Boomo Bugg Show 041026
93.9 The Score WYTK - April 10, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-041026/

This transcript was generated automatically from the broadcast audio. Names and some words may be misspelt; the audio is the official record.

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Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the tie, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg, normally joined by Brett Beaird. He is currently bathing in sunscreen in anticipation of tomorrow's hot times in Tuscaloosa.
The voice may sound a little different right now. Could it be the return of an alien with the Artemis II crew, maybe puberty, or could it be a technical glitch? Inquiring minds want to know, stay tuned.
In the meantime, speaking of Tuscaloosa, let's head on down and say hello to Jimmy Stein. He's a co-host of Locked On Bama, part of the Locked On Network. Jimmy, welcome in. How are you?
Doing great, Harold. I hope you're doing well also.
We are doing fantastic, Jimmy.
I'm looking at the forecast here. Is this weekend's forecast in Tuscaloosa for April or September? I'm confused here. Jimmy, help us out.
It feels a little like September, which is fun. I mean, this is as close as you get to a game day until the game days are actually here.
Football in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Now, that's just about where the comparisons to a game in September will end. In fact, they're not even playing a game at all.
They're just really practicing somewhat similar to what they did a year ago, except this will be a full two-hour scrimmage.
Last year, they did drills. It will look like just any other Tuesday practice at the football facility.
This is going to look exactly like the scrimmages that are put on for, you know, the Red Elephant Club, the Yale Alabama people, Crimson Tide Foundation.
This will just be scrimmage number three, but this time the public's invited, and it's at Bryant-Denny.
But there will be no score, no stats, just a scrimmage.
You know, the thing is, Jimmy, and we want to talk chalk, obviously, here in a sec, but the one thing I like about this is,
and I say the same thing with Auburn, Knoxville, or Timbuktu, the Chamber of Commerce, they love these spring games
because football fans are hungry for something, for the camaraderie.
They want to get together with fellow fans.
Translator, this is good for the local economy as opposed to some of these situations over the last few years
where they just scratch the game for the most part.
Yeah, that's right. There'll be a pretty good crowd.
I don't think this is going to be anything approaching Alabama's record spring crowds.
No, no.
But, you know, just a ballpark guess, I'm going to say there'll be 35,000, 40,000 people there, conservatively.
That's a lot of Alabama fans in one place.
Everyone wants to, you know, see these quarterbacks.
The weird part about having what amounts to a scaled-down spring game that doesn't have a mega crowd
is that there really is a lot to see.
I mean, there's 16, 17 positions that are just up for grabs.
The competition continues, won't be settled tomorrow, but this will be fans.
This will give the fans that are there a chance to weigh in and see how those battles are going.
And you know that a lot of the fans that attend the scrimmage tomorrow, Harold, are going to pick a quarterback.
You know, we're going to have to wait on DeBoer to pick one, but a lot of the fans are going to pick one tomorrow.
Jimmy Stein, co-host of Locked on Bama.
Jimmy, it's a two-hour show, so take as much of that time as you want breaking it down.
As far as you mentioned position battles, obviously quarterback.
Let's start with that.
Based on just from afar, the vibe we're getting is that, you know, Max there, he's got the experience, the familiarity,
but you've got this all-promising guy.
But here's the bottom line, Jimmy.
Based on at least the reports that we got in the last scrimmage,
neither one of them shined up to expectations.
I don't know how anybody could at Alabama live up to the expectations.
But what are you hearing as far as the battle right now at the QB spot?
I think the first takeaway is this.
They're even.
And if anybody wants to think that's just my opinion,
come to the scrimmage tomorrow and just simply count the reps.
I believe, fully believe, you're going to see Keelan Russell and Austin Mack alternate with the first team.
The first team offense, they don't mix and match.
And these scrimmages, there will be a first team offense on the field when it's their turn.
You're going to see Austin Mack and Keelan Russell split those reps evenly.
That means the battle's even because these coaches, they don't do anything for show.
They're coaching for their careers.
They're coaching for their lives.
They don't waste reps.
The battle, you know the battle's even when both of the candidates are getting the same number of reps
with the first team in a scrimmage.
And that's what we have.
So they're even.
Now, there are things that distinguish between the two of them.
I think everyone is going to have an opinion as to maybe who should be the guy.
But it's close.
It's close.
And if I was going to describe the two of them right now to show what kind of quandary the coach is in,
I'm going to be overgeneralistic here, but I think it suits the purpose of showing how difficult the choice is ultimately going to be.
I think between the two of them, at this point in their careers, Austin is less likely to lose a football game.
But Keelan is more likely to win a football game.
And, you know, different people will look at that different ways, but it actually makes the decision really difficult.
And at this point, that's kind of what it looks like.
Jimmy, just to interpret that, I understand you're right.
Basically, it comes down always, according to maybe to a baseball or shortstop.
The old guy may not be as sparkly as the old guy, but he's more consistent.
He's not going to die for the ball, but he's not also going to boot the routine grounder.
It seems like, in some ways, there's an analogy there that maybe Mack is going to be more consistent, more reliable.
But in flashes, let's face it, Russell has the potential to go out.
He will make the diving stop.
The question is, can he handle the routine chopper to him on a regular basis?
I think that's a good, solid analogy that really explains it.
But let's say this, too.
What I think haunts Keelan right now and his development is basically the same thing that haunts
every promising young quarterback prospect.
They're playmakers.
They're super gifted.
But instead of always making the plays, they have to learn to take the plays.
Meaning that Keelan probably tries to do too much at times because he's capable of doing that.
So trying to do too much, though, can get you into a little trouble.
I think Austin Mack is pretty good at taking what's there, at seeing the field, and sort of limiting errors.
Now, at the same time, Austin probably isn't the playmaker that Keelan is.
So Keelan is also likely to improve.
The more he plays, the more reps he gets, he's so young.
He's going to be getting better and better and better.
But the question that Keelan DeBoer has to answer, Harold, is who's best suited to win the games this fall?
Not five years from now, but this fall, who's best suited to win the game?
I think a lot of people just kind of see it as a 50-50 situation.
Yeah, and the other thing is, which one's not going to cost me a game?
That also has to be factored in to the recipe as well.
Let's go into the running back room.
At the beginning of camp, everybody says, I can't wait to go to Tuscaloosa for the 8-8 game
and see that phenom called EJ Crowell.
Big question mark as to whether or not I was putting down money, and I don't bet, by the way, for the record,
but if I was going to put down money, I would say you're not going to see much of him or any at all.
What are you hearing?
Yeah, I'm with you, Harold.
I wouldn't bet against you on that one.
I don't believe that we will see EJ Crowell tomorrow.
If anything, that's disappointing for the fans because he was the freshman, the shiniest new toy
that has the highest expectations in terms of fan excitement,
sort of similar to Ryan Williams' arrival, and Ryan wasn't even at Alabama in his initial spring.
He was still graduating from Sierra Land High School, didn't arrive until the summer,
but EJ's arrival has sort of been celebrated, similar to Ryan's, but he's been banged up.
It doesn't look like anything that will affect him this fall,
and anything they were overly cautious because they're not playing games this spring.
But the good news that's out there is, although he's been limited from what they have seen,
my understanding from the staff is that they're very excited about EJ.
He hasn't been disappointing at all.
It's just a little disappointing he hasn't been able to be put on display yet in these scrimmage situations.
Check out Jimmy Stein there, Locked On Bama.
Jimmy, you mentioned Ryan Williams.
Obviously, what's the definition of disappointments when you don't live up to expectations?
And after the Georgia game in his first season, the bar was set out there with the Artemis II crew
on the other side of the booth, sky high and beyond.
Almost impossible to live up to it.
Even if he did, he's just being normal.
Last year, I think it's safe to say he did not live up to those expectations.
But so far, in camp, without all the head knocking that serious that you're going to get this fall,
it seems like he's able to take some lessons learned last season and apply them to spring.
That's what we're hearing anyway.
What about you?
Yeah, I'll just give you the opinion of the guys on the team, and not my own,
but in an interesting video that was put out, I think, late this morning by Yale Alabama,
where several players on the team were asked who was the MVP of the spring.
Ryan was the majority.
Wow.
So I think that says enough.
The players know who's good and who's not.
I have 100% expected Ryan to have a monster junior season.
I think we all know he had issues a year ago.
I think he's worked really hard to address them.
I don't believe it's ever going to completely go away.
I mean, I think if he only drops five balls next fall, those five drops are going to be magnified
and talked about at loud volumes.
If he only drops three balls, same thing.
If he drops ten balls again, I mean, that could happen, certainly.
But also what I think you will see mixed in there with maybe some plays that don't go great is going to be a ton of playmaking.
I think Ryan's going to be one of the better wide receivers in college football this fall, assuming good health.
I think he's just set for a monster year.
Let's remember Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, and Jalen Waddell.
Those four guys all had huge freshman seasons.
All had significant drop-offs as sophomores and then had monster junior years that catapulted them into the first round of the draft.
I'm not saying Ryan is the fifth guy and is going to be the fifth guy in that list because that list is so ridiculous with those first-round talents.
But I won't be surprised.
It's sort of, frankly, what I'm personally expecting to see is Ryan have a monster junior year like Julio, like Calvin, like Jalen Waddell, and like Amari Cooper.
And they used their year threes to launch very successful NFL careers.
Here's the bottom line, Jimmy.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
I don't try to be the smartest man in the room, but it doesn't matter what Ryan Williams can do.
It doesn't matter what the quarterbacks can do.
It doesn't matter what the running backs can do.
Unless the big dudes up front do their job, we know that's been chewed on a whole lot.
Your thoughts on the progression of the offensive line and then if we have time, the defensive line so far?
Yeah, I think the offensive line was the biggest question of the spring before the spring began.
And I would have guessed, here's something I'm certainly wrong about.
I assumed that was the biggest question of the spring and we would leave the spring with it still being a question mark in terms of,
okay, when you line up against East Carolina, who's going to be your first team?
One of the surprises this spring is so much of that has largely been answered in spring practices.
I didn't really see that coming.
I thought the competition would extend further than it did, but that's good news for Alabama fans.
It means that the coaching staff is really comfortable with a handful of guys.
Jackson Lloyd is certainly to be the left tackle.
Rayson Delgotti is certainly to be the center.
Michael Carroll is going to be at right guard or right tackle.
That's already been determined.
Jimmy, before we jump off, obviously we've got to hit the Masters here.
Quickly, where can we get the beer and the latest with you and the team?
Locked on Bama.
You can find us on YouTube or anywhere you get your podcasts.
Sounds great.
Jimmy, kick back.
Do like Brett.
Bathe yourself in some sunscreen this weekend and enjoy some football in April, okay?
Sounds good, Errol.
Thanks.
All right, there you have it, Jimmy Stein.
He is locked on Bama.
We're locked on the update from the Masters and see if our voices change on the other side.
You're on 939 Discord.
We're locked on Bama.
This update on the 2026 Masters is brought to you locally by Alabama Health Guidance.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
So come back in and see if the puberty is in a rear-view mirror and see if that's really,
is that Brent Beard or is that AI there, BB?
Well, I think it's the real deal.
Okay.
Well, we'll take your word for it, as well as we take the word of Blake Love when it comes
to covering the entire SEC world.
That's because he is busy at Southeastern 16.
His yearbook is called Blue Ribbon, and his podcast is called Establish the Past.
Blake, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm doing well, guys.
You can talk to me as always.
Well, we've got a lot to talk about, Blake.
Obviously, some basketball talk in the middle, all this comings and goings, but are you ready
for some spring football this weekend?
Is it true, based on all this hot weather and intense heat, that maybe it's going to
be brought to you by Red Lobster out there?
Are you ready for some football?
Yes.
It certainly is already.
The weather is cooperating, I guess you could say, if you're wanting the full experience
several months from now.
But, yeah, it'll be a little warm, and as always, as we say, any time you enter these
spring games, and you certainly look around, it's some new head coaches around the league,
and that's always a big storyline.
And, again, it's always just a matter of who are the guys you're bringing in and how are
they going to kind of fit into what you're trying to accomplish, and that's the name of
the game in every sport we talk about now.
And I think that'll be on display fully when you look at some of these coming up.
Obviously, Florida, one, I think that's very intriguing for many reasons.
And so, yeah, you start to look around at teams like Florida and Tennessee and so forth, and
I think there's a lot to watch there.
You mentioned Tennessee.
We talked with some of our friends earlier this week, and maybe George McIntyre so far
has not been all that in a bag of chips.
Maybe there's truly a competition, but to me, one of the more intriguing store lines,
particularly the quarterback spots in your backyard, where does Vandy go after the Diego era?
Yeah, you know, and I think that's the thing is, you know, when they got Jared Curtis, of
course, the flip third round of the world, I guess.
You'd never expect Vanderbilt to flip a guy from Georgia.
You know, I think that's certainly one where you're starting to see just some thoughts coming
out and kind of looking at things and trying to get a sense exactly of where they are.
And I think, you know, it's kind of one of those two where with Vanderbilt these days,
as you guys know, it's not always this way, but certainly I think that when you look at
this sort of unprecedented time where you do have a guy like this who has flipped from
what has been, you know, the SEC's most dominant program at times here over the past, you know,
several years, and, you know, and you kind of give Vanderbilt the benefit of the doubt,
and we've never really been able to say that confidently.
It seems like Clark Lee has been able to really navigate putting the rest of the roster together
and feeling like, you know, if we can build around this guy, and I'm not saying that I
think he's going to come out and, Curtis, that is, and just completely, you know, take
over the league or anything like that.
But I think when you look at their history of success and what they've done to kind of
develop that quarterback room, obviously Diego Pavi is a great example.
You know, there are a lot of high expectations, and I think when you are someone who has been
in that spot that Curtis has been in, in terms of that sort of recruiting, that there is a lot
of pressure, even if you're at a school like Vanderbilt right now.
Yeah, four spring games tomorrow, Mississippi State, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee.
Speaking of Tennessee, is Rick Barnes the poster child for NIL?
I think both programs, men's and women, as far as losing players, Amari Evans, Kate Phillips,
J.P. Estrella, Bishop Boswell, Jalen Carey, and there's comings and goings, but,
and he'll find some, I've heard even the Vanderbilt guard may be looking at Tennessee.
Your thoughts on men's and women's basketball at Tennessee and literally having to go back
and start over?
Yeah, I mean, I'll tell you, I've heard differing things just when I'm talking to people, and
I go back to the SEC tournament, and I did talk to someone there, and the common belief
was that Tennessee was really struggling NIL-wise when it came to basketball, and, I mean, this
was, again, before the mass exodus when it came to either the men's or the women's team,
which the women's team is much more to the extreme right now, as we know, but, you know,
you never know what to believe.
Is that just hearsay or whatever?
But I think with the way this is playing out right now, there's something to that, and
the conversation I was having there was really sort of, it may be to the point where Rick
Barnes could retire, and I'm thinking, okay, well, that definitely, you know, would make
sense.
If he thinks he doesn't have the financial, you know, ability to be able to do that, then
he could step away.
However, you know, since then, there have been kind of reports to the contrary, and I
think that Trey Wallace and some others have mentioned it just about, they are going to
put in the amount of money they need, and maybe it is one where when you're looking at, like
we said, the way Tennessee made the Elite Eight, you got a lot of guys who performed at a pretty
high level.
There's no harm in entering yourself into the transfer portal.
I mean, we just saw JP Estrella go to Michigan.
So, you know, you've got a guy who was one of your top producers who's now playing for the
defending national champion next year, and so it's very competitive, and I think that's where
Tennessee's still going to probably get their guys in there and still be one of the better
teams in the SEC.
But, you know, it is kind of different guys, and that's what we think went into last year.
You've got teams like Michigan in the Big Ten.
You've got Big East teams and so forth that are going to outbid some of these SEC teams, no
matter how much you have, and so when you have some of the best big men in the country, like the SEC
did this past year, you know, look out, because that means that a lot of other, you know, schools
are going to come calling, especially if you're in Michigan trying to revamp your front court after
winning a national title.
Steven Pearl feels a little bit better now, going from 17-16 to 22-16, winning the NIT, and a lot of
people say, would you rather lose in the first or second round of the NCAA or win a trophy
for the NIT?
Well, I think you've got to look at where the program is, where the coach is.
You've got a young coach still learning, a young roster, and Kevin Overton had turned
into an all-SEC player.
The latter third of the season is coming back.
Jovic, I believe, is going to UCLA, and Sebastian Williams announced last night he's returning
to Auburn.
Your thoughts on Auburn moving forward?
Yeah, you know, when people are asking, what do you think about them playing in the NIT, I
think every situation is different these days.
It's obviously not what it used to be, but for Auburn, it felt like the right move, just
because you had a new coach that had a pretty rough season.
But if you look at the roster, you said, OK, there's actually a pretty good nucleus here
that could return.
And so knowing that, you know, if you're not expecting everybody to transfer, which I'm
sure it's time, you know, they had a pretty good sense of what that would look like, why
not play more games with some of the guys that are going to be kind of maybe your nucleus,
you know, heading into next season?
And so, and it was on paper, too.
They were the best team in that tournament, and I think for them to wind up winning it,
it went probably best case scenario for Auburn.
And I think, you know, like you said, it gives them more momentum now.
It certainly looks at, you know, it makes them a team that I think at least looks like
they have some positive things that they're building on.
They've already brought in one of the, you know, one big guy, and they've got key returners
already deciding to come back.
There are more that could announce the same.
And so they'll fill in the gaps with a transfer portal.
Obviously, they've got to get better defensively.
But, yeah, I think it wound up being, you know, a pretty good move for Auburn.
And, you know, if you're sitting out, then you're just sitting there dwelling on what
could have been, and you're thinking about how bad the season went.
But instead, you win some games, you get some guys coming back now.
So Auburn has a lot of positive momentum here right now.
Yeah, absolutely.
Going to be a fascinating month for SEC basketballs for us.
Who's going and coming?
Listen, you may even be able to take a nap this weekend with college basketball in the rear view,
but there's always incredible podcasts as we transition more to SEC baseball.
Where can we get online and get all the great, the best podcasts on the planet?
Yeah, I appreciate you guys.
You can find us there at Southeastern 16 on YouTube, any podcast app you use.
Yeah, you can find all of our SEC basketball transfer portal coverage, SEC football spring practice,
SEC baseball stuff.
So, yeah, find it all at Southeastern 16.
Well, listen, man, thanks for your time.
Have a great weekend.
Stay safe out there, okay?
Thanks, guys.
You too.
Thank you, Bill.
Great level.
Southeastern 16.
Coming up is everything all about Georgia these days.
They got the Masters and Bill Shanks.
We'll take Bill Shanks next.
Stay with us.
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Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9.
The score.
The Atlanta Braves are back at home tonight at Truist Park as the Braves take on the Cleveland Guardians.
Both teams committed the matchup with an 8-5 record.
Bryce Elder is set to get the start for the Braves.
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NASCAR Cup Series back in action Sunday afternoon in Tennessee.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Brett Beaird, a question time for you.
You know, Atlanta's got the Braves, Augusta's got the Masters, and Macon has Bill Shanks.
You can only take one of those three from the state of Georgia.
Which one do you take?
Harold, that's a stupid question because you know that I would go with the latter answer.
I would imagine Bill Shanks saying, sure, when he's not busy, as host of the Bill Shanks show on 93.1 FM in Macon, online at thesuperstations.com, and on the tube at 41 NBC.
Bill, I agree with Brett.
Good choice.
How are you?
Well, I'm in Atlanta traffic right now, so I'm as well as can be expected.
Good luck.
Yeah, it reminds me of why I don't live up here.
It's crazy.
Bill, how do you survive that jungle over there?
I mean, I go about once every 10 years, and it takes me the other nine to get over that rush hour trip.
How do you deal with that, man?
I left Macon at 11.30 to come up to.
I'm doing the show, they won't let me in the battery since Del Murphy's restaurant's gone, so the Atlanta Braves won't let me.
So I'm going to do my show from the AAA ballpark.
I left 11.30.
My ETA, when I first started, it was like 142.
Now it's 224.
Amazing.
And I got a GSP on the Georgia State Patrolman on the back.
I mean, I feel like Burt Reynolds with Sally Field in the back seat.
I'm ready to take, you know, kind of put the metal to the pedal and the thing to the floor and take off and stop by and get me a Diablo sandwich with a Dr. Pepper.
Well, if you see blue in your rearview mirror, let us know.
We'll be kind to you, Bill, there.
But let's talk about, speaking of blue, the Braves blue is rocking and rolling.
First place in the National League East.
What a far cry, and what a difference the year makes, Bill.
Well, from 3-10 last year, and of course, the 0-7 start to the 8-5 start this year, it is much better.
There's no question about that.
They are, they got the best team ERA in baseball, which is great.
Best bullpen ERA by far in baseball, which is tremendous.
Good and bad on the offensive side, but still, you got to feel good about what you've seen overall.
Yeah, I think a good first two weeks for sure.
Give us your version of the fight and the tackle.
We talked about that a little bit on your show.
When you've got a manager who's got a blank belt in karate, intimate experience, a former football coach,
I'm telling you right now, I ain't messing with Walt Weiss.
Well, I told you yesterday on my show that, you know, with you Alabama fans who like to fire coaches at halftime every other game,
you need a tackling coach.
I think Walt Weiss will be a good candidate for you.
He took things into his own hands, and he decided he needed to slow Jorge Soler down.
And, you know, I mean, I treat Jorge Soler with regal status because he hit that home run.
Well, I don't know if you'll know or not, but those astronauts actually saw the ball laying on the moon that he hit five years ago.
He was laying right next to Alice Crampton, which was kind of interesting.
Bill Shane's taking him out at thesesuperstations.com.
Bill, what's been the reason?
I mean, as Walt Weiss, I would say he has to take a lot of credit so far.
It's young.
We're not going to get crazy here.
It's a long marathon called baseball.
But in your opinion, outside of Walt Weiss and the energy that he's brought, the re-energizing, if you will,
as far as players, what has been the key to this year compared to last year?
Well, I mean, I think last year was just a combination of things that happened that first week.
First of all, they had to start in San Diego and then Los Angeles.
Yep.
After the second game of the season, their starting pitcher got hurt, didn't come back for the rest of the year,
and all the low-beds.
And then, you know, after four games, their left fielder got suspended for performance-enhancing drugs,
and then they had to go play the Dodgers.
And it was like, d***, we just don't have a whole shot at anything going right.
But, you know, this year, I really go back to the success they had in spring training.
I don't know how – I mean, I'm the only one that said that, so I'm going to take credit for it.
I mean, usually you don't care about spring training stats or wins and losses.
But, man, it was important this year because it was a brand-new team,
and it was a chance to kind of push reset to a certain extent.
So they did that, and it was very beneficial, I think, to have that type of just, hey, let's win.
Let's do everything we can to win.
And it carried over, and it carried over so far.
So they got a real interesting series with the Guardians.
It used to be the Indians before some people got woke.
And it's going to be an interesting series because they're 8-5-2.
They're a good team, and that will be real interesting to see how that all plays out.
By the way, our favorite starting pitcher, Bryce Elder, pitches again tonight.
One and one with a 0.00 ERA.
What about that?
He's a beast.
I told you he was a beast.
Nobody listens to me online.
You know what?
I tell you what, he's been really good.
He missed all Greg Maddox, and I think any pitcher that doesn't throw harder than 95 ought to go spend the time with Greg Maddox because he told Bryce Elder kind of how to pitch and what he should do.
And I think it's beneficial for him, and it's been great, and that's a good thing.
So I hope it will continue.
Look, it wasn't just the fans who were skeptical about Bryce.
I mean, in spring training, the general manager named the top four starting pitchers who were locked in the rotation.
It was Sel, Strider, Lopez, and Holmes, not Bryce Elder.
So he had to fight for that fifth job.
He obviously had to go off one spot with the injury to Strider.
And now look what he's doing.
He's been great, and I can't wait to see what he does tonight.
You know, Bill, the other thing, too, is you look at this team, and what's the old saying?
You can't win a championship in April, but you can put yourself in a position to certainly lose any realistic hope of it.
The other side of that coin is, conversely to last year, you got folks on the DL, on the mend.
If you can sit here and just tread water and stay anywhere from one to three games out to get some of these guys back,
you got to like not only where you are now, but the back half of the season as well, obviously, hoping everybody else stays healthy.
Well, you know, and those are pitchers, so right now you don't care, right?
I mean, right now you're in good shape because the pitchers have been the best in baseball overall.
I think the rotation of the ERA is 2.79, and, you know, the voltage of the ERA is under one.
And so that's a mark of how that ends, and so to know that you're going to get reinforcements back.
I mean, A.J. Smith-Schalber started throwing off the mound earlier this week, getting down in Florida.
I don't know about Schwellenbach.
We'll see about that.
I mean, he's got to come back, and I haven't heard one way or the other how his recovery is going.
And Hurston-Waldrup is the same way, so we just don't know.
It may not for a while, but, you know, we've just got to be patient and hopefully, you know,
and the biggest thing is, I mean, one of the reasons why I'm going to Gwinnett and see the double-A team
is that J.R. Ritchie is also a fantastic start.
Denier Quintez is also an even better start.
So they've got two guys in triple-A who they can call on if they need help.
And, you know, the fifth starter spot is still a little bit of a revolving door,
but Strider may be back soon.
So if Strider's back, and you've got Sale, Strider, Elder, Lofans, and Holmes,
well, that's a pretty good rotation, and it may block, you know,
Ritchie and Quintez here for a little bit.
And then when Schwellenbach and Waldrop and Strider get back,
well, you don't have to rush them as much, which is good, you know,
because when you rush pitchers, you wind up getting in trouble usually.
So it's a good situation to start off with the pitching doing well
because of the ramifications that it's not hurting you right now
to have all those injuries they had early in spring training.
Yeah, I've already been asked this week when Strider was coming back,
hopefully maybe late May, late April in Fuentes.
I keep saying the same word you use, let him seize them a little bit, you know,
and then bring them up.
We've got a Masters update coming up soon.
Listen, God bless you.
You know, if they keep sending you a one-finger salute, just ignore them.
Who's on the show later today, and where can we get online to listen?
Well, I don't know why.
With the last name of Shanks, y'all wouldn't want me to have a Masters update.
I'll say all about the d*** Masters.
My name is Shanks.
Hey, good luck with that traffic over there, Bill.
And we'll agree with those five guys who give you that one-finger salute.
We believe you're number one, too, Bill.
So stay safe out there, okay, buddy?
Okay, guys, thank you.
See you, bud.
Bill's Shanks, these superstations.
Speaking of the Masters, the microphone and the golf course, the latest next.
Stay with us.
This update on the 2026 Masters is brought to you locally by Lost Pizza.
From the Augusta National Golf Club, Westwood One Sports presents this special report on the Masters.
I'm Ted Emmerich.
Scotty Scheffler is hanging in there in the second round as he steps into Amen Corner.
At 11, Scheffler was short of the green with his second shot, then pitched it to seven feet.
Scotty Scheffler for the par at the 11th.
Aiming well left of the hole.
See if he can get this thing to slide inside that right edge, and he's done it.
That is a heck of a putt right there.
Right up and down.
Carl Paulson and Steve Melnick, the call on SiriusXM.
Scheffler had a couple of early bogeys today, but he has battled back to even par for the round.
Two under for the tournament.
Three back of Sam Burns and Rory McIlroy, both at five under.
You're listening to coverage of the 2026 Masters on Westwood One.
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Rory McIlroy has teed off here in the second round.
He carried the bunker and landed in the first cut on the right edge of the fairway.
McIlroy, 5-under, along with Sam Burns.
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Sam Burns, four straight pars to open his second round to remain at 5-under.
Two players, one back at 4-under.
Wyndham Clark in the clubhouse with a 4-under, 68 today after his even par 72 on Thursday.
Justin Rose at 4-under as well.
Rose, 2-under today through 13 and with birdies at 10 and 11 to start his second nine.
A host of players at 3-under.
Tyrell Hatton, Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry, Jason Day, and Patrick Reed.
Koepka with back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13.
And we're watching the cut line here on Friday.
Bryson DeChambeau, John Rum on the wrong side of it right now at plus 5.
From Augusta, I'm Ted Emmerich, Westwood One Sports.
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From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today.
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Hello again, everybody.
I'm Roger Hoover.
On Thursday's edition of Crimson Drive, driven by NASCAR, we were joined by Alabama baseball shortstop, Justin LeBron.
Kind of just like started ever since there.
Baseball was just something that I played on my free time.
Never really thought it would turn into this.
I was always very undersized, very skinny, and just like, just loved playing the game.
And it wasn't until probably like my high school, like senior year, I'd say, that I kind of thought, okay, this is something that I could probably turn into a profession.
And really just like enjoyed the people around, enjoyed the friendships, always respected the game.
And it kind of repaid me in a very good way.
I was actually prior committed to Rice, decommitted, came to Alabama, just kind of came here and knew that there was an opportunity to play as a freshman and just kind of took it and ran with it.
Yeah.
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We've got you covered for the Golden Flake A-Day game on Saturday.
Our radio coverage across the network will begin at 12.30 p.m. from Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, leading you up to kickoff at 1 p.m.
You can listen to the game on our full radio network and the Varsity Network app.
Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by the Good Feet Store.
Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
We'll come back in quickly, baby.
We were joking at the top of the show while we were walking your way down to the mic that, uh, were you kind of like marinated in the sunscreen, uh, getting ready for tomorrow's hot fun in the sun in T-Town?
Well, uh, there are four spring games tomorrow, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Florida, and you better have something, a hat, and some sunscreen.
But I think a lot of people are looking forward to, even with the limitations of a typical spring game, they need to fix and are looking forward to certainly a lot of the players.
Tennessee with a quarterback battle.
Yeah.
John Summerall going to do.
Mississippi State, Camario Davis taking over at quarterback.
Uh, Faison Brandon, George McIntyre, quarterback battle at Tennessee.
And we've gone through a lot of the questions about Alabama, and a lot of folks are interested, certainly, in Keylon Russell, Austin Mack.
Yeah.
But again, as I mentioned earlier this week, Harold, I want to see what the line of scrimmage looks like.
Can they run the ball more effectively?
What's that defensive front going to look like?
A lot of folks going to see it.
A lot of folks can hear it here on 93.9 The Score tomorrow, BB.
Uh, beginning at 12.30 pregame, game kicks off if there is a kickoff.
It's one o'clock.
And they will play for about two hours.
I'm sure there'll be a quick postgame.
But yeah, no TV about this.
I've been asked about that this week.
But you can hear the interviews, the play-by-play, uh, starting at 12.30 on 93.9 The Score.
As we say, you can see it here on 93.9 The Score with the Theater of the Mind.
Same play as you can catch the next hour here.
Justin Ferguson talking about the Auburn Tigers.
They will play a week from tomorrow for their spring playing.
Doug Seager's got both covered.
And, Mack, you're getting even more coast-to-coast coverage.
It's all spread ahead in a second now.
There'll be more Buck Show.
Stay with us.
A bill that closes primary elections for both the Republican and Democratic parties here in Alabama was shut down on the last day of the legislative session.
The bill was offered by State Representative Ernie Yarbrough and had made it over to the state Senate for a vote on Thursday, which was the last day of the legislative session.
The bill was on the Senate calendar.
However, Yarbrough says it was bumped further down on that list and never brought up on Thursday.
Yarbrough quoted his father in saying that a man always does his priorities.
And Yarbrough says that he longs for the day when conservative Republicans will dominate both chambers and therefore complete what the voters in the state have urged their representatives to do.
Yarbrough says it's important for the Republican Party to only have Republican voters elect their candidates for state and local races.
State Senate Pro Tem Garland Gudger says this closed primary issue will come up in future sessions.
I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.
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Governor Ivey has signed a bill into law that increases a misdemeanor charge to a felony in the case of eluding police in a vehicle.
The bill will also increase the sentences that come with a conviction for seeking to elude police in a vehicle, especially if there's also children inside that vehicle or the vehicle strikes an officer or his patrol car.
Ivey says this bill is to counter the often deadly and reckless actions taken by criminals who put innocent bystanders at risk.
The new law takes effect on October 1st.
I'm Andrea Tess.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores, Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.
It's a new season and a new fight.
Atlanta, it's time to rise.
And your 2026 Atlanta Braves are ready.
Swinging and a drive to left center field.
That ball is gone!
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Tonight, the Braves are back in town and Truist Park will be rocking as they square up against the AL Central Cleveland Guardians in Atlanta.
Braves Radio goes on the air at 6 p.m. Central on the Braves Radio Network.
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Tonight versus the Cleveland Guardians on 93.9, The Score.
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Tonight, mostly clear with a low near 50.
Tomorrow, sunny with a high around 85.
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Now, get ready to roll.
Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM sports voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the tide.
Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score.
Welcome back in, our tour of the Boomo Bugg Show.
I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley.
And for Mike Cugan, taking time out of his busy schedule as national college basketball slash football analyst down in Orlando, Florida.
Mike, welcome in.
Happy Friday to you.
How are you?
Doing not doing well, but sort of having, sorry about that, sort of having withdrawals from no college basketball.
I hope you're coping okay, Mike.
The thing is, I don't think anybody was surprised by the eventual outcome.
Pretty much, I think, by most standards played out by the script that Connecticut would give them a good game, but Michigan would in the end win.
We know that the question, Mike, now, across the country, what are coaches, general managers, and everybody else doing now to sit here?
It's a simple question.
It's not that easy to answer.
The simple question is just come up with as much money as Michigan.
Have a coach that knows how to evaluate talent.
It's a pretty simple formula, but it's hard to put into practice, is it not, Mike?
Yeah, and money only gets you so far.
I think Chuckie's a perfect example.
BYU is another example.
I think Dusty May did a very nice job of finding guys who fit the kind of offense and defense he plays.
He wanted big guys.
He wanted a point guard.
He got Elliott Caddo, who North Carolina was not displeased to see leave.
He did not play well in North Carolina.
A day Mara at UCLA was underutilized.
Moraes Johnson in Illinois was considered superfluous.
So, it's a combination.
You've got to spend money, but I would argue you do not have to have the highest payroll.
You have to have a coach who gets good players who fit in his system.
Illinois was a big team with a really good freshman point guard.
Arizona was a big team with a really good freshman point guard.
There you go.
A freshman guard.
And Michigan was a very big team with an experienced point guard.
And I think that has something to do with it.
I think you're going to see teams.
I think the pendulum has swung.
If you've got mobile big guys, that's, I think, a recipe for having a ton of success.
Michigan had mobile big guys.
Arizona had mobile big guys.
Illinois had mobile big guys.
But Michigan had the best overall team.
Mike, I saw a tweet a few minutes ago.
As of 104 Central, 204 Eastern Time in your Eastern Zone, there are 2,000 and 65 players who have entered the college basketball portal.
That is 700 more than who entered the portal in 2023.
And our friend, Blake Lovell of Southeastern 16, we were talking about Rick Barnes, who has lost seven players.
The women's program has lost nine.
And some of that was some misconceptions about Tennessee's NIL.
But for a Rick Barnes, who's added a few more gray hairs, he literally is beginning to start over in the Tennessee women's program right now.
Needs a lot of work.
Mike, your thoughts on, Harold mentioned it, general managers, coaches, the work they're having to do now for the next 30 days.
Yeah, it's compressed to an extent of the opening of the portal.
It's only about, like I said, two to three weeks.
But it's not like, oh, my God, we've got to worry about the portal now.
Most programs are doing this year-round now.
It's sort of like an NFL front office.
You're always looking for players to sign if other teams cut them, all that kind of stuff.
You're looking at the high school ranks.
So it's not like this caught Tennessee or, frankly, any school by surprise.
Again, you better be prepared when the portal, Tennessee already has the lung blade from Belmont.
It should be a really nice fit for the Vols offense.
But it is interesting to see an elite eight team lose guys with remaining eligibility.
So, yeah, Barnes knows what he's doing.
He has a certain kind of guy, a certain kind of player in mind.
But, yeah, now you've got to put practice into motion and see how this works out.
Mike Higgins, National College football slash basketball analyst.
If you'd indulge us, Mike, with our zip code, what do you see as far as Alabama and Auburn?
That's a tough question because who knows who's on the roster, right?
I mean, that's kind of a crazy question.
But your thoughts maybe as far as the thinking based on the patterns, because it seems like Nate would prefer to go with those jackrabbits at guard who can knock down the three.
And maybe, obviously, we'd like to have the big guy, but the priority seems to be behind the arc.
Your thoughts about Alabama's future, how they're going to put this roster together.
And, of course, Stephen Pearl, basically playing Lazarus, comes back to life in the NIT.
Right.
Nate Oates is not going to all of a sudden go, oh, I'm going to change everything I've done in the past to copy Michigan.
He's going to look for three-point shooters, though I would argue that he knows he needs to get more physical up front.
They got bullied at times in the SEC play.
They got bullied in the NCAA tournament.
Yeah, shooting three-pointers is fine.
He's not going to change that aspect.
But my assumption is they're going to try to get a little bit more physical up front.
And if you're at Auburn, I think you're looking for just a boatload of guys who can come in, shoot the ball, very athletic.
And you want what everybody else wants.
You want shooters, you want athletes, and you want big guys who can be physical.
Now, that goes back to how much is Alabama going to spend, how much is Auburn going to spend.
But, yeah, I think if you're an Alabama fan, you're confident.
Oates getting more physical up front.
If you're a Tigers fan, I'm not sure you're confident.
You know, Stephen Pearl has not done this.
You know, he took over a team in the summer last year.
The roster already was there.
So, he's having to put together a roster for the first time.
Now, granted, he helped his dad put together rosters before, but it is different when you're the coach.
But, yeah, Alabama has an easier road than Auburn.
I think we've discussed this with you before.
We've been blessed to work with you now for 20-plus years.
The NCAA Football Division Council discussing the five years to play five.
There will be no granting of red shirts or waivers in order to receive additional players.
The five-year eligibility clock, as they put it, would begin at an athlete's 19th birthday
or when they graduate from high school.
Mike, we've discussed this with you on and off for the last 10 to 15 years,
and we've heard all the stuff about player eligibility.
Again, the Ole Miss quarterback going to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
But your thoughts on the five years to play five?
I think that has some merit,
and I think that would be a little bit more survivable if it goes to court.
The one free transfer thing in five years, that is not survivable.
And that's just theatrics by politicians going that kind of stuff out there.
The age thing, it has merit.
I do wonder if you're a Mormon mission, you're starting college at 21.
I don't know how that would be worked out.
Also, the fact that there are injuries.
Look at Michael Penix, the Falcons' starting quarterback.
He played at Indiana first.
He played there for four years.
He had four season-ending injuries.
And two of them kept him basically from playing more than one game in a season.
So I'm not sure you can punish people for getting hurt.
I think everybody agrees that the idea of 26- and 27-year-old college players is ridiculous.
But I think injuries are a fact of life for college athletes.
And that, to me, smacks of being unfair.
If a guy gets hurt two foreign ACLs in five years, that's not that uncommon.
My nephew played college lacrosse.
He had that.
So, and missed two years.
So that's a sticking point.
But I do think that an age limit is more survivable in court than the one transfer in five years,
which is performative theater and has absolutely zero chance of being put into action.
You know, some lawyer right now is saying, call me once that happens.
Let's go from there.
Mike, in the meantime, a lot of spring flings this weekend.
In your opinion, what is the most intriguing spring?
Maybe across the country and particularly around the SEC.
Because there's a lot of questions at quarterback for a lot of schools.
That, to me, is, you know, the SEC wants to get back to the top of the college football world.
Three years in a row, we've seen a Big Ten school win and three different Big Ten schools at that.
So, if you're Tennessee, if you're Florida, if you're Alabama, even if you're LSU,
you're, I think, worried and wondering about your quarterback situation for the fall.
You know, Kentucky seems happy with Kenny Minchie.
I'm assuming Auburn is fine with Byron Brown because he is extremely well-versed in Gullish's offense.
South Carolina was sellers, even though he did not play all that well last year.
But there are a lot of SEC programs that are going to go into the summer with questions at quarterback.
And for a league that wants to win a national title, having quarterback questions, plural, is not a good thing.
You know, Texas has Manning back, presumably a positive.
Texas A&A with Marcel Reed, presumably a positive.
But there's still a lot of questions about a lot of quarterback situations in the SEC.
And that, to me, is fascinating because the league doesn't want to get back to the top.
But quarterback play, obviously, is very important in getting back to the top.
Tennessee, for example, tomorrow, Faison Brandon and George McIntyre, who's a tall drink of water.
And they're trying to put a—and then Keelan Russell and Austin Bank for Alabama.
I got tickled at Jon Sumrall.
He's mentioned this a couple of times, to basically paraphrase it.
He said, look, these kids are getting paid now.
They better perform.
Mike, in about 90 seconds, your thoughts on Jon Sumrall in Florida?
Yeah, I think he's got a point.
You know, people have always criticized college athletes.
And at times, it's been a little over the top.
But now, they are professional.
And if you're paying a dude a million dollars, which might be cheap for a quarterback,
you do expect a certain level of play.
Now, there are, obviously, situations where the coach and general manager have overpaid.
But criticism of college players now, I think, is—it's not bothersome anymore because these guys are getting paid.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, they've got four in the SEC tomorrow.
Mississippi State, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee.
And then they've got six or seven next week.
Yeah, and listen, I always enjoy conversation, be it basketball or football or life.
Have a great weekend, buddy.
Let's do this again next Friday.
Excellent.
Appreciate it, guys.
There you go, Mike.
You're going in, checking in.
Time for us to check out the Masters.
And look for a lot of Big Mac.
McIlroy looks like he's making a move.
Along with Tyrell Hatton, that looks to be the top of the board.
Well, we'll see for sure next, the latest from the Masters here on 93.9, the score.
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This update on the 2026 Masters is brought to you locally by Alabama Health Guidance.
From the Augusta National Golf Club, Westwood One Sports presents this special report on the Masters.
I'm Ted Emmerich.
It's a brutal course for just about everyone in the second round, except Tyrell Hatton for some reason.
Seven under today through 16, seven birdies, no bogeys for the Brit.
He is tied atop the leaderboard for now.
Rory McIlroy just starting his round and looking to take sole possession of the lead.
McIlroy hits it high into this beautiful blue sky with a short iron, ball on its way, past the flagstick to this back-left pole location, and it's going to spin back towards the hall.
Really good shot by the defending champion.
Inside five feet for McIlroy for Birdie to reach six under par.
Taylor Zarzer, the call on SiriusXM.
Five feet for Birdie for McIlroy at number two, but it is down the hill.
You're listening to coverage of the 2026 Masters on Westwood One.
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Tyrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy lead the way at five under par.
McIlroy does have a five-foot birdie putt coming up at number two.
Wyndham Clark, Justin Rose, Sam Burns, and Patrick Reed all one shot back at four under.
Clark went out this morning and shot four under 68 to push to minus four overall.
Rose is two under today through 14.
Burns one over through six.
He had a share of the lead after 18 holes alongside McIlroy.
And Patrick Reed, the past Masters champion, is one under through four.
Brooks Koepka among those at three under par.
The five-time major winner is three under today through 14.
Scotty Scheffler landed in the creek at 13.
Tapped in for bogey.
Not bad, all things considered there.
But he's now one under and four back.
From Acosta, I'm Ted Emmerich, Westwood One Sports.
This update on the 2026 Masters has been brought to you locally by Alabama Health Guidance.
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The score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9, The Score.
Welcome back in.
It is an honor to talk to one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
Find out if a storm came up.
Time behind the mic at former tri-host of the Zone ABC 3340 down in a city called Birmingham,
Alabama.
Doug Segrist, welcome in.
How are you?
I am superb.
I'm just regretful that basketball's over.
Yeah.
Well, but the other way looking at it, you got the Masters.
By the way, Doug, are you still handing out coaching tips to the winners at the Masters,
or are you giving that up?
Yeah, I gave it.
Listen, I haven't played golf since July 20th, 1988.
Why do you remember that date, Doug?
Because I played with Joe DiMaggio at a pro-AM, and I figured life wasn't going to get any
better than that.
It's been downhill since.
Yeah, I remember I was down in one of the years when they had the big tournament there in
Birmingham, and Charlie Barkley was playing with all the big shots, and what was his name?
Soogers, the big banker down there that got in trouble, you know who I'm talking about.
Sushi, I think it was, right?
Anyway, yeah, Charlie teased off, and what does he do?
Of course, he had to go out there and have his toy that was bigger than anybody else's.
Charlie hit his trailer out there on the course.
I don't know.
I think that's why Charlie gave up golf, too, and Doug, so that's the one memory I have
with Charlie Barkley on the golf course.
All right, talk to us.
Spring flings are about to break out all over the place, Doug.
Tomorrow is Alabama's turn.
What will we learn tomorrow, if anything, in Tuscaloosa?
You know, I'm not sure.
This is just a glorified scrimmage, but is the offensive line, you know, coming together?
I mean, this is the scary part, that this is almost a wholesale transformation and replacement
of an offensive line that really underachieved and wasn't very productive last year.
You know, can they run the ball now?
Which quarterback emerges?
You know, here's the irony, is they lost a lot on defense.
They need a speed rusher.
They got questions of the linebacker.
But you go in feeling pretty good about this defense, and it's just what can this offense
resurrect that I think has everybody's focus, and this is supposed to be the strength of this
program.
Doug, I think the other big question is, can they run the ball more effectively?
I think they were about 130th the last five games of the season as far as running the ball.
I do believe Javon James, for example, at right tackle.
Michael Carroll now at right guard.
I think this offensive line would be improved.
E.J. Crowell, we probably won't see tomorrow.
He's been banged up a little bit.
But, you know, can they get some explosive plays, a.k.a. Deer, Treshawn Brown is a kid
that Kaelin DeBoer's talked about.
One of the biggest questions we'll hear the entire spring and summer, Doug, can they run
the ball?
Yeah, I just, I think part of it is a will to run the ball, and I think that was part of
the problem last year.
It just wasn't established early enough.
You know, obviously, Jim Miller was never 100% healthy.
I think, you know, in Riley and Deer and Crowell, the parts are good.
I think Daniel Hill has looked really good.
But the bottom line is, if you don't have some, you know, road graders up front, it doesn't
really matter.
Thank you.
So I'm interested to see how the change in the coaching staff pays off.
Because, you know, you're bringing in a guy who's done it at every level and very much
a task, you know, just demands a lot from everybody.
And if that translates, then I think the answer is unequivocally yes.
Yeah, and the thing is, we've been talking about that too, Doug.
It doesn't matter about quarterbacks and running backs and wide receivers.
If they don't have time to do the job, guess what?
It's a lot of potential left on the board.
But if they do, Doug, obviously someone who had all the potential in the world coming
out of high school and certainly after the Georgia game his freshman year was one Ryan
Williams.
We know what happened last year.
Doug, your thoughts about Ryan Williams part three in Tuscaloosa?
We know he's got the talent.
You know, he didn't draw passes his freshman year like he did last year.
So you wonder at some point how much of it is other things going on, sophomore slump.
Now you add to that he's married, he's stepdad.
There just seems to be a lot going on off the field.
And that's probably as big a concern as anything.
But I think in, you know, the NC State transfer, I think in the freshman from Alex City, you know,
losing Bernard is huge.
I think still losing Horton is fairly big.
But I think they may have some pieces there to compliment Ryan, you know,
if he's 100% committed to the way he was freshman.
And it's a big question.
I don't know if that will be resolved tomorrow.
I don't know if we'll know anything until mid-September.
Doug, as of 127, there are 2,035 players in the college basketball transfer portal.
I just saw on Twitter that Todd Pettiford is saying he's putting his name in the NBA draft
but will keep his eligibility.
Sebastian Williams is coming back.
Kevin Overton, Jobick.
We know Amy Sherrell is gone probably to the highest bidder for a big man.
A lot of work for a lot of these coaches.
Rick Barnes at Tennessee, too.
Your thoughts on basketball transfer portal?
It's just a mess right now.
And, you know, some of these players might end up without a team altogether.
They will.
Yeah.
You're just kind of rolling dice.
And, again, I think we need to form the –
Sherrell is probably the biggest head-scratcher of all because he was, you know,
he is not a post-up, you know, bang-around center like you saw at Michigan this past year.
He really fits that Alabama team.
He does.
But I wonder if this has a lot to do with all the attention on Betty Occo.
Are there chemistry issues we didn't know about?
Because, you know, on the surface, it seemed like a team that really got together.
Is he just looking for a bigger payday?
Yeah.
But some of the schools he's looking at, you know, the automatic thing, well, if he goes to Michigan,
well, that's pretty obvious.
But, I mean, I think he's the second Alabama player that's looking strong at Providence with, you know,
his form is the guy who recruited him, Brian Hodgson.
So, I don't know the solution to this.
You know, we saw what Bucky McMillan did last year with just a total retransformation of the Texas A&M program.
You know, we keep talking about Michigan, five transfers starting.
Burnett was the only holdover.
So, it can be done, but you've got to have a lot of money.
You've got to be perfect on evaluations.
I would hate to be a coach today.
Oh, no, no, no.
But you just hit on the perfect explanation for it.
If you're a fan, you've just got to be quiet.
What you've got to do is sell your kids, take the money, and contribute to the athletic department.
It's not that complicated, is it?
So, they're always begging for money.
And quickly, before you jump off, how much pressure?
Can we put a quantitative term on it that Kalen DeBoer is facing in year three in Tuscaloosa?
Yeah, he's going to be under the microscope.
I mean, he's got to win.
You know, I think getting back to the playoffs is probably the bare minimum expectation.
And the truth is, their schedule's harder.
And it's kind of those three or four games in a row that really make it difficult.
They ought to start 4-1 or 5-0 pretty easily.
But after that, it gets real difficult.
And then when you look what they lost, I mean, this kind of sets up as a step-back year.
So, can he survive an 8-4?
Yeah.
7-5 would get Dice.
Again, if he's 9-3 and he gets in the playoffs, I think he'll be okay.
You know, I still got a lot of faith in him going forward.
I think this will be more his program and what he wants to do.
I think the fact that he's looking at even re-evaluating how they run scout teams is a good sign.
Because, you know, that's what Nick Saban always did.
He always was changing things and updating.
And I think you've got to do that to stay relevant.
Yeah, he was a master at adapting.
And I think now he realizes what it takes to win in the SEC.
And you can't play finesse football and win in the SEC.
And Derek Seekers can.
We know that in football or basketball.
I always enjoy the conversation with you.
Listen, I don't know how you can get through this weekend without any basketball.
But we're praying for you to try to get through it, okay?
I've got a lot of DVR saved.
I'm just going to go back through the whole season.
Derek, listen, man.
You're not going to be alone, I guarantee you.
In the meantime, thank you so much.
It's hard to say this.
Stay as cool as you can this weekend.
And let's do it again soon, okay?
Thanks, Harold.
Thanks, Brett.
Y'all have a great one.
You too.
Doug Seekers, the man, named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
Coming up this week, Alabama and next week, Auburn with a spring fling.
We'll set the early stage with Justin Ferguson and more straight ahead of the Boomwell Buck Show.
Stay with us.
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In college baseball action tonight, number eight Alabama's at home to host 22nd-ranked Arkansas.
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The score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
The Score.
Welcome back in.
Time to head way down to the southeastern part of the state.
Please call Auburn.
Say hello to Justin Ferguson.
He's got it all covered there with the Auburn Observer.
Justin, welcome in.
Happy Friday to you.
How are you?
I'm all right.
How are y'all?
Hey, man.
We're doing all right.
Kind of quiet before the storm.
Things are going to be rocking in Tuscaloosa this weekend.
But next weekend, the curtain comes up on a brand new era.
Where are you just seven days and some change away from the beginning of a new look on the
planes?
Yeah, I think it's, you know, 8-8 next week is going to be a pretty good time, I think,
for Auburn fans because, you know, this team is so new.
The majority of this roster is fairly new, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
And the fact that they're going to have an 8-8 game and have kind of more of a traditional
setup as we consider.
I mean, Alex Golesh did say recently that they're going to finalize what the format's
going to look like over the weekend.
But it's free admission, which I think is always a good move for that.
And it's just a good way to kind of get people to introduce them to this new team because as
somebody who's been, you know, at practices, you know, Auburn's had 10 of them to this
point, spring ball.
It's a lot of new faces.
It's a lot to keep up with.
So, you know, it's my job to do all this so I can only imagine what it's going to be
like for fans who are trying to get to know this team here next Saturday.
Let's talk about that because you can read about stuff, but boots in the ground, always
going to be better than that and doing that route.
Justin, your thoughts, you were there for how many coaches before this one?
We've lost count.
What is the vibe now coming in?
Yeah, this is my fourth head coach I've covered at Auburn.
I had fifth technically.
I was there for the very end of the Gene Chizik era.
But, yeah, I mean, I just think when you look at this team, they've got a lot of questions.
They've got a lot to kind of figure out.
But I think the big takeaway I've gotten from practice is it's been very intense for spring
practice.
And I think last year, you know, when you have Hugh Freeze up there talking about how much
he didn't really want spring practice in which they kind of changed the format and then
the shift to what you've got now where you have this coaching staff and this roster saying,
hey, we've got to maximize the amount of every little bit of time we get because we've got
a long way to go and kind of build this team back up to where we think it should be over
time.
You know, I think you've got practices that are very intense, very, you know, high energy,
lots of movement.
You know, just it's been a very intense spring compared to the ones in the past because I
think there's just real pressure on this staff and this roster to kind of get it right.
And I think also with the way Alex Gullish wants to play on offense and on defense and
even on special teams, you know, you want to be able to kind of be built for the style
that you're going to run in the fall and for Auburn, it's going to be constant motion.
So I think you've kind of seen that with the way these practices have gone here, you know,
the first few weeks.
One of the last, uh, offensive line, um, uh, I saw was the coach had left tackle, Joe Simmons,
applause at left guard, Cole bashed, I think is going to be the center, uh, Cole Skinner in
the Wilson's eye.
And I know busters had a good one.
Um, um, um, Ellis, et cetera, your thoughts on the progress of the offensive line.
Yeah, I feel pretty confident that Cole best will start at center and then everything else
is kind of up for grabs right now.
Um, it's a group that's mixing and matching a lot.
And I think they've got to try to find the best combination to get their best guys on the
field.
And they're in the process of figuring that out.
Uh, the fact that Stanton or Mill has not been healthy in the spring and hasn't been able
to do a lot, I think it's thrown a wrench into kind of like, okay, here's what we think
of the first team.
So, but you've got pretty much all those guys you mentioned with the exception of best,
it's really been playing multiple spots.
Um, and so I think they're just trying to mix and match as much as possible here in the
spring to see, okay, who fits best where, um, if you, we feel like this guy's one of our
top five guys, can we, can we fit him in there?
Um, you know, I think soon you see a guy like Ty Buster play both guard and tackle when you
see Skinner play both sides at guard, when you see Simmons play both tackles as well.
I think Auburn's just really trying to figure it out and kind of, you know, really hone in
what they've got.
It's a mix.
I mean, you've got some seniors and you've got some young guys, you know, both battling
out and trying to, you know, really make his strides here in the two deep.
So I think we've got plenty of options.
It's just a matter of figuring out which work the best together.
And I think with a couple of injuries up front, you know, it's going to be a little while
before we kind of really know what that looks like.
Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer, obviously if the wheel's going to roll, the quarterback's
got to do their job.
Your thoughts so far with the quarterback play?
Yeah.
I mean, Byron Brown, I think has been as advertised from the beginning.
This is a guy that Auburn prioritized, obviously they wanted to bring him in and bring his success.
And, you know, he's, he's been a guy to me that, you know, just came in and hit the ground
running.
You know, he's not a guy that's, you know, stepped in and like, oh wow, I'm in an SEC school
and kind of getting starry out over it.
From that very first practice, he was just out there and just slinging the ball
around and because he has that familiarity, right?
He knows his head coach, he knows his offensive coordinator, he knows his system inside and
out.
He knows most of his receivers, he knows several of his offensive linemen, including his center.
So, you know, I think there's a, there's a level of familiarity that Auburn really wanted.
And I think he's really done a good job of coming in and embracing that.
Like, you know, he, he knows he's going to be the guy.
He knows that a lot's going to be riding on him.
He knows he's got to be, help Auburn set the tone for this new era this fall.
Um, so I think he's done a really good job of just kind of embracing that and, you know,
seeing the offense kind of follow suit.
The rest of the quarterbacks, um, you know, it'll be interesting to see how it all kind
of shakes out, but Kristen Tia, the transfer from Oregon state, I've been pretty impressed
with him.
He's got really good arm talent, got a feet wet last season with a few starts at Oregon
state.
So if anything happened to Brown, you feel like you could at least turn to somebody who's at
least started at this level.
Um, but he's a guy that I'm really interested in for the future.
He's got good size, got really good arm talent.
Um, and I think he's going to be a guy that, you know, Auburn fans are going to want to
keep it on here for the next, you know, next several months.
Absolutely.
Uh, basketball with a little more clarity, Kevin Overton announcing he is returning along
with Sebastian William Adams.
Uh, Mack Wood is going to be leaving.
Joe big, I believe he's going to UCLA and Pettiford announced that he's going to enter the NBA
draft, but, uh, leave room to come back, which I think is smart to do.
Uh, a lot of guys, Mark Sears and, and a fine line have done that too.
We've got to run to a break for the masters young man, but where can we get online and get
the 6 a.m. emails, the Friday mailbag, the podcast, and the whole nine yards.
Yeah.
AuburnServe.com.
Check it out there.
Got plenty of stuff coming, uh, from, you know, Auburn football this week at Pratt.
It's got some Auburn basketball, keeping track of everything on our roster side.
Got a little Auburn baseball up there as well.
Had a podcast out today, talking a lot about spring football.
So it's a good time to sign up.
Uh, we're still running our special four bucks a month or $40 for your first year.
If you subscribe between now and the eight a game.
So go to AuburnObserver.com.
Get it all there.
Wonderful stuff.
Listen, have a great weekend.
Uh, we'll do this again next Friday.
Absolutely.
Thank you.
All right, buddy.
Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer coming up with the masters.
One of the questions always asked today's cut day.
What does it mean?
Well, the masters is different than most of the tournaments.
It's the masters.
Normally it's the top 70 at the masters.
It's a top 50 plus highs.
So again, uh, when you say 50, it always comes back to 50 plus ties.
So it could be 51, 52, et cetera.
If that number 50 spots tied, the question is who's at the top of board right now.
We'll take you there.
Next.
The latest from the masters.
You're on 93.9.
The score.
This update on the 2026 masters is brought to you locally by lost pizza.
From the Augusta National Golf Club, Westwood One Sports presents this special report on the masters.
I'm Ted Emmerich.
Rory McIlroy has opened up a gap at the top early in his second round.
Three feet.
And this is straight down the hill.
This is the kind of putt that you have to just give a little bit of pace to.
And except the fact that if it doesn't hit the hole, it's probably going to be farther away than it is right now.
Rory strokes that down the hill.
And he did give that plenty of pace, but he poured it right into the center.
Rory with birdies at two and three.
He's at seven on the park.
John McGinnis, the call on Sirius XM.
McIlroy bogeyed the third yesterday, but the whole location today, much more inviting.
So back-to-back birdies there at two and three.
And the man who put on the green jacket last year stands alone at seven under.
And in fact, he has poured in another just now at four, curving one left to right down the hill.
So three in a row, McIlroy now eight under and three shots better than Justin Rose and Sam Burns.
You're listening to coverage of the 2026 Masters on Westwood One.
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Scotty Scheffler has gone swimming on both par fives on the second nine here in the second round.
He made bogey at 13.
Now at 15, he smashed his second shot with a three-iron past the green and into the water beyond 16T.
Scheffler right now at one under.
That is seven off the lead because of Rory McIlroy's charge.
We check the leaderboard sponsored by Fisher Investments.
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McIlroy with the three straight birdies at two, three, and four.
Now eight under.
Justin Rose, Sam Burns, both at five under.
Three back.
Wyndham Clark, Tyrell Hatton, Patrick Reed, all at four under.
Four off the lead.
Tyrell Hatton with a six under, 66 today.
From Augusta, I'm Ted Emmerich, Westwood One Sports.
This update on the 2026 Masters has been brought to you locally by Lost Pizza.
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You're sitting at a red light or stuck in traffic, and your phone lights up.
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Put the phone away or pay.
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1819 News.
A bill is being sent to Governor Ivey's desk that would require the display of the Ten Commandments in schools across Alabama.
The display must be purchased or donated to the school by an outside source.
No school money is to be used for this display.
The Ten Commandments would be placed in a common area of the school for all students to see,
as well as in history classrooms, with an accompanying historical context statement.
Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature were very much opposed to the passage of the bill,
saying the Ten Commandments have led to wars and the slaughter of civilizations.
State Representative Ernie Yarbrough supported the bill and said it's high time as adults
to tell our children that our rights and freedoms are rooted in God and the faith of our country.
I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.
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A missing man from Abbeville has been found dead in South Carolina.
66-year-old Mark McCall went missing in early March.
He was last seen in his vehicle, which has since been located in the Myrtle Beach area.
Investigators there believe that McCall died on March 7th.
The cause of his death is not known at this time.
The discovery of human remains in Memphis, Tennessee, may be related to a missing man case out of Huntsville.
Ronald Dumas Jr. went missing in December of 2024, and investigators believe that Dumas was taken against his will to the Memphis area.
This week, a woman found the human remains while walking her dog.
The Dumas family attorneys, along with the Huntsville police, are watching the development of this case.
I'm Andrea Theis.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.
The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Brett Beaird and I mentioned another busy weekend here on 93.9 The Score, starting tonight with the Braves.
Got the Braves and the Cleveland Indians throughout the weekend.
Then 12.30 tomorrow for Alabama A-Day pregame, 12.30 to 1.
The game from 1 until 3.
Alabama baseball playing Arkansas.
I believe that's on Sunday.
So, a plethora, a cornucopia of sports on 93.9 The Score.
Let's hope the sports are as good as the weather forecast in Tuscaloosa.
86 with a 2% chance of rain.
Safe travels to and from if you make it down.
It's going to take care of business for now on behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here.
Harold Bogg, thank you so much for your time today.
Let's do it again Monday, noon to 2 with the Boomo Bugg Show back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score.