2025-01-30- KSR - Hour 2

Summary

KSR Podcast Episode Summary: January 30, 2025 – Hour 2

Podcast Information:

• Title: KSR
• Hosts: iHeartPodcasts and Sports Talk 790 (WKRD-AM)
• Description: Matt Jones and the KSR crew bring you the latest in UK news and views Monday through Friday, from 10 AM to Noon.
• Episode: 2025-01-30- KSR - Hour 2
• Release Date: January 30, 2025

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1. Welcome and Host Updates (01:30 - 05:00)

The second hour of the Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) podcast commenced with Ryan Lemon updating listeners on the absence of Matt Jones, who is currently on the disabled list due to illness. The crew extended their well-wishes for his speedy recovery and expressed anticipation for his return during the upcoming show at Whiskey Thief in New Loo, downtown Louisville.

Ryan Lemon:

"Matt taking a day off for being on the disabled list. Woke up a little under the weather this morning. So we wish him, wish him a speedy recovery and we need him back for tomorrow's show at Whiskey Thief in New Loo, downtown Louisville."
(01:35)

---

2. Whiskey Thief Event and Poll Discussion (05:00 - 10:00)

Drew Franklin reminisced about last summer’s collaboration with Whiskey Thief, where they participated in selecting a barrel for the venue. The team hinted at more developments regarding this partnership in future episodes.

A significant segment focused on a listener poll regarding the appropriate reaction when Coach Mark Pope is announced at games. The poll options included booing, cheering, or staying silent. With Ryan highlighting the tight race between booing and cheering:

Drew Franklin:

"It's close. Less than a percent between the top two choices."
(03:04)

Ryan Lemon:

"So it's boo, don't boo or do nothing."
(03:11)

As the poll neared its end, the results were revealed:

• Boo: 37%
• Cheer: 36%
• Stay Silent: 27%

Ryan Lemon:

"Boo is 37%, Cheer is 36%, and Stay Silent is 27%."
(37:39)

The hosts discussed potential biases in online polling and speculated that local sentiments might lean more towards booing than the poll results suggested.

---

3. Mario’s Accurate Predictions and Team Dynamics (03:36 - 07:00)

The podcast delved into Mario’s impressive prediction streak, accurately forecasting Kentucky’s victories and final scores. Shannon the Dude offered a theory on Mario’s strategy:

Shannon the Dude:

"Mario gets all of our predictions individually and he gets to see what we all pick before he makes his pick. So see, he saw that all of us picked Tennessee and that was his opportunity to come in and be the hero and pick Kentucky."
(03:55)

Drew Franklin:

"Why don't I just do this? Why not just put us in a group chat."
(05:16)

The discussion hinted at fostering better communication among hosts to avoid potential biases in future predictions.

---

4. High School Basketball Update: Powell and Montgomery Counties (06:00 - 07:33)

Ryan Lemon provided an update on a recent altercation involving Powell County and Montgomery County basketball teams. The incident resulted in a two-game suspension for a Montgomery County player and automatic ejections for the entire Powell County bench for leaving the bench during the altercation.

Ryan Lemon:

"They left the bench. That's the rule that they broke. And so that's why they're suspended another two games."
(07:13)

The hosts debated the fairness of the suspension timeline, considering the impact on the teams' upcoming district games.

---

5. SEC Basketball Recap: Alabama vs. Mississippi State (07:45 - 08:41)

The Alabama vs. Mississippi State game was highlighted, showcasing Josh Hubbard’s standout performance. Despite sustaining an injury mid-game, Hubbard returned to score over 40 points, leading Alabama to a dramatic comeback victory over Mississippi State.

Matt Jones:

"Josh Hubbard became a superstar. I mean, the dude ended up with like 40 something points. He was unbelievable last night."
(07:54)

Drew Franklin:

"They thought Josh Hubbard would fluke, but he delivered again."
(08:17)

The hosts expressed admiration for Hubbard’s resilience and discussed the potential implications for upcoming Kentucky games.

---

6. Listener Interaction: Advice for Wes on Handling Haters (11:06 - 15:17)

Wes, a listener from Mount Sterling, sought advice on handling online criticism after his live game commentary went viral. The hosts advised maintaining professionalism and ignoring negative feedback.

Ryan Lemon:

"You did the right thing. Ignore the clutter, and don't even acknowledge it."
(13:06)

Drew Franklin:

"I would encourage you to do that. And I would also like to pay you a compliment because I watched that video a couple times. I thought you did a great job with the call."
(13:23)

Shannon the Dude reinforced the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of not letting anonymous online opinions affect personal well-being.

---

7. Interview with Jack Pilgrim from KSR (16:07 - 25:00)

Jack Pilgrim joined the hosts from Kentuckysportsradio.com to discuss the imminent game against Arkansas and Coach Mark Pope’s strategies. Matt Jones shared his conflicted feelings towards former coach John Calipari, highlighting the emotional complexity of facing an SEC rival coached by a beloved figure.

Matt Jones:

"It's weird. It's sad. John Calipari is someone I grew up with. ... Now, when that ball is tipped, they are an SEC rival, and you have to treat them the exact same way you would any other SEC rival."
(17:18)

The discussion touched upon player injuries, team dynamics, and the necessity of Kentucky securing victories to bolster their season standings.

---

8. Player Spotlight: Kobe Braya and Goose Givens (31:13 - 35:17)

The hosts featured an interview with Goose Givens and Kobe Braya post-Alabama game. Kobe Braya was recognized for his flawless shooting performance, and his heartfelt interaction with Goose Givens resonated with listeners.

Goose Givens:

"I'm so proud of you. Can you? Can I say that?"
(31:55)

Kobe Braya:

"It's about keep going, gotta keep shooting, gotta keep bringing energy for the team and make an impact somehow."
(32:36)

This segment underscored the supportive relationships within the team and highlighted moments of emotional connection between players and mentors.

---

9. Sponsorships and Advertisements

Throughout the episode, various sponsors presented their advertisements seamlessly integrated into the content:

• T-Mobile Advertisement (00:00 - 01:30): Offering incentives for switching carriers.
• Stockton Mortgage Advertisement (01:30 - 02:30): Highlighting their services and customer testimonials.
• Don Franklin Auto Dealership (16:07 - 16:49): Promoting their wide selection of vehicles and special offers.
• Cornbread Hemp Promotion (35:48 - 36:23): Encouraging a healthier lifestyle with their organic products.
• UK Federal Credit Union (36:23 - 37:21): Advertising high-yield savings accounts with competitive APY rates.

---

10. Final Discussions and Closing Remarks (25:00 - 43:17)

As the episode progressed, the hosts delved into the strategic aspects of upcoming games, emphasizing the importance of team cohesion and handling high-pressure situations. They also interacted with Arkansas radio hosts who joined the show, fostering a sense of camaraderie despite the upcoming rivalry matchup.

The hosts debated Kentucky’s inconsistent performance against top-tier teams versus seemingly weaker opponents, attributing fluctuations to player mentality and coaching strategies.

Matt Jones:

"When things do get tight, they kind of play hero ball... but against Tennessee, they buckled in and hit the big shots."
(25:25)

In the closing segment, Ryan Lemon highlighted a heartwarming post-game interaction between Kobe Braya and a young Tennessee fan, illustrating the positive impact of sportsmanship beyond the game.

Ryan Lemon:

"There's another video clip where Kobe, as he's walking off the floor, meets a little Tennessee fan... that was awesome."
(34:23)

Finally, the hosts encouraged listeners to attend the next live show at Whiskey Thief, emphasizing the vibrant and supportive community surrounding Kentucky Sports Radio.

Ryan Lemon:

"See you tomorrow live at Whiskey Thief in New Loo."
(43:17)

---

Notable Quotes:

• Ryan Lemon (03:36):

  "The a vision glass text machine, which is my cell phone today. Obviously it won't happen, but I would love to see the entire 20,000 Rupp arena crowd be completely silent when he enters…"

• Shannon the Dude (03:55):

  "Mario saw that all of us picked Tennessee and that was his opportunity to come in and be the hero and pick Kentucky."

• Matt Jones (17:18):

  "It's weird. It's sad. John Calipari is someone I grew up with... Now, when that ball is tipped, they are an SEC rival."

• Goose Givens (31:55):

  "I'm so proud of you. Can you? Can I say that?"

• Kobe Braya (32:36):

  "It's about keep going, gotta keep shooting, gotta keep bringing energy for the team and make an impact somehow."

---

Conclusions and Insights:

The KSR podcast episode provided an in-depth analysis of Kentucky’s basketball scene, touching upon team strategies, player dynamics, and upcoming rivalries. The hosts emphasized the importance of maintaining composure under pressure, the impact of accurate predictions on fan engagement, and the value of supportive relationships within the team. Listener interactions offered practical advice on handling online negativity, fostering a positive community atmosphere. Sponsored segments seamlessly integrated relevant services and products, maintaining the show's informative and engaging tone. Overall, the episode catered comprehensively to Kentucky sports enthusiasts, offering both analytical discourse and heartfelt moments.

Transcript

[Ryan Lemon]

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[Ryan Lemon]

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[Shannon the Dude]

Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones.

[Ryan Lemon]

All right, welcome back hour number two, Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan Lemon, Drew Franklin Shannon, the dude here. Matt taking a day off for being on the disabled list. Woke up a little under the weather this morning. So we wish him, wish him a speedy recovery and we need him back for tomorrow's show at Whiskey Thief in New Loo, downtown Louisville.

[Drew Franklin]

Love Whiskey Thief. Remember last summer we picked a little something with Whiskey Thief. Remember what we did at Whiskey Thief last summer? Picked a barrel. We're gonna put it.

[Ryan Lemon]

Oh yes.

[Drew Franklin]

Might have more on that front tomorrow.

[Ryan Lemon]

I forgot about that.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, working on it.

[Ryan Lemon]

We just you and me, we helped pick the. Pick the barrel.

[Drew Franklin]

I was a little worried about launching it before the Arkansas game being a jinx.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

So we'll, we'll put a pin in that.

[Ryan Lemon]

I totally forgot about.

[Drew Franklin]

It's still in the works.

[Ryan Lemon]

This is from the text machine. The a vision glass text machine, which is my cell phone today. Obviously it won't happen, but I would love to see the entire 20,000 Rupp arena crowd be completely silent when he enters, when his name is announced. As a coach, silence is a powerful thing.

[Drew Franklin]

I mean, that would be the best thing to do. I would be all in on that. But it's just impossible. Someone would hear the silence and then think that's their moment to whatever they wanted to do, they would ruin it. I think a lot of people would ruin that silence.

[Ryan Lemon]

Got a couple people, two or three people said the student section should hold up newspapers in front of their face when he comes out or when they hear when he's announced. They got something that Rick Patino wanted our crowd to do or something there for a while, but it seems to be split now. Matt put up a poll yesterday.

[Drew Franklin]

Yes.

[Ryan Lemon]

It's got 30 minutes left in the poll and we'll give the results in the next half hour.

[Drew Franklin]

It's close.

[Ryan Lemon]

It is.

[Drew Franklin]

No spoilers, but it's.

[Ryan Lemon]

Is it really?

[Drew Franklin]

Here's how close it is. Less than a percent between the top two choices.

[Ryan Lemon]

So it's boo, don't boo or do nothing.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. 0.8% is separating the top two.

[Ryan Lemon]

Oh, it's boo or clap claps. Want to boo?

[Drew Franklin]

Cheer, boo. Stay silent.

[Ryan Lemon]

Cheer, boo. Stay silent.

[Drew Franklin]

You got 28 minutes to sway the vote.

[Ryan Lemon]

So it's on match Twitter account. You want to go there and check that out? All right. 859-280-2287 if you want to get on board. Mario was being praised as a hero this week. Did you see that?

[Drew Franklin]

What did he do?

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, he puts out the graphic of all of our predictions and we all picked Tennessee to win. Mario picked Kentucky to win. Not only did he pick Kentucky to win, he almost nailed the final score. Exactly right. But Shannon, the dude's got an interesting theory to this about how Mario makes this graphic and puts it up. Shannon, what's your theory?

[Shannon the Dude]

You talking about what I mentioned on the pre show? Everybody loves Mario because he picked Kentucky, but I'm like, yeah, see, Mario gets all of our predictions individually and he gets to see what we all pick before he makes his pick. So see, he saw that all of us picked Tennessee and that was his opportunity to come in and be the hero and pick Kentucky and that's what he did. And of course Kentucky wins and he looks like a genius.

[Ryan Lemon]

So you think he saw we all picked Tennessee?

[Shannon the Dude]

Of course he saw that. Yeah.

[Ryan Lemon]

The One good guy that's going to pick Kentucky.

[Shannon the Dude]

I'm glad he was right. I'm glad he was right. Yeah. See that's what my man. I'm telling you what you did you.

[Drew Franklin]

Explain yourself a little bit. Like I. I thought I said it pretty clearly.

[Shannon the Dude]

No, my theory is you saw that all of us pick like you know I don't get to see what Drew and Ryan picked. We all.

[Drew Franklin]

That's the point.

[Shannon the Dude]

Exactly. You get to see what we all picked. You saw that everybody picked Tennessee and that was your chance to pick Kentucky. I'm glad you were right though. I'm glad we were wrong. You got you.

[Drew Franklin]

You rather me pick Tennessee and have the graphic full of ksr. Everybody picks Tennessee.

[Shannon the Dude]

No, I would like for you to pick who you really did you really think it tucky was going to win that game or did you pick just because all of us picked Tennessee?

[Drew Franklin]

It's a basketball game now.

[Ryan Lemon]

I think this is the second time this has happened. I don't know what other game it was. Mississippi State and Mario again picked Kentucky to win.

[Drew Franklin]

Why don't I just do this? Why not just put us in a group chat.

[Shannon the Dude]

There you go.

[Drew Franklin]

You think that'll be better? The reason why I didn't do that because I feel like it'll be biased like people. It'll change people's views if someone else picks it in the group chat. But I can just do that if that works for you Shannon.

[Matt Jones]

If that floats.

[Shannon the Dude]

I like that better because then we we get to see what you pick too.

[Drew Franklin]

There you go. We'll do that.

[Ryan Lemon]

All right. We'll see the next go the the next one. If anybody picks Arkansas to win on the graphic on Saturday. Oh no.

[Shannon the Dude]

By by the way somebody picked Vandy to win and everybody else picked Kentucky. We didn't mention that.

[Ryan Lemon]

That's true. Shannon T. Dude did pick Vandy to win. We just broke one of the new headsets.

[Shannon the Dude]

Is it match they're doing already here.

[Drew Franklin]

Now I have a broken headset and it's new. What is going on?

[Ryan Lemon]

This is from also the aviation glass text machine.

[Drew Franklin]

Brand new Ryan.

[Ryan Lemon]

Brand new for ask anything Thursday. Any updates on the Powell Montgomery county basketball game? Yes, I do have an update. I had dinner last night with my friend from Powell county which must remain nameless.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, no one knows who that is.

[Ryan Lemon]

And the young man from Montgomery county got a two game suspension and the entire bench from Powell county when they left the bench it's an automatic ejection. They weren't have to be involved in any of the pushing and shoving or fighting, they left the bench. That's an automatic ejection which also carries a two game suspension. So what I think the KHSA agreed to do, you have three games to suspend everybody two games so they can have at least some people on their bench for a couple of their district games, I think coming up. So I think they threw them a little bit of a courtesy by saying, okay, yeah, you suspend maybe three games, three guys this game, three guys this game, three guys or something like that. You know what I mean?

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, you're Mr. Mr. High School Sports. How do you feel about them giving them a little pass on when they get to serve the suspensions? I mean, rule, rules, rule, rules, rule.

[Ryan Lemon]

But I think if they didn't, they were only going to have six players for two games.

[Drew Franklin]

I mean, they left the bench. I'm just making the other case.

[Ryan Lemon]

And like I said, people were saying, well, they should have been, he should have been ejected. They didn't do anything. It's written in the rules. You leave the bench, you get. That's the way it is in college. I mean, that's why, you know, you get, if you leave the bench in the NBA, you get a hefty fine. It's just the rule that they broke. And so that's why they're suspended another two games.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, we saw A and M, they didn't get kicked out, but they got the bench technical for just stepping feet out there to jaw with Jackson Robinson.

[Ryan Lemon]

That's right, that's right. So that's the update on the Powell County Montgomery county fight. Did you watch any of the SEC games last night?

[Drew Franklin]

No, I was at the Clav M. Beck center watching transit.

[Ryan Lemon]

Oh, that's right.

[Drew Franklin]

I was watching real basketball.

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, Alabama played Mississippi State last night and Josh Hubbard became a superstar. I mean, the dude ended up with like 40 something points. He was unbelievable last night. Alabama could not stop him. And yet Alabama came back and won the game. Crazy ending to the game. Mississippi State should have won. I was pulling for Mississippi State, but Josh Hubbard, who Lamont Butler kept in check when we played him, had a monster night last night.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, we predicted we were going through the games yesterday picking these and I think Matt and I both picked Alabama. They were an underdog to Mississippi State even though Mississippi State was at home. But we thought you got to watch Hubbard. He can go off and we're, we're lucky we had Lamont Butler in that game because Hubbard, he did it last year against us in Kentucky. Still one. But that Dude's very good. I when he did that Reed shepherd tweet last year after that game and then the season ended, I was hoping we'd give him a call.

[Ryan Lemon]

The crazy thing is he got hurt in the middle of the first half. It looked like he really hurt his knee, looked like he maybe have a serious injury. So he missed a lot of time, came back out in the second half and just took over. It was crazy.

[Drew Franklin]

So in Auburn won again.

[Ryan Lemon]

Auburn on the road.

[Drew Franklin]

My goodness.

[Ryan Lemon]

This was at lsu, I think. Yeah, at lsu. So that Auburn game coming into Kentucky, man, if Kentucky can sneak in that one, I don't know who. Who else could maybe beat Auburn this year? They're playing so well.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, we got Ole Miss not too far away. And they won last night, too.

[Ryan Lemon]

Ole Miss is Tuesday at Ole Miss.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. Excuse me. Right around the corner.

[Ryan Lemon]

The next game after Arkansas is Tuesday at Ole Miss.

[Drew Franklin]

So we're predicted to win that one by like a point.

[Ryan Lemon]

859-280-2287. So who we got? Shannon.

[Shannon the Dude]

Let's go to Patrick.

[Ryan Lemon]

Patrick, Go ahead, Patrick.

[Mario]

Hey, guys. Good morning. Unfortunately, what California failed to accomplish outweighs what he did accomplish in my book. So it'll be an easy boo for me. So I look as a way of booing the last five minutes of the Wisconsin and St. Peter's game. I look at it booing him, put in Reed and Rob on the bench. And I also think it's a way to boo the people who defend him no matter what, like Seth Greenberg and also John Rothstein, who had them in the top 10 preseason even though they hadn't played together, but yet had Kentucky 35, even though we hadn't played together. So yeah, I think easy boo for me.

[Ryan Lemon]

I appreciate it. Appreciate the phone call. I mean, that's why the results of this poll is kind of surprising, because I thought most people would be. Especially if you're going to the game, you're thinking to yourself, yeah, I'm going to let him have it when he walks out.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, with the Matt's poll on Twitter, I wonder. And we still have the results yet, but there are a lot of people voting cheer. I wonder if those are neutral people just online that aren't living it, just thinking, well, of course they would cheer. It's Cal, he's a Hall of Famer, and they're hitting it because it popped up on their Twitter.

[Ryan Lemon]

Now this is a good point. This is also on the aviation glass tax machine for the people who are going to stay silent, they better than Cheer loud when they call Pope's name. That's true. You want to make it deafening when they announce Coach Pope as the coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.

[Drew Franklin]

And you better wake up at tip off. This needs to be one of the best Kentucky has. Like, that Florida game at 11am was one of my favorites in a long time. I know this is 10 hours later. We need that same energy.

[Ryan Lemon]

I wish every game was at 11:00 or noon. This team, for whatever reason, I think plays better when the game is earlier in the day.

[Drew Franklin]

It seems like, well, they lost the Bama game. But Rob is. Seems to really like the early games.

[Ryan Lemon]

I mean, the crowd.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. I mean, the team. They didn't win that game. They played all right, though. But yes, I. When that 11am game was put on the schedule, a lot of people wondered, oh, no, we've never. That was first one in the history of Kentucky basketball. You wondered how the crowd would be. Would they wake up? Oh, yeah. That was one of the best I can remember.

[Ryan Lemon]

859-280-2287. Who's next? Shannon?

[Shannon the Dude]

Wes.

[Ryan Lemon]

Wes. Go ahead, Wes.

[Drew Franklin]

Hey, guys.

[Wes]

Go Cats. So I have some. I have some. I need some advice, and it's a good thing that you three are there today and not mad. So me and my guys here in Mount Sterling with the From Corner Corner podcast does the games on the Huddle fan app. And my voice when Powell county leaves is the voice you have heard that's gone viral that went on pot bar stools and everything. So they're. They're crushing me, and I've left the majority of them alone, but I'm just kind of like, gosh, come on. All I did was call the game and call it the way I saw it, because I didn't expect. I've never seen anybody leave in the middle of a game, a whole team, ever. So do I. Do I make a statement? Do I go out to. Do I go out to these haters and just say, you know, hey, stop the hater raid and chill out? Or do I just say, you know what? Whatever. Y'all are just jealous because I was the one that was there.

[Ryan Lemon]

All right, Wes, I'll give you my advice. And Drew give you his advice in a situation like this. You did the right thing. You called the game as it was happening. You were professional. Now don't lower yourself to their level. You know, you did. You didn't do anything wrong. You just called the game as you saw it happening. So stand strong, ignore the. The clutter, and don't even. Don't even acknowledge it. That's my advice.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm agreeing with Ryan. That's my life advice. I have a motto. Just gonna keep living my life. So when someone tweets me something awful, I look at it and I go, alright, gonna keep living my life.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yep.

[Drew Franklin]

So I would encourage you to do that. And I would also like to pay you a compliment because I watched that video a couple times. I thought you did a great job with the call. Even Yellen. I've never seen this before. Yep. As you just said you'd never seen it before. I thought you did a good job.

[Ryan Lemon]

I do, too.

[Drew Franklin]

So ignore everyone. They're just hating. Keep living your life.

[Ryan Lemon]

Be the bigger person, Wes. Be the bigger person. You did the right thing.

[Wes]

I like it. We got a game tonight. We're there tonight. We can't wait.

[Ryan Lemon]

Okay, now we've got to let Shannon. Shannon chime in on this.

[Shannon the Dude]

Well, yeah. Yeah, you guys are absolutely right. I mean, do you know any of those people personally, Wes?

[Wes]

No.

[Shannon the Dude]

Do you? Do you care?

[Drew Franklin]

What?

[Shannon the Dude]

Do you care what their opinion is, Wes?

[Wes]

No, not really.

[Shannon the Dude]

Then there you go. Don't worry about it. Ignore it and go on.

[Wes]

Sounds good.

[Matt Jones]

All right.

[Shannon the Dude]

There you go.

[Drew Franklin]

All right.

[Wes]

Thanks, guys.

[Shannon the Dude]

Appreciate it.

[Ryan Lemon]

Appreciate it.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. Just remember, this is to everyone. When people are meeting you on Twitter, are they gonna be at your dinner table?

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Are they hanging out with you on the weekend?

[Ryan Lemon]

A lot of times.

[Matt Jones]

Are they.

[Drew Franklin]

Are they at Christmas? You got their phone number? No. That has no impact on your life. I know it can be hard, especially really mean, but just look at it and go, okay, I'm gonna keep living my. I'm just gonna take my next breath and act like I never saw that.

[Ryan Lemon]

A lot of times somebody will send you something like that, and then you look at their profile and they've got like, 13 followers.

[Drew Franklin]

I don't even look at their profile.

[Ryan Lemon]

Not worth getting into.

[Shannon the Dude]

I've had to tell Matt that so many times over the years.

[Ryan Lemon]

He's got better. He's definitely gotten a lot better.

[Shannon the Dude]

He gets better for a while and then he goes right back to the old mat and starts engaging with people with, like, you said, 12 followers.

[Drew Franklin]

My thing is, if you didn't know they existed until you got that message, they shouldn't have an impact. You made it that far in your life without them in it. Just keep on scrolling.

[Ryan Lemon]

Have that from Uncle Drew. Wes, keep living your life from the Avision Glass tech machine. Is there any way we can get UK to put white shirts in the Seats that say Basketball Benny on the back is our name.

[Shannon the Dude]

No, because then we'll be a T shirt game. We don't want to do that to Cal. Don't, don't feed his ego because then Arkansas is a T shirt game.

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, we just had a guy come in, Shannon, and gave us T shirts that say Basketball Benny on the front. I'm definitely going to wear mine here for the pregame show on Saturday. It's got Basketball Benny on it and then there's like a diagram play on it. Are we, should we embrace being Basketball.

[Drew Franklin]

Benny's Shannon nailed it. No, because then you're giving him a little bit of him being the Super Bowl. No, no, no. You do the bare minimum. Give him the Bucknell treatment. I do like the Basketball Benny shirts. We just got in. But no, I don't think, I don't think you do anything special because that feeds into the ego.

[Ryan Lemon]

We have a special guest going to join us in the next segment. He's here for just a quick segment.

[Drew Franklin]

He's got to go talk to Mark Pope.

[Ryan Lemon]

Talk to Mark Pope. Jack Pilgrim from KSR will join us. We come back right here on Kentucky Sports Radio. Welcome back Kentucky Sports Radio. Ryan, Drew and Shannon. Who's, who's sponsoring this segment? Drew?

[Drew Franklin]

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[Ryan Lemon]

It's a lot of vehicles.

[Drew Franklin]

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[Ryan Lemon]

Joining us now from Kentucky sportsradio.com and on on three sports, Jack Pilgrim, who's on his way to a Mark Pope press conference at noon. Swung by here to join us for a couple minutes. So Jack, we've been waiting on this game since the schedule came out. I mean this is the, the Game of the year, A.R. and John Caliperi and Boogie Flynn and all these guys. He stole from us, went with him and even stole our student manager. And Ray Surratt.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, I took Ray Serat.

[Ryan Lemon]

Ray's coming back also. It's a big homecoming for Ray. What are your thoughts on the game tomorrow?

[Matt Jones]

It's weird. It's sad. John Caliber, I'm of the younger crowd, as you know. You call me baby face every time you see me. So John Caliper is my coach. Like, that's who I grew up with. All of my fondest, most beautiful Kentucky basketball memories are of John Calipari. So it's in a weird spot for me to see him in that ugly, disgusting red down there in Fayetteville. So I love him. I love the memories. He was good to me, probably when he didn't need to be when he was here, but now he's an enemy. Now, I thought Mark Pope handled just kind of the very uncomfortable, just kind of taboo topic last night immaculately. And I'm sure he's going to say something similar to today during his press conference, but it's. It's competition. It. You can love him, you can love the memories, you can love all those things. But on Saturday, when that ball is tipped, they are an SEC rival, and you have to treat them the exact same way you would any other SEC rival.

[Drew Franklin]

Before you go to talk to Pope, he had a show last night. I don't know if you heard. I was at Broadway in fourth watching the Pioneers great D3 basketball, so I didn't get to hear it. We played the clip of him talking about that. Was there any other news that came out of it? I know you wrote a few notes about it for the site, but anything else that we haven't touched that we missed.

[Matt Jones]

He is all in on Mountain Mamba. All in 10. 10 out of 10. I'm very, very proud of him for that, for just welcoming that nickname with open arms because it's the one. Like, there's no debate that that is. That is the one. It comes organically. It comes naturally. You want nicknames to come just kind of in the heat of the moment. And that's exactly how it happened. He said Otega away. Did not. After almost dying on that dunk, I. I can't believe that he bounced up as quickly as he did.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Said, yeah, he's banged up, missed practice. You know, they were. They had an off day, thank goodness, yesterday. But that definitely going to be some bumps and bruises, but not hurt. Didn't have any lingering things so that I mean I don't think this team could afford any other injury bugs popping up right now. So Ortega is fine. Gave kind of a non committal answer on Lamont Butler. I'm sure that'll be one of the top, you know, priorities today talking to Pope. Got to get Lamont Butler back on Saturday. That's a, that's going to be a must see matchup between him and DJ Wagner.

[Ryan Lemon]

What did he say when he meant Godfidence?

[Matt Jones]

Something about A.B. alvin Brooks III is just kind of the king of like these kind of corny, witty kind of puns if you will. He's like the team dad is like the coach, the coach dad and like he has ball of duty as like a defensive thing. He's done a couple code Gold is like a like body like moods and things like that on the, on the. If you're showing good body language on the bench, things like that. He's kind of like the, the all seeing dad on the team. So he comes up in the team prayer and says that they not just want confidence, they want the team to have godfidence. So they had a lot of godfidence down there in Knoxville.

[Drew Franklin]

Will you tell us good news about Lamont Butler or Andrew Carr? I hope you have it if you don't just lie to me, please. I need some, some comfort.

[Matt Jones]

I didn't love the way Andrew played on. I was shocked that he was even allowed to play. I was told leading up to that he was going to be a true, true game time decision. So when he wasn't even like listed as a game time decision I was just totally removed from the injury port. I was like maybe he's further along than I had heard on, on my end. But you watch him play clearly is not ready to go. So I would still just be cautious even if he is available to be totally confident in what he's able to bring the table Lamont. I think it's. It's just going to be one of those. It's a bruise shoulder. It's one of those you gotta just figure out what your pain tolerance is, how you can power through it and what you're able to give. But the way Jackson Robinson played as a ball dominant lead guard, I feel a whole heck of a lot better no matter how the season unfolds with the injuries because I think we're in a pretty good space with just. It's an offense that doesn't lean on a true point guard. We had Amari Williams play point guard for 70% of the game. So I think we're in a good spot.

[Ryan Lemon]

So regardless who's sitting on the opposite bench on Saturday, Kentucky has to win that game. Arkansas is limping in one of the worst, maybe the worst team in the conference. You can't let that team sneak in here and beat you regardless who their coach is.

[Matt Jones]

So going into the Tennessee game, I said if you had to have one the road top 10 win, that's going to be the resume boost that you need on selection Sunday or the rivalry matchup against a quad to home opponent. Which one are you taking if you had to pick one. But now that, I mean now that we got the one in one in the hand, we got to turn this into a must win. I think, I think Kentucky has to take care of business. It's, it's bad competition all things considered. You got to take the wins when you can get them on this schedule. There are no cupcakes. But if you were to classify any of these games as a cupcake, this is the one on the schedule. You kind of miss the opportunities with Clemson, Ohio State and you know, Vandy, some of those that you probably should have won. We, we can't afford these. You know, one step forward, two steps back against the so, so competition, me.

[Drew Franklin]

And you, every game we're elbow to elbow. We sit next to each other, we, we eat a chick fil a dinner every game together. I have not yet heard where you are on your feelings going to say. I've made it clear. I'm sitting there being quiet. Am I going to have to look at you standing up and cheering or are you going to be crying? What, what kind of. What version of Jack will I be sitting by Saturday at 9:00?

[Matt Jones]

You know, I'm like the least professional person on the planet.

[Drew Franklin]

You actually painted your face for the Georgia State game.

[Matt Jones]

I will stand up and give my fist bumps and I, it was like when Big Z had his moment the Georgia game last year. Like it was like this. You stand up and like you have this teary eyed like we did it. We've. We've come so far. We've waited for him to like. So I, I am the least the worst person to ask about this but I, I might give a nice like you know, hey, thanks for the memories guy. Now we're gonna go kick your butt like so a golf clap.

[Drew Franklin]

Was that a golf clap or a full clap? I couldn't tell.

[Matt Jones]

I think I am leaning golf clap.

[Patrick]

Okay.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah. Now after the game you have the Duty of talking to the players. Are you more interested talking to the Kentucky guys or go talking to these Arkansas guys?

[Matt Jones]

Oh, the. Ooh, man, I. Are they. I think they're gonna just probably send one of the players up to the podium, so we might not even have to deal with that. It's gonna have to be both.

[Drew Franklin]

Cal's not sitting a Kentucky gap there for that. He'll send one of the other.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah, you want to talk to Big Z?

[Drew Franklin]

He'll protect him.

[Matt Jones]

He needs to send a do up there, man. A dude has the best story to tell. Talking to him at SEC media day, you could tell that a dude was just like, how did I end up in this stupid, goofy red jersey? Like, why am I. Why am I sitting in this chair? I think a dude has some serious, like, man, what could have been kind of vibes. So I'm wondering what his mentality and what his approach is going to be on Saturday. I think this is going to be a really. I don't think DJ cares. I think he's a cow mercenary that was gonna, you know, follow him wherever he went. A dude's the one I'm watching pretty closely.

[Ryan Lemon]

Jack Pilgrim from ksr. You can stick around for a couple more minutes. We'll take our break. Come back here live from KS Bar and Grill.

[Matt Jones]

TJ Smith, personal injury attorney.

[Drew Franklin]

Call tj.

[Matt Jones]

He'll make him pay.

[Shannon the Dude]

Now more of Kentucky Sports radio presented by ST&MORTGAGE. Here's Matt Jones.

[Ryan Lemon]

All right, welcome back. Ryan Lemon, Drew Franklin, Shan the dude. And with us for a couple more minutes is Jack Pilgrim from Kentuckysportsradio.com and on Three Sports. This is from the aviation glass text machine. John Robick should do the Y on Saturday.

[Drew Franklin]

I got a different John doing the Y. John Tyson. T, Y, S, O, N. Spell it out.

[Ryan Lemon]

I wonder if he'll be there.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, never mind. I'll show you later.

[Ryan Lemon]

The Arkansas radio guys have just walked in. They're doing their show here today. Tomor three shows are doing here. They just walked in. We got to be cordial with them. Right?

[Drew Franklin]

There wasn't a single boo. I think Kentucky, one of you guys booed.

[Ryan Lemon]

Okay.

[Drew Franklin]

See? Booing. We're all adults. We can boo people.

[Ryan Lemon]

I'll.

[Drew Franklin]

I'll boo you right now. It's all in fun, but no, it's good to have them here. I hope they hope they lose on Saturday, but they're friends of the program. We hope they everything works. Hope our technology works.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, they are. They.

[Drew Franklin]

They do know as he Spills a drink there. So yeah, to a good start.

[Ryan Lemon]

Jack, we've seen this team when they play the top 15 teams, that's when they play their best basketball. Then we see when they play a Clemson or a Georgia maybe or Vandy, no offense Shannon. They don't maybe play their best basketball. Why is that? What's going on with that?

[Matt Jones]

It's weird and what's funny is like there was kind of the narrative I was one of the people pushing. It's like hey, you know, with the talent of this group, they're not going to have this high end superstars. They're going to beat all the teams that they're supposed to. But you know, if they're going to get the tough top 10 road matchups are probably going to lose those been total opposite, like couldn't, couldn't be further from the truth. I don't know why that is. They just have a tendency of when things get tight, you know, they kind of play hero ball like I got to go get mine. Well, I can't trust that he's going to go make that shot. So I'm going to go get that. So that's, I think that's what was so refreshing about the Tennessee win was when things did get tight. They exist exact almost identical situation to where things were at Vandy versus where things were at Tennessee where things kind of veered the wrong direction at Vanderbilt and they kind of got tight and kind of me focused. That's when they lost. When things got tight against Tennessee they kind of buckled in and said hey, let's you know, ride the wave with team basketball. And they hit the big shots and you know, did what it took down the stretch. So I really appreciated just kind of the approach and hitting a bunch of free throws. I wish they get more offensive rebounds. That drove me absolutely crazy down there in Knoxville. But I love the finish down in Knoxville.

[Drew Franklin]

Why are 50, 50 balls seem to be 70, 25 balls for this 75, 25 balls with this team, 50, 50 don't exist. Some even look to be 100 to 0.

[Matt Jones]

And Pope talked about that last night. He's like, it's the weirdest thing that for 17 minutes, first half, 17 minutes of the second half. We're brilliant rebounders. I mean you have Amari Williams rebounding like Oscar Sheepway and then for whatever reason those last three minutes, it's just like there is a magnet, the opposite attract magnet on their hands and just bobbling balls out of bounds and guys flying over top of them to grab it is the weirdest thing. I don't know what the answer is, but I like that Pope talked about it last night to say, hey, we got to fix these last six minutes. Last of the three of the first half, last three the second half. Because the first 17 are great, but, man, whatever. Whatever happens on the stretch, it's brutal.

[Drew Franklin]

Before you talk to Pope again, since we were talking about during the break, can we go backwards and just keep talking about how awesome that Tennessee game was since you were there?

[Matt Jones]

Oh, gosh.

[Drew Franklin]

How sad were they? Did anyone actually cry?

[Matt Jones]

Well, it was a three point game with, like 10 seconds left, you know, 15 seconds left, plenty of time for chaos, something bad to happen, and they just start funneling toward the exits. I mean, just sad, you know, cry, you know, cussing Kentucky fans out when they saw them and flipping the bird. And they were. I mean, they were brutal, but I was like, I mean, there's still a chance that this thing can flip on its head. You know, you get a steal out of bounds, you hit a big three, you know, force turnover, whatever. I don't. I wouldn't be leaving the building right now. It's like, what traffic are you beating? I can just watch the dang game. So, yes, they were very sad. They were upset. I got booed. We were talking about the boo debate. I got flipped the bird. I got. I mean, people were screaming at me. It was weird being the moron in the blue sweatshirt walking through the student section. They ripped me to shreds, and it was great. I loved. I loved every second.

[Drew Franklin]

There's a photo gallery in the Knoxville News Sentinel. So it's called. Yes, it says Tennessee fans giving crap or whatever to a Kentucky fan. And it's our boy Stephen in the photo.

[Ryan Lemon]

Is it really?

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, he's in the Knoxville. Is it really Stephen? He. I'm undefeated in Knoxville. I just learned Jack is undefeated in Knoxville. We heard on the pregame show. We didn't know this. Jack stayed at the hotel I always stayed in. So we have a hotel that we're going to keep forever. But Stephen, just text me from over there. He's three and, oh, working for KSR in Knoxville, and, oh, and three in Nashville.

[Ryan Lemon]

Jack said the same thing. You haven't seen a win in Nashville since 2019.

[Matt Jones]

The last time I saw was that. That 2019 championship Sunday. That's a lot.

[Ryan Lemon]

I've seen grow trips at Indy in the SEC tournament.

[Drew Franklin]

That's gross. We got to fix that. But I like our mojo in Knoxville. Shout out. Well, I won't say the hotel. We got to make sure we get our room next year. We got to keep those good vibes. I might go ahead and book it. Not even knowing the schedule.

[Ryan Lemon]

Hey, last thing before you go. Drew's got a theory, and I like this theory that they prevent Cal from talking to the media after the game. He's going to get a technic on ejected. Do you see that happening?

[Matt Jones]

Absolutely. Like, I think the chances of that happening are far more significant than anybody's. Even like if the game starts swinging the other direction. And you know, I hate that Freudian slip there when cat when times got tough with Cal and it's kind of like, hey, I got to throw one last curveball in there just in case, just to see what will happen. He was the king of like, hey, I'm going to go get a force technical right here and you know, try to see if the, you know, my players kind of like the South Carolina game where he gets thrown out and Tyler Eulis takes over. Like he is the king of that. So if he's looking for one last hurrah, hoping, and I mean it's a opportunity for him to skip out on media, he's going to absolutely take it. So you're almost kind of rooting for it to not be a 45 point bludgeoning, but keeping it within 10 something points where it's within striking distance for him to not get kicked himself kicked out of the game. Because I think it's very possible you.

[Drew Franklin]

Have a homework assignment. Will you ask Mark Pope if he likes Sweet Mountain Angel Baby better than Mountain Mamba?

[Matt Jones]

But I don't, I don't want to give him the chance to open the door, man. Like when we, when Sweet Mountain Baby.

[Ryan Lemon]

Mamba juice is awful, when you come.

[Matt Jones]

Up with something beautiful and organic and in the moment, you got to ride. Like, nicknames are not to be workshop. They're not. It's. It is, it is something that just comes like you, you when we were going through the thing about what is this team going to be nicknamed? And like the Remarkables and things like that. It's like you got to just kind of feel it in the moment. It'll come to you.

[Drew Franklin]

Like Sweet Mountain Baby Angel. That's what you're talking about, right?

[Matt Jones]

I, I hate it so much. I, I really do.

[Ryan Lemon]

His baby face, Jack Pilgrim right there.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, go talk to Mark Pope. We don't want you to be late.

[Ryan Lemon]

We know you got to go.

[Drew Franklin]

We know parking over there is an adventure. So go tell Mark we said hi Wish him luck on Saturday.

[Ryan Lemon]

All right.

[Drew Franklin]

And everyone listen to sources say and then read KSR and KS board all Jack.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yes. It's the best way to keep up what's going on. All those things behind the scenes and on the court as well. So. All right, one thing I want to talk to you about. Kobe Braya had the monster game against Tennessee.

[Drew Franklin]

Yes.

[Ryan Lemon]

He did not miss a field goal. He was five, five in the field, three or three of threes. Missed a couple free throws. But he was. Hadn't had a Kobe Braya game we thought he would have all season.

[Drew Franklin]

How about him taking 7 free throws to butt end?

[Ryan Lemon]

He only had 10 for the whole season. They take 7 and against Tennessee. So after the game, he was the player of the game. And he said now with Goose, get Goose Given. And I know some of you have already heard this, but I want to play this because this is. They kind of. Kind of jerks at your heartstrings a little bit.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, just so you know, I said this on I didn't have the clip, but I said there was a moment where Goose is like proud of Brea. So we kind of set it up yesterday for this. I didn't know you had it.

[Ryan Lemon]

Right. Okay, we got it. Shane's got this. Courtesy of the UK Sports Network and jmi, here is Goose Givens with Kobe Braya after the game Tuesday night.

[Jack Givens]

Thanks so much for coming out and I hope you don't take this lightly. What I'm getting ready to say, okay. Because I'm a hundred percent serious. I'm the old man of the group, so I. I'm so proud of you. Can you. Can I say that?

[Patrick]

I appreciate that.

[Jack Givens]

Okay, man, listen, I know from experience when you're shooting the basketball and that thing, instead of being a peach basket, it's. It's like a cup. I mean, it's like a cup and it shrinks and that ball just won't go. It's sometimes hard to make yourself keep shooting, but what a job tonight, putting that shot up.

[Patrick]

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, man, it's just a. I feel like it's just a testament to the work I put in, man. Like there's gonna be games where, you know, like you said, they're not gonna fall, but it's just about keep going, you know, Gotta keep shooting, gotta keep bringing energy for the team and make an impact somehow, you know, I feel like in the recent games I wasn't really able to put the ball in the basket too well, but I found other things to do and now that just translated to today.

[Jack Givens]

Yeah. I was talking to Tom. We summarized the game a little bit, and I called this a heart check win. You guys just took the pressure. You've been working on being more physical, and you guys just took it to Tennessee. You took everything they dished out. What a big improvement for you guys in that area.

[Patrick]

Yeah, I think it's always super big when, you know, you could come into somebody else's home, you know, and take a. Take a win from them. You know, we knew that it was going to be a tough game. They're a great team, really physical team. But, you know, we. We rely on the work that we put in. You know, we say we stay true to ourselves no matter what we go through, we keep our heads up. You know, we. We had come off of two losses, which we haven't really had throughout the season, you know, two back to back, but, you know, we. We keep fighting, man. That's what Kentucky's about.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Jack Givens]

And you. And you came in shorthanded because, of course, Lamont couldn't play. Andrew Carr tried.

[Patrick]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jack Givens]

I mean, he gave you a minute and 30 seconds.

[Patrick]

We have people that, like. Like, they're not really able to play, but they still, like, you know, when they put that Kentucky jersey on, man, like, it really means something to all of us. You know, they're willing to play through some, you know, some pain and all that. And that's. That just goes to show the toughness that we really have in this group. You know, people overlook it, but these guys are really tough on this team.

[Jack Givens]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemon]

So that's a part of it. There's another part on there, of course. It's probably at the end where Jack, like, almost chokes up talking about how proud he is of Kobe Braya and what he's done. And it did in the game Tuesday night.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I noticed that right away in that interview, and Matt even brought it up, too. It looks like we're all fans of the Jack Givens interviews post game. That did seem like a great moment by them, especially, you know, as he said, with Kobe going cold for four or five games and Jack's shot a lot of basketballs for Kentucky himself. I'm sure that meant a lot to Kobe, hearing him come out and say that, too.

[Ryan Lemon]

And there's another video clip where Kobe, as he's walking off the floor, meets a little Tennessee fan. I mean, it was like the old mean Joe Green commercial, the Angel Green, and then the Guy Coca Cola commercial. That was awesome. It was an awesome Moment where Kobe and his young Tennessee guy bonding is one. After the game.

[Drew Franklin]

It's almost like with these Kentucky games, once the buzzer ends, you got reset for the game. After the game, he's going to go meet someone in a wheelchair or you're going to have a player with the little kid. Pope facetime, someone's grandmother. Like, don't turn off Kentucky basketball when the game ends because there's another hour of Pope and player interactions like that that have really gone viral and people really love because they're special moments.

[Ryan Lemon]

Banked in three. Didn't matter. They finally won a game when the opposing team banked in a three.

[Drew Franklin]

I shared my thoughts on that yesterday. I was pretty ready to just turn off the TV and go to where were you? Same thing.

[Ryan Lemon]

When I hit that, I thought, oh, no, you got to be kidding me. Another banked in three. We're gonna lose the game.

[Drew Franklin]

Especially on the pregame show or maybe on the morning show. That day we were talking about how bank went in. We're turning it off. And then it happened. But at that point, I didn't have time to reach for the remote. Kobe Bray hit a three. You know, next trip down the corner. All right, you cancel it.

[Ryan Lemon]

All right, Shannon, you got to read for us here before we go to a break.

[Shannon the Dude]

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[Ryan Lemon]

He's Shannon the dude. He's Drew Franklin. I'm Ryan Lemon. We wrap back our final segment coming up here on Kentucky Sports Radio. Don't go away. UK Federal Credit Union wants you to reach your Savings goals in 2025. Open a high yield savings account and earn as high as 4%. APY on your savings. APY is annual percentage yield. What's the yield yield? Upgrade your Piggy bank in 2025 by earning almost 10 times the national average savings rate. Net yourself Bigger savings this basketball season and earn up to 4% APY from the official credit union of the University of Kentucky. Visit ukfcu.org or visit one of the seven local branches to open a High Yield Savings Account today. Membership eligibility required. Federally insured by ncua. You know, there's gonna be another UK Federal Credit Union super bowl commercial come out a week from.

[Drew Franklin]

You all teased that a little bit.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah, we teased a little bit. There might be some familiar faces in the UK Federal Credit Union super bowl commercial.

[Drew Franklin]

So anybody spitting water or anything?

[Ryan Lemon]

There might be. Somebody got spit right in their mouth.

[Drew Franklin]

Gross.

[Ryan Lemon]

Matt. Speaking of, Matt had a poll up.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, yeah. I'm supposed to be looking at the results.

[Ryan Lemon]

What are you going to do tomorrow? Are you going to boo? You're going to cheer? Are you going to do nothing? Drew teased us a couple segments, Shannon, and said it was very close. How do you think the poll is going to play out?

[Shannon the Dude]

Slightly more booze than cheers.

[Ryan Lemon]

I would agree. I think I would have guessed probably a lot more booze than anything. Drew.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, I'm going to go ahead and tell you that there's a first and a second place and it's 37% and 36%. So would you stick with booze?

[Ryan Lemon]

The winner boo's the winner.

[Drew Franklin]

Cheer is 30. Oh, excuse me. Stay silent. Is 37%. It's the winner cheer is 36%. It's second and boo is 27%.

[Matt Jones]

Really?

[Ryan Lemon]

Boo.

[Drew Franklin]

Lost by 10 points.

[Shannon the Dude]

Twitter's not real. It won't be that when it. When it comes time for game time on Saturday night.

[Ryan Lemon]

Okay, now, this is Matt's Twitter account. So he has a lot of national.

[Drew Franklin]

People, I think random people just see that and they're like, I'll vote. Just clicking a button. But they didn't live this like, well, why would you boo him? If they just don't know the circumstances, I'm surprised.

[Ryan Lemon]

I think if it was locally, a locally produced pole, booze would have been way ahead.

[Drew Franklin]

Did you see what happened during that break? I feel like we're coming together.

[Ryan Lemon]

The Arkansas radio guys needed your help. You reached out and said we had to go back to our Airbnb. Drew. Shannon. Drew said, I'll drive you there after the show.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm going to run them to their Airbnb back because they forgot a cord and I want them to feel welcome.

[Shannon the Dude]

Wow, that's really nice of you.

[Drew Franklin]

I don't want the address. No, I'm just kidding. No, but I mean, I'll help them out. Is that what we should do right?

[Matt Jones]

Or my.

[Drew Franklin]

Am I being soft?

[Ryan Lemon]

Linda, helping hand, there are guests.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Ryan Lemon]

The radio guys are here in our restaurant.

[Drew Franklin]

I could just take him there and leave him. I could do that.

[Ryan Lemon]

Do we have the cord here that they need?

[Drew Franklin]

No, no, he needs a converter. It says Airbnb. We'll get him taken care of. But I like the Kentucky and Arkansas coming together for the big game. Everybody's being nice to him here. It looks like so far. This is weird.

[Ryan Lemon]

They're spending money here, so we gotta be nice to him.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay, okay.

[Ryan Lemon]

859-28-2287. Squeeze on a couple calls for. Get out here. Sharon, who we got?

[Shannon the Dude]

All right, let's go to Dave.

[Ryan Lemon]

Dave, go ahead, Dave.

[Wes]

How y'all doing, fellas?

[Ryan Lemon]

How are you, Dave?

[Wes]

Great, great, great. Ready for the game. Gonna be in the house. You'll be in house every night. I'm just gonna say it's one thing to important to remember about this. Whether you boo, whether you clap, whether you cheer, whether you do nothing. I think it's very important to remember just to enjoy this moment because it's gonna be really fun for the Big Blue Nation. Is going to be really great.

[Ryan Lemon]

Appreciate Dave. It is going to be one of those special days, those special moments. Like I said, I was there when Patino walked in for the first time. I was where Patino and Cal met for the first time at Rupp Arena. There is something kind of cool about that experience.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, yeah, we've. I mean, I assume I say we. I've been looking for this since the schedule came out. Got a little worried when they dropped two in a row and had to go to Knoxville is a little deflating. The thought of being Owen three, going this game with Cal potentially making you Owen four. But Tuesday night he's some concerns there. And now I'm just so excited. We're at 6:30, right?

[Ryan Lemon]

6.

[Drew Franklin]

I might get here noon. I don't. What else am I gonna do? Just gonna be sitting around waiting.

[Ryan Lemon]

Somebody asked me what time I need to get to KS Bar for Saturday's pregame show, and I said, we open at 11.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I don't know. I mean, we always have the wave of people that go to the game, you know, a little before that, create some openings. But as far as wanting to hang out here for the day, I don't know. I'm getting here early.

[Ryan Lemon]

Who's next? Shannon.

[Shannon the Dude]

Let's go to Joe.

[Ryan Lemon]

Joe. Go ahead, Joe.

[Joe]

Hey, have you guys asked those Arkansas guys whether they're going to be bowing.

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, we should ask them what they think the Kentucky fans should do to their beloved ex coach.

[Joe]

I'm thinking what, I'm wondering what they would want to do but I'm a boo guy but looking at it from two different ways. One, there's Kentucky fans that'll cheer against and make some kids life miserable for a minute when he's just trying to make a free throw at the end of a game that he's getting blown out by 25 just for $3 worth of nuggets. And I'm sure that kid's never done anything to anybody. So I mean let's not feel awful for the guy who renegotiated his contract five times, made over a hundred million dollars over 15 years and always threatened to leave after a good season. I mean this isn't the guy who was working for charity. So I get people maybe not wanting to boo but cheering the guy who's coming in from the other side when you'll clap against some kid just trying to make two free throws in Rupp arena for $3 worth of nuggets. That's crazy to me.

[Ryan Lemon]

Appreciate it Joe.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemon]

They think our guys will play well because our guys have no emotional attachment to this game. Whereas DJ Adu and Z kind of do have an emotional attachment to this game. I hadn't thought about that from the players angle.

[Drew Franklin]

I wonder how Arkansas is going to handle the There's a little pressure on Pope, but there's a lot of pressure on their players. He would never admit to this, but I wonder if in the locker room there's like a I need this one guys. Like we need to win every game but this one we really need to win. I wonder if there's a little bit behind the scenes or maybe they're treating it like the next game. But if it were me, I would say I need your absolute best. I cannot lose this.

[Ryan Lemon]

Does it concern you at all that usually this is when Cal is at his best? When everybody's counting him out and he's got his back against the wall? Sometimes this is when he's at his best.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I still think one of those games are coming. The circumstances are a little different with all the other stuff thrown in but I mean it wouldn't shock me. We, we all know he's capable of it because we've cheered him on for many years.

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, the game is at 9:00 which means we probably, if we're watching on TV, we won't see the introduction to the players and, and Cal. But trust me. They'll play it.

[Drew Franklin]

They'll find a way to show that.

[Ryan Lemon]

They'll replay it during a commercial break right after a commercial break or something like that.

[Drew Franklin]

We'll have it on ksr. Steven will follow him around. Steven might fall him out of his car. I don't know how that works but.

[Ryan Lemon]

Have him posted as soon as it happens.

[Drew Franklin]

Stephen might just be waiting at the airport for Arkansas to get here and follow him the whole time.

[Ryan Lemon]

All right. For Drew Franklin for sharing the dude. Ryan Lemon. Matt will be back tomorrow where we are live at Whiskey Thief in New Lou.

[Drew Franklin]

Nanny Goat strut.

[Ryan Lemon]

Nanny Goat strut Lane or something like that. Come down and see us. We've always had a good crowd every time we go to Whiskey Thief and it's the day before the the Arkansas game. Of course you want to come out. So that'll do it for this edition of ksr. We'll see you tomorrow.