2026-02-20- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

KSR Podcast – Hour 1 | February 20, 2026

Episode Overview

On this Friday edition of Kentucky Sports Radio, host Matt Jones, along with Shannon, Drew, and the studio crew, deliver a lively mix of UK sports talk and personal banter. The episode covers nostalgic sneaker gifts, deep dives into UK basketball trivia (from jersey numbers to free throw stats), and thoughtful commentary on the tragic passing of Tennessee sports reporter Wes Rucker. The crew also previews Kentucky’s upcoming matchup with Auburn, weighs in on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Trump-era tariffs, and answers listener questions about NIL deals and player motivations.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Sneakerhead Nostalgia & 1996 UK Converse Gift (01:04–06:30)

• Matt receives a rare pair of 1996 UK denim Converse sneakers: Limited-edition “Untouchables” shoes, only 96 boxes made.
• Debate: To wear or not to wear? Matt insists on wearing all his 300 pairs of sneakers, arguing:

  “What’s the point of having shoes if you don’t wear right?” – Matt Jones (02:47)

• Value of boxes for collectors: Some see the box as more valuable than the sneaker; Matt tosses most boxes, preferring utility over collector's value.
• Fun trivia: The team quizzes Ryan on the ‘96 Kentucky team’s jersey numbers.
  • Ryan astonishes the group by nailing the roster, including obscure players.
  • “He doesn’t know basic living facts, but he can name every number and player from the ‘96 team.” – Matt Jones (06:39)

2. UK Basketball Free Throw Trivia (07:51–10:43)

• Who had the best single-season FT% in the Calipari era?
  • Top answers: Tyler Herro (93.7%), Emmanuel Quickley, Antonio Reeves, Tyler Ulis, Tyrese Maxey, Darius Miller, Julius Mays, Reid Travis.
  • Even UK stats expert Corey Price only got 3 of the 8, underscoring the difficulty.

3. Reflecting on Wes Rucker’s Passing (10:49–15:00)

• Matt honors Wes Rucker, prominent Tennessee Vols reporter, who tragically died in a highway accident.
  • Rucker was a respected “fan reporter” and integral online voice for Tennessee athletics.
  • “He loved Tennessee the way we love Kentucky… posting about a hockey game and he was killed less than an hour later on his drive home from work. Life is fleeting and you never know what’s going to happen.” – Matt Jones (14:20)
  • Matt urges listeners to appreciate life and keep Rucker’s young family in their prayers.

4. Breaking News: Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs (16:32–17:15; 25:00–27:59)

• Matt delivers the breaking news that the Supreme Court invalidated Trump's Emergency Powers tariffs:
  • Simplifies for listeners:

    “Trump put all these tariffs on other countries… under what’s called the Emergency Powers Act… Supreme Court was like, no, it’s not an emergency… Congress has to pass it." (25:42)

  • Discusses implications: US may have to return $150 billion in collected tariffs; likely future lawsuits.

5. Kentucky vs Auburn Preview & SEC Basketball (17:14–24:06)

• Importance and unpredictability of this matchup:
  • Both teams desperate for a win (Auburn, 14–12, on a losing streak; Kentucky reeling from Georgia loss).
  • "The moment you think they've turned a corner… you have a game like Georgia. With this team, who knows what will happen." – Drew (18:36)
  • Discussion of Auburn’s key threat (Keyshawn Hall), coaching (Stephen Pearl, son of Bruce Pearl), and how UK needs to respond.
• Postseason implications: The crew agrees UK must win at least a couple more games (plus possibly one in Nashville) to ensure an NCAA tournament bid.

6. Arena Atmosphere and Road Challenges (23:16–24:56; 40:05–41:15)

• Auburn’s arena praised as one of the best:

  “That's as good, if not the best, atmosphere when it’s really going.” – Matt Jones (23:28)

  • Caller Lee shares her positive experiences wearing blue at Auburn:

    “That is the best place to watch a ball game… everybody is so nice. If they see me with my blue on, they’ll say, oh, I’ll get that for you.” (40:22)

7. NIL Questions and UK’s Injury Situation (28:22–34:06)

• Listeners ask about NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) payment structure:
  • Injured players (like Jaden Quaintance) almost certainly still get paid under NIL even if they cannot play, barring specific contract language.
  • Matt: “Our problem is not money. Our problem is our guys are either not good enough or playing with energy. These other schools are doing fine.” (41:46)
• Concerns about player motivation:
  • Discussion turns philosophical—bonuses aren’t a cure-all for motivation.
  • Injury speculation: Shannon theorizes Quaintance might’ve re-injured his knee, prompting the shutdown.

8. Nostalgia & Radio Memories (35:04–37:13)

• The crew reminisces about pre-digital music days:
  • Matt fondly recalls taping the “Top 9 at 9” on cassette when radio was the only way to access certain songs.
  • “Now you could just get your cassette out and tape it… that's how I had… all these cassette records.” – Matt Jones (35:38)

9. Olympic Oddities: Ski Uphill Event (37:13–39:31)

• Ryan expresses amazement and confusion at seeing Olympic athletes ski uphill on TV:
  • “They ski up a mountain, take their skis off, go up a flight of stairs, put their skis back on, go up the mountain.” – Shannon (37:44)
  • Matt points out all sports are arbitrary, every bit as “dumb” if you view them out of context.
  • “Every sport is stupid if you look at it like that. The only sport that really makes sense is running—everything else…” – Matt Jones (38:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On sneaker collecting:
  “Buying a painting and putting it in storage… just buy stock if you don’t want to look at it or wear it.” – Matt Jones (02:59)
• On Wes Rucker:
  “He was the most passionate Tennessee reporter because he was a fan reporter… He loved Tennessee the way we love Kentucky.” – Matt Jones (13:13; 14:20)
• SEC Basketball unpredictability:
  “The sons of really talented people are rarely as talented… it is very rare to have a father that’s very successful and then the son be as good, usually much worse.” – Matt Jones on Stephen Pearl vs. Bruce Pearl (19:29)
• On NIL and college athlete motivation:
  “If you’re having to put performance bonuses in to motivate your guys, you’re screwing up… there have always been dudes who didn’t care.” – Matt Jones (41:46)
• On old-school music habits:
  “You had to call up the radio and, you know… get your cassette out and tape it.” – Kentucky Sports Radio Producer (35:27)
• Olympic Winter Game puzzle:
  “Why are these five people trying to put that ball in that thing? … Every sport is stupid if you look at it like that.” – Matt Jones (38:01)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Sneaker talk & '96 team trivia: 01:04–06:30
• Free throw trivia: 07:51–10:43
• Wes Rucker tribute: 10:49–15:00
• Breaking news—Trump tariffs struck down: 16:32–17:15; 25:00–27:59
• UK vs. Auburn analysis & SEC hoops: 17:14–24:56
• NIL, injuries, and player motivation: 28:22–34:06; 41:23–43:51
• Auburn caller & arena experience: 40:05–41:15
• Radio/music nostalgia: 35:04–37:13
• Olympic “skiing uphill” segment: 37:13–39:31

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Conclusion

This episode of KSR blends lighthearted UK basketball trivia and sneaker geekery with more serious, heartfelt moments, particularly in honoring the late Wes Rucker. It’s full of SEC insights, rapid-fire trivia, nostalgic laughs, and candid listener call-ins, all wrapped up in the show’s signature Kentucky flavor.

Transcript

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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 2.12.14. 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 comedyoff broadway.com comedyoff broadway

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

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

[Matt Jones]

Welcome, everyone. It is Kentucky Sports Radio Friday, February 20th. I'm Matt Jones here in Lexington, Kentucky. We are at the studio with Ryan and Drew. Shannon is in Louisville as is Mario. You can give us a shout. It is Friday. Clark's Puppet Shop phone line. Rare Friday. Not at a remote, but we're not. So we are here. 859-280-2287. A Vision Auto Glass Text Machine. 772-774-5254. In this edition, sponsored by the T.J. smith Law Office. If you call T.J. he'll make them pay. Drew came in here with such a happy gift for me.

[Shannon]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

It was the, the, the Converse 1996 UK shoes, the denims Converse with a box that says Untouchables 1996. You said they only made 96 of the box.

[Drew]

96 boxes.

[Matt Jones]

And I have one. And so now I will treasure this, like, as a shoe thing, I guess. Oneness gave this to me. So thank you to oneness and these shoes. This is what the 96 team wore, Ryan. And now I can walk around and act like I played on the team.

[Shannon]

You and Drew had a good discussion. Some people don't want to wear them. They want to keep them fresh. You're like, their shoes wear them. Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I have. I counted. I now have 300 pairs of sneakers.

[Drew]

Oh, boy.

[Shannon]

Sneakers.

[Matt Jones]

That's too many.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

That's 600 according to that.

[Matt Jones]

600. 600 individual shoes.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Let me do the math for you. That's 600.

[Matt Jones]

But. But I wear them all.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Including I have a couple that are worth a lot of money. But I'm like, what's the point. What's the point of having shoes if you don't wear right?

[Shannon]

People keep them fresh and even keep them in the box.

[Matt Jones]

But what.

[Shannon]

Why I don't collect your item.

[Matt Jones]

Buying a painting and putting it in storage. Yeah, I understand that they can be worth money, but Shannon, as I've said, just buy stock if you don't want to look at it or wear it.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, I'm even like that with bourbon collectors.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, I agree with you.

[Shannon]

Enjoy.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Why are you looking at it?

[Matt Jones]

What?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

I could drink it, could fill it up with tea.

[Matt Jones]

If you're just keeping it to keep it. Well, why did you get it? Just buy stock.

[Shannon]

True.

[Abercrombie Brand Representative]

Yep.

[Shannon]

Let it work for you.

[Matt Jones]

You wore yours.

[Drew]

Yeah, I know. I was saying I regretted walking through KS Bar's kitchen in them. There are certain areas I think I need to be a little more conscious. Rainy days, I try not to wear my best shoes. Common sense stuff.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, no, I will not wear white shoes on rainy days. Things like that. Yes, I completely swayed on rainy days.

[Shannon]

But shoes like those are kind of special. Do you wear them just on special occasions?

[Drew]

I wore them to the Georgia game. It was not special.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, you've already jinxed yours like this. I would wear to, like, the SEC tournament. Okay, right, Like I will or something like that. But yeah, I'm going to wear them now. I will keep the box. Normally, I throw the boxes away, which also takes away their value. People want you to have the box

[Shannon]

right when you sell them retail.

[Matt Jones]

I'm not keeping Shannon 300 boxes in my house. What am I gonna do with 300 boxes?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Well, if you buy that new house, you could have a whole room. Just the shoe room.

[Matt Jones]

A box. Well, no, no. I may have a shoe room, but a box room. But I'm not gonna have a box room. But I will keep this box.

[Drew]

In this case, the box is maybe more valuable than the shoe if they have a lot of the shoes.

[Shannon]

Look underneath the box. Got all the players jersey numbers on the.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Got all the players jersey number. Let's. Let's do a quick Ryan limit test. All right, this is the 9016. You tell me what player was each jersey. Here we go. Double zero.

[Shannon]

Tony Delk, three. Allen Edwards, five. Wayne Turner, 13.

[Matt Jones]

Ooh.

[Drew]

Oh, come on.

[Matt Jones]

I know. 13.

[Drew]

I can come back to it.

[Shannon]

Nazi Muhammad.

[Matt Jones]

Nazi Muhammad. 15. Jeff Shepard, 21.

[Shannon]

Cameron Mills, 23. Derek Anderson, 24. Antoine Walker, 25.

[Matt Jones]

Anthony Epps, 32.

[Caller]

Oh.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, come on. You got it.

[Shannon]

32.

[Drew]

You got it.

[Matt Jones]

You're doing.

[Shannon]

Let's go. Back to that.

[Matt Jones]

All right. 33.

[Shannon]

Ron Mercer.

[Matt Jones]

40.

[Shannon]

Walter McCarty.

[Matt Jones]

41. Mark Pope. 43.

[Shannon]

43.

[Matt Jones]

And then 51. 32, 51. I think I know who 51 is.

[Drew]

I know 51 for sure.

[Matt Jones]

32, 43. 51.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

You.

[Matt Jones]

You. You have a chance to be perfect. Now, I want you to think who you've forgotten.

[Shannon]

Yeah. So I'm trying to think.

[Matt Jones]

I can think of the three players you've forgotten. So. 32. 43, 51. 1.

[Drew]

Still around Lexington a little bit. I even know those games.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

I know. 32.

[Matt Jones]

You know 32.

[Drew]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Come on, you got this, Ryan. 32.

[Shannon]

Jared Prickett.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. 43 and 51. Can he do it?

[Shannon]

Oliver Simmons is one of them.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, which one?

[Shannon]

I. I'm going to say 51.

[Drew]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Now who's 43? Can he go with a clean sweep?

[Shannon]

43.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, going once.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

He's not getting this one.

[Shannon]

Jason Latham.

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Look at this.

[Matt Jones]

Look at this. Is that.

[Shannon]

It was.

[Drew]

Yeah,

[Shannon]

Well, I slept at the Holiday Express last night.

[Matt Jones]

That's. That is really impressive to get all that whole team to get Jason Latham. I knew Jason Latham. I didn't think you were going to get Jason Latham, so I didn't know his number.

[Shannon]

I was just trying to remember who was on the team.

[Matt Jones]

That's. That Shannon, you got to admit, very, very impressive. That's really good for this guy.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

I think you should give him the box for doing that.

[Matt Jones]

No, no, but I am proud of you. See, like he doesn't know basic living facts, but he can name every number and player from the 96 team said big brain.

[Drew]

Ron Lemon's big brain. I was going to get him a pair of shoes, but they didn't have an eight, so. I'm sorry, Ryan.

[Shannon]

It'll make baby sizes.

[Drew]

They're like, these are basketball shoes.

[Matt Jones]

Is that what you wears?

[Shannon]

Eight, Eight and a half or a nine? Usually I got to. I could probably squeeze in an eight.

[Matt Jones]

He wears an eight. Sorry. Well, listen, you get one segment without me giving you a hard time. That was really good.

[Shannon]

Okay, that's fair.

[Matt Jones]

Jason Latham. When's the last time you thought of Jason Latham?

[Shannon]

Today.

[Matt Jones]

Well, that's true. Before that, just a minute ago. Matt, did you not hear me say his name?

[Shannon]

And like, I wasn't for sure if Prickett counted because I don't think he was really on the team that year. Didn't you red shirt that year or something?

[Matt Jones]

No, he played.

[Shannon]

He did play that year.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Wasn't that his senior year?

[Shannon]

Maybe it was shepherd that Shepard red shirted.

[Matt Jones]

That year, it was. It was. It was Prickett senior year. Yeah, well, well done. 859-280-2287C. He's in that brain mode because we did trivia last night.

[Shannon]

Our team didn't do very well.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, you didn't. But that's okay. You know, not everybody. Not everybody knows. The question that I was surprised people didn't do better was in the Cal era, who's had the best free throw percentage for a season? The top eight. So, Shannon, you and Drew were not there. Yeah, let's quickly do that. Best free throw percentage for a season. Let me give you a hint about season. Duron Lamb had a really bad freshman year free throw. Excuse me. Had a good career, but both seasons was like ninth, so he didn't end up in the top eight. So that's a little hint. Who's the top.

[Drew]

Well, I know the top two. It's Emmanuel Quickley and Tyler Hero.

[Matt Jones]

Tyler Hero shot 93.7% and Emmanuel Quickley was like 92%, and they were on the same team. So, I mean, that was a pretty good free throw shooting.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

All right, so you got that. Those were the top two.

[Drew]

Do you want to take a stab?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Antonio Reeves.

[Matt Jones]

Antonio Reeves third. So you just got the top three, which is very well done. Top three, Drew and Shannon combined to get. Now it gets a little hard. There's one more I think is pretty easy, and then it gets a little harder.

[Drew]

I got one. I'm confident in Tyler Ulis.

[Matt Jones]

How are you guys? Got the top four?

[Shannon]

Yeah, this.

[Matt Jones]

This is the smartest this show has ever been. We just know free throw shooters at free throw shooters and. And numbers from the 96 team. All right, now five, six, seven, and eight. One of them I think's easy. I actually think five, six, seven kind of hard. Eight's pretty easy, I think.

[Shannon]

So we only got five of eight.

[Drew]

Is Jamal Murray on there?

[Matt Jones]

Jamal Murray's not.

[Drew]

Sorry, Shannon.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Let's go ahead and give it.

[Drew]

Just go.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Sorry. Just go ahead and give it.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Anybody? Come on.

[Drew]

Tyres Max here.

[Matt Jones]

Tyres Max. Well done.

[Drew]

He was lights out.

[Matt Jones]

A lot of people don't. Don't have Tyrese. Max is.

[Shannon]

Is read.

[Matt Jones]

One is eighth. Okay, now still good stuff. Five and six are the two hardest ones. Yeah, five and six are the hard ones. Five shocked me. Six I might have gotten, like, it's

[Drew]

going to be a random, like Derek Willis or something.

[Matt Jones]

It's a good guess. But no, five or six is Julius Maze.

[Drew]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

But five. I had no idea that he was this good a free throw shooter was Darius Miller.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Drew]

Well if only we just talked to him a few days ago.

[Matt Jones]

I had no idea that Darius Miller was had a top 5 UK season.

[Drew]

Remember him being good, wouldn't have had top 8. Yeah, I probably could have guessed 50 names before saying he just came.

[Matt Jones]

I would have gotten Julius. I mean I don't know if I'd have gotten him in the top eight. But Julius Mays underrated play because the team was bad and people like because Nerlands got hurt and Julius Mays kind of was the best player on that team. We have a view of him like he wasn't good but he was, he was good. He was supposed to be like the sixth man on that team. He was ended up having to be the best player leading score most and people were not sort of used to that.

[Shannon]

Well, even Corey Price said He only got three of the eight. It is hard. We got five of the 80s. They got three of the eight.

[Matt Jones]

All right, we're going to go preview the game, play Auburn on Saturday. We also will take your calls. I never know when to do things like this, but it's on my mind so I'm just going to start with it. I want to just take a second ending this segment and and note and my sadness about the death of Wes Rucker. So for those of you that don't know, Wes Rucker was like a massive Tennessee Vols reporter, 43 years old. He in my opinion it was the biggest presence covering Tennessee sports online, especially on Twitter. He if you have ever engaged about Tennessee on Twitter, you know who Wes Rucker is. He was the most passionate Tennessee reporter because he was a fan reporter and he was a Tennessee fan that you could have. And he passed away yesterday unexpectedly in a car wreck. He was riding and for those of you that know Knoxville, he was riding on the interstate there. There was a traffic backup and I guess a bunch of cars chain reaction and he, he was killed. It really just breaks my heart. I mean his story is tragic. He has a wife first of all. He started on a fan site, rose up, has had a bunch of different jobs. He had a stroke a little while back, had to reteach himself to walk. Has a four year old who. The four year old had a lot of health issues and that he's been dealing with that for years. He has a second child. His wife is pregnant with the second child. Oh no. He just posted about it the other day. We became friends over the years. I went back last night and looked at our DMs our first DM was in before the Kentucky Tennessee football game in 2010 with me asking him to come on a new KSR back then, that was back when we first started. We'd only been on the air month. We the best way I can describe it is that we were like Internet friends, you know. You have some of those?

[Shannon]

Sure.

[Matt Jones]

We talked all the time on the Internet, whether it was DMs or sometimes text messages. We only met a handful of times in life, but we shared a lot of similar interest, similar views. We both knew what it was like to deal with fan bases that sometimes would get mad at you and we would talk about that. And he's just a, he was just a really great guy. And he loved Tennessee the way we love Kentucky. Like loved it. Would yell about the refs, would yell about times he thought they were wrong, would take up form in the media and he Yesterday I was watching the women's hockey game and I got on Twitter and the first comment I saw was him celebrating the women's hockey gold medal win. That's how he was. He was posted on Twitter more than anybody I know. Yeah, he posted that at like 3:30, got in his car to drive home and died at like. I want everybody to pray for his family, his wife. He has a child, another child coming. I can't imagine what they're going through. He's a great guy, great reporter, and just a great Tennessee Volunteer fan. And in addition to thinking about him and praying for him and his family, also, man, just appreciate life. He was posting about a hockey game and he was killed less than an hour later on his drive home from work. Life is fleeting and you never know what's going to happen. So prayers to Wes Rucker, my friend, and his family. We'll take a break and be right back.

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[Matt Jones]

Snowboarder.

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[Matt Jones]

Welcome back Tech Sports Radio, 859-280-2287. Text machine 772-774-5254 in some world news, Supreme Court just struck down Trump's tariffs. So that'll be, that'll be chaos because you know, they raised all this money and now they're gonna have to give it back to people. How do they even know how to do that?

[Shannon]

That must have just happened because it wasn't on any of my news reports I listened to.

[Matt Jones]

Wasn't on 94. 5. It wasn't on.

[Shannon]

Didn't hear it. No.

[Matt Jones]

So yeah. So I mean do we even know it really happened for sure?

[Shannon]

Well, if it's on the Internet, it must be true.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. But if it's not on those shows, it's true.

[Shannon]

If Shannon Billy didn't talk about it, it ain't happening.

[Matt Jones]

That's a good point. Yeah. Yeah.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Philosophy to have.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. If it didn't, since it didn't happen, I'm not, I'm not sure if, if it's real. UK in Auburn play tomorrow 830 night game. Amazing day of college basketball to Michigan and Duke playing a rare non conference February game.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Let me say I'm going on record as I have every year at this time. Kentucky should play Louisville in February. Right now, the week or two after the super bowl should be when Kentucky plays Louisville. That's what college basketball should do. They should have a array of non conference games. This weekend they have one which is Duke in Michigan. That'll be a great game. That might be one of the most watched games of the year.

[Shannon]

It probably will be.

[Matt Jones]

Should be.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And then I think What Arizona plays like it's 1 versus 3. It's like 1 versus 3 and 2 versus 4. Yeah. And then when those are over, we play like Kentucky. We play Auburn. We're two and a half point underdog at Auburn. Auburn just lost at Mississippi State.

[Shannon]

They've lost like a five in a row.

[Matt Jones]

I think lost five in a row. That's kind of how Georgia was, but we lost at home. Yeah, we're two and a half point underdog. Drew, tell me we're going to win Saturday. If we win Saturday, it's almost like the Georgia game didn't happen.

[Drew]

I'll tell you whatever you want to hear.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, we'll win.

[Shannon]

Sure.

[Drew]

I'll tell you.

[Matt Jones]

Do you believe it?

[Drew]

I'm to the point. I just. I don't. I can't set an expectation or even my brain. I can't even like predict or even think what will be because they are so unpredictable. The moment you think they've turned a corner or put something behind them, you have a game like Georgia. I'll say I'm hopeful we have a turnaround. Like we had Vandy to Arkansas is like short rest. They got right on a plane and went to Fayetteville. And I mean, those were night and day, different games, just days apart. So I'm hopeful they can do that. But as far as expecting it, God, with this team, who knows what will happen. But they've shown that they can put a dud behind them and quickly fix it, even on the road in the sec. And this is a team that's lost five in a row. They've got Keyshawn hall, who's awesome. He just had 29 in a loss.

[Matt Jones]

He's the guy you got to stop.

[Shannon]

Right?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, he. He is there. He. He's kind of the straw that stirs the drink. We're used to playing Bruce Pearl, a guy who's always been. Was a great tactician. This is Stephen.

[Shannon]

Stephen Pearl.

[Matt Jones]

Right. You know my theory, Shannon. The sons of really talented people are rarely as talented. Yep.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Look at Patino. Look at all example.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, we've talked about this before. In all walks of life, it is very rare to have a father that's very successful and then the son be as good, usually much worse. Doesn't mean Stephen like, like Richard Patino is okay, but he's not Rick.

[Shannon]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

I don't think Stephen is Bruce, but will he beat us tomorrow?

[Shannon]

They're like Auburns is as unpredictable as Kentucky is. They went into Florida and won at Florida.

[Matt Jones]

I think they're even more unpredictable. They have a wild variance of score.

[Shannon]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

You know, I mean, they, they had some games non conference where they lost like 45 and then they won by 20 against somebody good.

[Drew]

Arkansas.

[Shannon]

They killed Arkansas, beat Arkansas and one at Florida and then they lost five in a row here.

[Matt Jones]

But we beat Arkansas and Tennessee twice.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

This is another team like Georgia, though, that's very desperate for a win. You know, they're, they're fighting for their tournament.

[Matt Jones]

They have to win to go to the tournament. Yeah, I mean. Cause they already don't. They already have 10 losses. I mean, we're. This will be our 10th loss if we lost. But.

[Drew]

Yeah, yeah, they, they might even have.

[Matt Jones]

I think they have 11, 12. Like they're running out of time. They. They gotta win. We. We need to win. They gotta win.

[Shannon]

So does that scare you? Georgia had to have a win. They got it. Now Auburn's gotta have a win. They're a little.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Shannon]

Hungry.

[Matt Jones]

But I wasn't expecting to win this game. I actually kind of had this as a loss. But once we lose to Georgia, now we kind of need to win it again.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Auburn is 14 and 12.

[Shannon]

Wow.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, I don't. But they have really good wins. So like they have a lit, but I don't know that they have a ton. I don't know who they finish the season with. Do you have Auburn, the rest of their schedule?

[Drew]

Oklahoma, Ole Miss, lsu.

[Matt Jones]

All right, so they have easy team, Alabama and then Alabama. So if they, they don't, maybe they don't have to win this one if they can win that Oklahoma, lsu, Ole Miss stretch. But still a pretty important game and it's home. I'm sure they'll have a big crowd.

[Drew]

Yeah. Stephen Pearl pretty much said as much like their backs against the wall, they have to win this one. I, Kentucky needs to win this one. I don't think it's the end of the world if they don't. But I worry about it kind of falling apart a little bit. All that goodwill and excitement you built up winning eight of nine. If you have that bad loss to Georgia, this would be three in a row. Another game that you could win. I worry about it start to unravel as the schedule gets harder and the, the weeks get shorter here as we get close to March now.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I've said to you that like, I don't think Kentucky is certain to go to the tournament. And some people have pushed back on me on that. I think they win one more, they're probably good. You know, they Just did that thing which I've done before, the little mock selection thing in Indianapolis. They stopped it for like eight years. They just restarted.

[Shannon]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

And they did it yesterday and Kentucky ended up a six seed in it.

[Shannon]

That's a little higher than I thought they would be.

[Matt Jones]

Me too. But you read their schedule. Ours is a little different.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

You know, ours is at A and M Vandy, Florida. This. It's a different game. Ours is a different schedule.

[Drew]

Well, Ken Palm predicts them to go four and one and us to go one and four the rest of the year.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So there you go.

[Shannon]

So for one and four makes what, 18 and 13.

[Matt Jones]

And I think 18 and 13 probably get you in, but not guaranteed. I think you got to make sure you win one in Nashville. Right.

[Drew]

And you'd have that record having lost six of seven in the year. I think they would take that into account.

[Matt Jones]

They're not supposed to, but you got to think they did.

[Drew]

If you've got a head to head,

[Matt Jones]

you got to think they at least look at it. So I do think though, you win this when you beat South Carolina Tuesday, you're probably five back on track. Yeah. So big game. 8:30 though. Nighttime.

[Drew]

Tom Hart, though.

[Matt Jones]

Tom Hard two games in a row. Tom Hart and Jimmy Dye.

[Drew]

It didn't work Tuesday.

[Shannon]

You know, the Auburn can be a tough place to play when the big teams roll into town. They are going crazy in there. When Kentucky seems to struggle down there,

[Matt Jones]

really rock and that that's as good, if not the best atmosphere when it's really going.

[Shannon]

Don't you think it'll be that way?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, but remember one of the things we did well at, at. At Tennessee and at Arkansas was keep the crowd out of it. Even at Florida, after the beginning of the game, we kind of did a good job. The crowd never really went nut like got nuts nuts.

[Drew]

And I think that's maybe the nicest arena in the sec.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, it definitely is.

[Drew]

But there are times, you know, when Bruce had him rolling, it would be on fire. But they can, they can lose interest. And if you can go in there and throw the first punch and take a lead, maybe that crowd kind of starts doubting and looks at a six loss in front of him in a row.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, well, we'll see. I. They haven't been scared about playing on the road.

[Shannon]

No.

[Matt Jones]

We match up okay with them. I mean, I think people are used to having Auburn having these guys that are impossible for us to stop. That's really not what this team is like. Keyshawn hall is really good.

[Drew]

That'd be a good diabate matchup.

[Matt Jones]

That's diabotic. This is another big deal about, you

[Shannon]

know, we've done pretty well.

[Matt Jones]

Please don't put Garrison on him.

[Drew]

Although I'm watching Garrison. Remember the belt to ask last year. Play that clip for Garrison the whole way. Get him fired up.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Tom Hart, by the way, was on the Interrupted podcast yesterday. It's good weekend listening for you.

[Shannon]

It will be good.

[Matt Jones]

I did an hour interview with him. He talked a lot about Kentucky and I think people really like.

[Shannon]

Nice.

[Matt Jones]

Take a break. Be right back.

[Premier Protein Announcer]

T.J. smith, personal injury attorney.

[Matt Jones]

Call T.J. he'll make him pay.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

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

[Matt Jones]

You do this most Fridays and it still makes me happy. I've told that many times. Shannon. I used to get in my car at 5 o'. Clock. There was a country station in Lexington that would play a version of this song that had all these, like, all these sound effects.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, I could play that one.

[Matt Jones]

Play it. I loved it and I. You could only hear it at 5. You know, this is before you could just hear any song.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

And my friend Duncan Cavanaugh and I would always try to find something to go drive to at 5 o' clock because we liked it so much. You know, they play making all this stuff on Friday and I was like, it's Friday now?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Matt Jones]

If you find that, that'll make me happy. I probably haven't heard that in 20 years.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

All right, we'll do it next.

[Matt Jones]

Now I just want to get to the next segment and we'll go to the phone. [phone]. Text machine. You are a little slow on the text machine today. Not as many as usual. 772-774-5254. One person writes, Matt, give me the layman stupid terms of why of what the Supreme Court did. So Trump put all these tariffs on other countries, which, which actually we pay for, but he put them on. On goods. But then he did it under what's called the Emergency Powers act, which gives the president, like in times of an emergency, some ability to go around the regular Constitution. Right, Right. So, like if we're under attack, President has powers under emergency powers to do stuff that otherwise he would need Congress to let him do. He was saying, these tariffs are an emergency. I have to do it right now. And the Supreme Court was like, no, it's not an emergency. If you want to do tariffs, you have to do it the way the Constitution says, which means Congress has to pass it. It's not an emergency, so you can't do it. Essentially. That's the very basic. So it doesn't mean he can't do tariffs. He just has to get Congress to agree to him. And he didn't do that. He just did it on his own.

[Shannon]

And they're gone, effective immediately.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, but then the issue is they've collected all this money, $150 billion in tariff money. Well, they didn't say in the opinion, but somebody who's had the money taken from them is going to sue, want it back, and want it back. And that's where it could really, like, if they've taken in all this money and then they have to pay it all back and. But the court doesn't address where they have to pay it back.

[Shannon]

Would they win, try to get their money back?

[Matt Jones]

I would think the answer is yes. I don't know how you can say that he illegally took it and you don't have to give it back. So we'll see. That'll probably come up in the future.

[Drew]

Hopefully it's all just sitting in a nice little tax account.

[Matt Jones]

We can remember that. They probably already spin it, at which point, you know, just send it all back to everyone. So it's. I mean, it's a big deal. It was the. If you listen to the arguments, though, this was what was going to happen. Two of the three justices Trump appointed voted against him.

[Shannon]

Voted against him.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, because. And they're right, because, I mean, the Constitution's pretty clear.

[Shannon]

So what was the final Six.

[Matt Jones]

Three.

[Shannon]

Six, three.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

You know, there's nine justices.

[Matt Jones]

That's right.

[Shannon]

Ryan.

[Matt Jones]

This guy.

[Shannon]

Constitution.

[Drew]

Lathrum.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Great math.

[Matt Jones]

Justices. If Jason Latham was a justice. Wow. Let's go to Will. Go ahead. Will. Will. All right. No, Will. Let's go to Taylor.

[Caller]

Yeah. How you doing, Matt?

[Matt Jones]

Good. What's up?

[Caller]

Hey, I'm curious about this. Nil. If Acquaintance doesn't play.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Caller]

Does he get paid in a lot of money?

[Matt Jones]

Almost certainly, yes. Unless they wrote the contract to say he had to play a certain number of games, which I have to think did not happen because I don't think Quaint would assign that. So generally speaking, yes, he would. He would be paid regardless.

[Caller]

And I was just curious, if you're sitting on the bench making money, I

[Matt Jones]

would guess no problem. I appreciate the call. I've not seen the contract, but I would assume, Drew, that he would not have signed a contract that was contingent on him playing. If he was hurt or whatever.

[Drew]

I'd be surprised if that were in there. Guy coming off acl. If Kentucky had put that in the contract, I think he would have found a school that wouldn't have had that in the contract.

[Matt Jones]

I am not. I don't know what you think. I am not upset that they rolled the dice on that. It was gravy. I don't think they were ever thinking that. It was certain he was going to be a piece of this team. Remember, they recruited four other big guys. Right. So I don't mind them rolling the dice and seeing if it could work. Do you know?

[Drew]

And I don't want to be mean. I'm almost more worried that the starting center of the plan was Brandon Garrison in the beginning and Quaintance was just like extra.

[Matt Jones]

I think originally the starting five had

[Drew]

Brandon Garrison and Trent Noah were in the plan.

[Matt Jones]

I think that was the plan.

[Drew]

Yeah. No, it definitely was the plan. At least. So Quaintance could get back and you could see what he had. And then maybe Marino surprised you what you did.

[Matt Jones]

The bigger issue is not that Quaint and didn't play. It's that we didn't get improvement from Garrison.

[Shannon]

And where I thought year two under Pope, he would take a big jump up. Like he said, a lot of these year two people do.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So I. So I don't. I think that was a much, much bigger deal.

[Drew]

There's the injuries you can't control. There's also the plan he had before the injuries. The way those guys look now, looks like that wasn't a great plan from the beginning either.

[Matt Jones]

No.

[Shannon]

I have a theory about Quaintance.

[Matt Jones]

Oh.

[Shannon]

This is just my opinion.

[Matt Jones]

Oh.

[Shannon]

But I think he's re injured himself in some capacity. Why else would they just completely shut him down? The knee continues to swell and they want to protect his NBA stock.

[Matt Jones]

So you think he. Not. It's not just swelling. You think he might have gotten hurt?

[Shannon]

I think he may have re injured something. And that's why this is. This is played out the way it has.

[Matt Jones]

He set the last game in the DJ stand.

[Shannon]

Yeah. On the bench.

[Matt Jones]

He was at the. He was in the dj.

[Drew]

I took a picture of that. It was all three of them, though. It wasn't like he picked that spot. But why did UK put them in the crowd? They were like three rows off the court, nowhere near their.

[Matt Jones]

UK put them there.

[Drew]

Well, I guess. I mean, they didn't just go pick that seat. It was him, Ken Williams and Low together, like nowhere near the team. It's like that point.

[Matt Jones]

So it Wasn't just Quaint. Say we were all.

[Drew]

All three were there, but I took a picture and even asked the guys next to me. I was like, why do they sit

[Matt Jones]

him way over there?

[Drew]

They're like, not even part of any of it. I just like in the crowd with the students.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Knee has been swelling for so many weeks. It's too big to physically sit on the bench, so they had to move them over to a different section. Size is like, you know, right now.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I. They shouldn't. They should put them. I mean, because it's. The natural instinct is people blame.

[Drew]

And they're on their phones and I'm blaming them. I mean, they're not. You want to at least be close enough. Maybe they can say something to a team. They were behind, like, the guy controlling the. Not just the dj, but, you know, the R Arena headset looked like media around them. They just had them in a crowd of people.

[Matt Jones]

Austin, Go ahead, Austin.

[Caller]

What's up, guys? First time, long time.

[Matt Jones]

Who are. What's up?

[Caller]

So, as much as I hate to say it, I don't want to believe it myself, but do we think that Quaint even wants to come back this season?

[Matt Jones]

Well, I mean, there's no way for me to know the answer to that. I. I genuinely believe you shouldn't disparage people's character unless you have evidence to do it. And I don't have any evidence that Jaden Acquaintance is anything but a good kid. I've had two conversations with him. They were both very pleasant. He seemed like an awesome guy. So I'm not. I think I understand why people would ask that question, but I don't know any evidence to think he's, like, just not wanting to play. I can understand why people think that, but, like, I don't. I'm not going to say that unless I know it. And if. And I don't know it. You see? You know what I see what I mean, Austin.

[Caller]

Yeah. Yeah. And then is it even possible for, say, if his knee is injured so bad, is there a possibility of him coming back next year?

[Matt Jones]

I mean, there is, but. But he won't. I mean, I. And he shouldn't. I appreciate the call. I mean, we saw what happened when he came this year. He shouldn't.

[Shannon]

Even though he's not playing, he still projected a lottery pick.

[Matt Jones]

He still.

[Shannon]

He.

[Matt Jones]

He'll. He'll probably get picked 8, 4 through 13th, and then he should go. Yeah, that's what he ought to do. He'll. He might be the highest non freshman picked, probably Will be.

[Drew]

Yeah. Most projection he is.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, he'll probably be the highest non freshman pick. So he should go.

[Shannon]

I don't know.

[Matt Jones]

There's no reasonable argument why he wouldn't go.

[Shannon]

I guess though, do we have to go undergo some? Maybe, but schools and stuff beforehand.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, it doesn't matter. He'll be getting paid for it.

[Shannon]

True.

[Matt Jones]

You know, and if you're Kentucky on the other end, you can't rely on him another year.

[Shannon]

Can't.

[Matt Jones]

You know, I don't know that they were relying on him this year, but you can't do it again to defend

[Drew]

him on one to play. I don't know what he's thinking now, but I'm pretty confident that around that window of the St. John's game, he and his dad were both pushing to hurry up and get out there and the staff was holding him back.

[Matt Jones]

He and his dad wanted to play two or three weeks before they did.

[Drew]

I can at least say in December he was really going to get out there. That might have changed. I don't know what it's been between his ears now, but at the time he wasn't running from it.

[Matt Jones]

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[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, but you love it.

[Matt Jones]

Why did I like this so much?

[Shannon]

Got you ready for the weekend.

[Matt Jones]

It was just. It's so stupid, but it would make me think, okay, no more class. You know, this makes it sound old machine. You used to not just be able to hear any song you wanted.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Right, right. To call up the radio and you know.

[Matt Jones]

Exactly. So like I said for you, I like this song. And I didn't have a George Jones CD, so like if I knew Friday at 5 o' clock I could hear

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

this song that you could get your cassette out and tape it.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, I did that when I was growing up. Top nine at nine.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

In the Knoxville rad station. That's how I had. I probably in Middlesbrough have 30 cassette records of top nine at nine. And I would record just to get the song. Oh, here we go. Now I can have Boys to Men into the road without having to go to Radio Shack.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yep.

[Matt Jones]

And buy the single right before Napster. Oh, yeah. And then when Napster came, it was like the world had changed.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Oh, yeah.

[Matt Jones]

You mean you can get every song,

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

steal any song you want?

[Matt Jones]

Like, any song you want at any time. How's that? And then Metallica shut it down. And I was like, I hate Metallica.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

I can understand why they didn't want it, though.

[Matt Jones]

I undertake. I do too. But I was like, metallica, Aren't you supposed to be like, f the man? Like, what are you doing? Some people still haven't forgiven Metallica for that.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

They're effing with their paycheck. Yeah, they didn't like it.

[Matt Jones]

That's exactly right.

[Drew]

I hated you'd see the end of your favorite, favorite music video. Or. No, you just missed it on a countdown. It could be days before you see it again. Oh, I just missed it.

[Matt Jones]

You mean top. I'm gonna have to listen to the top. Not again. Tomorrow. I love the top. Nine at night.

[Shannon]

You saved all your cassette tapes? You still have them?

[Matt Jones]

I mean, at some point, my mom may have thrown them out, but I had them for a long time. And then, you know, you switched to CDs.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And then it was just over. Then you were kind of on your own after that.

[Shannon]

It'd be fun if you pulled one out from the 1980s when you mixtape

[Matt Jones]

to see what it was that I like. Yeah, I'm sure Shy if I ever fall in Love is on there.

[Shannon]

Because you're a lover.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, you want. If you wanted to see a dude whose mind was blown. Drew, yesterday you should have seen Ryan at the bar during trivia when they were showing the skiing uphill.

[Drew]

Oh, he finally got to see it in person.

[Shannon]

It was live. The minute we all walked in for trivia last night, it was live on the big screen.

[Matt Jones]

Did it blow your mind? It was. It was on there, Yes.

[Shannon]

I couldn't look. They're going up a mountain, and it's like a maze they're going through, like some kind of little maze to get up there.

[Matt Jones]

But I was like, shannon, look, they're skiing uphill. Remember where I explained to you that you could ski uphill?

[Shannon]

It's the dumbest thing. Then they take their skis off.

[Matt Jones]

Why is it dumb?

[Shannon]

Because they go. They walk. They ski up a mountain, take their skis off, go up a flight of stairs, put their skis back on, go up the mountain.

[Matt Jones]

Some More.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Can we get a chair lift to take us up the mountain?

[Matt Jones]

That's the sport, though. The sport is, who could ski uphill the fastest?

[Drew]

I mean, I could say, why are these five people trying to put that ball in that thing?

[Shannon]

That's.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, Drew's exactly right. Every sport is stupid if you look at it like that. Like, the only sport that really makes sense is, like, running everything else or even running, like, why don't you just get in a car? Like, I mean, you could do that for. You could do that for any sport.

[Shannon]

But who's the person that said, let's make them ski up a hill? Go up a bunch of stairs and

[Matt Jones]

ski up a hill? I said this to you yesterday. They ski up a hill because in real life, people have to ski up hills. They. To get from one place to another. It's easier to ski than to put your feet in the snow. And they sink. The ski glides on the snow. So if you're walking through snow, think about how hard it is to walk through snow. If you knew how to ski, it would be easier to ski than it would be to walk.

[Shannon]

So why they put the flight of stairs right in the middle of it?

[Matt Jones]

Well, that's just to make it a game. The stairs are a weird addition, I will grant you that.

[Shannon]

They make them go to that little maze when they're going up the hill.

[Drew]

Well, why does the dog show make them jump over the wall? It's just part of the.

[Matt Jones]

Part of sports, like sports are to challenge you to do things.

[Shannon]

I had never seen that until yesterday. Till last night.

[Matt Jones]

What I've seen is at least something that has a practical use in life. Like, he's exactly right. Basketball has no practical use in life. We just created it out of nothing.

[Shannon]

But there are people in parts of the world that have to ski to get from point A to point B.

[Matt Jones]

Well, certainly used to. I don't know about now, but certainly that. Without question. There was a time that if you lived in those places and you needed to go somewhere, skiing was much easier than walking through snow because you would glide on the top of the snow.

[Shannon]

I couldn't quit watching it. I'm like, you got to be kidding me.

[Matt Jones]

He was. That's why his team didn't do it good. This. He was just focused on the.

[Shannon]

You had a. You had a Winter Olympic question last night.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. The eight original sports.

[Shannon]

That was a good question.

[Matt Jones]

And what's interesting about the eight original sports is, for the most part, it was all things those people had to do in life. Sometimes they actually had to ski jump. Not for distance, but like to go from one ledge to another. So they'd have to take off and

[Shannon]

jump and then land jump and go to a Walgreens.

[Matt Jones]

I don't know if it was a Walgreens, but they had to do something.

[Shannon]

Lee.

[Matt Jones]

Lee. Go ahead.

[Caller]

Okay. I am in Auburn and I come down every time. UK place here. I'm from Kentucky True blue, but I have family here and my nephew and I use his season tickets and I have the best time. That is the best place to watch a ball game.

[Matt Jones]

It really is. It is great.

[Caller]

Yeah, it.

It's great. And everybody is so nice. I don't think I've ever bought a Coke myself or popcorn because if they see me with my blue on, they'll say, oh, I'll get that for you. They've just always been super nice. So I guess that has to do with. Yeah, it is, but. And when. As a retired teacher, one thing I admire, when they play the national anthem, you can hear a pin drop in there. Every kid turns around and faces the flag. And I mean, it is just very respectful. And I've always thought that was just amazing. So. But anyway, I'm in Auburn. Yesterday it was in the 80s. Today it's going to be 75. It's nice to be out of the snow and the zero.

So.

[Matt Jones]

Well, enjoy. Yell loud. And when we win, I hope you're a go. Big Blue chat. All right.

[Caller]

Absolutely. And everybody around me knows me now because I come every year and they're all super good, too, so they even clap sometimes for a good UK place. So I just am having the best time and I enjoy.

[Matt Jones]

Very sweet there. Well, Lee, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Let's go to. Who is that? Aaron. Aaron. Go ahead, Aaron.

[Caller]

Yeah. These nil deals, do you know if there are performance bonuses built into these or if they can do that?

[Matt Jones]

I mean, they can. I have not heard again, because there's no collective bargaining agreement in college sports. I think these contracts can say whatever they want.

[Caller]

Okay, but would performance bonuses be a way to motivate a little better, do you think?

[Matt Jones]

I'm going to say this. I feel like I've said it a lot, but I'm going to say it again. If you're having to put performances, bonuses in to motivate your guys, then you're screwing up to begin with. These other schools are motivated. These other schools are motivating their guys. These other schools are motivating their guys. Fine. No, I've not heard of any. I'm not saying there aren't any, but I haven't heard of one yet by any school. Our problem is not money. Our problem is our guys are either not good enough or playing with energy. These other schools are doing fine. Right?

[Caller]

Arizona has this.

[Matt Jones]

Arizona has one loss.

[Caller]

The lease has to be short.

[Matt Jones]

Why? Arizona's doing it. Why?

[Caller]

If Arizona can pull it off, why saying the lease. I'm saying the least to. For this kind of performance to be acceptable, has to be short.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, well, that's a different point. But I appreciate, I appreciate the call. But, but, but, but these other schools, I, you know, you can't. There's just this tendency in the Nil era to go, oh, it's caused the money. These other schools are handling it. And by the way, there have always been dudes who didn't care.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

There have always been good dudes that didn't try hard. There have always been dudes that were lazy. Like, that's always happened. So it's easy just to go, well, maybe if we, you know, look at the NBA all star game over the years, they kept trying to motivate those guys with money, money, money, money. They still couldn't get them to play. And then in this last game, for whatever reason, they just played. They got into it. Maybe it was because USA versus World, I don't know. But they were into it this year. Guys are either going to be into it or not. I think our guys, for the most part have been motivated, but they do take plays off. But there have been kids for years taking place that's like there are high school kids making no money to take plays off.

[Drew]

And there's been things you can fight over in the locker room since we time from a parking spot to a girlfriend to a whatever.

[Matt Jones]

Right? Like, the problems we see have always existed. They're just in a different way now. We'll take a break. Hour number two. I got something funny from Louisville, but we'll be right back.