Let's talk tactics and turmoil in the world of college hoops and football coaching. Kentucky's quest for perfection is laid bare as we scrutinize every pivot and play. Think you can spot the NCAA tournament's dark horse? We're putting our money on underdogs and discussing why teams like Houston and Connecticut are the ones to watch this season. As for the coaching carousel, we're weighing in on Urban Meyer's health woes contrasted with Ryan Day's hurdles, and the buzz around Louisville's basketball program has us all on the edge of our seats. Whether you're here to pick up expert analyses or just to catch a few laughs with friends, this episode is your ticket to the best armchair commentary around.
Let's talk tactics and turmoil in the world of college hoops and football coaching. Kentucky's quest for perfection is laid bare as we scrutinize every pivot and play. Think you can spot the NCAA tournament's dark horse? We're putting our money on underdogs and discussing why teams like Houston and Connecticut are the ones to watch this season. As for the coaching carousel, we're weighing in on Urban Meyer's health woes contrasted with Ryan Day's hurdles, and the buzz around Louisville's basketball program has us all on the edge of our seats. Whether you're here to pick up expert analyses or just to catch a few laughs with friends, this episode is your ticket to the best armchair commentary around.
three guys around the table.
Speaker 2:Well, there's three of us and there's a table.
Speaker 3:You've heard of five guys. We're not talking burgers and fries here, we're talking three guys a table and the topics of the day that we want to talk about. It could be anything from this to that. We could talk to this person to that, but guess what? You'll never know what it is until you listen in.
Speaker 2:So I guess we're talking to this person or that in this episode, because I mean my Southern Ohio math isn't that fantastic, but I count, math hard. It is challenging, but I do count an extra person here. Apparently, we are no longer three guys around the table, at least for this episode. We have a guest. What do you want me to hit?
Speaker 1:Fun facts.
Speaker 3:This is a professional production.
Speaker 1:We have a guest.
Speaker 3:Yes, we have a guest. Yes, We'll let you introduce yourself Besides besides Mark, Chris and Greg and have.
Speaker 2:Michael. Michael has joined us. Welcome, Michael.
Speaker 4:Thank you guys, tell us a little bit about yourself. I'm Chris's son-in-law. How about that?
Speaker 1:That's how that's the first thing that I describe you so disappointed. Wow, I could have come up with a lot better things for you than that. I gotta tell you you're a Mazeville native, You're married to Taylor and the first thing you say is Chris's son-in-law.
Speaker 3:I think we need to restart this episode. You're going to talk about an in-law.
Speaker 1:You should have said I'm.
Speaker 3:Don son-in-law, I think we should restart this episode. I think it's perfect.
Speaker 2:That's the whole point. I mean, you know, it's as you said, chris, it's off the cuff.
Speaker 3:It is definitely off the cuff.
Speaker 2:And Chris is joining us tonight. You know as the faithful you know three guys. Yeah, what is he? A daddy-in-law, is that right? Father-in-law to Michael here. Is that what we're going to?
Speaker 3:start. I think we've already established that.
Speaker 2:Yes, so and, and he's a little, he's a little under the little little gimpy weather, little little gimpy air, can you say gimpy? He has joined me as being two of the three guys around the table who have artificial joints.
Speaker 1:What is this? Oh, natural.
Speaker 2:Total knee replacement less than a week ago. Correct, and yes, you're here.
Speaker 3:And yes, I'm here. All right, everything went well there for a little bit. I had, you know, surgery was last Wednesday. Things went well. I hit a wall pretty hard on Friday with a lot of pain.
Speaker 1:The pain went on for quite some time. Did you want to be on that wall? Did you need to be on that?
Speaker 3:wall. Let me tell you I would have jumped off that wall if I could have I. The pain was terrible Friday, saturday, and then I just did kind of woke up on Sunday morning and the pain had alleviated itself and I'm on the rebound to help you know, because you got to hang out with me on Saturday night.
Speaker 2:I believe so, and me yeah, well, that's true, you guys are right. And and are we going to say where we went?
Speaker 3:No, that's no, no, no no nothing to do with Lima. That's well, or does it?
Speaker 2:Well, we're not going to go.
Speaker 3:We didn't go to Lima, we did not go to.
Speaker 2:Lima, we went somewhere south of Lima.
Speaker 3:That's true, Michael. Have you ever been to Lima?
Speaker 4:I have, oh, really, I have indeed.
Speaker 1:Have you been south of Lima?
Speaker 4:I have indeed been south of Lima as well.
Speaker 3:And what did you find that was fascinating in Lima?
Speaker 4:I was there for maybe six hours for a baseball game. Oh really, Okay.
Speaker 3:So you know being a part of this, you know being around me for a while and certainly being around these guys as long as you've been around me. You certainly know our history and our stories with Lima and and so we don't have to get back into that again tonight.
Speaker 1:No, we got. Look it's, it's, look it's. The NCAA tournament starts tonight.
Speaker 2:Yes, it does First games just over the playing game and some some people may have lost money in this room.
Speaker 1:Potentially maybe, but but the Ohio State game has two minutes and 42 seconds left.
Speaker 2:And they are winning in the not invited tournament by one over. Cornell.
Speaker 1:Look, the home of Carl Sagan, cornell also the fighting, saying reference to the office.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes.
Speaker 1:Who is the character on the office who went to Cornell Nard, dog Nard dog yeah, I got nothing, yeah, and Cornell is in big two to.
Speaker 2:New York. What city in New York?
Speaker 1:New York.
Speaker 2:Ithaca. Oh, I know some things about really a city. Oh it is. Is that a fact?
Speaker 3:I believe that was a fact, Ithaca is a great town. You know it's what's big in Ithaca Cornell Shagons. A lot of shotgun manufacturing in Ithaca, New York, has been for years. So, Michael, why are you here? We'll get back to you. Back to the basketball. Tell us some things about yourself, besides what you've already told us.
Speaker 4:I played college baseball again they mentioned I'm from Mazeville. Played at Kentucky Wesleyan College. I would use the term play very loosely. I was on the team but I have a baseball player now, more in the golf scene.
Speaker 1:Obviously, you're not a golfer.
Speaker 4:Correct Big Lebowski reference Love it.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I mean just and you didn't mention that you're in love with his daughter, and you didn't mention his granddaughter.
Speaker 4:I mean what there's no mention of the world. Is that here we?
Speaker 1:I mean I mean your first fact should have been that you're Charlotte's father.
Speaker 2:Yes, that is oh boy, she's about a perfect baby.
Speaker 3:I will I will say that she is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm pretty good she's got a pretty good, and Chris is claiming that that's completely 100% on him.
Speaker 1:That's true story, I don't know what I did but my goodness yes. I will tell you that my mother not my mother, my wife believes that Charlotte looks just like Chris.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's fantastic. Has anybody said that yet? Poor girl. I have heard that from a couple of the people around.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't believe it, but I've heard that as well. A lot of people say Hallie looks like me and I always get mad about it. They'd always offend me, yeah. So, does anybody say Ava looks like you? Yeah, a lot of people do believe me.
Speaker 2:Especially when you see that when he grows his go to you.
Speaker 1:You're a twirred. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
Speaker 2:Awkward, yeah it's. It's hard being father of a perfect child, but you know some of us, you know we bear that burden successfully.
Speaker 4:That's just for my daughter out there, she, she listens to this. So there you go. I claim immaculate conception on my end.
Speaker 2:OK, what Good Good on you. Yeah, yeah, good Good.
Speaker 3:I agree. I agree Immaculate conception. This is awkward, all of a sudden.
Speaker 1:Yeah, ok, so like the same as double a basketball tournament Greatest, greatest.
Speaker 2:Can I? Can I read? Next championship yes, producer before any college before we get into that point, I would say I do want to read something that was shared with me today. This was breaking news, According to someone. He shared this and said that Joe Biden, Joe Biden has uh submitted his NCAA March Madness.
Speaker 3:That was hilarious.
Speaker 2:This is good. With a final four of Kentucky got a chance Mexico, north Egypt state, yep, and the hamburger, yeah the hand.
Speaker 1:Now I was looking at the stats. The hamburger, he's got pretty good defense.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean he's got some steals. That's why I can tell you didn't match up well with him, right? I mean, we just want to meet.
Speaker 1:We don't just want to meet the hamburger in the James.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:That's right To play on both sides of the aisle. I also saw this, uh, a meme of of our former president, mr Trump, that says my name is Bond can't afford a bond. I don't get it. I don't get it. Speaking of former presidents.
Speaker 1:Barack Obama picked Kentucky and.
Speaker 2:Yukon in the championship, with Yukon winning Yep and a fun fact, by the way, just a little quick one President Obama once gave he's only done this once A recommendation for the best show ever on television, and it was an HBO series Deadwood, nope, breaking Bad, no that was not an HBO series.
Speaker 3:Oh, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2:Sopranos Nope, that's the one I keep telling you guys you need to watch the wire. The wire, oh yeah, so Can I still have a watch? Yeah, it's really good.
Speaker 1:And NCAA tournament it's up there in all of the all the listings of the best series. It's up there.
Speaker 2:It's fantastic. I mean, it truly is so. So talk to us here. Who are we? Who are we looking at? I mean, who's winning the tournament? If you take your fandom out of it, who do you think has the most realistic chance of winning? Kentucky is obviously my favorite team but I don't think they have a chance to win it.
Speaker 1:I mean, the stats show that if you don't make it to your comfort semi-final tournament, you can't win the national championship.
Speaker 3:You, you haven't necessarily. The question is yeah, that same thing is can't.
Speaker 1:Well, no, no no, no, no.
Speaker 3:Heaven has never happened. Heaven is not as can.
Speaker 2:He's a can do kind of guy, yeah, it hasn't.
Speaker 3:I mean it's never occurred. It can't mean it can never happen. So my thing is I don't think it could happen Well that's the thing. So my question is so we're all Kentucky fans here. I don't top, I mean you're, I'm all right, I grew up in. Kentucky basketball I understand, but you're not as diehard.
Speaker 1:I'm not. Last year he was a Yukon basketball fan. True, I don't know who that is. I don't know who that is?
Speaker 2:I don't know who that is.
Speaker 3:He loved the Yankees. Remember when he was a big Yankee fan. I know, I know that. I know that he's the two thousand I only Jeter was the greatest player ever.
Speaker 1:Hang on, hang on. I only cheer for hockey, for the.
Speaker 2:Tampa.
Speaker 3:Bay Over there.
Speaker 2:Look at this room the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Tampa Bay, that is all that is represented in this room.
Speaker 3:The, so I digress there you go. Question is being Kentucky fans. It's been such a fun season and it's been such a irritating season at the same point.
Speaker 1:At the same time for us in the same games.
Speaker 3:I'll be so happy and then just so irritated at the same time, for no obvious reason Other than I don't know who in the heck the team is half the time. You know we can beat anybody If we can make it. If we can all make it to a hundred points we with our whole team then we're going to beat everybody nine times out of 10. The problem is it's a race to a hundred. If you keep all your players, there's nobody falling out because we play no defense right.
Speaker 2:All right, Michael, I want to hear your take on this.
Speaker 4:So the thing about the tournament is it's so random and you can have. There's obviously been upsets the last few years and stuff like that. And going back to Kentucky this season, I mean we've shown that we can win on the road. We've wanted that we.
Speaker 4:Auburn, tennessee, most recently, and it's like when their backs are against the wall, that's when they seem to play the best. But the thing with the tournament being so random is I mean you can run into a buzz saw in the first second round where you just have a cold shooting night and other teams hitting everything to make or everything they throw up. So I mean it's really tough to tell.
Speaker 2:So are you saying that for you K to win this tournament, that they have to make a deal with the devil? Is that what we're saying?
Speaker 3:I think everything has to go perfect. I think they have to be that buzz saw. The devil does have to show. I think for Kentucky to win it all, they have to play perfect every single night, which means they have to make adjustments Every single game. They have to tweak. I hate that. Yes, they have to make tweaks every game because you cannot take you cannot take the Kentucky team that beat Tennessee and put them up against a team like A&M without making any adjustments. We did not do that, we cannot keep doing it and, quite frankly, at the end of the day, Kentucky has to put the best five players on the court at the same time, regardless of who it is, regardless of promise, playing time or whatever nonsense you got. If you don't put the best five players on the team on the court at the same time, you're not going to win at all.
Speaker 4:That's it, and most of the issues that they've had this year is they're getting off to those slow starts, and I mean the starting five that you have played a total of two minutes throughout the game together.
Speaker 3:I've never understood that.
Speaker 4:I mean, why wouldn't you put your best five out there to begin with, to avoid trying to get off to a slow start? Look, it's like college. It's like college.
Speaker 3:You get your first semester. You get a college. You get a 1.5 GPA. The rest of your college career is trying to dig out of that hole. Are we talking about your?
Speaker 1:college career now? No, thankfully thankfully not.
Speaker 2:So I did hear one of the kind of the tournament gurus talk about that of all of the number three seats that UK does have the easiest route to the final four.
Speaker 3:That's quite the hairy three seats.
Speaker 2:Yeah, murrell, the cat has decided to join the podcast. So that's four guys a table and a hairy cat and he just knocked over, yeah, some, some equipment, good, good, good man, murrell, murrell, haggard, the cop. Yeah, and that's his name the cop yeah.
Speaker 1:Murrell Middle name Murrell Haggard Cop. No, no, no, I should leave, no, no.
Speaker 2:I, I, I I.
Speaker 3:I really into. You know just the guy you would have just lost on jeopardy because you know you're only supposed to say the words.
Speaker 2:That's true, so you'd have gotten, you'd have lost yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, besides, besides, UK.
Speaker 2:Who, who we think has got a real? Is it Connecticut's got a?
Speaker 1:chance. Yeah, you know the thing I've got against Connecticut so I won it last year. I mean, but offensively, defensively, offensively, they're the number one ranked team in the country, I think, Mm hmm, Um, and if not, I'd just make it up.
Speaker 3:But defensively they're good, um I mean and is that can't bounce around on Nimbly Bimbly like?
Speaker 1:from limb to limb. I mean I think Houston's got a chance to win it. I don't think Purdue's got a chance to win it. I mean Purdue just gets beat by Joe blow state yeah.
Speaker 4:I mean they'll get beaten around a 32.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, what, what are the? What are the big upsets that you all have picked in your brackets, like uh who was, like your your lowest ranked team that you've got making a little bit of a run while we have a fun fact?
Speaker 3:I have never filled out a bracket. How's that a fun fact?
Speaker 4:Never eaten a bomb pop either.
Speaker 3:I've never eaten a bomb pop either. I've never filled out a bracket because I found myself.
Speaker 1:How is that a fun fact? That's it. That's a strange Strange.
Speaker 2:That's true Right.
Speaker 3:That's one of my strangest. I just don't. I just never filled out a bracket because, quite frankly, I'd rather just turn on a game and watch it and not have any pull in the outcome besides my favorite team Right.
Speaker 2:Is it the literacy issue? Rory? It's ugly it could be that public school education?
Speaker 3:No, not sure. Okay, so if let's go with right now, if somebody came out to you right now, yep, and said I'm going to give you $50,000, done right now, oh, that's it $50,000 right now. You have to bet it on one team that you think is going to win and whatever you keep, or whatever you win you keep, otherwise you owe me 50,000.
Speaker 1:Well, I wouldn't do that Doesn't matter, right you?
Speaker 2:got to play along with my scenario. I think your scenario is is is uh, if we, if we were wagering people.
Speaker 1:Who would we put money on to win?
Speaker 3:Correct, yeah, okay, same exact thing.
Speaker 1:I would probably put money on Houston.
Speaker 2:I would. I would put money on uh Yukon.
Speaker 3:I put up Yukon as my guest as well. I'm glad I picked Houston.
Speaker 2:I do, though I really like James Madison to make a little run to the sweet 16. Just throwing that out there JMU action Mm. Hmm, there, I think, a 12 pass.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they'll, they'll. There'll be an upset. I picked JMU. I was watching the bracket on. I thought you said you didn't do brackets. I was watching. Did you pick the 12, five? Who they play? Did he not just say that?
Speaker 1:Wisconsin.
Speaker 2:He takes them after the game. He won't he, just he, just he, just he, just he, just he just picked Wagner to win.
Speaker 3:It's perfect Every year.
Speaker 1:Wagner just won, so I can't believe you picked St Peters last year over.
Speaker 3:It's legit. Jmu will be Wisconsin, and part of that's my hatred for Wisconsin after the whole the fuddled deal they did back there.
Speaker 4:Yeah, looks like they would run into either Duke or Vermont afterwards, which Duke's not playing great right now, but you know what the bad thing is, I'm still.
Speaker 3:Duke right what, oh wow.
Speaker 1:Kansas was never going to make a run anyway, but if they lose their leading score, they're definitely not going to Isn't it ironic that he's out now, since they've been playing so bad and they lost their conference tournament.
Speaker 3:Hmm, so bad.
Speaker 4:The Cincinnati yeah.
Speaker 2:Let that cat out, have they said Dickinson's playing or not? Good job, cat gone All right, so Okay.
Speaker 3:No, I've not heard, but I thought they said he was going to be a decision at game time.
Speaker 2:What about North Carolina I?
Speaker 1:don't see it.
Speaker 2:I don't either.
Speaker 1:I mean, you know what I like best about North Carolina. No, I like the coach.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He calls the speed to speed.
Speaker 2:Well, sometimes you got to be real with these kids.
Speaker 4:I can honestly see them losing in the second round. I mean they've got Mississippi State or Michigan State after that, and that's not going to be an easy game.
Speaker 2:Now Michigan State. Aren't they playing James Madison?
Speaker 3:No, Wisconsin is.
Speaker 2:Wisconsin. Yeah, my bad.
Speaker 3:Let's talk about coach of swan, swans, swans songs, then. So is Izzo gone this year? Nope, no, he's still going to stay around Trying to keep coaching. Oh my God, if he retires, he'll retire. He'll retire this year, my precious.
Speaker 4:He likes them back, he's gone.
Speaker 1:You know, there was a time I thought he was going to be the next coach at Kentucky.
Speaker 3:We all wanted him here for the longest time, but I could see him coming back one more year.
Speaker 4:for the start, now now now Chris wants Rebecca Lobo.
Speaker 1:It's the coach who she? Yeah, she used to play you kind of. She's some commentator. Aren't you in Los Lobos. So let me, let me ask a real question. Let me ask a real question. Yeah, let's say Kentucky loses, let's say they beat Oakland and then they lose the. Maybe Texas take the next game. Okay, it's Kelly Perry back.
Speaker 2:I don't think so. If they don't make it to the sweet 16, he's he's out.
Speaker 4:We don't have the money to get rid of him.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, but you get it Okay At some point now. No, no, no, no.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing, I know how much I pay for diggers. They got the money.
Speaker 3:My thoughts are this don't you think at some point a coach would say you know, I'm just done and just retired would say not when you can walk away and get 70 gazillion dollars but, just watch me while I walk away.
Speaker 1:He goes too big.
Speaker 2:The payout is too much. He's not going to voluntarily leave, no matter how much grief he gets from the public. It's going to have to be a but, don't you?
Speaker 3:ever just say I'm done. I'm just done, I'm done with all the noise and everything else.
Speaker 1:I think, I think.
Speaker 2:I think, I don't know, do that.
Speaker 3:Well, Joe paternal created a lot of problems.
Speaker 2:I think, yeah, but exactly. So why didn't he just say I'm done? What about Saban?
Speaker 1:I think coaches struggle to walk away.
Speaker 2:Saban. The rules changed. The rules changed no, I'm serious, Think about it as soon as NIL came in and he couldn't pay people illegally playing field was leveled for the first time. I'm a porch and he did not want to have to fight, correct. To get, and he said that when they could go to Texas, A&M or Oklahoma States or whatever I mean, and get NIL dollars in his second, third string guys that he they were always so great because they had the talent stacked deep.
Speaker 3:They're transferring because they're getting paid Exactly so and this is where I kind of bring this back around when I was talking I was talking to Michael one day about this is that at Kentucky in football we have kind of leveled that playing field.
Speaker 1:Got a runny up.
Speaker 3:We're not on the level with Alabama and that kind of stuff. But look since, since all this came to be, look how much better Kentucky's gotten in football.
Speaker 1:Because, as far as ponied, up.
Speaker 3:We're getting better quality players because we have the NIL deals right, but it's also level. We're going to it's level the playing field on the basketball side as well. So now our basketball team in Kentucky is very equal to other. You know you see other teams having big named players, you know, so you're seeing that level out on both sides of the field.
Speaker 2:I don't think we see it as much in basketball as we have in football, but it's coming Sure and I think that could be the one thing that could make a Calipari say.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:Perry, I like party it sounds more like calamari.
Speaker 4:Perry.
Speaker 2:Well, it might make him say yeah, I'm done, because I'm like Nick Saban I can't keep up with because I'm not a good enough coach. Right.
Speaker 3:Is that kind of like when you have all my head hurts and I've got the quick coaching because I got a headache or my chest hurts, I'm having a hard time breathing. He had legitimate health problems Both times, which one about? Irvin.
Speaker 1:Myer, in case you didn't know, that's what Jacksonville?
Speaker 3:It's a young woman problem. Oh, what's a Bobby Petrino problem?
Speaker 2:I would just say that 7-0 against that team up north and in Natty I'm good with Irvin.
Speaker 1:What about, what about?
Speaker 2:Ryan Payday. What's his record against that team up north?
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:It's not 7-0. Let's, let's turn that ship around and it better happen this year. Who's he is going to be looking for another job? Who did Michigan pick up for their coach? They promoted the offensive coordinator.
Speaker 3:What's his name? You know.
Speaker 2:Um, yes, I do, but for whatever reason I cannot remember it.
Speaker 3:So who's Louisville going to get as a basketball coach? Does it matter? That was hard.
Speaker 2:Chris Mack.
Speaker 4:What about Chris Mack?
Speaker 2:Do you think he'd go back Um?
Speaker 3:I don't know.
Speaker 1:I saw a thing on the news today or on Twitter today that Chris makes getting a job someplace else Vanderbilt.
Speaker 3:Vanderbilt yeah, that's why I saw it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, I got a van.
Speaker 3:I got a van. I got a van. I got a van, I got a van, I got a van.
Speaker 4:I got a van. I got a van. I got a van, I got a van I got a van. I got a van.
Speaker 2:I got a van. Yeah, I got a van Mole scientific doin making out and milling.
Speaker 3:I'm pretty proud of my little toy iß.
Speaker 2:Surely I'm a very fast untojoin man. 4am, and so is the game 3.10. Yay, matthew下去 has gotten six shrimp peppers. He's still in the half Airbnb. He's not announced it works. He has revenge. Ain't no, notikkake проводor any bad thing about it? I cannot live with that. All of the weight hoards I'm Commie Sam Cpase.