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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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 Good afternoon and welcome in to the Boomo Bugg Show.

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 I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.

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 Thank you so much for giving us your ride around the Tennessee Valley.

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 Brett Beaird, welcome in.

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 Where?

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 Move over, boys.

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 This is the day and the weekend for all of you moms.

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 Good afternoon.

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 Welcome in and how are you?

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 Happy Friday to you and the listeners.

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 Don't you look forward to seeing you on social media at some point this weekend.

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 Coach Bryant's iconic Bell South commercial.

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 Have you called your mama today?

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 I sure wish I could call mine.

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 The NCAA tournament, Harold Bugg, is now official with 76 teams.

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 Zach Pounders of the Shoals Sports Report will update which Shoals teams will advance to the quarterfinals.

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 But Jimmy is here right now to talk about Alabama's updated football schedule and a potential commitment may be coming on Monday.

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 And that ain't all.

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 Anytime you get in a huddle with Jimmy Stein, he is always locked on Bama.

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 That's because he's co-host of Locked on Bama on the network.

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 Jimmy, welcome in.

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 Happy Friday to you.

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 How are you?

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 Oh, doing great, guys.

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 Thanks for having me back.

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 Man, we appreciate you taking time out.

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 Jimmy, a lot to get to today.

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 First things first, a little football news.

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 How shocked were you that Alabama says we've got to sit here and add and subtract, or in this case, subtract from a future schedule?

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 As the old Western line said, this town ain't big enough for all those 13 teams.

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 Got to get it to 12.

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 We have to decide who's going to be that 13th team.

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 In this case, it's Oklahoma State gone from the schedule coming up here in a year or so.

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 Jimmy, your reaction to the news this week out of the scheduling department?

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 Well, Ohio State or Oklahoma State had to go for any number of reasons.

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 One of them had to go.

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 I would have been maybe a few months ago or a few weeks ago sort of surprised that it was Oklahoma State gone

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 and Ohio State sticking around the schedule.

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 But I'm wondering, and first of all, we don't know exactly when this final decision was made.

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 Just because it's public doesn't mean the decision wasn't already made sometime back.

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 So we don't know that.

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 But I can't help but think that perhaps the 2014 playoff talk was a big part of this.

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 I would think keeping Ohio State after you've been forced to move to nine SEC games

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 would have been a little suicidal under the 12-team format.

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 I know I would have been sort of against it.

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 I just don't have a lot of confidence in the playoff selection committee in terms of how they factor in strength of schedule.

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 So I would have been against this with a 12-team format.

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 But with the 2014 format, when they're basically letting in everyone and some teams will just basically be in the playoff before the season even starts,

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 I don't really see the harm in it.

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 And in fact, these games are good for college football.

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 It's good for the health of college football.

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 It creates interest.

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 It's more appealing to the fans than watching lesser opponents.

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 So under a 2014 playoff, I don't really see a lot of downside here.

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 So I'm all for it.

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 So I can't help but wonder if that was a factor in Alabama's decision-making.

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 I appreciate you bringing it up because a lot of folks are still on the old formula, and that makes a lot of sense.

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 And at the other side, back to your point about not having a lot of faith in the committee,

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 I know what they preach this time of the year, end of the first part of the season,

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 but by the time the sermon is actually practiced at the end of the season, it's always, well, this team's unbeaten,

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 and they got two losses.

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 Never mind.

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 You look at the overall schedule, not taking shots at Indiana.

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 They earned everything they got, so make sure we're clear on that.

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 But I still maintain one of the reasons you can do that, one of the factors is you're playing a lighter schedule.

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 You can keep your key players healthier, so you can take that competition at the end of the season.

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 Probably some more than some of these other teams were banged up by that point.

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 But your thoughts just about the fact that now the Big Ten, if anything, who does this favor more with a 24-team field?

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 The Big Ten or the SEC, or is it pretty much a wash?

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 I would think it favors the SEC slightly more, but it's a give or take.

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 And I say that in the sense that there's this idea today, and things will change.

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 Things are a little cyclical.

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 But today, I would admit that the top of the Big Ten is as good or even better than the SEC.

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 But where the SEC stands out is the depth of teams.

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 I think we haven't seen what the format would certainly be under the 2014 playoff, but it likely will favor a lot of those mid-ranked SEC teams.

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 I think they're all getting in.

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 I think the SEC is more likely to get more teams in than the Big Ten, while maybe the Big Ten teams that do get in have a better chance to move forward.

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 That's how it seems today.

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00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:47,220
 But again, these things can be cyclical, and we make too much of small sample sizes.

85
00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:54,740
 Jimmy, I was looking at 2027 once the Ohio State game was confirmed at the SHU.

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 Their schedule is brutal in 2027.

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 Now, again, schedules can change, but Ohio State, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Auburn on the road.

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 On the road.

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 Yep.

90
00:06:09,620 --> 00:06:09,860
 Yep.

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00:06:10,020 --> 00:06:17,360
 You better hope that there's a 2014 playoff and you can lose three or four games and still get in.

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 I mean, it's very NFL-like.

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 Yes.

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 Schedule like that.

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 I mean, in terms of each week, it's huge.

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 And that's why you had to cancel Oklahoma State.

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00:06:27,980 --> 00:06:28,060
 Yeah.

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00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:36,520
 The absolute wrong take about, you know, I've only seen it once or twice here and there, is, boy, I can't believe Alabama's scared to play Oklahoma State ball team.

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 First of all, that's just the absolute wrong take.

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 If Alabama was scared to play someone, they would have canceled Ohio State, not Oklahoma State.

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 And the reason that you cancel Oklahoma State is because of the brutality of the schedule as is.

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 You just can't play power for opponents, particularly good ones, week after week after week after week after week, when not everyone else is.

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 It's different if everyone's playing the same schedule, but they're not.

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 And, again, I equate it to a race.

105
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 It's a six-mile race and everyone starts at the beginning.

106
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 I mean, why are some people insisting that Alabama or other SEC teams run uphill?

107
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 I mean, the race should be flat.

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 Everyone should run the same grade, not some teams running on flat ground while other teams run uphill.

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 That's what you're doing to yourself when you add Ohio State and Oklahoma State both to a nine-game schedule.

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 There's a cumulative effect to playing so many quality teams.

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 Or, as we like to put it, you go to a swimming match, they put rocks in your speedos, you're still supposed to win.

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 So, same pool, same water, but there is a difference there.

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00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,500
 Let's talk a little bit about first things first.

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 Coming up on 100 days until this rock and roll season, a.k.a. football gets rolling.

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 Your thoughts this week about Bray Hubbard coming out.

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 I won't go through all the specifics, but he is, to put it mildly, very impressed with Keelan Russell's ability to pass the football.

117
00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:16,880
 Well, I think really, this is an oversimplification, but to describe what the quarterback battle is at Alabama right now,

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 I think it's kind of what you're balancing is Keelan Russell, the playmaker, versus Austin Mack, the steady presence.

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 That sort of, you know, it's not 100% that way because it makes it sound like Keelan's not steady, which isn't true,

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 and it makes it sound like Austin Mack doesn't make plays, which also isn't true.

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 But it is a general way to look at it.

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 When Bray Hubbard says something like that, I think to educate everyone on what the quarterback situation is,

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00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:53,620
 it is true, Keelan Russell is an excellent playmaker at quarterback, and he does it more than one way.

124
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 He's got a lot of different skills.

125
00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:00,960
 For one thing, Keelan's release time is outstanding.

126
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 The ball gets out fast.

127
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 I mean, he gets out easy.

128
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 He's that point guard distributor.

129
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 Think even like Bryce Young in the way that the ball comes out.

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 It comes out quickly, and it goes to the right place.

131
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 I mean, that's Keelan.

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 Now throw in that Keelan's got some real impressive wheels.

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 I've compared him to Jaden Daniels, and he's not quite that fast.

134
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 I mean, in a 40 race, Jaden Daniels is going to edge him out.

135
00:09:28,780 --> 00:09:30,200
 Jaden's going to be a little faster.

136
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 But Keelan's got a lot of the same style.

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 He will make people miss.

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 He's got moves.

139
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 He will juke even DBs in the open field.

140
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 He will outrun a lot of defenders just on speed alone.

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 So Keelan's got playmaking skills with his arm and his legs.

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 What Austin Mack has is age, maturity, year four, knowledge of this offense that he even took with him from Seattle.

143
00:10:01,820 --> 00:10:04,780
 He knows exactly what he's doing out there.

144
00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:16,200
 But I'm not surprised at all to see Bray's quote in the sense that the defenders that have to defend these guys probably have been beaten by Keelan more often than they've been beaten by Austin.

145
00:10:16,580 --> 00:10:20,580
 But that doesn't mean automatically that Keelan's the choice for the job.

146
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 Well, another plus, based on just that critique there alone, is a big question mark, I think, is a consensus to Alabama's offensive line.

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 You better have someone who can do what you just said and pretty much can ad-lib behind the line until they get their own identity.

148
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 I think that's one more advantage, Keelan.

149
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 If you don't 100% believe that this offensive line is going to give Austin a dependable pocket, I think that might be another factor in Keelan's favor.

150
00:10:48,940 --> 00:10:52,740
 Jimmy, you've got impeccable sources when it comes to recruiting.

151
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 Will Alabama pick up its next verbal commitment Monday with Kenneth Simon, four-star linebacker at Brentwood Academy, whose dad is a legacy player at Tennessee?

152
00:11:10,860 --> 00:11:18,580
 I'm going to say yes, based on multiple crystal ball and RPM type forecasts out there.

153
00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,440
 It sort of looks like it's going to happen.

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 And the funny thing is, I mean, you ask me now, yeah, yeah, I think it's going to happen.

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 If you ask me like six weeks ago, I'm not sure I would have believed it because I had just sort of chalked up Kenneth Simon to Tennessee simply because of the ties there.

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 I mean, there's no question where the ties are, and he's a Tennessee legacy player.

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 So most of the time, you sort of know what direction that's going to go.

158
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 But that's why you say most, because it's not all of the time.

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 There has been players connected to Alabama in the past in the same way that have ended up somewhere else.

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 The fact of the matter is, every kid is different.

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 Every situation is different.

162
00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:00,260
 And there's more than one factor.

163
00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:09,240
 I think in 2026, fans tend to just look at NIL and money and think that dictates the outcome in all of these recruitments.

164
00:12:09,340 --> 00:12:10,140
 That's not the case.

165
00:12:10,740 --> 00:12:12,280
 Every single kid is different.

166
00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:14,300
 Every situation is different.

167
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 Every family is different.

168
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 Every one of these kids prioritizes things differently.

169
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 Apparently, this kid added it all up, and Alabama is the place for him and not Tennessee, at least initially.

170
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 Now, the transfer portal, recruiting is never really over.

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00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:37,360
 So it looks like on Monday, Kenneth Simon may choose Alabama, and who knows for how many years that will go forward.

172
00:12:37,540 --> 00:12:39,060
 But Alabama's decided to get him.

173
00:12:39,100 --> 00:12:41,280
 This kid's got a lot going for him.

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 For an off-ball linebacker, he's a great athlete in space.

175
00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:51,720
 So he's sort of what I call the modern linebacker, because the modern linebacker is a space player.

176
00:12:52,260 --> 00:12:55,620
 When I was growing up, you know, guys that played that position were thumpers.

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00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:57,900
 I mean, they're very comfortable playing the game in a phone booth.

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 I mean, they just wanted to get physical.

179
00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:05,740
 It was, you know, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary and Ray Lewis later.

180
00:13:05,740 --> 00:13:12,200
 But now, today's off-ball linebacker is basically another safety on the field.

181
00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,440
 And what do you know, Kenneth Simon played safety in high school in his 9th and 10th grade seasons.

182
00:13:16,980 --> 00:13:25,420
 Jimmy, you know, we always enjoy beginning Friday with you talking Alabama football, basketball, softball on top again this afternoon.

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00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:28,500
 You can hear that on 93-9, the score.

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00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:32,640
 They had the big stick out yesterday, beating Arkansas 7-1.

185
00:13:33,260 --> 00:13:39,060
 You and Luke Robinson do this six days a week on the best podcast on the planet.

186
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 Where can we get online to listen, Jimmy?

187
00:13:41,780 --> 00:13:42,940
 Yeah, appreciate that, Brett.

188
00:13:43,140 --> 00:13:45,200
 Locked on Bama, you can find us on YouTube.

189
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 If you prefer the audio, just audio only, you can find Locked on Bama wherever you get your podcasts, like Spotify, iTunes.

190
00:13:52,940 --> 00:13:55,080
 Locked on Bama, six days a week.

191
00:13:55,080 --> 00:14:01,380
 And even with the breaking news, like perhaps we'll have Monday with the commitment from the kid from Nashville.

192
00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,680
 More importantly, before you get into the doghouse, it's Mother Day weekend.

193
00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:07,700
 Okay, Jimmy, you've been reminded.

194
00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:08,880
 Thank you.

195
00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:09,360
 Thank you.

196
00:14:09,580 --> 00:14:10,900
 I need all the reminders.

197
00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:11,820
 I can get of everything.

198
00:14:12,580 --> 00:14:14,440
 Or get in trouble, I guarantee you.

199
00:14:14,460 --> 00:14:16,600
 Jimmy Stein is Locked on Bama.

200
00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:21,700
 Coming up, Blake Lovell, going up to the Music City and checking out the entire SEC world.

201
00:14:21,700 --> 00:14:23,580
 Next, stay with us on the Boomo Bugg Show.

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303
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 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

304
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:04,920
 Welcome back in.

305
00:20:04,980 --> 00:20:08,780
 Just like the morning dew, he's got it all covered when he comes to the SEC.

306
00:20:09,180 --> 00:20:11,180
 Blake Lovell, busy there at Southeastern 16.

307
00:20:11,540 --> 00:20:13,140
 He's also busy with a yearbook.

308
00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,600
 It's called Blue Ribbon, and his podcast, Establish the Past.

309
00:20:16,700 --> 00:20:17,600
 Blake Lovell, welcome in.

310
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:18,180
 How are you?

311
00:20:19,060 --> 00:20:19,780
 Good, guys.

312
00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:20,760
 Good to talk to you as always.

313
00:20:21,020 --> 00:20:21,580
 You too.

314
00:20:21,660 --> 00:20:25,760
 Blake, is it true that with all this expansion going on, we've got both of them going on,

315
00:20:25,860 --> 00:20:31,780
 basketball and football, first thing, football, is it true that even Belmont and Frieda Harmon

316
00:20:31,780 --> 00:20:34,960
 are going to make the football playoffs and they don't even have a football program?

317
00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:37,980
 Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it?

318
00:20:38,060 --> 00:20:44,200
 I think we always go back to, like we said, I think just the nature of where we are now,

319
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:50,140
 really, I think across pretty much every sport, just the nature of college athletics in general.

320
00:20:50,140 --> 00:20:55,660
 And, yeah, I feel like we're kind of at the point now where, again, if you're looking at it

321
00:20:55,660 --> 00:20:59,140
 and you're like, well, you know, why not just put the entire top 25 in there?

322
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,000
 That's unfortunately an odd number, but, you know, 24, I guess, will have to do.

323
00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:09,080
 And so, yeah, you're looking at all these things and, unfortunately, we always know how this goes.

324
00:21:09,180 --> 00:21:13,320
 And there are some people, I think, that, unfortunately, may be a little too naive to believe

325
00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,820
 that there's going to ever be a chance to go backwards when we know that's just not the case.

326
00:21:16,820 --> 00:21:23,240
 Once you go up in numbers, the numbers never going to scale back and it's only going to, I think, increase.

327
00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:30,540
 And so, yeah, it's a way to make more money, a way to get, you know, more games, more eyeballs and all that good stuff.

328
00:21:30,540 --> 00:21:32,760
 But I don't think it's good for the product.

329
00:21:33,300 --> 00:21:36,680
 Obviously, TV is rooting this thing on because they're willing to write the big check.

330
00:21:36,740 --> 00:21:37,660
 They want the inventory.

331
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:44,120
 But the bottom line is, even with the old format, let's face it, a lot of those early games, they were laughable.

332
00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,360
 If you're going to dilute the paint even more, how much more laughable is it going to be?

333
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:50,980
 Yeah, you're just going to get more of these games.

334
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,700
 I mean, like you said, you could certainly just look at the straight-up data

335
00:21:54,700 --> 00:21:59,500
 and see how many of these one-sided type games we've seen over the past couple of years specifically.

336
00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:04,700
 And it's just something where that number would feel like it's only going to grow.

337
00:22:04,980 --> 00:22:09,880
 And what it's going to do as well is, you know, as we say, I mean, I think one of the advantages

338
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:14,100
 that college football has had versus, you know, a basketball, baseball, whatever,

339
00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:15,600
 is just simply not as many games.

340
00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,740
 And so each game feels like it carries more value in the regular season.

341
00:22:20,020 --> 00:22:23,840
 But, you know, once again, the more you do this, well, all of a sudden, you know,

342
00:22:23,900 --> 00:22:28,200
 it's okay if an elite team, a team that maybe expects to go undefeated,

343
00:22:28,340 --> 00:22:31,060
 maybe they lose two games, but they're still going to be fine

344
00:22:31,060 --> 00:22:33,220
 because they're going to be safely getting to the playoff.

345
00:22:33,420 --> 00:22:38,420
 And, you know, that's where, again, it's going to change kind of the expectations, I think, for programs.

346
00:22:38,420 --> 00:22:41,780
 And maybe you are, certainly just as with basketball, you know,

347
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:47,120
 you're allowing more of that mediocrity when it comes to true national title contenders

348
00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:49,420
 start to creep in there a bit.

349
00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,460
 And I just think eventually that waters down the product as a whole.

350
00:22:53,260 --> 00:22:56,900
 Explain to our listeners about going to 76.

351
00:22:57,300 --> 00:23:00,740
 I think most people understand you've got more playing games.

352
00:23:00,740 --> 00:23:07,020
 And then, quote, once we get the playing game set, everything's going to be back to normal again.

353
00:23:07,220 --> 00:23:12,540
 I don't think anything's going to be back to normal again, but explain this to our listeners

354
00:23:12,540 --> 00:23:14,440
 who don't quite understand it yet.

355
00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:22,100
 Yeah, the NCAA only put out about a six million word, I think, yesterday, trying to explain all this.

356
00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:31,180
 Yeah, so basically, you know, we know how we've kind of acclimated to the new first four and all that.

357
00:23:31,180 --> 00:23:38,660
 And the biggest change is certainly now that you're going to have, you know, basically 12 or however many it is, I guess, of these,

358
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,980
 it's six of these or whatever the number is, you know, you're going to have two sites now.

359
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:48,420
 Dayton's not going to have everything, of course, so you're going to get all these opening round games

360
00:23:48,420 --> 00:23:53,040
 where you're going to have a couple of these, you know, 12 seeds playing it out, 11 seeds playing it out.

361
00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:59,000
 And then you're going to get, you know, some of these others where you've got the 16s and the 15s and all that.

362
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,460
 And so you've got a lot more of these play-in type games, I guess we'll call them.

363
00:24:03,340 --> 00:24:05,640
 And so that's one of the biggest changes.

364
00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,960
 Of course, that's going to now be played Tuesday and Wednesday.

365
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:14,260
 And so you're expanding the number of games on Tuesday and Wednesday, but at the same time, obviously,

366
00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:22,700
 you're actually putting a little bit more of that pressure on some of these teams that are going to play them.

367
00:24:22,700 --> 00:24:30,020
 And so the five seeds, the one seeds, you know, the six seeds, the two seeds, all the ones that are going to play these 11, 12, 15, 16.

368
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:35,680
 It's changing the schedule a little bit, which I think is probably one of the more kind of lesser talked about things

369
00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:40,480
 to where I think it's going to be a little bit more complicated than people think when it comes to, you know,

370
00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:43,920
 what it does to those teams in particular, because you do have this expansion.

371
00:24:44,340 --> 00:24:47,140
 So, you know, you're going to the 12 opening round games.

372
00:24:47,500 --> 00:24:51,220
 You've got 24 teams playing in these opening round games.

373
00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:53,500
 So, hey, college football playoff, well, it's 24 as a whole.

374
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:56,800
 We've got 24 just to get into the tournament in college basketball now.

375
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:03,860
 So, the guys, the biggest change, too, I'll say, if you want to just sum it up, the biggest change is that it makes the tournament worse.

376
00:25:04,020 --> 00:25:05,260
 And that's really what it comes down to.

377
00:25:06,220 --> 00:25:09,580
 You know, I mentioned it before when they were talking about expanding this.

378
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:14,840
 If you look at the resumes of some of the teams from last year, that would safely be in the field.

379
00:25:15,300 --> 00:25:16,820
 And sure, we would throw Auburn in there.

380
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:17,960
 We'd put Oklahoma in there.

381
00:25:18,180 --> 00:25:23,440
 But there are some others, I think, with these teams, and not even to say those who didn't have impressive resumes by any means,

382
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:29,680
 but some of these teams outside the SEC, I mean, it's just like there's no way if you're actually looking at this thinking

383
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:35,160
 this should be a tournament team and or be a team that in any way, shape, or form is likely going to win multiple games.

384
00:25:35,580 --> 00:25:37,020
 So, it's a complete mess.

385
00:25:37,580 --> 00:25:40,180
 It's going to make the product worse in this sport as well.

386
00:25:40,340 --> 00:25:42,120
 And, yeah, congratulations.

387
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:44,960
 But love a Southeastern 16.

388
00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:49,740
 What does this do for the old formula where coaches like Nate Oates wanted to go out

389
00:25:49,740 --> 00:25:53,100
 and have as strong a strength of schedule as possible?

390
00:25:53,780 --> 00:25:59,240
 With 76 teams in, if you've got any team at all with even a minimal pulse, you're going to make the playoff field.

391
00:25:59,420 --> 00:26:04,520
 What would be the incentive to go out and schedule such a tough one unless you're just playing for seating?

392
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:07,820
 Your thoughts, you're closer to the epicenter than we are.

393
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:11,180
 How does this influence coaches putting together a schedule going forward?

394
00:26:12,020 --> 00:26:17,380
 Yeah, to me, you're going to have one of, you know, there's two schools of thought on how to navigate this.

395
00:26:17,380 --> 00:26:20,180
 It's simply, do you want to go out and just win a lot of games?

396
00:26:20,780 --> 00:26:27,060
 And if you do in the non-conference, then, okay, just don't make it as tough of a schedule in the non-conference

397
00:26:27,060 --> 00:26:32,160
 knowing that you're probably going to be built up by your overall conference record.

398
00:26:32,380 --> 00:26:34,120
 And that's really going to do a lot of work for you.

399
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,580
 And we know, too, the SEC eventually is going to expand to 20 conference games.

400
00:26:37,700 --> 00:26:38,180
 It's inevitable.

401
00:26:38,420 --> 00:26:40,060
 It's a matter of when that's going to happen.

402
00:26:40,580 --> 00:26:42,980
 But I think that's one way to look at it.

403
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:49,480
 The other way to look at it is, why would maybe you not play the toughest schedule you could possibly play,

404
00:26:49,580 --> 00:26:54,980
 the Nate Oates style, knowing that you now have a bit more wiggle room to work with,

405
00:26:55,060 --> 00:27:01,320
 to where when it comes to comparing this, and this is why we've used Belmont and all these other teams as the example,

406
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,140
 because they would have been one this past year.

407
00:27:03,260 --> 00:27:09,800
 Had we been at 76, they would have been heavily debated, because they still, I think, probably would have been left out.

408
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,000
 Because if you looked at it, you know, they played one quad one game.

409
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,940
 I don't know if Belmont's going to get a quad one game next year, because I think you're going to see

410
00:27:17,940 --> 00:27:23,220
 some of these teams are going to be way more willing to go to these players-era events,

411
00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,860
 which we saw that schedule and stuff come out yesterday.

412
00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:31,320
 You're going to see a lot more of this, where, uh-oh, here are the power conference teams

413
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:35,880
 that are all grouping themselves together, and it's just going to, when it comes to the net,

414
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:41,340
 when it comes to your overall strength of schedule, these are all these numbers that these teams

415
00:27:41,340 --> 00:27:47,080
 are going to want to manipulate to make sure that when we're deciding these new eight teams

416
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,500
 that are going to have a chance to make the tournament, we want to be part of that,

417
00:27:50,580 --> 00:27:57,360
 and by doing so, there is no value anymore for me to go out and lose to a mid-major team.

418
00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:01,780
 There is zero value in that, because I may be comparing it again to Nate Oates,

419
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,960
 who may be having eight, nine games against power conference teams,

420
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,960
 and so it's going to be a big decision for some of these, and I think, honestly,

421
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:14,600
 it's going to move more towards a lot of people trying to replicate what Nate Oates

422
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:18,180
 and other teams have done in recent years from a strength of schedule standpoint,

423
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:23,460
 and we know that's not good for teams like mid-major, low-major.

424
00:28:23,940 --> 00:28:29,200
 They are going to be, I think, completely left out in this kind of direction moving forward.

425
00:28:29,540 --> 00:28:31,500
 I've read two reports this week.

426
00:28:31,620 --> 00:28:37,760
 The Tennessee paid Duke Harris to transfer from Wake Forest and skip the NBA, $5 million.

427
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:42,880
 Well, Mike Wilson of Vaquez came out and said, well, it's not $5 million.

428
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,520
 I saw a report today to where it's, quote, only four.

429
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:56,400
 Listen, Tennessee and Louisville reportedly have, and again, allegedly have, $18 to $20 million rosters.

430
00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:01,140
 How many programs in the country now have $20 million rosters?

431
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,920
 Yeah, it's a good question.

432
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:11,180
 We did our national transfer rankings yesterday, and no surprise to probably people that Tennessee

433
00:29:11,180 --> 00:29:16,360
 and Louisville were one and two, just based on the fact that they certainly have the most money to spend.

434
00:29:16,580 --> 00:29:21,120
 And so, yeah, I mean, I think you're looking at teams like that that certainly are going to be north of that.

435
00:29:21,220 --> 00:29:25,060
 I mean, Florida's roster, I think, when all is said and done, it's going to be in that range.

436
00:29:25,060 --> 00:29:27,660
 You know, again, what's Michigan working with?

437
00:29:28,020 --> 00:29:31,680
 All of these others, and I think that's where, when you're starting to look at teams like that,

438
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,700
 you know, Indiana, look at Texas' roster this year.

439
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:39,760
 I mean, I don't know if it's $20 million, but it's getting close when you look at probably just the number that they put into it.

440
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:41,680
 You know, North Carolina's going to spend a lot.

441
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:45,780
 You know, teams like Miami, they've upped their roster number and so forth.

442
00:29:45,860 --> 00:29:50,660
 And so there's a lot of teams out there, I think, when it comes to just these overall incentives that are offered

443
00:29:50,660 --> 00:29:54,620
 within these, you know, sort of NIL deals and everything like that.

444
00:29:54,620 --> 00:29:58,480
 I mean, this is, as we've said, guys, I mean, it is simply a money game now.

445
00:29:58,860 --> 00:30:03,240
 And, you know, not to say that you're always going to win out because here's what's going to happen.

446
00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:08,780
 If some of these teams that are spending this much money don't have successful seasons, well, guess who they're going to be?

447
00:30:08,860 --> 00:30:14,100
 They're going to be the new Kentucky Wildcats because that's been used against Kentucky, I would say, a lot.

448
00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:19,040
 You know, this offseason is that, look at that $22 million or whatever the number was that got out last year.

449
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:23,240
 They didn't have a lot of success with it, so that can be used against you if you don't succeed.

450
00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:28,060
 And so I think that's where, when you do put this money into it, there's a lot of pressure that comes with it.

451
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,140
 Tennessee, Louisville, teams like that will be preseason top 10 teams.

452
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:32,740
 Florida could be the number one team in the country.

453
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,620
 And you just have to be able to meet those expectations.

454
00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:38,860
 There's a lot of them out there, and the money is not.

455
00:30:38,860 --> 00:30:40,980
 I mean, LSU's roster, there's one to keep an eye on.

456
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:42,880
 They've got two players on the roster right now.

457
00:30:42,900 --> 00:30:43,240
 That's it.

458
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,960
 But could LSU's roster wind up being close to whatever millions upon millions?

459
00:30:48,140 --> 00:30:51,980
 Absolutely, by the time they're done, because they've got all this money waiting for Will Wade,

460
00:30:52,340 --> 00:30:54,800
 and this is just the new norm now.

461
00:30:55,180 --> 00:31:00,000
 In fact, Will Wade said, we're bringing in seven international players.

462
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:04,440
 And you're right, he's got quite a budget working with.

463
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:05,660
 Listen, great stuff.

464
00:31:06,140 --> 00:31:08,740
 I know this has not been a good day for a lot of people.

465
00:31:09,340 --> 00:31:13,680
 There's so much negativity on social media about expanding the playoffs

466
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,440
 and then also the NCAA basketball tournament.

467
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:23,340
 But where can we get online and get the best podcast, be it football, basketball, or baseball?

468
00:31:24,380 --> 00:31:25,460
 Yeah, I always appreciate it, guys.

469
00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:28,200
 Yeah, check us out over at Southeast and 16 on YouTube.

470
00:31:28,420 --> 00:31:31,760
 Of course, a lot of off-season basketball stuff, baseball stuff this weekend,

471
00:31:31,980 --> 00:31:33,220
 cranking up the football as well.

472
00:31:33,220 --> 00:31:35,760
 So, yeah, check us out, Southeast and 16 on YouTube.

473
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:38,080
 Sounds great, Blake, as always.

474
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:38,680
 Great job.

475
00:31:38,780 --> 00:31:40,460
 Keep it up and have a great weekend, all right?

476
00:31:41,220 --> 00:31:41,760
 Thanks, guys.

477
00:31:41,860 --> 00:31:42,320
 Thank you, bud.

478
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,160
 Late level, Southeastern 16.

479
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,100
 Coming up May, what's that train?

480
00:31:48,220 --> 00:31:53,060
 Is that a train or is that some light at the end of the tunnel for baseball playoffs in the Shoals area?

481
00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:55,800
 Zach Pounders will sort it all out next.

482
00:31:55,900 --> 00:31:57,280
 Stay with us here on the Boomo Bugg Show.

483
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:03,880
 Shoals drop everything.

484
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 This is not a drill.

485
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486
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 Get in the zone, AutoZone.

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 For many more miles.

505
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 Progressive Insurance presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, the score.

565
00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:38,740
 College softball, Alabama facing Florida today

566
00:35:38,740 --> 00:35:41,000
 in the semifinals of the SEC tournament.

567
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570
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 College baseball, North Alabama on the road today

573
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 facing Central Arkansas in Conway.

574
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575
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576
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577
00:36:08,780 --> 00:36:10,700
 Alabama will face South Carolina today,

578
00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:12,220
 a three-game series in Columbia.

579
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 Crimson Tide coming off a loss Tuesday to Troy.

580
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581
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 Thursday, Auburn fell to Mississippi State 10-3.

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 The Score.

609
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:39,700
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9, the score.

610
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:40,960
 Welcome back in.

611
00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:44,700
 He is a busy boy these days in their backyard of the Shoals.

612
00:37:44,700 --> 00:37:47,960
 Zach Pounder is the founder and manager of Shoals Sports Report.

613
00:37:48,100 --> 00:37:48,980
 Zach, welcome in.

614
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:49,780
 How are you?

615
00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:51,000
 Doing good.

616
00:37:51,060 --> 00:37:51,360
 How are y'all?

617
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:51,780
 Doing good.

618
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:53,760
 And we're doing probably not as busy as you.

619
00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:56,600
 You've got a lot of balls in the air juggling right now.

620
00:37:57,140 --> 00:37:59,700
 Playoffs time on the baseball and softball fields.

621
00:37:59,780 --> 00:38:01,300
 Let's start, if you will, with baseball.

622
00:38:01,940 --> 00:38:05,220
 And the season continues to rock and roll at its central.

623
00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:07,740
 They put the broom to Alexandria.

624
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:09,800
 10-2, 5-2.

625
00:38:10,460 --> 00:38:11,940
 Central keeps the train on tracks.

626
00:38:12,060 --> 00:38:13,860
 Talk to us about Central High, Zach.

627
00:38:14,820 --> 00:38:17,240
 Yeah, last night, Central jumped on them in game one, really,

628
00:38:17,380 --> 00:38:18,380
 in the first couple of innings.

629
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:19,400
 It kind of coasted.

630
00:38:19,460 --> 00:38:21,940
 It was 10-1, I think, in the fifth or sixth inning.

631
00:38:22,700 --> 00:38:25,100
 And Alexandria got one back in the seventh to make it 10-2.

632
00:38:25,900 --> 00:38:29,140
 And the second game, Central jumped out early and built a lead.

633
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:31,240
 Alexandria couldn't recover.

634
00:38:31,780 --> 00:38:33,720
 It was a three-hour trip from Alexandria.

635
00:38:34,020 --> 00:38:35,080
 So, it was a three-hour road trip.

636
00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:38,340
 You never know how teams were going to find having to go that far away

637
00:38:38,340 --> 00:38:41,660
 on a bus all day or not before in a hotel room or night.

638
00:38:42,180 --> 00:38:45,260
 Unless you've done it before, sometimes have around here.

639
00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:47,720
 Central's been to Louisiana this year.

640
00:38:48,540 --> 00:38:49,560
 I think the base last year.

641
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:52,720
 So, they've been around as far as travel, hotel rooms, and all that.

642
00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:55,640
 And for travel ball nowadays, players stay more than ever.

643
00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:58,640
 But with the school team, I think it's different as far as

644
00:38:58,640 --> 00:38:59,980
 staying with that group of kids.

645
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:01,360
 And adults, I think.

646
00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:06,120
 Listen, first of all, I want to thank you for helping set up the interview.

647
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:10,620
 We had a great interview with Josh Fowler, the head baseball coach at Central,

648
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:12,360
 earlier this week.

649
00:39:12,660 --> 00:39:14,760
 A couple of things, and you mentioned one.

650
00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:17,020
 They got off to an early lead.

651
00:39:17,220 --> 00:39:20,040
 Harold and I talk a lot about fundamentals of baseball.

652
00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:23,160
 But pitching and defense win games.

653
00:39:23,740 --> 00:39:26,760
 Reed Bruce threw a seven-hitter in the opener.

654
00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:32,340
 Cole Wilcoxon gave up one earned run over six innings in the final.

655
00:39:32,940 --> 00:39:35,580
 And as you mentioned, they jumped on, Alexander.

656
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:37,380
 They got an early lead.

657
00:39:37,540 --> 00:39:39,140
 I wouldn't say they coasted.

658
00:39:39,660 --> 00:39:44,080
 But, Zach, again, if you play defense and you've got dominant pitching,

659
00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:47,120
 you've got a real good chance to win all these series.

660
00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:51,140
 By the way, Central now on a 15-game winning streak.

661
00:39:52,140 --> 00:39:52,540
 Right.

662
00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:56,900
 You hear every October in the MLB about pitching, defense, and offense.

663
00:39:57,220 --> 00:39:57,400
 Yep.

664
00:39:57,560 --> 00:39:59,200
 You can have all of it in the world.

665
00:39:59,420 --> 00:40:00,980
 If you can't pitch, you get out.

666
00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:01,500
 Yep.

667
00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:02,260
 What's it worth?

668
00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:07,820
 But, yeah, Central has Reed Bruce and Cole Wilcoxon combined 13 innings last night

669
00:40:07,820 --> 00:40:08,940
 and 14 innings thrown.

670
00:40:09,780 --> 00:40:12,500
 And their defense, there's a bunch of seniors at Central.

671
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:13,980
 I think it's 10 seniors maybe.

672
00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:16,360
 A couple are playing college ball.

673
00:40:17,140 --> 00:40:18,440
 So, very sound defensively.

674
00:40:18,540 --> 00:40:22,380
 And Coach Fowler is one of the best in the area as far as coaching the fundamentals

675
00:40:22,380 --> 00:40:25,120
 and making sure they know how to win playoff games out at Central.

676
00:40:25,860 --> 00:40:28,440
 And plus, in the playoffs, it is about that mentality mindset.

677
00:40:28,740 --> 00:40:30,600
 That's half the game in baseball anyways.

678
00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:35,100
 But if you can jump on to him early, because if it gets to a 0-0 game in the fourth,

679
00:40:35,100 --> 00:40:40,620
 fifth inning, you kind of have an idea of this is going to be a 1-0, 2-1, 2-0 kind of game.

680
00:40:41,380 --> 00:40:45,500
 And if it starts out 2-1 in the first inning, it might be an 8-9 game or whatever.

681
00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:46,120
 You never know.

682
00:40:46,620 --> 00:40:50,500
 And last night, Mars Hill played a 1-0 game with Lindsey Lane in the first game.

683
00:40:51,020 --> 00:40:53,640
 And game two was 2-1 into the seventh.

684
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:55,580
 And it would end up being a 6-2 in the eighth.

685
00:40:57,300 --> 00:40:59,640
 Which means it lived up to its billing.

686
00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:03,560
 We said coming into this matchup that it was going to be two bulls butting heads

687
00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:04,540
 and it proved it yesterday.

688
00:41:04,820 --> 00:41:09,780
 Now, correct us if we're wrong, we're looking at 4-30 this afternoon.

689
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,680
 It's win and move on, lose and go home.

690
00:41:12,820 --> 00:41:17,680
 Your thoughts, who takes this afternoon's rubber match between Mars Hill and Lindsey Lane?

691
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,560
 I saw a stat this morning that said this.

692
00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:24,160
 Mars Hill's season in the last five years, and four of them, has been in a game three.

693
00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:28,520
 But Lindsey Lane has never won a game three in six wild appearances.

694
00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:33,200
 And they've played two game threes so far and have not won a 1-0.

695
00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:36,500
 So, something's going to break here, I think.

696
00:41:37,660 --> 00:41:40,320
 Personally, I want to see the Mars Hill Red Bay part three.

697
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:44,000
 That's where he's got Red Bay for the first time in the three years of running up.

698
00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:48,540
 But Mars Hill didn't have an earned run last night at all.

699
00:41:48,540 --> 00:41:54,120
 Bo Willis threw seven innings, two hits, a run, no earned runs, five Ks.

700
00:41:54,700 --> 00:42:00,620
 Brooks Campbell threw six point one innings, like 118 pitches, two runs, no earned runs.

701
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:05,620
 So, if Mars Hill can play standard defense and not give errors or walks away,

702
00:42:06,140 --> 00:42:09,540
 or hit by pitchers or whatnot, they have a good chance to win this game.

703
00:42:09,700 --> 00:42:11,260
 Their offense kind of exploded last night.

704
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:17,940
 I think when you play a game three in the playoffs in high school, how you win game two to fourth game three matters.

705
00:42:18,380 --> 00:42:21,680
 If you win a five to four game on a walk-off, I like your chances.

706
00:42:21,980 --> 00:42:26,120
 If you win an eight to five kind of game where it was kind of back and forth,

707
00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:31,320
 but no team really had a big moment to swing the game, I like both sides chances.

708
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:37,340
 And if you win a game ten to two or whatever in game two to fourth game three, I like your chances there.

709
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:42,620
 And game one, the same way, how you win game one matters in game two and 25 minutes later.

710
00:42:43,460 --> 00:42:45,260
 So, Mars Hill won it six to two last night.

711
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:50,680
 The offense came alive a triple and a single in the eighth and opened the scoring up and got to six.

712
00:42:52,500 --> 00:42:55,000
 I would assume Carson Wingo's from Mars Hill today.

713
00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:56,820
 He went last week in game three at Vincent.

714
00:42:57,380 --> 00:42:59,020
 He's a freshman and sophomore.

715
00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:02,860
 And Bo Willis and Brooks Campbell are done for the series.

716
00:43:02,860 --> 00:43:07,560
 I know last night he threw Noah Ham back 25 pitches, but he's good for today.

717
00:43:08,020 --> 00:43:09,880
 And Cody Willis also should be good for today.

718
00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:17,780
 So, as far as Mars Hill's pitching goes, I think it's going to be Carson Wynn, Noah Ham back, Cody Willis, whoever else needed.

719
00:43:18,820 --> 00:43:21,060
 And it's going to be all hands on deck, whatever it takes.

720
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:26,480
 Yeah, and you better get there early, too, to get a seat.

721
00:43:26,580 --> 00:43:28,280
 I can assure you for game three.

722
00:43:28,660 --> 00:43:36,880
 Listen, everyone knows how good Dasher Athletics is, basketball, football, and certainly baseball.

723
00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:46,040
 And I think a lot of people really thought with the doubt that the Tigers had in pitching, they were going to get back to the state again.

724
00:43:46,040 --> 00:43:47,100
 But they lost.

725
00:43:47,100 --> 00:43:55,100
 They lost a Westbrook Christian, who's going to be playing Central next week, beat Dasher 10-8 in 9-4.

726
00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:59,700
 Garrett Reed knocked in five runs, but he did not pitch a good game.

727
00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:02,900
 Allowed 11 hits, six earned.

728
00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:05,440
 That may have been his worst game of the year.

729
00:44:06,060 --> 00:44:06,960
 And defense.

730
00:44:07,140 --> 00:44:08,980
 We just got through talking about that.

731
00:44:09,080 --> 00:44:15,900
 I know the Times Daily mentioned they had to combine eight errors in the two games, which obviously hurt them.

732
00:44:16,260 --> 00:44:18,900
 Zach, again, we've talked about how good they are.

733
00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:25,880
 But, again, defense in the right day, obviously, Westbrook Christian was ready yesterday, sweeping the Tigers.

734
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:29,360
 Yes, that field was very big also at Westbrook Christian.

735
00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:30,360
 They had a lot of foul territory.

736
00:44:30,980 --> 00:44:37,600
 So the first outback for Westbrook Christian, it's a random ball to third, and the third baseman overthrows it to first.

737
00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:38,900
 And it doesn't have foul territory.

738
00:44:39,460 --> 00:44:42,280
 So the runner holds up at second, takes extra base.

739
00:44:42,760 --> 00:44:44,060
 But it's a big foul territory.

740
00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:49,640
 So if you over there, a ball to first, it's going to go 100 feet basically past you, and you'll get it.

741
00:44:49,980 --> 00:44:58,840
 But also, with Garrett, though, Westbrook hit him well as anyone, I think, being cutting last year in game two of the championship series.

742
00:45:00,140 --> 00:45:02,360
 Now, Westbrook can barrel the baseball.

743
00:45:03,660 --> 00:45:07,740
 I mean, the first two batters of the game with Garrett in game two, I was thinking, oh, my gosh.

744
00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:09,640
 They were barreling the baseball, and I was lying.

745
00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:11,920
 This could be either way.

746
00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:17,760
 I will say this, though, for Deshler, it is hard to find international athletes in the nowadays world.

747
00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:20,460
 But Garrett Reid is a rare breed.

748
00:45:20,540 --> 00:45:20,900
 I agree.

749
00:45:20,900 --> 00:45:26,920
 He's had a big moment in the playoffs in football, basketball, and baseball all this year.

750
00:45:27,380 --> 00:45:31,200
 Last night, Deshler is tied – or Deshler's down 4-1 in the fifth inning.

751
00:45:32,020 --> 00:45:36,300
 He hits a three-run home run, coming up at 4-3 before Westbrook ties it at 4.

752
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:38,700
 And the whole Deshler side erupted.

753
00:45:38,820 --> 00:45:41,040
 You kind of thought, that's the moment to swing it.

754
00:45:42,240 --> 00:45:42,900
 No pun intended.

755
00:45:43,140 --> 00:45:48,260
 But Westbrook tied it at 4, had a five-run seven, and just put it away basically.

756
00:45:49,180 --> 00:45:52,440
 I think there was about four or five home runs last night in game two alone.

757
00:45:52,700 --> 00:45:56,140
 Dylan All had one for Deshler, and Garrett had a three-run shot, three-run shot also.

758
00:45:58,140 --> 00:46:02,460
 But they got to Dylan All also quick last night as far as barreling the baseball again.

759
00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:09,480
 For Central, my advice is get a game in game one or two and see what happens in game three.

760
00:46:10,220 --> 00:46:13,440
 We never know when teams travel together as a normal team, how they are.

761
00:46:14,500 --> 00:46:16,700
 You mentioned Red Bay earlier.

762
00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:18,540
 Let's talk a little bit about Red Bay.

763
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:23,660
 They are in a sweep North Sand Mountain, 4-3, 13-5.

764
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:32,560
 If Mars Hill survives today and that match comes back on the menu, you've got two of probably the most underrated coaches,

765
00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:35,420
 not only in North Alabama, but probably the entire state.

766
00:46:35,940 --> 00:46:40,080
 Your thoughts about the potential Red Bay and Mars Hill Bible matchup?

767
00:46:42,980 --> 00:46:48,020
 Potentially, Mars Hill and Red Bay have two of the best coaches in the state, I would say, as far as all passes go.

768
00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:48,420
 I agree.

769
00:46:49,180 --> 00:46:55,340
 You're going to be hard-pressed to find two coaches who have played in the majors and been all-around baseball.

770
00:46:55,940 --> 00:47:00,860
 I mean, Josh Willenham played 10-plus years in the MLB.

771
00:47:01,280 --> 00:47:04,560
 Donovan Ham played a couple years in the MLB and had a lot of time in the minors.

772
00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:06,760
 But they've seen so much baseball.

773
00:47:06,900 --> 00:47:10,280
 They've probably seen everything from the blowout games and all that.

774
00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:17,500
 And Red Bay kind of had that same situation of how you win game one affects game two the other night with North Sand Mountain.

775
00:47:17,660 --> 00:47:17,880
 Yep.

776
00:47:18,240 --> 00:47:20,400
 Game one, Red Bay's down 3-2, bottom of the seventh.

777
00:47:20,660 --> 00:47:23,760
 They love the bases, score on a satisfied tie with one out.

778
00:47:24,380 --> 00:47:25,640
 And they love the bases again.

779
00:47:26,100 --> 00:47:29,480
 And it's a walk-off hit-by-pitch to win the game in game one, 4-3.

780
00:47:30,100 --> 00:47:34,960
 They then win game two, 13-2, jumping on North Sand Mountain, quit with a five-run first inning.

781
00:47:35,480 --> 00:47:36,840
 And they're supposed to be coasted.

782
00:47:37,460 --> 00:47:40,180
 And everybody could get a 10-run lead to put the game away.

783
00:47:40,460 --> 00:47:45,560
 But it kind of turned into that game where it's like, well, this is kind of bad to watch now for North Sand Mountain

784
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:48,980
 because it's like the game is over, but it's not over.

785
00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:52,100
 And for Red Bay, it's like, okay, let's get the next week with no injuries or no issues.

786
00:47:52,700 --> 00:47:53,560
 Yeah, absolutely.

787
00:47:53,960 --> 00:47:57,260
 Listen, not only are we going to be talking about the semifinals next week,

788
00:47:57,260 --> 00:48:01,440
 but the North Region softball, and I know you're going to be there.

789
00:48:01,540 --> 00:48:03,380
 That's the other thing I keep telling people.

790
00:48:03,540 --> 00:48:04,880
 You go to all these games.

791
00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:09,960
 You've got the players of the game, the pitchers, the records, who they're going to be seeing,

792
00:48:10,500 --> 00:48:12,120
 just some of the teams next week.

793
00:48:12,180 --> 00:48:14,120
 And we'll talk about this then.

794
00:48:14,220 --> 00:48:21,840
 But Russellville, Hamilton, Central Wilson, Mars Hill, Colbert Heights, Rogers, Colbert County.

795
00:48:21,980 --> 00:48:23,720
 Boy, they've got a pitching staff.

796
00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:28,880
 Belgreen, Tharptown, Lexington, Hackelberg, and Scholes-Christian.

797
00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:30,540
 That's going to be a lot of fun.

798
00:48:30,540 --> 00:48:34,520
 That begins Monday at the Sportsplex, and I know you're going to be covering it

799
00:48:34,520 --> 00:48:37,680
 but listen again, thank you for your help with the interviews.

800
00:48:38,340 --> 00:48:39,480
 Great coverage.

801
00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:45,540
 Where can our listeners get online and get the absolute latest late this afternoon about game three

802
00:48:45,540 --> 00:48:51,880
 and also getting ready for softball next week and the semifinals in baseball?

803
00:48:52,560 --> 00:48:56,640
 Yes, we have a regional and sophomore preview coming out tomorrow on Saturday on our website

804
00:48:56,640 --> 00:49:01,260
 that has COVID comments from all the teams that are COVID-J involved.

805
00:49:02,120 --> 00:49:04,160
 But on Facebook, Scholes Sports Report.

806
00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:06,760
 Three words, Scholes Sports Report.

807
00:49:07,240 --> 00:49:12,220
 And on Twitter, at lowercase S-H-O-A-L-S-P-O-R-T-S.

808
00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:14,700
 Zach, plenty to keep you busy.

809
00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:15,500
 Thanks so much.

810
00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:16,780
 Good luck out there this weekend.

811
00:49:16,900 --> 00:49:18,140
 Let's do it again soon, okay?

812
00:49:19,180 --> 00:49:19,580
 Thank you.

813
00:49:19,740 --> 00:49:20,400
 Thank you, buddy.

814
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:24,040
 Zach Pounders, he's the founder and editor of Scholes Sports Report.

815
00:49:24,180 --> 00:49:26,880
 Coming up in the next hour, I'm going to be taking all over the place.

816
00:49:26,940 --> 00:49:28,140
 What's going on down the plains?

817
00:49:28,260 --> 00:49:29,600
 Justin Ferguson talking Auburn.

818
00:49:29,700 --> 00:49:34,340
 Doug Segrist, the veteran, talking the entire world of college football slash basketball.

819
00:49:34,340 --> 00:49:39,860
 And Mike Hugenden, he is the A&P, Atlantic to the Pacific when it comes to college sports.

820
00:49:39,980 --> 00:49:41,820
 It's all straight ahead here on the Boom on Buck Show.

821
00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:42,580
 Stay with us.

822
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878
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 1819 News.

879
00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:54,740
 Campaign attack ads have emerged the most within the race for attorney general

880
00:52:54,740 --> 00:52:56,100
 here in Alabama.

881
00:52:56,380 --> 00:52:59,820
 Catherine Robertson released an ad this week that attacks Jay Mitchell

882
00:52:59,820 --> 00:53:03,780
 for rulings that he made while he was a justice in the Alabama Supreme Court.

883
00:53:04,060 --> 00:53:06,460
 The ad says that Mitchell turned his back on law enforcement

884
00:53:06,460 --> 00:53:08,600
 and helped the woke left in that ruling.

885
00:53:08,820 --> 00:53:12,360
 The ad from Robertson comes after Mitchell criticized Robertson

886
00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:16,200
 and the AG's office overall for the mistreatment of a Montgomery police officer

887
00:53:16,200 --> 00:53:18,540
 who was involved in an on-duty fatal shooting.

888
00:53:18,780 --> 00:53:22,860
 As a Supreme Court justice, Mitchell found that the officer had been overcharged with murder.

889
00:53:22,860 --> 00:53:26,760
 Mitchell is also disputing claims from another attack ad by Robertson

890
00:53:26,760 --> 00:53:29,800
 that claims he worked on behalf of a foreign Muslim regime.

891
00:53:30,120 --> 00:53:33,580
 Mitchell wants Robertson to retract that ad, calling it defamatory.

892
00:53:33,940 --> 00:53:37,140
 Mitchell now says the latest attack ad from Robertson about his ruling

893
00:53:37,140 --> 00:53:41,380
 is proof that she had to walk back one of the lies she has spent dark money on spreading

894
00:53:41,380 --> 00:53:42,560
 within the other ad.

895
00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:46,740
 Meanwhile, Blunt County District Attorney Pamela Casey is also running in this race for attorney

896
00:53:46,740 --> 00:53:49,860
 general and has remained out of the attack ad fray.

897
00:53:50,020 --> 00:53:52,680
 I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.

898
00:53:52,780 --> 00:53:56,240
 Some of the greatest blessings is just having the people that care about you,

899
00:53:56,560 --> 00:54:00,240
 to have someone that's just going to love you and make you feel important.

900
00:54:00,600 --> 00:54:02,300
 They encourage you to be in church.

901
00:54:02,420 --> 00:54:03,440
 They encourage you to be in prayer.

902
00:54:03,560 --> 00:54:05,260
 They encourage you to be in your Bible.

903
00:54:05,820 --> 00:54:08,060
 Now it's a part of my day every day.

904
00:54:08,460 --> 00:54:14,340
 My house parents planted seeds in me that you can see where those seeds have sprouted in my life

905
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 and helped change my life.

906
00:54:16,280 --> 00:54:19,800
 Big Oak Ranch, a Christian home for children needing a chance.

907
00:54:20,980 --> 00:54:24,140
 A teacher at a high school in Sims has been placed on administrative leave

908
00:54:24,140 --> 00:54:26,880
 following a police investigation into sexual misconduct.

909
00:54:26,880 --> 00:54:31,840
 The teacher's name has not been made public by the Sims police chief at this point in time.

910
00:54:32,100 --> 00:54:36,260
 The teacher worked at the Mary G. Montgomery High School and now faces a termination hearing.

911
00:54:36,660 --> 00:54:37,440
 I'm Andrea Theis.

912
00:54:38,020 --> 00:54:42,560
 For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.

913
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 And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.

914
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 This deer season, John Deere wants to give you the home field advantage.

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924
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925
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957
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958
00:56:51,960 --> 00:56:54,120
 Sports Radio 93.9 The Score.

959
00:56:54,320 --> 00:56:55,960
 Valley Broadcasting Corporation.

960
00:56:57,940 --> 00:56:59,880
 This season isn't a reset.

961
00:57:00,240 --> 00:57:01,180
 It's a reminder.

962
00:57:01,600 --> 00:57:03,380
 The champions don't disappear.

963
00:57:03,940 --> 00:57:04,880
 They reload.

964
00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:08,580
 And the 2026 Atlanta Braves are ready.

965
00:57:08,580 --> 00:57:11,040
 And Acuna swings a mighty bat.

966
00:57:11,240 --> 00:57:13,580
 That thing is way out of the ballpark.

967
00:57:14,500 --> 00:57:17,920
 Tonight, it's an enormous National League showdown from Los Angeles,

968
00:57:17,920 --> 00:57:20,760
 as the Braves take out Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers.

969
00:57:21,000 --> 00:57:26,540
 The Braves Radio goes on the air at 855 Eastern, 755 Central on the Braves Radio Network.

970
00:57:26,540 --> 00:57:32,000
 Brought to you locally by the law firm of Johnson Pasture, Medley & Virtual,

971
00:57:32,860 --> 00:57:35,760
 J.C. Hammonson, First Metro Bank,

972
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973
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974
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975
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 and Alabama Health Guidance.

976
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977
00:57:50,920 --> 00:57:54,200
 Tonight, versus the Los Angeles Dodgers on 93.9 The Score.

978
00:57:55,820 --> 00:57:57,880
 93.9 The Score weather.

979
00:57:58,420 --> 00:58:00,260
 Today, sunny with a high around 75.

980
00:58:01,100 --> 00:58:03,060
 Tonight, partly cloudy with a low near 55.

981
00:58:03,900 --> 00:58:07,960
 Tomorrow, mostly sunny with a 20% chance of afternoon showers and a high around 80.

982
00:58:08,360 --> 00:58:10,600
 Tomorrow night, partly cloudy with a low near 60.

983
00:58:11,120 --> 00:58:15,680
 And for your Sunday, mostly sunny with a 40% chance of afternoon showers and a high around 80.

984
00:58:15,680 --> 00:58:18,700
 Your weather from 93.9 The Score.

985
00:58:23,640 --> 00:58:26,000
 Now, get ready to roll.

986
00:58:26,240 --> 00:58:32,300
 Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.

987
00:58:32,960 --> 00:58:36,300
 It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.

988
00:58:39,160 --> 00:58:41,800
 The Boomo Bugg Show.

989
00:58:42,200 --> 00:58:44,260
 Your exclusive inside track to the tide.

990
00:58:44,260 --> 00:58:47,380
 Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.

991
00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:53,580
 Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

992
00:58:54,240 --> 00:58:56,320
 Welcome back in, our tour of the Boomo Bugg Show.

993
00:58:56,420 --> 00:58:58,100
 I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird.

994
00:58:58,180 --> 00:59:01,140
 Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley.

995
00:59:01,260 --> 00:59:03,420
 With that, we say hello to Mike Huguenin.

996
00:59:03,920 --> 00:59:08,340
 He's National College Football slash Basketball Analyst down in the great state of Florida.

997
00:59:08,520 --> 00:59:09,620
 Mike, welcome in.

998
00:59:09,680 --> 00:59:10,520
 How are you?

999
00:59:11,540 --> 00:59:13,640
 Doing well is trying to stay cool.

1000
00:59:13,640 --> 00:59:14,920
 We're just getting more difficult.

1001
00:59:16,720 --> 00:59:18,500
 Mike, your thoughts.

1002
00:59:18,660 --> 00:59:21,720
 Obviously, you're a great one to ask this question to.

1003
00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:26,140
 Looks like college football and basketball are going to get bigger.

1004
00:59:26,480 --> 00:59:30,620
 The question, Mike, are they going to get bigger and better in the postseasons?

1005
00:59:31,480 --> 00:59:33,800
 No, I don't think it's going to be better.

1006
00:59:36,360 --> 00:59:43,680
 The idea that you need 76 teams in the NCAA basketball tournament, no, you don't.

1007
00:59:45,140 --> 00:59:49,860
 It's, frankly, to me, just a handout to the Power Five Leagues.

1008
00:59:49,960 --> 00:59:52,200
 I'm counting the Big East in the Power League in basketball.

1009
00:59:53,520 --> 00:59:58,560
 You know, this year that meant Auburn and Indiana would have been in the NCAA tournament.

1010
01:00:00,300 --> 01:00:01,000
 Who cares?

1011
01:00:01,140 --> 01:00:03,520
 Outside an Auburn fan and an Indiana fan.

1012
01:00:04,460 --> 01:00:12,060
 College football, I will say that I'm impressed by the Football Coaches Association being so vocal.

1013
01:00:13,180 --> 01:00:14,340
 Here's what we want.

1014
01:00:14,960 --> 01:00:18,320
 And I think, you know, they've been around for a long time.

1015
01:00:19,420 --> 01:00:21,700
 And I've covered college sports for a long time.

1016
01:00:21,800 --> 01:00:28,620
 I'm not sure I can remember the AFCA being this vocal and strident this century.

1017
01:00:29,060 --> 01:00:31,080
 So I think that's a positive.

1018
01:00:31,680 --> 01:00:39,780
 Though I tend to think if a move to 76 teams in the NCAA basketball tournament is unnecessary,

1019
01:00:40,660 --> 01:00:46,020
 a move to 24 teams in college football, I don't even think there's a word to describe it.

1020
01:00:46,060 --> 01:00:48,540
 It's far, far, far beyond unnecessary.

1021
01:00:48,880 --> 01:00:50,800
 Let me ask you this, Mike.

1022
01:00:52,260 --> 01:00:53,020
 Go ahead, Mike.

1023
01:00:53,380 --> 01:00:54,840
 They've had one year of 12.

1024
01:00:55,480 --> 01:00:57,340
 I'm sorry, two years of 12.

1025
01:00:59,260 --> 01:01:02,980
 I guess they're just going to totally bypass 16 and just go straight to 24.

1026
01:01:03,160 --> 01:01:09,260
 Which is, I don't, it's participation trophy time in college football.

1027
01:01:09,460 --> 01:01:09,740
 Right, right.

1028
01:01:10,040 --> 01:01:10,240
 Yeah.

1029
01:01:11,080 --> 01:01:18,180
 In this modern era with all the internet connections, would they ever consider maybe, yes, listen to the coaches.

1030
01:01:18,300 --> 01:01:22,760
 I promise you, anybody would have walking around since will agree with that.

1031
01:01:22,800 --> 01:01:24,100
 But why not listen to the fans?

1032
01:01:24,180 --> 01:01:26,240
 At least throw it out there and see what they think.

1033
01:01:26,240 --> 01:01:30,500
 You may not do it, but at least get what's on their mind and have it as validated.

1034
01:01:30,740 --> 01:01:37,000
 And the other part of that is Alabama this week dropped Oklahoma State from the future schedule because they had to.

1035
01:01:37,080 --> 01:01:38,280
 They had 13 teams.

1036
01:01:38,800 --> 01:01:42,580
 They could only have 12, so it came down to Ohio State or Oklahoma State.

1037
01:01:43,200 --> 01:01:44,920
 And one of my guests earlier brought up a good point.

1038
01:01:45,000 --> 01:01:51,420
 The old days, when they only had 12, they probably would have dropped Ohio State because they got a brutal road schedule for that year.

1039
01:01:52,420 --> 01:01:56,280
 So, in this case, if it's going to go to 24, you can absorb the loss.

1040
01:01:56,380 --> 01:01:57,080
 Not that you want it.

1041
01:01:57,200 --> 01:01:58,060
 Not that it's going to happen.

1042
01:01:58,600 --> 01:02:00,060
 But the likelihood is greater.

1043
01:02:00,220 --> 01:02:11,220
 Your thoughts just about listening to the fans, at least consider it, so that they should have a, if not, they should have a place at the table because they do write the bill, pay the tickets at the end of the day.

1044
01:02:11,820 --> 01:02:20,660
 And as far as the other things, the influence of teams like Alabama saying, okay, since we're going to go to 24, maybe I can take on a little tougher competition because we can absorb it.

1045
01:02:22,420 --> 01:02:26,640
 So, the idea, I'm laughing already.

1046
01:02:26,920 --> 01:02:28,360
 They're never going to listen to the fans.

1047
01:02:28,620 --> 01:02:29,020
 No.

1048
01:02:29,020 --> 01:02:29,460
 Ever.

1049
01:02:29,840 --> 01:02:36,640
 The only way to still listen to the fans is if the tickets go and become too expensive and the fans start staying home.

1050
01:02:36,640 --> 01:02:37,520
 That is it.

1051
01:02:37,620 --> 01:02:38,040
 That is it.

1052
01:02:38,240 --> 01:02:49,900
 And even then, I would argue that the TV ratings, I think, I'll be honest, I think some ADs would say, well, we only have a half full stadium, but we're still getting $75 million from our TV deal.

1053
01:02:50,000 --> 01:02:50,540
 We'll be fine.

1054
01:02:51,540 --> 01:02:52,040
 We'll be fine.

1055
01:02:52,340 --> 01:02:52,480
 Yeah.

1056
01:02:52,800 --> 01:02:57,020
 The other thing you mentioned, Alabama dropped to Oklahoma State.

1057
01:02:57,160 --> 01:03:00,200
 Well, Georgia dropped FSU in vice versa yesterday.

1058
01:03:00,840 --> 01:03:07,800
 I do not think that a 2014 playoff field would lead to better non-conference games.

1059
01:03:07,800 --> 01:03:22,120
 I think there are some schools out there who might still play them and all the power to them, but I think most coaches are, why risk, even in a 2014 playoff field, why risk?

1060
01:03:22,260 --> 01:03:31,140
 I don't have to lose a loss when I don't have to lose a loss when I don't have to have one because that might be the difference between being a 10 seed and being a 17 seed.

1061
01:03:31,240 --> 01:03:46,060
 So, you know, the one thing that coaches want to start the season earlier, they want to get rid of the conference championship games, and they want a 2014 playoff field.

1062
01:03:46,700 --> 01:03:59,380
 I think if you ask fans, a lot of them would say, yeah, you don't need to play the conference championship games anymore.

1063
01:03:59,380 --> 01:04:11,080
 But there are four men out there, the commissioners of the ACC, Big 12, Big 10, and SEC, who are like, whoa, you're taking $50 million out of our school's pot.

1064
01:04:11,300 --> 01:04:13,260
 Of course we're going to continue playing that game.

1065
01:04:13,360 --> 01:04:16,200
 So I'm not convinced that that's going to happen.

1066
01:04:16,320 --> 01:04:26,420
 I think what I can see is I can see earlier start, earlier finish, 2014, and conference title games, which would be beyond ridiculous.

1067
01:04:26,420 --> 01:04:29,640
 But it's going to be interesting to see how all this shakes out.

1068
01:04:29,760 --> 01:04:35,120
 But, again, I think the coaches need to be praised for speaking out.

1069
01:04:35,280 --> 01:04:43,560
 Now the next step for the coaches is not that I'm, you know, I'm certainly not a Dabo Sweeney apologist.

1070
01:04:44,240 --> 01:04:46,400
 A lot of the stuff he does, it's stupid.

1071
01:04:46,840 --> 01:04:54,360
 But I think his calling out of Pete Golding, if coach, you know, every coach complains about tampering.

1072
01:04:55,480 --> 01:04:57,960
 And, yeah, it's never going to go away.

1073
01:04:58,360 --> 01:05:09,880
 But I think the blatant tampering that Dabo accused Golding of, that's the kind of stuff that if more coaches stood up, I think you would see it.

1074
01:05:09,880 --> 01:05:16,460
 I mean, here's a case where a dude was on the Clemson campus, enrolled in school.

1075
01:05:16,540 --> 01:05:17,180
 Yeah, literally.

1076
01:05:17,400 --> 01:05:19,420
 Golding evidently said, hey, what are you doing?

1077
01:05:19,500 --> 01:05:20,200
 We'll give you more money.

1078
01:05:20,280 --> 01:05:20,640
 Come here.

1079
01:05:20,800 --> 01:05:21,360
 And the kid lied.

1080
01:05:21,900 --> 01:05:26,000
 So that's the kind of stuff that coaches need to be worried about next.

1081
01:05:26,420 --> 01:05:34,640
 But it's like a kid going to the grocery store and to hear a parent sitting here and chastising their kid for rolling over people's feet with their buggies and all they do is talk.

1082
01:05:34,640 --> 01:05:42,680
 Look, the illustration I'm trying to make here is who are you going to talk to and who's going to hold these guys accountable like Pete Golding?

1083
01:05:45,740 --> 01:05:47,000
 And I'll be honest.

1084
01:05:47,100 --> 01:05:53,200
 I think the people that are more likely to hold them accountable than anybody else are other coaches.

1085
01:05:53,580 --> 01:05:53,740
 Yeah.

1086
01:05:53,960 --> 01:05:57,280
 Because, again, tampering is expected.

1087
01:05:57,500 --> 01:05:57,880
 Mm-hmm.

1088
01:05:58,200 --> 01:05:58,420
 Right.

1089
01:05:58,420 --> 01:06:04,480
 I don't care if you're the Ohio State coach, if you're the Georgia coach, if you're the Louisiana Monroe coach,

1090
01:06:04,480 --> 01:06:05,820
 for the New Mexico State coach.

1091
01:06:06,360 --> 01:06:09,560
 Tampering is going on trying to get your players.

1092
01:06:10,800 --> 01:06:13,820
 And I think most coaches can live with that.

1093
01:06:14,860 --> 01:06:23,760
 My presumption is that if what Davo Sweeney said happened, that is just so blatant.

1094
01:06:24,120 --> 01:06:24,260
 Yeah.

1095
01:06:24,260 --> 01:06:28,320
 I can't – if other coaches aren't like, yeah, that dude, that's beyond the pale.

1096
01:06:28,500 --> 01:06:30,160
 You went a step too far.

1097
01:06:30,960 --> 01:06:32,440
 Let's nip this in the bud.

1098
01:06:32,820 --> 01:06:33,420
 Because you're right.

1099
01:06:33,480 --> 01:06:38,140
 I don't think – you know, I've yet to hear any commissioner talk about that.

1100
01:06:38,880 --> 01:06:41,320
 I've yet to hear the NCAA talk about that.

1101
01:06:41,860 --> 01:06:44,780
 I think the only people who can really police themselves are coaches.

1102
01:06:45,540 --> 01:06:49,400
 And the cynical part of me goes, well, then it's never going to stop.

1103
01:06:49,860 --> 01:06:50,100
 Right.

1104
01:06:51,200 --> 01:06:52,220
 Yeah, exactly.

1105
01:06:52,220 --> 01:06:55,360
 And, Mike, the other thing Davo did, he documented it.

1106
01:06:55,580 --> 01:07:04,680
 He had literally all the receipts, so to speak, of the conversations, of the text messages from Pete Golding to the player.

1107
01:07:05,360 --> 01:07:15,440
 And I'm like you, I didn't necessarily agree with everything the coaches said, but at least they came out and, you know, here's the criteria that we've got.

1108
01:07:15,860 --> 01:07:16,480
 I'm like you.

1109
01:07:16,520 --> 01:07:20,000
 I'd rather go to 16 if you're going to expand.

1110
01:07:21,180 --> 01:07:26,520
 The conference championships, I like them because they have a definitive champion on the field.

1111
01:07:27,000 --> 01:07:30,040
 But if you're going to expand all this, you can't keep doing it.

1112
01:07:30,380 --> 01:07:32,120
 Now, I disagree with them.

1113
01:07:32,180 --> 01:07:34,600
 They think you only need to have one bye week.

1114
01:07:34,820 --> 01:07:36,080
 I think you need to have two.

1115
01:07:36,620 --> 01:07:43,860
 But, you know, the first two rounds of the playoffs, the higher seed would get the home games.

1116
01:07:44,440 --> 01:07:48,880
 Mike, I don't have a problem with somebody coming out and saying, look, this is my list of eight things.

1117
01:07:49,320 --> 01:07:53,100
 Let's put this on the table, start looking at it, and come to a compromise.

1118
01:07:57,760 --> 01:08:01,060
 I don't remember them being this vocal about something this century.

1119
01:08:01,060 --> 01:08:04,140
 I think it's a gigantic positive.

1120
01:08:04,720 --> 01:08:09,220
 And, no, nobody's ever going to agree with anything that's proposed, everything that's proposed.

1121
01:08:09,440 --> 01:08:11,980
 You know, the NCAA tournament, I think, is a perfect example.

1122
01:08:12,120 --> 01:08:16,340
 I would argue that the only people who want that are college coaches and college administrators.

1123
01:08:16,460 --> 01:08:17,680
 I don't think the fans want it.

1124
01:08:18,040 --> 01:08:19,700
 I assume the players want it.

1125
01:08:19,840 --> 01:08:23,640
 But, you know, from what I've read, the TV is not going to pay more money.

1126
01:08:23,780 --> 01:08:24,340
 That's right.

1127
01:08:24,800 --> 01:08:29,940
 But they are going to have, I saw somebody yesterday say, well, they are going to increase the number of commercials

1128
01:08:29,940 --> 01:08:31,980
 during the NCAA tournament games.

1129
01:08:32,120 --> 01:08:33,320
 I'm thinking, oh, my God.

1130
01:08:33,520 --> 01:08:38,380
 There's going to be more of progressive ads than there is of actual basketball action.

1131
01:08:38,940 --> 01:08:44,880
 But the college football playoff, that is something that the TV networks will pony up for.

1132
01:08:45,020 --> 01:08:56,160
 And maybe they will pony up enough money that the conference championship game loss of revenue will be a drop in the bucket and won't matter.

1133
01:08:56,760 --> 01:09:03,080
 But, again, I'm pleased that the coaches seem to have become more vocal and strident.

1134
01:09:04,660 --> 01:09:05,240
 Absolutely.

1135
01:09:05,540 --> 01:09:10,660
 Mike, which one do you actually detest the most, going to 76 or going to 24?

1136
01:09:15,340 --> 01:09:22,220
 I'm a bigger college basketball fan than I am a college football fan because I grew up in the Carolinas a long time ago,

1137
01:09:22,220 --> 01:09:26,180
 before there were any pro teams in the South other than the Falcons.

1138
01:09:26,320 --> 01:09:27,000
 That's how old I am.

1139
01:09:27,980 --> 01:09:33,340
 I think the one thing that's sort of the saving grace for the basketball tournament is that on that Thursday,

1140
01:09:33,560 --> 01:09:35,400
 there will still be 64 teams playing.

1141
01:09:35,580 --> 01:09:35,740
 Yeah.

1142
01:09:36,040 --> 01:09:41,860
 I think the idea, you know, somebody said, well, if, you know, last year some of the first-round matchups,

1143
01:09:41,940 --> 01:09:45,960
 you would have had North Texas at Miami.

1144
01:09:47,520 --> 01:09:48,580
 Oh, come on.

1145
01:09:49,080 --> 01:09:49,460
 Come on.

1146
01:09:53,180 --> 01:09:54,540
 Michigan and Utah.

1147
01:09:56,140 --> 01:09:57,140
 You know, oh, great.

1148
01:09:57,200 --> 01:09:57,380
 Good.

1149
01:09:57,440 --> 01:10:00,680
 The team that finished fourth in the Big 12 against the team that finished fourth in the Big 10.

1150
01:10:00,800 --> 01:10:01,080
 Great.

1151
01:10:01,440 --> 01:10:01,720
 Super.

1152
01:10:01,820 --> 01:10:06,100
 What a great national championship tournament first-round game that is.

1153
01:10:06,800 --> 01:10:09,860
 So, the 24 is a bridge too far.

1154
01:10:09,920 --> 01:10:10,320
 I'll be honest.

1155
01:10:10,380 --> 01:10:16,320
 If they're going to go to 24, I'd rather see them return to the BCS and then play a plus-one game.

1156
01:10:17,520 --> 01:10:18,840
 I agree.

1157
01:10:19,300 --> 01:10:21,940
 Mike, you mentioned you love college basketball.

1158
01:10:22,740 --> 01:10:25,340
 Thank goodness Tennessee has clarified some things this week.

1159
01:10:25,460 --> 01:10:30,600
 Said that report of Duke Harris getting $5 million to come to Tennessee, that's not right.

1160
01:10:30,660 --> 01:10:31,700
 It's a mere $4 million.

1161
01:10:32,940 --> 01:10:42,280
 Looking at the total payroll of Tennessee, it's a report of $18 to $20 million for Tennessee basketball, not football.

1162
01:10:42,840 --> 01:10:44,240
 And Louisville is right there with them.

1163
01:10:44,240 --> 01:10:48,960
 Your thoughts about where the Greenbacks are now with college basketball.

1164
01:11:02,020 --> 01:11:02,820
 Baseball.

1165
01:11:03,020 --> 01:11:05,600
 Let's just ask the fans for more money.

1166
01:11:07,140 --> 01:11:16,320
 But the Tennessee team on paper, it's fascinating to me because, man, that's a lot of scoring power.

1167
01:11:16,340 --> 01:11:16,660
 Oh, yeah.

1168
01:11:17,940 --> 01:11:21,040
 I don't know if Rick Barnes is off.

1169
01:11:21,160 --> 01:11:22,240
 He's going to have to change his offense.

1170
01:11:23,100 --> 01:11:27,100
 And I'm also intrigued to see how he gets this group to play defense.

1171
01:11:27,500 --> 01:11:29,240
 Because Rick Barnes knows more defense.

1172
01:11:29,600 --> 01:11:34,740
 And just because they're spending a lot of money, I mean, Kentucky evidently spent $22 million last year.

1173
01:11:34,860 --> 01:11:34,980
 Yeah.

1174
01:11:35,120 --> 01:11:36,120
 And they were horrendous.

1175
01:11:36,520 --> 01:11:42,820
 So, and then you got LSU, which as of right now has one official player on its roster.

1176
01:11:42,820 --> 01:11:48,280
 And I'm sure there's a lot of fans that are like, well, that's what we'll wait to get until we have no sympathy for him.

1177
01:11:51,500 --> 01:11:51,980
 Absolutely.

1178
01:11:52,720 --> 01:11:53,880
 But great stuff.

1179
01:11:53,960 --> 01:11:55,540
 Always enjoy the conversation.

1180
01:11:55,800 --> 01:12:01,260
 Two juicy topics this week as far as expanding to 76 and 24.

1181
01:12:01,560 --> 01:12:02,820
 Listen, have a great weekend.

1182
01:12:03,020 --> 01:12:03,740
 Happy birthday.

1183
01:12:04,100 --> 01:12:04,860
 Happy birthday.

1184
01:12:05,320 --> 01:12:07,120
 Happy Mother's Day to your mother.

1185
01:12:09,280 --> 01:12:11,020
 To your wife.

1186
01:12:11,120 --> 01:12:12,540
 Hopefully she's doing a lot better.

1187
01:12:12,540 --> 01:12:16,420
 I got a friend of mine, Mike, who had two back surgeries this week.

1188
01:12:16,520 --> 01:12:17,240
 Bless his heart.

1189
01:12:17,680 --> 01:12:18,820
 Listen, have a great weekend.

1190
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 Let's do this again real soon.

1191
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1248
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 Okay, team.

1249
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 Huddle up.

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 Um, why are you dressed like a hockey player?

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1259
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1260
01:16:12,740 --> 01:16:16,180
 PayPal is now the official peer-to-peer payment sponsor of the NFL,

1261
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 which means all the money moments that fandom creates,

1262
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 whether splitting tailgate calls or chipping in on tickets and game day food between friends,

1263
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1269
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 Evan Cohen here.

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1272
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 The score.

1292
01:17:43,420 --> 01:17:48,160
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

1293
01:17:48,720 --> 01:17:49,460
 Welcome back in.

1294
01:17:49,520 --> 01:17:53,140
 He is the vet when it comes to talking college sports in the SEC.

1295
01:17:53,440 --> 01:17:55,100
 It doesn't matter what shape the ball is.

1296
01:17:55,220 --> 01:17:57,640
 Football, basketball, softball, any ball.

1297
01:17:57,720 --> 01:17:58,680
 He's always having a ball.

1298
01:17:58,800 --> 01:18:03,620
 Doug Segrist, former co-host of The Zone and ABC 3340 Down in B-HAM,

1299
01:18:03,760 --> 01:18:07,600
 voted one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

1300
01:18:07,840 --> 01:18:10,340
 And his book is called A Storm Came Up.

1301
01:18:10,420 --> 01:18:11,460
 Doug Segrist, welcome in.

1302
01:18:11,520 --> 01:18:12,080
 How are you?

1303
01:18:13,180 --> 01:18:14,160
 I'm doing great, guys.

1304
01:18:14,220 --> 01:18:14,700
 How y'all doing?

1305
01:18:15,100 --> 01:18:16,020
 Man, we're doing all right.

1306
01:18:16,080 --> 01:18:17,600
 Interesting stuff this week, Doug.

1307
01:18:17,600 --> 01:18:19,940
 I saw where people are always asking, you know,

1308
01:18:19,980 --> 01:18:22,000
 you watch these Major League Baseball games,

1309
01:18:22,080 --> 01:18:25,460
 and you say, how in the world are these folks making any money?

1310
01:18:25,720 --> 01:18:29,760
 And we have a friend who spent almost 20 years in the bigs, David Weathers.

1311
01:18:29,900 --> 01:18:31,640
 His son now, Ryan, plays for the Yankees.

1312
01:18:32,480 --> 01:18:34,420
 David said, look, the money comes from TV.

1313
01:18:34,600 --> 01:18:38,020
 And to break this down, in terms of teams we can relate to, Doug,

1314
01:18:38,060 --> 01:18:41,800
 I saw where the question was, how much does Alabama and other teams

1315
01:18:41,800 --> 01:18:45,840
 rely strictly on ticket sales for their total revenue?

1316
01:18:46,420 --> 01:18:49,300
 Alabama only just over 28%.

1317
01:18:49,300 --> 01:18:52,260
 Auburn just over 25%.

1318
01:18:52,260 --> 01:18:55,220
 And Ole Miss only 24%.

1319
01:18:55,220 --> 01:18:56,940
 The most reliant was Arkansas.

1320
01:18:57,580 --> 01:19:00,180
 So the question is, where does the other money come from?

1321
01:19:00,220 --> 01:19:02,940
 And we said, well, it either comes through TV or donations

1322
01:19:02,940 --> 01:19:05,340
 from, like, the Beard Boys or Doug Segrist.

1323
01:19:05,700 --> 01:19:06,940
 Would you agree with that, Doug?

1324
01:19:08,160 --> 01:19:09,300
 I would agree.

1325
01:19:09,700 --> 01:19:13,180
 And, I mean, television has become the decisive factor.

1326
01:19:13,340 --> 01:19:16,540
 And it's really what's created the has and have nots

1327
01:19:16,540 --> 01:19:19,720
 like we've never seen before.

1328
01:19:19,720 --> 01:19:22,120
 I mean, we're living in the Gilded Age.

1329
01:19:24,720 --> 01:19:29,160
 And to break that down, you're looking at basically out of every dollar,

1330
01:19:29,360 --> 01:19:32,820
 75 cents comes from TV or donations.

1331
01:19:32,820 --> 01:19:36,120
 The question is, what happens if you put all your equity

1332
01:19:36,120 --> 01:19:38,860
 and you're betting the farm on future TV deals?

1333
01:19:38,920 --> 01:19:43,420
 What happens if TV finally gets so saturated and those deals start to dry up?

1334
01:19:43,520 --> 01:19:47,440
 Or are we just sitting here and laughing at that because it's fans?

1335
01:19:47,800 --> 01:19:48,800
 You can punch us.

1336
01:19:48,840 --> 01:19:49,600
 You can slap us.

1337
01:19:49,640 --> 01:19:50,360
 And what do we do?

1338
01:19:50,660 --> 01:19:52,040
 We'll come back and say, thank you, sir.

1339
01:19:52,080 --> 01:19:52,760
 I may have another.

1340
01:19:54,600 --> 01:19:56,380
 Yeah, I mean, it's gotten crazy.

1341
01:19:56,380 --> 01:20:01,660
 And everything depends on this ever-climbing viewership.

1342
01:20:02,300 --> 01:20:05,180
 And at some point, you're right, the saturation will be so much.

1343
01:20:05,320 --> 01:20:08,940
 Or that people just lose the interest because, hey, you know,

1344
01:20:08,960 --> 01:20:13,200
 players get more than, you know, school teachers and entrepreneurs.

1345
01:20:13,700 --> 01:20:15,560
 And people get turned off by it.

1346
01:20:15,600 --> 01:20:18,240
 So it's a danger out there.

1347
01:20:18,340 --> 01:20:25,060
 But what it's done is kind of separate the haves and have-nots even more.

1348
01:20:25,500 --> 01:20:30,580
 Where even right now, I mean, the SEC is struggling to compete with the Big Ten going forward.

1349
01:20:30,740 --> 01:20:31,940
 Now, accelerate that.

1350
01:20:32,040 --> 01:20:34,320
 Look at a UNA, Jackson State, Troy.

1351
01:20:35,700 --> 01:20:37,620
 They're not even on the same playing field.

1352
01:20:38,020 --> 01:20:40,200
 And that's not really what the game's supposed to be.

1353
01:20:40,480 --> 01:20:42,940
 You know, to me, Doug, another thing that's going to turn off fans,

1354
01:20:43,020 --> 01:20:45,340
 and you already hear it, is back in the day,

1355
01:20:45,420 --> 01:20:48,700
 you'd see guys crying on the sidelines when they lose.

1356
01:20:48,760 --> 01:20:50,620
 You'd see their hearts being poured out to it.

1357
01:20:50,620 --> 01:20:53,880
 Nowadays, if they lose, it's like watching an NFL game.

1358
01:20:53,960 --> 01:20:54,340
 What do they do?

1359
01:20:54,400 --> 01:20:55,400
 They go over there and they're laughing.

1360
01:20:55,520 --> 01:20:56,840
 They're cutting up, shaking hands.

1361
01:20:57,280 --> 01:21:01,540
 People in our neck of the woods love college football because it's all about passion.

1362
01:21:01,640 --> 01:21:05,960
 If you see these guys making $5, $10 million, and they're laughing after a loss,

1363
01:21:06,280 --> 01:21:10,640
 at what point does that become, uh-oh, this thing going to jive with fans?

1364
01:21:11,980 --> 01:21:14,200
 We're getting pretty close to that point.

1365
01:21:14,640 --> 01:21:16,840
 But listen, I'm going to blame the schools, too.

1366
01:21:16,840 --> 01:21:23,640
 You just mentioned 24% of revenue at Alabama, 28% at Auburn.

1367
01:21:23,700 --> 01:21:24,940
 I think I got the figures right.

1368
01:21:25,640 --> 01:21:26,900
 But why are ticket prices?

1369
01:21:27,280 --> 01:21:28,340
 Continue to go up.

1370
01:21:28,540 --> 01:21:35,960
 Now you're talking about you could really pay off your fan base the way Arthur Blank does

1371
01:21:35,960 --> 01:21:43,080
 at, you know, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium with concession prices that are like 1985 level.

1372
01:21:43,080 --> 01:21:49,740
 Why do we have to squeeze every single dollar out of the people that bleed your, you know,

1373
01:21:49,820 --> 01:21:51,260
 whatever your team colors are?

1374
01:21:51,660 --> 01:21:58,420
 I have seen a lot of negative comments this week, certainly about the expansion to 76.

1375
01:21:58,420 --> 01:22:02,240
 I know you're a tremendous college basketball fan.

1376
01:22:02,800 --> 01:22:05,780
 I've been hearing more about expanding to 24.

1377
01:22:06,560 --> 01:22:11,100
 A lot of the fans, some of the coaches certainly don't like it.

1378
01:22:11,500 --> 01:22:17,300
 Doug, your thoughts now that we're officially at 76 for basketball, and I think it's just a matter of time,

1379
01:22:17,780 --> 01:22:20,060
 before we go to 24 in football.

1380
01:22:20,260 --> 01:22:22,880
 As Harold mentioned earlier, is bigger, better?

1381
01:22:24,880 --> 01:22:26,640
 I think for basketball, it is.

1382
01:22:26,900 --> 01:22:30,420
 Okay, let's look at when it was 64 teams.

1383
01:22:31,160 --> 01:22:38,360
 And the number of Division I teams you had at the time, that was just 23% of the field got in the NCAA tournament.

1384
01:22:38,480 --> 01:22:40,020
 Now you expand it to 76.

1385
01:22:41,040 --> 01:22:44,280
 The number of teams that's expanded, it's only 25%.

1386
01:22:44,280 --> 01:22:49,120
 So you're still talking about the same representation we had 40 years ago.

1387
01:22:49,680 --> 01:22:51,460
 So I think that's in line.

1388
01:22:51,640 --> 01:22:59,820
 And I will say this also, it adds, it'll add more upset, because what we've seen is these first four teams, you know, get hot with that.

1389
01:22:59,960 --> 01:23:07,580
 You're kind of, you know, your first game out of the gate, instead of playing top seed Michigan or Duke, you're playing a team of equal ability.

1390
01:23:08,120 --> 01:23:09,120
 Get your footing.

1391
01:23:09,380 --> 01:23:10,320
 You win the game.

1392
01:23:10,500 --> 01:23:13,540
 You see the upset in the first, even second round team.

1393
01:23:13,680 --> 01:23:15,740
 We've seen the team get to the final four that way.

1394
01:23:16,460 --> 01:23:18,440
 So I think you're going to see more upset.

1395
01:23:18,580 --> 01:23:27,340
 I think what they need to do, though, and to make the regular season more compelling, is reduce the at-large.

1396
01:23:27,860 --> 01:23:32,360
 In other words, if you win your conference title during the regular season, you're in.

1397
01:23:32,460 --> 01:23:35,300
 If you win your conference tournament, you're in.

1398
01:23:35,740 --> 01:23:45,920
 And that way, you're, again, putting emphasis back on the college, on the regular season, and on the tournament, which, you know, in the SEC's case, it's a moneymaker.

1399
01:23:46,460 --> 01:23:50,000
 But it, you know, it really has weight in these one big leagues.

1400
01:23:50,000 --> 01:23:56,940
 Why not open up space for two teams from, you know, what's conventionally a Sun Belt or Conference USA?

1401
01:23:57,740 --> 01:24:01,900
 Well, the reason it makes too much sense, Doug, so that's probably the biggest reason we're out there.

1402
01:24:01,960 --> 01:24:03,040
 Yeah, that's where we're lost.

1403
01:24:03,620 --> 01:24:10,960
 Obviously, the news of the week came down the road on Alabama's football schedule, dropping Oklahoma State at 13 and had to get to 12.

1404
01:24:11,460 --> 01:24:20,600
 Are people talking enough about that, or are they talking not enough about the fact that because they dropped Oklahoma State, they were able to keep Ohio State?

1405
01:24:21,100 --> 01:24:22,360
 You've been doing this a while, too.

1406
01:24:22,440 --> 01:24:28,240
 When's the last time you saw two Bulls have a home-and-home series like Alabama and Ohio State going forward?

1407
01:24:30,180 --> 01:24:31,280
 It's very rare.

1408
01:24:31,620 --> 01:24:36,860
 In this day and age, you know, that was the conventional wisdom that that was the game Alabama would drop.

1409
01:24:37,160 --> 01:24:37,460
 Mm-hmm.

1410
01:24:38,080 --> 01:24:38,320
 Right.

1411
01:24:38,560 --> 01:24:43,380
 And Oklahoma State in the last 10 years has not been a big threat.

1412
01:24:43,820 --> 01:24:48,440
 Ohio State in the last 110 years has been the biggest threat out there.

1413
01:24:48,540 --> 01:24:50,600
 So, I commend them for this.

1414
01:24:52,020 --> 01:24:55,160
 Are you taking, you know, are you biting off more than you can chew?

1415
01:24:55,520 --> 01:24:57,540
 You know, we just don't know going forward.

1416
01:24:57,680 --> 01:25:00,880
 So, I really praise this decision.

1417
01:25:01,360 --> 01:25:08,400
 You know, we're looking at Alabama playing two power forward non-conference teams the next few years anyway.

1418
01:25:08,400 --> 01:25:09,000
 Mm-hmm.

1419
01:25:09,700 --> 01:25:12,360
 I mean, these schedules are just incredible.

1420
01:25:12,680 --> 01:25:18,700
 And, you know, Kirby got a lot of pushback, you know, for his comments about the depth of the SEC.

1421
01:25:19,000 --> 01:25:20,640
 But he's exactly right.

1422
01:25:20,720 --> 01:25:22,840
 It is an absolute grind.

1423
01:25:22,940 --> 01:25:28,680
 It doesn't mean the best teams are in the SEC, but it means the best collection of teams are there.

1424
01:25:28,840 --> 01:25:30,680
 And there are just no gimmies anymore.

1425
01:25:31,120 --> 01:25:33,840
 Well, let me reiterate what you just said.

1426
01:25:34,440 --> 01:25:43,620
 Alabama's road games in 2027, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Auburn.

1427
01:25:44,000 --> 01:25:46,120
 Doug, that is an absolute gauntlet.

1428
01:25:47,220 --> 01:25:47,880
 It is.

1429
01:25:47,960 --> 01:25:56,280
 And if you go before, what, 92 expansion, you're talking about, you know, three all-time favorites from three different conferences.

1430
01:25:56,460 --> 01:25:56,640
 Yeah.

1431
01:25:57,320 --> 01:25:59,940
 You know, and two of them now are in your league.

1432
01:25:59,940 --> 01:26:05,080
 I mean, I go back to when I really became a college football fan.

1433
01:26:05,280 --> 01:26:09,020
 You look at, like, the 1977-78 schedules for Alabama.

1434
01:26:09,220 --> 01:26:09,560
 Mm-hmm.

1435
01:26:09,800 --> 01:26:12,600
 They were playing those type of non-conference games.

1436
01:26:12,820 --> 01:26:14,040
 You know, Nebraska.

1437
01:26:14,400 --> 01:26:14,580
 Yep.

1438
01:26:14,660 --> 01:26:16,440
 USC, home-and-home, Notre Dame.

1439
01:26:17,520 --> 01:26:21,120
 But they could afford to do it because you know, played five or six SEC games.

1440
01:26:21,720 --> 01:26:24,340
 And those, you know, some of those games were your breathers.

1441
01:26:24,420 --> 01:26:25,920
 Well, there are no breathers anymore.

1442
01:26:25,920 --> 01:26:35,200
 And I commend Greg Byrne for doing this and Kalen DeBoer for not running out of town when he saw what they were going to do.

1443
01:26:37,280 --> 01:26:40,600
 Doug, you better have a good quarterback if you're going to face that schedule.

1444
01:26:40,740 --> 01:26:47,880
 And let's kind of get to, if you will, talk to us about the young quarterback that's not too far down the road from you there in Birmingham over at Thompson High.

1445
01:26:48,400 --> 01:26:49,380
 And that's Trent Seaborn.

1446
01:26:49,380 --> 01:26:52,880
 Every time you look up, Alabama is recruiting another five-star quarterback.

1447
01:26:53,040 --> 01:26:55,860
 And poor old Trent, he's only a four-star quarterback.

1448
01:26:56,140 --> 01:27:00,840
 But he's, every time you look up, he is the chief recruiter in that room saying, bring it on.

1449
01:27:01,200 --> 01:27:03,560
 You probably know a young man better than we do.

1450
01:27:03,640 --> 01:27:06,060
 The one thing we do know is he's used to competition.

1451
01:27:06,320 --> 01:27:10,920
 Thompson basically is a double-A or triple-A in terms of just having to fight for your position.

1452
01:27:11,060 --> 01:27:15,600
 So this is nothing new for him from the principle of having to land your top spot on that roster.

1453
01:27:16,800 --> 01:27:21,900
 Well, this kid's been a starter since eighth grade and, you know, state titles since then.

1454
01:27:22,340 --> 01:27:27,660
 And, you know, when they moved back home, they could have gone anywhere for playing time.

1455
01:27:27,840 --> 01:27:32,180
 And they took on what even then was the number one program in the state.

1456
01:27:32,320 --> 01:27:33,420
 I mean, that's a lot of confidence.

1457
01:27:33,700 --> 01:27:38,180
 And, you know, I think, too, when you're homegrown, you are more of a fan.

1458
01:27:38,920 --> 01:27:40,620
 It's not just a business decision.

1459
01:27:40,620 --> 01:27:46,620
 You know, and if it doesn't work out in two or three years, you can go somewhere else probably with everyone's blessing.

1460
01:27:46,800 --> 01:27:49,920
 But I think that's kind of the makeup of this kid.

1461
01:27:50,000 --> 01:27:51,180
 He's not scared of anything.

1462
01:27:51,420 --> 01:27:55,940
 And he's helping bring the other five stars in there, even the ones who compete with him.

1463
01:27:56,020 --> 01:27:58,880
 I just – we don't see that much in this day and age.

1464
01:27:59,080 --> 01:27:59,260
 No.

1465
01:27:59,900 --> 01:28:01,200
 It's an old school.

1466
01:28:01,700 --> 01:28:02,140
 Absolutely.

1467
01:28:02,960 --> 01:28:08,180
 Listen, the reason you didn't come on last week, I believe you were working the region's tradition.

1468
01:28:08,940 --> 01:28:11,320
 We talked to Stuart Sink earlier this week.

1469
01:28:11,800 --> 01:28:20,080
 A lot of the media love Wednesday, the pro-am, to where they can interview a lot of the SEC coaches, a lot of the celebrities there.

1470
01:28:20,500 --> 01:28:22,360
 I know it's a lot of work, believe me.

1471
01:28:22,540 --> 01:28:30,900
 But, Doug, talk about working with the coaches, the celebrities, a little bit about the week at Greystone.

1472
01:28:33,500 --> 01:28:39,340
 Well, Wednesday's just an unbelievable day because, you know, we call it the unofficial kickoff to college football season

1473
01:28:39,340 --> 01:28:45,180
 because it's the first time everybody kind of comes out of hibernation and they're available.

1474
01:28:45,520 --> 01:28:47,540
 And, you know, you often have Dabo there.

1475
01:28:47,660 --> 01:28:48,840
 You've got Kirby there.

1476
01:28:49,060 --> 01:28:49,180
 Yeah.

1477
01:28:49,520 --> 01:28:52,340
 Lane Kiffin's been there before Pete Golding was there.

1478
01:28:52,420 --> 01:28:54,160
 It's not just the Alabama and Auburn coaches.

1479
01:28:54,820 --> 01:29:03,520
 On top of that, you've got Peter Burns and Chris Doring doing their morning show there live in the media center because of the early rain.

1480
01:29:04,040 --> 01:29:08,220
 They had to come indoors and they're just bringing one guest after another.

1481
01:29:08,220 --> 01:29:17,040
 And then you end up with Paul Feinbaum's show out on the patio with, again, everybody hangs around, you know, to come on that show.

1482
01:29:17,140 --> 01:29:21,400
 And then Greg Sankey's dropping, you know, knowledge that we didn't know.

1483
01:29:21,460 --> 01:29:30,500
 For example, the, you know, the top seeds in the playoffs going forward will get to declare their quarterfinal and semifinal destinations.

1484
01:29:31,120 --> 01:29:34,240
 I mean, that was a pretty big chunk of news.

1485
01:29:34,400 --> 01:29:36,720
 So it's just, it's a great environment.

1486
01:29:36,720 --> 01:29:43,480
 And then the tournament itself, it's a major, it's very social, and, you know, Stewart dominates from start to finish.

1487
01:29:44,480 --> 01:29:44,920
 Absolutely.

1488
01:29:45,360 --> 01:29:46,160
 You know what, Doug?

1489
01:29:46,220 --> 01:29:51,220
 Speaking of Greystone, years ago they had a pretty famous resident down there by the name of Michael Jordan.

1490
01:29:51,220 --> 01:29:52,740
 And they hosted a major tournament.

1491
01:29:53,120 --> 01:29:54,840
 We actually went down and covered it.

1492
01:29:55,000 --> 01:30:00,240
 And I remember that we was with a photographer and we thought, man, this is, this is too good to be true.

1493
01:30:00,300 --> 01:30:02,640
 Everything, you know, you have those days where everything goes right.

1494
01:30:03,140 --> 01:30:04,420
 And so we're going to wrap up early.

1495
01:30:04,460 --> 01:30:05,800
 We get back to the parking lot.

1496
01:30:06,120 --> 01:30:06,740
 He looks at me.

1497
01:30:06,780 --> 01:30:07,280
 I look at him.

1498
01:30:07,340 --> 01:30:08,120
 We say, where are the keys?

1499
01:30:08,180 --> 01:30:08,980
 We lost the keys.

1500
01:30:09,080 --> 01:30:09,900
 How'd he get a locksmith?

1501
01:30:11,780 --> 01:30:12,880
 Yeah, the parking lot.

1502
01:30:12,880 --> 01:30:16,000
 But that is one beautiful golf course, is it not?

1503
01:30:16,100 --> 01:30:17,920
 And Michael Jordan, he'll put it on the map.

1504
01:30:19,160 --> 01:30:19,520
 Yeah.

1505
01:30:19,660 --> 01:30:21,660
 And, you know, he lived here when he was with Barron.

1506
01:30:21,740 --> 01:30:22,700
 He played in the tournament.

1507
01:30:23,120 --> 01:30:26,740
 And that's back when he and Charles were BFF.

1508
01:30:27,740 --> 01:30:33,620
 And it was just, it kind of elevated what was already a pretty big tournament to another

1509
01:30:33,620 --> 01:30:34,020
 level.

1510
01:30:34,320 --> 01:30:37,220
 If you remember back in those days, they had two days of pro-am.

1511
01:30:37,460 --> 01:30:37,660
 Yeah.

1512
01:30:37,660 --> 01:30:39,100
 Because it wasn't a major.

1513
01:30:39,200 --> 01:30:40,600
 You just had three days of competition.

1514
01:30:41,080 --> 01:30:43,340
 And you get, you know, like rock and rollers.

1515
01:30:43,580 --> 01:30:48,120
 I remember the soap star, Jack Wagner, from General Hospital.

1516
01:30:48,420 --> 01:30:49,900
 And now it's down to one day.

1517
01:30:50,020 --> 01:30:53,880
 And, of course, the focus now is on football coaches.

1518
01:30:54,640 --> 01:30:58,060
 But, you know, you'll see Condoleezza Rice out there every few years.

1519
01:30:58,420 --> 01:31:00,340
 So it's just incredible.

1520
01:31:00,520 --> 01:31:02,320
 And Greystone is just a gracious host.

1521
01:31:02,520 --> 01:31:02,640
 Yeah.

1522
01:31:02,940 --> 01:31:06,720
 Well, I know you worked hard, along with everybody else at Regions.

1523
01:31:06,720 --> 01:31:09,020
 Listen, bud, I always enjoyed the conversation.

1524
01:31:09,180 --> 01:31:10,920
 A lot of things to talk about in May.

1525
01:31:11,960 --> 01:31:14,160
 Happy Mother's Day to a lot of the mothers.

1526
01:31:14,300 --> 01:31:15,820
 We'll say that before we go off.

1527
01:31:15,880 --> 01:31:16,720
 Certainly to you.

1528
01:31:17,200 --> 01:31:18,460
 But have a great week.

1529
01:31:19,300 --> 01:31:19,860
 Thank you.

1530
01:31:20,160 --> 01:31:21,640
 I look forward to talking soon.

1531
01:31:22,460 --> 01:31:23,820
 We're going to hold you to it, my friend.

1532
01:31:23,960 --> 01:31:27,040
 Doug Segrist hooking up with us from the magic city of Birmingham.

1533
01:31:27,340 --> 01:31:32,200
 Let's head on farther down to Southeastern Park to a place called Auburn to get the latest

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 Online health questions required.

1629
01:35:37,520 --> 01:35:41,480
 Progressive Insurance presents the Sports Flash on 93-9 The Score.

1630
01:35:42,060 --> 01:35:44,820
 The Atlanta Braves facing the Dodgers tonight in Los Angeles

1631
01:35:44,820 --> 01:35:46,400
 in a matchup of division leaders.

1632
01:35:46,780 --> 01:35:50,160
 Atlanta coming off a series with Seattle where they drop two of three to the Mariners.

1633
01:35:50,420 --> 01:35:52,220
 It'll be Chris Sale getting the start tonight.

1634
01:35:52,460 --> 01:35:57,380
 He's 6-1, an ERA of 2.14, as 49 strikeouts on the season.

1635
01:35:57,640 --> 01:35:59,680
 Emmett Sheehan will go for Los Angeles.

1636
01:36:00,040 --> 01:36:02,740
 Coverage on the score tonight begins at 7.55.

1637
01:36:03,420 --> 01:36:08,360
 Alabama softball facing the Florida Gators today at the SEC Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky.

1638
01:36:08,740 --> 01:36:10,020
 It's the semifinals.

1639
01:36:10,360 --> 01:36:14,180
 The Crimson Tide coming off a 7-1 victory against Arkansas on Thursday.

1640
01:36:14,620 --> 01:36:17,960
 You can catch Alabama's run in the SEC Tournament right here on The Score.

1641
01:36:18,300 --> 01:36:21,360
 Coverage of today's game against Florida begins at 3.45.

1642
01:36:21,800 --> 01:36:24,400
 And at college baseball, North Alabama on the diamond today.

1643
01:36:24,500 --> 01:36:26,780
 They're in Conway to start a series with Central Arkansas.

1644
01:36:27,420 --> 01:36:29,240
 The sports update brought to you by Progressive.

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1646
01:36:34,040 --> 01:36:36,760
 I'm Tony Deziri on 93.9 The Score.

1647
01:36:39,040 --> 01:36:40,920
 Mother's Day, this Sunday.

1648
01:36:41,280 --> 01:36:42,620
 Gifts I needed? Multiple.

1649
01:36:43,040 --> 01:36:44,980
 Time I had? Basically none.

1650
01:36:45,320 --> 01:36:47,040
 Was I stressed? Absolutely.

1651
01:36:47,540 --> 01:36:48,800
 Until I came to Macy's.

1652
01:36:48,920 --> 01:36:51,460
 Because now I'm finding gifts that feel thoughtful.

1653
01:36:51,780 --> 01:36:56,960
 A designer handbag, beautiful fine jewelry, great beauty gift sets that don't need to be wrapped.

1654
01:36:56,960 --> 01:37:00,520
 One trip to Macy's, and it looks like I planned it all along.

1655
01:37:01,100 --> 01:37:04,940
 Hurry in and save on the perfect gift at Macy's Mother's Day Sale today.

1656
01:37:08,940 --> 01:37:09,700
 The Score.

1657
01:37:10,280 --> 01:37:14,780
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

1658
01:37:15,420 --> 01:37:16,120
 Welcome back in.

1659
01:37:16,180 --> 01:37:17,760
 Time to say hello to Justin Ferguson.

1660
01:37:17,900 --> 01:37:22,460
 Got the Auburn Tigers covered there at Auburn Observer, I should say.

1661
01:37:22,940 --> 01:37:23,700
 Justin, welcome in.

1662
01:37:23,740 --> 01:37:24,240
 How are you?

1663
01:37:25,240 --> 01:37:26,440
 I'm doing all right, hurry up.

1664
01:37:26,860 --> 01:37:27,960
 Man, we're doing all right, Justin.

1665
01:37:27,960 --> 01:37:33,240
 A lot to get to today, but first of all, shout out to the Auburn softball team.

1666
01:37:33,240 --> 01:37:45,220
 Has there ever been a more interesting end to a regular season and end to the first week of the postseason at the SEC softball tournament up in Kentucky than it was for this Auburn softball team?

1667
01:37:46,360 --> 01:37:48,340
 Yeah, I mean, they showed a lot of fight.

1668
01:37:48,480 --> 01:37:52,380
 I mean, this is a team that had a lot of really bad losses, especially down the stretch.

1669
01:37:52,980 --> 01:37:55,840
 Kind of felt like the season had really gotten away from them.

1670
01:37:56,040 --> 01:38:01,120
 And, you know, they were able to hang in there and play really well for a few games and just come up just short.

1671
01:38:01,320 --> 01:38:06,040
 They're going to miss the NCAA tournament, but you show a little life at the end of a lost season.

1672
01:38:06,620 --> 01:38:11,560
 And, you know, that's something that, you know, maybe they might be able to take that as some momentum here moving forward.

1673
01:38:12,020 --> 01:38:19,100
 Is there some kind of a parallel between how the principle there between softball and Auburn basketball this past season?

1674
01:38:20,380 --> 01:38:25,260
 Obviously, things didn't go well in the regular season for the Auburn basketball team, especially at the end.

1675
01:38:25,300 --> 01:38:27,160
 But then they caught life and won the NIT.

1676
01:38:27,880 --> 01:38:35,780
 Sometimes you may not grab the big brass ring, but it's all about getting a spark at the end of a season to build momentum heading into the offseason.

1677
01:38:35,780 --> 01:38:37,120
 And in the next season.

1678
01:38:38,260 --> 01:38:39,160
 Yeah, maybe so.

1679
01:38:39,300 --> 01:38:46,180
 I mean, I think that's something that you can kind of see that, you know, Auburn basketball got to take advantage of being able to win a little bit more down the stretch.

1680
01:38:46,260 --> 01:38:49,540
 Now, obviously, they got to do more winning, you know, with the NIT run.

1681
01:38:49,620 --> 01:38:58,860
 But, yeah, I mean, you know, if it's something where you can take it in the offseason, retain some players, maybe get some momentum when you go out on the recruiting trail into the transfer portal.

1682
01:38:59,420 --> 01:39:03,240
 You know, that's definitely something that I think Auburn basketball took full advantage of.

1683
01:39:03,240 --> 01:39:10,860
 And, you know, Auburn's off all desperately needs to have something like that happen because it's the first time in a very long time that they're not, you know, in the NCAA tournament.

1684
01:39:11,620 --> 01:39:17,320
 Speaking of recruiting, it's about to pick up Wild and Wooley for Auburn.

1685
01:39:17,320 --> 01:39:26,300
 Now, they picked up a recruit earlier this week, Braylon Aduar, four-star receiver from Tennessee, 62-205.

1686
01:39:26,540 --> 01:39:29,440
 And we talked with you a little bit about this last week.

1687
01:39:29,560 --> 01:39:34,540
 Big Cat weekend this time next week is coming back again.

1688
01:39:34,960 --> 01:39:38,360
 I was going to ask you, any changes with this?

1689
01:39:38,540 --> 01:39:45,900
 I think people are wondering, will Alex Golich add his own signature version of this?

1690
01:39:45,960 --> 01:39:53,220
 It's low stress, a lot of fun, you know, watermelon eating contest, throw people in the pool.

1691
01:39:53,360 --> 01:39:55,100
 At least that's what Hugh Freeze did.

1692
01:39:55,780 --> 01:40:02,100
 But your thoughts on Big Cat and any changes under Alex Golich and his staff?

1693
01:40:03,000 --> 01:40:07,600
 You know, I would be surprised if Golich, you know, really changed it up a ton.

1694
01:40:07,760 --> 01:40:14,540
 I think one of the things that Alex Golich has done a good job of since he's gotten to Auburn is basically been like, you know what, I'm the outsider here.

1695
01:40:15,160 --> 01:40:19,320
 You know, I need to learn Auburn and what makes this place kind of tick.

1696
01:40:19,760 --> 01:40:29,760
 And so I think by embracing Big Cat weekend and some of, you know, the other stuff, I think it's kind of more his MO to, like, see what, you know, kind of adapt to what, you know, Auburn has done.

1697
01:40:29,820 --> 01:40:39,300
 And I think, you know, Big Cat's been such a successful, you know, time for Auburn recruiting over the last, you know, decade plus that I don't think you really need to reinvent it.

1698
01:40:39,300 --> 01:40:40,600
 I just think you need to do it.

1699
01:40:40,620 --> 01:40:54,840
 It's kind of like a big statement to get a bunch of these kids around together, have them, you know, hang out together, get to know one another and, you know, kind of have something that, you know, establish those relationships that, you know, you'll be able to go back to later on.

1700
01:40:55,780 --> 01:40:57,380
 Justin Ferguson in the huddle with us.

1701
01:40:57,440 --> 01:40:58,980
 He's busy there at the Auburn Observer.

1702
01:40:59,100 --> 01:41:06,120
 Justin, a lot of questions like any team coming out of spring camp, but you mentioned picking up the recruit at the wide receiver spot earlier.

1703
01:41:06,120 --> 01:41:12,020
 In your opinion, it was pretty much last year, it was like a silly question to answer.

1704
01:41:12,160 --> 01:41:15,300
 We know who it would have been, and Cam Coleman, we know he's no longer there.

1705
01:41:15,520 --> 01:41:18,100
 It's 2026, you go to the cash register.

1706
01:41:18,520 --> 01:41:21,820
 Who will be the go-to receiver on this team this season?

1707
01:41:22,940 --> 01:41:26,000
 I think the easy answer here is Chaz Nimrod.

1708
01:41:26,380 --> 01:41:33,560
 You know, he had a really good start the last season at USF, and then he had an injury that really cost him.

1709
01:41:33,760 --> 01:41:41,960
 Last year, he was on pace to be near a 1,000-yard receiver last year for USF, and he's a guy that played a decent bit when he was at Tennessee, so he's done it at the SEC level.

1710
01:41:42,080 --> 01:41:43,720
 He's proven he can play at this level.

1711
01:41:43,820 --> 01:41:51,640
 He knows this system, you know, inside and out, and he was a guy that you just constantly heard about a ton, you know, in spring practices as, hey, this guy's really, really impressive.

1712
01:41:51,860 --> 01:41:56,260
 We're glad we have him because, you know, he's doing a lot of great stuff for us.

1713
01:41:56,360 --> 01:42:01,600
 So, yeah, I mean, I think for Auburn, Nimrod's kind of the guy that's gotten a lot of the attention.

1714
01:42:01,820 --> 01:42:03,280
 Now, you've got some other ones there.

1715
01:42:03,820 --> 01:42:07,660
 Keyshawn Singleton and Jeremiah Coder, I think, are going to be really big players for Auburn this year.

1716
01:42:07,760 --> 01:42:10,360
 Both of them got great size, good explosive ability.

1717
01:42:10,780 --> 01:42:13,180
 They had great seasons last year with Byron Brown at USF.

1718
01:42:13,540 --> 01:42:16,440
 But I think a fully healthy Nimrod is the guy to watch there.

1719
01:42:16,520 --> 01:42:21,200
 He's got that SEC experience, and, you know, he's got a really good, complete receiver in this offense.

1720
01:42:21,200 --> 01:42:26,000
 What is the late spring, summer schedule for Auburn?

1721
01:42:26,260 --> 01:42:28,520
 I know they've got Big Kent next weekend.

1722
01:42:29,220 --> 01:42:34,600
 Classes are out at a lot of the programs across the state.

1723
01:42:34,840 --> 01:42:37,760
 This is a good opportunity for some of the guys to go home.

1724
01:42:38,280 --> 01:42:41,000
 But they're going to be coming back to summer workouts.

1725
01:42:41,660 --> 01:42:47,780
 I'm guessing maybe after Memorial Day, some of these guys get work, et cetera.

1726
01:42:48,360 --> 01:42:55,660
 They go to quarterback whispers or some of the guys that get together in Florida and other places.

1727
01:42:56,240 --> 01:42:58,100
 What's the Auburn offseason schedule?

1728
01:42:59,160 --> 01:43:02,740
 Yeah, so Auburn's going to be coming back, you know, to full kind of, you know,

1729
01:43:02,760 --> 01:43:06,580
 everybody back together here in the next couple weeks when school gets back in session.

1730
01:43:07,360 --> 01:43:14,180
 You know, Alex Gould said last week that, you know, these players got an opportunity to, you know,

1731
01:43:14,180 --> 01:43:18,380
 take some time off, go back home, and then they'll be able to get back together.

1732
01:43:18,520 --> 01:43:24,920
 Now, some guys who live really far off decided to stay, and they're still on campus right now

1733
01:43:24,920 --> 01:43:29,560
 and just kind of, you know, making that transition, I think, from spring to summer.

1734
01:43:29,780 --> 01:43:32,780
 But, you know, Auburn had finals last week.

1735
01:43:32,920 --> 01:43:34,800
 They had graduation over the weekend.

1736
01:43:35,140 --> 01:43:38,760
 So, it's a pretty quiet time on campus for the next week or so.

1737
01:43:39,080 --> 01:43:44,100
 And then, you know, once classes start getting going again here shortly, Auburn will be back and rolling.

1738
01:43:44,360 --> 01:43:49,620
 And then it's a lot of the, you know, the workouts and the, you know,

1739
01:43:49,620 --> 01:43:51,840
 you can do stuff in the summer with your coaches.

1740
01:43:52,660 --> 01:43:55,840
 And, you know, now that used to not be the case for the longest time.

1741
01:43:56,240 --> 01:44:00,760
 So, it's a lot of kind of not a full-blown practice, but it's a lot of stuff, you know,

1742
01:44:00,820 --> 01:44:04,420
 non-contact kind of work that you're going to do over these next few months.

1743
01:44:04,900 --> 01:44:08,920
 But, yeah, they're on a break right now, but they'll get back at it in the next couple weeks.

1744
01:44:09,960 --> 01:44:11,660
 It's one thing about modern sports.

1745
01:44:11,720 --> 01:44:14,060
 There is no such thing as off-season, sort of speaking.

1746
01:44:14,060 --> 01:44:18,420
 This is a window where, to me, the pertinent question is, across the board,

1747
01:44:18,600 --> 01:44:20,580
 your strength and conditioning program.

1748
01:44:20,760 --> 01:44:25,380
 We know that it's ironic that the schools that tend to have the most effective strength

1749
01:44:25,380 --> 01:44:27,860
 and conditioning program usually wins big or bigger.

1750
01:44:28,520 --> 01:44:31,700
 Your thoughts, the transition between this team's strength and conditioning

1751
01:44:31,700 --> 01:44:34,820
 compared to what he inherited from Hugh Freeze.

1752
01:44:35,700 --> 01:44:36,820
 Yeah, I mean, it's interesting.

1753
01:44:36,940 --> 01:44:39,640
 I don't think strength and conditioning was necessarily a huge problem for Auburn

1754
01:44:39,640 --> 01:44:40,820
 over these last few years.

1755
01:44:40,820 --> 01:44:42,880
 But, you know, you've got to have a different way of doing things

1756
01:44:42,880 --> 01:44:44,580
 now that you have a new coaching staff.

1757
01:44:44,760 --> 01:44:49,000
 The big thing here is, you know, what do you know about USF

1758
01:44:49,000 --> 01:44:52,020
 and Alice Gullish and the way they ran things?

1759
01:44:52,420 --> 01:44:53,620
 It's a lot of speed.

1760
01:44:53,760 --> 01:44:54,680
 It's a lot of endurance.

1761
01:44:54,940 --> 01:44:58,600
 It takes a lot of stamina to play this, especially on offense.

1762
01:44:58,800 --> 01:45:02,940
 You want guys to be ready to play fast on all three sides of the ball.

1763
01:45:03,880 --> 01:45:10,140
 And so, you know, Gullish brought over his strength and conditioning staff from USF.

1764
01:45:10,340 --> 01:45:15,600
 George Caritas is a guy who's always, like, right beside Gullish at practices.

1765
01:45:15,920 --> 01:45:20,420
 He's very, very plugged into kind of every aspect of this football program

1766
01:45:20,420 --> 01:45:22,480
 when it comes to strength and conditioning.

1767
01:45:22,840 --> 01:45:26,300
 So, you know, that's something that I think is going to be really big here

1768
01:45:26,300 --> 01:45:28,620
 over these summer months is continuing to push ahead

1769
01:45:28,620 --> 01:45:32,020
 because you've got to be able to have that speed and that stamina

1770
01:45:32,020 --> 01:45:36,420
 to make it through what is a, you know, really grueling fall

1771
01:45:36,420 --> 01:45:38,180
 in the toughest conference in college football.

1772
01:45:39,060 --> 01:45:41,620
 But Auburn's going to want to play super fast,

1773
01:45:41,640 --> 01:45:43,600
 and they're going to want to play very aggressive on both sides,

1774
01:45:43,640 --> 01:45:45,640
 which can't do that if you guys aren't in shape.

1775
01:45:45,860 --> 01:45:47,900
 And, you know, Gullish talked about a few guys.

1776
01:45:48,320 --> 01:45:50,880
 You know, Auburn had some dudes that have been banged up

1777
01:45:50,880 --> 01:45:54,580
 or were coming off of injuries from last season that needed, you know,

1778
01:45:54,600 --> 01:45:56,140
 some little extra time in the spring.

1779
01:45:56,620 --> 01:45:59,300
 The summer's going to be important for them to get in shape and get rolling

1780
01:45:59,300 --> 01:46:03,060
 so that by the time, you know, fall camp rolls around, they're 100%.

1781
01:46:03,060 --> 01:46:05,300
 I know you've got a guy for baseball,

1782
01:46:05,480 --> 01:46:09,400
 but Auburn lost the opening game against Mississippi State last night.

1783
01:46:09,480 --> 01:46:10,900
 It kind of got away from them early.

1784
01:46:11,600 --> 01:46:12,600
 They lost 10-3.

1785
01:46:12,740 --> 01:46:16,180
 They're 14-11 in the SEC, which, believe me, that's good.

1786
01:46:16,600 --> 01:46:20,200
 This year, as much of a long gem as there is in this league.

1787
01:46:20,260 --> 01:46:23,400
 They had a big doubleheader win against Texas A&M

1788
01:46:23,400 --> 01:46:25,280
 in College Station last Saturday.

1789
01:46:25,920 --> 01:46:26,980
 This will be big.

1790
01:46:27,200 --> 01:46:29,100
 And you get to the end of the year and they think, well,

1791
01:46:29,160 --> 01:46:31,600
 maybe you get a break before the SEC tournament.

1792
01:46:31,940 --> 01:46:32,200
 Uh-oh.

1793
01:46:32,840 --> 01:46:33,200
 Georgia.

1794
01:46:33,360 --> 01:46:33,520
 Nope.

1795
01:46:33,900 --> 01:46:35,620
 Georgia is coming in.

1796
01:46:36,100 --> 01:46:38,900
 Your thoughts on where Auburn baseball is right now?

1797
01:46:39,740 --> 01:46:40,940
 Yeah, they're in a really good spot.

1798
01:46:41,060 --> 01:46:42,700
 I mean, you know, I know they lost last night,

1799
01:46:42,780 --> 01:46:44,940
 but if they can find a way to even it back up tonight,

1800
01:46:45,280 --> 01:46:49,020
 they'll have an opportunity on Saturday to play for a series win.

1801
01:46:49,020 --> 01:46:52,000
 If they win, you know, these next two games against Mississippi State,

1802
01:46:52,060 --> 01:46:54,320
 which would be tough, but if they were able to pull it off,

1803
01:46:54,780 --> 01:46:56,920
 it would be their sixth straight SEC series win,

1804
01:46:57,000 --> 01:46:59,600
 and that's worth its way to gold in the postseason.

1805
01:46:59,740 --> 01:47:03,720
 This is a team that's got one of the best resumes in college baseball.

1806
01:47:04,080 --> 01:47:05,920
 Their quad one wins are super high.

1807
01:47:06,040 --> 01:47:08,920
 They've got an extremely high RPI right now.

1808
01:47:09,240 --> 01:47:12,140
 They've got a really good chance that if they continue to just probably,

1809
01:47:12,240 --> 01:47:15,840
 you know, finish out here with a winning record over these last several games,

1810
01:47:16,320 --> 01:47:18,860
 they've got a good chance to be a national seed again.

1811
01:47:18,860 --> 01:47:22,540
 And, you know, not only host a regional, but potentially host a super again.

1812
01:47:22,720 --> 01:47:25,720
 So they put themselves in a great spot with the way they've turned it around from,

1813
01:47:26,100 --> 01:47:28,120
 you know, kind of a slow start at the beginning of SEC play.

1814
01:47:28,340 --> 01:47:33,740
 And you mentioned, you know, you get these two games of state, you know, to wrap up this series.

1815
01:47:33,820 --> 01:47:36,980
 You've got Georgia next week, and they're, you know, currently winning the league.

1816
01:47:37,340 --> 01:47:40,240
 How about the midweek game, the final midweek game next week for Auburn?

1817
01:47:40,380 --> 01:47:41,780
 They've got to go to Jacksonville State.

1818
01:47:42,120 --> 01:47:46,460
 It's a ranked Jacksonville State team that one-ruled them in Auburn earlier this season.

1819
01:47:46,660 --> 01:47:49,100
 So, you know, it's just a plenty of opportunities.

1820
01:47:49,240 --> 01:47:52,680
 It's one of the things we talk about, like, in basketball at the end of the year in SEC play.

1821
01:47:52,740 --> 01:47:54,900
 It's like, you can't really hurt your resume a ton.

1822
01:47:54,940 --> 01:47:55,780
 You can only help it.

1823
01:47:55,980 --> 01:47:58,860
 I think that's kind of where Auburn's at right now, and they're in a good spot.

1824
01:47:58,960 --> 01:48:01,920
 They just need to, you know, kind of pick up the pieces and bounce back to the night

1825
01:48:01,920 --> 01:48:03,720
 and get that momentum rolling again.

1826
01:48:03,720 --> 01:48:10,480
 Yeah, I think they've got a shot to get in the super aid or whatever they call that now, the lead aid.

1827
01:48:11,140 --> 01:48:22,180
 6 a.m. emails, Friday mail bag that I'm sure is chock full, podcast, football, basketball, and some baseball, young man.

1828
01:48:22,300 --> 01:48:26,600
 Where can we get online and get the absolute latest for Auburn sports?

1829
01:48:27,300 --> 01:48:28,640
 Yeah, albanobserver.com.

1830
01:48:28,700 --> 01:48:29,380
 Check it out there.

1831
01:48:29,800 --> 01:48:34,080
 Six bucks a month, $6 a year to get the subscription to everything we've got going on, and we've got plenty of it.

1832
01:48:34,380 --> 01:48:35,300
 It's an off-season.

1833
01:48:35,400 --> 01:48:36,700
 There's not a lot of news going on.

1834
01:48:36,840 --> 01:48:40,380
 We've got plenty of stuff covered for you from football, men's basketball,

1835
01:48:40,640 --> 01:48:42,520
 a little baseball as well, our podcast.

1836
01:48:42,760 --> 01:48:44,640
 So, let's click on the website right now.

1837
01:48:44,720 --> 01:48:51,920
 We've got a ton of stuff this week for folks on all those sports, and you can check it out, you know,

1838
01:48:51,920 --> 01:48:53,660
 anywhere where you listen to your podcasts.

1839
01:48:53,860 --> 01:48:59,260
 Just search Auburn Observer, and, yeah, we'll continue to kind of keep an eye on everything.

1840
01:48:59,660 --> 01:49:04,500
 It might be a way, you know, it might be a break right now, but we've got some fun stuff in the works

1841
01:49:04,500 --> 01:49:05,960
 covering all things Auburn.

1842
01:49:06,660 --> 01:49:09,200
 Including the Mid-Cat Weekend the next week or so.

1843
01:49:09,200 --> 01:49:10,200
 Well, thanks so much, Justin.

1844
01:49:10,280 --> 01:49:12,540
 In the meantime, have a great weekend this time around, okay?

1845
01:49:13,460 --> 01:49:13,800
 Yes, sir.

1846
01:49:13,860 --> 01:49:14,080
 Thank you.

1847
01:49:14,080 --> 01:49:14,540
 Thank you, buddy.

1848
01:49:14,880 --> 01:49:16,480
 Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer.

1849
01:49:16,580 --> 01:49:18,340
 B.B., we've got a lot on our plate.

1850
01:49:18,700 --> 01:49:25,900
 You know, 93-9, the score starting at about 3-4-5, 3-45 with the Alabama-Florida softball game from the tourney.

1851
01:49:26,160 --> 01:49:28,300
 Yeah, Alabama got ahead of the sticks out yesterday.

1852
01:49:28,300 --> 01:49:30,800
 Harold beat Arkansas 7-1.

1853
01:49:30,920 --> 01:49:34,520
 They've got the Florida Gators, who beat Auburn 10-9.

1854
01:49:35,300 --> 01:49:40,120
 In fact, Briskey was named yesterday the SEC Pitcher of the Year.

1855
01:49:40,260 --> 01:49:40,600
 Wow.

1856
01:49:40,680 --> 01:49:41,480
 What a surprise.

1857
01:49:41,660 --> 01:49:46,060
 Pat Murphy, Patrick Murphy, named the SEC Coach of the Year.

1858
01:49:46,660 --> 01:49:51,320
 And tonight, on 93-9, the Braves begin the series with the Dodgers.

1859
01:49:51,560 --> 01:49:53,840
 This is going to tell you a little bit more about the Braves.

1860
01:49:54,320 --> 01:49:56,860
 Chris Sale on the mound for the Braves tonight.

1861
01:49:56,980 --> 01:49:58,620
 That's a good thing, Harold Bugg.

1862
01:50:01,840 --> 01:50:02,660
 Braves tonight.

1863
01:50:02,780 --> 01:50:03,800
 How about these numbers?

1864
01:50:04,060 --> 01:50:08,040
 Dodger batters 11 for 69 against Sale in his career.

1865
01:50:08,700 --> 01:50:12,040
 Braves, Dodgers coming up tonight here on 93-9, the score.

1866
01:50:12,100 --> 01:50:13,240
 That's going to take care of Biz for now.

1867
01:50:13,320 --> 01:50:15,900
 By the way, happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.

1868
01:50:16,420 --> 01:50:20,380
 It's going to take care of Biz for now on behalf of B.B., Greg, James, Blair, the entire crew here.

1869
01:50:20,480 --> 01:50:22,580
 Harold Bugg, thank you so much for your time today.

1870
01:50:22,980 --> 01:50:25,340
 Let's do it again Monday, noon to 2 with a bit more Bug Show.

1871
01:50:25,440 --> 01:50:27,720
 Back here on Sports Radio, 93-9, the score.

1872
01:50:27,720 --> 01:50:27,860
 We'll see you next time.