It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety.
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Here's Nick Coffee?
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As we get this thing started here at three o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, it just hit me how close we are to tip it off tomorrow. And I'm nervous, but not necessarily because of what you would typically think I was nervous for.
I'll explain.
It's coffee and Company. We are fueled bout Shorton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Nick Coffee.
That's me, the tribal chief, Austin Montgomery alongside today and you know the drill we're gonna take yptil six o'clock. We're gonna have some fun nonsense. That's really what we do around here, and I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way, hopefully you guys. I mean, if you're here, if you're here at three oh one, you wanted to be here, you chose to be here at.
That promo from you like a like a second before our show started. Didn't hook you, then, I don't know what does.
It's actually a real danger for society here because everybody who did. Forget the millions of listeners that get busy.
They're like, oh, everybody's scrambling. And if everybody, you know, at that second, as soon as the clock hits three o'clock when you fire up the music and get the party started, if everybody at the same exact time, all the billions of people out there are trying to access this show at the same time, it might it might explode, like the right before, like radio, Your radio might just explode. So anyways, however, many of you are listening wherever you are,
we appreciate you. And Austin, I'm nervous, not necessarily because I'm super scared of Creighton. And then I'm worried about this Louisville team. Are they good enough to win a game in the round of sixty four against a team like Creighton? It's really not that. It's more so just the nerves of knowing if you lose, it's all over, you're done. When we start the show tomorrow, we're gonna know is it over or is it not?
Yeah, And that's a scary thing.
That's the scariest part to me, is when we start the show, like we're gonna know it's either gonna be well. I mean, we have a great time on here regardless. Look at the last couple of years all we've had to go through. But once it goes tomorrow, we're gonna know. This time tomorrow, we're gonna know where we stand. Oh yeah, And that's a scary The unknown is a scary feeling.
So I went up to Lexton today to right for the press conferences, saw the open practice was not gonna be able to make it, and then it worked out where I did get up there, and first of all, I don't know what was going on on sixty four, but I ended up me like two hours and fifteen minutes to get there as unusual. Yeah, So there the ways that told me there was construction, which I mean, if that's the case, I would hope that by tomorrow.
It's not that The Kentucky fans are at it.
I mean, look, you said it, I'm not gonna lie. I thought the same thing, like, you know, are they planning some real major construction on sixty four from Louisville to Lexington so Louisville fans can't get up there? Because it was you know, I dropped the kids off and ended up getting free to have enough time, so I made the quick decision to go. And I mean, what I'm getting at is, this wasn't rush hour. This wasn't you know, the hustle and bustle, because there are a lot of people that.
Either you know, travel in from outside of.
Like people who, there's people who, a lot of people who live in between Lexington and Louisville that work in either of Lexton and Louisville. So there is traffic that way, but it wasn't necessarily at that time. So I would hope that that we don't you know.
But again you've been warned.
Maybe put it in your put it in your GPS, and see what it tells you to do, like when you leave your house, because that's what I got on six and it did tell me ahead there was some construction and some delay, but the delay was longer than I anticipated.
Yeah, and then it ended.
Up routing me like through Frankfurt, which was kind of I've never gone that way before. So anyways, when I went up there today, you know, I was reminded of something of it. Maybe reminded isn't the right way to even describe it, because it was something that I've I've talked about before and I know you've heard me mention it. Austin this group, they have a lot of maturity and
it stands out in a major way. And to kind of see them in the moment today and hear them Coach Kelsey, some of the players and we'll let you guys hear some of that sound today, you know that there's just a very chill about their business kind of vibe, if that makes sense. And I mean, I don't want it is kind of weird. I've been locked in. Yeah they're locked in, but it's not to the point of like they're overthinking it, right, Like.
They're not robots.
It's probably one of the more difficult things to do is to find that balance of understanding the importance of what you're about to do right, You're about to mean it could be a basketball game in the NCAA tournament.
It can be a job interview, right Like you you know, when you when it comes to just knowing the importance of something, something that you want so bad to go well, something that you prepared so hard for, balancing you know that edge of like all right, this is such a huge this is such a big deal, Like this is what it's all come down to. Having that, but then also being able to channel some you know, some I don't even want to say relaxing.
Maybe relaxing is the right way to look at it.
Yeah, so some some some calming confidence to where you're not overthinking it because you're you're very sure of yourself.
And I think that's what this group is.
They've shown that all year, by the way, I mean, I don't think, I mean at any point they've they've looked as if they were wide eyed.
And uh, you know.
Because a lot of these guys who are playing for Louisville this year, really the majority of them, well you know, Terrence Edwards played at James Madison and they beat Wisconsin in the tournament. Random fact that I forgot about. CHUCKI Hebburn had his Wisconsin career ended by by Fat Oh I totally forgot about.
That that came up today. And then also, you know.
Terror, Yeah, so Terrence Edwards, James Madison, Chucky played a Wisconsin, he played a lot of big games.
But Javon Hadley, you know, he played at Colorado.
I mean, I guess so what I'm getting at is, even if these guys have never played big time, you know, really like, for example, this is gonna gas up our rival, which I probably shouldn't do, but it's just the truth. Rubb Arena is a pretty pretty crazy environment when you're
on the road there and you're the rival. And these guys, I mean again, they lost, and they didn't play perfect, but they were still kind of trying to find themselves, that new version of themselves, meaning the new shorter rotation with guys injured, and they were super confident they played hit big that they played well, hit big shots, and really never wavered in that moment. And I think, really that's been one of the many things that stands out about this group is their maturity.
They don't get too high too.
Low, and I could just I could sense some quiet confidence today. And I've been doing this long enough to where I have been around a lot and I don't mean like I've been, you know, embedded within the program, and I mean I've at least i've covered Put it this way, I've covered a lot of teams around here. And I wouldn't claim to know any of these guys this team last year.
I mean I don't.
There's not many of them I know at all, So I'm not trying to insinuate that. But you can just tell these guys are grown ups. And I don't want to act like all the other Leivel teams that I watched that I got to see getting ready for an NAA tournament game. With days like today where they do let you see an open practice, you get the media availability, all that.
Kind of stuff.
It's not as if those guys were a bunch of childish, immature kids. But there it's just different, and I think it, you know, makes a lot of sense. There's a big difference in being like nineteen twenty and twenty three, twenty four, twenty two, twenty three. I mean a huge difference. So again, that doesn't necessarily guarantee you're gonna win tomorrow, but there's that's one thing that that really throughout the entire season,
games that I felt good about games. I felt bad about teams you play that you knew were really good. Teams you played that you knew you should just beat down. I've always felt as if this group will be ready, regardless.
Of who it is.
And again, I think Pat Kelsey's approached, this staff's approach is a big factor in that. But also these guys are mature, and it was kind of cool to see, you know, just the you know, the staff, right, I mean, Pat Kelsey relies on his staff in a major way. Obviously he's you know, he's leading the charge.
He's the guy.
You know, he's the head man. But his staff, you know, they each kind of have their own energy. That is a is a you know, combining factor to how this is all. I mean, again, win or lose tomorrow. I mean, I think this team's had a really good, good energy, good vibe about them. And again it's it's because they're a reflection of their coach. But you know, they're they're they're as ready as they're going to be. Rain Smith did look completely fine. Now again they're doing light stuff,
meaning they're just out there shooting around. I mean, it wasn't really a practice and this team they they got their their core rotations, playing thirty five minutes a game, seemingly, so he would make sense for you to go really light, especially know when you played three games in three days last week. So I won't act as if what I saw rain Smith do today is a real indication of
where he is as far as his health. But and I'm sure some of this is wishful thinking on my end, Austin, but it certainly looked as if he didn't have He wasn't wavering at all, Like it made me feel like he might have been able to play against Duke. They just were gonna really, you know, they didn't want him to get it further injured or maybe be more more swollen by the time you get to games where it matters more so because if you lose, you go home.
So he was he was moving around.
I mean, he was knocking down threes and I I'm sure I was overdoing it. And even even if you know, I don't know somebody would be qualified to just you know, eyeball, somebody's body language and there and you know the way there, you know their movements and what not to see if they if they really are having any real effects of this ankle injury. But I mean, he didn't seem to have any you know, it wasn't as if like he was trying to like I don't.
Know, he wasn't laboring any at all, Yeah.
At all.
And he was going through some pretty extensive stretching with the trainer, and you could tell that something they've been doing pretty routinely.
I'm sure.
So I'm feeling good, I really am, and I'm excited as can be.
It's just the nerves.
That I have is because you know, if it doesn't work out tomorrow, then it's it's all over, it's over, right, and that that would suck, It would really suck. And getting to the second week, second round, I should say easier said than done. But I can't be the only one that has had thoughts throughout this entire week. Once we realized the committee they bent as over and screwed us.
They gave us an doesn't make any sense, it's ridiculous, right since then, and I've been looking at you know, like everybody else, I'm sure, I've been looking at the project. You know, the path that you have, and you realize how difficult it is. Yeah, sure it roup And that's great, but you know, it's a difficult path. So I don't want to just aim for the second round, round of thirty two. I'd like to aim for you know, let's see how far they can go, right, Like, you know,
let's just see what happens. But I can't tell you the different planets. It seems to be as far as like it's the thought of losing in the roald if you only win one game in the tournament, like what did you really do? Right? Like round of thirty two better than going over, But like if Louisville can survive until Saturday to play Auburn, I just I can't quite grasp how insane it is, the difference it'll feel than if you lose tomorrow in the first game of the tournament.
Like it's just complete juxtaposition.
Oh yeah, you're feeling it totally.
Is because I'm absolutely I cannot wait for that. But I do have a good feeling in my mind. Usually I like to trust this thing right here, it's my gut. You can't see below what I'm padding, but I assure you it is my gut, and I can I can tell you. That usually tells me of how my sports teams are going to do. Since I'm so emotionally invested, I don't have I have a gut feeling about anything
terrible tomorrow. But there is, like you said, that nervousness in the back of my head that I mean, one more it's at this point, one more game is the last that we had this with this team at the least. Yeah, there's no more like at the end of the season. What we still got next week's home games, Senior Night and all that.
This is this is the end. It's right or die?
Yep, this is it?
And I uh again I this. I don't think that the opponent here and create. I mean, I feel like Craighton's a team that the more as we get closer to the actual game, I mean, we know what we know about them as far as what they do well and where where where they may have some struggles. But I kind of feel like for a Big East team, I just don't know.
I'm not as.
Familiar with them as I feel like I usually would be. Right, and again, we talked about it throughout the week. I just don't think people watch as much Biggiest basketball because you really got to go out of your way to look for you're probably not keeping your TV on FS one, you know, probably never watching FS one unless there's a random game you want to go watch. So you know it'll be a tough game, no doubt, and we'll see
what happens. And again, I know this is this is probably an obvious thing that people have been aware of, and I just haven't really gone on my way to talk about it. But you know, tomorrow it really isn't a work day for a lot of people. I'm sure many people will take off and a lot of people will go to work and not work. A lot of people will go to work and disguise that they're working
and watch this game. Although this I think it's one thing if you just go to go to work during the tournament, like you probably get a little bit of a pass as far as like your boss is knowing that regardless of what you what they tell you, you're gonna probably be checking your bracket, checking scores, maybe having a game pulled up on your phone while working that
kind of stuff. Maybe it's your cubicle. But when Louisville plays, I feel like it's more of like, ah, like it's you know, you expecting people to just show up and not not, you know, especially Louisville fans like it. Just
I don't think it's I don't think it's possible. But again, tomorrow, when it ends, we're gonna go live and it'll be it'll basically be a postgame show, and it's gonna be really really awesome and happy and you know, amazing, or it's gonna be really really sad, but either way, we'll be here and we'll get through it.
I think it's gonna be really interesting because this is my first year here where in my almost six years of being at this company that Louisville's been in the tournament, so like at least been in the in the office wise, I'm excited to see what the vibes are gonna be like the next couple of days because there's TVs out there in like the sales room and where the news guys are, and they usually are playing the news. But I can only imagine tomorrow everything's gonna be off basketball.
I'm excited to see the huddles around the television. I'm excited to see what kind of food they bring in. You already know I love the catering.
It's gonna be. It's gonna be a fun time tomorrow, yep.
And everything that is Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Tournament is amazing. I mean, we do talk about it quite a bit around here, but really don't even need to everybody around here, especially those that would listen to a show like this, you're well aware. This is our time to shine. We love college basketball more than anybody, as much as it's really popular when the brackets come out. This is college basketball's time to Shane, to be honest with you, but we love it more than anybody else.
So with all that said, it's.
Gonna be really hard to enjoy any it after tomorrow's first game if it's not a win for the Louisville And again, I mean, we'll get by.
We're not gonna you know, we're not gonna die. But I don't know. I just I can feel a sense of.
Everybody realizing sort of where we are, how close it is to just knowing here we go that they lose next next you know, if they don't, if they don't keep winning, then it's it's over for him.
And that's just a sad thing.
You know.
I called my parents the last couple of days just kind of you know, checking vibes.
And I usually never do that. I usually never do that.
But what is what does a man do whenever he you know, he's feeling a little insecure and and overthinking something, he calls his mom and dad and just again, I don't want to put any pressure on her, but I did talk to my mother before the for the show today, and she told me she's feeling confident in the game.
So that made me.
When Mom's feel a little bit more confident, I'm feeling a little more confident. And you know what, she might not even be feeling any which way. She may just say, Okay, we'll see what happens. But that's a that's a mother's love. She knows by her Yes, she knows her feeling confident will put me at ease, because if Mom's confident, then I should be okay. I mean, I didn't know on
Selection Sunday that I was gonna need my mom. We went out, had a day with the family, ended up stopping at my mom and stepdad's house, and we ended up staying there to watch Selection Sunday, just to you know, enjoy some time, let the kids hang out with with GGA and pop, that's their that's their grandparent rights and turned into where I needed or I needed a mother's love. I needed a mother's I needed my mom to console me with that injustice that was dealt by the selection
committee just broke my heart. I mean I was, I was in disbelief, still kind of am. But you know nothing you can do about it now, all right, So we'll let you guys hear Pat Kelsey, also Terrence Edwards, Chucky Hepburn, Rainsmith, a lot of clips from the press conferences today that we'll share with you guys. I also let you hear Coach McDermott, Creighton's head coach, and last night, I mean I think it delivered.
We got a hell of a finish.
A little mini Christian Latner from the Alabama State dude or that the Yellow Jackets, the.
Hornets, What are they think?
So they're the yellow I feel like I should know their mascot and I have already forgot.
It's some sort of be yeah something with the singer. I feel like there is a stinger. They're the Hornets.
I knew I was Club Hornets, yellow Jacket's Hornets kind of ways kind of the same thing. So that game was at least a thrilling finish, and then you know the North Carolina game.
I mean that was an ass whipping.
I mean they were up forty points in the second half, and I'm so, I'm I'm already annoyed by In fact, I was annoyed before the game ended. Might might have been annoyed before the game started, because it is true, But like, I don't know why everybody wanted to go out of their way to let everybody know that if Carolina wins, like that doesn't justify that they were correctly put in the field. Like that's a no brainer, right, Like do we really need to go up our way
to say that now? I mean, they did look good, and I guess what's annoyed me is it's me just trying to be I don't know the mister, I know it all the gatekeeper of college basketball, Like, hey, you idiots, don't you realize Carolina has always been enough. They just didn't do their part. They didn't win enough games. It was never about their talent. To me, that's like a
no brainer kind of thing. Whereas maybe others didn't really watch Carolina until last night because you know, it's win or go home and they were really impressive.
And we'll get to this later.
It's just a hypothetical, but you could make the case that if you if you end up in the eleven eleven seed playing game, like technically you just now got in the tournament, right, but now you're in and you're in a better spot than the eight nine, you know what I mean, Like it's I believe that Carolina benefited
from from last night. You know, they may get their ass kicked in their next game who knows better, little warm up game, but yeah, but and now they've gotten in and they're enough like they're playing a six seed, right, So I mean, I don't know, just the eight to nine is tough because you know, you are you're you don't really get any and I guess it could be worse, right if you're the eight and it's the nine, you technically have a better see But really eights and ninees
were kind of have always kind of been the same thing.
It's the closest matchup you get.
Of course, I and everybody knows that simple math really not even match just simple counting knowing numbers. But once you get past that, you get the one seed. Now, if Carolina can I mean, Carolina can get past the sixth seed Easier said than done. I mean, instead of having to play a one if they were the eight to nine, now they're playing what the three? So I mean, I'm not predicting Carolina goes on a run, but you really, you know.
If you're there, you got problems.
Mean, if you're in the play in you you're probably a team that everybody knows should have been better, but you've had issues and you haven't been able to get it together. You probably didn't even finish strong. I can't remember the last time I saw a team get selected in the first four, in those eleven seeds where you felt like, you know, they came on late and snuck in. Usually it's teams that have had a roller coaster that has never been consistent. So Carolina, you know they limped
in here. But then again, let's be real, they also played their best basketball at the end of the season, and then they ended up having a monster comeback against a really good Duke team and if Jalen Withers doesn't step over the line at the free throw line, they might have won that game. So really, Carolina, I mean, in a weird way Carolina carried momentum. I thought yesterday I talked about it, that they've got to know that they shouldn't be in the playing game for two reasons.
One they should just simply be better and have a much better seat and be safely in the tournament. But also they also probably know they didn't deserve it compared
to like West Virginia. Like I don't know how much players look at that kind of stuff, but there's nobody that could look at West Virginia's resume and Carolina's resume and put in Carolina unless you're looking at you know, the brand, or you realize the athletic director for Carolina just happens to be you know, Bubba Gump, who gets who gets a bonus if Carolina gets in and he's the chairman of the committee.
It's wild.
The more days that pass, the more insane that whole thing is that that guy not only is the chairman, but he is financially rewarded if Carolina gets in.
And it's the whole weird thing too when you start to hear more about it, well, he has to leave the room when they talk about it.
So and I just think that that's weird.
It is weird, and it's also one of those things that's like I think in a way, it would be like he should be able to stay in the room but not have say so because if he leaves the room and then he returns to the room and then the rest of the committee has to break it to him that his team.
Didn't get in. I think it's, you know.
They're they're avoiding that, like if they're all talking through it, Like I don't know, I just feel like it would be easier for them to just kind of talk, you know. I just feel like if he's gone and he comes back and the peers that he's been working with on the committee, I'm sure he's friends with all of them to an extent, and then you know, then he finds out that yet you know, not only are you not in, you're the last team left out or the first team left out, So you know, that really sucks.
I don't know, I just the.
Committee has gotten a lot of heat this go round, more so than than usual usual, And you know, I doubt anything ever changes, but it has at least led to I think more people throwing it out there that like, we could do this a better way, and I know the you know, the point the exters of college basketball, the the Reese David or the Seth Davis and you know, I can't think of who else it was that was out there acting like it was the worst idea ever.
I'm sorry, but there's like bracketologists who do this well and have done it well for a long time. They should absolutely be the ones to put together the bracket and not people who you know, work for conferences, work for schools, Like that's insane to me. And I think it was Seth Davis who said, are you kidding me? That's the That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, because imagine, uh, you know, the potential conflict of interest we hear about later,
or people would still complain about all the results. Well, of course people are always gonna complain no matter. Jesus Christ himself could come could come down and give us the bracket, and people would be talking crazy to JC because they don't like their seed line, you know what I'm saying.
So there's no perfect way to do it. There's no perfect way to do it.
But like, no matter what, people are gonna complain, you could like the playoff, I mean, by the way you play off the the instead of like turn, it could expand to eighty four, it might go to seventy two.
As they've discussed recently.
Teams seventy five through seventy eight are still going to be crying they didn't get in like that. There's never like, there's no world where people aren't complaining about who gets left out because not everybody gets in. So anyways, we got a lot to get to. We'll continue to get you set for tomorrow. I haven't talked toh a lot about Kentucky this week, and you know it's because they got a three seed. Like their game is a snooze to me. I mean, I don't find them to be
vulnerable to lose to this kind of team. The only real talking point there is that, like, damn, what if they did lose again? But I like, I can't even get there one because I'm too worried about Louisville. And also I just don't believe that Troy would be able to.
Take him out.
Also, Indiana hired their head coach. How that whole thing came about was wild. We'll get into it. Also, what a bad, bad week to be a West Virginia fan. Good god, I mean, you lose your coach, you got your you know, the governor out there really making a fool of themselves entertaining this guy. But like, I don't know if that's a great look. But anyways, we'll take
a break, we'll come back, keep it rolling along. It's Coffee and Company, and we are fueled by Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety Now.
Back to Coffee and Company. Fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
When that name popped up on the screen and we knew we had Crayton, I was like, whoo, I'm a Xavier grad and a Xavier guy, so I keep my eye on you know, the Big East and things like that, and you know, gosh, I know how good they are. So you know, we have our hands full, and we've been working our butt off in preparation and it'll be a big challenge, but we're excited about the challenge.
That was Pat Kelsey talking about the opponent tomorrow, the Creighton Blue Jays, who currently are are underdogs in this game.
Louisville still favored by two and a half.
In fact, I having check since earlier today, I doubt there's been a change, but let me take a look. Yeah, Louisville still favored about two and a half, and the kin Pom projected score. I don't know why, but I just kind of abandoned kin Pom whenever we get to the NCAA tournament. I guess once I start really looking at what I'm going to bet, I'll reference it. But anyways,
I'm looking at it for the first time. Somebody had asked on the text line what the what the projected score was, and it is a Louisville win seventy five to seventy two. So if that's the case, then Louisville would would cover and we would probably have a heart attack if the game's that close and you know, it's
win or go home. And I don't know if and I'm sure there's other formulas that aren't that different, but man, when you just look at what is said at certain sports I mean again, I'm really most I look at two sports books more than any of the others, and that's Draft Kings and FanDuel, and the spread it is minus two and a half Louisville at Draft Kings, and again, the projected score of kin palm is seventy five to
seventy two. So like it's almost as if they just take what the projected deficit is by its ear the margin is, and then just you decide to either go one point lower or higher or they give you a hook and the total is set for one forty five and a half. And again if if if we end, I mean so, I guess technically the the it wouldn't be smooth sailing. But if the if the score played out exactly the way kin Pom predicted it, then you would you would be able to hit the over, but not by much.
I don't want to.
I don't want to gas ken Palm up too much. But I do feel like there's a lot of opening lines out there that you see, totals lines, whatever, and I just feel like they are influenced by the kN Pom formula, because there's all kinds of different versions of kin Palm.
Now the Bart Torrik formula.
Which of course was introduced this year by the committee and they decided to use it for everybody but Louisville. It seems you've had the Evan Mayakawa, who's really kind of come on the scene lately with a lot of analytics his own formula. You know, you've got the net that the NCAA created, so you know there's a lot of different ones out there. But if you talk to you talked to coaches in college basketball, I mean, you
don't have to talk to them. Actually, they reference kin Palm more than anything because it's around longer than any of the other formulas, and also it's just proven over time to be really accurate. And I think this was a year where the kin Pom formula somehow did in fact, it adjusted a little bit better to the new world,
meaning the new world of the portal. And you know, you're you're putting out your initial kin Pom rankings long before the season starts, and you're you're, you're you have a team that has a bunch of different players that have all played elsewhere, which just makes it seem impossible to know pre season via your formula how good somebody
can be, which is true, you never really know. But this year it was it was a year where I felt like, and I don't even have the numbers to back this up, but it was back to where you could you feel like, man, this guy, he's he's a genius. Because more often than not. Whatever whatever his formula cranks out, as far as a score, it's usually pretty close to what ends up happening. All right, it's coffee and company. Feel about Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
If you're making the drive up to U to Lexington, is it up to Lexton?
Is it over to Lexington? I guess it's east.
So if you're making the drive over to lex to heading east to watch the Cards play tomorrow, make sure you fill up. You don't want to run out of gas, and you should stop it at Thornton's because as a member of their Refreshing Awards program, you're gonna save money at the pump. Also, need you, guys to be aware that there's potholes. I hit one that was not terrible. But anytime you hit a pothole on the interstate going seventy, you know.
It's it's Oh yeah, I always worry. Okay, give me.
If I can get like two seconds past the pothole and I don't have a blowout, I feel like I really like, you know, I survived.
Oh it's really bad. You got to turn your radio down. Make sure that you hear everything going on. It's like it's like the car equivalent to like stubbing your toe.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, and then you know the initial, the initial, the initial, I guess you know, hit it's it's it's almost like the pain from stubbing your toe doesn't really settle in until you look down and realize your toe's still there.
It's still attached to your foot.
Right.
It's kind of like the pothole.
You know, you don't really think about, Okay, how how how bad is my car going to be? You think, Okay, did I you know, did I not pop a tie?
Yeah?
So I don't know I was.
I don't know anything about the downtown Lexington streets, but that that intersection that's right out, not right in front of RUP, but if you're heading heading that direction, probably I don't know, a couple of blocks over there's like that.
And then they've changed it.
Also since last time I was there, they were doing construction for a really long time frequently, so it kind of looks a little bit different. But man, there was a pothole that I hit, going like, I don't know, twenty miles an hour because it's downtown. It wasn't like I was going forty or fifty, and I was worried that Mike, like I thought, it was a miracle that my tired didn't explode. So again, get gas at Thornton's
to save money tomorrow. Because we're fuel about Thornton's. You should be too, and be careful when it comes to the potholes to make.
Sure to leave early those. That's right, Psky Kentucky fans leave it.
To them to to just let's have everybody, let's start a new project.
On it on sixty four East.
Which yeah, I'm not saying that they did that, but you know, wouldn't wouldn't wouldn't surprise me. I'm becoming as I get older, more open to the idea of there really being some cons years he's out there, I mean, nothing like, nothing like crazy. But I'm telling you, I'm the more time that passes, the more I am firmly of the belief that they just swore they accidentally swapped Memphis in Louisville and didn't realize it. Because that I mean,
it's not like there's a ton to assess. But if you just look at every metric that they use, every you know, Louisville really was was judged differently, and I think it's because they just they actually did give them a good seed. They just you know, goofed on how they put the bracket together or something. Again, I'm halfway joking, halfway not and we need to move on from the seeding. It is what it is and you can't do anything
about it now. But anyways, so I mentioned coaches and Ken Palm and whatnot, and coaches have done a lot of complaining about this new world of college athletics. And I always say this, I really haven't had a fresh approach to the new world of college athletics and all the comple lengths from coaches, because it's really been the same thing since it became, you know, a thing where
players can do it. Players have all the power now, they have every I mean, they're not wrong about anything when it comes to just how difficult it is and just how different it is, and how the way in which they grinded it out as a young coach to then you know, get an opportunity to be a head coach somewhere, like the way in which they develop their style of coaching. There's a good chance that that just isn't gonna like isn't gonna work and you're gonna have
to make adjustments. So like that is that is that's a real thing that will make coaches consider do they really have it in them anymore?
Or they cut out to do it?
And what I mean by that is, you know, do they realize, Okay, I don't want to re retool at this late in life, I really have nothing left to prove.
I'm out.
So we've seen many coaches do that. And the reason I'm bringing this up is because it sounds as if there's a lot of chatter as everybody has arrived at their pods there they're locate, you know, the sites for the first and second round, and you know, when you get a bunch of coaches together and you've had such a different world of college athletics in the last you know, five years or however long ago, however long it's been, they're going to be asked continuously how are they're adjusting
this and that? And we've got the settlement that's coming up, which is about to you know, be totally official before
you know it. So the belief is that coach, it just seems as if and I didn't sense this necessarily for any specific coach today, but just listening to the national College Basketball guys that are covering different sites for the first and second round, I think with the settlement, coaches are of the belief that they're gonna there's gonna be a lot more a lot more reinforcement as far as just like having some guardrails to where it can't be the absolute free for all that it's been for
a long time now.
And they may be right, they may be right. However, I still.
Think there's one there's the root of the overall mess I think is going to keep you from ever really having any authority to tell college athletes what they can and can't do. And what it all comes down to is that the nc DOUBLEA still is treating this as if these guys are amateurs and not professionals. Because again, we call it name, image and likeness, right, we call it name, image and likeness. It's not that you're getting paid to be a great basketball player for this school.
You're just getting paid because your name is Joe Schmoe. And it's all a lie. But you know, by the book, it's not necessarily pay for play. It is, but it's not right. You know what I mean, so if they think they're going to be able to tell guys they can't transfer other than just one time, or that you know you have to because this is one of the
things that's been floated out there. I don't know who Jimmy Diyke started talking about it, of course, former coach himself, and now he's in ESPN gas you know, gas bag. Just to complete sec Honk probably want to be like the lead these popular announcers among loisvoll fans.
I would say, which is crazy because he actually does know the game really well.
He's just you know, he's Jimmy dyksh Yeah, he's just he's a little much. But anyway, he's got the Jimmy jet. Though he put it out there that coaches leave but have to pay a buy out.
What about players?
You know, even if it says here that schools are pouring this is his tweet, by the way, schools are pouring money into kids who can leave after one year and get bought out by a better offer, whereas coaches leave and have to pay a buyout. Well, again, like I don't know how trust me, there's there's complex things that I'll never even attempt to understand.
Because you know, my brain's just not capable.
But what I don't get is that that is so Like the reason that you can't do that is because coaches are under contract to coach. It's in a contract. And if you end up leaving and there's a buy out, the school that's hiring you has to pay the buy out. Because it's in a contract, you're an employee. These these these student athletes are still non employees, and I don't think they're ever going to be technically employees because that just makes it big of a mess. Right now, what
they're doing is just sharing revenue. This new settlement is going to make it to where they share revenue that they make, but it's it's not necessarily on an employment basis, Like it's just not. So the reason why a kid would never have to pay any money back if he leaves is because they're technically not paid to play. So like, if I show again, maybe you could you could put a contract together where you're saying you need to be who you are at this school for two years. If not,
you got to pay for the second year. You got to give the second year's money. You know, you basically you got to give your money back or something whatever you wanted to do, like maybe you could find a way around it. But the world where there's true control by the powers that be, coaches, schools, conferences, the NC DOUBLEA, the world where they have all the power and players have very little. That's gone. That's never happening again. It's just not because anytime these players try to fight it,
they mean they win. Because what it all comes down to is what the NABA has done since its existence has been deemed illegal. Right the the you know, the the talent, the employees essentially that you know, the talent wasn't getting paid.
You know, you you used free labor. So just like.
I mean, I guess the latest big one was the Diego Diego Pavia who just decided, wait a second, they're only allowing me to play two years of n C Double A sports. Why don't I get four years? Well because you played Juco, Well, Juco's not in C double A. I've not played four years of in C double A athletics, and I'm entitled to that just like everybody else. Right No, because I said so, we're just gonna tell you no, Well take it to court, fight it.
You will win.
So I don't know, just just one of the things that I've observed in these last couple of days as the tournament coverage has started. Coaches, I guess there's a sense of this is going to get better, which I'm not saying it won't get better, but I think anybody that has this belief that it's going to go back to anything close to what it used to be where players have all or players have no power and the coaches and the athletic directors and the conferences of the
NSA have all the power. I don't think that's ever going to happen again. And let's be real, coaches are complaining, and it is. I'm sure it's been a challenge. It's been difficult. But a few things. One who hasn't had to make adjustments at a job. Two, you make a lot of money and you can suck. You don't even
have like that's the thing you're still getting. If you struggle at adjusting and you lose all your games because the new world is just not built for you, guess what, you still get all your money because that's how your contracts worded. So it's I mean, so just deal with it. And quick bitching also college sports has been better like this.
Now.
You may say it hasn't been because your team got screwed by the portal and you don't have the nile resources that's needed. But at the end of the day, people are watching college sports more so now than they ever have. College basketball has absolutely benefited from the portal, and nil guys stay in college longer. You can quickly, you know, make big jumps from one year to the
other because you can really just overhaul a roster. So, you know, I today I was driving back from Lexton, it just kind of hit me, you know, I kind of like it the way that it is. In fact, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't the New World. Kenny Payn would have probably gotten another year, right because you know, there would have been that well you got to give him time.
Well you don't need time anymore. Pat Kelsey knew that when he got here, and he proved it.
As we sit here today, our quick break will come back on the other side for a very very quick segment to wrap up at three o'clock hour, it's coffee and company. Feel about forwards right here on Sports Talk seven ninety