that means now we lost our, as some people say, our best recruiter. So then if we lose, if you lose your best recruiter, things should not go upward.
The creation should be a downward trend. So it's gonna be interesting what this this twenty sixth I guess this twenty twenty sixth class is going to be as we get into the season, because I wasn't gonna say it that when everything happens. Commitment means nothing from these kids anymore. Back when I played, when you committed, you pretty much stayed with that commitment. Now it's to the hour hour.
Are those kids going to stay with that that commitment already going to move on to another team that came in the last minute and offered them a scholarship.
That's It's very true, but sort of the secondary recruiting if you want to call it successful in some fronts because of Vince Marrow maintaining relationships and the best example, it's not the only example, but the best example was Wandale. They didn't burn that bridge. He can seriously consider Kentucky because Evince went to Nebraska events, maintained the relationship with him and his dad, and then when he when he needed to come back toward his hometown, he lands in
the UK and has a huge season. So you can't discount that kind of stuff with Vince Merrill, Like.
You say, yeah, and I will comment out with I think that was Vince's recruit, like that was his guy. So in retrospect you can say, well he left him somewhere else and then go with Vinc the first right, It is the recruiting. And that's why I say, like he's the press secretary. That is a tough job to
have and he did a great job of that. And with that, sometimes the perception is you are the guy and the only guy, when then that discredits all the position coaches who have to have a relationship with the recruit anywhere. I consistently tell people that this. In order for a guy to come to your institution, he has to have at least a decent relationship with the guy that he's going to spend the most I'm with, which
is his position coach. Right, So if you come into a visit and you and Coach Collins don't jail, well you're probably not gonna come to Kentucky.
Yeah.
So there is something that's a little bit more than that. Vince being a charismatic guy, and that's the only reason why certain individual came to Kentucky. Unless he is your he is your recruiter. If that's not the case, then I think that's more to it.
Yeah, No, I understand that, because if it's a guy who recruited you, even if he's not your position coach, he's the first guy who showed up at your school or at your practice or you know, and maybe even offered you the schollarie. And uh, and you don't forget about that. We're talking uh to Van Hiuse, former Kentucky offensive back and a football analyst. Let's say on social media. I was talking to Tom Leach earlier this week and We talked about the fact that it's going to be
interesting to see, now who becomes a good cop. And you've done some coaching, you've been a player. You know, every team does the good cop back of the coach. Head coach has to be the bad cop oftentimes, So who does the player turn to? And it's been Vince So now I think that's gonna be really interesting, don't you.
Yeah, now that is a good one. Now from what I've I've heard, I don't know is that that could potential to be Coach Washington. He seems like that guy that players will gravitate to. I think, to me, there's two guys that I can see and it'll be Coach Washington and Coach Collins. I think those two guys from the outside looking in. I could be completely wrong. Those guys seem like they're younger guys. I think they might be able to relate to the players more, and they
seem like they have. When I've seen Coach Collins on the sideline, he's not that yeller, that guy who's gonna get who's gonna go after Yeah, it seems like a guy who's gonna talk to you and we're going to get to a solution via communication more than me. I guess a two style of communication more than a one stole of communication. Yeah, so I would say potentially could be those two guys. But you are right that I know with Lyn Bowden that was his guy. I know
with Barrion Brown that was his guy. So yeah, you are kind of losing that that guy where Coachtus can say, you know, I'm going to get on this guy. Hey, just know that he's gonna come to you. This is what I'm going to talk to him. And now you have the information Hofere, we can just move this thing over after I've ripped him a new one, so to speak.
He is Van Hiles. He is a football analyst. You can take in his work at the Locker four one one, Driving with Styles, follow him on Twitter at v Style seventeen. Back with moren a minute on six thirty WLAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. We're talking with Van Hiles. We've been talking about Vince Merrow and one of your pin tweets is about in U case football recruiting and the ability to identify talent early and be one of the first to
give an athlete attention. Explain to our listeners, it seems like an obvious thing to say, but why that is so important? Obviously got I said to seventeen year olds, you know what I'm saying.
Yeah, that Unfortunately, I think it's changing. But for me, it's like I'll never forget. When I was in high school, the first team that came after me was Southern MISSISSISPI. When and when they came after me, it was aggressive and they were the first, and I always held that like, well, now, why is everybody else coming to me when I think I was pretty good the whole time. Yeah, And I think that that tappened to a young kid's ego. It's tapped into something like you have been with me since
they want and has never left. I think those teams hold a high level of gratitude for young men. I think it still does. But I think there are some kids now that have a brand on the front of the jersey that can always come in the last minute steal you from someone who has been with you since your junior or sophomore year. But that is a great thing for a kid to know that someone saw something in me before somebody everybody else did. So they saw
the talent. And not only they see the talent, they were aggressive with their they pursuit of me and my talents, and also they treated me well and they stayed in contact. So yes, that that can be a big thing. I think back in those days, we identify guys real early and then a great and did a great job of having those guys understand that you are a high priority for us, and it's not going to take anybody to
knock you off of that. That list has been a high priority of us, because we're talking to you now, and I think we did get a couple of players here because of that ability to identify talents.
But as you've pointed out a couple of minutes ago, things have changed so much dramatically cheap among them. You know, I could be on you when you're a freshman and make that acquaintance and develop a relationship, and three and a half years later you want to come to Kentucky or wherever. But then here comes brand X with twice the amount of money. You know, and I know the guardrails are starting to fall into place, but that that's just got a drive recruiters nuts.
I would think, oh, for sure, when you have invested so much time. Yeah, and unfortunately I don't have the boosters or the ability to offer you. I don't know the numbers were true, but let's just say a million dollars. All I can offer you is one hundred and fifty So and honestly, as a kid, how can how can I say no to kind of in your estimation at seventeen eighteen life changing money? My parents probably haven't made a million dollars in their entire career of whatever their
job is. For me to make it in a matter of a few months, it's something that I could not pass up, and I would understand is doing that. But that also leads to the thing of as a parent, that million dollars is great at the moment, but it might not be great for four years because it is an easy situation of that team taking some of that money back and now you have.
To go in the transfer for Yeah, it's a mess right now, but perhaps this new there's a commissioner essentially, you know the CSC. I don't know how how much attention first of all, you paid to it. Secondly, if you're optimistic at all, but something's better than nothing in terms of guardrails, right, Yeah, I.
Think I like it for football, and I think it can't add some element of restricting of a restrictive plate like and drive it. But the only thing I don't dislike is it's honestly, it's gonna hurt the smaller programs and as a as I talked about work person, Uh, I'm a track guy, and it's going to greatly, immensely hurt track, which is to me, is the best sport because it's the easiest sport and cheap the sport to
get into. So I think it's great for football and basketball and even baseball because I had friends who play baseball who couldn't get a full scholarship. About time that those guys get full scholarships on the entire team. But then there's the auxiliary sports that are really going to get hit, and that's something that that that I don't like.
No, I agree with you, and they're going to go away. They are going to be programs and it's already happening, you know. So well, speaking of track, as promised, we will talk about it. U K's got some individuals competing in Eugene, Oregon. Have you ever been out of that facility.
I have not, and I had the chance I was working in Portland. I was like, nah, I'm too busy, but yeah, I have never been to it, but I heard it's like almost impossible to get there though.
Yeah, Eugene is not super close to Portland, but uh yeah there. It's just like why tennis is always at the University of Georgia. The facility is tremendous. I've seen it on TV, and man, do they love it out there, don't they? The crowds they get. UK's got a freshman Janet jakimboy A Memo who is an All second team All American. Kentucky lost a great coach to the University of Texas and then hired another great coach. You got to be really proud of your alma mater for the track program.
Yeah and here and quite honestly, I know people don't understand. And the track program was really good when I was there. It was just wasn't given the attention that it should have been.
Well.
We we had two Olympians on the team when I was there, so it is great to see it still progress. I am elated that they improved the facilities because our indoor track was horrible. And people want to say the football indoor was was bad, but that track around the indoor was worse than the football field. And I am glad that they tryal and moved it all there. And I'm gonna say something crazy, I'm glad they moved it all there, not because of football, because quite honestly, the
football team had enough room to practice. I know they're going to complain about the indels, but come on, y'all, the track was atrocious. There was no loan jump pit, there's no provall pit. It was one of the worst in the conference. In I half the brand new facility. I am elated for I'm glad that they're getting the just due that they finally deserve.
Well, somebody told me back when I was still working TV, and I don't think I ever got a chance to do the story, but UK had a pole vaulter and that was a big deal. Hey, we got a pole vaulter. Now, I didn't even know that there was a dearth of pole vaulters, which to me growing I used to go to the Mason Dixon Games and man, I love that stuff, and the pole vaulters were the people, not the sprinters, but it was the pole vaulters that captured my imagine.
I couldn't imagine flying like that, putting your trust, you know, and you're running as hard as you can and you jam that pull into that pit and next thing you know, you're fifteen sixteen or higher feet off the ground. But no, now, have you been in a new indoor facility yet?
I have not been, But I know people who out there and they say it's amazing.
You got to come up next time you come up for football, make yourself a little extra time because it'll bring a tear to your eye.
Coach, I'm telling you, okay, I'll do that. I'm because it was long overdue. I just as a track guy. Yeah, it was long over you for a team up that caliber and in the best conference. So yeah, it was. It was. It was all way over there, all right.
You're also a grill master. I mentioned this. What's on the grill coming up anytime soon? Anything good? Anything challenging?
No, this is this is something that everyone has to do, and I I can't believe I've done it. I can't believe I'm saying it is. My wife has been begging me to real steak bites, which is just huge, the steak up and really that way, and I was like, now, I'm not gonna do I'm not gonna do it. I mean years and because I'm a traditionalist, eat eat a full steak, like come on, well, because she's not a heavy eater, and she felt like sometimes she's wasting steak.
So you cube it up. And the best thing about cubing it up is you get the seasoning and the smoke on all six That's that's the best thing. So now, honestly, I'm cubing up almost everything. I'm going overboard it because it is. It is so great. So that's what I'm I'm really doing. I'm I'm cubing up chicken or the whole, the whole deal.
I'm gonna have to look into that.
Hey, real too, and you do individual ribs, it'll change your life. And that's crazy for me to say, because I'm a big, real guy.
Life changing grilling from v Style seventeen And if you go to his Twitter page, you'll see a nice little picture of him and his family, but the background picture is what four different types of meat. Yeah, it's so great. You tried to talk me through grilling fish next time we talk, I'm gonna have you do that.
Man.
Have you talked to me again about that? Because I just don't have the courage to do it. But but I think you can get me through that. But we are out of time. V Style seventeen on Twitter. Thank you so much. Great as always talking to you.
Anytime you know that you're listening to the Best of the Big Blue Insider.
More to come here on six thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel, welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider, joining us now from his home over in Louisville. Freelance writer Tim Sullivan, who's covered the Cats and the Cards and when he was with the paper up in Cincinnati, the Bengals, the Reds, and Tim, welcome back. Haven't talked to you in a while. How did you enjoy this
last basketball season? Because you know you're over in Louisville, you're keeping an eye on UK and both of these teams were such a delight to their respective fan bases, you know what I mean.
Yeah, it's been a really interesting season.
And then the.
Turnaround at U of L has been very dramatic. Jenny Payne to Pat Kelsey and I guess there's a meeting today where he's supposed to get a big grade. Yeah, so, and it's well deserved. It's been an interesting year to me just to see how the nil and has has changed the face of it. And a lot of people wrote about how you weren't getting Cinderella's anymore because all of the players are approached at the major level, and uh,
you know, there's tremendous roster change really virtually everywhere. And yeah, I don't know that's a great thing for the sport, but I do think it's a great thing for the players to be able to make a buck.
Do you agree with that though? Do you think they errow the age of the Cinderella is over for that reason?
I don't know that's permanently over. And I think there they're going to be uh some changes. You know, Congress gets involved and it seems like they're they're trying to make their way to that. But you know, I'm not really sure what what you can do to give back. I mean, it's a free market. The school did lost money, uh, and the biggest alumni basis you Wan dominate, And I think we just have to assume that that's you know
that's going to be the case going forward. You know, word number one seeds in the final four, and I don't think that was an accident.
Yeah, of course that didn't happen last year. But there's there's been more time for the player movement to take hold at in there.
Yeah, and I think that the spectators may not enjoy it as much because you'd like to follow player's growth in your program. But you know, it's it's hard to tell a player who has a marketable asset that he can't capitalize on it. There really wasn't any place in an American society where other than college sports, where an individual was not able to seek their market value that
I know of it. I think this has been a long time coming and it's going to be difficult for some people to adjust to it, and it's going to change the landscape, and not just in football and basketball, but I think you'll see it, you know, trickle down to weather sports as well.
Oh yeah. Well, and some believe that the only answer is to present players with contracts that lock them into a school for anywhere from two to three years or and obviously I firmly believed Tim they've got to change the portal to where kids can't jump in there every year.
Do you agree, Well, I think you have to negotiate that. You know, if you're going to have a limits on player movement, the players have to have a boye center.
Yeah, they have.
Do you agree? And you know that that probably means that they're going to unionize and have collective bargaining.
Yeah.
I don't see that happening quickly, but I think that may be where we're headed.
We're talking to Tim Sullivan, freelance writer over and Louisville's worked for the Courier Journals, worked for the newspaper in San Diego, Cincinnati. Uh, and as you mentioned, Uh, you know U of L fans had to be overjoyed this year. Obviously, I know Kentucky fans were, But did you see this coming at all? But Kelsey, I mean, he's a ball of energy and just you know, instantly liked by the fan base. But uh, people here were hoping for the best with Mark Pope. I don't know how many predicted
getting to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. But what about U of L fans?
Well, I think you know when season started and you had a completely new roster. A lot of people would have been happy with a five hundred season after what, you know, what they'd had the last two years. What ended up happening was I think beyond anybody's expectation, maybe except for Kelsey and the players, but you know, he
he had an opportunity here. This is still an elite program in terms of arena conference, fan base and all that, and it just it took someone who could wield the modern weapons of a player movement to restore it to something close to its former glory.
I saw a.
Odds, you know, one of those two early odds on yeah, twenty twenty sixth season, and I think Louisville Frank third is in terms of the national championship hopes, which struck me as wow, I mean, but it apparently had.
Now I saw the same thing. It's got Kentucky sixth, which is just crazy. But you know, hey, if you want to lay a couple of bucks down right now, you might make some money in the near future. But it does speak highly of now. The reputation is being restored, and I consider Louisville of Blue Blood up there with Kentucky and Duke in North Carolina and it's funny you talked about how the fans love Cinderella's and they truly do.
But I also find it interesting, tim, having been in the line of work that I'm in for so long looking at TV ratings, once you get into the second and third weekends of the NCAA tournament, unless the big name schools are there, the ratings aren't as good, which I think is curious. What's good for basketball, isn't it?
Well I think so, and you know it's it's good for the players. You probably get a higher level with you know, as the talent migrates toward you know, bigger programs, but you know there is an adjustment period because you know, so many of these teams are starting for the scratch or or near scratch. I think of the of the final four teams, you know, Duke and and Houston were you know, primarily comprised the holdover players, but you know,
Florida and Auburn not so much. So you know, it's going to take a while, I think, for people to get comfortable with that unless there are some significant changes to the way this operates.
What did you think of the Final four that had to be one of the best you've ever seen. I mean, that was incredible all three games.
It was certainly, certainly as dramatic as any I've seen, the collapse of do the incredible ending of the championship game. That was almost ready to turn the TV off and go to bed. Some of those couldn't couldn't quite pull away. Yeah, I'm glad I stayed up.
You're listening to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six point thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider, chatting with Tim Sullivan, our friend from over in Louisville. He's a freelance writer. Yeah, I'm gonna get back to the UK and U of L. But
I got to ask you, what's been your reaction? And you were in San Diego for a while, but all that time, the Bengals, since you've covered them, since you were away, were notorious, if that's the right word, infamous for not spending money. And now they've spent half a billion on a couple of players or more. I think I guess you got to say three players. What was your reaction that when you saw that they're finally loosening up the purse strings.
Well, I think that tells you how profitable the NFL has become. They have really more money than they can justify spending. For years, you got the sense that the Bengals were this mom and pop operation and they didn't have other businesses that they could tap into to raise their payroll. But you know, now, geez, the NFL is
just printing money. And I think that the Bengals recognized that they have an opportunity as long as you know, Joe Burrow is in his prime to make a run and maybe finally win a Super Bowl, and you've got to fortify him with the right pieces around him. And you know, I'm kind of reminded of when I was
covering the Bengals. They the drafted Anthony munoz Uh in the with the third pick in the drafts all of a sudden, Ken Anderson was not getting hit from a blind size and he, you know, became the league m v P. I think, uh he was eighty one uh and and how one key player can make it an enormous difference. So they're they're never going to spend like you know, bigger market teams, I don't think. But Jeez.
If if you if you have a player like Burrow and you know the other pieces that they assembled and make, and you don't commit to trying to get it done, you know what what it wire you a business and you know the other factory there is. They're they're trying to make a push for for stadium redevelopment, and uh, I think I think that that plays into this a
lot too. They're you know, they're trying to show the the voters that you know, they're serious and that they you know, they want they want to win as much as the fans do, which you know, I think the fans have not always been convinced of that.
You got sideways with people in San Diego about a stadium and it just befuddles me, Tim, And I'm I know, what, did you why there's this constant need for a new stadium. They're all just palaces, They're all just incredible, uh, monuments to excess, and yet there's always that need. It's keeping up with the Joneses, isn't it?
Well it is, and sadly there's there's usually another market that will prostrate itself to get franchise. And you know, as long as that's the case.
You know, these.
Existing franchises are going to use the leverage they have and the desperation of the the locals to to keep a team or you know, to attract the team.
To to get a new deal.
I don't think you will find any economists of significant standing who will say that that the subsidizing sports stadia is a good idea. But you know, it's an emotional decision that's not really a private one.
Yeah. And and TV there's a term for people who buy advertising and sporting events, and it can be what's called an emotional buy. You know, either whoever's in charge is a fan of that team or wants to cash in on the emotions of a fan base. And you and I have careers thanks to the emotions of fans who you don't want to follow teams and things like that. But when it comes to putting your money on the line, that's a different issue.
Isn't it.
Yeah, And you know, the the history of stadium construction, you know, has accelerated dramatically since since you and I started in this business. Yeah that I think it was the Miami Heat that, you know, their arena was this declared antiquated and they built a new one like twenty years after the first one opened. Yeah, this is this is not healthy. And you know, I was there in Cincinnati when the Paul Brown Stadium opened and I thought, yeah, this is going to be here for a long time.
But I don't know that it will last as long as Riverfront Stadium did.
Yeah, that's a good point. And I remember when there was such a controversy about rupp Aerna what should be done? And it truly had become outdated. It would opened in nineteen seventy seven or seventy six, I guess I should say. But there were people who were, you know, saying, well, all you need to do is take the roof off build up, you know, with no idea what that would have done, or no thought would it would have done to the shops around the Civic Center and things like that.
But everybody has an answer. Well, let's get back to the teams.
Now.
We're looking at spring football. You know, Kentucky's guide its open practice coming up with a pledge to rebuild the offensive line. You know, they get all these new old linemen thanks to the portal, and I know that hopes are high over on your end, of the interstate. What are they say in this spring about the Cardinals and what should we expect when those two teams play in the fall.
Well, I think that there's a certainly a lot of optimism on this end of sixty four. I don't know that it's quite the same UK. I think the fans are a little wary of what's become of the program. But you know, I remember when UK was a doormat and now it's risen and it probably hasn't broken through, or it definitely hasn't broken through to the Alabama George level, and it may never just look at the recruiting base
because schools have versus UK. But you know, people are not going to be satisfied with with eight and five uh anymore.
And that's.
That's that's going to wear on a coach. I don't know that you can expect much better than that in the SEC, given the strength of all those programs. But we'll see. I mean, I know there's some money in Lexington and they should be able to track uh some players, but I don't know that they're ever going to get the five stars that go to LSU or Alabama or Georgia. So uh, you're not You're not going to be satisfied
with that, I don't think indefinitely. And and that's uh, you know, that's the challenge, and I I wish them much, but I think in some ways feels like a make or break season over there.
But I could be wrong.
That's well, I think you are, You're right in so many ways, But I keep reminding people to your point. The other schools aren't stopping what they're doing. You know, as hard as Kentucky's working, those other schools with the traditional infrastructure are still pouring millions into their respective programs. But so much I think is laid at the feet of coaches. You know, I think at the college you covered a lot of pro sports, much more so at
the college level. You know, the coaches are almost deified. You know, people believe that they can make it happen if they're just a good enough coach, which isn't entirely true. But now college coaches, as you know, are general managers as much as as head coaches. And most of them aren't happy with that, are they.
Well.
I mean seeing quite a number of great basketball coaches who've left the business because they didn't deal with it. You know, presumably that's the reason that you know, Shoushevski and beh on and on have decided to move on. But uh, you know, I think if you look at it objectively, say you're a five star high school player and or or an elite transfer portal player, you know, if your goal is to get to the NFL, where
are you going to go to? Kentucky? Going to go to some place that you know has four first rounders every year? And you know, I don't blame the players from seeking that the best deal they can, but you know, it's unless you have a home court, home field and managed from being a Kentucky resident, it's hard for me to see that you're going to be compete with with Ohio State and Michigan and USC and you know, all the traditional powers.
Yeah, unless you can outbid the other teams. And as coaches have said, players are looking for the bag, and if they're looking for the bag and you can provide it, well then you've got a chance. So but that's unfortunate. That's where we are now, and we have to leave it at that. Tim Sullivan h follow him on Twitter, you're still on Twitter. I should ask you at it that Tim Sullivan.
Okay, not as.
Active as I was, but yeah, I still will put something up now on there.
Okay, weak people, good talking to you, man, have a good one.
Thank you all right, kick any time.
That'll do it for now. Thanks for joining us for this special edition the best of the Big Blue Insider. That's it. Good night from the garage in Lexington.
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