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 33: The Female Sporting Surge
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The HD Experience Episode 33: The Female Sporting Surge
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
GUESTS:
- Brian Mackay - Host & Producer of Award Winning Podcasts (The B-Side, Her Hoop Stats, NBN with DA & 24 Hours NBN), Assistant Basketball Coach
- D.J. Elkins - Pass Christian High School Softball Head Coach, 2025 MHSAA 4A State Quarterfinals
- Caleb Salers - SuperTalk Mississippi News Reporter, Ole Miss Beat Writer
- Creg Stephenson - Al.com sportswriter, Associated Press sportswriter, Award Winning Journalist
- Dale McKee - Pine Belt sportswriter, Radio Broadcast Host of "The Brouhaha" on WABO 105.5FM with Marshall Wood
Welcome to the HD Experience, your source for sports 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 33rd episode of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Sports Podcast, sponsored by the Gazebo Gazette, the Harrison County Independent Newspaper, BeauRivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, O'Dwyer, Realty Agent, Stephanie Mankwitz, Joseph Kelly, attorney at law, and we're always in the U.S. Marine Inc. Studio. I'm here with my wonderful producer of the show and a good friend, Jeff Clark. Jeff is a well-accomplished award-winning journalist, South Alabama beat writer, director of the Harrison County Senior Services. Jeff, how are you, my friend?
SPEAKER_03Doing well, Hunter. Had a good week, uh getting ready to roll. Uh, great topic today. Uh, when the rise of women in sports, you know, as an Alabama softball fan, you know, they they've won some national championships. Patrick Murphy does a great job with them, and uh, I'm interested to hear uh the local take on it. So let's get rolling.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, exactly. And you know, your good friend uh coach DJ Elkins is gonna be on here later, and he's uh he's got a good uh a good team going into the second round or going into the round of the playoffs. Uh he's their second in the district. Uh they finished runner-up, but they won 21 games. Wow.
SPEAKER_03That's amazing. That's incredible.
SPEAKER_06That's huge. But yeah, uh, we'll definitely talk about that later. Uh, is just from the local points of view, because I know we try to remain local in all of our our coverage, at least from the softball teams. The Mississippi Gulf Coast softball teams pass finish uh second. Them and uh they the the regions for 4A through the lower are pretty much done, and they have each one of those teams has finished where their playoffs are already scheduled. Five through seven A are generally they have one more week to go, but there's some close races all the way across the board. As Pash finished second uh in their region, uh 8-4A region. Um then uh we have the 8-3A region, which in softball, which St. Patrick actually won that region. Uh OLA finished fourth in that region, so the top four will go to the playoffs. However, amongst uh just uh a little thing of uh side acknowledgement that there are only four teams in that district. But that being said, OLA is going to the playoffs for that softball in that district. And uh five, six, and seven A. Well, really on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we only have six and seven A. At least we have uh uh the 6A team, Long Beach is currently fifth in their region. They have a big tough series this weekend coming up, and then we have the 7A region with Gulfport is third, the Iberville second. Right now, this is current format. Harrison Central's fourth, Biloxi and Harrison Central round out with the sixth and seventh of the teams in that region. In baseball, this is uh just the same thing as softball. Baseball in the regions has already closed for 4A down. You have Pass, who actually won the series over Bay High this weekend. They are going in scheduled playoff third in their region, and then St. Patrick finished fourth in their region, a 3A. Stanislaus uh barely lost to Presbyterian Christian this week. They finished up runner-up. We'll see who they play this Friday because it's a three-game series, Jeff, playing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And then, of course, moving on up, Long Beach is currently fourth in their region. They have a tough, very tough schedule. These coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday playing at against Pickune. That will decide if they're going to the playoffs or not. Um, then of course the rest of the seven, eight teams. We have Gulf, they're currently in fourth, West Harrison is in fifth, the Ivorville's in third, and Biloxi and Harrison Central will close out as the two lower uh lower seeds in that division, sixth and seventh. And then in tennis, that's that's right. These are the times with the the sports going all across the board. Uh OLA and Stanislaus just lost their region uh team tennis tournament. Now there are two different types of tennis. There's a individual, where you have different players play individual, but then they play together as a team. OLA and Stanislaus lost the second round to their or the two, they lost their opening round match to the team, as did Biloxi and Seven A and West Harrison. Uh uh, but Long Beach and Pascushan both won in their regions first round. So they are their scheduled matchups will be coming up here where they will play in the second round looking to advance as teams. And then uh, you know, we're moving up the chain, at least on college format, college baseball all miss swept swept LSU, which was that was that's that's an interesting uh take right there. We'll talk with one of our guests about that. Um Tennessee swept state at home. This is the first time state has lost back to back. They've been swept back to back this season in uh in SEC play. That's gonna be a tough, tough matchup, at least from the rankings. USM lost the series to oh to University of Louisiana at Lafayette 2-3, but Lafayette has a pretty good RPI ranking. We'll see what happens with that. And then uh before we get to our first guest, the Shuckers won the series uh with four games to two. I happen to be out there, saw some good players, and uh they look like they're a talented team, Jeff.
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SPEAKER_06All right. I would love to introduce my first guest, award-nominated podcast producer, basketball coach Brian Mackey, otherwise known as Coach B Mac. Talk to me about your trip to Phoenix. Tell me, was this everything that you had hoped, or was this uh I did see on your Facebook page you let uh you had one of those new uh Uber style vehicles where there wasn't a human being driving?
SPEAKER_09Yes, I am uh I guess Waymo savvy now. Took a couple of Waymo's while I was in Phoenix and had a good time doing it.
SPEAKER_06Nice, nice, nice. Well, how was the the tournament? I know the Final Four, it's always a big time deal. Talk to me about, you know, was it really what you expected?
SPEAKER_09Um I was hoping for, you know, maybe closer games, but I mean, just the the talent and and the shows that they did put on. I mean, and and everything that goes on with the Final Four is just top-notch. I mean, just right down to the little dribbling contest where you see all the kids out, and then you got live podcasts from all these former superstars that are uh all over town, and everything was in great walking distance in Phoenix. So it was it was a good time to have ball.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, okay. Let's let's talk about this now, Coach B Mac. Since the WNBA draft officially starts tomorrow, and something I didn't know, I didn't realize that there were three rounds of draft picks. I should have talked to you a little bit more about this, uh, Coach, but uh but since the WNBA draft officially starts tomorrow, was there anything that you saw from a personal individual player that indicates where their choice is in the draft, the selection coming up?
SPEAKER_09Well, I thought that Lauren Betts did really well for UCLA and kind of just aiding her draft stock. It's can it's kind of can increasingly going up little by little as the season has gone on and as the tournament went on because she played so well.
SPEAKER_06Uh and that's the girl that plays center, correct?
SPEAKER_09Yes, the center for UCLA. Sorry, yes. Yeah, she she's definitely upped her stock. And in fact, um I until last week, I have been adamant that I thought Dallas, the Dallas Wings, who had the first pick, would take um this project, this 19-year-old, you know, uh kid out of Spain, our fam, who's who would be a project, but I thought Jose Fernandez is the coach in Dallas now, he'd be great to have a project like that come in and work with him, be aligned with Paige Beckers. But the way Dallas has handled free agency so far, which happened to happen to start this weekend, because you know they had the whole uh work stoppage for a little while and they were going through the CBA negotiations. Um so the free agency started this weekend, they have really hit the free agency hard with a few um post players, a few veteran postplayers they brought in. So I think Dallas is setting up to pick either AZ Fudd from Connecticut or Olivia Miles from TCU. I think they're gonna go guard with the first pick.
SPEAKER_06That's what my thought was. That's what the ESPN and all the rest of the pundits say. Now I know you you don't consider yourself a pundit, but I I'm pretty sure there'd be some people that would consider you to be a pundit. But if your your choice of select of your thoughts, at least of who Dallas is going to go for, and that's what everybody indicates, Olivia Miles is the top, the best available in the draft from the start.
SPEAKER_09And that would be very interesting to see her aligned next to Paige Becker's. Paige could play off the ball because Olivia could be at the point guard bringing it up. And that that would be an interesting one-two punch. And they re-signed Enrique Gumbawale to not this not the max deal, but just under the max, so they saved some money with her. I mean, that's one, two, three right there. That would that that's a hard backcourt to deal with.
SPEAKER_06Talk to me about your SEC girls, your Flo J Johnson from LSU, your Cody McMahon from All Miss. Are these two gonna be top level, top lottery pick style?
SPEAKER_09Um, maybe just outside, because I think the lottery in the WNBA is the first three picks.
SPEAKER_06I'm relating everything to the NBA.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, it's a little bit different in the W. So maybe just outside, because I think Flager, who I think I've seen this a lot in a lot of different places, and I kind of agree. I think she's fixing to end up in around the Chicago uh sky Toronto Tempo level, which is the five or the six pick. And then Cody McMahon, my my old Miss Rebel, as I tell people, even though she only played there one year, she she's ours now. But uh I like to I like to put her right after that in that nine, uh that seven, eight, nine range. I think it's the Portland Fire, uh, Golden State Valkyries, or uh Washington Mystics, which any of those spots, Cody would thrive in. And Flager as well. Wherever she goes, she she will thrive.
SPEAKER_06Do you believe now? Me checking out the ESP and draft status on this, uh I've seen the first selection, the first round of selections. UCLA's whole team is pretty much on the first round of selections. That to me is, you know, I'm wondering, does UCLA just big on the transfer portal? Or is this just something that's you know, a because of the way they played, this is sort of the way that it's going now.
SPEAKER_09Well the story down at the final four, you know, obviously with their their six seniors, eight, I mean, uh no, eight eight seniors, excuse me. They they uh that was a hundred percent of their offense at the final four. Not nobody else on their team scored a single point except for outside of those eight seniors. And they have really done well for themselves and and they all, you know, they had a couple added this year, but m for the majority, they all came back from last year's team that was up, you know, that was beat uh beat pretty soundly by UConn in the final four last year. But um, so for them to come back and do what they did, and I I I'm right there with you. I saw all the the the pundits, as you call them, uh have every one of them going in the first and maybe high second round. And I'm right now, I'm a you know, my family's huge, Indiana fever, Caitlin Clark, and all that. We're hoping that uh one of them, especially either, you know, Gianna Neekins or Gabriela Jacques, who got the who should have got most outstanding players, no offense to Lauren Betts. But she had the better final four, in my opinion. The Lagar for UCLA, I if she would to drop for with to Indiana, which I think they have the tenth pick in the first round, that would be a great pickup for the fever.
SPEAKER_06Tell me this now, Coach Mac. Coach B Mac, tell me this, as you know the history of the NBA, at least the development the last two or three years have been to have pick up prospects from not from this country or from European league or so. As I have noticed in the WNBA draft stock, there are once again pundits talking about three or four players from out of this country, Spain, France. Do you think the WNBA will follow the same protocol that's been happening in the NBA, or are they gonna stick to the college selection?
SPEAKER_09I I think it's getting more and more in that it's heading more and more in that direction. That France, I'm actually a little nervous when it comes to the 2028 Olympics about France. France is gonna be a real challenge for USA. And they have a couple kids coming in this this draft. Um, Nell and Gloma, a little guard 5'11 forward, that is gonna is projected to go really high. Like I already said, our fam from Spain is another one that's everybody's just really railing about. I mean, there's these there are a bunch of young kids from these other countries that are fixing to come in and make a big name for themselves in the W.
SPEAKER_06Coach, we appreciate you being on and talking with us, and we look forward to to having you again later on, at least. And Coach, I'm gonna tell you right now, uh, you know, I'd love for you to schedule, you know, Coach Antonelli or Miss Anton Antonelli with you at least on here so that way uh we can get both of y'all's uh you know kind of a feel together, see what uh see what it sounds like being on an award-winning podcast.
SPEAKER_09I I will definitely work on that, and if I can, real quickly before I get off, I want to let everybody know 24hoursmbn.com. That's 24hoursnb.com. Nothing but net. It's it's Debbie's 24-hour free throw shooting marathon that she's about to take on uh Mother's Day weekend. But at 24hoursmbn.com, you can get all the information there. All proceeds go to Special Olympics. So if anybody likes to donate things like that, she makes a hundred free throws every hour for 24 hours. So it's a pretty good, pretty big deal. We're about to start working on that. So I'll definitely try to get her on for you.
SPEAKER_06Absolutely. That's great. That's a great cause, and of course, we'll definitely look forward to that. And I we appreciate you again, Coach.
SPEAKER_09Yes, sir. Thank you.
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SPEAKER_06I would love to introduce the head softball coach of the Pass Christian Lady Pirates, DJ Elkins. Coach, you have 21 wins, if I'm correct, and you finished runner up in the region. Talk to me about where this team's going and how you know y'all's advancement is taking place. Because I believe, if I'm correct, and not only did you mention me, but when I looked up on the MHSA, y'all are playing Lawrence County this this week.
SPEAKER_13Yes, sir. We're playing Lawrence County. We'll be at home on Friday night at six o'clock, and then we'll travel to them on Saturday for a three o'clock matchup in Monticello.
SPEAKER_06As far as, you know, and I know every coaching perspective, you know, every game, every team is is their region, the Lawrence County region, which I'm guessing that's region six. Am I correct?
SPEAKER_13Seven. It's seven.
SPEAKER_06What's the toughest region in y'all's district besides y'all's, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_13Uh I think that region five is the toughest division and in all of 4-A softball. Um, just because from top to bottom they have they're they're just really, really strong. They got three teams that could that have a legitimate chance to come out of the South to represent the South and the State Championship.
SPEAKER_06Um those teams, what what teams are we are we talking about? At least what would y'all have to do to get to to play them at least.
SPEAKER_13So we If we win we win this week, um we would play the winner out of Mindenhall, who is uh Region six, and then and then they would uh and the region five four seed is northeast Lauderdale. Um we would if we get past that, we would play the region five winner, which is West Lauderdale.
SPEAKER_06And West Lauderdale is pretty much one of the top teams.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, yeah, they've played for it uh uh two out of the last three years. They've played for the state championship. Uh they beat Purvis uh twice, I believe. Or no, they beat Purvis once, and uh I can't remember who they beat the first time. Um but they uh they're a good team. Uh good, you know, you got a really good coach, they got good players. They got you know, I I actually spent two years as an assistant coach there, so I know some of those players. Um they're gonna be a top they're they're they're one of the top teams in the state. Uh and I coming out of the north, it'll be uh probably Itawamba, who is uh again one of the top teams in the state, regardless of uh classification.
SPEAKER_06Sure, sure. Coach, tell me about uh Bristol Jones and and how you know she's doing at least from striking outs, strikeouts from the mound, she appears to be being the top notch, at least uh from her level. Is there a a certain st style of of pitching that she does? I mean, is it uh what what where th where do things go to make her you know to have achieved her success so far?
SPEAKER_13So what what why Bristol is so good is uh obviously she she has a lot of talent. She there's no denying that she has some talent, that uh she's been gifted um as she's been grown up, but the the majority of what makes Bristol so good is that she works extremely hard. Um she is constantly um trying to better herself, whether it be in the weight room on the field taking ground balls or doing you know, doing a bullpen session, doing a you know, short session with uh to kind of lock in a pitch or spending time in the cages. Bristol is a worker and she uh has a very, very um just just mentally tough as well. Uh she doesn't get rattled a whole lot. Um and and she is just like, you know, she's you know, I got quite a few on this team that are just coaches' dreams that they love to have. You know, you have we have a bunch of what I call and kids. Um, you know, they're they're really, really good and they work really, really hard, and they're great teammates, and um, I don't have to worry about them doing anything bad in the classroom. I know they're gonna make good grades and all that stuff. They're all really smart. So that's what's really special about her uh and this group that we have. I mean, we just uh this group that we have is a very special group in terms of how they work, how they want to prepare, how they love being coached, how they love being out at the field, how they love each other. And so that's kind of where it's kind of taken off is you know, Bristol just loved ball. And and Bristol is gonna give everything that she has, and and that's kind of fed over into some that you know were not quite as intense about it, and and it has picked up, it's raised everybody's level of play um going forward.
SPEAKER_06Coach, how many seniors do y'all have on the team?
SPEAKER_13We have uh two senior players and a senior manager.
SPEAKER_06What since this is your I believe your third year, correct?
SPEAKER_13It's my fourth. It's my it's my fourth year.
SPEAKER_06So with with being there for four years, how have you seen these these young ladies develop over the time when they were freshmen all the way until they are here now?
SPEAKER_13Well, it's funny. I got uh the the ones that I have that I've had for four years are not are not seniors. Um they are at the seniors I have are actually moved in. Uh they came, uh a couple of them, one of them started, uh both of them started, the players started last year. My manager's been with me for the all four years, but the ones that have been with me for four years that I had on uh have one from the from the first team I ever coached here. Uh she was an eighth grader, um, and she's uh been a you know three-year starter since you know after her since she's a freshman. I've had I have six three-year starters on the team right now. Um and when you play that much ball and you and you've gotten yourself into those situations and you've seen what's what's how playoff uh games go and how playoff uh atmospheres are, and you play some of the best teams, uh you see um you see the growth there. You know, they don't get uh real riled up, they don't freak out when when it's time to play, you know, a team like Purvis or uh you know anything like that. They show up and they do what they do and they compete to the best they can, and that's what I've seen is the growth. And they don't think that we they they they don't think that we are defeated in any way before the game starts. They have that confidence about them where they go out and they just go out and play.
SPEAKER_06Coach, talk to me about what it's gonna get to you guys to get past where you guys finished last year in the quarterfinals. What what do you guys think that it needs to take to get up to uh to Jackson or to the uh the South State?
SPEAKER_13Um uh we're gonna we're gonna have to play well, obviously. Um we're gonna have to uh just you know not do anything that you know we don't have to be somebody we're not. We don't have to play over our heads. We're we're a pretty good team. Um we're extremely talented. We don't have to try to get into the mindset of way, we gotta do this, we gotta do that, we gotta do too much. Um that's just we just gotta be who we are. Um, and that's just you know, we just show up and compete every single day and want to get better every day and try to you know, you know, put our best foot forward. If we do that, we have a shot against anybody we play.
SPEAKER_06Coach, we thank you very much, and we look forward to following you guys all the way up to Jackson.
SPEAKER_13Yes, sir. I'm looking forward to it, honor.
SPEAKER_06Take care. The 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 thegazeboGazette.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. We will move to our next guest who really doesn't need any introduction from me as my good friend and super talk news reporter, Caleb Sailors. Caleb covers all of the Mississippi colleges along with all of the news for the state's largest media syndicate, Supertalk Mississippi News on Supertalk.fm, and has the statewide scoreboard show Friday night football to report the all the football scores. How are you, my friend?
SPEAKER_04Hunter, I'm living it up in paradise, man, here in central Mississippi. How about yourself?
SPEAKER_06Well, I you know, I thought I wasn't sure if you were at Oxford because it sounded like there was a lot of paradise going up there.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, big big weekend for the Rebels, obviously. Anytime Ole Miss gets a win or even a sweep, much less, over LSU, uh that it's a it's a big weekend for celebration there.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and you know, that's that's also one of the questions, you know, not only with Ole Miss sweeping, Mississippi being swept, kind of give me where, you know, if you'd said that after the first few games of the season this would happen, that kind of would have confused everybody. Talk to me about what what you saw, at least from both perspectives.
SPEAKER_04Right. I mean, going back to just a few weekends ago in Oxford where I was there watching Ole Miss get swept by Mississippi State, it looked like you know, Mississippi State has won that series, you know, what, like 15 out of the last 18 times. So, I mean, it's not shocking for the Bulldogs to, you know, kind of dominate Ole Miss in that specific series. But in that series, though, this couple few weeks ago, it looked like Mississippi State had not just gotten ahead of Ole Miss, but had gotten way ahead of Ole Miss. Like the delta between the two programs was borderline insurmountable. And then next thing you know, you look up just two full weekends later, Mississippi State is swept back-to-back weekends, first by Georgia, then by Tennessee. And Ole Miss goes five and one, winning two of three at Florida. Uh, Florida team that just beat Georgia two out of three this weekend. And then sweeping LSU, and now Ole Miss has a better conference record than Mississippi State. It's honestly astonishing. I mean, even going back to the Mississippi State series, I mean, there were some concerns about Ole Miss hitting-wise, but one consistent thing about this team, Hunter, is the pitching. The the front-end pitching has been really good. The pitching is deep, and Ole Miss has multiple arms that can be relied upon, and that kind of manifested itself this weekend.
SPEAKER_06You know, as we're kind of developing with the theme of this episode, the the female sporting surge, you know, McMahon uh is was a player at uh at Ole Miss for the Lady, uh Lady Rebels this year. She's potentially going to be the first round in the first round of the WNBA draft tomorrow. Talk to me a little bit about her and Coach Yo, and the if you've kind of seen at least how she's developed.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I mean, Cody McMahon is the SEC new cover of the year, was spectacular for old miss. And they knew what they were getting out of her when she came in from Ohio State. She was a big name transfer. But, I mean, averaging 20 points a game, five rebounds a game, someone that could consistently score, be relied upon, and was pound for pound up there with the best of the best in the SEC, which has been one of the top conferences in women's college basketball for a very long time. And Cody being the not the primary ball handler by any means, but a player off the ball that can that can create her own shot, that can get to the basket, that defends very well, that's you know, someone that's six feet tall, got good size for a guard. I mean, she she's a perfect candidate, honestly, to be a first-round pick in the WNBA draft hunter. And she uh has was a remarkable player for Ole Miss this year. It kind of for Coach Yulette McTeam McEwen, it's it, you know. I know she wasn't wanting her to be a one-year rental, but you know, that's the name of the game in the portal world, and she was a senior, so one of those things. But yeah, I mean, she elevated the game of Ole Miss Women's Basketball and was was spectacular, and it'd be, you know, another first-round talent for Ole Miss if she goes in the first round tomorrow.
SPEAKER_06How's practice going up for the spring, at least uh during the scrimmage? Do you see any new strategies? Uh is the the new OC brought in a lot of uh new new uh plays. I mean, is it what what's what's feeling it up there for the old Miss Rebels on the football spring scrimmage?
SPEAKER_04So Trinidad Chambl has touched on this in one of his immediate availabilities. Um, Pete Golding brought in John David Baker from East Carolina to be offensive coordinator to keep the offense the same, or as at least as much of the same as possible, not trying to shake the boat too much. I mean, look back a couple of years ago, Hunter, when Mississippi State hired Zach Arnett. Mississippi State had an offensive line that was fit to pass block, had wide receivers that were conducive to Mike Leech's system, running backs that were not meant to be bell cows that were receiving type running backs and pass blockers. Well, he hires Kevin Barbe from Appalachian State, and the offense is atrocious because it was not fit to run Barbe's pro-style system. So, kind of thinking about that, Pete Golding went the opposite direction. He went and hired a guy that was in the Kiffin and Weiss offense where Ole Miss was still using pass concepts from John David Baker even last year in the year before that when he was going to East Carolina. So, someone with a lot of familiarity with the program. So the offense is pretty much going to be the same. I mean, Trinidad Chamblers talked about how much familiarity there was with the offense. He said, Yeah, I mean it's really not that hard. I mean, there may be different colors or a couple of different signals here and there, but I mean, everything is mostly the same. The big difference, Hunter, with this Ole Miss football team and what we've seen uh in spring so far is the defense. There's so much more depth. Last year, Ole Miss was really, really talented on the front end with Will Eccles, Cam Franklin, Xavier Harris, though Xavier Harris is gone to go to the NFL. But there was not a lot of depth, not a lot of guys backing those up. They did a masterful job in the portal getting Jaheem Otis, Columbia native from Mississippi, uh, getting Morio from from Florida to have depth at nose guard. They've got three different edge rushers. They can use Centurion Perkins playing as a hybrid and linebackers, two formidable linebackers that are expected to be two of the better ones in the SEC, and Luke Farelli and Keaton Thomas. Keaton Thomas from Baylor, Farelli from Cal, then Clemson, then Ole Miss. Kind of controversy there. But and then in the secondary, there's more depth too. So honestly, the offensive side of the ball, really not going to see a ton of change there. There's going to be two new tackles, some new wide receivers, but the style of offense will be pretty much the same. It's the defense where we'll see, you know, a bigger difference than last year.
SPEAKER_06Remind me of this, Caleb. When you were in Arizona, uh, wasn't uh Booty, wasn't he up there in the press box with Charlie Weiss?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, John David Baker, he was he was it's close. You're thinking of the former Alabama quarterback, but um the so Baker was there uh the entire time, the entire playoff run. He was there for two-lane, sugar bowl, and fiesta ball.
SPEAKER_06Okay, okay, and then of course, uh, that's another question is does Trinidad, you know, even though he spoke like you had mentioned of the the connection with John David Baker, is how is that going, at least uh from your from what you've noticed and what he's discussed? Uh is there I know the receivers, there's uh somewhat of the same style of offense, offensive line, receivers, Kawan Lacey. Is that is it looking to be a similarity from last year, or is it just looking, like you said, that's the reason they brought John David Baker in, was just kind of to familiarize it. But is there something new that we're missing? Is there new players and on the offensive perspective that we should be looking for?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, the wide receiver position, Ole Miss is losing Dejaon Stripling, and Harrison Wallace, the third, known as Trey Wallace. I mean, they were two of the best receivers on the team last year and made a big difference in the playoffs. I mean, Stripling was one of the best receivers in the country down the stretch. And so, yeah, they're losing those two guys. But I mean, Caleb Cunningham was a five-star from Choctaw County and Mississippi, who won a state championship, and he's elevated. He's he's a guy they're expecting big things from this year. That's why you get these guys to develop them. They also picked up Daryl Gill from Syracuse, who's also expected to take kind of that scribbling role, bigger guy, taller wide receiver, wins the one-on-one matchups. Deuce Alexander is back. He had a fantastic year for Ole Miss last year, had a really big game in the egg bowl last year, if you guys remember uh with the 80-plus yard touchdown uh reception he had and a lot of big moments, a lot of tough catches. So he'll be back for continuity purposes, and Caleb Odom is back at tight end. So there are plenty of familiar faces in this Ole Miss offense. At wide receiver, there are some, I wouldn't say unproven, they're just new pieces. But again, Dejaon Stribling and Trey Wallace were brand new pieces going into last year. So with the portal, you know, it's not like there's any you know expected drop-off. There might be because Stribling and Wallace were so good. But at wide receiver, though, I mean Darrell Gill, Horatio Fields, and there's Jonte Cook, who came from Syracuse as well with Gill. He was at Texas initially, had some issues there. Is I've heard a lot of really, really good things from him in Spring Camp that he's very consistent, very reliable. He's just one of those guys that that needed some discipline, and it seems like he's getting that in Oxford now. And so, you know, it really doesn't look like the offense is going to be any different than it was last year. Maybe the production might drop a little bit. I don't know, but having a veteran quarterback and a veteran running back who is one of the best running backs in the country kind of makes things a lot easier. Thank you very much, my friend. Tell everybody how they can contact you. Yeah, you can find me on X, Caleb Sailors ST, find me on all other social media platforms by my name, and most importantly, supertalk.fm.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, my friend.
SPEAKER_04Thanks, Hunter.
SPEAKER_06Now we're on with one of the most outstanding sports writers in the business, my good friend Craig Stevenson, an AP writer for AL.com that covers USA, Troy, and occasionally Alabama. How are you, Craig? Doing good, man.
SPEAKER_12What's going on?
SPEAKER_06Let's first off, let's talk about USA, South Alabama.
SPEAKER_12Yeah.
SPEAKER_06You know, we first off, uh I want to know if you know there was anything that you saw in the scrimmage. I know you wrote an article about it. Of course, I unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to read it, but was there any type of schemes, any type of strategy with the new coaching staff and the new players? Just tell me a little bit what happened.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, they threw the ball deep quite a bit, more than maybe they have in the past. I don't know if that's just to show something off for the fans or something they're gonna try to do more uh this season, you know, because that was the real problem last year. They just didn't attack down the field enough, I didn't think. They had they had some playmakers that just didn't give them opportunities enough to make big plays and and score points. So that's certainly something they're gonna have to do this year because I think the defense is kind of a work in progress. There were so many guys hurt, though, uh, either banged up or you know, just being held out to prevent further injuries. So it was uh, you know, you get to see a lot of freshmen, uh, a lot of younger guys, but we really won't know what this team looks like until they get back on the field in August. They've got a few guys that need to a few key guys that need to recover from injuries on both sides of the ball. But I do expect the offense to be pretty solid. You know, they got a new defensive coordinator, Todd Orlando, who's been around a lot of different places and has a good reputation, but they lost so much through the transfer portal on defense. Um, it's gonna be really a work in progress.
SPEAKER_06How big of an impact was the loss of Dr. Erdman?
SPEAKER_12Um, yeah, you know, he's a guy that has obviously had been uh a mainstay in the athletic department for a long time, retiring after 17 years, well liked, um and and has made some good hires. You know, hired Kane Wamick in football, hired uh Richie Riley in basketball, some of the other uh non-revenue sports, he's made some good hires, and um so it yeah, yeah, it's it's you know, you you lose a lot of that institutional knowledge and and that sort of thing, and it'll be interesting to see what they do to replace him. There's uh you know, at least one in-house candidate, but they may go outside, and you know, we'll see. They you know the the whoever the next person is has to really, really figure out some ways to to raise money. I mean, that's that's the thing at this level. You've got to be able to to you know bring in some dollars to uh fund your programs because you know they're just getting ravaged by the transfer portal because they can't afford to keep anybody.
SPEAKER_06Is Coach Applewhite safe regardless of what happens this year with the new hire?
SPEAKER_12No, I don't think so. Uh I think they need to show progress, uh, you know, probably get to a bowl game. Um, and yeah, the new AD obviously will not be the person who hired him. So that's and I think even if Erdman had stayed, there would be a real sense of urgency. Now, Applewhite does have two years left on his contract. There would have to be a buyout situation. But yeah, if they go out and put another four and eight or worse uh product on the field, I I would not in any way say that he's safe.
SPEAKER_06What about Troy? Uh, you know, I know that they've had uh just somewhat of the same style minus the uh the loss of the athletic director. They've had the same kind of scenario at least. Uh talk to me about what, you know, I know that we were on the Sunbelt media contact last week with the coaches, but what do they look like at least from spring and where they're going?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, they um Troy obviously is coming off a pretty good year last year. You know, they won the West and uh played for the conference championship for the third time in four years, and it was really kind of a proof of concept situation. For Jared Parker, the where he showed that what he's doing works. You know, they were awful the first year, but got better toward the end of the year. And then last year, they improved again as the season went along. And by the end of the, by the end of the year, obviously we're the best team in the West. They do bring back their quarterback, which helps. They bring back, you know, but they're like everybody else, where they just got torn apart in the portal. They made a proactive hire, I thought, at offensive coordinator and brought in Adam Austin, who'd uh at the lower levels of Division II and one double A had really put up some big offensive numbers at Tarleton State. And uh so that's what they're gonna try to be. They're gonna try to be a more explosive offensive team. I do like the pieces they've got coming back on defense, especially Donnie Smith, uh, who is you know potentially going to be the Sunbelt preseason defensive player of the year. So um, you know, they've got a little bit of uh cushion, I guess you could say, uh, in if they do happen to take a step back. But uh, you know, the the program seems to be trending in the right direction.
SPEAKER_06Let's talk about the big boys, Alabama. What's what's going on with them?
SPEAKER_12Well, I think that uh the quarterback battle is the big the big story there. And you know, they've been insisting all along that it was even, but uh at the end of the day game, Keelan Russell, the the uh five-star now sophomore, looked just light years better uh than Austin Mack, who's a guy that has been in Caitlin De Boer's offense for a long time because he was at Washington before he was at Alabama. And uh but Russell seems to me like the higher upside guy. Um they do have some you know returning playmakers at at uh running back and receiver, but the offensive line's gonna, it has to be totally rebuilt. I think the defense should be good, especially the secondary, probably the best secondary uh in the SEC. So I think they're a playoff contender again. Are they an SEC championship contender again? I don't know about that. It's gonna, you know, if Keelan Russell is what he potentially could be, then maybe so.
SPEAKER_06Well, talk to me about now. I haven't we haven't really spoken about this yet, but as far as uh goes with baseball, Sunbelt baseball, it looks like it's all over the place. South Alabama, from what I I recall, they swept Georgia Southern on the road this weekend. Am I correct about that?
SPEAKER_12One two out of three.
SPEAKER_06Two out of three. But they they have been kind of accelerating in the upward direction for the Sunbelt, but then again, you have teams kind of dropping games here, there, and everywhere else. What do you think about uh where they're going, at least for South Alabama's perspective?
SPEAKER_12Yeah, they're better, they're far better than they were last year. You know, they've missed the Sunbelt tournament two out of the last three years, um, and it was really kind of a make or break year for Mark Calve. They put a much better team on the field that can hit a lot better. Uh, they've got two pretty good starting pitchers. They've had trouble, you know, with the with the third guy. Um and uh I but I, you know, they they gave Coastal Carolina their only loss. They have not been swept yet, and they have not swept anybody yet. So they're just but they are steadily in the mix, you know, to finish maybe as a top five or six seed, which obviously is is big in terms of getting a buy uh in the Sunbelt tournament. It looks like unless they totally collapse in the second half, you know, we're we're halfway through the the Sunbelt season now, unless they totally collapse in the second half, uh they should solidly be in the tournament, which is you know a major step forward from obviously where they've been the last couple of years.
SPEAKER_06Final question for you. In terms of college basketball and being somebody that covers Southern Miss pretty much, what's your thoughts about the Troy's new head basketball coach?
SPEAKER_12Uh yeah, you know, Adam Howard was also at South Alabama and he was at Southern Miss, you know, back in the uh the Donnie Tyndall uh debacle. Um, you know, he's well regarded as a kind of a tactician. Um he's got big shoes to fill, though, with Scott Cross. I mean, Scott Cross, obviously, I thought, you know, was the best coach in the Sunbelt. Uh, he's moving on to Georgia Tech, back-to-back Sunbelt championships. You know, they lose most of their roster because the the guys that were eligible to come back are are leaving. Um so it's gonna be a you know kind of a slow build, but you can do that in this era. I don't really know what to make of Adam Howard as a as a head coach. Obviously, this is his first opportunity, but at least uh X is a nose wise, he should be solid. It's just gonna be a matter of identifying and developing talent, which uh you know they're gonna have to do pretty quickly.
SPEAKER_06We thank you, my friend. Tell everybody how that they can reach you.
SPEAKER_12Yeah, Hale.com slash sports, hale.com slash USA on X at Craig Stevenson, C-R-E-G-S-T-E-P-H-E-N-S-O-N. Thanks, honor.
SPEAKER_06Take care. Next, we have my good friend and pine belt sports writer, Dale McKee. Dale hosts the Bruha Ha on WABO 105.5 with Marshall Wood. Dale, tell me a little bit about as far as baseball goes. You know, the Sunbelt has been kind of swinging back and forth with a number of different teams, as I just talked with Craig Stevenson about. Tell me where Southern Miss is going because they started off pretty high, at least obviously number one in the RPI, and it's just kind of been like they faded. You either have the offense going one direction, you have the uh pitching staff kind of going another direction. What's going on with the Golden Eagles?
SPEAKER_02Well, I think the best word for it right now is inconsistency. Um I didn't think they got real good pitching over the weekend. They walked a lot of batteries uh that they're not accustomed to doing, but you just think this team is gonna get hot at some time because you really thought that this year going in, I really thought that um uh after Coastal Carolina, it'd be Southern Miss Troy and Louisiana and Arkansas State. And of course, Louisiana's not had a good good um season up till this weekend when they took two or three from USM. Uh but I still look for the Eagles to get high, but but but the problem now is that they got Texas State coming in this weekend. Uh, of course, they play Ole Miss Tuesday night in a non-district, I mean non-conference game. Uh, but they'll uh but but they get Texas State, who's number two behind Coastal Carolina. Of course, Coastal Carolina's got like a four-game lead over everybody else right now. Uh, but Southern Miss has done it the past several years. You know, a few years ago they ran on a 15-game winning streak. Year before they had like a 13-game winning streak. So they've done it in the past, but but like you said, this team is either they're not on the same page. Either there's it's the hitting or or the pitching that is lacking in certain games. And uh this was the first time all year, though, they've lost two consecutive games or two games back to back. And of course, they lost Saturday and Sunday. So that is a concern. Um, I thought they would maybe get it together this weekend, but um that's not happening. But uh, you know, they got a pretty good seven-game, uh, eight-game schedule coming up with uh Ole Miss uh in Pearl Tuesday. They've got Texas State at home, and then they go to um then they're going to play uh Tulane at home and then they go on the road to South Alabama, then they go back to Tulane, and then they go to back to another another team that's having a really good conference. Um uh they're doing real well in the conference this year, is Monroe. And then they play them at home. So I don't know. Uh I don't know when they're gonna get a relief in this schedule because with Texas uh state and um South Alabama and then Monroe, uh that's nine pretty good conference games. I mean, and you're eight and seven. Um they might be uh for the first time, you know, looking at a breakout uh uh 15 games into the season. I assume that's the midway point. So the next 15 games, they got nine pretty good games, and they're all coming up right in a row in the conference. So I don't know, they're just gonna have to get back to the grind and and just get after a little bit more because uh they've got some good players on that team. They don't they don't have the hitting that they had, but the main thing is the clutch hitting, you know, you just can't leave runners on base.
SPEAKER_06Dale, talk to me about uh you know Blake Anderson and the fact that the retention, they have only Southern Myths only has one player coming back from the team of last year. How much are the Southern Miths, the Southern Myths administration and the faithful are going to give uh Blake Anderson time to be able to develop a program because as you well know, any bit Southern Miss will not hardly be able to hang on to good players, at least. And how much time do you think he needs to build a program back to where the USM expectations are?
SPEAKER_02Well, I think his hire tells you that they're gonna give him some time. I think they knew. I think um they're smart enough in that administration building to know what's ahead. Um, you know, when you bring in 60, 65 players and what what do they dress out? 85, uh 80. Uh you know, uh, you know, they got a boy that was um started out as four-string quarterback, and he may be the starting quarterback before it's over. Um, I don't think they're gonna have as good a team as they did last year. Of course, they you know got off to a great start last year. What was it, seven and three? And so uh before folding down the stretch here a little bit. But no, I I think the administration knows it, but but you know, I'm worried, uh Hunter, about these schools that they're gonna have to pick sports they want to be good in. I mean, I mean, honestly, you know, what what what is gonna be our bell cow? Is it gonna be the baseball at USM? Is it gonna be women's basketball, softball? Is it gonna be uh basket, boys' basketball? What's it gonna be? Is it gonna be football? Then you're gonna put have to put all your NIL money in that. Now, with the rule changes coming, um that might help USM. I mean, I hope it does. Uh, you know, because uh I'm worried one day that we're gonna wake up in the morning and we're gonna have like a 64 team super conference. And we're gonna have like uh maybe uh 16 teams and in full conferences, major conferences, and and they're gonna be playing for a championship in the Southern Miss folks, the Troy folks, South Alabama folks, they're gonna be like a D2 team, and then we're gonna drop the D2 teams down to D3. Now, I don't know if this is coming, this is just my thoughts, you know, but uh you know I just uh I just worry about them. Um I think their fan base uh deserves uh a little bit better than they received. But you know, to to me this all started honestly when uh my personal opinion is when they um forced Jeff Bauer out. I think they hadn't been the same since. I mean they had consistency. I mean, you know, they were going 7-3. I mean, I I was happy with 7-3 because if you look at it at that time, old Minnesota were going about 7-3 and 7-4, and their fans were fussing. And I I didn't understand that to a certain extent, you know, because the SEC uh is, you know, it's very tough to compete on a consistent level. You know, we go back to consistent pitching, you know, of sports is consistency. Uh baseball's streaks. Batter gets hot, you know, he'll go six for seven, and then he'll go oh for seven. Uh same thing with uh basketball games, if you've ever watched a lot of them. There's streaks in a game. Just ask Duke. Uh they probably figured figured out when UConn came back uh on that on that streak there at the end of the ball game to to to win that ball game in the NCAA tournament semifinals. But uh sports is about consistency and uh getting hot at the right time. And um, I think Southern Miss Um I think that um they've got enough patience down there that when they hired Blake, it's like this. I had a superintendent tell me one time, I said, Um, do you think you made a good football hire? This is the high school. And they they said the guy wanted the job really bad. And I wanted somebody that really wanted the job really bad. I think Blake Anderson wanted that USM job real bad, and the U.S. administration knew they couldn't get anybody better. And so I I wish the man luck, but it is gonna be a tough season for him this year, really. It's gonna be tough, and I hate to say that. Uh, I looked at the schedule. Hey, I'm just hoping that they win three or four ball games. And I I I hope I'm proven wrong. I really do. But it's just it's it's just gonna be a tough situation for them this year. And what do you recruit at Southern? You might can tell us this, Hunter. Who do you recruit? You replace high school, junior college, or do you get them out of the transfer portal?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, that's definitely an interesting question based on what's gonna happen, at least from uh from Congress, from everybody else. And you know, uh what is it? Because you're not gonna get a lot of your five or four-star recruits from high school, and your junior college coaches are not having the same relationships as I talked to Jack Wright last or a couple weeks ago, and you know, it was just wasn't there, they don't have them. But a final question for you, Dale. Talk to me about the William Carey basketball program because I know that uh coach Steve Nigers, who you've known for years and who's been there for years, has been the most successful coach for the Crusaders, and also the women's basketball program has been doing pretty well as of late. Just give us an update because they have a lot of kids from the coast that end up going up there too, as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, uh I I was um Steve and um Steve's Steve's a great guy. Um wasn't what 819 games there, coached in what 1300, 1400 games. Uh was there 42, 42, 44 years. Uh, you know, the numbers are crazy. Uh you know, I I followed his career. I remember covering him when I first started out as a sports rider. He was uh playing guard for Hattiesburg High, and they had a state championship team. And they had a kid named Perfish Short was a pretty good basketball player at the time. Uh but anyway, um I followed his career a little bit. Uh he was a pretty good baseball player down at Southern Mist, too. He was mostly a first baseman, and they moved him to third base. Uh, did you know that he applied for the USM job twice and and never got it, never applied again? I didn't know. Yeah, so um, but anyway, he ended up being a uh pitcher in the Seattle Mariners um organization. And uh I I think he told me the story about he was playing first base at Southern, and one of the coaches saw how he threw the ball across the diamond and said, We might want to try you at pitcher sum. And he said, I've never pitched. He said, Well, let's try it. Well, he got he got drafted or he got signed, and uh he went to Seattle and um he was in a modern league system a year or two, and then he wanted to come back in, I think it was what, 1982, and he's been with the mayor ever since. So um uh so they're gonna move one of the assistant coaches up, and I think that's a good move. Uh he told me one time about his recruiting was that he really depended on the junior colleges, and um he thought that two years of experience in that league would really help, and he tried to stay around the area as far as recruiting the junior high kids. Uh, you didn't really see anyone from Itawamba or Northwest or anywhere like that. They were basically maybe as far as away as Hines, you know, the Gulco, Jones, uh, Colin, Southwest, you know, those were the those were his stomping grounds, and he had great connections there. And so I think the game of basketball is gonna miss him at all levels. I think the just the the man himself is just a great, great, great person. I I wish I could model myself after him. I I don't I didn't really know his parents, but all I can tell you is is is they had a good son there.
SPEAKER_06Dale, we appreciate you being on. Tell everybody how they can contact me.
SPEAKER_02Well, we're on uh we're really adding a couple radio stations in the Hattiesburg area that hadn't been finalized yet. So we'll be on three radio stations. But we have the brew, uh, we have the Bruha Ha. It's uh it's it's a taped, uh, it's a tape show, and we play it back on Tuesdays around six o'clock on Waynesboro WABO, but we're also on uh, and you can get that on the Worldwide Net, they tell me. And they also uh put it on YouTube, uh archived, uh, a couple hours after the show. And you're one of our most popular guests, Mr. Dawkins. I just want you to know that.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, sir. I gratefully appreciate y'all for that. You know you and Marshall do a great job.
SPEAKER_02Well, thank you. I appreciate you and all that you that you do.
SPEAKER_06All right, my friend. You take care.
SPEAKER_08Yes, sir. Thank you. The 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'Doire Realtor Agent sponsor, Stephanie Mankowitz. Let's talk about the tips this week from Stephanie about what realtors should be doing for you.
SPEAKER_07Thank 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 dealings. 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 for him 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. 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, and 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 weed 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_07Oh 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 got to 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. In 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 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 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, that 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. We gratefully appreciate you listening to this podcast. We thank you again, Jeff. It was a great show. And I think it's only again going to get better. We'll see what happens with the women's sports this week. You know, the WNBA draft tomorrow, the uh softball playoffs, you know, the tennis playoffs. We got a little bit of everything happening this weekend.
SPEAKER_03Yes, sir. And while you were recording the podcast, uh McElroy won the Masters for the second year in a row.
SPEAKER_06So that's great. It's you know, I don't know the exact number, but I think the there was only been about two or three guys that have done that. I know Tiger, uh Jack, um, and then maybe one or two other people. But yeah, that's that's great. Congratulations.
SPEAKER_03Great show, man, as always.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. We make sure you follow us on thegazeboGazette.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, including Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Amazon Music under the HD Experience tag. And as Jeff would tell you guys, make sure you download it and make sure you write us some reviews, tell us what how everything's going. Signing out, this is Hunter Dawkins, the host of the HD Experience. Get you all on the flip side.