It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
So in this business, this industry that we call talk radio, you gotta take you gotta take chances. And what I mean by that is there's a lot of ways to take chances. But you know, you're throwing stuff out there that you want to discuss because you think it's of interest to your listeners. That's kind of you know how this works. So I'm taking a chance here because I don't know if this interests anybody else other than me,
but I have a deep fascination with this. And again it probably says more about me being weird than anything else. But and this is not in any way a conversation about politics at all. But I went to WDRB dot com during the break there, and there is a story from Jason Riley shout out Jason Raley headline Louisville man charged with using bear spray against Capitol police during January sixth riot. So we all know what happened on January six years ago. And obviously that was is that four years ago?
Now? Sure was in twenty twenty one.
How has it been that long.
I know it like everything that happened around that time of twenty twenty twenty one just feels so like it's a distant memory.
But it's a weird inability to truly grasp the amount of time that has passed, because again, at times, it seems like it was twenty years ago. I also feel like it wasn't that long ago at times. So for some reason, January sixth doesn't feel like something that was four years ago. But here we are four years later, and they are still identifying people through the footage that they have and holding them accountable. And what fascinates me
about this is nothing that you probably expect. I just if you were there and you know you did something, you can be held accountable for. If you did something that you know many others did as well, and they've been identified, they've been held accountable and had to face the music for it, right they some of them have gone to prison, some of them have, you know, I mean they've even if you don't go to prison, like,
it's still something that's going to anybody. Anytime anybody googles your name the rest of your life, that's probably what's gonna come up because you know, it's just what this is. So what I'm fascinated by, Austin is do they ever have a level of feeling like they got away with it? Do they are they worried every day and night that they're going to be told, they're gonna be contacted, They're gonna somebody's gonna sho somebody's following them, somebody's gonna show
up to their work. Like I'm a parented person in general, I think we all are to an extent. But if I knew that that all it took was them having the right angle and the right quality of a of an image or a video clip, and they'd be able to potentially identify me, I would I would call them and say, look, I want to get rid of this. I want to get this over with because the the not knowing if you're getting away with it would drive
you crazy. And I guess anybody who commits like serious crimes, it's yeah, yeah, but but this is one of those things where you know others have been caught doing the same thing that you did. You know that there's plenty of video out there. You're it's more of a of a just they're gonna get me at some point I want to get it over with. I think if that was me, which would never be it can't relate. But like if I was in that position, knowing me and how I'm paranoid, I think I would just get it
out of the way. Yeah, but what what really? You know what really? Again the level the reason this just distracted me as we're coming back from break is because there was a pretty consistent window of time over like two years, where you weren't shocked when you refresh or when you went to your local news or sometimes even national news, and you would see they got another one.
But it's a DJ Khaled, another one, like they know, they found another one, Like they they're slowly but surely figuring out who some of these people were, and they're holding them accountable for their actions, which just you know, what they're supposed to do. But I feel like the ones like out of sight, out of mind, Like it's the one this current charge here, this louill Man that was charged today that made the news. That's not national news,
but it's local news. So I feel like it's been a long time since we've had our local news coverage, our local news stations here cover somebody within this region that got caught up in this meeting. I feel like there's been a long drought since we had somebody local. So if there's somebody around here that that was a part of that, maybe you have been feeling pretty easy. Maybe you have been feeling like you got away with
it because you know, long drought here. Maybe they're just done, They've got all the people they've been able to get. But then you have this one pop up today and you're probably worried again, like, yeah, just after.
You think that you maybe might have gotten away, then you see your buddy over there on WDRB he got the call, the FBI call.
Yeah, you think they call you or come to your door.
I would love to know. I'm fascinated by this. I would imagine you probably they probably show up at your house, I would imagine, and they don't take you away in cuffs. They probably, more than anything, just let you know you've been identified, because they're probably not. And I'm sure there are some real pieces of work out there that were involved. In fact, I know there are. They've they've been there's been reporting on them in coverage of the whole thing.
But there's two people that I don't know at all. I don't know them, I've ever met them, but I know some acquaintances of theirs that that are from kind of my community, not directly where I live. But I'll just say a bullet County and the one of the one of the individuals, I mean, he was pretty clearly a strong conservative and I assume still is, which is not a crime by any means. I'm just saying the actions that took place like that day, that whole mob stuff,
and again I'm not talking politics. What I'm saying is that like it brought something out of people they didn't even know they had, you know, and what I mean by that not good stuff, to where they were just
clearly doing things because others were doing it. It was such a heightened the sensitivity was so heightened at that point about there being a change in you know, leadership within the country, that kind of stuff, to where it made people act in a way like they may still feel the exact same way that they felt that day, and they may feel as if like they weren't in the wrong, but they also let that emotion in real time create a situation for them to where they did
something they would have they know was stupid. Even if they wanted to do it, they would have in any other situation, they would have had the intelligence, the common sense to know I shouldn't do this because you know what, it's not going to accomplish anything, and man, I could ruin my life. But I think people were so caught up in what was going on then they weren't thinking about what the consequences could be. They weren't thinking about anything.
They were just lunatic people at that time. And I don't mean that you were a lunatic if you supported what they were about, or that if you even win. But I'm talking about the people that have been able to be criminally charged here, because that's like it's they're
not making up this stuff. They've clearly identified you, and the level of resources that they're clearly like what happened that day is still wild to think about, but you're out of your mind if you don't feel they're going to put every resource they have to hold these kind of people accountable for that. So again, I'm sure that doesn't interest many people other than me, but I just as a true crime nerd, there's this show that they don't make it anymore but I wish they did, because
it was really fascinating. I remember the other day I was talking about fear Thy Neighbor Austin that's on Investigation Discovery, which is a really good channel for true crime nerds like myself. It was this one was called I Almost Got Away with It, and not every I've seen that episode was super interesting, but I really was just fascinated to hear these people who you know, almost got away with it but didn't when they were on the run,
went at what point did they get comfortable? At what point did they feel like they had got away with it? Or at what point did they realize I need to just turn myself in because I can't live with this paranoia, like eventually they're going to get me, and that's what
this is, like, that's it. And I could be wrong, but the majority of the people that I've seen that have been caught up in this that have some kind of local ties, I don't know them as individuals, but they're they're I mean, this is probably the first time they've ever had a knock on the door from law enforcement looking to hold them accountable for something, you know what I mean. So you know, I'm just I'm weird like that, I guess. But anyways, let's dive back Campb'll
talk some basketball. It's Coffee and Company. Believe it or not, this is a sports show. We are here on Sports Talk seven ninety Yeah, I mean, believe.
It or not. I we got we got whas Nick right, it's right.
I mean, you get you got me talking things that are more of the news talk, the human interest kind of thing. So you know I can be versatile. You know, I'm not afraid to mix it up a little bit going directions. Maybe you weren't expecting, but anyways, louis basketball talking about that program in this city has been something that will always be done on platforms like this. And this year has been fun. Previous year is not so much.
And I've enjoyed every second of this season. And even when they weren't playing well and they weren't winning and it looked like they were gonna have a tough time putting together a decent season because of injuries, I was still energized by Kelsey because and again this is not I told you so, but maybe it is I told you so. When Louisville lost to Kentucky Duke Ole Miss
even after the Tennessee Games. Tennessee game is a little bit weird because I think we just kind of knew that was the first time they were in a position to be challenged like that, and clearly it didn't go well.
But I was taking some heat from listeners and fans who thought that I was I was delusional to an extent because I'm still looking at them losing these games, and some of them were ugly, and I'm acknowledging that, yeah, that's not ideal, But you know what, they're regrouping, They're they're they're trying to kind of get a new groove mid season, in the midst of one of the toughest schedules in the country, non conference.
I was, I was.
There were excuses, but I feel like I was justified to say, you know what, if they play like that against if they play the way they did against Duke, that probably beats a lot of teams on this schedule the rest of the way. If they played like they did against Kentucky a upp arena, that probably wins you a lot of acc games. And I had no way of knowing that it was wishful thinking on my end. I guess it was me buying time before I potentially would have had to accept that maybe this team isn't
going to get us to the tournament. But here we are, and again I looks like I was correct. Now yes and no, they're giving results that make me look smart as far as you know. They really did just go through a gauntlet of a non conference schedule, and it's
kind of like Denny's teams back in the day. Denny would have a loaded non conference schedule every year and then you take some Sometimes you'd roll through it, sometimes you would take some lumps, but by the time you got to conference play, you were in a really good spot because you were battle tested and you're in a good place. That's what this team's doing. But also they're different. Like I when they nearly lost to EKU, which Jerry brought it up earlier, who called in and he's right,
like that that proves that they can be vulnerable. But that team and that was a good Like I wasn't even that angry about that, Like they avoided the loss, and it was it was scary, but I kind of just at that point thought, Okay, buckle up, like they may be able to win some games, but man, They're gonna be a lot of close games that you're really kind of worried about because you know, there's such a little there's such a small margin for error that like,
you have a bad stretch of play for four minutes, you might mess around and lose to somebody you shouldn't lose to. So at that point, like I was still thinking, Okay, tournaments alive, maybe they get there. But then they came out against North Carolina in that next game, and that is when they were different. And they've been different since then, and I mean different in.
A really good way.
I don't know if it was by design, if there was something internally that kind of got them locked in more so than they already were, but they're showing up every night with a very confident approach in who they are. There's identified roles within this team. Anybody can can be your leading score run any given night. I mean, you got to keep in mind this balanced scoring attack that
they have. I mean, you've got chucky Hepburn last night with twenty four, Rain Smith with twenty five against Pitt Hadley with thirty two against Clemson, Trey Ora fifteen against Virginia. Hepburn twenty six against UNC, Terrence Edwards twenty two against EKU, which he's had more than twenty this season.
At some point.
I think Terrence had one game where he was closer to thirty, and then rain Smith had twenty seven against FSU. I know there'll be some that claim will it's happening because you're playing in the lousy ACC whatever. I don't care think about this, and I don't have any numbers to back this up. But there are good college players that you've watched for a long time because they've been around and they're not elite, but like good college players that you feel like could be the leading scorer for
their team on any given night. But you know what, I bet a lot of those guys don't have career highs of more than twenty twenty points. I mean, twenty points is it's been done before, Like guys can go off and have that. But like rain Smith has a game of twenty seven points and twenty five points in two of the last seven games, Chucky twenty six in one game, twenty four in another game, Hadley thirty two. I mean, these are numbers that like good players don't even have as.
Their career high.
They may average fourteen to sixteen, which is a really good average in college. But I bring it up to say that, like that could happen on any given night, and it's not a surprise what I think. What the version of this Louisville team that I'm watching right now. The thing that would scare me the most is where you're cause, again, if they've come out and play bad defensively and they're not bringing the same energy, that's an issue.
Like we know they can do that now, night in and night out, and you know, maybe sometimes you do have an off game and they're going to slip up and lose to somebody. I'm sure that we don't feel like they should lose to. But like, what they're doing really well right now, that is so easy to recreate every single night. That's not something that you have to base off of luck or matchup. They're locked in right now and it's been the biggest factor in their success
here recently. So what would make me really worried is if you do that and yet everybody is off and nobody can buy a basket, and nobody's been able to kind of establish the rhythm to be the guy in said game, and it's been different guys I've mentioned, so that could happen, but the probability of that happening is very it's low. So that's why I just feel like, as is this team right now. I mean, they could lose to anybody. I mean, they don't play well. I
thought they played well. They played well against Pitt and clearly that was a big game. But just imagine again if they didn't leave all those points at the free throw line. Right they missed more layups in that game than they had all year. And I don't bring those things up to be critical. I'm just saying, like ceiling for this group, I don't think it's insanely high. But like last night in stretches, you were able to see and I know Q sucks. We talked about at the
beginning of the show. They had very very much Kenny Payne Louisville vibes. Last night up in the Dome, they did it was It was awesome to see Louisville take advantage of that. But it also gave me a little bit of PTSD. But what I'm getting at is, like last night, you saw when they are, when they are doing all the things that you know you can control, effort, intensity, physicality, rebounding. Those are things you could bring every day and it's
not about luck or matchup. So when you have that and then you have a night where you, I mean, you have how many three pointers?
Did they? Yeah?
Louisville last Yeah, Louisville last night made this stupid stat broadcast thing is pissing me off. Louisville last night shot forty three percent, and you're right, they made twelve of twenty eight. Like that's also something that hasn't really been there, but we know it can happen on any given night. So again, I somebody said earlier on the text line, Nick, tell me I'm wrong to expect this team to be in the Sweet sixteen. I can't tell you you're wrong.
You can expect what you want. But like here's what I'll say. They they could not get there, and I can't say I'd be stunned or floored, but I also am willing to say, yeah, Like the way they're playing, I could absolutely see I could absolutely see this team being a Sweet sixteen team right now. And it's fun. We don't know if it's going to happen, but to know that you're not a lunatic for saying, yeah, we could be there. It's just a nice place to me,
especially when you consider where we were. All right, quick break, We'll come back on the other side. It seems like everybody in college basketball is enjoying Cala Perry failing at Arkansas thus far, which confirms he was a villain. He's not a real likable guy. But I'm curious, Kentucky fans, did you know that at the time and just embrace it, because if you did, there's nothing wrong with that. But like you're now enjoying his failures, I'm sure, which is normal,
it's natural, But like everybody's dancing on Cal's grave. And I wish, you know, I could say, I mean I wanted to be able to root for Cal and say, yeah, you go, make Kentucky fans wish you never left. But that's just not realistic in any way right now. And sometimes you don't really know how you're gonna feel. But I'm feeling good and enjoying col losing and you know, wasn't intentional, but it's.
Where we are.
Our quick break don't go anywhere. It's Cofee and company feel about Thorn's right here. On Sports Talk seven.
Ninety Now back to Coffee and Company by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
I'm trying to find the preseason college basketball ap pole, and the reason is because I was getting ready to say that I believe that the Arkansas team that John Calipari is leading for the first time in his brief tenure there is probably in line to maybe be one of the most underachieving teams at this point. Although if you just I found it the let's see preseason top five Kansas, Alabama, Yukon, Houston, Iowa State. Certainly some of those teams haven't been as good as expected, but they are,
you know, they're still good. Gonzaga, Duke, Baylor, Carolina. Carolina is a big time underachiever. Still make the tournament though Baylor same thing. They'll still make the tournament, but they're not in a great spot. Eras z own, it was a top ten team. They've they've played well in the Big twelve, but they'll probably still maybe find a way in because of that. But they're underachieving. So maybe it's
a stretch. Maybe because Cal's at Arkansas and you know he's cal that that's why it seems like at least, it feels right now that Arkansas is the team that has underachieved up to this point, and it really feels like everybody but Arkansas fans are loving it. In Arkansas fans, Cal never did anything good for them at any point yet to where they've got any like built up goodwill right like they're they quite literally are inheriting a John Caliperi coach or a coach you know, in John Calipari.
I should say that was falling apart at Kentucky and was still succeeding to an extent at Kentucky because of players Oscar Sheebay, that guy was pretty hard to stop. No last year, Reeves, Dillingham, Shepard all on the same team. I don't think when they did win or played well that it was Cal's coaching. I mean, technically, he deserves credit because he's coaching, and coaches deserve credit when you win and blame when you lose to a certain extent.
But they're getting like Arkansas, It's not like they're thinking he's gonna need time. They're aware, oh, this was a big mistake. We went and got this guy at the worst possible time, And Kentucky fans are happy for it because they got bailed out. So like Cal, I mean, I don't see him going anywhere. And look, maybe maybe this is all premature because he's had some times where his own fan base and of course myself as a Louisville fan, have just thought like they're done, they're cooked.
Even last year, you remember they lost a Gonzaga at home, and there was a stretch of play where they lost Againzaga at home, and then they lost to who was it, Let's see we pull it up here now. I'm just curious. So last year Kentucky they lost to Yeah, they had a stretch, this is their stretch. They lost four of six games. They lost to South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Gonzaga and then and then ended up beating a bad Arkansas team and a bad Bandy team in between there.
So you know, that was I remember, a really low point. And then what did they do? They ended up beating Auburn, who was a top five team at Auburn turned around lost at home to LSU by one, and then they finished the season really strong until they hit postseason. So like there have been there have been instances where it looked like man Cal like this is about to really bottom out and they're gonna be free falling and it and it hasn't fully happened. And again I think it's
mostly because of the guys he has on those teams. Well, now he's at Arkansas, they don't have those guys. They got some decent players. Boogie Flan's been a really good freshman for him.
But John L.
Davis, he'll go down as one of the biggest fraudsters in college basketball. And I don't mean to be mean about it, because it's not his fault that like, what he did at FAU clearly is not recreatable, but that guy was viewed as one of the best, if not the best players in the portal are and saw used that Tyson Chicken money drop the big bags on him. And he's a I mean, I don't want to say he's a bum, because he's not. But he's nowhere near
the player he was at FAU. And he's not even like that big of a difference maker at times, Like to say he's a bum would mean like he can't play but for the expectation, and I guess what he did at FAU, that guy compared to what we're seeing here is I mean, maybe some would call him a bum. I just can't that. That's Austin's word. I can't steal his word. He's the guy who says players or bums. Right, that's your that's you. I don't want to I want to step on your toes. Bro, that's your that's your
role here I get. I give you permission.
Oh that's big.
That's big for you to give me the permission to use it.
Absolutely, who are we calling a bomb?
I was Jenelle Davis from Arkansas who transferred.
I really wanted him this year.
Yeah everybody did, And yeah, I really wish that that people would realize that you are a part of the show and they shouldn't just barge in. You haven't experienced this yet, but I used to just completely derail a segment. Oh yeah, because that would happen when the company.
Man was in there.
And I remember those talks, and I don't know, there's no way around it, because like, if you turn your mic off, it's just because you know you're doing your job. But like, you're a part of this show, my man, and you don't have time for small talk. But anyways, John L. Davis has been bad for him, and look,
they're just in a really bad way. So the likelihood of Cal doing what he did last year and even the year before or maybe the year before that, where it looks like they've hit a tough stretch and it's starting to really because the doubt for Cal when he would lose games in the last five six years of his tenure in Lexington was much different than when he did it in the first five years because clearly it
was a rare thing. Well it turned in at the end of his time in Lexington, Kentucky fans just realizing this guy not only has fallen off from what he was, we're below the standard and this is just not working out. He doesn't seem to like us, and he's kind of letting us know that as indirectly as he can. So it just felt like a marriage that needed to come to an end, a divorce that was needed to happen for both sides to benefit. But what I've kind of seen here is that Cal again, he's a good villain.
He was good for the rivalry because he was easy to dislike. Now I didn't like that he was so successful in his time at Lexington against Louisville but the things that make Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope so likable. Like them, I'm sure there's an effort to be you know, relatable and likable, but also I think it's pretty genuine.
I think both guys are pretty much what you see is what you get, and that makes it to where when there is some tough times or when there is you know, potential doubt, you'll be more willing to buy in and believe if you like the guy and he carries himself a certain way. What's happening right now, Cal is not relatable. He's not likable in any way. He's
a smart ass. He thinks he's better than everybody. He talks down to media, he talks down to fans, and he used to have the biggest basketball fan base in the world on his side, and even whenever they were upset, he's still their guy. They're going to defend him to an extent when other fan bases are really piling on the villain who's struggling. Well now, Kentucky fans, for the most part, I haven't even seen that many people dancing on his grave, But if they did, they'd be justified.
I feel like it wouldn't be something that surprises me. So when you carry yourself like Cal and you're that guy, and you have these results that you know are not up to the standard, and it's at a place where you haven't done anything for them. You showed up supposed to be able to take them back to where they belong right away, because that's why you paid the big bucks, that's why you left Kentucky to go there, and you stink. So he has nobody in his corner right now. He
has no supporters. He will not be able to have a down year at Arkansas and still get players the way he did at Kentucky. He'll still bring in talent, but he's got talent this year. But I remember thinking, right as soon as it's still it's still to this day, is weird that he left like he did? But you know, here we are. He's halfway through his first season there, and Mark Pope's halfway through his first season in Lexington.
But the it's an area where Cal ends up going to Arkansas thriving, winning at a high level, making Kentucky fans maybe not feel regret, some of them would. But look, even if he does, if he even even if he did, and I guess he still technically can. But if cal went to Arkansas and he was kicking ass and taking names, and he was arrogant as can be, and he was wanting Kentucky fans to know you guys, you guys did this.
You guys didn't appreciate me. I think some Kentucky fans would realize, Yeah, but you needed that for you to get back to work and really grind you were you were complacent, You didn't. I mean, you started to be more entertained by trolling our fans than you were about,
you know, like trying to win. Like so, Kentucky fans, if that were to play out, there's a scenario where you would say, look, I kind of hated it makes us look bad, but I know that Calvin succeeding at Arkansas would not have succeeded here at Kentucky because of the way he was doing things. So that was the scenario that you know that he would be able to
if he had success. But that the version that you're getting in Arkansas is the same guy that he was at Kentucky, but he doesn't have anything built up there, and he doesn't even have as good a resources at Arkansas, which is a good job, make no mistake about it.
But it's not.
Kentucky, because, to be frank, when it comes to college basketball jobs, nothing is. So I think there's a much more there's a much higher probability here that they bought him out and they just stink they're winless in the SEC. So if Cal is gonna win there, he would be energized. He would he would finally start, you know, playing a
little bit more modern basketball. He would quit, he would quit employing a bunch of yes men on his staff that don't have you know, the relationship with him is just not one where they can tell him, hey, dude, you're doing this wrong. We need to do this. I mean, Cal the signs and the issues that were there during his tenure at Kentucky towards the end that made it
play out the way that it did. He took all that Arkansas, but he does not have the resources there to kind of, you know, at least limp to the tournament and get a decent seed before losing to a bum like Oakland or Saint Peter's. So Kentucky, as I've said for weeks now, they've won the breakup and I've found last night as a reminder that winning and losing, especially at places that really have a standard set, that
is the most valuable thing. And it's not close, but how you carry yourself, you know, likability, being humble, that kind of stuff can go a long way when you either are going through a rough stretch or you've kind of fallen off and it doesn't look good, but fans know you at one point, we're good, and you're You're hungry and motivated, You're you're not stubborn. You'll go Like Nick Saban used to be pretty content with winning game six to three in the BCS era, right, pretty content
with that. I didn't need a quarterback. I could have put me out there. Probably not really, but you know what I mean. But then he realized, you know what, I can't do that. There's gonna be some offen is out there that I'm gonna have to keep up with. So what did he do? He evolved. He hired Lane Kiffit and Steve Sarkishan to come in and call plays. That's a guy willing to adapt and not let his ego get in the way. Cal is a madman. I
don't even know what I mean. He's he's doing the same stuff in the press conferences too, like acting like he doesn't know. I mean, I used to say this stuff aloud in Kentucky fans. I didn't expect him to call in and yell. I mean, because I think they deep down agree, but you know it's their coach at the time, so they're not going to be mean. They would acknowledge it, but not to the level that I would as somebody that's kind of sitting sitting afar from
the car wreck and enjoying the craziness. It sounds awful, but you know what I mean, Like, I'm just like sitting here thinking this guy really just is he making is he the highest paid coach in college basketball? Does he have the best job in the sport? Is he underwhelming in a major way because he won't play his best players? And then he's showing up to his press conference as if he doesn't care and telling you that he doesn't even know who's on the schedule next, Like
that is around. That is wild behavior. But Kentucky again, like it's their guy and they knew that that wasn't ideal. But I think where they were the most sad is that they just kind of felt like, this guy's never going to change. This is what it is, and we could be a lot worse than you know, the Caliperi that we had.
At the end.
But man, this isn't this isn't fun, this isn't good, and the best days of him are clearly in the rear view. And with that, you need change. But you couldn't make a change. You couldn't pay to get rid of them. And then a gracious, gracious conference foe decided to step in and take Caliperry off your hands. And I'm sure they thought they were getting some special and look, he's still what what is he fifteen sixteen, seventeen games into his tenure there, and they're not terrible, but they're
right now. What's happened with Arkansas is that they have lost their first four SEC games, and the SEC is loaded, and they didn't do enough in the non conference to where they like, like right now, they're eleven and six overall, lost four in a row Ozero and four in the SEC, and they do have one good win and it was a old one. They ended up beating Michigan in a game that they were I mean, it was a wild game overall, but other than that, you know, they beat Miami,
Miami sucks. They beat you know, I mean, they beat Baylor, or they lost to Baylor. That doesn't even look like that good of a loss. Now they got beat by Illinois by double digits. I mean, LSU, They're not terrible, but they're one of the worst teams in the SEC. You've got Missouri coming up next on the road. You know what Missouri just did. They went and beat Florida in Gainesville or was it in Gainsville? I think it was.
Was it Gainsville? Yea, yes, eleven point underdogars.
So then you've got Georgia, who you know, just beat Kentucky Oklahoma, who's clearly a good team. Like, I think this thing could really fall apart, and I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't enjoying it. However, if they lose to Missouri, lose to Georgia, loose to Oklahoma meaning Arkansas, and then they get their first win on February first, I can't lie to you and act like that would be a terrible sign for the future of Kentucky basketball with Mark Pope, because I don't believe that.
But I know if there's one game left that you don't want to lose on your schedule, and you are a Kentucky fan, you're a liar. If you say that it's not Arkansas, you're a liar.
And it's fine.
People can lie in lie of themselves to make themselves feel better about the situation. But Kentucky the rest of the way, they've got, you know, the typical teams they play in SEC play, and technically, on paper, a loss to South Carolina would be a worse loss than a loss to an Arkansas team that you know is struggling. But if I give I say, look, you're gonna lose one game, who do you want to make sure it's not against? It would be Arkansas for obvious reasons, and
I you know, I don't think they will. In fact, I think they may blow Cal off the floor. But then again, Pope probably wouldn't because he's Pope. He's probably gonna like if the fans start booing or saying something bad about Cal, Pope will probably tell him the style, because that just kind of seems to be the kind
of guy is, which you know, I don't. I don't like that if it's my team, But how am I going to get mad because my coach is mature and you know, not about himself and you know, a good dude. So Cal has given us the reminder that he's the old time villain and he could he could be cool being the villain when he had the biggest fan base in the sport at his you know, they would go to war for him. Well now they're not, and now he's got a big fan base that feels like they've
been robbed. They've been they've been defrauded, and it's it's enjoyable for sure. Quick break. We'll keep this thing rolling along. It's Coffee and Company, Nick Coffee. That's me Austin Montgomery alongside, taking you up till six o'clock right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Now back to Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
So yesterday we had somebody text in asking me to provide some thoughts on an argument they were having with their buddy about Syracuse being like a mini rival, and I just said, I think rivalry and rival is something that we throw out their way too loosely in sports, and another thing that I that I believe people put out there way too loosely just to make themselves feel better. Is a bad beat. Sometimes you just got it wrong.
It wasn't a bad beat. I mean, for example, whenever I had a three leg parlay that would have been huge, but I got hooked by half a point. That sucked and it came down to the very end. But it wasn't a bad beat. It just like I got it wrong. I mean that that to me, bad beats are sometimes kind of rare, Like I remember the one bad beat I had that quite literally, like I remember thinking to myself, I'm really really angry. That is unbelievable that that happened.
But there's probably a good chance that no matter what the rest of the way, when it comes to me betting, I'll have a bad beat again. But there's not gonna be one worse than that. And that was a random college football game. I don't know was that LSU was involved.
During ed or Jeron's time, I had a seven leg parlay that I paid, like, I mean, I bet ten bucks on it would have paid close to a grand oh, and I took an under and it was desperate late and you know, clearly if the other team scored, you know, I would have been I would have been in trouble, but that was so unlikely. And if they did turn it over, which it looked like they were going to do, the other team would have just taken an need into
the game. But there was some kind of a some kind of a botched snap and they ended up going back and picking up the botch Like the snap was way behind the line of scrimmage. They ended up picking it up and desperation making some kind of big heave to just keep it alive, and they caught a hail Mary type play, but it was like midfield, so I'm thinking, oh,
this is over. Well, they ruled it that he caught it, but then he got popped and fumbled it, and the other team picked it up and scored, and that made the overhead and not the under I feel like that was a bad beat, But again, maybe you could just say that I got it wrong. I don't know technically that's what it is, but you know, it looks safe,
and then something really improbable happened. I think you can make the case that one of the easily the worst beat I've seen of the season in college basketball happened last night in a game that a lot of people probably didn't watch, care about or you know, know anything about. But North Texas and East Carolina played last night in a in a what conference is that is at the American Conference?
I think?
So North Texas and e CU. The under was one twenty eight and a half and the game ended and they were in the handshake line shaking hands with a final score of sixty nine to fifty seven.
Nice.
So let's yeah, that's nice. So let's do the math there. Sixty nine plus fifty seven gives you one hundred and twenty six. One twenty eight and a half is the total. So you took the under. It's sitting at one twenty six. They're shaking hands, You're refreshing that app to see when that money hits right from me? Me get me paid here.
It's all favorite thing to do.
Yeah, wait, just waiting for you to you know. I love I love the attitude I've got going internally when I'll pop open that app. No and I won, and I'm like, all right, pay me, you owe me money, like pay up, pay up.
And then when they're not doing it, you're like, oh yeah, here they go.
Yeah, so don't know how it happened. I haven't heard the explanation. But while they're going through the handshake line, somehow they were told that the game's not over. There's point five seconds left. Oh no, North Caro, North Texas is up sixty nine to fifty seven, so like it's over, the game's over. But they say, no, we're gonna go put half a second back on the clock. After they've gone through the handshake lines. Now nobody had left the
court yet, but like they're finishing up. It got to the point where all the players had shaken hands and it's just all the staffers like that's how deep they were into ending the game. And they told them, no, you got to get back out there for point five seconds. East Carolina has the ball with less than a second left, down twelve points. They throw it in guy heaves it from beyond half court, makes it. The final score is one twenty nine, not one twenty eight and a half. That, my friends, is.
A bad beat.
And I think what makes it quite literally a bad beat and not like hey it was close and you lost, the game was over and they decided for it not to be over for reasons that did not matter, that had no impact at all. That's just I mean, I doubt it. I mean, if there really just doing their job, if they feel like there's still should have been time
left regardless, then they're doing their job. But like I would be so burned up that I would just think that there's some kind of conspiracy because one of the chances of me losing this bet whenever it was kind of you know, already over, had already won.
Why are they even heaving it just to go down nine instead?
That's a good a lot, And that's the good thing. That's a good point because there were not I mean in the NBA. This is clearly a thing in college now that you know you are able to go get paid to play, and your numbers are gonna matter when you're being evaluated for teams that want to pay you INIL money. There are players that now this day and age, will not take a meaningless shot because it'll the chances of it going in are next to none and it
could impact their percentage. I'm sure that's not on the minds of a lot of players, but it wouldn't shock me if it was. But this guy decided to just eave it up there, and sure enough he made it. And I bet he had no clue at all what he had just did to many people who decided to bet the under in that game.
That's absolutely gross.
And another part of the bad beat effect here is that, in the grand scheme of things, if you took under one twenty eight and a half, you got some stones on you. In general, that's a low number. I mean that's really low. So you took a risk, and then you were watching them shake hands and you feel like you got it and you knew more than others, and yet you know you got robbed. So condolences to anybody who lost that one. That's a bad beat. Makes me feel not as bad about the ones I don't win,
and I don't win a lot. All right, we got another hour to go, stick around five o'clock hours. Next it's coffee and company and we are fueled by Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety