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 Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.

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 It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.

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 The Boomo Bugg Show.

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 Your exclusive inside track to the tie, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC.

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 Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9.

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 The story.

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 Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show.

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 I'm Harold Bugg, normally joined by Brett Beaird.

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 Not here today, it looks like the weather is still good in the south of France.

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 But we're proud that you're able to join our little huddle.

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 And for Ron Higgins to do the same.

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 Hall of Fame columnist of the Shreveport Bossier Journal.

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 And a man who knows his stuff when it comes to LSU, college football and, of course, curling in the Olympics.

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 Ron Higgins, welcome in.

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 How are you?

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 I'm good.

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 I've never covered the Winter Olympics.

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 I've done summer, but I always want to do the winter just to, you know, catch all the tension of the curling contest.

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 And the thing is, I like it too, Ron, because it's like a lot of sports.

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 People don't normally watch golf, but they'll watch the Masters.

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 They don't like tennis normally, but they'll watch Wimbledon.

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 It's one of those things where you don't understand it, but you'll watch for two weeks just because, at least in the old days, you're rooted for the USA.

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 Yeah, I mean, I wonder in curling if, like, they trained janitors to do that.

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 That's good with the broom, right?

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 That's a Cinderella story.

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 The guy was a janitor for 15 years, but all of a sudden he came out of curling, and now he's here at the Olympics.

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 What a story.

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 Yeah.

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 He's cleaning up in more ways than one.

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 Ron, have you got your Mardi Gras outfit picked out yet starting next week down the road from you?

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 Yeah, I'm dressed up as Lane Kiffin, and people are throwing money at me.

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 My goodness gracious.

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 Let me ask you this, and I think you may agree with this.

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 A lot of guys and girls do.

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 Some may say there's no such thing as a perfect marriage, but is this it?

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 Mardi Gras and Lane Kiffin, how's that marriage going so far down there?

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 You know, he's really enjoying it.

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 He's getting out with his family, and they're going different places and eating, so he's learning about South Louisiana cuisine, which is like none other.

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 So it's been good.

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 You know, he finished the transfer portal and got great guys like everybody anticipated he would.

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 Everybody's just eager for spring practice to start.

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 We don't know when that's going to happen.

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 So right now, this week, we're dealing with a huge women's basketball game on Saturday here in South Carolina.

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 We'll start a baseball on Friday.

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 LSU is right in the wrong time.

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 And they're trying to pass the hat and see if there's enough money to fire their women's basketball coaches.

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 That's what's going on.

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 I want to ask you about that, because that's the nice thing about LSU.

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 A lot of schools pretty much put all their eggs in one basket.

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 You guys, all you do from fall to winter to spring, it's pretty much always competitive.

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 Yeah, a chance to go for the brass ring.

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 But in the meantime, Ron, you've seen a lot of coaching changes, as some of us with a different color of hair,

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 and we started out in this business over the years.

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 But none had Lane's power of the blank check with NIL.

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 Would you agree?

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 Your thoughts about the new dynamic when you put Lane Kiffin's personality, whether you love it or hate it,

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 with basically a blank check.

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 Your thoughts?

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 I'm wondering, like, Louisiana's printing their own money with Lane's face from $100.

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 That's a bill.

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 Yeah.

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 Why don't they get this?

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 I mean, look, I think this is part of something that if you get a coach that people really like and have faith in,

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 they're going to give money.

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 That's right.

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 And I think that's what's going on here.

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 I mean, when they announced he was going to be coached, they had a lot of new contributors, a lot of old ones ended up.

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 And so they put together a war chest, obviously, to, you know, really rebuild the entire roster and with quality people.

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 And, you know, he wouldn't give up on guys.

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 You know, he'd get on a plane, go chase them down after a visit.

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 And, yeah, I mean, it was pretty incredible.

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 You know, everybody just kind of was, you know, after the first two days inside by in the parlay, everybody was like, what's going on?

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 Then all of a sudden he just refused with it, and he knew what he was doing.

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 And, you know, they had to kind of do it without a staff because staff, you know, was dealing with old business until late.

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 I mean, they finally got some people in there.

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 But, yeah, I mean, it's a good marriage.

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 You know, I tell people Louisiana vented crazy and it fits kind of Lane Kiffin and Mardi Gras and everything like that.

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 So, yeah, they're just eager for spring to start and see what they have.

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 But I think Lane understands there's a little honeymoon period here.

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 You've got to win.

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 You know, you bought everybody in sight, and now you've got to win.

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 I think that's why he came to LSU to, you know, people say, well, he has more pressure on him than anybody else in America.

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 That's true.

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 But I think he wanted that.

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 That's why he came here.

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 He knew if he came here, that's what would happen.

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 And we'll see what happens.

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 But I think that's why he came here, to have an unlimited budget, to give whatever he needed, to give all the tools he could to win immediately.

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 And now, you know, we'll see what happens.

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 You know, I had a friend over the years, a big Alabama fan.

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 He was just a blue-collar guy like a lot of us.

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 And he went to every game.

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 I didn't care if he was on Timbuktu or the moon.

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 And we asked him, he said, Ron, how do you afford that?

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 He says, it's simple.

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 I'm just cashing out my kid's college fund.

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 They can do it on their own when they get to that point in life.

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 I'm going to the game in the meantime.

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 And I imagine that's the way it is down in crazy Cajun country, too.

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 What are fans now saying about the governor?

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 And what about new players behind the scene, including a new president?

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 They call it the LSU system, Wade.

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 And I'll let you pronounce his last name.

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 But what are fans now saying about, at one time, a governor who was, by many accounts, crazy down there?

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 They still don't like him.

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 They still don't like the guy.

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 They still don't like him.

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 They still don't like him.

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 It's not like he meddles too much.

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 And he probably does.

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 Like, you know, once you start to run the state, don't run the football program, Huey Long Jr.

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 But, again, you know, they took a big swing and get in lane.

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 And they got him.

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 And then, you know, they told him, I think the attraction for Lane was,

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 we'll give you whatever you need to win.

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 And nobody else would say that.

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 Florida didn't say that.

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 And then he was looking at LSU and Florida.

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 Florida didn't say that.

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 Florida said, hey, we're going to hire a general manager for your program, a general manager.

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 Lane's like, uh-uh.

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 And LSU says, Wayne, you can do whatever you want.

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 He goes, okay, great.

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 Sounds good to me.

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 So, I mean, that's the way to get a coach to say, you know, you can do whatever you want.

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 You know, make sure you got the money to do it with.

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 And so far, they have.

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 And so that's, again, everybody's looking forward to that.

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 And you're looking forward to the start of baseball season.

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 On Friday, LSU is absolutely loaded again.

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 They'll be pick number one and some poll number two and others.

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 So, the Fender National Championship.

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 Men's basketball is really awful.

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 Just awful, awful, awful.

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 Matt McMahon's in his fourth year.

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 They haven't gotten any better.

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 They got worse.

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 They bought better players this year and got worse.

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 Wow.

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 And they got to decide what they're going to do with him because they got to figure out where the money's going to come to buy him out.

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 It's going to be, I mean, he's got three years left.

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 They gave him a seven-year contract because they had the NCAA violations under Will Wade.

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 Right.

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 And they gave him a seven-year contract to be patient with him.

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 But they're awful.

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 And so they're trying to gauge with some of their boosters.

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 Are some of their boosters enough, you know, angry enough to ante up to pay him off?

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 I think between $6 million and $8 million, something like that.

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 Wow.

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 And the interesting thing is that, you know, a lot of people were like, Will Wade, to come back.

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 And Will Wade, he's in his first year at North Carolina State.

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 He's had a h*** of a good year so far.

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 And the interesting year that Will Wade's buyout after April 1st is just $1 million.

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 Wow.

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 Which basically is, you know, cost of an offensive lineman, basically.

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 Or the pizza fee, if you will, for some of these football players over the course of a year.

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 Let me ask you this, Ryan.

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 All the new kids on the block, of course, they're big.

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 I look at this LSU football roster and picking up, number one, this position, that position across the board with the big checks.

160
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 But can it be possibly overstated just how big it is to get the top quarterback on the board in Mr. Sam Levitt?

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 No, it can't be overstated, even though, you know, he's got a foot problem that's going to keep him out of spring practice, he'll throw.

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 But it's like Lane covered all the bases.

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 I mean, you know, he didn't just get the first guy quarterback in the portal.

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 He also got the number eight quarterback in the portal, the guy from USC, who I'm sure he recruited previously.

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 So they, you know, so he's like, and they have another guy from a D2 school who was really good.

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 But he has a backup plan for, you know, in case, you know, Levitt slow out of the gate.

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 And they don't think he'll be, but they got a guy who's like the number seven rated guy.

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 Wow.

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 So he's pretty much covered all the bases here.

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 He wouldn't, you know, you got the best offensive lineman in the portal, Jordan Seaton.

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 Best guy within the portal.

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 I mean, best, he got three of the top five rated guys overall in the portal.

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 Wow.

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 You know, Prince, well, I can't remember how that is.

175
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 I mean, I got all the best he got.

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 He's one of his all-best guys.

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 But he got people all around being just, he covered every position just about.

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 I don't think he got a lot of cornerbacks.

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 I don't think that's something he didn't need.

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 But, I mean, he really thoroughly covered everything he could get.

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 He got like eight wide receivers, I think three tight ends.

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 I mean, just a bunch, a bunch, a bunch of talent that you thought he would get.

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 But, you know, I guess people were skeptical if, you know, he could actually, you know,

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 go get all these people.

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 And he's done it.

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 I mean, basically, he's had to, honestly, rebuild the whole roster.

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 I mean, that's what he had to do.

188
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 He signed 59 new players.

189
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 He's signed 59 new players, 43 finishers, 16 high school, and hired 13 new coaching and

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 support staff members.

191
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 My goodness.

192
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 I mean, I think he's got something there, but he's got a punter, a place kicker, a snapper.

193
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 He's got six safeties, four cornerbacks, two linebackers, five defensive ends, five defensive tackles, three tight ends, 12 offensive linemen, four running backs, 12 wide receivers, three quarterbacks.

194
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 And a partridge in a pear tree and probably somebody driving is so fair.

195
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 Ron, as always, good stuff.

196
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 Before you jump off, a couple of questions.

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 How does your wardrobe compare with Kim's?

198
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 And where can we jump online to get the very latest with the Hall of Famer?

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 I like a little sparkle in my wardrobe, a little sparkle every down, man.

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 I got to tell you.

201
00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:17,500
 Sprucing it up a little bit, yeah.

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 A little sparkle.

203
00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:20,500
 You go to Ron Higgins.

204
00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,380
 You go to ShreeportBossierJournal.com.

205
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,760
 I'm on there, on vronhiggins.org, on Twitter, at Ron Higg.

206
00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:30,760
 And on, what else am I on?

207
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 I'm on everything.

208
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 Instagram at SEC Ron.

209
00:12:36,820 --> 00:12:38,540
 Or if you're like Brent and I on probation.

210
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 So, hey, listen.

211
00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,060
 Ron, as always, stay safe down there.

212
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 And we know you're from Louisiana.

213
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 We say Bossier.

214
00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:46,100
 Everywhere else, it's Boozer.

215
00:12:46,220 --> 00:12:48,960
 So, now, everybody knows the right way to say it.

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 Ron, listen, man.

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00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:50,600
 Thanks so much.

218
00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:51,440
 And stay safe down there.

219
00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:52,320
 And enjoy Mardi Gras.

220
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 And behave yourself, okay?

221
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 Good part of Bossier City is a Boozer City.

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 I believe you.

223
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 I'll tell you.

224
00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:57,500
 Okay?

225
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 There you go.

226
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 All right.

227
00:12:59,140 --> 00:12:59,600
 We'll see you.

228
00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,700
 Ron Higgins checking in from the Shreeport Bossier Journal.

229
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 Coming up, can you believe this?

230
00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,800
 The boys are reporting the baseball camp this week.

231
00:13:09,340 --> 00:13:11,660
 And the boys familiar here on 939 All Summer Long.

232
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 Ben Ingram, the voice of the Braves.

233
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 The Score.

308
00:16:54,020 --> 00:16:58,560
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

309
00:16:59,200 --> 00:16:59,780
 Welcome back in.

310
00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:01,840
 Really appreciate free ride around the Tennessee Valley.

311
00:17:02,060 --> 00:17:08,500
 And for Ben Ingram, taking time out of his busy schedule, and may I add, about to get even busier

312
00:17:08,500 --> 00:17:14,080
 as the voice that comes out of the radio here on 93.9 and across the Atlanta Braves radio network.

313
00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:19,180
 Ben Ingram, also busy there at 6A, the fan, the powerhouse there in Hotlanta.

314
00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:20,460
 Ben Ingram, welcome in.

315
00:17:20,500 --> 00:17:23,540
 It's always good to hear your voice because it means one thing.

316
00:17:24,100 --> 00:17:26,800
 You've got to make a lot of Braves fans happy listening right now.

317
00:17:26,860 --> 00:17:27,380
 How are you?

318
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:28,920
 I'm doing great, man.

319
00:17:28,980 --> 00:17:29,580
 Thanks for having me.

320
00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:30,280
 Good to chat with you.

321
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:31,420
 You, too.

322
00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:33,420
 First of all, the players get it.

323
00:17:33,500 --> 00:17:34,080
 So do you.

324
00:17:34,220 --> 00:17:36,500
 How was the offseason with you and the family?

325
00:17:37,380 --> 00:17:38,480
 I had a great offseason.

326
00:17:38,660 --> 00:17:39,480
 Did a lot of traveling.

327
00:17:39,620 --> 00:17:40,280
 Did a lot of hunting.

328
00:17:40,540 --> 00:17:43,780
 Got to see a lot of college football and a lot of time around family.

329
00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:45,620
 So that's really all you could ask for.

330
00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:50,800
 It's my stretch of the season, or the stretch of the year, I guess you might say, where I get to have a life.

331
00:17:50,900 --> 00:17:52,920
 So I had a lot of fun having a life for a few months.

332
00:17:53,940 --> 00:17:55,100
 It's about to get busy.

333
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:56,440
 It's hard to believe it's not, Ben.

334
00:17:56,500 --> 00:17:57,080
 You look up.

335
00:17:57,140 --> 00:17:57,640
 Here we are.

336
00:17:57,740 --> 00:17:59,320
 Everybody's getting to camp this week.

337
00:17:59,380 --> 00:18:01,500
 And a week from Saturday, the games began.

338
00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:08,540
 Before we jump in, though, with the X's and the O's, can we talk about a new chief, the former Huntsville star.

339
00:18:08,700 --> 00:18:18,620
 I covered him when he was a kid, a star shortstop with the Huntsville stars, played with a guy named Canseco and McGuire and Steinbach and all those guys over there, taking over for the snit.

340
00:18:18,780 --> 00:18:20,420
 Talk to us about Walt Weiss.

341
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:34,400
 You know, when the move happened, it was really interesting, the timing of it all, I feel like, because once we knew that snit wasn't coming back and we're seeing a week pass, two weeks pass, three weeks pass,

342
00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:46,180
 I think we all came to the conclusion that the Braves are going to hire somebody who is outside the organization and more likely than not someone who's currently in a role with a team that's in the postseason.

343
00:18:46,780 --> 00:18:57,040
 And then when we got 30 days down the line and the decision was to be Walt Weiss, I was very pleasantly surprised just because I'd come to the conclusion that it wasn't going to be anybody in-house.

344
00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:02,860
 For me, selfishly, I have a great relationship with Walt, so I knew that was going to be a lot of fun.

345
00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:13,360
 But I also think from the players' perspective and with the guys that I've spoken with, I was talking with Austin Riley and Matt Olson about Walt just the other day,

346
00:19:13,460 --> 00:19:18,660
 and their eyes lit up when I mentioned the move, and they just said how excited they were that it was going to be Walt.

347
00:19:18,740 --> 00:19:24,480
 I don't think the players really had any idea what direction this team was going to take, but knowing that it was Walt,

348
00:19:24,580 --> 00:19:35,280
 knowing he can be a guy who has lots of competitive fire, a guy who wants his team to win, a guy who has been in this organization as a player and also as a bench coach,

349
00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:41,080
 and already has a rapport, an established relationship with the current team, I think it was a very popular move.

350
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,800
 So the fact that he has managerial experience is great.

351
00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:51,700
 I mean, he managed the Rockies for four seasons, and he's been with us since 2018 in his role as a bench coach.

352
00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,920
 So I think it's a great hire, and I can't wait to see Walt running this team.

353
00:19:55,460 --> 00:19:59,600
 Can't wait to hear the voice of Ben Ingram coming out of the radio here on 93.9 as well.

354
00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,680
 Obviously, a new year means new faces, not only the skipper.

355
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,580
 Talk to us about the 2026 Braves roster.

356
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:12,220
 I think you have to start with what you're looking at who's healthy more than anything.

357
00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:19,400
 Obviously, Jerickson Topar was part of the team last year, but he missed half the season, so having him for a full season will be great.

358
00:20:19,940 --> 00:20:25,320
 I'd love to say the same thing about Ha Sung Kim, because he looked good in the final five weeks of the season,

359
00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:29,160
 but we're not going to have him for the first few months of the season, because that's really unfortunate.

360
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:35,540
 As far as the big moves that were made, to me, the addition of Suarez is the biggest.

361
00:20:36,060 --> 00:20:42,480
 It's a bullpen that certainly needed some strengthening and needed to – we needed some flamethrowers.

362
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:46,720
 We needed to have some guys that are going to come in there and be really good at shutting the door at the end of the game,

363
00:20:46,780 --> 00:20:48,880
 and I think adding Robert Suarez was enormous.

364
00:20:50,020 --> 00:20:53,620
 That, to me, was a big step in the right direction for the bullpen.

365
00:20:54,320 --> 00:21:01,520
 A move like Mike Yastrzemski isn't one that really gets a whole lot of attention, but I think he's a solid ball player.

366
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:07,820
 I think there was a movement with some of the additions that they have made, and maybe some of the names that they're not bringing back,

367
00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:13,460
 that there was more of an intentionality behind getting guys who are going to make contact.

368
00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:20,340
 The Braves led the league last year in men left on base, and I've said it before, that's not necessarily a bad thing,

369
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:22,880
 because you're getting those opportunities.

370
00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:27,400
 You just want to come through with more opportunities like that, and the Braves struck out too much.

371
00:21:27,500 --> 00:21:35,860
 There was too much non-contact, and they just need to do a better job of getting them on, getting them over, getting them in, making contact.

372
00:21:36,580 --> 00:21:38,500
 And Mike Yastrzemski is a guy who can do that.

373
00:21:39,180 --> 00:21:42,840
 Mauricio Dubon, I think, is a guy who can play in multiple positions, so that's good.

374
00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,600
 We've seen Jorge Mateo around a little bit, so he's a good addition to the team.

375
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:53,080
 And I think from the bench perspective, it's significantly better than where you were this time a year ago.

376
00:21:54,220 --> 00:21:58,580
 Ben, talk to us about the bugaboo, and that is the injury bug.

377
00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:02,720
 Schwellenbach, I saw a 60-day, starts the season, 60-day list.

378
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,720
 Got a bone spur in his right elbow.

379
00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,460
 I saw today Joe Jimenez, also on the 60-day injured list.

380
00:22:09,540 --> 00:22:12,820
 You bring over an infielder, Brett Wisely from Tampa Bay.

381
00:22:12,820 --> 00:22:18,240
 But what have they got to do to get Hawkeye in the MASH unit in here to keep these boys healthy?

382
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:26,120
 I think that's the most unsettling part of it all, because every team's going to experience injuries, right?

383
00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,940
 And the Braves saw their fair share of injuries last year.

384
00:22:29,060 --> 00:22:35,840
 But if anything, when it comes to this time of year, right before camp starts, right before spring training begins,

385
00:22:36,060 --> 00:22:43,980
 what you want more than anything from what you experienced a year ago is a turning of the page, is a departure, a fresh start.

386
00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:50,780
 And when you have this news with Spencer Schwellenbach, and you have this news with Joel Jimenez, and so on and so forth,

387
00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:53,620
 you can't help but think, well, here we go again.

388
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,280
 We're snake-bitten, we're cursed.

389
00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,180
 And it's one thing to contain that feeling to last season.

390
00:22:59,180 --> 00:23:02,700
 You want a fresh start this year, and it seems like that's kind of leaking over.

391
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:09,420
 So psychologically, I think that's what hurts more than anything, is you're just thinking, well, this could be the same song on a different verse.

392
00:23:10,700 --> 00:23:16,880
 Between that and Ha Sung Kim and all that, it's so disheartening, and these other guys are going to have to step up.

393
00:23:17,020 --> 00:23:23,380
 And it's one thing to be saying that the rest of the rotation has to step up when we're in July or August, and you expect injuries.

394
00:23:23,780 --> 00:23:27,620
 It really hurts to be saying that on February the 11th.

395
00:23:27,780 --> 00:23:29,440
 That's really a kick in the gut.

396
00:23:29,620 --> 00:23:34,700
 So I felt like it was a team that needed to add to the rotation anyway.

397
00:23:35,140 --> 00:23:40,220
 I felt like even before this news with Spencer Schwellenbach, they still needed to add a piece on the mound.

398
00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:46,060
 Well, now that's blatantly obvious, and in my opinion, and I don't expect this to happen,

399
00:23:46,180 --> 00:23:49,780
 but in my opinion, I think they need two more arms, to be quite honest with you.

400
00:23:49,980 --> 00:23:55,580
 So it puts you behind the eight ball for sure and puts a heavy load on some of these other guys as well.

401
00:23:56,100 --> 00:24:01,340
 Ben, before we jump off of the latest from the Olympics, the Braves fans would sit here and tar and feather me

402
00:24:01,340 --> 00:24:03,960
 if I didn't ask you about the latest on Spencer Strider this season.

403
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,520
 Strider is going to be a guy that you just watch and see.

404
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:15,340
 And the reason I say that is because where he finished the season last year, he still wasn't exactly where he wanted

405
00:24:15,340 --> 00:24:19,720
 to be in terms of his healing and getting back to where he wants to be.

406
00:24:19,940 --> 00:24:25,340
 When you have the operation that he had, and look, what I'm expecting for Spencer Schwellenbach

407
00:24:25,340 --> 00:24:28,020
 is very similar to what we're talking about with Spencer Strider,

408
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,940
 and therefore I don't know that I expect anything out of Schwellenbach at all this season.

409
00:24:32,140 --> 00:24:35,820
 But these injuries take a lot of time, and this wasn't a full-on Tommy John.

410
00:24:35,940 --> 00:24:42,740
 This was an elbow brace, and this is a brand-new technology, so we don't have a whole lot of returns on exactly what this looks like

411
00:24:42,740 --> 00:24:45,000
 two and three and four and five years down the road.

412
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:51,080
 So I'm very interested to see what his arm looks like, not necessarily just at spring training,

413
00:24:51,460 --> 00:24:55,100
 but what does he look like once he's 50 innings in or 100 innings in?

414
00:24:55,780 --> 00:25:01,540
 I'm expecting a guy who can succeed, but I think he's going to have to do it in ways that he's never done it before.

415
00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:03,560
 He used to be able to throw 98-99.

416
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,520
 You could miss location with 99 and still get a swing and miss.

417
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:12,180
 You can't do that with 94-95, and if you're running out there as a two-pitch pitcher,

418
00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:16,680
 missing locations with 94 and your slider isn't quite as devastating.

419
00:25:16,820 --> 00:25:20,760
 You're talking about a completely different brand of pitcher,

420
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,600
 a completely different pedigree of pitcher at that point.

421
00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,220
 So location's got to be better, and we'll see what that third pitch develops.

422
00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:31,620
 Quick, before we jump off, it's always fun to ask, what about the new kids on the block?

423
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,460
 Maybe 30 seconds or so, what about the new kids on the block?

424
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,480
 Well, we got to see a little bit of that last year, especially on the mound.

425
00:25:38,660 --> 00:25:40,720
 I mean, I'm really excited for Hurston Waltrip,

426
00:25:40,820 --> 00:25:43,960
 and I think the strides that he made last season were terrific,

427
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:49,260
 and I think he's certainly going to play a big role in what we see on the mound this year for the team.

428
00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:50,700
 I think he's going to have a good spring.

429
00:25:51,180 --> 00:25:53,840
 I would hope that once we got towards the end of the season,

430
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:58,180
 we're hearing good things about A.J. Smith-Schauver and his bounce back from his operation.

431
00:25:58,860 --> 00:26:02,320
 Obviously, Drake Baldwin's still extremely young and won the Rookie of the Year last year,

432
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:03,060
 so that's great.

433
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,680
 And guys like J.R. Ritchie and other young prospects,

434
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:08,500
 I know we'll see a lot of them in spring training,

435
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:12,880
 and I can't wait to see what another year for those guys looks like

436
00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:14,900
 because they're going to be getting closer and closer to the big leagues,

437
00:26:14,940 --> 00:26:17,160
 and we could see some of those guys early in this season.

438
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:19,560
 Ben, it's always good to hook up with you.

439
00:26:19,700 --> 00:26:20,980
 It's going to be a fun season.

440
00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:23,020
 Can't wait for your calls here on 93.9.

441
00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:24,900
 Good luck, and thanks so much for your time today.

442
00:26:25,540 --> 00:26:26,120
 My pleasure.

443
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:27,040
 I appreciate you having me.

444
00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:31,300
 Ben Ingram, fine broadcaster, the voice of the Atlanta Braves,

445
00:26:31,380 --> 00:26:33,920
 and also busy there at 680, the fans.

446
00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:34,740
 Hard to believe.

447
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,800
 We're coming up on about a quarter of the Olympics, now in the books.

448
00:26:40,300 --> 00:26:43,380
 What's the latest, as they say in song, the staple singers, was it?

449
00:26:43,860 --> 00:26:45,020
 We'll take you there next.

450
00:26:45,180 --> 00:26:46,920
 Stay with us on 93.9, the score.

451
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:50,840
 Gold medal, her teammate Jalen Koff took the silver, as she did four years ago.

452
00:26:50,940 --> 00:26:54,580
 Also in Beijing, Ryan Cochran-Siegel won a silver medal in Alpine skiing,

453
00:26:54,660 --> 00:26:58,380
 the Super G, another silver today for the son of Barbara Cochran,

454
00:26:58,740 --> 00:27:01,740
 who won a skiing gold medal for the U.S. in 1972.

455
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:03,500
 She was in Cortina today.

456
00:27:03,500 --> 00:27:08,560
 The gold in that Super G went to Franyo Fong Van Allen from Switzerland.

457
00:27:09,140 --> 00:27:12,860
 He earlier won the downhill and the combined three gold medals.

458
00:27:13,060 --> 00:27:16,820
 First skier to do that since Jean-Claude Keeley in 1968.

459
00:27:17,340 --> 00:27:18,340
 Men's hockey underway.

460
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,420
 Slovakia has beaten Finland 4-1.

461
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:21,800
 Sweden getting ready to play Italy.

462
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:23,160
 The U.S. plays Latvia tomorrow.

463
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:25,220
 John Stash, and we're at Westwood One Sports.

464
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 Time is valuable.

465
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 That's why Lowe's Blueprint Takeoffs turn blueprints into quotes faster.

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 Plus, at the Lowe's Pro Desk,

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471
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472
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 Stop by your O'Reilly Auto Parts store or shop O'ReillyAuto.com.

476
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 O, O, O, O, O, O'Reilly Auto Parts.

477
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 Silicon carbide was discovered in 1893 when a meteorite crashed to the earth in Arizona.

478
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,060
 It was discovered by a French chemist named Henri Messon.

479
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,040
 And originally he thought it was a diamond.

480
00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,980
 When he realized it wasn't, he named it after himself.

481
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:42,820
 That's right.

482
00:28:43,020 --> 00:28:44,240
 Moissanite is meteor.

483
00:28:44,460 --> 00:28:49,380
 I know we've all kind of been divided here lately, but I think we can all agree from deep down in our soul

484
00:28:49,380 --> 00:28:51,280
 that we all hate Valentine's Day.

485
00:28:51,460 --> 00:28:54,300
 It is the most fabricated and made-up holiday ever.

486
00:28:54,500 --> 00:29:00,140
 So in celebration of that, I'm now declaring Moissanite the official anti-Valentine's Day gym.

487
00:29:00,140 --> 00:29:04,920
 And at Medford Jewelers, we are going to be running one-carat emerald-cut Moissanite bezel set

488
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:08,060
 and both pendant and earrings for $75 each.

489
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,280
 Or you can get the pendant and earring pair for $125.

490
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:16,900
 At Medford's, we wish everybody health and love and happiness whenever and wherever you can find it.

491
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:22,260
 And we are proud to be the anti-Valentine's Day headquarters since 1945.

492
00:29:23,140 --> 00:29:24,360
 Roll Tide, Bama fans.

493
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,440
 This is Keith at Cypress Creek Indoor Range.

494
00:29:26,620 --> 00:29:29,260
 Alabama football has the proudest football tradition in the country.

495
00:29:29,260 --> 00:29:33,280
 We got that from great facilities, the top athletes in the nation, and focused practices.

496
00:29:33,580 --> 00:29:35,480
 At Cypress Creek Indoor Range, we have all three.

497
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:40,380
 As the show's largest gun store, we have a great selection of firearms and accessories for all your shooting needs.

498
00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,020
 Our staff is second to none in knowledge, service, and training.

499
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:46,660
 And we have a nationally recognized indoor range to allow you to practice on your own

500
00:29:46,660 --> 00:29:48,800
 or take one of our many classes or private lessons.

501
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:53,740
 We're located at 5060 Highway 157 on the web at cypresscreekrange.com

502
00:29:53,740 --> 00:29:57,400
 or give us a call at 256-275-7586.

503
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:02,020
 At North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, our show's roots run deep.

504
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 We provide quick access and familiar, friendly faces so you never have to feel just like a number.

505
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 From sports medicine to joint replacement, expert care happens right here at home.

506
00:30:14,260 --> 00:30:19,240
 As UNA Athletics' choice for orthopedics and the trusted orthopedic team of the show's families,

507
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 for over 30 years, North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic is here for you.

508
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 Learn more at nabjc.com

509
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 Never have I ever called my sister from the finish line of my first marathon.

510
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 Hello?

511
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 You won't believe where I am.

512
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 Are you running?

513
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 Mile 26.

514
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 I'm going to make it.

515
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 Switch to T-Mobile's 55 Plus plan and get iPhone 16E with its advanced camera system on up.

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517
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 Guys, I can't believe it.

518
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 I knew you could do it, babe.

519
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:52,660
 That was amazing.

520
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 Mom, how do you feel?

521
00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:55,140
 I feel great.

522
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 But I can't feel my feet.

523
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 Let's take a picture.

524
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 And then you may carry me to the car.

525
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526
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531
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 Best mobile network in the U.S. based on analysis by Google of Speedtest Intelligence Data 1H 2025.

532
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 Visit T-Mobile.com.

533
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 We all hear the radio ads about the IRS.

534
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 They tell you to be afraid, to be scared, and they try to frighten you into calling.

535
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536
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 Tax Relief Advocates is different.

537
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538
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539
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540
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543
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544
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545
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546
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547
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548
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549
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 That's 800-575-6759.

550
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551
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 Real solutions for real people.

552
00:32:28,220 --> 00:32:32,020
 United Way of Northwest Alabama is thrilled to announce the return of its signature fundraising

553
00:32:32,020 --> 00:32:37,480
 gala, Shoals Royale, on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at the Renaissance Shoals Conference

554
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:37,800
 Center.

555
00:32:38,420 --> 00:32:42,620
 This black-tie optional casino-themed event brings all the glitz and excitement of Las Vegas

556
00:32:42,620 --> 00:32:47,680
 to the Shoals, complete with live entertainment, gaming tables, prizes, hors d'oeuvres, and a

557
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:49,720
 cash bar, and all for a great cause.

558
00:32:50,260 --> 00:32:54,060
 Now in its fourth year, Shoals Royale has become one of Northwest Alabama's premier charity

559
00:32:54,060 --> 00:32:58,500
 events, uniting local businesses, community leaders, and residents for a night of luxury

560
00:32:58,500 --> 00:32:59,280
 and purpose.

561
00:32:59,820 --> 00:33:04,560
 Proceeds directly benefit United Way of Northwest Alabama and the 12 local non-profit partners

562
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:06,740
 and 22 community programs and funds.

563
00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:14,680
 Individual tickets are $125 or $200 per couple, or go in VIP style for $350 or $600 per couple.

564
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:20,720
 Shoals Royale, 2026, Saturday, February 21, at 7 p.m. at the Renaissance Shoals Conference

565
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:21,060
 Center.

566
00:33:21,340 --> 00:33:26,140
 Tickets are available now at GiveBetter.com slash ShoalsRoyale2026.

567
00:33:27,100 --> 00:33:31,200
 Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, The Score.

568
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:32,840
 Mets basketball action last night.

569
00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:34,320
 The Auburn Tigers lost at home.

570
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,020
 They fell to 19th-ranked Vanderbilt, 84-76.

571
00:33:38,700 --> 00:33:46,400
 Tahad Pettiford had 21 points in the loss as Auburn drops to 14-10 on the season and 5-6 in

572
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:47,620
 SEC play.

573
00:33:48,300 --> 00:33:49,600
 Mets basketball action tonight.

574
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:51,620
 Alabama's on the road to play at Ole Miss.

575
00:33:51,700 --> 00:33:53,920
 The Crimson Tide 16-7 on the year.

576
00:33:54,260 --> 00:33:55,600
 6-4 in the SEC.

577
00:33:55,900 --> 00:33:58,200
 Ole Miss is 3-7 in the conference.

578
00:33:58,580 --> 00:34:00,900
 11-12 on the season.

579
00:34:01,380 --> 00:34:04,660
 Tonight in the Sun Belt, Troy is on the road to play at Texas State.

580
00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:07,160
 The Trojans 9-3 in the Sun Belt.

581
00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:11,880
 Tomorrow night, South Alabama is on the road to play at Southern Miss.

582
00:34:12,300 --> 00:34:16,480
 Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive.

583
00:34:16,620 --> 00:34:22,040
 I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash, presented by Progressive on 93-9, The Score.

584
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 It's tax time, y'all.

585
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 If you want to file free, this next one's for you.

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591
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592
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 Up next, commercial.

593
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594
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595
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596
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 schedule 1A.

597
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 The Score.

598
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:04,440
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93-9, The Score.

599
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:05,720
 Welcome back in.

600
00:35:05,740 --> 00:35:08,560
 It is an absolute pleasure for us to say hello to Rodney Orr.

601
00:35:08,620 --> 00:35:09,480
 He's kind of busy there.

602
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,860
 His founder, nettrick, tighter, insider.com.

603
00:35:11,900 --> 00:35:13,500
 His book is called Bigger Than Bama.

604
00:35:13,620 --> 00:35:14,640
 Rodney Orr, welcome in.

605
00:35:14,700 --> 00:35:15,460
 How are you?

606
00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:17,080
 Harold, I'm doing well.

607
00:35:17,140 --> 00:35:17,660
 How are you?

608
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:19,480
 Man, we're doing all right, Rodney.

609
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:25,580
 I just assumed that Greg Sankey and Judge Daniel Pruitt will not be the next mayor in Tuscaloosa.

610
00:35:25,580 --> 00:35:27,120
 Am I right on that, Rodney?

611
00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:32,220
 Uh, yeah, I think that's probably a pretty safe bet.

612
00:35:33,500 --> 00:35:41,800
 You know, I mean, again, it was a, you know, really, the process that kind of got us to

613
00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:46,140
 where we are right now, Harold, has been kind of actually confusing, I guess you could say.

614
00:35:46,820 --> 00:35:50,720
 Because, I mean, isn't everybody a professional now?

615
00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:54,680
 I think that's the question that a lot of Alabama fans are kind of asking.

616
00:35:56,020 --> 00:35:58,120
 Here's another thing they're asking, Rodney.

617
00:35:58,240 --> 00:36:01,800
 This dude named Greg Sankey makes a lot of money to make the tough decision.

618
00:36:01,980 --> 00:36:03,260
 He doesn't exactly wash dishes.

619
00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:04,960
 His job is to make tough decisions.

620
00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:10,820
 Why didn't he say at the headwind of this thing, this is not going to happen, I'm putting the brakes on,

621
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:17,900
 instead of coming on and dilly-dally, wishy-washy, let it play out, and then just, it seems like anyway, I don't know.

622
00:36:18,180 --> 00:36:21,400
 It seems like when he saw the way the winds were blowing, that's the way he was going,

623
00:36:21,460 --> 00:36:24,480
 and all of a sudden he jumps on the board, gives his endorsement.

624
00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:30,040
 It's kind of like people in politics, they wait to sue the front-runner, and then they write to check for that candidate.

625
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:34,120
 Why, if it's wrong now, why wasn't it wrong then?

626
00:36:35,020 --> 00:36:39,460
 Yeah, I agree with you, Harold, because listen, I think we both know, common sense tells you,

627
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:48,920
 that Greg Byrne and Nate Oates wanted to run this through the SEC office first,

628
00:36:49,540 --> 00:36:53,520
 and kind of get, so I don't think Sankey was blindsided by any of it,

629
00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:59,240
 and I think Alabama probably had a pretty good feel what Sankey was thinking about it.

630
00:36:59,660 --> 00:37:07,380
 So, I don't really think, this is just me, I'm pretty sure Greg Byrne and Nate Oates,

631
00:37:07,700 --> 00:37:11,640
 they would not have moved forward if they hadn't felt like that, you know,

632
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:16,220
 Greg Sankey at least had given them some sort of an approval,

633
00:37:16,580 --> 00:37:20,160
 and I don't know if approval is the right word, but some sort of a,

634
00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:24,220
 hey, I understand this, and I'm not against it, whatever it is.

635
00:37:25,540 --> 00:37:28,000
 So, that's a good question, Harold.

636
00:37:28,100 --> 00:37:32,780
 I mean, I think, I would say Alabama was probably a little blindsided by his actions.

637
00:37:33,700 --> 00:37:40,160
 Well, not only blindsided, now they don't know what's behind door number two as far as the repercussions of this.

638
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:41,260
 I mean, what are you hearing?

639
00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,580
 I'm not going to put you on the spot, Rodney, the only time is going to tell,

640
00:37:43,660 --> 00:37:46,220
 but if you're going to speculate, there's talk out there,

641
00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:50,600
 maybe they got, they, being the NCAA and those geniuses and Mensa Society of Presidents,

642
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:52,960
 may want to vacate Bama's wins.

643
00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:55,920
 How can you do that when it was on, in effect, an injunction?

644
00:37:56,100 --> 00:38:00,220
 I'm not a lawyer, but an injunction to me is kind of like an appeal, if you will,

645
00:38:00,580 --> 00:38:03,560
 once you find the final verdict, then you act, but in the meantime,

646
00:38:04,060 --> 00:38:06,300
 you're playing with the parameters that you're given.

647
00:38:06,580 --> 00:38:10,740
 What are you hearing about the possibility of vacating wins under Betty Yacob?

648
00:38:11,380 --> 00:38:16,180
 Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen based on some things I've heard.

649
00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:26,560
 I think the original, the temporary restraining order or temporary injunction that they had,

650
00:38:26,620 --> 00:38:31,380
 the preliminary injunction was that Judge Roberts ruled that, you know,

651
00:38:31,420 --> 00:38:34,960
 this couldn't, that they couldn't come back on Alabama for this.

652
00:38:35,220 --> 00:38:38,340
 So I think that probably, and again, I'm like you, Harold,

653
00:38:38,420 --> 00:38:41,420
 I'm not, certainly not legally minded.

654
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:45,980
 So I would have to kind of stay, stay away from that a little bit.

655
00:38:45,980 --> 00:38:51,580
 But I don't think based on things I've heard from some attorneys that that's going to happen.

656
00:38:52,620 --> 00:38:55,400
 Rodney Orr, founder and editor of tighterinsider.com.

657
00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,820
 Whether you love it, whether you hate it, the show goes on.

658
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:02,620
 What now, Rodney, for this team beginning tonight at a very loud place.

659
00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:05,700
 It ain't the biggest place, but it's the loud place at Ole Miss.

660
00:39:07,180 --> 00:39:07,580
 Right.

661
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:12,400
 I mean, I just think, again, I know Ole Miss hasn't probably been what they hope to be.

662
00:39:13,300 --> 00:39:17,760
 And I think this is a game going on the road that you have to kind of try to figure out a way to win.

663
00:39:18,220 --> 00:39:24,640
 You know, I mean, this is, Alabama's now got a couple of wins.

664
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:29,140
 I think, you know, being able to stack some wins would be really important for this team.

665
00:39:29,240 --> 00:39:32,240
 It looks like they're kind of on a roll right now.

666
00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:41,440
 I mean, you know, again, I thought the Texas A&M win was really big, Harold, for no other reason than the fact that it kind of got you back in a positive groove.

667
00:39:41,660 --> 00:39:42,340
 Stop the bleeding.

668
00:39:42,580 --> 00:39:44,100
 The win at Texas A&M.

669
00:39:44,220 --> 00:39:52,360
 And then, you know, to be able to go, I think it set them up to be able to go back, go down to Auburn with a positive mindset, kind of end up in more of a rhythm.

670
00:39:52,940 --> 00:39:55,400
 And they gutted out another win down there.

671
00:39:55,540 --> 00:39:57,680
 So, this is not really surprising.

672
00:39:57,800 --> 00:39:59,840
 We talked about this, I think, last week.

673
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:08,040
 But, you know, it just seems like when Nate Oates' teams have their backs to the wall, they always seem to respond in a positive way.

674
00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:14,880
 So, yeah, this is going to Ole Miss, another big opportunity, I think, for this basketball team to take another step.

675
00:40:15,300 --> 00:40:18,140
 Trying to believe only eight games left in the regular season.

676
00:40:18,300 --> 00:40:24,140
 Rodney, on the flip side, Kalen DeBoer getting some good news of all places from the NCAA.

677
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:25,540
 How about that?

678
00:40:25,540 --> 00:40:34,320
 Granting a seventh year of eligibility to Mississippi State, at least former Mississippi State defensive lineman, Kendrick Bingley-Jones.

679
00:40:35,460 --> 00:40:43,920
 Yeah, and I think that's a big deal because, you know, not only is he experienced, he's an older player, but I think, Harold, too,

680
00:40:43,980 --> 00:40:49,140
 just talking to people over in Mississippi that have watched him play the last couple of years there at Mississippi State.

681
00:40:49,260 --> 00:40:56,280
 You know, he originally started out as a four-star recruit that went to North Carolina, and then he transferred over to Mississippi State.

682
00:40:56,280 --> 00:41:02,480
 But the people at Mississippi State said, you know, had he been able to stay healthy, they thought he was going to be really good, and they think he is.

683
00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:05,280
 They think he can be a real factor for Alabama.

684
00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:12,660
 So, that's good, an interior defensive lineman, and that was one of the things that we felt like in the portal they needed to do was to shore

685
00:41:12,660 --> 00:41:14,140
 that interior up a little bit.

686
00:41:14,220 --> 00:41:23,480
 And I think with Bingley-Jones and then also, you know, Terrence Green from Oregon, 6'6", 330, and Bingley-Jones is 6'4", 320.

687
00:41:23,720 --> 00:41:30,080
 You've got you a couple of, you have a duo there on the interior that could be really good for Alabama next season.

688
00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:36,720
 Rodney, I don't know how much of the Super Bowl you saw, but whatever you saw, I think we all came to the same conclusion.

689
00:41:36,900 --> 00:41:41,480
 If you looked at it, can we overstate the importance of a stout defensive line?

690
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:46,660
 How, at least on paper, in your opinion, does this unit stack up with last year's DL?

691
00:41:48,860 --> 00:41:50,460
 Well, that's a good question.

692
00:41:51,060 --> 00:41:52,900
 I mean, we're going to find out.

693
00:41:53,380 --> 00:41:56,640
 I think, you know, obviously you lost James Smith.

694
00:41:57,060 --> 00:41:58,480
 You lost all three of your starters.

695
00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:02,820
 I mean, Tim Keenan was the heart and soul of your defense, I think.

696
00:42:03,300 --> 00:42:07,160
 And then James Smith left, and then, of course, L.T. Overton's gone.

697
00:42:07,240 --> 00:42:08,340
 He's moving on to the NFL.

698
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:15,280
 So you lost some really experienced players that were good players in the heart and soul.

699
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:17,640
 But I just think that, Harold, we don't know.

700
00:42:17,980 --> 00:42:21,920
 I mean, we'll see what Bingley-Jones and Terrence Green bring to the interior.

701
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:25,000
 You've got London Simmons, who I think had a really good freshman year.

702
00:42:26,040 --> 00:42:30,360
 You know, hopefully Jeremiah Beeman will be back and ready to go full speed, which I think he is.

703
00:42:30,900 --> 00:42:40,320
 And I think the addition of Devin Tompkins, they'll put him at probably the position where James Smith was, is what I would expect.

704
00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:46,640
 And then you have, you know, another end coming in from South Carolina.

705
00:42:46,820 --> 00:42:47,920
 I can just call him Des U.

706
00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:52,880
 So you're bringing some guys in that I think certainly could help you.

707
00:42:53,340 --> 00:42:56,700
 But until we actually see them, it's kind of hard to predict.

708
00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:01,720
 On behalf of the late Kenny Stabler, I miss the guys who were named Smith and Jones back in the day.

709
00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:03,500
 Too many syllables now.

710
00:43:04,020 --> 00:43:06,500
 Of course, tons of talk on the other side of the ball, Rodney.

711
00:43:06,540 --> 00:43:07,100
 We know that.

712
00:43:07,420 --> 00:43:15,180
 I thought it was interesting that new O.L. coach, Adria Clem, is getting glowing reviews from former Bama quarterback A.J. McCarron.

713
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:18,500
 Rodney, if I understood A.J. right, he says, this guy ain't playing.

714
00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:20,320
 He's going to come in and say, man up.

715
00:43:20,660 --> 00:43:22,360
 This other stuff, everybody gets a trophy.

716
00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:23,840
 If you break a nail, you're going to cry.

717
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:24,780
 If you do, leave.

718
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:27,620
 It seems like there's a new sheriff in town on that side of the ball.

719
00:43:28,780 --> 00:43:33,340
 Well, you know, again, I understand that and I hear that.

720
00:43:33,820 --> 00:43:40,480
 And, you know, it's kind of like we said after speaking to several coaches that have worked with him and know him really well,

721
00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:45,900
 that he is a guy that believes in lining up and kind of going jaw to jaw with you.

722
00:43:45,900 --> 00:43:50,100
 I mean, he believes in, you know, physical style up front, which is good.

723
00:43:51,240 --> 00:43:57,240
 But, again, how is that exactly going to fit in with what they're going to do or what they do?

724
00:43:57,580 --> 00:44:03,840
 That's the interesting part because, you know, they do a lot of different things, I think.

725
00:44:04,740 --> 00:44:08,420
 I'm talking about DeBoer and Grubb in their offense.

726
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:11,780
 It doesn't really call for lining up and going jaw to jaw.

727
00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:14,000
 So, we'll see.

728
00:44:14,340 --> 00:44:15,360
 It's going to be interesting.

729
00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:21,700
 But, you know what, look, it may be an indication that, you know, Alabama is going to make some changes a little bit into what they do

730
00:44:21,700 --> 00:44:26,740
 and, you know, hopefully become a more physical team up front and also be able to run the ball effectively

731
00:44:26,740 --> 00:44:31,740
 because, listen, Harold, if they can generate some run game in one of these two quarterbacks

732
00:44:31,740 --> 00:44:34,000
 and these two guys are both loaded with talent.

733
00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:35,080
 They don't have experience.

734
00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:36,320
 We know that.

735
00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:41,400
 But Austin Mack, Keelan Russell, one of those two guys, they're both loaded with talent.

736
00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:43,640
 We'll see which one wins, you know, the battle.

737
00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:45,300
 And it's only going to start this spring.

738
00:44:45,380 --> 00:44:47,100
 I'm sure it's going to carry over into August.

739
00:44:47,720 --> 00:44:54,380
 But whoever it is, if one of those guys can be what their talent indicates they could be,

740
00:44:54,800 --> 00:45:01,260
 then this Alabama team could be a lot more difficult to deal with if they can get some things shored up on the line

741
00:45:01,260 --> 00:45:05,060
 than what maybe people think or are expecting right now.

742
00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:06,780
 Well, you bring up a good point, Rodney.

743
00:45:06,780 --> 00:45:10,340
 And I saw a post earlier today that somebody summed it up best.

744
00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:14,700
 As far as talent, Alabama at the quarterback spot has got as much talent as anybody promising,

745
00:45:14,900 --> 00:45:16,000
 but they lack experience.

746
00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:17,340
 But here's the other side of that coin.

747
00:45:17,720 --> 00:45:20,160
 Go across the SEC and look.

748
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:22,060
 There's some out there.

749
00:45:22,100 --> 00:45:23,120
 Don't come to mind off the top.

750
00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:28,020
 But a lot of coaches and a lot of teams and fan bases are going through the same thing,

751
00:45:28,020 --> 00:45:32,200
 whether it's bringing a brand-new quarterback through the ranks in high school and developing them

752
00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:33,840
 or bringing them in via the portal.

753
00:45:33,960 --> 00:45:39,060
 A lot of teams right now at the quarterback spot got question marks as far as can these kids live up to their promise

754
00:45:39,060 --> 00:45:41,140
 because they're brand-new in a lot of cases.

755
00:45:41,820 --> 00:45:42,500
 No doubt.

756
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:48,720
 I mean, like you said, I think sometimes Alabama fans, of course, we see it on tighterinsider.com.

757
00:45:49,220 --> 00:45:50,840
 I can be guilty of it, too.

758
00:45:50,940 --> 00:45:53,340
 We're focused on what Alabama's doing and has.

759
00:45:53,820 --> 00:45:57,700
 And you forget, most of these teams are kind of going through the same thing.

760
00:45:57,800 --> 00:45:58,120
 Exactly.

761
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:03,940
 There's a lot of transition because of the portal and guys leaving and that type of thing.

762
00:46:03,940 --> 00:46:06,200
 So, yeah, there is a lot of transition.

763
00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:11,380
 And that's why I think it makes it really difficult, Harold, if we just sit here and try to predict what's going to happen.

764
00:46:11,700 --> 00:46:13,640
 Because, I mean, we really don't know.

765
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:16,480
 You know, we just simply don't know.

766
00:46:16,680 --> 00:46:17,820
 But I would say this.

767
00:46:17,900 --> 00:46:23,040
 I am encouraged by some of the offensive linemen that Alabama's brought in.

768
00:46:23,180 --> 00:46:27,420
 And I'm encouraged by Adrian Clem based on what I've heard.

769
00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:31,800
 And I think if you can put it all together on the offensive side

770
00:46:31,800 --> 00:46:37,340
 and if you can be as good as you were defensively last year, then, you know, maybe this team takes a step.

771
00:46:38,180 --> 00:46:40,820
 You do a good job, Rodney, obviously following recruiting.

772
00:46:40,820 --> 00:46:42,660
 A lot of back and forth.

773
00:46:42,660 --> 00:46:49,140
 And after all is said and done, if you go by some of the services, Alabama wound up with the number one class in the SEC, number two nationally.

774
00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:56,420
 And as far as you look down the list of spring and summer visitors, it's a pretty impressive list, is it not, including the X-Men.

775
00:46:57,780 --> 00:47:03,000
 I'll let you pronounce the name that sounds familiar, Mr. Saab, as some calls him.

776
00:47:03,500 --> 00:47:04,580
 He's coming in this summer.

777
00:47:04,660 --> 00:47:06,500
 He's the number one athlete in the country.

778
00:47:06,500 --> 00:47:10,580
 Your thoughts about the class and some of the visitors coming in.

779
00:47:11,260 --> 00:47:13,520
 Well, I mean, I think they've done a great job.

780
00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:19,660
 Listen, connecting with a lot of these players that they have had come in and that have Alabama listed very highly.

781
00:47:19,900 --> 00:47:27,340
 Again, it's early, but they've certainly put themselves in a great position again with a tremendous number of players.

782
00:47:27,540 --> 00:47:31,820
 And, again, I look at this, Harold, I look at this, and I say this again.

783
00:47:32,500 --> 00:47:34,080
 I look at just about every position.

784
00:47:34,240 --> 00:47:39,440
 You mentioned Saab, Xavier Saab, out of New Jersey, Glassboro, New Jersey.

785
00:47:39,660 --> 00:47:41,260
 He might be the number one athlete.

786
00:47:41,580 --> 00:47:44,580
 He's certainly a guy that you probably would project as a receiver.

787
00:47:45,060 --> 00:47:49,740
 To go with Manchan Sales, out of Indianapolis, again, a 6'5 receiver.

788
00:47:50,140 --> 00:47:51,460
 It's one of the tops in the country.

789
00:47:52,020 --> 00:47:55,780
 Alabama, Ohio State, Indiana, among the teams in the running for him.

790
00:47:55,780 --> 00:47:57,440
 I think Alabama's in the lead.

791
00:47:58,700 --> 00:48:04,000
 So you start getting those kind of athletes to go with some of the offensive linemen that they're recruiting,

792
00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:05,220
 that they have a chance at.

793
00:48:05,340 --> 00:48:11,020
 I know that the Matthew Hiller kid is a guy that, you know, is Pennsylvania.

794
00:48:11,480 --> 00:48:14,160
 He has Alabama really high on his list.

795
00:48:15,640 --> 00:48:20,840
 So there's a lot of offensive linemen that are highly rated that are looking at Alabama.

796
00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:27,320
 But, Harold, like we've talked about before, the defensive line, you know,

797
00:48:27,500 --> 00:48:31,940
 how does Alabama do with some of these high school kids?

798
00:48:33,240 --> 00:48:36,600
 They've got two 60 miles within 60-mile radius here.

799
00:48:37,300 --> 00:48:40,860
 They need to at least get one of them, Carlos May at Ramsey,

800
00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:46,420
 and then Donovan Moore at Hueytown, which I think Moore is leaning strongly to Auburn.

801
00:48:46,980 --> 00:48:51,160
 So, I mean, you've got some guys in your backyard that you need to be able to reel in.

802
00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:53,020
 So we'll see what happens.

803
00:48:53,220 --> 00:48:57,640
 But also, you know, they're going over to Mississippi with some guys like Mitchell Turner and so forth.

804
00:48:57,740 --> 00:48:59,300
 So they're not in bad shape.

805
00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:03,540
 But I still think, you know, one area where they need to continue to improve recruiting

806
00:49:03,540 --> 00:49:07,520
 is the interior defensive line on the high school level.

807
00:49:07,880 --> 00:49:12,580
 Before we jump off, Rodney, I'm assuming you've got April 11th at 1 o'clock circled on your calendar.

808
00:49:12,700 --> 00:49:17,220
 The question is, what kind of spring fling are we going to see in Tuscaloosa in your backyard?

809
00:49:18,560 --> 00:49:22,460
 Yeah, that's a good question because, I mean, there's some doubt about that,

810
00:49:22,520 --> 00:49:27,000
 whether it's going to be another practice or is it going to be a scrimmage type thing.

811
00:49:27,860 --> 00:49:33,720
 You know, I think to really generate, it'd be nice to generate some enthusiasm if they could, you know,

812
00:49:33,740 --> 00:49:38,480
 and have a scrimmage type setting there where, you know, people could come in and watch this

813
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:41,800
 because that's really what people want to see rather than a practice.

814
00:49:41,980 --> 00:49:43,420
 But, you know, we'll see what they do.

815
00:49:44,560 --> 00:49:46,900
 In the meantime, you've got it all covered, Rodney.

816
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:52,700
 Where can the folks come and get the very latest with you online anytime and your book?

817
00:49:53,760 --> 00:49:55,380
 Right, it's tighterinsider.com.

818
00:49:55,440 --> 00:49:59,340
 It's only $48 a year, and you can get instant access with your credit card if you prefer.

819
00:50:00,020 --> 00:50:01,560
 There is an address there to send a check.

820
00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:04,620
 It gives you all our premium information, but also our all-sports forum.

821
00:50:04,700 --> 00:50:06,640
 That's our community of Alabama fans there.

822
00:50:06,900 --> 00:50:08,800
 It's a lot of discussion right now, Harold.

823
00:50:10,380 --> 00:50:11,940
 You know, it's really nonstop there.

824
00:50:11,980 --> 00:50:15,760
 And, of course, the book, Bigger Than Bama, it's available on Amazon.com.

825
00:50:15,800 --> 00:50:18,200
 You can go there, just plug it in, Bigger Than Bama.

826
00:50:18,600 --> 00:50:21,140
 Or you can go to RodneyOr.com.

827
00:50:21,620 --> 00:50:23,020
 It's RodneyOr.com.

828
00:50:23,380 --> 00:50:24,500
 And you can find it there.

829
00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:30,020
 And all the details there, if you're interested, you can find out there how to place your order.

830
00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:33,060
 Rodney, as always, knocking it out of the park.

831
00:50:33,180 --> 00:50:34,400
 Thanks so much for your time, Dan.

832
00:50:34,460 --> 00:50:35,960
 Have a great rest of the week, buddy.

833
00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:37,660
 Harold, I appreciate it.

834
00:50:37,680 --> 00:50:38,260
 You take care.

835
00:50:38,720 --> 00:50:39,220
 Thank you, buddy.

836
00:50:39,280 --> 00:50:40,260
 Rodney Orr, who's going to be with us.

837
00:50:40,340 --> 00:50:41,900
 Founded and entered at tighterinsider.com.

838
00:50:41,940 --> 00:50:43,800
 The book is called Bigger Than Bama.

839
00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:47,820
 Coming up in the next hour, in Double D, Drew Jarman is going to be talking Tide and Tigers.

840
00:50:48,260 --> 00:50:50,460
 Andrew Adelson checking in from ESPN.

841
00:50:51,260 --> 00:50:57,020
 And the hometown hero, a fellow by the name of Josh Willingham, leading off the lineup in the next hour.

842
00:50:57,120 --> 00:50:57,720
 Stay with us.

843
00:50:57,720 --> 00:51:17,400
 Getting the kids to practice on time.

844
00:51:17,660 --> 00:51:19,640
 Remembering if it's your day to bring snacks.

845
00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:21,900
 Making it to the game with a clean jersey.

846
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 Why are simple things sometimes so complicated?

847
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 Thankfully, with auto owners, insurance doesn't have to be one of them.

848
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 Auto owners works with independent agents who answer when you call.

849
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850
00:51:33,740 --> 00:51:36,520
 Like whether your kid is going to run toward first or third base.

851
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 That's simple human sense.

852
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853
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854
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 Or call 256-383-3400.

855
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 Welcome back to Winter Hack Radio.

856
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 The place for clever hacks to survive the season.

857
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 Icy driveway?

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 Catch COVID-19?

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894
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 Life-size wall sticker of your favorite player that routinely freaks you out at night?

901
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 Check.

902
00:53:30,380 --> 00:53:31,400
 A second life-size wall sticker.

903
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 So after the first one freaks you out, you see the second, and you're like, oh right, the wall stickers.

904
00:53:34,340 --> 00:53:34,560
 Check.

905
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 And mate.

906
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 Bundle your renters and auto insurance with Progressive and save on protection for the things on your checklist.

907
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 Get a quote at progressive.com.

908
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909
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 Not available in all states or situations covered.

910
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 Every 40 seconds a child is reported missing.

911
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 Find the Children is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping find missing kids.

912
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 You can be a part of their mission by donating your unwanted car.

913
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 Call 1-800-294-0222.

914
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915
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916
00:54:05,640 --> 00:54:07,480
 Donate your unwanted or unused car.

917
00:54:07,480 --> 00:54:10,840
 Call 1-800-294-0222.

918
00:54:11,280 --> 00:54:14,920
 This advertisement was paid for in partnership with Cars RS and Find the Children.

919
00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:18,160
 1819 News.

920
00:54:18,680 --> 00:54:26,540
 The Alabama House has passed a bill that gives top state leaders the authority to remove and replace members that they first appointed to a board or commission.

921
00:54:26,920 --> 00:54:31,540
 House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and Speaker Pro Tem Chris Pringle sponsored HB 220.

922
00:54:31,540 --> 00:54:40,660
 The measure states that board appointees serve at the pleasure of the official who appointed them, including the governor, the House Speaker, and the Senate President Pro Tem.

923
00:54:40,960 --> 00:54:46,320
 Pringle said the bill ensures that officials can remove members who fail to attend meetings or carry out their duties.

924
00:54:46,740 --> 00:54:49,280
 The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate for consideration.

925
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:52,660
 I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.

926
00:54:53,240 --> 00:55:01,640
 Did you know that 70% of people experience a potentially traumatic event in their lifetime and that 6 out of every 100 adults face PTSD every day?

927
00:55:01,780 --> 00:55:08,000
 Help us bring hope to these survivors by signing up for your Alabama distinctive PTSD awareness license plate today.

928
00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:12,760
 The great thing is you can sign up no matter when your current plate renews and the first year is complimentary.

929
00:55:13,120 --> 00:55:19,820
 All you need is your FIN number on hand, drive awareness, drive hope, and customize your plate today at at ease.org.

930
00:55:20,040 --> 00:55:24,180
 Two arrests were made in Bessemer after the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy.

931
00:55:24,300 --> 00:55:27,460
 The shooting of Cordary and Sims occurred on January 31st.

932
00:55:27,460 --> 00:55:34,820
 The U.S. Marshal's Gulf Coast Fidgetive Task Force found and arrested 21-year-old Jalen Robinson and 29-year-old Michael Bonner.

933
00:55:35,080 --> 00:55:39,580
 Both are facing capital murder charges and are being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.

934
00:55:40,240 --> 00:55:47,120
 Montgomery County is now committing $17.5 million to support Jackson Hospital as it works to emerge from bankruptcy.

935
00:55:47,500 --> 00:55:52,660
 County commissioners approved the funding on Tuesday, offering an initial $10 million payment this week.

936
00:55:52,660 --> 00:55:59,580
 Commission Chairman Doug Singleton says the money will help the hospital continue operations, pay bills, and address critical infrastructure needs.

937
00:55:59,700 --> 00:56:04,480
 The remaining $7.5 million will be paid in installments throughout 2029.

938
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:05,820
 I'm Andrea Tice.

939
00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:10,420
 For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.

940
00:56:10,420 --> 00:56:13,540
 And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.

941
00:56:16,540 --> 00:56:22,020
 Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores.

942
00:56:22,240 --> 00:56:24,460
 Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.

943
00:56:29,420 --> 00:56:33,680
 West 1-1 Sports presents this special update of the 2026 Winter Games.

944
00:56:33,800 --> 00:56:40,320
 Jordan Stolls is considered the best American speed skater since Eric Heiden, who says Stolls is better than he was.

945
00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:42,900
 And all Heiden did was win five gold medals in 1980.

946
00:56:43,080 --> 00:56:45,040
 Stolls is favored to win four.

947
00:56:45,120 --> 00:56:47,800
 And the 1,000 meters is considered his best event.

948
00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:49,400
 He has won the gold today.

949
00:56:49,480 --> 00:56:50,780
 He set a new Olympic record.

950
00:56:50,940 --> 00:56:52,360
 Heiden was in attendance.

951
00:56:52,360 --> 00:56:56,640
 The other day, Austrian snowboarder Anna Gasser went for a gold medal three-peat in the big air.

952
00:56:56,720 --> 00:57:03,960
 She fell short, so still, no snowboarder has ever won three straight golds, but Chloe Kim of the U.S. can in the halfpipe.

953
00:57:04,060 --> 00:57:07,820
 She recently hurt his shoulder, but she looked fine today in the qualifying.

954
00:57:08,060 --> 00:57:12,300
 Kim was cheered on by her boyfriend, Miles Garrett, of the Cleveland Browns.

955
00:57:12,560 --> 00:57:16,060
 Figure skating right now has the conclusion of the ice dance,

956
00:57:16,060 --> 00:57:21,300
 and the U.S. husband-and-wife team of Evan Bates and Madison Schock will be going for the gold.

957
00:57:21,400 --> 00:57:23,380
 Well, this Winter Games Update, John Stash, that one.

958
00:57:23,500 --> 00:57:24,340
 Let's do it once for us.

959
00:57:28,560 --> 00:57:29,320
 Woo-hoo!

960
00:57:29,740 --> 00:57:30,340
 Hear that?

961
00:57:30,920 --> 00:57:34,580
 That's what having fewer hot flashes and night sweats can sound like.

962
00:57:35,380 --> 00:57:36,820
 Vioza!

963
00:57:37,480 --> 00:57:44,080
 Vioza is the number one prescribed hormone-free treatment FDA-approved for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms,

964
00:57:44,080 --> 00:57:47,600
 also known as hot flashes and night sweats, due to menopause.

965
00:57:47,940 --> 00:57:51,160
 Vioza can cause serious side effects, including liver problems,

966
00:57:51,160 --> 00:57:54,420
 your doctor will do blood tests before and during treatment.

967
00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:58,280
 Stop Vioza and call your doctor if you have symptoms of liver problems,

968
00:57:58,500 --> 00:58:02,960
 such as feeling more tired than usual, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, itching,

969
00:58:03,260 --> 00:58:06,820
 yellowing of the eyes or skin, pale stool, dark urine, or stomach pain.

970
00:58:07,060 --> 00:58:12,920
 Don't use Vioza if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take CYP-182 inhibitors.

971
00:58:13,320 --> 00:58:15,320
 Ask your doctor about Vioza.

972
00:58:15,320 --> 00:58:20,320
 To learn more, call 1-866-239-1637 or go to vioza.com.

973
00:58:20,440 --> 00:58:22,440
 That's V-E-O-Z-A-H dot com.

974
00:58:22,660 --> 00:58:24,020
 Paid for by Estella Sparma.

975
00:58:26,260 --> 00:58:36,200
 Join us for UNA Basketball Night from 7 to 8.30 p.m. on Monday nights from Lost Pizza Shoals.

976
00:58:36,200 --> 00:58:41,180
 Go inside the UNA Basketball programs with head coaches Tony Pujol and Candy Whitaker,

977
00:58:41,460 --> 00:58:48,380
 plus hear from UNA players and get full recaps from Atlantic Sunplay each Monday night at Lost Pizza Shoals

978
00:58:48,380 --> 00:58:54,380
 for UNA Basketball Night from 7 to 8.30 p.m. right here on 93.9 The Score.

979
00:58:54,840 --> 00:58:55,640
 Roar Lions.

980
00:58:57,160 --> 00:59:04,120
 27 tournament trips, five journeys to Omaha, 72 major leaguers.

981
00:59:04,440 --> 00:59:07,340
 It's good to be a Bama baseball fanatic.

982
00:59:07,580 --> 00:59:09,880
 Swing and a fly ball lifted high in the air.

983
00:59:09,880 --> 00:59:15,800
 Deep left field, a go-ahead two-run homer over the high left field wall at Auburn.

984
00:59:15,920 --> 00:59:21,840
 Alabama's favorite pass time plays right here on your home for Alabama baseball.

985
00:59:22,320 --> 00:59:25,280
 The Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield.

986
00:59:26,520 --> 00:59:28,760
 93.9 The Score weather.

987
00:59:29,460 --> 00:59:34,740
 Today cloudy through mid-morning, then gradually clearing with a 60% chance of showers on a high around 60.

988
00:59:35,320 --> 00:59:37,440
 Tonight mostly clear with a low around 35.

989
00:59:38,220 --> 00:59:40,480
 Tomorrow partly sunny with a high near 60.

990
00:59:41,260 --> 00:59:43,480
 Tomorrow night mostly cloudy with a low around 40.

991
00:59:44,160 --> 00:59:46,640
 And after Friday partly sunny with a high near 60.

992
00:59:47,180 --> 00:59:49,860
 Your weather from 93.9 The Score.

993
00:59:52,320 --> 01:00:02,000
 Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.

994
01:00:02,640 --> 01:00:06,000
 It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM sports voice.

995
01:00:09,000 --> 01:00:11,500
 The Boomo Bugg Show.

996
01:00:11,840 --> 01:00:13,960
 Your exclusive inside track to the Tide.

997
01:00:14,120 --> 01:00:17,080
 Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.

998
01:00:17,880 --> 01:00:23,300
 Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

999
01:00:24,060 --> 01:00:24,720
 Welcome back in.

1000
01:00:24,780 --> 01:00:25,900
 Our tour to the Boomo Bugg Show.

1001
01:00:25,960 --> 01:00:26,560
 I'm Harold Bugg.

1002
01:00:26,620 --> 01:00:27,820
 Normally joined by Brett Beaird.

1003
01:00:27,900 --> 01:00:31,560
 He is out today working on his new NIL deal.

1004
01:00:31,640 --> 01:00:33,840
 He's holding out for a fresh order of fries.

1005
01:00:33,960 --> 01:00:35,060
 We'll keep you posted on that.

1006
01:00:35,140 --> 01:00:40,380
 But in the meantime, a pleasure for us to welcome in the legend from the Shoals, Josh Willingham.

1007
01:00:40,520 --> 01:00:41,980
 Former Major League Baseball player.

1008
01:00:42,080 --> 01:00:44,320
 11 years in the show.

1009
01:00:44,460 --> 01:00:48,180
 Minnesota, Washington, Florida, Kansas City, Oakland, you name it.

1010
01:00:49,000 --> 01:00:49,880
 Legend at UNA.

1011
01:00:50,480 --> 01:00:51,460
 Legend at Mars Hill.

1012
01:00:51,600 --> 01:00:54,000
 And now the head baseball coach at Mars Hill.

1013
01:00:54,080 --> 01:00:54,800
 Josh Willingham.

1014
01:00:54,920 --> 01:00:55,400
 Welcome in.

1015
01:00:55,440 --> 01:00:55,920
 How are you?

1016
01:00:56,920 --> 01:00:58,040
 Harold, I'm doing good.

1017
01:00:58,100 --> 01:00:58,520
 How are you?

1018
01:01:01,960 --> 01:01:04,520
 It looks like you and your beautiful wife, Ginger.

1019
01:01:04,640 --> 01:01:09,680
 They've been busy, including, cray me if I'm wrong, a big recent trip to, where was it, Mexico?

1020
01:01:10,280 --> 01:01:12,260
 I'm sure it was rewarding for you.

1021
01:01:13,160 --> 01:01:13,880
 Yes, it was.

1022
01:01:13,980 --> 01:01:15,100
 We had a really good trip.

1023
01:01:15,220 --> 01:01:17,920
 Took a lot of our college kids from church to Mexico.

1024
01:01:18,160 --> 01:01:21,600
 Did a little mission work and things like that.

1025
01:01:21,680 --> 01:01:23,420
 So it was a great trip.

1026
01:01:24,600 --> 01:01:25,980
 Josh, do I have this right?

1027
01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:28,740
 This is your fifth year at Mars Hill.

1028
01:01:28,840 --> 01:01:30,120
 First of all, congratulations.

1029
01:01:30,760 --> 01:01:32,780
 What about being able to return home?

1030
01:01:32,900 --> 01:01:35,520
 Very few people get to live the life, the dream that you have.

1031
01:01:35,580 --> 01:01:36,340
 You played there.

1032
01:01:36,440 --> 01:01:37,860
 You went to the bigs.

1033
01:01:37,860 --> 01:01:42,140
 And now you're back on the home turf, again, after 11 years in the big leagues.

1034
01:01:42,180 --> 01:01:44,020
 That has to be a special feeling for you.

1035
01:01:44,940 --> 01:01:46,880
 It really is, Harold.

1036
01:01:47,020 --> 01:01:48,640
 You know, I try not to take it for granted.

1037
01:01:48,740 --> 01:01:49,640
 I love these kids.

1038
01:01:49,900 --> 01:01:55,940
 And, you know, trying to give them a little bit of the knowledge that I may have as a baseball player.

1039
01:01:55,940 --> 01:02:03,580
 And just try to help them develop as players, as men, hopefully, you know, future husbands and fathers and all that good stuff.

1040
01:02:03,700 --> 01:02:06,480
 So it's been a learning experience for me as well.

1041
01:02:08,060 --> 01:02:11,180
 So, but, man, it's just been a lot of fun.

1042
01:02:11,820 --> 01:02:16,140
 Yeah, I'm going to brag on you a little bit because anybody that knows you knows you'd never do it.

1043
01:02:16,760 --> 01:02:22,420
 You're an inspiration for a lot of us folks who may think you can't go big from growing up around here.

1044
01:02:22,540 --> 01:02:23,820
 Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Josh.

1045
01:02:24,380 --> 01:02:34,100
 But you came out of UNA as shortstop, of all things, as a 17th-round pick, 471st pick overall in the MLB draft,

1046
01:02:34,600 --> 01:02:37,800
 picked up by the Marlins, and as they say, the rest is history,

1047
01:02:38,380 --> 01:02:43,880
 Silver Slugger Award winner, World Series ring with KC and the Royals, and tons of good memories.

1048
01:02:44,160 --> 01:02:50,540
 You are an inspiration, Josh, to say, and who better be a coach when these kids think they can't?

1049
01:02:50,540 --> 01:02:51,860
 You could say, yes, you can.

1050
01:02:51,900 --> 01:02:53,320
 You're looking at one of the reasons for that.

1051
01:02:54,380 --> 01:02:56,140
 Yeah, well, I mean, you're right, Harold.

1052
01:02:56,240 --> 01:03:03,160
 I mean, it was always a dream of mine to play, play college ball, to play in the minor leagues, to play in the big leagues.

1053
01:03:03,300 --> 01:03:08,500
 You know, it's just one of those things where, you know, I had an opportunity that a lot of kids don't have,

1054
01:03:08,540 --> 01:03:09,740
 obviously had some talent.

1055
01:03:10,320 --> 01:03:13,180
 But, you know, these kids, they're going to need an opportunity.

1056
01:03:13,320 --> 01:03:17,520
 They're going to need a break at some point in their life, whether it be, you know, this year on my baseball team

1057
01:03:17,520 --> 01:03:21,600
 or, you know, when they're out in the real world and get a job

1058
01:03:21,600 --> 01:03:24,180
 and got to be ready to take advantage of it, you know,

1059
01:03:24,240 --> 01:03:26,200
 just try to preach to these kids, you know.

1060
01:03:27,040 --> 01:03:28,260
 You've got to have high character.

1061
01:03:28,420 --> 01:03:31,140
 You've got to have all the intangibles, you know, that you can't teach.

1062
01:03:31,800 --> 01:03:35,840
 You've got to do all that stuff well and just be prepared.

1063
01:03:35,980 --> 01:03:36,820
 But, I mean, you're right.

1064
01:03:36,900 --> 01:03:41,900
 I've got to live the American dream, you know, for 11 years in the major leagues.

1065
01:03:41,940 --> 01:03:43,580
 And I definitely don't take that for granted.

1066
01:03:43,740 --> 01:03:51,140
 It's something that, you know, it's just when you're in the middle of it, it's a job and it's what you do.

1067
01:03:51,220 --> 01:03:58,080
 But when you get a chance to step back and you're done and now you're, you know, about to be 47 years old,

1068
01:03:58,080 --> 01:04:00,660
 you're like, wow, that was really cool.

1069
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:02,740
 You know, I got to do that for a long time.

1070
01:04:02,940 --> 01:04:05,640
 So, definitely feel blessed for sure.

1071
01:04:05,900 --> 01:04:10,840
 Do you ever just feel like maybe now I know what those poor old coaches that I've played under are going through?

1072
01:04:11,040 --> 01:04:13,060
 Because, you know, let's face it, Josh.

1073
01:04:13,060 --> 01:04:14,040
 You bring up a good point.

1074
01:04:14,160 --> 01:04:18,120
 And a show of hands, folks listening right now, if you go back to school, remember this.

1075
01:04:18,200 --> 01:04:21,840
 You were in a class and as a kid, you said, what do these old people know?

1076
01:04:22,340 --> 01:04:25,300
 And you look back now, they were in their 30s and 40s.

1077
01:04:26,000 --> 01:04:26,360
 Yeah.

1078
01:04:26,900 --> 01:04:29,560
 And you go, maybe they weren't so old after all.

1079
01:04:29,660 --> 01:04:31,860
 But, you know, what kind of lessons can you tell them?

1080
01:04:31,880 --> 01:04:35,440
 Because kids, I will say this, Josh, kids have always had pressure.

1081
01:04:35,440 --> 01:04:39,880
 But the social media thing going on now, I can't imagine the pressure some of these kids are under.

1082
01:04:40,040 --> 01:04:41,500
 What do you do as far as that part?

1083
01:04:41,540 --> 01:04:42,860
 You can tell them to talk, talk.

1084
01:04:43,100 --> 01:04:46,260
 You can tell them, all right, here's what you do with a fastball, what you do on three and two count.

1085
01:04:46,520 --> 01:04:51,760
 But as far as that part of the game, what lessons can you tell them having been at the highest level?

1086
01:04:53,240 --> 01:04:56,960
 Yeah, well, that goes back to all the stuff, you know, away from the baseball field.

1087
01:04:57,080 --> 01:05:01,580
 And it goes, you know, all the stuff that we try to, you know, preach to them, you know,

1088
01:05:01,580 --> 01:05:03,020
 that has nothing to do with baseball.

1089
01:05:03,020 --> 01:05:07,500
 Because those ultimately are the most important things for them to learn.

1090
01:05:08,420 --> 01:05:11,520
 You know, I think you've got to have the respect to the kid, number one.

1091
01:05:11,680 --> 01:05:13,400
 Like, they've got to believe you.

1092
01:05:13,480 --> 01:05:16,540
 They've got to know that you have their best interest at heart.

1093
01:05:16,540 --> 01:05:19,040
 And sometimes they still don't listen to you.

1094
01:05:19,240 --> 01:05:25,540
 But let's face it, you know, when I was a child and now, or a high schooler, and now the high schooler,

1095
01:05:25,540 --> 01:05:28,700
 there's a lot more at their disposal, like you were touching on.

1096
01:05:28,900 --> 01:05:35,560
 They have a lot more things out there that can get them in trouble, that can occupy their time and energy.

1097
01:05:35,820 --> 01:05:40,180
 And we just went outside and played ball all day, you know, in the summertime.

1098
01:05:40,180 --> 01:05:41,600
 That's all we knew.

1099
01:05:41,720 --> 01:05:43,080
 That's all we really had to do.

1100
01:05:43,560 --> 01:05:49,280
 So just getting them to understand, you know, what's going to carry them on through life,

1101
01:05:49,320 --> 01:05:55,680
 what's going to be the most important thing, whether it be values or, you know, their work ethic,

1102
01:05:55,680 --> 01:06:00,880
 just all those things, just stuff that we try to hammer into their heads, you know,

1103
01:06:00,920 --> 01:06:03,460
 starting in the middle school level in seventh grade.

1104
01:06:04,500 --> 01:06:06,400
 Where I grew up, Josh, we had a big budget.

1105
01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:08,560
 We had a broken broomstick and a lemon.

1106
01:06:08,760 --> 01:06:12,000
 Now, if you go to the grocery store, those plastic lemons, that was our budget,

1107
01:06:12,080 --> 01:06:16,260
 and that's how we played until the sun went down and sometimes played into the twilight.

1108
01:06:16,460 --> 01:06:19,340
 So let's brag a little bit about your team this year, Josh.

1109
01:06:19,340 --> 01:06:22,320
 Obviously, you guys have been playing at a high level.

1110
01:06:22,480 --> 01:06:26,500
 Talk to us about the 2026 Mars Hill Bible baseball team.

1111
01:06:27,880 --> 01:06:33,920
 Yeah, well, any good team that I've ever been a part of, whether it be coaching or playing on it,

1112
01:06:34,020 --> 01:06:35,300
 needs to have good pitching.

1113
01:06:35,540 --> 01:06:36,520
 Like, that's where it starts.

1114
01:06:36,820 --> 01:06:36,920
 Yep.

1115
01:06:37,500 --> 01:06:43,320
 And I feel like that's where our team is going to be successful is if we get good pitching.

1116
01:06:43,420 --> 01:06:46,220
 And we have, you know, multiple guys that can do it.

1117
01:06:46,220 --> 01:06:50,240
 You know, Brooks Campbell was hurt last year for the majority of the season,

1118
01:06:50,400 --> 01:06:54,660
 and he had been our previous number one for the two seasons before that.

1119
01:06:54,900 --> 01:06:57,800
 So he's getting healthy, which is going to help us a lot.

1120
01:06:57,940 --> 01:07:00,580
 You know, Bo Willis is a senior that's had a lot of experience,

1121
01:07:01,160 --> 01:07:04,240
 that's going to have a good year for us on the mound and in the field.

1122
01:07:05,080 --> 01:07:09,860
 And then, you know, Luke Fowler is a position player that made All-State last year.

1123
01:07:10,320 --> 01:07:15,140
 Noah Hamback's a junior that has come back that started all year for us.

1124
01:07:15,140 --> 01:07:19,620
 So then we had several freshmen that played a lot last year that got a lot of experience.

1125
01:07:19,840 --> 01:07:21,680
 So our sophomore class is really strong.

1126
01:07:21,880 --> 01:07:24,480
 So, you know, I think the talent is there.

1127
01:07:24,560 --> 01:07:27,880
 I think the pitching is there that we need.

1128
01:07:28,080 --> 01:07:29,340
 Had a couple of injuries.

1129
01:07:29,500 --> 01:07:31,460
 Malin Moore tore his ACL in football.

1130
01:07:31,580 --> 01:07:34,840
 He started every game at shortstop, which happened.

1131
01:07:34,980 --> 01:07:36,280
 You've got to overcome those things.

1132
01:07:36,360 --> 01:07:39,000
 So hopefully we'll get him back at some point during the season.

1133
01:07:39,000 --> 01:07:45,980
 But I'm excited about our ball club, and, you know, it's not really from the ability standpoint.

1134
01:07:46,280 --> 01:07:49,940
 It's just the kids just love to be around each other, and they love the game,

1135
01:07:49,980 --> 01:07:51,220
 and they're a pleasure to coach.

1136
01:07:51,400 --> 01:07:56,680
 And if you have that kind of team that loves to be there, that's going to work hard,

1137
01:07:57,140 --> 01:07:59,160
 then it really makes your job easy as a coach.

1138
01:07:59,420 --> 01:08:00,600
 And you know what, Josh?

1139
01:08:00,640 --> 01:08:01,680
 It's really never a job.

1140
01:08:01,780 --> 01:08:03,380
 If you enjoy what you do, it's never work.

1141
01:08:03,480 --> 01:08:05,900
 It's just it's time, but it's never what to call work.

1142
01:08:06,520 --> 01:08:11,940
 Speaking of times, it's safe to say you and your beautiful wife, Ginger, blinked and boom.

1143
01:08:12,660 --> 01:08:16,640
 Rhett, Ryder, and Rogan, your three sons, are now young men.

1144
01:08:17,240 --> 01:08:17,580
 Mm-hmm.

1145
01:08:18,540 --> 01:08:19,200
 That's right.

1146
01:08:19,360 --> 01:08:23,840
 Now I got one in college at UNA and then a sophomore and a seventh grader.

1147
01:08:23,840 --> 01:08:26,880
 So I guess the next time we blink, everybody will be out of the house.

1148
01:08:28,360 --> 01:08:30,020
 You'll be buying grandkids' presents.

1149
01:08:31,060 --> 01:08:32,000
 No, that's true.

1150
01:08:32,420 --> 01:08:33,800
 Life happens fast, Harold.

1151
01:08:33,860 --> 01:08:34,480
 You know that.

1152
01:08:34,580 --> 01:08:37,640
 It happens fast, and it goes too quickly at times.

1153
01:08:38,280 --> 01:08:42,380
 It seems like yesterday I was in my playing career, and, you know,

1154
01:08:42,420 --> 01:08:44,520
 now I'm icing my arm after I throw BP.

1155
01:08:44,860 --> 01:08:47,300
 So time definitely takes a toll on you.

1156
01:08:47,780 --> 01:08:48,700
 You mentioned that.

1157
01:08:49,080 --> 01:08:52,220
 I looked at the percentage, Josh, and we'll get to David here in a second,

1158
01:08:52,220 --> 01:08:53,560
 up in the red or David Weathers.

1159
01:08:53,780 --> 01:08:57,140
 Probably less than 1% of kids, as you mentioned,

1160
01:08:57,200 --> 01:09:01,500
 who play in their friend's backyard at the dark, make it to the big leagues.

1161
01:09:01,940 --> 01:09:03,580
 What is the one thing that you may miss?

1162
01:09:03,740 --> 01:09:04,380
 Let's face it.

1163
01:09:04,380 --> 01:09:05,000
 It's a job.

1164
01:09:05,100 --> 01:09:05,940
 It's big business.

1165
01:09:06,580 --> 01:09:09,500
 And after a while, you find that out, and you get called in and say,

1166
01:09:09,560 --> 01:09:11,860
 Josh, we love you, but you're going to be traded to Timbuktu

1167
01:09:11,860 --> 01:09:13,240
 for a player to be named later.

1168
01:09:13,840 --> 01:09:16,680
 What's the biggest thing that you miss as a former player?

1169
01:09:18,060 --> 01:09:22,560
 Yeah, well, that's one question that the answer is going to be the same

1170
01:09:22,560 --> 01:09:26,080
 pretty much regardless of who you ask that has played, you know,

1171
01:09:26,100 --> 01:09:29,840
 a lot of years in sports professionally, and that's the clubhouse.

1172
01:09:30,080 --> 01:09:31,660
 I mean, you miss the clubhouse.

1173
01:09:31,760 --> 01:09:33,460
 You miss being around the guys.

1174
01:09:34,300 --> 01:09:35,740
 You know, you miss the jokes.

1175
01:09:35,860 --> 01:09:36,880
 You miss the camaraderie.

1176
01:09:37,020 --> 01:09:37,860
 You miss the brotherhood.

1177
01:09:38,040 --> 01:09:38,900
 That's what you miss.

1178
01:09:39,060 --> 01:09:41,480
 And that's pretty much going to be your answer.

1179
01:09:41,660 --> 01:09:45,700
 And it's not a – you know, it's an answer that comes from the heart.

1180
01:09:45,900 --> 01:09:47,580
 And that's what coaching kind of gives you.

1181
01:09:47,680 --> 01:09:51,980
 It gives you that same kind of feel to some extent where you're still in the game.

1182
01:09:52,080 --> 01:09:54,620
 You're part of that brotherhood that's, you know,

1183
01:09:54,620 --> 01:09:57,780
 trying to pull the rope in the same direction, if you will.

1184
01:09:58,580 --> 01:10:01,340
 But that's the main thing that you miss when you get out, for sure.

1185
01:10:02,080 --> 01:10:04,180
 Well, but sometimes you get to still see those guys.

1186
01:10:04,300 --> 01:10:06,520
 A little birdie tells me you and fellow former major leaguer,

1187
01:10:06,600 --> 01:10:11,000
 the aforementioned David Weathers, recently teamed up to help the folks up in Loretto.

1188
01:10:11,080 --> 01:10:12,060
 Talk to us about the meeting.

1189
01:10:13,300 --> 01:10:18,060
 Yeah, well, they asked me to come speak at their preseason baseball banquet,

1190
01:10:18,060 --> 01:10:25,800
 and I obviously went up there and hopefully said something that they took from the speech.

1191
01:10:26,180 --> 01:10:29,300
 So I got to visit with David and all those players up there,

1192
01:10:29,460 --> 01:10:31,940
 and, you know, they do a great job up there at Loretto.

1193
01:10:32,000 --> 01:10:32,180
 Yeah.

1194
01:10:32,920 --> 01:10:37,120
 You know, David is about as class act as you can get and a great baseball man.

1195
01:10:37,380 --> 01:10:41,260
 And we talked about Ron and, you know, just basically caught up

1196
01:10:41,260 --> 01:10:44,620
 because we haven't been able to do that probably for a couple years.

1197
01:10:44,720 --> 01:10:46,640
 So it was good to go up there and catch up with him.

1198
01:10:47,340 --> 01:10:50,700
 I'm sure you have to be proud of your time with David and the Bs,

1199
01:10:50,740 --> 01:10:53,920
 but you and Ginger also have something to be proud of, and that's your foundation.

1200
01:10:54,380 --> 01:10:59,260
 Josh, talk to us about what your foundation means to so many in the Shoals.

1201
01:11:00,660 --> 01:11:01,100
 Sure.

1202
01:11:01,200 --> 01:11:01,980
 Well, I appreciate that.

1203
01:11:02,140 --> 01:11:05,400
 Yeah, we started a foundation several years ago,

1204
01:11:05,520 --> 01:11:09,180
 and the sole goal of the foundation was just to help kids around this area.

1205
01:11:10,160 --> 01:11:13,500
 And, you know, we do fill a lot of backpacks every week.

1206
01:11:13,580 --> 01:11:16,440
 We fill between 200 and 300 depending on the week

1207
01:11:16,440 --> 01:11:20,580
 and give them out to kids that need it, families that need it.

1208
01:11:21,260 --> 01:11:25,580
 And, you know, Harold, we got so many people that help us with this

1209
01:11:25,580 --> 01:11:31,680
 and so many churches and organizations that are passionate about helping kids as well.

1210
01:11:31,840 --> 01:11:34,440
 And we just could not do it without the support.

1211
01:11:34,640 --> 01:11:38,660
 So it's been an awesome thing to be able to give back a little bit.

1212
01:11:39,320 --> 01:11:40,600
 Well, you've got it going on, Josh.

1213
01:11:40,660 --> 01:11:43,340
 For the folks who want to jump on and help you who may be listening now,

1214
01:11:43,420 --> 01:11:46,780
 what can you tell us as far as phone numbers, all this stuff online?

1215
01:11:46,860 --> 01:11:47,640
 What can you tell us?

1216
01:11:48,780 --> 01:11:54,460
 The easiest thing would be to get online and go to djoshwillinghamfoundation.org,

1217
01:11:54,660 --> 01:11:58,080
 and that's how you can find out a lot of information about what we do,

1218
01:11:58,280 --> 01:12:04,300
 our food, our backpack program, donations, different things of that nature.

1219
01:12:04,600 --> 01:12:06,760
 You should be able to get all the information you need.

1220
01:12:07,380 --> 01:12:08,100
 Sounds great.

1221
01:12:08,160 --> 01:12:08,760
 I feel guilty.

1222
01:12:08,860 --> 01:12:10,460
 I'm keeping you away from the baseball field.

1223
01:12:10,560 --> 01:12:11,780
 Listen, all the best this season.

1224
01:12:11,920 --> 01:12:14,760
 Thanks so much for joining our little huddle today, Josh.

1225
01:12:15,880 --> 01:12:16,860
 Yeah, I appreciate it, Harold.

1226
01:12:16,920 --> 01:12:17,720
 Thanks for having me on.

1227
01:12:18,320 --> 01:12:21,200
 The one, the only, Josh Willingham.

1228
01:12:21,440 --> 01:12:25,760
 To the big house of sports ESPN's Andrea Adelson on deck.

1229
01:12:25,840 --> 01:12:26,380
 Stay with us.

1230
01:12:30,800 --> 01:12:33,960
 Prohibition is over, and the good times will flow once again

1231
01:12:33,960 --> 01:12:37,160
 at the Florence Wine Fest, February 20th and 21st.

1232
01:12:37,220 --> 01:12:41,640
 Friday night sets its own with coupes, cocktails, and velvet smooth live music.

1233
01:12:41,800 --> 01:12:45,120
 Saturday afternoon, taste your way through an unforgettable wine experience.

1234
01:12:45,120 --> 01:12:47,760
 Then Saturday night, the city comes alive with the

1235
01:12:47,860 --> 01:12:52,780
 Florence Wine Fest free block party and concert featuring Atlanta's great grand finale band.

1236
01:12:52,900 --> 01:12:57,260
 Free block party tickets and full event details are at FlorenceWineFest.com.

1237
01:12:57,380 --> 01:13:01,260
 Proudly presented by Visit the Shoals with support from CB&S Bank,

1238
01:13:01,380 --> 01:13:04,500
 Clearview Cancer Institute, and the Hotels of Florence.

1239
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 I'm Chris Stewart for Elliott Johnson Insurance.

1240
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 Elliott Johnson has a great partner in auto owner's insurance.

1241
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1244
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1245
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1246
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1249
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1257
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1258
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1259
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 I'm Boomer Esiason.

1260
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 My mom died from cancer.

1261
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 She was only 37 years old.

1262
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 She didn't have life insurance, and that was devastating for my family.

1263
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1268
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1269
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1270
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1271
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 Online health questions required.

1272
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 With the new IHOP value menu, $6 is all it takes to go to your Happy Plates,

1273
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1274
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1275
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 And fluffy omelets come with a side of pancakes and only cost $6.

1276
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 Go to your Happy Plates every day at IHOP.

1277
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1280
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1281
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 Not valid with other discounts or promotions.

1282
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 Prices may vary.

1283
01:15:15,700 --> 01:15:16,920
 It's your captain speaking.

1284
01:15:17,160 --> 01:15:18,980
 To the passenger with the Mirafast soft chew.

1285
01:15:19,200 --> 01:15:19,880
 Smart move.

1286
01:15:20,160 --> 01:15:23,440
 No way am I letting travel constipation ruin this trip.

1287
01:15:23,660 --> 01:15:24,300
 Can't blame you.

1288
01:15:24,500 --> 01:15:25,600
 Mirafast works fast.

1289
01:15:25,720 --> 01:15:26,880
 But without the harsh side effects.

1290
01:15:27,120 --> 01:15:30,040
 Since I'm such a smart traveler, can I move to first class?

1291
01:15:30,220 --> 01:15:30,900
 Uh, no.

1292
01:15:31,380 --> 01:15:32,100
 Close the curtain, Carol.

1293
01:15:32,320 --> 01:15:38,040
 From the makers of Miralax, new Mirafast soft chews work naturally with your body in as little as 30 minutes.

1294
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 To give you a comfortable go, on the go.

1295
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 Find Mirafast today at your local retailer.

1296
01:15:42,600 --> 01:15:43,980
 Use as directed for occasional constipation.

1297
01:15:44,120 --> 01:15:45,120
 Contains magnesium hydroxide.

1298
01:15:45,420 --> 01:15:51,780
 The Florence Kiwanis Club is having their 74th annual Pancake Day, Friday, March 13th from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

1299
01:15:51,780 --> 01:15:56,680
 And Saturday, March 14th from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Florence Lauderdale Coliseum.

1300
01:15:57,020 --> 01:16:03,900
 Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, $9 for bundles of 10 or more, or $6 for children under 12.

1301
01:16:04,540 --> 01:16:07,100
 Tickets are available at Florence locations of Bank Independent.

1302
01:16:07,100 --> 01:16:10,900
 For more information, check out Kiwanis Club with Florence AL on Facebook.

1303
01:16:14,460 --> 01:16:17,740
 From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today.

1304
01:16:18,120 --> 01:16:23,300
 It's daily update on Bama sports, and it's brought to you by Conecuh Sausage, a true Southern flavor since 1947,

1305
01:16:23,940 --> 01:16:26,440
 and the official smoked sausage of the Crimson Tide.

1306
01:16:26,740 --> 01:16:28,900
 Order online at ConecuhSausage.com.

1307
01:16:29,140 --> 01:16:29,820
 Hello again, everybody.

1308
01:16:29,980 --> 01:16:30,780
 I'm Roger Hoover.

1309
01:16:30,780 --> 01:16:36,980
 On Tuesday's edition of Crimson Drive, driven by NASCAR, we were joined by Alabama basketball legend, Jemichael Green.

1310
01:16:37,100 --> 01:16:42,280
 He's kind of reminding me of the new Saban, basketball, you know, basketball-wise.

1311
01:16:42,400 --> 01:16:46,840
 The way he came in and turned the program around and what he's doing, he's doing a great job.

1312
01:16:47,300 --> 01:16:54,400
 I think he was the perfect fit for the program and excited to see the continuance of the greatness that he's bringing to the program.

1313
01:16:54,620 --> 01:16:59,160
 So the way we're shooting the ball right now, you know, that's something that we lacked.

1314
01:16:59,160 --> 01:17:04,540
 When I was at the university, we didn't have too many three-point shooters, so the way we're shooting the ball right now

1315
01:17:04,540 --> 01:17:07,660
 and shooting it consistently, I like that.

1316
01:17:08,460 --> 01:17:11,400
 We're more up-tempo as a team.

1317
01:17:12,700 --> 01:17:14,840
 You know, I just love what he's bringing.

1318
01:17:15,060 --> 01:17:15,740
 I love what he's bringing.

1319
01:17:16,600 --> 01:17:18,380
 Would you have liked playing in this style of system?

1320
01:17:19,040 --> 01:17:19,760
 I would have.

1321
01:17:20,100 --> 01:17:21,100
 That's all I was missing.

1322
01:17:21,320 --> 01:17:22,180
 I'll have more in a moment.

1323
01:17:22,340 --> 01:17:23,580
 Hello, Tide fans.

1324
01:17:23,720 --> 01:17:26,100
 This is Chris Stewart for Conecuh Sausage.

1325
01:17:26,260 --> 01:17:29,560
 Conecuh's an Alabama fan favorite we all know and love.

1326
01:17:29,720 --> 01:17:38,020
 It's made from the finest cuts of pork, their patented blend of seasonings, and smoked over a pure hickory fire for that true hickory-smoked southern flavor.

1327
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 Conecuh Sausage is always great on the grill and perfect for tailgating.

1328
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 Pick up a pack and enjoy your family's favorite recipes at any meal of the day.

1329
01:17:46,020 --> 01:17:52,260
 Conecuh Sausage, a game-day tradition, and the official smoked sausage of the Crimson Tide.

1330
01:17:52,540 --> 01:17:55,620
 Join us tonight for Alabama men's basketball at Ole Miss.

1331
01:17:55,900 --> 01:18:00,540
 Tip-off from Oxford is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central with our coverage on the network starting at 5 p.m.

1332
01:18:00,620 --> 01:18:04,380
 You can listen on our full radio network plus the Varsity Network app.

1333
01:18:04,860 --> 01:18:07,300
 Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Conecuh Sausage.

1334
01:18:07,460 --> 01:18:11,220
 Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield.

1335
01:18:12,180 --> 01:18:13,140
 The Score.

1336
01:18:13,560 --> 01:18:18,340
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

1337
01:18:18,840 --> 01:18:19,740
 Welcome back in.

1338
01:18:19,860 --> 01:18:22,020
 The latest from the Olympics at the bottom of the hour.

1339
01:18:22,120 --> 01:18:27,780
 But first, pleasure for us to welcome in the perennial gold medal winner from ESPN, Andrea Adelson.

1340
01:18:27,980 --> 01:18:28,820
 Andrea, welcome in.

1341
01:18:28,860 --> 01:18:29,340
 How are you?

1342
01:18:29,960 --> 01:18:31,020
 I'm doing great.

1343
01:18:31,080 --> 01:18:32,100
 How are you doing today?

1344
01:18:32,500 --> 01:18:33,280
 We're doing all right.

1345
01:18:33,500 --> 01:18:34,760
 Listen, now, sorry.

1346
01:18:34,760 --> 01:18:39,100
 Can you believe Britt opted for a colonoscopy today over joining us?

1347
01:18:39,900 --> 01:18:42,320
 Are you sure he's not just home watching the Olympics?

1348
01:18:42,720 --> 01:18:44,200
 Because I feel like maybe that's what he's doing.

1349
01:18:44,960 --> 01:18:46,020
 Or at a dental appointment.

1350
01:18:46,100 --> 01:18:47,700
 That sometimes gets those confused, though.

1351
01:18:51,100 --> 01:18:53,100
 I'm just a sportscaster.

1352
01:18:53,200 --> 01:18:53,800
 You know what I'm saying.

1353
01:18:53,880 --> 01:18:54,840
 I'm not in the medical field.

1354
01:18:56,880 --> 01:19:00,760
 Andrea, you're preparing for a rarity, a big heating bill this time around.

1355
01:19:01,620 --> 01:19:02,400
 Oh, my gosh.

1356
01:19:02,460 --> 01:19:05,700
 I finally turned the heat off in my house today.

1357
01:19:06,020 --> 01:19:07,740
 I think it was on for three straight weeks.

1358
01:19:07,740 --> 01:19:10,020
 It's like a record for me in Orlando.

1359
01:19:10,500 --> 01:19:12,140
 And I'm not kind of like, I know.

1360
01:19:12,220 --> 01:19:13,440
 Feel bad for me, everyone.

1361
01:19:13,600 --> 01:19:15,000
 I live in Florida for a reason.

1362
01:19:15,440 --> 01:19:16,060
 Okay, I know.

1363
01:19:16,140 --> 01:19:16,960
 First world problems.

1364
01:19:17,140 --> 01:19:17,600
 First world problems.

1365
01:19:18,400 --> 01:19:23,000
 Okay, Judge Andrea, was the right verdict rendered in the Charles Bediaco case?

1366
01:19:24,060 --> 01:19:27,380
 Well, I mean, I know who the audience is here.

1367
01:19:27,640 --> 01:19:31,780
 Am I allowed to give my opinion without people getting mad at me?

1368
01:19:32,100 --> 01:19:35,320
 Look, I mean, there have to be eligibility rules, right?

1369
01:19:35,320 --> 01:19:39,680
 I mean, there has to be a line in the sand that gets drawn.

1370
01:19:39,920 --> 01:19:45,180
 And we have seen so many of these cases that have challenged what exactly is eligibility?

1371
01:19:45,580 --> 01:19:46,660
 How many years do I get?

1372
01:19:46,740 --> 01:19:48,060
 Does it count if I go to a JUCO?

1373
01:19:48,380 --> 01:19:52,660
 Does it count if I play one or two games on an NBA developmental team?

1374
01:19:52,800 --> 01:19:58,520
 Like, I feel like there have to be limits and lines here or else what is collegiate athletics, right?

1375
01:19:58,840 --> 01:20:01,380
 I mean, is it collegiate athletics at this point?

1376
01:20:01,660 --> 01:20:04,780
 And we're going to let anybody and everybody play who wants to be able to play?

1377
01:20:05,160 --> 01:20:07,660
 So I think the ruling was correct.

1378
01:20:07,780 --> 01:20:14,620
 I'm sure there are folks in your listening area that are yelling at the radio right now, telling me I'm a moron, and that's fine.

1379
01:20:15,260 --> 01:20:25,440
 But it feels as if there has to be some delineation for, okay, these are the rules in college, and I get we're paying players now.

1380
01:20:25,620 --> 01:20:33,600
 But it's a whole different ball of yarn for me when you go to a professional organization, even if it is a developmental organization.

1381
01:20:34,120 --> 01:20:36,080
 That, I think, should cut the eligibility.

1382
01:20:37,240 --> 01:20:46,880
 Andrew, here's a problem for a lot of folks, and I think a lot of people would agree with you, but if you're a big shot, a.k.a. Greg Sankey, the commish, why don't you just say this up front?

1383
01:20:46,980 --> 01:20:48,120
 Nope, you're not going to do it.

1384
01:20:48,180 --> 01:20:54,540
 Instead of dragging it out and then saying it was wrong, what changed from the beginning of this story to now for Greg Sankey?

1385
01:20:55,360 --> 01:20:56,260
 That's a great question.

1386
01:20:56,460 --> 01:21:00,300
 I would love to know the answer to that because I agree with you, right?

1387
01:21:00,360 --> 01:21:01,820
 It didn't have to come to this.

1388
01:21:01,820 --> 01:21:06,940
 They could have just said, no, you're not allowed, and set a precedent and moved on, right?

1389
01:21:06,940 --> 01:21:10,200
 I mean, there are NCAA rules that need to be followed.

1390
01:21:11,340 --> 01:21:19,500
 So I understand why there is anger over that part of it because you're for something before you are against something.

1391
01:21:19,680 --> 01:21:22,240
 Isn't that like what politicians are usually famous for?

1392
01:21:22,400 --> 01:21:24,660
 I was more of the war before I was against it.

1393
01:21:25,020 --> 01:21:30,400
 In this case, for it, before he penned that letter and decided, well, you know what?

1394
01:21:30,440 --> 01:21:41,940
 This may open up a whole big can of worms that I'm not ready to open up for the rest of collegiate athletics because if it's being challenged in this case, in this sport, you know, think about baseball players, right?

1395
01:21:42,000 --> 01:21:46,220
 Who has maybe played a game or two in minor league baseball and want to come back.

1396
01:21:46,400 --> 01:21:55,600
 And that's slightly different because we've had instances as it relates to that, quarterbacks like Chris Winkie who've come back and done it.

1397
01:21:55,740 --> 01:21:59,160
 But you could just extrapolate this for so many other sports.

1398
01:21:59,340 --> 01:22:04,960
 And if you're setting a precedent right now with this, what does it mean for all the other sports in collegiate athletics?

1399
01:22:05,680 --> 01:22:09,240
 And, of course, the big question about vacated wins, I don't think any of us can answer that.

1400
01:22:09,460 --> 01:22:10,380
 Time will tell.

1401
01:22:10,500 --> 01:22:13,340
 But, meanwhile, what about you Gators, Andrea?

1402
01:22:13,520 --> 01:22:15,460
 Remember when Florida was a football school?

1403
01:22:17,640 --> 01:22:18,320
 Kind of.

1404
01:22:18,520 --> 01:22:22,180
 I mean, my memory is getting, like, faded by the year.

1405
01:22:22,800 --> 01:22:23,140
 I know.

1406
01:22:23,480 --> 01:22:23,840
 Exactly.

1407
01:22:23,840 --> 01:22:30,040
 When I was in school, nobody wants to – I don't want to remember that far back from when I was in school and we were a football school.

1408
01:22:30,540 --> 01:22:31,980
 But basketball is doing great, right?

1409
01:22:32,100 --> 01:22:35,220
 I mean, look, football has to get it right.

1410
01:22:35,380 --> 01:22:36,860
 I don't think there's any doubt about that.

1411
01:22:37,360 --> 01:22:41,440
 And I've seen the stories coming from the Associated Press, from John Summerall.

1412
01:22:41,520 --> 01:22:42,680
 They took the names off the jersey.

1413
01:22:42,800 --> 01:22:43,960
 Okay, that's all well and good.

1414
01:22:44,040 --> 01:22:47,860
 We're just going to, you know, do all of these things to try and be motivational.

1415
01:22:48,740 --> 01:22:51,420
 But football has to catch up with where basketball is.

1416
01:22:51,460 --> 01:22:52,780
 I don't think there's any doubt about that.

1417
01:22:52,780 --> 01:22:56,900
 And that's kind of where it was, quite honestly, when Billy Donovan was there.

1418
01:22:57,300 --> 01:23:05,180
 Toward the end of that era for football, things started to go into a bit of a downslide until Tebow and Urban Meyer came in.

1419
01:23:05,380 --> 01:23:16,760
 But there's no doubt that Florida has to find its way again in football because as great as basketball has been and as great as basketball is playing now after a bit of a slow start,

1420
01:23:17,660 --> 01:23:23,540
 What energizes the fan base more in Gainesville than football trying to compete for a championship?

1421
01:23:23,720 --> 01:23:24,620
 No offense to basketball.

1422
01:23:25,100 --> 01:23:27,000
 That's just the way of the world in Gainesville.

1423
01:23:27,520 --> 01:23:33,040
 Before we jump off, speaking of that, are fans starting to warm up to the North Alabama boy, John Summerall?

1424
01:23:34,640 --> 01:23:35,740
 We'll see, right?

1425
01:23:35,860 --> 01:23:39,540
 I mean, it's always a honeymoon period, as you know.

1426
01:23:40,000 --> 01:23:42,420
 He's saying and doing all the right things right now.

1427
01:23:42,840 --> 01:23:48,180
 But I believe Billy Napier was saying and doing all the right things when he first came aboard.

1428
01:23:48,400 --> 01:23:54,060
 So, you know, people were excited when he was kind of revamping the staff, Billy, and adding more support staff.

1429
01:23:54,160 --> 01:23:55,320
 And, oh, this is what Florida needed.

1430
01:23:55,460 --> 01:23:58,600
 And, oh, finally the standalone football facility is being built.

1431
01:23:58,600 --> 01:24:02,420
 So, okay, well, four years later they've got that facility and football is not any better.

1432
01:24:02,720 --> 01:24:07,840
 And all the additions to the support staff really didn't do anything in the grand scheme of things.

1433
01:24:08,220 --> 01:24:10,220
 So we'll see, right?

1434
01:24:11,100 --> 01:24:14,420
 Obviously there's going to be a change at quarterback, new offensive philosophy.

1435
01:24:15,700 --> 01:24:18,500
 We'll see if Florida can surprise people.

1436
01:24:18,700 --> 01:24:25,100
 But, you know, here's the other thing about it, too, is when folks look at what Kurt Signetti did at Indiana, right?

1437
01:24:25,280 --> 01:24:34,280
 Now, suddenly, for all of these first-year coaches who are coming from places that had success, like a Tulane, like a John Summerall, it's like, well, Kurt Signetti did that.

1438
01:24:34,760 --> 01:24:35,560
 We need to do that.

1439
01:24:35,920 --> 01:24:37,160
 Like, the pressure's on, right?

1440
01:24:37,300 --> 01:24:38,860
 Like, how come Indiana's doing that?

1441
01:24:38,900 --> 01:24:39,420
 We're Florida.

1442
01:24:39,940 --> 01:24:41,920
 We should be able to do that in year one and two.

1443
01:24:42,100 --> 01:24:49,380
 So I think that just adds to the pressure and expectation level when you see a program like that have the type of success that they had.

1444
01:24:49,800 --> 01:24:54,520
 Andrew, in like 30 seconds or so, is Dabo listening to the old bowl, Coach Steve Spurrier telling Dabo,

1445
01:24:54,520 --> 01:24:56,920
 Oh, hey, Dabo, there are no rules now.

1446
01:24:57,660 --> 01:24:59,180
 Yeah, he probably should.

1447
01:24:59,560 --> 01:25:08,740
 But I have been told that the NCAA is looking into the allegations of tampering from Ole Miss and linebacker Luke Farrelly.

1448
01:25:08,740 --> 01:25:14,820
 So if the NCAA comes out and actually does something in this case, maybe there are rules.

1449
01:25:15,180 --> 01:25:16,060
 That is right now.

1450
01:25:16,160 --> 01:25:17,140
 It feels like there are not.

1451
01:25:17,980 --> 01:25:18,860
 I hate rules.

1452
01:25:18,980 --> 01:25:19,660
 I know you do, too.

1453
01:25:19,720 --> 01:25:23,480
 Andrew, listen, for the folks who want to get online with you, we recommend ESPN.

1454
01:25:23,620 --> 01:25:24,380
 Thank you so much.

1455
01:25:24,480 --> 01:25:26,460
 And good luck with that heating bill, okay?

1456
01:25:27,120 --> 01:25:27,680
 All right.

1457
01:25:27,820 --> 01:25:28,700
 Thanks for having me again.

1458
01:25:28,760 --> 01:25:29,420
 Appreciate it.

1459
01:25:29,760 --> 01:25:32,020
 Double A, Andrea Adelson, ESPN.

1460
01:25:32,820 --> 01:25:36,080
 Coming up, the latest from the Olympics on 93.9.

1461
01:25:36,140 --> 01:25:36,480
 The score.

1462
01:25:36,600 --> 01:25:37,100
 Stay with us.

1463
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 Have you ever seen those halftime scholarships where you have to nail a 40-yard field goal?

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1466
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1467
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 This Web 1 Sport presents this special update on the 2026 Winter Games.

1474
01:26:33,940 --> 01:26:38,820
 One down, three to go for Jordan Stolls, the American speed skating superstar.

1475
01:26:39,040 --> 01:26:41,460
 He won the 1,000 meters in Olympic record time.

1476
01:26:41,500 --> 01:26:46,400
 About a second off his world record time, Stolls is favored to win three more gold medals.

1477
01:26:46,760 --> 01:26:50,080
 The U.S. went 1-2 in the freestyle skiing women's moguls.

1478
01:26:50,180 --> 01:26:52,440
 20-year-old Elizabeth Lemley won the gold.

1479
01:26:52,440 --> 01:26:56,540
 At the top of the course, I was just trying to focus on trusting myself.

1480
01:26:57,060 --> 01:26:59,940
 I've been working on that this whole season and trusting my skiing.

1481
01:27:00,640 --> 01:27:03,780
 And right when I pushed out of the gate, I just said, let's go.

1482
01:27:04,060 --> 01:27:05,040
 And then I went.

1483
01:27:05,700 --> 01:27:07,820
 Her teammate Jalen Koff took the silver.

1484
01:27:08,040 --> 01:27:10,620
 Franyo Fum Allen made Olympic skiing history.

1485
01:27:10,820 --> 01:27:12,480
 Fum Allen won the Super G.

1486
01:27:12,880 --> 01:27:18,260
 And that's the Switzerland skier's third gold medal in the first five days of the Games.

1487
01:27:18,540 --> 01:27:20,460
 Third ever to win three skiing gold medals.

1488
01:27:20,460 --> 01:27:23,640
 Vermont native Ryan Cochran Segal won the Super G silver.

1489
01:27:24,040 --> 01:27:25,400
 We're on stage and we're at Westwood One Sports.

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1541
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 Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score.

1542
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 This weekend in college baseball openers, Alabama will open the season at home as the Crimson Tide take on Washington State in a series that gets underway on Friday.

1543
01:30:12,940 --> 01:30:18,100
 Auburn Tigers will be at home as they host Youngstown State in a three-game weekend series.

1544
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 Troy Trojans will open up the season on the road in Macon, Georgia.

1545
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 They'll take on the Mercer Bears in a three-game set in South Alabama set to host South Carolina Upstate starting on Friday.

1546
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 The NASCAR Cup Series is set to open up the season this week.

1547
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1557
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 Straight Talk Wireless presents Pickup Truck Wisdom.

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1559
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1570
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1571
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 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

1572
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 Welcome back in.

1573
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 It is a pleasure.

1574
01:32:08,500 --> 01:32:09,780
 Press say hello to Double D.

1575
01:32:09,940 --> 01:32:10,440
 Drew DeArman.

1576
01:32:10,560 --> 01:32:12,240
 He's host of Talking Ball and Hustle's 97.

1577
01:32:12,440 --> 01:32:13,540
 7 FM The Zone.

1578
01:32:13,660 --> 01:32:14,440
 Drew, welcome in.

1579
01:32:14,500 --> 01:32:15,280
 How are you?

1580
01:32:16,060 --> 01:32:16,880
 I'm good, Harold.

1581
01:32:16,940 --> 01:32:17,340
 How are you?

1582
01:32:17,740 --> 01:32:18,700
 Man, we're doing all right.

1583
01:32:18,760 --> 01:32:19,980
 Appreciate you taking time out.

1584
01:32:20,080 --> 01:32:27,020
 Drew, it's safe to say a very interesting week in the courts for Alabama's basketball team.

1585
01:32:27,100 --> 01:32:27,660
 Your thoughts?

1586
01:32:27,660 --> 01:32:32,080
 Yeah, it's a tough decision for Alabama.

1587
01:32:33,460 --> 01:32:45,820
 You know, I know when they originally decided to make this move with Charles, I think they were confident they could get an injunction to allow him to play out the rest of the season and finish his career at Alabama.

1588
01:32:45,820 --> 01:33:12,540
 You know, there was a lot of national outrage slash hypocritical, you know, commentary and a lot of the national pundits and, of course, the NCAA and others seem to kind of just box in and just to really harp on this particular situation just with Alabama, not with Gonzaga.

1589
01:33:12,540 --> 01:33:24,220
 And Tyron Baker, he's a kid that got an injunction to play his final year.

1590
01:33:24,920 --> 01:33:32,720
 Tyron Stokes, excuse me, he's playing his final year with Gonzaga, and he got an injunction to play his final season.

1591
01:33:32,920 --> 01:33:34,440
 They're not talking about that.

1592
01:33:34,540 --> 01:33:40,860
 They're not talking about James Najee anymore at Baylor, mainly because, you know, in my opinion, Baylor's not very good.

1593
01:33:40,860 --> 01:33:51,620
 And, again, the crutch is that he, quote-unquote, didn't sign a two-way contract, but he certainly had been overseas and in the G League, and he got four years of eligibility.

1594
01:33:52,440 --> 01:34:07,980
 So, to me, it was just kind of hypocritical, a lot of the criticism, but it all started kind of turning, I think, when they had the judge refuse himself, had Judge Pruitt put in place, who, of course, has been presiding over the Darius Miles case.

1595
01:34:08,160 --> 01:34:12,300
 And then, also, when Greg Sankey, I think that was kind of the final straw.

1596
01:34:12,560 --> 01:34:17,480
 When Greg Sankey, what I had heard, had previously said Alabama, of course, you know they would.

1597
01:34:17,520 --> 01:34:24,400
 They would advise Greg Sankey they were going to make this move, and he initially okayed it and said, okay, I understand what you're doing.

1598
01:34:24,700 --> 01:34:34,820
 And then, you know, he decides to go along with the National Herd and sign that affidavit, you know, not wanting Mediaco to be eligible.

1599
01:34:35,380 --> 01:34:50,340
 I kind of think you can just read the tea leaves, you know, and even though Tyron Baker-Stokes and these guys are playing, and then you've got, you know, a 23-, 24-year-old shooting guard at Texas A&M that's got three years of eligibility that came from overseas.

1600
01:34:50,760 --> 01:34:57,420
 Heck, Alabama's going to play against a point guard tonight that was a pro for several years in France for Ole Miss.

1601
01:34:57,420 --> 01:35:03,760
 So, but everybody seemed to just kind of pile on and say, make Alabama out to be the villain in this situation.

1602
01:35:03,980 --> 01:35:12,300
 And once, you know, Sankey kind of signed off and then you saw the change in judges, I didn't think you could kind of read the tea leaves of what was going to happen.

1603
01:35:12,440 --> 01:35:19,080
 And it's tough, Charles is not going to be there, but, you know, the thing is, and the thing you have to realize is he was only there for five games.

1604
01:35:19,600 --> 01:35:21,020
 Alabama went three and two.

1605
01:35:21,500 --> 01:35:26,900
 They went 13 and five and beat some really high-level teams before, you know, he came back.

1606
01:35:27,060 --> 01:35:34,640
 And then, now they kind of have to restart again, but it's going to, guys like Noah Williamson, he's going to have to get back in the rotation.

1607
01:35:34,840 --> 01:35:36,560
 He had pretty much been eliminated.

1608
01:35:36,900 --> 01:35:39,600
 He's going to have to give them five to ten minutes a game.

1609
01:35:40,060 --> 01:35:47,160
 And then, you know, they need to get healthy with their, you know, in their guard play as far as Latrell Reitzel.

1610
01:35:47,300 --> 01:35:50,440
 He missed most of the last game against Auburn with a knee.

1611
01:35:50,760 --> 01:35:51,960
 You need to get him back tonight.

1612
01:35:52,040 --> 01:35:53,580
 You need to get as healthy as you can.

1613
01:35:54,020 --> 01:35:56,020
 They're not going to have as much depth in the post.

1614
01:35:56,160 --> 01:35:59,280
 But, again, they never had a lot of depth to begin with.

1615
01:35:59,380 --> 01:36:01,940
 And certainly it hurts to lose a guy like Betty Aco.

1616
01:36:01,940 --> 01:36:08,960
 But I think if they go with a smaller lineup with maybe a little more skill, it's certainly not going to help them on the glass.

1617
01:36:09,040 --> 01:36:11,300
 But they weren't a good rebounding team anyway.

1618
01:36:11,880 --> 01:36:15,400
 So, you know, Nate Oates and the coaching staff, I admire Coach Oates.

1619
01:36:15,520 --> 01:36:18,420
 He said, look, we're paid to figure this out.

1620
01:36:18,500 --> 01:36:19,460
 We're going to figure it out.

1621
01:36:19,580 --> 01:36:26,500
 And it's going to be a very interesting night tonight in Oxford because they're not a great team, but they're certainly not a bad basketball team.

1622
01:36:26,560 --> 01:36:31,300
 They're coached by one of the better, you know, guys in the country, in my opinion, Chris Beard.

1623
01:36:32,140 --> 01:36:36,780
 But Alabama's schedule is pretty conducive going forward if they can stay healthy.

1624
01:36:37,240 --> 01:36:37,980
 And so it will be interesting.

1625
01:36:38,080 --> 01:36:42,120
 But it has been a tough week in the court system for Alabama, no question.

1626
01:36:42,500 --> 01:36:47,440
 I wish, thank you, would go to the microphone and say, here's what changed from my initial feeling about this to now.

1627
01:36:47,560 --> 01:36:50,320
 I mean, I don't think he's out mowing grass or washing dishes.

1628
01:36:50,320 --> 01:36:55,440
 So he's got time, I would say, to go in and fully explain what changed from the beginning of this process to now.

1629
01:36:55,880 --> 01:36:57,860
 And you mentioned something interesting, Drew.

1630
01:36:57,960 --> 01:36:59,860
 I saw today a quarterback at Montana.

1631
01:36:59,920 --> 01:37:02,500
 He's got one of those names you can't pronounce if you're from down here.

1632
01:37:02,840 --> 01:37:04,260
 He's getting a ninth year.

1633
01:37:04,740 --> 01:37:06,420
 A ninth year of eligibility.

1634
01:37:06,540 --> 01:37:08,240
 People in the NFL don't play nine years.

1635
01:37:08,740 --> 01:37:11,560
 I mean, what's the baseline for making decisions going forward?

1636
01:37:11,560 --> 01:37:13,860
 What makes it right and what makes it wrong?

1637
01:37:15,020 --> 01:37:16,820
 Yeah, that's the thing.

1638
01:37:16,940 --> 01:37:21,200
 And I think that's what Coach Oates was talking about yesterday during his media availability.

1639
01:37:21,320 --> 01:37:27,700
 And that's the problem I think everyone has, especially Coach Oates, is there is no transparency.

1640
01:37:28,160 --> 01:37:28,560
 They don't.

1641
01:37:28,640 --> 01:37:30,380
 The NCAA is arbitrary.

1642
01:37:30,380 --> 01:37:33,140
 They don't make the same decision for everyone.

1643
01:37:33,960 --> 01:37:41,340
 You know, like, for example, Alabama with Kedrick Bingley-Jones, the defensive tackle from Mississippi State.

1644
01:37:41,800 --> 01:37:50,440
 He had signed with Alabama and had transferred in the portal, but was still waiting upon word if he would get his last year of eligibility.

1645
01:37:50,780 --> 01:37:53,860
 Well, he got his last year of eligibility yesterday.

1646
01:37:54,380 --> 01:37:56,840
 And it was his seventh year, Harold.

1647
01:37:57,240 --> 01:37:57,880
 Seventh year.

1648
01:37:58,060 --> 01:37:58,880
 And his seventh year.

1649
01:37:59,040 --> 01:37:59,220
 Yeah.

1650
01:37:59,220 --> 01:38:07,020
 And so, you can't get Charles Bediaco five years within his window because he supposedly was a quote-unquote pro.

1651
01:38:07,520 --> 01:38:12,060
 But I don't see the difference in him being a pro and these kids overseas.

1652
01:38:12,500 --> 01:38:20,540
 And then other G League players like Najee and the young man at Louisville that have all played in the G League.

1653
01:38:20,880 --> 01:38:22,740
 And they've been given years of eligibility.

1654
01:38:23,220 --> 01:38:24,980
 And a lot of times, three or four years.

1655
01:38:25,120 --> 01:38:27,660
 And yet, Bediaco was just trying to play a semester.

1656
01:38:28,260 --> 01:38:34,980
 And because, quote-unquote, he signed, you know, with a two-way contract, he's supposed to be ineligible.

1657
01:38:35,260 --> 01:38:37,280
 And here's the cynic in me.

1658
01:38:37,600 --> 01:38:42,560
 I wonder if he was at Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, or UCLA.

1659
01:38:43,380 --> 01:38:43,820
 Northwestern.

1660
01:38:43,860 --> 01:38:45,120
 He would be standing on the sidelines.

1661
01:38:45,240 --> 01:38:47,240
 I think he would probably be eligible.

1662
01:38:47,740 --> 01:38:48,680
 But that's just me.

1663
01:38:48,680 --> 01:38:56,200
 And I think that's the frustration where it lies with a lot of coaches is they don't seem to judge things the same.

1664
01:38:56,520 --> 01:38:59,160
 And I'll say this not just from an Alabama perspective.

1665
01:38:59,680 --> 01:39:08,440
 If Bingley Jones is getting a seventh year for Alabama, why in blue blazes is Trinidad Chambliss not getting a sixth for Ole Miss?

1666
01:39:08,780 --> 01:39:09,320
 Thank you.

1667
01:39:09,560 --> 01:39:11,600
 I don't understand it.

1668
01:39:11,860 --> 01:39:12,800
 He missed two years.

1669
01:39:12,900 --> 01:39:15,320
 One was a red shirt legitimately for injury.

1670
01:39:15,720 --> 01:39:18,660
 And then the area, excuse me, to get bigger and stronger.

1671
01:39:18,660 --> 01:39:25,020
 And then the other one was, quite frankly, because he had a medical condition.

1672
01:39:25,220 --> 01:39:29,400
 So I really don't understand how the NCAA works here.

1673
01:39:29,420 --> 01:39:33,260
 And I understand the frustration of coaches around the country, no question.

1674
01:39:33,960 --> 01:39:39,520
 Well, the simple solution, what's the old acronym, KISS, keep it simple, stupid, is five for five.

1675
01:39:39,620 --> 01:39:40,700
 You've got five years, boys.

1676
01:39:40,920 --> 01:39:43,600
 Whatever how you want to chop it up, you've got five years to get it in.

1677
01:39:43,900 --> 01:39:45,740
 After that, no exceptions to the rule.

1678
01:39:45,840 --> 01:39:47,740
 But that probably makes too much sense.

1679
01:39:48,120 --> 01:39:49,460
 You mentioned Bingley Jones.

1680
01:39:49,880 --> 01:39:53,000
 Drew, how big of news is that for the Alabama's defensive line?

1681
01:39:54,160 --> 01:39:56,700
 Well, I think it's pretty big, Harold, no doubt about it.

1682
01:39:56,740 --> 01:39:59,500
 I mean, he's a big physical kid, and he's an older guy.

1683
01:40:00,020 --> 01:40:04,340
 You know, they signed him and Terrence Green out of Oregon.

1684
01:40:04,820 --> 01:40:06,820
 I think both of them can make impacts.

1685
01:40:07,000 --> 01:40:08,820
 And as you know, they lost Tim Keenan.

1686
01:40:09,480 --> 01:40:13,040
 Tim Keenan was basically the heart and soul of the defensive line

1687
01:40:13,040 --> 01:40:18,620
 and was a big part of, you know, the physicality that they did play with when they played well.

1688
01:40:18,740 --> 01:40:22,100
 And so you've got to replace those guys, you know.

1689
01:40:22,140 --> 01:40:26,200
 And so I think having an older guy who's been through the wars, and he's been in the SEC.

1690
01:40:26,680 --> 01:40:28,840
 So certainly he played at Mississippi State.

1691
01:40:29,380 --> 01:40:33,220
 Green played at Oregon, which is a very high-level program, you know,

1692
01:40:33,260 --> 01:40:35,200
 and has been in the college football playoff.

1693
01:40:35,400 --> 01:40:37,780
 He wasn't a starter, but he was a rotational piece.

1694
01:40:37,780 --> 01:40:44,160
 So to me, those are two big-time physical presences that you need on the inside, no doubt about it.

1695
01:40:44,300 --> 01:40:47,720
 And so – and then – and I'm going to call him Zulu from South Carolina.

1696
01:40:48,080 --> 01:40:57,660
 It's Don Zulu, and he's – you know, he kind of can help replace L.T. Overton and Keon Keeley.

1697
01:40:57,820 --> 01:41:04,720
 I mean, you're not replacing both, but at least you have a guy that you think has a chance to be an impact guy on the edge

1698
01:41:04,720 --> 01:41:07,140
 that can come out there and probably play that bandit spot.

1699
01:41:07,640 --> 01:41:11,180
 So – and then there's going to be some more – it'll be interesting to see, you know,

1700
01:41:11,180 --> 01:41:17,880
 in the freshman class if any of those guys can come in and play early, especially at the – you know,

1701
01:41:18,200 --> 01:41:24,920
 you know, on the outside, you know, on the edge, you know, like Xavier Griffin, you know,

1702
01:41:24,960 --> 01:41:32,360
 perhaps, you know, he comes out and he can – he can maybe back up Yonsei Pierre and develop and Justin Hill.

1703
01:41:32,920 --> 01:41:33,860
 You know, so we'll see.

1704
01:41:34,000 --> 01:41:35,160
 But it'll be interesting.

1705
01:41:35,400 --> 01:41:41,940
 But I think those are – I think Bingley Jones and Green from Oregon, I think they're both really good additions.

1706
01:41:42,560 --> 01:41:44,340
 You mentioned Griffin over in Georgia.

1707
01:41:44,420 --> 01:41:46,280
 I saw a message the other day of his mom.

1708
01:41:46,360 --> 01:41:48,040
 He's only been there basically a little over a month.

1709
01:41:48,380 --> 01:41:50,460
 She says he's already gained 18 pounds.

1710
01:41:51,060 --> 01:41:53,700
 Drew, I didn't know I had something in common with a five-star athlete.

1711
01:41:53,700 --> 01:42:00,560
 Yeah, I mean, it's so interesting because Nate Oates made this point, you know,

1712
01:42:00,680 --> 01:42:06,000
 when they were calling Betty Aco a pro, he was actually – and acting like he was a grown man,

1713
01:42:06,040 --> 01:42:10,940
 he actually pointed out that Charles had lost weight since he had turned pro.

1714
01:42:11,140 --> 01:42:16,060
 And it's not like he had gained strength because, as he said, when you're in the G League,

1715
01:42:16,420 --> 01:42:20,480
 you don't have as much – you know, you're certainly being coached,

1716
01:42:20,480 --> 01:42:25,640
 but there's not as much player development going on from the standpoint of a nutritionist,

1717
01:42:25,640 --> 01:42:32,720
 a strength coach, being able to get – you know, to eat three proper meals a day

1718
01:42:32,720 --> 01:42:36,920
 and to be able to have as much, you know, solid work in practice

1719
01:42:36,920 --> 01:42:40,420
 because you don't practice as much in the professional ranks,

1720
01:42:40,460 --> 01:42:42,340
 and then you're always on commercial flights.

1721
01:42:43,000 --> 01:42:47,340
 So Charles was actually, I think, benefiting from being back at Alabama in that regard,

1722
01:42:47,420 --> 01:42:48,580
 being back in the structure.

1723
01:42:49,000 --> 01:42:51,040
 He's still going to continue to be a student at Alabama.

1724
01:42:51,040 --> 01:42:54,800
 They have him on scholarship because that's another thing people are not thinking about.

1725
01:42:54,800 --> 01:42:59,160
 Yes, he's made some money playing professionally, but without them leaving him on scholarship,

1726
01:42:59,440 --> 01:43:01,360
 he couldn't afford to stay in school.

1727
01:43:01,540 --> 01:43:04,580
 So they're allowing him to stay in school and hopefully finish his degree.

1728
01:43:04,940 --> 01:43:08,160
 And so the whole angle of the narrative of Nate Oates being selfish,

1729
01:43:08,660 --> 01:43:13,720
 and I know – I really thought that was mystifying that Bruce Pearl would come out and say that.

1730
01:43:13,780 --> 01:43:18,240
 Of course, I don't know if it had anything to do with the fact that Nate Oates is 1-0 against his son,

1731
01:43:18,740 --> 01:43:20,160
 but, you know, I don't know.

1732
01:43:20,300 --> 01:43:21,200
 But maybe.

1733
01:43:21,400 --> 01:43:22,600
 I mean, I'm a cynic and all.

1734
01:43:22,600 --> 01:43:28,440
 But – and then – and sometimes, you know, if you live in a glass house, you shouldn't throw the first stone

1735
01:43:28,440 --> 01:43:32,340
 because I think we know if you look at Bruce Pearl's background, he's far from perfect.

1736
01:43:33,440 --> 01:43:35,400
 I think a lot of folks would agree with that.

1737
01:43:35,940 --> 01:43:40,000
 I don't always have the ability to answer all questions, but I can answer this one now.

1738
01:43:40,080 --> 01:43:46,760
 When is Alabama's spring football game, or whatever you want to call it, mark April the 11th, 1 o'clock.

1739
01:43:47,420 --> 01:43:49,660
 Obviously, an interesting spring in Tuscaloosa.

1740
01:43:49,820 --> 01:43:53,480
 Drew, what kind of show are they going to put on down there on April the 11th?

1741
01:43:54,360 --> 01:43:56,320
 Well, I think that's to be determined, Darrell.

1742
01:43:56,460 --> 01:43:59,100
 I mean, I agree with everyone else.

1743
01:43:59,160 --> 01:44:02,740
 When they put out the release today, it's interesting they didn't say a day game.

1744
01:44:02,920 --> 01:44:03,280
 Right.

1745
01:44:03,320 --> 01:44:06,100
 I think it's going to be more of a football celebration.

1746
01:44:06,300 --> 01:44:11,160
 I think they would like to play a game, but you don't know who's going to be available via injury.

1747
01:44:11,280 --> 01:44:13,760
 You don't know what your numbers are going to be.

1748
01:44:13,760 --> 01:44:18,460
 So, there'll be an open practice or a workout or maybe some sort of game.

1749
01:44:18,600 --> 01:44:19,140
 We'll see.

1750
01:44:19,640 --> 01:44:24,180
 But I think it's ironic, and I think it's probably happened during my lifetime.

1751
01:44:24,360 --> 01:44:25,640
 I just don't remember it.

1752
01:44:25,960 --> 01:44:31,880
 This is the first time, at least in a very long time, because lately the A-Day games have been the third

1753
01:44:31,880 --> 01:44:35,160
 or even the last week of April, mostly the third.

1754
01:44:35,360 --> 01:44:39,280
 So, I thought it was interesting, but it's going to fall on my birthday,

1755
01:44:39,280 --> 01:44:43,820
 so I'll be turning 51 on A-Day, 2026.

1756
01:44:44,340 --> 01:44:47,040
 But we're looking forward to it, and I think, honestly,

1757
01:44:47,280 --> 01:44:52,300
 and this is around college football as a whole, and you guys cover it every day on the Boomo Bugg Show,

1758
01:44:52,420 --> 01:44:56,260
 but with the transfer portal and NIL and so much player movement,

1759
01:44:57,100 --> 01:45:01,680
 you know, spring practice takes on a new emphasis because you're trying to build your team,

1760
01:45:01,740 --> 01:45:03,300
 and you've got so many new pieces.

1761
01:45:03,940 --> 01:45:08,880
 For example, I think I was told today LSU is going to have 60 new players.

1762
01:45:09,060 --> 01:45:14,400
 So, I know Bama and Auburn are going to have 40 or at least close to that.

1763
01:45:14,480 --> 01:45:21,580
 So, you better have yourself a roster sheet when you go to these spring celebrations or spring games

1764
01:45:21,580 --> 01:45:24,840
 because there's a lot of new pieces everywhere around the country.

1765
01:45:25,160 --> 01:45:28,840
 One thing that's going to be interesting, the quarterback battle, but also, Drew,

1766
01:45:28,940 --> 01:45:34,640
 your thoughts about A.J. McCarron's verbal bouquets for the new O.L. coach, Adrian Clem.

1767
01:45:34,940 --> 01:45:37,820
 At least according to A.J., Alabama got an upgrade there.

1768
01:45:38,840 --> 01:45:44,220
 Well, and I like A.J. because he's not afraid to speak his mind and give a strong opinion,

1769
01:45:44,220 --> 01:45:49,480
 and I do agree with him that I think Alabama had lost their edge along the offensive line,

1770
01:45:49,760 --> 01:45:54,220
 but I'll be honest, even toward the end of Nick Saban's tenure in Tuscaloosa,

1771
01:45:54,260 --> 01:45:55,880
 I think that had already started to happen.

1772
01:45:55,940 --> 01:45:56,540
 I do, too.

1773
01:45:57,260 --> 01:46:02,640
 I think, I mean, hopefully if you're Kaelin DeBoer, you stop the bleeding with Adrian Clem

1774
01:46:02,640 --> 01:46:06,760
 and this past season was kind of bottoming out of the deal.

1775
01:46:07,020 --> 01:46:12,800
 So, even though you had a talented player in Parker Brelford and certainly a guy in Caden Proctor

1776
01:46:12,800 --> 01:46:17,220
 who should play in the NFL a long time, but the guard spots weren't very good, right?

1777
01:46:17,300 --> 01:46:19,200
 Tackle wasn't very good at times.

1778
01:46:19,720 --> 01:46:25,380
 Mike Carroll was young and kind of learning to play that position after, I think, being more of an interior prospect.

1779
01:46:25,740 --> 01:46:26,620
 But we'll see.

1780
01:46:26,780 --> 01:46:29,020
 I mean, he has a very good resume, Harold.

1781
01:46:29,220 --> 01:46:33,780
 I mean, he's considered a very good recruiter, and hopefully he's going to be a much better fit

1782
01:46:33,780 --> 01:46:37,560
 for, you know, what Kaelin DeBoer and the staff want to do than Coach Kapp.

1783
01:46:37,620 --> 01:46:41,820
 Well, I think Coach Kapp recruited Coach Chris Kapelik, recruited very well.

1784
01:46:42,220 --> 01:46:48,400
 I'm just not so sure coaching style-wise he meshed with Ryan Grubb and Kaelin and hopefully Adrian Clemwell.

1785
01:46:48,500 --> 01:46:52,380
 He certainly has worked for a lot of great coaches, and he's done a lot of great work,

1786
01:46:52,480 --> 01:46:54,980
 especially on the college level as a recruiter and coach.

1787
01:46:54,980 --> 01:47:01,120
 So, hopefully the offensive line starting this spring will start coming together and gelling

1788
01:47:01,120 --> 01:47:07,560
 and be much improved next year because that's the main way Alabama is going to take a step forward

1789
01:47:07,560 --> 01:47:12,480
 offensively is, of course, to be better up front.

1790
01:47:13,120 --> 01:47:17,060
 Drew, before we jump off, your thoughts about the balance of, as far as the health tonight

1791
01:47:17,060 --> 01:47:21,420
 for Ole Miss and your thoughts about Auburn, the basketball team, it's rare to beat Auburn

1792
01:47:21,420 --> 01:47:24,420
 any time, but for them to lose two at home, that's rare in itself.

1793
01:47:25,480 --> 01:47:31,360
 Well, you know, Auburn is going through in basketball what Alabama's been going through in football.

1794
01:47:31,680 --> 01:47:36,560
 I mean, Bruce Burrell, you know, we just got through talking about his comments,

1795
01:47:36,560 --> 01:47:41,480
 but I didn't really appreciate and I thought were kind of inappropriate in a lot of ways,

1796
01:47:41,700 --> 01:47:43,600
 you know, what he said about Nate Oates.

1797
01:47:43,740 --> 01:47:48,920
 But the one thing I won't dispute either is his hire was maybe the most important in the history

1798
01:47:48,920 --> 01:47:52,480
 of the state of Alabama from the standpoint of what he accomplished at Auburn,

1799
01:47:52,560 --> 01:47:56,640
 which was unprecedented, the best coach in their history and reaching the Final Four twice

1800
01:47:56,640 --> 01:48:02,560
 and winning SEC tournaments, SEC titles, which we'd never seen done, even under Sonny Smith.

1801
01:48:02,560 --> 01:48:09,460
 And so I think, you know, it caused Alabama to move on from Avery Johnson and hire Nate Oates.

1802
01:48:09,940 --> 01:48:10,820
 And so we'll see.

1803
01:48:11,080 --> 01:48:13,880
 But I think Stephen Burrell, you've got to be patient.

1804
01:48:14,420 --> 01:48:18,700
 Certainly his dad thought he left him a really good roster, and I think it's good.

1805
01:48:18,840 --> 01:48:20,620
 I don't know if it's quite as good as they thought.

1806
01:48:21,020 --> 01:48:24,120
 But there are going to be some growing pains if you have a first-year head coach.

1807
01:48:24,480 --> 01:48:27,060
 They played as difficult of a schedule as Auburn's ever played.

1808
01:48:27,600 --> 01:48:31,640
 They're in a little bit of a rut right now, but when you look at their schedule,

1809
01:48:31,640 --> 01:48:36,960
 I still think there's a chance for them to win 10 SEC games and go 19 and 12.

1810
01:48:36,960 --> 01:48:40,540
 And, you know, I thought, and I've said this this week on Talking Ball,

1811
01:48:40,640 --> 01:48:43,300
 that both Alabama and Auburn were top-20 teams.

1812
01:48:43,460 --> 01:48:50,180
 But I think Auburn's schedule is only conducive for them to probably be in the 7, 8, 9, 10 area

1813
01:48:50,180 --> 01:48:53,460
 as far as seed goes, and that would put them with, you know,

1814
01:48:53,520 --> 01:48:58,140
 having to play a 1 or a 2 in the second round should they win if you get to the round of 32.

1815
01:48:58,420 --> 01:49:04,160
 But that's just kind of how the cookie crumbles because they have a more difficult back end of the schedule

1816
01:49:04,160 --> 01:49:06,240
 than Alabama, even though it's manageable.

1817
01:49:06,760 --> 01:49:10,080
 But certainly they should still be solidly in the tournament.

1818
01:49:10,800 --> 01:49:12,720
 Now, they can play their way on to the bubble,

1819
01:49:13,160 --> 01:49:17,300
 but they have the second-highest schedule strength in the country, number one, in Alabama.

1820
01:49:17,400 --> 01:49:19,640
 So they should still be in solid shape.

1821
01:49:20,020 --> 01:49:23,780
 It's just, I think, going forward, they can't afford any more bad losses.

1822
01:49:23,940 --> 01:49:27,860
 They've got to beat the LSU, the Oklahomas, the Mississippi State,

1823
01:49:28,240 --> 01:49:30,600
 and they need to be solid.

1824
01:49:30,600 --> 01:49:34,860
 And when Kentucky comes to Auburn later this year, they need to win that game

1825
01:49:34,860 --> 01:49:38,160
 because you've already given up two to Alabama and to Vanderbilt.

1826
01:49:38,340 --> 01:49:43,640
 So you need to find a way to kind of beat a quality opponent in Neville down the stretch.

1827
01:49:44,300 --> 01:49:44,640
 Stay tuned.

1828
01:49:44,760 --> 01:49:48,120
 Drew, for the folks who want to stay tuned to Drew DeArmond, where can you take us?

1829
01:49:49,000 --> 01:49:52,380
 Well, you can certainly connect with me at 977ESPN.

1830
01:49:52,760 --> 01:49:58,620
 Or, of course, you can connect with us on 977ESPN.com for all our content.

1831
01:49:58,840 --> 01:50:05,060
 And if you want to listen on our SoundCloud page, it'll be 97.7 The Zone, ESPN, 977 The Zone.

1832
01:50:05,400 --> 01:50:09,580
 And then we also have WZZN TV where we live stream all of our content.

1833
01:50:09,780 --> 01:50:15,500
 You can go back and watch those live broadcasts if you want to, you know, have proof that I have a face for radio.

1834
01:50:15,780 --> 01:50:17,900
 So certainly you can do that, too.

1835
01:50:18,160 --> 01:50:25,140
 And then, of course, and then I think tonight, just one for my final comment, I think tonight will be tough for Alabama.

1836
01:50:25,480 --> 01:50:28,480
 I think it's going to have to be a game decided in the last four minutes.

1837
01:50:28,680 --> 01:50:36,300
 And if Alabama is going to win the game against the Rebels tonight, I think, you know, Aiden Shirell is going to have to play well.

1838
01:50:36,380 --> 01:50:40,240
 And I think they need a double-double out of him, and I think they need good performances.

1839
01:50:40,500 --> 01:50:45,160
 But we saw in Auburn by LeBaron Phylon and, of course, Aiden Holloway.

1840
01:50:45,220 --> 01:50:49,700
 If they get those, I think they can win an 8175-type game.

1841
01:50:49,760 --> 01:50:54,300
 But I still think it's going to be tough because this is never going to be a good defensive team at Alabama,

1842
01:50:54,480 --> 01:50:57,700
 and they're going to have to play well on the offensive end to win games.

1843
01:50:58,460 --> 01:50:59,380
 Stay tuned.

1844
01:50:59,460 --> 01:51:02,820
 Drew, listen, man, thank you so much for your time, Dave, and stay safe out there, okay?

1845
01:51:03,840 --> 01:51:04,380
 Thank you, Harold.

1846
01:51:04,440 --> 01:51:04,980
 Appreciate it.

1847
01:51:05,380 --> 01:51:08,880
 Rudy Arman, host, Talking Ball in Huntsville's 97.7 FM, The Zone.

1848
01:51:08,980 --> 01:51:10,060
 Double shot of basketball.

1849
01:51:10,240 --> 01:51:11,740
 You mentioned Alabama and Ole Miss.

1850
01:51:11,860 --> 01:51:12,860
 Pre-game, 5 o'clock.

1851
01:51:12,940 --> 01:51:14,580
 Game at 6 or 939 to score.

1852
01:51:14,740 --> 01:51:20,380
 Or if you want to watch UNA in person, it's coming up at 6 tonight over at the CB&S Bank Arena

1853
01:51:20,380 --> 01:51:22,820
 against the boys from West Georgia.

1854
01:51:22,820 --> 01:51:24,940
 Going to take care of business right now on behalf of BB.

1855
01:51:25,200 --> 01:51:26,540
 He'll be back tomorrow, we think.

1856
01:51:26,940 --> 01:51:28,700
 Greg James Blair, the entire crew here.

1857
01:51:28,780 --> 01:51:30,740
 Carol Buck, thank you so much for your time today.

1858
01:51:30,820 --> 01:51:33,060
 Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to 2 for the Boom on Buck Show.

1859
01:51:33,400 --> 01:51:35,520
 Back here on Sports Radio, 939 to score.