Boomo Bugg Show 061226

[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 Sports. And welcome into the Boomo Bugg Show. Brett Beaird and Harold Bugg are going to be joining us just in a few minutes. Troy in West Virginia start the College World Series in about one hour. Bill Shanks is going to be joining us at about 12.35 to talk about the Braves and the Georgia Bulldogs in the College World Series.

But Jimmy is here right now to preview Alabama and Oklahoma, the College World Series, and talk a little recruiting. And Jimmy Stein does a great job as co-host of Locked On Bama with Luke Robinson on the Locked On Network. Jimmy, welcome to the show today, buddy. How are you doing? Oh, I'm doing great, Brett. Thanks for having me on today. Jimmy, let's talk about Alabama and Oklahoma. The Tide beat the Sooners two out of three games, April the 2nd through the 4th. But I tell you, Jimmy, both of these teams have come light years since then.

How do you see tomorrow at 2 o'clock? Pretty even matchup. I mean, I know Alabama won two of three in Norman. That's going to give Alabama some confidence. Alabama's playing well. Oklahoma's probably a better baseball team today than they were in early April. I don't think that they're worried at all about that their opponent had beaten them during the season. Both teams actually playing good ball. If anything, it's kind of a shame that they don't re-seed this event. I mean, I think after the Supers, there's so many upsets annually, really, that after the Supers, they should probably re-seed things.

Of course, if they did, I'm not so sure this still wouldn't be the same matchup, because both teams would be seeded very close to one another. This could have been, for instance, a 4-5 type game. I think that it's going to be low scoring. Now, both teams are capable of really hitting homers. I mean, this could be a matchup of three-run homers to some extent, but it's a big park. Rosenblatt's a big stadium. It's a big park, bigger than the vast majority of SEC parks. Both teams going with their number one pitcher.

I'm anticipating a low scoring game, and I sort of like Alabama's chances here, because who would have thought that Alabama could travel to Nebraska and their starting pitcher is a homecoming for him? Tyler Faze from Nebraska, and I'm sure he'll have a lot of family and a lot of people from his hometown in the stands. Absolutely. Jimmy, the one thing that we talk about, Alabama has a great rotation. Tyler Faze, Zane Adams, and Upchurch, they've got some bats that in particular have been coming around. Bryce Fowler, Justin LeBron, Liam, and friends.

But, Jimmy, I keep going back to two weeks ago when they had six errors in a game. Again, that to me is the key. Can they play defense consistently in the College World Series? Well, what's strange about this team, and there's so much strange about the team, because if you looked at several statistics, you would think there's no way that they had a winning season, much less landed in Omaha. And in particular, their defensive stats are pretty horrible. Yet at the same time, they're also capable of being very good defensively.

For instance, Justin LeBron is the perfect poster child for this subject. Because at shortstop, he will make the spectacular play. As a matter of fact, he'll make the spectacular play as well as any shortstop in college baseball. His range is fantastic. The arm is fantastic. He can get the ball from his glove to his hand and to the first baseman as well as anyone. And at the same time, it can be just a three hopper with a nice little Sunday hop and an easy throw over, and he throws it in the third row.

I mean, he will butcher the routine plays from time to time, and the errors have piled up for him over the course of the season, much like the rest of his teammates. Yet at times, he is spectacular defensively, and he's not the only one like that. Bryce Fowler is very capable in center field. Brady Neal is not really the regular catcher. It's normally Johnny Lim. Lim has a broken finger, so that's a limited him to DH. So Brady Neal back behind the plate. But guess what?

[5:00] He's a really good catcher at times. There will also be some pass balls in there. So both, you know, really all over the lineup. And frankly, I think the explanation comes down to this. Some of these guys play out of position because they had to get the bats in the lineup. For instance, the first baseman, Luke Vaughn, he came to Alabama as a catcher. Brady Neal comes to Alabama as a catcher. Johnny Lim comes to Alabama as a catcher. They ended up being three of their best nine hitters.

So they have to find spots for them. And Luke Vaughn playing first moved the normal first baseman, Jason Torres, over to third. And it hasn't always been pretty over there for Jason playing third instead of first. So really, that's probably as good of an explanation as there is. But for those that doubt Alabama's defense, and they give you plenty of reason to doubt it, don't be shocked if they make one web gym after another because they've done that all season too. Jimmy, talk about the emotion before we get into a little recruiting.

We talked to Roger Hoover on Tuesday, and he said it was one of the best days of his life. In fact, they had a shorter postgame show. He went down to the field to enjoy the festivities. Former players, there were a lot of coaches there. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at the crowd on a Monday. But there was so much emotion to get this baseball program basically back over the hump, get into the College World Series again. Jimmy, your thoughts on this baseball program going to the next level again?

Yeah, I was there on Monday too, and it was really emotional. Now, I'm not there all the time. I mean, so many Alabama baseball fans are, but I've been in there a lot. A lot over the last 27 years, you know, 99% of which did not end in Omaha. And it was very emotional because it didn't feel like the culmination of a great season. It felt like the culmination of 27 years is kind of what it felt like. And I was just really happy myself for the Alabama baseball fans.

There are literal baseball fans. They're not just, hey, I do baseball because I'm counting down the days till football gets back up. There are fans out there that not only have season tickets but go to all the games, that go to some of the road games. I was happy for them because there's been a long time coming for those fans. And, yeah, it was a very emotional Monday, not just a happy one. And the crowd was good. A lot of that crowd had been there the night before for hours waiting for the game to restart.

Absolutely. Jimmy, I believe only two official visitors coming in, according to Andrew Bone, of Bama Online this weekend. But recruiting marches on. Bama, after two very good recruiters, one name or nicknamed Bama, Monsoon Sales, the five-star from Indianapolis. I did notice a Sonny Gales from IMG Academy actually has dropped two teams, Tennessee and Notre Dame. He was going to make official visits. He's going to decide June the 27th. I believe, Jimmy, what I can gather, this seems to be between Alabama, Stanford, and Washington. And his family does value academics.

Jimmy, your thoughts on a little recruiting, and particularly with Gales. Yeah, that would be very exciting. Pick up for Alabama. And as of right now, it looks like that is going to happen or has a very good chance of happening. Hosani Gales is originally from the West Coast. But like so many of the top high school players, he went to Florida to IMG to play a couple of seasons. And, boy, you know, it prepares you for big-time college football because you're on the practice field and in the weight room every day with other kids who are also going to land basically, you know, nothing but power for schools.

Hosani has narrowed it down to Alabama, Stanford, and Washington. Dad played at Stanford. That's a draw there for him. He's originally from the West Coast, so that explains the Washington thing. But Alabama seems to be his favorite, I believe, in the latest Rivals industry ranking. He's right around 34th in the country. I mean, that shows how good he is. For those unaware, there's generally 32 five-stars. So to be ranked 34th means he's just on the cusp of being considered a five-star prospect. He's electric. He's one of these wide receiver types that can, you know, take a tunnel screen 90 yards for a touchdown.

I mean, he's got some real big-time speed, but he's not just a track guy playing football. There's real football skill there. He'll make you miss. He's got really good hands. For a 5'11 guy, he's good with the contested catch. He's a wide receiver one and would be considered wide receiver one by anyone except for the presence of Monchon Sales out there, who's considered the number one wide receiver in his class nationally. He's almost certainly down to Alabama and Indiana. Now, I think he's going to take a trip to Ohio State this weekend, and that's really enticing for wide receivers.

[10:28] But Monchon is probably going to decide between Alabama and Indiana soon. Just because Alabama signs Gales, that does not really affect things with sales. I think that they will have still a competitive financial package for sales. That's always important when you're talking about a player of his magnitude. But, boy, if you get Gales and sales in one group, I know it's just two, and they've had classes in the past, ridiculous wide receiver talent. But this one would measure up with almost any of them. Absolutely. Jimmy, before we let you go, let me ask you about the offensive line recruiting.

Andrew Bone also had another nugget. Andrew Berry is a young man we've talked about this spring. Tupelo High School in Mississippi, considered to be one of the top ones, at least for a while, was at the top of Alabama's list, was set for an official visit, I believe, next weekend. As Andrew said, quote, the price tag appears to have significantly climbed in recent weeks, with Alabama opting to walk away. Jimmy, your thoughts on that? And is Stafford Willis, a three-star offensive lineman from ARAB, all 6'5", 290 of them?

Now, he's South Carolina, UCLA, Virginia, et cetera. Has Antonio Berry dropped and Stafford Willis raged or increased his level as far as Alabama and offensive lineman? Yeah, what's happening there is a few moving parts. But number one is, if Antonio Berry's cost has gone well above what Alabama values him, they're going to be uninterested in general. Now, for instance, that doesn't mean because some kid costs a lot of money, that means Alabama won't be interested. That's not the case at all. There's a value that they place on each one of these guys.

For instance, they think the world of Monchon sales, they're very comfortable with making what apparently is a very high offer to him. I'm sure they would have been comfortable with a pretty high offer to Antonio Berry considering his status, you know, in the recruiting landscape. But apparently the price climbed a little too high. On top of this, there are 16 offensive linemen on scholarship right now at Alabama. All 16 in return next year. All 16. There is not a senior. There's not even a junior who looks like they're ready to turn pro.

So the entire 16 will be back. Very likely the starting five will all be back. So Alabama just didn't plan to spend a lot of resources on the offensive line in this class. Now, I believe they will in the 2028 class. I expect the offensive line to be their highest priority perhaps in the 2028 group. But in 2027, I think they're only going to be interested in what they would call developmental guys. Guys they don't have to spend a lot of money on. But guys they believe in time might prove to be good.

And Stafford Willis fits that description perfectly. An in-state lineman with a lot of positional versatility. A tough kid. But he's also an athlete. Got to be an athlete first to play for DeBoer up front. So they like Stafford Willis and I think they'd be really excited to take him. But he is more of a developmental guy. And he's not going to be very pricey as an in-state three-star type. They'll take that on. But considering the room is so full with no expected attrition, they're just not spending a lot of resources on that position unless they feel there's a great bargain out there.

Absolutely. Jimmy, great stuff as always. You and Luke Robinson stay on top of it. And I'm guessing there's going to be a podcast tomorrow afternoon or tomorrow night after that Alabama-Oklama baseball game. You do, I believe, about six, sometimes seven a week. Jimmy, where can we get online and get the best Alabama coverage on the planet? Locked on Bama. You can find us on YouTube if you want the video version, which you can watch on your phone or computer or even on your TV. Or if you just like to listen to your podcast by audio form as you drive around in the car, you can find Locked on Bama wherever you find your podcasts.

And we do have six shows a week. And in addition to breaking news, and there could be a post-game show if Alabama beats Oklahoma. If they don't, we may be too depressed to record. Jimmy, always enjoy the conversation, my friend. Have a great weekend, bud. Hey, appreciate it, Brett. Thanks. Jimmy Stein, Locked on Bama. When we come back, Blake Lovell covers the SEC and particularly the SEC teams in the College World Series when we return to the BMO Buck Show on 93.9. Let's go. Whoa, okay. This one says you get a free phone if you switch.

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[20:58] The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. The Score. Welcome back again. Really appreciate the ride around the Tennessee Valley. And for Blake Lovell taking time out of his busy schedule there at Southeastern 16. Also busy with the Blue Ribbon Yearbook and Establish the Past. That is the podcast. Blake, welcome in. Why wait for October for some World Series action? It's going to be, what, rocking and rolling here within the hour. How are you? Yeah, I do a lot, guys. It will be for sure.

And as usual these days when it comes to the big three sports, plenty of SEC flavor to talk about. It's almost the SEC invitational, is it not? But first things first, it's back in the day when Elvis was always the center stage guy. They always had the warm-up act. What a warm-up act. Cinderella is going to the ball, in this case, Omaha. How about Troy and John Denver's old team, West Virginia? Yeah, I tell you, those two teams, obviously, again, you sort of look at the momentum that they have right now.

I mean, I don't see any reason why either team wouldn't feel like that they can make a substantial run at this thing just based on how they've been playing. Again, the SEC has gotten a lot of the talk this week. And Will, just knowing that you are going to have one SEC team playing for the national title. But I think still, you know, you look at these two teams and, man, what a fun matchup again for Troy, kind of their path to get here. And, you know, Florida was the team that a lot of people thought were kind of that sort of, hey, they can win this whole thing.

And then Troy comes out of there, West Virginia needed, you know, some really good, consistent play there towards the end to be able to knock off Kentucky. And so, yeah, I think this is just as exciting as any of the others, to be honest with you, just based on how these two are playing. Who is your sleeper SEC team? I know we've got Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole Miss. Ole Miss really surprised Auburn and a lot of other pundits. Their pitching was very good. They held Auburn.

Well, Auburn was 3-19 with runners in scoring position. Bianco was a very good coach. Georgia, Mississippi State hit 21 home runs, and Georgia hits 173. Then you've got Alabama and Oklahoma. Who is your surprise team to maybe make it to the championship game? Yeah, you know, I tell you, I think the winner of that Alabama-Oklahoma game to me is pretty fascinating, you know, and I think it's for different reasons, right, when you just look at what those two teams have done this season. And I think overall, you know, you kind of look at, again, how they were able to put it all together to get here.

And Oklahoma is not really, I would say, a statistical darling, you know, by any means in terms of, like, looking where they rank in terms of the pitching or the hitting in the league. But they just seemingly just kind of find a way. And I think with Alabama, you know, obviously we saw what they could do when they put it all together against St. John's and how they were able to kind of, you know, command that series. But I think right now, to me, again, you're going to look at Georgia and Texas as certainly being the teams that are going to, you know, kind of be the favorites here as we go into this.

But I think, you know, I would not, just knowing that one of these teams, either Alabama or Oklahoma, is going to kind of keep this confidence going, coming out of this. I think that speaks to something. And I do like, again, the way that the Crimson Tide are playing. But I also think Oklahoma kind of looks like a team on a mission, too. So I'm pretty fascinated by that game in particular, even if, again, a lot of the other attention is going to be on these other matchups.

Obviously, there's Ole Miss, no stranger. Does any team out there have a coach that can get hot at the right time and squeeze more juice out of the Orange and the Ole Miss Rebels? Yeah, no kidding. I think certainly when you look at Ole Miss and seeing what they've done here before, that's going to be on everybody's mind. Whether, you know, we can feel like, oh, that was a different season. Yes, but it is going to be on everybody's mind, what they were able to accomplish the last time this happened.

And, yeah, I mean, I think, again, you look at a team in terms of their pitching and what they've been able to do to kind of get here. And I think overall, you know, this is a team that I think you have to look at and feel like, all right, if they're able to just kind of, you know, again, win this game the way they need to win it, I think that's going to be very important because, you know, do I think they're going to come out and be able to necessarily, you know, do what George is doing at that offensive rate?

Probably not, but I think that's where, again, they're pitching to really be a factor here. And so that's what I like about this, guys. I mean, we probably say this every year, but I think just with these SEC teams, you know, they all feel a little bit different. And I think that's kind of what's, you know, the most intriguing to me is that everyone's kind of used a bit of a different way to get here. And everyone has kind of their strengths and potential weaknesses. And I think for Ole Miss, you know, again, a team that not many people thought would be here.

But we said that last time around, too, and that's all that happened. Oh, but we want to ask you about this Texas Tech debacle. But Harold and I haven't even had a chance to talk about this. There's been so many things going on this week. Florida announced they're going to renovate Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Okay, well, you know, that's going to be about $200 or $300 million. No, $1.45 billion with a B. I'm thinking, are they going to have marble floors and gold-plated handles? And it's going to take three years.

[26:26] Now, a lot of this is premium seating and luxury boxes, as you can imagine. I don't know if you saw that, but $1.45 billion got my attention. Yeah, when I saw that, I was thinking, you know, they're talking about bringing the Super Bowl to Nashville. Why aren't we just bringing the Super Bowl to Nashville? Absolutely. I mean, if they're going to spend $1.45 billion, they better be trying to get the Super Bowl in there. Taylor Swift, like anybody they can get in that stadium on a regular basis.

But, you know, it's always funny because, you know, people sometimes try to make the argument, well, there's not as much money to go around as you would think. Yeah, well, $1.45 billion, that's plenty of money. I mean, I think, yeah, in the SEC, that is certainly, I mean, just looking at, again, kind of the renders of what they're going to do with this thing and everything kind of that goes along with it. Who's going to be the person that says, you know what, Florida's going to go for $1.45 billion?

Let me show you, I got $2 billion. There you go. We're going to see who that's going to be, right? Size matters, right? Better rather than later, that's going to happen. I mentioned the Texas State debacle with Sorsby. Your thoughts on that? Yeah, I mean, it's just probably not saying anything that everyone else hasn't already said. I mean, we've kind of reached the point to where all the conversations we've had over the years about the NCAA and their ability to do this or that, and just how eventually I think it was going to sort of catch up to them when it comes to just kind of the nature of everything.

Here we are. Like, I mean, it's kind of one where, again, we've now gone this route to where there is a very good chance. And, you know, we can say what we want and the coaches can say what they want and all this. But he's going to play. And it's really just a matter of, I think, now understanding that this is about as far as we've pushed it when it comes to these kind of situations. And so, like we said, it's the NCAA kind of being in a position where they've kind of put themselves in the spot where it's like, well, here we are again.

But, you know, again, this has also gone the legal route and all this other stuff, and I just think it's one where I don't blame anybody. You know, of course, George and others have put out the statements, and we've seen everything about, you know, we're not going to play these guys. And, you know, this is just the tip of the iceberg because, like it or not, right, he's not the only one that's doing this kind of thing. He may be the only one that got caught to this level.

And so it just opens up a lot more, I think, negative possibilities here as we move forward. Absolutely. Tell us about the best podcast, including the five best three-point shooters in the SEC. You and Max had one. I saw that drop, I believe, this morning. Where can we get online to get all the good stuff? Yeah, I always appreciate it, guys. Yeah, you can take out all of our SEC stuff over at Southeast in 16. Plenty of baseball, of course, this weekend, but a lot of off-season basketball and football as well.

And, yeah, everything else, you can follow me on Twitter, slash x.dbladeslevel. Sounds great, Blake. As always, great job. Kick back, enjoy some World Series action. And, by the way, the World Cup, they tell me, is underway. So have a great weekend kicking back and enjoying, okay? Thanks, guys, you too. Thank you, bud. Thank you, level Southeastern 16. Now, the one and the only Mr. Bill show next. Stay with us. When you're at work, you never know when you'll be interrupted. But with the Dell Pro, powered by Intel Core Ultra with V Pro, no matter what distracts you, your laptop won't.

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Atlanta Falcons traded for an offensive tackle yesterday. They acquired Juanye Morris from the Kansas City Chiefs and a seventh-round pick. In exchange, they sent a 20-27 sixth-round selection to Kansas City. The Braves and White Sox scheduled for yesterday was post-polling. The Braves are back in action tonight. They'll be at Citi Field in New York as they take on the Mets. Spencer Strider starts for the Braves. He's 4-1 with an ERA right at 4. Nolan McLean will start for the Mets. He is 3-4 with a 3-9-8 ERA.

College World Series gets underway today. West Virginia and Troy will play in Game 1. Then it's North Carolina Ole Miss. Tomorrow, Alabama meets Oklahoma. Georgia plays Texas. Bundle auto and home, renters or condo. And save with Progressive. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score. The Colonel's cooked up a new $10 bucket of the day just for you. Monday, 24 nuggets for $10. Tuesday, 8-piece fried chicken for $10. Wednesday, 10 wings for $10. Thursday, 8 tenders for $10. Friday, 24 nuggets for… Ooh, you guessed it, didn't you? $10. The $10 bucket of the day deal.

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Grainger. For the ones who get it done. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. What would a Friday be without the Mr. Bill Show? Bill Shanks is host of the Bill Shanks Show on 93.1 FM in Macon, Georgia. Online at thesesuperstations.com and on the tube at 41NBC. Bill Shanks, welcome in. How are you? I'm great. How are y'all? Hey, Billy. Do you live in the home of good baseball? You've got the Braves up the road from you. You've got the Bulldogs up the road from you.

Bill, baseball is good these days in the Peachtree States, isn't it? You know, Harold, as I've said so many times, it's good to be the king. Is it all the money that the Bill Shanks Foundation is contributing? What's the secret of the sauce here, Bill? They need to contribute to my foundation because if not for me, they'd be nothing. There you go. Talk to us about the dogs. Obviously, how refreshing is it to see the SEC back in, but some of the old faces, LSU, Vanderbilt, even Tennessee, they're all watching from the couch for the most part.

And you've got some more characters in there. Return of the past, Ole Miss, they were up, they died, they're back. Your thoughts just overall about the quality of play when it comes to baseball in this league down here. Well, and let me remind you that Florida is at home, too, which is always a good thing when the Gators are at home. They need to be at their home in their mother's basement trying to get a job and checking in with their probation officer. But, you know, look, it's unbelievable, the talent in the SEC.

[37:02] It's going to be a fun – I mean, the first game starts in a couple of – two o'clock, I believe, Eastern time. Yeah. Two o'clock all the time. So, it's going to be fun to see how these games go. I mean, it's – you know, Georgia hasn't been in the College World Series since 2008. So, that's 18 years. That's a long time. I haven't won a baseball national championship since 1990. I was young, good-looking in 1990. You guys should have seen me. It was amazing. Well, it's – dang it, we missed everything, Bill.

Yeah, I know. But, you know, it was – it's been a long time. So, Georgia's got a great team. They had two unbelievable games. I never want to see Mississippi State. I want to see those other Bulldogs again for a long time. That was about the – I almost started drinking. I mean, I – you know, by God, those two games were unbelievable. So, I hope it will be a little less stressful, but I don't think it will be because Texas has got a great pitcher. Yeah. It's going to be very difficult to deal with him.

But Georgia's got a great offense. It's used to a lot of home runs, which they may not get there in – I guess they don't call it Rosenblatt Stadium anymore, or whatever they call it, Charles Schwab Field or E.F. Button or whoever the h*** it is. But, you know what, it's going to be a lot of fun. And all these SEC teams – I mean, I just can't imagine one of these five not being the national champion. Could you? No, not at all. Let me ask you about that, Bill.

We talked with some of our friends out in Omaha yesterday. He grew up there. His dad's in charge of Press Box, in fact. And he said what they did is, yeah, they moved it over there because, basically, the stadium was still good, but the infrastructure around it where it was in town – basically, NCAA said we've got to go somewhere else to make money. The Braves do it with all the stuff around the stadium. But he said what they did, they moved it, but the dimensions are pretty much the same.

You've seen the same dialogue that we have is Georgia hits a lot of home runs, but will they be able in a bigger park to do the same? And someone brought up a good point. They may not be able to hit the home runs, but that's still a park where you can get a lot of doubles, and the doubles add up, too. Well, they do, and, you know, it's not going to be as easy. There's no question. I mean, Georgia's average – I don't know what the number is right now, but, I mean, it's been around 10 runs a game the entire year.

Yeah, yes. It's just ridiculous. And so, you know, a home run has been a big part of that. And I know – I remember at the beginning of the season, we had people on our show that were talking about, well, it's going to be interesting to see how Georgia does when they go on the road. Well, I mean, they did pretty well on the road. They did pretty well everywhere. And so, you know, you've just got to be hot. You've got to get the right hit. And you know what?

Look, I see this all the time, and I'm going to say it again today at 3 o'clock when I talk about this Georgia team because it's true. When you're in a college World Series, when you're in a college football playoff, when you're in a World Series, NBA Finals, you've got to have heroes. You know, O.J. Unanobi is a hero in New York City because of what he did on one play on Wednesday night that just sent those New Yorkers into more of a frenzy than they already are because they're living under a socialist.

I mean, so, and you know, you look at Jorge Soler, you look at David Justice, you can go down the line of people that have stepped up. And we have someone on the show, Jim Callis, my good friend from MLB Network, MLB.com, who covered Georgia when he was in college when they last won a World Series. And he was telling me about some names, you know, of Dave Fleming and a couple of other names I didn't really know about. But he said, if not for those guys, they wouldn't have won a World Series.

So it's like, okay, you know, regardless of the part, regardless of who you're playing, one of it is, it's like I'm getting ready to have a speech in the clubhouse right now. One of you guys has got to be our hero. And, you know, those are the people who allow their teams to win a championship in any sport at any level. You've got to have a hero. And so whether it's a home run or a double or a ball that caroms off the bottom of the fence or whatever, you've got to have those big hits.

You've got to have those big plays. You've got to have the big strikeout. I mean, look, all those home runs, we had 21 home runs hit last week in Athens between Georgia and Mississippi State, 12 for them and 9 for the real Bulldogs. And let me tell you, the last inning of game two, you had the Mississippi State with the winning run, walk-off potential run at the plate. One being, and both of them had hit multiple home runs in the two days already. One was the Parker kid who was the, I don't ever want to see that kid again.

Yeah. If the Braves draft him in a couple of years, I don't even know how to watch him. He was a beast. And then the other kid was Ace Reese. And Georgia's kid, Justin Bird, got two strikeouts. Well, I mean, that's what you've got to do. And because you know what? It could have easily gone the other way. So you've just got to have those big performances in those big games. Here's the deal. To put a name with it, Bill, the first name came to my mind.

Braves fans are going to remember this all the way back to the Miracle Mets of 69. Al Weiss, you didn't hear him before the World Series. You didn't hear him afterwards. He couldn't even hit his weight in the regular season. He hit .455 in the World Series and was the exact, he is the poster child of who you're talking about. Nobody had a clue who this guy was. He stepped up and did what exactly you said, Al Weiss. And let me tell you, Tyler Matic was the first-round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies a decade before he even sniffed the big leagues.

[42:31] He had the gifts. He had, it was kind of, it was a sad story. He was a talented young man. He had great potential. He had great stuff. And he got the yips. And his career got derailed. Brian Snicker got him on that roster. He became a part of the bullpen. And the games against Los Angeles Dodgers and the LCS in 2021, that sucker had some unbelievable big strikeouts. And again, it was at the home run in game six that Solaire had? No. But I want to tell you something.

Every Braves fan who was alive that October of 2021 will always remember the name of Tyler Matic. You've just got to have, you know, we don't think about it. It's like, it's like big hits during the regular season or big shots or big touchdown catches. They're important. They help you get a win. You don't remember them like you do when the game's on the line. And that's what every one of these eight teams, including Troy. I mean, look, Troy, I don't know what the heck Troy's going to do.

They're 36-30. I mean, it's kind of ridiculous. But h***, who knows? You know, if they get that big hit, they get that big strikeout. Who knows what they can do as well? Let me dovetail your comment into something about the Braves. And I ask you in the preseason, how good was this Braves bench? And they've been very good. Dominic Smith, Dubon, Yaskramski, Mateo. Let me throw some numbers at you. These guys have produced 19 home runs and 92 RBIs. Here's the kicker. They have 23 game-tying or go-ahead RBIs, including six game-winning RBIs.

That's impressive for a bench. Well, I really like what Alex did. You know, the first day of spring training, he brought Dominic Smith in. Yeah. And Kyle Farmer is a former Georgia Bulldog, so he's my favorite Brave, of course. And Kyle Farmer, and Kyle's hurt right now, but it doesn't matter. Kyle Farmer's been a very good big leaguer. He's not been a star. He's been a role player, but he's doing it for a long time. He knows what he's doing. Jorge Mateo. Now, I wasn't overblown with Jorge Mateo signing to a one-year, I think, one-year million-dollar contract over the winter.

I heard his free training. Oh, my God, the Braves love him. They think they got a deal. They think they got a steal. You know, then I went and looked, and it's like, well, yeah, man, this guy was the Yankees' number one prospect in 2017, right? And number two was Aaron Judge. So, you know, you've got to give him credit for putting this together. I don't know why, and I love it because I think if I were a general manager, and God knows I should have been, I would love to get those players who, like Dominic Smith, like Kyle Farmer, and Mateo to a certain extent, but I think Farmer and Smith are even more examples, that have had success, that have had a little bit of success.

Not necessarily stars, but look, you know, the Braves, I think it was 2000, the Braves had on their bench Bobby Bonilla and Wally Joyner. Now, neither one of those guys were obviously still in their prime, but they had had really great careers. Yeah. They were into their time, and John Sheralds brought them in, and it was a big deal. I mean, that bench was unbelievable with Bobby Bowe and Wally Joyner on there. So, I love those kind of acquisitions because they do make your team look really strong, and, you know, especially when you have something like your left fielder gets caught for PEDs and gets knocked out the whole year, and your $20 million shortstop from Korea does something to get hurt and is awful, you know, can't, you know, it's worse than Pepe Friot.

I mean, you know, you've got those kind of things that it's kind of like, all right, you know those yellow manila folders? Where's my, you know, if the poop hits the fan folder, what am I going to do? And the more of those kind of people that you have on your team that you mentioned that are on this roster, the better they've got a chance to overcome those pitfalls that happen during the course of the eight-month season. Bill, you've got two ouches in that run. Obviously, the Braves have got a nice lead.

They're reaping the fruits of getting off the hot start, but the fields ain't done yet. We're not even near the halfway mark at this point. So, Bill, the question is, what are you hearing as far as maybe improving this team at the trade deadline? Well, look, I have no question that Alex's office is going to be active for a couple of reasons. Number one, he's got the best team in baseball right now by a game and a half over the top. So, you've got the best record in baseball for the majority of the two and a half months the season has been going on.

You're going to do everything you can to make sure that if there's a certain situation pop up that can help your team, you're going to do it. On top of that, financially, obviously, with the money that they're not having to pay the druggie left fielder, that adds to the mix. So, you know, even though I think they're cheap and they don't spend enough money and their finances are, you know, they're full of c***, the bottom line is that the suspicion of Profar gives them even more financial flexibility.

[48:00] Plus, you've got to think about it. You know, if they don't do anything until July, if that's half the season, then that's half the salary for a year that they're going to acquire. You know, so it's almost making $20 million that they're going to acquire. They only have to pay 10 of it. Well, that gives you even more leeway to get multiple people. Do they need another starting pitcher? Yes. They need another relief pitcher? Always. Do they need perhaps another bat? Yeah, I would. So, I think that flexibility and the history of what Alex has done makes you think they are going to be active.

So, you know, I think, you know, there really haven't been any trades yet in baseball this year, which is kind of odd. I mean, usually there's something by even June 12th that you're like, oh, wow, that happened. We haven't seen that so far. So, and you know, look, you can't deny that the CBA situation with a collective bargaining agreement or talks is kind of hanging over all this. Our team's a little bit more leery to be active or add payroll, not knowing what the financial structure will be moving forward.

Well, perhaps. So that, you have to figure that into it as well. So, it's going to be a very interesting, I guess, seven weeks or so until that August third trade deadline. By the way, Cody Campbell and the Texas Tech athletic director sent me an email. He wanted to get the email of the Georgia AD and they're offering to do as much for Georgia as what they've done for Texas Tech the last couple of weeks. Bring it on. Unbelievable, isn't it? I'm glad that Josh Brooks pretty much said in his directive toward his coaches, here's the middle finger, pull it.

You're number one. That's right. So, you know, it's a joke. It's unbelievable, really. And, you know, I don't want to get political, although you know I will if you ask me to. But, you know, the bottom line is that the accountability factor in this country has gone to h*** in a handbag. That's it. Bye-bye. And, oh, God, you know, I've got a problem or I've got an addiction or I'm the wrong. I mean, it is awful. Look, you bet on games. I don't give a d*** if you're sick with the croup.

You do not have any business being near a team nor a sport. And, you know, the bottom line is if this guy was a third-string linebacker, nobody give a c***. You know that. Well, that's exactly right. He's a quarterback. Or a million dollar quarterback. Yeah, and the hypocrisy of everything is just, you know, that's just amazing and hard to keep up with. But, you know, the best meme I've seen on Twitter all week long was, you know, shame Pete Rose is dead because he could transfer to Texas Tech to be eligible.

And Coach Bohannon could coach the baseball team from Alabama out there. That's right. By the way, I've got some friends who've got an addiction, too. They want Georgia to lose every football game. Now, is there anything you can do for them? Wow. Well, I want to tell you something now. It's June 12th. So, we get this baseball championship won in Omaha next weekend. And we're going to turn our attention to another championship come December and January. Yeah, in mid-October. Yeah, mid-October. What a question or what, Bill?

Hey, let me tell you something. At some point, we're going to have to beat you guys over there in Tuscaloosa. What? And we're going to have to do it by three touchdowns to beat you by one because of how you guys, you know, you want to talk about what goes on in Tuscaloosa with referees. Oh, my gosh. All that. My gosh. So, we're ready for you now. We've got a quarterback named Gunnar. You've got to be careful of us, though. I can tell you that right now.

Absolutely. Well, listen, good luck to the Dawgs and the SEC this weekend, my friend. Where can we get online? And we've got listeners who do just that. And listen to your award-winning show. Well, they need to because, you know, they ain't got no alternative that's worth a d*** in your state. So, I mean, I think they can find something good. But thesesuperstations.com will be on at 3 o'clock Eastern, 2 o'clock for you people over there in that other part of the world. And we'll be talking sports leading up to the Braves and the Mets, who are 15 games out of first place.

I think they're going to sweep us and get in the race this weekend, and we'll see. Bill, it's always good to hook up with you. Well, listen, next time we get together, please help Brett with his addiction. He's addicted to Taylor Swift. So, please give him some help and have a great weekend in the meantime, okay? Let me tell you something. That girl needs to go the h*** away. I'm sick. Quote, unquote, for the one, the only Mr. Bill Show. Bill Shanks. He's over there at 93.1 FM in Macon and in line at thesesuperstations.com.

Coming up in the next hour, are we busy? Mike Hugin and Doug Segrist, Justin Ferguson, and the one, the only, Elmer Pierce. It's all straight ahead. Stay with us. Hello, Shoals. It's Elmer Pierce from Garner Pierce Autos. Are you tired of being told that it will take two weeks to service your vehicle or even to look at it to tell you what's wrong with it? Are you tired of being told that it's going to be $200 to $300 an hour for labor? At Garner Pierce Autos, we have four full-time certified and trained technicians that have over 75 years of automotive service experience.

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It starts with the energy and focus and intensity, and then we believe our talent can win a lot of games for us. Of course, we played them in November. It was a very hard game, but we understand the World Cup is just, you know, that much different, and it's going to be even chipier than it was last time. The only time the U.S. and Paraguay have played in a World Cup was the first World Cup in 1930. Up first, Canada in Toronto, hosting Bosnia-Herzegovina. Canada does not have much World Cup history.

In 1986, they lost three games and failed to score a goal, and they didn't return until four years ago in Qatar, and again went 0-3. As a host nation, they didn't have to qualify, but the feeling is they have a much stronger team. This is Bosnia's first World Cup since 2014. Josh Stash, and we're at Westwood One Sports. Need parts fast? Need them now? O'Reilly is fast. Just one part that makes O'Reilly Auto Parts stand apart. Right now at your local O'Reilly Auto Parts, you can get one free set of brake pads when you buy two qualifying brake rotors.

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Visit HenkelSoccerSweeps.com for official rules. Sponsored by Henkel. Henkel, proud partner of U.S. Soccer. The Atlanta Braves are on a mission, and night after night, they're making their case as one of the best teams in baseball. Swung on and hit with massive force. Tie game on a two-run homer by Ronald Acuna. Tonight, the Braves roll into New York for a massive NLE showdown as Atlanta opens up a weekend series against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Braves Radio goes on the air at 6 p.m. Central on the Braves Radio Network.

[58:54] Brought to you locally by the law firm of Johnson Pasture, Medley & Birchall, J.C. Hammond Sons, First Metro Bank, Nationwide Insurance Agents Michael Doe and Bill Cochran, Champy's Famous Fried Chicken, Mepford Jewelers, Valley Credit Union, Certified Alarm, Southern Pride Pest Control, Lost Pizza, Cypress Creek Indoor Range, and Alabama Health Guidance. Atlanta Braves Baseball. Tonight versus the New York Mets on 93.9 The Score. 93.9 The Score Weather. Today's 70% chance of afternoon showers with a high around 90 and heated X-values as high as 102. Tonight, partly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers overnight, possibly a thunderstorm, low near 70.

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Welcome back in our show to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a ride around the Tennessee Valley. With that, we say hello to Mike Huguenin, college football, basketball, and today, baseball analyst down in Orlando, Florida. Mike, welcome in. Play ball. Are you ready for some World Series action? Nah, not really. Yeah. I'll tune in to watch some of the stuff. Just like I'll tune in to watch some of the lesser World Cup games. But I'm still trying to wrap my head around the Brennan told.

Mike, where do we start with this stuff? I mean, when we first saw it, we thought it was April 1st. We checked the calendar and said, this is the ultimate April Fool's joke. There's no way anyone who can even spell IQ can make this serious. Mike, where do you start breaking it down? Yeah, it is. It's beyond belief. I think the, well, from a 30,000-foot view, I don't think, I'm in my 60s, in terms of age, I don't think there has ever been, in my lifetime, a bigger sports villain than Texas Tech right now.

Right. You know, they were interesting last season. You know, they bought their football team. They got to the playoff. That's fine. It's sort of a cool story. They're a disruptor. They paid a ton of money for a softball team. That's fine. They're a disruptor. And now you have their, the face of their program is Cody Campbell. Yeah. And that is not a good look. You know, the idea that they're worried about Brennan's doors personally, no, they're not. And let's get serious. If this were a player at Texas A&M or the University of Texas, Texas Tech folks would be the ones screaming about how this is horrendous.

Instead, you have them with a straight face. The school president, the school AD, the face of the athletic program now, Cody Campbell, saying, well, this is all about, this is all about us, you know, trying to get Brennan Sorge to be back on the straight and narrow. He needs his teammates. He needs to play. It's, it's thickening. The one, you know, the NCAA rule book has a lot of gray areas. But what is not gray, indeed, what is in all caps, extra bold is you do not bet on your own team.

And here he is, he's bet on his own team. Some, some, some stories have said he bet against Texas, against Indiana while he was there. He certainly has acknowledged betting on players to, to reach certain statistical goals, prop bets against Indiana. It's, it's, it's mind blowing that anybody reasonably thinks this kid or this man should be able to play college sports anymore. Mike, to me, it's, it's a new whole reach. It's like someone who one day is broke, the broker in the piece of glass. He wins the lottery.

The next thing you know, he's just throwing money out right and left. He's broken two or three years. To me, the other side of the logic to what you said there, Mike, would be this. Let's say we prioritize mental health. In fact, we prioritize it so much that we're going to, we're going to sit and throw 100% of that $4 million into your therapy. You're going to go through therapy. We're going to spend $4 million on that because we've said we're concerned about that. And then at the end of that therapeutic session, if you check all the boxes, you can come back and play football.

[1:04:20] But in the meantime, we'd love you too much to have this stress on you because you're saying that you're stressed out here. What, what would happen if someone threw that at them? Yeah, that's, that's, if you're right, it's nonsense. That, that a guy who has been betting, admittedly, since he was in high school, all of a sudden, after 30 days of therapy, oh, I'm scared now. Right. And, you know, the one thing, you know, is this, I've seen people say, well, you know, and I think Joe McGuire, the coach, you know, he didn't murder anybody.

Exactly. Just a couple of banks, you know. And, yes, there's been horrible sports scandals. What happened to Baylor basketball, a player killed a teammate. What happened to Baylor football, multiple sexual assaults. Yeah. This, this is different. This is the integrity of the game that he played on Saturday. Yeah. If Brendan Sorgby, who bet on his own team, is allowed to play, what are we saying about the integrity of the game? Down the road. There could be somebody who bet on Texas Tech playing in Saturday's game.

I don't see how anybody thinks that is correct. And, again, the Texas Tech viewpoint on this is, it's disgusting. Mike, it is. And, again, you mentioned, well, he didn't kill anybody. He didn't beat anybody. And then the Texas Attorney General, well, if the Big 12 or some of these conferences want to come after us, we're just going to sue you. Again, you lawyer up for everything. But, Mike, that's the key to me. When you get right down to all this stuff, it's the integrity of the game.

And that's the difference with the Baylor situation. The Baylor situation, as disgusting as those are, it didn't necessarily, the impact on a game, this is integrity of the game. A player bet on his own team and, in some cases, bet against his own school, the prop bets against his own school. I don't know how anybody can sit there and say, this is fine. What's the style of a player, a third-team linebacker at Houston, another state school, betting against Houston? And when he's found out, wait, wait, Brendan Sorsby's playing, why can't I play?

Right. I'm sick. I didn't tell anybody. It's ludicrous. And, again, if this were happening at Texas Tech or University of Texas, the same people arguing the Texas Tech situation would be like, this is ridiculous. This cannot happen. And you brought up the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, who has numerous issues of his own. You know, what's the next step? Arguing that Texas and Texas A&M must play Texas Tech? It's getting ridiculous. And I would love to see, you know, Josh Brooks, the athletic director at Georgia, has been very vocal.

He told his coaches, we are not playing Texas Tech. Right, thank you. I hope he says that again. And let's watch Ken Paxton go after the University of Georgia. And the Georgia Attorney General, this is getting to be ludicrous. And, yeah, I feel bad for Brett Yormark because my assumption is every athletic director in the Big 12, other than Kirby Hocutt, is beyond disgusted with what's going on at Texas Tech. Mike, you can then let's talk about your Florida neighbors. What a theme. Is it coincidental that just about everything we talk about now when it comes to college sports has money?

Hello, Pink Floyd. Did you contribute to Florida's new proposed facelift of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium? $1.45 billion with a B. Mike, did they tap into the Mike Hugan Foundation? Or where are they getting all this money down there, man? Yeah, I'm a UF alum. Most of my family are UF alums. I think we're all disgusted. My father, who's been a Gator booster for more than 50 years, he is not contributing to this. But he's like, you know, this is a case where you're going to go to the bathroom at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and there's going to be a little placard above each urinal saying, you know, so-and-so donated $5,000.

Yeah, and don't pee on the floor. It's too expensive. Right, and that's, you know, $1.5 billion, it's insane in this era. Yeah, it is. I think UF should be embarrassed. You know, Northwestern just built a new stadium, $780 million. That's a private school, and they can do what they want. I'm not in favor of this. Florida does need upgrades at its stadium. It does not meet handicap requirements in a lot of areas. At the same time, you don't need to spend $1.45 billion on a football retrofit when you're laying off professors.

[1:09:50] Mike Scott Strickland, the Florida AD, said, and I quote, every inch of this stadium is going to be affected by this renovation. No, my goodness and gracious, no kidding with that. But, yeah, Mike, I think a lot of this is premium seating in the luxury boxes, which is a real shock to everybody because that can bring in more money. But, no, I'm like you. When I saw the $1.45 billion, I had to look twice. Yeah, I mean, this was – they announced this a couple years ago. People were upset because they were going to decrease the number of seats from 88,000 to 80,000.

Yeah. Who cares? Well, evidently, as we all know, the size of a football stadium, I guess, feeds into certain fans' masculinity. Let's put it that way. But, so, they're not – they are revamping the stadium. They're not losing any seats. They're adding more luxury seats. I guess it's going to be ringed by skyboxes now. Yeah. Yeah. I don't understand, in this economic environment with athletics, why you feel the need to spend $1.45 billion on your stadium. I would rather – you know, I think most fans, if they thought about it, yeah, spend $200 million on the stadium and put the other $850 million in the NIL and we'll have the best teams in every single sport.

So, it's ludicrous. Mike, you've got too much common sense, bud, for college sports. That's exactly what I was about to say. They need to put that money in the NIL. Babe, always great to talk to you. Have a good weekend, my friend. Let's do this again next Friday. Excellent. I always enjoy it. Thanks, guys. Thank you, buddy. Thank you, Mike. Be careful to go to the bathroom down there. That's probably half a troll down. Make sure you don't mess up the floor and go to the bathroom.

That kind of price tag. Coming up, let's not go to Florida. Let's just go to Birmingham. Say hello to the man, Doug Segrist. Don Deck. Stay with us. You need equipment with more reliability and versatility built in. Like Kubota, BX, and L-Series compact tractors that get the job done right. Z-Series mowers that deliver a quality cut and sidekick utility vehicles where durability meets speed. Visit your local Kubota dealer for a demo today. Stop by Brown Equipment, located at 826 North Military Street in Loretto, or visit them online at brownequipmentcompany.com.

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4 in 10 kids? Let it sink in. Just 4 in 10 kids. ESPN is building a nationwide coalition powered by Disney called Take Back Sports with the purpose of training more coaches, expanding access, and creating community-driven sports programming that puts kids and fun first. We're working on that story. We hope you'll join us. Visit TakeBackSports.org to learn more. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. It is a privilege to say hello to Doug Segrist. He is busy as one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

His book's called A Storm Came Up. Also knows why it's locked to sit in front of a camera and busy there. Tri-host of The Zone, ABC 3340, Doug Segrist. Is it also true that you are the president of the Prince Fan Club, and are you ready to party like it's 1999 again? I'm ready. I'm ready to go, man. Let's talk about it, Doug. Obviously, Alabama last time, Prince was selling records, and Alabama now they're back in Omaha. It's one thing, if you haven't been following this program over the last few years, Doug, is to get the full thrust of basically, in effect, calling them Lazarus.

They were given up for dead after the Bohannon scandal, and in comes Rob Vaughn, who has a story himself. He was given a 0% to 3% chance to live because he contracted a form of meningitis as an 11-month-old infant, beat that, and now he's trying to beat Oklahoma in the first round of the World Series. Doug, what a story. It's a great story. I mean, and if you flash back to, what, 96, 97, 99, I mean, Alabama was one of the premier programs in the country, and it just held off completely for the next, really, 26 years.

And what he has done is just incredible. Even now, if you look at the roster, I mean, they're not loaded with Major League Prospects. LeBron, obviously, he's going to be early pick, but otherwise, the pitching of the regular players, it's just kind of a scrappy bunch, and it kind of goes back to the Jim Wells there, where those guys would just bite you for every scrap of food. Absolutely. How far can this Alabama team go? I think a lot of people believe they can beat Oklahoma, and then on the other side or the other game on Monday would be the winner of the Texas-Georgia game, the big boys.

But Alabama's got a very good rotation with Tyler Faye, Zane Adams, Miles Upchurch, Brady Neal, John Liam, and friends. If the defense can hold out and not give up six errors like they did during the regional, but this is an Alabama team on a roll. Doug, how far can they go? I think they can win it all with the right breaks. Now, they're going to be facing Texas or Georgia, and both are just absolute powerhouses. This Georgia offense is just a juggernaut. So, can you withstand that if they get to one of your starters?

[1:20:15] You know, that super regional with Michigan State was just like baseball from the 90s. We haven't seen anything like that. I think this team can score in bunches if they have to. Listen, my dream is Alabama-Troy. Oh, my goodness, that'd be great. We've got all teams, yeah. But, obviously, we've talked through it in a second. Alabama's got to get through Oklahoma. They've done it earlier this year. They did the meat and loaf special. Two out of three ain't bad out there. But both teams, I think experts would say, are different now.

And Oklahoma has shown something that Alabama, I know, is preaching, preaching, and preaching some more. This team basically has beaten the odds. They go to Georgia Tech. Look where they were ranked. They beat them in the shadow of the Atlanta big buildings there. They beat them on the road. Then they go ahead and win another big series on the road at Kansas against the Big 12 champion there. So, Doug, the point being, Alabama, it's their own fault if they can't sit here and say, this team is hot, they've got momentum, and they can win away from home.

Yeah. I mean, Oklahoma's had a much tougher route. And does that momentum help them at this point? Or is Alabama a little more rested? Because, let's face it, they've breathed through. You know, I think at this point, 30 games in the SEC prepares you for anything. Yeah. Anything. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Look at the field, five out of eight from the SEC. It's just an absolute grind. And, you know, that's why I think in the other bracket, to me, the standout team is Ole Miss. Two weeks ago, I don't even think any of the stuff they didn't get to Omaha.

Yeah. Much less out of Auburn. Let me ask you about Troy. They're literally playing as we speak. In fact, West Virginia is ahead 1-0 in the first inning. But Troy has done an absolutely amazing job. Twelve runs a game in their six-game winning streak. Schuyler Meade is a really good coach. Doug, they played what many people consider the toughest non-conference schedule in the country. Went 4-4 against SEC teams. Beat Georgia, Alabama, and just whipped the Gators in their regional 26-13. I'm telling you, this is a good team.

No, this is a legit team, which makes their record even more remarkable that they play that schedule. They go 4-4 against SEC, and they're still, what, five games above 500. But they aren't afraid of anybody. And they've shown they've got the offensive pads. They just gave up a steal at home. So, defensively, they need to pay a little more attention to that runner off third. Right. But, I mean, yeah, this is the team. And, again, I mean, West Virginia is considered a favorite just because they're power four.

But, I think Troy can at least get to the, you know, the finals. This is nothing at this point they haven't seen before. And, again, baseball, to me, is the most middle of all sports. It is. You can be the best athlete in football or basketball and it'll carry you in baseball. You know, the little guy can do so much more if he believes in himself than his team believes. Look at the Houston Astros. The little man right there, he is a powerhouse. Doug Seekers in the huddle with us.

Doug, it's been a rough year for folks who've been in this business as long as some of us. This weekend, you're talking about four fellas, now late fellas, deserving of the honors that they're going to be receiving from the Alabama sports writers this weekend. I won't steal your thunder. We've known these guys over the years, and it's definitely a passing of a generation. Tremendous talent, but doing it all with class as well. This is the best hall of fame in the country in terms of, you know, at this level.

And they've done a great job. I used to cover it every year for like 20 years. And it was just a, it was just one, it was something I look forward to. And every year you think, well, they're running out of people to put in, and they talk to themselves. Yeah, they've, yeah, the sports writers are going to honor John Pruitt. Philip Marshall. Yeah, Philip Marshall. Reuben Grant and Mike Bolton. Listen, guys, you work with, and I know they probably heard this all their lives. While I grew up reading you in the Birmingham Post-Herald or the Birmingham News or the Huntsville Times, those are four guys the sports writers are going to honor Sunday night.

And I know you work with those guys for years. Yeah, and every one of them had class. Yeah, absolutely. And I'll point to John Pruitt, who's the only one I didn't work directly with at some point. But, you know, he was, he was, he was, I was his national banner. He played a big role in me coming back to Alabama. Kind of lined me up for a couple of sports writers' jobs. His approach was, you know, I want, when somebody comes up to me on church on Sunday and asks, what do you think?

[1:25:41] That's what I want to tell them. You know, it wasn't a, it wasn't a hot take. It wasn't a controversial thing. It was just an honest opinion. He didn't hold conscious. But he didn't savagely attack anybody. And I think that he, more than anybody, kind of sums up the golden age of sports writing, where you had an impact, but it wasn't about you. And I think we've kind of lost that. We just don't have a lot of that left anymore. Well, Doug, what happened was he reported the story instead of being the story.

Yeah, exactly. But it was an honest opinion. If something was wrong, he called it out. But he didn't go out of his way, you know, to say one thing and change his mind. Yeah. You know, when the tide turned the net. They're all class acts. These are just people I just think the world of. Yeah. Well, we think the world of you. And by the way, I got to check. I got to make sure you're ready for the weekend. The TV's working. The plumbing in the bathroom is okay.

And you made a run to the grocery store. Are you ready for the College World Series this weekend? I was going ready. I just. I'm working from home this afternoon. Yeah. I just cranked on Troy. But I will say I am taking the diversion. I'm going to miss part of the Alabama game tomorrow night. I got a friend who's got tickets for a Kansas concert. Uh-oh. It's a Tuscaloosa amphitheater. So I'm going to have to carry him on my wayward son there. Yeah. We're just all dust in the wind.

So. By the way, you run to the grocery store, not the bathroom. Okay, Doug. Yeah, exactly. Have a good weekend. The one, the only Doug Segrist coming up. What a week down the plains. 88,000 watching football. We kid you not. Justin Ferguson. The tale is next. Stay with us. Stay with us. Whoa. Okay. This one says you get a free phone if you switch. Hey, this one also says you get a free phone if you switch. Yeah, they all do one. Huh. The T-Mobile one says their customers had the lowest wireless bills versus the other big guys over the past five years.

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Oh, yeah. We're switching. That's what I'm talking about. Do we clap now, or? At T-Mobile, get savings that keep stacking up. That's value you can feel every day. Switch now and keep your phone, and T-Mobile will pay it off up to $800. Savings based on Harris X billing snapshots from Q3 2021 to Q4 2025 compared to average AT&T and Verizon bills. Comparison includes discounts, credits, and optional charges. Up to $800 with new account qualifying, unlike Vice, credit, service, ported, and 90-plus days with device and all people carrier and timely redemption required.

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The Albert app helps you budget better and save more money, so you reach your financial goals faster. Download the Albert app right now and use promo code THRIVE to borrow up to $10,000. Use code THRIVE to borrow up to $10,000. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score. College World Series gets underway today. West Virginia and Troy will play in game one. Then it's North Carolina Ole Miss. Tomorrow, Alabama meets Oklahoma. Georgia plays Texas. Atlanta Falcons traded for an offensive tackle yesterday. They acquired Juan Yeh Morris from the Kansas City Chiefs and a seventh-round pick.

In exchange, they sent a 20-27 sixth-round selection to Kansas City. The Braves and White Sox scheduled for yesterday was post-pulling. The Braves are back in action tonight. They'll be at Citi Field in New York as they take on the Mets. Spencer Strider starts for the Braves. He's 4-1 with an ERA right at 4. Nolan McLean will start for the Mets. He is 3-4 with a 3-9-8 ERA. Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash, presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score.

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It's 1-1. Right now, the Trojans with a runner at 2nd. They have two outs. So, better news for the Trojans at the World Series, Brett Beaird. Yes, and I'm guessing our next guest would like to see the Auburn Tigers playing right now or later this afternoon. Justin Ferguson, busy there at the Auburn Observer. Justin, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing all right. How are you all? Hey, bud. 88,000 fans watching a football game this week. Did we read that right, Justin, at Jerton-Hare Stadium? Yep. It was something that's quite unlike anything I've ever seen before.

An entire college football stadium packed to the brim for international soccer. And it was a lot of fun. It went with my wife. We went as fans didn't cover it. And just, you know, just an incredible experience. I think Auburn did an excellent job of, you know, it's just finding a creative way to bring in more revenue using Jerton-Hare Stadium here in the summer. And I think Auburn did a really, really good job of pulling it all off. And it was a big success. How does that work?

I mean, a lot of folks ask the question. You don't normally associate Auburn with World Cup soccer. But, obviously, somebody somewhere had some business sense and said, maybe this could be profitable. How does that work? And how does Auburn benefit from an NIL standpoint? Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, this is something that was in the works for about a year, year and a half. With the World Cup being in the United States this year, there were going to be opportunities for teams to come in and go ahead and play right before the World Cup gets underway, play some friendly, some warm-up games, get used to playing in America, the time change, the weather, stuff like that.

And so, you know, Auburn partnered with a group that runs the Citrus Bowl, among other things. So, there was a prior relationship there. They were hosting a bunch of friendlies all over the country. Auburn said, hey, we want in. Texas A&M did as well. They got into that. And so, what it kind of did was Auburn had a contract, basically, that, hey, we will, we want to host this. You know, Auburn got a cut of the ticket sales in exchange. Auburn had to provide a, you know, really, really good, you know, perfect field, which got put to the test as much rain came that day at Auburn.

And, you know, just find a way to, you know, generate really millions of dollars that Auburn could kind of bring in and now can use that to their advantage. And, you know, I think in this day and age where you're paying players directly through revenue sharing, you know, you've got to raise more money. You know, that's just, there's a new line item in the budget that you're just not used to, you know, hadn't been doing in years past. So, instead of saying, hey, you know, Auburn fans, you're going to have to pay more money in tickets.

[1:36:17] Hey, you're going to have to pay, you know, give more donations to make this happen. Auburn was like, all right, let's try to find some more creative ways to generate more revenue that wouldn't necessarily say, hey, you know, we need to raise ticket prices to make this happen. And this was a pretty big one. They're doing concerts throughout the summer as well. It's just a new way to kind of open it up. And I think it went off really well. Absolutely. You've got to bring in that additional revenue.

The schedules, the SEC TV announced, or at least came close to announcing some of the other times for kickoff. First three games, Auburn gets two night games, which is a blessing for the fans. I did find out Georgia, October 17th, is a 2-30 ABC ESPN game. But after that, there are four potential 11 a.m. games, which, again, I know it's going to be a little bit warmer, but fans would also enjoy having a late October, November night game. Your impressions when they drop the schedule earlier this week?

I mean, if you're an Auburn fan, savor that Florida night game. Yes. It's the only one you're getting at home. You know, this is, you know, I think it's one of those things that it's a really peculiar thing. You know, when I first saw that, I was like, man, Auburn's not getting any more home games at night. I was like, that's kind of odd. And then, you know, my first thought was, okay, well, they hadn't been good the last several years. Maybe that's the reason. Then you think about it, it's like, no, there's an SEC Network game at night pretty much every Saturday.

So it wasn't that, so I think it's just a really peculiar kind of way it was lined up. So, you know, it's something you're going to have to savor early on. I think if you're Auburn, I think some of those road games being earlier in the day might not be terrible for you. I don't love that LSU game being the 11 o'clock game, but it's going to be an ESPN one, so that's a TV thing. So it's just a little tough. I think it's just going to be a very peculiar schedule.

And, you know, I hate it for the fans. I really do, because, you know, they love night games, especially Jordan Harris. It's kind of the best atmosphere, and you're missing out on that. Selfishly, though, as somebody who covers these games, I don't mind an early start. That means I don't have to go to bed at three in the morning. So I'll be fine with that this season. LSU fans will only be at that 11 o'clock kick. They'll only be 75% boozy with that 11 o'clock instead of 100%. Let's talk recruiting, Justin.

Obviously, Auburn, as it's safe to say, a lot of folks, I thought it was well put the other day, kind of on fire right now during this stretch. They are. I mean, they're absolutely on fire. I pointed it out earlier this week. Somebody did it to me. It's really crazy. They had one commitment at A-Day. They had one at A-Day. Now they have 17, and they have a top 10 class in the country. It's just been really incredible work by the staff. I think they've done a really good job of, you know, really just getting the right guys they want.

On the campus and these official visit weekends and really working hard to lock them down before they can go really anywhere else. And so, you know, this week it was another great round of pickups for Auburn. You think, like, how impressive it's been for a coaching staff that hasn't coached a game yet at Auburn to say, hey, we've beaten Georgia out twice for defenders. We've beaten Texas for an offensive line. We've beaten Notre Dame for an offensive line. We've beaten Miami for a running back. Like, it's a pretty good, you know, success rate that they've hit right now.

So, they're doing an excellent job in recruiting. And, you know, you do a lot of this work now and, you know, hold on to them throughout the summer and fall. It could be a really good signing day. So, you know, we thought this was going to be kind of a smaller class. But I think Auburn just has really done a good job of, you know, catching up momentum and people getting excited about wanting to join this class. And so, it's going to end up being a bigger class than we expected.

And right now, it's a pretty highly rated one. Yeah, Auburn's got five in, I believe, this weekend. Carlos May, priority, four-star defensive lineman from Birmingham. Nate Kamba from Charlotte, North Carolina, four-star defensive lineman. Junior Tuopo from Thompson. But Auburn lost one this morning. I actually thought Jabara's chicken, Garrow from Viger, was going to announce for Auburn. But I'm guessing the brink struck got backed up from Austin and he picked Texas. But he committed from Alabama. And I thought he might commit to Auburn today, but he decides to go to Texas.

Yeah, and, you know, I thought that was really interesting because I thought Auburn had a good shot at him. And then this week, you really heard a lot of the talk kind of cool down. I was like, okay, he's probably going to know I'm going to Texas. So, you know, one little miss right here. He's a big guy. He's a good player. But Auburn's got plenty of edge rushers on him. You know, they got Ryan Johnson. Earlier this week, you know, from the Maryland area, you mentioned a couple guys they bring in.

Really interested in Carlos May this week. I felt like Auburn was in a really good spot to get, you know, that big-time defensive lineman from Birmingham. But George is pushing really hard. Had him in on OV and, you know, really jumped out in front. So, not as big of a weekend in terms of number of visitors, but pretty important because there are about three or four guys in right now that I feel like could join Auburn's class in the near future. And so it's going to be a pretty critical weekend of visits.

[1:41:39] Absolutely. Listen, you got the 6 a.m. emails, the Friday mailbag, the podcast. And I've got to ask you, did your parents park cars Tuesday night for the soccer match? And did you rent out your two spare bedrooms at $500 a night? I should have. I absolutely should have. I'll tell you, my parents live in a mile from Jordan-Hare. We parked in their driveway and started walking. We got home – or when I got home, I looked and there were people all over their street parking. So, it was just – it was crazy.

So, yeah, missed the opportunity. Maybe we'll get them next time. But, yeah, go to auburninserver.com. Check it out. A lot of recruiting on the site right now. Yep. Talked some – did some basketball earlier this week. A little baseball. A transfer portal open in Auburn baseball. You can keep up with the roster tracker there. So, $6 a month or $60 a year gets you access to everything. Got a ton of stuff on the website right now. So, check it out. auburninserver.com. Sounds great, Justin. Hopefully, your parents gave you a better deal on parking than the rest of the folks there.

Please tell me they did. Yeah, yeah. You know, I had to negotiate with my dad. Oh, yeah. He didn't give me a deal. He didn't give me a deal. Good job by you. Listen, man, thanks so much. Have a good weekend, all right? Y'all too. Thank you, buddy. Speaking of Auburns, you see Charlie Barkley's comment had bought a $300,000 Bentley car. He had four. His friend asked, Charlie, he was coming out of college, signed his first big contract. How many cars can you drive at one time?

He said, one. He says, I was an idiot with my money. Only Charles Barkley can come up with such wisdom, baby. Speaking of cars, the king of cars and shows, Elmer Pierce, next. Stay with us. When you're at work, you never know when you'll be interrupted. But with the Dell Pro, powered by Intel Core Ultra with V Pro, no matter what distracts you, your laptop won't. It's battery optimized for the way you work, with built-in intelligence that quiets distractions when you need to focus. Your laptop will help keep you locked in, even when it's bring your dog to work day.

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Future stars who are already turning heads at age 14. Because next doesn't wait for an invitation, and neither do we. Hyundai has always moved the future within reach. We did it when we made advanced safety standard on every vehicle. And engineered EVs with ultra-fast charging capability. And we're still doing it every day. Because the future isn't some far-off concept. It's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. When's the last time payroll was the easy part of your week? With Gusto, it can be.

Gusto is the all-in-one platform designed to take the hassle out of managing your team. From payroll and compliance to hiring, onboarding, and more. With Gusto, you can get back two full days each month with all the time you have saved. Go to gusto.com today and learn why over 500,000 small businesses choose Gusto. That's G-U-S-T-O dot com. Gusto dot com. This is the story of the one. As a maintenance engineer at a beverage manufacturing plant, he starts his day knowing every line is ready to run. Because Grainger delivers the industrial-grade products he needs to keep mixers, conveyors, and packaging equipment moving.

With Grainger's vast selection of bearings, belts, and motors, he keeps operations running smoothly. So nothing grinds to a halt. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click Grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger. For the ones who get it done. The U.S. Treasury just released its official financial report for 2025. Buried in it is a startling admission. By its own numbers, it appears the U.S. government is insolvent. When governments go this deep in debt, they print money, raise taxes, or cut benefits, none of which can help protect you.

That's why people move part of their savings into physical gold and silver. Call Monetary Gold at 877-NOW-GOLD for their complimentary gold and silver guide. That's 877-NOW-GOLD. Call Monetary Gold now at 877-NOW-GOLD. Do it before the next headline, not after. Performance may vary. You should always consult your financial and tax professional. 1819 News. A construction company working in Milan, Italy, has been accused of unfair wages and exploitation of their laborers. This same company is also working on Alabama's two mega prison projects that have seen ballooning costs in the past few years.

[1:46:45] That company is Cadell Construction. The case out of Italy was reported on by the Associated Press, which interviewed five former employees. Italian authorities are also looking into the claims against Cadell Construction after two of the managers were arrested for labor exploitation in that country. Cadell Construction has been in Italy, working on the American consulate in Milan. The company brought in 70 workers from India for the project. Workers say they were forced to work six days a week on 10-hour shifts with substandard pay. The workers say they were threatened if they questioned any of the conditions.

The U.S. State Department is investigating this case, and Cadell Construction says they are cooperating with the authorities. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Did you know that 70% 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 VIN number on hand. Drive awareness, drive hope, and customize your plate today at atease.org. A double murder investigation is underway in Chambers County after two bodies were found in a wooded area off County Road 86. One of the victims was a man from South Georgia, the other a woman from that area. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is conducting autopsies in this case. The World Championship Turkey Calling Contest is about to sound off this Friday. The contest will be held at the Mobile Convention Center, which has been hosting the Turkey Call Championship since 1940.

It first started at the Battle House Hotel in the downtown area. I'm Andrea Tice. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back again. The skies at Omaha are October blue when normally we focus on the World Series for Major League Baseball. College Baseball's World Series underway even as we speak. Troy opening up the can against West Virginia. The Mountaineers jumped out 1-0. The Trojans tied in the bottom of the first.

And now West Virginia has come back in the top half of the second. They've scored two. It's now 3-1 as the Trojans come to bat in the bottom of the second inning. Bear, Brett Beaird. I'll tell you what, Troy looks nervous to me. James may be aware that any time that the opponent steals home, you've got a little bit of a concentration issue there. And again, they've got plenty of time to come back. They just got out of the inning. But Troy looks a little bit nervous, and I understand.

Well, I think that's part of it. I mean, this is the first time these kids, it's one thing to win, but as brought out earlier, but Doug Segrist and some of these others, baseball is so mental. We have on our friend David Weathers all the time, almost two decades. He should know almost two decades at the major league level. And he said, he told me he had like a piece of pie. He said, how many slices are physical, natural talent, and how many of them are mental.

Once you get on the stage, it's a whole different world. Some kids can relax and say, bring it on. Others start to freeze. We mentioned Al Weiss earlier in the 69 World Series came out of nowhere. And sometimes your stars, they will freeze. So hoping the Trojans, great story there. Still got plenty of time, doesn't need to panic. And so that's, so we're going to keep a close eye on that. And then the other half of the game tonight, it's basically two in the afternoon, two at night.

Ole Miss takes center stage tonight, representing the SEC, BB. I'll be honest with you. I think Ole Miss is one of the sleepers in this tournament. Again, they beat Auburn. I know Auburn went three of 19 with runners in scoring position, but Bianca is a really, really good manager. He's been there before. Ole Miss won everything three years ago. So they've been in this environment before. Now, not all the players, but they're familiar with this, too. I think Ole Miss is going to be a surprise here.

Then, of course, we've got Alabama-Okloma tomorrow on 93-9, beginning at 145. Harold, I think Alabama's got the rotation. They've got the bats. Again, we've talked about this all nauseam. If the defense comes to play, I think Alabama beats Oklahoma. Now, obviously, the winner of the Georgia-Texas game is a different animal. But, again, we'll see. But that game will begin at 145 tomorrow. And you can hear it on 93-9, the score. Well, don't worry about the winner of the Texas-Georgia game. You've got to get through those Sooners first.

Because coming out of that loser's bracket, the mountain's steep no matter where you are. It is steeper, needless to say, if you have to come out of that loser's bracket. So that all-important game won against the Sooners. And I really believe the fact that really and truly there are no stars, per se, outside of LeBron on this team. I think that works to Alabama's advantage. So nobody should play too uptight. They're playing basically with house money because nobody gave much of a chance to be there.

[1:51:49] So I think it could work to their advantage if, like you said, they can sit here and not give the game away through what I call the Red Cross, through a lot of eras or charity. Again, hear it tomorrow, right here on 93-9, the score, pregame starting at 145. That's going to take care of this for now. On behalf of BB, Greg, James, Blair, the entire crew here. Peril Buck, thank you so much for your time today. That's been again Monday, noon to 2, for the Boomer Buck Show, back here on Sports Radio, 93-9, the score.