2025-04-25- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

Podcast Summary: KSR - Hour 1 (April 25, 2025)

Podcast Information:

• Title: KSR
• Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts and Sports Talk 790 (WKRD-AM)
• Description: Matt Jones and the KSR crew bring you the latest in UK news and views Mon.-Fri. from 10 to noon.
• Episode: 2025-04-25- KSR - Hour 1
• Release Date: April 25, 2025

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Introduction

On a rainy Friday morning in Lexington, Kentucky, Matt Jones kicks off the latest episode of Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) at the KS Bar and Grill. Joined by co-hosts Ryan and Drew, along with guest Mario, the crew sets the stage for a lively discussion filled with sports insights, listener interactions, and breaking news.

NFL Draft Recap and Analysis

One of the primary topics of discussion revolves around the recent NFL Draft, with the hosts delving into various player selections, notable moments, and overall draft dynamics.

Will Johnson and Arm Length Controversy

Matt Jones initiates the conversation by expressing his newfound concern over LSU's Will Johnson's arm length, a topic that gained traction in draft analyses.

• Matt Jones [03:48]: "I never knew any of these people... started listening to draft podcasts and they kept saying the problem with Will Johnson... his arms."

As Matt scrutinizes Johnson's arm measurements, Drew humorously remarks on Johnson's appearance during his draft moment.

• Drew [06:00]: "Roger Goodell shaking his hand. I didn't think Will could even get his arm out there..."

The discussion highlights how minor physical attributes can significantly impact a player's draft prospects, emphasizing the unpredictability and entertainment value of the draft process.

Cam Ward and Draft Trades

The selection of Cam Ward emerges as a significant point, with Matt noting the trade dynamics that influenced his pick.

• Matt Jones [07:02]: "They picked Cam Ward. There's never been a first pick... barely picked."

Matt and Ryan explore the implications of trading up to select quarterbacks, discussing how such moves affect team strategies and player valuations.

Travis Hunter's Personal Life Spotlight

Travis Hunter's draft experience garners attention, particularly his on-field attire and personal life being thrust into the spotlight.

• Matt Jones [07:19]: "His girlfriend would yell at him... stop taking pictures."

The hosts reflect on the intersection of personal lives and professional sports, noting how media and public attention can amplify personal moments.

Maxwell Hairston: The Feel-Good Story

Maxwell Hairston stands out as a beacon of positivity during the draft, earning praise for his demeanor and interactions.

• Matt Jones [13:05]: "Maxwell Hairston was one of the stars of the draft because he was so nice... the Bills."

Hairston's genuine happiness and supportive nature resonate with both the hosts and viewers, positioning him as a beloved figure amidst the competitive environment of the draft.

Shador Sanders and Jackson Dart's Draft Journeys

The conversation shifts to Shador Sanders and Jackson Dart, discussing their draft outcomes and the surrounding media narrative.

• Matt Jones [14:54]: "Shador Sanders dropped out the first round... his room was empty."

Matt critiques media coverage, particularly Mel Kiper's reluctance to spotlight Jackson Dart, questioning the accuracy and fairness of such narratives.

UK Athletics' Structural Transformation

A major development surfaces as UK Athletics transitions into a private LLC holding company, marking a significant shift in its operational structure.

• Matt Jones [29:54]: "Kentucky has moved UK Athletics into a private holding company... it is now a private LLC."

The hosts dissect the reasons behind this move, suggesting increased operational flexibility, streamlined decision-making, and potential future adaptability concerning athlete employment statuses.

Matt Jones [30:07]: "They can make decisions like a business without a lot of the red tape... It’s a public-private partnership."

Ryan and Drew weigh in, supporting the strategic foresight of UK Athletics, comparing it to successful public-private partnerships in other sectors like dorm management.

• Matt Jones [34:21]: "Public-private partnerships are the way to go... UK is recognizing this is a business."

The transformation is lauded as forward-thinking, potentially setting a precedent for other public universities to follow suit.

Listener Calls and Interactions

Engaging with their audience, the KSR crew fields calls that touch upon various sports-related topics, offering diverse perspectives and sparking further debate.

Caller Matthew: NIL Contributions and UK Support

• Matthew [26:24]: "I believe that when it comes to NIL contributions they should divvy out and feed the program that has kept your school in relevancy."

Matt responds by emphasizing the significance of football in funding and maintaining the university's profitability, cautioning against diverting funds away from the primary revenue-generating sports.

• Matt Jones [27:52]: "Football is what gets the revenue... abandon football and your profit's going to go down."

Matthew clarifies his stance, advocating for balanced support without undermining football's financial contributions.

Caller Hunter: Draft Experience as a Family Vacation

• Hunter [40:46]: "We use the drafts like a small vacation... my son got to play a flag football game."

Hunter shares a family-friendly perspective, describing the draft season as an opportunity for leisure and quality time, rather than solely focusing on the athletic outcomes.

Additional Highlights and Discussions

Beyond the main topics, the hosts touch upon various other subjects, adding depth and variety to the conversation.

Jersey Production Insights

Matt muses about the logistics of jersey production during the draft, appreciating the swift process of customizing jerseys in real-time.

• Matt Jones [19:06]: "They have five jerseys of each team that are blank... they quickly press the name onto the jersey."

The discussion highlights the behind-the-scenes operations that ensure a seamless draft experience for the viewers.

Upcoming Events and Recommendations

The crew promotes local events and eateries, integrating community engagement into their broadcast.

• Matt Jones [43:12]: "A Kentucky restaurant was named one of the 10 best fried chicken holes in the wall in the country."

They discuss the merits of hidden gems like Joe's Drive-In in Isom, Kentucky, encouraging listeners to explore and support local businesses.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, Matt reflects on the evolving landscape of college athletics and the strategic moves by institutions like the University of Kentucky. The hosts express optimism about the positive changes and anticipate future developments inspired by UK Athletics' pioneering approach.

Matt Jones [36:15]: "We are the first to do it."

Ryan [36:19]: "Still doesn't seem like it's what's a platform that all the other public schools are going to try to follow."

The episode concludes with a light-hearted note, mingling sports discussions with personal anecdotes and community highlights, leaving listeners both informed and entertained.

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Notable Quotes:

• Matt Jones [04:14]: "You should not wear a pinstriped green suit as a pale white guy."
• Drew [07:37]: "They had two massive elk on his."
• Matt Jones [12:30]: "It's a snowball effect. So if you just abandon football... your profit's going to go down."
• Matt Jones [34:57]: "They are businesses. And all of these schools have been using administrators from sports to try to run what amounts to hundred million dollar businesses."

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This episode of KSR offers a comprehensive blend of sports analysis, insightful discussions on institutional changes, and vibrant interactions with the listener community. Whether it's dissecting the nuances of the NFL Draft or exploring the future of university athletics, Matt Jones and his crew provide a thorough and engaging narrative for their audience.

Transcript

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[Matt Jones]

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

Welcome everyone. It is Kentucky Sports Radio Friday, April 25th. I met Jones here on a rainy day in Lexington, Kentucky at the KS Bar and Grill. You can come out, see us, have lunch, enjoy your Friday. Mario is here, we got Ryan, we got Drew, and it is, you know, it's almost the weekend. You can give the Shadow Clark's pump and Shop phone line 859-2802-2878 Vision Auto Glass Text Machine is 772-774-5254. In this edition sponsored by the TJ Smith Law Office, you call TJ Omega Pay. We got people here from for sales. Carlisle, Russell County. Are you New York? Lexington? Close enough. I, you know, I thought it was New York City. It was either Lexington or New York, but he's here and Ryan, we're ready to go. It's a big day. You go. We've got. We have to talk about UK Athletics made its biggest change in what it is ever yesterday, in my opinion. Like. Like in terms of. And I don't think it's going to have as massive an effect, but it is complete. I think UK changed the way most colleges are going to do athletics yesterday, and we have to talk about it.

[Ryan]

Yeah, they kind of set the pace now for other schools to follow. Right? They're kind of. That's going to be the leader in that.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, potentially. But we're going to get to that. But we have to start with the draft because I find, Drew, the draft to be one of the more entertaining things of the night. Has nothing to do with football. I'm going to be honest with you. I don't ever know any of these people. Like, they can, you know, they. I start following the draft about a week before and then I learn things that are apparently very important and then I have strong opinions. So let me just go through a.

[Ryan]

Couple of the things.

[Matt Jones]

First of all, I'll give you an example of how I have a strong opinion that I had no opinion about. A few days ago, I had zero opinion about Will Johnson of LSU's arm length. Okay. Nevertheless, I didn't even know who the kid was. I had no opinion about. And then I started listening to draft podcasts and they kept saying, you know, the problem with Will Johnson there at number four for the Patriots, his arms.

[Drew]

Are really short and his last name.

[Matt Jones]

Is Campbell and they are close. Then Will Campbell, same thing. We're still learning still, but I was focused on his arms. They just kept saying, there's no way a guy can play left tackle in the NFL with arms that short. And I thought, well, why would that be a big deal? And then I was like, well, you know, you got to block and get them out. So I decided when he was about to get picked, I'm sitting there watching. I'm like, I'm watching for his arms. Yes. There's no way his arms are as short as they say they are. Right. Because they keep. How short can the man's arms be?

[Drew]

Little T. Rex arms.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So he gets up. He has on a suit that respectfully, white people should not wear that color. You should not wear green. I wear green to the oak sometimes as a joke. Yes, but you should not wear a pinstriped green suit as a pale white guy. But he did. He's having his moment. That's. But when he gets up. All right, true. He gets up and he stands up and I look and he's got will be arms. He's got will be arms. They barely get to his waist. So, like right now, wherever you are, if you're not driving, you can stand up, put your arms down. You stand up there, you see, you are supposed to have your arms, like, halfway down your pocket.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Maybe a little towards the bottom of your pocket.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Assuming you're wearing your pants at the right place. All right. So I'm have very long arms. I go to the bottom of my pocket. Go yesterday and watch Will Johnson. His barely come to his pocket. And I just decided right then bust. Bust with his will being arms. They're not gonna work. Had no opinion on the guy's arms until yesterday. Strong opinion after hardest part of the.

[Drew]

Night was Roger Goodell shaking his hand. I didn't think Will could even get his arm out there to shake Roger's hand. I thought he was gonna wear, like, the Secret Service fake arms in his suit to, you know, kind of extend those a little bit.

[Matt Jones]

You thought he wasn't even gonna be able to reach.

[Drew]

Had to go 99 and Will just had to go 1 for that handshake.

[Matt Jones]

So that's what I love about the draft. You just have things that you never cared about that then you decide to care. So I'm going to go over. I went through some notes. Are you ready?

[Ryan]

Ready.

[Matt Jones]

I thought it was really dorky for Roger to get Goodell to come out on that bicycle. All right. I know in Green Bay people ride bikes, but he looks so awkward. Yes, he did. And it's actually very hard, Drew, to ride a bike slowly. And, you know, he had to ride a bike slowly. It's actually hard to do that because you have to keep your balance.

[Drew]

And I thought that was weird at that age. Shannon, you rode the packers bike.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, yeah.

[Drew]

Are you a former packers bike rider?

[Matt Jones]

I am, yeah.

So did you like that he came out in the. In the bike?

I thought it was a Cool. Nod to. To the Packers.

Okay. Yeah, yeah. Then they picked Cam Ward. There's never been a first pick. Ryan. They've talked about less.

[Ryan]

Oh, barely.

[Matt Jones]

Barely picked. And then there was a trade, and they were like, all right, well, the number one guy's a quarterback. Next.

[Ryan]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

So, like, he was gone. Like, there's never been a number one overall pick that was. Talked about less than Cam Ward.

[Ryan]

Yeah. Because, you know, all. All week they were talking about he was probably going to be the number one pick, so it wasn't a surprise. But that trade was a little bit of a surprise, so that's why they.

[Matt Jones]

Wanted to emphasize Travis Hunter goes number two. I just remember my number one thing was, is he still dating his girlfriend? Because you remember that was a big thing on TikTok for a while. Is his girlfriend would, like, yell at him, you know? Do you remember that? She'd, like, come out on the field and be like, stand up straight. Sit down.

[Drew]

Don't take pictures with her.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, stop taking pictures. But she was there, so she's made it to the draft. Good for her.

[Drew]

They're getting married next month.

[Matt Jones]

There you go, girlfriend. Did you like his pink suit?

[Drew]

You know, it was fine. I really like Travis Hunter. I thought the Jags might have given up way too much for him, but he just seems like a fun guy that loved being there. When he's running through the tunnel, bouncing off the walls, I was happy.

[Matt Jones]

Poor Liam Cohen. Like, all people do is make fun of him. Like, the moment they make that trade, everybody's just posting that du, like, no shade. Do you still have that drop?

I don't think I ever saved it.

Oh, yeah, should have. It's so terrible.

[Drew]

That's never gonna leave him.

[Matt Jones]

Never.

[Ryan]

It's never gonna leave him forever.

[Matt Jones]

Gonna have that forever, isn't he?

[Drew]

Yeah. I mean, that's all the Internet was. I mean, really, when I just see him, just a photo of him in a Jags outfit, I hear it in my head. That's. That's just associated with him.

[Matt Jones]

All right, hold on.

I do have it. Here it is. Here it is.

Duvall. I mean, like, it's gonna. That's gonna stay with him forever. Show him. That's all anybody knows about him outside of Kentucky.

[Ryan]

You know, we kind of thought he was a little bit of a dork anyway, that emphasized he is king of the dorks.

[Matt Jones]

There was a baby that threw up. Did you see that?

I thought about you immediately. I mean, Matt would have loved to have been right there next to.

This is exactly what I was talking about when I played that Judy Gemstone clip baby. Babies have bacteria. Babies are, they're not classy. And so here it is night and the baby just throws up. I know it's spit up, but whatever, it's still gross. Just throws on everybody. Now to be fair to the baby, the mother was jumping up and down, jumping up and down and that baby was asleep and all of a sudden.

It was like, oh, shaking that baby all over the place.

There was a lot of baby shaking going on.

[Drew]

It felt like there's always a secondary character at the draft, you know, is Will Levis's girlfriend.

[Matt Jones]

A few years.

[Drew]

There's always someone that wasn't supposed to be the star and they become the star. And last night it was that baby that now needs to be in concussion protocol from mom just banging its head around.

[Matt Jones]

Another thing I noticed, for the people that were not at the draft, it feels like the amount of people getting invited into the rooms keeps growing.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Like there are, there are 50 to 60 people now in each room. I, I was thinking if it were me, I don't wouldn't have this many people. I think I would have a very small group. I don't even know If I know 60 people that I would want to go. Would you have a big group in yours?

[Ryan]

If I was a chance to be a first round draft pick, I would have the whole city of Lexington probably join me.

[Matt Jones]

I actually believe that.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

I wouldn't want all those people in my house. Plus you're waiting and they're looking at you like, oh, it's gonna happen here in a minute. I just, I don't think I would enjoy that.

[Drew]

I think I would have a pretty big party if I were going to the green room. It would be hard to get all those people to want to travel to Green Bay. But other than that, I think I'd like to have my squad there.

[Matt Jones]

Would you want to be at the draft or would you want to be at your house? Because it looked like there were more people at their house than usually are amongst the top picks.

[Drew]

A lean house. Unless I was for sure top. Just the fear of being one of the guys that sits there because you get talked about forever as a. Even though you're not a bust, you're considered one because you didn't get picked on night one.

[Matt Jones]

Shannon Are the Bears picked a guy and he was a tight end and he was the second ranked tight end even though the first rank tight end was on the board. So I thought I was, I was a Little disappointed. And then they showed his house, and he had two massive elk on his. Did you see that? Yeah, he had two. Just massive, massive elk.

You think he mounted those himself?

I don't know, but they, they, I don't really know elk size. I'm not an elk expert, but it felt like, to me, those were really big elk. And so I thought, okay, I think I like this guy. Now I think I need my tight end to have two really big elks.

Like, one elk's enough, though. You don't really need two.

See, I think I need two because he's a tight end. That means he can play on the left and the right side.

Okay, I got you, big elk.

And so then I felt better about our pick.

[Ryan]

Well, you want your Titan to be a little nasty. So if he's out there hunting and maybe cleaning himself.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Mouth, hope he cleaned himself.

[Ryan]

Clean the elk.

[Matt Jones]

You mean clean the elk? Yeah, I mean, I think for his teammates, they need to clean. We don't want a Vader situation.

No, you don't. That's right.

Yeah. So I do hope he cleans himself.

[Drew]

I've wondered, including him, if, if these guys, like, stage a house. Like, sometimes if you're doing a Netflix interview, they take you to Airbnb so it looks nicer. I wonder if they're like, all right, let's rent some elk for the night. Throw them on the wall. Let' get this place looking nice for draft night.

[Matt Jones]

So then another thing I noticed, it felt like this year there were a lot more family members who had airbrushed T shirts. Like, of that, there was the family where the kid had an airbrush T shirt of his parents, and the parent had an airbrushed T shirt of the kid. I thought you could only get that done at Gatlinburg, but some of these looked really nice, like really nice airbrushed T shirts. Do you like that trend?

[Ryan]

I, I, I didn't know that was a trend until last night when I saw a. Yeah, yeah. I don't know why, why that came from, where that started, but, you know, it's, you're trying to. It's a fashion statement.

[Matt Jones]

You know, it's a weird fashion statement because I feel like the only people I see besides the draft wearing airbrushed T shirts of their face are either people at Walmart or some funerals that they then have the service at the park and everyone wears a shirt. Those are the only times I ever.

Saw high school spring break. Maybe that's about it.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew]

It might have said that spring break 2001. On their spring break 2000, they were big then. Big.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Maxwell Hairston was one of the stars of the draft because he was so nice. First of all, he got picked by the Bills. That's great. He's gonna be on a good team with Ray Davis.

[Ryan]

Ray Davis.

[Matt Jones]

So that's cool. But he was one of the stars of the draft because of how nice he was. First of all, great jacket. That was a great jacket. That blue jacket was that, like, peacock print?

[Drew]

I was trying to figure out.

[Matt Jones]

I don't know, I thought whoever got him his jacket salute, then he was just hugging everybody. It kind of reminded me of you. Even though all these people were getting picked ahead of him, he seemed genuinely happy for everybody else. CBS Sports has this video this morning of them playing, like, a very sort of emotional song and just showing him hugging everybody. And then when it was his turn, they hugged him. I felt like Maxwell Harrison was the feel good story of the night.

[Ryan]

It was. I thought it was a great moment. And even after he got drafted, when Laura Rutledge interviewed his family, everybody in his family was the same way.

[Matt Jones]

They're all so nice.

[Ryan]

So nice.

[Matt Jones]

That's one of the things UK football's got to do a better job of allowing us to know these kids. Because I had no idea that Maxwell Hairston was that big a personality. He should have been on this show, like, all the time, because he showed that in the last few days.

[Drew]

Yeah, he was the star. I mean, I saw several tweets from people there. Alyssa Lane, Kay Adams, they were saying, max Harrison is the star of the draft. I mean, the guys would get their hat, they'd hug Max Hairston, and then they'd shake the commissioner's hand. It was all part of the process.

[Matt Jones]

And it's a great lesson. Like, he seemed genuinely happy for everyone else, and then it worked out for him. He wasn't sitting there going, that should have been me. He was expressing joy to everybody else. That was very cool.

[Ryan]

And you know how much he means to the guys in the UK locker room, because you saw how they all reacted when he got dressed.

[Matt Jones]

There was a video of them.

[Ryan]

Yeah. Jumping up and down and celebrating alongside of him.

[Matt Jones]

And then probably the biggest story was that Shador Sanders dropped out the first round. Now, I said, on this show, if they don't have a camera live on him, that's a problem. They did have a room, but no one was in the room.

[Ryan]

Correct.

[Matt Jones]

Remember when they showed the room, there was nobody in it. I was like, oh, and then when they would go to the house, he was never on screen. It was just Dion and a dude in one of those big hats. Who was that guy?

[Drew]

The Philly guy? Gilly. He does a lot with barstool.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, is that who that was? That was the guy with the big hat. Okay, well, I guess maybe he'll be at the thing.

[Drew]

We might see him next Monday.

[Matt Jones]

But. But they just, they would never show him. That's when I knew it was going to be a long fall for him.

[Ryan]

Yeah, you kind of, you know, tipped us off to that. If there's no live camera on the family, them sitting on the couch, you knew he's probably not going to be one of the top picks.

[Matt Jones]

But I was surprised he fell out of the first round.

[Ryan]

Completely fell out of the first round.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew]

When the Giants traded up to get a quarterback, I thought, well, there he is, he's going to New York. There was a lot pre draft about him going to New York. And then they took Jackson Dart. That had to have just been a knife in the heart.

[Matt Jones]

Jackson Dart, by the way, guaranteed bust. Absolutely guarantee. Every year I give you my four star lock of the year bust. Anthony Richardson was that two years ago. Jackson Dart, guaranteed bust. There's no way that works out. Just mark it down.

[Drew]

That made it much worse for him. And there was one moment where ESPN went to his house and they quickly cut it because they were watching the NFL Network. Did you see that? It had NFL network guy on the screen and ESPN like cut right back out.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. And there were so many feeds you could watch. There was like the emotional feed which was on ABC that was like where they would tell you everybody and that their dog had died and all that. And I watched the football feed, which is espn.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And Mel Kuiper. Everyone needs one person in life as happy as who loves them as much as Mel Kuiper loves Shador Sanders. When Jackson Dart got picked again, he didn't even talk about Jackson Dart. He just talked about how shedeur Sanders was better. And I was like, I think Jackson Dart's gonna be a bust, but at least give the guys do. He didn't even like. All he did was talk. You would think that he was married to Shadur Sanders mom.

[Drew]

It was like after every pick and go to Kuiper's like, well, Sanders is still on the board for the next team.

[Matt Jones]

It's like, what about the guy that just got drafted?

[Drew]

Do you have any.

[Matt Jones]

He's going down with the Sanders ship.

[Ryan]

Yeah, we said that before the show. He was gonna die on that Shadir Sanders hill man. He was gonna hang with him the whole time. And, you know, does it make him lose a little credibility? That was his number one quarterback.

[Matt Jones]

We won't know until a few years from now. Now, right. Like, I mean, he did this same thing with Aaron Rodgers where he was like, why are they letting Aaron Rodgers slip? And that ended up, Aaron Rodgers was. Was good. Now he's also did it with, like, Blaine Gabbert, who ended up terrible. So you never really know.

[Drew]

I thought you were gonna lead with Clay Matthews. That was like a direct shot. You. Where he pulled out the.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, he. The combination of Trump and the Bears suck. Clay Matthews, he's low on my list. But you know what? Anytime I see a professional football player with a ponytail, I'm just assuming he's gonna say something about Trump. It's all, it's a Bosa or it's AJ Horn or whatever his name is, or it's Matthews. Like, they all. They all do it.

[Drew]

I liked having not. I'm not really caring about that rivalry. To be on that stage and pull out the Bear suck. That was a nice.

[Ryan]

That was.

[Matt Jones]

I have a question for you about that. Who is it that goes to this event? I need to have that conversation with you because I. I think it has to be miserable. But we'll talk about that. Let's take a break. We'll be right back. We're here at KS bars, Kentucky Sports Race Radio. Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio. Thanks to one of our listeners who just brought us Jeff's Donuts. Who's next to here? I don't like to do free plugs for other restaurants. That donut place right there is good.

[Ryan]

And when he traced the box, he said, you gotta try these blueberry donut holes.

[Matt Jones]

So thank you very much for that. One person writes on the text machine. 772-774-5254. Matt, one of the things that fascinates me is how many jerseys must be backstage. They have to have a jersey for every team, for every player. Interesting. You say that. I've thought about that for years. I've always thought I'd love to get the jersey that they don't use of a player. So I'd love to have like a Patrick Mahomes Bears jersey because we considered picking him, passed him over, and then he went to Kansas City. That'd be a cool collectible. That's not how they do it. Yeah, I saw the video. Have you seen this?

[Ryan]

I've Seen it yet?

[Matt Jones]

They have. You saw it? It was on. It was on social media yesterday. They have five jerseys of each team that are blank on the name when the pick is in. You know how the thing will say pick is in, and then there's a long delay.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

The reason is a delay is they're making their jersey. They take that, they see it, they get it, they give it. They have a press in the back, and they have all the names, and they take it and quickly press the name onto the jersey. That's that little delay from when they say the pick is in. And when they announce it, they quickly. It takes like, 90 seconds. They make the jersey, and then they have it right there. So there's act. They're literally doing it backstage. Isn't that kind of interesting?

[Ryan]

It's kind of old school, but it's awesome that they do it that way.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I like it. And they have to have the name of every player in every team's font, just in case.

[Ryan]

So I remember the NFL Covid draft. Jedrick Wills from here in Lexington. He. He got sent a hat of every single team.

[Matt Jones]

They do that with the hat.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

But with the jersey, they do the thing.

[Drew]

Yeah. I was thinking as we watched that he has to do it so quickly. There's a lot of pressure. You got to get that straight. Gotta make sure the name's right. But it's neat just how the. Just shows.

[Matt Jones]

Pressing it down, press it down, ready to go. All right. Why would anyone, Shannon, go to this thing? Okay, let me explain what party? But you're just standing there in a parking lot. Okay. So when we watch it on tv, we get to see all the production. The guys talk about it. They show highlights when they're just standing there. They don't show anything. It's just Roger Goodell comes out. He tries to be cool with his stupid bro hugs and all that, and then that's it. And then for 10 minutes, you're just standing there. Is it. Do you think that would be fun? Like, would you want to go to the NFL draft?

[Ryan]

I would not go to the NFL draft. I didn't go, and it was in Nashville. But I'm with you on this. It's always fascinating me. These people, they dress up and, like, the Baltimore Ravens gear and everything. And then they announce the Ravens draft, Mario Maitland, and they go crazy, and they have no idea who they just drafted.

[Matt Jones]

And it's not just people, like, from Wisconsin, these people from all over the world.

100,000 people.

[Ryan]

Massive crowd.

[Matt Jones]

I. I don't I don't get it. I don't get. And I especially don't get the people that are going, like, tonight and the next time, because I know you don't know who those people are. Like, why are you going?

[Drew]

I'm your huckleberry. I had a group we considered going this year when the Titans got the number one pick. And if not for Romeo and Juliet, I might have been there last night.

[Matt Jones]

So if you had gone, what would you have done?

[Drew]

Partied.

[Matt Jones]

Like Shannon said you could party here.

[Drew]

But it's the draft. My team's got the number one pick. I don't mind.

[Matt Jones]

Like I said, they pick Camel.

[Drew]

You don't like standing around? I don't mind standing around and hanging out.

[Matt Jones]

I see you. They pick Cam Ward. Then what are you doing?

[Drew]

The rest keep partying. Boo. Other picks hang out with people. Check out. Check out the scene in Green Bay.

[Matt Jones]

So you would go.

[Drew]

Yeah, I actually. We considered it. We had about four of us that were going to go see.

[Matt Jones]

I would go to the NBA draft. Because you're sitting down.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

You're indoors.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Feels like you can see everything. But I looked at that big mass of humanity last night, Shannon, and I was thinking, that just looks awful to me. That.

That basically doubled the population of Green Bay.

That's crazy.

Yeah. Like a hundred , you say 200,000 was there. So I can't imagine, like, they probably didn't have enough hotel rooms for everybody.

Of course not. No.

[Drew]

All the backyards, like where we went to tailgate, that was pretty cool. I like seeing the scene around, people doing what they would do for normal.

[Matt Jones]

So when I went up there, when we went to that game, then when I did the show for espn, there's a house that's right there next to the stadium that ESPN Milwaukee owns that would. I would go there.

That's awesome.

You could sit in the yard and watch. Like, I would go there, but I don't think I would go stand in that park.

[Ryan]

I'm kind of with you. I would enjoy being at that house and just being a part of it. But, man, that they kept showing those drone shots of that massive crowd of people. That was. That was unbelievable.

[Drew]

I'd really just go to boom on team. Probably being a Titans fan, I also.

[Matt Jones]

Like that they will find in the. In the lot, it'll be like the Arizona Cardinals will be on the clock and there'll be a camera with like six Arizona people. And they're just looking at the camera and they're going. And then you go all right, did they go get those people and ask them to come here? Where did they find them? Because they're always at the front, which means I think they bring the people up and they go stand here. And I was thinking last night, what would be the team that would have the fewest people in that crowd?

[Drew]

Oh, the Chargers.

[Matt Jones]

That's a good.

[Drew]

Remember when they had the Zoom draft, they couldn't even get people on Zoom the 2020 year. They had fans on that big. They had like the one Chargers woman.

[Matt Jones]

Remember?

[Drew]

It's like they couldn't get more than.

[Matt Jones]

Nobody want to admit it to be a fan.

Very good point about the Chargers. I wonder did they shoot? Did they show fans for the Chargers?

[Drew]

I think you have to hire local act for teams like the Chargers, especially in Green Bay.

[Matt Jones]

I was going to say the Cardinals would have the fewest fans, but I think you're right.

[Drew]

Those are 1A and 1B the Chargers.

[Matt Jones]

Because the people that were Chargers fans, they moved. So like if you live in San Diego, do you even still like them anymore?

[Drew]

Maybe if the drafts in a fun city. But at Green Bay those had to have been paid actors.

[Matt Jones]

Well, next year you know where it is? Cleveland.

[Ryan]

Oh, is it really?

[Matt Jones]

So get excited. I did like the one guy, I think it was Travis Henry. They're like, like, what do you think of being up here? And he was like, there's nothing to do. I'm ready to leave. Well, there you go. All right. We're going to talk about the future of how UK athletics is going to do it. And the phone. We'll be right back. Ksr, TJ Smith, personal injury attorney. Call tj. He'll make him pay.

Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Here's Matt Jones.

Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio here at KS Bar and Grill. Come on out and have lunch or see us this weekend. We, you know, going to have all, we'll have the draft on all weekend, all the various NB games. If you your families in town are there events in Lexington this weekend?

[Drew]

Got the. I think Ava brothers are up tonight.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, the Ava brothers.

Yeah.

[Ryan]

Because I just saw Cheryl Crow's tour bus go through Lexington this morning.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, really? Scoop or scuttlebutt?

[Ryan]

Do what? Legends opening night Legends this weekend.

[Matt Jones]

A lot of stuff. You could come to the bar before or after any of those things. One person writes, matt, if you were in Europe and you saw the NFL draft was there, I think you would go to be part of the atmosphere. So why wouldn't you do it in America. Okay, that's a fair point. But at the same time, I watched the draft and I don't think it feels like good atmosphere. Like, the reason I wanted to go the darts and the soccer was. It looks like crazy atmosphere to me until. Except for when the packers were picking, it didn't look like a great atmosphere. It looked like people just standing around.

[Ryan]

I think it'll be something fun to maybe do for minutes, an hour then. Okay, that's fair.

[Matt Jones]

Let's quickly take a call. Who's up first?

Let's go to Matthew.

Matthew, Go ahead, Matthew.

[Caller Matthew]

Good morning, gentlemen. First time, long time.

[Matt Jones]

Who are. What's up first?

[Caller Matthew]

I'd like to make a statement and say you're welcome to the dbn. I work at Tyson Foods in Clinton County, Kentucky. So I would like to imagine that that part of my contributions is to saving the university $33 million.

[Matt Jones]

Yes. Well, you're to thank you to Arkansas for doing that. What's your second thing?

[Caller Matthew]

I'd like to take a point from yesterday's show about the nil. It might be a unpopular opinion, but I like to imagine about 75% of Kentucky fans are Kentucky fans. Primarily because of the basketball team.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Caller Matthew]

And I believe that when it comes to NIL contributions that they should divvy out and feed the program that has kept your school in relevancy.

[Matt Jones]

Here's the problem with giving all the money to basketball, which I did have a lot of people write me yesterday and say we should give 50% or 75% to basketball. Here's the problem. As much as Kentucky is a school where basketball has historically been not only better, but the focus of the fan base, guess where our money comes from, sir? Guess what funds the budget? Football.

[Ryan]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

So, I mean, football is what gets the revenue. We are one of only like four basketball schools in the country where basketball even makes a profit. But even at this school where basketball makes a profit, football makes a much larger profit. So if you just if abandon the thing that makes a profit, guess what's going to happen? Your profit's going to go down. And then once that profit goes down, it's going to be harder for you to pay that nil money. And so all this you get, there's a snowball effect. So if you just abandon football and like say, well, we just won't even try to be competitive, people will stop going to the games, and then you have a severe revenue problem.

[Caller Matthew]

Well, Sarah, I understand that, and I'm not saying to take away and just give all the Money to basketball. I was saying take care of the program that keeps you in national relevancy and then, you know, focus on the rest. I get that, you know, the football program does give us more money, but I don't want to go back to the Gillespie years whenever, you know, doing that.

[Matt Jones]

Apparently we're spending more on nil than any other basketball program. So I, I appreciate the call. I don't think that. I don't think that's going to be a worry. All right, so let's talk about what happened yesterday with uk because this, this is a. This is very complicated. And I would admit I can't say I have 100% grasp on it, but I think I have a decent grasp. So what Kentucky has done basically is they have moved UK Athletics, the entity of UK Athletics, into a private holding company. It is basically now a private llc. It is still run by and reports to the university. But instead of UK Athletics being basically like the UK School of Science, it is now a holding company outside of the university that the university owns, but is not a part of the university. They have this same model already for UK health care when it comes to hospitals. You know, they bought a couple hospitals in eastern Kentucky and they buy land, et cetera. So UK Athletics for, for all intents and purposes, and that is now a. A private LLC holding company. Private though, but it's still owned by the university. Mitch Barnhart, Mark Pope, Mark Stoops, they are now employees of this llc. They are not employees going forward of the university as a whole. Now one of the red flags for me when I heard this was, you know, there are laws about disclosure, right. And like when you're a public university, you have to put out salaries and all that. Uk. I had a conversation with someone at UK that kind of untry to understand this. They say UK is still going to follow all those rules, even though you could make an argument in an llc, they wouldn't have to. They are. That's good.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

So we'll still know, you know, whatever what the coaches make, et cetera, etc, when the players are getting rev share, they will now get it for this from this private or from this llc, not from the university. So why did UK do this? This is just my take. I think there's like three things. First of all, when you want to build property, if you want to build a new thing on campus, or you want to go buy houses around campus to tear them down to put dorms, right. You have to go through the state legislature and it is a long Process. It is a very difficult process. Now the university believes they don't have to do that. They can take this LLC and make decisions like a business. Right. They can go buy a piece of property in, in Lexington to create a new gymnastics facility or whatever and they can do it without a lot of the red tape of if they were with the, the university second. And no one at the university told me this, but this is how I read it. If the, if it ends up being the case that we start treating these athletes as employees, which I do think is going to happen one day, be a lot better for them to be private employees than to be university employees. Because when you're university employees, you have due process rights. You have all of this stuff that comes into play. A private employee. It's a different set of things. I think if UK didn't tell me this, it's just me. The idea that one day these athletes might be employees is a big driver of this. You'd rather have them be employees of a private company than all the things that come with being a state employee. Does that make sense?

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

The other thing is it's a public private partnership, which means they can reach deals with people and it not have to go through all the board of trustees, you know, all go through all the processes you have to. To make a business deal. You can actually be nimble, to use a business term, you can move quickly. Now the question becomes who runs this new thing? And this is where I think UK is making a very brilliant decision. The athletic department, if we're all being real now, are business entities.

[Ryan]

Yeah, they are.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. They are not just good old boys hiring the coach and saying go team. They are running multi, multi million dollar business.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

They have to pay coaches, they have to raise revenue, ticket prices, endorsements, all of this stuff, none of which really has anything to do with athletics. They are businesses. And all of these schools have been using administrators from sports to try to run what amounts to hundred million dollar businesses. UK in my opinion, is facing a reality of these are businesses. Why don't we get some business people in here to run it? Right. No offense to Mitch Barnhart, he's great at what he does, but Mitch Barnhart is not the CEO of a business. But now running UK athletics is a business. So they're going to have this group of people, a couple of which will probably have sports backgrounds, but honestly, most of which will have business backgrounds. You're going to start to see people in the Lexington community who have been successful business people. They will now Help make the decisions about the business. And unlike now, where the. A lot of these boosters have already been doing this, now we'll know who they are and their decisions. They'll be like some public accountability for what they do. I actually think it's a great idea. You know, in my opinion, for universities and for the governments, public private partnerships are the way to go. I used to be a really big government guy and a lot of times we're conservatives or big private guys. As I get older, I actually think a combination is better. When you have a public. When you have the state, a public entity, they think in theory about the greater good. And the private part makes money. And when you combine those, you can actually get a lot done. So think about the dorms over here at uk. Remember the dorms at uk? I don't know if some of you all went to uk. They stunk when a lot of us went to school.

[Ryan]

Very outdated.

[Matt Jones]

UK made a decision. The University of Kentucky does not inherently know how to run a dorm. Let's go get private companies that do know how to run housing and let's get a partnership where they make the housing and we run it. And I think most people will tell you one of the best things at UK now is their dorms.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Would you agree with that?

[Ryan]

Oh, absolutely.

[Matt Jones]

That's the example of a public private partnership. You take two entities, the state, in trying to house people, and then the private in terms of people who build these, combine them and it actually works. And I think, Ryan, that's what they now see for UK athletics. Let's take the athletic people, let's have a business focus for this new era, and let's combine it now. Will there be problems? I'm sure they will. At some point. You'll probably hear me whine about something they do. But as far as a setup for the future, I actually think it's really smart. And I'm gonna bet you within the next six months we're gonna see a bunch of other universities copy this model. To Mitch Barnhart and Eli Capilouto's credit, I've been on those guys for many years for being behind the times, not being forward thinking. This is the most forward thinking I've seen. And just. And I'll finish with this. Duke does this. All right. Northwestern does this. Vandy does this. They were able to do it because they are private schools. If you go to Duke, Duke Athletics is a private LLC outside of the university. It's just no public schools ever done it before. We're just Going to be the first public school to do.

[Ryan]

You answered a lot of questions I had. I didn't realize we were like one of the first public schools to do it, because it seems like I think.

[Matt Jones]

We are the first to do it.

[Ryan]

Still doesn't seem like it's what's a platform that all the other public schools are going to try to follow a mimic and follow Now.

[Matt Jones]

I think a lot of public schools didn't want to do it because they've held themselves under this notion of our mission is academics. And that's true. But come on, in 2025, when you're raising the revenue, these things are. We got to stop acting like this is not a business. And I think UK is becoming the first university to recognize this is a business and we need to run it like business instead of trying to fix a business and kind of throw it into only a university where a lot of the things we do for science teachers, they don't make sense to do for athletic department employees. And I think that's where we are.

[Drew]

You know, about Mitch and Eli forever, they've been reaction guys, I mean, slowed Nil. It felt like Mitch was a hostage there at the beginning, even talking about Nil. I mean, he was late to get beer. He wanted to see it worked everywhere else. He's always wanted to see how it works at other schools and then we'll get to it after taking all in the info. So I was surprised that he was the first to step out and do this. And I think it's a great move and a great sign for Mitch that he's not going to say changing, but he was willing to try something no one else had done yet without sitting back and waiting to see.

[Matt Jones]

I spoke with a couple people. I'd heard something was coming. They asked to talk to me right before it got released. And I sat there and I put my lawyer hat on. Okay. I peppered them with every question. I would ask if I was putting them under oath in a court of law about this. And to be honest with you, they answered everyone with things that kind of made sense to me. And I came away not really seeing the downside. The only downside to me could be the public release of information. Could they hide everything? And they said to me, me, we are going to release everything just as we would before. If they do that, then I don't see what the downside is. I really don't. Because it makes sense to me.

[Ryan]

Yeah. You answered the other question I had about I thought Mitch Barnard would just be the czar of all this.

[Matt Jones]

So Mitch, the way it works is this board will make recommendations to Mitch who still is accountable to the board of trustees.

[Ryan]

Gotcha.

[Matt Jones]

So it's almost like, hey, we need to no longer think that Mitch is like, you know, Mark Zuckerberg running the company himself. He needs business people to kind of help tell him what to do, which.

[Ryan]

Is smart, which he should do, which.

[Matt Jones]

To me is actually pretty smart. Hey, BBN spring is sprung and that means you're getting outside more. Whether you're doing yard work or staying active by biking or riding, you could have an injury. And if you do, court physical therapist is there for you. They're help to prevent injuries from happening. It's court.com don't be in pain in the spring. K o r t.com we'll take a break. If you have questions, you can write them on the text machine or call. I'll answer them as best as I can. From what I know. This is Kentucky Sports Radio. Welcome back Kentucky Sports Radio. 859-280-2287. On Text Machine one person writes. Matt, is what you talked about just a minute ago in the change the same thing as what you were talking about with Louisville and the private equity? No, because our problem is not money right now, it's management. What's going to happen is the Louisville's of the world are going to run out of money here pretty soon because their TV deals are not as big as the Big Ten in the SEC. So like look at the draft last night. 26 of the 32 players picked in the first round were from the SEC or Big Ten. Really 26 of the 32 there were 13 from the SEC, 13 from the Big Ten. And then the next highest conference was the ACC with two. So if you're an ACC or Big 12 team and you want to compete, it's gonna be hard.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And I think that's where you're gonna start to see some of these organizations looking for private equity money.

[Ryan]

Ask you during the break, does this start going to effect immediately?

[Matt Jones]

I think the board meeting is today and then when they'll decide today when it goes into effect. But I think it's gonna go into effect quick.

[Ryan]

It's crazy.

[Drew]

I just kind of not say out of nowhere, but I don't think that news was very expected yesterday. They just dropped that to be such a major change.

[Matt Jones]

I got a text message in the morning, said can you talk at 3:00? And I did. And then all of a sudden I was like, oh I didn't know any of that was happening.

[Drew]

So really changing the landscape right there all at once.

[Matt Jones]

Who's up next?

Hunter.

Hunter. What's up, Hunter?

[Caller Hunter]

How's it going? We're actually driving back from Green Bay.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, you went to the draft. Was it worth it?

[Caller Hunter]

So we use the drafts. We have a seven year old. We use the draft like a small vacation. So where they have the draft. Draft in other areas with all the stadiums. So we went to Kansas City, we did Nashville. We've done Green Bay. And I'm a huge packers fan. But the actual drafts, we didn't sit in the theater. You could sit in the overflow in Lambeau and watch it on the jumbo.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Caller Hunter]

So we sat in Lambeau, which is a Packers fan was super cool to sit in Lambeau and watch it. There's a lot of stuff that happens around noon. So there's a lot of businesses and food and all those things like that that they have, like, NFL play there. So like, my son got to play like a flag football game.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Yeah, I can get that.

[Caller Hunter]

So, so, so all the pre. Stuff is fun. There's like hall of Fame museums. They have like photo ops and you can try on, like, uniform, like locker rooms. They have set up and they have a whole thing around like kids. Now the actual draft, we didn't even try the theater. That was nuts. We're not doing that.

[Matt Jones]

That.

[Caller Hunter]

But we use it as a vacation. So we're heading back.

[Matt Jones]

All right. Actually, I, you know what? And I appreciate the call. I could see doing that, using it as a way to go to a city like we do the NCAA tournament, We go to a city that we would not otherwise go to. And then you like Milwaukee. You would not otherwise go to Milwaukee. We went there and had a good time.

[Ryan]

You know, they did, I guess on the drone shot, there were people in Lambeau. I didn't know what that was about, but now I understand it's an overflow seating. That may be a better place to go. You kids can play on Lambeau Field or whatever. You know, do some watching on the jumbotron. That may be a better place to watch it than way in the back of that massive crowd.

[Matt Jones]

Can I mention something to you?

[Drew]

Please.

[Matt Jones]

A Kentucky restaurant was named one of the 10 best fried chicken holes in the wall in the country.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, so the, the, the, the, the name. I guess the category was fried chicken holes in the wall wall. So it can't be a place like. I don't know. I don't know how they define that. But you know what? Everybody knows what is. All right. I bet you we. I bet you no one in here has ever heard of this place. Which by definition, Joe's Drive in in Isom, Kentucky, in Lecher County.

[Ryan]

Oh my.

[Matt Jones]

The. The article said greasy fried chicken off the side of the road that will make you melt and stay in Letcher county and eat another meal. And I didn't even know there was a place called Isom, Kentucky. Did you? No. I'd never heard of. Never heard of Ice Kentucky Joe's Drive in in Letcher County.

[Drew]

So we're going, right? Feel like we gotta. We gotta check this out.

[Matt Jones]

Lightsburg. You gotta want it.

[Ryan]

Gotta want to want it.

[Matt Jones]

You gotta want it. Sounds awesome. But if we're in the area, we're going to isom. And if you. 772-774-525-454 on the text machine, if you've been there, let me know. If it's what they say it is top 10 in the country. Ryan.

[Ryan]

It's worth going to make the trip. Then it sounds like weekend getaway.

[Matt Jones]

I'm in hillbilly days this weekend too.

[Drew]

Cash wrestling.

[Matt Jones]

Just saying. We'll take a break.