2.25: The Big ACC - Hour 3

I mean I can't wait because you know, I don't want this thing to end. And once you get to March, the big dance, I mean, it's winter, go home can end really quickly. And in fact, the last tournament that Louisville was in, they were the first team to go home because they played the first game and lost to Minnesota.

He was at the time not only did he work for us at iHeart, but he worked at uh he worked for Learfield and he was the engineer for the for the broadcast for the football and basketball games, and he just happened to have a seat next to him, and I got to watch it courtside, and I got to have a headset on that was turned off. Microphone was so I got to watch the game listening to Paul and Bob call it, and it was an awesome experience other than you know, losing. That wasn't That wasn't fun.

In a way, it's kind of made it a little more exciting because we know this team doesn't have like a super high ceiling. And what I mean by that is that doesn't mean they can't make a run and somehow, you know, find their way deep into the tournament. But I think we're getting the most out of nearly everybody who plays, which again speaks to how good of a job Pat Kelsey has done. So to know that, you know,

they could have a really rough night shooting. They've had times where they don't do great at the free throw line. There've been some times like Georgia Tech where they weren't good. They certainly weren't the best version of themselves, but I think Georgia Tech had a lot to do with them winning against Louisville. They were hitting tough shots and they had some big, furious runs of their own, and that's

how you lost the game. So I know they can lose, and that gives me the level of excitement to where I'm not bored, you know what I mean, Like it's still an acc game. Virginia Tech is. You know, they're they're not popcorn State. But louisvill should be able to take care of business tonight. And this team is absolutely proven that they will come ready to play. That's not

a guarantee that it happens, but let's be honest. They come out like flat and get get down big early or something, and it just isn't there night, and it's

an unexpected loss. I mean, that happens in sports, that's life, but that would be the first time we saw this team do that in this kind of a situation in conference play against a team that you know they're better then So until that happens, I'm gonna assume that it won't, but also have the awareness that you know it's possible anything can happen currently not and a half point favorites tonight had some pushback on the text line everybody's saying

hammer Louisville, and maybe you're right, because I do think when it comes to the spread, which we're gonna get to gambling in just a moment, not because I'm gonna, you know, bore you with all of my picks. But the story Pat forty broke earlier today with details as far as how the Johntay Porter gambling ring made its way into college basketball. Just the details of that I think are interesting. But anyways, with with Louisville, I don't think that, Like I hate saying this because it sounds

like I'm making a criticism or complaint. I just think it's the reality of how it's played out. I do think they are like they've played that they've played better basketball away from the UM Center. They've also, you know, blown out some teams at the UM Center. I remember what they did a wake forward at the beginning of that game. Like they've been they've been fun as hell at home and look they they've only they haven't lost

an ACC game at home other than to Duke. So I don't want to I don't want to in any way act like they're not the same team when they go on, but they just seem to play a little better. They seem to make more threes on the road. Maybe that's not even a true thing to say. Maybe I'm just you know, imagining that. But I'm I'm fact checking somebody on the text line here because they have let's see, yeah,

I mean you are correct. The the games that they have not covered outside of the loss, the only games they've noted an acc play outside of the loss to Georgia Tech were three home games. They they ended up beating Virginia by fourteen, spread was fourteen and a half. They got the hook, they ended up only they beat Miami by ten, spread was seventeen and a half. Spread was thirteen and a half against Florida State and they

won by eight. So you know, maybe the play is to hammer them on the road as favorites because they usually you know, they usually win big. One spread I did not understand in fact two of them. Here's what's crazy. They were favored by eight and a half against CINCYA State. They won that game ninety one to sixty six. Only favored by seven and a half against a terrible Notre Dame team and won seventy five to sixty in a GA where I don't even feel like they played that well,

you know, for their standard. So I would imagine they'll take care of business tonight, and if they do have happened to win big, maybe it's a result that can help them in the UH in the bracket. In the net, really, bracketology is what I was gonna say. It's actually what I meant. But the net is something that you know, we reference that we know the NCAA selection committee does utilize. It's not the end all be all, but it is a metric that they created. It's certainly flawed, but it

is theirs. Therefore they are going to use it. Probably in fact, they will use it more than any other metric out there. But for what it's worth, real quick, just because I just had his Twitter page pulled up, but Joel Nardi, he put out a fresh update earlier this afternoon, and what I like looking at knowing that, of course, you know, he's just one guy. He's not on the committee.

So that sounded bad. I just in about out a five second window there, Austin, I said, I'm aroused, long time coming. That just I just it's one of those moments where people just turn on the radio and they hear that. They're thinking, what the hell's wrong with this guy?

I'm not anything Like there was a song Justin Moore wrote, well, I like Justin Moore by the way, but a song he had a song titled you Can't Even Beta Hook. Pretty sure he wrote it about me. It's all the things he's saying that you know, this guy can't do because he's not a country boy. Yeah he's a sissy kind of feel like it was me. Maybe you play that on the next rejoint. Okay, But anyways, I find myself like there's nothing like Bullet County. Fair I'd live

there the whole time. It's in session. Like I just it's my you know, maybe I'm a poser because I don't really think it's my people. I mean, it is my people. I'm from Bullet County, proud obviously, but you know, I I don't necessarily I don't know. I don't want to say something that I'm going to offend anybody. But like there's a stigma about Bullet County that I oftentimes find myself like, you know, have you seen Fairdell. Yeah that's Jefferson County. But it's the same thing, damn it.

like that. But again, they have a monster win. They have a phenomenal win against Duke, so they deserve to be ahead of Louisville. But Louisville also beat them. And let's be honest, I gotta you know here, I am being the homer and I try to do this to like remind the audience that if you're a louis A fan, you feel like we're being disrespected. We're really not. I think people know we're good, but they're basing it off the resume and the resume. I think where we are

is the number twenty five overall seed. I think it makes sense because again, like Clemson, they have a win against Kentucky and a win against Duke. Our best win is against Clemson, and the second best win is your best guess I don't know what it would be. So that doesn't mean Louisville's not a legitimately good team that

could go make a run. It's just you got to base it off the resume, all right, So really quickly the news broke, I feel like officially today this is an exclusive report from Pat Forty of Sports Illustrated.

the same people who were clearly and held accountable. They've been charged federally with telling John tay Porter what to do and you know, making these wagers knowing that he was going to shape points and alter his line. They were betting on a lot of stuff. And sure enough,

they've they've now noticed that there's been a pattern. So investigators flag suspicious betting patterns in at least nine different college basketball games, including Temple, Eastern Michigan, and North Carolina A and T. Now what I find to be interesting is there is a a guy who is not that he's not the guy that has been federally charged just yet, at least not that I can not that I can tell. But there's a guy by the name, last name of is it Hennan, Yeah, Shane Hennan.

buy his picks. But many of his bets were placed on these obscure college games where sportsbooks have lower limits to prevent, you know, manipulation, and his betting slips would show millions wagered over years, but not all slips could be like independently verified. So this guy's been betting like this has probably been widespread long before gambling has been legal in a lot of these states. But it also linked to Johntay Porter and Roseer. Now the college stuff,

I mean, it's tough to know. I mean they haven't named any players specifically, but I mean, this is this is this is not good. But again I always say this when it comes to somebody getting caught, Rather it be Johntay Porter, which is the worst of the worst, shaving points and really putting the app salute credibility of the game on the line. I mean, like that's just I mean, that's a shameful thing for a variety of reasons.

And that's why they're going to make the ultimate example out of you, and you're gonna go to federal prison. But then there's other guys like Ridley, the receiver in the NFL who didn't bet on who made small wagers, not on anything about his team, he was making wagers on other things, and he got suspended for an entire year.

So when these things happen, rather it be a mild, silly kind of thing that you really don't think the guy did something crazy, but he just broke a rule that he knew he shouldn't break, and it's a dumb thing to do because of all that you have to lose in very little to gain. That's the mild version.

The extreme version is Johntay Porter. Anybody who had any influence in sports betting becoming legal in all these states across the United States knew that this would happen, and it's a calculated risk that you take, and what you do is when it does happen, you hold somebody accountable to scare others from doing it, And more than anything, I think what you do is you make it clear you're not gonna get away with it. We're gonna we got eyes on you everywhere, like we know everything you're doing.

And I'm sure people can slip through the cracks from time to time, but they're always gonna get caught. I mean, look, I got shut out of my account for a month almost because I just crossed state lines and logged into my account. They flagged that as suspicious activity and like took forever to let me back in again. I think it's on them, and it shouldn't have taken that long for me to just have this revolving door of providing

an ID in my name and all that. But they have to take it that serious because you just have to. So I don't know what the outcome is gonna be. But there's a possible co conspirator along with Sugar Shane. This guy's name is Marvis Fairley. He's known as v Zino, and he's suspected of being kind of the middleman. He's another guy that was selling picks on social media. He hadn't been charged, but he has a history as a

bookie and a criminal record of illegal gambling. So I mean, if in fact you know he's involved, nobody's going to be shocked. But again, this guy, I mean, just this is such a easy thing to potentially do. Therefore, like this is this is a new type of like news story and it's not good. But we have access to these athletes all the time now, I mean, they probably

don't read every message they get. I don't know why they would, But think about playing college basketball, not at Duke, not at Kentucky, not at Louisville, not at Kansas, but at Eastern Michigan, Mississippi, Valley State, North Carolina, A and T even Temple. You're not making an ale money. And if you're smart and you want to try to maybe go off the radar, go get one of those guys to shape points. They'll do it because they probably are I shouldn't say they're supid enough, but like they they

don't have the nil money. Again, it's still a dumb thing you should not do. But they may see other guys they're playing against in these by games when they go on the road, and they know these guys are driving six figure vehicles making big money, there's gonna be some jealousy and they're gonna want to they're gonna want to get paid. So apparently what was let me see the way they were able to Uh, I'm trying to see that there was a I can't. This article is

it's and I encourage you to check it out. It's really good work from Pat Fordy and his crew at Sports Illustrated. But the way in which they caught them, it was, you know, where's it at? It was just in front of me. Now I can't. Yeah, So they were using straw betters and proxies to get to you know, to to have this, I guess go undetected for as

long as it did. By using different associates of Sugar Shane in different states, and his network avoided drawing immediate attention because again we're talking about people across you know, six states over logging in and there's no connection. But some of these associates allegedly had criminal backgrounds and ties

to underground gambling operations. So if you are somebody that is on the radar for again, your your criminal record and you being tied to underground gambling, that obviously is illegal and then they see that you have an account, that's a red flag. Then they're going to see what you're betting on and maybe if it's influenced, you know. To me, I just don't know how anybody that does this that thinks thinks that they're going to be able

to fully get away with it. Like, to be honest with you, if you are a if you're doing what this Shane guy is doing, your best bet is to find a stranger in another state, Like don't don't don't have a guy that's a that's you know, probably one of your entourage that lives in a different state that's willing to do it. But like if they got a criminal record and you know they're tied to underground gambling,

like that's a stupid person to use. Find a grandma in the Ebrasca that is gonna get you know, a ten percent cut if she's now again, but even that would be a red flag. Like if you're making big, big wagers, that alone is gonna bring attention to you, regardless of if you are. If you're some college kid, they're probably gonna look into you and think that either maybe you're a really good gambler or maybe you're somebody they put up to it. But if you are, like cause,

you gotta put in your social Security number. So if they do see that that, you know, a grandma on Nebraska in her seventies is cleaning up, that's also a red flag. That's not your typical client. Tele So anyways, not a shock that it's made its way to college sports, and they'll make examples out of these people, and it'll probably happen again, but I don't think it'll ever be widespread enough to where we got to worry about the

integrity of the game. But we'll see quick break. We got thirty more minutes left here, so stick with us right here. Coffee and Company feel about Thornon's on Sports Talk seven to.

Ford F two fifty. Oh yes, And you know, I got used to it for a little while, and it felt kind of like you just I just felt like I was just floating above everybody else. It wasn't it wasn't easy to park. But you know, I had it for like three weeks, but man, I got looks in it that just you know, everybody trip, everybody thinking like, all right, this guy's over compensating for something.

Place I Call Home. All these were radio hits. Then he had an out Then he had a song an album two years later called Outlaws Like Me that had a bunch of I mean yeah. It was a number one on the Top Country Albums.

amount of time. It was a little bit before that, like it was when people still did buy CDs, but they didn't purchase I mean, you could still do it then, but like you were, you weren't listening on Spotify or Apple Music. You were you were buying the album on iTunes.

He was the quarterback essentially of that show. He was the guy who you know, hosted it, and he's let those guys tell stories and he would make a wise remark or just a one liner that would go right over Joe and Denny's head, but the audience got it, you know what I mean, and his timing and his subtle like and he did it with the dog after an underdogs for years. I mean, he's just he's got a gift of the perfect one liner. He knows he

picks his spots. Well, yeah, and they were talking about Hooters, the restaurant kind of going to they're going back to the drawing board as far as not rebranding totally, but trying to figure out why they're not reaching the the younger demo anymore. And Venetti had actually the best line that was just the truth, the Internet ruined Hooters. The Internet doesn't need you to go at Hooters and just imagine that they're not wearing clothes, you know what I'm saying.

So that's I mean, that's a valid point, is it not. I told Venetti I texted him when he said it the Internet ruined Hooters, I said, put her on a T shirt like or you know, create the Netflix documentary. But they were talking about how I mean again like Dave and Tony are I'm sorry, Dwight and Tony are doing their thing, but also kind of actually talking about the story that is the business struggling, and Dave jump.

Dave just chimed in with the Dixie Highway and the Clarksville locations closed not that long ago at Hooters, and Dave mentioned, yeah, heard the sales really sagging there and

it's just the timing of it. And then and then they were talking about like the specific detail is about what what like would be the right move, and he did some kind of a work around to where he mentioned he doesn't know the specific details, but then he said maybe that's just tit for tat and I'm just like, Dave, you're you're a legend, my man, like, Yeah, it is.

you know, like I'm so funny, I'm so entertaining. But that is the goal is to try to entertain you in some way, and it's not about doing stand up comedy. But those two guys specifically is spent with the dogs, especially Dave. Dave without knowing it, without me knowing it, I should say, made it quite clear for me when it comes to like humor and talk radio you have a one thousand percent better chance of the audience listeners thinking something you said was remotely humorous or funny.

don't enjoy a lot of what this is elsewhere. And not to say that I have the best show, clearly I don't. There's a lot of people, there's a lot of people more successful than me, but like there's just little things that more than anything, it's just the acquired taste that you have. And what I mean by that is like, you know, I like a certain style of show that probably I mean in fact, the shows that are that are tabbed as the most successful talk shows.

Rather it be local markets or national, Like it's not really my cup of tea because I like to more so be entertained than just talk you know, numbers and whatnot. You know, it's it's have some fun. Like for example, there's a guy named Steve Zaban, a guy who is still around. He does a national show and I think he's actually doing a local show in either DC or

Milwaukee now. But like he to me is hilarious, but like he's he's not a I mean he's not he's not he's not rich Eyes and he's not Damn Patrick or anything like that. Like Jim Rome. Jim Rome. I understand why he's not everybody's cup of tea, and I don't often think like he's like the funniest dude ever. But man, that was entertaining. That was a show that wasn't just talking sports.

out of the way. We'll come back and wrap this thing up with some finishing thoughts as we get said for tonight to match up Louisville and Virginia Tech.

simple but yet well done, right, brilliant. Whoever did that? I mean, it wasn't like it was the craziest thing to come up with, but man, it's perfect, Like sometimes you don't need to overthink it like that just works. Really love creative marketing. I'm a nerd for that kind of stuff. All right tonight, Louisville Virginia Tech.