2026-02-11- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

KSR Podcast Summary — Hour 1 (February 11, 2026)

Main Theme Overview

The KSR crew, led by Matt Jones with Ryan, Drew, and Shannon, gather live at KS Bar & Grill for a lively episode combining Kentucky basketball analysis, college hoops talk, fan engagement, odd news headlines, and local color. The hour is highlighted by spirited debates about what constitutes a successful season for UK basketball, insights on modern recruiting and NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) issues, listener calls, and lighter moments, including conspiracy theories and the Pope’s newfound basketball fandom.

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Key Segments and Insights

1. Setting the Stage at KS Bar (02:05–07:13)

• The crew broadcasts live at KS Bar & Grill, promoting the Kentucky Sports Radio Pick 'Em contest happening that night.
• Attendees can pick winners and high scorers in that night’s college basketball games, with prizes up to $1,000.
• "You have to be here and get your picks in before the games tip off." – Matt Jones (03:49)
• Light banter about the games on TV and general anticipation for the event, with Ryan joking about showing off his basketball knowledge.

2. UK Basketball Success — Redefining Expectations (07:13–12:10)

• Podcast Recap: Matt discusses his recent appearance on the Field of 68 podcast with Jeff Goodman and Rob Doster, focusing on what should count as a successful season for UK basketball.
• Matt’s success criteria: Achieving at least two out of three — Top 3 in the SEC, reaching the SEC Tournament final, or making the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend (Sweet 16).
  • “If you got two of those three, you’d have to call it successful. Even if you got one, it would be OK. If you get zero, unsuccessful.” – Matt Jones (09:26)
• Co-hosts respond:
  • Ryan is satisfied with a double-bye in the SEC tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance (09:34).
  • Drew struggles with "lowering expectations" but acknowledges the impact of injuries and agrees reaching the second weekend is the new bar (10:08).
  • Shannon emphasizes the priority of making the Sweet 16: “For me, it all depends on what happens in March.” (11:03)
  • The hosts reiterate that, with their current NCAA seeding projections, a run to the Sweet 16 would likely require an upset.

3. Kentucky’s Recruiting in the NIL Era (12:10–17:10)

• Key Topic: Do UK and new coach Mark Pope have the right approach to NIL-driven recruiting?
  • Matt relays a striking critique from Goodman and Doster: UK is lagging behind in NIL-era recruiting protocols, needing a true “GM” figure with agent and NIL connections.
  • “They said Kentucky is way behind in how to recruit in today's college basketball... Kentucky not only has no GM at all, when all these other schools have them, they don’t have anyone even in that world.” – Matt Jones (14:09)
• The hosts agree there is urgency for Pope to modernize, perhaps even by hiring from outside his usual coaching circle.
  • “He wants to surround himself with his people, and it may just be time. You have to go outside the box.” – Matt Jones (21:48)
• Drew points out Kentucky’s NBA connections (Booker, reigning MVP), but laments these have not been leveraged effectively.

4. Program Standards & Fan Perspectives (22:23–23:10)

• The crew faces the difficult truth: Kentucky's “gold standard” status is at risk.
  • “We're creeping up on one Final Four in 15 years. I mean, that’s not good for what we say is the gold standard.” – Drew (22:38)
  • “At some point we have to be honest of what’s happening. And not a lot has happened lately.” – Matt Jones (23:06)
• Multiple fans text or call in, broadly agreeing the program’s standards need urgent attention.

5. Conspiracy Corner: El Paso Airport Shutdown (24:07–29:13)

• The team riffs on the mysterious closure of El Paso airport/airspace for “10 days,” quickly reversed after widespread speculation (possible military or cartel drone incursion).
  • “That feels like a pretty big miscommunication. We're gonna shut down an entire airspace for 10 days? Oh, wait a minute. Sorry, wrong number.” – Matt Jones (25:36)
• Drew reads an AP report on a cartel drone incursion, but hosts are skeptical: “I don’t believe that for one second.” (26:55)
• Consensus is that something odd took place, with speculation about government miscommunication or a larger cover-up.

6. “True Crime Updates” and Local Color (29:13–34:00)

• Ryan shares his devotion to a local true crime radio show on Mix 94.5, drawing laughs from the rest for his unconventional news consumption habits.
  • “You get your news from Mix 94.5?” – Matt Jones (30:26)
• The show details the ongoing Savannah Guthrie's mother kidnapping case and how even with broad law enforcement resources, some cases remain unsolved.
• The discussion also humorously points out the effectiveness (and, in some cases, persistence) of home security cameras.

7. Listener Calls & UK Roster Talk (33:29–39:00)

• First caller asks about player Jasper Johnson’s likelihood of returning.
  • Matt and crew discuss Johnson’s limited role, his family’s public frustrations, and how today's transfer/NIL realities increase poaching risk for talents not getting major minutes.
• Second caller dives into mid-major bids and tournament resumes (Miami of Ohio): consensus is undefeated records with weak strength-of-schedule should not trump results against quality competition.

8. Pope v Pope: Basketball at the Vatican (41:30–45:55)

• Fun Segment: The crew riffs on the news that the (actual) Pope arranged for Villanova (his alma mater/favorite team) to play Notre Dame in Rome.
• They fantasize about a “Pope v. Pope” matchup: Mark Pope (UK coach) vs. the Pope (Catholic Church), with the winner claiming Kentucky basketball or papal authority.
  • “You’re marketing genius. Pope v. Pope.” – Matt Jones (43:42)
  • They debate how the Pope would cheer — in full regalia or as a regular fan.
• The entire segment reflects KSR’s trademark blend of irreverence and college sports obsession.

9. Tournament Projections & YouTube Advice (45:59–End)

• Caller asks how far UK would go if the tournament started today.
  • Matt estimates a 6-seed; likely a round of 32 win, but Sweet 16 depends on matchups.
  • “I'll go ahead and say if we start today would be a Sweet 16, but I worry we're going to lose games at the end of regular season and drop to a 7 or 8, and then advancing is a lot harder.” – Matt Jones (46:18)
• The second question (advice for starting a YouTube channel) is deferred for the break.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "If you got two of those three [top 3 SEC, SEC final, Sweet 16], you'd have to call it successful.” – Matt Jones (09:26)
• “We’re creeping up on one Final Four in 15 years ... That’s not good for the gold standard.” – Drew (22:38)
• “They said Kentucky is way behind in how to recruit in today's college basketball ... Kentucky not only has no GM at all, when all these other schools have them, they don’t have anyone even in that world.” – Matt Jones (14:09)
• “I don't believe cartel drones ... 10 days is a long time.” – Matt Jones (26:55)
• “You're marketing genius. Pope v. Pope.” – Matt Jones (43:42)
• “You get your news from Mix 94.5?” – Matt Jones (30:26)

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Important Timestamps

• [02:05] – Show starts live at KS Bar & Grill
• [07:13] – Kentucky basketball: What counts as success?
• [12:10] – Kentucky's recruiting and NIL discussion
• [22:23] – UK’s “gold standard” status, shifting fan expectations
• [24:07] – Conspiracy corner: El Paso airport shutdown
• [29:13] – True crime radio, Savannah Guthrie’s mother kidnapping
• [33:29] – Listener calls: Jasper Johnson & roster talk
• [41:30] – “Pope v. Pope”: Basketball game in Rome
• [45:59] – Tournament predictions and wrap-up

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Summary

Hour 1 features robust discourse about realistic benchmarks for Kentucky’s basketball program, the urgent adjustment needed in NIL and recruiting approaches, and a recurring thread about maintaining high standards amidst changing circumstances. Lighthearted and personable moments — like Ryan’s true crime radio habits and a fanciful "Pope v. Pope" basketball game — provide balance and capture the unique KSR energy. For fans and listeners alike, the hour is packed with insights, laughter, and honest reckoning about the future of Kentucky hoops.

Transcript

[Matt Jones]

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[Caller]

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[Matt Jones]

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[Podcast Narrator]

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[Comedy Announcer]

Comedy Off Broadway in Lexington welcomes the hilarious New York comedian Phil Hanley February 5th through the 7th. Then it's the return of AGT finalist and impressionist Greg Morton February 12th through the 14th. And don't miss legendary comedian and podcaster Greg Fitzsimmons February 19th through the 21st. For tickets to all Comedy Off Broadway shows, call 859-271-joke or visit comedyoffbroadway.com Comedy.

[Shannon]

Off Broadway this is Kentucky Sports Radio presented by Stockton Mortgage. Now here's Matt Jones.

[Matt Jones]

Welcome everyone. It's Kentucky Sports Radio, Wednesday, February 11th. I'm Matt Jones here live in Lexington, Kentucky at the KS Bar Grill. You can give us a shout on the Clark's Puppet Shop phone line, 859-280-2287. A Vision Auto Glass text machine is 772-774-5254. In this edition, sponsored by the TJ Smith Law Office, you call TJ or make them pay. We are here at KS Bar and Grill is also the KSR Pick Them Day and we got a full house. Me, Ryan and Drew. Mario's here. Where are you from, sir? What'd you say? You said Pikeville. Like somebody from Pikeville too. I heard, I heard a Pikeville there.

[Drew]

He's been in here before. I recognize.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, 859-28022. I said I love people from Pikeville. So nice to. Nice to be here with you and ready for. You know normally we'd have a game tonight or last night, but midweek off and here we are.

[Ryan]

It was weird even last night. They're two SEC basketball games last night. Kind of. This is a slow week, it seems like for everybody.

[Matt Jones]

A lot of teams are. I think this is the last bye week for some teams. So a lot of teams off and you know, give you a chance to reset here. Drew.

[Drew]

It is odd. I mean one, we're coming back from San Francisco. I've already adjusted that. But now it's like, well, where's, where's my Kentucky basketball? My body clock is just expecting a game today.

[Matt Jones]

But that's all right. We're glad to be here. And tonight is the KS Bar. Pick them. Sponsored by Cornbread Hemp. So here's what's going to happen tonight. I've picked basically you can look at your little score sheet and every game at 7 or 7:30 tonight in college basketball, you're picking. So like Ryan, you, you have the time to research. There's only like 11.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

Six of them are on TV. We'll be playing them here.

[Ryan]

Nice.

[Matt Jones]

You have to be here and get you. So I said 6:30 but you got to get your picks in before the games tip off.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

And we'll do something. It'll be a whole thing through the. It'll go through about 9, 9:30 and at the end money will be given. I think a thousand dollars for first place and 300 for second and 200 for third and it'll be, it'll be excellent. And I don't know see, we've never done this. So I don't have any people are going to be here. You know, it might be. Might be a lot of people. Might be just a few people in at which point you're going to win. So we'll see what happens.

[Ryan]

I am actually so excited about this. I'm coming tonight and I'm bringing yoga girl with me. We're kind of come. We're both coming. She can play, I can't.

[Matt Jones]

You can play, but you can't win.

[Ryan]

Can't win. Yeah, I'm going to play and try to show my, you know, because I know ball. So I'll probably, you know, I might win.

[Matt Jones]

What ball do you know? You're welcome. You guys sit up here. Yeah, you. You know ball.

[Ryan]

Yeah, I know ball. So I may win the contest, but I won't take the money.

[Matt Jones]

All right, well, good. Well, we'll put you up against the masses.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

So you have to. So I looked at the games. There's like 10 or 11. Most of them are major teams. Yeah, right. So most of the games are major teams. And you'll be picking not only who wins in the sprint, but you'll also be picking like, high scores. So you might need to take a second to kind of look at the. We'll be picking high scores of the big games. I'm not going to make you pick like Western Michigan's high score, but, you know, so you may have to do that out of you.

[Ryan]

So you're picking just money line. Are you picking against the spread?

[Matt Jones]

You'll find out tonight.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

You don't have to get all the rules right now. Supposed to be a surprise. You just go look at the game.

[Ryan]

Gotcha.

[Matt Jones]

And try to get a feel of the team.

[Ryan]

I got a great feel because I know ball.

[Matt Jones]

All right, who's playing tonight?

[Ryan]

Duke.

[Matt Jones]

Duke played last night.

[Ryan]

North Carolina.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. None of these.

[Drew]

Florida, Georgia.

[Shannon]

North Carolina lost to Miami.

[Matt Jones]

North Carolina lost my.

[Ryan]

Florida.

[Matt Jones]

Georgia is a big one.

[Drew]

Alabama will miss our friends. You know, we. We did the pregame show out west and it felt like everyone in Clemson was out there. Now they're home tonight. I hope everyone made it back for that.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Just so you know, here are the games that will be on tonight. Florida, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Yukon, Butler, Colorado, Texas Tech. Okay. Those are all the ones that we will be competing with. And then let's see.

[Drew]

Michigan plays tonight, too, if we want to include them.

[Matt Jones]

They're pretty good. Iowa, Maryland. Well, we won't miss that one starts at six, so the game starting at seven. Begin. Florida, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Clemson, American, Lehigh, California, Syracuse. And then there are many others. I'm not going to read all these, but Alabama Ole Miss is one of.

[Ryan]

Nice.

[Matt Jones]

So you excited?

[Ryan]

Oh, I tell you, I'm so excited. I'm bringing Dragon Yoga girl with me tonight. We're gonna have a party.

[Matt Jones]

Ask her if she would like to come. Get in the car. Drive with you. We are. We don't drag people to things. We just bring them.

[Drew]

Florida looks like a juggernaut right now, but we need to Root for Georgia, because Georgia wins tonight. Saturday will be for first place for.

[Matt Jones]

Well, Saturday's first place anyway. Because if we beat them, we could tie him. If we beat them, we would be tied with him in Arkansas, and we have the tiebreaker on both of them.

[Ryan]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

So, like, we. We Saturday have a chance to do something historic or. I don't know if it's historic, but it's. It would be. It would be good. Which would be to.

[Ryan]

Shocking.

[Matt Jones]

It would be shocking, I think, when you start. Oh, and two.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

To then lead the conference after 11 games would be amazing.

[Drew]

When one of the two was Missouri at home.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ryan]

They put that graphic up last night during the Vanderbilt game, and there's Kentucky sitting in second place behind floor. Like, oh, my goodness, how did this happen?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. All right, so let's talk about. So yesterday I filmed. Filmed again. I sound so old when I.

[Ryan]

You're in the 70s.

[Matt Jones]

Yesterday, I filmed. Yesterday I recorded a podcast with Field of 68, that's Jeff Goodman and Rob Doster, which they put up this morning. And I don't want you to stop the show to listen to it, but when the show's over, it's a very good interview. I tweeted out, I think it's on YouTube. We talk for, like, 30 minutes. And for people who say, matt, why don't you all do more, like serious ball talk? This is serious ball talk. So if you like 30 minutes of serious UK basketball talk, that's what it is. And the first 15 or 20 minutes is them interviewing me, but then the last 10 or 15 minutes is almost me interviewing them. They're asking me about how the fans are, how the team is, etc. And then at the end, I talk to them about some of the stuff with recruiting. So I want to go on both things and get your own. The first thing is, during my part, they're asking me questions, and one of the things they say is, what is success for UK this year? All right, what is success for UK this year? And I'll summarize my answer, and I want to see if you all disagree. My answer was, basically, if you look at the big picture of what we thought at the beginning of the season, chances are hard, chances are low. It's going to be successful because we were like, we could win the title. I said, but then if you consider where we are now today, I would say if two of these three things happen, I would consider it. Success. Come in the top three in the sec, which I think would be really impressive with what Our schedule is left. Make a run to the championship game of the SEC tournament, considering we've only been to Saturday once since 2019, which is crazy, or second weekend of the NCAA. And I said, if you got two of those three, you'd have to call it successful. And even if you got one, it would be okay. If you get zero unsuccessful. That's how I was. What would you. Would you agree or disagree with that?

[Ryan]

You're one of the same wavelength. I want the double buy in the SEC tournament.

[Matt Jones]

That would mean top four.

[Ryan]

And I want to at least get to the weekend. I mean, you know, you said championship game. I think I'd be happy just to get to Saturday, just to finally get to the weekend of the SEC tournament. But I'm thinking in my mind maybe I'm still holding on to our dreams of the preseason. I think we got to get the sweet 16, not just the necessary second.

[Matt Jones]

Weekend means the sweet 16.

[Ryan]

Well, I thought you meant, like the elite eight.

[Matt Jones]

Well, that's not second weekend. Is the sweet sixteens played in the second.

[Ryan]

Yeah, that to me, that I'll be. I'd be very happy with that.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Yeah, that's the second week. All right. What about you?

[Drew]

Yeah, I'm so conflicted because I hate lowering my expectations from the beginning, but I feel like you have to acknowledge the injuries. I mean, a lot of stuff I think is on the team is still in my mind, not constructed the best, and I still don't know how good they really are. I've lowered my bar just a little bit for the injuries. I think you got to get second weekend. Anything first weekend.

[Matt Jones]

We really do start anything first weekend. Let's say we came in second because I could see this scenario. We come in second in the sec, we hit the championship game, but we're still at that point probably a five seed in the tournament.

[Drew]

Well, don't be a five. That's my thing. Don't be a five seed.

[Matt Jones]

Then, like, we can't just keep saying it's good. I mean, but if we do.

[Drew]

If we do year after year of, well, this happened, will that happen? Then you just. You're just not what. What you once were. At some point we have to say first weekend sucks. I don't care what happened. And that should be Kentucky standard.

[Matt Jones]

All right. Shannon, what about you?

[Shannon]

So, yeah, for me, it all depends on what happens in March. So.

[Matt Jones]

So for you, regular season doesn't matter.

[Shannon]

Yeah, I mean, well, I mean, if you get to the tournament, you're going to have a decent regular season. So I would say you need to make it to the sweet 16. At least it'd be nice to make it to the championship game of the SEC tournament. But even if you don't, as long as you get to the sweet 16, you match what happened last year. Yeah, I think that's a success.

[Matt Jones]

Right. So I would just note that to get to the sweet 16 probably will require Kentucky to pull an upset. I mean, I. And that upset could be being a six to beat a three, being a five to beat a four. It also could be an eight to beat a one. Yeah. Or a seven to be to two. I mean, we still potentially have a lot of losses on this schedule. So I, I, I do think to get to a sweet 16 probably requires an upset. So that was conversation one, and let me know what you think. 772-774-5254. A call like, what do you think? Consider success. I said two of those three things. The next thing we talk about. And I would say for you, who, for you regular listeners of this show, you kind of know my opinion on things. I think you'll really be interested in the last 10 or 15 minutes because it kind of flips, you know, I have a hard time not being in control.

[Ryan]

No. Now, don't be so hard on yourself.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I.

[Ryan]

Don't beat yourself up.

[Matt Jones]

I know.

[Ryan]

Come on. It's okay.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I know you all probably don't want to say it, and it's not a big issue, but it might be a little issue, right?

[Shannon]

Control freak.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, maybe a little. Maybe the most so I most I've.

[Ryan]

Ever met in my life.

[Matt Jones]

So you don't. We don't need to, like, we don't need to just keep going.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

So I kind of flip it in the second half, and I almost start interviewing them.

[Ryan]

They probably like that.

[Matt Jones]

I think they did, actually. And I said, all right, I got a question for you. I asked them if they had read that KSR article a month ago about the recruiting. And they said they did. And I said, was it correct, essentially? What do you think about Kentucky's recruiting? And they almost went even farther than that article. They said Kentucky is way behind in how to recruit in today's college basketball. They said, not only does Kentucky need a gm, they need a gm. That's way different than what they have right now. He said Mark Pope assembled a group of coaches that are used to recruiting Pre and IO. They were great recruiters, Pre and IO. And he said now that Jeff Goodman was like, now being a recruiter in the nil is you got to be connected to the world of agents. He was like, mark Pope's staff is connected to the world of aau, which is what you used to do, but now you've got to know agents because they're negotiating the deals. And he compared it to Duke, where the woman that's in charge at Duke, she used to work for Nike, and she knows all these agents. They're her friends. She throws dinners for these agents. She takes them out, because that's what she used to do at Nike, and now she runs Duke. He was like, that's what you got to do. Kentucky not only has no GM at all, when all these other schools have them, they don't have anyone that's even in that world. And so a lot of the times when they're having conversations with these agents, they're just meeting them or barely know him, whereas the Duke people have been going out to dinner with them for 10 years. And they were like, kentucky has to change that. And they. And Rob Doster was like, they got to do it quick, because this starts in April, this idea we might hire a gm. They're like, if they're gonna hire gm, they got to do it, like, now, because they got to start getting players first of April. I found that fascinating. What do you think about one?

[Ryan]

It kind of surprises me to hear that you think Mark Pope. They're so, you know, modernized basketball and proactive about things, and almost. I'm almost surprised they're not ahead of.

[Matt Jones]

The modernized in coaching, but maybe not in this new thing that they do. But he was. They were adamant. They were like, kentucky needs to hire a gm, and they need to do it right now. Like, they cannot wait, because the moment the season's over, this will start. And if they don't have one, they're gonna. They're gonna be screwed.

[Ryan]

There aren't many top players left even out there.

[Matt Jones]

They said that most programs drew their GM doesn't even go to practice. All they do is spend their time watching other teams in the country to get ready for portal season.

[Drew]

Yeah, we all been on the camp if we needed those a long time, that just hearing that from two national guys furthers that opinion. And, you know, we heard from agents in the. In the summer, and then that article that the guys did of Pope being a little too emotional. And I think that's because he loves Kentucky so much. And, you know, we want this to exist where you say, come play for Kentucky, but honestly, that doesn't. At the negotiating table. That doesn't carry much weight. And I worry with Pope, he's putting too much on that. When these agents are like, what is the dollar amount? And then that's, that's what's deciding at the end of the day.

[Matt Jones]

And to the extent, like when Vince Merrill was really good at recruiting here for football, a lot of it was his relationships with high school coaches, et cetera. They're like, now those relationships have to be agents and you need to go. I think Goodman said Pope needs to go into that world, bring in somebody that he probably doesn't even know, but that he better learn. And again, they kept saying Duke does it the best. Like Duke went and hired the person at Nike who was in charge of dealing with agents. Well, that's smart.

[Ryan]

That is very smart.

[Matt Jones]

Right?

[Drew]

This shouldn't be this hard with the NBA connect. I mean, we have the reigning MVP in the NBA. I mean, Devin Booker is a superstar. They should be using that more than they do. I know we take pictures of them and there's the connection. They come back. But there has to be a way to help that with recruiting and Nike and all the stuff, stuff that comes with it when you have some of the stars at the next level.

[Matt Jones]

So a 592-802-2287 I would encourage people to listen to that, to hear their opinion because when that article came out, you know, a lot of people are like, I don't know what I think of that. These are people with no connection to Kentucky essentially making the same point. We will take a break. Be right back. We are here at KS Bar and Grill, Wings Day. This is Kentucky sports radio.

[Comedy Announcer]

This month, iHeartRadio is celebrating the stars of the 2026 Winter Games. Scottsdale, Arizona produced Austin Matthews, who headlines a star studded roster as NHL players return to the Olympics. One of the most lethal goal scorers in the world, Matthews brings his elite wrist shot and MVP pedigree to Team usa. For the first time in a decade, the world's best pros are facing off for national glory. And Matthews looks to lead the Americans to a miracle finish in Italy. For more Winter Games gold, search olympics on the iHeartRadio app.

[Matt Jones]

What do you do when the headlines.

[Ben Higgins]

Don'T explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins and if you can hear me is where culture meets the soul. A place for real conversation. Each episode, I sit down with people from all walks of life. Celebrities, thinkers and everyday folks. And we go deeper than the polished story. We talk about what drives us, what shapes us and what gives us hope. We get honest about the big stuff. Identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore. Loss that changes you Purpose when success isn't enough. Peace when your mind won't slow down. Faith when it's complicated. Some guests have answers. Most are still figuring it out. If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to if you can hear me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ryder Strong]

This is Ryder Strong and I have a new podcast called the Red Weather.

[Podcast Narrator]

It was many and many a year ago in a kingdom by the sea.

[Ryder Strong]

In 1995, my neighbor Anna Trainor disappeared from a commune.

[Matt Jones]

It was hard to wrap your head around.

[Ryder Strong]

It was nature and trees and praying and drugs.

[Caller]

So no, I am not your guru.

[Ryder Strong]

And back then I lied to my parents, I lied to police, I lied to everybody.

[Matt Jones]

There were years, Ryder, where I could.

[Podcast Narrator]

Not say your name.

[Ryder Strong]

I've decided to go back to my hometown in Northern California, interview my friends, family, talk to police, journalists, whomever I can to try to find out what actually happened.

[Matt Jones]

Isn't it a little bit weird that.

[Drew]

They obsess over hippies in the woods and not the obvious boyfriend?

[Matt Jones]

They have had this case for 30 years. I'll teach you sons of come around here in my white Boom boom.

[Ryder Strong]

This is the red weather. Listen to the red weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Narrator]

On June 11, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing. It's an allout manhunt for John Ajay. Every search and rescue team in LA county has been called in to help. Within days, tips started flooding into the sheriff's department.

[Matt Jones]

They ruler around the drug scene. Was that a deputy was taken care of. Is this the story of a man.

[Podcast Narrator]

Who just got lost in the desert? Or of a cover up inside the nation's largest sheriff's department?

[Ryan]

A homicide captain saying detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.

[Matt Jones]

Who does that?

[Podcast Narrator]

Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert. Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?

[Shannon]

I wouldn't do it alone.

[Podcast Narrator]

Listen to Valley of shadows on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ryan]

That's close. Where I used to live.

[Matt Jones]

Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio 859-280-2287. Text machine is 772 Sims M 45254. Seems like most people kind of agree with us on what is success. Probably somewhere in between me and Drew, there are people who are saying, got to go the second weekend. I haven't seen anybody say, you got to go the Final Four. That's good. So that does mean that people have understood that maybe we've taken one person, says Matt. I do worry that both of those conversations you had suggest Kentucky lowering its standards, both in success and how we do things in the off season. Well, maybe, you know, we. We used to say Cal needed to change, and we've talked all about that. Style, play, et cetera. Well, I do think Pope needs to maybe change in. Just understand. I think Pope's a control freak. Cal was definitely a control freak. I think Pope's a control freak in a little bit of a different way in the sense of, like, he wants to surround himself with his people, and it may just be time. You have to go outside the box. I mean, those guys know that world better than me, Drew. And so that's why I wanted to ask those questions. And it further confirmed kind of what the KSR article said, what we said. The only thing we didn't. I didn't really ask about the JMI stuff. I don't even know to what extent they know about that. But. But they were all adamant about the GM thing.

[Drew]

Completely agree. And, you know, we don't like to say this out loud, but we're in two years. We'll have one title in 30 years, and we're creeping up on one final four in 15 years. I mean, that's not good for the. What we say is the gold standard. So there needs to be some urgency in finding success again or that Indiana conversation gets pretty real.

[Matt Jones]

Boy, that one Final Four. So right now, we still got a.

[Drew]

While before the one in 15 years. It's been 10, though.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Our last final four was 2015, which it doesn't feel like that long ago, but that's a long time ago.

[Drew]

But if every year we go, well, but well, but, well, but, well, but we're Kentucky at that point. No, you're not a gold standard. You're just, well, button. You're Tennessee footballing yourself every year.

[Matt Jones]

You don't want to just keep saying.

[Drew]

Well, next year is the year.

[Matt Jones]

So I don't want to just.

[Drew]

At some point, we have to be honest of what's happening. And not a lot has happened lately.

[Matt Jones]

One person says, matt, why do you sound drunk in that video on field? I don't know. I got to figure that out. There's something about. When I film these interviews, I think it's mostly at my Lexington house, but I don't know why it. Both on my. Both on my phone and on that thing. It makes me sound like. It makes me sound like. When Shannon slows, my ad reads down to finish the 60 seconds. And I don't know why it gives. I don't know what it is. I don't know. Did. Can Internet be, like a millisecond slow?

[Ryan]

It's got to be. Yeah. If it's affecting everything you do in that place, it's got to be the wireless connection.

[Matt Jones]

Because, you know, when I used to do those Twitter spaces, it sounded like I had a list.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And this one, it's. It's not bad. It's just like I'm a quarter second slow.

[Drew]

It's got to be some kind of lag on the streaming between you.

[Matt Jones]

But it doesn't happen when I do it in Louisville, and it doesn't usually happen even when I do it, like, in my car.

[Ryan]

But for some reason in your house.

[Matt Jones]

In my house in Lexington, you pay.

[Drew]

In your WI fi bill. You got good WI fi. You go cheap on that.

[Matt Jones]

I pay 75 of it. So I feel like that you don't.

[Drew]

Have, like, the knockoff.

[Matt Jones]

Well, that should work. All right. Before I want to go the phones. 859-280-2287. Yes, conspiracy theories were a big thing. We do have to talk for just a second about this El Paso thing. For a second, Shannon. I feel like you'd like that. Did you see what happened?

[Shannon]

I don't know that I know this story.

[Matt Jones]

So late last night at 11 o', clock, they closed the El Paso airport and all airspace around El Paso, and they said for 10 days, no explanation. First time in American history besides 9 11, where they close for multiple days in airspace. And so everybody's like, what's going on? That's close to the border? So some people thought, wait a minute, are we invading Mexico? This morning when I woke up, like, everyone was guessing, nuclear test, all this stuff. And then at 8:45 this morning, they open it back up, and they just say, we just. We're opening it back up. But no explanation for why last night it was closed for 10 days. Now, they did put out a statement right before the show that said it was just miscommunication between the Department of Defense and the faa. That feels like a pretty big miscommunication. We're going to Shut down an entire airspace for 10 days. Oh, wait a minute. Sorry, wrong number.

[Drew]

Whoops.

[Matt Jones]

Whoops. So my thought is they were going to do something and then overnight everybody was like, wait a minute, what are you doing? And then maybe they changed their mind. What do you think?

[Ryan]

So there was a report this morning said there was drones. They were. What?

[Matt Jones]

Do me. It was drone.

[Ryan]

Drones.

[Matt Jones]

You can't say drones. What does that mean?

[Ryan]

Some sort of drones in. On the military base or something. Was.

[Matt Jones]

So they were gonna just fly.

[Ryan]

But what.

[Matt Jones]

What do you mean drone?

[Ryan]

I don't know. I just.

[Drew]

What are they doing? What are they up to?

[Ryan]

Heard a report this morning that it.

[Matt Jones]

Our drones?

[Ryan]

I'm not sure. I think President Trump said it was Mexican cartel drone.

[Matt Jones]

Mexican cartel drone.

[Ryan]

Trump said this morning or something.

[Matt Jones]

Where did he say that? You hear this on the precaution. Did any. Is any of this real news?

[Ryan]

It was on the news report during. On the radio this morning.

[Matt Jones]

They said Trump said Mexican cartel drones.

[Ryan]

One of the.

[Matt Jones]

Here we go.

[Drew]

I found it from the ap. Do we trust the ap? Okay. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, that's a dude from the real world, said that the FAA and the Defense Department and here's we got quotation marks. Acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized and there's no danger. So cartel drones. I don't believe that for one second.

[Matt Jones]

I don't believe that either.

[Drew]

Cartel drones.

[Matt Jones]

Why would you need to shut it for 10 days? Like, if it was a cartel drone? Why would you just be like, all right, we gotta stop it for a minute. We'll get the drone. All right, now open. Why would you say we're gonna be close for 10 days?

[Drew]

I'm not believing cartel drones.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, there may have been a cartel drone. I'm not saying. But like, I don't. The 10 days is the part I don't understand. Like, 10 days is a long time. The. Where the airline shut down for 10 days after 9, 11. I don't think it was that long.

[Ryan]

It was that long.

[Matt Jones]

Ten days would have been the, I think the longest shutdown in American history.

[Ryan]

And ended up being, what, 10 hours or something?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So I. I don't know. I could believe it was drones, but I can't believe the 10 days. Something is amok or was amok. We'll figure it out. Maybe they stopped the muck, but something was happening. All right, we'll take your calls. Right. For this. Ksr. TJ Smith, personal injury attorney. Call tj. He'll make him pay.

[Shannon]

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

[Ryan]

Did that air. Did that get on?

[Matt Jones]

I don't think they got on.

[Shannon]

Yeah, I did.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, did it? Yeah, I fell in love with a Mexican drone. 859280, 2287. Okay, so somebody writes, Matt, maybe it was. They said 10 hours, but the miscommunication was they thought they said 10 days.

[Drew]

It was about 10 hours.

[Ryan]

It was about 10 hours. Seems a pretty blatant mistake.

[Drew]

I would still want more people.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that was. That actually makes me more concerned.

[Drew]

Don't know the difference.

[Matt Jones]

10 hours. Okay. Days. Got it. I don't believe it was just a dry. Like, if it's just a drone, why do you say 10 days? I mean, they. They initiated the biggest air.

[Drew]

Because.

[Matt Jones]

Because 911 was apparently eight days. Okay, so they initiated the biggest air shutdown in American history. I can't imagine that's just because of a drone.

[Ryan]

It reeks of something bigger they're trying to cover up. Right.

[Matt Jones]

Or miscommunication of 10 hours, 10 days. That actually. That's actually the second most plausible.

[Drew]

Yeah, it's a big miscommunication.

[Matt Jones]

That is a big miscommunication. All right, one more thing, and then I do want to go do conspiracy. What do we think about Savannah Guthrie's mother thing?

[Ryan]

I am so. Shannon, I were just talking about during the break. I'm into it. I mean, like, last night especially.

[Matt Jones]

Are you trying to solve it?

[Ryan]

I just like listening to all the updates.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Ryan]

Like, they're here. There's a 94.5 mix. 94.5.

[Matt Jones]

So you get your updates from the pop station.

[Ryan]

Yeah, they have a true crime radio show every night.

[Matt Jones]

You're not getting it from the news. You're getting it for mix 94.4.5. In between the James Taylor and Neil diamond song.

[Ryan]

Well, they have a true crime show every night. They don't play. They don't play music. They have this true crime show every night.

[Shannon]

So they stop the music to do that.

[Matt Jones]

They stop the music to do true crime.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Now, what would say, Shannon, Why do they do that? We have our answer right here. Because this man will listen to it.

[Ryan]

Last night, this news was breaking in real time as I'm in the car. Like, they arrested a suspect. They've released the video of a prowler. I mean, it was all happening. And, like, I'm Like, I was watching CNN or something. It's happening.

[Matt Jones]

But no, you were listening to Mix.

[Ryan]

94.55 live on the air.

[Drew]

He's a company man.

[Matt Jones]

I gotta give him that ridiculous. You get your news from Mix 94 point?

[Ryan]

It's a great radio show. You should listen to it.

[Matt Jones]

What's it called?

[Ryan]

True crime show.

[Matt Jones]

Mix 94. What? True crime. That is amazing. My man's like, all right, how do I get the latest?

[Ryan]

And they were all over.

[Matt Jones]

The rap station was in commercial.

[Ryan]

Breaking news, like live on the spot. Oh, we gotta take a commercial break. We'll be right back. Come back and be something else happen.

[Drew]

Christmas music. Isn't that the Mixmas station?

[Ryan]

Yes, it is.

[Drew]

True crime Christmas music.

[Matt Jones]

Boy, they do a lot of mix 94.5Shout out to iHeartRadio ratings with all of this information.

[Ryan]

Information before their show is. Mario Lopez has a show. So you can give Mario Lopez about what.

[Drew]

When you said we don't know much about Ryan, this is what I'm talking about. We learned so much when he starts talking.

[Matt Jones]

That's true. We don't know about his brain because it operates in odd ways. Okay, so they. They released the. The thing. The. The pictures of it. Apparently because he disabled the camera. Yeah, but I guess ring or what. Whoever. Whatever kind of camera they had. They apparently. And by the way, this was good in this instance, but something for people to think about. Even when the camera ain't on, they still got it.

[Ryan]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

Because they went in the archives, and even though the camera been disabled and all that and turned off, they still had it. Just something for people to remember. Like, you think this stuff is not there? It is in this case. It was positive. They see the pictures of him. He's wearing, like, an old school mat. Like a mask from, like, a 1970s movie. You know, it was. It was the. Like a ski. Ski mask.

[Drew]

He seemed unprepared, too, because he just picked up a random bush to cover his. To cover the camera.

[Matt Jones]

Very.

[Drew]

If he was a pro, I thought he'd have, like, better gear than that. But he's like, let me use this random shrub.

[Shannon]

Didn't seem to be well thought out. He didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

[Matt Jones]

He did not.

[Shannon]

Again, it could be a she.

[Matt Jones]

Back to my thing of how have they not caught him? We have the entire government, federal and state. How have they not caught this person? But they haven't. They did, however, go and detain a person who turned out to be a FedEx driver. So they went to the guy and they detained him. And they were like, we hear you have Nancy Guthrie. And he's like, I just drive Fedex I do not have anyone. And so they let him go. Very scary stuff. But he. She was clearly kidnapped. I mean, like, that's we. We. So I'm kind of surprised they can't because it's not like a master criminal. It's a guy in a ski mask using a bush to cover up the camera. You would think they would have caught this guy.

[Ryan]

And she's a former UK student, wrote for the Kentucky colonel back in the day. There's a little connection with elected in here.

[Matt Jones]

So. So you're in it. Will you do me a favor?

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Listen to mix 94.5 tonight so that I can get the update.

[Ryan]

I will gladly update you tonight. Well, I'm gonna be here at the party tonight, the big shindig.

[Matt Jones]

All right, well, let's go. Should we mute the sound of the game?

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Put on the. The crime.

[Ryan]

You'll have all the updates right there for us.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, we might do that to keep up. All right, who's first? Shannon?

[Shannon]

Kevin.

[Matt Jones]

Kevin. Go ahead, Kevin.

[Caller]

Yeah, a couple. I think it was last week or something, you guys talked about your predictions of the top five players. Rocky, who you think will return? And you guys left off Jasper Johnson. So I just wanted to get reasoning behind that because I think he could really make a huge step forward next year if he comes back.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I appreciate the call. Well, first of all, you have to take the. The initial answer. That is we don't know who's coming back or not. So this is really. We were asked to guess. I saw criticism on of us online that we talked about it. You know, when you get asked, we're gonna talk about it. Jasper Johnson. I don't know what he's gonna do. I have no insight. I don't think it's unreasonable, though, not to put him on the top of the list of people who will return because he doesn't play a lot top recruit. And you know, he's had family members publicly online, you know, being frustrated with his. With the way he's been used. So I, you know, I don't think the kid has said anything that I. That I remember. But I could understand why many people, myself included, would not say he's the most likely guy to return.

[Ryan]

You know, I think Jasper turn down more money to play at Kentucky this year. He wants to play here. He loves it here. He grew up a Kentucky fan. There's gonna be teams throw a lot of money at him. I think this off season and I don't think there.

[Matt Jones]

Well, if you're a school out there looking for a player. There are two different kinds of players people look for, Drew. One is the mid major guy to take a step up, right, Your Antonio Reeves, your Dalton connect. And the second thing is guy at a high major program that for whatever reason, it's not just work, it's really not working out. And you think he'll do better here and Jasper would seem to fit that to a tee.

[Drew]

Yeah, that and I know he does love it here, but he was very close to not coming. Remember, our football recruiter had to step in and help a little bit too, to help get him over the hump from Alabama and North Carolina, where Vince.

[Matt Jones]

Merrill was a big part of the final decision there. It's probably the last thing he did for Kentucky. In some ways he was close to.

[Drew]

UNC and Alabama and now that he's gotten here and again, I don't. I've had no conversations, but just watching, you know, Jasper's more of that creator type, needs the ball in his hands, maybe a little one on one and it doesn't seem to be meshing well with what Pope's trying to do. We can see it every little once in a while where he gets it going. But overall, I think if you were to get the Johnsons on truth serum and ask if this year went the way they thought it would, that would. That would be a.

[Matt Jones]

Interesting point. You know, we. There's been the debate about whether or not Jalen Lowe is a Pope kind of point guard. If Jalen Lowe's not, then I don't know if Jasper Johnson is either because he's a simple. Now I will say this. When he gets rolling, his threes are smooth. Like he's got a smooth jumper.

[Ryan]

I think, you know, his minutes have been limited too because Aberdeen's been playing so well, you know.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Because we thought when Low got hurt we'd see a lot of.

[Ryan]

See a lot of Jasper. And I will get to Jasper's credit when he does get his number call. Like he dove on the floor twice the other day against Tennessee. Like he's busting his ass when he gets in there. Had to spark against Tennessee down in Knoxville. He's doing his job, but Aberdeen's playing so well, it's hard to take him off.

[Matt Jones]

It's still going to be a game. They're going to need him. Yeah, the back court is so thin, you know you're going to get a guy in foul trouble or something, he's going to need. There's going to be a game where they're going to need him this year. Who's next?

[Shannon]

Don.

[Matt Jones]

Don. Go ahead, Don.

[Caller]

Yeah, The Miami of Ohio, if there's a possibility they lose in the tournament. I'm not real sure. I, I don't like some of the things that they're playing. Indiana east at Kokomo. Basically there's a small school in southwest Indiana used to pad their stats on that team.

[Matt Jones]

I'm with you. I mean, I. It depends on how you look at it. Right. Should Miami of Ohio make the tournament if they lose? Well, on the one hand, it feels wrong to go undefeated and not put them in. On the other hand.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

If you take Ole Miss and you give a Miami of Ohio schedule, they probably go undefeated.

[Ryan]

Probably.

[Matt Jones]

So why do you say who on that schedule's beat?

[Caller]

No, no. They probably do it very easily. Much easier than my.

[Matt Jones]

We agree that. Yeah, yeah. I appreciate the call. I don't. So, I mean, maybe every team in the SEC goes undefeated with Miami schedule. So I'm all for these small teams getting into the tournament with their automatic bits, but with at larges, I think you got to take the best teams, right?

[Drew]

Yeah. We keep saying they're undefeated. If they don't win their conference tournament, you're not undefeated. And whoever you lost to, that would be a bad loss. And their strength of schedules, like ranked 330th, I don't think you can just put them in. If they go, you know, win the regular season, then lose in the conference.

[Matt Jones]

Would you feel differently if they played like Ohio State in the non conference.

[Drew]

And beat them if they had one win of someone ranked in the top 75? I think you do, but they don't. None of these teams they're playing or ranked.

[Matt Jones]

That's kind of how I feel. If they had gone and played one good team in the non conference and beat them just one, then I would say let them in. But if you're gonna play none, then I don't. I don't know.

[Ryan]

You know, going into the season, they had to know they had a pretty good team. Why wouldn't they want to schedule a tougher. Some tougher games?

[Matt Jones]

And I will say, with all that said, one of their people in their athletic department listens to this show, heard our conversation and has invited me to one of their games. So that would be fun. If I go to one of their games, I will flip my opinion. Sure. Because it will be fun.

[Shannon]

I can watch them beat up on Indiana Kokomo. Is that why you want to go?

[Matt Jones]

Well, no, I just, I think it would be cool. Like I like going to invite. I mean we went to Cal Berkeley's campus. I loved it. I like going to random places and doing random things. I you know when we who you.

[Ryan]

Go see play Ohio University played Youngstown State.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that's exactly right.

[Drew]

They have one win in the top 140.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that's not good. If you haven't made your Valentine's Day reservation, you probably won't get one. But it's not too late to plan a special dinner with locally grown dry aged beef from Noche Linda Farms. We have them here at KS Bar. You can eat them tonight at the pick them contest. They offer everything from traditional filet and rib eye to great cuts you'll never find in the store. And you can order them at home for you. And if you're in in the Kentucky area you can get local delivery or shipped overnight. Noche Lindafarms.com no C E N O C H E Lindapharms.com can you this is supporting Kentucky Farms and by the way it's a lot better than the rest of it. 859-707-7004 a Kentucky proud partner Noche Lindafarms.com we'll take a break and be right back. It's KSR. Welcome back. It is Kentucky Sports Radio, 859-280-2287. Text machine is 772-774-5254. One person writes Matt, are you concerned about playing time for Pope players because of how many guys he plays? I was a little concerned about that, about recruiting, but like since we've had the injuries, he's ended up playing these guys a ton of minutes. I think it's just a matter of kind of getting him focused. Drew to play in the right guys or unfortunately injuries.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Drew]

I still think he needs to show that a high school kid bring one in and be like, look, I played him 30 minutes a game. I think that is a concern for Stokes or a star. You know, we don't like to hear that these guys won all the minutes and all the shots, but that's the world we live in now. And I think Kentucky needs to go out and you got to have one of those dudes. Look around college basketball. The teams that are good have a superstar and I think that's what Kentucky's like always great. But he's not the category of a lot of the guys that are have these top five top 10 teams right now.

[Matt Jones]

We also have two twins here who it's their birthday. Danielle who it's Nice to see you. Happy birthday. Thank you. Good. What two of our biggest fans been coming. We have two sets of twins that are always loyal fans. So nice to see you on Happy birthday today on Wings that your birthday and Wings Day close to Valentine's Day as well. It's very exciting.

[Ryan]

29 years old, I think they said.

[Matt Jones]

Today we'll say they're. Listen. 29 Listen on Facebook. You can be whatever you spoken like.

[Ryan]

You have a little knowledge of that.

[Matt Jones]

That I, at this point in my life, would like to change it, and they will not let me. I've had multiple conversations. They're just like, no, because I'm tired of explaining it. But they will not let me change it. So, you know, all right. It is what it is. I got a big shout out, big shout out to the Pope. Not Mark, the. The Pope. Catholic Pope. Don't know him, but I'm giving him a big shout out.

[Ryan]

All right.

[Matt Jones]

Did you see what he did?

[Drew]

No.

[Matt Jones]

Next year, to open the season, Villanova, his favorite college basketball team. That's. He's a Villanova fan, is playing Notre Dame in Rome.

[Ryan]

Wow. Really?

[Matt Jones]

He scheduled the game. He said, like, I'm the Catholic big dude. I make stuff happen. So he gets Notre Dame, the Catholic school.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And then his alma mater and says, you're coming to me. I can't go to you. You're coming to me. In a world where I were to become Pope, granted, long shot, very unlikely that's going to happen. But if I were to come Pope, you telling me I'm not bringing Kentucky to play a home game like you guys, I can't get all the way to Lexington, all the security. It's hard for to get that car in an airplane. Like, I'm. I'm bringing you to me. I got to give a big shout out to the Pope. If the Chicago Bears end up playing in Rome, then that's going to be even more impressive. I love it. That's a college basketball fan right there.

[Drew]

I love it, too. And, you know, he got his Catholic team here, but I think next year he has to challenge Pope. I think Kentucky.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, Pope be Pope.

[Drew]

Yeah. He's like, listen, this world's only big enough for one of us.

[Ryan]

Love it.

[Drew]

We go to the Vatican. If Mark Pope wins, he becomes Pope. If Leo's team of his choosing wins, he gets Kentucky basketball. One Pope after that game.

[Matt Jones]

Listen, you're marketing genius. Pope v. Pope.

[Drew]

Lay it all on the line.

[Matt Jones]

You can have the whole church, but.

[Drew]

I get Kentucky basketball and I get to Pick my team.

[Matt Jones]

This will be the first Pope to ever go to a college basketball game. I'm sure he's gonna go. He has.

[Drew]

Oh, he's gonna bet on it. It will be sponsored by DraftKings, and he will have a parlay.

[Matt Jones]

He has to go. I mean, you can't bring your favorite college team along with the team of the Catholic Church and not go Ryan.

[Ryan]

Right. You know, Poplio, I wasn't, Wasn't a fan. He's a Cubs fan. But I love this. This is awesome. And I think this is the first of many times he'll do something like this. You think they'll do a football game? Like having Notre Dame football?

[Matt Jones]

Well, he's a Villanova fan. He's not a Notre Dame fan. He, he, I. He went to Villanova.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

So he is a. He's, He's. I mean, I think the Notre Dame is just for all the Catholics. Villanova's for him.

[Ryan]

I love it. Right.

[Drew]

I don't think it's a question of does he go. It's. Does he go as the Pope or is he like foam finger, face paint hoodie? Like, what kind of fan is he? Does he go in all elegant with security or see front row crushing popcorn and booing the rest?

[Matt Jones]

The Pope allowed to go out in public without all the stuff. Can he just wear, like, a hoodie and shorts? What I'm wondering, because he's not quite as Popey if he doesn't do that.

[Drew]

But having this game already is not very Popey, so I'm just wondering how far he goes. Maybe slams a couple arena beers.

[Matt Jones]

I love the idea of him painting his face. I actually think I would like it more if he was in the Pope gear.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

With his paint face painted in a number one foam finger.

[Drew]

Maybe he takes a sign.

[Ryan]

Do you set him on courtside or do you.

[Matt Jones]

I don't think they put him in the rafters. I think if he comes, you give him a courtside seat. Wow.

[Drew]

I think you let him do the jump ball. Let him toss it. Not he jumps, he tosses it for the two players.

[Matt Jones]

I guess at Villanova, you'd be the V. He could be the V. Yeah. I love it. That's my.

[Drew]

They should hire us to put this event together.

[Matt Jones]

That's my. The Pope just raised a notch. If he's going to bring the teams to him. I, I, I love that Notre Dame fan. I would think if you're a Villanova. A Villanova or a Notre Dame fan is. Villanova's a Catholic school too.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

So, like, if you're a Catholic Villanova, you gotta go.

[Ryan]

Gotta go, right?

[Matt Jones]

Like, you're. You're. I mean, this would be the coolest thing. You got a chance to meet the Pope.

[Ryan]

Game of a lifetime.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, that. That would be. What an awesome event. All right, who's next year?

[Shannon]

Let's go to John.

[Matt Jones]

John. Go ahead, John.

[Caller]

Hey, How y' all doing, guys?

[Matt Jones]

Good.

[Caller]

So I got two quick questions for you. One, if the tournament started today, how far do you think we would go, based on our. I guess you could say inconsistencies. Second question, how. What kind of advice would you all. And I guess especially Mario, what kind of advice would you give a guy who's just starting out on YouTube?

[Matt Jones]

Well, the second question is probably a little long, so I'll see if I can remember that to do it in the. In the break. First question. Appreciate the call. If this tournament started today, I think we'd be a 6 seed, which means we'd play an 11. Like a Miami of Ohio, I think is who a lot of people project is. I think we'd win that game and then a three seed. And for me, it would depend on who we got. Right. Are we getting, like. I've seen this paired up with Nebraska. I like our chances of winning that game, but we could also get paired up with. I don't know who else is a 3? Michigan State. And that's a harder game. So I'll go ahead and say if we start today would be a sweet 16, but I worry we're going to lose games at the end of regular season and drop to a 7 or 8, and then advancing is a lot harder. Yeah. So kind of depends on what our seat is. We'll take a break, come back hour number two.