Boomo Bugg Show 052926

[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 Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score. Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in where? Even as we speak the latest on the big game on the plains and across the state, can the Crimson Tide men do what the women have already done in the postseason?

Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you? Happy Friday to you and the listeners. By the way, Tennessee leading 1-0 in the fourth inning over East Carolina before Auburn gets started. As you alluded to, Bama gets a big opening win against UCLA 6-3 and the SEC begins college baseball regionals today. Bill Shanks remembers Bob Horner and his impact on the Braves a little bit later. But Jimmy is here right now to talk about that huge opening day softball win for Alabama and a big recruiting weekend in Tuscaloosa.

Put another way, Jimmy Stein probably won't be on the golf course or at the beach this weekend. Jimmy Stein's busiest co-host of Locked On Bama, part of the Locked On Network. Jimmy, welcome in to, can we say, Busy Friday. How are you? Oh, I'm doing great, guys. Thanks for having me. Hey, Jimmy. Last night, Alabama goes all the way back out to the OK Corral, and it looked like there for a while that it was doomsday for the Crimson Tide. We asked a question yesterday. Sometimes, you know how this business works.

If you have so much success and you never really fall behind like they did in the regionals and super regionals, all of a sudden when you do fall behind, how are you going to respond? Well, I think the girls answered that question last night against UCLA, Jimmy. It really shows how the program has improved over just the past three or four seasons. While they were still extremely successful by any measure except maybe their own, you know, in terms of they've made the World Series in back-to-back years, they just weren't scoring a lot of runs.

You know, the pitching was good. Hitting was timely. They were able to advance, you know, to regionals and the super regionals and then the World Series a couple times. But they just weren't good at scoring runs. Last night, when they fell behind, you know, they're down 3-1, I think there was this confidence the entire time. They were going to find some runs. It was going to happen, and it happened due to two home runs from two of their best hitters. But I just thought it really illustrated how, you know, and maybe in Alabama's last couple of trips to the World Series, that's a loss.

But last night, scoring six runs was just something you sort of expected before the game began. The other side of the coin is, let's face it, this was strength on strength. Alabama's pitching. This is coming into it against UCLA's hitting. Is it safe to say two things now, Jimmy? Will they face a better lineup as far as average and power than they faced last night? And are there enough words to describe how important it is to stay in the winner's bracket as long as you can?

Well, sure. I don't think they're going to face an offense any better than UCLA's. Even though you knew the numbers from kind of looking at UCLA before the game started. I mean, when they flash up on the screen, it's just, it's like, you know, is there a softball PlayStation number or something? I mean, it looks fictional. Like, yeah, that's not possible. Girls over 100 RBIs and 40 home runs and hitting 500. And it's just nuts. And gosh, all the way through the lineup, really. It's not just, you know, the girls in the middle, Woolery and, you know, Megan there in the middle.

Boy, that's a tough offensive lineup. I'm not going to be surprised Alabama sees them again. But at the same time, as great as UCLA is with the Bats, they're not great in the circle. Their ace pitched last night. She has an ERA somewhere around three and a half. And she's got to pitch virtually every game. So you don't know how long she's going to last down there in the losers into the bracket. But you could see UCLA again. That offense is for real as good as several other teams are in this event.

No one's got an offense like UCLA. Jimmy, just to reiterate your point, they lead the nation in 10 categories. I was looking at that earlier this week. They're averaging 11 runs a game, which, again, as you mentioned, is video numbers. But Harold and I talk about this all the time. Pitching and defense win in baseball in the postseason. I don't care if they're averaging 20 runs a game. Pitching in the postseason is going to end up winning the game. Well, as good as they are, they probably hadn't seen too many pitchers as good as Briskey.

[5:23] Very few teams have, frankly, Briskey, I thought, pitched extremely well. Now, she did give up the back-to-back homers. But, you know, you're probably going to give up three runs to the 27 Yankees. You know, and she's got Garrick and Ruth, you know, right there in the middle of the lineup and gave up a home run to one of them. She held UCLA to a third of the runs that they've been scoring lately in postseason play. So, Briskey, I thought, was outstanding, even with the one inning where she got roughed up a little bit.

Real interesting to see, is she going to come back Saturday night against Nebraska? Because she would have, it would be like a Friday-Sunday start. We've been seeing that from her all year. Or are you just going to go ahead and give Vic Moten a run out there? Vic has been just totally outstanding herself. But she, as a freshman, just doesn't have the experience and maturity that Briskey has with so much on the line. Because if you win this next one, you know, someone's going to have to beat you twice to keep you out of the championship game.

And you've just got to feel really good about Alabama's chances. With just one more win, Pat Murphy's decision between Briskey and Moten will be really interesting on Saturday night. Jimmy Stein hooking up with us, Locked on, Bama. The big question, what does Greg Byrne do now? He was in Oklahoma City last night. Will he be in Tuscaloosa tonight to watch the men play on the home dirt? Interesting matchup, Alabama State. I know the initial reaction, Alabama State. Yeah, they've already been there and done that before.

In the regular season, these two have. But we talked to someone earlier, Jimmy. This is a unique blueprint. They've gone, the coaches from Puerto Rico, and you know the baseball talent down there. You can get a lot of folks who fly on the radar to come up here and play at a place like Alabama State. Your thoughts about tonight's matchup for the men? Well, Alabama's beaten them a couple of times, but they're taking them seriously enough to start their Friday night. Pitcher Tyler Bay is going to start the game.

I think that tells you that Rob Vaughn has a huge respect because it would have been tempting. Some people say it might have been tempting to go with your number three pitcher here in the first game. I think you might have even been tempted to go JT Blackwood, the midweek guy, in this game because that's exactly who you've used to beat teams like Alabama State all season long. However, now that you're in the postseason, everything is magnified. Everything matters a lot. So Rob Vaughn's going to go with Tyler Fay.

Some people might, you know, have some blowback to that decision. I think it really pays off, guys, in this way. Can Tyler Fay pitch into the sixth, seventh, eighth inning so you can go into Saturday with your bullpen rested? And can Alabama score enough runs to where when you take Fay out late that they're using someone that's more, I don't know, back end of the bullpen and not the front line guys? Because, really, these regionals are all about saving your arms. I mean, you could end up playing twice Saturday and twice Sunday.

I mean, you could. So, you know, saving your bullpen is critical. And I think starting Tyler Fay tonight will work out fine if he's able to pitch deep into the game. Absolutely. Jimmy, big recruiting weekend, the first big official visits coming in this weekend. Some very impressive prospects, Hayden Stelp, Darius White at Georgia for the secondary, which Mo Lindquist is just superb in recruiting these long, tall, length. You've got two of the best receivers in the country, Monsoon Bama Sales, Asani Gales, Antoine Jackson, Mitchell Turner on the defensive line.

Alabama leading on some of these guys. Jimmy, your thoughts on a big recruiting weekend for Kaelin DeBoer? Yeah, even with only nine guys in this weekend, it may end up proving to be the biggest weekend in terms of the number of guys. The star power is pretty impressive. I think, frankly, I think they end up getting several of these guys, if not even most of them. Two are already committed, seven up in the air. I like where they sit on five of the seven, frankly. Now, I don't know that that means that they're going to get quick commitments out of or anything publicly known by Monday.

But Alabama is in good shape for most of these kids. I would say the two that they aren't are Monsoon Sales, the wide receiver from Indianapolis, who's pretty famous now in the recruiting circuit. Hayden Stelp, the corner from Las Vegas. They're in the top two or three for both of those kids. And I think there are significant and serious options for them. I just don't think you would see quick decisions from them that would favor Alabama. But you can't rule them out picking Alabama altogether. The other five guys, I think, are all going to choose Alabama at some point.

[10:25] That would be our prediction at Locked on Bama is that all five of those guys eventually choose Alabama. So it's good to have them all in at once so they can build some camaraderie amongst themselves. And you can never discount the peer pressure when it comes to recruiting these kids. They make friends, and they want to go to school together. And the coaches do what they can to get them all in the same room at the same time so they can start building those relationships between themselves.

And another point, Jimmy, I think, for the folks who follow the show here and follow you, they know this already. The board said this is going to be a small class. So if you're serious about coming to Alabama, you better take one of those openings when it's available. That's right. It is going to be a small group. And I know it's confused a lot of people in this era, but, you know, everything's topsy-turvy, upside down. But the way to best describe it is this. There's around 89 players on scholarship right now.

There's only nine seniors. Some of those guys may not even be seniors because of an upcoming expected rule change, the 5-on-5 rule. That's going to make some of these nine seniors eligible to return in a future season. So you probably have less than nine seniors. You don't even have too many juniors that look to be threats to turn pro early. So you're not replacing a lot of guys. So, really, it's not just the spots, guys. It's so much of the money that you have to spend on your roster will already be spoken for with returning players, several of whom are going to want some raises.

Just imagine, it's hypothetical, but let's say Keelan Russell becomes the starter and has a spectacular season. He's going to be due for a big raise. So that's just one example of potentially many. So with Alabama expecting so many players returning to the team in 2027, it's just going to be a smaller class. Absolutely. Jimmy, forgive me for being stunned there for a second. I look up at the monitor, Milwaukee 4, Auburn 0 in the top of the first inning down at Auburn. That's a surprise to get started with.

Jimmy, talk about Luke Robinson. Six, I know six podcasts a week, maybe even more with everything going on this weekend. Jimmy, where can we get online and get the best podcast about Alabama sports on the planet? I appreciate that, Brett. Locked on Bama, you can find us on YouTube. If you just prefer the audio, you can find Locked on Bama wherever you find your audio podcasts like Spotify or iTunes, Amazon. You can find Locked on Bama anywhere, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Thank you, guys.

Going to be locked on softball, baseball, and recruiting all weekend long. Jimmy, have a good weekend. Thanks so much for your time, Dave, buddy. Hey, thanks a lot. Thank you, Jimmy. Jimmy Stein, co-host of Locked on Bama, part of the Locked on Network. BB, for the folks who said, can you repeat that score from the planes again, please? Listen, James got my attention. I looked up, and I thought I was seeing things from Milwaukee 4, Auburn 0 going to the bottom of the first inning. You might want to change those glasses, BB.

Oh, man. In the meantime, it is a sweet and sour story out there for the UACC across the board, softball, baseball. Play level on that and more. Let's run ahead. Stay with us. At First Metro Bank, we don't just do business in the Shoals community. We're part of it. Our roots are right here, and we know what matters to you because it matters to us, too. Whether you're saving for a dream vacation, buying a first home, or starting a small business, we're here to help you with that hometown touch.

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Driver is responsible for emergency and towing charges not covered by the policy. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Let us keep an eye on the game, and you keep an eye on the road. BB, right now, I guess you could say it's the pain on the planes right now for Auburn Baseball. Seating capacity for this weekend, 8,000. Those 7,700 fans who are Auburn fans right now don't like a 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the first inning. And by the way, Milwaukee just set Auburn down in order.

They got hope. The pitcher on the mound for Milwaukee has an ERA right at 5. It's a long game, but right now, couldn't have gotten off to a much worse start for the Auburn Tigers. Let's go the other way, all the way up to Nashville Cats and say hello to Blake Lovell. He's got it all covered in Southeastern 16, Blue Ribbon Yearbook. The podcast, by the way, is called Establish the Past. Blake, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing well, guys. Going to talk to you. You too.

What about that Auburn score? We've got a lot of teams representing the SEC in baseball and softball. That's good. But Arkansas last night, Mississippi State yesterday, they showed that just because you've got the brand, it's not automatic. And right now, Auburn off to, let's face it, I think for the eyes of a lot of people, a disappointing 4-0 start to Milwaukee. Yeah. You know, that's the thing. Anytime you get this thing started, you know, it's baseball, right? And we always talk about the differences with baseball and maybe basketball and football and just sort of, you know, and this is one of those where throughout the course of nine innings, there's a lot that can happen.

[21:09] And, you know, again, you put yourself in this kind of position where Auburn's gotten down here early. And, yeah, I mean, it's not an ideal spot to be in. But, you know, luckily, again, these are the kind of teams like Auburn and, you know, some of these other top 10 teams in the SEC, they've been in these positions before this year. And you just kind of hope that your, you know, your power and your overall hitting can kind of take over, you know, against pitchers that they quite haven't seen lineups like this very often.

So, yeah, Auburn's going to be the team in the circle in that department right now. And the other side, we just talked with someone who made a very good point about Alabama tonight starting their prime time pitcher against of all folks at Alabama State. And I think that's exactly what Rob Vaughn's taking. Don't look at the jersey. Go out there and take care of business and don't worry about what other people are saying about your opponent. Take care of business and go as scripted. Yeah, I mean, it's not the regular season anymore, you know, and it's something where I think you look at the way teams approach this and, you know, you have to approach everyone equally.

Like, you can't just sit back, again, because I think baseball is such kind of a different game in that regard. When you talk about just all the ins and outs and, again, what can sort of happen and the variance you're going to get throughout the course of playing that many games and all that. And so, yeah, this is one where, you know, you should treat every opponent as though it's the best opponent you've seen all season long because you just never know when it comes to just kind of some of the pitching and hitting matchups you're going to face in a tournament like this.

And so, yeah, there are quite a few teams out there that, you know, they're going to have some unique sort of approaches that aren't SEC teams. And so, you've got to take everyone certainly with a lot of high value here as we head into a tournament like this. I'll tell you what, I am really impressed with a lot of the SEC men's basketball teams and what they're bringing back for 2026-27. We've talked about Tennessee basically reinventing themselves, 100 combined points, probably in that starting lineup. Florida brings back their entire frigging front court, as a friend of mine said the other day.

And Amari Allen announces he is coming back for Alabama. When you do your way, way too early top 25 for college basketball in the SEC, is this Alabama team a top 15 team for next year? Yeah, they've got to be pretty close now, I think, with Amari Allen returning. The one thing, you know, maybe just a caveat of what Aiden Holloway, what that situation looks like heading into next year, if they have him, I think, you know, they're right there in that same conversation. I mean, I think right now, if you look at kind of where all the SEC teams are coming out, of the NBA draft decisions, I mean, I don't think there's much of a question that you've probably got.

I would say Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, you know, and teams like that to me, also like their preseason top 15 type teams. I think Alabama, you know, again, is going to be right there in that conversation probably. So those six teams, to me, feel like they're kind of setting themselves apart. And then you've got some really stacked rosters when you look at like what Auburn's done this offseason, Missouri, of course, LSU, who knows how many guys are going to be eligible to actually play on that roster.

And so it feels like the SEC is much more loaded with high upside, you know, sort of potential in terms of elite teams this year, whereas last year, that was the big talk is you still had some of those teams at the top, but they felt a lot more sort of, felt less invincible than some of those teams did the year before. And so I think you're going to get back to the way we were a couple of years ago, where you've got, you know, maybe six, seven SEC teams who feel like they can make a run, you know, at least to the elite eight, potentially the final four.

And a lot of good decisions, I think, went the SEC's way in this draft process. Is Florida your preseason number one? I think right now that they would certainly be right there at the top. And, you know, the one thing they're waiting on is to see if there's any chance that they could get Denzel Aberdeen a waiver, of course, he was there a couple of years ago on the national title team, went to Kentucky, but it seems like it will be tough for that to be the case.

But even if they don't have him, I mean, there's just not going to be another team in the country that has, you know, the three-man group of Hal Condon and Chinuilu. And I mean, that's going to be the most experienced position group of any team in college basketball. And so I think they'd still be number one, even without Aberdeen, it may be a little bit more of a debate. But right now, I mean, when you look at everybody, they're returning. We love to talk about transfers and freshmen and all that.

But I mean, the thing that Florida has over everyone is that they're basically returning almost their entire team from last year. And so, yeah, I think that would put Florida probably squarely at the top at this moment. Mike, in about 30 seconds, two things. Number one, where do you put Kentucky right now with their lineup? And where can we get the very latest with you anytime, buddy? Yeah, I appreciate it, guys. Yeah, Kentucky, of course, still waiting for the Iowa State sharpshooter, Milan Montilovic. And if they were to get him the number one available transfer, then I think Kentucky all of a sudden moves into that conversation.

[26:11] But we'll see. Big Blue Nation would be very happy if that is the case. But yeah, you can check out all of our SEC stuff. Guys, baseball, basketball, football over at Southeastern 16 on YouTube. Sounds great, Blake. Listen, kickback, softball, baseball, plenty to keep you busy this weekend. Thanks so much, and have a great and safe one out there, okay? Thanks, guys. You too. Blake Lovell, Southeastern 16. More pain in the plains, BB. Four nothings. The last time we talked about the game on the plains, it's now five nothing.

Nobody out. And another runner in scoring position at second for Milwaukee. Right now, Auburn fans, safe to say, are in a state of shock. Why do you say we leave the 50 states, go across the big pond, and see what's happening on the big clay at the French Open? Details next. Stay with us. Westwood One Sports presents this special tennis update sponsored by Previgin. Previgin, made for your brain. Nothing has come easy for Novak Djokovic so far. Roland Garros, he's up two sets to one. A 19-year-old Brazilian, Joe Alphonseca, in the third round.

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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Very latest as far as the opening round of the Auburn Regional. Right now, the Tigers on the short end to Milwaukee 5-0. Milwaukee batting in the top of the second. Runners on the corner. Nobody out. Cormier is on the mound for the Auburn Tigers. And where's he from? Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Happens to be one of the softest and sweetest spots. Would you guess, Brett, for our next guest, by the way? I would guess that it's, by the way, he's Lance Cormier's son who played at Alabama, of course.

You're exactly right. But, yes, it's God's country, Harold. Bill Shanks, host of the Bill Shanks Show on 93.1 FM and Macon online at thesesuperstations.com and a fine contributor for 41 NBC. Bill, welcome in. How are you? Doing well. How are y'all? Hey, buddy. Man, we're kind of down and out, Bill. My goodness, what is in the water for the Atlanta Braves this year? Can we just do a mulligan like they do in golf? I mean, first Ted, then Bobby, and now Bob. Bob Horner, the latest sad news out of the Braves camp.

Bill, it's been a rough year, man. It's been a rough month. In the span of 22 days, you've had John Sterling, Ted Turner, Bobby Cox, Bob Horner. Four names from Atlanta's history and, yeah, very surprising. I didn't expect that at all. I mean, Bobby and Ted were very sick and had been for a while, so that was not a surprise. John was 87 and had had a heart attack several months ago, so that wasn't a shock either because of that, but Bob was a little bit of a surprise, and he's very sad, and 68's very young, but he had a really good run in Atlanta for nine years, and he really built the foundation for America's team back 40 years.

You know, it's hard to believe that he hadn't played for the Braves in 40 years, but it's still, for those of us who were able to watch him, I think we all know the contributions that he made to help make the Braves America's team. And the thing that's so unique about Bobby is he is one of, and you can count him probably on one hand, had never played a day in the minor leagues. He jumped from there to here. He was a special talent from day one, and I like your point there, Bill.

The Braves had some salad days, but somebody somewhere has got to build a foundation. That's what he did. Well, in 1978, he got drafted 1-1 out of Arizona State. He had had an unbelievable college career out there. They had won a national championship in 77, and he got drafted. He came to the Braves. It was also the first year that Dale Murphy was a regular. It was the first year that Bobby Cox managed the Braves. So that was a pretty significant season. It was also the first year I watched the Braves on Channel 17, WTCG, which became WTPS, which became, of course, the Superstation.

And, you know, there were some very lean years, those nine years, but there was also a great year in 1982, which everybody that was around for that remembers very fondly when they won 13th straight to start the season. And then, of course, they won the division, and it was a fantastic season. So Bob was part of a duo with Dale Murphy that was a very special group. They led by Dale and Bob and Bruce Benedict and Glenn Hubbard and Chris Shammas and Claudio Washington, and, of course, Phil Necro was about the only pitcher they had.

Gene Garver was a great relief pitcher. So they just had a bunch of very good characters and very good personalities that had some decent seasons and made it fun for people all over the country, not just people in the South, to watch the Atlanta Braves. I thought he was always one of the most underrated major league players, period, much less a Braves. Now, I know off the field he could be a little persnickety, for lack of a better word, and I know sometimes that caused him a few issues.

You had a great article about him in the Savannah Morning News, and it went through the career, and also I wanted you to tell the story about Pasquale Perez coming to his aid after he plunked a batter. But you also had in there, he is in the Georgia Hall of Fame, but Bob Horner is not in the Braves Hall of Fame. Wow. Why? Politics. Yeah. That happens sometimes. Bob was surly. He was not outgoing. He was, I liked him. I mean, I enjoyed talking to him the times I did, which were several.

[37:06] But he was not, you know, Don Rickles. He was not a fun, happy-go-lucky guy. He was kind of surly, I think is the word I used to describe me. He was, that's not bad. There were a lot of different people that have different personalities. Well, the game you're talking about was August 12th, 1984. I happened to be at that game. And it was a two-hour rain delay, and we almost left to go back to Waycross because we were four hours away. But we stayed, and we actually moved down to about maybe 15 rows behind Ted Turner's box, which was right by the Brazon deck circle.

So when I got there originally, before the rain delay, I looked up and wanted to wave at Ernie Pete and Skip, as I always did. And, well, Bob Horner was up there. I'm like, oh, my God, Bob Horner's up there in street clothes. I mean, I knew he was on the disabled list. He had a navicular bone break in his wrist. But he was in street clothes. He was in the press box. So, of course, you know, that was one of my favorite players, so I waved at him.

So, you know, the first pitch of the game, or first batter of the game, Pasquale Perez, who was this wacko Dominican pitcher who was kind of a rubber band man and a cocaine addict and crazy, he hit Alan Wiggins, who was another cocaine addict, by the way, and he hit him. And so the Padres then tried for, like, two at-bats to hit Pasquale back. They didn't like what he did. And so, finally, like, I guess it was the second at-bat they hit him, and he took off running around with a bat in his hand, ready to hit anybody with a bat.

It was that close to him. And then the Padres were just out of control. They were going to get their hands. They had to kill that guy after they had gotten their hands on him. And so I looked up from my vantage point, and I could see him right now. At the top of the dugout, there was Bob Horner. He'd come down from the press box with street clothes and put his uniform on because he knew what was going to happen. And he told me later in an interview that I knew first batter.

I mean, I left the first after they hit Wiggins because I knew what was going to happen. And so, you know, and I don't know about Bob, but, I mean, everybody hated Pasquale Braves. He was just a pain in the butt, you know. But he was wearing that uniform, so it didn't matter. He was wearing the Braves' uniform. So Bob's at the front step of the dugout, and Pasquale got in the dugout, and Champ Summers, a crotchety old fourth outfielder for the Padres, big old man.

He comes running after Pasquale Perez in the dugout, and there's Bob. And Bob didn't let him, you know, get hurt. He killed. And so my part of the story is when I saw Bob Horner at the top of the dugout, I ran down the aisle toward the field because I was going to protect the honor of my number five, Bob Horner. You know, I was going to help him kick Champ Summers' a**. And about 30 seconds later, I felt my a** being dragged up by my mother by the back of my shirt because it – and that was right when the beer started flowing from the – Chicken in the hole, baby.

– to the field, and, I mean, it was out of control. I mean, there were like two more – well, really, three more fights after that one. And – but, yeah, Bob – Bob gained a lot of respect. He told me, he said, I get two events talked about to me by the fans. He said my four-home run game in 1986 and then the fight in 1984. And, of course, he just was protecting one of his teammates. That's a great story. Speaking of Pasquale Perez, correct – refresh our memories. Was he the one that got lost on the loop around Atlanta, couldn't get to the stadium on time?

Yes, yes. At 285. Right. He didn't speak English, and he ran out of gas, and he stopped and he circled the d*** perimeter twice. He was going about – about, I guess, about – I don't know. It was a long way around the thing. He circled it twice. It was late in the game. Thank God, Phil Necker had a rubber arm, so he was able to step in there on two days rest. And you know what? They had lost – like, they were in the middle of a real bad string there of 19 out of 21.

And that little instant – and because when he got there, he told them the story. Of course, they turned around the next day and put I-285 on the back of the jacket. Right. And they kind of snapped out of their little funk, F-U and K, with that little incident there with Pasquale. But, yeah, he was not the brightest – I mean, he got shot and killed in the Dominican like 15 years ago. So, I mean, you know, he was just – he was a weird, bad dude, to be honest with you.

And not a rocket – I think he was the one that developed that rocket that blew up in Florida last night, to be honest. Oh, my goodness. And the Blue Origin, yeah. 38-19, the best record in the major leagues. They whipped the Bull Sox last night, 10-2. And my MVP so far, as I mentioned him last week, Michael Harris with another solo home run. Your thoughts on the Braves? Well, they're doing really well. I mean, obviously, Monday was at the one-third mark of the season, and they've won two or three since then.

[42:32] So, it's – you know, they have, I think, surpassed everybody's expectations, including probably their own. And they just need to continue to play good ball, continue to win series. They're on to Cincinnati tonight for a team that's a few games over .500. And one of the many teams in Central, they're over .500. They're all over .500. So, they've just got to continue to win series. They've got to stay healthy, avoid any big injuries. Hopefully, Acuna got going last night. You know, he had a grand slam, so hopefully I'll get him off the schneid, as they say.

And, you know, they've done this, it not being easy, with Acuna being pretty bad and Riley being worse. Yeah. And injuries, you know, Baldwin's out right now. And, of course, the pitching injuries that they have had. So, it's not been an easy 57 games by any means. But they seem to be overcoming a lot. They've got a deep roster, and I think that depth's helped them a great deal. So, it's been a fun first part of the season. And, you know, this second part's going to define a lot.

And hopefully, the Mets will continue to lose to fall even further back. And I think now to keep their manager, though, I think he's an excellent baseball guy. Absolutely. The Braves' best favorite manager outside of Walt Wise in the entire world. Bill's changed. Check him out amongst other places. TheSuperstitions.com. Bill, did Greg Sankey listen to you when he made a decision, these guys, about doing away with Cupcake Weekend in the SEC? No. No, he didn't, evidently. I mean, no. I mean, you know. No. I mean, they're not going to do away with those games, I guess.

And I do like some of the things I heard out of Destin. I mean, I think they need, I do think they need to kind of go their own way. And if everybody doesn't follow the h*** with them, to be honest with you. I mean, I just, I think if it means more in the SEC, then you know what? Lead the way. And stop talking about it and do something. They need to do something. And I, so I, I, I'm anxious to see how it's all going to kind of play out here because, you know, a lot of times it's just a lot of talk.

Let's do something. You know, let's see what you can do. Lead the way. That, I think that would be very, very good to see. To me, having a factor, you've got a background in television, too. We know how this game's played. When ESPN and CBS were at the wheel, they pretty much, Greg Sankey had his way with the TV stuff. But when Fox got involved with the Big Ten, all of a sudden, it's like, now we've got a little competition here. Your thoughts just about the politics of that.

And why wouldn't Sankey go to ESPN and say, guys, we need you, but you need us as well. We've got to come up with a fair definition of doing business going forward here for our league. Well, he needs to do that. I think he does. I think, and I don't think the SEC is done with expansion. I mean, I don't. I think there's still things to come. And, you know, I think Greg does need to, Commissioner Sankey does need to have that, I don't want to say backbone.

I mean, I know it's a very difficult thing because there's no question that television leads the way. That's right. Well, you know what, if television leads the way and there's a problem, for example, with something that's wrong with the scheduling, and I understand what Arkansas is upset about, for example. Yep. And, you know, Greg Sankey needs to step in and say, well, we don't need to do that. That's right. That's not good for one of our members. And so he does need to take the lead on that.

That does need to be something that he needs to stand up for. Because these schools do need to have a little bit of a say if there's a problem with the scheduling or, I mean, I wouldn't want to do their games at those times that they were talking about. I would be kind of p***** off, too, to be honest with you. But I think that television, there's no question that television rules the roost because that's where the money comes from. But, you know, look, the commissioner's a powerful person, and he needs to put his foot down sometime, and I think that's what he needs to do.

Well, the other thing is, too, in television right now, yeah, they do that, but they've got to have something to say. If you've got to go fishing, you've got to buy some bait. And the NCC, if I were Greg Sankey, I'd take the ratings in there and say, look, guys, let's compare what we've done and how much money we've made you. How much is a rating point worth? And let's face it, television right now, they make most of their money off live programming, particularly sports. The old shows, you can go online and get any of those shows that they're showing Monday through Friday anywhere now with all these platforms out there.

Live sports drives the bus. Bill, you know that. Absolutely. I don't think NBC would have a network if not for the fact they've got NBA, NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball. I mean, they don't have college sports yet for Notre Dame. But, I mean, look at NBC. NBC has Major League Baseball again after years of not having it. They've got the NBA all over after years of not having it. They have the NFL. I mean, I work for NBC Station. I mean, they don't – it's not – the Cosby Show and Cheers ain't coming on on Thursday nights anymore.

[47:50] No. You know, so sports is a vital part of what they're doing. Absolutely. The Protect College Sports Act that is a partisan legislation by Ted Cruz and Maria Kentwell, a Democrat, some of it actually is merited. One-time transfer, five years to play five, protect Olympic sports. Now, what the NCA wants is some legal protection, and some of it is in there, too. Sankey referred to that. I haven't looked at the 110-page bill yet, as he put it. Does this have a snowball's chance to pass? Well, I don't know.

But I think, again, you know, what I advocated for several months ago, Brad, was, look, we just need ideas. I agree. That's right. We just need – you know, I don't know what's on in that bill. I'm not going to read 110 pages. I'm not going to read one. But, you know, I applaud whoever put it together. Yes. I applaud them for coming up with something. Because it's like the Major League Baseball negotiations. Everybody's panicking because the player association made an offer, and then the owners made an offer.

Yeah. H***, I'm just glad they're talking. I know. I mean, yeah, I don't remember a situation where even six months away from the agreement being, you know, expiring, them talking this early. I'm just pleased that they're actually talking. That's what we need to see happen in college football. Yep. I mean, you know, Destin's – that's nice. Where are they going to meet next week? You know, if this is such a dire issue, if college sports is in such a – where – you know, when are the four commissioners meeting together?

You know what I mean? I'd like to ask Greg Sanky that – and look, I'm not indicting Greg Sanky by any means. But it's like, when are you going to meet with the Big Ten, the Big 12, and the ACC commissioners? I – and I don't give a d*** about the group of five. I just don't. I have no – I have – they're not in the picture for me. And to me, if he was saying – if he were to say, well, I'm going to meet with the Conference USA commissioner, I'd say, why?

What's the purpose of that? Why are you doing that? You need to meet with the Big 12, Big Ten ACC commissioners. Y'all four need to get in the room. And you know what? You need to take the lead because you're the big boy. That's what you tell us. And you need to – but when are they meeting? That's the – you know, we can include presidents and chancellors and athletic directors and coaches. Great. That's awesome. Again, ideas. Come up with things. But until those four get in the room, are we kind of wasting time?

Because that's where it's got to come from. The synergy has got to come from those four main entities. And, you know, a lot of this is just a waste of time. It is. Again, talk is good to a certain extent. Throw things up against the wall to see what sticks. But it's like, you know, okay, you know, Kirby said, well, let's set our own rules. Fine. Do it. But do it. Stop talking about it. But before you do that, you need to have Sankey sit in the room with the other three commissioners and say, okay, what can we go on the same page with?

What can we do to lead the way? NCAA's not going to give us any kind of headway. What can we do as the four commissioners? And if that ain't going to happen, you know, I will be sitting here probably May 29, 2027, asking the same questions. Yeah, and I still say two words they're afraid of, collective bargaining, maybe down the road. That was mentioned two or three times this past week in Destin. And I know they don't want to do that, but that would solve a lot of the problems.

Listen, great stuff. Believe me, you got a lot of Brace fans over here. You know, we're an affiliate, and Bob Horner was, that was tough. As you mentioned, four icons in 22 days. Who have you got on the show today? Now, if any of our incredible listeners would like to call in to predict how bad Alabama's going to beat Georgia in October, will the Braves win the pennant in the World Series? Where can they go? Well, I'm going to have Jeff Dancer, the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs baseball team and football team, who actually has a show on our station, of course, every day from 12 until 1.

And if you want to, you know, hear a real announcer, you can hear Jeff every day on our station, thesuperstations.com. That is our website. We'll be on until about 4.45, I believe, Eastern time, and we'll let Georgia baseball take over as they play, I don't know who the h*** they're playing. They've got some, you know, rinky-dink team they've got to play in game one, so we'll see. Georgia Tech's winning 17-3. Oh, my. I mean, Georgia Tech's scoring 10 and a half runs a game. They're good. They're good.

[52:55] Georgia 9 and a half runs a game, so we can score runs over here, you know. Bill, we never tell you what to do, but stay out of politics, you're much too honest, okay? You ain't kidding. You ain't kidding. See you, buddy. The one and the only, Bill Shanks, at thesuperstations.com. More plain pain for Auburn right now. It was 4-0, then it went to 5-0. It's now 6-0 in Milwaukee. In the third, Auburn does have two on, but they got two outs. We'll update that score.

And speaking of Auburn, take you there with Justin Ferguson, Doug Segrist, and Mike Hugan and all straight ahead of the Boom on Bug Show. Stay with us. Is your business insurance tailored exactly to your individual needs? Are you getting the best coverage for your money? That's what the Michael Noe Agency is for. They're your local independent insurance agency that specializes in helping you protect your business, including liability and property, commercial, auto equipment, and workers' compensation, all while ensuring you're getting the best possible rate. Visit your local independent agent, Michael Noe or Bill Cochran, on Mobile Class in downtown Florence.

Or call 256-767-4237. This is Keith at Cypress Creek Indoor Range. We're turning nine and want to celebrate with you all week from May 31st to June 6th. Representatives from Smith & Wesson, Browning, FN, Winchester, Dead Air, and more will be here. We'll also be having a suppressor class open to everyone with great discounts for all those that attend. Plus tons of door prizes and even a sidewalk sale. Each day we'll highlight different aspects of our business like training, matches, memberships, optics, suppressors, gun sales, ammos, accessories, and more.

Our Facebook page will have all the details or sign up to be on our email list. It's happening all week at Cypress Creek Indoor Range on our ninth birthday party, May 31st to June the 6th. Cypress Creek Indoor Range, 5060, Highway 157 in North Petersville, on the web at cypresscriegrange.com and on social media. Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for the moments you plan and the ones you don't. For the time you forgot your charger at the gate. Passengers, we are now on our initial ascent.

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This apparently all occurred during the primary election held on May 19th. The video has come to light through Mara Blackman, who is running in the Democratic primary against incumbent state representative Patrick Sellers. Blackman is filing a lawsuit in court asking the court to verify the ballot numbers from that precinct in light of what happened. Secretary of State Allen says that the actions caught on video are very concerning and will be taken seriously by his office. Allen pointed out that removing a ballot from the precinct violates several election laws when it comes to ballot handling.

[58:03] And he says that curbside voting is not allowed in this state. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Did you know that 70 percent of people experience a potentially traumatic event in their lifetime and that six out of every 100 adults face PTSD every day? Help us bring hope to these survivors by signing up for your Alabama distinctive PTSD awareness license plate today. The great thing is you can sign up no matter when your current plate renews and the first year is complimentary. All you need is your FIN number on hand.

Drive awareness, drive hope, and customize your plate today at atease.org. The mayor of Selma is taking action in that city after a two-year-old child was killed in gunfire that erupted in the Selmont community. The child was inside a mobile home when the bullets were fired into that house. Mayor Johnny Moss says there is now a multi-agency partnership working to find the suspects in this shooting. That partnership involves local, state, and federal authorities. Moss denounced the shooting and said the Selma community has suffered heartbreaking loss due to gun violence.

And he emphasized that the city leadership will not allow reckless individuals to terrorize the community and endanger innocent lives. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores, Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. The Atlanta Braves are on a mission. And night after night, they're making their case as one of the best teams in baseball. 3-2 to Drake. Tonight, the road trip continues as the Braves roll into Cincinnati for a National League showdown with the Reds at Great American Ballpark.

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Tomorrow, an 80% chance of showers, possibly an afternoon thunderstorm and a high around 85. Tomorrow night, mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers overnight and a low near 65. And for your Sunday, partly sunny with a 60% chance of showers and a high around 85. Your weather from 93.9, The Score. 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 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. B.B., before we jump in here, I'm in state of shock of what's going on with the regionals down at Auburn. Have you seen the very latest in the regionals with Milwaukee? Harold, it is 7-0. Nope. No, it's 10-0 now. 10-0. A three-run homer. I mean, I am dumbfounded by this, Harold.

Fourth inning, Milwaukee 10, Auburn nothing. I'm not trying to tell them what to do, but they're serious about winning this, baby. They better get it in high gear and in a hurry again. That game in the fourth and already down by a crooked number. Let's bring in the man who's got it all covered, Mike. He follows college football, college basketball, anything college. Mike, welcome in. How are you? Yeah, doing well. I guess the one potential saving grace for Auburn is that I read earlier today. Milwaukee has the highest ERA of any team in the Tennessee tournament.

But, yeah, you don't expect that to happen to a national seed like that. If this were a number-two seed in the region playing a number-three seed, maybe. But a four-and-one, no. Yeah, they're no more for beer and the Brewers, not college baseball powerhouse. This is, by the way, at Auburn. And Auburn came in. Basically, their strength was their pitching. But right now, 10-0. And they're not even halfway through. The other point about this, Mike, is before we get into some of the stuff that's going on up the road from you there, you live in Orlando, of course, in San Destin this week.

[1:03:15] It just shows you, you better not look at the front of a jersey and take anybody for granted. Would you agree? And softball, to an extent, are a lot different than football and basketball. It's, you know, it's obvious that the Auburn starting pitchers had a very bad day. But when your pitcher goes bad, that's like your quarterback starting game one of 15 and throwing three picks. It's hard to come back from. But you're right. I mean, I think it's, yeah, especially in baseball, you know, there's a reason that the Colorado Rockies won 50 games.

But there's also a reason they lost 112. That's right. Yeah, they can be great one day and horrible the rest of the week. And that's the beauty of baseball. Mike, a lot of people have been trying to figure out what exactly did everyone accomplish in San Destin this week. for the SEC spring meetings. And I think you probably just summed it up with your response there. You know, they decided we're not going to play cupcake games on week 11 and a few other minor details. But there are so many issues.

And a lot of people thought, well, could we actually hear some bold statements at a great Sankey and take the lead on where college football needs to go as far as trying to solve some of the problems? Mike, I'm still waiting to hear that. Found dumbfounding some of the stuff that came out of Destin. The stupidest, the idea that the SEC would break away. You know, we already have that. It's called the NFL and the NBA and Major League Baseball. And the NHL and Major League Soccer.

I mean, you're right. I mean, you know, Tony Petiti and Greg Sankey are the two most powerful men in college athleticism. I'm starting to think that neither one is all that smart. Petiti has h***-bent on a 2014 playoff to the extent of nothing else. It's mind-blowing that a guy who oversees a conference that powerful is so tightly focused on one thing. Sankey has, I think he has seen his power dissipate in front of his own eyes. And I think the meetings in Destin were another example.

He talked all before the SEC meetings, you know, the idea of a 2014 playoff is ludicrous. 16 is the most. 12 is fine. And then right when he gets this, yeah, maybe 24 is the right way to go. Dude, what are you doing? You and Petiti have immense power and you're, you're, here's the stupidest thing of all about college athletics. I don't care what side of the aisle you vote on. The idea that college athletic administrators are begging Congress to help them. Yeah. That is, oh my, it's infuriating. It's discouraging.

It's disappointing. It's embarrassing. There's so many words you can use. These people, these are academicians. And I was telling somebody else early in the week, you know, when I was in my 20s and 30s, I'm thinking academicians. School presidents and deans and even conference commissioners to an extent. These are smart dudes. No, no, they're not. And this is the latest example. Again, Tony Petiti and Greg Sankin can get anything done and they're getting nothing done because they're too tightly focused on one thing. That's right. You know, the idea that the CSC came about last year because college athletic programs wanted someone to follow the rules when it came to NIL.

So the CSC makes decisions and you got schools going, no, no, that, you know, we want people to follow the rules, but no, we don't like this rule. So we're not going to follow by it. They're their own worst enemy. They're fiddling while Rome burns. College football Saturdays are awesome. Monday through Friday are a joke. College basketball Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays and Saturdays are awesome. The rest of the week is a joke. I don't know. You know, I used to be against a college sports commissioner. There needs to be one because everybody is only out for themselves.

Someone needs to look out for athletes as a whole, not just your own team. Well, and to your point, I think a lot of folks think some of these administrators, yeah, they got a degree of smarts about it. I mean, not all of that case, but a lot of these guys are nothing more than professional students. They're 55 years old and they've never been out of that education bubble. They think everybody lives in that world. They need to have someone who has some common sense, who's been out there in the jungle, had to turn a profit against tough competition, and knows how to drive a bargain.

[1:08:36] Nick Saban, where are you? But the other part you brought up, Mike, I think, too, is trying to get Congress involved. We saw over the past few days some of these politicians are trying to leverage college sports to their advantage. They're trying to get some of these guys to boycott the SEC because the wins ain't blowing their way. At what point are fans going to say, please, let's just get back to college ball and keep the politics out of it, man? That horse is out of the barn, unfortunately.

And, you know, they're selling. This is a bipartisan issue. We have a senator from the Democrats and a senator from the Republicans. But, you know, OK, that's fine. There's 100 senators and I don't even know if they have 60 votes. I'm not even sure they have all the Republican votes. And they for sure don't have all the Democrat votes. So, a lot of the stuff in the bill makes sense. It does. Yeah. But a lot of it doesn't. And the stuff that doesn't is all geared toward the school.

It's not geared toward the athlete. And, you know, Mike Elko said, yeah, I would like a 2014 playoff. But he also said, that's what's best for me. And that's the problem with college athletics. Everybody is worried about themselves and their school. You know, Petiti came in from the outside and I thought he would bring a different perspective. He did for about six months and then he just sort of fell in line with everybody else. Brett Yormark from the Big 12 got some interesting ideas. But a lot of his ideas also were just plain stupid.

And I think he's the kind of guy that everybody worked with or went to school with. And you get, after a while, you're like, dude, just calm down and be sensible. I think Yormark has passed that point. He's not, a lot of his stuff is nonsense. It's, I don't know if college athletics can fix itself. Again, the CSC to me was a great idea. But, you know, you've got schools in the SEC, you've got schools in the Big 10 going, well, yeah, we like the rules as long as we don't have to follow them.

So that's another problem as well. It's just, it's a joke. You know, thank goodness football season will be here relatively soon. College, college, NCAA baseball tournament's going on, NCAA softball tournament's going on. And, you know, Texas Tech, a perfect example of the nouveau riche. I'm not sure there's a school more hated in the country now than Texas Tech. You've got a quarterback at Texas Tech who broke the one unassailable NCAA rule. You do not bet on your own team. And you have the Texas Tech president saying, no, he should be allowed to play.

What is going on? That's exactly right. I agree with you. There are five or six agenda items in this bill that I think actually have merit. But I don't know if they would ever be able to get the votes. And I've heard the bad word, Mike, collective bargaining has been passed around. Ross Dillinger mentioned that earlier this week on Feinbaum's show. And we'll see if that happens in the next couple of years. Great discussion. I wish they'd let the three of us try to decide some of this stuff.

It'd get done a lot quicker. Always enjoy the conversation. Listen, have a great weekend. Enjoy softball, baseball. Let's do this again real soon. Thank you. How you have it? Mike, you're going to check it in. College football slash basketball. Now baseball analysts down in Orlando. You don't have to go that far to get the very latest with a man in the state of Alabama, Doug Segrist, on deck. Stay with us. At First Metro Bank, we're more than just a place to keep your money. We're a proud part of this community, committed to helping you achieve your dreams.

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Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations covered subject to policy terms. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. He has been voted one of the 50 legends of Alabama sports writers. His book is called A Storm Came Up, and he's a former tri-host of The Zone on ABC 3340 in a place called Birmingham, Alabama. Doug Segrist, welcome in. How are you? Harold, I am great. It's good to be back with you and Brad. Absolutely. Hey, right back at you, my friend.

You've seen a lot over the years. Have you seen anything about what's going on down in Auburn right now? And are Auburn fans humming that song, Do You Believe in Miracles? 10-0 Milwaukee leads Auburn in the regionals, Doug. Yeah, I mean, it's going to take a miracle. But, I mean, you think about it, a team with a losing record gets high to the conference tournament. Yeah. It comes in, stays high. You know, this happens. I mean, it happens in baseball more than any other sport. That's the great thing about you're at home, double elimination, if you get this over with.

Hopefully, you just don't burn through, you know, your entire pitching staff today. That's the problem. I think Auburn's deep enough to bounce back. We'll see. This is, I mean, this is one of the biggest shocks. It really is. It really is. But here's the deal, Doug. You bring up a good point. If I am at Auburn right now, I'm going to go ahead and say, you know what? It just wasn't our day. Go ahead and do this. If I have to bring in the right fielder to throw pitches, we'll do it.

[1:19:07] Go ahead and wipe this out and start all over with game two. Yeah, yeah, because you need, you're probably going to have to play two extra games now if you're going to advance. So you're going to have to have that pitching anyway. And at this point, you know, take the red shirts off, guys. You know, bring in the walk-ons. I mean, at this point, you know, I know in the back of mind, Butch Thompson is probably thinking, hey, we can, you know, a couple innings we're back in this.

And that might be possible because, I mean, Milwaukee's got a losing record for a reason. And a bad pitching staff. Yeah. But I kind of think you've got to think long-term right now. Your thoughts on Alabama. They're in Tuscaloosa. They've got a chance maybe to match up with Florida State. But wait just a minute. They've got to take care of business. They've beaten Alabama State twice, 2-1 and 13-4. They've got a very solid rotation in Tyler Fay, who's pitching tonight. Zane Adams up church. Liam Hines, Fowler, Justin LeBron, and Vaughn are good players.

But their defense has not been up to snuff a lot of the games. Can Alabama win this series and get in face Florida State next week? I think they can because they're playing at home. They've been a much different team at home. But, again, their biggest problem is offense and the defensive lapses. And defense kind of comes and goes. Offense has been kind of inconsistent all year. That's my fear with them going any deeper. Oklahoma State is the one I fear. But even if you get there, I mean, there are people who are predicting Florida State not to make it out of their regional.

So, we'll just say, you know, I don't think anybody's played a tougher schedule than the Alabama and the Auburns of this tournament. So, at this point, both teams have kind of seen it all. And we'll just see how they respond. Doug, is there any finer sport to watch out there? Even if you're a casual fan, you may not know a whole lot about the sport. You may not know a whole lot about the team. But when you watch this Alabama softball team, it's almost like it's catching.

And now to see the verve, I don't think those girls are ever going to die of high blood pressure because they're loosey-goosey. Your thoughts just about the attitude, the difference between softball and baseball overall. And your thoughts about this team and the job that Patrick Murphy's done, I think I saw or heard last night, in the preseason, I don't know who those folks are, they had Alabama picking technically the lower half of the SEC ninth out of 16. And here they are, the number one seed in the World Series.

You know, they haven't hit in forever. And for the offense to come together like this has been a miracle. But this team, I mean, the chemistry of this team jumps out off the TV screen. It's obvious in person. And that's pretty remarkable. It goes back to, I think, what Pat Murphy has tried to produce over the years. You know, I saw a clip where he's basically thanking the parents. Because in this day and age, if you don't have parents, you kind of create these type of kids.

You've got no chance. And when I look, you know, everybody asks me all the time, are you a big college baseball, college softball fan? I spend most of my time watching Major League Baseball. And you can talk about people who show button stuff on occasion, but for the most part, they go out and play the game. College baseball and college softball right now is just kind of filled with just a lot of crass actors. I mean, we saw it in the Florida Super Regional Series. We've seen it throughout baseball.

And so to kind of see a team that just seems to be out there playing for the love of the game, they're not chomping at the other team, not showing anybody else up, they're just playing the game the way it should be. And that's kind of fun to watch. Absolutely. By the way, Auburn just scored three runs to tighten that up a little bit, 10-3 in the fourth inning. Doug, we've been asking our guests this week, what in the world did they accomplish in Sandestin during the SEC meetings?

And most people have been telling us, well, I really don't know. Can I respond the same way? Yeah, sure. Yeah, I think this was more a meeting to kind of gauge where you stand. Ultimately, the presidents make the decision, and they don't talk as much as the ADs and the coaches. But what I think surprised me was there was support for every level of the playoffs, which I didn't really expect. Certainly, you know, more teams favor the 2014 model than I expected. But again, if your life depends on getting, you know, into the playoffs, you just open a couple extra spots if you do that.

So I guess I get that. Everything else, you know, the Congress comes out with a new proposed law, you know, the final day, and nobody seemed to really take to that. And again, but it was, you know, it's, everything that's come out so far is kind of for the total view of college football, not just the SEC. So I wouldn't expect the SEC necessarily to agree to everything. I think this was just more kind of get everybody's temperature. Now, what can you tell fans who are a long time, just put another way, old fans of the SEC, particularly Alabama, where one loss was like catastrophic too?

[1:24:48] Oh, my gosh. What's realistic now that they've got the nine-game schedule and they're doing away with the cupcake weekend? What is a reasonable number going forward? I think eight and four or nine and three. Again, you can't, you know, everybody's shooting for 12-0, right? Right, everybody wants it. Yeah, everybody, 11-1 is good. But again, and the rest of the country mocks this, but the depth of the SEC is different than any other. And listen, I was saying the same thing a few years ago with the Big Ten and basketball.

You know, your bottom team in Big Ten basketball still could probably win another conference. Yeah. I feel that way about SEC and football now. It doesn't mean that Mississippi State can go out and win the Big Ten or even the Big 12, but it means on any given Saturday they can beat the Big 12 champ, which we've done a couple years in a row. It's just tough. And I think you've got to think along, you know, NFL terms now where it's you're not going to win everything, but you've got to win the big games.

You've got to have, I think, nine wins is a threshold. Listen, I agree with you. I think moving forward, 10-2 is going to be a great season. Absolutely. But 9-3 is going to be a very good season. Yeah, you know, you go back and look at the schedules they played 20 years ago, and, you know, basically you got four cupcakes because a lot of schools weren't playing even the power four rivals. I mean, there were some exceptions, but it would be every few years. I mean, you basically scheduled four cupcakes, and you just had to go 7-1 in the conference, and you're a national champion.

That's exactly right. Listen, we've got to run to a French Open tennis update, but always enjoy the conversation. Speaking of enjoy, enjoy a great weekend of baseball. Softball, let's do this again real soon, young man. Thanks, guys. Oui, oui. You do the French fries, we'll do the French Open. Doug Seeger's checking in from Birmingham. What do you say we go to Paris and get the very latest from the French Open? Stay with us. Westwood 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.

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Harold Bugg going into the top of the fifth inning now. Butch Thompson now having a word with the officials, the umpire, but he's still in the game. Well, and the reason he is, is, yeah, Auburn whams and booms the three-round homer in the bottom of the fourth. Cut the lead to a mere 7-10-3. And then Milwaukee comes back, leads off the fifth, was shot into the right field corner. The ball went into the corner. The right fielder, whenever picked it up, thought it was one of those, it's dead.

It's a double, no, he turns into a triple. And apparently that's what Thompson was talking about. But that's why, you know, you see in the pregame, and you see all these coaches and players, et cetera, go to home plate. You go with the ground rules. And that's one of those things. What happens if the ball gets down the right field corner? Is it a double? Is it a dead ball? It stops there? Or is it still live? And the runner can get whatever he can get.

In this case, the ump must have told Thompson, look, it was not in the ground rules. That's a dead ball. So, translated, Milwaukee gave up three in the bottom of the fourth. But right now, they're in a good chance of getting one of them back. The runner's on third with a triple and nobody out. BB, again, this just illustrates what we've been talking about. In baseball, I don't care. David Weathers, we love David to death. He's been there almost 20 years in the majors. And he's summed it up best as far as major league baseball.

As he put it, it's 162-game schedule. Break out the calculator. I, you're almost, no matter how bad you are, if you're going to win 54, no matter how good you are, you're going to lose 54. It's what happens in the other 54 that determines where you finished in terms of a championship. And it's that way with college. You can go down to Farland Park, anywhere. The principle is still the same. On any given night, a baseball team, if you've got a decent pitcher and your guys off the other team, despite the odds, can win.

And I think that's, in summary, what we're seeing right now with Milwaukee for Auburn down the plains and the regionals. Well, that's one of the things, Harold, no matter what the sport is, I'm always looking for teams that are hot going into the postseason. Now, you look at Milwaukee, their overall record's 25 and 31, and I know some people would probably snicker at that. But what they are missing is, they've won seven consecutive games. They're averaging 9.8 runs per game in that seven-game winning streak. And also, they have stolen 122 bases this year, which means any time they get a single, there's practically a double.

Because they're going to be running, this is a good team. Well, and we'll see just how much they can hold up. As you mentioned, they've got the sticks, they've got the speed. What they don't have is pitching. And we saw that last night with Alabama and UCLA in the softball World Series. I mean, coming into it, Alabama on paper had the advantage. The old adage is that good pitching beats good hitting. And last night, for much of the game, I think a lot of folks were doubting that.

But the cream has a way of rising to the top. And Alabama may not have the sticks that UCLA has. But they do have the pitching. And they have sticks good enough to win. And in the end, that's what happened last night. 6-3, Alabama staying in the winner's bracket. Can you say enough about the importance of that? They get a chance now to kick back, relax. They'll have to use their mulligan because it is a double elimination tournament in Oak City. And now they take on Nebraska.

[1:35:33] Your thoughts about Alabama and Nebraska? Well, Nebraska came back and won that game at the end. That was a fun game. I gave up on it at about 11-15 last night. And it ended about 20 minutes later. Justin has joined us now. But you brought up a good point earlier. Alabama had just literally breathed through the regional and the super regional. And I wanted to see what they could do, Harold, when they had the deficit. In other words, when somebody hit them in the nose, how were they going to respond to that?

Well, Brooke Wales hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning. And Alabama responded pretty well. Justin Ferguson responding to our call. He's busy with the Auburn Observer. Justin, welcome in. Wow. You know, wordsmith, how would you describe what's going on in your backyard there with Auburn Baseball and Milwaukee? How are you? I'm doing all right. I would describe it as baseball. Sometimes this kind of stuff, you know, kind of happens. Yeah. I mean, Milwaukee jumping all over Auburn today. You know, this is a Milwaukee team.

It's the second lowest rated team in the field. You know, Auburn playing at home, got a lot of momentum, got that fourth seed. And, I mean, Milwaukee just did a great job of hitting and hitting and staying on them and been able to kind of do that. And so, you know, kind of shell-shocked Auburn, I thought, especially their offense early on. So, they've tried to crawl back a little bit, but it's going to take a whole lot to really make it a game at this point for Auburn.

Yeah, they just got three of them back in the bottom half of the fourth. And Milwaukee just got one of those back, so it's now 11-3 in the fifth. But here's the bottom line. You summed it up. Believe it or not, some folks here played baseball back in the day, long time ago. But one thing hasn't changed. That is, sometimes this is just the way it's going to work out. I don't care how good or bad you are. Good teams have bad days. Bad teams have good days.

The best thing probably right now, would you agree, is go ahead, take your lumps, wipe the slate clean like your teacher back in the day when they had old-fashioned black boards. You can take it and wipe it with an eraser. Start over and just get busy with game two. Yeah, no, that's probably it. I mean, they'll try to keep kind of plugging away here, but don't want to burn any pitchers or anything like that at this point. But yeah, yeah, it's just, you know, for Auburn, you've got to show that you're good at responding to adversity, which I think this team has done a good job of throughout the year.

You talk about how many game threes of series they won, you know, this season in SEC play, that slow start, how they were able to overcome it. They've done a really good job of responding to adversity, and they're going to have to do that because, you know, if Milwaukee holds on and wins this game like they probably will today, Auburn's going to have to come out of the loser's bracket. And, you know, the good news is you're playing at home, and, you know, as you're saying, like, you are the best team, the best playing team throughout the season in this region.

So you can still take care of business, but obviously you may get a lot tougher on yourself when you fall behind like this this early. Who is Butch going to pitch in the second game, Petrovic, Alvarez, or your thoughts? It's Ben Alvarez here mostly, you know, in game two of these series. So I think that we kind of stuck to the Marciano and Alvarez, and then, you know, you can get kind of towards the end and play around a little bit more. But, yeah, I mean, I would imagine Alvarez being the Saturday guy, being the one that they go to, you know, tomorrow in game two of this series.

And then you have a guy, Petrovic, who has been really good in, like, you know, kind of crunch situations. He's done a really good job in those kind of game threes, those rubber matches. So, you know, I would imagine they try to, you know, not shake it up too much, but just stick to the setup. Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer, if you are a football coach and you got some hot shots coming in on the recruiting trail, it sets up nicely because it's a no-brainer. You take them over and watch some pretty good baseball.

Your thoughts just about that and on the flip side for Auburn fans, obviously, it's always recruiting season. What can you tell us about the latest weekend? Yeah, I mean, I think Auburn's doing a really good job of lining up some official visits here, you know, these next few weekends and really trying to make moves. They've gotten a lot of momentum with some guys. I would expect, you know, maybe some real progress at edge rusher. That seems to be kind of the edge rusher defense line's been the one they've really been targeting here with some of these guys over the next couple weeks.

But the offensive line continues to be, you know, a really big selling point for them. We talked about them getting late in Von Bryant last week, the big four-star offensive tackle from Delaware. You know, they've also, on Monday, they picked up another, you know, offensive tackle in this class from Tennessee and Rass Brown. And so, I was looking this up the other day. Auburn signed two high school offensive tackles in the 26th class. So, that really, like, you know, the quick turnaround that the staff had to get.

[1:40:36] They were on pace to do it again here in 27. Auburn had only done that once in the previous decade. So, the fact that they're investing as much kind of time and effort and money into, you know, recruiting offensive tackle, I think, is a pretty big thing. And I would imagine they continue to push that boom forward. I think Auburn's got a really good chance to get Joshua Dobson, who is coming in this weekend, a cornerback. Former Alabama commitment, Nash Johnson. Now, everybody wants him. And then, also, Chicken.

Chicken Gerard out of Viger is another one. James Pace is one. And, again, a lot of these guys have got three more official visits scheduled. The next three or four weeks. And, also, one we talked about. And I know people have laughed about this. But getting someone in. You see it all the time in basketball. But, Nico Kompass, the 6'7", 270 pounds, originally from Germany, went to the NFL Academy that we talked with you about a couple weeks ago. I believe in England. He is coming in for a visit.

Then, I think he goes to Michigan. But, you get these guys on campus, you've got a much better chance to get them. Absolutely. Yeah. And, especially these days with the way recruiting has gone for these high school guys, they want their decisions kind of made in the summer. They want to go ahead and get it done. And, I think it's the right thing to do. You know, you go ahead and make a decision. And, you can focus on your senior year of football. You know, just really enjoying that aspect of it and really focusing on that.

Sure, you can take visits. You can do stuff in the fall. But, a lot of guys want to have a spot, right? Especially with, you know, these days with the way the portal goes. Like, you don't want to be left. Hey, I'm going to take my time with my decision. We might get to December. And, it's like, hey, brother, we ain't got any room for you at this point. So, you know, I think that's why summer has gotten bigger and bigger in terms of recruiting. So, yeah, just bringing these kids on campus, letting them get to experience Auburn.

You know, classes are back in session around here. So, it's not the full-blown, you know, Auburn. I joke with people all the time. It's like, you know, you get the Auburn field because, like, they're still playing baseball here. There's some events going on. Classes are going on. But, you don't have quite as much traffic this time of year. So, I mean, I think that's a good way to kind of sell Auburn to some of these kids and these families coming down for visits. Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer.

Some folks say they're going to take a big class. Some folks say they're going to take a small class. Justin, what about Auburn? What can you tell Auburn fans as far as the size of this class? They're going to go small or they're going to go pedal to metal? You know, I think it's going to be probably more towards the smaller size. And, you know, kind of what I've been told and what I've been able to gather about this recruiting philosophy is that Auburn is going to look at high school recruiting, put it very simply.

Outside of maybe like offensive line and maybe defensive tackle where you have some guys you want to develop quarterback or you want to kind of develop for the future. Most of the guys they want to take in these high school classes are instant impact guys. They want guys to be able to come in at all these different positions and say, hey, if we're going to use a spot on you, if we're going to put you in on this team, we're going to spend money on you.

And, yeah, if we're going to spend money on you and not a transfer who's got experience later on, we need to think you're going to be ready to roll right away. So, I think because of that, this is going to be more of a quality than quantity type of class for Auburn. And I think they're also a good set. Now, like I said, offensive line, that's a position group you want to stack. You know, some guys to develop. You always want to take a quarterback. You know, you can develop down the road as well.

But, really, I think at pretty much every other position, I think you're going to see Auburn really want to take guys they feel like could come in and play right away. I thought Alex Golich had a great answer. You know, there's been so much wailing and gnashing of teeth this week about will it be 16 or 24 that they expand the playoffs to? And he said, look, the playoffs, expanding the playoffs are the furthest thing from my mind right now. I want to establish a foundation at Auburn.

I thought that was a good answer. Yeah. Yeah, no, 100%. I mean, I think that's one of those things. You've got to crawl before you walk if you're Auburn, and you've got to walk before you run. And, you know, this is an Auburn football team that's had five straight losing seasons. Like, you know, playoff, yeah, it would be great to be in the playoff. If I'm Auburn, I'm like, I'd like to play in the postseason again. I'd like to win a bowl game. I'd like to, you know, I'd like to finish a year where you've won more games than you've lost, which has been tough for them to do these last several years.

So, yeah, I think Alex Coles has the right perspective on it. And he's one of those guys that I think he is a talker. I mean, you know, he can give you a lot of his thoughts on a lot of things in detail, but he's also very honest and very blunt about it. And it's like, look, you know, these guys down here are talking about, oh, the playoff, oh, the, you know, conference scheduling and all that and all the ins and outs and that. And they've been, you know, this has been their kind of issue and they're, they're talking points for years now for a guy who's brand new to the league and trying to rebuild a program.

[1:45:45] And, you know, it's all about what's right in front of them. Justin, talk to us about this schedule and analyzing. It's just the psychology involved. Obviously, first four games at home, I think after the first three games, you're going to see a personality with this team. You got Baylor, which they're not the greatest team in the world, but certainly can give you a game. And then week two, and we'll talk about that. You fast forward to the Florida game. After that third weekend, I think a fan's going to start seeing the personality of this team in depth.

And you did a good job there at the Auburn Observer. Talk to us about some of the memories of Auburn and Florida in the past. Yeah, no, I mean, I think it was really, really cool when they announced this week that Auburn-Florida is going to be a night game. I think it's going to be the best type of atmosphere in Jordan-Hare. And look, man, like, you know, I've, I started covering Auburn football. I was in college in 20, in 2012 was my first year covering. I've only covered one Auburn-Florida football game.

They used to play every year. So, you know, growing up, you know, I have the memories of those, you know, early 2000s games where, you know, Auburn would win. And, you know, kind of crazy, like the, you know, the Damon Duvall kicks, one of, one of my earlier memories of that. Obviously, the West Byron walk-off field goal there, Trey Smith flipping into the end zone. The only, and I'll tell you one thing, it's not a win, but like, the only game. I've ever covered from Auburn and Florida was in 19 when Auburn went down to the Swamp and played them.

And there's a touchdown run in like the third quarter, the fourth quarter of that game that kind of breaks it open for Florida and kind of seals it. And I'll tell you, it's the loudest I've ever heard a stadium ever. And so, yeah, you know, they get you wild. So, yeah, I think for Auburn, it's like, you know, you have an opportunity, right? You go play Baylor in Atlanta. You take care of business, get that established, you know, go ahead and get a good win to get yourself rolling.

Then you get Southern Miss. And, hey, if you're 2-0 heading into Florida with a night game, that place is going to be on full tilt. And I think it's a really good time to get a team like Florida because I think both Auburn and Florida, first-year head coaches, a lot of new players, a lot of new pieces on the roster. They're going to be figuring out who they are. And I think you'd much rather play a team like Florida early in the year before they figure it all out.

So, getting to do that at home, I think, is going to be a pretty good thing for Auburn. Brent and I went to Florida to talk about a wild atmosphere down there. I don't know if, Brett, you remember or not. One memory we have of that game, we had a pregame show live right outside the stadium. We heard all this racket. Here came the Hare Krishnas coming up the street. Literally. Are the Hare Krishnas going to come for the Auburn pregame with Florida when they play the game of the Plains?

You know what? I haven't seen them around here. I don't know if they're still operating in this area. I remember that very well. The other thing I remember is 110 degrees. At a gate. Yeah, Florida. I've had Auburn fans tell me for years, and we get into what game, would they like to see again? And Florida always comes up because it was the first game of that Pat Dye Amen Corner. And they just got used to that schedule and just really enjoyed the rivalry. Harold mentioned some of the mailbag stuff.

How do you measure Auburn's football talent in 2026? Will the Euro signees in basketball be okay? And then the Auburn Florida memories. The email, 6 a.m. on Wednesday. The mailbag. The podcast. Baseball coverage. Where can we get online to get everything? Yeah, auburnobserver.com. Check it out there. So, we've got a lot of Auburn baseball stuff this weekend, and as they'll continue on. And what should be a more interesting tournament now with the way this first game is going, we've got our guy Henry Patton covering that up there for us.

And then, yeah, I've got plenty of stuff this week on Auburn football. Some recruiting, some roster talk. I did a little basketball as well earlier in the week. So, you can just go to auburnobserver.com. Check it all out there. And everything we do gets sent to your email inbox. So, go ahead and subscribe, and we'll have plenty of stuff here for the rest of the offseason. Favorite two words for Auburn baseball fans right now, double elimination. Listen, Justin, thank you so much. Keep up the good word and stay safe, okay?

Yep. Yes, sir. Thank you, buddy. Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer. Again, 11-3 at last count. Milwaukee leading Auburn in the regionals there. B.B., are you ready for some baseball from Tuscaloosa regional style? I am, by the way. Update quick. At 11-4, the Auburn Tigers added one. Should be fun tonight. By the way, that game is on the SEC Network. They moved it last night. Alabama and Alabama State again. Alabama's got the pitching to win this series and go on and probably face Florida State if they get out of their own regional.

Got to play defense. Got to play clean. But, yeah, don't get – Harold, one piece of advice, don't get behind 10 to nothing. No, I guarantee you. Busy night. Got Alabama also. The Braves taking on the Reds. That game is on the road. Mr. Holmes on the mound for the game away from. Holm again. Got a busy weekend. Braves and Reds. They'll start the night 8 1⁄2 up on the fiddle. Up your field. Stay tuned to see how that changes tonight. We're going to take care of business for now.

[1:51:00] On behalf of B.B., Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here. Harold Bogg, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again Monday, noon to 2, for the B.M.O. Bug Show. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9 The Score.

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