2024-12-27- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

KSR – Hour 1 Podcast Summary (December 27, 2024)

Hosted by Matt Jones and the KSR Crew from iHeartPodcasts and Sports Talk 790 (WKRD-AM)

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1. Opening from Glasgow, Kentucky

Timestamp: [03:15]

Matt Jones kicks off the episode live from Glasgow, Kentucky, at the Don Franklin Cadillac Chevrolet dealership. Despite severe weather conditions, a large and enthusiastic crowd gathered, marking one of the most significant attendances the crew has experienced on their road trips. Matt expresses his gratitude to the fans, noting the robust turnout even in adverse weather:

Matt Jones [03:15]: "Probably one of our, if not the biggest crowd we've ever had here."

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2. UK Basketball Performance & Mark Pope's Tenure

Timestamp: [07:14]

The discussion shifts to the University of Kentucky (UK) basketball team, focusing on Coach Mark Pope's impact and the team's recent performances. Matt highlights key victories that have bolstered the team's standing as they transition into conference play:

• Victory Over Duke: UK hasn't beaten Duke since 2015, making this win particularly noteworthy.

  Matt Jones [07:14]: "We beat Duke. That's a pretty big deal. Hadn't beaten him since 2015."

• Win Against Gonzaga: Emphasizing a strong comeback victory on the road.

• Triumph Over Louisville: Further solidifying their competitive edge.

Despite these successes, concerns are raised about the team's three-point shooting, currently ranked 115th nationally:

Matt Jones [09:50]: "They're 115th and that makes my worry."

To engage listeners, Matt announces a giveaway for tickets to the upcoming UK vs. Florida game, fostering excitement for a highly anticipated SEC matchup:

Ryan Lemond [09:45]: "That could be a good ticket to get because Florida is sneaky."

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3. Navigating NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) Challenges

Timestamp: [10:30 – 17:35]

A significant portion of the conversation delves into the complexities of NIL regulations in college sports. The retirement of Miami's esteemed Coach Jim Laranega serves as a catalyst for discussing how traditional coaching paradigms are struggling to adapt to these changes:

• Critique of Older Coaches: Matt criticizes coaches like Laranega for resisting NIL advancements, despite leveraging them for past successes.

  Matt Jones [14:00]: "They just need to let a new, younger generation do it and stop whining."

• Supreme Court Ruling: Highlighting the shift in college sports from a non-monetized model to one aligned with standard American business practices:

  Matt Jones [16:00]: "College sports has to make money based on your worth."

• Future Outlook: Predictions that older, less adaptable coaches will gradually step down, paving the way for more progressive leaders like Mark Pope:

  Ryan Lemond [17:35]: "They have to adapt and adjust because the college game has changed. It ain't going backwards."

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4. Behind-the-Scenes Insights & Listener Engagement

Timestamp: [24:10 – 43:06]

The hosts encourage audience participation by inviting listeners to submit behind-the-scenes questions about KSR, UK basketball, and football. Key topics addressed include:

• Severe Wheeler’s Departure:

  Matt Jones [24:10]: "There was an internal divide within the team... Severe kind of thought he was getting punished for being the most vocal."

  Evan adds:

  Evan [25:16]: "There was just so much around him. I don't know specifically where it all started in the locker room."

• Max Missing the Show:

  Matt Jones [25:55]: "He was like, oh man, was I supposed to do the show? I was like, yeah, it's three in the afternoon and I woke him up."

• Football Team Culture Slip:

  Ryan Lemond [28:38]: "The coaching staff let some of the star players just slide by, creating a problem in the locker room."

  Matt Jones [29:36]: "They wouldn't if they are making more money than the other, they all need to be treated the same on that playing field and they just weren't."

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5. Legislation Impacting Local Community – Vaping Ban in Kentucky

Timestamp: [42:13 – 51:01]

Matt discusses the imminent vaping ban in Kentucky, detailing how the legislation will restrict vape flavors solely to tobacco options, effectively limiting consumer choice and benefiting tobacco businesses:

Matt Jones [42:13]: "The Tobacco industry is basically made it to where they banned everything except what the tobacco industry sells."

He expresses surprise that many locals are unaware of the upcoming changes and discusses the potential economic and social impacts:

Matt Jones [50:12]: "It's classic Kentucky. It looks like on the surface it's positive, but then the only thing legal, it's basically creating a monopoly for the tobacco company."

Ryan and Evan echo Matt’s sentiments, highlighting concerns about youth vaping trends and the proliferation of vape shops across Kentucky.

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6. Interaction with Mark Stoops – Addressing Fan Concerns

Timestamp: [51:01 – 54:13]

Matt recounts a pivotal phone conversation with Mark Stoops, where they openly discussed fan frustrations and team performance issues. Highlights include:

• Honest Feedback: Matt provided Stoops with candid insights into fan sentiments, particularly regarding the "pony up" incident and overall team culture.

  Matt Jones [52:07]: "You need people to tell him that it shouldn't have to be me. You need people to tell him, like, the fans are here."

• Sposts’ Receptiveness: Stoops showed willingness to acknowledge mistakes and consider adjustments, hinting at future on-air discussions post-rehabilitation.

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7. Final Audience Interactions and Wrap-Up

Timestamp: [54:13 – End]

The episode concludes with ongoing listener questions, addressing topics such as:

• Distrust in KSR’s Transparency: A caller criticizes KSR for only highlighting negative aspects of the UK basketball team. Matt defends the show’s commitment to honesty, despite backlash:

  Matt Jones [32:08]: "We would basically insinuate that all the time."

• Vince Marrow’s Career Moves: Discussion about Vince Marrow’s potential job offers and his relationship with Mark Stoops, reflecting the interconnected nature of coaching careers.

• SEC Tournament Memories: Participants share nostalgic and memorable experiences from past SEC tournaments, fostering a sense of community and shared history among listeners.

Matt reiterates the importance of transparency and maintaining trust with the fan base, even when discussing unfavorable topics:

Matt Jones [32:51]: "A lot of the times what I try to do is I hit something without saying it. And then people who listen to the show can decide whether they want to believe it or not."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Matt Jones [07:14]: "We beat Duke. That's a pretty big deal. Hadn't beaten him since 2015."
• Matt Jones [14:00]: "They just need to let a new, younger generation do it and stop whining."
• Ryan Lemond [09:45]: "That could be a good ticket to get because Florida is sneaky."
• Matt Jones [42:13]: "It's classic Kentucky. It looks like on the surface it's positive, but then the only thing legal, it's basically creating a monopoly for the tobacco company."

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Conclusion

The December 27th episode of KSR – Hour 1 offers listeners a comprehensive dive into the current state of UK basketball, the evolving landscape of college sports under NIL regulations, and pressing local issues such as the vaping ban in Kentucky. Through candid discussions, listener engagement, and insightful commentary, Matt Jones and the KSR crew provide an engaging and informative experience for both dedicated fans and newcomers seeking to understand the dynamics at play within UK sports and the broader community.

Transcript

[Levar Arrington]

Hey, what's up everybody? It's Levar Arrington here from up on Game and I need you to listen for a moment, all right, and get serious. The hate in this country is getting out of control. It's at an all time high. It's going to take all of us to stop it. I mean think about it. We're all on the same team in this country, right? Let's take a break from hate so our team can regroup. We need to take a timeout against hate. Visit stand upto all hate.org to help and join me in calling for a timeout against hate by following or posting the Blue Square Emoji Holiday magic is.

[Matt Jones]

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[Levar Arrington]

In my family, one of the biggest points of contention was finances. And I know as I gotten older I made it a promise to myself to say, I don't want to relive that. You know, hiring somebody to do credit repair. That was a gift that I gave myself that allowed me to then get my first apartment, then eventually buy my own home. Like these are all things that are possible.

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[Levar Arrington]

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[Drew Franklin]

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[Matt Jones]

It is Kentucky Sports Radio Friday, December 27th. I am Matt Jones here live in Glasgow, Kentucky at the Don Franklin Cadillac. Absolutely huge crowd here in Glasgow. Probably one of our, if not the biggest crowd we've ever had here. Certainly one of them, one of the better crowds we've had on a road trip in a long time. So thank you all very much. The weather is absolutely horrendous outside and yet everybody came out. So give yourselves a big round of applause here on this Christmas break. You can give us a shout in the Clark's Puppet Shop phone line. That's 859-280-2287. A Vision Auto Glass text machine, 772-774-5254 in this dish and sponsored by the T.J. smith Law Office. Call T.J. i'll make them pay. You can probably hear I'm a little under the weather last night about 7 or 8 o'clock, I thought, man, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get down there and do that tomorrow, but feel a little better today. Ready to go. Ryan, Drew and definitely glad I made the trip through this downpour to see how many people came today.

[Ryan Lemond]

How about this guy? He's sick and he wanted to come down here to be here at Glasgow today.

[Matt Jones]

I gotta come to Glasgow. Think about, think about what all. Think about what all's happened over here in Glasgow over the years. First of all, one of my good friends, Judge Gabe lives here in Glasgow. Aaron Fleener, one of our friends who's whose grandmother is sitting right here in the front row in a chair. He's from here. Kent Bull, another one of our friends is from here. Drew. I've played in the Glasgow golf scramble, although I haven't been invited the last Couple years. Gabe's moved on, but I've played In it probably 10 years over the years. Been in a couple of near fights at this golf course over the years. So this has been a lot of fun here in Glasgow.

[Evan]

Oh, yeah, we love Barron county. Have many good friends from this area. And I gotta call myself out. I'm an idiot this morning. I'm not gonna say I doubted there'd be a good turnout. I worried with the weather. We're kind of in a quiet period of UK athletics. I'm an idiot. This is a great turnout. This is double what I expected in here.

[Matt Jones]

Great to see everyone had the one time drive representative Jamie Comer home here once at one of these events. Actually, I don't know if he'd wanted me to say that, but nevertheless, that's. That's happened here in Glasgow before.

[Evan]

But Kelly Craft, Big Barry, and that's.

[Matt Jones]

Right, Kelly Craft is from here. Brandon Stockton is still alive.

[Ryan Lemond]

He's still alive. We're good. We've seen him today. He's still alive.

[Matt Jones]

That's good. So great crowd here. Thank you all very much for coming. So I want to do something today in part because, you know, a little under the weather. So I want people to, like, help contribute. But it also, you know, Drew, sometimes people listen to our Fade this podcast and they'll say, you know, you guys tell stories on there that you wouldn't say on the radio. And that's probably true, but it's also just kind of the format of what we do. So I want to do something, Drew, what I would call a behind the scenes Friday. Which means if you have a question that is about behind the scenes of either ksr, UK basketball, UK football, I'm in a mood to share. Maybe it's because of the end of the year. I, I mean, I already said it. Shared a Jamie Comer story. I didn't mean to. So I'm in a mood to share. You can go the text machine. 772-774-5254 or 859-280-2287. Give a little. If you've always wondered. Okay. What really happened here, today's the day to do.

[Evan]

I like this spicy Glasgow. Matt. Might be a little unfiltered. I hope our callers will take advantage.

[Matt Jones]

Of taking a lot a bunch of medicine. My.

[Evan]

Have you had any ambient?

[Matt Jones]

No. No. Am I all right?

[Evan]

I didn't wear my tennis shoes. I wasn't sure if we were racing in here.

[Matt Jones]

I. Listen, I could beat all of you in a race. Every single one of you. But. But yes, today we will. We'll do that.

[Ryan Lemond]

There are little stories we've hinted at over the years and never really told the actual details. Today's the day you can find out.

[Matt Jones]

So we are. This is kind of a dead period a little bit in UK sports. We're kind of transitioning from the non conference to the conference play. Let me ask you all just because it's nice to ask a crowd what is the general how positive are you about Mark Pope so far in his time at Kentucky? I think that's a. A good indicator in general of where people are. I was looking at some of the numbers because Drew mentioned yesterday. You know the, the kin palm and stuff aren't great for Kentucky and they're really not. But I still think as we make this transition we ought to remember we beat Duke. That's a pretty big deal. Hadn't beaten him since 2015. We beat Gonzaga on the road even though it was in the middle of night. One of the better comebacks we've ever seen with Kentucky basketball and we beat Louisville. So going into conference play still very happy about everything. I just I'm kind of with with Pope though. I wish we didn't have this two weeks in between our loss and the next time to play a good team.

[Ryan Lemond]

I'm sure they were jump chomping at the bit after losing to Ohio State. Trying to get back out there. They got this long drought that 10 day break between games. But you know what's amazing about this crowd they cheered about where they are at the UK basketball program that that is coming off of pretty much a 20 point ass kicking you just got from Ohio State. Everybody still all in on the basketball team.

[Matt Jones]

Do you the 20 point to use Ryan's phrase ass kicking against Ohio State. Do you this you you said yesterday it does affect how good you think the team's going to be a little bit.

[Evan]

A little. A slight dip. I'm not changing my prediction from I guess I think it's a 12 and 6 in the conference. I'll stick with that. But some slight concerns I had are growing a little bit with each new game. I mean we keep saying they're a good three point shooting team and oh don't worry the next one they'll be fine but we've had a lot of it'll it'll turn on this games that it hasn't happened. It's been several weeks of that. You can only keep saying they're good three point shooters so long until they're just not. They're 115th in the country right now.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, it is. They are 115th and that makes my worry. But at the same time, we're going to have a big game on the fourth against Florida and I'm going to give away Ryan here today in Glasgow. Tickets to the UK Florida game, an 11am game. You all will have to get up early. We're going to have a little bit later, a little. We'll draw names and then have a little bit of a trivia contest on air here in order to try to win the tickets.

[Ryan Lemond]

That could be a good ticket to get because Florida is sneaky.

[Matt Jones]

Really?

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah, they're really good. Season opener for the SEC schedule for the Cats. That's a big.

[Matt Jones]

Oklahoma still undefeated.

[Evan]

Can't think of when they would have lost.

[Matt Jones]

I think they are. I think we have Tennessee's undefeated Florida and Oklahoma. Auburn has one loss at Duke. I mean, it is, you know, pretty good group.

[Evan]

And that opening game, you know, those little numbers on the, on the score at the bottom. Both top 10 teams, the Old UK Florida Games, back when both teams were really good.

[Matt Jones]

You saw his in the year with that.

[Evan]

Yeah, that'd be the biggest game on whatever Saturday it was. I mean, it's not quite to that level of the old school days when Noah was there, but it is a very exciting top 10 matchup.

[Matt Jones]

So the big story in college basketball is Jim Laranega, the Coach of Miami, 75 years old, he's one of the. I think he's the fifth highest winning coach in basketball that's still coaching today. He retires mid year and I had some things to say about it, but let me do the positive first. Great coach, right? Went to Final Four with two different teams. You know, there are very, very few coaches who've been to the Final Four with two programs. The amount of that have done it is a lot less than you would think. He did it. He went on. I would say. Ryan, the run George Mason made to the Final Four, is that maybe the most shocking Final Four run ever?

[Ryan Lemond]

It could be. It's definitely one of the most shocking runs in the last 20 years that he was able to get George Mason, that run.

[Matt Jones]

What's. What's more.

[Evan]

I mean, yeah, they're the. I think they're the biggest.

[Matt Jones]

Cinderella, you know, VCU and Butler made it that year, but then Butler made it again the next year. So I mean, like it could.

[Evan]

I think of George Mason and Loyola. Just when I think of Cinderella, those two come to Mind George Mason, if.

[Matt Jones]

You remember that year beat a Connecticut team that was like undefeated on their way to the Final Four as well that year. But so he's obviously a great coach, but he retires mid year and he complains and basically says, you know, nil's exhausting. I can't do it anymore. I don't have the passion for it. So he quits mid year. Now I, this is now the second, along with Tony Bennett, legendary coach, to quit mid year on his team to quit when the team is not good mid year. And I, I have to tell you, Ryan, I just have a problem listening to all these old coaches who if their player quit on the team mid year they would absolutely like go crazy. How could you quit on your brothers? How could you do this? And then they do it. And then I listen to all the media who goes and has dinner with them at Hooters in South Carolina at the Peach Jam talk about how sorry they feel for these guys that made eight to $10 million a year assuming he has no health problems. And he said he didn't. So I'm going to assume that's true. It once again, this is the second legendary coach we've had become a quitter at the end of the year. Again in the middle of the year.

[Ryan Lemond]

Excuse me, because this, the Nil issue was there like back in June, in July. They could have stepped away then. Why did they wait till the season starts before they finally.

[Matt Jones]

But even more than that, he complains about Nil. And I think it's so hypocritical for two reasons. One, they made the Final Four two years ago. Does anybody remember why? Because they bought eight players from Nil. Larenaga was probably the first guy to really embrace Nil. He went and bought eight players, brought them in. They made the tournament and made the final four. And then he had, he said yesterday, what I couldn't believe is we made the final four. And when it was over, my players came to me and they wanted to get in the portal. Because you bought them to begin with. I mean that you did. Exactly. He is mad about the one thing he did that actually gave him the success at Miami.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Evan]

When Nil started Miami, they were maybe number one. What was that like?

[Matt Jones]

They were the first what Cal was to the one and done. Lara Naga was to the nil.

[Evan]

And my thing with his timing, they're 4 and 8, 4 and 9, something like that. If they were 9 and 4, he ain't stepping down, of course completely because the. It's not happening on the court, and he just doesn't want to see the year through.

[Matt Jones]

And then this is the thing that really gets me about these coaches. All right, I. By the way, everything I'm about to say Larenaga should have done, but he went and coached at George Mason, small school outside of D.C. that's where I studied for the bar exam. Nice place, but it's a tiny little school. Makes the Final Four. He, a few years later, decides, you know what? I'm gonna go for a payday. I'm gonna go to Miami. He goes. He takes advantage of his success, goes to a bigger place. Then when he's at Miami, they go to a Final Four. You know what they did after he went to a Final Four? He went to the school and said, give me more money. And he doubled his salary after he went to the Final Four. I'm fine with all that. But now Ryan, he complains when the players do the exact same thing he did at multiple stops around the way. And these coaches, I tweeted this. All these old guys who can't handle it, they just need to all get out and let a new, younger generation, people like Pope, who are embracing it, they need to just let them do it and stop whining.

[Ryan Lemond]

I remember you kind of said that when. When it. When Bennett did it, like, you thought, maybe there may be some more older coaches follow suit. Now's the time to get out and do it. Now my big problem, I mean, he's a highly respected coach, highly respected guy in the coaching world. I just have a hard time doing it in the middle of the season.

[Matt Jones]

But exactly. What if his players had quit mid year? Do you not think he would. Whether. Maybe not publicly, but he would blast them.

[Evan]

Oh, yeah. That's why a lot of it is, for me, the results. This is the way I'm reading it, they just took a horrible loss, and he stepped away right after that.

[Matt Jones]

He lost the Mount Saint man.

[Evan]

If they had been winning these games, you know, he might still be complaining internally, but he's still coaching. I think it's just because the season's gone so poorly and he's tapping out.

[Matt Jones]

Here's the thing. And then, you know, I. I don't think people. There's a lot of you probably even here listening in the crowd that think, oh, I don't like nil. It's changed college sports. And I. I get that there's a way in which it is worse. I. I understand that, but. But I also think people have to realize what we did in College Sports for 75 years was illegal, okay? It was illegal. We college sports violated the law. And everybody just turned their head. They took labor for free, made money and gave them nothing except education. And then it was okay. And the Supreme Court, when finally challenged on it, you know, I'm a law dork, you know, politics give me something everybody agrees on. In politics, there ain't much. Supreme Court ruled nano unanimous opinion, all of them said, you can't do this. This is illegal. So they've basically turned college sports into what every other business in America is, which is you have a right to go make money based on your worth. And these people who for years just acted like the system should be, hey, this person should work for me for free. Now they're mad. And I want Ryan, all of those people to exit stage left and allow the next group to do it.

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, like, like I said when you mentioned that about Bennett, do you think this is more coming more? These older coaches, they all go, if.

[Matt Jones]

They can't do it, I mean to like, you know, Patino, California, Izzo, if they're gonna complain about it, leave. Right. Somebody else will do it. Somebody else will do it and then they'll be fine and they can move on. It reminds me of when I said this online, you know, when a lot of you guys were, when I was young, it was a certain kind of business. And then here came the tech revolution. And you could sit there and say, well, I'm not into computers. But if you weren't into computers, you'd go away. People have to be into the nil or they're going to go.

[Ryan Lemond]

That's right. You got to adapt and adjust because the college game has changed. It ain't going backwards.

[Matt Jones]

It's not going backwards. So I just thought it was good to, I thought it was lame of him to quit mid year, but it's also a good example that probably in the next couple years all those dudes like him are going to be gone. 859-280-2287. We are here at Don Franklin Rainy Day in Glass. So massive crowd full of Cats fans. We'll take a break. Be right back.

[Drew Franklin]

Kentucky Sports Radio congratulations to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine for the first ever Malcolm Gladwell tipping point designation at this year's unconventional awards by T Mobile for business. The University used integrated IoT devices and 5G solutions from T Mobile to enable multiple synchronized health monitors allowing for real time remote data collection and analysis. The initiative will shape patient care moving forward. And for that T Mobile congratulates the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

[Levar Arrington]

Hey, this is Levar Arrington here from up on game and listen, I want to talk to you about something very serious for a minute, all right? Something personal to me and right now something that should be personal to you as well. In our country, the hate is at an all time high and it's like we're going backward. The hate is winning. We can't allow that, all right? It's out of control. So many different people, so many different groups are facing too much hate and it's enough. It's time for it to stop. We need to stop, regroup, change the momentum as a team, because that's what we are. Everyone in this country is on the same team, so let's act like it. And when a team can't get it together, what do you do? You call a timeout. And that's what we need to do. Call a time out against hate. Let's think about what we say and do. And when we see hate, when we see someone doing or saying those things we know are wrong and hateful, we need to call it out. Imma call it out. You need to do the same thing. Visit Stand up to all hate.org to help and join me in calling for a timeout against hate by following at what's up with Hate or posting the Blue square emoji.

[Jenny Garth]

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[Drew Franklin]

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[Ryan Lemond]

Keep up.

[Matt Jones]

It's golf.

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[Matt Jones]

Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio. Here live in Glasgow. It's Don Franklin Cadillac Chevrolet. How about this? First of all, I didn't know they had a Cadillac dealership in Glasgow. Right.

[Ryan Lemond]

Here it is.

[Matt Jones]

We're saying you can get up to $11,000 off SEL 2024 Chevy Silverado models. But who knew Glasgow was so fancy Drew to go riding around Cadillac style? As Sammy Kershaw would say, you can't hide money.

[Evan]

Baron County. I see all these Cadillacs out here at this dealership looking ready to be purchased.

[Matt Jones]

That's exactly right. Well, all right. So people, so again, this is behind the scenes Friday, couple open lines. I'd love to hear your questions. 859-280-2287. Let's go for some from the text machine. Are you ready?

[Ryan Lemond]

Ready. Let's go.

[Matt Jones]

One person writes, what is the story behind Severe Wheeler not playing his last year at Times for Kentucky? Well, Drew, I mean I think what I would say the story, the best way to put it would be that there was an internal divide in the team. Let's see you tell me if you agree with this. There was an internal divide within the team. Kind of Oscar on one side, everyone else kind of on the other. I think Oscar, even though fans, we as fans loved Oscar, his teammates, I don't think they disliked him, but they found him a little odd. And so they kind of were on the other side and Severe kind of thought, this is how I read it. He was kind of the leader of the team. And when the team kind of turned on Calipari, which I do think happened at one point, Sevier kind of got the punishment for being the most vocal of that group. And it kind of led to him deciding not to play. That would be my read on it. Would you agree with that?

[Evan]

That's. That's pretty much how I understood the rift. My big thing with Wheeler was it was early February, maybe even January. Someone told us, hey, he's not playing ever. This is all a charade of he might play practice a little bit, he's coming around. And then a week later they said, trust me, he's not playing. We get to the tournament and remember they brought him out for interviews about how he's going to give it a go. Same person, he's not playing. Then, of course, street clothes. So we just. There was just so much around him. I don't know specifically where it all started in the locker room, but everything we were getting from UK was I think of just kind of smoke and mirrors because they knew he wasn't going to play.

[Matt Jones]

If you go back and you look at the first 10 years of the Cal era, Ryan, a consistent theme was that the players loved Cal. Now, they'd get mad at him. They think he was insane sometimes, but they came out of there really loving him and feeling a real connection to him. When he would say players first. I think the players felt that way post Covid on every single team. There was a serious problem between players and Cal that first year. The Covid team, just a disaster. Then Oscar, there was a big. Oscar, Cal problem at various points. There was a big, severe. And that group problem, I think last year, I wouldn't say it was big, but I don't know that he and Rob Dillingham will be sharing a lot of Christmas cards going forward. I mean, I think a guy that always had such a great relationship with his players in those last few years as his relationships with the media, the boosters, the school was falling apart. I also think it was falling apart with the players.

[Ryan Lemond]

I think there was a definite problem in the locker room these past several years. And I think, like you just mentioned Sevier and Oscar, those were the leaders, supposed to be your leaders, you know, your bet, your point guard, your best player. And for whatever reason there they. Cal lost the locker room those last Couple years and that we saw the result on the court.

[Matt Jones]

You had a situation in that, in that year where we lost to Kansas State, where you really had Cal over here, the team over here, and Oscar over here. Like, like there were three different groups and they. None of them really liked each other. Wouldn't you agree?

[Evan]

Yeah, I think there's a lot of Oscar jealousy because we all know we loved Oscar. He's signing autographs two hours after the game into the crowd. So I think everyone else involved is see that. And Oscar's getting all the love and attention, which I still think Oscar deserved. But that just added even more conflict behind the scenes.

[Matt Jones]

One person writes, is Max okay? Did you find him?

[Ryan Lemond]

I wanted that myself, actually.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, I did find him. He had stayed out until 4:30 in the morning and his phone had died. I think somebody predicted that. And I started to get worried about him. I did. By like 3 in the afternoon, I hadn't heard from him. So I went and knocked on his door and he was like, oh man, was I supposed to do the show? I was like, yeah, it's three in the afternoon and I woke him up. So I appreciate Max.

[Evan]

You asked him to fill in for me. He did half of it. Right. But you have to then get up.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. It's one thing to say yes, it's another thing to actually show up and go and do it right.

[Ryan Lemond]

Did I miss the show? It was five hours ago, Max. Yeah, I think you missed it, buddy. So we're just glad he's okay.

[Matt Jones]

One person writes, Matt, how did the culture slip this year with the football team? Ryan, how would you answer that?

[Ryan Lemond]

We talked about it a little bit on the pre show and this is totally my opinion. I just think the coaching staff let some of the star players just slide by, get by, not come to meetings, not come to workouts, not even come to practice. Maybe goof, goof off in practice, not take it serious. And I think that spread throughout the locker room. When the other players in the locker room saw how the stars were being able to let do whatever they wanted to do, I think it created a problem in the locker room. Whereas all your players, no matter if they make more money than the other, they all need to be treated the same on that playing field and they just weren't.

[Matt Jones]

I think there was a lot of Barry and Brown problems. Right. You think that's fair?

[Ryan Lemond]

Oh, yeah.

[Evan]

I don't know if he was always given 100% in practice.

[Matt Jones]

And then I think Dion Walker, I don't think he necessarily didn't try, but he was disconnected from the team. And so the two guys probably making the most money, they felt like we're getting a completely different set of standards.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

Now, it's not the first time that's happened. I think we've talked about it. Lynn Bowden was like that. But the difference was, Drew, that the players felt like, okay, Lynn Bowden may act like this, but when we play, that dude puts everything he's got on the line. So we'll look past it. Didn't necessarily feel that way about Barry on and Dion. Yeah.

[Evan]

That season when Lynn Bowden might have not. Not been his best self at every practice, might have been late a time or two on Saturday, he's putting the entire team on his back. And we all saw it on the field. So you just live with it.

[Matt Jones]

You just, you just kind of live with it because you go, we know when we get out there, we'll get the best of him. I don't think they felt that way about those other two guys. We will take a break and be right back. We are here in Glasgow. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio 859-280-2287 here in Glasgow. The rain is finally dissipated here a little bit and it is. As soon as we got inside, the rain stopped. A great crowd here. You can go to don franklin auto.com and find all of your auto needs. One person writes Matt. One of the reasons I've always distrusted ksr, well, that's not very nice. You all know bad things about the UK basketball team and then you don't tell the fans. I think that's bad. Well, but again, what do you want? First of all, you find some of this stuff out after the end of the season. But I will hint at things I want. Just, just use last year as an example. There was a. It was again, if you were around the team, you knew that Rob Dillingham and Cal did not see eye to eye. You. We all knew Rob Dillingham and Reed shepherd should play more. We would basically insinuate that all the time. And our thank you was online every single day. I got beat up by people saying I was disloyal to Kentucky and disloyal to Cal. And behind the scenes, Cal was trying to get me fired. So that was my, that was the, that was the sort of reward for telling the truth. So, I mean, Drew, people can say they want to know the truth, but when things are going good or even moderately positive and you try to suggest Anything's negative. People go absolutely crazy in sports. Look at politics. Try to be a Republican and say something about Trump or try to be a Democrat during the election and say something about Harris. People go crazy. Same thing when you're a UK fan and you criticize the team.

[Evan]

Yeah, I mean we all want Kentucky to do well. And if you hear something behind the scenes you don't love, if you go and say it on the radio, it's, you're gonna get a lot of. You're creating controversy. Why are you doing this? Things are going so well. We love this team. Why are you being negative? Why are you bringing that up? It's like, well happened, but I mean, it's true.

[Matt Jones]

I remember we, we said something about DJ Wagner. I can't remember what it was last year, but people went nuts. And then as soon as it was over, one of the assistant coaches called me and said, yeah, by the way, you were right about that. But you can't, I can't go on the air and say, hey, the assistant coach just told me it was right. They're just going to get so like it's a no win situation. So a lot of the times what I try to do is I hit something without saying it. And then people who listen to show can decide whether they want to believe it or not.

[Evan]

A lot of times it's what it is or how you heard. If someone kind of tells me in private, they're telling me they don't want me to go blab it into the radios. If you want them to continue to tell things, you have to keep some to yourself. Or you can be like Ryan and go to the Club Boot Club Blue Christmas party and just tell everything you hear. But there is a little bit the.

[Matt Jones]

Opposite right through a filter. Ryan will let it leak. Like you'll let it go sometimes not intentionally or maybe I think you're just brain just farts a lot.

[Evan]

Double double volleyball scoop on that day.

[Matt Jones]

Thank you. You did have two volleyball scoops.

[Evan]

Just letting everything fly.

[Ryan Lemond]

At its core. I am a die hard reporter.

[Matt Jones]

Yes. That's what I'm going to report.

[Drew Franklin]

The reports.

[Matt Jones]

Vince Marrow stain.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I think this is the fourth time he's been staying this year. But this time it comes from the source that said he was likely to go to North Carolina football scoop. I, I can, I think I can say I spoke to Vince last night. He says in certain. So now they have him, which was good because I don't think that was certain for a long time. I never thought gonna go to Louisville. But I thought the North Carolina thing could have happened, but it looks like it won't.

[Ryan Lemond]

You know, you know, Vince cloak more than any of us, anybody in this room. And I could tell you were a little uncertain whether he would go to North Carolina or not. That's the first time after Vince's name has been hooked. A lot of these jobs, you thought to yourself, this may happen.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, Vince and Stoops have a weird relationship. Like they're bet they're, they're best friends, but they're best friends who fight. Right. And you know, over the years they've had these arguments and they always end up coming back together. And so I think there was some of that and I thought they would come back together, but then there was a little period where I don't know. And you know, it's interesting because we get here, I've learned this, this has changed over the years. So it used to be when, when Stoops first got here, all the players pretty much came from Vince at first. And then it was like Vince and Schlarman and then it was Vince Slarman and Klink who went to Michigan. And then it kind of became Vince and like Eddie Grant because Eddie Graham would pick a lot of the portal people. And now it's kind of Vince, Will Wolford and Eddie Graham. And I think it's natural that there's some competition between those guys about the players and who they get. And when somebody gets one and they don't necessarily think it was the right one, I just think some of that plays into it sometimes could be a.

[Evan]

Little bit of that. And as we said at the time, it's one thing when Louisville's calling you or Toledo or name it that Vince has had out there, when it's Belichick on the line, that's one you've got to take very seriously.

[Matt Jones]

Shared the same agent when, when Mark.

[Evan]

Stoops steps away, he, he doesn't have to coach football again if he wants to, but Vince still, if he wants to, I mean, he has more coaching to do. Might want to get in the NFL. If you want to dip your toe in the NFL, I don't know, you can have much better on your resume than coaching under Bill Belichick.

[Matt Jones]

Michael Bardi, former Super bowl winning gm, calls you up and says, vince, I'm basically the GM for North Carolina football. I'm in charge of bringing in players and I want you to come and tell me who to bring in. I mean, you got us, you got a Hall of Fame coach. A Hall of Fame GM giving you that call. You gotta at least think about it, Ryan. You have to.

[Ryan Lemond]

I think you take that call and you listen to that call. You have to like that. Calls like that.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Who's up first? Brandon is up first. Brandon. Go ahead, Brandon.

[Evan]

Hey, guys, I had two questions, so.

[Matt Jones]

I'll just pick one.

[Evan]

Unless you want to pick a number one or two.

[Ryan Lemond]

I like this game.

[Matt Jones]

I'll pick number two. Okay.

[Evan]

Would you care to share some insight on the conversation you had on the phone towards Seattle?

[Matt Jones]

Which one? There were like four of them.

[Evan]

Basically, the one that you all have brought up maybe once or twice.

[Matt Jones]

You talk about my conversation with Stoops?

[Drew Franklin]

Yes, sir.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Well, maybe I should have picked question one.

[Ryan Lemond]

Yeah, what was question one?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, what was question one? Since it was kind of recent, the.

[Evan]

Players receiving payments, you know, for not doing work. I was just wondering if you all had heard any scuttlebutts of previous encounters like that, that maybe.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, I mean, that look. Yes. That's been happening, Ryan, for 50 years. I mean, that's part of the reason I can't get mad at Chris Rodriguez or these guys. Every school in the country. Every school in the country had guys going back to the RUP days, had guys who had jobs that weren't really jobs that they got paid for, that were kind of jobs, but not really jobs. That's been happening since the 60s. So, like, it just so happened Chris Rodriguez and those guys got caught.

[Evan]

You mean our best basketball players back in the day weren't also great bank tellers and horse farm employees?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I appreciate the call, but you.

[Ryan Lemond]

Know what I mean, Construction jobs. Yeah, Those construction jobs. Considered a lot of times sitting in your dorm room and watching the sun go up and down, that was your construction job.

[Matt Jones]

You were constructing an image of life. Yeah, throughout the. I mean, that's happened all the time. The difference was UK Healthcare. I think they got audited by a new CEO and then it came out. But other. But, like, what was happening had been happening forever, Drew. Not just here, at every school in the country, if we're being honest.

[Evan]

Yeah. I think everyone finds a way to get shortcuts and cut corners to help their guys out. In the case of uk, maybe show up for a couple of the shifts, though, to, you know, get them off the trail.

[Matt Jones]

And they had a guy, one of the employees at UK Healthcare was literally clocking the players in and out.

[Evan]

That's a bigger issue.

[Matt Jones]

And that was. I think that was the bigger issue who's up next.

[Evan]

Jackson is up next.

[Matt Jones]

Jackson. Go ahead, Jackson. Hey guys, I recently for Chris got SEC tournament tickets. And so I was wondering what your craziest SEC tournament story. First of all, that's an awesome present. SEC tournament. Jackson, I hope you realize SEC tournament this may be the best year the tournament could will ever have. Yeah, I'm super excited to go. Oh, dude, I'm jealous. We don't even have SEC tournament tickets yet. Best moment of the SEC tournament. Well, I sort of do it in two eras. I have the era where I used to go with my grandfather. Then that best tournament was 1992. I think. That's right. The year in Birmingham when that was probably the best tournament they've ever had where we had Mashburn and those guys. And then you had Alabama with Robert Horry, James Hollywood Robinson, Latrell Sprewell. Arkansas had Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, Scotty Thur, not Todd Daley, Mary and Oliver Miller. LSU had Shaq and that whole crew. That was probably the best one. And then I think the best environment for an SEC tournament game was the year we played Tennessee. Remember that? Was that John Wall's year or when.

[Evan]

They beat him by a million?

[Matt Jones]

Well, yes, when they beat him by a million, what year was that? John Wall's year. That was the best environment in that arena. We put Tennessee had Scotty Hobson and we had John Wall and we beat him by like a thousand. And then the next day had that game against Mississippi State with the put back and all that. That's probably the best modern one for me.

[Ryan Lemond]

My two main memories don't even involve basketball. The tornado game. The tornado went through Atlanta during the SEC tournament and then when Covid hit and we were at the SEC tournament in Nashville.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that's true. The COVID one. The other game I tend to remember was. I'm trying to think what year it was, Drew, but what's the year we played Texas A and M? Not last year, I think. No, I think it was, I think it was maybe 2016. The Jamal Murray, Tyler Eulis team, we played Texas A and M in the finals and, and Derrick Willis and Dominique Hawkins had like mvp, right? Yeah. Had this crazy game and it was like I, I, that's the, that's my other sort of SEC tournament game. That really sticks out in my head.

[Evan]

Yeah, Jackson, the caller didn't sound old enough for my favorite SEC tournament memories. But a good story that I have is I turned down great seats for the Wall Cousins tip in game. I was just watching it on tv. I think I could even see my seats empty and not clearly would have gone had I known it was gonna be a good game. I thought we're gonna kill them because they just killed Tennessee. So I didn't go. And then it of course ends up being one of the best question how.

[Matt Jones]

Long has it been since we won it?

[Evan]

2019.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I think we've only won once in like eight years.

[Evan]

Did they win in 2019 with Hero?

[Matt Jones]

I, I will have to look at that. Billy, look that up during the break. I think we've. I, I want to say we've won like one of the last eight or something. That tournament that we used to own.

[Ryan Lemond]

Win it every single year when Tubby was here. Man, they'd win that thing every year.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I mean even in the early days of Cal, we want it almost every year. Did not have it won it recently. Hey, go beyond resolutions this year. Create a happier, healthier lifestyle that you can be proud of with Cornbread Hemp. Whether skipping the alcohol for a healthier, carefree moment, supporting a better night's sleep, aches and pains, Cornbread Hemp is there for you. Visit the CO cornbreadhem.com promo code KSR at checkout. 30% off your first order at Cornbread Hemp. By the way, people may be doing more. Do people know that like they're about to ban vaping in Kentucky, like completely? Does everybody know that? I don't know if everybody.

[Evan]

I've seen it talked about a little bit. Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I'll tell you more about it. I don't think everybody knows what's happening happening here in like four days in Kentucky. I think it's going to take a lot of people by surprise. We'll take a break and be right back. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.

[Drew Franklin]

Congratulations to Easterseals Southern California on their first place win for innovation in customer service at this year's unconventional awards by T Mobile for business. Easterseals has used T Mobile 5G to create immersive VR development tools that aid people with autism in addressing transportation barriers. These tools are shaping the way safe and personalized skill building is delivered. And for that, T Mobile congratulates Easterseals Southern California for their unconventional thinking.

[Levar Arrington]

Hey, this is Levar Arrington here from up on game and listen, I want to talk to you about something very serious for a minute, all right? Something personal to me and right now something that should be personal to you as well. In our country, the hate is at an all time high and it's like we're going backward. The hate is winning. We can't allow that. All right? It's out of control. So many different people, so many different groups are facing too much hate. And it's enough. It's time for it to stop. We need to stop, regroup, change the momentum as a team, because that's what we are. Everyone in this country is on the same team. So let's act like it's. And when a team can't get it together, what do you do? You call a timeout. And that's what we need to do. Call a timeout against hate. Let's think about what we say and do. And when we see hate, when we see someone doing or saying those things we know are wrong and hateful, we need to call it out. Imma call it out. You need to do the same thing. Visit Stand up to all hate.org to help and join me in calling for a timeout against hate by following at what's up with Hate or posting the Blue square emoji.

[Jenny Garth]

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[Drew Franklin]

Welcome to TGL presented by SoFi, golf's newest league. It's sharp and it's electric. How is it sharp? How is it electric? Good questions. Try this on for size. Two hours of hammer dropping overtime forcing playoffs on the line Golf with 24 of the best players from the PGA Tour split into six teams Atlanta, Boston, Jupiter, Louisiana, New York and the Bay. This isn't your average average Sunday pickup game. Catch the inaugural TGL match January 7th only on ESPN. Keep up, it's golf. Introducing Signals, the next generation of platforms for investors designed to elevate your trading strategy by giving access to insights used by Wall street pros to dominate the market. Signals uses its proprietary data of $70 billion in consumer spend across across North America to spot market trends before they make the headlines. We bring you the alternative data that drives decisions at top hedge funds, allowing you to carve your own edge in the stock market. Join the insider circle who are already transforming their investment strategies. Visit joinsignals.com to start your free 14 day trial. No hidden fees, no gimmicks, just pure actionable insights. End your reliance on output outdated information with Signals. Invest like a pro. Make informed decisions swiftly and stay ahead of the curve. Uncover tomorrow's market moves with today's real time data. Visit joint signals.com today.

[Matt Jones]

Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio here live in Glasgow, Don Franklin, you know Don Franklin. Year end savings red tag sales event up to $11,000 off some 2024 Chevy Silverado mod Silverad models all out here. Got four days left for in the year sales. We got a great crowd here in Glasgow. A lot of people writing in questions on the text machine but we got, I think when people have these behind the scenes they get nervous to call. You can call 859-280-2287. We have open lines so get in here before we get to a couple more of these. The vaping thing, Drew, I, I, I'm, I'm against vaping. I actually think it's probably really bad. It'll be one of these things that like in 10 or 15 years we find out is really, really, really, really, really bad for you. So I'm not against this law, but there's two things I don't think people in Kentucky know that like virtually all vaping is going to be illegal to buy in Kentucky in four days. You know, like if you go buy like fruity, like it's flavor, like all the fruit stuff gone, there'll only be like 20 products that are allowed and they're all like tobacco flavored. And so I don't think a lot of people vape the tobacco flavor. They vape one of those, all those will be gone. Won't be able to buy them in Kentucky, buy them in other states. Can't buy them in Kentucky now. When I saw that I was like, wow, who would have ever thought Kentucky would be like so pro health? Uh, that ain't what it is. It's the Tobacco industry is basically made it to where they banned everything except what the tobacco industry sells. Sells, which is the vape flavor that is tobacco. So it's like. It's classic Kentucky. It looks like on the surface it's positive, but then the only thing legal, it's basically creating a monopoly for the tobacco company. So I. It's. It's nonsense, but there's a lot of people. Like, you go into a gas station. I don't know if it's like this here in Glasgow, but it's just flavored vapes everywhere. All that's going away in four days.

[Evan]

All I hear is there's about to be a lot of cheap real estate, because I feel like there's a vape shop every 50 yards in Kentucky. Yeah, that and what will college kids have in their hand now? Because I feel like anyone under the age of 20 constantly has a vape in their mouth.

[Matt Jones]

Do you think people know that in Kentucky? Like, do you think the average person knows that that's about to happen?

[Ryan Lemond]

I consider myself a below average person. And I had no idea the first time I'm hearing of it, actually.

[Matt Jones]

You consider yourself a below average person.

[Ryan Lemond]

I didn't know that. And I have an old. My oldest son, Vapes. He probably doesn't have any idea. He probably doesn't know it.

[Matt Jones]

I consider myself a below average person. Yeah, I like that. Wood bursting writes. Matt, you skipped over two things there in your last segment. You got to go over. You do need to answer his question about Stoops and then the cow got you fired or tried to get you fired.

[Ryan Lemond]

I wonder if you were going to bounce back and.

[Matt Jones]

Well, on the. On the cow, try to get you fired. I have four days left on my contract, but. And I'm trying to get a new one. Let's see if we get a new one and then we'll talk about that.

[Ryan Lemond]

All right.

[Evan]

We'll need to add stress to that.

[Matt Jones]

Between now and January 1st. I have a lot of stuff I have to do. Let's see if we get that done. And then if I'm not on the air January 2nd, then we'll do it that way. Or even if I am, we'll do it that way. The Stoops. Stoops conversation, you know, to his. I intentionally never talked to him during the year. Like, what are you gonna say? You know, I mean, am I supposed to be like, you guys aren't doing good? Like, what. Like, what am I gonna say to the guy? So he called me on that trip and just said, like, you know, what are the. What's the fans sort of take on the year? And I was honest with him about where I thought the fans were. I was pretty upfront about the things I thought most fans thought. I think it was a hard conversation for him to listen to. He pushed back on some of it, but he also, I think, understood some of it. I think I said on this show, he needs people to tell him that it shouldn't have to be me. He needs people to tell him, like, the fans are here. And so it was a lot. I mean, we talked for like an hour and a half. You all heard half of it. How would you characterize it?

[Ryan Lemond]

Well, I told you when you hung up the phone, I said the best thing you did in that phone conversation was tell him some things that he didn't know how the fans were feeling. You know, he needed to know the fans were disappointed. He needed to know the fans thought the culture was getting bad. And to his credit, it sounded like he listened, at least when you were trying to tell.

[Matt Jones]

I think he did. I think here's something I give him a lot of credit for. I look at you folks in the crowd. He wants. He genuinely wants to please you all like he has. Mark Pope is the same way. He has a desire to make people happy. Sometimes I think coaches get so big that they don't. They almost get angry at the fans. I don't really get the sense Mark Stoops is like that. Mark Stoops, like, wants to be loved by the fans. And he sometimes, I think, doesn't understand why people are frustrated. But I told him in that call, I said, use. You heard me say this, Drew. I said, you screwed up with the pony up stuff. You screwed up. That was a mistake. I was like, the way you did it when you did it. And I think he'd be fine with me saying. He said to me, you know what? You're right. And I said, you need to come on my show and say all that. And he said to me he would after he sort of completed the rehab for the surgery he had to have, which I think so probably we'll do that sometime next week.

[Evan]

I believe we ranked it number two on our consensus call.

[Drew Franklin]

It was definitely number two.

[Evan]

Number two. So there were some moments, but only hearing one half it. I think it went well for both parties. Sounded like his. I mean, you have a pretty good feel, the fan base here between the show, social media, everything. More than he does, honestly. He's a little busy. So I think you were just able to tell him a little bit about how the fan base is really feeling right now.

[Matt Jones]

He. I will say this. I don't know if it's going to work next year. I don't. Who knows? But I do think he does want to please the fans. He does. Now, whether or not they're going to be able to do it. Ryan, I don't know, but I think he wants to.

[Ryan Lemond]

If he didn't care, he would, he.

[Matt Jones]

Would have called you. Yeah, he cares. He, he, you're exactly right. He wouldn't have called me. We'll take a break, come back hour number two, ksr.

[Levar Arrington]

Hey, what's up everybody? It's Lavar Arrington here from up on game and I need you to listen for a moment, all right. And get serious. The hate in this country is getting out of control. It's at an all time high. It's going to take all of us to stop it. I mean, think about it. We're all on the same team in this country, right? Let's take a break from hate so our team can regroup. We need to take a timeout against hate. Visit Stand up to all hate.org to help and join me in calling for a timeout against hate by following at what's up with Hate or posting the blue square emoji.

[Drew Franklin]

Stay farming DJ Dramos from Life as a Gringo No Making smarter financial moves today secures a financial freedom for a successful tomorrow.

[Levar Arrington]

For me personally, I was one of those people who, like many of us, weren't taught about finances. You know, my parents didn't know, but.

[Matt Jones]

Now this is the time where I.

[Levar Arrington]

Can become somebody who creates generational wealth.

[Matt Jones]

Or I just sort of end up.

[Levar Arrington]

Being in the same hamster wheel that.

[Matt Jones]

We'Ve been in for generations.

[Levar Arrington]

At this point, like a good neighbor.

[Drew Franklin]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Drew Franklin]

Just a brand, it's a way of life.

[Matt Jones]

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[Drew Franklin]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Jenny Garth]

Com.

[Matt Jones]

It's not merely our products. It's about the ethos that we embody. Rugged, resilient, and timeless.