2025-12-11- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) – Hour 1, December 11, 2025

Host: Matt Jones with Ryan Lemons and Drew Franklin
Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts and Sports Talk 790 (WKRD-AM)
Location: KS Bar and Grill, Lexington, KY
Theme: Deep Dive into UK Basketball Recruiting, Mark Pope’s Approach, and KSR’s Investigative Reporting

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Overview

This episode of Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) is marked by a thorough discussion of the latest investigative article by KSR’s Jack Pilgrim and Jacob Polachek about University of Kentucky (UK) basketball recruiting struggles. The crew also shares lighter banter about classic movies, sports, and Kentucky volleyball, but the heart of the show is a candid exploration of issues hampering UK’s recruiting—particularly Coach Mark Pope’s negotiation style and the influence of JMI on NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rights. The tone remains fast-paced, humorous, and, at times, sharply critical—but always rooted in a love for UK athletics and a desire for transparency and success.

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Main Topics & Key Insights

1. KSR Crew Opens and Small Talk

• Matt welcomes listeners and notes the snowy weather forecast (02:30).
• Lighthearted banter about Drew Franklin’s new “dad” hats and prepping for fatherhood.
  • "The D stands for dad." – Matt Jones (03:28)
  • “I have an opportunity to get into Ryan’s lane here and do the dad talk.” – Drew Franklin (04:08)

2. Movie Review: The Godfather

• Ryan Lemons shares he watched The Godfather for the first time.
  • “I sat and watched it from start to finish, all 2 hours and 50 minutes of it, and I really liked it.” – Ryan Lemons (05:23)
  • Praise for how well the movie holds up over time, discussion on classic films vs. modern attention spans.
  • Memorable moment: The “horse head in the bed” scene’s impact on Ryan (08:25)
• Debunking myths and trivia, including the phrase "Tie goes to the runner" in baseball (32:05-33:17).

3. Investigative Report: Problems in UK Basketball Recruiting

[Starts ~10:20]

A. Two Main Problems Identified

• Mark Pope’s Approach

  • Pope is “emotional” in negotiations, emphasizing Kentucky’s history and name over money.
    • “He gets sort of emotional. He’s very big on, ‘you’re coming here because of Kentucky and the name on the jersey and not the dollar amount.’ And while we all kind of like the sound of that, that causes him to not get players.” – Matt Jones (12:23)
  • Pope’s lack of transparency with national reporters leads to bidding issues—sometimes underpaying or overpaying players due to poor market awareness.
  • He’s described as a “control freak,” unwilling to delegate on recruiting negotiations.

• JMI’s Influence on NIL

  • JMI requires recruits to sign over all NIL rights to them, limiting opportunities with brands that aren’t JMI partners, and even restricting local deals and jersey/logo usage.
    • “They are requiring these kids to sign contracts that gives up all of their NIL rights to them...you can’t sign with companies that are not official JMI partners.” – Matt Jones (13:06)
  • This aggressive contract stance is driving potential recruits away.

B. Discussion and Reactions

• Drew Franklin and Ryan Lemons echo concerns, with Drew noting some JMI elements are already known but more damning with direct quotes from recruits (13:19).

  • “On the Pope end, though, that to me can be fixed pretty easily... But the JMI thing, that is in contract for 15 years, like, that ain’t unless you rewrite it or they change the way they’re doing it.” – Drew Franklin (14:03)

• Both problems considered theoretically fixable, but require major shifts.

• JMI’s Conflict with Athletic Performance

  • JMI should want UK to win—it’s in their business interest.
    • “If you’re a business and you want to make money, we better win.” – Matt Jones (16:33)

• Pope’s Negotiation Weaknesses

  • His refusal to share or even know accurate market rates affects both high school and portal recruiting.
    • "He’s never had to recruit talent at this level." – Drew Franklin (30:19)
    • “He still hasn’t gotten any top recruit that’s not from here.” – Matt Jones (30:31)

4. The Value and Impact of KSR’s Reporting

[24:05]

• Jacob Polachek and Jack Pilgrim’s investigative process: months of research, talking to agents, coaches, parents.
  • “That’s been brewing...they go to these events...that’s not just watching the guys on the court, that’s talking to agents, coaches, parents. It’s a big networking thing.” – Drew Franklin (23:32)
• Discussion about fear of pushback from UK and the fanbase.
• Asserted that revealing these issues may actually help UK by creating pressure for reform.
  • “There’s a better chance UK changes this stuff now. Than they did yesterday. Because now there will be pressure for it to change.” – Matt Jones (45:24)

5. Fan Questions and Related UK Issues

• Callers/media ask about potential conflicts of interest in JMI/UK relationships (36:31).
  • Matt clarifies rumors about nepotism around negotiations and UK’s lack of public communication.
    • “If you have two people working at these companies, working in these business things who are married, understandably, people are going to have that question. And I do think UK should address it.” – Matt Jones (37:26)
• Frustration with UK’s silence fueling speculation and mistrust.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On The Godfather and Generational Movie Taste:
  • “You can watch [old movies] and be like, all right, I appreciate this, but it’s not made for our modern attention span. But The Godfather and I think those movies from the early 70s on, they can still play, in my opinion.” – Matt Jones (06:00)
• On Pope’s Recruiting Approach:
  • “He gets sort of emotional. He’s very big on, you’re coming here because of Kentucky and the name on the jersey and not the dollar amount.” – Matt Jones (12:23)
• On NIL Contracts:
  • “They are requiring these kids to sign contracts that gives up all of their NIL rights to them... you can’t sign with companies that are not official JMI partners.” – Matt Jones (13:06)
• On KSR’s Role vs. UK:
  • “I don’t work for the University of Kentucky, right? So I, in my opinion, I work for the fans.” – Matt Jones (43:16)
• On the Value of Agents/Negotiators:
  • “My agent called me up and said, let me do that contract for you... Two days later he called me and goes, I got a deal for you. And it was twice as much money as if I had signed myself.” – Matt Jones (27:16)
• On UK’s Lack of Top Recruits:
  • “How do you explain the fact that all the top programs have players signed but us... North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Yukon, all... They all have their top high school recruit signed.” – Matt Jones (25:52)

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Other Segments and Riffs

The Role of a GM in College Recruiting

• Crew suggests Mark Pope needs a General Manager-type figure for NIL negotiations—just as Matt delegates business negotiations in his own life.

New Football Staff Hires

• Kentucky hires Jay Bateman as Defensive Coordinator, formerly at Texas A&M.
  • “He was at Army a long time... seems like he’s kind of an aggressive play caller.” – Drew Franklin (34:17)
  • Contrasts with Brad White’s “bend-but-don’t-break” approach—expect more aggressive defense.

Volleyball and Cal Poly Tangent

• Preview of UK Volleyball vs. Cal Poly, Matt quizzes crew about “Polytechnic” university naming.

Fun Moments & Running Jokes

• Ryan’s excitement over The Godfather and classic TV (“Barney Miller” reference).
• Drew’s “dad hats” and the in-joke about naming his child “Bartina” (04:24).
• Discovering the phrase “Tie goes to the runner” is a myth (32:05-33:17).
• “If you want to believe, you know more than the Internet…” – Matt Jones

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Highlight | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:30 | Show begins, local color, and banter about Drew's new hats | | 05:23 | Ryan’s Godfather review and discussion of classic movies | | 10:20 | Transition to main topic—report on UK basketball recruiting | | 12:23 | Matt details two main issues: Pope’s negotiation style and JMI contracts | | 14:03 | Drew’s reaction: Pope’s issues fixable, but JMI’s are systemic | | 23:10 | Why Pope needs a GM/negotiator to close deals; multiple sources corroborate report | | 24:05 | Behind the scenes—KSR’s process in breaking the story; risk of backlash | | 25:52 | Why UK has signed no top recruits while all rivals have | | 30:19 | Pope’s history: never recruited this level of talent; top portal recruit discussion | | 32:05 | Baseball rule myth-busting: “Tie goes to the runner” isn’t a rule | | 36:31 | Caller brings up alleged conflicts of interest—Matt gives context and response | | 43:16 | Matt on KSR’s duty: “I work for the fans” | | 46:09 | Kentucky Volleyball vs. Cal Poly preview |

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Conclusion

Summary:
This KSR episode blends fun debate, sports nostalgia, and hard-hitting investigative reporting to unpack why UK basketball is lagging in recruiting. The hosts spotlight major roadblocks: Coach Mark Pope’s outdated negotiation mindset and the strict NIL deals enforced by JMI. They make a case that transparency, critical questioning, and pressure from both fans and media are necessary for improvement at UK. The show is balanced by trademark banter and personal anecdotes, delivering a comprehensive snapshot of UK sports discourse heading into 2026.

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Useful for:

• Fans wanting to understand UK’s recruiting woes and what’s holding the basketball program back.
• Listeners interested in behind-the-scenes sports journalism and its impact.
• Anyone seeking a taste of KSR’s signature blend of sports talk, humor, and honesty.

Transcript

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[Ryan Lemons]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Announcer]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Matt Jones]

Don't miss Sean Patton.

[Commercial Announcer]

For tickets to all comedy Off Broadway shows, call 89271, joke or visit comedyoff broadway.com.

[Matt Jones]

This is Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones. Welcome everyone. It is Kentucky Sports Radio Thursday, December 11th here at KS Bar and Grill on kind of a chilly day but still nice in Lexington, Kentucky. The calm before the storm. It's supposed to snow tonight, but before that we should be fine. You can come see us this afternoon. You can get us out on the Clark's Puppet Shop phone line that's 859-280-2287. A Vision Auto Glass text machine is 772-774-5254. And this edition sponsored by the TJ Smith Law Office. If you call TJ, he'll make them pay. We are here this morning. Got a couple here from Louisville. Your Lexington guy, right, Said Cynthiana. Cynthiana in the house as well. Ryan Lemons got a haircut and a free sweatshirt. Someone's given him Logan county today. Drew's got hat on. Drew told us on the COVID Zero podcast last night that that is his new. The D stands for dad.

[Drew Franklin]

Got about five of them. They've been sitting on a shelf for months. Now. I can finally wear them.

[Matt Jones]

What do you mean? Did you buy them?

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I got one that says, I'm on dad duty.

[Matt Jones]

I've got one. I mean, you bought them before.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, the moment I found out.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, Shoes.

[Drew Franklin]

They've been on a shelf for months.

[Matt Jones]

So you bought them the moment. You didn't, like, have them? No, no.

[Drew Franklin]

It was the excitement I immediately had to load up on deck.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, gotcha, Gotcha. And there was a diaper bag.

[Drew Franklin]

When we start carrying that around.

[Ryan Lemons]

Oh, wow, you're getting so old.

[Drew Franklin]

Like, I mean, I'm just gotta be prepared, man.

[Matt Jones]

That's true. You're gonna need. Oh, she likes that. See, this is. That. This is how you win over.

All the listeners is. Well, the female listeners with your. Your being a dad, they're gonna think that's really sweet.

[Drew Franklin]

I have an opportunity to get into Ryan's lane here and do the dad talk. Kind of still maybe some of his favorite people out there.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, no, I think. I think you do. And I feel like, you know, I'm. I'm gonna help too.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, you named my baby yesterday.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, we named to baby. What was it you. You came up with?

[Drew Franklin]

Bartina.

[Matt Jones]

Bartina.

[Drew Franklin]

I didn't think that.

[Ryan Lemons]

Bartina.

[Matt Jones]

Bartina, huh? What do you think about Bartina?

[Ryan Lemons]

I suspect Mrs. Franklin will have something to say about that.

[Matt Jones]

And then I. And then we. We did something. This is all on Cover Zero, which was a good episode yesterday, by the way. We had a lot of fun. There wasn't a lot of football to do, so we just talked about other things. We also, we just had Billy pick five random names from the Internet, and he had to name his kid one of those five.

[Drew Franklin]

And Matt threw in Barbara.

[Matt Jones]

I didn't throw in Barbara. The Internet did. And we ended up picking Charlotte.

[Ryan Lemons]

Charlotte.

[Matt Jones]

So this kid's name is going to be Charlotte. Whether Drew and Abby, like it or not. Thank you.

[Drew Franklin]

Very excited to tell Abby the big news that we have named our first child.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Me and you.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, you wanted to go by Char Bar, because I couldn't decide between Charlotte and Barbara.

[Ryan Lemons]

That's a good nickname.

[Matt Jones]

Yes. So we got a lot to talk about today, actually, Big Story came out yesterday. But let's start with this. Ryan, you watch the Go Father last night?

[Ryan Lemons]

I did. I sat and watched it from start to finish, all 2 hours and 50 minutes of it, and I really liked it.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I told you you would like it. I knew I. I know you. I knew you would like the Godfather.

[Ryan Lemons]

It's amazing. That movie was made in the early 70s, but it holds up today. I mean, you don't get. You don't get a feeling that it was some old movie. It's so good.

[Matt Jones]

I'm. You know, I had some people. Some. Some movie snobs, like my friend Richmond Bramblet, say, oh, there are movies from the 30s and 40s that help. No, they don't. I mean, like, you can watch them and appreciate. It's like, the same thing with reading. Okay. I love to read. I'm gonna. I'm gonna finish my 52 books in a year. I've been reading a lot, trying to catch up. But, like, if you sit and read, I don't know, Emily Bronte or Jane Austen, like, you can do it, but it's not fun now. Like, nobody can. Like, it's not. It's. They're. They're hard to get through. I mean, you can do it, but don't act like it's exciting. That's how I feel about old movies. You can watch them and be like, all right, I appreciate this, but it's not made for our modern attention span. But the Godfather and I think those movies from the early 70s on, they can still play, in my opinion.

[Ryan Lemons]

Absolutely. Now, it's a little long, and it.

[Matt Jones]

But I told you it was going to be long.

[Ryan Lemons]

Some of the scenes, maybe you're dragged out a little, too.

[Matt Jones]

Scene is dragged out.

[Ryan Lemons]

Like when he's walking through the mountains of Sicily.

[Matt Jones]

That one's a little dragged out. Yeah, he walks. He walks through Sicily a lot. There's a lot of walking. Yeah.

[Ryan Lemons]

I tell you, though, I was blown away when some of the main characters.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, hang on. Spoiler alert.

[Ryan Lemons]

It's been out for 50 years.

[Matt Jones]

That's a good point.

[Ryan Lemons]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

But I need 51 years. Well, okay, so we can say that you were surprised that, like, he takes a bullet Quickly.

[Ryan Lemons]

Marlon Brando, you're led to believe, is the main character. And 30 minutes in the movie, he gets blown away. And you think, oh, my God, they killed him off.

[Matt Jones]

But they didn't kill him.

[Ryan Lemons]

Then he miraculously. He comes back.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemons]

And then they kill him off 30 minutes after. That's the rest of it. Now, you already told me what happens.

[Matt Jones]

Well, but we're not. I'm not. I'm sorry. If you haven't seen the Godfather, you can have it spoiled. Now, you.

[Ryan Lemons]

You.

[Matt Jones]

You now want to see the second one?

[Ryan Lemons]

I do. Yeah. I liked it enough. I def. I will. Definitely. Probably.

[Matt Jones]

Who was your favorite character?

[Ryan Lemons]

Al Pacino is the best. He's awesome.

[Matt Jones]

I thought you would say Sunny. He felt like he's kind of a.

[Ryan Lemons]

Hothead, and he gets blown away. Another main character, they blow him away.

[Matt Jones]

All these spoiler alerts. There's no reason for anyone to see it.

[Ryan Lemons]

It's amazing how many recognizable faces you see.

[Matt Jones]

A lot of them got their start in that movie. A lot of. I mean, or at least that was the movie that made him big.

[Ryan Lemons]

Robert Duvall has a big part in it.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, he's in it. James Kahn.

[Ryan Lemons]

James Kahn. A vagoda.

[Matt Jones]

You were very excited about a vagoda. How do you know who he is?

[Ryan Lemons]

He was in Barney Miller. He was fish and Barney Miller.

[Matt Jones]

You're the only person, like, everyone knows Abe Vagoda from the Godfather. You're not, like, no one knows him from Barney Miller. Most people don't even know what Barney Miller is.

[Ryan Lemons]

Oh, classic. Classic.

[Matt Jones]

That's a furniture story.

[Drew Franklin]

They're running a Christmas sale right now.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I think they are running a Christmas sale. Go to Barney Millers and you can get.

[Ryan Lemons]

I told you this, too. I distinctly remember as a kid, my parents and their friends discussing about the horse head in the bed. Distinctly remember it. I mean, it affected me, and I didn't even see the movie.

[Matt Jones]

And so did. Did you see it coming, or did you forget until he pulled the sheets off?

[Ryan Lemons]

Totally forgot till he's in bed.

[Matt Jones]

Scare you?

[Ryan Lemons]

He's got blood on him, like. Oh, I know it's coming. Here's the horse head. I never. I'd never seen that scene before, ever.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I'm glad you. I'm glad you. Good.

[Ryan Lemons]

It was good. My homework assignment. I give it an A.

[Matt Jones]

Did you dance when that guy did the wedding song?

[Ryan Lemons]

No. Did you know the wedding was. They dragged that out a little long.

[Matt Jones]

But it's trying to set the mood. You're trying to understand what an Italian Family is like, they probably could have.

[Ryan Lemons]

Done that in half the time. Probably.

[Matt Jones]

See, that's, that's the one thing. We don't have as long of an attention span.

[Ryan Lemons]

That's true.

[Matt Jones]

Those 70s movies in general, if you go watch them, they go slower. Like they just do. And there that is. If you're not like for us. I think that's true of all of those movies. Like Chinatown. And if you watch those movies, they kind of. They just go at their own pace. People weren't in as much of a hurry, had nothing else to do. Yeah, exactly. So they could just sit and make three hour movies and people would watch it.

[Ryan Lemons]

I was amazed that it held up today. You know, it's 50 years old.

[Matt Jones]

It's like, okay, so you're gonna watch the second.

[Ryan Lemons]

I am gonna watch and report to.

[Matt Jones]

Us how you think it is.

[Drew Franklin]

I haven't seen this. Him this excited about anything.

[Matt Jones]

When I walked in, he was already.

[Drew Franklin]

Halfway through his review with you and he's like, that's the happiest I can remember Ryan being talking about all this.

[Matt Jones]

I know what he likes. He's a very simple man, but a simple man who has desires. That sounded a lot worse than I meant for it to, but. But he, you know. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You'll like. I think the second one's even better. Well, and it's got more action. The second one has more action. You're going to Cuba, you're going to Vegas. You've got. You're going back in time to early New York with Robert Dinero. You're going to enjoy that.

[Ryan Lemons]

See that? I thought Robert De Niro was big in the Godfather and he's not in.

[Matt Jones]

The first one, but he's huge in the second one.

[Ryan Lemons]

So he's a big part.

[Matt Jones]

All right, so big story today in the world of non Godfather news is lat yet last night the report from Kentucky Sports Radio, the website came out about. From Jack Pilgrim, from Jacob Polachek and Jack Pilgrim about basically UK basketball recruiting. And I highly recommend everybody read it. They worked on that for weeks. There was sort of a conversation that was had a while back. Why are they not able. Why have none of these guys signed these top guys and they started investigating it. They talked to multiple people. I knew it was coming, but I had, I had. I did not read it until every. I intentionally did not read it till everybody else did because I didn't want my stinky fingerprints. Like, I didn't want to tell them what to do because they had put in all the work. So they did, and I thought it was excellent. Drew. I would say two main themes. See if you agree with me on the two themes. Theme one, there was actually more in there about Mark Pope than I thought there was going to be. And the Mark Pope thing was basically twofold. One, that he's just. The negotiation process is not really going well with him. He gets sort of emotional. He very big on, you're coming here because of Kentucky and the name on the jersey and not the dollar amount. And while that. We all kind of like the sound of that, that causes him to not get players. And then a sort of secondary thing, but one I think is big, is that the Pope administration, to use a term, is very secretive. They don't like to tell you what's going on, and generally that's okay. But in this world of negotiations, these national reporters, not the local guys, but the national guys, coaches, kind of use them to go, okay, what's Kansas offering? What's North Carolina offering? What's the rate? And Pope doesn't share any of that. And it's basically causing him to be both out under bid and overbid because he doesn't know the market. So he'll come in, and I've been told, like, with Denzel Aberdeen, he way overpaid, whereas with other guys, he loses out because he doesn't know the market. And so that's the Pope side. And then the JMI side is they are requiring these kids to sign contracts that gives up all of their nil rights to them. They're basically like, we will offer you a lot of money, but if you do, we get all of the nil rights. And you can't sign with companies that are not official JMI partners. And this is. They quote a couple of top recruits that UK is going at this year.

As saying that that's what they're requiring, by the way, they didn't require that a couple years ago. They would do it. But this was before JMI was running the process. So that's the basics of it. You can feel free to add anything else. But what did you think of the article?

[Drew Franklin]

You're right about there being two parts there. And I'm also. The JMI thing I haven't liked from the beginning. I think I've been very clear about that. None of that was completely new to me except seeing some, you know, quotes with it. Actual quotes of people that are in the middle, not like local people who just, you know, are trying to keep up with it as fans. Like people Involved in negotiations being disappointing. But then the Pope thing was a little more eye opening for me. I've worried about that from the beginning, about how he's going in saying, you come to Kentucky because Kentucky, this is 2026. I worry about that working. But then seeing quotes and stuff about that was just as concerning. On the Pope in though, that to me can be fixed pretty easily. Maybe you have one bad year, you get a gm. We're like, hey, Mark, we love you. You're not the best closer. Let's fix that.

[Matt Jones]

You're not a great negotiator, but the.

[Drew Franklin]

JMI thing that is in contract for 15 years, like, that ain't unless you. It's rewritten like, or they changed the way they're doing it. You're kind of locked into that Pope could be fixed easily by bringing in help and him realizing I'm not the best at finalizing this deal.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. And by the way, that's that. I actually think both of them are fixable. If JMI will just stop saying you have to only sign with ours. Because take a kid like Trent Noah, they didn't make Trent Noah sign that back in the day. But Trent Noah has a lot of deals in Kentucky that are not with JMI company He has a local agent. So, like, you see him, Ryan, on a lot of stuff that are not JMI partners, big partner with Fork bank. And he. There is a rule that he can't use the UK logo. And I understand that rule. That does. I mean, I don't love it, but I get it. But Trent Noah's just doing it like in a blue generic jersey. But now they're trying to say that people can't even do that. And these kids are not going to agree to that. Because again, let's say you want to bring in the number one player in America and you say you have to sign with Nike. And he goes, well, I'm an Adidas kid. Right, Sorry. That's what I'm doing. And now contracts like that would say you couldn't do it. So I think if so I think it's easily fixable. Mark's not a good negotiator, Ryan. Neither am I. I don't like. I really. I hate negotiating because I don't like to tell people no. And I don't. This may seem strange. I don't like arguing over money. I like arguing over everything else, but I don't like arguing over money. I just don't. It makes me feel icky. So I get other people to do the money negotiations for me, I just. I'm not good at it. Maybe Mark's not either. And it feels like Ryan, those two things are things that are fixable, but they are, according this story, big problems.

[Ryan Lemons]

You know, first of all, kudos to Jack and Jacob. That was some old school investigative reporting that we don't see.

[Matt Jones]

I thought KSR would do something like that.

[Ryan Lemons]

Did you? I tell you what. To see it on KSR made me feel pretty proud of the boys. I'm telling you, I'm not be lying. But to see it in black and white, it was very damning. You guys have both hit on about the JMI and Mark Pope. I was more concerned about Mark Pope than I was the jmi. Kind of. We kind of knew the JMI deal, which is why would an athletics department at any university want to handcuff your coaches when it comes to recruiting the best players possible for your athletic program?

[Matt Jones]

And I would also think this is why I think JMI could and should change it. It's in JMI's best interest for Kentucky to be good at sports.

[Ryan Lemons]

Amen.

[Matt Jones]

If you're a business and you want to make money, we better win. So at some point, they may just have to sit back and go, from a business perspective, this is not work.

[Ryan Lemons]

Right?

[Matt Jones]

Right. So that's why I think it is fixable. But talk about the Pope thing for a second.

[Ryan Lemons]

That was. It was damning to just kind of see it in black and white that it's not a coincidence that they don't have anybody signing this class because they had interviews with people, you know, that they had been recruiting that said the Pope one won't divulge the amount of the nil money that they want to give him to. Kind of seem like the fact that you should play Kentucky because it says Kentucky in the jersey instead of the money, that ship is sailed. Those days are no longer around.

[Matt Jones]

You can get some. To me, Kentucky is like in baseball, tie goes to the runner. Right. If you're offering the same amount of money, you go to Kentucky. Cause this is awesome. But you got to get to the point that Ty goes to the runner. Like, you got to get to the point that it's a tie. Because if it's not a tie, then they're gonna do something else, you know?

[Drew Franklin]

So there's one quote in there. The guy's like, I don't give a.

[Matt Jones]

Bleep about where they go.

[Drew Franklin]

That.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, what's.

[Drew Franklin]

What's he getting paid?

[Matt Jones]

Also, Mark's a control freak, and I know that because I'm a control freak. Cal was a control freak. Most people that are really successful in things like our control freaks, not all, but most. And what's hard for a control freak is when one of the things you're responsible for you ain't the best at doing. Because control freaks believe they're good at everything. And sometimes you have to realize, like, I'm not. This might not be my strength, and I have to give up control of that. And that's hard for folks. It was hard for Cal to give up the control of the media public narrative because he thought he understood everything and then by the end, he kind of didn't. It may be the case that Pope's got to give over the reins of this recruiting thing because it just isn't his strength when it comes to the closing the deal part.

[Ryan Lemons]

Yeah, the article talked about him being. Getting emotional, you know, his emotions get in the way and trying to, you know. Yes.

[Matt Jones]

And you sometimes that, like, sometimes you have to know, I get emotional. I get worked up. Maybe I got to let somebody who doesn't do that.

[Ryan Lemons]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

You know?

[Ryan Lemons]

So as a gm, the answer to.

[Matt Jones]

Solve some of those, I think, I think it is the answer. I think it's, it's the exact answer. And we'll talk a little bit more about that in just a second. 859-280-2287 text machine is 772-774-5254. We'll be right back.

[Announcer]

KSR 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.

You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Matt Jones]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. This is Trainer Games.

[Matt Jones]

Watch it on prime video.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Matt Jones]

So let me get this straight. Your company has data here, there and everywhere, but your AI can't use the data because it's here, there and everywhere? Seems like something's missing. Every business has unique data. IBM helps your AI access your data wherever it lives. To change how you do business, let's create smarter business IBM.

Welcome back. TY Sports Radio, 859-280-2287 text machine 772-774-52541 person writes. Matt, it has been said the Godfather was Saddam Hussein's favorite movie. Well, he's not the only one. There's a lot of people, I mean, I, you know, you don't have to just get, put it to Saddam Hussein. There were other people.

[Drew Franklin]

Do they put that on a sticker on the dvd?

[Matt Jones]

Saddam Hussein's favorite? I don't know. I feel like that's not the only one.

[Drew Franklin]

He's allowed to like a movie, right? Yes.

[Matt Jones]

One person writes, Matt Utah signed a deal for private equity. Is that like what Kentucky did? No, but it's really complicated. And I, I was going to talk about that today, but there's other stuff, you know, part of this, like you almost now have to have an NBA to understand what teams are doing, what everybody's doing in college sports. But Utah's is different. Utah's the thing I told you, like somebody's going to cross a line and take private equity money. And who would have thought, you, Utah, all those Mormons would be the first one to do it. But they did. And that's a separate conversation. Maybe we'll get into in the future. You Asked me about if Mark Pope should. Should get a gm. Whether it's a GM or just somebody else, he needs to have somebody else do the contract negotiations again. I can only relate stuff to, like, my life. Like, Drew knows this. When it comes to some business things, I get worked up sometimes and I realize, you know what? I might have hubby. That's part of the reason. Hubby, my. My co owner, he does some of that. Like, he does our taxes because I don't like to. And then he does some of those negotiations because I don't want my. My temper to get frustrated. So I hand those to him.

Mark needs that, it looks like. I mean, I didn't know this until Jack and Jacob, but they had multiple people tell them this. This wasn't one person. This was multiple people. So at some point, I think there has to be some validity to it, or else you're not gonna get the same story. And we don't have anything against Mark. We want Mark to succeed. But if multiple people are saying that, maybe you gotta listen to it, right?

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, this goes back months. You know, I'll see Jacob at something. You know, we are in group text, and I'm like, what's going on? Like, man, the buzz around Pope and recruiting isn't good out there right now. Just. I've been hearing that for a long time. Nothing too detailed, but you know exactly what's in that story. That's the reputation that's been brewing for a while because they go to these events. Jacob was just at a small one in Owensboro. I mean, if there's a recruiting event, we're most likely have someone there being a part of it. And that's not just watching the guys on the court. That's talking to agents, coaches, parents. It's a big networking thing. And they didn't just pop this story up overnight. They've been. That's been brewing.

[Matt Jones]

And look at the national people who, when they put it out, retweeted it and said, nice job, guys, because they know it's true, too. I mean, this has been the reputation of. Of. Of what's been going on. Now, Jay and Lyndon asked, is that a hard story to write? Are you. Because you're worried UK is going to be mad. Well, I. First of all, I didn't write it, so Jacob and I know Jacob and Jack, they were nervous about it. I talked a lot to Jacob especially, and he was like, you know, my sign in my career over putting my name on this. And I said, listen, man, if it's True, it's true. And you may get some negative pushback, but. But surprisingly he really hasn't. It feels like fans wanted to hear this. I thought it would actually be more negative reaction than it's been. I think it takes a lot of courage with those guys there. The folks at UK are not going to be thrilled. Now, I will note nobody called me to refute any of this, which I don't find interesting. Usually sometimes within minutes of me saying or something on ksr, it's faults. I'll get a comment. I haven't heard a thing. I asked Mitch to come on the show. I haven't gotten an answer back yet. Hopefully you'll get one today. But I don't think there's people who are thinking this is made up because we haven't heard one pushback yet. So I think Jacob and Jack, they did. They worked on this a long time and they, they know the ramifications of putting their name on this. So I, that's why I supported them when they did it.

[Ryan Lemons]

The timing of the article, I think also affects a lot of us because, you know, we're. Instead of being 10 and oh, you know, we're six and four, I think we are right now. Yeah, if we were 10 and oh, maybe it would get some pushback on it. You know, that's probably true.

[Matt Jones]

But if it were 100 and we had recruits for next year, we wouldn't need to ride it.

[Ryan Lemons]

Yeah, right. That's gonna say there's no. It's not coincidental that we have nobody signed up in this class.

[Matt Jones]

I mean for people. And there were only a few people. But for people who questioned it, I would ask them this. How do you explain the fact that all the top programs have players signed but us, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Yukon, alt, Michigan, they all have their top high school recruit signed. There are like three top players left and they're the three players we spent the most time on. How do you explain that then? You know, that's just a weird coincidence or maybe is this stuff actually legitimate?

[Drew Franklin]

And we keep in and up in the top three, we keep being the hat on the table. It makes you wonder if kids just know, I'll just get involved with Kentucky and drag them.

[Matt Jones]

But maybe you do that because they know Kentucky's not organized in this.

[Drew Franklin]

What I mean.

[Matt Jones]

And they'll drive up the cost because they don't really know what's going on. You know, people. A lot of times people are going into broadcasting, ask me, should I get an agent? My answer used to Be no. Like, I'm a lawyer. I don't need other people to do it. It's a true story. I was about to sign to do hey Kentucky with wlex. And I was like, I'll do my own negotiation. I don't need you. I can read the contract. I got offered an amount of money. My agent called me up and said, let me do that contract for you. I was like, man, I don't need you to do it. I'm good. He's like, let me do it. Two days later he called me and goes, I got a deal for you. And it was twice as much money as if I had signed myself.

[Ryan Lemons]

Why?

[Matt Jones]

Because he knew the market rate and I did not. I was coming in blind and just thinking about what I would do. And he knew what this job was worth. I kind of wonder, does Mark Pope have somebody that knows what these players are worth? Because we're not getting it right. We'll take a break and be right back. It's Kentucky Sports Radio. TJ Smith, personal injury attorney.

[Announcer]

Call tj.

[Matt Jones]

He'll make him pay.

[Commercial Announcer]

Now more of Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage.

[Matt Jones]

Here's Matt Jones. This was great intro music for Shane O. Max, don't you think? Like I. This was a really good song.

[Ryan Lemons]

That's right. Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

It come out skipping. Yeah. Dude. You know, I always talk about how sons screw up their. Their dad's thing. Shane O. Mac may be a little bit of an exception because he surprisingly was a good wrestler. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, he produced entertaining matches even though you wouldn't have thought so. And now his son in law is pretty much running. Yeah. WWE Triple H. And he seems like both of them might have been better people than their dad was. In hindsight, maybe.

I think it's more hard to do. I don't think. I think it's. I think it's probably true. One person says, matt.

It'S rich for you to say you didn't have anything to do with the story. You own the KSR brand and everything it does. I do not own the website.

I have. I don't own the website. On three does I do they. They pay me a little bit to be a consultant and so I do give them my opinion on some of this stuff. But ultimately they get to do what they want. And so I didn't know this was coming but I intentionally said like, I want. You guys are gonna have to deal with the ramifications, meaning on three. So like you all should put it out. So I, I Knew it was coming. They asked me a couple of questions about, like, advice and how it should be put out, but I actually did not read it. And that's why I was kind of surprised about the Pope thing, because I didn't know that was gonna be in there. I thought it was gonna be mostly based around the JMI contract thing. The Pope thing. Drew, I didn't. I didn't know until I read it.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I sat by Jacob Tuesday night for a little bit at the game, and he showed me a few paragraphs where he was working on it. But the overall story, I was like everyone else. When it dropped, we. Heck, we were in the middle of COVID zero when it dropped.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

I was probably late to read it. Yeah, a lot of that was new to me.

[Ryan Lemons]

I have one more question before you move on.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Ryan Lemons]

About Pope. You kind of hit on it right before the break right there. That he doesn't know the market for his players.

[Matt Jones]

He's both overpays and underpays.

[Ryan Lemons]

How can you be so analytical and so in tune with basketball and not know the market of the players you're recruiting?

[Matt Jones]

It's a good question. I mean.

Some people, like, like, I, like.

I'm not. I'm not good with money. Like, I don't. It doesn't. I. Hubby's always getting on me. He's like, you do. You don't. Not. I don't spend it. But I just. Like, I'm not good with. Like, I don't. I don't. It's just not my strength. Maybe that's Mark. Maybe Mark's strength is basketball, but his strength is not contract negotiat, which are two completely different sets of skills.

[Drew Franklin]

Andy, we knew this coming in. He's never had to recruit talent this level.

[Matt Jones]

That's true. That's another thing.

[Drew Franklin]

Why you. I mean, it was a completely different kind of recruitment. So even leave aside, nil. Just recruiting top talent is brand new.

[Matt Jones]

I think that's a great point. He's never had to recruit these kind of guys, you know, at byu, if you grow up, Jesus Christ, Latter Day Saints, maybe playing at BYU is the dream in a way that it's not for, you know, and maybe it's the dream for Jasper Johnson and Mike and Malcolm Marino because they're from here. But, like, when you get out of that, can you close one of these? And he still hasn't. He's still not yet closed. Any top recruit that's not from here, he still hasn't. And even the transfer portal stuff, he's gotten really good guys, but he's still not gotten a dude yet in the top 10 in the transfer portal. The highest one he got was Jackson Robinson, but he already had him from byu, right? He already had that connection. So he still hasn't gotten one of the main. Main guy.

[Ryan Lemons]

I think they could squash a little the fire if he got one of these recruits to commit like this question.

[Matt Jones]

And maybe that's what they do. Maybe they like give us all a deep breath and sign one of these top guys.

[Drew Franklin]

Maybe some of them should have already been signed. Some of them were ready to sign and that just the complications with all this pushed him away. Caleb Wilson was a big miss in the last cycle, but it still lives in my head. Like the day before his recruitment, they said, what's your dream five in college basketball. He's like, I'd love to play with Jasper Johnson, Malcolm Reno a Caden Lewis and like Otega o way next to a horse park if you could find a place for that. And then he picked unc like four hours later because that's just how it works, that the biggest offer is going to win out.

[Matt Jones]

859-280-22 87 one person writes. Matt, why do you always say Ty goes to the runner? That's not a rule. Stop saying that. Is that not a rule? I always have heard that in baseball. Is that not a rule?

[Ryan Lemons]

That's how I've always heard it.

[Matt Jones]

Shannon, is that not a rule? It's always been. Well, I mean, it's at least been a myth.

[Drew Franklin]

I don't know if it's always true.

[Matt Jones]

So is it. So is it a myth though? Is it not real? This tide not go to the runners.

[Ryan Lemons]

I thought my whole life, if it's a tie at first base, runner gets these safe.

[Matt Jones]

But it might not. But this person's saying it's not true.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, let's google it here.

[Ryan Lemons]

Yeah, let's google it.

[Commercial Announcer]

Says no.

[Matt Jones]

The popular phrase tag goes to the runner is a baseball myth. Are you kidding me? I've been saying that all these years. And Todd doesn't go to the runner. No official rules saying so in reality. Unbelievable.

[Ryan Lemons]

Wow.

[Matt Jones]

Ty doesn't go to the runner and ball arrive at the same exact time the runner is out. Oh, so Ty actually goes to the field. Wow. So the myth is completely not only not true, it's a hundred percent false according to goog. If you want to believe, you know more than the Internet.

[Commercial Announcer]

So.

[Matt Jones]

I do know more than the Internet, though. I heard that. Wow. That's surprising to Me, I've always heard that. And I guess it's 100% false tide.

[Ryan Lemons]

Does not go to the runner. And Don Coleong gets shot 30 minutes in the movie. My whole day is just blown away.

[Matt Jones]

I have just shot spoiler alert. Well, I didn't know that either. Jay Bateman is the new defensive coordinator at Kentucky. He was the defensive coordinator last year at Texas A and M and now he comes to Kentucky at Texas A and M. Apparently he was the defensive coordinator, but Mike Elko, the coach was kind of in charge. You know, it was one of those situations probably like Will Stein will be with our offensive coordinator here where because he's an offensive guy, he was the main guy. Elko was the main defensive guy, even though Bateman was the defensive coordinator. I have to think, Drew, he's leaving a playoff team to come to Kentucky so that he can do his own thing since he probably wasn't able to do that at A and M. I know nothing about the guy except A and M's in the playoff. Their fans seem to not love him, but at the same time they're in the playoffs. So I'm not going to complain. What do you think about the hire?

[Drew Franklin]

You know, I'm with you. I don't know everything about every coordinator, but I love that so far, you know, A, we've hired Will Stein from Oregon who's in the playoff. Your defensive coordinators have come from a playoff team. Even though LSU didn't have a good year. Your offensive coordinator is lsu. I mean, you're taking guys from some big time operations and I think that's a big benefit. And Bateman, he was at Army a long time. I think he did a little dipped in his toe into Florida for a couple years. Cluck, it's been not out yet. He's doing a deep dive on him. Seems like he's kind of an aggressive play caller.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that's the thing you read about. He's very aggressive. He likes his safeties, he likes to get at the. The quarterback believes in causing a lot of turnovers. Seems like we're continuing to do the opposite of what we did last time. Mike White or Brad White was very much a bend, don't break. So now they're bringing in a guy who's going to go after people.

[Ryan Lemons]

Like I said, I don't know that about this guy. I know people are a little concerned that he had not already hired a defensive coordinator, thinking that maybe he's such an offensive guy he's going to try to win games 42 to 40 or something like that. But now we're bringing a defensive guy that is legit. And I think you hit on. I think he wants to call his own plays, be his own guy, not coach under the shadow of somebody.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, Just coming from winning cultures where you're. You're used to winning games and a loss sucks because you don't do it often. Like they're going to come in here with expectations that Kentucky needs to win.

[Matt Jones]

We have some breaking news running on. The lawsuit between NASCAR and Michael Jordan has been settled. With just a day left in the trial. That tells me NASCAR thought they were going to lose, so they went ahead and settled it. So that was an antitrust case. That may completely change the way NASCAR does its entire thing, and I bet it will because the court would not let them settle it unless they did that. So I think NASCAR was about to lose and so now they'll probably make it. You know, the way NASCAR's done it is they only have so many teams that they give out. I bet now there'll be a freeze for all. And if you want to enter the race, you can do it.

[Drew Franklin]

KS car.

[Matt Jones]

KS car.

[Drew Franklin]

Let's do it.

[Matt Jones]

All right.

[Drew Franklin]

So that Bobby Cope guys still drive. We can put him on our.

[Matt Jones]

Derek, Derek. Derek. He's probably in his 60s. I don't know if we want to put him. I don't know if we want to put him out there. Who's up first? Shannon? Denny. Denny. Go ahead, Denny. Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Good morning.

[Matt Jones]

Good morning.

[Drew Franklin]

Can I go back over to the.

[Matt Jones]

Gm, I think for just. Yes, of course.

[Drew Franklin]

There was an article written on a.

[Matt Jones]

Sea of blue approximately two weeks ago. The title was something along the lines.

[Drew Franklin]

Of the Rot within UK Athletics.

[Matt Jones]

And they pointed out specifically, I think.

[Drew Franklin]

This may have been brought up in the pre show, that the person doing the negotiations was married to the person.

[Matt Jones]

On GMI who's doing negotiations. Yeah, I don't think that's a hundred percent. I don't think that's a hundred percent accurate. It's. It's a. Well, it's a little accurate. So there is a person that works at Ukraine that is in the administration relatively high up, who is married to someone that works at jmi, who is basically a sale, a salesperson, one of the kind of primary sales people.

I think that's an issue that probably should. UK should address and just talk about because I understand why people think that's a thing. I don't think it's fair to say it's a. It's the head of negotiation for UK or the head of negotiation for jmi. The. The woman at uk, I think, is relatively high up. I don't think that's necessarily true about the person at jmi. So I think the way it was characterized in that article is the head negotiator for UK and the head negotiator for J. That's. That's not how it would characterize. With that said, if you have two people working at these companies, working in these business things who are married, understandably, people are going to have that question. And I do think UK should address it. And I'm surprised they haven't, to be honest. And that's part of their sort of not talking about this stuff. That is a little bit frustrating. But does that answer your question?

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, it does, but I just have a brief follow up.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Drew Franklin]

In that article also, they implied that.

[Matt Jones]

This lady that we're discussing was probably.

[Drew Franklin]

Going to be the heir apparent to Mitch Barnhart.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I don't think that's true. I don't think that's true either. I think that's. I think that's unlike years ago.

[Drew Franklin]

I remember a few years ago you were advocate for tv.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Being his replacement. Yeah, I don't, I don't think that.

I don't think that's likely. But, but I will say, and I, and I appreciate the call. It is perfectly legitimate to see those two people and say, hey, someone needs to explain this. But I also think if you're gonna be fair, I wouldn't characterize the person at waking that did it works at JMI as one of the head negotiations. I don't think that's true. So that's the best way I could put that. Do you agree with that sentiment?

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. And there's an easy way to put it into this.

[Matt Jones]

It's just.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, yeah, that's the case on a lot of them. Mitch doesn't have to answer for anything.

[Matt Jones]

As a matter of fact, it's more likely to me that neither of those people were involved in the negotiations than they both were. But UK should address it, just like UK should address all of this stuff. The fact that they have kept silent on this and they haven't explained to people how it works and they've never done anything except yell at people when they've asked is part of the reason we're in this situation of people not knowing. And as I've said a million times, people will fill the void with noise. They will. So you, you. If UK and JMI wonder why people have brought up the this marriage. It's because you haven't said anything about it. Just say it.

[Ryan Lemons]

Yeah, I'm glad you cleared it up. That's getting a lot of traction right now. That little issue seems to be on a lot of people's mind concerning this contract.

[Matt Jones]

You wouldn't want to wait tip off to buy tickets. So why wait until January to plan your remodel? Estate Renovations is already filling up spots for January and February. The earlier you get into a design agreement, the earlier you'll be enjoying your brand new kitchen, your bathroom or your whole home. Makeover. Planning now means you don't get stuck in the back of the line. Check them [e-mail] that's Estate R E N O S.com KSR Estate renovations beat the rush and enjoy the win at Estate Renovations. We'll take a break. Be right back.

[Announcer]

It's KSR 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.

You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Matt Jones]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. This is Trainer Games.

[Commercial Announcer]

Watch it on prime video starting January 8th. Bring incredible sound into every corner of your home this holiday with the new Whim Sound Smart speaker. Get high resolution Audio with a 1.8-inch touchscreen, smart control and modern design in one powerful speaker for just 299. From Quiet Mornings to lively holiday gatherings, Whim Sound makes every moment sound better and feel better too. Get the gift of the season for the music enthusiast in your life or for yourself. Whimsound Beautifully designed, effortlessly connected. Shop now at Amazon and search Whimsound. That's wiimsound.

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[Matt Jones]

So you're telling me that the AI that's meant to make everyone's job easier to manage just adds more to manage? On top of the thousands of apps the IT department already manages funny how that works, any business can add AI. IBM helps you scale and manage AI to change how you do business. Let's create Smile to Business IBM.

[Ryan Lemons]

Welcome back.

[Matt Jones]

It is Kentucky Sports Radio, 859-280-2287. We're opening here in 10 minutes for lunch. Come join us. We're going to now be here tomorrow as well. We were supposed to be in Somerset, but they are predicting sn so we are postponing the trip to Somerset. So we will be here tomorrow as well. If you would like to come on Friday, a lot of people always ask, will you ever be at the bar on Friday? We're not usually, but we will be.

[Ryan Lemons]

This week, rare Friday during the season show here at KS Bar tomorrow.

[Matt Jones]

That's exactly right. So you can, you can do that. 859-280-2287. Let me read you a couple questions. One person writes, Matt, ultimately I want to know if you think you guys help Kentucky sports. Kentucky sports media and the fans on here make things ten times worse than they are. Do you want to help UK or win or not? Well, first of all, yes, this job is a lot easier when UK wins than it is when it loses. When UK wins, everyone's happy. We have a ton of fun. More people come to eat at the restaurant, more people are happy, more people do everything. So yes, of course we want them to win. Same time. I don't work for the University of Kentucky, right. So I, I, in my opinion, I work for the fans. And I think sometimes people miss the response with the Piper's call. When we started criticizing Cal, it wasn't because we didn't like Cal, it's because we were losing. Right. And, and when we started losing in the, in the COVID year, I didn't play one game, Drew.

[Drew Franklin]

Did you? No. Felt like I could have a couple times.

[Matt Jones]

But no, I mean like I had nothing to do with that. Same thing with Stoops and the same thing with this. So what I would say to you about the, the article yesterday from Jacob and Jack is if you saw that every major program in the country has gotten a top commit in high school and Kentucky has it and you weren't curious then, good for you. But most people were curious and most people wondered why it was. And I would argue you're a lot better off knowing than not knowing. And now you know. And then the second question of do you think you're helping? In my opinion, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong. There's a better chance UK changes this stuff now. Than they did yesterday. Because now there will be pressure for it to change. Now there's going to be people go, hey, is this really how we're doing this? Is this really? And maybe UK says they're wrong, we don't need to do it. And I would say, all right, then go sign your guys and there won't be anything to worry about. So, you know, I mean this platform is loud, I grant you that. But do y' all think I'm the only. You think we're the only people wondering what's going on?

The only difference between us and these other shows is more people listen. But like they say the same stuff. It's just. They get mad, Ryan, at us because it's louder.

[Ryan Lemons]

There is a problem. There's an issue. Right now we're discussing it, analyze it, analyzing it, trying to figure out how to make it better. So yes, we want this to work because it benefits all of us, our whole fan base, not just our business prospect, but as a fan base. We want to break it down, analyze it and trying to find a solution to make it better.

[Matt Jones]

Let's talk for just a second. Drew, the volleyball Games today at 3:30. Yeah, they play Cal Poly. Remember my scouting report?

[Ryan Lemons]

What was it?

[Matt Jones]

I gave it to you. First of all, you realize. Well, no, that's actually not true. Never mind. I thought you were wearing Cal Poly colors. They're girl.

They bought. They're good at blocking.

[Ryan Lemons]

Oh yeah. You're breaking down the analysis of Cal Poly volleyball.

[Matt Jones]

They're the lowest ranked team still in the tournament.

[Ryan Lemons]

12 seed.

[Drew Franklin]

Those are the ones you got to look out for.

[Matt Jones]

You got to watch out for them. Second high seed. It's at 3:30. It's on ESPN2. We'll have it on here at the bar or you can go to the game. Do you feel confident today to get to the Elite Eight, which by the way is Saturday, not Friday. I got that wrong. I do.

[Drew Franklin]

But we're at the stage we're not overlooking anybody. Sure, they might not have a little number next to them on the bracket, but they already took out what the second and third seeded teams in the region. They do one team at a time, survive in advance. Yes, I feel good, but we have to respect Cal Poly and go in with our best stuff every time.

[Matt Jones]

Where is Cal Poly?

[Ryan Lemons]

In California.

[Matt Jones]

That's. That's true. I know there's not a state called Poly, but where.

[Drew Franklin]

Where I couldn't tell off top of my head. Let's look at it.

[Matt Jones]

What does the Poly stand for?

[Drew Franklin]

Polytechnic California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

I was gonna say that before I looked it up.

[Matt Jones]

What does something mean to be polytechnical? I know what technical means. Like what? Multiple technical. You may be right about that.

[Drew Franklin]

It is the oldest of the three polytechnic universities in California.

[Matt Jones]

So there are other call. So is this Cal Poly San Obispo and they just go by Cal Poly because I feel like there used to be a school that had San Abispo in it.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm doing this on the fly, but I think you're onto something.

[Matt Jones]

It used to be called Cal Poly Santa Be.

[Drew Franklin]

Their actual Wikipedia page says California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. That's like the title of the university. So maybe you've heard it.

[Matt Jones]

I think one year I could be crazy about this, but I think they made the NCAA tournament in basketball. And I think their name was like Cal Poly San Luis. It was like CP Slow. And then people were like, we can't keep calling it that. And maybe they just went with Cal Poly because I know I've heard of San Luis Obispo.

[Ryan Lemons]

I hadn't until you started talking about it. That does kind of ring a bell.

[Matt Jones]

Because there's no way I would know the city San Luis Obispo if they had not. If they had not been in the tournament. Yeah, I think cp. I think this school used to be called CP Slow.

[Drew Franklin]

I can't argue against it. I don't think there'd be another school there.

[Matt Jones]

They're going to be slow today.

[Ryan Lemons]

They're going to lose.

[Matt Jones]

But they got to watch they block.

[Drew Franklin]

Watch the blocks.

[Matt Jones]

Watch the blocks. Are you going to watch the blocks?

[Ryan Lemons]

I am going to watch the blocks.

[Matt Jones]

All right, we'll take a break. Come back hour number two. Take your calls. This is Kentucky Sports Radio.

[Announcer]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. Points.

You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Matt Jones]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. This is Trainer Games.

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