Hr 1 – Fair or foul: What Greg McElroy said about Tony Vitello
Hr 2 – Tennessee pitcher Zander Sechrist joins the show
Hr 3 – Titans Radio’s Rhett Bryan
Hr 4 – Belmont HC Casey Alexander talks NBA Draft
I’ll be in a different mode that game big trade in the NBA as Mel Bridges traded from the Nets to the Knicks this is the first trade between the New York Rivals since 1983 and it’s going to put bridges in the lineup alongside Jaylen Brunson Josh har Dante J dant chenzo all players who help Villanova win two NCAA championships were the core of the Knicks lineup they reached the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season the Knicks get Mel Bridges and a second round pick and the Nets get a Hall Landing bogdon bogdanovich five first round picks and a couple pick swaps and today’s the day if you ain’t got plans now you do come hang out with this game terminal for rkw plenty of food drinks games and high scores to beat so come beat me in Mario Kart for all your foundation repair and waterproofing needs visit Wednesday morning welcome to the middle of your week right here on Ramone Kayla and will rkw right here at 1045 The Zone Brad Hopkins in forone Foster Kayla Anderson Robert Walsh our producer back in studio I’m will balding we’ve got a loaded show coming up for you in the middle of your week Tennessee Legend Xander CIS joins us at 7:20 this morning Rhett briyan of Titans radio at 820 Casey Alexander talking NBA draft in hour number four your calls throughout the morning at 615 7371 045 how we doing good morning we’re good we’re all back good morning back in the studio you can look at everybody’s face good this morning you don’t look near as red in person I know right no I really wasn’t that sumber it was weird it looked like on the zoom it was like you looked like a lobster will but it’s good to see that it did not affect you that much the way the uh the lighting was had like a lamp right next to me or whatever but gave you that glow I am also really good at tanning I uh I have a rivalry with sunscreen I never wear it did you laugh really is he lying oh yeah no no cuz like I’m such a sunscreen person oh no I never put on sunscreen I did not put on a drop of sunscreen all weekend on the F&M Bank chat or the YouTube channel that we watch the show of course it looked like you had on white sunglasses oh from the white sunglasses cuz you’re like a raccoon I had like a little bit of uh like they’re like clear lenses yeah that’s about right who are you talking to in your room my dad we were trying to figure that out you’re right yeah I said I think it might be his dad yep yeah but uh booked it to get on a flight yesterday and then spent the whole day at the Midway Airport spent about 6 and a half hours there not the best airport I was going to say is there anything to do uh work on uh broadcast prep for this weekend and go on 3L made it easy yeah yep exactly but it was fun fun week uh fun to be back glad to be back and uh texted uh Tennessee pitcher Xander CR Chris yesterday he immediately got back to us then he went on a parade and now he’s going to join us this morning so kind of like Trey Smith last year before the Kansas City chief Super Bowl Parade we are we are just the show you come on before or right after you go on a parade when you win a championship I know I love it because I I want to ask him about the parade I want to see how cool that was there’s so many things I want to ask him about he’s got an intriguing story he does MHM certainly does so looking forward to that coming up in a little over an hour uh tonight we’re looking forward to Arcade w at game terminal uh you can come out and see us there zones broadcasting 1 to six uh we have got uh so much to do there are over 250 games there uh our question of the day this morning guys is what is the video game or arcade game you have played the most in your life guys yeah I I I think I said Pac-Man before this was that was mine Pac-Man yeah interesting H the video game Pac-Man like on the actual video like at Pizza Hut when you would go into Pizza go to the game and put quarters in you mean yeah oh my gosh I can’t remember the last time I even played an arcade about is that what we’re talking about here we’re not talking about something AR video games either one video games yeah all of the above well first off I haven’t played on a game system in years MH you know you know what I mean either um all of my games I play on the phone or the iPad which ones I played Madden 24 like every another hour on your iPad yeah oh wow and it’s got great graphics too my brother-in-law Kyle always teases me for playing Madden on my iPad he says this TKS but I think it’s pretty the graphics are phenomenal and you actually have way more control using your thumb on the screen you see I wouldn’t I wouldn’t have guessed that it’s fun I had uh you on my Game Boy Advance Madden game back in the day you did game boyy literally I remember vividly having Brad Hopkins on my Titans team so I would always play with on uh NFL video game on Madden on Game Boy Advance what was Game Boy Advance we only had Game Boy I didn’t have advanced oh the skinnier one the long one it was wi we had the up and down one no yeah I had the wider one that was you know the directional pad on the left and the the what three buttons okay yep yep yep interesting will was the same age as my kids matter of fact he kind of hung around my kids too didn’t literally the exact you know what he’s talking about so I remember buying these things that he’s talking about exactly yeah and watching all all the every Disney movie pck Pixar movie made the man at that time mhm so mine is undoubtedly NCA football on Xbox my whole life and and about 3 weeks I’m just going to need more vacation just to play that and build my uh my Dynasty with 30 of my friends that are all in a connected Dynasty mode already so we’re very excited about this uh returning uh my family and my girlfriend will not see me for about a month after that game comes out uh close second would be FIFA okay really that’s that’s what really got me into soccer as much as anything else was just playing FIFA video game yeah that’s what so many people have said why they have become soccer fans just because the video game is so good so it would be those to for me well never been a Madden guy but to your point cayb what you were talking about earlier going into the pizza parlor yeah I’m saying about like cuz we’re going to an arcade it’s just like a little bit different than sitting on your couch and playing video games which I stopped doing when I was probably in middle school I played a lot with my brother up to that point but then I got busy had other things to do I don’t know when I’ll stop playing video games I always think to myself like I’ll probably hit an age where I don’t care anymore I’m not close to that age right now yeah I it’s always interesting some people just like cold cut turkey stop and then some people like you said just never stop I feel like they still play video games when they’re 30s most guys hit an age where they graduate from Xbox to golf yeah I’m in the phase where I am doing both I got the top golf downloaded on my app on my uh oh yeah it’s got some great graphics too man I’m talking about you have to read the green everything the wind yeah that’s use the right Club well we came back from London uh there is a game on the airplane when you fly British Airways that is a golf video game on like the monitor in the seat man that’s cool that’s how bored I got uh Robert Walsh video game you play the most uh it’s probably some mix of Call of Duty Madden something like that and I feel like when guys get older it’s not so much like oh man I’m tired of playing video games I ain’t playing this no more you just get tired in general because we’ll we’ll get I’ll get I have a group chat with my friends from from school from college and they’ll always be like oh yeah I’m getting on tonight uh ke uh my wife has a friend coming over so I’ll definitely be on or I’m getting on tonight or I just put the kids down to bed and then they don’t get on because something happened they’re we’re adults now you know what I mean it’s not just like soon as you get home crank on that PlayStation and and and every we’re going to hop in here and people are going to be mean to us in group chat like now you don’t have time for that anymore you know that’s the only downside for me is my friends are all more responsible than I am and I do have time for that you know what Bert though what you’re talking about though is is a little bit different because we’re talking about playing a video game sure but yours is a is a social experience 100% especially you’re getting on and just like who that will said the same thing he’s talking about getting on and playing uh uh football with his buddy so you got you’re you’re doing more than just playing a game now when when Caleb was talking about putting a quarter into the into the Pac-Man machine at the pizza parlor there was nothing more going on than that game but you guys are socializing 100% say most people I feel like I mean even when you’re shooting people in storming a storming a fort or whatever you right some of the funniest moments of my life the hardest I’ve ever laughed with cheyen in the other room going shut up I’m trying to sleep I like have been playing video games with my friends 100% that is the way that guys just socialize it’s that and gol and then know the females in our lives are like so how are they doing like what’s going on in their lives I don’t know got a got a 20 kill streak last night but I have no idea how his family is doing I’ll tell you it has been huge for me moving here like when I didn’t know anybody being able to get in there and connect with people that like love you and want to talk to you is a huge thing like for mental health for for filling up your buckets you know what I mean your social buckets like that that is that is huge Chey’s like she used to get upset with me like a you’re playing that game you’re playing that game all night but then she knows like I need that I need it I need to talk to my friends I need to make fun of people I need to play with people who are worse at something than I am it helps my mental health I’m just glad I had it when I was younger cuz I I again I grew out of any of that stuff because I was way busy doing other things but I had a bonding experience with my brother who’s 5 years younger than I um for several years we just you know we were playing video games in our spare time when we had time as little kids and we just sit on that big pillow that we had on the ground we had one of those oversized pillows and I can remember some of the days just you know chatting with him and having the competition with him I mean I beat him up a lot too which to this day I think he holds it against me a little bit but you know I had to establish who was the older sibling and everything but no it was it was good for bonding now that I look back at it with my brother specifically uh was kind of bonding around uh Mario Brothers that’s cool yeah that’s how old I am 61573 7145 they’re are whole Generations done Mario Brothers I mean I I could say that too if I played it Nintendo kid if we did a video game character draft Mario would probably be 101 oh got to be right coming up next uh 615 737 1045 Greg mooy had some interesting things to say about Tony vitello yesterday on our sister station in Birmingham and we’ll react to that coming up next e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e Wednesday morning on yourone Kayla and will rkw 1045 The Zone tonight arcade W atgame terminal you can hear this song and uh many other famous video game soundtracks uh they have catered to me guys specifically Brad Hopkins Kayla Anderson will bowling with you uh The Dark Knight is my favorite movie The Sopranos is one of my favorite shows The Dark Knight pinball machine and The Sopranos pin machine are side by side wow two of the uh over 250 games they have at game terminal I could stand pinball really seriously I don’t never really saw no I like looking at the ACT Graphics are cool man the graphics and the machines but like playing it yeah it’s not my my favorite thing to see if you play it once it would suck you in as soon as you when you start playing it and you you get like oh look at all these lights look at all these and then when you notice the smaller games within pinball so then there will be like objectives like knock down the three bumpers on this side and knock down the three bumpers on this side to get a like a point bonus or something so then you’re trying to uh strategize and make the ball where you want it to go and it’s I I I enjoy pinball more than I thought I would at the original part of my my video game fandom you’re telling me there there’s strategy to pinball 100% not just keep the ball shut your mouth I’m telling you I’ll show you tonight I’ll show youall tonight and why do you got get physical with the thing though that’s uh you can only get so physical or you get tilted or you get a tilt which makes your your uh your paddles stop working so sometimes you give it a little hump to try to give your ball up there but you can’t you can’t push it too much you know what I mean or you it’ll be t a tilt and you know how expensive those are right like those those are incredibly expensive and if you want to deal on one you go to game terminal that’s where you go in Nashville uh I’m going to steal a joke that was in the f&n bank chat this morning because there’s an an audio element of this what kind of pants does Mario where oh my gosh den den den that’s good I did see that and I was trying to figure it out I’m mad that I laugh at that’s actually pretty fun I thought you were overalls by the way anyway yeah Luigi and him right that’s right so yesterday some uh viral comments on our sister station in Birmingham Greg mroy and Cole cuck on mroy and cuck in the morning jockson Birmingham talking about Tennessee baseball and if you have been on Twitter or X or whatever we’re calling it I’m never going to call it X you have seen this this was former Alabama quarterback now SEC network host Greg mroy with some strong comments on Tony vello and uh fellow SEC network uh reporter Cole cuck on this conversation as well he does I just wish he didn’t have the Antics that he does he’s like a WWE character and it’s embarrassing seriously I mean to be an adult uh it’s just I’d be I’d be appalled I really would I know he wins and he’s great and the kids love him and all that stuff that’s awesome but if that was a leader of my organization I would have to have a little T talking to him I just would it’s just it’s it’s unbelievable uh I the guy and the team a couple years ago I think lost the national championship they had the best team I think that team was probably better than this team and you know I think they lost it because they didn’t their emotions and it’s great to lean into that but man it’s a t just like I said it’s a tough team to root for I mean goodness gracious I mean his Antics after the game last night were embarrassing seriously listen just cuz he’s a wrestling fan I don’t think feel like we have to be mad at him about it I mean we know we know it’s side you just won a national championship have some class w WWE with all due respect not class uh just not it’s I mean I think he let us know like I mean you talk about some of the greatest rivalries in the history of sports entertainment he was a w WF guy he wasn’t a WCW guy which is fine Monday night wars were I me there a lot of rivalry I mean you had to pick sides there and cuz not everybody had the two TVs the picture and picture back in the day didn’t do it justice so I think we know it’s time now imag seriously could you imagine I know you say it jokingly like if hu freze did that after a game like imagine the reaction you think Bruce Pearl would ever do that yes I can tell you Nick Sav I can tell you Nick Sav would never do it Nick 70 what do we think guys I’m so can I go on this please let’s go okay I’m first of all I like Greg mroy in terms of his body of work and I like listening to him on footballs uh Saturdays I’ve always actually respected the guy but for this I feel like this is a massive reach of what he’s trying to accomplish here on his radio show that morning it kind of to me comes out of left field in the way that yeah if you want to have the conversation about Tony vitello maybe being a little immature in his earlier years at Tennessee and look some of the Antics I thought were a little bit ridiculous early on in his career but at the same time he was trying to find his way as a coach and find that happy medium of being in the new generation being himself and being a head coach and guess what it’s 2024 and I feel like he has matured as a coach in certain ways but still has that fun playful side to Tony vitello he’s 40 something years old 45 he gets it he just won a national championship with a team that in my opinion controlled their emotions the whole damn year again this is not 2022 this is not the 2022 season so whatever you’re trying to do and whatever bugged you back then I feel like he was trying to pull it into what they are now and everything he said I honestly disagree with almost everything he said and to me it was a far yeah I’m actually shocked I I I’m shocked look stupid cuz I know Greg and and you know we know that sometimes Greg can say some pretty polarizing things he’s he’s a headstrong guy he’s a quarterback just put it that way okay um the opinion about the way that Tony vatello handled himself was uh so excessive um that that’s the part that shocks me uh he used words that I would never use like embarrassing what was embarrassing about watching a guy celebrate a national championship with his team something embarrassing about that if the man did cartwheels in backfields in the Outfield that’s not embarrassing that’s a celebration now admittedly Tony vello likes the camera okay period some people like the visibility they like the attention they like driving around in Orange Lambos it is what it is but that’s not an indictment on his character character uh I don’t think that he Sullen the game or disrespected the game this this institution of college baseball that needs to be somehow revered like this because we have to talk about it like this there’s no celebrations in the way that Tony vello did it we cannot do that that’s bullish come on man this is a college baseball coach that found a way to connect to his team so whatever you say he won do it again have that same kind of relationship have that same kind of zest that same kind of whatever it is that personality that character that created the chemistry that might have been the difference between the team two years ago and the one that just won the dang thing my whole thing is let Coach be let a coach be hisself like that’s what’s I think putting Tony in a rare position nowadays with other baseball coaches that are are good because they found their Niche and they found their way that they relate to their kids what what is it Greg mooy’s um like he has a right to say what he wants but so he’s going to sit there and try to compare him to Nick Sabin and say Nick sabbin would never do this Nick Sabin is a total different coach he he runs programs or did a total different way and he had success that way and good for him but just because you played under Nick Sabin and he did things a certain way doesn’t mean that what Tony vitello is doing is uh needs to be having a talk with uh Danny White because he’s not representing the university the right way I don’t see any of that being the case and let the man celebrate how he wants he just won a national championship with his team the the cool thing is this is a win for vs fans guys because I I wanted to look firsthand how he handled winning the BCS and I think it was 2009 2010 right something like that for the first time so when I looked back at it on YouTube I was going to look how he handled it but now the only thing that comes up is the vs winning the national championship so you’re pushing down all of those Alabama actually I did find one video it’s of him picking his nose going into a timeout so you can find that on YouTube as well I feel like if he had a little bit more WWE in him he would probably be a little bit further than where he is currently he wouldn’t be relegated to talking about somebody somebody else he’d be talking about something uh a little closer and more near dear to his heart well I I do agree that I think Greg Moy is a terrific broadcaster I think he’s got a a bright future ahead of him as he can continues to broadcast SEC football him and Cole’s radio show is outstanding uh down on jocks and Birmingham they do a lot of good stuff and it’s an entertaining show to listen to anytime you know we hear any of the interviews and I I try to catch some of those podcasts sometimes but to me guys this just sounds like somebody that watched about 1% of Tennessee’s baseball season this year and I I can’t really blame Greg for that right like he’s not in Tennessee he’s not in Nashville or Knoxville this is not a local team for him to follow all the time and a lot of times in media when we don’t cover someone 24/7 we make an opinion up about them at the beginning of our first interaction with them and then we fit everything we see about them moving forward into the box that we made and put them in years prior and to me that’s all this was right this was someone that made an opinion about Tony vello probably in 2021 and 2022 and then everything he’s going to see about t is going to fit into that box I’ll be honest with you not everyone has to love Tony vello obviously and I think this is the prevailing opinion about Tennessee this is why Tennessee is the villain of SEC baseball of college baseball is because a lot of people like Greg made an opinion of Tony vitello that they are unwilling to change despite the fact that Tony in a lot of ways has changed himself Tony has no longer tried to chess bump umpires he’s he’s chucked a little bit dirt every now and then he’s eaten some ice after a national championship but to me there was nothing specific that Rose to the level of antics after that national championship and that to me is where it just feels like Greg kind of watched 2022 watched Drew Gilbert watched Jordan Beck flip a bird as he’s rounded first when Tennessee beat Georgia Tech and and formulated an opinion then that I don’t think is as relevant now that’s why if you’re going to do that then then probably don’t go off on a subject like that passionately you’ve got really the burden of proof to say someone has Antics is pretty high like you’ve got to come correct and give me specific examples of like okay then what did he do that was my problem with what Greg said is that there was there was no specifics of all right what exactly did he do that was embarrassing how what was it when he hugged his dad for over a minute is it when he sign autographs after the game after all the players had left like was jumping to the like I want to know specifically what did he do yeah that’s in my mind are are we in the majority is there anyone out there that agrees with him that thought that what Tony matello did was out of out of line that’s the first time I’ve heard it like out in terms of a major entity right I haven’t heard that or seen it on social media I’m pretty tuned in to my social media at least to what I see so maybe I don’t see those negative things as often about him um so this is the first thing that I saw that has kind of been blown up about it I hadn’t heard one negative thing about the way that he celebrated with his team not one thing and I don’t know if Hugh fre is the best example of someone to uh who carries themselves the right way I think Tony vello is genuine and real and himself I think Hugh frees is about the total other end of the Spectrum in the way that he carries himself I think that guy’s about as fake and corny and phony as it gets and I think he has specific things that he has done in his career that again we can give specific examples about that that back up the fact that that is accurate this will be good let’s go to Big Orange Mac 615 737 1045 ma good morning good morning rkw uh that Peter Pan looking boy has the audacity to fix his lips and talk about the way Tony vello acts uh has he not seen his former head coach throw temper Tums on the sidelines like the kid at are us that got told no he can’t get the uh GI Joe with K Fu Grip I mean has he not seen his Antics the way he cuss out people on the sideline cussing out reporters I’m not going to so quit asking and he has the audacity to talk about Tony Vell people like Greg maoy and all the haters listen I’ve been smoking that hater pack all week all week long because we the national championship we the national champions smokeing that hater pack Big Orange fans in Middle Tennessee smoke your hater pack all week long I got one more thing rkw I’m going have to talk to my uh employer of the City of Springfield if I can get the uh Ramone Foster vacation package in my employee plan because dude is like Tommy on Martin he ain’t never at work that’s right y’all have a great day and go big on thank you my goodness Big Orange Mac on that stuff that made Stevie Wonder wait oh oh my God I thought I get I get railed for bad jokes and we let this hey that was good that was good I don’t I don’t give that much y say um I I think the other thing that’s interesting and we talk about maybe Greg only seeing 1% of Tennessee season uh he clearly also didn’t hear what Tony vitello said when he met with the media after Tennessee’s National Championship but we played this yesterday I still think it’s relevant though to this conversation um Tony in his postgame comments to the media essentially thanking or giving credit to half of the programs uh in the SEC the other night yeah I think uh we’ve tried to build a support staff that kind of has that image I mean when we first came to Knoxville you’re looking at um came from Arkansas arguably the best fans in in the league and best Stadium huge crowds winning tradition Florida’s got instate players uh vandy’s got their Niche going on Mississippi state’s facilities is incredible um coach biano turned that thing into a monster like there’s all the LSU’s Traditions as good as if not better than everybody’s so like how are we going to compete and that was kind of our answer when we had that long conversation um so we had to start filling in the people that we wanted to hire and fortunately um you know there were some good baseball people that left the program but we had a clean slate so the people that we brought in we wanted them to be self-made people and I talked about it you know Frank started out on laundry you know down at Howard Junior College um and the last guy we hired uh was probably the best guy in Quint NE heart and the administration was very frustrated with me we got hired I think in July we did not hire a strength coach until late October I believe and it was just taking our time making sure we got the right guy who fit those things and if you look at the NCAA rules no one’s going to spend more time around your players than your strength coach academic coordinator and trainer probably second and third and uh like I said might be the best hire out of that whole deal even though Frank and Josh are obviously incredible and we’ve sprinkled in guys that have played in our program and you know our first year here Ross K gets thrown out and you know uh and I’m in there being an idiot too and and we probably all just look like idiots but we we kind of had a theme going there that we we needed we needed to find a way to make this thing work and that freay train got going and it it never really slowed down until it really got out of control to be honest with you um but that was our Niche we got to play with some attitude we got to play with some grit and we’re going to have to get some guys that maybe don’t want to say yes to um a school with a better winning record than us and you know guys like that like Simo and and some others with some attitude uh have done a lot for this program there you go there’s Tony vitello postgame the other night they uh built a program with WWE characters and all those characters will now get sized for national championship rings worked out you know who else likes the the spotlight would be um uh Coach Cal in Kentucky he’s the guy that likes to you know wax poetically about what his team is or is isn’t doing especially you know during the timeouts or whatever when he’s talking to the sideline reporter or the Courtside reporter whatever you know and there’s there some people that are comfortable in that giving the narrative and and being maybe not dramatic but just long explanations about what’s going on and they’re comfortable and cool doing it between uh him and uh Nate oats yeah Nate oats a choir boy in Alabama I I think he’s pretty fiery and he’s I mean I don’t though there there’s just no issue with being yourself and being intense and I don’t know interesting conversation 615 737 1045 if you want to react to that uh but coming up next the big news in college sports yesterday had to do with the other coach that maybe did something that was a little more embarrassing uh after talking to reporters uh Jim schlagle to Texas will react to that coming up next e e e e e e e e e e e e e so there is definitely a new edition into the press conference hall of fame or maybe I should say the Hall of Shame remote cin will rkw 615 737 1045 one day after leading Texas A&M to a runner-up finish in the College World Series Jim Schlagel is going from Agy land to Austin horns247 comom first report that the Texas A&M baseball coach switches sides of one of the most iconic rivalries of college sports he is going from A&M to Texas does he look a little bit worse now a day after he uh scolded a reporter for asking about leaving to Texas and then left to go to Texas Miss Kayla um yeah I would say so I think that’s kind of what everyone is thinking right now and I’ll Stand to what I said yesterday I do believe that you know in that situation the reporter for the most part I understand he needed to ask the question for his you know in terms of his job there’s everybody has different things that they have to accomplish whether you’re somebody who writes for a newspaper a you know an online service or if you’re a local broadcaster we all have different agendas so I get that and I did respect the fact that he also waited till the end uh it is still something I probably wouldn’t have done just with the emotions running high but so I’ll stick to that I still was mixed on that the question at the particular time but now when you look back at it and you see the response that Schlagel gave it really now looks like he has a big egg on his face in terms of Jim sh shagle because when he was asked that question he probably knew I think you would probably assume at this point because it happened very quickly after that he’s going to Texas he probably knew that it was either something that was going to happen very soon or it was the works or it had already kind of been a thing until it was all signed and delivered after so when you look at how he responded it was almost like he was defending himself a little bit and it got emotional for him when he really clicked that I am probably leaving here and I didn’t necessarily accomplish what I wanted to accomplish in winning a national championship and so when that question was asked instead of kind of just maybe saying hey look this isn’t the right time I’m going to you know know I’m going to wait to answer this or this isn’t the right time to answer this instead he goes on this whole Spiel and it was very emotional and it was almost like a defense mechanism came up for him and now when you look back at it and he goes and takes the job not like five days later we’re talking the next day it looks really really bad on how he handled that whole situation I I think that he uh incidentally told us what he was doing in that little soliloquy and the reason why I feel that way is because he kept using the word gave I gave all that I could not I am giving all that I can yeah you see what I’m saying it’s a great Point yeah yeah and the fact that he talked about his commitment to the agies to therefore validate the commitment that he has given that University and just the three years that he’s been there now it has been a tremendous job for him to take that team to a national championship and short period of time like that after spending so many years at TCU and and and you know running that program to then move and then have success in that period of time that’s that’s something to be applauded okay but there’s another opportunity which is the business side of sports did he leave because those Texas kids are are just so far and above better than the Aggie kids no there’s better resources in Austin there is college station I I guess in his mind right or they just simply offer more money yeah I don’t think it’s that I think it’s just more money but the point is the thing that only upsets me about it is that his sincerity his passion in rebuffing that question it got me cuz I’m thinking man maybe that was out of line maybe he should have waited because as a matter of fact our response yesterday was talking about what how quickly microphones get shoved in our face right after a game and we’re emotional and we’re having to deal with these questions despite having gone through a loss which makes it more tantalizing right to ask the question then that’s that’s the only thing that got me upset is the fact that I got the hook you know that lure is so deep in my mouth I’m like good Lord man he got me hook and Hook Line and Sinker right yeah you he knew hooked um yeah he did so Jim Schlagel is uh best friends with Chris Delan the new athletic director at Texas uh from what I understand he is much closer to Chris than is to um the new head the new athletic director uh at Texas ADM and uh I would argue that if Ross Bjork was still the ad at Texas A&M this probably doesn’t happen the ad who hired Schlagel at A&M is no longer there so you’ve got the old Nebraska athletic director who has since taken over at A&M to me this is difficult guys because so much of your identity as a Texas A&M Aggie is how much much you hate Texas if you have ever read the words to the Aggie warh him it is about sawing off the horns on bavo perfect literally saw varsity’s horns off and then they do a little dance they and then it’s varsity’s horns are s are sawed off that’s literally the song they were singing to Jim slash Nagle as he and his team got off the bus yesterday in College Station and then not three hours later he joined Varsity horns at Texas that is what is so fascinating about this I will say that series when A&M plays Texas at the SEC this year is going to be must see television that is going to be so much fun because this is already probably my favorite rivalry in college sports outside of the ones that my team is involved in personally I love the A&M Texas rivalry there it is so stupid it’s that one and the Egg bow are my two favorites cuz just you stupid things happen in Texas and Texas CM just like between Mississippi State andas real quick on the F&M Bank chat they’re mentioning Trev Albert yeah the ad there well I started looking up Trev Albert in that relationship excuse me what I say no I was just making sure they yeah the ad yeah and uh there seems to be a lot of documentation about you know them not necessarily getting along it was I guess he wasn’t even in Omaha that kind of situation so it might have been a little deeper in other words it might have facilitated this whole situation happening maybe it wasn’t his intent in his own mind either he wasn’t going to leave until this relationship started getting toxic yeah going to get a lot of money made 1.35 million at A&M and uh reportedly his contract may be over 3 million at Texas 615 737 1045 oh and the college football world was upset yesterday thanks to a video game talk a bit about video games this morning EA Sports college football unveiled the toughest places to play in college football and people have every right to be upset at this list we’ll talk about that coming up next it’s Ramon Foster here for Wesley mortgage man listen if you’ve ever ran to the owner of Wesley mortgage Chuck McDow you’ll know this just speaking to him one he’s just a dude okay I’m going to throw that out there but he’s also just a local Nashville native man he cares about this community and is always proud to serve it if you’ve ever been inside a Nissan Stadium you know this chucker investing the people in the placees make that make Nashville such a wonderful place all right whether while other mortgage companies are downsizing Chuck McDow and the Wesley mortgage team they are rapidly expanding in Nashville keeping people working in the career that they love and they would love to have you join their team Chuck and his leadership team at Wesley mortgage have a support system in place to help you succeed in the mortgage business ensuring your loans close on time making sure you get paid and giving you back the time to build your business and bring back the fund to the mortgage profession with unique networking opportunities with the Tennessee Titans and the Music City Grand Prix they make closing deals and build a relationships fun again so if you’re in the mortgage industry and you’re tired of the grind tired of the pressure and just tired of micromanaging everything to make sure your clients get handled then you order to yourself to go to y wesley. e e e e e e e e e e what’s going on 701 good morning from the 1045 The Zone Studios I am Robert Walsh Jeffrey Simmons was on the Rich Eisen show yesterday got asked about week one playing against the Chicago Bears and he had this to say I the hype going to be around him of course so not even Prime Time games everybody to count Tennessee out which we all know and a game like Chicago I’m sure they thinking we to get beat bad so that also make me even talk more smack and I’ll be in a different mode that game in the NBA Mel Bridges being traded from the Nets to the Knicks this is the first trade between the New York Rivals since 1983 that’s going to put bridges on the lineup alongside jayen Brunson Josh Hart Dante D venzo all players who helped Villanova win two NCAA championships and were the core of the Knicks lineup last year that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals the Knicks get Mel Bridges and a second round pick the Nets get a hall of first round picks and bogon bogdanovic and if you don’t have plans for tonight I’m telling you come out to game terminal get your butt whooped in uh pinball don’t matter well whatever y’all want to play I will whoop you in it just know that come out here tonight and see us 3 hls out there at 3 Blaine will be out there at 1 come hang out with us for all your foundation repair and waterproofing needs visit uss.com breaking news at once on your home for the Titans and the vs this is 1045 The Zone for 700 a.m. in Nashville as hour number two of the middle of your week begins right here on none Kayla and will rkw with Brad Hopkins in for amone foster Kayla Anderson Robert Walsh I’m will bowling coming up in 15 minutes Tennessee postseason Legend the one and only playoff Xander secrist will join us here on the show you can jump in at 615 737 1045 shout out to Xander for taking the early time slot that we offered him after Tennessee had their Championship parade in Knoxville yesterday we’ll just make sure he makes it first before we give him a shout out yes but that the initiative taking the initiative to get the earliest time slot after probably having a few beers last night and a party in the sun yes I I would say so if he follows up on that which I know he will I would say that is a Class Act for a young kid how old is he I was to say yeah probably not much younger than me yeah he’ll be F he’ll be fine I just about to say that bir a to be young he’d be able to bounce back he could have crush them at that parade was during the day he still had time to go out that night you know what I mean I got the most amount of sleep I’ve gotten in a week uh last night and it was like five and a half hours so I can relate to Sandra a little bit this week yeah all right so EA Sports college football unveiled their toughest places to play on the new EA Sports college football video game this is the top 10 in know Tennessee and Auburn are both not in it which is unconscionable to me number 10 is Florida number nine is Florida State oh I already got that one wrong you got at least flip those two Oklahoma eighth Wisconsin 7eventh Penn State all the way at 6 Georgia at 5 Ohio State four LSU three Alabama 2 and the team that is 24 and 20 all time against SEC teams at home as an SEC program Kyle Field in Texas A&M as the number one tough place to play now I have made my own top 10 that I will unveil to you in a moment but first uh what’s your biggest issue with this top 10 list or do you not have any issues no I I think that first off when you’re talking about toughest places to play that has to do with the environment it has to do with how rockus or you know how involved the fan base actually is and EA Sports did say they factored in stats such as winning percentage at home home game attendance Active Home winning streaks team Prestige and more so and another thing I was going to say is how good the team is you know what I mean this is a team that you just I mean you need every Advantage you possibly can because there’s no way in the world that you’re going to ever uh uh get a leg up on these guys especially at home because they play at home unlike any other I’ve seen and the F based matches that you know so there’s a lot of uh like you just mentioned um a lot of things that play into coming up with who actually has a toughest place to play you know so I I wouldn’t say that Texas A&M’s program football-wise uh it’s maybe on the come- UPS but it’s not like they have the confidence of say a Georgia program that they can just lay a Smackdown whenever they want to they got to really try right and I’m sure the fan base recognizes that maybe it is hard to play but yeah I I remember playing going in an arbor and trying to get a game there are you kidding me it was over 100,000 people in there Michigan’s not even wishing for us on this list right I mean that’s crazy to me like that’s what got to me Stadium same thing I’m like you can where do this this come from Michigan’s outside the top 15 and let me let me mention something about Ohio State and this might not get me brownie points for my all my good friends and I freaking love Columbus I loved covering Ohio State this might not give me brownie points with them I think they’re too high on this list they’re absolutely too high on this list I think Ohio State’s tradition of football and winning is in it’s unbelievable they eat breathe and sleep up there I will say though covering that program for three years and covering games in that Stadium it’s not as crazy as an environment as you’d think it was in terms of at least the fan side of it it’s packed it’s big but it doesn’t compare to the teams that I’ve been covering down here or that I covered early on in my career down here so I think even Michigan you would put that right up there with Ohio State if you were going to put those two up there uh so I find that a little interesting that Ohio State’s that high maybe because they’re winning program obviously they have a huge Stadium um the the fan base is incredible but I don’t think the atmosphere is necessarily like oh my gosh so intimidating I think it’s the way that they support their teams listen I’ve never lost in in Buckeye Stadium played their all my career at Illinois said you never lost never lost in Buckeye Stadium I’ve never won in the big house see never won there so that was that was our thing so but I can see where when you’re talking about the SEC and it just means more it was hard for us to crack this nut when we moved here from Houston why because of the influence of the SEC and and college sports you see I think if you took a poll in Middle Tennessee to ask who had more influence in in Nashville or middle Tennessee the Titans or the SEC or vs football it it’ be you might be surprised 100% yeah 100% yeah so you know I think it’s the way that they support their you know like George’s program you were squawking at the fact that Georgia was what five yeah Georgia is uh is not top five on my list well those Bulldogs down there would say otherwise pen State incredible I think Penn State should be higher Ramone also has said to us for said when I played at Georgia they were not a difficult place to play right and and that’s changed right like I I so the way I evaluate this is I’m taking programs in their current form but I’m taking this over about the last 5 to 10 years because Georgia pre Kirby Smart was not what Georgia is now as far as an environment it has been up and down 100% my list and you can pick mine apart as well I will take any and all criticism or praise you’re allowed to praise me at all times uh number 10 is Clemson Clemson is absolutely a top 10 college football environment right now in terms of how difficult they’ve made it to play there number nine to me is Texas A&M it wasn’t tough enough to beat app State at home last year so A&M you’re still an outstanding college football environment You’re Number Nine uh I was really close between these next two I have Auburn 8 and Georgia 7 Auburn is a terrific place to watch a football game again I can’t put you ahead of Georgia you just lost to New Mexico State at home last season also known as the Vanderbilt commodor because all of Vanderbilt’s roster I don’t even mean this as a dig you have got a lot of good players that have transferred from New Mexico state to uh Vanderbilt this next year Georgia is seven I have Ohio State sixth simply because they have won so many games over the last decade at home a lot of that is because they’re just better than everyone but it is still a it’s a tough place to play it’s not one of the elite top five places to play I have Tennessee 5 and if you were in that building in the 2022 Alabama game if you were there when I started as a student in 2015 for the Oklahoma game there are reasons why will Levis says that’s the toughest place I ever played as a player in college football Baker Mayfield said that is the loudest place I ever played in college football this is not a I went their take this is what really good college football players who have played a lot of places say I think Tennessee is a top five HomeField advantage in college football I still think though that Tennessee is the fourth hardest place to play in the SEC because Florida for me is fourth MH Alabama is third I would not have put Bama in the top five 10 years ago I I will now Penn State is two yeah and guys any list that doesn’t have LSU one wrong LS Valley is absolutely the toughest place to play in college football I’ll give you that them cages are crazy down there yes they are I went there for a game and I was happy for the BS and sad for me sure that I saw them in a how many are on that list EA put out how far does it go cuz I want to know where Illinois is if uh I believe they have the top 25 of their list come on is Illinois in there I don’t know if Illinois will be there don’t laugh when you say that Kayla hey you know the tough place to play was Iowa K is in a good place that’s a good one a sneaky good one M mhm all you got out there’s cornfields filibustering as I look here really quickly on this list Brad Wisconsin is in the top 10 Stadium yeah that’s a great one uh Illinois did not make the top 25 poy [ __ ] they have a they have kinck at 20 actually which is a little disrespectful kadi Iowa okay at 20 boo boo Bo the funny thing to me is that South Carolina is ranked ahead of Michigan which is honestly not even that unfair South Carolina is a tough place to play yeah I didn’t like that enironment either when I covered it there South Carolina nope oh my goodness I’ve only ever great things great it’s crazy interesting so maybe it was just one of those years just means more a six and six SEC team is a tougher place to play than the national champion who’s got it better than Michigan well a lot of people when it comes to their HomeField I can’t believe Michigan’s not on this coming up next national champion right-hander or left-hander I should say Xander secrist will join us uh one of the heroes of Tennessee’s National Championship baseball team uh paraded through the streets of Knoxville yesterday and he will join us coming up next what’s going on as will bowling to all my facility managers out there how are your electrical fixtures doing do you have a flickering light or two maybe your power outlets are inconsistent or you’re looking to install a generator to be prepared for the next big storm well hey no matter your electrical problem the team at League company is here to help for over 80 years their expert electricians have been here to make your life easier and keep your place of business running efficiently so available 24/7 365 you got to call Lee company today at 615 567 1000 or contact them online at Le company.com professional electricians for any type of facility and you heard me mentioned they’re available 247365 always important to have help at a moment’s notice 6155675156 e e e e e e e e e e e e e Wednesday morning honorone Kayla and will rkw here on 1045 The Zone Brad Hopkins INF forone Foster Kayla Anderson Robert Walsh I’m will bowling early morning after a championship parade we are uh working to get connected with Tennessee pitcher Xander secrist who is scheduled to join us any minutes in the meantime you can join the conversation in the F&M Bank chat Facebook live YouTube Twitter or twitch as you watch on 1045 The Zone TV so uh we talked a little bit earlier this morning about Jim Schlagel going to Texas you guys see this from Kendall Rogers late late last night this was around 11:00 p.m. talking about the A&M baseball coach taking the Texas job Ken Rogers of D1 baseball one of the best national reporters on college baseball says one interesting note is that I was told by multiple sources that this deal at least at the highest level was done between A&M series with Georgia and before the regional round so the Texas A&M coach according to Kendall Rogers says that multiple people have told him that he had already agreed to take the Texas job after their season ended before the NCAA tournament even began wow that’s a little interesting just for the fact that if that is the case now this is all reported uh as you know hearsay but at the same time he is a very very good reporter Kendall Rogers so I would believe him um that’s wild if he kept it inside like what the the the higher Ary of Texas A&M they knew they were probably going to see him out the door and he knew but none of his players probably knew because in every situation where there’s been like maybe your coach is leaving and you find out or you know people find out it gets out there like it gets leaked and then that creates animosity between the program and the players and then the players get upset I feel like this was so close to the vest with Jim keeping it like a secret and the upper part of A&M keeping a secret that they actually got through this whole thing without the players knowing because I think if that were to be the case if they’ve known for that long I don’t know if their run in the postseason would have been this long I can sympathize with uh with the Aggies in 1991 Texas called on John Movic who was our head coach at Illinois and it had been rumored that he was actually going to go down there and take the job but you know nothing had been said to us we never had a conversation about it he never mentioned it uh then we all get a call at about 5:15 in the morning that we’re having a team meeting so we all got up got our shoes on shuffled over to the football facility to where he gave us a heart-filled cheerful speech about what was best for his family as he departed and then later on that afternoon I remember the television coverage showing him getting off of his private jet not his but Texas’s private jet in Austin and the first thing that he flashed was the hook of horns cheesing ear to ear wife flank to his right daughter to his left he just gone on to you know another experience now that made us feel a certain way you know we were like well don’t let the door hit you mhm as players now in this situation if the Trev Albert’s the the new um ad down there if that has any sort of uh influence on him deciding to leave then that maybe should be considered as well because if this is a toxic environment where you just don’t like who you’re working with you know who you just cannot see eye to eye you know your philos philosophies are different just the way you even drink your coffee is different whatever and he’s saying you know what I did commit and move my family all the way here from a program that I spent so much time trying to develop right but now this situation here I I can’t deal with this dude that might have been part of it because I it’s got to be more than the money because I can’t imagine that A&M was paying Jim sashel so much less than what Texas was willing to pay him that he would actually after this run that he had to the National Championship jump ship I just think my point was that like if he kept it this close to the vest and didn’t leave it out like that’s crazy to me and I feel like that’s the case because if this would have gotten out early on in the Regionals that that creates divide amongst your team they would have got that far that’s what I’m saying I think it’s crazy that he was able to keep it or they were able to keep it&m above uh that close to the best it’s like you’re having it’s like your parents are giving you the best Christmas you ever had right but they didn’t tell you the getting divorced exactly so a lot of talk about player coaches and the way that Jim snagle who reportedly did not tell his team before he was leaving either a player the guy that actually had the pinch hit fly out in game two the senior with uh number 12 that’s always a big thing if you wear number 12 at A&M cuz that’s represents the 12 man in any sport said uh he found out on social media H yesterday Brad from your perspective as a pro athlete what is the line between player coach or being too immature being too much of a a bro or or is there even a line because I think a lot of the complaints about Tony vello about coaches of that type of Personality come from people that have not been in locker rooms at a very high level uh locker rooms are very familial okay and you take on certain Personalities in that locker room a coach by and large is a dad or a parent let’s just say that because there are Mama coaches and there are daddy coaches you know sometimes a mom coach can look like a daddy coach because she might seem to be someone that is in tune with their emotions and really is but she cracked the whip now do not cross me Dad’s are supposed to be more disciplined right that whole kind of deal there and that’s the way that you know that it kind of goes that way now you can also be a Big Brother Big Brother have influence big brothers are not fathers in essence but they do have some sort of connection with them that that says hey look I care about you I care about you know your experience here and what we’re doing but uh you know there there are certain ways that we do things I’m not telling you what to do but this is how it works best that’s what brothers do especially Big Brothers right because they’ve gone through it and now sometimes you can lose respect for a guy that you you know that’s in that situation that’s trying to be your guy you know what I mean like I I understand when some parents say you know what I I’m I’m a parent I’m not your friend okay so to me there has to be almost like a fine line that you walk or there are going to be so many things that you don’t know about your kid because they’re they’re going to keep you on that side okay I always chose to be someone that my kids could trust to come to me regardless of the circumstances no matter how bad the situation seem to be the first person you need to trust to come to get the information and support is your dad I’m not going to blow up on you in that instant we’re going to handle it okay now that doesn’t mean that whatever you do is not going to have some sort of recourse and we’re not going to talk about it right and you might not like what I’m going to say but when it needs to be handled we’re going to handle it together because you trusted to come to me and that’s the way brothers are sometimes parents sometimes kids don’t even think about going to a mom or dad you know sh are you kidding my dad’s going to fly off the handle I’ll never let him know anything like that and that’s kind of the the vibe that you can actually have so I think it’s kind of like a balance you have to try and walk to create that the right chemistry and that’s one thing that Tony Vell talked about he talked about allowing those players to be who they were on the field you don’t do that if you’re a daddy you know cuz if you’re a daddy like that you do it the way I tell you to do it okay I told you to cut that grass in this line not in a circle you see well what if the circle it it worked better that way well at least he’s willing to listen you know cuz I I cut my own grass for a long time there’s there’s sometimes will that I would go you know lines straight back and forth then sometimes I just go in a big circle until I got to the middle of my yard you know I mean kind of to keep the grass out of the street but either way it’s I I changed it up every now and then but I was able to do that I didn’t have anybody cracking whip telling me hey you better cut that grass this way and not the other way yeah I think the the thing for me when you talk about being coached at a high level and from my high school career and just as a college athlete at Tennessee like I don’t really care if you’re difficult or more laid-back or what your personality is just be real with me right cuz I feel like especially now we’re raising a generation of high school athletes that are more aware of their brand of how their job as an athlete is already a profession that they see through the crap maybe more easily than high school athletes used to and maybe I’m naive in that and that’s always been something high school athletes can do Brad you can tell me I’m wrong on that and Kayla as well but I think now players relate a lot more to just AU authenticity and that is one area where I think we sometimes don’t often see who the coach really is behind closed doors like we got this impression of Butch Jones as being the fake cliche five star Hearts champion of life like there was nothing authentic about Butch Jones when he spoke in the media but if you still talked to a lot of those guys that played for him he was a real dude behind closed doors and he was a nice guy he was relatable he was authentic he was honest with his players so it’s always interesting to me the the coaches that decide to be this fake well that’s embarrassing you even ask me that question you know while still knowing behind closed doors what they’re actually doing like how much of that is just who you are and how much of that is I I just want to not be authentic in the media yeah but the thing is though how real can you be in business I think we’re forgetting that you just mentioned it the underlying premise of this whole deal is what money cuz that’s why these kids are playing the sports to make money using their bodies for as long as they possibly can period okay and these coaches they are now part of an industry that they get paid as well and there are different levels of of compensation depending on the programs that you coach so that’s why coaches come and go so how real can you be in business because this is a business it’s the business of sports these kids can go these coaches can go into a living room tell these kids a million things to get them to go to that University and then if there’s another opportunity that suits them better than the one that they’re in the one that they just convinced that kid to go to guess what they’re gone yeah I I’ll say this this is nothing new these this is happening all the time coaches lie all the time in the moment it happens all the time this is nothing new no def how it went down made it look even worse though because of the response that it was so intimate and how the response was like that you should have been more aware of like that was a a selfish question he was attacking the reporter specifically and then when it comes out that he leaves the next day and this deal is now it’s coming out that it was a done deal for a long time that’s what makes this particular situation I think one of the worst most recently is because of again how he responded and you didn’t need to go into all the detail but you went into all this detail about how it was almost like he wanted in a way to stay there and he was saying all the things that he would say if he was staying there but he knew he wasn’t and it was almost like when you’re lying and you know you’re lying and you’re defensive like that’s what it showcased to me and it was just it’s going to put him in a negative Spotlight for a long time because Texas A&M fans every year they play that guy it’s going to be something that comes up right but this happens all the time coaches are lying all the time about if they’re staying someplace or if they’re Nick Sabin said I will not be the head coach in Alabama the thing is though I think that it it was a microcosm of his frustration with the whole situation that’s why I didn’t have an issue with it yesterday I think he’s just like you know dang it man I did move my family here I really wanted to coach this team until the end of time but I can’t do it under these conditions and I’m mad that you know what I’m mad that you found out that’s what it is I’m mad that I couldn’t keep it under wraps and keep it quiet enough to be able to control the narrative I’m upset about that and I’m going to take it out I’m going take personal shots at you too who’s Montgomery whoever the guy he took a shot at him too Not only was he rebuffing the story what he you know get back at him too and then told him at the end what write that well guess what we all are writing that we’re all writing something different today right uh Randall on Facebook watching the show live says love you guys but the A&M coach made you all eat a little crow about the journalist calling him out on yesterday’s show I think we actually ended up saying both sides in that particular situ situation were okay I think I explained I came back around to saying why there were certain things that I was okay with with the journalist but yeah I mean for him in particular I now I look back at it in nothing that that uh Jim Schlagel did was necessarily he’s right the guy on the Facebook is right cuz I told you that that was the part that upset me the fact that he got me hookline in syn Remember The Lure the whole deal he got me cuz I was actually defending some of what he was saying thinking that maybe it was out character for not out of character but bad timing to do that and you even talked about how I still think it was Honestly though I I said this today I still think the timing was was it’s hard like I wouldn’t ask that question but I know that guy has an agenda and all our agendas are different oh how about this if the guy didn’t ask the question and therefore Jim slash will have to address it would they have announced it so soon right after a Natty that he was going to take that job like in other words would they have pushed this on down the road you know what I mean it’s been done for months I get that but do you do that fresh off of him losing the very next day I mean do you do that then or you like kind of left as much as Texas hates A&M absolutely I’m serious man that’s a double slap I mean I I I still don’t have a huge issue with what he said that it looks a lot worse now considering he did leave but I I said yesterday that didn’t have any problem with the question and I didn’t really have a big issue with schle going after the reporter either because both guys were doing their jobs and like it or not college coaches are recruiting every single time they step up to a microphone it it’s just the fact of the matter that it is part of the corny and phony and just fake part of College athletics that uh is ugly is that when you are always ABC always beutin at all times now it yeah as this evolves it’s not a great look for Slash stagel and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s reaching out for Richard Zayn the reporter for for texags.com reaching out for his number and saying all right sorry yeah I’m sorry man you had to understand where I was coming from but I would probably put out a little statement or something yeah you’re going to have you kind of got to kind yeah you think I would how about what Kelly Lynn said on the F&M Bank chat he said the coaches lie when recruiting employers lie when hiring it’s all in an attempt to secure the asset rarely these promises Lies come to fruition you ain’t lying you ain’t lying well uh we will try to uh get back with Xander C Christ I was a little little worried guys coming off of a championship parade that we may have trouble getting in touch with him this morning and that has unfortunately been the case so uh yeah right snooze button maybe maybe the alarm’s just going off right now I’m not as uh frustrated as I typically am in these situations considering the guy probably overcommitted and then went on a championship parade and probably now is uh maybe a bit more tired than he expected well uh we’ll try to get back with him and uh Zander’s a good guy and uh I’m I know it’s probably an honest mistake and we’re not just being ghosted but I’m sure we’ll get him on eventually yes BT may be more frustrated than I am get him and my orange tined glasses are not as mad as Ander SEC he’s a reason why my family got to celebrate a national championship in Omaha this week well at least he responded to you when you asked him to come on right he did he within like five minutes he text me back oh I’d love to yeah yeah see with that so you guys are so nice what you think what are you saying 23y old guy who just had a championship parade yesterday like put yourself in his shoes and a lot of us will probably do the exact same thing what are you thinking over there Kayla nothing I don’t believe you I don’t believe you sipping on my wife quiet for a reason she’s like yeah get on the phone boy what’s wrong with you 61573 7145 uh well coming up next Jeffrey Simmons has a message for Caleb Williams and the Titans first opponent of the 2024 season we’ve got that for you next e e e e e e e e e e e e e remote kayin will rkw 1045 The Zone wrap it up our number two and we have got the hero on the mound of Tennessee’s baseball National Championship with Brad Hopkins and Kayla Anderson I’m will bowling joined Now by Tennessee pitcher Xander C Chris Xander good morning what’s going on man good morning man uh man sleeping through alarms and stuff is just great huh dude it is all good we were just saying before the break like you guys had a national championship parade yesterday I think like maybe 90% of people in the world probably would have had the exact same thing happen this morning so don’t sweat it it’s all good well uh what was the parade like yesterday man the the scene in Knoxville I was watching on ESPN plus as I was flying back from Omaha it looked like it was just nuts uh down Gay Street Knoxville yesterday I mean I’m not going to lie it it kind of took us all by surprise I mean we knew there was like people going to show up but we didn’t know it was going to be like that I mean obviously Vol Nation showed out and we appreciate it so much yeah man it was uh really cool to watch Xander secrist Our Guest this morning here under moan kayin will uh Xander what has this last 24 hours been like for you man has it set in yet that you guys are national champions I guess now it’s the second day it kind of It kind of sets in now but let me tell you when we won and kind of yesterday it didn’t really feel like it but now since everything’s kind of cooled off gave it a couple days and now you’ve seen all the social media stuffff and it’s kind of setting in for sure yeah hey Xander you know to call Tony vello a vult for life now that may be a stretch you know in today’s climate especially with players and coaches coming and going and whatnot but you know Tennessee could definitely make it harder for him to ever leave Rocky Top with this next contract H how good has Tony Vell been for the program in your opinion I mean he’s been everything that this program needed I mean to be honest I know this this town this university has been waiting for a national championship for a very very long time ever since Pat Summit unfortunately passed away we’ve been trying to get back to it and I’m glad that coach vatel recruited me and I’m so glad that he recruited other great talent great players and we got the job done here in 24 he’s kind of been more than just a coach to you maybe even a father figure is that was that a statement that You’ make yeah I did make that statement um I can’t thank him enough for all the all the time and effort that he put in with me to get me here and uh I know I called out Danny White about a lifetime contract so hopefully that’ll go through Tennessee piter Ander secr joined us this morning on rcade dub fresh off a parade I’m sure uh you’re probably drinking lots of water this morning or I’d recommend it at least Xander but in all seriousness what has this I guess Journey been for you in Knoxville at Tennessee what’s been the best part of your time there playing baseball just being able to be on so many good teams here in my four years I mean 21 freshman year you make you’re lucky enough just to travel to Omaha and it’s like a childhood dream and you’re like holy moly I’m living out a dream but obviously we still got to play baseball and then in 22 it’s arguably the best college baseball team on the planet then 23 you have what looks like a down year for Tennessee and you still fight through that year to get to Omaha and then 24 just felt like unfinished business and I mean we just had a chip on our shoulder from being there the third time for me uh second time for most players and we just wanted to get the job done to the to the best of our ability and I mean the support out there was amazing and holy moly yeah I mean we’re national champ yeah soak it in uh such an incredible accomplishment and really hard to do in any sport but especially college baseball Zer when it comes to this team compared to those in the past like you had just kind of talked about your journey a lot of people say oh that 2022 team was more talented technically I I don’t know if I if I buy that like why was this team able to accomplish it was it just a combination of kind of the talent and being able to handle emotions the whole year how would you describe why this team was able to get it done I think yeah we had a lot of we were in 20 this year for sure we were more of an experienced team we were more older throughout our lineup even though we have Dean curly at short and our DH spot was up in the air for a couple weeks but overall we just had a more experience group I know Billy was only here for one year but he played you know two years at Clemson with regionals there so he he knew what playoff baseball was like and yeah I think 22 you just had we just had one bad weekend in my opinion which sucks because that’s how baseball works yeah she had one bad weekend it it really just derails your whole season but I mean I think the 24 group just was determined just to get it done for the 22 and 23 squads like I said with the experience gained and I mean we can’t we can’t really thank B Nation enough for their support too I know was some tough losses in in 22 not making it up to Omaha and I know had the match up against schemes in 23 our first game so I’m just I’m just so glad we got it done though Tennessee pitcher Zander C Christ Our Guest this morning on Ramone Kayla and will uh Xander over your last six starts 34 and 2/3 only four earned runs uh I won’t even get into why again you shouldn’t have had an earned run in your last outing the other night but anyway uh that’s a separate conversation uh because uh that was a a problem on the scoring side Xander but uh just for you what worked over these last six outings specifically what do you think made the difference for you to just turn it up a notch of the postseason I don’t know I guess it’s just watching just taking experiences from like game sevens of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Super Bowl and the game sevens of World Series you kind of just you know just look at those and see how the players react and I mean I’m a big Steeler fan but you know we haven’t been to a Super Bowl in a while but uh you know when Ben rensberger made that game-winning drive down in Tampa and Raymond James you know you just kind of come back to those moments and you’re like how do they do it and uh I guess I can I can say that I kind of lived it those S those last three uh or not three last six starts and um I mean I’m just kind of clutched but I I was just still playing baseball and just still trying to do my job I was I was trying not to do as too much but also not too little but uh you know I mean I was just I was just still playing baseball well Xander I gotta tell you um Ramone Foster I don’t know if you remembered him from being a Pittsburgh Steeler is uh is on vacation he is one of the hosts of this show um but our producer is also a Ravens fan so there’s a lot of AFC North rivalry uh here in the show Xander and we’ll have to get you in touch with theone when he gets back from vacation yeah I’m just uh it’s okay I respect the Ravens I respect Jim harwal and what they do over there and obviously it’s the Rivalry is not the same with uh with the quarterback situations going on sure and Raven fans can agree because we’re so used to Troy palalo Ed Reed and I mean two hard noos defenses and you had Ben rburg and Joe flacko I mean the Rivalry is not the same but yeah I watch Ron I do know Ron like from the Steelers so uh yeah but like I just love Steeler football and I just I hate the Bengals and Browns more than the Ravens I yeah that sounds about right I respect the Ravens more out of them all right Xander SEC Chris you shouldn’t have said that because now we’re gonna get into some football do do you honestly think that Russell Wills can keep Justin Fields off the field see the thing is I don’t even see I’m a big Kenny picket guy I won’t lie because um I kind of don’t even know what we’re doing because we declined fields’s option and now obviously we declined Na’s option so I guess we’re in a win now mode which I I feel like we’ve been in a win now mode for ever since I’ve been alive but you know our defense is going to keep us in the games but we’ll we’ll see um maybe I get a chance to go down to that uh Atlanta game week one but I mean I don’t know Russell Wilson’s a good quarterback and Justin Fields is a good quarterback but I mean I mean I don’t I I just don’t know it’s okay we we’ll have to get you to Nashville here for a Titans game but hey one last one for me uh Xander Now Now cal Starks he really stepped up this year I know you saw that but as the father of a catcher I can really appreciate the relationship that pitchers and catchers have Des describe that relationship for us yeah it’s just a trust factor it’s just a big trust factor and obviously when he calls the pitches you got to have trust in him because he’s got like Scout reported I think on his wrist that’s what he looks at most of the time and yeah we built that trust over experiences and games and I mean you know just because it’s on a weekend doesn’t mean the the game plan changes or if it’s a midweek the game plan changes but yeah I trust that man to death and I mean I’m so glad I was able to throw to him and one last time in The Natty what’s next for you uh first the draft we’ll worry about the draft first coming soon and then um we’ll see if I’m sitting at a cubicle in State Farm or something if that don’t work but uh no he but we’ll just we’ll just see where it takes me but hopefully I get a call that’s awesome well Xander you got a future in this business if you want it for sure uh we really enjoyed listening to you on 3hl our afternoon show a few weeks ago and uh uh really glad we could catch up with you this morning congrats again on the national title and on just an amazing run uh you will forever be known as a a a playoff hero in Tennessee baseball history so we we appreciate you yeah man and uh one more thing about the uh the Titans uh my first ever game was the Steelers and Titans it was C and it was actually an ‘ 08 when the Titans were really really good and the Steelers were really really good and uh it was my first ever game and the Titans won like 31 to 14 yep so I do know LP Field I do know uh Nissan stadium so those games are always great and I love going to that Stadium and on warm days definitely not cold days but thank you guys for having Meander real quick you saw the curse of the Terrible Towel start in in 2008 that’s crazy I did I did wild that is crazy all right appreciate it Xander thanks so much man see Xander thank you so much all right there’s Andrew cist with us this morning 61573 7145 I we’ll tell you what Jeffrey Simmons had to say about Caleb Williams next e e e e e e e e e e e what’s going on 803 good morning from the 1045 The Zone Studios I am Robert Walsh just or Jeffrey Simmons on the Rich Eisen show yesterday got asked about week one playing against the Chicago Bears and had this to say all the hype going to be around them of course so like even Prime Time games everybody to count Tennessee out which we all know and a game like Chicago I’m sure they thinking we about to get beat bad so that also make me even talk more smack and I’ll be in a different mode that game in the NBA male Bridges traded to from the Brooklyn Nets to the Knicks the first trade between the New York Rivals since 1983 putting bridges on the team alongside Jaylen Brunson Josh Hart Dante Devan chenzo all players who helped Villanova win two NCAA championships and were the core of the Knicks lineup last year when they went to the Eastern Conference semifinals the Knicks get Mel Bridges and a second round pick the Nets get bogdon OGD donovich and five first round picks with a couple pick swaps thrown in there and tonight make sure you’re there game terminal for rkw plenty of pinball machines video games cornhole what whatever the hell y’all like to play I will whoop you in it just know that for all your foundation repair and waterpr proving needs visit usstn breaking news at once on your home for the Titans and the vs this is 1045 The Zone second half of the show in hour number three starting right now on Ramone Kayla and will rkw 1045 The Zone in 15 minutes Rett Brian will stop by the executive producer of Titans radio who is also going to stop by tonight at arcade W game terminal the place to be tonight uh you he BL Bishop Joe hunk hanging out there uh 1 to3 3hl from 3 to 6 uh we will be kicking all your butts in Mario Kart Fast and Furious pinball you name it uh come at us it’s going to be great n come me BR Jam Brad Hopkins Kayla Anderson Robert Walsh will bowling with you looking forward to it could be a fun night should be fun an rkw night out what do you play will so tonight I will be predominantly Mario Kart and the Fast and Furious game but today as of now I have created the Nashville stars on the new MLB the Show because you could build a ballpark now on the new LLB the show if you’ve got like the new Xbox which I went for in the fall and bought in anticipation of NCA football which comes out July 16th yes I have the three days early access and you can do literally anything so I put Nissan Stadium past like right field I put the cumland river there’s even a building that looks like the Batman Building yeah you can put behind uh you can even put the guitar scoreboard in there uh that’s right I’ve been taking offense to our topof thee hour um updates from Bert he’s talking about coming on down game uh terminal get whooped I’m going to be there see if you whoop me bird let’s go man come on man everybody step up well you pick your game equal opportunity whoop as long as it’s not Call of Duty or something that you’re super good at let’s pick a neutral game me and you going going of Duty that’s fine we could do digdug we could do what’s what’s you trying to be funny no no I’m down with Gaga I’m down with Tetris I’m down with whatever man I can throw backck hide and go seek Brad whatever tag well maybe not tag i a going be quick of that running but they’ve got more than just arcade games too and pinball Mach I mean they’ve gotam shffle they’ve got Shuffle shuffle board ber that’s it right there me and you a you play pool too yeah I play pool look at that body you knew he’s a shk there he in there ringing people be like I Ain never played my life oh boy Robert sck growing up was uh was Shuffle BT jeez no not commenting I’m sorry Caleb clap for myself y are making of yourself I’ll clap for myself shuber we got on Kay yesterday for dad jokes and now you two are just you and B are just you’re full of them today that is just fine oh man uh Jeffrey Simmons had a message on the Rich Eisen show for a lot of different things talked about week one you just heard that in the update uh from Robert Walsh at the top of the hour and uh also had some things to say to Rich is it about Caleb Williams here is Jeffrey Simmons see this is another reason why I wanted to have you here because you Jeffrey Simmons week one of the National Football League season will be the first human being on the other side of the line of scrimmage painted nails in a game painted nails I can’t wait to say that to Caleb Williams so you got that plan oh it’s going yeah it’s going to be one of them games especially I mean he he probably get talk smack I mean smack talk to his about you know his teammates right now but like it’s going to be especially a game like that my first game like of course I missed the last end of the season right it’s going to be the first game of the season they got us coming to Chicago he going all the hype going to be around him of course so it’s like that’s going to I think when like like when especially like like even Prime Time games you know everybody like I wish I would have played in Miami game but like everybody to count Tennessee out right which we all know and a game like Chicago I’m sure they thinking we about to get beat after after like bad so that also make me even talk more smack and boost me up a little more U make me get in a different mode as well so I’ll be in a different mode that game Jeffrey Simmons before rich is could even finish the question about Caleb Williams just goes painted nails I knew I like Jeff for some reason there’s a guy in the draft tonight that actually paints his nails I think he’s from duke talked about that too just what how he got started doing that yeah think he was just going neutral colors blue and white at one point then you decided to go and start making it a thing yeah I don’t know if you know this Brad but I am not a Caleb Williams fan M I thought you L all that is the West Coast no I hate USC hate University spoiled children don’t like Caleb Williams sit back turn my mic off yeah right go ahead has plenty to prove was a crybaby at USC wow will I didn’t know has lot to prove did I say that has a lot to prove uh no I I loved it when Jeff said that I was like let’s go baby I was wonder why you gave that hoot when when when previewed it passionate about things like that you know now but what I think that he was talking about really was kind of like not the disrespect from the national narrative or the media but just the fact that of course Chicago’s going be favored maybe because they are a home team but there also is a new shiny toy to play with and Caleb Williams was the first pick of the draft and he’s going to be going against the Titans week one so the first snap that he takes in the NFL as a live regular season game will be against us yeah and nobody’s picking the Titans and he’s kind of thinking why not I mean he’s used to it by now right I mean he and he brought up the Miami game I mean that that was a Monday night game one of their only Prime Time games nobody was picking them they looked to not be going the right direction that game that quickly changed um and it wasn’t that they were getting the attention after that game that they won that game it was that Miami lost that game so no matter how they do it at this point with the Titans it doesn’t matter if they win those games they’re still going to talk about that opposite team you know they’re they’re not going to give that love to the Titans so I think he embra if anybody Embraces that it’s big Jeff he he lives for those moments very talented player that’s the reason why he was on Rich eisen’s Show it’s like he just grab dudes off the street right yeah and even on a team that hasn’t accomplished its goals just yet obviously a new regime newer Parts we’ll see how that plays itself out but the fact that he is bringing attention to this program because of how well he plays and now he’s saying hey look I want the team’s results to match who I am as a player the league respects me they know who I am and I want the same thought to be had about who I play for yeah you know Jeffrey Simmons is going to find the one thing you are self-conscious about or the one thing that media thinks you’re self-conscious about and he’s going to talk to you about it during the game Jeffrey Simmons is a master at just living that life mid game I mean Ramone Foster has told us that real quick on that note um remember Joey Porter senior back in the day unfortunately okay so he used to run his mouth incessantly we would get into it all the time right well he got into it with Derrick Mason one time over at the at the the seeum we’ll call it then cuz I think I don’t know what it was called wish was called yeah right and uh Derek said well that’s why you got shot oh my gosh so at that all all grinning stopped my Joey during the next TV timeout Joy come up and he tug him on my jersey and he’s like hop you know I run my mouth a lot when I’m out here I said yeah yeah I know you do he says but what mace did was over the line man oh my goodness can you tell him that that you know was a little out of bounds and so I went back to the Huddle and I said um hey uh Derek uh Jo Joey said that you you talking about him being shot was over the line so he I don’t know if he wants you to apologize but he’s a little upset dereck’s face he looked at me like are you serious right now did he really just tell you that I was like yeah he felt a certain way about you taking taking him getting shot and putting it on the field here running your mouth that was out of context that was out of bounds was insane that’s funny that’s not great 615 737 1045 uh r Brian will join us coming up next uh talking about guys that are on the fringes at Camp uh some interesting stuff there on players who need a good camp and some guys who might be taking advantage of opportunities so we’ll talk to R Brian coming up next e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e hour three continues onone Kayla and will rkw 1045 The Zone Brad Hopkins Kayla Anderson will bowling joined this morning by the executive producer of Titans radio Rhett Brian a little early today what’s up Brett Bert remembered a conversation we had before that if I was a major league baseball player this would be my walkup song imminence front by the who I got to go I got to go to the club with Rhett well you see him I think with the with the I know that those train just a minute ago I know you guys on the F&M Bank chat can’t hear the intro music coming in but Rett was Vibe into the music I love it it’s just good I mean that’s an awesome walk up song man you ready to go take your bat better than better than the stroke uh stroke has its own place it really does it’s just a individual to the person like that wouldn’t be my that’s my vibe everybody there it go ahead I love it man sound good the game though hey is that now listen I saw somebody else doing that um another fan another Fane who thatc UNC does it with the same song Georgia does it with the same song and Texas A&M did it with a different song he who had the George Michael walk up for Texas ANM it was cracking whis I kept hearing that I’m like why am I hearing’s Careless Whisper it was so organist I’m like what in made me irrationally mad every time I heard I didn’t get mad I’m just puzzled I’m like CU my dad and I were watching and he goes isn’t that that song I’m like yeah it’s wh whisper he goes yeah yeah yeah when I started working at the Nissan plant that was really really POS oh yeah so good [Music] together can you imagine taking the plate with that song going on that’s exactly the opposite Vibe I’m trying to you know what though that’s what it is it’s got to be a psychology against the pitch cuz the pict have ready to throw some heat right all Careless Whispers coming on you just kid a start think I mean it’s like a guy walking up and doing some yach rock radio song You Know Sailing by Christopher Cross it’s like that’s completely the opposite of what we’re talking about when I’m looking forward to Arcade dub tonight at the game tnal because uh I’m in listen I I don’t play video games like like all the young folks and you know playing online and all that stuff a very old school uh in my Approach first of all Brad and I are of the age that we went to the mall to the arcade for real and you know your mom would give you $5 worth of quarters or whatever and you man $5 worth quarters you thought I am rolling up in here I’m going to dominate and whether it was Battle Zone where you had to fight as the tanks you had digdug you had Galaga you had Space Invaders all of that uh there was an arcade version of paper voy there was an arcade version of position um and there was a couple of golf games even before golden tea which golden tea is Fant that is a great game uh but I’ll say this I still play video games but people are going to laugh because I play vintage video games that are old 8bit graphics and it’s I contend it’s one of the greatest video games certainly one of the greatest video game franchises in the history of the whole deal my video game of choice is old enough to drink okay it was released in the spring of 2020 uh 20 2002 2002 okay and it’s Grand Theft Auto Vice City oh oh GTA oh my man Grand right there that was a game changer cuz Grand Theft Auto 3 was okay the character as a first person guy was more quiet he did more missions whatever and the soundtrack in there was basically just from Scarface but this one it’s got I mean there’s a there’s an R&B Channel where you can hear M tumi’s juicy before Biggy Smalls sampled it years later there’s a you know a wave uh New Wave station there’s a rock station anyway and then this the celebrity power they got to voice over as actors in this stuff because Ray Leota was the main character rest in peace Bert Reynolds was in this rest in peace uh Dennis Hopper um Philip Michael Thomas that was tubs of in Miami I mean it was a who’s who that’s wild and all these missions and side missions and things it’s like you know what I would get on that game R and I would just literally first off I beat somebody else and take their car and then I would try then I would just drive around switching the stations like you just talked about right until I felt like you know jumping somebody and taking their cash it was amazing game my daughter is the same age and when she was very young she would watch play this and I said she goes I want I want to try it I’m like okay she called it the bad game and I’m like that is 100% true and I said Gracie listen we could play the bad game but I said you must never ever ever never do any of these things in real life ever this is total fantasy land okay don’t ever do anything that you see in these never emulate any of that and she has never forgotten it but she goes oh gosh I still love the bad game that’s great it’s great game I love it R Briant studio with us arcade W tonight at game terminal uh the Zone broadcast in there from 1: to 6 uh we’ll have drinks we’ll have food uh shuffle board uh you can uh just get whooped at anything you want to so we going to be a uh a good time tonight yeah that’s where’re smack earlier he like come get served I’m like I’m heating up on fire on N that’s right NV Jam man that’s right looking forward to that uh Rhett who has been on fire who you did not it’s a terrible transition um talking about guys uh we’re going to make the roster and uh here we are in the what five weeks of the NFL calendar where there is not actively a part of something happening there’s not a draft there’s not free agency obviously there’s no offseason workouts until July 23rd when the Titans report uh so we’re in that month threat and have time to reflect back on OTAs on mini camp on all these things um talking before the break we mentioned who surprised you who do you think is someone whose stock is rising the most going into camp at the end of July I have one rookie one vet one on offense one on defense so uh on offense I’m going with the vet first that they brought in as a a free agent in tight end Nick Vette and I think that’s a guy that will probably if he continues to do what he did in the off season uh have a legitimate shot to round out that group of tight ends with cha cono and Josh Wy um the other one and I wouldn’t say he was he got behind the eightball a little bit because I think he had some kind of soft tissue injury or whatever early early on uh but really started to kind of move forward and that’s Jarvis brownley a day three draft pick you know cornerback from uh what’d he go Louisville Louisville via Florida State and I just I I really like the way he plays I like his approach um and heaven forbid that anything happen injury-wise to the secondary because there’s some big players there uh but I think this guy has a real chance to contribute and to contribute early at least on special teams because he has like I describe him as bleach as a quarterback because he’s going to irritate the hell out of these receivers he just I like the way that he mirrors and matches and and stays and face and and he’s one of those guys too like the last day o of OTAs mhm he got burned on a play for a score he came back and had a pick like he’s got that short memory that you’re supposed to have and I just I like his personality I like his attitude and uh that’s a guy I’m closely watching I’ll give you another one um is James Williams the the former safety from Miami that they have moved to linebacker and you know of course Brad knows very well you know that move that Keith bulock Made in college to move to the the next level up and and how he had a nice career with the Titans uh James Williams is a big long linebacker like that it was as big as he was it’s it was just natural to see him move a little closer to the line of scrimmage in the next tier that defense now he’s still learning the position but the things that he has uh in the athletic bucket and the natural Gifts of length and size will help him a lot cuz I mean he was a he was a top he was I think he was the number one safety in the country coming out of high school still can’t believe he played Safety at that just how big he is yeah cuz he’s legit like 6’4 yeah and and a great wing and and a guy that I’m personally rooting for because he has a fantastic story uh his mother tragically died when he was I don’t know five years old and when it came to his time to make a decision to where he was going to play collegiately he had offers all over the place being rated that high as a fstar and someone that shared with him the story that hey your mom worked here at the University of Miami and when she was carrying you when she was pregnant with you she used to tell everybody my little boy’s going to play for the Hurricanes he said once I heard that story was over I do everything for her and my whole F he say the first I’m the first one out of my family to go to college he said I’m trying to do everything for my family he’s a he’s a great dude I got to talk to him too at the end of OTAs and you can just tell like how much he loves the game how much he does things for the right reason and how how much he knows he has to work hard to get there like he’s not one of those guys that H yeah because I was this in high school or you know because I went to Miami it’s like he knows where he’s at he knows where he was drafted I just I feel like he’s got that little ump under him and see it’s the same thing with Jarvis brownley because those guys have known each other since they were kids played against each other and you know like in each other’s interviews they’re those Dade County guys and there’s something in that DNA a they’re just a little different the the the the itch and the scratch and the want to is just a little different and you know that’s some where they’re from that’s some rough areas man they’ve seen a lot of terrible stuff and uh they have compartmentalized that correctly and they’re using it for the rocket fuel they need he is Rett briyan Titans radio network executive producer now we know that training camp does start on the 23rd practices start on the 24th uh in recent memory has there been a more anticip training camp in your opinion I I’ll say this if there was it’s been a long time ago I mean you know it’s funny you mention this too because Mike Keith and I had a conversation about this last week and he said Reddit might be the most anticipated training camp since you guys started in 99 new identity new team new uniform uh new stadium the whole bit and you guys had been together through 38 and8 Seasons you played at that point going to play in four stadiums in four years all you had was each other and your families y’all are vagabonds so I I contend to this day it’s what made you guys so good when any adversity good bad and different and then Javon Kur gets drafted and that is the Tipping Point for me because mc9 was already established at that point Eddie you all the guys that were there that the cornerstones of this and Blaine and Marcus Robertson and so I’d say from a Titans Fan’s perspective I would put it probably right there that 99 training camp because you could see there was some things that were building towards something good and people forget Mr Adams had issued the warning this was pink slips this was playoffs are bust and you know like he T he was tired of it people were going to get pink slips in this deal and you guys won 13 games and went to the the D Super Bowl you know who he had joint practices with that year the St Louis Rams uh in mome Illinois I think in mome Illinois that’s Western University Western Illinois University now this year the Titans have requested to do joint work with the Seattle Seahawks now I think that joint practices are probably the best indicator of actually who a player is would you agree with the way that the preseason schedules are getting reduced and the way those things are are working now yes I think that eventually cuz this is another topic for another day but you know when Roger Goodell starts talking about 18 games you know it’s going to be another less preseason game which he’s come out publicly and said hey the preseason just you know it’s not a great grab it’s not you know he’s he said what people have been saying for years he’s just been the guy to finally said of course you know franchises and teams are going hey I wish you wouldn’t do that cuz I really we anyway um so yes I think you’re going to even see more emphasis on teams uh having joint practice there’s a couple of teams that I think have three or four this year between not just not just their pre-season opponents yeah there’s one in particular that has one extra outside of two of their three preseason games well with the work that you just mentioned does that then open the door for an 18 game schedule oh I think eventually it’s coming right I I don’t know when because there’s going to have to be a lot of conversation they’ll have to be a restructure of the collective bargaining agreement because you’re going to have to have large pra larger practice squads they’re going to be an argument there’s going to be an argument for an extra um bye I don’t know that that’s going to happen I do know this that going forward the NFL figured out don’t play on Labor Day weekend it’s everybody’s last Harrah for summer because there’s still a lot of places that don’t go back to school till after Labor Day like it used to be when I was a kid and I can certainly see a scenario where if you move things like that you would end up having um you would end up having the Super Bowl the day before President’s Day and President’s Day is a national holiday like I can see how all of that would end up working yep but yeah these joint practices I think it’s the best measurement to see like it’s going to be that’s we’re going to see a true test of JC leam in this offensive line absolutely with pads on a million degrees and each team is tired of hitting their guys in their same color jur I mean all those things so yes absolutely uh you saw probably Jeffrey Simmons on uh the rich Eis show yesterday you don’t think he’s hungry do you think he wants to eat just a little yeah you know big Jeff little hungry sounds about right yeah and I’m I’m sure you know with with him not being on the field at least for OTAs in mandatory mini camp he had been in the building for mandatory mini camp we know that yep cuz he was counted present and we’ve seen him and we’ve seen him yeah and he is dealing with still kind of making sure he’s he’s the top of his game he is physically ready to go cuz he had dealt with so many injuries last year we didn’t even know about what do you feel like is going through his head this year in terms of just the new pieces that not only are on this defense but with a new defensive coordinator a new guy that is hopefully going to be right next to him and tandre sweat to start the season how much can Jeff uh Thrive this year because we’ve seen in the past he he’s kind of been the guy that’s been double teed and maybe hasn’t been able to do as much as he wants and let’s add Sebastian Joseph day into that too former first round pick um yeah I’m sure that he is invigorated that he has some help there and then the other part this is the part that I think people have kind of Lost in Translation yes it is a fresh start for a lot of it’s a fresh start for everyone not just will Levis and an offensive minded coach and and a new way this thing’s going to happen that’s more like the modern NFL in a Passing League it’s going to be a fresh start for a guy like him as well and so there’s excitement there just because the changes are I mean we went to practice those times this spring the vibe there is different and it’s it’s positive um people are dialed in they’re doing their stuff and so Jeffrey Simmons is not excluded from that but yeah I think he’s got to be fired up that uh and listen Tracy rocker pretty dog good line coach so but yeah I it I think it’s that way for a lot of people and that’s a prime example in what you brought up Kayla is somebody who is clearly one of the leaders of this team to regardless of him just being on one side of the ball you spoke about will Levis and obviously he’s clearly excited he’s got a guy who is the head coach who’s an offensive-minded guy and and a quarterback kind of dude at that but will Lis is taking a lot upon himself as he should be this off season in particular I he’s in Cabo right now with a lot of the tight ends and wide receivers the extra work he’s putting in clearly he means business but he also knows he’s got to go out there and deliver how big is this Camp particularly for him to show some of these Improvement in these areas the onus is a lot on him like I don’t know how you carve up that pie but the offensive line is a huge deal and he’s right there with it and and if he and that offensive line have success this Titan seems going to win some ball games now will they have some adversity will they have some bumps in the road absolutely happens every year but yeah it’s huge and I think he’s never been one that I’ve said he’s not taking things seriously he is ridiculously D maybe to a fault and maybe that’s where the balance is is having Brian Callahan and Nick Holtz saying hey okay listen you’re we know that you’re committed we know that you are but you know let’s find the right place for you I mean that piece and I forget who did it just a few weeks ago where it was the two of them watching film and you know as Brian callahans been brought on as head coach you know there there’s some fine lines there that they’re kind of kind of have to eques into U because he clearly wants to win as bad as anybody and but do you you know be careful with your emotions and you know let’s just keep trucking you’re going to may have a bad bad but let’s have another good play following up Rett Brian in studio with us and uh tonight at arcade W can play all the arcade game shuffle board whatever you want uh with us with Rhett uh we’re looking forward to a fun night Rhett thank you it should be awesome come on out see us we’d love to say hello and maybe kick your tail in some video games I love it R talking trash absolutely uh coming up we’ll ship the conversation to tonight’s uh NBA draft to the world of basketball JJ reic had a pretty strong statement about one section of sports media and we’ll dive into that coming up next e e e e e e e e e e e e e e wrapping up our number three on Ramone Kayla and will Brad Hopkins Kayla Anderson will bowling coming up the TV numbers from the College World Series are out uh some good news and some bad news on that front in the world of college baseball we’ll give you that coming up at the top of the hour JJ renick guys at his introductory press conference as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers took a little bit of shot at his former employer which was Sports media not even just ESPN in general uh reic was asked about what misconceptions he wants to dispel as a coach said well I’ve certainly heard everything it’s been an interesting six weeks or so just in terms of being part of the engagement farming industry goes on to say you know it’s really been interesting however I don’t really have a good answer for you because I don’t really give a bleep honestly I just want to coach the Lakers he says engagement farming industry where was JJ reic right or wrong so here’s someone that’s more sophisticated than most when it comes to dealing with the media why because he is or was the media he understands production he understands the agendas that some of these networks have to like you just said engage listeners viewers or whatever so I don’t think that he basically looks at the questions that are being asked of coaches and players in the same way cuz he understands the motivation of them asking the question cuz he was one that asked the same questions I thought it was also interesting his engagement with other coaches and players it’s what’s going to give him the experience to be able to be a coach that along with the fact that he played 15 years in the NBA okay you can’t take that away from now I won’t say that they’re going to cancel each other out and maybe we’ll talk to Casey Alexander about that in the next hour about his experience playing versus coaching lack of experience coaching and how that works but I think that he’s almost like Nick Sabin to where he just doesn’t want to feel these sometimes silly questions that really don’t warrant a response what he was making fun of was the fact that it’s an obvious situation to where he has never coached we all know that so to bring it up in that setting it’s like okay so what do you want me to say about that I’m not here to dispel anything that’s your word what I want to do is and then he flipped it what I want to do is coach the Lakers what I want to do is make sure that these gentlemen that I coach take full advantage of this opportunity and he wants to win championships he threw some expletives in there just to kind of you know to to drive the point home but he’s saying right now hey look I know what you guys are up to I know the questions that you ask us and the dialogue that you would hope to have after you ask the question so I’m either going to a get in front of it or mock you for asking those questions that I know sometimes are either softball and you just trying to create content or if you’re legitimately trying to get down to the heart of some matter he knows what this is now though like JJ reick is no longer a player he was given an opportunity and I’ve been in this business a long time it is a very tough business it is a very tough business to get to where you want to get to and as a player he was given the opportunity to be on ESPN and to share his knowledge cuz he is a very smart guy um but he had to also learn like ESPN other entities that uh whether you be National or locally they all have agendas and you have to conform to that while you’re at that place for the most part now there’s some people who are outliers who can do a little bit more and they’re never going to get in trouble for it or they’re not going to get fired because they say something that’s controversial that’s just how it is some some don’t have other treatment as others do JJ was a little bit more able to speak his mind he is a little bit more hard-nosed that’s just how he is that’s how he was as a player right that’s kind of why they liked him I think in media because he took the unpopular take but now he’s going to be in a different role so he goes from player to TV personality where he could kind of speak his mind a little bit how he wanted to because they allowed him to do that on ESPN now he’s going to coach where he has to prove that he can be a head coach in the league he’s proven the two other things and and I give him a lot of credit for that but now he has to prove that he can be a good head coach and at that for the Lakers who have not been able to get back to being the Lakers for a while like they’ve been competitive but they haven’t reached what they needed to reach for being the Lakers and now he has the opportunity to get them there and so it’s going to be annoying sometimes because there are going to be those questions that he might not like to answer but he’s going to have to answer him sometimes because now you are in a position as a head coach where you’re going to have to do things that you don’t like and you can be SN you can be snarky in your answers I’m fine with that but he’s got to realize this is a whole another job that he’s doing now and I think he could succeed at hit I really do but right now there is like people who are skeptical or spectacle I can’t speak this smart skeptical skeptical excuse me about it and I think it’s fair and I think it’s fair for some of these questions to be asked it might get annoying but he has to prove it still and he’s right on the engagement farming thing because First Take is the epitome of Engagement farming industry yeah it’s it’s pro wrestling of course it’s all fake yeah right like the opinions probably many of them are are accurate but you are playing into roles that are perpetuated by conflict and it’s it’s performance art you’re getting a paycheck Sten a Stephen A Stephen A that’s right steephen getting a lot of money for it though no disrespect whatsoever I love it they decided to take that job yeah well a lot of zeros so sorry i’ take that job I mean I don’t know I think anybody would yeah I mean 615 737 1045 speaking of a lot of zeros uh millions of you watch Tennessee and Texas A&M in the College World Series but could the number have been bigger we’ll talk about it next hey it’s Kayla Anderson with QC kinetics uh this is the time of the year you probably want to be outside doing things you love to do whether that be going on a bike ride uh walking running whatever it is maybe you’re not able to do that though because you’ve got achy knees shoulders backs or hips but this is the good news you don’t have to suffer any longer non-surgical joint pain relief is here and it is at QC kinetics you can call them today QC kinetics is the nation’s leader in regenerative medicine and this is actually long lasting joint pain relief nothing that requires surgery there’s no drugs and no downtime needed QC kinetics Advanced treatments actually harness your own body’s ability to restore and repair that damaged tissue so that you can do all those things that you love to do this summer painfree their advanced prot protols have enabled tens of thousands of patients to reclaim their Mobility back and you can be one of them so stop putting it off take action today and call QC kinetics now for a free consultation it’s 6154941030 24 e e e e e e e e what’s going on 9:00 good morning from the 1045 The on Studios I am Robert Walsh Jeffrey Simmons was on the Rich Eisen show as asked about week one playing the Chicago Bears and had this to say I the hype going to be around him of course so not even Prim Time games everybody to count Tennessee out which we all know and a game like Chicago I’m sure they thinking we about to get beat bad so that also make me even talk more smack and I’ll be in a different mode that game NBA draft tonight picks already changing hands yesterday as Mel Bridges traded from the Nets to the Knicks First Trade between the New York Rivals since 1983 that’s going to put bridges on the team alongside Jaylen Brunson Josh Hart Dante Devon chinzo all players who helped Villanova win two NCAA championships and were the core of the Knicks lineup That reached the uh Eastern Conference semifinals last season the Knicks get Mel Bridges and a second round pick the Nets get uh bodon bogdanovich and five first round picks and a couple pick swaps thrown in there tonight if you ain’t a game terminal then you ain’t nothing I’m telling you if you’re into the draft we got NBA Jam if you’re into pinball we can play Pinball digdug it don’t matter as long as you’re there come see us for all your foundation repair and your waterproofing needs visit USS sn.com breaking news at once on your home for the Titans and the balls this is 1045 do on fourth and final hour of the show 900 a.m. in Nashville hope you’re having a great morning wherever you are spending it in Music City or Beyond as you stream us live at 1045 The Zone TV Facebook live YouTube Twitter or twitch joining the conversation in the F&M Bank chat and if you’re on Twitch maybe you’re saying something of the effect of twitch please 615 737 1045 I think you’re saying it wrong is how you join us twitch please twitch please let you got to say like that there we go I know not my job I’ve officially retired have you what I uh was going to wait to say this till when rone gets back but you know what it’s kind of like when uh when a girl girl is cheating on her boyfriend with you and the boyfriend finally comes back around and and and you want to get in a fight about it no I don’t want anymore you’ve been gone I had it the whole time you at work dog so Ron when Ramon gets back he can have twitch please that can be his thing I’m I’m bored with it I’m over it it’s childish to me shallow and pedantic let rone handle it quite pedric the drama it’s so dramatic bir you funny the engagement farming industry strikes again Casey Alexander of Belmont basketball will join us in 15 minutes our uh NBA draft expert for the morning I talk about Dalton connect uh Reed Shepard some of the other big time names that you know uh who will get picked tonight uh in the meantime though let’s go to Nathan and Nashville 615 737 1045 what’s up Nathan um not much uh just wanted to talk about some Titans defense if y’all had a minute sure yeah um so uh I do like the offense and the uh with Pard and Shar I think they’re a great uh uh second receivers but I did have a question I think a person that I don’t think we’ve talked about that I think needs to have a great Camp coming off the injury unfortunately is H Caleb Farley um I think we have the the two new DBS that we had come in from the Chiefs and Bengals are going to be great and uh also with the the DBS we have there I just think there’s a question mark of possibly if he can just stay on the field I think he had some pipe coming in just for some reason he can’t stay healthy and I think he needs to have a a good camp and I hate to say it it’s just I think it’s the year for Burks to uh decide if he I know he had the whole thing with asthma which has been overt talk but I think he’s take a step forward but I just think the two of them need to have a great Camp to really help the team out and I’ll get off and uh see what y’all have to say yep thanks Stan so for Caleb Farley real quick uh we talked to him during mandatory Min Camp I think it was uh first of all great to see him on the field and he’s right he has dealt with so many injuries and that’s since he was drafted but the main one is in his back and when we spoke to him last year after you know the tragedy of losing his father uh and everything which by the way just there’s so much resiliency in this young man can’t even say enough about how great he is and what he’s overcome but the back has still it has always been an issue and uh he admitted to us last year he didn’t really know what his future was so to see him on the field that is a big positive this year we have seen him in ota’s a mandatory mini camp check let that let’s just make a check there because we haven’t been able to say that much uh in the past few years with him I just don’t know realistically what the next step is for him is is it that he’s going to be able to just contribute on special teams I don’t know how much in terms of a starting role he’ll have this year because there’s still a lot to be proven and that injury is still something that he’s trying to work through so I just wanted to paint that realistic picture for fans um we’re all rooting for him and it’s great to see him out there first and foremost but let’s not let’s not say though he’s going to be you know somebody that they’re going to be relying on out of the gates I I don’t know that yet yeah I I I we’ve acknowledged the fact that I think that tayin Burks and Caleb Farley have very similar situations going on and that they were both High picks um TR was the 18th pick uh Caleb was the 22nd pick the year before and they basically have brought in veterans to do the job that they have been incapable of doing for whatever reason now calebs is a little more documented the fact that he’s had some adversity to deal with a lot more intense injuries personal stuff uh looking at Via performance I think that we’re looking at trailing like why why have you not taken that next step what is it that’s hindering you from being the the player that is supposed to replace AJ Brown and that just has yet to been answered until we then start bringing in free agents like Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd and now it seems like you’re going to be the odd man out whatever opportunities you get will be fewer and far between with that cast of characters in front of you and the same thing can be said about Cheeto and uh legit Darius being the corners now that dard Wilson you know puts on the field now dard did recognize the fact that Caleb has been through some things and I think that he is a huge supporter of you know his opportunities that he will get at some point to be a part of this team it is an unfortunate situation that it hasn’t been an easy Road for him but nonetheless I’d see that there I see that there are some very similar things going on between that those two first round picks Caleb Farley and ton burgs yesterday ESPN officially published the television ratings for Tennessee Texas A and Nim in the College World Series final and the three- game series was the second most watched men’s College World Series final in the ESPN era down 1% from LSU Florida last year which had 2.86 million average viewers uh this one 2.82 Monday’s uh winner take all game three averaged 3.34 million on the other side of game seven of the Stanley Cup Final that is the second largest audience ever for a men’s College World Series game however it is down 7% from last year because why in the world is ESPN putting game three of the College World Series against game seven of the Stanley Cup Final which also did very well by the way in terms of uh the NHL the Stanley Cup playoffs and both of them should have done better yeah because they should not have been pit against each other yeah that was stupid also think there was a storyline following the Panthers Oilers matchup the fact that you know it seemed like Florida was going to exact revenge for getting bounced out last year by the golden kns they were up three to nothing seemed like a sweeping of the series next thing you know they didn’t win another one until they took it back to Florida for game seven they both had great storylines coming in in these in these final games in game seven and game three in the College World Series they’re both ESPN entities ESPN got hockey back and they have the College World Series that that their named stamped all over it and they put him head tohe head yeah that’s crazy stupid yeah uh on Sunday night as well Angelica on Facebook says and the Olympic trials for track and field were on as well I’m so glad you brought that up because they were on and they also did some uh terrific television numbers 5.2 million viewers in prime time Sunday night for US Olympic trial track and field coverage and that is because we got the fastest 100 meter sprinters on the men and women side and Noah Lyles and shary Richardson and the 100 meters gets people to tune in it is fun to watch 100% the best Olympic almost July yeah pretty much right out a month away sweet at least they didn’t pit their things against each other on the network yeah and the Olympic trials too it’s like a it’s like a 10-day event they were off yesterday uh back on tonight and I would love to break down the women’s 800 and the drama that unfolded there but I will save that for another day however uh it is a good point that uh that was on as well I do think think that people love Tennessee and they love to hate Tennessee and Tennessee being in the College World Series final was great for ESPN it was great for the College World Series uh the most watched baseball or softball game on ESPN was uh Tennessee’s win surpassing the previous high of 2.91 million uh for a regional MLB window on Fox that featured Dodgers Yankees in most markets uh game two was on ABC that was the first College World Series game on broadcast television a Year’s 2.92 million was up a third from last year uh second among all baseball games this year on the ESPN family okay so not bad hey real quick real quick will before you go to the Break um cousin Brian wants to know what the ratings were if you have it at your availability between the NBA finals and of course game seven of the NHL uh the Stanley Cup he’s interested to see if hockey and baseball were higher so the 2024 NBA Finals ratings hit a threeyear low yep however I don’t think it was that low so the average across all five games um was lower than 2023 and 2022 uh the final game of uh Celtics Mavs was average 12.2 million so not even close to getting to the NBA level I I just read though that Stanley Cup final game seven outdrew any NBA finals or World Series game in the past five 5 years they had 16.3 million viewers watching game seven that’s what I read 16.3 okay 16.3 million viewers watched game seven of the 2024 the whole series average 4.2 million yeah I was just talking about game seven wasn’t the men’s College World Series on ABC before uh the game seven that was moved to ABC and then they moved the the College World Series to ESPN NHL was not on Sunday so they College World Series was Monday afternoon on ABC and then Saturday night ESPN okay yeah I’m just curious cuz maybe they were thinking that hey look there’ll be less eyeballs they’re going to tune into college baseball then there would be a a Stanley Cup no that’s why there was a day game Sunday was so it could be ABC gotcha yep coming up next uh we’ll continue the Hoops discussion with Belmont head coach Casey Alexander uh he’s seen some NBA prospects who will be in the mix this weekend uh and he’s just a great basketball mind he’s going to join us coming up next we’ll talk about Dalton connect uh talk about Zack Edy and tell you everything you need to know coming up with the head coach of the Belmont Bruins Casey Alexander it’s Ramon Foster for Hiller Plumbing Heating Cooling and electrical y’all have you ever had a contractor supposed to come to your house within a time frame and they not show up and got you waiting around all day long just wasting away your day well you don’t have to do that with Hiller okay when you call them they will set your time be very appr prompt about it send you a text message call you potentially let you know when they are showing up just to give you heads up like Hey we’re coming to your house so if you’re at work just go home we’ll be there when you get there I promise you that uh but not only that this month you can be a happy camper with uh Hiller with zero interest financing for 24 months on select select HVAC systems generators and tankless water heaters or just simply take advantage of Hiller’s $99 drain cleaning special take care of your home systems before the peak summer temperatures hit this weekend supposed to crank up a good bit so you know that AC is going to be working in overdrive make sure you have Hiller over to check it out for you visit happy hill.com today for detail e e e e e e e e e e Wednesday morning continues here on Ramon Kayla and will RCW Brad Hopkins in for Ramone Foster Kayla Anderson I’m will B talking a little bit of NBA draft this morning I feel like case Alexander has become just the go-to basketball analyst on 1045 The Zone uh a spectacular guest every time we’re able to catch up with the head coach of the Bruins uh who joins us now uh coach between the buck Rising show and US you’re just kind of our our Hoops guy what’s going on you know I I don’t know how um how big of of a platform I have but you guys have made me into what I am I that’s just unbelievable I love it uh well coach what are you up to this time of year I know Camp season always for basketball programs I have such good memories of going to the Belmont basketball camp every summer uh when I was a kid I know that is a fun part of what you guys get to do every summer I just walked to my office uh from the curb Event Center where we have 282 in Camp this week uh we’re rocking and rolling we just had our uh best mullet competition we had about we had about 20 entries it was F fantastic a John Daly clone won yes that’s awesome literally coach I know we’ve talked about this before there is no fiercer competition than the end of those camps where you get all the kids split up into teams and you play these tournaments by age groups and everything like that’s some that’s some pretty intense stuff it is uh extremely intense there is a lot of uh tears to be wiped up off the floor uh when those games competitions in it’s amazing how they come in on Monday morning scared to death by Friday afternoon it’s uh it’s life or death uh when they when that tournament rolls around I love it Belmont head coach Casey Alexander talking some NBA draft with us this morning um coach I wanted to start with with Dalton connect and and the fascination of him as a prospect at the next level um as you watched him as you watched Tennessee play through March Madness what is the best fit for him and where do you see him succeeding at the Next Level well I just I I think he is going to succeed I think he’s as much of a lock to be a success in the NBA as anybody uh that’s going to be picked um because he’s proven you know there’s some young guys that are going to be drafted early um that have great potential but what Dalton connected at the highest level last season will transfer very well wherever he ends up playing I just think he’s the total package uh and very much a modern-day NBA player because of his versatility he can do a lot lot of things he’s got size he’s got athleticism he can really shoot it he can play off the bounce he’s he’s an he’s a more than adequate Defender um so I think he’s got some real staying power um you know they’ve got him in that 6 seven8 range uh which and this the the teams in that range uh are not very good right now so it’s even better for him that he’s more he’s likely to walk in um to a place where there’s a real need and he’s going to get a real opportunity early we’re talking with Bruins head coach Casey Alex here on the program and you know Casey it’s easy to find the Zack edes right they’re s feet they’re walking around like you wouldn’t believe but what about the Dalton connect types you know the ones that started 11 games in 2021 uh at Northern Colorado all the games the next year before transferring to Tennessee the ones that need developing to become Elite basically coach how how often does that player present himself to you well I mean he’s a great story there’s no doubt about that and and he’s just proof that you know that that that stars come in all shapes and sizes and with different tracks I mean and the draft is no better example of that just in general I mean you’ve got you know you’ve got I think maybe three Frenchmen in the top 10 12 projected picks you know you’ve got 19y olds compared to connect you know who’s a really old guy a lot of experience um and that that’s the difficulty as we all know uh with the NBA draft as compared to maybe the NL draft where everybody’s of age and mostly proven and you’ve got the measurables with you know with wingspan and size and hand strength and all that kind of stuff well basketball is a lot more like what’s what can this guy be 24 months from now or five years from now um and how do we fit that into what we’re trying to do um you know with our organization you just mentioned International Players they really seem to be making an impact in the NBA today I mean France is flooding the draft I mean last year was wimy this year it’s Zachary uh re what do you call it R I think that’s how you anoun it if I can be French for a second Alex star all these guys coming from Shoot Nico AIC is from Serbia you know does the list keep growing or is it just me and has the world caught up to us in hoops yeah they’ve passed us in a lot of way honestly I mean the best two players in the NBA right now are yic and Don and donish you know Ian those guys are those guys are running um the league and uh you know European style of play um you know I think I think I think America has caught up in a lot of ways um you know but what we see with the versatility of guys that can play all over the floor uh everybody’s a Handler everybody’s a shooter um there are very few traditional post players anymore it’s all that the game’s predicated on movement and passing and spacing and IQ things like that really an offensive minded game and that all comes from Europe uh We’ve Got Talent here plenty of talent plenty of great coaches but um but we’ve had to adjust our style of play a little bit to mirror what’s been going on in Europe for a long time Casey Alexander the head coach of the Belmont men’s basketball team joining us on rcade dub this morning so this year coach the draft going to two nights not just one two what do you think about the move to do it to two hey I guess there’s not a whole lot else going on right now that’s for sure you know we had College World Series and and hockey game seven the other day so you you got to be an NBA a Major League Baseball fan right now um to be on TV so I think it’s a wise move by the NBA they they make a lot of really good decisions they’ve got pretty good product going you obviously were invested and have been invested in the past last year uh Ben Shepard obviously going in the first round how much are you kind of involved in I know you’re very busy during the season but as much as you can to kind of keep up with some of these guys and watch some of those games if you have a free moment yeah I’m a Hoops junkie I mean I spend you know if I’m not working on the game then I’m watching the game uh just because I really love it and so that’s and my family’s the same way we spend most every night you know in front of the computer in front of the TV watching games so you know I’ve got a decent level of familiarity with what’s going on around the country but uh I don’t dig deep into you know draft KN honestly uh as far as you know really getting in depth with what these guys C can and can’t do and where they’re going to end up going but I’ve got some familiarity with who they are and why they’re good coach what is so different about being and I know you’re not a head coach in the NBA but I’m sure you know you know people who are and you know kind of some of the stuff that goes on with being a head coach what’s different about the NBA and being a head coach than it is with other professional sports because it does seem a little different yeah I mean one one real critical piece is they’re you in the offseason is the off season like they’re not doing anything you know they’re they’re paying attention to what’s going on around them but you know they don’t have many camps and they don’t have rookie camps and they don’t have anything until you know until we get into July they’ll the summer league for two or three weeks but it’s those guys those guys are living on Easy Street for the most part uh when they’re not in their season now their season is a grind obviously they play a lot of games there’s not know it’s very different than the NFL in that regard in a sense that you know they’re playing three four games a week There’s they’re traveling three or four times a week um you know so it’s It’s a Grind during the season but the offseason is is pretty luxurious come on head coach Casey Alexander joining us this morning on Ramone Kayla and will uh coach Zack Edy is such a FAS fting Prospect and uh I say his name I think other people that have Tennessee diplomas shudder a little bit based on the way those two games win against Purdue especially the last one but how do you view him as an NBA Prospect and just the fascinating kind of spectacle he was to watch and Purdue this season yeah well first let’s give him credit for what he was for basketball I mean he was you know one of the best careers of all time uh without a doubt um you know a very small handful of players that um did what he did at the college level uh but that doesn’t always transfer you know and that’s the reason why he’s you know probably a late first round pick um if that to be a big in the NBA you have to be dominant offensively in the low post and he’s really good but I don’t know if he’s dominant in the low post where he’s going to command double teams and create offense for everybody else uh at that level um but more than that you’ve got to be a ball screen guy on both ends of the floor you’ve got to you’ve got to really be able to get out of ball screens that you’re setting and get to the rim and play the rim and catch those lobs and that’s not his game uh and then you’ve got to be able to defend ball screens every possession against the best players in the world uh and I don’t think that’s his strength e either you know if he can park himself inside the circle and be a low post player you know he’s going to be effective but he’s got to get better with you know his feed have to get better he’s got to get quicker he’s got to get more mobile more athletic and I don’t know how you do those things you know when you’re a 24 five year old guy he’ll improve but that’s that’s clearly where you know the distinction is between him and the guys that are playing at that level now look at Joel embid for example I mean that guy he’s a monster too he’s huge and he can do all those things he can play off the dribble you know he can he can isolate himself anywhere top of the key low post mid range anywhere and be effective and Ed just doesn’t have those capabilities I was thinking about him before you guys called and I was thinking a little bit about a guy like Tyler hansboro for example they were different players but hbor was a phenomenal College player that had virtually no shelf life in the NBA you know and it was for different reasons but it’s just another example of how um great college players don’t always make great pro pro players Casey you guys have got such a great NBA connection obviously Ben Shepard who Cayla mentioned Dylan Windler uh you got NBA champ Ian Clark um and you guys as well play against a lot of future NBA players in the Missouri Valley you guys see quite a bit of professional Talent just how much has that helped you and your program evolve over time and you know the recruiting pitch that you can now give of we’re going to give you a route to professional basketball and also you’re going to play against guys who are going to make it in professional basketball as well yeah it’s really important um and we use it to our advantage any anytime that we can but uh you know kids these days whether it’s Belmont um or anywhere they all think they’re playing in the NBA you know so you can tell them whatever you want but they all think they’re going to go play in the NBA there’s there’s guys that can’t even get good time on their college teams but they’re out there working every day and they’re you know at the least they’re going to play overseas they think you know so it’s uh it’s a tough balance between hey we can get you where you want to go but the reality is you know we probably got we probably have some limits here but you know I mean it’s it’s a little easier sell when you can you know when you’re Kentucky and you can throw out however many guys they’ve got they’re going to have two first round picks again this year um you know Belmont’s one of the few teams that have had a first rounder uh in the last five or six years uh with Ben Shepard and Dylan wler I mean that’s unique for for a mid major to have a first-rounder um you know like we have um you know that’s that’s something that we have to use in recruiting he’s built my head coach Casey Alexander you mentioned Ben Shepard and you know Dylan Windler you know Ben started the game for the Pacers you know played in 57 of them Dylan Windler he started out at Cleveland is now in Atlanta even Ian Clark started nine games and played over 330 of them um but I say that to say everybody wants to be a lottery pick coach but role players they’re just as vital right uh max players certainly make a difference but how important is the bench in today’s NBA coach yeah it’s a Stars game we know that the NBA is more of a Stars game than anything else I mean you’ve got to be elite uh to win um in most cases but but it’s also a team you know and whether you’re an NBA coach a college coach a high school coach and whatever sport you’re playing you’ve got to have all the pieces to be as good as you want to be you know you got to have winners you’ve got to have glue guys you’ve got to have Defenders you’ve got to have veterans you’ve got to have talent you’ve got to have culture you’ve got to have all those pieces to be any good and that’s you know that’s why the guys like Ben Shepard um who was virtually unknown you know uh by most college basketball standards this time last year was the last draft he playing I think um this season and he played a really important role on a on an Eastern Conference Finals team and so because because he played that role really well and helped that team even though he wasn’t scoring a bunch of points per game all right I got to bring you in on this uh this topic we’ve been talking about over the last couple of days and that’s the JJ reic situation obviously you know the Lakers they hired Tennessean from Cookville right JJ reck as the head coach now he played for 16 teams from 2006 to 2021 zero coaching experience coach does his playing experience Trump his lack of coaching experience time will tell right har uh you know it work pretty well for Steve cerr I’m sure you guys have talked quite a bit about that um he hadn’t coached either he left he left the uh the microphone and went to be the coach for Golden State it’s all you know most of that answer is is going to be um is gonna it’s going to be answered by who’s on his team and what the makeup of the roster is and what what kind of hand he has to work with those all those NBA coaches I mean they are they are so good at what they do um and you could just move them around from Team to team each year and you can figure out real quickly that it’s more it is more about the jimmies and Joe’s is who’s going to be the best the best coaches uh look at papovich as an example I mean when the Spurs were rolling you know he was the best thing ever you know and he’s still the best thing ever but they haven’t been any good in quite a while because they don’t they haven’t had the pieces um for him to show that so REI himself I mean it’s um it’s it’s a little scary for me uh I’ll say this about him though um I I I’m gonna name drop a minute but I became good friends with Stan Van Gundy um years back and we’ve stayed in touch and he told me 10 years ago he was his favorite best player that he ever coached uh just work ethic understanding teammate total package for what you would want as a guy that you can really Bank on you know and I think that’s clearly what the Lakers see in this case is a guy that’s a total package as an NBA guy you know what kind of NBA coach he’s going to be you know it’s not quite so easy to assume but um but I would I would give him a nod to do well one more for me Casey now that we have you here in terms of college hoops right now and the direction of it there is talk of expansion the N NCAA tournament I I think I know your answer but what are your thoughts on that uh I don’t like massive expansion you know there was some talk there of of like going to 96 or whatever it was I think that’s far too large uh the expansion models that have been presented are to add four more teams or eight more teams and I’m highly in favor of that I mean I think there’s still some really good teams um you know in that NE in that first four out next four out category every year um that can win games in the NCAA tournament um and adding those numbers will not impact the length of the tournament uh you can still have the play in games on Tuesday and Wednesday probably with an additional site other than Dayton uh so it has very little effect on the organization of the tournament but it can really add I think to the Intrigue you know I think the misconception out there is that it’s it’ll create more money and that is not the case and that’s the reason you know a lot of Administrators don’t want to do it you know list why would we want to split it between 70 whatever 76 teams as opposed to 72 teams as opposed to 64 that that’s that’s one of the arguments against it plus it’s a great product as it is so the why screw up something that’s working really well it’s a it’s a billion dollar entity in itself right now Bill my head coach Casey Alexander joining us this morning Casey we always appreciate the time excellent as always and I know you’re a baseball person like us so uh we need to get back with you in a couple weeks and we’ll talk Cubs with you please don’t don’t call me until they get some relievers thanks perfect thanks coach than coach all right there’s Casey Alexander with us this morning uh he brings up a point about uh USA and Europe basketball that I think is interesting because Europe as a continent has obviously caught up there’s not a single country right that’s going to get anywhere close to the United States just as a nation I would love the Ridder cup of basketball I knew you g to say that that’s I think if you did I love it in every every four years if you did it on two years away from the Olympics so if you did the basketball Ridder Cup in 26 give me a seven game series between team Europe and Team USA the rer you could even even throw Canada in there we’ll give you Canada Europe and Canada rest of the world even cuz there’s a lot of Australian Stars too rest of the world against the USA like the Pres that would be like the President’s Cup in golf see that’s why the rest of the world don’t like us will cuz that mentality right there yeah but we beat the rest of the world also in golf too so I think they might be in basketball though that’s the thing it would be it would that that’s first two players are going from France tonight that’s what I just said I European could be with you slay is going to join us tomorrow we should uh we should certainly ask him about play over in Europe yeah oh yeah he is uniquely positioned to answer that question better than anybody yeah uh having played obviously college basketball here and playing over there but you got any game will me no no the other will in here golf game yes like what will is about you Kay you got broke 100 in golf you klin Clark over decided not to play basketball honestly this is a True Story I played softball in in in high school I would probably foul out oh you’re aggressive oh I uh I was bad at basketball cuz I dribbled with my right hand but I would shoot with my left that what I’m weirdly ambidextrous on certain things so I did not dribble with the same hand I shot with oh really so I would dribble down the floor with my right hand and then have to switch and shoot with my left it’s just not a dang I was not good you’re already in trouble will cuz you’re supposed to be able to use both hands I know hey I’ll say this though this is the time real quick shout out to my nephew 9 old making the 10 plus AA basketball team in s baby let’s go hey Casey you might want to recruit my nephew down the road oh man look at you coming up uh Tennessee’s best ever finish in the uh director cup uh we’ll give you the details on that as we wrap up the show next e e e e e e e e e e e e e wrapping up the show this morning on Ramone Kayla and will But Rising on and a full day coming up from game terminal tonight that is going to be the place to be it is Nashville’s largest arcade with over 250 games spanning 40 years from pinball to Pac-Man Mario Kart everything in between game terminal has everything you have ever wanted to play uh they’ve got an on-site tech crew that keeps all the games working 10,000 square feet of space guys ooo all I need to know is Kayla what you getting there 8,000 ft outside I think we’re planning on like 5 to 5:30 me and you on the Pac-Man machine soon as you get there let’s go you’re going down what is that what is that like how the little noise it’s like when Chris bman would do the fastest two minutes on uh Sports Center oh yeah and Pac-Man Jones would have a punt return for a touchdown that’s right here goes Pac-Man 20 30 one of my favorite bits that Chris Burman did Growing Up on fastest 2 minutes love it that’s what Hunter Ensley said when he slid around the Texas saying him catcher he sure my I love the national tension that that is getting because I didn’t I didn’t you said it yesterday will uh he Euro stepped that’s exactly what he did he set that catcher up on the outside of the Baseline right with that outside step stab right and he came back inside and had the presence of mine to dive with the left hand and touch the bag that’s incredible I think it was Jami mhack Tennessee shooting guard who tweeted and said you’re a step in the college world series is crazy for sure killed it that was nice set him up too and and you know what I said it yesterday Cayla he closed his eyes the catcher thought he was going to get some contact right and he Clos that’s why he missed him with tag there come on now now that he’s thinking about it uh Tennessee has finished third in the learfield director cup uh that is their best finish ever wow uh that was announced earlier today uh and Tennessee continues its pace of rising up those standings every years since Danny White has been there uh Tennessee was 26th in 2021 finished 13th in 22 sixth the year ago this year they’re third uh last year was the first time Tennessee had finished top 10 in the director’s cup uh since 2007 when a young Ramone Foster helped uh Tennessee make the Outback poll That season Outback poll that I was at but uh Danny White talked about it yesterday uh at Tennessee’s Championship parade in Knoxville that Tennessee has 20 Sports and finished third in a standings that is usually won by teams that have 40 Sports and you talk about some of these schools that have larger endowments and you have all those West Coast teams and all their warm weather sports like beach volleyball and Marco Polo or whatever I know it’s called water polo but call it Marco Polo I sure did look at you like what NCAA Marco Polo I know it’s water polo I’m just making fun of these like small obscure sports that like Stanford dominates and uh so good for Tennessee and uh highest in the SEC again what’s wrong what’s wrong with water polo man it’s not you don’t think that’s a volleyball is also big over that I am uh yeah that’s the other one I that’s ex I am incapable of treading water so I I respect water poool a lot I can swim if I’m moving forward yes but I cannot tread water water why not it took me a minute to feel confident at Camp when they’ throw you off and You’ be they’d be like tread water you’ve got to pass a swim test tread water for 2 minutes I’m like damn this is going to take me a second Pro this at the Y here it was like 20 minutes you had to tread water for 20 minutes in order to be a lifegard 20 minutes oh to be a lifeguard this was just to swim in the deep end yeah that’s I just cheat and Float over my back so you like a baby the newborns just throw them in there let him on their back yeah at our cross country camp we had a water run that we did where you literally were like it was tread water for 30 minutes in like this little Lake and the water felt really good it’s like the middle of the summer as always last weekend in July and uh the coaches knew I could not tread water so you’re supposed to like ask for a noodle oh yeah to just like you like sit on the noodle to tread water you just move your legs like you’re running water it’s like a it’s a way to cross train and take stress off of your joints and still get cardio uh but no no no that that was the legal way to do it the not cheating I would cheat sorry coach I know you listen most mornings uh I would find a rock in the lake and I would I would run and place on the Rock terrible I think my my coach knows my coach is the list show all the time who I love and and still you know keep in touch with they know I that’s probably the only way I ever cheated anything in high school but that I did cuz I just wanted to survive you were tall enough to even stand on like I probably half shower I hit my gross per between 8th grade and Ninth Grade I grew like six inches in one summer you know who else is you know who else is a swim coach Chris Sanders oh really nice yes and guess what Chris Sanders Isis Sanders is a swim coach and he can’t swim wait what what is going on here yeah I was like I I said dude how in the world can you be a swim coach and you can’t swim Titans Legend and track and field Legend Chris sers but the thing he hold records at all house oh I know he’s been my color commentator for the state track but the thing is you know what I said that’s appr propo because there’s a ton of dudes that are coaching nowadays that shouldn’t be yeah you know what I’m saying that just have no idea about what it is to coach that position because they’re on the staff and there was a subsequent need they got moved to that position and were learning it on the Fly exactly love it uh that’s the show come see his game terminal tonight going to be fun get some free to ATT 10 just get some uh coins maybe play some games hang out have a drink I’m going to get a stack of quarters I’m going to set them up next to whatever game you’re playing will look at that okay and say let’s go come let’s go can’t wait uh we’ll be back at it tomorrow Ron SLE will stop by coach Mack for his weekly visit and the rkw draft we’ll see you Brad Hopkins could win an rkw draft tomorrow looking forward to that uh we are back at it 6: a.m. so start your Thursday and the buck Rising show is next to 1045 this Z
