2026-05-04- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) – Hour 1

Episode Date: May 4, 2026
Host: Matt Jones
Producer/Co-hosts: Shannon, Ryan
Main Theme: Kentucky Derby Recap, UK (University of Kentucky) Basketball Fan Sentiment, and Personal Derby Weekend Stories

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Episode Overview

Hour 1 of today's KSR centers on recapping Kentucky Derby weekend—highlighting memorable storylines, television spectacle, and local celebrity moments—while also delving into the current, somewhat anxious mood within the Kentucky basketball fanbase. Matt, Shannon, and Ryan share news, jokes, listener questions, and behind-the-scenes Derby stories, all in their candid, lighthearted style.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Star Wars Day, May the 4th, and Derby Weekend Banter

• May the 4th/Star Wars Day: The team jokes about "May the Fourth be with you" and a colleague named Brandon, whose birthday falls on Star Wars Day—a fitting day for "super nerds" (04:07).
• Gift-giving tales: Matt once gave Brandon a Pokemon card with a pair of shoes, and “no one’s ever been happier” (04:14).

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2. Kentucky Derby Recap

A. The Experience & TV Spectacle

• Matt attended the Oaks (the Friday race) in person but watched the Derby on TV, praising NBC’s “perfect” broadcast.

  "I think the Derby is such a good television broadcast that you actually can really see it more. ... If you were to create in a lab, what is the perfect television event, I think you would create the Derby." – Matt Jones (05:03, 05:37)

• Ryan and Shannon agree—the mix of races, celebrities, behind-the-scenes stories, and brief but dramatic main event creates mass appeal (05:13–06:12).

B. Memorable Derby Moments

• The Horse Mishap:
  • A horse (Great White or Big White) flipped at the start gate, knocking down its French trainer. "You spend all this money and all this training ... and then my horse flips over." – Matt Jones (07:08)
  • Despite this, the horse and trainer were fine.
• Historic Outcomes:
  • First-ever female trainer to win the Derby, shown “jumping up and down like a little girl at Christmas” (08:34).
  • Two brothers finished first and second, holding hands on horseback after finishing—"you couldn’t help but pull at your heartstrings" (09:19).

  "It wasn’t just history, Shannon. It was her—her story." – Matt Jones (08:44)

  • Matt notes the Derby’s knack for stories that “make everyone cry—trainers, jockeys, owners—everyone has a moment” (09:40).
• Financial & Betting Notes:
  • The third-place horse was 70:1, shaking up winnings (08:01).
  • None of the hosts picked the correct winner, not even in their top picks (09:57–10:09).
• Governor Andy Beshear’s TV Moment:
  • Governor’s speech during trophy presentation panned as tone-deaf (“starts talking job stats instead of the historic moment”).

    “Andy, not the time... We love you, but not the time.” – Matt Jones (13:21)

  • Record TV ratings—25 million viewers, placing the Derby among only the NFL’s biggest games and the Olympics (12:00).

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3. The Nighttime Oaks & Changes in Derby Schedule

• Moving the Oaks to nighttime made for striking TV visuals, but the crowd “lost its buzz” as up to 25% left before the feature race—possibly due to dinner plans or chilly weather (14:33–15:27).
• The team agrees the late timing is here to stay due to quadrupled viewership (15:35–15:43).

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4. Derby Weekend Fashion & Celebrity Encounters

• Matt, Shannon, and Billy make fashion statements, with Matt getting rare compliments for his expertly chosen “hat-jacket thing” (16:40–17:22).
• Matt’s run-in with sportscaster Mike Tirico, who inadvertently sat in his seat at the Oaks; conversation ensued and Tirico was “super nice” (23:18–24:26).
• At a Sports Illustrated party:
  • Matt meets Joakim Noah ("flex" in sweatpants and a T-shirt) and a ridiculously handsome Hallmark movie actor starring in the new Derby film, "Kentucky Roses" (24:45–26:20).

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5. Listener Interactions and UK Fan Mood

• Matt encountered many Kentucky fans at Derby weekend events; nearly all asked:

  “Is Pope going to get it done?” (the question about UK basketball coach Mark Pope) (28:59–29:25)

  • Uncertainty is universal. Some fans are negative, but most just seem unsure about the future.
• The hosts discuss whether this uncertainty (“Is this going to happen?”) represents the mood of the fanbase—leaning neither positive nor negative but anxious and in wait-and-see mode (29:37–31:32).

  "There's no golden parachute coming from the sky anymore... I don't think there's a superstar." – Ryan (29:45)

Fan expectations for Mark Pope:

• A Sweet 16 or Elite Eight team would satisfy most; expectations for a championship-level team are low unless something drastically changes (32:20–33:28).
• If UK only makes the tournament but loses in the first round, "that's going the opposite direction you want" and could put Pope’s tenure in jeopardy (33:45–34:07).

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6. UK Basketball Roster, Recruiting, and NIL Investments

• Ongoing struggles recruiting major talent, despite significant NIL spending—Matt estimates UK’s current commitments exceed $15 million (45:18–47:06).
• Louisville, Florida, Tennessee, and Duke are outspending and out-recruiting UK, “making it sting a little more” (43:10–44:20).
• "Whatever people feel about the roster, they've spent money... probably more than all but a handful of other teams" – Matt Jones (47:13).
• There’s little hope for a “magical” late star addition; the current roster is what it is (47:24–47:34).

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7. Derby TV and Commentary

• Donna Brothers’ retirement—special moment interviewing the female Derby-winning trainer (20:44–21:00).
• British voices give more “credibility” to horse racing, soccer, and golf broadcasts (21:08–21:39).
• Brief nostalgia for Kentucky sportscaster Kenny Rice, who still pops up Derby week (“he just runs around like a madman” covering odd sports the rest of the year) (21:41–22:18).

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8. Light-Hearted Listener Calls and Inside Jokes

• A call about the KSR Golf Scramble, illustrating the show does not screen calls as strictly as listeners expect (27:00–27:12).
• Knock-knock joke (“Ah-who?”) breaks up a stretch of heavier basketball talk, making the hosts laugh (47:39–48:19).
• Ongoing banter about party invites, Derby traditions, and whether Shannon is an “angel” (37:37–37:29).

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9. Final Thoughts and Closing Banter

• Matt reminds listeners: Pope will not be fired this offseason, “it’s just not going to happen” for reasons both practical and procedural (35:08–37:07).
• Light jokes about friends calling during the show—“if someone calls me from 10 to noon ... they don’t really know me” (38:34–39:14).

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Notable Quotes

• “If you were to create in a lab, what is the perfect television event, I think you would create the Derby.” – Matt Jones (05:37)
• "It wasn’t just history, Shannon. It was her—her story." – Matt Jones (08:44)
• “I think that's the mood of the fanbase... Is this going to happen? And I kind of feel like that's where we are.” – Matt Jones (29:40)
• "And you get all that, and it's so awesome... trainers, jockeys, owners—everyone has a moment, everyone's crying." – Matt Jones (09:40)
• "Andy, not the time... We love you, but not the time.” – Matt Jones on Governor Beshear’s Derby-presentations comments (13:21)
• "I just don't know if it's going to feel like [a contender]... The roster is what it is." – Matt Jones (33:01, 47:34)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Derby TV & Stories: 04:45–14:15
• Fashion, Mike Tirico Story: 16:34–24:26
• Derby Parties & Hallmark Movie Debut: 24:39–26:33
• UK Fan Mood & Basketball Roster: 28:58–35:04
• Recruiting, NIL Spending, Rivals Recruiting: 43:10–47:34
• Listener Calls & Humor: 47:39–48:19

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Memorable Moments

• Matt handing off a Pokemon card—“no one’s ever been happier” (04:14)
• The trainer’s horse flipping and knocking him over; French trainer’s devastation (07:08)
• Two brothers holding hands on horseback after finishing first and second (09:11)
• Governor Beshear’s awkward, stats-driven speech (“He didn’t rise to the moment”) (12:38)
• Matt discovering the man who took his seat at the Oaks was Mike Tirico (23:18)
• Hallmark Derby movie star cutting the line at a party—“That person doesn’t just walk the streets in the wild” (25:36)

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Overall Tone

Candid, humorous, locally flavored sports banter—mixing sincere admiration for Kentucky traditions with a dash of self-deprecation, skepticism, and rapport with Kentucky sports fans.

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Useful for Listeners

This hour gives a vivid, entertaining recap of Derby weekend, while illuminating the cautious, uncertain mood among UK basketball fans as the new season and recruiting challenges approach. There are plenty of laughs, some candid shots at political speeches and sports media, and plenty of inside-Kentucky sports culture.

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Next hour: KSR will get into more UK basketball details and vote on Golf Scramble contest callers.

Transcript

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[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 Monday, May 4th. I am Matt Jones here on a rainy Sunday in Lexington, Kentucky.

[Shannon]

You can give us a shout on

[Matt Jones]

the Clark's puppet shop phone line. It's a new week. 859-280-2287.

[Shannon]

A Vision Auto Glass text machine. 772-774-5254. In this edition sponsored by the TJ Smith Law Office. Call TJ. I'll make them pay.

[Matt Jones]

Ryan is with me.

[Shannon]

Shannon is in Louisville. Drew will be back on Wednesday, by the way.

[Ryan]

Nice.

[Shannon]

Talked to him yesterday. He's got two more days. And then I think Shane and the baby's raised, so it's good.

[Matt Jones]

That's good.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

So it's already ready to go then?

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

A lot of people don't know that about babies. You give them, like, four weeks.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Of care, and they're good to go, and then they're good.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Wow. Send them.

[Ryan]

I didn't know that.

[Shannon]

It's all. It's AI.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

If only it were really that easy.

[Matt Jones]

That's how. That's how it works.

[Shannon]

So it'd be good. Now that his child's fine. He's gonna. He's gonna come back.

[Ryan]

We missed Drew.

[Shannon]

Yes, we did.

[Ryan]

And may the fourth be with you, by the way.

[Shannon]

Yeah, they.

[Matt Jones]

That somebody.

[Shannon]

So there's a salesperson here, Shannon, named Brandon, who. It's his birthday, right? So. So, like, he's got all this birthday stuff.

[Matt Jones]

And so I walked in, I'm like, happy birthday.

[Shannon]

And he goes, this is the best

[Matt Jones]

birthday you could have.

[Shannon]

And I said, oh, because it's your birthday, right? Like, why is it your best birthday? And he goes, because it's also Star wars day. And then I was like, what? And I go, oh, yeah. May the fourth. May fourth be with you.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

This is the guy you got the Pokemon cards for, right?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, this is the guy. Bought a pair of shoes. I bought a pair of shoes, and it came with a free Pokemon card,

[Shannon]

and I gave him the Pokemon card, and no one's ever been happier. Like, I. I've never given a gift that got a better reaction than giving Brandon that Pokemon Christmas morning for.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

For dorks and nerds.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

So if you're a nerd and you're

[Shannon]

born on May 4th, big day.

[Matt Jones]

I think that Shannon means you're, like, super nerd.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah. You're destined to be a super nerd.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, exactly. It's like a superhero.

[Shannon]

So congrats to Brandon, who I'm sure is excited about being talked about this morning.

[Matt Jones]

So this was derby weekend, Ryan.

[Ryan]

Yes. How was Your Derby weekend, it was great.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I went to the Oaks,

[Shannon]

which was, which was nice.

[Matt Jones]

Watch the Derby on tv. I like being at the Derby, but I think the Derby is such a good television broadcast that you actually can

[Shannon]

really see it more. I mean, I actually think it's more enjoyable in some ways on television because they do such a good job with. You get to know everybody's stories and all that.

[Ryan]

So it makes it. But the whole broadcast, it's so good because they get to have the behind the scenes stories.

[Matt Jones]

You get to know everybody, the people,

[Ryan]

the horses, the trainers, everybody.

[Shannon]

And then you get that, you know, you get some mix of clothes and you get some mix of celebrities and then everybody's got a sad story, which

[Matt Jones]

is nice and all of that. I mean, I just think they do

[Shannon]

such a good job with it.

[Ryan]

They really do.

[Shannon]

It's, it's actually a perfect.

[Matt Jones]

Like if you were to create in a lab, what is the perfect television event, I think you would create the Derby.

[Shannon]

Shannon, think about it. The actual what?

[Matt Jones]

The race itself. Really short.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

So you.

[Matt Jones]

Everyone can follow it.

[Ryan]

Two minutes.

[Shannon]

Two minutes.

[Matt Jones]

That's all you got to give us. Right. The lead up. There's stuff for men, there's stuff for women. There's stuff for people who like sports or stuff for people who like human interest stories. There's drama, their siblings. You know, I mean, I just think she. And whatever it is you would like in a television broadcast.

[Shannon]

I'm not sure the Derby, it looks great.

[Matt Jones]

Visually. It's like perfect.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah. The buildup for it, I think is really the, the biggest thing for a lot of people, of course, Derby parties and you have all the other races before the Derby itself. But it's, it's, it's, it's a whole. It's great.

[Shannon]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

And if you're a sports person, you got all the races leading up to

[Shannon]

it that you can get into.

[Matt Jones]

So let's go over a few things

[Shannon]

about the, about the thing. I'll tell you about my Oaks experience a bit, but let's talk about the Derby. First of all, you get out to

[Matt Jones]

the Derby, see time to start.

[Shannon]

And the, the big. I didn't realize there was a horse that was like four times fatter than all the horses.

[Matt Jones]

Big White.

[Ryan]

Why they call him Big White?

[Matt Jones]

That you, that you could have. Shannon, a big fat horse in the race.

[Shannon]

There was a big fat horse.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

My Great White or Big. Is Big White? A different horse? I don't know.

[Shannon]

Great White.

[Matt Jones]

Whatever the horse was, it flipped.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Great White.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, yes.

[Shannon]

And There I.

[Matt Jones]

You would think it would be the fattest horse. It wouldn't flip over like a Weeble wobble, but. But it flips over, knocks the guy down.

[Shannon]

He was.

[iHeart Advertising Rep]

He.

[Matt Jones]

He was a French guy.

[Shannon]

He was very upset. You can tell.

[Matt Jones]

He's like, I flew all the way over here, Shannon from France, and then

[Shannon]

my horse flips over.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Imagine you spend all this money and all this training to get this horse there, and it gets right there to

[Matt Jones]

the gate, and it won't right at the gate, and then it's out. And when you scratch that close to the race, you still have to pay.

[Ryan]

Yeah. Too bad.

[Matt Jones]

So whatever he. Whatever they had to pay to get in, I think that would be miserable. You're right at the gate.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

That jockey could have gotten a huge payoff to win that dirty.

[Shannon]

No.

[Matt Jones]

And all he did was get a big fat horse to fall on him. Right.

[Ryan]

Scary. Yeah. Horse fell over backwards.

[Matt Jones]

It's completely fine. So that. All right, so race starts, obviously.

[Shannon]

I had further ado.

[Matt Jones]

And as they came for home, it

[Shannon]

looked like it was winning.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

And so you're like, oh, okay, well, I'm going to win. And then it doesn't. Great Tempo comes from Golden Tempo.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

We're on fire with these names.

[Shannon]

I know all these names are good.

[Matt Jones]

Golden Tempo comes from behind.

[Shannon]

It was awesome. You know, the. The. The horse that came in third was 70 to 1.

[Matt Jones]

So it completely flipped around. Then you get the fact that you

[Shannon]

realize, okay, first female trainer.

[Ryan]

Right?

[Shannon]

I mean, there you go. History. History. What. What a story. It's history. And the videos of her jumping up

[Matt Jones]

and down, Very special. That, like, that's great. Again, back to how it's perfect television. You don't even have to care about anything.

[Shannon]

Sorry.

[Matt Jones]

You don't have to care about anything to just go, this is awesome. I'm watching history here.

[Shannon]

Right.

[Ryan]

You don't have to be a horse racing fan. You don't have to know anything about horse racing to appreciate some of those moments. And to see her jumping up and down like that, like a little girl at Christmas time was very, very special.

[Matt Jones]

It wasn't just history, Shannon. It was her.

[Caller Kevin]

Her.

[Matt Jones]

Her story.

[Shannon]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

Like, it was.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

God, that's all.

[Matt Jones]

I'm just. I'm just.

[Shannon]

I'm just showing.

[Matt Jones]

I'm being a feminist here.

[Shannon]

That's. It was so.

[Matt Jones]

It was this awesome moment, and then the brothers.

[Ryan]

Yes, the brothers.

[Matt Jones]

Right.

[Ryan]

First and second, embraced after they crossed the finish line.

[Matt Jones]

They cross the finish line, and then they hold hands.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

How. How hard is that on a horse? Those horses are galloping, Shannon, and they're holding hands.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Shannon]

That's a pretty amazing.

[Ryan]

It was pretty amazing. You couldn't help, but you pull your heartstrings for those two stories right there. The two brothers and the female trainer was out. That's what makes the Kentucky Derby so special because you get these moments.

[Matt Jones]

Perfect television. Everybody likes the first woman and then two brothers.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And he starts crying. And everyone, you know, when something good happens to Derby, everybody's always crying.

[Shannon]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

Like the trainers. Thinking of her mentor who got her to do it, she cries. Jose Ortiz is thinking of his grandfather who taught him to race horses. He just died. He cries. So you get all that, and it's so awesome.

[Shannon]

And then this huge payday if, if, if people got it.

[Matt Jones]

Didn't any of you get that horse?

[Shannon]

I mean, I didn't know I had

[Matt Jones]

it in some of my tries, but not on top.

[Shannon]

I never put it on first, so I put it on, like, second and third, but I wouldn't have had the 70 to one horse anyway, so I think it was just not destined to be.

[Ryan]

Like you said, you don't have to even know anything about horse racing. But when they had that overhead view of the. Of the trip that that horse took

[Matt Jones]

to get the finish line from last to first.

[Ryan]

Unbelievable.

[Matt Jones]

Way from the outside. Yeah.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Took the longest route, but that horse had a rocket strapped to it.

[Ryan]

I mean, I.

[Political Ad Narrator]

It was fine.

[Matt Jones]

I don't know what the distance traveled. You know, they do those. I'd love to see what the distance

[Shannon]

travel for that horse was.

[Ryan]

Yeah. Because he went way on the outside and then just outran everybody down the stretch. I didn't think there was any way he was ever going to get there. And he just kept building speed. The fast, the longer the race went.

[Shannon]

So you. So you have that. And then they go to the. To the winner's circle. And there's our.

[Matt Jones]

There's our governor. Did you see his shoes, Shannon, the shears?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

No, I did not.

[Matt Jones]

See.

[Shannon]

Now, he did have a cool pair of shoes on. Well, not everybody here listening would like this, but you can get over it because I liked it. They were like Nike sneakers and they were like blue. Shit. You'd like these.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, I'm looking here and they were

[Shannon]

blue and they said on the back heel of each of them, dim gov.

[Ryan]

Oh, nice. Nice. Dim gov.

[Shannon]

Dim gov. It is dorky.

[Matt Jones]

It is very dorky, but it's kind of like, you know, if you're a dorky governor, that's what you do.

[Shannon]

Absolutely.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

What did he say? Something like, I don't know much about horse racing, but I know how to win my races.

[Matt Jones]

Did he say that? Okay, well, I was going to get to that. All right, so let me just say I'm going to give my political advice to Andy.

[Commercial Voice]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

The whole world is watching this thing. The highest ratings in the history of the Derby. Yes, it was. 25 million people watch the race. Just so people understand, the only sporting events that have gotten 25 million people. The Super bowl, the NFC championship, the AFC championship, and that's it.

[Ryan]

All just NFL. That's it.

[Matt Jones]

That's it. And like the second night of the Olympics. That's it. So you literally. Shannon, if you're any Beshear, you're never

[Shannon]

going to get a bigger crowd.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, the world is. Maybe.

[Matt Jones]

Maybe in the debates if he runs for President, but that's it.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Here's what I would have said to

[Shannon]

him if I worked for him.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

I'd have whispered in his ear, all right, man, this is history.

[Matt Jones]

First female trainer to win. Rise to the moment. Talk about how you're happy to be a part. You know what I mean? I'm happy to be a part of history this moment.

[Shannon]

You know that.

[Matt Jones]

What's he do? He gets up there and goes, we are from Kentucky and we have the highest job numbers in the history of. I'm like, shannon, what? This is not the time. You're breeding me stats. I'm already bored. And then he has to pull out a sheet of paper to get the name. I don't know, man. I was like, this is your moment. Come on. You're Democrat from Kentucky.

[Shannon]

There's like four of us here.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, yeah. Just be happy to be there.

[Matt Jones]

Just. But like. But you know what I mean? Like, that. Don't give me numbers.

[Ryan]

No. Appreciate the moment. We don't need a political speech.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, he told. He said we have. The average new job is $30 an hour. What are you talking about?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

What kind of job is.

[Matt Jones]

Not the.

[Ryan]

Not the time, Andy.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

We love you, but not the time.

[Matt Jones]

That was not the. So I. I felt. I felt like he didn't. He didn't. She didn't rise to that moment.

[Shannon]

Like I needed him to.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

No. You know, I thought maybe with all these people watching, it would be a time that he would announce that he's running for president.

[Shannon]

Well, that would have been worse.

[Matt Jones]

Like, I was like, this moment to

[Shannon]

announce to everyone I'm running for.

[Matt Jones]

That would be a. If you're going be a poor time,

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

you're going to do what you did, though. I mean, everybody's going to be watching you. They're going to see it, they're going to pay attention.

[Shannon]

I didn't think that was. I didn't think that was the. The best. The best handling of it.

[Matt Jones]

So. So I enjoyed.

[Shannon]

Anything else stick out to you from the Derby?

[Ryan]

I like I said, I love the whole afternoon of all the stories and the pomp and circumstances. Just a beautiful event. And for two minutes, the entire sports world is on our state. And we delivered. We delivered a special moment that we're all going to remember for that time.

[Matt Jones]

Record ratings for the Derby. 4 times highest ratings for the Oaks.

[Shannon]

So it's staying at night.

[Ryan]

Yeah, there's no doubt. Did you stay for the whole.

[Matt Jones]

So I stayed for the whole thing. Here's what I would say about the

[Shannon]

Oaks being at night.

[Matt Jones]

Visually.

[Shannon]

I went back and watched it on tv. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

[Matt Jones]

Like visually it could not have looked better.

[Ryan]

It was awesome in person.

[Shannon]

It kind of a disappointing experience really,

[Matt Jones]

because a lot of people left.

[Shannon]

Ah, a lot, A lot. A lot of people left before the Oaks.

[Matt Jones]

So I think like, you know, people have dinner plans.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

They've got the parties.

[Ryan]

The parties.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Surprised you didn't leave. You're notorious.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I stayed. I was like, look if I want to see the first one at night.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And I enjoyed it.

[Ryan]

So a lot of people. There was a.

[Matt Jones]

But I would say 25% of the crowd left.

[Commercial Voice]

Really.

[Shannon]

So because of that, it just didn't

[Matt Jones]

have that buzz that usually get a buzz in the crowd the 10 minutes before the Oaks, the 10 minutes before the Derby.

[Shannon]

And it just wasn't quite the same.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, it was there, but a

[Shannon]

lot of the crowd left.

[Matt Jones]

And so that. That's the only part now. It was also kind of cold.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

When the sun went down. So maybe if it wasn't cold, people

[Shannon]

would have stayed soon as the. It got cold. So maybe that would change if it was.

[Ryan]

Well, that's a shame because it did look awesome on the TV broadcast at night and they did a great job showing the beauty. Beauty shots made. Made Louisville and Churchill down look like a magnificent place.

[Shannon]

But they're not going to change it now. I mean, now that it works, that's

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

what it's going to be for themselves. I mean, you quadruple your viewership. It's not going anywhere.

[Matt Jones]

And the Derby probably won't leave.

[Shannon]

I mean I used to keep looking. Remember that used to be at 5:30.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Shannon]

Now it was like. I think it was at 7 this time. Like, it just keeps getting later and later and later.

[Ryan]

And then after the incident happened with the horse that he started even later than that.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, that's true.

[Shannon]

That's part of why it probably started later. That horse. Yeah. Because I added like 10 minutes, they

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

get all the horses out and put them back in.

[Ryan]

Yeah, those horses for that were loaded. They had to pull them back out and walk them around a little bit, settle them down.

[Shannon]

Well, I enjoyed it. It was, it was a great weekend for Louisville and for the state.

[Ryan]

Any good behind the scenes stories with.

[Shannon]

Yeah, I'll talk about one that happened. I, I will say, though, you know, well, let me save this for after the break. I would talk about running into Kentucky fans because I, I ran into a ton of them on Friday. I want to talk about that.

[Matt Jones]

By the way, you, Mario, you and

[Shannon]

Billy looked good on Saturday.

[Ryan]

They did, didn't they?

[Matt Jones]

You all, you guys looked good.

[Shannon]

I mean, you looked better than Billy.

[Matt Jones]

But Billy, for, for, for, for Bill, like. Well, I mean, you know how, like, you dress up.

[Shannon]

I don't like going out with you when you're dressed up because you, you dress too good.

[Matt Jones]

But Billy looked good, too. You guys looked good. It was, it was nice.

[Ryan]

I listened to the 84 HS broadcast from Lexington to Jasper, Indiana, and when Billy came on to do one of his reports, I felt like a proud pop.

[Matt Jones]

Like, that's Billy. Listen, be quiet.

[Ryan]

Billy's talking.

[Shannon]

Yeah, I agree with you.

[Matt Jones]

I also got more compliments on my hat jacket thing. I didn't realize, like, you were styling. You know, letting somebody tell you what

[Shannon]

to wear, I think works for me.

[Matt Jones]

I think if I pick it myself,

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

it's much easier that way.

[Shannon]

Much easier. Because that was the nicest anyone's ever been about my, about my apparel.

[Ryan]

You were styling look good.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Nobody told you.

[Ryan]

All three of you guys look good.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

That year you wore the purple suit. You picked that out yourself, right?

[Matt Jones]

I picked that one out myself.

[Shannon]

Didn't have quite the same reaction.

[Ryan]

Shocking.

[Shannon]

Didn't have the same reaction. All right, we'll take a break, come

[Matt Jones]

back, talk a little more about that

[Shannon]

and my interactions with UK fans this weekend.

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[Shannon]

That's innerbalance.com welcome back techie sports radio text machine 772-77-45254 People with good stuff, right? Him person writes. Matt, you just said everybody has a sad story at that at the derby. So that's good. Well, it is good. It's good for tv. I don't want people to have sad things happen.

[Ryan]

Good for the producers. And ratings.

[Matt Jones]

Good for the producers. You're looking for sob stories, right? Like you're looking for something that pulls on the for those people that Aren't horse people? Like, they also had that woman who's been doing it as long as I can remember. Julia brothers.

[Ryan]

Donna brothers.

[Matt Jones]

Okay.

[Shannon]

Julie, Wait, I am not getting these names right.

[Matt Jones]

Donna brothers. But she's been doing that forever.

[Ryan]

Yes. Right. The horse.

[Matt Jones]

And this is her last one.

[Ryan]

Correct.

[Matt Jones]

And so they have her walk out with the female trainer. Well, once the trainer wins.

[Shannon]

How awesome is that?

[Ryan]

That was fantastic television right there.

[Matt Jones]

Because you get to see her saying, I hope you win. And she says, I'm inspired by you. And you're just like, yeah, I had no girl power.

[Ryan]

Girl power. Yeah, man. Right.

[Shannon]

So you can't ask for.

[Matt Jones]

I like that. Some of the people, Shannon, are British.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I think there's just certain sports. Aren't there certain sports? You want to hear a British voice? Horse racing.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Soccer.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Soccer is good.

[Matt Jones]

And golf. If I hear a British person doing one of those, Shannon, I tend to give it more credibility. I think we should only have British

[Shannon]

people calling our soccer games.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

I'm with you on that. Yeah. Like, I need to have, like, some sort of accent if I'm watching soccer.

[Matt Jones]

I don't know who's calling the World cup, but in my opinion, they all

[Shannon]

need to be British.

[Ryan]

Get some British guys in there.

[Matt Jones]

Same thing with. There's that one when that one guy talks on the broadcast and he's British.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And then they find Kenny Rice.

[Ryan]

Kenny Rice has been. He just runs around like a madman.

[Matt Jones]

But every year I'm like, whatever happened to Kenny Rice there? He shows up at the derby.

[Ryan]

He's been doing it like 25 for

[Matt Jones]

the rest of the year.

[Ryan]

He does, like, these crazy play by play for, like, crazy sports.

[Shannon]

Like, what?

[Ryan]

I heard him talk about it one time.

[Matt Jones]

Like, motorcycles.

[Ryan]

Motorcycles. Like, he did MMA type fighting for a while.

[Matt Jones]

It's just nice. I always like, whatever happened to Kenny Rice?

[Shannon]

And then when it comes for a

[Matt Jones]

horse race, there he is.

[Ryan]

There he is. And he's so good at it. Running around, trying to get the wing trainer.

[Shannon]

One person says, matt, Great White is not fat.

[Matt Jones]

It's tall. That's what I like to say when

[Shannon]

I put on weight sometimes.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Big and tall.

[Shannon]

No, it's not that far. I've just gotten taller.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Husky.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that's right. Great White has husky shoes.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Right. They need a lot of hay.

[Shannon]

Trent Noah picked the derby winner.

[Ryan]

He did.

[Matt Jones]

I didn't see that at Trent Noah. They asked all the players on the UK team, which is like four right

[Shannon]

now, and they said, who do you got? And Trent Noah is the one who picked who picked the tempo?

[Ryan]

Golden.

[Shannon]

Golden.

[Matt Jones]

So I also had two interactions I wanted to mention.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

First of all, I went at the Oaks. I see Nick Coffey.

[Shannon]

He's standing a few boxes down from where I am. I go to talk to him.

[Matt Jones]

When I look back, he asked me

[Shannon]

where I was sitting. And I look back to show and point to him.

[Matt Jones]

Shannon, Mike Tirico's in my seat.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Oh, Mike, what are you doing?

[Matt Jones]

Now, I want you to think about

[Shannon]

that for a minute.

[Matt Jones]

You look and somebody's in your seat, and you realize it's Mike Tirico, one

[Ryan]

of those popular guys at the track.

[Matt Jones]

So it turns out I was sharing a box with the head of the

[Shannon]

Jockeys Guild, and Mike Tirico knew him.

[Matt Jones]

So I go walk and I go.

[Shannon]

So I'm like, you know, it's Mike Tirico. I want to talk to him. So what do you say?

[Ryan]

Hey, you're in my seat.

[Shannon]

You're.

[Matt Jones]

You're kind of right?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah. I was like, pull out the ticket.

[Shannon]

I walk in and I go, mike

[Matt Jones]

Tirico's in my seat.

[Shannon]

And he looks at me, and then I'm, you know, Then what do you say?

[Ryan]

And I go, what's your next line?

[Shannon]

I'm Matt. Matt. And I just said, I'm on ESPN Radio, where you used to work. Which very few people know him for that.

[Matt Jones]

Did he get fired from there? I don't think so.

[Shannon]

I think he left on his own.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Okay, good.

[Shannon]

That would have been bad if he

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

got fired where you used to work.

[Shannon]

I mean, this is a dude who's called the Olympics the Super Bowl. And I'm like, didn't you used to

[Matt Jones]

work at ESPN Radio?

[Shannon]

But it actually.

[Matt Jones]

Then that led to a conversation, and we talked for, like, five minutes.

[Shannon]

And he couldn't have been nicer.

[Ryan]

That's awesome. Because sometimes you can meet a guy like that. He's got a lot on his mind, a lot going on. It could be kind of dismiss you.

[Matt Jones]

No, he was. He asked me questions about it. He said he had listened to us

[Shannon]

on Sundays before NFL games. So that was nice.

[Matt Jones]

Then on Friday night, I went to

[Shannon]

the Sports Illustrated party.

[Ryan]

Yes. How was that?

[Matt Jones]

It was good. I talked to two celebrities.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Matt Jones]

Joe, Kim, Noah, who wore sweatpants and

[Shannon]

a T shirt to this party, which

[Matt Jones]

I think, Shannon, you got to have

[Shannon]

a lot of confidence in life to do that.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

That's a flex. I'm just going to show up in my jogging pants.

[Shannon]

Yes. With this. Everybody else is, like, decked to the nines. And then a guy cut Line in front of me.

[Ryan]

Oh.

[Shannon]

And I looked at him and I was like, who is this?

[Matt Jones]

Why is he.

[Shannon]

Because there was a line for people who had, you know, a way to get in.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And it was the guy that was

[Shannon]

playing in the Hallmark movie. Oh, did you see the Home, the

[Matt Jones]

Hallmark movie about the derby that came out?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

No, but I've heard. I've heard about.

[Shannon]

I guess they aired it Saturday night.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Shannon]

It was called, like, Kentucky Roses.

[Matt Jones]

And he cut line.

[Shannon]

And I was going to be angry,

[Matt Jones]

but I looked at him, Shannon. I was like, that dude is so handsome.

[Shannon]

He must be someone.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah. So if they're good looking enough, you're okay with them just.

[Matt Jones]

Well, I mean, if you have a certain kind of look, you're like, that

[Shannon]

person doesn't just walk the streets in the wild. Like, they have to. He has to be somebody. Well, and they took him.

[Matt Jones]

Well, they took him immediately. Not just to the front.

[Shannon]

They, like, gave him his own. Because the movie was debuting the next night, Kentucky.

[Ryan]

Figure out who he was.

[Shannon]

I asked somebody. Who's that?

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

And they're like, he's in the new Hallmark. I looked at, like, me, like I was dumb. He's in the new Kentucky Road.

[Ryan]

I wouldn't know him.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Is that him right there?

[Shannon]

That was him right there. Him with the girl.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Yeah. And like all Hallmark movies, the premise is he owns a horse, she works in the stable, they fall in love.

[Ryan]

Gotcha.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

No one saw that coming.

[Shannon]

Did any of you see that movie?

[Ryan]

I missed it.

[Shannon]

No, I didn't see it either.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

That's not on my watch list. Sorry.

[Shannon]

I'm gonna guess it wasn't good. Maybe someone listening saw it.

[Ryan]

Somebody listening.

[Shannon]

Somebody listening saw it. 7 7, 2, 7 7, 45 2, 5, 4. But. But. There you go. Let's go to Jake. Go ahead, Jake.

[Caller Kevin]

Hey, Matt. First time, long time.

[Shannon]

One minute.

[Caller Kevin]

I was calling for the golf scramble.

[Shannon]

All right, Jake, we're not.

[Matt Jones]

This is not. When did I say first thing about giving away the golf?

[Ryan]

After the weekend. First call.

[Matt Jones]

See this? For people who think we screen calls.

[Shannon]

Jake's calls would be an example that we don't.

[Ryan]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

Would Shannon have let that through?

[Ryan]

No, he would not have.

[Shannon]

He would not have.

[Ryan]

Jake, listen. Just listen to the podcast.

[Matt Jones]

Do not.

[Ryan]

Thought we were doing it.

[Matt Jones]

We do not intentionally.

[Shannon]

Do not.

[Matt Jones]

When we have that contest, we'll. We'll. We'll talk about.

[Shannon]

And there's a guy that thinks he deserves the tickets, and I might put that up to a vote. Okay, so we'll see. 8, 5, 9, 2802287. We will talk a little UK basketball after this.

[iHeart Advertising Rep]

KSR TJ Smith, personal injury attorney.

[Matt Jones]

Call TJ. He'll make him pay.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

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

[Shannon]

I can't be the only person

[Ryan]

that

[Shannon]

when Cherie DeVoe1 didn't think of this song. There has to be somebody.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

No, I think you're it.

[Shannon]

You think I'm the only person that

[Matt Jones]

thought of this song?

[Ryan]

I've never heard this song.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

I have either.

[Matt Jones]

You've never heard this song?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

I don't think so. I don't think we've ever.

[Matt Jones]

Bobby Bear Marie DeVoe. I know who Bobby sound he makes, though.

[Shannon]

That's a lot.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Bobby Bear is the same guy that has Jesus kick me through the goalpost.

[Matt Jones]

Kick me through the goal post. Alive. Yeah, but so every time I kept hearing Sheree Devo, I thought of this song.

[Shannon]

There has to be someone else.

[Ryan]

Somebody knows it.

[Shannon]

Someone else listens to Willie's Roadhouse besides me.

[Ryan]

That you Hear it.

[Shannon]

Text machine 772-774-5254. Yes. That they play this on there quite a bit.

[Ryan]

I've never heard.

[Shannon]

You've never heard it?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, I don't think I have.

[Shannon]

Well, you don't have to play that scream again. It's not. It's not my favorite. It's not my favorite song. Not many people seem to watch the movie, but a couple of them say it's bad. So There you go. 859-280-2287. Now, Ryan, everybody, I ran into and I ran into a lot of Kentucky fans.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Shannon]

All the same. Literally all same question. Is Pope going to get it done? That was the question. Not he's not going to get it done. Not he is going to get it done.

[Matt Jones]

And in Quizzical, is Pope going to get it done? And my answer always kind of was the same, which is.

[Shannon]

I don't know, man.

[Matt Jones]

I was shocked how many. It was universal, really. And then because you're in Louisville, some

[Shannon]

people who knew Will Stein being like you guys, like Will style, but it was a universe.

[Matt Jones]

And I, and I thought about that this weekend and I think that's the

[Shannon]

mood of the fan base. There are obviously some very negative people,

[Matt Jones]

but there's also just a.

[Shannon]

Is this going to happen?

[Matt Jones]

And I kind of feel like that's where we are.

[Ryan]

I think that's the right answer. And you just got to say there's no golden parachute coming from the sky anymore. I mean, they don't think There's a superstar is going to land on. So our roster.

[Shannon]

What a golden parachute mean?

[Ryan]

Well,

[Shannon]

it's not golden apple. Golden parachute is what Mitch Barnhart got.

[Ryan]

Yeah, well, there's nothing coming for this UK basketball team either. There's no magic person coming from the transfer portal. This nostril.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. There's no rocking chair.

[Shannon]

There's no Chase Lounge.

[Ryan]

So. It is what it is, man. I mean, we got to get used to.

[Matt Jones]

You say it is what it is.

[Shannon]

I mean, do you.

[Matt Jones]

Do you think they're. They're clearly trying to.

[Shannon]

To add people.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, he flew all the way to Israel, although it's looking like he

[Shannon]

may not get that guy.

[Ryan]

I mean, he had a great game. He scored zero points. I don't know why you'd want to sign him on the spot.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

You flew into a war zone to get a guy and he still wouldn't come play for you.

[Matt Jones]

I know you flew into a war zone and he's might. He looks like he's going to pick

[Shannon]

a school that didn't come.

[Matt Jones]

No, I mean, LSU according. I don't know.

[Shannon]

I have no inside source on this,

[Matt Jones]

but there are some of the insiders now think that guy's leaning LSU who

[Shannon]

did not come to Israel.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

This is going from bad to just embarrassing.

[Matt Jones]

It is like I don't even want. I don't even know if I want this kid. But it's like you went all the way over there to get him.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

And when your biggest rival is killing it in the portal, it makes sense.

[Matt Jones]

I want to get to Louisville because

[Shannon]

Louisville, that is part of it, there's no doubt.

[Matt Jones]

But I just thought it was interesting that the mood tended to be at

[Shannon]

least for the people that would come up to me to talk is Pope going to do it?

[Matt Jones]

And I think we all are in this. I think if. Whether you lean that he will not or you lean that he will, I think most people are in the.

[Shannon]

I just don't know. Is he going to do it?

[Matt Jones]

I think that's a really like a

[Shannon]

good summary of how the fan base feels.

[Ryan]

And that's going to be the. The theme until he tip off in October. I mean, there's. Those questions are out there. I. I'm holding, I'm holding out that I think this team could be like his first team. Won't be a final 14, but one we can get behind and enjoy and watch him play.

[Matt Jones]

Will the fan base be as into

[Shannon]

such a team if it's his third year and not his first year?

[Matt Jones]

I mean, the premise of that is his first year was.

[Shannon]

He's building something great.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Give him time. Right?

[Shannon]

Give him time.

[Matt Jones]

Right now it's the third year we've given them time. Let's say you have that same season that you did the first year.

[Ryan]

Right.

[Shannon]

Is everybody good with that?

[Ryan]

Not totally, but.

[Shannon]

But he keeps his job.

[Ryan]

Keeps his job.

[Matt Jones]

I agree with that.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

So one person said to me, be honest.

[Shannon]

How good is this team going to be?

[Matt Jones]

And I sat there this weekend yesterday, and I really tried to look at the roster and see how I felt it would be.

[Shannon]

Let's say we had no major piece. Okay. I mean, we're going to add a couple of players just because you have to have more players, but let's say we don't add a superstar.

[Matt Jones]

I think the team will be fine,

[Shannon]

but it's not going to be great.

[Ryan]

I agree with you.

[Matt Jones]

It'll be fine. I don't think it'll miss the tournament.

[Shannon]

I don't think it'll be terrible, but I don't think it's going to be great. And I don't think you're. I don't think you're going to have a minute during the season when we feel like we're a contender.

[Ryan]

No.

[Matt Jones]

And I think that's what the fan

[Shannon]

base really wants to feel, and I don't know if it's going to feel like that.

[Ryan]

I agree. Like I said, it kind of is what it is, this roster. So if you're looking at your expectations going in are sweet 16, maybe elite 8 if you get hot the right time.

[Matt Jones]

But elite, as people say, the city, 16, maybe. Those are good. That's good.

[Ryan]

Yes, it is.

[Matt Jones]

You told me this was an Elite Eight team. That means there are one or two

[Shannon]

seed in the tournament. Our fan base will take that in a heartbeat.

[Ryan]

I understand.

[Matt Jones]

So, like, that's not.

[Shannon]

I mean, I don't think we're doing that or else I'd be excited.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

You get to the Elite Eight, you're one game away from the Final Four. I'm more like, are we going to

[Shannon]

win a game in the turn? I think we'll make the tournament, but

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

are we going to win a game if he doesn't? Let's say they get to the tournament, he loses first round.

[Shannon]

That's tough because then you've gotten worse every year.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah. Is he back for another year?

[Shannon]

Yeah. I don't know then that. That's hard. I don't know the answer to that, but.

[Matt Jones]

But you would have gotten worse every year.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

That's Going the opposite direction of what

[Ryan]

you want, it's definitely not acceptable for the Kentucky Wildcat basketball program and to be in that situation.

[Shannon]

So we'll see.

[Matt Jones]

There was another European that popped up last night.

[Shannon]

I'm not going to claim to know who he was. His name was like, Sizzic. He's like 7 foot 2 and 18 and skinny.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Is he from Israel? Was there another Israel player?

[Matt Jones]

I don't think he was from Israel. I think he.

[Shannon]

I think. I want to say he played in Spain maybe, but he's. I don't know if he was Spanish. I can't. I just saw his name and I didn't really look into it because I don't even know if Kentucky's.

[Matt Jones]

But we were going up against LSU

[Shannon]

and BYU for him as well.

[Ryan]

Roughly one to LSU and one to byu.

[Shannon]

Well, you know, I tweeted out last night, hey, UK basketball, show a side of life. Send out a comment, a video, a statement. I do believe that.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, they don't have to do that, but, like, if I were in

[Shannon]

charge of pr, I'd be going to them and going, look, we got to give our fans something.

[Ryan]

We need to hear from our leader.

[Shannon]

We got to give them something.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

But so far, no. Kevin, go ahead. Kevin,

[Caller Kevin]

actually is good. Good timing for. For why I'm calling with all the things. That's Pope. You know, Pope's done the staff over the last year and a half. You know, the bad pr, the bad recruiting, the blowout losses. Why can't, you know, where's the rule written that we can't. We have to wait a third year? I mean, his buyout isn't that much. And the buyout.

[Shannon]

Well, the rule is money was not.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, there's no rule, but it's

[Shannon]

not going to happen.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, we can spend all year. Because it's not going to.

[Shannon]

I mean, you. You may personally think it should, and I'm not going to try to tell you you can or can't think that you think what you want it, but

[Matt Jones]

I'm just telling you as a practical

[Shannon]

matter, it's not going to happen. So if it's not going to happen, I don't see the productivity of go of talking about it for the next six months.

[Matt Jones]

It's not going to happen.

[Shannon]

This is going to happen.

[Matt Jones]

It would already happen.

[Caller Kevin]

Well, I just think in today's age, I think there's. If there's ever been a time of, you know, what have you done for me lately, it's now. I think it's almost commonplace that coaches get fired, but nobody gets fired in May.

[Matt Jones]

Nobody gets fired in May when the

[Shannon]

rosters are already set.

[Matt Jones]

Let me just. I mean, if you want to play this out, I'll do this once.

[Shannon]

And I appreciate the call. I'm not going to do it again for the rest of the year. Let's just say you do it. You know, there's a rule book. There's a. There's a. There's the thing in the rules that said all the players can leave.

[Ryan]

Yes. And they would.

[Shannon]

They can all leave. And we can't go get anybody because everybody else is already, like, who's out there?

[Matt Jones]

So we would lose our entire roster

[Shannon]

potentially, and get no one back.

[Matt Jones]

You can't do it.

[Ryan]

Nope.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, you can't because literally, there is a provision in the NCAA that says if you let go of a coach, the portal opens, no matter when it is.

[Ryan]

But I do hear this something because they think, well, we can go get Billy Donovan and maybe.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, well, maybe. But that's not going to happen. First, we don't even have an athletic director.

[Ryan]

When's that happening?

[Matt Jones]

I mean, we don't even have an athletic director right now. So I just don't think it's product. First of all, I don't think they

[Shannon]

should let him go. That's my personal opinion.

[Matt Jones]

But even if you do, like, it's not going to happen. So what's the point of. It's like saying, why doesn't Shannon become an angel?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Oh, I already am. You can't become what you already are.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, it's not going to happen.

[Shannon]

So we could talk about it, but it doesn't really do anything.

[Ryan]

Shannon had a derby party, didn't invite any of us.

[Shannon]

Yeah, it happens every year.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

You're not coming. It's all right.

[Shannon]

I know you're not going to come.

[Matt Jones]

I would have stopped by.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

No, you were in Lexington, probably.

[Matt Jones]

No, I was at. Yeah, I was, but I would have. I would have thought about it.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, you thought about it. You just want to be invited.

[Shannon]

That's exactly right.

[Matt Jones]

You know, why do people not avoid

[Shannon]

thinking about the roof?

[Matt Jones]

Well, who wants to spend time on a roof?

[Shannon]

And money.

[Matt Jones]

That's a lot to do.

[Shannon]

Water stop.

[Matt Jones]

But then water stop starts showing up

[Shannon]

inside, and all of a sudden you have problems.

[Matt Jones]

But if you thought about it earlier,

[Shannon]

it could have happened. That's why you need to call crc Roofing and Renovations. They make the process simple and explain

[Matt Jones]

exactly what's going on.

[Shannon]

So you know what you. What your options are CRC roofing that

[Matt Jones]

CRC company.com/KSR CRC company.com KSR or 859-327-3913. And now through the end of May, you can save up to $1,000 on

[Shannon]

a new roof if you're a KSR listener.

[Matt Jones]

CRC roofing.com it is your place to

[Shannon]

get roofing and renovations. By the way, just a little note. If someone calls me from 10 to noon, Shannon, I'm certain they don't know me.

[Ryan]

Yeah, true.

[Shannon]

You know what I mean?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

You know, here's the great thing. Our boss used to call us during the show.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that's true. And that's how I knew he didn't listen to the show. I loved Earl, but I knew he didn't listen to the show because he would call during it. And I was like, clearly you don't even know when I'm on the air.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah, you can call in as a caller on the show, but like, if you're.

[Matt Jones]

If you're a friend of mine and you don't and you call me between 10 to noon, like, I know you don't really know me.

[Shannon]

We'll be right back.

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[Shannon]

That's innerbalance.com welcome back, Techie Sports Radio. 859-280-2287. This is Bobby Bear.

[Matt Jones]

Apparently he lives just outside of Ashland

[Shannon]

on the other side of the river.

[Ryan]

Does he.

[Shannon]

What is it? What's the Ohio town there? Is it Ironton?

[Ryan]

Ironton's on the other Ohio side. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Shannon]

That's why I said I had to

[Ryan]

think for a second.

[Shannon]

I think it's iron.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Okay. 859-280-2287. He does, he does a great job.

[Ryan]

I've heard this song. I have not heard the first song you played by him.

[Shannon]

There are a lot of people who knew Marie Tavo. That makes me feel good. Shannon's.

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

Yeah. Okay. You know, I'm just out of touch. I'm just not in touch with you guys.

[Matt Jones]

You are out of touch.

[Shannon]

You're out of touch with kids today. And what's what it is they 91,

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

by the way, I just looked him up now. 91, 91 years old.

[Matt Jones]

If a kid still like, still rocking,

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

he's on TikTok, right?

[Shannon]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

One person writes, Matt, did you see

[Shannon]

Pope or any of the coaches at the derby? I did not. I don't think they were there. Will Stein, I think was there. I didn't see Pope, but he honestly probably needs to be out recruiting, working on that roster.

[Ryan]

Will Stein's like, I'm good, man. I'm reeling in these four stars.

[Shannon]

Yeah. Will Stein, I think he got another one.

[Matt Jones]

Right now we have the ninth ranked class, man.

[Ryan]

That's incredible. Good for him. Now you got to go out and win some games.

[Shannon]

Exactly. Now you have to go win. But still a good. A good, you know, good place to be. All right, so U of L signed another guy.

[Ryan]

Yes, they did.

[Shannon]

What do we make of U of L getting. I mean, U of L is going to spend $30 million on this roster.

[Matt Jones]

I don't care what their fans say.

[Shannon]

It's going to be. It's going to be more expensive than Kentucky's roster, which, by the way, I'm not criticizing them for.

[Matt Jones]

I wish we had it.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Not necessarily. I don't think that roster they have is going to win a title because I don't think they have enough scoring.

[Shannon]

But they're going to be big. Gonna be a lot huge. They're gonna be a lot like Florida's team last year. You know how the bigs were all so good, but then their guards were kind of. I think that's how they're gonna be. But it's still gonna be a good team.

[Ryan]

So is it all Papa John's money?

[Matt Jones]

You gotta think that the announcement they're

[Shannon]

bringing Papa John back has a little

[Ryan]

bit to do with, I think, where else are they getting all this money? Somebody's got.

[Matt Jones]

But it's also frustrating that, like, we're losing out on guys and they just keep getting guys. And UT Tennessee is going to have their best team.

[Ryan]

Tennessee and Florida are going to be awesome this year.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, if you're saying who are the best rosters in college basketball? Florida, Duke, Tennessee and Louisville are going to have four of probably the seven

[Shannon]

best rosters in America.

[Ryan]

Pretty much our four rivals.

[Shannon]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, you could argue those are

[Shannon]

our four biggest baskets. I mean, some people would throw Indiana in there, but I don't. Yeah. And then maybe, I guess Arkansas Wild cows there.

[Ryan]

So it just makes it sting a little more. You look down the road and they're bringing all these people.

[Matt Jones]

That's gonna be tough. I mean, that's gonna be tough on Mark.

[Ryan]

Yes, it is.

[Shannon]

You know, so he's gonna.

[Matt Jones]

You're gonna have to hope that this group overachieves.

[Shannon]

Overachieves.

[Ryan]

No, you are.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, you really are. Unless they get another guy, which maybe

[Shannon]

they will, but unless they get another guy, this group's going to have to overachieve.

[Ryan]

Where's that guy coming from?

[Matt Jones]

Well, I don't know that they're going

[Shannon]

to get another big guy, another star.

[Matt Jones]

I think once that. Once he made that flight to Israel, that said to me, okay, this is because that guy's going to cost Money. So that was going to be the last piece.

[Shannon]

Now, they didn't get him, or at least they haven't gotten him yet.

[Matt Jones]

So I don't know. But you know what's crazy is I

[Shannon]

think they've already spent quite a bit of money.

[Matt Jones]

Like, this is the thing.

[Shannon]

I don't think people realize.

[Matt Jones]

Let's just talk about.

[Ryan]

Kentucky's already spent money.

[Shannon]

Yes.

[Ryan]

And they got a bunch left over from. They didn't get Stokes.

[Matt Jones]

But remember I told you there was

[Shannon]

money for Stokes that was only for him.

[Matt Jones]

So I want you to think about how much they've spent. Whatever you think of this roster, they've spent money. Malachi Moreno had to cost him at

[Shannon]

least $3 million, probably.

[Matt Jones]

Maybe more.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Okay. To bring him back, Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins, they outbid.

[Matt Jones]

Like, they had to spend a lot of money for those guys. That's probably a $7 million backcourt.

[Shannon]

All right, maybe more.

[Ryan]

So you're at 10 million, and you've

[Matt Jones]

got three players, right. Your dude from. Your dude from Senegal. To get him to come from Europe,

[Shannon]

it's got to be at least two, maybe 2.5. Okay.

[Ryan]

You're 12 and a half.

[Matt Jones]

Now you're at 12 and a half with four players.

[Shannon]

Who's the three? Cam.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

Had to be at least two. Now you're 14.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Shannon]

And you've just gotten your starting line.

[Matt Jones]

Remember, we paid 22 last year. So you got $8 million to go get 10 players.

[Ryan]

I had to play Brett.

[Matt Jones]

Justin McBride probably was 1.5 or 2. Now you're probably at 11.5 or 12.

[Ryan]

So Braden Hawthorne probably cost you just a little.

[Matt Jones]

Braden Hawthorne certainly cost you money. So now I'm thinking you're like, 14. I was told this year that the

[Shannon]

amount of money was going to be like, 18.

[Matt Jones]

So you probably got like $4 million left, and you still got a bunch

[Shannon]

of spots to fill.

[Matt Jones]

So I think whatever people feel about the roster, I think they've spent some money.

[Shannon]

Now, they haven't spent what Duke spent

[Matt Jones]

or what Louisville spent, but they've probably spent more than all but a handful

[Shannon]

of other teams in the country.

[Ryan]

Yes. Yeah. Very few teams probably spent 15 million already.

[Matt Jones]

Probably not. So, you know, that's why I don't necessarily think there's a magical thing out

[Shannon]

there that they're going to grab.

[Matt Jones]

Dwayne.

[Shannon]

Go ahead, Dwayne.

[Caller Kevin]

Matt, with all this UK basketball talk, I was going to try to lighten the mood. You want to hear a good knock, knock joke?

[Shannon]

Oh, good.

[Ryan]

We need it.

[Shannon]

Go ahead.

[Caller Kevin]

Knock, knock.

[Shannon]

Who's there?

[Caller Kevin]

Ah.

[Shannon]

Who? Where will someone do. Yeah,

[Ryan]

that made you laugh.

[Shannon]

It did make me laugh. All right.

[Matt Jones]

You made me laugh. I got Shannon on that one. No, I mean, I knew it was coming, but I was waiting the fact that you got me to do it,

[Shannon]

and then I realized what I'd done.

[Ryan]

Got him.

[Shannon]

Appreciate the call. Who's next?

[Kentucky Sports Radio Producer]

The brakes. Next. Grant.

[Shannon]

Grant. He's gone. No. Grant. Go ahead, Grant, quickly.

[Caller Kevin]

Okay. Okay. This is Grant from the KSR Golf Scramble.

[Matt Jones]

How does every segment in with somebody calling about the golf script? I'm gonna put you up to vote. I appreciate the call.

[Shannon]

I can't listen to your story.

[Matt Jones]

I'm gonna tell the story and I'm gonna put it up to vote in the second hour.

[Shannon]

And the fans are gonna decide. Grant. So you're in their hands. All right. You tweeted me all weekend, Grant. I'm going to put it up to the fans.

[Matt Jones]

The fans agree with you, then you'll win.

[Shannon]

If not, they won't. Okay, so I'll put that up in the second hour. Hang up on Grant. Oh, we'll take a break.

[Matt Jones]

We'll come back to our two.

[Shannon]

We'll also vote on Grant. It's ksr.

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[Ryan]

Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?

[Matt Jones]

You're a good boy. That's right there.

[Shannon]

You're a good.

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