2026-03-09- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

KSR (Kentucky Sports Radio) – Hour 1

Episode Date: March 9, 2026
Host: Matt Jones with Shannon, Drew, and the KSR Crew
Main Theme:
Deep-dive breakdown of Kentucky basketball’s disappointing recent loss to Florida, ongoing struggles in the “new era” of college basketball, and passionate discourse on UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart’s controversial exit package.

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Episode Overview

This episode, airing at the start of SEC Tournament week, sets up the week's plan for KSR coverage, recaps the UK-Florida game, assesses the program’s trajectory in college basketball’s changing landscape, and takes an incisive look at the ethics and optics of outgoing Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart's contract extension and golden parachute.

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Show Roadmap & Opening Chatter (02:39–03:55)

• SEC Tournament Week:
  The crew is hyped for the tournament and shares plans for this week’s show structure, including guest Will Stein at 11:00 and open phone lines at 11:30.
• Lighthearted Banter:
  Discussion about parties in Nashville, mechanical bulls, and the “Monday crackdown beat down.”

Quote:

“If they lose in the first round, my party might be triple what it would have been.”
— Matt Jones (04:40)

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Kentucky vs. Florida Recap & Atmosphere (05:20–10:19)

Pre-Game & Rupp Arena Hype

• Atmosphere:
  Rupp Arena had one of its best crowds; light-show wristbands like those at major concerts were a hit.
• Senior Day:
  Emotional “My Old Kentucky Home” moment; hosts ponder whether to remove their hats for the state song.

Game Summary

• Bad Start, Short Comeback:
  UK quickly fell behind 11–0, fought back, but a two-minute, 13–0 Florida run broke the game open.
• Never Led:
  “80 minutes against Florida this year haven’t led one one second. That’s bad.” — Shannon (09:14)
• Covering the Spread:
  Despite final deficit being seven, Kentucky was outplayed and not as close as the score indicated.

Season in Context

• Disappointing Seed:
  A win would have secured a double-bye; instead, UK will play early against a tough “bad” team (LSU).

Quote:

“Their dudes are better than our dudes… There's no shame in losing to Florida. I do think there’s a shame in being blown out.”
— Drew and Shannon (09:19–09:30)

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Season Reflection: Mediocrity and Historic Context (10:20–17:29)

Rating the Season

• Matt grades the season “C– or D+” owing to missed opportunities and frustrating home losses to mediocre teams.
• Stresses that the root cause of UK’s status lies in numerous avoidable losses, not singular blowouts.

Broader Historical Analysis

• Matt offers a detailed history lesson about “seismic shifts” in college basketball eras:
  1. Kentucky’s early dominance (1940s–50s)
  2. Slow integration—UCLA’s ascendancy
  3. Rise of recruiting and brand-based dominance (1980s–90s)
  4. One-and-done era—UK and others at forefront
  5. Current “NIL and portal” era—UK lagging
• UK has historically set the pace, but now, for only the second time (since delayed integration), has fallen behind.

Quote:

“For the first time maybe in history since integration, we were slow to integrate and it hurt us… This is era number six and we’ve not been at the forefront. And because of it, we’re watching these other teams leap to the top.”
— Matt Jones (15:58–17:16)

Program Comparison

• Contends that other blue-bloods (Duke, UConn, Houston) have successfully adapted; the argument “the game is just different” is shot down as an excuse.

Quote:

“No, figure it out and continue to dominate… Ninth, you can't just say it’s changed… That’s the loser mentality.”
— Matt Jones (13:55)

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The Mitch Barnhart “Golden Parachute” Controversy (30:26–47:40)

Press Conference & Grievances

• Mitch Barnhart’s exit package and newly created position (with a $950K salary) comes under intense scrutiny.
• Matt sharply critiques Mitch’s public statements dismissing concern as “knucklehead garbage.”

Quote (Barnhart’s audio played):

“This notion that this golden parachute is falling from the ceiling and I’m going to sit in the rocking chair and eat hay is ridiculous garbage. And that notion that started by some couple, two or three knuckleheads needs to end.”
— Mitch Barnhart (31:37)

KSR Response:

• Matt, Drew, and Shannon point out the reality that:
  • The job is a golden parachute by any reasonable definition.
  • The salary is wildly disproportionate for the alleged job duties.
  • The lack of transparency (“paid from athletics,” “no university statement”) is indefensible for a public institution.

Quote:

“Here's a secret, Mitch. People are going to be worried you're going to do something. They're worried you're going to shadow the new AD, stick your nose right in the middle of it. That’s what people are worried about.”
— Shannon (34:17)

• Critique of Barnhart belittling legitimate criticism as “knucklehead garbage.”
• Point-by-point examination of how public institutions should expect and answer transparency questions—“that's what we’re supposed to do.”

Quote:

“You are allowed to ask questions and it doesn’t make you a knucklehead… This is a public university, man. You get to ask questions.”
— Shannon (37:10)

Financial Breakdown

• On top of the $950k/year job, Mitch gets a $250K bonus, a $150K/year raise, extra contract year, and ten lifetime premium tickets—totaling an $1.8 million “thank you bonus.”
• The board of trustees did not approve the deal; only the president did (who skipped the press conference).

Quote:

“One person approved this deal, and he didn’t even show up. Hello. Does nobody think that’s weird?”
— Matt Jones (42:11)

Memorable Rant/Climax:
Matt lays out the key ethical questions and refuses to let listeners see fans or media as unreasonable for wanting answers:

“If that makes me a knucklehead, then I’m glad to be the head knucklehead.”
— Matt Jones (39:51)

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Listener and Host Reflections (40:05–47:40)

• Discuss importance of public accountability and journalism in covering university governance.
• Assert that the fan base broadly shares their concerns about the direction of UK Athletics and Barnhart’s deal.
• Shannon, Drew, and Matt agree that secrecy and brooking no dissent (“knucklehead” rhetoric) are textbook warning signs for public institutions.

Quote:

“We can’t agree on anything as a fan base… But it seems like on this, we might be all 100% on.”
— Matt Jones (41:31)

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Tease for Next Segment & Conclusion

• Show ends with a preview: Offensive Coordinator Will Stein will join next hour to talk football and spring practice (starting tomorrow).
• Promise to switch gears and invite more listener interaction.

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Key Quotes & Timestamps

• ”If they lose in the first round, my party might be triple what it would have been.” — Matt Jones (04:40)
• “80 minutes against Florida this year haven’t led one one second. That’s bad.” — Shannon (09:14)
• “For the first time maybe in history since integration… This is era number six and we’ve not been at the forefront.” — Matt Jones (15:58, full reflection through 17:16)
• “This notion that this golden parachute is falling from the ceiling and I’m going to sit in the rocking chair and eat hay is ridiculous garbage…" — Mitch Barnhart (31:37)
• “Here’s a secret, Mitch. People are going to be worried you’re going to do something. They're worried you’re going to shadow the new AD, stick your nose right in the middle of it.” — Shannon (34:17)
• "If that makes me a knucklehead, then I’m glad to be the head knucklehead.” — Matt Jones (39:51)

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Summary Takeaways

• The show blended serious basketball analysis (UK’s fade from top-tier, the “new college basketball world”) with sharp, pointed local sports journalism.
• The entire first hour was unified by themes of transparency, adaptation, and honest self-assessment—from Kentucky basketball’s on-court play to the highest offices of its athletic department.
• Listeners and hosts were united in demanding more for UK sports, on and off the court, and refusing to be dismissed for asking tough questions.

Transcript

[Amanda Knox]

Next Monday, our 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards are happening live at south by Southwest.

[Matt Jones]

This is the biggest night in podcasting.

[Amanda Knox]

We'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative talent and creators in the industry. And the winner is. Creativity, Knowledge and Passion will all be on full display. Thank you so much iheartradio. Thank you to all the other nominees. You guys are awesome. Watch live next Monday at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific [e-mail] or the Veeps app. Eggo Woda is your host for the 2026 iHeart Podcast Awards live at south by Southwest.

[Shannon]

Hello?

[Amanda Knox]

Is anybody there? Raised by a single mom, Aygo may have a few father related issues.

[Shannon]

Are we supposed to talk about your dad?

[Amanda Knox]

Her podcast, thanks dad is full of funny, heartfelt conversations with actors including fellow SNL alums, comedians, musicians and more about life and their wonderfully complicated relationships with their fathers. I think and hope that's a good thing. Get to know Aygo, follow Thanks dad with Ago Wodom and start listening on the free iHeartRadio app today. Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than no Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the underexplored pockets of F1, including the astrology of the current grid, the story of the sport's most consequential driver strike, and plenty of other mishaps, scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no Grip on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Give yourself something to look forward to every morning and level up your morning ritual with Nespresso Vertuo Up. Effortless coffee moments are yours at the click of a button. With a three second start, easy open lever and dedicated brew over ice button, it's even easier to brew bold iced coffees or coffees with milk. Nespresso your coffee your way. Virtuo up [e-mail] from Netflix and Hulu

[Shannon]

Comedy Off Broadway in Lexington welcomes Ashley Gavin February 27th and 28th.

[Matt Jones]

Then from TV and the Movies, he's

[Shannon]

one of the kings of comedy.

[Matt Jones]

Catch D.L.

[Shannon]

hughley March 6th through the 8th, and from the Nate Land Podcast and the Grand Ole Opry, don't miss Aaron Weber March 12th through the 14th. For tickets to all Comedy Off Broadway

[Matt Jones]

shows, call 859271, joke or visit comedyoff

[Shannon]

broadway.com comedy off broadway.

[Matt Jones]

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

[Shannon]

Welcome, everyone. It is Kentucky Sports Radio, Monday, March 9th on a massive show of SEC Tournament Week here in Lexington, Kentucky. You can give us a shout, although I'm not sure we're going to take calls for a while. 859-280-2287. A Vision Auto Glass text machine is 772-774-5254 in. This isn't sponsored by the TJ Smith Law Office. If you call TJ, he'll make him pay. Let me give you a little roadmap of the show. All right, first of all, you got to have your mic on. Is it on?

[Matt Jones]

Does not sound.

[Shannon]

It is not on. So Billy, Mario, go for it and try to get Ryan to where he can. He can have be on the air. That will help. Until then, we'll talk to Drew. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to start with the basketball game from 10 to 10:30, maybe 10:40. Then we're going to switch over to Knucklehead sports radio for just a few minutes. Okay. And then we are going. There he is. You there?

[Drew]

Check one, two, baby.

[Shannon]

And then at 11 o' clock we have Will Stein coming on.

[Drew]

Nice.

[Shannon]

And we'll do the thing, Shannon, where we do two segments in a row, right. That you know how we do. And then at 11:30 we'll open up the phones and people can talk about what they want to talk about. How's that for a plan?

[Drew]

That's a Monday crackdown. Beat down.

[Shannon]

I don't know what that means. I'm not going to beat down or crack down anyone. We're going to talk about the world of UK Sports because it's SEC tournament week, one of my favorite weeks of the year. And it will get started quicker than it's ever gotten started before.

[Matt Jones]

I don't love the situation, but I'll admit I woke up smiling knowing it's SEC tournament week. I'd rather not play Wednesday, but this is my favorite week of the year and I'll be there.

[Shannon]

I love it. And you know what? If we're the first team eliminated, I'll still be in Nashville. It's going to be just with a lot less to do, Shannon.

[Matt Jones]

Possibly a really short party.

[Drew]

But you know what we'll make.

[Shannon]

You know what? If they lose in the first round, the Nashville's just going to get four days. The cowboy hat.

[Matt Jones]

I'll tell you what. If they Lose in the first round, my party might be triple what it would have been.

[Shannon]

I mean, in some way. Wilder week.

[Drew]

You'll be anxious. We'll be distressed.

[Shannon]

No, I'll have nothing to do. We'll do the show. We'll be done at noon, and then it's just me with the cowboy hat riding mechanical bulls.

[Matt Jones]

You gotta make that happen.

[Shannon]

Have you ever been on one of those? No. No.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Shannon]

This is. I think I would break a hip. I can't do that, so. But, you know, Mario and I are staying down in Drew anyway, so it could just be me, Mario and Drew take on the city.

[Matt Jones]

I book Wednesday to Saturday. That money is gone. I'm not getting it back. So I'll be there whatever happens. And if I need to stay till Sunday, I'll figure that out. But I'm at least through Saturday.

[Shannon]

All right, well, so let's talk about. Let's go back to Saturday against Florida. It was over before I even got to watch the game.

[Matt Jones]

Right.

[Shannon]

So when they start on ESPN News, I don't. I just don't know ESPN News. I think I have it, but I don't ever turn it on there. So I'm sitting there watching. And who played before us? Vandy in Tennessee. Who was before us?

[Drew]

Arkansas.

[Shannon]

No, Arkansas. Missouri was at noon. Who is it to.

[Matt Jones]

I was at rope.

[Shannon]

So I wouldn't. Whoever it was, the game would not end. And I just kept looking in the corner and seeing numbers add up.

[Drew]

Yep. Yep.

[Shannon]

It was like, oh, two, oh, four, zero, seven, zero. And I was like, fine. Because I went to all the pregame. And let me say, RUP was hype.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

I left right before. Actually, it was four. Oh. When I got home, I left right before it started.

[Drew]

Everybody said the environment pregame was outstanding.

[Shannon]

Outstanding. And people there early. I mean, that was one of those. Drew, I think everybody half hour. The place was full.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, we get a couple of those a year where it's Rupp Arenas best. I mean, the little light things. That was a nice.

[Shannon]

That was a cool addition.

[Matt Jones]

Marlena Van who's the. As you said, the crowd was downtown in the arena early. That was one of Rupp's best crowds.

[Shannon]

They had the thing where, like at the Taylor Swift concert, I say this what people told me I haven't been to. I bought Taylor Swift. God's good grief. But I didn't go. But you put the thing on and it blinks lights. Do you know you're looking at me like I'm crazy? You know what I'm talking About.

[Drew]

I've not seen it.

[Shannon]

They got these things and you wear them on your wrist. And then it'll like it lights it up so it'll be blue and white. And then during the star single banner, it was red, white and blue.

[Drew]

Did it work?

[Shannon]

Yeah, it looked cool. Like it. Like it. I think it executed well.

[Matt Jones]

And then those for WrestleMania that year,

[Shannon]

you and I went. We did have them for WrestleMania. That's right. Because they turn the lights off and you just see the. It's a very. It's a cool little feature. So they did that. Senior Day was very nice. It was. I actually, you know, it still makes your heart. What is it? Palpitate. During the. During the mild Kentucky home, are you supposed to take your hat off from old Kentucky home?

[Matt Jones]

I was. I had a moment where I looked around because I started to and no one else did.

[Shannon]

That's how I was. Because you take it off for the national anthem. But why don't we take it off from our old Kentucky home? Is there a reason it is the

[Drew]

state song for the Kentucky or is it like, why.

[Shannon]

First of all, why do we take our hat off? I know I saw Trump didn't take his hat off.

[Matt Jones]

That used to be a respectful thing back in the day. Now I don't know that we do

[Shannon]

it much like, you wouldn't get at

[Matt Jones]

a dinner table with a hat on back in the day. You had to take the hat off.

[Shannon]

But I feel like everybody takes it off for the national anthem, though.

[Matt Jones]

We still do that. But other things in life.

[Shannon]

I am of the opinion we should take our hat off for my old Kentucky home. And as a valid hat wearer, I still think you.

[Matt Jones]

You should do it.

[Shannon]

Nevertheless. It was very pretty. Marlene Vanhus. That was great. And I'm thinking, okay, Here we go. 11 nothing. Then we fight back.

[Drew]

Yes.

[Shannon]

It's 20 to 19.

[Drew]

Think it's a ball game.

[Shannon]

It's on like Donkey Kong. 13. Oh. Run in two minutes.

[Drew]

Yeah. Very fast.

[Shannon]

Two minutes. 33. 19. And then.

[Drew]

Zoe, ball game's over.

[Matt Jones]

So

[Shannon]

kind of like the game down there in the sense of we fought pretty well with them for the vast majority of the game, but Iran just. It was over.

[Matt Jones]

The beginning killed you. Kentucky won like the last 38 minutes of this game. But when you went down 11.

[Shannon]

Oh.

[Matt Jones]

And just never had the lead.

[Shannon]

Never took the lead. That was a key. They never took the lead.

[Matt Jones]

I know Florida's awesome and all that. Kentucky's not there. But home Senior day at least lead at some point with that kind of Crowd and that energy and what's at stake.

[Shannon]

80 minutes against Florida this year haven't led one one second. That's bad.

[Drew]

Their dudes are better than our dudes.

[Shannon]

Their dudes are great. There's no shame in losing to Florida. I do think there's a shame in being blown out. I know the final score was seven and we actually ended up covering the opening line, which is one of the craziest backdoo. I don't think we were within seven much.

[Drew]

Not at all.

[Shannon]

And then we finished within seven.

[Drew]

Disappointing too, because everything else prior to the game kind of set up for us, you know, Arkansas beat Missouri.

[Shannon]

No, everything.

[Drew]

Tennessee.

[Shannon]

If we had won that game, we'd be the four seat. That's crazy. Everything's set up. We'd be a four seat. We'd have a double buy. We'd be dancing. Instead we play the first game against, I would argue the best of the bad teams. Lsu, I think lsu, we. I don't think we could have come out worse. Like even if we'd been the 10 seed, we would at least been on the other side of the bracket from four were down 18 to that team in the game they played in the regular season. Yes, we're down to the.

[Matt Jones]

We were down 18 to the 16.

[Shannon]

We were down 18 to the 16 seat.

[Amanda Knox]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

So yeah, I couldn't set up worse. And you know, I give Mark Pope credit. He said we're going down there to win, but so now we're 19 and 12 on the year. I said after the game, I give the season like a C minus or a D plus. I'm kind of still there. I can't give it an F because we're going to make the tournament and we have some good, really good wins. We won at Arkansas, beat Tennessee twice, beat Vandy, beat St. John's who's going to be a probably two seed in the tournament, beat Indiana. So I can't give it an F. I can't give it though, higher than like a C minus because of the losses to all. If you want to know what was the problem with our season, go look at the fact that all these teams tied with the same record and we were last in the tiebreaker. Why is that? Because we lost to mediocre teams all year. We lost to Georgia at home. We lost to Missouri at home. We lost A and M when we should have won. That's the problem. The problem with this year was not Saturday, even though we should never lose by that amount. The problem was everything else that leads to us playing at 1 o' clock on Wednesday. Do you agree?

[Matt Jones]

Completely agree. I know the SEC is better and I mean I still say, well, Florida has figured it out. I don't like that excuse, but it's not so good that Georgia should be ahead of you and Missouri should be ahead of you. And these teams that have been at the bottom forever, you've lost your grip that much that you're now in the bottom half of the standings.

[Shannon]

And you lost those teams at home.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Shannon]

You got those games at home. That's that. The Missouri loss, which was the second game of the SEC and then the Georgia loss, which was two weeks ago. That's. Those are the ones that ultimately killed us.

[Drew]

I know you read Aaron Fleeners tweet on the postgame show, but that's it.

[Shannon]

Well, Aaron Fleener hit it. You know, he's caddies on the PGA Tour and then he makes good points.

[Drew]

He's great.

[Shannon]

He said watching Florida is what we used to be. I missed that.

[Drew]

I missed that. That's it.

[Shannon]

It's a fair point. And you can put everything else aside that summarizes the point. Florida has done it. There was a guy that called the post game show and he was like, college basketball is different now. And he was kind of using that to excuse it. And I said sort of in the moment. And I agree. So Duke's figured it out, right? Florida's figured it out. Yukon's figured it out. Houston's figured it out. Those teams are good every year. Every year. And in the last couple years, Michigan's figured it out, right? Alabama, why can't Kentucky, Kansas? So that's really not an excuse. The SEC is better. But look at a team like Houston. Houston's good every year.

[Drew]

Every year.

[Shannon]

And the Big 12 is this year the best conference and they're good every year and it's Houston. So why can't we be. And they don't even spend money like we do. Why can't we do it?

[Matt Jones]

There's no doubt the sport's completely different in the sec. Teams are better, but we can't just be like, well, everybody's better. Let's go home. I guess we can't compete now because it's changed. No, figure it out and continue to dominate. Maybe you won't be winning every single year in the SEC like you were because teams are better. But ninth, you can't just say it's changed. Well, we're ninth. Everyone's better. That's the loser mentality.

[Shannon]

So if you like college basketball history Like I do. You can look at college basketball as there are the seismic shifts over history in the structure of the sport. So you start when college basketball first starts. Kentucky starts to take it seriously before everybody else. And that's why we're so good in the 40s and 50s, we take the business of college basketball seriously before anybody else, and we dominate early. Then integration is the next big change and Kentucky is slow on it. And UCLA specifically jumps in and says, and they treat recruiting as big business. And then UCLA has a period of dominance. Then you get to the late 70s and early 80s and recruiting becomes national and kind of dirty. Right. And some teams jump on it.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Indiana, Georgetown, Kentucky, North Carolina. And they then become the cream of the crop. And then it switches and all the games end up on national television and it becomes a sport based on brands. And in the 90s, if you're a brand, you matter. Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, there's your 90s. Then it kind of switches again to the one and done world. And we are at the forefront again.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina kind of holds back on that and they slip. Well, now we're in the next seismic change, which is nil and portal, really post Covid. And for the first time maybe in history since integration, we were slow to integrate and it hurt us. For 10 years we've been slow on this. We were at the forefront when college basketball started, the nationalization of college basketball, the sort of blue blood era of every game being on television and the one and done era, Kentucky was at the forefront. We were not at integration and it hurt us. So four eras we did it, one we did not. And now this is era number six and we've not been at the forefront. And because of it, we're watching these other teams leap to the top and we're now doing what in history programs have done when they haven't adapted. We're finding ourselves in the middle and we got to change it quick.

[Drew]

You know, hearing you go through all that just makes me scratch my head because this coaching staff, when they came in, I thought they were going to be way ahead of the curve, proactive, they're smart, they know all about modern basketball, analytics, algorithms, everything.

[Shannon]

And yet it hadn't happened.

[Drew]

It hasn't happened.

[Shannon]

So that's what worries me. There's a seismic shift and you have to do it early or you get left behind. It's early and we're getting left behind. We'll take a break. Be right back. Ksr, it is time for March and that's the Draft King Sportsbook, the number one sports book for betting in March. The tournament is unexpected. We know that. But the rewards with DraftKings are guaranteed. DraftKings sportsbook is delivering the most generous rewards in the market, no matter what happens on the court. And because this isn't a tournament you bet and forget it's one you react to. You have a chance to do live betting. You're not betting on what might happen, you're betting on what is happening. Possession by possession, play by play, live lines, props. Next play outcomes. As the chaos unfolds, the bracket breaks and you are there to take advantage. So don't just watch the unexpected.

[Drew]

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[Shannon]

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[Amanda Knox]

Next Monday, our 2026 iHeart podcast awards are happening live in south by Southwest.

[Matt Jones]

This is the biggest night in podcasting.

[Amanda Knox]

We'll honor the very best in podcasting from from the past year and celebrate the most innovative talent and creators in the industry. And the winner is. Creativity, knowledge and passion will all be on full display. Thank you so much iheartradio. Thank you to all the other nominees. You guys are awesome. Watch live next Monday at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific [e-mail] or the Veeps app. In 2023, a story gripped the UK evoking horror and disbelief.

[Shannon]

The nurse who should have been in charge of caring for tiny babies is now the most prolific child killer in modern British history.

[Amanda Knox]

Everyone thought they knew how it ended. A verdict. A villain. A nurse named Lucy Letby.

[Shannon]

Lucy Letby has been found guilty.

[Amanda Knox]

But what if we didn't get the whole story?

[Shannon]

The moment you look at the whole

[Matt Jones]

picture, the case collapses.

[Amanda Knox]

I'm Amanda Knox and in the new podcast Doubt the Case of Lucy Letby, we follow the evidence and hear from the people that lived it to ask what really happened when the world decided who Lucy Letby was. No voicing of any skepticism or doubt.

[Shannon]

It'll cause so much harm at every single level of the British establishment of this is wrong.

[Amanda Knox]

Listen to Doubt the Case of Lucy Letby on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Shannon]

China's Ministry of State Security is one of the most mysterious and powerful spy agencies in the world.

[Drew]

But in 2017, the FBI got inside. This is Special Agent Riegel, Special Agent Bradley Hall.

[Amanda Knox]

This MSS officer has no idea the US Government is onto him. But the FBI has his chats, texts, emails, even his personal diary. Hear how they got it on the sixth Bureau podcast.

[Shannon]

I now have several terabytes of an MSS officer, no doubt, no question of his life. And that's a unicorn.

[Matt Jones]

No one had ever seen anything like that. It was unbelievable.

[Shannon]

This is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one

[Drew]

man's ambition and mistakes opened its vault of secrets.

[Amanda Knox]

Listen to the 6th Bureau on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Shannon]

Welcome back Techie Sports Radio 859-280-22871 Person writes Matt, I agree with your point that we should be more consistent, but UConn was an eight last year and lost in the second round. But they were coming off back to back titles. I mean you're not, you're not going to be good every year, but you got to be good some year and

[Drew]

they're back good again this year.

[Shannon]

There are six years since COVID We've had one really good regular season in six years and we lost to St. Peter's in the tournament that year. So we've net we've been to the second weekend once. That was last year. But it's objectively if you were to list post Covid what have been the best programs and you were to just blind resume it and not have the names on it, I think we would struggle to be in the top 20. We would probably be somewhere between 17 and 20 if you're talking about consistent over those years. You know, in the SEC during those years we would be behind Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and all. We would be probably fifth in those years.

[Drew]

I don't think there's any debate about that.

[Shannon]

So you know that is what it is and why it is is I think a variety of things. Downfall of Cal and sort of how his years went. Kentucky being slow on nil and then Kentucky being once they got the nil where they needed to do with Pope being poor in its distribution on this year's team. So I think last year's team pretty good all things considered.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. And with the way things move now for one in your big picture thoughts you can get left behind faster than you would 10 years ago. Teams can catch up in just a couple of months. In an off season now, where he used to take a slow build, Jay

[Shannon]

Lucas at Miami, in one year, he turns that around. Yeah, that's impossible.

[Matt Jones]

Ten years ago.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And. But the same like when you hire a new coach and you have that excitement, you need to capitalize on it. Those bucks that came in, you know,

[Shannon]

they might not keep going.

[Matt Jones]

You need to perform and keep that energy going. And if it dips, that's where you start to get left behind a little bit.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

When you have a new hire, that's the time to make your your move.

[Shannon]

It's like when you, when you meet a new signi, a new woman or a new mate. If it's not sexy and hot at the beginning, it ain't going to get better. Like if after the first eight dates y' all are still like, eh, that ain't gonna get better over time. Right now it might continue but you gotta like there's gotta be sparks moment. Maybe not one, but by moment date 10 or they're probably not coming out of the woodwork.

[Matt Jones]

And if you nail the hire in this era, look at like a Michigan, I mean there's several young and new coaches that are.

[Shannon]

Oh, I watch when I watch Michigan, I think to myself, man, they have it like you can just. And they're going to be good. They're going to be good every year. I mean they just run guy. You know, we talk about Yaxel, but there are other dudes on that team that just like that. You just watch it in the coach. They call a timeout watching Michigan, Michigan State yesterday. I watched that whole game after every timeout Izzo because Izzo, he doesn't have the talent that Michigan does, but he's really smart.

[Drew]

Sure he is.

[Shannon]

And you watch those two and they're exit like if you call timeout, you knew that play was will work coming out of the timeout on both teams. You just knew it was Michigan State's problem is they just got the same lumbering dudes they've had for 25 years there.

[Matt Jones]

See? As though after the game is so

[Shannon]

said I ain't nobody's little brother.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

They were chanting little brother at him. I don't know if that works though. Shannon. They're going to go chanted at him more now. Oh yeah, yeah. When you let somebody know that that that gets. Yeah. He was like, I nobody's little brother. Yeah, they're just gonna do it More. But, but I, but, you know, and I thought Mark would do that and, and he can at moments, but he just hasn't gotten it done with this group.

[Drew]

So you're right. We did have. It was a sexy and hot at the beginning. Why is it faded then as the.

[Shannon]

Because we're not. Because we're not good.

[Matt Jones]

Even though it was good, it was so what. What Michigan did in year one is hot. I mean, we had a good first year. I'm not downplaying that.

[Shannon]

What was there too for him.

[Matt Jones]

But still, I mean, we haven't reached hot with Pope. We had a good first year, but I mean they went straight up.

[Shannon]

Yeah, I mean they, you know, after every loss you get, you get this group of people online who are like, you know, Matt Jones, KSR ran off a Hall of Fame coach, put that to the side. That's an absurd argument. And the hall of Fame coach wasn't going to work here anymore. But everyone listening knows that this isn't right. Yes, everybody knows that. I mean, at the game Saturday it was interesting. It wasn't anger, it was like sadness. Did you get that sense?

[Matt Jones]

I should have taken a picture. I couldn't believe how many people were leaving at the seven and a half mark. Now the ones that stayed got into it and had some belief there when they're trying to come back. But Mario, you there at seven and a half time out. You could look up in the upper level steps. Had a lot of people on their way out on senior blame them.

[Shannon]

I mean, like I don't blame the fans because we have had so many games this year where we've just been losing the whole game. So I said on the post game show and I have not checked this, so I'm going to assume the person is correct, but they could be wrong. But I said, I wish somebody would add up the amount of minutes we've been losing and we've been winning this year. Now we're 19 and 12 and this includes games against bad teams where presumably we were winning almost the entire game.

[Drew]

But weren't.

[Shannon]

Not always. But most of the time we were. We. We were winning most of those games. We've still been losing more. More minutes.

[Drew]

Oh yeah.

[Shannon]

Than. Than which we have a winning record. So that does say we come back. But. But in power conference play, 60% of the minutes we have played. In the power conference play, we've been losing 60% of the minutes, which means fans have been watching us just lose a lot.

[Matt Jones]

And a lot. Some they came back, but a lot of this looking up at the scoreboard is in Rupp arena and you're losing to logos where you never see them winning in Rupp arena. Like being 0 and 2 against Georgia Pope. That's insane. Georgia has been a joke of the SEC for as long as I can remember.

[Drew]

It wasn't that long ago. Ten lost Tubby. They were ready to run him out of town. And if I'm not mistaken, Billy Gillespie's two year record is not much different

[Shannon]

to your record is two games worse than this. Two games worse.

[Drew]

And we were, we ran those two guys ready to run them out of town.

[Shannon]

I do think Billy would have been back if not for the off court stuff. I think they would give him another year but he made it to where they couldn't. Now with all that said, we do have to talk about the other part of this which is Knucklehead Sports Radio. That's next. TJ Smith, personal injury attorney. Call tj. He'll make him pay.

[Matt Jones]

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

[Shannon]

Welcome back Techy Sports Radio. 859-280-2287. Text Machine 772-774-5254 One person writes, Matt, you say that Cal wasn't going to work here and we're is fact that your opinion? I'm sure it was going to work out with Cal. Look itself at ku. I was ready to say that until we lost to Oakland and St. Peter's two out of three years. Yep. I mean and I'll remind you, Self did have a lot of bad losses in the tournament in the early part of his career and there was some pressure on him like people were ready to run him off. The difference was it was the early part of his career. This was the late part of Cal's career by the way. But if you want to say it would have worked here, that's fine. I will remind you that Arkansas last year was the non seed in the SEC tournament. And by the way, if you want to have confidence going into the tournament, just say what? Look at Arkansas last year. They were the nine seed, nearly lost that first game, should have lost. South Carolina was ahead and had a chance to win and then Arkansas came back, they won. They didn't lost their next game but then they made a run to the Sweet 16 in the tournament. So you could say well that could that be Kentucky? Could we beat lsu, lose to Missouri, go to the tournament and win two games? Yeah, we could. Absolutely we could. And that. So that's the confidence Part. But you can't sit there and look to me, look at me and go. Should have kept calm if you're so mad about this year. That's the year he had last year. They started the conference one in six last year. So, you know, I. The disappointment in this program starts for me at Covid, which spans two coaches.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Right. Now, let's talk about Mitch Barnard for a second. So Mitch Barnard has his going away press conference, which we were not able to. To go to.

[Matt Jones]

I snuck in there.

[Shannon]

Oh, you went.

[Matt Jones]

Yep.

[Shannon]

I heard it was a nice affair.

[Matt Jones]

There's a lot going on. It was a lot. It's a big celebration.

[Shannon]

Big celebration. Bunch of people talked, right?

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Shannon]

Well, why didn't President Capilouto come?

[Matt Jones]

Eli sent a video, and then Mitch talked for a long time. But, you know, I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna hate on his moment.

[Shannon]

Eli may have had something to do. I'm kind of surprised the president's not there. Like, you guys have been partners for a decade and you send a video. I mean, you know, I would understand if, like, the president sent a video, but, like, he said he was, quote, president United States, the president university, you would think would be there, but he was not. What'd he say?

[Drew]

I think they said he was out of town.

[Matt Jones]

I think he's an Alabama elect.

[Shannon]

Okay, well. But out of town, they got plans. All right. So it's actually a fine affair. And in classic mix, Barnhart, he can't quite get through it without expressing grievances. And here is what he had to say.

[Matt Jones]

All I've ever done in my life is work. So this notion that this golden parachute

[Shannon]

is falling from the ceiling and I'm

[Matt Jones]

going to sit in the rocking chair and eat hay is ridiculous garbage. And that notion that started by some couple, two or three knuckleheads needs to end. I'm excited about working. I'm not done.

[Shannon]

That's why I asked you. And I have many comments about this. Like, literally, I could take almost every word. Okay. Is it a golden parachute? Yes, of course it is. Of course it is. Even if he does everything that the executive for the commissioner of the initiative of Sports and Workforce does, it's still a golden parachute. Would they hire someone off the street and pay them $950,000 for that job

[Drew]

to do a job that does absolutely nothing?

[Shannon]

Shannon, Would they hire someone for 950,000 dol be a career placement officer?

[Matt Jones]

Not unless your name is Mitch Barnhart.

[Shannon]

No. I don't know what the career placement officers at UK make. But I. It ain't $950,000. What is it you think? 80, 120, maybe?

[Matt Jones]

That.

[Shannon]

So, yes, it's a golden parachute, period. Now, some people may deserve golden parachutes, maybe Mitch Barnhart does, but don't insult me and say it's not a golden parachute. It is. Then he says, gonna sit in a rocking chair and eat hay. First of all, I don't even think you eat hay. Who eats horses?

[Drew]

Just chew on it.

[Shannon]

Did I at ever any point suggest he was going to eat hay?

[Matt Jones]

I don't think anybody did.

[Shannon]

I. I will go on record and say I do not believe Mitch Barnhart's gonna eat hay.

[Matt Jones]

Rocking chair, maybe.

[Shannon]

Nothing wrong with the rocking chair. I like a good rocking chair. Some people's problem with. My problem with this is that. Not that I don't think he's going to work. Sure. I'll give you. He's work. He's going to work, Shannon, I'll give you. He works 40 hours a week.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

On paper. All right.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Drew]

Answering emails.

[Shannon]

I don't think this is a job that is worth $950,000 a year. It's allegedly in the academic department, but being paid by athletics. Why?

[Drew]

Why?

[Shannon]

I think it was originally going to be paid by academics and the school and Linda Blackford wrote her article and people are like, ooh, that's a bad look. If we're sending out emails that says we're doing budget and staff cuts and we're now paying this guy to come and place people at Kodak, you know,

[Drew]

on the same day.

[Shannon]

On the same day. Kodak, Kodak.

[Matt Jones]

They're coming back.

[Shannon]

So they were like, well, wait a minute, we'll put it back in athletics. What is this? UK athletic? People's problem is not that you're going to do nothing. Here's a secret, Mitch. People are going to be worried you're going to do something. They're worried you're going to shadow the

[Drew]

new ad, stick your nose right in the middle of it.

[Shannon]

That's what people are worried about. When people get mad at criticisms and then respond to the criticism that people are not making, it shows that they don't really have an answer for the criticism they are making. You cannot tell me he will have no role in athletics and then pay him from athletics. If you want to pay him from academics and say he's over there, that's fine. But then you have to deal with the people who say, should we be paying this guy a million dollars from academics? But if you're Going to be painting from athletics. Then people are going to say, well, now I'm worried he's going to be this.

[Matt Jones]

The word sports is in his title. Executive for UK sports and workforce.

[Shannon]

I can. I don't. I'm not saying he's going to like put his nose into whoever the new ideas, but you can understand why people would say that, especially if it's somebody

[Drew]

that has worked underneath him.

[Shannon]

Let's then go to the nickels. Next sentence started by two or three. Knuckle it. Okay.

[Drew]

Hello, knucklehead number one.

[Shannon]

Just because I have a legitimate concern about this contract that so far no one from the university has publicly made a statement about or taken one question that doesn't make you a knucklehead. If it does, then I'll wear a T shirt that says a hoodie that says knucklehead. Is Linda Blackford a knucklehead?

[Drew]

She's probably knucklehead number two is Drew.

[Shannon]

Is Ryan okay? How about the amount of fans who have a question? Are they all knuckleheads?

[Matt Jones]

One of their biggest donors use the golden parachute word. You calling him a knucklehead?

[Shannon]

Probably given the second or third most money to UK Athletics in the last 20 years. Is he a knucklehead? There's a lot of people that have these questions and what happens with these leaders at the end is they just decide, I am king. And the mere fact you're asking me a question makes you a knucklehead. I don't care if you've got every MAGA hat in the world. You know that's what Trump does. You know it, Cal did it. Mitch does it. Every question, every is like, I give credit. Pope doesn't do this. Every question is like, you are questioning my authority.

[Drew]

Great video.

[Shannon]

You are allowed to ask questions and it doesn't make you a knucklehead. If we get to the point in society that it is not good to ask a question of your leader, we become something completely different. This is a public university, man. You get to ask questions.

[Drew]

You need to ask questions.

[Shannon]

Now. Maybe there's a good answer, but answer it. Don't say that the question is somehow a knucklehead garbage. And then finally he ends it by going needs to stop. Why?

[Amanda Knox]

Why?

[Shannon]

Why should we listen to you and ask no question who made you king? You are an official paid for by the people in this state. You get to ask questions and it doesn't get to stop just because you say so. It doesn't. Mitch Barnhart is a great man, he is. He does a million things for this community. He's done a million things for UK athletics, but he is not above questioning. And neither is President Capilouto. Eric Monday, Andy Beshear, Donald Trump, anybody. That's what we're supposed to do. You ask questions. And what you should do is answer it, not yell at people for asking the question. That's what I'm tired of. And in all that celebration of Mitch, which he deserves, he deserves all of it, you gotta end it by out the door going, pay me a million dollars a year and shut up. Shut up. And by the way. Yeah. On my way out, they gave me $150,000 a year raise for four years. That's $600,000. They gave me a $250,000 bonus. That's $850,000. And they added another year to my contract, which is $950,000, which means on the way out the door, they added $1.8 million in salary that the school was not required to pay me. And they just did it. And don't ask one question about it. If that makes me a knucklehead, then I'm glad to be the head knucklehead. We'll be right back. Welcome back, Techie Sports Radio. A lot of people have strong opinions about my rant.

[Drew]

That's a good little rant you did right there.

[Shannon]

I'm not, I, I, I'm, I think I sounded angry. I'm not angry. But I also am a big believer in when you work for a public institution or a government job there, like, we have to put trust in you to do that. Right. I don't think the general public should get to and like at make every decision. Everything doesn't go up to popular vote. But that also means it's imperative if we're going to, as citizens, as UK fans, put trust in you. You have to explain to us what you're doing. Right?

[Drew]

Right.

[Shannon]

I think that is completely fair. I think it's fair for coaches, for everybody.

[Drew]

I think that's why journalists are so important. They need to be there to ask these questions.

[Shannon]

And fans have these questions, too. It's easy just to dismiss it, Drew, as it's a handful of people. This radio show is listened to by more people than any radio show for a local sports team in America. If they thought I was out of control and not positive and all this, they wouldn't listen. People don't want to listen to somebody just rail on the team. We want them to win. And if I got Too negative. The fans would show me by tuning out, but they don't because they feel the same way. Not all of them, but most of them.

[Drew]

Yep.

[Shannon]

Would you agree with that? Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Especially on this one. I said recently we can't agree on anything. As a fan base, we fight over if Pope should have called a timeout or who should have taken a shot. But it seems like on this, we might be all 100% on. All right, what's going on?

[Shannon]

You may think he deserves this. I think I go back and forth, but the $1.8 million of extra money that we didn't owe him, that we just all of a sudden gave him that sketch. It is. We didn't even owe him that. We just gave it to him.

[Matt Jones]

Why? And those 10 lifetime tickets aren't cheap. That's on the.

[Shannon]

Let me go back to 1.8 million. Some of this stuff we owed him in his previous contract, but we did not owe him this 1.8. They just added it. And the board of trustees did not approve it. Now, they don't have to under the bylaws, but they. Only one person approved it. The president approved, and he didn't show up to the press conference. One person approved this deal, and he didn't even show up. Hello. Does nobody think that's weird?

[Drew]

Read between the lines, maybe.

[Matt Jones]

And I mentioned this during the break. Mitch went, I'll take a few questions. A few questions. And if I don't like them, it was like, my God, you're always telling on yourself.

[Shannon]

That's exactly right. You're telling on yourself.

[Matt Jones]

He played it off as joking, but I've seen a lot of Mitch Barnard press conferences. This is what they are. I hated the one when he set by Stoops. He called us in on a Saturday to basically just yell at us about the Stoops cow thing. Earlier or last fall, whenever it was, I think it was John Hales, like, hey, is the nil thing good enough? It's like, my goodness, every time you talk, we're getting yelled at.

[Shannon]

One time, I had a conversation with Mitchell that was a positive conversation. Okay? It was not like a neg. This was a few years back. And in it, he kind of started berating me a little bit. Not in a bad way. He was not like it was. We were. And he said. And at one point I said to him, I say this respectfully, Mitch. I don't work for you. Okay? We are talking because I want this to be a good relationship, because I want UK to win, but I don't Work for you. I think he thinks everyone, the media works for him. And I think he thinks in some ways the fans, if not work for him, like. And I think that's a mistake. And I. I'm now switching a little bit. I'm not so mad. Like, if somebody said to me, Shannon, here's $2 million extra. Do you want it?

[Drew]

You're gonna take it.

[Shannon]

You're gonna take it.

[Matt Jones]

Of course you are. Anybody would.

[Shannon]

But why did they give it to him? You know, how come the people that gave it to him are not speaking?

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Why?

[Drew]

I'm all for giving a guy retirement a watch. Yeah. Or. Or like Drew said, even just the, the. The country club memberships and maybe the.

[Shannon]

Some tickets, I'm fine with that. Tickets don't bother me. A lot of people. The game brought up to me, the tickets. The tickets seem to get at people. Ten's a lot. Oddly, it doesn't bother me, but there are a lot of people that have brought up the tickets. That doesn't bother me as much, but

[Drew]

I'd be okay with it.

[Shannon]

Tickets, country club membership, tens a lot. And those ain't cheap.

[Matt Jones]

And that's for life. Those could be sold.

[Shannon]

Yeah. What about. Yeah. What you have a.

[Drew]

Well, you know, they gave. Like we brought up. They brought C. Bought C.M. a house in the Bahamas.

[Shannon]

Was that controversial at the time? That feels like that would have been, I'm gonna buy you a house in the Bahamas.

[Drew]

Of course, you know, this is before social media, so it didn't get as much run as it probably would have.

[Amanda Knox]

Okay.

[Drew]

But that's not. That's not as excessive, I think, as this is.

[Shannon]

No, this is more for sure.

[Matt Jones]

What I hate is this is a money game now. Even if he doesn't say a word to the new athletic director, the new athletic director has 950,000 on the books every year. When fans go to donate money, we're going to have to get over that hump before we start paying a shooting guard like this is owed to him through athletics. And they're going to be asking people to help with their budget when no one wants to pay that.

[Shannon]

And Andy Staples, who's a national college football reporter, he wrote, I don't think you're going to get an AD that does not have a connection to Mitch Barnhart, because no AD is going to want to come and have Mitch Barnhart in the building.

[Drew]

Fair point. Looking over your shoulder the whole time.

[Shannon]

I mean, I don't know ad, so it's hard for me to know that. But I think, you know, if you were doing betting odds, the chances you get a person with no connection to the. To the staff, I think goes down.

[Matt Jones]

You know, also, whose job was it to place people in sports already because they just got thrown under the bus

[Shannon]

and then not only did they get bumped, Shane. And they were like, look, you've done such a bad job. We are quintupling the salary that we pay for this.

[Matt Jones]

The whole situation just does not. It's a bad.

[Shannon]

And by the way, there might be. I want to be clear about this. There might be a reasonable explanation for all of this. Okay, there might be. And maybe one will show itself. But that's why you ask the question. That's why the question is important. Right? You can have an answer. But that's why the question is important. And, you know, I don't want to be down this path. It puts me in a weird spot. It puts the people that I get along with in UK in a weird spot. It puts my employer in a weird spot. But you know what? It'd be a lot easier for me just to move on. But, you know, some things have to be brought up. Somebody's got to say it because the fans think it, at least a lot of them. So that's where we are. Now. I do want to completely switch gears because I am excited about football and I am excited about talking to Will Stein. We haven't talked to him since he got hired. He's going to join us. Spring practice starts tomorrow.

[Drew]

Yes.

[Shannon]

And he's going to join us. Cross your fingers on the technology because there's a lot happening here during the break. We'll be right back. KSI.