5.13: Dallas Win The Lottery - Hour 3

You'll be happy that you did. Been a busy, busy show so far. Today we did talk a little bit about the rivalry with Pope and Kelsey now in place at Louisville and Kentucky. How you can just tell that there's a legitimate, very legitimate amount of respect for both sides. And I don't think anybody's truly like bothered that. But Pope made a comment today at his press conference about the about the game being played this year way earlier

than we're used to. November eleventh is the is the date, which again it's just you know, it sounds weird and it'll be weird, but we'll get used to it, I would imagine, or maybe this is a one off and we never played this early again. But regardless, Pope was asked about it, and you know, he didn't have much to say, and and I guess playfully, uh you know,

said blame Louisville. But even couldn't leave it at that, had to mention, you know that he has respect for Pat Kelsey because again they just they do, in fact respect one another. And I just I brought it up because there's really not a whole lot to take from it. But what I what I wanted to to make a talking point is that I think if you just are hoping that eventually, because it is a rivalry, you know, they played nice thus far, but man, just give it time.

It's gonna get real nasty. Maybe it will. I just, knowing what we know about both sides, I don't see that happening. And and you know, and I'm I'm okay with it, I really am. But here's what Pope had to say when asked earlier.

Now they're all they're clearly competitors, so they want to they want to beat each other bad. But that won't mean that we're going to have anything close to what we used to have with previous coaching matchups within this rivalry, especially the one that we'll never see again. Uh as far as just the hatred between the two Patino and cal but after playing that in the four o'clock hour, as I check the Ellen and Federal Credit Union text on whiche. By the way, you guys can text in

if you like. Five oh two four three eight ninety seventy three is the number. But two different people, seemingly from both sides, one from a Louisville side, one from a Kentucky side. They mentioned kind of in a different way, but I think their point is similar. That they don't like that they like Kelsey and they don't like that they like Pope, And I get it, like I don't. I'm not I'm not bothered that I that I find Mark Pope to be kind of likable. Maybe that's growth

in me, maybe it's maturity. Maybe I'm not just gonna you know, like I can want Kentucky to lose every game, and I could want Mark Pope to be a really really bad coach, but like, I don't believe he's a bad coach, and if I did, I would tell you. And you know, I can enjoy him losing if in fact they lose a bunch of games, but it won't be because man, yeah, I like to see that guy lose because I don't like him. I like to see him lose because he coaches Kentucky. So I think we'll

we'll adjust. But it does seem a little bit different than anything I've experienced. You know, I wasn't around whenever Joe B and Denny we were leading these two programs. I mean, we know a lot of history that, of course, you know, led to it all working out to where they did meet in the dream Game. And then of course it became a regular thing on the schedule, and

that's all she wrote. And then I mean to see those two, you know, those two guys doing a legendary radio show on this station right here for as many years as they did. I mean, again, I'm not somebody that can go back in time. Whenever it was really getting going, when Joe B didn't want to talk about it, right he he you know, he asked him to cut off the camera, and Denny's on camera saying, you know,

well that's typical. Like I wasn't around when that happened, but I do remember whenever it became a story here locally that those two guys were gonna be doing a radio show together, and I just remember, you know, like my family and whatnot, people that were a big part of me being a Louisville fan, Like they were kind of you know, it's one of the things you remember as a kid, Like, wait a second, what Like these two guys are going to not only are they are

they friendly now and they enjoy talking, you know, fishing and hunting, but they're going to actually work together. And they did and that that was one of the more special radio programs we've ever had in this market. And you know, shout out to both those guys. So, you know, I just think he can be a rivalry and we can want to dislike the other, but let's not force it,

you know, like, let's not force it, all right. Something else that we discussed earlier today has been the big news regarding the NBA Draft lottery last night, where the Mavericks, who have been the punching bag of the NBA is as just everybody making fun of them for the Luka

Doncic trade. I mean, nobody has had a worse two and a half three month stretch other than Nico Harrison, the GM of the Mavericks who traded Luca and really didn't get any draft didn't get any draft picks for it, got a good player, but a player that objectively, as it stands right now, is not as good and as impactful as Luca and is older and is also very

injury prone. Like it was, you know, on paper, looking like the worst trade of all time, and we got a long way to go when it comes to determining

if it was the worst trade ever. As far as can you believe they gave up this and got that in return, right like Luca going to La and winning a bunch of rings after Lebron retires and the Mavericks fading into irrelevancy and never being good for a long time, Like that's the scenario that would lead to it being, you know, not only in real time viewed as the worst trade ever, but down the line you'd say, wow,

that still seems crazy that they did that. But I think with the Mavericks getting the first pick with just one point six percent or whatever it was chances of winning the lottery and then actually winning, I mean, that could make it to where maybe in three four years, maybe even less than that, the Mavericks don't even think

about the trade. They don't even think about Luca, because they've got Cooper Flag, a guy that, as I've said throughout the show today, if he's anywhere close to as good as people claim he can be based off his potential, the phenomenal skill set that he has, he doesn't really seem to have much of a weakness. There's certain things he's clearly better at than he you know, than others, but I don't really know where the weakness is for

him now. Doesn't mean he's gonna automatically walk into the NBA and be one of the best that's ever played, but he seems to have a lot going for him right now as a very young young individual eighteen years old, and where he is at twenty three, who knows. And if you're Dallas, I mean you've got older players currently that can't have a whole lot left, especially guys like Klay Thompson and I mean Kyrie still plays at a

high level. But you know, Kyrie and Ad both missed a lot of games this year because of injury, and AD's had that issue his whole career. Klay Thompson kind of have it, kind of has as well. Kyrie, I don't really know a whole lot about like a history

with injuries. But my point is this, like, you know, if those guys can, easier said than done, stay healthy at an older age, If Cooper Flagg is the guy that people claim he's going to be, it could be a very successful ending for those guys' career in Dallas because he could you know, he's gonna be He's going

to be the franchise. And yeah, they're older and again somewhat injury prone, but clearly we're talking about guys that you know, you never know what father times when it's going to hit you in how bad it's going to hit you. But Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, those were three of the bigger names that have played in the NBA in the last fifteen years. So they don't have to be the guys they were in their

prime for it to work out. If Cooper flag is as good as advertised, you can still have a lot of success to where like maybe like maybe Nico Harrison ends up actually being the luckiest guy in the world because he did the unthinkable and somehow kept his job. And yet now here they are with a chance to get the I mean not a chance they have the

number one pick, they're not trading it. They're taking Cooper for lag, which, by the way, it was a one point eight percent chance that the Mavericks had, which is the fourth lowest odds for a winner of the draft lottery since nineteen eighty five. And if your teams like the Utah Jazz or the Toronto Raptors, even Charlotte Hornets, like you tanked and you may get a really good player that in seven eight years you'll look back and say we did the right we drafted the right guy

at this spot. But hard for me to think that that player will be anything close to what Cooper Fly can be. And by the way, that's not that player's fault. Whoever it is you draft there that might end up being good. But you were, you know you were. You were there with a better chance, in fact, a much better chance at getting that number one pick, but it just didn't bounce your way. It went to Dallas. And I'm not one for conspiracy theories really at all, especially

in sports. There aren't many that I really find to be believable that a lot of folks are convinced is is true and not just a conspiracy it's just a fact. But you know, Dallas, given what happened with them, the way things played out, the market size they were, I mean, they'd become one of, maybe not one of the bigger brands in the NBA, but obviously you know, with Luca there,

they they were relevant in a big way. And I'm sure the NBA could see benefit from that because again market size, Dallas is a huge market and they clearly have a huge fan base, and it looked as if they were going to be fading away into irrelevancy just because of the Luca trade, and now here they are with a chance to quickly bounce back. And I just have a hard time envisioning the NBA doing something to set it up like this, But I at times can

be naive. Maybe I'm really naive when it comes to this, And you guys are right in claiming that it was all a setup and they were never gonna let Cooper Flag end up in Utah. They were gonna never let Cooper Flag end up in Charlotte or Toronto or even San Antonio for that matter, And if so, I guess that's not right. But I'm not mad about it. I mean, sucks to be a fan of one of those teams and know that it's really set up for you to be,

you know, up against it, right. I mean, it's gonna be tough to ever be successful at the top of the NBA where you can sustain that success just because the way the NBA is set up now, I mean it just is players have way too much control and where the best players in the league want to play in places like that long term, it's just not realistic and it's not necessarily just because of like where you live, right, Like Utah is a beautiful place, but like the culture

maybe something different than what they want. And you know, when you're in LA or New York or even like Miami for that matter, or one of the big you know, Houston or Dallas, like you are a bigger celebrity because you know you're in a bigger market. Like that stuff matters, not because these guys are just seeking fame. But with fame, you know what comes, dollar signs, endorsements, movie deals. It's not a coincidence that Lebron James wanted to go play for the Lakers. He wanted to be in LA. He's

Lebron James. He's one of the most famous individuals on the planet. And as a Pacers fan, I mean, I don't really know what our market is compared to others as far as size. It's certainly not a big market. And you know, somebody shared something the other day that I really you know, and I mean I've talked about this before with the Celtics or now with Celtics. With the Pacers, they do really, really, really well for who

they are. And what I mean by that is, you know, like they seem to operate with the with the understanding that they've got to do things that they probably don't want to do. But look, they they understand. Like Paul George was never going to sign long term there at the end, trading him for Victor Oladipo and Devantas Sabonis seemed like a stupid trade at the time for a lot of people. Or they could have you know, waited, waited it out, only for Paul George to walk away

and you get nothing for it. So Oladipo became a bomb. Sabonis she got as much as you got out of him, as much as you could get out of him. He was an all star. So you know what you did, You traded him for Halliburton, who's been your franchise player, and it's working out well. You gave a guy like Miles Turner more money than others would because you knew he was good for you, and that money made it to where he stayed in Indian didn't go for a bigger market. So like, you got to make decisions with

the understanding of your identity. And I think the Pacers do a great job, but again it's still to me sets up to where where the Pacers realistically winning a title, to me just doesn't seem realistic because they just you know, they're not gonna Although it did open up a little bit, let's be real it opened up a little bit with Jason Tatum getting hurt. But again, like when you look at the Pacers in the last fifteen years, the Paul George era from twenty ten to twenty seventeen, six playoff

appearances to Eastern Conference Finals appearances. They traded Paul George for Oladipo and simonas as I mentioned in that era, but with those two guys three playoff appearances. Again, you got the best year Ladipo ever had before he got injured and bounced out of the league. Simonis was an All star for you. You traded Sibonis for Halliburton, and since he got there two playoff appearances to Eastern Conference

Finals appearances. I mean, they're being able to consistently make the playoffs and pivot from start a star and still find success is impressive. It's not winning titles, which of course is the ultimate goal. But like I think they realistically know that, hey, they could, you know, they could keep doing what Utah is trying to do right now, or do what Charlotte's done. And you never really know just how you know how much intent you have to tank, do you end up being bad because you tried to

be good and wanted to succeed but you couldn't. And then you just say, Okay, the damage is done. We're not going to salvage this season. Let's tank and let's get the best draft pick. Like the Pacers have never done that, and I oftentimes have criticized them for that, but like, you know, like Danny Grainger was their franchise player for a while and they didn't win a lot, but like they got the most out of him any

that they possibly could. When they drafted Paul George, nobody knew who he was, and they they and they locked

him in. So I think the Pacers, and maybe this is me being a Pacers fan saying this, I think they're a good example of operating for years now with the understanding that, like they just they're gonna probably do some things that others wouldn't do because they don't want to ever be in the dumps of getting a top five pick because they're one of the worst teams in the league, and clearly they're more they're things, even though they're not. They haven't won a title yet. Life's better

for everybody. Things are much more healthy when you are winning and you're competing and you're one of the top teams in your in your conference. And that's certainly where they are right now. This Knicks team looks pretty scary, and the Knicks are good. The Pacers got them last year, but the Knicks we're dealing with some injuries. But if we get Knicks Pacers, I mean again, I'm gonna be all in because I love that that's a rivalry, believe it or not. And I think the Knicks are a

fun team to watch this year. I kind of find them to be a likable team at times, but you know they're also front runners and the rivalry for me will be there. But at the end of the day, you got to you know, getting past the Knicks is gonna be tough. Who I mean on the West, like Who's I mean? Obviously the thunder is still scary with just what they can do. But again, I think the Thunderer built like a team that is good with a lot of young talent. But I don't know, I think

I would honestly, let me ask you this, Austin. You don't follow NBA probably like you know a lot of people, but you know enough to be dangerous if you are my Pacers and you somehow get out of the East now because you can get past New York and you know Boston's you know, Boston's done. Who would you least

want to see in the West? You've got probably the Timberwolves same like yeah, so I would actually say, despite okayc being the one seed, I would least like to see the Timberwolves or maybe even Golden State because they still have that championship pedigree and you know they're not what they once were, but still I mean, at any moment,

if they you know. I mean like they're a team that in the postseason, you've been able to see that despite them not winning as much games as they typically do in getting like a one or two seed, they're still a tough out. You know, there's still a chance.

want to play, but we're talking about Jokic. Yeah, and whenever your third and fourth best player is Porter and Aaron Gordon. Like that team's loaded. Like they fired Michael Malone because they knew they should have been better than the four seed, you know what I mean. So yeah, just looking at the bracket now, I mean, before too long, we're going to be there with the Eastern Conference in Western Conference finals and that should you know, should whoever

it is. I think we'll get some good matchups for sure. I mean, I talked a lot of crap about the NBA playoffs before it started, and there have been some blowouts and some results that you know aren't aren't probably good for the league. But I kind of feel like it's been one of the best playoffs thus far in a while. And trust me, I'm not just saying that because of my pacers. It's just I mean, I think we've actually had some Like right now, you've got the

Thunder and the Nuggets. It's tied it to a piece. You've got the Tea Wolves and the Warriors. The Minnesota is currently leading three to one, which does make it tough for the go for Golden State, but I'm not count Golden State out. And then you have some not

so competitive series on the other end. But it's been interesting and entertaining because it's been an upset, like the Knicks and the Celtics, that's the three in the two seed, but it looked as if the Celtics were gonna be the team to roll through the East, and you know, even before Tatum got hurt, the Knicks got the best of them. And then now you've got the Cavs, who you know, are up against it down three to one, and you know, with their injuries, it looks like the

Pacers are going to roll. So yeah, the playoffs. I'm not gonna act like it's been appointment viewing for me every night, but I've been entertained by more so than I was expecting. A right quick break will come back on the other side and keep this thing rolling along. A lot more to get into, including some college football stuff, So stick around right here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.

to do with North Carolina football. I'm excited to be back in coaches meetings. End quote That that to me is is Belichick doing this hit at the ACC spring meetings. He's going to be on Friday morning on Good Morning America with straight hand. And I think Carolina had last week when they had to put out the statement in regards to Pablo Torre, who nobody's really disputing much of anything other than that she's not welcome there. But the statement they said is that she's she's welcome, but she

doesn't have anything to do with Carolina football yet. Prior to this thing really creating a live of its own, I mean, it sounded if she was running the show, running his life. So I think that's Belichick saying what he needs to say to now let his bosses know, Hey, this you know I'll do because he now has to do some damage control on their behalf because there's really

nothing they can do now. I guess the question is how how long does he do this without her getting in the way again, because she very much clearly can't stay out of the way, at least she hasn't been able to at this point. All Right, it's coffee and company. Feel abut Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety big shout out to my friends over at the Louisville Men's Clinic. Check them out online Louisville Men's Clinic dot com. Give them a call fivebo two four four four four thousand bellas.

They can help you with a variety of things. You oftentimes hear me mention low testosterone in a rectile dysfunction, because that's of course two of the services they provide, meaning they can help you with both those things low t and ED, but they can also help you lose weight.

They have a variety of ways they can help you when it comes to trimming, some fat weight loss therapy, and they've got some great deals going on as far as the semaglue, tide and the other types of medicine that has really made an impact in helping people become healthier and lose a lot of weight. To be honest with you, so again, Louisvillman's clinic dot COM's the website. Five two four four four thousand is the number. All right.

So we've got something that is a bigger deal, at least in my opinion than it's being made out to be. And that is that the NFL, they are tiptoeing towards basically taken over football on television in America. And what I mean by that is it is not a random miscommunication or a random oh whoop, sorry, we didn't know you already had a date set to play college football playoff games on this date. Because the NFL, we now know what the schedule release unveiling throughout the week, it'll

be totally out there tomorrow. But the NFL, they're gonna have two games that's going to go up against the college football playoff first round on Saturday. Is some of the twentieth the Eagles and the Commanders and the Packers and the Bears, which, by the way, two big games,

to be honest with you. So for those who don't know, and this is something I learned about some years back, but I wasn't aware of it when I was younger, that the NFL there is an anti trust exemption that was granted in nineteen sixty one by the Sports Broadcasting Act. And what this does is it prohibits games on Fridays and Saturdays from mid September to mid December to protect college and high school football. Obviously, the December twentieth games

fault just outside that window. So I mean the NFL, if they, you know, if they wanted to make a change to this, I don't know how they would do it as far as this anti trust exemption, But I mean they've kind of played nice for a while understanding that, you know, they have a really a free minor league,

don't they. I mean, like, the NFL benefits from college football because they pick all their players from that route, right, and they need those Like there's no scenario where the NFL is ever gonna be like, yeah, you know, what the hell with you college football. I'm gonna make an enemy out of you, and I'm gonna have all these high school players bypass college and then go play in

the NFL. That's not real it's not realistic. So I think it's always made sense for them to want college football to be healthy enough to where they can still utilize it as their unofficial minor league. And and as far as I mean, I can't think of any any time where they've there's ever been any like conflict between scheduling, and again it's because of this this this anti trust act that's been in place since uh this is anti trust exemption that has been put in place since nineteen

sixty one. So moving forward, I mean, I don't really know exactly what it is they can and can't do as it stands right now, but if it was there was ever a situation where the NFL didn't have to give a damn when anybody plays anything, I mean, they would like, like, what if the NFL just had what if it was a free for all, which it's not, and the NFL just decided we're going to stretch our season a lot longer than than how it currently sets up.

And because here's the NFL is such a monster and it dominates so much that nobody would be able to compete with it. And thankfully you rarely have situations where you have to worry about competing with it, right, Like the NBA they have games on NFL Sundays, but you know it's not when the NBA is believed to be in, you know, big time watching. Like actually, the NBA on Christmas, I mean, and that's still hyped is a big day,

and I guess it still is for the NBA. But now that the NFL is having games on Christmas, like, everybody's competing for second. And there'sn't wrong with that because again, comparing yourself to the NFL, you're setting yourself up for

failure just because the NFL is just different. But I kind of feel like that didn't because again, if Louisville somehow was in the College Football Playoff this year, which you know it could happen, I'm not predicting it, and they played in one of those first round games on December twentieth, Let's say they get to host a game something like that, it would feel like the biggest deal in the world because it's the College Football Playoff and clearly we'd be all into it because our team would

hypothetically of course be a part of it. But like it would be pretty jarring to look back and realize that as much as you know, it felt so special to us, but man like, it didn't come close to the viewership that you saw in the Eagles at Commanders and the Packers at Bears, because again, the NFL is just king in a while, you know, in a big way. I guess that's the best way to uh, best way to put it right real quick before we take a

time out. I want to get our last break out of the way, so we have a little bit of time before we close out the show. But when it comes to the new ESPN app that they're uh, they're there, I guess it's not just an app, but I mean the new ESPN service, it's not really a new play. I don't know what to call it. ESPN is now trying is now going to offer the ESPN experience without you having to have a cable subscription or a streaming a separate streaming provider in order to utilize what they

offer on ESPN. But one of the new features here and their new streaming app is going to be an AI powered sports center for you feature or they're going to use AI to tailor coverage to your preferences and also track teams you root for and root against, so like you can guess, go to sports Center within the app, and it'll show you a version of sports Center that I guess is custom for you. I have a hard time seeing that working quite like the regular Sports Center experience.

But I don't know. AI is a powerful, powerful thing, so maybe maybe I'm wrong when it comes to that. All right, real quick, let's take a time out. We'll come back again one more segment. I want to give us a little more time than we typically have, just because you know, I want to finish strong here on a Tuesday afternoon, keep it locked right here, it's Coffee and Company field Beuth Thorton's on Sports Talk seven.

Have you heard this this crazy story about a Texas lottery winner in twenty twenty three that is getting now some some some coverage that's like controversial, you know at all what I'm talking about because.

and he's known as the Joker. He is a big sports better gambler, poker player, and he put together a scheme to where he ended up winning a fifty seven point eight million dollar jackpot in Texas. And it's it's very controversial as far as the strategy to win the

Texas lottery that they went through. But it's legal. So what he did is he purchased nearly all of the possible number combinations and it ended up giving him, you know, for example, he purchased twenty five point eight million dollars in one dollar tickets, covering ninety nine point three percent percent of all possible six number combinations. And he did

this very publicly. He wasn't doing it. I mean, he wasn't like out promoting it, but like he knew that what he was doing was in fact not something that would be viewed as you know, illegal. So he ended up purchasing a bunch of I guess the machines that like print these like. So for him to be able to purchase twenty five point eight million dollars worth of one dollar tickets, like, they had machines running like NonStop, like, he was a very very extensive, you know plan and

in it in it's legal. So he ended up collaborating with a big businessman in London and his company. He partnered with lottery dot Com to facilitate the mass ticket purchases. He set up operations in four different locations within Texas using over one hundred ticket printing terminals to produce tickets around the clock. He had QR codes and smartphones to

streamline the ticket printing process. I mean, he found a way to get enough money together to you know, think about it again, he had to purchase twenty five point eight million dollars worth of lottery tickets in order to win. But in the end he ended up winning the jackpot, yeah, doubled. Yeah,

so you know, it was a good investment. And again it's it's it's been very controversial because it, I mean, the both purchasing of lottery tickets is not illegal in Texas, and the Texas Line Commission has had to confirm that a bunch of times because everybody's claiming, how can this be legal? How could he do this? Well, because it's

not illegal, therefore it is legal to do it. But the Texas Lieutenant Governor labeled the operation quote the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas. The governor Greg Abbott, he ordered an investigation by the Texas Rangers into it. There was story, I mean, the Wall Street Journal did a story that really kind of

made it more of a nationally known thing. But I still feel like, I mean, this is this is going to be a I mean, again, he didn't do anything illegal, but I would imagine they'll probably make some changes to where this can't happen again, because this is somebody just rounding up enough funding and getting the resources logistically needed to buy as many tickets as possible, produce as many

tickets as possible. So again, he had the machines to produce it, he had the money to fund the amount of tickets, and they worked around the clock doing this in order to wear Again, what was the number ninety nine point Marie, Yeah, nine yeah, ninety yeah, twenty chance for I mean twenty five point eight million dollars in one dollar tickets was spent, covering ninety nine point three

percent of all possible six number combinations. So when you're going to your partners to hit them up for money about why they should invest, I mean, you're basically able to tell them here's what we're going to do, here's how we're going to do it. It's one thousand percent legal, and at the end of the day, we've got a ninety nine point three percent chance of winning fifty seven point eight million dollars I mean it's it's a brilliant idea, right,

it's not illegal. I mean it's not like they were at that point. Dude, you kind of kind of earned it. Oh exactly, No, like it's money. And to be honest with you, he absolutely did. Like not only is it was it hard to pull it off everything that's needed, but to just have the you know, have the the idea to do it, you know, to look into kind

of like what you could potentially do. And apparently the real kicker that got him to where he was able to do this was that there was a failing lottery system like lottery dot com is now a failed entity that apparently, you know, he was able to purchase all these machines from because they were going out of business and without that, he wouldn't have been able to print it.

So it was the perfect storm for him. So anyways, just thought that was interesting and it'll probably be a Netflix documentary at some point or it should be all right, that'll do it for us. We're out of time. We'll be back tomorrow right here on Sports Talk seven ninety