Boomo Bugg Show 070726

[0:00] Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9. The Sports. Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in where the Braves exercise their options and the clock strikes midnight on USA's Cinderella Run.

Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you? Happy Tuesday to you and the listeners. We'll talk about those topics a little bit later in the show, along with Brett Mask, the head football coach at Lakington High School. We'll preview the 2026 season for the Bears. Dr. Thomas Moody will give us some advice on how to save your life. We'll explain that a little bit later. But Andrew is here right now to update some Alabama recruiting and maybe talk about some position battles for the 2026 season. That's very interesting.

You mean there's something more important than Alabama football, baby? Is that what you're trying to say? Yes, at times, Greg. We'll fill in the blanks a little bit later on. But again, say hello to Andrew Bone, fine columnist, recruiting editor for BamaOnline.com, part of the On3.com family. And didn't we mention the fine author of the Road to Bama book? Andrew, welcome in. How are you? Doing good, guys. How are we doing today? Hey, man. Man, we're opening up a can here in July. It's hard to believe, but here we go.

Next month, college football gets rocking and rolling. But first things first, Andrew, not for Alabama, but for some teams. Let's start with, before we get into July, Andrew, your bailiwick is Alabama recruiting. What grade would you put on Alabama's class and their actions in the month of June? Well, I think it's tough to say just because you lose out on several guys that you felt like you had a really good chance to land over the last three or four months. Some of these kids, even longer.

You know, you have guys that had Alabama as their leader, you know, not just for a couple weeks leading into official visits, but as their leader as far back as December or November. And, you know, they wanted to experience the recruiting process and go through it and then, you know, do the official visits and make a decision. Alabama missed out on several kids this cycle, which is not necessarily anything that we are accustomed to. But, you know, the game has changed significantly with, you know, with the success that Alabama's had over the last few years, especially, you know, the first two years.

Coach DeBoer, his staff got adjusted and, you know, we saw they had two back-to-back top five recruiting classes. So, I think the expectations were extremely high. Once again, you make it to the college football playoff, you have a lot of interest in the program. But we also knew this was going to be a smaller class. And they really kind of focused in on, you know, certain players that they felt like they had a good chance to land and then, you know, end up missing out. I think the biggest thing that was good for Alabama was getting Osani Gills.

I felt like wide receiver going into this cycle was probably the top position where Alabama, not necessarily as far as numbers, but as far as getting an elite playmaker. You get somebody like Sidarian Morgan a year ago, a 6'5", 225-pound, you know, just big athlete. You know, a lot of people call him a freak. I mean, he is a freak at that size and that speed and that ability to move the way he does. But, you know, who's going to be that next kind of superstar, you know, slot-type receiver?

You know, Ryan Williams potentially will be gone next year. You know, Latzeer Brooks, if he has, you know, two more seasons like he did this past year, he's probably going to be gone. So getting a guy like Osani Gills is really important for Alabama to kind of, I don't want to say close out the recruiting cycle, but to get a really big win when you miss out on several of your top guys. It's hard to grade when a lot of it has to do with, you know, the financial aspect of it.

But I know Alabama certainly is disappointed with some of the guys that they missed out on. But they're also happy with some of the players that they did add, some of the developmental-type players. Because you look at Alabama's rosters, I think it's one of the top rosters as far as, you know, youngest in the country. And you're going to have a lot of guys that are going to come back next year and the year after that. So you're going to have to have some guys that are willing to sit in your system for the next year or two to develop, to get better, to potentially be an impact player over the next, you know, in two or three years.

[5:25] A lot of these five-stars, top 100-type players, they're not necessarily going to be waiting around after their freshman year if they're not playing a good bit. So you're going to pay them $750, $1 million for their freshman year and then potentially as a backup role as a sophomore. I just don't think Alabama is willing to do that with some of these guys that they missed out on in this recruiting cycle. So they went the other route. They went and got some more developmental-type players, saved some more money for when the transfer portal opens up.

Not necessarily go after a ton of guys, but, you know, you can kind of cherry-pick. Where do you absolutely need to get somebody to come in and make an impact for your team? I think that's what they're going to do there. And then what we're also going to see after the season ends is a lot of these players on your team are going to, you know, not necessarily expect raises, but they are going to get raises because there's going to be other programs that are going to be coming after them, trying to steal them away from Alabama.

And they've dealt with that. I think they've dealt with it more than people realize because a lot of the stuff just doesn't get out there. A lot of it is, you know, just completely under wraps, more so because schools are trying to get players to enter the portal through agents, you know, without technically entering the portal. Hey, we'll give you $1.5 million. We'll give you $2 million. Just please enter the portal. We want you to come help our team. You can be a big impact player. So, oftentimes, raises are in store, and they have to happen.

And, you know, Alabama's been able to keep a lot of their guys, not necessarily matching what other schools are coming in and trying to offer to get them to enter the portal. But, you know, they are having to give raises, and you look at how young Alabama is, you know, with their sophomores, with their freshmen. You can kind of expect a lot of those guys are going to try to get enticed after the season ends. So, you have to, you know, go through and make sure that you're keeping or you're setting money aside to keep the ones that you really want to keep.

Now, there's going to be players that, you know, Alabama probably has paid, probably paid well, that, you know, over the course of the next several months, you know, leading up to the end of the season, they're going to be evaluating really well. You know, are they worth continuing to pay what they make now, or, you know, or do they let them go and potentially go after somebody, you know, in the transfer portal? So, a lot of those questions kind of get answered, you know, throughout the season.

You know, how well it, you know, even players that aren't performing on Saturdays, but these coaches are watching these players every single day of practice to kind of see, you know, what they believe these players can do, you know, in the future, whether that's next year or the year after. Andrew, yeah, you're right. It's a different philosophy now, and I can assure you a lot of listeners are not accustomed to that after years and years, even though I remind them the first two years, Cal and DeBoer's here.

They finished second and third. Will Alabama's next two possible verbal commitments be number one Kingston pre-year from Benjamin Russell, who is a 20-28 four-star quarterback. And it appears Kyron Caldwell of Lake City, Florida may be headed toward Maryland. At least they've upped their NIL ante. But three-star on Jelijah Rutledge from Moody, who he caught 60 passes for 1,100 yards, might be a plan B. Who will be the next couple of verbal commitments for Alabama? Yeah, I think with Kingston pre-year, I mean, one position Alabama certainly has done well, regardless of what they've added the previous year, is they've been able to get an elite quarterback and not just one elite quarterback, multiple top quarterbacks in their class.

So I think with Kingston pre-year, he's certainly somebody that we're watching pretty closely. Over the next few, I guess, few days, he's announcing on the 10th. So on Friday, one of the best quarterbacks in the country out of Benjamin Russell High School was, you know, had an unbelievable sophomore season as he played alongside another player that we were recently talking about in Sedarion Morgan. So I think Alabama's in a pretty good spot with Kingston. He's one of the top five quarterbacks in the 28 cycle. And, you know, they already have a commitment from Charles Scott out of Richmond, Virginia.

It was an early commitment for Alabama. So I think, you know, these players that make early commitments before the start of their junior season, I hate to say this, but it almost doesn't really matter because you're still sort of evaluating these players throughout their junior season. And you don't really have those financial discussions until later on. I know a lot of people think, oh, they're committing because they're getting money to go ahead and commit. And that's not always the case. I mean, it might be the case in some situations, but for Alabama and a lot of other schools, you know, they're not going to talk financial side of things until, at least until after a player's junior season because they're evaluating the board can move up, it can move down.

[10:53] And, you know, how much are you worth? And that's what they're going to, you know, be evaluating. But, hey, if you want to go ahead and commit and we like you and you have an offer and there's no money on the table yet, hey, by all means, go ahead and jump on board. We're not going to turn you down. So I think it's pretty impressive that you look at Alabama's, you know, last year they signed two quarterbacks. They have two quarterback commitments in this year's class, Elijah Haven and Trent Seaborn, which those two guys consider themselves very solid with their commitment.

They're not taking any other visits. They're completely good with being part of a two-quarterback class. And now, you know, Charles Scott commits just two months ago, and now Kingston pre-year, you know, he's ready to make his decision. And I think that, you know, like I said earlier, I think Alabama's in a good spot there. So it'll be pretty interesting to see how that all shakes out. Not necessarily on Friday, but in the next six to 12 months, how that whole process is going to shake out for both of those kids.

So we'll see how it goes. And then Kyron Caldwell, a wide receiver from Florida, took an official visit to Alabama, Maryland, Mississippi State. You know, this kid that Alabama offered during the spring. You know, it kind of looked like they were leading the charge there after his official visit. But, you know, there are some other schools like Maryland that have really, you know, prioritized him. And, you know, I certainly expect him to – I think he – actually, he's – you know, he actually committed. I was looking at the – at a wrong date.

He's already committed to Maryland. Yeah. And we expected that. I mean, we predicted him to Maryland. I guess it happened over the Fourth of July weekend. But, yeah, I mean, Maryland just prioritized Kyron, you know, a lot more than Alabama did. You know, he was kind of their number one wide receiver target on their board. And, you know, Alabama just picked up a sunny gale. So there wasn't really going to be much of a financial commitment there from Alabama's side, you know, after getting gales. And then, you know, still kind of waiting to see what happens with monsoon sales and the number one receiver in the country, which, you know, Alabama, you know, they'll certainly take him.

And they'll have some money there if he wants to come on board. And it's certainly just a – it's a dogfight there with a lot of schools. And I think that number is just continuing to go up as Texas and Ohio State and Indiana, LSU are all still in play there. I don't think he's going to LSU, but as we know, those are some heavy hitters, you know, on the financial front. And I think it's going to be – it's going to be a challenge. But Alabama's still, you know, still very much in the race.

So we'll see how that goes. And then Rutledge out of Moody High School, you know, that was a player that we saw get an offer a couple weeks or, you know, within the last week. I guess it happened over the fourth July holiday as well. But, you know, it's somebody that we're monitoring closely. You know, I think he's a – he's certainly one of these players that I don't think there's really much of a financial commitment for. You know, he's got a scholarship. And I think Alabama, you know, would take a commitment there.

But, you know, at the same time, like I said, there's not really any financial, you know, commitment from Alabama's end. You know, with the 105 scholarships that schools are now allowed to have, you know, everybody's not going to get – I know everybody thinks all 105 players are getting paid. But, you know, you're getting players that are good, that are, you know, a little bit better than walk-ons, which we used to see those spots, not necessarily scholarships, but spots get handed over to for walk-ons. And now you're getting a chance to, you know, offer scholarships to players that, you know, might be at a lower tier school.

But you're still a good player and you can come in and provide even more competition, potentially earn a role. But you're at least, you know, getting better competition that your players are going to be able to go against every day of practice. Because I think one thing that a lot of people, you know, forget about is when you – you know, a lot of these top-end programs, they used to have really good second and third and even fourth-team players that you were going up against every single day of practice.

You don't have that necessarily anymore. You might have some good second-team players, but there's a significant drop-off because after the season ends and somebody isn't playing or they don't expect to play or they expect to be a second-team or a third-team guy the next year, they're entering the transfer portal. They're leaving. They're no longer there. So you can get a good player that even if he's going to a smaller school, you know, it's better than not having anything out there. Absolutely. Andrew, great stuff. Always appreciate the end, Dale.

[16:01] And you've got a very good article about defensive backs who are on Alabama's radar and what happened with them. But where can we get online and get all the great stuff from you and the team? Yeah, go check us out at BamaOnline.com. It's kind of the dog day of the summer right now, but we still have plenty of content. SEC Media Days is coming up soon. And before we know it, the fall practice, preseason practice will be here. Absolutely. 60 days, the first big Saturday. Andrew, in the meantime, stay safe and as cool as you can.

Thanks for your time today. Appreciate you guys. Have a great week. Thank you, man. Andrew Bone again, hooking up with us. BamaOnline.com, part of the On3.com family. What's going on down the plains? Caleb Jones, the latest Auburn talk next. Stay with us. Since 1952, J.C. Hammond Sons has been keeping the Shoals comfortable year-round. As the oldest family-owned heating and air business in the Shoals area, they've built a reputation for a reliable service you can trust, whether it's for your home or your business. Need installation, repair, or maintenance?

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You too. Caleb, it is the month of July. We asked earlier your colleagues from across the state, what kind of grade would you give this Auburn recruiting machine for the month of June before we pull the curtain completely on it? Oh, well, I mean, I would probably say it's pretty high up there. I would say probably give it an A there, A- if anything. It could have been, you know, really, really good. No, I mean, but it was a really solid class. Like, it's put Auburn there close to that top ten recruiting class, which is a fantastic start for Alex Golesh, you know.

[21:19] They got some elite guys, but, I mean, it's not a huge class of a ton of blue-chip guys, but they definitely put together a really, really solid first class, you know. Ever since arriving, they've gotten to work, they've hit the ground running, and you're seeing it pay off right now. I think Auburn's sitting right now at number 13 in the on-three recruiting rankings in the nation, and so just being right there, I mean, you're in conversations with a lot of guys that are picking a lot of schools that have had a lot more success over the last, you know, five to six years.

So, I mean, I was very impressed with how Auburn handled things and the way that they were able to get this recruiting class, you know, really, I mean, it all happened really fast, by the way, it felt like, there in June. Caleb, congratulations, you've had a series of articles called The Path to the Plains, where you profiled the wide receivers, I'm looking at Keyshawn Singleton, and just a good opportunity to profile these guys, let your subscribers get a chance to know them a little bit better.

Talk about the series, and particularly for a receiver class, three of these guys coming from Central Florida, who I think are going to be very prominent this season. Yeah, I mean, this Path to the Plains series that I've been working on over the last, you know, couple of weeks, I think it's important, you know, especially in today's days with the transfer portal and everything like that, I mean, there's really not a ton of carryover, especially when you have a new coaching staff. So I think it's important for a lot of Auburn fans to kind of familiarize themselves with the roster, right, just kind of get to know who's going to be that makeup of the team, who's going to be the core of the team.

And so just kind of running through the two deep of some guys that have transferred over, a lot of the offense, I mean, most of the offense are incoming transfers, and like you mentioned, several wide receivers coming over from South Florida following Alex Golesh, following Cody Burns. So it's been really cool to kind of see those journeys and how they played out. You know, you've got some guys like Chaz Nimrod, who was recruited to Tennessee by Alex Golesh and Cody Burns, and then went to South Florida for a season, reuniting with those guys.

And then now he's here at Auburn back in the SEC with maybe a little bit of a chip on the shoulder, something to prove now, trying to get and excel in the SEC, something he was never able to do with Tennessee just because he was a really young player over there. And then a guy like Keyshawn Singleton, who was, you know, USF through and through, and now he's over at Auburn after putting together one of the best seasons for an American Conference team last year. And Auburn's done a really nice job, I think, of replacing some of the production that they lost through the transfer portal and guys like Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton Jr.

So, I mean, the production's kind of been replaced. Will it be able to hold up in the SEC? Time will tell. But, I mean, you've got a really solid group of guys that are reuniting and kind of carrying over what they did last season with the same quarterback as Byron Brown as well. Absolutely. Cole Pinkston had an interesting article, Whispers, sources inside the program, for example, who's the most complete offensive lineman on the team? And, again, everybody's guessing that right now. But he thought it might be, according to sources, Derek Plaz, P-L-A-Z-Z.

Would you agree with that? Yeah, I mean, Cole's got some great intel. Well, that was a fantastic piece that Cole did with some really good insight about, you know, kind of what's happening over this offseason as Auburn approaches year one under Alex Golesh. And, I mean, Derek Plaz, he's coming over to Auburn from a team with Miami that just, you know, played for a national title. Couldn't quite get it done. But, I mean, he's got that mentality about him. You know, he didn't get a chance necessarily to start for Miami, but he's got a chance now to be a starter in the SEC for Auburn, a storied program that's really trying to get back to, you know, being a prominent and prevalent program in college football.

So, I mean, just having that opportunity to go out, I think you'll see it in the fall as to, you know, who is truly the best offensive lineman that Auburn's got. But, I mean, if that's what the people inside are saying, then, you know, you've got to go and trust those guys. Absolutely. Listen, I always enjoy it a little bit tight today because we've got a Wimbledon update coming on. But great, great articles about paths to the plains with the wide receivers. Caleb, where can we get on line and get all the good stuff?

Yeah, absolutely. We're going to keep that path to the plains here rolling over at AuburnSports.com, getting ready to dive into the defensive side. Of course, a couple of offensive guys in that two deep coming up as well. But you can find all of my stuff, all of Cole Pinkston, everybody that's over there at the AuburnSports.com site. We have got a ton of content coming up here, especially with football season, you know, a couple of months away, man. I mean, it's going to be fall camp here in no time, so it's a really exciting time, and you're not going to want to miss any of it.

[26:21] So head over to AuburnSports.com, guys, and check us out. That's the special tennis update. Quarterfinals underway. Two men's matches, two for the women. Last match of the day going on now on center court. It's Novak Djokovic against the Canadian Felix Oje, Ali Asim, FAA. He's had a great year. Seated third. They are on serve in the first set. 5-4 Djokovic. Winner plays the top seed in defending championics center in Friday semifinals. Another straight set win for center today. Coco Gauff has reached the women semifinals for the first time.

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Real guests paid for their testimonials. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. It is an absolute pleasure for us to say hello to Bruce Marshall. He is the guru when he comes to Las Vegas. Visually there with the Las Vegas Insider, part of the Gold Sheet Wager Talk family, Baums Sports.net, CBS Sportsline, Winners and Whiners, Picks and Parlays, Bet Rivers, Vegas Insider. And I bet you if we ask Bruce, there's even more to that train. Bruce, welcome in. How are you?

Hey, pretty good. How are you doing, guys? Bruce, we need to ask you a question. Was last night's World Cup game brought to you by Kleenex if you are a U.S. soccer team fan? The reason I say that, Bruce, last night my wife got a text from her friend. They were glued to the tube. I go this morning to the dentist, the hygienist. She said she was glued to the tube. You get a drift here, Bruce. Did any men watch or was it all women watching that game last night?

I don't know, but the All-American fans felt pretty bad after that. That was embarrassing. And it was sort of my worst fears, which I had voiced before the World Cup, but I had sort of softened my stance on Pochettino in the early rounds of the tournament. But that turned out to be fool's gold because they were playing teams that just, they were subpar and they couldn't, they were poor offensively, and it allowed that style that Pochettino played to work. High press, creating overloads, turnovers, things like that.

But the defense was always suspect, and we saw that in the run-up to the World Cup, even if it wasn't quite a full squad there in some of the games. There was that Belgium game back in March in Atlanta that really started to concern me because Belgium was just walking through them. So was Portugal when they played them a week later down in Atlanta. And we saw that last night. They just were not up to it at all. And I think some of the events surrounding the game worked, inspired against the U.S. big time.

That was a very motivated Belgium. I mean, supremely motivated Belgium last night. And they punished the U.S. That looked worse than 4-1, actually. So sobering. I don't think Pochettino stays as coach. This is for the World Cup. I know they had talked about extending him to 2030, but that's four years now before the next World Cup, and I don't think he wants to stay. I don't think he should because I thought he was sort of a vanity hire in the first place. And that proved out to be right, even though the first couple of games looked differently.

But in the end, that's what it was. I agree with you. I watched last night, and it was like sometimes you see teams when they're playing at home, they play uptight, and it's just like they, right off the bat, Belgium came out, and what you do, if the odds are against you like that, you do what they did. You take the crowd out early on, and they did. Your thoughts just about the defense, what happened there? And to me, the team may have lost, but the Fox sales department, man, did they ever win and win big.

[36:45] I can't wait to see the numbers as far as the rating for that game. Yeah, really big. And it's been the building. I hate to think the World Cup just built for that because that England-Mexico game the night before was one of the best I ever saw. Yeah. So we'll see where it goes from there. One other issue here for the Americans, I mean, they had two MLS goalies on the team, and we saw Turner, the 40-year-old. I mean, we saw they ran him out there against Turkey, and we saw what happened that game.

But Matt Fries, no, he's not a top-class goalie. And we saw that last night. That was an egregious mistake that he made. Yeah. And that was always a weakness that just the first two games, the first few games, and even the Bosnia game. Bosnia was not a dangerous team to play. Those shortcomings in goal were not exposed, and they finally were against the first good team that the U.S. really played. So that's another issue there. You know, goalkeeping has generally been pretty good for the U.S., and this time, you know, it wasn't.

And, you know, by the way, right now, I mean, Argentina is losing to Egypt now, so this is the World Cup is really opening up. That's what I was going to ask you. By the way, number one, you reviewed what you told us last week, and it came to fruition. You were exactly right about the defense and suspect about the coach and some of the players. Now that we're about to what I call the Elite Eight in the World Cup, who's going to play in the championship game?

Yeah, we're at the business end now. We're probably going to, well, we should see a France-Spain semifinal next week. France is going to be everybody's favorite, but I would remind people that Spain has beaten them the last few times they played in the Euros two years ago and then in the Nations League last year. I kind of think Spain will get there. I think they'll get by Belgium, and I think Spain will probably be there. The other side, you know, England, I mean, I think they needed a week off after that game in Mexico City, so they won't play until Saturday.

Norway's been such a great story. You know, England's probably the favorite in that end now because Argentina's in trouble, and I think England will beat Argentina anyway. The second game today, Switzerland-Colombia, it looks like the winner of that one's going to get Egypt. And I've been really impressed by, well, Colombia's look really good, Switzerland with this youngster, Johan Manzambi, who I hope plays today. They said he took a little knock in training the other day, but he's given them a completely different dimension. Switzerland is the ultimate dark horse here.

I think they could actually make the final if they can get by Colombia today. We will see. Bruce Marshall, amongst other places, Vegas Insider. To the other football, by the way, called American football, we know that the end is near for the drought because media days are rocking and rolling. The Big 12 on Tuesday and Wednesday. That would be this Tuesday, this Wednesday. Your thoughts. As far as the Big 12, isn't it interesting to see where they are relative in 2026 to the two big boys, the SEC and the Big Ten?

Yeah, we're getting up to that, and I guess I'll be down in Tampa. I'm going to be in Charlotte, too, next week. Let's see. You're busy. At the end of next week, and then I'll go down to Florida from there. Big 12 is interesting, Eric, because so much of the talk has been around this Texas Tech stuff in the offseason. So, you know, we'll see where that goes, and that remains too big of a storyline, I think, in the Big 12. But that is where it is there.

I'm interested to see. I think of all of the coaching changes we saw last in the offseason, Oklahoma State with his brother and Eric Morris from North Texas. We might have talked about this a couple months ago. You know, this is like an expansion team now. I mean, we've seen a lot of that. We saw Deion do that with Colorado and bring in 60, 65 guys. It's like 90 new players he's got. It's the whole new team. And he's brought a lot of them from North Texas, including his quarterback, Drew Messamaker.

So we've got to, like, throw out everything. This is a difficult thing about handicapping this stuff. Teams like Oklahoma State, what happened last year and that way that fell apart with Gundy and then the interim after that, we're going to have to just throw away. So I'm really curious to see if this stuff with Morris works there. That's going to be very interesting. You know, BYU is a side that looks like it should be there again. Of course, the Texas Tech thing. And I don't think they'll miss Soarsby at all.

I think Hammond is good enough. We saw enough of him last year in relief before he got hurt. So I don't think they're going to get hurt at the quarterback there. The one I would watch is Houston, just because of Willie Fritz. They made a big jump their second year with him. This is sort of what he did at Tulane. It took a little bit, but they started to win and win big. I have enormous respect for Fritz. Connor Wigman is now in his 12th year's college eligibility.

[42:09] He's still their quarterback for them. They've got more returnees than most teams have. And I think that's still got to be probably a plus. And Houston did make a big jump last year. Watch Willie Fritz this year. And they actually get Texas Tech in the third game of the season. That's going to be one of the big September games in the Big 12. Arizona is also maybe worth a look as well. But I'm keeping an eye on Willie Fritz. We've seen him do it before. I agree with you.

I've always been a Willie Fritz fan. I thought he did a really good job of doing the groundwork. And then, of course, that Florida coach, Jon Sumrall, followed him and did a really good job. You mentioned Deion Sanders. We were watching him on the monitor. He was just at the podium answering. Most of the questions were about his health. He had his gold-plated buttons on his shirt. He was drafted to the tee. Brett Yormack continues to impress me. They announced this morning. Now, Monster, the energy drink, is sponsoring the Big 12 media days in Frisco.

But they announced this morning a $20 million deal annually with Monster to 14 patches, logos on the field. Now, every team is going to get $1 million out of this. But people keep asking him, and that's one of the big questions this week. How are you going to make up the GALP in revenue? Well, I thought that was good to get Monster involved, and when Monster gets involved, they're bringing money. I agree, Brett. And this guy is my favorite commissioner. We might have mentioned this before. He thinks outside the box.

He does. He's from outside of academia, which I think is very important, which Greg Sankey is not. So I don't think he's done all that bad a job. But I really like what Yormack has done there. So give him credit for thinking outside the box with this stuff. I think that's really creative, what he's doing. And the Big 12's trying. I mean, I like how he stood up to Cody Campbell from Texas Tech. So that's good for him. Bruce, you know where we are. Alabama fans right now are right on the brink of Panic City because they were used to this guy named Nick Saban's recruiting style, where a four-star was cause for panic, and now a four-star is cause for a celebration.

It looks like Alabama's going to be, as far as the roster, it looks great this season. The question is, what happens after this in terms of all these three stars who will then become into germination, as far as what you do as far as a portal at that point? But what message can you tell Alabama football fans, given what's going on now with the recruiting? Patience, patience, because DeBoer has shown he can develop players and develop quarterbacks. And he's got another one in the NFL this year.

You know, Simpson arrived there during Coach Saban's era. But, you know, Milrose, Milrose in the NFL, too. He's up in Seattle, I think. And Simpson. And now we'll see if it's Keelan Russell or whoever it is taking snaps this year, if they can do it. His track record, though, at developing talent, this goes back to his freshman teams, which were better than I thought. And then, of course, the first Washington team, we've got to remember, he took over a moribund Washington program that had just completely cratered, immediately got them up to speed.

So patience with him. And I think he'll have, I have full faith that he will have Alabama contending. Now, if the bar is Coach Saban-like high, I don't know that any coach right now is going to be able to reach that. And in this SEC, which is so tough these days, that's going to be tough. But I would, you know, patience there. Actually, I like this schedule off the bat because East Carolina is a good test of the opener. Alabama, my favorite, probably should win that game.

But it's not one of these games versus an FCS team. East Carolina is not bad. I won the bowl game last year. I like the coach. So that'll be good. And then you go to Kentucky with the new coach, Will Stein. And then that Florida State game, I think there's, I think there's 3-0 when the SEC starts. And you start off South Carolina in Tuscaloosa and then go to Starkville. They could be 5-0 by the time Georgia comes into, comes into Brian Denny in early October.

And then we're talking, we've got a completely different conversation at that point. Patience is my word for Bama fans. Yeah, and I keep saying, if they have an emotional win on Saturday night against Georgia, the next week's Knoxville. So we'll see about that. Let me ask you about the Pac-12. They went from the Pac-12 to the Pac-2. Now they're back up to the Pac-9 or 10. Boise State joined the party. Oregon State, Washington State, the holdovers. Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, et cetera. I've always enjoyed Pac-12 after dark.

[47:21] And I know they're going to continue that. A lot of people are overlooking. This league literally is the rebirth of the Pac-12. Your comments the first year of the rebirth. Well, it is, except it looks to me more like the birth of the Mountain West 2. Yeah. I mean, it's basically the Mountain West with a couple different twists. Right. And that's one of the complaints a lot of people have on this region out here, was that Oregon State and Washington State could have opted to stay in the Mountain West where they played for a year.

And then they played the basketball at the West Coast Conference the last two years. And then it turned into a very ugly fight with the Mountain West because they weren't supposed to poach any of their schools. Yet they did to form this new Pac-12. And exit fees and penalties. This has been in court. Arbitration couldn't get anywhere. Back to court. They're trying to negotiate something. I think the Pac-12 may have thought all along we can go with the legal route and at least minimize some of those damages.

I think it was an underhanded move by the Pac-12 really to do that because Mountain West saved them for at least that first year. And then they went out and poached from the WCC, Gonzaga, too. So this new big Pac-12 has changed. The dominoes fell. It weakened the Mountain West. It weakened the WCC because you've lost your flagship, Gonzaga. They've poached out of the Sunbelt, Texas State, which is an area there where they thought, you know, kind of a burgeoning area outside of Austin and San Marcos between San Antonio and Austin.

And for what? The TV deals, from what I understand, are no better than they would have gotten in the Mountain West. Being that as it may, for us just watching the games, I think it's okay because, like you said, we'll get more. Pac-12 at night is back. They did take, you know, some of the premier teams from the Mountain West, like Boise and San Diego State, are probably the top two teams in the league this year. Oregon State's got, has changed coaches, and so has Washington State.

I mean, it was a tough couple of years for them. Washington State's on its third coach in as many years. And then Oregon State really fell apart, and they brought in Jamarcus Shepard from the Bama staff, I think. So, it remains to be seen, although entertainment-wise, I think we'll probably be okay. Like you said, we love watching those late-night games. We'll get more of those this year. Absolutely. Yeah, that Alabama assistant, I think, is going to do a good job there. By the way, Joey McGuire steps up to the podium here in about 30 minutes.

I wonder what kind of questions he's going to get from the media after a very entertaining summer. Listen, great stuff. Nobody does a better job of covering soccer in the whole nine yards. Baseball, Major League Baseball still going on. Brace trying to hang on. Where can we get online to get all the great stuff? I'm surprised Cody Campbell's not up there sharing the stuff with Joey McGuire. Anyway, yeah, thanks, Brad. Check me out online. WagerTalk.com. Under that umbrella is everything there. WagerTalk.com. That's where all the picks are at right now.

Goldsheet.com is there, but we won't start populating that site until we get towards football season. Kicks, and we're doing well in baseball, doing really good in the World Cup. WagerTalk.com. You can also find picks and parlays and winnersandwiners.com there as well. Bruce, as always, knocked it out of the park. Thank you so much. Your time. Stay safe out there, okay? Okay, gentlemen. Thank you. Thank you, bud. Bruce Marshall, a busy boy out in Las Vegas. Quickly, we alluded to it. After a cup of coffee making his MLB debut with the Braves, Owen Murphy says, I'm sorry, the 22-year-old headed back across town to AAA with Connor Thomas.

So he came up and gave up two runs, and the Braves says you need to go back, and that just drives one bill change crazy. I was going to say, he calls it yo-yoing, and that's exactly what the Braves have been doing with some of these pitchers, again, the last couple of years. Absolutely. Coming up with the next time, I'm going to be taking you all over the place. Elmer Pierce is going to be on board. Ryan Abraham from the left coast. Brett Mass got it lexing high, and a man who has a very important message for all of us men, Alabama, Auburn, or anybody's fan, Dr. Thomas Moody.

Details straight ahead. Stay with us. This July 15th through 18th, experience four incredible nights of free live music at Mobile Plaza in the heart of downtown Florence. From Grammy Award winner Cedric Burnside to Sunny War, The Funk Brotherhood, Parlor Greens, Lamont Landers, Bold Bloom, and more, it's four nights packed with unforgettable performances in the heart of the Shoals. Plan your weekend now at HandyOnThePlaza.com. That's Handy on the Plaza, July 15th through 18th at Mobile Plaza in downtown Florence. Pre-admission, great music, four unforgettable nights. Back to school starts now.

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Western One Sports presents this World Soccer Update. What a game. Winding down right now in Atlanta. It's Argentina defending World Cup champions and Egypt, who before this World Cup had never won a game. They scored 15 minutes in, ahead of from Yasser Ibrahim, 1-0 at the half. 58th minute apparent 2-0 lead for Egypt. Took the ball the length of the field, put it in the net, but VAR took the ball with the goal off the board because of a foul well before the goal was scored. But nine minutes later, Egypt scored anyway.

This one counted. The same guy, Zico, some tremendous passing by Egypt. But Argentina has come back with an incredible comeback, having not scored for 79 minutes. Three goals in 13 minutes. Christian Romero, a header, 79th minute. Four minutes later, the tying goal scored by, you guessed it, Lionel Messi, who had been stopped on a penalty kick in the first half. And moments ago, another header, Enzo Fernandez. Argentina's up 3-2. That's their show at Westwood One Sports. Oh, oh, oh, O'Reilly. Celebrate America's 250th anniversary with our limited edition O'Reilly brake parts cleaner while supplies last at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

[57:34] Right now, get two cans for $8. Our professional parts people can recommend all the parts and supplies you need for your brake job. Stop by O'Reilly Auto Parts or shop online at OReillyAuto.com. When you first saw her, she was out walking her dog. You didn't notice her at first. But when you finally did, it was too late. Because at that moment, you were speeding. She was out walking her dog and only had a second to let go of the leash. Your foot was on the gas, and her life was on the line.

Speeding catches up with you. Paid for by NHTSA. O'Reilly Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores, Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. Boomo Bugg on 93.9, The Score. What do you say we're going down to the Sunshine State to say hello to John Florey. He's busy there on 1021 FM, 1240 AM, WFOY in St. Augustine. Thanks so much for your time today. How are you? I'm doing great, Harold. And I'll tell you, the only thing hotter than the Sunshine State right now and the temperature are all the women that chase the beard brothers at SEC media days.

That's about it. What do you think the draw is there? I mean, John, where do you start breaking down? I mean, every guy right now, me and Sven, I mean, they break the bank. They go to the DNA bank. They do all this surgery. What is it about the Satchel Boys? I don't know, but it's like Thanksgiving dinner. I just had to try to hope to get a leftover, Harold. They get the cake, we get the crumbs, right? The Boomo Bugg Show, weekdays noon to 2 on 93.9, The Score.

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It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score. Welcome back in our tour to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And, B.B., by the way, good job again, James. Is he good or what? He is. To follow up on that, we didn't get around to you answering the question.

A lot of guys right now, they love football, but they'd love to have a chance at other games, too, B.B. What advice can the dynamic duo of B&B give to all of us mortals out there? Well, Brent and I talked about that at one time, Harold. In fact, what we thought about doing is writing a book about what not to do in relationships with women. How about that big book be? Now, that would be, well, first of all, it would probably be encyclopedia-like. Right, right.

And it would take a while to publish. But, yeah, we could probably come up with a few things and tell men, this is not what you do in a relationship. Did you see that cartoon the other day? They had a contrast, you know, like a two-sided, like a line down the middle of it. And they had a book for men and a book for women. It's called Understanding Each. Like you said, the book for women, it's like they had like a ten encyclopedia over and over and over.

A real thick book, you know. The man's book was about the size of C-Spot Run. It was like one or two pages. So, ladies, if you're listening right now, let's make it simple. Could there be anything simpler than a man, B.B.? It's not that complicated, is it? Well, you know, Harold, I could say there are three or four things that are mandatory in a relationship with a man. But being family radio probably would be bad for me to stay away from that. And some men can't wait to get on that list.

Yes, they can experience that. Obviously, it's hard to believe we're having to hook up with Coach Brett Mascot at the Lexington High. This is what's fun about this station and this format as opposed to ESPN. I want to see the next time that ESPN features these high school coaches and players, B.B., from the Shoals area. And the reason we love doing it is, in our minds, and we're not geniuses here, we think that these guys put in as much effort. I was talking to the wife, speaking of that last night, about the U.S. soccer team.

[1:02:48] Everybody's talking about the pressure. And I told her, I said, look, if you go down to a little league park right now in the Shoals or anywhere in North Alabama, I promise you the pressure on those kids would be about the same as the pressure on those soccer players there. Now, they've got a bigger stage, but those kids are bloody serious about winning. And that's why we love bringing on coaches here in our neck of the woods to give you a perspective, because they are about to ramp it up and go into another year.

We're going to have France High head coach Kenny Morrison on with us tomorrow. But, to me, this is a great opportunity during this window before they, as they say, put their nose to the grindstone to talk about the respective communities and high schools here in the greater Shoals area. Well, we've been doing this during the summer. You and I are coming on December now. We've been doing this 24 years. And we always enjoy talking with them. In fact, we try to talk with them twice during the summer, usually in June or July.

And then, August, when they've got the team together and they've got a little bit better handle on their roster. But, Harold, these guys work, once you get in the season, 100 hours a week. Also, their coaching class, they're teaching two or three classes. And everything else going on. And they're not exactly making as much as what Nick Saban was making in Tuscaloosa. That's one of the reasons why I have so much respect for the high school coaches and all the sports. And certainly, the assistant coaches. The amount of time they put into this is absolutely incredible.

And the injury here or there can derail the season. But, yeah, hopefully we can get Brett on today or sometime soon. He's done a very good job. A lot of our listeners remember five years at Colbert County High School from 2017 to 21. Had a 21-10 region record, 33-3 overall. Three years as an assistant at Florence. And this come on at Langston was 8-4 last year. And I'll tell you one thing. If you like to see offensive display, his Langston team last year scored 467 points. 39 points a game.

Now, they ran into rush probes in the second round of the playoffs. And Kusa Christian won that game. But, of course, everybody remembers his dad, Steve Mask. He's now retired. His dad, 29 seasons coaching at Bradshaw, Buckhorn, Colbert County, St. Paul's, and Theodore. 231 wins, 120 losses in 29 seasons. But, believe me, the Mask family can coach. Another thing I like about high school coaches, too. And now, obviously, things are different now because they've got a different surface to play on. But back in the day, in addition to what you just said, I remember going out and doing it.

I don't know if you remember George Bennett. He was basically starting Madison Academy football. He did. I mean, he basically planted a seed. Now, they went through some rough times over there. But he planted a seed because back in the day, Madison Academy was everybody's homecoming appointed. They happened to be in the same area as Cortland. And let's just make it nice here. It wasn't pretty what Cortland did to Madison Academy back in the day at their heyday. But the reason I bring up George, I'd go out about this time of the year.

And I went out with every intention of talking chalk, you know, the Jimmys and Joes. And I go out there on the field. And this is back when I had just the natural turf. And he said, just a minute, I'm mowing the grass. Yeah. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think DeBoer, Gullish, Saban, any of those guys are out mowing the grass like these high school guys, BB. Well, Harold, the lawn maintenance, their plumber, they go out and raise money. Listen, I've known George Bennett for 30 years.

He was my economics teacher at Hazel Green when I was president of Junior Achievement Low many years ago. I remember talking to George that the first year he was at Madison Academy trying to bring that program alone. He said, listen, the first two days of practice, I had to show about 10 of my players and put the uniform on. It's ironic that we bring that up because our next guest, BB, and we can't say it enough, but Madison Academy is an incredible story. The reason we bring it up, we just talked about George, and our next guest is going to have roots to the old Madison Academy.

There are Max Luther in Huntsville. Now, you're talking about a school that's had success, BB. They have built a nice palatial estate because they did things that did things right because of people like George. That increased their enrollment, so now they've got a nice facility in Madison, Madison Academy. They used to be in Huntsville. We'll give more details on why we're bringing Dr. Thomas Moody to that location here in a second. But the other thing, too, is when you start looking at high school football, one of the things that I find still sad about our area is, and I think I speak for a lot of folks, we still miss the heyday of folks here in Town Creek with Hazelwood and right down the road with Cortland.

[1:08:01] And then you throw in Carbett County. Can you imagine a stretch of road? I don't have a map in front of me. It's a handful of miles between Leighton, Town Creek, and Cortland. And when these guys were in their heyday, were there three schools that close together? First of all, everybody's related. They had their brother, sister, cousin, whatever. Can you imagine an area that's more concentrated with that high level of talent? Well, I remember, and I may miss the name here, Willie Goodloe played at Carbett County.

And he was one of the first ones that during that stretch there. Now, obviously, Hazelwood had a lot of kids go down to Alabama. I think Bill Curry had a camping spot over there for the good boys. But Willie went to Ole Miss. And you look at a school that size, and you look at where they went to school. To me, I still miss. Now, I know, obviously, Carbett County is still rocking. But it's sad for a lot of longtime high school fans to not see a Hazelwood or a Cortland doing what they could do back in the day.

Well, it was absolutely incredible. Harold Janky Ferguson at Hazelwood. And again, I know you joke about this. They won so many state championships. They didn't have enough room on the scoreboard to list all of them. And then you had the White family, you know, LeBron and his brother who retired from Bob Jones, and then his dad. But, no, there were some absolutely incredible. And I'll tell you one thing. When those teams got together for the rivalry in the fall, believe me, there were fans from about four counties there to watch it.

And you know what else? Coaches from the ACC from every team watching as well. You had to get there on Thursday to get a parking spot for Friday when those teams were at their heyday. Coming up, guys, we try to have a lot of fun here on the show. But there is a serious side, and hopefully you'll take a little time and kind of set aside a few minutes. Because, as we mentioned, our next guest is coming to the old location of Madison Academy there in Huntsville on Max Luther tomorrow.

And there's nothing that will make him any happier and perhaps your own family any happier if it's in your plans to be able to be there, too. Why? Detail straight ahead with Dr. Thomas Moody. Stay with us during the Boomo Bugg Show. Hello, my name is Adam Birchall, and I'm an attorney with a law firm of Johnson, Passeur, Medley, and Birchall. Why use an out-of-town lawyer when you can call our law firm, which has over 100 years of combined experience in all areas of the law? Check us out first by calling our office at 256-766-3131.

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And lemons grow on trees, and trees provide oxygen. And oxygen helps us breathe, and breathing is how you live. And you can live more life when you save money by customizing your car insurance. I agree, Lemu. It's really quite simple. Only pay for what you need at LibertyMutual.com. Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in, BB. Just a quick update. We mentioned Willie Goodloe, and I failed to mention we lost Willie a while back in a car accident.

But one of the brightest guys. I think he was the president of his class. I think inducted into the Carbett County Hall of Fame. So I just want to make sure that we pay a nice tribute to now the late Willie Goodloe. Absolutely. He was quite an individual and quite a person as our next guest is. By the way, Harold, we have been talking with Dr. Moody and his staff now, I believe, for 15 years. Wow. We started when he was, what, 16 years old or something like that?

Exactly right. Yeah. We're almost to 30, which means what Dr. Thomas Moody says works because we follow his advice. Dr. Thomas Moody, Urology Health Foundation. Dr. Thomas Moody, long time. Welcome back in. How are you? Well, thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm doing great. I'm doing great. And we really appreciate all the help you all have given us over the last 15 years. And we plan to make this trip to Huntsville next week an even better one. Dr. Thomas Moody, let's talk a little bit about what you, as far as the overview, kind of a view from 10,000 feet.

And here's what's ironic about it. Brett and I were just talking about some of the guys that we've covered over the years. And one of the names helped start at the football program at Madison Academy, which is now at a brand new location. But where you're going for your big event is coming up was the old location of Madison Academy. It started there. They had so much success. They moved to a new location. It's on Max Luther. I want to say that. I can't say it enough because a lot of guys don't know where that is.

That's in Huntsville. We cover all of North Alabama. It's very easy in. Just go to North Parkway. You get the Max Luther exit. Take a right, and you'll go down. You'll see all the traffic down there. Before we get into some of the specifics about that, Dr. Moody, talk to us about the importance because can you overemphasize it enough or underemphasize it enough to make sure that people understand how serious this can be? Yes. Well, prostate cancer is what we're coming to try to detect, and it's the second most common cancer of American men after skin cancers, and it's the second leading cause of death after lung cancer.

[1:18:26] So there's a lot of guys that die from prostate cancer, and I think it's estimated that about 500 men this year in Alabama will die from prostate cancer. And our job coming up there is to screen people, screen men, for prostate cancer. And the thing that I want to emphasize here is that early prostate cancer has no symptoms. So we often hear guys say, well, I feel fine. There's nothing wrong with me. Well, if you wait until you feel like something's wrong with you, then it's too late.

Prostate cancer caught early is almost always curable. So we like to catch it early. And since you have no symptoms, the only way to do that is to be screened. The other thing that I'd like to mention is that African American or black men get prostate cancer at an earlier age than their white counterparts, often starting in their 40s. And the degree to which they get the cancer is usually worse. So we particularly want to reach out to all the African American men in the area to come in to get checked.

And we plan to be there. We're going to be at the public health department between 10 and 4 next week. And Dr. Moody, it doesn't take very long. Now, quite frankly, I hope they have to wait in line because you've got so many people going through the screening. But I've done this every year. You've got a very short physical exam that may last five minutes, and then you do a blood test. There's no appointment needed. Again, as you mentioned, 10 to 4 a week from today at the old Madison Academy.

And I remember years ago, this was, quote, an old man's disease. You didn't need to get checked until you're 60. Now it's 40. And you're exactly right. If you catch it early, it's very curable. Absolutely. Absolutely. And so we encourage all men to get checked. And we did a study a couple years ago that showed that even white men at low risk can get prostate cancer in their 40s. So we just encourage all men to come out and get checked. And actually, the physical exam part of it lasts probably about 20 seconds.

So it's really quick. And we get the PSA blood test. And we will then notify everybody that comes of their results. And if we find somebody with an abnormal result, we make a good faith effort to call them. But we will send the result letters out to everybody that comes. And those that have abnormal values, it will be on the letter. And, again, we will also make a good faith attempt to call those people that have abnormal results. Because this is a serious disease. But the good news is that the death rate from prostate cancer has decreased.

In the state of Alabama, we've talked to the statistician at the state health department. And it's definitely decreased. And the disparity between white and black men being diagnosed early has also decreased. So all that's good news. But we still have a lot of work to be done. We can't stop working. Because if we do, then everything will go back to the way it was. And we don't want that. One is too many. I think you would agree, Dr. Thomas Moody, Urology Health Foundation. You know the question a lot of folks are asking right now.

That's all great. What is it going to cost me? And you know the cynic is going to say, you said what? There's got to be a catch to it. I won't steal your thunder, Dr. Moody. But everybody is going to ask that question. They may have good intentions. But they may be at a point in their life where the finances may be involved. But really and truly, I'm safe to say that that is not an issue here. That is not an issue at all. It's all free.

[1:23:38] The only thing we ask people to bring with them is their name and a legitimate way to get in touch with them. We'd like to have an accurate address and phone number. And that's all they need to bring. This is totally free. And, again, if we find somebody with a problem and they don't have the funds, we will help make arrangements for them to get treated for free. So we don't want any financial barriers in any way that would prevent men from coming in to get checked.

So I just can't emphasize that enough. Dr. Moody, one of your assistants in coordinating this is a young lady by the name of Sherry Wilson. I've got to know her pretty well. And she told me last year, I believe they screened 185 people in Huntsville. That's right. Let's try to get that over 200 this time. We would love to. Everybody's been so supportive, and it's been wonderful to see actually the community come out and support us. So we certainly would like to hit that 200 mark. Absolutely. Listen, tell us again the who, when, and where is about a week from today.

Yeah, it's a week from today at the, I guess it's the Madison County Health Department. Yes, it is. That's right, on Max Luther Drive. And if you just show up, all you need is just to come, and we'll take it from there. And we really are open to break that 200 mark this year, and we'll be there, and please come out and see us. A super, super effort. Thanks so much for your time. Safe travels up and back, and thank you so much for your time today, Dr. Moody.

Thank you so much for having me. Our pleasure. Thomas Moody, again, just go up North Parkway, go past Costco, and be looking to Max Luther on the right. Take it, go about a half mile down, and it will be on your right at the week from tomorrow. But first, what's going on at Wilman? The latest right here on 93.9, The Score. Western One Sports presents this special tennis update, sponsored by Kohl's. Show off your team pride with tees, hats, tumblers, and more at Kohl's and Kohl's.com.

Novak Djokovic, as usual, facing an opponent considerably younger, Felix Auger, Ali Asim, is 25. He was 8 when Novak won his first Grand Slam. They're playing a quarter-final match at Wimbledon. Djokovic won the first set in a tiebreaker, which is first to seven. He got a win by two, and it took until 12-10 before Djokovic won the set. They're on serve in the second, 4-3. There's been no service breaks in the match. Yannick Sinner today, a fourth straight three-set victory. Alex Zverev won in four sets. That was to finish his fourth-round match.

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Welcome back in. It may never rain in Southern California, but Ryan Abraham is always raining down the content when it comes to USC football. That's because Ryan is the owner and publisher of, you got it, uscfootball.com. Ryan, long time. Welcome in. Welcome back. How have you been? I've been doing all right. Thanks for having me on again. It's always good when you guys call. You know, college football is coming up. It's been a long off season, so ready for some real American football again. Ryan, correct me if I'm wrong.

The last time we talked, USC used to be in another conference. How's life changed since things have changed as far as the conference on the stationary? Wow, has it been that long, guys? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. We've been trying forever, and you've been at Whataburger. You can't get through the drive-through. It's crazy. It's, you know, the last two years I've been going to every away game, and it's certainly changed, like, the routine. You can see it with the players and coaches. You know, you're used to going to, there's some weird trips in the Pac-12 with, like, Pullman, Washington, or Tucson, Arizona.

But, you know, now you're going to, you know, to fly to Maryland or Michigan. It's crazy. There's a lot of M1s. Yeah, it's just been, it's been kind of nuts. And even just me traveling and covering the games, you get a little tired. So I can imagine what it does to the players and stuff. But I think they settled in last year, got a little bit better, winning some of those road games that they struggled with in the first year. You know, to get, like, a win against Michigan and Iowa, like, during your regular season, it's kind of weird.

[1:33:43] But it's a little different. But I think they're making the adjustment. And this is the year they're going to try to break through and, you know, try to rattle some of the cages of those top programs in the Big Ten that have been winning a lot of championships the last few years. What's it done for the fan base? Obviously, you've got the best pulse in the world. You've got the premier website when it comes to the Trojans football. But let's face it, there's a generation of guys and gals out there that remember USC being rock and rolling.

And then, like a lot of teams, they went through a lull. And now it looks like they're kindling the fire again. What does this change to the Big Ten do as far as rekindling some of those fires with USC fans? I think it steps things up, you know, where, like, you can be good. But, man, like, you still have to play the defending national champion in Ohio State and Oregon. And even if you're pretty good, like, if you're pretty good in the Pac-12, you're probably doing okay.

And you have to beat those expectations because there's so many good teams, at least at the top, in the Big Ten. And I think the fan base is sort of mixed right now. There's just a lot of fans that aren't enamored with Lincoln Riley. He's going into his fifth season and just leads to too many underachieving efforts there. So I think they like the fact that he's talked about the championship window being open. And they just want a season with no excuses. Like, just go out there and, you know, win some of these games.

You've got some big games on the schedule. You don't have Notre Dame there anymore. So the fans are kind of like, show me. You know, they want Lincoln Riley to show them that they could take that step and make the college football playoff for the first time. Everybody knows about USC and Lincoln Riley's offense. In fact, last year, finished eighth nationally, 465 yards. Mavia is a very good quarterback. You've got two very talented running backs in King Miller and Jordan. But let me ask you about the defense, which has been the knock on him and then winning big games.

Gary Patterson. Yes, that Gary Patterson from TCU is the defensive coordinator. I've heard a lot of good things about this defensive front. Shelby, Crawford, Jakeem Stewart, the Penn State transfer, Fisher. Your thoughts, is this defense improved with Gary Patterson? Yeah, I mean, that's going to be, for USC to make that step this year and go from like a nine-win team to like getting into the playoffs, the defense is going to need to improve. I think they did a pretty good job when Ditt and Lynn took over.

It got better, but it wasn't like top 25 good, you know. At least it was like top half of FBS good that was way better than what they had with Alex Grinch. But they just didn't get over the top and make that step. And that's what they're really hoping for with Gary Patterson in there. I think when he first came in, guys, like I talked to people around USC and there was some optimism, but there was also, I mean, a lot of people that I trust were like, this is like a 50-50 thing.

Like this might work. He's a Hall of Fame coach or it might crash and burn. But after the first few months, after hearing from him, after seeing him interact with everybody during spring football, I think there's a lot more optimism. This can work. He seems to get along with Lincoln Riley. You know, whenever we talk about coaches like that, their egos are always involved. And that's where things could crash and burn. But so far, it seems like it's worked okay. And I think they have enough talent, you know, along the defensive front, like you mentioned.

I think they like Alex Van Zumeren, the transfer from Michigan State, too, a bigger guy in the middle. They really need to get better play out of a linebacker spot, you know, replacing like Eric Jenger from last year. They need like a Desmond Stevens who looks the part to really step up and play. But I think that there's optimism there with Gary Patterson running the show and the way he's been able to do things at TCU and the kind of top defenses he's had. If you compare that with the top 10, top 5 kind of offense that Lincoln Riley typically has every year, they feel like they can win some big games there.

But that's the big thing for me, guys, is the defense and how far Gary Patterson can take them. Ryan Abraham, owner of PublishingUSCFootball.com. Ryan, there's a school, I thought you mentioned coaches. I would imagine I've heard fans say that Lincoln Riley seems to be more concerned with his 5 o'clock beard well coiffed and his shirt's custom-made to display his pecs as opposed to getting the job done. Your thoughts, and how many people would have answered this question on the day of the press conference that people right now would love to have Kurt Cignetti over Lincoln Riley.

What has gone wrong with the Lincoln Riley experiment? Yeah, I mean, to be fair, I don't know. There's probably not a lot of programs that wouldn't trade out their coach for Kurt Cignetti right now. I mean, what he's done is absolutely ridiculous. I think he's changed our attitude about what, you know, oh, does it take, oh, if you can win, you can take a losing program of all time and win 11 games in year one and championship in year two. No one has any excuses about, oh, we need to do this and that.

[1:38:56] So I think that has just, I mean, I don't know what kind of pressure Cignetti puts on other programs, but it's probably unfair because he's like a unicorn. He's done some crazy things. But for Lincoln Riley, it's year five. And I think there were issues when he got to USC. And certainly, you know, with NIL getting things ready, they fixed so much around Riley that their NIL game is much better now. They're up there with all the top teams. They have a great general manager. They got over Chad Bowden from Notre Dame.

They brought in the number one recruiting class last year for high school players. So they've fixed a lot. They have a new Bloom Center, the new football-only facility opening, you know, just in a couple of weeks. I think everything that sort of USC needed to fix in the football program has been fixed. And now there's only one, you know, the only place you can look at is Lincoln Riley. So it's going to be up to him to take that next step. So I feel like this is like the put up or shut up kind of year.

And I think fans are like, look, you've got everything you wanted. You've asked for all these things. Now deliver. So they just got to go out and win some games. I think that's kind of where the fan base mentality is right now. There's a, you know, there's some fans that really like them and there's others that don't. But I think everyone's waiting for, okay, what are the results? The results are what's going to matter this year. No excuses for anything else. Right. And correct me if I'm wrong.

USC is a private school, right? I mean, so therefore you're not going to get the public numbers printed out there. But it is a private school at Vanderbilt, right? So, yes, it is. Let me ask you about your quarterback, Jane Mavia. Had a really good, on paper, 24 touchdowns, 3,700 yards. And I've heard some criticism as far as coming through in big games. And I know he's done some of that. What does he need to do, Ryan, this year to take it to the next level? So, this is going to be his third year in the program.

He started the last four games after Miller Moss got benched a couple years back. And I think the knock on him was there was a high ceiling but a lower floor. And I think he did a good job of raising that floor in 2025. And I think they have to do that even a little bit more, take care of the ball better. But he's capable of making some spectacular plays. I think for this year, probably needs to take off and run a little bit more than we saw last season.

I think he can be really effective using his legs. But I think the most important thing is just him growing as a leader on the team. He isn't a stand on the table and, you know, deliver some empowering speech at a critical moment kind of guy. It's more of a, you know, lead by example. And I think he's talking to the other players. It seems like he has stepped up and become a better leader. He's doing, I think, a better job when, you know, he has to do a lot of media interviews, which isn't really his favorite thing.

But I think all those things he's getting better at, because if they're going to make a run at the college football playoffs, like you need Maiava to have, you know, a great season, but also lead these guys, especially with, you know, you've got some young wide receivers coming in and you're not really sure who's going to be the star there. I think you're going to need your quarterback to kind of to lead the way. So I think really stepping up and being a leader and probably taking care of the ball a little bit better.

I think those are the main things for Maiava this season. You know, obviously I'm not telling you anything. You don't already know, Ryan, in L.A., you better make sure that you are good because it's so much competition for the sports dollar there. They have a few good teams, the Dodgers, the Lakers. By the way, is LeBron going to wind up at USC or UCLA? And your thoughts just as far as the chemistry, because at one time it's kind of like neck and neck. Is UCLA still playing football out there, Ryan?

You know, they really like Bob Chesney, who came over from James Madison. Trying to get maybe some of that Kurt Signetti magic. And just around the program, it's much more positive. I think when Chip Kelly was there and Deshaun Foster, there just wasn't a lot of momentum. And I think with Chesney there, he has so much energy. He's going out and recruiting, and that's just something like Kelly didn't do a very good job of. I think they're doing a good job raising some money. So you should see UCLA make a little bit of noise.

They had a great game last year with the Penn State. You know, that Penn State win was pretty fun. But I think I like Chesney a lot, so I think he's going to help. But, yeah, there are a lot of other things to do. You know, to watch Shoei Otani, like the greatest player we've ever seen, you know, pitch and hit home runs and stuff. Yeah, you know, Lakers and everything that's going on with them, with Luka Dodgers. So there's a lot, and two NFL teams.

But I think both USC and UCLA are trying to make a little noise this offseason and get people's attention this fall. Absolutely. Listen, I can't tell you how much we enjoy talking with you two or three times a year. Listen, have a great summer. It's going to be here next time we turn around. Nobody covers USC better than you and your staff. Ryan, where can we get online and get all the good stuff? Yeah, uscfootball.com, if you can believe. 30 years ago is when I started.

[1:44:14] Wow. Yeah, but check it out. That's where we get all the stuff. But I appreciate you guys having me on. It's always fun. I know. I know when I'm with you guys, college football season is going. We're going to get it going here, so I'm excited. Just check your Colorado day, Ryan. Stay safe out there and echo the sentiments there from BBE. Thank you so much for your time today. All right. Take care, guys. Thank you, bud. Ryan Abraham, owner, publisher, uscfootball.com. And I don't care what you're doing.

If you've done it for 30 years, you're doing something right. That can be said for Elmer Pierce as well. The details right ahead. Stay with us. Hello, I'm Eddie Buckley, president of Certified Alarm. No matter where travels take you, Certified Alarm will help you be worry-free. Our security systems have all the latest technological features. Certified Alarm has North Alabama's only UL-listed central station. Our halo alarm transmitters give the fastest and most secure monitoring available. Certified Alarm since 1960, keeping the show secure and in touch. Call 256-383-1225 or online at certified-alarm.com.

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Learn more or register at KramerChildrenCenter.com Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. It is a pleasure for us to open the door and say hello to Elmer Pierce. He's the owner of Garner Pierce Autos. Elmer, welcome in. Hope you and your family had a great and safe 4th of July. Absolutely, yeah. I still have all my appendages after shooting off several hundred dollars worth of V&D fireworks. So, I feel like I'm a lucky man today. You know when I lose two thumbs to the Tennessee River, I guarantee you.

Elmer, my neighbor is a teacher and I saw her the other day and she's depressed because schools, can you believe it, is going to be starting later on this month in some pockets out there, which is another way of saying there's still some time to hit the road, take that vacation down to the beach if you want to go. A lot of folks try to decide on maybe a new vehicle because the old one has just run its course or try to get in and get the one that got serviced.

And a little birdie tells me, Elmer, that regardless of which way you want to go, you can take care of either one of those issues. Absolutely correct, guys. Absolutely correct. We do tons of service for folks. I mean, like I said before, we have entire fleets of vehicles that we service, and that means everything from engine replacements to, you know, tire rotations. I mean, you know, you can't get it much simpler and much more difficult than those two things, and we do everything in between. So take care of a lot of different folks in service.

[1:49:24] UNA does a lot of service with us. City of Florence does some service with us. TVA does service with us. So we can take care of anything that you may need out there, service-related. And then on the flip side of that, exactly what you just said, I want to tell you about a 2021 Lexus we just got in, a local one-owner car, been garage-kept all of its life. Lexus, the LS460, or I'm sorry, LS500. So it's the big sedan, the four-door sedan, 41,000 original one-owner miles, out of Muscle Shoals.

A car is incredible. It's the largest car that Lexus makes. And that car you can get into in the 50s, and now the car new is over $120,000. So that is a lot of car for not a lot of money for what you're getting in that car. Elmer, we were talking about this the other day. You don't sell junk. In other words, you don't sell cars that were previously in accidents or they've had an engine problem. I know you do research on this. You know, whether it's one-owner, two-owners, it's 25,000 or 100,000 miles.

That's something I know you try to avoid. Yeah, guys, I mean, you know, you can go just anywhere and buy a car where somebody just said, yeah, I want the auction, I bought like these six. Well, I'm here to tell you, it's hard for me to buy six because I want to know where the car came from. I want to know the history behind it. I want to know if it's had an accident, if it has, what kind of accident has it had. Those things are important if you want to maintain a good name in your community.

And if you don't, hey, don't worry about it. You can go anywhere and buy a car because anybody will sell you a car that's had three accidents and, you know, been up north all of its life in Michigan or something, you know. But I don't carry that kind of stuff. I don't like that kind of stuff because that stuff's going to come back to bite you sooner or later. And whenever it does, it's usually in a really, really bad way. So I just try not to carry it.

Absolutely. Listen, before me let you go, who, what, when, and where, service hours, days a week. Tell us about it. Monday through Friday on service, they're open from 8 till 5. Sales is open from 8.30 to 5 on Monday through Friday. 9 to 2 on Saturday. Guys, don't worry about 5 o'clock. I don't know that I've left there before 5 o'clock in the last about nine months. So don't worry about that. If you want to make a sales appointment or service appointment after that, pick your car up. I met a lady at 5 minutes till 6 last night and still had not left the store.

So not an issue at all. So come and see us, Garner Pierce Autos, www.garnerpeerceautos.com, or 2261 Florence Boulevard, right next to Applebee's there in Florence, or 256-768-5660. We can take care of you no matter what you need. You're exactly right about that. Listen, have a great week and pet those dogs of yours. Yeah, yeah, y'all got to come and see Atticus. He's the star of the show. Yes, he is. And he'll let you know it if you forget, I guarantee you. Elmer, thanks so much.

Stay safe out there, okay? You got it, guys. Thank you, Elmer. Elmer Pierce taking it up with us. BB, the Braves are facing Paul Skeens tonight. He was a sensation last year. Welcome to the big leagues. Winless in nine starts. He's 6-8. The major leagues has a way of humbling people, so it's a good opportunity for the Braves to hopefully get back on track tonight against the Pirates. Yeah, they're hitting the ball a little bit better, but yeah, Skeens, just the reverse of last year. He was so good last year, but again, teams get a scouting report on you, and they've done that for him.

But again, you can hear that game tonight on 93-9, the score. And the Braves will start the night three up on the Fiddled-up-up-fields. Enjoy the game. It's going to take care of business for now. On behalf of BB, Greg James Blair, the entire crew here, Harold Bugg, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to two, for the Boomo Bugg Show. Back here on Sports Radio, 93-9, the score. 1819 News.