It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
It looks like the United States men's basketball team is half away from getting it done, which you know, that's the expectation.
That's that's what you know.
It's what we're supposed to do when it comes to Olympics is dominate in men's and women's basketball, and both have done that thus far. It was a big upset earlier Noah Lyles getting the bronze in the two hundred meter that certainly was not what a lot.
Of folks expected.
Turns out he had COVID while running, which is I don't know, I feel like that's kind of impressive to still metal while you're running despite being diagnosed with COVID just two days prior, Although is it more surprising that he was allowed to run? I mean again, I'm not trying to get into the COVID conversation today, trust me, but like, shouldn't this kind of speak to where where everybody is as far as like the worry about how dangerous it actually is.
I mean, I just think about Michael Jordan playing with the flu, like yeah, and I don't want to say that it's the same thing, because they're both their own separate diseases.
But at this point, I mean, I mean dangerous.
I say that just just trying to get people riled up, because I know that was very That was a trigger statement that a lot of people like to throw out there, you know, during that awful time in our lives where we had to deal with it's.
Hard to believe that that was four years ago.
Gosh, it's starting to it's starting to feel like it was a lot longer like it used to be, Like, wow, that was two years ago.
I feel like it was yesterday. Now.
I'm to the point when it comes up, I'm just like, man, hopefully we never have to deal with any of that again.
But you know who knows, right with the way things.
Have played out, you know, in our country, we're at that point at least for me, where nothing really surprises me, and I mean nothing at all. All Right, it is coffee and company hour, remember two here on a Thursday. Appreciate you hanging out with us. We are fueled by Thornton's I'm sure you knew that. If not, now you do.
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So the hurricane that was headed to Florida when I was heading back to Louisville has has left quite the impact. In fact, there's a story I want to get to here in just a moment of a really sad story about a local Louisville pilot who was flying to the Bahamas and they just they just found out they've been searching for his plane. He's been missing, and it sounds like they did find it, and obviously not good news
by any means. But the storm itself has, I mean, slowly but surely it's and you know, maybe I'm wrong here, but I kind of feel like it's not getting the same type of coverage that you would typically see from a hurricane. That is, you know, I mean, it's a tropical storm here that let me just double check here,
make sure I've got my numbers correct. But yeah, I said the storm made its second landfall last night on the South Carolina coast, and his forecast to bring an extra three to nine inches of rain on top of what has already fallen. Maximum storm rainfall totals as high as twenty five inches in South Carolina and fifteen inches in North Carolina. Which, man, that's a lot of a lot of rain for the Carolinas, And I think, yeah,
it looks like let's see. Yeah, it says here that the Florida State Senator John Gruders, who represents Sarasota and Manatee Counties, is calling for a state investigation into why the floodwaters in sarasotaar is so deep and are lasting so long. So yeah, I guess that's the area of Florida that has been just completely I guess underwater, which is you know, which is awful. But let's see here, We've got a guest coming up in about fifteen minutes.
We're gonna be joined by Ken Spencer from Whas eleven. So not a whole lot of time left here in this first segment. But this is a story that I'm not sure how much it's gonna interest you guys, but it's it's fascinating to me because for the first time ever, there will be a NFL player playing in an NFL game where you cannot purchase his jersey, and that is former Ohio State star Marvin Harrison Junior. He is in a weird and confusing legal battle with Fanatics. So every
NFL rookie, I guess has the option to sign a deal. Yeah, he chose not to sign the NFL Players associationan's group licensing agreement that is with Fanatics. And if you don't know what Fanatics is, they they make jerseys and all kinds of team gear. I think they are, in fact the biggest. I think they are the biggest you know, whatever you want to call them. I mean, I don't think they just sell jerseys and team gear, but you
know that kind of stuff. And I think they've actually put a lot of a lot of companies out of business who that was kind of their thing. But it's tricky because apparently he has his own like group, his own LLC, the Official Harrison Collection, and it's his father who kind of runs it. Of course, who is you know, Marvin Harrison Senior, legendary player himself, but yeah, the Official
Harrison Collection LLC. They're registered in the state of Pennsylvania in February of twenty twenty three, before they before the entity signed its first deal with Fanatics. So Fanatics has followed a lawsuit against Marvin Harrison Junior, claiming that they do have a signature from him to where they can they can sell his jerseys. However, Harrison is claiming he never signed it, but somebody you know from his camp
apparently did. But in the last and at least the last twenty years, as of course, jersey making has become, you know, a big deal. No top draft pick in any major US pro men's sport has ever had his jersey unavailable the first time he plays in a game.
And that is what's going to happen here with Marvin Harrison Junior because of this current ongoing situation, which I I'm not sure what would make him like if every other NFL rookie and not only this current class, but in previous years, has agreed to sign the same agree like I just I don't know, does he feel like he's entitled.
To more money. This whole thing is confusing.
However, again, when I saw that he will be the first ever US men's pro athlete in the last twenty years to not have like, no right now can buy an Arizona Cardinal Marvin Harrison Junior jersey, and I'm sure people will live and they'll survive without being able to buy it, and eventually he'll probably have a jersey you can purchase. But I just found this to be very, very bizarre, and it sounds like a lot of people
are blaming it on his father for I guess you know. Yeah, this is from Darren Heidner, who is a sports and business attorney. He says, it seems Marvin Harrison Senior signed with Fanatics as an authorized rep of the Official Harrison Collection LLC. Harrison Junior is the sole member of the LLC Harrison Junior hopes to escape power of personal liability throughout the corporate veil. So not a good look necessarily
for anybody involved, it seems. But yeah, for the first time ever, maybe keep that in the back of your mind for some useless trivia that may come up at some point in your life, right like who is the only men's professional top draft pick that when he played his first snap as a pro athlete, Jersey was not available.
Now you know it's gonna be Marvin Harrison junior the more you know, all right, So, Nolan Smith is one of the many names we talked about quite a bit throughout the last couple of years when it comes to the Louisville basketball just you know, clown show. And I'm not calling Nolan a clown, and certainly he wasn't the head coach, but you know, everything everything from the Louisville basketball program for the most part in the last couple
of years was just an absolute mess. And again I'm not blaming at all on him, but I don't think he necessarily helped himself with how he went about some things. And you know, I I don't know for sure firsthand as far as what exactly transpired with him allegedly leaking out information that was not true, and that was that Kenny Paine was going to be fired after the Kentucky game.
But if you remember, Eric Crawford did a write up on sort of like the you know, I guess the final in depth piece on this staff, this regime and sort of how it all kind of came to an end, and Eric included a little nugget in that piece that referenced that the University of Louisville did their own internal investigation as far as how information was leaking out that wasn't true.
Right.
It's one thing if there's a leak and it's because somebody just had loose lips. It's another thing if there's an alleged leak of information that they know for sure is not true. And that was that Kenny was to be was It was a for sure done deal that Kenny was going to be let go after the Kentucky game. And they investigated the university, not just the athletic department, and they discovered that the source of that leak was Nolan Smith, and they alerted Kenny Payne of that, and
Kenny chose not to take action. I don't know if it would have been a good look for Kenny at that point to fire Nolan, but clearly they had a falling out and they didn't work closely together towards the end, and you know that led to people saying, hey, he tried to sabotage Kenny Payne. He was telling people that can Paine was going.
To be fired.
So there's no like proof of that. But I'm sorry. I mean, if the if the university themselves is going to do their own investigation, and there and and and that, and that is their finding. Like, I don't think they're out to get Nolan. I think that's what they that's what they believe with the information that they have. And it's because you know, I think some of the people that put it out there, they had no problem telling U of L who gave him that info because they
felt duped as well. I mean, I'm not gonna mention who was, but there was a college basketball uh you know insider if you will, that that was you know that is usually pretty spot on, and he was. He was sharing that he's hearing that Kenny Payne will be out and that Nolan Smith's going to be the interim coach. And you know who told him that? Apparently it was
Nolan Smith and it wasn't true. So you know that that's a no no. I mean, and I wondered if Nolan would be hirable as as an assistant coach at the Division one level, and as of now he is not. There was if you remember, there was that he was going to be joining Johnnydawkins staff at Central Florida, and
somehow that didn't work out. And I actually thought that that was going to be like the perfect scenario for him, because you know, I I feel it just seems it seems weird to me to say that like Nolan has a lot of growing up to do, because Nolan is is you know, he's my age. You know, he's thirty thirty five, thirty six years old, so it's not as if he's a young kid, but you know, he is young to be basically the associate head coach of a men's it's just not many guys that age. And at Duke,
you know, he was there forever. He was there four years as a player, went to the NBA, and then got right into coaching at Duke. So, you know, I just the way he handled himself at times, you know, I felt like he could have you know, he just didn't seem like he was really going about it the right way. And I don't know Nolan ever met him. He blocked me on Twitter. He had family members reach out to me and you know, tell me what they
thought of me. But I never engaged because you know, what would that do for me, But I hope it works out for him because you know, I mean, he's he's still a relatively young guy when it comes to to the business of college basketball. And when he came to Louisville Man, he had the he was believed to be one of the top upcoming assistants, a guy that had a super bright future.
So I don't know.
I don't know what happened with Johnny Dwkins, but Johnny Dawkins was really close to Nolan's father, Derek Smith, who of course has passed away. They were teammates in the NBA for a little while, and I thought that would have been a perfect landing spot, and somehow that fell through. Well, now there are reports that Nolan Smith is going to be joining Penny Hardaway's staff in some capacity. I don't know if that says an assistant coach or if that's
just as like a supplemental staffer. But you know, I hope he does get an opportunity. Uh you know, I don't I don't have any reason to to to wish him, you know, failure and and and whatnot. I mean, hated that it played out the way that it did, but you know, I just of all the things that that went wrong, and of all the things that just made it sad that that was one of the hardest for me is because I just felt like Nolan Smith was
somebody that like him. Coming home to coach under Kenny Payne at Louisville was like something you see in a movie. And then and you know, the movie ended up being a horror movie when it comes to the basketball program. And again, I'm not blaming Nolan specifically for that, but you know, he certainly didn't handle things the right way, and I would and I would imagine that even he would he would say that to be honest with you.
But we'll see. All right, quick break, we'll come back on the other side, and welcome in mister Kent Spencer from w HS eleven right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. It's right coffee and company rolling along here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Appreciate you hanging out with us, and we now bring in a guest, mister Kent Spencer from WHS eleven.
Long time, no talk, Ken. How's your summer going, brother?
It went really really well. And then I'm one of those parents today that had three different schools, three different kids in three different schools with three different start times.
Oh wow, that sounds like an absolute nightmare.
I tell you what it is.
Oh yeah, I.
Mean it's a struggle. I mean, let's just say things go smoothly with you know, you know, getting everybody that that's just a lot, man, that's that's a lot to deal with.
No, you know how it's aggressive. Yeah, and you have to have there has to.
Be constant communication and it's super aggressive.
At the We've got two out of three home, so at least we're chopping wood.
There you go.
That's I mean, that's I mean, so far, so good, And honestly, it does seem as if, for the most part, at least as of now, things have been fairly smooth, especially considering last year's big, big mess when everybody tried to go back to school. But uh, I guess i'll before we get into some football stuff, just any any takeaways from what you saw last uh last week in
the Bahamas. I know you weren't there, but you know, seeing Pat Kelsey's team for the first time, tough to really know what to take from it as far as the competition they played against. But a brand new team, I think most fans myself included, feel pretty pleased with what Pat Kelsey is going to be working with in his first season here at Louisville.
Yeah. I mean, honestly, like as far as massive, you know, takeaways from it, I think the biggest one for me, you know, Nick, is just the fact that they looked organized. They look like they had a plan on both offensive defense when it came to like result against competition. I don't take much away from it because, like I think in that first game, Karence Oakmalspeak, you know, said like Nick,
I got that, dude, that's old. As far as that competition, Like, I just don't think they're going to go on a diet, but you know what they do, they have a plan. They want to play fast, you know. So I think all of that is such a positive sign. Like if you were feeling good about the momento, I think you're you know, I think that even got ramped up just just a little bit like it, right, you Sure there's still there's more hope for the future.
No doubt about it.
And I think, you know, just as you made the first thing you said as far as looking organized, I mean, they they've got an identity.
Man.
I think you can see that there's gonna.
Be clearly a style of play that they want to play at uh, and little things I think jump out quite a bit more than they used to. Whenever you went through as a fan, what what we saw the last couple of years, not a whole lot, lot of organization, not really being sure as far as what they wanted to be as far as a team, their style and
all that kind of stuff. But yeah, basketball, the bar said pretty low, and I feel pretty confident that Pat Kelsey's going to be able to give to give this fan base a lot to be excited about moving forward. I mean, I can't remember a time at least in my lifetime as a Louisville fan where there was a situation quite like this one with a brand new team. Literally everybody from start to finish is brand new here.
And you know, the type of seasons you had the last couple of years or something a lot of us never thought was possible. So there's gonna be wins against teams we've never heard of, and we'll we'll probably be celebrating it like it was something substantial just because of you know, what happened in in the last the last couple of years. But let's let's switch gears to football.
I'll start with with Kentucky. Here the news last week they had to vacate really an entire season with some stuff that happened, you know, pre and I all that kind of stuff. I guess any thoughts as to UK's response to it, or maybe lack thereof when you heard about this happening as far as the decision from the NC DOUBLEA, did you expect to hear Barnhardt Stoops talk
about it at all? I know that's been a topic with some I'm not really sure what they would say other than maybe just acknowledging that they worked through it with the NC DOUBLEA and this is what's happened. But just curious kind of your takeaway from that from that situation where they had to vacate a very special season.
Well, you know, look, that news came out on media Day, and that news came out after Mark Stoops talked to the podium.
I didn't know.
I personally, I personally feel like that news should have come out before Mark Stoops took to the podium, so he had an opportunity to ask questions. You know a lot of times on media day. It's Barnhart is that's like one of his press conference days, right, sure he goes there. Well he didn't. He didn't hold that same news conference on that particular day, and I think that he should have been there to be able to answer
some questions. I mean, you know, to be quite honest, like we all knew what the situation was, you know, with Chris Rodriguez and everything, you know, from a long time ago. But to be honest with you, you know, Nick, I could have forgot about the case because you know, Rodriguez has been gone for a couple of years now, and so like you and then you were like, oh, this is what it was and this and when it comes to vacating wins and you know all of that stuff.
I mean, you know, everybody can probably have their own opinion. I mean, to be quite honest with you, you know, it kind of goes with with me in the twenty thirteen National title, Like I remember that I was there. I watched him cut down the bets, you know, and that year like I watched him win those games. So but but I do think that those two gentlemen should have answered questions that particular day.
Yeah, I think going back to even before Nil and the portal, whenever it was a much different world, whenever you would hear of somebody cheating, somebody getting money and permissible benefits, I think there was a lot of fake outrage. I don't think anybody truly cared. I think there was always just a belief that maybe not everyone is cheating, but like there's clearly some things happening to where you know,
guys are getting paid. There is a benefit here and there that is taking place, that's leading to certain kids deciding where they want to go, that kind of stuff. But now, man, I don't know if anybody could even fake it that they're bothered about this kind of stuff, because now you can. I mean, it's such a high dollar business. Now, there's so much money involved in it,
and it's right in front of our face. The schools are going to be paying these players here soon, which is which is something that you know, that's that's just unheard of ten years ago, and now here we go it's about to happen. But with all that said, I mean, Mark Stoops, I'm just curious someone who's covered this program, and I know you familiar with how he how he's
gone about things. I kind of feel like he would have been somebody that would have wanted to be upfront about it and be direct, and because I feel like he's usually pretty spot on when he when he gets a chance to talk to the media, he usually says all the right things and controls things, and I just think for him to be silent, it was kind of a surprise. Do you have any theorists do you think maybe there and again I'm just asking you to guess
and maybe kind of read his mind. Do you think maybe there's a chance he could be unhappy with them deciding to, you know, take that as as as the punishment and Vakate wins. Again, I'm asking you to read his mind. But I just feel like this is kind of not the way those two guys specifically would go about this kind of thing.
Well, you know, UK when they when they released the statement, they released video messages from doctor Eli Cappoluto and Mitch Barnhart. I would imagine this decision to hold that news until after media day. I don't think that was a Mark Stoop's decision. I think that was above his pay grade. And so you know there I think have been times in the past where you know, you you think these coaches have all this power, but sometimes you know, the powers that be they let you know how you're going
to handle that. I mean, uh, you know a couple of years ago, remember when it was the football spat between John Calipari and Mark Stoops.
Oh yeah, okay, well.
John Calipari wanted to issue an apology. I have seen the apology. It was even like it had a complete graphic and everything that he was ready to go out that day and his boss told him not to send that. So like, sometimes those things go above your pay grade and there's nothing you can do about it. I mean, if we look at like thee where we all are nowadays, within I l and all this stuff. I know of two local head coaches that flat out come out and say, look,
it's about the money. This is now pay for play. Those two coaches, one is Mark Stops, the other's Jeff Walls. Everybody else likes the tap dance around it. Yeah, but not those two. Those two are you know, all about it. And so that's one of the things why I you know, he probably would have been upfront about this, but you know, you never know.
Yeah, I think when it comes to Stoops's comments. I guess this was right around the time the SEC media Day's wrapped up, and if anything I can, I can appreciate and respect the full transparency. You know, I think there's probably some coaches that probably feel the way Stoops feels as far as his comments about man, I'm not sure how much longer I can do this. You know,
it's just all about raising money now. I mean, do you get the sense that maybe not most coaches, but I've bet a lot of coaches feel the exact same way. But they feel as if they were to be so honest and transparent that it might you know, it might come off the way, it might come off as if they're unappreciative of their job and that you know, the
money that's been raised hasn't been enough. Again, like you don't hear most coaches say the kind of things that Stoops had said right after media day at the SEC. When it comes to just the new this is such a new job for these guys now again, they make a lot of money to where I feel like asking them to make some adjustments is not asking too much. However, I will acknowledge that that job head coach at a major university for football and men's basketball, and even women's basketball.
Throw baseball in there.
Two.
Heck, all the sports to some extent, Like these jobs are different.
Now, you know, here's what I think about these coaches. And by the way, you've got coaches now, high profile coaches that are flat out and just getting out of the industry. And this is the reason why. And you know, part of it is it is not that you have to beg for me this or this. It's it's what you have to do to get the money. I've seen coaches with boosters and they look miserable.
That's a good point. I have to now.
People that are donating campaign money. Hey, people that people that are donating all this money, guess what they want. They want to know who their money's going to. They want access to the program. That's why, you know, I used to feel a certain amount of way when I go to an AAU event. I pretty much feel that way twenty four to seven and a lot of instances
like it's just different. And I'm not saying like, you know, I've always been about players that should be paid, but the schools now, you know, when they start paying the players, you know, I hope it makes it, you know, feel a little bit more legit than what it it kind of currently feels like. And by the way, I don't know how this thing can continue.
Yeah, it doesn't seem sustainable.
How is anybody getting a return on investment? You know what I mean? Like, what are you getting? And you know the kind of money that we know that's kind of been dealt around with some of these players, How in the world can that continue?
I don't know.
I can't see it, but well, you know, we're just kind of riding the wave at this point.
Yeah, And I hadn't given it that. I hadn't thought about it that way.
As far as some of these coaches, when when when you think of the conversations they have to have with these people who they need their mo money, and these people know that that money, that their money is needed,
you know, kind of the smoothing and and whatnot. Like some of these coaches, especially those that have an ego that have had a lot of success, man, that is probably the last thing on earth they want to do is to go, you know, kind of kiss ass and suck up to somebody and hopes that they'll open up the check book and give them money to get players. But that's kind of the name of the game now. So yeah, it's it's so different.
And look and and let's just you know, and maybe I'm completely wrong, maybe, but let's just be honest when it comes to Lowell and Kentucky. You know, our our main programs that that we cover, they got some deep pockets. They ain't that deep, yeah, and they ain't that every year.
Eventually, years in people are going to say, look, I'll continue to support, but I've given a lot of money and things have been okay, but man, like there's not really a whole lot to show for that. Like, eventually it's just gonna again, as you said, it's it's as you alluded to, I should say, it's just not it's not sustainable. But you know, well, we'll ride the wave until until it's not. All right, let's switch gears to
to Louisville. Here any surprise as far as where Louisville came in in the preseason acc poll, I think they came in at number five, not featuring the coaches poll. Preseason rankings don't really mean a whole lot, especially in football, now that we actually have rankings that come out a little bit further after the midway point with the college
full playoff rankings. But just any any thoughts as far as what you're hearing the buzz about Louisville, maybe lack thereof coming off a ten win season.
Yeah, I mean, look, I think a couple of things that you know, everything is so new to them. I think nationally, I think, you know, we see Tyler Schuck as he seems to be a really good quarterback that just can't stay healthy.
Yeah.
Well, okay, so now you're just really rolling the dice on a dude that's never been able to stay healthy. He's just go all of a sudden be able to stay healthy this year. And so you know, I don't know if that's any trepidation. I mean, and if we're being honest, they lost a lot on the offensive line from a year ago, and that offense blind was was really good last year, especially that running game and some
running backs. I mean, like you're you're really betting on that they hit home runs in the transfer portal, that all of those guys that they brought in are gonna be able to hit and and to be able to gel.
You know, I remember last year they weren't picked high in the preseason polls either won ten games played, you know, in the a SEC championship game, and so you're right, I I'm not surprised that they didn't, you know, they they ended up what is that, I think fourth or fifth picked in the a C C or something like that had into the into the preseason pol yep. So I'm not that doesn't that's not crazy shocking to me.
But it's it's like this, it's this amazing thing that they get to try to prove it on the field, you know, starting in that first week of the season on through the rest of this thing.
Yeah, and I think at times I found myself as a Louisville fan thinking, you know, could this be used as you know, is this legitimate bulletin bourb material to motivate this team or is it?
Or am I manufacturing that right?
Because I think, you know, nobody's saying that they're lousy, nobody's claiming they're going to take a huge step step back. The reality is they benefited from the way the schedule aligned last year. There were not I mean, they they got a good you know, they got a good break from the ACC As far as the opponents that they had to play.
That's nothing they can do about that.
But also, you know, just to see some I think Miami continues to get the benefit of the doubt. I think people are expecting enc he stated to be good once again. But I think from a personnel standpoint, you know, they've got a chance to be to be you know, a good team once again. But it does really come down to Tyler Schuck. What have you heard from folks as far as what they expect out of him. I know they're not going to run him the way he was.
You use him the same way he was utilized at both Oregon at Texas Tech, and I think that's why they believe they can keep him healthier. But just any any buzz you're hearing as far as what they think they have with him at quarterback, I.
Mean, I've seen several of the open practices. I mean, he does he throws a nice ball to have a really good command of the offense, his chemistry with the receivers. You know, you get a new quarterback and you know, like Chris Bell was their leading attorney received by a lot, and so you're adding pieces like uh, Jacquary Brooks and Colin lacy and stuff like that. So how's this chemistry gonna be? It seems fine in practice. We'll see when the lights, you know, get bright and you know there's
there's fans in the seats. But every you know, from everything that I've seen, he looks.
He looks good.
Now, let me say this. I thought Jack Plumber looked really good last year in practice, and so really you really don't know until you get you know, against the opponents and in the stadium. But you know, even like his running ability, you know, I know they they weren't running a ton like he did in some of his previous stops, but you know that they used Plumber's legs
pretty effectively last year in certain situations. So I mean I could still see them doing some of that this year because you know, like even last year, I think everybody was like, look, Jack Plumber better stay healthy because you know there's a drop off after him. Well it's the same, you know, the feeling I think, you know is the same this year going into it, so they desperately need to keep him healthy. I still think he'll run in spots, but you know, so far, like he looks apart from my.
Eyes, yeah, I mean I it with the portal, man. You really just never know. There's guys that have come me like Grendo last year was not viewed as one of the big time editions in the portal. He was kind of a guy that came in a little bit later than others and just a nice piece who played at Wisconsin and then towards the end of the year. I mean he was he was their best running back and has now got a chance to play on Sundays.
So you you know, you never really know how some of these guys are gonna how it's how it's all, how it's all gonna work out. All right, Well, we appreciate you giving you giving us a lot of your time into your very busy guy can't always great to catch up. Godspeed with with the smooth the smooth rest of the afternoon, with getting the kids back from school.
Well well I can, I can. I can successfully report we were three for three, all right.
Three for three.
We've got them all in the house before five o'clock.
Oh heck, yeah, that's a win. That's a win. Great way to get the school year started. Thanks Ken, I appreciate you, man.
Thanks buddy, appreciate it, right, take care that is kid.
Spencer from WHS eleven. How about that JCPS coming through getting it done. I mean, I'm sure other families won't have the exact same success that the Spencer family had, but hey again, I've not seen anything that tells me that we've got anything close to the mess that we had last year. And also, real quick, I mentioned earlier the beginning of the hour that Team USA was about to you know, you know, win the gold or whatever and keep it rolling. And you know, I can make
a fool of myself often it happens. I totally had the score wrong. I thought US was up twenty on Serbia. Turns out they were getting beat by more than twenty by Serbia. And now they're on this crazy run with two minutes left as Lebron James just knife through the lane to give them an eighty nine to eighty six lead. Serbia crumbling. Yokic of course part of that team, and a lot of people clown in this Team USA team as if they as they were getting drummed, and now
they've made some big comeback here, so who knows. I mean, still a little bit of time left, but another turnover from Serbia and another break here as Team USA now has a five point lead as Steph Curry going to the free throw line for a potential and one. So all right, quick break, we'll come back, wrap up be four o'clock our right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. I gotta tell you the commercial break there might have been the most into the Olympics I've ever been for basketball.
A rare situation has has played itself out here, and I'm trying to like, here we go. Yeah, it looks like they're will I was a little bit behind because I hit pause whenever we were wrapping up the interview with Kent because I didn't want to, you know, I didn't want to be rude, and I'll be paying attention to a guest who's given us, given us his time. But it looks as if this thing is is well, yeah, it's over. The Team USA did in fact come back and win. I'm not sure how much they were down.
I know it was more than twenty points. And it was a rare situation to where you were feeling as if, oh, are they gonna lose this game? And look, they've lost games before, but I mean they were getting killed. It looked like it was it was gonna be the end, and they come all the way back. Jowell and Beiie played huge in this run and they knock off Jokic
and Serbia. And usually when you're watching Team USA play, I mean, it's good to see, you know, the United States dominate something, right, better than being dominated.
You want to win.
Everybody would love to be dominant in something, but it's not always that interesting when it comes to like, you know, excitement and like, oh, what's gonna happen. You kind of know, night in and night out, when you watch the United States men's basketball team play against other countries, they're gonna win, and more often than not, they're gonna be dominant.
And that was not the case here.
I mean, they were getting clowned all over Twitter by everybody, including you know, national analysts and whatnot, and a big run to come from behind.
They got up five.
That was the lead when we went to break, and then there was an and one from Serbia and then Kevin Durant hit a clutch bucket and that I think extended it to four, and then after that Yokics got a bucket. It was two, and then they were forced to foul late and some clutch free throws knocked down by I believe it was Steph Curry, and then Serbia was just you know, out of time, and the United
States held on to win. So I don't know like it would have been the end of the world, Like I wouldn't have been devastated to see them lose, but to know that it looked like they were going to and then you know, you see what's on display, meaning that the best basketball players on planet Earth are from.
The United States, and this is what we do. This is we dominate.
And I'm glad I did go back and check because I'm sure I sent it like a real idiot, which I do. I'm sure I sound like that often, but I'm sure I sounded like a real idiot whenever I opened the four o'clock hour.
Like, well, it's what we do, we dominate, And in fact it was the opposite. They were getting dominated. I mean I looked at the score. I saw a huge deficit.
I think it was like a twenty two point lead for somebody, and I think, just my my eyes wouldn't let me see that it was Serbia up twenty something and not the United States because it just wouldn't like I can't.
I can't process that.
But yeah, that's got I mean I'm watching the the postgame handshake line and whatnot and all. By by the way, I did not realize Lebron James got like almost a full almost like a full gray Beard. I mean not full gray but like on the sides, it's it's mostly great silver Fox. Yeah, exactly, he's he's he's got the
silver Fox going on. But yeah, I mean, these these Serbian players are devastated understandably, so, I mean they're I mean that was that was the game they were, you know, they they had full control of, only to uh to end up coming up short. I want to do it quickly here before we wrap up the four o'clock hour, talk a little bit about some of the some of the takeaways from Ken Spencer, which I thought is always is a great conversation. But he's so right about these
coaches having to be involved. I mean, that was what Mark Stoops really was complaining about in the comments about him just basically doesn't know how much longer he can do it. It was just about him having to be involved in fundraising, raising money so they can go buy players, because that's what this is now, and I will I can't appreciate a coach that will just come out and say that now. I don't think coaches need to like lead their press conference with, hey, we got to go
buy players. That's what's most important now. But some still tiptoe around it because I think it's just so unfamiliar, especially those that have been doing this their whole life. You've gone from any any acknowledgment of anybody getting paid five years ago was you know your career would be over if you're involved in a cheating scandal where there's a bunch of players getting paid receiving impermissible benefits like
that could end it ends your career. You could get fired, you know, within violations, you could not even be entitled to the rest of your contract. The instable a can get involved and potentially punish you with a show cause
or suspend you. So it went from quite literally something that would ruin a coach's career, a legacy, their lives maybe to where now you got to always be communicating with boosters and people who do have deep pockets that can fund your program because you got to go buy players. Now it's just so different than what it used to be. And I don't know much about Mark Stoops at all as far as like his personality, his ego, anything like that.
But look, everybody's got an ego.
I would say those that you know are high level college football coaches, college basketball coaches that make millions of dollars, I would say their egos are probably a little bit bigger.
Than most understandably.
So so for those guys to have to start basically making sales calls, right, smoothing people to get money, like, that's just so outside of what they're used to and it's just not them. And I think some will probably get out of I mean some probably already have gotten out of the business of coaching because of that. I mean, it's just so different. And I've always I've been pretty
consistent about this stuff. I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for coaches when they complain about players now getting paid and having to coach differently, because guys can just leave in the portal, Like I do think that they sound like crybabies, because again, asking them to make some adjustments within their job and their craft is not that unusual for anybody, right, Like, how many times your job have you had a big adjustment, a big change.
It's pretty common well these guys for them to have to make some adjustments and make a change. I don't think it's asking too much, especially when you consider the fact that some of these guys are the most are the highest paid employees within their state, right public employee. I mean, if you head coach in ukuve L, your public employee, like your public record what you make. So I don't think it's asking too much given how they're compensated. However,
I will acknowledge how vastly different it is. It's not just a little minor change. It's a big change. It hasn't completely changed what the job is, but there's now a new component to the job that is a lot of work, and it's just so foreign compared to what
that job used to be. And you and I think you'll see coaches in the next five six years the ones that really have adapted and have you know, that are comfortable being the relatable, fundraising pep rally guy, a guy you know by all accounts, And I'm not saying Pat Kelsey's going to be the star of college basketball, because he you know, he gets it, and he's somebody that you know, is is is willing to be in front of businesses and boosters and sell himself and tell
them why they should invest in all that. But like that's what you need to do. But with Kelsey specifically, I mean, of all the people I've talked to that have gotten a chance to be around him a little bit, have met him, have heard him speak the most, I guess there's a lot of people who have you know, mentioned that they saw him somewhere or they talked to him,
or they were around him. But the majority of those people are people who are, in fact, you know, either influential business leaders or they work for companies that have been corporate sponsors of u of L. And like I think Pat Kelsey knew right away, there's there's some there's some money that needs to be added for this thing to.
Be for it to work.
And he's made relationships with a lot of the people that have already been heavily involved in supporting U of L athletics, whether it be from corporate sponsorships or through NIL, and he's met a lot of other people that I think are now willing to do it that probably never
would have had he not made such an impression on him. So, you know, I don't want to say coaches got to put their ego to the side, but the game has changed, and you can, like you can never just be comfortable with the money thing, right, Like you can never just feel like, Okay, we got enough rich people throwing millions at us. We don't need to be out there, you know, trying to bring in more money. I think it's going to be never ending. And that's again clearly something that
a lot of coaches don't enjoy doing. All right, quick break, we'll come back, finish strong. Here the five o'clock hour is next. Right here, it's coffee and Company. Philbeth Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety