12.20: Volleyball School - Hour 2

the first ever first round here where. You've got teams hosting games in the College Football Playoff one tonight of course, Indiana Notre Dame, and then the rest of them tomorrow, and a really good I mean for Louisville, it's I mean, it's not a big matchup by any means. It's on the CW, but I'm very anxious to see this team in their first game since losing to Kentucky. They've got Florida State tomorrow at two o'clock. You'll see on Sunday

Louisville play for a volleyball national championship. I believe it's Sunday. And then college basketball overall has some really good matchups this weekend, including the CHAMPI it's classic. I don't know how good of a game it's going to be Kentucky with Ohio State. As Ohio State is, you know, not very good this year, but obviously you know, Kentucky's been phenomenal. So I'm looking forward to this weekend in a major way.

But more than anything, the playoff like this is you know, I just have a hard time seeing this not meeting expectations for just about everybody. Now, everybody's expectations are probably not the same, but I don't really know what I mean. If the games are bad and like it's lousy football, maybe you know, maybe that would mean that you could

be underwhelmed, but I don't know. College football. Again, I'm not trying to say that it's better than the NFL, because even if it's what you prefer more than the NFL, which, believe it or not, there are people like that. There are millions and millions and millions and more people who are just all in on the NFL and maybe lightly watch college football or don't watch it at all. But I just feel like the like the product, meaning the

play on the field. You see some really ugly NFL games, and maybe it's because you know, every win is is this everyone's treated the same in the NFL, right, it's not you know, there's no resumes kind of thing. It's just you when you lose, and that's how things fall. But in college football, man, I just it's just different, and I think it's more entertaining in a way that you know, it's not a slight at the NFL. It's just man like, I just have a hard time seeing

the atmospheres, the student sections, the energy, you know. I know it's now pro sports, right, that's what college sports is the highest level. It's just a different version of pro sports. But they're still even with that, knowing that they're being paid, Like, you know, you're representing your school and you've yet to make it, you know, you've yet to make it to where you really want to go,

which of course is the NFL. There's still something slightly you know, I guess, wholesome about it, and I'm looking forward to it, man. I I'm hopeful that these are great games and that we get to the end of this whole thing when we found the national champion and say,

why didn't we do this thirty years ago? Why why is this sport that I love been the worst of any sport at any level as far as determining who wins the national championship, think about it, even like before the BCS, like that was insane, Like just whoever was the number one team in the A people? And then the BCS formula wasn't really that bad, but just to have two people play for the championship was really lousy.

And you know, then they expanded four. That was a start, and now that it's at twelve, it's it's gonna be awesome and I can't wait. All right, it's Coffee and Company. We are feel about Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Appreciate you hanging out with us. My name's Dick Coffee Austin Montgomery alongside today as we get you out of here for the week. Yah, we have we're having some fun.

We also talked about Louisville Woen's volleyball, as you could expect because they punched their well they didn't really punch their ticket. They just advanced in the final four, which means, you know, they're playing for a national championship now. And I did kind of get into how I used to hesitate to really you know, express myself when it comes to these kind of sports, these sports that aren't the

big revenue sports that don't dominate interests. When it comes to fans around here, usually it's just football and men's basketball and some women's basketball. Like I used to just get in my head like, hey, if I start talking about this for the first time and it's because they're clearly succeeding and it's a big event like the postseason, then you know, then then people are gonna come out of the woodwork to say that I'm I'm a fraud

and I'm a poser. And that's really not like a crazy thing to say, because yeah, you know, I know it sounds bad, but yeah, I'm not gonna sit here and spend a ton of time discussing these sports whenever it's just the regular season, and you know, I just know the audience that listens to to to you know, the people who we try to reach our demo, it's just not you know, it's a niche thing. So I bring all that up to say that if you are somebody that does get irritated like, oh, now he wants

to talk about volleyball. Now he wants to talk about baseball. I've been here since day one and you never talk about it. Oh, you only want to come around when things are good. Like, I don't really know what to do about whatever gets you to have that kind of energy, But do you want it to grow or not? Like I mean, and I don't really care what you want, because I'm going to talk about it whenever I want to.

But like last night, to see a bunch of Louisville fans, we were out and about having dinner and we went to put shack me and the me and the family did is that me? Sorry about that?

I was talking about. To see a bunch of other Louisville fans out there discussing or watching the game, and like they're probably just like me, meaning they're probably not you know, into the you know, volleyball in the regular season as much, although it's growing in a major way and tickets are kind of becoming tough to get and it's a very like I get why it's a it's a tough ticket because it's very it's very entertaining and it's a fast growing sport when it comes to the

television product. So yeah, Danny Bustmoin Kelly has been has been here for a little while now. And I don't mean like at U of L. I mean in this range to where, at any moment, if Louisville Volleyball breaks through and wins a national championship, you can't really say you're that surprised, because you know, she's She's built a pretty elite program in her time here, and to win a national championship and anything is phenomenal. And they're gonna have a chance to do that now against who they

who they got. I mean not to act like they can just you know they've already won it. But game pass Pitt was the challenge. They played Pitt a few times this year and both teams really good, but clearly Pitt got the best of them the first two times they played them, and and and Pitt was the number one overall seed, so they knew going in they were gonna have a tough test, and it was tough. I didn't I mean, I felt early on it looked like, yeah, I see why this is the number one overall seed.

And I think Louisville is really good and and and you know, maybe they do win it, but man, it

looks like Pitt's just gonna be unbeatable here. And then sure enough in that second set they found some momentum and got it rolling and really just it was I don't really know what you compared to, because again I'm still a newbie when it comes to watching volleyball, but that kind of a run, I feel like that's pretty rare to see, not only against a team like Pitt, but against anybody to kind of have that momentum, and man it was. It was rowdy and it was awesome.

So congrats to to to the women's volleyball program. And I would imagine, you know, even more so than an already was, it's going to be a bigger deal around here. People are are are much more aware of how great the product is and and and how how good the program is. That Danny buspim Kelly has uh has has. I don't want to say she's built, because obviously there was some success prior to her arrival, but she got hired and really has taken it to to a different level.

Here's Pat Kelsey a little bit earlier today, at his press conference discussing uh that big volleyball win last night, and and you could tell he not only has a lot of a lot of he supports this program and and and all the staff at u of L, regardless of the sport, but you could tell he's all in on this team.

first team All American. You know, I love defensive dogs,

and I don't know a whole lot about volleyball. I know it's an unbelievably exciting sport, but like, listen those announcers talking about the strategy of the game, and you know, Elena Scott being this defensive specialist and Pitt has these like I mean girls that hit the ball straight stinking down, and Elena Scott's like up the sideline and this girl just hits a missile right at her and she kind of like, I mean, it must have been coming at a million miles an hour and it kind of deflects

off her arm. And they show her and she's like distraught and disappointed that she didn't return that, And I'm like, how can a human being return that or dig that? And you know her expectation is to do that. She's one of the best defenders in the entire country. But then just to see how how those those girls responded when Anna went down, the air absolutely went out of the Young Center and instead of that deflating them, they rose to the occasion.

to find a nickname for Peyton Peterson. There's a lot of I just I tried everything I could to rhyme.

So what I came up with was Peyton in a pinch, Peyton in a Pinch, Because I'm telling you, man, that was as as big of a moment as you could possibly imagine for a freshman athlete and a decorated, decorated All American goes down who is kind of the heart and soul, emotional leader, one of the emotional leaders of the team, and just to see her step up in that moment and and just make play after play and exude confidence. It was amazing. Over twenty thousand people at

the Young Center for a volleyball game. I mean, I think it just speaks to where women's sports has gone in you know, in the national sporting landscape, where volleyball has gone. Obviously, this is a very passionate volleyball city the club level, you know, it is just one of

the hotbeds in the country for volleyball. And then just to see what Danny has done and what she's built and just how overtaken the city's become by their team and what they're doing, and just to have the opportunity to compete for a national championship in our home city, our to all Americans are home grown from this city. How cool is that? And I'm so excited for them,

and it's gonna be a big, big weekend. Obviously, besides that two hours where I was glued to the television, my mind is one hundred percent in preparing our guys.

And this doesn't really factor into, you know, how you're viewed, I don't believe, but when you are when you have all of your coaches, you know, publicly at times supporting one another and kind of maybe you know, sharing, maybe not. You know, they're all different coaching different ways, I'm sure, different personalities and in different sports obviously, but like when you can feel that camaraderie between like Jeff Brahm and

Pat Kelsey and obviously everybody. I mean, you throw Danny bus from Kelly in there now, obviously, Jeff Balls, Dan McDonnell, and I know I'm missing some of the other notable coaches, but like whenever again, it's not something you have to have for these programs to be successful, but it can only help you. It can only get fans more locked in. And that wasn't a guy there that just saw that the volleyball team won last night and wanted to say congratulations.

That's a guy who, as you could tell, was all in like all of us. You know, I wanted to work out for Pat Kelsey here in a major way for the obvious reason I want Louiell to do well. I care about Louisville basketball, probably more than I should. And I know I'm not alone. I know a lot of you listening are in the same boat. But I want whoever's the coach here to work out because that's what matters. But I want Pack to work out here so badly because I think he you know, first of all,

you could I mean, he's very easy to like. I don't know anybody that has any issues with Pat Kelsey as far as the guy, the way he carries himself, and even though people have at times been upset with

the losses, understandably so. And even though at times you may question a decision he makes for something like that, I mean, you're never gonna have to worry about him not getting it done because he's not working his ass off and he's not really just being very visible within the community and that didn't really have a whole lot to do with winning and losing. But like, this is

a really really good fit in every way. It just has to you know, you gotta win, and so far, I think he's shown that he's a good coach and I have no worries about I mean, it's not something I'm thinking about, but hearing that clip from Pat just reminds me, like, man, this guy is pretty awesome, and this is he's going to be a legend around here if he wins ball games. And so far he you know,

so far, so good. By the way, this is another quote that you know, this is just I don't know, this is something that he said at his press conference that maybe this is just me being a fanboy. And again, the card levels have been have been rising throughout the show, as we've discussed, because I've just been real homerrific today. Austin's had to rain me in a little bit. But when talking about the non conference schedule for Louisville, which again is one of the toughest in the country right now,

he said, you can't sharpen your teeth eating oatmeal. And I feel like that's something like my cool uncle would have said, and I would have been like, you're damn right, unc. I like that, I'm gonna use that. I'm gonna put that in the back pocket and save it for later. Like that's like that's that you know, that doesn't make him a good coach. That's really not even that funny, but like, you know that, I just I think that's

a good way to approach it. Like he understands that the challenging schedule is only going to benefit them and

there's no excuses despite the injuries. It's just we've learned we've seen a side of him that we may not have ever seen for many years, because the injury situation that he's had this year is not something most teams get very often, and in our first year getting to know him, we've kind of seen that he's not going to play victim and make excuses, and that's how he's gonna lead, and his players are going to have a similar mindset, which is really all you. It's all you

can do something. My my grandpa used to say that I thought was so cool. And I still at times, uh, when I'm when I'm in a spot, when I get the lob, I try to execute. But I I remember I ran into him when he was probably in like the last couple of years of his life, and I and I, you know, it was like, hey, you know, small talk. Hey, you know you're taking it easy. And he looked at me really serious, Austin, as if he was, you know, about to tell me something very very important.

And he said, son, if it ain't easy, I ain't taking it.

kind of snobby. Sure, maybe that's just the Bullet County coming out in me. You know, we don't have a Target out in our end of the area. So but anyway, shout out to Target. They have a lot of good stuff and actually have they have good clothes too.

myself and sound so surprised. But will my attention Will my thirty year old attention span allow me to sit at a desk and frustratedly do this for hours on end? And I thought to myself, just be the better man, don't waste your money.

something I can't compare. It's it's amazing, but I I have sometimes I've now hit a point where it's like, you know, the high of a drug, Like sometimes when you come off of it, it's it's bad or maybe you take too much of it, like I know, like a lot of people take gummies or they just you know, marijuana, and it is to calm them down, obviously, it's it's to chill them out and and you know, make them

just kind of you know zen. But then there's other people who maybe maybe their first time experiencing that, or maybe they take too much. It can it can give you the opposite effect where you're paranoid.

So there will be like tiktoks. And this is maybe the worst example to give because then know a lot of people aren't on TikTok. But I will see like a they'll they'll play like an old eighty song and it'll be like a slide show with AI created images that's like New York City in nineteen eighty four. Oh yeah, and like they'll show an office, they'll show somebody's luxury apartment, they'll show like what a new car was. Yeah, and I get nostalgia, but I wasn't alive for that. Yeah it makes sense.

where like I, it was all brand again. I knew it wasn't new, but it was brand new to me. So it's really awesome and exciting. So like now when I hear music like that from that era, like I get a feeling that is nostalgia. But I'm like, wait a second, that can't be what it is, because like I didn't experience this whenever it was whenever it was

you know, new, and it was a big deal. So I don't like this feeling that I get, because I don't mean nostalgia is a it's a blessing and a curse because again, like you're nostalgic because you experienced something that you really enjoyed and that you really loved. But then it's like, wow, you'll never get that back again.

And you know, nobody could claimed that Ohio State this year has underwhelmed and and and fell short of winning the Big Ten because of talent. I mean, they got a lot of talent. So maybe the lie. Maybe maybe people aren't really eager to like pick Indiana to win this because they just are aware that it's tough to read. But like if there was ever a team that you kind of felt was pretty good but you're not as sure, and you know you you think they're good, but you

know you're just not. You don't know for sure if there's ever an opponent where you feel like you might be more willing to see them, that you could see them winning and getting an upset. Wouldn't it be Notre Dame like Notre Dame. I've never I've never once believed that, like the notion that they don't play anybody was real, because I think because they don't play in a conference and they can make their own schedule, people just assume

that their schedule stinks, and typically it is not. They may never they never play the toughest schedule in the country, but Notre Dame usually at the end of every season has played one of the tougher schedules in the country. This year's not one of those years. This year their schedule was not great and I saw Notre Dame firsthand in Louisville. I mean, I don't want to get PTSD here, but the one game that really just I've had a

tough time, really and I'm over it. I mean it's not something I'm dwelling on, but like, think about what Louisville did against Notre Dame and still nearly won. I mean they made goof after goof that you just can't make and expect to beat teams like Notre Dame at their place, and they should have.

plays at times. He learned, He clearly learned in that game, Like there were so many things that were avoidable mistakes that Louisville did, and yet they still could have won that game. So that's a factor for me where I'm just really not that impressed with this Notre Dame team. And look at look their best win is probably Louisville. I mean they well, no, they beat A and M. But they A and M didn't finish the season great,

did they? They were eight and four? So again, you know, I guess not every eight and four is the same, But you know, notreed A and M's eight and four doesn't include it looks like I guess their best win would have been lash before Louisville, Oh, they played it was early, it was it was uh, it wasn't right before they played them the first game of the season. Oh, okay, and then they and then the next week they lost to Northern Illinois. Then they beat Perdue bad before people

knew Perdue was terrible, beat Miami of Ohio. They beat Stanford bad. They beat Georgia Tech. They beat Navy, but like, no offense to Navy, but that's not like, that's not the same type of Navy's not a resume win for anybody in the playoff. They beat Florida State, they sucked. They beat Virginia, they sucked. They beat Army and you know, Army had a solid year. But again, are we claiming Army is like a as a as a signature win. I don't think we are. And if you are, you're

just trying to show appreciation appreciation of this military. And then they beat USC who, of course, you know, had a really underwhelming year, and there's talk that that you know, know, their head coaches maybe gonna be on the hot seat next year if things don't get better. So like Indiana, it isn't like, well, is how is Indiana going to keep up with Notre Dame because Notre Dame just has way too much talent based off what Notre Dame always

recruits well. But like Northern Illinois beat them, and I just feel like there'd be more people willing to see this as an upset than what I've heard. But at least they're now willing to see it more competitive because you can see the line is dropping. It's now a plus six and a half, which I'm taking it. I think the Hoosiers have shown this year that they may not win, but man, they can compete. I mean, if you can blow out some of the teams they blew out in the Big Ten, I feel like they can.

I feel like they can compete with Notre Dame. And as you said earlier, like Riley Leonard, who's trusting that game?

have some decent matchups. In fact, Cincinnati date and that's two ranked teams that should be a good one at eight thirty that I didn't realize what's happening, and I haven't been as I haven't been keeping up as much because I still haven't been able to get into my FanDuel account and haven't had any haven't had any response from him since Tuesday, maybe so very I mean, it's a helpless feeling and I don't really know what to do. But you know, there's nothing I can do, so just

sit and wait, I suppose. But we do have an opening line for tomorrow's Louisvillelorida State game, as Louisville is two and a half point underdogs, so at Florida State. This is a Florida State team that Leonard Hamblin has been there a long time and things have really fallen off for him in the last couple of years. But so far this year they have made improvements. I don't know how good they are overall, because their schedule has not been as challenging as Louisville. And look, well, maybe

they beat Louisville. I'm just saying Louisville. You know, their losses have all come to good teams, and they have beaten a handful of teams that don't really do much for you, But then their wins against Indiana and West Virginia clearly some value there. On the Florida State side, their losses have come against Florida's of Florida, which is really good undefeated by the way, and then they lost to LSU and NC State. I mean, to be fair,

those aren't bad losses. But you know, the five teams to beat Louisville, I would say all they would all be winners against those two teams, and their best win is I guess Temple. So this is a really good test I think for Florida State to kind of see where they are, because you know, technically we're just going to go off the ken Pom, LSU and NC State, who beat Florida State are not as good as Louisville. Again,

I'm only basing that off of the numbers. There's really no way to know, but Louisville is expected to lose this game according to kin Palm by three. Seventy six to seventy three is the score, which not surprised at all. And I trust kin Pom more so this year than I did last year. But before that, if you listen a little bit, then you know, I've been a kin Palm guy for a long long time, and I don't think it's a coincidence that the kin Palm formula at

times the difference in score from their projections. It's like almost exactly what the sportsbooks open up games at. So anyways, I expect Louisvill to win. I'm aware they can lose because they don't have a whole lot of margin for air. But I've been pretty positive about this team, despite losing

to all the teams they've lost to. Tennessee was a little different, and that was really a different world, it seems like, because at that time we didn't know they were going to be We didn't know they were going to have the injuries that they've had. But you know, when Louisville lost to Duke and lost to Kentucky, and I think with the Oklahoma game, that's when they could have had But I guess really more than anything, I mean Duke in Kentucky because the Miss oh Miss, that

was a beat down and that was not good. But I kind of feel like they were just that was just a really bad night for them, with the confirmation that they're not getting they're not gonna get back Casein or Korn this year. They couldn't have shot it worse that night. It just was a bad game. Still, you got your ass kicks, so you got to you know, it's not a good look and you gotta live with it.

I'm not saying we should be happy with it, but it's the Duke Kentucky game for me, where, yeah, man, if they can play competitively and really, you know, play well. I mean I thought they played well in those games despite coming up short. Obviously it kind of got away

from them at the end of Duke. But with Kentucky, they were competitive in a place that you know, I don't think many teams are gonna win this year, so I know people are upset, and we did the whole moral victory thing after those games because I didn't want to come on here and act like Louisville one. But I also wasn't gonna lie to you and act like

I was super depressed and you know, worried. I mean, I thought you could take some things from that game in a positive way and say, Okay, if you can compete with Duke of Kentucky with this seven man rotation, you should be able to go beat some of these teams that you know were not Duke in Kentucky and Florida State. To me, is that team. So you know, I act like I'm super confident, but I think a loss here, really how it looks will will determine the

reaction for me. But result alone, I would say a loss, I can't imagine that they would lose this game, and I wouldn't be bummed and disappointed and feeling like they should have won. Now again, maybe after you see how it looks, it's much different. But I know Pat Kelsey says that you know the next game on your schedule is the most important game in the country or the most important game for this program. And I know that's just a mindset. I'm not doing it to be corny.

But like for me with Louisville, this is a huge game because it's it's it's a it's a good test, not meaning you're playing a great team and you're really gonna learn a lot about yourself. But for me, and I know I'm not alone, I've got a feel for this team and what expectations really should be despite them being shorthanded, and it's one that can still potentially make

the tournament. And if that happens, I think this is a win you're gonna need to get so in a weird way, in my own way, it's it's kind of a big game that I'm I'm super excited about tomorrow. You know what else people are probably excited about this weekend sex. I would imagine if you're going to partake in that and it's going to be part of your weekend, you'll probably Christmas. Yeah, I mean this time of year.

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