The HD Experience
Hunter Dawkins, owner and publisher of The Gazebo Gazette, covers Mississippi high school and college sports like no one else. Join Hunter and his special guests as they bring the best in what's happening in sports on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The HD Experience
The HD Experience Episode 32: Meeting in the Middle
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The HD Experience Episode 32: Meeting in the Middle
HOST: Hunter Dawkins - Owner/Publisher of the award-winning newspaper - The Gazebo Gazette, Sports Correspondent SuperTalk Mississippi News, Gulfport High Radio Host G96.7, Member of the Football Writer Association of America (FWAA, Heisman Voter), Member of the Associated Press Sports & Editors (APSE)
PRODUCER: Jeff Clark - Award-Winning Journalist, Multimedia/Podcast Host, South Alabama Beat Writer, Director for the Harrison County Senior Services
- Joseph W. Gex II - St. Stanislaus Track & Field Coach, Sea Coast Echo/The Gazebo Gazette Sports Reporter, Ole Miss Beat Writer
- Matt DeGregorio - WLOX13 Sports Director
- David Schultz - Host of Locked On SunBelt Podcast
- Heath Hinton - Editor, Big Gold Nation, Southern Miss Beat Reporter
- Mitch Gibbs - WGSO 990AM Radio Host for "Breakfast with the Bayou Bengals" and "In the Red Zone"
Welcome to the HD Experience, your source for sport on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Here's your host, Hunter Dawkins.
SPEAKER_06Good afternoon. My name is Hunter Dawkins, the host of the HD Experience. This is the 32nd episode of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Sports podcast, sponsored by the Gazebo Gazette. And it's the Harrison County Independent Newspaper. A new one we've got the Beau Revage Resort and Casino in Biloxi. O'Dwyer Realty Agent, Stephanie Mankowitz, Miller Whitmer, chiropractic, Joseph Kelly, Attorney at Law, and we're always in the U.S. Marine Inc. Studio. I am here with my wonderful producer of the show, a good friend of mine, Jeff Clark. Jeff is a well-accomplished award-winning journalist, the South Alabama beatwriter. He is the director of senior services in Harrison County. Jeff, how are you, my friend?
SPEAKER_04I'm well, Hunter. Man, I'm I'm worn out. You know, we've been we've been hiding eggs and hunting eggs for for days, it seems like. Went to the one at uh in Moore Memorial Park yesterday. It's probably the biggest one I've ever seen there. Yeah uh been hiding them around the house. So uh just had a great Easter, man. I hope you have.
SPEAKER_06Oh, it was. It was great. It was great. He has risen, and we'll uh hopefully uh taking care of business all the way across the board. You know, uh a lot of uh the discussion today, Jeff, is about where we're at. You know, we have a lot of these, and it's before the NFL draft, so you know, we'll get more into that later on, but uh you know, it's it's a meeting in the middle. There's a lot of these really good teams. So, like for instance, South Alabama upset Coastal Carolina for the first time. And Coastal, that was the first time they've lost in 30 regular season games or conference games, sorry, and South Alabama beat them, and then they came around and and run-rolled South Alabama the next day. It was uh it's just it's kind of the meeting in the middle, at least for baseball and all the rest. And uh, you know, their spring practice going on. Uh, everybody's you know, to today's the women's national championship game. I believe that UCLA won. I don't know how by how much, but I believe they won. Uh, you know, tomorrow you got crazy Dan Hurley with UConn playing against Michigan, the uh the big old uh the old Michigan Wolverines as as they always are successful. Just a lot going on in the sports industry.
SPEAKER_04Sure, man. We got uh we got Major League Baseball going, Shuckers are rocking. Uh just a whole lot. You know, NBA's still rolling, we'll be creeping into the playoffs soon.
SPEAKER_06Um not not the Pelicans, I'll promise you that.
SPEAKER_04Oh no, you know, definitely not. But you know what?
SPEAKER_06They're creeping a lot of places, but not in the playoffs.
SPEAKER_04While the Pelicans are losing, tickets are cheap, and it's it's a fun time to take my kids. So, you know. Um that's about it, man. Just uh, you know, watching a lot of or keeping up with a lot of spring football, you know, every SEC, everybody's in camp right now. So there's a lot of storylines coming out of Alabama and Old Miss, and you know, I guess Pete Golding's adopting to like an NFL kind of uh training schedule. And you know, I sure I'm sure we'll see more of that uh in the coming years. And I man, I I fully expect expect spring football to just become a thing of the past and uh college be on the same kind of schedule as NFL's uh winter training and and summer camp, you know. But uh not there yet.
SPEAKER_06Just as you know, Jeff, you know, uh Dabbo Sweeney over at Clemson starting to fight with everybody over here in the SEC with Pete Golding, with Caleb Debore. I mean, he's uh he's definitely trying to make a pitch.
SPEAKER_04I I didn't I didn't know that about Calen DeBoer. What what's his beef with Caleb De Boer?
SPEAKER_06It was something about a uh a recruiting of tampering or something like that.
SPEAKER_04He's such a baby, you know, and and I don't mean that to as a disrespect to babies, you know. I love babies. I just think dabbo sweeney is uh, you know, he's he's got issues, but he's a former Gene Stalins guy over at Alabama. Hey, he's a he's a two-time national champion, too. I mean, I'm not not knocking him, but you know, and in his his his record of winning. But anyway, I don't want to go down a dabbo Sweeney rabbit hole. I'm I'm tired of rabbits. We're Eastered out, so I'm gonna let you go ahead and get into our first guest.
SPEAKER_06Sounds good, my friend.
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SPEAKER_06I would like to introduce one of my good friends and former teacher, Joe Jackson, the head tracker and field coach in St. Stanislaws. Additionally, Coach Jackson is a sports reporter for the Gazebo Gazette and the Seacoast Echo. And finally, above everything else, he is an old Miss Beat reporter. And I know he appreciates that quite a bunch. Coach, how are the Coast teams doing so far this season in track?
SPEAKER_03Well, happy Easter to you and Jeff uh uh Hunter. So um the the high school track and field season is uh moving right along. We're about to get into the postseason for high school track and field, although we get to it in different sections because of the different classifications. So this coming Wednesday, um, on Wednesday, April 8th, OLA and St. Stanislaus will be participating in the Region 8 3A track and field meet at uh Presbyterian Christian in Hattiesburg. And then two days later, on the 10th, uh on Friday, uh Behigh and Pas Christ Chan will be uh competing in their Region 8 4A meet. Now, the 5, 6, and 7 uh classifications, they won't start, they won't get into their uh regional championships until um uh a week later because there are less teams in those classifications. But all in all, across the coast, uh track and field uh has been seeing some some PRs uh from several athletes down here on the coast, some of them elite. Um in our area, Past Chris Chan is is seeing some uh great um headway made uh on both their boys and girls team. Madison Jacobs uh has been hitting PRs about uh three or four times this year. She's almost at 38 feet in the triple jump, and she's closing in on uh closing in on 18 feet in the um in the long jump, and along with teammates Harmony Walker uh uh also doing well in her races uh for uh for the boys' team. Uh Ryland Sanders and um Lynn Mark uh are doing pretty well. Uh they should they should be the favorites, boys and girls, they should be the favorites in Region 8 4A. Uh for St. Stannis Austin, OLA, um there's been uh there's been a great push forward by OLA this year, uh this spring. Uh Miss Annie Lee, an eighth grader, uh, has turned in as fast as a 535 mile, 1600 meter, um, which is absolutely fantastic for a girl her age. And uh she should be she should be the favorite in the 1600 in uh region 83A up in up in Hattiesburg. Uh Maya Favre is out there throwing the shot put and uh also high jumping for OLA, along with several other contenders uh there for the Crescents Stannis loss. Um we have a we have a relatively large team this year. Uh not not a lot of uh not a lot of quality depth, but we do have some depth that we're able to uh to fill out a roster and fill out spots uh all the way across the board. Um so we're looking forward to uh to getting into into the division and seeing what we can do and see how many we can qualify because in track and field, the top four spots at division, region, or excuse me, division, super region, south state all qualify to the next week. So um it's it's kind of a month-long process for track and field to get to the state championships.
SPEAKER_06Are there any individuals that are that are, as you had mentioned, a few, uh, that are exceeding state record levels? Like I've heard about this kid, Stephan King, from Pascan, that he in the shot put in the discus, he is throwing a great amount for a freshman, at least, from what I've heard. I mean, do you have any other figures that you know of that that are that are really getting right up there close to the state record?
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah, well, there's Sean Fairley over at West Harrison, the discus thrower, uh Southern Miss Signee, uh, has topped out at over 194 feet in the discus, and he is he's the top discus thrower in the state regardless of classification, and a top 10 thrower in the country in discus. Uh, it's very likely he'll go over 200 feet, and that'll be the first time in Mississippi history that a uh thrower has thrown over 200 feet in the discus in high school. In high school.
SPEAKER_06Wow, wow. But that that's uh definitely that's that's more than interesting, and we'll follow that too as well. Absolutely. When is the the date? What is the date of the actual state track meet where you're up to the state individual or the state team championship?
SPEAKER_03Right. The state championships are broken out over three days because we have seven classifications. So it's on Friday, May 1st, and that's going to be uh 2A and 4A. Um, and then you've got um five, six, and seven A will be on Saturday, May the 2nd. Then on Monday, May 4th will be 1 and 3A. Uh so it's broken out it's broken out over three class over three days because of the the amount of athletes and the amount of um of races we have to do.
SPEAKER_06Are they all at the same location?
SPEAKER_03Yes, they're all at Pearl High School. And uh that's the site, um, that's the site that the state has chosen to help maintain the track. And uh also Pearl High School uh is also the home of Woody Barnett. Uh he is the track and field guru in Mississippi and just a legendary figure, someone who has someone who has led Pearl High School to roughly about 50 state championships in both cross-country and boys and girls track and field over the years.
SPEAKER_06Interesting you say that. Coach, is that like the first time? Because I don't think I've ever remember them playing or them uh performing at the same location.
SPEAKER_03Uh no, no, they've always held at the same location. Years ago, it was at Ellis Field um over on the south side of Jackson. And then when Pearl redid their school redid their campus, uh built a whole new campus, uh, the state stepped in and uh wanted to wanted to keep it at one location. So they made a completely separate track and field complex. It is it is a track and field complex only. There are two discus rings, two shot put rings, there are six jump pits, two pole vault pits, two high jump pits. Um, I mean, it's it's got a huge color scoreboard with video on it, um, a tremendous sound system. I mean, it's it's it's the best track and field complex, probably in the southeastern United States. The the state has really done a great job in addition to Pearl High School also helping to maintain it. And uh, but yeah, that they host they host it at the same location every year.
SPEAKER_06Interesting. Interesting. Coach, let's talk about the Ole Miss Rebels. From what you know and from what you've seen, how has the initial spring practice gone with Pete Gold and obviously because he's a different person than Lane Kiffin? Where where are they doing anything different, at least from the spring practice so far?
SPEAKER_03Well, I think um I think what they're doing different is um he's become extremely professional with it. And it is a it's a prof not to say that Lane Kiffin wasn't professional. I'm not saying that at all. Uh, but uh what I am saying is it's more it's more of an NFL style practice. Um the the press conferences after practice seem to be uh more in more in tune with um personnel guidance and and and personnel development. I think they're beginning to see uh what Pete Golding has done over the last 14 months. And last year, everything was focused on offense with Kiffen and um what would have been Austin Simmons' first year as a starter, that um due to his un his own unfortunate luck, uh got injured, and then Trinidad Chambliss steps in, and you have lightning in a bottle with Trinidad Chambliss. And you begin to see the def the development of all of the offensive power and recruiting that Kiffin had done over the over the transfer portal in the signing period uh previous to that, and it became a really a really big offensive juggernaut. And in in return of that, because of what they've lost offensively, um they have had to replace a few spots. But Pete Golding, being a defensive-minded coach, uh, because such focus was put on offense while he was under Lane Kiffin, now you see you see the the trend turning defensively because they brought in about 38 um total recruits, meaning high school and transfer portal on the defensive side alone uh this past offseason. So you're you're seeing you're seeing a more defensive-minded approach, although they still have quite a few um quite a few uh diamonds in the rough and power personnel on the offensive side of the ball, but you're beginning to see you're beginning to see the mantra of offensive offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships mindset with Pete Golding. And um uh it's becoming it's becoming something of um something of a of a nice show, uh a nice different show for the for the rebel faithful.
SPEAKER_06And from what I understand, coach, is that there's still some offensive firepower. Obviously, you have one of the top potentially Heisman trophy winner, Trinidad Chambles coming back. You got a good receiving core. I heard they didn't lose very much in the offensive line in the running game with Kawan Lacey. Uh, you know, that should be something I would believe Rebel fans would be more in tune with. Would you not agree?
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, I mean, I definitely I agree with you 100%. Um, and yes, we do have Kawan Lacey coming back, best running back in the country. Uh, you've got Trinidad Edge Hamblas, who has now been cleared, although it took him a little bit extra time to be cleared for the 2026 season, but he is good to go now. And uh, yes, we do have some some receivers coming back uh to keep that room stable and the offensive line with with the definite graduates uh that are leaving, Diego Pounds and people like that. But um uh you you have some returners coming uh coming back on the offensive line that provide some consistency. But but Pete Golding's putting his own stamp on the program now, and it's a defensive stamp. Um there's there were some great offensive personnel uh additions under Lane Kiffin this past uh the previous offseason, which have carried over, and they all want to stick with they all want to stick with Pete Golding. And Golding has become um Golding has become the players coach that they that they really wanted. And um, and the people are step the players are now stepping up to stand behind him and uh and and push him to the finish line. I think I think we'll see uh I think we'll see a um an Ole Miss team that um that many believe can still win 10 or 11 ball games during the regular season and get back to a um get back to a nice college football playoff seating and um and see what you know see where the cookie crumbles at that point.
SPEAKER_06Is there any allusion to the problem that Dabo Sweeney is creating? You know, I remember hearing about Pete Golding's press conference pretty much throwing Dabo under the bus saying, look, we've got receipts too. We've got all these different things that could say we actually did the the illegal thing we didn't necessarily quote unquote tamper, but then again, uh do you think that Dabo has uh you know any you know any NCAA sanction level stuff that he couldn't that all these programs are doing right now?
SPEAKER_03Well, I think I I think if they're if Dabo really has the evidence and the NCEA believes he has the evidence, why hasn't the NCAA come out uh in a forceful manner and and done anything about it? Because they can't, because everybody is doing the same thing. So if they punish Ole Miss, they got to punish everybody, and they got to punish Dabo as well, because Dabo's doing the same thing that he's talking about doing. You just don't hear about it. Dabo, Dabo is is showing himself um kind of kind of like babyish, and uh he's whining about losing a recruit, and losing a recruit, um, you know, that that he really wanted. And he was he's not used to to losing that, and he's not used to having them walk away from him. We gotta take a we gotta take a uh a shot back in the past to see when uh Dabo Swinney won his titles, and that was the days before NIL, the days before um there are new players that are in the game now. And you can throw Ole Miss as a new player in the game, throw Indiana as a new player in the game. And I mean, heck, Miami has a great pedigree, but Miami hadn't been strong in a number of years, and here you go, Miami, throw them back into the game. And Dabo is Dabo's having to react to losing recruits to people he hadn't lost recruits to before. And it's chapping him the wrong way. And I'm sorry, Dabo, but you better find something, some other way to uh to complain about it.
SPEAKER_06Coach, give everybody in the audience a the way they can best contact you.
SPEAKER_03Sure. Uh I can be reached by my email, uh jjects2 at aol.com. And uh obviously um uh you know they can phone the Seacoast Echo and and certainly leave a message for me there at 228-467-5474.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, definitely. You know, they can leave a message with me at the Gazebo Gazette, but the problem I don't know how often I'm gonna get you, especially during track season. But but anyway, uh that being said, uh, we appreciate you, coach. And uh anything you need us to do or anything we can get out, you let us know.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely, Hunter. Thank you so much for having me on. And uh in about a month, I'll uh I'll be able to take a deep breath uh with track field track and field season being over, and uh look forward to getting back and watching some Shuckers baseball.
SPEAKER_06There you go.
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SPEAKER_06The Gazebo Gazette is Harrison County's only independent newspaper publishing news from Gulfport to Bay St. Louis every Friday. Hi. This is Hunter Dawkins, owner of the Gazebo Gazette. If you're looking for local news without the hassle of sorting through story after digital story, log on to thegazeboazette.com. Add your name to the digital audience of 250,000 plus coastal residents who already know where to find the stories that matter to them.
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SPEAKER_06And I would love to introduce my good friend, an award-winning sports anchor, director, reporter from WLOX 13 ABC CBS on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Matt D. Gregorio. Did I say that damn right, Matt? I know I always try to say Hunter. But uh of course, Matt, you know, one of the first things I've got, since I know you cover a lot of local stuff too, before we get up to the professional and national stuff, the Shuckers. What do the Shuckers, the Biloxi Shuckers, look like this year, even though they have a pretty much a new roster?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, I I mean I'll tell you, I mean, they got two guys who have major league experience in Jacob Herdeby's and Jordan Adams. Uh Jordan Adams was with uh the Angels first in the Baltimore Orioles. Uh he's a kid who was born in Gulfport, actually. Uh his dad coached at PRCC. He was an assistant coach for football in the late 90s, early 2000s. Fun player to watch. He actually had a home run on Sunday. Um and then uh Herdebyes is another guy. He he he was with the Cincinnati Reds uh part of the last two seasons. Um he has now found his way into the Brewers farm system. And the Brewers have the top farm system in all of all of baseball right now. So the Shuckers roster has a lot of experience, but they've got a lot of young guys as well. In a couple weeks' time, Jesus Miday will be the number one prospect in all of baseball. He's gonna be here in Biloxi for the foreseeable future. Uh, very similar to uh the excitement that Jackson Churio had about two, three years ago when he was here in Biloxi. I also really like the rotation. They struggled a little bit in the final two games of their opening series on the road at Rocket City, but guys like uh Brent Witrowski, Bishop Letzen, Tyson Hardin, Tyson Harden, a familiar name to a lot of people, had has ties to Mississippi, of course. Um, those those three at the top of the rotation should be a three-headed monster uh going into the season.
SPEAKER_06What do you think about the return of Mike Guerrero as the manager?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, so I I don't necessarily know that it was Mikey's choice to come back, but it makes a lot of sense. He's done a phenomenal job at uh spurring talent and bringing talent up to the next level, specifically Latin guys. And I think the the the rise of Jesus Medei um and the fact that Medei is going to spend a lot of time in Biloxi this year is is why I think the Brewers wanted Guerrero to be back in Biloxi this season. Mike's a guy who who he he has one way of managing, and that is all business. Mikey will joke in the dugout, but when it comes time to game time, he is going to let his guys have it. Very old school mentality, um, which I think a lot of people actually resonate with. The kids, it's their first time really seeing that old school baseball type guy mentality. I remember a couple of years ago, Abner Yarebe, who's now setup guyslash closer up in Milwaukee, was kind of throwing a bit of a temper tantrum as a teenager. And Mikey went out to the mound and just let him have it. Um, that that's the type of guy that you're getting in Mike Guerrero. And him being back here, I think he's gonna he's gonna do his absolute best. As you know, he gives 100% in every single thing. And and that's that's sometimes kind of rare because you see a lot of Minor League baseball managers and coaches sometimes take some time off. Mike gives it Mike gives it 100%. You you know what you're getting with, Mike Guerrero.
SPEAKER_06I know you're pretty close with the Biloxi Breakers hockey team being a Massachusetts guy, you know, of course, being in hockey. But how are they this year so far?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, I mean, the season, uh the home, the home part of the season just came to an end on on uh Saturday. Uh listen, that's it wasn't a season that they wanted. Uh, I think the attendance was was definitely down. A couple weeks back, they did a Seawolves night, uh, two nights there, and they actually did win one of the games, one of their eight uh wins of the season. Um, listen, I it was it was definitely tough. Charlie Pence Jr., the GM and head coach uh had a had a tough time keeping talent. Uh their talent was just getting picked off by other organizations in the FPHL and the SPHL. Yaroslav Dokumov, who has been a staple down on the coast for like the past three, four seasons since hockey returned to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is now up in the ECHL. He's out in Utah. Um so when it when they had a tough time at keeping talent here, which I think played a huge factor into why they're gonna be, I think, end up end up with a 40 games under 500 record at the end of the season. Um and it's tough. You lose you lose the name the Seawolves, and uh I think fans kind of are out on it just because you have all that history there with the name the Mississippi Seawolves. So um I hope hockey's back, you know, selfishly. I I I mean I love the sport. I'll say it's very important to have ice ranks down here in the south. The youth program is fantastic. The coaches there do an exceptional job at allowing kids who who from Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi who do not have get regular ice time, they they allow them to have it at the Coliseum. So I think that if nothing else, I just hope the ice returns for for that reason.
SPEAKER_06Olmus spring practice underway?
SPEAKER_12Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Good deal. Good deal. Anything you're seeing, anything hearing?
SPEAKER_12Uh I mean, it's it's definitely different, right? Like it you with Lane the last few years, you had the Grove Bowl games, you had you had uh it was more of a fun, fun atmosphere. I think the guys are definitely still having fun. It's definitely more of a business mentality than than what it was like under Lane Kiff. And there is there is obviously the buzz, you're coming off your most successful season in the history of the program, right? So how do you how do you continue to grow from there? Um it's peak alling's first time ever as a head coach going through the spring. Uh you got a lot of guys returning. Obviously, there's been a lot of distractions with Trinidad Chamblers and the appeals and the waivers and everything that's gone on there. I do think that this team is is focused, though. Um, in the past, you've seen in spring, sometimes the team is is not as focused. This is this is a group that that wants to get back there and get two steps farther and get that ultimate ultimate goal of a national championship.
SPEAKER_06Since you are around the Saints facility more often than any other reporter of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, what are the expectations for the upcoming draft for the Saints?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, I I think at first it really started out heavily with the running back position in Jeremiah Love. I think that shifted more to the defensive side now that Demario Davis has departed to New York again. Um I I really like Sonny Styles coming out of Ohio State. He's he's a dynamic, he can play uh dynamic linebacker. He can play off ball, he can play on ball. I mean, eventually he can grow into a guy who plays the mic for you. Um I feel like he he could be exceptionally good uh in a tandem there with Pete Warner, who they have now signed to a multi-year deal. Um so I I do think the scenes, if Sonny Styles is there at pick number eight, will go that route. I don't even know that Jeremiah Love, their their initial, the initial favorite to go in that position, will even be on the board at that point, right? So if if you have the choice between Love and Styles, I think it's gonna be more of a uh more of a complicated pick. But they've signed they've signed ETN out of Jacksonville. And so that may be your answer there at the running back position. And and you may not have to go get a guy like Love. I I think the last few years, obviously, they've they've tried to bolster up the offensive line. And it's worked. Like uh Fuaga was great from two years ago. They moved him from left tackle over to right tackle this past year. He he he's been a guy that that they can put as a cornerstone, and obviously you go with a different left tackle last year. So when you when you look at it, I think you have to start addressing some some type of either skill position there or or you go back and you and try to fill the void that Demario Davis leaves after his departure.
SPEAKER_06Tell me this now. There they have quite a number of picks in the draft this year. Yeah. Are they going to go? Is there a specific guy they have pretty much indicated for each position that they're looking for?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, I mean, it's a good question. I I think when you go, the draft is such a roller coaster, and and you talk to these NFL officials and executives and coaches, I I mean, there's you just never know who's gonna go where. A couple of years ago, the New England Patriots drafted Cole Strange and Sean McVay with the Rams said we had a third round grade on that guy. It's it's really a unique situation. It's unlike any other draft that we see because everybody grades these guys at different spots. So I think that obviously you got your list of guys that you like, but the Saints have a hundred different guys circled that say, these guys can fit inside of our building, they can fit with our culture. Kelvin Moore last year, I thought, I mean, I I know he had a seven plus hour meeting with Tyler Shuck before. And and and that was really that was really kind of a sign that showed that that Tyler Shuck was probably gonna be the guy that gets drafted at some point. I felt like that going into it. I I said I said before uh before the second round of the draft that Tyler Shuck is expected to be drafted, and sure enough, he was. I don't think there's like that slam dunk guy that the Saints are gonna draft this year that they're they're 1,000% all in on and uh and have a higher grade than most on. Um I think they're gonna let the draft come to them this season, which is a good, which is a good approach. A lot of teams who've had success in the draft. I look specifically at Kansas City, let the drafts come to them. And if Kellen Moore can do that this season, you know, the Saints are going to vie for a playoff spot. They're in the NFC South, the worst division in football, year in and year out. So you get a couple nice picks in there, and maybe hit on a guy in the secondary, and and you're right in the mix again for a potential playoff spot.
SPEAKER_06Tell everyone how they can contact you, my friend.
SPEAKER_12Uh yeah, yeah. You guys, I mean, you can watch uh any night on WLX. We're on 6 o'clock through 10 o'clock usually on ABC and uh CBS. You can follow me on Twitter, Matt underscore DGregorio. And uh yeah, if you ever uh if you ever look to reach out, my emails on the WX.com website.
SPEAKER_06I appreciate you, my friend. You take care of yourself.
SPEAKER_12Appreciate, honey. You're the best.
SPEAKER_06I would like to introduce one of the guys that's one of the hardest workers in the media world, David Schultz. David is the host of Locked On Sunbelt Podcast, and he it's one of the best college football programs, at least in the media. David, you know, what uh what do we have so far right now in baseball? You know, I know that there's been kind of a mix-up, is one of the themes is meeting in the middle. The Sunbelt started off conference play. You had four or five teams, or I think maybe even six or seven, that were ranked in the top 100. Now, are those those teams still right there? I mean, what's going on there?
SPEAKER_10Yeah, I just finished recording uh Monday's episode. We still have seven teams in the top 100. Uh, but we had we had about four teams in the top 30 about a couple weeks ago. But what happens in the Sunbelt is you get a team like Texas State playing a team like Georgia Southern that does not have a good RPI. And so despite taking two out of three from Georgia Southern, their RPI fell basically from 22 to 38. So that's an issue. Uh Coastal Carolina is still hot um despite their winning streak being snapped. Uh, they are 12th in the RPI and Southern Miss because they had such a strong schedule uh to begin with, um they are uh 16th. They took two out of three from Old Dominion. So right now, it's like Coastal Carolina and uh uh Southern Miss. We'll see what happens with Texas State. Cajuns are heading in the wrong direction, uh, and Arkansas State's fading just a little bit.
SPEAKER_06Did I hear this right? Uh did hell freeze over or did Coastal Carolina lose an regular season conference game to South Alabama.
SPEAKER_10Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Wow, wow.
SPEAKER_10Their 32-game uh winning streak was snapped. Uh South Alabama blew them out. South Alabama's got some good bats, and they took it on the chin 12-2 on Thursday. They bounced back with a 15-2 drubbing on uh Friday. Uh and they actually had a shot to win the series. You know, that's the story is that Coastal Carolina not only came back once in the ninth inning this week against Citadel with two runs, they came back with two runs in the ninth inning against South Alabama, or they would have lost the series. So uh coastal rallies and uh they end up winning the series. They got a little help from South Alabama, but that's not Coastal Carolina's fault.
SPEAKER_06So from the conference standings, that's one of the, and you know, I know that has nothing to do with the RPI or anything like that, but who do you have from the top to the bottom? I mean, that's all because I heard ULM has been playing a lot better sits at it.
SPEAKER_10Yeah, you and ULM had a tough series. Yeah, ULM had a tough series loss. They lost two out of three uh to Georgia State. So Coastal Carolina is the top dog. They're 11-1. Southern Miss Texas State and ULM are all seven and five. And then you have a bunch of six and six teams. Arkansas State, South Alabama, JMU took the series from the Cajuns. Troy and Marshall are all six and six. So it's kind of bundled up from what, two to ten or so.
SPEAKER_06That's gonna be it's gonna be a fun uh time in Montgomery this year, I'm sure. So um anyway, let's let's talk about where, you know, I remember you telling me a couple months, maybe a month ago, if it's still this way between La Tech and their choice of conference, I mean, it's gonna be bad for the Sunbelt. Do you still feel that way?
SPEAKER_10No, I think they're gonna be in the Sunbelt. They're going to arbitration uh, in fact, on Wednesday. So that'll be something to talk about on Thursday on Lockdown Sunbelt. Uh, they're going to arbitration on Wednesday. Uh and uh it should get decided relatively soon because the arbiter decision is final. Um LaTeX has played delayed games. You know, they went to state court, but they didn't like that because they thought it was home home field advantage for Louisiana Tech in Louisiana. Then they went to federal court, and the federal judge was a La Tech grad. So now they're going to arbitration. Uh, and that's being heard, I believe, on April 8th. And hopefully we'll have a decision. It feels like the general consensus from the people I'm talking to is that LaTeX will be in uh the Sunbelt. It's just going to matter, be a matter of how much they owe.
SPEAKER_06Wow. Wow. Well, that's uh so I mean I'm saying saying that is that's good for the Sunbelt, obviously we're releasing the schedule and they have all that stuff in in uh in connection. Where who do you think is the top dog then after after all that in the Sunbelt, at least coming from before the season even starts?
SPEAKER_10Oh, goodness. I in terms of who the best football team is in the conference? Correct. Oh, I mean, you got all kinds of changes, right? JMU was your conference champion, you got a new coach, and most of the team went in the transfer portal. Uh you know, the Cajuns um have a quarterback, uh solid quarterback for the first time in forever. Uh, we'll see what South Alabama does. Uh, I think they're breaking in a new quarterback. Troy was on the upswing. You know, Southern Miss is gonna have a bunch of turnover. Uh, I mean, you know, can can they get it going in Monroe? Um App State in in the coach's second year. I mean, the the Sunbelt is about is gonna be as wide open as as you can get. We got a new coach in Coastal Carolina with Ryan Beard. So, you know, there's a whole lot of things. Who knows who the top dog is this year in in the Sunbelt right now? We're in the middle of spring practice. I did find it interesting that I think Coastal Carolina finished their spring practice, and JMU was just starting their spring practice. So everyone does it on their own time, I guess.
SPEAKER_06Yep, yep, yep. Well, my friend, it's good to hear from you. Tell everybody how they can reach out to you.
SPEAKER_10Uh, they can find me uh at Schultzycast on uh Twitter and X. Also Instagram and uh Lockdown Sunbelt, both of those accounts. Also on TikTok. Can't believe I'm doing that, but I am. Uh on Threads and on Blue Sky, I believe. And uh, of course, the show is on uh YouTube, uh Lockdown Sunbelt. You can also find it on Apple and Spotify.
SPEAKER_06Happy Easter, my friend. Take care of yourself. You too, Hunter. Thanks for having me on. I would like to introduce one of my good friends, Heath Hinton, the editor and sports writer for Big Gold Nation. Additionally, Heath is the true insider of Southern Miss Athletics. Heath, tell me about baseball, where they're at. You know, this this whole theme is meeting in the middle. And that's uh really what I think about Southern baseball, and I know you think that too as well. They're they're playing good at times, and then sometimes they just they have a brain fork.
SPEAKER_14Yeah, it's it's just one of those things. Look, it it baseball is a game of like ups and downs. It always has been. You play good, you have slumps, uh everybody goes to the slump in a season, nobody plays at the top of their game for a whole season. And right now, Son of Mish start off hot and and for Son of Minute is 500. And uh that's not a slump for most change, that's uh it's decent baseball for most change, but for Son of Minute's 500. I think they're gonna start working their way out of it a little bit, the bat starting to come around a little bit and uh starting to hit the ball a little better. And I think that's been the big key right now and that's the bullpin the pitchers have to do so much. Put so much uh pressure highlight situations on those arms for so long. They're they're not gonna be able to, you know, pitch like that every time out. It's just that's not the way it works. It's just hard to do. So uh I think what you're seeing right now is Vance gonna start turning around and then once that happens, release some that pressure off the bullpan, the bull pin to shape up. Uh this is something that Southern Mist does every year. They have a little swamp and and then they go on a tear in the second half of the season. Right now, we're playing the start of the second half of season, and I expect them to uh really from here on out play really good baseball.
SPEAKER_06Well, minus um Lafayette, who they're they're playing this weekend. I don't necessarily know from the RPI rankings I've looked at, which is always what if you're a Southern Myths fan, you want to look at to because you want to be a host. And you know, the crazy thing is you see these RPIs this weekend. Yeah, they won the series, but they went down in the RPI rankings. And uh, you know, uh what is there any any serious games that they've got left that's gonna be able to help raise that RPI to being a possible host?
SPEAKER_14I think we're gonna help you at Texas State in there, they've got a really good RPI. Really good this year. And then you're gonna have some, you know, when you get to the conference tournament, you're gonna play some better things in RPI help there. You still got old music you gotta play, that's gonna help your RPI. So, uh yeah, there's some RPI games there that are coming up that are gonna help. I think they're gonna be just fine. If they just go ahead and uh kind of win some series, sweep some series, and play like they have for the past you know two years in the second part of the season. They'll be just fine when it comes to hosting, I expect them to. Uh baseball's a crazy game. You never know what may happen. Injuries happen, different things, uh different things probably I think they're gonna be fine when it comes to teams left on the schedule in RPI if they can continue to win.
SPEAKER_06Well, and one of the previous guests I spoke with is about the standings, you know. Southern Mist is tied up in like with four teams in like second place on the seven and five record behind Coastal. Um let's just say the worst case scenario, they end up out of those four, they end up fourth out of there, and you have to play in a conference tournament where you're not used to usually playing on a different schedule. If they end up losing some games in the conference tournament, but yet they are able to maintain their RPI, is that something that Southern Mist fans should be uh you know concerned with, or not really because they're hosting.
SPEAKER_14Just depends on what the RPI is, man. To be honest with you, when it comes to conference tournament, just depends. If you go in that conference tournament and your RPI is in the top 16, I think you're gonna host no matter what happens. Um if your RPI is top 20, you're probably gonna host no matter what happens. Because you're gonna have to teach that top 16 that can't host for whatever reason, stadium size and different things like that. So I think it's just all about where your RPI is at the end of the season. Uh you know, you play right now. You worry about the conference tournament when you get there. Um I don't think anybody's gonna reach Coastal. Number one, they probably got one of the easiest schedules in the Sun Belt because of who they don't play. Uh Southern Minnesota, Coastal don't play, but I think, you know, Southern plays Troy, Louisiana, all the tough teams. Coastal uh doesn't play a few of those teams, so it's kind of Coastal got a pretty good uh scheduling deal this year if you look up their schedule in the Sun Belt. So I don't think you might as well catch them. But yeah, Southern Miss should be playing for the second place in the conference tournament. And I think all that will, you know, wash out in the end. Look, you got some good teams. ULM's playing really well like right now. Texas State is playing really well right now. Uh Louisiana, you never know. I guess you saw uh Dave's getting a fight with your whole team from uh JMU yesterday, still hadn't figured out what that was about. Um he's ever on the cat tall trying to fight the whole team and the coaching staff, so that was kind of funny to watch. Uh, you just never know what you get with uh the sun belt, but I think you're gonna be fine coming up.
SPEAKER_06What's uh how's spring practice going in football so far?
SPEAKER_14Going well. I think it's just what everybody else is going through. They've got so many new faces. I mean, they're 138 and one they're 138 out of 138 FPS teams in returning production. So you got a bunch of new guys there. So what they're doing right now is it just really implementation. I I don't even think the coaches really know what they have. Uh they had their first scrimmage and there was some good things, some bad things from it. Uh I I don't I just don't think they really know because they just haven't played together. It's a team that nobody knows each other. Coaches don't know the players, players don't know the coaches. And remember last season in the spring, uh Hubb had that second uh transfer portal period after the spring to where he could evaluate after the spring. Some players left, some players are bought in, they don't have that anymore, so you kind of stuck with what you got. So uh Blake Anderson doesn't have that uh he doesn't have that that he can rely on uh this summer to bring in players. So uh it's it's just a different ball of wax altogether. And uh I think this spring's more about just learning the system, learning what they have, and then in the fall there'll be some position battles, but right now there's just no there's no way of telling what they have. Just no way.
SPEAKER_06Even though Blake has a pr been pretty successful, you know, college football coach, he's I don't really believe, and you probably would agree with me, I don't believe he's been in this type of situation before, ever before. Do you think that the Southern Miss uh administration, the Southern Miss faithful will give him how long do you believe they'll give him to be able to set this straight?
SPEAKER_14I think he'll have a couple, two or three years. I mean, this is a situation I don't think anybody in college football has been had this big of a turnover. That went offensive line and return. I mean, that's that's for at the start that had played last year. So I mean, I just uh I don't know if anybody in college football has had to deal with this. And I don't think this is sustainable in college football, this whole portal bringing in new things. And it's not his fault. He had to do it because they had some seniors last year, they bought some transfers, and Huff bought in some guys that so he could win immediately. Um it's just one of those situations where Southern Mist had been bad for so long that they had to do something. And now, you know, because of that, you've got a whole new team, and it is just uh I I'm not sure college football or college sports, they've got to do something to fix this portal thing because it's just um it's a mess and it's not gonna get any better anytime soon until they put up some rules and regulations, and I don't see that happening anytime soon. So it's college sports, what can you say?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, of course. I know Blake Anderson is a quarterback guy. Do you see anybody, or have you heard any word about any guy that is really getting behind from a quarterback perspective?
SPEAKER_14Yeah, I mean, you got Ethan Hampton to transfer from uh from Illinois that was uh northern Illinois when they beat uh Notre Dame. He's here. Uh uh Landry Liddy, he's a guy that uh you know was the Gatorade Player of the Year in uh Louisiana, uh, came from UAB in Louisiana Tech. So he's a guy that really likes to get the ball out quick, and then John Watt, a guy from uh Jackson, who really worked on strengthening his arm and he's had a really good spring. I I don't think they're even close to picking a starting quarterback or getting behind one. I think it's an open competition till the end of spring. I'll be honest with you, I don't think they've got any positions uh settled yet. I don't think they know what they have and Blake Stevens said that, you know, in uh pressers after praise. I we just don't know. We're gonna get out here, we're gonna mix it up and see, but it's a open battle for the whole spring because they brought a bunch of guys in, they gotta see what they got. And uh they're working hard now. It it's just gonna be tough on him and the coaching staff.
SPEAKER_06My friend, tell everybody how they can contact me or tell them what uh what they can watch out for this uh next few weeks.
SPEAKER_14Oh, yeah, but you had uh baseball is gonna be a lot of fun. Uh spring practice. Check us out, big old nation on three. Uh, we got a deal going on right now, so you can look that up where uh you get half off first year, so uh check that out. Just a lot of fun things happening, a lot of good banner on the board. Baseball always huge at Southern Mint. What can you say? Uh you want to have a lot of fun. Talk baseball at Southern Mintz. The fans love it. So uh got a lot of that going on, spring football. And then basketball, you know, recruiting. We'll see what happens there. So uh Jay's got a all the transfer portal there is attacking basketball too. Jay's gonna have his hands full uh replacing those guys as well. So a lot of fun, a lot of information. Come join us.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, well uh tell us when the uh the spring game in the uh the final. I know they had spring game practice at least the next few Saturdays, but when is the actual spring game?
SPEAKER_14Believe it's April 14th, if I'm not mistaken. Uh gosh, I trying to think off the top of my head because I don't have it right here in front of me, but it's right on the middle of April. And uh they'll have their spring practice, and hey we'll find out more about the team, but I still don't think we're gonna do much until fall, to be honest with you. Just don't uh it's it's uh it's tough. It's tough. It's gonna be April 18th, by the way, is the spring. Um is uh spring practice, so uh we'll see.
SPEAKER_06Good deal, my friend. You take care of yourself.
SPEAKER_14You too, my friend. Talk to you later, buddy.
SPEAKER_00The following is a paid advertisement by O'Dwyer Realty Agent Stephanie Mankowitz. Call Stephanie today at 228-563-0471 for all your realty needs.
SPEAKER_06And here we are talking about Realty again with our O'Doyre Realtor Agent sponsor, Stephanie Mankowitz. Let's talk about the tips this week from Stephanie about what Realtors should be doing for you.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Hunter. As always, it's a pleasure to review realtor topics and uh hopefully it helps people, right? So, what should we do we should we be doing for you, the buyer or the seller? First thing I would say is, and it's in the actual disclosure everybody signs when they work with an agent, is ensure all parties are represented fairly and honestly. It's called fair and honest dealing. And if I'm helping you or anyone out before I can even show you a house, you know, you sign that disclosure. And it's not even a contract, it protects you as a person. And I'm supposed to explain that form to you and say, hey, before we do anything real estate, I am licensed, I am liable, I am here to help you, give you fair and honest dealings, get the most I can for your house, confidentiality. I'm not gonna, if you're a seller, I'm not gonna tell people your bottom line, but that's a secret. So um, so we'll start with that. The first thing is that we are fair. And sometimes realtors get a bad rap, sometimes there's realtors that have caused that. But uh I know I'm one of the realtors that considers myself pretty by the book and just trying to solve the problem. I just want to be part of the solution, right? So if you're selling a puppy or Avon, whatever it is, there's liabilities when you're selling a house times three, times ten. Okay. Alright, well, I would say uh another thing we do we we make sure that uh the people who maybe they were they've never sold a home before, or they've never bought a home before. We make sure that we we through the shaky buyers or the sellers, buyers that maybe aren't a good idea to deal with, we can see problems coming before they start. When a realtor's been doing this 10 years, and if it is a buyer, we're also looking for sellers that might be a problem. You know, if we're putting in a really healthy offer and it's like full price or near full price, and then we hear there's a multiple offer situation, it doesn't mean you panic. You know, sometimes you leave your offer right where it is, even though there's other offers. So we're making we're weeding through the shakiness and the things that come up that seem unpredictable. And one of the other unpredictable things, like for sellers, is you know, they get an offer and it's got 10 contingencies on it, and the price looks great, and they say they're cash, but there's all these contingencies. So um, you know, you're not you're not really aware how much we help you until you actually deal with a good realtor. That's one thing I would say. And and we want to help them determine the value that's correct if they're selling.
SPEAKER_06What are some of the things that determine the value?
SPEAKER_01Oh okay, that's a good one. Let's start with location. You know the old saying location, location, location. All right. Uh let's start with what are things selling for around you? If you're in a nice neighborhood and and you think your house is a castle, we all kind of feel like that when we love our home. Doesn't mean it's worth three times what the market says. So people will hear realtors say, Well, the market says your house is worth this. And some sellers don't want to accept that. No, no, it's it's gotta be worth more. I've got a double granite countertop, I've got a fountain that shoots out gold in the backyard, and I've got three kittens with it. So I think I should get a hundred thousand more. And we have to rein people in and say, I love your kittens, I love your granite. And the last year in your neighborhood, people have paid this amount. And though, and that's where we start thinking like an appraiser. So we're like, okay, wait, we can go out two miles and look at the last sales in the last year within two miles of this property, and we can see what people have been paying. And we also look at the square footage, and that's really important, Hunter, because if your house is 2,000 square feet and you saw one sell for a million and it had 3,000 square feet, and you're like, well, mine's worth that too. You're a thousand square feet smaller, so I can't even count that house as a comparable sale, right? When we determine the value, it is the critical, probably the most critical thing we do as your listing agent. Because that price is the first thing they see, just like the pictures. And if we priced you so high that you seem ridiculous, they're not coming. And then guess who you don't like? Me, the realtor. You don't like me anymore. So I'm kind of an upfront realtor. I think a lot of us are after we've been in a while. And we say, look, in all honesty, right now, this is what the market says your house is worth. Other things we're gonna help you with is um determining what is the inside of the house worth. Um appraisals are gonna change next year uh across the country, and there will be different data inputs into determining what your house is worth. So we're gonna be on top of that. Um and so if you're trying to sell on your own, you know, we can be really helpful and deal with all these unexpected things that happen when you try to uh sell on your own. Um and you know, we've talked about sellers a lot, so okay, I'm just gonna put this out there. If you're thinking of selling on your own, but some of the things we're doing for you, the seller, to make it easier is photos, professional photos. We pay for those. A lot of our photographers have drones. We're taking the calls because it's our number on the sign. So if it's a looky loo, it's not an ideal buyer. We've got our radar out there, so we're taking that hassle, you know, out of it.
SPEAKER_06If you are thinking about selling on your own, maybe ask Steph. If you would like to talk to Stephanie to help determine your next steps, call today at 228-563-0471. Or call her at the office and ask for Steph at 228-452-4242. Steph has the latest information to help you get through the process with reasonable expectations. Again, that's 228-563-0471 to speak directly with Stephanie. Our final guest is someone that I talk to virtually every week, the WGSO 990 a.m. radio host for In the Red Zone, breakfast with the Bayou Bengals, Mitch Gibbs. Mitch, how are you, my friend? Uh, doing good, man.
SPEAKER_13Over at the Pelicans game tonight.
SPEAKER_06That's what I that's what uh you and I talked about earlier. How do they look? I mean, what's what's happening? I know they're not going to make the playoffs. They don't really have anything, but are they looking strong as a team? Because last you know, few games, I've heard they've played a little better.
SPEAKER_13Well, I mean, they're winning early, but you know, in the NBA, that doesn't mean anything. They've lost seven in a row. Uh, they've met two of their guys are not playing to Jonathan Murray, Trey Murphy. Maybe they're two, two of their three best players. Orlando is playing for playing in playoff positions, so they really need to win this game. I I don't expect Orlando's gonna win this game. Um, you know, they're big, they're like a six, seven-point favorite. But uh think the Pelicans are gonna have to make some major changes if they're gonna, otherwise, we're gonna repeat uh this year's season next year. And as you know, uh Joe Dumore's traded the unprotected lottery pick. So the Pelicans have no pick. So even if they're losing all these games, which they have, which Cornelly would be good because you get more pinball balls unless they change the system, is is uh irrelevant at this point because they don't have a first round pick. Although there are rumors that they're thinking about making a trade and Zion Williamson's names come up. I I just don't, I don't believe, I won't believe it till I see it, but I think they really need to get in the first round of this draft. It's supposed to be a really good draft. And I think they can win with Murphy, Murray, and Jones. And I kind of feel like they should move on from Zion Williamson. We'll see if they trade before the uh NBA draft uh to get uh into the first round. But the only guy that they can trade to get a first round pick is Diane Williamson.
SPEAKER_06Do you believe the coach who still has the title interim, from what I understand? Do you think he's done enough to excel his staff for another year?
SPEAKER_13I mean, I would I would move on. And I I I, you know, it keeps going back and forth. Remember they had a winning streak about two or three weeks ago, and and they were talking about maintaining the status quo and making Barrega the uh permanent coach, which I think is not a good decision. Um and so uh now I'm hearing that they're they're probably gonna move on from him, but again, until it happens, it doesn't happen. Um there's there's there's a Malone out there who's won an NBA championship. And then my my guy would be Darwin Ham, who I thought did a very good job with the Lakers, and he just because LeBron James didn't like him, he got fired. Um, but I would think he's gonna be would be less expensive. Um so at this point, I would lean towards him probably moving on. I mean, you look at these games, uh, Hunter. I've been to several games and there's a lot of empty seats, and I can't imagine going into another season when you've won what 25, 26, 27 games, lost over 50 games, again, not making the playoffs, and you're not gonna make major decisions. At a certain point, the fan base is gonna be like, we're not coming to the games. But I'm telling you, the the I haven't been to I've been to maybe like 10 games or so, and every just about every game that the top, which I think they call the attic, is empty. It's almost empty.
SPEAKER_06Tell me about Mitch. Now, of course, I have followed a little bit of draft status in the NFL. The Saints look like they could be making different directional changes in who their potential draft is. Talk to me about what your thoughts are and where you think the Saints need to go, at least in the NFL draft upcoming.
SPEAKER_13I mean, I think that this the to me, the priority would be edge rusher because you are you have your quarterback, they're happy with um with their quarterback situation right now with Tyler Shuck. Um, I would go edge and I'd go Ruben Bain Jr. from Miami. I think um if you can get him at eight, you're it's a steal. I think he's gonna be like another Jared Verse, who I thought the state should have drafted a couple of years ago from Florida State, who's uh who's been very impressive in his first two years with the Rams. Uh I'm here and they're looking in the secondary, maybe the LSU kid. Um, then there's another player, I think maybe from Ohio State, they've been looking at the linebacker from Ohio State. Um that's the only names I've really heard. I mean, you know, at one point they were talking about uh the running back from Notre Dame, love, but um, I'm hearing defense are gonna go defense.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, Mitch, you know, I've I've heard that, you know, when I talked to an earlier guest that the draft, you know, the NFL draft is more or less position for position. Do you have a name or do you think it's a name or a position is more important?
SPEAKER_13Oh, for the the Saints, I I I just I mean you look at you look at mock drafts and you got it, they've got a different player. Almost every mock draft's got a different player for the Saints to draft. So they they uh they they um I think they just um I think it's one of those drafts that it's just not they're not sure who they're gonna pick. Um you know I've I've never seen a draft uh where it's so unclear where where the where you know where they want to go. So I think it's um I just I just think it's too wide open. I'm telling you, I would pick if he's available is Reuben Bain Jr., the edge guy from Miami. Like I if you ask me who the states are gonna pick, I have no idea. I'm gonna probably won't even know the day before the draft. Uh I've just never seen uh a draft, mock drafts where they're so unpredictable, they have no idea for like multiple teams who they're gonna pick. Uh I think their spring practices are coming up with Tulin. That's another situation where we've talked about the coach, for example, and uh, you know, you know, as you you're familiar with the ex-Stuthern Myths coach, um, you know, they've got the new practice facility ready to go on Clayborn. Um I think it's gonna be a lean year for Tulin. I think it's gonna be a rough season. Although with my caveat would be I don't think the conference is that great. Uh, but I just don't obviously don't see Tulane being in the uh in the national championship playoffs uh again this year. Um so I think it's gonna be it's gonna be a question of whether they can they that the NIL money is good enough for them to. Bring in some players. I think they have not made a decision as the quarterback's going to be. I think they have multiple quarterbacks vying for the starting position. So, but I just think it's going to be, you know, I just think they had two very good coaches, and I'm not sure about this guy.
SPEAKER_06Is there outside of LSU and even, you know, you know, Lafayette's a little bit interesting in baseball? Are there any Louisiana teams that are making a headway?
SPEAKER_13And you mean for college football?
SPEAKER_06Baseball, if you wouldn't mind.
SPEAKER_13Man, I think Tulane's really struggling. UNO, it's it almost reminds me of basketball. How bad uh LSU, Tulane, UNO were in basketball. That, yeah, we're we're gonna have to have one of those Lafayette or one of those uh smaller schools uh representing Louisiana in the uh tournament, unless they win their conference. I mean, LSU may be because they're defending national champion. The LSU's, I'm really surprised. I didn't think LSU was gonna win the national championship two years in a row. They they've that's really hard to do, especially in baseball. But um yeah, I think that Tulane U and O are gonna have to win their conference tournaments, obviously. LSU is gonna have to get better quickly or win their conference tournament to get in. And then, like I said, these other small, we usually get one of those smaller schools, like a Southern or somebody like that, in these smaller conferences, and not the non-power four or five conferences to get in the tournament.
SPEAKER_06We thank you, Mitch. Let everybody know how they get in touch with you.
SPEAKER_13All right, so right now um we're gonna have a good pretty cool announcement for a new location for the LHU football show. Might be traveling across the lake on that. We're negotiating right now with a new restaurant, which I think will be really cool. Uh, Saturday mornings, 9 to 11 in the fall. But and then the Saint Show will probably be again Premier Nice on Thursday afternoons. But uh we're still doing rolling 9 to 11. Uh every Saturday morning at Premier Volkswagen, we're talking about everything, college pro basketball, talking a little bit of NHL playoffs, as well as they're starting with the NBA plus in a couple of weeks. And we're at Premier Volkswagen, which is uh on the West Bank, uh on La Palco in Harvey, Louisiana, every Saturday morning, 9 to 11.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, my friend. Take care. Thank you. We gratefully appreciate you listening to this podcast, and we always thank you, Jeff. It was a great show, and uh, you know, it's only gonna get better. You know, uh, we're gonna have a little more time to be able to schedule some people because we won't have Easter.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, man, it was great conversation. Again, you know, Joe was a great guest, all the guests were great, it was awesome.
SPEAKER_06Oh, yeah, it was great. You know, keeping things local and really trying to find out what's going on in the professional and national level. Matt, you know, with WLOX did a I mean, that was a great job. I you know, I I see him all the time, I talk to him all the time. And finally getting him uh to do this for an episode was really great, and uh looking forward to keeping going. Keeping it going. So make sure you follow us on the gazeboazette.com where the podcast will be posted next week as well as on facebook.com backslash the real gazebo gazette or on X at Gazebo Gazette as the handle. The HD Experience is available on all podcasts, every single podcast. Write us a review, write us comments, give stars, all the rest. It's all right. Subscribe, subscribe, download anything that you can just to be able to listen to us if you like us. Apple, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Amazon Music are the main ones under the HD Experience tag. This is a good one, and I'm looking forward to keeping on going. Signing out, this is Hunter Dawkins, the host of the HD Experience. We'll always catch you on the flips.