Boomo Bugg Show 050826
93.9 The Score WYTK - May 8, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-050826/

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

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Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the tie, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9.
Good afternoon and welcome in to the Boomo Bugg Show.
I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us your ride around the Tennessee Valley.
Brett Beaird, welcome in.
Where?
Move over, boys.
This is the day and the weekend for all of you moms.
Good afternoon.
Welcome in and how are you?
Happy Friday to you and the listeners.
Don't you look forward to seeing you on social media at some point this weekend.
Coach Bryant's iconic Bell South commercial.
Have you called your mama today?
I sure wish I could call mine.
The NCAA tournament, Harold Bugg, is now official with 76 teams.
Zach Pounders of the Shoals Sports Report will update which Shoals teams will advance to the quarterfinals.
But Jimmy is here right now to talk about Alabama's updated football schedule and a potential commitment may be coming on Monday.
And that ain't all.
Anytime you get in a huddle with Jimmy Stein, he is always locked on Bama.
That's because he's co-host of Locked on Bama on the network.
Jimmy, welcome in.
Happy Friday to you.
How are you?
Oh, doing great, guys.
Thanks for having me back.
Man, we appreciate you taking time out.
Jimmy, a lot to get to today.
First things first, a little football news.
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?
As the old Western line said, this town ain't big enough for all those 13 teams.
Got to get it to 12.
We have to decide who's going to be that 13th team.
In this case, it's Oklahoma State gone from the schedule coming up here in a year or so.
Jimmy, your reaction to the news this week out of the scheduling department?
Well, Ohio State or Oklahoma State had to go for any number of reasons.
One of them had to go.
I would have been maybe a few months ago or a few weeks ago sort of surprised that it was Oklahoma State gone
and Ohio State sticking around the schedule.
But I'm wondering, and first of all, we don't know exactly when this final decision was made.
Just because it's public doesn't mean the decision wasn't already made sometime back.
So we don't know that.
But I can't help but think that perhaps the 2014 playoff talk was a big part of this.
I would think keeping Ohio State after you've been forced to move to nine SEC games
would have been a little suicidal under the 12-team format.
I know I would have been sort of against it.
I just don't have a lot of confidence in the playoff selection committee in terms of how they factor in strength of schedule.
So I would have been against this with a 12-team format.
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,
I don't really see the harm in it.
And in fact, these games are good for college football.
It's good for the health of college football.
It creates interest.
It's more appealing to the fans than watching lesser opponents.
So under a 2014 playoff, I don't really see a lot of downside here.
So I'm all for it.
So I can't help but wonder if that was a factor in Alabama's decision-making.
I appreciate you bringing it up because a lot of folks are still on the old formula, and that makes a lot of sense.
And at the other side, back to your point about not having a lot of faith in the committee,
I know what they preach this time of the year, end of the first part of the season,
but by the time the sermon is actually practiced at the end of the season, it's always, well, this team's unbeaten,
and they got two losses.
Never mind.
You look at the overall schedule, not taking shots at Indiana.
They earned everything they got, so make sure we're clear on that.
But I still maintain one of the reasons you can do that, one of the factors is you're playing a lighter schedule.
You can keep your key players healthier, so you can take that competition at the end of the season.
Probably some more than some of these other teams were banged up by that point.
But your thoughts just about the fact that now the Big Ten, if anything, who does this favor more with a 24-team field?
The Big Ten or the SEC, or is it pretty much a wash?
I would think it favors the SEC slightly more, but it's a give or take.
And I say that in the sense that there's this idea today, and things will change.
Things are a little cyclical.
But today, I would admit that the top of the Big Ten is as good or even better than the SEC.
But where the SEC stands out is the depth of teams.
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.
I think they're all getting in.
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.
That's how it seems today.
But again, these things can be cyclical, and we make too much of small sample sizes.
Jimmy, I was looking at 2027 once the Ohio State game was confirmed at the SHU.
Their schedule is brutal in 2027.
Now, again, schedules can change, but Ohio State, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Auburn on the road.
On the road.
Yep.
Yep.
You better hope that there's a 2014 playoff and you can lose three or four games and still get in.
I mean, it's very NFL-like.
Yes.
Schedule like that.
I mean, in terms of each week, it's huge.
And that's why you had to cancel Oklahoma State.
Yeah.
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.
First of all, that's just the absolute wrong take.
If Alabama was scared to play someone, they would have canceled Ohio State, not Oklahoma State.
And the reason that you cancel Oklahoma State is because of the brutality of the schedule as is.
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.
It's different if everyone's playing the same schedule, but they're not.
And, again, I equate it to a race.
It's a six-mile race and everyone starts at the beginning.
I mean, why are some people insisting that Alabama or other SEC teams run uphill?
I mean, the race should be flat.
Everyone should run the same grade, not some teams running on flat ground while other teams run uphill.
That's what you're doing to yourself when you add Ohio State and Oklahoma State both to a nine-game schedule.
There's a cumulative effect to playing so many quality teams.
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.
So, same pool, same water, but there is a difference there.
Let's talk a little bit about first things first.
Coming up on 100 days until this rock and roll season, a.k.a. football gets rolling.
Your thoughts this week about Bray Hubbard coming out.
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.
Well, I think really, this is an oversimplification, but to describe what the quarterback battle is at Alabama right now,
I think it's kind of what you're balancing is Keelan Russell, the playmaker, versus Austin Mack, the steady presence.
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,
and it makes it sound like Austin Mack doesn't make plays, which also isn't true.
But it is a general way to look at it.
When Bray Hubbard says something like that, I think to educate everyone on what the quarterback situation is,
it is true, Keelan Russell is an excellent playmaker at quarterback, and he does it more than one way.
He's got a lot of different skills.
For one thing, Keelan's release time is outstanding.
The ball gets out fast.
I mean, he gets out easy.
He's that point guard distributor.
Think even like Bryce Young in the way that the ball comes out.
It comes out quickly, and it goes to the right place.
I mean, that's Keelan.
Now throw in that Keelan's got some real impressive wheels.
I've compared him to Jaden Daniels, and he's not quite that fast.
I mean, in a 40 race, Jaden Daniels is going to edge him out.
Jaden's going to be a little faster.
But Keelan's got a lot of the same style.
He will make people miss.
He's got moves.
He will juke even DBs in the open field.
He will outrun a lot of defenders just on speed alone.
So Keelan's got playmaking skills with his arm and his legs.
What Austin Mack has is age, maturity, year four, knowledge of this offense that he even took with him from Seattle.
He knows exactly what he's doing out there.
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.
But that doesn't mean automatically that Keelan's the choice for the job.
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.
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.
I think that's one more advantage, Keelan.
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.
Jimmy, you've got impeccable sources when it comes to recruiting.
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?
I'm going to say yes, based on multiple crystal ball and RPM type forecasts out there.
It sort of looks like it's going to happen.
And the funny thing is, I mean, you ask me now, yeah, yeah, I think it's going to happen.
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.
I mean, there's no question where the ties are, and he's a Tennessee legacy player.
So most of the time, you sort of know what direction that's going to go.
But that's why you say most, because it's not all of the time.
There has been players connected to Alabama in the past in the same way that have ended up somewhere else.
The fact of the matter is, every kid is different.
Every situation is different.
And there's more than one factor.
I think in 2026, fans tend to just look at NIL and money and think that dictates the outcome in all of these recruitments.
That's not the case.
Every single kid is different.
Every situation is different.
Every family is different.
Every one of these kids prioritizes things differently.
Apparently, this kid added it all up, and Alabama is the place for him and not Tennessee, at least initially.
Now, the transfer portal, recruiting is never really over.
So it looks like on Monday, Kenneth Simon may choose Alabama, and who knows for how many years that will go forward.
But Alabama's decided to get him.
This kid's got a lot going for him.
For an off-ball linebacker, he's a great athlete in space.
So he's sort of what I call the modern linebacker, because the modern linebacker is a space player.
When I was growing up, you know, guys that played that position were thumpers.
I mean, they're very comfortable playing the game in a phone booth.
I mean, they just wanted to get physical.
It was, you know, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary and Ray Lewis later.
But now, today's off-ball linebacker is basically another safety on the field.
And what do you know, Kenneth Simon played safety in high school in his 9th and 10th grade seasons.
Jimmy, you know, we always enjoy beginning Friday with you talking Alabama football, basketball, softball on top again this afternoon.
You can hear that on 93-9, the score.
They had the big stick out yesterday, beating Arkansas 7-1.
You and Luke Robinson do this six days a week on the best podcast on the planet.
Where can we get online to listen, Jimmy?
Yeah, appreciate that, Brett.
Locked on Bama, you can find us on YouTube.
If you prefer the audio, just audio only, you can find Locked on Bama wherever you get your podcasts, like Spotify, iTunes.
Locked on Bama, six days a week.
And even with the breaking news, like perhaps we'll have Monday with the commitment from the kid from Nashville.
More importantly, before you get into the doghouse, it's Mother Day weekend.
Okay, Jimmy, you've been reminded.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I need all the reminders.
I can get of everything.
Or get in trouble, I guarantee you.
Jimmy Stein is Locked on Bama.
Coming up, Blake Lovell, going up to the Music City and checking out the entire SEC world.
Next, stay with us on the Boomo Bugg Show.
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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Just like the morning dew, he's got it all covered when he comes to the SEC.
Blake Lovell, busy there at Southeastern 16.
He's also busy with a yearbook.
It's called Blue Ribbon, and his podcast, Establish the Past.
Blake Lovell, welcome in.
How are you?
Good, guys.
Good to talk to you as always.
You too.
Blake, is it true that with all this expansion going on, we've got both of them going on,
basketball and football, first thing, football, is it true that even Belmont and Frieda Harmon
are going to make the football playoffs and they don't even have a football program?
Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it?
I think we always go back to, like we said, I think just the nature of where we are now,
really, I think across pretty much every sport, just the nature of college athletics in general.
And, yeah, I feel like we're kind of at the point now where, again, if you're looking at it
and you're like, well, you know, why not just put the entire top 25 in there?
That's unfortunately an odd number, but, you know, 24, I guess, will have to do.
And so, yeah, you're looking at all these things and, unfortunately, we always know how this goes.
And there are some people, I think, that, unfortunately, may be a little too naive to believe
that there's going to ever be a chance to go backwards when we know that's just not the case.
Once you go up in numbers, the numbers never going to scale back and it's only going to, I think, increase.
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.
But I don't think it's good for the product.
Obviously, TV is rooting this thing on because they're willing to write the big check.
They want the inventory.
But the bottom line is, even with the old format, let's face it, a lot of those early games, they were laughable.
If you're going to dilute the paint even more, how much more laughable is it going to be?
Yeah, you're just going to get more of these games.
I mean, like you said, you could certainly just look at the straight-up data
and see how many of these one-sided type games we've seen over the past couple of years specifically.
And it's just something where that number would feel like it's only going to grow.
And what it's going to do as well is, you know, as we say, I mean, I think one of the advantages
that college football has had versus, you know, a basketball, baseball, whatever,
is just simply not as many games.
And so each game feels like it carries more value in the regular season.
But, you know, once again, the more you do this, well, all of a sudden, you know,
it's okay if an elite team, a team that maybe expects to go undefeated,
maybe they lose two games, but they're still going to be fine
because they're going to be safely getting to the playoff.
And, you know, that's where, again, it's going to change kind of the expectations, I think, for programs.
And maybe you are, certainly just as with basketball, you know,
you're allowing more of that mediocrity when it comes to true national title contenders
start to creep in there a bit.
And I just think eventually that waters down the product as a whole.
Explain to our listeners about going to 76.
I think most people understand you've got more playing games.
And then, quote, once we get the playing game set, everything's going to be back to normal again.
I don't think anything's going to be back to normal again, but explain this to our listeners
who don't quite understand it yet.
Yeah, the NCAA only put out about a six million word, I think, yesterday, trying to explain all this.
Yeah, so basically, you know, we know how we've kind of acclimated to the new first four and all that.
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,
it's six of these or whatever the number is, you know, you're going to have two sites now.
Dayton's not going to have everything, of course, so you're going to get all these opening round games
where you're going to have a couple of these, you know, 12 seeds playing it out, 11 seeds playing it out.
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.
And so you've got a lot more of these play-in type games, I guess we'll call them.
And so that's one of the biggest changes.
Of course, that's going to now be played Tuesday and Wednesday.
And so you're expanding the number of games on Tuesday and Wednesday, but at the same time, obviously,
you're actually putting a little bit more of that pressure on some of these teams that are going to play them.
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.
It's changing the schedule a little bit, which I think is probably one of the more kind of lesser talked about things
to where I think it's going to be a little bit more complicated than people think when it comes to, you know,
what it does to those teams in particular, because you do have this expansion.
So, you know, you're going to the 12 opening round games.
You've got 24 teams playing in these opening round games.
So, hey, college football playoff, well, it's 24 as a whole.
We've got 24 just to get into the tournament in college basketball now.
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.
And that's really what it comes down to.
You know, I mentioned it before when they were talking about expanding this.
If you look at the resumes of some of the teams from last year, that would safely be in the field.
And sure, we would throw Auburn in there.
We'd put Oklahoma in there.
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,
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
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.
So, it's a complete mess.
It's going to make the product worse in this sport as well.
And, yeah, congratulations.
But love a Southeastern 16.
What does this do for the old formula where coaches like Nate Oates wanted to go out
and have as strong a strength of schedule as possible?
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.
What would be the incentive to go out and schedule such a tough one unless you're just playing for seating?
Your thoughts, you're closer to the epicenter than we are.
How does this influence coaches putting together a schedule going forward?
Yeah, to me, you're going to have one of, you know, there's two schools of thought on how to navigate this.
It's simply, do you want to go out and just win a lot of games?
And if you do in the non-conference, then, okay, just don't make it as tough of a schedule in the non-conference
knowing that you're probably going to be built up by your overall conference record.
And that's really going to do a lot of work for you.
And we know, too, the SEC eventually is going to expand to 20 conference games.
It's inevitable.
It's a matter of when that's going to happen.
But I think that's one way to look at it.
The other way to look at it is, why would maybe you not play the toughest schedule you could possibly play,
the Nate Oates style, knowing that you now have a bit more wiggle room to work with,
to where when it comes to comparing this, and this is why we've used Belmont and all these other teams as the example,
because they would have been one this past year.
Had we been at 76, they would have been heavily debated, because they still, I think, probably would have been left out.
Because if you looked at it, you know, they played one quad one game.
I don't know if Belmont's going to get a quad one game next year, because I think you're going to see
some of these teams are going to be way more willing to go to these players-era events,
which we saw that schedule and stuff come out yesterday.
You're going to see a lot more of this, where, uh-oh, here are the power conference teams
that are all grouping themselves together, and it's just going to, when it comes to the net,
when it comes to your overall strength of schedule, these are all these numbers that these teams
are going to want to manipulate to make sure that when we're deciding these new eight teams
that are going to have a chance to make the tournament, we want to be part of that,
and by doing so, there is no value anymore for me to go out and lose to a mid-major team.
There is zero value in that, because I may be comparing it again to Nate Oates,
who may be having eight, nine games against power conference teams,
and so it's going to be a big decision for some of these, and I think, honestly,
it's going to move more towards a lot of people trying to replicate what Nate Oates
and other teams have done in recent years from a strength of schedule standpoint,
and we know that's not good for teams like mid-major, low-major.
They are going to be, I think, completely left out in this kind of direction moving forward.
I've read two reports this week.
The Tennessee paid Duke Harris to transfer from Wake Forest and skip the NBA, $5 million.
Well, Mike Wilson of Vaquez came out and said, well, it's not $5 million.
I saw a report today to where it's, quote, only four.
Listen, Tennessee and Louisville reportedly have, and again, allegedly have, $18 to $20 million rosters.
How many programs in the country now have $20 million rosters?
Yeah, it's a good question.
We did our national transfer rankings yesterday, and no surprise to probably people that Tennessee
and Louisville were one and two, just based on the fact that they certainly have the most money to spend.
And so, yeah, I mean, I think you're looking at teams like that that certainly are going to be north of that.
I mean, Florida's roster, I think, when all is said and done, it's going to be in that range.
You know, again, what's Michigan working with?
All of these others, and I think that's where, when you're starting to look at teams like that,
you know, Indiana, look at Texas' roster this year.
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.
You know, North Carolina's going to spend a lot.
You know, teams like Miami, they've upped their roster number and so forth.
And so there's a lot of teams out there, I think, when it comes to just these overall incentives that are offered
within these, you know, sort of NIL deals and everything like that.
I mean, this is, as we've said, guys, I mean, it is simply a money game now.
And, you know, not to say that you're always going to win out because here's what's going to happen.
If some of these teams that are spending this much money don't have successful seasons, well, guess who they're going to be?
They're going to be the new Kentucky Wildcats because that's been used against Kentucky, I would say, a lot.
You know, this offseason is that, look at that $22 million or whatever the number was that got out last year.
They didn't have a lot of success with it, so that can be used against you if you don't succeed.
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.
Tennessee, Louisville, teams like that will be preseason top 10 teams.
Florida could be the number one team in the country.
And you just have to be able to meet those expectations.
There's a lot of them out there, and the money is not.
I mean, LSU's roster, there's one to keep an eye on.
They've got two players on the roster right now.
That's it.
But could LSU's roster wind up being close to whatever millions upon millions?
Absolutely, by the time they're done, because they've got all this money waiting for Will Wade,
and this is just the new norm now.
In fact, Will Wade said, we're bringing in seven international players.
And you're right, he's got quite a budget working with.
Listen, great stuff.
I know this has not been a good day for a lot of people.
There's so much negativity on social media about expanding the playoffs
and then also the NCAA basketball tournament.
But where can we get online and get the best podcast, be it football, basketball, or baseball?
Yeah, I always appreciate it, guys.
Yeah, check us out over at Southeast and 16 on YouTube.
Of course, a lot of off-season basketball stuff, baseball stuff this weekend,
cranking up the football as well.
So, yeah, check us out, Southeast and 16 on YouTube.
Sounds great, Blake, as always.
Great job.
Keep it up and have a great weekend, all right?
Thanks, guys.
Thank you, bud.
Late level, Southeastern 16.
Coming up May, what's that train?
Is that a train or is that some light at the end of the tunnel for baseball playoffs in the Shoals area?
Zach Pounders will sort it all out next.
Stay with us here on the Boomo Bugg Show.
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College softball, Alabama facing Florida today
in the semifinals of the SEC tournament.
The Crimson Tide defeated Arkansas 7-1 Thursday in Lexington.
You can catch the Crimson Tide and the Gators right here on the score.
Coverage starts at 345.
Auburn was eliminated from the SEC tournament Thursday
with a loss to Florida.
College baseball, North Alabama on the road today
facing Central Arkansas in Conway.
It begins a three-game weekend series.
The Lions have lost three in a row, falling to Samford Tuesday.
They're 24-23 and 15-9 in the Atlantic Sun.
Alabama will face South Carolina today,
a three-game series in Columbia.
Crimson Tide coming off a loss Tuesday to Troy.
They're 32-17.
Thursday, Auburn fell to Mississippi State 10-3.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9, the score.
Welcome back in.
He is a busy boy these days in their backyard of the Shoals.
Zach Pounder is the founder and manager of Shoals Sports Report.
Zach, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing good.
How are y'all?
Doing good.
And we're doing probably not as busy as you.
You've got a lot of balls in the air juggling right now.
Playoffs time on the baseball and softball fields.
Let's start, if you will, with baseball.
And the season continues to rock and roll at its central.
They put the broom to Alexandria.
10-2, 5-2.
Central keeps the train on tracks.
Talk to us about Central High, Zach.
Yeah, last night, Central jumped on them in game one, really,
in the first couple of innings.
It kind of coasted.
It was 10-1, I think, in the fifth or sixth inning.
And Alexandria got one back in the seventh to make it 10-2.
And the second game, Central jumped out early and built a lead.
Alexandria couldn't recover.
It was a three-hour trip from Alexandria.
So, it was a three-hour road trip.
You never know how teams were going to find having to go that far away
on a bus all day or not before in a hotel room or night.
Unless you've done it before, sometimes have around here.
Central's been to Louisiana this year.
I think the base last year.
So, they've been around as far as travel, hotel rooms, and all that.
And for travel ball nowadays, players stay more than ever.
But with the school team, I think it's different as far as
staying with that group of kids.
And adults, I think.
Listen, first of all, I want to thank you for helping set up the interview.
We had a great interview with Josh Fowler, the head baseball coach at Central,
earlier this week.
A couple of things, and you mentioned one.
They got off to an early lead.
Harold and I talk a lot about fundamentals of baseball.
But pitching and defense win games.
Reed Bruce threw a seven-hitter in the opener.
Cole Wilcoxon gave up one earned run over six innings in the final.
And as you mentioned, they jumped on, Alexander.
They got an early lead.
I wouldn't say they coasted.
But, Zach, again, if you play defense and you've got dominant pitching,
you've got a real good chance to win all these series.
By the way, Central now on a 15-game winning streak.
Right.
You hear every October in the MLB about pitching, defense, and offense.
Yep.
You can have all of it in the world.
If you can't pitch, you get out.
Yep.
What's it worth?
But, yeah, Central has Reed Bruce and Cole Wilcoxon combined 13 innings last night
and 14 innings thrown.
And their defense, there's a bunch of seniors at Central.
I think it's 10 seniors maybe.
A couple are playing college ball.
So, very sound defensively.
And Coach Fowler is one of the best in the area as far as coaching the fundamentals
and making sure they know how to win playoff games out at Central.
And plus, in the playoffs, it is about that mentality mindset.
That's half the game in baseball anyways.
But if you can jump on to him early, because if it gets to a 0-0 game in the fourth,
fifth inning, you kind of have an idea of this is going to be a 1-0, 2-1, 2-0 kind of game.
And if it starts out 2-1 in the first inning, it might be an 8-9 game or whatever.
You never know.
And last night, Mars Hill played a 1-0 game with Lindsey Lane in the first game.
And game two was 2-1 into the seventh.
And it would end up being a 6-2 in the eighth.
Which means it lived up to its billing.
We said coming into this matchup that it was going to be two bulls butting heads
and it proved it yesterday.
Now, correct us if we're wrong, we're looking at 4-30 this afternoon.
It's win and move on, lose and go home.
Your thoughts, who takes this afternoon's rubber match between Mars Hill and Lindsey Lane?
I saw a stat this morning that said this.
Mars Hill's season in the last five years, and four of them, has been in a game three.
But Lindsey Lane has never won a game three in six wild appearances.
And they've played two game threes so far and have not won a 1-0.
So, something's going to break here, I think.
Personally, I want to see the Mars Hill Red Bay part three.
That's where he's got Red Bay for the first time in the three years of running up.
But Mars Hill didn't have an earned run last night at all.
Bo Willis threw seven innings, two hits, a run, no earned runs, five Ks.
Brooks Campbell threw six point one innings, like 118 pitches, two runs, no earned runs.
So, if Mars Hill can play standard defense and not give errors or walks away,
or hit by pitchers or whatnot, they have a good chance to win this game.
Their offense kind of exploded last night.
I think when you play a game three in the playoffs in high school, how you win game two to fourth game three matters.
If you win a five to four game on a walk-off, I like your chances.
If you win an eight to five kind of game where it was kind of back and forth,
but no team really had a big moment to swing the game, I like both sides chances.
And if you win a game ten to two or whatever in game two to fourth game three, I like your chances there.
And game one, the same way, how you win game one matters in game two and 25 minutes later.
So, Mars Hill won it six to two last night.
The offense came alive a triple and a single in the eighth and opened the scoring up and got to six.
I would assume Carson Wingo's from Mars Hill today.
He went last week in game three at Vincent.
He's a freshman and sophomore.
And Bo Willis and Brooks Campbell are done for the series.
I know last night he threw Noah Ham back 25 pitches, but he's good for today.
And Cody Willis also should be good for today.
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.
And it's going to be all hands on deck, whatever it takes.
Yeah, and you better get there early, too, to get a seat.
I can assure you for game three.
Listen, everyone knows how good Dasher Athletics is, basketball, football, and certainly baseball.
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.
But they lost.
They lost a Westbrook Christian, who's going to be playing Central next week, beat Dasher 10-8 in 9-4.
Garrett Reed knocked in five runs, but he did not pitch a good game.
Allowed 11 hits, six earned.
That may have been his worst game of the year.
And defense.
We just got through talking about that.
I know the Times Daily mentioned they had to combine eight errors in the two games, which obviously hurt them.
Zach, again, we've talked about how good they are.
But, again, defense in the right day, obviously, Westbrook Christian was ready yesterday, sweeping the Tigers.
Yes, that field was very big also at Westbrook Christian.
They had a lot of foul territory.
So the first outback for Westbrook Christian, it's a random ball to third, and the third baseman overthrows it to first.
And it doesn't have foul territory.
So the runner holds up at second, takes extra base.
But it's a big foul territory.
So if you over there, a ball to first, it's going to go 100 feet basically past you, and you'll get it.
But also, with Garrett, though, Westbrook hit him well as anyone, I think, being cutting last year in game two of the championship series.
Now, Westbrook can barrel the baseball.
I mean, the first two batters of the game with Garrett in game two, I was thinking, oh, my gosh.
They were barreling the baseball, and I was lying.
This could be either way.
I will say this, though, for Deshler, it is hard to find international athletes in the nowadays world.
But Garrett Reid is a rare breed.
I agree.
He's had a big moment in the playoffs in football, basketball, and baseball all this year.
Last night, Deshler is tied – or Deshler's down 4-1 in the fifth inning.
He hits a three-run home run, coming up at 4-3 before Westbrook ties it at 4.
And the whole Deshler side erupted.
You kind of thought, that's the moment to swing it.
No pun intended.
But Westbrook tied it at 4, had a five-run seven, and just put it away basically.
I think there was about four or five home runs last night in game two alone.
Dylan All had one for Deshler, and Garrett had a three-run shot, three-run shot also.
But they got to Dylan All also quick last night as far as barreling the baseball again.
For Central, my advice is get a game in game one or two and see what happens in game three.
We never know when teams travel together as a normal team, how they are.
You mentioned Red Bay earlier.
Let's talk a little bit about Red Bay.
They are in a sweep North Sand Mountain, 4-3, 13-5.
If Mars Hill survives today and that match comes back on the menu, you've got two of probably the most underrated coaches,
not only in North Alabama, but probably the entire state.
Your thoughts about the potential Red Bay and Mars Hill Bible matchup?
Potentially, Mars Hill and Red Bay have two of the best coaches in the state, I would say, as far as all passes go.
I agree.
You're going to be hard-pressed to find two coaches who have played in the majors and been all-around baseball.
I mean, Josh Willenham played 10-plus years in the MLB.
Donovan Ham played a couple years in the MLB and had a lot of time in the minors.
But they've seen so much baseball.
They've probably seen everything from the blowout games and all that.
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.
Yep.
Game one, Red Bay's down 3-2, bottom of the seventh.
They love the bases, score on a satisfied tie with one out.
And they love the bases again.
And it's a walk-off hit-by-pitch to win the game in game one, 4-3.
They then win game two, 13-2, jumping on North Sand Mountain, quit with a five-run first inning.
And they're supposed to be coasted.
And everybody could get a 10-run lead to put the game away.
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
because it's like the game is over, but it's not over.
And for Red Bay, it's like, okay, let's get the next week with no injuries or no issues.
Yeah, absolutely.
Listen, not only are we going to be talking about the semifinals next week,
but the North Region softball, and I know you're going to be there.
That's the other thing I keep telling people.
You go to all these games.
You've got the players of the game, the pitchers, the records, who they're going to be seeing,
just some of the teams next week.
And we'll talk about this then.
But Russellville, Hamilton, Central Wilson, Mars Hill, Colbert Heights, Rogers, Colbert County.
Boy, they've got a pitching staff.
Belgreen, Tharptown, Lexington, Hackelberg, and Scholes-Christian.
That's going to be a lot of fun.
That begins Monday at the Sportsplex, and I know you're going to be covering it
but listen again, thank you for your help with the interviews.
Great coverage.
Where can our listeners get online and get the absolute latest late this afternoon about game three
and also getting ready for softball next week and the semifinals in baseball?
Yes, we have a regional and sophomore preview coming out tomorrow on Saturday on our website
that has COVID comments from all the teams that are COVID-J involved.
But on Facebook, Scholes Sports Report.
Three words, Scholes Sports Report.
And on Twitter, at lowercase S-H-O-A-L-S-P-O-R-T-S.
Zach, plenty to keep you busy.
Thanks so much.
Good luck out there this weekend.
Let's do it again soon, okay?
Thank you.
Thank you, buddy.
Zach Pounders, he's the founder and editor of Scholes Sports Report.
Coming up in the next hour, I'm going to be taking all over the place.
What's going on down the plains?
Justin Ferguson talking Auburn.
Doug Segrist, the veteran, talking the entire world of college football slash basketball.
And Mike Hugenden, he is the A&P, Atlantic to the Pacific when it comes to college sports.
It's all straight ahead here on the Boom on Buck Show.
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Campaign attack ads have emerged the most within the race for attorney general
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Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg Show.
Your exclusive inside track to the tide.
Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in, our tour of the Boomo Bugg Show.
I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley.
With that, we say hello to Mike Huguenin.
He's National College Football slash Basketball Analyst down in the great state of Florida.
Mike, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing well is trying to stay cool.
We're just getting more difficult.
Mike, your thoughts.
Obviously, you're a great one to ask this question to.
Looks like college football and basketball are going to get bigger.
The question, Mike, are they going to get bigger and better in the postseasons?
No, I don't think it's going to be better.
The idea that you need 76 teams in the NCAA basketball tournament, no, you don't.
It's, frankly, to me, just a handout to the Power Five Leagues.
I'm counting the Big East in the Power League in basketball.
You know, this year that meant Auburn and Indiana would have been in the NCAA tournament.
Who cares?
Outside an Auburn fan and an Indiana fan.
College football, I will say that I'm impressed by the Football Coaches Association being so vocal.
Here's what we want.
And I think, you know, they've been around for a long time.
And I've covered college sports for a long time.
I'm not sure I can remember the AFCA being this vocal and strident this century.
So I think that's a positive.
Though I tend to think if a move to 76 teams in the NCAA basketball tournament is unnecessary,
a move to 24 teams in college football, I don't even think there's a word to describe it.
It's far, far, far beyond unnecessary.
Let me ask you this, Mike.
Go ahead, Mike.
They've had one year of 12.
I'm sorry, two years of 12.
I guess they're just going to totally bypass 16 and just go straight to 24.
Which is, I don't, it's participation trophy time in college football.
Right, right.
Yeah.
In this modern era with all the internet connections, would they ever consider maybe, yes, listen to the coaches.
I promise you, anybody would have walking around since will agree with that.
But why not listen to the fans?
At least throw it out there and see what they think.
You may not do it, but at least get what's on their mind and have it as validated.
And the other part of that is Alabama this week dropped Oklahoma State from the future schedule because they had to.
They had 13 teams.
They could only have 12, so it came down to Ohio State or Oklahoma State.
And one of my guests earlier brought up a good point.
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.
So, in this case, if it's going to go to 24, you can absorb the loss.
Not that you want it.
Not that it's going to happen.
But the likelihood is greater.
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.
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.
So, the idea, I'm laughing already.
They're never going to listen to the fans.
No.
Ever.
The only way to still listen to the fans is if the tickets go and become too expensive and the fans start staying home.
That is it.
That is it.
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.
We'll be fine.
We'll be fine.
Yeah.
The other thing you mentioned, Alabama dropped to Oklahoma State.
Well, Georgia dropped FSU in vice versa yesterday.
I do not think that a 2014 playoff field would lead to better non-conference games.
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?
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.
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.
I think if you ask fans, a lot of them would say, yeah, you don't need to play the conference championship games anymore.
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.
Of course we're going to continue playing that game.
So I'm not convinced that that's going to happen.
I think what I can see is I can see earlier start, earlier finish, 2014, and conference title games, which would be beyond ridiculous.
But it's going to be interesting to see how all this shakes out.
But, again, I think the coaches need to be praised for speaking out.
Now the next step for the coaches is not that I'm, you know, I'm certainly not a Dabo Sweeney apologist.
A lot of the stuff he does, it's stupid.
But I think his calling out of Pete Golding, if coach, you know, every coach complains about tampering.
And, yeah, it's never going to go away.
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.
I mean, here's a case where a dude was on the Clemson campus, enrolled in school.
Yeah, literally.
Golding evidently said, hey, what are you doing?
We'll give you more money.
Come here.
And the kid lied.
So that's the kind of stuff that coaches need to be worried about next.
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.
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?
And I'll be honest.
I think the people that are more likely to hold them accountable than anybody else are other coaches.
Yeah.
Because, again, tampering is expected.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
I don't care if you're the Ohio State coach, if you're the Georgia coach, if you're the Louisiana Monroe coach,
for the New Mexico State coach.
Tampering is going on trying to get your players.
And I think most coaches can live with that.
My presumption is that if what Davo Sweeney said happened, that is just so blatant.
Yeah.
I can't – if other coaches aren't like, yeah, that dude, that's beyond the pale.
You went a step too far.
Let's nip this in the bud.
Because you're right.
I don't think – you know, I've yet to hear any commissioner talk about that.
I've yet to hear the NCAA talk about that.
I think the only people who can really police themselves are coaches.
And the cynical part of me goes, well, then it's never going to stop.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
And, Mike, the other thing Davo did, he documented it.
He had literally all the receipts, so to speak, of the conversations, of the text messages from Pete Golding to the player.
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.
I'm like you.
I'd rather go to 16 if you're going to expand.
The conference championships, I like them because they have a definitive champion on the field.
But if you're going to expand all this, you can't keep doing it.
Now, I disagree with them.
They think you only need to have one bye week.
I think you need to have two.
But, you know, the first two rounds of the playoffs, the higher seed would get the home games.
Mike, I don't have a problem with somebody coming out and saying, look, this is my list of eight things.
Let's put this on the table, start looking at it, and come to a compromise.
I don't remember them being this vocal about something this century.
I think it's a gigantic positive.
And, no, nobody's ever going to agree with anything that's proposed, everything that's proposed.
You know, the NCAA tournament, I think, is a perfect example.
I would argue that the only people who want that are college coaches and college administrators.
I don't think the fans want it.
I assume the players want it.
But, you know, from what I've read, the TV is not going to pay more money.
That's right.
But they are going to have, I saw somebody yesterday say, well, they are going to increase the number of commercials
during the NCAA tournament games.
I'm thinking, oh, my God.
There's going to be more of progressive ads than there is of actual basketball action.
But the college football playoff, that is something that the TV networks will pony up for.
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.
But, again, I'm pleased that the coaches seem to have become more vocal and strident.
Absolutely.
Mike, which one do you actually detest the most, going to 76 or going to 24?
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,
before there were any pro teams in the South other than the Falcons.
That's how old I am.
I think the one thing that's sort of the saving grace for the basketball tournament is that on that Thursday,
there will still be 64 teams playing.
Yeah.
I think the idea, you know, somebody said, well, if, you know, last year some of the first-round matchups,
you would have had North Texas at Miami.
Oh, come on.
Come on.
Michigan and Utah.
You know, oh, great.
Good.
The team that finished fourth in the Big 12 against the team that finished fourth in the Big 10.
Great.
Super.
What a great national championship tournament first-round game that is.
So, the 24 is a bridge too far.
I'll be honest.
If they're going to go to 24, I'd rather see them return to the BCS and then play a plus-one game.
I agree.
Mike, you mentioned you love college basketball.
Thank goodness Tennessee has clarified some things this week.
Said that report of Duke Harris getting $5 million to come to Tennessee, that's not right.
It's a mere $4 million.
Looking at the total payroll of Tennessee, it's a report of $18 to $20 million for Tennessee basketball, not football.
And Louisville is right there with them.
Your thoughts about where the Greenbacks are now with college basketball.
Baseball.
Let's just ask the fans for more money.
But the Tennessee team on paper, it's fascinating to me because, man, that's a lot of scoring power.
Oh, yeah.
I don't know if Rick Barnes is off.
He's going to have to change his offense.
And I'm also intrigued to see how he gets this group to play defense.
Because Rick Barnes knows more defense.
And just because they're spending a lot of money, I mean, Kentucky evidently spent $22 million last year.
Yeah.
And they were horrendous.
So, and then you got LSU, which as of right now has one official player on its roster.
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.
Absolutely.
But great stuff.
Always enjoy the conversation.
Two juicy topics this week as far as expanding to 76 and 24.
Listen, have a great weekend.
Happy birthday.
Happy birthday.
Happy Mother's Day to your mother.
To your wife.
Hopefully she's doing a lot better.
I got a friend of mine, Mike, who had two back surgeries this week.
Bless his heart.
Listen, have a great weekend.
Let's do this again real soon.
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The score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
He is the vet when it comes to talking college sports in the SEC.
It doesn't matter what shape the ball is.
Football, basketball, softball, any ball.
He's always having a ball.
Doug Segrist, former co-host of The Zone and ABC 3340 Down in B-HAM,
voted one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
And his book is called A Storm Came Up.
Doug Segrist, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm doing great, guys.
How y'all doing?
Man, we're doing all right.
Interesting stuff this week, Doug.
I saw where people are always asking, you know,
you watch these Major League Baseball games,
and you say, how in the world are these folks making any money?
And we have a friend who spent almost 20 years in the bigs, David Weathers.
His son now, Ryan, plays for the Yankees.
David said, look, the money comes from TV.
And to break this down, in terms of teams we can relate to, Doug,
I saw where the question was, how much does Alabama and other teams
rely strictly on ticket sales for their total revenue?
Alabama only just over 28%.
Auburn just over 25%.
And Ole Miss only 24%.
The most reliant was Arkansas.
So the question is, where does the other money come from?
And we said, well, it either comes through TV or donations
from, like, the Beard Boys or Doug Segrist.
Would you agree with that, Doug?
I would agree.
And, I mean, television has become the decisive factor.
And it's really what's created the has and have nots
like we've never seen before.
I mean, we're living in the Gilded Age.
And to break that down, you're looking at basically out of every dollar,
75 cents comes from TV or donations.
The question is, what happens if you put all your equity
and you're betting the farm on future TV deals?
What happens if TV finally gets so saturated and those deals start to dry up?
Or are we just sitting here and laughing at that because it's fans?
You can punch us.
You can slap us.
And what do we do?
We'll come back and say, thank you, sir.
I may have another.
Yeah, I mean, it's gotten crazy.
And everything depends on this ever-climbing viewership.
And at some point, you're right, the saturation will be so much.
Or that people just lose the interest because, hey, you know,
players get more than, you know, school teachers and entrepreneurs.
And people get turned off by it.
So it's a danger out there.
But what it's done is kind of separate the haves and have-nots even more.
Where even right now, I mean, the SEC is struggling to compete with the Big Ten going forward.
Now, accelerate that.
Look at a UNA, Jackson State, Troy.
They're not even on the same playing field.
And that's not really what the game's supposed to be.
You know, to me, Doug, another thing that's going to turn off fans,
and you already hear it, is back in the day,
you'd see guys crying on the sidelines when they lose.
You'd see their hearts being poured out to it.
Nowadays, if they lose, it's like watching an NFL game.
What do they do?
They go over there and they're laughing.
They're cutting up, shaking hands.
People in our neck of the woods love college football because it's all about passion.
If you see these guys making $5, $10 million, and they're laughing after a loss,
at what point does that become, uh-oh, this thing going to jive with fans?
We're getting pretty close to that point.
But listen, I'm going to blame the schools, too.
You just mentioned 24% of revenue at Alabama, 28% at Auburn.
I think I got the figures right.
But why are ticket prices?
Continue to go up.
Now you're talking about you could really pay off your fan base the way Arthur Blank does
at, you know, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium with concession prices that are like 1985 level.
Why do we have to squeeze every single dollar out of the people that bleed your, you know,
whatever your team colors are?
I have seen a lot of negative comments this week, certainly about the expansion to 76.
I know you're a tremendous college basketball fan.
I've been hearing more about expanding to 24.
A lot of the fans, some of the coaches certainly don't like it.
Doug, your thoughts now that we're officially at 76 for basketball, and I think it's just a matter of time,
before we go to 24 in football.
As Harold mentioned earlier, is bigger, better?
I think for basketball, it is.
Okay, let's look at when it was 64 teams.
And the number of Division I teams you had at the time, that was just 23% of the field got in the NCAA tournament.
Now you expand it to 76.
The number of teams that's expanded, it's only 25%.
So you're still talking about the same representation we had 40 years ago.
So I think that's in line.
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.
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.
Get your footing.
You win the game.
You see the upset in the first, even second round team.
We've seen the team get to the final four that way.
So I think you're going to see more upset.
I think what they need to do, though, and to make the regular season more compelling, is reduce the at-large.
In other words, if you win your conference title during the regular season, you're in.
If you win your conference tournament, you're in.
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.
But it, you know, it really has weight in these one big leagues.
Why not open up space for two teams from, you know, what's conventionally a Sun Belt or Conference USA?
Well, the reason it makes too much sense, Doug, so that's probably the biggest reason we're out there.
Yeah, that's where we're lost.
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.
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?
You've been doing this a while, too.
When's the last time you saw two Bulls have a home-and-home series like Alabama and Ohio State going forward?
It's very rare.
In this day and age, you know, that was the conventional wisdom that that was the game Alabama would drop.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
And Oklahoma State in the last 10 years has not been a big threat.
Ohio State in the last 110 years has been the biggest threat out there.
So, I commend them for this.
Are you taking, you know, are you biting off more than you can chew?
You know, we just don't know going forward.
So, I really praise this decision.
You know, we're looking at Alabama playing two power forward non-conference teams the next few years anyway.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, these schedules are just incredible.
And, you know, Kirby got a lot of pushback, you know, for his comments about the depth of the SEC.
But he's exactly right.
It is an absolute grind.
It doesn't mean the best teams are in the SEC, but it means the best collection of teams are there.
And there are just no gimmies anymore.
Well, let me reiterate what you just said.
Alabama's road games in 2027, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Auburn.
Doug, that is an absolute gauntlet.
It is.
And if you go before, what, 92 expansion, you're talking about, you know, three all-time favorites from three different conferences.
Yeah.
You know, and two of them now are in your league.
I mean, I go back to when I really became a college football fan.
You look at, like, the 1977-78 schedules for Alabama.
Mm-hmm.
They were playing those type of non-conference games.
You know, Nebraska.
Yep.
USC, home-and-home, Notre Dame.
But they could afford to do it because you know, played five or six SEC games.
And those, you know, some of those games were your breathers.
Well, there are no breathers anymore.
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.
Doug, you better have a good quarterback if you're going to face that schedule.
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.
And that's Trent Seaborn.
Every time you look up, Alabama is recruiting another five-star quarterback.
And poor old Trent, he's only a four-star quarterback.
But he's, every time you look up, he is the chief recruiter in that room saying, bring it on.
You probably know a young man better than we do.
The one thing we do know is he's used to competition.
Thompson basically is a double-A or triple-A in terms of just having to fight for your position.
So this is nothing new for him from the principle of having to land your top spot on that roster.
Well, this kid's been a starter since eighth grade and, you know, state titles since then.
And, you know, when they moved back home, they could have gone anywhere for playing time.
And they took on what even then was the number one program in the state.
I mean, that's a lot of confidence.
And, you know, I think, too, when you're homegrown, you are more of a fan.
It's not just a business decision.
You know, and if it doesn't work out in two or three years, you can go somewhere else probably with everyone's blessing.
But I think that's kind of the makeup of this kid.
He's not scared of anything.
And he's helping bring the other five stars in there, even the ones who compete with him.
I just – we don't see that much in this day and age.
No.
It's an old school.
Absolutely.
Listen, the reason you didn't come on last week, I believe you were working the region's tradition.
We talked to Stuart Sink earlier this week.
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.
I know it's a lot of work, believe me.
But, Doug, talk about working with the coaches, the celebrities, a little bit about the week at Greystone.
Well, Wednesday's just an unbelievable day because, you know, we call it the unofficial kickoff to college football season
because it's the first time everybody kind of comes out of hibernation and they're available.
And, you know, you often have Dabo there.
You've got Kirby there.
Yeah.
Lane Kiffin's been there before Pete Golding was there.
It's not just the Alabama and Auburn coaches.
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.
They had to come indoors and they're just bringing one guest after another.
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.
And then Greg Sankey's dropping, you know, knowledge that we didn't know.
For example, the, you know, the top seeds in the playoffs going forward will get to declare their quarterfinal and semifinal destinations.
I mean, that was a pretty big chunk of news.
So it's just, it's a great environment.
And then the tournament itself, it's a major, it's very social, and, you know, Stewart dominates from start to finish.
Absolutely.
You know what, Doug?
Speaking of Greystone, years ago they had a pretty famous resident down there by the name of Michael Jordan.
And they hosted a major tournament.
We actually went down and covered it.
And I remember that we was with a photographer and we thought, man, this is, this is too good to be true.
Everything, you know, you have those days where everything goes right.
And so we're going to wrap up early.
We get back to the parking lot.
He looks at me.
I look at him.
We say, where are the keys?
We lost the keys.
How'd he get a locksmith?
Yeah, the parking lot.
But that is one beautiful golf course, is it not?
And Michael Jordan, he'll put it on the map.
Yeah.
And, you know, he lived here when he was with Barron.
He played in the tournament.
And that's back when he and Charles were BFF.
And it was just, it kind of elevated what was already a pretty big tournament to another
level.
If you remember back in those days, they had two days of pro-am.
Yeah.
Because it wasn't a major.
You just had three days of competition.
And you get, you know, like rock and rollers.
I remember the soap star, Jack Wagner, from General Hospital.
And now it's down to one day.
And, of course, the focus now is on football coaches.
But, you know, you'll see Condoleezza Rice out there every few years.
So it's just incredible.
And Greystone is just a gracious host.
Yeah.
Well, I know you worked hard, along with everybody else at Regions.
Listen, bud, I always enjoyed the conversation.
A lot of things to talk about in May.
Happy Mother's Day to a lot of the mothers.
We'll say that before we go off.
Certainly to you.
But have a great week.
Thank you.
I look forward to talking soon.
We're going to hold you to it, my friend.
Doug Segrist hooking up with us from the magic city of Birmingham.
Let's head on farther down to Southeastern Park to a place called Auburn to get the latest
Tiger Talk with Justin Ferguson on deck.
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The Atlanta Braves facing the Dodgers tonight in Los Angeles
in a matchup of division leaders.
Atlanta coming off a series with Seattle where they drop two of three to the Mariners.
It'll be Chris Sale getting the start tonight.
He's 6-1, an ERA of 2.14, as 49 strikeouts on the season.
Emmett Sheehan will go for Los Angeles.
Coverage on the score tonight begins at 7.55.
Alabama softball facing the Florida Gators today at the SEC Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky.
It's the semifinals.
The Crimson Tide coming off a 7-1 victory against Arkansas on Thursday.
You can catch Alabama's run in the SEC Tournament right here on The Score.
Coverage of today's game against Florida begins at 3.45.
And at college baseball, North Alabama on the diamond today.
They're in Conway to start a series with Central Arkansas.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
Time to say hello to Justin Ferguson.
Got the Auburn Tigers covered there at Auburn Observer, I should say.
Justin, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm doing all right, hurry up.
Man, we're doing all right, Justin.
A lot to get to today, but first of all, shout out to the Auburn softball team.
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?
Yeah, I mean, they showed a lot of fight.
I mean, this is a team that had a lot of really bad losses, especially down the stretch.
Kind of felt like the season had really gotten away from them.
And, you know, they were able to hang in there and play really well for a few games and just come up just short.
They're going to miss the NCAA tournament, but you show a little life at the end of a lost season.
And, you know, that's something that, you know, maybe they might be able to take that as some momentum here moving forward.
Is there some kind of a parallel between how the principle there between softball and Auburn basketball this past season?
Obviously, things didn't go well in the regular season for the Auburn basketball team, especially at the end.
But then they caught life and won the NIT.
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.
And in the next season.
Yeah, maybe so.
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.
Now, obviously, they got to do more winning, you know, with the NIT run.
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.
You know, that's definitely something that I think Auburn basketball took full advantage of.
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.
Speaking of recruiting, it's about to pick up Wild and Wooley for Auburn.
Now, they picked up a recruit earlier this week, Braylon Aduar, four-star receiver from Tennessee, 62-205.
And we talked with you a little bit about this last week.
Big Cat weekend this time next week is coming back again.
I was going to ask you, any changes with this?
I think people are wondering, will Alex Golich add his own signature version of this?
It's low stress, a lot of fun, you know, watermelon eating contest, throw people in the pool.
At least that's what Hugh Freeze did.
But your thoughts on Big Cat and any changes under Alex Golich and his staff?
You know, I would be surprised if Golich, you know, really changed it up a ton.
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.
You know, I need to learn Auburn and what makes this place kind of tick.
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.
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.
I just think you need to do it.
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.
Justin Ferguson in the huddle with us.
He's busy there at the Auburn Observer.
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.
In your opinion, it was pretty much last year, it was like a silly question to answer.
We know who it would have been, and Cam Coleman, we know he's no longer there.
It's 2026, you go to the cash register.
Who will be the go-to receiver on this team this season?
I think the easy answer here is Chaz Nimrod.
You know, he had a really good start the last season at USF, and then he had an injury that really cost him.
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.
He's proven he can play at this level.
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.
We're glad we have him because, you know, he's doing a lot of great stuff for us.
So, yeah, I mean, I think for Auburn, Nimrod's kind of the guy that's gotten a lot of the attention.
Now, you've got some other ones there.
Keyshawn Singleton and Jeremiah Coder, I think, are going to be really big players for Auburn this year.
Both of them got great size, good explosive ability.
They had great seasons last year with Byron Brown at USF.
But I think a fully healthy Nimrod is the guy to watch there.
He's got that SEC experience, and, you know, he's got a really good, complete receiver in this offense.
What is the late spring, summer schedule for Auburn?
I know they've got Big Kent next weekend.
Classes are out at a lot of the programs across the state.
This is a good opportunity for some of the guys to go home.
But they're going to be coming back to summer workouts.
I'm guessing maybe after Memorial Day, some of these guys get work, et cetera.
They go to quarterback whispers or some of the guys that get together in Florida and other places.
What's the Auburn offseason schedule?
Yeah, so Auburn's going to be coming back, you know, to full kind of, you know,
everybody back together here in the next couple weeks when school gets back in session.
You know, Alex Gould said last week that, you know, these players got an opportunity to, you know,
take some time off, go back home, and then they'll be able to get back together.
Now, some guys who live really far off decided to stay, and they're still on campus right now
and just kind of, you know, making that transition, I think, from spring to summer.
But, you know, Auburn had finals last week.
They had graduation over the weekend.
So, it's a pretty quiet time on campus for the next week or so.
And then, you know, once classes start getting going again here shortly, Auburn will be back and rolling.
And then it's a lot of the, you know, the workouts and the, you know,
you can do stuff in the summer with your coaches.
And, you know, now that used to not be the case for the longest time.
So, it's a lot of kind of not a full-blown practice, but it's a lot of stuff, you know,
non-contact kind of work that you're going to do over these next few months.
But, yeah, they're on a break right now, but they'll get back at it in the next couple weeks.
It's one thing about modern sports.
There is no such thing as off-season, sort of speaking.
This is a window where, to me, the pertinent question is, across the board,
your strength and conditioning program.
We know that it's ironic that the schools that tend to have the most effective strength
and conditioning program usually wins big or bigger.
Your thoughts, the transition between this team's strength and conditioning
compared to what he inherited from Hugh Freeze.
Yeah, I mean, it's interesting.
I don't think strength and conditioning was necessarily a huge problem for Auburn
over these last few years.
But, you know, you've got to have a different way of doing things
now that you have a new coaching staff.
The big thing here is, you know, what do you know about USF
and Alice Gullish and the way they ran things?
It's a lot of speed.
It's a lot of endurance.
It takes a lot of stamina to play this, especially on offense.
You want guys to be ready to play fast on all three sides of the ball.
And so, you know, Gullish brought over his strength and conditioning staff from USF.
George Caritas is a guy who's always, like, right beside Gullish at practices.
He's very, very plugged into kind of every aspect of this football program
when it comes to strength and conditioning.
So, you know, that's something that I think is going to be really big here
over these summer months is continuing to push ahead
because you've got to be able to have that speed and that stamina
to make it through what is a, you know, really grueling fall
in the toughest conference in college football.
But Auburn's going to want to play super fast,
and they're going to want to play very aggressive on both sides,
which can't do that if you guys aren't in shape.
And, you know, Gullish talked about a few guys.
You know, Auburn had some dudes that have been banged up
or were coming off of injuries from last season that needed, you know,
some little extra time in the spring.
The summer's going to be important for them to get in shape and get rolling
so that by the time, you know, fall camp rolls around, they're 100%.
I know you've got a guy for baseball,
but Auburn lost the opening game against Mississippi State last night.
It kind of got away from them early.
They lost 10-3.
They're 14-11 in the SEC, which, believe me, that's good.
This year, as much of a long gem as there is in this league.
They had a big doubleheader win against Texas A&M
in College Station last Saturday.
This will be big.
And you get to the end of the year and they think, well,
maybe you get a break before the SEC tournament.
Uh-oh.
Georgia.
Nope.
Georgia is coming in.
Your thoughts on where Auburn baseball is right now?
Yeah, they're in a really good spot.
I mean, you know, I know they lost last night,
but if they can find a way to even it back up tonight,
they'll have an opportunity on Saturday to play for a series win.
If they win, you know, these next two games against Mississippi State,
which would be tough, but if they were able to pull it off,
it would be their sixth straight SEC series win,
and that's worth its way to gold in the postseason.
This is a team that's got one of the best resumes in college baseball.
Their quad one wins are super high.
They've got an extremely high RPI right now.
They've got a really good chance that if they continue to just probably,
you know, finish out here with a winning record over these last several games,
they've got a good chance to be a national seed again.
And, you know, not only host a regional, but potentially host a super again.
So they put themselves in a great spot with the way they've turned it around from,
you know, kind of a slow start at the beginning of SEC play.
And you mentioned, you know, you get these two games of state, you know, to wrap up this series.
You've got Georgia next week, and they're, you know, currently winning the league.
How about the midweek game, the final midweek game next week for Auburn?
They've got to go to Jacksonville State.
It's a ranked Jacksonville State team that one-ruled them in Auburn earlier this season.
So, you know, it's just a plenty of opportunities.
It's one of the things we talk about, like, in basketball at the end of the year in SEC play.
It's like, you can't really hurt your resume a ton.
You can only help it.
I think that's kind of where Auburn's at right now, and they're in a good spot.
They just need to, you know, kind of pick up the pieces and bounce back to the night
and get that momentum rolling again.
Yeah, I think they've got a shot to get in the super aid or whatever they call that now, the lead aid.
6 a.m. emails, Friday mail bag that I'm sure is chock full, podcast, football, basketball, and some baseball, young man.
Where can we get online and get the absolute latest for Auburn sports?
Yeah, albanobserver.com.
Check it out there.
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.
It's an off-season.
There's not a lot of news going on.
We've got plenty of stuff covered for you from football, men's basketball,
a little baseball as well, our podcast.
So, let's click on the website right now.
We've got a ton of stuff this week for folks on all those sports, and you can check it out, you know,
anywhere where you listen to your podcasts.
Just search Auburn Observer, and, yeah, we'll continue to kind of keep an eye on everything.
It might be a way, you know, it might be a break right now, but we've got some fun stuff in the works
covering all things Auburn.
Including the Mid-Cat Weekend the next week or so.
Well, thanks so much, Justin.
In the meantime, have a great weekend this time around, okay?
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you, buddy.
Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer.
B.B., we've got a lot on our plate.
You know, 93-9, the score starting at about 3-4-5, 3-45 with the Alabama-Florida softball game from the tourney.
Yeah, Alabama got ahead of the sticks out yesterday.
Harold beat Arkansas 7-1.
They've got the Florida Gators, who beat Auburn 10-9.
In fact, Briskey was named yesterday the SEC Pitcher of the Year.
Wow.
What a surprise.
Pat Murphy, Patrick Murphy, named the SEC Coach of the Year.
And tonight, on 93-9, the Braves begin the series with the Dodgers.
This is going to tell you a little bit more about the Braves.
Chris Sale on the mound for the Braves tonight.
That's a good thing, Harold Bugg.
Braves tonight.
How about these numbers?
Dodger batters 11 for 69 against Sale in his career.
Braves, Dodgers coming up tonight here on 93-9, the score.
That's going to take care of Biz for now.
By the way, happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.
It's going to take care of Biz for now on behalf of B.B., Greg, James, Blair, the entire crew here.
Harold Bugg, thank you so much for your time today.
Let's do it again Monday, noon to 2 with a bit more Bug Show.
Back here on Sports Radio, 93-9, the score.
We'll see you next time.