Welcome everyone.
It is the KSR pre Show Tuesday, June third, Shannon the Dude. You can give us a call on the Clark's Pupping Shot phone line at eight five nine two eight to Oho twenty two eighty seven. You could be our Whiskey Thief Call of the Day text line. Billy has that, so don't bother texting that unless you just want to talk to Billy while he's on vacation. He probably has the phone line shut off though, so I
wouldn't bother. KSR pre Show is always being brought to you by Atalics Fine Italian Dining in Lexington, and we're going to have different guest hosts each and every day this week. And yesterday Ryan Lemon filled in, so he did his service to the pre show yesterday.
Today it's a Bullet County takeover.
We're bringing in the most talented radio guy in all of Bullet County, mister Nick Coffee, who you know just transitioned over to the new morning guye job at eight forty whas I'm dragging him back to seven ninety KRD for one day. Nick, I won't let you escape KRD. You're right back here. You just did your final show for now. You're right back here on Tuesday.
Yes, it was one workday that I was gone and here I am back again, but certainly happy to be here, certainly happy to be a part of a Bullet County takeover. And thank you for the kind words. I heard you and Billy give me the shout out last week and again appreciate that. But the more I hear people just kind of missed you. It's a mystery to them.
So you just talk for three hours just.
You, and it sounds initially as if like Wow, they're pretty impressed, but then they're like, there's no way that could be good radio, just you for three hours.
I want to ask you about that, because you know, like in radio, there are very few people that have the talent to where they could talk by themselves for three straight I mean I can maybe do it an hour if I had a producer, which I do not have. So it's just me trying to host, trying to produce by myself, and I'm like, I can't do that. I got to have somebody in here with me. And you did it for correct me if I'm wrong. Nine years on KRD by yourself for three hours every day.
Yeah, so I got higher. Yes, you are correct. I mean I had a producer throughout the entire time, and at times there would be some involvement and even when there wasn't as far as bringing anything to the table when it comes to ideas, content, that kind of stuff. If I had a producer that never wanted to speak and you know this, and there's people who worked here that do a great job, but they make it clear they don't really want or need to be mentioned or
on the air at all. They just they don't want to. But I would, I would find a way to just mention it, because it's almost like I was manipulating the audience if they just hear me and I don't acknowledge there's another human, it's like I'm on an island by myself. So you know, there's a lot of resetting and of course mixing in as much interaction as you can. But yes, when I got hired, I was so excited to be able to leave what I was doing previously. I was
enjoyed my career. Prior to radio, I worked in software. But when I got an opportunity, I was, you know, over the moon to get a chance to make this what I do at least attempt to do it. And it didn't hit me until I got here the first day and I was prepared, but you know, three hours
is a long time. Yeah, And I didn't want to have a bunch of guests just to have guests, because I don't think I'm very good at having a conversation with somebody when I have really no not to say I don't have any interests, but I didn't want to just bring a guest on just to bring a guest on. So, uh, the first few months, we're just trying to figure out how to fill the time, and that's that's a process, and then you try to figure out ways to where
you can make it as interesting as possible. So yeah, it didn't really hit me until the last few weeks as the transition was taking place. Me moving over to has that really any job that I have in broadcasting the rest of the way, it'll have a different challenges,
just like where I'm at now. It's going to be an adjustment for me as I've made the moved eight forty but as far as just the preparation and and really just you know, having to to spend a lot of time making sure I've got enough to get through a full show. I've probably gone through the longest gig. I've probably gone through the toughest gig I'll ever. Have to be honest with.
You, you have so let me let me ask you, like, okay, you trainransition from your previous job to radio, How did you know that you could do three hours? I doubt yourself. So you didn't do like a mellodcast or anything.
Yeah, so I so, yeah, So I had a podcast long ago before it is what it is now. I remember I started a podcast in my one bedroom apartment with my girlfriend who's now my wife and the mother of my two childrens a long long time ago. And then I got an opportunity to work at a smaller station here. But I was doing an hour three days a week from like six to seven, and it was great. It was a great opportunity, great repetition for me, and I really enjoyed it. And I never thought I'd be
able to do it for like a gig. But no, whenever, whenever I got the opportunity, I think I had some questions about myself, like would I be able to make this work?
Should I abandon?
Oh?
In another part of the story that I've that I've shared before with some others. I got called by Kelly Carls, who hired me when we left the hospital with my firstborn child. So here I am having to take a take, take a gamble on myself to see if I could make it work, and somehow I've been able.
To at least still be able to do this.
So yeah, there was a little bit of fear the first day when it ended, because I feel like I'd run a marathon, and even after the first segment, I was like, I feel like I'd already emptied the bag and I had nothing left. So yeah, yeahppen for three hours every day is something I did for many, many years and it was a lot of fun. But I don't think it really I just I was really happy
to have the chance to do it. But it does mean a lot to me to hear people like yourself, And I know Matt's talked about it before on KSR that you know, it's not something many people do, and probably because they realized they don't. You know, it would be difficult to try to think you could make good content out of it. And I don't know if I did that or not, but Hey, they haven't got rid of me yet.
Locklan McClain was one of those guys who could just talk to a wall. And I watched them do it, you know, for like two hours. I think his show was two hours. Yep, you're doing it for three hours. I know how much show prep I put into doing one hour a day with Billy every day when I'm hosting, because he and I kind of alternate on who drives the show each day. And you know, I probably put in a good hour, I would say of you know, prep and trying to find things that are halfway entertaining
to talk about. But when you're doing three hours by yourself, like especially at the beginning, like how much prep each night before? Are you putting it or are you just walking in and just surely you're not just winging it for three hours? Right?
So here's here's here was my method and it and it really worked for me. And I mean I would recommend it to anybody if you're active on on social media. So what I would do, I mean Twitter has become I mean Twitter's I guess now X. It's it's pretty it's a pretty toxic place at times, but it has a it has one really valuable purpose for me is that it's just a constant source of what is being put out there as far as articles or just something
somebody tweets that becomes a big talking point. So all throughout my day, I would I would see something, and I would I would send that tweet to my direct message, and then in the evening I would go through and find all the things that I that I'd seen that might be interesting to bring up on the show, and I would compile my prep from that, and then you know, I would then go for stuff that I think would be worthwhile, cut up a lot of sound, because you know,
even if you know, even if there's not a ton of great sound, you don't wanted to hear my voice for the whole time. And there were days where we didn't have many callers that kind of stuff, so a lot of prep went into it, and I just was so scared of not having enough things to talk about
to where oftentimes i'd over prepare. But when I did that, that would lead to where I would end the show and realize I've still got like four or five things that aren't time sensitive that I could bring up, you know, the following day. So I found my own routine. Everybody has their own way of doing it and finding what works for them. But yeah, I always had the fear of knowing if I ran out of something to talk about, I ran out of something to say, Like, I don't
know what I would do. So I just always had something in the bag to pull out and you know, keep the conversation going.
Some of these summer shows, I feel like we get to that point, like, oh, if we're kind of at the end of all of our topics, I don't know what else to say.
But can I tell you what the easiest time in radio for me was, but was also difficult a as a fan was the Kenny Payne era. Was really easy because I didn't have to do any prep. I didn't have to do I mean, first of all, we had a lot of people calling and sharing their thoughts about what went on. But as somebody who is a big
louisvill fan, it just it was really therapeutic. I got a lot of sympathy from people, which you know, I do appreciate that, but I feel like I was able to just get it out of my system every day to where it didn't consume me every day of my life because you know, for those who don't know me, I'm a big Louisville fan. I love level basketball and.
That's your only though, you know.
Yeah, yeah, we got twelve minutes in before we had to let everybody know that if they weren't aware. But yeah, that actually made it easy because it was just kind of it was driven by what was going on.
When you were doing three hours?
Though. Did you ever come back and have to repeat anything that you talked about in the first hour, Because I feel like if you wanted to get lazy with it, you could do that, But going through three hours and talking about all new content like naturally big about that.
He's like, you know, I don't want to repeat anything.
So you know this, and I know Matt knows it as well. When when you when they tell you, when programmers tell you sort of what makes the most sense for for radio, not necessarily podcasting, but radio, draft time radio specifically that that you need that you need to be repetitive to an extent. But it's just not natural for me. If I'm repetitive, I just feel like, hey, people already heard that, even if it is a new audience. So I've more so followed what you guys do on KSR,
just because I feel like that's more my style. But you know, at times, I'm sure I could have been repetitive and it would have maybe made a little bit more since I did, I will say that when I was doing because I started noon to three, then I went from seven to ten am, and then for the last two plus years, I've been three to six before it all ended last week, And I did think the first hour, in the third hour, there was there were similarities and that did make they did make it a
little bit easier. But now what I'm having to get used to on eight forty is that, I mean, it's a totally different format when it comes to the Kentucky in the morning news, and I mean I've.
Got I used to have to fill nineteen minutes.
Now I got Now I got four minutes, and I got to try to squeeze it in asas.
Yeah, well maybe maybe more challenging though, because we see i'd be concise.
Yes, absolutely, that's that's the new challenge. But it also you know, at times, whenever I end up finishing a segment, I'm like, that was it. That's that's a breeze compared to what I was doing. But now I'm I'm being coached because you know, I can't screw this up. I'm like the fourth person that ever have this job in
the morning's on eight forty. So I need to be repetitive and be aware that the people that listen to me at five am are not the same people that are going to be listening at eight am.
That's the thing too, fourth person ever to host the morning show on eight forty whs, it's.
Pretty good company.
Again, just not screw it up, right, Yeah?
I mean he just replaced Tony Cruz, who has been I think the morning guy for what twenty one years? So he's been here as long as I've He's been doing the morning show as long as I've been here at iHeart. So let me ask you this because this is another part that I here's the reason I don't think I could do your job.
You're on the air at what five am?
Yes, So let me ask you, what time number one are you going to sleep now? And what time are you waking up every morning to do the show at five o'clock?
So I woke up this morning at three am. I woke up yesterday at two forty five, am, Oh my god, are you laughing at my pain?
Oh my god, There's no way I could do that.
So I don't know if that's going to be the routine. I think what I'm gonna find after a week or so, I'll be able to sense if I'm able to potentially sleep until Like I could honestly do do what I need to do to prepare for the five am start.
I could do that the evening before, but that would require me staying up a little bit later and then just I mean, I could get up honestly with no traffic and leave the house at four fifteen and still be here on time, But that would be so I would feel like I'm panicked because that's just so not natural. But I got to make adjustments. This is not a normal routine by any means. So last night it played itself out. I didn't need to think about when I went to bed. It was nine thirty and I was
on the recliner, and then that was it. It was I was out. So I think, you know, I'll end up probably trying what I want to do. This is what I hope happens. I hope I can I can get up really early finish the show after and then get a quick nap in and then try to go to bed. You know, basically have two basically a sleep schedule that is a bit the biggest chunk of it is in the evening at night, and then get a
little nap in and balance it out. But everybody has told me that, you know, good luck with that, and that there's never going to be a moment where you're not tired. And I'm thinking great, And on one of Tony Cruz's last shows last week, this this was this kind of has haunted me since he said it, But people were busting his chops about how he's going to now be able to sleep in and how he's you know, he's probably gone to bed at seven pm for the
last twenty years. And he was kind of he was defending himself, kind of you know, to sound like a badass, and he was like, well, I mean on Fridays, I'm up to sometimes nine thirty and.
I'm like, oh my god, is this my life? Is this what I've signed up for? I think you have, man, It's a life style change. I don't know how you could do it any other way. Otherwise you're burning the candle at both ends. If you're trying to say, like, for instance, coming out Thursday, we got the first game of the NBA Finals, I.
Don't know how PACER's fan too.
Yeah, yeah, I know you are, I know, And I'm thinking, how in the hell is he going to sit up and watch the end of this game and still get to work on tom tomorrow the next day without you know, feeling terrible, you know, just running it off, no sleep at all.
We'll see, I mean, it's gonna be traveling error. I'm gonna find I'm gonna just like a nine years ago. I'mnna have to find a spot that makes the most sense for me, find a rhythm and a routine that works. But another thing that scared me this morning Scott Fitzgerald, who's on the mornings with me doing sports, you know, he talked about how the last however many years he's been on eight forty that he never even watches his team play anymore. He just wakes up the next day
and watches it in the morning. And I'm like, why do anybody talk about these kind of things? Is this is gonna be worried?
The other thing about it too, Like just for me, getting in here at seven o'clock, which you know, I woke up this morning at five forty, and I'm going, well, Nick's already been on the air for forty minutes, so
I can't complain too much. But just me having to get up at five thirty every morning to get in here at seven o'clock, I find myself, even on Saturdays and Sundays, Nick, I'm still up at five thirty, Like, even when I don't want to be, my body is just on its own clock, and regardless if I want to wake up or not, I cannot.
Sleep in on the weekends anymore. So it's a curse.
I feel like, how late do you sleep in on Saturdays and Sundays if you've got nothing going on?
At the latest six thirty at the latest, man, I'm telling you, like that is, let's say it's Sunday morning.
I'm waking up at six thirty. That is.
I went out Saturday night and uh, you know, partied it partied it up. We stayed out till twelve thirty one o'clock. I'm still bay.
I mean, I know the band's getting booked a lot, and you're probably having late nights. I know, I know they are.
Yeah, and I'll still be up early regardless, like a life of shin in the day, I don't want to be up at that time, but here I am. It's like, well, what we're gonna do.
I also have a I have a have two children at home, so they've they've at times dictated my sleep schedule. But there may be some moments where the weekend rest is needed to where I'm just gonna tell my wife, look, I'm going to the cave downstairs and just.
Leave me be.
Don't don't, don't let the minions downstairs. I need some sleep. I'm gonna lose my mind.
He is Nick Coffee.
It is the Bullet County Takeover on the KSR pre Show today. We'll take your calls eight five, nine two, eight oh twenty two eighty seven. Yeah, he's a little fan. Don't hold it against them. We can all be friends here. And I feel like I want to ask you about the rivalry because I feel like the coaches are a little too friendly for my liking. Yp with Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope, and we'll get into that and a whole lot more. We'll be right back here on the KSR pre Show.
All right, welcome back.
It is the KSR pre show, Shitning the Dude and Nick Coffee. Nick, I've been on your show, I think for a segment or all Drew, I don't think you've ever been on.
I don't know if you've been on with Billy.
Maybe Billy has had me come on a couple of times, which the last two appearances I made on this show. One was a really tough one because it was right after Kentucky beat Louisville and football when Louisville was top ten. It was the two years ago Broms first season. And then I came on last year the same time, and it was following the time Louisville had won the game. So I've been I've been here a couple of times. Happy to be back again, and yes I am. I
am from the from the Louisville side of things. Let's just let him know.
That that was a dirty, calculated move on Billy's part to bring you on at that time. I don't know if you're a horse racing fan, Nick, I followed the derby and I'll follow the other ones if the derby winner actually races.
Yeah, once the triple crown potential is over, I'm you know, so if somebody tells me it's on, I may turn it on, but I'm not seeking it out. This is a hot take I'm giving you on ksrpre show here. I think we are a Derby town, but like the sport of horse racing to me, and there are plenty of people who love it. And clearly horse racing is a big deal because of Churchill Down's and the Derby. But I think a lot of us we weren't necessarily exposed to the sport of horse racing quite as much
as the event that is the Derby. Just my opinion, I wanted to get out of the way.
Yeah, that's me one hundred percent. Like I love the pageantry of it. I love everything that comes with it, the parties, like you know, the oh yeah, I can have friends over and we can.
Cook out and we can drink beer and bourbon and all that.
You know.
I love that part of it.
And well, we'll watch the races, but then after that, I mean, I watch horse racing one time a year and it's Derby. But anyway, the eyes of the horse racing world are on Baltimore at least, DraftKings says, So who will be crowned King of the Track. You can find out on the DK horse app, the number one download horse betting app, and you can head to the app right now, opt in and bet five dollars or
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Shut out to who put that coffee together? That was a lot of work, a lot of work.
Yeah, so, you know, I guess transitioning over to WHS to you naturally, probably it's just in your blood to talk sports.
Oh yeah, that's been my I mean, any any story that comes up, anything, I'm just so geared to turn it towards sports. But I have been told that bringing you know, I get, I get five minutes segments if one of them happens to be about the sports and it's of local interest, it's not it's not like they're gonna, you know, they're gonna kick me out of there. But yeah,
I'm still anything I hear, anything I see. When it comes to talking about on the radio, I always try to it's just natural to shift into sports.
So now you've got to think, you know, when you're looking at what we're going to talk about today and what's going on in the world news, what's going on in local news, it's so much more than just yep, you know, but that's the thing that we do on KSR. I think a lot though it is just local news stuff. Like yesterday our big topic was Zipper merging, like that was the big and that's the crazy thing, like.
We we'll talk.
You know what.
One of my favorite things about KSR was that it's not really a sports show.
It's not.
I mean it is, but it's not.
It's a cult. It's culture lifestyle. And clearly the people who listen to this show Kentucky sports is a big part of their culture. So it kind of go and look, they you guys talk sports, but uh, it's it's it's entertainment.
It's the characters that all of you are.
And I don't mean that in a bad way, but you all play your own specific role and it works out and you can sometimes listen for two hours and you're like, yeah, I'm not sure they talked about sports today.
I mean, like last week, o tega Oway announced he's coming back. We're on the pre show. First two callers want to talk about growing pumpkins and something else that had nothing to do with otega Away coming back.
Its like, oh, okay, no big deal, but.
You know, you go over there to WHGs you have to talk? I guess some sports.
Do you want to hear what I had to talk about today?
What's that?
What are they going to do about? What's going on Barstown Road? Channon? Oh, what's what's what is Craig Greenberg? Who we know? What's he going to do about it? I mean, he's you know that. I didn't.
I didn't talk about it with that tone. But that was a big discussion because in the Islands the last couple of weeks there have been some people stand out really really late, shutting down streets and that kind of stuff, and that typically would be something I would never touch, never want to bring up at all. But it was probably the most talked about thing today throughout four hours. And uh, yeah, that's my new life now.
That's what we talked about on KSR yesterday. Matt said, have you seen this brawl that broke out on Saturday night on Bargstown Road. I hadn't even seen it, and now it's like it's all the talk, it's all that everybody's talking about on local news around here. I still don't know what they're fighting over, but I saw all the people that were crowding around. There was there was fights going on, there were people trying to get it on video to get likes and follows and all this stuff.
I mean some of the videos that ended up making it their way to the news, to the new stations that covered it, I mean that that was real and some of the sound from those were shared on our newscast and uh yeah, I mean it's Barstown Road and the Highlands in that area is certainly not now what it what it used to be. And one thing I found interesting though, is that there's so much and I guess it's a lot of people who grew up around here.
I know this audience is much more than just the Loisville area, but the Highlands, those bars, I mean, it's it's probably one of the more well known areas. I mean back in the day, you just go, you keep going down further and you end up at Phoenix Hill Tavern. I mean that was a great to live there on the weekends. Oh yeah, I'm glad I got to go
a few times before it ended up closing down. But anyways, with with that, there's it's it stinks that that's sort of what you may see if you end up trying to go out and relive a night that you did ten years ago or whatnot. But am I the only one who looks at some of the video and people jumping on cars trying to disarm security like that shouldn't happen anywhere, No Highlands anywhere like that shouldn't Like that's scary anywhere it happened.
The farthest I venture down Barstown Road these days is like Tk's Pub just.
From the creek.
So, but that's been good fun. I haven't been out there in years though, But yeah, I mean.
Yeah, I mean you get rid of Phoenix, hi'll tab and good luck getting shanned the dude back out there.
That's right.
If there's not a booty shake, I go. I go for booty shaking, not fights, all right. If I want to go see a fight, I want to.
You know, I told Craig the way to get things cleaned up down there, it is just channing the dude back out there for the booty shaking contest.
And let's let's get that. Let's bring the Highlands back to what it once was.
Maybe bring some of the OVW guys. Yeah, you were in that world for a while.
I was right, I was what a world.
So did you have fun doing the O it you were kind of behind the scenes with everything, but yeah, you start to manage a lot of the personalities behind the scenes.
Yeah, it was.
It was an experience that in that in was certainly rewarding, just because I feel like I I one, I got to learn a lot about things that I that I really didn't know anything about it as far as what goes into wrestling, but I would when people ask me sort of what the experience was like. I mean, wrestling clearly is a niche audience in the eyes.
Of a lot of people. It's clearly very very popular.
Yeah, but the people who were in it, man, they put so much into it.
It's admirable. It's an interesting world, it definitely is. We'll be all right back with more with Nick. You're on the KSR pre Show. It is the KSR pre Show, Shannon the Dude, Nick Coffee sitting in for Billy Reledge eight five nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. If you want to get on the Clark's Popping Shot phone line. We were just talking right before we turned the mics on. We've got to make somehow Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey dislike each other. I know it's still
early in the rivalry for these two. I mean not Mark Pope, I mean he knows as a player with this rivalry is but both guys being new coaches at Kentucky in Louisville respectively. And Matt asked Mark Pope last week or a couple of weeks ago when he was interviewing him, we gotta somehow drum up some some hatred, not real hatred, but you know sports hatred between the two because they just genuinely seem to like each other so much.
Yeah, I played that sound on my show just because I think you could tell if you you know, it would be really tough to create some kind of animosity, just because it would be very much forced. I think these two guys they respect one another as coaches, as people, and I think even the fans. I mean, I'll admit it. I can't speak for anybody but myself, but as a Louisville fan, not only not only do I think Mark Pope's a good coach, I think he's hard to dislike.
He's very very likable. When Kentucky plays, do I want them to win? No, But that doesn't mean that I don't think. I think he's a good coach too. Like I think Kentucky last year actually had more success based off coaching, not necessarily because of any specific philosophy. But you know, I don't know when I click. Their team wasn't good. They were good last year, but some of the things you guys have talked about athleticism was not a strength of theirs, and they beat some teams that
were really, really good. Some teams ended up being, you know, some of the best teams in the country. So hear me gushing about a Kentucky basketball coach, I'm about to block out just doing it right now. But it's but you know, I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it. It's the truth.
I wish I could say otherwise.
And I don't know if Kentucky fans like Pat Kelsey, but I think they've they've probably expected a year in to have a little bit more out there for them to cling to about. Yeah, this guy sucks. I hate him because he's he's I think he's pretty likable too.
Pat Kelsey hasn't done anything to make us not like him yet, Like he's been very complimentary of Pope and Kentucky. And you know, you go back to Rick Patino and John Caliperi, who.
That was theater.
I mean, yeah, who would pretend to.
Like each other and you know they would do each other's podcast and all that, but you know, deep down inside they despised each other. Oh yeah, and now we've got two guys that, let's be real about it. They're kind of dorky, yeah, like the kind of goof. They're relatable to be completely different personalities than Patino and cali Perry, like the complete opposite.
Complete opposites, and that's refreshing. I think we we experienced it right after Patino a little bit with Chris Mack, because Chris Mack, if anything, he was just a lot different than Patino, but also he was a little bit more relatable. You'd see him out in Louisville. He clearly you know, you knew his family pretty well. He's pretty visible. And then with with same thing with set I mean,
Bobby Patrino was a robot. We went from that to Scott Sadderfield and him just having him just being alive was a little bit different. So with you guys, you have a larger than live figure and he still is that John Caliperry and Patino and cal maybe two of the most unrelatable coaches to the common fan, regardless of where they're coaching. And yes, with Pope and Kelsey, it's it's way different. And one thing that that I don't think was as visible this year as people realize is
that they actually like to play the same style. Louisville had injuries earlier in the year that really changed not a lot of what they wanted to do, but certainly they just didn't have as many bodies. Kentucky's injuries came a little later in the year. But both these love they want as many possessions as possible. They want in rhythm threes, they want to fire up a bunch of three point shots, get to the free throw line. I mean, they are two of the young successful coaches when it
comes to the modern style of basketball. I mean, I know Pat Kelsey and I'm sure Mark Pope as well, like they like to play the way Nate Oates plays as far as just that style offensively. So maybe that's another reason why they kind of seem to like each other and respect each other, because they have some of the same basketball beliefs.
The other thing, too, is the accessibility of these coaches. And what I mean by that is like, yeah, John Calli Perry would sign, you know, basketballs for fans after games while he was doing his postgame show, as long as they didn't have any dimples in the ball. He would not sign dimpled basketballs, but you know he would, he would.
Have interactions with the fans.
But what I mean by accessibility is Mark Pope goes above and beyond, Like he'll go like he'll hang around after a road game and go up into the stands and hang out with fans and sign autographs.
And he's genuine and yeah.
And I could never see Caliperiy and Rick Patino going up into the stands and taking pictures with fans after a game.
Not at all. And I think with I mean with Cali Perry. I did, from afar enjoy the last few years, just more so not because of the the I mean I didn't. I didn't mind seeing the upstates that took place in the tournament, but the dynamic between Kentucky fans and Cali Perry in the final couple years was very fascinating to me because it's just it's like something you'll never see. This is a guy who had the best job in the sport, making more money than anybody would
pay him a lifetime contract. But man, he just didn't really seem to like the fan base. I think he was, I guess maybe turned off that they started to be critical whenever you know, the results weren't what they used to be. But it was like a it was to me, it was just a divorce playing out in front of everybody's eyes. These two just it's not compatible anymore. The love is lost.
Yeah, and Pat Kelsey, wasn't he going around and like handing out flyers like hey comes, oh yeah?
And he he doesn't and never do that when he was hired and he and he you know, self deprecation can go a long way. And when he was hired, when his first press conference he made comment that he's not he's not who's he's not Scott Drew and he's not Dusty May.
But you know, he's.
Excited, he's humble, and he's well aware that he wasn't the first choice, and he's willing to still work. I mean, I think these two guys, the ones really tall ones really not you know, and and clearly they don't come from the same background, but I do think both ended up with a job that if you'd have told me a year ago or a year prior they'd be in
that position, they wouldn't have believed you. And then it played out to where I think both guys kind of hit the ground running and there is a real genuineness to them being humble and just like I can't believe I'm the coach here, I'm gonna I'm gonna make this work or I'm gonna die trying one hundred percent.
And the other thing is too, when you don't talk down to your fan base and you're relatable, guess what the fan base in return is a lot more forgiving. Would you lose games maybe that you shouldn't lose in the future. So I feel like he builds up that equity with the fans both coaches. Mark Pope maybe has already a built in act year since he was a former player here in National champions.
Well, look, he had a really good first year.
Yeah sure, sweet sixteen.
I mean, look, I think with with both these guys, I think for different reasons, the fan bases came back to life. We were literally dead in the coffin with Kenny Payne. I mean it was it still didn't seem real.
They kicked us.
You guys were successful, but you had those really rare upsets in the tournament that just seemed unbelievable. But then, you know, like Mark Pope started really embracing the era when he played that Cal liked to ignore because Rick coach those teams, and those teams were great and him just hitting all to me, Mark Pope kind of became the Jeff Brahm for what Louisville football, because you know, this is a guy that, yeah, we think he's a good coach, he's gonna win, but he's one of us.
He gets us, and there's really no other coach that can do that. I think Mark Pope is like that with you guys.
You haven't a radio show during the Kenny Payne era had to be what it must have been like to have a radio show during the Billy Gillespie era, you know, especially that second Yeah, we were you know, the sink is the ship is sinking, and you know, you know where this is going to end.
But you still got to radio show.
And you have to balance the you know, there's certain fans that probably don't disagree. They couldn't disagree, but they don't want to hear. But that's that's the job. You got to talk about it. We can't lie and act like things aren't what they are.
So what's this with Trey Mitchell allegedly telling a new Lobell commit that Lobell has the greatest fan base.
In the world, not in college basketball, nick in the world.
Yeah, and then that's wild.
And then Trey Mitchell jumps on Instagram and goes, let me get the quote right, What did you say here? You know that's cap. Now you may need to translate this for me. You know that's cap. I think that means you know, that's not true.
Yeah, cap.
Cap means that either he didn't you know cat. I guess he's claiming cap, meaning that that's that's not true. That somebody's capping meaning. I guess they're stretching the truth. I thought, I thought when I read the initial comments from through the Louisville incoming the incoming freshman from Germany, I thought maybe there was a language barrier and he he he misheard what Trey Mitchell said. And then I heard the I heard the audio myself and he did
say it, So, yeah, I don't really get that. And here's what crazy Trey Mitchell would would have been here when Kenny Payne was the coach, so like, yeah, if we were great, then oh my god, Like I mean the way I could tell you firsthand, we weren't great.
We were we were in pain.
There were twenty three people at the games.
Maybe he meant he loved Louisville fans going through that. Maybe that's what Trey Mitchell meant.
Maybe surely.
I mean, I don't know how he would say that. You're right, I mean, especially during the Kenny.
Payne we weren't great. Trust me.
Who Yeah, that's just I saw that.
I was like, there's no way that's true.
Eight five, nine, twenty two eighty seven. Let's go to Kentucky, gas man, what's up?
Yeah, I had it going this morning.
Guys.
All right, good, I got my questions for Nick. So, you know, as a Kentucky fan and goes, I think all the fans couldn't agree. You know, we think we think about the time that Glassbie was at Kentucky as time we really want to forget sure sometimes that it didn't even and it didn't happen. You know, even when they have polls with coaches, Glasbye's hardly even mentioned. So my question is like, would you compare that that he was I lobile? And my second question is your I
want to hear you. I'd like to hear you the.
You're about to hit that.
Both questions, I think you're saying, would you compare Gillespie and Kenny Payne's eras sort of similarly? Was that your first question, yes, okay, and then your second one.
Was, well, just I want to hear Nick's input on the time that Kenny was there and what it was like for you.
Yeah, okay, Yeah, thanks for the call.
We appreciate it.
I mean, yes, it was pro it was the comparisons this, It was two eras that you will question if it really happened and wonder how you got there. But to be honest, and I'm not trying to overdo it, Louisville basketball was one of the worst teams in the country. And there's three hundred and sixty plus. I mean, it wasn't just they were down for Louisville. They were really, really, really bad. And I won't claim that they had a
bunch of great players. They didn't. But the scenario where that team went four and twenty eight and lost to the teams they lost to. I mean it's I don't want a bag on the guy because he's gone, and you know, louis was in a better spot now, but I don't. I mean that you could argue that was one of the worst coaching jobs of all time in college basketball. I mean it's just so Billy gilespie. Honestly, he should have made the take an the tournament his first year.
An he won SEC Coach of the Year in his first year, so it was the second year.
Yeah, they're really not comparable just because of how bad Louisville was. But look the worst things that were going on, I mean it all played out. I mean, he didn't put a kid in because he said he didn't want to wear his tights.
I mean, they they tricked us, they played zone or what was Yeah, I mean they they had a red white scrimmage where fans could come out and nobody realized they needed to bring official I mean there, I mean it was it was Here's what here's something that that I mean, I think there's other coaches that had never been a head coach before that clearly would have done a billion times better than than than Kenny did.
But man, it was the best example of don't give somebody the keys to the car that's never had to drive before, because just little things about organization, preparation. Uh, you know, he'd never had to do that before. He had a specific role with Cali Perry clearly worked out really well. Yeah, but when you got to run your own program, it's different.
Yeah.
He was great at being the you know, the good cop. When Cali Perry would come yell at a player and they go sit on the bench, they go next, sit right next to Kenny, and he would talk him up, you know.
Like he you know, everybody he had a He was great at that role. But then I can I.
Tell you something that that that I that I think it's probably not brought up because again, there's only one way to really react to and talk about his era is just how bad it was. I don't think he ever wanted to be the coach. I think he was genuinely like pressured into it to where he did have good intentions initially, and then of course he became a mess and you know, we all know how it ended. But when I heard Purvis. Ellison claimed that he tried
to encourage him not to do it. I'll never know, is because he didn't think he was capable or what. But I think Kenny took the job because of pressure and it kind of played out that way because I don't think he mean, I don't know. There's a lot of lot going on there, but it didn't work out. That's the best way to put it.
In your level.
I mean, it's not like you're a terrible program, like historically top ten program. Would you agree, oh yeah, and then you go after a guy that's never been the coach.
I mean our bad years were like barely missing the tournament and then it was you won four games.
It was it was bad.
Yep.
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pre Show next. When I asked Nick Coffee during the break to give me a favorite band, I was not expecting to hear Bob Seeger.
Love Bob se Yeah, I'm a fan of Bob Seger.
That's a weird thing, but I love him.
Yeah. I saw him years and years ago.
I didn't think I could pick Alice Bluegun.
So I saw Bob Seeger years ago at the Young Sinner. Nick and I took a date to Bob Seeker. That's what one does, because I had free tickets and why not you want to go see Bob Secer. She's like yeah, she was. She was like excited, and I'm like, you're really excited to see Bob Seeger.
She's like yeah.
So we get there and she's like, and Bob Seeker comes out on stage. She's like, who's that? I said, that's Bob Seger. She goes, oh, I thought we were going to see Bob Sagett. So the disappointment when Bob Seger came out on stage and played main Street and turned the page in Catman Do.
She was expecting, you know, full.
Time, I mean Danny Tanner to walk out on stage to do some dirty jokes.
Bob Seger is no Danny Tanner. I mean she would have settled for Joey Gladstone Max.
Yeah, Hey, Uncle Joey. Yeah, Hey.
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Check them out right here in Kentucky Solk Vevet Whiskey Soilk Vevet Whiskey dot com. All right, so let's talk a little bit about the football side of the Kentucky Louisville rivalry.
Nick.
You know, there's there's talk of this Big ten SEC football partnership where they would add, you know, one game to the schedule each year where you know, Kentucky would play some random Big Ten team because of that. Though, I think a lot of these teams, if that were
to happen, would probably drop their rivalry game. I think Kentucky if they had to play let's say, I don't know, Purdue Illinois, some random team out of the Big Ten, I could see a scenario where they drop Louisville from that, from that schedule to play a couple of stinky teams just so they could build up their win total. You know, I say, under no circumstance do I want to see
that happen Kentucky drop Lesville. I think the you know, rivalries, it's what makes sports great, right, you know, but I could see that happening. I'm hoping it doesn't happen. The Kentucky football rivalry with Louisville. I think they need to keep it regardless. What are your thoughts on, you know, the potential. I think rivalry being dropped.
Just the noise.
And it's really been either that partnership you're talking about or the potential nine game SEC schedule has been talked about for at least the last few offseasons the other part. And it certainly seems as if that does happen, that the move on the Kentucky side would be to get out of the rivalry series, and I would hate that. And what I don't understand is that there's no way Kentucky fans would want that. There's no way Louisville and not that they would care what Louisville fans won, but
it's good for fans. I don't think Kentucky is scared of Louisville, and Mark Stoops should know what that win will do for the vibes and the morale of your program. I mean, you can be a decent middle of the pack SEC team and maybe be just Bowl eligible, but if you beat Louisville, it adds a lot of value. And the same thing goes on the Louisville side. I mean, Louisville last year didn't really have a whole lot of
big time moments. They did beat Clemson on the road, but they finally got the governor's cut back, and I have no problem admitting that that. Even though Kentucky wasn't good at all last year, it means a lot to beat your rival, and they hadn't done it in a long time. So it'll probably happen if the schedule changes do take place. But who benefits from this, right, I guess, just more another win.
It all comes down to money.
But at some point, though, you have to sacrifice the good of the product for money, and at some point you have to draw a line.
Okay, yes, we would be making more money.
Let's say in this situation if we we went to a nine game SEC schedule and we.
Did a big ten partnership.
Okay, you're making more money, but at what point does the overall product suffer? Because now you're having teams lose their rivalry game, and I think that's kind of where you have to draw the line. Only a couple of minutes here left with you, So I just want to do like a couple of quick hitters here on things
you probably talked about last week. Do you like the fact that the College Football Hall of Fame dropped their percentage down a half a percentage for Mike Leach to make to be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame to fifty nine and a half percent since that's of course twenty percentage.
Was I think he Leech deserves it, and I wish they do something to help out Howard Schnellenberger, who was big for Louisville football really just you know, staying alive. And then also he played football at Kentucky too, So I think it was a good move, and I just wish they do something for Schnellenberger, who just just falls short because he was always a guy who built programs back up.
So yeah, it was a good move though, and.
Then quickly the NCAA Basketball tournament, considering going from sixty eight to seventy two games more playing games?
Are you for that or against expanding the tournament?
I'm against him, but I'm gonna watch you regardless. They'll probably expand it to one hundred and I'm gonna watch it. But no, I don't think they need I don't think they needed more than sixty four, to be honest with you.
Yeah, I'm with you there.
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Nick. I appreciate it, man. Thank you so much for having me working over tome.
It's fun. Five straight hours of radio. Baby, I'm ready to do it again. Let's run it back.
That's right, all right.
You can catch a Nick every morning five am, bright and early on eight forty WHS. Thanks Nick, appreciate it, man, thank you all right, we'll see it. KSR is up next.