2025-06-03- KSR - Hour 2

Summary

KSR Podcast Episode Summary – June 3, 2025

Hosted by Matt Jones and the KSR crew from iHeartPodcasts and Sports Talk 790 (WKRD-AM), this episode of Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) delves into a variety of topics ranging from local business updates and sports analyses to community engagement and special guest insights.

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1. Local Business Updates: KS Bar Adjustments

The hosts discussed recent changes at KS Bar for the summer season. Drew Franklin shared insights into the strategic menu adjustments:

"We’re going to keep the wings, the cheese logs, the beer cheese, like the catfish. They’ve been really popular since we brought them back, so we're keeping those," [02:08] Drew Franklin.

Shannon The Dude elaborated on the necessity of these changes to improve the establishment's appeal during the off-season, emphasizing the balance between maintaining customer favorites and introducing new offerings.

2. Major League Baseball: Reds vs. Brewers Analysis

A significant portion of the episode was dedicated to analyzing the ongoing rivalry between the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers. The hosts expressed skepticism about the Reds' performance streak:

"The Reds are going to lose again tonight, I’m sure," [03:46] Drew Franklin.

Shannon The Dude countered with a more optimistic viewpoint, highlighting potential opportunities if the Reds can break their losing streak:

"But don’t you see it as an opportunity? Let’s say you win two against the Brewers, you’re back on track," [04:10] Shannon The Dude.

The discussion included statistical analysis of the Reds' historical performance when losing the first game of a series, revealing a concerning trend of consecutive losses.

3. Kentucky Basketball: Future Projections

Drew Franklin introduced an analysis of C.J. Moore's projection for Kentucky's next basketball season lineup. The projected starters include Jalen Lowe and Denzel Aberdeen, among others. The hosts debated the implications of these projections:

"Absent that I think he's right that we are better defensively and we have more playmaking, but we won't be as good at shooting," [07:39] Drew Franklin.

Matt Jones emphasized the critical role of Jalen Lowe in the team's success:

"You cannot have a bust from Jalen Lowe. He’s the most important person on the team to me," [07:18] Matt Jones.

4. Community Engagement: Honoring Veterans at Games

Listener Larry called in to commend Kentucky Clemson's gesture of honoring veterans during a baseball game, suggesting that Kentucky might adopt a similar practice in the future.

"I think if you start like things like that, that’s a very cool thing to do in the playoffs in that moment," [12:02] Drew Franklin.

The hosts agreed that such moments should be reserved for special occasions to maintain their significance.

5. Concerns Over Kentucky Football

Joe, a caller, expressed worries about the state of Kentucky football, pointing out declining season ticket sales and predicting a potential coaching change. Drew Franklin and Matt Jones discussed the challenges faced by the current football team and the importance of upcoming performances to alter public perception.

6. Upcoming Event: Kentucky Chambers Young Professional Summit

Promoted by Matt Jones, the Young Professional Summit organized by the Kentucky Chambers offers networking opportunities and career advancement resources.

"If you want to level up your career or hang out with other people doing cool things around the state and help your network, check out kychamber.com/events," [16:30] Drew Franklin.

7. The "KSR Curse" Phenomenon

A lighthearted segment where the hosts joked about the so-called "KSR curse" affecting their interactions and events globally. This playful superstition was linked to the unexpected resignation of the Netherlands' Prime Minister shortly after a meeting with Drew Franklin.

"The KSR curse will get you. It might take a month and a half to catch up to you, but it will eventually get you," [40:05] Ryan Lemon.

8. Special Guest: Murray State Baseball Coach Dan Skurka

In a highlight of the episode, Dan Skurka joined the show to discuss Murray State's impressive performance in the college baseball tournament. The team’s recent victories and progression to the super regional stage were celebrated enthusiastically.

"It was electric there last night, that environment there. I mean they are very passionate fans and just, just so happy for our guys," [26:23] Dan Skurka.

Skurka shared valuable insights into the team’s strategy, player dedication, and the challenges of competing in high-stakes environments like Oxford against fan-fueled teams such as the Duke Blue Devils.

"These guys here are awesome. From every player to the assistant coaches. I mean, it truly is a family," [27:23] Dan Skurka.

The conversation also touched upon the logistical aspects of tournament play, team morale, and future aspirations to reach the College World Series.

9. Listener Call-In: Meditation and Community Support

A heartfelt segment featured a listener from Hindman sharing his meditation routine and expressing gratitude towards the hosts. The caller also celebrated Rhiannon Hayes' birthday, highlighting the community's resilience and support.

"I just sit and meditate and think about all the good that’s happening in my life. And your show is one of them," [40:30] Caller.

The hosts responded warmly, encouraging practices like meditation for personal well-being and acknowledging the positive impact of their community.

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This episode of KSR successfully blended sports analysis, community issues, and engaging conversations, offering listeners a comprehensive view of both local and collegiate sports landscapes along with meaningful interactions from the community.

Transcript

[Matt Jones]

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[Ryan Lemon]

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

[Drew Franklin]

Welcome back. Hour number two, Kentucky Sports Radio, 859-280-2287. Avionado glass text machine is 772-774-5254. Let's give a round of applause, Drew and Shannon to Ryan Lemon, who's got the Murray State baseball coach coming on here at 11:30.

[Ryan Lemon]

Job Ryan.

[Matt Jones]

Dan Skurka is how we pronounce his.

[Drew Franklin]

Name will be on at 11:30. Yeah, you know, that's the thing about him, Shannon. Yeah, he might be two minutes late to the show and then not take responsibility, but then he comes through and books the gas when it comes. That's why Ryan Lemon, you can never give up.

[Ryan Lemon]

It's a give and take with Ryan. You get certain things, but you also, you know, have to give up certain things.

[Drew Franklin]

That's exactly right. You know, it's like a marriage with Ryan. It's not gonna all be, you know.

[Matt Jones]

I've always said there's no I in Matt, Shannon, Drew and Ryan.

[Drew Franklin]

See, we didn't need that. We didn't need that.

[Ryan Lemon]

I'm trying to figure out what that.

[Drew Franklin]

Even means, but that's okay. One person writes on the text machine. Matt, I was sad to hear the news about KS Bar for the summer, but I understand. Are you still gonna have the wings of the menu? Yes. I mean, what we're gonna do is we're gonna keep the items that people really like. So we're gonna keep the. The wings, the cheese Logs, the beer, cheese. Like, the catfish. Been really popular since we brought it back, so we're gonna keep that, but we're gonna take some stuff off and add some new stuff. I mean, the best way for me to put it is it's hard to fix a ship when it's already sailing. You need to, like, dock it and make the fixes, and that's what we're gonna do. Plus, we needed to do some stuff interior rather than do, like, do the work during the summer. We just decided this made the most sense, especially during the time that it's slow anyway, because it's. Because it's June and July. But, yes, the things I think we do the best will still be on there. And then I'm excited about a couple of the changes we're going to make that I think people will. Will really, you know, really like, this is a business with the bar where it's. We do. We have a great. We have great business during the season, and then during the off season, we've got to make it to where people make the special trip to come there, because people don't live close to that restaurant. That's one of the things. Like, a lot of these neighborhood bars are in neighborhoods. We're around college students, and when the college students clear out, that's part of it. So part of what we're going to do is to make that happen as well. Drew, I'm out on the Reds.

[Shannon The Dude]

Of course you are.

[Drew Franklin]

You know the Reds are playing the Brewers. I'm for my friend's son, Henry, and the Eastern Little League brewers tonight. Go get them, Henry. But the brewers, the Reds are going to play tonight, have won nine straight. The Reds are going to lose again tonight, I'm sure. And Drew, I'm back out on them because they should be good and they're not, and it drives me crazy.

[Shannon The Dude]

But, I mean, don't you see it as an opportunity? Let's say you win two against the brewers, you're back on track, you're feeling good, beating a good team. In baseball, there's just no optimism at all. But you have Hunter Green on the mound tonight.

[Drew Franklin]

Let me give you a little stat. You know, we lost game one of the series. How about this stat? When we've lost game one of the series, you know how many series we've lost in a row when we lose game one?

[Shannon The Dude]

Oh, how many?

[Matt Jones]

All of them.

[Drew Franklin]

What would be a bad number for most series lost in a row? When you lose game one in your mind, what would be a number where you go, that's disappointing.

[Shannon The Dude]

I'll say four.

[Drew Franklin]

Four. Okay. Shannon, what would be a disappointing number?

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah, I think Drew is in the ballpark. 5. I'll say.

[Drew Franklin]

What would be a disappointing number to you, Ryan?

[Matt Jones]

I was gonna say 10.

[Drew Franklin]

What if it was 27?

[Shannon The Dude]

Oh, okay. That. That is a stat you need to get over.

[Drew Franklin]

That's a bit of a trick.

[Matt Jones]

That's not good.

[Drew Franklin]

So when you lose game one, you might as well just run away and hide because it's not just going through.

[Ryan Lemon]

The motions from there. You already know the outcome.

[Drew Franklin]

You already know the outcome. So I'm back out and we'll see if we end up back in the Athletic produced their preseason top 25. And Ryan, I want to read you what they said. I'm going to actually read it from C.J. moore and then I want you to say, is there anything you agree or is there anything you disagree with?

[Matt Jones]

All right?

[Drew Franklin]

All right. So here is CJ Moore's projected starting lineup for Kentucky next year. An interesting starting lineup. Jalen Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen, Otega O Way, Andrea Yellowch and Jaden Quaintance. That's his starting lineup. No Brandon Garrison, no Muhammad Diabate. They are on the bench. Then the this is what he says. This roster does not have the shooting of Mark Pope's first Kentucky team, but it should be better defensively and have more playmaking on the perimeter. Pope showed in year one he can microwave chemistry and he's given himself a ton of lineup lineup options. Not only will there be position battles for starting jobs, Kentucky will have some talented players who struggle to even get in the rotation. I'm most intrigued by the frontcourt. Pope likes his bigs to be playmaking hubs and yellow. Vich Muhammad d' Abate and Jaden Quaintance are all intriguing options, though I'm not sure any of them can fully replace Amari Williams. Yellow bitch was a double digit scorer for his professional club overseas. And Quaintance is considered a lottery level prospect. He'll have to beat out Brandon Garrison. You know what you're going to get out of Ortega Owe and Denzel. Aberdeen, who've been starters on who would have been starters on most SEC teams last year and pit transfer Jalen Load is more of a true point guard than Lamont Butler, but he goes through spurts of inefficiency. If low can be a league caliber guard, an all league caliber guard and one or the one of the two bigs can produce consistently, this can be a national title contender. Do you like that?

[Matt Jones]

Love it. I mean, it kind of goes along with what you said. Jalen Lowe has to be good for this team to be good. I the thing about Quaintance, I don't know if he's going to be healthy enough to be the starter to start the season, but maybe by the end of the season, I think Brandon Garrison will be the starter to start with as he continues to get healthy. I just want him healthy by the SEC tournament season because if he can be, he can be the most valuable player on the team.

[Drew Franklin]

Drew, with the exception of saying that Yellow bitch is going to start instead of Diabate, I think I could have written this entire thing. I think he completely echoes my thoughts. Absent that I think he's right that we are better defensively and we have more playmaking, but we won't be as good as good shooting. I think he's right that there's going to be dudes who are really good who don't even get in the rotation. And I think he's right that they're a national title contender, but that it requires Jalen Lowe to be good and at least one of these big guys to be really good. But really, on a team with an unbelievable amount of options, the one guy who can't stink is Jalen Lowe. As crazy as it sounds, even though Otega may end up being our best player again, he could get hurt. And I still think this team can be really good. But you cannot have a bust from Jaylen Lowe. He's the most important person on the team to me, so I agree with everything he said.

[Shannon The Dude]

Me, too. And Lowe's the only thing you really don't have two of. Heck, you even have three of some things. It's the only spot where there's not depth. With another true point guard option. You got bodies. It could be Aberdeen, maybe even Chandler. You have different pieces, but Lowe has to be all SEC for them to accomplish, as I think he wrote, being a title contender. My favorite part of the whole thing was him putting Yellow Vic in the starting lineup, though, because I've had diabate there. I don't know if he's just guessing or if he's watched him closely and thought that will translate. But with him being such a mystery to me, I took this as optimistic and him being a major contributor.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, C.J. moore. I mean, again, if you're talking about people that are close to Pope and his staff, you know, we used to talk about, okay, when Cal was here, if Mike Decorsi, Andy Katz or Seth Greenberg said it, chances are it was Coming from Cal. So that was Cal speak. When Mark Pope, if Jeff Goodman or C.J. moore or Matt Norlander say it, I tend to think it comes, if not from Pope, from a member of his staff, because I just think that's who they talk to. Looking at it, I don't know that any of those guys are close to Pope specifically, but I think some of his staff members are close to those guys. And if you look at news that has broken in the Pope era, it has tended to come from one of those. It's tended to come from Goodman or Norlander, and. And then C.J. morris had some access that has made me think he has connections, too. So I'm with you, Drew. The fact that he writes that about Yellow Bitch suggests to me that's how the staff feels. And then we had that conversation with Pope about Jalen Lowe. Basically, I was like, man, you can be really good. And he said, gotta have Jalen Lowe be good. So, you know, I think that is. I think that's the best Ryan review of this team that I've read so far.

[Matt Jones]

When you interviewed Pope, you know, you talked to him about all the guys, and he said some glowingly think glowing things about Yellow Bitch. But when you talk to him about Diabate, his face, Pope's face lit up. Talked about him being just a leader and the lock, a great locker room guy. And that's why I thought maybe he'd be the guy there.

[Drew Franklin]

That's why I would put Diabate in that slot instead of Yellow Bitch. But Drew may be right. There may be things about Yellow Bitch, I don't know. I've obviously never seen him play, so I would put Diabate there, But otherwise, I could have written that if you just changed that one thing. So I just thought that was very interesting. Who's next? Shannon?

[Ryan Lemon]

Let's go to Larry.

[Drew Franklin]

Larry. Go ahead, Larry.

[Caller]

Hey, guys. Wanted to comment on the Kentucky Clemson baseball game the other day. During the game that was the fourth inning between innings, they asked all the veterans to stand in the audience, and they played Lee Greenwood's Proud to Be an American and the Clemson players. I think it was probably just the guys that weren't in the lineup went up in the stands, and I think they shook hands and honored the veterans. And I thought that was great. And I was wondering if you guys thought that might be a good idea for Kentucky to copy maybe in the future.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, I mean, I think that's a very nice thing to do in special moments. I think this is just my own personal opinion. I Think if it starts like things like that, that's a very cool thing to do in the playoffs in that moment. I don't know if you'd want to do it every single game because I think sometimes when you do that, it loses the special moments. But yeah, in a specific instance like on Memorial Day or you know, Veterans Day or even. Yeah, I think, I mean, why wouldn't that be cool? I think if you get.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Like the Reds do this thing where they do the veteran of the day every game and I like it. I think it's really nice. I also think, like sometimes it makes it to where people. It's like. Because they know it's coming. It's not as special as it could be if they did it occasionally. But that's just. But again, in, in theory, I think it's a. Sure, that sounds like a great idea.

[Caller]

Yeah. And I agree it would get old if you tried to do it every day, but maybe on Friday nights at the start of a conference series or something. But anyway, just want to bring that up and, and that is cool.

[Drew Franklin]

That was very nice of. Very nice of them to do. And yeah, maybe that's when you do it right, like you do a three game series and you do it in game one of the series every night or something. I think that could be a cool idea. 859-280-2287. What's next, Joe? Joe, go ahead, Joe.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt, question for you. You usually come up with a couple good books for summer reading. I've got one for you. And it, it entails huge life talk shows. Bill Buckley portrait a writer saying Tanis about it. I don't know if you know who Bill Buckley is, but it's. He's the first guy to have a. Can you hear me?

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. You talk about William Buckley.

[Caller]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Bill. But yes, yes, he was the first one. That Firing Line, you know, it was a 30 year. It ran for 30 years, but it was a. I'm older conservative liberal. Yeah. Anyway, it'd be a good book.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I think he's. He's a conservative writer that I've always respected. So I've read his stuff before this. He's dead though, right? He doesn't have a new book, does he?

[Caller]

Yeah, he's dead. But there's a new book about it. But it would be. It incorporates politics as well as history. Something reading the summer.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay.

[Caller]

One last thing about football.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah.

[Caller]

You know, summer reading is. You had a good book a couple years ago. I read. But I'm really concerned with football. I think the writing's on the wall. It reminds me of the last year with Gillespie or Joker. Season tickets are down, nobody talks about it. I think we'll have a new football coach next year is my prediction. I said to say, but you know, Stu did a great job at this. This is very concerned with football, I think.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, obviously I hope you're wrong, but he's gonna have to do stuff. Yeah, I mean, he's gonna have to do stuff to prove that you're wrong. And I, I. The sign. I appreciate the call. I mean, we've said this a lot. We'll probably keep saying it, the signs are bad. But at the same time, if he were to go win in week two against Ole Miss and then pull off a game that he's not supposed to win, then it's a different situation. Right. I mean, he's got. If this were a good Kentucky football team, Ron, you would love the schedule, right? Having these teams in Lexington, having Florida, Tennessee and Texas. If we were good, you would say this is the schedule where you can make noise.

[Matt Jones]

Yep.

[Drew Franklin]

Now we're not good, at least on paper, but he has the schedule to make noise. We'll just see if it happens.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. When you had a good team, you think you can sneak up, maybe beat a Florida, Tennessee or Texas Ole Miss at home. Instead you, you got a mediocre team trying to beat these guys at home. And now you got tough games on the road at Vandy, at South Carolina, at Auburn games, you would had a good team, you probably think you can go steal those games.

[Drew Franklin]

We talk about this all the time. Kentucky schedule is every two years different. And this is the two year swing. This is the year where you can make noise because Vandy, South Carolina, Auburn, you could conceivably go still on the road if you were good.

[Matt Jones]

Yep. Yep.

[Drew Franklin]

The problem is we may be really not good, but it'll be up to them to see if you're a young professional in Kentucky, there's a big upcoming event on July 25, the Kentucky Chambers putting on their young professional Summit. We've talked about this in years past. I know people who've gone who said it's been great. They have guests including Elizabeth, Elizabeth McCall, master distiller at Woodford Reserve, actually met her at the Derby. Scotty Davenport, former head coach at Bel Air. If you want to, if you want to level up your career or hang out with other people doing cool things around the state and help your network, check out kychamber.com events for the young Professional Summit. Really great way to meet people doing the same stuff you are around the state. Kychamber.com events. We'll take a break. Be right back to Kentucky Sports Radio.

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[Drew Franklin]

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I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.

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[Drew Franklin]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Drew Franklin]

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[Shannon The Dude]

Even the one supporting zipper merging yesterday, those weren't fictional.

[Matt Jones]

Maybe a little fictional.

[Drew Franklin]

First of all, I'm not getting into this again today because I have. I'm. I'm doing my. You know what? I'm doing my research so that I'm ready when we bring this up again, because I'm more confident I'm right now than ever.

[Ryan Lemon]

Did you text yourself?

[Drew Franklin]

No. There were. There were dozens, maybe hundreds. You maybe had. There were maybe six to eight on your side.

[Matt Jones]

It's funny, you know, you had everybody text my phone, and it was like 100 to 2 for our side.

[Drew Franklin]

I feel like people can continue to text you if they'd like, because I feel like you still need to know their opinion. Don't you, Shannon? Don't you?

[Ryan Lemon]

Oh, yeah. Ryan loves tech. He loves your text messages.

[Drew Franklin]

One person writes. Matt, what do you think about the school tax in Fayette County? It's got people worked up, but does have people worked up. People very angry. They're adding, like, what is it? Is it a quarter of a percent? Ryan? They're adding for the school tax or whatever.

[Matt Jones]

I don't know the amount. I just know people are very upset about it.

[Drew Franklin]

People are very worked up. I mean, the reason this. This is gonna. Like, this is gonna happen all over the state, you know, starting with COVID Trump first and then Biden second. They. They started giving money to local and state governments to make up for the money that was lost due to Covid. And so they told school districts, to be fair, they told school districts, you're getting this big chunk of COVID grants, and you will get them for five years, but then they will go away. So use these wisely. But understand, they will go and go away in five years. And a lot of school districts use the money. And then it went away. And some of them created budgets. Ryan, assuming that money would Continue to be there forever and it's not. So now they're having to readjust their budgets because they budgeted their entire district based on money. That was a one time five year grant given by first the Trump administration, then the Biden administration. So there's a lot of school districts in Kentucky that are doing this. And I, on the one hand I understand like they had like $30 million that they had last year that they don't have next year. On the other hand, and you know, I'm pro school district, but like they knew this money was, and they, and a lot of these school districts kept spending as if it wasn't going to go away. And I see it in Lexington, where I went to school in Middlesbrough's doing the same thing and I have mixed emotions. I hate to see the money cut, I hate to see jobs cut, I hate to see all that. At the same time though, you knew this was going to happen. So I don't know, Ryan. I mean, at the same time I don't mind paying it, but I can also understand why people are kind of feel taken aback because they were like this money wasn't going to be here forever, everybody.

[Matt Jones]

So it sounds like you don't. There's not an easy answer for this solution.

[Drew Franklin]

There's not an easy answer because they've got to find a way to make up this money. But there's a part of me that says to the school districts like y' all planned as if this was just going to get renewed and both the Trump and the Biden administration told you it was not going to get renewed. So I don't know. I don't, I mean it's, it is what it is. Did you see the video, Ryan, of the dude in Bardstown that pushed the 12 year old?

[Matt Jones]

No. What is this?

[Drew Franklin]

Well, I got sent this video. I don't know if it's out there, but there was like a 12 year old soccer game and like a 12 year old pushed another 12 year old and then someone on the sidelines just pushed the 12 year old that pushed the 12 year old down. Have you seen this video or am I the only one that got sent this video?

[Ryan Lemon]

I haven't seen it.

[Matt Jones]

Seen it. So it was, it was an adult that pushed the 12.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. I don't know if it was a father or coach, but two 12 year olds are going for the ball and one 12 year old clearly, like, I don't say cheap shot, but he clearly knocks the other 12 year old down. And as he's running Back to the sidelines. Someone from the sideline runs on and knocks that kid down. And the person who wrote me says that person got arrested. Which if you see the video, Ryan, would make sense. You can't come onto a field and start knocking 12 year olds down, can you?

[Matt Jones]

Not when you're an adult on the sideline. I mean, it's a 12 year old soccer game, for crying out loud. Act, act your age a little bit.

[Drew Franklin]

If you saw your kid at 12 get hit by another kid, what are you doing?

[Matt Jones]

I'm not putting my hands on the other kid. I may say something like, yo, hey dude, you know, are you gonna go.

[Drew Franklin]

Punch the other kid's dad?

[Matt Jones]

No, no, no.

[Drew Franklin]

I don't know.

[Matt Jones]

12 year old soccer.

[Drew Franklin]

You don't think so if somebody.

[Ryan Lemon]

You wouldn't go punch the other guy, Ryan, if he pushed.

[Drew Franklin]

We've seen your temper, Ryan. If an adult, 12 year old, Joseph. No, no. If the adult did, you've got to go hit the kid.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah, if the adult did it, yeah.

[Matt Jones]

But then if the 12 year old.

[Drew Franklin]

Did, you just go. You're gonna yell at the 12 year old.

[Matt Jones]

I'll probably yell at the official for missing the. Missing the call. Kick him out. Why is he still out there? Kick him out. He doesn't need to be playing. Get him out of here.

[Drew Franklin]

Murray State's baseball coach will join us just in a seconds. Ksr, TJ Smith, personal injury attorney. Call tj. He'll make him pay.

[Ryan Lemon]

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

[Drew Franklin]

Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio now joined by the toast of the bluegrass this morning, Murray State baseball coach Dan Skurka. Dan, I last night had on my jaw Murray State shoes and I was pulling for you guys. With UK baseball out, I was all in on Murray State and it was such an entertaining game as you guys did something a couple days ago, hadn't done since 79, win your first tournament game and now going to a super regional. What was it like last night and how cool is it to have this happen with your program?

[Dan Skurka]

Man, it was electric there last night, that environment there. I mean they are very passionate fans and just, just. It doesn't, doesn't feel real, to be honest with you. Just, just so happy for our guys. They performed all weekend, they performed all year. But to go in there and to do what they did, there was so many performances that are just, it was awesome. Awesome.

[Drew Franklin]

I wanted to have you on because for whatever reason I watched more college baseball these last four days and I Found myself watching your games next to Kentucky's the most. They just kept being on. And I saw you interviewed after you beat Ole Miss in the first game. Then I saw you interviewed after this one and I just love the joy on your face yet last night seeing your kid run on the field and your wife, I mean, from a professional standpoint, has this just been the best four days that you, that you've had on a professional basis?

[Dan Skurka]

Well, I'm blessed. I really am. These guys here are awesome. From every player to the assistant coaches. I mean, it truly is a family. We're all in this together. It has been a joy, but there's been a lot, a lot more days before this, you know, and a lot of individual accomplishments from guys graduating to getting drafted and signed and just performing and playing and living out their dream. But yeah, this is the ride they've been on and we try to enjoy it. You know, we keep talking about our process ain't going to change and that's, that's who we are. We're going to compete like crazy and play for each other and that's what they did. So I'm glad you're able to watch and able to see that because I get to obviously get a front row seat of what these guys do and it's amazing.

[Drew Franklin]

Talk to me about the logistics of this whole thing. Okay, so you're playing in Oxford. I mean, that's not just a road environment. That's a crazy environment. The crowds are going nuts. They're into it. They're drunk in these night games, a lot of them. I'm sure they're yelling occasionally. Not so nice stuff. What's it like?

[Dan Skurka]

Crazy. Yes. There were some verbal and non verbal communication going on all weekend, you know what I mean, from the fans. But it was awesome, you know, and they were awesome. You know, we ran into them and some restaurants and the coffee shops in the morning and, and even after the game, a lot of them, you know, saw us in between, you know, in the tunnel waiting around and they were very, very congratulatory to us and what we did and, and obviously they're root for Ole Miss, but you could tell that they, they were, they knew what, what a special group we had that came in there. So yeah, I think that's icing on the cake to go into a place like that because that's just not like you said, that's not just any, any old regional. That was almost 12,000 fans. And they are passionate. I mean, Sunday they were there for nine hours of Baseball, they had a double header. Nine hours and they were kicking our teeth in Sunday evening, and they didn't leave. There was thousands and thousands of people there chanting and just, just going crazy when the game was, was out of hand. And that's, that's how passionate they are for their team.

[Drew Franklin]

All right, last night it was 12 to 3, but it's college baseball. It's never over, right? So then it was 12 to 11, and I'm sitting there watching, you know, Kentucky had kind of had it collapse on them the night before. And I'm sitting there going, don't have it happen in back to back nights when it goes from 12 to 3 to 12 to 11. I know you're gonna say you kept the faith, but are you sitting there, guys going, guys, come on, one more out. Come on. Like, what's it like in the dugout?

[Dan Skurka]

Well, you know, I, I did, I did because I, I thought our offense was going to keep scoring, you know, but obviously they went to Elliott, their, their ace and SEC power pitcher and, and he held us in check in the, in the top of the ninth. But, you know, we had, I think 19 hits, something like that. You know, I thought we were going to keep scoring. So once, once we stopped kind of the bleeding there, I thought we would add on to our lead, but they got us for zeros in the 8th and the 9th, and then it was up to our pitching and our defense. But I was confident. You guys have done it all year. We've won, I think 12 or 13, one run games, and some of the comebacks we've had have just been outstanding. If you look back at our record and some of the games that these guys played in it. So, yeah, I did keep faith. I was, I was confident. You know, our closer there, Graham Callum, you know, I told him, slowest heartbeat in America. I mean, you know, 12,000 people yelling, they're playing their music flat as they can, and you just, just kept filling it up. It was, it was cool.

[Drew Franklin]

Didn't you have a dude who pitched like 120 pitches one night and then pitched a day or two later or something? Am I right about that?

[Dan Skurka]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So Friday night our starter went 120. He came back yesterday and threw, I think another 40. And then our Saturday starter threw about 85. And then he started the game yesterday. They're, they're dogs. I mean, just, just studs. I told them that, you know, I met with them Monday morning, you know, after we lost Sunday night. I said, fellas, let's Meet Monday morning, see how you feel and game plan from there. And met both in the meeting room and they're both. But whatever you need, Coach, just let us know. We want this. We're going to do whatever it takes. And I wasn't surprised by that answer. You know, there was no. Well, let's see. It was a coach. You make the call. I'm ready to go whenever you need me. And that's. That's. Those two are perfect examples of what this is Coach, about. Just, just guts and heart want to win for each other.

[Drew Franklin]

All right, so now you had your night of celebration. Now you're probably going to get on a bus here pretty soon and make a drive. I've made a lot right down 64 up in West Virginia. You'll go down through Wake Forest, all that and you're going to end up in Durham and you're going to play a team that Kentucky fans really don't like, which is the Duke Blue Devils. Now, I know you're going to give me the coach speak that they're a great team and I'm sure that's all true and they've never been to the College World Series. But now you're, you're two wins away from Omaha. Are you ready for it? And like tell, tell these Kentucky fans listening who are ready to see you knock out the Blue Devils, what's going to happen this weekend?

[Dan Skurka]

Well, one. Hey, we gonna fly. So that, that's.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, you gonna fly? Yes.

[Dan Skurka]

I love it. All right, how about that? How about that? Racers roll big time. So. Yeah, we're on the bus back to now. I think on Thursday we'll fly out of Nashville and land in Raleigh at some point. I think it's, it's early evening, so. But yeah, then Friday we'll get out there and practice and then we tee it up, I think Saturday at 1 o' clock or noon. One or the other.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah.

[Dan Skurka]

Excited. I didn't know that they haven't been there either, but I really don't know a whole lot about them, to be honest with you. Haven't played them, haven't really watched them on TV or anything. But I know they're a good club. They've been right and been in regionals the last few years. So we'll, we'll prepare the next few days.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, Big Blue Nation is behind you. You know, Christian Laetner broke our hearts. What was it now, 35 years ago? It's time for us to get them back or I'm not very good at math. But it was a long time ago. It's time for us to get them back. I. I wish you luck this weekend. And I had. I genuinely had a lot of joy watching your guys and watching your team this weekend. Congratulations.

[Dan Skurka]

Thank you. They're a great group. So we'll take all the fans. We can get everybody. You guys have heard it. A lot of cool stories and a lot of work. Thank you, guys.

[Drew Franklin]

All right, Murray State plays Duke this weekend. Thank you very much, Coach Ryan. I know you got to love that. The underdog story, the happiness. And they get to fly. That's also very exciting. Don't have to take the bus all the way down there.

[Matt Jones]

I love the fact that Murray State. Little bitty Murray State going in and playing at Ole Miss, where baseball is so important to a school like that. 12,000 people out there, and they march in there and take that series. It tells you what baseball is all about, man. He had their starting pitcher on Friday. Brought him back yesterday. He said, I just want to win the game, Coach. So I loved hearing those stories.

[Drew Franklin]

Ryan really likes it, Drew, when they just saying coach. You know, when the player says, I'll do whatever you want, you want, Coach. Like, that's like. For Ryan, life is a Disney movie where you just call everyone coach.

[Matt Jones]

I got chili bumps when he said that.

[Drew Franklin]

I knew he was going to say that, Drew.

[Shannon The Dude]

I knew it, Ryan. Like that. But my biggest takeaway was that Murray has airplane money. Good for them. You know, it's not too bad of a drive, and they're still going to load up the plane. It's not often they get to go to the Super Regional, so they're sparing no expense.

[Ryan Lemon]

He didn't say they were going private, though. I mean, it could be allegiant spirit, maybe. You never know.

[Drew Franklin]

That's okay, though. I mean, like, did you ever fly Kentucky Wesleyan? Ever fly, Ryan? No.

[Matt Jones]

We took vans with, like, 10 people in each van. It was awful.

[Drew Franklin]

You rode vans? You didn't get a bus?

[Matt Jones]

No passenger vans.

[Ryan Lemon]

We got a Greyhound. What are you talking about?

[Matt Jones]

You're a highfalutin Doberman, people.

[Drew Franklin]

859-280-2287. DraftKings. They say I gotta pick a game here. Shannon, what do I want to pick for DraftKings?

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, I mean, go ahead and pick the NBA Finals if you want.

[Drew Franklin]

Tomorrow is this. Yeah, but that's not till Thursday. Well, let's say brewers in the Reds. The brewers have won eight straight, yet the Reds are favored tonight against the Brewers. The Reds are minus 3130 to break the streak, you go to DraftKings. Bet 5 with $300 in bonus bets. Who's taken my Reds tonight to break the streak?

[Matt Jones]

I'll take them. Brewers got to lose sooner or later, so I'll take the Reds tonight.

[Drew Franklin]

Hunter greens on the mound. Does that change anything for you?

[Matt Jones]

No. I'm definitely going with the breads then. If 100 greens.

[Drew Franklin]

All right, Drew.

[Shannon The Dude]

I'm going with the Brewers. You didn't have much confidence earlier in the show, so you scared me away.

[Drew Franklin]

It's going to be a Brewers double dip with the Eastern Little League. Brewers and Milwaukee. We'll take a break and be right back. This is ksr.

[Zoe Saldana]

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[T-Mobile Representative]

Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in.

[Zoe Saldana]

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[T-Mobile Representative]

There's always a trade in.

[Drew Franklin]

Not right now.

[Zoe Saldana]

@ T Mobile.

[T-Mobile Representative]

I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma.

[Zoe Saldana]

That's okay.

[T-Mobile Representative]

I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.

[Zoe Saldana]

I'm good. Seriously.

[Drew Franklin]

Hmm.

[T-Mobile Representative]

Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.

[Zoe Saldana]

Really? I'm find.

[T-Mobile Representative]

Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.

[Drew Franklin]

It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile. Get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple intelligence on us. No trade in needed. We'll even pay off your Phone up to 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line 100 plus a month on experience beyond Finance Agreement 999.99 and qualifying ported for well qualified plus tax and 10 connection charge. Payout via virtual prepaid card. Allow 1515 days credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel ct mobile.com welcome back tech E Sports radio segment sponsored by Commonwealth. The platform your thrill of horse racing ownership starting at $50 a share. A lot of you got in on simply joking. Well, they have a new offering, Keepsake Box. It's a Philly from one of the decade's most successful families. Keepsake Box is headed to one of the hottest trainers in the game, Safi Joseph Jr. He's comes from the colt Skippy Longstocking. That's a great name. Long stock.

[Ryan Lemon]

I like It.

[Drew Franklin]

That is a great name. Almost as good as my Willie. Philly Stein or Philly Collie Stein. That was Drew's, I think. Along with potential earnings. You get weekly insider updates. You can meet the horse on a VIP tour. Hello, horse. How are you? That's all you can do. You go to joincommonwealth.com, enter the code KSR and you can be entered to win $250 through Commonwealth. It is keepsake box. Visit join commonwealth.com I'm in on Keepsake Box and you can too, including to get a hat. Keepsake Box Nation, LLC is the insurer has compensated me to share this offering with you. It's not an offer. A solicitation to invest securities are not registered with the SEC or state authorities are being offered regulation C fee CF exemption under registration. Please review all offering materials on app.joinCommonwealth keeps box. Skippy Longstocking. What a great name. I wish I thought of that. 859-280-2287. Drew, I have another KSR curse moment. Would you like to hear? Oh, no.

[Shannon The Dude]

What have we done now?

[Drew Franklin]

You know, I was just in Amsterdam, like two months ago. Remember? I tell you one of the things we did? We were there. We met with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. You remember me telling you that? Mm. He just had to resign from office.

[Ryan Lemon]

It's all your fault.

[Drew Franklin]

Just after meeting a month and a half ago, Drew, he is today. He resigned. And they're gonna have new elections. I feel like that's a KSR curse there. He was very nice to us in our meeting. Seemed like a good guy. But a month and a half later, already out.

[Shannon The Dude]

Is it because of your meeting with him? Did something come of it that he's out or just a coincidence of the timing?

[Drew Franklin]

No. I mean, he wasn't supposed to resign. He surprisingly resigned today. I feel like it has to be at least a little bit of a KSR curse.

[Ryan Lemon]

One thing's for sure. The KSR curse will get you. It might take a month and a half to catch up to you, but it will eventually get you.

[Drew Franklin]

I mean it. Even I didn't think it would cross borders. Shannon. I thought it was. Thought it was United States only.

[Ryan Lemon]

Curse can go anywhere.

[Drew Franklin]

Cross all the way in.

[Ryan Lemon]

Curses worldwide.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. So sorry to whoever that guy is. You were very nice when I met you, and I wish you the best. Who's next?

[Ryan Lemon]

Matt.

[Drew Franklin]

Matt, Go ahead. Matt.

[Caller]

Hey, guys, what's up? Hello.

[Drew Franklin]

Hello.

[Caller]

All right. I'm sitting out in my garden in the Day, shine, Meditating. Listening to you guys. I want to tell you, God bless each and every one of you. You all give so much attention to these disaster areas, and I live in one of them. And I appreciate everything y' all have done and the show.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, God bless you. What area do you live in, sir?

[Caller]

I live in Kno. County.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, okay.

[Caller]

In Highman, not County. Yeah, yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Yes. Hindman is an underrated gym of a city. You gotta want to get there. But you all have a lot of cool stuff when you get there. You said you were. You were meditating. I didn't. I didn't know there were a lot of people that meditated in Hindman.

[Caller]

Well, I don't know if there is, but I do.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay. So wait, wait. Do you mind share your. Can you share your meditating routine for us? I think a lot of people could use meditation. Ryan Lemon probably being one of them.

[Caller]

I have a. I have a garden, right. And after work, I get off at about 10:30 in the morning, I come home and I do a little. Little work in the garden and I sit down and I just sit and meditate and. And think about all the good that's happening in my life. And your show is one of them. Your show is what I enjoy. You all are the. One of the greatest teams of all time, like the 96 Championship UK team.

[Drew Franklin]

That's very nice of you. That's a very positive way to look at life. So when I. When I started having health problems, I try. I do that some. How did you. If somebody like. Right. Like Ryan, wouldn't you learn to meditate? Want to learn to meditate?

[Matt Jones]

People speak very highly of the effects it has on you when you learn how to meditate properly.

[Drew Franklin]

How would you. If you were going to teach him. Because you seem like a nice fella. If you were going to teach Ryan how to do it, what would you tell him to do?

[Caller]

Well, here's what I do. I mean, I. I said a little bit, but I. I just sit down and just block everything out, listen to the nature and just. I just think about all the good that's happened in my life and. And I'm appreciative of it, you know?

[Drew Franklin]

Well, you seem like.

[Caller]

But that's how I meditate.

[Drew Franklin]

I appreciate you. I appreciate you calling you. It's a good way to head towards the end of the show. And thank you very much, sir.

[Caller]

Can I say one more thing? Of course. I want to tell the. The most amazing woman in the world, Rhiannon Hayes, Happy birthday. She did A lot of work during that flood. And I just want to tell her happy birthday and thank you all so much for what you all do.

[Drew Franklin]

Appreciate the call. Thank you.

[Caller]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Thank life be a better place.

[Drew Franklin]

Everybody had that, like a bright ray of sunshine.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, he did.

[Drew Franklin]

Doesn't he seem like a good fella? Yes.

[Shannon The Dude]

We should all take a moment of every day to be appreciative like he is. I might work some meditating into my life. That was very nice of him to compare us to the 96 cats, too. I mean, that's some.

[Drew Franklin]

It's true.

[Shannon The Dude]

Some high company, high praise for us cats.

[Drew Franklin]

Rhiannon Hayes, meditating. That call has it all.

[Ryan Lemon]

I've got a garden in my backyard, too. I guess I could go do that later on today. Just go sit in the dirt, Think about all the things you're positive.

[Matt Jones]

Appreciative of, positive energy.

[Drew Franklin]

Do you. I knew. I know. You said you were gonna do a garden. What do you remind me what you plant again?

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, it's really my neighbor's garden, but his garden kind of went a little too far and it went into my property. So I've got just a little bitty small section. So I decided to plant pumpkins, to have pumpkins for Halloween. So that's. I'm starting off slow.

[Drew Franklin]

I didn't know this. So you're. You have pumpkins?

[Ryan Lemon]

I do, yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

How many pumpkins are you? Have you ever done this before?

[Ryan Lemon]

No, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just learning through the Internet.

[Drew Franklin]

So how many pumpkins do you think you're going to produce?

[Ryan Lemon]

Anywhere from 20 to 40. I think so. Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

You're gonna produce 20 to 40 pumpkins. When do they. When do they come out?

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, if I timed everything correctly, they would be ready by the end of September.

[Matt Jones]

Perfect.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

So you might conceivably have 20 to 40 pumpkins in your yard in September.

[Ryan Lemon]

Possibly, or maybe zero, because I don't know what I'm doing. So it, you know, I want one. Sure. If they work out, I'll bring each one of you a pumpkin to carve.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, first of all, that is. That's awesome. That's very cool. I had no idea.

[Ryan Lemon]

It's not awesome yet.

[Drew Franklin]

Work. How much work does it take? How much time are you sprouting?

[Ryan Lemon]

You know, I kind of just, you know, you got. Get the hoe out and you got to make a little hill and you plant the seeds in the hill. Then you water them real good, and then you gotta fertilize them at some point, which I haven't done yet, but that'll be the next thing. And then you just got to try to keep the, you know, the wildlife away from the plant because, you know, rabbits and things could come up and eat your plant, and then you don't. You're not gonna have any pumpkins if that happens. So it's a process I'm learning as we go.

[Drew Franklin]

Wow. Shannon. I mean, rock star Shannon the dude. Former Booty Shaking host Alice Bluegam now is a farmer. Planting pumpkin.

[Ryan Lemon]

Pumpkin plan.

[Drew Franklin]

Age comes for all of us, Shannon, doesn't it?

[Ryan Lemon]

You're going to reap the reward. Maybe. If they want.

[Drew Franklin]

I can't wait. I can't wait to have your pumpkin. We'll see you later. This is Big Kentucky Sports Radio.